Page:Essays and criticisms by Wainewright (1880).djvu/89



,—Hearing it whispered that a luminary, in the form of a new magazine, is about to shew itself above our literary horizon, I hereby tender my powers of elevation to bring it, with trump and timbrel-clang and general shout, to the zenith of triumphant popularity. I imagine not, for an instant, that you will misconstrue this overture into a solicitation for employment:—no, it is a gracious offer of assistance. Yes, gracious is the epithet, of which you will the better judge, when I shall have rendered you an account of my great qualifications. Without fear of controversy, then, I affirm myself to be Sir Oracle; I am the