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Clergy; of the Diffenters he did not wish to infringe the toleration, but he oppofed their encroach

ments.

To his duty as Dean he was very attentive. He managed the revenues of his church with exact œconomy; and it is faid by Delany, that more money was, under his direction, laid out in repairs than had ever been in the fame time fince its firft erection. Of his choir he was eminently careful; and, though he neither loved nor understood musick, took care that all the fingers were well qualified, admitting none without the teftimony of skilful judges.

In his church he reftored the practice of weekly communion, and distributed the facramental elements in the moft folemn and devout manner with his own hand. He came to church every morning, preached commonly in his turn, and attended the evening anthem, that it might not be negligently performed.

He read the fervice rather with a strong nervous voice than in a graceful manner; his voice was sharp and hightoned, rather than harmonious.

He entered upon the clerical ftate with hope to excel in preaching; but complained, that, from the time of his political controverfies, be could only preach pamphlets. This cenfure of himself, if judgement be made from thofe fermons which have been publifhed, was unreasonably fevere.

The fufpicions of his irreligion proceeded in a great meafure from his dread of hypocrify; inftead of wishing to feem better, he delighted in seeming worse than he was. He went in London to early prayers, left he fhould be seen at church; he read prayers to his fervants every morning with fuch dexterous fecrecy, that Dd 3

Dr.

1

Dr. Delany was fix months in his house before he knew it. He was not only careful to hide the good which he did, but willingly incurred the fufpicion of evil which he did not. He forgot what himself had formerly afferted, that hypocrify is lefs mifchievous than open impiety. Dr. Delany, with all his zeal for his honour, has justly condemned this part of his character.

The perfon of Swift had not many recommenda tions. He had a kind of muddy complexion, which, though he washed himself with oriental fcrupulofity, did not look clear. He had a countenance four and fevere, which he feldom foftened by any appearance of gaiety. laughter.

He ftubbornly relifted any tendency to

To his domefticks he was naturally rough; and a man of a rigorous temper, with that vigilance of minute attention which his works difcover, must have been a mafter that few could bear. That he was difpofed to do his fervants good, on important occafions, is no great mitigation; benefaction can be but rare, and tyrannick peevishnefs is perpetual. He did not fpare the fervants of others. Once, when he dined alone with the Earl of Orrery, he said, of one that waited in the room, That man has, fince we fat to the table, committed fifteen faults. What the faults were, Lord Orrery, from whom I heard the ftory, had not been attentive enough to difcover. My number may perhaps not be exact.

In his economy he practised a peculiar and offenfive parfimony, without disguise or apology. The practice of faving being once neceffary, became habitual, and grew firft ridiculous, and at last deteftable. but his avarice, though it might exclude pleafure, was

never fuffered to encroach upon his virtue. He was frugal by inclination, but liberal by principle; and if the purpose to which he deftined his little accumulations be remembered, with his diftribution of occafional charity, it will perhaps appear that he only liked one mode of expence better than another, and faved merely that he might have fomething to give. He did not grow rich by injuring his fucceffors, but left both Laracor and the Deanery more valuable than he found them.-With all this talk of his covetousness and generofity, it should he remembered that he was never rich, The revenue of his Deanery was not much more than seven hundred a year.

His beneficence was not graced with tenderness or civility; he relieved without pity, and affifted without kindness, so that thofe who were fed by him could hardly love him.

He made a rule to himfelf to give but one piece at a time, and therefore always ftored his pocket with coins of different value.

Whatever he did, he feemed willing to do in a manner peculiar to himself, without fufficiently confidering that fingularity, as it implies a contempt of the general practice, is a kind of defiance which juftly provokes the hoftility of ridicule; he therefore who indulges peculiar habits is worfe than others, if he be not better.

Of his humour, a story told by Pope may afford a fpecimen.

"Dr. Swift has an odd, blunt way, that is mif"taken, by strangers, for ill-nature.-'Tis fo odd, that "there's no defcribing it but by facts. I'll tell you

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"one that first comes into my head. One evening, "Gay and I went to fee him: you know how inti"mately we were all acquainted. On our coming in, "Heyday, gentlemen, (fays the Doctor) what's the "meaning of this vifit? How came you to leave all "the great Lords, that you are fo fond of, to come "hither to fee a poor Dean !'- Because we would ra"ther fee you than any of them.'- Ay, any one that "did not know fo well as I do, might believe you, "But fince you are come, I must get fome fupper for you, I fuppofe. No, Doctor, we have fupped al"ready.'-Supped already? that's impoffible! why, "'tis not eight o'clock yet. That's very ftrange; but, "if you had not fupped, I muft have got fomething "for you. Let me fee, what should I have had? A "couple of lobsters; ay, that would have done very "well; two fhillings-tarts, a fhilling: but you will "drink a glass of wine with me, though you fupped fo "much before your ufual time only to fpare my pocket?' "No, we had rather talk with you than drink with "you.' But if you had fupped with me, as in all rea"fon you ought to have done, you must then have ❝ drunk with me.-A bottle of wine, two fhillings"two and two is four, and one is five: just two-and"fix-pence a-piece. There, Pope, there's half a crown "for you, and there's another for you, Sir; for I won't "fave any thing by you, I am determined.'-This was "all faid and done with his ufual ferioufnefs on fuch "occafions; and, in fpite of every thing we could fay "to the contrary, he actually obliged us to take the << money."

In the intercourfe of familiar life, he indulged his difpofition to petulance and farcafm, and thought him

felf

felf injured if the licentiousness of his raillery, the freedom of his cenfures, or the petulance of his frolicks, was refented or repreffed. He predominated over his companions with very high ascendency, and probably would bear none over whom he could not predominate. To give him advice was, in the ftyle of his friend Delany, to venture to speak to him. This customary fuperiority foon grew too delicate for truth; and Swift, with all his penetration, allowed himself to be delight ed with low flattery.

On all common occafions, he habitually affects a style of arrogance, and dictates rather than perfuades. This authoritative and magifterial language he expected to be received as his peculiar mode of jocularity: but he apparently flattered his own arrogance by an affumed imperioufnefs, in which he was ironical only to the refentful, and to the fubmiffive fufficiently ferious.

He told stories with great felicity, and delighted in doing what he knew himself to do well. He was therefore captivated by the refpectful filence of a fteady liftener, and told the fame tales too often.

He did not, however, claim the right of talking alone; for it was his rule, when he had spoken a minute, to give room by a pause for any other fpeaker. Of time, on all occafions, he was an exact computer, and knew the minutes required to every common operation.

It may be juftly fuppofed that there was in his converfation, what appears fo frequently in his Letters, an affectation of familiarity with the Great, an ambition of momentary equality fought and enjoyed by the neglect of thofe ceremonies which cuftom has established as the barriers between one order of fociety and an

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