Letters of the Right Honourable Lady M--y W--y M--e Part 14

LET. L. _Paris_.--General remarks on the palace of Versailles-- Trianon--Marli--St Cloud--paintings at the house of the Duke d'Antin--the Thuilleries--the Louvre--behaviour of Mr Law at Paris--Paris compared with London.

LET. LI. _From Dover_.--Ludicrous distresses in the pa.s.sage to Dover--reflections on travelling--brief comparison between England and the rest of the world in general.

LET. LII. _Dover_.--Reflections on the fates of John Hughes and Sarah Drew--epitaph on them.

LET. LIII. --Character of Mrs D ---- and humorous representation of her intended marriage with a greasy curate-- anecdotes of another couple--remarks on the abuse of the word _nature_; applied to the case of a husband who insisted on his wife suckling her own child-- observations on the forbidding countenance of a worthy gentleman.

LET. LIV. _From Vienna_.--Remarks on some ill.u.s.trious personages at the court of Vienna--character of the poet Rousseau --alchymy much studied at Vienna--prince Eugene's library.

LET. LV. --Victory of prince Eugene over the Turks, and the surrender of Belgrade--the news how received at Constantinople--contrast between European and Asiatic manners--estimate of the pleasures of the seraglio-- observations on Mr Addison being appointed secretary of state--Mr Addison, Mr Pope, and Mr Congreve, in what respects three happy poets--reflections on the Iliad, and Mr Pope's translation of it.

LET. LVI. _From Florence_.--Remarks on the road between Bologna and Florence--visit to the monastery of La Trappe, with reflections on the monastic life--occasion of the inst.i.tution of the order of La Trappe--the burning mountains near Fierenzuola--general description of Florence--the grand gallery--the statues of Antinous and Venus de Medicis--the first sketches of Raphael's cartoons--envious behaviour of modern painters, in defacing the productions of the ancients--digressions to some reports raised by Mr P. concerning the writer.

LET. LVII. --Remarks on Paris--reflections on staring and grinning--character of the French people--criticism on statues in the gardens of Versailles--the gardens compared with the royal gardens of England.

LET. LVIII. --Observations on the koran, and the conduct of the Greek priests with regard to it--women not excluded from Mahomet's paradise--who among the women excluded-- the exhortations of Mahomet to the women, compared with the monastic inst.i.tution of popery--the sciences cultivated among the Turks by the effendis--sentiments of an intelligent one respecting abstinence from wine-- strange mixture of different countries in the suburbs of Constantinople--different species of men a.s.serted-- mongrels in the human species--why the English women so fond of hoop-petticoats.

Inquiry into the truth of Monsieur Rochefoucault's maxim, "That marriage is sometimes convenient, but never delightful."

Verses written in the Chiask at Pera, overlooking Constantinople, December 26th, 1718. By Lady Mary Wortley Montague.

Verses to Lady Mary Wortley Montague. By Mr Pope.

F I N I S.