[Footnote 148: The account herein before given of this lady and her catastrophe, cited by Johnson from Ruffhead, with a kind of acquiescence in the truth thereof, seems no other than might have been extracted from the verses themselves. I have in my possession a letter to Dr. Johnson, containing the name of the lady; and a reference to a gentleman well known in the literary world for her history. Him I have seen; and, from a memorandum of some particulars to the purpose, communicated to him by a lady of quality, he informs me, that the unfortunate lady's name was Withinbury[1], corruptly pronounced Winbury; that she was in love with Pope, and would have married him; that her guardian, though she was deformed in person, looking upon such a match as beneath her, sent her to a convent; and that a noose, and not a sword, put an end to her life. H. (Footnote 1: According to Warton, the lady's name was Wainsbury. ED.)] [Footnote 149: Bentley was one of these. He and Pope, soon after the publication of Homer, met at Dr. Mead's at dinner; when Pope, desirous of his opinion of the translation, addressed him thus: "Dr. Bentley, I ordered my bookseller to send you your books: I hope you received them." Bentley, who had purposely avoided saying any thing about Homer, pretended not to understand him, and asked, "Books! books! what books?"--" My Homer," replied Pope, "which you did me the honour to subscribe for."--"Oh," said Bentley, "aye, now I recollect--your translation:--it is a pretty poem, Mr. Pope; but you must not call it Homer." H. Some good remarks on Pope's translation may be found in the work of Melmoth, entitled Fitzosborne's Letters. ED.] [Footnote 150: In one of these poems is a couplet, to which belongs a story that I once heard the reverend Dr. Ridley relate: "Slander or poison dread from Delia's rage; Hard words, or hanging, if your judge be ...," Sir Francis Page, a judge well known in his time, conceiving that his name was meant to fill up the blank, sent his clerk to Mr. Pope, to complain of the insult. Pope told the young man that the blank might be supplied by many monosyllables, other than the judge's name:--"but, sir," said the clerk, "the judge says that no other word will make sense of the passage."--"So then it seems," says Pope "your master is not only a judge but a poet; as that is the case, the odds are against me. Give my respects to the judge, and tell him, I will not contend with one that has the advantage of me, and he may fill up the blank as he pleases." H.] [Footnote 151: See note, by Gifford, on Johnson's criticism here in Massinger's works.] [Footnote 152: Johnson, I imagine, alludes to a well-known line by Rochester: The best good man with the worst-natur'd muse. ] [Footnote 153: Major Bernardi, who died in Newgate, Sept. 20, 1736. See Gent. Mag. vol. 1. p. 125. N.]