8

L E T T E R II.

Britifh ancestors were recorded in those of theirbards. The savages of America hâve the famécuftom at this day: and long historical ballads oftheir huntings and their wars are sung at ail theirfestivals. There is no need of fuying how thispalhon grows ,■ among civilizèd nations, in propor-tion to the means of gratifying it ; but let us ob-serve that the famé principle of nature directs usas strongly, and more generally as well as moreearly, to indulge our own curiosity, instead ofpreparing to gratify that of others. The childhearkens with delight to the taies os his nurse: helearns to read, and he devours with eagernessfabulons legends and novels: in riper years heapplies himfeìf to history,' or to that wbich hetakes for liiílory, to authorized romance: and,even in âge, the désiré of knowing what has hap-pened to other m en, yields to the désiré alone ofrelating what has happened to ourfelves. Thushistory, true or salie, fpeaks to our passionsalways. What pity is it, my lord, that even thebest sltould speak to our understandings so seldom ?That it does so, we hâve none to blâme but our-felves. Nature has doue her part. She has open-ed this study to every man who can read andthink : and what site has made the most agreeable,reason can make the most useful, application of ourminds. But if we consult our reason, we sltall befar front folluwing the examples of our fellow-creatures, in this as in most other cases , who areso proud of being rational. We sliall neither readto sooth our indolence, ndr to gratify our vanity :