knew not where to write to him. This is my case with you; fometimes in Scotland, fometimes at Hamwalks, fometimes God knows where. You are a 'man of business, and not at leisure for infignificant correfpondence. It was I got you the employment of being my Lord Duke's premier Miniftre: for his Grace having heard how good a manager you were of my revenue, thought you fit to be entrusted with ten talents. I have had twenty times a ftrong inclination to spend a fummer near Salisbury - downs, having rode over them more than once, and with a young parfon of Salisbury reckoned twice the stones of Stonehenge, which are either ninety-two or ninety-three. I defire to prefent my most humble acknowledgements to my Lady Duchefs in return of her civility. I hear an ill thing, that he is matre pulchra filia pulchrior: I never faw her fince she was a girl, and would be angry fhe fhould excel her mother, who was long my principal Goddess. I defire you will tell her Grace, that the ill management of forks is not to be help'd when they are only bidential, which happens in all poor houses, especially thofe of Poets; upon which account a knife was abfolutely neceffary at Mr. Pope's, where it was morally impoffible with a bidential fork to con vey a morfel of beef, with the incumbrance of muftard and turnips, into your mouth at once. And her Grace hath cost me thirty pounds to provide Tridents for fear of offending her, which fum I defire she will please to return me. - I am fick enough to go to the Bath, but have not heard it will be good for my diforder. I have a trong mind to spend my 200 next fummer in France: I am glad I have it, for there is hardly twice that fum left in this kingdom. You want no fettlement (I call the family where you live, and the foot you are upon, a fettlement)

till you increase your fortune to what will support you with ease and plenty, a good house and a garden. The want of this I much dread for you: For I have often known a She-coufin of a good family and fmall fortune, paffing months among all her 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 circumstances of life have always feparated those 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 yeur own affairs, which perpetually fill'd your thoughts and disturb'd your conversation. For if it be true what Mr. Pope feriously 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 pass the rest of your wineless life, in eafe and plenty, with the additional triumphal comfort of never having receiv'd a penny from those 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 fervice 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 myself, and fent to a Whig-printer: It was in the ftyle and genius of fuch fcoundrels, when the humour of libelling ran in this strain against a friend of mine whom you know. But my paper is ended.

I

LETTER III.

Dublin, Nov. 19, 1730.

Writ to you a long letter about a fortnight past concluding you were in London, from whence 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 feafon 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 state of happiness 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 with me ill, and I have told him often that I only hated him as Lieutenant: I confefs 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 last acts of his favour were to add to the dignities of Dr. Delany and Mr. Stopford, the laft 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 domeftic 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 hatefullest 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. 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 says that Mr. Pope is at prefent 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 Eufden 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 ftate of your affairs in those days was too much the subject, and I wifh the Duchefs had been the voucher of your amendment. Nothing fo much contributed to my ease as the turn of affairs after the Queen's death; by which all my hopes being cut off, I could have no ambition left, unless I would have been a greater rascal than happened to fuit with my temper. I therefore fat down quietly at my morfel, adding only thereto a principle of ha tred to all fucceeding Measures and Ministries by way * of fauce to relish my meat: And I confess 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 spend a dozen lines in telling me you must leave off, that you may give my Lady Duchess room to write, and fo you proceed to within two or three lines of the bottom; though I would have remitted you my 200 1 to have left place for as many more.

To the Duchess.

MADAM,

My beginning thus low is meant as a mark of respect, 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 first advances have been constantly made me by all Ladies who aspir'd to my acquaintance, and the greater their quality, the greater were their advances. Yet, I know not by what weakness, I have condefcended graciously to difpenfe 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 perfon 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 shall not like me; I affirm you are mistaken, which I can plainly demonstrate: for I have certain intelligence, that another perfon diflikes me of late, with whofe likings yours have not for fome time paft gone together. However, if I shall 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 needless: For Diogenes himself would be vain, to have received the honour of being one moment of his life in the thoughts of your Grace.

VOL. X.