ABSTRACT
If most of Swift’s readjustments in 1714 were the kind that saddened him, a few brought reasons to be cheerful. Setting up house in the deanery he inherited from John Stearne meant a number of chores. But while Swift complained about some, he clearly enjoyed many. An improver by nature, he loved to advise friends about laying out their grounds and building their mansions. At his rural parish of Laracor, the willows he planted and the canal he cut gave him seasonal pastimes. Now in Dublin he grumblingly took pleasure in ordering shelves for his books and getting a new chimney-piece made. He expelled Stearne’s cat and searched endlessly for a good horse at a price he liked. Though Swift kept the deanery sparsely furnished, he could hardly run so large an establishment with the few servants he was used to. As housekeeper, he installed Mrs Brent, his Presbyterian standby. The newer servants took unusual trials and errors before he could feel even moderately content. There were a steward, a footman, and a cook-maid indoors; a groom and helper in the stable, where he kept three horses. 1 For some tasks he drew on the cathedral staff.
