ded money. Pope told Caryll
in March that Gay "will have made about L100 out of this farce"; and it
is known that for the publishing rights Lintott gave him on February
14th L16 2s. 6d.

Gay, now a popular dramatist as well as an intimate friend of many of
the leading men in literary circles, became known to people of high
social rank, who, like his brethren of the pen, took him up and made a
pet of him. In the summer of 1715 Lord Burlington, the "generous
Burlington" of "Mr. Pope's Welcome from Greece," invited him to
accompany him to Devonshire, and Gay repaid the compliment by describing
his "Visit to Exeter" in a poetical "Epistle to the Right Honourable the
Earl of Burlington," the first lines of which are:--

While you, my Lord, bid stately piles ascend,
Or in your Chiswick bowers enjoy your friend;
Where Pope unloads the boughs within his reach,
The purple vine, blue plum, and blushing peach;
I journey far.--You know fat bards might tire.
And, mounted, sent me forth your trusty squire.

During his stay in Devonshire Gay began the composition of "Trivia, or
The Art of Walking the Streets of London." It was to this that Pope made
allusion when writing to Caryll, January 10th, 1716: "Gay's poem [is]
just on the brink of the press, which we have had the interest to
procure him subscription of a guinea a book to a tolerable number. I
believe it may be worth L150 to him on the whole."[5] In addition to the
subscriptions, Gay received from Lintott L43 for the copyright of the
book, the copies of which were sold to the public at one shilling and
sixpence each; and as, with humorous exaggeration, Arbuthnot wrote to
Parnell: "Gay has got as much money by his 'Art of Walking the Streets'
that he is ready to set up his equipage; he is just going to the bank to
negotiate some exchange bills."[6] The "Advertisement" prefaced to the
poem runs:--

"The world, I believe, will take so little notice of me that I need not
take much of it. The critics may see by this poem that I walk on foot,
which probably may save me from their envy. I should be sorry to raise
that passion in men whom I am so much obliged to, since they allowed me
an honour hitherto only shown to better writers: that of denying me to
be author of my own works. I am sensible this must be done in pure
generosity; because whoever writ them, provided they did not themselves,
they are still in the same condition. Gentlemen, if there be any thing
in thi