relations, living in plenty, and taking her circles, till fhe grew an old Maid, and every body weary of her. Mr. Pope complains of feldom feeing you; but the evil is unavoidable, for different circumftances of life have always feparated thofe whom friendship would join: God hath taken care of this, to prevent any progress towards real happiness here, which would make life more defirable, and death too dreadful. I hope you have now one advantage that you always wanted before, and the want of which made your friends as uneafy as it did yourself: I mean the removal of that folicitude about your own affairs, which perpetually fill'd your thoughts and difturb'd your converfation. For if it be true what Mr. Pope seriously tells me, you will have opportunity of faving every groat of the intereft you receive; and fo by the time he and you grow weary of each other, you will be able to pafs the reft of your winelefs life, in eafe and plenty, with the additional triumphal comfort of never having received a penny from thofe taftelefs ungrateful people from whom you deserved fo much, and who deferve no better Genius's than those by whom they are celebrated.-If you fee Mr. Cefar, prefent my humble service to him, and let him know that the fcrub Libel printed against me here, and re-printed in London, for which he fhewed a kind concern to a friend of us both, was written by myfelf, and fent to a Whig-printer: It was in the ftyle and genius of fuch fcoundrels, when the humour of libelling ran in this ftrain against a friend of mine whom you know. But my paper is ended.

LET

LETTER LI.

Dublin, Nov. 19, 1730.

Writ to you a long letter about a fortnight past

I understood one of your former was dated: Nor did I imagine you were gone back to Aimsbury fo late in the year, at which feason I take the Country to be only a scene for those who have been ill ufed by a Court on account of their Virtues; which is a ftate of happinefs the more valuable, because it is not accompanied by Envy, although nothing deferves it more. I would gladly fell a Dukedom

to lose favour in the manner their Graces have done. I believe my Lord Carteret, fince he is no longer Lieutenant, may not wish me ill, and I have told him often that I only hated him as Lieutenant: I confess he had a genteeler manner of binding the chains of this kingdom than most of his predeceffors, and I confefs at the fame time that he had, fix times, a regard to my recommendation by preferring fo many of my friends in the church; the two laft acts of his favour were to add to the dignities of Dr. Delany and Mr. Stopford, the last of whom was by you and Mr. Pope put into Mr. Pultney's hands. I told you in my last, that a continuance of giddinefs (tho' not in a violent degree) prevented my thoughts of England at prefent. For in my cafe a domestic life is neceffary, where I can with the Centurion fay to my fervant, Go, and he goeth, and Do this, and he doth it. I now hate all people whom I cannot command, and confequently a Duchefs is at this time the hatefulleft Lady in the world to me, one only excepted, and I beg her Grace's pardon for that exception, for, in the way I mean, her Grace is ten thousand times more

hateful.

hateful. I confefs I begin to apprehend you will fquander my money, because I hope you never lefs wanted it; and if you go on with fuccefs for two years longer, I fear I fhall not have a farthing of it left. The Doctor hath ill-informed me, who fays that Mr. Pope is at present the chief Poetical Favourite, yet Mr. Pope himself talks like a Philofopher and one wholly retir'd. But the vogue of our few honeft folks here is, that Duck is abfolutely to fucceed Eusden in the laurel, the contention being between Concannen or Theobald, or fome other Hero of the Dunciad. I never charged you for not talking, but the dubious state of your affairs in those days was too much the subject, and I wish the Duchefs had been the voucher of your amendment. Nothing fo much contributed to my eafe as the turn of affairs after the Queen's death; by which all my hopes being cut off, I could have no Ambition left, unlefs I would have been a greater rafcal than happened to fuit with my temper. I therefore fat down quietly at my morfel, adding only thereto a principle of hatred to all fucceeding Measures and Ministries by way of fauce to relish my meat: And I confefs one point of conduct in my Lady Duchefs's life hath added much poignancy to it. There is a good Irish practical bull towards the end of your letter, where you fpend a dozen lines in telling me_you must leave off, that you may give my Lady Duchefs room to write, and fo you proceed to within two or three lines of the bottom; though I would have remited you my 200 1. to have left place for as many

more.

VOL. IX.

K

То

Madam,

To the Duchefs.

My beginning thus low is meant as a mark of refpect, like receiving your Grace at the bottom of the ftairs. I am glad you know your duty; for it hath been a known and establish'd rule above twenty years in England, that the firft advances have been conftantly made me by all Ladies who afpir'd to my acquaintance, and the greater their quality, the greater were their advances. Yet, I know not by what weakness, I have condefcended gracioufly to dispense with you upon this important article. Though Mr. Gay will tell you that a nameless perfon fent me eleven meffages before I would yield to a vifit: I mean a person to whom he is infinitely obliged, for being the occafion of the happiness he now enjoys under the protection and favour of my Lord Duke and your Grace. At the fame time, I cannot forbear telling you, Madam, that you are a little imperious in your manner of making your advances. You fay, perhaps you fhall not like me; I affirm you are mistaken, which I can plainly demonftrate; for I have cer tain intelligence, that another perfon dislikes me of late, with whofe likings yours have not for fome time paft gone together. However, if I fhall once have the honour to attend your Grace, I will out of fear and prudence appear as vain as I can, that I may not know your thoughts of me. This is your own direction, but it was needlefs: For Diogenes himself would be vain, to have receiv'd the honour of being one moment of his life in the thoughts of your Grace.

LET

Y

LETTER LII.

Dublin, April 13, 1730-1.

OUR fituation is an odd one; the Duchess

is your Treasurer, and Mr. Pope tells me you are the Duke's. And I had gone a good way in fome Verses on that occafion, prefcribing leffons to direct your conduct, in a negative way, not to do fo and fo, &c. like other Treasurers; how to deal with Servants, Tenants, or neighbouring Squires, which I take to be Courtiers, Parliaments, and Princes in alliance, and fo the parallel goes on, but grows too long to please me: I prove that Poets are the fitteft perfons to be treafurers and managers to great perfons, from their virtue, and contempt of money, &c.-Pray, why did you not get a new heel to your fhoe? unless you would make your court at St. James's by affecting to imitate the Prince of Lilliput.-But the reft of your letter be ing wholly taken up in a very bad character of the Duchefs, I fhall fay no more to you, but apply myself to her Grace.

Madam, fince Mr. Gay affirms that you love to have your own way, and fince I have the fame perfection; I will settle that matter immediately, to prevent thofe ill confequences he apprehends. Your Grace fhall have your own way, in all places except your own house, and the domains about it. There and there only, I expect to have mine, fo that you have all the world to reign in, bating only two or three hundred acres, and two or three houfes in town and country. I will likewise, out of my fpecial grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, allow you to be in the right against all human kind, except myself, and to be never in the wrong but when you differ from me. You fhall

K 2

have