Hume
Concise and Genuine
Account
BI4dS
C74
. ^^
A
CO N C I S E andGEKUINE
A Ct C O U
OFT
. I S P U T
E
B E T W E E X
RUME and Mr. ROUSSEAU:
WITH T H E
LETTERS
That paffed between them during their
Controversy.
as ALSO,
The LETTERS of the Hon. Mr. Walpole,
and Mr. D'Alembert, relative td this extra-
ordinary Affair.
Tranflated from the French.
m LONDON:
"Printed for T. Becket and P. A. De Hondt,
near Surry-ftreet, in the Strand.
MDCCLXVI.
L6
£<
K
T~
• ••
112
ADVERTISEMENT
Of the French Editors.
THE name and writings of Mr. Hume
have been long fince well known
-Qjghout Europe. At the fame time, his
rfonal acquaintance have remarked, in
the candour and fimplicity of his manners,
that impartiality and ingenuoufnefs of dif-
pofition which diftinguifties his character,
and is fufficiently indicated in his writings.
He hath exerted thofe great talents he re-
ceived from nature, and the acquifitions he
made by fludy, in the fearch of truth, and
promoting the good of mankind : never
wafting his time, or facrificing his repofe,
in literary or perfonal difputes. He hath
feen his writings frequently cenfured with
bitternefs, by fanaticifm, ignorance, and the
fpirit of party, without ever giving an an-
fwer to his adverfaries.
Even thofe who have attacked his works
with the greateft violence, have always re-
fpecled his perfonal character. His love of
peace is fo well known, that the criticifms
written againft his piece3, have been often
A 2 brought
jv ADVERTISEMENT.
brought him by their refpective authors, for
him to revile and correct them. At one time,
in particular, a performance of this kind was
ihewn to him ; in which he had been treat-
ed in a very rude and even injurious manner;
on remarking which to the author, the latter
ft ruck out the exceptionable paffages; bluih'
ing, and wondering at the force of that polemic 'i
fpirit which had carried him imperceptibly i
away beyond the bounds of truth and decency
It was with great reluctance that a iaar v
pofTefTed of fuch pacific difpofitions, cou
be brought to confent to the publication ox
the following piece. Fie was very fenfibie
that the quarrels among men of letters are
a fcandal to philofophy ; nor was any perfon
in the world lefs formed for giving occafion
to a fcandal, fo confolatory to blockheads.
But the circumftances were fuch as to draw
him into it, in fpite of his inclinations.
All the world knows that Mr. RoufFeau,
profcribed in almofr. every country where he
refided, determined at length to take re-
fuoe in England ; and that Mr. Hume, af-
t '. :ied by his iituation, and his misfortunes,
undertcck to bring him over, and to pro-
vide for him a peaceful, fafe, and conve-
nient aiylum. But very few perfons are
privy to the zeal, activity, and even deli-
cacy, with which Mr. Hume conferred this
act of benevolence j what an affectionate
2 attach-
ADVERTISEMENT.
attachment he had contracted for this new
friend, which humanity had given him ;
with what addrefs he endeavoured to anti-
cipate his defires, without offending his
pride ; in fhort, with what addreis he llrove
to juftify, in the eyes of others, the fingu-
larities of Mr. Rouffeau, and to defend his
character againft thofe who were not dif-
pofedto think fo favourably of him as he
{ did himfelf.
\ 3ven at the time when Mr. Hume was
, npioyed in doing Mr. Rouffeau the moft
effential fervice, he received from him the
moft infolent and abufive letter. The more
fuch a flroke was unexpected, the more
it was cruel and affecting. Mr. Hume wrote
an account of this extraordinary adventure
to his friends at Paris j and expreffed him-
felf in his letters with all that indignation
which fo ftrange a proceeding muft excite.
He thought himfelf under no obligation to
keep terms with a man, who, after having
received from him the moft certain and con-
ftant marks of friendfliip, could reproach
him, without any reafon, as falfe, treache-
rous, and as the moft wicked of mankind.
In the mean time, the difpute between
thefe two celebrated perfonages did not fail
to make a noife. The complaints of Mr.
Hume foon came to the knowlege of the
public 5 which at nrft hardly believed it pof-
fible
vi ADVERTISEMENT.
fible that Mr. RoufTeau could be guilty of
that exceffive ingratitude laid to his charge.
Even Mr. Hume's friends were fearful, left,
in the ^rft effufions of fenfibility, he was
not carried too far, and had not miftaken
for wilful crimes of the heart, the vagaries \
of the imagination, or the deceptions of the
underfknding. He judged it necefTary,
therefore, to explain the affair, by writing
a precife narrative of all that pafTed between
him and Mr. RoufTeau, from their frft
connection to their rupture. This narrative
he fent to his friends ; fome of whom ad-
vifed him to print it -, alledging, that as Mr.
RoufTeau's accufations were become public,
the proofs of his juftification ought to be \o
too. Mr. Hume did not give into thefe ar-
guments, choofing rather to run the rifk of
being unjuflly cenfured, than to refolve on
making himfelf a public party m an affair,
fo contrary to his difpofition and character.
A new incident, however, at length over-
came his reluctance. Mr. RoufTeau had ad-
dreffcd a letter to a bookfeller at Paris ; in
which he directly accufes Mr. Hume of
having entered into a league with his ene-
mies, to betray and defame him ; and in
which he boldly defies Mr. Hume to print
the papers he had in his hands. This letter
was communicated to feveral perfons in Pa-
ris, was tranflated into Enelifh, and the
tranfla-
ADVERTISEMENT, vii
tranflation printed in the public papers in
London. An accufation and defiance fo
very public could not be fuffered to pafs
without reply ; while any long filence on
the part of Mr. Hume might have been in-
terpreted little in his favour.
Befides, the news of this difpute had
fpread itfelf over Europe, and the opinions
entertained of it were various. It had
louMeis been much happier, if the whole
affair ljad been buried in oblivion, and re-
mained a profound fecret : but as it was im-
pofTible to prevent the public interefting it-
felf in the controverfy, it became neceflary
at lealt. that the truth of the matter mould
be known. Mr. Hume's friends unitedly
reprefented to him all thefe reafons ; the
force of which he was at length convinced
of; and feeing the neceffity, confented,
though with reluctance, to the printing of
his memorial.
The narrative, and notes, are tranflated
from the EngliiTi *. The letters of Mr.
RoufTeau, which ferve as authentic proofs of
the facts, are exact copies of the originals -f-.
This
* And are now re-tranflated, for the mofl part, from
the French ; the French editors having taken fome li-
berties, not without Mr. Hume's confent, with the
Englifh original. Englijh tranjlator.
f In the prefent edition Mr. Hume's letters are
printed verbatim ; and to Mr. Roufleau's the tranflator
hath
viii ADVERTISEMENT.
This pamphlet contains many ftrange in-
ftances of fingularity, that will appear ex-
traordinary enough to thofe who will give
thernfelves the trouble to perufe it. Thofe
who do not chufe to take that trouble, how-
ever, may poffibly do better; as its contents
are of little importance, except to thofe who
are immediately interefted.
On the whole, Mr. Hume, inoTeringt0
the public the genuine pieces of his Waj
has authorifed us to declare, that he vv-'i'A ne-
ver take up the pen again on the fubjedl.
Mr. Roufleau indeed may return to the
charge; he may produce fuppofitions, mif-
confiruclions, inferences, and new declama-
tions ; he may create and realize new phan-
toms, and envelop them in the clouds of his
rhetoric ; he will meet with no more con-
tradiction. The facls are all laid before the
public * : and Mr. Hume fubmits his caufe
to the determination of every man of fenfe
and probity.
hath endeavoured to do juftice, as well with regard
to the fenfe as the expreflion. Not that he can flatter
himfelf with having always fucceeded in the latter. He
has taken the liberty alfo to add a note or two, regard-
ing fome particular circumftances which had come to
his knowlege.
* The original letters of both parties will be lodged
in the Britifh Mufeum ; on account of the above men-
tioned defiance of Mr. RoufTeau, and his fubfequent
infinuation that if they fhould be published, they would
be falfified,
AN
A N
ACCOUNT
^ O F T H E
CONTROVERSY
BETWEEN
Mr. HUME and Mr. ROUSSEAU.
Auguji i, 1766.
Y connection with Mr. RoufTeau be-
gan in 1762, when the Parliament
of Paris had ifTued an arret for apprehending
him, on account of his Emilius. I was at
that time at Edinburgh. A perfon of great
worth wrote to me from Paris, that Mr.
RoufTeau intended to feek ap* afylurn in
England, anddefired I would do him all the
good offices in my power. As I conceived
Mr. RoufTeau had actually put his defign in
execution, I wrote to feveral of my friends
in London, recommending this celebrated
exile to their favour. I wrote aifo imme-
diately to Mr. RoufTeau himfelf ; alluring
B him
( 2 )
him of my defire to oblige, and readinefs to
ferve him. At the fame time, I invited him
to come to Edinburgh, if the fituation would
be agreeable, and offered him a retreat in
my own houfe, fo long as he mould pleafe
to partake of it. There needed no ot
motive to excite me to this act of huma
than the idea given me of Mr. RoufTe.
perfonal chara&er, by the friend who he
recommended him, his well-known geniu
and abilities, and above all, his misfortunes j
the very caufe of which was an additional
reafon to intereft me in his favour. The
following is the anfwer I received.
Mr. ROUSSEAU to Mr. HUME.
Motiers-Trdvers, Feb. 19, 1763.
S I R,
DID not receive till lately, and at this
place, the letter you did me the ho-
nour to direct to me at London, the 2d of
July kit, on the fuppofition that I was then
arrived at that capital. I mould doubtlefs
have made choice of a retreat in your coun-
try, and as near as poffible to yourfelf, if I
had forefeen what a reception I was to meet
with in my own. No other nation could
claim a preference to England. And this
1 pre-
( 3 )
prepofleflion, for which I have dearly fuf-
fered, was at that time too natural not to
be very excufable j but to my great aftonifh-
ment, as well as that of the public, I have met
with nothing but affronts and infults, where
I hoped to have found confolation at leaft, if
not gratitude. How many reafons have I not
to regret the want of that afylum and philo-
fophical hofpitality I mould have found with
you ! My misfortunes indeed have con-
ftantly feemed to lead me in a manner that
way. The protection and kindnefs of my
Lord Marfhal, your worthy and illuftrious-
countryman, hath brought Scotland home
to me, if I may fo exprefs myfelf, in the
midft of Switzerland ; he hath made you.
fo often bear a part in our converfation8
hath brought me fo well acquainted with
your virtues, which I before was only with
your talents, that he infpired me with the
mod tender friendship for you, and the moil
ardent defire of obtaining yours, before I
even knew you were difpofed to grant it»
Judge then of the pleafure I feel, at finding
this inclination reciprocal. No, Sir, I
mould pay your merit but half its due, if
it were the fubject only cf my admiration.
Your great impartiality, together with your
amazing penetration and genius, would lift
you far above the reft of mankind, if you
were lefs attached to them by the goodnete
B 2 oi
(4 )
of your heart. My Lord Marfhal, in ac-
quainting me that die amiablenefs of your
difpofition was Hill greater than the fubli-
mity of your genius, rendered a correfpond-
ence with you every day more defirable,
and cherimed in me thofe wifhes which
he infpired, of ending my days near you.
Oh, Sir, that a better ftate of health, and
more convenient circumftances, would but
enable me to take fuch a journey in the
manner I could like'! ' Couid I but hope to
fee you and my Lord Marfhal one day fettled
in your own country ; which mould for ever
after be mine ; I mould be thankful, in fuch
afociety, for the very misfortunes that led
me into if, and mould account the day of
its commencement as the nrft of my life.
Would to Heaven I might live to fee that
a
happy day, though now more to be defired
than expected ! With what tranfports mould
I not exclaim, on fetting foot in that happy
country which gave birth to David Hume
and the Lord Marfhal of Scotland !
Salve, facts mihi debit a tellus !
Hac do mm, hcec f atria ejl.
J. J. R.
This letter is not publimed from a motive
of vanity ; as will be feen prefently, when
I give the reader a recantation of all the eu-
logies it contains j but only to compleat the
courfe
( 5 )
courfe of our correfpondence, and to mew
that I have been long iince difpofed to Mr.
Rouffeau's fervice.
From this time our correfpondence en-
tirely ceafed, till about the middle of lad
autumn (1705;) when it was renewed by
the following accident. A certain lady of
Mr. RourTeau's acquaintance, being on a
journey to one of the French provinces,
bordering on Switzerland, had taken that
opportunity of paying a vifit to our folitary
philofopher, in his retreat at Motiers-Tra-
vers. To this lady he complained, that his
Situation in Newfchatel was become ex-
tremely difagreeable, as well on account of
the fuperftition of the people, as therefent-
ment of the clergy ; and that he was afraid
-he mould fhortly be under the neceffity of
feeking an afylum elfewhere ; in which cafe,
England appeared to him, from the nature
of its laws and government, to be the only
place to which he could retire with perfect,
fecurity ; adding, that my Lord Marflial,
his former protector, had advifed him to
put himfelf under my protection (that was
the term he was pleafed to make ufe of)
and that he would accordingly addrefs him-
felf to me, if he thought it would not be
giving me too much trouble.
I was at that time charged with the af-
fairs of England at the court of France j
B 3 but
( 6 )
lut as I had the profpect of foon returning
to London, I could not reject a propofai
made to me under fuch circumfcances, by a
man io celebrated for his genius and misfor-
tunes. As fcon as I was thus informed,
therefore, of the fituation and intentions of
Mr. RoufTeau, I wrote to him, making him
an offer of my fervices ; to which he re-
turned the following; anfwer.
Mr. ROUSSEAU to Mr. HUME,
Strajbhurg, Dec. 4, 1765,
SIR,
r\T OUR goodnefs afFe&s me as much
as it does me honour. The beft reply
J can make to your offers is to accept them,
which I do, I mail let out in five or fix
days to throw myfelf into your arms. Such
is the advice of my Lord Marfhal, my pro-
te^tor, friend and father ; it is the advice alfo
of Madam * * * -f whofe good fenfe and
benevolence ferve equally for my direction
f The per{bn here mentioned defired her name
piiorl.t be fypprefied. Frincb Editor.
As the motive to the fupprefl-on of the lady's name
can hardly be fuppofed to extend to this country, the
EngUJh ra'vjlaivr 'takes the liberty to mention the name
pf (tlTC Marchionefs de Verdelin.
an cj
( 7 )
and confolation ; in fine, I may fay it is the
advice of my own heart, which takes a
pleafure in being indebted to the moft illu-
strious of my contemporaries, to a man
whofe goodnefs furpafTes his glory. I figh
after a folitary and free retirement, wherein
I might nniili my days in peace. If this be
procured me by means of your benevolent
folicitude, I fliall then enjoy at once the plea-
fure of the only bleffing my heart defires, and
alfo that of being indebted for it to you. I
am, Sir, with all my heart, &c.
J. J. R.
Not that I had deferred till this time my
endeavours to be ufeful to Mr. RoufTeau.
The following letter was communicated to
me by Mr. Clairaut, fome weeks before his
death.
Mr. ROUSSEAU to Mr. CLAIRAUT.
Mot iers-Tr avers, March 3, 1765.
SIR,
TH E remembrance of your former
kindnefs, induces me to be again im-
portunate. It is to defire you will be fo good,
for the fecond time, to be the cenfor of one of
my performances. It is a very paltry rhap-
B 4 fody,
( 8 )
fody, which I compiled many years ago,
under the title of A Mufical Dictionary, and
am now obliged to republifh it for fubfiftence.
Amidft. the torrent of misfortunes that over-
whelm me, I am not in a fituation to review
the work ; which, I know, is full of over-
fights and miftakes. If any intereft you
may take in the lot of the molt unfortunate
of mankind, mould induce you to beftow a
little more attention on his work than on
that of another, 1 mould be extremely obli-
ged to you, if you would take the trouble to
correct Juch errors as you may meet with in
the perufal. To point them out, without
correcting them, would be doing nothing,
for I am abfolutely incapable of paying the
leail attention to fuch a work ; fo that if you
would but condefcend to alter, add, re-
trench, and in fhort ufe it as you would do
your own, you would do a very great cha-
rity, for which I mould be extremely thank-
ful. Accept, Sir, my mod humble excufes
and falutations.
J. J. R,
It is with reluctance I fay it, but I am
compelled to it ; I now know of a certainty
that this afTtcl.ttion of extreme poverty and
dilirefs was a mere pretence, a petty kind of
impofture which Mr. RoufTeau fuccefsfully
employed to excite the compaffion cf the
public -3
( 9 )
public j but I was then very far from fuf-
pecting any fuch artifice. I muft own, I
felt on this occafion an emotion of pity,
mixed with indignation, to think a man of
letters of fuch eminent merit, mould be re-
duced, in fpite of the fimpiicity of his man-
ner of living, to fuch extreme indigence;
and that this unhappy ftate (hould be rendered
more intolerable by ficknefs, by the approach
of old age, and the implacable rage of per-
fection. I knew that many per ions impu-
ted the wretchednefs of Mr. Rouffcau to
his exceiiive pride, which induced him to
refufe the afliilance of his friends; but I
thought this fault, if it were a fault, was a
very refpeCiable one. Too many men of
letters have debated their character in {loop-
ing fo low as to folicit the afiiftance of per-
fons of wealth or power, unworthy of af-
fording them protection j and I conceived
that a noble pride, even though carried to
excefs, merited fome indulgence in a man of
genius, who, borne up by a ftnfe of his own
fuperiority and a love of independence, mould
have braved the ftorms of fortune and the in-
fults of mankind. I propofed, therefore,
to ferve Mr. RoufTeau in his own way. I
delired Mr. Clairaut, accordingly, to give
me his letter ; which I fhewed to feveral of
Mr. Rouffeau's friends and patrons in Paris.
At the fame time, I propofed to them a
fcheme,
( to )
fcheme, by which he might be relieved,
without fufpecting any thing of the matter.
This was to engage the bookfeller, who was
to pubiifh his dictionary, to give Mr. Rouf-
feau a greater Turn for the copy than he had
offered, and to indemnify him by paying him
the difference. But this project, which
could not be executed without the affiftance
of Mr. Clairaut, fell to the ground, at the
unexpected deceafe of that learned and re-
fpectable academician.
Retaining, however, ftill the fame idea
of Mr. Houffeau's exceffive poverty, I con-
itantly retained the fame inclination to
oblige him ; and when I was informed of
his intention to go to England under my
conduir, I formed a fcheme much of the
fame kind with that I could not execute at
Paris. I wrote immediately to my friend,
Mr. John Stewart, of Buckingham flreet,
that I had an affair to communicate to him
of So fecret and delicate a nature, that I
fhould not venture even to commit it to pa-
per, but that he might learn the particulars
of Mr. Elliot (now Sir Gilbert Elliot) who
would foon return from Paris to London.
The plan was this, and was really communi-
cated by Mr. Elliot fome time after to Mr.
Stewart -, who was at the fame time en-
joined to the greateft fecrecy.
Mr.
( »» )
Mr. Stewart was to look out for fome ho-
neli difcreet farmer in his neighbourhood in
the country, who might be willing to lodge
and board Mr. RoufTeau and his Gouvern-
ante, in a very decent and plentiful manner,
at a penfion which Mr. Stewart might fettle
at fifty or fixty pounds a year j the farmer
engaging to keep fuch agreement a profound
fecref, and to receive from Mr. RoufTeau
only twenty or twenty five pounds a year; I
engaging to fupply the difference.
It was not long before Mr. Stewart wrote
me word he had found a fituation which he
conceived might be agreeable; on which I
defired he would get the apartment furnifhed
in a proper and convenient manner at my
expence. But this febeme, in which there
could not pollibly enter any motive of vanity
on my part, fecrecy being a neceiTary con-
dition of its execution, did not take place ;
other defigns prefenting themfelves more con-
venient and agreeable. The fact, however,
is well known both to Mr. Stewart and Sir
Gilbert Elliot.
It will not be improper here to mention
another plan concerted with the fame inten-
tions. I had accompanied Mr. RoufTeau
into a very pleafant part of the county of
Surry, where he fpent two days at Colonel
Webb's ; Mr. RoufTeau feeming to me highly
delighted with the natural and folitary btau-
ties
( «2 )
ties of the place. Through the means c£
Mr. Stewart, therefore, I entered into treaty
with Colonel Webb for the purchasing the
houfe, with a little eftate adjoining, in
order to make a fettlement for Mr. Rouf-
feau. If after what has palled, Mr. Rouf-
feau's teftimony be of any validity, I may
appeal to himfelf for the truth of what
I advance. But be this as it will, thefe fads
are well known to Mr. Stewart, to General
Clarke, and in part to Colonel Webb.
But to proceed in my narrative. Mr.
Roufieau came to Paris, provided with a.
paflport, which his friends had obtained for
him. I conducted him to England. For
upwards of two months after our arrival. I
employed myfelf, and my friends, in look-
ing out for fome agreeable fituation for him.
We gave way to all his caprices ; excufed
all his Angularities ; indulged him in all his
humours ; in fhort, neither time nor trouble
was fpared to procure him what he defired || ;
and,
|| It is probably to this exceffive and ill-judged com-
plaifance Mr. H. may in a great degree impute the dis-
agreeable confequences that have followed. There is
no end in indulging caprice, nor any prudence in doing
it, when it is known to be fuch. It may be thought hu-
mane to indulge the weak of body or mind, the decre-
pitude of age and imbecility of childhood j but even here
it too often proves cruelty to the very panics indu'ged.
How much more inexcufable therefore is it to che»ifh
• the
( '3 )
and, notwithstanding he rejected feveral of
the projects which I had laid out for him,
vet I thought myfelf fufficiently recompenfed
for my trouble, by the gratitude and even
affection with which he appeared to repay
my folicitude.
At length his prefent fettlement was pro-
pofed and approved. Mr. Davenport, a
gentleman of family, fortune, and worth,
offered him his houfe at Wooton, in the
county of Derby, where he himfelf feldom
refides, and at which Mr. RoufTeau and his
houfekeeper are boarded, at a very moderate
expence.
When Mr. RoufTeau arrived at Wooton,
he wrote me the following letter.
Mr. ROUSSEAU to Mr. HUME,
JVooion, March 22, 1766.
YOU fee already, my dear patron, by
the date of my letter, that I am ar-
rived at the place of my deftination 5 but
the abfurdities of whim and Angularity in men of geniu3
and abilities ? How is it poffible to make a man eafy or
happy in a world, to whofe cufioms and maxims he is
determined to run retrograde .' No. Capricious men,
like froward children, fhould be left to kick againft the
pricks, and vent their fpleen unnoticed. To humour,
is only to fpoil them. Englijh tranJJaiir.
4 you
( H )
you cannot fee all the charms which I find
in it ; to do this, you fhould be acquainted
with the fituation, and be able to read my
heart. You ought, however, to read at
leaft thofe of my fentiments with refpect to
you, and which you have fo well deferved.
If I live in this agreeable afylum as happy as
I hope to do, one of the greater!: pleafures
of my life will be, to reflect that I owe it
to you. To make another happy, is to de-
ferve to be happy one's felf. May you there-
fore find in yourfelf the reward of all you
have done for me ! Had I been alone, I
might perhaps have met with hofpitality,
but I mould have never relimed it fo highly
as I now do, in owing it to your friendmip.
Retain (till that friendmip for me, my dear
patron ; love me for my fake, who am fo
much indebted to you ; love me for your
own, for the good you have done me. lam
fenfible of the full value of your fincere
friendmip ; it is the object of my ardent
willies ; I am ready to repay it with all
mine, and feel fomething in my heart which
may one day convince you that it is not with-
out its value. As, for the reafons agreed on
between us, I (hall receive nothing by the
port, you will be pleafed, when you have
the goodnefs to write to me, to fend your
letters to Mr. Davenport. The affair of
the carriage is not yet adjurled, becaufe I
know
( «5 )
know I was impofed on : it is a trifling fault,
however, which may be only the effect of
an obliging vanity, unlefs it fhould happen
to be repeated. If you were concerned in
it, I would advife you to give up, once for
all, thefe little impclitions, which cannot
proceed from any good motive, when con-
verted into fnares for fimplicity. I embrace
you, my dear patron, with the fame cor-
diality which I hope to find in you.
J. J. R.
Some few days after, I received from
him another letter -3 of which the following
is a copy.
Mr. ROUSSEAU to Mr. HUME.
Wooton, March 29, 1766.
YO U will fee, my dear patron, by
the letter Mr. Davenport will have
tranfmitted you, how agreeably I find my-
felf fituated in this place. I might, per-
haps, be more at my eafe if I were Ids no-
ticed i but the foiicitude of fo polite an hoil
as mine is too obliging to give offence;
and as there is nothing in life without its in-
convenience, that of being too good, is one
of thofe which is the moit tolerable. I find
a much greater inconvenience in not being
able to make the fervants underfraod me,
and
( i6 )
and particularly in my not underftanding
them. Luckily Mrs. le Vafleur ferves me
as interpreter, and her fingers fpeak better
than my tongue. There is one advantage
however attending my ignorance, which is a
kind of compeniation j it ferves to tire
and keep at a diitance impertinent viiitors.
The minifter of the pariih came to fee me
yefterday, who, finding that I fpoke to him
only in French, would not fpeak to me in
Englifh, fo that our interview was almofr. a
lilent one. I have taken a great fancy to
this expedient, and fhall make ufe of it with
all my neighbours, if I have any. Nay,
fhould I even learn to fpeak Englim, I would
converfe with them only in French, efpe-
cially if I were fo happy as to find they did
not underftand a word of that language.
An artifice this, much of the fame kind with
that which the Negroes pretend is practifed by
the monkeys, who, they fay, are capable of
fpeech, but cannot be prevailed upon to
talk, left they fhould be fet to work.
It is not true in any fenfe, that I agreed to
accept of a model from Mr. GorTet as a pre-
fent. On the contrary, I afked him the
price, which he told me was a guinea and
half, adding that he intended to prefent me
with it y an offer I did not accept. I defire
you therefore to pay him for it, and Mr.
Davenport will be fo good as repay you the
money.
( i> )
money. And if Mr. GofTet does notconfent
to be paid for it, it muft be returned to him,
and purchafed by fome other hand. It is
defigned for Mr. du Peyrou, who defired
long fince to have my portrait, and caufed
one to be painted in miniature* which is not
at all like me. You were more fortunate iri
this refpect than he, but I am forry that, by
yourafliduityto ferve me, you deprived me of
the pleafure of difcharging the frme friendly
obligation with regard to yourfelf. Be fo good,
my dear patron, as to order the model to be
fent to MefTrs. Guinand and Hankey, Little
St. Helen's, BiiTiopfgate-ftreet, in order to
be tranfmitted to Mr. du Peyrou by the firft
fafe conveyance. It hath been a froft ever
lince I have been here : the fnow falls daily;
and the wind is cutting and fevere : notwith-
ftanding ail which, I had rather lodge in the
hollow trunk of an old tree, in this country,
than in the moil fuperb apartment in London.
Good day, my dear patron. I embrace you
with all my heart*
J. J. R.
Mr. Rou (Tea ii and I having agreed not to
lay each other under any reftraint by a con-
tinued correfpondence, the only fubject of
our future letters was the obtaining a penfion.
for him from the king of England j which
C was
( i8 )
was then in agitation ; and of which affair
the following is a concife and faithful rela-
tion.
As we were converting together one eve-
ning at Calais, where we were detained by
contrary winds, I afked Mr. RoufTeau if he
would not accept of a penfion from the king
of England, in cafe his majefty mould be
pleafed to grant him one. To this he re-
plied, it was a matter of fome difficulty to re-
folve on -j but that he mould be entirely di-
rected by the advice of my Lord Marshall.
Encouraged by this anfwer, I no fooner ar-
rived in London, than I addreffed myfelf to
his majefty's minifters, and particularly to
General Conway, Secretary of State, and
General Grame, Secretary and Chamberlain
to the queen. Application was accordingly
made to their majefties, who with their ufual
goodnefs confented, on condition only that
the affair mould not be made publick. Mr.
RoufTeau and I both wrote to my Lord
Marfhall ; and Mr. RoufTeau exprefsly ob-
ferved in his letter, that the circumflance of
the affair's being to be kept fecret, was very
agreeable to him. The confent of my Lord
Marfhall arrived, as may readily be imagi-
ned ; foon after which Mr. RoufTeau fet out
for Wootonj while the bufinefs remained
4 Come
( 19 )
fome time in fufpenfe, on account of the in*
difpofition of General Conway.
In the mean time,- 1 began to be afraid,
from what I had obferved of Mr. Rouf-
feau's difpofition and character, that his na-
tural reftleflhefs of mind would prevent
his enjoyment of that repofe, to which
the hofpitality and fecurity he found in Eng-
land, invited him. I faw, with infinite re^
gret, that he was born for ftorms and tu^
mults, and that the difguft which might
fucceed the peaceful enjoyment of folitude
and tranquillity, would foon render him a
burthen to himfelf and every body abouE
him *. But, as I lived at the diflance of an
hundred and fifty miles from the place of
his refidence, and was conftantly employed
in doing him good offices, I did not expect
that I myfelf mould be the vi&im of this un-
happy difpofition.
* Jn forming the opinion of Mr. Roufieau's difpo-
fition, Mr. Hume was by no means fingular : the (hik-
ing features of Mr. Roufleau's extraordinary character
having been ftrongiy marked in the criticifms on his
feveral writings, in the Monthly Review, particularly
in the account of his Letters from the mountains, in the
appendix to the 31ft vol. of that work ; where this cele-
brated genius is defcribed, merely from the general tenour
of his writings and the outlines of his publick conduct,
to be exactly fuch a kind of perfon as Mr. Hume hath
difcovered him from intimate and perfonal acquaint*-
arxe, EngUJh tranfiator.
C Z It
( 2° )
It is neceffary to introduce here a letter,
which was written laft winter, at Paris, in
the name of the king of Pruffia.
My dear John James,
YO U have renounced Geneva, your
native foil. You have been driven
from Switzerland, a country of which you
have made fuch boaft. in your writings. In
France you are outlawed : come then to
me. I admire your talents, and amufe
myfelf with your reveries ; on which how-
ever, by the way, you bellow too much
time and attention. It is high time to
grow prudent and happy j you have made
yourfelf fufficiently talked of for Angularities
little becoming a truly great man : fhow
your enemies that you have fometimes com-
mon fenfe : this will vex them without hurt-
ing you. My dominions afford you a peace-
ful retreat : I am defirous to do you good,
and will do it, if you can but think it fuch.
But if you are determined to refufe my affift-
ance, you may expect that I mall fay not a
word about it to any one. If you perfift in
perplexing your brains to find out new mif-
fortunes, chufe fuch as you like beftj I am
a king and can make you ;s miferable as you
can with ; at the fame time, I will engage
to do that which your enemies never will, I
will
( 21 )
will ceafe to perfecute yon, when you are no
longer vain of perfecution.
Your finccre friend,
FREDERIC.
This letter was written by Mr. Horace
Walpole, about three weeks before I left
Paris ; but though we lodged in the fame
hotel, and were often together, Mr. Wal-
pole, out of regard to me, carefully con-
cealed this piece of pleafantry till after my
departure. He then mewed it to fome
friends, who took copies; and thole of
courfe prefently multiplied : fo that this little
piece had been fpread with rapidity all over
Europe, and was in every body's hands
when I faw it, for the firfttime, in London.
I believe every one will allow, who knows
any thing of the liberty of this country, that
fuch a piece of raillery could not, even by
the utmoft influence of kin^s, lords and
commons, by all the authority ecclefiaflical,
civil and military, be kept from finding its
way to the prefs. It was accordingly pub-
limed in the St. James's Chronicle, and a
few days after I was very much furprized to
find the following piece in the fame paper.
Mr.
(
Mr. ROUSSEAU to the AUTHOR
of the St. James's Chronicle.
Woof on s April j, 1766.
SIR,
O U have been wanting in that refpect
which every private perfon owes to
crowned heads, in publickly afcribing to the
king of PruOia,. a letter full of bafenefs and
extravagance ; by which ci re urn (lance alone
you might be very well aflured. he could not
be the author. You have even dared to fub~
fcribe his name, as if you had feen him
write it with his own hand. I inform you,
Sir, that this letter was fabricated at Paris,
and, what rends and afflicts my heart, that
the impoftorhath his accomplices in England*
In juftice to the king of Pruffia, to truth,
and to myfelf, you ought therefore to print
the letter I am now writing> and to which I
fet my name 3 by way cf reparation for a
fault, which you would undoubtedly re-
proach yourfelf for, if you knew of what
atrocioufnefs you have been made the inltru-
msnt. Sir, I make you my fincere faluta-
tions.
J- J. R.
( *3 )
I was forry to fee Mr. RoufTeau difplay
fuch an exccfs of fenfibility, on account of
fo fimple and unavoidable an incident, as
the publication of this pretended letter from
the King of Pruffia. But I mould have
accufed myfelf of a moft black and ma-
levolent difpofition, if I had imagined Mr.
RoufTeau could have fufpected me to have
been the editor of it $ or that he had inten-
tionally directed his refentment againft me.
He now informs me, however, that this
was really the cafe. Jufb eight days before,
I had received a letter, written in the mod
amicable terms imaginable *. I am, furely,
the lad man in the world, who, in common
fenfe ought to be fufpecled ; yet, without
even the pretence of the fmalleft proof or
probability, I am, of a fudden, the firft.
man not only fufpected, but certainly con-
cluded to be the publifher; I am, without
further enquiry or explication, intentionally
infulted in a public paper ; I am, from the
deareft friend, converted into a treacherous
and malignant enemy ; and all my prcfent
and paft fervices are at one ftroke very art-
fully cancelled. Were it not ridiculous to
employ reafoning on fuch a fubjecl, and
with fuch a man, I might afk Mr. RoufTeau,
** Why I am fuppofed to have any malig-
* That of the 29th of March.
C 4 nity
( 24 )
nity againft him ?" Mv actions, in a hun*
dred infiances, had fufticiently demonftrated
the contrary ; and it is not ufual for favours
conferred to beget ill-will in the perfon who
confers them. But fuppofing I had fecretly
entertained an animofuy towards him, would
I run the rifque of a difcovery, by fo filly a
vengeance, and by fending this piece to the
prefs, when I knew, from the ufual avidity
of the news-writers to find articles of intel-
ligence, that it mud necefTarily in a few
days be laid hold of?
But not imagining that I was the object
of fo black and ridiculous a fufpicion, I pur-
fued my ufual train, by ferving my friend
in the leaf! doubtful manner. I renewed my
applications to General Conway, as foon as
the ftate of that gentleman's health permitted
it : the General applies again to his Majeity :
his Majefty's content is renewed : the Mar^
quis of Rockingham, firit commiflioner of
the Treafury, is alfo applied to : the whole
affair is happily fmifhed ; and full of joy, I
conveyed the intelligence to my friend. On
which Mr. Conway foon after received the
following letter.
Mr,
( 25 )
Mr. ROUSSEAU to General CONWAY.
May 12, 1766.
S I R,
AFFECTED with a moft lively
fenfe of the favour his Majefty hath
honoured me with, and with that of your
goodnefs, which procured it me ; it affords
me the moft pleafing fenfation to reflect,
that the beft of Kings, and the Minifter
moft worthy of his confidence, are pleafed
to intereft themfelves in my fortune. This,
Sir, is an advantage of which I am juftly
tenacious, and which I will never deferve to
lofe. But it is neceffary I fhould fpeak to
you with that franknefs you admire. After
the many misfortunes that have befallen me,
I thought myfelf armed againft all poffible
events : there have happened to me fome,
however, which I did not forefee ; and which
indeed an ingenuous mind ought not to have
forefeen : hence it is that they affect me by
fo much the more feverely. The trouble in
which they involve me, indeed, deprives me
of the eafe and prefence of mind neceffary
to direct' my conduct: all I can reafonably
do, under fo diftreffed a fituation, is to fuf-
pend my refolutions about every affair of fuch
Importance as is that in agitation. So far
7 from
( 26 )
from refufing the beneficence of the King
from pride, as is imputed to me, I am proud
of acknowleging it, and am only forry I
cannot do it more publicly. But when I
actually receive it, I would be able to give
up myfclf entirely to thofe fentiments which
it would naturally infpire, and to have an
heart replete with gratitude for his Majelly's
goodnefs, and yours. I am not at all afraid
this manner of thinking will make any al-
teration in yours towards me. Deign, there-
fore, Sir, to preferve that goodnefs for me,
till a more happy opportunity ; when you
will be fatisfied that I defer taking the ad-
vantage of it, only to render myfelf more
worthy of it. I beg of you, Sir, to accept
of my moil humble and refpec~tful faluta-
tions,
J. J. R.
This letter appeared both to General Con-
way and to me a plain refufal, as long as the
article of fecrecy was infifted on ; but as I
knew that Mr. RoufTeau had been acquaint-^
ed with that condition from the beginning,
I was the lefs furprized at his filencfe towards
me. I thought, that my friend, confcious
of having treated me ill in this affair, was
afhamed to write to me ; and having pre-
vailed on General Conway to keep the mat-
ter flill open, I wrote a very friendly letter
to
( 27 )
to Mr. Rouffeau, exhorting him to return
to his former way of thinking, and to ac-
cept of the penfion.
As to the deep diftrefs which he mentions
to General Conway, and which, he fays,
deprives him even of the ufe of his reafon,
I was fet very much at eafe on that head,
by receiving a letter from Mr. Davenport -,
who told me, that his gueft was at that
very time extremely happy, eafy,chearful, and
even fociable. I faw plainly, in this event,
the ufual infirmity of my friend, who wifhes
to intereft the world in his favour, by pat-
ling for fickly, and perfecuted, and diftref-
fed, and unfortunate, beyond all meafure,
even while he is the moii happy and con-
tented. His pretences of an extreme fen-
fibility had been too frequently repeated, to
have any effect on a man who was fo well
acquainted with them.
I waited three weeks in vain for an an-
fwer : I thought this a little flirange, and I
even wrote fo to Mr. Davenport ; but hav-
ing to do with a very odd fort of a man, and
(till accounting for his filence, by fuppofing
him afhamed to write to me, I was refolved
not to be difcouraged, nor to lofe the oppor-
tunity of doing him an efTential fervice, on
account of a vain ceremonial. I accordingly
renewed my applications to the Minifters,
and was fo happy as to be enabled to write
the
( 28 )
the following letter to Mr. RoufTeau, the
only one of fo old a date of which I have
a copy.
Mr. HUME to Mr. ROUSSEAU.
Lijle-Jlreet, Leicejier-Jields, 19 June> 1766.
AS I have not received any anfwer from
you, I conclude, that you perfevere
in the fame refolution of refuting ail marks
of his Majefty's goodnefs, as long as they
mult remain a fecret. I have therefore ap-
plied to General Conway to have this con-
dition removed ; and I was fo fortunate as
to obtain his promife that he would
fpeak to the King for that purpofe. It
will only be requifite, faid he, that we
know previoufly from Mr. RoufTeau, whe-
ther he would accept of a peniion publicly
granted him, that his Majefty may not be
expofed to a fecond refufal. He gave me
authority to write to you on that fubjecl: ; and
I beg to hear your refolution as foon as pof-
fible. If you give your confent, which I
earneftly intreat you to do, I know, that I
could depend on the good offices of the
Duke of Richmond, to fecond General
Conway's application j fo that 1 have no
doubt of fuccefs. I am, my Dear Sir,
Yours, with great lincerity,
D. H.
( *9 )
In five days I received the following an-
fwer.
Mr. ROUSSEAU to Mr. HUME.
Wooton, June 23, 1766.
I Imagined, Sir, that my filence, truly in-
terpreted by your own confcience, had
faid enough ; but fince you have Tome de-
fign in not underftanding me, I (hall fpeak.
You have but ill difguifed yourfelf. I know
you, and you are not ignorant of it. Before
we had any perfonal connections, quarrels,
or difputes ; while we knew each other
only by literary reputation, you affectionately
made me the offer of the good offices of
yourfelf and friends. Affected by this ge-
nerolity, I threw myfelf into your arms ;
you brought me to England, apparently to
procure me an afylum, but in fact to bring
me to difhonour. You applied to this noble
work, with a zeal worthy of your heart, and
a fuccefs worthy of your abilities. You
needed not hpve taken fo much pains : you
live and converie with the world ; I with my-
felf in folitude. The public love to be de-
ceived, and you were formed to deceive them.
I know one man, however, whom you can
not deceive j I mean yourfelf. You know
with what horrour my heart rejected the
firft
( 3° )
firfr. fufpicion of your defigns. You know
I embraced you with tears in my eyes, and
told you, if you were not the beft of men,
you muft be the blackeft of mankind. In
reflecting on your private conduct, you muft
fay to yourfelf fometimes, you are not Uie
beft of men : under which conviction, I
doubt much if ever you will be the happieft.
I leave your friends and you to carry on
your fchemes as you pleafe ; giving up to
you, without regret, my reputation during
life i certain that fooner or later juflice will
bs done to that of both. As to your good
offices in matters of intereft, which you
have made ufe of as a maik, I thank you
for them, and fhall difpenfe with profiting
by them. I ought not to hold a correfpond-
ence with you any longer, or to accept of
it to my advantage in any affair in which
you are to be the mediator. Adieu, Sir, I
wifh you the trued happinefs j but as we
ought not to have any thing to fay to each
other for the future, this is the laft letter
you will receive from me.
J. J. R.
To this I immediately fent the following
reply.
( 3* )
Mr. HUME to Mr. ROUSSEAU.
'June 26, 1766.
S I am confcious of having ever acted
towards you the mod friendly part,
of having always given the molt tender, the
molt active proofs of fincere affection ; you
may judge of my extreme furprize on per-
ufing your epiftle. Such violent accufations,
confined altogether to generals, it is as im-
pomble to anfwer, as it is impoffible to com-
prehend them. But affairs cannot, mud
not remain on that footing. I mail chari-
tably fuppofe, that fome infamous calumni-
ator has belied me to you. But in that cafe,
it is your duty, and I am perfuaded it will
be your inclination, to give me an oppor-
tunity of detecting him, and of juftifying
myfelf; which can only be done by your
mentioning the particulars of which I am
accufed. You fay, that I myfelf know
that I have been falfe to you ; but I fay it
loudly, and will fay it to the whole world,
that I know the contrary, that I know mv
friendfhip towards you has been unbounded
and uninterrupted, and that though irutances
of it have been very generally remarked
both in France and England, the fmallen: part
of it only has as yet come to the knowlege
of
( 3* )
of the public. I demand, that you will
produce me the man who will affert the
contrary ; and above all, I demand, that he
will mention any One particular in which I
have been wanting to you. You owe this
tome; you owe it to yourfelf ; you owe it
to truth, and honour, and juftice, and to
every thing that can be deemed facred among
men. As an innocent man ; I will not fay,
as your friend -, I will not fay, as your bene-
factor ; but, I repeat it, as an innocent
man, I claim the privilege of proving my
innocence, and of refuting any fcandalous
lie which may have been invented againft
me. Mr. Davenport, to whom I have fent
a copy of your letter, and who will read this
before he delivers it, I am confident, will fe*
cond my demand, and will tell you> that no-
thing poflibly can be more equitable. Happily
I have preferved the letter you wrote me after
your arrival at Wooton ; and you there ex-
prefs in the ftrongeft terms, indeed in terms
too ftrong, your iatisfaction in my poor en-
deavours to ferve you : the little epillolary
intercourfe which afterwards paiTed between
us, has been all employed on my fide to the
moft friendly purpofes. Tell me, what has
fince given you offence ? Tell me of what
I am accufed. Tell me the man who ac-
cufes me. Even after you have fulfilled all
thefe conditions, to my fatisfacYion, and to
thas
( 33 )
that of Mr. Davenport, you will have great
difficulty to juftify the employing fuch out-
rageous terms towards a man, with whom
you have been To intimately connected, and
whom, on many accounts, you ought to
have treated with fome regard and decency.
Mr. Davenport knows the whole tranfac-
tion about your penfion, becaufe I thought it
neceffary that the perfon who had under-
taken your fettlement, mould be fully ac-
quainted with your circumftances ; left he
mould be tempted to perform towards you
concealed acts of generality, which, if they
accidentally came to your knowlege, might
give you fome grounds of offence. I am,
Sir,
D. H.
Mr. Davenport's authority procured me,
in three weeks, the following enormous
letter ; which however has this advantage,
that it confirms all the material circumftan-
ces of the foregoing narrative. I have fub-
joined a few notes relative to fome facts
which Mr. RoufTeau hath not truly repre-
fented, and leave my readers to judge which
of us deferves the greateft confidence.
D Mr.
( 34 )
Mr. ROUSSEAU to Mr. HUME.
Wool lon , 'July 10, 1766.
S I R,
1AM indifpofed, and little in a fituation
to write j but you require an explana-
tion, and it muft be given you : it was your
own fault you had it not long fince j but
you did not defire it, and I was therefore
filent : at prefent you do, and I have fent
it. It will be a long one, for which I am
very forry j but I have much to fay, and
would put an end to the fubjecl: at once.
As I live retired from the world, I am
ignorant of what paffes in it. I have no
party, no aflbciates, no intrigues ; I am told
nothing, and I know only what I feel. But
as care hath been taken to make me feverely
feel ; that I well know. The firft concern
of thofe who engage in bad defigns is to fe-
cure themfelves from legal proofs of detec-
tion : it would not be very advifeable to feek
a remedy againft them at law. The innate
conviction of the heart admits of another
kind of proof, which influences the fenti-
ments of honeit men. You well know the
bafis of mine.
You afk me, with great confidence, to
same your accufer. That accufer, Sir, is
4 the
( 35 )
the only man in the world whofe teftimony
I mould admit againft you j it is yourfelf. I
mall give myfelf up without fear or referve
to the natural franknefs of my difpofition ;
being an enemy to every kind of artifice, I
fhall fpeak with the fame freedom as if you
were an indifferent perfon, on whom I placed
all that confidence which I no longer have
in you. I will give you an hiftory of the
emotions of my heart, and of what produced
them , while, fpeaking of Mr. Hume in the
third perfon, I mall make yourfelf the judge
of what 1 ought to think of him. Notwith-
ftanding the length of my letter, I mail pur-
fue no other order than that of my ideas,
beginning with the premifes, and ending
with the demonftration.
I quitted Switzerland, wearied out by the
barbarous treatment I had undergone j but
which affected only my perfonal fecurity,
while my honour was fafe. I was going, as
my heart directed me, to join my Lord Mar-
shal ; when I received at Strafburg a mod af-
fectionate invitation from Mr. Flume, to go
over with him to England ; where he pro-
mifed me the mod agreeable reception, and
more tranquillity than I have met with. I he-
fitated fome time between my old friend and
my new one j in this I was wrong. I pre-
ferred the latter, and in this was itill more
fo. But the defire of vifiting in perfon a ce-
D 2 lebrated
( 36 )
lebrated nation, of which I had heard both
fo much good and fo much ill, prevailed.
ArTured I could not lofe George Keith, I
was flattered with the acquifition of David
Hume. His great merit, extraordinary abi-
lities, and eftablifhed probity of character,
made me defirous of annexing his friendship
to that with which I was honoured by his
illuftrious countryman. Befides, I gloried
not a little in fetting an example to men of
letters, in a fincere union between two men
fo different in their principles.
Before I had received an invitation from
the King of Pruffia, and my Lord Marfhal,
undetermined about the place of my retreat,
I had defired, and obtained by the intereft of
my friends, a paflport from the Court of
France. I made ufe of this, and went to
Paris to join Mr. Hume. He faw, and per-
haps faw too much of, the favourable reception
I met with from a great Prince, and I will
venture to fay, of the public. I yielded, as
it was my duty, though with reluctance, to
that eclat; concluding how far it muft excite
the envy of my enemies. At the fame time,
I faw with pleafure the regard which the
public entertained for Mr. Hume, fenfibly
increafing throughout Paris, on account
of the good work he had undertaken
with refpect to me. Doubtlefs he was af-
fected
( 37 )
fected too ; but I know not if it was in the
fame manner as I was.
We fet out with one of my friends, who
came to England almoft entirely on my ac-
count. When we were landed at Dover,
tranfported with the thoughts of having fet
foot in this land of liberty, under the conduct
of fo celebrated a perfoo, I threw my arms
round his neck, and preffed him to my heart,
without fpeaking a fy liable ; bathing his cheeks,
as I kiffed them, with tears fufficiently expref-
iive. This was not the only, nor the moft re-
markable inftance I have given him of the ef-
fufions of an heart full of fenfibility. I know not
what he does with the recollection of them,
when that happens; but I have a notion
they mult be fometimes troublefbme to him.
At our arrival in London, we were migh- ,
tily careffed and entertained : all ranks of
people eagerly preffing to give me marks of
their benevolence and efteem. Mr. Hume
prefented me politely to every body ; and it
was natural for me to afcribe to him, as I
did, the bed: part of my good reception. My
heart was full of him. I fpoke in his praife
to every one, I wrote to the fame purpofe to
all my friends ; my attachment to him ga-
thering every day new ftrength, while his
appeared the mod; affectionate to me ; of
which he frequently gave me inftances that
touched me extremely. That of caufing my
D 3 portrait
( 38 )
portrait to be painted, however, was not of*
the number. This feemed to me to carry
with it too much the affe&ation of popula-
rity, and had an air of oftentation which by
no means p'ealcd me. All this, however,
might have been eafily excufable, had Mr.
Hume been a man apt to throw away his
money, or had a gallery of pictures with
the portraits of his friends. After all, I freely
coniefs, that, on this head, I may be in the
wrong *.
But what appears to me an act of friend-
fhip and generofity the moil: undoubted and
eftimable, in a word, the mod worthy of
Mr. Hume, was the care he took to folicit
for me, of his own accord, a penfion from the
King j to which moft afTuredly I had no right
to afpire. As I was a witneis to the zeal he
exerted in that affair, i was greatly arTeeled
with it. Nothing could flatter me more than
a piece of fervice of that nature ; not merely
for the fake of interelt ; for, too much at-
* The fa£t was this. My friend, Mr. Ramfay, a
painter of eminence, and a man of merit, propofed to
draw Mr. Rouffeau's picture ; and when he had begun
it, told me he intended to make me a prefent of it.
Thus the defign of having Mr. Rouffeau's picture
drawn did not come from me, nor did it coft me any
thing. Mr.RouiTcau,thererorev is equally contemptible
in paying me a compliment for this pretended gallantry,
Jn his letter of the 29th of March, and in converting
it into ridicule here. Mr. Hume.
tached,
( 39 )
lached, perhaps, to what I actually pofTefs,
I am not capable of defiring what I have not,
and as I am able to fubfift on my labour and
the affiftance of my friends, I covet nothing
more. But the honour of receiving teftimo-
nies of the goodnefs, I will not fay of fo
great a monarch, but of fo good a father, fo
good a huiband, fo good a matter, fo good
a friend, and above all, fo worthy a man,
was fenfibly affecting : and when I consider-
ed farther, that the minifter who had ob-
tained for me this favour, was a living inftance
of that probity which of all others is the mod
important to mankind, and at the fame time
hardly ever met with in the only character
wherein it can be ufeful, I could not check
the emotions of my pride, at having for my
benefactors three men, who of all the world
I could mod defire to have my friends. Thus,
fo far from refufing the penfion offered me,
1 only made one condition necefTary for my
acceptance j this was the confent of a perfon,
whom I could not, without neglecting my
duty, fail to confult.
Being honoured with the civilities of all
the world, I endeavoured to make a proper
return. In the mean time, my bad ftate of
health, and being accuftomed to live in the
country, made my relidence in town very
difagreeable. Immediately country boufes
prefented themfelves in plenty j I had my
D 4 choice
( 4° )
choice of all the counties of England. Mr.
Hume took the trouble to receive thefe pro-
pofals, and to reprefent them to me ; accom-
panying me to two or three in the neighbour-
ing counties. I hefitated a good while in my
choice, and he increafed the difficulty of de-
termination. At length, I fixed on this
place, and immediately Mr. Hume fettled
the affair j all difficulties vanifhed, and I de-
parted ; arriving prefently at this folitary, con-
venient, and agreeable habitation ; where the
owner of the houfe provides every thing, and
nothing is wanting. I became tranquil, in-
dependant ; and this feemed to be the wifhed
for moment, when all my misfortunes mould
have an end. On the contrary, it was now
they began ; misfortunes more cruel than any
I had yet experienced.
Hitherto I have fpoken in the fulnefs of
my heart, and to do juftice, with the greater!:
pleafure, to the good offices of Mr. Hume.
Would to Heaven that what remains for me
to fay were of the fame nature ! It would
never give me pain to fpeak what would re-
dound to his honour; nor is it proper to fet
a value on benefits till one is accufed of in-
gratitude; which is the cafe at prefent. 1
will venture to make one obfervation, there-
fore, which renders it neceffary. In efti-
mating the fervices of Mr. Hume, by the
time and the pains they took him up, they
were
( 4i )
were of an infinite value, and that flill more
from the good-will difplayed in their per-
formance ; but for the actual fervice they
were of to me, it was much more in ap-
pearance than reality. I did not come over
to beg my bread in England ; I brought the
means of Jubfiflence with me. I came merely
to feek an afylum in a country which is open
to every Granger without diftinclion. I was,
befides, not fo totally unknown as that, if I
had arrived alone, 1 fhould have wanted either
alii fiance or f:rvice. If fome perfons have
fought my acquaintance for the fake of Mr.
Hume, others have fought it for my own.
Thus when Mr. Davenport, for example,
was fo kind as to offer my prefent retreat, it
was not for the fake of Mr. Hume, whom
he did not know, and whom he faw only in
order to deiire him to make me his obliging
propofal. So that when Mr. Hume endeavours
to alienate from me this worthy man, he
takes that from me which he did not give
me *. All the good that hath been done me,
would have been done me nearly the fame
without him, and perhaps better j but the
evil would not have been done me at all : for
* Mr. RoufTeau forms a wrong judgment of me, and
ought to know me better. I have written to Mr.
Davenport, even fince our rupture, to engage him to
continue his kindnefs to his unhappy gueft.
Mr. Hume.
why
( 42 )
why mould I have enemies in England ?
Why are thofe enemies all the friends of Mr.
Hume ? Who could have excited their en-
mity againft me ? It certainly was not I j who
knew nothing of them, nor ever faw them
in my life : I mould not have had a fingle
enemy had I come to England alone *.
I have hitherto dwelt upon public and no-
torious facts ; which from their own nature,
and my acknowledgment, have made the
greateft eclat. Thofe which are to follow
are particular and fecret, at lead: in their
caufe, and all poffible meafures have been tak-
en to keep the knowledge of them from the
public ; but as they are well known to the
perfon interefted, they will not have the lefs
influence toward his own conviction.
A very lhoit time after our arrival in Lon-
don, I obferved an abfurd change in the
minds of the people regarding me, which
foon became very apparent. Before I arrived
* How ftrange are the effects of a disordered ima-
gination ! Mr. RoufTeau tells us he is ignorant of what
pafles in the world, and yet talks of the enemies he has
in England. How does he know this ? Where did he
fee them? He hath received nothing but marks of bene-
ficence and hofpitality. Mr. Walpole is the only perfon
who hath thrown out a little piece of raillery againft
him ; but is not therefore his enemy. If Mr. RoufTeau
could have feen things exactly as they are, he would
have feen that he had no other friend in England but me,
and no other enemy but himfeJf. Mr. Hume.
in
( 43 )
in England, there was not a nation in Eu-
rope in which I had a greater reputation, I
will venture to fay, was held in greater, efti-*
mation. The public papers were full of en-
comiums on me, and a general outcry pre-
vailed on my peifecutors*. This was the
cafe at my arrival, which was publifhed in
the news papers with triumph ; England
prided itfelf in affording me refuge, and
juftly gloried on that occafion in its laws and
government : when, all of afudden, without
the lead affignable caufe, the tone was
changed ; and that fo fpeedily and totally,
that of all the caprices of the public, never
* That a general outcry fhould prevail againft Mr.
RoufTeau's perfecutors in England is no wonder : (iich
an outcry would have prevailed from fentiments of hu-
manity, had he been a perfon of much lefs note ; fothat
this is no proof of his being efteemed : and as to the enco-
miums on himinferted in the public news papers, the va-
lue of fuch kind of puffs is well known in England. I have
already obfe;ved that the authors of more refpeclable
works were at no lofs what to think of Mr. Roufleau j
but had formed a proper judgment of him long before
his arrival in England. The genius which difplayed
itfelf in his writings, did, by no means, blind the eyes
of the more fenfible part of mankind to the abfurdity and
inconfiftency of his opinions and condu£t. In exclaim-
ing againft Mr. RoulTeau's fanatical perfecutors, they did
not think him the more pofTefled of the true fpirit of mar-
tyrdom. The general opinion indeed, was, that he had
too much philofophy to be very devout, and had too
much devotion to have much philofophy.
Englijh tranjlator.
was
( 44 )
was known any thing more furprizing. The
Signal was given in a certain Magazine,
equally full of follies and faKhoods, in which
the author, being well informed, or pretend-
ing to be fo, gives me out for the fon of a
mufician. From this time *, I was con-
stantly fpoken of in print in a very equivocal
or flighting manner. Every thing that had
been publifhed concerning my misfortunes
was mifrsprefented, altered, or placed in a
wrong light, and always as much as poflible
to my difadvantage. So far was any body
from fpeaking of the reception I met with at
Paris, and which had made but too much
noife, it was not generally fuppofed that I
durft have appeared in that city j even one of
Mr. Hume's friends being very much fur-
prized when I told bim I came through it.
Accuftomed as I had been too much to
the inconftancy of the public, to be affected
by this inftance of it, I could not help being
aftonifhed, however, at a change, fo very
* Mr. Rouffeau knows very little of the public judg-
ment in England, if he thinks it is to be influenced by
any fiory told in a certain Magazine. But, as I have
before faid, it was not from this time that Mr. Rouffeau
was flightingly fpoke of, but long before ; and that in
a more confequential manner. Perhaps, indeed, Mr.
RoufTeau ought in juftice to impute great part of thofe
civilities he met with on his arrival, rather to vanity
and curiofity than to refpedt and efleem.
Englifl) tranjlator.
fudden
( 45 )
fudden and general, that not one of thoie
who had fo much praifed me in my abfence,
appeared, now I was prefent, to think even,
of my exiftence. I thought it fomething
very odd that, immediately after the return of
Mr. Hume, who had fo much credit in Lon-
don, with fo much influence over the book-
fellers and men of letters, and fuch great
connections with them, his prefence mould
produce an effect fo contrary to what might
have been expected j that among fo many,
writers of every kind, not one of his friends
mould mew himfelf to be mine ; while it
was eafy to be feen, that thofe who fpoke
of him were not his enemies, (ince, in no-
ticing his public character, they reported
that I had come through France under his
protection, and by favour of a parTport
which he had obtained of the court ; nay,
they almoft went fo far as to infinuate, that
I came over in his retinue, and at his ex-
pence. All this was of little fignifica-
tion, and was only lingular ; but what
was much more fo, was, that his friends
changed their tone with me as much as the
public. I mail always take a pleafure in
faying that they were ftill equally folicitous
to ferve me, and that they exerted themfelves
greatly in my favour ; but fo far were they
from mewing me the famerefpect, particularly
the gentleman at whofe houfe we alighted
on
( 46 )
on our arrival, that he accompanied all his
actions with difcourfe fo rude, and fometimes
fo intuiting, that one would have thought
he had taken an occalion to oblige me,
merely to have a right to exprefs his con-
tempt*. His brother, who was at firft
very polite and obliging, altered his beha-
viour with fo little referve, that he would
hardly deign to fpeak a fingle word to me
even in their own houfe, in return to a civil
falutation, or to pay any of thofe civilities
which are ufually paid in like circumftances
to ftrangers. Nothing new had happened,
however, except the arrival of j. J. Rouf-
feau and David Hume : and certainly the
caufe of thefe alterations did not come from
me, unlefs indeed too great a portion of fim-
plicity, difcretion, and modefty, be the
caufe of offence in England. As to Mr.
Hume, he was fo far from affuming fuch a
difgufting tone, that he gave into the other
extreme. I have always looked upon flat-
* This relates to my friend Mr. John Stewart, who
entertained Mr. Roufleau at his houfe, and did him all
the good offices in his power. Mr. Roufleau, in com-
plaining of this gentleman's behaviour, forgets that he
wrote Mr. Stewart a letter from Wooton, full of ac-
knowlegements, and juft expreffions of gratitude.
What Mr. Roufleau adds, regarding the brother of Mr.
Stewart, is neither civil nor true.
Mr. Hume.
terers
( 47 )
terers with an eye of fufpicion : and he was
lb full of all kinds -j- of flattery, that he
even obliged me, when I could bear it no
longer J, to tell him my fentiments on that
head. His behaviour was fuch as to render
few Words neceffary, yet I could have wifli-
ed he had fubftituted, in the room of fuch
grofs encomiums, fometimes the language
of a friend ; but I never found any thing in
his, which favoured of true friendmip, not
even in his manner of fpeaking of me to
others in my prefence. One would have
thought that, in endeavouring to procure
me patrons, he ftrove to deprive me of their
good-will ; that he fought rather to have
me affiited than loved ; and I have been
fometimes furprized at the rude turn he
•f- I fhall mention only one, that made me fmile ;
this was, his attention to have, every time I came to
fee him, a volume of Eloija upon his table; as if I
did not know enough of Mr. Hume's tafte for reading,
as to be well aflured, that of all books in the world,
Eloifa muft be one of the moil tirefome to him.
Mr. Rousseau.
% The reader may judge from the two firft letters of
Mr. Rouffeau, which I publifhed with that view, on
which fide the flatteries commenced. As for the reft,
I loved and efreemed Mr. Rouffeau, and took a plea-
fure in giving him to underfiand fo. I might perhaps
be too lavifh in my praifes ; but I can aiTure the reader
he never once complained of it.
Mr, Hume.
hath
( 48 )
hath given to my behaviour before peopfd
who might not unreafonably have taken of-
fence at it. I (hall give an example of what
I mean. Mr. Pennick of the Mufeum, a
friend of my Lord Marshal's, and miniiter
of a parifh where I was folicited to refide>
came to fee me. Mr. Hume made my ex-
cufes, while I myfelf was prefent, for not
having paid him a vifit. Doctor Matty,
faid he, invited us on Thurfday to the Mu-
feum, where Mr. RoufTeau fhould have feen
you j but he chofe rather to go with Mrs.
Garrick to the play : we could not do both
the fame day *. You will confefs, Sir, this
was a flrange method of recommending me
to Mr. Pennick.
I know not what Mr. Hume might fay-
in private of me to his acquaintance, but
nothing was more extraordinary than their
behaviour to me, even by his own confef-
iion, and even often through his own means.
Although my purfe was not empty, and I
needed not that of any other perfon ; which
he very well knew j yet any one would have
thought I was come over to fubfift on the
* I don't recoiled a fingle circumftance of this hif-
tory ; but what maices me give very little credit to it,
is, that I remember very well we had fettled two dif-
ferent days for the purpofcs mentioned, that is, one to
go to the Mufeum, and another to the play.
Mr. Hume.
j -charity
C 49 )
charity of the public, and that nothing
more was to be done than to give me alms
in fuch a manner as to fave me a little con-
fufion ~f~. I muft own, this conftant and
infolent piece of affectation was one of thofe
things which made me averfe to refide iri
London. This certainly was not the foot-
ing on which any man mould have been in-
troduced in England, had there been a de-
lign of procuring him ever fo little refpect.
This difplay of charity, however, may ad-
mit of a more favourable interpretation, and
I confent it mould. To proceed.
At Paris was publifhed a fictitious letter
from the King of Pruffia, addreffed to me,
and replete with the mod cruel malignity.
I learned with furprize that it was one Mr.
Walpole, a friend of Mr. Hume's, who was
the editor ; I afked him if it were true ; in
anfwer to which queition, he only afked me,
of whom I had the information. A mo-
ment before he had given me a card for this
fame Mr. Walpole, written to engage him
■f I conceive Mr. RoufTeau hints here at two or
three dinners, that were fent him from the houfe of
Mr. Steward, when he chofe to dine at his own lodg-
ings ; this was not done, however, to fave him the
expence of a meal, but becaufe there was no conve-
nient tavern or chop-houfe in the neighbourhood. I
beg the reader's pardon for defcending to fuch trivial
particulars. Mr. Hume.
R to
( 5° )
to bring over fuch papers as related to me
from Paris, and which I wanted to have by
a fafe hand.
I was informed that the fon of that
quack * Tronchin, my mod: mortal enemy,
was not only the friend of Mr. Hume, and
under his protection, but that they both
lodged in the fame houfe together; and when
Mr. Hume found that I knew it, he impart-
ed it in confidence ; alluring me at the fame
time, that the fon was by no means like the
father. I lodged a few nights myfelf, toge-
ther with my governante, in the fame
houfe ; and by the air and manr.cr with
which we were received by the landladies,
who are his friends, I judged in what man-
ner either Mr. Hume, or that man, who,
as he faid, was by no means like his father,
tr.uft have fpoken to them both of her and
me -f.
All
* We have not been authorized to fupprefs this af-
fronting term ; but it is too grofs and groundiefs to do
any injury to the celebrated and refpe&able phyfician
to whofe name it is annexed.
' French Editors.
f Thus am I accufed of treachery, becaufe I am a
friend of Mr. Walpole, who hath thrown out a little
raillery on Mr. RouiTeau ; and becaufe the fon of a
man whom Mr. RoulTeau does not like, lodges by ac-
cident in the fame houfe ; becaufe my landladies, who
do not underhand a fyllable of French, received Mr.
RouiTcs.u coldly. As So the reft, all that 1 faid to Mr. Rouf-
feau
( 5* )
All thefe fa&s put together, added to a
certain appearance of things on the whole,
infenfibly gave me an unealinefs, which I re-
jected with horror. In the mean time, I
found the letters I wrote did not come to
hand; thofe I received had often been open-
ed ; and all went through the hands of Mr.
Hume -J-. If at any time any one efcaped
feau about the young Tronchin was, that he had not the
fame prejudices againft him as his father. Mr. Hume.
f The ftory of Mr. RoufTeau's letters is as follows.
He had often been complaining to me, and with rea-
fon, that he was ruined by poftage at Neuf-chatel,
which commonly coft him 25 or 26 louis d'ors a year ;
and all for letters which were of no fignificance, being
wrote, forrie of them by people who took that oppor-
tunity of abufing him, and moft of them by perfons
Unknown to him : he was therefore refolved, he
faid, in England to receive no letters which came by
the port ; and the fame refolution he re-iterates in his
letter to me dated the 22d of March. When he went
to Chifwick, near London, the poft-man brought his
letters to me. I carried him out a cargo of them : he
exclaimed, defired me to return the letters, and recover
the price of poftage: I told him, that in that cafe, the
clerks of the poft-ofHce were entire matters of his let-
ters : he faid, he was indifferent ; they might do with
them what they pleafed. I added* that he would by
that means be cut off from all correfpondence with all
his friends : he replied, that he would give a particular
direction to fuch as he defired to correfpond with. But
till his inftrudions for that purpofe could arrive, what
could I do more friendly, than to fave, at my own ex-
pence, his letters from the curiofity and indiferetion ot
the clerks of the poll-office ? I am indeed afiiamed to
find myfelf obliged todifcovcr fuch petty circumftances.
' Mr. Hume.
E i him*
( 52 )
him, he could not conceal his eagernefs to
fee it. One evening in particular I remem-
ber a very remarkable circumftance of this
kind, that greatly ftruck me J. As we
were fitting one evening, after fupper, filent
by the fire-fide, I caught his eyes intently
fixed on mine, as indeed happened very
J It is necefiary to explain this circumftance. I had
been writing on Mr. Hume's table, during his abfence,
an anfwer to a letter I had juft received. He came in,
very curious to know what I had been writing, and
hardly able to contain himfelf from defiring to read it.
I clofed my letter, however, without fhewing it him ;
when, as I was putting it into my pocket, he afked me
for it eagerly, faying, he would fend it away on the
morrow, being poll-day. The letter lay on the table.
Lord Newnham came in. Mr. Hume went out of the
room for a moment ; on which I took the letter up again,
faying I mould find time to fend it the next day. Lord
Newnham offered to get it inclofed in the French ambaf-
fador's packet ; which I accepted. Mr. Hume re-entered
the moment his lordfliip had inclofed it, and was pulling
out his feal. Mr. Hume officioufly offered his own feal,
and that with fo much earneflnefs, that it could not well
be refufed. The bell v/as rung, and Lord Newnham
gave the letter to Mr. Hume's fervant, to give it his
own, who waited below with the chariot, in order to
have it fent to the ambaffador. Mr. Hume's fervant was
hardly got out of the room, but I faid to myfelf, I'll
lay a wager the mailer follows. He did not fail to do
as I expected. Not knowing how to leave Lord Newn-
ham alone, I ftaid fome time, before I followed Mr,
Hume. I faid nothing; but he muff perceive that I
was uneafy. Thus, although I have received no an-
fwer to my letter, I doubt not of its going to hand ;
but I confefs, I cannot help fufpefting it was read
firft. Mr. Rousseau.
i often j
( 53 )
often ; and that in a manner of which it is
very difficult to give an idea j at that time
he gave me a ftedfaft, piercing look, mixed
with a fneer, which greatly difturbed me.
To get rid of the embarrafsment I lay under,
I endeavoured to look full at him in my
turn j but, in fixing my eyes againft his,
I felt the mod inexpremble terror, and was
obliged foon to turn them away. The fpeech
and phyfiognomy of the good David is that
of an honefl man ; but where, great God !
did this good man borrow thofe eyes he fixes
fo flernly and unaccountably on thofe of his
friends !
The impremon of this look remained
with me, and gave me much uneafinefs.'
My trouble increafed even to a degree of
fainting ; and if I had not been relieved by
an effufion of tears, I had been fuffocated.
Prefently after this I was feized with the
moft violent remorfe ; I even defpifed my-
felf -, till at length, in a tranfport, which I
flill remember with delight, I fprang on his
neck, embraced him eagerly ; while almofl
choked with fobbing, and bathed in tears, I
cried out, in broken accents, No, no, David
Hume cannot be treacherous ; if he be not the
bejl of men, he muft be the bafeji of mankind.
David Hume politely returned my embraces,
and gently tapping me on the back, repeat-
ed feveral times, in a good-natured and eafy
E 3 tone,
( 5+ )
tone, Why, what my dear Sir ! Nay, my
dear Sir I Oh I my dear Sir ! He fa id no-:
thing more. I felt my heart yearn within
me. We went to bed ; and I fet out the
next day for the country.
Arrived at this agreeable afylum, to which
I have travelled io far in fearch of repofe, I
ought to hid it in a retired, convenient, and
pleafant habitation ; the mafter of which, a
man of underftanding and worth, fpares
for nothing to render it agreeable to me.
But what repofe can be tafred in life, when
the heart is agitated ? Afflicted with the
mod cruel uncertainty, and ignorant what
to think of a man whom I ought to love
and efteem, I endeavoured to get rid of that
fatal doubt, in placing confidence in my be-
nefactor. For, wherefore, from what un-
accountable caprice fhould he difplay fo
much apparent zeal for my happinefs, and
at the lame time entertain fecret defigns
ngainfl my honour. Among the feveral ob-
fervations that difturbed me, each fact was
in itfelf of no great moment -, it was their
concurrence that was furprizing ; yet I
thought, perhaps, that Mr. Hume, inform-
ed of other facts, of which I was ignorant,
could have given me a fatisfactory folution
of them, had we come to an explana-
tion. The only thing that was inexpli-
cable, was, that he refufed to come to fuch
( S5 )
an explanation ; which both his honour
and his friendfhip rendered equally neceffary.
I faw very well there was ibmething in the
affair which I did not comprehend, and
which I earneflly wifhed to know. Before
I came to an abfolute determination, there-
fore, with regard to him, I was defirous
of making another effort, and to try to
recover him, if he had permitted himfelf
to be feduced by my enemies, or. in fhort to
prevail on him to explain himfelf one way
or other. Accordingly I wrote him a letter,
which he ought to have found very na-
tural *, if he were guilty j but very extra-
ordinary, if he were innocent. For what
could be more extraordinary than a letter
full of gratitude for his fervices, and at the
fame time, of difiruft, of his fentiments ;
and in which, placing in a manner his
actions on one fide, and his fentiments on
the other, inftead of fpeaking of the proofs
of friendfhip he had given me, I defired
him to love me, for the good he had done
me -f ? I did not take the precaution to pre^
* It appears from what he wrote to me afterwards,
that he was very well fatisfied with this letter, and thaC
he thought of it very well. Mr. Rousseai/.
f My anfwer to this is contained in Mr. Roufleau's
own letter of the 2ad of March j wherein he expreffes
himfelf with the utmoft cordiality, without any re-
fcrve, and without the leaft appearance of fufpicion.
Mr. Hume.
E 4 ferve
( 56 )
ferve a copy of this letter ; but as he hath
done ir, let him produce it : and whoever
ihall read it, and fee therein a man labour-
ing under a fecret trouble, which he is de-
iirous of exprefling, and is afraid to do it,
will, I am perfuaded, be curious to know
what kind of eclaircifTement it produced,
efpecially after the preceeding fcene. None.
Abfolutely none at all. Mr. Hume con-
tented himfelf, in his anfwer, with only
fpeaking of- the obliging offices Mr. Daven-
port propofed to do for me. As for the reft,
he faid not a word of the principal fubjecT: of
my letter, nor of the fituation of my heart,
of whole diftrefs he could not be ignorant.
I was more ftruck with this filence, than I
had been with his phlegm during our laft con-
verfation. In this I was wrong; this filence
was very natural after the other, and was no
more than I ought to have expected. For
when one hath ventured to declare to a man's
face, I am tempted to believe you a traitor,
and he hath not the curioiity to afk you for
ivhat *, it may be depended on he will never
have any fuch curiofity as long as he lives;
and it is eafy to judge of him from thefe flight
indications.
After the receipt of his letter, which was
long delayed, I determined at length to write
* Aii this hangs upon the fable he had To artfully
forked up, as I before obferved. Mr. Hume.
to
( 57 )
to him no more. Soon after, every thing
lerved to confirm me in the refolution to
break of! all farther correfpondence with him.
Curious to the laft degree concerning the
minuted circumftance of my affairs, he was
not content to learn them of me, in our fre-
quent converfations ; but, as I learned, ne-
ver let flip an opportunity of being alone
with my governante -j~, to interrogate her
even importunately concerning my occupa-
tions, my refources, my friends, acquaint-
ances, their names, Situations, place of abode,
and all this after fetting out with telling her
he was well acquainted with the whole of
my connections ; nay, with the mod jefu-
itical addrefs, he would afk the fame ques-
tions of us Separately. One ought undoubt-
edly to intereft one's felf in the affairs of a
friend ; but one ought to be fatisned with
what he thinks proper to let us know of them,
particularly when people are fo frank and in-
genuous as 1 am. Indeed all this petty inqui-
fitivenefs is very little becoming a philofopher.
About the fame time I received two other
letters which had been opened. The one
from Mr. Bofwell, the feal of which was fo
■f I bad only one fuch opportunity with his gover-
nante, which was on their arrival in London. I muft
pwn it never entered into roy head to talk to her upon
any other fubjedr. than the concerns of Mr. Roufleau.
Mr. Hume.
loofe
( 5S )
Joofe and disfigured, that Mr. Davenport,
when he received it, remarked the fame to
Mr. Hume's fervant. The other was from
Mr. d'lvernois, in Mr. Hume's packet, and
which had been fealed up again by means of
a hot iron, which, aukwardly applied, had
burnt the paper round the imprefllon. On
this, I wrote to Mr. Davenport to defire
him to take charge of all the letters which
might be fent for me, and to trull none of
them in any body's hands, under any pretext
whatever. I know not whether Mr. Daven-
port, who certainly was far from thinking
that precaution was to be obferved with re-
gard to Mr. Hume, fhowed him my letter
or not; but this I know, that the latter had
all the reaion in the world to think he had
forfeited my confidence, and that he pro-
ceeded neverthelefs in his ufual manner,
without troubling himfelf about the recovery
of it.
But what was to become of me, when I
faw, in the public papers, the pretended letter
of the King of Pruffia, which I had never
before (ceny that fictitious letter, printed in
French and Engliih, given for genuine, even
with the fignature of the King, and in which
I knew the pen of Mr. d'Alembert as cer-
tainly as if I had feen him write it * ?
* See Mr. d'AJembert's declaration on this head, an-
nexed to this narrative.
6 In
( 59 )
In a moment a ray of light difcovered to
me the fecret caufe of that touching and fud-
den change, which I had obferved in the
public reflecting me; and I faw the plot
which was put In execution at London, had
been laid in Paris.
Mr. d'Alembert, another intimate friend
of Mr. Hume's, had been long fince my
fecret enemy, and lay in watch for opportu-
nities to injure me without expofing himfelf.
He was the only perfon, among the men of
letters, of my old acquaintance, who did
not come to fee me 4-, or fend their civilities
during my laft paffage through Paris. I
knew his fecret difpofition, but I gave my-
felf very little trouble about it, content-
ing myfelf with advifing my friends of it
occafionally. I remember that being afked
about him one day by Mr. Hume, who
afterwards afked my governante the fame
queftion, I told him that Mr, d'Alembert
was a cunning, artful man. He contradicted
me with a warmth that furprized me ; not
then knowing they flood fo well with each
other, and that it was his own caufe he de-
fended.
t Mr. Roufleau declares himfelf to have been fatigued
with thevifits he received ; ought he therefore to complain
that Mr. d'Alembert, whom he did not like, did nof
importune him with his ? Mr. Hume.
The
( 6o )
The perufal of the letter above mentioned
alarmed me a good deal, when, perceiving
that I had been brought over to England in
confequence of a project which began to be
pat in execution, but of the end of which I
was ignorant, I felt the danger without
knowing what to guard againft, or on whom
to rely. I then recollected four terrify-
ing words Mr. Hume had made ufe of, and
of which I (hall fpeak hereafter. What could
be thought of a paper in which my misfor-
tunes were imputed to me as a crime, which
tended, in the midft of my diftrefs, to de-
prive me of all compaffion, and, to render
its effects ftill more cruel, pretended to have
been written by a Prince who had afforded
me protection ? What could I divine would
be the confequence of fuch a beginning ?
The people in England read the public pa-
pers, and are in no wife prepoffelTed in favour
of foreigners. Even a coat, cut in a dif-
ferent fafhion from their own, is fufficient
to excite a prejudice againft them. What then
had not a poor ftranger to expect in his rural
walks, the only pleafures of his life, when
the good people in the neighbourhood were
once thoroughly perfuaded he was fond of
being perfecuted and pelted ? Doubtlefs they
would be ready enough to contribute to his
favourite amufement. But my concern, my
profound and cruel concern, the bittereft in-
deed
( 6i )
deed I ever felt, did not arife from the dan-
ger to which I was perfonally expofed. I
had braved too many others to be much
moved with that. The treachery of a falfe
friend* to which I had fallen a pre/, was
the circumftance that rilled my too fuf-
ceptible heart with deadly forrow. In the
impetuolity of its firfr. emotions, of which I
never yet was matter, and of which my ene-
mies have artfully taken the advantage, I
wrote feveral letters full of diforder, in which
I did not difguife either my anxiety or indig-
nation.
I have, Sir, fo many things to mention,
that I forget half of them by the way. For
inftance, a certain narrative in form of a let-
ter, concerning my manner of living at
Montmorency, was given by the bookfellers
to Mr. Hume, who (hewed it me. I agreed
to its being printed, and Mr. Hume under-
took the care of its edition ; but it never ap-
peared. Again, I had brought over with me
a copy of the letters of Mr. du Peyrou, con-
taining a relation of the treatment I had met
* This falfe friend, is, undoubtedly, myfelf. But
what is the treachery ? What harm have I done, or
could I do to Mr. RoufTeau ? On the fuppofition of my
entering into a project to ruin him, how could I think
to bring it about by the fervices I did him ? If Mr. Rouf-
feau mould gain credit, I muft be thought (till more
weak than wicked. Mr. Hume.
with
( 62 )
with at Neufchatel. I gave them into th-e
hands of the fame bookfeller to have them'
tranflated and reprinted. Mr. Hume charged
himfelf with the care of them ; but they ne-
ver appeared -f-. The fuppofititious letter of
the King of Pruffia, and its tranflation, had
no fooner made their appearance, than I im-
mediately comprehended why the other
pieces had been fuppreffed J, and I wrote as
much to the bookfellers||. I wrote feverat
other
■f The bookfellers have lately informed me that the
edition is finifhed, and will fhortly be publifhed. This
may be j but it is too late, and what is ftill worfe, it is
too opportune for the purpofe intended to be ferved.
Mr. Rousseau.
^ It is about four months fince Mr. Becket, the
bookfeller, told Mr. Rouffeau that the publication of
thefe pieces was delayed on account of the indifpofrtiori,
of the tranflator. As for any thing elfe, I never pro-
mifed to take any charge at all of the edition, as Mr.
Becket can teftify. Mr. Hume.
|| As to Mr. Rouffeau's fufpicions of the caufe of the
fupprejjiori) as he calls it, of the Narrative and Letters
above mentioned, the tranflator thinks it incumbent on
him to affirm, they were entirely groundlefs. It is
true, as Mr. Becket told Mr. Hume, that the tranflator
of the letters was indifpofed about that time. But the
principal caufe of the delay was, that he was of his own
mere motion, no lefs indifpofed to thofe pieces making
their appearance in Englim at * all j and this not out of
ill
t i ;
* For, fo far were the bookfellers from intending to
fupprefs thefe pieces, that they actually reprinted the
French edition, of Peyrou's letters, and publifhed it i£
London.
( 63 )
©ther letters alfo, which probably were
handed about London ; till at length I em-
ployed the credit of a man of quality and
merit, to infert a declaration of the impoflure
in the public papers. In this declaration, I
concealed no part of my extreme concern ;
nor did I in the leaft difguife the caufe.
Hitherto Mr. Hume feems to have walked
in darknefs. You will foon fee him appear
ill will to Mr. Roufleau, or good will to Mr. Hume,
neither of which he ever faw, or fpoke to, in his life ;
but really out of regard to the character and reputation
of a man, whofe genius he admired, and whole works
he had tranflated : well knowing the publication of fuch
fquabbles could do Mr. Roufleau no good in the opinion
of the more judicious and fenfible part of mankind.
With regard to the tranflation of the Narrative of his
manner of living at Montmorency, I never faw it ti'i
it was actually printed; when Mr. Becket put it into
my hands, and I frankly told him that I thought it
a very unfeafonable, puerile affair, and could by no
means ferve to advance Mr. RoulTeau's eftimation in the
eyes of the public. It was certainly of great importance
to the good peopie of England, to know how Mr. Rouf-
feau amufed himfelf 7 or 8 years ago at Montmorency,
that he cooked his own broth, and did not leave it to
the management of his nurfe, for fear fhe fhould have a
better dinner than himfelf ! Yet this is one of the mofk
remarkable circumftances contained in that narrative,
except indeed that we are told, Mr. Roufleau is a moft
pafllonate admirer of virtue, and that his eyes always
fparkle at the bare mention of that word — O Virtue !
how greatly is thy name proftituted ! And how fair,
from the teeth outward, are thy nominal votaries !
EngHJb tranjlator.
in
( 64 )
in open day, and act without difguife. No-*
thing more is neceifary, in our behaviour
toward cunning people, than to act ingenu-
oufly ; fooner or later they will infallibly be-
tray themfelves.
When this pretended letter from the King
of Pruffia was firft. published in London,
Mr. Hume, who certainly knew that it was
fictitious, as I had told him fo, yet faid no-
thing of the matter, did not write to me,
but was totally filent ; and did not even think
of making any declaration of the truth, in
favour of his abfent friend *. It anfwered
his purpofe better to let the report take its
courfe, as he did.
Mr. Hume having been my conductor
into England, he was of courfe in a manner
my patron and protector. If it were but na-
tural in him to undertake my defence, it
was no lefs fo that, when I had a public
proteftation to make, I mould have addreffed
myfelf to him. Having already ceafed writ-
ing to him "jr, however, I had no mind to
renew our correfpondence. I addreffed my-
felf therefore to another perfon. The firft
* No body could poflibly be miftaken with regard to
the letter's being fictitious; befides it was well known
that Mr. Walpole was the author of it. Mr. Hume.
t Mr. RouiTeau forgets himfelf here. It was but a
week before that he wrote me a very friendly letter.
See his letter of the 29th of March, Mr. Hume.
Hap
( 65 )
flap on the face I gave my patron. He felt
nothing of it.
In laying the letter was fabricated at Paris,
it was of very little confequence to me whe-
ther it was understood particularly of Mr.
d'Alembert, or of Mr. Walpole, vvhofe
name he borrowed on the occafion. But
in adding that, what afflicted and tore my
heart was, the impoftor had got his accom-
plices in England ; I expreffed myicAf very
clearly to their friend, who was in London,
and was defirous of paffing for mine. For.
certainly he was the only perfon in England,
whofe hatred could afflict and rend my heart.
This was the fecond flap of the face I gave
my patron. He did not feel, however, yet.
On the contrary, he malicioufly pretended
that my affliction arofe folely from the pub-
lication of the above letter, in order to make
me pafs for a man who was exceffively
affected by fatire. Whether I am vain or
not, certain it is I was mortally afflicted ; he
knew it, and yet wrote me not a word.
This affectionate friend, who had fo much
at heart the filling of my purfe, gave him-
felf no trouble to think my heart was bleed-
ing with forrow.
Another piece appeared foon after, in the
fame papers, by the author of the former,
and (till if poffible more cruel ; in which the
writer could not difguife his rage at the recep-
F tioa
( 66 )
tlon I met with at Paris *. This however &td
not affect me ; it told me nothing new. Mere
libels may take their courfe without giving
me any emotion ; and the inconftant public
may amufe themfelves as long as they pleafe
with the fubjecT. It is not an affair of con-
fpirators, who, bent on the deftruction of
my honeft fame, are determined by fome
means or other to effect it. It was neceffary
to change the battery.
The affair of the penfion was not deter-
mined. It was not difficult, however, for
Mr. Hume to obtain, from the humanity of
the minifter, and the generofity of the King,
the favour of its determination. He was
required to inform me of it, which he did.
This, I muff confefs, was one of the critical
moments of my life. How much did it coft
me to do my duty ! My preceding engage-
ments, the neceffity of (hewing a due refpect
for the goodnefs of the King, and for that
of his minifter, together with the defire of
difplaying how far I was fenfible of both ;
add to thefe the advantage of being made a
little more eafy in circumftances in the de-
cline of life, furrounded as I was by enemies
and evils ; in fine, the embarraffment I was
under to find a decent excufe for not accept-
I know nothing of this pretended libel.
Mr. Hume.
Mg
( 67 )
ing a benefit already half accepted ; all thefe
together made the neceffity of that refufalvery
difficult and cruel : for neceffary it was, or I
mould have been one of the meaneft and
bafefl of mankind to have voluntarily laid my-
felf under an obligation to a man who had
betrayed me.
I did my duty, though not without reluc-
tance. I wrote immediately to General Con-
way, and in the mod civil and refpectful
manner poflible, without giving an abfolute
refufal, excufing myfelf from accepting the
penfion for the prefent.
Now, Mr. Hume had been the only ne-
gotiator of this affair, nay the only perfon
who had fpoke of it. Yet I not only did not
give him any anfwer, though it was he who
wrote to me on the fubject, but did not even
fo much as mention him in my letter to Ge-
neral Conway. This was the third flap of
the face I gave my patron j which if he does
not feel, it is certainly his own fault, he can
feel nothing.
My letter was not clear, nor could it be fo
to General Conway, who did not know the
motives of my refufal •, but it was very plain
to Mr. Hume, who knew them but too well.
He pretended neverthelefs to be deceived as
well with regard to the caufe of my difcon-
tent, as to that of my declining the penfion ;
and, in a letter he wrote me on the occafion,
F 2 gave
t 68 >
gave me to underfTand that the king's goocJ-
nefs might be continued towards me, if I
ihould reconfider the affair of the penfion.
In a word he feemed determined, at all
events, to remain ftill my patron, in fpite of
my teeth. You will imagine, Sir, he did
not expect my anfwer ; and he had none.
Much about this time, for I do not know
exactly the date, nor is fuch precifion necef-
fary, appeared a letter, from Mr. de Voltaire
to me, with an Englifh tranllation, which (till
improved on the original. The noble object
of this ingenious performance, was to draw on
me the hatred and contempt of the people,
among whom I was come to refide. I made
not the leafl doubt that my dear patron was
one of the inftruments of its publication -r
particularly when I faw that the writer, in
endeavour ins: to alienate from me thofe who
might render my life agreeable, had omitted
the name of him who brought me over.
He doubtlefs knew that it was fuperfluous,
and that with regard to him, nothing more
was neceffary to be faid. The omiflion of
his name, fo impoliticly forgot in this letter,
recalled to my mind what Tacitus fays of
the picture of Brutus, omitted in a funeral
folemnity, viz. that every body took notice
of it, particularly becaufe it was not there.
Mr. Hume was not mentioned ; but he
lives and converfes with people that are men-
tioned.
< H )
tioned. It is well known his friends are all
my enemies ; there are abroad fuch people
as Tronchin, d'Alembert, and Voltaire * ;
but it is much worfe in London ; for here
I have no enemies but what are his friends.
For why, indeed, fhould I have any other 1
Why mould I have even them -j- ? What
have I done to Lord Littleton J, whom I
don't
* I have never been fo happy as to meet with Mr. de
Voltaire ; he only did me the honour to write me a
letter about three years ago. As to Mr. Tronchin, I
never faw him in my life, nor ever had any correfpon-
•dence with him. Of Mr. d'Alembert's friendfhip, in-
deed, I am proud to make a boaft.
Mr. Hume.
-f Why indeed ? except that fenfible people in Eng-
land are averfe to afTedtation and quackery. Thofe who
■fee and defpife thefe moil in Mr. RouiTeau, are nor,
however, his enemies ; perhaps, if he could be brought
to think fo, they are his beft and trueft friends.
Englijh tr.mjlator,
% Mr. RouiTeau, feeing the letter addrefTed to him in
the name of Voltaire advertifed in the public papers,
wrote to Mr. Davenport, who was then in London, to
defire he would bring it him. I told Mr. Davenport
that the printed copy was very faulty, but that I would
afk of Lord Littleton a manufcript copy, which was cor-
recl:. This is fufficient to make Mr. Rouffcau conclude
that Lord Littleton is his mortal enemy, and my inti-
mate friend ; and that we are in a confpiracy againft
him. He ought rather to have concluded that the
printed copy could not come from me.
Mr. Hume.
The piece above mentioned was fhewn to the Tranf-
■laiot before its publication, and many abfurd liberties
F 3 taken
( 7° )
don't even know ? What have I done to
Mr. Walpole, whom I know full as little ?
What do they know of me, except that I am
unhappy, and a friend to their friend Hume?
What can he have faid to them, for it is
only through him they know any thing of
me ? I can very well imagine that, conli-
dering the part he has to play, he does not
unmalk himfelf to every body ; for then he
would be difguifed to no body. I can very
well imagine, that he does not fpeak of me
to General Conway and the Duke of Rich-
mond, as he does in his private converfations
with Mr. Walpole, and his fecret corre-
fpondence with Mr. d'Alembert ; but let
any one difcover the clue that hath been un-
ravelled fince my arrival in London, and it
will eafily be feen whether Mr. Hume does
not hold the principal thread.
At length the moment arrived in which
it was thought proper to ftrike the great
blow ; the effect of which was prepared for,
by a frefb, fatirical piece, put in the papers *.
Had
taken with the original pointed out and cenfured. At
which time- there did not appear, from the parties con-
cerned in it, that Mr. Hume could have had the leaft
hand in, or could have known any thing of the edition.
Englijh tranJJator.
* I have never feen this piece, neither before nor
after its publication ; nor has it come to the knowlege
©f any body to whom I have fpoken of it.
Mr. Hume.
The
( 7' )
Had there remained in me the leaft doubt,
it would have been impoffible to have har-
boured it after perufing this piece ; as it con-
tained facls unknown to any body but Mr.
Hume , exaggerated, it is true, in order to
render them odious to the public.
It is faid, in this paper, that my door was
opened to the rich, and (hut to the poor.
Pray who knows when my door was open
or iliut, except Mr. Hume, with whom I
lived, and by whom every body was intro-
duced that I (aw ? I will except one great
perfonage, whom I gladly received without
knowing him, and whom I fhould (till have
more gladly received if I had known him.
It was Mr. Hume who told me his name,
when he was gone ; on which information,
I was really chagrined that, , as he deigned
to mount up two pair of ftairs, he was not
received in the firft floor. As to the poor, I
have nothing to fay about the matter. I was
conftantly defirous of feeing lefs company ;
but as I was unwilling to difpleafe any one,
I fuffered myfelf to be directed in this af-
fair altogether by Mr. Hume, and endea-
voured to receive every body he introduced
The tranjlator, who has been attentive to every thing
that has come out from, or about Mr. Roufleau, knows
alfo nothing of this piece. Why did not Mr. Roiilfeau
mention particularly in what paper, and when it ap-
peared ? EngVJh tranjlator.
F 4 as
( 72 )
as well as I could, without diftindtion, whe*
ther rich or poor. It is faid in the fame
piece, that I received my relations very
coldly, not to fay any thing nscorfe. This
general charge relates to my having once re-
ceived with iome indifference the only rela*
tion I have, out of Geneva, and that in the
prefence of Mr. Hume *. It muft. necefla-
rily be either Mr. Hume or this relation
who fumimed that piece of intelligence.
Now, my coufin, whom I have always
known for a friendly relation, and a worthy
man, is incapable of furnifhing materials for
public fatires againft me. Add to this, that
his fituation in life confining him to the con-
verfatlon of perfons in trade, he has no
connection with men of letters, or para-
graph-writers, and ftill lefs with fatirifts
aiid libellers. So that the article could not
come from him. At the worft, can I help
imagining that Mr. Hume muft have en-
deavoured to take advantage of what he faid,
and conftrued it in favour of his own pur-
pole ? It is not improper to add, that after
my rupcure with Mr. Hume, I wrote an
account of it to my coufin.
* I was not prefent when Mr. RoufTeau received his
coufin : I only juft faw them afterwards together for
about a minute on the terrace in Buckingham-ftreet.
Mr. Hume.
In
( 73 )
In fine, it is faid in the fame paper, that
I am apt to change my friends. No great
fubtlety is neceflary to comprehend what
this reflection is preparative to.
But let us diftinguifh fads. I have pre-
ferved fome very valuable and folid friends
for twenty-five to thirty years. I have
others whofe friendfhip is of a later date,
but no lefs valuable, and which if I live, I
may preferve (till longer. I have not found,
indeed, the fame fecurity in general among
thofe friendships I have made with men of
letters. I have for this reafon fometimes
changed them, and (hall always change
them, when they appear fufpicious j for I
am determined never to have friends by way
of ceremony j I have them only with a view
to fhew them my affection.
If ever I was fully and clearly convinced
of any thing, I am fo convinced that Mr.
Hume furniihed the materials for the above
paper.
But what is flill more, I have not only
that abfolute conviction, but it is very clear
to me that Mr. Hume intended I mould :
For how can it be fuppofed that a man of
his fubtlety mould be fo imprudent as to ex-
pofe himfelf thus, if he had not intended
it ? What was his defign in it ? Nothing
is more clear than this. It was to raife my
refentment to the higheft pitch, that ne
might
( 74 )
might ftrike the blow he was preparing to
give me with greater eclat. He knew he
had nothing more to do than to put me in a
paffion, and I mould be guilty of a number
of abfurdities. We are now arrived at the
critical moment which is to (hew whether
he reafoned well or ill.
It is neceffary to have all the prefence of
mind, all the phlegm and refolution of Mr.
Hume, to be able to take the part he hath
taken, after all that has palTed between us.
In the embarraflrnent I was under, in writing
to General Conway, I could make ufe only
of obfcureexpreffionsj to which Mr. Hume,
in quality of my friend, gave what inter-
pretation he pleafed. Suppofing therefore,
for he knew very well to the contrary, that
it was the circumftance of fecrecy which
gave meuneafinefs, he obtained the promife
of the General to endeavour to remove it ;
but before any thing was done, it was pre-
viouily neceffary to know whether I would
accept of the penllon without that condi-
tion, in order not to expofe his Majefty to a
fecond refufal.
This was the decilive moment, the end
and object of all his labours. An anfwer
was required ; he would have it. To pre-
vent effectually indeed my neglect: of it, he
fent to Mr. Davenport a duplicate of his
letter to me ; and, not content with this
pre-
( 75 )
precaution, wrote me word, in another
billet, that he could not poffibly flay any
longer in London to ferve me. I was giddy
with amazement, on reading this note. Ne-
ver in my life did I meet with any thing fo
unaccountable.
At length he obtained from me the (o
much defired anfwer, and began prefently to
triumph. In writing to Mr. Davenport, he
treated me as a monfter of brutality and in-
gratitude. But he wanted to do ftill more.
He thinks his meafures well taken ; no
proof can be made to appear againft him.
He demands an explanation j he fhali have
it, and here it is.
That laft ftroke was a mafter-piece. He
himfelf proves every thing, and that beyond
reply.
I will fuppofe, though by way of impof-
fibility, that my complaints againft Mr.
Hume never reached his ears ; that he knew
nothing of them ; but was as perfectly ig-
norant as if he had held no cabal with thofe
who are acquainted with them, but had re-
flded all the while in China *. Yet the be-
haviour paffing directly between us j the
* How was it pofTible for me to guefs at fuch chi-
merical fufpicions ? Mr. Davenport, the only perfort
of my acquaintance who then faw Mr. RoufTeau, af-
fures me, that he was perfectly ignorant of them him-
felf. Mr. Hume.
laft
( 76 )
laft ftriking words, which I faid to him In
London ; the letter which followed replete
with fears and anxiety; my perfevering filence
ftill more expreffive than words j my public
and bitter complaints with regard to the let-
ter of Mr. d'Alembert; my letter to the Se-
cretary of State, who did not write to me,
in anfwer to that which Mr. Hume wrote to
me himfelf, and in which I did not mention
him j and in fine my refufal, without deign-
ing to addrefs myfelf to him, to acq^iefce in
an affair which he had managed in toy fa-
vour, with my own privity, and without any
oppofition on my part : all this muff have
fpoken in a very forcible manner, I will not
fay to any perfon of the leaff fenfibility, but
to every man of common fenfe.
Strange that, after I had ceafed to corres-
pond with him for three months, when I
liad made no anfwer to any one of his letters,
however important the fubject of it, fur-
rounded with both public and private marks
of that affliction which his infidelity gave me;
a man of fo enlightened an underitanding,
of fo penetrating a genius by nature, and fo
dull by defign, mould fee nothing, hear no-
thing, feel nothing, be moved at nothing;
but, without one word of complaint, juffi-
rrcation, or explanation, continue to give me
the mod preffing marks of his good will to
ierve ok, in fpite of myfelf! He wrote to
me
( 77 )
me affectionately, that he could not ftay
any longer in London to do me fervice, as if
we had agreed that he mould ftay there for
that purpofe ! This blindnefs, this infen-
libility, this perfeverance, are not in nature;
they muft be accounted for, therefore, from
other motives. Let us fet this behaviour in a
ftill clearer light j for this is the decifive point.
Mr. Hume muft neceflarily have acted in
this affair, either as one of the firft or laft of
mankind. There is no medium. It remains
to determine which of the two it hath been.
Could Mr. Hume, after fo many inftances
of difdain on my part, have ftill the aftonifh-
ing generality as to perfevere fincerely to
ferve me ? He knew it was impoffible for me
to accept his good offices, fo long as I enter-
tained for him fuch fentiments as I had con-
ceived. He had himfelf avoided an expla-
nation. So that to ferve me without juftifying
himfelf, would have been to render his fer-
vices ufelefs j this therefore was no genera-
lity. If he fuppofed that in fuch circumftances
I mould have accepted his fervices, he muft
have fuppofed me to have been an infamous
fcoundrel. It was then in behalf of a man
whom he fuppofed to be a fcoundrel, that
he fo warmly folicited a penfion from his Ma-
jefty. Can any thing he fuppofed more ex-
travagant ?
But
( 78 )
But let it be fuppofed that Mr. Hume,
conftantly purfuing his plan, fhould only
have faid to himfelf, This is the moment for
its execution ; for, by prefling RoufTeau to
accept the penfion, he will be reduced either
to accept or refufe it. If he accepts it, with
the proofs I have in hand againft him, I (hall
be able compleatly to difgrace him : if he
refufes, after having accepted it, he will have
no pretext, but muft give a reafon for fuch
refufal. This is what I expect ; if he ac-
cufes me he is ruined.
If, I fay, Mr. Hume reafoned with him~
felf in this 'manner, he did what was con-
fiflent with his plan, and in that cafe very
natural ; indeed this is the only way in which
his conduct in this affair can be explained,
for upon any other fuppofition it is inexpli-
cable : if this be not demonftrable, nothing
ever was fo. The critical fituation to which
he had now reduced me, recalled ftrongly to
my mind the four words I mentioned above ;
and which I heard him fay and repeat, at a
time when I did not comprehend their full
force. It was the firft night after our de-
parture from Paris. We flept in the fame
chamber, when, during the night, I heard
him feveral times cry out with great vehe-
mence, in the French language, ye tie?is
J. y, Roujfeau. [I have you, RoufTeau.]
I know
( 79 )
I know not whether he was awake or
afleep*.
The expreffion was remarkable, coming
from a man who is too well acquainted with
the French language, to be miftaken with
regard to the force or choice of words. I took
thofe words however, and I could not then
take them otherwife than in a favourable
fenfe : notwithstanding the tone of voice in
which they were fpoken, was ftill lefs favour-
able than the expreffion. It is indeed im-
poffible for me to give any idea of it ; but it
correfponds exactly with thofe terrible looks
I have before mentioned. At every repeti-
tion of them I was feized with a fhuddering,
a kind of horror I could not refift j though a
moment's recollection reftored me, and made
me fmile at my terror. The next day all
this was fo perfectly obliterated, that I did
not even once think of it during my (lay in
London, and its neighbourhood. It was not
till my arrival in this place, that fo many
things have contributed to recall thefe words
to mind; and indeed recall them every mo-
ment.
* I cannot anfwer for every thing I may fay in my
fleep, and much lefs am I confcious whether or not I
dream in French. But pray, as Mr. Roufieau did not
know whether I was afleep or awake, when I pro-
nounced thofe terrible words, with fuch a terrible voice,
how is he certain that he himfelf was well awake when
he heard them ? Mr, Hume.
Thefe
( 8o )
Thefe words, the tone of which dwells on
my heart, as if I had but juft heard them ;
thofe long and fatal looks fo frequently caft
on me; the patting me on the back, with
the repetition of Q, my dear Sir, in an-
fwer to my fufpicions of his being a trai-
tor : all this affects me to fuch a degree,
after what preceded, that this recollection,
had I no other, would be fufficient to pre-
vent any reconciliation or return of confi-
dence between us ; not a night indeed paries
over my head, but I think I hear, Roujfeau,
I have you, ring in my ears as if he had
juft pronounced them.
Yes, Mr. Hume, I know you have me ;
but that only by mere externals : you have
me in the public opinion and judgment of
mankind. You have my reputation, and
perhaps my fecurity, to do with as you will.
The general prepofTeflion is in your favour ^
it will be very eafy for you to make me pafs
for the monfter you have begun to reprefent
me ; and I already fee the barbarous exulta-
tion of my implacable enemies. The public
will no longer fpare me. Without any far-
ther examination4 every body is on the fide
of thofe who have conferred favours j becaufe
each is defirous to attract the fame good
offices, by difplaying afenfibility of the obli-
gation. I forefee readily the confequences
of all this, particularly in the country to
4 which
( Si )
"which you have concluded me ; and where,
being without friends and an utter fbanger
to every body, I lie almoft entirely at your
mercy. The fenfible part of mankind, how-
ever, will comprehend that I mufl be fo far
from feeking this affair, that nothing more
difagreeable or terrible could potlibly have
happened to me in my prefent fituation.
They will perceive that nothing but my in-
vincible averfion to all kind of falfhood, and
the poffibility of my profeffing a regard for a
perfon who had forfeited it, could have pre-
vented my diffimulation, at a time when it
was on fo many accounts my intereft. But
the fenfible part of mankind are few, nor do
they make the greater!: noife in the world.
Yes, Mr. Hume, you have me by all the
ties of this life -3 but you have no power over
my probity or my fortitude, which, being
independent either of you or of mankind, I
will preferve in fpite of you. Think not to
frighten me with the fortune that awaits me.
I know the opinions of mankind ; I am ac-
cuftomed to their injuftice, and have learned
to care little about it. If you have taken
your refolution, as I have reafon to believe
you have, be affured mine is taken alfo. I
am feeble indeed in body, but never pofftfTed
greater (irength of mind.
Mankind may fay and do what they will,
it is of little eonfequence to me. What is of
G confequence,
( 82 )
confequence, however, is, that I mould end
as I have begun j that I mould continue to
preferve my ingenuoufnefs and integrity to
the end, whatever may happen; and that I
fhould have no caufe to reproach myfelf
either with meannefs in adverfity, or info-
lence in profperity. Whatever difgrace at-
tends, or misfortune threatens me, I am
ready to meet them. Though I am to be
pitied, I am much lefs (o than you, and all
the revenge I fhall take on you, is, to leave
vou the tormenting confcioufbefs of being
obliged, in fpite of yourfelf, to have a refpect
for the unfortunate perfon you have op-
prefTed.
In clofing this letter, I am furprized at'
my having been able to write it. If it were
poffible to die with grief, every line was fuf-
iicient to kill me with forrow. Every cir-
cumstance of the affair is equally incompre-
henlible. Such conduct as yours hath been,
is not in nature : it is contradictory to itfelf,
and yet it is demonftrable to me that it has
been fuch as 1 conceive. On each fide of me
there is a bottomlefs abyfs ! and I am loft in
one or the other.
If you are guilty, I am the mofl unfor-
tunate of mankind; if you are innocent, I
am the molt culpable *. You even make
* And does it depend on an if% after all Mr. R's pofitive
ccnyiSion, anda?;folute demonftrations ? Englijb tranf.
2 me
( «3 )
me defire to be that contemptible object.
Yes, the fituation to which you fee me re-
duced, proftrate at your feet, crying out fcr
mercy, and doing every thing to obtain it ;
publifhing aloud my own unworthinefs, and
paying the moft explicit homage to your vir-
tues, would be a ftate of joy and cordial ef-
fufion, after the grievous ftate of reftraint
and mortification into which you have plung-
ed me. I have but a word more to fay. If
you are guilty, write to me no more; it
would be fuperfluous, for certainly you could
not deceive me. If you are innocent, juftify
yourfelf. I know my duty, I love, and
fhall always love it, however difficult and
fevere. There is no ftate of abjection that a
heart, not formed for it, may not recover
from. Once again, I fay, if you are innocent,
deign to juftify yourfelf; if you are not,
adieu for ever.
J. J. R.
I hefitated fome time whether I mould
make any reply to this ftrange memorial.
At length I determined to write to. Mr, Rouf-
feau the following letter.
G 2 Mr.
( H )
Mr. HUME to Mr. ROUSSEAU.
LiJJe-Jireet, Leicejier-Jieldsy J idy 22, 1766.
S I R,
1 SHALL only anfwer one article of
your long letter : it is that which regards
the converfation between us the evening be-
fore your departure. Mr. Davenport had
imagined a good natured artifice, to make you
believe that a retour chaife had offered for
Wooton y and I believe he made an adver-
tifement be put in the papers, in order the
better to deceive you. His purpofe only was
to fave you fome expences in the journey,
which 1 thought a laudable project; though
I had no hand either in contriving or con-
dueling it. You entertained, however, fuf-
picions of his defign, while we were fitting
alone by my fire-fide ; and you reproached
me with concurring in it. I endeavoured to
pacify you, and to divert the difcourfe ; but
to no purpofe. You fat fullen, and was
either filent, or made me very peevifli an-
fwers. At laft you rofe up, and took a turn
or two about the room ; when all of a fud-
den, and to my great furprife, you clapped
yourfelf on mv knee, threw your arms about
my neck, killed me with feeming ardour,
1 and
( 85 )
and bedewed my face with tears. You ex-
claimed, " My dear friend, can you ever
lt pardon this folly ! After all the pains you
<c have taken to ferve me, after the num-
" berlefs inftances of friendfhip you have
" given me, here I reward you with this ill
u humour and fullennefs. But your for-
" givenefs of me will be a new inflance of
" your friendship; and I hope you will find
" at bottom, that my heart is not unwor-
14 thy of it."
I was very much affected, I own; and,
I believe, there palled a very tender fcene
between us. You added, by way of com-
pliment, that though I had many better titles
to recommend me to pofterity, yet perhaps
my uncommon attachment and friendfhip to
a poor unhappy perfecuted man, would not
altogether be overlooked. -
This incident, Sir, was fomewhat remark-
able ; and it is impoilible that either you or I
could fo foon have forgot it. But you have
had the afiurance to tell me the ftory twice
in a manner fo different, or rather fo oppo-
fite, that when I perflft, as I do, in this ac-
count, it neceffarily follows, that either you
or I are a liar. You imagine, perhaps, that
becaufe the incident paffed privately without
a witnefs, the queftion will lie between the
credibility of your affertion and of mine. But
you (hall not have this advantage or difad-
G 3 vantage.
( 86 )
vantage, which ever you are pleafed to term
it. 1 ihall produce againft you other proofs,
which will put the matter beyond con troverfy.
Firft, You are not aware, that I have a
letter under your hand, which is totally irre-
concilable with your account, and confirms
mine *?
Secondly, I told the ftory the next day, or
the day after, to Mr. Davenport, with a
friendly view of preventing any fuch good
natured artifices for the future. He iurely
remembers it.
Thirdly, As I thought the ftory much to
your honour, I told it to feveral of my friends
here. I even wrote it to Mde. de Boufflers
at Paris. I believe no one will imagine, that
I was preparing before-hand an apology, in
cafe of a rupture with you ; which, of all
human events, I mould then have thought
the mod incredible, efpecially as we were
feparated almoft for ever, and I ftill conti-
nued to render you the mofl elTential fervices.
Fourthly, The flory, as I tell it, is con-
fident and rational : there is not common
fenfe in your account. What ! becaufe
* That of the 22.d of March, which is entirely cor-
dial ; and proves that Mr. Rouffeau had never, till that
moment, entertained, or at ieaft difcovered, thefmalleft
fufpkion againft me. There is alfo in the fame letter,
a peevjfh pafiage about the hire of a chaife.
Mr. Hume.
fometimes,
( 37 )
fometimes, when abfent in thought, I have
a fixed look or ftare, you fufpect me to be a
traitor, and you have the aflbrance to tell
me of fuch black and ridiculous fufpicions !
Are not moll: ftudious men (and many of
them more than I) fubjecl to fuch reveries or
fits of abfence, without being expofed to
fuch fufpicions ? You do not even pretend
that, before you left London, you had any
other folid grounds of fufpicion againft me.
I fhall enter into no detail with regard to
your letter : the other articles of it are as much
without foundation as you yourfelf know
this to be. I fhall only add, in general, that
I enjoyed about a month ago an uncommon
pleafure, when 1 reflected, that through
many difficulties, and by mod; affiduous care
and pains, I had, beyond my moft fanguine
expectations, provided for your repofe, ho-
nour and fortune. But I foon felt a very
fenfible uneafinefs when I found that you had
wantonly and voluntarily thrown away all
thefe advantages, and was become the de-
clared enemy of your own repofe, fortune,
and honour : I cannot be furprized after this
that you are my enemy. Adieu, and for
ever. I am, Sir, yours,
D. H.
To all thefe paper?, I need only fubjoin
the following letter of Mr. Walpole to me,
G 4 which
( 83 )
which proves how ignorant and innocent I
am of the whole matter of the King of Piufr
fia's letter.
Mr. W A LP OLE to Mr. HUME.
Arlington Street, July 26, 1766.
CANNOT be precife as to the time of
my writing the King of Prufha's letter, but
1 do allure you, with the utmott truth, that
It was feveral days before you left Paris, and
before RouiTeau's arrival there, of which I
can give you a (trong proof j for I not only
fupprefled the letter while you ftaid there,
out of delicacy to you, but it was the reafors
why, cut of delicacy to my felf, I did not go
to fee him, as ycu often propofed to me 5
thinking it wrong to go and make a cordial
vifit to a man, with a letter in my pocket to
laugh at him. You are at full liberty, dear
Sir, to make ufe of what I fay in your justi-
fication, either to RoufTeau or any body elfe.
I mould be very forry to have you blamed
on my account : I have a hearty contempt
of Rouffeau, and am perfectly indifferent
what any body thinks of the matter. If
there is any fault, which I am far from
thinking, let it lie on me. No parts can
hinder my laughing at their pofieflbr, if he
is
( 89 )
]s a mountebank. If he has a bad and mod
ungrateful heart, as RoufTeau has mown in
your cafe, into the bargain, he will have my
fcorn likewife, as he will of all good and fen-
fible men. You may truft your fentence to
fuch, who are as re fpectable judges as any that
have pored over ten thoufand more volumes.
Yours mofl: fincerely,
H. W.
Thus I have given a narrative, as concife
aspofilble, of this extraordinary affair, which
I am told has very much attracted the atten-
tion of the public, and which contains more
unexpected incidents than any other in which
I was ever engaged. The perfons to whom
I have mown the original papers which au-
thenticate the whole, have differed very much
in their opinion, as well of the ufe I ought
to make of them as of Mr. Rouffeau's pre-
fent fentiments and ftate of mind. Some of
them have maintained, that he is altogether
infincere in his quarrel with me. and his
opinion of my guilt, and that the whole pro-
ceeds from that exceffive pride which forms
the bads of his character, and which leads
him both to feek the eclat of refufing , e
King of England's bounty, and to fhake off
the intolerable burthen of an obligation to
me, by every facrifice of honour, truth, and
friendship, as well as of intereft. They
found
( 9° )
found their fentiments on the abfurdity of
that firft: fuppofition on which he grounds
his anger, viz. that Mr. Walpole's letter,
which he knew had been every where dif-
perfed both in Paris and London, was given
to the prefs by me ; and as this fuppofition
is contrary to common fenfe on the one hand,
and not fupported even by the pretence of
the flighted: probability on the other, they
conclude, that it never had any weight even
with the perfon himfelf who lays hold of it.
They confirm their fentiments by the number
of fictions and lies, which he employs to juf-
tlfy his anger ; fictions with regard to points,
in which it is impoffible for him to be mif-
taken. They alio remark his real chearful-
nefs and gaiety, amidft the deep melancholy
with which he pretended to be oppreffed.
Not to mention the abfurd reafoning which
runs through the whole, and on which it is
impoffible for any man to reft his conviction ;
and though a very important intereft is here
abandoned, yet money is not univerfally the
chief object with mankind ; vanity weighs
farther with fome men, particularly with this
philofopher ; and the very oftentation of re-
filling a penfion from the King of England,
an oltentation which, with regard to other
Princes, he has often fought, might be of
itfelf a fufficient motive for his prefent con-
duct.
There
( 9i )
There, are others of my friends, who re-
gard this whole affair in a more compan-
ionate light, and confider Mr. RoufTeau as
an object rather of pity than of anger.
They fuppofe the fame domineering pride
and ingratitude to be the bafis of his cha-
racter ; but they are alio willing to believe,
that his brain has received a fenfible (Lock,
and that his judgment, fet afloat, is carried to
every fide, as it is pufhed by the current of
his humours and of his paffions. The ab-
furdity of his belief is no proof of its in-
sincerity. He imagines himfelf the fole im-
portant being in the univerfe : he fancies all
mankind to be in a combination againft him :
his greateft benefactor, as hurting him mod,
is the chief object of his animofity : and
though he fupports all his whimiies by
lies and fictions, this is fo frequent a caie
with wicked men, who are in that middle
ftate between fober reafon and total frenzy,
that it needs give no furprize to any body.
I own that I am much inclined to this lat-
ter opinion ; though, at the fame time, I
queftion whether, in any period of his life,
Mr. RoufTeau was ever more in his fenfes
than he is at prefent. The former brilliancy
of his genius, and his great talents for
writing, are no proof of the contrary. It
is an old remark, that great wits are near
allied to madnefsj and even in thofe frantic
letters
( 92 )
letters which he has wrote to me, there are
evidently ftrong traces of his wonted genius
and eloquence. He has frequently told me,
that he was compofing his memoirs, in
which juftice mould be done to his own
character, to that of his friends, and to that
cf his enemies j and as Mr. Davenport in-
forms me that lince his retreat into the coun-
try, he has been much employed in writing,
I have reaibn to conclude that he is at pre-
(ent finishing that undertaking. Nothing
could be more unexpected to me than my
pa/Ting fo fuddenly from the clafs of his
friends to that of his enemies j but this
tranfition being made, I mud expect to be
treated accordingly ; and 1 own that this re-
flection gave me fome anxiety *. A work
of this nature, both from the celebrity of
the perfbn, and the mokes of eloquence in-
terfpeded, would certainly attract the atten-
tion of the world j and it might be pub-
limed either after my death, or after that
of the author. In the former cafe, there
would be no body who could tell the {lory,
or juftify my memory. In the latter, my
apology, wrote in oppoiition to a dead per-
* In bis letter of the 22d of March, he flatters me
indireclly with the figure I am to make in his Memoirs ;
in that of the 23d of June, he threatens me. Thefe
are proofs how much he is in earneft.
fona
( 93 )
fon, would lofe a great deal of its authenti-
city. For this reafon, I have at prefent col-
lected the whole ftory into one Narrative,
that I may (how it to my friends, and at any
time have it in my power to make whatever
ufe of it they and I mould think proper. I
am, and always have been, fuch a lover of
peace, that nothing but necefhty, or very
forcible reafons, could have obliged me to
give it to the public.
Perdidi beneficium. Numquid qute confe-
cravimus {wcdidiffe nos dicimus ? Inter confe-
crata be?jep,cium eft ; etiamji male refpondity
bene collfaatiim. Non eft ille qualem fperavi-
mus ; Jimus nos quales Juimus, ei dijjimiles.
Seneca de benefices, lib. vii. cap. 19,
Decla*
( 94 )
Declaration of Mr. d'Alembert,
relating to Mr. Walpole's Letter.
AddrefTed to the French Editors.
T is with the greateft furprize I learn,
from Mr. Hume, that Mr. RoufTeau ac-
cufes me of being the author of the ironical
letter addreffed to him, in the public paper?,
under the name of the King of Pruflia.
Every body knows, both at Parj^tnd Lon-
don, that fuch letter was writtln-by Mr.
Walpole j nor does he difown it. iHe ac-
knowleges only that 'he was a little^ffifted
in regard to the riile, by a perfon $e does
not name, and whom perhaps he ought to
name. As to my part, on whom the pub-
lic fufpicions have fallen in this affair, I am
not at all acquainted with Mr. Walpole:
I don't even believe I ever fpoke to him ;
having only happened to meet once occa-*
iionaily on a vifit. — I have not only had not
the leafl to do, either directly or indirectly,
with the letter in quefiion, but could mention
above an hundred perfons, among the friends
as well as enemies of Mr. RoufTeau, who
have heard me greatly difapprove of it ; be-
caufe, as I faid, we ought not to ridicule the
unfortunate, efpecially when they do us no
harm*
( 95 )
harm. Befides, my refpecl: for the King of
Pruffia, and the acknowledgments I owe
him, might, I mould have thought, have
perfuaded Mr. Roufleau, that I mould not
have taken fuch a liberty with the name of
that prince, even tho' in pleafantry.
To this I mail add, that I never was an
enemy to Mr. RoufTeau, either open or fe-
cret, as he pretends ; and I defy him to
produce the leaft proof of my having en-
deavoured to injure him in any lhape what-
ever. I can prove to the contrary, by the
moft refpectable witneffes, that 1 have al-
ways endeavoured to oblige him, whenever
it lay in my power.
As to my pretended fecret correspondence
with Mr. Hume, it is very certain, that we
did not begin to write to each other till about
five or fix months after his departure, on
occalion of the quarrel arifen between him
and Mr. RoufTeau, and into which the lat-
ter thought proper unneceflarily to intro-
duce me.
I thought this declaration neceffary, for
my own fake, as well as for the fake of
truth, and in regard to the fituation of Mr.
Rouileau : I fincerely lament his having fo
little confidence in the probity of mankind,
and particularly in that of Mr. Hume.
D'Alembert.
The End.
f
i
u
m
E R R A T U M. "
The following Note fhould have been in-
ferted in page 44, line 6, after the words,
/ was injiantly fpokcn of in print, in a very
equivocal or flighting manner *.
* So then, I find I am to anfwer for every article of
every Magazine and News-pape^jprinted in England :
I affure Mr. Roufleau, I would rather anfwer for every
robbery committed on the high-way j and I am entirely
as innocent of the one as the other.
Mr. Hume.
DATE DUE
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