Swift, soon
after our acquaintance, introduced me to her as to one of his female
favourites. I had scarce been half an hour in her company, before she
asked me if I had seen the Dean's poem upon 'Death and Daphne.' As I
told her I had not, she immediately unlocked a cabinet, and, bringing out
the manuscript, read it to me with a seeming satisfaction, of which, at
that time, I doubted the sincerity. While she was reading, the Dean was
perpetually correcting her for bad pronunciation, and for placing a wrong
emphasis upon particular words. As soon as she had gone through the
composition, she assured me, smilingly, that the portrait of Daphne was
drawn for herself. I begged to be excused from believing it; and
protested that I could not see one feature that had the least
resemblance; but the Dean immediately burst into a fit of laughter. 'You
fancy,' says he, 'that you are very polite, but you are much mistaken.
That lady had rather be a Daphne drawn by me, than a Sacharissa by any
other pencil.' She confirmed what he had said with great earnestness, so
that I had no other method of retrieving my error, than by whispering in
her ear, as I was conducting her down stairs to dinner, that indeed I
found
'Her hand as dry and cold as lead!'"
--_Remarks on the Life of Swift_, Lond.
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