Produced by David Widger
LETTERS TO HIS SON 1759-65
By the EARL OF CHESTERFIELD
on the Fine Art of becoming a
and a
LONDON, New-year's Day, 1759
MY DEAR FRIEND: 'Molti e felici', and I have done upon that subject, onetruth being fair, upon the most lying day in the whole year.
I have now before me your last letter of the 21st December, which I amglad to find is a bill of health: but, however, do not presume too muchupon it, but obey and honor your physician, "that thy days may be long inthe land."
Since my last, I have heard nothing more concerning the ribband; but Itake it for granted it will be disposed of soon. By the way, uponreflection, I am not sure that anybody but a knight can, according toform, be employed to make a knight. I remember that Sir Clement Cotterelwas sent to Holland, to dub the late Prince of Orange, only because hewas a knight himself; and I know that the proxies of knights, who cannotattend their own installations, must always be knights. This did notoccur to me before, and perhaps will not to the person who was torecommend you: I am sure I will not stir it; and I only mention it now,that you may be in all events prepared for the disappointment, if itshould happen.
G——-is exceedingly flattered with your account, that three thousand ofhis countrymen; all as little as himself, should be thought a sufficientguard upon three-and-twenty thousand of all the nations in Europe; notthat he thinks himself, by any means, a little man, for when he woulddescribe a tall handsome man, he raises himself up at least half an inchto represent him.
The private news from Hamburg is, that his Majesty's Resident there iswoundily in love with Madame———-; if this be true, God send him,rather than her, a good DELIVERY! She must be 'etrennee' at this season,and therefore I think you should be so too: so draw upon me as soon asyou please, for one hundred pounds.
Here is nothing new, except the unanimity with which the parliament givesaway a dozen of millions sterling; and the unanimity of the public is asgreat in approving of it, which has stifled the usual political andpolemical argumentations.
Cardinal Bernis's disgrace is as sudden, and hitherto as littleunderstood, as his elevation was. I have seen his poems, printed atParis, not by a friend, I dare say; and to judge by them, I humblyconceive his Eminency is a p——-y. I will say nothing of that excellentheadpiece that made him and unmade him in the same month, except O KING,LIVE FOREVER.
Good-night to you, whoever you pass it with.
LONDON, February 2, 1759
MY DEAR FRIEND: I am now (what I have very seldom been) two letters inyour debt: the reason was, that my head, like many other heads, hasfrequently taken a wrong turn; in which case, writing is painful to me,and therefore cannot be very pleasant to my readers.
I wish you would (while you have so good an opportunity as you have atHamburg) make yourself perfectly master of that dull but very usefulknowledge, the course of exchange, and the causes of its almost perpetualvariations; the value and relation of different coins, the specie, thebanco, usances, agio, and a thousand other particulars. You may with ease