laying down his pen, those who fat round him intreated and implored, and self-love did not fuffer him to fufpect that they went away and laughed.

any

The following year deprived him of Gay, a man whom he had known early, and whom he feemed to love with more tenderness than other of his literary friends. Pope was now forty-four years old; an age at which the mind begins lefs eafily to admit new confidence, and the will to grow lefs flexible, and when therefore the departure of an old friend is very acutely felt.

In the next year he loft his mother, not by an unexpected death, for fhe had lafted to the age of ninety-three; but she did not die unlamented. The filial piety of Pope was in the highest degree amiable and exemplary; his parents had the happiness of living till he was at the fummit of poetical reputation, till he was at eafe in his fortune, and without a rival in his fame, and found no diminution of his refpect or tenderness. Whatever was his pride, to them he was obedient; and whatever was his irritability, to

them

them he was gentle. Life has, among its foothing and quiet comforts, few things better to give than such a son.

One of the paffages of Pope's life, which feems to deserve some enquiry, was a publication of Letters between him and many of his friends, which falling into the hands of Curll, a rapacious bookfeller of no good fame, were by him printed and fold. This volume containing fome Letters from noblemen, Pope incited a profecution against him in the House of Lords for breach of privilege, and attended himself to ftimulate the resentment of his friends. Curll appeared at the bar, and, knowing himself in no great danger, fpoke of Pope with very little reverence. He has, faid Curll, a knack at verfifying, but in profe I think myself a match for him. When the orders of the House were examined, none of them appeared to have been infringed; Curll went away triumphant, and Pope was left to feek fome other remedy.

Curll's account was, that one evening a man in a clergyman's gown, but with a lawyer's band, brought and offered to fale

a number

a number of printed volumes, which he found to be Pope's epiftolary correfpondence; that he asked no name, and was told none, but gave the price demanded, and thought himself authorised to use his purchase to his own advantage.

That Curl gave a true account of the tranfaction, it is reasonable to believe, because no falfhood was ever detected; and when fome years afterwards I mentioned it to Lintot, the fon of Bernard, he declared his opinion to be, that Pope knew better than any body else how Curll obtained the copies, because another parcel was at the fame time fent to himself, for which no price had ever been demanded, as he made known his refolution not to pay a porter, and consequently not to deal with a nameless agent.

Such care had been taken to make them publick, that they were fent at once to two booksellers; to Curll, who was likely to seize them as a prey, and to Lintot, who might be expected to give Pope information of the feeming injury. Lintot, I believe, did nothing; and Curll did what was expected.

That to make them publick was the only purpofe may be reasonably fuppofed, because the numbers offered to fale by the private mefsengers fhewed that hope of gain could not have been the motive of the impreffion.

It seems that Pope, being defirous of printing his Letters, and not knowing how to do, without imputation of vanity, what has in this country been done very rarely, contrived an appearance of compulfion; that when he could complain that his Letters were furreptitiously published, he might decently and defenfively publish them himself.

Pope's private correspondence, thus promulgated, filled the nation with praises of his candour, tenderness, and benevolence, the purity of his purposes, and the fidelity of his friendship. There were fome Letters which a very good or a very wife man would wish fuppreffed; but, as they had been already expofed, it was impracticable now to retract them.

From the perufal of those Letters, Mr. Allen firft conceived the defire of knowing him;

and

and with fo much zeal did he cultivate the friendship which he had newly formed, that when Pope told his purpose of vindicating his own property by a genuine edition, he offered to pay the cost.

This however Pope did not accept; but in time folicited a fubfcription for a Quarto volume, which appeared (1737) I believe, with sufficient profit. In the Preface he tells that his Letters were repofited in a friend's library, faid to be the Earl of Oxford's, and that the copy thence ftolen was sent to the prefs. The story was doubtlefs received with different degrees of credit. It may be fufpected that the Preface to the Miscellanies was written to prepare the publick for fuch an incident; and to strengthen this opinion, James Worfdale, a painter, who was employed in clandeftine negotiations, but whofe veracity was very doubtful, declared that he was the meffenger who carried, by Pope's direction, the books to Curll.

When they were thus published and avowed, as they had relation to recent facts, and perfons either then living or not yet forgotten,

they