Imitations of Horace he has liberally enough praifed the Careless Hufband. In the Dunciad, among other worthlefs fcribblers, he had mentioned Cibber; who, in his Apology, complains of the great poet's unkindness as more injurious, because, says he, I never have offended him.

It might have been expected that Pope should have been, in fome degree, mollified by this fubmiffive gentleness; but no fuch confequence appeared. Though he condefcended to commend Cibber once, he mentioned him afterwards contemptuously in one of his Satires, and again in his Epiftle to Arbuthnot; and in the fourth book of the Dunciad attacked him with acrimony, to which the provocation is not eafily difco verable. Perhaps he imagined that, in ridiculing the Laureat, he fatirifed thofe by whom the laurel had been given, and gratified that ambitious petulance with which he affected to infult the great.

The feverity of this fatire left Cibber no longer any patience. He had confidence enough in his own powers to believe that he

could

could difturb the quiet of his adverfary, and doubtless did not want inftigators, who, without any care about the victory, defired to amuse themselves by looking on the conteft. He therefore gave the town a pamphlet, in which he declares his refolution from that time never to bear another blow without returning it, and to tire out his adversary by perfeverance, if he cannot conquer him by strength.

The inceffant and unappeasable malignity of Pope he imputes to a very diftant caufe. After the Three Hours after Marriage had been driven off the ftage, by the offence which the mummy and crocodile gave the audience, while the exploded scene was yet fresh in memory, it happened that Cibber played Bayes in the Rehearsal; and, as it had been usual to enliven the part by the men tion of any recent theatrical tranfactions, he faid, that he once thought to have introduced his lovers disguised in a Mummy and a Crocodile. "This," fays he, " was re"ceived with loud claps, which indicated

contempt of the play." Pope, who was behind the scenes, meeting him as he left the stage,

5

stage, attacked him, as he fays, with all the virulence of a Wit out of his fenfes ; to which he replied, "that he would take no other notice "of what was said by fo particular a man " than to declare, that, as often as he play"ed that part, he would repeat the fame provocation."

He fhews his opinion to be, that Pope was one of the authors of the play which he so zealously defended; and adds an idle story of Pope's behaviour at a tavern.

The pamphlet was written with little power of thought or language, and, if fuffered to remain without notice, would have been very foon forgotten. Pope had now been enough acquainted with human life to know, if his paffion had not been too powerful for his understanding, that, from a contention like his with Cibber, the world feeks nothing but diverfion, which is given at the expence of the higher character. When Cibber lam pooned Pope, curiofity was excited; what Pope would fay of Cibber nobody enquired, but in hope that Pope's afperity might betray his pain and leffen his dignity.

VOL. IV.

K

He

He should therefore have fuffered the pamphlet to flutter and die, without confeffing that it ftung him. The difhonour of being fhewn as Cibber's antagonist could never be compenfated by the victory. Cibber had nothing to lose; when Pope had exhausted all his malignity upon him, he would rife in the esteem both of his friends and his enemies. Silence only could have made him despicable; the blow which did not appear to be felt, would have been struck in vain.

But Pope's irafcibility prevailed, and he refolved to tell the whole English world that he was at war with Cibber; and to fhew that he thought him no common adversary, he prepared no common vengeance; he published a new edition of the Dunciad, in which he degraded Theobald' from his painful preeminence, and enthroned Cibber in his ftead. Unhappily the two heroes were of opposite characters, and Pope was unwilling to lose what he had already written; he has therefore depraved his poem by giving to Cibber the old books, the cold pedantry and fluggish pertinacity of Theobald.

Pope

Pope was ignorant enough of his own intereft to make another change, and introduced Ofborne contending for the prize among the bookfellers. Ofborne was a man intirely deftitute of shame, without fense of any dif grace but that of poverty. He told me, when he was doing that which raised Pope's refentment, that he fhould be put into the Dunciad; but he had the fate of Caffandra; I gave no credit to his prediction, till in time I saw it accomplished. The fhafts of fatire were directed equally in vain against Cibber and Osborne; being repelled by the impenetrable impudence of one, and deadened by the impaffive dulnefs of the other. Pope confeffed his own pain by his anger; but he gave no pain to thofe who had provoked him. He was able to hurt none but himfelf; by transferring the fame ridicule from one to another, he destroyed its efficacy; for, by fhewing that what he had faid of one he was ready to fay of another, he reduced himself to the infignificance of his own magpye, who from his cage calls cuckold at

a venture.

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Cibber,