And now, fince this deep Mystery has been so learnedly developed, 'tis full Time for me to take my Leave of the Public, and subscribe myself, Ladies and Gentlemen, your much obliged, and moft obedient Servant, to command.

B. T. A. B. C.

POST SCRIPT.

There are not indeed, fo many Initials in my Title, as in the mysterious Signature of the ancient and most benevolent Order, of the Friendly Brothers; H. F. H. P. S. S. G. G. K. or H. H. P. S. R. K. C. K. &c. But with Deference to his Grand Benevolence, and to the Grand Mafter of Free Masons alfo, be it fpoken, I will be bold to affirm, that there is more Cordiality, and real Good-will, in my fingle Society, than in both of the other Orders, put together.

And upon this Hint, it has just now occurred to me, to institute a disjunct Affociation, more univerfal, and more permanent, than either of the former; which shall be stiled the Primitive Order of Self; whofe Numbers will be the Generality of Mankind, and whofe Tie can be dif folved by Death alone.

Valete et plaudite.

VOL. IV.

C

LETTE

I

LETTER CCCCLXIV.

Dear FANNY,

HAVE had a Prefent made me, by Cou

fin M, of two entertaining Volumes, in French, styled Contes Moraux, which I fhall carry to you, in a few Days, and think it would be fome Amusement to you to translate them. A Work of this Kind, will not bear a vulgar Translation, it must be done by a Person who is capable of writing English with Elegance and Propriety, for the Style, Language, and Turn of Expreffion, are the chief Beauties of a Compofition of this Kind, and I am very sure that the Tranflator of Ninon, must be able to do it Juftice.

But left fo formal a Title, as Moral Tales, might injure the Sale of your Book, among medern Readers, you must advertise them that the alarming Epithet of Moral, is by no Means, here intended in a ftrict ethic Senfe, but is to be understood, rather according to the French Expresfion, of petites Morales, or the leffer Morals, refpecting Manners, only.

Our Author does not, like Heraclitus, fall into a Paffion of Grief, at the Vices and Immoralities of Mankind, but like Democritus, into a Fit

of

of Laughter, only, at their Follies and Caprices. In the firft Tale *, for Inftance, he exposes the romantic Notion of pure, difinterefted Love, fhews the Paffion, as Ninon does, to be a mixed Affection, and humourously ridicules the Vanity and Prefumption of those who expect, or imagine themselves to be loved, merely for themselves, alone.

Some other Weakness, or Error, not Vice, is made the Subject of every Tale, throughout thefe Writings: I fhould therefore chufe rather to intitle them Foibles, than Morals, left the literal Interpretation of Contes Moraux, should not convey, or rather might lead one into a Mistake, with Regard to the Scope, and Spirit of this Work.

But the Reader is not here to expect Richardsonian, or

or

Narratives.

The French Fabulift has too much Life and Fancy, for fuch tedious Winter Evening Tales,

Vexing the dull Ear of a drowsy Man.”

The Stories of Marmontel, are rather Moments, than Memoirs, refembling ingenious Converfations, intermixed with curious Anecdotes, among a Set of polite and fenfible Company of both Sexes, in an Afternoon-paffed without Cards.

The Whole is formed upon a Plan intirely new, and conducted with moft admirable Contrivance, Wit, Spirit, and Gaiety. Come, spread your Paper, fharpen your Wit, nib your Pen,and away with it.

Adieu !

Henry.

I

LETTER CCCCLXV.

Dear HARRY,

HAVE received your Triglyph Riddle, and confefs I like it extremely. 'Tis the firft Effay of the Kind, I ever knew you attempt, in my Life. What I particularly like in it, is, that it is comical, without being arch. I wish I could fay fo much of fome Chapters, in the former Part of the Work.

I am impatient for Marmontel's Tales, but for the Amusement of reading them, only. no Tranflator, by Profeffion.

I am It was by mere Accident I happened to fall into an Effay of this Kind. It was to oblige our lively Friend of Kilfane, who has every. Thing of the French Woman about her, but the Language. She found me delighted with the

Memoirs of l'Enclos, and wanted to have the fame Pleasure communicated to herself.

The Succefs of that Work, notwithstanding a Folio of Prefs Errata to a Duodecimo, did, I own, encourage me to undertake some other Work of the fame Kind, but before I could get the French Books from England, I read Advertisements of them in the London Papers, notifying their being then under Tranflation, by an able Hand, for P. Vaillant, or T. Becket, and P. A. de Hondt, or fome other Traducer of the French Language, as I term it in my Preface to Ninon ‡.

Now I have feen fome of these able-hand Productions, which, at the beft, had always two Faults: Merely a Dictionary Knowledge of the French or Italian, they tranflated from, and a vulgar Ignorance of the English Lan guage.

A Gentleman told me that in fome of the blind Alleys, of the City of London, he has feen fuch Labels as this, ftuck up. - Here lives A. B. Scrivener, and Tranflator from the foreign Languages. Thefe Hackneys are paid fo much per Sheet for tranflating Poems, Plays, or Modeles des Converfations, as they are for copying out Bills or Actions, in Chancery. What horrid

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Stuff