agreeably in the amusements of a country life, as it ever did in the gallantries of the town: And that You now take as much pleasure in the planting of young trees, as You did formerly in the cutting. your old ones. In fhort,

down of we hear from all hands that You are thoroughly reconciled to your dirty acres, and have not too much wit to look into your own eftate.

After having spoken thus much of my patron, I must take the privilege of an author in faying fomething of myfelf. I fhall therefore beg leave to add, that I have purpofely omitted fetting those marks to the end of every paper, which appeared in my former volumes,

that You may have an opportunity of fhewing Mrs. Honeycomb the fhrewdness of your conjectures, by afcribing every speculation to its proper author: Though You know how often many profound critics in ftile and fentiments have very judiciously erred in this particular, before they were let into the fecret. I am,

SIR,

your most faithful

bumble fervant,

The SPECTATOR

THE

XXX

Bookfeller to the Reader.

IN

N the fix hundred and thirty Secondi Spectator, the reader will find an account of the rife of this eighth and laft volume.

I have not been able to prevail upon the feveral Gentlemen who were concerned in this work to let me acquaint the world with their names.

Perhaps it will be unnecessary to inform the Reader, that no other papers,,. which have appeared under the title of Spectator, fince the ciofing of this eighth volume, were written by any of thoje Gentlemen who had a hand in this or the farmer volumes.