with them, plays with them, humours and flatters them, as he does with a sprightly, forward child; but he neither confults them about, nor trufts them with, ferious matters; though he often makes them believe that he does both; which is the thing in the world that they are proud of; for they love mightily to be dabbling in business, (which, by the way, they always fpoil;) and being justly distrustful, that men in general look upon them in a trifling light, they almost adore that man, who talks more seriously to them, and who feems to confult and trust them: I fay, who feems; for weak men really do, but wife ones only feem to do it. No flattery is either too high or too. Jow for them. They will greedily fwallow the highest, and gratefully accept of the loweft; and you may fafely flatter any woman, from her understanding, down to the exquifite tafle of her fan. Women, who are either indifputably beautiful or indifputably ugly, are best flattered upon the fcore of their understandings: but thofe who are in a state of mediocrity, are best flattered upon their beauty, or at least their graces; for every woman, who is not abfolutely ugly, thinks herself handfome; but not hearing often that the is fo, is the more grateful, and the more obliged to the few who tell her fo: whereas a decided and confcious beauty looks upon every tribute, paid to her beauty, only as her due; but wants to shine, and to be confidered on the fide of her understanding: and a woman, who is ugly enough to know that she is fo, knows that she has nothing left for it but her understanding, which is, confequently (and probably in more fenfes than one) her weak fide. But thefe are fecrets, which you must keep inviolably, if you would not, like Orpheus, be torn to pieces by the whole fex on the contrary, a man, who thinks of living in the great world, must be gallant, polite, and attentive to please the women. They have, from the weakness of men, more or less influence in all courts: they abfolutely ftamp every man's character in the beau monde, and make it either current, or cry it down, and ftop it in payments. It is, therefore, abfolutely neceffary to manage, please, and flatter them; and never to discover the least marks of contempt, which is what they never forgive: but in this they are not fingular, for it is the fame with men; who will much fooner forgive an injuftice than an infult.'

All the obfervation which we fhall make on the foregoing ftrange invective against the lovelieft part of the creation, is, that if Lord C. really fpoke of the women as he found them, hẹ must have been peculiarly unfortunate in his female acquaint

ance.

The noble Author is, however, tolerably candid, and holds the balance between the fexes with a pretty even hand. If he exprefles too little reverence for the ladies, he is not much more complaifant to their lords. In the letter above quoted he thas proceeds:

Every man is not ambitious, or covetous, or paffionate; but every man has pride enough in his compofition to feel and refent the leaft flight and contempt. Remember, therefore, most carefully

to conceal your contempt, however juft, wherever you would not make an implacable enemy. Men are much more unwilling to have their weaknesses and their imperfections known, than their crimes; and, if you hint to a man, that you think him filly, ignorant, or even ill bred, or awkward, he will hate you more, and longer, than if you tell him, plainly, that you think him a rogue. Never yield to that temptation, which, to moft young men, is very firong, of expofing other people's weakneffes and infirmities, for the fake either of diverting the company, or of fhowing your own fuperiority. You may get the laugh on your fide by it, for the prefent; but you will make enemies by it for ever; and even those who laugh with you then, will, upon reflection, fear, and confequently hate you: befides that, it is ill-natured; and that a good heart defires rather to conceal, than expofe, other people's weaknesses or misfortunest. If you have wit, ufe it to please, and not to hurt: you may thine, like the fun in the temperate zones, without fcorching. Here it is wished for; under the Line it is dreaded.

These are fome of the hints, which my long experience in the great world enables me to give you; and which, if you attend to them, may prove useful to you in your journey through it.'

In LETT. cxxxiii. we meet with the following excellent remarks on what is commonly called Good Company:

Good Company, is not what refpective fets of company are pleafed either to call or think them felves; but it is that company which all the people of the place call, and acknowledge to be, good company, notwithstanding fome objections which they may form to fome of the individuals who compofe it. It confifts chiefly (but by no means without exception) of people of confiderable birth, rank, and character: for people of neither birth nor rank, are frequently, and very juftly, admitted into it, if distinguished by any peculiar me

In another letter, his Lordship thus cautions his pupil against giving unneceffary mortification to those who are fuppofed to be our inferiors in refpect of natural or accidental advantages. Nothing is more infulting, more mortifying, and lefs for given, than avowedly to take pains to make a man feel a mortifying inferiority in knowledge, rank, fortune, &c. In the two laft articles, it is unjuft, they not being in his power; and, in the firft, it is both ill bred and ill-natured. Good-breeding, and good-nature, do incline us rather to help and raife people up to ourselves, than tó mortify and deprefs them: and, in truth, our own private interest concurs in it, as it is making ourselves fo many friends, instead of fo many enemies. The conftant practice of what the French call les Attentions, is a moft necefiary ingredient in the art of pleafing; they flatter the self-love of those to whom they are shown; they engage, they captivate, more than things of much greater importance. The duties of social life, every man is obliged to difcharge; but thefe attentions are voluntary acts, the free will offerings of good-breeding and good-nature: they are received, remembered, and returned as fuch. Women, particularly, have a right to them; and any omif fion, in that refpect, is downright ill-breeding,"

It is elsewhere remarked that, In the mafs of mankind, I fear, there is too great a majority of fools and knaves; who, fingly from their number, muft, to a certain degree, be refpected, though they are by no means refpectable. And a man, who will show every knave or fool, that he thinks him fuch, will engage in a moft ruinous war, against numbers much fuperior to thofe that he and his allies can bring into the field. Abhor a knave, and pity a fool, in your heart; but let neither of them, unnecessarily, fee that you do fo. Some complaifance and attention to fools is prudent, and not mean: as a filent abhorrence of individual knaves is often neceffary, and not criminal.'

rit, or eminency in any liberal art or feience. Nay, fo motley a thing is good company, that many people, without birth, rank, or merit, intrude into it by their own forwardness, and others flide inte it by the protection of fome confiderable perfon; and fome even of indifferent characters and morals make part of it. But, in the main, the good part preponderates, and people of infamous and blasted characters are never admitted. In this fashionable good company, the best manners, and the beft language, of the place are most unqueftionably to be learnt; for they establish, and give the tone to both, which are therefore called the language and manners of good company there being no legal tribunal to afcertain either.

A company confifting wholly of people of the firft quality, cannot, for that reafon, be called good company, in the common acceptation of the phrafe, unless they are, into the bargain, the fashionable and accredited company of the place; for people of the very firft quality can be as filly, as ill-bred, and as worthlefs, as people of the meanest degree. On the other hand, a company confifting intirely of people of very low condition, whatever their merit or parts may be, can never be called good company; and confequently should not be much frequented, though by no means defpifed."

A company wholly compofed of men of learning, though greatly to be valued and refpected, is not meant by the words, good company: they cannot have the eafy manners and tournure of the world, as they do not live in it. If you can bear your part well in fuch a company, it is extremely right to be in it fometimes, and you will be but more efteemed, in other companies, for having a place in that. But then do not let it engrofs you; for if you do, you will be only confidered as one of the litterati by profeffion; which is not the way either to Thine, or rife in the world.

The company of profeffed Wits and Poets is extremely inviting to moft young men, who, if they have wit themselves, are pleafed with it, and if they have none, are fillily proud of being one of it: but it should be frequented with moderation and judgment, and you fhould by no means give yourself up to it. A Wit is a very unpopu Jar denomination, as it carries terror along with it; and people in general are as much afraid of a live Wit, in company, as a woman is of a gun, which the thinks may go off of itself, and do her a mifchief. Their acquaintance is, however, worth feeking, and their company worth frequenting; but not exclufively of others, nor to fuch a degree as to be confidered only as one of that particular fet.

But the company, which of all others you fhould moft carefully avoid, is, that low company, which, in every fenfe of the word, is low indeed; low in rank, low in parts, low in manners, and low in merit. You will, perhaps, be furprized, that I fhould think it neceffary to warn you against fuch company; but yet I do not think it wholly unneceffary, after the many inftances which I have feen, of men of fenfe and rank, difcredited, vilified, and undone, by keep. ing fuch company. Vanity, that fource of many of our follies, and of fome of our crimes, has funk many a man into company, in every light infinitely below himfelf, for the fake of being the first man in it. There he dictates, is applauded, admired; and, for the fake of being the Coryphaus of that wretched chorus, difgraces and difqua

lifies

lifes himfelf foon for any better company. Depend upon it, you will fink or rife to the level of the company which you commonly keep: people will judge of you, and not unreasonably, by that. There is good fenfe in the Spanish faying, "Tell me who you live with, and will tell you who you are.' Make it therefore your bufinefs, wherever you are, to get into that company, which every body of the place allows to be the beft company, next to their own: which is the beft definition that I can give you, of good company. But here, too, one caution is very neceffary; for want of which many young men have been ruined, even in good company. Good company (as I have before obferved) is compofed of a great variety of fashionable people, whofe characters and morals are very different, though their manners are pretty much the fame. When a young man, new in the world, first gets into that company, he very rightly determines to conform to, and imitate it. But then he too often, and fatally, miftakes the objects of his imitation. He has often heard that abfard term of genteel and fashionable vices. He there fees fome people who fhine, and who in general are admired and esteemed; and obferves, that these people are whoremailers, drunkards, or gamefters: upon which he adopts their vices, miftaking their defects for their perfections, and thinking that they owe their fashion and their luftre to thofe genteel vices. Whereas it is exactly the reverfe; for these people have acquired their reputation by their parts, their learning, their good-breeding, and other real accomplishments; and are only blemished and lowered, in the opinions of all reasonable people, and of their own, in time, by thefe genteel and fathionable vices. A whoremafter, in a flux, or without a nofe, is a very genteel person indeed, and well worthy of imitation. A drunkard, vomiting up at night the wine of the day, and itupefied by the headach all the next, is, doubtless, a fine model to copy from. And a gamefter, tearing his hair, and blafpheming, for having loft more than he had in the world, is furely a moft amiable character. No; thefe are allays, and great ones too, which can never adorn any character, but will always debafe the beft. To prove this; fuppofe any man, without parts and fome other good qualities, to be merely a whoremaster, a drunkard, or a gamelter; How will he be looked upon, by all forts of people? Why, as a molt contemptible and vicious animal. Therefore it is plain, that, in thefe mixed characters, the good part only makes people forgive, but not approve, -the bad.

I will hope, and believe, that you will have no vices; but if, unfortunately, you should have any, at least I beg of you to be content with your own, and to adopt no other body's. The adoption of vice has, I am convinced, ruined ten times more young men, than natural inclinations.

As I make no difficulty of confeffing my paft errors, where I think the confeffion may be of ufe to you, I will own, that, when I first went to the univerfity, I drank and fmoked, notwithstanding the averfion I had to wine and tobacco, only because I thought it genteel, and that it made me look like a man. When I went abroad, I first went to the Hague, where gaming was much in fashion; and where 1 obferved that many people, of thining rank and character, gamed

too.

too. I was then young enough, and filly enough, to believe, that gaming was one of their accomplishments; and, as I aimed at perfection, I adopted gaming as a neceffary ftep to it. Thus I acquired, by error, the habit of a vice, which, far from adorning my character, has, I am confcious, been a great blemish in it.

Imitate, then, with difcernment and judgment, the real perfections of the good company which you may get into; copy their politeness, their carriage, their addrefs, and the eafy and well bred turn of their converfation; but remember, that, let them fhine ever fo bright, their vices, if they have any, are so many spots, which you would no more imitate, than you would make an artificial wart upon your face, because fome very handfome man had the misfortune to have a natural one upon his but, on the contrary, think how much handfomer he would have been without it.

Having thus confeffed fome of my égaremens, I will now show you a little of my right fide. I always endeavoured to get into the best company, wherever I was, and commonly fucceeded. There I pleafed, to fome degree, by fhowing a defire to please. I took care never to be absent or diftrait; but, on the contrary, attended to every thing that was faid, done, or even looked, in company I never failed in the minutest attentions, and was never journalier. These things, and not my égaremens, made me fashionable.'

The honeft, plain, English reader, as well as men of true taste, will perhaps be fomewhat offended by the frequent Gallicifms, as well as the many Latinifms, Italicifms, &c. &c. which appear in these Letters; and we must acknowledge that they favour a little of a certain degree of affectation which we have often heard mentioned as one of those foibles that just served to convince mankind that even the Earl of Chesterfield was not free from imperfection.

Among the many letters in which this noble Preceptor repeatedly and again infifts on the neceffity of a young man's facrificing to the Graces every day, and all the day,' we meet with one, in which his Lordship gives the following curious account of the celebrated John Duke of Marlborough:

Of all the men that I ever knew in my life (and I knew him extremely well) the late Duke of Marlborough poffeffed the Graces in the highest degree, not to fay engroffed them; and indeed he got the most by them; for I will venture (contrary to the custom of profound historians, who always affign deep caufes for great events) to afcribe the better half of the Duke of Marlborough's greatnefs and riches to those Graces. He was eminently illiterate; wrote bad Englith, and spelled it ftill worfe. He had no fhare of what is commonly called Parts: that is, he had no brightnefs, nothing shining in his genius. He had, moft undoubtedly, an excellent good plain underftanding, with found judgment. But thefe, alone, would probably have raised him but fomething higher than they found him; which was Page to King James the Second's Queen. There the Graces protected and promoted him; for, while he was an Enfign of the Guards, the Dutchefs of Cleveland, then favourite miftrefs 10 King Charles the Second, ftruck by thofe very Graces, gave him five

thoufand