POSTSCRIPT.

INCE the writing of this, which was about a year

a

paper, under the name of Notes on the Tale of a Tub, with fome account of the author; and with an infolence, which I fuppofe is punishable by law, hath prefumed to affign certain names. It will be enough for the author to affure the world, that the writer of that paper is utterly wrong in all his conjectures upon that affair. The author farther afferts, that the whole work is entirely of one hand; which every reader of judgment will eafily difcover: the gentleman who gave the copy to the bookfeller, being a friend of the author, and ufing no other liberties befides that of expunging certain paffages, where now the chafms appear under the name of defiderata. But if any perfon will prove his claim to three lines in the whole book, let him step forth, and tell his name and titles; upon which the bookfeller fhall have orders to prefix them to the next edition, and the claimant fhall from henceforward be acknowledged the undifputed author.

Treatifes

Treatifes written by the fame author, most of them mentioned in the following difcourfes; which will be speedilypublished.

A

Character of the present set of wits in this island.

A panegyrical effay upon the number three.

A differtation upon the principal productions of Grabftreet.

Lectures upon a dissection of human nature.

A panegyric upon the world.

An analytical difcourfe upon zeal, hiftori-theo-physi logically confidered.

A general hiftory of ears.

A modeft defence of the proceedings of the rabble in all ages.

A description of the kingdom of abfurdities.

A voyage into England, by a perfon of quality in terra auftralis incognita, tranflated from the original.

A critical effay upon the art of canting, philofophically, phyfically, and mufically confidered.

TO

The Right HONOURABLE

JOHN Lord SOMMERS.

My LORD,

T

HO' the author has written a large dedication, yet that being addreffed to a Prince, whom I am never likely to have the honour of being known to; a perfon, befides, as far as I can obferve, not at all regarded or thought on by any of our prefent writers; and being wholly free from that flavery, which bookfellers ufually ly under, to the caprices of authors; I think it a wife piece of presumption to infcribe these papers to your Lordship, and to implore your Lordship's protection of them. God and your Lordship know their faults, and their merits: for, as to my own particular, I am altogether a stranger to the matter; and tho' every body elfe fhould be equally ignorant, I do not fear the fale of the book at all the worfe upon that score. Your Lordhip's name on the front in capital letters, will at any time get off one edition: neither would I defire any other help to grow an alderman, than a patent for the fole privilege of dedicating to your Lordship.

I should now, in right of a dedicator, give your Lordfhip a lift of your own virtues, and, at the fame time, be wery unwilling to offend your modefty; but, chiefly, I fhould celebrate your liberality towards men of great parts and small fortunes, and give you broad hints that I mean myself. And I was just going on in the ufual method, to perufe a hundred or two of dedications, and transcribe an abftract, to be applied to your Lordship; but I was diverted

diverted by a certain accident. For, upon the covers of thefe papers, I cafually obferved written in large letters, the two following words, DETUR DIGNISSIMO; which, for ought I knew, might contain fome important meaning. But it unluckily fell out, that none of the authors I employ understood Latin; (tho' I have them often in pay to tranflate out of that language.) F was therefore compelled to have recourfe to the curate of our parish, who englished it thus, Let it be given to the worthieft: and his comment was, that the author meant, his works fhould be dedicated to the fublimeft genius of the age for wit, learning, judgment, eloquence, and wisdom. I called at a poet's chamber, (who works for my fhop) in an alley hard by, fhewed him the tranflation, and defired his opinion, who it was that the author could mean. He told me, after fome confideration, that vanity was a thing he abhorred; but, by the defcription, he thought himself to be the perfon aimed at; and, at the fame time, he very kindly offered his own affistance gratis, towards penning a dedication to himself. I defired him, however, to give a fecond guefs. Why then, faid he, it must be I, or my Lord Sommers. From thence I went to feveral other wits of my acquaintance, with no small hazard and wearinefs to my perfon, from a prodigious number of dark, winding ftairs; but found them all in the fame ftory, both of your Lordship and themselves. Now your Lordship is to understand, that this proceeding was not of my own invention; for I have fomewhere heard it is a maxim, that thofe to whom every body allows the fecond place, have an undoubted title to the firft.

THIS infallibly convinced me, that your Lordship was the perfon intended by the author. But, being very unacquainted in the style and form of dedications, I employed thofe wits aforefaid, to furnish me with hints and materials towards a panegyric upon your Lordship's virtues.

"

In two days they brought me ten sheets of paper filled up on every fide. They fwore to me, that they had ranfacked whatever could be found in the characters of Socrates, Ariftides, Epaminondas, Cato, Tully, Atticus,

and