Now I fancy, that, to preserve an exact harmony and variety, the pause at the 4th or 6th should not be continued above three lines together, without the interposition of another; else it will be apt to weary the ear with one continued tone, at least it does mine: That at the fifth runs quicker, and carries not quite so dead a weight, so tires not so much, though it be continued longer.

3. Another nicety is in relation to expletives, whether words or syllables, which are made use of purely to supply a vacancy: Do before verbs plural is absolutely such; and it is not improbable but future refiners may explode did and does in the same manner, which are almost always used for the sake of rhyme. The same cause has occasioned the promiscuous use of you and thou to the same person, which can never sound so graceful as either one or the other.

4. I would also object to the irruption of Alexandrine verses, of twelve syllables, which, I think, should never be allowed but when some remarkable beauty or propriety in them atones for the liberty: Mr. Dryden has been too free of these, especially in his latter works. I am of the same opinion as to triple rhymes.

5. I could equally object to the repetition of the 'same rhymes within four or six lines of each other, as tiresome to the ear through their monotony.

6. Monosyllable lines, unless very artfully managed, are stiff, or languishing: but may be beautiful to express melancholy, slowness, or labour.

7. To come to the hiatus, or gap between two words, which is caused by two vowels opening on each other (upon which you desire me to be particular); I think the rule in this case is either to use the cæsura, or admit the hiatus, just as the ear is least shocked by either: for the cæsura sometimes offends the ear more than the hiatus itself, and our

language is naturally overcharged with consonants: As for example: If in this verse,

The old have int'rest ever in their eye,

we should say, to avoid the hiatus,

But th' old have int'rest.

The hiatus which has the worst effect, is when one word ends with the same vowel that begins the following; and next to this, those vowels whose sounds come nearest to each other, are most to be avoided. O, A, or U, will bear a more full and graceful sound than E, I, or Y. I know, some people will think these observations trivial, and therefore I am glad to corroborate them by some great authorities, which I have met with in Tully and Quintillian. In the fourth book of Rhetoric to Herennius, are these words: Fugiemus erebras vocalium concursiones, que vastam atque hiantem reddunt orationem; ut hoc est, Bacca anea amanissima impendebant. And Quintilian, 1. ix. cap. 4. Vocalium concursus cum accidit, hiat et intersistit, et quasi laborat oratio. Pessime longa que easdem inter se literas committunt, sonabunt: Præcipuus tamen erit hiatus earum quæ cavo aut patulo ore efferuntur. E plenior litera est, I angustior. But he goes on to reprove the excess on the other hand of being too solicitous in this matter, and says admirably, Nescio an negligentia in hoc, aut solicitudo sit pejor. So likewise Tully (Orator. ad Brut.) Theopompum reprehendunt, quod eas literas tanto opere fugerit, etsi idem magister ejus Socrates: which last author, as Turnebus on Quintilian observes, has hardly one hiatus in all his works. Quintillian tells us, that Tully and Demosthenes did not much observe this nicety, though Tully himself says in his Orator, Crebra ista vocum concursio, quam magna ex parte vitiosam, fugit Demosthenes. If I am not mistaken, Malherbe of all the moderns has been the most scrupulous in this point; and I think Menage in his observations upon him

says, he has not one in his poems. To conclude, I believe the hiatus should be avoided with more care in poetry than in oratory; and I would constantly try to prevent it, unless where the cutting it off is more prejudicial to the sound than the hiatus itself. I am, etc.

A. POPE.

LETTERS

TO AND FROM

H. CROMWELL ESQ.

From the Year 1708 to 1711.

LETTER I.

March 18, 1708 I BELIEVE it was with me when I left the town, as it is with a great many men when they leave the world, whose loss itself they do not so much regret, as that of their friends whom they leave behind in it. For I do not know one thing for which I can envy London, but for your continuing there. Yet I guess you will expect me to recant this expression, when I tell you that Sappho * (by which heathenish name you have christened a very orthodox lady) did not accompany me into the country. Well, you have your lady in the town still, and I have my heart in the country still, which being wholly unemployed as yet, has the more room in it for my friends, and does not want a corner at your service. You have extremely obliged me by your frankness and kindness; and if I have abused it by too much freedom on my

*Sappho was Mrs. Thomas, who sold the Letters of Pope to Curll when she was in distress.

part, I hope you will attribute it to the natural openness of my temper, which hardly knows how to shew respect, where it feels affection. I would love my friend, as my mistress, without ceremony: and hope a little rough usage sometimes may not be more displeasing to the one, that it is to the other.

If you have any curiosity to know in what manner I live, or rather lose a life, Martial will inform you in one line:

ness.

Prandeo, poto, cano, ludo, lego, cœno, quiesco.

Every day with me is literally another yesterday, for it is exactly the same: It has the same business, which is poetry, and the same pleasure, which is idleA man might indeed pass his time much better, but I question if any man could pass it much easier. If you will visit our shades this Spring, which I very much desire, you may perhaps instruct me to manage my game more wisely; but at present I am satisfied to trifle away my time any way, rather than let it stick by me; as shop-keepers are glad to be rid of those goods at any rate, which would otherwise always be lying upon their hands.

Sir, if you will favour me sometimes with your letters, it will be a great satisfaction to me on several accounts; and on this in particular, that it will show me (to my comfort) that even a wise man is sometimes very idle; for so you must needs be when you can find leisure to write to Your, etc.

LETTER II.

April 27, 1708. I HAVE nothing to say to you in this letter; but I was resolved to write to tell you so. Why should not I content myself with so many great examples of deep divines, profound casuists, grave philosophers, who