corruption--corruption being of course regarded as due to the diabolical
agency of Walpole. During his later years, Pope became a friend of all
the Opposition clique, which was undermining the power of the great
minister. In his last letters to Swift, Pope speaks of the new circle of
promising patriots who were rising round him, and from whom he
entertained hopes of the regeneration of this corrupt country.
Sentiments of this kind were the staple talk of the circles in which he
moved; and all the young men of promise believed, or persuaded
themselves to fancy, that a political millennium would follow the
downfall of Walpole. Pope, susceptible as always to the influences of
his social surroundings, took in all this, and delighted in figuring
himself as the prophet of the new era and the denouncer of wickedness in
high places. He sees "old England's genius" dragged in the dust, hears
the black trumpet of vice proclaiming that "not to be corrupted is the
shame," and declares that he will draw the last pen for freedom, and use
his "sacred weapon" in truth's defence.

To imagine Pope at his best, we must place ourselves in Twickenham on
some fine day, when the long disease has relaxed its grasp for a moment;
when he has taken a turn through his garden, and comforted his poor
frame with potted lampreys and a glass or two from his frugal pint.
Suppose two or three friends to be sitting with him, the stately
Bolingbroke or the mercurial Bathurst, with one of the patriotic hopes
of mankind, Marchmont or Lyttelton, to stimulate his ardour, and the
amiable Spence, or Mrs. Patty Blount to listen reverentially to his
morality. Let the conversation kindle into vivacity, and host and guests
fall into a friendly rivalry, whetting each other's wits by lively
repartee, and airing the little fragments of worldly wisdom which pass
muster for profound observation at Court; for a time they talk
platitudes, though striking out now and then brilliant flashes, as from
the collision of polished rapiers; they diverge, perhaps, into
literature, and Pope shines in discussing the secrets of the art to
which his whole life has been devoted with untiring fidelity. Suddenly
the mention of some noted name provokes a startling outburst of personal
invective from Pope; his friends judiciously divert the current of wrath
into a new channel, and he becomes for the moment a generous patriot
declaiming against the growth of luxury; the mention of some
sympa