Secret History of The Court of St. Cloud

THE LETTERS, I have written to you, were intended for the private entertainments of a liberal friend, and for general Caruso of a severe public. Had I imagine that their contents would have penetrated beyond your closet, called the circle of your intimate acquaintance, several of the narratives would have been extended, others should have been compressed; the anecdotes would have been more numerous, and my own remarks fewer; some portraits would have been left out, others drawn, and all better finished.