ll, that shameless rascal who gloried in the obscene
productions of his minions, hesitating not to assign them to the greatest
writers of the day. Though fined and pilloried for his scandalous
publications, he regarded such 'accidents' merely as a medium of
advertisement, and had no hesitation in calling attention to the fact
that he had suffered corporal punishment on account of a book that he
wished to sell.

In the course of his crooked career he fell foul of Pope by publishing a
book entitled 'Court Poems,' which he ascribed to 'the laudable
translator of Homer.' Pope promptly retorted by putting forth an essay
with the delightful title 'A Full and True Account of a Horrid and
Barbarous Revenge by Poison on the Body of Mr. Edmund Curll, Bookseller;
with a faithful copy of his Last Will and Testament.' Neither words nor
deeds, however, could repress a man so destitute of moral worth; and,
later, he came once more under the poet's lash in the 'Dunciad,' where we
read--

'Obscene with filth the miscreant lies bewray'd.'

Yet even the devil must have his due, and Curll certainly was concerned
in the production of a number of works of general and abiding interest.
Here is a curious example of his wares, from one of his catalogues dated
1726. It is a version of Sallengre's 'L'Elogie de l'Ivresse,' a humorous
(and scarce) little volume first published in 1714.

Ebrietatis Encomium--or, The Praise of Drunkenness. Wherein is
authentically and most evidently proved the Necessity of
frequently getting drunk; and that the practice of getting drunk
is most Ancient, Primitive, and Catholic. Confirm'd by the
example of Heathens, Turks, Infidels, Primitive Christians,
Saints, Popes, Bishops, Doctors, Philosophers, Poets,
Free-Masons, and other Men of Learning in All Ages. By a Person
of Honour, price 2s. 6d.[67]

How it intrigues one to know who were the Saints, Popes, and Bishops thus
addicted to tippling! Truly a _chronique scandaleuse_, and one which
would surely have appealed to Louis Maimbourg, that ingenious Jesuit
historian, had it but appeared in his day. We are told that he never took
up his pen till he had heated his imagination by wine, nor ever attempted
to describe a battle till he had drunk two bottles--lest, as he said
jestingly, the horrors of the combat should enfeeble his style! Perhaps
this trait in his character also explains how it was that 'he signalised
himsel