three fpikes, whereof one must always be with the point upwards. He placed them over night in the ford where he received notice that the rebels would pafs early the next morning; which they accordingly did, and loft two hundred of their men, who were drowned, or tred to death by the falling of their horses, or torn by the fpikes. * SECT. X. His fons, whereof four were fettled in Ireland, (driven thither by their fufferings, and by the death of their father) related many other paffages, which they learned either from their father himself, or from what had been told them by the most credible perfons of Herefordshire, and fome neighbouring counties; and which fome of thofe fons often told to their children; many of which are still remembered, but many more forgot. SECT. XI. He was deprived of both his churchlivings fooner than most other loyal clergymen, upon account of his fuperior zeal for the King's caufe, and his eftate fequeftered. His preferments, at least that of Goodrich, were given to a fanatical faint t; who fcrupled not however to conform upon the restoration; and lived many years, I think till after the revolution. I have feen many perfons at Goodrich, who knew, and told me his name, which I cannot now remember. SECT. XII. The Lord Treasurer Oxford told the Dean, that he had among his father's (Sir Edward Har. ley's) papers, feveral letters from Mr. Thomas Swift, writ in thofe times, which he promised to give to the grandfon, whofe life I am now writing; but never going to his houfe in Herefordshire while he was Treasurer, and the Queen's death happening in three days after his removal, the Dean went to Ireland; and the Earl be ing tried for his life, and dying while the Dean was in Ireland, he could never get them. SECT. XIII. Mr. Thomas Swift died in the year 1658, * He should have faid five. I fuppofe he forgot Dryden Swift, who died very young, and a batchelor, foon after he had come over to Ireland with his brothers. † Gyles Rawlins fucceeded him in the parish of Goodrich : but the other here mentioned fucceeded Rawlins fome time before O&tober 1657. His name was William Tringham. · and and in the [63d] year of his age. His body lies under the altar at Goodrich, with a fhort infcription. He died about two years before the return of K. Charles II. who, by the recommendation of fome prelates had promifed, if ever God fhould restore him, that he would promote Mr. Swift in the church, and otherwise reward his family, for his extraordinary fervices and zeal, and perfecutions in the royal caufe: but Mr. Swift's merit died with himself. His SECT. XIV. He left ten fons and three or four daughters, most of which lived to be men and women. eldeft fon Godwin Swift, of the Inner-temple *, Efq; (fo ftyled by Guillim the herald, in whose book the family is defcribed at large) was, I think, called to the bar before the restoration. He married a relation of the old Marchionefs of Ormond: and upon that account, as well as his father's loyalty, the old Duke of Ormond made him his Attorney-general in the palatinate of Tipperary. He had four wives; one of which, to the great offence of his family, was co-heiress + to Admiral Deane, who was one of the regicides. Godwin left feveral children, who have all Estates. an ill pleader, but perhaps a little too dextrous in the fubtile parts of the law. He was SECT. XV. The fecond fon of Mr. Thomas Swift was called by the fame name, was bred at Oxford, and took orders. He married the eldest Daughter of Sir William D'Avenant; but died young, and left only one fon, who was alfo called Thomas, and is now rector of Puttenham in Surrey . His widow lived long, was extremely poor, and in part fupported by the famous Dr. South, who had been her husband's intimate friend. SECT. XVI. The rest of his fons, as far as I can call to mind, were Mr. Dryden Swift, (called fo after the name of his mother, who was a near relation to Mr. Dryden the poet **) William, Jonathan, and Adam; who all lived and died in Ireland; but none of them He died in May 1752, in the 87th year of his age. **She was aunt to the famous John Dryden. VOL I. left left male iffue, except Jonathan, who, besides a daughter, left one fon, born feven months after his father's death; of whofe life I intend to write a few memorials. SECT. XVII. J. S. D. D. and D. of St. P., was the only fon of Jonathan Swift, who was the seventh or eighth fon of Mr. Thomas Swift above mentioned, fo eminent for his loyalty and his fufferings. about two SECT. XVIII. His father died young, years after his marriage. He had fome employments and agencies. His death was much lamented on account of his reputation for integrity, with a tolerable good understanding. SECT. XIX. He married Mrs. Abigail Erick, of Leicefterfhire, defcended from the most ancient family of the Ericks; who derive their lineage from Erick the Forefter, a great commander, who raised an army to oppose the invasion of William the Conqueror; by whom he was vanquished; but afterwards employed to command that prince's forces: and in his old age retired to his houfe in Leicestershire, where his family hath continued ever fince; but declining every age, and are now in the condition of very private gentlemen. SECT. XX. This marriage was on both fides very indifcreet for his wife brought her husband little or no fortune and his death happening fo fuddenly, before he could make a fufficient eftablishment for his family, his fon (not then born) hath often been heard to fay, that he felt the confequences of that marriage, not only through the whole courfe of his education, but during the greatest part of his life. SECT. XXI. He was born in Dublin, on St. Andrew's day t. And when he was a year old, an event happened to him that feems very unufual: for his nurfe, who was a woman of Whitehaven, being under an abfolute neceffity of feeing one of her relations, who was then extremely fick, and from whom the expected a legacy; and being extremely fond of the infant, she stole him on fhipboard, unknown to his mother and uncle, and carried him with her to Whitehaven; where he conti He died at the age of about five and twenty. nued nued for almost three years. For, when the matter was discovered, his mother fent orders by all means not to hazard a fecond voyage, till he could be better able to bear it. The nurfe was fo careful of him, that before he returned he had learned to fpell; and by the time that he was three * years old, he could read any chapter in the Bible. SECT. XXII. After his return to Ireland, he was fent at fix years old to the fchool of Kilkenny; from whence, at fourteen, he was admitted into the univerfity at Dublin; where, by the ill treatment of his neareft relations, he was fo difcouraged and funk in his fpirits, that he too much neglected fome parts of his academic studies; for which he had no great relish by nature, and turned himself to reading history and poetry; so that when the time came for taking his degree of Bachelor, although he had lived with great regularity and due obfervance of the ftatutes, he was stopped of his degree for dulnefs and infufficiency; and at laft hardly admitted, in a manner little to his credit, which is called in that college fpeciali gratia. And this difcreditable mark, as I am told, ftands upon record in their college-registry. SECT. XXIII. The troubles then breaking out, he went to his mother, who lived in Leicester; and after continuing there fome months, he was received by Sir William Temple, whose father had been a great friend to the family, and who was now retired to his house called Moorpark, near Farnham in Surrey, where he continued for about two years: for he happened, before twenty years old, by a furfeit of fruit, to contract a giddinefs and coldness of ftomach, that almost brought him to his grave; and this diforder purfued him, with intermiffions of two or three years, to the end of his life. Upon this occafion he returned to Ireland, by advice of phyficians, who weakly imagined, that his na tive air might be of fome ufe to recover his health. But growing worfe, he foon went back to Sir William Temple; with whom growing into fome confidence, he was often trufted with matters of great importance. King William had a high efteem for Sir William Temple, by Hawkefworth fays five; and probably he is right. C 2 am a long acquaintance while that gentleman was baffador and mediator of a general peace at Nimeguen. The King, foon after his expedition to England, vifited his old friend often at Sheen, and took his advice in affairs of greatest confequence. But Sir William Temple, weary of living fo near London, and refolving to retire to a more private scene, bought an eftate near Farnham in Surrey, of about 100l. a-year, where Mr. Swift accompanied him. SECT. XXIV. About that time a bill was brought into the house of commons for triennial parliaments; against which the King, who was a stranger to our conAtitution, was very averfe, by the advice of fome weak people, who perfuaded the Earl of Portland, that King Charles I. loit his crown and life by confenting to pass fuch a bill. The Earl, who was a weak man, came down to Moorpark, by his Majefty's orders, to have Sir William Temple's advice; who faid much to fhew him the mistake: but he continued ftill to advise the King against paffing the bill. Whereupon Mr. Swift was fent to Kensington with the whole account of that matter in writing, to convince the King and the Eart how ill they were informed. He told the Earl, to whom he was referred by his Majefty, (and gave it in writing) that the ruin of King Charles I. was not owing to his paffing the triennial bill, which did not hinder him from diffolving any parliament, but to the paffing another bill, which put it out of his power to dif folve the parliament then in being without the consent of the house. Mr. Swift, who was well verfed in Englifh hiftory, although he was then under twenty-one years old, gave the King a fhort account of the matter, but a more large one to the Earl of Portland; but all in vain for the King, by ill advifers, was prevailed upon to refufe paffing the bill. This was the first time that Mr. Swift had any converfe with courts; and he told his friends it was the first incident that helped It was firft written, but afterwards erased in the original manufcript, three and twenty years old; which in all probability was right for Dr. Swift was twenty-one years old the laft day of November 1688, and before that period there could have been no fuch bill under confideration. : to |