Yahoo, and discarded him your fervice. I fear you do not understand these modish terms, which every creature now understands but your

felf.

You tell us your Wine is bad, and that the Clergy do not frequent your house, which we look upon to be tautology. The best advice we can give you is, to make them a present of Your wine, and come away to better.

You fancy we envy you, but you are miftaken; we envy thofe you are with, for we cannot envy the man we love. Adieu.

LETTER XIX.

Nov. 16, 1726.

I

Have refolved to take time; and in spite of

all misfortunes and demurs, which fickness, lameness, or disability of any kind can throw in my way, to write you (at intervals) a long letter. My two leaft fingers of one hand hang impediments to the others b, like useless depend

b This was occafioned by immediate danger of drowna bad accident as he was re-ing, when the poftillion, who turning home in a friend's had juft recovered himself, Chariot; which in paffing a beat the glafs which lay upbridge was overturned, and permost to pieces: a fragthrown with the horfes into ment of which cut one of the River. The glaffes be- Mr. Pope's hands very daning up, and Mr. Pope una- gerously. ble to break them, he was in

ents,

ents, who only take up room, and never áre active or affiftant to our wants: I fhall never be much the better for 'em-I congratulate you firft upon what you call your Coufin's wonderful Book, which is publica trita manu at present, and I prophecy will be hereafter the admiration of all men. That countenance with which it is received by some statesmen, is delightful; I wish I could tell you how every single man looks upon it, to obferve which has been my whole diverfion this fortnight. I've never been a night in London fince you left me, till now for this very end, and indeed it has fully answered my expectations.

I find no confiderable man very angry at the book: fome indeed think it rather too bold, and too general a Satire: but none, that I hear of, accuse it of particular reflections (I mean no perfons of confequence, or good judgment; the mob of Critics, you know, always are defirous to apply Satire to those they envy for being above them) fo that needed not to have been fo fecret upon this head. Motte receiv'd the copy (he tells me) he knew not from whence, nor from whom, dropp'd at his houfe in the dark, from a Hackney-coach: by computing the time, I found it was after you left England, fo, for my part, I fufpend my judgment.

you

I am pleas'd with the nature and quality of your Prefent to the Princefs. you fent to Mrs. H. her R. H.

The Irish ftuff laid hold of, and

has made up for her own ufe. Are you determin'd to be National in every thing, even in your civilities? you are the greatest Politician in Europe at this rate; but as you are a rational Politician, there's no great fear of you, you will never fucceed.

Another thing, in which you have pleased me, was what you fay to Mr. P. by which it feems to me that you value no man's civility above your own dignity, or your own reason. Surely, without flattery, you are now above all parties of men, and it is high time to be fo, after twenty or thirty years obfervation of the great world.

Nullius addictus jurare in verba magiftri.

I question not, many men would be of your intimacy, that you might be of their interest: But God forbid an honeft or witty man should be of any, but that of his country. They have fcoundrels enough to write for their paffions and their defigns; let us write for truth for honour, and for pofterity. If you must needs write about Politics at all (but perhaps 'tis full as wife to play the fool any other way) furely it ought to be fo as to preferve the dignity and integrity

VOL. IX.

G

integrity of your character with those times to come, which will most impartially judge of

you.

I wish

you

had writ to Lord Peterborow, no man is more affectionate toward you. Don't fancy none but Tories are your friends; for at that rate I must be, at most, but half your friend, and fincerely I am wholly fo. Adieu, write often, and come foon, for many wish you you well, and all would be glad of your company.

I

LETTER XX.

From Dr. SwIFT.

Dublin, Nov. 17, 1726,

Am just come from answering a Letter of Mrs. H---'s writ in fuch myftical terms, that I fhould never have found out the meaning, if a Book had not been fent me called Gulliver's Travels, of which you fay fo much. I read the Book over, and in the fecond volume obferve feveral paffages, which

in yours.

appear to be patch'd and altered a, and the style of a different fort (unless I am much mis

This was the fact, which | in the Dublin Edition of the

is complained of and redreffed Dean's works.

taken)

taken) Dr. Arbuthnot likes the Projectors least b; others, you tell me, the Flying ifland; fome think it wrong to be fo hard upon whole Bodies or Corporations, yet the general opinion is, that reflections on particular perfons are most to be blam'd: fo that in these cafes, I think the best method is to let cenfure and opinion take their course. A Bishop here faid, that book was full of improbable lies, and for his part, he hardly believed a word of it; and fo much for Gulliver.

Going to England is a very good thing, if it were not attended with an ugly circumstance of returning to Ireland. It is a fhame you do not perfuade your Ministers to keep me on that fide, if it were but by a court expedient of keeping me in prison for a Plotter ; but at the fame time I must tell you, that fuch journeys very much shorten my life, for a month here is longer than fix at Twickenham.

How comes friend Gay to be fo tedious? another man can publish fifty-thousand Lies fooner than he can fifty Fables.

I am just going to perform a very good office, it is to affift with the Archbishop, in degrading a Parson who couples all our beggars, by which I fhall make one happy man : and deb Because he understood it to be intended as a fatire on the Royal Society.

G 2

cide