which no price had ever been demanded, as he made known his
resolution not to pay a porter, and consequently not to deal with a
nameless agent. Such care had been taken to make them public, that
they were sent at once to two booksellers; to Curll, who was likely
to seize them as a prey, and to Lintot, who might he expected to
give Pope information of the seeming injury. Lintot, I believe, did
nothing, and Curll did what was expected. That to make them public
was the only purpose may be reasonably supposed, because the numbers
offered to sale by the private messengers showed that the hope of
gain could not have been the motive of the impression. It seems
that Pope, being desirous of printing his "Letters," and not knowing
how to do, without imputation of vanity, what has in this country
been done very rarely, contrived an appearance of compulsion, that,
when he could complain that his "Letters" were surreptitiously
published, he might decently and defensively publish them himself.

Pope's private correspondence, thus promulgated, filled the nation
with the praises of his candour, tenderness, and benevolence, the
purity of his purposes, and the fidelity of his friendship. There
were some letters which a very good or a wise man would wish
suppressed; but, as they had been already exposed, it was
impracticable now to retract them. From the perusal of those
letters, Mr. Allen first conceived the desire of knowing him; and
with so much zeal did he cultivate the friendship which he had newly
formed, that, when Pope told his purpose of vindicating his own
property by a genuine edition, he offered to pay the cost. This,
however, Pope did not accept; but in time solicited a subscription
for a quarto volume, which appeared (1737), I believe, with
sufficient profit. In the preface he tells that his letters were
reposited in a friend's library, said to be the Earl of Oxford's,