ment of cool breezes, that make us infenfible of the heat of the fummer. The village is only inhabited by the richest amongst the Chriftians, who meet every night at a fountain, forty paces from my house, to fing and dance. The beauty and dress of the women, exactly refemble the ideas of the antient nymphs, as they are given us by the representations of the poets and painters. But what persuades me more fully of my decease, is the fituation of my own mind, the profound ignorance I am in, of what paffes among the living (which only comes to me by chance) and the great calmnefs with which I receive it. Yet I have still a hankering after my friends and acquaintances left in the world, according to the authority of that admirable author,

That fpirits departed are wonderous kind
To friends and relations left behind,

Which no body can deny.

Of which folid truth I am a dead inftance. I think Virgil is of the fame opinion, that in

human

human fouls there will still be fome remains of

human paffions:

Cura non ipfe in morte relinquunt.

And 'tis very necessary to make a perfect Elyfium, that there should be a river Lethe, which I am not so happy as to find. To fay truth, I am sometimes very weary of the finging and dancing, and funshine, and wifh for the smoke and impertinences in which you toil; though I endeavour to perfuade myself that I live in more agreeable variety than you do; and that Monday, fetting of partridges; Tuesday, reading English; Wednesday, ftudying in the Turkish language, (in which, by the way, I am already very learned ;) Thursday, claffical authors; Friday, spent in writing; Saturday, at my needle, and Sunday, admitting of vifits and hearing of mufic, is a better way of difpofing of the week, than Monday at the drawing-room; Tuesday, Lady Mohun's; Wednesday, at the opera; Thursday, the play;. Friday, Mrs. Chetwynd's, &c. a perpetual round

B 2

round of hearing the same scandal, and feeing the fame follies acted over and over, which here affect me no more than they do other dead people. I can now hear of displeasing things with pity and without indignation. The reflection on the great gulph between you and me, cools all news that come hither. I can neither be fenfibly touched with joy or grief, when I confider that, poffibly, the cause of either is removed, before the letter comes to my hands. But (as I faid before) this indolence does not extend to my few friendships; I am still warmly fenfible of yours and Mr. Congreve's, and defire to live in your remembrance, though dead to all the world befide.

LETTER XXXVII.

To the Lady

Belgrade Village, June 17, O.S.

I HEARTILY beg your lady

are

ship's pardon; but I really could not forbear laughing heartily at your letter, and the commiffions you are pleased to honour me with. You defire me to buy you a Greek flave, who is to be mistress of a thousand good qualities. The Greeks are fubjects, and not flaves. Thofe who are to be bought in that manner, either fuch as are taken in war, or ftolen by the Tartars, from Ruffia, Circaffia or Georgia, and are fuch miferable aukward poor wretches, you would not think any of them worthy to be your houfe-maids. 'Tis true, that many thoufands were taken in the Morea; but they have been most of them redeemed by the charitable contributions of the Chriftians, or ranfomed by their own relations at Venice. The fine flaves, that wait upon the great ladies, or ferve

the pleasures of the great men, are all bought at the age of eight or nine years old, and educated with great care to accomplish them in finging, dancing, embroidery, &c. they are commonly Circaffians, and their patron never fells them, except it is as a punishment for fome very great fault. If ever they grow weary of them, they either present them to a friend, or give them their freedom. Those that are exposed to fale at the markets, are always either guilty of fome crime, or so entirely worthless, that they are of no use at all. I am afraid you will doubt the truth of this account, which, I own, is very different from our common notions in England; but it is no lefs truth for all

that. Your whole letter is full of mistakes

from one end to the other. I fee you have taken your ideas of Turkey from that worthy author Dumont, who has writ with equal ignorance and confidence. 'Tis a particular pleasure to me here, to read the voyages to the Levant, which are generally fo far removed from truth,

and