44 to mention, when perhaps it may be faid with juftice, that he has excelled every compofition of the fame kind. The mixture of religious hope and refignation gives an elevation and dignity to difappointed love, which images merely natural cannot beftow. The gloom of a convent ftrikes the imagination with far greater force than the folitude of a grove. This piece was, however, not much his favourite in his latter years, though I never heard upon what principle he flighted it. In the next year (1713) he published Windfor Foreft; of which part was, as he relates, written at fixteen, about the fame time as his Paftorals, and the lat ter ter part was added afterwards: where the addition begins we are not told. The lines relating to the Peace confefs their own date. It is dedicated to Lord Lanfdown, who was then high in reputation and influence among the Tories; and it is faid that the conclufion of the poem gave great pain to Addifon, both as a poet and a politician. Reports like this are often fpread with boldness very difproportionate to their evidence. Why fhould Addison receive any particular disturbance from the laft lines of Windfor Foreft? If contrariety of opinion could poifon a politician, he would not live a day; and, as a poet, he must have felt Pope's force of genius much more from many other parts of his works... The The pain that Addifon might feel it is not likely that he would confefs; and it is certain that he fo well fuppreffed his difcontent, that Pope now thought himself his favourite; for having been confulted in the revifal of Cato, he introduced it by a Prologue; and, when Dennis published his Remarks, undertook not indeed to vindicate but to revenge his friend, by a Narrative of the Frenzy of John Dennis. There is reafon to believe that Addifon gave no encouragement to this difingenuous hoftility; for, fays Pope, in a Letter to him, indeed your opinion, that 'tis entirely to be neglected, "would be my own in my own cafe; "but I felt more warmth here than I "did "did when I firft faw his book against "myfelf (though indeed in two minutes "it made me heartily merry)." Addison was not a man on whom fuch cant of fenbility could make much impreffion. Hé left the pamphlet to itself, having difowned it to Dennis, and perhaps did not think Pope to have deferved much by his officioufness. This year was printed in the Guardian the ironical comparifon between the Pas torals of Phillips and Pope; a compofition of artifice, criticism, and literature, to which nothing equal will eafily be found. The fuperiority of Pope is fo ingeniously diffembled, and the feeble lines of Phillips fo fkilfully preferred, that Steele, being deceived, was unwilling willing to print the paper left Pope fhould be offended. Addifon immediately faw the writer's defign; and, as it feems, had malice enough to conceal his difcovery, and to permit a publication which, by making his friend Phillips ridiculous, made him for ever an enemy to Pope. It appears that about this time Pope had a strong inclination to unite the art of Painting with that of Poetry, and himself under the tuition of Jervas. was near-fighted, and therefore put He was not formed by nature for a painter: he tried however how far he could advance, and sometimes perfuaded his friends to fit. A picture of Betterton, fuppofed to be drawn by him, was in the poffef fion |