Sept. 9. 1854.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



IM 



LONDON, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1854. 



POPE AND THE PIE AXES. 



It has been shown, clearly enough, that no 

 reliance can be placed on the dates of Pope's 

 letters. No, nor on the letters themselves, when 

 published by Pope ; nor, as I believe, on the notes, 

 prefaces, or advertisements in, or concerning. Pope's 

 Works, whenever it suited his purpose to mislead 

 or mystify the public. Would it not be wise, 

 therefore, in all doubtful questions, to seek at 

 once for secondaiy evidence — that is, incidental or 

 circumstantial ? Thus, in respect to The Dunciad, 

 let us lay aside all that is said in The Dunciad 

 itself, and look for facts out of it. It is quite 

 true that an inquiry thus conducted is likely to 

 lead us into a wide field of speculation ; but not 

 fartlier, I think, from the truth than any attempt 

 to read literally what was written expressly for 

 the purpose of misleading the reader. 



Mr. Markland thinks it probable that Boling- 

 broke may have seen portions of The Dunciad in 

 manuscript or proof. I think it more than pro- 

 bable that all the members of the Scriblerus CI ub 

 had seen it, under like circumstances : quite cer- 

 tain that Swift, who passed many months in 

 London, and four of those months with Pope at 

 Twickenham in the summer of 1727, and only 

 returned to Ireland in October, had not only seen 

 the poem itself, or so much of it as was then 

 written, but was himself one of the projectors of 

 the work — certainly as to Proeme, Prologomena, 

 notes variorum, and so forth : and that, while Swift 

 was staying at Twickenham, he and Pope had pro- 

 ceeded with their several labours, and had, in fact, 

 completed them in rough before Swift left England. 

 As Sir Walter Scott said, in reference to Swift's 

 suggestions and contributions to The Beggars 

 Opera, — while these wits held their meetings at 

 Twickenham, it may be difficult to assign to each 

 individual his share in a work tliey were all 

 willing to further. That Swift was willing to 

 further, did further. The Dunciad, Pope's own 

 letters are proof; and the "meetings" at Twicken- 

 ham were, on this occasion, a residence of four 

 months. This agrees with the statements of Pope 

 and AVarburton. Pope — whether read with more 

 or less licence — more or less literally does not 

 signify _ tells us. Swift "may be said in a sort 



to be author of the poem : for the first 



sketch of this poem was snatch'd from the fire by 

 Dr. Swift, who persuaded his friend to proceed in 

 »t, and to him it was therefore inscribed " (note 

 to preface to imp. edit.) ; and Warburton, by way 

 of apology ^for his own notes to the edition of 

 1743, says, " some additions were wanting to the 

 humourous notes of Scriblerus, and even to those 



written by Mr, Cleland, Dr. Arbuthnot, and 

 others." (Advertisement prefixed.) 



No doubt, many passages in the letters, which 

 would have thrown a light upon this subject, were 

 suppressed on publication ; but still enough re- 

 mains, I think, to prove the direct aid received 

 from Swift, and probably from others. Thus, ia 

 a letter from Bath, dated (and I think correctly,) 

 Nov. 12, 1728, Pope thus wrote in reference to 

 the quarto edition, then printing : 



" The inscription to The Dunciad is now printed, and 

 inserted in the poem. Do you care J should say anything 

 fartlier how mMch that poem is yours ? since certainly with- 

 out you it had never been. Would to God we were together 

 for tlie rest of our lives ! The whole weight of Scriblera 

 would j list serve to find us amusement, and not more." 



In other, and unpublished letters, .written to 

 other friends immediately after the publication of 

 the quarto, dated, as I believe, early in April, and 

 early in May, Pope thus wrote : 



" The book is written (all but the poem) by two or three 

 of my friends, and a droll book it is. They have the art to 

 make trifles agreeable ; and you'll not be at a loss to guess th» 

 authors. It would have been a sort of curiosity, had it 

 reach'd your hands a week ago, for the publishers had 

 not then permitted any to be sold, but only dispers'd by 

 some lords of theirs and my acquaintance, of whom I pro- 

 cur'd yours." 



In another unpublished letter Pope again refer* 

 to the subject : 



" You will laugh sometimes when 5'ou read the notes to 

 The Dunciad, and sometimes you will despise too heartily 

 to laugh (there is such an unedifying mixture of roguery 

 in the authors satirised there). The poem itself will bear 

 a second reading, or (to express myself more justly and 

 modestly) will be better borne at the second than first 

 reading, and that's all I shall say of it. My friends, who 

 took so much pains to comment upon it, must come off with 

 the public as they can. All 1 wish to have your opiniom 

 of in relation to their part, is as to the morality and justi- 

 fiable design in the undertaking ; for of what is honest 

 or honorable no man is a better judge." 



Having now shown (to my own satisfaction at 

 least) that Swift was an originating or co-operat- 

 ing party, let us trace the history of the work up 

 to publication. 



Swift, in a letter to Gay, quoted by Mr. Mark- 

 land, inquires : " Why does not Mr. Pope publish 

 his 'Dulness?' The rogues he marks will die of 

 themselves in peace, and so will his friends, and 

 so there will be neither punishment nor reward." 

 Now, no matter what may have been the exact 

 date of this letter, it must have been written after 

 Swift's return to Ireland ; and from it we learn, 

 that the poem was not published ; that Swift knew 

 it was to be called " Dulness ;" that Pope's liter- 

 ary enemies were to be therein punished ; and that 

 he himself, as one of " the friends," was to have 

 his reward — honourable mention therein. 



But there is abundant other evidence, I think, 

 to prove that The Dunciad was not published in 

 1727 — the whole correspondence, after Swift's 



