bourne presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and thanks
your Majesty much for your letter of the 9th inst. which he received
yesterday. Every letter that he receives from your Majesty brings back
to his mind the recollection of times, which, though they were clouded
with much care and anxiety, were still to Lord Melbourne a period of
much happiness and satisfaction....

Hallam has not written a History of the Church, but in all his books
there is necessarily much about the Church, and much that is worthy of
mention. A short History of the Church is, Lord Melbourne fears, not
to be found, the subject is so large and so difficult that it cannot
be treated shortly. Dr Short[2] has written and published a clever,
brief, and distinct summary, but it relates principally to the Church
of England, and in order to be fully understood, requires to be read
by one who has already some acquaintance with the subject.

The book which your Majesty remembers Lord Melbourne reading is
the production of Dr Waddington,[3] whom your Majesty, under Lord
Melbourne's recommendation, made Dean of Durham, which dignity he now
holds. It is a very good book.

Adolphus's[4] History is by no means a bad book, and will give your
Majesty the facts of the beginning of the reign of George III. well
and accurately enough. The Duke of Sussex once told Lord Melbourne
that he had asked his father whether Adolphus's account of the
beginning of his reign was correct, and that the King had replied that
substantially it was so, but that there were some mistakes, and that
what had been done by one person was often attributed to another.
Adolphus's History will receive some illustration from Horace
Walpole's letters of that period....

Lord Melbourne thinks that he is really getting rid of the gout, and
gathering strength. He still has some doubt whether he shall be able
to go up for the meeting of Parliament. Lord Melbourne begs to renew
to your Majesty the warm and respectful assurance of his gratitude and
attachment.

[Footnote 2: Bishop, then of Sodor and Man, afterwards of St
Asaph. His book, a _Sketch of the History of the Church of
England_, was published in 1832.]

[Footnote 3: George Waddington (1793-1869), Dean of Durham,
published in 1833 the _History of the Church from the Earliest
Ages to the Reformation_.]

[Footnote 4: John Adolphus, barrister, wrote a history of
England from 1760 to 1783.]

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