pamphlet by Dennis, entitled, Remarks upon Cato, Pope, thinking that he should gratify Addison by attacking this savage critic, drew up a highly humorous piece, called The Narrative of Dr. Robert Norris of the Frenzy of J. D. That Addison, however, was by no means pleased with Pope's interference, is shown by a letter which Steele, at Addison's request, addressed to Lintot, the publisher of The Narrative:

"August 4, 1713.

66 MR. LINTOT, "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."

A passage, in the Preface to Dennis's Remarks on the Rape of the Lock, charges Pope with the basest double dealing in this business. "In the height of his professions of friendship for Mr. Addison, he [Pope] could not bear the success of

Cato, but prevails upon B. L. [Bernard Lintot] to engage me to write and publish Remarks upon that Tragedy: which after I had done, A-P-E, the better to conceal himself from Mr. Addison and his friends, writes and publishes a scandalous pamphlet, equally foolish and villanous, in which he pretends that I was in the hands of a quack who cures mad men. So weak is the capacity of this little gentleman, that he did not know that he had done an odious thing; an action detested even by those whom he fondly designed to oblige by it. For Mr. Addison was so far from approving of it, that he engaged Sir Richard Steele to write to me," &c.

A series of Essays on Pastoral Poetry, from the pen of Tickell, in which Ambrose Philips was declared superior to all contemporary writers in that style of composition, appeared in the Guardian in April, 1713. This critical decision was exceedingly mortifying to Pope, whose Pastorals, as already mentioned, were first published in a volume of Tonson's Miscellanies, together with those of Philips; and he contrived to render it null by a very ingenious expedient. He contributed to the Guardian a supplementary paper to the Essays of Tickell, in which, with infinite art and delicacy he institutes a comparison between the Pastorals of Philips and his own, giving the preference to the former, for reasons which only place them in a ludicrous light. The drift of the paper was not at first perceived by the

1

wits at Button's,-not even by Steele, who had hesitated about printing it, lest Pope should be offended, but when its real object became apparent, an irreparable breach took place between the indignant Philips and our author. Gay, for whom Pope had long felt the most sincere regard, lent his assistance to ruin the literary reputation of his friend's rival, by writing Pastorals which were intended to ridicule those of Philips, and which, from their genuine humour, became deservedly popular.

Though he never attained any proficiency in painting, Pope was passionately fond of the art,3 and used to practise it under the instructions of Jervas, with whom he was on very intimate terms. Writing to Addison in 1713, he says, “I generally employ the mornings in painting with Mr. Jervas." About this time he composed his poetical Epistle to that artist: it was not, however, printed till 1717.

We have already seen that in the volume of

1 The story of Philips's hanging up a rod at Button's, with a declaration that he meant to inflict corporal punishment on Pope, whenever he should meet him there, is understood to be a falsehood.

2 The "very valuable piece, which," says Pope in the above-mentioned paper in the Guardian, “I chanced to find among some old manuscripts, entitled a Pastoral Ballad," and which he there quotes, is one of Gay's Pastorals.

8 His progress in it was retarded by the weakness of his eyes. Lord Mansfield possessed a portrait of Betterton, which was a copy from Kneller by Pope.

Tonson's Miscellanies where his Pastorals appeared, Pope had inserted The Episode of Sarpedon from Homer; and he now determined to give to the world an entire translation of the Iliad. It had, perhaps, occasionally occupied his thoughts for some years: the friend of his youth, Sir William Trumbull, had earnestly advised him to undertake it, and the more influential voices of Addison and Lord Lansdowne had recently urged him to the attempt. At this period, when our early writers were not justly appreciated, the Iliad of Chapman was but little known; the translations from Homer by Hobbes and Ogilby could only disgust the reader of taste; and no work, therefore, was more likely to be favourably received by the public than a version of the tale of Troy by the first of living poets. From the various productions which had raised him to such eminence, Pope had not derived any great emolument; and pecuniary considerations were his inducement to abandon

1 The following extract from a book of accounts which belonged to Bernard Lintot, shews the sums which that bookseller gave to Pope for several of his poems:

"19 Feb. 1711-12. Statius, First Book,

Vertumnus and Pomona..

£. s. d

16 2 6

21st March, 1711-12. First Edition, Rape 70 0
9th April, 1712. To a Lady presenting

Voiture. Upon Silence..

To the Author of a Poem called Successio

}

3 16 0

original composition for the drudgery of translation.1

When his proposals for publishing the Iliad by subscription were circulated, though Pope's chief friendships and connections had been with the whigs, yet the tories were not less ready than their opponents to promote his views. On this occasion, it has been supposed, the foundation of his lasting intimacy with Swift was laid. Of

£. s. d.

23rd Feb. 1712-13. Windsor Forest...... 32 5 0 23rd July, 1713. Ode on St. Cecilia's Day... 15 0 0 20th Feb. 1713-14. Additions to the Rape... 15 0 0 1 Feb. 1714-15. Temple of Fame.

32 5 0

10 15 0

15 0 0."

"I am not," says Mr. D'Israeli, "in all cases confident of the nature of these 'Copies purchased;' those works which were originally published by Lintot, may be considered as purchased at the sums specified: some few might have been subsequent to their first edition. The guinea at that time passing for twenty-one shillings and sixpence, has occasioned the fractions."

D'Israeli's Quarrels of Authors, vol. i. p. 288.

1"I had once a design of giving a taste of all the most celebrated Greek poets, by translating one of their best short pieces at least from each of them. A hymn of Homer, another of Callimachus, an ode or two from Pindar, and so on: and I should have done so, had not I engaged in the translation of the Iliad. What led me into that, which was a work so much more laborious and less suited to my inclination, was purely the want of money. I had then none: not even to buy books."-Spence's Anecdotes, ed. Singer, p. 304.