You will say that I am not very much in pain, nor very busy, when I can relish these amusements; and you will say true: for at present I am in both these respects very easy.

I had not strength enough to attend Mr. Prior to his grave, else I would have done it, to have showed his friends that I had forgot and forgiven what he wrote on me. He is buried, as he desired, at the feet of Spencer; and I will take care to make good in every respect what I said to him when living; particularly as to the triplet he wrote for his own epitaph; which, while we were in good terms, I promised him should never appear on his tomb while I was dean of Westminster.

I am pleased to find you have so much pleasure, and (which is the foundation of it) so much health at lord Bathurst's: may both continue till I see you! may my lord have as much satisfaction in building the house in the wood, and using it when built, as you have in designing it! I cannot send a wish after him that means him more happiness; and yet, I am sure, I wish him as much as he wishes himself. I am, &c.

LETTER V.

THE BISHOP OF ROCHESTER TO MR. POPE.

Bromley, Oct. 15, 1721.

NOTWITHSTANDING I write this on Sunday even, to acknowledge the receipt of yours this morning; yet, I foresee, it will not reach you till Wednes

day morning; and before set of sun that day I hope to reach my winter quarters at the Deanery. I hope, did I say? I recal that word, for it implies desire; and, God knows, that is far from being the case: for I never part with this place but with regret, though I generally keep here what Mr. Cowley calls the worst of company in the world,-my own; and see either none beside, or what is worse than none, some of the Arrii or Sebosi of my neighbourhood: characters which Tully paints so well in one of his epistles, and complains of the too civil, but impertinent, interruption they gave him in his retirement. Since I have named those gentlemen, and the book is not far from me, I will turn to the place, and, by pointing it out to you, give you the pleasure of perusing the epistle, which is a very agreeable one, if my memory does not fail me.

I am surprised to find that my lord Bathurst and you are parted so soon: he has been sick, I know, of some late transactions; but should that sickness continue still in some measure, I prophesy it will be quite off by the beginning of November; a letter or two from his London friends, and a surfeit of solitude, will soon make him change his resolution and his quarters. I vow to you, I could live here with pleasure all the winter, and be contented with hearing no more news than the London Journal, or some such trifling paper affords me, did not the duty of my place require, absolutely require, my attendance at Westminster; where, I hope the Prophet will now and then remember he has a bed and a candlestick. In short, I long to see you, and hope you will come, if not a day, yet

.

at least an hour sooner to town than you intended, in order to afford me that satisfaction. I am now, I thank God! as well as ever I was in my life, except that I can walk scarce at all without crutches: and I would willingly compound the matter with the gout, to be no better, could I hope to be no worse but that is a vain thought. I expect a new attack long before Christmas. Let me see you, therefore, while I am in a condition to relish you, before the days (and the nights) come, when I shall (and must) say, I have no pleasure in them.

I will bring your small volume of Pastorals along with me, that you may not be discouraged from lending me books, when you find me so punctual in returning them. Shakspeare shall bear it company, and be put into your hands as clear and as fair at it came out of them, though you, I think, have been dabbling here and there with the text ; I have had more reverence for the writer and the printer, and left every thing standing just as I found it. However, I thank you for the pleasure you have given me in putting me upon reading him once more before I die.

I believe I shall scarce repeat that pleasure any more, having other work to do, and other things to think of, but none that will interfere with the offices of friendship; in the exchange of which with you, sir, I hope to live and die your, &c.

P. S. Addison's Works came to my hands yesterday. I cannot but think it a very odd set of incidents, that the book should be dedicated by a dead man to a dead mant; and even that the

new patron*, to whom Tickell chose to inscribe his verses, should be dead also before they were published. Had I been in the editor's place, I should have been a little apprehensive for myself, under a thought that every one who had any hand in that work was to die before the publication of it. You see, when I am conversing with you, I know not how to give over, till the very bottom of the paper admonishes me once more to bid you adieu!

LETTER VI.

MR. POPE TO THE BISHOP OF ROCHESTER.

MY LORD, Feb. 8, 1721-2. It is so long since I had the pleasure of an hour with your lordship, that I should begin to think myself no longer Amicus omnium horarum, but for finding myself so in my constant thoughts of you. In those I was with you many hours this very day, and had you (where I wish and hope one day to see you really) in my garden at Twitnam. When I went last to town and was on wing for the Deanery, I heard your lordship was gone the day before to Bromley; and there you continued till after my return hither. I sincerely wish you whatever you wish yourself, and all you wish your friends or family. All I mean by this word or two, is just to tell you so, till in person I find you as I desire, that is, find you well: easy, resigned, and happy,

Lord Warwick.

you will make yourself, and (I believe) every body that converses with you; if I may judge of your power over other men's minds and affections, by that which you will ever have over those of your, &c.

LETTER VII.

THE BISHOP OF ROCHESTER TO MR. POPE.

Feb. 26, 1721-2.

PERMIT me, dear sir, to break into your retirement, and to desire of you a complete copy of those verses on Mr. Addisou*; send me also your last resolution, which shall punctually be observed in relation to my giving out any copy of it; for I am again solicited by another lord, to whom I have given the same answer as formerly. No small piece of your writing has been ever sought after so much it has pleased every man, without exception, to whom it has been read. Since you now therefore know where your real strength lies, I hope you will not suffer that talent to lie unem ployed. For my part, I should be so glad to see you finish something of that kind, that I could be content to be a little sneered at in a line or so, for the sake of the pleasure I should have in reading the rest. I have talked my sense of this matter to you once or twice, and now I put it under my hand, that you may see it is my deliberate opi

* An imperfect copy was got out, very much to the author's surprise, who never would give any.