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ADVERTISEMENT.

THE public is here presented with a selec

tion of English poetry, in a chronological series, from the beginning of the fixteenth century (or, including an extract from CHAUCER, from the latter part of the fourteenth) to the present time, upon a plan hitherto unattempted, at least in this country*. It will not be thought poffible that a collection in three volumes should comprise every poem of value in the language; but it may be confidently afferted that there is fcarce a single poet of any eminence or merit who has not contributed generally his best,

THE CALEDONIAN MUSE, a collection of Scotish

poetry, upon a fimilar plan, printed fome years fince, though not yet published, wás, in fact, a subsequent com pilation.

and in fome cafes his only, production, and

that no publication of like nature ever comprehended such a number and variety of excellent poems, or was printed with superior elegance, fidelity, or correctness. No alteration (except in apparent mistakes) has been attempted either in the language or in the orthography, and as little as poffible even in the punctuation, of the edition followed, which, if not always the best, will in no case be found a bad one; the only variation, if any, confifting in the orthography, which is, perhaps, very feldom that of the author: nor has any piece been inferted which had already appeared in "A SELECT COLLECTION OF ENGLISH SONGS," published in 1783.

It must be confeffed that the ufe, or rather abufe, of Italic types and capital letters has proved a fource of conftant discouragement and vexation. To have entirely preserved these frivolous diftinctions, of which, in many

inftances, it was utterly impoffible to discover the reason, would have been perfectly ridiculous; to omit them altogether appeared an act of violence. The editor, therefor, has not the vanity to hope that either the retention or the omiffion will fatisfy the more critical reader; being utterly unable to discover any principle which will justify either the one or the other. It is however to be wished that, except in fixed and given inftances, they could be entirely laid aside; being no more necessary, one would think, to the works of Pope or Swift than to those of Virgil or Horace.

As it has been thought advisable to publish the first of these volumes before the others can be printed, it is earnestly requested that those who poffefs the dates of the birth and death of FITZGERALD, BRAMSTON, FAWKES, SIR CHARLES HANBURY WILLIAMS, SMART, MERRICK, LLOYD, LANGHORNe, dr. CotTON, HALL STEVENSON; LADY MARY

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