about the expedience of complying with a bill then depending for making Parliaments triennial, against which King William was ftrongly prejudiced, after having in vain tried to fhew the Earl that the proposal involved nothing dangerous to royal power, he fent Swift for the same purpose to the King. Swift, who probably was proud of his employment, and went with all the confidence of a young man, found his arguments, and his art of difplaying them, made totally ineffectual by the predetermination of the King; and ufed to mention this dif appointment as his first antidote against vanity.

Before he left Ireland he contracted a diforder, as he thought, by eating too

much fruit. The original of difeafes is commonly obfcure. Almost every boy eats as much fruit as he can get, without any great inconvenience. The dif eafe of Swift was.giddinefs with deafness, which attacked him from time to time, began very early, purfued him through life, and at laft fent him to the grave deprived of reafon.

Being much oppreffed at Moor-park by this grievous malady, he was advised to try his native air, and went to reland; but, finding no benefit, returned to Sir William, at whofe house he continued his ftudies, and is known to have read, among other books, Cyprian and Irenæus. He thought exercife of great neceffity, and used to run half a

mile up and down a hill every two

hours.

It is cafy to imagine that the mode in which his first degree was conferred left him no great fondness for the Univerfity of Dublin, and therefore he refolved to become a Master of Arts at Oxford. In the teftimonial which he

produced, the words of difgrace were omitted, and he took his Mafter's degree (July 5, 1692) with fuch reception and regard as fully contented him.

While he lived with Temple, he used to pay his mother at Leicester an yearly vifit. He travelled on foot, unless fome violence of weather drove him into a waggon, and at night he would go to a penny lodging, where he purchased

clean

clean fheets for fix-pence. This prac

tice Lord Orrery imputes to his innate love of groffnefs and vulgarity: fome may ascribe it to his defire of furveying human life through all its varieties; and others, perhaps with equal probability, to a paffion which feems to have been deep fixed in his heart, the love of a fhilling.

In time he began to think that his attendance at Moor-park deserved some other recompenfe than the pleasure, however mingled with improvement, of Temple's converfation; and grew fo impatient, that (1694) he went away in discontent.

Temple, confcious of having given reafon for complaint, is faid to have made him Deputy Mafter of the Rolls in Ire

land;

land; which, according to his kinfman's account, was an office which he knew him not able to discharge. Swift therefore refolved to enter into the Church, in which he had at first no higher hopes than of the chaplainship to the Factory at Lisbon; but being recommended to Lord Capel, he obtained the prebend of Kilroot in Connor, of about a hundred pounds a year.

But the infirmities of Temple made a companion like Swift fo neceffary, that he invited him back, with a promise to procure him English preferment, in exchange for the prebend which he defired him to refign. With this request Swift quickly complied, having perhaps equally repented their feparation, and they

lived