Each songster, riddler, every nameless name, Silence, ye wolves! while Ralph to Cynthia howls, And make night hideous-Answer him, ye owls! Sense, speech, and measure, living tongues and dead Let all give way,-and Morris may be read. Flow, Welsted, flow! like thine inspirer, beer, 169 Though stale, not ripe; though thin, yet never clear; REMARKS. pass:] There were several successions of these sorts of minor poets at Tunbridge, Bath, &c. singing the praise of the annuals flourishing for that season; whose names, indeed, would be nameless, and therefore the poet slurs them over with others in general. Ver. 165. Ralph.] James Ralph, a name inserted after the first editions, not known to our author till he writ a swearing piece, called Sawney, very abusive of Dr. Swift, Mr. Gay, and himself. These lines allude to a thing of his, entitled Night, a Poem. This low writer attended his own works with panegyrics in the Journals, and once in particular praised himself highly above Mr. Addison, in wretched remarks upon that author's account of English Poets, printed in a London Journal, Sept. 1728. He was wholly illiterate, and knew no language, not even French. Being advised to read the rules of dramatic poetry before he began a play, he smiled and replied, 'Shakspeare writ without rules.' He ended at last in the common sink of all such writers, a pohitical newspaper, to which he was recommended by his friend Arnall, and received a small pittance for pay. Ver. 168. Morris] Besaleel. See Book ii. Ver. 169. Flow, Welsted, &c.] Of this author see the Remark on Book ii. v. 209. But (to be impartial) add to it the following different character of him: 'Mr. Welsted had, in his youth, raised so great expectations of his future genius, that there was a kind of struggle between the most eminent of the two universities, which should have the honour of his education. To compound this he (civilly) became a member of both, and after having passed some time at the one, he removed to the other. Frem So sweetly mawkish, and so smoothly dull; REMARKS. thence he returned to town, where he became the darling expectation of all the polite writers, whose encouragement he acknowledged in his occasional poems, in a manner that will make no small part of the fame of his protectors. It also appears from his works, that he was happy in the patronage of the most illustrious characters of the present age. Encouraged by such a combination in his favour, be-published a book of poems, some in the Ovidian, some in the Horatian manner; in both which the most exquisite judges pronounce he even rivalled his masters.-His loveverses have rescued that way of writing from contempt.--In his translations, he has given us the very soul and spirit of his author. His Ode-his Epistle-his Verses--bis Love tale-all, are the most perfect things in all poetry.' Welsted of himself, Char. of the Times, 8vo. 1728, page 23, 24. It should not be forgot for his honour, that he received at one time the sum of five hundred pounds for secret service, among the other excellent authors hired to write anony mously for the ministry. See Report of the Secret Committee, &c. in 1742. Ver. 173. Ah, Dennis! Gildon, ah!] These men became the public scorn by a mere mistake of their talents. They would needs turn critics of their own country writers (just as Aristotle and Longinus did of theirs,) and discourse upon the beauties and defects of composition: 'How parts relate to parts, and they to whole; Whereas had they followed the example of those microscopes of wit, Kuster, Burman, and their followers, in verbal criticism on the learned languages, their acuteness and industry might have raised them a name equal to the most famous of the scholiasts. We cannot, therefore, but ament the late apostacy of the prebendary of Rochester, who beginning in so good a train has now turned short to write comments on the Fire-side, and dreams upon Shakspeare: where we find the spirit of Oldmixon, Gildon, and Dennis, all revived in his belaboured observations. Scribl. Here Scriblerus, in this affair of the Fire-side, I want thy usual candour. It is true, Mr. Upton did write notes upon it, but with all the honour and good faith in the world. He took it to be a panegyric on his patron. This it is to have to do with wits; a commerce unworthy a scholiast of so solid learning. Aris. Ver. 173. Ah, Dennis, &c.] The reader who has seen Blockheads with reason wicked wits abhor, Behold yon pair, in strict embraces join'd; REMARKS. 18C through the course of these notes, what a constant attend ance Mr. Dennis paid to our author and all his works, may perhaps wonder he should be mentioned but twice, and so slightly touched, in this poem. But in truth he looked upon him with some esteem, for having (more generously than all the rest) set his name to such writings. He was also a very old man at this time. By his own account of himself, in Mr. Jacob's lives, he must have been above threescore, and happily lived many years after. So that he was senior to Mr. D'Urfey, who hitherto, of all our poets, enjoyed the longest bodily life. Ver. 179. Behold yon pair, &c.] One of these was author of a weekly paper called The Grumbler, as the other was concerned in another called Pasquin, in which Mr. Pope was abused with the duke of Buckingham, and bishop of Rochester. They also joined in a piece against his first undertaking to translate the Iliad, entitled Homerides, by sir Iliad Doggrel, printed 1715. i Of the other works of these gentlemen the world has heard no more, than it would of Mr. Pope's, har' their united laudable endeavours discouraged him from ursuing his studies. How few good works had ever appeared (since men of true merit are always the least presuming) had there been always such champions to stifle them in their conception! And were it not better for the public, that a million of monsters should come into the world, which are sure to die as soon as born, than that the serpents should strangle one Hercules in his cradle? The union of these two authors gave occasion to this epi gram: 'Burnet and Ducket, friends in spite, Came hissing out in verse; Both were so forward, each would write So dull, each hung an a-. Thus Amphisbona (I have read) At either end assails; None knows which leads or which is led, For both heads are but tails.' After many editions of this poem, the author thought fit to it the names of these two persons, whose injury to him was of so old a date. Equal in wit, and equally polite, Shall this a Pasquin, that a Grumbler write: But who is he, in closet close y-pent, Of sober face, with learned dust besprent?' Right well mine eyes arede the myster wight, On parchment scraps y-fed, and Wormius hight. To future ages may the dulness last, As thou preservest the dulness of the past! 190 There, dim in clouds, the poring scholiasts mark, Wits who, like owls, see only in the dark, A lumber-house of books in every head, But, where each science lifts its modern type, While proud philosophy repines to show, Imbrown'd with native bronze, lo! Henley stands, Ver. 184. REMARKS. 200 That shines a consul, this commissioner. Such places were given at this time to such sort of writers. Ver. 187. Myster wight.] Uncouth mortal. Ver. 188. Wormius hight.] Let not this name, purely fictitious, be conceited to mean the learned Olaus Wormius, much less (as it was unwarrantably foisted into the surrepti tious editions) our own antiquary, Mr. Thomas Hearne, who had no way aggrieved our poet, but on the contrary published many curious tracts which he hath to his great contentment perused. Ver. 192. Wits who, like owls, &c.] These few lines exactly describe the right verbal critic: the darker his author is, the better he is pleased; like the famous quack doctor, who put up in his bills, he delighted in matters of diffi culty. Somebody said well of these men, that their heads were libraries out of order. Ver. 199. Lo! Henley stands, &c.] J. Henley, the orator; he preached on the Sundays upon theological matters and on the Wednesdays upon all other sciences. Each auditor paid one shilling. He declaimed some years agains: the greatest persons, and occasionally did our author that honour. Welsted, in Oratory Transactions, No. 1, publish How fluent nonsense trickles from his tongue! REMARKS. ed by Henley himself, gives the following account of him: 'He was born at Melton Mowbray, in Leicestershire. From his own parish school he went to St. John's College, in Cambridge. He began there to be uneasy; for it shocked him to find he was commanded to believe against his own judgment in points of religion, philosophy, &c. for his genius leading him freely to dispute all propositions, and call all points to account, he was impatient under those fetters of the freeborn mind. Being admitted to priest's orders, he found the examination very short and superficial, and that it was not necessary to conform to the Christian religion, in order either to deaconship or priesthood. He came to town, and after having for some years been a writer for booksellers, he had an ambition to be so for ministers of state. The only reason he did not rise in the church, we are told, was the envy of others, and a disrelish entertained of him, because he was not qualified to be a complete spaniel.' However he offered the service of his pen to two great men, of opinions and interests directly opposite; by both of whom being rejected, he set up a new project, and styled himself the Restorer of ancient Eloquence. He thought 'it as lawful to take a licence from the king and parliament in one place as another; at Hickes's Hall, as at Doctors' Commons; so set up his oratory in Newport-market, Butcher-row. There,' says his friend, he had the assurance to form a plan, which no mortal ever thought of; he had success against all opposition; challenged his adversaries to fair disputations, and none would dispute with him; writ, read, and studied twelve hours a day; composed three dissertations a week on all subjects; undertook to teach in one year what schools and universities teach in five; was not terrified by menaces, insults, or satires, but still proceeded, matured his bold scheme, and put the church, and all that, in danger.-Welsted, Narrative in Orat. Transact. No. 1. After having stood some prosecutions, he turned his rhetoric to buffoonery upon all public and private occurrences. All this passed in the same room, where sometimes he broke jests, and sometimes that bread which he called the primitive eucharist. This wonderful person struck medals, which he dispersed as tickets to his subscribers; the device a star rising to the meridian, with this motto, AD SVMMA: and below, INVENIAM VIAM AVT FACIAM. This man had a hundred pounds a year giver him for the secret service of a weekly paper of unintelligible nonsense, called the Hyp-Doctor. |