blin, when he came to me with this meffage from you; but I could not prevail with him to write to you about it. I have always looked upon you as an honeft gentleman, of great charity and piety in your way; and I hope you will remember at the fame time, that it becomes you to be a legal man, and that you will not promote or encourage, much lefs give a beginning to, a thing directly contrary to the law. You know the Diffenters in Ireland are fuffered to have their conventicles only by connivance, and that only in places where they formerly used to meet. Whereas this conventicle of your's, is a new thing, in a new place, entirely of your own erection, and perverted to this ill ufe from the defign you outwardly feemed to have intended it for. It has been the weaknefs of the Diffenters, to be too fanguine and affuming upon events in the ftate, which appeared to give them the least encouragement; and this, in other turns of affairs, hath proved very much to their difadvantage. The most moderate churchmen may be apt to refent, when they see a fect, without toleration by law, infulting the established religion. Whenever the Legiflature fhall think fit to give them leave to build new conventicles, all good churchmen will fubmit; but till then, we can hardly fee it without betraying our church. I hope, therefore, you will not think it hard, if I take thofe methods, which my duty obliges me, to prevent this growing evil, as far as it lyes in my power, unlefs

O 3

unless you fhall think fit, from your own prudence, or the advice of fome understanding fiends, to fhut up the doors of that conventicle for the future. I am, with true friendship and citcem, Sir, your most obedient humble fervant,.

LETTER

CCXLVII.

B..

I

ERASMUS LEWIS, ESQ; TO DR SWIFT.

SIR,

Nov. 4, 1714.

HAVE one letter from you to acknowledge, which I will do very foon.

In the mean

time, I fend this, to acquaint you, that if you have not already hid your papers in fome private place, in the hands of a trusty friend, I fear they will fall into the hands of our enemies. Sure, you have already taken care in this matter, by what the public prints told you of the proceedings of the great men towards the Earl of Strafford and Mr Prior. However, for greater caution, this is fent you by-I am, &c.

LET

favant et de condition de ce pais cy; qui pretend de faire le tour d'Italie; et qui etant chanoine en mon doyenné et profeffeur de college icy, vent en voyageant parmi les catholique s' opiniatrer le plus dans fon herefie. Et apres tout, Monfieur, il n'eft que jufte, que puifque vous avez derobé notre franchife Angloife pour l'ajouter à vôtre politeffe Italienne, que quelques uns de nous autres tramontanes devoient en voyageant chez vous a faire de reprisailles. Vous me fouffriez auffi de vous prier de prefenter mes tres humble devoirs à fon alteffe royale le Grand Duc.

Pour mon particulier, Monfieur, je prens la liberté de vous dire, que deux mois devant la mort de la reine, voyant, qu'il etoit tout a fait impoffible de r' accommoder mes amis du miniftere, je me retiré a la campagne en Berkshire, d'ou apres ce trifte evenement je venois en Irclande, ou je demurerai en mon doyenné, et attens avec la refignation d'un bon Chrêtien la ruine de nôtre caufe et de mes amis, managée

tous

Monfieur Giraldi was fecretary to the Duke of Tuscany..

tous les jours par la faction dominante. Car ces Meffieurs fon tout a fait refolu de trancher une demi-douzaine des tetes des milleurs d'Angleterre, et que vous avez fort bien connûs et eftimes. Diu fait quel en fera Pevenement. Pour moy j'ai quitte pour jamais la politique, et avec la permiffion des bon gens, qui font maintenant en vogue, je demeureray la refte de ma vie en mon hermitage pour fonger à mon falut.

Adieu, Monfieur, et me faites la justice de croire, que je fuis avec beaucoup de respect, Monfieurs, votre, &c.

LETTER

CCXLIX.

FROM DR SWIFT TO MR POPE.

Dublin, June 28, 1715.

Y Lord Bishop of Clogher * gave me

M your kind letter, full of reproaches for

my not writing. I am naturally no very exact correfpondent; and when I leave a country without probability of returning, I think as feldom as I can of what I loved or efteemed in it, to àvoid the defiderium which of all things makes life moft uneafy. But you must give me leave to add one thing; that you talk at your ease, being

* Dr St George Alhe, formerly a Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, (to whom the Dean was a pupil), afterwards Bishop of Clogher, and tranflated to the fee of Derry in 1716-17..

being wholly unconcerned in public events: For if your friends the Whigs continue, you may hope for fome favour; if the Tories return, you are at leaft fure of quiet. You know how well I loved both Lord Oxford and Bolingbroke, and how dear the Duke of Ormond is to me. Do you imagine I can be eafy, while their enemies are endeavouring to take off their heads? I nunc, et verfus tecum meditare canoros.— -Do you imagine I can be eafy, when I think of the probable confequences of thefe proceedings, perhaps upon the very peace of the nation, but certainly of the minds of fo many hundred thoufand good fubjects? Upon the whole, you may truly attribute my filence to the eclipfe, but it was that eclipfe which happened on the first of August.

tell

I borrowed your Homer from the bishop, (mine is not yet landed), and read it out in two evenings. If it pleafeth others as well as me, you have got your end in profit and reputation.Yet I am angry at fome bad ryhmes and triplets; and pray, in your next, do not let me have fo many unjustifiable ryhmes to war and geds. I you all the faults I know; only in one or two places, you are a little obfcure; but I expected you to be fo in one or two-and-twenty. I have heard no foul talk of it here, for indeed it is not come over; nor do we very much abound in judges, at least I have not the honour to be acquainted with them. Your notes are perfectly good, and fo are your preface and effay.

You