cufed no witnefs in his own caufe, the perfon in whofe regard accus'd, dead! But if there be living any one nobleman whose friendship, yea, any one gentleman whose 1 fubfcription Mr. Addifon procur'd to our author; let him ftand forth, that truth may appear! Amicus Plato, amicus Socrates, fed magis amica veritas. But in verity the whole ftory of the libel is a Lye; Witness those perfons of integrity, who fe veral years before Mr. Addifon's decease, did I fee and approve of the faid verfes, in no wife a libel but a friendly rebuke, fent privately in our author's own hand to Mr. Addifon himself, and never made publick till by Curl their own bookseller in his mifcellanies, 12mo. 1727. One name alone which I am authorized here to declare, will fufficiently evince this truth, that of the Right Honou rable the EARL of BURLINGTON. Next is he taxed of a crime, (with fome authors I doubt, more hienous than any in morality) to wit plagiarifm, from the inventive and quaint-conceited JAMES MOORE SMITH, Gent. (a)" Upon reading the third volume of "Pope's Mifcellanies, I found five lines "which I thought excellent, and happening "to praise them, a gentleman produced a "modern comedy (the Rival Modes) pub (a) Daily Journal, March 18. 1728. "lished <lifhed laft year, where were the fame ver ❝fes to a tittle, (fpeaking of women. See how the world its pretty flaves rewards! "These gentlemen are undoubtedly the first "plagiaries that pretended to make a repu"tation by ftealing from a man's works in "his own life-time and out of a publick, "print." Let us join to this what is written by the author of the Rival modes, the faid Mr. James Moore Smith, in a Letter to our author himself, (who had informed him, a month before that play was acted, Jan. 27, 1726-7. that these verses which he had before given him leave to infert in it, would be known for his, fome copies being got abroad)" He defires nevertheless, that fince "the Lines had been read in his Comedy "to feveral, Mr. P. would not deprive it "of them, &c." Surely if we add the teftimonies of the Lord BOLINGBROKE, of the Lady to whom the faid verfes were origi nally addreft, of Hugh Bethel, Efq; and others who knew them as our author's long before the faid gentleman compofed his play; It is hoped, the ingenuous that affect not error, will rectify their opinion by the fuffrage of fo honourable perfonages. And And yet followeth another charge, infinuating no lefs than his enmity both to church and state, which could come from no other Informer than the faid Mr. JAMES MOORE SMITH. (a)" The Memoirs of a Parifb clark was "a very dull and unjuft abuse of an excel"lent perfon who wrote in defence of our "Religion and Conftitution; and who has been "dead many years." Verily this alfo feemeth most untrue; it being known to divers that these memoirs were written at the feat of the Lord Harcourt in Oxfordshire before that excellent perfon (Bish. Burnet's) death, and many years before the appearance of that Hiftory of which they are pretended to be an abufe. Moft true it is, that Mr. Moore had fuch a defign, and was himself the man who preft Dr. Arburthnot and Mr. Pope to affist him therein: and that he borrow'd those memoirs of our auther when that hiftory came forth, with intention to turn them to fuch abuse. But being able to obtain from our author but one fingle Hint, and either changing his mind or having more mind than ability, he contented himself to keep the faid memoirs and read them as his own to all his acquaintance. A noble perfon there is, into whofe company Mr. Pope (a) Daily Journal, April 3, 1728; once once chanced to introduce him, who well remembreth the converfation of Mr. Moore to have turned upon the " contempt he had "for the work of that reverend prelate, and "how full he was of a defign he declared "bimself to have, of expoling it." This noble perfon is the EARL of PETERBOROUGH. Here in truth fhould we crave pardon of all the forefaid right honourable and worthy perfonages, for having mention'd them in the fame page with fuch weekly riff-raff railers and rhymers; but that we had their own ever-honour'd commands for the fame, and that they are introduc'd not as witnesses in the controverfy, but as witneffes that cannot be controverted; not to difpute, but to decide. Certain it is, that dividing our writers into two claffes, of fuch who were acquaintance, and of fuch who were strangers to our author; the former are those who speak well, and the other those who speak evil of him. Of the first clafs, the moft noble JOHN Duke of BUCKINGHAM fums up his perfonal character in these lines, (a) Verfes to Mr. P. on his translation of Homer. So So alfo is he decypher'd by the honourable (a) Say, wond'rous youth, what column wilt thou chufe? What laurel'd arch, for thy triumphant Muse? Tho' each great ancient court thee to his shrine, Tho' ev'ry laurel thro' the dome be thine, Go to the good and just, an awful train ! Thy foul's delight Recorded in like manner for his virtuous difpofition, and gentle bearing, by the inge nious Mr. WALTER HART, in this Apoftrophe.. (b) O! ever worthy, ever crown'd with praise ! The witty and moral Satyrist Dr. EDWARD YOUNG,.. wifhing fome check to the corruptions and evil manners of the times, calls out upon our (a) Poem prefixt to his works. (b). In his poems, printed for B. Lintott. poet, |