As they are
afraid of making free with one another, they should bring each
his butt, or whet-stone, along with him, for the entertainment of
the company -- My uncle says, he never desires to meet with more
than one wit at a time -- One wit, like a knuckle of ham in soup,
gives a zest and flavour to the dish; but more than one serves
only to spoil the pottage -- And now I'm afraid I have given you an
unconscionable mess, without any flavour at all; for which, I
suppose, you will bestow your benedictions upon
Your friend,
and servant
J. MELFORD
LONDON, June 5
To Dr LEWIS.
DEAR LEWIS
Your fable of the monkey and the pig, is what the Italians call
ben trovata: but I shall not repeat it to my apothecary, who is a
proud Scotchman, very thin skinned, and, for aught I know, may
have his degree in his pocket -- A right Scotchman has always two
strings to his bow, and is in utrumque paratus -- Certain it is, I
have not 'scaped a scouring; but, I believe, by means of that
scouring, I have 'scaped something worse, perhaps a tedious fit
of the gout or rheumatism; for my appetite began to flag, and I
had certain croakings in the bowels, which boded me no good -- Nay,
I am not yet quite free of these remembrances, which warn me to
be gone from this centre of infection --
What temptation can a man of my turn and temperament have, to
live in a place where every corner teems with fresh objects of
detestation and disgust? What kind of taste and organs must those
people have, who really prefer the adulterate enjoyments of the
town to the genuine pleasures of a country retreat? Most people,
I know, are originally seduced by vanity, ambition, and childish
curiosity; which cannot be gratified, but in the busy haunts of
men: but, in the course of this gratification, their very organs
of sense are perverted, and they become habitually lost to every
relish of what is genuine and excellent in its own nature.
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