ht your
pamphlet to your lodgings in time." Indeed poor Leach had come to his
house very soon after the Doctor left it, being brought away rather
tipsy from the tavern by his thrifty wife; and he talked of Cousin Swift
in a maudlin way, though of course Mr. Esmond did not allude to this
relationship. The Doctor scowled, blushed, and was much confused, and
said scarce a word during the whole of dinner. A very little stone
will sometimes knock down these Goliaths of wit; and this one was often
discomfited when met by a man of any spirit; he took his place sulkily,
put water in his wine that the others drank plentifully, and scarce said
a word.

The talk was about the affairs of the day, or rather about persons than
affairs: my Lady Marlborough's fury, her daughters in old clothes and
mob-caps looking out from their windows and seeing the company pass to
the Drawing-room; the gentleman-usher's horror when the Prince of
Savoy was introduced to her Majesty in a tie-wig, no man out of a
full-bottomed periwig ever having kissed the Royal hand before; about
the Mohawks and the damage they were doing, rushing through the town,
killing and murdering. Some one said the ill-omened face of Mohun had
been seen at the theatre the night before, and Macartney and Meredith
with him. Meant to be a feast, the meeting, in spite of drink and talk,
was as dismal as a funeral. Every topic started subsided into gloom.
His Grace of Ormonde went away because the conversation got upon Denain,
where we had been defeated in the last campaign. Esmond's General
was affected at the allusion to this action too, for his comrade of
Wynendael, the Count of Nassau Woudenbourg, had been slain there. Mr.
Swift, when Esmond pledged him, said he drank no wine, and took his hat
from the peg and went away, beckoning my Lord Bolingbroke to follow him;
but the other bade him take his chariot and save his coach-hire--he had
to speak with Colonel Esmond; and when the rest of the company withdrew
to cards, these two remained behind in the dark.

Bolingbroke always spoke freely when he had drunk freely. His enemies
could get any secret out of him in that condition; women were even
employed to ply him, and take his words down. I have heard that my Lord
Stair, three years after, when the Secretary fled to France and became
the Pretender's Minister, got all the information he wanted by putting
female spies over St. John in his cups. He spoke freely now:--"Jonathan
knows