110 (return)
[ 'Abuse:' namely, on the
Duke of Buckingham, the Earl of Burlington, Lord Bathurst, Lord
Bolingbroke, Bishop Atterbury, Dr Swift, Dr Arbuthnot, Mr Gay, his
friends, his parents, and his very nurse, aspersed in printed papers, by
James Moore, G. Ducket, L. Wolsted, Tho. Bentley, and other obscure
persons.—P.]
111 (return)
[ 'Sappho:' Lady M.W.
Montague.]
112 (return)
[ 'Welsted:' accused Pope
of killing a lady by a satire.]
113 (return)
[ 'Budgell:' Budgell, in
a weekly pamphlet called The Bee, bestowed much abuse on him.]
114 (return)
[ 'Except his will:'
alluding to Tindal's will, by which, and other indirect practices,
Budgell, to the exclusion of the next heir, a nephew, got to himself
almost the whole fortune of a man entirely unrelated to him.—P.]
115 (return)
[ 'Curlls of town and
court:' Lord Hervey.]
116 (return)
[ 'Noble wife:' alluding
to the fate of Dryden and Addison.]
117 (return)
[ 'An oath:' Pope's
father was a nonjuror.]
118 (return)
[ Curll set up his head
for a sign.]
119 (return)
[ His father was
crooked.]
120 (return)
[ His mother was much
afflicted with headaches.]
121 (return)
[ 'Fortescue:' Baron of
Exchequer, and afterwards Master of the Mint.]
122 (return)
[ 'Fanny:' Hervey.]
123 (return)
[ 'Falling horse:' the
horse on which George II. charged at the battle of Oudenarde.]
124 (return)
[ 'Shippen:' the only
member of parliament Sir R. Walpole found incorruptible.]
125 (return)
[ 'Lee:' Nathaniel, a
wild, mad, but true poet of Dryden's day.]
126 (return)
[ 'Budgell:' Addison's
relation, who drowned himself in the Thames.]
127 (return)
[ 'And he whose
lightning:' Charles Mordaunt, Earl of Peterborough, a man distinguished by
the rapidity of his military movements—a petty Napoleon.]
128 (return)
[ 'Oldfield:' this
eminent glutton ran through a fortune of fifteen hundred pounds a-year in
the simple luxury of good eating.—P.]
129 (return)
[ 'Bedford-head:' a
famous eating-house.]
130 (return)
[ 'Proud Buckingham:'
Villiers, Duke of Buckingham.]
131 (return)
[ 'Aristippus:' the
licentious parasite of Dionysius.]
132 (return)
[ 'Sticks:' Exchequer
tallies—an old mode of reckoning.]
133 (return)
[ 'Barnard:' Sir John
Barnard, an eminent citizen of the day.]
134 (return)
[ 'Lady Mary:' Montague,
who was as great a sloven as a beauty.]
135 (return)
[ 'Murray:' afterwards
Lord Mansfield.]
136 (return)
[ 'Creech:' the
translator of Horace.]
137 (return)
[ 'Craggs:' his father
was originally a humble man.]
138 (return)
[ 'Cornbury:' an
excellent and high-minded nobleman, great-grandson of Lord Clarendon, the
historian.]
139 (return)
[ 'Tindal:' the infidel,
author of 'Christianity as Old as the Creation.']
140 (return)
[ 'Anstis:' Garter
King-at-Arms.]
141 (return)
[ 'Luckless play:'
Young's 'Buseris;' the name of the spendthrift is not known.]
142 (return)
[ 'Augustus:' referring
ironically to George II., then excessively unpopular for refusing to enter
into a war with Spain, which was supposed to have insulted our commerce.]
143 (return)
[ 'Skelton:' poet
laureate to Henry VIII.]
144 (return)
[ 'Christ's Kirk o' the
Green:' a ballad made by James I. of Scotland.]
145 (return)
[ 'The Devil:' the Devil
Tavern, where Ben Johnson held his poetical club.]
146 (return)
[ 'Horse-tail bare:'
referring to Sertorius, who told one of his soldiers to pluck off a
horse's tail at one effort. He failed, of course. Sertorius then told
another to pluck it away, hair by hair. He succeeded; and thus Sertorius
taught the lesson of hard-working, patient perseverance.]
147 (return)
[ 'Gammer Gurton:' one of
the first printed plays in English, and therefore much valued by some
antiquaries.]
148 (return)
[ 'All, by the king's
example:' a line from Lord Lansdown.]
149 (return)
[ 'Lely:' Sir Peter, who
painted Cromwell and all the celebrities of his day.]
150 (return)
[ 'Ripley:' the
government architect who built the Admiralty; no favourite except with his
employers.]
151 (return)
[ 'Van:' Vanbrugh.]
152 (return)
[ 'Astraea:' Miss Bolin,
author of obscene, but once popular novels.]
153 (return)
[ 'Old Edward's armour
beams on Cibber's breast:' the coronation of Henry VIII. and Queen Anne
Boleyn, in which the play-houses vied with each other to represent all the
pomp of a coronation. In this noble contention, the armour of one of the
kings of England was borrowed from the Tower, to dress the champion.—P.]
154 (return)
[ 'Bernini:' a great
sculptor. He is said to have predicted Charles the First's melancholy fate
from a sight of his bust.]
155 (return)
[ 'Colonel:' Cotterel of
Rousham, near Oxford.]
156 (return)
[ 'Blois:' a town where
French is spoken with great purity.]
157 (return)
[ 'Sir Godfrey:' Sir
Godfrey Kneller.]
158 (return)
[ 'Monroes:' Dr Monroe,
physician to Bedlam Hospital.]
159 (return)
[ 'Oldfield, Daitineuf:'
two celebrated gluttons mentioned formerly.]
160 (return)
[ 'Tooting, Earl's
Court:' two villages within a few miles of London.]
161 (return)
[ 'Composing songs:'
Burns imitates this in the 'Vision'—]
162 (return)
[ 'Stephen:' Mr Stephen
Duck.]
163 (return)
[ 'Servile chaplains:' Dr
Kenett, who wrote a servile dedication to the Duke of Devonshire, to whom
he was chaplain.]
164 (return)
[ 'Abbs Court:' a farm
over against Hampton Court.]
165 (return)
[ 'Townshend's turnips:'
Lord Townshend, Secretary of State to Georges the First and Second. When
this great statesman retired from business, he amused himself in
husbandry, and was particularly fond of the cultivation of turnips; it was
the favourite subject of his conversation.]
166 (return)
[ 'Bu——:'
Bubb Doddington.]
167 (return)
[ 'Oglethorpe:' employed
in settling the colony of Georgia. See Boswell's 'Johnson.']
168 (return)
[ 'Belinda:' in 'The Rape
of the Lock.']
169 (return)
[ 'Tips with silver:'
occurs also in the famous moonlight scene in the 'Iliad'—]
'Tips with silver every mountain's head.']
170 (return)
[ 'Adieu!' how like
Burns's lines, beginning—]
"But when life's day draws near the gloaming, Farewell to vacant, careless roaming!" &c.]
171 (return)
[ 'Donne:' Pope, it is
said, imitated Donne's 'Satires' to show that celebrated men before him
had been as severe as he. Donne was an extraordinary man—first a
Roman Catholic, then a barrister, then a clergyman in the Church of
England, and Dean of St Paul's,—a vigorous although rude satirist, a
fine Latin versifier, the author of many powerful sermons, and of a
strange book defending suicide; altogether a strong, eccentric,
extravagant genius.]
172 (return)
[ 'Paul:' supposed to be
Paul Benfield, Esq., M.P., who was engaged in the jobbing transactions of
that period; others fill up the blank in the original copy with Hall—as,
for instance, Croly in his excellent edition.]
173 (return)
[ 'Hoadley:' Bishop,
whose sentences were wire-drawn.]
174 (return)
[ 'Figs:' a
prize-fighting academy; 'White's:' a gaming-house, both much frequented by
the young nobility.]
175 (return)
[ 'Deadly sins:' the room
hung with old tapestry, representing the seven deadly sins.]
176 (return)
[ 'Ascapart:' a giant of
romance.]
177 (return)
[ 'Epilogue:' the first
part of which was originally published as 'One thousand seven hundred and
thirty-eight.' It appeared the same day with Johnson's 'London.']
178 (return)
[ 'Bubo:' Bubb
Duddington.]
179 (return)
[ 'Sir Billy:' Tonge.]
180 (return)
[ 'Huggins:' formerly
jailor of the Fleet prison, enriched himself by many exactions, for which
he was tried and expelled.—P.]
181 (return)
[ 'Cropp'd our ears:'
said to be executed by the captain of a Spanish ship on one Jenkins, the
captain of an English one. He cut off his ears, and bid him carry them to
the king his master.—P.]
182 (return)
[ 'The great man:' the
first minister.]
183 (return)
[ 'Seen him I have:'
alluding to Pope's service to Abbe Southcot, see 'Life.']
184 (return)
[ 'Jekyl:' Sir Joseph
Jekyl, master of the rolls, a true Whig in his principles, and a man of
the utmost probity.—P.]
185 (return)
[ 'Lyttleton:' George
Lyttleton, secretary to the Prince of Wales, distinguished both for his
writings and speeches in the spirit of liberty.—P.]
186 (return)
[ 'Sejanus, Wolsey:' the
one the wicked minister of Tiberius; the other, of Henry VIII. The writers
against the court usually bestowed these and other odious names on the
minister, without distinction, and in the most injurious manner.—P.]
187 (return)
[ 'Fleury:' Cardinal; and
minister to Louis XV. It was a patriot-fashion, at that time, to cry up
his wisdom and honesty.—P.]
188 (return)
[ 'Henley, Osborn:' see
them in their places in 'The Dunciad.']
189 (return)
[ 'Nation's sense:' the
cant of politics at that time.]
190 (return)
[ 'Carolina:'
Queen-consort to King George II. She died in 1737. See, for her character,
'Heart of Midlothian.']
191 (return)
[ 'Gazetteer:' then
Government newspaper.]
192 (return)
[ 'Immortal Selkirk:'
Charles, third son of Duke of Hamilton, created Earl of Selkirk in 1887.]
193 (return)
[ 'Grave Delaware:' a
title given that lord by King James II. He was of the bed-chamber to King
William; he was so to King George I.; he was so to King George II. This
Lord was very skilful in all the forms of the House, in which he
discharged himself with great gravity.— P.]
194 (return)
[ 'Sister:' alluding to
Lady M.W. Montague, who is said to have neglected her sister, the Countess
of Mar, who died destitute in Paris.]
195 (return)
[ 'Cibber's son, Rich:'
two players; look for them in 'The Dunciad.'—P.]
196 (return)
[ 'Blount:' author of an
impious and foolish book, called 'The Oracles of Reason,' who, being in
love with a near kinswoman of his, and rejected, gave himself a stab in
the arm, as pretending to kill himself, of the consequence of which he
really died.—P.]
197 (return)
[ 'Passerau:' author of
another book of the same stamp, called 'A Philosophical Discourse on
Death,' being a defence of suicide. He was a nobleman of Piedmont.]
198 (return)
[ 'A printer:' a fact
that happened in London a few years past. The unhappy man left behind him
a paper justifying his action by the reasonings of some of these authors.—P.]
199 (return)
[ 'Gin:' a spirituous
liquor, the exhorbitant use of which had almost destroyed the lowest rank
of the people, till it was restrained by an Act of Parliament in 1736.—P.]
200 (return)
[ 'Quaker's wife:' Mrs
Drummond, a preacher.]
201 (return)
[ 'Landaff:' Harris by
name, a worthy man, who had somehow offended the poet.]
202 (return)
[ 'Allen:' of Bath,
Warburton's father-in-law, the prototype of All-worthy in 'Tom Jones.']
203 (return)
[ 'Paxton:' late
solicitor to the Treasury.]
204 (return)
[ 'Guthrie:' the ordinary
of Newgate, who publishes the memoirs of the malefactors, and is often
prevailed upon to be so tender of their reputation, as to set down no more
than the initials of their name.—P.]
205 (return)
[ 'Wild:' Jonathan, a
famous thief, and thief-impeacher, who was at last caught in his own train
and hanged.—P. See Fielding, and 'Jack Shepherd.']
206 (return)
[ 'Feels for fame, and
melts to goodness:' this is a fine compliment; the expression showing,
that fame was but his second passion.]
207 (return)
[ 'Scarb'rough:' Earl of,
and Knight of the Garter, whose personal attachments to the king appeared
from his steady adherence to the royal interest, after his resignation of
his great employment of Master of the Horse; and whose known honour and
virtue made him esteemed by all parties.—P.]
208 (return)
[ 'Esher's peaceful
grove:' the house and gardens of Esher, in Surrey, belonging to the Hon.
Mr Pelham, brother of the Duke of Newcastle.]
209 (return)
[ 'Carleton:' Lord,
nephew of Robert Boyle.]
210 (return)
[ 'Argyll:' see 'Heart of
Midlothian.']
211 (return)
[ 'Wyndham:' Chancellor
of Exchequer; for the rest, see history.]
212 (return)
[ 'Yet higher:' he was at
this time honoured with the esteem and favour of his Royal Highness the
Prince.]
213 (return)
[ 'A friend:' unrelated
to their parties, and attached only to their persons.]
214 (return)
[ 'Lord Mayor:' Sir John
Barnard, Lord Mayor in the year of the poem, 1738.]
215 (return)
[ 'Spirit of Arnall:'
look for him in his place, Dunciad, b. ii., ver. 315.]
216 (return)
[ 'Polwarth:' the Hon.
Hugh Hume, son of Alexander Earl of Marchmont, grandson of Patrick Earl of
Marchmont, and distinguished, like them, in the cause of liberty.—P.]
217 (return)
[ 'The bard:' a verse
taken out of a poem to Sir R.W.—P.]
218 (return)
[ 'Japhet, Chartres:' see
the epistle to Lord Bathurst.]
219 (return)
[ 'Black ambition:' the
case of Cromwell in the civil war of England; and of Louis XIV. in his
conquest of the Low Countries.—P.]
220 (return)
[ 'Boileau:' see his 'Ode
on Namur.']
221 (return)
[ 'Opes the temple:' from
Milton—'Opes the palace of Eternity.']
222 (return)
[ 'Anstis:' the chief
herald-at-arms. It is the custom, at the funeral of great peers, to cast
into the grave the broken staves and ensigns of honour.—P.]
223 (return)
[ 'Ver. 238:' some fill
up the blanks with George II., and Frederick, Prince of Wales—others,
with Kent and Grafton.]
224 (return)
[ 'Stair:' John
Dalrymple, Earl of Stair, Knight of the Thistle.—P.]
225 (return)
[ 'Hough and Digby:' Dr
John Hough, Bishop of Worcester, and the Lord Digby.]