ments of this nature, I depend upon your known humanity for pardon, when I acknowledge, that you have this present trouble for mine. When I take myself to be ill treated with regard to my behaviour to the merit of other men, my conduct towards you is an argument of my candour that way, as well as that your name and authority will be my protection in it. You will give me leave, therefore, in a matter that concerns us in the poetical world, to make you my judge, whether I am not injured in the highest manner; for, with men of your taste and deicacy, it is a high crime and misdemeanor to be guilty of any thing that is difingenuous: but I will go into the matter. Upon my return out of Scotland, I visited Mr. Tonfon's fhop, and thanked him for his care in fending to my house the volumes of my dear and honoured friend Mr. Addison, which are at last published by his fecretary Mr. Tickell; but took occafion to obferve," that I "had not feen the work before it came out ;" which he did not think fit to excufe any otherwife than by a recrimination, "that I had put "into his hands at an high price, a comedy "called 'The Drummer;' which, by my zeal "for it, he took to be written by Mr. Addison, "of which, after his death, he said, I directly " acknowledged he was the author." To urge this this hardship ftill more home, he produced a receipt under my hand, in these words: ་ "March 12, 1715. "Received, then the fum of fifty guineas, for "the copy of the Comedy called 'The Drummer, or, The Haunted House:' I say, received by order of the Author of the said Comedy. "RICHARD STEELE.' And added, at the fame time, that fince Mr. Tickell had not thought fit to make that play a part of Mr. Addifon's Works, he would fell the copy to any bookfeller that would give moft for it. This is reprefented thus circumftantially to fhew how incumbent it is upon me, as well in juftice to the bookfeller, as for many other confiderations, to produce this Comedy a fecond time, and take this occafion to vindicate myself against certain infinuations thrown out by the publisher of Mr. Addison's writings concerning my behaviour in the niceft circumstance, that of doing justice to the merit of my friend. I fhall take the liberty, before I have ended this letter, to say why I believe "The Drummer" a performance of Mr. Addifon; and, after declaring this, any furviving writer may be at ease, if there be any one who has hitherto been vain enough to hope, or filly enough to fear, it may be given to himself. Before Before I go any further, I must make my public appeal to you and all the learned world, and humbly demand whether it was a decent or reasonable thing that works written (as a great part of Mr. Addifon's were) in correfpondence with me, ought to have been published without my review of the catalogue of them? or, if there were any exception to be made against any circumstance in my conduct, whether an opportunity to explain myself should not have been allowed me, before any reflections were made upon me in print? When I perufed Mr. Tickell's Preface, I had foon many objections, befides his omiffion to say any thing of "The Drummer," against his long-expected performance. The chief intention of which, and which it concerns me first to examine, feems to aim at doing the deceased author juftice against me, whom he infinuates to have affumed to myself part of the merit of my friend. He is pleased, Sir, to express himself concerning the prefent writer in the following manner: "The Comedy called The Tender Husband' "appeared much about the fame time, to which "Mr. Addison wrote the prologue. Sir Richard "Steele surprised him with a very handsome "dedication of this play, and has fince acquaint"ed the publick that he owed fome of the "most taking scenes of it to Mr. Addison *.” *Mr. Tickell's Preface, p. 11. "He "He was in that kingdom [Ireland] when he firft difcovered Sir Richard Steele to be the "author of The Tatler,' by an obfervation upon Virgil, which had been by him commu "nicated to his friend. The affiftance he occafionally gave him afterwards, in the courfe "of his paper, did not a little contribute to ad"vance its reputation; and, upon the change "of the Miniftry, he found leifure to engage more conftantly in that work, which, how K ever, was dropped at last, as it had been "taken up, without his participation. “In the last paper, which clofed thofe cele "brated performances, and in the preface to the laft volume, Sir Richard Steele has given "to Mr. Addison the honour of the most ap"plauded pieces in that collection. But as that acknowledgment was delivered only in "general terms, without directing the publick "to the feveral papers, Mr. Addifon, who was " content with the praise arifing from his own "works, and too delicate to take any part of "that which belonged to others, afterwards "thought fit to diftinguifh his writings in the Spectators and Guardians by fuch marks as "might remove the leaft poffibility of mistake "in the moft undifcerning readers. It was neceffary that his fhare in the Tatlers fhould be This has been generally supposed to allude to TAT. N° 6. See new edit. with notes, vol. I. p. 17, note. adjusted "adjusted in a complete collection of his "Works; for which reafon Sir Richard Steele, "in compliance with the request of his de❝ceased friend, delivered to him by the Editor, "was pleased to mark with his own hand those "Tatlers which are inferted in this edition, "and even to point out feveral in the writing "of which they were both concerned *." "The plan of The Spectator,' as far as it "regards the figned perfon of the author, and "of the feveral characters that compofe his "club, was projected in concert with Sir Richard Steele; and because many paffages, "in the courfe of the work, would otherwife be "obfcure, I have taken leave to infert one fingle paper, written by Sir Richard Steele, where"in thofe characters are drawn, which may ❝ferve as a Dramatis Perfonæ, or as fo many pictures for an ornament and explication of the whole. As for the distinct papers, they 66 were never or seldom fhewn to each other by "their respective authors, who fully answered "the promise they had made, and far out went the expectation they had raised of pur"fuing their labour in the fame spirit and "ftrength with which it was begun †." It need not be explained, that it is here intimated that I had not fufficiently acknowledged what was due to Mr. Addison in these + Ibid. p. 13. *Mr. Tickell's Preface, p. 12. writings. |