pations, and for some time interrupted my correspon-
dence ; and, although by the blessing of God, and by
the aid of repeated depletion, and powerful reme-
dies, I have been restored to such a state of health as
to be able to devote a prescribed portion of my time
to the society of my friends and the perusal of my
books, a result at my time of life (approaching my
78th year) scarcely to be expected ; yet it has not been
till of late that I have been able to undertake the
perusal of so large a work as yours, which I have
now read, not only without any injurious conse-
quences to my health, but with great information
and amusement. At the same, time I have imbibed
a very distinct idea and favourable opinion of the
truly great and good man, whose character you have
so admirably depicted, and whose great and various
merits you have so ably illustrated and explained.
Writing, as I now do, under the immediate impres-
sions derived from the perusal of your noble tribute
to the memory of your friend, it would be unjust in
me to suppress the feelings with which I have been
actuated, or to deny that, highly as I estimate such a
character in a nation abounding in great men, I con-
sider your production as having shown you worthy
to have been his biographer, and whilst you have
raised an imperishable monument to his fame, to
have given the surest earnest of your own. In addi-
tion to the regret I feel, in not having been able to
reply sooner to your letter, 1 am sorry not to have
transmitted you the few documents requested by you,
respecting my late highly esteemed friend, Thomas
Eddy

, of whom I have read several very interesting
memorials in your work; but the same calamity that
prevented me from writing, also prevented me from
performing this duty, having taken me when my
papers were in such a state of derangement that they
could not, for a long time, be looked into. I am, how-
ever, in some degree, consoled by the consideration,
that you will not have been delayed in your intend-