The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1851-07-16

- \ u E. - { lIy~x 5ssei.
II 81 1lk - n On TA&zsday, 1t
WutieA keQRM n i HeeY RRnsesous and dis&in.
Gniahad andienea &e. Thaekesay heGan by
snying thAt 10 mast net be- expected, In treating
OF tlyeoe hamafists, to mutter only series OF
lively md fAcetious observations Harlequin
without biz maak was kn0sn 10 be a. grave a
man ~ his neighbaFs, 1t was to their lives.
moro than TO their books. that he proposed to
direct his attention, and they now suggested re-
Elections of serious Il not sad character A.
their object had been TO comment on others,
they DOW became the subjects Of observation
themselvsa; the prsaehes Of yesterday became
the t<xt Of 70. day . sermon. He thea recapitu-
lated the leading fhcts Of Swis life his birth at
Dublin, his service In Sir William Temples, his
politiosi career. Abiding to bis biographers,
he happily characterized Johr SON as having given
him surIy recognition, and passed on. Alter
all, the best test was to say Of any such man,
How would You have liked to have bean his
friend = Al TO Swih, II yon hsd been his infe-
rior. he would have treated you kindly; If you
had met him. - man and his equal, he would
have assaulted you; ifyou had been noblsman,
he would have been the most delight CON-
panion In the world. His serviiity staggered
%, that It looked like independence He took
the road like Macheath, stopping all the CARR.
ages that came in his way to get what lac could
from them; bat there was one carriage with .
mixe on Il which he looked for very anxious!y.
It never came, however; 40, said Mr.. Thackeray,
~hs irss his pistol in the air with curse, and
retires 70 his own country"
Next, he gave picture Of Temples house
hold and Swift's position there, which was one
OF the most characteristics parts of the lecture.
Contrasting Swifts humble position under
Temple with his brilliant and important station
during the Harley government, the lecturer
came to the question of Swifts religious siuceri-
ty. He considered Swift as having been a
sreptic, and having suffered dreadfully from his
sceptcism. Henry Fielding and Steele were
true ehurchmen; they belabored free-thinkers
heartily; and each was ready, after he had
stumbled, to 60 on his knees and cry pecc0ui
Swift was man Of different powers and diff
ferent mind. But he was far too great to have
any cant As far as the badness OF his s.rmous
goes, he was perfectly honest. They were poll
teal pamphlets Swift was strangled in his
band. He seemed to have been haunted all his
life by fury His sufferings were awful. He
was lonely. The great generally are. The
giants must be alone. Here he quoted the an
ecdote Of Archbiship King, and Swift's declar-
ing himself to him the most miserable OF men (;
and. approaching directly the subject Of Swift's
attachments, u ostrophissd Stella with much
tenderness and grace. She was, he said, one
of the saints Of English story.
Ia spite of their disnnion, and of Venessa and
the verdicts of most women, who generally took
Vanessa's part in the controversy, the brightest
part of Swifts story was his love of Esther John
son. 1t had been his Mr.. Thackeray's) lot (of
course in the way Of his professiou) to 60 through
great deal of sentimental reading but he knew
no writing more touching than those notes of
Swifts to her, in what he called little language.
Such man must have had great deal of love
in him. He gave lively picture Of the deans
first acquaintance with Vanessa and said-quite
in the strain Of the author of "Vsnity Fair
that Stella had enjoyed one nice little bit of in
justice that that young lady-that other person
had been sacrificed to her. His description OF
the cad and clouded later day of the great man
was very powerful and affecting; and he visited
Swift's treatment Of Stella very severely But
he paid then, as he did throughout, abundant
homage to the deans genius--of which he ap-
peared to have very high appreciation. The
lecture was heard throughout with evident de-
light and attention, and the applause was fire.
quent and he arty.---LoEdon Despatch.