Page:Biographia Hibernica volume 2.djvu/591

 SWIFT. 587 which his politics had attached to him, when the appear ance of his “Proposal for the Use of Irish Manufactures,” elevated him immediately into a patriot. Some little pieces of poetry to the same purpose, were no less acceptable and engaging, and he soon became a favourite of the people. His patriotism was as manifest as his wit, so peculiarly captivating to the natives of Ireland; he was pointed out with pleasure and respect as he passed along the streets: but the popular affection did not rise to i t s height till the publication i n 1724, o f the “Drapier's Letters,” those “brazen monuments” o f his fame. A patent had been obtained b y a person o f the name o f Wood, for the copper coinage, which was executed s o badly and s o low i n value, a s t o become the general subject o f complaint. I n these letters, i n a series o f inimitable wit, and irresistible argu ment, the whole nation was advised t o reject the base coin. The advice was followed; Wood decamped with his patent; the government was irritated t o the extreme; and a large reward was offered b y proclamation for the author of the letters. On the day after the proclamation appeared against the Drapier, there was a full levee a t the castle. The lord lieutenant was going round the circle, when Swift entered the room with marks o f the highest indignation i n his countenance, and having pushed through the crowd, h e addressed Lord Carteret, the viceroy, i n a voice which echoed through the room, inveighing i n the bitterest terms against Wood and his patent, and o n the fatal conse quences which must result from the introduction o f base coin. The circle o f obeisant courtiers was filled with astonishment a t his audacity, and a dead silence prevailed for some minutes, which was broken b y Lord Carteret, who appropriately addressed the dean i n this passage from Virgil:— “Res durae, e t regni novitas, metalia cogunt Moliri.” Nothing was talked o f for some days but the intrepidity o f the dean, and the ingenuity o f Lord Carteret.