As these eyes must one day ceafe to gaze on Teraminta, and this heart shall one day pant no more for her indignation, that is to fay, fince this body must be earth, I fhall commit it to the duft in a manner fuitable to my character; therefore, as there are those who difpute whether there is any such real perfon as Ifaac Bickerstaff or not, I fhall excufe all perfons who appear what they really what they really are from coming to my funeral; but all those who are in their way of life, perfona, as the Latins have it, perfons affumed, and who appear what they really are not, are hereby invited to that folemnity.

The body shall be carried by fix watchmen who are never feen in the day.

Item: The pall fhall be held up by the fix most known pretenders to honesty, wealth, and power, who are not posfeffed of any of them. The two firft, a half-lawyer, a complete justice; the two next, a chymist, a projector; the third couple, a treasury folicitor and a small courtier.

To make my funeral (what that folemnity when done to common men really is in itself) a very farce, and fince all mourners are mere actors on thefe occafions, I fhall defire those who are professedly such to attend me. I humbly therefore befeech Mrs. Barry to act once more, and be my widow. When the fwoons away at the church-porch, I appoint the merry Sir John Falstaff and the gay Sir Harry Wildair to support her. I defire Mr. Pinkethman to follow in the habit of a cardinal, and Mr. Bullock in that of a privy counsellor. To make up the rest of the appearance, I defire all the ladies from the balconies to weep with Mrs. Barry, as they hope to be wives and widows themselves. I invite all who have nothing else to do to accept of gloves and scarves.

Thus, with the great Charles V. of Spain, I refign the glories of this tranfitory world, yet, at the fame time, to fhew you my indifference, and that my defires are not too much fixed upon anything, I own to you I am as willing to stay as go, therefore leave it in the choice of my gentle readers whether I shall hear from them or they hear no more from me.

HE printer having informed me that there are as many of these printed papers as will make four volumes, I am now come to the end of my ambition in this matter, and have nothing further to fay to the world under the character of Ifaac Bickerftaff. This work has, indeed, for fome time been difagreeable to me, and the purpose of it wholly loft by my being fo long understood as the author. I never defigned in it to give any man any fecret wound by my concealment, but spoke in the character of an old man, a philofopher, a humourist, an aftrologer, and a cenfor, to allure my reader with the variety of my fubjects, and infinuate, if I could, the weight of reason with the agreeableness of wit. The general purpofe of the whole has been to recommend truth, innocence, honour, and virtue, as the chief ornaments of life; but I confidered that feverity of manners was abfolutely neceffary to him who would cenfure others, and for that reason, and that only, chofe to talk in a mask. I shall not carry my humility fo far as to call myself a vicious man, but at the fame time muft confefs my life is at best but pardonable. And with no greater character than this, a man would make but an indifferent progrefs in attacking prevailing and fashionable vices, which Mr. Bickerstaff has done with a freedom of fpirit that would have loft both its beauty and efficacy, had it been pretended to by Mr. Steele.

As to the work itself, the acceptance it has met with is the best proof of its value; but I fhould err against that candour

which an honest man should always carry about him, if I did not own that the most approved pieces in it were written by others, and those which have been most excepted against, by myself. The hand that has affisted me in those noble discourses upon the immortality of the foul, the glorious prospects of another life, and the most fublime ideas of religion and virtue, is a person who is too fondly my friend ever to own them; but I should little deferve to be his, if I ufurped the glory of them. I must acknowledge at the fame time that I think the finest strokes of wit and humour in all Mr. Bickerstaff's lucubrations, are thofe for which he alfo is beholden to him.

As for the fatirical part of thefe writings, thofe against the gentlemen who profess gaming, are the most licentious; but the main of them I take to come from losing gamesters, as invectives against the fortunate, for in very many of them I was very little else but the transcriber. If any have been more particularly marked at, fuch perfons may impute it to their own behaviour (before they were touched upon) in publicly fpeaking their refentment against the author, and profeffing they would fupport any man who should infult him. When I mention this fubject, I hope Major-General Davenport, Brigadier Biffet, and my Lord Forbes, will accept of my thanks for their frequent good offices, in profeffing their readiness to partake any danger that should befal me in fo just an undertaking, as the endeavour to banish fraud and cozenage from the prefence and converfation of gentlemen.

But what I find is the leaft excufable part of all this work is, that I have in fome places in it touched upon matters which concern both church and state. All I fhall say for this is, that the points I alluded to are fuch as concerned every Christian and freeholder in England; and I could not be cold enough to conceal my opinion on fubjects which related to either of those characters. But politics apart, I must confess, it has been a moft exquifite pleasure to me to frame characters of domestic life, and put those parts of it which are least obferved into an agreeable view; to inquire into the feeds of vanity and affectation, to lay before the readers the emptiness of ambition: in a word, to trace human life through all its

mazes and receffes, and fhew much shorter methods than men ordinarily practise, to be happy, agreeable, and great.

But to inquire into men's faults and weakneffes has fomething in it fo unwelcome, that I have often feen people in pain to act before me, whofe modefty only makes them think themfelves liable to cenfure. This, and a thousand other namelefs things, have made it an irkfome task to me to perfonate Mr. Bickerstaff any longer; and I believe it does not often happen, that the reader is delighted where the author is displeased.

All I can now do for the further gratification of the town, is to give them a faithful index and explication of paffages and allufions, and fometimes of persons intended in the feveral scattered parts of the work. of the work. At the fame time, I fhall discover which of the whole have been written by me, and which by others, and by whom, as far as I am able, or permitted.

Thus I have voluntarily done what I think all authors should do when called upon. I have published my name to my writings, and given myself up to the mercy of the town (as Shakespeare expresses it) "with all my imperfections on my head." The indulgent reader's

Moft obliged, most obedient, humble Servant,
RICHARD STEELE.

THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE.-Forming parts of first articles of the "Tatler," Nos. 1 and 4, dated April 12th and 18th, both 1709, by Steele. The part from number one, with other portions omitted, was originally inserted in the first three or four numbers (which were printed for the author, and circulated gratuitously), as a sort of prospectus.

PAGE 2. THE COFFEE-HOUSES OF LONDON.-Gallantry, &c., under the article of White's chocolate-house; Poetry, under Will's coffee-house; Learning, under the title of the Grecian; Foreign and Domestic News from St. James' coffee-house.-The "Tatler," unlike the "Spectator," its successor, had three or four short "leaders" on different subjects of public interest, one of them a news article, and these were dated from what was regarded as the head-quarters of information on each topic. The coffeehouses were then, and had been from their establishment, about fifty years previously, in a great measure substitutes for the newspaper. The subject of the coffee-houses and clubs has been so forestalled in the valuable notes of Mr. Wills to the companion of this work, "Sir Roger de Coverley," and elsewhere, as to render only a very brief notice of them necessary.

White's chocolate-house was situated on the west side of St. James' Street, and appears to have been the resort of the beaux and men of pleasure. It was afterwards moved to the opposite side of the way higher up.

Wills' coffee-house, so called after the name of its proprietor, was situated at the north corner of Great Russell Street, Covent Garden and Bow Street, being No. 1-in the latter street, formed the scene of a sort of literary coterie, the chief wits of the time meeting there, with Dryden in his day as their monarch. Unfortunately, what emanated from it was not

* A few trifling obligations to preceding anonymous annotators are marked with inverted commas.

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