sentations of the Archbishop of York, powerfully supported by the entreaties and tears of the Duchess of Somerset, prevailed against the united influence of ministers, who seldom united in anything, and the name of Swift was added to the list of clergymen recommended to Queen Anne for promotion in the church, against whom she stated her objection, that they were too violent in party.

At length he began to feel that his situation was

have no doubt that at this time occurred the incidents mentioned by Mr Sheridan. "The ministers, he states, had recommended Swift to the queen, to fill a vacant bishopric. But the Duchess of Somerset, who entertained an implacable hatred against him, determined to move heaven and earth to prevent his promotion taking place. She first prevailed on the Archbishop of York to oppose it, whose remarkable expression to the queen was, "That her majesty should be sure that the man whom she was going to make a bishop was a Christian." But as he could give no better colour for this surmise, than that Swift was supposed to be the author of the "Tale of a Tub," the bishop was considered as acting officiously, out of too indiscreet a zeal, and his interposition was of no avail. The duchess then went in person to the queen, and, throwing herself on her knees, entreated, with tears in her eyes, that she would not give the bishopric to Swift; at the same time presenting to her that excessively bitter copy of verses, which Swift had written against her, called, "The Windsor Prophecy." The queen, upon reading them, was stung with resentment at the very severe treatment which he had given to a lady, who was known to stand highly in her favour, and as a mark of her displeasure, passed Swift by, and bestowed the bishopric on another." The See of Hereford was given to Philip Bisse, translated from that of St Da vid's.

awkward, and became desirous either of receiving some preferment suited to the figure which he had made in public life, or of taking permission to retire to Ireland, at the risk of sacrificing all future hope of preferment, and encountering what he equally dreaded, the condolence of those who might affect to pity him.* After sundry insinuations that the lordtreasurer shewed more personal kindness than attention to his interest, he at length expressed himself positively determined to relinquish labouring in the service of the ministers. "I will contract," he says, "no more enemies, at least I will not embitter worse than I have already, till I have got under shelter, and the ministers know my resolution." At this time three Irish deaneries, a canonry of Windsor, and other church-livings in England, chanced to be vacant. On being informed that the warrant for the

4th March, 1712-13. "Tisdal's a pretty fellow as you say; and when I come back to Ireland he will condole with me with abundance of secret pleasure. I believe I told you what he wrote to me, that I have saved England and he Ireland.' But I can bear that." Vol. III. p. 125.

† 26th Dec. 1712. "I dined with lord-treasurer, who chid me for being absent three days. Mighty kind with a p—; less of civility, and more of interest." Vol. III. p. 82. 25th Feb. 1712-13.

"He chides me if I stay away but two days together. What will this come to? Nothing. My grandmother used to say,

More of your lining,

And less of your dining."

Vol. III. p. 120.

deaneries was filled up without mention of his name, Swift immediately announced his positive purpose of retiring, desiring Mr Lewis to inform the lord-treasurer that he took nothing ill of him, but his failure to inform him, as he had promised to do, if he found the queen would do nothing for him; a remarkable passage, which shews that Swift was now fully sensible of the fatal influence which obscured his prospects of promotion. Thus pressed, Oxford, with the concurrence of the Duke of Ormond, then lord-lieutenant, proposed that Dr Sterne should be removed to the Bishopric of Dromore, in order to vacate for Swift that Deanery of St Patrick's, the name of which has since become a classical sound, because connected with his memory. Sterne had no apparent interest of his own, and was rather obnoxious to the Duke of Ormond. The circumstance, therefore, of his being promoted to the higher dignity, while Swift, with all his influence, only gained that from which Sterne was removed, indicates a capitulation between the queen and her ministers, in which the latter, finding their influence too low to obtain a mitre for their candidate, were contented to compound by procuring his appointment to a wealthy deanery. A last effort was made by the joint interest of Oxford and Lady Masham, to exchange St Patrick's for a prebendary of Windsor. But the remonstrances of the prime minister, and the entreaties, even the tears of the fa

vourite, were unavailing; and Swift, galled by the difficulty which attended his promotion, could only console his pride by the consideration, that a bishop had been created against great opposition, and without any interest of his own, in order to make way for his gaining the best deanery in Ireland. It is remarkable, that, neither during the agitating period when this business was in dependence, nor at any other time, did Swift suffer himself to glance a sarcasm at Queen Anne, or at her memory.* And this

The following line can hardly be considered as an exception:By an old [murderess?] pursued,

A crazy prelate, and a royal prude.

In the same piece he mentions, in very different terms, the intrigues of Archbishop Sharpe and the Duchess of Somerset :—

York is from Lambeth sent to tell the queen,
A dangerous treatise writ against the spleen;
Which by the style, the matter, and the drift,
'Tis thought could be the work of none but Swift.
Poor York! the harmless tool of others' hate;
He sues for pardon, and repents too late.

Now angry Somerset her vengeance vows,
On Swift's reproaches for her murder'd spouse:
From her red locks her mouth with venom fills,
And thence into the royal ear distils.

It is remarkable, that, in two passages of his Journal to Stella, Swift intimates that the Archbishop of York had expressed a strong wish to be reconciled to him; but it does not appear that they ever met. Delany, after expressing his surprise that Swift should ever have been represented as an infidel, mentions, as if it consisted with his own knowledge, "It will be some satisfaction to

is the more striking, as he seems to have lost patience with his friend Oxford, even while he was sensible he laboured all he could to overcome the prejudices against his character in the royal breast. This respectful moderation is a strong contrast to the offence which he afterwards expressed against Queen Caroline for much slighter neglect. But in the former case, Queen Anne's favour for the church, and for the ministers with whom Swift lived in such intimacy, seems to have subdued his resentment for her personal dislike.*

The warrant for the Deanery of St Patrick's was signed 23d February, and Swift set out for Ireland

the reader, as I doubt not it was to Swift, (though no reparation of the injury,) to know that the archbishop lived to repent of this injury done to Swift, expressed great sorrow for it, and desired his forgiveness."-Observations upon Lord Orrery's Remarks, &c. p.

271.

* Bolingbroke always affirmed, that the queen had no unfavourable impression of Swift, and that he had been assured by herself, that neither the Archbishop of York, nor any one else, had prejudiced her against him. He represented the whole as an invention of Lord Oxford, to keep Swift to his deanery in Ireland. Dr King shrewdly observes, "If Lord Bolingbroke had hated the Earl of Oxford less, I should have been readily inclined to believe him.”—King's Anecdotes, p. 61. Indeed, no adequate reason can be assigned, why Oxford should have impeded the promotion of his most zealous friend and active partizan. Bolingbroke meant it to be inferred, perhaps, that Swift was likely to take his side and desert Oxford, when they came to an open rupture. But Swift's subsequent behaviour affords no room for such a belief.