man, 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 chasms appear under the name of de- · fiderata. But, if any person will prove his claim to three lines in the whole book, let him ftep forth and tell his name and titles; upon which, the bookfeller fhall have orders to prefix them to the next edition, and the claimant shall from henceforward be acknowledged the undisputed author.

Treatifes

Treatifes written by the fame author, most of them mentioned in the following dif courfes; which will be speedily published.

A

Character of the present set of wits in this ifland.

A panegyrical effay upon the number

THREE.

A differtation upon the principal productions of Grub-street.

Lectures upon a diffection of human

nature.

A panegyric upon the world.

An analytical discourse upon zeal, histori-theo-phyfi-logically confidered. A general history 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 person of quality in terra auftralis incognita, tranflated from the original.

A critical effay upon the art of canı · ing, philofophically, phyfically, and mufically confidered.

то

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

JOHN

LORD SOMMERS.

MY LORD,

ALTHOUGH the author has written a large dedication, yet that

being address'd to a prince, whom I am never likely to have the honour of being known to; a perfon befides, as far as I can observe, not at all regarded, or thought on by any of our prefent writers; and being wholly free from that flavery, which bookfellers ufually lie under, to the caprices of authors; I think it a wife piece of prefumption to infcribe these papers to your lordship, and to im plore 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 though every body elfe VOL. I. fhould

I

fhould be equally ignorant, I do not fear the fale of the book, at all the worse, upon that score. Your lordship'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 lordship a lift of your own virtues, and at the fame time be very 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 usual method, to perufe a hundred or two of dedications, and tranfcribe an abstract to be applied to your lordship; hut I was diverted by a certain accident: for, upon the covers of these papers, I cafually obferved written in large letters the two following words, DETUR DIGNISSIMO; which, for aught I knew, might contain fome important meaning. But it unluckily fell out, that none of the authors I employ understood Latin;

3

Latin; (though I have them often in pay to tranflate out of that language) I was therefore compelled to have recourse to the curate of our parish, who englished it thus, Let it be given to the worth.eft: and his comment was, that the author meant his work fhould be dedicated to the fublimeft genius of the age for wit, learning, judgment, eloquence, and wifdom. 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 abhorr'd; but, by the defcription he thought himself to be the perfon aimed at; and, at the same time, he very kindly offer'd his own affiftance gratis towards penning a dedication to himself. I defired him however to give a fecond guess; 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 weariness to my perfon from a prodigious number of dark, winding ftairs; but found them all in the fame