MY DEAR FRIEND:Versatility as a courtier may be almost decisive to you hereafter;that is,it may conduce to,or retard your preferment in your own destination.The first reputation goes a great way;and if you fix a good one at Hanover,it will operate also to your advantage in England.
The trade of a courtier is as much a trade as that of a shoemaker;and he who applies himself the most,will work the best:the only difficulty is to distinguish (what I am sure you have sense enough to distinguish)between the right and proper qualifications and their kindred faults;for there is but a line between every perfection and its neighboring imperfection.As,for example,you must be extremely well-bred and polite,but without the troublesome forms and stiffness of ceremony.You must be respectful and assenting,but without being servile and abject.
You must be frank,but without indiscretion;and close,without being costive.You must keep up dignity of character,without the least pride of birth or rank.You must be gay within all the bounds of decency and respect;and grave without the affectation of wisdom,which does not become the age of twenty.You must be essentially secret,without being dark and mysterious.You must be firm,and even bold,but with great seeming modesty.
With these qualifications,which,by the way,are all in your own power,I will answer for your success,not only at Hanover,but at any court in Europe.And I am not sorry that you begin your apprenticeship at a little one;because you must be more circumspect,and more upon your guard there,than at a great one,where every little thing is not known nor reported.
When you write to me,or to anybody else,from thence,take care that your letters contain commendations of all that you see and hear there;for they will most of them be opened and read;but,as frequent couriers will come from Hanover to England,you may sometimes write to me without reserve;and put your letters into a very little box,which you may send safely by some of them.
I must not omit mentioning to you,that at the Duke of Newcastle's table,where you will frequently dine,there is a great deal of drinking;be upon your guard against it,both upon account of your health,which would not bear it,and of the consequences of your being flustered and heated with wine:it might engage you in scrapes and frolics,which the King (who is a very sober man himself)detests.On the other hand,you should not seem too grave and too wise to drink like the rest of the company;therefore use art:mix water with your wine;do not drink all that is in the glass;and if detected,and pressed to drink more do not cry out sobriety;but say that you have lately been out of order,that you are subject to inflammatory complaints,and that you must beg to be excused for the present.A young fellow ought to be wiser than he should seem to be;and an old fellow ought to seem wise whether he really'be so or not.
During your stay at Hanover I would have you make two or three excursions to parts of that Electorate:the Hartz,where the silver mines are;Gottingen,for the University;Stade,for what commerce there is.You should also go to Zell.In short,see everything that is to be seen there,and inform yourself well of all the details of that country.Go to Hamburg for three or four days,and know the constitution of that little Hanseatic Republic,and inform yourself well of the nature of the King of Denmark's pretensions to it.
If all things turn out right for you at Hanover,I would have you make it your head-quarters,till about a week or ten days before the King leaves it;and then go to Brunswick,which,though a little,is a very polite,pretty court.You may stay there a fortnight or three weeks,as you like it;and from thence go to Cassel,and stay there till you go to Berlin;where I would have you be by Christmas.At Hanover you will very easily get good letters of recommendation to Brunswick and to Cassel.You do not want any to Berlin;however,I will send you one for Voltaire.
'A propos'of Berlin,be very reserved and cautious while at Hanover,as to that King and that country;both which are detested,because feared by everybody there,from his Majesty down to the meanest peasant;but,however,they both extremely deserve your utmost attention and you will see the arts and wisdom of government better in that country,now,than in any other in Europe.You may stay three months at Berlin,if you like it,as I believe you will;and after that I hope we shall meet there again.
Of all the places in the world (I repeat it once more),establish a good reputation at Hanover,'et faites vous valoir la,autant qu'il est possible,par le brillant,les manieres,et les graces'.Indeed it is of the greatest importance to you,and will make any future application to the King in your behalf very easy.He is more taken by those little things,than any man,or even woman,that I ever knew in my life:and Ido not wonder at him.In short,exert to the utmost all your means and powers to please:and remember that he who pleases the most,will rise the soonest and the highest.Try but once the pleasure and advantage of pleasing,and I will answer that you will never more neglect the means.
I send you herewith two letters,the one to Monsieur Munchausen,the other to Monsieur Schweigeldt,an old friend of mine,and a very sensible knowing man.They will both I am sure,be extremely civil to you,and carry you into the best company ;and then it is your business to please that company.I never was more anxious about any period of your life,than I am about this,your Hanover expedition,it being of so much more consequence to you than any other.If I hear from thence,that you are liked and loved there,for your air,your manners,and address,as well as esteemed for your knowledge,I shall be the happiest man in the world.
Judge then what I must be,if it happens otherwise.Adieu.
