May the omen of Longevity prove fortunate to her fucceffor!) You fhall have it in verse.

ARGUS.

When wife Ulyffes from his native coaft
Long kept by wars, and long by tempefts toft,
Arriv'd at laft, poor, old, difguis'd, alone,
To all his friends, and ev'n his Queen, unknown,
Chang'd as he was, with age, and toils, and cares,
Furrow'd his rev'rend face, and white his hairs,
In his own Palace fore'd to ask his bread,
Scorn'd by thofe flaves his former bounty fed,
Forgot of all his own domeftick crew;

The faithful Dog alone his rightful Mafter knew!
Unfed, unhous'd, neglected, on the clay,
Like an old fervant new cashier'd, he lay
Touch'd with refentment of ungrateful man,
And longing to behold his antient Lord again.
Him when he faw---he rofe, and crawld to meet,
('Twas all he cou'd) and fawn'd, and kifs'd his feet,
Seix'd with dumb joy---then falling by his fide,
Own'd his returning Lord, look'd up, and dy'd!

Plutarch relating how the Athenians were oblig'd to abandon Athens in the time of Themistocles, fteps back again out of the way of his Hiftory, purely to defcribe the lamentable cries and howlings of the poor Dogs they left behind. He makes mention of one, that follow'd his Mafter across the Sea to Salamis where he dy'd and was honour'd with a Tomb by the Athenians, who gave the name of the Dog's Grave to that part of the Island where he was buried: this refpect to a dog in the most polite people of the world, is very obfervable. A modern inftance of gratitude to a Dog (tho' we have but few fuch) is, that the chief Order of Denmark

:

Denmark (now injuriously call'd the Order of the Elephant) was inftituted in memory of the fidelity of a dog nam'd Wild-brat, to one of their Kings who had been deferted by his fubjects: He gave his Order this motto, or to this effect, (which still remains) Wild-brat was faithful. Sir William Trumbull has told me a ftory which he heard from one that was prefent: King Charles I. being with fome of his Court during his troubles, a difcourfe arofe what fort of dogs deferv'd pre-eminence, and it being on all hands agreed to belong either to the Spaniel or Greyhound, the King gave hisOpinion on the part of the Greyhound, becaufe (faid he) it has all the Good-nature of the other, without the Fawning. A good piece of fatire upon his Courtiers, with which I will conclude my Difcourse of Dogs. Call me a Cynic, or what you please, in revenge for all this impertinence, I will be contented; provided you will but believe me when I fay a bold word for a Chriftian, that, of all dogs, you will find none more faithful than,

Your, &c.

I

April 10, 1710.

Had written to you fooner, but that I made fome fcruple of fending prophane things to you in Holy Week. Befides, our Family wou'd have been scandaliz'd to fee me write, who take it for granted I write nothing but ungodly Verses. I affure I affure you I am look'd upon in the Neighbourhood for a very well-difpos'd perfon, no great Hunter indeed, but a great Admirer of the noble sport, and only unhappy in my want of conftitution for that, and Drinking. They all fay 'tis pity I am fo fickly, and I think 'tis pity they are fo healthy. But I

fay

fay nothing that may deftroy their good Opinion of me. I have not quoted one Latin Author fince I came down, but have learn'd without Book a Song of Mr Thomas Durfey's, who is your only Poet of tolerable Reputation in this Country. He makes all the Merriment in our Entertainments, and but for him, there would be fo miferable a dearth of Catches, that I fear they would put either the Parson or me upon making fome for 'em. Any Man, of any Quality, is heartily welcome to the best Toping Table of our Gentry, who can roar out fome Rhapfodies of his Works: fo that in the fame manner as it was faid of Homer to his Detractors, What? Dares any Man speak against him who has given fo many Men to Eat? (Meaning the Rhapfodifts who live by repeating his Verfes) thus may it be faid of Mr Durfey to his Detractors; Dares any one defpife him, who has made fo many Men Drink? Alas, Sir! this is a Glory which neither you nor I must ever pretend to. Neither you with your Ovid, nor I with my Statius, can amufe a whole Board of Juftices and extraordinary 'Squires, or gain one hum of Approbation, or laugh of Admiration! Thefe things (they wou'd fay) are too ftudious, they may do well enough with fuch as love Reading, but give us your antient Poet Mr Durfey! 'Tis mortifying enough, it must be confefs'd; but however, let us proceed in the Way that Nature has directed us-Multi multa fciunt, fed nemo omnia, as it is faid in the Almanack. Let us communicate our Works for our mutual Comfort; fend me Elegies, and you fhall not want Heroics. At prefent, I have only thefe Arguments in Profe to the Thebaid, which you claim by Promife, as I do your Tranflation of Pars me Sulmo tenet- -and the Ring: the reft I hope for as foon as you can conveniently tranfcribe

3

tranfcribe 'em, and whatsoever Orders you are pleas'd to give me shall be punctually obey'd by

Your, &c.

May 10, 1710.

Acknow

Had not fo long omitted to express my ledgments to you, for fo much Good-nature and Friendship as you lately fhow'd me; but that I am but juft return'd to my own Hermitage, from Mr Caryl's, who has done me fo many Favours, that I am almost inclin'd to think my Friends infect one another, and that your Converfation with him has made him as obliging to me as yourself. I can affure you he has a fincere Refpect for you, and this I believe he has partly contracted from me, who am too full of you not to overflow upon those I converfewith. But I must now be contented to converfe only with the Dead of this World, that is to fay, the dull and obfcure, every way obfcure, in their Intellects as well their Perfons: Or elfe have recourfe to the living Dead, the old Authors with whom you are fo well acquainted, even from Virgil down to Aulus Gellius, whom I do not think a Critic by any means to be compar'd to Mr. Dennis: And I muft declare pofitively to you, that I will perfift in this Opinion, till you become a little more civil to Atticus. Who cou'd have imagin'd, that he who had escaped all the Misfortunes of his Time, unhurt even by the Profcriptions of Anthony and Auguftus; fhou'd in thefe Days find an Enemy more fevere and barbarous than those Tyrants? and that Enemy the gentleft too, the beft-natur'd of Mortals, Mr. C? Whom I must in this compare once more to Auguftus; who feem'd not more un

like

like himself, in the Severity of one part of his Life, and the Clemency of the other, than you. I leave you to reflect on this, and hope that Time (which mollifies Rocks, and of stiff Things makes limber) will turn a refolute Critic to a gentle Reader; and inftead of this pofitive, tremendous, new-fashion'd Mr. C-, reftore unto us our old Acquaintance, the soft, beneficent, and courteous Mr C-.

I expect much, towards the civilizing of you in your critical Capacity, from the innocent Air and Tranquillity of our Foreft, when you do me the Favour to vifit it. In the mean time, it wou'd do well by way of Preparative, if you wou'd duly and conftantly every Morning read over a Pastoral of Theocritus or Virgil; and let the Lady Isabella put your Macrobius and Aulus Gellius fomewhere out of your way, for a Month or fo. Who knows but travelling and long airing in an open Field, may contribute more fuccefsfully to the cooling a Critic's Severity, than it did to the affwaging of Mr Cheek's Anger of old? In these Fields you will be fecure of finding no Enemy, but the most faithful and affectionate of your Friends, &c.

May 17, 1710.

AFTER I had recover'd from a dangerous Ill

nefs which was firft contracted in Town, about a Fortnight after my coming hither I troubled you with a Letter, and a Paper inclos'd, which you had been fo obliging as to defire a Sight of when laft I faw you, promifing me, in return, fome Tranflations of your's from Ovid. Since when, I have not had a Syllable from your Hands, fo that 'tis to be fear'd that tho' I have escaped Death, I

have