Page:Essays and criticisms by Wainewright (1880).djvu/89

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ESSAYS AND CRITICISMS.





MODEST OFFER OF SERVICE FROM MR. BONMOT

TO THE

EDITOR OF THE "LONDON MAGAZINE."[1]


Sir,—Hearing it whispered that a luminary, in the form of a new magazine, is about to shew itself above our literary horizon, I hereby tender my powers of elevation to bring it, with trump and timbrel-clang and general shout, to the zenith of triumphant popularity. I imagine not, for an instant, that you will misconstrue this overture into a solicitation for employment:—no, it is a gracious offer of assistance. Yes, gracious is the epithet, of which you will the better judge, when I shall have rendered you an account of my great qualifications. Without fear of controversy, then, I affirm myself to be Sir Oracle; I am the im-

  1. ["London Magazine," January, 1820. Ascribed to Wainwright conjecturally.]