THE ensuing correspondence demonstrates that the style of levity which Pope seemed inclined to adopt in his letters to Mr. Cromwell was not of long duration, and that at a very early period of life he had formed an acquaintance with the most distinguished literary characters of the age. These letters are written in a free and confidential strain, and evince that the friendship between Addison and Pope began under the most favourable auspices, and that it received no interruption from any advice given by Addison respecting the machinery of the Rape of the Lock, as has generally been supposed. That Steele should have been anxious to engage the assistance of a young man of such distinguished talents, in the support of his Guardian, was naturally to be expected; and to his solicitations we are indebted for several excellent papers, and for some very interesting poetical pieces. Dr. Warton has observed, that "throughout all the letters of Pope to Addison, there is a stiffness and study, that seem to shew that they did not contain sentiments that flowed freely and unreservedly from his heart." This remark, which extends further than to style, is scarcely justified by any thing that appears in the letters; throughout which it is impossible to discover a shadow of coolness or distrust, till we arrive at the letter of the 10th Oct. 1714, the last in the collection; which was written after some misunderstanding had occurred between them, and is as manly, open, and conciliatory, as his former letters are friendly, confidential, and respectful. I HAVE received your very kind letter. That part of it which is grounded upon your belief that I have much affection and friendship for you, I receive with great pleasure. That which acknowledges the honour done to your Essay,* I have no pretence to. It was written by one whom I will make you acquainted with, which is the best return I can make to you for your favour to, Sir, Your, &c. LETTER II. FROM MR. STEELE. SIR, I July 26, 1711. WRIT to you the other day, and hope you have received my letter. This is for the same end, * The Essay on Criticism, published in 1711, which was mentioned with great commendation in the Spectator, by Addison, (253) with whom Steele promises Pope to make him acquainted, which he accordingly did shortly afterwards. to know whether you are at leisure to help Mr. Clayton, that is, me, to some words for music against winter. Your answer to me at Will's, will be a great favour to, Sir, Your, &c. LETTER III. FROM MR. STEELE. Ι June 1, 1712. I AM at a solitude, a house between Hampstead and London, wherein Sir Charles Sedley died. This circumstance set me a thinking and ruminating upon the employments in which men of wit* exercise themselves. It was said of Sir Charles, who breathed his last in this room, Sedley has that prevailing gentle art, Which can with a resistless charm impart Till the poor vanquish'd maid dissolves away This was a happy talent to a man of the town; but I dare say, without presuming to make uncharitable conjectures on the author's present con * Pope said of Steele, that though he led a careless and vicious life, yet he had, nevertheless, a love and reverence of virtue. It is said George I. sent five hundred guineas to Steele for the Dedication of his Conscious Lovers. Dennis wrote against this comedy, and called Steele a two-penny author, alluding to the price of his Tatler. Warton. dition, he would rather have had it said of him that he had prayed, O thou my voice inspire, Who touch'd Isaiah's hallow'd lips with fire! I have turned to every verse and chapter, and think you have preserved the sublime heavenly spirit throughout the whole, especially at Hark, a glad voice—and - The lamb with wolves shall graze-There is but one line* which I think is below the original, He wipes the tears for ever from our eyes. You have expressed it with a good and pious, but not so exalted and poetical a spirit as the prophet: The Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces. If you agree with me in this, alter it by way of paraphrase or otherwise, that when it comes into a volume it may be amended. Your poem is already better than the Pollio. I am your, &c. * In consequence of this objection, this line was altered thus: From every eye he wipes off every tear. I own I cannot forbear thinking that this repetition of the word every is a quaint and pretty modernism, unsuited to the subject. Warton. LETTER IV. TO MR. STEELE. June 18, 1712. You have obliged me with a very kind letter, by which I find you shift the scene of your life from the town to the country, and enjoy that mixed state which wise men both delight in, and are qualified for. Methinks the moralists and philosophers have generally run too much into extremes in commending entirely either solitude, or public life. In the former, men for the most part grow useless by too much rest, and in the latter are destroyed by too much precipitation; as waters lying still, putrify, and are good for nothing, and running violently on, do but the more mischief in their passage to others, and are swallowed up and lost the sooner themselves. Those indeed who can be useful to all states, should be like gentle streams, that not only glide through lonely valleys and forests amidst the flocks and the shepherds, but visit populous towns in their course, and are at once of ornament and service to them. But there are another sort of people who seem designed for solitude, such, I mean, as have more to hide than to show. As for my own part, I am one of those of whom Seneca says: Tam umbratiles sunt, ut putent in turbido esse quicquid in luce est. Some men, like some pictures, are fitter for a corner than a full light; and, I believe, such as have |