lege, as was before mentioned, and now first showed it to sir William. A work, bearing such a stamp of original genius, must, in a man of sir William Temple's delicate taste, and nice discernment, have at once raised the author into a high place in his esteem, and made him look upon him afterward with very different eyes. Accordingly we find that, about this period, he trusted him with matters of great importance. He introduced him to king William, and suffered him to be present at some of their conferences[1]. He employed him in a commission of consequence to the king, when he was unable to attend him himself, which required dexterity, and knowledge in the history of England. And above all, he consulted him constantly, and employed him in the revisal and correction of his own works.
In this situation Swift continued, still applying closely to his studies till the year 1692, when he went to Oxford in order to take his master's degree: to which he was admitted on the 5th of July 1692.
- ↑ Sir William had been ambassador and mediator of a general peace at Nimeguen before the Revolution. In this character he contracted a close intimacy with the prince of Orange; who, after he had ascended the English throne, frequently visited him at Shene, and took his advice in affairs of the utmost importance. Sir William being then lame of the gout, substituted Swift to attend his majesty in his walks round the gardens; who admitted him to such familiarity, that he showed him how to cut asparagus in the Dutch fashion; and once offered to make him a captain of horse. But Swift appears to have fixed his mind very early on an ecclesiastical life; and it is therefore probable, that upon declining this offer, he obtained a promise of preferment in the church; for in a letter to his uncle William, dated 1692, he says,——"I am not to take orders till the king gives me a prebend."
