[Tranflated from his Posthumous Works, just published at Paris.] I I have ambition enough to take an active part in life; but not fo much as to be diffatisfied with the station in which fortune has placed me. When I difcover any new fource of pleafure, I am extremely moved; and am inftantly furprised, that I could overlook the object, or regard it with indifference. When I was a youth, I was always fo fortunate as to perfuade myself that the woman I loved was partial to me; and when I happened to be undeceived, to be inftantaneously cured of my paffion. Literature is with me a never failing remedy for all the ills of life; nor did I ever know what that forrow was which an hour's reading could not dissipate. I awaken in the morning with a fecret joy at feeing the dawn; I regard the light with a feeling approaching to ecftacy; and, dur-, ing the rest of the day, I am hap py. I pafs the night without awaking, and am afleep the moment I lay down my head. I am almost as well fatisfied with the company of fools as of the wife; for I have not often met with men fo dull as not to amufe me, and there are few things as diverting as fome filly people are. I make no fcruple to entertain myself with fecretly obferving the characters of men, permitting them meanwhile to do the fame with mine. When I was a novice, I looked up to the great with veneration ; experience foon changed my fentiments, with little exception, to the extreme of contempt. I am not unwilling to flatter women: it is doing them a kindnefs at a cheap rate. I have naturally a great anxiety for the profperity and honour of my country, and very little for my own fame. I always feel a fecret pleasure, when any regulation happens to be made for the public benefit. Whenever I have refided in a foreign country, I have attached myself to it as to my native land; my heart has fhared in its fortunes, and I have longed to see it flourish. I have thought I perceived tal ents ents where the world has formed a contrary opinion. I am not forry to pass for an absent man; I can thus with impunity indulge in a neglect of many little forms, to which otherwife I must have been a flave. I love to visit where I can efcape cenfure with my ordinary converfation and manners. On vifits, I am always charmed when I find one of the company take upon himself the trouble of being gay and entertaining. Such a one protects thofe that choose to be filent. Nothing diverts me more than to hear a man relating petty tories with all their petty cireumftances. It is not the tale I attend to, but the ridiculous paffion of the fpeaker. As to most talkers, indeed, I would rather gratify them with my praise than my attention. I love my family fufficiently to provide every thing in my power for its welfare, but am not fo foolish as to make myself a flave to the minute affairs of a house, When I confide in any one, I have no referves; but there are few in whom I am inclined to confide. It has given me no high opinion of myself, to perceive that there are very few offices in the State for which I am in reality qualified. As to my ftation as prefident of the parliament, I have a very upright mind, and I can readily enough discover what reafon demands of me; but I am loft, when I come to ask myfelf What is the decifion of the law? Yet, I have been anxious to make myself master of the intricacies of form, and am the more angry with myfelf because I see I never could fee tears, without sympathy. I may be faid to have a paffion for friendship. I am prone to forgive, because hatred is a troublesome companion. When my enemy wishes to be reconciled, he applies to my vanity, and I can no longer regard as an enemy one who does me the favour to give me a good opinion of myself. When I am refiding in the country, among my vaffals, I never encourage unfavourable reports of any of them. If a tale-bearer would repeat fomething faid to my dif advantage, I interrupt him with faying I do not wish to incur the danger of believing a false report, and would not give myself the trouble to hate a knave. At the age of thirty-five, I was once more in love. I can no more make vifits with mercenary views, than I can accompany birds through the air. In the bustle of public life, I felt as if I could not endure retirement. In retirement, I forgot the world. A man of eminent merit I can never bear to analyze; a man, who, with valuable qualities, does not not rife above mediocrity, I analyze very carefully. I believe I am the only writer who has not been fmitten with the paffion of being reputed a wit; and my intimate friends know that in converfation I never affect it, but have fenfe enough to ufe the danguage of thofe with whom I affociate. I have often had the misfortune to be difgufted with perfons whofe good-will I had earnestly fought. I never loft but one friend, through any mifunderstanding; and I have lived with my children as with friends. It has been a principle of my whole life, never to do, by the agency of others, what I could do for myfelf; and hence I have improved my fortune by means within my own reach-moderation and economy-unmingled with foreign aid, which is always mean or unjuft. A When I have feen a company expect to find me excel in converfation, I have been more than ufually unfuccefsful. I would rather be prefent with men of talents to enliven my understanding, than with fools to applaud my fayings.. The perfons I moft defpife are, the minor wits, and men of high ftation without probity. I never wrote a pafquinade; I have committed mittakes enough, but never was guilty of ill-will to any one. I never was prodigal in my expenfes, yet I am not avaricious, and I know of no enterprize that I would at any time have undertaken to amafs riches. It has been very prejudicial to my affairs, that I could never forbear to defpife thofe I could not efteem. I have not failed to increase my property, my lands being greatly improved; but I am perfuaded, my motive was rather to enlarge my power than my revenue. On my entering into life, I was fpoken of as a man of talents, and people of condition gave me a favourable reception; but when the fuccefs of my PERSIAN LETTERS proved perhaps that I was not unworty of my reputation, and the public began to efteem me, my reception with the great was difcouraging, and I experienced innumerable mortifications. The great, inwardly wounded with the glory of a celebrated name, feek! to humble it. In general, he only can patiently endure the fame of others, who deferves fame himfelf. I do not think I ever expended four pounds for the fake of fhew, or made one vifit for the fake of intereft. In what I undertake, I employ no trick; and am lefs anxious for the fuccefs of my enterprize, than for the dif charge of my duty in it. Had I been born in England, nothing could have confoled me in failing to accumulate a large fortune; I do not lament the mediocrity of my circumstances in France. I own, I have too much vanity to with my children to make a fplendid fortune, for they would find it difficult to pronounce their father's name, and. my tomb would be a monument to perpetuate their difgrace. I do not fuppofe they would level my tomb with the ground; but they would fcarcely rebuild it, if thrown down. Their origin would embarrass their flatterers, and twenty times a day bring blushes on their own cheeks. My memory would ex itt If I may predict the fortune of the SPIRIT OF LAWS, it will be more praised than read. Such ', works afford fatisfaction, but are never reforted to for amufement...... I conceived the defign of making parts of that book more elaborate r and profound, but the state of my....... eyes would not permit me to purfue the neceffary ftudies. If I knew of any enterprize. that would do myself a fervice at › the expenfe of my family, I would reject it; if it were one that would advance the fortune of my houfe to the injury of my country, I would endeavour to forget it; if it were fomething that would be useful to my country, but inconfiftent with the interefts of Eu-rope or the human race, I should regard the profecution of it as a crime. My ambition is to be fimple in my manners; to receive as few favours as potible; and to grant as many as poffible. REMEDY REMEDY FOR THE BITE OF A SNAKE. [The following is given as a new Discovery of an infallible Remedy for the Bite of venomous Snakes.] TO JAMES ANDERSON, M. D. PHYSICIAN GENERAL, &c. &c. Dear Sir, his head back, the greatest patt went down, and in a few minutes I HAVE the pleasure to fend he was fenfibly relieved, as his you the history of a Cafe, which was attended with the most alarming symptoms, as a confirmation of the beneficial effects to be expected from the use of Eau de Luce, or Spirits of Hartshorn, in the Bites of even the most dangerous Snakes. On the 11th of this month, at half past three o'clock, P. M. one of the Dooley Bearers of the 2d Regiment of Cavalry, in the act of cutting a branch of a tree, about 100 yards from my house, was bit by a Snake on the outfide of the left leg, a little below the knee. He felt immediately the pain ftretching up his thigh, and in the course of ten or twelve minutes he was feized with violent fpafms all over his body, and fell down apparently without fenfe or motion. He was then brought to me, when I found all his joints quite stiff, his limbs rigidly extended, pulfe hardly to be felt, and jaws faft locked. Having no Eau de Luce at hand, I put a tea fpoonful of Hartshorn into a tumbler with a small quantity of water, and having with difficulty opened his mouth by means of a turn-fcrew, I poured it in; but the power of deglutition being perfectly gone, only a very fmall part found its way to the ftomach. In ten minutes more I repeated the draught, and again a very fmall quantity got to the ftomach; ten minutes after I gave him another dose, when, by holding joints became more pliable. I now received fome Eau de Luce, and in about ten minutes gave him about twenty-five drops mixed with a little water, which by holding his head as before, got all into his ftomach. He now began to recover his recollection, and upon being asked, pointed that he felt a pain in his breaft, and the crown of his head. Half an hour after giving the laft dofe I repeated it, and in about five minutes he was feized with vomiting, when he brought up a fmall quantity of green flimy matter, which feemed to relieve him greatly, for he was then able to look about him. I repeated the medicine every half hour, and after every dofe he got a little better, fo that at nine o'clock he was able, with a little support, to walk home from my houfe, fcarcely feeling any effect but weakness from the bite, and I faw him next morning perfectly well. During the internal exhi bition of the medicine, the wound was rubbed with it, and feemingly with fome good effect. The fnake was not killed, fo that I cannot fay what fpecies it was of; but from the violent effects produced by its bite, I have no doubt of its being a very danger ous one. I am, dear Sir, DESCRIPTION |