of being warm'd or pleas'd; or so obfequiously civil as to flatter Sun, Moon, and Stars promiscuously; for neither of which Characters I reckon myself much indebted to you.

-in

The Truth is, you will read St. Auftin 'till you fancy you have not a fingle Excellency left in you. A moft comfortable Reflection furely! and muft adminifter high Satisfaction to the human Mind, to fee itfelf divefted of all its Powers, Faculties, and Endowments; for fear the bare Consciousness of them fhould elate it too much. But you carry Matters ftill farther; for we must ftrip to pure Spirit, and naked Soul, before we can make any tolerable Figure Scale of Perfection. your How the Mind will act when difembody'd, I can't fay; but in its present State, I find my five Senfes extremely neceffary to its Operations, and have no Notion of parting with any of my natural Powers, 'till I find it can exert its Faculties without them. I never met with any but Terefa that could 'fhoot away from the Body, and leave it uninform'd in fome melancholy Cell, while her better Part went and enjoy'd itself in Vifion. But fhe was a Saint. I wish you have not fome fort of Ambition that way. flatter you now, who knows but then I Catholic, and adore you ?

For if I

may

turn

Rejoice in your fafe Return from Scarborough, and the fhort Hiftory you afford me of yourfelf. A light Heart is no bad Thing to travel Hows out into good Offices towards you or not,

M 4

nothing

with; but a Purse, or a Portmanteau in thofe Circumstances, is a very melancholy Object. I have been contemplating mine with a philofophic Eye, ever fince I came home; and find nothing fo productive of moral Reflections as Poverty. Ever fince I have had no Money, I have been enlarging upon the Virtues of Frugality, and Self-denial; and have had prodigious Flights of Eloquence upon the Vanity of all worldly Poffeffions. If ever you design to make a Convert of me, take me now; for if you stay till I am reimburs'd, I am loft.

Your Obfervations upon human Friendships are very juft and fpeculative;. but, I fear, rather too refined for Practice. We cannot diveft ourfelves of our Affection whenever we would; nor difengage ourselves of these Ties, which are twisted in with our Natures, upon every Difappointment. However thofe Friends I meant, were chiefly those whom the Ties of Blood had united to me, and of whofe Affection I have not the Shadow of a Doubt. Thefe I may certainly depend upon, and rejoice in. But in regard to those Friendships, which are matter of Choice, or voluntary Inclination, I cannot think fo cheaply of them as you feem to do; nor yet fo highly as to place any extraordinary Degrees of Confi dence in them. Human Nature, in general, gives us very few Inftances of their principal Ingredients, Generofity, Difintereftedness, and Steadinefs; but very many of Narrowness of Spirit, Selfishness, and Levity. So that any one that knows thus much of it, must strangely over-rate its Merits, to depend much upon Favours, that 'one does not pay down the Price for. And in regard to the Affection itself, whether it ever

flows

nothing in Nature, I grant you, is fo capricious. But in the mean time, what fhall I do with this Tendency I feel within myself towards focial Affection? Shall I withdraw it from the public Stock, and fettle it all upon myself? That is but poor Doings. Or fhall I even take People's good Difpofitions as I find them, and indulge the mutual Satisfaction while it lafts? I know the Wind will change; but it is fo common a Cafe, that I am not difappointed.

That a great deal of my Happiness is in the Hands of my Friends, I have a Pleasure in acknowledging. I fee nothing abfurd in loving those who love me, without any Hopes of Advantage from them; and if their Affection contributes to my prefent Satisfactions, why should I difturb_myself with inquiring how long it will laft? I am, however, very fenfible that strange Misunderstandings, and unaccountable Coolneffes will frequently happen. At this time I feel very fenfibly the Denoúment of a Friendship, which had been many Years a forming. But I cannot help it; the Wind changed, my Friend put on a new Character, and I thought myself under no Obligation to conform to a Character I had never profefs'd any thing to. To this Moment I can't account for the Viciffitude, and fhe is too much my Superior to give me a Reason for her Actions: but fhall I conclude, from a fingle Inftance, that there is neither Truth nor Fidelity left in the World? 'Twould be unreasonable to diftruft the Commųnity, and draw out my Stock, for the Sake of one Disappointment. I will even venture it in another Bottom; and if I can't fucceed with Vernon, I will go round the Globe with Anfon.

M 5

Every

"

Every one, the least converfant in the World, muft have met with these Caprices, as well as myfelf; and confequently be extremely confident, or extremely credulous, to depend upon Peoples Affections, or to be disappointed if they fail them. But your Arguments, drawn from this acknowledg'd Inftability, would prove at the fame time, that we must take Delight in nothing; have no Satisfactions, reasonable or unreasonable, because they are not permanent. But, my dear Madam, because it will rain To-morrow, may we not enjoy the Sunshine To-day?Every thing we are converfant about here, was made to endure only for a certain Period. A clean Apron will last us but for a Day, and the warmest Friend may grow cold before NightI am but a Paffenger, and neither thefe Groves, or those Fields, or that Fellow-traveller, Í know, were defign'd for my ultimate Good. However, as we are both going the fame Road, let us make the beft of the Amusements we meet with by the Way. The Rofe unfolds its Buds, and my Fellow-traveller his Heart- But, you fay, my Rofe-Buds will fade before Night, and my Friend depart by To-morrow - Why then, let us even make the best of To-day.

After all, there is a Serioufnefs in Friendfhip, that ought not to be trifled with; and a Sacredness in its Communications and Confidences, that nothing can excufe the Breach of. 'Tis the higheft Relation we can ftand in to each other; and is of the Nature of those Ties which ought never to be diffolved. But the Subject is too fruitful to truft my Pen any farther, than just to affure you how fincerely,

I am, &c.

LET

LETTER CXX.

To the SA M E.

Don't know any one whofe Letters give me greater Pleasure, notwithstanding the diffe rent Sentiments we feem to be of, in moft of the important Matters that have fallen under our Confideration. But as we fet out in the Spirit of Liberty, and are, I truft, agreed upon the Act of Toleration in regard to Opinions, we have only this farther Virtue to aim at that of being mutually patient of Contradiction. If you are prepar'd, I proceed in my Diffentions, as ufual.

am,

To begin with your Defcription of Friendfhip, "That it must confift in an Agreement "of Humours, &c." This has been the Opinion of many great Writers, as well as yourfelf; and if you are as much at leifure as if you pleafe, we'll examine it. For my own Part, I think nothing more need be meant by it than an obliging Behaviour, and a kind of general Complaifance, or Deference to the Opinions of our Friends, which is neither fo obftinate as to be always in the Right, nor fo fervile as to have no Opinions of our own. As for the reft, a Likeness of Humours or Inclinations, is fo little_neceffary to form a perfect Friendship, that I can't fee the leaft Occafion for their Similarity; befides that it fuppofes a mighty narrow way of thinking. To be charm'd only with fweet Self, or its beautiful Refemblance in the Compofition of another, fuppofes indeed