ABSTRACT

First published in Tait’s, XV, February 1848, pp. 84–8. Two centred lines followed the title of the essay and immediately preceded the text. The first stated that the essay was ‘BY THOMAS DE QUINCEY.’, and the second that it was ‘(Continued from page 480, vol. 14.)’ to denote where in Tait’s Part II of the essay ended. The page number, however, was incorrect: it should read ‘850’, not ‘480’.