a man, who is reckoned a fine speaker, as a phenomenon, a supernatural being, and endowed with some peculiar gift of heaven; they stare at him, if he walks in the Park, and cry, that is he.  You will, I am sure, view him in a juster light, and ‘nulla formidine’.  You will consider him only as a man of good sense, who adorns common thoughts with the graces of elocution, and the elegance of style.  The miracle will then cease; and you will be convinced, that with the same application, and attention to the same objects, you may most certainly equal, and perhaps surpass, this prodigy.  Sir W----Y-------, with not a quarter of your parts, and not a thousandth part of your knowledge, has, by a glibness of tongue simply, raised him successively to the best employments of the kingdom; he has been Lord of the Admiralty, Lord of the Treasury, Secretary at War, and is now Vice-Treasurer of Ireland; and all this with a most sullied, not to say blasted character.  Represent the thing to yourself, as it really is, easily attainable, and you will find it so.  Have but ambition enough passionately to desire the object, and spirit enough to use the means, and I will be answerable for your success.  When I was younger than you are, I resolved within myself that I would in all events be a speaker in parliament, and a good one too, if I could.  I consequently never lost sight of that object, and never neglected any of the means that I thought led to it.  I succeeded to a certain degree; and, I assure you, with great ease, and without superior talents.  Young people are very apt to overrate both men and things, from not being enough acquainted with them.  In proportion as you come to know them better, you will value them less.  You will find that reason, which always ought to direct mankind, seldom does; but that passions and weaknesses commonly usurp its seat, and rule in its stead.  You will find that the ablest have their weak sides too, and are only comparatively able, with regard to the still weaker herd:  having fewer weaknesses themselves, they are able to avail themselves of the innumerable ones of the generality of mankind:  being more masters of themselves, they become more easily masters of others.  They address themselves to their weaknesses, their senses, their passions; never to their reason; and consequently seldom fail of success.  But then analyze those great, those governing, and, as the vulgar imagine, those perfect characters, and you will find the great Brutus a thief in Macedonia, the great Cardinal Richelieu a jealous poetaster, and the great Duke of Marlborough a miser.  Till you come to know mankind by your own experience, I know no thing, nor no man, that can in the meantime bring you so well acquainted with them as le Duc de la Rochefoucault:  his little book of “Maxims,” which I would advise you to look into, for some moments at least, every day of your life, is, I fear, too like, and too exact a picture of human nature.