Page:A new and general biographical dictionary; containing an historical and critical account of the lives and writings of the most eminent persons in every nation v1.djvu/425

 ATTERBURY. 3*9 m; of war, and Janded the Friday following at Calais. When he went on fhi.re, who had ai'icr the having bc-c-n informed that Lord ^ of dr. parliament re- ceived Dr. Maty, on the crvdit of lord Chcf- terfield: "J went," l..id lo'.i rhirlter- firld, " to iVi. !'!", OIK- nvrni:. v kenli.im, ami found a large folio Bible, with yill rlafps, lying before 1 i n upon his t.idle ; and, as 1 knew his way of thinking upon iliac book, 1 a/ked him, iocofely, it c v/.;s going to write an anfwir to it ? It is a pre- ' iluller. 1 went to take my leave of " ] faw this Bible y pon bistable. After , my " lord, it is but lately. May I beg to " know what new light or arguments " have prevailed wirh you now, to en- " tertxin an opinion fo contrary to that ' which you entertained of that book " all the former part of your li'e ?' <c The bifh' p replied, ' We have not " time to talk, of iliefe thing-' 5 but " take, home the Look; 1 will abide by too, and lo Gnd bhis you." Thele anecdntrs Mr. Nichols has in- ferted in the " Epiflolary Correfp^nd- ence," vol. II. p. 70. with the profefled view of vindicaunj; At'i-rSury, in the tollnwin^- words of an ingenious corre- fpondent : " Dr. Warton hnth revived this ftory, " wh'ch he jufily calls an " uncom- " Genius and Writings of Pope." It (was indeed very uncommon ; and I " have my reafons for thinking it eqvul- " ly groundlels and invidious. Dr. <( from " Maty's Memoirs," yet can- liidiy acknow ledges, that it ought not " c.iution w.is not unneceflary, will, I " uprcli-:nd f be fufikiently oLvious, " fr.im the following comp.nifn br " twecn the date ot the llory itfilf and " Mr. Pope's Kturs to the bid;. tf Accord. Hi; to Lord ChefterficM's " account, this rem.irkable piece of u lonvcrfation to"): plus I ut a few " days before the bifliop went into " exile: and it is infmuated that Mr. '< Pope, till that period, had not evrn. " entertained the flighted fufpicion of " his friend's reverence for the Bible : " Nay, it is aflerttd, that the very re- " commendation of it from a quarter " fo unexpected, daggered Mr. Pope to {< fuch a degree, that in a mingled vein " of raillery and ferioufnefs, he was very " eager to know the grounds and reafons " of the bifhop's change of fentiment. " Unfortunately for the credit of " Lord Chefterfield and his ftory, there " is a letter on record, that was written " nine months before this pretended " dialogue took place, in which Mr. " Pope fcrioufly acknowledged th " bifi'ip's piety and generofity, in in- " terefling himfelf fo zealoufly and af- " fecltianately in matters which im- " meoijtely related to his improvement " in the k,nowlecg? of the holy Scrip- " tures. The paffage I refer to is a " very remarkable one; and you will " find it in a letter, dated July 27, " 17^. It appears undeniably from " this letter, that the bifliop had ear- '< neftly recommended to Mr. Pope the " fiudy of the Bible; and hjd fofteoed " his zeal with an unufual urbanity and " courtefy, in order to avoid theimpu- " tation of ill-breeding, andremoveall " cccafion of difguft from a mind fo " * tremblingly alive" as Mr. Pope's. I " will iranfcnbc the pjlTag at large. " 1 ought firft to prepare my mind for a " better knowledge even rt good pro- " fane writers, efoecially the moraliftj, " &c. before 1 can be Worthy ot tafting " that Supreme of books,, nd Sublime " ot all writings, in whicn, ss in all " the intermediate one?, >ou may (if " your Iriendfh'p and ch. rity towards " me c. iitinue fo far) be ;bs beft guide " to, Yuur, A. POPE.'' " The lait leiter of Mr. Pope to the previous U his going into exile
 * ' ft- iir, f.ii.l he, or rather a legacy,
 * ' Ironi my old t'i lend the biftiep of Ro-
 * ' him yerlerd.iv in the Tower, where
 * ing your infirmities, and my ap.eand
 * ' it, and 1 reti'tnmend you to do fo
 * ' mon" one, in his Uft ''Eflay on the
 * ' Warton, though he retails the ftory
 * ' to be implicitly relied on. Th.it this