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 yourself, 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 fixed the precise time of your coming to be cum birundine prima; which we modern naturalifts pronounce ought to be reckoned, contrary to Pliny, in this northern latitude of fifty-two degrees, from the end of February, ftyl. Greg. at fartheft. But to us your friends, the coming of fuch a black fwallow as you, will make a fummer in the worst of feafons. We are no lefs glad at your mention of Twic kenhamn and Dawley; and in town you know you have a lodging at court.

The princess is clothed in Irish filk; pray give our fervice to the weavers. We are ftrangely surprised to hear that the belis in Ireland ring without your money. I hope you do not write the thing that is not. We are

afraid that B― hath been guilty of that crime, that you (like Honynhum) have treated him as a Yahoo, and difcarded him your fervice. I fear you do not under. ftand these modifh terms, which every creature now understands but yourself,

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 prefent of your wine, and come away to

better.

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

LETTER

XX.

Nov. 16. 1726.

I

Have refolved to take time; and, in fpite of all mif fortunes and demurs, which sickness, lameness, or difability of any kind can throw in my way, to write you (at intervals) a long letter. My two leaft fingers of

one

one hand hang impediments to the others, like useless dependents, who only take up room, and never are ac tive or affiftant to our wants. Ifhall never be much the better for them.-I congratulate you firft upon what you call your coufin's wonderful book, which is publica trita manu at prefent, and I prophefy will be hereafter the admiration of all men. That countenance with which it is received by fome statesman, 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. Some indeed think it rather too bold, and too general a fatire: 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 fatire to those 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 houfe in the dark, from a hackneycoach. By computing the time, I found it was after you left England: fo, for my part, I fufpend my judg

ment.

I am pleased with the nature and quality of your pre. fent to the Princefs. The Irish ftuff you sent to Mrs. H. her R. H. laid hold of, and has made up for her own ufe. Are you determined to be national in every thing, even in your civilities? You are the greateft politician in Europe at this rate; but as you are a rational politician, there is no great fear of you, you will never fucceed.

Another thing in which you have pleased me, was

*This was occafioned by a bad accident as he was returning home in a friend's chariot; which in paffing a bridge was overturned, and thrown with the horfes into the river. The glaffes being up, and Mr Pope unable to break them, he was in immediate danger of drowning; when the poftilion, who had just recovered himself, beat the glass which lay uppermost to picces; a fragment of which cut one of Mr Pope's hands very dangerously. Warb,

what

what you say 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&us jurare in verba magiflri.

I question not, many men would be of your intimacy, that you might be of their intereft: but God forbid any honeft or witty man fhould 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 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 moft, but half your friend, and fincerely I am wholly fo. Adieu, write often, and come foon; for many wifh you well, and all would be glad of your company.

I

Dublin, Nov. 17. 1726. Am just come from answering a letter of Mrs H-'s, writ in fuch mystical terms, that I should never have found out the meaning, if a book had not been fent me, called Gulliver's Travels, of which you say so much in your's. I read the book over; and in the fecond volume obferve feveral paffages which appear to be patched and altered *, and the style of a different

* This was the fact, which is complained of and redressed in the Dublin edition of the Dean's works. Warb-See preface to this edition. VOL. VIII.

F

fort,

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 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 minifters to keep me on that fide, if it were but by a courtexpedient of keeping me in prifon 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 parfon who couples all our beggars; by which I fhall make one happy man; and decide the great question of an indelible character in favour of the principles in fashion. This I hope you will represent to the miniftry in my favour, as a point of merit; fo farewel till I return.

I am come back, and have deprived the parfon, who by a law here is to be hanged the next couple he marries. He declared to us, that he refolved to be hanged; only defired, that when he was to go to the gallows, the Archbishop would take off his excommunication. Is not he a good Catholic? and yet he is but a Scotchman. This is the only Irish event I ever troubled you with, and I think it deferves notice.- -Let me add, that if I were Gulliver's friend, I would defire all my acquaintance to give out, that his copy was bafely mangled, and abused, and added to, and blotted out

* Because he understood it to be intended as a fatire on the Royal Society. Warb.

by

by the printer; for so to me it seems, in the second vo lume particularly. Adieu.

LETTER

From Dr Swift.

XXII.

Dec. 5. 1726.

I Believe

it does yourself; and with reafon, because I may probably be a greater lofer by it. What have accidents to do with those who are neither jockeys, nor fox-hunters, nor bullies, nor drunkards? And yet a rafcally groom fhall gallop a foundered horfe ten miles upon a caufey, and get home safe.

I am very much pleased that you approve what was fent; because I remember to have heard a great man fay, that nothing required more judgment than making a prefent; which when it is done to thofe of high rank, ought to be of fomething that is not readily got for money. You oblige me, and at the fame time do me justice, in what you obferve as to Mr P. Besides, it is too late in life for me to act otherwife; and therefore I follow a very easy road to virtue, and purchase it cheap. If you will give me leave to join us, is not your life and mine a state of power, and dependence a state of slavery? We care not three pence whether a prince or minifter will fee us or no: we are not afraid of having ill offices done us, nor are at the trouble of guarding our words for fear of giving offence. I do agree, that riches are liberty; but then we are to put into the balance, how long our apprenticeship is to last in acquiring them.

Since you have received the verses, I most earnestly intreat you to burn those which you do not approve, and in those few where you may not diflike fome parts, blot out the reft, and fometimes (though it be against the laziness of your nature) be so kind to make a few corrections, if the matter will bear them. I have some few of thofe things I call thoughts moral and diverting ; if you please I will fend the best I can pick from them,