Page:Literary Anecdotes of the 18th Century - Vol 1.djvu/12

Rh reference to the Index will settle any apparent inconsistency.—As has before been observed, I have not attempted elegance of style. The communications of Correspondents being in general given in their own language, uniformity in that respect was impracticable: nor was it needful; clearness and conciseness being much more material than ornament.

In two or three instances, I am aware that a small article has been repeated; not, the Reader may be assured, for the purpose of swelling the size, as materials in plenty were at hand; but, in a work so miscellaneous and so extended—arranged amidst the thousand distractions of business, the interruptions of illness, and sometimes of an occasional excursion in the country—a lapse of memory, at sixty-seven, it is hoped, will be forgiven. In several cases, I have made the amende honorable; and punished myself by the additional labour and expence of canceling the leaves, and substituting new articles in their stead.—May I shelter myself under the same excuse for the insertion of a few passages, which in a young man would be imputed to egotism or vanity?

If, in any of these pages, I may appear to have borrowed largely from others, let it be recollected that others have borrowed largely from me; and that I frequently am only reclaiming my own.

One of the most melancholy retrospects I have to notice is, the loss of numberless Friends, who were literary contributors to the former Edition, and by whom the present volumes have been considerably benefited. Among these, the most prominent are, Dr., Mr. , Mr. , Mr. , Mr.