I come now to another and very material point;I mean women;and I will not address myself to you upon this subject,either in a religious,a moral,or a parental style.I will even lay aside my age,remember yours,and speak to you as one man of pleasure,if he had parts too,would speak to another.I will by no means pay for whores,and their never-failing consequences,surgeons;nor will I,upon any account,keep singers,dancers,actresses,and 'id genus omne';and,independently of the expense,I must tell you,that such connections would give me,and all sensible people,the utmost contempt for your parts and address;a young fellow must have as little sense as address,to venture,or more properly to sacrifice,his health and ruin his fortune,with such sort of creatures;in such a place as Paris especially,where gallantry is both the profession and the practice of every woman of fashion.To speak plainly,I will not forgive your understanding c--------s and p-------s;nor will your constitution forgive them you.These distempers,as well as their cures,fall nine times in ten upon the lungs.This argument,I am sure,ought to have weight with you:for I protest to you,that if you meet with any such accident,I would not give one year's purchase for your life.Lastly,there is another sort of expense that I will not allow,only because it is a silly one;I mean the fooling away your money in baubles at toy shops.Have one handsome snuff-box (if you take snuff),and one handsome sword;but then no more pretty and very useless things.
By what goes before,you will easily perceive that I mean to allow you whatever is necessary,not only for the figure,but for the pleasures of a gentleman,and not to supply the profusion of a rake.This,you must confess,does not savor of either the severity or parsimony of old age.
I consider this agreement between us,as a subsidiary treaty on my part,for services to be performed on yours.I promise you,that I will be as punctual in the payment of the subsidies,as England has been during the last war;but then I give you notice at the same time,that I require a much more scrupulous execution of the treaty on your part,than we met with on that of our allies;or else that payment will be stopped.I hope all that I have now said was absolutely unnecessary,and that sentiments more worthy and more noble than pecuniary ones,would of themselves have pointed out to you the conduct I recommend;but,at all events,Iresolved to be once for all explicit with you,that,in the worst that can happen,you may not plead ignorance,and complain that I had not sufficiently explained to you my intentions.
Having mentioned the word rake,I must say a word or two more on that subject,because young people too frequently,and always fatally,are apt to mistake that character for that of a man of pleasure;whereas,there are not in the world two characters more different.A rake is a composition of all the lowest,most ignoble,degrading,and shameful vices;they all conspire to disgrace his character,and to ruin his fortune;while wine and the p-------s contend which shall soonest and most effectually destroy his constitution.A dissolute,flagitious footman,or porter,makes full as good a rake as a man of the first quality.By the bye,let me tell you,that in the wildest part of my youth,I never was a rake,but,on the contrary,always detested and despised that character.
A man of pleasure,though not always so scrupulous as he should be,and as one day he will wish he had been,refines at least his pleasures by taste,accompanies them with decency,and enjoys them with dignity.
Few men can be men of pleasure,every man may be a rake.Remember that I shall know everything you say or do at Paris,as exactly as if,by the force of magic,I could follow you everywhere,like a sylph or a gnome,invisible myself.Seneca says,very prettily,that one should ask nothing of God,but what one should be willing that men should know;nor of men,but what one should be willing that God should know.I advise you to say and do nothing at Paris,but what you would be willing that I should know.I hope,nay,I believe,that will be the case.Sense,I dare say,you do not want;instruction,I am sure,you have never wanted:experience you are daily gaining:all which together must inevitably (I should think)make you both 'respectable et aimable',the perfection of a human character.In that case nothing shall be wanting on my part,and you shall solidly experience all the extent and tenderness of my affection for you;but dread the reverse of both!Adieu!
P.S.When you get to Paris,after you have been to wait on Lord Albemarle,go to see Mr.Yorke,whom I have particular reasons for desiring that you should be well with,as I shall hereafter explain to you.Let him know that my orders,and your own inclinations,conspired to make you desire his friendship and protection.