Salmagundi; or, The whim-whams and opinions of Launcelot Langstaff, esq. [pseud.] and others. By William Irving, James Kirke Paulding and Washington Irving. Printed from the original ed., with a preface and notes by Evert A. Duyckinck.

166 SALIMAGUNDI.
-" Being, as it were, a small contentmente in a never
contenting subjecte; a bitter pleasaunte taste of a sweete
seasoned sower; and, all in all, a more than ordinarie rejoycing, in an extraordinarie sorrow of delyghts.
LINK. FIDELIUS.
ATiE have been considerably edified of late by several
letters of advice from a number of sage correspondents,
who really seem to know more about our work than we do ourselves. One warns us against saying anything more about'SBIDLIKENS, who is a very particular friend of the writer, and who
has a singular disinclination to be laughed at. This correspondent in particular inveighs against personalities, and accuses us
of ill-nature in bringing forward old Fungus and Billy Dimple, as
figures of fun to amuse the public. Another gentleman, who
states that he is a near relation of the Cocklofts, proses away
most soporifically on the impropriety of ridiculing a respectable
old family; and declares that if we make them and their whimwhams the subject of any more essays, he shall be under the
necessity of applying to our theatrical champions for satisiaction.
A third, who, by the crabbedness of the handwriting, and a few
careless inaccuracies in the spelling, appears to be a lady,
assures us that the Miss Cocklofts, and Miss Diana Wearwell,
and Miss Dashaway, and Mrs. --, Will Wizard's quondam
flame, are so much obliged to us for our notice, that they intend
in future to take no notice of us at all, but leave us out of all
their tea-parties, for which we make them one of our best bows,
and say, " thank you, ladies."
We wish to heaven these good people would attend to their
own affairs, if they have any to attend to, and let us alone. It
is one of the most provoking things in the world that we cannot
tickle the public a little, merely for our own private amusement,