be a freeman among flaves, than a flave among freemen. The dignity of my present station damps the pertnefs of inferior puppies and fquires, which, without plenty and cafe on your fide the channel, would break my heart in a month. Madam, See what it is to live where I do. I am utterly ignorant of that fame Strado del Poe; and yet, if that Author be against lending or giving money, I cannot but think him a good Courtier; which, I am fure, your Grace is not, no not fo much as to be a maid of honour. For I am certainly informed, that you are neither a free-thinker, nor can fell bargains; that you can neither spell, nor talk, nor write, nor think like a Courtier; that you pretend to be respected for qualities which have been out of fashion ever fince you were almost in your cradle; that your contempt for a fine petticoat is an infallible mark of difaffection; which is further confirmed by your ill taste for Wit, in preferring two old fafhioned poets before Duck or Cibber. Befides, you spell in fuch a manner as no court-lady can read, and write in such an old-fashioned style, as none of them can understand. - You need not be in pain about Mr. Gay's stock of healht. I promise you he will spend it all upon laziness, and run deep in debt by a winter's repose in town; therefore I entreat your Grace will order him to move his chops lefs and his legs more the fix cold months, else he will spend all his money in phyfic and coach-hire. I am in much perplexity about your Grace's declaration, of the manner in which you dispose what you call your love and respect, which you fay are not paid to Merit but to your own Humour. Now, Madam, my misfortune is, that I have nothing to plead but abundance of Merit, and there goes an ugly obfervation, that the Humour of ladies is apt to change. Now, Madam, if I fhould go to Aimsbury, with a great load of merit, and your Grace happen to be out of humour, and will not purchase my merchandize at the price of your refpect, the goods may be damaged, and no body elfe will take them off my hands. Befides, you have declared Mr. Gay to hold the first part, and I but the fecond; which is hard treatment, fince I fhall be the newest acquaintance by fome years; and I will appeal to all the rest of your sex, whether fuch an innovation ought to be allowed? I should be ready to fay in the common forms, that I was much obliged to the Lady who wish'd she could give the best living, &c. if I did not vehemently suspect it was the fame Lady very who who spoke many things to me in the same style, and alfo with regard to the gentleman at your elbow when you writ, whofe Dupe he was, as well as of her Waiting-woman; but they were both arrant knaves, as I told him and a third friend, though they will not believe it to this day. I defire to present my most humble respects to my Lord Duke, and with my heartieft prayer for the prosperity of the whole family, remain your Grace's, &c. LETTER LXI. To Mr. PoP E. Dublin, June 12, 1731. power to reconcile us with sickness attended by pain. With me, the lowness of spirits hath a most unhappy effect; I am grown lefs patient with folitude, and harder to be pleas'd with company; which I could formerly better digest, when I could be eafier without it than at prefent. As to fending you any thing that I have written fince I left you (either verse or profe) I can only fay, that I have ordered by my Will, that all my Papers of any kind shall be deliver'd you to dispose of as you please. I have several things that I have had schemes 2 schemes to finish, or to attempt, but I very foolishly put off the trouble, as finners do their repentance: for I grow every day more averse from writing, which is very natural, and, when I take a pen, fay to myself a thousand times, non eft tanti. As to thofe papers of four or five years paft, that you are pleas'd to require foon; they confift of little accidental things written in the country; family amusements, never intended further than to divert ourfelves and fome neighbours: or fome effects of anger on Public Grievances here, which would be infignificant out of this kingdom. Two or three of us had a fancy, three years ago, to write a Weekly paper, and called it an Intelligencer. But it continued not long; for the whole Volume (it was reprinted in London, and, I find, you have seen it) was the work only of two, myself and Dr. Sheridan. If we could have got fome ingenious young man to have been the manager, who should have published all that might be fent to him, it might have continued longer, for there were hints enough. But the printer here could not afford fuch a young man one farthing for his trouble, the fale being fo fmall, and the price one half-penny; and fo it dropt. In the Volume you faw (to answer your queftions) the 1, 3, 5, 7, were mine. Of the 8th I writ only the Verfes, (very uncorrect, but against against a fellow we all hated) the 9th mine, the 10th only the Verfes, and of those not the four laft flovenly lines; the 15th is a Pamphlet of mine printed before with Dr. Sh's Preface, merely for lazinefs, not to disappoint the town; and fo was the 19th, which contains only a parcel of facts relating purely to the miseries of Irelard, and wholly ufelefs and unentertaining. As to other things of mine fince I left you; there are in profe a View of the State of Ireland; a Project for eating Children; and a Defence of Lord Carteret; in verfe a Libel on Dr. D- and Lord Carteret; a Letter to Dr.D— on the Libels writ against him; the Barrack (a ftolen Copy;) the Lady's Journal; the Lady's Dreffing-room (a ftolen Copy;) the Plea of the Damn'd (a stolen Copy ;) all these have been printed in London. (I forgot to tell you that the Tale of Sir Ralph was fent from England.) Besides these there are five or fix (perhaps more) Papers of Verses writ in the North, but perfect Family-things, two or three of which may be tolerable; the reft but indifferent, and the humour only local, and some that would give offence to the times. Such as they are, I will bring them, tolerable or bad, if I recover this lameness, and live long enough to fee you either here or there. I forget again to tell you, that |