If my letter
displeases you, impute it, dear sir, to yourself. You have
treated me, not like a son, but like a friend. Can you be
surprised that I should communicate to a friend all my
thoughts and all my desires? Unless the friend approve them,
let the father never know them; or at least let him know at
the same time that however reasonable, however eligible, my
scheme may appear to me, I would rather forget it for ever
than cause him the slightest uneasiness.
"When I first returned to England, attentive to my future
interests, you were so good as to give me hopes of a seat in
Parliament. This seat, it was supposed, would be an expense
of fifteen hundred pounds. This design flattered my vanity,
as it might enable me to shine in so august an assembly. It
flattered a nobler passion: I promised myself that, by the
means of this seat, I might one day be the instrument of
some good to my country. But I soon perceived how little
mere virtuous inclination, unassisted by talents, could
contribute towards that great end, and a very short
examination discovered to me that those talents had not
fallen to my lot.
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