wit, humour, and Attic falt, with which, he fays, the original of this Letter abounds, and which he doubts not may be easily dif covered in this feeble tranflation, are totally evaporated.

The Pofthumous Works of Dean Swift, concluded: See Review for September, p. 230...

WE

E are now arrived at that part of this Collection, which contains the Letters to and from feveral perfons. They are feventy-five in number; and the principal names that appear in this correfpondence, are, the Earl of Peterborough, Lord Bolingbroke, the Duke and Duchefs of Ormond, the Duke of Argyle, Lord Chancellor Harcourt, Lord Oxford, Lady Mafham, Lord Carteret, Countess of Suffolk, Lord Chefterfield, Lady Betty Germaine, Duke of Dorfet, Duke of Chandois, Mefirs. Addifon, Steele, Pope, Lyttelton, &c. &c. Some of thefe are of fmall import; but others are more worthy both of the Dean and of the illuftrious perfons with whom he had the honour to correfpond. Their dates begin with the year 1710, and are continued to 1739. There is no doubt of their genuineness; for most of these letters do indeed, as the editor obferved, carry with them their own internal marks of authenticity: Swift is ftill Swift; even to the very laft, when his infirmities had got fuch hold of him, that, when writing to his friends, the decay of his faculties became the principal though plaintive fubject.

A letter to Lord Carteret, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, dated in 1724, affords the following particulars, which do honour to the memory of the celebrated Dr. Berkeley, afterwards Bishop of Cloyne. Thefe particulars, indeed, are not wholly unknown to the public; but we deem it not impertinent to infert them here; because they may ferve as a fupplement to the account given of that great genius, in a late volume of our Review.

In the course of this letter, Swift takes occafion to inform his noble correfpondent, that Dr. George Berkeley, who was then just fet out on a journey to England, was at that time Dean of Derry, the beft preferment in that kingdom, [we suppose he means, exclufive of the bishopricks] being worth 1100l. a year. He takes the Bath in his way to London, fays the Dean of St. Patrick's, and will, of course, attend your Excellency, and be prefented, I fuppofe, by his friend my Lord Burlington. And, because I believe you will chufe out fome very idle minutes to read this letter, perhaps you may not be ill entertained with fome account of the man, and his errand. He was a Fellow in

the

the Univerfity here; and, going to England very young, about thirteen years ago, he became the founder of a fect there called the Immaterialifts, by the force of a very curious book upon that fubject. Doctor Smallridge, and many other eminent perfons were his profelytes. I fent him fecretary and chaplain, to Sicily, with my Lord Peterborow; and, upon his Lordship's return, Doctor Berkeley spent above seven years in travelling over moft parts of Europe, but chiefly through every corner of Italy, Sicily, and other iflands. When he came back to England, he found fo many friends, that he was effectually recommended to the Duke of Grafton, by whom he was lately made Dean of Derry. Your Excellency will be frighted, when I tell you all this is but an introduction: for I am now to mention his errand. He is an ábfolute philofopher, with regard to money, titles, and power; and, for three years paft, hath been ftruck with a notion of founding an univerfity at Bermudas, by a charter from the crown. He hath feduced several of the hopefulleft young clergymen and others here, many of them well provided for, and all of them in the fairest way of preferment: But, in England, his conquefts are greater; and, I doubt, will fpread very far this winter. He fhewed me a little tract, which he defigns to publifh; and there your Excellency will fee his whole scheme of a life academico-philosophical, (Í shall make you remember what you were) of a college founded for Indian icholars and miffionaries; where he, moft exorbitarily, propofeth a whole hundred pounds a year for himfelf, forty pounds for a fellow, and ten for a ftudent. His heart will break if his deanary be not taken from him, and left to your Excellency's dif pafal. I difcourage him by the coldness of courts and minifters, who will interpret all this as impoffible, and a vifion; but nothing will do. And, therefore, I do humbly entreat your Excellency, either to ufe fuch perfuafions as will keep one of the firft men of this kingdom, for learning and virtue, quiet at home, or affift him, by your credit, to compaís his romantic design; which, however, is very noble and generous, and directly proper for a great perion of your excellent education to en

Courage.'

It is no uncommon thing with Swift, who was a warm friend and a bitter foe, to exaggerate, greatly, the virtues of those whom he defigned to commend, as well as the faults of face 23 had the misfortune to be number'd among his enemies; be this sketch of Dr. Berkeley's character, he feems, accoing to all the accounts we have met with of that worthy press to have kept ftrictly within bounds, and to have given us a very już likeness of the original.

Moft of our Readers, no doubt, have heard of the Dear's f mous affair with Counsellor Bettworth; occstones Rev. Da 1765

Y

vere reflection on Mr. B. in his poem on the words Brother Pro teflants and fellow-chriftians *. The provocation given by Swift, was, certainly, very great; but not fo great as the Lawyer's indif cretion, in his manner of refenting it. It is in general, known that he paid the Dean a vifit, on this occafion, and that he be haved fomewhat boifteroufly towards him; but the particulars of what paffed between them will beft appear from the Dean's own account of that matter, in a letter to the Duke of Dorfett, dated January, 1733-4-of which the following is an extract:

On Monday lait week, towards evening, there came to the deanry one Mr. Bettefworth; who, being told by the fervants that I was gone to a friend's houfe, went thither to enquire for me, and was admitted into the ftreet parlour. I left my com pany in the back room, and went to him. He began with ask ing me, whether I were author of certain verfes, wherein he was reflected on? The fingularity of the man, in his countenance, manner, action, style, and tone of voice, made me call to mind that I had once feen him, about two or three years ago, at Mr. Ludlow's country houfe. But I could not recollect his name; and of what calling he might be I had never heard. I therefore defired to know who, and what he was; faid I had heard

of fome fuch verfes, but knew no more. He then fignified to me, that he was a ferjeant at law, and a member of parliament. After which he repeated the lines that concerned him, with great emphasis; faid, I was mistaken in one thing, for he allured me he was no booby, but owned himself to be a coxcomb. However, that being a point of controverfy wherein I had no contafte and fkil in poetry, he was as fure I writ them as if he had cern, I let it drop. As to the verfes, he infifted, that, by his feen them fall from my pen. But I found the chief weight of his argument lay upon two words that rhymed to his name, which he knew could come from none but me.

He then told

When

me, That, fince I would not own the verses, and that fince he
could not get fatisfaction by any courfe of law, he would get
it by his pen, and fhew the world what a man I was.
he began to grow over-warm and eloquent,. I called in the gen
tleman of the houfe, from the room adjoining; and the Serjeant,
going on with lefs turbulence, went away. He had a footman
in the hall during all his talk, who was to have opened the door
for one or more fellows, as he hath fince reported; and, like-
wife, that he had a harp knife in his pocket, ready to ftab or

Thus at the bar that booby Bett'(worth,
Though half a crown out-pays his Sweat'sworth,
Who knows in law nor text nor Margent,
Calls Singleton his brother Serjeant.

↑ The Duke was then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.

maim me*. But the master and miftrefs of the houfe, who knew his character, and could hear every word from the room they were in, had prepared a fufficient defence in fuch a cafe, as they afterwards told me. He hath fince related to five hundred perfons of all ranks, above five hundred falfehoods of this converfation, of my fears and his own brutalities, agaiuft all proba bility as well as fact; and fome of them, as I have been affured, even in the prefence of your Grace. His meanings and his movements were indeed peevish enough, but his words were not. He threatened me with nothing but his pen, yet owned he had no pretence to wit, And indeed I am heartily glad, for his own fake, that he proceeded no further; for, the leaft uproar would have called his nearest neighbours first to my affistance, and next, to the manifeft danger of his life. And I would not willingly have even a dog killed upon my account. Ever fince he hath amufed himfelf with declaring, in all companies, especially before Bifhops, and Lords, and members of parliament, his refolutions for vengeance, and the feveral manners by which he will put it in execution.

It is only to the advice of fome judicious friends that your grace owes the trouble of this letter. For, though I may be difpirited enough by fickness and years, yet I have little reafon to apprehend any danger from that man; and thofe who feem to have moft regard for my fafety, are no more apprehensive than myfelf, especially fuch as beft know his character. For his very enemies, and even his ridiculers, who are, of the two, by far the greater number, allow him to be a peaceable man in all things except his words, his rhetorical action, his looks, and his hatred to the clergy; which however are all known, by abundance of experience, to be perfectly harmless; and parti cularly as to the clergy.'

After all, Bettefworth's great fault, and what rendered him particularly obnoxious to Swift, was his being a very zealous Whig, and an active man among the leaders of that party, at a time when party animofities ran high in Ireland; and, indeed, in both kingdoms.

We come now to the poetical articles contained in this posthumous publication; the first of which is a poem by Dr. Parnell, addrefled to Swift, on his birth-day, November 30, 1713. Parnell's poetical talents are well known; and therefore we shall pafs immediately to the next article; which is a congratulatory Epiftle from Swift to Lord Harley, on the marriage of the latter. Thefe verfes abound in wit and compliment; but will intereft few Readers in thefe days. Next follow two fmall pieces, one by Bishop Atterbury, the other by Parnell;, and then we It is pretty obvious that Swift has here endeavoured to place Mr. B's behaviour not only in the most abfurd and ridiculous, but in the worst light that he poably could.

Ÿ 2.

come

come to a pretty long poem of the Dean's, entitled directions for making a birth-day fong, 1729. This is fo fevere a fatire on the royal family, that we do not wonder it was not printed in the late reign. The whole house of Hanover is most infolently abused in it; but it must be owned the piece, confidered merely as a poem, is excellent: yet after the just character we have given of it, it would not be decent or proper for us to make extracts from fuch a virulent lampoon.

The laft-mentioned article is fucceeded by about a dozen pieces of inferior note; after which we have a poem to Mr. * Delany, on the talents fit for conversation; an extract from which will ferve to enrich our mifcellany :

Talents for conversation fit,

Are humour, breeding, fenfe, and wit:
The laft, as boundless as the wind,
Is well conceiv'd, though not defin'd:
For, fure, by wit is chiefly meant
Applying well what we invent.
What humour is, not all the tribe
Of logic-mongers can defcribe;
Here nature only acts her part,
Unhelp'd by practice, books, or art:
For wit and humour differ quite,
That gives surprise, and this delight.
Humour is odd, grotesque, and wild,
Only by affectation spoil'd:
'Tis never by invention got,
Men have it when they know it nct.
Our conversation to refine,

Humour and wit muft both combine :
From both we learn to rally well,
Wherein fometimes the French excel.
Voiture, in various lights, difplays
That irony which turns to praife:
His genius first found out the rule
For an obliging ridicule :
He flatters with peculiar air
The brave, the witty, and the fair:
And fools would fancy he intends
A fatire where he most commends.

But, as a poor pretending beau,
Because he fain would make a fhow,
Nor can arrive at filver lace,
Takes up with copper in the place :
So the pert dunces of mankind,

Whene'er they would be thought refin'd,
As if the diff'rence lay abftrufe
'Twixt raillery and grofs abuse;

To fhew their parts, will fcold and rail,
Like porters o'er a pot of ale.

Afterwards Dr. Delany.

Such