with fruit-trees. Befides the common kinds, as cherries, apricots, peaches, &c. they produce oranges, limes, almonds, pomegranates, figs, water-melons, and many other fruits unknown to our climates, which lie every where open to the paflenger. The hills are the greater part covered to the top with vines, fome with chefnut groves, and others with thickets of myrtle and lentifcus. The fields in the northern fide are divided by hedge-rows of myrtle. Several fountains and rivulets add to the beauty of this landscape, which is likewife fet off by the variety of fome barren fpots, and naked rocks. But that which crowns the fcene is a large mountain, rifing out of the middle of the ifland (once a terrible volcano, by the ancients called Mons Epomeus); its lower parts are adorned with vines, and other fruits; the middle affords pafture to flocks of goats and sheep; and the top is a fandy pointed rock, from which you have the finest profpect in the world, furveying at one view, befides feveral pleafant iflands lying at your feet, a tract of Italy about three hundred miles in length, from the promontory of Antium to the cape of Palinurus: the greater part of which hath been fung by Ilomer and Virgil, as making a confiderable part of the travels and adventures of their two heroes. The iflands Caprea, Prochyta, and Parthenope, together with Cajeta, Cuma, Monte Mifeno, the habitations of Circe, the Syrens, and the Læftrigones, the bay of Naples, the promontory of Minerva, and the whole Campagnia Felice, make but a part of this noble landfcape; which would demand an imagination as warm, and numbers as flowing, as your own, to describe it. The inhabitants of this delicious ifle, as they are without riches and honours, fo are they without the vices and follies that attend them; and were they but as much strangers to revenge, as they are to avarice and ambition, they might in fact anfwer the poetical notions of the golden But they have got, as an alloy to age. their happiness, an ill habit of murdering one another on flight offences. We had an inftance of this the fecond night after our arrival, a youth of eighteen being fhot dead by our door: and yet by the fole fecret of minding our own bufinefs, we found a means of living fecurely among thofe dangerous people. 12 Would you know how we pafs the time at Naples? Our chief entertainment is the devotion of our neighbours: befides the gaiety of their churches (where folks go to fee what they call una bella devotione, i. e. a fort of religious opera), they make fire-works almost every week, out of devotion; the ftreets are often hung with arras, out of devotion; and (what is fill more ftrange) the ladies invite gentlemen to their houses, and treat them with mufic and fweetmeats, out of devotion: in a word, were it not for this devotion of its inhabitants, Naples would have little elfe to recommend it, befide the air and fituation. Learning is in no very thriving ftate here, as indeed no where elfe in Italy; however, among many pretenders, fome men of tafte are to be met with. A friend of mine told me not long fince, that being to vifit Salvini at Florence, he found him reading your Homer: he liked the notes extremely, and could find no other fault with the verfion, but that he thought it approached too near a paraphrafe; which fhews him not to be fufficiently acquainted with our language. I with you health to go on with that noble work, and when you have that, I need not wish you fuccefs. You will do me the justice to be lieve, that whatever relates to your wel fare is fincerely wished by your, &c. LETTER LXXXIV. Mr. Pope to Dec. 12, 1718. THE old project of a window in the Τ bofom, to render the foul of man vi fible, is what every honeft friend has mahifold reafon to wish for; yet even that would not do in our cafe, while you are fo far feparated from me, and fo long. I begin to fear you will die in Ireland, and that denunciation will be fulfilled upon you, Hibernus es, et in Hiberniam reverteris. I fhould be apt to think you in Sancho's cafe; fome Duke has made you governor of an ifland, or wet place, and you are adminiftering laws to the wild Irish. But I must own, when you talk of building and planting, you touch my ftring; and I am as apt to pardon you, as the fellow that thought himfelf Jupiter, would have pardoned the other madman who called himself his brother brother Neptune. Alas, Sir, do you Alas, Sir, do you know whom you talk to? one that has been a poet, was degraded to a tranfLacor, and at lat, through mere dulnefs, is turned an architect. You know Martial's cenfare, Praunum facito vel However, I have one way left, to plan, to elevate, and to furprise (2 Bays lapo, ; the next news you may apa o bar is, that I am in debt. The key of my tranplantation and Salesch you defire, wont re qara faze; wire to carve we a prod, sick, remity and rancs ács, asending me on 66 new verfion of Lucretius to publish against Tonfon's; agreeing to pay the "author fo many fhillings at his producing fo many lines. He made a great progrefs in a very fhort time, and I gave it to the corrector to compare "with the Latin; but he went directly "to Creech's tranflation, and found it the "fame word for word, all but the first 66 page. Now, what do you think I "did? I arrested the tranflator for a "cheat; nay, and I ftopt the corrector's pay too, upon this proof that he had "made ufe of Creech inftead of the original." Pray teli me next how you deal with the critics? "Sir (faid he), nothing "more cafy. I can filence the mot "formidable of them: the rich ones for 66 a fheet a-piece of the blotted manufcript, which cofts me nothing; they "will go about with it to their acquaint"ance, and pretend they had it from "the author, who fubmitted to their "correction: this has given fome of "them fuch an air, that in time they "come to be confulted with, and dedi"cated to as the top critics of the "town. As for the poor critics, I "will give you one inftance of my ma"nagement, by which you may guess "at the rest. A lean man, that looked "like a very good fcholar, came to me "the other day; he turned over your Homer, fhook his head, fhrugged up "his fhoulders, and pithed at every line "of it one would wonder (fays he) at "the ftrange prefumption of fome men; "Homer is no fuch eafy tafk, that every M/ Lord, IP your mare could fpeak, fhe would give an account of what extraordinary company the had on the road; which cannot do. I will. It was the enterpriling Mr. Lintot, the redoubtable rival of Mr. Tonion, who, Mounted on a one-horfe (no diagreeable comp mon to your Lordthip's mare), overtook me in Windfor foreft. He faid, he heard 1 defigned for Oxford, the feat of the Mutes, and would as my bookfelet. by all means, accompany thther Lafked him where he got his bo For that regre my rea, of a brows est me me Mr. Lintot began in this Now damn them! what if they boud put it into the news-paper, D "and I went together to Oxford "would I care? If I thould go down 66 "" оп Suffex, they would fay I was go "to the Speaker. But what of the "If my fon were but big enough t with the bufinefs, by G-d I w keep as good company as c'd Jacch." Hereupon I inquired of his fon. T "lad (fays he) has fine parts, bath fomewhat fickly, much as you ars-l "fpare for nothing in his education? "Westminster. Pray do not you that "Weftminster to be the best schoo 66 England? moft of the late minit came out of it, fo did many of thi miniftry; I hope the boy will mar his fortune." Do not you defign to let him paß a year at Oxford? To what purpofe?" (raid he); the univerfities do but makt pedants, and I intend to breed him a “man of buitinets." As Mr. Lince was talking. I obferved be it ena v en bis addle, for which I covered (Ome Clicrude: Nothing, im Center it well enough; bet fince we Me the re before as, methinks it *NEZ →→ malknt år you to red 1When we were See are, wix a micha . ʼn pocket! |