oney as he had received for that work, for a similar edition of
Swift.[186] He readily undertook the task, and in the midst of many
other editorial engagements set to work upon it. The preparation of the
book extended over the six years during which Scott ran the greater part
of his poetical career. On its appearance one of his friends expressed
the feeling which every student of Scott must have had in regard to the
large editorial labors that he undertook, in saying, "I am delighted and
surprised; for how a person of your turn could wade through, and so
accurately analyze what you have done (namely, all the dull things
calculated to illustrate your author), seems almost impossible, and a
prodigy in the history of the human mind."[187] The work was first
published in 1814. Ten years later it was revised and reissued; and
Scott's _Swift_ has, like his _Dryden_, been the standard edition of
that author ever since.

In each case Scott had to deal with an important and varied body of
literature in the two fields of poetry and prose, though the proportions
were different; and in each case he had occasion for illustrative
historical annotations of the kind that he wrote with unrivalled
facility. He was master of the political intrigues of Queen Anne's reign
no less completely than of the circumstances which gave rise to _Absalom
and Achitophel_, and the fact that his notes are less voluminous in the
_Swift_ is probably to be accounted for by the comparative absence of
quaintness in the literary and social fashions of the eighteenth
century.

The peculiar conditions under which Swift's writings had appeared, and
his remarkable indifference to literary fame, gave the editor
opportunity to look for material which had not before been included in
his works. The diligent search of Scott and his various correspondents
enabled him to add about thirty poems, between sixty and seventy letters
from Swift, and about sixteen other small pieces. The most noteworthy
item among these additions was the correspondence between Swift and Miss
Vanhomrigh, of which only a very small part had previously been made
public.[188]

Scott's notes seem to indicate that most of the necessary searching
through newspapers and obscure pamphlets for forgotten work of Swift was
performed by "obliging correspondents," and that the editor himself had
only to pass judgment on what was brought to his attention. This
impression may arise largely from his cordiali