third of profound, dark, and dirty Party-writers. Laftly, for the Critics, the Goddefs propofes (with great propriety) an Exercife not of their parts, but their patience, in bearing the works of two voluminous Authors, one in verfe, and the other in profe, deliberately read, without fleeping: The various effects of which, with the feveral degrees and manners of their operation, are here fet forth; till the whole number, not of Critics only, but of fpectators, a&tors, and all present, fall faft afieep; which naturally and neceffarily ends the games. CGrignion jeulp. F. Hayman inv.et del. Dunciad, Book II. H' BOOK II. IGH on a gorgeous feat, that far out-fhone, REMARKS. TWO things there are,upon the fuppofition of which the very bafis of all verbal criticifm is founded and fupported: The first, that an Author could never fail to ufe the best word on every occafion; the second, that a Critic cannot chufe but know which that is. This being granted, whenever any word doth not fully content us, we take upon us to conclude, first, that the author could never have used it; and, fecondly, that he must have used that very one, which we conjecture, in its stead. We cannot, therefore, enough admire the learned Scriblerus for his alteration of the text in the two laft verfes of the preceding book, which in all the former editions ftood thus: Hoarse thunder to its bottom fhook the bog, And the loud nation croak'd, God fave king Log. He has, with great judgment, tranfpofed these two epithets; putting boarfe to the nation, and loud to the thunder; And this being evidently the true reading, he vouchfafed not so much as to mention the former; for which affertion of the just right of a Critic, he merits the acknowledgment of all found Commenta tors. VER. 2. Henley's gilt tub,] The pulpit of a Diffenter is ufually called a tub; but that of Mr. Orator Henley was covered with velvet, and adorned with gold. He had alfo a fair altar, and over it is this extraordinary infcription, The Primitive Eucharift. Sce the hiftory of this perfon, book iii. IMITATIONS. VER. 1. High on a gorgeous feat] Parody of Milton, book ii. Or that where on her Curls the public pours, Mix on his look: All eyes direct their REMARKS. Ibid. or Fleckno's Irish throne,] Richard Fleckno was an Irish prieft, but had laid afide (as himself expressed it) the mechanic part of priesthood. He printed fome plays, poems, letters, and travels. I doubt not, our author took occafion to mention him in respect to the Poem of Mr. Dryden, to which this bears fome resemblance, though of a character more different from it than that of the Æneid from the Iliad, or the Lutrin of Boileau from the Defait de Bouts rimées of Sarazin. It may be juft worth mentioning, that the Eminence from whence the ancient Sophifts entertained their auditors, was called by the pompous name of a Throne ;- Geóv8 Tivos úfnaš Επὶ θρόνο τινὸς ὑψηλό μάλα σοφιςικῶς τὰ σοβαρῶς. Themiftius, Orat. i. - VER. 3. Or that where on her Curls the public pours,] Edmund Curl ftood in the pillory at Charing-crofs, in March 1727-8. "This (faith Edmund Curl) is a falfe Affertion I ❝had indeed the corporal punishment of what the Gentlemen "of the long Robe are pleafed jocofely to call mounting the "Roftrum for one hour: but that scene of Action was not in "the month of March, but in February." [Curliad 12 p. 19.] And of the History of his being toft in a Blanket, he faith, "Here, Scriblerus! thou leefeth in what thou afferteft con ทา |