THE

RESOLUTION

OF THE

Inhabitants of St. PATRICK.

1..

Mr. B-fw, ferjeant at law, and member of parliament, a profeffed enemy to the clergy, having been reflected on by the Dean, in a humorous poem, intituled, Brother Proteftants, &c. and thinking himself highly injured thereby, refolved to be revenged on Dr Swift, as the author of the faid poem. With this defign he engaged his footman and two ruffians to attend him, in order to fecure the Dean wherever they met him, until he had gratified his refentment either by maiming or stabbing him. Accordingly he went directly to the Deanry, and hearing the Dean was at a friend's house, followed him thither, charged him with writing the faid verses, but had not courage enough to put his bloody defign in execution. However, as he had the affurance to relate this affair to feveral noblemen and gentlemen, the inhabitants of the liberty of St. Patrick s waited upon the Deanin form, and presented the following paper, figned by above thirty of them, in the name of themfelves, and the reft of their neighbourhood. viz.

U 3.

* The Rev. Mr. John Worrall's in Big Ship-street,

WE

WE E the inhabitants of the liberty of the Dean

and Chapter of St. Patrick's, Dublin, and the neighbourhood of the fame, having been informed, by univerfal report, that a certain man of this city hath openly threatened, and fworn before many hundred people, as well perfons of quality as others, that he refolves upon the firft opportunity, by the help of feveral ruffians, to murder or maim the Reverend the Dean of St. Patrick, our neighbour, benefactor, and head of the liberty of St. Patrick, upon a frivolous unproved suspicion, of the faid Dean's having written fome + lines in verse reflecting on the faid man.

Therefore we, the faid inhabitants of the faid liberty, and in the neighbourhood thereof, from our great love and refpect to the faid Dean, to whom the whole kingdom hath fo many obligations, as well as we of the liberty, do unanimoufly declare, that we will endeavour to defend the life and limbs of the faid Dean against the faid man, and all his ruffians and murderers, as far as the law will allow, if he or any of them prefume to come into the faid liberty with any wicked malicious intent against the houfe or family, or perfon, or goods of the faid Dean. To which we have cheerfully, fincerely, and heartily fet our hands.

poci,

On the words Brother proteftants and fellow-chriftians. See that vol, V.

THE

THE

DEAN's ANS WE E R.

The Dean being in bed, very much indifpofed, and not able to receive the faid perfons, dictated the the following anfwer :

GENTLEMEN,

Receive, with great thankfulness, thefe many kind expreffions of your conern for my fafety, as well as your declared refolution to defend me (as far as the laws of God and man will allow) against all murderers and ruffians who fhall attempt to enter into the liberty, with any bloody or wicked defigns upon my life, my limbs, my house, or my goods. Gentlemen, my life is in the hands of God, and whether it may be cut off by treachery or open violence, or by the common way of other men; as long as it continueth, I fhall ever bear a grateful memory for this favour you have fhewn, beyond my expectation, and almoft exceeding my wishes.

The inhabitants of the liberty, as well as those of the neighbourhood, have lived with me in great amity for near twenty years; which I am confident will never diminish during my life. I am chiefly forry, that, by two cruel diforders of deafnefs and giddinefs, which have purfued me for four months, I am not in condition either to hear, or receive you, much less to return my moft fincere ackowledgments, which in justice and gratitude I ought to do. May God bless you and your families in this world, and make you for ever happy in the next.

AN

ACCOUNT

A

MONUMENT

ERECTED to the MEMORY of

Dr. SWIFT in IRELand.

I

To Mr. GEORGE FAULKNER.

SIR,

Neale, Feb. 14. 1750.

Have at last finished, what you have often heard me wish I might be able to do, a monu ment for the greateft genius of our age, the late Dean of St. Patrick's. The thing in itfelf is but a trifle; but, it is more than I should ever have attempted, had I not with indignation seen a country, fo honoured by the birth of fo great a man, and fo faithfully ferved by him all his life) fo long and fo fhamefully negligent in erecting fome monument of gratitude to his memory. Countries are not wife In fuch neglect; for they hurt themselves. Men of genius are encouraged to apply their talents to the fervice of their country, when they fee in it gratititude to the memory of those who have deferved well of them. The ingenious Pere Caftle told me

at

at Paris, that he reckoned it the greatest misfortune to him that he was not born an Englishman; and, when he explained himself, it was only for this, that after two hundred years they had erected a monument to Shakespear; and, another to a mo dern, but to the greatest of them, Sir Ifaac Newton. Great fouls are very difinterested in the affairs of life: They look for fame and immortality. fcorning the mean paths of intereft and lucre: and furely, in an age fo mercenary as ours, men fhould not be fo fparing to give public marks of their gratitude to men of fuch virtue, dead, however they may treat them living; fince, in fo doing, they befpeak, and almost infure to themfelves a fucceffion of fuch useful perfons in fociety. It was with this view that I have determined to throw in my mite.

In a fine lawn below my houfe, I have planted an hippodrome. It is a circular plantation, confifting of five walks; the central of which is a horfe courfe, and three rounds make exactly a mile. All the lines are so laid out, that, from the centre, the fix rows of trees appear but one, and form a hundred arches round the field; in the centre of which I have erected a mount, and placed a marble cocolumn on its proper pedeftal, with all the decorations of the order; on the fummit of which I have placed a Pegafus, juft feeming to take flight to the heavens; and on the dye of the pedestal, I have engraved the following infcription, written by an ingenious friend.

In memoriam JONATHAN SWIFT, S. T. P. viri fine pari.

Aonidum fontes aperis, divine poeta,.

Arte nova æthereas propriis, ut Pegafus, alis Scande domos: æternum addet tua fama columnæ Huic memori decus. Hic, tanti quam poffumus umbram

Nominis