not Homer."

In 1721, he issued a selection from the poems of Parnell, and prefixed a
very beautiful dedication to the Earl of Oxford, commencing with--

"Such were the notes thy once-loved poet sung,
Till death untimely stopp'd his tuneful tongue.
Oh, just beheld and lost, admired and mourn'd,
With softest manners, gentlest arts adorn'd!"

In 1722, he engaged to translate the "Odyssey." He employed Broome and
Fenton as his assistants in the work; and the portions translated by
them were thought as good as his. He remunerated them very handsomely.
Of this work, the first three quarto volumes appeared in 1725; and the
fourth and fifth, which completed the work, the following year. Pope
sold the copyright to Lintot for L600.

He was busy at this time, too, with an edition of Shakspeare,--not quite
worthy of either poet. It appeared in six volumes, quarto, in 1725. His
preface was good, but he was deficient in antiquarian lore; and his
mortification was extreme when Theobald, destined to figure in "The
Dunciad," a mere plodding hack, not only in his "Shakspeare Restored,"
exposed many blunders in Pope's edition; but issued, some years
afterwards, an edition of his own, which was much better received by the
public.

In 1726, there was a great gathering of the Tory wits at Twickenham.
Swift had come from Ireland, and resided for some time with Pope.
Bolingbroke came over occasionally from Dawley; and Gay was often there
to laugh with, and be laughed at by, the rest. Swift had "Gulliver's