coffee, and made one or two puns with Lord Pembroke, and designed to go to lord-treasurer; but it was too late, and besides I was half broiled, and broiled without butter; for I never sweat after dinner, if I drink any wine. Then I sat an hour with Lady Betty Butler at tea, and every thing made me hotter and drier. Then I walked home, and was here by ten, so miserably hot, that I was in as perfect a passion as ever I was in my life at the greatest affront or provocation. Then I sat an hour till I was quite dry and cool enough to go swim ; which I did, but with so much vexation, that I think I have given it over: for I was every moment disturbed by boats, rot them; and that puppy Patrick, standing ashore, would let them come within a yard or two, and then call sneakingly to them. The only comfort I proposed here in hot weather is gone; for there is no jesting with those boats after 'tis dark I had none last night. I dived to dip my head, and held my cap on with both my hands, for fear of losing it.-Pox take the boats! Amen. 'Tis near twelve, and so I'll answer your letter (it strikes twelve now) to-morrow morning. 7. Morning. Well, now let us answer MD's letter, N. 15, 15, 15, 15. Now I have told you the number 15, 15; there, impudence, to call names in the beginning of your letter, before you say, How do you do, Mr Presto ?—There's your breeding. Where's your manners, sirrah, to a gentleman ? Get you gone, you couple of jades.—No, I never sit up late now: but this abominable hot weather will force me to eat or drink something that will do me hurt. I do venture to eat a few strawberries. Why then, do you know in Ireland that Mr St John talked so in parliament ? * your Whigs are * Alluding to the stand he made in defence of his friend Mr plaguily bit; for he is entirely for their being all out.— And are you as vicious in snuff as ever? I believe, as you say, it does neither hurt nor good; but I have left it off, and when any body offers me their box, I take about a tenth part of what I used to do, and then just smell to it, and privately fling the rest away. I keep to my tobacco still, as you say; but even much less of that than formerly, only mornings and evenings, and very seldom in the day. As for Joe, I have recommended his case heartily to my lord-lieutenant; and, by his direction, given a memorial of it to Mr Southwell, to whom I have recommended it likewise. I can do no more, if he were my brother. His business will be to apply himself to Southwell. And you must desire Raymond, if Price of Galway comes to town, to desire him to wait on Mr Southwell, as recommended by me for one of the duke's chaplains, which was all I could do for him; and he must be presented to the duke, and make his court, and ply about and find out some vacancy, and solicit early for it. The bustle about your mayor I had before, as I told you, from the Archbishop of Dublin. Was Raymond not come till May 18? so he says fine things of me? certainly he lies. I'm sure I used him indifferently enough, and we never once dined together, or walked, or were in any third place, only he came sometimes to my lodgings, and even there was oftener denied than admitted. What an odd bill is that you sent of Raymond's? a bill upon one Murry in Chester,, which depends entirely not only upon Raymond's honesty, but his discretion; and in money matters he is the last man I Bridges, late paymaster-general, which gave the Whigs hope he was coming round to them. would depend on. Why should Sir Alexander Cairnes in London pay me a bill, drawn by God knows who, upon Murry in Chester? I was at Cairnes's, and they can do no such thing. I went among some friends, who are merchants, and I find the bill must be sent to Murry, accepted by him, and then returned back, and then Cairnes may accept or refuse it as he pleases. Accordingly I gave Sir Thomas Frankland a bill, who has sent it to Chester, and ordered the postmaster there to get it accepted, and then send it back, and in a day or two I shall have an answer; and therefore this letter must stay a day or two longer than I intended, and see what answer I get. Raymond should have written to Murry at the same time, to desire Sir Alexander Cairnes* to have answered such a bill, if it come. But Cairnes's clerks (himself was not at home) said, that they had received no notice of it, and could do nothing; and advised me to send to Murry.—I have been six weeks to-day at Chelsea, and you know it but just now. And so dean— thinks I write the Medley. † Pox of his judgment; 'tis equal to his honesty. Then you han't seen the Miscellany yet? Why, 'tis a four shilling book: has nobody carried it over ?—No, I believe Manley will * Sir Alexander Cairnes, of Monaghan, Bart. a banker in London. + The Medley, of which this sapient judge of style conceived Swift to be the author, was written in opposition to the Examiner, which was really our author's. The author of the "State of Wit" says, that the writer of the " Medley," though he seems to be a man of good sense, and expresses itself luckily enough now and then, is, for the most part, perfectly a stranger to fine writing. Oldmixon and Maynwaring in conjunction were the real authors of the "Medley." not lose his place for his friend in England is so far from being out, that he has taken a new patent since the post-office act; and his brother Jack Manley here takes his part firmly; and I have often spoken to Southwell in his behalf, and he seems very well inclined to him. But the Irish folk here in general are horribly violent against him. Besides, he must consider he could not send Stella wine if he were put out. And so he is very kind, and sends you a dozen bottles of wine at a time, and you win eight shillings at a time; and how much do you lose No, no, never one syllable about that, I warrant you. Why this same Stella is so unmerciful a writer, she has hardly left any room for Dingley. If you have such summer there as here, sure the Wexford waters are good by this time. I forgot what weather we had May 6th; go look in my journal. We had terrible rain the 24th and 25th, and never a drop since. Yes, yes, I remember Berested's bridge; the coach sosses up and down as one goes that way, just as at Hockley in the Hole. I never impute any illness or health I have to good or ill weather, but to want of exercise, or ill air, or something I have eaten, or hard study, or sitting up; and so I fence against those as well as I can : but who a deuce can help the weather? Will Seymor, the general, was excessively hot with the sun shining full upon him so he turns to the sun, and says, Hearkee, friend, you had better go and ripen cucumbers than plague me at this rate, &c. Another time fretting at the heat, a gentleman by said, it was such weather as pleased God: Seymor said, perhaps it may; but I'm sure it pleases nobody else. Why, Madam Dingley, the first-fruits are done. Southwell told me they went to inquire about them, and lord-treasurer said they were : done, and had been done long ago. And I'll tell you a secret you must not mention, that the Duke of Ormond is ordered to take notice of them in his speech to your parliament and I desire you will take care to say on occasion, that my lord-treasurer Harley did it many months ago, before the duke was lord-lieutenant. And yet I cannot possibly come over yet: so get you gone to Wexford, and make Stella well.-Yes, yes, I take care not to walk late; I never did but once, and there are five hundred people on the way as I walk. Tisdall is a puppy, and I will excuse him the half hour he would talk with me. As for the Examiner, I have heard a whisper, that after that of this day, which tells what this parliament has done, you will hardly find them so good. I prophesy they will be trash for the future; and methinks in this day's Examiner the author talks doubtfully, as if he would write no more.* Observe whether the change be discovered in Dublin, only for your own curiosity, that's all. Make a mouth there. Mrs Vedeau's business I have answered, and I hope the bill is not lost. Morrow. 'Tis stewing hot, but I must rise, and go to town between fire and water. Morrow, sirrahs both, morrow.-At night. I dined to-day with Colonel Crowe, governor of Jamaica, and your friend Sterne. I presented Sterne to my lord-treasurer's brother, and gave him his case, and engaged him in his favour. At dinner there fell the swingingest long shower, and the most grateful to me that ever I saw it * In the Examiner of the 7th June 1711, which is the last of Swift's series, the author sums up the advantages gained under Harley's ministry, declares that the whole nation are now sensible of them, and that "the main design he had in writing these papers is fully executed." |