let Sacheverell know this, that he may take his measures accordingly; but he shall be none of my acquaintance." A letter from the doctor to Swift, dated Jan. 31, 1711-12, begins thus: "Since you have been pleased to undertake the generous office of soliciting my good lord treasurer's favour in my behalf, I should be very ungrateful, if I did not return you my most hearty thanks for it, and my humblest acknowledgments to his lordship for the success it has met with." And in the conclusion, he says, "But for yourself, good doctor, who were the first spring to move it, I can never sufficiently acknowledge the obligation." Afterward, in the year 1713, soon after the three years silence imposed upon the doctor by the house of lords, in consequence of his impeachment, had expired; Swift procured for him the rectory of St. Andrew's Holborn, in the following whimsical manner. Upon that living's becoming vacant, he applied for it in behalf of Sacheverell, to lord Bolingbroke; who seemed not at all disposed in his favour, calling him "a busy, meddling, factious fellow, one who had set the kingdom in a flame." To which Swift replied, It is all true, my lord; but let me tell you a story. In a sea-fight, in the reign of Charles II, there was a very bloody engagement between the English and Dutch fleets; in the heat of which, a Scotch seaman was very severely bit by a louse on his neck, which he caught, and stooping down to crack it, just as he had put himself in that posture, a chain-shot came and took off the heads of several sailors that were about him; on which he had compassion on the poor louse, returned him to his place, and bid him live there at discretion; for, said he, as thou hast been the means of saving my life, it is but just I should save yours." Lord Bolingbroke laughed heartily, and said, "Wellthen, the louse shall have the living for your story." And accordingly he was soon after presented to it. In all solicitations of this nature, conscious of the

goodness of his motives, which were either those of merit, compassion, or justice, he was bold in his recommendations, and made them rather as demands, than requests. Of this we have an instance in the following passage of his Journal, Jan. 1711-12. "This morning I presented my printer and bookseller to lord Rivers, tó be stationer to the ordnance. I believe it will be worth three hundred pounds a year to them. This is the third employment I have got for them. Rivers told them the doctor commanded him, and he durst not refuse." And in the next page, he says, "I was this morning again with lord Rivers, and have made him give the other employment * to my printer and bookseller; 'tis worth a great deal." His bookseller was Tooke, and his printer, Barber, afterward lord mayor of London. As they were both very honest men, and ran great risks in publishing some of his bolder pieces, for which Barber was also taken into custody, he thought he could not reward their services and fidelity too highly; and we find, upon the whole, he procured employments for them, to the amount of nearly two thousand pounds a year. This was the foundation of Barber's fortune, which he always acknowledged, with the highest gratitude †, and to the last made every return in his power to his great patron ‡. The expression of lord Rivers, "that the doctor commanded him, and he durst not refuse," was literally true; not only with regard to him, but to all the ministry, who seemed to look up to him as to one of a superiour class of mortals; both on account of his amazing talents, and that noble quality of perfect disinterestedness, perhaps not to be paralleled in his

*This other employment was a reversion of the patent of queen's printer after the expiration of the then grant to Mr. Baskett, to commence in January 1739. ` N.

See under the Epistolary Correspondence, July 22, 1732. N.

By his last will, he gave the Dean a legacy of 2001. N.

time, and rarely to be found in the annals of history, This gave such a dignity to his character, and such a weight to his recommendations, that it does not appear he ever failed in any. And indeed it would have been strange, that the men in power should have refused any request of that sort, which tended highly to their own honour, by promoting men of talents and worth, to a man who was daily employed in doing them the most important services, without once hinting at any return for them to himself. In this state did this extraordinary man continue for near three years without the smallest reward, or the least addition to his fortune, which consisted only of a living of about two hundred and fifty pounds a year, and not quite five hundred pounds in cash; at the same time that he was in such a degree of power, that he was making the fortune of multitudes. Thus did he verify his early declaration to the archbishop of Dublin, before quoted. Nothing astonished the people of those times more, than that so distinguished a man, and apparently in such high favour, should have remained, for such a length of time, without any promotion: and that he should at last be rewarded only with a paltry deanery, in another kingdom, to which he went with the utmost reluctance, and which was looked upon by himself, as well as by the world, only as a species of banishment, has ever since been considered in so extraordinary a light, that various have been the conjectures of the world to account for it. Some, who knew Swift's real merits toward the ministry have not been backward in charging them with the basest ingratitude on the occasion. Others, not so well acquainted with the history of those times, thought it was impossible Swift could have 1een a man of such importance as he was reprecuted, otherwise he must certainly have made his vay to the highest station in the church; and condering him only as a writer of some political papers

and pamphlets, were not surprised that his reward should be no greater. But, since the publication of the private memoirs of those times, in Swift's last volumes there is no farther room for conjecture, as this whole affair may be set in its true light, upon undoubted proofs. I have already given many striking instances of the little solicitude Swift had about pushing his own fortune. I shall now remind the reader of the principle upon which he acted, mentioned in a passage before quoted, from a letter of his to the archbishop of Dublin, dated Oct. 1, 1711. "It is my maxim to leave great ministers to do as they please; and if I cannot distinguish myself enough, by being useful in such a way, as becomes a man of conscience and honour, I can do no more; for I never will solicit for myself, although I often do for others." This resolution we find, by many other passages, he strictly adhered to; and when we consider the procrastinating disposition of lord Oxford, we shall not be surprised at his not being in any haste to provide for a man who never solicited him. Nothing is more common than the deferring of any thing, however strongly in our intention it be to do it some time or other, which we consider as always in our power to do, unlesss we are particularly called upon to carry it into execution at some certain time: and this was more likely to be the case in one of hi turn. Besides, as he was daily gratifying Swift in his requests for others, he thought he might with reason expect that he should wait the most convenient season for his own promotion. And with regard to Swift himself, I have already assigned some very powerful motives, which made him in no haste with respect to preferment. But above all, there were many things, while he remained in that situation, which gratified his peculiar disposition and turn of mind to the height. His proud spirit was much fonder of conferring, than receiving obligations. In his Journal to Stella of March 1711-12, where he says, he can do

nothing for himself, he adds, "I don't care, I shall have ministers, and other people obliged to me." And he did not wish to receive any return for his services, till they were swelled to such a height, as to make any reward, how great so ever, fall short of their value, and so free him from any debt on the score of obligation. He had all this time an opportunity of displaying the pride of independence, and of showing that by his own talents and intrinsick worth, without any of the usual aids in life, he could raise himself to a higher degree of consequence and power, than others could do by noble birth, high station, or enormous wealth. It must have been no small gratification to him, to think that it was to this little vicar of Laracor, that the ministry were indebted for remaining in their posts; that he was their protector and preserver in those posts, in spite of their enemies, and of themselves. That by degrees he grew into such confidence with them, that there was nothing done in publick affairs without consulting him; and that the world in general considered him as the primum mobile of all their conduct, insomuch, that there were many speeches made against him by name, on that account, both in the house of lords and commons. That he should have the greatest men, foreign ambassadors, &c. soliciting the ministry, hrough him, for favours. That his acquaintance should be courted by persons of the highest rank, and obtained only by a few, not on the score of their quality, or fortune, but merit. Was there not a secret pride in receiving these, in a lodging of eight shillings a week, and walking to the doors of all the greatest men of the age, which flew open at his approach? Never sure was a greater triumph of parts and virtue, over the usual idols of the world. To the immortal honour of Swift be it recorded, that he was the first man of letters and genius that we read of, who asserted the superiority of talents over titles, of