paltockTP (30K)

      LIFE AND ADVENTURES
 OF
 PETER WILKINS
 
 VOL. I.    

      BY ROBERT PALTOCK,
 Of Clement's Inn.    

 
      WITH A PREFACE BY A. H. BULLEN, 
 Editor Of "The Works Of John Day,"      
 "A Collection Of Old English Plays," Etc.    

titlepage (92K)

 
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      PREFACE.    
      In one of those bright racy essays at which modern dulness delights to      sneer, Hazlitt discussed the question whether the desire of posthumous      fame is a legitimate aspiration; and the conclusion at which he arrived      was that there is "something of egotism and even of pedantry in this      sentiment." It is a true saying in literature as in morality that "he that      seeketh his life shall lose it." The world cares most for those who have      cared least for the world's applause. A nameless minstrel of the North      Country sings a ballad that shall stir men's hearts from age to age with      haunting melody; Southey, toiling at his epics, is excluded from      Parnassus. Some there are who have knocked at the door of the Temple of      Fame, and have been admitted at once and for ever. When Thucydides      announced that he intended his history to be a "possession for all time,"      there was no mistaking the tone of authority. But to be enthroned in      state, to receive the homage of the admiring multitude, and then to be      rejected as a pretender,—that is indeed a sorry fate, and one that      may well make us pause before envying literary despots their titles. The      more closely a writer shrouds himself from view, the more eager are his      readers to get a sight of him. The loss of an arm or a leg would be a      slight price for a genuine student to pay if only he could discover one      new fact about Shakespeare's history. I will not attempt to impose on the      reader's credulity by professing myself eager to acquire information about      the author of "Peter Wilkins" at such a sacrifice; but it would have been      a sincere pleasure to me if I could have brought to light some particulars      about one whose personality must have possessed a more than ordinary      charm. The delightful voyage imaginaire here presented to the      reader was first published in 1751.*    
        * Some copies are said to be dated 1750. It appears on the list of new        books                        
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