“By the remarks I have here made, it plainly appears, that a collection of advertisements is a kind of miscellany; the writers of which, contrary to all authors, except men of quality, give money to the booksellers who publish their copies. The genius of the bookseller is chiefly shown in his method of ranging and digesting these little tracts. The last paper I took up in my hands places them in the following order:—
“The true Spanish blacking for shoes, etc.
“The beautifying cream for the face, etc.
“Pease and Plasters, etc.
“Nectar and Ambrosia, etc.
“Four freehold tenements of fifteen pounds per annum, etc.
“The present state of England, etc.
“Annotations upon the Tatler, etc.
“A commission of Bankrupt being awarded against R. L., bookseller, etc.”
This essay probably aroused a good deal of attention, and among the letters of correspondents is one from a “Self-interested Solicitor,” which appears in No. 228, and runs thus:—
“Mr Bickerstaff.