The last year of Smith’s residence in London was overcast by growing anxiety about the condition of his friend Hume, who had always enjoyed fairly good health till the beginning of the year 1775, and then seemed to fall rapidly away.  As Smith said one evening at Lord Shelburne’s to Dr. Price, who asked him about Hume’s health, it seemed as if Hume was one of those persons who after a certain time of life go down not gradually but by jumps.[241] Under those circumstances Smith had determined as soon as his new book was out to go down to Edinburgh and if possible persuade Hume to come back with him to London, to try the effect of change of scene and a little wholesome diversion.  But, bad correspondent that he was, he appears to have left Hume to gather his intentions from the reports of friends, and consequently received from Hume the following remonstrance a few weeks before the publication of his work:—­

     EDINBURGH, 8th February, 1776.

     DEAR SMITH—­I am as lazy a correspondent as you, but my
     anxiety about you makes me write.

By all accounts your book has been printed long ago, yet it has never yet been so much as advertised.  What is the reason?  If you wait till the fate of Bavaria be decided you may wait long.

By all accounts you intend to settle with us this spring, yet we hear no more of it.  What is the reason?  Your chamber in my house is always unengaged; I am always at home; I expect you to land here.

I have been, am, and shall be probably in an indifferent state of health.  I weighed myself t’other day, and find I have fallen five compleat stones.  If you delay much longer I shall probably disappear altogether.

The Duke of Buccleugh tells me that you are very zealous in American affairs.  My notion is that this matter is not so important as is commonly imagined.  If I be mistaken I shall probably correct my error when I see you or read you.  For navigation and general commerce may suffer more than our manufactures.  Should London fall as much in its size as I have done it will be the better.  It is nothing but a Hulk of bad and unclean Humours.[242]

The American question was of course the great question of the hour, for the Colonies were already a year in active rebellion, and they issued their declaration of independence but a few months later.  Smith followed the struggle, as we see from many evidences in the concluding portion of the Wealth of Nations, with the most patriotic interest and anxiety, and having long made a special study of the whole problem of colonial administration, had arrived at the most decided opinions not only on the rights and wrongs of the particular quarrel then at issue, but on the general policy it was requisite to adopt in the government of dependencies.  Hume was in favour of separation, because he believed separation to be inevitable sooner