PR 
 
 3633 
 A5 
 1769 
 
 Pope 
 Letters
 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 LETTERS 
 
 OF THE LATE 
 
 ALEXANDER POPE, Efq. 
 
 TO 
 
 A LADY. 
 
 Never before publiflied 
 
 LONDON, 
 
 Printed for J. DODSLEY, in Pali-Mall. 
 
 M D C C L X I X,
 
 I
 
 pfi 
 
 ( v ] 3^33 
 
 /76f 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 THESE Letters, befides the 
 naivete of the ftyle, the quick 
 failles of an ingenious mind, and 
 the graver obfervations of re- 
 flection and judgment, difcover 
 the Writer's Heart to have had a 
 more amiable fenfibility, and to 
 be tindured with more good- 
 nefs, than his other Writings of 
 this fort do. 
 
 A 3 IT
 
 IT may be proper juft to men- 
 tion, that the Originals of thefe 
 Letters are in Mr. Dodfley's 
 Poffeffion. 
 
 MR.
 
 7 ] 
 
 MR. POPE'S 
 
 LETTERS. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 JVI D A M, 
 
 Twitenham, O&. 18. 
 
 WE are indebted to Heaven 
 for all things, and above 
 all for our fenfe and genius (in what- 
 
 ever
 
 8 MR. POPE'S 
 
 eVer degree we have it) ; but to fan- 
 cy yourfelf indebted to any thing elfe, 
 moves my anger at your modefty. The 
 regard I muft bear you, ferioufly pro- 
 ceeds from myfelf alone; and I will 
 not fuffer even one I like fo much as 
 Mrs. II. to have a mare in caufing it. 
 I challenge a kind of relation to you 
 on the foul's fide, which I take to be 
 better than either on a father's or 
 mother's ; and if you can overlook an 
 ugly body (that (lands much in the 
 way of any friendmip, when it is be- 
 tween different fexes) I {hall hope to 
 find you a true and conftant kinfwo- 
 
 man
 
 LETTERS. 9 
 
 man in Apollo. Not that I would 
 place all my pretenfions upon that 
 poetical foot, much leis confine them 
 to it ; I am far more defirous to be 
 admitted as yours, on the more meri- 
 torious title of friendship. I have 
 ever believed this as a facred maxim, 
 that the moft ingenious natures 
 were the moft fincere; and the moft 
 knowing and fenfible minds made the 
 beft friends. Of all thofe that I have 
 thought it the felicity of my life to 
 know, I have ever found the moft 
 diftinguimed in capacity, the moft 
 diftinguimed in morality : and thofe 
 B the
 
 io M R. P O P E 'S 
 
 the mod to be depended on, whom 
 one efteemed fo much as to defire 
 they mould be fo. I beg you to make 
 me no more compliments. I could 
 make you a great many, but I know 
 you neither need them, nor can like 
 them : be fo good as to think I do not. 
 In one word, your writings are very 
 good, and very entertaining j but not 
 fo good, nor fo entertaining, as your 
 life and converfation. One is but 
 the effect and emanation of the other. 
 It will always be a greater pleafure to, 
 me, to know you are well, than that 
 you write well, though every time 
 
 vou
 
 LETTERS. ii 
 
 you tell me the one, I muft know the 
 other. I am willing to fpare your 
 modeftyj and therefore, as to your 
 writing, may perhaps never {ay more 
 (directly to you rfelf) than the fewver- 
 fes I fend here; which (as a proof of 
 my own modefty too) 1 made fo long 
 ago as the day you fate foryour picture, 
 and yet never till now durfl confefs to 
 you. 
 
 Tho' fprightly Sappho force our love and praife, 
 
 A fofter wonder my pleas'd foul furveys, 
 
 The mild Erinna, blufliing in her bays. 
 
 So while the fun's broad beam yet ftrikes the fight, 
 
 All mild appears the moon's more fober light, 
 
 Serene, in virgin majefty, (he fhines ; 
 
 And, un-obferved, the glaring fun declines. 
 
 B 2 THE
 
 12 MR. POPE'S 
 
 THE brighteft wit in the world, 
 without the better qualities of the 
 heart, muft meet with this fate j and 
 tends only to endear fuch a character 
 as I take yours to be. In the better 
 difcovery, and fuller conviction of 
 which, I have a ftrong opinion, I 
 fhall grow more and more happy, the 
 longer I live your acquaintance, and 
 (if you will indulge me in fo much 
 pleafure) 
 
 Your faithful friend, and moft 
 obliged fervant, 
 
 A. POPE. 
 LET-
 
 LETTERS. 13 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 MADAM, 
 
 Twitenham, Nov. 5. 
 
 THOUGH I am extremely 
 obliged by your agreeable let- 
 ter, I will avoid all mention of the 
 pleafure you give me, that we may 
 have no more words about compli- 
 ments ; which I have often obferved 
 people talk themfelves into, while 
 
 they
 
 .14 M R. P O P E'S 
 
 they endeavour to talk themfelves out 
 of. It is no more the diet of friend- 
 flhip an'd efteem, than a few thin wa- 
 fers and marmalade were of fo hearty 
 a ftomach as Sancho's. In a word, 
 I am very proud of my new relation, 
 and like ParnafTus much the better, 
 fince I found I had fo good a neigh- 
 bour there. Mrs. H , who lives 
 
 at court, (hall teach two country-folks 
 fincerity ; and when I am fo happy 
 as to meet you, {he mall fettle the 
 proportions of that regard, or good- 
 nature, which (he can allow you to 
 fpare me, from a heart, which is fo 
 
 much her own as yours is. 
 
 THAT
 
 LETTERS. 15 
 
 THAT lady is the mod trufty of 
 friends, if the imitation of Shakefpear 
 be yours ; for (he made me give my 
 opinion of it with afiurance it was 
 
 none of Mrs . . I honeftly liked 
 
 and praifed it, whofe-foever it was; 
 there is in it a fenfible melancholy, 
 and too true a pifture of human life; 
 fo true an one, that I can fcarce wifli 
 the verfes yours at the expence of 
 your thinking that way, fo early. 
 I rather wifli you may love the town 
 (which the author of thofe lines can- 
 not immoderately do) thefe many years. 
 
 It
 
 i6 MR. P O P E'S 
 
 It is time enough to like, or affect to 
 like, the country, when one is out of 
 love with all but one's-felf, and therefore 
 ftudies to become agreeable or eafy to 
 one's-felf. Retiring into one's-felf is 
 generally the pis-aller of mankind,. 
 Would you have me defcribe my fo- 
 litude and grotto to you? what if, 
 after a long and painted defcription 
 of them in verfe (which the writer 
 I have juft been fpeaking of could 
 better make, if I can guefs by that 
 line, 
 
 No noife but water, ever friend to thought) 
 i what
 
 LETTERS. 17 
 
 what if it ended thus ? 
 
 What are the falling rills, the pendant fliades> 
 The morning bow'rs, the evening colonnades j 
 But foft recefles for th' uneafy mind, 
 To figh un-heard in, to the paffing wind! 
 Lo ! the ftruck deer, in fome fequefter'd parr^ 
 Lies down to die (the arrow in his heart) ; 
 There hid in {hades, and wafting day by day* 
 Inly he bleeds, arid pants his foul away. 
 
 If thefe lines want poetry, they do 
 not want fenfe. God Almighty long 
 preferve you from a feeling of them-! 
 The book you mention, Bruyere's 
 Characters, will make any one know 
 the world -, and I believe at the fame 
 C time
 
 jg MR. POP E'S 
 
 time defpife it (which is a fign it will 
 make one know it thoroughly). It is 
 certainly the proof of a matter-hand, 
 that can give fuch ftriking likenefTes, 
 in fuch flight fketches, and in fo few 
 ftrokes on each fubject. In anfwer 
 to your queftion about Shakefpear, the 
 book is about a quarter printed, and 
 the number of emendations very great. 
 I have never indulged my own con- 
 jectures, but kept meerly to fuch 
 amendments as are authorized by old 
 editions, in the author's life -time: 
 but I think it will be a year at leaft 
 before the whole work can be finim- 
 
 cd.
 
 LETTERS. i 9 
 
 ed. In reply to your very handfome 
 (I wifh it were a very true) compliment 
 upon this head, I only defire you to 
 obferve, by what natural, gentle de- 
 grees I have funk to the humble thing 
 I now am : firft from a pretending 
 poet to a critick, then to a low tran- 
 flator, laftly to a meer publifher. I 
 am apprehenfive I mall be nothing 
 that's of any value, long, except, 
 
 Madam, 
 
 Your moft obliged, and 
 moft faithful humble 
 fervant, 
 
 A. POPE. 
 
 C 2 I long
 
 2 o MR. P O P E'S 
 
 I long for your return to town $ 
 a place I am unfit for, but fhall 
 not be long out of, as foon as I 
 know I may be permitted to. 
 wait on you there. 
 
 LET-
 
 LETTERS. 21 
 
 &&i^^ 
 
 LETTER IIL 
 
 MADAM, 
 
 Thurfday night, 
 
 T T was an agreeable furprize to me* 
 -*- to hear of your fettlement in town. 
 I lye at my Lord Peterborow's in 
 Bolton-ftreet, where any commands 
 of yours will reach me to-morrow, 
 only on Saturday-evening I am pre- 
 engaged. If Mrs. H be to be en- 
 gaged
 
 2 MR. POPE'S 
 
 gaged (and if fhe is by any creature, 
 it is by you), I hope fhe will join us. 
 I am, with great truth, 
 
 Madam, 
 
 Your mofl faithful friend, 
 and obliged fervant, 
 
 A. P O P E. 
 
 LET-
 
 LETTERS. 23 
 
 LE T T E R IV. 
 
 MADAM, 
 
 T COULD not play the imperti- 
 
 - nent fo far as to write to you, 
 till I was encouraged to it by a piece 
 
 of news Mrs H tells me, which 
 
 ought to be the moil agreeable in the 
 world to any author, That you are 
 determined to write no more It is 
 now the time then, not for me only, 
 
 but
 
 24 MR. P O P E'S 
 
 but for every body> to write without 
 fear, or wit : and I {hall give you the 
 firft example here. But for this aflu* 
 ranee, it would be every way too dan* 
 geroustocorrefpondwith a lady,whofe 
 very firft fight and very firft writings 
 bad fuch an effect., upon a man ufed 
 to what they call fine fights, and 
 what they call fine writings. Yet 
 he has been dull enough to. fleep qui^ 
 etly, after all he has feen, and all he 
 has read; till yours broke in upon 
 his ftupidity and indolence, and totally 
 deftroyed it. But, God be thanked, 
 you will write no more ; fo I am in 
 5 no
 
 LETTERS. 25 
 
 no danger of increafing my admira- 
 tion of you one way ; and as to the 
 othef, you will never (I have too 
 much reafon to fear) open thefe eyes 
 again with one glimpfe of you. 
 
 I AM told, you named lately in a 
 letter a place called Twitenham, with 
 particular diftin&ion. That you may 
 not be mif-conftrued and have your 
 meaning miftaken for the future, I 
 muft acquaint you, Madam, that the 
 
 name of the place where Mrs. H 
 
 is, is not Twitenham, but Rich- 
 mond ; which your ignorance in the 
 D geography
 
 26 M.R. POPE'S 
 
 geography of thefe parts has made 
 you confound together. You will 
 unthinkingly do honour to a paltry 
 hermitage (while you (peak of Twi- 
 tcnham) where lives a creature alto- 
 gether unworthy your memory or 
 notice, becaufe he really wi fh.es he 
 had never beheld you, nor yours. 
 You have fpoiled him for a folitaire, 
 and a book, all the days of his life; 
 and put him into fuch a condition, 
 that he thinks of nothing, and en- 
 quires of nothing but after a perfon 
 who has nothing to fay to him, and 
 has left him for ever without hope of 
 
 ever
 
 LETTERS. 27 
 
 ever again regarding, or pleadng, or 
 entertaining him, much lefs of feeing 
 him. He has been fo mad with the 
 idea of her, as to fleal her picture, 
 and pafles whole days in fitting before 
 it, talking to himfelf, and (as fome 
 people imagine) making verfes; but 
 it is no fuch matter, for as long as he 
 can get any of hers, he can never turn 
 his head to his own, it is fo much 
 better entertained. 
 
 D 2 LET-
 
 28 MR. P O P E * S 
 
 L E T T E R V. 
 
 MADAM, 
 
 T A M touched with fhame when I 
 ^ look on the date of your letter. 
 I have anfwered it a hundred times 
 in my own mind, which I affurc you 
 has few thoughts, either fo frequent 
 or fo lively, as thofe relating to you. 
 I am fenfibly obliged by you, in the 
 comfort you endeavour to give me 
 
 upon
 
 LETTERS. 29 
 
 upon the lofs of a friend. It is like 
 the mower we have had this morning, 
 that juft makes the drooping trees 
 hold up their heads, but they remain 
 checked and withered at the root : 
 the benediction is but a Chort relief, 
 though it comes from Heaven itfelf. 
 The lofs of a friend is the lofs of life -, 
 after that is gone from us, it is all 
 but a gentler decay, and wafting and 
 lingering a little longer. I was the 
 other day forming a wim for a lady's 
 happinefs, upon her birth-day: and 
 thinking of the greateft climax of fe- 
 licity I could raife, ftep by ftep, to 
 i end
 
 3 o MR. POPE'S 
 
 end in this a Friend. I fancy I 
 have fucceeded in the gradation, and 
 fend you the whole copy to afk your 
 opinion, or (which is much the better 
 reafon) to defire you to alter it to your 
 own wifli : for I believe you are a 
 woman that can wifh for yourfelf 
 more reafonably, than I can for you. 
 
 Mrs. H made me promife her a 
 
 copy; and to the end fhe may value 
 it, I beg it may be tranfcribed, and 
 fent her by you. 
 
 To
 
 LETTERS. 
 
 To a Lady, on her Birth -day, 
 
 Oh ! be thou bleft with all that heaven can fend : 
 Long'lifc, long youth, long pleafure and a friend ! 
 Not with thofe toys the woman-world admire, 
 Riches that vex, and vanities that tire : 
 Let joy, or eafe; let affluence, or content ; 
 And the giy confcience of a life well-fpenr, 
 Calm every thought; infpirit every grace; 
 Glow in thy heart; and fmile upon thy fa& ! 
 Let day improve on day, and year on year; 
 Without a pain, a trouble, or a fear! 
 And ah ! (fmce death muft that dear frame deftroy), 
 Dye by fome fudden extacy of joy: 
 In fome foft dream may thy mild foul remove, 
 And be thy lateft gafp, a figh of love ! 
 
 PRAY,
 
 32 MR. POPE'S 
 
 PRAY, Madam, let me fee this 
 
 mended in your copy to Mrs. H ; 
 
 and let it be an exadl fcheme of hap- 
 pinefs drawn, and I hope enjoyed, 
 by yourfelf. To whom I affure you 
 I wifh it all, as much as you wim it 
 her. 
 
 1 am always, with true refpect, 
 Madam, 
 
 Your moil faithful friend, 
 and mofl humble fervant, 
 A. POPE. 
 
 LET-
 
 LETTERS. 
 
 33 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 MADAM, 
 
 Twitenham, Aug. 29. 
 
 *KT O U R laft letter tells me, that 
 
 -* if I do not write in lefs than a 
 
 month, you will fancy the length of 
 
 yours frighted me. A confcioufnefs 
 
 that I had upon me of omitting too 
 
 long to anfwer it, made me look (not 
 
 without fome fear and trembling) for 
 
 E the
 
 34 M R. P O P E 'S 
 
 the date of it: but there happened to 
 be none ; and I hope, either that you 
 have forgot how long it is, or at leaft 
 that you cannot think it fo long as I 
 do, iince I writ to you. Indeed a 
 multitude of things (which lingly 
 feeni trifles, and yet altogether make 
 a vaft deal of bufmefs, and wholly take 
 up that time which we ought to value 
 above all fuch things) have from day 
 to day made me wanting, as well to 
 my own greatefl pleafure in this, as 
 to my own greatefl concerns in other 
 points. If I ieem- to negled: any 
 friend I have, I do more than feem to 
 2 neglect
 
 LETTERS. 35 
 
 negleft myfelf, as I find daily by the 
 increafing ill conftitution of my body 
 and mind. I ftill refolve this courfe 
 {hall not, nay I fee it cannot, be long ; 
 and I determine to retreat within 
 myfelf to the only bufmefs I was born 
 for, and which I am only good for 
 (if I am entitled to ufe that phrafe for 
 any thing). It is great folly to fa- 
 crifice one's felf, one's time, one's 
 quiet (the very life of life itfelf ), to 
 forms, complaifances, and amufe- 
 ments, which do not inwardly pleafe 
 me, and only pleafe a fort of people 
 
 who regard me no farther than a 
 E 2 meer
 
 36 MR. POPE'S 
 
 meer inftrument of their prefent idle- 
 nefs, or vanity. To fay truth, the 
 lives of thofe we call great and happy 
 are divided between thofe two ftates; 
 and in each of them, we poetical fid- 
 lers make but part of their pleafure, 
 or of their equipage. And the mi- 
 fery is, we, in our turns, are fo vain 
 (at leaft I have been fo) as to chufe 
 to pipe without being paid, and fo 
 filly to be pleafed with piping to 
 thofe who underftand mufick lefs than 
 ourfelves. They have put me of late 
 upon a talk before I was aware, which 
 I am fick and fore of : and yet enga^ 
 
 ged
 
 LETTERS. 37 
 
 ged in honour to fome perfons whom 
 I muft neither difobey nor difappoint 
 (I mean two or three in the world 
 only) to go on with it. They make 
 me do as mean a thing as the greateft 
 man of them could do ; feem to de 
 pend, and to folicit, when I do not 
 want; and make a kind of court to 
 thofe above my rank, juft as they do 
 to thofe above theirs, when we might 
 much more wifely and agreeably live 
 of ourfelves, and to ourfelves. You 
 will eafily find I am talking of my 
 tranflating the OdyfTey by fubfcrip- 
 
 tion : which looks, it mull needs 
 
 look,
 
 38 MR. POPE'S 
 
 look, to all the world as a defign of 
 mine both upon fame and money, 
 when in truth I believe I (hall get 
 neither; for one I go about without 
 any ftomach, and the other I (hall not 
 go about at all. 
 
 THIS freedom of opening my 
 mind upon my own fituation will be 
 a proof of truft, and of an opinion 
 your goodnefs of nature has made me 
 entertain, that you never profefs any 
 degree of good-will without being 
 pretty warm in it. So I tell you my 
 grievances ; I hope in God you have 
 
 none,
 
 LETTERS. 39 
 
 none, wherewith to make me any 
 return of this kind. I hope that 
 was the only one which you commu- 
 nicated in your laft, about Mrs. 
 H iilence; for which me want- 
 ed not reproaches from me; and has 
 iince, (he fays, amply atoned for. I 
 fawa few lines of yours to her, which 
 are more obliging to me than I could 
 have imagined : if you put my 'welfare 
 into the fmall number of things which 
 you heartily wi(h (for a fenfible per- 
 fon, of either fex, will never wim 
 for many), I ought to be a happier 
 man than I ever yet deferved to be. 
 
 UPON
 
 40 MR. POPE'S 
 
 U P o N a review of your papers, I 
 have repented of fome of the trivial 
 alterations I had thought of, which 
 were \ 7 ery few. I would rather keep 
 them till I have the fatisfa&ion to 
 meet you in the winter, which I muft 
 beg earneftly to do ; for hitherto 
 methinks you are to me like a fpirit 
 of another world, a being I admire, 
 but have no commerce with : I can- 
 not tell but I am writing to a Fairy, 
 \vho has left me fome favours, which 
 I fecretly enjoy, and (hall think it 
 
 unlucky,
 
 LETTERS. 41 
 
 unlucky, if not fatal, to part with. 
 So pray do not expect your verfes till 
 farther acquaintance. 
 
 LET-
 
 42 M R. P O P E*S 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 MADAM, 
 
 Twitenham, Sept. 30, 1722. 
 
 O confidence is fo great, as that 
 one receives from perfons one 
 knows may be believed, and in things 
 one is 'willing to believe. I have (at 
 laft) acquired this ; by Mrs. H 
 repeated aflurances of a thing I am 
 * unfeign-
 
 LETTERS. 43 
 
 unfeignedly fo defirous of, as your 
 allowing me to correfpond with you. 
 In good earned, there is fometimes 
 in men as well as in women, a great 
 deal of unaffe&ed modefty : and I 
 was fincere all along, when I told her 
 perfonally, and told you by my filence, 
 that I feared only to feem imperti- 
 nent, while perhaps I feemed negli- 
 gent, to you. To tell Mrs. 
 
 any thing like what I really thought 
 of her, would have looked fo like 
 the common traffick of compliment, 
 that pays only to receive; and to have 
 told it her in diftant or bafhful terms, 
 F 2 would
 
 44 M R. P O P E ' S 
 
 would have appeared fo like coldnefs 
 in my fenfe of good qualities (which 
 I cannot find out in any one, without 
 feeling, from my nature, at the fame 
 time a great warmth for them) that J 
 was quite at a lofs what to write, or 
 in what ftile, to you. But I am re- 
 folved, plainly to get over all objec- 
 tions, and faithfully to affure you, if 
 you will help a bamful man to be paft 
 all preliminaries, and forms, I am 
 ready to treat with you for your 
 friendship. I know (without more 
 ado) you have a valuable foul ; and 
 wit, fenfe, and worth enough, to make 
 
 me
 
 LETTERS. 45 
 
 me reckon it (provided you will per- 
 mit it) one of the happinefTes of my 
 life to have been made acquainted 
 with you. 
 
 I DO not know, on the other hand, 
 what you can think of me; but this, 
 for a beginning, I will venture to en- 
 gage, that whoever takes me for a 
 poet, or a wit (as they call it), takes 
 me for a creature of lefs value than I 
 am : and that where-ever I profefs* it, 
 you mall find me a much better man, 
 that is, a much better friend, or at 
 leaft a much lefs faulty one, than I 
 
 am
 
 46 MR. POPE'S 
 
 am a poet. That whatever zeal I 
 may have, or whatever regard I may 
 mew, for things I truly am fo pleafed 
 with as your entertaining writings; 
 yet I mall ftill have more for your 
 perfon, and for your health, and for 
 your happinefs, I would, with as 
 much readinefs, play the apothecary 
 or the nurfe, to mend your head-akes, 
 as I would play the critick to improve 
 your verfes. I have feriouily looked 
 over and over thofe you intruded me 
 with ; and allure you, Madam, I 
 would as foon cheat in any other 
 truft, as in this. I fmcerely tell you, 
 
 I can
 
 LETTERS- 47 
 
 I can mend them very little, and 
 only in trifles, not worth writing 
 about j but will tell you every tittle 
 when I have the happinefs to fee 
 you. 
 
 I A M more concerned than you 
 can reasonably believe, for the ill 
 ftate of health you are at prefent 
 under : but I will appeal to time, to 
 fliew you how fincerely I am (if I 
 live long enough to prove myfelf what 
 I truly am) 
 Madam, 
 
 Your mofl faithful fervant, 
 A. POPE. 
 I am
 
 48 MR. POPE'S 
 
 I am very fick all the while I write 
 this letter, which I hope will 
 be an excufe for its being fo 
 fcribbled. 
 
 LET-
 
 LETTERS. 49 
 
 i ... 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 MADAM, 
 
 Twitenham, Nov. 9. 
 
 TTT happened that when I deter- 
 * mined to anfwer yours, by the 
 poft that followed my receipt of it, 
 I was prevented from the firft proof 
 I have had the happinefs to give you 
 of my warmth and readinefs, in re- 
 G turning
 
 5 o MR. POP E'S 
 
 turning the epitaph, with my fincere 
 condolements with you on that me- 
 lancholy fubjedt. But neverthelefs I 
 refolved to fend you the one, though 
 unattended by the other: I begged 
 
 Mrs. H to inclofe it, that you 
 
 might at leaft fee I had not the 
 power to delay a moment the do- 
 ing what you bid me ; efpecial- 
 }y when the occafion of obeying 
 your commands was fuch, as muft 
 affeft every admirer and well-wifh- 
 er of honour and virtue in the na- 
 tion. 
 
 : YOU
 
 LETTERS. 5 t 
 
 You had it in the very blots, the 
 better to compare the places; and 
 I can only fay it was done to the 
 beft of my judgement, and to the 
 extent of my fincerity. 
 
 I D o not wonder that you decline 
 the poetical amufement I propofed to 
 you, at this time. I know (from 
 what little I know of your heart) 
 enough at leaft to convince me, it 
 muft be too deeply concerned at the 
 lofs, not only of fo great, and fo near 
 a relation $ but of a good man (a lofs 
 G 2 this
 
 52 MR. P O P E'S 
 
 this age can hardly ever afford to 
 bear, and not often can fuftain). Yet 
 perhaps it is one of the beft things 
 that can be faid of poetry, that it 
 helps us to pafs over the toils and 
 troubles of this tirefome journey, our 
 life; as horfes are encouraged and 
 fpirited up, the better to bear their 
 labour, by the jingling of bells about 
 their heads. Indeed, as to myfelf, I 
 have been ufed to this odd cordial, fo 
 long, that it has no effecl: upon me: 
 but you, Madam, are in your honey- 
 moon of poetry; you have feen only 
 the fmiles, and enjoyed the carefies, 
 
 of
 
 LETTERS. 53 
 
 of Apollo. Nothing is fo pleafant 
 to a Mufe as the firft children of the 
 imagination 5 but when once fhe 
 comes to find it meer conjugal duty, 
 and the care of her numerous progeny 
 daily grows upon her, it is all a four 
 tax for paft pleafure, As the Pfalmift 
 fays on another occafion, the age of 
 a Mufe is fcarce above five and twen- 
 ty : all the reft is labour and forrow. 
 I find by experience that his own 
 fiddle is no great pleafure to a com* 
 mon fidler, after once the firft good 
 conceit of himfelf is loft. 
 
 I LONG
 
 ! 54 M R. P O P E'S 
 
 , 
 I LONG at laft to be acquainted 
 
 with you ; and Mrs.. H tells me, 
 
 you. fhall foon be in town, and I bleft 
 with the vifion I have fb long defined. 
 Pray believe I worfhip you as much, 
 and fend my addrefTes to you as often* 
 as to any female Saint in Heaven: it 
 is certain I fee you as little, unlefs it 
 be in my ileep ; and that way too, 
 holy hermits are vifited by the Saints 
 themfelves. 
 
 I AM, without figures and meta- 
 phors, yours: and hope you will 
 
 think, 

 
 LETTERS. 55 
 
 think, I have fpent all my fi&ion in 
 my poetry ; fo that I have nothing 
 but plain truth left for my profe; 
 with which I am ever, 
 
 Madam, 
 
 Your faithful 
 
 humble fervant. 
 
 LET-
 
 MR. P O P E'S 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 MADAM, 
 
 Five o'clock. 
 
 T THINK it a full proof of that 
 "* unlucky ftar, which upon too ma- 
 ny occafions I have experienced ; that 
 this firft, this only day that I fhould 
 2 have
 
 LETTERS. 57 
 
 fiave owned happy beyond expec- 
 tation (for I did riot till yefterday 
 hope to have feen you fo foon) I 
 muft be forced not to do it. I 
 am too fick (indeed very ill) to go 
 out fo far, and lie on a bed at my 
 doctor's houfe, as a kind of force 
 upon him to get me better with all 
 hafte. 
 
 I A M fcarce able to fee thefe few 
 lines I write; to wifti you health and 
 pleafure enough not to mifs me to- 
 day, and myfelf patience to bear 
 H being
 
 58 MR. POPE'S 
 
 being abfent from you as well as I can 
 being ill. 
 
 I am truly, 
 
 Your faithful fervant, 
 
 A. POPE, 
 
 LET-
 
 LETTERS. 59 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 MADAM, 
 
 Jan. 17, 1724. 
 
 \ FTER a very long expeda- 
 * *" tion and daily hopes of the fa- 
 tisfa&ion of feeing and converting 
 with you, I am (till deprived of it in 
 a manner that is the moft afflidling, 
 becaufe it is occafioned by your ill- 
 H 2 nefs
 
 6.0 MR. POPE r S 
 
 nefs and your misfortune. I can 
 bear my own, I allure you, much 
 better: and thus to find you loft to 
 me, at the time that I hoped to have 
 regained you, doubles the concern I 
 mould naturally feel in being de- 
 prived of any pleafure whatever.. 
 
 MRS. H . can beft exprefs to 
 
 you the concern of a friend, who 
 efteems and pities: for me has the 
 liberty to exprefs it in her actions, and 
 the fatisfaction of attending on you 
 in your indifpofition. 
 
 I WISH
 
 LETTERS. 61 
 
 I WISH fincerely your condition 
 were not fuch as to debar me from 
 telling you in perfon how truly I am 
 yours. I wi(h I could do you any 
 little offices of friendmip, or give you 
 any amufements, or help you to what 
 people in your prefent ftate moft want r 
 better fpirits. If reading to you, or 
 writing to you, could contribute ta 
 entertain your hours, or to raife you 
 to a livelier relifh of life, how well 
 fliould I think my time employed ! 
 indeed I fhould, and think it a much 
 better end of my poor fludies, thaii 
 
 all
 
 62 MR. P O P E'S 
 
 all the vanities of fame, or views of a 
 character that way, whieh engage 
 moft men of my fraternity. 
 
 IF you thoroughly knew the zeal 
 with which I am your fervant, you 
 would take fome notice of the ad- 
 vice I would give you, and fuffer it 
 to have a weight with you propor- 
 tionable to the fincerity with which 
 it is given. 
 
 I B E G you to do your utmoft to 
 
 call to you all the fuccours, which 
 
 i your
 
 LETTERS. 63 
 
 your own good fenfe and natural re- 
 flexion can fuggeft, to avoid a melan- 
 choly way of thinking, and to throw 
 up your fpirits by intervals of mode- 
 rate company ; not to let your diftem- 
 per fix itfelf upon your mind at leaft, 
 though it will not entirely quit your 
 body. Do not indulge too much 
 folitarinefs. Though moft company 
 be not proper or fupportable during 
 your illnefs, force yourfelf to enter 
 into fuch as is good and reafonable, 
 where you may have your liberty, 
 and be under no reftraint, 
 
 WHY
 
 MR. POPE'S 
 
 W H Y will you not come to your 
 
 friend Mrs. H , flnce you are 
 
 able to go out, and fince motion is 
 certainly good for your health ? why 
 will you not make any little fets of 
 fuch as you are eafieft with, to fit 
 with you fometimes ? 
 
 Do not think I have any interefled 
 aim in this advice : though I long to 
 fee you, and to try to amufe you, I 
 would not for the world be confi- 
 dered as one that would ever require 
 
 for
 
 LETTERS. 65 
 
 for my own gratification, any thing 
 that might either be improper or 
 hurtful to you. 
 
 PRAY let me know, by our friend 
 
 Mrs. H- , if there can be any 
 
 thing in my power to ferve, or to 
 amufe you. But ufe me fo kindly, 
 as not to think ever of writing to me 
 till you are fo well as that I may 
 fee you, and then it will be need- 
 lefs. Do not even read this, if it 
 be the leaft trouble to your eyes or 
 head. 
 
 I BELIEVE
 
 66 MR. POPE'S 
 
 BELIEVE me, with great refpeft, 
 and the warmeft good wifhes for your 
 fpeedy recovery, 
 
 Madam, 
 
 Your moft faithful, 
 
 and moft humble fervant* 
 A. P O P E. 
 
 LET-
 
 L E T T E II S. 67 
 
 LETTER XL 
 
 MADAM, 
 
 Twitenham, June 2, 1723. 
 
 IT was an inexprefllble pleafure to 
 me to fee your letter, as I aflure 
 you it had long been a great trouble, 
 to refledt on the melancholy reafon 
 of your filence and abfence. It was 
 I 2 that
 
 68 M R. P O P E ' S 
 
 that only which hindered my wri- 
 ting, not only again, but often, to 
 you; for fear your good-nature 
 mould have been prompted to oblige 
 me too much at your own expence, 
 by anfwering. Indeed I never ex- 
 prefled (and never mail be able to 
 exprefs) more concern and good wim- 
 es for you, than I mail ever feel for 
 one of your merit. 
 
 I A M forry, the moment you grow 
 better, to have you fnatcht from 
 thofe, who I may fay deferve the plea- 
 fure of feeing you in health, for 
 
 having
 
 LETTERS. 69 
 having fo long lamented and felt your 
 
 MRS. H - , I hope, will find 
 it not impoffible to draw you to 
 Richmond: and if not, I dare fay 
 will not be long out of Hertfordfhire. 
 I want nothing but the fame happy 
 pretence (he has, of a title through 
 your friendship, and the privilege of 
 her fex, to be there immediately. 
 I cannot but wonder you have not 
 heard from her, though I (hould 
 wonder if any body elfe had ; for I 
 am told by her family flic has had 
 
 much
 
 70 MR. POPE'S 
 
 much of the head-ake at Bath, be- 
 fides the excufe of a great giddinefs 
 occafioned naturally by the waters. 
 I writ to her at the firft going, and 
 have not had a word from her; and 
 now you tell me the fame thing, I 
 conclude me has been worfe than I 
 imagined. I hear me returns on 
 Wednefday, when I mall have the fa- 
 tisfaction (I doubt not) to talk and 
 hear a great deal of Mrs. . 
 
 I WISH I could fay any thing, ei- 
 ther to comfort you when ill, or en- 
 tertain
 
 LETTERS, ji 
 
 tertain you when well. Though 
 nothing could, in the proper proporv 
 tion of friendship, more affect me than 
 your condition ; I have not wanted 
 other occafions of great melancholy, 
 of which the leaft is the lofs of part 
 of my fortune by a late act of parlia- 
 ment. 
 
 I AM at prefent in the afflicting 
 circumftance of taking my laft leave 
 of one of the * trueft friends I ever 
 had, and one of the greateft men in 
 all polite learning, as well as the mod 
 
 * Bifhop Atterbury. 
 
 agreeable
 
 72 MR. POPE'S 
 
 agreeable companion, this nation ever 
 had. 
 
 I REALLY do not love life fo dear- 
 ly, or fo weakly, as to value it on any 
 ether fcore, than for that portion of 
 happinefs which a friend only can be- 
 ftow upon it : or, if I muft want that 
 myfelf, for the pleafure which is next 
 it, of feeing deferving and virtuous 
 people happy. So that indeed I want 
 comfort; and the greateft I can re- 
 ceive from you (at leaft unlefs I were 
 fo happy as to deferve what I never 
 can) will be to hear you grow better 
 
 till
 
 LETTERS. 73 
 
 till you grow perfectly well, perfectly 
 eafy, and perfectly happy, which no 
 one more fincerely willies than, 
 
 Madam, 
 
 Your faithful and obliged 
 friend and fervant, 
 A. POPE. 
 
 K LET-
 
 74 M R. F O P E'S 
 
 
 
 \/ .. ' .. .. ,.*-.. .. .. -.. * , 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 MADAM, 
 
 Twitenham, Sept. 26, 1723.- 
 
 T T would be a vanity in me to tell 
 you why I trouble you fo foon 
 again : I cannot imagine myfelf of 
 the number of thofe correfpondents 
 whom you call favourite ones ; yet I 
 
 know
 
 LETTERS. 75 
 
 know it is thought, that induftry may 
 make a man what merit cannot : atad 
 if an old maxim of my Lord Oxford's 
 be true, That in England if a man 
 refolve to be any thing, and conflant- 
 ly flick to it, he may (even a Lord 
 Treafurer): if fo, I fay, it {hall not 
 be want of refolution that (hall hinder 
 me from being a favourite. In good 
 earneft, I am more ambitious of being 
 fo to you, Madarn, than I ever was, 
 pr ever (hall be, of being one to any 
 Prince, or (which is more) any 
 Prince's Minifter, in Chriftendom. 
 
 K 2 I WISH
 
 76 . M R. P p P E'S 
 
 I WISH I could tell you any agreea-r 
 ble news of what your heart is con- 
 cerned in j but I have a fort of quar- 
 rel to Mrs. H for not loving 
 
 herfelf fo well as {he does her friends ; 
 for thofe {he makes happy, but not 
 herfelf. 
 
 THERE is an air of fadnefs 
 about her which grieves me, and 
 which, I have learnt by experience, 
 will increafe upon an indolent (I will 
 not fay an affected) refignation to it. 
 
 It
 
 LETTERS. 77 
 
 It will do fo in men, and much more 
 in women, who have a natural foft- 
 nefs that links them even when rea- 
 fon does not. This I tell you in con- 
 fidence ; and pray give our friend 
 fuch hints as may put her out of hu- 
 mour with melancholy : your cen-r 
 fure, or even your raillery, may 
 have more weight with her than 
 mine : a man cannot either fo de- 
 cently, or fo delicately, take upon 
 him to be a phyfkian in thefe con- 
 cealed diftempers. 
 
 You
 
 M R. P O P E'S 
 
 You fee, Madam, I proceed in 
 trufting you with things that nearly 
 concern me. In my laft letter I fpoke 
 but of a trifle, myfelf : in this I ad- 
 vance farther, and fpeak of what 
 touches me more, a friend. 
 
 THIS beautiful feafon will raife up 
 ib many rural images and defcriptions 
 in a poetical mind, that I expect, you, 
 and all fuch as you (if there be any 
 .fuch), at leaft all who are not down- 
 right dull tranflators, like your fer- 
 - i vant,
 
 LETTERS. 79 
 
 vant, muft neceffarily be productive 
 of verfes. 
 
 I LATELY faw a iketch this 
 on the bovver of *BEDINGTON: I 
 
 could 
 
 * The lines here alluded to are as follows : 
 
 In Tempe's (hades the living lyre was ftrung* 
 And the firft Pope (immortal Phoebus) fung, 
 Thefe happy {hades, where equal beauty reigns, 
 Bold rifing hills, flant vales, and far-ftretch'd plains^ 
 The grateful verdure of the waving woods, 
 The foothing murmur of the falling floods, 
 A nobler boaft, a higher glory yield, 
 Than that which Phoebus ftampt on Tempe's field : 
 
 All
 
 8o MR. P O P E'S 
 
 could wi(h you tried fomething in the 
 defcriptive way on any fubject you 
 pleafe, mixed with vifion and moral; 
 like pieces of the old provencal poets, 
 which abound with fancy, and are 
 "the moft amufing fcenes in nature. 
 There are three or four of this kind 
 in Chaucer admirable : " the Flower 
 and the Leaf" every body has been 
 delighted with. 
 
 All that can charm the eye, or pleafe the ear, 
 Says, Harmony itfelf inhabits here. 
 
 I HAVE
 
 LETTERS. 81 
 
 I HAVE long had an inclination to 
 tell a Fairy tale, the more wild and 
 exotic the better ; therefore a vtfion t 
 which is confined to no rules of pro- 
 bability, will take in all the variety 
 and luxuriancy of defcription you 
 will; provided there be an apparent 
 moral to it. I think, one or two of 
 the Perfian tales would give one hints 
 for fuch an invention : and perhaps 
 if the fccnes were taken from real 
 places that are known, in order to 
 compliment particular gardens and 
 buildings of a fine tafte (as I believe 
 L feveral
 
 $2 MR. POPE'S 
 
 feveral of Chaucer's defcriptions do, 
 though it is what nobody has ob- 
 ferved), it would add great beauty to 
 the whole. 
 
 I WISH you found fuch an amufe- 
 ment pleafing to you: if you did but, 
 at leifure, form defcriptions from ob- 
 jects in nature itfelf, which ftruck you 
 mofl livelily, I would undertake to 
 rind a tale that fhould bring them all 
 together: which you will think an 
 cdd undertaking, but in a piece of 
 this fanciful and imaginary nature I 
 i am
 
 LETTERS. 83 
 
 am fure is practicable. Excufe this 
 long letter; and think no man is more 
 
 Your faithful 
 
 and obliged fervant, 
 
 A. POPE. 
 
 L 2 CON-
 
 C 85 ] 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 page i 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 page 13 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 page 21 
 LET-
 
 [ 86 J 
 
 LETTER IV.. 
 
 page 23 
 
 LETTER v. 
 
 page 38 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 page 33 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 page 42 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 page 49 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 page 56 
 
 LET-
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 page 59 
 
 LETTER XL 
 
 page 67 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 page 74 
 
 THE END.
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 
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