words of Sir Richard Steele, "That we are governed by a set of drivellers, whose folly takes away all dignity from distress, and makes even calamity ridiculous."
LETTER XXIII.
TO HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF BEDFORD.
MY LORD,
YOU are so little accustomed to receive any marks of respect or esteem from the public, that if, in the following lines, a compliment or expression of applause should escape me, I fear you would consider it as a mockery of your established character and perhaps an insult to your understanding. You have nice feelings, my Lord, if we may judge from your resentments. Cautious, therefore, of giving offence, where you have so little deserved it, I shall leave the illustration of your virtues to other hands. Your friends have a privilege to play upon the easiness of your temper, or, possibly, they are better acquainted with your good qualities than I am.
