the Prince of Wales, who dined at his

house, and the friend of many who ob ftructed and cenfured the conduct of the Minifters. His political partiality was too plainly fhewn; he forgot the prudence with which he paffed, in his earlier years, uninjured and unoffending through much more violent conflicts of faction.

In the first dialogue, having an opportunity of praifing Allen. of Bath, he afked his leave to mention him as a man not illuftrious by any merit of his anceftors, and called him in his verfes low-born Allen. Men are feldom fatisfied with praife introduced or followed by any mention of defect. Allen feems not to have taken any pleasure in his epithet,

epithet, which was afterwards foftened

into bumble Allen.

In the fecond Dialogue he took fome liberty with one of the Foxes, among others; which Fox, in a reply to Lyttelton, took an opportunity of repaying, by reproaching him with the friendship of a lampooner, who fcattered his ink without fear or decency, and against whom he hoped the refentment of the Legislature would quickly be discharged.

About this time Paul Whitehead, a

fmall poet, was fummoned before the Lords for a poem called Manners, together with Dodfley his publifher. Whitehead, who hung loose upon fociety, fculked and escaped; but Dodfley's fhop and family made his appearance necef

fary.

fary. He was, however, foon dismissed; and the whole procefs was probably intended rather to intimidate Pope than to punish Whitehead.

Pope never afterwards attempted to join the patriot with the poet, nor drew his pen upon ftatefmen. That he defifted from his atteinpts of reformation is imputed, by his commentator, to his defpair of prevailing over the corruption of the time. He was not likely to have been ever of opinion that the dread of his fatire would countervail the love of power or of money; he pleafed himfelf with being important and formidable, and gratified fometimes his pride, and fometimes his refentment; till at

2

laft

laft he began to think he should be more fafe, if he were lefs bufy.

The Memoirs of Scriblerus, publifhed about this time, extend only to the first book of a work, projected in concert by Pope, Swift, and Arbuthnot, who used to meet in the time of Queen Anne, and denominated themselves the Scribblerus Club. Their purpose was to cenfure the abuses of learning by a fictitious Life of an infatuated Scholar. They were difperfed; the defign was never completed; and Warburton laments its mifcarriage, as an event very difaftrous to polite letters.

If the whole may be estimated by this fpecimen, which feems to be the production of Arbuthnot, with a few

touches perhaps by Pope, the want of more will not be much lamented; for the follies which the writer ridicules are fo little practifed, that they are not known; nor can the fatire be understood but by the learned: he raifes phantoms of abfurdity, and then drives them away. He cures difeafes that were never felt.

For this reafon the joint production of three great writers has never obtained any notice from mankind; it has been little read, or when read has been forgotten, as no man could be wifer, better, or merrier, by remembering it.

The defign cannot boast of much originality; for, befides its general refemblance to Don Quixote, there will be

found