Church of England man"; and I have, on this account, placed it as the
second tract written by Swift in the year 1708.

Whatever may be thought of the particular methods which Swift suggested
for realizing his reformatory scheme, and they were, no doubt,
artificial and wooden enough; the tract itself remains an excellent
survey of the evils and gross habits of the time. The methods may be
Utopian (Swift himself thought they were open to discussion), but the
spirit of sincerity and piety is unmistakable. It is worth remembering,
however, that several of the proposals, such as those for closing the
public-houses at twelve o'clock at night; the penalizing of publicans
who supplied drink to drunken customers; the building of churches, have
since been adopted.

I cannot agree with Mr. Churton Collins ("Jonathan Swift," pp. 59-61) in
suspecting Swift of a special policy of self-interest in writing the
"Project." Swift was too honest a man to use the religious sentiment for
the purpose of counteracting any bad impression his previous writings
had made on those who had the power to advance him. However much he
might delight in the possession of high worldly station, he would never
so prostitute himself to obtain it. Nor did he care to let the world
into the secret of his heart. Indeed, all his life Swift seemed to hide,
almost jealously, the genuine piety of his nature. Whatever suspicion of
policy has surrounded the tract must be ascribed to the well-intentioned
letter of the Earl of Berkeley above quoted; and the Earl would not have
written thus had he felt Swift's motive to be any other than a purely
impersonal one.

Steele, in his review of the "Project" in the fifth "Tatler" (April
20th, 1709), makes some interesting observations, and seems to take