not fuffer you to be thought a Flatterer. My happiness is that you are too far engaged, and in fpite of you the ages to come will celebrate me, and know you were a friend who loved and esteemed me, although I dyed the object of Court and Party hatred.

Pray, who is that Mr. Glover, who writ the Epic Poem call'd Leonidas, which is reprinting here, and hath great vogue? We have frequently good Poems. of late from London. I have just read one upon Converfation, and two or three others. But the croud do not incumber you, who, like the Orator or Preacher, stand aloft, and are seen above the rest, more than the whole affembly below.

I am able to write no more; and this is

my third endeavour, which is too weak to finish the paper. I am, my dearest friend, yours entirely, as long as I can write, or speak, or think.

J. SWIFT.

I

LETTER LXXXVII.

From Dr. SwIFT.

Dublin, July 23, 1737.

Sent a letter to you fome weeks ago, which my

Lord Orrery inclofed in one of his, to which I receiv'd as yet no anfwer, but it will be time enough when his Lordfhip goes over, which will be, as he hopes, in about ten days, and then he will take with

him "all the letters I preferved of yours, which are

not above twenty-five. I find there is a great "chaẩm of fome years, but the dates are more ear

ly than my two last journeys to England, which "makes me imagine, that in one of those journeys "I carried over another Cargo." But I cannot truft my memory half an hour; and my diforders of deafnefs and giddinefs increase daily. So that I am declining as faft as it is eafily poffible for me, if I were a dozen years older.

We have had your volume of letters, which, I am told, are to be printed here: Some of those who highly esteem you, and a few who know you perfonally, are grieved to find you make no distinction between the English Gentry of this Kingdom, and the favage old Irish (who are only the vulgar, and fome Gentlemen who live in the Irish parts of the kingdom) but the English Colonies, who are three parts in four, are much more civilized than many Counties in England, and speak better English, and are much better bred. And they think it very hard, that an American who is of the fifth generation from England, fhould be allowed to preserve that title, only because we have been told by some of them that their names are entered in fome parish in London. I have three or four Coufins here who were born in Portugal, whofe parents took the fame care, and they are all of them Londoners. Dr. Delany, who, as I take it, is of an Irish family, came to vifit me three days ago, on purpofe to complain of thofe paf

fages in your Letters; he will not allow fuch a difference between the two climates, but will affert that North-Wales, Northumberland, Yorkshire, and the other Northern Shires have a more cloudy ungenial air than any part of Ireland. In short, am afraid your friends and admirers here will force you to make a Palinody.

As for the other parts of your volume of Letters, my opinion is, that there might be collected from them the best System that ever was wrote for the Conduct of human life, at least to fhame all reafonable men out of their Follies and Vices. It is fome recommendation of this Kingdom, and of the tafte of the people, that you are at least as highly celebrated here as you are at home. If you will blame us for Slavery, Corruption, Atheism, and fuch trifles, do it freely, but include England, only with an addition of every other Vice-I wish you would give orders against the corruption of English by those Scriblers, who fend us over their trafh in Profe and Verfe, with abominable curtailings and quaint modernisms.—I am now daily expecting an end of life: I have loft all spirit, and every fcrap of health; I fometimes recover a little of my hearing, but my head is ever out of order. While I have any ability to hold a commerce with you, I will never be filent, and this chancing to be a day that I can hold I will drag it as long as I am able. Pray let my Lord Orrery fee you often; next to yourself [ love no man fo well; and tell him what I fay, if he

a pen,

vifits you. I have now done, for it is evening, and my head grows worse. May God always protect you, and preferve you long for a pattern of Piety and Virtue.

Farewel, my dearest and almost only constant friend. I am ever, at leaft in my esteem, honour and affection to you, what I hope you expect me to be,

Yours, &c.

LETTER LXXXVIII.

From Dr. SwIFT.

My dear Friend,

Dublin, Aug. 8, 1738. Have yours of July 25, and firft I defire you will look upon me as a man worn with years, and funk by public as well as perfonal vexations. I have entirely loft my memory, uncapable of converfation by a cruel deafness, which has lafted almost a year, and I defpair of any cure. I fay not this to increase your compaffion (of which you have already too great a part) but as an excufe for my not being regular in my Letters to you, and fome few other friends. I have an ill name in the Poft-office of both Kingdoms, which makes the Letters addressed to me not feldom mifcarry, or be opened and read, and then fealed in a bungling manner before they come to my hands. Our Friend Mrs. B. is very often in my thoughts, and high in my efteem; I defire, you

will be the messenger of my humble thanks and fervice to her. That fuperior univerfal Genius you describe, whofe hand-writing I know towards the end of your Letter, hath made me both proud and happy; but by what he writes I fear he will be too foon gone to his forest abroad. He began in the Queen's time to be my Patron, and then defcended to be my Friend.

It is a great favour of Heaven, that your health grows better by the addition of years. I have absolutely done with Poetry for several years past, and even at my best times I could produce nothing but trifles: I therefore reject your compliments on that fcore, and it is no compliment in me; for I take your fecond Dialogue that you lately fent me, to equal almost any thing you ever writ; although I live fo much out of the world, that I am ignorant of the facts and perfons, which, I prefume, are very well known from Temple-bar to St. James's: (I mean the Court exclufive.)

"I can faithfully affure you, that every letter you "have favour'd me with, these twenty years and "s more, are fealed up in bundles, and delivered to "Mrs. W-, a very worthy, rational, and judicious "Coufin of mine, and the only relation whofe vifits "I can fuffer: All these Letters fhe is directed to

"fend fafely to you upon my decease."

My Lord Orrery is gone with his Lady to a part of her estate in the North: She is a perfon of very good understanding as any I know of her fex. Give