the flames, and with a hiss expire."

What next? The compact Argument informs us _she_ forthwith reveals
herself to him, transports him to her Temple, unfolds her arts, and
initiates him into her mysteries; then announcing the death of Eusden
the poet-laureate, anoints him, carries him to court, and proclaims him
successor. The close of the Book was as much improved as the opening by
the changes consequent on the substitution of Cibber for Theobald. In
1727, when the poem was composed, Eusden, "a drunken parson," wore the
laurel; but now Cibber had been for years one of the successors of
Spenser, and of the predecessors of Wordsworth--though indeed that last
fact could not be known to Pope--and well he deserved this still higher
elevation. And here again we must dissent from Dr Johnson's judgment,
"that by transferring the same ridicule (_not the same_) from one to
another, he destroyed its efficacy; for, by showing that what he said of
one he was ready to say of another, he reduced himself to the
insignificance of his own magpye, who from his cage calls cuckold at a
venture." We love and honour the sage, but here he is a Sumph.

Oh! do read the Second Book, for we can afford but a few extracts; and,
to whet you up, shall prate to you a few minutes about it.

The two ancient kings of heroic song have left us exemplars of Games.
The occasions are similar and mournful, although the contests are
inspired by, and inspire a jocund mood. At the funeral of Patroclus,
Achilles appoints eight games. He gives prizes for a chariot-race, a
cestus-fight, a wrestling-match, a foot-race, a lance-fight, a
disk-hurling, a strife of archery and of darters. AEneas, on the first
anniversary of his father's funeral, proposes five trials of skill--for
the chariot-race of Homer, suitably to the posture of the Trojan
affairs, a sailing-match; then, the foot-race, the terrible cestus,
archery, and lastly, the beautiful equestrian tournament of Young Troy.
The English Homer of the Dunces treads in the footsteps of his august
predecessors, and celebrates, with imitated solemnities, a joyous
day--that which elevates the arch-Dunce to the throne. Here too we have
games, but with a dissimilitude in similitude. He adopts an intermediate
number, six. The first is exceedingly fanciful and whimsical. The
goddess creates the phantom of a poet. It has the shape of a
contemptible swindler in literature, a plagiarist without bounds, named
More. He is pur