1891 97 Dean Swift and the Memoirs of Captain Carleton Downloaded from N the year 1728 (O.S.),1 there was published in London an ex- I pensive book, well printed and in good binding, of which the title-page ran as follows:— http://ehr.oxfordjournals.org/ The Memoirs of an English Officer who serv'd in the Dutch War in 1672 to the Peace of Utrecht in 1718. Containing several remarkable Transactions both by Sea and Land, and in Divers Countries, but chiefly those wherein the Author was personally concern'd. Together with A Description of many Cities, Towns and Countries in which he resided ; their Manners and Customs, as well Beligious as Civil, interspers'd with many curious Observations on their Monasteries and Nunneries, more particularly of the famous one at Montserrat. On the Bull Feasts and other publio Diversions; as also on the genius of the Spanish people, at New York University on July 12, 2015 amongst whom he continued several years a Prisoner of War. No part of which has before been made public. By Capt. George Carleton. London. Printed for E. Bymon, over against the Boyal Exchange, Comhill, 1728.8 Later on in the same year the same work was issned with what was evidently a corrected title-page, of which the following were the principal alterations:—For ' The Memoirs of an English Officer' read ' The Military Memoirs of Capt. George Carleton'; after ' Sea and Land' add 'during the reigns of King Charles and King James II'; for ' chiefly those wherein the Author was personally concerned' read ' hitherto unobserv'd by all the Writers of those Times'; after ' Together with' add ' an exact series of the War in Spain'; omit ' No part of which has before been made public'; and omit ' By Capt. George Carleton.'3 That this last title-page, and not the first mentioned, was the corrected one, is proved by the fact that in each case the ' short heading' of the text is ' Memoirs of an English Officer, &c.,' which words must therefore have formed the commencement of the original title-page. Moreover, in the copy 1 In this article all the d*tea are Old Style np to 13 Sept 1762 inclusive, after which day New Btyle commenced in Great Britain. • Brit Mos. Lib. • Brit Mas. Inh. 98 DEAN SWIFT AND THE Jan, with this designation, after the preliminary address 'To the Reader,' there is the following postscript:— Some few Paragraphs in this work being through mistake inserted in wrong places, the Author desires his Headers to excuse it, especially as they were not discovered till it was too late to alter their position without considerable charge: but in the other this addition is omitted.4 There is nothing to show that the second (or corrected) print is a second ' edition' of the work in the ordinary acceptance of the term,6 and the probable reason for the alteration of the title is a matter worth consideration. On comparing the two, it will be seen that the essential difference Downloaded from lies in the fact that, whereas originally the memoirs were said to be by Captain Carleton, in the corrected issue they are only stated to be of him; whence it is to be inferred that though, at first (perhaps through the mistake of the publisher) he was indicated as the author, in reality he was not so. For though the work is in http://ehr.oxfordjournals.org/ the first person, and purports to be the bond-fid^ autobiography of a military veteran, seventy-six years of age and in reduced condition, yet (as will be shown further on) all these features are paralleled in another book of exactly the same nature which appeared soon afterwards, and was undoubtedly written by a person who was not the professing author.6 The name of this writer was Jonathan Swift, arid it is my object to show that he was also the composer of the similar ' Carleton Memoirs.'7 at New York University on July 12, 2015 From 1714 till 1724 Swift had lived at Dublin, engaged in the duties of his deanery. But during the year last mentioned he had taken an active share in Irish political questions; whilst in 1726 he had paid a visit to England, and had renewed acquaintance with many of his former tory friends. In April 1727 we find him again in England;8 and as before, his residence was chiefly with Pope at Twickenham; but when in town he appears to have lived with Lord Bathurst.9 Evidently his object was, chiefly by means of his 4 On comparing the two copies no difference in the arrangement of the paragraphs can be found, but in both (as well as in all succeeding reprints) there are evidently one or two unimportant passages that are not in their right places. • This is very improbable, for the work, besides being an expensive one (10s. CaM equal to 81J. 6d. of these days), was evidently but little sold or heard of. • 'Memoirs of Captain Creichton,' Swift's Works (Scott), vol. xii. [As a rule when the page of a volume of Swift's works is mentioned, the reference is to Bickere's reprint erf 1888.] 1 In hiB Bibliograplier's Manual (1884), Mr. William I<owndes, after classing the Carleton Memoirs under the head of Defoe, Daniel, adds :—' This valuable and inter- esting work, a great favourite with Dr. Johnson, has been likewise attributed to Dean Swift.' All my researches, however, to ascertain whence Mr. Lowndes derived thia last assertion have been ineffectual. • With Bix months' leave of absence from 7 April, ' for the recovery of his health. [Pub. Bee. Ireld., Civil Affairs, xviii. 38.] • Swift's Work*, xvii. [Letter, 1 July, 1727]. 1891 MEMOIRS OF CAPTAIN CARLETON 9«J recently published ' Gulliver's Travels,' to push his interest with the Prince and Princess of Wales ; for through letters written to him during the past autumn and winter by Lady Bolingbroke, Mrs. Howard, and others, he had learnt that everybody was reading his new work.10 For several years past, the prince, being estranged from his father, had kept a sort of rival court at Leicester House; and at his levees all discontented statesmen and politicians assiduously attended. Among these were to be reckoned the opposition leaders, together with such converted tories as the earl of Peterborough, the intimate friend of Swift, who, though willing to receive bounties from Walpole, had not yet been satisfied. Here Downloaded from Pope, Gay, Arbuthnot, and Swift paid their homage, and, except the first, who was never a party politician, awaited the turn of fortune's wheel. It was generally supposed that in Mrs. Howard lay the most feasible means of competition with Walpole, who was strongly supported by the princess; and that when the prince http://ehr.oxfordjournals.org/ should succeed to the throne the word of his paramour would be all-powerful; hence it was chiefly to her that Swift and the keener - witted suppliants for promotion addressed their applications. But never was committed a greater mistake; since not for a moment did Princess Caroline, a woman of much tact and good sense, lose that rule of the prince which she always had possessed; and to her judgment in matters of moment he still continued to defer. In fact Mrs. Howard herself (being one of the princess's ladies in at New York University on July 12, 2015 waiting) always faithfully carried out the wishes of her mistress, and on no occasion took up the position of a rival. It was not long before the opportunity for which the adherents of the prince were in hope suddenly appeared, for during June 1727 news was received of the death of George I in Hanover. Here then, at last, a vista of preferment was opened to the eyes of the ambitious Dean of St. Patrick's, for Mrs. Howard was now mistress of a king, and if anything were certain, it would be the dismissal of Walpole; but the chances were also strong that the leaders of the opposition, together with some of the old tories, would obtain a lease of power, and when it became known that the prince's treasurer, Sir Spencer Compton,u the speaker of the house of commons, and an opposition whig of almost neutral views, had received directions to draw up the declaration of George II to the privy council, he was universally » Swilfa Works xvii. [Letters, 7, 8, 16, 17, 28 Nov.; 6 Dec.; 1,17,18 Feb.; 8 March 172G-7.] 11 Sir Spencer Compton, K.B., afterwards earl of Wilmington.—Third son of James, 8rd earl of Northampton; became MJ. 1698; speaker of the commons from 1714 to 1728; paymaster-general, 1721-2; K.B., 1725; created lord Wilmington, 11 Jan. 1727-8: lord privy seal and earl, 1730; same year became lord president; first lord of the treasury and prime minister, February 1741-2; died, 1743. [Hawkes- worth (Nichols), xiv. (4to) 719. Gent Mag. March 1782 ; February 1741-2; July 1748. Borke's Peerage.] 100 DEAN SWIFT AND THE Jan. regarded as the coming prime minister.18 Writing to Sheridan on the 24th, Swift says :— I deferred kissing the King and Queen's hands till the third day, when my friends at court chid me for deferring it so long. The talk is now for a moderating scheme wherein nobody shall be used the worse or better for being called Whig or Tory, and the King hath received both with great equality, showing civilities to several who are openly known to be the latter.