tember, 1888, and the right of reproducing them has been generously conceded by the owners of the copyright. The other, on Burns, has not been previously published. It was delivered as a lecture before the Edinburgh Philosophical Institution. In reference to it, as Mr. Lobban tells us, Professor Minto said that it was "most distinctly the best thing" that he had ever written. The projected "Reconsiderations" would have included, among others, an essay on John Donne, two papers on Wordsworth,-originally contributed to the Nineteenth Century,—and another on "Matthew Arnold's Meliorism." As the last of these does not fall within the literature of the era included in the lectures which follow, and the first belongs to a previous period, while Wordsworth has been discussed in the course of this volume, these papers are not included in the Supplement. W. K. CONTENTS PAGE THE POSITION OF MEN OF LETTERS IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY Decline of royal patronage-Why is the Georgian Era a distinct literary period?-Condition of poetry during the century, and Brief literary biography-His poems fall into three periods- Eclogues, and the discussion as to the merits of pastoral "Essay on Criticism"-Supposed tyranny of Pope-Attitude of Pope, Gray, etc., toward classical tradition-Review of theories accounting for the poetic sterility of the eighteenth century. 35 Walpole's criticism-Why the want of poetry was not felt-Diary of a lady of quality-Rise of the novel-"Pamela "- -Connec- NOVELISTS FROM MRS. RADCLIFFE TO BULWER LYTTON Sterne-Miss Edgeworth-Hannah More-Jane Austen-"Waver- |