Duchefs's life hath added much poignancy to it. There is a good Irish practical bull towards the end of your letter, where you spend a dozen lines in telling me you must leave off, that you may give my Lady Duchefs room to write, and so you proceed to within two or three lines of the bottom; though I would have remitted you my 200 /. to have left place for as many more.

Madam,

To the Duchefs.

My beginning thus low is meant as a mark of re fpect, like receiving your Grace at the bottom of the stairs. I am glad you know your duty; for it hath been a known and establish'd rule above twenty years in England, that the first advances have been constantly made me by all Ladies who aspir'd to my acquain tance, and the greater their quality, the greater were their advances. Yet, I know not by what weakness, I have condefcended graciously to difpenfe with you upon this important article. Though Mr Gay will tell you that a nameless perfon fent me eleven meffages before I would yield to a vifit: I mean a perfon to whom he is infinitely obliged, for being the occafion of the happiness he now enjoys under the protection and favour of my Lord Duke and your Grace. At the fame time, I cannot forbear telling you, Madam, that you are a little imperious in your manner of making your advances. You fay, perhaps you fhall

not like me; I affirm you are mistaken, which I can plainly demonftrate: for I have certain intelligence, that another person dislikes me of late, with whofe likings yours have not for some time past gone together. However, if I fhall once have the honour to attend your Grace, I will out of fear and prudence appear as vain as I can, that I may not know your thoughts of me. This is your own direction, but it was needless: For Diogenes himself would be vain, to have receiv'd the honour of being one moment of his life in the thoughts of your Grace.

LETTER LII.

Dublin, April 13, 1730-1.

OUR fituation is an odd one; the Duchefs is

YOUR

your Treasurer, and Mr Pope tells me you are the Duke's. And I had gone a good way in fome Verses on that occafion, prescribing leffons to direc your conduct, in a negative way, not to do fo and fo, &c. like other Treasurers; how to deal with Servants, Tenants, or neighbouring Squires, which I take to be Courtiers, Parliaments, and Princes in alliance, and fo the parallel goes on, but grows too long to please me: I prove that Poets are the fittest perfons to be treasurers and managers to great perfons, from their virtue, and contempt of money, &c. -Pray, why did you not get a new heel to your fhoe? unless you would make your court at St.

James's by affecting to imitate the Prince of LilliputBut the rest of your letter being wholly taken up in a very bad character of the Duchefs, I fhall fay no more to you, but apply myself to her Grace.

Madam, fince Mr Gay affirms that you love to have your own way, and fince I have the fame perfection, I will fettle that matter immediately, to prevent thofe ill confequences he apprehends. Your Grace fhall have your own way, in all places except your own house, and the domains about it. There and there only, I expect to have mine; fo that you have all the world to reign in, bating only two or three hundred acres, and two or three houses in town and country. I will likewise, out of my special grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, allow you to be in the right against all human kind, except myself, and to be never in the wrong but when differ from me. You shall have a greater privilege in the third article of fpeaking your mind; which I fhall gracioufly allow you now and then to do even to myself, and only rebuke you when it does not please me.

you

Madam, I am now got as far as your Grace's letter, which having not read this fortnight (having been out of town, and not daring to truft myself with the carriage of it) the prefumptuous manner in which you begin had flipt out of my memory. But I forgive you to the seventeenth line, where you begin to banish me for ever, by demanding me to anfwer all the good Character fome partial friends have given me. Ma

dam, I have lived fixteen years in Ireland, with only an intermiffion of two fummers in England; and confequently am fifty years older than I was at the Queen's death, and fifty-thousand times duller, and fifty-million times more peevish, perverse, and morose; so that under thefe difadvantages I can only pretend to excel all your other acquaintance about fome twenty barrs length. Pray, Madam, have you a clear voice? and will you let me fit at your left hand, at least within three of you, for of two bad ears, my right is the best? My Groom tells me that he likes your park, but your houfe is too little. Can the Parfon of the parish play at back-gammon, and hold his tongue? is any one of your Women a good nurse, if I fhould fancy myself fick for four and twenty hours? how many days will you maintain me and my equipage! When these preliminaries are fettled, I must be very poor, very fick, or dead, or to the laft degree unfortunate, if I do not attend you at Aimsbury. For, I profefs, you are the first Lady that ever I defired to fee, fince the first of August 1714, and I have forgot the date when that defire grew ftrong upon me; but I know I was not then in England, elfe I would have gone on foot for that happiness as far as to your house in Scot land. But I can foon recollect the time, by asking fome Ladies here the month, the day, and the hour when I began to endure their company? which however I think was a fign of my ill judgment, for I do not perceive they mend in any thing but envying or admiring your Grace. I dislike nothing in your let

ter but an affected apology for bad writing, bad fpelling, and a bad pen, which you pretend Mr Gay found fault with, wherein you affront Mr Gay, you affront me, and you affront yourself. Falfe fpelling is only excufable in a Chamber-maid, for I would not pardon it in any of your Waiting women.-Pray God preserve your Grace and family, and give me leave to expect that you will be so just to remember me among those who have the greatest regard for virtue, goodnefs, prudence, courage and generofity; after which you must conclude that I am with the greatest respect and gratitude, Madam, your Grace's moft obe dient and most humble fervant, &c.

To Mr GAY.

I have just got yours of February 24, with a postfcript by Mr Pope. I am in great concern for him: I find Mr Pope dictated to you the first part, and with great difficulty fome days after added the rest. I see his weakness by his hand-writing. How much does his philofophy exceed mine? I could not bear to fee him: I will write to him foon.