T BOOK I. HE Mighty Mother, and her Son who brings VARIATIONS. VER. 1. The Mighty Mother, &c.] in the firft Edit. it was thus, Books and the Man I fing, the first who brings REMARKS. THE DUNCIAD.] It is an inconvenience, to which Writers of reputation are fubject, that the juftice of their refentment is not always rightly understood. For the ca lumnies of dull Authors being foon forgotten, and those whom they aimed to injure, not caring to recal to memory the particulars of false and scandalous abuse, their necef fary correction is fufpected of feverity unprovoked, But, in this cafe, it would be but candid to estimate the chastise ment on the general Character of the offender, compared with that of the perfon injured. Let this ferve with the candid Reader, in juftification of the Poet; and, on occafion, of the Editor. The DUNCIAD, fic MS. It may well be difputed whe ther this be a right reading: Ought it not rather to be fpelled Dunceiad, as the Etymology evidently demands? Dunce with an e, therefore Dunceiad with an e. That ac curate and punctual Man of Letters, the reftorer of ShakeSpear conftantly obferves the prefervation of this very Letter e, in fpelling the Name of his beloved Author, and not like his common careless Editors, with the omiffion of one, I fing. Say you, her inftruments the Great! Call'd to this work by Dulness, Jove, and Fate; nay fometimes of two ee's, (as Shakspear) which is utterly unpardonable. "Nor is the neglect of a Single Letter fo "trivial as to fome it may appear; the alteration whereof "in a learned language is an Atchievement that brings "honour to the Critic who advances it, and Dr. Bentley "will be remembered to pofterity for his performances of "this fort, as long as the world shall have any esteem for "the remains of Menander and Philemon." THEOBALD. This is furely a flip in the learned author of the foregoing note; there having been fince produced by an accurate Antiquary, an Autograph of Shakspeare himfelf, whereby it appears that he fpelled his own name without the first e. And upon this authority it was, that the most Critical Curators of his Monument in Westminster Abby erafed the former wrong reading, and restored the true fpelling on a new piece of old Ægyptian Granite. Nor for this only do they deferve our thanks, but for exhibiting on the fame Monument the first specimen of an Edition of an author in Marble; where (as may be feen on comparing the Tomb with the Book) in the space of five lines, two Words and a whole verse are changed, and it is to be hoped will there ftand, and outlaft whatever hath been hitherto done in Paper; as for the future, our learned Sifter University (the other Eye of England) is taking care to perpetuate a Tatal new Shakespear, at the Clarendon prefs." BENTL It is to be noted, that this great Critic alfo has omitted one circumstance; which is, that the Infcription with the Name of Shakspeare was intended to be placed on the IMITATIONS. J Say, great Patricians! fince your felves infpire Thefe wondrous works -Dii cœptis (nam vos mutaftis & illas.) Ovid. Met. 1. སྙ་་ You by whofe care, in vain decry'd and curft, Still Dunce the fecond reigns like Dunce the firft;" REMARKS. 5 Marble Scroll to which he points with his hand; inftead of which it is now placed behind his back, and that Specimen of an Edition is put on the Scroll, which indeed Shakspeare hath great reason to point at. ANON.. Though I have as just a value for the letter E, as any Grammarian living, and the fame affection for the name of this Poem as any Critic for that of his Author; yet cannot it induce me to agree with those who would add yet another e to it, and call it the Dunceiade; which being French and foreign termination, is no way proper to a word entirely English, and vernacular. One e therefore in this cafe is right, and two ee's wrong. Yet upon the whole I fhall a at all; moved thereto cript, and print it without any e by all times, with tics, equal, if not fuperior to Reafon.) In which method of proceeding, I can never enough praife my good friend, the exact Mr. Tho. Hearne; who if any word occur, which to him and all mankind is evidently wrong, yet keeps he it in the Text with due reverence, and only remarks in the Margin fic MS. In like manner we shall not amend this error in the Title itfelf, but only note it obiter, to evince to the learned that it was not our fault, nor any effect of our ignorance or inattention. SCRIBLERUS. This poem was written in the year 1726. In the next year an imperfect Edition was published at Dublin, and reprinted at London in twelves; another at Dublin, and another at London in Octavo; and three others in twelvés ΙΜΙΤΑΤΙΟΝ S. VER. 6. Alluding to a verfe of Mr. Dryden, not in Mac Flecno (as is faid ignorantly in the Key to the Dunciad, p.1.) but in his verfes to Mr. Congreve, And Tom the fecond reigns like Tom the firft... Say, how the Goddess bade Britannia sleep, REMARK S. the fame year. But there was a perfect Edition before that of London in quarto; which was attended with Notes. We are willing to acquaint Pofterity, that this Poem was prefented to King George the fecond and his Queen, by the hands of Sir Robert Walpole, on the 12th of March, 1728-9. SCHOL. VET. It was exprefly confeffed in the Preface to the first edi tion, that this Poem was not published by the Author himfelf. It was printed originally in a foreign Country. And what foreign Country? Why, one notorious for blunders; where finding blanks only inftead of proper names, these blunderers filled them up at their pleafure. The very Hero of the Poem hath been mistaken to this hour, fo that we are obliged to open our Notes with a difcovery who he really was. We learn from the former Editor; that this Piece was prefented by the Hands of Sir Robert Walpole to King George II. Now the author directly tells us, his Hero is the Man -who brings The Smithfield Mufes to the ear of Kings. And it is notorious who was the perfon on whom this Prince conferred the honour of the Laurel. It appears as plainly from the Apostrophe to the Great in the third verfe, that Tibbald could not be the perfon, who was never an Author in fashion, or careffed by the Great: whereas this fingle characteristic is fufficient to point out the true Hero; who, above all other Poets of his time, was the Peculiar delight and Chofen Companion of the Nobility of England; and wrote, as he himfelt tells us, certain of his Works at the earnest Defire of Perfons of Quality. Laftly, The fixth verfe affords full proof; this Poet being the only one who was univerfally known to have had a Son fo exactly like him, in his poetical, theatrical, poli |