66

called upon to defend the opinion he had formerly expressed on this subject. His answer is manly and decisive, and shows that he did not shrink from the inquiry. "I assure you," says he, "I am glad of your letter, and have long wanted nothing but the permission you now give me, to be plain and unreserved upon this head. I should have wrote to you concerning it long since; but a friend of yours and mine was of opinion it was taking too much upon me, and more than I could be entitled to, by the mere merit of long acquaintance and good will. I have not a thing in my heart relating to any friend, which I would not, in my own nature, declare to all mankind. The truth is, what you guess. I could not esteem your conduct to an object of misery so near you as Mrs., and I have often hinted it to yourself. The truth is, I cannot yet esteem it, for any reason I am able to see. But this I promise, I acquit you as far as your own mind acquits you. I have now no further cause of complaint; for the unhappy lady gives me now no further pain. She is now no longer an object either of yours or my compassion. The hardships done her are lodged in the hands of God; nor has any man more to do in them, except the persons concerned in occasioning them."

In the year 1713, Pope published his Windsor Forest, which was chiefly written as early as 1704, but not finished till after the peace of Utrecht, to which he has alluded in terms of high approbation at the close of the poem:

"At length great Anna said, let discord cease!

-She said the world obey'd, and all was peace."

This public expression of his opinion, on a subject of great political importance, was as disagreeable to the Whigs, as it was gratifying to their opponents; who stood in need of every support, to vindicate a measure

which has been justly characterized as "dishonourable and infamous, and as the principal cause of the miseries that for more than a century afterwards prevailed in Europe."

During the friendly intercourse which subsisted between them, Addison communicated to Pope the manuscript of his tragedy of Cato, and requested to have his sincere opinion of it, for which purpose he left it with him for three or four days. The answer of Pope was, "that he thought Addison had better not act it, and that he would get reputation enough by only printing it." Pope's reasons, as stated by himself to Mr. Spence', were, that "he thought the lines were well written, but the piece not theatrical enough." This opinion was perhaps not less erroneous than that which Addison had before expressed on the additions. to the Rape of the Lock; but this does not appear to have been considered by Addison as a proof of the envy or jealousy of Pope. On the contrary, he professed that "he was of the same opinion, but that some particular friends of his, whom he could not disoblige, insisted on its being acted." This determination on the part of Addison, was so far from giving offence to Pope, that he wrote a Prologue for the tragedy, which was no less admired than the tragedy itself. He also attended the first representation, of which he has left an account, which shows how deeply he was interested for the author. "Cato," says he, "was not so much the wonder of Rome in his days, as he is of Britain in ours; and though all the foolish industry possible has been used to make it thought a party play, yet what the author once said of another, may, the

6 Coxe's Mem. of the Duke of Marlborough, vol. vi. p. 239.

7 Spence's Anec. Singer's ed. p. 196.

To Sir Wm. Trumbull, April 30, 1713. Vide Letters to Sir William Trumbull, Letter VI.

most properly in the world, be applied to him on this occasion:

Envy itself is dumb, in wonder lost,

And factions strive who shall applaud him most.'

"The numerous and violent claps of the Whig party on the one side of the theatre, were echoed back by the Tories on the other; whilst the author sweated behind the scenes with concern, to find their applause proceeding more from the hand than the head. This was the case too of the Prologue-writer, who was clapped into a staunch Whig, at almost every two lines. I believe you have heard, that after all the applauses of the opposite faction, my Lord Bolingbroke sent for Booth, who played Cato, into the box, between one of the acts, and presented him with fifty guineas, in acknowledgment, as he expressed it, for defending the cause of liberty so well, against a perpetual Dictator"."

This piece, which was represented for thirty-five successive nights, and was also performed at Oxford and other provincial towns, roused the resentment of Dennis, who, although a violent Whig, published a long and abusive critique upon it. This afforded Pope an opportunity of giving a further proof of the interest he took in the reputation of his friend by writing his "Narrative of the Frenzy of J. D.," in which, under the fictitious name of Dr. Robert Norris, he attacks Dennis in the only way in which those who disgrace a literary discussion by personal insult and scurrilous invectives, deserve to be answered; by wit, irony, and contempt. Warton informs us "that Addison highly disapproved of this bitter satire on Dennis ;" and that "Pope was not a little chagrined at this disapprobation, for the nar

9 In allusion to the Duke of Marlborough, who, it was supposed, was at that time endeavouring to obtain the appointment of General-in-chief for life.

1713.] NARRATIVE OF THE FRENZY OF JOHN DENnis. 75

rative was intended to court the favour of Addison by defending his Cato; in which seeming defence Addison was far from thinking our author sincere." Johnson says, "there is reason to believe that Addison gave no encouragement to this disingenuous hostility;" that "he left the pamphlet to itself, having disowned it to Dennis, and perhaps did not think Pope to have deserved much by his officiousness." These observations appear to be founded on an expression of Addison's, alluded to in a letter of Pope, "that he thought the remarks of Dennis should be entirely neglected." But that Pope did not consider this as any striking mark of dissatisfaction with his own conduct, is apparent from his answer', in which, after alluding to owls and obscene animals, he adds: "What put me in mind of these night-birds was John Dennis, who I think you are best revenged upon, as the sun was in the fable, upon those bats and beastly birds above mentioned, only by shining on. I am so far from esteeming it any misfortune, that I congratulate you upon having your share in that, which all the great men and all the good men that ever lived have had their part of, envy and calumny. To be uncensured, and to be obscure, is the same thing. You may conclude from what I here say, that it was never in my thoughts to have offered you my pen in any direct reply to such a critic, but only in some little raillery; not in defence of you, but in contempt of him. But indeed your opinion, that it is entirely to be neglected, would have been my own, had it been my own case: but I feel more warmth here, than I did when first I saw his book against myself, though indeed in two minutes it made me heartily merry. He has written against every thing the world has approved these many years. I apprehend but one

1

July 20, 1713. Vide Letters to Steele and Addison, Letter XII.

danger from Dennis's disliking our sense, that it may make us think so very well of it, as to become proud and conceited upon his disapprobation."

But the most striking proof that Addison disapproved of the conduct of Pope on this occasion, appears in a letter written by Steele, at the request of Addison, to Lintot, the publisher of the narrative.

"MR. LINTOT,

Aug. 4, 1713.

"Mr. Addison desired me to tell you, he wholly disapproves the manner of treating Mr. Dennis in a little pamphlet by way of Dr. Norris's account. When he thinks fit to take notice of Mr. Dennis's objections to his writings, he will do it in a way Mr. Dennis shall have no just reason to complain of; but when the papers above mentioned were offered to be communicated to him, he said he could not, either in honour or conscience, be privy to such a treatment, and was sorry to hear of it. I am, Sir, your very humble servant,

"RICHARD STEELE."

It is surely very extraordinary that Addison should, at a time when Pope had given him the most decided proof of the sincerity of his attachment, and had taken a step in his defence which he had refused to take in his own, have dictated to Steele an apologetical letter, to assure Dennis that he considered the pamphlet of Pope as inconsistent with the dictates of honour and conscience; at the same time observing, that although he had not seen the papers when offered to be communicated to him, he had refused to be privy to such a treatment! It is also not less observable that Steele, who was at this time earnestly soliciting the assistance of

An

Addison," says Mr. D'Israeli, "insulted Pope by a letter to Dennis, which Dennis eagerly published as Pope's severest condemnation. alienation of friendship must have already taken place, but by no overt act on Pope's side." Vide Quarrels of Authors, vol. i. p. 245.