suspicious that he may be patronised--is shown in the manner in which he
speaks of the grand ladies with whom he came in contact. He calls the Duke of
Ormond's daughters "insolent drabs," and talks of his "mistress, Ophy Butler's
wife, who is grown a little charmless." When the Duchess of Shrewsbury
reproached him for not dining with her, Swift said that was not so soon done;
he expected more advances from ladies, especially duchesses. On another
occasion he was to have supped at Lady Ashburnham's, "but the drab did not
call for us in her coach, as she promised, but sent for us, and so I sent my
excuses." The arrogance was, however, often only on the surface. It is
evident that Swift was very kind in many cases. He felt deeply for Mrs. Long
in her misfortunes, living and dying in an obscure country town. On the last
illness of the poet Harrison he says, "I am very much afflicted for him, as he
is my own creature. . . . I was afraid to knock at the door; my mind misgave
me." He was "heartily sorry for poor Mrs. Parnell's death; she seemed to be
an excellent good-natured young woman, and I believe the poor lad is much
afflicted; they appeared to live perfectly well together." Afterwards he
helped Parnell by introducing him to Bolingbroke and Oxford. He found kind
words for Mrs. Manley in her illness, and Lady Ashburnham's death was
"extremely moving. . . . She was my greatest favourite, and I am in excessive
concern for her loss." Lastly, he was extraordinarily patient towards his
servant Patrick, who drank, stopped out at night, and in many ways tried
Swift's temper. There were good points about Patrick, but no doubt the great
consideration which Swift showed him was due in part to the fact that he was a
favourite of the ladies in Dublin, and had Mrs. Vanhomrigh to intercede for
him.

But for the best example of the kindly side of Swift's nature, we must turn to
what he tells us in the Journal about Stella herself. The "little language"
which Swift used when writing to her was the language he employed when playing
with Stella as a little child at Moor Park. Thackeray, who was not much in