he fhocks others: and frightens all, who dread what may come out next. The moft general rule that I can give you for the world, and which your experience will convince you of the truth of, is, never to give the tone to the company, but to take it from them; and to labour more to put them in conceit with themselves, than to make them admire you. Those whom you can make to like themselves better, will, I promise you like you very well. A Syftem-monger, who, without knowing any thing of the world by experience, has formed a fyftem of it in his dufty cell, lays it down, for example, that (from the general nature of mankind) flattery is pleafing. He will therefore flatter. But how? Why, indifcriminately. And instead of repairing and heightening the piece judicioufly, with foft colours, and a delicate pencil; with a coarfe brush, and a great deal of whitewash, he daubs and befmears the piece he means to adorn. His flattery offends even his patron, and is almoft too grofs for his mistress. A man of the world knows the force of flattery as well as he does ; but then he knows how, when, and where to give it; he proportions his dofe to the conftitution of the patient. He flatters by application, by inference, by comparison, by hint; and feldom directly. In the courfe of the world, there is the fame difference, in every thing, between fyftem and practice. LETTER XCIX. Earl of Huntingdon...Parliamentary Government...Conne&tions... Lady Hervey ..Perfons raifed in Life by exterior Manners... Chronological Hiftory...Sully's Memoirs. MY DEAR FRIEND, London, October the 22d. THIS HIS letter will, I am perfuaded, find you, and I hope fafely arrived at Montpellier; whence I trust that Mr. Harte's indifpofition will, by being totally removed, you to get to Paris before Chriftmas. You will there find two people, who, though both English, I reY allow commend in the ftrongeft manner poffible to your at tention; and advife you to form the moft intimate connections with them both, in their different ways. The one is a man whom you already know fomething of, but not near enough it is the Earl of Huntingdon; who, next to you, is the trueft object of my affection and efteem; and who, (I am proud to say it) calls me, and confiders me as his adopted father. His parts are as quick as his knowledge is extenfive; and if quality were worth putting into an account, where every other item is fo much more valuable, his is the first almoft in this country: the figure he will make, foon after he returns to it, will, if I am not more mif taken than ever I was in my life, equal his birth and my hopes. Such a connection will be of infinite advantage to you; and, I can affure you, that he is extremely difpofed to form it upon my account; and will, I hope, and believe, defire to improve and cement it upon your own. In our parliamentary government, connections are abfolutely neceflary; and, if prudently formed, and ably maintained, the fuccefs of them is infallible. There are two forts of connections, which I would always advise you to have in view. The firft I will call equal ones; by which I mean thofe, where the two connecting parties reciprocally find their account, from pretty near an equal degree of parts and abilities. In thofe, there must be a freer communication; each muft fee that the other is able, and be convinced that he is willing to be of ufe to him. Honour must be the principle of fuch connections; and there must be a mutual dependence, that prefent and feparate intereft fhall not be able to break them. There must be a joint fyftem of action; and in cafe of different opinions, each muft recede a little, in order, at laft, to form an unanimous one. Such, I hope, will be your connection with Lord Huntingdon. You will both come into parliament at the fame time; and, if you have an equal fhare of abilities and application, you and he, with other young people, who will naturally affoiate, may form a band which will be refpected by any adminiftration, and make a figure in public. The other fort of connections I call unequal ones; that is, where the parts are all on one fide, and the rank and fortune on the other. Here the advantage is all on one fide, but that advantage must be ably concealed. Complaifance, an engaging manner, and a patient toleration of certain airs of fuperiority, muft cement them. The weaker party must be taken by the heart, his head giving no hold; and he must be governed, by being made to believe that he governs. Thefe people, fkilfully led, give great weight to their leader. I have formerly pointed out to you a couple that I take to be proper objects for your kill; and you will meet with twenty more, for they are very rife. de The other perfon, whom I recommend to you, is a woman: it is Lady Hervey, whom I directed you to call upon at Dijon; but, who, to my great joy, becaufe to your great advantage, paffes all this winter at Paris. She has been bred all her life at courts; of which the has acquired all the eafy good-breeding, and politeness, without the frivoloufnefs. She has all the reading that a woman fhould have, and more than any woman need have; for the understands Latin perfectly well, though the wifely conceals it. As fhe will lock upon you as her fon, I defire that you will look upon her as my legate truft, confult, and apply to her without referve. Defire her to reprove and correct any, and every, the leaft error and inaccuracy in your manners, air, addrefs, &c. No woman in Europe can do it fo well; none will do it more readily, or in a more proper and obliging manner. In fuch a cafe fhe will not put you out of countenance, by telling you of it in company; but either intimate it by fome fign, or wait for an opportu nity when you are alone together. She is alfo in the beft French company, where the will not only introduce, but puff you, If I may ufe fo low a word. And I can affure you, that it is no little help in the beau monde, to be puffed there by a fashionable woman. Ifend you the inclofed billet to carry her, only as a certificate of the identity of your perfon, which I take it for granted he could not know again, You would be fo much fo much furprised to re ceive a whole letter from me, without any mention o the exterior ornaments neceffary for a gentleman, a manners, elocution, air, addrefs, graces, &c.that, to com ply with your expectations, I will touch upon them; an tell you, that when you come to England, I will the you fome people whom I do not now care to name, rai ed to the higheft ftations fingly by thofe exterior an adventitious ornaments; whofe parts would never hav entitled them to the falleft office in the excife. Ar they then neceffary, and worth acquiring, or not? Yo will fee many inftances of this kind at Paris, particular ly a glaring one, of a perfon* raifed to the highe pofts and dignities in France, as well as to be abfolut fovereign of the fafhionable world, fingly by the grace of his perfon and addrefs; by woman's chit-chat, ac companied with important geftures; by an impofing air, and pleafing abord. Nay, by these helps he ever paffes for a wit, though he hath certainly no uncommon Thare of it. I will not name him, because it would be very imprudent in you to do it. A young fellow at his first entrance into the beau monde, must not offend the king de facto there. It is very often more neceffary to conceal contempt than refentment, the former being never forgiven, but the latter fometimes forgotten. There is a fmall quarto book, entitled Hiftorie chronolog ique de la France, lately publifhed le Prefident Henault, a man of parts and learning, with whom you will probably get acquainted at Paris. I defire that it may always lie upon your table, for your recourse to as often as you read hiftory. The chronology, though chiefly relative to the hiftory of France, is not fingly confined it; but the moft interefting events of all the ret of Europe are also inferted, and many of them adorned by fhort, pretty, and just reflections. The new edition of les memoires de Sully, in three quarto volumes, is also extremely well worth your reading, as it will give you a clearer and truer notion of one of the moft interesting periods of the French history than you can *M. le Maréchal de Richelieu. yet have formed from all the other books you may have read upon the fubject. That prince, I mean Henry the IVth. had all the accompliments and virtues of a hero, and of a king, and almoft of a man. The laft are the most rarely feen-may you poffefs them all. Adieu. LETTER C. Hiftory of France....Government of Clovis....States General... Tiers Etat... Family of Capet....Manner of studying Hiftory.... Company and Conversation.. MY DEAR FRIEND, London, Nov. ift. I HOPE this letter will not find you ftill at Mont pellier, but rather be fent after you to Paris, where, I am perfuaded, that Mr. Harte could find as good advice for his leg as at Montpellier, if not better; but if he is of a different opinion, I am fure you ought to ftay there as long as he defires. While you are in France, I could with that the hours: you allot for hiftorical amusement fhould be entirely devoted to the hiftory of France. One always reads history to moft advantage in that country to which it is. relative; not only books, but perfons, being ever at hand, to folve the doubts and clear up difficulties. I do by no means advife you to throw away your time in ranfacking, like a dull antiquarian, the minute and unimportant parts of remote and fabulous times. Let blockheads read what blockheads wrote.. A general notion of the hiftory of France, from the conqueft of that country by the Franks, to the reign of Lewis the XIth. is fufficient for ufe, and confequently fufficient. for you. There are, however, in thofe remote times fome remarkable æras, that deferve more particular attention; I mean thofe in which some notable alter-ations happened in the conftitution and form of gov ernment. As for example, the fettlement of Clovis in Gaul, and the form of government which he then ef-tablifhed; for, by the way, that form of government differed in this particular from all the other. Gothis |