WHEREAS the Time of a general Peace is, in all appearance, drawing near, being inform'd that there are feveral ingenious Perfons who intend to fhew their Talents on fo happy an Occafion, and being willing, as much as in me lies, to prevent that Effufion of Nonfenfe, which we have good Caufe to apprehend; I do hereby ftrictly require every Perfon, who fhall write on this Subject, to remember that he is a Chriftian, and not to facrifice his Catechifm to his Poetry. In order to it, I do expect of him in the first C place, to make his own Poem, without depending upon Phebus for any part of it, or calling out for Aid upon any one of the Mufes by Name. I do likewife pofitively forbid the 'fending of Mercury with any particular Meffage or Difpatch relating to the Peace, and fhall by no means fuffer Minerva to take upon her the 6 Shape of any Plenipotentiary concerned in this great Work. I do further declare, that I fhall not allow the Deftinies to have had a hand in the 'Deaths of the feveral thousands who • have

have been flain in the late War, being of opinion that all fuch Deaths may be very well accounted for by the Christian Syftem of Powder and Ball. 'I do therefore strictly forbid the Fates to cut the Thread of Man's Life upon any Pretence whatfoever, unless it be for the fake of the Rhyme. And whereas I have good reafon to fear, 'that Neptune will have a great deal of • Business on his Hands, in feveral Poems which we may now fuppofe are upon the Anvil, I do alfo prohibit his Appearance, unless it be done in Metaphor, Simile, or any fhort Allufio», and that even here he be not permisted to enter, but with great. Caution and Circumfpection. I defire that the fame Rule may be extended to his 'whole Fraternity of Heathen Gods, it being my Defign to condemn every Poem to the Flames in which Jupiter thunders, or exercises any other A& of Authority which does not belong to him: In fhort, I expect that no Pagan Agent fhall be introduc'd, or any Fact related which a Man cannot give credit to with a good Confcience. Provided always, that nothing herein • contained shall extend,, or be conftru

• ed

'ed to extend, to feveral of the Female Poets in this Nation, who shall be • ftill left in full poffeffion of their Gods and Goddeffes, in the fame manner as if this Paper had never been written.'

W

Sen.

HEN I first of all took it in my head to write Dreams and Visions, I determined to print nothing of that nature, which was not of my own Invention. But feveral laborious Dreamers have of late communicated to me Works of this nature, which for their Reputations and my own, I have hitherto fuppreffed. Had I printed cvery one that came to my hands, my Book of Speculations would have been little elfe but a Book of Visions. Some of my Correspondents have indeed been fo very modeft, as to offer at an Excufe for their not being in a capacity to

dream

dream better. I have by me, for example, the Dream of a young Gentleman not past fifteen. I have likewife by me the Dream of a Perfon of Quality, and another called the Lady'sDream. In these, and other Pieces of the same nature, it is fuppofed the ufual Allowances will be made to the Age, Condition and Sex of the Dreamer. To prevent this Inundation of Dreams, which daily flows in upon me, I shall apply to all Dreamers of Dreams, the Advice which Epictetus has couched after his manner in a very fimple and concife Precept. Never tell thy Dreams, fays that Philofopher, for though thou thy felf may't take a Pleasure in telling thy Dream, another will take no pleasure in bearing it. After this short Preface, I must do juftice to two or three Vifions which I have lately published, and which I have owned to have been written by other Hands. I fhall add a Dream to thefe, which comes to me from Scotland, by one who declares himfelf of that Country, and for all I know may be fecond-fighted. There is, indeed, fomething in it of the Spirit of John Bunyan; but at the fame time a certain Sublime, which that Author

was

was never Master of. I fhall publish it, because I queftion not but it will fall in with the Taste of all my popular Readers, and amufe the Imaginations of those who are more profound; declaring at the fame time, that this is the laft Dream which I intend to publish this Seafon.

SIR,

"I Was laft Sunday in the Evening led

into a ferious Reflection on the "Reasonableness of Virtue, and great C Folly of Vice, from an excellent SerC mon I had heard that Afternoon, in my Parish-Church. Among other "Obfervations, the Preacher fhewed us that the Temptations which the Tempter propofed, were all on a Suppofition, that we are either Madmen or C Fools, or with an Intention to render

us fuch; that in no other Affair we C would fuffer our felves to be thus im'pofed upon, in a Cafe fo plainly and clearly against our visible Intereft. His Illuftrations and Arguments carried fo 'much Perfuafion and Conviction with them, that they remained a confiderable while fresh, and working in my Memory; till at laft the Mind, fati

gued

4