FAMOUS AFFINITIES OF HISTORY
THE ROMANCE OF DEVOTION
BY
LYNDON ORR
VOLUME IV OF IV.
CONTENTS
[DEAN SWIFT AND THE TWO ESTHERS]
[PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY AND MARY GODWIN]
[THE STORY OF THE CARLYLES]
[THE STORY OF THE HUGOS]
[THE STORY OF GEORGE SAND]
[THE MYSTERY OF CHARLES DICKENS]
[HONORE DE BALZAC AND EVELINA HANSKA]
[CHARLES READE AND LAURA SEYMOUR]
DEAN SWIFT AND THE TWO ESTHERS
The story of Jonathan Swift and of the two women who gave their lives for love of him is familiar to every student of English literature. Swift himself, both in letters and in politics, stands out a conspicuous figure in the reigns of King William III and Queen Anne. By writing Gulliver's Travels he made himself immortal. The external facts of his singular relations with two charming women are sufficiently well known; but a definite explanation of these facts has never yet been given. Swift held his tongue with a repellent taciturnity. No one ever dared to question him. Whether the true solution belongs to the sphere of psychology or of physiology is a question that remains unanswered.