150 There Ridpath, Roper, cudgel'd might ye view, Our purgings, pumpings, blanketings, and blows! See in the circle next, Eliza plac'd, were so. Ver. 151. Himself among the story'd chiefs he spies,] The history of Curll's being tossed in a blanket, and whipped by the scholars of Westminster, is well known. Of his purging and vomiting, see A full and true account of a horrid Revenge on the body of Edm. Curll, &c. in Swift and Pope's Miscellanies. Ver. 157. See in the circle next, Eliza plac'd,] In this game is exposed, in the most contemptuous manner, the profligate licentiousness of those shameless scribblers (for the most part of that sex which ought least to be capable of such malice or impudence) who, in libellous memoirs and novels, reveal the faults or misfortunes of both sexes, to the ruin of public fame, or disturbance of private happiness. Our good poet (by the whole cast of his work being obliged not to take off the irony) where he could not show his indignation, hath shown his contempt, as much as possible; having here drawn as vile a picture as could be represented in the colours of epic poesy.--Scribl. Ibid. Eliza Haywood; this woman was autoress of those most scandalous books called the Court of Carimania, and the New Utopia. For the two babes of love, see Curl, Key, p. 22. But whatever reflection he is pleased to throw upon this lady, surely it was what from him she little deserved, who had celebrated Curll's undertakings for reformation of manners, and declared herself "to be so perfectly acquainted with the sweetness of his disposition, and that tenderness with which he considered the errours of his fellowcreatures; that, though she should find the little inadvertencies of her owu life recorded in his papers, she was certain it would be done in such a manner as she could not but approve."-Mrs. Haywood, Hist. of Clar. printed in the Female Dunciad, p. 18. Ver. 160. Kirkall,] the name of an engraver. Some of this lady's works were printed in four volumes in 12mo, with her picture thus dressed up before them. The goddess then: "Who best can send on high 170 Osborne and Curll accept the glorious strife, (Though this his son dissuades, and that his wife.) One on his manly confidence rélies, One on his vigour and superior size. First Osborne lean'd against his letter'd post : It rose, and labour'd to a curve at most. So Jove's bright bow displays its watery round (Sure sign that no spectator shall be drown'd). A second effort brought but new disgrace, The wild meander wash'd the artist's face : Thus the small jet, which hasty hands unlock, Spirts in the gardener's eyes who turns the cock. Not so from shameless Curll; impetuous spread The stream, and smoking flourish'd o'er his head. So (fam'd like thee for turbulence and horns) [180 Eridanus his humble fountain scorns ; Through half the heavens he pours th' exalted urn; His rapid waters in their passage burn. REMARKS. Ver. 167. Osborne, Thomas] A bookseller in Gray's-inn, very well qualified by his impudence to act this part; therefore placed here instead of a less deserving predecessor. [Chapman, the publisher of Mrs. Haywood's New Utopia, &c.] This man published advertisements for a year together, pretending to sell Mr. Pope's subscription books of Homer's Illiad at half the price of which book he had none, but cut to the size of them (which was quarto) the common books in folio, without copper-plates, on a worse paper, and never above half the value. Upon this advertisement the Gazetteer ha"How melancholy rangued thus, July 6, 1739, must it be to a writer to be so unhappy as to see his works hawked for sale in a manner so fatal to his fame! How, with honour to yourself, and justice to your subscribers, can this be done! What an ingratitude to be charged on the only honest poet that lived in 1738! and than whom Virtue has not had a shriller trumpeter for many ages! That you were once generally admired and esteemed, can be denied by none; but that you and your works are now despised, is verified by this fact:" which being utterly false, did not indeed much humble the author, but drew this just chastisement on the bookseller. Ver. 185. Through half the heavens he pours th' exalted urn;] In a manuscript Dunciad (where are some marginal corrections of some gentlemen some time deceased) I have found another reading of these lines: thus, And lifts his urn, through half the heavens to flow; His rapid waters in their passage glow. This I cannot but think the right: for, first, though the difference between burn and glow may seem not very material to others, to me I confess the latter has an elegance, a je ne sçay quoy, which is much easier to be conceived than explained. Secondly, every reader of our poet must have observed how frequently he uses this Swift as it mounts, all follow with their eyes: Still happy Impudence obtains the prize. Thou triumph'st, victor of the high-wrought day, And the pleas'd dame, soft smiling, lead'st away. Osborne, through perfect modesty o'ercome, 189 Crown'd with the jordan, walks contented home. But now for authors nobler palms remain : Room for my lord! three jockeys in his train; Six huntsmen wit a shout precede his chair: He grins, and looks broad nonsense with a stare. His honour's meaning Dulness thus exprest, "He wins this patron who can tickle best." 200 He chinks his purse, and takes his seat of state: With ready quills the dedicators wait; Now at his head the dextrous task commence, And, instant, fancy feels th' imputed sense; Now gentle touches wanton o'er his face, He struts Adonis, and affects grimace: Rolli the feather to his ear conveys, Then his nice taste directs our operas: Bentley his mouth with classic flattery opes, And the puff'd orator bursts out in tropes. But Welsted most the poet's healing balm Strives to extract from his soft, giving palm; REMARKS. word glow in other parts of his works: To instance only in his Homer: (1.) Iliad ix. ver, 726.-With one resentment glows. (2.) Iliad xi. ver. 626.-There the battle glows. (3.) Ibid. ver. 995.-The closing flesh that instant ceas'd to glow. (4.) Iliad xii. ver. 45.-Encompass'd Hector glows. (5.) Ibid. ver. 475.-His beating breast with generous ardour glows. [6) Iliad. xviii. ver. 591.-Another part glow'd with refulgent arms. (7.) Ibid. ver. 654.—And curl'd on silver props in order glow. I am afraid of growing too luxuriant in examples, or I could stretch this catalogue to a great extent; but these are enough to prove his fondness for this beautiful word, which, therefore, let all future editions replace here. I am aware, after all, that burn is the proper word to convey an idea of what was said to be Mr. Curll's condition at this time: but from that very reason I infer the direct contrary. For surely every lover of our author will conclude he had more humanity than to insult a man on such a misfortune or calamity, which could never befal him purely by his own fault, but from an unhappy communication with another. This note is half Mr. Theobald, half Scribl. Ver. 203. Paolo Antonio Rolli,] an Italian poet, and writer of many operas in that language, which, partly by the help of his genius, prevailed in England near twenty years. He taught Italian to some fine gentlemen, who affected to direct the operas. Ver. 205. Bentley his mouth, &c.] Not spoken of the famous Dr. Richard Bentley, but of one VARIATIONS. Ver. 205. In former edit. Welsted. But Oldmixon the poet's healing balm, &c. And again in ver. 209. Unlucky Oldmixon! VOL. XII. 209 Unlucky Welsted! thy unfeeling master, 230 Now thousand tongues are heard in one loud din: The monkey-mimics rush discordant in; REMARKS. Tho. Bentley, a small eritic, who aped his uncle in a little Horace. The great one was intended to be dedicated to the lord Halifax, but (on a change of the ministry) was given to the earl of Oxford; for which reason the little one was dedicated to his son the lord Harley. Ver. 207. Welsted] Leonard Welsted, author of the Triumvirate, or a Letter in verse from Palæmon to Celia at Bath, which was meant for a satire on Mr. P. and some of his friends about the year 1718. He writ other things which we cannot remember. Smedley, in his Metamorphosis of Scribl rus, mentions one, the Hymn of a Gentleman to his Creator: And there was another in praise either of a Cellar, or a Garret. L W. characterized in the Пig Bábovs, or the Art of Sinking, as a didapper, and after as an eel, is said to be this person, by Dennis, Daily Journal of May 11, 1728. He was also characterised under another animal, a mole, by the author of the ensuing simile, which was handed about at the same tine: Dear Welsted, mark in dirty hole, Ver. 226. With thunder rumbling from the mustard bowl,] The old way of making thunder and mestard were the same; but since, it is more advantageously performed by troughs of wood with stops in them. Whether Mr. Dennis was the in ventor of that improvement, I know not; but it I 1 250 'Twas chattering, grinning, mouthing, jabbering all, Ver. 238. Norton,] See ver. 417.-J. Durant Breval, author of a very extraordinary book of travels, and some poems. See before, note on ver. 126. Ver. 258. Webster-and Whitfield] [The one the writer of a news-paper called the Weekly Miscellany, the other a field-preacher. This thought the only means of advancing religion was by the new-birth of spiritual madness: that by the old death of fire and faggot: and therefore they agreed in this, though in no other earthly thing, to abuse all the sober clergy. From the small success of these two extraordinary persons, we may learn how little hurtful bigotry and enthusiasm are, while the civil magistrate prudently forbears to lend his power to the one, in order to the employing it against the other.] twenty books: Eliza, ten; Alfred, twelve; the Redeemer, six; besides Job, in folio; the whole Book of Psalms; the Creation, seven books; Nature of Man, three books; and many more. It is in this sense he is styled afterwards the everlasting Blackmore. Notwithstanding all which, Mr. Gildon seems assured, "that this admirable author did not think himself upon the same foot with Homer."-Comp. Art. of Poetry, vol. 1. p. 108, But how different is the judgment of the author of Characters of the Times? p. 25, who says, "Sir Richard Blackmore is unfortunate in bappening to inistake his proper talents; and that he has not for many years been so much as named, or even thought of among writers." Even Mr. Dennis differs greatly from his friend Mr. Gildon : "Blackmore's action", saith he," has neither unity, nor integrity, nor morality, nor universality; and consequently he can have no fable, and no heroic poem: his narration is neither probable, delightful, nor wonderful; his characters have none of the necessary qualifications; the things contained in his narration are neither in their own nature delightful, nor numerous enough, nor rightly disposed, nor surprising, nor pathetic." -Nay, he proceeds so far as to say, sir Richard has no genius; first laying down that "genius is caused by a furious joy and pride of soul, on the conception of an extraordinary hint. Many men (says he) have their hints, without those motions of fury and pride of soul, because they want fire enough to agitate their spirits; and these we call cold writers. Others who have a great deal of fire, but have not excellent organs, feel the fore-mentioned motions, without the extraordinary hints; and these we call fustian writers. But he declares that sir Richard had neither the hints nor the motions." Remarks on Pr. Arth. octavo, 1696. Preface. This gentleman in his first works abused the character of Mr. Dryden; and in his last, of Mr. Pope, accusing him in very high and sober terms of profaneness and immorality (Essay on Polite Writing, vol. ii. p. 270.) on a mere report from Edm. Curll, that he was author of a travestie on the first psalm. Mr. Dennis took up the same report, but with the addition of what sir Richard bad neglected, an argument to prove it; which being very curious we shall here transcribe." It is he who burlesqued the psalms of David. It is apparent to me that psalm was burlesqued by a popish rhymester. Let rhyming persons who have been brought up protestants be otherwise what they will, let them be rakes, let them be Ver. 263. Long Chancery-lane] The place scoundrels, let them be atheists, yet education where the offices of chancery are kept. The long has made an invincible impression on them in bedetention of clients in that court, and the diffi-half of the sacred writings. But a popish rhymeculty of getting out, is humourously allegorized in these lines. Ver. 268. Who sings so loudly, and who sings so long.] A just character of sir Richard Blackmore, knight, who (as Mr. Dryden expresseth it) Writ to the rumbling of his coach's wheels. and whose indefatigable Muse produced no less than six epic pocins; Prince and King Arthur, ster has been brought up with a contempt for those sacred writings; now show me another popish rhymester but he." This manner of argumentation is usual with Mr. Dennis; he has employed the same against sir Richard himself, in a like charge of impiety and irreligion. "All Mr. Blackmore's celestial machines, as they cannot be defended so much as by common received opinion, so are they Then sighing thus, "And am I now threescore? REMARKS. of man." "In poetry he was not so happy as laborious, and therefore characterised by the Tatler, No. 62, by the name of Omicron the Unborn Poet." Curll, Key, p. 13. "He writ dramatic works, and a volume of poetry consisting of heroic epistles, &c. some whereof were very well done," said that great judge, Mr. Jacob, in his Lives of Poets, vol. ii. p. 303. directly contrary to the doctrine of the church of England for the visible descent of an angel must be a miracle. Now it is the doctrine of the church of England that miracles had ceased a long time before prince Arthur came into the world. Now if the doctrine of the church of England be true, as we are obliged to believe, then are all the celestial machines in prince Arthur unsuffer- In his Essay on Criticism, and the Arts of Logic able, as wanting not only human, but divine and Rhetoric, he frequently reflects on our author. probability. But if the machines are sufferable, But the top of his character was a perverter of that is, if they have so much as divine proba-history, in that scandalous one of the Stuarts in bility, then it follows of necessity that the doctrine of the church is false. So I leave it to every impartial clergyman to consider," &c.-Preface to the Remarks on Prince Arthur. folio, and his Critical History of England, two volumes octavo. Being employed by bishop Kennet, in publishing the historians in his collection, he falsified Daniel's Chronicle in numberless places. Yet this very man, in the preface to the first of these books, advanced a particular fact to charge three eminent persons of falsifying the lord Clarendon's History; which fact has been disproved by Dr. Atterbury, late bishop of Rochester, then the only survivor of them; and the particular part he pretended to be falsified, produced since, after almost ninety years, in that noble author's original manuscript. He was all his life a virulent party-writer for hire, and received his reward in a small place, which he en Ver. 270. (As morning prayer and flagellation end)] It is between eleven and twelve in the morning, after church service, that the criminals are whipt in Bridewell. This is to mark punctually the time of the day: Homer does it by the circumstance of the judges rising from court, or of the labourers dinner: our author by one very proper both to the persons and the scene of his poem, which we may remember commenced in the evening of the lord-mayor's day. The first book passed in that night; the next morning the games begin in the Strand, thence along Fleet-joyed to his death. street (places inhabited by booksellers), then they proceed by Bridewell toward Fleet-ditch, and lastly through Ludgate to the city, and the temple of the goddess. Ver. 280. the Weekly Journals] Papers of news and scandal intermixed, on different sides and parties, and frequently shifting from one side to the other, called the London Journal, British Journal, Daily Journal, &c. the concealed writers of which for some time were Oldmixon, Roome, Arnall, Concanen, and others; persons never seen by our author. Ver. 283. In naked majesty Oldmixon stands,] Mr. John Oldmixon, next to Mr. Dennis, the most ancient critic of our nation; an unjust censurer of Mr. Addison in his prose Essay on Criticism, whom also in his imitation of Bouhours (called the Arts of Logic and Rhetoric) he misrepresents in plain matter of fact; for in p. 45. he cites the Spectator as abusing Dr. Swift by name, where there is not the least hint of it; and in p. 304 is so injurious as to suggest that Mr. Addison himself writ that Tatler, No. 43, which says of his own simile, that "Tis as great as ever entered into the mind VARIATION. Ver. 283. In former edit.-great Dennis stands. Ver. 291. Next Smedley div'd ;] In the surrepti tious editions, this whole episode was applied to an initial letter E-, by whom if they meant the laureat, nothing was more absurd, no part agreeing with his character. The allegory evidently demands a person dipped in scandal, and deeply immersed in dirty work; whereas Mr. Eusden's writings rarely offended but by their length and multitude, and accordingly are taxed of nothing else in book i ver. 102. But the person here mentioned, an Irishman, was author and publisher of many scurrilous pieces, a weekly Whitehall Journal, in the year 1722, in the name of sir James Baker; and particularly whole volumes of Billingsgate against Dr. Swift and Mr. Pope, called Gulliveriana and Alexandriana, printed in octavo, 1728. Ver. 295. Then ** essay'd;] A gentleman of genius and spirit, who was secretly dipt in some papers of this kind, on whom our poet bestows a panegyric instead of a satire, as deserving to be better einployed than in party-quarrels, and personal invectives. VARIATION. Ver. 295. in former edit, Then **try'd, but hardly snatch'd from sight. No noise, no stir, no motion canst thou make, VARIATIONS. After ver. 298. in the first edit. followed these: REMARKS. Ver. 299. Concanen] Mathew Concanen, an Irishman, bred to the law. Smedley (one of his brethren in enmity to Swift) in his Metamorphosis of Scriblerus, p. 7. accuses him of having boasted of what he had not written, but others had revised and done for him." He was author of several dull and dead scurrilities in the British and London Journals, and in a paper called the Speculatist. In a pamphlet, called a Supplement to the Profound, he dealt very unfairly with our poet, not only frequently imputing to him Mr. Broome's verses (for which he might indeed seem in some degree accountable, having corrected what that gentleman did) but those of the duke of Buckingham, and others: to this rare piece somebody humorously caused him to take for his motto, De profundis clamavi. He was since a hired scribbler in the Daily Courant, where he poured forth much Billingsgate against the lord Bolingbroke, and others; after which this man was surprisingly promoted to administer justice and law in Jamaica. Ver. 306, 307. With each a sickly brother at his back-Sons of a day, &c.] These were daily papers, a number of which, to lessen the expense, were printed one on the back of another. Ver. 312. Osborne] A name assumed by the eldest and grav st of these writers, who, at last, being ashamed of his pupils, gave his paper over, and in his age remained silent. Ver. 314. Gazetteers] We ought not to suppose that a modern critic here taxeth the poet with an anachronism, affirming these gazetteers not to have lived within the time of his poem, and challenging us to produce any such paper of that date. But we may with equal assurance assert these gazetteers not to have lived since, and challenge all the learned world to produce one such paper at this day. Surely therefore, where the point is so obscure, our author ought not to be Censured too rashly. Scribl. Whirlpools and storms his circling arm invest, With all the might of gravitation blest. VARIATION. Ver. 315. In first edit. Not Welsted so: drawn endlong by his skull, Furious he sinks, precipitately dull. REMARKS., The Notwithstanding this affected ignorance of the good Scriblerus, the Daily Gazetteer was a title given very properly to certain papers, each of which lasted but a day. Into this, as a common sink, was received all the trash, which had been before dispersed in several journals, and circulated at the public expense of the nation. The authors were the same obscure men; though sometimes relieved by occasional essays from statesmen, courtiers, bishops, deans, and doctors. meaner sort were rewarded with money; others with places or benefices, from an hundred to a thousand a-year. It appears from the Report of the Secret Committee for inquiring into the Conduct of R. Earl of O." That no less than fifty thousand seventy-seven pounds eighteen shillings, were paid to authors and printers of newspapers, such as Free Britons, Daily Courants, Corn Cutter's Journals, Gazetters, and other political papers, between Feb. 10, 1731, and Feb. 10, 1741." Which shows the benevolence of one minister, to years in Britain, double the sum which gained have expended, for the current dulness of ten Louis XIV. so much honour, in annual pensions in a much longer time, not a pension at court, to learned men all over Europe. In which, and nor preferment in the church or universities, of tinguished for his learning separately from partyany consideration, was bestowed on any man dismerit, or pamphlet-writing. It is worth a reflection, that of all the panegyrics bestowed by these writers on this great minister, not one is at this day extant or remembered, not even so much credit done to his personal character by all they have written, as by one short occasional compliment of our author: Seen him I have; but in his happier hour Of social pleasure, ill exchang'd for power! Seen him, uncumber'd by the venal tribe, Smile without art, and win without a bribe. Ver. 315. Arnall] William Arnall, bred an attorney, was a perfect genius in this sort of work. He began under twenty with furious party-papers; then succeeded Concanen in the British Journal. At the first publication of the Dunciad, he prevailed on the author not to give him his due place in it, by a letter professing his detestation of such practices as his predecessor's. But since, by the most unexampled insolence, and personal abuse of several great men, the poet's particular friends, he most amply deserved a niche in the temple of infamy: witness a paper, called the Free Briton, a dedication entituled, To the Genuine Blunderer, 1732, and many others. He writ for hire, and valued himself upon it; not indeed without cause, it appearing by the aforesaid Report, that he received" for Free Britons, and other writings, in the space of four years, no less than ten thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven pounds six shillings and eight pence, out of the Treasury." |