The Sun.
London, England, 1852-06-11 00:00:00

JUNE 11,

SWIFT, STELLA, AND e e
groin Eliza Cook's Joumat)
There is nothing in r •oarence mere
pairifely iu'erett-
ing than the history el' Deem Swift, in
con' n`
the lives of the two.beautiful and accomplished women
whom he addreesed by the names; of Stella nad Vanessa;
end the recent French novel on the eubj t
Wailly, EO ably translated by Lady Deff‘G4rd% Mrt;tidset
yield in vivid interest to the actual cormspouder;ce be-
tween Swift and thee() two unhappy women.
We may briefly recount the prominent facia pre
life, before entering upon any consideration of. the
-'4
transaction referred to. Jonathan Swift. was descended
from a Yorkshire family. His father was a son of the
rector CI Goderich, and, through family interest, he .ob. I
tained a Government appointment in Dahlia, where
Jonathan Swift was born in 1667. The bey was edu-
cated at Kilkenny, and afterwards entered Trinity Cea.
ledge, Dublin, as a student; from thence he went to
Oxford, where he graduated. But in the mean time, ho
had obtained the patronage of Sir William Temple, the
stetestnen, who bad married one of his mother's rela-
tions. Sir William presented him with thu piebendery-
ship of Kilroot, in the diocese of Connor, worth about
a hundred pounds a year. While there, ho commenced
a flirtation with a young lady, a Miss Waring, to whom
he gave the affected name of Variea, and though she
was very cold and indifferent to his professions of love
at first, his impetuosity at length won her heart: but
now his ardour disappeared, he grew cold and formal,
and at length broke off all intercourse with her.
Swift left Kilroot, and proceeded to England at the
earnest invitation of his relative Sir William Temple,
for whom he now acted as secretary. It was while at
Moor Park that he became acquainted with Miss Esther
Johnson, afterwards better known by the name of Stella.
She W 33 born at Richmond, the daughter of a merchant;
Mrs. Johnson, her mother, was a widow at the time she
became acquainted with Lady Gifford, the sister of Sir
William Temple. As Lady Gifford Lived much with her
brother, Sir William, and her intimacy with Mrs. John-
son was great, a friendly intercourse sprang up between
all the parties, and Mrs. Johnson's daughters, of whom
Stella was one, were thus admitted to the circle of Sir
William Temple's family. Indeed, the little Iletty was
brought np in the family, with Sir William's own neice;
and it was while she was thus living at Moor Park that
Swift first became acquainted with her.
Swift resided at Moor Park for four years, and while
there made his appearance in public as a Poet. tat his
patron died, leaving Swift a considerable fortune; after
which he got appointed to the livings of Laracor and
Rathbeggin in the county Meath, where Swift's congre-
gation was so small that he occasionally officiated before
only a single individual, and that was Roger, the clerk!
While at Laracor he invited Stella to Ireland, whither
she went in company with a Mrs. Dingley. The lived
at the parsonage while Swift was away, and went into
lodgings at Trim when he returned, thus never living in
the same house together; but Swift spent moat of his
leisure hours in their company. Such a mode of life
must hare been most painful to tho lady; but as we
shall afterwards find, Swift advanced all msuner of ex-
cuses to avoid fulfilling the promise of marriage which
he had made to Stella, inferentially if not directly.
Swift's reputation as an author was meanwhile grow-
ing; he spent much of his time in England. His " Tale
of a Tub," together with many Whig pamphlets, had
brought him some favour but no profit. The Whigs
neglected him, so he went over to the Tories, and as-
sailed all the objects of his previous admiration. His
new political allies would have made him an English
bishop if his scurrilous "Tale of a Tub," which, how-
ever, he never publicly owned, had not stood in the way.
But they made him Dean of St. Patrick's,
which was the best preferment they could venture to
bestow. Having placed Stella in lodgings near the
deanery, (most equivocal position for poor Stella!) Swift
went to England again, and engaged eagerly in the
po-
litical frays of the times, becoming a great power
through the vigour as well as through the scurrility of
his •pen. which all Men, feared. Queen Anne died,
George I. succeeded, and the Whigs returned to power.
Swift went back to Dublin, to a kind of exile, in which
he remained for life; but he became a great power in
Ireland. Ho shone again in the literary world, his
Gulliver's Travels being received with immense eclat.
But it was in connexion with politics that the Dean be-
came most widely known in Ireland. He identified him-'
self with the popular party, endeavoured to promote
native Irish manufactures, denounced Wood's copper
coinage in his Drapier's Letters, which were made
famous by a Government prosecution, end for many years
before be died, he was the most popular man in Ireland.
There are not many facts of great interest in the Deep's
life. In those days, politics meant intrigue, slander,
baok-biting, favouritism, and back-stairs influences.
There was no soundness in the political life in the
midst of which Dean Swift lived; there was little or no
deletion to principle then: men ratted from one side to
another, just as their interest prompted. We therefore
turn away from any further consideration of so repulsive
a theme.
To us, the great interest of Dean Swift's life attaches
to his correspondence with Stella, and Vanessa. As for
Varina and several others to whom he professed attach-
meet, and, by so doing, won their hearts, only to abandon
them when be had succeeded in drawing from them a
declaration of their love, we must dismiss them with
small comment. They were the smaller wrecks of
human affection, which make little wail, and excite no
interest. But Stella and Vanessa are made immortal
by their letters; and they will cling round the memory of
Swift for ever. What are we to say of the Dean's re-
lations to these beautiful and accomplished women? We
fear we must say of them what wo have said of his
politics, that there was no principle there—no pure
affection—only deception and intrigue.
We ere aware that the Dean has found many defen-
ders, just as Lord Byron has done. Tho man of genius is
always defended; his failings are lightly dealt with;
what aro crimes in others, are regarded in him as
peccadilloes. In palliation of Dean Swift's conduct
in relation to Stella, some great mystery has been
apprehended. It hes been rumoured that Stella
was his own sister, or half sister, Sir William Temple
having been the rumoured father of both; and Surgeon
Wilde, of. Dublin, is now said to be engaged in the pre-
paration of a life of the Dean in which he will endeavour
to establish the correctness of this view. Without
his evidence before us, we can only say that all that
has yet been published on the subject, is is direct
contradiction of this supposition. The same theory
was , once before put forth by Mr. Delany, but
positive proofs to the contrary were fennel, which led
to its abandonment. To vindicate even the memory of
a dean, one ought to be careful not to do so at the
expense of the virtuous reputation of his own mother,
as well as of Sir William Temple, and Mrs. Johnson,
the mother of Stella. Swift's connection with Temple
is quite sufficiently explained by the fact of Sir William
being married to a near relative of Swift's own mother.
We do not think it necessary to go so far iu search of
a theory of vindication for the Dean. The fact is,
Swift's treatment of Stella will not bear investigating.
He had a mean opinion of women generally, and he
seemed incapable of entertaining a pare and undivided
affection for them. When a young man of twenty-
four, living at Sir William Temple's house at Moor
Park, he had a lave affair with a Miss Betty Jones,
afterwards Mrs. Perkins, of the George lan, Lough-
borough. The Rev. Mr. Kendall, Vicar of Thornton,
to whose ears this and other evil rumours about young
Swift had come, took him to task about the affair;
and the young man excused himself by say that
his mind " most do mischief, if not otherwiee employed."
" I could remember," says he, " twenty women in my
life, to whom I have behaved myself just the same
way (as to Miss Jones), and, I profess without nay
other design than that of entertaining myself when it
am very idle or when something goes amiss in my
atrairs: Such were the sullied notions of love and its
professions with which the young man started in life.
Marriage he looked upon with aversion, and sneered at
thoSe " honest young men" who, in marrying', " entail
a misery on themselves and posterity by an overacted
modesty."

When Swift invited Stella and Mrs. Dingle to visit
him at Lat.:seer, the former was only eighteeni•ears
of age—a mere girl; and though a beautiful, educated,
and accomplished young lady, with a fortune sufficient
to maintain her in comfort, Swift did not hesitate thus

to compromise her reputation, and to affix a stain upon
her which life could not remove.
The personal attractions of Stella were great. : liar
hair was of a raven ~blick, her features were beautiful,
and attractive, her form was of exquisite symmetry;
added to this she had cheerfulness, good sense, wit, and
virtue. These qualities brought lovers and admirers
about her, for as yet the secrecy which had been ob-
served in connexion with the visit, had not affected Miss
Johnson's reputation, and a clergyman, the Rev. Mr.
Tindall, a friend of Swifts, offered his hand to her in
marriage. What was Swift's conduct? He wrote an
equivocal letter, very cautious, but saying that should
he ever think Of " that state," he should certainly, of all
I others, make choice of Mils Johnson for his wife, and a
good deal more to the same effect. In consequence of
this letter, the clergy than dropped his suit.
Alas! poor Stella waited many long years in vain—
till the bloom of her youth and beauty had fled--
till her heart had become wearied. end . worn
waiting for the clay that came not, for the
hope t
bat was not td be fulfilled. It was but too ob-
vious that Swift only prolonged the flirtation because it
was pleasing to him, though at the sacrifice of the health
and IlaPPiness of a
,youeg and beautiful woman. He
not forego his selfish amusement, though at
would
the cost of another's- health and happiness. He had
wort a woMan's beautiful affection only to trample on it.
Is it possible that such conduct can meet with any pal-
liation? Is it necessary to invent a theory when the
dark facts of the once are so obvious? That Swift pro-
fessed love for Stella is but too clear from his letters and
the journal which he sent to her, when absent in Lon-
don—written too, at the very time that he was making
Incpro fessions of loe to a woman
of higher intellectual powersstill thanmore beautiful
poor Stella had
pretensions to. This was the unhappy but gifted Esther
Venhomrigh.
The part which Swift played in the political intrigues
of the time led him ofteretteLondon, where he first met
bliss Vanhomrigh in society. Sho.wats beautiful, hand-
some, accomplished, and rich. She Was inspired, toe,
„jai genius; and round her lirow was bJund that ecau.
thus wreath which, on a woman, so often leaves it bit eding.
She was fascinating, brilliant, proud, yet loving; such was
tile woman, scarce twenty years of age, whom Swift met
in the high circles of London life. He profeeate love•
for her: perhaps he did love her—who can tell? But be-
fore his, eyes, while ho lay at the feet of this, now beauty,
there roust often have ris,:n up the form of the:devoted'
affectiouate, quiet, and graceful Stella, then in her
lo
,igiegs at Trim, or in the rectory at La
removed from the gaieties of London life, living
romises which Swift had made to h •
P so far
on the
her, still trust-
iug and believing in his truthfulness, and that he
would yet one day rescue her from opprobrium
,and make her happy. While he was engaged in con-
stanter h
w e
u
intercourseabsent
from woni
ith
town,Vanessa,ll
l was and corresponding with
h as also penning his