Sn-J S. No 44., Nov. 1. '56.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



341 



LONDON, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1. 1856. 



STRAY NOTES ON EDMUND CURIX, HIS LIFE, AND 

 PUBLICATIONS. 



No. 3. — Curll, Pope, and the " Court Poems''' 



The year 1716 was an unlucky year for Edmund 

 Curll. The spring of it witnessed his first cfuarrel 

 with Pope : and in the autumn — 



" Himself among the storied chiefs he spies. 

 As from the blanket high in air he flies," 



when the Westminster scholars avenged them- 

 selves upon him in a most characteristic manner 

 for misprinting an Oration delivered by one of 

 their body. 



Curll's great quarrel with Pope originated — 

 at least as fir as our present knov^Iedge goes — 

 in the publication of The Court Poems. These 

 were published by Roberts in March 1716, with 

 the following title : 



"Court Poems, viz. 1. The Basset Table, an 

 Eclogue. 2. The Drawing Room. 3. The Toilet. 

 Puhlished faithfully as they were found in a Pocket 

 Book taken up in Westminster Hall the last day of 

 the Lord Wintons Trial." 



The book contains the following : 



"Advertisement by the Bookseller. 



" The Reader is acquainted from the Title Page, how 

 I came possessed of the following Poems. All that I 

 have to add, is, only a word or two concerning their 

 Author. 



" Upon reading them over at S* James's Coffee- House, 

 they were attributed by the General Voice to be the Pro- 

 ductions of a Lady of Quality. 



" When I produced them at Button's, the Poetical Jury 

 there brought in a different Verdict ; and the Foreman 

 strenuously insisted upon it, that Mr. Gay was the Man; 

 and declar'd, in comparing the Basset Table, with that 

 Gentleman's Pastorals, he found the Stile and Turn of 

 Thought, to be evidently the same ; which confirm'd him, 

 and his Brethren, in the Sentence they had pronounc'd. 



" Not content with these Two Decisions, I was resolv'd 

 to call in an Umpire, and accordingly chose a Gentle- 

 man of distinguished Merit, who lives not far from Chelsea. 

 I sent him the Papers ; which he return'd me the next 

 Day, with this Answer : 



" ' Sir, Depend upon it, these Lines could come from no 

 other Hand, than the Laudible Translator o/HoJiER.' 



" Thus having impartiallj'- given the Sentiments of the 

 Town, 1 hope I may deserve Thanks, for the Pains I have 

 taken, in endeavouring to find out the Author of these 

 valuable Performances : and every Body is at Liberty to 

 bestow the Laurel as they please." 



Into the histo^p of this book *, or how far it was 



* We have had lent to us an edition of The Court 

 Poems, published in 1719, which Ave may as well describe, 

 for the use of future inquirers into their literary history. 

 It bears the following general title : 



" Court Poems in Two Parts Compleat. To which 

 are added, 1. Verses upon Prudery. 2. An Epitaph upon 

 John Hewett and Mary Drew, who were hilled by Lightning 



the work of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, or how 

 far its publication led, as has been alleged, to the 

 quarrel between her and Pope, we need not now 

 stop to inquire. Our purpose is only with Curll, 

 and with his share in its publication, and what 

 effect such publication had in bringing down upon 

 him the anger and satire of Pope. 



Whether Pope Avas really annoyed by the ap- 

 pearance of this volume; or whether he had secretly 

 promoted it, as has been supposed, and afterwards 

 endeavoured to divert suspicion from himself, by 

 assuming an anger which he did not feel, is not 

 by any means clear. Thus much only we know, 

 that, having ascertained through Lintot that Curll 

 had something to do with the publication, al- 

 though his name does not figure upon the title- 

 page, he sought an interview with him, and the 

 memorable scene at the " Swan Tavern," in Fleet 

 Street, recorded in " A Full and True Account of 

 a Horrid and Barbarous Revenge by Poison on 

 the Bodj' of Mr. Edmund Curll, Bookseller ; with 

 a faithful Copy of his last Will and Testament," 

 published in Pope and Swift's Miscellanies, was 

 the result. 



Although the Miscellanies were not published 

 for many years after this memorable poisoning, it 

 is obvious that the " Full and True Account" was 

 written at the time ; and there can be little doubt 

 that it was based upon some paper published at 

 that period by Curll himself. That Pope had cir- 

 culated before the 31st March, 1716, some "false 

 and ridiculous libel," as Oldmixon styles it, upon 

 the subject, is evident from the following adver- 

 tisement which appears in The Flying Post, or 

 the Post Master, of that date : — 



" Whereas Mr. Lintot or Mr. Pope, has published a 

 false and i-idiculous libel, reflecting on several gentlemen, 



at Stanton Drew in Oxfordshire. By Mr. Pope. Ijondon, 

 printed for R. Burleigh, 1719. Price One Shilling." 



This is followed by a second title, which runs thus : 



"Pope's Miscellany, viz.l. The Basset Table. 2. The 

 Drawing Room. 3. The Toilet. 4. The Looking Glass. 

 5. The Worms. 6. The First Psalm. Translated for the 

 use of a Young Lady. Published faithfully, §-c. The Se • 

 cond Edition. London, printed for R. Burleigh, in Amen 

 Corner. Price Sixpence." 



This ends on the 22nd page. We have then a second 

 title : 



"Pope's Miscellany. The Second Part, contain- 

 ing, 1. The Hyde Park Ramble. 2. The Parson's Daugh- 

 ter. 3. The Court Ballad. 4. Court Epigrams. To 

 which is added The Westminster Ballad, or The Earl of 

 Oxford's Trial. . By Mr. Joseph Gay. London, printed 

 for R. Burleigh, in Amen Corner, 1717. Price Six Pence. 

 Where may be had the First Part, price 6d." 



This part originally ended, that is, when published in • 

 1717, with page 24; at the bottom of which is the word 

 Finis. But Avhen the new title-page was made up in 

 1719, a leaf was added containing, on page 25, "The 

 Verses on Prudery ; " and on page 26, " The Epitaph on 

 John Hewett and Mary Drew," whose death, as there 

 stated, took place on the last day of July, 1718. 



