diff options
Diffstat (limited to '41496-8.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 41496-8.txt | 6072 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 6072 deletions
diff --git a/41496-8.txt b/41496-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 7241ffd..0000000 --- a/41496-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6072 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Addison, by William John Courthope - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - - - - -Title: Addison - - -Author: William John Courthope - - - -Release Date: November 27, 2012 [eBook #41496] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADDISON*** - - -E-text prepared by the Online Distributed Proofreading Team -(http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by -Internet Archive (http://archive.org) - - - -Note: Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - http://archive.org/details/addison_00cour - - -Transcriber's note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - Text enclosed by curly brackets is superscripted - (example: y{e}). - - - - - -English Men of Letters - -Edited by John Morley - -ADDISON - -by - -W. J. COURTHOPE - - - - - - - -Harper & Brothers Publishers -New York and London -1902 - - * * * * * - -ENGLISH MEN OF LETTERS. - -EDITED BY JOHN MORLEY. - - JOHNSON Leslie Stephen. - GIBBON J. C. Morison. - SCOTT R. H. Hutton. - SHELLEY J. A. Symonds. - HUME T. H. Huxley. - GOLDSMITH William Black. - DEFOE William Minto. - BURNS J. C. Shairp. - SPENSER R. W. Church. - THACKERAY Anthony Trollope. - BURKE John Morley. - MILTON Mark Pattison. - HAWTHORNE Henry James, Jr. - SOUTHEY E. Dowden. - CHAUCER A. W. Ward. - BUNYAN J. A. Froude. - COWPER Goldwin Smith. - POPE Leslie Stephen. - BYRON John Nichol. - LOCKE Thomas Fowler. - WORDSWORTH F. Myers. - DRYDEN G. Saintsbury. - LANDOR Sidney Colvin. - DE QUINCEY David Masson. - LAMB Alfred Ainger. - BENTLEY R. C. Jebb. - DICKENS A. W. Ward. - GRAY E. W. Gosse. - SWIFT Leslie Stephen. - STERNE H. D. Traill. - MACAULAY J. Cotter Morison. - FIELDING Austin Dobson. - SHERIDAN Mrs. Oliphant. - ADDISON W. J. Courthope. - BACON R. W. Church. - COLERIDGE H. D. Traill. - SIR PHILIP SIDNEY J. A. Symonds. - KEATS Sidney Colvin. - CARLYLE John Nichol. - -12mo, Cloth, 75 cents per volume. - -_Other volumes in preparation._ - -PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK. - -_Any of the above works will be sent by mail, postage prepaid, to any part -of the United States, Canada, or Mexico, on receipt of the price._ - - * * * * * - - - -CONTENTS. - - - PAGE - - CHAPTER I. - THE STATE OF ENGLISH SOCIETY AND LETTERS - AFTER THE RESTORATION 1 - - CHAPTER II. - ADDISON'S FAMILY AND EDUCATION 21 - - CHAPTER III. - ADDISON ON HIS TRAVELS 38 - - CHAPTER IV. - HIS EMPLOYMENT IN AFFAIRS OF STATE 53 - - CHAPTER V. - THE "TATLER" AND "SPECTATOR" 78 - - CHAPTER VI. - "CATO" 110 - - CHAPTER VII. - ADDISON'S QUARREL WITH POPE 125 - - CHAPTER VIII. - THE LAST YEARS OF HIS LIFE 139 - - CHAPTER IX. - THE GENIUS OF ADDISON 153 - - - - -ADDISON. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE STATE OF ENGLISH SOCIETY AND LETTERS AFTER THE RESTORATION. - - -Of the four English men of letters whose writings most fully embody the -spirit of the eighteenth century, the one who provides the biographer with -the scantiest materials is Addison. In his _Journal to Stella_, his social -verses, and his letters to his friends, we have a vivid picture of those -relations with women and that protracted suffering which invest with such -tragic interest the history of Swift. Pope, by the publication of his own -correspondence, has enabled us, in a way that he never intended, to -understand the strange moral twist which distorted a nature by no means -devoid of noble instincts. Johnson was fortunate in the companionship of -perhaps the best biographer who ever lived. But of the real life and -character of Addison scarcely any contemporary record remains. The formal -narrative prefixed to his works by Tickell is, by that writer's own -admission, little more than a bibliography. Steele, who might have told us -more than any man about his boyhood and his manner of life in London, had -become estranged from his old friend before his death. No writer has -taken the trouble to preserve any account of the wit and wisdom that -enlivened the "little senate" at Button's. His own letters are, as a rule, -compositions as finished as his papers in the _Spectator_. Those features -in his character which excite the greatest interest have been delineated -by the hand of an enemy--an enemy who possessed an unrivalled power of -satirical portrait-painting, and was restrained by no regard for truth -from creating in the public mind such impressions about others as might -serve to heighten the favourable opinion of himself. - -This absence of dramatic incident in Addison's life would lead us -naturally to conclude that he was deficient in the energy and passion -which cause a powerful nature to leave a mark upon its age. Yet such a -judgment would certainly be erroneous. Shy and reserved as he was, the -unanimous verdict of his most illustrious contemporaries is decisive as to -the respect and admiration which he excited among them. The man who could -exert so potent an influence over the mercurial Steele, who could -fascinate the haughty and cynical intellect of Swift, whose conversation, -by the admission of his satirist Pope, had in it something more charming -than that of any other man; of whom it was said that he might have been -chosen king if he wished it; such a man, though to the coarse perception -of Mandeville he might have seemed no more than "a parson in a tye-wig," -can hardly have been deficient in force of character. - -Nor would it have been possible for a writer distinguished by mere -elegance and refinement to leave a lasting impress on the literature and -society of his country. In one generation after another, men representing -opposing elements of rank, class, interest, and taste, have agreed in -acknowledging Addison's extraordinary merits. "Whoever wishes," says -Johnson--at the end of a biography strongly coloured with the -prepossessions of a semi-Jacobite Tory--"whoever wishes to attain an -English style, familiar but not coarse, and elegant but not ostentatious, -must give his days and nights to the volumes of Addison." "Such a mark of -national respect," says Macaulay, the best representative of middle-class -opinion in the present century, speaking of the statue erected to Addison -in Westminster Abbey, "was due to the unsullied statesman, to the -accomplished scholar, to the master of pure English eloquence, to the -consummate painter of life and manners. It was due, above all, to the -great satirist who alone knew how to use ridicule without abusing it; who, -without inflicting a wound, effected a great social reform, and who -reconciled wit and virtue after a long and disastrous separation, during -which wit had been led astray by profligacy, and virtue by fanaticism." - -This verdict of a great critic is accepted by an age to which the grounds -of it are, perhaps, not very apparent. The author of any ideal creation--a -poem, a drama, or a novel--has an imprescriptible property in the fame of -his work. But to harmonise conflicting social elements, to bring order out -of chaos in the sphere of criticism, to form right ways of thinking about -questions of morals, taste, and breeding, are operations of which the -credit, though it is certainly to be ascribed to particular individuals, -is generally absorbed by society itself. Macaulay's eulogy is as just as -it is eloquent, but the pages of the _Spectator_ alone will hardly show -the reader why Addison should be so highly praised for having reconciled -wit with virtue. Nor, looking at him as a critic, will it appear a great -achievement to have pointed out to English society the beauties of -_Paradise Lost_, unless it be remembered that the taste of the preceding -generation still influenced Addison's contemporaries, and that in that -generation Cowley was accounted a greater poet than Milton. - -To estimate Addison at his real value we must regard him as the chief -architect of Public Opinion in the eighteenth century. But here again we -are met by an initial difficulty, because it has become almost a -commonplace of contemporary criticism to represent the eighteenth century -as a period of sheer destruction. It is tacitly assumed by a school of -distinguished philosophical writers that we have arrived at a stage in the -world's history in which it is possible to take a positive and scientific -view of human affairs. As it is of course necessary that from such a -system all belief in the supernatural shall be jealously excluded, it has -not seemed impossible to write the history of Thought itself in the -eighteenth century. And in tracing the course of this supposed continuous -stream it is natural that all the great English writers of the period -should be described as in one way or another helping to pull down, or -vainly to strengthen, the theological barriers erected by centuries of -bigotry against the irresistible tide of enlightened progress. - -It would be of course entirely out of place to discuss here the merits of -this new school of history. Those who consider that, whatever glimpses we -may obtain of the law and order of the universe, man is, as he always has -been and always will be, a mystery to himself, will hardly allow that the -operations of the human spirit can be traced in the dissecting-room. But -it is, in any case, obvious that to treat the great _imaginative_ writers -of any age as if they were only mechanical agents in an evolution of -thought is to do them grave injustice. Such writers are, above all things, -creative. Their first aim is to "show the very age and body of the time -his form and pressure." No work of the eighteenth century, composed in a -consciously destructive spirit, has taken its place among the acknowledged -classics of the language. Even the _Tale of a Tub_ is to be regarded as a -satire upon the aberrations of theologians from right reason, not upon the -principles of Christianity itself. The _Essay on Man_ has, no doubt, -logically a tendency towards Deism, but nobody ever read the poem for the -sake of its philosophy; and it is well known that Pope was much alarmed -when it was pointed out to him that his conclusions might be represented -as incompatible with the doctrines of revealed religion. - -The truth indeed seems to be the exact converse of what is alleged by the -scientific historians. So far from the eighteenth century in England being -an age of destructive analysis, its energies were chiefly devoted to -political, social, and literary reconstruction. Whatever revolution in -faith and manners the English nation had undergone had been the work of -the two preceding centuries, and though the historic foundations of -society remained untouched, the whole form of the superstructure had been -profoundly modified. - - "So tenacious are we," said Burke, towards the close of the last - century, "of our old ecclesiastical modes and fashions of institution - that very little change has been made in them since the fourteenth or - fifteenth centuries, adhering in this particular as in all else to our - old settled maxim never entirely nor at once to depart from antiquity. - We found these institutions on the whole favourable to morality and - discipline, and we thought they were susceptible of amendment without - altering the ground. We thought they were capable of receiving and - meliorating, and, above all, of preserving the accessories of science - and literature as the order of Providence should successively produce - them. And after all, with this Gothic and monkish education (for such - it is the groundwork), we may put in our claim to as ample and early - a share in all the improvements in science, in arts, and in literature - which have illuminated the modern world as any other nation in Europe. - We think one main cause of this improvement was our not despising the - patrimony of knowledge which was left us by our forefathers." - -All this is, in substance, true of our political as well as our -ecclesiastical institutions. And yet, when Burke wrote, the great feudal -and mediæval structure of England had been so transformed by the Wars of -the Roses, the Reformation, the Rebellion, and the Revolution, that its -ancient outlines were barely visible. In so far, therefore, as his words -seem to imply that the social evolution he describes was produced by an -imperceptible and almost mechanical process of national instinct, the -impression they tend to create is entirely erroneous. - -If we have been hitherto saved from such corruption as undermined the -republics of Italy, from the religious wars that so long enfeebled and -divided Germany, and from the Revolution that has severed modern France -from her ancient history, thanks for this are due partly, no doubt, to -favouring conditions of nature and society, but quite as much to the -genius of great individuals who prepared the mind of the nation for the -gradual assimilation of new ideas. Thus Langland and Wycliffe and their -numerous followers, long before the Reformation, had so familiarised the -minds of the people with their ideas of the Christian religion that the -Sovereign was able to assume the Headship of the Church without the shock -of a social convulsion. Fresh feelings and instincts grew up in the hearts -of whole classes of the nation without at first producing any change in -outward habits of life, and even without arousing a sense of their logical -incongruity. These mixed ideas were constantly brought before the -imagination in the works of the poets. Shakespeare abounds with passages -in which, side by side with the old feudal, monarchical, catholic, and -patriotic instincts of Englishmen, we find the sentiments of the Italian -Renaissance. Spenser conveys Puritan doctrines sometimes by the mouth of -shepherds, whose originals he had found in Theocritus and Virgil; -sometimes under allegorical forms derived from books of chivalry and the -ceremonial of the Catholic Church. Milton, the most rigidly Calvinistic of -all the English poets in his opinions, is also the most severely classical -in his style. - -It was the task of Addison to carry on the reconciling traditions of our -literature. It is his praise to have accomplished his task under -conditions far more difficult than any that his predecessors had -experienced. What they had done was to give instinctive and characteristic -expression to the floating ideas of the society about them; what Addison -and his contemporaries did was to found a public opinion by a conscious -effort of reason and persuasion. Before the Civil Wars there had been at -least no visible breach in the principle of Authority in Church and State. -At the beginning of the eighteenth century constituted authority had been -recently overthrown; one king had been beheaded, another had been -expelled; the Episcopalian form of Church Government had been violently -displaced in favour of the Presbyterian, and had been with almost equal -violence restored. Whole classes of the population had been drawn into -opposing camps during the Civil War, and still stood confronting each -other with all the harsh antagonism of sentiment inherited from that -conflict. Such a bare summary alone is sufficient to indicate the nature -of the difficulties Addison had to encounter in his efforts to harmonise -public opinion; but a more detailed examination of the state of society -after the Restoration is required to place in its full light the -extraordinary merits of the success that he achieved. - -There was, to begin with, a vehement opposition between town and country. -In the country the old ideas of Feudalism, modified by circumstances, but -vigorous and deep-rooted, still prevailed. True, the military system of -land-tenure had disappeared with the Restoration, but it was not so with -the relations of life, and the habits of thought and feeling which the -system had created. The features of surviving Feudalism have been -inimitably preserved for us in the character of Sir Roger de Coverley. -Living in the patriarchal fashion, in the midst of tenants and retainers, -who looked up to him as their chief, and for whose welfare and protection -he considered himself responsible, the country gentleman valued above all -things the principle of Loyalty. To the moneyed classes in the towns he -was instinctively opposed; he regarded their interests, both social and -commercial, as contrary to his own; he looked with dislike and suspicion -on the economical principles of government and conduct on which these -classes naturally rely. Even the younger sons of county families had in -Addison's day abandoned the custom, common enough in the feudal times, of -seeking their fortune in trade. Many a Will Wimble now spent his whole -life in the country, training dogs for his neighbours, fishing their -streams, making whips for their young heirs, and even garters for their -wives and daughters.[1] - -The country gentlemen were confirmed in these ideas by the difficulties of -communication. During his visit to Sir Roger de Coverley the _Spectator_ -observed the extreme slowness with which fashions penetrated into the -country; and he noticed, too, that party spirit was much more violent -there than in the towns. The learning of the clergy, many of whom resided -with the country squires as chaplains, was of course enlisted on the Tory -side, and supplied it with arguments which the body of the party might -perhaps have found it difficult to discover, or at least to express, for -themselves. For Tory tastes undoubtedly lay generally rather in the -direction of sport than of books. Sir Roger seems to be as much above the -average level of his class as Squire Western is certainly below it: -perhaps the Tory fox-hunter of the _Freeholder_, though somewhat -satirically painted, is a fair representative of the society which had its -headquarters at the October Club, and whose favourite poet was Tom -D'Urfey. - -The commercial and professional classes, from whom the Whigs derived their -chief support, of course predominated in the towns, and their larger -opportunities of association gave them an influence in affairs which -compensated for their inferiority in numbers. They lacked, however, what -the country party possessed, a generous ideal of life. Though many of them -were connected with the Presbyterian system, their common sense made them -revolt from its rigidity, while at the same time their economical -principles failed to supply them with any standard that could satisfy the -imagination. Sir Andrew Freeport excites in us less interest than any -member of the Spectator's Club. There was not yet constituted among the -upper middle classes that mixed conception of good feeling, good breeding, -and good taste which we now attach to the name of "gentleman." - -Two main currents of opinion divided the country, to one of which a man -was obliged to surrender himself if he wished to enjoy the pleasures of -organised society. One of these was Puritanism, but this was undoubtedly -the less popular, or at least the less fashionable. A protracted -experience of Roundhead tyranny under the Long Parliament had inclined the -nation to believe that almost any form of Government was preferable to -that of the Saints. The Puritan, no longer the mere sectarian, as in the -days of Elizabeth and James I., somewhat ridiculous in the extravagance of -his opinions, but respectable from the constancy with which he maintained -them, had ruled over them as a taskmaster, and had forced them, as far as -he could by military violence, to practise the asceticism to which monks -and nuns had voluntarily submitted themselves. The most innocent as well -as the most brutal diversions of the people were sacrificed to his -spiritual pride. As Macaulay well says, he hated bear-baiting, not because -it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectator. -The tendency of his creed was, in fact, anti-social. Beauty in his eyes -was a snare, and pleasure a sin; the only mode of social intercourse which -he approved was a sermon. - -On the other hand, the habits of the Court, which gave the tone to all -polite society, were almost equally distasteful to the instincts of the -people. It was inevitable that the inclinations of Charles II. should be -violently opposed to every sentiment of the Puritans. While he was in the -power of the Scots he had been forced into feigned compliance with -Presbyterian rites; the Puritans had put his father to death, and had -condemned himself to many years of exile and hardship in Catholic -countries. He had returned to his own land half French in his political -and religious sympathies, and entirely so in his literary tastes. To -convert and to corrupt those of his subjects who immediately surrounded -him was an easy matter. "All by the king's example lived and loved." -Poets, painters, and actors were forward to promote principles viewed -with favour by their sovereign and not at all disagreeable to themselves. -An ingenious philosopher elevated Absolutism into an intellectual and -moral system, the consequence of which was to encourage the powerful in -the indulgence of every selfish instinct. As the Puritans had oppressed -the country with a system of inhuman religion and transcendental morality, -so now, in order to get as far from Puritanism as possible, it seemed -necessary for every one aspiring to be thought a gentleman to avow himself -an atheist or a debauchee. - -The ideas of the man in the mode after the Restoration are excellently hit -off in one of the fictitious letters in the _Spectator_: - - "I am now between fifty and sixty, and had the honour to be well with - the first men of taste and gallantry in the joyous reign of Charles - the Second. As for yourself, Mr. Spectator, you seem with the utmost - arrogance to undermine the very fundamentals upon which we conducted - ourselves. It is monstrous to set up for a man of wit and yet deny - that honour in a woman is anything but peevishness, that inclination - is not the best rule of life, or virtue and vice anything else but - health and disease. We had no more to do but to put a lady in a good - humour, and all we could wish followed of course. Then, again, your - Tully and your discourses of another life are the very bane of mirth - and good humour. Prythee, don't value thyself on thy reason at that - exorbitant rate and the dignity of human nature; take my word for it, - a setting dog has as good reason as any man in England."[2] - -While opinions, which from different sides struck at the very roots of -society, prevailed both in the fashionable and religious portions of the -community, it was inevitable that Taste should be hopelessly corrupt. All -the artistic and literary forms which the Court favoured were of the -romantic order, but it was romance from which beauty and vitality had -utterly disappeared. Of the two great principles of ancient chivalry, Love -and Honour, the last notes of which are heard in the lyrics of Lovelace -and Montrose, one was now held to be non-existent, and the other was -utterly perverted. The feudal spirit had surrounded woman with an -atmosphere of mystical devotion, but in the reign of Charles II. the -passion of love was subjected to the torturing treatment then known as -"wit." Cowley and Waller seem to think that when a man is in love the -energy of his feelings is best shown by discovering resemblances between -his mistress and those objects in nature to which she is apparently most -unlike. - -The ideal of Woman, as she is represented in the _Spectator_, adding -grace, charity, and refinement to domestic life, had still to be created. -The king himself, the presumed mirror of good taste, was notoriously under -the control of his numerous mistresses; and the highest notion of love -which he could conceive was gallantry. French romances were therefore -generally in vogue. All the casuistry of love which had been elaborated by -Mademoiselle de Scudery was reproduced with improvements by Mrs. Aphra -Behn. At the same time, as usually happens in diseased societies, there -was a general longing to cultivate the simplicity of the Golden Age, and -the consequence was that no person, even in the lower grades of society, -who pretended to any reading, ever thought of making love in his own -person. The proper tone of feeling was not acquired till he had invested -himself with the pastoral attributes of Damon and Celadon, and had -addressed his future wife as Amarantha or Phyllis. - -The tragedies of the period illustrate this general inclination to -spurious romance. If ever there was a time when the ideal of monarchy was -degraded, and the instincts of chivalrous action discouraged, it was in -the reign of Charles II. Absorbed as he was in the pursuit of pleasure, -the king scarcely attempted to conceal his weariness when obliged to -attend to affairs of State. He allowed the Dutch fleet to approach his -capital and to burn his own ships of war on the Thames; he sold Dunkirk to -the French; hardly any action in his life evinces any sense of patriotism -or honour. And yet we have only to glance at Johnson's _Life of Dryden_ to -see how all the tragedies of the time turn on the great characters, the -great actions, the great sufferings of princes. The Elizabethan drama had -exhibited man in every degree of life and with every variety of character; -the playwright of the Restoration seldom descended below such themes as -the conquest of Mexico or Granada, the fortunes of the Great Mogul, and -the fate of Hannibal. This monotony of subject was doubtless in part the -result of policy, for in pitying the fortunes of Montezuma the imagination -of the spectator insensibly recalled those of Charles the Second. - -Everything in these tragedies is unreal, strained, and affected. In order -to remove them as far as possible from the language of ordinary life they -are written in rhyme, while the astonishment of the audience is raised -with big swelling words, which vainly seek to hide the absence of genuine -feeling. The heroes tear their passion to tatters because they think it -heroic to do so; their flights into the sublime generally drop into the -ridiculous; instead of holding up the mirror to nature, their object is to -depart as far as possible from common sense. Nothing exhibits more -characteristically the utterly artificial feeling, both of the dramatists -and the spectators, than the habit which then prevailed of dismissing the -audience after a tragic play with a witty epilogue. On one occasion, Nell -Gwynne, in the character of St. Catherine, was, at the end of the play, -left for dead upon the stage. Her body having to be removed, the actress -suddenly started to her feet, exclaiming, - - "Hold! are you mad? you damned confounded dog, - I am to rise and speak the epilogue!"[3] - -By way of compensation, however, the writers of the period poured forth -their real feelings without reserve in their comedies. So great, indeed, -is the gulf that separates our own manners from theirs, that some critics -have endeavoured to defend the comic dramatists of the Restoration against -the moralists on the ground that their representations of Nature are -entirely devoid of reality. Charles Lamb, who loved all curiosities, and -the Caroline comedians among the number, says of them: - - "They are a world of themselves almost as much as fairy-land. Take one - of their characters, male or female (with few exceptions they are - alike), and place it in a modern play, and my virtuous indignation - shall rise against the profligate wretch as warmly as the Catos of the - pit could desire, because in a modern play I am to judge of the right - and the wrong. The standard of _police_ is the measure of _political - justice_. The atmosphere will blight it; it cannot live here. It has - got into a moral world, where it has no business, from which it must - needs fall headlong--as dizzy and incapable of making a stand as a - Swedenborgian bad spirit that has wandered unawares into his sphere of - Good Men or Angels. But in its own world do we feel the creature is so - very bad? The Fainalls and Mirabels, the Dorimants and Lady - Touchwoods, in their own sphere do not offend my moral sense; in fact, - they do not appeal to it at all. They seem engaged in their proper - element. They break through no laws or conscientious restraints. They - know of none. They have got out of Christendom into the land of-what - shall I call it?--of cuckoldry--the Utopia of gallantry, where - pleasure is duty and the manners perfect freedom. It is altogether a - speculative scene of things, which has no reference whatever to the - world that is." - -This is a very happy description of the manner in which the plays of -Etherege, Shadwell, Wycherley, and Congreve affect us to-day; and it is no -doubt superfluous to expend much moral indignation on works which have -long since lost their power to charm: comedies in which the reader finds -neither the horseplay of Aristophanes, nor the nature of Terence, nor the -poetry of Shakespeare; in which there is not a single character that -arouses interest, or a situation that spontaneously provokes laughter; in -which the complications of plot are produced by the devices of fine -gentlemen for making cuckolds of citizens, and the artifices of wives to -dupe their husbands; in which the profuse wit of the dialogue might excite -admiration, if it were possible to feel the smallest interest in the -occasion that produced it. But to argue that these plays never represented -any state of existing society is a paradox which chooses to leave out of -account the contemporary attack on the stage made by Jeremy Collier, the -admissions of Dryden, and all those valuable glimpses into the manners of -our ancestors which are afforded by the prologues of the period. - -It is sufficient to quote against Lamb the witty and severe criticism of -Steele in the _Spectator_, upon Etherege's _Man of the Mode_: - - "It cannot be denied but that the negligence of everything which - engages the attention of the sober and valuable part of mankind - appears very well drawn in this piece. But it is denied that it is - necessary to the character of a fine gentleman that he should in that - manner trample upon all order and decency. As for the character of - Dorimant, it is more of a coxcomb than that of Fopling. He says of one - of his companions that a good correspondence between them is their - mutual interest. Speaking of that friend, he declares their being much - together 'makes the women think the better of his understanding, and - judge more favourably of my reputation. It makes him pass upon some - for a man of very good sense, and me upon others for a very civil - person.' This whole celebrated piece is a perfect contradiction to - good manners, good sense, and common honesty; and as there is nothing - in it but what is built upon the ruin of virtue and innocence, - according to the notion of virtue in this comedy, I take the shoemaker - to be in reality the fine gentleman of the play; for it seems he is an - atheist, if we may depend upon his character as given by the - orange-woman, who is herself far from being the lowest in the play. - She says of a fine man who is Dorimant's companion, 'there is not such - another heathen in the town except the shoemaker.' His pretension to - be the hero of the drama appears still more in his own description of - his way of living with his lady. 'There is,' says he, 'never a man in - the town lives more like a gentleman with his wife than I do. I never - mind her motions; she never inquires into mine. We speak to one - another civilly; hate one another heartily; and, because it is vulgar - to lie and soak together, we have each of us our several settle-beds.' - - "That of 'soaking together' is as good as if Dorimant had spoken it - himself; and I think, since he puts human nature in as ugly a form as - the circumstances will bear, and is a staunch unbeliever, he is very - much wronged in having no part of the good fortune bestowed in the - last act. To speak plain of this whole work, I think nothing but being - lost to a sense of innocence and virtue can make any one see this - comedy without observing more frequent occasion to move sorrow and - indignation than mirth and laughter. At the same time I allow it to be - nature, but it is nature in its utmost corruption and degeneracy."[4] - -The truth is, that the stage after the Restoration reflects only too -faithfully the manners and the sentiments of the only society which at -that period could boast of anything like organisation. The press, which -now enables public opinion to exercise so powerful a control over the -manners of the times, had then scarcely an existence. No standard of -female honour restrained the license of wit and debauchery. If the clergy -were shocked at the propagation of ideas so contrary to the whole spirit -of Christianity, their natural impulse to reprove them was checked by the -fear that an apparent condemnation of the practices of the Court might end -in the triumph of their old enemies, the Puritans. All the elements of an -old and decaying form of society that tended to atheism, cynicism, and -dissolute living, exhibited themselves, therefore, in naked shamelessness -on the stage. The audiences in the theatres were equally devoid of good -manners and good taste; they did not hesitate to interrupt the actors in -the midst of a serious play, while they loudly applauded their obscene -allusions. So gross was the character of comic dialogue that women could -not venture to appear at a comedy without masks, and under these -circumstances the theatre became the natural centre for assignations. In -such an atmosphere women readily cast off all modesty and reserve; indeed, -the choicest indecencies of the times are to be found in the epilogues to -the plays, which were always assigned to the female actors. - -It at first sight seems remarkable that a society inveterately corrupt -should have contained in itself such powers of purification and vitality -as to discard the literary garbage of the Restoration period in favour of -the refined sobriety which characterises the writers of Queen Anne's -reign. But, in fact, the spread of the infection was confined within -certain well-marked limits. The Court moved in a sphere apart, and was -altogether too light and frivolous to exert a decided moral influence on -the great body of the nation. The country gentlemen, busied on their -estates, came seldom to town; the citizens, the lawyers, and the members -of the other professions steadily avoided the theatre, and regarded with -equal contempt the moral and literary excesses of the courtiers. Among -this class, unrepresented at present in the world of letters, except, -perhaps, by antiquarians like Selden, the foundations of sound taste were -being silently laid. The readers of the nation had hitherto been almost -limited to the nobility. Books were generally published by subscription, -and were dependent for their success on the favour with which they were -received by the courtiers. But, after the subsidence of the Civil War, the -nation began to make rapid strides in wealth and refinement, and the -moneyed classes sought for intellectual amusement in their leisure hours. -Authors by degrees found that they might look for readers beyond the -select circle of their aristocratic patrons; and the book-seller, who had -hitherto calculated his profits merely by the commission he might obtain -on the sale of books, soon perceived that they were becoming valuable as -property. The reign of Charles II. is remarkable not only for the great -increase in the number of the licensed printers in London, but for the -appearance of the first of the race of modern publishers, Jacob Tonson. - -The portion of society whose tastes the publishers undertook to satisfy -was chiefly interested in history, poetry, and criticism. It was this for -which Dryden composed his _Miscellany_, this to which he addressed the -admirable critical essays which precede his _Translations from the Latin -Poets_ and his _Versifications of Chaucer_, and this which afterwards gave -the main support to the _Tatler_ and the _Spectator_. Ignorant of the -writings of the great classical authors, as well as of the usages of -polite society, these men were nevertheless robust and manly in their -ideas, and were eager to form for themselves a correct standard of taste -by reference to the best authorities. Though they turned with repugnance -from the playhouse and from the morals of the Court, they could not -avoid being insensibly affected by the tone of grace and elegance which -prevailed in Court circles. And in this respect, if in no other, our -gratitude is due to the Caroline dramatists, who may justly claim to be -the founders of the _social_ prose style in English literature. Before -them English prose had been employed, no doubt, with music and majesty by -many writers; but the style of these is scarcely representative; they had -used the language for their own elevated purposes, without, however, -attempting to give it that balanced fineness and subtlety which makes it a -fitting instrument for conveying the complex ideas of an advanced stage of -society. Dryden, Wycherley, and their followers, impelled by the taste of -the Court to study the French language, brought to English composition a -nicer standard of logic and a more choice selection of language, while the -necessity of pleasing their audiences with brilliant dialogue made them -careful to give their sentences that well-poised structure which Addison -afterwards carried to perfection in the _Spectator_. - -By this brief sketch the reader may be enabled to judge of the distracted -state of society, both in politics and taste, in the reign of Charles II. -On the one side, the Monarchical element in the Constitution was -represented by the Court Party, flushed with the recent restoration; -retaining the old ideas and principles of absolutism which had prevailed -under James I., without being able to perceive their inapplicability to -the existing nature of things; feeding its imagination alternately on -sentiments derived from the decayed spirit of chivalry, and on artistic -representations of fashionable debauchery in its most open form--a party -which, while it fortunately preserved the traditions of wit, elegance, and -gaiety of style, seemed unaware that these qualities could be put to any -other use than the mitigation of an intolerable _ennui_. On the other -side, the rising power of Democracy found its representatives in austere -Republicans opposed to all institutions in Church and State that seemed to -obstruct their own abstract principles of government; gloomy fanatics, -who, with an intense intellectual appreciation of eternal principles of -religion and morality, sought to sacrifice to their system the most -permanent and even innocent instincts of human nature. Between the two -extreme parties was the unorganised body of the nation, grouped round old -customs and institutions, rapidly growing in wealth and numbers, conscious -of the rise in their midst of new social principles, but perplexed how to -reconcile these with time-honoured methods of religious, political, and -literary thought. To lay the foundations of sound opinion among the people -at large; to prove that reconciliation was possible between principles -hitherto exhibited only in mutual antagonism; to show that under the -English Constitution monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy might all be -harmonised, that humanity was not absolutely incompatible with religion or -morality with art, was the task of the statesmen, and still more of the -men of letters, of the early part of the eighteenth century. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -ADDISON'S FAMILY AND EDUCATION. - - -Joseph Addison was born on the 1st of May, 1672. He was the eldest son of -Lancelot Addison, at the time of his birth rector of Milston, near -Amesbury, in Wiltshire, and afterwards Dean of Lichfield. His father was a -man of character and accomplishments. Educated at Oxford, while that -University was under the control of the famous Puritan Visitation, he made -no secret of his contempt for principles to which he was forced to submit, -or of his preferences for Monarchy and Episcopacy. His boldness was not -agreeable to the University authorities, and being forced to leave Oxford, -he maintained himself for a time near Petworth, in Sussex, by acting as -chaplain or tutor in families attached to the Royalist cause. After the -Restoration he obtained the appointment of chaplain to the garrison of -Dunkirk, and when that town was ceded to France in 1662, he was removed in -a similar capacity to Tangier. Here he remained eight years, but, -venturing on a visit to England, his post was bestowed upon another, and -he would have been left without resources had not one of his friends -presented him with the living of Milston, valued at £120 a year. With the -courage of his order he thereupon took a wife, Jane, daughter of Dr. -Nathaniel Gulston, and sister of William Gulston, Bishop of Bristol, by -whom he had six children, three sons and three daughters, all born at -Milston. In 1675 he was made a prebendary of Salisbury Cathedral and -Chaplain-in-Ordinary to the King; and in 1683 he was promoted to the -Deanery of Lichfield, as a reward for his services at Tangier, and out of -consideration of losses which he had sustained by a fire at Milston. His -literary reputation stood high, and it is said that he would have been -made a bishop, if his old zeal for legitimacy had not prompted him to -manifest in the Convocation of 1689 his hostility to the Revolution. He -died in 1703. - -Lancelot was a writer at once voluminous and lively. In the latter part of -his life he produced several treatises on theological subjects, the most -popular of which was called _An Introduction to the Sacrament_. This book -passed through many editions. The doctrine it contains leans rather to the -Low Church side. But much the most characteristic of his writings were his -works on Mahommedanism and Judaism, the results of his studies during his -residence in Barbary. These show not only considerable industry and -research and powers of shrewd observation, but that genuine literary -faculty which enables a writer to leave upon a subject of a general nature -the impression of his own character. While there is nothing forced or -exaggerated in his historical style, a vein of allegory runs through the -narrative of the _Revolutions of the Kingdoms of Fez and Morocco_, which -must have had a piquant flavour for the orthodox English reader of that -day. Recollections of the Protectorate would have taken nothing of its -vividness from the portrait of the Moorish priest who "began to grow into -reputation with the people by reason of his high pretensions to piety and -fervent zeal for their law, illustrated by a stubborn rigidity of -conversation and outward sanctity of life." When the Zeriffe, with -ambitious designs on the throne, sent his sons on a pilgrimage to Mecca, -the religious buffooneries practised by the young men must have recalled -to the reader circumstances more recent and personal than those which the -author was apparently describing. "Much was the reverence and reputation -of holiness which they thereby acquired among the superstitious people, -who could hardly be kept from kissing their garments and adoring them as -saints, while they failed not in their parts, but acted as much devotion -as high contemplative looks, deep sighs, tragical gestures, and other -passionate interjections of holiness could express. 'Allah, allah!' was -their doleful note, their sustenance the people's alms." And when these -impostors had inveigled the King of Fez into a religious war, the -description of those who "mistrusted their own safety, and began, but too -late, to repent their approving of an armed hypocrisy," was not more -applicable to the rulers of Barbary than to the people of England. "Puffed -up with their successes, they forgot their obedience, and these saints -denied the king the fifth part of their spoils.... By which it appeared -that they took up arms, not out of love for their country and zeal for -their religion, but out of desire of rule." There is, indeed, nothing in -these utterances which need have prevented the writer from consistently -promoting the Revolution of 1688; yet his principles seem to have carried -him far in the opposite direction; and it is interesting to remember that -the assertor in Convocation of the doctrine of indefeasible hereditary -right was the father of the author of the _Whig Examiner_ and the -_Freeholder_. However decidedly Joseph may have dissented from his -father's political creed, we know that he entertained admiration and -respect for his memory, and that death alone prevented him from -completing the monument afterwards erected in Lancelot's honour in -Lichfield Cathedral. - -Of Addison's mother nothing of importance is recorded. His second brother, -Gulston, became Governor of Fort St. George, in the East Indies; and the -third, Lancelot, followed in Joseph's footsteps so far as to obtain a -Fellowship at Magdalen College, Oxford. His sisters, Jane and Anna, died -young; but Dorothy was twice married, and Swift records in her honour that -she was "a kind of wit, and very like her brother." We may readily believe -that a writer so lively as Lancelot would have had clever children, but -Steele was perhaps carried away by the zeal of friendship or the love of -epigram when he said, in his dedication to the _Drummer_: "Mr. Dean -Addison left behind him four children, each of whom, for excellent talents -and singular perfections, was as much above the ordinary world as their -brother Joseph was above them." But that Steele had a sincere admiration -for the whole family is sufficiently shown by his using them as an example -in one of his early _Tatlers_: - - "I remember among all my acquaintance but one man whom I have thought - to live with his children with equanimity and a good grace. He had - three sons and one daughter, whom he bred with all the care imaginable - in a liberal and ingenuous way. I have often heard him say he had the - weakness to love one much better than the other, but that he took as - much pains to correct that as any other criminal passion that could - arise in his mind. His method was to make it the only pretension in - his children to his favour to be kind to each other, and he would tell - them that he who was the best brother he would reckon the best son. - This turned their thoughts into an emulation for the superiority in - kind and tender affection towards each other. The boys behaved - themselves very early with a manly friendship; and their sister, - instead of the gross familiarities and impertinent freedoms in - behaviour usual in other houses, was always treated by them with as - much complaisance as any other young lady of their acquaintance. It - was an unspeakable pleasure to visit or sit at a meal in that family. - I have often seen the old man's heart flow at his eyes with joy upon - occasions which would appear indifferent to such as were strangers to - the turn of his mind; but a very slight accident, wherein he saw his - children's good-will to one another, created in him the god-like - pleasure of loving them because they loved each other. This great - command of himself in hiding his first impulse to partiality at last - improved to a steady justice towards them, and that which at first was - but an expedient to correct his weakness was afterwards the measure of - his virtue."[5] - -This, no doubt, is the set description of a moralist, and to an age in -which the liberty of manners has grown into something like license it may -savour of formalism and priggishness; but when we remember that the writer -was one of the most warm-hearted of men, and that the subject of his -panegyric was himself, full of vivacity and impulse, it must be admitted -that the picture which it gives us of the Addison family in the rectory of -Milston is a particularly amiable one. - -Though the eighteenth century had little of that feeling for natural -beauty which distinguishes our own, a man of Addison's imagination could -hardly fail to be impressed by the character of the scenery in which his -childhood was passed. No one who has travelled on a summer's day across -Salisbury plain, with its vast canopy of sky and its open tracts of -undulating downland, relieved by no shadows except such as are thrown by -the passing cloud, the grazing sheep, and the great circle of Stonehenge, -will forget the delightful sense of refreshment and repose produced by the -descent into the valley of the Avon. The sounds of human life rising from -the villages after the long solitude of the plain, the shade of the deep -woods, the coolness of the river, like all streams rising in the chalk, -clear and peaceful, are equally delicious to the sense and the -imagination. It was, doubtless, the recollection of these scenes that -inspired Addison in his paraphrase of the twenty-third Psalm: - - "The Lord my pasture shall prepare, - And feed me with a shepherd's care. - - * * * * * - - When in the sultry glebe I faint, - Or on the thirsty mountain pant, - To fertile vales and dewy meads - My weary wandering steps he leads, - Where peaceful rivers, soft and slow, - Amid the verdant landscape flow." - -At Amesbury he was first sent to school, his master being one Nash; and -here, too, he probably met with the first recorded adventure of his life. -It is said that having committed some fault, and being fearful of the -consequences, he ran away from school, and, taking up his abode in a -hollow tree, maintained himself as he could till he was discovered and -brought back to his parents. He was removed from Amesbury to Salisbury, -and thence to the Grammar School at Lichfield, where he is said to have -been the leader in a "barring out." From Lichfield he passed to the -Charter House, then under the charge of Dr. Ellis, a man of taste and -scholarship. The Charter House at that period was, after Westminster, the -best-known school in England, and here was laid the foundation of that -sound classical taste which perfected the style of the essays in the -_Spectator_. - -Macaulay labours with much force and ingenuity to prove that Addison's -classical acquirements were only superficial, and, in his usual -epigrammatic manner, hazards the opinion that "his knowledge of Greek, -though doubtless such as was, in his time, thought respectable at Oxford, -was evidently less than that which many lads now carry away every year -from Eton and Rugby." That Addison was not a scholar of the class of -Bentley or Porson may be readily admitted. But many scattered allusions in -his works prove that his acquaintance with the Greek poets of every -period, if cursory, was wide and intelligent: he was sufficiently master -of the language thoroughly to understand the spirit of what he read; he -undertook while at Oxford a translation of Herodotus, and one of the -papers in the _Spectator_ is a direct imitation of a _jeu d'esprit_ of -Lucian's. The Eton or Rugby boy who, in these days, with a normal appetite -for cricket and football, acquired an equal knowledge of Greek literature, -would certainly be somewhat of a prodigy. - -No doubt, however, Addison's knowledge of the Latin poets was, as Macaulay -infers, far more extensive and profound. It would have been strange had it -been otherwise. The influence of the classical side of the Italian -Renaissance was now at its height, and wherever those ideas became -paramount Latin composition was held in at least as much esteem as poetry -in the vernacular. Especially was this the case in England, where certain -affinities of character and temperament made it easy for writers to adopt -Roman habits of thought. Latin verse composition soon took firm root in -the public schools and universities, so that clever boys of the period -were tolerably familiar with most of the minor Roman poets. Pope, in the -Fourth Book of the _Dunciad_, vehemently attacked the tradition as -confining the mind to the study of words rather than of things; but he had -himself had no experience of a public school, and only those who fail to -appreciate the influence of Latin verse composition on the style of our -own greatest orators, and of poets like Milton and Gray, will be inclined -to undervalue it as an instrument of social and literary training. - -Proficiency in this art may at least be said to have laid the foundation -of Addison's fortunes. Leaving the Charter House in 1687, at the early age -of fifteen, he was entered at Queen's College, Oxford, and remained a -member of that society for two years, when a copy of his Latin verses fell -into the hands of Dr. Lancaster, then Fellow and afterwards Provost of the -College. Struck with their excellence, Lancaster used his influence to -obtain for him a demyship at Magdalen. The subject of this fortunate set -of verses was "Inauguratio Regis Gulielmi," from which fact we may -reasonably infer that even in his boyhood his mind had acquired a Whig -bias. Whatever inclination he may have had in this direction would have -been confirmed by the associations of his new college. The fluctuations of -opinion in Magdalen had been frequent and extraordinary. Towards the close -of Elizabeth's reign it was notorious for its Calvinism, but under the -Chancellorship of Laud it appears to have adopted, with equal ardour, the -cause of Arminianism, for it was among the colleges that offered the -stoutest opposition to the Puritan visitors in 1647-48. The despotic -tendencies of James II., however, again cooled its loyalty, and its -spirited resistance to the king's order for the election of a Roman -Catholic President had given a mortal blow to the Stuart dynasty. Hough -was now President, but in consequence of the dispute with the king there -had been no election of demies in 1688, so that twice the usual number was -chosen in the following year, and the occasion was distinguished by the -name of the "golden election." From Magdalen Addison proceeded to his -master's degree in 1693; the College elected him probationary Fellow in -1697, and actual Fellow the year after. He retained his Fellowship till -1711. - -Of his tastes, habits, and friendships at Oxford there are few records. -Among his acquaintance were Boulter, afterwards Archbishop of -Dublin--whose memory is unenviably perpetuated, in company with Ambrose -Phillips, in Pope's _Epistle to Arbuthnot_, - - "Does not one table Bavius still admit, - Still to one Bishop Phillips seem a wit?"-- - -and possibly the famous Sacheverell.[6] He is said to have shown in the -society of Magdalen some of the shyness that afterwards distinguished him; -he kept late hours, and read chiefly after dinner. The walk under the -well-known elms by the Cherwell is still connected with his name. Though -he probably acted as tutor in the college, the greater part of his quiet -life at the University was doubtless occupied in study. A proof of his -early maturity is seen in the fact that, in his nineteenth year, a young -man of birth and fortune, Mr. Rushout, who was being educated at Magdalen, -was placed under his charge. - -His reputation as a scholar and a man of taste soon extended itself to the -world of letters in London. In 1693, being then in his twenty-second year, -he wrote his _Account of the Greatest English Poets_; and about the same -time he addressed a short copy of verses to Dryden, complimenting him on -the enduring vigour of his poetical faculty, as shown in his translations -of Virgil and other Latin poets, some of which had recently appeared in -Tonson's _Miscellany_. The old poet appears to have been highly gratified, -and to have welcomed the advances thus made to him, for he returned -Addison's compliment by bestowing high and not unmerited praise on the -translation of the Fourth Book of the _Georgics_, which the latter soon -after undertook, and by printing, as a preface to his own translation, a -discourse written by Addison on the _Georgics_, as well as arguments to -most of the books of the _Æneid_. - -Through Dryden, no doubt, he became acquainted with Jacob Tonson. The -father of English publishing had for some time been a well-known figure in -the literary world. He had purchased the copyright of _Paradise Lost_; he -had associated himself with Dryden in publishing before the Revolution two -volumes of _Miscellanies_; encouraged by the success which these obtained, -he put the poet, in 1693, on some translations of Juvenal and Persius, and -two new volumes of _Miscellanies_; while in 1697 he urged him to undertake -a translation of the whole of the works of Virgil. Observing how strongly -the public taste set towards the great classical writers, he was anxious -to employ men of ability in the work of turning them into English; and it -appears from existing correspondence that he engaged Addison, while the -latter was at Oxford, to superintend a translation of Herodotus. He also -suggested a translation of Ovid. Addison undertook to procure coadjutors -for the work of translating the Greek historian. He himself actually -translated the books called _Polymnia_ and _Urania_, but for some -unexplained reason the work was never published. For Ovid he seems, on the -whole, to have had less inclination. At Tonson's instance he translated -the Second Book of the _Metamorphoses_, which was first printed in the -volume of _Miscellanies_ that appeared in 1697; but he wrote to the -publisher that "Ovid had so many silly stories with his good ones that he -was more tedious to translate than a better poet would be." His study of -Ovid, however, was of the greatest use in developing his critical faculty; -the excesses and want of judgment in that poet forced him to reflect, and -his observations on the style of his author anticipate his excellent -remarks on the difference between True and False Wit in the sixty-second -number of the _Spectator_. - -Whoever, indeed, compares these notes with the _Essay on the Georgics_, -and with the opinions expressed in the _Account of the English Poets_, -will be convinced that the foundations of his critical method were laid at -this period (1697). In the _Essay on the Georgics_ he seems to be timid in -the presence of Virgil's superiority; his _Account of the English Poets_, -besides being impregnated with the principles of taste prevalent after the -Restoration, shows deficient powers of perception and appreciation. The -name of Shakespeare is not mentioned in it, Dryden and Congreve alone -being selected to represent the drama. Chaucer is described as "a merry -bard," whose humour has become obsolete through time and change; while the -rich pictorial fancy of the _Faery Queen_ is thus described: - - "Old Spenser next, warmed with poetic rage, - In ancient tales amused a barbarous age-- - An age that yet uncultivate and rude, - Where'er the poet's fancy led pursued, - Through pathless fields and unfrequented floods, - To dens of dragons and enchanted woods. - But now the mystic tale, that pleased of yore, - Can charm an understanding age no more; - The long-spun allegories fulsome grow, - While the dull moral lies too plain below." - -According to Pope--always a suspicious witness where Addison is -concerned--he had not read Spenser when he wrote this criticism on him.[7] - -Milton, as a legitimate successor of the classics, is of course -appreciated, but not at all after the elaborate fashion of the -_Spectator_; to Dryden, the most distinguished poet of the day, deserved -compliments are paid, but their value is lessened by the exaggerated -opinion which the writer entertains of Cowley, who is described as a -"mighty genius," and is praised for the inexhaustible riches of his -imagination. Throughout the poem, in fact, we observe a remarkable -confusion of various veins of thought; an unjust depreciation of the -Gothic grandeur of the older English poets; a just admiration for the -Greek and Roman authors; a sense of the necessity of good sense and -regularity in writings composed for an "understanding age;" and at the -same time a lingering taste for the forced invention and far-fetched -conceits that mark the decay of the spirit of mediæval chivalry. - -With the judgments expressed in this performance it is instructive to -compare such criticisms on Shakespeare as we find in No. 42 of the -_Spectator_, the papers on "Chevy Chase" (73, 74), and particularly the -following passage: - - "As true wit consists in the resemblance of ideas, and false wit in - the resemblance of words, according to the foregoing instances, there - is another kind of wit which consists partly in the resemblance of - ideas and partly in the resemblance of words, which, for distinction's - sake, I shall call mixed wit. This kind of wit is that which abounds - in Cowley more than in any author that ever wrote. Mr. Waller has - likewise a great deal of it. Mr. Dryden is very sparing in it. Milton - has a genius much above it. _Spenser is in the same class with - Milton._ The Italians even in their epic poetry are full of it. - Monsieur Boileau, who formed himself upon the ancient poets, has - everywhere rejected it with scorn. If we look after mixed wit among - the Greeks, we shall find it nowhere but in the epigrammatists. There - are, indeed, some strokes of it in the little poem ascribed to Musæus, - which by that, as well as many other marks, betrays itself to be a - modern composition. If we look into the Latin writers we find none of - this mixed wit in Virgil, Lucretius, or Catullus; very little in - Horace, but a great deal of it in Ovid, and scarce anything else in - Martial." - -The stepping-stone from the immaturity of the early criticisms in the -_Account of the Greatest English Poets_ to the finished ease of the -_Spectator_ is to be found in the notes to the translation of Ovid.[8] - -The time came when he was obliged to form a decision affecting the entire -course of his life. Tonson, who had a wide acquaintance, no doubt -introduced him to Congreve and the leading men of letters in London, and -through them he was presented to Somers and Montague. Those ministers -perhaps persuaded him, as a point of etiquette, to write, in 1695, his -_Address to King William_, a poem composed in a vein of orthodox -hyperbole, all of which must have been completely thrown away on that most -unpoetical of monarchs. Yet in spite of those seductions Addison lingered -at Oxford. To retain his Fellowship it was necessary for him to take -orders. Had he done so, there can be no doubt that his literary skill and -his value as a political partizan would have opened for him a road to the -highest preferment. At that time the clergy were far from thinking it -unbecoming to their cloth to fight in the political arena or to take part -in journalism. Swift would have been advanced to a bishopric, as a reward -for his political services, if it had not been for the prejudice -entertained towards him by Queen Anne; Boulter, rector of St. Saviour's, -Southwark, having made himself conspicuous by editing a paper called the -_Freethinker_, was raised to the Primacy of Ireland; Hoadley, the -notorious Bishop of Bangor, edited the _London Journal_; the honours that -were awarded to two men of such second-rate intellectual capacity would -hardly have been denied to Addison. He was inclined in this direction by -the example and advice of his father, who was now Dean of Lichfield, and -who was urgent on his son to rid himself of the pecuniary embarrassments -in which he was involved by embracing the Church as a profession. A few -years before he had himself seemed to look upon the Church as his future -sphere. In his _Account of the Greatest English Poets_ he says: - - "I leave the arts of poetry and verse - To them that practise them with more success. - Of greater truths I'll now propose to tell, - And so at once, dear friend and muse, farewell." - -Had he followed up his intention we might have known the name of Addison -as that of an artful controversialist, and perhaps as a famous writer of -sermons; but we should, in all probability, have never heard of the -_Spectator_. - -Fortunately for English letters, other influences prevailed to give a -different direction to his fortunes. It is true that Tickell, Addison's -earliest biographer, states that his determination not to take orders was -the result of his own habitual self-distrust, and of a fear of the -responsibilities which the clerical office would involve. But Steele, who -was better acquainted with his friend's private history, on reading -Tickell's Memoir, addressed a letter to Congreve on the subject, in which -he says: - - "These, you know very well, were not the reasons which made Mr. - Addison turn his thoughts to the civil world; and, as you were the - instrument of his becoming acquainted with Lord Halifax, I doubt not - but you remember the warm instances that noble lord made to the head - of the College not to insist upon Mr. Addison's going into orders. His - arguments were founded upon the general pravity and corruption of men - of business, who wanted liberal education. And I remember, as if I had - read the letter yesterday, that my lord ended with a compliment that, - however he might be represented as a friend to the Church, he never - would do it any other injury than keeping Mr. Addison out of it." - -No doubt the real motive of the interest in Addison shown by Lord Halifax, -at that time known as Charles Montague, was an anxiety which he shared -with all the leading statesmen of the period, and of which more will be -said presently, to secure for his party the services of the ablest -writers. Finding his _protégé_ as yet hardly qualified to transact affairs -of State, he joined with Lord Somers, who had also fixed his eyes on -Addison, in soliciting for him from the Crown, in 1699, a pension of £300 -a year, which might enable him to supplement his literary accomplishments -with the practical experience of travel. Addison naturally embraced the -offer. He looked forward to studying the political institutions of foreign -countries, to seeing the spots of which he had read in his favourite -classical authors, and to meeting the most famous men of letters on the -Continent. - -It is characteristic both of his own tastes and of his age that he seems -to have thought his best passport to intellectual society abroad would be -his Latin poems. His verses on the _Peace of Ryswick_, written in 1697 -and dedicated to Montague, had already procured him great reputation, and -had been praised by Edmund Smith--a high authority--as "the best Latin -poem since the _Æneid_." This gave him the opportunity of collecting his -various compositions of the same kind, and in 1699 he published from the -Sheldonian Press a second volume of the _Musæ Anglicanæ_--the first having -appeared in 1691--containing poems by various Oxford scholars. Among the -contributors were Hannes, one of the many scholarly physicians of the -period; J. Philips, the author of the _Splendid Shilling_; and Alsop, a -prominent antagonist of Bentley, whose Horatian humour is celebrated by -Pope in the _Dunciad_.[9] - -But the most interesting of the names in the volume is that of the once -celebrated Edmond, commonly called "Rag," Smith, author of the _Ode on the -Death of Dr. Pocock_, who seems to have been among Addison's intimate -acquaintance, and deserves to be recollected in connection with him on -account of a certain similarity in their genius and the extraordinary -difference in their fortunes. "Rag" was a man of fine accomplishments and -graceful humour, but, like other scholars of the same class, indolent and -licentious. In spite of great indulgence extended to him by the -authorities of Christ Church, he was expelled from the University in -consequence of his irregularities. His friends stood by him, and, through -the interest of Addison, a proposal was made to him to undertake a history -of the Revolution, which, however, from political scruples he felt himself -obliged to decline. Like Addison, he wrote a tragedy modelled on classical -lines; but, as it had no political significance, it only pleased the -critics, without, like "Cato," interesting the public. Like Addison, too, -he had an opportunity of profiting by the patronage of Halifax, but -laziness or whim prevented him from keeping an appointment which the -latter had made with him, and caused him to miss a place worth £300 a -year. Addison, by his own exertions, rose to posts of honour and profit, -and towards the close of his life became Secretary of State. Smith envied -his advancement, and, ignoring the fact that his own failure was entirely -due to himself, murmured at fortune for leaving him in poverty. Yet he -estimated his wants at £600 a year, and died of indulgence when he can -scarcely have been more than forty years of age. - -Addison's compositions in the _Musæ Anglicanæ_ are eight in number. All of -them are distinguished by the ease and flow of the versification, but they -are generally wanting in originality. The best of them is the -_Pygmæo-Gerano-Machia_, which is also interesting as showing traces of -that rich vein of humour which Addison worked out in the _Tatler_ and -_Spectator_. The mock-heroic style in prose and verse was sedulously -cultivated in England throughout the eighteenth century. Swift, Pope, -Arbuthnot, and Fielding, developed it in various forms; but Addison's -Latin poem is perhaps the first composition in which the fine fancy and -invention afterwards shown in the _Rape of the Lock_ and _Gulliver's -Travels_ conspicuously displayed itself. - -A literary success of this kind at that epoch gave a writer a wider -reputation than he could gain by compositions in his own language. Armed, -therefore, with copies of the _Musæ Anglicanæ_ for presentation to -scholars, and with Halifax's recommendatory letters to men of political -distinction, Addison started for the Continent. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -ADDISON ON HIS TRAVELS. - - -Travelling in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries involved an amount -of thought and precaution which would have seemed inconvenient to the -tourist accustomed to abandon himself to the authority of guide-books, -couriers, and railway companies. By ardent spirits like Roderick Random it -was regarded as the sphere of enterprise and fortune, and not without -reason, in days when adventures were to be met with on almost every road -in the country, and in the streets and inns of the towns. The graver -portion of society, on the other hand, considered it as part of the -regular course of education through which every young man of position -ought to pass before entering into active life. French was the universally -recognised language of diplomacy. French manners and conversation were -considered to be the best school for politeness, while Italy was held in -the highest respect by the northern nations as the source of revived art -and letters. Some of the most distinguished Englishmen of the time looked, -it is true, with little favour on this fashionable training. "Lord -Cowper," says Spence, on the information of Dr. Conybeare, "on his -death-bed ordered that his son should never travel (it is by the absolute -desire of the Queen that he does). He ordered this from a good deal of -observation on its effects; he had found that there was little to be -hoped, and much to be feared, from travelling. Atwell, who is the young -lord's tutor abroad, gives but a very discouraging account of it, too, in -his letters, and seems to think that people are sent out too young, and -are too hasty to find any great good from it." - -On some of the stronger and more enthusiastic minds the chief effect of -the grand tour was to produce a violent hatred of all foreign manners. -Dennis, the critic, for instance, who, after leaving Cambridge, spent some -time on the Continent, returned with a confirmed dislike to the French, -and ostentatiously displayed in his writings how much he held "dragoons -and wooden shoes in scorn;" and it is amusing to find Addison at a later -date making his Tory fox-hunter declare this anti-Gallican temper to be -the main fruits of foreign travel. - -But, in general, what was intended to be a school for manners and -political instruction proved rather a source of unsettlement and -dissipation; and the vigorous and glowing lines in which Pope makes the -tutor describe to Dullness the doings of the "young Æneas" abroad, may be -taken as a faithful picture of the travelled pupil of the period: - - "Intrepid then o'er seas and land he flew; - Europe he saw, and Europe saw him too. - There all thy gifts and graces we display, - Thou, only thou, directing all our way! - To where the Seine, obsequious as she runs, - Pours at great Bourbon's feet her silken sons; - Or Tyber, now no longer Roman, rolls, - Vain of Italian arts, Italian souls: - To happy convents bosomed deep in vines, - Where slumber abbots purple as their wines: - To isles of fragrance, lily-silvered vales, - Diffusing languor in the panting gales: - To lands of singing or of dancing slaves, - Love-whispering woods, and lute-resounding waves. - But chief her shrine where naked Venus keeps, - And Cupids ride the lion of the deeps; - Where, eased of fleets, the Adriatic main - Wafts the smooth eunuch and enamoured swain. - Led by my hand, he sauntered Europe round, - And gathered every vice on Christian ground; - Saw every court, heard every king declare - His royal sense of operas or the fair; - The stews and palace equally explored, - Intrigued with glory, and with spirit whored; - Tried all _hors-d'oeuvres_, all liqueurs defined, - Judicious drank, and greatly daring dined; - Dropped the dull lumber of the Latin store, - Spoiled his own language, and acquired no more; - All classic learning lost on classic ground; - And last turned air, the echo of a sound." - -It is needless to say that Addison's experiences of travel were of a very -different kind. He left England in his twenty-eighth year, with a mind -well equipped from a study of the best authors, and with the intention of -qualifying himself for political employment at home, after familiarising -himself with the languages and manners of foreign countries. His sojourn -abroad extended over four years, and his experience was more than usually -varied and comprehensive. Crossing from Dover to Calais, some time in the -summer of 1699, he spent nearly eighteen months in France making himself -master of the language. In December, 1700, he embarked at Marseilles for a -tour in Italy, and visited in succession the following places: Monaco, -Genoa, Pavia, Milan, Brescia, Verona, Padua, Venice, Ferrara, Ravenna, -Rimini, S. Marino, Pesaro, Fano, Sinigaglia, Ancona, Loreto, Rome (where, -as it was his intention to return, he only visited St. Peter's and the -Pantheon), Naples, Capri, whence he came back to Rome by sea, the various -towns in the neighbourhood of Rome, Siena, Leghorn, Pisa, Lucca, Florence, -Bologna, Modena, Parma, and Turin. Thus, in the course of this journey, -which lasted exactly a twelvemonth, he twice crossed the Apennines, and -made acquaintance with all the more important cities in the northern part -of the Peninsula. In December, 1701, he passed over Mont Cenis to Geneva, -proceeding then by Fribourg, Berne, Soleure, Zurich, St. Gall, Linden, -Insbruck, Hall, to Vienna, where he arrived in the autumn of 1702. After -making a brief stay in the Austrian capital he turned his face homewards, -and having visited the Protestant cities of Germany, and made a rather -longer stay in Hamburg than in any other, he reached Holland in the spring -of 1703, and remained in that country till his return to England, some -time in the autumn of the same year. - -During his journey he made notes for his _Remarks on Italy_, which he -published immediately on his return home, and he amused himself, while -crossing Mont Cenis, with composing his _Letter to Lord Halifax_, which -contains, perhaps, the best verses he ever wrote. Though the ground over -which he passed was well trodden, and though he possessed none of the -special knowledge which gives value to the observations of travellers like -Arthur Young, yet his remarks on the people and places he saw are the -product of an original mind, and his illustrations of his route from the -Latin poets are remarkably happy and graceful. It is interesting, also, to -observe how many of the thoughts and suggestions which occurred to him on -the road are afterwards worked up into papers for the _Spectator_. - -When Addison landed in France, in 1699, the power of Louis XIV., so long -the determined enemy of the English Revolution of 1688, had passed its -climax. The Peace of Ryswick, by which the hopes of the Jacobites were -finally demolished, was two years old. The king, disappointed in his -dreams of boundless military glory, had fallen into a fit of devotion, and -Addison, arriving from England with a very imperfect knowledge of the -language, was astonished to find the whole of French literature saturated -with the royal taste. "As for the state of learning," says he, in a letter -to Montague, dated August, 1699, "there is no book comes out at present -that has not something in it of an air of devotion. Dacier has bin forced -to prove his Plato a very good Christian before he ventures upon his -translation, and has so far comply'd with y{e} tast of the age that his -whole book is overrun with texts of Scripture, and y{e} notion of -præ-existence, supposed to be stolen from two verses of y{e} prophets. -Nay, y{e} humour is grown so universal that it is got among y{e} poets, -who are every day publishing Lives of Saints and Legends in Rhime." - -Finding, perhaps, that the conversation at the capital was not very -congenial to his taste, he seems to have hurried on to Blois, a town then -noted for the purity with which its inhabitants spoke the French language, -and where he had determined to make his temporary abode. His only record -of his first impressions of Paris is a casual criticism of "y{e} King's -Statue that is lately set up in the Place Vendome." He visited, however, -both Versailles and Fontainebleau, and the preference which he gives to -the latter (in a letter to Congreve) is interesting, as anticipating that -taste for natural as opposed to artificial beauty which he afterwards -expressed in the _Spectator_. - - "I don't believe, as good a poet as you are, that you can make finer - Lanskips than those about the King's houses, or with all yo{r} - descriptions build a more magnificent palace than Versailles. I am, - however, so singular as to prefer Fontainebleau to the rest. It is - situated among rocks and woods that give you a fine variety of Savage - prospects. The King has Humoured the Genius of the place, and only - made of so much art as is necessary to Help and regulate Nature, - without reforming her too much. The Cascades seem to break through the - Clefts and Cracks of Rocks that are covered over with Moss, and look - as if they were piled upon one another by Accident. There is an - artificial wildness in the Meadows, Walks, and Canals, and y{e} - Garden, instead of a Wall, is Fenced on the Lower End by a Natural - Mound of Rock-work that strikes the eye very agreeably. For my part, I - think there is something more charming in these rude heaps of Stone - than in so many Statues, and wou'd as soon see a River winding through - Woods and Meadows as when it is tossed up in such a variety of figures - at Versailles."[10] - -Here and there, too, his correspondence exhibits traces of that delicate -vein of ridicule in which he is without a rival, as in the following -inimitable description of Le Brun's paintings at Versailles: - - "The painter has represented his most Xtian Majesty under y{e} figure - of Jupiter throwing thunderbolts all about the ceiling, and striking - terror into y{e} Danube and Rhine, that lie astonished and blasted a - little above the Cornice." - -Of his life at Blois a very slight sketch has been preserved by the Abbe -Philippeaux, one of the many gossipping informants from whom Spence -collected his anecdotes: - - "Mr. Addison stayed above a year at Blois. He would rise as early as - between two and three in summer, and lie abed till between eleven and - twelve in the depth of winter. He was untalkative while here, and - often thoughtful; sometimes so lost in thought that I have come into - his room and have stayed five minutes there before he has known - anything of it. He had his masters generally at supper with him, kept - very little company beside, and had no amour whilst here that I know - of, and I think I should have known it if he had had any." - -The following characteristic letter to a gentleman of Blois, with whom he -seems to have had an altercation, is interesting as showing the mixture of -coolness and dignity, the "blood and judgment well commingled" which -Hamlet praised in Horatio, and which are conspicuous in all Addison's -actions as well as in his writings: - - "Sir,--I am always as slow in making an Enemy as a Friend, and am - therefore very ready to come to an Accommodation with you; but as for - any satisfaction, I don't think it is due on either side when y{e} - Affront is mutual. You know very well that according to y{e} opinion - of y{e} world a man would as soon be called a Knave as a Fool, and I - believe most people w{d} be rather thought to want Legs than Brains. - But I suppose whatever we said in y{e} heat of discourse is not y{e} - real opinion we have of each other, since otherwise you would have - scorned to subscribe yourself as I do at present, S{r}, y{r} very, - etc. - - A. Mons{r} L'Espagnol, - Blois, 10{br} 1699." - -The length of Addison's sojourn at Blois seems to have been partly caused -by the difficulty he experienced, owing to the defectiveness of his -memory, in mastering the language. Finding himself at last able to -converse easily, he returned to Paris some time in the autumn of 1700, in -order to see a little of polite society there before starting on his -travels in Italy. He found the best company in the capital among the men -of letters, and he makes especial mention of Malebranche, whom he -describes as solicitous about the adequate rendering of his works into -English; and of Boileau, who, having now survived almost all his literary -friends, seems, in his conversation with Addison, to have been even more -than usually splenetic in his judgments on his contemporaries. The old -poet and critic was, however, propitiated with the present of the _Musæ -Anglicanæ_; and, according to Tickell, said "that he did not question -there were excellent compositions in the native language of a country that -possessed the Roman genius in so eminent a degree." - -In general, Addison's remarks on the French character are not -complimentary. He found the vanity of the people so elated by the -elevation of the Duke of Anjou to the throne of Spain that they were -insupportable, and he felt no reluctance to quit France for Italy. His -observations on the national manners, as seen at Blois, are -characteristic: - - "Truly, by what I have yet seen, they are the Happiest nation in the - world. 'Tis not in the pow'r of Want or Slavery to make 'em miserable. - There is nothing to be met with in the Country but Mirth and Poverty. - Ev'ry one sings, laughs, and starves. Their Conversation is generally - Agreeable; for if they have any Wit or Sense they are sure to show it. - They never mend upon a Second meeting, but use all the freedom and - familiarity at first Sight that a long Intimacy or Abundance of wine - can scarce draw from an Englishman. Their Women are perfect Mistresses - in this Art of showing themselves to the best Advantage. They are - always gay and sprightly, and set off y{e} worst faces in Europe with - y{e} best airs. Ev'ry one knows how to give herself as charming a look - and posture as S{r} Godfrey Kneller c{d} draw her in."[11] - -He embarked from Marseilles for Genoa in December, 1700, having as his -companion Edward Wortley Montague, whom Pope satirises under the various -names of Shylock, Worldly, and Avidien. It is unnecessary to follow him -step by step in his travels, but the reader of his _Letter to Lord -Halifax_ may still enjoy the delight and enthusiasm to which he gives -utterance on finding himself among the scenes described in his favourite -authors: - - "Poetic fields encompass me around, - And still I seem to tread on classic ground; - For here the Muse so oft her harp has strung, - That not a mountain rears its head unsung; - Renowned in verse each shady thicket grows, - And every stream in heavenly numbers flows."[12] - -The phrase "classic ground," which has become proverbial, is first used in -these verses, and, as will have been observed, Pope repeats it with -evident reference to the above passage in his satire on the travels of the -"young Æneas." Addison seems to have carried the Latin poets with him, and -his quotations from them are abundant and apposite. When he is driven into -the harbour at Monaco, he remembers Lucan's description of its safety and -shelter; as he passes under Monte Circeo, he feels that Virgil's -description of Æneas's voyage by the same spot can never be sufficiently -admired; he recalls, as he crosses the Apennines, the fine lines of -Claudian recording the march of Honorius from Ravenna to Rome; and he -delights to think that at the falls of the Velino he can still see the -"angry goddess" of the _Æneid_ (Alecto) "thus sinking, as it were, in a -tempest, and plunging herself into Hell" amidst such a scene of horror and -confusion. - -His enthusiastic appreciation of the classics, which caused him in judging -any work of art to look, in the first place, for regularity of design and -simplicity of effect, shows it self characteristically in his remarks on -the Lombard and German styles of architecture in Italy. Of Milan Cathedral -he speaks without much admiration, but he was impressed with the wonders -of the Certosa near Pavia. "I saw," says he, "between Pavia and Milan the -convent of the Carthusians, which is very spacious and beautiful. Their -church is very fine and curiously adorned, _but_ of a Gothic structure." -His most interesting criticism, however, is that on the Duomo at Siena: - - "When a man sees the prodigious pains and expense that our forefathers - have been at in these barbarous buildings, one cannot but fancy to - himself what miracles of architecture they would have left us had they - only been instructed in the right way; for, when the devotion of those - ages was much warmer than that of the present, and the riches of the - people much more at the disposal of the priests, there was so much - money consumed on these Gothic cathedrals as would have finished a - greater variety of noble buildings than have been raised either before - or since that time. One would wonder to see the vast labour that has - been laid out on this single cathedral. The very spouts are loaden - with ornaments, the windows are formed like so many scenes of - perspective, with a multitude of little pillars retiring behind one - another, the great columns are finely engraven with fruits and - foliage, that run twisting about them from the very top to the bottom; - the whole body of the church is chequered with different lays of black - and white marble, the pavement curiously cut out in designs and - Scripture stories, and the front covered with such a variety of - figures, and overrun with so many mazes and little labyrinths of - sculpture, that nothing in the world can make a prettier show to those - who prefer false beauties and _affected ornaments_ to a noble and - majestic simplicity."[13] - -Addison had not reached that large liberality in criticism afterwards -attained by Sir Joshua Reynolds, who, while insisting that in all art -there was but _one_ true style, nevertheless allowed very high merit to -what he called the _characteristic_ styles. Sir Joshua would never have -fallen into the error of imputing affectation to such simple and honest -workmen as the early architects of Northern Italy. The effects of -Addison's classical training are also very visible in his descriptions of -natural scenery. There is in these nothing of that craving melancholy -produced by a sense of the infinity of nature which came into vogue after -the French Revolution; no projection of the feelings of the spectator into -the external scene on which he gazes; nor, on the other hand, is there any -attempt to rival the art of the painter by presenting a landscape in words -instead of in colours. He looks on nature with the same clear sight as the -Greek and Roman writers, and in describing a scene he selects those -particulars in it which he thinks best adapted to arouse pleasurable -images in the mind of the reader. Take, for instance, the following -excellent description of his passage over the Apennines: - - "The fatigue of our crossing the Apennines, and of our whole journey - from Loretto to Rome, was very agreeably relieved by the variety of - scenes we passed through. For, not to mention the rude prospect of - rocks rising one above another, of the deep gutters worn in the sides - of them by torrents of rain and snow-water, or the long channels of - sand winding about their bottoms that are sometimes filled with so - many rivers, we saw in six days' travelling the several seasons of the - year in their beauty and perfection. We were sometimes shivering on - the top of a bleak mountain, and a little while afterwards basking in - a warm valley, covered with violets and almond-trees in blossom, the - bees already swarming over them, though but in the month of February. - Sometimes our road led us through groves of olives, or by gardens of - oranges, or into several hollow apartments among the rocks and - mountains, that look like so many natural greenhouses, as being always - shaded with a great variety of trees and shrubs that never lose their - verdure."[14] - -Though his thoughts during his travels were largely occupied with objects -chiefly interesting to his taste and imagination, and though he busied -himself with such compositions as the _Epistle from Italy_, the _Dialogue -on Medals_, and the first four acts of _Cato_, he did not forget that his -experience was intended to qualify him for taking part in the affairs of -State. And when he reached Geneva, in December, 1701, the door to a -political career seemed to be on the point of opening. He there learned, -as Tickell informs us, that he had been selected to attend the army under -Prince Eugene as secretary from the King. He accordingly waited in the -city for official confirmation of this intelligence; but his hopes were -doomed to disappointment. William III. died in March, 1702; Halifax, on -whom Addison's prospects chiefly depended, was struck off the Privy -Council by Queen Anne; and the travelling pension ceased with the life of -the sovereign who had granted it. Henceforth he had to trust to his own -resources; and though the loss of his pension does not seem to have -compelled him at once to turn homewards, as he continued on his route to -Vienna, yet an incident that occurred towards the close of his travels -shows that he was prepared to eke out his income by undertaking work that -would have been naturally irksome to him. - -At Rotterdam, on his return towards England, he met with Jacob Tonson, the -bookseller, for whom, as has been said, he had already done some work as a -translator. Tonson was one of the founders of the Kit-Kat Club, and in -that capacity was brought into frequent and intimate connection with the -Whig magnates of the day. Among these was the Duke of Somerset, who, -through his wife, then high in Queen Anne's favour, exercised considerable -influence on the course of affairs. The Duke required a tutor for his -son, Lord Hertford, and Tonson recommended Addison. On the Duke's approval -of the recommendation, the bookseller seems to have communicated with -Addison, who expressed himself, in general terms, as willing to undertake -the charge of Lord Hertford, but desired to know more particulars about -his engagement. These were furnished by the Duke in a letter to Tonson, -and they are certainly a very curious illustration of the manners of the -period. "I ought," says his Grace, "to enter into that affair more freely -and more plainly, and tell you what I propose, and what I hope he will -comply with--viz., I desire he may be more on the account of a companion -in my son's travels than as a governor, and that as such I shall account -him: my meaning is, that neither lodging, travelling, nor diet shall cost -him sixpence, and over and above that my son shall present him at the -year's end with a hundred guineas, as long as he is pleased to continue in -that service to my son, by his personal attendance and advice, in what he -finds necessary during his time of travelling." - -To this not very tempting proposal Addison replied: "I have lately -received one or two advantageous offers of y{e} same nature, but as I -should be very ambitious of executing any of your Grace's commands, so I -can't think of taking y{e} like employ from any other hands. As for y{e} -recompense that is proposed to me, I must take the liberty to assure your -Grace that I should not see my account in it, but in y{e} hope that I have -to recommend myself to your Grace's favour and approbation." This reply -proved highly offensive to the Duke, who seems to have considered his own -offer a magnificent one. "Your letter of the 16th," he writes to Tonson, -on June 22, 1703, "with one from Mr. Addison, came safe to me. You say he -will give me an account of his readiness of complying with my proposal. I -will set down his own words, which are thus: 'As for the recompense that -is proposed to me, I must confess I can by no means see my account in it,' -etc. All the other parts of his letter are compliments to me, which he -thought he was bound in good breeding to write, and as such I have taken -them, and no otherwise; and now I leave you to judge how ready he is to -comply with my proposal. Therefore, I have wrote by this first post to -prevent his coming to England on my account, and have told him plainly -that I must look for another, which I cannot be long a-finding." - -Addison's principal biographer, Miss Aikin, expresses great contempt for -the niggardliness of the Duke, and says that, "Addison must often have -congratulated himself in the sequel on that exertion of proper spirit by -which he had escaped from wasting, in an attendance little better than -servile, three precious years, which he found means of employing so much -more to his own honour and satisfaction, and to the advantage of the -public." Mean as the Duke's offer was, it is nevertheless plain that -Addison really intended to accept it, and, this being so, he can scarcely -be congratulated on having on this occasion displayed his usual tact and -felicity. Two courses appear to have been open to him. He might either -have simply declined the offer "as not finding his account in it," or he -might have accepted it in view of the future advantages which he hoped to -derive from the Duke's "favour and approbation;" in which case he should -have said nothing about finding the "recompense" proposed insufficient. By -the course that he took he contrived to miss an appointment which he seems -to have made up his mind to accept, and he offended an influential -statesman whose favour he was anxious to secure. - -To his pecuniary embarrassments was soon added domestic loss. At Amsterdam -he received news of his father's death, and it may be supposed that the -private business in which he must have been involved in consequence of -this event brought him to England, where he arrived some time in the -autumn of 1703. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -HIS EMPLOYMENT IN AFFAIRS OF STATE. - - -Addison's fortunes were now at their lowest ebb. The party from which he -had looked for preferment was out of office; his chief political patron -was in particular discredit at Court; his means were so reduced that he -was forced to adopt a style of living not much more splendid than that of -the poorest inhabitants of Grub Street. Yet within three years of his -return to England he was promoted to be an Under-Secretary of State--a -post from which he mounted to one position of honour after another till -his final retirement from political life. That he was able to take -advantage of the opportunity that offered itself was owing to his own -genius and capacity; the opportunity was the fruit of circumstances which -had produced an entire revolution in the position of English men of -letters. - -Through the greater part of Charles II.'s reign the profession of -literature was miserably degraded. It is true that the King himself, a man -of wit and taste, was not slow in his appreciation of art; but he was by -his character insensible to what was serious or elevated, and the poetry -of gallantry, which he preferred, was quite within reach of the courtiers -by whom he was surrounded. Rochester, Buckingham, Sedley, and Dorset are -among the principal poetical names of the period; all of them being well -qualified to shine in verse, the chief requirements of which were a -certain grace of manner, an air of fashionable breeding, and a complete -disregard of the laws of decency. Besides these "songs by persons of -quality," the principal entertainment was provided by the drama. But the -stage, seldom a lucrative profession, was then crowded with writers whose -fertile, if not very lofty, invention kept down the price of plays. Otway, -the most successful dramatist of his time, died in a state of indigence, -and as some say, almost of starvation, while playwrights of less ability, -if the house was ill-attended on the third night, when the poet received -all the profits of the performance, were forced, as Oldham says, "to -starve or live in tatters all the year."[15] - -Periodical literature, in the shape of journals and magazines, had as yet -no existence; nor could the satirical poet or the pamphleteer find his -remuneration in controversial writing the strong reaction against -Puritanism having raised the monarchy to a position in which it was -practically secure against the assaults of all its enemies. The author of -the most brilliant satire of the period, who had used all the powers of a -rich imagination to discredit the Puritan and Republican cause, was paid -with nothing more solid than admiration, and died neglected and in want. - - "The wretch, at summing up his misspent days, - Found nothing left but poverty and praise! - Of all his gains by verse he could not save - Enough to purchase flannel and a grave! - Reduced to want he in due time fell sick, - Was fain to die, and be interred on tick; - And well might bless the fever that was sent - To rid him hence, and his worse fate prevent."[16] - -In the latter part of this reign, however, a new combination of -circumstances produced a great change in the character of English -literature and in the position of its professors. The struggle of Parties -recommenced. Wearied with the intolerable rule of the Saints, the nation -had been at first glad to leave its newly-restored King to his pleasures, -but, as the memories of the Commonwealth became fainter, the people -watched with a growing feeling of disgust the selfishness and extravagance -of the Court, while the scandalous sale of Dunkirk and the sight of the -Dutch fleet on the Thames made them think of the patriotic energies which -Cromwell had succeeded in arousing. At the same time the thinly-disguised -inclination of the King to Popery, and the avowed opinions of his brother, -raised a general feeling of alarm for the Protestant liberties of the -nation. On the other hand, the Puritans, taught moderation by adversity, -exhibited the really religious side of their character, and attracted -towards themselves a considerable portion of the aristocracy, as well as -of the commercial and professional classes in the metropolis--a -combination of interests which helped to form the nucleus of the Whig -party. The clergy and the landed proprietors, who had been the chief -sufferers from Parliamentary rule, naturally adhered to the Court, and -were nicknamed by their opponents Tories. Violent party conflicts ensued, -marked by such incidents as the Test Act, the Exclusion Bill, the -intrigues of Monmouth, the Popish Plot, and the trial and acquittal of -Shaftesbury on the charge of high treason. - -Finding his position no longer so easy as at his restoration, Charles -naturally bethought him of calling literature to his assistance. The -stage, being completely under his control, seemed the readiest instrument -for his purpose; the order went forth, and an astonishing display of -monarchical fervour in all the chief dramatists of the time--Otway, -Dryden, Lee, and Crowne--was the result. Shadwell, who was himself -inclined to the Whig interest, laments the change: - - "The stage, like old Rump pulpits, is become - The scene of News, a furious Party's drum." - -But the political influence of the drama and the audience to which it -appealed being necessarily limited, the King sought for more powerful -literary artillery, and he found it in the serviceable genius of Dryden, -whose satirical and controversial poems date from this period. The wide -popularity of _Absalom and Achitophel_, written against Monmouth and -Shaftesbury; of _The Medal_, satirising the acquittal of Shaftesbury; of -_The Hind and Panther_, composed to advance the Romanising projects of -James II.; points to the vast influence exercised by literature in the -party struggle. Nevertheless, in spite of all that Dryden had done for the -Royal cause, in spite of the fact that he himself had more than once -appealed to the poet for assistance, the ingratitude or levity of Charles -was so inveterate that he let the poet's services go almost unrequited. -Dryden, it is true, held the posts of Laureate and Royal Historiographer, -but his salary was always in arrears, and the letter which he addressed to -Rochester, First Lord of the Treasury, asking for six months' payment of -what was due to him, tells its own story. - -James II. cared nothing for literature, and was probably too dull of -apprehension to understand the incalculable service that Dryden had -rendered to his cause. He showed his appreciation of the Poet-Laureate's -genius by deducting £100 from the salary which his brother had promised -him, and by cutting off from the emoluments of the office the -time-honoured butt of canary! - -Under William III. the complexion of affairs again altered. The Court, in -the old sense of the word, ceased to be a paramount influence in -literature. William III. derived his authority from Parliament; he knew -that he must support it mainly by his sword and his statesmanship. A -stranger to England, its manners and its language, he showed little -disposition to encourage letters. Pope, indeed, maliciously suggests that -he had the bad taste to admire the poetry of Blackmore, whom he knighted; -but, as a matter of fact, the honour was conferred on the worthy Sir -Richard in consequence of his distinction in medicine, and he himself -bears witness to William's contempt for poetry. - - "Reverse of Louis he, example rare, - Loved to deserve the praise he could not bear. - He shunned the acclamations of the throng, - And always coldly heard the poet's song. - Hence the great King the Muses did neglect, - And the mere poet met with small respect."[17] - -Such political verse as we find in this reign generally consists, like -Halifax's _Epistle to Lord Dorset_, or Addison's own _Address to King -William_, of hyperbolical flattery. Opposition was extinct, for both -parties had for the moment united to promote the Revolution, and the only -discordant notes amid the chorus of adulation proceeded from Jacobite -writers concealed in the garrets and cellars of Grub Street. Such an -atmosphere was not favorable to the production of literature of an -elevated or even of a characteristic order. - -Addison's return to England coincided most happily with another remarkable -turn of the tide. Leaning decidedly to the Tory party, who were now -strongly leavened with the Jacobite element, Anne had not long succeeded -to the throne before she seized an opportunity for dismissing the Whig -Ministry whom she found in possession of office. The Whigs, equally -alarmed at the influence acquired by their rivals, and at the danger which -threatened the Protestant succession, neglected no effort to -counterbalance the loss of their sovereign's favour by strengthening their -credit with the people. Having been trained in a school which had at least -qualified them to appreciate the influence of style, the aristocratic -leaders of the party were well aware of the advantages they would derive -by attracting to themselves the services of the ablest writers of the day. -Hence they made it their policy to mingle with men of letters on an equal -footing, and to hold out to them an expectation of a share in the -advantages to be reaped from the overthrow of their rivals. - -The result of this union of forces was a great increase in the number of -literary-political clubs. In its half-aristocratic, half-democratic -constitution the club was the natural product of enlarged political -freedom, and helped to extend the organisation of polite opinion beyond -the narrow orbit of Court society. Addison himself, in his simple style, -points out the nature of the fundamental principle of Association which he -observed in operation all around him. "When a set of men find themselves -agree in any particular, though never so trivial, they establish -themselves into a kind of fraternity, and meet once or twice a week upon -the account of such a fantastic resemblance."[18] Among these societies, -in the first years of the eighteenth century, the most celebrated was, -perhaps, the Kit-Kat Club. It consisted of thirty-nine of the leading men -of the Whig party; and, though many of these were of the highest rank, it -is a characteristic fact that the founder of the club should have been the -bookseller Jacob Tonson. It was probably through his influence, joined to -that of Halifax, that Addison was elected a member of the society soon -after his return to England. Among its prominent members was the Duke of -Somerset, the first meeting between whom and Addison, after the -correspondence that had passed between them, must have been somewhat -embarrassing. The club assembled at one Christopher Catt's, a pastry-cook, -who gave his name both to the society and the mutton-pies which were its -ordinary entertainment. Each member was compelled to select a lady as his -toast, and the verses which he composed in her honour were engraved on the -wine-glasses belonging to the club. Addison chose the Countess of -Manchester, whose acquaintance he had made in Paris, and complimented her -in the following lines: - - "While haughty Gallia's dames, that spread - O'er their pale cheeks an artful red, - Beheld this beauteous stranger there, - In native charms divinely fair, - Confusion in their looks they showed, - And with unborrowed blushes glowed." - -Circumstances seemed now to be conspiring in favour of the Whigs. The -Tories, whose strength lay mainly in the Jacobite element, were jealous of -Marlborough's ascendency over the Queen; on the other hand, the Duchess of -Marlborough, who was rapidly acquiring the chief place in Anne's -affections, intrigued in favour of the opposite faction. In spite, too, of -her Tory predilections, the Queen, finding her throne menaced by the -ambition of Louis XIV., was compelled in self-defence to look for support -to the party which had most vigorously identified itself with the -principles of the Revolution. She bestowed her unreserved confidence on -Marlborough, and he, in order to counterbalance the influence of the -Jacobites, threw himself into the arms of the Whigs. Being named -Captain-General in 1704, he undertook the campaign which he brought to so -glorious a conclusion on the 2d of August in that year at the battle of -Blenheim. - -Godolphin, who, in the absence of Marlborough, occupied the chief place in -the Ministry, moved perhaps by patriotic feeling, and no doubt also by a -sense of the advantage which his party would derive from this great -victory, was anxious that it should be commemorated in adequate verse. He -accordingly applied to Halifax as the person to whom the _sacer vates_ -required for the occasion would probably be known. Halifax has had the -misfortune to have his character transmitted to posterity by two poets who -hated him either on public or private grounds. Swift describes him as the -would-be "Mæcenas of the nation," but insinuates that he neglected the -wants of the poets whom he patronised: - - "Himself as rich as fifty Jews, - Was easy though they wanted shoes." - -Pope also satirises the vanity and meanness of his disposition in the -well-known character of Bufo. Such portraits, though they are justified to -some extent by evidence coming from other quarters, are not to be too -strictly examined as if they bore the stamp of historic truth. It is, at -any rate, certain that Halifax always proved himself a warm and zealous -friend to Addison, and when Godolphin applied to him for a poet to -celebrate Blenheim, he answered that, though acquainted with a person who -possessed every qualification for the task, he could not ask him to -undertake it. Being pressed for his reasons, he replied "that while too -many fools and blockheads were maintained in their pride and luxury at the -public expense, such men as were really an honour to their age and country -were shamefully suffered to languish in obscurity; that, for his own -share, he would never desire any gentleman of parts and learning to employ -his time in celebrating a Ministry who had neither the justice nor the -generosity to make it worth his while." In answer to this the Lord -Treasurer assured Halifax that any person whom he might name as equal to -the required task, should have no cause to repent of having rendered his -assistance; whereupon Halifax mentioned Addison, but stipulated that all -advances to the latter must come from Godolphin himself. Accordingly, -Boyle, Chancellor of the Exchequer, afterwards Lord Carleton, was -despatched on the embassy, and, if Pope is to be trusted, found Addison -lodged up three pair of stairs over a small shop. He opened to him the -subject, and informed him that, in return for the service that was -expected of him, he was instructed to offer him a Commissionership of -Appeal in the Excise, as a pledge of more considerable advancement in the -future. The fruits of this negotiation were _The Campaign_. - -Warton disposes of the merits of _The Campaign_ with the cavalier -criticism, so often since repeated, that it is merely "a gazette in -rhyme." In one sense the judgment is no doubt just. As a poem, _The -Campaign_ shows neither loftiness of invention nor enthusiasm of personal -feeling, and it cannot therefore be ranked with such an ode as Horace's -_Qualem ministrum_, or with Pope's very fine _Epistle_ to the Earl of -Oxford after his disgrace. Its methodical narrative style is scarcely -misrepresented by Warton's sarcastic description of it; but it should be -remembered that this style was adopted by Addison with deliberate -intention. "Thus," says he, in the conclusion of the poem, - - "Thus would I fain Britannia's wars rehearse - In the smooth records of a faithful verse; - That, if such numbers can o'er time prevail, - May tell posterity the wondrous tale. - When actions unadorned are faint and weak - Cities and countries must be taught to speak; - Gods may descend in factions from the skies, - And rivers from their oozy beds arise; - Fiction may deck the truth with spurious rays, - And round the hero cast a borrowed blaze. - Marlbro's exploits appear divinely bright, - And proudly shine in their own native light; - Raised in themselves their genuine charms they boast, - And those that paint them truest praise them most." - -The design here avowed is certainly not poetical, but it is eminently -business-like and extremely well adapted to the end in view. What -Godolphin wanted was a set of complimentary verses on Marlborough. -Addison, with infinite tact, declares that the highest compliment that can -be paid to the hero is to recite his actions in their unadorned grandeur. -This happy turn of flattery shows how far he had advanced in literary -skill since he wrote his address _To the King_. He had then excused -himself for the inadequate celebration of William's deeds on the plea -that, great though these might be, they were too near the poet's own time -to be seen in proper focus. A thousand years hence, he suggests, some -Homer may be inspired by the theme, "and Boyne be sung when it has ceased -to flow." This could not have been very consolatory to a mortal craving -for contemporary applause, and the apology offered in _The Campaign_ for -the prosaic treatment of the subject is far more dexterous. Bearing in -mind the fact that it was written to order, and that the poet deliberately -declined to avail himself of the aid of fiction, we must allow that the -construction of the poem exhibits both art and dignity. The allusion to -the vast slaughter at Blenheim, in the opening paragraph-- - - "Rivers of blood I see and hills of slain, - An Iliad rising out of one campaign"-- - -is not very fortunate; but the lines describing the ambition of Louis XIV. -are weighty and dignified, and the couplet indicating, through the single -image of the Danube, the vast extent of the French encroachments, shows -how thoroughly Addison was imbued with the spirit of classical poetry: - - "The rising Danube its long race began, - And half its course through the new conquests ran." - -With equal felicity he describes the position and intervention of England, -seizing at the same time the opportunity for a panegyric on her free -institutions: - - "Thrice happy Britain, from the kingdoms rent - To sit the guardian of the Continent! - That sees her bravest sons advanced so high - And flourishing so near her prince's eye; - Thy favourites grow not up by fortune's sport, - Or from the crimes and follies of a court: - On the firm basis of desert they rise, - From long-tried faith and friendship's holy ties, - Their sovereign's well-distinguished smiles they share, - Her ornaments in peace, her strength in war; - The nation thanks them with a public voice, - By showers of blessings Heaven approves their choice; - Envy itself is dumb, in wonder lost, - And factions strive who shall applaud them most." - -He proceeds in a stream of calm and equal verse, enlivened by dexterous -allusions and occasional happy turns of expression, to describe the -scenery of the Moselle; the march between the Maese and the Danube; the -heat to which the army was exposed; the arrival on the Neckar; and the -track of devastation left by the French armies. The meeting between -Marlborough and Eugene inspires him again to raise his style: - - "Great souls by instinct to each other turn, - Demand alliance, and in friendship burn, - A sudden friendship, while with outstretched rays - They meet each other mingling blaze with blaze. - Polished in courts, and hardened in the field, - Renowned for conquest, and in council skilled, - Their courage dwells not in a troubled flood - Of mounting spirits and fermenting blood; - Lodged in the soul, with virtue overruled, - Inflamed by reason, and by reason cooled, - In hours of peace content to be unknown, - And only in the field of battle shown: - To souls like these in mutual friendship joined - Heaven dares entrust the cause of human kind." - -The celebrated passage describing Marlborough's conduct at Blenheim is -certainly the finest in the poem: - - "'Twas then great Marlborough's mighty soul was proved - That in the shock of charging hosts unmoved, - Amidst confusion, horror, and despair, - Examined all the dreadful scenes of war; - In peaceful thought the field of death surveyed, - To fainting squadrons sent the timely aid, - Inspired repulsed battalions to engage, - And taught the doubtful battle where to rage. - So when an angel by divine command - With rising tempests shakes a guilty land, - Such as of late o'er pale Britannia past, - Calm and serene he drives the furious blast; - And pleased th' Almighty's orders to perform, - Rides in the whirlwind and directs the storm." - -Johnson makes some characteristic criticisms on this simile, which indeed, -he maintains, is not a simile, but "an exemplification." He says: -"Marlborough is so like the angel in the poem that the action of both is -almost the same, and performed by both in the same manner. Marlborough -'teaches the battle to rage;' the angel 'directs the storm;' Marlborough -is 'unmoved in peaceful thought;' the angel is 'calm and serene;' -Marlborough stands 'unmoved amid the shock of hosts;' the angel rides -'calm in the whirlwind.' The lines on Marlborough are just and noble; but -the simile gives almost the same images a second time." - -This judgment would be unimpeachable if the force of the simile lay solely -in the likeness between Marlborough and the angel, but it is evident that -equal stress is to be laid on the resemblance between the battle and the -storm. It was Addison's intention to raise in the mind of the reader the -noblest possible idea of composure and design in the midst of confusion: -to do this he selected an angel as the minister of the divine purpose, and -a storm as the symbol of fury and devastation; and, in order to heighten -his effect, he recalls with true art the violence of the particular -tempest which had recently ravaged the country. Johnson has noticed the -close similarity between the persons of Marlborough and the angel; but he -has exaggerated the resemblance between the actions in which they are -severally engaged. - -_The Campaign_ completely fulfilled the purpose for which it was written. -It strengthened the position of the Whig Ministry, and secured for its -author the advancement that had been promised him. Early in 1706 Addison, -on the recommendation of Lord Godolphin, was promoted from the -Commissionership of Appeals in Excise to be Under-Secretary of State to -Sir Charles Hedges. The latter was one of the few Tories who had retained -their position in the Ministry since the restoration of the Whigs to the -favour of their sovereign, and he, too, shortly vanished from the stage -like his more distinguished friends, making way for the Earl of -Sunderland, a staunch Whig, and son-in-law to the Duke of Marlborough. - -Addison's duties as Under-Secretary were probably not particularly -arduous. In 1705 he was permitted to attend Lord Halifax to the Court of -Hanover, whither the latter was sent to carry the Act for the -Naturalisation of the Electress Sophia. The mission also included -Vanbrugh, who, as Clarencieux King-at-Arms, was charged to invest the -Elector with the Order of the Garter; the party thus constituted affording -a remarkable illustration of the influence exercised by literature over -the politics of the period. Addison must have obtained during this journey -considerable insight into the nature of England's foreign policy, as, -besides establishing the closest relations with Hanover, Halifax was also -instructed to form an alliance with the United Provinces for securing the -succession of the House of Brunswick to the English throne. - -In the meantime his imagination was not idle. After helping Steele in the -composition of his _Tender Husband_, which was acted in 1705, he found -time for engaging in a fresh literary enterprise of his own. The -principles of operatic music, which had long been developed in Italy, had -been slow in making their way to this country. Their introduction had been -delayed partly by the French prejudices of Charles II., but more, perhaps, -by the strong insular tastes of the people, and by the vigorous forms of -the native drama. What the untutored English audience liked best to hear -was a well-marked tune, sung in a fine natural way: the kind of music -which was in vogue on the stage till the end of the seventeenth century -was simply the regular drama interspersed with airs; _recitative_ was -unknown; and there was no attempt to cultivate the voice according to the -methods practised in the Italian schools. But with the increase of wealth -and travel more exacting tastes began to prevail; Italian singers appeared -on the stage and exhibited to the audience capacities of voice of which -they had hitherto had no experience. In 1705 was acted at the Haymarket -_Arsinoe_, the first opera constructed in England on avowedly Italian -principles. The words were still in English, but the dialogue was -throughout in _recitative_. The composer was Thomas Clayton, who, though a -man entirely devoid of genius, had travelled in Italy, and was eager to -turn to account the experience which he had acquired. In spite of its -badness _Arsinoe_ greatly impressed the public taste; and it was soon -followed by _Camilla_, a version of an opera by Bononcini, portions of -which were sung in Italian, and portions in English--an absurdity on which -Addison justly comments in a number of the _Spectator_. His remarks on the -consequences of translating the Italian operas are equally humorous and -just. - - "As there was no great danger," says he, "of hurting the sense of - these extraordinary pieces, our authors would often make words of - their own which were entirely foreign to the meaning of the passages - they pretended to translate; their chief care being to make the - numbers of the English verse answer to those of the Italian, that both - of them might go to the same tune. Thus the famous song in _Camilla_, - - 'Barbara si t'intendo,' etc. - 'Barbarous woman, yes, I know your meaning,' - - which expresses the resentment of an angry lover, was translated into - that English lamentation, - - 'Frail are a lover's hopes,' etc. - - And it was pleasant enough to see the most refined persons of the - British nation dying away and languishing to notes that were filled - with the spirit of rage and indignation. It happened also very - frequently where the sense was rightly translated; the necessary - transposition of words, which were drawn out of the phrase of one - tongue into that of another, made the music appear very absurd in one - tongue that was very natural in the other. I remember an Italian verse - that ran thus, word for word: - - 'And turned my rage into pity,' - - which the English, for rhyme's sake, translated, - - 'And into pity turned my rage.' - - By this means the soft notes that were adapted to pity in the Italian - fell upon the word 'rage' in the English; and the angry sounds that - were turned to rage in the original were made to express pity in the - translation. It oftentimes happened likewise that the finest notes in - the air fell upon the most insignificant word in the sentence. I have - known the word 'and' pursued through the whole gamut; have been - entertained with many a melodious 'the;' and have heard the most - beautiful graces, quavers, and divisions bestowed upon 'then,' 'for,' - and 'from,' to the eternal honour of our English particles."[19] - -Perceiving these radical defects, Addison seems to have been ambitious of -showing by example how they might be remedied. "The great success this -opera (_Arsinoe_) met with produced," says he, "some attempts of forming -pieces upon Italian plans, which should give a more natural and reasonable -entertainment than what can be met with in the elaborate trifles of that -nation. This alarmed the poetasters and fiddlers of the town, who were -used to deal in a more ordinary kind of ware, and therefore laid down an -established rule, which is received as such to this day, 'That nothing is -capable of being well set to music that is not nonsense.'"[20] The -allusion to the failure of the writer's own opera of _Rosamond_ is -unmistakable. The piece was performed on the 2d of April, 1706, but was -coldly received, and after two or three representations was withdrawn. - -The reasons which the _Spectator_ assigns for the catastrophe betray -rather the self-love of the author than the clear perception of the -critic. _Rosamond_ failed because, in the first place, it was very bad as -a musical composition. Misled by the favour with which _Arsinoe_ was -received, Addison seems to have regarded Clayton as a great musician, and -he put his poem into the hands of the latter, thinking that his score -would be as superior to that of _Arsinoe_ as his own poetry was to the -words of that opera. Clayton, however, had no genius, and only succeeded -in producing what Sir John Hawkins, quoting with approbation the words of -another critic, calls "a confused chaos of music, the only merit of which -is its shortness."[21] - -But it may be doubted whether in any case the most skilful composer could -have produced music of a high order adapted to the poetry of _Rosamond_. -The play is neither a tragedy, a comedy, nor a melodrama. It seems that -Eleanor did not really poison Fair Rosamond, but only administered to her -a sleeping potion, and, as she takes care to explain to the King, - - "The bowl with drowsy juices filled, - From cold Egyptian drugs distilled, - In borrowed death has closed her eyes." - -This information proves highly satisfactory to the King, not only because -he is gratified to find that Rosamond is not dead, but also because, even -before discovering her supposed dead body, he had resolved, in consequence -of a dream sent to him by his guardian angel, to terminate the relations -existing between them. The Queen and he accordingly arrange, in a -business-like manner, that Rosamond shall be quietly removed in her trance -to a nunnery; a reconciliation is then effected between the husband and -wife, who, as we are led to suppose, live happily ever after. - -The main motive of the opera in Addison's mind appears to have been the -desire of complimenting the Marlborough family. It is dedicated to the -Duchess; the warlike character of Henry naturally recalls the prowess of -the great modern captain; and the King is consoled by his guardian angel -for the loss of Fair Rosamond with a vision of the future glories of -Blenheim: - - "To calm thy grief and lull thy cares, - Look up and see - What, after long revolving years, - Thy bower shall be! - When time its beauties shall deface, - And only with its ruins grace - The future prospect of the place! - Behold the glorious pile ascending, - Columns swelling, arches bending, - Domes in awful pomp arising, - Art in curious strokes surprising, - Foes in figured fights contending, - Behold the glorious pile ascending." - -This is graceful enough, but it scarcely offers material for music of a -serious kind. Nor can the Court have been greatly impressed by the -compliment paid to its morality, as contrasted with that of Charles II., -conveyed as it was by the mouth of Grideline, one of the comic characters -in the piece-- - - "Since conjugal passion - Is come into fashion, - And marriage so blest on the throne is, - Like a Venus I'll shine, - Be fond and be fine, - And Sir Trusty shall be my Adonis." - -The ill success of _Rosamond_ confirmed Addison's dislike to the Italian -opera, which he displayed both in his grave and humorous papers on the -subject in the _Spectator_. The disquisition upon the various actors of -the lion in _Hydaspes_ is one of his happiest inspirations; but his -serious criticisms are, as a rule, only just in so far as they are -directed against the dramatic absurdities of the Italian opera. As to his -technical qualifications as a critic of music, it will be sufficient to -cite the opinion of Dr. Burney: "To judges of music nothing more need be -said of Mr. Addison's abilities to decide concerning the comparative -degrees of national excellence in the art, and the merit of particular -masters, than his predilection for the productions of Clayton, and -insensibility to the force and originality of Handel's compositions in -_Rinaldo_."[22] - -In December, 1708, the Earl of Sunderland was displaced to make room for -the Tory Lord Dartmouth, and Addison, as Under-Secretary, following the -fortunes of his superior, found himself again without employment. -Fortunately for him the Earl of Wharton was almost immediately afterwards -made Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, and offered him the lucrative post of -Secretary. The Earl, who was subsequently created a Marquis, was the -father of the famous Duke satirised in Pope's first _Moral Essay_; he was -in every respect the opposite of Addison--a vehement Republican, a -sceptic, unprincipled in his morals, venal in his methods of Government. -He was nevertheless a man of the finest talents, and seems to have -possessed the power of gaining personal ascendency over his companions by -a profound knowledge of character. An acquaintance with Addison, doubtless -commencing at the Kit-Kat Club, of which both were members, had convinced -him that the latter had eminent qualifications for the task, which the -Secretary's post would involve, of dealing with men of very various -conditions. Of the feelings with which Addison on his side regarded the -Earl we have no record. "It is reasonable to suppose," says Johnson, "that -he counteracted, as far as he was able, the malignant and blasting -influence of the Lieutenant; and that, at least, by his intervention some -good was done and some mischief prevented." Not a shadow of an imputation, -at any rate, rests upon his own conduct as Secretary. He appears to have -acted strictly on that conception of public duty which he defines in one -of his papers in the _Spectator_. Speaking of the marks of a corrupt -official, "Such an one," he declares, "is the man who, upon any pretence -whatsoever, receives more than what is the stated and unquestioned fee of -his office. Gratifications, tokens of thankfulness, despatch money, and -the like specious terms, are the pretences under which corruption very -frequently shelters itself. An honest man will, however, look on all these -methods as unjustifiable, and will enjoy himself better in a moderate -fortune, that is gained with honour and reputation, than in an overgrown -estate that is cankered with the acquisitions of rapine and exaction. Were -all our offices discharged with such an inflexible integrity, we should -not see men in all ages, who grow up to exorbitant wealth, with the -abilities which are to be met with in an ordinary mechanic."[23] His -friends perhaps considered that his impartiality was somewhat -overstrained, since he always declined to remit the customary fees in -their favour. "For," said he, "I may have forty friends, whose fees may be -two guineas a-piece; then I lose eighty guineas, and my friends gain but -two a-piece." - -He took with him as his own Secretary, Eustace Budgell, who was related to -him, and for whom he seems to have felt a warm affection. Budgell was a -man of considerable literary ability, and was the writer of the various -papers in the _Spectator_ signed "X," some of which succeed happily in -imitating Addison's style. While he was under his friend's guidance his -career was fairly successful, but his temper was violent, and when, at a -later period of his life, he served in Ireland under a new Lieutenant and -another Secretary, he became involved in disputes which led to his -dismissal. A furious pamphlet against the Lord-Lieutenant, the Duke of -Bolton, published by him in spite of Addison's remonstrances, only -complicated his position, and from this period his fortunes steadily -declined. He lost largely in the South Sea Scheme; spent considerable sums -in a vain endeavour to obtain a seat in Parliament; and at last came under -the influence of his kinsman, Tindal, the well-known deist, whose will he -is accused of having falsified. With his usual infelicity he happened to -rouse the resentment of Pope, and was treated in consequence to one of -the deadly couplets with which that great poet was in the habit of -repaying real or supposed injuries: - - "Let Budgell charge low Grub Street on his quill, - And write whate'er he pleased--except his will." - -The lines were memorable, and were doubtless often quoted, and the -wretched man finding his life insupportable, ended it by drowning himself -in the Thames. - -During his residence in Ireland Addison firmly cemented his friendship -with Swift, whose acquaintance he had probably made after _The Campaign_ -had given him a leading position in the Whig party, on the side of which -the sympathies of both were then enlisted. Swift's admiration for Addison -was warm and generous. When the latter was on the point of embarking on -his new duties, Swift wrote to a common friend, Colonel Hunter, "Mr. -Addison is hurrying away for Ireland, and I pray too much business may not -spoil _le plus honnete homme du monde_." To Archbishop King he wrote: "Mr. -Addison, who goes over our first secretary, is a most excellent person, -and being my intimate friend I shall use all my credit to set him right in -his notions of persons and things." Addison's duties took him occasionally -to England, and during one of his visits Swift writes to him from Ireland: -"I am convinced that whatever Government come over you will find all marks -of kindness from any parliament here with respect to your employment, the -Tories contending with the Whigs which should speak best of you. In short, -if you will come over again when you are at leisure we will raise an army -and make you King of Ireland. Can you think so meanly of a kingdom as not -to be pleased that every creature in it, who hath one grain of worth, has -a veneration for you?" In his _Journal to Stella_ he says, under date of -October 12, 1710: "Mr. Addison's election has passed easy and undisputed; -and I believe if he had a mind to be chosen king he would hardly be -refused." On his side Addison's feelings were equally warm. He presented -Swift with a copy of his _Remarks on Several Parts of Italy_, inscribing -it--"To the most agreeable companion, the truest friend, and the greatest -genius of his age." - -This friendship, founded on mutual respect, was destined to be impaired by -political differences. In 1710 the credit of the Whig Ministry had been -greatly undermined by the combined craft of Harley and Mrs. Masham, and -Swift, who was anxious as to his position, on coming over to England to -press his claims on Somers and Halifax, found that they were unable to -help him. He appears to have considered that their want of power proceeded -from want of will; at any rate, he made advances to Harley, which were of -course gladly received. The Ministry were at this time being hard pressed -by the _Examiner_, under the conduct of Prior, and at their instance -Addison started the _Whig Examiner_ in their defence. Though this paper -was written effectively and with admirable temper, party polemics were -little to the taste of its author, and, after five numbers, it ceased to -exist on the 8th of October. Swift, now eager for the triumph of the -Tories, expresses his delight to Stella by informing her, in the words of -a Tory song, that "it was down among the dead men." He himself wrote the -first of his _Examiners_ on the 2d of the following November, and the -crushing blows with which he followed it up did much to hasten the -downfall of the Ministry. As was natural, Addison was somewhat displeased -at his friend's defection. In December Swift writes to Stella, "Mr. -Addison and I are as different as black and white, and I believe our -friendship will go off by this d---- business of party. He cannot bear -seeing me fall in so with the Ministry; but I love him still as much as -ever, though we seldom meet." In January, 1710-11, he says: "I called at -the coffee-house, where I had not been in a week, and talked coldly awhile -with Mr. Addison; all our friendship and dearness are off; we are civil -acquaintance, talk words, of course, of when we shall meet, and that's -all. Is it not odd?" Many similar entries follow; but on June 26, 1711, -the record is: "Mr. Addison and I talked as usual, and as if we had seen -one another yesterday." And on September 14, he observes: "This evening I -met Addison and pastoral Philips in the Park, and supped with them in -Addison's lodgings. We were very good company, and I yet know no man half -so agreeable to me as he is. I sat with them till twelve." - -It was perhaps through the influence of Swift, who spoke warmly with the -Tory Ministry on behalf of Addison, that the latter, on the downfall of -the Whigs in the autumn of 1710, was for some time suffered to retain the -Keepership of the Records in Bermingham's Tower, an Irish place which had -been bestowed upon him by the Queen as a special mark of the esteem with -which she regarded him, and which appears to have been worth £400 a -year.[24] In other respects his fortunes were greatly altered by the -change of Ministry. "I have within this twelvemonth," he writes to Wortley -on the 21st of July, 1711, "lost a place of £2000 per ann., an estate in -the Indies worth £14,000, and, what is worse than all the rest, my -mistress.[25] Hear this and wonder at my philosophy! I find they are going -to take away my Irish place from me too; to which I must add that I have -just resigned my fellowship, and that stocks sink every day." In spite of -these losses his circumstances were materially different from those in -which he found himself after the fall of the previous Whig Ministry in -1702. Before the close of the year 1711 he was able to buy the estate of -Bilton, near Rugby, for £10,000. Part of the purchase money was probably -provided from what he had saved while he was Irish Secretary, and had -invested in the funds; and part was, no doubt, made up from the profits of -the _Tatler_ and the _Spectator_. Miss Aikin says that a portion was -advanced by his brother Gulston; but this seems to be an error. Two years -before, the Governor of Fort St. George had died, leaving him his executor -and residuary legatee. This is no doubt "the estate in the Indies" to -which he refers in his letter to Wortley, but he had as yet derived no -benefit from it. His brother had left his affairs in great confusion; the -trustees were careless or dishonest; and though about £600 was remitted to -him in the shape of diamonds in 1713, the liquidation was not complete -till 1716, when only a small moiety of the sum bequeathed to him came into -his hands.[26] - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE _TATLER_ AND _SPECTATOR_. - - -The career of Addison, as described in the preceding chapters, has -exemplified the great change effected in the position of men of letters in -England by the Restoration and the Revolution; it is now time to exhibit -him in his most characteristic light, and to show the remarkable service -the eighteenth century essayists performed for English society in creating -an organised public opinion. It is difficult for ourselves, who look on -the action of the periodical press as part of the regular machinery of -life, to appreciate the magnitude of the task accomplished by Addison and -Steele in the pages of the _Tatler_ and _Spectator_. Every day, week, -month, and quarter now sees the issue of a vast number of journals and -magazines intended to form the opinion of every order and section of -society; but in the reign of Queen Anne the only centres of society that -existed were the Court, with the aristocracy that revolved about it, and -the clubs and coffee-houses, in which the commercial and professional -classes met to discuss matters of general interest. The _Tatler_ and -_Spectator_ were the first organs in which an attempt was made to give -form and consistency to the opinion arising out of this social contact. -But we should form a very erroneous idea of the character of these -publications if we regarded them as the sudden productions of individual -genius, written in satisfaction of a mere temporary taste. Like all -masterpieces in art and literature, they mark the final stage of a long -and painful journey, and the merit of their inventors consists largely in -the judgment with which they profited by the experience of many -predecessors. - -The first newspaper published in Europe was the _Gazzetta_ of Venice, -which was written in manuscript, and read aloud at certain places in the -city, to supply information to the people during the war with the Turks in -1536. In England it was not till the reign of Elizabeth that the increased -facilities of communication and the growth of wealth caused the purveyance -of news to become a profitable employment. Towards the end of the -sixteenth century newsmongers began to issue little pamphlets reporting -extraordinary intelligence, but not issued at regular periods. The titles -of these publications, which are all of them that survive, show that the -arts with which the framers of the placards of our own newspapers -endeavour to attract attention are of venerable antiquity: "Wonderful and -Strange newes out of Suffolke and Essex, where it rained wheat the space -of six or seven miles" (1583); "Lamentable newes out of Monmouthshire, -containinge the wonderfull and fearfull accounts of the great overflowing -of the waters in the said countrye" (1607).[27] - -In 1622 one Nathaniel Butter began to publish a newspaper bearing a fixed -title and appearing at stated intervals. It was called the _Weekly Newes -from Italy and Germanie, etc._, and was said to be printed for _Mercurius -Britannicus_. This novelty provided much food for merriment to the poets, -and Ben Jonson in his _Staple of News_ satirises Butter, under the name -of Nathaniel, in a passage which the curious reader will do well to -consult, as it shows the low estimation in which newspapers were then -held.[28] - -Though it might appear from Jonson's dialogue that the newspapers of that -day contained many items of domestic intelligence, such was scarcely the -case. Butter and his contemporaries, as was natural to men who confined -themselves to the publication of news without attempting to form opinion, -obtained their materials almost entirely from abroad, whereby they at once -aroused more vividly the imagination of their readers, and doubtless gave -more scope to their own invention. Besides, they were not at liberty to -retail home news of that political kind which would have been of the -greatest interest to the public. For a long time the evanescent character -of the newspaper allowed it to escape the attention of the licenser, but -the growing demand for this sort of reading at last brought it under -supervision, and so strict was the control exercised over even the reports -of foreign intelligence that its weekly appearance was frequently -interrupted. - -In 1641, however, the Star-chamber was abolished, and the heated political -atmosphere of the times generated a new species of journal, in which we -find the first attempt to influence opinion through the periodical press. -This was the newspaper known under the generic title of _Mercury_. Many -weekly publications of this name appeared during the Civil Wars on the -side of both King and Parliament, _Mercurius Anlicus_ being the -representative organ of the Royalist cause, and _Mercurius Pragmaticus_ -and _Mercurius Politicus_ of the Republicans. Party animosities were thus -kept alive, and proved so inconvenient to the Government that the -Parliament interfered to curtail the liberty of the press. In 1647 an -ordinance passed the House of Lords, prohibiting any person from "making, -writing, printing, selling, publishing, or uttering, or causing to be -made, any book, sheet, or sheets of news whatsoever, except the same be -licensed by both or either House of Parliament, with the name of the -author, printer, and licenser affixed." In spite of this prohibition, -which was renewed by Act of Parliament in 1662, many unlicensed -periodicals continued to appear, till in 1663 the Government, finding -their repressive measures insufficient, resolved to grapple with the -difficulty by monopolising the right to publish news. - -The author of this new project was the well-known Roger L'Estrange, who in -1663 obtained a patent assigning to him "all the sole privilege of -writing, printing, and publishing all Narratives, Advertisements, -Mercuries, Intelligencers, Diurnals, and other books of public -intelligence." L'Estrange's journal was called the _Public Intelligencer_; -it was published once a week, and in its form was a rude anticipation of -the modern newspaper, containing as it did an obituary, reports of the -proceedings in Parliament and in the Court of Claims, a list of the -circuits of the judges, of sheriffs, Lent preachers, etc. After being -continued for two years it gave place first, in 1665, to the _Oxford -Gazette_, published at Oxford, whither the Court had retired during the -plague; and in 1666 to the _London Gazette_, which was under the immediate -control of an Under-Secretary of State. The office of Gazetteer became -henceforth a regular ministerial appointment, and was viewed with -different eyes according as men were affected towards the Government. -Steele, who held it, says of it: "My next appearance as a writer was in -the quality of the lowest Minister of State--to wit, in the office of -Gazetteer; where I worked faithfully according to order, without ever -erring against the rule observed by all Ministers, to keep that paper very -innocent and very insipid." Pope, on the other hand, who regarded it as an -organ published to influence opinion in favour of the Government, is -constant in his attacks upon it, and has immortalised it in the memorable -lines in the _Dunciad_ beginning, "Next plunged a feeble but a desperate -pack," etc. - -In 1679 the Licensing Act passed in 1662 expired, and the Parliament -declined to renew it. The Court was thus left without protection against -the expression of public opinion, which was daily becoming more bold and -outspoken. In his extremity the King fell back on the servility of the -judges, and, having procured from them an opinion that the publishing of -any printed matter without license was contrary to the common law, he -issued his famous Proclamation (in 1680) "to prohibit and forbid all -persons whatsoever to print or publish any news, book, or pamphlets of -news, not licensed by his Majesty's authority." - -Disregard of the proclamation was treated as a breach of the peace, and -many persons were punished accordingly. This severity produced the effect -intended. The voice of the periodical press was stifled, and the _London -Gazette_ was left almost in exclusive possession of the field of news. -When Monmouth landed in 1685 the King managed to obtain from Parliament a -renewal of the Licensing Act for seven years, and even after the -Revolution of 1688 several attempts were made by the Ministerial Whigs to -prolong or to renew the operation of the Act. In spite, however, of the -violence of the organs of "Grub Street," which had grown up under it, -these attempts were unsuccessful; it was justly felt that it was wiser to -leave falsehood and scurrility to be gradually corrected by public -opinion, as speaking through an unfettered press, than to attack them by a -law which they had proved themselves able to defy. From 1682 the freedom -of the press may therefore be said to date, and the lapse of the Licensing -Act was the signal for a remarkable outburst of journalistic enterprise -and invention. Not only did the newspapers devoted to the report of -foreign intelligence reappear in greatly increased numbers, but, whereas -the old _Mercuries_ had never been published more than once in the same -week, the new comers made their appearance twice and sometimes even three -times. In 1702 was printed the first daily newspaper, _The Daily Courant_. -It could only at starting provide material to cover one side of a half -sheet of paper; but the other side was very soon covered with printed -matter, in which form its existence was prolonged till 1735. - -The development of party government of course encouraged the controversial -capacities of the journalist, and many notorious, and some famous names -are now found among the combatants in the political arena. On the side of -the Whigs the most redoubtable champions were Daniel Defoe, of the -_Review_, who was twice imprisoned and once set in the pillory for his -political writings; John Tutchin, of the _Observator_; and Ridpath, of the -_Flying Post_--all of whom have obtained places in the _Dunciad_. The old -Tories appear to have been satisfied during the early part of Queen Anne's -reign with prosecuting the newspapers that attacked them; but Harley, who -understood the power of the press, engaged Prior to harass the Whigs in -the _Examiner_, and was afterwards dexterous enough to secure the -invaluable assistance of Swift for the same paper. In opposition to the -_Examiner_ in its early days the Whigs, as has been said, started the -_Whig Examiner_, under the auspices of Addison, so that the two great -historical parties had their cases stated by the two greatest -prose-writers of the first half of the eighteenth century. - -Beside the Quidnunc and the party politician, another class of reader now -appeared demanding aliment in the press. Men of active and curious minds, -with a little leisure and a large love of discussion, loungers at Will's -or at the Grecian Coffee-Houses, were anxious to have their doubts on all -subjects resolved by a printed oracle. Their tastes were gratified by the -ingenuity of John Dunton, whose strange account of his _Life and Errors_ -throws a strong light on the literary history of this period. In 1690 -Dunton published his _Athenian Gazette_, the name of which he afterwards -altered to the _Athenian Mercury_. The object of this paper was to answer -questions put to the editor by the public. These were of all kinds--on -religion, casuistry, love, literature, and manners--no question being too -subtle or absurd to extract a reply from the conductor of the paper. The -_Athenian Mercury_ seems to have been read by as many distinguished men of -the period as _Notes and Queries_ in our own time, and there can be no -doubt that the quaint humours it originated gave the first hint to the -inventors of the _Tatler_ and the _Spectator_. - -Advertisements were inserted in the newspapers at a comparatively early -period of their existence. The editor acted as middleman between the -advertiser and the public, and made his announcements in a style of easy -frankness which will appear to the modern reader extremely refreshing. -Thus, in the "Collection for the Improvement of Husbandry and Trade" -(1682), there are the following: - - "If I can meet with a sober man that has a counter-tenor voice, I can - help him to a place worth thirty pound the year or more. - - "If any noble or other gentleman wants a porter that is very lusty, - comely, and six foot high and two inches, I can help. - - "I want a complete young man that will wear a livery, to wait on a - very valuable gentleman; but he must know how to play on a violin or - flute. - - "I want a genteel footman that can play on the violin, to wait on a - person of honour."[29] - -Everything was now prepared for the production of a class of newspaper -designed to form and direct public opinion on rational principles. The -press was emancipated from State control; a reading public had constituted -itself out of the _habitués_ of the coffee-houses and clubs; nothing was -wanted but an inventive genius to adapt the materials at his disposal to -the circumstances of the time. The required hero was not long in making -his appearance. - -Richard Steele, the son of an official under the Irish Government, was, -above all things, "a creature of ebullient heart." Impulse and sentiment -were with him always far stronger motives of action than reason, -principle, or even interest. He left Oxford, without taking a degree, from -an ardent desire to serve in the army, thereby sacrificing his prospect of -succeeding to a family estate; his extravagance and dissipation while -serving in the cavalry were notorious; yet this did not dull the clearness -of his moral perceptions, for it was while his excesses were at their -height that he dedicated to his commanding officer, Lord Cutts, his -_Christian Hero_. Vehement in his political, as in all other feelings, he -did not hesitate to resign the office he held under the Tory Government in -1711 in order to attack it for what he considered its treachery to the -country; but he was equally outspoken, and with equal disadvantage to -himself, when he found himself at a later period in disagreement with the -Whigs. He had great fertility of invention, strong natural humour, true -though uncultivated taste, and inexhaustible human sympathy. - -His varied experience had made him well acquainted with life and -character, and in his office of Gazetteer he had had an opportunity of -watching the eccentricities of the public taste, which, now emancipated -from restraint, began vaguely to feel after new ideals. That, under such -circumstances, he should have formed the design of treating current events -from a humorous point of view was only natural, but he was indebted for -the form of his newspaper to the most original genius of the age. Swift -had early in the eighteenth century exercised his ironical vein by -treating the everyday occurrences of life in a mock-heroic style. Among -his pieces of this kind that were most successful in catching the public -taste were the humorous predictions of the death of Partridge, the -astrologer, signed with the name of Isaac Bickerstaff. Steele, seizing on -the name and character of Partridge's fictitious rival, turned him with -much pleasantry into the editor of a new journal, the design of which he -makes Isaac describe as follows: - - "The state of conversation and business in this town having long been - perplexed with Pretenders in both kinds, in order to open men's minds - against such abuses, it appeared no unprofitable undertaking to - publish a Paper, which should observe upon the manners of the - pleasurable, as well as the busy part of mankind. To make this - generally read, it seemed the most proper method to form it by way of - a Letter of Intelligence, consisting of such parts as might gratify - the curiosity of persons of all conditions and of each sex.... The - general purposes of this Paper is to expose the false arts of life, to - pull off the disguises of cunning, vanity, and affectation, and to - recommend a general simplicity in our dress, our discourse, and our - behaviour."[30] - -The name of the _Tatler_, Isaac informs us, was "invented in honour of the -fair sex," for whose entertainment the new paper was largely designed. It -appeared three times a week, and its price was a penny, though it seems -that the first number, published April 12, 1709, was distributed _gratis_ -as an advertisement. In order to make the contents of the paper varied it -was divided into five portions, of which the editor gives the following -account: - - "All accounts of Gallantry, Pleasure, and Entertainment, shall be - under the article of White's Chocolate-House; Poetry under that of - Will's Coffee-House; Learning under the title of Grecian; Foreign and - Domestic News you will have from Saint James' Coffee-House; and what - else I have to offer on any other subject shall be dated from my own - apartment."[31] - -In this division we see the importance of the coffee-houses as the natural -centres of intelligence and opinion. Of the four houses mentioned, St. -James' and White's, both of them in St. James' Street, were the chief -haunts of statesmen and men of fashion, and the latter had acquired an -infamous notoriety for the ruinous gambling of its _habitués_. Will's, in -Russell Street, Covent Garden, kept up the reputation which it had -procured in Dryden's time as the favourite meeting-place of men of -letters; while the Grecian, in Devereux Court in the Strand, which was the -oldest coffee-house in London, afforded a convenient _rendezvous_ for the -learned Templars. At starting, the design announced in the first number -was adhered to with tolerable fidelity. The paper dated from St. James' -Coffee-House was always devoted to the recital of foreign news; that from -Will's either criticised the current dramas, or contained a copy of -verses from some author of repute, or a piece of general literary -criticism; the latest gossip at White's was reproduced in a fictitious -form and with added colour. Advertisements were also inserted; and half a -sheet of the paper was left blank, in order that at the last moment the -most recent intelligence might be added in manuscript, after the manner of -the contemporary news-letters. In all these respects the character of the -newspaper was preserved; but in the method of treating news adopted by the -editor there was a constant tendency to subordinate matter of fact to the -elements of humour, fiction, and sentiment. In his survey of the manners -of the time, Isaac, as an astrologer, was assisted by a familiar spirit, -named Pacolet, who revealed to him the motives and secrets of men; his -sister, Mrs. Jenny Distaff, was occasionally deputed to produce the paper -from the wizard's "own apartment;" and Kidney, the waiter at St. James' -Coffee-House, was humorously represented as the chief authority in all -matters of foreign intelligence. - -The mottoes assumed by the _Tatler_ at different periods of its existence -mark the stages of its development. On its first appearance, when Steele -seems to have intended it to be little more than a lively record of news, -the motto placed at the head of each paper was - - "Quidquid agunt homines, - nostri est farrago libelli." - -It soon became evident, however, that its true function was not merely to -report the actions of men, but to discuss the propriety of their actions; -and by the time that sufficient material had accumulated to constitute a -volume, the essayists felt themselves justified in appropriating the words -used by Pliny in the preface to his _Natural History_: - - "Nemo apud nos qui idem tentaverit: equidem sentio peculiarem in - studiis causam corum esse, qui difficultatibus victis, utilitatem - juvandi, protulerunt gratiæ placendi. Res ardua vetustis novitatem - dare, novis auctoritatem, obsoletis nitorem, fastidiis gratiam, dubiis - fidem, omnibus vero naturam, et naturæ suæ omnia. Itaque NON ASSECUTIS - _voluisse_, abunde pulchrum atque magnificum est." - -The disguise of the mock astrologer proved very useful to Steele in his -character of moralist. It enabled him to give free utterance to his better -feelings, without the risk of incurring the charge of inconsistency or -hypocrisy, and nothing can be more honourable to him than the open manner -in which he acknowledges his own unfitness for the position of a moralist: -"I shall not carry my humility so far," says he, "as to call myself a -vicious man, but at the same time must confess my life is at best but -pardonable. With no greater character than this, a man would make but an -indifferent progress in attacking prevailing and fashionable vices, which -Mr. Bickerstaff has done with a freedom of spirit that would have lost -both its beauty and efficacy had it been pretended to by Mr. Steele."[32] - -As Steele cannot claim the sole merit of having invented the form of the -_Tatler_, so, too, it must be remembered that he could never have -addressed society in the high moral tone assumed by Bickerstaff if the -road had not been prepared for him by others. One name among his -predecessors stands out with a special title to honourable record. Since -the Restoration the chief school of manners had been the stage, and the -flagrant example of immorality set by the Court had been bettered by the -invention of the comic dramatists of the period. Indecency was the -fashion; religion and sobriety were identified by the polite world with -Puritanism and hypocrisy. Even the Church had not yet ventured to say a -word in behalf of virtue against the prevailing taste, and when at last a -clergyman raised his voice on behalf of the principles which he professed, -the blow which he dealt to his antagonists was the more damaging because -it was entirely unexpected. Jeremy Collier was not only a Tory but a -Jacobite, not only a High Churchman but a Nonjuror, who had been outlawed -for his fidelity to the principles of Legitimism; and that such a man -should have published the _Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of -the English Stage_, reflecting, as the book did, in the strongest manner -on the manners of the fallen dynasty, was as astounding as thunder from a -clear sky. Collier, however, was a man of sincere piety, whose mind was -for the moment occupied only by the overwhelming danger of the evil which -he proposed to attack. It is true that his method of attack was cumbrous, -and that his conclusions were far too sweeping and often unjust; -nevertheless, the general truth of his criticisms was felt to be -irresistible. Congreve and Vanbrugh each attempted an apology for their -profession; both, however, showed their perception of the weakness of -their position by correcting or recasting scenes in their comedies to -which Collier had objected. Dryden accepted the reproof in a nobler -spirit. Even while he had pandered to the tastes of the times, he had been -conscious of his treachery to the cause of true art, and had broken out in -a fine passage in his _Ode to the Memory of Mrs. Killigrew_: - - "O gracious God! how far have we - Profaned thy heavenly gift of poesy! - Made prostitute and profligate the Muse, - Debased to each obscene and impious use! - - * * * * * - - "O wretched we! why were we hurried down - This lubrique and adulterous age - (Nay, added fat pollutions of our own) - To increase the streaming ordure of the stage?" - -When Collier attacked him he bent his head in submission. "In many -things," says he, "he has taxed me justly, and I have pleaded guilty to -all thought and expressions of mine which can be truly argued of -obscenity, profaneness, or immorality, and retract them. If he be my -enemy, let him triumph; if he be my friend, as I have given him no -personal occasion to be otherwise, he will be glad of my repentance."[33] - -The first blow against fashionable immorality having been boldly struck, -was followed up systematically. In 1690 was founded "The Society for the -Reformation of Manners," which published every year an account of the -progress made in suppressing profaneness and debauchery by its means. It -continued its operations till 1738, and during its existence prosecuted, -according to its own calculations, 101,683 persons. William III. showed -himself prompt to encourage the movement which his subjects had begun. The -_London Gazette_ of 27th February, 1698-99, contains a report of the -following remarkable order: - - "His Majesty being informed, That, notwithstanding an order made the - 4th of June, 1697, by the Earl of Sunderland, then Lord Chamberlain of - His Majesty's Household, to prevent the Prophaneness and Immorality of - the Stage, several Plays have been lately acted containing expressions - contrary to Religion and Good Manners: and whereas the Master of the - Revels has represented, That, in contempt of the said order, the - actors do often neglect to leave out such Prophane and Indecent - expressions as he has thought proper to be omitted. These are - therefore to signifie his Majesty's pleasure, that you do not - hereafter presume to act anything in any play contrary to Religion and - Good Manners as you shall answer it at your utmost peril. Given under - my Hand this 18th of February, 1698. In the eleventh year of his - Majesty's reign." - -It is difficult to realise, in reading the terms of this order, that only -thirteen years had elapsed since the death of Charles II., and undoubtedly -a very large share of the credit due for such a revolution in the public -taste is to be assigned to Collier. Collier, however, did nothing in a -literary or artistic sense to improve the character of English literature. -His severity, uncompromising as that of the Puritans, inspired Vice with -terror, but could not plead with persuasion on behalf of Virtue; his -sweeping conclusions struck at the roots of Art as well as of Immorality. -He sought to destroy the drama and kindred pleasures of the Imagination, -not to reform them. What the age needed was a writer to satisfy its -natural desires for healthy and rational amusement, and Steele, with his -strongly-developed twofold character, was the man of all others to bridge -over the chasm between irreligious licentiousness and Puritanical -rigidity. Driven headlong on one side of his nature towards all the tastes -and pleasures which absorbed the Court of Charles II., his heart in the -midst of his dissipation never ceased to approve of whatever was great, -noble, and generous. He has described himself with much feeling in his -disquisition on the _Rake_, a character which he says many men are -desirous of assuming without any natural qualifications for supporting it: - - "A Rake," says he, "is a man always to be pitied; and if he lives one - day is certainly reclaimed; for his faults proceed not from choice or - inclination, but from strong passions and appetites, which are in - youth too violent for the curb of reason, good sense, good manners, - and good nature; all which he must have by nature and education - before he can be allowed to be or to have been of this order.... His - desires run away with him through the strength and force of a lively - imagination, which hurries him on to unlawful pleasures before reason - has power to come in to his rescue." - -That impulsiveness of feeling which is here described, and which was the -cause of so many of Steele's failings in real life, made him the most -powerful and persuasive advocate of Virtue in fiction. Of all the -imaginative English essayists he is the most truly natural. His large -heart seems to rush out in sympathy with any tale of sorrow or exhibition -of magnanimity; and even in criticism, his true natural instinct, joined -to his constitutional enthusiasm, often raises his judgments to a level -with those of Addison himself, as in his excellent essay in the -_Spectator_ on Raphael's cartoons. Examples of these characteristics in -his style are to be found in the _Story of Unnion and Valentine_,[34] and -in the fine paper describing two tragedies of real life;[35] in the series -of papers on duelling, occasioned by a duel into which he was himself -forced against his own inclination;[36] and in the sound advice which -Isaac gives to his half-sister Jenny on the morrow of her marriage.[37] -Perhaps, however, the chivalry and generosity of feeling which make -Steele's writings so attractive are most apparent in the delightful paper -containing the letter of Serjeant Hall from the camp before Mons. After -pointing out to his readers the admirable features in the serjeant's -simple letter, Steele concludes as follows: - - "If we consider the heap of an army, utterly out of all prospect of - rising and preferment, as they certainly are, and such great things - executed by them, it is hard to account for the motive of their - gallantry. But to me, who was a cadet at the battle of Coldstream, in - Scotland, when Monk charged at the head of the regiment now called - Coldstream, from the victory of that day--I remember it as well as if - it were yesterday; I stood on the left of old West, who I believe is - now at Chelsea--I say to me, who know very well this part of mankind, - I take the gallantry of private soldiers to proceed from the same, if - not from a nobler, impulse than that of gentlemen and officers. They - have the same taste of being acceptable to their friends, and go - through the difficulties of that profession by the same irresistible - charm of fellowship and the communication of joys and sorrows which - quickens the relish of pleasure and abates the anguish of pain. Add to - this that they have the same regard to fame, though they do not expect - so great a share as men above them hope for; but I will engage - Serjeant Hall would die ten thousand deaths rather than that a word - should be spoken at the Red Lettice, or any part of the Butcher Row, - in prejudice to his courage or honesty. If you will have my opinion, - then, of the Serjeant's letter, I pronounce the style to be mixed, but - truly epistolary; the sentiment relating to his own wound in the - sublime; the postscript of Pegg Hartwell in the gay; and the whole the - picture of the bravest sort of men, that is to say, a man of great - courage and small hopes."[38] - -With such excellences of style and sentiment it is no wonder that the -_Tatler_ rapidly established itself in public favour. It was a novel -experience for the general reader to be provided three times a week with -entertainment that pleased his imagination without offending his sense of -decency or his religious instincts. But a new hand shortly appeared in the -_Tatler_, which was destined to carry the art of periodical essay-writing -to a perfection beside which even the humour of Steele appears rude and -unpolished. Addison and Steele had been friends since boyhood. They had -been contemporaries at the Charter House, and, as we have seen, Steele had -sometimes spent his holidays in the parsonage of Addison's father. He was -a postmaster at Merton about the same time that his friend was a Fellow of -Magdalen. The admiration which he conceived for the hero of his boyhood -lasted, as so often happens, through life; he exhibited his veneration for -him in all places, and even when Addison indulged his humour at his -expense he showed no resentment. Addison, on his side, seems to have -treated Steele with a kind of gracious condescension. The latter was one -of the few intimate friends to whom he unbent in conversation; and while -he was Under-Secretary of State he aided him in the production of _The -Tender Husband_, which was dedicated to him by the author. Of this play -Steele afterwards declared with characteristic impulse that many of the -most admired passages were the work of his friend, and that he "thought -very meanly of himself that he had never publicly avowed it." - -The authorship of the _Tatler_ was at first kept secret to all the world. -It is said that the hand of Steele discovered itself to Addison on reading -in the fifth number a remark which he remembered to have himself made to -Steele on the judgment of Virgil, as shown in the appellation of "Dux -Trojanus," which the Latin poet assigns to Æneas, when describing his -adventure with Dido in the cave, in the place of the usual epithet of -"pius" or "pater." Thereupon he offered his services as a contributor, and -these were of course gladly accepted. The first paper sent by Addison to -the _Tatler_ was No. 18, wherein is displayed that inimitable art which -makes a man appear infinitely ridiculous by the ironical commendation of -his offences against right, reason, and good taste. The subject is the -approaching peace with France, and it is noticeable that the article of -foreign news, which had been treated in previous _Tatlers_ with complete -seriousness, is here for the first time invested with an air of -pleasantry. The distress of the news-writers at the prospect of peace is -thus described: - - "There is another sort of gentlemen whom I am much more concerned for, - and that is the ingenious fraternity of which I have the honour to be - an unworthy member; I mean the news-writers of Great Britain, whether - Post-men or Post-boys, or by what other name or title soever dignified - or distinguished. The case of these gentlemen is, I think, more hard - than that of the soldiers, considering that they have taken more towns - and fought more battles. They have been upon parties and skirmishes - when our armies have lain still, and given the general assault to many - a place when the besiegers were quiet in their trenches. They have - made us masters of several strong towns many weeks before our generals - could do it, and completed victories when our greatest captains have - been glad to come off with a drawn battle. Where Prince Eugene has - slain his thousands Boyer has slain his ten thousands. This gentleman - can indeed be never enough commended for his courage and intrepidity - during this whole war: he has laid about him with an inexpressible - fury, and, like offended Marius of ancient Rome, made such havoc among - his countrymen as must be the work of two or three ages to repair.... - It is impossible for this ingenious sort of men to subsist after a - peace: every one remembers the shifts they were driven to in the reign - of King Charles the Second, when they could not furnish out a single - paper of news without lighting up a comet in Germany or a fire in - Moscow. There scarce appeared a letter without a paragraph on an - earthquake. Prodigies were grown so familiar that they had lost their - name, as a great poet of that age has it. I remember Mr. Dyer, who is - justly looked upon by all the foxhunters in the nation as the greatest - statesman our country has produced, was particularly famous for - dealing in whales, in so much that in five months' time (for I had the - curiosity to examine his letters on that occasion) he brought three - into the mouth of the river Thames, besides two porpusses and a - sturgeon." - -The appearance of Addison as a regular contributor to the _Tatler_ -gradually brought about a revolution in the character of the paper. For -some time longer, indeed, articles continued to be dated from the -different coffee-houses, but only slight efforts were made to distinguish -the materials furnished from White's, Will's, or Isaac's own apartment. -When the hundredth number was reached a fresh address is given at Shere -Lane, where the astrologer lived, and henceforward the papers from White's -and Will's grow extremely rare; those from the Grecian may be said to -disappear; and the foreign intelligence, dated from St. James', whenever -it is inserted, which is seldom, is as often as not made the text of a -literary disquisition. Allegories become frequent, and the letters sent, -or supposed to be sent, to Isaac at his home address furnish the material -for many numbers. The Essay, in fact, or that part of the newspaper which -goes to form public opinion, preponderates greatly over that portion which -is devoted to the report of news. Spence quotes from a Mr. Chute: "I have -heard Sir Richard Steele say that, though he had a greater share in the -_Tatlers_ than in the _Spectators_, he thought the news article in the -first of these was what contributed much to their success."[39] Chute, -however, seems to speak with a certain grudge against Addison, and the -statement ascribed by him to Steele is intrinsically improbable. It is not -very likely that, as the proprietor of the _Tatler_, he would have -dispensed with any element in it that contributed to its popularity, yet -after No. 100 the news articles are seldom found. The truth is that Steele -recognised the superiority of Addison's style, and with his usual -quickness accommodated the form of his journal to the genius of the new -contributor. - - "I have only one gentleman," says he, in the preface to the _Tatler_, - "who will be nameless, to thank for any frequent assistance to me, - which indeed 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 despatch the most entertaining - pieces of this nature. This good office he performed with such force - of genius, humour, wit, and learning that I fared like a distressed - prince who calls in a powerful neighbour to his aid; I was undone by - my own auxiliary; when I had once called him in I could not subsist - without dependence on him." - -With his usual enthusiastic generosity, Steele, in this passage, unduly -depreciates his own merits to exalt the genius of his friend. A comparison -of the amount of material furnished to the _Tatler_ by Addison and Steele -respectively shows that out of 271 numbers the latter contributed 188 and -the former only 42. Nor is the disparity in quantity entirely balanced by -the superior quality of Addison's papers. Though it was, doubtless, his -fine workmanship and admirable method which carried to perfection the -style of writing initiated in the _Tatler_, yet there is scarcely a -department of essay-writing developed in the _Spectator_ which does not -trace its origin to Steele. It is Steele who first ventures to raise his -voice against the prevailing dramatic taste of the age on behalf of the -superior morality and art of Shakespeare's plays. - - "Of all men living," says he, in the eighth _Tatler_, "I pity players - (who must be men of good understanding to be capable of being such) - that they are obliged to repeat and assume proper gestures for - representing things of which their reason must be ashamed, and which - they must disdain their audience for approving. The amendment of these - low gratifications is only to be made by people of condition, by - encouraging the noble representation of the noble characters drawn by - Shakespeare and others, from whence it is impossible to return without - strong impressions of honour and humanity. On these occasions distress - is laid before us with all its causes and consequences, and our - resentment placed according to the merit of the person afflicted. - Were dramas of this nature more acceptable to the taste of the town, - men who have genius would bend their studies to excel in them." - -Steele, too, it was who attacked, with all the vigour of which he was -capable, the fashionable vice of gambling. So severe were his comments on -this subject in the _Tatler_ that he raised against himself the fierce -resentment of the whole community of sharpers, though he was fortunate -enough at the same time to enlist the sympathies of the better part of -society. "Lord Forbes," says Mr. Nichols, the antiquary, in his notes to -the _Tatler_, "happened to be in company with the two military gentlemen -just mentioned" (Major-General Davenport and Brigadier Bisset) "in St. -James' Coffee-House when two or three well-dressed men, all unknown to his -lordship or his company, came into the room, and in a public, outrageous -manner abused Captain Steele as the author of the _Tatler_. One of them, -with great audacity and vehemence, swore that he would cut Steele's throat -or teach him better manners. 'In this country,' said Lord Forbes, 'you -will find it easier to cut a purse than to cut a throat.' His brother -officers instantly joined with his lordship and turned the cut-throats out -of the coffee-house with every mark of disgrace."[40] - -The practice of duelling, also, which had hitherto passed unreproved, was -censured by Steele in a series of papers in the _Tatler_, which seemed to -have been written on an occasion when, having been forced to fight much -against his will, he had the misfortune dangerously to wound his -antagonist.[41] The sketches of character studied from life, and the -letters from fictitious correspondents, both of which form so noticeable -a feature in the _Spectator_, appear roughly, but yet distinctly, drafted -in the _Tatler_. Even the papers of literary criticism, afterwards so -fully elaborated by Addison, are anticipated by his friend, who may fairly -claim the honour to have been the first to speak with adequate respect of -the genius of Milton.[42] In a word, whatever was perfected by Addison was -begun by Steele; if the one has for ever associated his name with the -_Spectator_, the other may justly appropriate the credit of the _Tatler_, -a work which bears to its successor the same kind of relation that the -frescoes of Masaccio bear, in point of dramatic feeling and style, to -those of Raphael; the later productions deserving honour for finish of -execution, the earlier for priority of invention. - -The _Tatler_ was published till the 2d of January, 1710-11, and was -discontinued, according to Steele's own account, because the public had -penetrated his disguise, and he was therefore no longer able to preach -with effect in the person of Bickerstaff. It may be doubted whether this -was his real motive for abandoning the paper. He had been long known as -its conductor; and that his readers had shown no disinclination to listen -to him is proved, not only by the large circulation of each number of the -_Tatler_, but by the extensive sale of the successive volumes of the -collected papers at the high price of a guinea apiece. He was, in all -probability, led to drop the publication by finding that the political -element that the paper contained was a source of embarrassment to him. His -sympathies were vehemently Whig; the _Tatler_ from the beginning had -celebrated the virtues of Marlborough and his friends, both directly and -under cover of fiction; and he had been rewarded for his services with a -commissionership of the Stamp-office. When the Whig Ministry fell in -1710, Harley, setting a just value on the abilities of Steele, left him in -the enjoyment of his office and expressed his desire to serve him in any -other way. Under these circumstances, Steele no doubt felt it incumbent on -him to discontinue a paper which, both from its design and its traditions, -would have tempted him into the expression of his political partialities. - -For two months, therefore, "the censorship of Great Britain," as he -himself expressed it, "remained in commission," until Addison and he once -more returned to discharge the duties of the office in the _Spectator_, -the first number of which was published on the 1st of March, 1710-11. The -_Tatler_ had only been issued three times a week, but the conductors of -the new paper were now so confident in their own resources and in the -favour of the public that they undertook to bring out one number daily. -The new paper at once exhibited the impress of Addison's genius, which had -gradually transformed the character of the _Tatler_ itself. The latter was -originally, in every sense of the word, a newspaper, but the Spectator -from the first indulged his humour at the expense of the clubs of -Quidnuncs. - - "There is," says he, "another set of men that I must likewise lay a - claim to as being altogether unfurnished with ideas till the business - and conversation of the day has supplied them. I have often considered - these poor souls with an eye of great commiseration when I have heard - them asking the first man they have met with whether there was any - news stirring, and by that means gathering together materials for - thinking. These needy persons do not know what to talk of till about - twelve o'clock in the morning; for by that time they are pretty good - judges of the weather, know which way the wind sets, and whether the - Dutch mail be come in. As they lie at the mercy of the first man they - meet, and are grave or impertinent all the day long, according to the - notions which they have imbibed in the morning, I would earnestly - entreat them not to stir out of their chambers till they have read - this paper; and do promise them that I will daily instil into them - such sound and wholesome sentiments as shall have a good effect on - their conversation for the ensuing twelve hours."[43] - -For these, and other men of leisure, a kind of paper differing from the -_Tatler_, which proposed only to retail the various species of gossip in -the coffee-houses, was required, and the new entertainment was provided by -the original design of an imaginary club, consisting of several ideal -types of character grouped round the central figure of the Spectator. They -represent considerable classes or sections of the community, and are, as a -rule, men of strongly marked opinions, prejudices, and foibles, which -furnish inexhaustible matter of comment to the Spectator himself, who -delivers the judgments of reason and common-sense. Sir Roger de Coverley, -with his simplicity, his high sense of honour, and his old-world -reminiscences, reflects the country gentleman of the best kind; Sir Andrew -Freeport expresses the opinions of the enterprising, hard-headed, and -rather hard-hearted moneyed interest; Captain Sentry speaks for the army; -the Templar for the world of taste and learning; the clergyman for -theology and philosophy; while Will Honeycomb, the elderly man of fashion, -gives the Spectator many opportunities for criticizing the traditions of -morality and breeding surviving from the days of the Restoration. Thus, -instead of the division of places which determined the arrangement of the -_Tatler_, the different subjects treated in the _Spectator_ are -distributed among a variety of persons: the Templar is substituted for the -Grecian Coffee-House and Will's; Will Honeycomb takes the place of -White's; and Captain Sentry, whose appearances are rare, stands for the -more voluminous article on foreign intelligence published in the old -periodical, under the head of St. James's. The Spectator himself finds a -natural prototype in Isaac Bickerstaff, but his character is drawn with a -far greater finish and delicacy, and is much more essential to the design -of the paper which he conducts, than was that of the old astrologer. - -The aim of the Spectator was to establish a rational standard of conduct -in morals, manners, art, and literature. - - "Since," says he in one of his early numbers, "I have raised to myself - so great an audience, I shall spare no pains to make their instruction - agreeable and their diversion useful. For which reason I shall - endeavour to enliven morality with wit, and to temper wit with - morality, that my readers may, if possible, both ways find their - account in the speculation of the day. And to the end that their - virtue and discretion may not be short, transient, intermitting starts - of thought, I have resolved to refresh their memories from day to day - till I have recovered them out of that desperate state of vice and - folly into which the age has fallen. The mind that lies fallow but a - single day sprouts up in follies that are only to be killed by a - constant and assiduous culture. It was said of Socrates that he - brought Philosophy down from heaven to inhabit among men; and I shall - be ambitious to have it said of me that I have brought Philosophy out - of closets and libraries, schools and colleges, to dwell in clubs and - assemblies, at tea-tables and in coffee-houses."[44] - -Johnson, in his _Life of Addison_, says that the task undertaken in the -_Spectator_ was "first attempted by Casa in his book of _Manners_, and -Castiglione in his _Courtier_; two books yet celebrated in Italy for -purity and elegance, and which, if they are now less read, are neglected -only because they have effected that reformation which their authors -intended, and their precepts now are no longer wanted." He afterwards -praises the _Tatler_ and _Spectator_ by saying that they "adjusted, like -Casa, the unsettled practice of daily intercourse by propriety and -politeness, and, like La Bruyère, exhibited the characters and manners of -the age." This commendation scarcely does justice to the work of Addison -and Steele. Casa, a man equally distinguished for profligacy and -politeness, merely codified in his _Galateo_ the laws of good manners -which prevailed in his age. He is the Lord Chesterfield of Italy. -Castiglione gives instructions to the young courtier how to behave in such -a manner as to make himself agreeable to his prince. La Bruyère's -characters are no doubt the literary models of those which appear in the -_Spectator_. But La Bruyère merely described what he saw, with admirable -wit, urbanity, and scholarship, but without any of the earnestness of a -moral reformer. He could never have conceived the character of Sir Roger -de Coverley; and, though he was ready enough to satirise the follies of -society as an observer from the outside, to bring "philosophy out of -closets and libraries, to dwell in clubs and assemblies," was far from -being his ambition. He would probably have thought the publication of a -newspaper scarcely consistent with his position as a gentleman. - -A very large portion of the _Spectator_ is devoted to reflections on the -manners of women. Addison saw clearly how important a part the female sex -was destined to play in the formation of English taste and manners. -Removed from the pedestal of enthusiastic devotion on which they had been -placed during the feudal ages, women were treated under the Restoration as -mere playthings and luxuries. As manners became more decent they found -themselves secured in their emancipated position but destitute of serious -and rational employment. It was Addison's object, therefore, to enlist the -aid of female genius in softening, refining, and moderating the gross and -conflicting tastes of a half-civilised society. - - "There are none," he says, "to whom this paper will be more useful - than to the female world. I have often thought there has not been - sufficient pains taken in finding out proper employments and - diversions for the fair ones. Their amusements seem contrived for - them, rather as they are women than as they are reasonable creatures, - and are more adapted to the sex than to the species. The toilet is - their great scene of business, and the right adjustment of their hair - the principal employment of their lives. The sorting of a suit of - ribands is reckoned a very good morning's work; and if they make an - excursion to a mercer's or a toy shop, so great a fatigue makes them - unfit for anything else all the day after. Their more serious - occupations are sewing and embroidery, and their greatest drudgery the - preparations of jellies and sweetmeats. This, I say, is the state of - ordinary women, though I know there are multitudes of those of a more - elevated life and conversation that move in an exalted sphere of - knowledge and virtue, that join all the beauties of the mind to the - ornaments of dress, and inspire a kind of awe and respect, as well as - of love, into their male beholders. I hope to increase the number of - these by publishing this daily paper, which I shall always endeavour - to make an innocent, if not an improving entertainment, and by that - means, at least, divert the minds of my female readers from greater - trifles."[45] - -To some of the vigorous spirits of the age the mild and social character -of the _Spectator's_ satire did not commend itself. Swift, who had -contributed several papers to the _Tatler_ while it was in its infancy, -found it too feminine for his taste. "I will not meddle with the -_Spectator_," says he in his _Journal to Stella_, "let him _fair sex_ it -to the world's end." Personal pique, however, may have done as much as a -differing taste to depreciate the _Spectator_ in the eyes of the author -of the _Tale of a Tub_, for he elsewhere acknowledges its merits. "The -_Spectator_," he writes to Stella, "is written by Steele, with Addison's -help; it is often very pretty.... But I never see him (Steele) or -Addison." That part of the public to whom the paper was specially -addressed read it with keen relish. In the ninety-second number a -correspondent, signing herself "Leonora,"[46] writes: - - "Mr. Spectator,--Your paper is a part of my tea-equipage; and my - servant knows my humour so well that, calling for my breakfast this - morning (it being past my usual hour), she answered, the _Spectator_ - was not yet come in, but the tea-kettle boiled, and she expected it - every moment." - -In a subsequent number "Thomas Trusty" writes: - - "I constantly peruse your paper as I smoke my morning's pipe (though I - can't forbear reading the motto before I fill and light), and really - it gives a grateful relish to every whiff; each paragraph is fraught - either with useful or delightful notions, and I never fail of being - highly diverted or improved. The variety of your subjects surprises me - as much as a box of pictures did formerly, in which there was only one - face, that by pulling some pieces of isinglass over it was changed - into a grave senator or a merry-andrew, a polished lady or a nun, a - beau or a blackamoor, a prude or a coquette, a country squire or a - conjuror, with many other different representations very entertaining - (as you are), though still the same at the bottom."[47] - -The _Spectator_ was read in all parts of the country. - - "I must confess," says Addison, as his task was drawing to an end, - "that I am not a little gratified and obliged by that concern which - appears in this great city upon my present design of laying down this - paper. It is likewise with much satisfaction that I find some of the - most outlying parts of the kingdom alarmed upon this occasion, having - received letters to expostulate with me about it from several of my - readers of the remotest boroughs of Great Britain."[48] - -With how keen an interest the public entered into the humour of the paper -is shown by the following letter, signed "Philo-Spec:" - - "I was this morning in a company of your well-wishers, when we read - over, with great satisfaction, Tully's observations on action adapted - to the British theatre, though, by the way, we were very sorry to find - that you have disposed of another member of your club. Poor Sir Roger - is dead, and the worthy clergyman dying; Captain Sentry has taken - possession of a fair estate; Will Honeycomb has married a farmer's - daughter; and the Templar withdraws himself into the business of his - own profession."[49] - -It is no wonder that readers anticipated with regret the dissolution of a -society that had provided them with so much delicate entertainment. -Admirably as the club was designed for maintaining that variety of -treatment on which Mr. Trusty comments in the letter quoted above, the -execution of the design is deserving of even greater admiration. The skill -with which the grave speculations of the _Spectator_ are contrasted with -the lively observations of Will Honeycomb on the fashions of the age, and -these again are diversified with papers descriptive of character or -adorned with fiction, while the letters from the public outside form a -running commentary on the conduct of the paper, cannot be justly -appreciated without a certain effort of thought. But it may safely be said -that, to have provided society day after day, for more than two years, -with a species of entertainment which, nearly two centuries later, retains -all its old power to interest and delight, is an achievement unique in the -history of literature. Even apart from the exquisite art displayed in -their grouping, the matter of many of the essays in the _Spectator_ is -still valuable. The vivid descriptions of contemporary manners, the -inimitable series of sketches of Sir Roger de Coverley, the criticisms in -the papers on _True and False Wit_ and Milton's _Paradise Lost_, have -scarcely less significance for ourselves than for the society for which -they were immediately written. - -Addison's own papers were 274 in number, as against 236 contributed by -Steele. They were, as a rule, signed with one of the four letters C. L. -I. O., either because, as Tickell seems to hint in his _Elegy_, they -composed the name of one of the Muses, or, as later scholars have -conjectured, because they were respectively written from four different -localities--viz., Chelsea, London, Islington, and the Office. - -The sale of the _Spectator_ was doubtless very large relatively to the -number of readers in Queen Anne's reign. Johnson, indeed, computes the -number sold daily to have been only sixteen hundred and eighty, but he -seems to have overlooked what Addison himself says on the subject very -shortly after the paper had been started: "My publisher tells me that -there are already three thousand of them distributed every day."[50] This -number must have gone on increasing with the growing reputation of the -_Spectator_. When the Preface of the _Four Sermons_ of Dr. Fleetwood, -Bishop of Llandaff, was suppressed by order of the House of Commons, the -_Spectator_ printed it in its 384th number, thus conveying, as the Bishop -said in a letter to Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury, "fourteen thousand copies -of the condemned preface into people's hands that would otherwise have -never seen or heard of it." Making allowance for the extraordinary -character of the number, it is not unreasonable to conclude that the usual -daily issue of the _Spectator_ to readers in all parts of the kingdom -would, towards the close of its career, have reached ten thousand copies. -The separate papers were afterwards collected into octavo volumes, which -were sold, like the volumes of the _Tatler_, for a guinea apiece. Steele -tells us that more than nine thousand copies of each volume were sold -off.[51] - -Nothing could have been better timed than the appearance of the -_Spectator_; it may indeed be doubted whether it could have been produced -with success at any other period. Had it been projected earlier, while -Addison was still in office, his thoughts would have been diverted to -other subjects, and he would have been unlikely to survey the world with -quite impartial eyes; had the publication been delayed it would have come -before the public when the balance of all minds was disturbed by the -dangers of the political situation. The difficulty of preserving -neutrality under such circumstances was soon shown by the fate of the -_Guardian_. Shortly after the _Spectator_ was discontinued this new paper -was designed by the fertile invention of Steele, with every intention of -keeping it, like its predecessor, free from the entanglements of party. -But it had not proceeded beyond the forty-first number when the vehement -partizanship of Steele was excited by the Tory _Examiner_; in the 128th -number appeared a letter, signed "An English Tory," calling for the -demolition of Dunkirk, while soon afterwards, finding that his political -feelings were hampered by the design on which the _Guardian_ was -conducted, he dropped it and replaced it with a paper called the -_Englishman_. Addison himself, who had been a frequent contributor to the -_Guardian_, did not aid in the _Englishman_, of the violent party tone of -which he strongly disapproved. A few years afterwards the old friends and -coadjutors in the _Tatler_ and _Spectator_ found themselves maintaining an -angry controversy in the opposing pages of the _Old Whig_ and the -_Plebeian_. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -_CATO._ - - -It is a peculiarity in Addison's life that Fortune, as if conspiring with -the happiness of his genius, constantly furnished him with favourable -opportunities for the exercise of his powers. The pension granted him by -Halifax enabled him, while he was yet a young man, to add to his knowledge -of classical literature an intimate acquaintance with the languages and -governments of the chief European states. When his fortunes were at the -lowest ebb on his return from his travels, his introduction to Godolphin -by Halifax, the consequence of which was _The Campaign_, procured him at -once celebrity and advancement. The appearance of the _Tatler_, though due -entirely to the invention of Steele, prepared the way for development of -the genius that prevailed in the _Spectator_. But the climax of Addison's -good fortune was certainly the successful production of _Cato_, a play -which, on its own merits, might have been read with interest by the -scholars of the time, but which could scarcely have succeeded on the stage -if it had not been appropriated and made part of our national life by the -violence of political passion. - -Addison had not the genius of a dramatist. The grace, the irony, the -fastidious refinement which give him such an unrivalled capacity in -describing and criticising the humours of men as a _spectator_ did not -qualify him for imaginative sympathy with their actions and passions. But, -like most men of ability in that period, his thoughts were drawn towards -the stage, and even in Dryden's lifetime he had sent him a play in -manuscript, asking him to use his interest to obtain its performance. The -old poet returned it, we are told, "with many commendations, but with an -expression of his opinion that on the stage it would not meet with its -deserved success." Addison, nevertheless, persevered in his attempts, and -during his travels he wrote four acts of the tragedy of _Cato_, the design -of which, according to Tickell, he had formed while he was at Oxford, -though he certainly borrowed many incidents in the play from a tragedy on -the same subject which he saw performed at Venice.[52] It is -characteristic, however, of the undramatic mood in which he executed his -task that the last act was not written till shortly before the performance -of the play, many years later. As early as 1703 the drama was shown to -Cibber by Steele, who said that "whatever spirit Mr. Addison had shown in -his writing it, he doubted that he would ever have courage enough to let -his _Cato_ stand the censure of an English audience; that it had only been -the amusement of his leisure hours in Italy, and was never intended for -the stage." He seems to have remained of the same opinion on the very eve -of the performance of the play. "When Mr. Addison," says Pope, as reported -by Spence, "had finished his _Cato_ he brought it to me, desired to have -my sincere opinion of it, and left it with me for three or four days. I -gave him my opinion of it sincerely, which was, 'that I thought he had -better not act it, and that he would get reputation enough by only -printing it.' This I said as thinking the lines well written, but the -piece not theatrical enough. Some time after Mr. Addison said 'that his -own opinion was the same with mine, but that some particular friends of -his, whom he could not disoblige, insisted on its being acted.'"[53] - -Undoubtedly, Pope was right in principle, and anybody who reads the -thirty-ninth paper in the _Spectator_ may see not only that Addison was -out of sympathy with the traditions of the English stage, but that his -whole turn of thought disqualified him from comprehending the motives of -dramatic composition. "The modern drama," says he, "excels that of Greece -and Rome in the intricacy and disposition of the fable--but, what a -Christian writer would be ashamed to own, falls infinitely short of it in -the moral part of the performance." And the entire drift of the criticism -that follows relates to the thought, the sentiment, and the expression of -the modern drama, rather than to the really essential question, the nature -of the action. It is false criticism to say that the greatest dramas of -Shakespeare fail in morality as compared with those of the Greek -tragedians. That the manner in which the moral is conveyed is different in -each case is of course true, since the subjects of Greek tragedy were -selected from Greek mythology, and were treated by Æschylus and Sophocles, -at all events, in a religious spirit, whereas the plays of Shakespeare are -only indirectly Christian, and produce their effect by an appeal to the -individual conscience. None the less is it the case that _Macbeth_, -_Hamlet_, and _Lear_ have for modern audiences a far deeper moral meaning -than the _Agamemnon_ or the _Oedipus Tyrannus_. The tragic motive in Greek -tragedy is the impotence of man in the face of moral law or necessity; in -Shakespeare's tragedies it is the corruption of the will, some sin of the -individual against the law of God, which brings its own punishment. There -was nothing in this principle of which a Christian dramatist need have -been ashamed; and as regards Shakespeare, at any rate, it is evident that -Addison's criticism is unjust. - -It is, however, by no means undeserved in its application to the class of -plays which grew up after the Restoration. Under that _régime_ the moral -spirit of the Shakesperian drama entirely disappears. The king, whose -temper was averse to tragedy, and whose taste had been formed on French -models, desired to see every play end happily. "I am going to end a -piece," writes Roger, Earl of Orrery, to a friend, "in the French style, -because I have heard the King declare that he preferred their manner to -our own." The greatest tragedies of the Elizabethan age were transformed -to suit this new fashion; even King Lear obtained a happy deliverance from -his sufferings in satisfaction of the requirements of an effeminate Court. -Addison very wittily ridicules this false taste in the fortieth number of -the _Spectator_. He is not less felicitous in his remarks on the -sentiments and the style of the Caroline drama, though he does not -sufficiently discriminate his censure, which he bestows equally on the -dramatists of the Restoration and on Shakespeare. Two main characteristics -appear in all the productions of the former epoch--the monarchical spirit -and the fashion of gallantry. The names of the plays speak for themselves: -on the one hand, _The Indian Emperor_, _Aurengzebe_, _The Indian Queen_, -_The Conquest of Granada_, _The Fate of Hannibal_; on the other, _Secret -Love_, _Tyrannic Love_, _Love and Vengeance_, _The Rival Queens_, -_Theodosius, or the Power of Love_, and numberless others of the same -kind. In the one set of dramas the poet sought to arouse the passion of -pity by exhibiting the downfall of persons of high estate; in the other -he appealed to the sentiment of romantic passion. Such were the fruits of -that taste for French romance which was encouraged by Charles II., and -which sought to disguise the absence of genuine emotion by the turgid -bombast of its sentiment and the epigrammatic declamation of its rhymed -verse. - -At the same time, the taste of the nation having been once turned into -French channels, a remedy for these defects was naturally sought for from -French sources; and just as the school of Racine and Boileau set its face -against the extravagances of the romantic coteries, so Addison and his -English followers, adopting the principles of the French classicists, -applied them to the reformation of the English theatre. Hence arose a -great revival of respect for the poetical doctrines of Aristotle, regard -for the unities of time and place, attention to the proprieties of -sentiment and diction--in a word, for all those characteristics of style -afterwards summed up in the phrase "correctness." - -This habit of thought, useful as an antidote to extravagance, was not -fertile as a motive of dramatic production. Addison worked with strict and -conscious attention to his critical principles: the consequence is that -his _Cato_, though superficially "correct," is a passionless and -mechanical play. He had combated with reason the "ridiculous doctrine in -modern criticism, that writers of tragedy are obliged to an equal -distribution of rewards and punishments, and an impartial execution of -poetical justice."[54] But his reasoning led him on to deny that the idea -of justice is an essential element in tragedy. "We find," says he, "that -good and evil happen alike to all men on this side the grave; and, as the -principal design of tragedy is to raise commiseration and terror in the -minds of the audience, we shall defeat this great end if we always make -virtue and innocence happy and successful.... The ancient writers of -tragedy treated men in their plays as they are dealt with in the world, by -making virtue sometimes happy and sometimes miserable, as they found it in -the fable which they made choice of, or as it might affect their audience -in the most agreeable manner."[55] But it is certain that the fable which -the two greatest of the Greek tragedians "made choice of" was always of a -religious nature, and that the idea of Justice was never absent from it; -it is also certain that Retribution is a vital element in all the -tragedies of Shakespeare. The notion that the essence of tragedy consists -in the spectacle of a good man struggling with adversity is a conception -derived through the French from the Roman Stoics; it is not found in the -works of the greatest tragic poets. - -This, however, was Addison's central motive, and this is what Pope, in his -famous Prologue, assigns to him as his chief praise: - - "Our author shuns by vulgar springs to move - The hero's glory or the virgin's love; - In pitying love we but our weakness show, - And wild ambition well deserves its woe. - Here tears shall flow from a more generous cause, - Such tears as patriots shed for dying laws: - He bids your breasts with ancient ardour rise, - And calls forth Roman drops from British eyes. - Virtue confessed in human shape he draws-- - What Plato thought, and godlike Cato was: - No common object to your sight displays, - But what with pleasure heav'n itself surveys; - A brave man struggling in the storms of fate, - And greatly falling with a falling state." - -A falling state offers a tragic spectacle to the thought and the reason, -but not one that can be represented on the stage so as to move the -passions of the spectators. The character of Cato, as exhibited by -Addison, is an abstraction, round which a number of other lay figures are -skilfully grouped for the delivery of lofty and appropriate sentiments. -Juba, the virtuous young prince of Numidia, the admirer of Cato's virtue, -Portius and Marcus, Cato's virtuous sons, and Marcia, his virtuous -daughter, are all equally admirable and equally lifeless. Johnson's -criticism of the play leaves little to be said: - - "About things," he observes, "on which the public thinks long it - commonly attains to think right; and of _Cato_ it has not been - unjustly determined that it is rather a poem in dialogue than a drama, - rather a succession of just sentiments in elegant language than a - representation of natural affections, or of any state probable or - possible in human life. Nothing here 'excites or assuages emotion;' - here is 'no magical power of raising fantastic terror or wild - anxiety.' The events are expected without solicitude, and are - remembered without joy or sorrow. Of the agents we have no care; we - consider not what they are doing or what they are suffering; we wish - only to know what they have to say. Cato is a being above our - solicitude; a man of whom the gods take care, and whom we leave to - their care with heedless confidence. To the rest neither gods nor men - can have much attention, for there is not one among them that strongly - attracts either affection or esteem. But they are made the vehicles of - such sentiments and such expressions that there is scarcely a scene in - the play which the reader does not wish to impress upon his memory." - -To this it may be added that, from the essentially undramatic bent of -Addison's genius, whenever he contrives a train of incident he manages to -make it a little absurd. Dennis has pointed out with considerable humour -the consequences of his conscientious adherence to the unity of place, -whereby every species of action in the play--love-making, conspiracy, -debating, and fighting--is made to take place in the "large hall in the -governor's palace of Utica." It is strange that Addison's keen sense of -the ridiculous, which inspired so happily his criticisms on the -allegorical paintings at Versailles,[56] should not have shown him the -incongruities which Dennis discerned; but, in truth, they pervade the -atmosphere of the whole play. All the actors--the distracted lovers, the -good young man, Juba, and the blundering conspirator, Sempronius--seem to -be oppressed with an uneasy consciousness that they have a character to -sustain, and are not confident of coming up to what is expected of them. -This is especially the case with Portius, a pragmatic young Roman, whose -praiseworthy but futile attempts to unite the qualities of Stoical -fortitude, romantic passion, and fraternal loyalty, exhibit him in a -position of almost comic embarrassment. According to Pope, "the love part -was flung in after, to comply with the popular taste;" but the removal of -these scenes would make the play so remarkably barren of incident that it -is a little difficult to credit the statement. - -The deficiencies of _Cato_ as an acting play were, however, more than -counterbalanced by the violence of party spirit, which insisted on -investing the comparatively tame sentiments assigned to the Roman -champions of liberty with a pointed modern application. In 1713 the rage -of the contending factions was at its highest point. The Tories were -suspected, not without reason, of designs against the Act of Settlement; -the Whigs, on the other hand, were still suffering in public opinion from -the charge of having, for their own advantage, protracted the war with -Louis XIV. Marlborough had been accused in 1711 of receiving bribes while -commander-in-chief, and had been dismissed from all his employments. -Disappointment, envy, revenge, and no doubt a genuine apprehension for the -public safety, inspired the attacks of the Whigs upon their rivals; and -when it was known that Addison had in his drawers an unfinished play on so -promising a subject as _Cato_, great pressure was put upon him by his -friends to complete it for the stage. Somewhat unwillingly, apparently, he -roused himself to the task. So small, indeed, was his inclination for it, -that he is said in the first instance to have asked Hughes, afterwards -author of the _Siege of Damascus_, to write a fifth act for him. Hughes -undertook to do so, but on returning a few days afterwards with his own -performance, he found that Addison had himself finished the play. In spite -of the judgment of the critics, _Cato_ was quickly hurried off for -rehearsal, doubtless with many fears on the part of the author. His -anxieties during this period must have been great. "I was this morning," -writes Swift to Stella on the 6th of April, "at ten, at the rehearsal of -Mr. Addison's play, called _Cato_, which is to be acted on Friday. There -was not half a score of us to see it. We stood on the stage, and it was -foolish enough to see the actors prompted every moment, and the poet -directing them, and the drab that acts Cato's daughter (Mrs. Oldfield) out -in the midst of a passionate part, and then calling out, 'What's next?'" - -Mrs. Oldfield not only occasionally forgot the poet's text, she also -criticised it. She seems to have objected to the original draft of a -speech of Portius in the second scene of the third act; and Pope, whose -advice Addison appears to have frequently asked, suggested the present -reading: - - "Fixt in astonishment, I gaze upon thee - Like one just blasted by a stroke from heaven - Who pants for breath, and _stiffens, yet alive_, - In dreadful looks: a monument of wrath."[57] - -Pope also proposed the alteration of the last line in the play from - - "And oh, 'twas this that ended Cato's life," - -to - - "And robs the guilty world of Cato's life;" - -and he was generally the cause of many modifications. "I believe," said he -to Spence, "Mr. Addison did not leave a word unchanged that I objected to -in his _Cato_."[58] - -On the 13th of April the play was ready for performance, and contemporary -accounts give a vivid picture of the eagerness of the public, the -excitement of parties, and the apprehensions of the author. "On our first -night of acting it," says Cibber, in his Apology, speaking of the -subsequent representation at Oxford, "our house was, in a manner, -invested, and entrance demanded by twelve o'clock at noon; and before one -it was not wide enough for many who came too late for their places. The -same crowds continued for three days together--an uncommon curiosity in -that place; and the death of Cato triumphed over the injuries of Cæsar -everywhere." The prologue--a very fine one--was contributed by Pope; the -epilogue--written, according to the execrable taste fashionable after the -Restoration, in a comic vein--by Garth. As to the performance itself, a -very lively record of the effect it produced remains in Pope's letter to -Trumbull of the 30th April, 1713: - - "Cato was not so much the wonder of Rome in his days as he is of - Britain in ours; and though all the foolish industry possible had been - used to make it thought a party play, yet what the author said of - another may the most properly be applied to him on this occasion: - - 'Envy itself is dumb, in wonder lost, - And factions strive who shall applaud him most!'[59] - - The numerous and violent claps of the Whig party on the one side of - the theatre were echoed back by the Tories on the other, while the - author sweated behind the scenes with concern to find their applause - proceeding more from the hand than the head. This was the case, too, - with the Prologue-writer, who was clapped into a staunch Whig at the - end of every two lines. I believe you have heard that, after all the - applauses of the opposite faction, my Lord Bolingbroke sent for Booth, - who played Cato, into the box, between one of the acts, and presented - him with fifty guineas, in acknowledgment, as he expressed it, for - defending the cause of liberty so well against a perpetual dictator. - The Whigs are unwilling to be distanced this way, and therefore design - a present to the same Cato very speedily; in the meantime they are - getting ready as good a sentence as the former on their side; so - betwixt them it is probable that Cato (as Dr. Garth expressed it) may - have something to live upon after he dies." - -The Queen herself partook, or feigned to partake, of the general -enthusiasm, and expressed a wish that the play should be dedicated to her. -This honour had, however, been already designed by the poet for the -Duchess of Marlborough, so that, finding himself unable under the -circumstances to fulfil his intentions, he decided to leave the play -without any dedication. _Cato_ ran for the then unprecedented period of -thirty-five nights. Addison appears to have behaved with great liberality -to the actors, and, at Oxford, to have handed over to them all the profits -of the first night's performance; while they in return, Cibber tells us, -thought themselves "obliged to spare no pains in the proper decorations" -of the piece. - -The fame of _Cato_ spread from England to the Continent. It was twice -translated into Italian, twice into French, and once into Latin; a French -and a German imitation of it were also published. Voltaire, to whom -Shakespeare appeared no better than an inspired barbarian, praises it in -the highest terms. "_The first English writer who composed a regular -tragedy_ and infused a spirit of elegance through every part of it was," -says he, "the illustrious Mr. Addison. His _Cato_ is a masterpiece, both -with regard to the diction and the harmony and beauty of the numbers. The -character of Cato is, in my opinion, greatly superior to that of Cornelia -in the _Pompey_ of Corneille, for Cato is great without anything of -fustian, and Cornelia, who besides is not a necessary character, tends -sometimes to bombast." Even he, however, could not put up with the -love-scenes: - - "Addison l'a déjà tenté; - C'étoit le poëte des sâges, - Mais il étoit trop concerté, - Et dans son Caton si vanté - Les deux filles en vérité, - Sont d'insipides personages. - Imitez du grand Addison - Seulement ce qu'il a de bon." - -There were, of course, not wanting voices of detraction. A graduate of -Oxford attacked _Cato_ in a pamphlet entitled _Mr. Addison turned Tory_, -in which the party spirit of the play was censured. Dr. Sewell, a -well-known physician of the day--afterwards satirised by Pope as "Sanguine -Sewell"--undertook Addison's defence, and showed that he owed his success -to the poetical, and not to the political, merits of his drama. A much -more formidable critic appeared in John Dennis, a specimen of whose -criticism on _Cato_ is preserved in Johnson's _Life_, and who, it must be -owned, went a great deal nearer the mark in his judgment than did -Voltaire. Dennis had many of the qualities of a good critic. Though his -judgment was often overborne by his passion, he generally contrived to -fasten on the weak points of the works which he criticised, and he at once -detected the undramatic character of _Cato_. His ridicule of the -absurdities arising out of Addison's rigid observance of the unity of -place is extremely humorous and quite unanswerable. But, as usual, he -spoiled his case by the violence and want of discrimination in his -censure, which betrayed too plainly the personal feelings of the writer. -It is said that Dennis was offended with Addison for not having adequately -exhibited his talents in the _Spectator_ when mention was made of his -works; and he certainly did complain in a published letter that Addison -had chosen to quote a couplet from his translation of Boileau in -preference to another from a poem on the battle of Ramilies, which he -himself thought better of. But the fact seems to have been overlooked that -Dennis had other grounds for resentment. In the 40th number of the -_Spectator_ the writer speaks of "a ridiculous doctrine of modern -criticism, that they (tragic writers) are obliged to an equal distribution -of rewards and punishments, and an impartial execution of poetical -justice." This was a plain stroke at Dennis, who was a well-known advocate -of the doctrine; and a considerable portion of the critic's gall was -therefore expended on Addison's violation of the supposed rule in _Cato_. - -Looking at _Cato_ from Voltaire's point of view--which was Addison's -own--and having regard to the spirit of elegance infused through every -part of it, there is much to admire in the play. It is full of pointed -sentences, such as-- - - "'Tis not in mortals to command success, - But we'll do more, Sempronius, we'll deserve it." - -It has also many fine descriptive passages, the best of which, perhaps, -occurs in the dialogue between Syphax and Juba respecting civilised and -barbarian virtues: - - "Believe me, prince, there's not an African - That traverses our vast Numidian deserts - In quest of prey, and lives upon his bow, - But better practises these boasted virtues. - Coarse are his meals, the fortune of the chase; - Amidst the running streams he slakes his thirst, - Toils all the day, and at th' approach of night - On the first friendly bank he throws him down, - Or rests his head upon a rock till morn-- - Then rises fresh, pursues his wonted game, - And if the following day he chance to find - A new repast, or an untasted spring, - Blesses his stars, and thinks it luxury." - -But in all those parts of the poem where action and not ornament is -demanded, we seem to perceive the work of a poet who was constantly -thinking of what his characters ought to say in the situation, rather than -of one who was actually living with them in the situation itself. Take -Sempronius' speech to Syphax, describing the horrors of the conspirator's -position: - - "Remember, Syphax, we must work in haste: - Oh think what anxious moments pass between - The birth of plots and their last fatal period. - Oh! 'tis a dreadful interval of time, - Filled up with horror all, and big with death! - Destruction hangs on every word we speak, - On every thought, till the concluding stroke - Determines all, and closes our design." - -Compare with this the language of real tragedy, the soliloquy of Brutus in -_Julius Cæsar_, on which Addison apparently meant to improve: - - "Since Cassius first did whet me against Cæsar - I have not slept. - Between the acting of a dreadful thing - And the first motion, all the interim is - Like a phantasma, or a hideous dream: - The genius and the mortal instruments - Are then in council; and the state of man, - Like to a little kingdom, suffers then - The nature of an insurrection." - -These two passages are good examples of the French and English ideals of -dramatic diction, though the lines from _Cato_ are more figurative than is -usual in that play. Addison deliberately aimed at this French manner. "I -must observe," says he, "that when our thoughts are great and just they -are often obscured by the sounding phrases, hard metaphors, and forced -expressions in which they are clothed. Shakespeare is often very faulty in -this particular."[60] Certainly he is; but who does not see that, in spite -of his metaphoric style, the speech of Brutus just quoted is far simpler -and more natural than the elegant "correctness" of Sempronius. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -ADDISON'S QUARREL WITH POPE. - - -It has been said that with _Cato_ the good fortune of Addison reached its -climax. After his triumph in the theatre, though he filled great offices -in the State and wedded "a noble wife," his political success was marred -by disagreements with one of his oldest friends; while with the Countess -of Warwick, if we are to believe Pope, he "married discord." Added to -which he was unlucky enough to incur the enmity of the most poignant and -vindictive of satiric poets, and a certain shadow has been for ever thrown -over his character by the famous verses on "Atticus." It will be -convenient in this chapter to investigate, as far as is possible, the -truth as to the quarrel between Pope and Addison. The latter has hitherto -been at a certain disadvantage with the public, since the facts of the -case were entirely furnished by Pope, and, though his account was -dissected with great acuteness by Blackstone in the _Biographia -Britannica_, the partizans of the poet were still able to plead that his -uncontradicted statements could not be disposed of by mere considerations -of probability. - -Pope's account of his final rupture with Addison is reported by Spence as -follows: "Philips seems to have been encouraged to abuse me in -coffee-houses and conversations. Gildon wrote a thing about Wycherley in -which he had abused both me and my relations very grossly. Lord Warwick -himself told me one day 'that it was in vain for me to endeavour to be -well with Mr. Addison; that his jealous temper would never admit of a -settled friendship between us; and, to convince me of what he had said, -assured me that Addison had encouraged Gildon to publish those scandals, -and had given him ten guineas after they were published.' The next day, -while I was heated with what I had heard, I wrote a letter to Mr. Addison -to let him know 'that I was not unacquainted with this behaviour of his; -that, if I was to speak severely of him in return for it, it should not be -in such a dirty way; that I would rather tell him himself fairly of his -faults and allow his good qualities; and that it should be something in -the following manner.' I then subjoined the first sketch of what has since -been called my satire on Addison. He used me very civilly ever after; and -never did me any injustice, that I know of, from that time to his death, -which was about three years after."[61] - -Such was the story told by Pope in his own defence against the charge that -he had written and circulated the lines on Addison after the latter's -death. In confirmation of his evidence, and in proof of his own good -feeling for and open dealing with Addison, he inserted in the so-called -authorised edition of his correspondence in 1737 several letters written -apparently to Addison, while in what he pretended to be the surreptitious -edition of 1735 appeared a letter to Craggs, written in July, 1715, which, -as it contained many of the phrases and expressions used in the character -of Atticus, created an impression in the mind of the public that both -letter and verses were written about the same time. No suspicion as to the -genuineness of this correspondence was raised till the discovery of the -Caryll letters, which first revealed the fact that most of the pretended -letters to Addison had been really addressed to Caryll; that there had -been, in fact, no correspondence between Pope and Addison; and that, -therefore, in all probability, the letter to Craggs was also a fictitious -composition, inserted in the so-called surreptitious volume of 1735 to -establish the credit of Pope's own story. - -We must accordingly put aside, as undeserving of credence, the poet's -ingeniously constructed charge, at any rate in the particular shape in -which it is preferred, and must endeavour to form for ourselves such a -judgment as is rendered probable by the acknowledged facts of the case. -What is indisputable is that in 1715 a rupture took place between Addison -and Pope, in consequence of the injury which the translator of the _Iliad_ -conceived himself to have suffered from the countenance given to Tickell's -rival performance; and that in 1723 we find the first mention of the -satire upon Addison in a letter from Atterbury to Pope. The question is, -what blame attaches to Addison for his conduct in the matter of the two -translations; and what is the amount of truth in Pope's story respecting -the composition of the verses on Atticus. - -Pope made Addison's acquaintance in the year 1712. On the 20th of -December, 1711, Addison had noticed Pope's _Art of Criticism_ in the 253d -number of the _Spectator_--partly, no doubt, in consequence of his -perception of the merits of the poem, but probably at the particular -instigation of Steele, whose acquaintance with Pope may have been due to -the common friendship of both with Caryll. The praise bestowed on the -_Essay_ (as it was afterwards called) was of the finest and most liberal -kind, and was the more welcome because it was preceded by a censure -conveyed with admirable delicacy on "the strokes of ill-nature" which the -poem contained. Pope was naturally exceedingly pleased, and wrote to -Steele a letter of thanks under the impression that the latter was the -writer of the paper, a misapprehension which Steele at once hastened to -correct. "The paper," says he, "was written by one with whom I will make -you acquainted--which is the best return I can make to you for your -favour." - -These words were doubtless used by Steele in the warmth of his affection -for Addison, but they also express the general estimation in which the -latter was then held. He had recently established his man Button in a -coffee-house in Covent Garden, where, surrounded by his little senate, -Budgell, Tickell, Carey, and Philips, he ruled supreme over the world of -taste and letters. Something, no doubt, of the spirit of the coterie -pervaded the select assembly. Addison could always find a word of -condescending praise for his followers in the pages of the _Spectator_; he -corrected their plays and mended their prologues; and they on their side -paid back their patron with unbounded reverence, perhaps justifying the -satirical allusion of the poet to the "applause" so grateful to the ear of -Atticus: - - "While wits and Templars every sentence raise, - And wonder with a foolish face of praise." - -Pope, according to his own account, was admitted to the society, and left -it, as he said, because he found it sit too far into the night for his -health. It may, however, be suspected that the natures of the author of -the _Dunciad_ and of the creator of Sir Roger de Coverley, though touching -each other at many points, were far from naturally congenial; that the -essayist was well aware that the man who could write the _Essay on -Criticism_ had a higher capacity for poetry than either himself or any of -his followers; and that the poet, on his side, conscious of great if -undeveloped powers, was inclined to resent the air of patronage with which -he was treated by the King of Button's. Certain it is that the praise of -Pope by Addison in number 253 of the _Spectator_ is qualified (though by -no means unjustly), and that he is not spoken of with the same warmth as -Tickell and Ambrose Philips in number 523. "Addison," said Pope to Spence, -"seemed to value himself more upon his poetry than upon his prose, though -he wrote the latter with such particular ease, fluency, and -happiness."[62] This often happens; and perhaps the uneasy consciousness -that, in spite of the reputation which his _Campaign_ had secured for him, -he was really inferior to such men as John Philips and Tickell, made -Addison touchy at the idea of the entire circle being outshone by a new -candidate for poetical fame. - -Whatever jealousy, however, existed between the two was carefully -suppressed during the first year of their acquaintance. Pope showed -Addison the first draft of the _Rape of the Lock_, and, according to -Warburton (whose account must be received with suspicion), imparted to him -his design of adding the fairy machinery. If Addison really endeavoured to -dissuade the poet from making this exquisite addition, the latter was on -his side anxious that _Cato_, which, as has been said, was shown to him -after its completion, should not be presented on the stage; and his -advice, if tested by the result, would have been quite as open as -Addison's to an unfavourable construction. He wrote, however, for the play -the famous Prologue which Steele inserted, with many compliments, in the -_Guardian_. But not long afterwards the effect of the compliments was -spoiled by the comparatively cold mention of Pope's _Pastorals_ in the -same paper that contained a glowing panegyric on the _Pastorals_ of -Ambrose Philips. In revenge, Pope wrote his paper commending Philips' -performance and depreciating his own, the irony of which, it is said, -escaping the notice of Steele, was inserted by him in the _Guardian_, much -to the amusement of Addison and more to the disgust of Philips. - -The occasion on which Pope's pique against Addison began to develop into -bitter resentment is sufficiently indicated by the date which the poet -assigns to the first letter in the concocted correspondence--viz., July -20, 1713. This letter (which is taken, with a few slight alterations of -names, from one written to Caryll on November 19, 1712) opens as follows: - - "I am more joyed at your return than I should be at that of the sun, - so much as I wish for him this melancholy wet season; but it has a - fate too like yours to be displeasing to owls and obscure animals who - cannot bear his lustre. What puts me in mind of these night-birds was - John Dennis, whom I think you are best revenged upon, as the sun was - in the fable upon those bats and beastly birds above mentioned, only - by shining on. I am so far from esteeming it any misfortune, that I - congratulate you upon having your share in that which all the great - men and all the good men that ever lived have had their part of--envy - and calumny. To be uncensured and to be obscure is the same thing. You - may conclude from what I here say that it was never in my thoughts to - have offered you my pen in any direct reply to such a critic, but only - in some little raillery, not in defence of you, but in contempt of - him." - -The allusion is to the squib called _Dr. Norris' Narrative of the Frenzy -of John Dennis_, which, it appears, was shown to Addison by Pope before -its appearance, and after the publication of which Addison caused Steele -to write to Lintot in the following terms: - - "Mr. Lintot,--Mr. Addison desired me to tell you that he wholly - disapproves the manner of treating Mr. Dennis in a little pamphlet by - way of Mr. Norris' account. When he thinks fit to take notice of Mr. - Dennis' objections to his writings, he will do it in a way Mr. Dennis - shall have no just reason to complain of. But when the papers above - mentioned were offered to be communicated to him he said he could not, - either in honour or conscience, be privy to such a treatment, and was - sorry to hear of it.--I am, sir, your very humble servant." - -Pope's motive in writing the pamphlet was, as Johnson says, "to give his -resentment full play without appearing to revenge himself" for the attack -which Dennis had made on his own poems. Addison doubtless divined the -truth; but the wording of the letter which he caused a third person to -write to Lintot certainly seems studiously offensive to Pope, who had, -professedly at any rate, placed his pen at his service, and who had -connected his own name with _Cato_ by the fine Prologue he had written in -its praise. Lintot would of course have shown Pope Steele's letter, and we -may be sure that the lofty tone taken by Addison in speaking of the -pamphlet would have rankled bitterly in the poet's mind. - -At the same time Philips, who was naturally enraged with Pope on account -of the ridicule with which the latter had covered his _Pastorals_, -endeavoured to widen the breach by spreading a report that Pope had -entered into a conspiracy to write against the Whigs, and to undermine the -reputation of Addison. Addison seems to have lent a ready ear to these -accusations. At any rate Pope thought so; for when the good-natured -painter Jervas sought to bring about a composition, he wrote to him (27th -August, 1714): - - "What you mentioned of the friendly office you endeavoured to do - betwixt Mr. Addison and me deserves acknowledgment on my part. You - thoroughly know my regard to his character, and my propensity to - testify it by all ways in my power. You as thoroughly know the - scandalous meanness of that proceeding, which was used by Philips, to - make a man I so highly value suspect my disposition towards him. But - as, after all, Mr. Addison must be the judge in what regards himself, - and has seemed to be no very just one to me, so I must own to you I - expect nothing but civility from him, how much soever I wish for his - friendship. As for any offices of real kindness or service which it is - in his power to do me, I should be ashamed to receive them from any - man who had no better opinion of my morals than to think me a party - man, nor of my temper than to believe me capable of maligning or - envying another's reputation as a poet. So I leave it to time to - convince him as to both, to show him the shallow depths of those - half-witted creatures who misinformed him, and to prove that I am - incapable of endeavouring to lessen a person whom I would be proud to - imitate, and therefore ashamed to flatter. In a word, Mr. Addison is - sure of my respect at all times, and of my real friendship whenever he - shall think fit to know me for what I am." - -It is evident, from the tone of this letter, that all the materials for a -violent quarrel were in existence. On the one side was Addison, with -probably an instinctive dislike of Pope's character, intensified by the -injurious reports circulated against Pope in the "little senate" at -Button's; with a nature somewhat cold and reserved; and with something of -literary jealousy, partly arising from a sense of what was due to his -acknowledged supremacy, and partly from a perception that there had -appeared a very formidable "brother near the throne." On the side of Pope -there was an eager sensitiveness, ever craving for recognition and praise, -with an abnormal irritability prone to watch for, and reluctant to -forgive, anything in the shape of a slight or an injury. Slights and -injuries he already deemed himself to have received, and accordingly, when -Tickell, in 1715, published his translation of the First Book of the -_Iliad_ at the same time with his own translation of the first four books, -his smothered resentment broke into a blaze at what he imagined to be a -conspiracy to damage his poetical reputation. Many years afterwards, when -the quarrel between Addison and himself had become notorious, he arranged -his version of it for the public in a manner which is, indeed, far from -assisting us to a knowledge of the truth, but which enables us to -understand very clearly what was passing in his own mind at the time. - -The subscription for Pope's translation of the _Iliad_ was set on foot in -November, 1713. On the 10th October, 1714, having two books completed, he -wished to submit them--or at any rate he told the public so in 1735--to -Addison's judgment. This was at a date when, as he informed Spence, "there -had been a coldness between Mr. Addison and me" for some time. According -to the letter which appears in his published correspondence, he wrote to -Addison on the subject as follows: - - "I have been acquainted by one of my friends, who omits no - opportunities of gratifying me, that you have lately been pleased to - speak of me in a manner which nothing but the real respect I have for - you can deserve. May I hope that some late malevolences have lost - their effect?... As to what you have said of me I shall never believe - that the author of _Cato_ can speak one thing and think another. As a - proof that I account you sincere, I beg a favour of you: it is that - you would look over the two first books of my translation of Homer, - which are in the hands of Lord Halifax. I am sensible how much the - reputation of any poetical work will depend upon the character you - give it. It is therefore some evidence of the trust I repose in your - good will when I give you this opportunity of speaking ill of me with - justice, and yet expect you will tell me your truest thoughts at the - same time you tell others your most favourable ones."[63] - -Whether the facts reported in this letter were as fictitious as we have a -right to assume the letter itself to be, it is impossible to say; Pope at -any rate told Spence the following story, which is clearly meant to fall -in with the evidence of the correspondence: - - "On his meeting me there (Button's Coffee-House) he took me aside and - said he should be glad to dine with me at such a tavern if I would - stay till those people (Budgell and Philips) were gone. We went - accordingly, and after dinner Mr. Addison said 'that he had wanted for - some time to talk with me: that his friend Tickell had formerly, while - at Oxford, translated the first book of the _Iliad_. That he now - designed to print it, and had desired him to look it over: he must - therefore beg that I would not desire him to look over my first book, - because, if he did, it would have the air of double dealing.' I - assured him that I did not take it ill of Mr. Tickell that he was - going to publish his translation; that he certainly had as much right - to translate any author as myself; and that publishing both was - entering on a fair stage. I then added 'that I would not desire him to - look over my first book of the _Iliad_, because he had looked over Mr. - Tickell's, but could wish to have the benefit of his observations on - my second, which I had then finished, and which Mr. Tickell had not - touched upon.' Accordingly, I sent him the second book the next - morning; and in a few days he returned it with very high commendation. - Soon after it was generally known that Mr. Tickell was publishing the - first book of the _Iliad_ I met Dr. Young in the street, and, upon our - falling into that subject, the doctor expressed a great deal of - surprise at Tickell's having such a translation by him so long. He - said that it was inconceivable to him, and that there must be some - mistake in the matter; that he and Tickell were so intimately - acquainted at Oxford that each used to communicate to the other - whatever verses they wrote, even to the least things; that Tickell - could not have been busied in so long a work there without his knowing - something of the matter; and that he had never heard a single word of - it till this occasion."[64] - -It is scarcely necessary to say that, after the light that has been -thrown on Pope's character by the detection of the frauds he practised in -the publication of his correspondence, it is impossible to give any -credence to the tales he poured into Spence's ear, tending to blacken -Addison's character and to exalt his own. Tickell's MS. of the translation -is in existence, and all the evidence tends to show that he was really the -author of it. But the above statement may be taken to reflect accurately -enough the rage, the resentment, and the suspicion which disturbed Pope's -own mind on the appearance of the rival translation. We can scarcely doubt -that it was this, and this alone, which roused him to such glowing -indignation and inspired him to write the character of Atticus. When the -verses were made public, after Addison's death, he probably perceived that -the public would not consider the evidence for Addison's collusion with -Tickell to be sufficiently strong to afford a justification for the -bitterness of the satire. It was necessary to advance some stronger plea -for such retaliation, especially as rumour confidently asserted that the -lines had not been written till after Addison was dead. Hence the story -told by Pope to Spence, proving first that the lines were not only written -during Addison's lifetime, but were actually sent to Addison himself; and -secondly, that they were only composed after the strongest evidence had -been afforded to the poet of his rival's malignant disposition towards -him. Hence, too, the publication in 1735 of the letter to Craggs, which, -containing as it did many of the phrases and metaphors employed in the -verses, seemed to supply indirect evidence that both were written about -the same period. - -With regard to Pope's story, it is not too much to say that it entirely -breaks down on examination. He professes to give it on the authority of -Lord Warwick himself, reckoning, of course, that the evidence of -Addison's own step-son would be conclusive with the public. But Addison -was not married to the Countess of Warwick till August, 1716; and in the -previous May he had bestowed the most liberal praise on Pope's translation -in one of his papers in the _Freeholder_. For Lord Warwick, therefore, to -argue at that date that Addison's "_jealous temper_ could never admit of a -settled friendship" between him and Pope was out of the question. If, on -the other hand, Lord Warwick told his story to Pope before his mother's -marriage, the difficulty is equally great. The letter to Craggs, which, if -it was ever sent to the latter at all, must obviously have been written in -the same "heat" which prompted the satire on Atticus, is dated July 15, -1715. This fits in well enough with the date of the dispute about the -rival translations of the _Iliad_, but not with Lord Warwick's story, for -Wycherley, after whose death Gildon, we are told, was hired by Addison to -abuse Pope, did not die till the December of that year. - -Again, the internal evidence of the character itself points to the fact -that, when it was first composed, its "heat" was not caused by any -information the poet had received of a transaction between Addison and -Gildon. The following is the first published version of the satire: - - "If Dennis writes and rails in furious pet - I'll answer Dennis when I am in debt. - If meagre Gildon draw his meaner quill, - I wish the man a dinner and sit still. - But should there _One_ whose better stars conspire - To form a bard, and raise a genius higher, - Blest with each talent and each art to please, - And born to live, converse, and write with ease; - Should such a one, resolved to reign alone, - Bear, like the Turk, no brother near the throne, - View him with jealous yet with scornful eyes, - Hate him for arts that caused himself to rise, - Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer, - And without sneering teach the rest to sneer; - Alike reserved to blame or to commend, - A timorous foe and a suspicious friend, - Fearing e'en fools, by flatterers besieged, - And so obliging that he ne'er obliged; - Willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike, - Just hint the fault, and hesitate dislike, - _Who when two wits on rival themes contest, - Approves of both, but likes the worst the best_: - Like Cato, give his little senate laws - And sits attentive to his own applause; - While wits and templars every sentence praise - And wonder with a foolish face of praise: - Who would not laugh if such a man there be? - Who would not weep if Addison were he?" - -There is sufficient corroborative evidence to allow us to believe that -these lines were actually written, as Pope says, during Addison's -lifetime; and if they were, the character of the satire would naturally -suggest that its motive was Addison's supposed conduct in the matter of -the two translations of the _Iliad_. There is nothing in them to indicate -any connection in the poet's mind between Gildon and Addison; on the other -hand, the allusion to the "two wits" shows the special grievance that -formed the basis, in his imagination, of the whole character. Afterwards -we find that "meaner quill" is replaced by "_venal_ quill;" and the -couplet about the rival translations is suppressed. The inference is -plain. When Pope was charged with having written the character after -Addison's death, he found himself obliged, in self-defence, to furnish a -moral justification for the satire; and, after his own unfortunate manner, -he proceeded to build up for himself a position on a number of systematic -falsehoods. His story was probably so far true that the character was -really written while Addison was alive; on the other hand, it is not -unreasonable to conclude that the entire statement about Gildon and Lord -Warwick is fabulous; and, as the assertion that the lines were sent to -Addison immediately after their composition is associated with these -myths, this, too, may fairly be dismissed as equally undeserving of -belief. - -As to the truth of the character of Atticus, however, it by no means -follows, because Pope's account of its origin is false, that the portrait -itself is altogether untrue. The partizans of Addison endeavour to prove -that it is throughout malicious and unjust. But no one can fail to -perceive that the character itself is a very extraordinary picture of -human nature; and there is no reason to suppose that Addison was superior -to the weaknesses of his kind. On the contrary, there is independent -evidence to show that he was strongly influenced by that literary jealousy -which makes the groundwork of the ideal character. This the piercing -intelligence of Pope no doubt plainly discerned; his inflamed imagination -built up on this foundation the wonderful fabric that has ever since -continued to enchant the world. The reader who is acquainted with his own -heart will probably not find much difficulty in determining what elements -in the character are derived from the substantial truth of nature, and -what are to be ascribed to the exaggerated perceptions of Genius. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -THE LAST YEARS OF HIS LIFE. - - -The representation of _Cato_ on the stage was a turning point in the -political fortunes of the Whigs. In the same month the Queen announced, on -the meeting of Parliament, the signature of the Treaty of Utrecht. -Whatever were the merits or demerits of the policy embodied in this -instrument, it offered many points of attack to a compact and vigorous -Opposition. The most salient of these was, perhaps, the alleged sacrifice -of British commercial interests through the incompetence or corruption of -the negotiators, and on this question the Whigs accordingly raised -vehement and reiterated debates. Addison aided his political friends with -an ingenious pamphlet on the subject, called _The late Trial and -Conviction of Count Tariff_, containing a narrative of the lawsuit between -the Count and Goodman Fact, which is written with much spirit and -pleasantry. It is said that he also took the field in answer to the -Address to the Queen from the magistrates of Dunkirk, wherein Her Majesty -was requested to waive the execution of the article in the Treaty -providing for the demolition of the harbour and fortifications of that -town; but if he wrote on the subject the pamphlet has not been preserved -by Tickell. His old friend Steele was meanwhile involving himself in -difficulties through the heat and impetuosity of his party passions. -After the painful abstinence from partizanship imposed on him by the -scheme of the _Tatler_ and _Spectator_ he had founded the _Guardian_ on -similar lines, and had carried it on in a nonpolitical spirit up to the -128th number, when his Whig feelings could restrain themselves no longer, -and he inserted a letter signed by "An English Tory," demanding the -immediate demolition of Dunkirk. Soon afterwards he published a pamphlet -called _The Crisis_, to excite the apprehensions of the nation with regard -to the Protestant succession, and, dropping the _Guardian_, started the -_Englishman_, a political paper of extreme Whig views. He further -irritated the Tory majority in Parliament by supporting the proposal of -Sir Thomas Hanmer, as Speaker of the House of Commons, in a speech -violently reflecting on the rejected Bill for a Treaty of Commerce with -France. A complaint was brought before the House against the _Crisis_, and -two numbers of the _Englishman_, and Steele was ordered to attend and -answer for his conduct. After the charge had been preferred against him, -he asked for time to arrange his defence; and this being granted him, -after a warm debate, he reappeared in his place a few days later, and made -a long and able speech, which is said to have been prepared for him by -Addison, acting under the instructions of the Kit-Kat Club. It did not, -however, save him from being expelled from the House. - -Addison himself stood aloof, as far as was possible, from the heated -atmosphere of party, occupying his time chiefly with the execution of -literary designs. In 1713 he began a work on the Evidences of -Christianity, which he never finished, and in the last half of the year -1714 he completed the eighth volume of the _Spectator_. So moderate was -his political attitude that Bolingbroke was not without hopes of bringing -him over to the Tory side; an interview, however, convinced him that it -was useless to dream of converting Addison's steady constitutional -principle to his own ambitious schemes. - -The condition of the Tory party was indeed rapidly becoming desperate. Its -leaders were at open variance with each other. Oxford, a veteran -intriguer, was desirous of combining with the Whigs; the more daring and -brilliant Bolingbroke aimed at the restoration of the exiled Stuarts. His -influence, joined to natural family affection, prevailed with the Queen, -who was persuaded to deprive Oxford of the Treasurer's staff. But her -health was undermined, and a furious and indecent dispute between the two -Tory leaders in her own presence completely prostrated her. She was -carried from the Council, and sinking into a state of unconsciousness from -which she never recovered, died on the 1st of August, 1714. - -Meantime the Whigs were united and prepared. On the meeting of the -Council, George I. was proclaimed King without opposition: Lord-Justices -were authorised to administer affairs provisionally, and Addison was -appointed their Secretary. It is said, though on no good authority, that -having, in discharge of his office, to announce to George I. the death of -the Queen, Addison was embarrassed in his choice of phrases for the -occasion, and that the duty to which the best writer in the _Spectator_ -proved unequal was performed by a common clerk. Had Addison been quite -unfamiliar with public life this story would have been more credible, but -his experience in Ireland must have made him acquainted with the -peculiarities of official English; and some surviving specimens of his -public correspondence prove him to have been a sufficient master in the -art of saying nothing in a magnificent way. - -On the arrival of the King in England, the Earl of Sunderland was -appointed to succeed the Duke of Shrewsbury as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, -and he once more offered Addison the post of Chief Secretary. In that -office the latter continued till the Earl's resignation of the -Lord-Lieutenancy in August, 1715. It would appear to have been less -lucrative to him than when he previously held it, and, indeed, than he -himself had expected; the cause of this deficiency being, as he states, -"his Lordship's absence from that kingdom, and his not being qualified to -give out military commissions."[65] He is said, nevertheless, to have -shown the strictest probity and honour in his official dealings, and some -of his extant correspondence (the authenticity of which, however, is -guaranteed only by the unsatisfactory testimony of Curll) shows him to -have declined, in a very high-minded manner, a present of money, evidently -intended to secure his interest on behalf of an applicant. He seems to -have been in London almost as much as in Dublin during his tenure of -office, and he found time in the midst of his public business to compose -another play for the stage. - -There appears to be no good reason for doubting that _The Drummer_ was the -work of Addison. It is true that it was not included by Tickell in his -edition of his friend's writings; and Steele, in the letter to Congreve -which he prefixed to the second edition of the play, only says that -Addison sent for him when he was a patentee of Drury Lane Theatre, and -told him "that a gentleman then in the room had written a play which he -was sure I should like, but it was to be a secret; and he knew I would -take as much pains, since he recommended it, as I would for him." But -Steele could, under such circumstances, hardly have been deceived as to -the real authorship of the play, and if confirmatory evidence is required, -it is furnished by Theobald, who tells us that Addison informed him that -he had taken the character of Vellum, the steward, from Fletcher's -_Scornful Lady_. Addison was probably not anxious himself to assert his -right of paternity to the play. It was acted at Drury Lane, and, the name -of the author being unknown, was coldly received; a second performance of -it after Addison's death, when the authorship was proclaimed, was -naturally more successful; but, in fact, the piece is, like _Cato_, a -standing proof of Addison's deficiency in dramatic genius. The plot is -poor and trivial; nor does the dialogue, though it shows in many passages -traces of its author's peculiar vein of humour, make amends by its -brilliancy for the tameness of the dramatic situation. - -He was soon, however, called upon to employ his pen on a task better -suited to his powers. In September, 1715, there was a rising in Scotland -and in the North of England on behalf of the Pretender. The rebellion was -put down with little difficulty, but the position of the House of -Brunswick was far more precarious than on the surface it seemed to be. It -could count, no doubt, on the loyalty of a House of Commons elected when -the Tories were momentarily stunned by the death of Queen Anne, on the -faith of the army, and on the support of the moneyed interest. On the -other hand, the two most important classes in the kingdom--the landed -proprietors and the clergy--were generally hostile to the new _régime_, -and the influence exercised by the latter was of course exceedingly great -in days when the pulpit was still the chief instrument in the formation of -public opinion. The weight of some powerful writer was urgently needed on -the Whig side, and Addison--who in the preceding August had been obliged -to vacate his office of Secretary in consequence of the resignation of the -Lord-Lieutenant--was by common consent indicated as the man best qualified -for the task. There were indeed hot political partizans who questioned his -capacity. Steele said that "the Government had made choice of a lute when -they ought to have taken a trumpet." But if by the "trumpet" he was -modestly alluding to himself, it may very well be doubted if the objects -of the Government would have been attained by employing the services of -the author of the _Englishman_. What was wanted was not party invective, -but the calm persuasiveness of reason; a pen that could _prove_ to all -Tory country gentlemen and thoroughgoing High Churchmen that the -Protestant succession was indispensable to the safety of the principles -which each respectively considered to be of vital importance. This was the -task which lay before Addison, and which he accomplished with consummate -skill in the _Freeholder_. - -The name of the new paper was selected by him in order to suggest that -property was the basis of liberty; and his main argument, which he -introduces under constantly varying forms, is that there could be no -safety for property under a line of monarchs who claimed the dispensing -power, and no security for the liberties of the Church under kings of an -alien religion. In order to secure variety of treatment, the exact social -position of the _Freeholder_ is not defined: - - "At the same time that I declare I am a freeholder I do not exclude - myself from any other title. A freeholder may be either a voter or a - knight of the shire, a wit or a fox-hunter, a scholar or a soldier, an - alderman or a courtier, a patriot or a stock-jobber. But I choose to - be distinguished by this denomination, as the freeholder is the basis - of all other titles. Dignities may be grafted upon it, but this is the - substantial stock that conveys to them their life, taste, and beauty, - and without which they are blossoms that would fall away with every - shake of wind."[66] - -By this means he was able to impart liveliness to his theme, which he -diversifies by philosophical disquisition; by good-natured satire on the -prejudices of the country gentlemen; by frequent papers on his favourite -subject, "the fair sex;" and by occasional glances at literature. Though -his avowed object was to prove the superiority of the Whig over the Tory -theory of the Constitution, his "native moderation" never deserts him, and -he often lets his disgust at the stupidity of faction, and his preference -for social over political writing, appear in the midst of his argument. -The best papers in the series are undoubtedly the "Memoirs of a Preston -Rebel" and the "Tory Foxhunter," both of which are full of the exquisite -humour that distinguishes the sketches of Sir Roger de Coverley. The -_Freeholder_ was only continued for six months (December 23, 1715, to June -9, 1716), being published every Friday and Monday, and being completed in -fifty-five numbers. In the last number the essayist described the nature -of his work, and gave his reasons for discontinuing it: - - "It would not be difficult to continue a paper of this kind if one - were disposed to resume the same subjects and weary out the reader - with the same thoughts in a different phrase, or to ramble through the - cause of Whig and Tory without any certain aim or method in every - particular discourse. Such a practice in political writers is like - that of some preachers taken notice of by Dr. South, who, being - prepared only upon two or three points of doctrine, run the same round - with their audience from one end of the year to the other, and are - always forced to tell them, by way of preface, 'These are particulars - of so great importance that they cannot be sufficiently inculcated.' - To avoid this method of tautology, I have endeavoured to make every - paper a distinct essay upon some particular subject, without deviating - into points foreign to the tenor of each discourse. They are, indeed, - most of them essays upon Government, but with a view to the present - situation of affairs in Great Britain, so that, if they have the good - fortune to live longer than works of this nature generally do, future - readers may see in them the complexion of the times in which they were - written. However, as there is no employment so irksome as that of - transcribing out of one's self next to that of transcribing out of - others, I shall let drop the work, since there do not occur to me any - material points arising from our present situation which I have not - already touched upon." - -It was probably in reward for his services in publishing the _Freeholder_ -that he was made one of the Commissioners for Trade and Colonies. Soon -after his appointment to this office he married Charlotte, Countess of -Warwick, daughter of Sir Thomas Myddleton, of Chirk Castle, Denbighshire. -His attachment to the Countess is said to have begun years before; and -this seems not unlikely, for, though the story of his having been tutor to -the young Earl is obviously groundless, two charming letters of his to the -latter are in existence which show that as early as 1708 he took a strong -interest in the family. These letters, which are written entirely on the -subject of birds, may, of course, have been inspired merely by an -affection for the boy himself; but it is not unreasonable to suppose that -the writer felt a yet stronger interest in the mother, though her -indifference, or his natural diffidence, led him to disguise his feelings; -perhaps, indeed, the episode of Sir Roger de Coverley's love passage with -the cruel widow may be founded on personal experience. We have seen him in -1711 reporting to a friend that the loss of his place had involved that of -his mistress. Possibly the same hard-hearted mistress condescended to -relent when she saw her former lover once more on the road to high State -preferment. - -Report says that the marriage was not a happy one. The tradition, however, -like so many others about the same person, seems to have been derived from -Pope, who, in his _Epistle to Arbuthnot_, congratulates himself--with an -evident glance at Addison--on "not marrying discord with a noble wife." An -innuendo of this kind, and coming from such a quarter, ought not to be -accepted as evidence without some corroboration; and the only -corroboration which is forthcoming is a letter of Lady Mary Wortley -Montagu, who writes from Constantinople in 1717: "I received the news of -Mr. Addison's being declared Secretary of State with the less surprise in -that I know the post was offered to him before. At that time he declined -it; and I really believe he would have done well to decline it now. Such a -post as that and such a wife as the Countess do not seem to be, in -prudence, eligible for a man that is asthmatic, and we may see the day -when he will be glad to resign them both." Lady Mary, however, does not -hint that Addison was _then_ living unhappily with his wife; her -expressions seem to be inspired rather by her own sharp wit and a personal -dislike of the Countess than by any knowledge of discord in the household. -On the other hand, Addison speaks of his wife in a way which is scarcely -consistent with what Johnson calls "uncontradicted report." On March 20th, -1718, he writes to Swift: "Whenever you see England your company will be -the most acceptable in the world at Holland House, where you are highly -esteemed by Lady Warwick and the young Lord." A henpecked husband would -hardly have invited the Dean of St. Patrick's to be the witness of his -domestic discomfort. Nor do the terms of his will, dated only a month -before his death, indicate that he regarded his wife with feelings other -than those of affection and respect: "I do make and ordain my said dear -wife executrix of this my last will; and I do appoint her to be guardian -of my dear child, Charlotte Addison, until she shall attain her age of -one-and-twenty, being well assured that she will take due care of her -education, and provide for her in case she live to be married." On the -whole, it seems reasonable to put positive evidence of this kind against -those vague rumours of domestic unhappiness which, however unsubstantial, -are so easily propagated and so readily believed. - -In April, 1717, the dissensions between the two sections of the Whig -Cabinet, led respectively by Townshend and Sunderland, reached a climax, -and Townshend being worsted, Sunderland became Prime Minister. He at once -appointed his old subordinate one of the Secretaries of State, and Addison -filled the office for eleven months. "It is universally confessed," says -Johnson, "that he was unequal to the duties of his place." Here again the -"universal confession" dwindles on examination to something very -different. As far as his conduct in administration required to be defended -in Parliament, his inaptitude for the place was no doubt conspicuous. He -had been elected member of Parliament for Lostwithiel in 1708, and when -that election was set aside he was chosen for Malmesbury, a seat which he -retained for the rest of his life. He made, however, but one effort to -address the House, when, being confused with the cheers which greeted him, -he was unable to complete his sentence, and, resuming his seat, never -again opened his lips. - -But in other respects the evidence of his official incapacity seems to -proceed solely from his enemies. "Mr. Addison," said Pope to Spence, -"could not give out a common order in writing from his endeavouring always -to word it too finely. He had too beautiful an imagination to make a man -of business."[67] Copies of official letters and despatches written by -Addison are, however, in existence, and prove him to have been a -sufficient master of a business style, so that, though his lack of ability -as a speaker may well have impaired his efficiency as a member of the -Government, Johnson has little warrant for saying that "_finding by -experience his own inability_, he was forced to solicit his dismission -with a pension of fifteen hundred pounds a year." As a matter of fact, -Addison's own petition to the King and his private correspondence prove -with sufficient clearness that his resignation was caused entirely by his -failing health; while the congratulatory Latin verses addressed to him by -Vincent Bourne, on his recovery from one of his seizures of asthma, show -that his illness was of the most serious nature. - -He resigned his post, however, in March, 1718, with cheerful alacrity, and -appears to have looked forward to an active period of literary work, for -we are told that he meditated a tragedy on the death of Socrates, as well -as the completion of his book on the Evidences of Christianity. But this -was not to be; the exigencies of the Ministry in the following year -demanded the services of his pen. A Peerage Bill, introduced by -Sunderland, the effect of which was to cause the sovereign to divest -himself of his prerogative of creating fresh peers, had been vehemently -attacked by Steele in a pamphlet called the _Plebeian_, published March -14, 1719, which Addison undertook to answer in the _Old Whig_ (March 19). -The _Plebeian_ returned to the attack with spirit and with some acrimony -in two numbers published March 29th and 30th, and the _Old Whig_ made a -somewhat contemptuous reply on April 2nd. "Every reader," says Johnson, -"surely must regret that these two illustrious friends, after so many -years passed in confidence and endearment, in unity of interest, -conformity of opinion, and fellowship of study, should finally part in -acrimonious opposition. Such a controversy was 'Bellum plusquam _civile_,' -as Lucan expresses it. Why could not faction find other advocates? But -among the uncertainties of the human state we are doomed to number the -instability of friendship." - -The rupture seems the more painful when we find Steele, in his third and -last _Plebeian_, published April 6th, taunting his opponent with his -tardiness in taking the field, at the very moment when his former friend -and school-fellow--unknown to him of course--was dying. Asthma, the old -enemy that had driven Addison from office, had returned; dropsy -supervened, and he died, 17th June, 1719, at Holland House, at the early -age of forty-seven. We may imagine the grief, contrition, and remorse that -must have torn the affectionate heart of Steele when he had found he had -been vexing the last hours of one whom, in spite of all their differences, -he loved so well. He had always regarded Addison with almost religious -reverence, which did not yield even to acts of severity on his friend's -part that would have estranged the feelings of men of a disposition less -simple and impulsive. Addison had once lent him £1000 to build a house at -Hampton Court, instructing his lawyer to recover the amount when due. On -Steele's failure to repay the money, his friend ordered the house and -furniture to be sold and the balance to be paid to Steele, writing to him -at the same time that he had taken the step to arouse him from his -lethargy. B. Victor, the actor, a friend of Steele, who is the authority -for the story, says that Steele accepted the reproof with "philosophical -composure," and that the incident caused no diminution in their -friendship. Political differences at last produced a coldness between -them, and in 1717 Steele writes to his wife, "I ask no favour of Mr. -Secretary Addison." Great must have been the revulsion of feeling in a man -of his nature when he learned that death had now rendered impossible the -renewal of the old associations. All the love, admiration, and enthusiasm -for Addison, which his heart and memory still preserved, broke out in the -letter to Congreve which he prefixed to _The Drummer_. - -Of the closing scene of Addison's life we know little except on rumour. A -report was current in Johnson's time, and reached the antiquary John -Nichols at the close of the last century, that his life was shortened by -over-drinking. But as usual the scandal, when traced to its source, seems -to originate with Pope, who told Spence that he himself was once one of -the circle at Button's, and left it because he found that their prolonged -sittings were injuring his health. It is highly probable that Addison's -phlegmatic temperament required to be aroused by wine into conversational -activity, and that he was able to drink more than most of his companions -without being affected by it; but to suppose that he indulged a sensual -appetite to excess is contrary alike to all that we know of his character -and to the direct evidence of Bishop Berkeley, who, writing of the first -performance of _Cato_, says: "I was present with Mr. Addison and a few -more friends in a side box, where we had a table and two or three flasks -of Burgundy and champagne, with which the author (who is a very sober man) -thought it necessary to support his spirits." - -Another story, told on the same questionable authority, represents him as -having sent on his death-bed for Gay, and asked his forgiveness for some -injury which he said he had done him, but which he did not specify. From -the more trustworthy report of Young we learn that he asked to see the -Earl of Warwick, and said to him, "See in what peace a Christian can die:" -words which are supposed to explain the allusion of the lines in Tickell's -elegy-- - - "He taught us how to live and (oh! too high - The price of knowledge) taught us how to die." - -His body, after lying in state in the Jerusalem Chamber, was buried by -night in Westminster Abbey. The service was performed by Atterbury, and -the scene is described by Tickell in a fine passage, probably inspired by -a still finer one written by his own rival and his friend's satirist: - - "Can I forget the dismal night that gave - My soul's best part for ever to the grave? - How silent did his old companions tread, - By midnight lamps, the mansions of the dead, - Through breathing statues, then unheeded things, - Through rows of warriors, and through walks of kings! - What awe did the slow solemn march inspire, - The pealing organ, and the pausing choir; - The duties by the lawn-robed prelate paid, - And the last words that dust to dust conveyed! - While speechless o'er the closing grave we bend, - Accept these tears, thou dear departed friend! - Oh gone for ever; take this last adieu, - And sleep in peace next thy loved Montague."[68] - -He left by the Countess of Warwick one daughter, who lived in his old -house at Bilton, and died unmarried in 1797. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE GENIUS OF ADDISON. - - -Such is Addison's history, which, scanty as it is, goes far towards -justifying the glowing panegyric bestowed by Macaulay on "the unsullied -statesman, the accomplished scholar, the consummate painter of life and -manners, the great satirist who alone knew how to use ridicule without -abusing it; who, without inflicting a wound, effected a great social -reform; and who reconciled wit and virtue after a long and painful -separation, during which wit had been led astray by profligacy, and virtue -by fanaticism." It is wanting, no doubt, in romantic incident and personal -interest, but the same may be said of the life of Scott; and what do we -know of the personality of Homer and Shakespeare? The real life of these -writers is to be found in their work; and there, too, though on a -different level and in a different shape, are we to look for the character -of the creator of Sir Roger de Coverley. But, while it seems possible to -divine the personal tastes and feelings of Shakespeare and Scott under a -hundred different ideal forms of their own invention, it is not in these -that the genius of Addison most characteristically embodies itself. Did -his reputation rest on _Rosamond_ or _Cato_ or _The Campaign_, his name -would be little better known to us than any among that crowd of -mediocrities who have been immortalised in Johnson's _Lives of the -Poets_. The work of Addison consisted in building up a public opinion -which, in spite of its durable solidity, seems, like the great Gothic -cathedrals, to absorb into itself the individuality of the architect. A -vigorous effort of thought is required to perceive how strong this -individuality must have been. We have to reflect on the ease with which, -even in these days when the foundations of all authority are called in -question, we form judgments on questions of morals, breeding, and taste, -and then to dwell in imagination on the state of conflict in all matters -religious, moral, and artistic, which prevailed in the period between the -Restoration and the succession of the House of Hanover. To whom do we owe -the comparative harmony we enjoy? Undoubtedly to the authors of the -_Spectator_, and first among these, by universal consent, to Addison. - -Addison's own disposition seems to have been of that rare and admirable -sort which Hamlet praised in Horatio: - - "Thou hast been - As one in suffering all that suffers nothing: - A man that Fortune's buffets and rewards - Has ta'en with equal thanks; and blessed are those - Whose blood and judgment are so well commingled - That they are not a pipe for Fortune's finger - To sound what stop she please." - -These lines fittingly describe the patient serenity and dignified -independence with which Addison worked his way amid great hardships and -difficulties to the highest position in the State; but they have a yet -more honourable application to the task he performed of reconciling the -social dissensions of his countrymen. "The blood and judgment well -commingled" are visible in the standard of conduct which he held up for -Englishmen in his writings, as well as in his use of the weapon of -ridicule against all aberrations from good breeding and common-sense. -Those only will estimate him at his true worth who will give, what Johnson -says is his due, "their days and nights" to the study of the _Spectator_. -But from the general reader less must be expected; and as the first -chapter of this volume has been devoted to a brief view of the disorder of -society with which Addison had to deal, it may be fitting in the last to -indicate some of the main points in which he is to be regarded as the -reconciler of parties and the founder of public opinion. - -I have shown how, after the final subversion by the Civil War of the -old-fashioned Catholic and Feudal standards of social life, two opposing -ideals of conduct remained harshly confronting each other in the -respective moral codes of the Court and the Puritans. The victorious -Puritans, averse to all the pleasures of sense and intolerant of the most -harmless of natural instincts, had oppressed the nation with a religious -despotism. The nation, groaning under the yoke, brought back its banished -monarch, but was soon shocked to find sensual Pleasure exalted into a -worship, and Impiety into a creed. Though civil war had ceased, the two -parties maintained a truceless conflict of opinion: the Puritan -proscribing all amusement because it was patronised by the godless -malignants; the courtiers holding that no gentleman could be religious or -strict in his morals without becoming tainted with the cant of the -Roundheads. This harsh antagonism of sentiment is humorously illustrated -by the excellent Sir Roger, who is made to moralise on the stupidity of -party violence by recalling an incident of his own boyhood: - - "The worthy knight, being but a stripling, had occasion to inquire - which was the way to St. Anne's Lane, upon which the person whom he - spoke to, instead of answering his question, called him a young - Popish cur, and asked him who made Anne a saint. The boy, being in - some confusion, inquired of the next he met which was the way to - Anne's Lane; but was called a prick-eared cur for his pains, and, - instead of being shown the way, was told that she had been a saint - before he was born, and would be one after he was hanged. 'Upon this,' - says Sir Roger, 'I did not think it fit to repeat the former question, - but going into every lane of the neighbourhood, asked what they called - the name of that lane.'"[69] - -It was Addison's aim to prove to the contending parties what a large -extent of ground they might occupy in common. He showed the courtiers, in -a form of light literature which pleased their imagination, and with a -grace and charm of manner that they were well qualified to appreciate, -that true religion was not opposed to good breeding. To this class in -particular he addressed his papers on Devotion,[70] on Prayer,[71] on -Faith,[72] on Temporal and Eternal Happiness.[73] On the other hand, he -brought his raillery to bear on the super-solemnity of the trading and -professional classes, in whom the spirit of Puritanism was most prevalent. -"About an age ago," says he, "it was the fashion in England for every one -that would be thought religious to throw as much sanctity as possible into -his face, and, in particular, to abstain from all appearances of mirth and -pleasantry, which were looked upon as the marks of a carnal mind. The -saint was of a sorrowful countenance, and generally eaten up with spleen -and melancholy."[74] - -It was doubtless for the benefit of this class that he wrote his three -Essays on Cheerfulness,[75] in which the gloom of the Puritan creed is -corrected by arguments founded on Natural Religion. - - "The cheerfulness of heart," he observes in a charming passage, "which - springs up in us from the survey of Nature's works is an admirable - preparation for gratitude. The mind has gone a great way towards - praise and thanksgiving that is filled with such secret gladness--a - grateful reflection on the Supreme Cause who produces it, sanctifies - it in the soul, and gives it its proper value. Such an habitual - disposition of mind consecrates every field and wood, turns an - ordinary walk into a morning or evening sacrifice, and will improve - those transient gleams of joy, which naturally brighten up and refresh - the soul on such occasions, into an inviolable and perpetual state of - bliss and happiness." - -The same qualities appear in his dramatic criticisms. The corruption of -the stage was to the Puritan, or the Puritanic moralist, not so much the -effect as the cause of the corruption of society. To Jeremy Collier and -his imitators the theatre in all its manifestations is equally abominable: -they see no difference between Shakespeare and Wycherley. Dryden, who -bowed before Collier's rebuke with a penitent dignity that does him high -honour, yet rallies him with humour on this point: - - "Perhaps the Parson stretched a point too far - When with our Theatres he waged a war; - He tells you that this very Moral Age - Received the first infection from the Stage; - But sure a banisht Court with Lewdness fraught - The seeds of open Vice returning brought; - Thus lodged (as vice by great example thrives) - It first debauched the daughters and the wives." - -Dryden was quite right. The Court after the Restoration was for the moment -the sole school of manners; and the dramatists only reflected on the stage -the inverted ideas which were accepted in society as the standard of good -breeding. All sentiments founded on reverence for religion or the family -or honourable industry, were banished from the drama because they were -unacceptable at Court. The idea of virtue in a married woman would have -seemed prodigious to Shadwell or Wycherley; Vanbrugh had no scruples in -presenting to an audience a drunken parson in Sir John Brute; the merchant -or tradesman seemed, like Congreve's Alderman Fondlewife, to exist solely -that their wives might be seduced by men of fashion. Addison and his -disciples saw that these unnatural creations of the theatre were the -product of the corruption of society, and that it was men, not -institutions, that needed reform. Steele, always the first to feel a -generous impulse, took the lead in raising the tone of stage morality in a -paper which, characteristically enough, was suggested by some reflections -on a passage in one of his own plays.[76] He followed up his attack by an -admirable criticism, part of which has been already quoted, on Etherege's -_Man in the Mode_, the hero of which, Sir Fopling Flutter, who had long -been the model of young men of wit and fashion, he shows to be "a direct -knave in his designs and a clown in his language."[77] - -As usual, Addison improves the opportunity which Steele affords him, and -with his grave irony exposes the ridiculous principle of the fashionable -comedy by a simple statement of fact: - - "Cuckoldom," says he, "is the basis of most of our modern plays. If an - alderman appears upon the stage you may be sure it is in order to be - cuckolded. An husband that is a little grave or elderly generally - meets with the same fate. Knights and baronets, country squires, and - justices of the quorum, come up to town for no other purpose. I have - seen poor Dogget cuckolded in all these capacities. In short, our - English writers are as frequently severe upon this innocent, unhappy - creature, commonly known by the name of a cuckold, as the ancient - comic writers were upon an eating parasite or a vainglorious soldier. - - "... I have sometimes thought of compiling a system of ethics out of - the writings of these corrupt poets, under the title of Stage - Morality; but I have been diverted from this thought by a project - which has been executed by an ingenious gentleman of my acquaintance. - He has composed, it seems, the history of a young fellow who has taken - all his notions of the world from the stage, and who has directed - himself in every circumstance of his life and conversation by the - maxims and examples of the fine gentleman in English comedies. If I - can prevail upon him to give me a copy of this new-fashioned novel, I - will bestow on it a place in my works, and question not but it may - have as good an effect upon the drama as Don Quixote had upon - romance."[78] - -Nothing could be more skilful than this. Collier's invective no doubt -produced a momentary flutter among the dramatists, who, however, soon -found they had little to fear from arguments which appealed only to that -serious portion of society which did not frequent the theatre. But -Addison's penetrating wit, founded as it was on truth and reason, was -appreciated by the fashionable world. Dorimant and Sir Fopling Flutter -felt ashamed of themselves. The cuckold disappeared from the stage. In -society itself marriage no longer appeared ridiculous. - - "It is my custom," says the _Spectator_ in one of his late papers, "to - take frequent opportunities of inquiring from time to time what - success my speculations meet with in the town. I am glad to find, in - particular, that my discourses on marriage have been well received. A - friend of mine gives me to understand, from Doctors' Commons, that - more licenses have been taken out there of late than usual. I am - likewise informed of several pretty fellows who have resolved to - commence heads of families by the first favourable opportunity. One of - them writes me word that he is ready to enter into the bonds of - matrimony provided I will give it him under my hand (as I now do) that - a man may show his face in good company after he is married, and that - he need not be ashamed to treat a woman with kindness who puts herself - into his power for life."[79] - -So, too, in politics, it was not to be expected that Addison's moderation -should exercise a restraining influence on the violence of Parliamentary -parties. But in helping to form a reasonable public opinion in the more -reflective part of the nation at large, his efforts could not have been -unavailing. He was a steady and consistent supporter of the Whig party, -and Bolingbroke found that, in spite of his mildness, his principles were -proof against all the seductions of interest. He was, in fact, a Whig in -the sense in which all the best political writers in our literature, to -whichever party they may have nominally belonged--Bolingbroke, Swift, and -Canning, as much as Somers and Burke--would have avowed themselves Whigs; -as one, that is to say, who desired above all things to maintain the -constitution of his country. He attached himself to the Whigs of his -period because he saw in them, as the associated defenders of the -liberties of the Parliament, the best counterpoise to the still -preponderant power of the Crown. But he would have repudiated as -vigorously as Burke the democratic principles to which Fox, under the -stimulus of party spirit, committed the Whig connection at the outbreak of -the French Revolution; and for that stupid and ferocious spirit, generated -by party, which would deny to opponents even the appearance of virtue and -intelligence, no man had a more wholesome contempt. Page after page of the -_Spectator_ shows that Addison perceived as clearly as Swift the -theoretical absurdity of the party system, and tolerated it only as an -evil inseparable from the imperfection of human nature and free -institutions. He regarded it as the parent of hypocrisy and -self-deception. - - "Intemperate zeal, bigotry, and persecution for any party or opinion, - how praiseworthy soever they may appear to weak men of our own - principles, produce infinite calamities among mankind, and are highly - criminal in their own nature; and yet how many persons, eminent for - piety, suffer such monstrous and absurd principles of action to take - root in their minds under the colour of virtues! For my own part, I - must own I never yet knew any party so just and reasonable that a man - could follow it in its height and violence and at the same time be - innocent."[80] - -As to party-writing, he considered it identical with lying. - - "A man," says he, "is looked upon as bereft of common-sense that gives - credit to the relations of party-writers; nay, his own friends shake - their heads at him and consider him in no other light than as an - officious tool or a well-meaning idiot. When it was formerly the - fashion to husband a lie and trump it up in some extraordinary - emergency it generally did execution, and was not a little useful to - the faction that made use of it; but at present every man is upon his - guard: the artifice has been too often repeated to take effect."[81] - -Sir Roger de Coverley "often closes his narrative with reflections on the -mischief that parties do in the country." - - "There cannot," says the _Spectator_ himself, "a greater judgment - befall a country than such a dreadful spirit of division as rends a - government into two distinct people, and makes them greater strangers - and more averse to one another than if they were actually two - different nations. The effects of such a division are pernicious to - the last degree, not only with regard to those advantages which they - give the common enemy, but to those private evils which they produce - in the heart of almost every particular person. This influence is - very fatal both to men's morals and to their understandings; it sinks - the virtue of a nation, and not only so, but destroys even - common-sense."[82] - -Nothing in the work of Addison is more suggestive of the just and -well-balanced character of his genius than his papers on Women. It has -been already said that the seventeenth century exhibits the decay of the -Feudal Ideal. The passionate adoration with which women were regarded in -the age of chivalry degenerated after the Restoration into a habit of -insipid gallantry or of brutal license. Men of fashion found no mean for -their affections between a Sacharissa and a Duchess of Cleveland, while -the domestic standard of the time reduced the remainder of the sex to the -position of virtuous but uninteresting household drudges. Of woman, as the -companion and the helpmate of man, the source of all the grace and -refinements of social intercourse, no trace is to be found in the -literature of the Restoration except in the Eve of Milton's still -unstudied poem: it is not too much to say that she was the creation of the -_Spectator_. - -The feminine ideal, at which the essayists of the period aimed, is very -well described by Steele in a style which he imitated from Addison: - - "The other day," he writes, in the character of a fictitious female - correspondent, "we were several of us at a tea-table, and, according - to custom and your own advice, had the _Spectator_ read among us. It - was that paper wherein you are pleased to treat with great freedom - that character which you call a woman's man. We gave up all the kinds - you have mentioned except those who, you say, are our constant - visitants. I was upon the occasion commissioned by the company to - write to you and tell you 'that we shall not part with the men we have - at present until the men of sense think fit to relieve them and give - us their company in their stead.' You cannot imagine but we love to - hear reason and good sense better than the ribaldry we are at present - entertained with, but we must have company, and among us very - inconsiderable is better than none at all. We are made for the cements - of society, and come into the world to create relations amongst - mankind, and solitude is an unnatural being to us."[83] - -In contrast with the character of the writer of this letter--a type which -is always recurring in the _Spectator_--modest and unaffected, but at the -same time shrewd, witty, and refined, are introduced very eccentric -specimens of womanhood, all tending to illustrate the derangement of the -social order--the masculine woman, the learned woman, the female -politician, besides those that more properly belong to the nature of the -sex, the prude and the coquette. A very graceful example of Addison's -peculiar humour is found in his satire on that false ambition in women -which prompts them to imitate the manners of men: - - "The girls of quality," he writes, describing the customs of the - Republic of Women, "from six to twelve years old, were put to public - schools, where they learned to box and play at cudgels, with several - other accomplishments of the same nature, so that nothing was more - usual than to see a little miss returning home at night with a broken - pate, or two or three teeth knocked out of her head. They were - afterwards taught to ride the great horse, to shoot, dart, or sling, - and listed themselves into several companies in order to perfect - themselves in military exercises. No woman was to be married till she - had killed her man. The ladies of fashion used to play with young - lions instead of lap-dogs; and when they had made any parties of - diversion, instead of entertaining themselves at ombre and piquet, - they would wrestle and pitch the bar for a whole afternoon together. - There was never any such thing as a blush seen or a sigh heard in the - whole commonwealth."[84] - -The amazon was a type of womanhood peculiarly distasteful to Addison, -whose humour delighted itself with all the curiosities and refinements of -feminine caprice--the fan, the powder-box, and the petticoat. Nothing can -more characteristically suggest the exquisiteness of his fancy than a -comparison of Swift's verses on a _Lady's Dressing-Room_ with the -following, which evidently gave Pope a hint for one of the happiest -passages in _The Rape of the Lock_: - - "The single dress of a woman of quality is often the product of a - hundred climates. The muff and the fan come together from the - different ends of the earth. The scarf is sent from the torrid zone, - and the tippet from beneath the Pole. The brocade petticoat rises out - of the mines of Peru, and the diamond necklace out of the bowels of - Indostan."[85] - -To turn to Addison's artistic genius, the crowning evidence of his powers -is the design and the execution of the _Spectator_. Many writers, and -among them Macaulay, have credited Steele with the invention of the -_Spectator_ as well as of the _Tatler_; but I think that a close -examination of the opening papers in the former will not only prove, -almost to demonstration, that on this occasion Steele was acting as the -lieutenant of his friend, but will also show the admirable artfulness of -the means by which Addison executed his intention. The purpose of the -_Spectator_ is described in the tenth number, which is by Addison: - - "I shall endeavour," said he, "to enliven morality with wit, and to - temper wit with morality, that my readers may, if possible, both ways - find their account in the speculation of the day. And to the end that - their virtue and discretion may not be short, transient, intermitting - starts of thought, I have resolved to refresh their memories from day - to day till I have recovered them out of that desperate state of vice - and folly into which the age has fallen." - -That is to say, his design was "to hold as 'twere the mirror up to -nature," so that the conscience of society might recognise in a dramatic -form the character of its lapses from virtue and reason. The indispensable -instrument for the execution of this design was the _Spectator_ himself, -the silent embodiment of right reason and good taste, who is obviously the -conception of Addison. - - "I live in the world rather as a spectator of mankind than as one of - the species by which means I have made myself a speculative statesman, - soldier, merchant, and artizan, without ever meddling with any - practical part in life. I am very well versed in the theory of a - husband, or a father, and can discern the errors in the economy, - business, and diversion of others better than those who are engaged in - them, as standers-by discover blots which are apt to escape those who - are in the game. I never espoused any party with violence, and am - resolved to observe an exact neutrality between the Whigs and Tories - unless I shall be forced to declare myself by the hostilities of - either side. In short, I have acted in all the parts of my life as a - looker-on, which is the character I intend to preserve in this paper." - -In order, however, to give this somewhat inanimate figure life and action, -he is represented as the principal member of a club, his associates -consisting of various representatives of the chief "interests" of society. -We can scarcely doubt that the club was part of the original and central -conception of the work; and if this be so, a new light is thrown on some -of the features in the characters of the _Spectator_ which have hitherto -rather perplexed the critics. - - "The _Spectator's_ friends," says Macaulay, "were first sketched by - Steele. Four of the club--the templar, the clergyman, the soldier, and - the merchant--were uninteresting figures, fit only for a background. - But the other two--an old country baronet and an old town rake--though - not delineated with a very delicate pencil, had some good strokes. - Addison took the rude outlines into his own hands, retouched them, - coloured them, and is in truth the creator of the Sir Roger de - Coverley and the Will Honeycomb with whom we are all familiar." - -This is a very misleading account of the matter. It implies that the -characters in the _Spectator_ were mere casual conceptions of Steele's; -that Addison knew nothing about them till he saw Steele's rough draft; and -that he, and he alone, is the creator of the finished character of Sir -Roger de Coverley. But, as a matter of fact, the character of Sir Roger is -full of contradictions and inconsistencies; and the want of unity which it -presents is easily explained by the fact that it is the work of four -different hands. Sixteen papers on the subject were contributed by -Addison, seven by Steele, three by Budgell, and one by Tickell. Had Sir -Roger been, as Macaulay seems to suggest, merely the stray phantom of -Steele's imagination, it is very unlikely that so many different painters -should have busied themselves with his portrait. But he was from the first -intended to be a _type_ of a country gentleman, just as much as Don -Quixote was an imaginative representation of many Spanish gentlemen whose -brains had been turned by the reading of romances. In both cases the type -of character was so common and so truly conceived as to lend itself easily -to the treatment of writers who approached it with various conceptions and -very unequal degrees of skill. Any critic, therefore, who regards Sir -Roger de Coverley as the abstract conception of a single mind is certain -to misconceive the character. This error lies at the root of Johnson's -description of the knight: - - "Of the characters," says he, "feigned or exhibited in the - _Spectator_, the favourite of Addison was Sir Roger de Coverley, of - whom he had formed a very delicate and discriminated idea, which he - would not suffer to be violated; and therefore when Steele had shown - him innocently picking up a girl in the Temple and taking her to a - tavern, he drew upon himself so much of his friend's indignation that - he was forced to appease him by a promise of forbearing Sir Roger for - the time to come.... It may be doubted whether Addison ever filled up - his original delineation. He describes his knight as having his - imagination somewhat warped; but of this perversion he has made very - little use. The irregularities in Sir Roger's conduct seem not so much - the effects of a mind deviating from the beaten track of life, by the - perpetual pressure of some overwhelming idea, as of habitual rusticity - and that negligence which solitary grandeur naturally generates. The - variable weather of the mind, the flying vapours of incipient madness, - which from time to time cloud reason without eclipsing it, it requires - so much nicety to exhibit, that Addison seems to have been deterred - from prosecuting his own design." - -But Addison never had any design of the kind. Steele, indeed, describes -Sir Roger in the second number of the _Spectator_ as "a gentleman that is -very singular in his behaviour," but he added that "his singularities -proceed from his good sense, and are contradictions to the manners of the -world, only, as he thinks, the world is in the wrong." Addison regarded -the knight from a different point of view. "My friend Sir Roger," he says, -"amidst all his good qualities is _something of a humourist_; his virtues -as well as imperfections are, as it were, tinged by a certain extravagance -which makes them particularly his, and distinguishes them from those of -other men. This cast of mind, as it is generally very innocent in itself, -so it renders his conversation highly agreeable and more delightful than -the same degree of sense and virtue would appear in their common and -ordinary colours." - -The fact is, as I have already said, that it had evidently been -predetermined by the designers of the _Spectator_ that the Club should -consist of certain recognised and familiar types; the different writers, -in turns, worked on these types, each for his own purpose and according to -the bent of his own genius. Steele gave the first sketch of Sir Roger in a -few rough but vigorous strokes, which were afterwards greatly refined and -altered by Addison. In Steele's hands the knight appears indeed as a -country squire, but he has also a town-house in Soho Square, then the most -fashionable part of London. He had apparently been originally "a fine -gentleman," and only acquired his old-fashioned rusticity of manners in -consequence of a disappointment in love. All his oddities date from this -adventure, though his heart has outlived the effects of it. "There is," we -are told, "such a mirthful cast in his behaviour that he is rather beloved -than esteemed." Steele's imagination had evidently been chiefly caught by -the humour of Sir Roger's love affair, which is made to reflect the -romantic cast of poetry affected after the Restoration, and forms the -subject of two papers in the series; in two others--recording respectively -the knight's kindness to his servants, and his remarks on the portraits of -his ancestors--the writer takes up the idea of Addison; while another -gives an account of a dispute between Sir Roger and Sir Andrew Freeport on -the merits of the moneyed interest. Addison, on the other hand, had formed -a far finer conception of the character of the country gentleman, and one -that approaches the portrait of Don Quixote. As a humourist he perceived -the incongruous position in modern society of one nourished in the -beliefs, principles, and traditions of the old feudal world; and hence, -whenever the knight is brought into contact with modern ideas, he invests -his observations, as the _Spectator_ says, with "a certain extravagance" -which constitutes their charm. Such are the papers describing his -behaviour at church, his inclination to believe in witchcraft, and his -Tory principles; such, in another vein, are his criticisms in the theatre, -his opinions of Spring Gardens, and his delightful reflections on the -tombs in Westminster Abbey. But Addison was also fully alive to the beauty -and nobility of the feudal idea, which he brings out with great animation -in the various papers describing the patriarchal relations existing -between Sir Roger and his servants, retainers, and tenants, closing the -series with the truly pathetic account of the knight's death. It is to be -observed that he drops altogether Steele's idea of Sir Roger having once -been a man of fashion, which is indeed discarded by Steele himself when -co-operating with his friend on the picture of country life. Addison also -quite disregards Steele's original hint about "the humble desires" of his -hero; and he only once makes incidental mention of the widow. - -Budgell contributed three papers on the subject--two in imitation of -Addison; one describing a fox-hunt, and the other giving Sir Roger's -opinion on beards; the third, in imitation of Steele, showing Sir Roger's -state of mind on hearing of the addresses of Sir David Dundrum to the -widow. The number of the _Spectator_ which is said to have so greatly -displeased Addison was written, not, as Johnson says, by Steele, but by -Tickell. It goes far to confirm my supposition that the characters of the -Club had been agreed upon beforehand. The trait which Tickell describes -would have been natural enough in an ordinary country gentleman, though it -was inconsistent with the fine development of Sir Roger's character in the -hands of Addison. - -In his capacity of critic Addison has been variously judged, and, it may -be added, generally undervalued. We find that Johnson's contemporaries -were reluctant to allow him the name of critic. "His criticism," Johnson -explains, "is condemned as tentative or experimental rather than -scientific; and he is considered as deciding by taste rather than by -principles." But if Aristotle is right in saying that the virtuous man is -the standard of virtue, the man of sound instincts and perceptions ought -certainly to be accepted as a standard in the more debatable region of -taste. There can, at any rate, be no doubt that Addison's artistic -judgments, founded on instinct, were frequently much nearer the mark than -Johnson's, though these were based on principle. Again, Macaulay says, -"The least valuable of Addison's contributions to the _Spectator_ are, in -the judgment of our age, his critical papers;" but he adds, patronisingly, -"The very worst of them is creditable to him when the character of the -school in which he had been trained is fairly considered. The best of them -were much too good for his readers. In truth, he was not so far behind our -generation as he was before his own." By "the school in which he had been -trained," Macaulay doubtless meant the critical traditions established by -Boileau and Bouhours, and he would have justified the disparagement -implied in his reference to them by pointing to the pedantic intolerance -and narrowness of view which these traditions encouraged. But in all -matters of this kind there is loss and gain. If Addison's generation was -much more insensible than our own to a large portion of imaginative truth, -it had a far keener perception of the laws and limits of expression; and, -granted that Voltaire was wrong in regarding Shakespeare as an "inspired -barbarian," he would never have made the mistake which critics now make -every day of mistaking nonsense for poetry. - -But it may well be questioned if Addison's criticism is only "tentative -and experimental." The end of criticism is surely to produce a habit of -reasoning rightly on matters of taste and imagination; and, with the -exception of Sir Joshua Reynolds, no English critic has accomplished more -in this direction than Addison. Before his time Dryden had scattered over -a number of prefaces various critical remarks, admirably felicitous in -thought and racy in expression. But he had made no attempt to write upon -the subject systematically; and in practice he gave himself up without an -effort to satisfy the tastes which a corrupt Court had formed, partly on -the "false wit" of Cowley's following, partly on the extravagance and -conceit of the French school of Romance. Addison, on the other hand, set -himself to correct this depraved fashion by establishing in England, on a -larger and more liberal basis, the standards of good breeding and -common-sense which Boileau had already popularised in France. Nothing can -be more just and discriminating than his papers on the difference between -true and false wit.[86] He was the first to endeavour to define the limits -of art and taste in his essays on the _Pleasures of the Imagination_;[87] -and though his theory on the subject is obviously superficial, it -sufficiently proves that his method of reasoning on questions of taste was -much more than "tentative and experimental." "I could wish," he says, -"there were authors who, beside the mechanical rules which a man of very -little taste may discourse upon, would enter into the very spirit and soul -of fine writing, and show us the several sources of that pleasure which -rises in the mind on the perusal of a noble work." His studies of the -French drama prevented him from appreciating the great Elizabethan school -of tragedy, yet many stray remarks in the _Spectator_ show how deeply he -was impressed by the greatness of Shakespeare's genius, while his -criticisms on Tragedy did much to banish the tumid extravagance of the -romantic style. His papers on Milton achieved the triumph of making a -practically unknown poem one of the most popular classics in the language, -and he was more than half a century before his age in his appreciation of -the beauties of the English ballads. In fact, finding English taste in -hopeless confusion, he left it in admirable order; and to those who are -inclined to depreciate his powers as a critic the following observations -of Johnson--not a very favourable judge--may be commended: - - "It is not uncommon for those who have grown wise by the labour of - others to add a little of their own, and overlook their masters. - Addison is now despised by some who perhaps would never have seen his - defects but by the light he afforded them. That he always wrote as he - would write now cannot be affirmed; his instructions were such as the - characters of his readers made proper. That general knowledge which - now circulates in common talk was in his time rarely to be found. Men - not professing learning were not ashamed of ignorance; and in the - female world any acquaintance with books was distinguished only to be - censured. His purpose was to infuse literary curiosity by gentle and - unsuspected conveyance into the gay, the idle, and the wealthy; he - therefore presented knowledge in the most alluring form, not lofty and - austere, but accessible and familiar. When he showed them their - defects, he showed them likewise that they might be easily supplied. - His attempt succeeded; inquiry awakened and comprehension expanded. An - emulation of intellectual elegance was excited, and from this time to - our own life has been gradually exalted, and conversation purified and - enlarged."[88] - -The essence of Addison's humour is irony. "One slight lineament of his -character," says Johnson, "Swift has preserved. It was his practice, when -he found any man invincibly wrong, to flatter his opinions by acquiescence -and sink him yet deeper to absurdity." The same characteristic manifests -itself in his writings under a great variety of forms. Sometimes it -appears in the seemingly logical premises from which he draws an obviously -absurd conclusion, as for instance: - - "If in a multitude of counsellors there is safety, we ought to think - ourselves the securest nation in the world. Most of our garrets are - inhabited by statesmen, who watch over the liberties of their country, - and make a shift to keep themselves from starving by taking into their - care the properties of all their fellow-subjects."[89] - -On other occasions he ridicules some fashion of taste by a perfectly grave -and simple description of its object. Perhaps the most admirable specimen -of this oblique manner is his satire on the Italian opera in the number of -the _Spectator_ describing the various lions who had fought on the stage -with Nicolini. This highly-finished paper deserves to be quoted _in -extenso_: - - "There is nothing of late years has afforded matter of greater - amusement to the town than Signor Nicolini's combat with a lion in the - Haymarket, which has been very often exhibited to the general - satisfaction of most of the nobility and gentry in the kingdom of - Great Britain. Upon the first rumour of this intended combat it was - confidently affirmed, and is still believed by many in both galleries, - that there would be a tame lion sent from the tower every opera in - order to be killed by Hydaspes. This report, though altogether - groundless, so universally prevailed in the upper regions of the - playhouse, that some of the refined politicians in those parts of the - audience gave it out in a whisper that the lion was a cousin-german of - the tiger who made his appearance in King William's days, and that the - stage would be supplied with lions at the public expense during the - whole session. Many, likewise, were the conjectures of the treatment - which this lion was to meet with at the hands of Signor Nicolini; - some supposed that he was to subdue him in recitativo, as Orpheus used - to serve the wild beasts in his time, and afterwards to knock him on - the head; some fancied that the lion would not pretend to lay his paws - upon the hero, by reason of the received opinion that a lion will not - hurt a virgin; several, who pretended to have seen the opera in Italy, - had informed their friends that the lion was to act a part in High - Dutch, and roar twice or thrice to a thorough-bass before he fell at - the feet of Hydaspes. To clear up a matter that was so variously - reported, I have made it my business to examine whether this pretended - lion is really the savage he appears to be or only a counterfeit. - - "But, before I communicate my discoveries, I must acquaint the public - that upon my walking behind the scenes last winter, as I was thinking - upon something else, I accidentally jostled against an enormous animal - that extremely startled me, and, upon my nearer survey of it, appeared - to be a lion rampant. The lion, seeing me very much surprised, told - me, in a gentle voice, that I might come by him if I pleased; 'for,' - says he, 'I do not intend to hurt anybody.' I thanked him very kindly - and passed by him, and in a little time after saw him leap upon the - stage and act his part with very great applause. It has been observed - by several that the lion has changed his manner of acting twice or - thrice since his first appearance; which will not seem strange when I - acquaint my reader that the lion has been changed upon the audience - three several times. The first lion was a candle-snuffer, who, being a - fellow of testy, choleric temper, overdid his part, and would not - suffer himself to be killed so easily as he ought to have done; - besides, it was observed of him that he became more surly every time - he came out of the lion; and having dropped some words in ordinary - conversation as if he had not fought his best, and that he suffered - himself to be thrown on his back in the scuffle, and that he could - wrestle with Mr. Nicolini for what he pleased out of his lion's skin, - it was thought proper to discard him; and it is verily believed to - this day that, had he been brought upon the stage another time, he - would certainly have done mischief. Besides, it was objected against - the first lion that he reared himself so high upon his hinder paws and - walked in so erect a posture that he looked more like an old man than - a lion. - - "The second lion was a tailor by trade, who belonged to the playhouse, - and had the character of a mild and peaceable man in his profession. - If the former was too furious, this was too sheepish for his part, - insomuch that, after a short, modest walk upon the stage, he would - fall at the first touch of Hydaspes, without grappling with him and - giving him an opportunity of showing his variety of Italian trips. It - is said, indeed, that he once gave him a rip in his flesh-coloured - doublet; but this was only to make work for himself in his private - character of a tailor. I must not omit that it was this second lion - who treated me with so much humanity behind the scenes. - - "The acting lion at present is, as I am informed, a country gentleman, - who does it for his diversion, but desires his name may be concealed. - He says, very handsomely in his own excuse, that he does not act for - gain; that he indulges an innocent pleasure in it; and that it is - better to pass away an evening in this manner than in gaming and - drinking; but he says at the same time, with a very agreeable raillery - upon himself, that, if his name were known, the ill-natured world - might call him 'the ass in the lion's skin.' This gentleman's temper - is made out of such a happy mixture of the mild and the choleric that - he outdoes both his predecessors, and has drawn together greater - audiences than have been known in the memory of man. - - "I must not conclude my narrative without taking notice of a - groundless report that has been raised to a gentleman's disadvantage - of whom I must declare myself an admirer; namely, that Signor Nicolini - and the lion have been seen sitting peaceably by one another and - smoking a pipe together behind the scenes; by which their common - enemies would insinuate that it is but a sham combat which they - represent upon the stage; but upon inquiry I find that, if any such - correspondence has passed between them, it was not till the combat was - over, when the lion was to be looked on as dead, according to the - received rules of the drama. Besides, this is what is practised every - day in Westminster Hall, where nothing is more usual than to see a - couple of lawyers who have been tearing each other to pieces in the - court embracing one another as soon as they are out of it."[90] - -In a somewhat different vein, the ridicule cast by the _Spectator_ on the -fashions of his day, by anticipating the judgment of posterity on himself, -is equally happy: - - "As for his speculations, notwithstanding the several obsolete words - and obscure phrases of the age in which he lived, we still understand - enough of them to see the diversions and characters of the English - nation in his time; not but that we are to make allowance for the - mirth and humour of the author, who has doubtless strained many - representations of things beyond the truth. For, if we must interpret - his words in their literal meaning, we must suppose that women of the - first quality used to pass away whole mornings at a puppet show; that - they attested their principles by their patches; that an audience - would sit out an evening to hear a dramatical performance written in a - language which they did not understand; that chairs and flowerpots - were introduced as actors upon the British stage; that a promiscuous - assembly of men and women were allowed to meet at midnight in masks - within the verge of the Court; with many improbabilities of the like - nature. We must, therefore, in these and in the like cases, suppose - that these remote hints and allusions aimed at some certain follies - which were then in vogue, and which at present we have not any notion - of."[91] - -His power of ridiculing keenly without malignity is of course best shown -in his character of Sir Roger de Coverley, whose delightful simplicity of -mind is made the medium of much good-natured satire on the manners of the -Tory country gentlemen of the period. One of the most exquisite touches is -the description of the extraordinary conversion of a dissenter by the Act -against Occasional Conformity. - - "He (Sir Roger) then launched out into praise of the late Act of - Parliament for securing the Church of England, and told me with great - satisfaction that he believed it already began to take effect, for - that a rigid dissenter who chanced to dine in his house on Christmas - day had been observed to eat very plentifully of his - plum-porridge."[92] - -The mixture of fashionable contempt for book-learning, blended with shrewd -mother-wit, is well represented in the character of Will Honeycomb, who -"had the discretion not to go out of his depth, and had often a certain -way of making his real ignorance appear a seeming one." One of Will's -happiest flights is on the subject of ancient looking-glasses. "Nay," says -he, "I remember Mr. Dryden in his _Ovid_ tells us of a swinging fellow -called Polypheme, that made use of the sea for his looking-glass, and -could never dress himself to advantage but in a calm." - -Budgell, Steele, and Addison seem all to have worked on the character of -Will Honeycomb, which, however, presents none of the inconsistencies that -appear in the portrait of Sir Roger de Coverley. Addison was evidently -pleased with it, and in his own inimitable ironic manner gave it its -finishing touches by making Will, in his character of a fashionable -gallant, write two letters scoffing at wedlock and then marry a farmer's -daughter. The conclusion of the letter in which he announces his fate to -the _Spectator_ is an admirable specimen of Addison's humour: - - "As for your fine women I need not tell thee that I know them. I have - had my share in their graces; but no more of that. It shall be my - business hereafter to live the life of an honest man, and to act as - becomes the master of a family. I question not but I shall draw upon - me the raillery of the town, and be treated to the tune of "The - Marriage-hater Matched;" but I am prepared for it. I have been as - witty as others in my time. To tell thee truly, I saw such a tribe of - fashionable young fluttering coxcombs shot up that I do not think my - post of an _homme de ruelle_ any longer tenable. I felt a certain - stiffness in my limbs which entirely destroyed the jauntiness of air I - was once master of. Besides, for I must now confess my age to thee, I - have been eight-and-forty above these twelve years. Since my - retirement into the country will make a vacancy in the Club, I could - wish that you would fill up my place with my friend Tom Dapperwit. He - has an infinite deal of fire, and knows the town. For my own part, as - I have said before, I shall endeavour to live hereafter suitable to a - man in my station, as a prudent head of a family, a good husband, a - careful father (when it shall so happen), and as - - "Your most sincere friend and humble servant, - "WILLIAM HONEYCOMB."[93] - -I have already alluded to the delight with which the fancy of Addison -played round the caprices of female attire. The following--an extract from -the paper on the "fair sex" which specially roused the spleen of Swift--is -a good specimen of his style when in this vein: - - "To return to our female heads. The ladies have been for some time in - a kind of moulting season with regard to that part of their dress, - having cast great quantities of ribbon, lace, and cambric, and in some - measure reduced that part of the human figure to the beautiful - globular form which is natural to it. We have for a great while - expected what kind of ornament would be substituted in the place of - those antiquated commodes. But our female projectors were all the last - summer so taken up with the improvement of their petticoats that they - had not time to attend to anything else; but having at length - sufficiently adorned their lower parts, they now begin to turn their - thoughts upon the other extremity, as well remembering the old kitchen - proverb, 'that if you light your fire at both ends, the middle will - shift for itself.'"[94] - -Addison may be said to have almost created and wholly perfected English -prose as an instrument for the expression of _social_ thought. Prose had -of course been written in many different manners before his time. Bacon, -Cowley, and Temple had composed essays; Hooker, Sir Thomas Browne, Hobbes, -and Locke philosophical treatises; Milton controversial pamphlets; Dryden -critical prefaces; Raleigh and Clarendon histories; Taylor, Barrow, South, -and Tillotson sermons. But it cannot be said that any of these had founded -a prose style which, besides being a reflection of the mind of the writer, -could be taken as representing the genius and character of the nation. -They write as if they were thinking apart from their audience, or as if -they were speaking to it either from an inferior or superior position. The -essayists had taken as their model Montaigne, and their style is therefore -stamped, so to speak, with the character of soliloquy; the preachers, who -perhaps did more than any writers to guide the genius of the language, -naturally addressed their hearers with the authority of their office; -Milton, even in controversy, rises from the natural sublimity of his mind -to heights of eloquence to which the ordinary idioms of society could not -have borne him; while Dryden, using the language with a raciness and -rhythm probably unequalled in our literature, nevertheless exhibits in his -prefaces an air of deference towards the various patrons he addresses. -Moreover, many of the earlier prose writers had aimed at standards of -diction which were inconsistent with the genius of the English tongue. -Bacon, for instance, disfigures his style with the witty antitheses which -found favour with the Elizabethan and early Stuart writers; Hooker, -Milton, and Browne construct their sentences on a Latin model, which, -though it often gives a certain dignity of manner, prevents anything like -ease, simplicity, and lucidity of expression. Thus Hooker delights in -inversions; both he and Milton protract their periods by the insertion of -many subordinate clauses; and Browne "projicit ampullas et sesquipedalia -verba" till the Saxon element seems almost eliminated from his style. - -Addison took features of his style from almost all his predecessors: he -assumes the characters of essayist, moralist, philosopher, and critic, but -he blends them all together in his new capacity of journalist. He had -accepted the public as his judges; and he writes as if some critical -representative of the public were at his elbow, putting to the test of -reason every sentiment and every expression. Warton tells us, in his -_Essay on Pope_, that Addison was so fastidious in composition that he -would often stop the press to alter a preposition or conjunction; and this -evidence is corroborated in a very curious and interesting manner by the -MS. of some of Addison's essays, discovered by Mr. Dykes Campbell in -1858.[95] A sentence in one of the papers on the _Pleasures of the -Imagination_ shows, by the various stages through which it passed before -its form seemed satisfactory to the writer, what nice attention he gave to -the balance, rhythm, and lucidity of his periods. In its original shape -the sentence was written thus: - - "For this reason we find the poets always crying up a Country Life; - where Nature is left to herself, and appears to y{e} best advantage." - -This is rather bald, and the MS. is accordingly corrected as follows: - - "For this reason we find all Fancifull men, and y{e} poets in - particular, still in love with a Country Life; where Nature is left to - herself, and furnishes out all y{e} variety of Scenes y{t} are most - delightful to y{e} Imagination." - -The text as it stands is this: - - "For this reason we always find the poet in love with a country life, - where nature appears in the greatest perfection, and furnishes out all - those scenes that are most apt to delight the imagination."[96] - -This is certainly the best, both in point of sense and sound. Addison -perceived that there was a certain contradiction in the idea of Nature -being "left to herself," and at the same time _furnishing_ scenes for the -pleasure of the imagination; he therefore imparted the notion of design by -striking out the former phrase and substituting "seen in perfection;" and -he emphasised the idea by afterwards changing "delightful" into the -stronger phrase "apt to delight." The improvement of the rhythm of the -sentence in its final form is obvious. - -With so much elaboration of style it is natural that there should be in -Addison's essays a disappearance of that egotism which is a -characteristic--and a charming one--of Montaigne; his moralising is -natural, for the age required it, but is free from the censoriousness of -the preacher; his critical and philosophical papers all assume an -intelligence in his reader equal to his own. - -This perfection of breeding in writing is an art which vanishes with the -_Tatler_ and _Spectator_. Other critics, other humourists have made their -mark in English literature, but no second Addison has appeared. Johnson -took him for his model so far as to convey lessons of morality to the -public by means of periodical essays. But he confesses that he addressed -his audience in tones of "dictatorial instruction;" and any one who -compares the ponderous sententiousness and the elaborate antithesis of the -_Rambler_ with the light and rhythmical periods of the _Spectator_ will -perceive that the spirit of preaching is gaining ground on the genius of -conversation. Charles Lamb, again, has passages which, for mere delicacy -of humour, are equal to anything in Addison's writings. But the -superiority of Addison consists in this, that he expresses the humour of -the life about him, while Lamb is driven to look at its oddities from -outside. He is not, like Addison, a moralist or a satirist; the latter -indeed performed his task so thoroughly that the turbulent license of -Mohocks, Tityre Tus, and such like brotherhoods, gradually disappeared -before the advance of a tame and orderly public opinion. To Lamb, looking -back on the primitive stages of society from a safe distance, vice itself -seemed pardonable because picturesque, much in the same way as travellers -began to admire the loneliness and the grandeur of nature when they were -relieved from apprehensions for the safety of their purses and their -necks. His humour is that of a sentimentalist; it dwells on odd nooks and -corners, and describes quaint survivals in men and things. For our own -age, when all that is picturesque in society is being levelled by a dull -utilitarianism, this vein of eccentric imagination has a special charm, -but the taste is likely to be a transient one. Mrs. Battle will amuse so -long as this generation remembers the ways of its grandmothers: two -generations hence the point of its humour will probably be lost. But the -figure of Sir Roger de Coverley, though it belongs to a bygone stage of -society, is as durable as human nature itself, and, while the language -lasts, the exquisite beauty of the colours in which it is preserved will -excite the same kind of pleasure. Scarcely below the portrait of the good -knight will be ranked the character of his friend and biographer, the -silent Spectator of men. A grateful posterity, remembering what it owes to -him, will continue to assign him the reputation he coveted: "It was said -of Socrates that he brought Philosophy down from heaven to inhabit among -men; and I shall be ambitious to have it said of me that I have brought -Philosophy out of closets and libraries, schools and colleges, to dwell at -clubs and assemblies, at tea-tables and in coffee-houses." - - -THE END. - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] _Spectator_, No. 108. - -[2] _Spectator_, No. 158. - -[3] _Spectator_, No. 341. - -[4] _Spectator_, No. 65. - -[5] _Tatler_, No. 25. - -[6] A note in the edition of Johnson's _Lives of the Poets_, published in -1801, states, on the authority of a "Lady in Wiltshire," who derived her -information from a Mr. Stephens, a Fellow of Magdalen and a contemporary -of Addison's, that the Henry Sacheverell to whom Addison dedicated his -_Account of the Greatest English Poets_ was not the well-known divine, but -a personal friend of Addison's, who died young, having written a _History -of the Isle of Man_. - -[7] _Spence's Anecdotes_, p. 50. - -[8] Compare the _Notes on the Metamorphoses_, Fab. v. (Tickell's edition, -vol. vi. p. 183), where the substance of the above passage is found in -embryo. - -[9] _Dunciad_, Book iv. 224. - -[10] Compare _Spectator_, 414. "I do not know whether I am singular in my -opinion, but for my part I would rather look upon a tree in all its -luxuriancy and diffusion of boughs and branches, rather than when it is -thus cut and trimmed into a mathematical figure; and cannot but fancy that -an orchard in flower looks infinitely more delightful than all the little -labyrinths of the finished parterre." - -[11] Letter to the Right Honourable Charles Montague, Esq., Blois, 10{br} -1699. - -[12] Letter from Italy to Lord Halifax. - -[13] Addison's _Works_ (Tickell's edition), vol. v. p. 301. - -[14] Addison's _Works_ (Tickell's edition), vol. v. p. 213. - -[15] Oldham's Satire _Dissuading from Poetry_. - -[16] Oldham's Satire _Dissuading from Poetry_. - -[17] Blackmore, _The Kit-Kats_. - -[18] _Spectator_, No. 9. - -[19] _Spectator_, No. 18. - -[20] _Spectator_, No. 18. - -[21] Sir John Hawkins' _History of Music_, vol. v. p. 137. - -[22] Burney's _History of Music_, vol. iv. p. 203. - -[23] _Spectator_, No. 469. - -[24] Fourth Drapier's Letter. - -[25] Who the "mistress" was cannot be certainly ascertained. See, however, -p. 146. - -[26] Egerton MSS., British Museum (1972). - -[27] Andrews' _History of British Journalism_. - -[28] _Staple of News_, Act I. Scene 2. - -[29] Andrews' _History of British Journalism_. - -[30] _Tatler_, No. 1. - -[31] _Ibid._ - -[32] _Tatler_, No. 271. - -[33] _Preface to the Fables._ - -[34] _Tatler_, No. 5. - -[35] _Ib._, No. 82. - -[36] _Ib._, Nos. 25, 26, 28, 29, 38, 39. - -[37] _Ib._, No. 85. - -[38] _Tatler_, No. 87. - -[39] Spence's _Anecdotes_, p. 325. - -[40] _Tatler_, vol. iv. p. 545 (Nichols' edition). - -[41] See p. 93, note 3. - -[42] _Tatler_, No. 6. - -[43] _Spectator_, No. 10. - -[44] _Spectator_, No. 10. - -[45] _Spectator_, No. 10. - -[46] The writer was a Miss Shepherd. - -[47] _Spectator_, No. 134. - -[48] _Spectator_, No. 553. - -[49] _Ibid._, No. 542. - -[50] _Spectator_, No. 10. - -[51] _Spectator_, No. 555. - -[52] See Addison's _Works_ (Tickell's edition), vol. v. p. 187. - -[53] Spence's _Anecdotes_, p. 196. - -[54] _Spectator_, No. 40. - -[55] _Spectator_, No. 40. - -[56] See p. 43. - -[57] Spence's _Anecdotes_, p. 151. - -[58] _Ibid._ - -[59] These lines are to be found in _The Campaign_, see p. 66. - -[60] _Spectator_, No. 39. - -[61] Spence's _Anecdotes_, pp. 148, 149. - -[62] Spence's _Anecdotes_, p. 257. - -[63] Pope's _Works_, Elwin and Courthope's edition, vol. vi. p. 408. - -[64] Spence's _Anecdotes_, p. 146. - -[65] Addison's Memorial to the King. - -[66] _Freeholder_, No. 1. - -[67] Spence's _Anecdotes_, p. 175. - -[68] Tickell's _Elegy_. Compare Pope's _Eloisa to Abelard_, v. 107. - -[69] _Spectator_, No. 125. - -[70] _Ibid._, vol. iii., Nos. 201, 207. - -[71] _Ibid._, No. 391. - -[72] _Ibid._, No. 465. - -[73] _Ibid._, No. 575. - -[74] _Ibid._, No. 494. - -[75] _Ibid_, Nos. 381, 387, 393. - -[76] _Spectator_, No. 51. - -[77] _Ibid._, No. 65. - -[78] _Spectator_, No. 446. - -[79] _Spectator_, No. 525 (by Hughes). - -[80] _Spectator_, No. 399. - -[81] _Ibid._, No. 507. - -[82] _Spectator_, No. 125. - -[83] _Spectator_, No. 158. - -[84] _Ibid._, No. 434. - -[85] _Spectator_, No. 69. - -[86] _Spectator_, Nos. 58-63, inclusive. - -[87] _Ibid._, Nos. 411-421, inclusive. - -[88] _Life of Addison._ - -[89] _Spectator_, No. 556. - -[90] _Spectator_, No. 13. - -[91] _Spectator_, No. 101. - -[92] _Ibid._, No. 269. - -[93] _Spectator_, No. 530. - -[94] _Ibid._, No. 265. - -[95] I have to thank Mr. Campbell for his kindness and courtesy in sending -me the volume containing this collection. - -[96] _Spectator_, No. 414. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADDISON*** - - -******* This file should be named 41496-8.txt or 41496-8.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/1/4/9/41496 - - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project -Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you -charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you -do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the -rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose -such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and -research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do -practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is -subject to the trademark license, especially commercial -redistribution. - - - -*** START: FULL LICENSE *** - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project -Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at - www.gutenberg.org/license. - - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy -all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. -If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the -terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or -entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement -and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" -or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the -collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an -individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are -located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from -copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative -works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg -are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project -Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by -freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of -this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with -the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by -keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project -Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in -a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check -the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement -before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or -creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project -Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning -the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United -States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate -access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently -whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, -copied or distributed: - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived -from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is -posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied -and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees -or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work -with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the -work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 -through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the -Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or -1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional -terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked -to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the -permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any -word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or -distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than -"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version -posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), -you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a -copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon -request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other -form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided -that - -- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is - owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he - has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the - Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments - must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you - prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax - returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and - sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the - address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to - the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." - -- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or - destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium - and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of - Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any - money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days - of receipt of the work. - -- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set -forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from -both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael -Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the -Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm -collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain -"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or -corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual -property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a -computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by -your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with -your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with -the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a -refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity -providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to -receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy -is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further -opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER -WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO -WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. -If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the -law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be -interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by -the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any -provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance -with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, -promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, -harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, -that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do -or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm -work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any -Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. - - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers -including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists -because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from -people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. -To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 -and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive -Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent -permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. -Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered -throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809 -North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email -contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the -Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To -SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any -particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. -To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. -unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |