THESE letters were recovered by the industry of Mr. Nicol, and throw some curious light upon Dean Swift's publications. His connection with the impudent and profligate character to whom he intrusted them is noticed, Vol. I. p. 353. MR. PILKINGTON TO MR. BOWYER. November 9, 1731. SIR, HAVE been much surprised at your long silence, and, perhaps, you have been affected in the same manner at mine. But, as I hope always to preserve the friendship we have begun, I must acquaint you with the reasons of my conduct. I have the misfortune to live in a scene of great hurry; and, between attending those who live in high stations who honour me with their friendship, and discharging the duties of my profession, I have scarce a moment disengaged; yet I constantly desired my friend Faulkner to write to you in my name, because I imagined it would save postage; and I thought it unreasonable to trouble you with my letters, when I had no very urgent business to write to you upon, and had too many obligations to you to think of adding to your expense. But I cannot imagine what you can plead in your case, for your neglect of writing to me, who am desirous to continue a constant correspondence: I shall be glad to hear you justify yourself. Yesterday I saw a letter of yours to Mr. Faulkner, and on so distressful a subject, that I very sensibly shared in your affliction. I am naturally apt to pity the woes of my fellow-creatures, but the wounds of my friends are my own. Here my office ought to be to administer comfort to you in so great a calamity; but I know how much easier it is to preach patience and resignation, than to practise either. The strongest reason acts but feebly upon the heart that is loaded with grief, nor is the highest eloquence powerful enough to heal a wounded spirit. Time, and a firm trust in Divine Providence, which undoubtedly orders all things for the best, are the only ministers of comfort in our misfortunes; and I hope your own virtue will enable you to bear this affliction with the resolution of a Christian, though joined with all the tenderness of a friend, and the fondest esteem for the memory of that relation you have lost. I desired Mr. Faulkner, about six weeks ago, to return you my thanks for your kindness in procuring * The death of Mrs. Bowyer. me the books from Mr. Giles's, which I received safe, and also the box of those writings of mine; and I am extremely grieved to find that Faulkner neglected mentioning either. I had not known it, only for your postscript, wherein you desire to know whether I received them. I would have wrote to you before this, if I had not believed that your charge was paid; for Dr. Delany is, I believe, by this time in London; and he wrote to me from Bath for directions where to find you in London, that he might pay off his bill, and return you his thanks for your kindness to us. Let me beg the favour of you to acquaint Mr. Giles with this, because I would not, for any consideration, seem to forget my creditors, though in another country. If Dr. Delany be not come to you, I desire you will inquire out his lodgings; and I believe you may be informed either at Lord Bolingbroke's, or Mr. Percival's, in ConduitStreet. Tell him your name whenever you go to wait upon him; and I assure you the doctor will be extremely friendly to you, and glad to see you, for I have often talked to him of you. I received ninety-four books* from you, but I believe you must commit them to the charge of Mr. Faulkner, because I have no opportunity of selling, but bestowing them; for when any of my friends are desirous to have one, and ask me where they are to be had, I am always too generous, or too bashful, (which is a great rarity among us Irish,) to accept of payment for them; and by this means I shall be under the necessity of giving all away, which would be too expensive an article to me. Now, what I think would answer would be, to send what I have not bestowed to Mr. Faulkner, and let him publish in his newspaper that he has imported some of those * Mr. Pilkington's Poems, printed by Mr. Bowyer in 1730. books, and let him be accountable to you for the sale. I wrote to you for thirty, which I expected to give away, and I believe I have distributed so many. When I receive your answer, I will give you a particular account, and remit you the money for them the first opportunity. If I find Dr. Delany's lodgings out from any friends here, or from his letters to me, I will give you immediate notice. I should be glad to have any catalogues that were now selling in London; and, if you could send any of them, or any other little pamphlets, they may be directed to the Lord Bishop of Killala, in Dublin, for me. I never received either the Monthly Chronicle for March, nor the Historia Literaria for ditto; I believe it miscarried, by being directed to Faulkner; they were not for Dr. Delany, but for another gentleman in town; but I had forgot, till the gentleman asked me for them the other day. I shall be glad to hear from you soon: and am your most sincere friend, MATT. PILKINGTON. There is one Green, a bookseller, lately come from London to this town, who has imported a very curious collection of books; but he has rated them so excessively dear, and seems to act so haughtily in the sale of them, that I believe above threefourths of them will be sent back to-morrow to England again. I made the Dean of St. Patrick's go with me there the first morning; but all the books were too dear for either of us. MR. PILKINGTON TO MR. BOWYER. SIR, I I FIND you are resolved to lay me under so many obligations to you, that, upon principles of gratitude, I must be always desirous to promote your interest to the utmost of my power. I think you have nothing more left to do, but to make the experiment, by putting it in my way to return your favours. sent sixty-five books to Mr. Faulkner's, and hope, some time or other, to have it in my power to make acknowledgments. I find Mr. Faulkner sent you a little pamphlet of my writing, called, An Infallible Scheme to pay the Debts of this Nation. I have the honour to see it mistaken for the Dean's, both in Dublin and in your part of the world; but I am still diffident of it, whether it will merit esteem or contempt. It was a sudden whim; and I was tempted to send it into the world by the approbation which the Dean (my wisest and best friend) expressed when he read it: if you were concerned in the printing of it, I hope you will be no sufferer. I am very much obliged to you for receiving the young printer, whom I recommended to you, in so friendly a manner. If I can, on this side of the water, be serviceable to any friend of yours, command me. I am much pleased to hear of your acquaintance with Dr. Delany, who is the best of friends; and I do not doubt but your affection for him will increase with your intimacy with him. I desire you to present my service to him; and tell him that the Dean designs to trouble him to buy a convenient microscope, that he may find out both myself and my house with greater ease than he can at present, |