Page:The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, Volume 1.djvu/388

352 such a confident air, and so many minute particulars, as deceived one of the editors of Swift's works into a belief that the account was authentick; insomuch, that he has inserted the whole in the notes upon one of the volumes. How he came to place such implicit confidence in the veracity of an anonymous writer, is strange; but it would be easy to prove, that the whole of this fictitious tale was the invention of some novelist, who had a mind to amuse himself with showing how easily the credulity of mankind is imposed on, by any extraordinary or marvellous story. However, in order to destroy the fabrick, it will be only necessary to say, that the whole was founded upon a fact already proved impossible to be true, which is that Swift was sir William Temple's son. And with respect to Mrs. Johnson, there can be no reason to doubt the authority of Swift's account, who, in the little tract written on her death, has this passage. "She was born at Richmond in Surry, on the 13th day of March in the year 1681. Her father was a younger brother of a good family in Nottinghamshire, her mother of a lower degree; and indeed she had little to boast of her birth."

Having thus developed his conduct, which has hitherto appeared in so mysterious a light to the world, with regard to the two unfortunate ladies, who had placed their affections on an object probably not capable of making a suitable return, or who, at least, had shown himself a perfect platonist in love; I shall now examine his character with regard to the still nobler affection of the human mind, I mean friendship. There have been already many instances given in the course of this work, to show that