.Pray God continue and increase Mr. Congreve's amendment, though he does not deferve it like you, having been too lavish of that health which Nature gave him. I hope my Whitehall-landlord is nearer to a place than when I left him; as the Preacher faid, "the day of judgment was nearer, than ever it "had been before." Pray God send you health, det falutem, det opes; animam aquam tibi ipfe parabis. You fee Horace wifhed for money, as well as health; and I would hold a crown he kept a coach; and I fhall never be a friend to the Court, till you do so too. Yours, &e. LETTER XXV. From Dr. SWIFT. October 30, 1727. THE HE firft letter I writ after my landing was to Mr. Gay but it would have been wifer to direct it to Tonfon or Lintot, to whom I be lieve his lodgings are better known than to the runners of the Poft-office. In that Letter you will find what a quick change I made in feven days from London to the Deanery, thro' many nations and languages unknown to the civilized world. And I have often reflected in how few hours, with a fwift horfe or a strong gale, a man, may come a mong a people as unknown to him as the Antipodes If I did not know you more by your converfation and kindnefs than by your letter, I might be bafe enough to fufpect, that in point of friendhip you acted like fome Philofophers who writ F2 much f much better upon Virtue than they practifed it. In anfwer, I can only fwear that you have taught me to dream, which I had not done in twelve years further than by inexpreffible nonsense; but now I can every night diftinctly fee Twickenham, and the Grotto, and Dawley, and many other et cetera's, and it is but three nights fince I beat Mrs. Pope. I must needs confess, that the pleasure I take in thinking on you is very much leffened by the pain I am in about your health: You pay dearly for the great talents God hath given you; and for the confequences of them in the efteem and diftinction you receive from mankind, unless you can provide a tolerable ftock of health; in which purfuit I cannot much commend your conduct, but rather entreat you would mend it by following the advice of my Lord Bolingbroke and your other Phyficians. When you talk'd of Cups and Impreffions, it came into my head to imitate you in quoting Scripture, not to your advantage; I mean what was faid to David by one of his brothers: "I knew thy pride and the naughtiness of thy "heart" I remember when it grieved your foul to fee me pay a penny more than my club at an inn, when you had maintained me three months at bed and board; for which if I had dealt with you in the Smithfield way it would have coft me a hundred pounds, for I live worfe here upon more. Did you ever confider that I am for life almoft. twice as rich as you, and pay no rent, and drink French wine twice as cheap as you do Port, and have neither Coach, Chair, nor mother? As to the world, I think you ought to say to it with St. Paul, If we have fown unto you Spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things? This is more proper ftill, if you confider the French word-fpiritual, in which fenfe the world ought to pay you better than they do. If you made me a present prefent of a thoufand pound, I would not allow myself to be in your debt; and if I made you a prefent of two, I would not allow myfelf to be out of it. But I have not half your pride: witness what Mr. Gay fays in his letter, that I was cenfured for begging Prefents, tho' I limited them to ten fhillings. I fee no reason, (at least my friendship and vanity fee none) why you should not give me a vifit, when you fhall happen to be difengaged: I will send a person to Chester to take care of you, and you fhall be used by the best folks we have here, as well as civility and good-nature can contrive; I believe local motion will be no ill phyfit, and I will have your coming infcribed on mý Tomb, and recorded in never-dying verse. I thank Mrs. Pope for her prayers, but I know the mystery. A perfon of my acquaintance, who ufed to correfpond with the laft Great Duke of Tuscany, fhewing one of the Duke's letters to a friend, and profeffing great fense of his Highness's friendship, read this paffage out of the letters, I would give one of my fingers to procure your real good. The perfon to whom this was read, and who knew the Duke well, faid, the meaning of real good was only that the other might turn a good Catholic. Pray afk Mrs. Pope whether this story is applicable to her and me? I pray God bless her, for I am fure he is a good Chriftian, and (which is almost as rare) a good Woman. Adieu. TH LETTER XXVI. Mr. GAY to Dr. Sw.IFT. Oct. 22, 1727, HE Queen's family is at laft fettled, and in the lift I was appointed Gentleman-ufher to the Princess Louifa, the youngest Princefs; which, upon account that I am fo far advanced in life, I have declin'd accepting; and have endeavour'd, in the best manner I could, to make my excufes by a letter to her Majefty. So now all my expectations are vanish'd; and I have no profpect, but in depending wholly upon myself, and my own conduct. As I am us'd to disappointments, I can bear them; but as I can have no more hopes, I can no more be difappointed, fo that I am in a bleffed condition.--You remember you were advifing me to go into Newgate to finish my scenes the more correctly-I now think I fhall, for I have no attendance to hinder me; but my Opera is already finish'd. I leave the reft of this paper to Mr. Pope. Gay is a Free-man, and I writ him a long Congratulatory Letter upon it. Do you the fame: It will mend him, and make him a better man than a Court could do. Horace might keep his coach in Auguftus's time, if he pleas'd; but I won't in the time of our Auguftus. My Poem (which it grieves me that I dare not fend you a copy of, for fear of the Curl's and Dennis's of Ireland, and ftill more for fear of the worst of Traytors, our Friends and Admirers) my Poem, I fay, will fhew what a diftinguishing age we lived in: Your name is in it, with fome others, under a mark of fuch ignominy. ignominy as you will not much grieve to wear in that company. Adieu, and God bless you, and give you health and spirits, Whether thou chufe Cervantes' ferious air, These two verfes are over and above what I've faid in the Poem. Adieu. of you LETTER XXVII. Dr. SWIFT to Mr. GAY. Dublin, Nov. 23, 1727. Entirely approve your refufal of that employ ment, and your writing to the Queen. I am perfectly confident you have a keen enemy in the Ministry. God forgive him, but not till he puts himself in a state to be forgiven. Upon reafoning with myself, I should hope they are gone too far to difcard you quite, and that they will give you fomething; which, although much less than they ought, will be (as far as it is worth) better circumftantiated: And fince you already juft live, a middling help will make you just tolerable. Your latenefs in life (as you fo foon call it) might be improper to begin the world with, but almoft the eldeft men may hope to fee changes in a Court. A Minifter is always feventy: You are thirty years younger; and confider, Cromwell himself did not I beg begin to appear till he was older than you. you will be thrifty, and learn to value a fhilling, which Dr. Birch faid was a serious thing. Get a Atronger fence about your 1000 L. and throw the inner |