The title-page of Part I of _The Merry-Thought_ states that the contents of the pamphlet had been taken from "Original Manuscripts written in _Diamond_ by Persons of the first Rank and Figure in _Great Britain_" and that they had been "Faithfully Transcribed from the Drinking-Glasses and Windows in the several noted _Taverns_, _Inns_, and other _Publick Places_ in this Nation. Amongst which are intermixed the Lucubrations of the polite Part of the World, written upon Walls in Bog-houses, _&c._" These statements suggest one of the principal leveling strategies of the pamphlet as a whole: the nobility and the rich, whatever their advantages otherwise, must, like the lowest amongst us, make use of privies; and, in the process, they are just as likely as their brethren of the lower classes to leave their marks on the walls of those conveniences. A number of the verses included in the pamphlet continue the leveling process. One in particular (p. 20) adopts the principal strategy employed on the title-page: _From the Temple Bog-House._ No Hero looks so fierce to Fight, As does the Man who strains to sh-te. Others suggest that sexual relations are essentially leveling activities. Here (p. 24) is an example: _Toy, at Hampton-Court_, 1708. D---n _Molley H---ns_ for her Pride, She'll suffer none but Lords to ride: But why the Devil should I care, Since I can find another Mare? _L. M. August._ Another target of the pamphlet was _The Spectator_ in general and Addison in particular. In his dedication, J. Roberts first insists that the graffiti in his collection are notable examples of wit.[12] He next goes out of his way to associate the contents of _The Merry-Thought_ with _The Spectator_: _But I may venture to say, That good Things are not always respected as they ought to be: The People of the World will sometimes overlook a Jewel, to avoid a T--d.... Nay, I have even found some of the _Spectator's_ Works in a Bog-house, Companions with Pocky-Bills and Fortune-telling Advertisements...._