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cause; 'tis every man's cause, who is embarked on our bottom. Depend upon it, that I will never neglect any opportunity of showing that true esteem, that sincere affection, and honest friendship for you, which fills the breast of your faithful servant,

BOLINGBROKE."

But the light in which he considered lord Bolingbroke, will best appear from his own account of him, in a piece written in the year 1715, entitled, “An Inquiry into the Behaviour of the Queen's last Ministry, &c." "It happens to very few men, in any age or country, to come into the world with so many advantages of nature and fortune, as the late secretary Bolingbroke: descended from the best families in England, heir to a great patrimonial estate, of a sound constitution, and a most graceful, amiable 'person. But all these, had they been of equal value, were infinitely inferiour in degree to the accomplishments of his mind, which was adorned with the choicest gifts that God hath yet thought fit to bestow on the children of men: a strong memory, a clear judgment, a vast range of wit and fancy, a thorough comprehension, an invincible eloquence, with a most agreeable elocution. He had well cultivated all these talents by travel and study; the lat ter of which he seldom omitted, even in the midst of his pleasures, of which he had indeed been too great and criminal a pursuer. For, although he was persuaded to leave off intemperance in wine, which he did for some time to such a degree, that he seemed rather abstemious: yet he was said to allow himself other liberties, which can by no means be reconciled to religion or morals, whereof, I have reason to be,lieve, he began to be sensible. But he was fond of mixing pleasure and business, and of being esteemed excellent at both upon which account he had a great respect for the characters of Alcibiades and Pe

tronius especially the latter, whom he would be gladly thought to resemble *."

But an Alcibiades, or a Petronius, was not likely to be the bosom friend of a Swift, however he might admire his talents, or delight in his society, as a companion. In his political character indeed Swift was very closely connected with him, as lord Bolingbroke adopted all his ideas, and strenuously supported the measures he proposed: and that they were not pursued, Swift lays the whole blame, in many places, on his friend Oxford, entirely acquitting lord Bolingbroke of being in the wrong, in any of the differences subsisting between them on that score. In his first letter to lord Bolingbroke, after the queen's death, dated August 7, 1714, he says, "I will swear for no man's sincerity, much less that of a minister of state: but thus much I have said, wherever it was proper, that your lordship's proposals were always the fairest in the world, and I faithfully delivered them as I was empowered: and although I am no very skilful man at intrigue, yet I durst forfeit my head, that if the case were mine, I could either have agreed with you, or put you dans votre tort."

We have already seen in his pamphlet of " Free Thoughts, &c." intended to be published before the death of the queen, that he throws the whole blame of the desperate state to which affairs were brought at that time, on the lord treasurer.

*The same character is given of him, in a more.compendious way, in his Journal, Nov. 3, 1711. "I think Mr. secretary St. John the greatest young man I ever knew: wit, capacity,. beauty, quickness of apprehension, good learning, and an excellent taste; the best orator in the house of commons, admirable conversation, good nature, and good manners; generous, and a despiser of money. His only fault is, talking to his friends in way of complaint of too great load of business, which looks a little like affectation; and he endeavours too much to mix the fine gentleman, and the man of pleasure, with the man of busiWhat truth and sincerity be may have, I know not.” S.

ness.

After lord Oxford, the persons among the great, who seemed to have had the principal share of his affection, were lord Peterborow, and the duke of Or mond, to which he had the amplest returns from both. Of the great degree of mutual friendship which subsisted between the former and him, among many other proofs, the following short abstract from his Journal affords a striking instance.

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Jan. 10. 1712-13, "At seven this evening, as We sat after dinner at lord treasurer's, a servant said, lord Peterborow was at the door. Lord treasurer and lord Bolingbroke went out to meet him, and brought him in. He was just returned from abroad, where he had been above a year. As soon as he saw me, he left the duke of Ormond, and other lords, and ran and kissed me before he spoke to them; but chid me terribly for not writing to him, which I never did this last time he was abroad, not knowing where he was; and he changed places so often, it was impos→ sible a letter should overtake him. I do love the hangdog dearly,"

The circumstance of lord Peterborow's breaking from the duke of Ormond, and the other lords, to embrace Swift first, shows the warmth of his affection, which could make him forget all rules of decorum on the occasion; and Swift's homely expression of loving the hangdog dearly," shows more clearly, than the choicest phrases could, that fondness in friendship, which nothing but the most intimate familiarity can excite *.

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As to the duke of Ormond, he always speaks of him with that tenderness, which only the warmest affection can inspire; and it appears, that he was equally beloved by the duke, and had more influence with him than any man living. Besides these, he

* Swift, in a former part of bis Journal, Oct. 18, 1711, had said of lord Peterborow, “ He has abundance of excollent quali☛ ties; and we love one another mightily." S.

lived in the greatest intimacy with almost all the distinguished men of rank at that time; among which number were, the duke of Hamilton, lord keeper Harcourt, lord Pembroke, lord Rivers, lord Bathust, Ford Carteret, lord Lansdown, sir Thomas Hanmer (speaker), sit William Wyndham, and many others. Nor were his friendships confined only to the great: all men of genius he looked upon, and treated as his brethren. Of this number were Addison, Congreve, Arbuthnot, Prior, Pope, Gay, Parnell, Garth, Berkeley, and others of inferiour note. To promote whose interests, he chiefly used the influence he had with the great, to the utter neglect of his own, and tỡ raise whose character and reputation in the world, he used all the means which his own high credit gave him. And he had still a sufficient stock of amnity for several in the more private walks of life, whom he selected as the companions of his disengaged hours, on account of their good sense, integrity, and complaisance of behaviour. Among the foremost of these, were, Lewis, Ford, sir Andrew Fountaine, Dr. Freind, colonel Disney, captain Charlton, Domville, and many others: all men of excellent characters. Added to these, there was a considerable number in an humbler sphere, whose sole patron he was, and for whom he made ample provision, merely on account of their merit or distress, without being influenced by ties of consanguinity, or partial recommendations.

His behaviour to these different classes, showed an uncommon greatness of soul. He studiously cultivated the acquaintance of all men of genius, whom he treated with a brotherly affection; and never let them feel the superiority which his right of eldership gave him over them, but, on the contrary, either endeavoured to raise them to his own height, or placed himself on a level with them.

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With his friends in private life, he was easy, fami- liar, indulgent, and kind.

Such as were under his protection, never felt the weight of dependence. There was no occasion for dancing attendance, or frequent importunities, he always had them in mind, and served them the instant it was in his power: nor did he expect any returns for his favours, though he was pleased when he saw marks of a grateful mind.

But to all men of rank and station, he asserted that noble independence of spirit which becomes the freeborn mind. He made no allowance for the casual superiority, which birth, or fortune, or human institutions had given them, but valued them in proportion only to that higher nobility of soul derived from God and nature. He had long beheld with indignation the mean condescensions and homage paid by men of genius, to scoundrels in power, and titled fools, and was determined to afford a striking example in himself of a contrary conduct, by reclaiming the rights due to superiority of talents over those of birth or fortune. In one of his Tatlers, he says, "If those who possess great endowments of the mind, would set a just value on themselves, they would think no man's acquaintance whatsoever a condescension, nor accept it from the greatest, upon unworthy or ignominious terms.". But Swift was not content with this negative virtue, of not seeking their acquaintance upon improper terms, but resolved to dispute their right to that superiority over his brethren, which they had so long possessed, and put in his claim to receive that homage from them, which had always been paid them by others. Accordingly he laid it down as a rule, that he never would solicit the acquaintance of any man, let his quality or station be what it would; but that all who were desirous of the honour of being ranked among the number of

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