n his sixty-fourth year. Close to Hagley,
Shenstone had his little estate of the Leasowes, and the poet is said to
have cherished the absurd fancy that Lord Lyttelton was envious of its
beauty. He is now chiefly remembered as the patron of Thomson, whom he
called 'one of the best and most beloved' of his friends.

[Sidenote: Joseph Spence (1698-1768).]

Joseph Spence, a warm friend and admirer of Pope in the poet's later
life, had the happy peculiarity of keeping free from the party
animosities of the time. His course throughout was that of a gentleman,
and to him we owe the little volume of _Anecdotes_ which every student
of Pope has learnt to value. Spence had much of Boswell's curiosity and
hero-worship, but there is neither insight into character in his pages,
nor any trace of the dramatic skill which makes Boswell's narrative so
delightful. At the same time there is every indication that he strove
to give the sayings of the poet, as far as possible, in his own words.
Johnson and Warton saw the _Anecdotes_ in manuscript, but strange to
say, the collection was not published until 1820, when two separate
editions appeared simultaneously. The publication by Spence in 1727 of
_An Essay on Pope's Translation of Homer's Odyssey_ led to an
acquaintance which soon became intimate between the poet and his critic.
Apart from literature, they had more than one point of interest in
common. Like Pope, Spence was devoted to his mother, and like Pope he
had a passion for landscape gardening. His mild virtues and engaging
disposition are said to be portrayed in the _Tales of the Genii_, under
the character of Fincal the Dervise of the Groves. In 1747 he published
his _Polymetis, an Enquiry into the agreement between the Works of the
Roman Poets and the Remains of Ancient Artists_. Under the _nom de
plume_ of Sir Harry Beaumont, Spence produced a volume of _Moralities or
Essays, Letters, Fables and Translations_ (1753), and in the following
year an account of the blind poet Blacklock. For a learned tailor,
Thomas Hill by name, he also performed a similarly kind office,
comparing him in _A Parallel in the Manner of Plutarch_ with the famous
linguist Magliabecchi. Spence was made Professor of Poetry at Oxford in
1728, and held the post for ten years. His end was a sad one. He was
accidentally drowned in a canal in the garden which he had loved so
well.

FOOTNOTES:

[49] _Daniel Defoe: his Life and recently discovered Writings, ext