with difficulty that five perfons kept him, by mere force, from tearing out his own eyes. It has been obferved that corporal pain, whether by forcing the mind from that object which has engroffed it, or by whatever means, has reftored lunaticks to the use of reafon; and this effect, in a great degree, it produced upon the dean, for juft before the tumour perfectly fubfided, and the pain left him, he knew Mrs. Whiteway, took her by the hand, and spoke to her with his former kindnefs; that day, and the following, he knew his phyfician and furgeon, and all his family, and appeared to have fo far recovered his understanding and temper, that the furgeon was not without hopes he might once more enjoy fociety, and be amufed by the company of his old friends. This hope, however, was but of fhort duration, for a few days afterwards he funk into a state of total infenfibility, flept much, and could not, without great difficulty, be prevailed upon to walk cross the room. This was the effect of another bodily disease, his brain being loaded with water. Mr. Stevens, an ingenious clergyman of Dublin, pronounced this to be the cafe during his illness, 94,95,96, and, upon opening his body, it appeared that he was not mistaken; but, though he J.R. 149. often entreated the dean's friends and phyficians that his head might be trepanned and the water discharged, no regard was paid to his opinion or his entreaty. Orrery, 97, 98. After the dean had continued filent a whole year, in this state of helpless idiocy, his house-keeper went into his room on the 30th of November, in the morning, and told him that it was his birth-day, and that bonfires and illuminations were preparing to celebrate it as ufual; to this he immediately replied, It is all folly, they had better let it alone. Some other inftances of fhort intervals of fenfibi lity and reafon, after his madness had ended in stupor, feem to prove that his disorder, whatever it was, had not deftroyed, but only fufpended the powers of his mind. He was fometimes vifited by Mr. Deane Swift, a relation; and about Christmas, 1743, he feemed defirous to speak to him. Mr. Swift then told him he came to dine with him, and Mrs. Ridgeway, the house-keeper, immediately faid, Won't you give Mr. Swift a glass of wine, fir? To this he made no anfwer, but shewed that he understood the question, by fhrugging up his fhoulders, as he had been used to do when he had a mind a friend should spend the evening with him, and which was as much as to say, You will ruin me in wine. Soon after he again endeavoured, with a good deal of pain, to find words, but at laft after many efforts, not being able, he fetched a deep figh, and was afterwards filent. A few months afterwards, upon his house-keeper's removing a knife, as he was going to catch at it, he fhrugged up his fhoulders, and faid, "I am what I am, I am what I am," and, in about fix minutes, repeated the fame words two or three times. In the year 1744, he now and then called his fervant by his name, and once attempting to speak to him, but not being able to exprefs his meaning, he fhewed figns of much uneasiness, and at last said, 'I ⚫ am a fool.' Once, afterwards, as his fervant was taking away his watch, he faid, Bring it bere; and, when the fame fervant was breaking a large hard coal, he faid, 'That is a ftone, you blockhead.' From this time he was perfectly filent, till the latter end of October, 1745, and then died without the leaft pang or convulfion, in the 78th year of his age. By his will, which is dated in May, 1740, just before he ceased to be a reasonable being, he left about 1200 1. in fpecifick legacies, and the reft of his for tune, tune, which amounted to about 11000l. to erect and endow an hofpital for idiots and lunaticks. He was buried in the great ifle of St. Patrick's cathedral, under a ftone of black marble, infcribed with an epitaph in Latin, written by himself. See vol. xii. 367. From this narrative of his life, and from his works, to which it is prefixed, the striking peculiarities of his character may easily be collected; but there are fome incidents which relate to his converfation, and fome which refpect his perfon and private œconomy, which fhould by no means be omitted. D.S. 366. In company, he neither wrapped himself up in his own importance, without deigning to communicate his knowledge, or exert his wit; nor did he engrofs the converfation by perpetual and overbearing loquacity. His rule was never to speak more than a minute at a time, and then to wait, at least, as long for others to take up the converfation, after which he had a right to speak again. His colloquial ftile, like that of his writings, was clear, forcible, and concife. He greatly excelled in punning; a talent, which, he faid, no man affected to defpife, but thofe that were without it; and his converfation would have furnished a more excellent compendium of this fpecies of wit, than was ever yet compiled, or, perhaps, ever will; fome of these fallies of his imagination are ftill remembered, and, among others, the following, which may ferve for examples. He happened to be at the caftle, in the lieutenancy of the earl of Pembroke, when a learned physician 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, know, my lord, Mofes takes notice of them; he numbers the Hivites among the nations which Jofbua was appointed to conquer. He was another time in company with a lady, whofe long train happened to fweep down a fine fiddle, and break it, upon which he immediately cried out, Mantua va 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 several other toafts had been drank, called out to him, Mr. dean, The trade of Ireland: the dean turned about, and immediately answered, Sir, I drink no memories". J.R.214. 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 recomJ.R. 216. mend one 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, J. R. 218. yet his wit, as well as his virtue, was always fuperior to the wretched expedients of those despicable babblers, who are perpetually attempting to put off double entendre and prophanenefs for humour and wit. His converfation was in the highest degree chafte, and wholly free from the leaft tincture of irreligion. As he was zealous to preserve all the delicacies of conversation, he was always best pleased when fome of the company were ladies; and in one of his a Dr. Brown, bishop of Cork, had juft then printed two pamphlets and preached feveral fer mons, in which drinking to memories was zealously condemn ed. letters 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. D. S. 366. And, in this inftance, 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 conversation turned upon ferious fubjects, he was neither petulant in the debate, nor D.S.368. negligent of the iffue. He would liften with great attention to the arguments of others, and whether he was or was not engaged as a difputant himself, he would recapitulate what had been faid, state 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 perfons of whofe ability and honefty he had no doubt. In this poem of J. R. 19. Baucis and Philemon, which does not confift of quite two hundred verfes, Mr. Addison made him blot out fourfcore, add fourfcore, and alter fourfcofe. It was cuftomary with his friends to make him fome little annual prefent on his birth-day, something, 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 verses, 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 maf ter, upon those who had laboured to employ it against the facred doctrines of Chriftianity. The dean. |