I have now finished the most disgustful task that ever I undertook. I could, with more ease, have written three dull pamphlets, than remarked upon the falfhoods and abfurdities of one. But I was quite confounded, last Wednesday, when the printer came with another pamphlet in his hand, written by the fame author, and entitled, The Englishman, being the close of the paper so called, &c. He defired I would read it over, and confider it in a paper by itself; which last I abfolutely refufed. Upon perusal, I found it chiefly an invective against Toby, the ministry, the Examiner, the clergy, the Queen, and the Foft-boy; yet, at the same time, with great justice, exclaiming against those, who prefumed to offer the least word, against the heads of that faction whom her Majefty discharged. The author likewife proposeth an equal division of favour and employments, between the whigs and tories; for, if the former can have no part or portion in David*, they defire no longer to be his fubjects. He infifts, that her Majesty hath exactly followed Monfieur Tughe's memorial, against demolishing of Dunkirk. He reflects, with great fatisfaction, on the good already done to his country, by the Crisis. Non nobis, Domine, non nobis, &c. --He gives us hopes, that Ff3 he * What portion have we in David? † "Tughe was deputed by the magistrates of Dunkirk to in" tercede with the Queen, that she would recall part of her fen"tence concerning Dunkirk, by caufing her thunderbolts to fall " only on the martial works, and to spare the moles and dykes, "which, in their naked condition, could be no more than ob "jects of pity." } he will leave off writing, and confult his own quiet and happiness; and concludes, with a letter to a friend at court. I suppose, by the style of old friend, and the like, it must be fomebody there, of his own level; among whom his party have, indeed, more friends than I could with. In this letter, he afferts, that the present ministers were not educated in the church of England, but are new converts from presbytery. Upon which I can only reflect, how blind the malice of that man must be, who invents a groundless lie, in order to defame his fuperiors, which would be no difgrace, if it had been a truth. And he concludes with making three demands, for the fatisfaction of himself and other malecontents, "First, The de"molition of the harbour of Dunkirk. Secondly, "That Great Britain and France would heartily "join, against the exorbitant power of the Duke "of Lorrain, and force the Pretender from his "afylum at Bar le Duc. Lastly, That his Elec"toral Highness of Hanover would be so grateful "to fignify to all the world, the perfect good " understanding he hath with the court of Eng"land, in as plain terms as her Majesty was pleaf"ed to declare she had with that house, on her " part." As to the first of these demands, I will venture to undertake it shall be granted; but then, Mr. Steele and his brother malecontents, must promife to believe the thing is done, after those employed have made their report; or elfe bring vouchers to disprove it. Upon the second; I cannot tell, whether whether her Majesty will engage in a war against the Duke of Lorrain, to force him to remove the Pretender; but, I believe, if the parliament should think it necessary to address, upon fuch an occafion, the QUEEN will move that prince to send him away. His last demand, offered under the title of a wish, is of so infolent and feditious a strain, that I care not to touch it. Here he directly chargeth her Majefty with delivering a falshood to her parliament from the throne; and declares, he will not believe her, until the Elector of Hanover himself shall vouch for the truth of what she hath so solemnly affirmed. I agree with this writer, that it is an idle thing in his antagonists, to trouble themselves upon the articles of his birth, education, or fortune: for, whoever writes at this rate, of his sovereign, to whom he owes so many personal obligations, I shall never enquire, whether he be a GENTLEMAN BORN, but whether he be a HUMAN CREATURE. THE THE CONDUCT OF THE ALLIES, and of the LATE MINISTRY, in beginning and carrying on the present War *. I Written in the year 1712. Partem tibi Gallia noftri Odimus accipitrem quia femper vivit in armis. PREFACE. Cannot sufficiently admire the industry of a fort of men, wholly out of favour with the Prince and people, and openly profeffing a feparate interest from the bulk of the landed men, who yet are able to raife, at this juncture, fo great a clamour against a peace, without offering one fingle reason, but what we find in their ballads. I lay it down for a maxim, that no reasonable man, whether whig or tory, (fince it is necessary to use those foolish terms) can be of opinion for continuing the war * To this tract, and the Examiners, which make Vol. V. of the Irish edition, there is a preface in the name of the publisher, which Lord Orrery ascribes to Swift, for no other apparent reafon, than to accuse him of praising himself. But, befides the incorrectness of the style, which his Lordship supposes to be affected, there is an affertion, that these papers produced the change in the Queen's ministry, which, even in his Lordship's opinion, they were written to defend, and to which they appear, by their date, as well as tenor, to be fubfequent; an abfurdity, of which Swift, even in the character of a publisher, cannot be fuppofed to have been guilty. Hawkes. war upon the foot it now is, unless he be a gainer by it, or hopes it may occasion some new turn of affairs at home, to the advantage of his party; or, laftly, unless he be very ignorant of the kingdom's condition, and by what means we have been reduced to it. Upon the two first cases, where interest is concerned, I have nothing to fay: but, as to the last, I think it highly neceffary, that the public should be freely and impartially told, what circumstances they are in, after what manner they have been treated by those, whom they trusted fo many years with the disposal of their blood and treafure, and what the consequences of this management are like to be, upon themselves and their posterity. Those who, either by writing or discourse, have undertaken to defend the proceedings of the late ministry, in the management of the war, and of the treaty at Gertruydenburgh, have spent time in celebrating the conduct and valour of our leaders, and their troops, in summing up the victories they have gained, and the towns they have taken. Then they tell us, what high articles were insisted on by our ministers, and those of the confederates, and what pains both were at, in perfuading France to accept them. But nothing of this can give the leaft fatisfaction to the just complaints of the kingdom, As to the war, our grievances are, that a greater load has been laid on us, than was either just or neceffary, or than we have been able to bear; that the groffeft impofitions have been fubmitted to, for the advancement of private wealth and power, or in order to forward the more dangerous designs of a faction, |