To the AUTHORS in general of the following Musical Compositions.
GENTLEMEN,
I Hope the care we have taken, in endeavouring to get the most correct Copies of the following Songs, has rendred this Collection as perfect as any of those five Books already printed: However, if some small Errors shall be found (tho' we hope the contrary), as we dare not pretend to Infallibility, so we hope you will not attribute them to our neglect, but rather to our unhappiness, in not having an opportunity of communicating several of these Songs to the Authors themselves before they were printed off, as well as to the common Infirmity of the Press. For, tho' most of these were printed from the Authors own Copies, yet several of them were only Transcriptions, but those, such as we thought likewise faithfully done. To prevent the hazard for the future of printing a Song contrary to the Author's own Composition, we become Petitioners to you (which we hope in justice to your selves you will easily grant), That when you have made any new Songs, you will be pleased to leave Copies of them under your own hands, either at Mr. John Playford's Shop in the Inner-Temple, or at Mr. John Carr's Shop at the Middle-Temple Gate, and then we do faithfully promise forthwith to print them from such Copies, whereby you may be assured to have them perfect and exact. This, as it will prevent such as daily abuse you, by publishing your Songs lame and imperfect, and singing them about the Streets like ordinary Ballads; so it will particularly oblige,
Your Servants,