intimacies with me. I cannot but receive any that call upon me in your name; and in truth they take it in vain too often. I take all opportunities of justifying you against these friends, especially thofe who know all you think and write, and repeat your flighter verfes It is generally on fuch little fcraps that witlings feed: and 'tis hard the world should judge of our houfe-keeping, from what we fling to our dogs; yet this is often the confequence. But they treat you fill worfe, mix their own with yours, print them to get money, and lay them at your door. This I am fatisfied was the cafe in the epiftle to a lady. It was just the fame hand (if I have any judgment in ftyle) which printed your life and character before, which you fo ftrongly difavowed in your letters to Lord Carteret, myself, and others. I was very well informed of another fact, which convinced me yet more: The fame perfon who gave this to be printed, offered to a bookfeller a piece in profe as yours, and as commiffiond by you, which has fince appeared, and been owned to be his own, I think (I fay once more) that I know your hand, though you did not mine in the Effay on Man. I beg your pardon for not telling you, as I fhould, had you been in England: but no fecret can cross your Irifh fea, and every clerk in the post-office had known it. I fancy, though you loft fight of me in the first of thofe effays, you faw me in the fecond. The defign of concealing myself was good, and had its full effect. I was thought a divine, a philofopher, and what not; and my doctrine had a fanction I could not have given to it. Whether I can proceed in the fame grave march like Lucretius, or muft defcend to the gaities of Horace, I know not, or whether I can do either; but be the future as it will, I fhall collect all the paft in one fair quarto this winter, and fend it you, where you will find. VOL X. frequent

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frequent mention of yourself. I was glad you fuffered your writings to be collected more completely than hitherto, in the volumes I daily expect from Ireland; I wished it had been in more pomp, but that will be done by others: yours are beauties, that can never be too finely dreffed, for they will ever be young. I have only one piece of mercy to beg of you do not laugh at my gravity, but permit me to wear the beard of a philofopher, till I pull it off, and make a jest of it myself. It is just what my Lord B. is doing with metaphyfics. I hope you will live to fee, and ftare at the learned figure he will make, on the fame shelf with Locke and Malbranche.

You fee how I talk to you, (for this is not writing). If you like I fhould do fo, why not tell me fo; if it be the least pleasure to you, I will write once a-week most gladly: but can you abstract the letters from the perfon who writes them, fo far, as not to feel more vexation in the thought of our feparation, and thofe misfortunes which occafion it, than fatisfaction in the nothings he can exprefs? If you can, really, and from my heart, I cannot. I return again to melancholy. Pray, however, tell me, is it a fatisfaction? that will make it one to me; and we will think alike, as friends ought, and you fhall hear from me punctually juft when you will.

P. S. Our friend, who has just returned from a progrefs of three months, and is fetting out in th: ee days with me for the Bath, where he will ftay till towards the middle of October, left this letter with me yesterday, and I cannot feal and dispatch it till I have fcribbled the remainder of this page full. He talks very pompoufly of my metaphyfics, and places them in a very honourable station. It is true, I have writ fix letters and an half to him on fubjects of that kind, and propofe a letter and an half more, which would swell the whole up to a confiderable

confiderable volume. the name of an author than I am. When he and you, and one or two other friends, have feen them, fatis magnum theatrum mihi eftis, I shall not have the itch of making them more public *. I know how little regard you pay to writings of this kind. But I imagine, that if your can like any fuch, it must be those that strip metaphyfics of all their bombast, keep within the fight of every well-conftituted eye, and never bewilder themselves whilft they pretend to guide the reafon of others. I writ to you a long letter fome time ago, and fent it by the poft. Did it come to your hands? or did the inspectors of private correfpondence ftop it, to revenge themselves of the ill faid of them in it? Vale, et me ama.

But he thinks me fonder of

LETTER LXXIII.

From Dr. SWIFT.

Nov. 1. 1734.) Have yours with my Lord B's poftfcript, of September 15. It was long on its way; and for fome weeks after the date, I was very ill with my two inverate diforders, giddiness and deafnefs. The latter is pretty well off; but the other makes me totter towards evenings, and much difpirits me. But I continue to ride and walk; both of which, although they be no cures, are at least amusements. I did never imagine you to be either inconftant, or to want right notions of friendship :

As Lord B. (let. 49.) tells us, they fhew that all our metaphyfical theology is ridiculous and abominable.

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but I apprehend your want of health; and it hath been a frequent wonder to me, how you have been able to entertain the world fo long, fo frequently, fo happily, under fo many bodily diforders. My Lord B. fays you have been three months rambling, which is the best thing you can poffibly do in a fummer-feafon; and when the winter recals you, we will, for our own interefts, leave you to your fpeculations. God be thanked, I have done with every thing, and of every kind, that requires writing, except now and then a letter; or, like a true old man, fcribling trifles only fit for children, or schoolboys of the lowest clafs at beft, which three or four of us read and laugh at to-day, and burn to-morrow. Yet, what is fingular, I never am without some great work in view, enough to take up forty years of the most vigorous healthy man; although I am convinced, that I fhall never be able to finish three treatifes that have lain by me feveral years, and want nothing but correction. My Lord B. faid in his poftfcript, that you would go to Bath in three days. We fince heard that you were dangerously ill there, and that the news-mongers gave you over. But a gentleman of this kingdom, on his return from Bath, affured me he left you well; and fo did fome others, whom I have forgot. I am forry at my heart, that you are peftered with people who come in my name; and I profefs to you, it is without my knowledge. I am confident I fhall hardly ever have occafion again to recommend; for my friends here are very few, and fixed to the freehold, from whence nothing but death will remove them. Surely I never doubted about your Effay on Man; and I would lay any odds, that I would never fail to discover you in fix lines, unless you had a mind to write below, or befide yourfelf, on purpose. I confefs I did never imagine you were fo deep in morals, or that fo many new and excellent rules could be produced fo advantageously and agreeably in

that

that fcience, from any one head. I confefs in fome few places I was forced to read twice. I believe I told you before what the Duke of D faid to

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me on that occafion, how a judge here, who knows you, told him, that on the first reading thofe effays, he was much pleased, but found fome lines a little dark on the fecond moft of them cleared up, and his pleasure increased; on the third he had no doubt remaining; and then he admired the whole. My Lord Bolingbroke's attempt of reducing metaphyfics to intelligible fenfe and usefulness, will be a glorious undertaking; and as I never knew him fail in any thing he attempted, if he had the fole management, fo I am confident he will fucceed in this. I defire you will allow that I write to you both at prefent; and fo I fhall while I live. It faves your money and my time; and he being your genius, no matter to which it is addreffed. I am happy that what you write is printed in large letters; otherwife, between the weakness of my eyes, and the thickness of my hearing, I fhould lofe the greatest pleasure that is left me. Pray command my Lord B to follow that example, if I live to read his metaphyfics. Pray God blefs you both. I had a melancholy account from the Doctor of his health. I will anfwer his letter as foon as I can. I am ever entirely yours.

LETTER LXXIV.

Twickenham, Dec. 19. 1734.

AM truly forry for any complaint you have; I and it is in regard to the weakness of your eyes,

that I write (as well as print) in folio. You'll think, (I know you will, for you have all the candour of a good understanding) that the thing which

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