APPENDIX No. IX. LETTERS From the Rev. Matthew Pilkington to Mr Bowyer the printer. [These letters were recovered by the industry of Mr Nicol, and throw some curious light upon Dean Swift's publications. His connection with the impudent and profligate character to whom he intrusted them is noticed, p. 378.] -- MR PILKINGTON TO MR BOWYER. November 9, 1731. Sir, I have been much surprised at your long silence, and perhaps you have been affected in the same manner at mine. But as I hope always to preserve the friendship we have began, I must acquaint you with the reasons of my conduct. I have the misfortune to live in a scene of great hurry; and, between attending those in high stations who honour me with their friendship, and discharging the duties of my profession, I have scarce a moment disengaged; yet I constantly desired my friend Faulkner to write to you in my name, because I imagined it would save postage; and 1 thought it unreasonable to trouble you with my letters, when I had no very urgent business to write to you upon, and had too many obligations to you to think of adding to your expence. But I cannot imagine what you can plead in your case, for your neglect of writing to me, who am desirous to continue a constant correspondence: I shall be glad to hear you justify yourself. * Yesterday I saw a letter of yours to Mr Faulkner, and on so distressful a subject, that I very sensibly shared in your affliction. I am naturally apt to pity the woes of my fellow-creatures, but the wounds of my friend are my own. Here my office ought to be to administer comfort to you in so great a calamity; but I know how much easier it is to preach patience and resignation than to practise either. The • The death of Mrs Bowyer. strongest reason acts but feebly upon the heart that is loaded with grief, nor is the highest eloquence powerful enough to heal a wounded spirit. Time, and a firm trust in Divine Providence, which undoubtedly orders all things for the best, are the only ministers of comfort in our misfortunes; and I hope your own virtue will enable you to bear this affliction with the resolution of a Christian, though joined with all the tenderness of a friend, and the fondest esteem for the memory of that relation you have lost. I desired Mr Faulkner, about six weeks ago, to return you my thanks for your kindness in procuring me the books from Mr Giles's, which I received safe, and also the box of those writings of mine; and I am extremely grieved to find that Faulkner neglected mentioning either. I had not known it only for your postcript, wherein you desire to know whether I received them. I would have wrote to you before this, if I had not believed that your charge was paid; for Dr Delany is, I believe, by this time in London; and he wrote to me from Bath for directions where to find you in London, that he might pay off his bill, and return you his thanks for your kindness to us. Let me beg the favour of you to acquaint Mr Giles with this, because I would not, for any consideration, seem to forget my creditors, though in another country. If Dr Delany be not come to you, I desire you will inquire out his lodgings; and I believe you may be informed either at Lord Bolingbroke's, or Mr Percival's in Conduit Street. Tell him your name whenever you go to wait upon him; and I assure you the doctor will be ex tremely friendly to you, and glad to see you, for I have often talked to him of you. I received ninety-four books from you, but I believe you must commit them to the charge of Mr Faulkner, because I have no opportunity of selling, but bestowing them; for when any of my friends are desirous to have one, and ask me where they are to be had, I am always too generous or too bashful (which is a great rarity among us Irish) to accept of payment for them; and by this means I shall be under the necessity of giving all away, which would be too expensive an article to me. Now what I think would answer, would be, to send what I have not bestowed to Mr Faulkner, * Mr Pilkington's Poems, printed by Mr Bowyer in 1730. and let him publish in his newspaper that he has fimported some of those books, and let him be accountable to you for the sale. I wrote to you for thirty, which I expected to give away, and I believe I have distributed so many. When I receive your answer, I will give you a particular account, and remit you the money for them the first opportunity. If I find Dr Delany's lodgings out from any friends here, or from his letters to me, I will give you immediate notice. I should be glad to have any catalogues that were now selling in London; and if you could send any of them, or any other little pamphlets, they may be directed to the Lord Bishop of Killala, in Dublin, for me. I never received either the Monthly Chronicle for March, nor the Historia Literaria for ditto; I believe it miscarried, by being directed to Faulkner; they were not for Dr Delany, but for another gentleman in town; but I had forgot, till the gentleman asked me for them the other day. I shall be glad to hear from you soon, and am your most sincere friend, MATT. PILKINGTON. There is one Green, a bookseller, lately come from London to this town, who has imported a very curious collection of books; but he has rated them so excessively dear, and seems to act so haughtily in the sale of them, that I believe above three-fourths of them will be sent back to-morrow to England again. I made the Dean of St Patrick's go with me there the first morning; but all the books were too dear for either of us. MR PILKINGTON TO MR BOWYER. February 5, 1731-2. Sir, I find you are resolved to lay me under so many obligations to you, that, upon principles of gratitude, I must be always desirous to promote your interest to the utmost of my power. I think you have nothing more left to do, but to make the experiment, by putting it in my way to return your favours. I sent sixty-five books to Mr Faulkner's, and hope some time or other to have it in my power to make acknowledgements. I find Mr Faulkner sent you a little pamphlet of my writing, called, An Infallible Scheme to pay the Debts of this Nation. I have the honour to see it mistaken for the Dean's, both in Dublin and in your part of the world; but I am still diffident of it, whether it will merit esteem or contempt. It was a sudden whim, and I was tempted to send it into the world by the approbation which the Dean (my wisest and best friend) expressed when he read it if you were concerned in the printing of it I hope you will be no sufferer. I am very much obliged to you for receiving the young printer, whom I recommended to you, in so friendly a manner. If I can, on this side of the water, be serviceable to any friend of yours, command me. I am much pleased to hear of your acquaintance with Dr Delany, who is the best of friends; and I do not doubt but your affection for him will increase with your intimacy with him. I desire you to present my service to him, and tell him that the Dean designs to trouble him to buy a conve nient microscope, that he may find out both myself and my house with greater ease than he can at present, because we are both so excessively small, that he can scarce discover either. I hope to hear soon from you, although it be par liament time, and you hurried with business; and shall always be sincere friend and servant, your MATT. PILKINGTON. MR PILKINGTON TO MR BOWYER. Dublin, August 17, 1752. Sir, I received your last letter, with the note to Mr North. I am extremely obliged to you for the favour of such a present, and shall be glad to have an opportunity to express my gratitude to you. I would send with this letter two or three of those papers which I design for your volume, but the Dean is reading them over, to try if there be any alteration requisite in any of them. I showed him your note to Mr North; and I believe he was at least as much pleased as the person who was to receive it. We have thoughts of preparing a preface to your edition, in the name of the editor. Let me know whether I shall send the pamphlets by post, and whether you have the Journal of a Dublin Lady, the Ballad on the English Dean, and Rochford's Journal, because shall you have the copies sent to you, and the property effectually se cured. I mentioned your request to the Dean; and I shall get you the right of printing the Proposal for Eating Children. I mentioned the alteration of the titles, and he thinks it will be most proper to give them both the Irish and English titles; for instance, the Soldier and the Scholar, or Hamilton's Bawn, &c. I have some hope of being able to send, all these in about a week or fortnight's time; and shall venture to send them by post, though it will be expensive. The Dean says, he thinks the assignment * as full as it is possible for him to write; but that he will comply with any alterations we think proper. I shall expect to hear from you as soon as possible; because I have some schemes to transact, which, probably, I shall acquaint you with in my next letter. I am, Sir, your most obliged servant, MATT. PILKINGTON. APPENDIX, No. X. POEMS ASCRIBED TO SWIFT. No. I. The Swan Tripe Club in Dublin. A SATIRE. [This satire has been ascribed to Swift, on the authority of a titlepage by Tonson, who reprinted the poem as by " the author of * The assignment is in these words: "Whereas several scattered papers, in prose and verse, for three or four years last past, were printed in Dublin, by Mr George Faulkner, some of which were sent, in manuscript, to Mr William Bowyer of London, printer, which pieces are supposed to be written by me, and are now, by the means of the Reverend Matthew Pilkington, who delivered or sent them to the said Faulkner and Bowyer, become the property of the said Faulkner and Bowyer: I do here, without specifying the said papers, give up all manner of right I may be thought to have in the said papers, to Mr Matthew Pilkington aforesaid, who informs me that he intends to give up the said right to Mr Bowyer aforesaid. "Witness my hand, July 22, 1732, JONATH. SWIFT. From the Deanery House in Dublin, the day and year above written." This conveyance is assigned by Pilkington, as empowered by Dr Swift to do so, to Mr William Bowyer of London, on 5th October 1732. |