An English Garner: Critical Essays & Literary Fragments Part 27

In his _Almanack_ for 1715 [P.P. 2465/7], PARTRIDGE says--

It is very probable, that the beggarly knavish Crew will be this year also printing _Prophecies_ and _Predictions_ in my name, to cheat the country as they used to do. This is therefore to give notice, that if there is anything of that kind done in my name besides this _Almanack_ printed by the Company of Stationers, you may be certain it is not mine, but a cheat, and therefore refuse it.

[15] The quotations here, are said to be a parody of those of BENTLEY in his controversy with BOYLE.

[16] _Vide_ Dr. S[WI]FT.

THE PRESENT STATE OF WIT, IN A LETTER TO A Friend in the Country.

_LONDON_:

Printed in the Year, MDCCXI.

(Price 3_d_.)

THE Present State OF WIT, &c.

SIR,

You acquaint me in your last, that you are still so busy building at ----, that your friends must not hope to see you in Town this year: at the same time, you desire me, that you may not be quite at a loss in conversation among the _beau monde_ next winter, to send you an account of the present State of Wit in Town: which, without further preface, I shall endeavour to perform; and give you the histories and characters of all our Periodical Papers, whether monthly, weekly, or diurnal, with the same freedom I used to send you our other Town news.

I shall only premise, that, as you know, I never cared one farthing, either for Whig or Tory: so I shall consider our Writers purely as they are such, without any respect to which Party they belong.

Dr. KING has, for some time, lain down his monthly _Philosophical Transactions_, which the t.i.tle-page informed us at first, were only to be continued as they sold; and though that gentleman has a world of Wit, yet as it lies in one particular way of raillery, the Town soon grew weary of his Writings: though I cannot but think that their author deserves a much better fate than to languish out the small remainder of his life in the Fleet prison.

About the same time that the Doctor left off writing, one Mr. OZELL put out his _Monthly Amus.e.m.e.nt_; which is still continued: and as it is generally some French novel or play indifferently translated, it is more or less taken notice of, as the original piece is more or less agreeable.

As to our Weekly Papers, the poor _Review_ [_by DANIEL DEFOE_] is quite exhausted, and grown so very contemptible, that though he has provoked all his Brothers of the Quill round, none of them will enter into a controversy with him. This fellow, who had excellent natural parts, but wanted a small foundation of learning, is a lively instance of those Wits who, as an ingenious author says, "will endure but one skimming"[!].

The _Observator_ was almost in the same condition; but since our party struggles have run so high, he is much mended for the better: which is imputed to the charitable a.s.sistance of some outlying friends.

These two authors might however have flourished some time longer, had not the controversy been taken up by abler hands.

The _Examiner_ is a paper which all men, who speak without prejudice, allow to be well written. Though his subject will admit of no great variety; he is continually placing it in so many different lights, and endeavouring to inculcate the same thing by so many beautiful changes of expression, that men who are concerned in no Party, may read him with pleasure. His way of a.s.suming the Question in debate is extremely artful; and his _Letter to Cra.s.sus_ is, I think, a masterpiece. As these Papers are supposed to have been written by several hands, the critics will tell you that they can discern a difference in their styles and beauties; and pretend to observe that the first _Examiners_ abound chiefly in Wit, the last in Humour.

Soon after their first appearance, came out a Paper from the other side, called the _Whig Examiner_, written with so much fire, and in so excellent a style, as put the Tories in no small pain for their favourite hero. Every one cried, "_BICKERSTAFF_ must be the author!" and people were the more confirmed in this opinion, upon its being so soon laid down: which seemed to shew that it was only written to bind the _Examiners_ to their good behaviour, and was never designed to be a Weekly Paper.

The _Examiners_, therefore, have no one to combat with, at present, but their friend the _Medley_: the author of which Paper, though he seems to be a man of good sense, and expresses it luckily now and then, is, I think, for the most part, perfectly a stranger to fine writing.

I presume I need not tell you that the _Examiner_ carries much the more sail, as it is supposed to be written by the direction, and under the eye of some Great Persons who sit at the helm of affairs, and is consequently looked on as a sort of Public Notice which way they are steering us.

The reputed author is Dr. S[WIF]T, with the a.s.sistance, sometimes, of Dr.

ATT[ERBUR]Y and Mr. P[RIO]R.

The _Medley_ is said to be written by Mr. OLD[MIXO]N; and supervised by Mr. MAYN[WARIN]G, who perhaps might entirely write those few Papers which are so much better than the rest.

Before I proceed further in the account of our Weekly Papers, it will be necessary to inform you that at the beginning of the winter [_on Jan. 2_, 1711], to the infinite surprise of all men, Mr. STEELE flang up his _Tatler_; and instead of _ISAAC BICKERSTAFF, Esquire_, subscribed himself RICHARD STEELE to the last of those Papers, after a handsome compliment to the Town for their kind acceptance of his endeavours to divert them.

The chief reason he thought fit to give for his leaving off writing was, that having been so long looked on in all public places and companies as the Author of those papers, he found that his most intimate friends and acquaintance were in pain to speak or act before him.

The Town was very far from being satisfied with this reason, and most people judged the true cause to be, either

That he was quite spent, and wanted matter to continue his undertaking any longer; or

That he laid it down as a sort of submission to, and composition with, the Government, for some past offences;

or, lastly,

That he had a mind to vary his Shape, and appear again in some new light.

However that were, his disappearance seemed to be bewailed as some general calamity. Every one wanted so agreeable an amus.e.m.e.nt, and the Coffee-houses began to be sensible that the _Esquire's Lucubrations_ alone had brought them more customers, than all their other News Papers put together.

It must indeed be confessed that never man threw up his pen, under stronger temptations to have employed it longer. His reputation was at a greater height, than I believe ever any living author's was before him.

It is reasonable to suppose that his gains were proportionably considerable. Every one read him with pleasure and good-will; and the Tories, in respect to his other good qualities, had almost forgiven his unaccountable imprudence in declaring against them.

Lastly, it was highly improbable that, if he threw off a Character the ideas of which were so strongly impressed in every one's mind, however finely he might write in any new form, that he should meet with the same reception.

To give you my own thoughts of this Gentleman's Writings, I shall, in the first place, observe, that there is a n.o.ble difference between him and all the rest of our Polite and Gallant Authors. The latter have endeavoured to please the Age by falling in with them, and encouraging them in their fas.h.i.+onable vices and false notions of things. It would have been a jest, some time since, for a man to have a.s.serted that anything witty could be said in praise of a married state, or that Devotion and Virtue were any way necessary to the character of a Fine Gentleman. _BICKERSTAFF_ ventured to tell the Town that they were a parcel of fops, fools, and coquettes; but in such a manner as even pleased them, and made them more than half inclined to believe that he spoke truth.

Instead of complying with the false sentiments or vicious tastes of the Age--either in morality, criticism, or good breeding--he has boldly a.s.sured them, that they were altogether in the wrong; and commanded them, with an authority which perfectly well became him, to surrender themselves to his arguments for Virtue and Good Sense.

It is incredible to conceive the effect his writings have had on the Town; how many thousand follies they have either quite banished or given a very great check to! how much countenance, they have added to Virtue and Religion! how many people they have rendered happy, by shewing them it was their own fault if they were not so! and, lastly, how entirely they have convinced our young fops and young fellows of the value and advantages of Learning!

He has indeed rescued it out of the hands of pedants and fools, and discovered the true method of making it amiable and lovely to all mankind. In the dress he gives it, it is a most welcome guest at tea-tables and a.s.semblies, and is relished and caressed by the merchants on the Change. Accordingly there is not a Lady at Court, nor a Banker in Lombard Street, who is not verily persuaded that Captain STEELE is the greatest Scholar and best Casuist of any man in England.

Lastly, his writings have set all our Wits and Men of Letters on a new way of Thinking, of which they had little or no notion before: and, although we cannot say that any of them have come up to the beauties of the original, I think we may venture to affirm, that every one of them writes and thinks much more justly than they did some time since.

The vast variety of subjects which Mr. STEELE has treated of, in so different manners, and yet ALL so perfectly well, made the World believe that it was impossible they should all come from the same hand. This set every one upon guessing who was the _Esquire's_ friend? and most people at first fancied it must be Doctor SWIFT; but it is now no longer a secret, that his only great and constant a.s.sistant was Mr. ADDISON.

This is that excellent friend to whom Mr. STEELE owes so much; and who refuses to have his name set before those Pieces which the greatest pens in England would be proud to own. Indeed, they could hardly add to this Gentleman's reputation: whose works in Latin and English Poetry long since convinced the World, that he was the greatest Master in Europe of those two languages.

I am a.s.sured, from good hands, that all the visions, and other tracts of that way of writing, with a very great number of the most exquisite pieces of wit and raillery throughout the _Lucubrations_ are entirely of this Gentleman's composing: which may, in some measure, account for that different Genius, which appears In the winter papers, from those of the summer; at which time, as the _Examiner_ often hinted, this friend of Mr.

STEELE was in Ireland.

Mr. STEELE confesses in his last Volume of the _Tatlers_ that he is obliged to Dr. SWIFT for his _Town Shower_, and the _Description of the Morn_, with some other hints received from him in private conversation.

I have also heard that several of those _Letters_, which came as from unknown hands, were written by Mr. HENLEY: which is an answer to your query, "Who those friends are, whom Mr. STEELE speaks of in his last _Tatler_?"

But to proceed with my account of our other papers. The expiration of _BICKERSTAFF's Lucubrations_ was attended with much the same consequences as the death of _MELIBOEUS's Ox_ in VIRGIL: as the latter engendered swarms of bees, the former immediately produced whole swarms of little satirical scribblers.

One of these authors called himself the _Growler_, and a.s.sured us that, to make amends for Mr. STEELE's silence, he was resolved to _growl_ at us weekly, as long as we should think fit to give him any encouragement.

Another Gentleman, with more modesty, called his paper, the _Whisperer_; and a third, to please the Ladies, christened his, the _Telltale_.