ic; the king again agreed to meet
his whim. But the more Hume did for him the more Rousseau suspected
the sincerity of his motives, and used first to assail him with the
most ridiculous accusations, and then fall on his neck and implore
forgiveness for ever doubting him. But at last, on the 23rd of June,
in reply to Hume's note intimating the king's remission of the
condition of secrecy, and the consequent removal of every obstacle to
the acceptance of the pension, Rousseau gave way entirely to the evil
spirit that haunted him, and wrote Hume the notorious letter,
declaring that his horrible designs were at last found out.

Hume lost no time in going with his troubles to Smith, and asking him
to lay the true state of the case before their Paris friends. To that
letter Smith wrote the following reply:--

PARIS, _6th July 1766_.

MY DEAR FRIEND--I am thoroughly convinced that Rousseau is
as great a rascal as you and as every man here believe him
to be. Yet let me beg of you not to think of publishing
anything to the world upon the very great impertinence which
he has been guilty of. By refusing the pension which you had
the goodness to solicit for him with his own consent, he may
have thrown, by the baseness of his proceedings, a little
ridicule upon you in the eyes of the court and the ministry.
Stand this ridicule; expose his brutal letter, but without
giving it out of your own hand, so that it may never be
printed, and, if you can, laugh at yourself, and I will pawn
my life that before three weeks are at an end this little
affair which at present gives you so much uneasiness shall
be understood to do you as much honour as anything that has
ever happened to you. By endeavouring to unmask before the
public this hypocritical pedant, you run the risk of
disturbing the tranquillity of your whole life. By leaving
him alone he cannot give you a fortnight's uneasiness. To
write against him is, you may depend upon it, the very thing
he wishes you to do. He is in danger of falling into
obscurity in England, and he hopes to make himself
considerable by provoking an illustrious adversary. He will
have a great party--the Church, the Whigs, the Jacobites,
the whole wise English nation--who will love to mortify a
Scotchman, and to applaud a man who has refused a pension
from the king. It is not