ARGUS.

When wife Ulyffes, from his native coaft
Long kept by wars, and long by tempefts toft,
Arriv'd at laft, poor, old, difguis'd, alone,
To all his friends, and even his Queen unknown:
Chang'd as he was, with age, and toils, and cares,
Furrow'd his reverend face, and white his hairs,
In his own palace forc'd to afk his bread,
Scorn'd by thofe flaves his former bounty fed,
Forgot of all his own domeftic crew;

The faithful dog alone his rightful master knew!
Unfed, unhous'd, neglected, on the clay,
Like an old fervant now cashier'd, he lay;
Touch'd with refentment of ungrateful man,
And longing to behold his ancient Lord again.
Him when he faw-he rofe, and crawl'd to meet,
("Twas all he cou'd,) and fawn'd, and kifs'd his feet,
Seiz'd with dumb joy-then falling by his fide,
Own'd his returning Lord, look'd up, and dy'd!

Plutarch relating how the Athenians were obliged to abandon Athens in the time of Themiftocles, fteps back again out of the way of his history, purely to defcribe the lamentable cries and howlings of the poor dogs they left behind. He makes mention of one that followed his mafter acrofs the fea to Salamis, where he died, and was honoured with a tomb by the Athenians, who gave the name of the Dog's Grave

to

I know not sweeter lines in our language than these four; Prior fays well in Solomon, b.i.

And dying licks his long-lov'd master's feet. Which my friend Dobfon admirably tranflated,

Et lambit charum linguâ moriente magiftrum.

WARTON.

to that part of the island where he was buried. This respect to a dog in the most polite people in the world, is very obfervable. A modern inftance of gratitude to a dog (though we have few fuch) is, that the chief order of Denmark (now injuriously called the order of the Elephant) was inftituted in memory of the fidelity of a dog, named Wild-brat, to one of their Kings who had been deferted by his fubjects; he gave his Order this motto, or to this effect, (which ftill remains,) Wild-brat was faithful*. Sir William Trumbull has told me a ftory ", which he heard from one that was prefent: King Charles I. being with fome of his court during his troubles, a discourse arofe what fort of dogs deferved pre-eminence, and it being on all hands agreed to belong either to the spaniel or grey-hound, the king gave his opinion on the part of the grey-hound, because (faid he) it has all the good-nature of the other, without fawning. A good piece of fatire upon his courtiers, with which I will conclude my difcourfe of dogs. Call me a cynic, or what you please, in revenge for all this impertinence, I will be contented; provided you will but believe me, when I fay a bold word for a Chriftian, that, of all dogs, you will find none more faithful than

Your, etc.

The poetical world has feldom feen any thing more pleafing and elegant on this fubject, than Wm. Spencer's Ballad of Beth Gellert, or the Grave of the Grey-hound.

Sir Philip Warwick tells us this ftory in his Memoirs.

WARBURTON.

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LETTER XI.

April 19, 1710.

HAD written to you fooner, but that I made fome fcruple of fending profane things to you in Holy Week *. Befides, our family would have been scandalized to see me write, who take it for granted I write nothing but ungodly verfes. I affure you I am looked upon in the neighbourhood for a very well-difpofed perfon, no great Hunter indeed, but a great admirer of the noble sport, and only unhappy in my want of conftitution for that, and Drinking. They all fay 'tis a pity I am fo fickly, and I think 'tis pity they are fo healthy. But I fay nothing that may destroy their good opinion of me: I have not quoted one Latin Author fince I came down, but have learned without book a fong of Mr. Thomas Durfey's, who is your only Poet of tolerable reputation in this coun try. He makes all the merriment in our entertain ments, and but for him, there would be so miferable a dearth of catches, that, I fear, they would put either the Parfon or me upon making fome for 'em, Any man, of any quality, is heartily welcome to the best toping table of our gentry, who can roar out fome Rhapsodies of his works; fo that in the fame manner as it was faid of Homer to his detractors, What! dares any man speak against him who has given

* Pope's father and mother were rigid Catholics.

given fo many men to eat? (meaning the Rhapsodists who lived by repeating his verses;) thus may it be faid of Mr. Durfey to his detractors: Dares any one despise him who has made so many men drink? Alas, Sir! this is a glory. which neither you nor I must ever pretend to. Neither you with your Ovid, nor I with my Statius, can amuse a board of juftices and extraordinary 'fquires, or gain one hum of approbation, or laugh of admiration. These Things (they would fay) are too ftudious, they may do well enough with fuch as love reading, but give us your ancient Poet Mr. Durfey *! 'Tis mortifying enough, it must however, let us proceed in the way that Nature has directed us-Multi multa fcient, fed nemo omnia, as is faid in the almanack. Let us communicate our works for our mutual comfort: fend me elegies, and you fhall not want heroics. At prefent, I have only thefe arguments in profe to the Thebaid, which you claim by promife, as I do your Tranflation of Pars me Sulmo tenet,-and the Ring; the reft I hope for as foon as you can conveniently transcribe them, and whatfoever orders you are pleafed to give me fhall be punctually obeyed by

be confeffed; but,

Your, etc.

*He was every fummer invited to a fishing-party at Mr. Jones's of Ramfoury, a man of confiderable property in Wiltshire. Harte told me his friend Fenton alluded to this vifit in his clegant Epifle to Lambard:

By long experience, Durfey may, no doubt,
Enfnare a gudgeon, or fometimes a trout;
Yet Dryden once exclaim'd, in partial spite,
He fish! because the man attempts to write.

WARTON

LETTER XII.

May 10, 1710.

HAD not fo long omitted to express my acknowledgments to you for fo much good-nature and friendship as you lately fhewed me; but that I am but just returned to my own hermitage, from Mr. C's, who has done me fo many favours, that I am almost inclined to think my friends infect one another, and that your converfation with him has made him as obliging to me as yourself. I can affure you, he has a fincere respect for you, and this, I believe, he has partly contracted from me, who am too full of you not to overflow upon those I converse with. But I must now be contented to converfe only with the dead of this world; that is to fay, the dull and obfcure, every way obfcure, in their intellects as well as their perfons: or else have recourse to the living dead, the old authors with whom you are fo well acquainted, even from Virgil down to Aulus Gellius, whom I do not think a critic by any means to be compared to Mr. Dennis : and I must declare positively to you, that I will perfift in this opinion, till you become a little more civil to Atticus. Who could have imagined, that he, who had escaped all the misfortunes of his time, unhurt even by the profcriptions of Antony and Augustus, should in these days find an enemy more fevere

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