<p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0069" id="link2H_4_0069"></SPAN></p>
<h2> LETTER LXVII </h2>
<h3> LONDON, April 12, O. S. 1749. </h3>
<p>DEAR BOY: I received, by the last mail, a letter from Mr. Harte, dated
Prague, April the 1st, N. S., for which I desire you will return him my
thanks, and assure him that I extremely approve of what he has done, and
proposes eventually to do, in your way to Turin. Who would have thought
you were old enough to have been so well acquainted with the heroes of the
'Bellum Tricennale', as to be looking out for their great-grandsons in
Bohemia, with that affection with which, I am informed, you seek for the
Wallsteins, the Kinskis, etc. As I cannot ascribe it to your age, I must
to your consummate knowledge of history, that makes every country, and
every century, as it were, your own. Seriously, I am told, that you are
both very strong and very correct in history; of which I am extremely
glad. This is useful knowledge.</p>
<p>Comte du Perron and Comte Lascaris are arrived here: the former gave me a
letter from Sir Charles Williams, the latter brought me your orders. They
are very pretty men, and have both knowledge and manners; which, though
they always ought, seldom go together. I examined them, particularly Comte
Lascaris, concerning you; their report is a very favorable one, especially
on the side of knowledge; the quickness of conception which they allow you
I can easily credit; but the attention which they add to it pleases me the
more, as I own I expected it less. Go on in the pursuit and the increase
of knowledge; nay, I am sure you will, for you now know too much to stop;
and, if Mr. Harte would let you be idle, I am convinced you would not. But
now that you have left Leipsig, and are entered into the great world,
remember there is another object that must keep pace with, and accompany
knowledge; I mean manners, politeness, and the Graces; in which Sir
Charles Williams, though very much your friend, owns that you are very
deficient. The manners of Leipsig must be shook off; and in that respect
you must put on the new man. No scrambling at your meals, as at a German
ordinary; no awkward overturns of glasses, plates, and salt-cellars; no
horse play. On the contrary, a gentleness of manners, a graceful carriage,
and an insinuating address, must take their place. I repeat, and shall
never cease repeating to you, THE GRACES, THE GRACES.</p>
<p>I desire that as soon as ever you get to Turin you will apply yourself
diligently to the Italian language; that before you leave that place, you
may know it well enough to be able to speak tolerably when you get to
Rome; where you will soon make yourself perfectly master of Italian, from
the daily necessity you will be under of speaking it. In the mean time, I
insist upon your not neglecting, much less forgetting, the German you
already know; which you may not only continue but improve, by speaking it
constantly to your Saxon boy, and as often as you can to the several
Germans you will meet in your travels. You remember, no doubt, that you
must never write to me from Turin, but in the German language and
character.</p>
<p>I send you the inclosed letter of recommendation to Mr. Smith the King's
Consul at Venice; who can, and I daresay will, be more useful to you there
than anybody. Pray make your court, and behave your best, to Monsieur and
Madame Capello, who will be of great use to you at Rome. Adieu! Yours
tenderly.</p>
<p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0070" id="link2H_4_0070"></SPAN></p>
<h2> LETTER LXVIII </h2>
<h3> LONDON, April 19, O. S. 1749. </h3>
<p>DEAR BOY: This letter will, I believe, still find you at Venice in all the
dissipation of masquerades, ridottos, operas, etc. With all my heart; they
are decent evening's amusements, and very properly succeed that serious
application to which I am sure you devote your mornings. There are liberal
and illiberal pleasures as well as liberal and illiberal arts: There are
some pleasures that degrade a gentleman as much as some trades could do.
Sottish drinking, indiscriminate gluttony, driving coaches, rustic sports,
such as fox-chases, horse-races, etc., are in my opinion infinitely below
the honest and industrious profession of a tailor and a shoemaker, which
are said to 'deroger'.</p>
<p>As you are now in a musical country, where singing, fiddling, and piping,
are not only the common topics of conversation, but almost the principal
objects of attention, I cannot help cautioning you against giving in to
those (I will call them illiberal) pleasures (though music is commonly
reckoned one of the liberal arts) to the degree that most of your
countrymen do, when they travel in Italy. If you love music, hear it; go
to operas, concerts, and pay fiddlers to play to you; but I insist upon
your neither piping nor fiddling yourself. It puts a gentleman in a very
frivolous, contemptible light; brings him into a great deal of bad
company; and takes up a great deal of time, which might be much better
employed. Few things would mortify me more, than to see you bearing a part
in a concert, with a fiddle under your chin, or a pipe in your mouth.</p>
<p>I have had a great deal of conversation with Comte du Perron and Comte
Lascaris upon your subject: and I will tell you, very truly, what Comte du
Perron (who is, in my opinion, a very pretty man) said of you: 'Il a de
l'esprit, un savoir peu commun a son age, une grande vivacite, et quand il
aura pris des manieres il sera parfait; car il faut avouer qu'il sent
encore le college; mars cela viendra'. I was very glad to hear, from one
whom I think so good a judge, that you wanted nothing but 'des manieres',
which I am convinced you will now soon acquire, in the company which
henceforward you are likely to keep. But I must add, too, that if you
should not acquire them, all the rest will be of little use to you. By
'manieres', I do not mean bare common civility; everybody must have that
who would not be kicked out of company; but I mean engaging, insinuating,
shining manners; distinguished politeness, an almost irresistible address;
a superior gracefulness in all you say and do. It is this alone that can
give all your other talents their full lustre and value; and,
consequently, it is this which should now be thy principal object of your
attention. Observe minutely, wherever you go, the allowed and established
models of good-breeding, and form yourself upon them. Whatever pleases you
most in others, will infallibly please others in you. I have often
repeated this to you; now is your time of putting it in practice.</p>
<p>Pray make my compliments to Mr. Harte, and tell him I have received his
letter from Vienna of the 16th N. S., but that I shall not trouble him
with an answer to it till I have received the other letter which he
promises me, upon the subject of one of my last. I long to hear from him
after your settlement at Turin: the months that you are to pass there will
be very decisive ones for you. The exercises of the Academy, and the
manners of courts must be attended to and acquired; and, at the same time,
your other studies continued. I am sure you will not pass, nor desire, one
single idle hour there: for I do not foresee that you can, in any part of
your life, put out six months to greater interest, than those next six at
Turin.</p>
<p>We will talk hereafter about your stay at Rome and in other parts of
Italy. This only I will now recommend to you; which is, to extract the
spirit of every place you go to. In those places which are only
distinguished by classical fame, and valuable remains of antiquity, have
your classics in your hand and in your head; compare the ancient geography
and descriptions with the modern, and never fail to take notes. Rome will
furnish you with business enough of that sort; but then it furnishes you
with many other objects well deserving your attention, such as deep
ecclesiastical craft and policy. Adieu.</p>
<div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />
1 of 2
2 of 2
Previous
Next
Update Required
To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin.