The Project Gutenberg EBook of Letters to His Son, 1753-1754
by The Earl of Chesterfield

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Title: Letters to His Son, 1753-1754

Author: The Earl of Chesterfield

Release Date: December 1, 2004 [EBook #3357]
[Last updated on February 14, 2007]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LETTERS TO HIS SON, 1753-1754 ***

Produced by David Widger

LETTERS TO HIS SON
1753-54

By the EARL OF CHESTERFIELD

on the Fine Art of becoming a

MAN OF THE WORLD

and a

GENTLEMAN

LETTER CLXXXV

LONDON, New Years' Day, 1753

MY DEAR FRIEND: It is now above a fortnight since I have received a
letter from you. I hope, however, that you are well, but engrossed by the
business of Lord Albemarle's 'bureau' in the mornings, and by business of
a genteeler nature in the evenings; for I willingly give up my own
satisfaction to your improvement, either in business or manners.

Here have been lately imported from Paris two gentlemen, who, I find,
were much acquainted with you there Comte Zinzendorf, and Monsieur
Clairant the Academician. The former is a very pretty man, well-bred, and
with a great deal of useful knowledge; for those two things are very
consistent. I examined him about you, thinking him a competent judge. He
told me, 'que vous parliez l'Allemand comme un Allemand; que vous saviez
le droit public de l'empire parfaitement bien; que vous aviez le gout
sur, et des connoissances fort etendues'. I told him that I knew all this
very well; but that I wanted to know whether you had l'air, les manieres,
les attentions, en fin le brillant d'un honnete homme': his answer was,
'Mais oui en verite, c'est fort bien'. This, you see, is but cold in
comparison of what I do wish, and of what you ought to wish. Your friend
Clairant interposed, and said, 'Mais je vous assure qu'il est fort poli';
to which I answered, 'Je le crois bien, vis-a-vis des Lapons vos amis; je
vous recuse pour juge, jusqu'a ce que vous ayez ete delaponne, au moins
dix ans, parmi les honnetes gens'. These testimonies in your favo