Page:The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, Volume 19.djvu/229

Rh to his friend. Of fresh matter he added little. At his time of life indolence was excusable. But the little which he gave bears incontestable marks of its origin; and however incorrect the Life of Swift (as given by Johnson) may be considered, it is but justice to say, that he is the only one of the dean's biographers who has offered any thing in extenuation of his conduct toward Stella and Vanessa. At the same time, it is impossible not to regret, that when Johnson became the biographer of Swift, he should have contented himself with pursuing the beaten track; for had he provided himself with materials that might have easily been collected, a life would have been given to the world, which, like his own inimitable Rasselas, would have at once diffused pleasure and instruction.

The last of this great man's biographers was Sheridan; a name not unknown to genius, and with which one has long been accustomed to connect ideas of literary merit and of Swift. From the writer now before us may be collected much information, and that information well authenticated. His father's intimacy, and his own acquaintance with the dean, had enabled him to acquire a thorough knowledge of Swift's later years, of which Dr. Sheridan was the constant companion; and it is about them only that the publick wishes for information. The former were passed in a station too conspicuous to admit of secrecy, in a manner too splendid to escape observation.

At the same time, I cannot refrain from observing, that some few passages in Sheridan's memoirs are deserving of censure, especially in his attempt to vindicate the conduct of Swift toward those two brated