therefore be an act of more than ordinary hardihood to arraign them on the articles of style, or selection of incidents; the knowledge of the world evinced in delineating human character; or the refinements of art, which they have displayed in the conduct of their fable; and of ingenuity, on all occasions, in the application of epic dexterity.

Such an inquiry is, however, foreign to my present purpose; which is to prove, that, whatever may be their masterly qualifications in other points, they are not to be esteemed teachers of

politeness or of virtue, but of coarseness and immorality; that society has been corrupted, not meliorated, by their novels; and that Tom Jones, Joseph Andrews, Peregrine Pickle, Roderick Random, Jonathan Wild, Count Fathom, &c. &c., may be fit manuals for the rake and the courtesan, but are objects of abhorrence to the chaste and delicate mind, and can only cease to be such, when they have executed their felonious office, and transformed the innocent into the depraved.

In support of my assertion, it would

be unnecessary to adduce particular

passages for the conviction of those who are already acquainted with any of the above-named works; and to do so for the information of such as are not, would be unsuitable to the character I wish to sustain. Indeed, the improper parts are so numerous, and of so gross a texture, as to render a detail of them incompatible with the established principles of decorum. It is to be hoped, therefore, that a rough outline of the story of any one of these notable performances, will suffice to create a sense of shame in some, and to repress the curiosity of others.

The history of Tom Jones is an exposition, and a very minute one, of the whole craft and mystery relating to the generation and breeding of illegitimate children and the title of the work, and of every page of the work, keeps this idea strongly in the reader's recollection. The hero is concerned in several intrigues, which are given by the author at large, meet the eye at every turn, and are so essential to the business of the novel, that without them the whole would fall into confusion.

Jones's first adventures originate in

a low amour; much of his character is

developed by another, the colouring of which is heightened by insinuations of adultery, and even by allusions to the possibility of incest; and the windingup of his history depends chiefly on a shameless intercourse with one of the most abandoned females of the metropolis.

If to this sketch we add the impure traits in the histories of Partridge, Mr. Square, and Mr. Nightingale; the oaths and execrations of 'Squire Western; and the filth which overflows in the innumerable dialogues that take place between personages selected from the dregs of

E