Gentleman's Magazine: AND Historical Chronicle. From JANUARY to JUNE, 1811. VOLUME LXXXI. (BEING THE FOURTH of a NEW SERIES.) PART THE FIRST. PRODESSE ET DELECTARE. E PLURIBUS UNUM. By SYLVANUS URBAN, Gent. LONDON: Printed by JOHN NICHOLS and SON, where LETTERS are particularly requested to be sent, POST-PAID 1811. ON COMPLETING THE FIRST PART OF VOL. LXXXI. S. C. PREFACE TO THE FIRST PART OF THE EIGHTY-FIRST VOLUME. July 1811. ONCE more, and with cheerfulness, we enter upon the discharge of our periodical duty; and, with true sincerity, tender our humble tribute of respect and gratitude to our Friends and Correspondents. We may assert with honest pride, that the first are undiminished in number, and that the latter are far from being decreased either in value or importance. Μήτοι τόγ' ἐμὸν πρόθυμον Φίλοισιν ἀπέσω. We, on our part, shall continue our utmost exertions to prove how highly we estimate the place we have so long and so uniformly held in the public favour. If indeed any new stimulus were wanting, it seems to present itself in the form of certain anomalous Competitors, who, under the novel allurement of appearing only once a quarter, assert their claims to curiosity and attention. The World of Literature is large enough for us all; and we neither mean to dispute their equal right with ourselves to become Candidates for distinction and reward, nor by any means to depreciate the value of their labours. We wish modestly and perspicuously to state, for the information of such of our Readers as may be so situated as not precisely to understand the nature of the ground we differently occupy, the following, which we apprehend to be no unimportant Facts: Our Monthly Publication exhibits a systematic History of Literature, in all its various branches: whereas our Brethren who make their appearance but four times in the year, selecting a few, for they cannot comprehend many, of such Works as they may think proper, make them the vehicle of ingenious comment and critical observation, of political |