ter than this point does. Sir, I hope you will excuse my freedom with you, as others must yours with them. "Your humble servant, "WISH NO HARM." The last letter, which I shall add, comes from an unknown correspondent, who has already obliged me more than once, if I may judge from the handwriting. 66 SIR, "SOME time ago you archly remarked, that there was not one woman left, but that the whole sex was elevated into ladies. You might at the same time have taken notice of the wonderful increase among the other sex in the order of gentle men. "Besides those who are universally acknowledged of this rank from their birth and situation in life, the courtesy of England also entitles all persons who carry arms, to that dignity: so that his Majesty's three regiments of guards, are composed entirely of gentlemen; and every priggish fellow, who can clap a queue to his peruke, and hang a sword awkwardly dangling by his side, from thence assumes the importance as well as name of a gentleman. Idleness and ignorance being too often the disgrace of those who are gentlemen born and bred, many invest themselves with that dignity, though with no other qualifications. If the pride, poverty, or neglect of parents, has prevented their son from being bound 'prentice, or if the idle rascal has shown his indentures a light pair of heels, in either case Tom is of no trade, and consequently a gentleman. I know, at this time, a man, who came from Ireland last summer, with a hayfork, but, before winter, raised himself to the rank of a gentleman: and every day I go to Windmill-street, I see a very honourable gentleman betting large sums of money, whom I formerly remember marker of the tennis court. Add to this, that all attorneys' clerks, 'prentices, and the like, are gentlemen every evening; and the citizen, who drudges all the rest of the week behind the counter, every Sunday, together with his laced waistcoat and ruffles, puts on the gentleman. Every author, Mr. Town, is a gentleman, if not an esquire, by his profession: and all the players, from king Richard to the lieutenant of the Tower, are gentlemen. "The body of gentlemen is still more numerous; but I have not leisure at present to climb up to garrets, or dive into cellars after them: I shall only observe, that many of the above-mentioned members of this order, die with the same reputation that they lived, and go out of the world like squire Maclean, or gentleman Harry. * "Your humble servant," &c. ** Before I dismiss this new edition of my works, I think it my duty to return thanks to my kind readers for their candid reception of these papers, as they were separately published: though I cannot but be sensible, that either through haste, inadvertence, or other avocations, they unavoidably abounded with many faults; from which I have endeavoured to clear them as much as possible in their present form. Mr. Faulkner, of Dublin, is very welcome, therefore, to his Irish edition, printed literatim from my folio; and in which, I dare say, the very errors of the press are most religiously preserved. I cannot but regret, indeed, that there is still wanting one principal ornament to these little vo lumes; I mean the dedication. Not that there are wanting persons highly deserving of all the praises, which the most obsequious and most devoted author could possibly lavish on them; for in all ages, and in all nations, these have always abounded. Latin authors, for example, have never failed to pay their compliments to the illustrious family of the Issimi; such as the laudatissimi, the eminentissimi, the commendatissimi, the famigeratissimi, the doctissimi, the nobilissimi, &c.: and among our own writers, no less respect has been shown to the numerous race of the most famous, the most ingenious, the most learned, the most eminent, &c. It is but justice, that those who offer the incense, should "live by the altar." Yet, notwithstanding I gave notice to any rich citizen, nobleman, or others, that my dedication should be disposed of to the best bidder, I have received no overtures on that head. In the city, this course of exchange has not yet been established; and among people of quality, the market has been overstocked, and flattery is become a mere drug; while some of them, who have taken up the trade themselves, have, perhaps, considered me as a rival or interloper in the busi ness. It remains only to give an acccount of the authors concerned in this work. I am sorry that. I do not know the name of any of the volunteers, to whom I have been greatly indebted: and as to those who have engaged for the drudgery of the week, various conjectures have been formed about them. Some are sure, that the papers signed T are written by Mr. Such a-one,-because it is the first letter of his name; and others, by another, because it is not: 0 is the mark of the honourable or lord they know it by the style: and W must be the work of a certain famous wit, and no other-Aut Erasmus aut Diabolus. But to put the matter out of all doubt, and to satisfy the curiosity of my readers, all I am at liberty to divulge is, that none of the papers, to my knowledge, were written by the honourable or lord or esquire; but that those which are marked with a T, and those with an O, and those with a W, as well as those which hereafter may perhaps be signed N, are furnished by the ingenious and learned gentleman, who has subscribed his name to this paper. T, O, W, N. No. 71. THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 1755. Est brevitate opus, ut currat sententia, neu se HOR. SAT. i. 10. 9. I write, as I would talk; am short and clear; AMONG the several degrees of authors, there are none, perhaps, who have more obstacles to surmount at their setting out, than the writers of periodical essays. Talk with a modern critic, and he will tell you, that a new paper is a vain attempt after the inimitable Spectator and others; that all the proper subjects are already pre-occupied, and that it is equally impossible to find out a new field for observation, as to discover a new world. With these prejudices the public are prepared to receive us: and while they expect to be cloyed with the stale repetition of the same fare, though tossed up in a different manner, they sit down with but little relish for the entertainment. That the Spectator first led the way, must undoubtedly be acknowledged: but that his followers must, for that reason, be always supposed to tread in his steps, can by no means be allowed. In the high road of life there are several extensive walks, as well as bye-paths, which we may strike into, without the necessity of keeping the same beaten track with those that have gone before us. New objects of ridicule will continually present themselves; and even the same characters will appear different by being differently disposed, as in the same pack of cards, though ever so often shuffled, there will never be two hands exactly alike. After this introduction, I hope to be pardoned, if I indulge myself in speaking a word or two concerning my own endeavours to entertain the public. And first, whatever objections the reader may have had to the subjects of my papers, I shall make no apology for the manner in which I have chosen to treat them. The dread of falling into, what they are pleased to call, colloquial barbarisms, has induced some unskilful writers to swell their bloated diction with uncouth phrases, and the affected jargon of pedants. For my own part, I never go out of the common way of expression, merely for the sake of introducing a more sounding word with a Latin termination. The English language is sufficiently copious and expressive, without any further adoption of new terms; and the native words seem to me to have far more force than any foreign auxiliaries, however pompously ushered in: as British soldiers fight our battles better than the troops taken into our pay. |