第60章 LETTER XLVI(1)

LONDON,August 2,O.S.1748.

DEAR BOY:Duval the jeweler,is arrived,and was with me three or four days ago.You will easily imagine that I asked him a few questions concerning you;and I will give you the satisfaction of knowing that,upon the whole,I was very well pleased with the account he gave me.

But,though he seemed to be much in your interest,yet he fairly owned to me that your utterance was rapid,thick,and ungraceful.I can add nothing to what I have already said upon this subject;but I can and do repeat the absolute necessity of speaking distinctly and gracefully,or else of not speaking at all,and having recourse to signs.He tells me that you are pretty fat for one of your age:this you should attend to in a proper way;for if,while very young;you should grow fat,it would be troublesome,unwholesome,and ungraceful;you should therefore,when you have time,take very strong exercise,and in your diet avoid fattening things.All malt liquors fatten,or at least bloat;and I hope you do not deal much in them.I look upon wine and water to be,in every respect;much wholesomer.

Duval says there is a great deal of very good company at Madame Valentin's and at another lady's,I think one Madame Ponce's,at Leipsig.

Do you ever go to either of those houses,at leisure times?It would not,in my mind,be amiss if you did,and would give you a habit of ATTENTIONS;they are a tribute which all women expect;and which all men,who would be well received by them;must pay.And,whatever the mind may be,manners at least are certainly improved by the company of women of fashion.

I have formerly told you,that you should inform yourself of the several orders,whether military or religious,of the respective countries where you may be.The Teutonic Order is the great Order of Germany,of which Isend you inclosed a short account.It may serve to suggest questions to you for more particular inquiries as to the present state of it,of which you ought to be minutely informed.The knights,at present,make vows,of which they observe none,except it be that of not marrying;and their only object now is,to arrive,by seniority,at the Commanderies in their respective provinces;which are,many of them,very lucrative.The Order of Malta is,by a very few years,prior to the Teutonic,and owes its foundation to the same causes.These'knights were first called Knights Hospitaliers of St.John.of Jerusalem,then Knights of Rhodes;and in the year 1530,Knights of Malta,the Emperor Charles V.having granted them that island,upon condition of their defending his island of Sicily against the Turks,which they effectually did.L'Abbe de Vertot has written the history of Malta,but it is the least valuable of all his works;and moreover,too long for you to read.But there is a short history,of all the military orders whatsoever,which I would advise you to get,as there is also of all the religious orders;both which.are worth your having and consulting,whenever you meet with any of them in your way;as,you will very frequently in Catholic countries.For my own part,I find that I remember things much better,when I recur,to my books for them,upon some particular occasion,than by reading them 'tout de suite'.As,for example,if I were to read the history of all the military or religious orders,regularly one after another,the latter puts the former out of my head;but when I read the history of any one,upon account,of its having been the object of conversation or dispute,I remember it much better.It is the same in geography,where,looking for any particular place in the map,upon some particular account,fixes it in one's memory forever.I hope you have worn out your maps by frequent,use of that sort.Adieu.

A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE TEUTONIC ORDER

In the ages of ignorance,which is always the mother of superstition,it was thought not only just,but meritorious,to propagate religion by fire and sword,and to,take away,the,lives and properties of unbelievers.