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 fhould comprise every poem of value in the language; but it may be confidently afferted that there is scarce a fingle 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, was, in fact, a subsequent com pilation.

and in some cases his only, production, and that no publication of like nature ever comprehended fuch a number and variety of excellent poems, or was printed with fuperior elegance, fidelity, or correctnefs. 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 abuse, of Italic types and capital letters has proved a fource of conftant difcouragement 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 wifhed that, except in fixed and given inftances, they could be entirely laid afide; being no more neceffary, 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 firft 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

WORTLEY MONTAGUE, MRS. BARBER, and MISS MARY JONES, will be kind enough to communicate them to the publisher, in order that the selections from thofe poets may be duly arranged: and even the births of SIR JOHN HARINGTON, DUKE, SIR SAMUEL GARTH, FENTON, BROOME, and SOMERVILE, may be made use of in a future edition, fhould the collection be found to deferve it. One should indeed have naturally concluded. that these important facts, for such the birth and death of a man of merit or eminence undoubtedly are, would be found in the lives that have been written of almost all the perfons just named; but, in short, many of these lives, even in the excellent biographical prefaces of Dr. Johnson, may be carefully perused without betraying even the century in which the author made fo distinguished a figure.—Any suggestion, at the fame time, for the improvement of the work, in matter, method, accuracy, or