Wycherley's joke, replies a critic, is contemptible; and yet one feels that the death scene, with this strange mixture of cynicism, spite, and superstition, half redeemed by imperturbable good temper, would not be unworthy of a place in Wycherley's own school of comedy.

One could wish that Pope had shown a little more perception of the tragic side of such a conclusion.
Pope was still almost a boy when he broke with Wycherley; but he was already beginning to attract attention, and within a surprisingly short time he was becoming known as one of the first writers of the day.

I must now turn to the poems by which this reputation was gained, and the incidents connected with their publication.

In Pope's life, almost more than in that of any other poet, the history of the author is the history of the man.
FOOTNOTES: [1] The letter is, unluckily, of doubtful authenticity; but it represents Pope's probable sentiments.
[2] See Elwin's Pope, Vol.

I., cxxxv..