[ 8 ] 



appointed for their reception. The correfpondencc of an ambaf- 

 fadour refiding at a foreign court with the government at home 

 mull be particularly ufeful in this view, becaufc the letters ad- 

 dreflcd to the ambaffadour would contain an account of important 

 tranfadions at home with the caufes of them, to enable him to 

 fct them in a favourable light abroad ; and the letters of the am- 

 baffadour would contain not only an account of all his tranfac- 

 tions with the prince at whofe court he was a refident, but alfo 

 all the intelligence he could procure relating either to that court 

 or others, his own opinion concerning them, and what he undcr- 

 ftood to be the general opinion. This was more ncceffary, and 

 therefore was probably more common, in times when there were 

 no newfpapers, or frequent communication by letters, than at 

 prefcnt, when means of information lie open to every individual. 

 In the correfpondencc of an ambaffadour from England to a mari- 

 time power, fome information refpeding the ftate of commerce 

 may alfo be expeded, becaufe complaints would frequently be 

 made which would demand his attention. Even letters from 

 private perfons, whether of eminence or not, are interefting, when 

 written long before our own time, becaufe, though only compli- 

 mcntarv or fupplicatory they muft throw fome light on the 

 manners and cuftoms of the period in which they were written. 



The ftate of the language and the autographs of eminent perfons 

 are alfo ufeful, not merely to gratify the curiofity of the antiqua- 

 rian, but alfo to prevent the forgery of writings in the name 

 of ancient authors by rendering the dctedion of it more cafy. 



It 



