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pine, diffimulation, and luxury, that a magic circle is drawn about you, and you cannot escape. We are here in the country in quite another world, surrounded with bleffings and pleasures, without any occafion of exercifing our irafcible faculties; indeed we cannot boast of good-breeding and the art of life, but yet we don't live unpleasantly in primitive fimplicity and good-humour. The fafhions of the town affect us but juft like a rareefhow, we have a curiofity to peep at them, and nothing more. What you call pride, prodigality, and vain-glory, we cannot find in pomp and fplendor at this diftance; it appears to us a fine glittering scene, which if we don't envy you, we think you happier than we are, in your enjoying it. Whatever you may think to perfuade us of the humility of Virtue, and her appearing in rags amongst you, we can never believe: our uninform'd minds represent her fo noble to us, that we neceffarily annex fplendor to her: and we could as foon imagine the order of things inverted, and that there is no man in the moon, as believe the contrary. I can't forbear telling you we indeed read the fpoils of Rapine as boys do the English rogue, and hug ourfelves full as much over it; yet our roses are not without thorns. Pray give me the pleasure of hearing (when you are at leisure) how foon I may expect to fee the next volume of Homer.

I am, &c.

LETTER IV.

May 1, 1720.

Ou'll think me very full of myself, when after

Y long filence (which however, to fay truth,

has rather been employed to contemplate of you,

than

than to forget you) I begin to talk of my own works. I find it is in the finifhing a book, as in concluding a feffion of Parliament, one always thinks it will be very foon, and finds it very late. There unlook'd-for-incidents to retard are many the clearing any public account, and fo I fee it is in mine. I have plagued myfelf, like great minifters, with undertaking too much for one man; and with a defire of doing more than was expected from me, have done less than I ought.

For having defign'd four very laborious and uncommon fort of Indexes to Homer, I'm forc'd, for want of time, to publifh two only; the defign of which you will own to be pretty, tho' far from being fully executed. I've alfo been obliged to leave unfinish'd in my defk the heads of two Effays, one on the Theology and Morality of Homer, and another on the Öratory of Homer and Virgil. So they must wait for future editions, or perifh: and (one way or other, no great matter which) dabit Deus his quoque finem. I think of you every day, I affure you, even without fuch good memorials of you as your fifters, with whom I fometimes talk of you, and find it one of the most agreeable of all fubjects to them. My Lord Digby must be perpetually remember'd by all who ever knew him, or knew his children. There needs no more than an acquaintance with your family, to make all elder fons wish they had fathers to their lives end.

I can't touch upon the subject of filial love, without putting you in mind of an old woman, who has a fincere, hearty, old-fashion'd respect for you, and conftantly blames her fon for not having writ you oftener to tell you fo..

to

I very much with (but what fignifies my wish ing my lady Scudamore wifhes, your fifters wish) you were with us, to compare the beautiful conD 2

that

traste

trafte this season affords us, of the town and the country. No ideas you could form in the winter can make you imagine what Twickenham is (and what your friend Mr. Johnson of Twickenham is) in this warmer season. Our river glitters beneath an unclouded fun, at the fame time that its banks retain the verdure of fhowers: our gardens are offering their first nofegays; our trees, like new acquaintance brought happily together, are ftretching their arms to meet each other, and growing nearer and nearer every hour; the birds are paying their thanksgiving fongs for the new habitations I have made them; my building rifes high enough to attract the eye and curiofity of the paffenger from the river, where, upon beholding a mixture of beauty and ruin, he enquires what house is falling, or what church is rifing? So little taste have our common Tritons of Vitruvius; whatever delight the poetical gods of the river may take, in reflecting on their ftreams, my Tuscan Porticos, or Ionic Pilafters.

But (to defcend from all this pomp of style) the belt account of what I am building, is, that it will afford me a few pleasant rooms for fuch a friend as yourself, or a cool fituation for an hour or two for Lady Scudamore, when she will do me the honour (at this public house on the road) to drink her own cyder.

The moment I am writing this, I am furprized with the account of the death of a friend of mine; which makes all I have here been talking of, a mere jeft! Building, gardens, writings, pleasures, works, of whatever ftuff man can raife! none of them (God knows) capable of advantaging a creature that is mortal, or of fatisfying a foul that is immortal! Dear Sir,

I am, &c.

LETTER

LETTER V.

From Mr. DIGBY.

YOUR letter,

May 21, 1720.

YOUR letter, which I had two pofts ago, was very medicinal to me; and I heartily thank you for the relief it gave me. I was fick of the thoughts of my not having in all this time given you any teftimony of the affection I owe you, and which I as conftantly indeed feel as I think of you. This indeed was a troublesome ill to me, till, after reading your letter, I found it was a moft idle weak imagination to think I could fo offend you. Of all the impreffions you have made upon me, I never receiv'd any with greater joy than this of your abundant good-nature, which bids me be affured of fome fhare of your affections.

I had many other pleasures from your letter; that your mother remembers me is a very fincere joy to me; I cannot but reflect how alike you are; from the time you do any one a favour, you think yourselves obliged as thofe that have received one. This is indeed an old-fashioned refpect, hardly to be found out of your house. I have great hopes however, to see many old-fashioned virtues revive, fince you have made our age in love with Homer; I heartily with you, who are as good a citizen as a poet, the joy of feeing a reformation from your works. I am in doubt whether I fhould congratulate your having finished Homer, while the two effays you mention are not completed; but if you expect no great trouble from finishing thefe, I heartily rejoice with you.

I have fome faint notion of the beauties of Twickenham from what I here fee round me. The D 3 verdure

verdure of showers is poured upon every tree and field about us; the gardens unfold variety of colours to the eye every morning, the hedges breath is beyond all perfume, and the fong of birds we hear as well as you. But tho' I hear and fee all this, yet I think they would delight me more if you was here. I found the want of thefe at Twickenham while I was there with you, by which I guess what an increase of charms it must now have. How kind is it in you to wifh me there, and how unfortunate are my circumftances that allow me not to vifit you? If I fee you, I must leave my father alone, and this uneafy thought would difappoint all my proposed pleasures; the fame circumstance will prevent my profpect of many happy hours with you in Lord Bathurst's wood, and I fear of feeing you till winter, unless Lady Scudamore comes to Sherburne, in which cafe I fhall prefs you to fee Dorsetshire, as you propofed. May you have a long enjoyment of your new favourite Portico.

Your, &c.

T

LETTER VI.

From Mr. DIGBY.

Sherburne, July 9, 1720,

HE London language and conversation is, I find, quite changed fince I left it, tho' it is not above three or four months ago. No violent change in the natural world ever aftonifhed a Philofopher fo much as this does me. I hope this will calm all Party-rage, and introduce more humanity than has of late obtained in converfation. All fcandal will fure be laid afide, for there can be no fuch difeafe any more as Spleen in this new golden age.

I am

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