326 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2nd s. No 69., April 25. '67. 



and were generally thought to be the joint pro- 

 duction of Lady Mary and Lord Hervey. Lord 

 Wharncliffe, on the faith of ' finding the poem 

 copied into a book verified by her own hand as 

 written by her,' is inclined to conclude that they 

 were hers alone ; and they were advertised, and 

 Pope so quotes them, as being written ' hy a Lady 

 of Quality.^ But there is, on the other hand, some 

 evidence that would lead to a different conclusion. 

 The Original Edition (in the Ickworth volume) 

 makes no mention of a 'Lady ' on the title-page, but 

 has a manuscript preface and several manuscript 

 corrections and ' additions, with a new manuscript 

 title-page prepared ' by the author ' for a second 

 edition, all of which are in ' Lord Hervey's ' own 

 hand. This creates a strong presumption that he 

 was the sole author, though it is perhaps not alto- 

 gether conclusive." On this I may remark that 

 what I believe to be the original edition of these 

 verses, does make mention of a Lady on the title- 

 page. I have a copy now before me " printed for 

 A. Dodd." The copy seen at Ickworth is, I be- 

 lieve, not the " original edition," but one published 

 immediately after, by Roberts, of which I have 

 also a copy. The first of these is advertised in the 

 Daily Post of March 8, 1733: — "This day is 

 published (price sixpence), ' Verses addressed to 

 the Imitator,' &c. ' By a Lady. Printed for A. 

 Dodd, without Temple Bar.' " The other edition 

 is advertised in the Daily Journal of March 9 : 

 " This day is published (price sixpence), To the 

 Imitator of the Satire of the Second Book of 

 Horace. Printed for J. Roberts," &c. Dodd 

 denounced this rival edition as a piracy in the 

 following advertisement in the Daily Post of 

 March 10: " N.B. The public are desired to ob- 

 serve the Verses have the above title, and that the 

 words ' by a Lady ' and printed for A. Dodd be in 

 the title-page, for there is a spurious and piratical 

 edition of these Verses abroad, printed from a very 

 bad copy." To this Roberts replied at the foot of 

 his advertisement, in the next number of the Daily 

 Post, thus : " N.B. This being the genuine and 

 correct edition, is in three sheets." These copies 

 appear, on a cursory examination, not to differ ; 

 but as they appeared almost simultaneously, and 

 immediately after the poem of Pope, to which the 

 Verses were a reply, and as Mr, Croker has seen 

 a copy of Roberts's edition, with Lord Hervey's 

 own corrections, I suspect that the double publi- 

 cation was intentional, and that the insertion in 

 the one case, and the omission in the other, of the 

 words " by a Lady," were merely for the purpose 

 of mystification. Lord Hervey probably under- 

 took to publish a copy through Roberts, in which 

 case it might be thought necessary, in order to 

 keep up the mystery, to make some corrections 

 for a new edition in his own hand ; but with the 

 words " by a Lady " on the title-page of the 

 original edition, the words " by a Lady of Quality" 



In the advertisement, and with the fact of Lady 

 Mary's having copied them into a book, verified 

 by her own hand as written by her, I cannot but 

 believe that she was the writer. T. 



Verses to Lord Hervey. — The following lines, 

 copied from a collection of poetry published in 

 1735, under the title of 2'he Cuckold's Miscellany, 

 or a Modest Plea for Padlocks, may deserve a 

 place among your "Popiana." 



The names of Lord Hervey and Pope are in the 

 original only designated by the letters H. and P. 



" Verses to Lord Hervey. 



" If You are so unhappy in your mind, 

 That from Pope's Numbers you no Pleasure find, 

 Yet why, my Lord, should You desire to stain 

 An Excellence you never can attain ? 

 Wh}' against Genius did you aim at Satyr, 

 And in unmeaning Ehymes vent dull ill Nature? 

 Should he who hears not against Music rail, 

 How far would his unfounded Jests prevail ? 

 How would You laugh at one who wanting Eyes 

 Should pleasant fields, or spangled vaults despise. 

 United in your Verse both Faults we find : 

 Who likes not Pope must be both Deaf and Blind." 



CM. 



LETTERS FEOM DR. ARMSTRONG TO SMOLIiETT. 



^ The following letters are copied from the ori- 

 ginal MSS. in possession of the Library Company 

 of Philadelphia. The first has no date. From 

 the second the signature has been torn off, which 

 has occasioned the loss of a few words written 

 upon the other page of the leaf. Uneda. 



" My dear Doctor, 



" I reproach myself — but it is as insignificant as em- 

 barrassing to explain some things — So much for that 

 — As to my Confidence in j'our Stamina lean see no 

 reason to flinch from it — but I wish you would avoid 

 all unwholesome accidents as much as possible. 



" I am quite serious about my visit to you next Au- 

 tumn. My scheme is now to pass my June and July at 

 Paris — from thence to set out for Italy either over ths 

 Alps, or by sea from Marseilles. I don't expect the Com- 

 pany of any widow hunter or any other that may be too 

 fat and indolent for such an Excursion, and hope to pick 

 up some agreeable fellow-traveller without being at the 

 expense of advertising. 



"You feel exactly as I do on the subject of State 

 Politics — but from some late Glimpses it is still to be 

 hoped that' some Patriots may be disappointed in their 

 favourite views of involving their country in Confusion 

 and Distraction. As to the King's Bench Patriot it is 

 hard to say from what motive he published a Letter of 

 yours asking some trifling favour of him on behalf of 

 somebody for whom the Cham * of Literature, Mr. John- 

 son, had interested himself. 



"I have within this month published what I call my 

 Miscellanies — Tho' I admitted my Operator to an equal 

 share of profit or loss, the publication has been managed 

 in such a manner as if there had been a combination to 



* It is hard to say Avhether this word is cham or 

 charm. — U. 



