In the end, my brother's
conduct became so bad that he suddenly disappeared, and we learned
some time after that he was in Germany, but he never wrote to us,
and from that day we heard no news of him: thus I became an only son.
If this poor lad was neglected, it was quite different with his
brother, for the children of a king could not be treated with more
attention and tenderness than were bestowed on my infancy, being the
darling of the family; and what is rather uncommon, though treated
as a beloved, never a spoiled child; was never permitted, while
under paternal inspection, to play in the street with other
children; never had any occasion to contradict or indulge those
fantastical humors which are usually attributed to nature, but are
in reality the effects of an injudicious education. I had the faults
common to my age, was talkative, a glutton, and sometimes a liar; made
no scruple of stealing sweetmeats, fruits, or, indeed, any kind of
eatables; but never took delight in mischievous waste, in accusing
others, or tormenting harmless animals. I recollect, indeed, that
one day, while Madam Clot, a neighbor of ours, was gone to church, I
made water in her kettle; the remembrance even now makes me smile, for
Madam Clot (though, if you please, a good sort of creature) was one of
the most tedious grumbling old women I ever knew. Thus have I given
a brief, but faithful, history of my childish transgressions.
How could I become cruel or vicious, when I had before my eyes
only examples of mildness, and was surrounded by some of the best
people in the world? My father, my aunt, my nurse, my relations, our
friends, our neighbors, all I had any connections with, did not obey
me, it is true, but loved me tenderly, and I returned their affection.
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