Tales And Miscellaneous Pieces

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Excerpt from Tales, and Miscellaneous Pieces, Vol. 5 of 14 Some author says, that a good book needs no apology; and, as a preface is usually an apology, a book enters into the world with a better grace Without one. I, however, appeal to those readers who are not gluttons, but epicures in literature, whether they do not wish to see the bill of fare. I appeal to monthly critics whether a preface that gives a view of the pretensions of the writer is not a good thing. The author may overvalue his sub ject, and very naturally may overrate the manner in which it is treated: but still he will explain his views, and facilitate the useful and necessary art which the French call reading with the thumb. We call this hunting a book, a term certainly in vented by a sportsman. I leave the reader to choose which he pleases, whilst I lay before him the con tents and design of these volumes. 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.