the youthful poet; introduced him to old Wycherley, the dramatist; and
was of material service to his views. With Wycherley, who was old,
doted, and excessively vain, Pope did not continue long intimate. A
coldness, springing from some criticisms which the youth ventured to
make on the veteran's poetry, crept in between them. Walsh of Abberley,
in Worcestershire, a man of good sense and taste, became, after a
perusal of the "Pastorals" in MS., a warm friend and kind adviser of
Pope's, who has immortalised him in more than one of his poems. Walsh
told Pope that there had never hitherto appeared in Britain a poet who
was at once great and correct, and exhorted him to aim at accuracy and
elegance.

When fifteen, he visited London, in order to acquire a more thorough
knowledge of French and Italian. At sixteen, he wrote the "Pastorals,"
and a portion of "Windsor Forest," although they were not published for
some time afterwards. By his incessant exertions, he now began to feel
his constitution injured. He imagined himself dying, and sent farewell
letters to all his friends, including the Abbe Southcot. This gentleman
communicated Pope's case to Dr Ratcliffe, who gave him some medical
directions; by following which, the poet recovered. He was advised to
relax in his studies, and to ride daily; and he prudently followed the
advice. Many years afterwards, he repaid the benevolent Abbe by
procuring for him, through Sir Robert Walpole, the nomination to an
abbey in Avignon. This is only one of many proofs that, notwithstanding
his waspish temper, and his no small share of malice as well as vanity,
there was a warm heart in our poet.

In 1707, Pope became acquainted with Michael Blount of Maple, Durham,
near Reading; whose two sisters, Martha and Teresa, he has commemorated
in various verses. On his connexion with these ladies, some mystery