CRITICISMS ON THE ROLLIAD. (continued 2)
Reading edition
The title of Noble convert, which was bestowed upon his Lordship by a Speaker of the degraded Whig faction, is here most judiciously adopted by our Author, implying thereby that this denomination, intended, no doubt, to convey a severe reproach, ought rather to be considered as a subject of panegyric: this is turning the artillery of the enemy against themselves—
"Neque lex est justior ulla, &c."
In the next character introduced, some persons may perhaps object to the seeming impropriety of alluding to a bodily defect; especially one which has been the consequence of a most cruel accident; but when it is considered, that the mention of the personal imperfection is made the vehicle of an elegant compliment to the superior qualifications of the mind, this objection, though founded in liberality, will naturally fall to the ground.
The circumstance of one of the Representatives of the first city in the world having lost his leg, while bathing in the sea, by the bite of a shark, is well known; nor can the dexterity with which he avails himself of the use of an artificial one, have escaped the observation of those who have seen him in the House of Commons, any more than the remarkable humility with which he is accustomed to introduce his very pointed and important observations upon the matters in deliberation before that august assembly.
"One moment's time might I presume to beg?" Cries modest WATSON, on his wooden leg; That leg, in which such wond'rous art is shown, It almost seems to serve him like his own; Oh! had the monster, who for breakfast eat That luckless limb, his nobler noddle met, The best of workmen, nor the best of wood, Had scarce supply'd him with a head so good.
To have asserted that neither the utmost extent of human skill, nor the greatest perfection in the materials, could have been equal to an undertaking so arduous, would have been a species of adulation so fulsome, as to have shocked the known modesty of the worthy magistrate; but the forcible manner in which the difficulty of supplying so capital a loss is expressed, conveys, with the utmost delicacy, a handsome, and, it must be confessed, a most justly merited compliment to the Alderman's abilities.
The imitation of celebrated writers is recommended by Longinus, and has, as our readers must have frequently observed, been practised with great success, by our author; yet we cannot help thinking that he has pushed the precept of this great critic somewhat too far, in having condescended to copy, may we venture to say with so much servility, a genius so much inferior to himself as Mr. Pope. We allude to the following lines:
Can I, NEWHAVEN, FERGUSON forget, While Roman spirit charms, or Scottish wit? MACDONALD, shining a refulgent star, To light alike the senate and the bar; And HARLEY, constant to support the throne, Great follower of its interests and his own.
The substitution of Scottish for Attic, in the second line, is unquestionably an improvement, since however Attic wit may have been proverbial in ancient times, the natives of Scotland are so confessedly distinguished among modern nations for this quality, that the alteration certainly adds considerable force to the compliment. But however happily and justly the characters are here described, we cannot think this merit sufficient to counterbalance the objection we have presumed to suggest, and which is principally founded upon the extreme veneration and high respect we entertain for the genius of our author.
Mr. Addison has observed, that Virgil falls infinitely short of Homer in the characters of his Epic Poem, both as to their variety and novelty, but he could not with justice have said the same of the author of the ROLLIAD; and we will venture to assert, that the single book of this Poem, now under our consideration, is, in this respect, superior to the whole, both of the Iliad and the Æneid together. The characters succeed each other with a rapidity that scarcely allows the reader time to admire and feel their several beauties.
GALWAY and GIDEON, in themselves a host, Of York and Coventry the splendid boast: WHITBREAD and ONGLEY, pride of Bedford's vale, This fam'd for selling, that for saving ale; And NANCY POULETT, as the morning fair, Bright as the sun, but common as the air; Inconstant nymph! who still with open arms, To ev'ry Minister devotes her charms.
But when the Poet comes to describe the character of the hero of his work, the present Member for the county of Devon, whom MERLIN points out to his illustrious ancestor, as uniting in himself all the Various merits of the worthies whose excellencies he has recorded, he seems to rise even above himself.—It is impossible to do justice to his character, without transcribing the whole, which would exceed the limits of our work; we shall therefore only give to our readers the concluding lines, because they contain characteristic observations upon other distinguished Members, most of whom have hitherto passed unnoticed:
In thee, my son, shall ev'ry virtue meet, To form both senator and man complete: A mind like WRAY's, with stores of fancy fraught, The wise Sir WATKIN's vast extent of thought; Old NUGENT's style, sublime, yet ne'er obscure, With BAMBER's Grammar, as his conscience pure; BRETT's brilliant sallies, MARTIN's sterling sense, And GILBERT's wit, that never gave offence: Like WILKES, a zealot in his Sovereign's cause, Learn'd as MACDONALD in his country's laws; Acute as AUDREY, as Sir LLOYD polite, As EASTWICKE lively, and as AMBLER bright.
The justice of [1] the compliment to SIR CECIL WRAY, will not be disputed by those who have been fortunate enough to have met with the beautiful specimens of juvenile poetry, with which some of his friends have lately indulged the public.
Johannes Scriblerus, a lineal descendant of the learned and celebrated Martinus, reads "Starling Martin's sense," alluding to that powerful opponent of the detestable Coalition having recommended that a bird of that species should be placed on the right of the Speaker's chair, after having been taught to repeat the word Coalition, in order to remind the House of that disgraceful event, which had nearly established an efficient and strong government in this country: to which severe and admirable stroke of satire, the object of it clumsily and uncivilly answered, that whilst that gentleman sat in the House, he believed the Starling might be allowed to perform his office by deputy. We have, however, ventured to differ from this great authority, and shall continue to read, "Martin's Sterling sense," as well because we are of opinion that these words are peculiarly applicable to the gentleman alluded to, as that it does not appear probable our author should have been willing to make his poem the vehicle of an indecent sarcasm, upon a person of such eminent abilities.
The compliment to Mr. B.G. in the comparison of the purity of his language to the integrity of his conduct, is happily conceived; but that to the ingenious Mr. Gilbert, the worthy Chairman of the Committee of Supply, is above all praise, and will, we are persuaded, notwithstanding the violence of party, by all sides be admitted to be strictly just.
[1] The characteristic of Fancy, which our Poet has attributed to Sir Cecil, must not be misunderstood. It is a Fancy of the chastized kind; distinguished for that elegant simplicity, which the French call naïveté, and the Greeks {apheleia}. We shall insert here two or three of the shorter specimens.
To CÆLIA (now Lady Wray) on seeing her the 8th of August, 1776, powdering her hair
EXTEMPORE.
Thy locks, I trow, fair maid, Don't never want this aid: Wherefore thy powder spare, And only comb thy hair.
To SIR JOSEPH MAWBEY, proposing, in consequence of a previous Engagement, a Party to go a-fishing for White-Bait.
Worthy SIR JOE, we all are wishing You'll come with us a-White-Bait-fishing.
A Thought on NEW MILK some Time toward the Spring of the Year 1773.
Oh! how charming is New Milk! Sweet as sugar!—smooth as silk!
An IDEA on a PECK of COALS.
I buy my Coals by peck, that we May have 'em fresh and fresh, d'ye see.
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NUMBER XIII.
After concluding the review of the Ministerialists with the young Marcellus of the Poem, the illustrious Mr. ROLLE; our author directs the attention of DUKE ROLLO to the Opposition-bench. He notices the cautious silence of MERLIN relative to that side of the House, and rather inquisitively asks the reason; on which the Philosopher (a little unphilosophically, we must confess) throws himself into a violent passion, and for a long time is wholly incapable of articulating a syllable. This is a common situation in poets both ancient and modern, as in Virgil and Milton;
Ter conata loqui, &c. Thrice he essay'd, and thrice in spight of scorn Tears, such as angels weep, burst forth, &c.
but we will venture to assert, that it was never painted in a manner half so lively, as by the author of the ROLLIAD.
Thrice he essay'd, but thrice in vain essay'd; His tongue, throat, teeth, and lips, refus'd their aid: Till now the stifled breath a passage broke; He gasp'd, he gap'd—but not a word he spoke.
How accurately, and learnedly, has the poet enumerated all the organs of speech, which separately and jointly refuse to execute their respective offices! How superior is this to the simply cleaving of the tongue to the palate, the Vox faucibus hæsit of Virgil. For as Quintilian observes, a detail of particulars is infinitely better than any general expression, however strong. Then the poor Prophet obtains a little remission of his paroxysm; he begins to breathe convulsively—he gasped; he opens his mouth to its utmost extent—he gaped; our expectations are raised, and, alas! he still continues unable to utter—not a word he spoke. Surely nothing can be more natural in point of truth, than all the circumstances of this inimitable description: nothing more artful in point of effect, than the suspence and attention which it begets in the mind of the reader!
At length, however, MERLIN recovers his voice; and breaks out into a strain of most animated invective, infinitely superior to every thing of the kind in Homer; though the old Grecian must be acknowledged not to want spirit in the altercations, or scolding matches, of his heroes and Gods. The Prophet begins, as a man in any great emotion always must, at the middle of a verse;
——— ——— ———Tatterdemalions, Scald miserables, Rascals and Rascalions, Buffoons, Dependants, Parasites, Toad-eaters, Knaves, Sharpers, Black-legs, Palmers, Coggers, Cheaters, Scrubs, Vagrants, Beggars, Mumpers, Ragamuffins, Rogues, Villains, Bravos, Desperados, Ruffians, Thieves, Robbers, Cut-throats, &c. &c. &c.
And in this manner he proceeds, with single appellatives of reproach, for ten or twelve lines further; when, his virtuous indignation a little subsiding, or his Dictionary failing, he becomes more circumlocutory; as for instance,
Burglarious Scoundrels, that again would steal The PREMIER's Plate, and CHANCELLOR's Great Seal; Of public Murderers, Patrons and Allies, Hirelings of France, their country's enemies, &c.
which style he continues for more than twenty lines.
We are truly sorry, that the boundaries of our plan would not allow us to present our readers with the whole of this finished passage in detail; as it furnishes an indisputable proof, that, however the Greek language may have been celebrated for its copiousness, it must yield in that respect to the English. For if we were to collect all the terms of infamy bandied about[1], from Æschines to Demosthenes, and from Demosthenes back again to Æschines; and if to these we should add in Latin the whole torrent of calumny poured by Cicero on Antony and Piso; though the ancient orators were tolerably fluent in this kind of eloquence, they would, all together, be found to fall very short of our poet, shackled as he is with rhyme, in the force no less than the variety of his objurgatory epithets. At the same time it must not be concealed, that he possessed one very considerable advantage in the rich repositories of our ministerial newspapers. He has culled the flowers, skimmed the cream, and extracted the very quintessence of those elegant productions with equal industry and success. Indeed, such of our readers as are conversant with the Morning Post and Public Advertiser, the White-Hall, the St. James's, and, in short, the greater part of the evening prints, will immediately discover the passage now before us to be little more than a cento. It is however such a cento as indicates the man of genius, whom puny scribblers may in vain endeavour to imitate in the NEW ROLLIADS.
It is possible, MERLIN might even have gone on much longer: but he is interrupted by one of those disturbances which frequently prevail in the House of Commons. The confusion is finely described in the following broken couplet:
Spoke! Spoke!—Sir—Mr. Speaker—Order there! I rise—spoke! Question! Question!—Chair! Chair! Chair!
This incident is highly natural, and introduced with the greatest judgment, as it gives another opportunity of exhibiting Mr. ROLLE, and in a situation, where he always appears with conspicuous pre-eminence.
Great ROLLO look'd, amaz'd; nor without fears, His hands applied by instinct to his ears: He look'd, and lo! amid the wild acclaim Discern'd the future glory of his name; O'er this new Babel of the noisy croud, More fierce than all, more turbulent, more loud. Him yet he heard, with thund'ring voice contend, "Him first, him last, him midst, him without end."
This concluding line our author has condescended to borrow from Milton; but how apposite and forcible is the application! How emphatically does it express the noble perseverance with which the Member for Devonshire has been known to persist on these occasions, in opposition to the Speaker himself.
ROLLO, however, is at length wearied, as the greatest admirers of Mr. ROLLE have sometimes been, with the triumphs of his illustrious descendant.
But ROLLO, as he clos'd his ears before, Now tired, averts his eyes to see no more. Observant MERLIN, while he turn'd his head, The lantern shifted, and the vision fled.
To understand this last line, our reader must recollect, that though the characters introduced in this vision are preternaturally endowed with seeming powers of speech, yet the forms or shadows of them are shewn by means of a magic lantern.
Having now concluded our observations upon this part of the Poem—we shall close them with remarking, that as our author evidently borrowed the idea of this vision, in which the character of future times are described, from Virgil, he has far surpassed his original; and as his description of the present House of Commons, may not improbably have called to his mind the Pandæmonium of Milton, we do not scruple to assert, that in the execution of his design, that great master of the sublime has fallen infinitely short of him.
[1] More particularly in their two famous orations, which, are entitled "On the Crown."
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NUMBER XIV.
Our readers may possibly think, that verses enough have been already devoted to the celebration of Mr. ROLLE; the Poet, however, is not of the same opinion. To crown the whole, he now proceeds to commemorate the column which is shortly to be erected on the spot, where the Member for Devonshire formerly went to School, application having been made to Parliament for leave to remove the school from its present situation; and a motion being intended to follow, for appropriating a sum of money to mark the scene and record the fact of Mr. ROLLE's education, for the satisfaction of posterity, who might otherwise have been left in a state of uncertainty, whether this great man had any education at all.
MERLIN first shews ROLLO the school. The transition to this object from the present House of Commons is easy and obvious. Indeed, the striking similarity between the two visions is observed by ROLLO in the following passage:
The Hero sees, thick-swarming round the place, In bloom of early youth, a busy race; Propria quæ maribus, with barbarous sound, Syntax and prosody his ear confound, "And say (he cries), Interpreter of fate, Oh! say, is this some jargon of debate? What means the din, and what the scene? proclaim; Is this another vision, or the same? For trust me, Prophet, to my ears, my eyes, A second House of Commons seems to rise."
MERLIN however rectifies the mistake of the good Duke: and points out to him his great descendant, in the shape of a lubberly boy, as remarkably mute on this occasion, as we lately found him in the House,
More fierce than all, more turbulent, more loud.
The flaggellation of Mr. ROLLE succeeds, which, as MERLIN informs ROLLO, is his daily discipline. The sight of the rod, which the Pædagogue flourishes with a degree of savage triumph over the exposed, and bleeding youth, awakens all the feelings of the ancestor:
Stay, monster, stay! he cries in hasty mood, Throw that dire weapon down—behold my blood!
We quote this couplet the rather, because it proves our author to be as good a Critic as a Poet. For the last line is undoubtedly a new reading of Virgil's,
Projice tela manu,—Sanguis meus!
And how much more spirited is this interpretation,
——— ——— ———Behold my blood!
than the commonly received construction of the Latin words, by which they are made to signify simply, "O my son!" and that too with the assistance of a poetical licence. There is not a better emendation in all the Virgilius Restauratus of the learned Martinus Scriblerus.
On the exclamation of ROLLO, which we have just quoted, the Prophet, perceiving that he has moved his illustrious visitor a little too far, administers every consolation,
"Thy care dismiss (the Seer replied, and smil'd) Tho' rods awhile may weal the sacred child, In vain ten thousand [1]BUSBIES should employ Their pedant arts his genius to destroy; In vain at either end thy ROLLE assail, To learning proof alike at head and tail."
Accordingly this assurance has its proper effect in calming the mind of the Duke.
But the great topic of comfort, or we should rather say of exultation, to him, is the prophecy of the column, with which MERLIN concludes his speech:
Where now he suffers, on this hallow'd land, A Column, public Monument, shall stand: And many a bard around the sculptur'd base, In many a language his renown shall trace; In French, Italian, Latin, and in Greek; That all, whose curious search this spot shall seek, May read, and reading tell at home, return'd, How much great ROLLE was flogg'd, how little learn'd.
What a noble, and what a just character of the great ROLLE is contained in the last line! A mind tinctured with modern prejudices may be at a loss to discover the compliment. But our author is a man of erudition and draws his ideas from ancient learning, even where he employs that learning, like [2]Erasmus and the admirable Creichton, in praise of ignorance. Our classical readers, therefore, will see in this portrait of Mr. ROLLE, the living resemblance of the ancient Spartans; a people the pride of Greece, and admiration of the world, who are peculiarly distinguished in history for their systematic contempt of the fine arts, and the patience with which they taught their children to bear floggings.
The School now vanishes, and the Column rises, properly adorned with the inscriptions, which the philosopher explains. But as we have been favoured with correct copies of the inscriptions themselves, which were selected from a much greater number composed by our universities, we shall here desert our Poet, and present the public with the originals.
The two first are in Greek; and agreeably to the usual style of Greek inscriptions, relate the plain fact in short and simple, but elegant and forcible, phraseology.
{Ode to Rhetorikes deinon stoma thauma te Bules, Prota DEBONIZEIN apemanthane pais pote ROLLOS.}
The word {Debonizein} is not to be found in our Lexicons; but we presume, that it means, "to speak the dialect of Devonshire;" from {Debonia}, which is Greek for Devonshire. Accordingly, we have so rendered it in a translation, which we have attempted for the benefit of the country gentlemen and the ladies.
The senate's wonder, ROLLE [3]of mighty tongue, Here first his Devonshire unlearn'd when young.
How simple, yet how full, is the expression of this distich! How perfectly does it agree with the notion, which our poet has inculcated, of Mr. ROLLE! He was employed at school not to learn but to unlearn; his whole progress, was, like a crab's, backward.
There is a beauty in the Greek which it is impossible to preserve in English; the word which we have translated "unlearned," is in the imperfect tense: and, in the nicety of that accurate language implies, that the action was begun, but not completed; that Mr. ROLLE made some proficiency in unlearning his Devonshire; but had not effectually accomplished it during his stay at the school.
The other Greek inscription has something more ingenious, from a seeming paradox in the turn of it:
{Outus o mepote pou ti mathon pros metinos, ode Pais pote ROLLIADES, ossaper oid, emathen.}
He, who to learning nothing owes, Here ROLLE, a boy, learn'd all he knows.
By which concluding word "knows," we must certainly understand acquired knowledge only; since Mr. ROLLE has been celebrated by our Poet in the most unequivocal manner, as may be seen in the twelfth number of our Criticisms, for his great natural faculties. The sense of this last Epigram will then be merely, that the Member for Devonshire had no particle of acquired knowledge; but is an {autodidaktos}, a self-taught scholar, a character so much admired in ancient times. The Latin inscription is as follows:
Hic ferulæ, dextram, hîc, virgis cædenda magistri, Nuda dedit patiens tergora ROLLIADES. At non ROLLIADEN domuerunt verbera; non, quæ Nescio quid gravius præmonuere, minæ, Ah! quoties illum æqualis mirata corona est Nec lacrymam in pænis rumpere, nec gemitum! Ah! quoties, cum supplicio jam incumberet, ipsi [4]Orbillo cecidit victa labore manus! I, puer; I, forti tolerando pectore plagas, Æmula ROLLIADÆ nomina disce sequi.
Here to the ferule ROLLE his hand resign'd, Here to the rod he bar'd the parts behind; But him no stripes subdu'd, and him no fear Of menac'd wrath in future more severe. How oft the youthful circle wond'ring saw That pain from him nor tear, nor groan could draw! How oft, when still unmoved, he long'd to jerk, The master's wearied hand forsook the work! Go, boy; and scorning rods, or ferules, aim By equal worth to rival ROLLE in fame.
The beauty of these lines, we presume, is too obvious to require any comment. We will confidently affirm, that they record as glorious an example of patience as any to be found in all the History of the Flagellants, though the ingenious M. De Lolme has extended the subject into a handsome Quarto.
The Italian inscription is a kind of short dialogue, in which the traveller is introduced, demanding the name of the person to whom the pillar is erected.
A chi si sta questa colonna? Al ROLLE; Che di parlar apprese in questo loco Greco e Latino nò, ma Inglese—un poco. Basta così. Chi non sa il resto, è folle.
This abrupt conclusion we think very fine. It has however been censured as equivocal. Some critics have urged, that the same turn has, in fact, been applied equally to men greatly famous and greatly infamous; to Johannes Mirandula, and Colonel Chartres: and in the present case, say these cavillers, it may be construed to signify either that the rest is too well known to require repetition, or that there is nothing more to be known. But the great character of Mr. ROLLE will at once remove all ambiguity.
The French inscription was furnished by Mr. ROLLE himself on the day of his election. The idea was first expressed by him in English, and then done into French verse by the [5] Dutch dancing master at Exeter, to whom Mr. ROLLE is indebted for his extraordinary proficiency in that science.
Ne pouvoir point parler à mon chien je reproche; Moi, j'acquis en ces lieux le don de la parole: Je vais donc, & bien vite, à Londres par le coche, Faire entendre au Senat, que je suis un vrai ROLLE.
The par le coche seems to be an addition of the Dancing-master, who was certainly no very great Poet, as appears by his use of feminine rhymes only, without any mixture of masculine: an irregularity perfectly inadmissible, as all our polite readers must know, in the nicety of French prosody. We shall subjoin for the entertainment of our readers an inscription in the parish school at Rouen, which was written about a century since on the original Rollo.
Ici ROLLON fessé soir & matin, Beaucoup souffrit, point n'apprit se Latin. Aux fiers combats bien mieux joua son rôle: Tuer des gens lui parut chose drôle. Femme epousa, plus douce que satin, Et, par bonheur, déjà veuve & catin; D'elle reçut un fils & la v———le. Ainsi, Lecteur, naquit le premier ROLLE!
But to return to our author. After the vision of the column, MERLIN proceeds in a short speech to intimate to ROLLO, that higher honours may yet await his descendant in the House of Lords,
Where ROLLE may be, what ROLLO was before.
This, as may be naturally supposed, excites the curiosity of the Duke; but MERLIN declares, that it is not permitted him to reveal the glories of the Upper house. The hero must first fulfil his fates, by mortally wounding the Saxon drummer, whom Providence shall inspire in his last moments for this particular purpose.
Ere yet thou know, what higher honours wait Thy future race, accomplish them thy fate. When now the bravest of our Saxon train Beneath thy conquering arms shall press the plain; What yet remains, his voice divine in death Shall tell, and Heav'n for this shall lengthen out his breath.
Which last line is most happily lengthened out into an Alexandrine, to make the sound an echo to the sense. The pause too after the words "shall tell," finely marks the sudden catches and spasmodic efforts of a dying man. Some extracts from the Drummer's prophecies have already been given to the public; and from these specimens of his loquacity with a thurst in quarte through his lungs, our readers will probably see the propriety with which the immediate hand of Heaven is here introduced. The most rigid critic will not deny that here is truly the
Dignus vindice nodus,
which Horace requires to justify the interposition of a Divinity.
We are now come to the concluding lines of the sixth book. Our readers are probably acquainted with the commonly-received superstition relative to the exit of Magicians, that they are carried away by Devils. The poet has made exquisite use of this popular belief, though he could not help returning in the last line to his favourite Virgil. Classical observers will immediately perceive the allusion to
———Revocare gradum, superasque evadere ad auras Hic labor, hoc opus est;
in the description of ROLLO's re-ascent from the night-cellar into the open air.
The Prophet foreseeing his instant end,
"At once, farewel," he said. But, as he said, Like mortal bailiffs to the sight array'd, Two fiends advancing seiz'd, and bore away To their dark dens the much-resisting prey: While ROLLO nimbly clamber'd in a fright, Tho' steep and difficult the way, to light.
And thus ends the sixth book of the ROLLIAD; which we have chosen for the subject of the FIRST PART of our CRITICISMS. In the second part, which is now going on in the Morning-Herald, where the first draughts of the present numbers were originally published, we shall pursue our Commentary through the House of Peers; and in a third part, for which we are now preparing and arranging materials, it is our intention to present our readers with a series of anecdotes from the political history of our ministry, which our author has artfully contrived to interweave in his inimitable poem.
And here, while we are closing this first Part, we cannot but congratulate ourselves, that we have been the humble instruments of first calling the attention of the learned to this wonderful effort of modern genius, the fame of, which has already exceeded the limits of this island, and perhaps may not be circumscribed by the present age; which, we have the best reason to believe, will very shortly diffuse the glory of our present Rulers in many and distant quarters of the globe; and which may not improbably descend to exhibit them in their true colours to remote posterity. That we indeed imagine our Criticisms to have contributed very much to this great popularity of the ROLLIAD, we will not attempt to conceal. And this persuasion shall animate us to continue our endeavours with redoubled application, that we may complete, as early as possible, the design, which we have some time since formed to ourselves, and which we have now submitted to the Public; happy, if that which is yet to come, be received with the same degree of favour as this, which is now finished, so peculiarly experienced even in its most imperfect condition.
[1] Dr. Busby, formerly master of Westminster school, was famous for his consumption of birch. MERLIN uses his name here by the spirit of prophecy.
[2] Erasmus wrote an Encomium of Folly, with abundant wit and learning. For Creichton, see the Adventurer.
[3] The literal English is "vehement mouth of oratory."
[4] A great flogger of antiquity, ———Memini quæ plagosum mihi parvo Orbilium dictare. HOR.
[5] Mynheer Hoppingen Van Caperagen, who soon after the publication of our first authentic Edition, sent the following letter to Mr. Ridgway:
D'Exeter, ce 18 Avril, 1785.
"Je suis fort etonné. Monsieur, que vous ayez eu la hardiesse d'admettre dans "La Critique de la Rolliade," une accusation contre moi qui n'est nullement fondée, et qui tend à me nuire dans l'esprit de tous les amateurs des beaux arts. Sachez, Monsieur, que je me suis donné la peine de traduire mot à mot la célébré inscription, de mon digne élève et protecteur, Mr. Rolle; que je n'y ai rien ajouté, et que dans le vers où il est question du coche, votre Critique n'auroit dû voir qu'une preuve de l'économie de mon susdit Mécene. Quant aux rimes féminines que l'auteur me reproche avec tant d'aigreur, je vous dirai qu'il n'y a rien de mâle dans l'esprit de Mr. Rolle, et que j'aurois blessé sa delicatesse en m'y prenant autrement; d'ailleurs je me moque des usages, et je ne veux pas que mes vers sautent à clochepied, comme ceux des poëtes François, qui n'entendent rien à la danse. Je ne doute pas que vous approuviez mon sentiment là-dessus, et que vous me fassiez rendre justice sur l'objet de ma plainte: en attendant, je vous prie de croire que je suis, avec le plus vif attachment, Monsieur, votre très obeissant serviteur, HOPPINGEN VAN CAPERAGEN."