A life which supplies Scott’s defects in great measure was given by William Monck Mason, in 1819, in his History and Antiquities of the Church of St. Patrick. Monck Mason was an indiscriminate admirer, and has a provoking method of expanding undigested information into monstrous notes, after the precedent of Bayle. But he examined facts with the utmost care, and every biographer must respect his authority.
In 1875 Mr. Forster published the first instalment of a Life of Swift. This book, which contains the results of patient and thorough inquiry, was unfortunately interrupted by Mr. Forster’s death, and ends at the beginning of 1711. A complete Life by Mr. Henry Craik is announced as about to appear.
Besides these books, I ought to mention an Essay upon the Earlier Part of the Life of Swift, by the Rev. John Barrett, B.D. and Vice-Provost of Trin. Coll. Dublin (London, 1808); and The Closing Years of Dean Swift’s Life, by W. R. Wilde, M.R.I.A., F.R.C.S. (Dublin, 1849). This last is a very interesting study of the medical aspects of Swift’s life. An essay by Dr. Bucknill, in Brain for Jan. 1882, is a remarkable contribution to the same subject.
CONTENTS.
| PAGE | |
| [CHAPTER I.] | |
| Early Years | [1] |
| [CHAPTER II.] | |
| Moor Park and Kilroot | [12] |
| [CHAPTER III.] | |
| Early Writings | [32] |
| [CHAPTER IV.] | |
| Laracor and London | [51] |
| [CHAPTER V.] | |
| The Harley Administration | [77] |
| [CHAPTER VI.] | |
| Stella and Vanessa | [118] |
| [CHAPTER VII.] | |
| Wood’s Halfpence | [147] |
| [CHAPTER VIII.] | |
| Gulliver’s Travels | [168] |
| [CHAPTER IX.] | |
| Decline | [186] |