vessels. Such a field
would be ample in furnishing new speculations. But to come to my
ship-news:--

"The good balloon Daedalus, Captain Wing-ate, will fly in a few days for
China; he will stop at the top of the Monument to take in passengers.

"Arrived on Brand-sands, the Vulture, Captain Nabob; the Tortoise snow,
from Lapland; the Pet-en-l'air, from Versailles; the Dreadnought, from
Mount Etna, Sir W. Hamilton, commander; the Tympany, Montgolfier; and
the Mine-A-in-a-bandbox, from the Cape of Good Hope. Foundered in a
hurricane, the Bird of Paradise, from Mount Ararat. The Bubble, Sheldon,
took fire, and was burnt to her gallery; and the Phoenix is to be cut
down to a second-rate."

In those days Old Sarum will again be a town and have houses in it.
There will be fights in the air with wind-guns and bows and arrows; and
there will be prodigious increase of land for tillage, especially in
France, by breaking up all public roads as useless. But enough of my
fooleries; for which I am sorry you must pay double postage.

_HIS LETTERS ON LITERATURE--DISADVANTAGE OF MODERN WRITERS--COMPARISON
OF LADY MARY WORTLEY WITH MADAME DE SEVIGNE._

TO JOHN PINKERTON, ESQ.

_June_ 22, 1785.

Since I received your book,[1] Sir, I scarce ceased from reading till I
had finished it; so admirable I found it, and so full of good sense,
brightly delivered. Nay, I am pleased with myself, too, for having
formed the same opinions with you on several points, in which we do not
agree with the generality of men. On some topics, I confess frankly, I
do not concur with you: considering how many you have touched, it would
be wonderful if we agreed on all, or I should not be sincere if I said I
did. There are others on which I have formed no opinion; for I should
give myself an impertinent air, with no truth, if I pretended to have
any knowledge of many subjects, of which, young as you are, you seem to
have made yourself master. Indeed, I have gone deeply into nothing, and
therefore shall not discuss those heads on which we differ most; as
probably I should not defend my own opinions well. There is but one part
of your work to which I will venture any objection, though you have
considered it much, and I little, very little indeed, with regard to
your proposal, which to me is but two days old: I mean your plan for the
improvement of our language, which I allow has some defects, and which
wants correction in several particulars. The specific a