justice; for I received but one single letter from you, and one from Mr. Harte, during your whole stay at Berlin; from whence I hoped for and expected very particular accounts.

I persuade myself that the time you stay at Venice will be properly employed, in seeing all that is to be seen at that extraordinary place, and in conversing with people who can inform you, not of the rareeshows of the time, but of the constitution of the government; for which purpose I send you the enclosed letters of recommendation from Sir James Gray, the king's resident at Venice, but who is now in England. These, with mine to Monsieur Capello, will carry you, if you will go, into the best company at Venice.

But the important point, and the important place, is Turin; for there I propose your staying a considerable time, to pursue your studies, learn your exercises, and form your manners. I own I am not without my anxiety for the consequences of your stay there; which must be either very good or very bad. To you it will be entirely a new scene. Wherever you have hitherto been, you have conversed chiefly with people wiser and discreeter than your. self; and have been equally out of the way of bad advice or bad example; but in the academy at Turin, you will probably meet with both, considering the variety of young fellows of about your own age; among whom it is to be expected that some will be dissipated and idle, others vicious and profligate. I will believe, till the contrary appears, that you have sagacity enough to distinguish the good from the bad characters, and both sense and virtue enough to shun the latter, and connect yourself with the former: but however, for greater security, and for your sake alone, I must acquaint you, that I have sent positive orders to Mr. Harte to carry you off instantly to a place which I have named to him, upon the very first symptom which he shall discover in you, of drinking, gaming, idleness, or disobedience

to his orders; so that whether Mr. Harte informs me or not of the particulars, I shall be able to judge of your conduct in general, by the time of your stay at Turin. If it is short, I shall know why; and I promise you, that you shall soon find that I do; but if Mr. Harte lets you continue there as long as I propose you should, I shall then be convinced, that you make the proper use of your time, which is the only thing I have to ask of you. One year is the most that I propose you should stay at Turin ; and that year, if you employ it well, perfects you. One year more of your late application with Mr. Harte, will complete your classical studies. You will be likewise master of your exercises in that time; and will have formed yourself so well at that court, as to be fit to appear advantageously at any other. These will be the happy effects of your year's stay at Turin, if you behave and apply yourself there as you have done at Leipsig; but if either ill-advice, or ill-example, affect and seduce you, you are ruined for ever. I look upon that year as your decisive year of probation: go through it well, and you will be all-accomplished, and fixed in my tenderest affection for ever: but should the contagion of vice or idleness lay hold of you there, your character, your fortune, my hopes, and consequently my favour, are all blasted, and you are undone. The more I love you now, from the good opinion I have of you, the greater will be my indignation, if I should have reason to change it. Hitherto you have had every pòssible proof of my affection, because you have de served it; but when you cease to deserve it, you may expect every possible mark of my resentment. To leave nothing doubtful upon this important point, I will tell you fairly before-hand, by what rule I shall judge of your conduct-by Mr. Harte's accounts. He will not I am sure, nay I will say more, he cannot be in the wrong with regard to you. He can have no other view, but your good; and you will I am sure allow, that he must be a better judge of VOL. II.

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it than you can possibly be at your age. While he is satisfied, I shall be so too; but whenever he is If dissatisfied with you, I shall be much more so. he complains, you must be guilty, and I shall not have the least regard for any thing that you may allege in your own defence.

I will now tell you what I expect and insist upon from you at Turin: first, that you pursue your classical and other studies every morning, with Mr. Harte, as long, and in whatever manner Mr. Harte shall be pleased to require: secondly, that you learn uninterruptedly your exercises of riding, dancing, and fencing: thirdly, that you make yourself master of the Italian language; and lastly, that you pass your evenings in the best company. I also require a strict conformity to the hours and rules of the academy. If you will but finish your year in this manner at Turin, I have nothing farther to ask of you and I will give you every thing that you can ask of me: you shall after that be eutirely your own master; I shall think you safe; shall lay aside all authority over you, and friendship shall be our mutual and only tie. Weigh this, I beg of you, deliberately in your own mind, and consider whether the application, and the degree of restraint, which I require but one year more, will not be amply repaid by all the advantages, and the perfect liberty, which you will receive at the end of it. Your own good sense will, I am sure, not allow you to hesitate one moment in your choice.-God bless you! Adieu.

P. S. Sir James Gray's letters not being yet sent me, as I thought they would, I shall enclose them in my next, which I believe will get to Venice as soon as you.

I

LETTER CLXXIX.

DEAR BOY,

London, April 12, O. S. 1749.

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, &c.? 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.

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 do go together. I examined them, particularly Comte Lascaris, concerning you: their report is a very favourable 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 that 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 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.

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 with in your travels. You remember, no doubt, that you must never write to me from Turiu, but in the German language and character.

I send you the enclosed letter of recommendation to Mr. Smith, the king's consul at Venice, who can, and I dare say will, be more useful to you there than any body. Pray make your court, and behave your best to Monsieur and Madame Capello, who will be of great use to you at Rome. Adieu! Your's, tenderly.