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that such profound silence resembled the ancient procession of the Roman matrons in honour of Ceres: and the Scotch gentleman told me (and, faith, I believe he was right) that I was a very great pedant for my pains. Now I'm come to the ladies, and to show that I love Scotland, and every thing that belongs to so charming a country, I insist on it, and will give him leave to break my head that denies it, that the Scotch ladies are ten thousand times handsomer and finer than the Irish: I see your sisters, Betty and Peggy, vastly surprised at my partiality, but tell them flatly, I don't value them, or their fine skins, or eyes, or good sense, a potatoe, for I say it, and will maintain it, and, as a convincing proof (I'm in a very great passion!) of what I assert, the Scotch ladies say it themselves. But, to be less serious, where will you find a language so become a pretty mouth as the broad Scotch? and the women here speak it in its highest purity; for instance, teach one of their young ladies to pronounce "Whorr wull I gang," with a becoming wideness of mouth, and I'll lay my life they will wound every hearer. We have no such character here as a coquet; but, alas! how many envious prudes! Some days ago I walked into my Lord Kilcoubry's (don't be surprised, my lord is but a glover) when the duchess of Hamilton (that fair who sacrificed her beauty to ambition, and her inward peace to a title and gilt equipage) passed by in her chariot; her battered husband, or, more properly, the guardian of her charms, sat by her side. Straight envy began, in the shape of no less than three ladies, who sat with me, to

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ments, do you mind) to your agreeable family; and give my service to my mother, if you see her, for, as you express it in Ireland, I have a sneaking kindness for her still.

Direct to me-Student in Physic, in Edinburgh.

OLIVER GOLDSMITH TO

I HAVE thought it advisable, my dear young pupil, to adopt this method of giving my thoughts to you on some subjects which I find myself not well disposed to speak of in your presence. The reason of this you will yourself perceive in the course of reading this letter. It is disagreeable to most men, and particularly so to me, to say any thing which has the appearance of a disagreeable truth; and as what I have now to say to you is entirely respecting yourself, it is highly probable that, in some respect or other, your views of things and mine may considerably differ.

In the various subjects of knowledge which I have had the pleasure of seeing you study under my care, as well as those which you have acquired under the various teachers who have hitherto instructed you, the most material branch of information which it imports a human being to know, has been entirely overlooked, I mean the knowledge of yourself. There are indeed very few persons who possess at once the capability and

This letter was addressed by Goldsmith, when he was about twenty-five years of age, to a youth, who was, for a short time, his pupil.

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things requisite. For how is your moral character to be improved, unless you know what are the virtues and vices which your natural disposition is calculated to foster, and what are the passions which are most apt to govern you? How are you to attain eminence in any talent or pursuit, unless you know in what particular way your powers of mind best capacitate you for excelling? It is therefore my intention, in this letter, to offer you a few hints on this most important subject.

When you come to look abroad into the world, and to study the different characters of men, you will find that the happiness of an individual depends not, as you would suppose, on the advantages of fortune or situation, but principally on the regulation of his own mind. If you are able to secure tranquillity within, you will not be much annoyed by any disturbance without. The great art of doing this consists in the proper government of the passions. In taking care that no propensity is suffered to acquire so much power over your mind as to be the cause of immoderate uneasiness either to yourself or others. I insist particularly on this point, my dear young friend, because, if I am not greatly deceived, you are yourself very much disposed by nature to two passions, the most tormenting to the possessor, and the most offensive to others, of any which afflict the human race; I mean pride and anger. Indeed those two dispositions seem to be naturally connected with each other; for you have probably remarked, that most proud men are addicted to anger, and that most passionate men

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