341 « 



important portion of the Hume Papers, it remains to talce notice, in 

 a few words, of the other parts of this hequest. Among these there 

 is what may be regarded as in the nature of a Commonplace Book, 

 written evidently at an early period, which would be found to furnish 

 some useful hints to a biographer in tracing the progress of Mr Hume's 

 studies, and the formation of his opinions. Besides these, and a few 

 other miscellaneous papers of no groat importance, there are the ori- 

 ginal manuscripts of the earlier part of the History of England, of the 

 Dialogues on Natural Religion, and of his own Life. Of these, the 

 chief value is derived from the highly instructive exhibition they af- 

 ford of the in6nite care and pains with which Mr Hume revised and 

 corrected all his compositions, and by means of which he succeeded 

 in giving to his style not only its minute accuracy, but much also of 

 its characteristical force and spirit. The successive editions of his 

 works are well known to afford abundant evidence of his uncommon 

 anxiety and care in these respects, and their collation has been found 

 to furnish most useful lessons to the students of English stvle : but 

 in these manuscripts the process of revisal and correction becomes 

 still more apparent and remarkable, and renders them of considerable 



curiosity. 



THO. THOMSON. 



JOHN ABERCROMBIE, M.D. 



ALEX. MACONOCHIE. 



JAMES PILLANS. 



JOHN SINCLAIR. 



The following postscript has since bren added by order of the 

 Council : — 



POSTSCRIPT. 



It may be proper to add to the statements in the preceding Ke- 

 port, that among the original letters comprehended in Baron Hume's 

 bequest, there are a few that have already been printed. Of these, 

 the most important are some of the letters relative to Mr Hume's 

 ill-fated connection with M. Rousseau, published either at the time 

 by himself and others, or in a volume entitled his Private Correspond- 

 ence, printed at London in 1820. The only others here deserving 

 of particular notice are a few of the letters written by Mr Hume near 

 the close of his life, and communicated by Baron Hume to the editor 

 of the Literary Gazette, and published in London in the year 1821. 

 It is scarcely necessary to add, that there still exist many other 



