When this pamphlet was undertaken, the Author had no thought of swelling it to it's present bulk; but communicating his design to his friends, they favoured him with various particulars of information. Some of these accommodated themselves to his original plan, if he can be supposed to have had any, but others were more intractable. Still aware of the value even of disjointed materials, which his profession would not afford him leisure to compact into a regular narrative, and conscious that these sheets, rude and imperfect as they are, may serve to promote a publication less unworthy of its subject, he dismisses his present work without any laboured apology for the errors that may be detected in it; claiming, indeed, some merit on account of intelligence, but not the least on the score of arrangement or composition. He takes the same opportunity to observe, that many curious anecdotes of extraordinary persons have been unfortunately lost, because the possessors of those fugitive particulars had not the power of communicating them in proper form, or polished language, and were unwilling to expose them in such a state as these are offered to the world. _May_ 9, 1781. The ingenious Mr. CRAYEN of _Leipzig_ having translated the First Edition of these Anecdotes, &c. into the _German_ Language, dispatched a copy of his work to _J. N._ attended by the obliging letter here subjoined: SIR, Though I have not the honour of being acquainted with you, I hope your goodness will excuse the liberty I take of sending you a _German_ translation of the _Biographical Anecdotes of Mr. Hogarth_ you published. Being convinced of the merits of your production, and its usefulness to such collectors of prints and connoisseurs in our country as don't understand the _English_ language, I undertook this translation, and flatter myself you will be pleased to accept of it as a proof of my real esteem for you. You will find, that I did not always adhere literally to the original, but made some abridgments, alterations, notes, &c. &c. But I hope you will do me the justice to consider, that I wrote for my countrymen, and therefore left out such passages, poems, anecdotes, &c. &c. as would have been entirely uninteresting to them, and have swelled the volume to no purpose. As to the typographical performance, I think you will be tolerably satisfied of it. Though the noble art of printing is of _German_ origin, your nation has improved and brought it to the highest pitch of perfection in point of neatness, elegance, and correctness. I remain, with all possible esteem, SIR, Your most obedient and most humble servant, A. CRAYEN. _Leipzig_ in _Saxony,_ the 29th _Jan._ 1783. * * * * * The following are Translations, by a Friend, from the Dedication and PREFACE to Mr. CRAYEN'S performance. * * * * * DEDICATION.