his respect or tenderness. Whatever was his pride, to them he was
obedient; and whatever was his irritability, to them he was gentle.
Life has, among its soothing and quiet comforts, few things better
to give than such a son.

One of the passages of Pope's life, which seems to deserve some
inquiry, was a publication of "Letters" between him and many of his
friends, which, falling into the hands of Curll, a rapacious
bookseller, of no good fame, were by him printed and sold. This
volume containing some letters from noblemen, Pope incited a
prosecution against him in the House of Lords for breach of
privilege, and attended himself to stimulate the resentment of his
friends. Curll appeared at the bar, and, knowing himself in no
great danger, spoke of Pope with very little reverence. "He has,"
said Curll, "a knack at versifying, but in prose I think myself a
match for him." When the orders of the House were examined, none of
them appeared to have been infringed. Curll went away triumphant,
and Pope was left to seek some other remedy.

Curll's account was, that one evening a man in a clergyman's gown,
but with a lawyer's band, brought and offered for sale a number of
printed volumes, which he found to be Pope's epistolary
correspondence; that he asked no name, and was told none, but gave
the price demanded, and thought himself authorised to use his
purchase to his own advantage. That Curll gave a true account of
the transaction it is reasonable to believe, because no falsehood
was ever detected; and when, some years afterwards, I mentioned it
to Lintot, the son of Bernard, he declared his opinion to be, that
Pope knew better than anybody else how Curll obtained the copies,
because another parcel was at the same time sent to himself, for