10 Winces. Lyly says, "Rubbe there no more, least I winch."
11 Probably William Whiston, who was deprived of the Lucasian professorship at
Cambridge in 1710 for his heterodox views. Parliament having offered a reward
for the discovery of means of finding the longitude, Whiston made several
attempts (1714 and 1721).
12 Word obliterated.
13 Distilled water prepared with rosemary flowers. In Fielding's Joseph
Andrews, a lady gives up to a highway robber, in her fright, a silver bottle
which, the ruffian said, contained some of the best brandy he had ever tasted;
this she "afterwards assured the company was a mistake of her maid, for that
she had ordered her to fill the bottle with Hungary water."
14 As I hope to be saved.
15 Added on the fourth page, as the letter was folded.
Letter 45.
1 Addressed to "Mrs. Johnson," etc. Endorsed "May 1st."
2 A kind of clover, used for soothing purposes.
Letter 46.
1 Addressed to "Mrs. Dingley," etc. Endorsed "May 15."
2 Madam Ayris.
3 Simpleton.
4 Robert Benson (see Letter 6, note 36).
5 See Letter 41, note 35 and Letter 43, note 7.
6 The title was, An Appendix to John Bull still in his Senses: or, Law is a
Bottomless Pit.
7 Arbuthnot.
8 Enquiries by servants.
9 See Letter 17, note 5.
10 Sick.
11 Afterwards Rector of Letcombe, Berks. It was to his house that Swift
repaired a few weeks before the Queen's death. On June 8, 1714, he wrote, "I
am at a clergyman's house, whom I love very well, but he is such a melancholy,
thoughtful man, partly from nature, and partly by a solitary life, that I
shall soon catch the spleen from him. His wife has been this month twenty
miles off at her father's, and will not return these ten days, and perhaps the
house will be worse when she comes." Swift spells the name "Geree"; later on
in the Journal he mentions two of Mr. Gery's sisters, Betty (Mrs. Elwick) and
Moll (Mrs. Wigmore); probably he made the acquaintance of the family when he
was living with the Temples at Moor Park (see Letter 59, note 11).
12 Because she is a good girl in other things.
Letter 47.
1 Addressed to "Mrs. Dingley," etc. Endorsed "June 5."
2 Sice, the number six at dice.
3 At Laracor Swift had "a canal and river-walk and willows."
4 Splenetic fellow.
5 One of them was by Oldmixon: Reflections on Dr. Swift's Letter to the Earl
of Oxford.
6 Beg your pardon.
7 See Letter 25, note 9.
8 On May 28, Lord Halifax moved an Address to the Queen that the instructions
given to the Duke of Ormond might be laid before the House, and that further
orders might be issued to him to act offensively, in concert with the Allies.
Wharton and Nottingham supported the motion, but it was negatived by 68 votes
against 40. A similar motion in the House of Commons was defeated by 203
against 73.
9 See Letter 34, note 10.
10 See Letter 23, note 13.
11 "Some Reasons to prove that no Person is obliged by his Principles, as a
Whig, to oppose Her Majesty: in a Letter to a Whig Lord."
12 Several words obliterated.
13 Several words obliterated.
14 The bellman.
15 This present writing.
16 Please.
Letter 48.
1 Addressed to "Mrs. Rebecca Dingley," etc. Endorsed "June 23d."
2 Mr. Ryland reads "second."
3 As I hope to be saved.
4 See Letter 30, Sept. 18, 1711.
5 Glad at heart.
6 The threepenny pamphlet mentioned in Letter 47, note 11.
7 I.e., for.
Letter 49.
1 Addressed to "Mrs. Dingley." Endorsed "July 8."
2 See Letter 28, note 24.
3 See Letter 10, note 2.
4 See Letter 3, note 11.
5 See Letter 48, note 4.
6 Dr. William Lloyd--one of the Seven Bishops of 1688--was eighty-four years
of age at this time; he died five years later. He was a strong antipapist,
and a great student of the Apocalypse, besides being a hard-working bishop. A
curious letter from him to Lord Oxford about a coming war of religion is given
in the Welbeck Papers (Hist. MSS. Comm.) v. 128.
7 "Toland's Invitation to Dismal to dine with the Calf's Head Club." The Earl
of Nottingham (Dismal) had deserted the Tories, and Swift's imitation of
Horace (Epist. I. v.) is an invitation from Toland to dine with "his trusty
friends" in celebration of the execution of Charles I. The Calf's Head Club
was in the habit of toasting "confusion to the race of kings."
8 Bolingbroke.
9 George Fitzroy, Duke of Northumberland (died 1716), a natural son of Charles
II., was also Viscount Falmouth and Baron of Pontefract. See Notes and
Queries, viii. i. 135.
10 Enoch Sterne.
11 Templeoag (see Letter 48, Jun. 17, 1712).
12 Swift probably was only repeating an inaccurate rumour, for there is no
evidence that Steele was arrested. His gambling scheme was withdrawn directly
an information was laid under the new Act of Parliament against gambling
(Aitken's Life of Steele, i. 347).
13 Dr. William Moreton (1641-1715), Swift's diocesan, was translated from the
see of Kildare to that of Meath in 1705.
14 Words obliterated. Forster reads conjecturally, "when ME wants me to send.
She ought to have it," etc.
Letter 50.
1 Addressed to "Mrs. Dingley," etc. Endorsed "July 23."
2 "N.33" seems a mistake. Letter No. 32 was received after Swift had left
Kensington and gone to Windsor; see Letter 51, Aug. 7, 1712 and Letter 52,
Sept. 18, 1712 (Ryland).
3 Dr. Moreton (see Letter 49, note 13).
4 Memoranda.
5 Again.
6 O Lord, drunken slut.
7 There's for you now, and there's for your letter, and every kind of thing.
8 Bolingbroke.
9 See Letter 13, note 10.
10 Grub Street pamphlet. The title was, A Supposed Letter from the Pretender
to another Whig Lord.
11 Arnold Joost Van Keppel, created Earl of Albemarle in 1697. He died in
1718. The action referred to was at Denain, where the Dutch were defeated by
Villars.
Letter 51.
1 Addressed to "Mrs. Dingley," etc. Endorsed "Aug. 14."
2 Perhaps this was influenza.
3 By the Stamp Act passed on June 10, 1712--which was repealed in 1859--a duty
of one halfpenny was levied on all pamphlets and newspapers contained in half
a sheet or less, and a duty of one penny on those of more than half but not
exceeding a whole sheet. Swift opposed the idea in January 1711 (see Letter
15, note 1), and Defoe argued against the Bill in the Review for April 26,
1712, and following numbers. Addison, in the Spectator, No. 445, spoke of the
mortality among authors resulting from the Stamp Act as "the fall of the
leaf."
4 The title is, "Lewis Baboon turned honest, and John Bull politician. Being
the Fourth Part of Law is a Bottomless Pit." This pamphlet--really the fifth
of the series--appeared on July 31, 1712.
5 Poor Laracor.
6 See Letter 12, note 1.
7 On the death of the third Earl in 1712, the title of Earl of Winchelsea
passed to his uncle, Heneage Finch, who had married Anne, daughter of Sir
William Kingsmill (see Letter 24, note 7).
Letter 52.
1 Addressed to "Mrs. Dingley," etc. Endorsed "Oct. 1st. At Portraune"
[Portraine].
2 Oxford and Bolingbroke.
3 Including Hester Vanhomrigh.
4 He died on Sept. 15, 1712.
5 Elizabeth Villiers, eldest daughter of Sir Edward Villiers, Knight Marischal
of England, and sister of the first Earl of Jersey. In 1695 she married Lord
George Hamilton (son of Lord William Douglas, afterwards Duke of Hamilton),
who was raised to the peerage of Scotland in 1696 as Earl of Orkney. William
III. gave her an Irish estate worth 26,000 pounds a year. Swift's opinion of
her wisdom is confirmed by Lord Lansdowne, who speaks, in his Progress of
Poetry, of
"Villiers, for wisdom and deep judgment famed,
Of a high race, victorious beauty brings
To grace our Courts, and captivate our Kings."
The "beauty" seems a poetic licence; Swift says the lady squinted "like a
dragon."
6 Cliefden.
7 See Letter 12, note 7.
8 Swift's sister (see Letter 9, note 22).
9 Forster reads "returned."
10 See Swift's letter to General Hill of Aug. 12, 1712
11 Swift's housekeeper at Laracor.
12 I.e., be made freemen of the City.
Letter 53.
1 Addressed to "Mrs. Dingley," etc. Endorsed "Octr. 18. At Portraune."
2 "Sometimes, when better company was not to be had, he [Swift] was honoured
by being invited to play at cards with his patron; and on such occasions Sir
William was so generous as to give his antagonist a little silver to begin
with" (Macaulay, History of England, chap. xix.).
3 The History of the Works of the Learned, a quarto periodical, was published
from 1699 to 1711.
4 See Letter 35, note 4.
5 See Letter 28, note 25.
6 Lady Elizabeth Savage, daughter of Richard, fourth Earl Rivers (see Letter
11, note 9), was the second wife of James Barry, fourth Earl of Barrymore. Of
Earl Rivers' illegitimate children, one, Bessy, married (1) Frederick Nassau,
third Earl of Rochford, and (2) a clergyman named Carter; while another,
Richard Savage, was the poet. Earl Rivers' successor, John Savage, the fifth
Earl, was a Roman Catholic priest, the grandson of John, first Earl Rivers.
On his death in 1728 the title became extinct.
7 No. 32.
8 Very sick.
9 From "but I" to "agreeable" is partially obliterated.
10 Mrs. Swanton was the eldest daughter of Willoughby Swift, and therefore
Swift's second cousin. In her will Esther Johnson left to Swift "a bond of
thirty pounds, due to me by Dr. Russell, in trust for the use of Mrs. Honoria
Swanton."
11 This sentence is partially obliterated.
12 See Letter 51, note 2.
13 See Letter 5, note 16.
14 The latter half of this sentence is partially obliterated.
15 Partly obliterated.
16 See Letter 8, note 2.
17 Wise.
18 Partly obliterated.
19 See Letter 6, note 45.
20 This sentence is almost obliterated.
Letter 54.
1 The MS. of this letter has not been preserved.
2 See Letter 26, note 2.
3 Swift's friend, Dr. Pratt (see Letter 2, note 14), was then Provost of
Trinity College, Dublin.
4 Samuel Molyneux, then aged twenty-three, was the son of William Molyneux
(1656-1698), M.P. for Dublin University, a writer on philosophical and
scientific subjects, and the friend of Locke. Samuel Molyneux took his M.A.
degree in Dublin in 1710, and in 1712 visited England. He was befriended by
the Duke of Marlborough at Antwerp, and in 1714 was sent by the Duke on a
mission to the Court of Hanover. He held office under George I., but devoted
most of his attention to astronomical research, until his death in 1728.
5 Probably "The Case of Ireland's being bound by Acts of Parliament in England
stated" (1698).
6 Oxford and Bolingbroke.
7 See Letter 36, note 18.
8 See Letter 51, Aug. 7, 1712.
9 George Ridpath (died 1726), a Whig journalist, of whom Pope (Dunciad, i.
208) wrote--
"To Dulness Ridpath is as dear as Mist."
He edited the Flying Post for some years, and also wrote for the Medley in
1712. In September William Hurt and Ridpath were arrested for libellous and
seditious articles, but were released on bail. On October 23 they appeared
before the Court of Queen's Bench, and were continued on their recognizances.
In February 1713 Ridpath was tried and, in spite of an able defence by leading
Whig lawyers, was convicted. Sentence was postponed, and when Ridpath failed
to appear, as ordered, in April, his recognizances were escheated, and a
reward offered for his discovery; but he had fled to Scotland, and from thence
to Holland.
10 See Letter 52, note 5.
11 Lady Orkney's sister, Barbara Villiers, who married John Berkeley, fourth
Viscount Fitz-Hardinge, had been governess to the Duke of Gloucester, Queen
Anne's son. She died in 1708, in her fifty-second year; and on her husband's
death four years later the peerage became extinct.
12 For the street criers, see the Spectator, No. 251.
Letter 55.
1 Addressed to "Mrs. Dingley." Endorsed "Nov. 26, just come from Portraine";
and "The band-box plot--D: Hamilton's murther."
2 Charles Mohun, fifth Baron Mohun, had been twice arraigned of murder, but
acquitted; and during his short but turbulent life he had taken part in many
duels. Even Burnet could say nothing in his favour.
3 This duel between the Duke of Hamilton (see Letter 27, note 9) and Lord
Mohun, who had married nieces of Lord Macclesfield, had its origin in a
protracted dispute about some property. The challenge came from Lord Mohun,
and the combatants fought like "enraged lions." Tory writers suggested that
the duel was a Whig conspiracy to get rid of the Duke of Hamilton (Examiner,
Nov. 20, 1712). The whole subject is discussed from the Whig point of view in
Boyer's Political State for 1712, pp. 297-326.
4 "Will" (MS.).
5 See Letter 27, note 9.
6 George Maccartney (see Letter 11, note 13 and Letter 39, Jan. 22, 1711-12 )
fought at Almanza, Malplaquet, and Douay. After the duel, Maccartney escaped
to Holland, but on the accession of George I. he returned to England, and was
tried for murder (June 1716), when Colonel Hamilton gave evidence against him.
Hamilton's evidence was discredited, and he found it necessary to sell his
commission and leave the country. Maccartney was found guilty as an
accessory, and "burnt" in the hand. Within a month he was given an
appointment in the army; and promoted to be Lieutenant-General. He died in
1730.
7 Colonel John Hamilton, of the Scots Guards. He surrendered himself, and was
tried at the Old Bailey on Dec. 12, 1712, when he was found guilty of
manslaughter, on two indictments; and on the following day he was "burnt" in
the hand. Hamilton died in October 1716, soon after Maccartney's trial, from
a sudden vomiting of blood.
8 "That" (MS.).
9 The story (as told in the Tory Postboy of Nov. 11 to 13) was that on Nov. 4
a bandbox was sent to the Earl of Oxford by post. When he began to open it he
saw a pistol, whereupon a gentleman present [Swift] asked for the box, and
opening it, by the window, found powder, nails, etc., so arranged that, if
opened in the ordinary way, the whole would have been fired, and two barrels
discharged different ways. No doubt a box so packed was received, but whether
anything serious was intended, or whether it was a hoax, cannot be said with
any certainty. The Earl of Oxford is said to have met allusions to the
subject with a smile, and Swift seems to have been annoyed at the reports
which were put into circulation.
10 "We have received a more particular account relating to the box sent to the
Lord Treasurer, as mentioned in our last, which is as follows," etc. (Evening
News, Nov. 11 to 13, 1712).
11 Either "A Letter to the People, to be left for them at the Booksellers,
with a word or two of the Bandbox Plot" (by T. Burnet), 1712, or "An Account
of the Duel. . ., with Previous Reflections on Sham Plots" (by A. Boyer),
1712. Swift's connection with the Bandbox Plot was ridiculed in the Flying
Post for Nov. 20 to 22.
12 Cf. Letter 16, Feb. 20, 1710-11.
13 This sentence is partially obliterated.
14 Part of this sentence has been obliterated.
15 See Letter 43, note 39. I have not been able to find a copy of the paper
containing Swift's paragraph.
16 This sentence is partially obliterated.
17 See Letter 12, note 2.
18 Apparently Humphrey Griffith, who was one of the Commissioners of Salt; but
Swift gives the name as "Griffin" throughout.
19 See Letter 53, note 13 and Letter 5, note 16.
20 For these shorter letters Swift folded the folio sheet before writing.
Letter 56.
1 Addressed to "Mrs. Dingley," etc. Endorsed "Decr. 18."
2 Vengeance.
3 Charles Connor, scholar of Trinity College, Dublin, who took his B.A. degree
in the same year as Swift (1686), and his M.A. degree in 1691.
4 The History of the Peace of Utrecht.
5 See Letter 55, note 7.
6 Lord Oxford's daughter Elizabeth married, on Dec. 16, 1712, Peregrine Hyde,
Marquis of Caermarthen, afterwards third Duke of Leeds (see Letter 42, note 23
and Letter 24, note 5). She died on Nov. 20, 1713, a few days after the birth
of a son. Swift called her "a friend I extremely loved."
7 "Is" (MS.).
8 Disorders.
9 See Letter 34, note 10.
10 John Francis, Rector of St. Mary's, Dublin, was made Dean of Leighlin in
1705.
11 See Letter 9, note 7.
12 Possibly "have."
13 See Letter 55, notes 9, 10, 11.
14 This clause is omitted by Mr. Ryland.
15 See Letter 31, note 6.
16 See Letter 54, Oct. 30, 1712.
17 Thomas Jones, Esq., was M.P. for Trim in the Parliament of 1713-4.
18 A Dutch agent employed in the negotiations with Lewis XIV.
19 When I come home.
Letter 57.
1 Addressed to "Mrs. Dingley," etc. Endorsed "Jan. 13."
2 "Ay, marry, this is something like." The earlier editions give, "How
agreeable it is in a morning." The words in the MS. are partially
obliterated.
3 In this letter (Dec. 20, 1712) Swift paid many compliments to the Duchess of
Ormond (see Letter 17, note 5): "All the accomplishments of your mind and
person are so deeply printed in the heart, and represent you so lively to my
imagination, that I should take it for a high affront if you believed it in
the power of colours to refresh my memory."
4 Tisdall's Conduct of the Dissenters in Ireland (see Letter 61, note 7).
5 See Letter 9, note 20 and Letter 20, Apr. 13, 1711.
6 Monteleon.
7 See Letter 5, note 8 and Letter 3, note 3.
8 Utrecht, North and South Holland, and West Frieseland.
9 See Letter 46, note 11.
10 See Letter 46, note 11.
11 "On Queen Anne's Peace."
12 See Letter 43, note 11. The poem was "Dryades, or the Nymph's Prophecy."
13 See Letter 35, note 4.
14 See Letter 17, note 3.
15 Dr. Tobias Pullen (1648-1713) was made Bishop of Dromore in 1695.
16 Lord Charles Douglas, Earl of Selkirk, died unmarried in 1739. When his
father, William, first Earl of Selkirk, married Anne, Duchess of Hamilton, the
Duchess obtained for her husband, in 1660, the title of Duke of Hamilton, for
life. James II. conferred the Earldom of Selkirk on his Grace's second and
younger sons, primogenitively; and the second son having died without issue,
the third, Charles, became Earl. The fifth son, George, was created Earl of
Orkney (see Letter 52, note 5). The difference between Lord Selkirk and the
Earl of Abercorn (see Letter 10, note 33) to which Swift alludes was in
connection with the claim to the Dukedom of Chatelherault (see Letter 43, note
32).
17 Heart.
18 This sentence is almost illegible.
19 A reward of 500 pounds was offered by the Crown for Maccartney's
apprehension, and 200 pounds by the Duchess of Hamilton.
20 In the proposed History of the Peace of Utrecht.
21 Mr. Ryland's reading. Forster has "Iss." These words are obliterated.
22 Hoist. Cf."Hoised up the mainsail" (Acts xxvii. 40).
23 It was afterwards found that Miss Ashe was suffering from smallpox.
24 We are told in the Wentworth Papers, p. 268, that the Duchess of
Shrewsbury remarked to Lady Oxford, "Madam, I and my Lord are so weary of
talking politics; what are you and your Lord?" whereupon Lady Oxford sighed
and said she knew no Lord but the Lord Jehovah. The Duchess rejoined, "Oh,
dear! Madam, who is that? I believe 'tis one of the new titles, for I never
heard of him before."
25 A thousand merry new years. The words are much obliterated.
26 Lady Anne Hamilton, daughter of James, first Duke of Hamilton, became
Duchess on the death of her uncle William, the second Duke, at the battle of
Worcester.
27 The quarrel between Oxford and Bolingbroke.
28 See Letter 19, note 1.
29 Burnet (History, iv. 382) says that the Duc d'Aumont was "a goodnatured and
generous man, of profuse expense, throwing handfuls of money often out of his
coach as he went about the streets. He was not thought a man of business, and
seemed to employ himself chiefly in maintaining the dignity of his character
and making himself acceptable to the nation."
30 Partially obliterated.
31 For the most part illegible. Forster reads, "Go, play cards, and be melly,
deelest logues, and rove Pdfr. Nite richar MD, FW oo roves Pdfr. FW lele
lele ME ME MD MD MD MD MD MD. MD FW FW FW ME ME FW FW FW FW FW ME ME ME."
32 On the third page of the paper.
33 See Letter 7, note 3.
Letter 58.
1 To "Mrs. Dingley," etc. Endorsed "Feb. 4."
2 This sentence is scribbled over. Forster reads the last word as "lastalls,"
i.e. rascals, but it seems rather to be "ledles."
3 Dr. Peter Brown was appointed Bishop of Cork in 1709.
4 See Letter 5, note 22.
5 See Letter 5, note 3.
6 See Letter 5, note 11.
7 Dr. H. Humphreys, Bishop of Hereford, died on Nov. 20, 1712. His successor
was Dr. Philip Bisse (1667-1721), Bishop of St. David's (see Letter 3, note
36).
8 Thomas Keightley, a Commissioner of the Great Seal in Ireland.
9 Nearly obliterated. Mr. Ryland reads, "deelest MD."
10 See Letter 57, note 14.
11 In the Examiner for Jan. 5 to 9, 1712[-13], there is an account of the game
of Similitudes. One person thinks of a subject, and the others, not knowing
what it is, name similitudes, and when the subject is proclaimed, must make
good the comparisons. On the occasion described, the subject chosen was
Faction. The prize was given to a Dutchman, who argued that Faction was like
butter, because too much fire spoiled its consistency.
12 Earl Poulett (see Letter 20, note 7).
13 "Say" (MS.).
14 Dr. Pratt.
15 See Letter 13, Jan. 6, 1710-11.
16 This sentence is partially obliterated.
17 See Letter 31, note 10 and, in the same letter, Oct. 5, 1711.
18 Cf. the account of Beatrix's feelings on the death of the Duke in "Esmond",
book iii. chaps. 6 and 7.
19 See Letter 21, note 3.
20 "Her Majesty is all goodness and tenderness to her people and her Allies.
She has now prorogued the best Parliament that ever assembled in her reign and
respited her own glory, and the wishes, prayers, and wants of her people, only
to give some of her Allies an opportunity to think of the returns they owe
her, and try if there be such a thing as gratitude, justice, or humanity in
Europe. The conduct of Her Majesty is without parallel. Never was so great a
condescension made to the unreasonable clamours of an insolent faction now
dwindled to the most contemptible circumstances."--Examiner, Jan. 12-16,
1712[-13].
21 Mr. Collins's "Discourse of Freethinking, put into plain English by way of
Abstract, for the use of the Poor," an ironical pamphlet on Arthur Collins's
Discourse of Freethinking, 1713.
22 The History of the Peace of Utrecht.
23 A line here has been erased. Forster imagined that he read, "Nite dear MD,
drowsy drowsy dear."
24 Hereford.
25 Very well.
26 Sentence obliterated. Forster professes to read, "Pay can oo walk oftener-
-oftener still?"
27 See Letter 57, note 15.
28 Dr. Bisse, translated from St. David's.
29 See Letter 58, note 7 and Letter 19, note 1.
Letter 59.
1 To "Mrs. Dingley," etc. Endorsed "Febr. 26."
2 See Letter 58, note 21.
3 See Letter 28, note 11.
4 See Letter 55, note 9.
5 A result of confusion between Erasmus Lewis and Henry Lewis, a Hamburg
merchant. See Swift's paper in the Examiner of Jan. 30 to Feb. 2, reprinted
in his Works under the title, "A Complete Refutation of the Falsehoods alleged
against Erasmus Lewis, Esq."
6 Lord Dupplin (see Letter 5, note 34) had been created Baron Hay in December
1711.
7 A composition of inflammable materials.
8 Assessors.
9 See Letter 6, note 12.
10 See Letter 59, note 5.
11 See Letter 46, note 11.
12 See Letter 3, notes 21 and 22, Letter 39, Jan. 12, 1711-12 and Letter 42,
Mar. 1, 1711-12.
13 Dr. Bisse.
14 See Letter 33, note 10.
15 Forster reads, "something."
16 Hardly legible.
17 See Letter 7, note 31.
18 Stella's brother-in-law (See Letter 53, note 13, Letter 5, note 16 and
Letter 55, Nov. 18, 1712).
19 Forster guesses, "Oo are so 'recise; not to oor health."
20 For "poo Ppt's." Mr. Ryland reads, "people's."
21 See Letter 57, 21 Dec. 1712.
22 See Letter 57, note 23.
23 See Letter 14, note 9.
24 Obliterated; Forster's reading.
25 Writing in October 1713, Lord Berkeley of Stratton told Lord Strafford of
"a fine prank of the widow Lady Jersey" (see Letter 29, note 3). "It is well
known her lord died much in debt, and she, after taking upon her the
administration, sold everything and made what money she could, and is run away
into France without paying a farthing of the debts, with only one servant and
unknown to all her friends, and hath taken her youngest son, as 'tis supposed
to make herself a merit in breeding him a papist. My Lord Bolingbroke sent
after her, but too late, and they say the Queen hath writ a letter with her
own hand to the King of France to send back the boy" (Wentworth Papers, p.
357). See also Letter 63, note 8. I am not sure whether in the present
passage Swift is referring to the widow or the younger Lady Jersey (see Letter
33, note 10).
26 Sir Thomas Clarges, Bart. (died 1759), M.P. for Lostwithiel, married
Barbara, youngest daughter of John Berkeley, fourth Viscount Fitz-Hardinge,
and of Barbara Villiers (see Letter 54, note 11), daughter of Sir Edward
Villiers.
27 See Letter 43, Mar. 21, 1711-12 and Letter 49, Jul. 1, 1712.
28 Altered from "11" in the MS. It is not certain where the error in the
dates began; but the entry of the 6th must be correctly dated, because the
Feb. 6 was the Queen's Birthday.
29 See Letter 43, note 11 and Letter 57, note 12.
Letter 60.
1 Addressed to "Mrs. Dingley," etc. Endorsed "Mar. 7."
2 See Letter 5, note 23.
3 Sedan chairs were then comparatively novel (see Gay's Trivia).
4 Some words obliterated. Forster reads, "Nite MD, My own deelest MD."
5 Peter Wentworth wrote to Lord Strafford, on Feb. 17, 1713, "Poor Mr.
Harrison is very much lamented; he died last Saturday. Dr. Swift told me that
he had told him. . . he owed about 300 pounds, and the Queen owed him 500
pounds, and that if you or some of your people could send an account of his
debts, that I might give it to him, he would undertake to solicit Lord
Treasurer and get this 500 pounds, and give the remainder to his mother and
sister" (Wentworth Papers, 320).
6 George St. John (eldest son of Sir Harry St. John by his second marriage)
was Secretary to the English Plenipotentiaries at Utrecht. He died at Venice
in 1716 (Lady Cowper's Diary, 65).
7 Forster wrongly reads, "poor."
8 "Putt" (MS.).
9 See Letter 59, note 26.
10 Montagu Bertie, second Earl of Abingdon (died 1743), was a strong Tory.
11 See Letter 11, note 61. These friends were together again on an expedition
to Bath in 1715, when Jervas wrote to Pope (Aug. 12, 1715) that Arbuthnot,
Disney, and he were to meet at Hyde Park Corner, proceed to Mr. Hill's at
Egham, meet Pope next day, and then go to Lord Stawell's to lodge the night.
Lord Stawell's seat, Aldermaston, was seventeen miles from Binfield.
12 See Letter 16, note 20.
13 "I" (MS.).
14 Obliterated. Forster reads, "devil," and Mr. Ryland, "bitch."
15 See Letter 40, note 6.
16 Victor Marie, duc d'Estrees, Marshal of France (died 1727).
17 See Letter 55, note 18.
18 Several words are obliterated. Forster reads, "the last word, God 'give
me"; but "'give me" is certainly wrong.
19 See Letter 9, note 13. Sir Thomas Hanmer married, in 1698, at the age of
twenty-two, Isabella, Dowager Duchess of Grafton, daughter of Henry, Earl of
Arlington, and Countess of Arlington in her own right. Hanmer was not made
Secretary of State, but he succeeded Bromley as Speaker of the House of
Commons.
20 William Fitzmaurice (see Letter 11, note 19 and Letter 27, note 11) entered
Christ Church, Oxford, matriculating on March 10, 1712-13, at the age of
eighteen.
21 See Letter 11, note 11.
22 William Bromley, second son of Bromley the Speaker (see Letter 10, note 1),
was a boy of fourteen at this time. In 1727 he was elected M.P. for Warwick,
and he died in 1737, shortly after being elected Member for Oxford University.
23 See Letter 14, note 12.
24 Sometimes "list" means to border or edge; at others, to sew together, so as
to make a variegated display, or to form a border. Probably it here means the
curling of the bottom of the wig.
25 The last eight words have been much obliterated, and the reading is
doubtful.
26 Lady Henrietta Hyde, second daughter of Laurence Hyde, first Earl of
Rochester (see Letter 8, note 22), married James Scott, Earl of Dalkeith, son
of the Duke of Monmouth. Lord Dalkeith died in 1705, leaving a son, who
succeeded his grandmother (Monmouth's widow) as second Duke of Buccleuch.
Lady Catherine Hyde (see Letter 40, note 6) was a younger sister of Lady
Dalkeith.
27 Swift first wrote "I frequent."
28 See Letter 52, note 5.
29 D'Estrees.
30 Little (almost illegible).
Letter 61.
1 Addressed to "Mrs. Dingley," etc. Endorsed "Mar. 27."
2 See Letter 3, note 20.
3 Formerly Lady Rialton (see Letter 40, note 3).
4 See Letter 58, note 8.
5 See Letter 11, note 39 and Letter 41, note 27.
6 Pun on "gambol."
7 See Letter 57, note 4.
8 See Letter 41, note 7.
9 "Upon Tuesday last, the house where His Grace the late Duke of Hamilton and
Brandon lived was hired for that day, where there was a fine ball and
entertainment; and it is reported in town, that a great lady, lately gone to
travel, left one hundred guineas, with orders that it should be spent in that
manner, and in that house" (Postboy, Feb. 26-28, 1712-13). The "great lady"
was, presumably, the Duchess of Marlborough.
10 See Letter 36, note 14 and Letter 40, note 21.
11 Trinity College, Dublin.
12 See Letter 60, note 19.
13 See Letter 36, note 15.
14 Dr. Pratt, Provost of Trinity College.
15 Obliterated, and doubtful.
16 A deal at cards, that draws the whole tricks.
17 Previous editors have misread "Trevor" as "Treasurer." Thomas Trevor,
Chief-Justice of the Common Pleas, was created Baron Trevor, of Bromham, in
January 1712. By commission of March 9, 1713, he occupied the woolsack during
the illness of the Lord Keeper, Harcourt.
18 This is the only reference to Pope in the Journal. In his "Windsor Forest"
the young poet assisted the Tories by his reference to the peace of Utrecht,
then awaiting ratification.
19 Several words have been obliterated. Forster reads, "Rove Pdfr, poo Pdfr,
Nite MD MD MD," but this is more than the space would contain.
20 William Oldisworth (1680-1734), a Tory journalist and pamphleteer, who
published various works, including a translation of the Iliad. He died in a
debtors' prison.
21 Some words obliterated. The reading is Forster's, and seems to be correct.
22 Susan Armine, elder daughter of Sir William Armine, Bart., of Osgodby,
Lincolnshire, was created a life peeress in 1674, as Baroness Belasyse of
Osgodby. She died March 6, 1713. Her first husband was the Honourable Sir
Henry Belasyse, son and heir of John, Baron Belasyse, of Worlaby; and her
second, Mr. Fortney, of Chequers.
23 See Letter 7, note 9.
24 A word before "Ppt" is illegible. Forster's reading, "yes," does not seem
right.
25 In November 1711 it was reported that Miss Kingdom was privately married to
Lord Conway (Wentworth Papers, 207), but this was not the case. Lord Conway
was a widower in 1713, but he married an Irish lady named Bowden.
26 Forster reads, "Nite, my own dee sollahs. Pdfr roves MD"; but the last
three words, at least, do not seem to be in the MS.
27 Probably the Bishop of Raphoe's son (see Letter 29, note 20).
28 What.
29 As Master of the Savoy.
30 William Burgh was Comptroller and Accountant-General for Ireland from 1694
to 1717, when his patent was revoked. He was succeeded by Eustace Budgell.
31 William Paget, sixth Lord Paget, died in March 1713, aged seventy-six. He
spent a great part of his life as Ambassador at Vienna and Constantinople.
32 Pocket.
33 Forster reads, "Lele lele logues"; Mr. Ryland, "Lele lele. . . "
Letter 62.
1 Addressed to "Mrs. Dingley," etc. Endorsed "Apr. 13."
2 Esther Johnson's brother-in-law, Filby (see Letter 55, note 19).
3 Earl Poulett (see Letter 20, note 7).
4 Francis Annesley, M.P. for Westbury. His colleague in the representation of
that borough was Henry Bertie (third son of James, Earl of Abingdon), who
married Earl Poulett's sister-in-law, Anthony Henley's widow (see Letter 12,
note 24).
5 "Has" (MS.).
6 A dozen words are erased. The reading is Forster's, and appears to be
correct.
7 The British Ambassadress's Speech to the French King. The printer was sent
to the pillory and fined.
8 The Examiner (vol. iii. No. 35) said that Swift--"a gentleman of the first
character for learning, good sense, wit, and more virtues than even they can
set off and illustrate"--was not the author of that periodical. "Out of pure
regard to justice, I strip myself of all the honour that lucky untruth did
this paper."
9 A purgative electuary.
10 Bargains.
11 Three or four words illegible. Forster reads, "Nite, nite, own MD."
12 Forster reads, "devil's brood "; probably the second word is "bawd:" Cf.
Letter 60, note 14 and Feb. 18, 1712-13.
13 Several "moving pictures," mostly brought from Germany, were on view in
London at about this time. See Tatler, No. 129, and Gay's Fables, No. 6.
14 See Letter 6, note 45.
15 "Mr. Charles Grattan, afterwards master of a free school at Enniskillen"
(Scott).
16 So given in the MS. Forster suggests that it is a mistake for "wood."
17 See Letter 28, note 11.
18 It is probable that this is Pope's friend, William Cleland, who died in
1741, aged sixty-seven. William Cleland served in Spain under Lord Rivers,
but was not a Colonel, though he seems to have been a Major. Afterwards he
was a Commissioner of Customs in Scotland and a Commissioner of the Land Tax
in England. Colonel Cleland cannot, as Scott suggested (Swift's Works, iii.
142, xviii. 137-39, xix. 8), have been the son of the Colonel William
Cleland, Covenanter and poet, who died in 1689, at the age of twenty-eight.
William Cleland allowed his name to be appended to a letter of Pope's prefixed
to the Dunciad, and Pope afterwards described him as "a person of universal
learning, and an enlarged conversation; no man had a warmer heart for his
friends, or a sincerer attachment to the constitution of his country." Swift,
referring to this letter, wrote to Pope, "Pray tell me whether your Colonel
(sic) Cleland be a tall Scots gentleman, walking perpetually in the Mall, and
fastening upon everybody he meets, as he has often done upon me?" (Pope's
Works, iv. 48, vii. 214).
19 Henry Grey, Lord Lucas (died 1741), who became twelfth Earl of Kent in
1702, was made Duke of Kent in 1710. He held various offices under George I.
and George II.
20 Forster found, among the MSS. at Narford, the "lie" thus prepared for All
Fools' Day. Richard Noble, an attorney, ran away with a lady who was the wife
of John Sayer and daughter of Admiral Nevill; and he killed Sayer on the
discovery of the intrigue. The incident was made use of by Hogarth in the
fifth scene of "Marriage a la Mode."
21 See Letter 5, note 3.
22 See Letter 13, note 10.
23 Charles XII.
24 "Is" (MS.).
25 Cibber says that he saw four acts of Cato in 1703; the fifth act, according
to Steele, was written in less than a week. The famous first performance was
on April 14, 1713.
26 The first number of the Guardian appeared on March 12, and the paper was
published daily until Oct. 1, 1713. Pope, Addison, and Berkeley were among
the contributors.
27 See Letter 52, note 6.
28 See Letter 39, note 16.
29 The first preached after the period of his suspension by the House of
Lords. It was delivered at St. Saviour's, Southwark, before his installation
at St. Andrew's, and was published with the title, "The Christian's Triumph,
or the Duty of praying for our Enemies".
30 Swift's curate at Laracor.
31 Richard Gorges (died 1728) was eldest son and heir of Dr. Robert Gorges, of
Kilbrue, County Meath, by Jane, daughter of Sir Arthur Loftus, and sister of
Adam, Viscount Lisburne. He was appointed Adjutant-General of the Forces in
Ireland 1697, Colonel of a new Regiment of Foot 1703, Major-General of the
Forces 1707, and Lieutenant-General 1710 (Dalton's Army Lists, iii. 75).
32 See Letter 60, note 10.
33 Mrs. Oldfield.
34 See Letter 56, note 6.
35 Never saw the like.
36 See Letter 53, note 10.
37 The remainder has been partially obliterated.
Letter 63.
1 Addressed to "Mrs. Dingley," etc. Endorsed "May 4."
2 Lord Cholmondeley (see Letter 36, note 15).
3 Harcourt.
4 Forster's reading; the last two words are doubtful.
5 See Letter 7, note 27.
6 Francis Palmes, who was wounded at Blenheim, was made a Lieutenant-General
in 1709. In 1707 he was elected M.P. for West Loo; in 1708 he was sent as
Envoy Extraordinary to the Duke of Savoy, and in 1710 to Vienna.
7 Apparently "so heed."
8 Henry Villiers (died 1743), second son of the first Earl of Jersey and of
Barbara, daughter of William Chiffinch (see Letter 29, note 3 and Letter 59,
note 25).
9 See Letter 61, Mar. 8, 1712-13. The Speech and Address are in the Commons'
Journals, xvii. 278, 28O. For the draft Address, in Swift's handwriting, see
the Portland Papers (1899), v. 276.
10 Scoffed, jeered.
11 Dr. Gastrell (see Letter 25, note 8).
12 George Berkeley, afterwards Bishop of Cloyne, but then a young man of
twenty-eight, came to London in January 1713. He was already known by his
"New Theory of Vision" and "Treatise on the Principles of Human Knowledge",
and he brought with him his "Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous".
Steele was among the first to welcome him, and he soon made the acquaintance
of Addison, Pope, and Swift. On March 27, Berkeley wrote to Sir John Perceval
of the breach between Swift and the Whigs: "Dr. Swift's wit is admired by
both of them (Addison and Steele], and indeed by his greatest enemies, and. .
. I think him one of the best-matured and agreeable men in the world." In
November 1713 Swift procured for Berkeley the chaplaincy and secretaryship to
Lord Peterborough, the new Envoy to Sicily.
13 Forster reads, "all oo sawcy Ppt can say oo may see me"; but the words are
illegible.
14 Possibly "see," written in mistake for "say."
15 "J" (MS.).
16 Obliterated. Forster imagined that he read, "Nite dee logues. Poo Mr."
17 There were two General Hamiltons at this time; probably Swift's
acquaintance was Gustavus Hamilton (1639-1723), who was created Viscount Boyne
in 1717. Hamilton distinguished himself at the battle of the Boyne and the
capture of Athlone, and was made Brigadier-General in 1696, and Major General
in 1703. He took part in the siege of Vigo, and was made a member of the
Privy Council in 1710.
18 See Letter 43, note 38.
19 The History of the Peace of Utrecht.
20 This is Forster's reading, and appears to be correct. The last word, which
he gives as "iss truly," is illegible.
21 Belonging to Ireland.
22 See Letter 40, note 1.
23 Another excellent reading of Forster's. I cannot decipher the last word,
which he gives as "dee rogues."
24 Sentence obliterated.
25 The number at the beginning of each entry in the Journal.
26 Mr. Ryland's reading. Forster has "morning, dee."
27 Dr. Thomas Lindsay (see Letter 6, note 45).
28 I think the "MD" is right, though Forster gives "M." The "Pr" is probably
an abbreviation of "Pdfr."
29 The last three lines have been obliterated.
Letter 64.
1 Addressed to "Mrs. Dingley," etc. Endorsed "May 22."
2 Illegible. Forster reads, "and dee deelest Ppt."
3 The last few words have been partially obliterated.
4 Am very angry. The last word is scribbled over.
5 The History of the Peace of Utrecht.
6 The signature has been cut off.
Letter 65.
1 Addressed to "Mrs. Dingley," etc. Endorsed "Chester Letter."
2 "Others" (MS.).
3 See Letter 10, note 31 and Letter 31, note 1.
4 See Letter 7, note 7.
