July 5th. 1755 Dr. Sr., I recd. yr. Whimsical Notion Which quite* broke my fast & spoild my Devotion; When I saw yr. whole force in Battle Array'd And in each Rank & File yr. whole Fury display'd With trembling amazemt. I instantly paus'd Of such great Effects to pick out the Cause; Thought I a Death warrant this surely must be You being Neerly prepard for Physick's Degree Or else an Entreaty, in Verse to bemoan Yr. helpless condition now yr. Pegasus's gone. With many more gloomy Conjectures I had Before I attempted its Contents to read. When I'd made a begginning I saw such bold threats 282 As covered My Body with Death-boding Sweats. I labourd it through with Anxious concern And when I had done the whole I could learn By your frightfull, & Friendly & threatning Touze1 Was the Mountain had travail'd & brought forth a Mouse. Yet I could but condole the Effects of yr. Dearth Which made you Man-Midwife to such a poor Birth. However tho' a Mouse yet I suppose 'twas Sharp bitten As appears by the Satyre with wch. you have written. I wish Mice could spit, for I hate to suppose You'll Spit back with Intrest as I see you propose But to help that defect & to credit yr. Tongue Instead of base Spit you have paid me good Dung For Watch has got Freinds Sure a Mouse can't defend him And now's he gone forth 'tis too late to Amend him A Freind to a Dog! that's genrous & kind For he was yr. Freind when alive as we find He rousd up yr. Muse & convey'd their Produce And his ready Address for dull lines was Excuse When Pegasus stumbled he snapped at his Heels And Spur'd the Dull Horse wn. backwar.d he Reels But Pegasus Scorning with Whip to be driven And snarl'd by a Dog, took passage for Heaven There summon'd the Dog to Answer his Crime And left the poor Poet to bewale them in Rhyme Bereaft of yr. Horse & full as dear Dog (For we know without him the Horse would not Jog) You mourn without bounds & Rave without Measure And to honour yr. Freinds expose all yr. Treasure Indite his best Freind Who to honour his Name Has hung up his Corpse in the Banner of Fame. Urg'd on to Revenge with a freind helping Fury Commission yrself Judge, Lawyer & Jury Then easily foreseeing the Case to be lost You summon the Defendant to Appear & bring Cost For where such Justice and Truth do always preside We may depend they'll take care to favr. their Side. 283 I can but Observe that admidst all yr. Threats It greives you to see me with Sorrow besett Then as Naturall is, you expostulate why The Effects of such Sins I attempted to try? Why I murthred Verse, since it never hurt me And not let some Others its Officer be? But sure you've forgot what's said of the Heathen, That when their Great ones dye, for a very good reason They drag on their Servants, some offspring to attend them Because when theyre dead they cannot defend 'em. Thus Watch being gone, & yr. Verse wanting Aid I thought they might well in the same Grave be laid So I kill'd it & sent it to him to take care on't Since there was nobody here it could Call a Parent. But to end the dispute & to set matters right It was not for Fame I attempted to write Had that been the Case I had grac'd it with Latin Not minding the sence if it would but come Pat in And am quite of yr. Mind how vain it had been To pull down yr. Fame my Own to begin To Imagine my Glory would ever accrue From a Foundation that never brought Honor to you. Yr. mistaken my Freind wn. you tax me wth. spight Or say Virtue & Worth my Spleen doth excite Twas Error & Foible those villains & Rogues At wch. my Spleen pointed, cause so much in Vouge I neer Rob my Neighbours to fatten my Self Nor rekon my pleasure on ill gotten Pelf I admire to praise Merit where ever tis cast But neer think it true if it wont bear a Blast Its good to praise Merit without its alloy But ill placing the same will its spirit destroy To praise a Freind's fault does but Injure his Cause Besides the Affront to Virtues Strict Laws To Encourage a Freind is the Duty of All But to Lampoon his Faults may save him a fall Thus I think tho' with Boldness I venterd to do it 284 Thank Freindship for help I've fairly got thro it I thank you for putting my Neck in the Collar And I assure you lye Joy in these Evils these follow.

* recd. on Fast day morning before breakfast

Dft ; at head of text: "Answer to S:Q: of June 27. 1755."

1.

Struggle (OED).

Boston July the 7th. A.D. 1755 Sr.,

Pursuant to your Request I1 went to Taylor Allen2 when Capt. Levi was Down & Questioned him as to your Jacket &c. upon which he Told me they were almost finished that they would be done that Day & that they might be sent up by Capt. Levi but going out of Town unexpectedly faild. I went this morning to see him not Doubting but by this time Matters were Compleated but to my Astonishment & Surprize he Said they were all done but finishing (& when that Will be you are best able to Determine) Knowing where his Talent Lays & in what his Chief Happiness Consists. Let Willard3 know that Mr. Prat4 Asked why he Went of without Seeing him & that I made an Apology for him in the manner that he Desired & Likewise that if he had Seen him he would have Given him an Epistle Recommendatory to the Judges & Inform him also that Samull. Quincy has taken into the Study of the Law & talks of Living with Prat soon. I have nothing further to add but that your Norton Girll Nancie5 Sticks by the Stuff at your Service. I Remain Your Very Hmble. Servt.,

JOSEPH CUSHING

P:S. If Willard has Done with his common Place Book I Should be Glad he would Let me have it a while.

RC ; addressed: "To Mr: Robert Treat Paine In Lancaster These"; endorsed.

1.

Joseph Cushing (1732–1791), of Hanover, a lawyer who held many town and state offices including that of judge of probate for Plymouth County. He roomed with RTP at Mrs. Eliot's before Paine left on the Crown Point Expedition (Sibley's Harvard Graduates, 13:218–220).

2.

James Allen (d. 1762), RTP's tailor in Boston

3.

Abel Willard.

4.

Benjamin Prat (1710/1–1763), a 1737 Harvard graduate, a prominent lawyer in Boston and later285chief justice of the province of New York. RTP and Abel Willard studied law under him (Sibley's Harvard Graduates 10:226–239).

5.

Anna White (1741–1768), daughter of Col. Samuel White of Taunton, in whom RTP was interested. She later married Daniel Leonard (1740–1829), a friend of RTP (Sibley's Harvard Graduates, 14:641).