Contents
Acknowledgments....................xi
Note on the Text....................xiii
Introduction....................xv
Map of Eighteenth-Century London....................xxxiv
1. RICHARD STEELE (1672-1729) The Tatler (1709-11) No. 1. [Introducing the Tatler]....................2
No. 60. [Tom Wildair &c.]....................6
No. 89. [Sir Isaac Bickerstaff, Censor of Great Britain]....................10
No. 132. [The Old Prattlers' Club]....................14
No. 214. [The Political Barometer]....................19
2. JOSEPH ADDISON (1672-1719) The Tatler (1709-11) No. 155. [The Upholsterer]....................24
No. 158. [Tom Folio]....................28
No. 163. [Ned Softly, Sonneteer]....................31
No. 216. [Nicholas Gimcrack, the Virtuoso]....................35
No. 220. [The Church Thermometer]....................39
The Spectator (1711-12, 1714) No. 1. [Introducing Mr. Spectator]....................43
No. 26. [On Westminster Abbey]....................46
No. 46. [The Spectator's Notes]....................50
No. 58. [On True and False Wit]....................54
No. 81. [Party Patches]....................58
No. 106. [A Visit to Sir Roger's]....................62
No. 112. [Sir Roger at Church]....................65
No. 130. [Sir Roger and the Gypsies]....................68
No. 235. [The Trunk-Maker as Drama Critic]....................71
No. 409. [On Taste]....................74
No. 411. [The Pleasures of the Imagination]....................78
No. 529. [On Rank and Precedence]....................81
3. ELIZA HAYWOOD (c. 1693-1756) The Female Spectator (1744-46) No. 1. [Martesia andClitander]....................86
The Parrot (1746) No. 1. [Introduces Herself and Anticipates Critics]....................93
No. 2. [Oram]....................101
4. SAMUEL JOHNSON (1709-84) The Rambler (1750-52) No. 4. [On Modern Romances, or Novels]....................107
No. 14. [On the Life of an Author vs. His Writing]....................112
No. 82. [On a Virtuoso]....................117
No. 113. [On the Trials of Courtship]....................122
No. 161. [On the Previous Inhabitants of His Garret]....................126
No. 188. [On Being Liked vs. Being Respected]....................131
No. 191. [A Young Belle's Complaint]....................134
"The Idler," The Universal Chronicle (1758-60) No. 1. [Introducing the Idler]....................138
No. 17. [On Scientists and Cruelty to Animals]....................140
No. [22]. [The Vulture's Speech on War]....................143
No. 36. [On the Bugbear Style]....................145
No. 44. [The Burden of Memory]....................148
No. 60. [Dick Minim, the Critic]....................150
No. 84. [On Biography vs. Autobiography]....................155
No. 94. [On the Abatement of Learning and Bad Writing]....................157
No. 103. [On Last Things]....................159
5. HENRY FIELDING (1707-54) The Covent Garden Journal (1752) No. 1. Introduction to a Journal of the Present Paper War....................163
No. 4. [On the Meaning of Common Words]....................165
No. 6. [Uses to Which Learning Is Put]....................169
No. 27. [On Betters and the Mob]....................174
6. WILLIAM COWPER (1731-1800) The Connoisseur (1754-56) No. 111. [On Mothers' Sons]....................180
No. 115. [On Being a Bachelor]....................184
No. 119. [On Keeping a Secret]....................188
No. 138. [On Conversation]....................192
7. OLIVER GOLDMSITH (c. 1730-74) The Bee (1759) Introduction....................198
Happiness, in a Great Measure, Dependent on Constitution....................200
The Sagacity of Some Insects....................203
8. JAMES BOSWELL (1740-95) "The Hypochondriack," The London Magazine (1777-83) No. 39. On Hypochondria....................211
No. 52. On Past and Present....................214
No. 58. On Hospitality....................220
No. 70. On Concluding....................227
9. HENRY MACKENZIE (1745-1831) The Mirror (1779-80) No. 14. On Indolence....................232
No. 16. Of Spring-Effects of That Season on Some Minds....................236
The Lounger (1785-87) No. 4. The Author Becomes Acquainted with Col. Caustic....................239
No. 32. Account of the Colonel's Family and Occupations in the Country....................244
No. 33. Relation of a Visit at the House of Lord Grubwell....................248
10. LEIGH HUNT (1784-1859) "The Round Table," The Examiner (1815-17) No. 1. Introduction....................255
No. 6. On Common-Place People....................260
The Indicator (1819-21) No. 1. Introduction....................264
No. 38. Of Sticks....................267
"The Indicator," The Literary Examiner (1823) No. 77. My Books....................276
11. WILLIAM HAZLITT (1778-1830) "The Round Table," The Examiner (1815-17) No. 4. On Classical Education....................288
No. 28. On Imitation....................291
No. 29. On Gusto....................296
No. 46. On Common-Place Critics....................300
The Plain Speaker (1821) No. 20. On Reading Old Books....................305
Table-Talk (1821-22) No. 24. On Familiar Style....................319
The Monthly Magazine (1831) The Letter-Bell....................327
12. CHARLES LAMB (1775-1834) "Essays of Elia," The London Magazine (1820-25) Christ's Hospital Five and Thirty Years Ago 337 The Two Races of Men....................352
Mackery End, in Hertfordshire....................358
Dream-Children; A Reverie....................363
Detached Thoughts on Books and Reading....................367
Old China....................374
Captain Jackson....................380
The Superannuated Man....................385
13. THOMAS DE QUINCEY (1785-1859) "Confessions of an English Opium Eater," The London Magazine (1821) Preliminary Confessions....................394
The Pleasures of Opium....................407
Chronology....................413
Glossary of Places....................419
Glossary of Terms....................423
