SWIFT, JONATHAN, D. D. the illustrious Dean of St. Patrick's, was born in Dublin on the 30th of November 1667. The house, (No. 7, Hoey's Court) in which he first saw the light, is still pointed out with reverence. He was a posthumous child, his father, of the same name, who, among other em ployments, held the office of steward to the society of the King's Arms, having died eight months before the birth of his son. His mother was Abi gail Ericke, of Leicestershire, a lady whose ancient genealogy was her principal dowry. On the death of her husband, our author's mother found herself left utterly destitute. She and her son were sup port!!d by the charity of their relations, some of whom were sufficiently wealthy. Under such cir cumstances, the subject of this sketch " early adopted," says Sir W. Scott, " the custom of ob serving his birth-day as a term, not of joy, but of sorrow, and of reading, when it annually occurred, the striking passage of Scripture, in which Job la ments and execrates the day upon which it was said in his father's house that a man child was born.' " In his infancy he resided for three years at White haven with a nurse, who, out of fondness for the child, had taken him with her, when called to the town by the commands of a dying relation. This circumstance constitutes the foundation of the erro neous opinion that he was a native, not of Ireland, but of England. At the age of six, he was sent to the school of Kilkenny, where his name, cut in school-boy fashion upon the desk or form, is still shown to strangers. From Kilkenny he was re moved to Trinity College, Dublin, in the year 1682, at the age of fourteen. At this seminary he was remarkable neither for studious habits, nor atten tion to the college discipline, nor for correctness of moral conduct. The truth is, he soon became no torious for great laxity of behaviour, and incurred the open displeasure, and had to submit to the cen sure of the heads of the college. lie read and studied rather for amusement and to divert reflec tion, than with the zeal of acquiring knowledge. His reading, however, though desultory, must have 4 I 2 been varied and extensive, since he is said to have already drawn a rough sketch of the Tale of a Tub; which yet did not appear till the year 1704. Owing to his want of taste for logic, he was so ig norant of that science, reckoned at that time indis pensable for an academical degree, that on exami nation he was found ignorant even of the necessary syllogistic forms, and obtained the degree of A. B. by special favour; a term used in the university to denote want of merit. He continued at college three years after procuring this title, and during that time he applied himself more assiduously to itudy, regularly devoting to it eight hours a day.
Meanwhile the death of Godwin Swift, his uncle, and principal supporter, caused him to leave col lege, after a residence there of seven years: when he paid a visit to his mother, who then lived at Leicester, to consult her about the future course of his life. Sir William Temple having married a re lation of Mrs. Swift's, and having been long inti mately acquainted with some members of Swift's family, he was recommended by his mother to that celebrated person for advice. Sir William re ceived him with kindness; and, being pleased with his conversation and intelligence, detained him two years in his house, not as a dependent companion but as a confidential friend. Here he was intro duced to the acquaintance of King William, whose friendship and confidence he gained. In the mean time he obtained the degree of A. M. from Oxford; and having had some misunderstanding with his patron, he forsook his house; and, going to Ireland, obtained orders and a curacy, through the secret influence, it is supposed, of the friend from whom he had parted. The curacy he soon after resigned, and returned to the roof of Sir William Temple, where he continued to reside till the death of this illustrious man: an event which Swift mentions in his Journal in the following terms: " Ile died at one o'clock this morning, (27th January 1693.9), and with him all that was good and amiable among men." Sir William bequeathed to him a small le gacy in money, and entrusted him with the charge of his MSS., and, during his last illness, had warm ly recommended him to the notice of the king. The MSS. were published under the superintendence of Swift, with a dedication to William. As our au thor was not immediately promoted by the court, or rather was overlooked, he relinquished the Re volution or Whig principles, which he had before entertained, and began to connect himself with the opposite party, to which he afterwards remained faithfully attached, and whose views he so power fully promoted by his pen. He, ere long, though from a different quarter, obtained two livings in Ireland; and, in 1713, he was elevated to the deanery of St. Patrick's, Dublin, the highest preferment he ever gained. This situation he owed to his abilities, Ind to those talents for satire which he had enlisted so eagerly in the service of the administration, and which led him to those numerous political compo sitions, in prose and verse, which form such a considerable portion of his works.