P. S. I will here in a Poftfcript correct (if it be poffible) the blunders I have made in my letter. I fhewed my Coufin the above letter, and fhe affures me, that a me, great Collection of your letters to are put up and my you, fealed, and in fome very fafe hand + I am, my moft dear and honoured Friend, entirely yours, J. SWIFT. It is now Aug. 24, 'Tis written juft thus in the Original. The Book that is now printed feems to be part of the Collection here fpoken of, as it contains not only the Letters of Mr. Pope but of Dr. Swift, both to him and Mr. Gay, which were return'd him after Mr. Gay's death: tho' any mention made by Mr. P. of the Return or Exchange of Letters has been induftriously supprest in the Publication, and only appears by fome of the Anfwers. "SIR, + The Earl of ORRERY to Mr. POPE. "You may make what ufe you "pleafe, either to the Dean or " any other perfon, of what I have "told you I am ready to teftify it; "and I think it ought to be known, That the Dean fays they are deliver d into a fafe hand, and ‡ Mrs. W— de'clares fhe has them not. The Confequence of their being hereafter 'publish'd may give uneafinefs to fome of your Friends, and of courfe to you: 'fo I would do all in my power to make you entirely eafy in that point.' "This is the first time I have put pen to paper fince my late mistortune, and I fhould fay (as an ex"cufe for this letter) that it has coft but my enquiries were to no purpose, " and I fear, whoever has them is too "tenacious of them to discover where they lie 'Mrs. did affure me fhe had not one of them, and feem'd" to be under great uneafineis that you fhould imagine they were left with her. She likewife told me she had ftop'd the Dean's letter which gave you that information; but believed he would write fuch another; and therefore defir'd me to affure you, from her, that she was totally ignorant where they were.' Marfion, Oct. 4, 1738. me fome pain, did it not allow me "an opportunity to affure you, that "I am, "Dear Sir, "With the trueft esteem, "Your very faithful and obedient Servant, This Lady fince gave Mr. Pope the firongest Affurances that she had ufed her utmost Endeavours to prevent the Publication; nay, went fo far as to fecrete the Book, till it was commanded from her, and delivered to the Dublin Printer: Whereupon her Son-in-law, D. Swift, Efq; infifting upon writing a Preface, to justify Mr. P. from having any Knowledge of it, and to lay on the corrupt Practices of the Printers in London; but this he would not agree to, as not knowing the Truth of the Fact. up LETTERS LETTER S то RALPH ALLEN, Efq. LETTER I. Mr. POPE to Mr. ALLEN. Twitnam, April 30, 1736. Saw Mr. M. yefterday, who has readily allowed Mr. V. to copy the Picture. I have enquired for the best Originals of these two subjects, which, I found, were fayourite ones with you, and well deferve to be fo, the Difcovery of Jofeph to his Brethren, and the Refignation of the Captive by Scipio. Of the latter, my Lord Burlington has a fine one done by Ricci, and I am promised the other in a good Print from one of the chief Italian Painters. That of Scipio is of the exact fize one would wish for a Baffo Relievo, in which manner, in my opinion, you would beft ornament your Hall, done in Chiaro obfcuro. A man not only fhews his Tafte, but his Virtue, in the choice of fuch ornaments: And whatever example moft ftrikes us, we may reafonably imagine, may have an influence upon others. So that the Hiftory itself, if well chofen, upon a rich man's walls, is very often a better leffon than any he could teach by his converfation. In this fenfe, the Stones may be faid to fpeak when Men cannot, or will not. I can't help thinking (and I know you'l 'll join with me, you who have been making an Altar-piece) that the zeal of the first reformers was ill-placed, in, removing Pictures (that is to fay, examples) out of Churches; and yet fuffering Epitaphs (that is to fay, flatteries and falfe hiftory) to be the burthen of Church-walls, and the fhame, as well as derifion, of all honeft men. I have heard little yet of the fubfcription *. I intend to make a visit for a fortnight from home to Lady Peterborow at Southampton, about the middle of May. After my return I will enquire what has been done; and I really believe, what I told you will prove true, and I fhall be honourably acquitted of a task l ́am not fond of +. I have run out my leaf, and will only add my fincere wishes for your happiness of all kinds. Í am, etc. I LETTER II. Mr. POPE to Mr. ALLEN. Southampton, June 5, 1736. Need not fay I thank you for a Letter, which proves fo much friendship for me. I have much more to fay upon it than I can, till we meet. But, in a word, I think your notion of the value of thofe things is greatly too high, as to any fervice they can do to the public; and, as to any advantage they may do to my own character, I ought to be content with what they have done already. I affure you I do not think it the leaft of thofe advantages that they have occafioned me the good-will (in fo great a degree) of fo worthy a man. I fear (as I muft rather retrench than add to their number, unlefs I would publith my own commendations) that the common run of Subfcribers would think themielves injured by not having every thing, which difcretion muft fupprefs; and this, they (without any other confideration than as buyers of a book) would call giving them an imperfect collection whereas the only tie to my own character, as an Author, of fuch a publication, would be the fuppreffion of many things and as to my character as a Man, it would be but juft where it is; unlefs I could be fo vain, for it could not be virtuous, to add more and more honeft fentiments; which, when done to be printed, would furely be wrong and weak alfo. I do grant it would be fome pleasure to me to expunge For his own Edit. of the 1ft Vol. of his Letters; undertaken at Mr. Al Mr. Allen s friendship with the Author was contracted on the reading his Vol. of Letters, which gave the former the highest opinion of the other's ge meral benevolence and goodness of heart. feveral feveral idle paffages, which will otherwife, if not go down to the next age, pafs at leaft, in this, for mine; although many of them were not, and, God knows, none of them are my present sentiments, but, on the contrary, wholly difapproved by me. And I do not flatter you when I fay, that pleasure would be increafed to me, in knowing I fhould do what would please you. But I cannot perfuade myself to let the whole burden, even tho' it were a public good, lie upon you, much less to serve my private fame entirely at another's expence t. But, understand me rightly: Did I believe half so well of them as you do, I would not fcruple your affiftance; because I am fure, that to occafion you to contribute to a real good would be the greateft benefit I could oblige you in. And I hereby promise you, if ever I am fo happy as to find any juft occafion where you generofity and goodness may unite for fuch a worthy end, I will not fcruple to draw upon you for any fum to effect it. As to the prefent affair; that you may be convinced what weight your opinions and your defires have with me, I will do what I have not yet done : I will tell my Friends I am as willing to publish this book as to let it alone. And, rather than fuffer you to be taxed at your own rate, will publish, in the News, next winter, the Propofals, etc. I tell you all these particulars to fhew you how willing I am to follow your advice, nay, to accept your affiftance in any moderate degree. But I think you fhould referve fo great a proof of your benevolence to a better occafion. Since I wrote laft, I have found, on further inquiry, that there is another fine picture on the subject of Scipio and the Captive, by Pietro da Cortona, which Sir Paul Methuen has a sketch of: and, I believe, is more expreffive than that of Ricci, as Pietro is famous for expreffion. I have alfo met with a Print of the Discovery of Jofeph to his Brethren, a defign, which, I fancy, is of La Sueur, and will do perfectly well. I am, etc. Mr. A. offered to print the Letters at his own expence. LETTER LETTER III. Mr. POPE to Mr. ALLEN. for Nov. 6, 1736. Do not write too often to you I many reafons; but one, which I think a good one, is, that Friends fhould be left to think of one another for certain intervals without too frequent memorandums: it is an exercise of their friendship, and a trial of their memory: and moreover to be perpetually repeating affurances, is both a needless and fufpicious kind of treatment with fuch as are fincere: not to add the tautology one must be guilty of, who can make out fo many idle words as to fill pages with faying one thing. For all is faid in this word, I am truly yours. I am now as bufy in planting for my felf, as I was lately in planting for another. And I thank God for every wet Day and for every Fog, that gives me the head-ach, but profpers my works. They will indeed outlive me (if they do not die in their Travels from place to place; for my Garden, like my Life, feems, to me, every day to want correction, I hope at leaft, for the better) but I am pleased to think my Trees will afford fhade and fruit to others, when I fhall want them no more. And it is no fort of grief to me, that thofe others will not be Things of my own poor body But it is enough, they are Creatures of the fame Species, and made by the fame hand that made me. I wifh (if a wifh would tranfport me) to fee you in the fame employment and it is no partiality even to you, to say it would be as pleafing to the full to me, if I could improve your works as my own. Talking of works, mine in profe are above three quarters printed, and will be a book of fifty and more sheets in quarto. As I find, what I imagined, the flowness of fubicribers, I will do all I can to difappoint you in particular, and intend to publifh in January, when the Town fills, an Advertisement, that the book will be delivered by Lady-day, to oblige all that will fubfcribe, to do it. In the mean time, I have printed Receipts, which put an end to any perfon's delaying upon pretence of doubt, by determining that time. I fend you a few that you may fee I am in earneft, endeavouring all I can to fave your money, at the fame time that nothing can leffen the obliga tion to me. VOL. IV. |