-appointed Dean of St. Patrick's in Dublin. Swift was much concerned, in public affairs as a writer, but his publications chiefly applied to existing circumstances, and are now little read. He appears to have been averse to a popish successor to the crown. He had a mortal antipathy to standing armies in times of peace, and believed that our liberty could never be secured upon a firm foundation, till the ancient law should be revived, by which our parliaments were made annual. He abominated the political scheme of setting up a monied interest in opposition to the landed, and was an enemy to a temporary suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act. During the period

of his political importance he avowed a passion for Miss Esther Vanhomrigh, celebrated by the name of Vanessa. From this time, 1712, his conduct to Miss Johnson changed exceedingly. He appears to have felt strongly the passion of love. In this situation, in 1713, he wrote that beautiful poem, Cadenus and Vanessa, in which he has characterised himself under the name Cadenus, by a transposition of the letters Decanus, the Dean. While Swift took delight in directing and instructing Miss Vanhomrigh, she grew partial to his person, and made him a proposal of marriage. It is evident that Swift had no inclination to engage in the matrimonial tie, but thus situated he wished to break off the connection in the gentlest manner possible, and to soften the harshness of refusing her hand, (the greatest mortification which could befall a woman, young, beautiful and possessed of a handsome fortune) he painted all her perfections of body and mind, in colours so rich, as could not fail to please. Prudence says, that he should have checked a passion which he never meant to gratify'

but human nature says, "man is but man.'

During this time the unfortunate Stella languished in absence and neglect, while a continual intercourse existed with Vanessa. In Dublin he met with violent rebuffs in the triumph of the whigs, and retired from the busy world to discharge his duties as a clergyman. Miss Johnson had indeed lodgings near the deanery; and on public days regulated his table, but appeared there as a mere guest, with other ladies. In 1716

he was married privately to Miss Johnson, by Dr. Ashe, bishop of Clogher. In settling the conditions of this extraordinary union, no change was made in their mode of life; they lived in separate houses as before. Swift still continued a secret intercourse and correspondence with Miss Vanhomrigh, indulging her hopes by the most explicit confession of his passion for her, till she ascertained his marriage from Miss Johnson herself. The violent agitation of her mind, on this discovery, threw her into a fever, which put a period to her existence in 1723. Swift made a tour to the south of Ireland to divert thought, during which time Stella went into the country, nor did she quit it for some months after his return. A reconciliation, however, afterwards took place, and Swift welcomed her to town in the beautiful poem of Stella at Wood-park. In 1726 he revisited England, in hopes of preferment. While passing his time among his old fraternity, Pope, Bolingbroke, &c. he received accounts from Ireland, that Miss Johnson was dangerously ill. On his arrival in Dublin he found her in the last stage of a decay, and had the misery of attending her in that state, and of seeing the daily advances of death, during four or five months. A few days previous to that event she adjured Swift in the presence of Dr. Sheridan, to let

her have the satisfaction of dying, tho' she had not lived, his acknowledged wife. He made no reply, but left the room, nor did he see her during the few remaining days of her existence. This behaviour threw her into unspeakable agonies; but roused by indignation, she inveighed against his cruelty, sent for an attorney, and bequeathed her fortune to charitable uses. She died Jan. 28, 1728, aged 44. The humanity of Swift appears more impeached by this than any other action of his life; and yet his reserve in this case may have arisen from reasonable objections known only to himself, respecting which we can form only vague conjectures. It appears that after having secretly united himself to Stella he continued to visit Vanessa; but to the former the latter was ultimately sacrificed, and he appears to have sincerely loved her, for almost the only sentiments of tenderness to be found in his writings are contained in the poems addressed to her. He continued to produce various publications till his own mental powers declined, and his irascible passions, which he always found difficult to keep within due bounds, now raged without controul, and made him a torment to himself and to all who were about him. He could no longer amuse himself with writing, and a resolution he had formed of never wearing spectacles, to which he had obstinately adhered, prevented him from reading. Without employment, without amusement of any kind, his ideas wore gradually away, and left his mind vacant to the vexations of the hour. In 1741 he became more violent, and it was found necessary that legal guardians of his person and fortune should be appointed. In the year following he had an inflamation in his left eye, which swelled to the size of an egg, with boils in other parts. The humour sub

siding, a short interval of reason succeeded, which gave hopes of his recovery; but he fell into a lethargic stupidity and became motionless, heedless, and speechless. At last he sunk into perfect silence, which continued till Oct. 19, 1745, when he expired without a struggle, in the 78th year of his age. He was buried in the great aisle of St. Patrick's Cathedral, under a stone of black marble. By his will he left about 12007 in specific legacies, and the rest of his fortune, which amounted to about 11,000, to erect and endow a hospital for idiots and lunatics. His works have been collected and published by Sheridan, in 19 volumes, large 8vo. and corrected and revised by J. Nichols, 1810. Dr. Delany, after a long acquaintance with Swift, describes him to Lord Orrery in these terms: "My Lord, when you consider Swift's singular, peculiar, and most variegated vein of wit, always intended rightly, although not always so rightly directed; delightful in many instances, and salutary even where it is most offensive; when you consider his strict truth, his fortitude in resisting oppression and arbitrary power; his fidelity in friendship; his sincere love and zeal for religion; his uprightness in making right resolutions, and his steadiness in adhering to them; his care of his church, it's choir, economy, and it's income; his attention to all those who preached in his cathedral, in order to their amendment in pronunciation and style; his invincible patriotism, even to a country which he did not love; his very various, well-devised, well-judged, and extensive charities, throughout his life; and his whole fortune conveyed to the same Christian purposes at his death; charities, from which he could enjoy no bonour, advantage, or satisfaction, of any kind in this world; when you consider his ironical and bu

mourous, as well as his serious schemes, for the promotion of true religion and virtue, the character of his life will appear like that of his writings; they will bear both to be re-considered and re-examined with the utmost attention, and always discover new beauties and excellencies." "In the poetical works

of Dr. Swift," says Johnson, "there is not much upon which the critic can exercise his powers. They are often humourous, almost always light, and have the qualities which recommend such compositions, easiness and gaiety. They are for the most part what the author intended. The diction is correct, the numbers are smooth, and the rhymes exact. There seldom occurs a hard laboured expression, or a redundant epithet; all his verses exemplify his own definition of a good style, they consist of "proper words in proper places." It was said, in a Preface to one of the Irish Editions, that Swift had never been known to take a single thought from any writer, ancient or modern. This is not literally true; but perhaps no writer can easily be found that has borrowed so little, or that in all his excellencies and all his defects, has so well maintained his claim to be consid ered as original."

Thy purer lays what mortal can despise,
thy baser song what mortal can approve,
thou witty, dirty, patriotic Dean?
Laugh on, laugh on. With pencil exquisite
describe the features of adopted vice,
and over-bearing folly. Give the fair,
the peerless Stella, everlasting worth,
deride thy narrow paper-sparing friend,

and gall the great. But why shall thy sweet muse
turh scavenger, and the foul kennel rake

for themes and similes? What heart but grieves
to find an equal portion in thy song

of elegantly fair and grossly foul? Hurdis. No. 80.

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