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iv have not been able to dicover whether this collection of puerilities is of our own, or, as it is pretended, of foreign growth. Wherever it was found, it would have been far more advieable to leave it in its original obcurity, than to expoe its aburdities thus naked to public corn.

I jut recollect an anecdote which affords me ome conolation for the abruptnes of your firt quetion, and the harhnes of your preent tricture. When the mot popular relater of popular tales had preented to his princely patron his copious narrative, with its rich embroidery of knights and dames, quires and palfreys, Moors and Chritians, witches and enchanters, aints and phantoms, the only compliment he received was, ‘Where the devil, Signor Ludovico, didt thou pick up all this trah?’ Princes are only omnipotent; omnicience they have relinquihed to Reviewers: the cae is therefore not perfectly in point. But the omen is not dicouraging.

Content to pas lightly over aburdities that provoke no laughter, and improbabilities that occaion no urprize, we hould have conigned thee tales to a quiet corner of our monthly catalogue: but they are marked by one feature o prominent, that we cannot, as guardians of the public tate and morals, refrain from etting our note of reprobation upon it.—Every page teems with profane alluions. Whenever the author, whoe range of information eems unuually narrow, is at a los for a metaphor or an alluion, he