as now in London, charged with a mission from the
Irish Church, and hoping for Church preferment himself. With the latter
object in view he published the _Sentiments of a Church of England Man_
(1708). Two years later, vexed at heart at being unable to gain for the
Irish clergy privileges enjoyed by their English brethren, and foiled,
too, in his ambition, Swift forsook the Whig party, which he had never
loved, and going over to the Tories, fought their battle for some years
with so masterly a pen, as to become a great power in the country.

Some time before his return to London in 1710, a weekly Tory paper had
been started by Bolingbroke and Prior called _The Examiner_, and in
opposition to it, upon September 14th in that year, Addison produced the
_Whig Examiner_ which lived a brief life of five numbers and died on the
8th of October. Three weeks later, on the 2nd November, after thirteen
numbers of the _Examiner_ had been published, Swift took up the pen, and
from that date to June 14th, 1711, every paper was from his hand. Never
before had a political journal exercised such power. In his change of
party Swift was sincere in purpose, but unscrupulous in his methods of
pursuing it, and to gain his ends told lies with a vigour that has
rarely been surpassed. He is never delicate in his treatment of
opponents, and when finer weapons would be useless, strikes with a
sledge hammer. That such a writer, a master of every method most
effective in controversy, should have been valued by the statesmen of
the day is not surprising. When he forsook the Whig camp there was no
opponent to pit against him, for neither Addison with his delicate
humour, nor Steele with his brightness and versatility, could grapple
with an enemy like this.

Swift's arrogance in these days of his power was that of a despot. He
was doing great things for ministers, and took care that they should
know it. He was proud of his self-assertion, proud of being rude. Great
men, and great ladies too, who wished for his acquaintance, had to make
the first advances. He caused Lady Burlington to burst into tears by
rudely ordering her to sing. 'She should sing or he would make her.' 'I
was at court and church to-day,' he tells Stella, 'I generally am
acquainted with about thirty in the drawing-room, and am so proud I make
all the lords come up to me.' On one occasion he sent the Lord Treasurer
into the House of Commons to call out the principal Secretary of State