She died on January 28, 1728. Swift could not bear to be present, but on the
night of her death he began to write his very interesting Character of Mrs.
Johnson, from which passages have already been quoted. He there calls her
"the truest, most virtuous and valuable friend that I, or perhaps any other
person, was ever blessed with." Combined with excellent gifts of the mind,
"she had a gracefulness, somewhat more than human, in every motion, word, and
action. Never was so happy a conjunction of civility, freedom, easiness, and
sincerity." Everyone treated her with marked respect, yet everyone was at
ease in her society. She preserved her wit, judgment, and vivacity to the
last, but often complained of her memory. She chose men rather than women for
her companions, "the usual topic of ladies' discourse being such as she had
little knowledge of and less relish." "Honour, truth, liberality, good
nature, and modesty were the virtues she chiefly possessed, and most valued in
her acquaintance." In some Prayers used by Swift during her last sickness, he
begged for pity for "the mournful friends of Thy distressed servant, who sink
under the weight of her present condition, and the fear of losing the most
valuable of our friends." He was too ill to be present at the funeral at St.
Patrick's. Afterwards, we are told, a lock of her hair was found in his desk,
wrapped in a paper bearing the words, "Only a woman's hair."

Swift continued to produce pamphlets manifesting growing misanthropy, though
he showed many kindnesses to people who stood in need of help. He seems to
have given Mrs. Dingley fifty guineas a year, pretending that it came from a
fund for which he was trustee. The mental decay which he had always feared--
"I shall be like that tree," he once said, "I shall die at the top"--became
marked about 1738. Paralysis was followed by aphasia, and after acute pain,
followed by a long period of apathy, death relieved him in October 1745. He
was buried by Stella's side, in accordance with his wishes. The bulk of his
fortune was left to found a hospital for idiots and lunatics.