ADVERTISEMENT. THE five following Sermons 'are taken from the second of two octavo volumes, published in 1779, by some of the Doctor's relatives. The first volume, which is in verse, was immediately.pronounced to be an imposition, or at least a gross mistake, very few of the pieces discover- ing mbrks of the Doctor's genius, and the far greater partbeing cer4 tainly writtenby his father. This circumstance consigned both the 'olumes to oblivion, though the second contains as strong internal evi- dence of authenticity as the former of imposition. It contains Letters from various eminent writers beside Dr. W. the forgery of which would have required the talents of a Chatterton; while there are errors in the arrangement of them which shew that neither talents, tor 'even care, was employed upon the work. To these Letters are addedthe following Sermons, which, in the Editor's judgment, were certainly written by our author; and though they were not prepared for the -press by himself; the admirers of his devout and experimental stile ofpreaching, will find them too ex- cellent to be lost. One circumstance, indeed, has thrown suspicion on them : they are said to have been preached at Pinner's-Hall, where it was supposed the Doctor never preached; but, upon enquiry, this very circumstance affords strong evidence in their favour. A contemporary writer informs us that " about the year 1705, upon Mr. Neale's removal from Pinner's Hall, Dr. Watts's people took it for The afternoon, as there was room for a larger congregation, and it soon.filled. About 1708, the above meeting-house, [viz. the Doctor's in Berry-street] was rebuilt.' It was in this interval (namely, in 1707) that these Sermons are said to have been preached, and these corroborative circumstances, added to the excellence of the Discourses, themselves, determined their publica- tion in these volumes; and the addition of these five, and the four pre - ceding discourses, will, we presume, give the present edition an.adxa-- tage to all preceding. * Prof. Diss. Mae. vol, vi. p. 466.
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