"MONSIEUR LE COMTE,--The memory of your kindnesses lives as vividly in my heart as on the day in which I received them, and I ever seek occasions to prove this to you. Already I have refuted, in many articles of the journals, the atrocious calumnies which have been published against you, and I ever avow myself to the world as your admirer and grateful friend. Be assured that your reputation is honorable and glorious. Truth has already dispelled many clouds; soon it will shine forth in all its brilliance. "You do well to consecrate a portion of your time to writing your memoirs. It seems to me that the part most interesting will be your reign in Naples. You were there truly the philosopher upon the throne, which Plato desired for the interests of humanity. I recall your journeys in which you urged upon the nobles love for the people; upon the priests tolerance; upon the military, order and moderation. Not being able to establish political liberty, you wished to confer upon your subjects all the benefits of municipal regime, which you regarded as the foundation of all institutions. "Under your reign--too short for a nation which has so deeply regretted you--feudalism was destroyed, brigandage disappeared, the system of imposts was changed, order was established in the finances, administration created, the nobles and the people reconciled, new routes opened in all directions, the capital embellished, the army and marine reorganized, the English driven out of the whole realm, and Gaeta, Scylla, Reggio, Manthea, and Amanthea taken. "Your memoirs will be a lesson for kings. But that they may be received with the religious respect due to a great misfortune, it seems to me that you ought to efface yourself from the scene of the world, that your writings should be like a voice coming from the depths of the tomb, and that you should only ask of your contemporaries not to calumniate and hate the memory of a man who, having attained the height of all dignities, has descended from it with serenity, with resignation, and almost with pleasure. As to Spain, were I in your place, I should say but one word; that word would be regret in not having been able to accomplish for Spain the good which was accomplished for Naples. "Like you, I have been proscribed. Like you, I have wandered in foreign lands, breathing always wishes for my country. I know how irritable and sensitive one thus is, and how keenly one feels the attacks of his enemies. But upon my return I perceived that in exile we exaggerate the importance of such attacks. Let not the calumnies which reach you, after having traversed the seas, disturb for a moment your domestic happiness, and the calm of your situation. They are the last gusts of the tempest, the last noise of the expiring waves." In a letter to Francis Leiber, dated July 1, 1829, Joseph writes: