"Believe me, my dear Madam, this is not the language of romance; but the genuine exuberant effufions of an enraptured foul. The impreffion of your charms was no lefs inftantaneous than irresistible: when first I saw you, so forcibly was I ftruck with admiration and love of your divine perfections, that my foul was filled with fenfations fo wild and extravagant, yet delightful and pure! -But I will not indulge in declaring what are my real fentiments, left I fhould incur a fufpicion of flattery. Your mind, fuperior to fulfome panegyric, unfufceptible of the incenfe of affected adulation, would, with juft indignation, spurn at those impertinent compliments, which are commonly offered with a view to impofe upon the vanity and credulity of the weaker part of your fex: I will not attempt it; but confine myfelf to the dictates of fincerity and truth, nor fhall a compliment escape my pen, that is not the fentiment of a devoted heart. "As beauty has no pofitive criterion, and fancy alone directs the judgment and influences the choice, we find different people fee it in various lights, forms, and colours, I may therefore, without a fufpicion of flattery declare, that in my eye you are the moft agreeable object, and most perfect work of created nature: nor does your mind feem to partake lefs of the divinity than your person. "I view thee over with a lover's eye; No fault haft thou, or I no fault can spy." "The reason I did not before declare myself, was the profound and refpectful distance I thought it became me to obferve, from a confcious fenfe of my own comparative unworthiness to approach, much lefs to hope for favour from, the quinteffence of all female perfection.-Forgive me, my dear Eliza, and compaffionate a heart too deeply impreffed with your divine image, ever to be erased by time, nor can any power, but the cold hand of death, ever obliterate from my mind the fond imagination and fweet remembrance of Eliza's charms! Nor can even death itself divide the union that fubfifts between kindred fouls. Yesterday, my dear Eliza, the charms of your converfation detained me too late to meet the penitents, as I had promised to do; but "With thee converfing, I forget All times, all feafons, and their change.” "I hope however, the difappointment of my company did not deprive them of a bleffing. "This being my birth-day, reflexions on the revolution of years and the fhortnefs of life, naturally intrude on my mind. I am now eighty-one years of age, and I thank God I enjoy the fame vigor of conftitution I poffeffed at twenty-one! None None of the infirmities that ufually accompany years, either corporal or mental; and I think it not impoffible that I may fulfil my hundred years, the refidue of which fhall be devoted to love and Eliza. I. W." I fent a perfon to the author of the above pamphlet, to defire him to give me a fight of the original of the preceding letters; but he returned for answer, that he had fent them back to the perfons to whom they were written, I am, Dear Friend, Yours. LETTER T 3 LETTER XXXI. "Paffion, 'tis true, may hurry us along ; VOLTAIRE by Franklin. DEAR FRIEND, My new wife's attachment to books was a very fortunate circumstance for us both, not only as it was a perpetual fource of rational amufement, but alfo as it tended to promote my trade: her extreme love for books made her delight to be in the shop, so that she foon became perfectly acquainted with every part of it, and (as my ftock increased) with other rooms where I kept books, and could readily get any article that was asked for. Accordingly, when I was out on business, my fhop was well attended. This conftant attention, and good ufage, procured me many customers; and I foon perceived that I could fell double and treble the quantity of books if I had a larger ftock. But how how to enlarge it, I knew not, except by flow degrees, as my profits fhould enable me; for as I was almost a stranger in London, I had but few acquaintances, and these few -were not of the opulent fort. I also faw that the town abounded with cheats, fwindlers, &c. who obtained money and other and other property, under falfe pretences, of which the credulous were defrauded, which often prevented me from endeavouring to borrow, left I should be fufpected of having the fame bad designs. I was feveral times fo hard put to it, for cafh to purchase parcels of books which were offered to me, that I more than once pawned, my watch, and a fuit of cloaths, and twice I pawned fome books for money to purchase others; but I foon was tired of pawnbrokers, and at that time they were not fo restricted, as now, in respect to intereft, and thinking myself imposed on, by being charged more than was reasonable, I never redeemed the last parcel at all; for, indeed, they were books that I |