was ever more fevere in his revenge than Pope; but yet it must be confeffed that he feldom ridiculed any perfons without fome reafon. The Dunciad is a lafting monument of infamy to that fet of hardened dunces, many even of whofe very names are now buried in oblivion. In one remarkable inftance, however, Mr. Pope thought proper, and with great judgment, to answer an attack, in prose. feems that Lord Harvey wrote a libel in verse against him, entitled, An Epistle to a Doctor of Divinity from a Nobleman at Hampton Court, which was published in 1733. Pope understanding who was the author of it, answered it in profe,

Nec quifquam noceat cupido mihi pacis ! at ille Qui me commorit (melius non tangere, clamo) Flebit, et infignis tota cantabitur urbe.

It

But the last of thefe lines is extremely beautiful and fevere.

but

but kept his answer fome time in manufcript, with an intention to publish it after his friends had read it. His Lordship being informed that Pope had anfwered him with a great deal of feverity, endeavoured, by feveral means, to get a fight of the manufcript before it was published, but without effect. He then applied himself to the Queen, who, to oblige him, borrowed the manufcript of Mr. Pope, and fhewed it to his Lordfhip. Harvey was exceffively chagrined at the feverity of the answer, and fufficiently humbled. He begged of her Majefty to use all her intereft with Pope to prevent its being published; for which purpose the Queen ordered a perfon to speak to him, who affured him that his anfwer had had effect enough, as my Lord Harvey had feen it, and was exceffively forry for having given the provocation,

cation, and moreover afked Mr. Pope's pardon. Pope hereupon promifed the Queen, on his word of honour, not to publish it; but however left it in the power of his executor to do it after his death; and accordingly Dr. Warburton published it at the end of the ninth volume of his edition of his works. The letter, tho' wrote with great temper, is exceffively poignant: but his Lordfhip was ridiculed with infinite wit under the name of Sporus.

From furious Sappho scarce a milder fate, P--x'd by her love, or libell'd by her hate *.

There are many inftances of Pope's making open profeffions of his friendship, to those very perfons he lafhed with the utmost severity in his fatires. Addi

• Verfe 84.

fon

fon is a remarkable one; and Lady M. W. Montague another. I have been often informed that by Sappho is meant that celebrated Lady. Some of his letters to her feem to be full of tenderness and affection for her, and breathe the language of the fincereft friendship. One of them is indeed remarkable for a mixed kind of praise and cenfure: he feems in one paffage to give an oblique dafsh at her Ladyfhip's chastity; "Glory, the only pay of generous actions, is now as ill paid as other juft debts; and neither Mrs, Macfarland for immolating her lover, nor you for conftancy to your Lord, muft ever hope to be compared to Lucretia or Portia."

Then follows twenty moft brilliant compliments to her face and understanding, and another ftroke as good as the

former;

former; " "Laftly, I fhall hear how, the firft night you lay at Pera, you had a vifion of Mahomet's paradife; and happily awaked without a foul, from which bleffed moment the beautiful body was left at full liberty to perform all the agreeable functions it was made for."

The converfation, wit, poetry, and adventures of this moft accomplished woman, are well known; fhe indulged herself in freedoms, which with her management gave a brilliancy to her character among the principal perfons of her time her Town Eclogues, and other fmall poems, are full of wit and fire, and the verfification eafy and harmonious : I don't remember feeing the few following lines in print; they are an extempore epigram on feeing a picture of General Churchill.

:

Woe