Inclyta progenies Fatima; nunc maximus ista Tum passim sternuntur humi, et ter voce vocantes Hæc adeo, hæc turpes tangentia præmia sensus Participem, humano commistum corpore Numen, Ex ÆDE CHRISTI, 1789. G. CANNING. 367 ADVERSARIA LITERARIA. No. XXXIII. Lord Byron's simile from " English Bards and Scotch So the struck eagle stretch'd upon the plain And wing'd the shaft that quiver'd in his heart, Idem Latine redditum. SAUCIUS haud aliter campo prostratus aperto, Ipse suam pennam, quam gesserat ipse sub armo, Et R. TREVELYAN, A.M. On Epistolary Formulas and Dedications. "Litera scripta manet." THE same principle, which has established laws for our conduct and behaviour, seems to have prescribed forms for our correspondence. Fallacy, as the schoolmen have decreed, lies in universals, for which reason we invariably find that regulations are not immutable; because, although instituted with a view to general circumstances, there are peculiar ones in which their futility is apparent. Aristotle, while discoursing on the Predicaments, lays it down as a fixed principle, that doubts may be reasonably entertained of particulars:' one topic appears replete with anomalies, and as such, fit for investigation and reproof,— I mean the formulas of epistolary intercourse, viz. superscriptions, commencements, and conclusions; the three distinguishing parts of a letter, which, although varying with times and manners, remain essentially unaltered: the fourth part, or letter itself, being more immediately subject to contingencies, must be dismissed, as a subject to which no invariable rules can be assigned. The three sable Graces, Law, Physic, and Divinity, have severally established forms for their votaries. Conveyances and wills retain their original shape, because it is the legal one, and their validity would be questionable were any other employed: a prescription always did, and always will, consist of certain talismanic characters, backed by a signature: and a sermon must be composed of text and comment, or its nature is materially changed. This is perfectly in character, because the circumstances which prescribe those forms are invariable: a deed of gift is the same to all intents and purposes, as when wax and parchment first became symbols of security; a prescription of Latham or Marcet does not differ from one of Mead or Freind; and a sermon, whether intitled a lecture or exhortation, is employed to the same effect in a modern mahogany pulpit, as in the open conventicles of the Druids, or the more secret ones of the Magi. But Epistles have undergone alterations, and that they are yet capable of improvement may easily be shown. No one can object to the retaining of distinct forms for friend and foe, for the distant and the familiar; but it is the application of these forms which must appear reprehensible. I have often felt, in perusing the letters of the dead, a most insuperable disgust at the terms in which they are couched, when compared with their real contents. One man shall address another with the accustomed "Dear Sir," and subscribe himself "Your humble servant," or some other modification of profession, while he invites "his former friend and future foe" to an exchange of bullets, drawing the flimsy mask of Honor over his blushes. Let the galled jade wince,-fools may rail against criticism and "A man may rail in generals for a week, Ask for particulars, he cannot speak."-Oxford Spy. satire, but the most honorable contest is that of the pen; words break no bones, and mutual weariness at last induces a cessation of arms. But to return. Superscriptions are now settled by a proper directory,' so that no latitude can be allowed to fantastical scribblers in that department. They were formerly ridiculous in the extreme. It is difficult to peruse with gravity such expressions as "these present with care and speed"-" to my most honored good friend, these," &c., however common in a former century: surely the writers must have meant them for a sample of the affectionate contents; in romance they would have an admirable effect, in parody still more. We all remember "To the most amiable Lindamira," and "For her Ladyship, Of all her sex most excellent: These to her gentle hands present."s Commencements have materially changed: every body knows how wives are at present addressed," Sweet heart" and "Dear heart" are the obsolete appellatives, and whether the existing expressions rival them in tenderness I cannot pretend to say. Lord Strafford, on being committed to the Tower, writes to his wife nearly in these terms,-" Sweete harte, I am in sore trouble,”—where the words come home to our feelings, and excite immediate sympathy: but when the libertine Rochester styles his injured consort" Dear heart," the formula carries with it every appearance of deceit, although the letter professes penitence. Nevertheless there are extant some precious deviations from the legitimate form. Queen Elizabeth, wishing to compel Martin Heyton, Bishop of Ely, to exchange some lands belonging to his see, writes the following tender billet : "Proud Prelate, "I understand you are backward in complying with your agreement: but I would have you to know, that I, who made you what you are, can unmake you; and, if you do not 'The Secretary's Assistant, 12mo. 2 Pope's Works, edit. Warton. Vol. vi. Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus; this portion is omitted in many editions. 3 Hudibras, Epistle to his Lady, 1, 248. forthwith fulfil your engagement, by -I will immediately unfrock you. "Yours, as you demean yourself, Elizabeth." This application was successful. On the contrary, canting and wheedling letters always begin with an expression of endearment. Cromwell writes to Colonel Hammond, Governor of Carisbrook Castle, insinuating how the king ought to be disposed of: "Dear Robin" (says he-the Colonel's name was Thomas) 66 our fleshly reasonings ensnare us.". When the usual " Sir,' an expression suited to every station, first appeared, is uncertain: it occurs, however, in a letter from Algernon Sydney to Dr. Mapletoft, written about the year 1662. " Conclusions present a rich field for such as insist upon the baseness of human nature, and to them may the harvest be left. I have gleaned a few specimens which may demonstrate what I have advanced. Reynolds, the regicide, in a letter to Secretary Thurloe, ends with these words: "Humbly kissing his Highness's hands, and beseeching the Lord long to continue him a nursing father to the good people of the three nations under his Highness's happy Government, and a terror to all his enemies, 1 take leave and remaine," &c. Such was the "court holywater" of a republican government." "Your loving friend" was then the common style between man and man. Sydney, in his aforesaid letter to Mapletoft, styles himself "Your very humble and affectionate servant;" and Sarah, duchess of Marlborough, wished to be considered as the "most faithful humble servant and friend" of such as she honored with her correspondence, or the converse. There exists, as Voltaire informs us, a letter from Comte de Bussi, in these terms: "I promise my most powerful protection to the Sieur Gardieu, who has manifested a warm zeal towards me:" it should rather be considered as a certificate of friendship, and, taken in that light, is of a suspicious nature. The result of perusing a few specimens of epistolary writing will scarcely differ from the answer of a king of Sparta to the orators of Clazomene: "Of your exordium I recollect nothing; your middle displeased me; and as to your conclusion, I will have nothing to do with it." It is true, an expression addressed to ourselves may please, but it must even then be considered as a token, and not as metallic currency. 'Ex registro Eliensi. 2 Noble's Lives of the Regicides, Vol. 11. |