Mrs.Whiteway, indeed, met the suggestion so clearly, and gave such good reasons for assigning Twickenham as the probable centre of the plot, that she must have suspected the truth.

Pope did not venture to assail her publicly, though he continued to talk of treachery or evil influence.
To accuse innocent people of a crime which you know yourself to have committed is bad enough.

It is, perhaps, even baser to lay a trap for a friend, and reproach him for falling into it.

Swift had denied the publication of the letters, and Pope would have had some grounds of complaint had he not been aware of the failure of Swift's mind, and had he not been himself the tempter.

His position, however, forced him to blame his friend.