customers of all ranks, for curiosity and amusement; because they lie always in the way. One of these authors (the fellow that was pilloried I have forgot his name)[4] is indeed so grave, sententious, dogmatical a rogue, that there is no enduring him; the Observator[5] is much the brisker of the two, and I think farther gone of late in lies and impudence, than his Presbyterian brother. The reason why I mention him, is to have an occasion of letting you know, that you have not dealt so gallantly with us, as we did with you in a parallel case: Last year, a paper was brought here from England, called, "A Dialogue between the Archbishop of Canterbury and Mr. Higgins," which we ordered to be burnt by the common hangman, as it well deserved; though we have no more to do with his Grace of Canterbury[6] than you have with the Archbishop of Dublin[7]; nor can you love and reverence your prelate more than we do ours, whom you tamely suffer to be abused openly, and by name, by that paltry rascal of an Observator; and lately upon an affair wherein he had no concern; I mean the business of the missionary at Drogheda, wherein our excellent primate was engaged, and did nothing but according to law and discretion. But because the Lord Archbishop of Dublin hath been upon several occasions of late years, misrepresented in England, I would willingly set you right in his character. For his great sufferings and eminent services he was by the late King promoted to the see of Derry. About the same time, he wrote a book to justify the Revolution, wherein was an account of King James's proceedings in Ireland, and the late Archbishop Tillotson recommended it to the King as the most serviceable treatise that could have been published at such a juncture.[8] And as his Grace set out upon those principles, he has proceeded so ever since, as a loyal subject to the Queen, entirely for the succession in the Protestant line, and for ever excluding the Pretender; and though a firm friend to the Church, yet with indulgence toward dissenters, as appears from his conduct at Derry, where he was settled for many years among the most virulent of the sect; yet upon his removal to Dublin, they parted from him with tears in their eyes, and universal acknowledgments of his wisdom and goodness. For the rest, it must be owned, he does not busy himself by entering deep into any party, but rather spends his time in acts of hospitality and charity, in building of churches, repairing his palace, in introducing and preferring the worthiest persons he can find, without other regards; in short, in the practice of all virtues that can become a public or private life. This and more, if possible, is due to so excellent a person, who may be justly reckoned among the greatest and most learned prelates of his age, however his character may be defiled by such mean and dirty hands as those of the Observator or such as employ him.[9]

[Footnote 2: The Provost and Fellows of Trinity College, Dublin, had lately expelled Edward Forbes for the cause mentioned in the text. [S.]]

[Footnote 3: Faulkner prints: "But sufficient care hath been taken to explain it." [T.S.]]

[Footnote 4: Daniel Defoe (1663?-1731), the son of a Cripplegate butcher. Entered business as a hosier, but failed. In 1695 he was appointed one of the commissioners for duties on glass. Wrote "The True Born Englishman" (1701); "The Shortest Way with the Dissenters," for which he was pilloried, fined, and imprisoned; and numerous other works, including "Robinson Crusoe;" "Life of Captain Singleton;" "History of Duncan Campbell;" "Life of Moll Flanders;" "Roxana;" "Life of Colonel Jack;" "Journal of the Plague;" "History of the Devil;" and "Religious Courtship." He edited a paper called "The Review," to which Swift here refers, and against which Charles Leslie wrote his "Rehearsals." [T.S.]]

[Footnote 5: John Tutchin, a virulent writer of the reign of James II.
For a political work in defence of Monmouth he was sentenced by Judge
Jefferies to be whipped through several market towns. He wrote the
"Observator" (begun April, 1702), and suffered at the hands of the
Tories for his writings. He died in great poverty in 1708, at the age of
forty-seven. He was also the author of a play entitled, "The Unfortunate
Shepherd." Pope refers to these punishments meted out to Defoe and
Tutchin, in the second book of the "Dunciad":

  "Earless on high, stood unabashed De Foe,
  And Tutchin flagrant from the scourge below." [T.S.]]

[Footnote 6: Dr. Thomas Tenison (1636-1715), born at Cottenham, Cambridgeshire. For his attacks on the Roman Catholics he was in 1691 created Bishop of Lincoln. He was made Archbishop of Canterbury in 1694. He wrote a "Discourse of Idolatry," an answer to Hobbes, and published several sermons. [T.S.]]

[Footnote 7: Dr. William King. See vol. iii., p. 241, note. [T.S.]]

[Footnote 8: Dr. King was twice imprisoned in the castle of Dublin after the landing of King James in Ireland in 1699, and narrowly escaped assassination. The title of the work alluded to is: "The State of the Protestants in Ireland under the late King James's Government, in which their carriage towards him is justified, and the absolute necessity of their endeavouring to be freed from his Government, and of submitting to their present Majesties, is demonstrated." [S.]]

[Footnote 9: The portion of this paragraph beginning with "The reason why I mention him," to the end, "such as employ him," is omitted by Faulkner. [T.S.]]

I now come to answer the other part of your letter, and shall give you my opinion freely about repealing the Sacramental Test; only whereas you desire my thoughts as a friend, and not as I am a member of parliament, I must assure you they are exactly the same in both capacities.

I must begin by telling you, we are generally surprised at your wonderful kindness to us on this occasion, it being so very industrious to teach us to see our interest in a point where we are so unable to see it ourselves. This hath given us some suspicion; and though in my own particular, I am hugely bent to believe, that whenever you concern yourselves in our affairs, it is certainly for our good, yet I have the misfortune to be something singular in this belief, and therefore I never attempt to justify it, but content myself to possess my own opinion in private, for fear of encountering men of more wit or words than I have to spare.

We at this distance, who see nothing of the spring of actions, are forced by mere conjecture to assign two reasons for your desiring us to repeal the Sacramental Test: One is, because you are said to imagine it will be one step towards the like good work in England: The other more immediate, that it will open a way for rewarding several persons who have well deserved upon a great occasion, but who are now unqualified through that impediment.

I do not frequently quote poets, especially English, but I remember there is in some of Mr. Cowley's love verses, a strain that I thought extraordinary at fifteen, and have often since imagined it to be spoken by Ireland:

  "Forbid it Heaven my life should be
  Weigh'd with her least conveniency:"

In short, whatever advantage you propose to yourselves by repealing the Sacramental Test, speak it out plainly, 'tis the best argument you can use, for we value your interest much more than our own: If your little finger be sore, and you think a poultice made of our vitals will give it any ease, speak the word and it shall be done; the interest of our whole kingdom is at any time ready to strike to that of your poorest fishing towns; it is hard you will not accept our services, unless we believe at the same time that you are only consulting our profit, and giving us marks of your love. If there be a