8vo. iv, 28pp. Contemporary half-calf, marbled boards, lettered in gilt. Rubbed, slight splitting to joints. Title-page a trifle marked, very occasional spotting.

The sole edition of a verse satire of Irish statesman Edmund Burke's (1729/30- 1797) Two letters addressed to a member of the present Parliament, on the proposals for peace with the regicide directory of France (London, 1796). The anonymous author, pamphleteer and stockjobber Ralph Broome (1742-1805), is remembered primarily for his numerous publications vehemently defending Warren Hastings during the latter's lengthy impeachment proceedings; here, however, he diverts his sardonic wit to lampooning Burke's arguments 'against soliciting or granting a peace to the Regicide Republic of France, at this, or any future time.' Though initially written 'for the entertainment of a private Gentleman in Wales', Broome states in his dedication to the (fictional) Grunter family that his desire to publish arose from the high cost of Burke's pamphlets 'not less than six shillings (an enormous sum for thoughts in these hard times)', and the 'somewhat diffuse' style of his arguments. In contrast Broome's 'versified and familiar abridgement' was offered at 'the low price of One Shilling'.