fometimes do knights, not for their honour, but for their money. Certainly he ought to be efteem'd a worker of miracles, who is grown rich by poetry.

What Authors lofe, their Bookfellers have won, So Pimps grow rich, while Gallants are undone. I am your, &c.

LETTER XX.

From Mr. WYCHERLEY.

May 26. 1709.

The laft I receiv'd from you was dated the 22d

The May, I take your charitable hint, to me

very kindly, wherein you do like a true friend, and a true chriftian, and I fhill endeavour to follow your advice, as well as your example. As for your wifhing to fee your friend an Hermit with you, I cannot be faid to leave the world, fince I fhall enjoy in your converfation all that I can defire of it; nay, can learn more from you alone, than from my long experience of the great, or little vulgar in it.

As to the fuccefs of your poems in the late mifcellany, which I told you of in my laft; upon my word I made you no compliment, for you may be affur'd that all fort of readers like them, except they are writers too; but for them (I muft needs fay) the more they like them, they ought to be the less pleas'd with 'ein: fo that you do not come off with a bare faving game (as you call it) but have gain'd

fo much credit at firft, that you muft needs fupport it to the laft: fince you fer up with fo great a stock of good fenfe, judgment, and-wit, that your judgment enfures ail that your wit ventures at. The falt of your wit has been enough to give a relish to the whole infipid hotch-potch it is mingled with; and you will make Jacob's Ladder raife you to immortality, by which others are turn'd off fhamefully to their damnation (for poetic thieves as they are) who think to be fav'd by others good works, how faulty foever their own are: but the coffee - houfe wits, or rather anti-wits the critics, prove their judgments by approving your wit; and even the newsmongers and poets will own, you have more invention than they; nay, the detracters or the envious, who never fpeak well of any body (not even of thofe they think well of in their absence) yet will give you even in your abfence their good word; and the critics only hate you, for being forced to speak well of you whether they will or no: All this is true upon the word of

Y letters, fo much inferior to yours, can only

Με

make up their fcarcity of fenfe by their number of lines; which is like the Spaniards paying a

debt of gold with a load of brafs money. But to be a plain dealer, I must tell you, I will revenge the raillery of your letters by printing them (as Dennis did mine) without your knowledge too, which wou'd be a revenge upon your judgment for the raillery of your wit; for fome dull rogues (that is the most in the world) might be such fools as to think what you faid of me was in earneft: It is not the firft time, your great wits have gain'd reputation by their paradoxical or ironical praises; your forefathers have done it, Erafinus and others. For all mankind who know me must confefs, he must be no ordinary genius, or little friend, who can find out any thing to commend in me ferioufly; who have given no fign of my judgment but my opinion of yours, nor mark of my wit, but my leaving off writing to the public now you are beginning to fhew the world what you can do by yours: whofe wit is as fpiritual as your judgment infallible: in whofe judgment I have an implicit faith, and shall always fubfcribe to it to fave my works, in this world, from the fla mes and damnation. Pray, prefent my moft humble fervice to Sir William Trumbull; for whom and whofe judgment I have fo profound a refpect, that his example had almoft made ine marry, more than my Nephew's ill carriage to me; having once refolv'd to have revenged myself upon him by my marriage, but now am refolv'd to make my revenge greater upon him by His marriage.

I

LETTER XXII.

From Mr. WYCHERLEY.

April 1. 1710.

have had yours of the 30th of the last month, which is kinder than I defire it fhould be, fince it tells me you cou'd be better pleas'd to be fick again in Town in my company, than to be well in the Country without it; and that you are more im patient to be depriv'd of happiness than of health., Yet, my dear friend, fet raillery or compliment afide, I can bear your abfence (which procures your health and ease) better than I can your company when you are in pain: for I cannot see you so without being fo too. Your love to the Country I do not doubt, nor do you (I hope) my love to it or you, fince there I can enjoy your company without seeing you in pain to give me fatisfaction and pleafure; there I can have you without rivals or difturbers; without the too civil, or the too rude: without the noise of the loud, or the cenfure of the filent: and wou'd rather have you abuse me there with the truth, than at this distance with your com pliment: fince now, your business of a friend, and kindness to a friend, is by finding fault with his faults, and mending them by your obliging severity. I hope (in point of your good-nature) you will have no cruel charity for thofe papers of mine, you are fo willing to be troubled with; which I take

most infinitely kind of you, and shall acknowledge with gratitude, as long as I live. No friend can do more for his friend than preferving his reputation (nay, not by preferving his life) fince by preferving his life he can only make him live about threefcore or fourscore Years: but by preferving his reputation, he can make him live as long as the world lafts; fo fave him from damning, when he is gone to the devil. Therefore, I pray, condemn me in private, as the Thieves do their accomplices in New. gate, to fave them from condemnation by the pub. lic. Be moft kindly unmerciful to my poetical faults, and do with my papers, as you country-gent. lemen do with your trees, flash, cut, and lop off the excrefcencies and dead parts of my wither'd bays, that the little remainder may live the longer, and increase the value of them by diminishing the number. I have troubled you with my papers ra ther to give you pain than pleasure, notwithstanding your compliment, which fays you take the trouble kindly: fuch is your generofity to your friends, that' you take it kindly to be defired by them to do them a kindness; and you think it done to you, when they give you an opportunity to do it them. Whe refore you may be sure to be troubled with my let ters out of intereft, if not kindness; fince mine to you will procure yours to me: fo that I write to you more for my own fake than yours; lefs to make you think I write well, than to learn from you to write better. Thus you fee intereft in my kindnefs, which is like the friendship of the world, rather to make a friend than be a friend; but I am yours as a true Plain-dealer.