Ilipiiiiiii^Hgi^l^iiHg CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY GIFT OF James Morgan Hart Cornell University Library PN 5116.A51 English literary periodical <>' "^°[?J,s,,,?P. 3 1924 027 503 295 Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924027503295 1 I I n I i _ •nf En^m|J^^ a '-^^, r- ■>■ 'a. ]($tiiQ^^^!^Jks^,}cc THE English Literary Periodical ow MORALS AND MANNERS, A DISSERTATION SUBICITTED TO THE BOARD OF STUDIES FOK THE HOXOUB SCHOOL OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITEBATUBE OF OXFORD UNIVERSITY FOB THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF LETTERS. BY JOHN GRIFFITH AMES, Jr. _j^tuii^s^ ea^^. MT. VBBSfON, OHIOi a,«P0BI.I) The immorality of the theater had by this time, 1698, reached its height. Plays swelled with vulgar and profane expressions ; and the very plots of the pieces turned on immoral and indecent situations. For that matter, no play which was not grossly indecent could expect to draw an audience. So far had this state of affairs advanced that if ladies wished to attend a new play they went masked. Thus it will be seen that Collier had just cause for writing, but the courage necessary for it must not be underestimated. He stood practically alone, while opposed to him was not only the great mass of theatre goers of all descriptions, but also men of the highest literary ability, as for instance Dryden, Congreve, Vanbrugh and other playwrights. Collier, however, full of righteous indignation, struck hard and unsparingly and in the end so far conquered that Dryden ■gracefully acknowledged that he was in the wrong, and both Congreve and Vanbrugh finally struck out certain of the coarsest and most indecent expressions from their plays. Even King William, though never a lover of the theatre like his predecessors, had an old order "against plays contrary to religion and good manners " renewed. As Cibber says, (^) " this book of Collier's, calling dramatick writers to this strict account had a very wholesome effect on those who writ after this time". Along with this came the gradual change in the tone of public opinion which was carefully nourished by some of the writers of periodicals. In the papers that have come down to us this change is not ver}' visible until 1702. One sheet, however, of the year 1700, has been preserved which undoubtedly shows the influence of Collier. This is Mercurius Theologicus ; or, the Monthly Instructor, by a "Divine of the Church of England". It is not, as one might suppose, a controversial paper, but one (1) See Lecky's Hist, of England in the 18th Cent. Vol. II, psge 153, seq. Macaulay's Hist, of Bngland and Ashton's "Social Life in theReign of Queen Anne " ; also Beljame's " Le Public et les Hommes de I) ' ' The Review ' ' of Daniel Defoe, See page 38. The English Literary Periodical of Morals and Manners 35 Tutchin " at intervals until 1712, when, as Swift %^y% in his "Journal to Stella ", August 7, 1712, it ceased to appear. The paper is almost entirely given up to controversy on political and theological questions and is only mentioned here because in many of its numbers this same attack against plays, play-houses and players constantly finds a place. ( ' ) The whole paper is carried on by dialogue between Observator and a Countryman. Of Tutchin 's life little is known. It is usual in considering Devoe's Reveiw to mention besides Tutchin 's Observator., another contemporary paper called the Rehearsal, written by Charles Lesley, which appeared October 5, 1704, only eight months after the Review. It was opposed to Defoe and Tutchin, " making war on Puritanism in a spirit of fierce fanaticism worthy of the Puritans ", and carried on, like the Observator, by dialogue. It was written with some wit and ability and its style was easy ; but it concerns us here no further and may be dismissed with the following extract, — ' ' The author undertook not this task to make diversion for the town, nor would he let himself down to kick and cuff with Tutchin and Devoe and the rest of the Scandal Club, as they were not ashamed to call themselves, if he had not some prospect in view. — The axe has been laid at the root of Christianity, and Deism set up in its place . — Their books have been solidly answered ; but their papers have been neglected, that is, their weekly penny papers which go through the nation like news- papers and have done much more mischief than the others, for the greatest part of the people do not read books, most of them cannot read at all, but they will gather together about one that can read, and listen to an Observator or a Review (as I have seen them in the streets) where all the principles of rebellion are instilled into them, and they are taught the doctrine of priest- craft, to banter religion and the Holy Scriptures, and are told villianous lies which they suck in greedily and are prejudiced past expression". To remedy this evil, Lesley asserts, is the object of his paper. Other papers of a similar nature which appeared about this time, of which the mention only must sufiice, were the Rehearsal (') Observator, Vol. II, Nos. 40, 57, 78, 91, 92, etc., etc. 36 The English Literary Periodical of Morals and Manners of Observator, the Observator Reformed; in a dialogue between the Observator and Heraclitus Ridens, with a Moderator between them for Quietness sake, and 1705, The Observator; or, a Diald|g;ue between a Countryman and a I,andwart School- Master, written against the union of Scotland and England, and the Moderator; published for promoting Peace. There was also a paper entitled Truth and Honesty, which an annotator ascribes to B. Harris, mentioned by Tutchin's Observator, January, 1704, and by the Moderator, No. 6, 1705, where one reads, concerning its author, — "Of all the writers he seems to have the least brains, a meer empty -skulled simpleton, that knows not how to commit his thoughts to writing, and has much ado, now and then, to force out a jest " . Although Collier in his treatise and, to a slight extent, Tutchin in his Observator, railed against the immorality of the stage as the root of the evils of the time, it must be remembered that the stage was not altogether responsible for this low social level; for though the stage fostered this condition, its root lay deeper, as Dryden in the following lines points out, — " A banisht Court with lewdness fraught. The seeds of open vice, returning, brought ". From the king with his profligate courtiers, immorality, engendering a rotten social condition, spread throughout all classes of citizens. Against one branch of this evil state Collier made war. His success was great. The theatre to a great degree became reformed ; but still the coarseness, the licentious- ness which it had fostered, and which had entered so deeply even the most private lives of the great mass of people, was not to be exterminated so easily. For it a similar attack differently carried on was needed. It came ; not like Collier's Short View, suddenly, harshly, and with unsparing blows, but more quietly, more unsuspectedly and insinuatingly, like bitter medicine sugar-coated ; it came in fact by means of the periodic press. In the solitude of a prison cell, a restless man, full of energy and alive to the higher and more noble interests of his fellow countrymen, regardless of parties, and in the interests of none, projected a periodic paper which he called th.^.. Review. This man was Daniel Defoe, who, in 1703 had been immured in Newgate for writing that much mistaken "scandalous and The English Literary Periodical of Morals and Manners 37 seditious pamphlet entitled, The Shortest Way with the Dissent- ers ". The Review made its first appearance February 19, 17M, its Ml title being, — "A Review of the Affairs of France, and of all Europe, as influenced by that Nation ; being Historical Observations on the Publick Transactions of the World, purged from the Errors and Partiality of News-writers and petty States- men of all sides. With an entertaining Part in every Sheet, being Advice from the Scandal . Club to the Curious Inquirers ; in Answer to Letters sent them for that Purpose ". This paper deserves special consideration here in connection with the social literary periodical, for Defoe himself was one of the founders of the literary press in England. Dunton had set an example which Defoe was not slow to follow. The Review was not by any means exclusively a political sheet, although as Beljame points out, Defoe was so full of the ardour of the polemic that he could not write a paper which was not political. (^) Despite this he never allowed himself to go the full length of party writers. As long as the party to which he belonged kept before it the best interests of the nation, adheredjKfwhat he considered a government of sound reason and coiprrfion sense, and was in all its dealings true to the great principles of liberty, religious as well as civil, so long did Defo^ support it in his Review. He was brave enough to disagre^^^With and to oppose the leaders of his party when they consented to humble such principles in order to advance their own^^fish ends. With this, the political side of the Review however, we have not to do. ( Its commercial importance will be spoken of later. ) ( ^ ) The part that deserves attention here is the second, or, ' ' the Entertaining Part in every Sheet, being Advice from the Scandal. Club ". Much has been written of the Review in general and still more has admirably been told of Defoe himself; (8) but his life, though full of interest, must not here be dwelt upon. It is the Scandal. Club that demands our attention. Defoe, iruprojeeting the-ito'ica', had not been unmindful of the example set some years before by Dunton. Although (') Beljame, Le Public et les Hommes de Lettres, etc. Page 275. (2) See Appendix D and Appendix E. (») Life of Defoe by Wilson; Chalmers; Porster. Also Aitken, Ufe of Steele, and Drake's Essays Illustrative of the Tatler, etc. Vol. I, page 23. 38 The English Literary Periodical of Morals and Manners the entertaining part of the Review seems very unlike the work of the latter, it must be borne in mind that another spirit actuated the age than that of the Athenian Mercury ; that since then Jeremy Collier's book had influenced the people to consider more serious questions than those which fiUed the minds of the Athenian Society. The difference between the papers is therefore natural. Defoe must also have been acquainted with the London Spy of Ward and the Secret Mercury, of 1702, and may have gathered a hint or two from them as well. The very slightest glimpse of the Advice from the Scandal. Club, however, sufl&ces to show how much more elevated, how superior in every way it was to them. Wilson says (^) that Defoe, ruined by his imprisonment, probably projected the Review with the idea of retrieving his finances, but that during a portion of the several years through which he continued it, he derived little or no pecuniary advan- tage. However this may be, we know that the popularity of the Review was enormous, and although its price was only a penny, its sale must have been large. One reads in the Septem- ber Supplement to the Advice from the Scandal . Club , — "The author repeats upon his word, he never made one shilling advantage by it in his life, tho' at the same time by the encour- agement it has unexpectedly met with it appears a profitable paper too". But it was stolen, pirated, hawked about every where, and the writer, with few of the advantages, paid all the penalties of success. ( ^ ) One naturally feels a lively interest in such a popular work. It has been called Defoe's greatest work, greatest, undoubtedly, as to its magnitude, and perhaps, in value and importance, but at the same time one of the least known productions of tliis voluminous writer. It made its appearance on February 19, 1704, and was continued, at first weekly, then twice a week, and later three times a week, on Tuesday, Thursday and Satur- day, the post days, until June 11, 1713. The first four numbers consisted of four leaves each, but the rest of two pages, of which the Advice from the Scandal. Club occupied one. At the (') Wilson, Life of Defoe, Vol. II, Chap. X. (») Forster, Life of Defoe, The English Literary Periodical of Morals and Manners 39 same time much smaller tsrpe was used and each leaf was printed in two columns. In addition, a monthly supplement was begun in September, 1704, entitled A Supplementary Journal, to the Advice from the Scandal . Club, to be continued Monthly. What were Defoe's objects, beside the repairing of his ruined fortunes, in writing the Review, and more especially, why and with what purpose did he insert into it the Advice from the Scandal. Club? A direct answer to these questions may be found in Defoe's words in the Review itself. One reads in the preface to the first volume, — ' ' These papers will compose a complete History of France ; the ancient part of which shall be a faithful abridgment of former authors, and the modem affairs stated as impartially and as methodical as the length of this sheet will permit. We shall particularly have regard to the Rise and Fall of the Protestant Religion in the dominions of France, and the reader, shall find this paper a useful index to the best Historians of the Church in all ages. All along we shall prosecute the genuine History of State and War now carried on in Europe by this vigorous Nation ". " We Shall not embroil ourselves with Parties, The matter of our Account shall be real History and just Observation. It shall be a History more than ordinary particular ; for impar- partial and authentick truth which shall lead the World into that plain and clear I) Johnson, Life of Addison. (») Review, Vol. I, No. 16. April 29, 1704. (») Review, Vol. II, No. 26. 44 The English Literary Periodical of Morals and Manners a Reformation in the Play-house, you must reform your taste of wit. — If you find any foul stuff, tho' wrapped up in never so clean linen, hiss it off the stage. — The errors of the stage He all in the Auditory ; the actors and the poets are their humble ser- vants, and being good judges of what will please, are forced to write and act with all the aggrevations and excesses possible, that they may not be undone and ruined ' ' . Throughout the whole course of the Review Defoe kept him- self aloof from the coarseness which almost saturated the other periodical writers of his time. He regulated his expressions as he did his life. His style is robust, plain and straightforward, like the man himself. His great object was to be plain and clear , he frequently says this of his Style, and in the Review he reiterates it : - "When I am on the subject of trade and the variety of casual story, I think myself a little loose from the bonds of cadence and perfection of style, and satisfy myself ip my study to be explicit, easy, free and very plain ; and for the rest, Nee Careo, nee euro". Still though his style, for the most part, lacks art and grace, it must be conceded that Defoe as far outstripped his predecessors in periodic writing, not only in style, but in subject matter and manner of treatment, as he himself was later surpassed by Steel and Addison. One writer even goes so far as to state that in the Reveiw are " many pas- sages both of prose and verse which for fineness of wit, deli- cacy of expression, force of morality and historical value are not to be surpassed in the whole range of English literature " . ( ' ) It should not be forgotten, in considering this work, that Defoe wrote the entire nine volumes himself and part of them within the |- walls of Newgate. This in itself is a prodigious work, but when one recalls that he was the author of some two hundred or more other works, the power and ability of the man seem unlimited. Defoe in his Review advanced the social periodical almost to the verge of the perfection attained for it by the Spectator. Al- though he was a ruder worker than his illustrious successors, yet his work was so far successful that it cleared the way for them. He took the block that others had quarried and roughly cut out the form which the artists afterwards chisled with their finer and more delicate tools into the perfection of beauty. (1) Forster, Life of Defoe. The English Literary Periodical of Morals and Manners 45 But one must not pass over in silence other writers of social and literary periodicals who, in their weaker way, attempted to better the artistic and moral instincts of the com- mon people between the date of the first appearance of the Review, and that of the Taller in 1709. The Review, indeed, extended over all these years and more, but other papers of less note sprang into existence which deserve at least some slight notice. The year 1704, marks the birth of an entirely different class of periodical literature from that just considered, namely, the Poetical Magazine. Ever since the beginning of periodical publications in England, verse had, to a greater or less extent, found a place in them, but in December, 1704, there appeared a publication under the title of the Diverting Post, which confined its medium of expression entirely to poetry. It was conducted by Henry Playford and received frequent contributions, by way of support, from Dr. Garth, Samuel Philips, Nicholas Rowe and Johnson, and appeared weekly at the moderate price of six pence a month, or five shillings a year. It was published until June 30, 1705-6. Occasionly there is to be found in it an item of news or a theatrical notice in prose, but with these exceptions, bits of verse, as often vulgar as otherwise, epilogues, prologues, etc., filled its two large quarto leaves. Although the Diverting Post (1704) is the first periodical consisting entirely of verse, of which I have found any trace in England, rhymed journals had many years previous to this date been written on the continent and especially in France. There is, however, a great difference between these English periodicals and the Lettres en Vers that flourished in France during the last half of the seventeenth century. Of these the following may be cited as examples : — ' ' Le Lettte en Vers a Madame ", by Chas. Robinet ; '' Le Lettre en Vers a Madame " (a la Duchesse de Memour) , by de Mayolas andLoret; "Za Muse de laCour" by de Subligny. These rhymed journals which for the most part were simply newspapers written in verse existed as late as 1690. In England, as will be seen, poetic papers were devoted not to news, but' to short rhymed pieces of the imagination, serious or comical. I know of no earlier continental production of the nature of the Divert- ing Post. Before the expiration of this new undertaking an 46 The English Literary Periodical of Morals and Manners imitator sprang into existence, conducted by one of the con- tributers to the original, in the person of " Samuel Philips, Gent, late of St. John's College, Oxon." This was the Poetical Courant, published weekly on Saturdays, of the same size as the Divert- ing Post and of similar value . It consists entirely of songs, odes, sonnets, translations and verses and its contributors were mostly ' gentlemen of Oxford.' Among the contributions which go to make up the 23 Nos. of this periodical, one may find a little piece of four lines by Addison, on The Death of an Infant. On the whole, however, the verses of the Poetical Courant are rather poorer and more vulgar than those of the Diverting Post. Not unnaturally this class of periodical completely ran its course in a very few years. After 1707, it apparently disappeared entirely and poetry was again relegated to unimportant positions in periodical publications where it continues to this day. With the exception of the Monthly Muses Mercury, 1707, written by a ' ' Society of Merry Gentlemen , for the Entertainment of the Town , in which any gentleman or lady might have a poem made for them," the last of this class, which also proved to be the best, was the Muses Mercury; or Monthly Miscellany, conducted by John Oldmixon. This paper not only surpassed its predecessors in the nature and value of its poetry, much of which was written by no less able men than Dennis, Tate, Manning, Garth, the Earl of Roscommon, Steele and Dryden, but added also to its verses an account of the stage, criticisms of new operas and accounts of new plays lately acted or to be given. Each number counted about 27 8vo pages. This paper ran for one year from January 1707, to January, 1708. Returning to prose productions and to the year 1704, one finds that in contrast to all the political and ecclesiastical Observators which overran the town each week there appeared in November, a Comical Observator, in a Dialogue between Capt. Bluff and Mr. Merryman. This paper announced that it would steer clear both of religion and government, and never meddle with the ministers of state or those of church. But so clear indeed did it steer, not only from these things, but from everything sensible and decent that it was in every way a most worthless sheet. The next year, however, produced two better papers. The Wandering Spy ; or, the Way of the World enquired into ; The English Literary Periodical of Morals and Manners 47 with Reflections on the Humors of the Town, delivered by way of Fable, (No. 1, June 9) although not badly conducted by Ned Ward, encroaches too much upon the realm of politics to be considered here. The Whipping Post; or, a new Session of Oyer and Terminer ; for the Scribblers, (No. 1, June 12) was a weekly sheet that was attributed to John Dunton. { " ) It needs no comment here except that although it is poorly written it reminds one of the first few pages of Defoe's Scandal. Club, for like them it criticises judges and corrects the statements of con- tempary papers, but in a spirit in no way comparable to Defoe. Dunton's idea of using periodicals for disseminating all kinds of information by means of questions and answers, is to be noted again in 1706. In 1708, as has been seen, it flourished in the British Apollo. In 1706, however, one Mr. Povey, of Hatton -"Garden, set forth The General Remark ; or Miscellanies, a folio half sheet of three columns, which though almost entirely given up to news, devotes, nevertheless, the greater part of the front of th« sheet to questions and answers of a kind similar to those of the Athenian Gazette, to fables or allegories with their applications, and to remarks upon various customs, or upon historical personages and events. The rest of the paper is filled with the course of exchange, prices of commodities in London, and to news foreign and domestic. At the head of the sheet, on either side, are small woodcuts of houses, one of whfch is in flames. These, undoubtedly, were to call the readers attention to the " undertaking of Mr. Povey, for insuring movable goods, merchandizes and wares from loss by fire ' ' . The only copy of this paper preserved in the Hope Collection is No. 430, dated December 1, 1708. Its existence was fairly long, the last issue appeared in March 1710. . It was conducted by Charles Povey, author of the Visions of Sir Heister Ryley, 1710 . ( ^ ) For the year 1707, one finds two periodic publications by the facetious Ned Ward, author of the London Spy. ( ' ) Neither of these productions, however, rank in general interest, with his work of 1698. The first, which was published in August, was (•) See Moderator, No. 5. (') See page 49, Chapter III. (») See page 19, Chapter II. 48 The English Literary Periodical of Morals and Manners entitled the Weekly Comedy; or the Humors of the Coffee-house. It should not be confused with a paper bearing almost the same title, that appeared in 1699, though like it, it is disappointing in that it gives little or no true insight into those most interesting of popular places so habitually frequented by the wits, politi- cians and beau monde of the eighteenth century. On the con- trary, its pages are for the most part given up to worthless and vulgar accounts. Ward's other production of this year, however, is superior- Although it bears only the date 1707, and the later Nos. 1708, it may safely be inferred that the publication appeared in Sep- tember and was issued monthly. It bore the title of the London Terrae-^lius ; or the Satyrical Reformer. Being drolling Reflections on the Vices and Vanities of both Sexes. Ward announced that this paper was to be non-partisan ; that he hated all factions, and that the sheet was to be an unsparing reformer with harsh and bitter satire. The sanctified rogue tho' born at Geneva he despised, but an honest man he honored. It will not be amiss to quote a few lines to show the nature and the scope of this undertaking. Ward says, " I stand upon a high hill and extend my scourge to a great distance, for he had need have a clear prospect and a long whip, that takes the whole world for his house of correction. I hate flattery, — satyr, at present is my talent ; for stubborn folly and habitual vice must be cor- rected with severity ; therefore stand off knave, have a care fool, fly hypocrit, hide harlot, run libertine, draw bully, skulk bawd, lope skellum, for I am just now going to lay about me like a country cudgle-player". (i) This paper, no matter how good its intent and purpose may have been, could have done but little real good. It was written in a style altogether too free, too coarse and too indecent. Each of the six numbers of this paper consists of about 40 8vo pages of very coloquial prose inter- spersed with vulgar verse. Although Ward, with satire some- times extremely pointed and bitter, actually made war on the existing vices of his day, one cannot but feel that he himself did not, like the writer of the Secret Mercury, like Defoe, or later like Steel and Addison, earnestly attempt to banish the vices that he (1) Ivondon Terrae-filius, No. 1, 1707. The English Literary Periodical of Morals and Manners 4fl satirised or to induce his contemporaries to live better and nobler lives. On the contrary, one is unable to rid himself of the feel- ing that Ward's two chief objects were to amuse the people and make money. The year 1708, as has been seen, produced the British Apol- lo, the greatest of all the imitators of Jinnton's Athenian Mercury and the best but one. With this exception, no new literary or social periodical appeared during this year. Several such papers, however, which had been started before this time continued to be published throughout this and the succeeding years. Of these Defoe's Review is justly considered the most important and may be called the only forerunner of the Tatter worthy the name. The development of the social periodical to the time of the appearance of the Tatter in 1709, has now been traced through its different stages. What is chiefly worthy of note in that de- velopment is that from 1690, the need of this class of periodic was more and more strongly felt each year. Writers, from time to time, brought forth papers to meet this want, but the method and the ability to make these attempts successful were almost entirely lacking. No others succeeded so well as the authors of the Secret Mercury, as Ned Ward, or as Daniel Defoe. How far the latter, especially, advanced the social periodical in the years 1704-05, by the publication of the Advice from the Scandal. Club, has already been seen. Our next step will be to notice, not only the perfection 'attained for it by the writings of Addison and Steel, but also the varying degrees of success reached by a host of authors, who imitated the Tatter and the Spectator be- tween the years 1709 and 1720. As a basis for the following chapter I have used chapter I, vol. IV, of Dr. Nathan Drake's Essays Illustrative of the Tatler, Spectator, Etc. Several periodicals, of whose existence Drake, was unaware, have, I be- lieve, been considered for the first time in the present chapter, and many others will be found in the one following. 50 The English Literary Periodical of Morals and Manners CHAPTER III. THE TATLER AND THE SPECTATOR, AND OTHER SOCIAL PERIODICALS BETWEEN 1709-1720. The condition of the English periodical of morals and man- ners and the progress that had been made in this particular branch of literature up to the year 1709, has been set forth in the last chapter. In this, the object will be to continue the observations upon similar papers that appeared between the years 1709 and 1720, and to note what improvement took place in essay writing. It will be found, that on the whole, though these years brought forth many essay papers which were not in the least superior to any that have already been mentioned, the general tone and condition of such papers was much improved, and four productions of this class have never since been excelled in value, excellency, or beauty of style. Three of these papers were, of course, the " Tatter' \ the ''Spectator'', and the " Guardian", by those preeminent masters of essay writing. Steel and Addison; the fourth was the ''Free-Thinker" (') conducted by Ambrose Philips with the aid of several men of talent and ability. The object of this work, however, is to res- cue if possible from the oblivion which has long held them cap- tive, the feebler attempts of men and women of less note and talent, and to give one an insight into their nature and char- acter, and an estimate of their value, rather than to give par- ticular accounts of such well known and widely read produc- tions as the Tatter and the Spectator. Well written, careful and exhaustive observations upon these may readily be pro- cured by any one who may be desirous of increasing his (') See page The English Literary Periodical of Morals and Manners 51 information concerning them. For this reason but brief, though exact, remarks will be made upon the Tatter and the Spectator. Steel, disappointed by the unlocked for failure of the "Lying Lover ", deserted the stage for a time, and determined to try his hand at another method of entertaining and instructing the age. He therefore planned a periodic paper, intending to include in it articles of news, mixed with short essays or stories including morals and tastes, and intermixed with dramatic criticism. To this paper he gave the name of the Tatler as a special honor to the fair sex, and subscribed himself Isaac Bickerstaflf, EscL-, a name borrowed from Swift who had cleverly written under it to the great inconvenience of John Partridge, the astrologer and almanac maker. The first number of the Tatler made its appearance on April 12, 1709, and the paper was continued three times a week until January 2, 1710-11, when it ceased be- cause, as Steel said, the object of it was lost as he had so long been known as the author of it. The object of the Tatler, as stated by Steel, was to expose the false arts of life ; to pull off the disguises of cunning, vanity and affection, and to recom- mend a general simplicity in dress, in discourse and in behav- iour. (1) Steel, well knowing that tlie age desired variety, and that to make his paper successful from the first he should be compelled to include a topic which at that time fascinated all — politics, divided his paper into various sections, and dated his remarks upon different subjects from several parts of town. For instance, papers on Gallantry, Pleasure and Entertainment were written from White's Chocolate House ; Poetry from Will's Coffee-House; Learning from the Grecian; News, foreign and domestic, from St. James Coffee-House ; and miscellaneous papers were issued from Dr. Bickerstaff's own apartments. The first four numbers of the Tatler were given away gratis, after which a penny was charged for each number of the paper. , The author of the Tatler remained concealed to the majority, though Steel discovered himself to his friend Addison with his sixth number, by publishing in it a criticism on Virgil (M Tatler, Dedication of Vol. I. 52 The English Literary Periodical of Morals and Manners that Addison had formerly given him. Addison was no sooner apprised of Steel's undertaking than he immediately became interested in his friend's publication and began to assist him in the writing of it. His first number was No. 18, May 21, 1709. From this time on Addison took an active interest in the Taller though his contributions were not frequent until the 81st number, October 15, 1709 ; from this time also the news items declined and the essays grew more important. Of the 279 numbers which completed the Tatter, Addison contributed 41, and in con- junction with Steel he wrote 34 others. Of the remaining 196 papers. Steel wrote 188 ; the few others unaccounted for are the productions of Swift, Hughes and others. Fuller, Asplin, Congreve, Twisden, Anthony Henley, Greenwood, Harrison and Dartiquenave contributed letters and parts of papers. It will thus be seen that Addison's share in the undertaking was comparatively small, but the effect of his contributions cannot be over-estimated. Steel himself acknowledges his debt to Addison in the following words : "I have only one gentleman , who will be nameless, to thank for any frequent assistance to me which it would have been barbarous in him to have denied to one with whom he has lived in intimacy from childhood, considering the great ease with which he is able to dispatch the most enter- taining pieces of this nature. This good office he performed with such force of genious, humor, wit and learning, that I fared like a distressed prince, who calls in a powerful neighbor to his aid ; I was undone by auxiliary ; when I had called him in, I could not subsist without dependence upon him " (* ) The Taller speedily elevated the literary and moral tastes of London, and produced a decided desire for this class of literature. It had not lived many months before several papers sprang into existence imitating it, and as time went on the number of these sheets multiplied rapidly, though they did not confine themselves strictly to the admirable scheme laid down by Bickerstaff, but dealt largely in slander and personal satire. The Taller was finally forced to take some notice of them, and in No. 229, Addison has given an account of some of the Q) Tatler, Preface to Vol. I. The English Literary Periodical of Morals and Manners 53 ' ' small wits and scribblers ' ' that every day turned a penny ' ' by nibbling at his lucubrations ". "I would have these gentlemen take care ", he says, — "it is not impossible that I may some time or other disappear ; and what will then become of them ? Should I lay down my paper, what a famine would there be among the Hawkers, printers, booksellers and others. — When I see myself attacked, I do not consider my antagonists as malicious, but hungry, and therefore am resolved never to take any notice of them " . ( ^ ) Defoe, in his Review, considered even this slight notice of these petty imitators, beneath the Taller, for he observed, — ' ' I have always thought that the weakest step that the Tatler ever took, if that complete author can be said to have done any- thing weak, was to stoop to take the least notice of the barkings of the animals that have condoled him, examined him, etc. He should have let envy bark and fools rail, and, according to his own observations of the fable of the Sun, continue to shine on. This I have found to be agreeable to the true notion of contempt. Silence is the utmost slight nature can dictate to a man, and the most insupportable for a vain man to bear " Of some of these wretched sheets to which Addison had reference, he has left a list in the Tatler, where he observes, — ' ' I was threatened to be answered weekly tit for tat ; I was undermined by the Whisperer ; haunted by Tom Brown's Ghost ; scolded at by the Female Tatler. — I have been annotated, retatled, examined and condoled " . ( ^ ) An account of as many of the periodicals here men- tioned, as I have been abie to find, will be given in the fol- lowing pages. One at least of the works was not a periodic publication, but consisted of two volumes of "foolish and virulent ' ' comment upon various expressions and opinions of the Tatlet. This work, Annotations on the Tatler written by William Oldsworth under the assumed name of Walter Wagstaff, Esquire, appeared in 1710, and professed to be a translation from the French of a Monsieur Bournelle. It has absolutely no (') Tatler, No. 229. [h The Tatler, No. 229. &4 The English Literary Periodical of Morals and Manners merit to recommend it, and has deservedly been forgotten together with other similar detracters from the Taller and the Spectator. Diligent search on my part has failed to unearth any other trace of a paper entitled the Re-Tatler than the mention of it made by Addison in the above quotation, and the only allusion to a Condoler besides his and Defoe's (*) is the following advertisement in the Flying Post of September 19, 1710 : — "A Condoling Letter to the Tatler, on account of the Misfortunes of Isaac Bickerstaff, Ksq. , a prisoner in the , on suspicion of Debt, sold by S. Popping, at the Raven in Pater Noster Row ". Exactly one month after the appearance of the Tatler there was published, by an author, now unknown, a curious paper called the Gazette a la Mode, or Tom Brown's Ghost. It can hardly be said, however, to have imitated the Tatler; on the contrary, the author, who professed himself a perfect enemy to modern wit, a pestilent weed — so luxuriant 'tis cropped by all the Asses of the age, openly declared that he would be content to trifle with folly ; and he added, ' ' If you find me witty damn me for a fool ; and if I prove a fool, I shall need none of your curses ' ' . He had no intention of rivaling the exalted genius of the Tatler, the refined politics of an Observator, or the elegant modesty of the Review, nor had he any desire to invade the property of a Merry Gallant, the Curious Miscellany, Philosophical Transactions, or that prodigy of an Oracle, the thrice illustrious and inconceivably learned Apollo. His professed intention was to conjure up the ghost of a merry honest fellow who had professed wit and suf- fered for it and to let him deliver his warnings to those who en- gage in it This paper, a half sheet folio, differed from the majority of its contemporaries in that it made no attempt to be moral or to rail against existing vices or follies of any kind, but rather gave itself up to merriment and pleasure. Its existence was undoubtedly and deservedly short. Only the first number, from which but this little can be judged, has come under my observation Steel's " Tatler" had not been in existence three months (') See page The English Literary Periodical of Morals and Manners 55 before another and a greater imitator than most of the others, ap- peared under the title of the ''Female Taller, by Mrs. Cracken- thrope, a lyady that knows everything". This paper was in reality the production of Thomas Baker, the dramatist, but with number nineteen another Female Taller, likewise "by Mrs. Crackenthrope " , but sold by A. Baldwin, appeared, and the two continued to be published on the same days of the week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, until No. 45, October 19, 1709. The original Female Taller was printed for B. Bragge, at the Black Raven, in Pater Noster Row, and in the nineteenth number of this the author inserted the following notice. — "Mrs. Crackenthrope acquaints the publick that her man Francis has of late deserted her service, and carried away with him several letters and papers of moment, which he is required to return ; and if any person can give notice of him to her, they shall be gratefully rewarded. He is a pretty fellow as times go ; middle sized, a pleasant aspect, fitted for ladies company. If any person light on him, they are desired to give notice to Mrs. Crackenthorpe, or have him pressed aboard the Scoundrel Galley." These two coexistent sheets attacked each other, their original, and the world in general, indulging largely in gross personalities. At last the Female Taller by its scurrility so offended a certain family in l,ondon that the head of the house- hold avenged himself, in October, by giving the author of the paper a sound cudgelling, and the sheet was presented as a nuisance by the Grand Jury at the Old Bailey, (i) Shortly after this, on November 2, 1709, the Female Taller ceased to be written by Mrs. Crackenthorpe, and from that time to its close with No. 115, March 31, 1710, it was conducted "by a Society of Modest Ladies ". The reason given for this change undoubtedly alludes to the incident above mentioned. The author says, — "Mrs. Crackenthorpe resenting the affront offered to her by some rude citizens altogether unacquainted with her person, gives notice, that she has resigned her pretensions of writing the Female Tatler to a Society of Modest Ladies, who in their turns will oblige the publick with whatever they shall (') Andrews, Hist, of Brit. Journalism. Vol. 1, p. 113. 56 The English Literary Periodical of Morals and Manners meet with, that will be diverting, innocent, or instructive ". (') In the first number of the Female Taller the author gives the reasons for publishing her paper in the following words : "I hope that Mr. Bickerstaff will not think I invade his property, by undertaking a paper of this kind, since Tattling was ever adjudged peculiar to our sex ; my design is not to rival his performance, or in the least prejudice the reputation he has deservedly gained ; but as more rediculous things are done every day than ten such papers can relate, I desire leave to prate a little to the town, and try what diversion my intelligence can give 'em" (^) Later she adds, — " I hope persons will not imagine I write this paper meerly for the profit that may accrue to me by it ; for all that I have the honour to be intimate with, know that I have an estate of 3001. per An. and always kept two maids and a footman. 1 shall follow Mr. Bicker- staff's method to get a footing into the world and deliver the first paper gratis, afterwards those that will receive them at the price of one penny will in some way repay the charge and trouble of such an undertaking, and to prevent mistakes which may happen by people's inquiring for either of the Tatlers, I shall publish mine on the contrary days, viz. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays " . ( * ) The object which the author of these papers had in view is set forth in these words : — "I shall be very careful, unjustly or ungenerously, not to reflect on any person what so ever, but gently to correct the vices and vanities, which some of distinction, as well as others, wilfully commit ". (*) The essays of the Female Taller, though it was the greatest in extent of the immediate imitators of the Taller by Steele and Addison, are nevertheless, immeasurably below their original in every respect. Their style is coarse, inelegant, and often crude ; their matter is trifling or of a personal nature, and the tone and spirit of the sheets is bitter and detracting. Drake ( ^ ) (') Female Tatler, No. 51, Nov. 2, 1709. (2) Female Tatler, No. 1, July 8, 1709. (') Female Tatler, No. 1, July 8, 1709. (*) Female Tatler, No. 1, July 8, 1709. (*) Drake, "Essays Illustrative of the Rambler, Adventurer, and Idler". Vol. 1, p. 5. The English Literary Periodical of Morals and Manners 57 notices No. 72 especially as an ironical attack upon Steele, in wWch Baker ridicules Sir Richard's absence of mind and peculiarity of attitude in walking the streets. This essay may be taken as a fair sample of the detracting and ironical spirit of the Female Taller. Steele in his Taller, No. 91, November, 8, 1709, is thought to have returned the compliment by having held Thomas Baker up to ridicule under the character of Nick Doubt. Six weeks after the publication of the first number of the Female Taller there appeared a most worthless and indecent sheet bearing the refined title of The Tailing Harlot; or, a Dialogue between Bess o' Bedlam and her Brother Tom. By Mother Bawdy-coat. One is thankful, after perusing three copies of this disgusting paper, to find that he has come to the end of it. Here he finds drunkenness praised, marriage ridiculed, women, who according to the author, are as a class, " generally naughty", degradingly spoken of and accused of shameful conduct and practices. Such, with the exception of a bit of politics, are the contents of this immoral sheet. If it was meant to be satirical the satire was more eflfectively concealed than in ' ' The Shortest Way with the Dissenters ' ' . Another paper, The General Postscript, appeared September 27, of this year. Dr. Drake (^ ) infers from the fact that Baker, author of the Female Taller, subjoined an advertisement to No. 19, that it is probable that he contributed to it. The General Postscript can hardly be included in the class of Social Periodicals, for with the exception of a few bits of scandal and a comment or two upon them, the contents of this paper form an epitome of the chief foreign and English newspapers, which is used for political purposes. No. 12, October 24, 1709, is more interesting than the other numbers because it contains a table of the weekly and daily papers and pamphlets which were published during that week. Judging from No. 1, the only copy to be found of the last new social periodical that appeared in 1709, I conclude that it was, or rather would have been, had it been continued, the third (1) Dr. Drake, "Essays Illustrative of the Tatler", etc. Vol. IV, chap. I, page 7. 58 The English Literary Periodical of Morals and Manners best of its kind that was published that year. On October 11, one Mrs. Jennie Distaff, half sister to Isaac Bickerstaff, Esq., published the Whisperer. The copy that I have seen is not at all badly written, and I could wish, despite Dr. Drake's state- ment ( ^ ) that no proof of Jenny Distaff's relationship to her half brother is visible either in the construction of her style or in her sentiments, that the life of the paper might have been prolonged by the days of grace which a too tolerant age allowed to its worthless contemporaries. The most that could be said of the Whisperer would be only surmise. The following brief extract must therefore suffice to give one an idea of its object : — "Since my ingenious brother, a man of such profound learning, such excellent morals and such indefatigable industry, too often finds with pain, that he writes to the incorrigible, what can I expect, who have little more to trust to, than the fragments I have laid up from those happy hours I passed in his agreeable converse. Why, be as it wUl, the world shall see that I am of the family of the Staffs ; a friend to Innocence ; a foe to Vice ' ' . Mention has been made by Gay ( ^ ) of a paper of the year 1709, entitled the Tell Tale, but beyond this no other proof of its existence is known to me. On March 2, 1709-10, appeared what Drake has well called a ' ' compound of nonsense and obscurity ' ' . This was the paper alluded to by the Taller as answering him weekly Tilt for Tatt. It was conducted under the assumed name of Jo Partridge, the author undoubtedly having in mind the predictions of Swift written against John Partridge under the nom de plume of Isaac Bickerstaff which Partridge had naturally taken offense at and answered. So this Partridge, authot of the Tilt for Tatt, wrote : — "I desire the reader to compare every one of these my delucidations with such Tatler or Tatlers to which they are respectively said to refer " . His object in writing the Titt for Tatt ( " an abbreviation of Tittling for his Tattling " ) , was, he declared, — " To examine whether the frequent Intelligence which Bickerstaff publishes be conformable to the measures (') Dr. Drake. "Essays Illustrative of tlie Tatler", etc. Vol IV chap. I, page 7. {'O Gay, ' ' Present State of Wit ' ' . The English Literar}' Periodical of Morals and Manners 59 directed by the stars ; for that he has been guilty of many gross errors and mistakes will plainly appear ' ' . This miserable paper was published three times a week, but ran only to five numbers. On May 22, 1710, appeared a political paper called the Moderator, ( last number, August 7 ) , written in opposition to Tutchin's Observator and Defoe's Review, though its avowed 'purpose was to inquire into the several arguments advanced on both sides and without heat, prejudice, or preposession, to lay before an impartial reader the strength and solidity, or the weakness and fallacy of the several arguments made use of and with a real Moderation to lay down such a true state of the case under discussion as might tend to the quieting of peoples minds. (^) Although Steele seldom introduced politics to any great extent in the Taller, yet his few papers on that subject so offended the Tories, then coming into power, that they decided to issue a political periodical to defend their principles. This they published August 3, 1710, under the title of the Examiner; a paper which was written with much ability under the editor- ship and with the assistance of such persons as Dr. King, Mrs. Manley, Oldisworth, Atturbury, Prior, Bolingbroke and Swift. It ran for nearly four years and extended to more than five vol- umes. In its turn it gave rise to Addison's and Manwaring's Whig Examiner; to Steele's Reader, and to the Medley, October 5, 1710, conducted by Manwaring and Oldmixon. In speaking of this last paper Oldmixon says, (^) that Manwaring induced him, with £100 down and £100 more a year, to start it. He was occasionally assisted in the undertaking by Henley, Bp. Kennet and Steele. The Medley was dropped on August 6, 1711, but was resumed again in March, 1712, and carried on for forty-five numbers. Most of its papers are admirably written. It has been said of its author, Manwaring, that he was " the best critic of his time, a man of most elegant tastes and manners, and the best political writer of Great Britain . " ( * ) • It was to him that (') Moderator, No. 1, May 22, 1710. (2) Oldmixon ' Memoirs of the Press ' (') Fgerton, ' Memoirs of Mrs. Oldfield'. 60 The English Literary Periodical of Morals and Manners Steele dedicated the first volume of the Tatler. However, as all of these papers, though well written, are devoted almost entirely to politics, they are foreign to our subject and must therefore be passed over without further consideration ( * ) . Twelve days after the publication ol the Examiner there appeared a curious paper imitating the Tatler in form, and the Moral Essays of Collier in spirit, bearing the title of Serious Thoughts; or a Golden Chain of Contemplations, divine and moral, reduced into practice, for the general good of Christians of all Denominations. Its praisworthy object was not only to disseminate morality and religion among the upper and middle classes, but to instruct and elevate the poorer and more lowly as well; for one reads that "all persons that please to buy quan- tities of this paper to give away to poor families or schools, shall have it at two shillings a quarter, sent three days every week, where they please to appoint within the liberties of London and Westminster, or the weekly bills of mortality. ' ' And again, ' ' All persons who take five shall have one gratis ' ' This is the first instance of this practice that has come under my notice. Of the paper itself not much can be said. Only one number. No. 2, has been preserved and this contains in addition to a dis- course upon the text: "He that receives but one talent, and improves it to the best advantage that he is capable, is sure to be happy ", a few prayers and hymns. It was a worthy under- taking, but for many reasons its existence was, in all probabilty short. " As the elaborate lucubrations of Isaac BickerstafF, Esq., are deservedly applauded by the greatest critics of the age, so no doubt the plain but substantial entertainments of Sir Heister Ryley will be likewise acceptable to the judicious, and even looked upon as serviceable in some measure to the common- wealth of learning ' ' . With this laudatory sentence the author of the Visions of Sir Heister Ryley ushers in his volume of essays. The full title of this work, the first number of which appeared August 21, 1710, will serve to show its scope. It was (') Two ' ' Medleys ' ' bearing the same number but with different mat- ter and printed for different persons appeared simultaneously on June 4, and 11. The English Literary Periodical of Morals and Manners 61 called the " Visions of Sir Heister Ryley; with other entertain- ments consisting of discourses and letters, representing by way of image and description, the characters of virtue, beauty, affec- tion, love and passion. The agreeableness of wit, truth and honour, made conspicuous by morals. As also scenes of the birth of Nature, the sudden turns of Fortune, the madness of domestick contests, the humours of the town and the false arts of life, both human and irrational beings, traced thro' all their intricate mazes " . A better idea of its plan may perhaps be con- ceived from a few quotations taken from the preface: ' ' The main design," says the author, " is to instill into the mind of a reader, sound principles of morality under the vail of a pleasing vision ". " Are any addicted to the study of divinity, philoso- phy, history, or other points of sublime literature? L,et them have recourse to the works of our generous Knight and I'll ven- ture to pass my word they will there meet with many refined notions and uncommon strictures not to be found elsewhere; all supported by sound arguments and laid down with elegant turns of wit. Here are representations of chaste amours, and such as set forth all the shining advantages of conjugal affection. You may observe wonderful plots, subtile devices and deep intrigues of love, and recreate yourself with strains of innocent mirth. You may be furnished with a plentiful stock of witty concep- tions, inoffensive jests and strange flights of fancy". This paper, which exactly imitated the Taller in point of form and plan, ran to eighty numbers, which were then collected and bound in one volume. I know of no copy of the work in single leaves. Dr. Drake asserted that he did not know whether a single page of this work was worthy of preservation . I cannot entirely agree with this statement. With regard to manner and style the papers must certainly be placed at a great distance from their original, the Taller; but at the same time an occasional paper is written with some degree of merit and the majority of them are, in style, spirit, and tendency, better than many of the other imitators of the Taller which have been better and more widely known. In the scope and choice of subject the Visions of Sir Heister Ryley certainly surpass most contemporaries. Defoe was thought to have been the author of these papers, but they are now attributed to Charles Povey. The last number (80) 62 The English Literary Periodical of Morals and Manners of the Visions was published February 21, 1711, but before con- sidering the periodicals of that year one must notice the last social paper that appeared in 1710 . The Tory Tatter, which Dr. Drake not unnaturally said it appeared from the title to have been written in opposition to the political principles of Steele, was begun November 27. Had he seen even one of his sixteen numbers he would not have made this statement. The author says in the first number: "The title I have taken was chose only as a term of distinction, and not with any intention to enter into party disputes. I shall acquiesce in the wisdom of mj' superiors and confine my thoughts purelj' to subjects of pleasantry, humour and mor- ality " " My intention " he adds, " is to expose vice, folly and affectation in all their different shapes and disguises, and to recommend virtue, good manners and simplicity of life". The paper being poorly written, met deservedly with little success. In No. 3, the author, who frequently throughout the sixteen numbers seems at a loss for material to fill his paper, complains that ' ' whereas the town appears less satisfied than was expected with the numbers he has given them gratis, he intends next week to set out with new spirit, vigour and an irresistible power of pleas- ing ' ' . Nevertheless this new attempt did not succeed and the difficulties increased, for in a later number one reads, " I have thrown myself into a province, which as it was bold to under- take, it will be difficult to maintain. I am sometimes apt to fancy myself like a mountbank upon a high rope, that must either dance or break his neck ' ' . Soon after this the paper seems to have come to an end. The author is supposed by some to have been Thos. Baker of the Female Taller, but this he denies in the following emphatic words : " I do solemnly declare that this reflection is malicious, invidious and of a dangerous tendency ' ' Almost immediately upon the close of Steele's Taller with No. 271, there appeared a spurious paper bearing the same name and with ' ' the character of Mr. Steele, alias Isaac Bickerstaff, Esq." It was Sold by Jno. Baker at the Black Boy in Pater Noster Row and bore the date January 4, 1710-11. This paper, said to have been written by Thos. Baker, is largely devoted to an eulopv of Steele. Tw^o Hnv*; latpr TQimanr fl o