While Wren with forrow to the grave defcends, 325 Gay dies un-penfion'd with a hundred Friends, REMARK S. V. 326. Gay dies un-penfion'd, &c.] See Mr. Gay's Fable of the Hare and Many Friends. This gentleman was early in the friendship of our author, which has continued many years. He wrote feveral works of humour with great fuccefs, the Shepherd's Week, Trivia, the What d'ye call it, &c. (printed together in 4°. by J. Tonfon) Fables; and laftly, the celebrated Beggars Opera; a piece of Satire which hit all tastes and degrees of men, from thofe of the higheft Quality to the very Rabble: That verfe of Horace Primores populi arripuit, populumque tributim, could never be fo juftly applied as to this. The vast fuccefs of it was unprecedented, and almost incredible: What is related of the wonderful effects of the ancient Mufic or Tragedy hardly came up to it: Sophocles and Euripides were lefs follow'd and famous. It was acted in London fixty-three days, uninterrupted; and renew'd the next season with equal applaufes. It fpread into all the great towns of England, was play'd in many places to the 30th, and 40th time, at Bath and Bristol 50, &. It made its progress into Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, where it was performed 24 days together. It was laftly acted in Minorca. The fame of it was not confin'd to the Author only; the Ladies carry'd about with 'em the favourite fongs of it in Fans; and houses were furnish'd with it in Screens. The perfon who acted Polly, till then obfcure, became all at once the favourite of the town; her Pictures were ingraved and fold in great numbers; her Life written; books of Letters and Verfes to her publifh'd; and pamphlets made even of her Sayings and Fests. Furthermore, it drove out of England the Italian Opera, which had carry'd all before it for ten years: That Idol of the Nobility and the people, which the great Critick Mr. Dennis by the labours and outcries. Hibernian Politicks, O Swift, thy doom, And Pope's, tranflating three whole years with Broome. REM MARK S. of a whole life could not overthrow, was demolish'd in one winter by a fingle stroke of this gentleman's pen. This remarkable period happen'd in the year 1728. Yet fo great was his modefty, that he conftantly prefixed to all the editions of it this Motto, Nos hæc novimus effe nihil. V. 327. Hibernian politicks, O Swift! thy doom.] See Book 1. verf. 24. V. 328. And Pope's, tranflating three whole years with Broome.] He concludes his Irony with a ftroke upon himself For whoever imagines this a farcasm on the other ingenious perfon, is furely mistaken. The opinion our author had of him was fufficiently fhown, by his joining him in the undertaking of the Odysey in which Mr. Broome having ingaged without any previous agreement, difcharged his part fo much to Mr. Pope's fatisfaction, that he gratified him with the full fum of Five hundred pounds, and a prefent of all thofe books for which his own interest could procure him Subscribers, to the value of One hundred more. The author only feems to lament, that he was imploy'd in Translation at all. IMITATIONS. V. 329. Proceed great days.] Virg. Ecl. 4. re-appear. Signs following figns lead on the mighty year; 335 See the dull ftars roll round and She comes the Cloud-compelling pow'r, behold! With Night primæval, and with Chaos old. Lo! the great Anarch's ancient reign restor'd, Light dies before her uncreating word: As one by one, at dread Medæa's ftrain, The fick ning Stars fade off th' æthereal plain ; REMARK S. 340 V. 337, &c. She comes! the Cloud-compelling pow behold! &c. Here the Mufe, like Jove's Eagle, after a fudden ftoop at ignoble game, foareth again to the skies. As Prophecy hath ever been one of the chief provinces of Poefy, our poet here foretells from what we feel, what we are to fear; and in the style of other Prophets, hath ufed the future tenfe for the preterit: fince what he fays fhall be, is already to be feen, in the writings of fome even of our most adored authors, in Divinity, Philofophy, Phyfics, Metaphyfics, &c. (who are too good indeed to be named in fuch company.) Do not gentle reader, reft too fecure in thy contempt of the Inftruments for fuch a revolution in leerning, or defpife fuch weak Agents as have been defcribed in our poem, but remember what the Dutch stories fomewhere relate, that a great part of their Provinces was once overflow'd, by a fmall opening made in one of their dykes by a fingle Water-Rat. However, that fuch is not ferioully the judgment of our Poet, but that he conceiveth better hopes from the diligence of our Schools, from the regularity of our Universities, the difcernment of our Great men, the encouragement of our Patrons, and the genius of our Writers in all kinds, (notwithstanding fome few exceptions in each) may plainly be feen from his conclufion; where by caufing all this Vifion to pass thro' Z As Argus eyes, by Hermes wand opprest, Clos'd one by one to everlasting reft; Thus at her felt approach, and fecret might, 345 See fculking Truth in her old cavern lye, See Phyfic beg the Stagyrite's defence! See Metaphyfic call for aid on Sence! See Mystery to Mathematics fly! In vain! they gaze, turn giddy, rave, and die. REMARK S. the Ivory Gate, he exprefly in the language of poefy declares all fuch imaginations to be wild, ungrounded, and fictitious. SCRIBLER US. V. 347. Truth in her old cavern lye] Alludes to the faying of Democritus, that Truth lay at the bottom of a deep well. IMITATIONS. V. 343. As Argus eyes by Hermes wand oppreff Ovid Met. i. Et quamvis fopor eft oculorum parte receptus, Enough! enough! the raptur'd Monarch cries; And thro' the Ivory Gate the Vision flies. IMITATIONS. V. 358. And thro' the Ivory Gate the Vifion flies] Virg. Æn. 6. Sunt gemina fomni portæ quarum altera fertur FINI S Z 2 |