ters were usually addressed to Mrs.
Dingley, and not to Stella.

The story of Swift's growing intimacy with the Tory leaders, of the
success of his mission, of the increasing coolness towards older
acquaintances, and of his services to the Government, can best be read
in the Journal itself. In the meantime the intimacy with the Vanhomrighs
grew rapidly. They were near neighbours of Swift's, and in a few weeks
after his arrival in town we find frequent allusions to the dinners at
their house (where he kept his best gown and periwig), sometimes with
the explanation that he went there "out of mere listlessness," or
because it was wet, or because another engagement had broken down. Only
thrice does he mention the "eldest daughter": once on her birthday; once
on the occasion of a trick played him, when he received a message that
she was suddenly very ill ("I rattled off the daughter"); and once to
state that she was come of age, and was going to Ireland to look after
her fortune. There is evidence that "Miss Essy," or Vanessa, to give her
the name by which she will always be known, was in correspondence with
Swift in July 1710--while he was still in Ireland--and in the spring of
1711;(5) and early in 1711 Stella seems to have expressed surprise at
Swift's intimacy with the family, for in February he replied, "You say
they are of no consequence; why, they keep as good female company as
I do male; I see all the drabs of quality at this end of the town
with them." In the autumn Swift seems to have thought that Vanessa was
keeping company with a certain Hatton, but Mrs. Long--possibly meaning
to give him a warning hint--remarked that if this were so "she is not
the girl I took her for; but to me she seems melancholy."

In 1712 occasional letters took the place of the daily journal to "MD,"
but there is no change in the affectionate style in which Swift wrote.
In the spring he had a long illness, which affected him, indeed,
throughout the year. Other reasons which he gives for the falling off in
his correspondence are his numerous business engagements, and the hope
of being able to send some good news of an appointment for himself.
There is only one letter to Stella between July 19 and September 15,
and Dr. Birkbeck Hill argues that the poem "Cadenus and Vanessa" was
composed at that time.(6) If this be so, it must have been altered next
year, because it was not until 1713 that Swift was made a Dean. Writing
on April 19, 1726, S