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one of his own Pictures of the Dutchefs of Bridge water, one of the Duke of Marlborough's Daughters, and esteem'd at that Time a finish'd Beauty. A little while after, the firft mentioned Lady dying, her Husband being defirous to have a true Likeness, purchas'd that firft painted by by Mr. Jervas, and gave him ten Guineas more than the Countess was to have given him for it.

We have not forgot Mr. Pope's Epiftles, it would be lofing Sight of fome of the choiceft Poems in our Language: They are, that is I mean the Ethic ones, to bad Men, almost the fame as the Dunciad to bad Poets, and as there, fo in these Epiftles, he does not entirely spare the Ladies; it had been Pity to neglect doing Good to that lovely and defireable Part of the Creation, befides, that they might have triumph'd too much over the Men, and, finding themselves free from Judgment and Penalties, might have indulg'd their Humour, Vanity, or Caprice, without Fear, or Blufhing; but this, we think, is now happily prevented.

Of thefe Ethic Epiftles, to take them in Order, let us begin with that to Sir Richard Temple, Lord Cobham, of the Knowledge and Characters of Men, which begins thus:

Yes, you defpife the Man to Books confin'd, Who from his Study rails at human Kind; Tho' what he learns he speaks, and may advance Some gen❜ral Maxims, or be right by Chance.. The coxcomb Bird fo talkative and grave, [Knave. That from his Cage cries Cuckold, Whore, and Tho' many a Paffenger he rightly call, You hold him no Philofopher at all,

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And though all may not agree to what he fays (for he feems to think it impoffible to know Men without knowing Books) concerning the Knowledge of Men, yet his Characters (for there lies our Author's Beauty) all must applaud, as well as his Sentiment, that we differ at Times as much from ourselves, as we do from one another, and oftentimes tir'd in Purfuit of one Thing, we yield to another, which at firft we thought not of, and so Actions done meerly by Accident, feem to the unthinking Part of the World, our moral Purpose.

Behold! if Fortune, or a Mistress frowns, Some plunge in Bus'nefs, others fhave their Crowns ; To ease the Soul of one oppreffive Weight, This quits an Empire, that embroils a State: The fame aduft Complexion has impell’d * Charles to the Convent, † Philip to the Field.

Not therefore humble he who feeks Retreat, Pride guides his Steps and bids him fhun the Great, Who combats bravely, is not therefore brave; He dreads a Death-Bed like the meaneft Slave. Who reafons wifely, is not therefore wife; His Pride in reas'ning, not in acting lies.

There is nothing more difficult than to know the real Character of a Man, further than the prefent Action, and that must be done in our Sight, we must fee

Charles V.

+ Philip II.

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fee the Manner and the Motive; for what we hear is generally spoke according to the Rank that Men fill in the World, as Shakespear fays, That what in the General is but a hafty Word, is in the Soldier's Mouth flat Blafphemy, fo as it takes from the Blacknefs and Infamy of any Perfon to be great, it adds confiderably to the Luftre of those who are great, with any Degree of Goodness or Defert.

A Saint in Crape is twice a Saint in Lawn;

you

will:

A Judge is juft, a Chanc'lor juster still;
A Gownman learn'd; a Bishop, what
Wife, if a Minifter; but if a King,
More wife, more learn'd, more juft, more ev'ry

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That we may not feem to draw a Picture without Fault, we beg Leave here to cenfure that Opinion of Mr. Pope's which here afferts, that all Mankind bring into the World, or receive at the Moment of their Birth, (this, indeed, he foftens with perhaps) a Disease of their Mind, which he calls the ruling Paffion, and always feems very fond of difcourfing of it; he says, all that fhould feed either Body or Soul flies to it, whether it be what warms the Heart or fills the Head, to which Imagination likewife lends all her Helps, and the more Wit, Faculties, or Spirit, the Man has, it only makes this Paffion ftronger, even Reafon itself, he fays helps it; now this being quite contrary to our Sentiments of Philofophy, we fhall leave Mr. Wn to defend it, with his ufual Perfpicuity, and Soundness of Thinking, not doubting but at laft, the World will be convinc'd of that Gentleman's Force of Argument, and that Commentations will be wrote on his Commentations, Mr. Pope endeavours to give fome Examples of this ruling Paffion, which only ferve to prove, that many

die in the fame Habit of Mind they have liv'd; that Defcription of the dying Mifer making his Will, is very humorous

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"I give and devife (old Euclio faid,

And figh❜d) "my Lands and Tenements to Ned." Your Money, Sir?" My Money, Sir! what all? "Why if I muft-(then wept). I give it Paul." The Mannor, Sir? The Mannor! hold, he cry'd, "Not that- I cannot part with that" and dy'd.

From this Notion of the ruling Paffion, he takes Occafion to make a fine prophetical Compliment (very poffibly true) to the Noble, Brave, and Patriot Lord, to whom the Epiftle was addrefs'd:

And you! brave COBHAM, to the latest Breath, Shall feel your ruling Passion strong in Death: Such in thofe Moments, as in all the past, "Oh fave my Country, Heav'n!" fhall be your laft.

The Friendship of this Nobleman increas'd with Mr. Pope, after a certain Change in the Army, about ten or eleven Years ago, and continued without Interruption, notwithstanding a fresh Alteration, fo that we muft ftill infift upon it, that our Author never loft any Friends, by their being more or less in Favour at Court, neither did he ever feem fond of any Foreigners, let them be of what Religion they might, as of his own Countrymen, always a Difcourager of Italian Operas, always a Promoter of English Senfe, and fo particular in Regard to the Manufactures of England, that when he us'd Things of foreign Factory or Growth, he would often fay Pardon me my Country, I offend but feldom.

This Epiftle of the Characters of Men, which we

think the worst of the Ethicks, and liable to fome Exception, efcap'd the Verfificating Ninnyhammers fpoke of in the Dunciad.

Being naturally now led to the Epiftle of the Characters of Women, which is a Corollary to the other Epiftle; we heg Pardon of our Readers, being refolv'd to make no Quotations from it that may offend the Fair, to whom we bear a more tender Regard, than to repeat, what is enough that it has been once faid. Mr Pope, as we imagine, took the Liberty to addrefs it to Mrs. Blount, though fome few Lines in it may feem to the contrary: She is a Lady to whom Mr. Pope has had an uncommon Refpect and Regard for many Years; he had a very early Acquaintance with her, and foon diftinguished her from the Croud, by a Letter he wrote in Verfe, which he sent to her with the Works of Voiture, in which he compares her to Madamoiselle Paulet, the firft Favourite of that French Wit, and imagines him plac'd in the Elyfian Fields, while he beholds her perufing his Lines, at the fame Time confeffing her fairer than the Rambouillet. Soon after the Coronation, this young Lady was oblig'd to leave the Town, and in that Time of Abfence, Mr. Pope firft felt how uneafy it was, to live without the Sight and Company of the Perfon that takes up moft of our Thoughts, nor that he imagin'd their Friendship would ever be carried to fuch Heights as it afterwards was; a young Lady in the very Bloom of her Youth, Miftrefs of fuch agreeable Qualifications, both acquir'd and natural, it might have been thought would have been too vain and fickle to remain long in one Mind, as to Profeffions of Friendship, of how little Value are they in common among Men? Few Women are capable, that is, have Constancy enough, to abide long by any Refolution, as yet none was made, it was only

the

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