membered, and, among others, the following, which may serve for examples. He happened to be at the castle, in the lieutenancy of the earl of Pembroke, when a learned phyfician was haranguing his excellency upon the nature and qualities of bees, which he was perpetually calling a nation and commonwealth: Yes, my lord, fays Swift, they are a nation, and of great antiquity; you know, my lord, Mofes takes notice of them; he numbers the Hivites among the nations which Joshua was appointed to conquer. He was another time in company with a lady, whose long train happened to fweep down a fine fiddle, and break it, upon which he immediately cried out, Mantua væ miferæ nimium vicina Cremona. But his converfation abounded with turns of wit of an higher kind: being one day at a sheriff's feast, who, after feveral other toafts had been drank, called out to him, Mr. Dean, The trade of IreJ.R.214. Land: the dean turned about, and immediately answered, Sir, I drink no memories He greatly admired the talents of the late duke of Wharton, and hearing him, one day, recount many of his frolicks: Aye, my lord, faid he, you have had many frolicks; but let me recommend one F.R.216. more to you, take a frolick to be virtuous. I affure you it will do you more honour than all the rest. The dean alfo greatly excelled in telling a story; and, though in the latter part of his life he was very apt to tell his ftories too often, yet his J.R.218. wit, as well as his virtue, was always fuperior to the wretched expedient of those despicable babblers, who are perpetually attempting to put off double entendre and prophanenefs for humour and wit. His conversa * Dr. Brozun, bishop of Cork, had just then printed two pamphlets and preached several fer tion was in the highest degree chafte, and wholly free from the leaft tincture of irreligion. As he was zealous to preferve all the delicacies of converfation, he was always beft pleafed when fome of the company were ladies; and, in one of his letters to lord Oxford, he fays, fince women have been left out of all our meetings, except parties of play, or where worse defigns are carried on, our converfation has very much degenerated. And, in this inftance, D.S.366. his example is a reproof to thofe pedants, who fuppofe that women are never in their proper fphere, but in the dreffing-room or the nursery. If the converfation turned upon ferious fubjects, he was neither petulant in the debate, nor negligent of the iffue. He would liten with great attention D.S. 368. to the arguments of others, and, whether he was or was not engaged as a difputant himself, he would recapitulate what had been faid, flate the queftion with great clearness and precifion, point out the controverted particular, and appeal to the opinion either of fome neutral perfon, or of the majority. It is, however, true, that he kept his friends in fome degree of awe, and yet he was more open to admonition than flattery, if it was offered without arrogance, and by persons of whose ability and honesty he had no doubt. In his poem of Baucis and Philemon, which J.R. 19. does not confift of quite two hundred verses, Mr. Addifon made him blot out fourfcore, add fourscore, and alter fourfcore. It was cuftomary with his friends to make him fome little annual prefent on his birth-day, fomething, according to his own definition of a prefent, which was of no great value, but which could not be bought; and Dr. Delany, foon after he was admitted to fome degree of intimacy, fent him, with fuch a memorial of his esteem, fome verfes, in which he upbraids him, though with great delicacy, for mifapplying his talents; and admonishes him to turn the force of ridicule, of which he was fo great a mafter, upon thofe who had laboured to employ it against the facred doctrines of Chriflianity. Christianity. The dean, as he had fuffered Addison's correction with approbation, received this admonition with kindnefs; he fighed, and faid, with great appearances of regret, that it was too late, and from that day took all occafions to diftinguish Delany by the name of Friend. He had, indeed, no fkill in mufick, and fo was not able to entertain his company with a fong, to which fome men of great dignity, and great parts, have condefcended: but his power of ridicule extended even to musick, of which he gave an inflance too fingular to be forgotten. Dr. Pratt, who was then provoft of Dublin-College, had acquired much of the Italian tafte for musick in his travels, and Tom Roffengrave, a celebrated performer, being jutt returned from Italy, played a voluntary at St. Patrick's cathedral, where Dr. Pratt heard him, and Swift was also prefent: the doctor happened to dine at the deanery the fame day, and was fo extravagant in his encomiums on Rofengrave's voluntary, that feveral of the company faid, they wished they had heard it: Do you, faid Swift, then you thall hear it ftill, and immediately he fung out fo lively, and yet fo ridiculous an imitation of it, that all the company were kept in continual laughter till it was over, except one old gentleman, who fat with great compofure, and, though he liftened, yet fhewed neither curiofity nor approbation. After the entertainment, he was asked, by fome of the company, How it happened that he had been no more affected by the mufick? To which he answered with great gravity, That he had heard Mr. Roffengrave himself play it before. Such was Swift as a companion; as a master, he was not lefs remarkable or meritorious. As he expected punctual, ready, and implicit obedience, he always tried his fervants, when he hired them, by fome teft of their humility. Among other queftions, he always asked whether they understood cleaning thoes; becaufe, faid he, my kitchen - wench has has a fcullion that does her drudgery, and one part of the business of my groom and footman is conftantly to clean her shoes by turns: if they fcrupled this, the treaty was at an end; if not, he gave them a farther hearing. His kitchen-wench, however, was his cook, a woman of a large fize, robuft constitution, and coarse features, whofe face was very much seamed with the small-pox, and furrowed by age: this woman he always distinguished by the name of Sweetheart. It happened one day that Sweetheart greatly overroafted the only joint he had for dinner; upon which he fent for her up, and, with great coolness and gravity, Sweetheart, fays he, take this down into the kitchen and do it lefs. She replied, that was impoffible. Pray then, faid he, if you had roasted it too little, could you have done it more? Yes, fhe faid, fhe could eafily have done that: Why then, Sweetheart, replied the dean, let me advise you, if you must commit à fault, commit a fault that can be mended. To the rest of his fervants, indeed, he appeared to be churlish and auftere, but, in reality, was one of the best masters in the world: he allowed them board wages at the highest rate then known; and, if he employed them about any thing out of the ordinary course of their fervice, he always paid them to the full value of the work, as he would have paid another: with thefe emoluments, and the fragments from his table, he expected they should find themselves in victuals, and all other neceffaries, except the liveries which he gave them; if in this fituation their expences were greater than their income, it was judged a fufficient reafon to difcharge them; but, on the contrary, as foon as they had faved a full year's wages, he conftantly paid them legal interest for it, and took great pleasure in feeing it accumulate to a fum, which might fettle them in fome employment if he should die, or if they found it adviseable to quit his fervice, which feldom happened; and he with whom his fervants live long, has indubitable witneffes that he is a good mafter. It It is alfo certain, that, notwithstanding the apparent aufterity of his temper, he did not confider his fervants as poor flaves, to whose fervice he Orrery, had a right, in confideration merely of his money, and owed them no reciprocal obligation. 200. He had a fervant, whom he used to call Saunders, that lived long with him, and at length fell fick and died. In his fickness, which lafted many months, Swift took care that all poffible relief and affiftancé fhould be afforded him; and, when he died, he buried him in the fouth ifle of his cathedral, and erected a small piece of ftatuary to his memory, with this infcription: Here lieth the body of Alexander Magee, fervant to doctor Swift, His grateful master caufed this monument to be erected in memory of his difcretion, fidelity, and diligence in that humble station. Ob. Mar. 24, 1721, Etat. 29. In the original copy, which the author of the Obfervations faw in the dean's own hand, the expreffion was ftill ftronger, and more to the dean's honour, thus: His grateful friend and master. But a person of the dean's acquaintance, who is much more diftinguished for vanity than wisdom, prevailed upon him to leave out friend, even in oppofition to his own well-known maxim, that a faithful fervant should always be confidered not as a poor flave, but an humble friend. Of this perfon the name is not told; but to conceal it is rather injustice than mercy, for he ought, on this occafion, to inherit a difgrace, at least proportionate to the honour which he found means to withold from Swift. As a member of civil fociety, he was a zealous advocate for liberty, the detecter of fraud, and the fcourge of oppreffion. In his private capacity he was not only charitable, |