TO THE HON. H. S. CONWAY.

Bath, Oct. 18, 1766.

You have made me laugh, and somebody else makes me stare. How can one wonder at any thing he does, when he knows so little of the world? I suppose the next step will be to propose me for groom of the bed-chamber to the new duke of Cumberland. But why me? Here is that hopeful young fellow, sir John Rushout, the oldest member of the house, and, as extremes meet, very proper to begin again; why overlook him ? However, as the secret is kept from me myself, I am perfectly easy about it. I shall call to-day or to-morrow to ask his commands, but certainly shall not obey those you mention.

The waters certainly are not so beneficial to me as at first: I have almost every morning my pain in my stomach. I do not pretend this to be the cause of my leaving Bath. The truth is, I cannot bear it any longer. You laugh at my regularity; but the contrary habit is so strong in me, that I cannot continue such sobriety. The public rooms, and the Loo, where we play in a circle, like the hazard on twelfth-night, are insupportable. This coming into the world again, when I am so weary of it, is as bad and ridiculous as moving an address would be. I have no affectation, for affectation is a monster at nine-and-forty; but if I cannot live quietly, privately, and comfortably, I am perfectly indifferent about living at all. I would not kill myself, for that is a philosopher's affectation, and I will come hither again, if I must; but I shall always drive very near, before I submit to do any thing I do not like. In short, I must be as foolish as I please, as long as I can keep without the limits of absurdity. What has an old man to do but to preserve himself from parade on one hand, and ridicule on the other ? Charm ing youth may indulge itself in either, may be censured, will be envied, and has time to correct.

Adieu !

Yours ever.

Monday evening.

You are a delightful manager of the house of commons, to

reckon 540, instead of 565! Sandwich was more accurate in lists, and would not have miscounted 25, which are something in a division.

To GEORGE MONTAGU, Esq.

Strawberry-hill, October 22, 1766.

THEY may say what they will, but it does one ten times more good to leave Bath than to go to it. I may sometimes drink the waters, as Mr. Bentley used to say I invited company hither that I did not care for, that I might enjoy the pleasure of their going away. My health is certainly mended, but I did not feel the satisfaction of it till I got home. I have still a little rheumatism in one shoulder, which was not dipped in Styx, and is still mortal; but, while I went to the rooms, or staid in my chambers in a dull court, I thought I had twenty complaints. I don't perceive one of them.

Having no companion but such as the place afforded, and which I did not accept, my excursions were very few; besides that the city is so guarded with mountains, that I had not patience to be jolted like a pea in a drum, in my chaise alone. I did go to Bristol, the dirtiest great shop I ever saw, with so foul a river, that, had I seen the least appearance of cleanliness, I should have concluded they washed all their linen in it, as they do at Paris. Going into the town, I was struck with a large Gothic building, coal black, and striped with white; I took it for the devil's cathedral. When I came nearer, I found it was an uniform castle, lately built, and serving for stables and offices to a smart false Gothic house on the other side of the road.

The real cathedral is very neat, and has pretty tombs, besides the two windows of painted glass, given by Mrs. Ellen Gwyn. There is a new church besides of St. Nicholas, neat and truly Gothic, besides a charming old church at the other end of the town. The cathedral, or abbey, at Bath, is glaring and crowded with modern tablet-monuments; among others, I found two, of my cousin sir Erasmus Phillips, and of colonel Madan. Your cousin bishop Montagu decked it much. dined one day with an agreeable family, two miles from Bath,

I

a captain Miller and his wife, and her mother, Mrs. Biggs. They have a small new-built house, with a bow-window, directly op posite to which the Avon falls in a wide cascade, a church behind it in a vale, into which two mountains descend, leaving an opening into the distant country. A large village, with houses of gentry, is on one of the hills to the left. Their garden is little, but pretty, and watered with several small rivulets among the bushes. Meadows fall down to the road, and above, the garden is terminated by another view of the river, the city, and the mountains. 'Tis a very diminutive principality, with large pretensions.

I must tell you a quotation I lighted upon t'other day from Persius, the application of which has much diverted Mr. Chute. You know my lord Milton,' from nephew of the old usurer Damer, of Dublin, has endeavoured to erect himself into the representative of the ancient barons Damory-momento turbinis

exit

Marcus Dama.

A-propos, or rather not a-propos, I wish you joy of the restoration of the dukedom in your house, though I believe we both think it very hard upon my lady Beaulieu.

I made a second visit to lady Lucy and Mrs. Trevor, and saw the latter one night at the rooms. She did not appear to me so

little altered as in the dusk of her own chamber.

Adieu! Yours ever.

To DAVID HUME, Esq.

Nov. 6, 1766.

DEAR SIR,

You have, I own, surprised me by suffering your quarrel with Rousseau to be printed, contrary to your determination when you left London, and against the advice of all your best

1 Joseph Damer lord Milton, of Shrone-hill, in the kingdom of Ireland was created a baron of Great Britain in May 1762, by the title of baron Milton of Milton Abbey, Dorsetshire. His lordship was born 12th March 1717-18, and was the son of Joseph Damer of Came, Dorsetshire, esq. His sister Mary, was the wife of the first lord Dawson, afterwards viscount Carlow, and mother of John, first earl of Portarlington. [Ed.]

friends here; I may add, contrary to your own nature, which has always inclined you to despise literary squabbles, the jest and scorn of all men of sense. Indeed, I am sorry you have let yourself be over-persuaded, and so are all that I have seen who wish you well: I ought rather to use your own word extorted. You say your Parisian friends extorted your consent to this publication. I believe so. Your good sense could not approve what your good heart could not refuse. You add, that they told you Rousseau had sent letters of defiance against you all over Europe. Good God! my dear sir, could you pay any regard to such fustian? All Europe laughs at being dragged every day into these idle quarrels, with which Europe only ***. Your friends talk as loftily as of a challenge between Charles the Fifth and Francis the First. What are become of all the controversies since the days of Scaliger1 and Scioppius, of Billingsgate memory? Why, they sleep in oblivion, till some Bayle3 drags them out of their dust, and takes mighty pains to ascertain the date of each author's death, which is of no more consequence to the world than the day of his birth. Many a country squire quarrels with his neighbour about game and manors, yet they never print their wrangles, though as much abuse passes between them as if they could quote all the philippics of the learned.

2

You have acted, as I should have expected if you would print, with sense, temper, and decency, and, what is still more uncommon, with your usual modesty. I cannot say so much for your editors. But editors and commentators are seldom modest. Even to this day that race ape the dictatorial tone of the commentators at the restoration of learning, when the mob thought that Greek and Latin could give men the sense which they wanted in their native languages. But Europe is now grown a little wiser, and holds these magnificent pretensions in proper contempt.

1 Joseph Scaliger, a great critical and historical writer, said to have been master of thirteen languages, born at Agen 1540, died 1609. [Ed.]

2 Gaspar Scioppius, a learned German writer, born in the Upper Palatinate 1576, died 1649. He was called the " Grammatical Cur," on account of his spiteful and injurious way of calumniating all his contemporaries, who were eminent for their learning. [Ed.]

3 Pierre Bayle, author of the dictionary "Historical and Critical." He was born November 18th 1647, and died 28th December 1706. [Ed.]

What I have said is to explain why I am sorry my letter makes a part of this controversy. When I sent it to you, it was for your justification; and, had it been necessary, I could have added as much more, having been witness to your anxious and boundless friendship for Rousseau. I told you, you might make what use of it you pleased. Indeed, at that time I did not-could not think of its being printed, you seeming so averse to any publication on that head. However, I by no means take it ill, nor regret my part, if it tends to vindicate your honour. I must confess that I am more concerned that you have suffered my letter to be curtailed; nor should I have consented to that if had asked me. you I guessed that your friends consulted your interest less than their own inclination to expose Rousseau; and I think their omission of what I said on that subject proves I was not mistaken in my guess. My letter hinted, too, my contempt of learned men and their miserable conduct. Since I was to appear in print, I should not have been sorry that that opinion should have appeared at the same time. In truth, there is nothing I hold so cheap as the generality of learned men; and I have often thought that young men ought to be made scholars, lest they should grow to reverence learned blockheads, and think there is any merit in having read more foolish books than other folks, which, as there are a thousand nonsensical books for one good one, must be the case of any man who has read much more than other people.

Your friend D'Alembert,' who, I suppose, has read a vast deal, is, it seems, offended with my letter to Rousseau. He is certainly as much at liberty to blame it, as I was to write it. Unfortunately he does not convince me; nor can I think but that if Rousseau may attack all governments and all religions, I might attack him: especially on his affectation and affected misfortunes, which you and your editors have proved are affected. D'Alembert might be offended at Rousseau's ascribing my letter to him; and he is in the right. I am a very indifferent author; and there is nothing so vexatious to an indifferent author as to be confounded with another of the same class. I should be

4 Jean Le Rond D'Alembert, one of the principal editors of the celebrated " Encyclopedie," and one of the ablest mathematicians of his age. He was secretary to the French Academy, and died 27th Oct. 1783. [Ed.]