Introductory material
Reading edition
PAGE
Introduction vii
1. A Printer's Prologue Wm. Caxton, Morte D'Arthur 1
2. Dame Prudence on Riches Geoffrey Chaucer, Tale of Melibeus 4
3. Of Painting the Face T.T., New Essays, 1614 8
4. Hamlet's Advice to the Players Shakespeare, Hamlet 10
5. Of Adversity Francis Bacon, Essays 11
6. Of Travel " " " 12
7. Of Wisdom for a Man's Self " " " 14
8. Of Ambition " " " 15
9. Of Gardens " " " 17
10. Of Studies " " " 22
11. The Good Schoolmaster Thomas Fuller, Holy and Profane States 24
12. On Death Jeremy Taylor, Holy Living and Holy Dying 27
13. Of Winter Thomas Dekker 30
14. How a Gallant should behave himself in a Play-house Thomas Dekker, Gull's Horn Book 31
15. Of Myself Abraham Cowley, Discourses 35
16. The Grand Elixir Pope, The Guardian, No. 11 39
17. Jack Lizard Steele, The Guardian, No. 24 43
18. A Meditation upon a Broomstick, According to the Style and Manner of the Hon. Robert Boyle's Meditations Swift, Prose Writings 47
19. Pulpit Eloquence Swift, The Tatler, No. 66 48
20. The Art of Political Lying Swift, The Examiner, No. 15 51
21. A Rural Ride Wm. Cobbett, Rural Rides 56
22. The Man in Black (1) Goldsmith, Citizen of the World, No. 25 58
23. " " " (2) " " " " No. 26 61
24. Old Maids and Bachelors " " " " No. 27 66
25. The Important Trifler " " " " No. 53 69
26. The Trifler's Household " " " " No. 54 72
27. Westminster Hall " " " " No. 97 75
28. The Little Beau " " " " No. 98 78
29. The Club Steele, The Spectator 80
30. The Meeting of the Club Addison " " 85
31. Sir Roger de Coverley at Home (1) " " " 88
32. " " " " (2) " " " 91
33. " " " " (3) Steele " " 94
34. " " " " (4) Addison " " 97
35. Sir Roger at Church " " " 100
36. Sir Roger on the Widow Steele " " 103
37. Sir Roger in the Hunting Field Addison " " 107
38. Sir Roger at the Assizes " " " 110
39. Gipsies " " " 114
40. Witches " " " 117
41. Sir Roger at Westminster Abbey " " " 120
42. Sir Roger at the Play " " " 123
43. Sir Roger at Spring-Garden " " " 126
44. Death of Sir Roger " " " 129
45. A Stage Coach Journey Steele " " 131
46. A Journey from Richmond " " " 135
47. A Prize Fight " " " 139
48. Good Temper " " " 144
49. The Employments of a Housewife in the Country Samuel Johnson, The Rambler, No. 51 147
50. The Stage Coach " " The Adventurer, No. 84 152
51. The Scholar's Complaint of His Own Bashfulness Johnson, The Rambler, No. 157 156
52. The Misery of a Modish Lady in Solitude Johnson, The Rambler, No. 42 160
53. The History of an Adventurer in Lotteries Johnson, The Rambler, No. 181 164
54. Christ's Hospital Five and Thirty Years Ago Lamb, Essays of Elia 168
55. All Fools' Day " " 180
56. Witches, and Other Night-Fears " " 184
57. My First Play " " 190
58. Dream-Children; a Reverie " " 194
59. The Praise of Chimney-Sweepers " " 198
60. A Dissertation upon Roast Pig " " 205
61. Poor Relations " " 211
62. The Child Angel " " 218
63. Old China " " 220
64. Popular Fallacies (I) " " 226
65. " " (II) " " 227
66. " " (III) " " 228
67. Whitsun-Eve Mary Russell Mitford, Our Village 230
68. On Going a Journey Hazlitt, Essays 234
69. On Living to One's-Self " " 244
70. Of Persons One would wish to have seen " " 257
71. On a Sun-Dial " " 271
72. Of the Feeling of Immortality in Youth Hazlitt, The New Monthly Magazine 280
73. A Vision Coleridge, A Lay Sermon, 1817 292
74. Upon Epitaphs Wordsworth 297
75. Jeems the Doorkeeper John Brown, Rab and His Friends 311
76. On Life Shelley, Essays 323
77. Walking Stewart De Quincey, Notes of an Opium Eater 327
78. On the Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth De Quincey, Collected Essays 340
79. The Daughter of Lebanon " " " 345
80. Getting up on Cold Mornings Leigh Hunt, Essays, Indicator, 1820 351
81. The Old Gentleman " " " " 355
82. The Old Lady " " " " 359
83. The Maid-Servant " " " " 363
84. Characteristics Carlyle, Miscellanies 366
85. Tunbridge Toys Thackeray, Roundabout Papers 404
86. Night Walks Dickens, The Uncommercial Traveller 410
87. "A Penny Plain and Twopence Coloured" R. L. Stevenson, Memories and Portraits 419
88. July Grass Richard Jefferies, Field and Hedgerow 425
89. Worn-out Types Augustine Birrell, Obiter Dicta 428
90. Book-buying " " " " 433
91. The Whole Duty of Woman Edmund Gosse, The Realm, 1895 436
92. Steele's Letters Austin Dobson, Eighteenth Century Vignettes 441
93. A Defence of Nonsense G. K. Chesterton, The Defendant 446
94. The Colour of Life Alice Meynell, The Colour of Life 450
95. A Funeral E. V. Lucas, Character and Comedy 453
96. Fires " " Fireside and Sunshine 456
97. The Last Gleeman W. B. Yeats, The Celtic Twilight 462
98. A Brother of St. Francis Grace Rhys, The Vineyard 467
99. The Pilgrim's Way Edward Thomas, The South Country 469
100. On a Great Wind H. Belloc, First and Last 471