said, very innocently, has happened to be very applicable to somebody or other of your acquaintance. He makes the satire, who applies it; qui capit, ille facit. I hope you do not think I meant you, by anything I have said; because, if you do, it seems to imply a consciousness of some guilt, which I dare not presume to suppose, in your case. I know my duty too well, to express, and your merit too well, to entertain such a suspicion. I have not lately read the satirical authors you mention, having very little time here to read. But, as soon as I return to England, there is a book that I shall read over very carefully; a book that I published not quite fourteen years ago it is a small quarto; and, though I say it myself, there is something good in it; but, at the same time, it is so incorrect, so inaccurate, and has so many faults, that I must have a better edition of it published, which I will carefully revise and correct. It will soon be much more generally read than it has been yet; and therefore it is necessary that it should prodire in lucem multo emendatior. I believe you have seldom dipped into this book; and moreover, I believe it will be the last book that you will read with proper attention; otherwise, if you would take the trouble, you could help me, in this new edition, more than anybody. If you will promise me your assistance, I will tell you the book; till then, I shall not name it.

You will find all the Spectators that are good, that is, all Addison's, in my library, in one large quarto volume of his works; which is perfectly at your service.

Pray tell Monsieur Coderc, (who you, with great grammatical purity, say has been to General Cornwall.) that I do not doubt, but that whole affair will be set right in a little time. Adieu.

SIR,

Dublin Castle, March 10, 1746.

I MOST thankfully acknowledge the honour of two or three letters from you, since I troubled you with my last; and am very proud of the repeated instances you give me of your favour and protection, which I shall endeavour to deserve.

I am very glad you went to hear a trial in the Court of King's Bench, and still more so, that you made the proper animadversions upon the inattention of many of the people in the Court. As you observed very well the indecency of that inattention, I am sure you will never be guilty of anything like it yourself. There is no surer sign in the world of a little, weak mind, than inattention. Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well; and nothing can be done well without attention. It is the sure answer of a fool, when you ask him about anything that was said or done where he was present, that, "truly he did not mind it." And why did not the fool mind it? What had he else to do there, but to mind what was doing? A man of sense sees, hears, and retains everything that passes where he is. I desire I may never hear you talk of not minding, nor complain, as most fools do, of a treacherous memory. Mind not only what people say, but how they say it; and, if you have any sagacity, you may discover more truth by your eyes than by your ears. People can say what they will, but they cannot look just as they will; and their looks frequently discover, what their words are calculated to conceal. Observe, therefore, people's looks carefully, when they speak, not only to you, but to each other. I have often guessed, by people's faces, what they were saying, though I could not hear

one word they said. The most material knowledge of all, I mean the knowledge of the world, is never to be acquired without great attention; and I know many old people, who, though they have lived long in the world, are but children still as to the knowledge of it, from their levity and inattention. Certain forms, which all people comply with, and certain arts, which all people aim at, hide, in some degree, the truth, and give a general exterior resemblance to almost everybody. Attention and sagacity must see through that veil, and discover the natural character. You are of an age, now, to reflect, to observe and compare characters, and to arm yourself against the common arts, at least, of the world. If a man, with whom you are but barely acquainted, to whom you have made no offers, nor given any marks of friendship, makes you, on a sudden, strong professions of his, receive them with civility, but do not repay them with confidence; he certainly means to deceive you; for one man does not fall in love with another at sight. If a man uses strong protestations or oaths, to make you believe a thing, which is of itself so likely and probable, that the bare saying of it would be sufficient, depend upon it he lies, and is highly interested in making you believe it ; or else he would not take so much pains.

In about five weeks, I propose having the honour of laying myself at your feet; which I hope to find grown longer than they were when I left them. Adieu.

Dublin Castle, April 5, 1746.

DEAR BOY,

BEFORE it is very long, I am of opinion, that you will both think and speak more favourably of women than

you do now. You seem to think, that, from Eve downwards, they have done a great deal of mischief. As for that Lady, I give her up to you; but, since her time, history will inform you, that men have done much more mischief in the world than women; and, to say the truth, I would not advise you to trust either, more than is absolutely necessary. But this I will advise you to, which is, never to attack whole bodies of any kind; for, besides that all general rules have their exceptions, you unnecessarily make yourself a great number of enemies, by attacking a corps collectively. Among women, as among men, there are good as well as bad, and it may be full as many, or more, good than among men. This rule holds as to lawyers, soldiers, parsons, courtiers, citizens, &c. They are all men, subject to the same passions and sentiments, differing only in the manner, according to their several educations and it would be as imprudent as unjust to attack any of them by the lump. Individuals forgive sometimes; but bodies and societies never do. Many young people think it very genteel and witty to abuse the Clergy; in which they are extremely mistaken; since, in my opinion, parsons are very like men, and neither the better nor the worse for wearing a black gown. All general reflections, upon nations and societies, are the trite, thread-bare jokes of those who set up for wit without having any, and so have recourse to common-place. Judge of individuals from your own knowledge of them, and not from their sex, profession, or denomination.

Though, at my return, which, I hope, will be very soon, I shall not find your feet lengthened, I hope I shall find your head a good deal so, and then I shall not much mind your feet. In two or three months after my return, you and I shall part for some time: you must go to read men,

Observa

as well as books, of all languages and nations. tion and reflection will then be very necessary for you. We will talk this matter over fully when we meet; which, I hope, will be in the last week of this month; till when, I have the honour of being

Your most faithful servant.

Bath, September 29, O. S. 1746.

DEAR BOY,

I RECEIVED by the last mail your letter of the 23d N. S. from Heidelberg; and am very well pleased to find that you inform yourself of the particulars of the several places you go through. You do mighty right to see the curiosities in those several places; such as the Golden Bull at Frankfort,* the tun at Heidelberg,+ &c. Other travellers see them and talk of them, it is very proper to see them too; but remember, that seeing is the least material object of travelling; hearing and knowing are the essential points. Therefore pray let your inquiries be chiefly directed to the knowledge of the constitution and particular customs of the places where you either reside at, or pass through; whom they belong to, by what right and tenure, and since when; in whom the supreme authority is lodged; and by what Magistrates, and in what manner, the civil and the criminal justice is administered. It is likewise necessary to get as much acquaintance as you

The Golden Bull, so called from the Seal of Gold affixed to it, was granted by the Emperor Charles the Fourth. By this Act the right of Election to the Germanic Empire was confirmed in three spiritual and four temporal Electors, the Archbishops of Mentz, Cologne, and Treves, the King of Bohemia, the Count Palatine, the Duke of Saxony, and the Margrave of Brandenburg. (Butler's Revolutions of the Germanic Empire, p. 105.)

This enormous tun was said to be twenty-four feet in diameter and thirty in depth. (Voyages de Monconys, vol. iii. p. 182.)