He was not, however, inaccessible to aristocratic blandishments, and was proud to be the valued and petted guest in many great houses.

Through Swift he had become acquainted with Oxford, the colleague of Bolingbroke, and was a frequent and intimate guest of the second Earl, from whose servant Johnson derived the curious information as to his habits.

Harcourt, Oxford's Chancellor, lent him a house whilst translating Homer.

Sheffield, the Duke of Buckingham, had been an early patron, and after the duke's death, Pope, at the request of his eccentric duchess, the illegitimate daughter of James II., edited some of his works and got into trouble for some Jacobite phrases contained in them.

His most familiar friend among the opposition magnates was Lord Bathurst, a man of uncommon vivacity and good-humour.