they obliterated to paste their
invectives in our book.

The success of the Gentleman's Magazine has given rise to almost twenty
imitations of it, which are either all dead, or very little regarded by
the world. Before we had published sixteen months, we met with such a
general approbation, that a knot of enterprising geniuses, and sagacious
inventors, assembled from all parts of the town, agreed, with an
unanimity natural to understandings of the same size, to seize upon our
whole plan, without changing even the title. Some weak objections were,
indeed, made by one of them against the design, as having an air of
servility, dishonesty, and piracy; but it was concluded that all these
imputations might be avoided by giving the picture of St. Paul's instead
of St. John's gate; it was, however, thought indispensably necessary to
add, printed in St. John's street, though there was then no
printing-house in that place.

That these plagiaries should, after having thus stolen their whole
design from us, charge us with robbery, on any occasion, is a degree of
impudence scarcely to be matched, and certainly entitles them to the
first rank among false heroes. We have, therefore, inserted their
names[1], at length, in our February magazine, p. 61; being desirous
that every man should enjoy the reputation he deserves.

Another attack has been made upon us by the author of Common Sense, an
adversary equally malicious as the former, and equally despicable. What
were his views, or what his provocations, we know not, nor have thought
him considerable enough to inquire. To make him any further answer would
be to descend too low; but, as he is one of those happy writers, who are
best exposed by quoting their own words, we have given his elegant
remarks in our magazine for December, where the reader may entertain
himself, at his leisure, with an agreeable mixture of scurrility and
false grammar.

For the future, we shall rarely offend him by adopting any of his
performances, being unwilling to prolong the life of such pieces as
deserve no other fate than to be hissed, torn, and forgotten. However,
that the curiosity of our readers may not be disappointed, we shall,
whenever we find him a little excelling himself, perhaps print his
dissertations upon our blue covers, that they may be looked over, and
stripped off, without disgracing our collection, or swelling our
volumes.

We are sorry that, by inserting some of his essays, we have f