Poor Swift! he was conscious of insanity's approach; he
repeated annually Job's curse upon the day of his birth; he died a
madman.
There are numerous biographies of Swift; but probably the best
characterization of the man and his life, rather than of his books, is
to be found in Thackeray's _English Humorists_, and a closer study of
the man and his works in Leslie Stevenson's "Swift," in Morley's
_English Men of Letters_. The other biographies of him are: Lord Orrery
_Remarks on the Life and Writings of Dr. Jonathan Swift_, 1751; Hawkes,
on his life, 1765; Sheridan's life, 1785; Forster's life, 1875
(unfinished); Henry Craik's life (1882). The best edition of Swift's
writings and correspondence is that edited by Scott, 1824.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] _Redriff Rotherhithe_: then a Thames side village, now part of
London.
[2] _Pound_: nearly five dollars.
[3] _Levant_: the point where the sun rises. The countries about the
eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea and its adjoining waters.
[4] _Mrs._: it was formerly the custom to call unmarried women Mrs.
[5] _The South Sea_: the Pacific Ocean.
[6] _Van Diemen's Land_: N.W. from Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) and in
latitude 30 degrees 2 minutes would be in Australia or off the West
Coast.
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