Page:The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, Volume 1.djvu/512

476 upon him with the other infirmities of old age, as appears by the whole tenour of his conduct. Many instances of his liberality, and unbounded charity, have been already produced; I shall now mention some others, which will show how little place the love of money had in his heart. He allowed Mrs. Dingley a pension of fifty-two pounds per annum, which, with her own annuity of twenty-eight, made up a yearly income of eighty pounds; a very handsome support for a single woman in those days. But this he insisted should be kept an entire secret between themselves, always pretending that he only acted as her agent for money which she had in the funds. And the better to deceive those about him, when she has sent for any part of this allowance, he would sometimes pretend to be in a passion, and cry out, "Pox take this woman, she is always plagueing me for money; tell her I have none to send her; I have had no remittances from London this half year." And then, cooling by degrees, he would send her the money by way of advance, and take her receipt accordingly. By this way of proceeding, those of his greatest intimacy were deceived; nor was it till after his faculties were impaired, that he discovered by accident that these payments came out of his own purse. Acting as he did with such delicacy in conferring favours, it is to be supposed that many other instances of his liberality have never come to light.

Of all the trials of an avaricious disposition, nothing is so likely to make it show itself in the most glaring colours, as some considerable unexpected loss. To this test was Swift severely put in two remarkable occurrences in different periods of his life. The