onfine it to valuable books, they are almost as rare as
valuable men. I must be content with what I can find. As I approach a
second childhood, I endeavour to enter into the pleasures of it. Your
youngest son is, perhaps, at this very moment riding on a poker with
great delight, not at all regretting that it is not a gold one, and much
less wishing it an Arabian horse, which he would not know how to manage.
I am reading an idle tale, not expecting wit or truth in it, and am very
glad it is not metaphysics to puzzle my judgment, or history to mislead
my opinion. He fortifies his health by exercise; I calm my cares by
oblivion. The methods may appear low to busy people; but, if he improves
his strength, and I forget my infirmities, we attain very desirable ends."

To THE COUNTESS OF BUTE

"Venice, November 8, 1758.

"... Some few months before Lord W. Hamilton married, there appeared a
foolish song, said to be wrote by a poetical great lady, who I really
think was the character of Lady Arabella, in _The Female Quixote_
(without the beauty): you may imagine such a conduct, at court, made her
superlatively ridiculous. Lady Delawarr, a woman of great merit, with
whom I lived in much intimacy, showed this fine performance to me: we
were very merry in supposing what answer Lord William would make to
these passionate addresses; she begged me to say something for a poor
man, who had nothing to say for himself. I wrote, _extempore_, on the
back of the song, some stanzas that went perfectly well to the tune. She
promised they should never appear as mine, and faithfully kept her word.
By what accident they have fallen into the hands of that thing Dodsley,
I know not, but he has printed them as addressed, by me, to a very
contemptible puppy, and my own words as his answer. I do not believe
either Job or Socrates ever had such a provocation. You will tell me, it
cannot hurt me with any acquaintance I ever had: it is true; but it is
an excellent piece of scandal for the same sort of people that
propagate, with success, that your nurse left her estate, husband, and
family, to go with me to England; and, then I turned her to starve,
after defrauding her of God knows what. I thank God witches are out of
fashion, or I should expect to have it deposed, by several credible
witnesses, that I had been seen flying through the air on a broomstick,
&c. I am really sick with vexation."

TO SIR JAMES STEUART

"Venice, November 14, 1758.