18l6.] Original Letter from Lord BoUnghroke to Pope. 



under the name of stubble geese ; in 

 which state they were stuffed by the 

 Romans with white meats, and by the 

 Germans with chesnuts. According 

 to the laureat's souuet they arc very 

 fine: 



Seasoned with sage, and onions, and port 



wine. 



In Gascony, goose-hams are prepared 



in great numbers for exportation. Tlie 



legs are cut off, salted, and half cooked 



37 



in goose fat, in whicli state they keep 

 very long, and arc eaten, boiled, with 

 sour-krout. In a giblct-pie, the gizzard 

 of a green-goose, the liver of a stubble- 

 goose is preferred. Goose-diipjjing is 

 esteemed the best sauce to a Norfolk 

 dumpling. 



To celebrate the goose, the idler and 

 the author should conspire, the one in 

 gratitude for his feather-bed, and the 

 other for his pen. 



COLLECTIONS FROM AMERICAN LITERATURE. 



ORIGINAL LliTTER from LORD BOLING- 

 BKOKE to POPE. Ftoni f/tePOIlT-FOLlO 

 of PHILADELPHIA. 



Dear Pojje, 



I DO not know how it is, but the air 

 of Twickenham agrees with me con- 

 siderablj' better than a residence in 

 town ; and I find a greater share of sa- 

 tisfaction at the bottom of your little 

 garden, than ever I experienced in the 

 Inistle of a court. Possibly this may 

 proceed from a proper estimation of jour 

 worth, and a just opinion of all the am- 

 bitious coronets or fawning sycophants 

 I vs as once surrounded with. Certain 

 it is, however, the dignity of human na- 

 ture lessens my notions of tilings, ac- 

 cording to the knowledge I have of 

 inankhid ; and tiie more intimate I be- 

 come, with the generality of people, the 

 greater occasion I have to despise them. 

 The felon at the bar, and the judge upon 

 tlie bench, are stimulated by the same 

 motives, though they act in dilferent ca- 

 jjacilies ; for the one Ijut plunders through 

 a hope of gain ; and let me ask, if the other 

 would take any pains in the administra- 

 tion of justice without a reasonable gra- 

 tuity for his labour. 



This, you will say, may be carrying 

 things too far, and possibly it may be so 

 — yet, though a particular instance or 

 two may be brought to contradict an 

 observation of this kind, they can by no 

 means be produced as arguments against 

 universal depravity. 1 am greatly 

 pleased with a remark which Swift 

 made a few days iigo in a conversation 

 which wc had on this subject, i need 

 not tell you how sour the dean is in his 

 Kcntinients of the world — but 1 think 

 the following declaration is not more 

 uistiugnishcd for its .severity than sup- 

 l>ort((l by its justice: — "Were we (s;iid 

 he; to make a nice examination into the 

 actions of every man, we should fm<l 

 one half of tli<! world to be rogues, and 

 tiic Other half to be blocLUcads. Th« 



latter half may be divided into two 

 classes — the good-natured blockhead, 

 and the sensible ; the one, through aa 

 easiness of temper, is always liable to be 

 ill-used ; the other, through ao excess 

 of vanity, is frequently exposed to be 

 wretched. Mutual confidence and leal 

 friendship are very pretty words, but 

 seldom carry any meaning ; no man will 

 entertain an opinion of another which is 

 opposite to his own interest ; and a nod 

 from a great man, or a smile fioin a 

 strumpet, will set a couple of blockheads 

 by the ears, who, a moment before, 

 would have ventured their li\cs for each 

 otlier's reputation !" 



Lord Peterborough dined with m© 

 yesterday. I have a high idea of the 

 goodness of this nobleman's heart, 

 though it may be brought as a ))roof 

 against my favourite system; but he is 

 of a turn so excessively romantic, that 

 I cannot be equally prejudiced in fa- 

 vour of his understanding. I ha^e no 

 notion of a man's perpetually cxj)osing 

 himself to unnecessary dangers lor the 

 mere sake of being talked of; or, tiirough 

 a ridiculous thirst for military glory, 

 venturing a life which should be pre- 

 served for the service of his prince and 

 the interest of his country. Aly motive 

 for saying this is neither founded npou 

 pique, nor directed by ili-natuie. Rfy 

 lord is a man for wlioni 1 have a most 

 perfect regard, and my esteem alone is 

 the reason why I may be so extremely 

 sensible of his errors. 



I saw Addison this morning — Some- 

 liow or other, I'ope, I can by no means 

 think that man an excellent poet ; his 

 prose is very good — but there is a heavi- 

 ness about his versification which is to- 

 tally incon^^istent witli elegance and 

 spiiit, and which, tliough it may, in the 

 thoughts of some people, cairy much 

 judgment, is, in my opinion, a proof of 

 very little genius. I am far, yon know, 

 lioju being loud of eternal epithets in 

 poetry, 



