MR. MOTTE is noticed in Nichols's Literary Anecdotes as an eminent bookseller opposite St. Dunstan's church in Fleet Street, and as publisher to Swift and Pope. He was the successor of Mr. Benjamin Tooke; and, dying March 12, 1758, was followed in his business by Mr. Charles Bathurst, who published the first collected edition of Swift's Works, edited by Dr. Hawkesworth, in sixteen volumes, 1768. One evening, after dark, in the autumn of 1726, the manuscript copy of the Travels of Lemuel Gulliver was left by a stranger at Mr. Motte's door. At the beginning of November the book was published, and almost immediately it was in the hands of all who then indulged in the luxury of reading. cary, who had published a Key to Pope's Rape of the Lock. qal shi From these expressions it appears that Arbuthnot was well aware of the authorship of Gulliver. So was Pope also: but eight days later than the above, the poet of Twickenham chose to write to Swift as if he merely sus pected it perhaps, as Sir Walter Scott suggests, because letters were then not always inviolate at the post-office. I congratulate you first (writes Pope) upon what you call your cousin's wonderful book,f which is publicâ trita manu at present, and I prophesy will be hereafter the admiration of all men. That of our statesmen is delightful. I wish I could countenance with which it is received by some tell you how every single man looks upon it, to observe which has been my whole diversion this fortnight. I have never been a night in London since you left me, till now for this very end, and indeed it has fully answered my expectations. I find no considerable man very angry with that book. Some, indeed, think it rather too bold, and too general a satire; but none that I hear of accuse it of particular reflections, (I mean no mob of critics, you know, always are desirous to persons of consequence, or good judgment; the apply satire to those they envy for being above them.) so that you needed not to have been so Though it appeared anonymously, the world was not slow to guess its authorship; and Swift's literary friends in England, whom he had recently visited, hastened to congratulate him on its success. The letters of Arbuthnot, Pope, and Gray, written upon this occasion, are all preserved, and are given in the various secret on this head. editions of Swift's Works. They all, more or Motte received the copy (he tells me), he knew less, humored his passion for playing the in-not from whence, nor from whom, dropped at cognito; but Sir Walter Scott has shown that his house in the dark, from a hackney coach.the progress of the work had been known to By computing the time I found it was after you them for many months before. left England; so for my part, I suspend my judgment. It was on the next day that Gay wrote to Swift, and he, even more than Pope, affected of the book was shrouded:to humor the mystery in which the authorship Dr. Arbuthnot, having recently published "Tables of Ancient Coins," to which Swift had subscribed for some copies, wrote to him on the 8th Nov. 1726, saying that his book had been printed above a month, but he had not yet got his subscribers' names. "I will make over all my profits to you for the property of Gulliver's Travels; which, I believe, will have here of the travels of one Gulliver, which has About ten days ago a book was published as great a run as John Bunyan. Gulliver is been the conversation of the whole town ever a happy man, that, at his age, can write such since; the whole impression sold in a week; and a merry book." He afterwards relates that nothing is more diverting than to hear the dif when he last saw the Princess of Wales," she ferent opinions people give of it, though all agree was reading Gulliver, and was just come to the in liking it extremely. Tis generally said that passage of the hobbling prince; which she you are the author; but I am told the booksellaughed at. I tell you freely, the part of the ler declares he knows not from whose hand it projectors is the least brilliant. Lewis ‡ grumbles a little at it, and says he wants the Key to it, and is daily refining. I suppose he will be able to publish like Barnevelt in time." This alludes to one Esdras Barnevelt, apothe came. From the highest to the lowest it is uni versally read; from the cabinet council to the much injured by being supposed the author of nursery. You may see by this that you are not this piece. If you are, you have disobliged us, and two or three of your best friends, in not giv *So long before as the 29th Sept., 1725, Swift had written to Pope that he was transcribing his Travels in four parts complete, newly augment ed and intended for the press, when the world shall deserve them, or rather when a printer shall be found brave enough to venture his ears. † Gulliver's Travels were supposed to be intro duced to the world by his cousin Richard Sympson ing us the least hint of it. Perhaps I may all the year 1727," the intention of which was to this time be talking to you of a book you have never seen, and which has not reached Ireland; if it have not, I believe what I have said will be sufficient to recommend it to your reading, and that you will order me to send it to you. make a public remonstrance against the alterations which, through the timidity of the publisher, had been made in the author's manuscript. It is there stated that, "the Dean having restored the text wherever it had been altered, sent the copy to the late Mr. Motte by the hands of Mr. Charles Ford." What was actually sent on that occasion was the very letter now before us, which contains notes of all the misprints which Swift had observed in reading over the printed copy which he had received; and in addition the more important expression of his displeasure in relation to several passages in which his original sentiments had been perverted, modified, or suppressed. In the public letter above mentioned he said: Though not in direct communication with the publisher, Swift had certainly seen a printed copy of the book before Gay's letter arrived. On the same day that it was written he had replied to a letter from Mrs. Howard, in which that lady had intimated to him how fully she entered into the spirit of the fiction. He told her that when he first received her letter he thought it the most unaccountable one he had ever seen in his life, and that he had continued for four days at a loss for her meaning, "till a bookseller sent me the TravI do not remember that I gave you (the imels of one Captain Gulliver, who proved a aginary Cousin Sympson) power to consent that very good explainer, although at the same anything should be omitted, and much less that time I thought it hard to be forced to read a anything should be inserted; therefore as to the book of seven hundred pages to understand a latter, I do here renounce everything of that letter of fifty lines." He also acknowledged kind; particularly a paragraph about her MaPope's letter on the same day, and concludes jesty Queen Anne of most pious and glorious by saying, "Let me add, that if I were Gul-memory; although I did reverence and esteem liver's friend I could desire all my acquaint-her more than any of human species. But you, ance to give out that his copy was basely mangled, and abused, and added to, and blotted out by the printer; for so to me it seems, in the second volume particularly." And this brings us to the business more immediately before us. We are favored by Arthur Preston, esq. of Norwich, with copies of five letters which have accidentally come into his possession, all of which were addressed to Benjamin Motte, the publisher of Gulliver's Travels, four of them avowedly by Swift, and the other either by him, or at his suggestion. This is the first in order of date, and the handwriting very nearly resembles the rest. However, that circumstance may be deceptive. Charles Ford, esquire, of Wood Park, near Dublin,* from whom it professes to come, and with whose coat of arms it is sealed, was an intimate friend of Swift, and Sir Walter Scott tells us, though it does not appear upon what authority, that it was this very gentleman who had managed the delivery of the manuscript in Fleet Street. Whether that was the case or not, we find a recognition of the communication which we are now about to present to our readers in the note appended to the "Letter from Captain Gulliver to his Cousin Sympson, written in Among Swift's poems is one entitled "Stella at Wood Park," written in 1723. Life, in Swift's Works, edit. 1824, vol. i. P. 325, note. Mr. Ford had previously, in 1704, performed a similar service in secretly conveying to Barber the printer Swift's "Free Thoughts on the State of Public Affairs." or your interpolator, ought to have considered, that as it was not my inclination, so was it not decent to praise any animal of our composition before my master Houyhnhnm; and besides, the fact was altogether false; for to my knowledge, being in England during some part of Her Majesty's reign, she did govern by a chief minister; nay, even by two successively, the first whereof was the Lord of Godolphin, and the second the Lord of Oxford; so that you have made me say the thing that was not. Likewise in the account of the Academy of Projectors, and several passages of my discourse to my master Houyhnnm, you have either omitted some material cirsuch a manner, that I do hardly know mine own cumstances, or misused and changed them in work. When I formerly hinted to you some thing of this in a letter, you were pleased to answer, that you were afraid of giving offence ;that people in power were very watchful over the press, and apt not only to interpret, but to punish everything which looked like inuendo (as I think you call it).” To that effect, no doubt, was the reply to the letter to which we now proceed: but, before so doing, we must express our suspicion that none of the Editors of Swift should have thought it worth while to look for the passage upon Queen Anne, of which Swift expressed so decided a disapprobation. We have been enabled to detect it by the subsequent list of Errata, in which it is termed “ false and silly, evidently been inserted under dread of a govinfallibly not (by) the same author." It had ernment prosecution. It occurs in Chapter *Swift's Works, edit. 1768, ii. 22. VI. of the Voyage to the Houyhnhnms, which whole Reign governed by one first Minister ori was headed: "A Continuation of the State of other. Neither do I find the Author to be any England, so well governed by a Queen as to where given to Flattery, or indeed very favorable need no first Minister;" but which in subse- to any Prince or Minister whatsoever. quent editions was altered to, "A Continuation of the State of England under Queen Anne." We transcribe from the edition of 1726 the whole of the interpolated passage: These things I let you know out of perfect good will to the Author and yourself, and I hope you tionate Friend and Servant, will so understand me, who am, Sir, your affecCHA. FORD. To Mr. Benjamin Motte, Bookseller, London. Errata. Part 1, Page 22, Use should be Uses; P. 36, of his Council; 79, arrived to for arrived at; 80, bold for boldest; 144, pledges I had left; 145, Lilliput for Blefuscu. I told him that our She Governor, or Queen having no Ambition to gratify, no Inclination to satisfy of extending her Power to the Injury of her Neighbors or the Prejudice of her own Subjects, was therefore so far from needing a corrupt Ministry to carry on or cover any sinister Designs, that She not only directs her own Actions to the Good of her People, conducts them by the Direction, and restrains them within the Limitations of the Laws of her own Country; but submits the Behavior and Acts of those She intrusts with the Administration of Her Affairs Part 2, P. 9. However I made a shift; 30, toto the Examination of Her great Council, and ward for forward; 47, her Majesty perhaps; 48, subjects them to the Penalties of the Law-Dominions and had; 98, least his Honor for least and therefore never puts any such Confidence in any of her Subjects as to entrust them with the whole and entire Administration of her Affairs; But I added, that in some former Reigns here, and in many other Courts of Europe now, where Princes grew indolent and careless of their own Affairs through constant Love and Pursuit of Pleasure, they made use of such an Administra- Part 3, P. 31. Spirits for Sprites; 34, Wotor, as I have mentioned, under the Title of first menkind for Womankind; 42, Goodness. For or chief Minister of State, the Description of this advantage, the sense imperfect; ib. the Diswhich, as far as it may be collected not only from coveries for their Discoveries: 44, Death for their Actions, but from the Letters, Memoirs, Dearth; 49, Abode here for Abode there; 59, and Writings published by themselves, the truth Act for art [?]; 71, write both for write Books; of which has not yet been disputed, may be al-73, or the Square for as the Square; 74, in the lowed to be as follows: That he is a person wholly exempt from joy and Grief (etc., as in Sir Walter Scott's edition, 1824, xi. 325). And now we have no occasion to detain the reader longer from what may be considered the Dean's own examination of the book as originally printed :— Dublin, Jan. 3, 1726. Sir-I bought here Capt. Gulliver's Travels publish'd by you, both because I heard much talk of it, and because of a Rumor that a Friend of mine is suspected to be the Author. I have read this Book twice over with great Care, as well as great Pleasure, and am sorry to tell you it abounds with many gross errors of the Press, whereof I have sent you as many as I could find, with the Corrections of them as the plain sense must lead, and I hope you will insert them if you make another Edition. I have an entire respect for the Memory of the late Queen, and am always pleas'd when others shew the same; but that Paragraph relating to her looks so very much beside the Purpose that I cannot think it to have been written by the same Author. I wish you and your Friends would consider it, and let it be left out in the next Edition. For it is plainly false in Fact, since all the World knows that the Queen during her his Courage; 108, Praise for Praises; 111, all Questions for several Questions; 120, were enobled, were advanced for are enobled, are advanced; 133, the mclemencies; ib. Species of Man for Species of Men; 140, not directly over, the sense is imperfect;* 156, his own Presence for his Presence; 161, necessary for me while. Book for in Books; 77, Saddles for Sacks; 78, the Ambassadors for their Ambassadors; 83, Method of Cure for Methods of Cure; 85, dispose of them for dispose them; 87, Persons for Person's; 89, To take a strict View. P. 90, to the end of the Chapter, seems to have much of the Author's manner of thinking, but in many places wants his spirit P. 94, was a part for is a part; 101, in the Room for into the Room; ib. Assembly of somewhat a latter Age, this must have been altered, for the word Assembly follows immediately after. 102, Ancestors for Ancestor: 110, Faction for Factions; 119, Apr. 1711 for Apr. 1709; 119, A Passage for the Passage; 121, had never heard; 133, Languages, Fashions, Dress, for Language, Fashions of Dress; 134, Choice for choise; 137, these Kingdoms for those Kingdoms; 138, eldest for oldest; 140, They were too few; 141. come for comes to be fourscore; 142, continuing for continue; ib. forgot for forget; 144. brought to me; ib. sort of People for sorts of People; 152, conver for convey; 154, petformed for performed; ib. arrived safe to for arrived safe at. or conveniences; 86, operated contrary; ib. the one; 88, It must be inferior posterior to answer Part 4, P. 8. sharp points, and hooked; ib. P. to anterior superior. Part of p. 90 and 91 false 8, long lank Hair on their Faces, nor, etc. This and silly, infallibly not the same Author; 93, at last Passage puzzled me for some time: it should be by an Act of Indemnity, abrupt. P. 97, a great long lank Hair on their Heads, but none on their man. Nonsence, the Author is not talking of Faces, nor; 17, before them for before him; 31, Great Men, but of Men highly born. I believe fare for fared; 42, secret of my having: 49, Oats, it should be of a Noble Birth, or rather marks of when for Oats, where; 50, treasted for treated, Noble Blood. I take this Page to be likewise corold for sold, ill for till; 51, meanest Servant for rupted, from some low Expressions in it. P. 99, cnweakest Servant; ib. rouling for rolling; 53, lightened for enlarged; 109, produced in them Office for offices; 54, one of my Forefeet; 56, the same effects; ib. taken myself, it should be. Trade it is; ib. called a Queen; 60, Points of This I have since often known to have been which for Points which; 65, For those Reasons taken with success; 112, with the Females as for For these Reasons; ib. likewise another Kind fiercely; 113, upon the last Article; . nor could for likewise a Kind; 67, Sea-fights-is there no the Servants for nor did the Servants, could folmention of Land fights? 68, my Hoof for his Hoof. lows: 121, Scratch about for Search about; 127, P. 69, towards the end, etc. manifestly most bar-before him one; 130, hard, and stony for hard barously corrupted, full of Flatnesses, Cant stony; 130, were immediately for are immediate Words, and Softenings unworthy the Dignity, ly; 133, Oooze or for Oooze and; 134, old ones Spirit, Candor, and Frankness of the Author. for elder; 138, Memory for Memorys; 141, sevBy that admirable Instance of the Cow it is plain eral covered for certain covered; 144, cut their the Satyr is designed against the Profession in for cuts their; 145, Room to be made for me; general and not only against Attorneys or, as 146, Of these I made for Of these I also made; they are there smartly styl'd, Pettifoggers. You 147, Splenatick for Splenaticks; 149, for the ought in Justice to restore those twelve pages to Thoughts r. their Thoughts, and for their Disthe true Reading.* P. 85, and coveniences for course r. the Discourse; 152, my Friends, and *A pen has been drawn through this passage, my Countrymen for my Friends, my Countrybut the author's request was afterwards fulfilled. men; 157, an unnatural; 182, became for had the principal apologetic passages to which Swift become; 186, temptations for Temptation; 192, objected were as follows: "I said that those who in some modern for in modern; ib. Discovery for make profession of this Science were exceedingly Discoverys; 194, a Desire for any Desire; 195, multiplied, being almost equal to the Caterpillars may concern for more concerns. in Number; that they were of diverse Degrees, Distinctions and Denominations. The numerousness of those that dedicated themselves to the Pro About a twelvemonth after the first appear fession were (sic) such that the fair and justifiable ance of Gulliver, it appears to have occurred Advantage and Income of the Profession was (sie) to Mr. Motte that, although the book had alnot sufficient for the decent and handsome Main-ready enjoyed a large sale, it might be still tenance of Multitudes of those who followed it. further promoted if it were illustrated by Hence it came to pass that it was found needful to cuts." Before this time Swift had fully acsupply that by Artifice and Cunning, which could not be procured by just and honest Methods: The knowledged the authorship, and he replied to better to bring which about, very many Men Mr. Motte in the following long and very inamong us were [bred up from their Youth in the teresting letter: Art of proving by Words multiplied for the Purpose that White is Black, and Bluck is White, according as they are paid. The Greatness of these Mens Assurance and the Boldness of their Preten Dublin, Dec. 28th, 1727. Sir, I had yours of the 16th from Mr. Hyde‡ sions gained upon the Opinion of the Vulgar, whom and desire that henceforth you will write directly in a manner they made Slaves of, [ This was a dilu- to me, without scrupling to load me with the posttion of Swift's more nervous declaration, To this So-age. My Head is so confused with the return of ciety all the rest of the people are slaves,] and got my deafness, to a very great degree (which left into their Hands much the largest Share of the me after a fortnight and then returned with more Practice of their Profession. These Practitioners violence), that I am in an ill way to answer a were by Men of Discernment called Pettifoggers, (that is, Cofounders, or rather Destroyers of Right,) as it was my ill Hap as well as the Misfortune of my suffering Acquaintance to be engaged only with this Species of the Profession. I desired his Honour to understand the Description I had to give, and the Ruin I had complained of to relate to these Sectaries only, and how, and by what means the Misfortunes we met with were brought upon us by the Management of these Men, might be more easily conceived by explaining to him their Method of Proceeding, which could not be better down (sic) than by giving him an Example. "My Neighbor, said I, I will suppose, has a mind to my Cow, he hires one of these Advocates to prove," etc. Now, the only portion of this that was genuine was that we have indicated by [ ]. Letter which requires some thinking. As to hav ing Cuts in Gulliver's travells, you will consider how much it will raise the price of the Book: The world glutted it self with that book at first, and now it will go off but soberly, but I suppose will not be soon worn out. แ *Erased. In the next edition it was altered to an expedient called an Act of Indemnity." † Scored under. In this place the words "no uncommon marks of a Great Man" were altered in subsequent editions into "the true marks of noble blood." "My bookseller, Mr. Motte, by my recommendation, dealt with Mr. Hyde;" letter of Swift dated in Jan. 1728-9, when Hyde was recently dead. "He was an eminent bookseller of Dublin, of fair As to the poetical volumes of Miscellany I be Mr. Benjamin Motte. The next letter refers to the same volume of "Miscellanies: " The part of the little men will bear cuts much better than that of the great. I have not the book by me, but will speak by memory: Gul liver in his Carriage to the Metropolis. His extinguishing the fire. The Ladyes in their coaches driving about his Table. His rising up out of his Carriage when he is fastened to his house. His drawing the Fleet. The troop upon his Handkerchief. The Army marching between his Legs. His Hat drawn by 8 horses. Some of these seem the fittest to be represented, and perhaps two adventures may be sometimes put in one Print. It is difficult to do anything in the great men, because Gulliver makes so diminutive a figure, and he is but one in the whole Kingdom. Among some Cuts I bought in London, he is shown taken out of the Bowl of Cream, but the hand that holds him hides the whole body. He would appear best wedged in the marrow bong up to the middle, or in the Monkey's arms upon the roof, or left upon the ridge and the footman on the ladder going to relieve him, or fighting with the Rats on the farmer's bed, or in the Spaniel's mouth, which being described as a small dog, he might look as large as a Duck in one of ours. One of the best would I think be to see his Chest just falling into the Sea, while three Eagles are quarrelling with one another. Or the Monkey haling him out of his box. Mr. Wotton, the Painter, who draws Landscips and Horses, told Mr. Pope and me that the Gravers did wrong in not making the big folks have something (torn) and enormous in their shapes, for as drawn by those gravers they look only like common human creatures. Gulliver, being alone and so little, cannot make the contrast appear. The Flying Island might be drawn at large, as described in the Book, and Gulliver drawing up into it, and some fellows with Flappers. I know not what to do with the Projectors, nor what figure the Island of Ghosts would make, or any passages related in it, because I do not well remember it. The Country of Horses I think would furnish many. Gulliver brought to be compared with the Yahoo. The family at dinner and he waiting. The Grand Council of Horses assembled sitting, and one of them with a hoof extended as if he were speak-lary of Laputa. ing. The She-Yahoo embracing Gulliver in the River, who turns away his head in disgust. The Yahoos get into a Tree to infect him under it. The Yahoos drawing Carriages and driven by Horse with a whip in his hoof. I can think of no more; But Mr. Gay will advise you and carry you to Mr. Wotton, and some other skilful people.t a Dublin, Feb. 1727-8. SIR-Mr. Jackson, who gives you this, goes to London upon some Business; he is a perfect stranger, and will have need of those good Offices that Strangers want; he is an honest, worthy Clergyman, and friend of mine, † I therefore desire you will give him what assistance and information you can. I have been looking over my Papers to see if anything could be [found ] fit to add to that The original edition of 1726 had a frontispiece portrait of "Captain Lemuel Gulliver, of Redriff.— Etat. su 28." Sturt e. Sheppard Sc. (Half-length, three-quarters face.) Qu. is anything known of the history of this plate? was it engraved on purpose for the book? or was it a real portrait converted to the bookseller's purpose? The volume has also six other plates, five of (imaginary) maps, and the sixth of the frame containing the vocabu Pope and Gay. Sir Walter Scott (1824, i, 847) speaks of the cypher of the two friends, meaning Pope and Swift, which is engraved on the title-pages of the several volumes of the Miscellany. The cyphers of that day are now somewhat difficult to decipher. In that in question we can make out J. S. and also A. P., but the P. is a very indifferent one. The letter G. is much more evident, and we may therefore conclude that we ought also to read J. G. for John Gay. "HEPI BAŎOYZ: or, Martinus Scriblerus good character." (Notes in Scott's Swift, xvii. his Treatise of the Art of Sinking in Poetry."223.) *John Wootton, ob. 1765. This forms 94 pages, or the whole prose portion of the volume of Miscellanies published by B. Motte in 1727: and the book is made up with 314 pages, of poetry. It would be curious to see how far Swift's own suggestions for illustrations were followed, which we have not present means for ascertaining; nor do No doubt the Rev. John Jackson, Vicar of Sanwe know when the first illustrated edition was pub-try, whose name is frequently mentioned in Swift's lished. No doubt nearly all the subjects he names correspondence. The Dean made several unsuchave been drawn over and over again: and few in- cessful attempts to obtain additional preferment for cidents, it may be supposed, are left without their him; and left him in his will all his horses and pictorial representation in the French edition, il-horse-furniture. lustrated with more than 400 wood-engravings from The letter having been rendered imperfect by designs by Grandville, of which an English im- injury, the lacuna are supplied from the sense of pression was edited by the late W. C. Taylor LL.D. the context. |