88 
lity of body and mind, that could make a lady loved and es- 
teemed. Accordingly she was always valued here above most 
of her sex, and by the most distinguish’d persons. But by the 
unkindness of her friends, and the generosity of her own nature, 
and depending upon the death of a very old grandmother, 
which did not happen till it was too late, she contracted some 
debts that made her uneasy here, and in order to clear them, 
was content to retire unknown to your town, where I fear her 
death has been hastened by melancholy, and perhaps the want 
of such assistance as she might have found here. I have thought 
fit to signifie this to you, partly to let you know how valuable a 
person you have lost, but chiefly to desire, that you will please 
to bury her in some part of your church, near a wall, where 
a plain marble stone may be fixed, as a poor monument for one 
who deserved so well; and which, if God sends me life, I hope 
one day to place there, if no other of her friends will think fit 
to do it. I had the honor of an intimate acquaintance with her; 
and was never so sensibly touched with any one’s death as her’s. 
Neither did I ever know a person of either sex, with more 
virtues or fewer infirmities: the only one she had, which was 
the neglect of her own affairs, arising wholly from the goodness 
of her temper. I write not this to you at all as a secret, but am 
content your town should know what an excellent person they 
have had among them. If you visited her any short time before 
her death, or knew any particulars about it, or of the state of 
her mind, or the nature of her disease; I beg you will be so 
obliging to inform me. For the letter we have seen from her 
poor maid is so imperfect, by her grief for the death of so good 
lady, that it only tells me the time of her death: and your 
letter may, if you please, be directed to Dr. Swift, and put under 
a cover, which cover may be directed to Erasmus Lewis, Esq. 
at the Earl of Dartmouth’s Office at Whitehall. 
*T hope you will forgive this trouble for the occasion of it, 
and give some allowances to so great a loss, not only to me, 
but to all who have any regard for every perfection that human 
nature can possess; and if in any way I can serve or oblige you, 
I shall be glad of the opportunity of obeying your commands. 
“‘T am, Sir, Your most humble servant, 
oy. Swikr. 
