[4] This saying of Steevens, though still repeated in books, has lost its force with the public. The Lives of Shakespeare by Mr. Halliwell and Mr. Charles Knight, written on such different principles, have effectually dissipated the old impression. Mr. Knight, by his use of the principle of synchronism, and his accumulation of picturesque details, in his Biography of Shakespeare, has left the public without excuse, if they still believe in Steevens. [5] _North British Review_, February 1852:--"The Works of John Milton." 8 vols. London: Pickering. 1851. [6] _British Quarterly Review_, July, 1854. The Annotated Edition of the English Poets: Edited by Robert Bell. "Poetical Works of John Dryden." 3 vols. London. 1854. [7] _British Quarterly Review_, October 1854.--1. "The English Humourists of the Eighteenth Century." A Series of Lectures. By W. M. Thackeray. London: 1853. 2. "The Life of Swift." By Sir Walter Scott. Edinburgh: 1848. [8] _Macmillan's Magazine_, July 1871. * * * * * Transcriber's note: Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_). The following misprints have been corrected: "entersprie" corrected to "enterprise" (page 20) "ancy" corrected to "fancy" (page 66) "extravagan s" corrected to "extravagances" (page 222) "hpyotheses" corrected to "hypotheses" (page 292) Other than the corrections listed above, inconsistencies in spelling and hyphenation have been retained from the original.