juftice to his merit, to publish the folemn and private profeffions of love, gratitude, and veneration, made him by fo celebrated an author; and fincerely Mr. Pope ought not to refent the publication, fince the early pregnancy of his genius was no difhonour to his character. And yet, had either of you been asked, common modesty would have obliged you to refuse, what you would not be difpleafed with, if done without your knowledge. And befides, to end all dif pute, you had been pleased to make me a free gift of them, to do what I pleafed with them; and every one knows, that the perfon to whom a letter is addreffed, has the fame right to dispose of it, as he has of goods purchased with his money. I doubt not but your generofity and honour will do me the right, of owning by a line that I came honestly by them, I flatter myself, in a few months I fhall again be visible to the world; and whenever through good provi dence that turn fhall happen, I fhall joyfully acquaint you with it, there being none more truly your obliged fervant, than, Sir,

Your, etc.

E. THOMAS.

P. S. A Letter, Sir, directed to Mrs. Thomas, to be left at my house, will be fafely transmitted to

her, by

Yours, etc.

E. CURLL.

MR. CROMWELL TO MR. POPE.

Epfom, July 6, 1727.

WHEN thefe Letters were first printed, I wondered

how Curll could come by them, and could not but laugh at the pompous title; fince whatever you wrote to me was humour, and familiar raillery. As foon as I came from Epfom, I heard you had been to fee me, and I writ you a fhort letter from Will's, that I longed to see you. Mr. Ds, about that time, charged me with giving them to a mistress, which I pofitively denied: not in the leaft, at that time, thinking of it; but fome time after, finding in the News-papers Letters from Lady Packington, Lady Chudleigh, and Mr. Norris, to the fame Sappho, or E. T. I begin to fear that I was guilty. I have never seen these Letters of Curll's, nor would go to his shop about them; I have not seen the Sappho, alias E. T. these seven years. Her writing, That I gave her 'em, to do what he would with 'em, is ftraining the point too far. I thought not of it, nor do I think she did then; but severe neceffity, which catches hold of a twig, has produced all this; which has lain hid, and forgot by me fo many years. Curll fent me a letter last week, defiring a pofitive answer about this matter, but finding I would give him none, he went

to

to E. T. and writ a postscript in her long romantic letter, to direct my answer to his house; but they not expecting an anfwer, fent a young man to me, whofe name, it feems, is Pattifon. I told him I fhould not write any thing, but I believed it might be so as she writ in her letter. I am extremely concerned that my former indifcretion in putting them into the hands of this Pretieufe, fhould have given you fo much disturbance; for the last thing I fhould do would be to disoblige you, for whom I have ever preserved the greatest esteem, and shall ever be, Sir, Your faithful Friend, etc.

HENRY CROMWELL.

MR. CROMWELL TO MR. POPE.

August 1, 1727.

THOUGH
HOUGH I writ my long narrative from Epfom,

till I was tired, yet I was not fatisfied; left any doubt should reft upon your mind. I could not make proteftations of my innocence of a grievous crime; but I was impatient till I came to town, that I might fend you those Letters, as a clear evidence that I was a perfect stranger to all their proceeding. Should I have protested against it, after the printing, it might have been taken for an attempt to decry his purchase;

VOL. VII.

and as the little exception you have taken has ferved him to play his game upon us for these two years, a new incident from me might enable him to play it on for two more.——The great value fte expreffes for all you write, and her paffion for having them, I believe, was what prevailed upon me to let her keep them. By the interval of twelve years at least, from her poffeffion to the time of printing them, 'tis manifeft, that I had not the leat ground to apprehend fuch a defign: but as people in great ftraits bring forth their hoards of old gold and moft valued jewels; fo Sappho had recourfe to her hid treafure of Letters, and played off not only yours to me, but all those to herself (as the Lady's laft ftake) into the prefs.-As for me, I hope when you fhall coclly confider the many thousand inftances of our being deluded by the females, fince that great original of Adam by Eve, you will have a more favourable thought of the undefigning error of

Your faithful Friend, etc.

HENRY CROMWELL.

Now fhall our apology for this publication be as ill received as the Lady's feems to have been by the Gentlemen concerned; we fall at least have her Comfort, of being thanked by the rest of the world. Nor has Mr. P. himself any great caufe to think it much offence to bis

modesty

modesty or reflection on his judgment, when we take care to inform the Public, that there are few Letters of his in this Collection, which were not written under twenty years of age on the other hand, we doubt not the reader will be much more furprized to find, at that early period, fo much variety of style, affecting fentiment, and juftness of criticifm, in pieces which must have been writ in hafte, very few perhaps ever reviewed, and none intended for the eye of the Public.