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is a prince of as many and great virtues, as ever filled a throne: how would it brighten her character to the present, and after ages, if she would exert her utmost authority to instil some share of those virtues into her people, which they are too degenerate to learn, only from her example. And, be it spoke with all the veneration possible for so excellent a sovereign; her best endeavours in this weighty affair, are a most important part of her duty, as well as of her interest, and her honour."

Nothing could have been better contrived to work upon the queen's disposition, than the whole of this tract. In which the author first shows that all the corruptions and wickedness of the times, arose from irreligion he shows that it is in her majesty's power alone, without other aid, to restore religion to its true lustre and force, and to make it have a general influence on the manners and conduct of her people: and then he urges the strongest motives, of honour, of interest, and of duty, to induce her to enter upon the immediate exercise of that power. And to render what he offered upon that head more forcible, it was apparently written by some disinterested hand, from no other principle but a due regard to religion and morality. For the author artfully suppressed all mention of party and yet, upon a closer examination, it would appear, that nothing could be more directly, though covertly, aimed at the destruction of the power of the whigs. For, the first step proposed to render the design effectual, was, that the queen should employ none in her ministry, or in any offices about her person, but such as had the cause. of religion at heart: now this was in effect to say, that she must begin with turning out the whigs, or low church party, who in general professed either an indifference to, or contempt of religion; and choose her officers from among the tories, or high church party, with whom the support of the interests of

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religion was the first and most generally avowed principle.

After the publication of this piece, Swift went to Ireland, where he remained till the revolution in the ministry took place, which happened in the following year; when Mr. Harley, and Mr. St. John, the heads of the tory party in the house of commons, were appointed to fill the chief offices; the former, that of chancellor of the exchequer, the latter, that of principal secretary of state. During this interval, Swift passed much of his time with Mr. Addison, who had gone over to Ireland as first secretary to, the earl of Wharton, then lord lieutenant of that kingdom. By this means he had an opportunity of being an eye witness of the corrupt administration of affairs in that kingdom, under that lord's government, which he afterwards exposed to the world in such strong and odious colours. Had Swift been intent only on his own promotion, it is probable that, he might easily have obtained preferment in Ireland at that juncture, on account of his great intimacy with the secretary; but he would have scorned to pay court to a viceroy of such a character, or even to have accepted any favour at his hands. Upon the change of affairs at court, when a new ministry was appointed, Swift was requested by the bishops of Ireland to take upon him the charge of soliciting a remission of the first fruits, and twentieth parts, to the clergy of that kingdom. It was not without great reluctance that he accepted of this office, for reasons hereafter to be assigned; but his regard to the interests of the church, outweighed all other considerations, and he accordingly set out for England as soon as his credentials were ready.

SECTION III.

FROM THE INTRODUCTION TO MR. HARLEY, TO THE DEATH OF THE QUEEN.

ON his arrival in London in the month of September 1710, he found that open war was declared between the two parties, and raged with the utmost violence. There was no room for moderating schemes, and according to his own maxim, that a good citizen could not remain neutral in such a situation of affairs, Swift was to choose his party, and to declare himself accordingly. His arrival at that crisis, filled the whigs with joy, as in general they looked upon him to be of their party; but the leaders among them were not without their apprehensions, being conscious of the ill treatment he had met with at their hands. Of this, take the following account from Swift himself *: "All the whigs were ravished to see me, and would have laid hold on me as a twig, to save them from sinking; and the great men were all making their clumsy apologies. It is good to see what a lamentable confession the whigs all make of

* At this time, and during his connexion with the ministry afterward, Swift kept a regular journal of all the most remarkable events, as well as little anecdotes; which he transmitted every fortnight to Stella, for her private perusal, and that of Mrs. Dingley, but upon condition that it should be communicated to no other person whatsoever. This journal was luckily preserved, and some time since given to the world. As nothing could better show Swift's own sentiments with regard to affairs at that time, and the motives which induced him to take the part he did in them, than such a journal, written as it were to the hour, and transmitted to that person in the world to whom his heart was most open; the account of his conduct, during that busy time, will, wherever there is an opportunity, be corroborated by extracts from it. S.

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my ill usage.' On the other hand, the tories were exceedingly alarmed at his arrival, as they had always considered him in the light of a whig, and as the leaders of their party had not even the least personal knowledge of him; how strong their apprehensions must have been, we may judge from a passage in Swift's Journal of the following year, dated June 30, 1711, where he says, that, "Mr. Harley and Mr. secretary. St. John frequently protested, after he had become their intimate, that he was the only man in England they were afraid of." In such a disposition, therefore, it is to be supposed, that a visit from Dr. Swift to Mr. Harley, was by no means an unaccepta ble thing. The occasion of this visit is set forth at large, in the letters which passed between Dr. King, archbishop of Dublin, and Dr. Swift, published in his works. Upon his leaving Ireland, Swift had undertaken to solicit the affair of the first fruits, and twentieth parts, for the benefit of the clergy in Ireland, which had been long depending, and in vain. attempted by two bishops sent over for that purpose by the whole body. In his first letter to the archbishop on that subject, he says, "As soon as I received the packets from your grace, I went to wait upon Mr.. Harley. I had prepared him before by another hand, where he was very intimate; and got myself repre-, sented (which I might justly do) as one extremely ill used by the last ministry, after some obligatious, because I refused to go certain lengths they would have me." He afterward gives such an account of the whole transactions as might be proper to be shown.

But in his Journal to Stella, he is more particular:

Oct. 4, 1710. "Mr. Harley received me with the greatest respect and kindness imaginable, and appointed me an hour, two or three days after, to open my business to him.”

Oct. 7. "I had no sooner told him my business, but he entered into it with all kindness; asked me for my powers, and read them; and read likewise, the memorial I had drawn up, and put it into his pocket to show the queen: told me the measures he would take; and, in short, said every thing I could wish. Told me he must bring Mr. St. John and me acquainted; and spoke so many things of personal kindness and esteem, that I am inclined to believe what some friends had told me, that he would do every thing to bring me over. He desired me to dine with him on Tuesday; and, after four hours being with him, set me down at St. James's coffeehouse in a hackney coach.

"I must tell you a great piece of refinement in Harley. He charged me to come and see him often; I told him I was loth to trouble him, in so much business as he had, and desired I might have leave to come at his levee; which he immediately refused, and said, 'That was no place for 'friends.'

"Oct 10. Harley tells me he has shown my memorial to the queen, and seconded it very heartily; because, said he, the queen designs to signify it to the bishops of Ireland in form, and take notice that it was done upon a memorial from you; which he said he did to make it look more respectful to me; I believe never any thing was compassed so soon: and purely done by my personal credit with Mr. Harley; who is so excessively obliging, that I know not what to make of it, unless to show the rascals of the other party, that they used a man unworthily who had deserved better. He speaks all the kind things to me in the world." Oct. 14, "I stand with the new people ten times better than ever I did with the old, and forty times more caressed.".

When we consider the rapidity of Mr. Harley's motions on this occasion, who was remarkable for

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