1749+B

The Monthly Review Ralph Griffiths May 1749- September 1749



May 17, 1749 DearestMother,

I can never thank you and Father enough for the opportunity of being able to spend a year in London, and I wanted to inform you that I have arrived and am thriving in this new environment. I am quickly learning about London culture and in exactly the way I’d hoped to, by completely emerging myself into it and discovering new ways to learn about it. As I have been exploring, I have come across many interesting people who have been eager to help me adjust and find enjoyment while being here. In fact, one of them suggested that I take a look at reading a journal, //The Monthly Report//, as a simple way to get current updates and news on what may be interesting around here—you know how ever since I have been a child I have loved reading and the arts. I have only read one issue of it, yet I have already learned so much about what the people here are interested in reading about. I wish you and the rest of the family could be here, experiencing London with me, as just from reading this I have read about things that would interest all of you. The writing that I thought would most interest you and sister, as it had intrigued me the most, was interesting and discussed topics such as morality, ethics, and the nature of happiness. There was a review done on the work of a late researcher of the subject Moral Philosophy by the name of Mr. Grove who wrote //A System of Moral Philosophy// that was quite interesting; he outlined ways in which one can remain in good moral standing and was passionate about maintaining a simplicity on a life surrounding personal happiness. I immediately thought of brother as I read the article on a prejudiced lyric poet by the name of Pindar, as he devoted his writing to creating a dissertation on the Olympic Games in order to convey the type of people the players are and the true nature of the games from the beginning of the Greek tradition. I think he would really love reading the “Pindarick Odes” and some of the other written work done containing similar content such as Pierre du Raur’s “Agonisticon” and the volumes of //Memoirs de l’Academie Royale//—let him know I’m thinking of him! And then for Father, he would thoroughly enjoy the interesting letter called “On the Sport of Patriotism,” and from what I can tell from the review, the epic poem, //Gideon//. Both of them were written anonymously, and contained similar issues of historical, political, and critical approaches to the issues mankind faces. I’ll keep you updated on more that I learn in the future, but must go for now!

With all my love, M---

June 9, 1749 Dear Mother,

It was so nice to hear back from you, and thank you for being a messenger from me to the rest of the family; I wish I had time to write to everyone about my endless adventures, however they are keeping me rather busy. In my exploration of London, I feel as though I am only growing fonder of the people and land, while I have an overwhelming appreciation for their ideals and valued cultural aspects. Of these ideals, I am most interested and somewhat surrounded by the love of arts the English people have. I have never experienced this natural affection that people here tend to have for the arts, and I had not only observed it in person, but I continued to read about it in that literary journal I had previously mentioned to you. I learned from this month’s issue of //The Monthly Review//, that the English ideal of art being the basis of the most desirable and honorable reputation stems from Italian roots; in Italy, the name for the revival of liberal arts and sciences is “virtue,” which is where the word “virtuous” stems from. The valued arts seem universally accepted, and in order to spread art to a larger population, a man by the name of Mr. Gwin wrote “An Essay on Design” in which he proposed a public Academy to be built for the sole purpose of teaching the Arts. Let me tell you, from the artistic elements that I have observed over the past two months, I am shocked that this public Academy is even worth being up for debate, as I expected this institution to already have been available. Clearly, I am a strong supporter of this proposal, and I hope you are equally in agreement. On another note, if brother is not too busy with his sports at home and wants more of an update on the topic of the Olympic games, he should consider reading Mr. Weft’s book, as it offers a different approach to learning about the games. He discusses the aspect of religion in the games, as seen in the ceremonies that celebrate the Olympics, and he may enjoy learning about this. It is lovely to see the range of material this journal offers, as brother’s interests are different from mine, yet I see in each issue things that we are both interested in. He can learn of the athletic games, and I will stay put and enjoy learning about the concepts of art, religion, and moral components that I thoroughly enjoy. Now, if you do not mind, I was hoping to look up these sermons about morality and the worth of faith that a review raved about and I had wanted to look over them in greater detail, so I must go for now. Continue to keep me updated, as will I when I learn and discover more about the great influences of religion and faith on the English people.

Lovingly, M-

July 23, 1749 Dearest Mother,

I was pleased to receive your letter, as I always am, and truly appreciated you informing me on what all of you have been up to; I am saddened to miss out on these exciting times, but I will be back soon enough to hear directly from my brother and sister. I am glad to hear that everyone is happy and healthy; I do wish someone would come visit at some point while I am here, as I would love to show you around England. I am still growing accustomed to living here and am discovering a lot more about myself in this experience. As you know, I have always enjoyed art, but being here seems to allow me to open up to several forms of art. I am fairly good at informing you about the reading I enjoy in my free time, and I continue to read every day. However, the reading has opened my eyes to larger opportunities. The reviews I overlook allude to art forms such as poetry, music, and plays, and then subjects like religion and philosophy. Growing up, our family was not very religious, so coming to London and it being a place with many observant Christians, I have been exposed to a lot of talk and thought about religion. The other day, my neighbor recommended me to read a disquisition that she read that she was referred to. In good faith, I took her word and read the essay in its entirety, and really got a chance to experience Christianity in more detail. The essay went over responses to bible verses and passages, and, overall, intended to advance religion to the best that it can be. The person who took the time to write this all out was motivated by the concern for the interests of Christianity, because he believed that the religion could reach out to more people had their been amendments to the translation of the bible. Mother, have you ever had any strong feelings of religion? And, why is it not discussed much in our household at home? I came to be so curious about this topic, possibly because it seems so engraved into the everyday lives of people in London. I’m looking forward to hearing from you again soon, and please enjoy the nice weather that you have been having.

Farewell, M-

August 3, 1749 Dear Mother,

I have just received the package you have sent me for my birthday, thank you very much!! This is my first birthday away from the family so it is a little strange that we cannot celebrate it traditionally together. Thank Father, brother, and sister for me, as well. I cannot believe that as a birthday present, sister will be visiting for a short while next month. We will have a fantastic time, and I am sure that she will enjoy being here as much as I have over the past three and a half months. I must tell you of the scandals of our time here in London, as they are intriguing to hear about and not one person can help but talk about them. A patient has died from disease under the care of several prestigious doctors, and one of the patient’s doctors has revealed to the public accusing another doctor of malpractice. Dr. Richard Ruffel wrote a letter addressing this issue and, in the most gentlemanly-like manner, states his belief about a Dr. Addington; Dr. Addington was never able to consult with the diseased patient in time to figure out treatment, due to a questionable excuse, according to Dr. Ruffel. I hope that word gets out in the future about the absolute truth in this situation, because of the scandalous behavior these doctors have, if they are not stating the truth. If the coffee shops are not being filled with chatter about the feuding doctors, one can hear discussion of the articles featured in the Magazin de Londres, a very popular read for the people here. What is found in the magazine are the discussion and writing on popular subjects the people of London tend to be most interested in at the time. Even I have read several of the materials that the magazine ends up discussing in the issues, and I have not even been here for long! I am really feeling as though I get what it means to live here, and I can’t wait to show sister around my temporary home in the next month!

All my love, M-

September 29, 1749 Dearest Mother,

I could not have been happier with my visit from sister this month! I miss all of you terribly, but it was so pleasant to have at least one of my loved ones be with me for any time at all. I was able to show her around some of my favorite places in London, such as the Louvre, and I introduced her to several of the people who I have become fond of since my time being here. I knew sister would want to go to the theatre while here in London, so, on top of all of the traveling and exploring we accomplished, we planned on seeing two of the theatre performances. On Friday the 22nd, we saw “The Unhappy Favorite,” due to a recommendation from a local in the area. It was done well, but apparently the theatre is not how it usually has been in the past. The amount of people going to the plays, and the amount of people starring in the plays has decreased at this time period for some reason. Hopefully, the theatre production and casts will increase in quality quickly, so that the quantity of plays available can increase. The fact that the first show was not as great as we expected did not stop us from our plan of seeing the other show we were interested in. We saw the play “the Beggar’s Opera” on the 26th, and it was a great show that was extremely entertaining. Sister and I, along with the rest of the audience, left very satisfied and amused—no wonder we have heard such rave reviews about the show. I had sister leave here without empty hands, as I encouraged her to take some of the readings that I have enjoyed the most home with her, so that she and the rest of the family can enjoy them as much as I have. Be sure to have her show you them when you see her, so that you can decide what you want to read. I have included readings that I enjoyed in the past letters, so if you were interested in particular ones that I mentioned and described to you, you have the opportunity to read it for yourself. Do not worry; most of the material sent home with sister only cost about 3 or 6s each, so it was not like I have been overspending on the literature and reviews. I cannot wait to be able to have the opportunity to share even more of my experiences with you soon, and thank you for continuing to be able to respond and communicate with me while on this unique journey I am on. I am sure you will hear a lot from sister about the trip, and I look forward to hearing what you have to say about what you will discuss with her.

Love always, M-

Resources: __ The London Stage, 1660-1800: a Calendar of Plays, Entertainments & Afterpieces, Together With Casts, Box-receipts And Contemporary Comment. __ [1st ed.] Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1960196811965.

Griffiths, Ralph, ‘The Monthly Review’, British Periodicals (ProQuest MXL), ProQuest Information and Learning Company, Hurst, Robinson, and Co. [http://search.proquest.com/britishperiodicals/publication/publications_3079?accountid=14696, May 1749-Sept. 1749]

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