Excerpt from The Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. 27: January to June, 1847, Inclusive To be acquainted with every thing of temporary attraction as well as of permanent value; to supply the table with anecdotes never before told, and to satisfy a curiosity restless for fresh objects of attraction and enjoyment. To this point not an inconsiderable portion of our Magazine is appropriated and if we do not equal many of our contemporaries in the rapidity with which we seize our prey (for an author is the natural food of the critic), we trust that we are not inferior to them, either in deliberation of judgment or in candour of opinion. It is of little advantage to be rapid in one's stride, unless also we are certain in our step. Quickness of movement is of no use, unless it is attended with certainty of purpose; and our object is not to display our own talents in a stronger light by throwing our subject into the shade, but to ascertain, so far as we are able, the real merits of an author, the assistance he has afforded to his subject, and the advantage he has been to the cause of literature. If many of our contemporaries have excelled us in the brilliancy of their thoughts, or surpassed us in the severity of their criticism, we may at least advance the claim of not having displeased that class whose works are successively submitted to the ordeal of our judgment; for we have seldom re ceived any remonstrance, from a race not easily to be pleased, as to our want of deliberation or impartiality. He who knows how dimcult it is to write well, willbe most indulgent to the faults and deficiencies of others; and certainly that judge is not less to be blamed who condemns the innocent, than he who acquits the. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.