in taste, to increase the harmless stock of public pleasures, and to eclipse the gaiety of nations when the hour of discontinuance shall arrive, fills up the chasm, and gives its due dimensions to the address.
It is as easy to violate such engagements as it is difficult to write a prospectus without making them. But it is equally easy, having determined upon a plan, to describe it in plain words and to give it a fair trial. The originator of this new "Magazine of Roman, General Literature, and Art," is animated by a grateful sense of the favour with which his own productions have been honoured, when he proposes to unite, in companionship with himself, various accomplished writers, qualified to administer to public amusement, and to advance the best purposes of literature.
So far from deeming that a new combination of talents, in a new periodical, in a new form, at a new price, is not wanted, he believes that such a junction under such circumstances was never so desirable as now; and he is of opinion that a plan, which invests the real property and the real responsibility of a Magazine in literary hands, may give greater freedom to writers both in the selection and the treatment of their subjects, and therefore be more favourable to a prosperous exercise of their talents, than is frequently the case under established arrangements. Whatever in this respect benefits the writer, must be for the advantage of the reader; and is as clear a gain as any palpable diminution of price. The command of great and various talent is one essential element of success; but it is essential also that the talent should be directed to the attainment of its happiest results, and be employed in its easiest and most natural way.
The advantages thus enjoyed will lead, it may be presumed, to a higher tone of literary speculation, as well as to a more steadfast moral endeavour, on the part of the poet, the essayist, and the critic. Loftier aims and truer purposes may be here secured, without in the slightest degree cramping those attractive pages that must be reserved for Romance, or excluding even one of those lighter accessories of the Magazine which divert the gay-hearted reader—(setting him thinking, perhaps, while he laughs,)—in the guide of humorous incident and playful satire—in the jest that is born with a smile rather than a sneer—in piquant sketches of society, notabilia of travel, and portraitures
