from the prospect of the one or the other of these; but my design is to treat only of those who have

relative to this paper, which they seem to make almost equally certain; the one is, that Swift suggested a plan, and the other, that he had no hand in the execution. Swift's readers need not to be told, that among all the celebrated heroes of antiquity, Brutus was his favourite character; they must, therefore, be rather disappointed, as the writer was, to find that Brutus has not the honour to be mentioned here, even as a candidate on this occasion. The Dean certainly did think on the subject; whatever might be his reason for declining to publish his thoughts at this time. The proof of this rests in a passage in one of his best things, long posterior to this date, and supposed to have been written after the year 1725, which merits consideration in this argument. I was told that Brutus, and his ancestor Junius, Socrates, Epaminondas, Cato the younger, and sir Thomas More, were perpetually together: a sextumvirate, to which all the ages of the world cannot add a seventh.' Swift's Works, vol. ii. p. 187. Now, it so happens, that there are only two of this odd matchless sextumvirate admitted to seats at the first Table of Fame.' There are besides, in this paper, such manifest deviations from the plan proposed in No. 67. and such palpable contradictions to it, as are irreconcileable to the supposition of their being the performances of one and the same person. The sidetable' is here forgotten; the heroes of great fame but dubious existence' are turned into a separate apartment; the number of the company at the second table is reduced from twenty to twelve; Bickerstaff, who had not been dead an hundred years, is mentioned to make out the dozen; of the third table there is nothing said; and the subject seems finally discussed in one paper, which was evidently intended to have made three. These and other circumstances omitted, or unobserved, concurring with the authority of the list before-mentioned, furnish satisfactory evidence that Swift was not concerned or consulted in Tatler, No. 81. It still remains to produce some authority, or argument, to prove that Swift was not the author of that portion of Tatler, No. 74. which was erroneously ascribed to him, on the confident assertion of his editor, Dr. Hawkesworth, and the less suspected testimony of Christopher Byron, esq. Now, if it had been written by Swift, and dated as it is in the superscription, on the 29th of September, the querulous letter of the 8th of October, quoted above, must be deemed absurd and unaccountable. How could Steele have written in such a strain to a person then in another kingdom, and with a sea between them, tacitly censuring the suspension of his correspondence, if he had really received a communication from him but the very week before? Nor could the paper in question, in its present form, and with its printed date, have been a production of Swift, brought over from Ireland y Addison, but withheld from the public by Steele until the 29th of September. This is impossible, because it contains a manifest allusion to a transaction posterior to this supposed time of writing, but recent at the real date of the publication. The writer of it, whoever he was, prohibits the use of a nefarious artifice to corrupt the voices, by sending, according to the new mode, any

chiefly proposed to themselves the latter, as the principal reward of their labours. It was for this reason that I excluded from my Tables of Fame all the great founders and votaries of religion; and it is for this reason also, that I am more than ordinarily anxious to do justice to the persons of whom I am now going to speak; for, since fame was the only end of all their enterprizes and studies, a man cannot be too scrupulous in allotting them their due proportion of it. It was this consideration which made me call the whole body of the learned to my assistance; to many of whom I must own my obligations for the catalogues of illustrious persons, which they have sent me in upon this occasion. I yesterday employed the whole afternoon in comparing them with each other; which made so strong an impression upon my imagination, that they broke my sleep for the first part of the following night, and at length threw me into a very agreeable vision, which I shall beg leave to describe in all its particulars'.

poor electors coals and candles for their votes.' This new mode of bribery had begun to be practised, it would seem for the first time, but very few days before the printed date of the paper, in the election of an alderman for the ward of Queenhithe. Now, concerning this affair, Swift can ill be supposed to have had any knowledge, or any care; most assuredly (as airballoons must be left out of the question), there seems to be no way imaginable, by which Swift could have learned the generalship of sir Arthur de Bradley's election, at the deanery in Dublin, and published his jokes upon it in the Tatler at London, in the short course of one week. It follows from all this, that the portion of Tatler, No. 74. dated from the Grecian, &c. was written, certainly not by Swift, but probably by Steele, who authenticates the original of this novel method of soliciting votes, Sept, 22, 1709, and makes it the subject of his animadversion and raillery in the paper immediately precedent. See Tatler, No. 73. paragraph dated Lond. Sept, 22, 1709.

f It has happened here, as it does in other elections, said likewise to be made by plurality of voices, which are always subject to more than secret influence, and never determined to general satisfaction. In a business so complex, midst so many illustrious characters, some following Fame, and Fame following others, distracted by communications on the occasion, and a diversity of necessary and nice distinctions, the returning officers, forced

I dreamed that I was conveyed into a wide and boundless plain, that was covered with prodigious multitudes of people, which no man could number. In the midst of it there stood a mountain, with its head above the clouds. The sides were extremely steep, and of such a particular structure, that no creature which was not made in an human figure could possibly ascend it. On a sudden, there was heard from the top of it a sound like that of a trumpet; but so exceeding sweet and harmonious, that it filled the hearts of those who heard it with raptures, and gave such high and delightful sensations, as seemed to animate and raise human nature above itself. This made me very much amazed to find so very few in that innumerable multitude, who had ears fine enough to hear, or relish this music with pleasure but my wonder abated, when, upon looking round me, I saw most of them attentive to three Syrens, cloathed like Goddesses, and distinguished

into the service, being only vicarious, and urged in point of time, could not well discriminate and determine so very happily, as not to leave room for complaints and exceptions. It ought also to be considered, that the opinions declared in this paper are not opinions of characters, but opinions of reputations; the decisions are not with regard to merit, but with regard to fame, and the refusal of the one is no denial of the other. Fame is not here determined, nor is it ever determinable, by a right judgment of men or things. A conqueror of kingdoms, who puts thousands to death, and reduces ten times their number to poverty and want, rises so high in fame, that the remotest posterity never mentions his name but with admiration and rapture. The generality of the world cannot distinguish accurately between splendour and greatness; and, therefore, the plurality of voices would doubtless be in favour of military heroes. Accordingly, they are here appointed to the chief places at the first Table of Fame.' Their admission might have gone on, to the utter exclusion of all other worthies; and, perhaps, it would have been as well if the table had been appropriated entirely, and solely, to this order of illustrious men. The consequential inconveniences might have been remedied to advantage, by the superaddition of 'A Table, or Tables of Glory, for the accommodation of better company, assorted with a suitable regard to the usefulness of their talents, and the degrees of their excellence.' The paper leads to this general conclusion: Alia clariora esse, alia majora.'

by the names of Sloth, Ignorance, and Pleasure. They were seated on three rocks, amidst a beautiful variety of groves, meadows, and rivulets, that lay on the borders of the mountain. While the base and grovelling multitude of different nations, ranks, and ages, were listening to these delusive Deities, those of a more erect aspect, and exalted spirit, separated themselves from the rest, and marched in great bodies towards the mountain from whence they heard the sound, which still grew sweeter the more they listened to it.

On a sudden, methought this select band sprang forward, with a resolution to climb the ascent, and follow the call of that heavenly music. Every one took something with him that he thought might be of assistance to him in his march. Several had their swords drawn, some carried rolls of paper in their hands, some had compasses, others quadrants, others telescopes, and others pencils. Some had laurels on their heads, and others buskins on their legs; in short, there was scarce any instrument of a mechanic art, or liberal science, which was not made use of on this occasion. My good Demon, who stood at my right hand during the course of this whole vision, observing in me a burning desire to join that glorious company, told me, he highly approved that generous ardour with which I seemed transported, but at the same time advised me to cover my face with a mask all the while I was to labour on the ascent.' I took his counsel, without inquiring into his reasons. The whole body now broke into different parties, and began to climb the precipice by ten thousand different paths. Several got into little alleys, which did not reach far up the hill, before they ended, and led no farther; and I observed that most of the artizans, which considerably diminished our number, fell into these paths.

We left another considerable body of adventurers behind us, who thought they had discovered by-ways up the hill, which proved so very intricate and perplexed that, after having advanced in them a little, they were quite lost among the several turns and windings; and though they were as active as any in their motions, they made but little progress in the ascent. These, as my guide informed me, were men of subtle tempers, and puzzled politics, who would supply the place of real wisdom with cunning and artifice. Among those who were far advanced in their way, there were some that by one false step fell backward, and lost more ground in a moment than they had gained for many hours, or could be ever able to recover. We were now advanced very high, and observed that all the different paths which ran about the sides of the mountain began to meet in two great roads; which insensibly gathered the whole multitude of travellers into two great bodies. At a little distance from the entrance of each road there stood an hideous phantom, that opposed our farther passage. One of these apparitions had his right hand filled with darts, which he brandished in the face of all who came up that way. Crowds ran back at the appearance of it, and cried out Death. The spectre that guarded the other road was Envy. She was not armed with weapons of destruction, like the former; but by dreadful hissings, noises of reproach, and a horrid distracted laughter, she appeared more frightful than Death itself, insomuch, that abundance of our company were discouraged from passing any farther, and some appeared ashamed of having come so far. As for myself, I must confess, my heart shrunk within me at the sight of these ghastly appearances; but, on a sudden, the voice of the trumpet came more full upon us, so that we felt a new resolution reviving in us; and, in proportion as this