Two rustic lovers were surprised by a thunderstorm in a field near the house; they were struck by lightning, and found lying dead in each other's arms.
Here was an admirable chance for Pope, who was staying in the house with his friend Gay.

He wrote off a beautiful letter to Lady Mary,[9] descriptive of the event--a true prose pastoral in the Strephon and Chloe style.

He got Lord Harcourt to erect a monument over the common grave of the lovers, and composed a couple of epitaphs, which he submitted to Lady Mary's opinion.

She replied by a cruel dose of common sense, and a doggrel epitaph, which turned his fine phrases into merciless ridicule.

If the lovers had been spared, she suggests, the first year might probably have seen a beaten wife and a deceived husband, cursing their marriage chain.
Now they are happy in their doom, For Pope has writ upon their tomb.
On Lady Mary's return the intimacy was continued.