A shaggy tap'stry, worthy to be spread Instructive work! whose wry-mouth'd portraiture 145 150 REMARKS. When with thy Homer thou shalt shine In one establish'd fame : "When none shall rail, and ev'ry lay That day (for come it will) that day Ver. 143. A shaggy tap'stry,] A sorry kind of tapestry frequent in old inns, made of worsted or some coarser stuff; like that which is spoken of by Donne Faces as frightful as theirs who whip Christ in old hangings. The imagery woven in it alludes to the mantle of Cloanthus, in Æneid v. -P. Ver. 144. On Codrus' old, or Dunton's modern bed ;] Of Codrus the poet's bed, see Juvenal, describing his poverty very copiously. Sat. iii. ver. 103, &c. Lectus erat Codro, &c. "Codrus had but one bed, so short to boot, That his short wife's short legs hung dangling out. And yet poor Codrus all that nothing lost."-Dryden. But Mr. Concanen, in his dedication of the Letters, Advertisements, &c. to the author of the Dunciad, assures us, "that Juvenal never satirized the poverty of Codrus." :: John Dunton was a broken bookseller, and abusive scribbler he writ Neck or Nothing, a violent satire on some ministers of state, a libel on the Duke of Devonshire and the Bishop of Peterborough, &c.-P. Ver. 148. And Tutchin flagrant from the scourge] John Tutchin, author of some vile verses, and of a weekly paper called The Observator. He was sentenced to be whipped through several towns in the west of England, upon which he petitioned King James II. to be hanged. When that prince died in exile, he wrote an invective against his memory, occasioned by some humane elegies on his death. He lived to the time of Queen Anne.-P. Authors of the Flying-post and Ver. 149. There Ridpath, Roper,] Himself among the storied chiefs he spies, And, Oh! (he cried) what street, what lane, but knows See in the circle, next, Eliza plac'd, REMARKS. 155 Post-boy, two scandalous papers on different sides, for which they equally and alternately deserved to be cudgelled, and were so.-P. Ver. 149. cudgell'd] It is painful to reflect, that even Dryden once underwent this discipline. Mr. Nelson, whose truth cannot be questioned, writes thus to Dr. Mapletoft, Jan. 2, 1679; “Your friend and schoolfellow Mr. Dryden has been severely beaten for being the supposed author of a late very abusive lampoon. There has been a good sum of money offered to find who set them on work; 'tis said they received their orders from the Duchess of Portsmouth, who is concerned in the lampoon."— Warton. Ver. 151. Himself among the storied chiefs he spies,] The history of Curl's being tossed in a blanket, and whipped by the scholars of Westminster, is well known. Of his purging and vomiting, see A full and true account of a horrid Revenge on the body of Edm.Curl, &c. in Swift and Pope's Miscellanies.-P. Ver. 157. See in the circle, next, Eliza plac'd,] In this game is exposed, in the most contemptuous manner, the profligate licentiousness of those shameless scribblers (for the most part of that sex which ought least to be capable of such malice or impudence) who, in libellous Memoirs and Novels, reveal the faults or misfortunes of both sexes, to the ruin of public fame, or disturbance of private happiness. Our good poet (by the whole cast of his work being obliged not to take off the irony), where he could not show his indignation, hath shown his contempt, as much as possible; having here drawn as vile a picture as could be represented in the colours of Epic poesy. SCRIBLERUS.-P. Ver. 157. Eliza Haywood;] This woman was authoress of those most scandalous books called The Court of Carimania, and the New Utopia. For the two babes of love, see CURL, Key, p. 22. But whatever reflection he is pleased to throw upon this Lady, surely it was what from him she little deserved, who had celebrated Curl's undertakings for reformation of manners, and declared herself" to be so perfectly acquainted with the sweetness of his disposition, and that tenderness with which he considered the errors of his fellow-creatures, that, though she should find the little inadver IMITATIONS. Ver. 151. Himself among the storied chiefs he spies,] Se quoque principibus permixtum agnovit Achivis Constitit, et lacrymans: Quis jam locus, inquit, Achate! Quæ regio in terris nostri non plena laboris ?" Virg. Æn. i.—P. Ver. 156. And the fresh vomit run for ever green!] A parody on these lines of a late noble author: Fair as before her works she stands confess'd, In flow'rs and pearls by bounteous Kirkall dress'd. 160 With cow-like udders, and with ox-like eyes: Osborne and Curl accept the glorious strife, REMARKS. 165 tencies of her own life recorded in his papers, she was certain it would be done in such a manner as she could not but approve." Mrs. HAYWOOD, Hist. of Clar. printed in the Female Dunciad, p. 18.—P. Ver. 160. Kirkall, the name of an Engraver. Some of this Lady's works were printed in four volumes in 12mo. with her picture thus dressed up before them.-P. Ver. 167. Osborne, Thomas] A bookseller in Gray's Inn, very well qualified by his impudence to act this part; therefore placed here instead of a less deserving predecessor. This man published advertisements for a year together, pretending to sell Mr. Pope's subscription books of Homer's Iliad at half the price; of which books he had none, but cut to the size of them (which was quarto) the common books in folio, without copper-plates, on a worse paper, and never above half the value. Upon this advertisement the Gazetteer harangued thus, July 6, 1739. "How melancholy must it be to a writer to be so unhappy as to see his works hawked for sale in a manner so fatal to his fame! How, with honour to yourself, and justice to your subscribers, can this be done? What an ingratitude to be charged on the only honest poet that lived in 1738! and than whom virtue has not had a shriller trumpeter for many ages! That you were once generally admired and esteemed, can be denied by none; but that you and your works are now despised, is verified by this fact:" which being utterly false did not indeed much humble the author, but drew this just chastisement on the bookseller.-P.† Ver. 167. Osborne] This Osborne was the bookseller who purchased the great library of the Earl of Oxford for 13,000l., which, says Mr. IMITATIONS. Ver. 158. Two babes of love close clinging to her waist ;] Ver. 163. -yon Juno Virg. Æneid. v.—P. With cow-like udders, and with ox-like eyes :] In allusion to Homer's Βοῶπις πότνια "Ηρη.-Ρ. Ver. 165. This China Jordan] "Tertius Argolicâ hac galeâ contentus abito." Virg. Æneid. vi. In the games of Homer, Iliad xxiii. there are set together, as prizes, a Lady and a Kettle, as in this place Mrs. Haywood and a Jordan. But there the preference in value is given to the Kettle, at which Mad. Dacier is justly displeased. Mrs. H. is here treated with distinction, and acknowledged to be the more valuable of the two.-P. One on his manly confidence relies, 170 175 One on his vigour and superior size. Thro' half the heav'ns he pours th' exalted urn; REMARKS. Oldys, was not more than the binding of the books had cost. Dr. Johnson wrote the preface to the catalogue, and is reported, during this employment, to have knocked Osborne down with a folio in his shop. But Johnson himself used to say, "I beat him for being impertinent to me; but it was in my own chamber, and not in his shop."-Warton. 66 Ver. 183. Thro' half the heav'ns he pours th' exalted urn;] In a IMITATIONS. Ver. 169, 170. One on his manly confidence relies, One on his vigour] "Ille-melior motu, fretusque juventâ : Hic membris et mole valens." Virg. Æneid. v.-P. Ver. 173, 174. So Jove's bright bow Sure sign, The words of Homer, of the Rainbow, in Iliad xi. --ὥς τε Κρονίων Εν νέφεϊ στήριξε, τέρας μερόπων ἀνθρώπων. Que le fils de Saturne a fondé dans les nües, pour être dans tous les âges une signe à tous les mortels." DACIER.-P. Ver. 181, 182. So, fam'd like thee for turbulence and horns, Eridanus] Virgil mentions these two qualifications of Eridanus, Georg. iv. "Et gemina auratus taurino cornua vultu, In mare purpureum violentior influit amnis." The poets fabled of this river Eridanus, that it flowed through the skies. DENHAM, Cooper's Hill: 66 Heav'n her Eridanus no more shall boast, Whose fame's in thine, like lesser currents, lost; Thy nobler stream shall visit Jove's abodes, To shine among the stars, and bathe the Gods.”—P. Swift as it mounts, all follow with their eyes: REMARKS. 185 manuscript Dunciad (where are some marginal corrections of some gentlemen some time deceased) I have found another reading of these lines, thus: And lifts his urn, thro' half the heav'ns to flow; His rapid waters in their passage glow. This I cannot but think the right. For, first, though the difference between burn and glow may seem not very material to others, to me I confess the latter has an elegance, a je ne sais quoi, which is much easier to be conceived than explained. Secondly, every reader of our poet must have observed how frequently he uses this word glow in other parts of his works. To instance only in his Homer: (1.) Iliad ix. ver. 726.-With one resentment glows. (2.) Iliad xi. ver. 625.-There the battle glows. (3.) Iliad xi. ver. 984.-The closing flesh that instant ceas'd to glow. (4.) Iliad xii. ver. 55.-Encompass'd Hector glows. (5.) Iliad xii. ver. 475.-His beating breast with gen'rous ardour glows. (6.) Iliad xviii. ver. 591.-Another part glow'd with refulgent arms. (7.) Iliad xviii. ver. 654.-And, curl'd on silver props, in order glow. I am afraid of growing too luxuriant in examples, or I could stretch this catalogue to a great extent; but these are enough to prove his fondness for this beautiful word, which, therefore, let all future editions replace here. I am aware, after all, that burn is the proper word to convey an idea of what was said to be Mr. Curl's condition at this time; but from that very reason I infer the direct contrary. For surely every lover of our author will conclude he had more humanity than to insult a man on such a misfortune or calamity, which could never befal him purely by his own fault, but from an unhappy communication with another. This note is half Mr. THEOBALD, half SCRIBLERUS.-P. Warton justly adds, "It reflects shame on whoever wrote it."-Bowles. Warton says, "It reflects shame on both of them;" entertaining no doubt it seems, that Theobald and Scriblerus were the authors! Ver. 187. The high-wrought day,] Some affirm that this was originally the well-p-t day; but the poet's decency would not suffer it.-P. Here the learned Scriblerus manifests great anger. He exclaims against all such conjectural emendations in this manner. "Let it suffice, O Pallas! that every noble ancient Greek or Roman, hath suffered the impertinent correction of every Dutch, German, and Switz Schoolmaster! Let our English at least escape, whose intrinsic is scarce of marble so solid, as not to be impaired or soiled by such rude and dirty hands. Suffer them to call their works their own, and after death, at least to find rest and sanctuary from critics! When these men have ceased to rail, let them not begin to do worse-to comment. Let them not conjecture into nonsense, correct out of all correctness, and restore into obscurity and confusion. Miserable fate! which can befal only the sprightliest wits that have written, and will befal them only from such dull ones as could never write." SCRIBLERUS.-P.† It has been thought expedient here to restore this prophetic appeal of the learned Scriblerus, which has been omitted in the two last editions of the works of our author, for reasons best known to the editors. |