he fo zealously defended; and adds an idle ftory of Pope's behaviour at a ta

vern.

The pamphlet was written with little power of thought or language, and, if fuffered to remain without notice, would have been very foon forgotten. Pope had now been enough acquainted with human life to know, if his paffion had not been too powerful for his underftanding, that, from a contention like his with Cibber, the world feeks nothing but diverfion, which is given at the expence of the higher character. When Cibber lampooned Pope, curiofity was excited; what Pope would fay of Cibber nobody enquired, but in hope that Pope's

afpe

afperity might betray his pain and leffen

his dignity.

He fhould therefore have fuffered the pamphlet to flutter and die, without confeffing that it ftung him. The dif honour of being fhewn as Cibber's antagonist could never be compenfated by the victory. Cibber had nothing to lose; when Pope had exhaufted all his malignity upon him, he would rife in the efteem both of his friends and his enemies. Silence only could have made him defpicable; the blow which did not appear to be felt, would have been ftruck in vain.

But Pope's irrafcibility prevailed, and he refolved to tell the whole English world that he was at war with Cibber;

and

and to fhew that he thought him no common adversary, he prepared no common vengeance; he published a new edition of the Dunciad, in which he degraded Theobald from his painful preeminence, and enthroned Cibber in his ftead. Unhappily the two heroes were of oppofite characters, and Pope was unwilling to lose what he had already written; he has therefore depraved his poem by giving to Cibber the old books, the cold pedantry and fluggish pertinacity of Theobald.

Pope was ignorant enough of his own. intereft to make another change, and introduced Ofborne contending for the prize among the bookfellers. Ofborne was a man intirely deftitute of fhame,

without

without fenfe of any difgrace but that of poverty. He told me, when he was doing that which raised Pope's refentment, that he fhould be put into the Dunciad; but he had the fate of Caffandra; I gave no credit to his prediction, till in time I faw it accomplished. The fhafts of fatire were directed equally in vain against Cibber and Ofborne; being repelled by the impenetrable impudence of one, and deadened by the impaffive dulnefs of the other. Pope confeffed his own pain by his anger; but he gave no pain to those who had provoked him. He was able to hurt none but himself; by transferring the fame ridicule from one to another, he deftroyed its efficacy for by fhewing that what he

had

had faid of one he was ready to fay of another, he reduced himself to the infignificance of his own magpye, who from his cage calls cuckold at a venture.

Cibber, according to his engagement, repaid the Dunciad with another pamphlet, which, Pope faid, would be as god as a dofe of hartfhorn to him; but his tongue and his heart were at variance. I have heard Mr. Richardfon relate, that he attended his father on a vifit, when one of Cibber's pamphlets came into the hands of Pope, who faid, Thefe things are my diverfion. They fat by him while he perufed it, and faw his features writhen with anguish; and young Richardfon faid to his father, when they returned, that he hoped to be preferved

from