Sixteen of these Letters,which were written at the suggestion of the Editor of the "St.James's Gazette,"appeared in that journal,from which they are now reprinted,by the Editor's kind permission.
They have been somewhat emended,and a few additions have been made.
The Letters to Horace,Byron,Isaak Walton,Chapelain,Ronsard,and Theocritus have not been published before.
The gem on the title-page,now engraved for the first time,is a red cornelian in the British Museum,probably Graeco-Roman,and treated in an archaistic style.It represents Hermes Psychagogos,with a Soul,and has some likeness to the Baptism of Our Lord,as usually shown in art.Perhaps it may be post-Christian.The gem was selected by Mr.A.S.Murray.
It is,perhaps,superfluous to add that some of the Letters are written rather to suit the Correspondent than to express the writer's own taste or opinions.The Epistle to Lord Byron,especially,is "writ in a manner which is my aversion."
