At length, in the month of February, I saw the decisive hour arrive, and
I own to you that it was not without some sort of uneasiness. I knew
that my book was good, but I would have had it excellent; I could not
rely on my own judgment, and I feared that of the public,--that tyrant
who often destroys in an instant the fruit of ten years' labor. At
length, on the 16th of February, I gave myself to the universe, and the
universe--that is to say, a small number of English readers--received me
with open arms. In a fortnight the whole edition was so completely
exhausted that not a single copy was left. Mr. Cadell (my publisher)
proposed to me to publish a second edition of 1000 copies, and in a few
days he saw reason to beg me to allow him to print 1500 copies. It will
appear at the beginning of next month; and he already ventures to
promise me that it will be sold before the end of the year, and that he
shall be obliged to importune me a third time. The volume--a handsome
quarto--costs a guinea in boards; it has sold, as my publisher expresses
it, like a sixpenny pamphlet on the affairs of the day.

I have hitherto contented myself with stating the fact, which is the
least equivocal testimony in favor of the _History_. It is said that a
horse alone does not flatter kings when they think fit to mount him;
might we not add, that the bookseller is the only person who does not
flatter authors when they take it into their heads to appear in print?
But you conceive that from a small number of eager readers one always
finds means to catch praises, and for my part, I own to you that I am
very fond of these praises; those of women of rank, especially when they
are young and handsome, though not of the greatest weight, amuse me
infinitely. I have had the good fortune to please some of these persons,
and the ancient _History_ of your learned friend has succeeded with them
like a fashionable novel. Now hear what Robertson says in a letter which
was not designed to fall into my hands:--

"I have read (says he) Mr. Gibbon's _History_ with great
attention, and with singular pleasure. It is a work of great
merit. We find in it that sagacity of research, without which
an author does not merit the name of an historian. His
narrative is clear and interesting; his style is elegant and
vigorous, sometimes rather too labored, and, perhaps, studied:
but these defects are amply compensated by the beauty of the