A DICTIONARY OF QUOTATIONS FROM THE BRITISH POETS. IN THREE PARTS. PART THE FIRST. Shakspeare. BY THE AUTHOR OF THE PEERAGE AND BARONETAGE CHARTS, &c. &c. &c. LONDON: PRINTED FOR G. AND W. B. WHITTAKER, AVE MARIA LANE. 1824. PREFACE. THE rapid sale and acknowledged utility of the various " Dictionaries of Quotations" from the Latin, French, and other foreign languages, and in particular of that so ably compiled by Mr. Macdonnel, of the Temple, naturally suggested the idea of a similar work in English. It was not, however, without considerable hesitation that the compiler of these volumes entered upon his labours-rendered more arduous by the extensive range of English literature, and the more general acquaintance of the public with the popular passages of our native authors; and although he has confined his quotations to the poets, yet the exuberance of the materials that crowded upon him occasioned some embarrassment in the selection. |