flying island is the leaft entertaining; and fo great on opinion the town have of the impoffi'bility of Gulliver's writing at all below himself, that 'tis agreed that Part was not writ by the fame Hand, tho' this hath its defenders too. It hath pafs'd Lords and Commons nemine contradicente; and, the whole town, men, women and children are quite full of it.

Perhaps I may all this time be talking to you of a Book you have never feen, and which hath not yet reach'd Ireland; if it hath not, I believe what we have faid will be fufficient to recommend it to your reading, and that you will order me to fend it to you.

But it will be much better to come over your felf, and read it here, where you will have the pleasure of variety of commentators, to explain the difficult paffages to you.

We all rejoice that you have fixt the precife time of your coming to be* cum hirundine prima; which we modern naturalifts pronounce, ought to be reckon'd, contrary to Pliny, in this northern latitude of fifty two degrees, from the end of February, Styl. Greg. at fartheft, But to us your friends, the coming of fuch a black fwallow as you will make a Summer in the worst of Seafons, We are no lefs glad at your mention of Twickenham and Dawley; and in town you know you have a lodging at Court.

The

* With the first returning Swallow, i, e, in the beginning of Spring.

The Princess is cloath'd in Irish Silk; pray give our service to the Weavers. We are ftrangely furprized to hear that the bells in Ireland ring without your money; I hope you do not write the thing that is not. We are afraid that Bhath been guilty of that crime, that you (like a Houyhnhnm) have treated him as a Yahoo, and discarded him your fervice. I fear you do not understand these modifh 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 beft 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 mistaken, we envy those you are with, for we canthe man we love, Adieu,

not envy

I

LETTER XVIII.

Mr. POPE to Dr. SWIFT.

Nov. 16, 1726.

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 to you (at intervals) a long letter. My two least fingers of one hand hang impediments to the others, like useless dependF 4

ants,

ants, who only take up room, and never are active. or affiftant to our wants: I fhall never be much the better for 'em-I congratulate you firft upon what you call your Cozen's wonderful Book, which is * publica trita manu at prefent, and I prophefy will be in future the admiration of all men. That countenance with which it is received by fome statesmen, is delightful; I wish I could tell you how every fingle man looks upon it, to observe 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 Criticks, you know, always are defirous to apply Satire to thofe that they envy for being above them) fo that you needed not to have been fo fecret upon this head. Motte received the copy (he tells me) he knew not from whence, nor from whom, dropped at his house in the dark, from a Hackney-coach: by computing the time, I found it was after you left England, fo for my part I suspend my judgment.

I'm pleafed with the nature and quality of your prefent to the Princefs. The Irish ftuff

you

*Worn or thumbed by the Hand of the Publick,

you fent to Mrs. * H. her Royal Highness laid hold of, and has made up for her own use. Are you determined 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 seems to me that you value no man's civility above your own dignity, or your own reafon. 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 addi&tus jurare in verba magiftri.

I question not, many men would be of your intimacy, that you might be of their intereft: But God forbid an honeft or witty man should be of any, but that of his country. They have scoundrels 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 Politicks 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 of your character with those times to come, which will most impartially judge of you,

I

* Mrs. Howard, afterwards Countess of Suffolk. Sworn to no Party, to no Caufe attatcht.

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

I

LETTER XIX.

Dr. SWIFT to Mr. POPE.

Dublin, Nov. 17, 1726. AM just come from, answering a Letter of Mrs. Howard's, written in fuch mystical 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 in yours. I read the Book over, and in the fecond volume obferve feveral Paffages, which appear to be patched and altered, and the ftyle of a different fort (unless I am much mistaken). Dr. Arbuthnot likes the Projectors leaft, 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 moft to be blamed: fo that in these cases I think the best method is to let cenfure and opinion take their course. A Bishop here faid, that Book was full

of