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DALRYMPLE, AlexANDER..

COLLECTION

O F

ENGLISH SONGS,

WITH

AN APPENDIX

OF

ORIGINAL PIECES.

Not one immoral, one corrupted Thought!
One Line, which dying, he could wish to blot.

LYTTLETON.

LONDON, 1796:

PRINTED BY WILLIAM BENNETT,

No. 12, CLEMENT'S-INN-PASSAGE, CLARE-MARKET.

Sold by P. Elmfly, oppofite Southampton Street, Strand;
J. Johnfon, St. Paul's Church Yard; and F. Wingrave,
oppofite Catherine Street, Strand.

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T42-190296

A Collection of English Songs.

November, 1793.

THE elegant Collection, accompanying Dr. Aikin's "" Effay on Song Writing," is well known; but feveral excellent pieces having escaped his research, I was, many years fince, induced to make An Addition of fome, which, I thought, strongly painted natural images, and were not deftitute of poetical merit.

Song-Writers, in general, extend their Songs to too great a length; and all the parts are feldom equally finished; I have, without fcruple, taken the liberty to expunge whole ftanzas; and many may, perhaps, be thought ftill to require a further correction: but every Thought which is natural and uncommon, deferves to bę

recorded, as conftituting The Hiftory of the Human Mind: perhaps, this opinion may have led me to introduce fome, whofe poetical merits do not entitle them to a Place in this Collection. I have alfo inferted a few pieces which may not be confidered as Songs.

I have added the dates, where poffible, diftinguishing the Era, when I could not the Year; reckoning the Beginning of the Century to comprehend the first twenty-five years, or thereabout: from thence 'till within about twenty-five years of the End of the Century, as the Middle of that Century: This will, in fome measure, fhew how little pure English is changed in a Century and a half.

In collecting the Songs, which pleased me, I did not always mark from whence they were copied; it is impoffible now to recollect; but they are all in print, except those marked MS; though I have fometimes made alterations.

I have

I have not inferted any of those printed in Extracts from "JUVENILIA, or Poems by George Wither," 1785, except a few lines in Page 152, and two lines in the following Page.

Nor are there any which have place in Dr. Aikin's Collection, except two, P 30 and P 106, omitted in his 2d Edition, the laft, by Mrs. Taylor, was published in 1685. 26th January, 1796.

P. S. It was not 'till to-day, when 144 Pages were printed, that "a felect Collection

of English Songs, in 3 vols.a" fell into my hands: with equal furprize and fatisfaction, I find only two, exactly the fame in the three Volumes, that are here; and only thirteen, including thofe with Variations: so that the Two Collections do not materially interfere; perhaps, had I feen the three Volumes fooner, I might have omitted those which are common to both; but, as the number repeated are fo few, it is of little confequence: in the Table of Contents I have marked them R. and thofe with variations R*.

a Printed for J. Johnfon, St. Paul's Church Yard, 1783.

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