for it, for several reasons: among others, that I might
account to her for my constant employment at my pen; in order to take off
her jealousy, that she was the subject of thy correspondence and mine:
and that I might justify my secrecy and uncommunicativeness by her own.

I proceeded therefore--That I loved familiar-letter-writing, as I had
more than once told her, above all the species of writing: it was writing
from the heart, (without the fetters prescribed by method or study,) as
the very word cor-respondence implied. Not the heart only; the soul was
in it. Nothing of body, when friend writes to friend; the mind impelling
sovereignly the vassal-fingers. It was, in short, friendship recorded;
friendship given under hand and seal; demonstrating that the parties were
under no apprehension of changing from time or accident, when they so
liberally gave testimonies, which would always be ready, on failure or
infidelity, to be turned against them.--For my own part, it was the
principal diversion I had in her absence; but for this innocent
amusement, the distance she so frequently kept me at would have been
intolerable.

Sally knew my drift; and said, She had had the honour to see two or three
of my letters, and of Mr. Belford's; and she thought them the most
entertaining that she had ever read.

My friend Belford, I said, had a happy talent in the letter-writing way;
and upon all subjects.

I expected my beloved would have been inquisitive after our subject: but
(lying perdue, as I saw) not a word said she. So I touched upon this
article myself.

Our topics were various and diffuse: sometimes upon literary articles
[she was very attentive upon this]; sometimes upon the public
entertainments; sometimes amusing each other with the fruits of the
different correspondencies we held with persons abroad, with whom we
had contracted friendships; sometimes upon the foibles and perfections
of our particular friends; sometimes upon our own present and future
hopes; sometimes aiming at humour and raillery upon each other.--It might
indeed appear to savour of vanity, to suppose my letters would entertain
a lady of her delicacy and judgment: but yet I could not but say, that
perhaps she would be far from thinking so hardly of me as sometimes she
had seemed to do, if she were to see the letters which generally passed
between Mr. Belford and me [I hope, Jack, thou hast more manners, than to
give me the lie, though but in thy hea