subject, complimented him upon his taste and zeal for the reformed style of picturesque gardening."

His friend Dr. Trevor, now become Bishop of Durham, procured for him a prebend in that see in 1754. This required him occasionally to leave Byfleet, and promoted the exercise of his skill in his much loved art. He still retained his living of Great Horwood, where, however, he never resided. But, being of moderate habits, and a generous heart, he is understood to have distributed money very freely to the poor of the parish, during his annual visits, and to have otherwise consulted their welfare. Enough is known of him, indeed, to warrant the commendation of Mr. Singer.

"Spence's benevolence was most liberal and unconfined; distress of every sort, and in every rank of life, never preferred its claim to his attention in vain: and he is described by one who knew him well, to have had a heart and a hand ever open to the poor and needy.”

Among the individuals to whom his humane services extended, it is worth while to specify our own Dr. Blacklock, of whose "life, character, and poems," he drew up an account, and for whom he procured a large subscription to an edition of his works. Mr. Spence, in the latter part of his life, made several excursions to various parts of Britain, especially such as were most romantic in scenery. One of these was to Scotland, and his journal of it is given in a letter to Shenstone, which is printed in Hall's collection. He died in 1768.

"Spence was in person below the middle size, his figure spare, his countenance benignant, and rather handsome, but bearing marks of a delicate constitution. As in his childhood he had been kept alive by constant care and the assistance of skilful medical aid, he did not expect that his life would have been protracted beyond fifty years. But he possessed those greatest of all blessings, a cheerful temperament, a constant flow of animal spirits, and a most peaceable disposition. These, with the happy circumstances in which he was placed, and the active nature of his gardening amusements, prolonged its date to his 70th year; when he was unfortunately drowned in a canal in his garden at Byfleet.”

As to the collection of anecdotes to which we now recur, it is proper to mention, in addition to what was formerly said of it, that Mr. Spence himself, who appears to have taken great pains and pleasure in making it, had intended its publication, but not in his lifetime. For this purpose he had conditionally sold it to Dodsley, who afterwards abandoned his claim, on the interference of the author's executors, for some reason not exactly known,—whether they thought many of the anecdotes of too recent a date, or of too trifling a nature, or the simply understood, if not expressed aversion of Lord Lincoln.

“One of the manuscript copies was, therefore, presented to his Lordship, and the other consigned to a chest with all Mr. Spence's manuscript remains. It is thus that these anecdotes have hitherto remained a sealed book, except to a privileged few.”

Among these persons, as already stated, was the late Mr. Malone, who is now imagined, we have heard it said, to have made rather too free use of them, and to have taken measures, for a time, to prevent their getting in an entire form before the public. In the manuscript which he completed for himself, he did not observe the chronological order of the original, but arranged the anecdotes so as to bring "all that related to Pope under one class, which he called Popiana;' and the others under their respective heads." This circumstance will explain to the reader one of the differences between the two works now noticed. The first professes to be a copy as arranged by Mr. Malone; "the second, to which we have assigned the preference, is divided into eight sections, following the order of time, and extending from 1728 to 1744, besides containing several supplementary anecdotes taken from various papers of Mr. Spence, especially his memorandum books for 1755-6-7, and 1758. In both copies, it may be remarked, it is usual to give the authority for the anecdotes, either in the full name or the initials of the persons from whom they were respectively obtained. We believe it is quite immaterial which of these we use for the purpose of a little recreation. The first is printed in the larger type, which is certainly one recommendation, and being classified, moreover, it may save us some trouble.

The Popiana, for reasons stated, need not occupy us long. Pope freely alluded to a defect for which he was remarkable, as well as some other eminent men.

"I never could speak in public; and I do not believe, that if it was a set thing, I could give an account of any story to twelve friends together, though I could tell it to any three of them with a great deal of pleasure. When I was to appear for (Atterbury) the Bishop of Rochester on his trial, though I had but ten words to say, and that on a plain easy point, (how that Bishop spent his time whilst I was with him at Bromley,) I made two or three blunders in it; and that, notwithstanding the first row of lord (which were all I could see,) were mostly of my acquaintance.”

There is something striking in Pope's remark on an important topic.

"Some of Plato's and Cicero's reasonings on the immortality of the soul are very foolish; but the latter's is less so than the former's. Without revelation, it is certainly a grand peut-être.”

What he says of Addison's habits is quite consistent with other reports.

“Addison usually studied all the morning; then met his party at Button's; dined there, and stayed five or six hours, and sometimes far into the night.-I was of the company for about a year (probably 1713,) bút found it too much for me: it hurt my health, and so I quitted it.",

The following anecdote, which also relates to Addison, will be duly appreciated by those who are acquainted with the state of

political parties to which it relates. The remark respecting Bolingbroke does not surprise us, whatever Pope may have thought

of it.

"Addison had Budgel, and I think Philips, in the house with him. Gay they would call one of my eleves. They were angry with me for keeping so much with Dr. Swift, and some of the late ministry. Parnell was with me too, and had come over from the others when Lord Oxford was at the head of affairs. On Parnell's ha❤ ving been introduced into Bolingbroke's company, and his speaking afterwards of the great pleasure he had in his conversation, Mr. Addison came out with his old expression, if he had but as good a heart as he has a head!' and applied to him, that cankered Bolingbroke!' from Shakspeare."

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But whatever Bolingbroke's heart may have been as to other concerns, we cannot deny that it maintained a warm regard for Pope through the whole of his life. Spence relates a proof of this from his own knowledge.

"When I was telling his Lordship that Mr. Pope, on every catching and recovering of his mind, was always saying something kindly, either of his present or absent friends, and that this in some cases was so surprising, that it seemed to me as if his humanity had outlived his understanding, Lord Bolingbroke said, it has so!' and then added, I never in my life knew a man that had so tender a heart for his particular friends, or a more general friendship for mankind."—" I have known him these thirty years, and value myself more for that man's love and friendship, than ing his head, and losing his voice in tears.")

(sink

How some observations of Lady M. W. Montague, have obtained a place under this head, besides being repeated afterwards, we are at a loss to understand. Take an example.

"It was my fate to be much with the wits: my father was acquainted with them all. Addison was the best company in the world. I never knew any body that had so much wit as Congreve. Sir Richard Steele was a very good-natured man, and Dr. Garth a very worthy one."

A subdivision of the collection contains several opinions of Mr. Pope and others respecting the English poets and prose writers, and a good many anecdotes relating to their history. We hold the latter to be the more interesting of the two, but neither of them to be of much consequence. The former, generally speaking, are not new; and we strongly suspect the latter are rarely to be relied on. How little dependence can be placed on such memoranda, might be easily shewn by comparing several of them with ascertained facts or commonly credited narrations. There is one of these anecdotes which it may be worth while to notice, because it evidences the use which Dr. Johnson occasionally made of the collection now before us, while it confirms the observation we have just made. We allude to what is told of the death of poor Otway.

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Otway had an intimate friend, one Blackiston, who was shot; the murderer fled towards Dover, and Otway pursued him; in his return he drank water when violently heated, and so got the fever which was the death of him."

John

This is given on the authority of Dennis, the critic. son, in his sketch of Otway, after having painfully narrated another and more tragic story of his end, says,

"All this, I hope, is not true, and there is this ground of better hope, that Pope, who lived near enough to be better informed, relates in Spence's Memorials, that he died of fever caught by violent pursuit of a thief that had robbed one of his friends. But that indigente, and its concomitants, sorrow and despondency, pressed hard upon him, has never been denied, whatever immediate cause might bring him to the grave." We leave the reader to make his own reflections on the apparent discordancies manifested in this one case.

The information respecting Wycherly, which is given partly on the authority of Dennis and partly on that of Pope, is fully more interesting than any part of the work hitherto mentioned, but is too long for insertion, and cannot well be abridged.

Prior makes a very indifferent figure in these anecdotes. It is certain he was far from being correct in his morals; but it may be questioned, whether his faults on that score would not have been a good deal overlooked had he not made a change in his political attachments. We forbear retailing the scandal against him to which the name of Pope is affixed.

Swift, who was assuredly still more obnoxious to the Whig party, is treated here with much more respect-an argument, we may observe, of no small consequence in deciding on his characFrom the anecdotes of him we select the longest and most singular. Pope is the narrator.

ter.

"Dr. Swift has an odd, blunt way, that is mistaken by strangers for ill-nature; it is so odd, that there is no describing it but by facts. I'll tell you one that first comes into my head. One evening Gay and I went to see him: you know how intimately we were all acquainted. On our coming in, Heyday, gentlemen, (says the Doctor,) what's the meaning of this visit? How came you to leave all the great lords that you are so fond of, to come hither to see a poor Dean? Because we would rather see you than any of them.'- Ay, any one that did not know you so well as I do might believe you. But since you are come, I must get some supper for you, I suppose? No, Doctor, we have supped already :- Supped already: that's impossible: why, it is not eight o'clock yet. That's very strange; but if you had not supped, I must have got something for you. Let me see, what should I have had? A couple of lobsters? Ay, that would have done very well: two shillings: tarts & shilling. But you will drink a glass of wine with me, though you supped so much before your usual time, only to spare my pocket.'—' No, we had rather talk with you than drink with you.'' But if you had supped with me, as in all reason you ought to have done, you must then have drank with me. A bottle of wine, two shillings. Two and two is four, and one is five: just two and sixpence a piece. There, Pope, there's half a crown for you; and there's another for you, Sir; for I won't save any thing by you, I am determined.' This was all said and done with his usual seriousness on such occasions; and in spite of every thing we could say to the contrary, he actually obliged us to take the money."

The anecdotes relative to Gay are, on the whole, to his advantage. Garth is spoken of very favourably. Most of what is said of Addison, who, of course, makes a conspicuous figure in the collection, is well known. Of a very different character from

any now mentioned, Sir Isaac Newton, we have a few anecdotes recorded, on the authority of various individuals, from which we extract the two following. The first is quite consistent with the humility, and the second with the greatness of his mind.

"Sir Isaac Newton, a little before he died, said, I don't know what I may seem to the world; but as to myself, I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a pret tier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me."-RAMSAY.

"Sir Isaac Newton, though so deep in algebra and fluxions, could not readily make up a common account; and, whilst he was Master of the Mint, used to get somebody to make up the accounts for him."-POPE.

We have already noticed Addison's estimate of Bolingbroke's head and heart. It is worth while to give Pope's opinion of the former:

"There is one thing in Lord Bolingbroke which seems peculiar to himself. He has so great a memory as well as judgment, that if he is alone and without books, he can sit down by himself, (as another man would in his study,) and refer to the books, on such a particular subject in them, in his own mind, and write as fully on it as another would with all his books about him. He sits like an intelligence, and recollects all the questions within himself."

Elsewhere he says of him, that he "knows more of Europe "than perhaps all Europe put together;" and that "he would "have made the best of ministers." These are perhaps the exaggerations of friendship; but they are in the same strain with every contemporary report concerning that remarkable man. Of Oxford, at one time the colleague, and latterly the enemy of Bolingbroke, Pope did not think so highly.

“Lord Oxford was not a very capable minister, and had a good deal of negligence into the bargain. He used to send trifling verses from court to the Scriblerus Club almost every day; and would come and talk idly with them almost every night, even when his all was at stake." He talked of business in so confused a manner, that you did not know what he was about; and every thing he went to tell you was in the epic way, for he always began in the middle.'

Swift's Journal to Stella confirms in part this character. But the following addition from the anecdotes is requisite to make the portrait:

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They were quite mistaken in his temper, who thought to get rid of him by advising him to make his escape from the Tower. He would have sat out the storm, let the danger be what it would." He was a steady man, and had a great firmness of soul, and would have died unconcernedly, or perhaps, like Sir Thomas More, with a jest in his mouth.""-POPE.

The versatility of Lord Peterborough's talents and feelings is thus vouched by Pope, whose comparison between him and Bolingbroke may be added:

"Lord Peterborough could dictate letters to nine amanuenses together, as I was assured by a gentleman who saw him do it, when ambassador at Turin. He walked round the room, and told each in his turn what he was to write. One, perhaps, was a letter to the emperor, another to an old friend, a third to a mistress, and a fourth to