LETTER VIII.

TO THE SAME.

How infupportable! oh thou poffeffor of heavenly wisdom, would be this feparation, this immeasurable distance from my friend, were I not able thus to delineate my heart upon paper, and to fend thee daily a map of my mind!

I am every day better reconciled to the people among whom I refide, and begin to fancy, that in time I fhall find them more opulent, more charitable, and more hofpitable, than I at firft imagined. I begin to learn fomewhat of their manners and cuftoms, and to fee reafons for feveral deviations which they make from us, from whom all other nations derive their politenefs as well as their original.

In fpite of tafte, in fpite of prejudice, I now begin to think their women tolerable; I can now look on a languishing blue eye without difguft, and pardon a set of teeth, even though whiter than ivory. I now begin to fancy there is no univerfal ftandard for beauty. The truth is, the manners of the ladies in this city are so very open, and fo vaftly engaging, that I am inclined to pafs over the more glaring defects of their perfons, fince compenfated by the more folid, yet latent beauties of the mind; what though they want black teeth, or are deprived of the allurements of feet no bigger than their thumbs, yet ftill they have fouls, my friend; fuch fouls, fo free, fo preffing, fo hofpitable, and fo engaging-I have received more invitations in the ftreets of London from the sex in one night, than I have met with at Pekin in twelve revolutions of the moon.

Every evening, as I return home from my ufual folitary excurfions, I am met by feveral of those well-difpofed daughters of hofpitality, at different times, and in different ftreets, richly dreffed, and with minds not lefs noble than their appearance. You know that nature has indulged me with a perfon by no means agreeable; yet are they too generous to object to my homely appearance; they feel no repugnance at my broad face and flat nofe; they perceive me to be a ftranger, and that alone is a fufficient recommendation. They even feem to think it their duty to do the honours of the country by every act of complaifance in their power. One takes me under the arm, and in a manner forces me along; another catches me round the neck, and defires to partake in this office of hofpitality; while a third, kinder ftill, invites me to refresh my spirits with wine. Wine is in England referved only for the rich; yet here even wine is given away to the ftranger!

A few nights ago, one of these generous creatures, dreffed all in white, and flaunting like a meteor by my fide, forcibly attended me home to my own apartment. She feemed charmed with the elegance of the furniture, and the convenience of my fituation and well indeed the might, for I have hired an apartment for not lefs than two fhillings of their money every week. But her civility did not reft here; for at parting, being defirous to know the hour, and perceiving my watch out of order, fhe kindly took it to be repaired by a relation of her own, which you may imagine will fave fome expence; and the affures me that it will coft her nothing. I fhall have it back in a few days, when mended, and am preparing a proper fpeech, expreffive of my gratitude on the occafion: Celeftial excellence, I intend to fay, happy I am in having found out, after many painful adventures, a land of innocence,

and

and a people of humanity: I may rove into other climes, and converfe with nations yet unknown, but where shall I meet a foul of such purity as that which refides in thy breaft! Sure thou hast been nurtured by the bill of the Shin Shin, or fucked the breafts of the provident Gin Hiung. The melody of thy voice could rob the Chong Fou of her whelps, or inveigle the Bob that lives in the midst of the waters. Thy fervant fhall ever retain a fenfe of thy favours; and one day boast of thy virtue, fincerity, and truth, among the daughters of China. Adieu.

I HAVE been deceived! fhe whom I fancied a daughter of Paradife has proved to be one of the infamous difciples of Han! I have loft a trifle, I have gained the confolation of having discovered a deceiver. I once more, therefore, relax into my former indifference with regard to the English ladies; they once more begin to appear difagreeable in my eyes: thus is my whole time paffed in forming conclufions which the next minute's experience may probably deftroy; the prefent moment becomes a comment on the paft, and I improve rather in humility than wisdom.

Their laws and religion forbid the English to keep more than one woman; I therefore concluded that prostitutes were banished from fociety; I was deceived; every man here keeps as many wives as he can maintain; the laws are cemented with blood, praised and difregarded. The very Chinefe, whofe religion

religion allows him two wives, takes not half the liberties of the English in this particular. Their laws may be compared to the books of the Sybils; they are held in great veneration, but feldom read, or feldomer understood; even those who pretend to be their guardians difpute about the meaning of many of them, and confefs their ignorance of others. The law therefore which commands them to have but one wife, is ftrictly observed only by those for whom one is more than fufficient, or by fuch as have not money to buy two. As for the reft, they violate it publicly, and fome glory in its violation. They feem to think, like the Perfians, that they give evident marks of manhood by encreafing their feraglio. A mandarine therefore here generally keeps four wives, a gentleman three, and a ftage-player two. As for the magiftrates, the country juftices and fquires, they are employed first in debauching young virgins, and then punishing the tranfgreffion.

From fuch a picture you will be apt to conclude, that he who employs four ladies for his amusement, has four times as much conftitution to spare as he who is contented with one; that a Mandarine is much cleverer than a gentleman, and a gentleman than a player; and yet it is quite the reverfe; a Mandarine is frequently supported on spindle fhanks, appears emaciated by luxury, and is obliged to have recourse to variety, merely from the weakness, not the vigour of his conftitution, the number of his wives being the moft equivocal fymptom of his virility.

Befide the country fquire, there is alfo another fet of men, whofe whole employment confifts in corrupting beauty; thefe the filly part of the fair fex call amiable; the more fenfible part of them, however, give them the title of abominable. You will probably demand what are the talents of a man thus careffed by the majority of the oppofite sex;

what

what talents, or what beauty is he poffeffed of fuperior to the reft of his fellows. To anfwer you directly, he has neither talents nor beauty, but then he is poffeffed of impudence and affiduity. With affiduity and impudence, men of all ages, and all figures, may commence admirers. I have even been told of fome who made profeffions of expiring for love, when all the world could perceive they were going to die of old age: and what is more furprifing ftill, fuch battered beaus are generally most infamously successful.

A fellow of this kind employs three hours every morning in dreffing his head, by which is underftood only his hair.

He is a profeffed admirer, not of any particular lady, but of the whole fex.

He is to fuppofe every lady has caught cold every night, which gives him an opportunity of calling to fee how fhe does the next morning.

He is upon all occafions to fhew himself in very great pain for the ladies; if a lady drops even a pin, he is to fly in order to prefent it.

He never speaks to a lady without advancing his mouth to her ear, by which he frequently addreffes more fenfes than one.

Upon proper occafions he looks exceffively tender. This is performed by laying his hand upon his heart, fhutting his eyes, and fhewing his teeth.

He is exceffively fond of dancing a minuet with the ladies, by which is only meant walking round the floor eight or ten times with his hat on, affecting great gravity, and fometimes looking tenderly on his partner.

He never affronts any man himself, and never refents an affront from another.

He has an infinite variety of fmall talk upon all occafions, and laughs when he has nothing more to fay.

Such