Excerpt from The British Essayists, Vol. 42: With Prefaces, Historical and Biographical<br><br>As I have long regarded my readers in the light ofa family that belongs to me and as the interest with which I espouse them, has become of the most cor dial kind by exercise and cultivation; I cannot view them gathering again around me, without those com placent emotions of domestic affection, which animate the meeting of relations that have been some time separated. But though my pen has been long idle, my labours have not altogether been suspended. L have been employed in looking aroundin the resorts of gaiety, and the busiest scenes of active life, for fresh matter of contemplation, fresh subjects of amusement, and fresh sources of instruction. My mind brings new energy to its task after this interval of recreation and my spirits have acquired an ala crity which throws a gay colouring over the objects of my lucubrations, and enables me, in spite of gre hairs and growing infirmity, to look at life through, a sprightly medium, and to deck out my topics in the dress of good-humour.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.