was concerned to find he stood so ill in
    the Dean’s opinion, whose great parts, wit, genius, &c. he held in
    the highest estimation; nor could he easily account for the Dean’s
    so frequently appearing his enemy, as he never knowingly had
    offended him; and regretted the want of an opportunity of being
    better acquainted with him.’—­The general had also a great regard
    for Mr. Cibber, and wished to bring them together on an agreeable
    footing:—­Why they were not so, came out soon after.—­The secret
    was,—­Mr. Pope was angry; [for the long-latent cause, look into Mr.
    Cibber’s letter to Mr. Pope.] Passion and prejudice are not always
    friends to truth;—­and the foam of resentment never rose higher,
    than when it boil’d and swell’d in Mr. Pope’s bosom:  No wonder then,
    that his misrepresentation might make the Dean believe, Mr. Cibber
    was not unworthy of that satire and raillery (not always just
    neither, and sometimes solicited) which is not unsparingly thrown on
    him in the Dean’s works:—­That this was the case, appears from the
    following circumstance.

As soon as Mr. Cibber’s Apology was first printed, it was immediately carried over to Dublin, and given to Mr. Faulkner (an eminent printer and bookseller there) by a gentleman, who wished to see an edition of it in Ireland; Mr. Faulkner published it, and the success thereof was so great, some thousands thereof were disposed of in a very short time:  Just before the intended edition appeared, the Dean (who often visited Mr. Faulkner) coming into the shop, asked, ’What new pieces were likely to come forth?’—­Mr. Faulkner gave Mr. Cibber’s Apology to him;—­The Dean’s curiosity [Transcriber’s note:  ‘curosity’ in original] was pretty strong to see a work of that uncommon sort:—­In short, he stay’d and dined there; and did not quit the house, or the book, ’till he had read it through:  He advised Faulkner, to lose no time in printing it; and said, he would answer for it’s success:—­He declared, he had not perus’d any thing a long time that had pleas’d him so much; and dwelt long in commendation of it:  He added, that he almost envy’d the author the pleasure he must have in writing it;—­That he was sorry he had ever said any thing to his disadvantage; and was convinced Cibber had been very much misrepresented to him; nor did he scruple to say, that, as it had been formerly the fashion to abuse Cibber, he had unwarily been drawn into it by Pope, and others.  He often, afterwards, spoke in praise of Mr. Cibber, and his writing in general, and of this work in particular.—­He afterwards told Mr. Faulkner, he had read Cibber’s Apology thro’ three times; that he was more and more pleased with it:  That the style was not inferior to any English he had ever read:  That his words were properly adapted:  His similes happy, uncommon, and well chosen:  He then in a pleasant manner said—­’You must give me this book, which is the first thing I ever begg’d from you.’  To this, we may be sure Mr. Faulkner readily consented.  Ever after in company, the Dean gave this book a great character.—­Let the reader make the application of this true and well known fact.

[4] The name is pronounced Vannumery.