Page:The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, Volume 4.djvu/260

252 he ought to trust entirely to his own wisdom. Thus he grows to abound in secrets and reserves, even toward those with whom he ought to act in the greatest confidence and concert: and thus the world is brought to judge, that whatever be the issue and event, it was all foreseen, contrived, and brought to pass by some masterstroke of his politicks.

I could produce innumerable instances, from my own memory and observation, of events imputed to the profound skill and address of a minister, which in reality were either the mere effects of negligence, weakness, humour, passion, or pride; or at best, but the natural course of things left to themselves.

During this very session of parliament, a most ingenious gentleman, who has much credit with those in power, would needs have it, that in the late dissensions at court, which grew too high to be any longer a secret, the whole matter was carried with the utmost dexterity on one side, and with manifest ill conduct on the other. To prove this he made use of the most plausible topicks, drawn from the nature and disposition of the several persons concerned, as well as of her majesty; all which he knows as much of as any man: and gave me a detail of the whole with such an appearance of probability, as committed to writing would pass for an admirable piece of secret history. Yet I am at the same time convinced by the strongest reasons, that the issue of those dissensions, as to the part they had in the court and the house of lords, was partly owing to very different causes, and partly to the situation of affairs, whence, in that juncture,