with great pleasure send to Mr. Colman[1]: may I tell
him, without naming you, that it is written by the author of the comedy
I offered to him? He must be struck with your very handsome and generous
conduct in printing your encomiums on him, after his rejecting your
piece. It is as great as uncommon, and gives me as good an opinion of
your heart, Sir, as your book does of your great sense. Both assure me
that you will not take ill the liberty I have used in expressing my
doubts on your plan for amending our language, or for any I may use in
dissenting from a few other sentiments in your work; as I shall in what
I think your too low opinion of some of the French writers, of your
preferring Lady Mary Wortley to Madame de Sevigne, and of your esteeming
Mr. Hume a man of deeper and more solid understanding than Mr. Gray. In
the two last articles it is impossible to think more differently than we
do.[2] In Lady Mary's "Letters," which I never could read but once, I
discovered no merit of any sort; yet I have seen others by her
(unpublished) that have a good deal of wit; and for Mr. Hume, give me
leave to say that I think your opinion, "that he might have ruled a
state," ought to be qualified a little; as in the very next page you
say, his "History" is "a mere apology for prerogative," and a very weak
one. If he could have ruled a state, one must presume, at best, that he
would have been an able tyrant; and yet I should suspect that a man,
who, sitting coolly in his chamber, could forge but a weak apology for
the prerogative, would not have exercised it very wisely. I knew
personally and well both Mr. Hume and Mr. Gray, and thought there was no
degree of comparison between their understandings; and, in fact, Mr.
Hume's writings were so superior to his conversation, that I frequently
said he understood nothing till he had written upon it. What you say,
Sir, of the discord in his "History" from his love of prerogative and
hatred of churchmen, flatters me much; as I have taken notice of that
very unnatural discord in a piece I printed some years ago, but did not
publish, and which I will show to you when I have the pleasure of seeing
you here; a satisfaction I shall be glad to taste, whenever you will let
me know you are at leisure after the beginning of next week. I have the
honour to be, Sir, &c.

[Footnote 1: Mr. Colman was manager of the Haymarket Theatre.]

[Footnote 2: It is difficult to judge what were the published lett