he is faid to have gained by his verses in praise of Rofamond.

To thofe verfes it would not have been juft to deny regard; for they contain fome of the moft elegant encomiaftick strains; and, among the innumerable poems of the fame kind, it

L will be hard to find one with which they need to fear a comparifon. It may deferve obfervation, that when Pope wrote long afterwards in praife of Addifon, he has copied, at least hast refembled Tickell.

off

Let joy falute fair Rofamonda's fhade,

And wreaths of myrtle crown the lovely maid.
While now perhaps with Dido's ghoft fhe roves,
And hears and tells the ftory of their loves,

Alike they mourn, alike they bless their fate,
Since Love, which made them wretched, made.
them great.

Nor longer that relentless doom bemoan,
Which gain'd a Virgil and an Addison.

TICKELL

Then future ages with delight fhall fee
How Plato's, Bacon's, Newton's, looks agree;
Or in fair feries laurel'd bards be fhown,
A Virgil there, and here an Addifon.

POPE.

He

He produced another piece of the fame kind at the appearance of Cato, with equal skill, but not equal happiness.

When the minifters of queen Anne were negotiating with France, Tickell published The Profpect of Peace, a poem, of which the tendency was to reclaim the nation from the pride of conqueft to the pleasures of tranquillity. How far Tickell, whom Swift afterwards mentioned as Whiggiffimus, had then connected himself with any party, I know not; this poem certainly did not flatter the practices, or promote the opinions, of the men by whom he was afterwards befriended.

Mr. Addifon, however he hated the men then in power, fuffered his friendship to prevail over his publick spirit, and gave in the Spectator fuch praises of Tickell's poem, that when, after having long wifhed to perufe it, I laid hold on it at laft, I thought it unequal to the honours which it had received, and found it a piece to be approved rather than admired. But the hope excited by a work of genius, being general and indefinite, is rarely gratified. It was read at that time with fo much favour, that fix editions were fold.

At

At the arrival of king George he fung The Royal Progrefs; which being inferted in the Spectator is well known, and of which it is juft to fay, that it is neither high nor low.

The poetical incident of most importance in Tickell's life was his publication of the firft book of the Iliad as tranflated by himself, an apparent oppofition to Pope's Homer, of which the first part made its entrance into the world at the fame time.

Addifon declared that the rival verfions were both good; but that Tickell's was the beft that ever was made; and with Addison the wits, his adherents and followers, were certain to concur. Pope does not appear to have been much difmayed; "for," fays he, "I have "the town, that is, the mob on my fide." But he remarks," that it is common for the

fmaller party to make up in diligence what "they want in numbers; he appeals to the

people as his proper judges; and if they are "not inclined to condemn him, he is in little "care about the high-flyers at Button's.

Pope did not long think Addison an impar tial judge; for he confidered him as the writer of Tickell's verfion. The reafons for his fuf

picion I will literally tranfcribe from Mr Spence's Collection.

"There had been a coldnefs (faid Mr. Pope) "between Mr. Addison and me for fome time; "and we had not been in company together, * for a good while, any where but at Button's "coffee-houfe, where I used to see him almoft every day.-On his meeting me there, one day in particular, he took me afide, and faid he should be glad to dine with me, at "fuch a tavern, if I ftaid till thofe people "were gone (Budgell and Philips). He went "accordingly; and after dinner Mr. Addifon "( faid, That he had wanted for fome time to "talk with me; that his friend Tickell had

formerly, whilft at Oxford, tranflated the "first book of the Iliad; that he defigned to

print it, and had defired him to look it over; "that he must therefore beg that I would not "defire him to look over my first book, be"caufe, if he did, it would have the air of "double dealing.' I affured him that I did not

at all take it ill of Mr. Tickell that he was "going to publish his tranflation; that he cer"tainly had as much right to translate any au"thor as myfelf; and that publishing both was "entering

entering on a fair ftage. I then added, that "I would not defire him to look over my first

book of the Iliad, because he had looked over "Mr. Tickell's; but could wish to have the "benefit of his obfervations on my fecond, "which I had then finished, and which Mr.

Tickell had not touched upon. Accordingly "I fent him the fecond book the next morn"ing and Mr. Addifon a few days after re"turned it, with very high commendations. "Soon after it was generally known that Mr.

Tickell was publishing the first book of the "Iliad, I met Dr. Young in the ftreet; and, "upon our falling into that fubject, the Doctor

expreffed a great deal of furprize at Tickell's "having had fuch a tranflation fo long by him. "He faid, that it was inconceivable to him, "and that there must be some miftake in the "matter ; that each ufed to communicate to "the other whatever verfes they wrote, even "to the least things; that Tickell could not "have been bufied in fo long a work there "without his knowing fomething of the mat

ter; and that he had never heard a single "word on it till on this occafion. This fur

prife of Dr. Young, together with what

"Steele