A narrative of the method by which the private letters of Mr. Pope have been procur'd and publish'd by Edmund Curll, bookseller. NB. The original papers, in Curl's own hand, may be seen at T. Cooper's

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A NARRATIVE OF THE METHOD by which Mr. Pope's Private Letters were procured and published by EDMUND CURL, Bookseller.

IT has been judg'd, that to clear an Affair which seem'd at first sight a little mysterious, and which, tho' it concern'd only one Gentleman, is of such a Consequence, as justly to alarm every Person in the Nation, would not only be acceptable as a Curiosity, but useful as a Warning, and perhaps flagrant enough as an Example, to induce the LEGISLATURE to prevent for the future, an Enormity so prejudicial to every private Subject, and so destructive of Society it self.

This will be made so plain by the ensuing Papers, that 'twill scarce be needful to attend them with any Reflections, more than what every Reader may make.

In the Year 1727, Edmund Curl, Bookseller, published a Collection of several private Letters of Mr. Pope to Henry Cromwell Esq which he obtain'd in this Manner.

Mr. Cromwell was acquainted with one Mrs. Thomas, to whom he had the Indiscretion to lend these Letters, and who falling into Misfortunes, seven Years after, sold them to Mr. Curll, without the Consent either of Mr. Pope or Mr. Cromwell, as appears from the following Letters.

To HENRY CROMWELL, Esq June 27, 1727.

AFTER so long a Silence, as the many and great Oppressions I have sigh'd under has occasion'd, one is at a Loss how to begin a Letter to so kind a Friend as your self. But as it was always my Resolution, if I must sink to do it as decently (that is as silently) as I could: So when I found my self plung'd into unforeseen, and unavoidable Ruin, I retreated from the World, and in a manner buried my self in a dismal Place, where I knew none, nor none knew me. In this dull unthinking Way, I have protracted a lingering Death (for Life it cannot be called) ever since you saw me, sequestered from Company, deprived of my Books, and nothing left to converse with but the Letters of my dead, or absent Friends, amongst which latter I always placed yours, and Mr. Pope's in the first Rank. I lent some of them indeed to an ingenious Person, who was so delighted with the Specimen, that he importun'd me for a Sight of the rest, which having obtain'd, he conveyed them to the Press, I must not say altogether with my Consent, nor wholly without it. I thought them too good to be lost in Oblivion, and no Cause to apprehend the disobliging of any. The Publick, viz. All Persons of Taste and Judgment, would be pleased with so agreeable an Amusement; Mr. Cromwell could not be angry, since it was but Justice to his Merit, to publish the solemn and private Professions of Love, Gratitude and Veneration, made to him by so celebrated an Author; and surely Mr. Pope ought not to resent the Publication, since the early Pregnancy of his Genius was no dishonour to his Character. And yet had either of you been ask'd, common Modesty would have oblig'd you to refuse what you would not have been displeas'd with if done without your Knowledge; and besides, to end all Dispute, you had been pleased to make me a free Gift of them to do what I pleased with them: And every one knows that a Person to whom a Letter is address'd, has the same Right to dispose of it, as he has of Goods purchased with his Money. I doubt not but your Generosity and Honour will do me the Right of owning by a Line that I came honestly by them. I flatter my self in a few Months I shall again be visible to the World, and whenever thro' good Providence that Turn shall happen, I shall joyfully acquaint you with it, there being none more truly your obliged Servant than, Sir,

Your faithful, and most humble Seevant, E. THOMAS.

P. S. A Letter, Sir, directed to Mrs. Thomas, to be left at my House, will be safely transmitted to her by E. CURL.

To Mr. POPE.

Epsom, July 6. 1727.

WHEN these Letters were first printed, I wonder'd how Curl could come by them, and could not but laugh at the pompous Title; since whatever you wrote to me was Humour and familiar Raillery. As soon as I came from Epsom, I heard you had been to see me, and I writ you a short Letter from Will's, that I long'd to see you. Mr. D—s about that time charg'd me with giving them to a Mistress, which I positively denied; not in the least, at that time, thinking of it: But some time after finding in the News-Papers, Letters from Lady Packington, Lady Chudleigh, and Mr. Norris, to the same Sapho, or E. T. I began to fear that I was guilty. I have never seen these Letters of Curl's, nor would go to his Shop about them; I have not seen this Sapho, alias E. T. these seven Years;—her writing, That I gave her them to do what she would with them, was straining the Point too far: I thought not of it; nor do I think she did then: But severe Necessity, which catches hold of a Twig, has produced all this; which has lain hid, and forgot by me, so many Years. Curl sent me a Letter last Week, desiring a positive Answer about this Matter, but finding I would give him none, he went to E. T. and writ a Postscript, in her long romantick Letter, to direct my Answer to his House, but they not expecting an Answer, sent a young Man to me, whose Name it seems is Pattisson; I told him I should not write any thing, but I believed it might be so as she writ in her Letter. I am extreamly concern'd that my former Indiscretion, in putting them into the Hands of this Preti•use, should have given you so much Disturbance; for the last thing I should do would be to disoblige you; for whom I have ever preserved the greatest Esteem, and shall ever be, Sir,

Your faithful Friend, and most humble Servant, HENRY CROMWELL.

To Mr. POPE.

August 1. 1727.

THO' I writ my long Narrative from Epsom till I was tired, yet was I not satisfied; left any Doubt should rest upon your Mind. I could not make Protestations of my Innocence of a grievous Crime; but I was impatient till I came to Town, that I might send you those Letters, as a clear Evidence, that I was a perfect Stranger to all their Proceedings. Should I have protested against it, after the Printing, it might have been taken for an Attempt to decry his Purchase; and as the little Exception you have taken, has serv'd 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 she expresses for all you write, and her Passion 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 Possession to the Time of printing them, 'tis manifest that I had not the least Ground to apprehend such a Design: But as People in great Straits, bring forth their Hoards of old Gold, and most valuable Jewels, so Sapho had recourse to her hid Treasure of Letters, and plaid off, not only yours to me, but all those to her self (as the Ladies last Stake) into the Press.—As for me, I hope, when you shall cooly consider the many thousand Instances of our being deluded by Females, since that great Original of Adam by Eve, you will have a more favourable Thought of the undesigning Error of,

Your faithful Friend, and humble Servant, HENRY CROMWELL.

This Treatment being extreamly disagreeable to Mr. Pope, he was advised to recal any Letters which might happen to be preserved by any of his Friends, particularly those written to Persons deceas'd, which would be most subject to such an Accident. Many of these were return'd him.

Some of his Friends advised him to print a Collection himself, to prevent a worse; but this he would by no means agree to. However, as some of the Letters served to revive several past Scenes of Friendship, and others to clear the Truth of Facts in which he had been misrepresented by the common Scribblers, he was induced to preserve a few of his own Letters, as well as of his Friends. These, as I have been told, he inserted in TWO BOOKS, some Originals, others Copies, with a few Notes and Extracts here and there added. In the same Books he caused to be copied some small Pieces in Verse and Prose, either of his own, or his Correspondents; which, tho' not finish'd enough for the Publick, were such as the Partiality of any Friend would be sorry to be depriv'd of.

To this Purpose, an Amanuensis or two were employ'd by Mr. Pope, when the Books were in the Country, and by the Earl of Oxford, when they were in Town.

It happen'd soon after, that the Posthumous Works of Mr. Wycherly were publish'd, in such a Manner, as could no way increase the Reputation of that Gentleman, who had been Mr. Pope's first Correspondent and Friend; And several of these Letters so fully shew'd the State of that Case, that it was thought but a Justice to Mr. Wycherly's Memory to print a few, to discredit that Imposition. These were accordingly transcrib'd for the Press from the Manuscript Books above-mention'd.

They were no sooner printed, but Edmund Curl look'd on these too as his Property; for a Copy is extant, which he corrected in order to another Impression, interlin'd, and added marginal Notes to, in his own Hand.

He then advertis'd anew the Letters to Mr. Cromwell, with Additions, and promis'd Incouragement to all Persons who should send him more.

This is a Practice frequent with Booksellers, to swell an Author's Works, in which they have some Property, with any Trash that can be got from any Hand; or where they have no such Works, to procure some. Curl has in the same manner since advertiz'd the Letters of Mr. Prior, and Mr. Addison. A Practice highly deserving some Check from the Legislature; since every such Advertisement, is really a Watch-word to every Scoundrel in the Nation, and to every Domestick of a Family, to get a Penny, by producing any Scrap of a Man's Writing, (of what Nature soever) or by picking his Master's Pocket of Letters and Papers.

A most flagrant Instance of this kind was the Advertisement of an intended Book, call'd Gulliveriana Secunda; where it was promis'd "that any Thing, which any Body should send as Mr. Pope's or Dr. Swift's, should be printed and inserted as Theirs."

By these honest means, Mr. Curl went on encreasing his Collection; and finding (as will be seen hereafter by No. 5.) a further Prospect of doing so, he retarded his Edition of Mr. Cromwell's Letters till the Twenty-Second of March 1734-5. and then sent Mr. Pope the following Letter, the first he ever receiv'd from him.

No. I.

SIR,

TO convince you of my readiness to oblige you, the Inclosed is a Demonstration. You have, as he says, disoblig'd a Gentleman, the initial Letters of whose Name are P. T. I have some other Papers in the same Hand relating to your Family, which I will show if you desire a Sight of them. Your Letters to Mr. Cromwell are out of Print, and I intend to Print them very beautifully in an Octavo Volume. I have more to say than is proper to write, and if you'll give me a Meeting, I will wait on you with Pleasure, and close all Differences betwixt you and yours

E CURL.
Rose-Street 22 March 1735.

P. S. I expect the Civility of an Answer or Message.

The Inclos'd were two Scraps of Paper, suppos'd to be P. T's. (a feigned Hand) the first containing this Advertisement.

No. II.

LEtters of Alexander Pope Esq and several eminent Hands. From the Year 1705. to 1727. Containing a Critical, Philological, and Historical Correspondence between him and Henry Cromwell Esq William Wycherly Esq William Walsh Esq William Congreve Esq Sir William Trumbull; Sir Richard Steele; E. O—, Mr. Addison; M. Craggs; Mr. Gay; Dean Swift, &c. with several Letters to Ladies; to the Number of two Hundred. N. B. The Originals will be shewn at Ed. Curl's when the Book is Published.

The other Paper was a Scrap of some Letter in the same Hand, which exprest "a Dissatisfaction at Curl for not having printed his Advertisement"—What more cannot be seen, for the rest is cut off close to the Writing.

Mr. Pope's Friends imagin'd that the whole Design of E. Curl was to get him but to look on the Edition of Cromwel's Letters, and so to print it as revis'd by Mr. Pope, in the same manner as he sent an obscene Book to a Reverend Bishop, and then Advertis'd it as corrected and revis'd by him. Or if there was any such Proposal from P. T. Curl would not fail to embrace it, perhaps pay for the Copy with the very Mony he might draw from Mr. P— to suppress it, and say P. T. had kept another Copy. He therefore answer'd the only way he thought it safe to correspond with him, by a publick Advertisement in the Daily Post-Boy.

No III.

WHereas A. P. hath received a Letter from E. C. Bookseller, pretending that a Person, the Initials of whose Name are P. T. hath offered the said E. C. to print a large Collection of Mr. P's Letters, to which E. C. requires an Answer, A. P. having never had, nor intending to have, any private Correspondence with the said E. C. gives it him in this Manner. That he knows no such Person as P. T. that he believes he hath no such Collection, and that he thinks the whole a Forgery, and shall not trouble himself at all about it.

Ed. Curl return'd an impertinent Answer in the same Paper the next Day, denying that he endeavour'd to correspond with Mr. P. and affirming that he wrote by Direction, but declaring that he would instantly print the said Collection. In a few Days more he publish'd the Advertisement of the Book as above, with this Addition, "E. C. as before in the like Case, will be faithful." He now talk'd of it every where, said "That P. T. was a LORD, or a PERSON of CONSEQUENCE, who printed the Book at a great Expence, and sought no Profit, but Revenge on Mr. Pope, who had offended him:" particularly, "That some of the Letters would be such as both Church and State would take Notice of; but that P. T. would by no means be known in it, that he never would once be seen by him, but treated in a very secret Manner." He told some Persons that sifted him in this Affair, "that he had convers'd only with his Agent, a Clergyman of the Name of Smith, who came, as he said, from Southwark." With this Person it was that Curl transacted the Affair, who before all the Letters of the Book were delivered to Curl, insisted on the Letters of P. T. being return'd him, to secure him from all possibility of a Discovery, as appears from No. 1•.

Mr. Pope, on hearing of this Smith, and finding when the Book came out, that several of the Letters could only have come from the Manuscript-Book before-mention'd, publish'd this Advertisement.

WHEREAS a Person who signs him-himself P. T. and another who writes himself R. Smith and passes for a Clergyman, have Transacted for some time past with Edm. Curl, and have in combination printed the Private Letters of Mr. Pope and his Correspondents [some of which could only be procured from his own Library, or that of a Noble Lord, and which have given a Pretence to the publishing others as his which are not so, as well as Interpolating those which are;] This is to advertise, that if either of the said Persons will discover the Whole of this Affair, he shall receive a Reward of Twenty Guineas; or if he can prove he hath acted by[*] Direction of any other, and of what Person, he shall receive double that Sum.

Whether this Advertisement, or the future Quarrel of Curl and Smith about Profits produced what follow'd we cannot say, but in a few Days the ensuing Papers, being the whole Correspondence of P. T. and Edm. Cur• were sent to the Publisher T. Cooper, which we shall here lay before the Reader. They begin as high as

No. IV.

Mr. CURL,
October the 11th, 1733.

UNderstanding you propose to write the Life of Mr. Pope, this is only to inform you, I can send you diverse Memoirs which may be serviceable, if your Design be really to do him neither Injustice, nor shew him Favour. I was well acquainted with his Father, and with the first part of his own Life, tho' since he has treated me as a Stranger. It is certain some late Pamphlets are not fair in respect to his Father, who was of the younger Branch of a Family in good Repute in Ireland, and related to the Lords Downe, formerly of the same Name. He was (as he hath told me himself, and he was [very different from his Son] a modest and plain honest Man) a Posthumous Son, and left little provided for, his elder Brother having what small Estate there was, who afterwards Study'd and dy'd at Oxford. He was put to a Merchant in Flanders, and acquir'd a moderate Fortune by Merchandize, which he quitted at the Revolution in very good Circumstances, and retir'd to Windsor Forrest, where he purchas'd a small Estate, and took great Delight in Husbandry and Gardens. His Mother was one of seventeen Children of W. Turnor Esq formerly of Burfit Hall in the—Riding of Yorkshire. Two of her Brothers were kill'd in the Civil Wars. This is a true Account of Mr. Pope's Family and Parentage. Of his Manners I cannot give so good an one, yet as I would not wrong any Man, both ought to be True; and if such be your Design, I may serve you in it, not entering into any Thing in any wise Libellous. You may please to direct an Answer in the Daily Advertiser this Day-sennight in these Terms—E. C. hath received a Letter, and will comply with P. T.

Yours.

On the backside of this Letter is endors'd in Curl's Hand,

Notice was accordingly given, as Desir'd, in the Daily Advertiser, upon which was sent the following Letter.

No. V.

SIR,
Nov. 15 1733

I Troubled you with a Line some time since, concerning your Design of the Life of Mr. Pope, to which I desir'd your Answer in the Daily Advertiser of Thursday the 10th Instant October. I do not intend my self any other Profit in it, than that of doing Justice to, and on, that Person, upon whom, Sir, you have conferr'd some Care as well as Pains in the Course of your Life; and I intend him the like for his Conduct towards me. A propos to his Life, there have lately fall'n into my Hands a large Collection of his Letters, from the former Part of his Days to the Year 1727, which being more considerable than any yet seen, and opening very many Scenes new to the World, will alone make a Perfect and the most authentick Life and Memoirs of him that could be. To shew you my Sincerity and determinate Resolution of assisting you herein, I will give you an Advertisement, which you may publish forthwith if you please, and on your so doing the Letters shall be sent you. They will make a Four or Five-Sheet Book, yet I expect no more than what will barely pay a Transcriber, that the Originals may be preserved in mine or your Hands to vouch the Truth of them. I am of Opinion these alone will contain his whole History (if you add to them what you formerly printed of those to Henry Cromwell, Esq [Here a part of the Letter is cut off, and the following Words indors'd by Curl—But you must put out an Advertisement for—] otherwise I shall not be justify'd to some People who have Influence, and on whom I have some Dependance; unless it seem to the Publick Eye as no entrie Act of mine; but I may be justify'd and excus'd, if, after they see such a Collection is made by you, I acknowledge I sent some Letters to contribute thereto. They who know what hath pass'd betwixt Mr. Pope and me formerly, may otherwise think it dishonourable I should set such a thing a-foot. Therefore print the Advertisement I sent you, and you shall instantly hear from or see me:

Adieu, T. P.

Here a Postscript is cut off.

There appears no other Letter from P. T. till one of April the 4th, which must be in 1735, as it relates plainly to Mr. Pope's Advertisement in Answer to Curl's Letter to him of March 22d. which see above No. 3.

No. VI.

April 4:

I See an Advertisement in the Daily Advertisements, which I take to relate to Me. I did not expect you of all Men would have betray'd me to Squire Pope; but you and he both shall soon be convinc'd it was no Forgery. For since you would not comply with my Proposal to advertise, I have printed them at my own Expence, being advis'd that I could safely do so. I wou'd still give you the Preference, if you'll pay the Paper and Print, and allow me handsomely for the Copy. But I shall not trust you to meet and converse upon it [after the Suspicion I have of your Dealings with Master P.] unless I see my Advertisement of the Book printed first, within these Four or Five days. If you are afraid of Mr. P. and dare not set your Name to it, as I propos'd at first, I do not insist thereupon, so I be but conceal'd. By this I shall determine, and if you will not, another will. It makes a Five Shilling Book. I am

Your Servant, P. T.

No. VII.

On a Scrap of Paper torn from a Letter, the Direction crost out,

SIR,

I should not deal thus Cautiously or in the Dark with you, but that 'tis plain from your own Advertisement, that you have been Treating with Mr. Pope.

No. VIII.

On another Piece cut off,

I still give you, Sir, the Preference. If you will give me 3 l. a Score for 650 [each Book containing 380 Pages 8vo.] and pay down 75 l. of the same, the whole Impression shall be yours, and there are Letters enough remaining (if you require) to make another 30 Sheets 8vo. a Five Shillings Book. You need only Answer thus in the Daily Post or Advertiser in four Days—[E. C. will meet P. T. at the Rose Tavern by the Play-House at Seven in the Evening April 22d.] and one will come, and show you the Sheets.

Mr. CURL'S ANSWERS. No. IX.

SIR,
29th April 1735.

I have not ever met with any thing more inconsistent than the several Proposals of your Letters. The First bearing Date Oct. 11th 1733. gives some Particulars of Mr. Pope's Life, which I shall shortly make a publick Use of, in his Life now going to the Press.

The Second of your Letters of Nov. 15th 1733, informs me That if I would publish an Advertisement of a Collection of Mr. Pope's Letters in your Custody, the Originals should be forthwith sent me, and for which you would expect no more than what would pay for a Transcript of 'em.

In your Third Letter of the Fourth Instant, you groundlesly imagine I have attempted to betray you to Mr. Pope; say you have printed these Letters your self, and now want to be handsomely allow'd for the Copy, viz. 3 l. a Score, which is 2 l. more than they cost Printing; appoint a Meeting at the Rose on the 22d. Instant, where I was to see the Sheets, dealing thus, as you truly call it, in the Dark.

April 21, You put off this Meeting, fearing a Surprize from Mr. Pope. How should he know of this Appointment, unless you gave him Notice? I fear no such Besettings either of him or his Agents. That the paying of seventy-five Pounds would bring you to Town in a Fortnight, would I be so silly as to declare it. By your last Letter, of last Night, a Gentleman is to be at my Door, at Eight this Evening, who has full Commission from you.

You want seventy-five Pounds for a Person you would serve; That Sum I can easily pay, if I think the Purchase would be of any Service to me. But in one Word, Sir, I am engaged all this Evening, and shall not give my self any further Trouble about such jealous, groundless, and dark Negociations. An HONOURABLE and OPEN DEALING is what I have been always used to, and if you will come into such a Method, I will meet you any-where, or shall be glad to see you at my own House, otherwise apply to whom you please.

Yours, E. C.
For P. T. or the Gentleman who comes from him at Eight this Evening.

This appears to be the first Time Curl had any personal Conference with R. Smith the Clergyman.

No. X. To the Reverend Mr. ***

SIR,

I Am ready to discharge the Expence of Paper, Print, and Copy-Money, and make the Copy my own, if we agree. But if I am to be your Agent, then I insist to be solely so, and will punctually pay every Week for what I sell to you.—

No. XI.

Answer to P. T's of 3d of May.

SIR,

YOU shall, as all I have ever had any Dealings with have, find a JUST and HONOURABLE Treatment from me. But consider, Sir, as the Publick, by your Means entirely, have been led into an Initial Correspondence betwixt E. C. and P. T. and betwixt A. P. and E. C. the Secret is still as recondite as that of the Free-Masons. P. T. are not, I dare say, the true Initials of your Name; or if they were, Mr. Pope has publickly declar'd, That he knows no such Person as P. T. how then can any thing you have communicated to me, discover you, or expose you to his Resentment?

I have had Letters from another Correspondent, who subscribes himself E. P. which I shall print as Vouchers, in Mr. Pope's Life, as well as those from P. T. which, as I take it, were all sent me for that Purpose, or why were they sent at all?

Your Friend was with me on Wednesday last, but I had not your last till this Morning, Saturday 3d of May. I am, Sir,

Yours, E. C.

P. S. What you say appears by my Advertisement in relation to Mr. Pope, I faithfully told your Friend the Clergyman. I wrote to Mr. Pope, to acquaint him that I was going to print a new Edition of his Letters to Mr. Cromwell, and offer'd him the Revisal of the Sheets, hoping likewise, that it was now time to close all former Resentments, which, ON HONOURABLE TERMS, I was ready to do. I told him likewise I had a large Collection of others of his Letters, which, from your two Years Silence on that Head, I thought was neither unjust nor dishonourable.

No. XII.

—I Cannot send the[*] Letters now, because I have them not all by me, but either this Evening or To-morrow, you shall not fail of them, for some of them are in a Scrutore of mine out of Town, and I have sent a Messenger for them, who will return about Three or Four this Afternoon. Be not uneasy, I NEVER BREAK MY WORD, and as HONOURABLE and JUST Treatment shall be shewn by me, I shall expect the same Return.

The Estimate and Letters you shall have together, but I desire the Bearer may bring me fifty more Books. Pray come to Night, if you can.

I am faithfully yours, E. CURL.
For the Reverend Mr Smith (half an Hour past Ten.)

Curl was now so elated with his Success, the Books in his Hands, and, as he thought, the Men too, that he raised the Style of his Advertisement, which he publish'd on the 12th of May, in these Words, in the Daily Post-Boy.

No. XIII.

THIS Day are published, and most beautifully printed, Price five Shillings, Mr. Pope's Literary Correspondence for thirty Years; from 1704 to 1734. Being a Collection of Letters, regularly digested, written by him to the Right Honourable the late Earl of Hallifax, Earl of Burlington, Secretary Craggs, Sir William Trumbull, Honourable J. C. General ****, Honourable Robert Digby, Esq Honourable Edward Blount, Esq Mr. Addison, Mr. Congreve, Mr. Wycherly, Mr. Walsh, Mr. Steele, Mr. Gay, Mr. Jarvas, Dr. Arburthnot, Dean Berkeley, Dean Parnelle, &c. Also Letters from Mr. Pope to Mrs. Arabella Fermor, and many other Ladies. With the respective Answers of each Correspondent. Printed for E. Curl in Rose-street, Covent-Garden, and sold by all Booksellers. N. B. The Original Manuscripts (of which Affidavit is made) may be seen at Mr. Curl's House by all who desire it.

And immediately after he writes thus to Smith.

No. XIV.

SIR,
12th May, 1735.

YOUR Letter written at Two Afternoon on Saturday, I did not receive till past Ten at Night. The Title will be done to Day, and according to your Promise, I fully depend on the Books and MSS. To-morrow. I hope you have seen the Post-Boy, and[*] approve the Manner of the Advertisement. I shall think every Hour a long Period of Time till I have more Books, and see you, being, Sir,

(For the Reverend Mr. Smith.)

Sincerely yours, E. CURL.

But the Tables now began to turn. It happened that the Booksellers Bill (for so it was properly called, tho' entitled, An Act for the better Encouragement of Learning) came on this Day in the House of Lords. Some of their Lordships having seen an Advertisement of so strange a Nature, thought it very unfitting such a Bill should pass, without a Clause to prevent such an enormous License for the future. And the Earl of I—y having read it to the House, observed further, that as it pretended to publish several Letters to Lords, with the respective Answers of each Correspondent, it was a Breach of Privilege, and contrary to a standing Order of the House. Whereupon it was order'd that the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod do forthwith seize the the Impression of the said Book, and that the said E. Curl, with J. Wilford, for whom the Daily Post-Boy is printed, do attend the House To-morrow. And it was also order'd that the Bill for the better Encouragement of Learning, be read a second time on this Day Sevennight. By THIS INCIDENT THE BOOKSELLERS BILL WAS THROWN OUT.

May 13, 1735.

The Order made Yesterday upon Complaint of an Advertisement in the Post-Boy, of the Publication of a Book entitled Mr. Pope's Literary Correspondence for thirty Years past, being read, Mr. Wilford the Publisher, and Mr. E. Curl, were severally called in and examined, and being withdrawn,

Order'd, That the Matter of the said Complaint be refer'd to a Committee to meet Tomorrow, and that E. Curl do attend the said Committee. And that the Black Rod do attend with some of the said Books.

May 14. P. T. writes to Curl, on the unexpected Incident of the Lords, to instruct him in his Answers to their Examination, and with the utmost Care to conceal himself, to this effect.

No. XV.

THAT he congratulates him on his Victory over the Lords, the Pope, and the Devil; that the Lords could not touch a Hair of his Head, if he continued to behave boldly; that it would have a better Air in him to own the Printing as well as the Publishing, since he was no more punishable for one than for the other; that he should answe• nothing more to their Interrogatories, tha• that he receiv'd the Letters from different Hands; that some of them he bought, other• were given him, and that some of the Originals he had, and the rest he should shortly have. P. T. tells him further, That he shall soon take off the Mask he complains of; that he is not a MAN OF QUALITY (as he imagined) but one conversant with such, and was concern'd particularly with a noble Friend of Mr. Pope's, in preparing for the Press the Letters to Mr. Wycherly; that he caused a Number over and above to be printed, having from that time conceived the Thought of publishing a Volume of P's Letters, which he went on with, and order'd, as nearly as possible, to resemble That Impression. But this was only in ordine ad, to another more material Volume, of his Correspondence with Bishop Atterbury, and the late Lord Oxford and Bolingbroke. And he confesses he made some Alterations in these Letters, with a View to those, which Mr. Curl shall certainly have, if he behaves as he directs, and every way conceals P. T.

We have not this original Letter, but we hope Mr. Curl will print it; if not, it can only be for this Reason, That as it preceded their Quarrel but one Day, it proves the Letters to Bishop Atterbury, Lord Bollingbroke, &c. cannot be in Curl's Hands, tho' he has pretended to advertise them.

The next Day Curl answers him thus.

No. XVI.

Thursday 9 Manè, 15th May, 1735.
Dear Sir,

I Am just again going to the Lords to finish Pope. I desire you to send me the Sheets to perfect the first fifty Books, and likewise the remaining three hundred Books, and pray be at the Standard Tavern this Evening, and I will pay you twenty pounds more. My Defence is right, I only told the Lords, I did not know from whence the Books came, and that my Wife receiv'd them. This was strict Truth, and prevented all further Enquiry. The Lords declar'd they had been made Pope's Tool. I put my self upon this single Point, and insisted, as there was not any Peer's Letter in the Book, I had not been guilty of any Breach of Privilege. —Lord DELAWAR will be in the Chair by Ten this Morning, and the House will be up before Three.—I depend that the Books and the Imperfections will be sent, and believe of P. T. what I hope he believes of me.

For the Reverend Mr. Smith.

The Book was this Day produc'd, and it appearing that, contrary to the Advertisement, there were no Letters of Lords contain'd in it, and consequently not falling under the Order of the House, the Books were re-deliver'd.

At the same time Curl produc'd, and shew'd to several of the Lords the foregoing Letter of P. T. which seems extraordinary, unless they had begun to quarrel about Profits before that Day. But after it, it is evident from the next Letter, that they had an Information of his Willingness to betray them, and so get the whole Impression to himself.

No. XVII. To the Reverend Mr. Smith.

Rose Street past Three Friday 16 May 1735.
SIR,

1. I Am falsly accus'd, 2. I value not any Man's Change of Temper; I will never change MY VERACITY for Falshood, in owning a Fact of which I am Innocent. 3. I did not own the Books came from across the Water, nor ever nam'd you, all I said was, that the Books came by Water. 4. When the Books were seiz'd I sent my Son to convey a Letter to you, and as you told me every body knew you in Southwark, I bid him make a strict Enquiry, as I am sure you wou'd have done in such an Exigency. 5. Sir I HAVE ACTED JUSTLY in this Affair, and that is what I shall always think wisely. 6. I will be kept no longer in the Dark: P. T. is Will o' the Wisp; all the Books I have had are Imperfect; the First 50 had no Titles nor Prefaces, the last 5 Bundles seiz'd by the Lords contain'd but 38 in each Bundle, which amounts to 190, and 50, is in all but 240 Books. 7. As to the Loss of a Future Copy, I despise it, nor will I be concern'd with any more such dark suspicious Dealers. But now Sir I'll tell you what I will do; when I have the Books perfected which I have already receiv'd, and the rest of the Impression I will pay you for them. But what do you call this Usage? First take a Note for a Month and then want it to be chang'd for one of Sir Richard Hoare's—My Note is as good, for any Sum I give it, as the BANK, and shall be as punctually paid. I always say, Gold is better than Paper, and 20 l. I will pay, if the Books are perfected to morrow Morning, and the rest sent, or to Night is the same thing to me. But if this dark converse goes on, I will Instantly reprint the whole Book, and as a Supplement to it, all the Letters P. T. ever sent me, of which I have exact copies; together with all your Originals, and give them in upon Oath to my Lord Chancellor. You talk of Trust; P. T. has not repos'd any in me, for he has my Mony and Notes for imperfect Books. Let me see, Sir, either P. T. or your self, or you'll find the Scots Proverb verify'd

Nemo me impune lacessit.

Your abus'd humble Servant, E. CURL.

P. S. Lord—I attend this Day▪ LORD DELAWAR I SUP WITH TO NIGHT. Where Pope has one Lord, I have twenty.

Mr. Curl, just after, in the London Post or Daily Advertiser, printed this Advertisement.

No. XVIII.

—MR. Pope's Litterary Correspondence &c. with a Supplement, of the Initial Correspondence of P. T. E. P. R. S. &c.

To which in two Days more his Correspondents return'd the following

No. XIX.

TO manifest to the World the Insolence of E. Curl, we hereby declare that neither P. T. much less R. S. his Agent, ever did give, or could pretend to give any Title whatever in Mr. Pope's Letters to the said E. Curl, and he is hereby challeng'd to produce any Pretence to the Copy whatsoever.—We help'd the said E. Curl to the Letters, and join'd with him, on Condition he should pay a certain Sum for the Books as he sold them; accordingly the said E. Curl receiv'd 250 Books which he sold (Perfect and Imperfect) at 5 shill. each, and for all which he never paid more than 10 Guineas, and gave Notes for the rest which prov'd not Negotionable. Besides which, P. T. was perswaded by R. S. at the Instigation of E. Curl, to pay the Expence of the whole Impression, viz. 75 l. no part whereof was repaid by the said Curl. Therefore every Bookseller will be indemnify'd every way from any possible Prosecution or Molestation of the said E. Curl, and whereas the said E. Curl threatens to publish our Correspondence, and as much as in him lies, to betray his Benefactors, we shall also publish his Letters to us, which will open a Scene of Baseness and foul Dealing that will sufficiently show to Mankind his Character and Conduct.

May 23d. 1735.
P. T. R. S.

The Effect of this Quarrel has been the putting into our Hands all the Correspondence above; which having given the Reader, to make what Reflections he pleases on, we have nothing to add but our hearty Wishes, (in which we doubt not every honest Man will concur,) that the next Sessions, when the BOOKSELLERS BILL shall be again brought in, the Legislature will be pleas'd not to extend the Privileges, without at the same Time restraining the Licence, of Bookellers. Since in a Case so notorious as the printing a Gentleman's PRIVATE LETTERS, most Eminent, both Printers and Booksellers, conspired to assist the Pyracy both in printing and in vending the same.

FINIS.

Notes

*
For Curl had said in his Advertisement, that he wrote to Mr P. By Direction, and another of his drawing up of Mr Pope's Life began thus, By Direction.—
↵

*
P. T.'s Letters to Curl.
↵

*
By this it appears, it was of Curl's own drawing up, which he deny'd to the Lords.
↵

A NARRATIVE OF THE METHOD▪ &c.

A NARRATIVE OF THE METHOD BY WHICH THE PRIVATE LETTERS of Mr. POPE Have been procur'd and publish'd by EDMUND CURLL, Bookseller. NB. The Original Papers, in Curl's own Hand, may be seen at T. Cooper's.

LONDON: Printed for T. COOPER in Pater-noster Row, MDCCXXXV.

P. S.

We are Inform'd, that notwithstanding the Pretences of Edmund Curl, the Original Letters of Mr. Pope with the Post-Marks upon them, remain still in the Books from whence they were copy'd, and that so many Omissions and Interpolations have been made in this Publication as to render it Impossible for Mr. P. to own them in the Condition they appear.

Information about this book

Title statement

A narrative of the method by which the private letters of Mr. Pope have been procur'd and publish'd by Edmund Curll, bookseller. NB. The original papers, in Curl's own hand, may be seen at T. Cooper's

Pope, Alexander, 1688-1744.

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University of Oxford Text Archive
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ID [ota]

http://ota.ox.ac.uk/id/3687

ID [isbn10]

1106006860

ID [isbn13]

9781106006868

ID [TCP]

K023149.000

ID [BIBNO]

CW3305050439

ID [ECSS]

0646000300

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Distributed by the University of Oxford under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Source

— A narrative of the method by which the private letters of Mr. Pope have been procur'd and publish'd by Edmund Curll, bookseller. NB. The original papers, in Curl's own hand, may be seen at T. Cooper's, Pope, Alexander, 1688-1744.. [4],36p. ; 12⁰. London :: printed for T. Cooper,. 1735.. [Attributed to Alexander Pope.] [With a half-title.] [Reproduction of original from the British Library.] [Griffith, 382] [English Short Title Catalog, ESTCT5693.] [Electronic data. Farmington Hills, Mich. : Thomson Gale, 2003. Page image (PNG). Digitized image of the microfilm version produced in Woodbridge, CT by Research Publications, 1982-2002 (later known as Primary Source Microfilm, an imprint of the Gale Group).]

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