LETTER LXXXVII.

From Dr. SWIFT.

Dublin, July 23, 1737.

Sent a letter to you some weeks ago, which my Lord Orrery inclosed in one of his, to which I receiv'd as yet no anfwer, but it will be time enough when his Lordship goes over, which will be, as he hopes, in about ten days, and then he will take with him "all the letters "I preferv'd of yours, which are not above

twenty-five. I find there is a great chasm of "fome years, but the dates are more early than my two last journeys to England, which "makes me imagine, that in one of those jour"neys I carried over another Cargo." But I cannot trust my memory half an hour; and my disorders of deafness and giddiness increases daily. So that I am declining as fast as it is eafily poffible for me, if I were a dozen years older.

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We have had your volume of letters, which, I am told, are to be printed here: Some of those who highly efteem you, and a few who know you perfonally, are grieved to find you make no diftinction between the English Gentry of this Kingdom, and the favage old Irish (who

are

are only the vulgar, and fome Gentlemen who live in the Irish parts of the Kingdom) but the English Colonies, who are three parts in four, are much more civilized than many Counties in England, and speak better English, and are much better bred. And they think it very hard, that an American who is of the fifth generation from England, fhould be allowed to preserve that title, only because we have been told by fome of them that their names are entered in fome parish in London. I have three or four Coufins here who were born in Portugal, whofe parents took the fame care, and they are all of them Londoners. Dr. Delany, who, as I take it, is of an Irish family, came to vifit me three days ago, on purpose to complain of those paffages in your Letters; he will not allow.fuch a difference between the two climates, but will affert that North-Wales, Northumberland, Yorkshire, and the other Northern Shires have a more cloudy ungenial air than any part of Ireland. In short, I am afraid your friends and admirers here will force you to make a Palinody.

As for the other parts of your volume of Letters, my opinion is that there might be col

lected from them the best System that ever was wrote. for the Conduct of human life, at least to shame all reasonable men out of their Follies

and

and Vices. It is fome recommendation of this Kingdom, and of the taste of the people, that you are at least as highly celebrated here as you are at home. If you will blame us for Slavery, Corruption, Atheism, and fuch trifles, do it freely, but include England, only with an addition of every other Vice.-I wish you would give orders against the corruption of English by those Scriblers, who fend us over their trafh in Prose and Verse, with abominable curtailings and quaint modernisms.-I am now daily expecting an end of life: I have loft all spirit, and every scrap of health: I fometimes recover a little of my hearing, but my head is ever out of order. While I have any ability to hold a commerce with you, I will never be filent, and this chancing to be a day that I can hold a pen, I will drag it as long as I am able. Pray let my Lord Orrery fee you often; next to yourself I love no man fo well; and tell him what I say, if he vifits you. I have now done, for it is evening, and my head grows worse. May God always protect you, and preserve you long, for a pattern of Piety and Virtue.

Farewel, my dearest and almost only conftant friend. I am ever, at least in my esteem, honour, and affection to you, what I hope you expect me to be,

Yours, &c.

LET

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LETTER LXXXVIII.

From Dr. SWIFT.

My dear Friend,

HAVE yours

Dublin, Aug. 8, 1738.

of July 25, and first I defire

you will look upon me as a man worn with years, and funk by public as well as perfonal vexations. I have entirely loft my memory, uncapable of converfation by a cruel deafness, which has lafted almost a year, and I defpair of any cure. I fay not this to encrease your compaffion (of which you have already too great a part) but as an excufe for my not being regular in my Letters to you, and fome few other friends. I have an ill name in the Poft-office of both Kingdoms, which makes the Letters addreffed to me not feldom miscarry, or be opened and read, and then sealed in a bungling manner before they come to my hands. Our friend Mrs. B. is very often in my thoughts, and high in my efteem; I defire, you will be the meffenger of my humble thanks and fervice to her. That fuperior univerfal Genius you describe, whofe hand-writing I know towards the end of your Letter, hath made me both proud and happy; but by what he writes I fear he will be too foon gone to his Foreft abroad. He began in the Queen's time to be my Patron, and then defcended to be my Friend.

VOL. IX.

X

It

It is a great Favour of Heaven that your health better by the addition of years. grows I have abfolutely done with poetry for several years paft, and even at my best times I could produce nothing but trifles: I therefore reject your compliments on that score, and it is no compliment in me; for I take your fecond Dialogue that you lately fent me, to equal almost any thing you ever writ; although I live fo much out of the world, that I am ignorant of the facts and perfons, which, I prefume, are very well known from Temple-bar to St. James's; (I mean the Court exclufive.) "I can faithfully affure you, that every letter have favour'd me with, these twenty you years and more, are fealed up in bundles, and delivered to Mrs. W-, a very wor"thy, rational, and judicious Cousin of mine, " and the only relation whofe vifits I can suf"fer: All these Letters fhe is directed to fend

fafely to you upon my decease."

My Lord Orrery is gone with his Lady to a part of her estate in the North: She is a perfon of very good understanding as any I know of her fex. Give me leave to write here a short answer to My Lord B's letter in the last page of yours.

My dear Lord,

I am infinitely obliged to your Lordship for the honour of your letter, and kind remem

brance