686. 
general Index. 
THE works included in this collec- 
tion ate the Tatler, Spectator, Guar- 
dian, Rambler, Adventurer, World, Con- 
noisseur, Idler, Mirror, Lounger, and 
Observer. Great Britain, we believe, is 
the only country of Europe in which at- 
tempts have been made, by micans of es- 
says published daily or at short intervals, 
to purify the morals and refine the man- 
ners of the higher and middling classes 
of society. Some of our ablest writers 
have contributed largely to this valua- 
ble object, and. by an engaging mixture 
of gaiety and seriousness, of wit and ar- 
gument, have reformed many indeco- 
rums, rendered unfashionable many fol- 
lies, and impeded the progress of many 
vices. The talents displayed ih these 
publications, the entertainment vith 
which they abound, the morality by 
which they are dignified, and the illus- 
tration which they afford, respecting the 
state of society and manners which cha- 
racterised the last century, give them an 
undoubted claim, to be considered as a 
permanent part of British literature : 
notwithstanding, therefore, the numerous 
separate editions which have appeared of 
these valuable works, it gives us plea- 
suré to announce to the publica new and 
uniform impression of the whole care- 
fully corrected from the earliest editions, 
furnished with a complete general index, 
and enriched with biographical and his- 
torical prefaces. 
The Tatler, Spectator, and Guardian, 
contain more remarks on mauners and 
the state of society, and abound more 
in allusions to temporary occurrences 
than any of their successors; but this 
circumstance, which rendered them more 
extensively useful on their first appear- 
ance, and will make them hereafter of 
peculiar value to the historian and anti- 
quary, is the very reason why, with the 
change which society is constantly under- 
going, a considerable degree of obscu- 
rity will gradually steal over them. The 
only method of obviating this disadvan- 
tage is by the’ judicious aid of notes to 
supply the requisite illustrations in pro- 
ortion as the characters and events re- 
ferred to, begin to fade from the public 
mind. We expected to find in the edi- 
tion before us, that sachan obvious duty 
had not been neglected, and that the re- 
searches of Mr. Chalmers would have 
formed an example and model to the 
MISCELLANIES. 
Arr. XVIII. The British Essayists ; with Prefaces, historical and liographical, and h 
By Avexanper CuHaumers, d. M. 45 vols. 12mo., 
future editors of our essayists ; in this 
hope, however, we have been almost 
wholly disappointed, the only additianal 
matter being contained in the prefaces 
which’ are devoted to biographical 
sketches and miscellaneous particulars 
relative to the history of the several 
works composing the present series. 
The pretace to the Tatler commences 
with a general summary, somewhat hea- 
vily written, of the topics which have 
principally attracted the notice of our 
essayists. ‘To this succeeds a biographi- 
cal memoir of Steel, and a history of the 
Tatler, with some account of Swift, J. 
Hughes, Harrison, and the other occa- 
sional contributors to the work. Ka 
The success of the Tatler gave birth 
to no less than thirteen rivals during its 
publication, and when it was brought to 
a conclusion a spurious continuation of 
52 papers was begun by Swift and Har- 
rison: which so far imposed on the world 
as.to be printed at least three times as 
the fifth volume of the genuine Tatler, 
though of very inferior merit and ques- 
tionable morality. 
The Tatler terminated in Jan. 1710, 
and on the first of March in the samé 
year the Spectator made its appearance. 
Of this celebrated work, as well as of the 
Tatler, Steel was the editor; he also fur- 
nished the greatest number of the pa- 
pers. From his friendship with Addi- 
son he had derived much valuable as- 
sistance in the progress of his former 
work, and received still more in the pre- 
sent, the amount of the papers attributed 
from satisfactory evidence to this excel- 
Jent writer being no less than two hun- 
dred and seventy-four. The extensive 
reputation of the Spectator invited the 
contributions of several other men, dis- 
tinguished fcr rank or abilities ; of these 
the principal were Hughes, author of the 
Siege of Damascus, Budgell, Pope, By- 
rom, Lord Hardwick, Parnell, and Bishop | 
Pearce. 
The remarks of Mr. Chalmers, on the 
style and general character of Addison’s 
papers, are very judicious, and his state- 
ment concerning the respective shares of 
Steel and Addison, in the papers relative 
to the hero of the work, Sir Roger de 
Coverley, will probably for the future, 
silence the idle disputes that have arisen 
respecting the consistency of a character 
which has been unthinkingly considered _ 
