ning together, either at Mr Worral's, or at the deanery. The Dean, being a fingle man, was oftner a guest to Mr Worral, than Mr Worral was a guest to him. And this brought on an agreement, that the Dean should dine with him whenever he would at a certain rate, and in vite as many friends as he pleafed upon the fame terms This gentleman is lately dead, and left a large fum of money to be difpofed of to public charities, at the dif cretion of his executors; 500 l, of which was appropriated to the Dean's hofpital [D. S. p. 299. JR

p. 92. vol. 41 340, 1]

THE Dean, when he first fettled at Dublin, was in debt; a fituation which ill fuited his fpirit, and determined him to a fevere economy, with which this agree ment with Warral well fuited. [J. R. p. 92.] On his public days, however, the dignity of his ftation was fuftained with the utmost elegance and decorum, under the direction of Mrs Johnfon, who yet appeared in the circle without any character diftinct from the rest of the company. She was however frequently invited with the Dean, whether to entertainments, or parties of plear fures, though not fo generally, as, if he had been his wife. She visited, and received vifits, as far as the prac tice is a mere ritual.of good breeding. Her friendships feem to have been still among the men, but he was treated with great politeness by the ladies. [D. S. p. 92.1

THE Dean's mind had been now fo filled with politics, that he found it impracticable to excel as a preacher, his firft and moft laudable ambition; and frequently declared, that though he fometimes attempted to exert himself in the pulpit, yet he could never rife higher than preaching pamphlets. [ R. p. 42.] He was however ftill a good dean, and a good priest: He applied himself to the care of his deanery, his cathedral, its regulations, its income and economy, with great diligence; he renewed the primitive practice of celebrating the holy communion every Sunday; and at this facrament he was not only conftantly prefent, but he confecrated and adminiftrated it with his own hands, in a manner equally graceful and devout; he attended at church every morning, and generally preached in his turn; he alfo conftantly attended the performance of the anthem on a Sunday

༣་༑་།

Sunday night, though he did not understand music, to fee that the choir did not neglect their duty. [D. S. P. 370, 14] 4.2, & 8 laulu"

As to his employment at home, he feems to have had no heart to apply himself to ftudy of any kind, but to have refigned himself wholly to fuch amusements as offered, that he might not think of his fituation, the miffortune of his friends, and the disappointment of his hope. Such at leaft is the account that he gives to Mr Gay, in his letter dated January 81722-3 I was "three years," fays he, reconciling myfelf to the "fcene and business to which fortune hath condemned "me; and stupidity was what I had recourfe to * [volvr4. p. 33.]

Ir has been fuggefted, that the acquaintance he fell into with men of learning, made it neceffary for him about this time to review his Greek and Latin, and ob tain fome acquaintance with church history. [7. R. p. 101 But furely he who had studied eight hours aday for seven years, or, according to Mr Deane Swift, [D. S par271, 272, 276. ten hours a day for nine years he who had read and extracted the fathers more than fixteen years before, had little occafion to review his Latin and Greek, or acquaint himfelf with churchhiftory, left he fhould not fuftain his character among learned men: for except it be pretended that others were able to acquire more knowledge in lefs time and with lefs labour, it must be allowed that Swift was likely to be always the most knowing of his company,

Lord 20641

From the 1714, till he appeared, in 1120, a champion for Ire land againft Wood's halfpence, his fpirit of politics and of patriotifm was kept almost closely confined within his own breast. Idleness and trifles ingroffed too many of his hours; fools and fycophants too much of his converfation. However, it may be obferyed, that the treatment which he received after the death of Q. Anne, was almost 看 a fufficient reafon to justify contempt, if not an abhorrence, of the human race. He had bravely withstood all hoftile indignities during the lifetime of that princess; but when the whole army of his friends were not only routed, but taken prifoners, he dropt his sword, and retired into his fortification at Dublin, from whence he feldom ftirred beyond the limits of his own garden, unless in great indulto fome particular favourites.. Olet. 6. beti Xiaalaja; gence

Lord Orrery fays, that he was little acquainted with the mathematics, and never confidered the fcience except as an object of ridicule *: but the author of the Obfervations affirms, on the contrary, that he had acquired confiderable mathematical knowledge; and that he had feen him more than once undertake to folve an algebraic problem by arithmetic. [7. R. p. 101.]

THE firft remarkable event of his life that occurred after his fettlement at the deanery, was his marriage to Mrs Johnson, after a moft intimate friendship of more than fixteen years. This was in the year 1716; and the ceremony was performed by Dr Afhe, then Bishop of Clogher, to whom the Dean had been a pupil in Trinity college, Dublin t. [vol. 4. p. 14. But whatever were the motives of this marriage, the Dean and the Lady continued to live afterwards juft in the fame manner as they had lived before 1. Mrs Dingley was

See the notes, above, p. xiii...

ftill

+ Tho' it is admitted, that Dr. Swift was married to Mrs John fon in 1716, yet it may be afferted with great truth, that he neves had any ferious thoughts of marriage after he was one and twenty. Some time indeed before, while he was a strippling in the univerfity of Dublin, he had a paffion for Mifs, Warren, the fifter of his chamber fellow. But whatever attachments he had to that lady upon his going to live in England, where he applied himself clofe to politics and learning at Sir William, Temple's, his paffion quick ly fubfided, and he forgot his amour. Neither do I believe, further than common forms, that he ever paid his court, throughout his whole life, to any woman befides, in the character of a profefled lover. D. S. p. 93, 94.-See Swift's letter to Mr Kendall, vol. 4. P. 288.

Mrs Johnfon, with regard to her manners, her virtues, hep mind, and her perfon, was not undeferving to have been married to the greatest prince in Europe: but her defcent was from a fer vant of Sir William Temple; and therefore the was by no means worthy to have been the acknowledged wife of Dr Swift.-If Dr Swift had acknowledged his marriage even with this improved, this adorable creature, he would, in spite of his genius, and all the res putation he had acquired in the days of K. William and QAnne, have immediately funk in the esteem of the world. For among the rest of his enemies, (and these were not few), there were some that were not unacquainted with the story of Mrs Johnson's birth and education, who, on account of fome particular difobligations they had received from the Doctor, would have been glad of an opportunity,

she

fill the infeparable companion of Stella where-ever The went; and the never refided at the deanery, except when the Dean was feized with violent fits of giddiness, which fometimes lafted near a month.

TILL this time he had continued his vifits to Vanessa who, though fhe had fuffered very great pecuniary loffes, had yet preferved her reputation, and her friends: for the was vifited by many perfons of rank, character, and fortune, of both fexes; particularly Mrs Conolly, a Lady of very high reputation; Dr Berkeley, the late moft excellent Bishop of Cloyne; the late Judge Lindfay t, and the Lord Chief Juftice Marley. [D. S. p. 262.] The Dean appears still to have preferved the character of her preceptor, to have directed her progrefs in literature, and explained and illuftrated the authors fhe had read. But foon his marriage he vifited her on another account; he went as an advocate for Mr Dean Winter,

whom

opportunity of expofing him to contempt and ridicule for the meannefs of his fpirit; and as in that cafe they would have had it full in their power, as well as ftrong in their inclination, they would have published and confirmed the obfcurity of Mrs Johnson's birth and education among all their acquaintance. They would have declar ed, among other particulars, that Mrs Johnfon, when the was about ten or eleven years old, was appointed to wait upon the Doctor's fifter in the character of her little fervant, during the fummer that The spent at Moorpark in 1692. Neither can we fuppofe, that even the Doctor's lifter, with whom he had quarrelled to fuch a degree as never to see her face, on account of a match he thought greatly beneath her acceptance, [above, p. xxiv.], would have stified her indignation, or with any patience have forborn to retaliate the feverities of her brother upon his own back, when he himself had married and acknowledged a wife fo very meanly extracted, and particularly that individual perfon, whom the defpifed and hated beyond all the inhabitants on earth. In one word, if Dr Swift, whofe ambition was not to be gratified without fome uncommon degree of admiration, had acknowledged Mrs Johnfon for a wife, he would on all fides have been fo perfecuted with contempt and derifion, (as half mankind were in 1716 his profeffed enemies), that, unable to fupport himself under the burden of his affliction, he would have loft his fpirits, broken his heart, and died in a twelvemonth. And accordingly we find he had more wifdom than to acknowledge this beautiful, this accomplished woman, for his wife. D. S. p. 80, 83, 84, 85.*

* See vol. 4. p. 291, 292.

See vol. 7. p. 87, vol. 4. p. 3424.

whom he took with him, a gentleman who was a pro feffed admirer of Vanessa, and had made her some overtures of marriage: but though he had an eftate of near Sool. a-year, befides 300 l. a-year preferment in the church; yet Vaneffa rejected the propofal in fuch terms, as that it was never repeated. She was alfo addreffed by Dr Price, who was afterwards Archbishop of Cashell, but without fuccefs. [D. S. p. 263. 265.] From this time the Dean's vifits were much less frequent. In the year 1717 her sister died ; and the whole remains of the family-fortune being then centered in Vaneffa, the retired to Selbridge, a fmall houfe and eftate, about twelve miles diftance from Dublin, which had been purchased by her father.

FROM this place he wrote frequently to the Dean, and he answered her letters. In these letters fhe ftill, preffed him to marry her; and in his anfwers he ftill rallied, and still avoided a pofitive denial. At length, however, the infifted with great ardour, and great tendernefs, upon his pofitive and immediate acceptance or refufal of her as a wife. The Dean wrote an answer, and delivered it with his own hand.

As this letter of Vanefla's, which was written in 1723, is a demonstration that he was then utterly ignorant of the Dean's marriage with Stella, and as the appears to have known it almoft immediately afterwards, it is probable that the Dean's anfwer communicated the fatal fecret, which at once precluded all her hopes, and accounted for his former conduct: it is probable too, that the refentment which he felt at having it thus extorted from him, was the caufe of the manner in which he delivered the letter; for having thrown it down upon her table, he hafted back to his horfe, and returned immediately to Dublin. [D. S. p. 264. O. let. 9.]

THIS letter the unhappy lady did not furvive many weeks. However, fhe was fufficiently compofed to cancel a will that he had made in the Dean's favour, and to make another, in which the left her fortune, which long retirement and frugality had in a great measure reftored, to her two executors, Dr Berkeley, the Bishop of Cloyne, and Mr Marfhall, one of the King's'ferjeants

at