 The initial states of the print kept the quotation but replaced the genuine bill with a representation (which appears to have been entirely invented by Hogarth rather than copied from a real bill) of Pope clashing with Edmund Curll over the unauthorised publication of the poet's correspondence.Although Hogarth and Pope had never met, this literary inspiration led to speculation as to the identity of Hogarth's poet as one of the targets of Pope's satire.Ned Ward, the author of "The London Spy" was a strong contender, as was Lewis Theobald, to whom the lines quoted from Pope in Hogarth's original print referred.