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I have now finifhed the moft difguftful task that ever I undertook. I could, with more ease, have written three dull pamphlets, than remarked upon the falfhoods and abfurdities of one. But I was quite confounded, laft Wednesday, when the printer came with another pamphlet in his hand, written by the fame author, and entitled, The Englishman, being the clofe of the paper fo called, &c. He defired I would read it over, and confider it in a paper by itfelf; which laft I abfolutely refufed. Upon perufal, I found it chiefly an invectiveagainst Toby, the miniftry, the Examiner, the clergy, the Queen, and the Foft-boy; yet, at the fame time, with great juftice, exclaiming against thofe, who prefumed to offer the leaft word, against the heads of that faction whom her Majefty discharged. The author likewife propofeth an equal divifion of favour and employments, between the whigs and tories; for, if the former can have no part or portion in David*, they defire no longer to be his fubjects. He infifts, that her Majefty hath exactly followed Monfieur Tughe's memorial, against demolishing of Dunkirk. He reflects, with great fatisfaction, on the good already done to his country, by the Crifis. Non nobis, Domine, non nobis, &c.--He gives us hopes, that Ff3

* What portion have we in David?

he

+ Tughe was deputed by the magiftrates of Dunkirk to in"tercede with the Queen, that she would recall part of her fen"tence concerning Dunkirk, by caufing her thunderbolts to fall "only on the martial works, and to fpare the moles and dykes, "which, in their naked condition, could be no more than ob "jects of pity."

he will leave off writing, and confult his own quiet and happiness; and concludes, with a letter to a friend at court. I fuppofe, by the style of old friend, and the like, it must be somebody there, of his own level; among whom his party have, indeed, more friends than I could wifh. In this letter, he afferts, that the prefent minifters were not educated in the church of England, but are new converts from prefbytery. Upon which I can only reflect, how blind the malice of that man muft be, who invents a groundless lie, in order to defame his fuperiors, which would be no difgrace, if it had been a truth. And he concludes with making three demands, for the fatisfaction of kimfelf and other malecontents, "Firft, The de"molition of the harbour of Dunkirk. Secondly, "That Great Britain and France would heartily

join, against the exorbitant power of the Duke "of Lorrain, and force the Pretender from his "afylum at Bar le Duc. Laftly, That his Elec"toral Highnefs of Hanover would be fo grateful "to fignify to all the world, the perfect good "understanding he hath with the court of Eng"land, in as plain terms as her Majefty was pleaf"ed to declare fhe had with that houfe, on her "part."

As to the first of these demands, I will venture to undertake it fhall be granted; but then, Mr. Steele and his brother malecontents, muft promise to believe the thing is done, after thofe employed have made their report; or else bring vouchers to difprove it. Upon the fecond; I cannot tell,

whether

whether her Majesty will engage in a war against the Duke of Lorrain, to force him to remove the Pretender; but, I believe, if the parliament fhould think it neceffary to address, upon fuch an occafion, the QUEEN will move that prince to fend him away. His laft demand, offered under the title of a wish, is of fo infolent and feditious a ftrain, that I care not to touch it. Here he directly chargeth her Majefty with delivering a falfhood to her parliament from the throne; and declares, he will not believe her, until the Elector of Hanover himfelf fhall vouch for the truth of what the hath fo folemnly affirmed.

I agree with this writer, that it is an idle thing in his antagonists, to trouble themfelves upon the articles of his birth, education, or fortune: for, whoever writes at this rate, of his fovereign, to whom he owes fo many personal obligations, I fhall never enquire, whether he be a GENTLEMAN BORN, but whether he be a HUMAN CREATURE.

THE

THE CONDUCT OF THE ALLIES, and of the LATE MINISTRY, in beginning and carrying on the prefent War *.

I

Written in the year 1712.

Partem tibi Gallia noftri
Eripuit: partem duris Hifpania bellis :
Pars jacet Hefperia, totoque exercitus orbe
Te vincente perit.

Odimus accipitrem quia femper vivit in armis.
Victrix provincia plorat.

PREFACE.

Cannot fufficiently admire the industry of a fort of men, wholly out of favour with the Prince and people, and openly profeffing a separate intereft from the bulk of the landed men, who yet are able to raise, at this juncture, fo great a clamour against a peace, without offering one fingle reason, but what we find in their ballads. I lay it down for a maxim, that no reasonable man, whether whig or tory, (fince it is neceffary to use those foolish terms) can be of opinion for continuing the

war

To this tract, and the Examiners, which make Vol. V. of the Irish edition, there is a preface in the name of the publisher, which Lord Orrery afcribes to Swift, for no other apparent reafon, than to accufe him of praising himself. But, befides the incorrectness of the ftyle, which his Lordship supposes to be affected, there is an affertion, that these papers produced the change in the Queen's ministry, which, even in his Lordship's opinion, they were written to defend, and to which they appear, by their date, as well as tenor, to be fubfequent; an abfurdity, of which Swift, even in the character of a publifher, cannot be supposed to have been guilty. Hawke

war upon the foot it now is, unless he be a gainer by it, or hopes it may occafion fome new turn of affairs at home, to the advantage of his party; or, laftly, unless he be very ignorant of the kingdom's condition, and by what means we have been reduced to it. Upon the two firft cafes, where intereft is concerned, I have nothing to fay: but, as to the last, I think it highly neceffary, that the public fhould be freely and impartially told, what circumstances they are in, after what manner they have been treated by thofe, whom they trufted fo many years with the difpofal of their blood and treafure, and what the confequences of this management are like to be, upon themselves and their pofterity.

Those who, either by writing or discourse, have undertaken to defend the proceedings of the late ministry, in the management of the war, and of the treaty at Gertruydenburgh, have spent time in celebrating the conduct and valour of our leaders, and their troops, in fumming up the victories they have gained, and the towns they have taken. Then they tell us, what high articles were infifted on by our ministers, and thofe of the confederates, and what pains both were at, in perfuading France to accept them. But nothing of this can give the leaft fatisfaction to the juft complaints of the kingdom. As to the war, our grievances are, that a greater load has been laid on us, than was either just or neceffary, or than we have been able to bear; that the groffeft impofitions have been fubmitted to, for the advancement of private wealth and power, or in order to forward the more dangerous defigns of

a faction,

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