Note 342 — QUARRELS OF AUTHORS; (continued 3)

Dr. Wagstaffe, in his “Character of Steele,” alludes to the rumour which Pope has sent down to posterity in a single verse: “I should have thought Mr. Steele might have the example of his friend before his eyes, who had the reputation of being the author of The Dispensary, till, by two or three unlucky after-claps, he proved himself incapable of writing it.”—Wagstaffe’s Misc. Works, p. 136.