The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-06-05

'His madness is poor Hamet's enemy"
Hamlet.
~ aACIOUS reader. do not wish you
- to infer from the above title, that,
- there has been but one st. Pat
ricks cathedral. 1 know of two myself,
and perhaps you might mention others.
The st. Patricks to which I refer Is the
lofty and magnificent structure standing
In the city of Dublin, Ireland, in all the
glory of it's restoration. When I first
looked upon this splendid edifce someone
near by said: ut looks as If It were built
of stone, doesn't it?' "Why, certainly 1t
does" answered I. my FRIEND" said this
someone, 'it is built Of Brown Stout"
/ saw the witticism at once. The restora-
ton was paid for by Benjamin Guinness
out of money made from the almost uni
versal sale of his famous Brown Stout.
The cathedral contains a monument to
this same manufacturer of Brown Stout.
May his soul rest in peace.
AS / did not mean to imply that there
has been but one st. Patrick's cathedral.
neither did l mean, when I penned the
above title, to say that st. Patrick's has
had but one dean. 1t has had many who,
If we might bunch them and describe
them collectively, wee good. bad and in
different. Then, too, many of them may
have been mad quite daft, SO far as
know but of one who was positively
mad, miserably mad, according to his BIZ
ographers, l am writing this sketch. His
name was Jonathan Swift, student of
Trinity college, Dublin. Divinitatis Doc
tor, Oxon; genius, litterateur, politician,
clergyman. mailman.
Swift was born in Ireland, but he was
not real freshman, his parents being
English, and while he rendered some val
liable service to the land of his birth, 1t
is most probable that beneath such SER
vice lay the principle Of policy more GER
tainly than the principle of devotion to
the Irish people. Indeed, the dean seemed
to be devoted to nothing for any great
length of time. He was a born politi-
clan, and had he given his whole time
to the manipulation of political measures
he could have given points to Niccolo del
Machiavelli, or to Talleyrand, supposing
them to be living In his time.
Swift's early years were filled with
hardships. that we're always sharply re-
scented: with disappointments borne with
unresisted impatience; with humiliations
that embittered his temperament, and
with discouragements that begot within
his soul bitter misanthropy.
Adverse circumstances make men bet
ter or worse; more tender and sympathet-
ic or more bitter and vindictive. The
worst elements Of Swifts nature were
crystalized by his long waiting for the
smile of fortune and when that smile
came. as 1t did, the old cast of mental
habit was too rigidly formed to admit
of softening Indeed, the wider sphere
of influence that came to him but en-
abled him to use the bitterness of his
mind to the confounding of many
During the waiting period OF his young
= n.
near to accept his disappointments and
defeats with tameness But this was
only apparent For, as has been said,
s.this tameness was merely the tameness
with which tiger caught, Gagged and
starved, submits to the keeper who brings
him food" As II he had said, I am sub
missive now, but once let me break the
Iron bars Of my limitations and I shall
lash the world with the blistering whip
Of NV sartirical scorn. The iron bars
were finally twisted and broken. The
tiger was free.
Til now Swift was the confidential Sec
rStary of Sir William Temple, and was
z A. many RESPECTS treated as servant.
,YSn sat at the servants table, It Is said,
sXi1 c<,ul chafing the while at the supposed
I; fjt6ssnity Later in life. when he wrote
Iii eDirections to Servants he directed
That class OF people, without hope of ris-
u 1iix ia the world, to become highwaymen.
:, wi3ltre they might live short life and
II raerry one" He had in mind the old
(dix5 in the hall Of Moor Park. the home
w me Temples In his character of Sec
Aetary to Sir William Temple he was nee
J, J1Srily much in the presence of that
hf2sman Swift's abilities commended
[koung secretary to Sir Williams
knent and confidence. Temple, there
- sent him to London with commits