Excerpt from The English Rogue, Vol. 4: Continued in the Life of Meriton Latroon, and Other Extravagants, Comprehending the Most Eminent Cheats of Both Sexes

As if t/ie Reader could neit/zer receive nor dige/t' t/ze Pabulum mentis, or fatten by t/ze mental nouri/liment, witlcout a preparatory. A nd yet we t/zinb it favours neit/zer of civility, nor good manners to fall on wit/z out [aying fomet/zing of a grace; but we do not love t/zat it fliould be [0 tedious, as to take away your flo macb from t/ze meat, and t/zerefore t/cat we may not be condemned for t/cat prolzleity we mzflibe in ot/zers, we jnall briefly tell you lzow little we value t/ie favour of [ac/c Readers, w/zo take a pride to bla/t t/ze Wits of ot/iers, imagining t/zereby to augment t/ie reputation of tbeir own: W bat unexpefied ficccefs we lcave obtained in tue publication of t/ce former parts, will keep us from deflairing, t/cat in t/zis we flzall be le/s fortunate Man in tue ot/zer. But alt/zong/c our Books leave been generally received wit/c great applau/e, and read wit/c mac/c delzg/ct and fatisfae'tion, at lieme and abroad, (naving travailed many t/zou/and miles) yet we do not imagine t/zem to be wit/tout t/zeir Errata's, for w/zic/c t/iey lzave fulfered very liard Correttion t/tis is a younger brot/cer to tbe former, lawfully begotten, and if you will compare t/zeir faces, you will find t/zey refenzblc one anot/zer very mucli Or el/e mateli t/iispattern wit/i tlze former elet/t, you will find it of tlie fame colour, wool, and fibinning, only it liavingpafied tlie curious lzands of an excellent Artist, lie lzatlz by fliearing and drefling it made it fomewlzat tlzinner, and 'witlzall finer, tlzan was liepe it-will prove a good lafti able. Y ou'cannot imagin tlze ltave been at, in ra ifing tlzis building, wliiclz we mu/t ac/enowlcdg was erected upon an old foundation. From tlze actions of otlzers we gatlzer'd matter, wlzicli mate rials we metlzodized, and [0 formed tlzis [truetu re. We e order it may be called ours, as tlte Bucentauro may be now called t/ze/ame it was fome liundred of years fince, wlzen t/ze Pope tlierein fir/t married tlze Duke of Venice to tlze Seas, lzaving been from tlzat time [0 often mended and repaired, as tlzat it is t/zouglzt, t/zere is not left a cliip of lzerprimi tive building. 50 w/zat remarkable/tomes, and flrange relations we lia ve taken up on tru/t, by near-fay, or otlzerwife, we lzave fo altered by augmentation, or deminution, (as occafion ferved) tlzat tlzis may be more properly called a new C ompofi tion, ratner Man an old Collection, of wlzat witty Extravagancies are tlierein contained. As to tlze verity of tlzofe ingenious E x ploits, Subtle Con trivances, crafty projects, liorrid villanies, &c. We lzave little to fay, but tlzouglz we fliall not afl'ert tlze trut/c of Man all, yet tliere are none, wlzic/t carry not circumfi'ances enougli to make appa rent tlzeir' probability. And you may confidently be lieve, tlzat mo/t of tltem lzave been lately attea', tlzouglt not by one, two, tlzrce, a fcore, nay many more. To con clude, (lea/t we tire your patience wit/i tedious pre am bles it is our dcfi re tl/at you will lzave a clzaritable opinion of us, and ceny'nre not our writings according to tlzeir defert we are ready to condemn tbem, before.

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