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Oxford, May 12 } 1746 s . 



Mr. Dodsle V, 

 "JO THING which hath lately appeared in print, hath 

 given me greater fatis faction than the fuperior merit of our 

 Englifh authors to the French, which hath been fo ingenioufly 

 fupported in one or two of your Mufeums. After the perufal of 

 them, the agreeable reflexion fo naturally refulting to an Englifti- 

 man produced in me the following dream. Methought I was 

 conveyed into a large library, in which I heard a confufion of 

 French voices, which, by the frequent repetition of the word 

 Mufeum with anger, I imagined to proceed from difcontent at 

 your late criticifms. Seeing however no perfon in the library, I 

 was examining, with no fmall ailonimment, from whence this 

 uproar arofe ; and was not a little furprized, you may imagine, 

 to find that each book had the faculty of expreffing itfelf for its 

 author. After I had tolerably reconciled myfelf to this unufual 

 manner of intercourfe, I found that I was not miftaken in my 



a The above letter was written at the time it bears date, and was 

 addreffed to the Editor of a periodical paper, intituled, The Mufeum, 

 which was printed for Dodfley. I did then intend it mould have 

 followed two differtations in that work, which afTerted the fuperiority of 

 our Engliih to the French authors; but from fome circumllance, which 

 I do not now remember, it never reached the Editor. I need not in- 

 form the Reader that the idea of this engagement between the writers of 

 the two nations, is taken from, The Battle of the Books. 



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