his most ambitious hopes could aspire after. The other, to the melancholy cell of a difgraced Minifter, abandoned by an ungrateful world. Where he might have the fatisfaction of affording him in his diftrefs, that fovereign balm of confolation, which can only be adminiftered by a fincere friend. Swift hesitated not a moment in his choice of the alternative, as may be seen by his letter to Mifs Vanhomrigh, written foon after his receipt of the other two.

Dr. SWIFT to Mifs VANHOмRIGH.

"Who told you I was going to Bath? No fuch thing. But poor Lord Oxford defires I will go with him to Herefordshire; and I only expect his anfwer, whether I fhall go there before, or meet him hereabouts, or go to Wimple, (his fon's houfe) and fo with him down: and I expect to leave this place in two or three days, one way or other. I will ftay with him 'till the Parliament meets again, if he defires it. I am written to earnestly by fomebody, to come to town, and join with thofe people now in power; but I will not do it. Say nothing of this, but guefs the perfon. I told Lord Oxford I would go with him when he was out; and now he begs it of me, I cannot refufe him. I meddle not with his faults, as he was Minifter of State; but you know his perfonal kindness to me was exceffive. He diftinguished and chofe me, above all other men, while he was great, and his letter to me, the other day, was the most moving imaginable," &c.

There

* This refolution of Swift's is fully confirmed in a letter to Archdeacon Wall, dated Auguft 8, 1714. "Upon the Earl of Oxford's removal, he defired I would go with him into Herefordshire, which I confented to, and wrote you word of it, defiring you would renew my licence of abfence at the end of this month, for I think it then ex

There is one expreffion in Lord Oxford's letter, which is indeed very affecting, where he fays, "I go to Wimple, thence alone to Herefordshire." What! this great Minifter, who had conferred fo many obligations, and made the fortunes of fuch numbers, not to find one companion to attend him in his reverfe of fortune! Methinks I fee Swift reading this paffage, and exclaiming, "What, alone! No, while I exist, my friend shall not go alone into Herefordshire."

This conduct was the more noble in Swift, as during the whole courfe of their intimacy, he never received one personal favour from the Minifter, though treated with the most unreferved kindness by the man. Nay, whether it were owing to his procraftinating temper, or, as Swift calls it in another place, his unmeafurable public thrift, he had neglected to procure for him an order for a thousand pound on the Treasury, to pay the debt contracted by him upon his introduction to the Deanery, which was all the reward Swift ever afked for his fervices t. And there is reason to believe, from a paffage in a letter of Dr. Arbuthnot to him, dated July 14, that Swift was distressed for money at that time, on

pires. I had earneft invitations from thofe in power to go to town, and affift them in their new Ministry, which I refolved to excuse; but before I could write, news came of the Queen's death, and all our fchemes broke to shatters."

Nothing can fhew more the strong defire which Lord Bolingbroke had to attach Swift to his interest upon his getting into power, than his taking care, during his fhort Miniftry of three days only, to have an order figned by the Queen on the Treafury, to pay that fum to Swift, though by her fudden death he reaped no advantage from it. It appears, that Swift had this order in his poffeffion when he vifited London in the year 1726; for he fays, in a letter to Dr. Sheridan, "Tell the Archdeacon that I never asked for my thousand pounds, which he hears I have got, though I mentioned it to the Princess the last time I faw her; but I bid her tell Walpole, I fcorned to ask him for it."

account of that neglect. The paffage is this, "Do not think I make you a bare compliment in what I am going to fay, for I can affure you I am in earnest. I am in hopes to have two hundred pounds before I go out of town, and you may command all, or any part of it you please, as long as you have occafion for it." And in the fame letter it appears, that the Doctor had been defired by Swift to apply to Lord Bolingbroke for fifty pounds due to him from that Lord, where he fays, "As to the fifty pounds, he (Lord Bolingbroke) was ready to pay it, and if he had had it about him, would have given it to me." But it is highly probable, from the great delicacy of Swift's fentiments, that this very circumftance of his lying under no obligation to Lord Oxford, was what rendered his attachment to him the ftronger, as it must proceed wholly from pure difinterefted friendship. That this was his way of thinking, may be seen from feveral of his letters. In that of July 1, 1714, on his retiring to Letcombe, he thus expreffes himself.

To Lord TREASURER OXFORD.

My Lord,

WHEN I was with you, I have faid more than once, that I would never allow quality or ftation made any real difference between men. Being now absent and forgotten, I have changed my mind: you have a thoufand people who can pretend they love you, with as much appearance of fincerity as I; fo that, according to common juftice, I can have but a thousandth part in return of what I give, And this difference is wholly owing to your station. And the misfortune is still the greater, because I loved you fo much the lefs for your ftation; for, in your public capacity, you have often

angered

1

once.

angered me to the heart; * but as a private man, never So that, if I only look towards myself, I could wish you a private man to-morrow: for I have nothing to ask; at least nothing that you will give, which is the fame thing: and then you would fee, whether I fhould not with much more willingness attend you in a retirement, whenever you please to give me leave, than ever I did at London or Windfor t. From these fentiments, I will never write to you, if I can help it, otherwise than as to a private man, or allow myself to have been obliged by you in any other capacity, &c.

And in one, many years after, dated October 11, 1722, expoftulating with him in a friendly manner on his long filence, he fays, "I never courted your acquaintance when you governed Europe, but you courted mine; and now you neglect me, when I use all my infinuations to keep myself in your memory. I am very fenfible, that next to your receiving thanks and compliments, there is nothing you more hate than writing letters: but fince I never gave you thanks, nor made you compliments, I have fo much more merit than any

* In the feveral accounts given of Lord Oxford by Swift in different parts of his writing, there feems to be fomething contradictory; as in fome places he extols him to the fkies, and in others, imputes great weakness and faults to him. But this arifes from the view he gives of him in two different characters. As a public Minister, he reprefents him to have been one of the wifeft, the ableft, and the most difinterested that ever lived; and he confirms this character by enumerating the many great fervices he had done to the ftate, without reaping the least advantage to himself, but rather injuring his private fortune. At the fame time he fhews that he was utterly unqualified to be the Leader of a party, or to manage the private intrigues of a Court; in which refpects, partly from his natural difpofition, and partly through want of true policy, he committed numberless errors; to which Swift alludes here, where he fays, "In your public capacity you have often angered me to the heart; but as a private man, never once."

+ Lord Oxford had too foon reason to put this declaration of Swift's to the teft, and found it nobly answered.

of those thousands, whom you have lefs obliged, by only making their fortunes, without taking them into your friendship, as you did me; whom you always countenanced in too public and particular a manner, to be forgotten either by the world or myself." The merit of Swift, in thus adhering to his friend at this juncture, was the more extraordinary, because he not only facrificed to it all regard to his own intereft, but that of the public alfo. It appears, that the Queen in the Jaft fix months of her life, had changed her whole system with regard to parties, and came entirely round to that, which had been the great object of all Swift's politicks, by making a general fweep of the Whigs from all their employments, both Civil and Military: and the only obftacles thrown in the way were by Lord Oxford; who from private motives of his own, fet forth by Swift at large in his Enquiry, &c. * refused to fall into the measure; and notwithstanding every effort ufed by Swift, continued inflexible in his refolution. He might therefore have had the strongest plea, from motives of a fuperior nature, his duty to the publick, for deferting him on this occafion, and joining all his other friends in promoting his favourite plan, fo effentially neceffary to the fupport of the common caufe. Nor could he have been liable to the leaft cenfure, or reproach for fuch conduct. But his high notions of friendfhip, and delicate fenfe of honour, out-weighed all other confiderations, and would not let him hefitate a moment what part he should take.

It appears, in the courfe of the Journal, that there grew up between the Lord Treasurer and Swift, a mu tual friendship of the moft cordial and pureft kind. He mentions dining with him, fometimes four, fometimes five and fix days together; and if he chanced to absent

* Vid. Enquiry into the behaviour of the Queen's laft Ministers.

himself