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THE

ENGLISH HUMOURISTS

OF THE

EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.

A Series of Lectures.

BY

W. M. THACKERAY,
Author of "Esmond," "Pendennis," "Vanity Fair," &c.

NEW YORK:

HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,

329 & 331 PEARL STREET,

FRANKLIN SQUARE.

HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY

GIFT OF THE

CAMBRIDGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Feb 15,1938

3.0

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THE ENGLISH HUMOURISTS

OF THE

EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.

LECTURE THE FIRST.

SWIFT.

In treating of the English humourists of the past age, it is of the men and of their lives, rather than of their books, that I ask permission to speak to you; and in doing so, you are aware that I cannot hope to entertain you with a merely humourous or facetious story. Harlequin without his mask is known to present a very sober countenance, and was himself, the story goes, the melancholy patient whom the Doctor advised to go and see Harlequin'-a man full of cares and perplexities like the rest of us, whose Self must always be serious to him, under whatever mask, or disguise, or uniform he presents it to the public. And as all of you here must needs be grave when you think of your own past and present, you will not look to find, in the histories of those whose lives and feelings I am going to try and describe to you, a story that is otherwise than serious, and often very sad. If Humour only meant laughter, you would

1 The anecdote is frequently told of our performer, RICH.

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