LETTERCXXVI.TO MR. J—— W——E.
Charles Street, Jan. 5, 1780.
DEAR W——E,
WERE I as rich in worldly commodity as in hearty will—I would thank you most princely for your very welcome and agreeable letter;—but, were it so, I should not proportion my gratitude to your wants;—for, blessed be the God of thy hope!—thou wantest nothing—more than—what’s in thy possession—or in thy power to possess:—I would neither give theeMoney—norTerritory—Women—norHorses—norCamels—nor the height of Asiatic pride—Elephants;—I would give theeBooks—
“Books, fair Virtue’s advocates and friends;”
“Books, fair Virtue’s advocates and friends;”
“Books, fair Virtue’s advocates and friends;”
“Books, fair Virtue’s advocates and friends;”
but you have books plenty—more than you have time to digest:—after much writing—which is fatiguing enough—and under the lassitude occasioned by fatigue, and notsin—the cool recess—the lovedbook—the sweet pleasures of imagination poetically worked up into delightful enthusiasm—richer than all your fruits—your spices—your dancing-girls—and the whole detail of Eastern, effeminate foppery—flimsy splendour—and glittering magnificence;—so thou thinkest—and I rejoice with thee and for thee. Shall I say what my heart suggests? No, you will feel it praise—and call it flattery. Shall I say, Your worthy parent read your filial letter to me—and embalmed the grateful tribute of a virtuous son with his precious tears?—Will you believe?—he was for some minutes speechless through joy!—Imagine you see us—our heads close together—comparing notes;—imagine you hear the honest plaudits of love and friendship sounding in thy ears;—’tis glory to be proud on such occasions—’tis the pride of merit:—and as you allow me to counsel you with freedom—I do strongly advise you to love praise—to court praise—to win it by every honest, laudable exertion—and be oft, very often jealous of it:—examine the source it proceeds from—and encourage andcherish it accordingly.—Fear not—mankind are not too lavish of it—censure is dealt out by wholesale—while praise is very sparingly distributed:—nine times in ten mankind may err in their blame—but in its praises the world is seldom, if ever, mistaken.—Mark—I praise theesincerely, for thewholeand everypartof thyconductin regard to my two sable brethren[14]. I was an ass—or else I might have judged from the national antipathy and prejudice through custom even of the Gentoos towards their woolly-headed brethren, and the well-known dignity of my Lords the Whites, of the impropriety of my request.—I therefore not only acquit thee honourably—but condemn myself for giving thee the trouble to explain a right conduct.—I fear you will hardly make out thisscrawl, although it is written with a pen of thy father’s—a present mended from a parcel of old quills by his foreman, or brother C——d.—Your honest brother Joseph came post with your letters—good-will shining in his face—joy in his innocent eyes:—he promises to be as much a W—— as his Indian brother:—you flatter my vanity in supposing my friendship of any utility to Joe;—he has in his good father Moses and the Prophets—which you have had, and availed yourself well of the blessing—and I trust Joe will do the same—besides having precept and example from a worthy and loving brother.—Poor M——, your favourite—I scarce knew her;—she was as pure within, as amiable without:—she enriches the circle of the blest—and you have a friend in heaven.
but you have books plenty—more than you have time to digest:—after much writing—which is fatiguing enough—and under the lassitude occasioned by fatigue, and notsin—the cool recess—the lovedbook—the sweet pleasures of imagination poetically worked up into delightful enthusiasm—richer than all your fruits—your spices—your dancing-girls—and the whole detail of Eastern, effeminate foppery—flimsy splendour—and glittering magnificence;—so thou thinkest—and I rejoice with thee and for thee. Shall I say what my heart suggests? No, you will feel it praise—and call it flattery. Shall I say, Your worthy parent read your filial letter to me—and embalmed the grateful tribute of a virtuous son with his precious tears?—Will you believe?—he was for some minutes speechless through joy!—Imagine you see us—our heads close together—comparing notes;—imagine you hear the honest plaudits of love and friendship sounding in thy ears;—’tis glory to be proud on such occasions—’tis the pride of merit:—and as you allow me to counsel you with freedom—I do strongly advise you to love praise—to court praise—to win it by every honest, laudable exertion—and be oft, very often jealous of it:—examine the source it proceeds from—and encourage andcherish it accordingly.—Fear not—mankind are not too lavish of it—censure is dealt out by wholesale—while praise is very sparingly distributed:—nine times in ten mankind may err in their blame—but in its praises the world is seldom, if ever, mistaken.—Mark—I praise theesincerely, for thewholeand everypartof thyconductin regard to my two sable brethren[14]. I was an ass—or else I might have judged from the national antipathy and prejudice through custom even of the Gentoos towards their woolly-headed brethren, and the well-known dignity of my Lords the Whites, of the impropriety of my request.—I therefore not only acquit thee honourably—but condemn myself for giving thee the trouble to explain a right conduct.—I fear you will hardly make out thisscrawl, although it is written with a pen of thy father’s—a present mended from a parcel of old quills by his foreman, or brother C——d.—Your honest brother Joseph came post with your letters—good-will shining in his face—joy in his innocent eyes:—he promises to be as much a W—— as his Indian brother:—you flatter my vanity in supposing my friendship of any utility to Joe;—he has in his good father Moses and the Prophets—which you have had, and availed yourself well of the blessing—and I trust Joe will do the same—besides having precept and example from a worthy and loving brother.—Poor M——, your favourite—I scarce knew her;—she was as pure within, as amiable without:—she enriches the circle of the blest—and you have a friend in heaven.
I hope you sometimes—aye often—consult with Dr. Young’s Night Thoughts—carry him in your pockets—court him—quote him—delight in him—make him your own—and laugh at the wit, and wisdom, and fashion of the world:—that book, well studied, will make you know the value ofdeath—and open your eyes to the snares of life; its precepts will exalt the festive hour, brighten and bless the gloom of solitude, comfort thy heart, and smooth thy pillow in sickness, and gild with lustre thy prosperity—disarm death itself of its terrors, and sweetly soften the hour of dissolution.—I recommend to all young people, who do me the honour to ask my opinion—I recommend, if their stomachs are strong enough for such intellectual food, Dr. Young’s Night Thoughts—the Paradise Lost—and the Seasons;—which, with Nelson’s Feasts and Fasts, a Bible and Prayer-book, used for twenty years to make my travelling library—and I do think it a very rich one. I never trouble my very distant friends with articles of news—the public prints do it so much better—and then they may answer for their untruths;—for among the multitude of our public prints, it is hard to say which lyes most.
Your enclosed trust was directly delivered to the fair hands it was addressed to:—I have the authority to say, it gave great pleasure to both the ladies and your friend Mr.R——, who wears the same cordial friendly heart in his breast as when you first knew him.—Your friend Mr. John R—— is still at New York with the guards—where he is very deservedly honoured, loved, and esteemed:—he corresponds with his old acquaintance—and does me the honour to remember me amongst his friends:—our toast in P. Gardens is often the three Johns—R——, W——e, and O——, an honest—therefore a noble triumvirate.
I feel old age insensibly stealing on me—and, alas! am obliged to borrow the aid of spectacles, for any kind of small print:—Time keeps pacing on, and we delude ourselves with the hope of reaching first this stage, and then the next; till that ravenous rogue Death puts a final end to our folly.
All this is true—and yet I please and flatter myself with the hope of living to see you in your native country—with every comfort possessed—crowned with the honest man’s best ambition, a fair character.—May your worthy, your respectable parents, relations, and friends, enjoy that pleasure!and that you may realize every fond hope of all who love you, is the wish of
Your sincere friend,
IGNATIUS SANCHO.
Postscript.
This letter is of a decent length—I expect a return with interest.—Mrs. Sancho joins me in good wishes, love, and compliments.
[14]Mr. W——e having wrote word, that if any European in India associated with those of that complexion, it would be considered as a degradation, and would be an obstacle to his future preferment; he laments, in very strong terms the cruelty of such an opinion; hopes not to forfeit Mr. Sancho’s good opinion from being compelled to comply with the custom of the country, with repeated assurances of serving them, if in his power, though he must remain unknown to them.
[14]Mr. W——e having wrote word, that if any European in India associated with those of that complexion, it would be considered as a degradation, and would be an obstacle to his future preferment; he laments, in very strong terms the cruelty of such an opinion; hopes not to forfeit Mr. Sancho’s good opinion from being compelled to comply with the custom of the country, with repeated assurances of serving them, if in his power, though he must remain unknown to them.