Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
Ten autograph letters, of which six signed (‘A. Pope’, 'A.P.'), to Hugh, 3^rd Earl of Marchmont, with two letters addressed jointly to Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, Twickenham (‘Twitenham’) and Bath, 10 January 1739/40-[26 March 1744]
22 pages, various sizes (187 x 110mm to 301 x 186mm), of which eight are bifolia and four with integral address panels. Provenance: Arthur A. Houghton, Jr.; Arthur A. Houghton, Jnr (1906-1990); his sale, Christie's, 11 & 12 June 1980, lot 382.

All of the known letters from Pope to Marchmont, a leading member of the Tory opposition and a close friend of Pope at the end of his life. Pope deplores the political climate under Walpole, writing after the death of Sir William Wyndham that he and Marchmont ought to ‘study Popery & Slavery abroad a while, to reconcile ourselves to the Church & State we may find at home on our return’ (22 June [1740]). He reflects on his life and work at a time of political malaise, writing in his letter of 10 October 1741, ‘I thank God, that I do not yet live under Tyranny, nor an Inquisition: that I have thus long enjoyed Independency, Freedom of Body & Mind, have told the world of my Opinions, even on the highest subjects, & of the Greatest Men, pretty freely; that good men have not been ashamed of me; and that my Works have not dy’d before me’. These letters also demonstrate the strength of his feeling for Marchmont and Bolingbroke, to whom Pope writes near the end of his life, ‘When I see a finer Day, or feel a Livelyer Hour, I find my thoughts carried to you, with whom & for whom chiefly I desire to live’ (26 march 1744).

That I am mindful of you while I live, is the greatest of truths. That I live, I desird a friend of mine to tell you. That you are well, I shall also hear, whether write to me or not. if I do not hear, I shall be in pain, & write to you. What then have I to say? I only write now to tell you, that you are rememberd by one, whose memory you will think a Credit, & find a Comfort, to you. he says of you, that you assist y^r Country's friends, et consilio, et voce, & etiam vultu. May you continue to do this, till we become a People deserving your utmost care: at present even this is more yⁿ we deserve ... (9 January 1740, published in A Selection from the Papers of the Earls of Marchmont, II, p. 206).

If God had not given this nation to Perdition, He w^d not have removed from its service the men, whose Capacity & Integrity alone could have saved it. But if you despaired of it before, you should the less regret your present situation; for I dare say, no Vanity, but y^e sole View of doing good, was y^r motive of Action. You are reduced to Philosophy, as Bolingbroke was before you; but you can animate, you can supply, you can better, a better Age than this, & prepare happier Scenes for y^e coming generation ... (29 February 1740, published in A Selection from the Papers of the Earls of Marchmont, II, p. 208).

Hugh, 3^rd Earl of Marchmont (1708-1794) was one of the most important friends of Pope's last years. He succeeded to the title in February 1740, soon after Pope met him and a month after the date of the first letter in this collection. As Pope's consolatory letter of 29 February 1740 attests, his elevation ended a promising political career of opposition to Walpole in the Commons; the death of Sir William Wyndham later in 1740 was a further political blow.