virtue over wealth, in the face of the great and the rich; and not content with vain speculations, and idly declaiming on the subject, as all others had done, boldly demanded and received the homage due to such superiority both for himself and others. This he could never have done, had he not convinced the great that however they might stand in need of his assistance, he wanted not theirs. That he could be perfectly content with his present fortune, small as it was, and return to his willows at a day's notice, on any ill treatment, without the least reluctance. That they could have no hold on him either on the score of avarice, or ambition. As to the former, the noble resentment which he showed to the first attempt of lord Oxford, to lay him under a pecuniary obligation; the indignation which he expressed on two or three occasions, on bribes being offered to him for his interest; and, above all, his scorning to make any advantage of his works*, so contrary to the established practice of all other authors, showed that he was unassailable in that way. And as to ambition, his whole conduct proved that he was determined to owe his rise wholly to his own merits, and not to any solicitation or interest on his behalf. In short, from his many declarations, to others, in his letters before quoted, as well as those made to his bosom friend in his Journal, and from the whole tenour of his actions, consonant to those declarations, we may see that Swift, upon joining with the new ministry, had laid down this rule for his conduct; that he would şerve the publick interests, and the common cause, to the utmost of his powers; that he would exert all

*As an instance of this, he says, in his Journal of November 1711, "I am sorry I sent you the Examiner, for the printer is going to print them in a small volume. It seems the author is too proud to have them printed by subscription, though his friends offered, they say, to make it worth five hundred pounds to him." S.

his influence in promoting men of talents and worth; and with regard to his own fortune, leave it wholly to chance, and court gratitude; of which, however, he had so mean an opinion from former experience, that he relied little on it, and was perfectly prepared against any disappoinment. In his Journal of January 1710-11, he says, "My new friends are very kind, and I have promises enough, but I do not count upon them; and besides, my pretences are very young to them. However, we shall see what may be done, and if nothing at all, I shall not be disappointed, although perhaps poor M. D. may, and then I shall be sorrier for their sakes than my own." And in that of June following, he says, "Remember, if I am used ill and ungratefully, as I have formerly been, 'tis what I am prepared for, and shall not wonder at it." And in that of October following, he says to Stella, "I have no shuddering at all to think of retiring to my old circumstances, if you can be easy.

But while Swift was thus letting occasions slip, and the ministers deferring the reward of his services, there was a cabal forming at court, which put a stop to his promotion for a while, and had nearly prevented a possibility of it during that reign. It is to be observed, that however high he was in favour with the ministry, it does not appear that he ever stood well with the queen, or that she once gave him the least mark of her countenance or favour. Swift had mentioned to Stella, early in his Journal, that Mr. Harley had said, he would present him to the queen; but in his subsequent one of January 1710-11, he says, "Mr. Harley, of late, has said nothing of presenting me to the queen.-I was overseen when I mentioned it to you. He has such a weight of af

*By M. D. is generally meant Stella, though sometimes it stands for Stella and Mrs. Dingley. S.

fairs on him, that he cannot mind all; but he talked of it three or four times to me, long before I dropt it to you." Nor does it appear afterward, through the course of the Journal, that this was eyer done, or that the queen took the least notice of him. On the contrary, it is to be seen in many places of Swift's works, that she had imbibed strong prejudices against him; first, from Dr. Sharpe, archbishop of York, who represented him as a freethinker, or infidel; a character which that religious queen must, above all others, detest in a clergyman; and next, from the duchess of Somerset, her favourite, who hated Swift mortally, and took every opportunity of representing him in the worst colours to her royal mistress. But, above all, the queen had a reason of her own for disliking Swift, as he was constantly employed in endeavouring to counteract her favourite plan. What that was, will sufficiently appear from the following extracts. In his Journal to Stella, so early as February 1710-11, he says, "I'll tell you one great state secret: the queen, sensible how much she was governed by the late ministry, runs a little into t'other extreme, and is jealous in that point, even of those who got her out of the other's hands." He hints the

same in other passages of his Journal. But in some of his tracts, published since his death, he is quite explicit on this article, and has laid open a secret spring of government, which was constantly operating during the last four years of that queen; and which being concealed, except from a very few, rendered the proceedings of the first minister wholly unaccountable to his friends at that time, and to all since who have entered into an examination of his conduct; but which being now disclosed, at once solves a riddle, hitherto thought inexplicable. In his tract, entitled, "Memoirs relating to the Change in the Queen's Ministry in 1710," there is the following passage: "She (the queen) grew so jealous upon

the change of her servants, that often, out of fear of being imposed on, by an overcaution, she would impose upon herself. She took a delight in refusing those who were thought to have greatest power with her, even in the most reasonable things, and such as were necessary for her service, nor would let them be done, until she fell into the humour of it herself." In another tract, entitled, "An Inquiry into the Behaviour of the Queen's last Ministry," there is a passage to the same effect. "But in dispensing her favours, she was extremely cautious and slow; and after the usual mistake of those who think they have been often imposed on, became so very suspicious. that she overshot the mark, and erred on the other extreme. When a person happened to be recommended as useful for her service, or proper to be obliged, perhaps, after a long delay, she would consent; but if the treasurer offered at the same time a warrant, or other instrument to her, already prepared, in order to be signed, because he presumed to reckon on her consent beforehand, she would not; and thus the affair would sometimes lie for several months together, although the thing were ever so reasonable, or that even the publick suffered by the delay. So that this minister had no other remedy, but to let her majesty take her own time, which ne ver failed to be the very longest, that the nature of the thing could suffer her to defer it.

Hence it is evident, that the queen, who had long been weary of the bondage in which she was held by the whig ministry, was determined, upon a change, that she would not bring herself into the same predicament again, but was resolved to show that she had a will of her own, and that she would exert it; and, in order to be able to do this effectually, her plan was, not to suffer the tory interest to grow too strong, but to keep such a number of whigs still in office, as should be a constant check upon her mi

nisters, against any encroachments of that sort. In the abovementioned tract, there are several passages that prove this point. In one it is said, It is most certain, when the queen first began to change her servants, it was not from a dislike of things, but of persons; and those persons were a very small number. And afterward, when, upon some events, things were pushed farther than she at first intended, it was with great regret she saw some of the principal great officers among the whigs resign their employments." For, says the author," she had entertained the notion of forming a moderate or comprehensive scheme, which she maintained with great firmness, nor would ever depart from, until about half a year before her death." This conduct, no doubt, was good policy in the queen, in order to preserve a due share of authority to herself; but at the same time her minister suffered extremely by it, who bore the brunt of all this trimming and moderation, which were imputed to some secret designs of his own, and caused incurable jealousies and suspicions in his friends, as well as the whole tory party. Of this Swift gives the following account in the same tract. "I remember it was then commonly understood and expected, that when the session ended, a general removal would be made: but it happened otherwise : for not only few or none were turned out, but much deliberation was used in supplying common vacancies by death. This manner of proceeding, in a prime minister, I confess, appeared to me wholly unaccountable, and without example; and I was little satisfied with the solution I had heard, and partly knew, that he acted thus to keep men at his devotion, by letting expectation lie in common; for I found the effect did not answer; and that in the mean time he led so uneasy a life, by solicitations and pursuits, as no man would endure, who had a remedy at hand. About the beginning of his ministry, I did, at the request of