Pray remind Mr. Hume(334) Of collecting the whole history of the expulsion of the Jesuits.  It is a subject worthy of his inquiry and pen.  Adieu! my dear lord.

(321) This is the first of the series of letters which Walpole addressed to his relation, the Earl of Hertford, during his lordship’s embassy in Paris, in the years 1763, 1764, and 1765.  The first edition of these letters appeared, in quarto, in 1825, edited by the Right Honourable John Wilson Croker, and contained the following introductory notice:—­

“No apology, it is presumed, is necessary for the following publication.  The Letters of Mr. Walpole have already attained the highest rank in that department of English literature, and seem to deserve their popularity, whether they are regarded as objects of mere amusement, or as a collection of anecdotes illustrative of the politics, literature, and manners of an important and interesting period.

“The following collection is composed of his letters to his cousin, the Earl of Hertford, while ambassador at Paris, from 1763 to 1765; which seem, at least as much as those which have preceded them, deserving of the public attention.

“It appears from some circumstances connected with the letters themselves, that Mr. Walpole wrote them in the intention and hope that they might be preserved; and although they are enlivened by his characteristic vivacity, and are not deficient in the lighter matters with which he was in the habit of amusing all his correspondents, they are, on the whole, written in a more careful style, and are employed on more important subjects than any others which have yet come to light.

“Of the former collections, anecdote and chit-chat formed the principal topics, and politics were introduced Only as they happened to be the news of the day.  Of the series now offered to the public, politics are the groundwork, and the town-talk is only the accidental embroidery.

“Mr. Walpole’s lately published Memoires have given proof of his ability in sketching parliamentary portraits and condensing parliamentary debates.  In the following letters, powers of the same class will, it is thought, be recognised; and as the published parliamentary debates are extremely imperfect for the whole time to which this correspondence relates, Mr. Walpole’s sketches are additionally valuable.

“These letters also give a near view of the proceedings of political parties during that interesting period; and although the representation of so warm a partisan must be read with due caution, a great deal of authentic information on this subject will be found, and even the very errors of the writer will sometimes tend to elucidate the state of parties during one of the busiest periods of our domestic dissensions.