306 Advantages and Disadvantages of 



when he began to take the work, could possibly expect to be 

 charged for such things ? An author has no occasion to de- 

 clare beforehand, that a title and index will be given with the 

 work ; because they are to be looked for as matters of course, 

 unless a statement is made to the contrary. A book without 

 a title-page would be like a man without a face ; and, without 

 an index, it may be compared to a ship without a rudder. 

 But if an author thinks proper to charge extra for these com- 

 mon and indispensable necessaries, surely he ought, in fair- 

 ness, to state as much in the outset (which, however, would 

 be very injudicious) ; and then we should have but little reason 

 to blame, however we might regret, such conduct : because, 

 if any one chooses to make a bad bargain with his eyes open, 

 and to take in a work on such terms, it is entirely his own 

 fault. It is the sly underhand part of the transaction, and 

 the littleness of it, with which I am disgusted. Nor, again, is 

 it a good defence for these gentlemen to turn round and say, 

 in reply, " Caveat emptor : we offer these things at such a 

 price : do as you like about buying them." What, then, are 

 we to go without these necessary appendages, after having 

 paid handsomely for the book ? I appeal to any man of com- 

 mon sense and honesty, whether this is fair and honourable 

 dealing ? whether such a practice is not calculated to bring the 

 whole race of periodical authors and their works into dis- 

 repute ? For the honour of naturalists, I do hope that the 

 blame attaches to some bookseller's * * *, or 



to that other personage, intimately connected with literature, 

 ycleped '' the printer's devil," rather than to the respectable 

 persons whose names appear in these costly titlepages. I 

 should be happy to learn that my insinuations are well 

 founded ; and I beg of you, Mr. Editor, to have the goodness 

 to request ***** 



When Claude Lorrain, who, it is well known, was not cele- 

 brated for painting figures, disposed of his pictures, he used 

 to say to the purchasers, " I sell you the landscape, but, 

 mind, I give you the figures." But these gentry I have 

 alluded to would have us pay for their wares, in a manner, 

 twice over ; we must purchase the numbers, and then pay over 

 and above for the titlepage and index ! Observe, I am not 

 complaining of being charged a fair price for a general index 

 to a long series of volumes, like those published for the first 

 twenty and forty volumes of the Botanical Magazine, Such 

 indices, Mr. Editor, I hope you will publish at the end of 

 every ten or dozen volumes of your miscellany ; and, I assure 

 you, I shall be among the first to order them of the book- 

 seller, and to pay the cost with a good grace. What I complain 



