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HUME, David (1711-1776). Autograph letter fragment, unsigned, to an unidentified recipient, drafted in Hume's hand as secretary of the British legation, Paris, 28 August 1765, one page, folio (14½ x 4¼ in), tipped to another sheet, with authentification by Hume's grand-niece on verso.
'WOULD WE REFUSE A THIRSTY FOREIGNER THE LIBERTY OF DRINKING IN THE THAMES?'. An elegant and extensive specimen of Hume's hand during his stint as secretary to the Earl of Hertford at the British legation in Paris. Here he drafts a colourful report to Whitehall on the ambassador's démarche with the Duke of Praslin concerning French smuggling in Newfoundland. 'As to the first complaint against the French for frequenting the Bays and Harbours of New Foundland, he said that he believed the chief Purpose of that Irregularity, for such it undoubtedly must be esteemed, was to carry on a smuggling Trade, a Guilt in which the English participated equally with the French. But this Practice of smuggling was never before made the Ground of complaint between Court and Court.' The French government disowned the smugglers, the Duke noted, and so the matter was entirely an English problem. He ends with an appeal to the English for what might be called reciprocal moral sentiments: 'And if it was objected that in so wide and desart a coast, the English Government could not entirely prevent the Intrusion of Frenchmen, it might be answered that for the very same reason, they were not capable of doing much mischief. What harm was there, for instance, if a few Frenchmen, disavowed by the Government, should cut some Oaks in a country which consisted of one boundless Forrest? Would we refuse a thirsty Foreigner the Liberty of drinking in the Thames?'.
Hume's fame was well established by 1765. His Theory of Moral Sentiments and then his six volume History of England brought him wealth as well as renown, so it was unusual for him to take a subordinate post, in mid-life, to the diplomatic corps. French society lionized him and he was received at court as a kind of co-ambassador. Biographers explain the move as a bid to be near the object of his affection, the Comtesse de Boufflers. However, when Hume returned to England in January 1766, he was accompanied not by her but by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, to whom Hume had promised help in seeking asylum.
'WOULD WE REFUSE A THIRSTY FOREIGNER THE LIBERTY OF DRINKING IN THE THAMES?'. An elegant and extensive specimen of Hume's hand during his stint as secretary to the Earl of Hertford at the British legation in Paris. Here he drafts a colourful report to Whitehall on the ambassador's démarche with the Duke of Praslin concerning French smuggling in Newfoundland. 'As to the first complaint against the French for frequenting the Bays and Harbours of New Foundland, he said that he believed the chief Purpose of that Irregularity, for such it undoubtedly must be esteemed, was to carry on a smuggling Trade, a Guilt in which the English participated equally with the French. But this Practice of smuggling was never before made the Ground of complaint between Court and Court.' The French government disowned the smugglers, the Duke noted, and so the matter was entirely an English problem. He ends with an appeal to the English for what might be called reciprocal moral sentiments: 'And if it was objected that in so wide and desart a coast, the English Government could not entirely prevent the Intrusion of Frenchmen, it might be answered that for the very same reason, they were not capable of doing much mischief. What harm was there, for instance, if a few Frenchmen, disavowed by the Government, should cut some Oaks in a country which consisted of one boundless Forrest? Would we refuse a thirsty Foreigner the Liberty of drinking in the Thames?'.
Hume's fame was well established by 1765. His Theory of Moral Sentiments and then his six volume History of England brought him wealth as well as renown, so it was unusual for him to take a subordinate post, in mid-life, to the diplomatic corps. French society lionized him and he was received at court as a kind of co-ambassador. Biographers explain the move as a bid to be near the object of his affection, the Comtesse de Boufflers. However, when Hume returned to England in January 1766, he was accompanied not by her but by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, to whom Hume had promised help in seeking asylum.
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