than England, the seat of the Graces; however, you had as good not say so while you are there.  But the place which you are going to, in a great degree, is; for I have known as many well-bred, pretty men come from Turin, as from any part of Europe.  The late King Victor Amedee took great pains to form such of his subjects as were of any consideration, both to business and manners; the present king, I am told, follows his example:  this, however, is certain, that in all courts and congresses, where there are various foreign ministers, those of the King of Sardinia are generally the ablest, the politest, and ‘les plus delies’.  You will therefore, at Turin, have very good models to form yourself upon:  and remember, that with regard to the best models, as well as to the antique Greek statues in the print, ‘non mai a bastanza’.  Observe every word, look, and motion of those who are allowed to be the most accomplished persons there.  Observe their natural and careless, but genteel air; their unembarrassed good-breeding; their unassuming, but yet unprostituted dignity.  Mind their decent mirth, their discreet frankness, and that ‘entregent’ which, as much above the frivolous as below the important and the secret, is the proper medium for conversation in mixed companies.  I will observe, by the bye, that the talent of that light ‘entregent’ is often of great use to a foreign minister; not only as it helps him to domesticate himself in many families, but also as it enables him to put by and parry some subjects of conversation, which might possibly lay him under difficulties both what to say and how to look.

Of all the men that ever I knew in my life (and I knew him extremely well), the late Duke of Marlborough possessed the graces in the highest degree, not to say engrossed them; and indeed he got the most by them; for I will venture (contrary to the custom of profound historians, who always assign deep causes for great events), to ascribe the better half of the Duke of Marlborough’s greatness and riches to those graces.  He was eminently illiterate; wrote bad English and spelled it still worse.  He had no share of what is commonly called parts:  that is, he had no brightness, nothing shining in his genius.  He had most undoubtedly, an excellent good plain understanding with sound judgment.  But these alone, would probably have raised him but something higher than they found him; which was page to King James the Second’s queen.  There the Graces protected and promoted him; for while he was an ensign of the Guards, the Duchess of Cleveland, then favorite mistress to King Charles the Second, struck by those very Graces, gave him five thousand pounds, with which he immediately bought an annuity for his life of five hundred pounds a year, of my grandfather Halifax; which was the foundation of his subsequent fortune.  His figure was beautiful; but his manner was irresistible, by either man or woman.  It was by this engaging, graceful manner,