“Permit one who is highly indebted to you to return you his sincere thanks.
“About a twelvemonth ago, I accidentally saw, at a friend’s house, a number of your excellent publication. I perused it, and immediately imbibed a taste for literature, which, I am happy to say, has since afforded me no small degree of intellectual enjoyment.
“Before I read your journal, I was, I fear, a sad idle fellow. I would indeed skim through a novel or a romance—provided I procured them without any trouble—and the knowledge I acquired from such publications, was what may be expected. I have very many reasons to consider the hour when your publication was first put into my hands, as a most fortunate one; from that moment I may date the pleasure I have experienced from the perusal of works whose titles were before unintelligible or appalling.
“I am a young man, Mr. Editor—a very young man, not
yet nineteen—and most of my leisure time is devoted to the cultivation of
literature. In this respect, I hope I am not singular. For my own part, I find
so much enjoyment, such exquisite pleasure, in these pursuits, that I wonder
why the time which many of our young men spend in idleness is not applied to
what would afford them lasting
| 308 | AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. |
“I have no motive, my dear Sir, beyond the impulse of gratitude, in thus addressing you; as I am, and most likely ever shall be, unknown to you; yet, if you should experience any gratification from learning that you have conferred one of the greatest blessings a mortal can enjoy on an humble individual, know, my dear Sir, that you have conferred that blessing on me, and that I shall ever consider myself
