THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 OF 
 
 SIR RICHARD STEELE, 
 
 SOLDIER, DRAMATIST, ESSAYIST, AND PATRIOT, 
 
 WITH 
 
 HIS CORRESPONDENCE, AND NOTICES OF HIS CONTEMPORARIES 
 THE WITS AND STATESMEN OF QUEEN ANNE'S TIME. 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY R. MONTGOMERY, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "THOMAS MOORE : HIS LIFE, WRITINGS, AND CONTEMPORARIES," 
 " ISAAC BICKERSTAFF," ETC. 
 
 TWO VOLUMES. 
 VOL. II. 
 
 EDINBURGH: 
 
 WILLIAM P, NIMMO, 
 
 1865. 
 
 [All rights reserved.]
 
 EDINBURGH .' 
 PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, ROBERTS, AND COMPANY, 
 PAUL'S WORK.
 
 Mil 
 
 CONTENTS, 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 THE POLITICIAN AND PATRIOT. 
 
 Steele makes a dasli into politics — He starts the Englishman, 
 with a political bearing, in place of the Guardian — His friend 
 Hughes proposes to occupy the deserted ground of literature 
 — His letter to Addison announcing the discontinuance of 
 the Guardian, and proposing a literary successor — Political 
 retrospect with reference to Steele — Drawn into an unfortunate 
 controversy with the Examiner relative to the Dunkirk article 
 of the Guardian — Steele publishes a pamphlet in reply, and 
 in defence of his paper in the Guardian on the importance 
 of Dunkirk — Publication of "The Crisis" — Close of the 
 Englishman newspaper — Is elected member for Stockbridge, 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE POLITICIAN AND PATRIOT— (Continued.) 
 
 Meeting of the new parliament — Steele takes his scat as member 
 for Stockbridge — Petition against his return on the ground 
 of bribery — Display of factious opposition to him on the 
 occasion of his first remarks in the IJuuse — Arraigned by the 
 Ministry as guilty of libel and sedition in his political w ril ings 
 — His defence— Is supported by Walpole, General Stanh 
 Lord Lumley, Lord Finch, and others— Memorable incident 
 on the occasion — His expulsion voted by a large majority — 
 
 I 101 
 

 
 vi Contents. 
 
 PACE 
 
 Hallam on the right of expulsion, and its unscrupulous 
 exercise — Publishes Lis " Apology" for himself and his writ- 
 ings — Reflections of Pope, and ribaldry of Dennis — Cor- 
 respondence to the time of his expulsion, . . .26 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 FROM HIS EXPULSION TILL THE DEATH OF QUEEN 
 
 ANNE. 
 
 Steele not unduly depressed by his political martyrdom — Displays 
 great industry on literary and political subjects — Publication 
 of the periodical papers entitled the Lover and the Reader — 
 Satirises his political opponents under the titles of the Crab- 
 trees and Brickdusts — Proposes a " History of the Duke of 
 Marlborough"— Publishes various political pamphlets, besides 
 literary works, including "Poetic Miscellanies" and "The 
 Ladies' Library" — Short-lived triumph of his enemies — The 
 tables turned by the death of the Queen — Correspondence 
 up to that event, ....... 49 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 FROM THE ACCESSION OF GEORGE I. TILL THE 
 CLOSE OF 1715. 
 
 Character of Queen Anne — Return of the "Whigs to power on the 
 accession of George I. — Steele appointed surveyor of the royal 
 stables at Hampton Court, and governor of the royal com- 
 pany of comedians— Is placed in the commission of the peace 
 for Middlesex, and appointed a deputy-lieutenant of the 
 county — Elected member of Parliament for Boroughbridge 
 — Is knighted by the King on the occasion of receiving an 
 address from the lieutenancy of Middlesex— Gives a grand 
 entertainment in honour of the event and of the King's 
 birthday— Lines spoken on the occasion— Republishes his 
 political writings— New literary papers, the Town-Talk, Tea- 
 Table, and Chit-chat— Correspondence to close of 1715, . 65 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 Little of incident in the two ensuing years of Steele's life— Notice
 
 Contents. vii 
 
 PAGE 
 
 of the Pretender, of George I., and of the insurrection of 1715 
 in favour of the Pretender — Steele is appointed a commis- 
 sioner of the forfeited estates in the North and in Scotland — 
 Delays occasioned in entering on the duties — His Fish-pool 
 invention — Correspondence in 1716 and part of 1717, . 79 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 .Remarks on the Correspondence of Steele — Continuation of it 
 
 to the end of 1717, ...... 126 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Return of Lady Steele from Wales — Contrast in facility of 
 travelling with present time — Retrospect of occurrences 
 during Steele's visit to Edinburgh — Flattering reception 
 among the higher classes — His humorous mode of studying 
 character — A curious dinner-party — Intercourse with the 
 clergy — Anecdotes of some popular preachers — Project of 
 Steele's for an ecclesiastical union — Scottish intelligence — The 
 Tower of Repentance — Return to London — Failure of the 
 Fish-pool invention from unforeseen causes — Visit to Duke of 
 Marlborough at Blenheim, with Bishop Hoadly — Anecdotes 
 at an amateur performance there, and at a public dinner 
 with the Bishop— Steele's kindness to Richard Savage — Anec- 
 dotes related by the latter — Notice of Savage— Death of Lady 
 Steele — Her character — Lines addressed to her husband — 
 Royal Theatricals at Hampton Court, . . . .151 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Steele's opposition to the Government Peerage Bill in Parliament 
 — Publishes the Plebeian paper on the same subject — Replied 
 to by Addison in the Old Whig — Rupture between them 
 — Letter to Lord Oxford on the subject of the Bill — Notice 
 of that nobleman — By a mean retaliation of the Government, 
 Steele's theatrical patent is threatened to be revoked — Pub- 
 lication of the Spinster — Correspondence during the year 
 1719— To Mr Scurlock— To Mr Law— From Mr Dennis— To 
 his daughter, . . . . . . .172
 
 viii Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Mean persecution of Steele by the Court in consequence of his 
 parliamentary opposition — Threatened with the revocation of 
 his theatrical patent — Starts a paper called the Theatre, with 
 a view to avert that result — His efforts unavailing — Mr 
 Cibber is dismissed— Application to the Chamberlain and his 
 arrogant reply— The patent is revoked by a signed manual — 
 Publishes the State of the Case between himself and the Lord 
 Chamberlain — Notice of the Duke of Newcastle — Dastardly 
 and ribald attack upon Steele, by Dennis the critic, in his 
 adversity, though under personal obligations — Steele's 
 humorous retort — Opposes the South-sea scheme — His re- 
 putation as a patriot — Close of the Theatre — Depressed state 
 of his fortune — His magnanimity under it — Means adopted to 
 recruit his finances — His prospects brighten — Lines on death 
 of Addison, addressed to Steele — Correspondence in 1720 — 
 To the Lord Chancellor, Duke of Argyle, and Secretaries 
 Stanhope and Craggs — From Mr Dennis — To Mr Brooksby 
 and to his daughter, Miss Steele, . . . .211 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 The return of Walpole to office causes Steele's prospects to 
 brighten — Notice of Walpole — Fragment of a Diary com- 
 menced by Steele — Dialogue between Steele and Lord Sun- 
 derland — Letter to Mr Pelham requesting his interest — Is 
 restored to his office through the interest of Mr Walpole — 
 Bishop Hoadly becomes his executor — Correspondence in 
 1721— To his daughter, to Mr Scurlock, to Mr Wilks, to Mr 
 Cibber, to Mr Booth — 1722, produces his Comedy of the 
 "Conscious Lovers" — Its great success — Dedicated to the 
 King, who presents him with 500 guineas — Ballad from it, . 244 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THE RETIRED VETERAN. 
 
 Steele commences two other Comedies, "The School of Action," 
 and "The Gentleman" — Both left in a fragmentary state — 
 Continued decline of his health, aggravated by the state of
 
 Contents. ix 
 
 PAGE 
 
 his affairs— Takes his departure from London — Takes up his 
 residence at Bath — His resolution of making his future resi- 
 dence in the country — Death of his only remaining son, 
 Eugene — Correspondence in 1723 — To his daughter, to Mrs 
 Caney — Residence at Hereford — Proposals for his daughter 
 — Urgent application from the managers for his presence 
 in London — Not complied with — Subsequent litigation with 
 them by his trustees — Colley Cibber's account of the affair — 
 Erroneous surmise of Lord Macaulay — Correspondence in 
 1724— To his daughters, to Eight Hon. E. Walpole, from 
 Messrs Wilks, Booth, and Cibber, to Mr Morgan, from Mr 
 Morgan — Retires to his seat in Wales— Pursued by the malig- 
 nity of Swift — Letter to his daughter, 1725 — Adverse decision 
 of the lawsuit with the managers — Paralytic attack— Letter 
 to his daughters, 1726 — His kindness in the interests of 
 others — Eeceives an unexpected compliment — Last letter 
 to his daughter, 1728 — His love of nature and appreciation of 
 retirement — His sympathy with the sports of the rustics — ■ 
 The sacred volume bis constant companion — His decease — 
 Notice of his family — His personal and literary character, . 272 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Some Letters of Steele without Date, . . . .311 
 
 INDEX ... . 319
 
 SIR RICHARD STEELE, 
 
 AND 
 
 HIS CONTEMPOEAEIES. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE POLITICIAN AND PATRIOT. 
 
 Steele makes a dasli into politics — He starts the Englishman, with a 
 political bearing, in place of the Guardian — His friend Hughes pro- 
 poses to occupy the deserted ground of literature — His letter to 
 Addison announcing the discontinuance of the Guardian, and pro- 
 posing a literary successor — Political retrospect with reference to 
 Steele — Drawn into an unfortunate controversy with the Examiner 
 relative to the Dunkirk article of the Guardian — Steele publishes a 
 pamphlet in reply, and in defence of his paper in the Guardian on 
 the importance of Dunkirk — Publication of "The Crisis" — Close of 
 the Englishman newspaper — Is elected member for Stockbridge. 
 
 The Guardian, having been summarily relinquished, was 
 in a few days succeeded by the Englishman, which was 
 political in its character, and published thrice a week. Mr 
 Hughes, in a letter dated October 6, 1713, written to Ad- 
 dison, then at his country seat, Bilton, near Rugby, says: 
 " I do not doubt but you know by thi& time that Mr 
 Steele has abruptly dropped the Guardian. He has this 
 day published a paper called the Englishman, which begins 
 
 Yi iL .II. A
 
 2 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xi. 
 
 with an answer to the Examiner, written with great bold- 
 ness and spirit, and shews that his thoughts are at present 
 entirely on politics. Some of his friends are in pain about 
 him, and are concerned that a paper should be discontinued 
 which might have been generally entertaining without 
 engaging in party matters." The writer then proceeds to 
 make a proposition to occupy the literary field to which 
 Steele, for the present at least, seemed hopelessly lost. 
 He lays before Addison his plan of a literary paper for his 
 approval and co-operation. It was to consist of the con- 
 versations of an imaginary literary society on all sorts of 
 subjects, reported by their secretary, and to be called the 
 Register. "By this means," he says, "I think the town 
 might be sometimes entertained with dialogue, which will 
 be a new way of writing, either related or set down in 
 form under the names of different speakers ; and some- 
 times with essays, or with discourses in the person of the 
 writer of the paper." Addison, after expressing his ap- 
 proval of the outline, adds, " To tell you truly, I have been 
 so taken up with thoughts of that nature for two or three 
 years last past, that I must now take some time pour me 
 delasser, and lay in fuel for a future work. In the mean- 
 time, I should be glad if you would set such a project on 
 foot, for I know nobody else capable of succeeding in it 
 and turning it to the good of mankind, since my friend has 
 laid it down. I am in a thousand troubles for poor Dick, 
 and wish that his zeal for the public may not be ruinous 
 to himself ; but he has sent me word that he is determined 
 to go on, and that any advice I can give him, in this par- 
 ticular, will have no weight with him."* Without any 
 
 " Correspondence and Memoir of Hughes, by Duncombe, vol. i. p. 67.
 
 171 3. J Steele's Dash into Politics. 3 
 
 disrespect to the talents of Hughes, we may well believe 
 that Addison felt Steele to be his true partner in such 
 matters, and was satisfied to wait. In order not to have to 
 refer to it again, it may be mentioned, with reference to 
 the suggestion of Hughes, that a paper somewhat similar 
 in design to that proposed by him, and to which he 
 became a contributor, was started not long after by 
 another Sir Richard, — Blackmore, the poetical physician, 
 who appears to have been ambitious to emulate the labours 
 of Steele ; but the paper does not seem to have been much 
 of a success at the time, and is now more unknown, per- 
 haps, even by name than his voluminous epics, which were 
 a dose posterity has not been inclined to swallow. Its title 
 was the Lay-Monk, and it was continued from the middle 
 of November 1713 till the 7th of the following February. 
 
 But, to resume our immediate subject, the political 
 fever with which Steele was now seized, and which dis- 
 played itself in the publication of the Englishman, had 
 been latent in the constitution for some considerable time. 
 It has been supposed that it was to the articles in which 
 the Toiler shewed a strong tendency that way that the 
 existence of the Examiner was owing, though this is 
 scarcely probable, as the importance of having such an 
 organ could not have failed to suggest itself to the opposite 
 party. One thing at least is certain, that their publication 
 and the recriminations to which they led, aggravated mate- 
 rially that tendency to descend from the dignity and serenity 
 of his literary character to mingle in the strife of party. 
 Some of these were drawn from him by lws high sense of 
 the claims of friendship as well as of loyalty to his party. 
 
 When the Whig ministry was tottering to its fall, Steele
 
 4 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xi. 
 
 rushed to the rescue by several publications under the title 
 of Pasquin. But his zeal was in vain, for the party had 
 committed a sort of political suicide by the very foolish and 
 rash step they took in elevating a weak and contemptible 
 bigot, Dr Henry Sacheverell, who had desecrated the 
 pulpit by indulging in violent declamations of a political 
 tendency, into the dignity of a martyr. In a sermon 
 which he preached in St Paul's on the 5th of November 
 1709, he not only denounced resistance to kings as unlaw- 
 ful, which was construed into a censure on the Revolution, 
 but was supposed to allude to the Whig Lord Treasurer, 
 Godolphin, under the name of Volpone. The result was 
 his impeachment in March 1710, when he was sentenced 
 to a suspension from preaching for three years, and his 
 sermon, which had been published, was ordered to be 
 burned by the common hangman. The Tory party, who 
 had long raised the cry of the Church in danger, seized on 
 the opportunity of identifying him with the cause, and 
 creating a popular ferment on that ground, which enabled 
 Sacheverell to make a sort of triumphal progress through 
 various parts of the kingdom.* In a subsequent publica- 
 tion, under a feigned name, a letter to Sir Miles Wharton, 
 dated March 5, 1712,f Steele says, "When the minds of 
 
 * " The charge against Sacheverell was not for impugning what was done at 
 the Revolution, which he affected to vindicate, but for maintaining that it was 
 not a case of resistance to the supreme power, and consequently no exception 
 to his tenet of an unlimited passive obedience. The managers of the impeach- 
 ment had therefore not only to prove that there was resistance in the Revolution, 
 which could not, of course, be seriously disputed, but to assert the lawfulness in 
 great emergencies, or what is called in politics, necessity, of taking arms against 
 the law — a delicate matter at any time, and not least so by ministers of state 
 and law officers of the crown, in the very presence, as they knew, of their sove- 
 reign." — Constitutional History, vol. iii. p. 202. 
 
 f This letter was written on the occasion of the royal prerogative being un-
 
 1713.} Political Retrospect. 5 
 
 men are prejudiced, wonderful effects may be wrought 
 against common-sense. One weak step in trying a fool 
 for what he said in a pulpit, with all the pomp that could 
 be used to take down a more dangerous and powerful man 
 than England yet has seen, cost the most able ministry, 
 that ever any prince was honoured with, its being. The 
 judgment of the House of Lords was by this means in- 
 sulted, and the anarchical fury ran so high, that Harry 
 Sacheverell swelling, and Jack Higgins laughing, marched 
 through England in a triumph more than military." The 
 popular reaction in favour of the Tory party exactly 
 accorded with the views of Queen Anne, who had long 
 only tolerated the Whigs, from the ascendency exercised 
 over her by the more commanding mind of Sarah, Duchess 
 of Marlborough. That influence had long been declining, 
 and the long-tried favourite, notwithstanding the kindness 
 she had shewn the Princess Anne in her days of disfavour 
 and her long services, was now completely supplanted by 
 a poor relation of her own, Mrs Masham, for whom she 
 had procured a subordinate and almost menial situation in 
 the royal household. The Queen, thus freed from the 
 sway of the imperious duchess, and seeing that she would 
 be justified by popular feeling in being so from that of the 
 Whigs also, made an unwonted effort of vigour to throw 
 oft' the hated yoke. On the 10th of August 1710, the 
 seals of the Treasury Office were transferred from Godol- 
 phin to Robert Harley, afterwards Earl of Oxford, whilst 
 
 scrupulously strained to insure a majority in the Uppei House, and twelve new 
 peers were created. Sir Miles had declined the honour, and Steele awards him 
 high applause on the occasion. To prevent such unconstitutional influence, 
 Steele proposes the introduction of a bill to prevent any newly-created peer from 
 voting until three yrars had elapsed from the date of his patent.
 
 G Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xi. 
 
 the more brilliant and intriguing Henry St John, afterwards. 
 Lord Bolingbroke, was raised to the post of Secretary of 
 State. 
 
 Harley was a man who, both from policy and more dis- 
 interested motives, took pride and pleasure in rewarding 
 merit, and he sought by every means of flattery and more 
 substantial considerations to win over Steele, as he had 
 done Swift, who was now the presiding genius (though 
 unattached) of the administration, to the interests of his 
 party. He had raised the salary of one of his offices, that 
 of Gazetteer, from a comparatively nominal sum to L.300 
 a year, and offered, if he would name any other more in 
 accordance with his wishes to give it to him. Steele, how- 
 ever, firmly withstood all these allurements and blandish- 
 ments, but they of course imposed upon him a certain 
 degree of political neutrality — a tax which we may believe 
 was paid with some reluctance. When, however, he saw the 
 attempt made to degrade and ruin the great captain of his 
 age, who had covered England with glory, and effectually 
 humbled the overweening ambition of her rival, and that 
 on a charge trumped up after he had resisted every solici- 
 tation to renounce his principles ; when he saw him stripped 
 of all his accumulated and well-earned honours and emo- 
 luments, the same system of degradation carried out with 
 his wife and family at Court, his patience could hold out 
 no longer, and on 1st January 1712 he addressed to their 
 victim a letter, " An Englishman's thanks to the Duke of 
 Marlborough," in which he gave expression to the indigna- 
 tion and sympathy with which he thought such treatment 
 should inspire the minds of all. 
 
 In the 41st No. of the Guardian, under date of April
 
 1718.] Controversy with the Tory Organ. 7 
 
 28, 1713, Steele was drawn into an unfortunate personal 
 altercation with the Examiner, the violent organ of the 
 Tory part}% which was for a time conducted by Swift, in 
 consequence of what he deemed a gross and unwarrantable 
 attack upon a young lady of rank, merely because she w r as 
 the daughter of an obnoxious nobleman. The article in 
 question referred to Lady Charlotte Finch, daughter of 
 the Earl of Nottingham, and afterwards Duchess of Som- 
 erset, as " knotting in Saint James's Chapel during divine 
 service, in the immediate presence both of God and her 
 Majesty, who were affronted together, that the family 
 might appear to be entirely come over." This appeared 
 such an outrage upon the sanctity of private life, that Steele 
 indignantly protested against it. " If life be," he says in 
 the conclusion of the article, " (as it ought to be with people 
 of their character whom the Examiner attacks,) less valuable 
 and dear than honour and reputation, in that proportion 
 is the Examiner w r orse than an assassin. We have stood 
 by and tamely heard him aggravate the disgraces of the 
 brave and the unfortunate. We have seen him double the 
 anguish of the unhappy man, — we have seen him trample on 
 the ashes of the dead ; but as all this has concerned greater 
 life, and could touch only public characters, it did but 
 remotely affect our private and domestic interests." He 
 returns to the subject, in a letter to the Guardian, his own 
 organ, in No. 53, in reply to the Examiner, defending him- 
 self by the example of the Tatler, and shews, w r hat indeed 
 required little ingenuity to do, the wide difference between 
 the imaginary characters of the Tatler, which were repre- 
 sentative men and " knights of the shire," and " the license 
 of printing letters of people's real names," with " things
 
 8 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xi. 
 
 affixed to men's characters which are in the utmost degree 
 remote from them." "I have not," he says, "like him, 
 fixed odious images on persons, but on vices." Though he 
 says he will give himself no manner of liberty of making 
 guesses at the writer, he evidently referred to Swift when 
 he concluded by saying: "I have carried my point, and 
 rescued innocence from calumny ; and it is nothing to me 
 whether the Examiner writes against me in the character 
 of an estranged friend/' This inference, aggravated by some 
 of the epithets used, led to the unfortunate correspondence 
 between them previously given. In the same letter he 
 returns to the subject of the Duke of Marlborough, who 
 had fallen under the animadversions of the Examiner. 
 " He is welcome from henceforth," he says, "to treat me 
 as he pleases; but . . . never let innocence or merit be 
 traduced by him. In particular, I beg of you never let the 
 glory of our nation, who made France tremble, and yet has 
 that gentleness to be unable to bear opposition from the 
 meanest of his own countrymen, be calumniated in so im- 
 pudent a manner." Though he alluded to others as equally 
 with the " estranged friend " open to suspicion as the 
 writer, Steele had grounds, in addition to the known fact 
 that Swift had been at least intimately connected with the 
 paper, known only to himself, for believing him not inca- 
 pable of writing this article ; for among the few papers he 
 had contributed to the Tatler, two were most unwarrant- 
 able satires upon most accomplished and amiable ladies, 
 because they were blues, so wholly was his temper unfitted 
 for that species of writing. 
 
 But these were mere squibs compared to the blaze in 
 which he was enveloped by the famous political Guardian,
 
 1713.] The Demolition of Dunkirk. 9 
 
 No. 128, when his opponent did not fail to make use of the 
 liberty he had given him to treat him as he pleased. That 
 memorable paper, of August 7, 1713, contained a letter by 
 Steele, with the signature of " English Tory," in which he 
 directs attention to a paper hawked about the streets, 
 printed in French and English, being a Memorial to the 
 Queen from the magistrates of Dunkirk, that she would 
 remit that part of the treaty of Utrecht which stipulated 
 for the demolition of the harbour and works at Dunkirk, 
 on the ground of the ruin it would entail upon those con- 
 nected with the trade of the place, and that such a course 
 would even be beneficial to the interests of British trade. 
 After quoting one of the sentences of the memorial relative 
 to the " dreadful sentence pronounced by her Majesty 
 against the town," and requesting that the Guardian 
 would set the memorialists right, and acquaint them that 
 her Majesty had pronounced no sentence against the town, 
 he proceeds to put a number of statements in the briefest 
 and most forcible form, in detached sentences, completely 
 upsetting the sophistry of the memorial, and having this 
 sentence at the beginning, middle, and ending — That the 
 British nation expect the immediate demolition of Dunkirk. 
 As it was believed that this affair was connived at by the 
 ministry, though her Majesty had officially announced her 
 intention of not complying with the prayer of the memo- 
 rial, the Examiner, with rabid malignity, endeavoured to 
 fasten upon him a charge of disloyalty, as if the sentence 
 had been addressed to her Majesty, and not to disabuse 
 the minds of the memorialists. If something like a popular 
 appeal was not intended, with what view was the paper 
 handed about?
 
 10 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xi. 
 
 This Guardian appeared on the 7th of August, the day 
 preceding that of the dissolution of the Parliament, and 
 was replied to by the Examiner of the 21st of the same 
 month, and in a pamphlet entitled, " The Honour and Pre- 
 rogative of the Queen's Majesty vindicated and defended 
 against the unexampled insolence of the author of the 
 Guardian : in a Letter from a country Whig to Mr Steele." 
 The paternity of the letter might be traced to Swift, if there 
 were no other clue than that furnished by the writer retort- 
 ing on Steele his remark in the private correspondence be- 
 tween them, when Swift claimed the merit of having, by 
 his influence, retained him in his public employments, 
 namely, that they laughed at him if they persuaded him so. 
 A passage from each may be given as a specimen of the 
 literary ruffianism of that polite age. In the ninth and 
 tenth pages of the pamphlet the writer says : — 
 
 " See how the villain treats the best of sovereigns, the best mistress 
 to him, whose bread he has eaten, and who has kept him from a gaol. 
 Read it again, say they. Put it into English, said a neighbour of mine to 
 me ; come make the best of it. Then he reads the abominable language 
 as follows : — 
 
 " ' The British nation expect,' &c., and again, ' the British nation expect 
 the immediate demolition of Dunkirk.' And a third time, with a tone 
 of threatening, ' the British nation expect it.' — See Guardian, Aug. 7, 
 1713. 
 
 " I would have pleaded for you that this was not to be understood to be 
 spoken to or pointed at the Queen, but to the people of Dunkirk, and I 
 searched the whole paper for something to have brought you off with that 
 way. 
 
 " But it would not do, they laughed at me. How could it be spoken to 
 him, say they ? His memorial is to the Queen, and if it should be directed 
 to Monsieur Tugghe [the deputy] it would be still worse ; for that would 
 be to talk thus to him, viz. — What do ye petition the Queen for ? We 
 tell you, the British nation will not suffer it, the Queen dares not do it, for 
 the British nation expect it to be immediately demolished. This stopped 
 my mouth indeed with respect to that part of the excuse, and then they
 
 1713.] Swift's Anonymous Abuse. 1 1 
 
 went on with me. Come, says my neighbour, if you cannot put it into 
 words, I '11 do it for you. 
 
 " ' The British nation expect the immediate demolition of Dunkirk.' 
 
 " We all know her Majesty has possession of Dunkirk, and though the 
 work is to be done by the French, her Majesty may appoint the day. 
 Now, says he, read the words. 
 
 " What is it but thus ? 
 
 " ' Look you, madam, your Majesty had best take care that Dunkirk be 
 demolished, or else,' &c. 
 
 " And again — • 
 
 " ' Madam, we expect, and we would have you take notice, that we ex- 
 pect that Dunkirk be demolished, and that immediately.' 
 
 " Just thus an imperious planter at Barbadoes speaks to a negro slave, 
 ' Look you, sirrah, I expect this sugar to be ground, and look to it that it 
 be done forthwith. 'Tis enough to tell you I expect it, or else,' &c, and he 
 holds up his stick at him, take what follows." 
 
 It is amusing to find the writer professing to be the 
 would-be apologist of " the villain," and pretending to look 
 through the whole paper for anything to bear the construc- 
 tion that it was addressed to the deputy of the memorial- 
 ists, though it will not bear any other construction. The 
 words of the letter to the Guardian, after saying that he 
 gave him an opportunity not only of manifesting his loyalty 
 to his Queen, but affection to his countiy, by treating an 
 insolence done them both with the disdain it deserves, are : 
 " Mr Ironside, I think, you would do an act worthy your 
 general humanity if you would put the Sieur Tugghe [the 
 deputy] right in this matter, and let him know that her 
 Majesty has pronounced no sentence against the town, but 
 his most Christian majesty [of France] has agreed that the 
 town and harbour shall be demolished. 
 
 " That the British nation expect the immediate demoli- 
 tion of it." 
 
 But this pretended apologist, after vainly seeking for any 
 evidence that it was meant for the deputy, discovers that,
 
 12 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xi. 
 
 even so, it only made the matter worse, inasmuch as it was 
 attempting to shew the uselessness of an appeal to her 
 Majesty, and that she dare not comply with the demand. 
 But the application is stated in the document of the deputy 
 to have been made, and to have been unsuccessful, so that 
 the paper publicly handed about bore the construction of 
 an appeal from the Queen to the people. It was thus an 
 insult offered to the authority of the Queen, and by sophis- 
 tical arguments, to the understanding of the people. The 
 pure malignity of the pamphleteer is therefore obvious. 
 
 The article in the Examiner of the 21st of August is in 
 similar style : — 
 
 " I believe," says the writer, " I may challenge all the nations of the 
 world, and all the histories of this nation for a thousand years past, to shew 
 us an instance so flagrant as what we have now before us, — viz., whenever a 
 subject, nay a servant under a salary, and favoured in spite of ill behaviour 
 past, with a considerable employment in the government, treated his 
 sovereign in such a manner as the Guardian has done the person of the 
 Queen, and went unpunished. 
 
 " If the clemency of the Queen prevails to save such a man ; if her 
 Majesty thinks it below her to resent an injury from so contemptible a 
 wretch, by so much the rather should every subject resent it, and shew 
 their duty and respect to their sovereign by trampling under their feet the 
 very name and memory of the man that can have boldness enough to in- 
 sult his prince in a printed, and for that reason scandalous libel, and can 
 have ingratitude enough to do it while he is eating her bread. 
 
 " How can any man shew himself a faithful subject to her Majesty, and 
 not resent such a piece of conduct ! to see a subject hold up a rod at his 
 prince ! and openly threaten the Queen if she does not cause Dunkirk to 
 be demolished ! to threaten her Majesty with the nation's resentment if 
 it be not forthwith entered upon, and command her to do it immediately ; 
 it ought to fill every faithful subject with abhorrence, and cause them 
 either to shun the man, or to let him know they detest his behaviour. 
 
 " And yet this man was never so dear to the Whigs as since he let them 
 know he durst assault his Queen. This has made him their favourite ; 
 and one of their authors has made his dull panegyric upon him already 
 for it ; while another set of them are endeavouring to get him chosen for 
 the next parliament that he may carry on his insult there, and obtain the
 
 1713.] Steele's Reply. 13 
 
 honour, as another of their haughty leaders has already done, of heing 
 expelled the House." 
 
 All this insolence and slavish reference to prerogatives 
 and princes only shewed that there was something rotten 
 in the matter, or the party w r ould not have felt the blow so 
 sensitively. As the sovereign can do no wrong, a ministry 
 that is conscious of doing wrong is sure to shelter itself, at 
 least through its tools, under the shield of the sovereign 
 and of prerogative. When Burke on one occasion was 
 treated with this sort of insolence, he said, " He had every 
 wish to speak respectfully of the sovereign, but was not 
 disposed to accord the same privilege to his man-servant 
 and his maid-servant, his ox and his ass." This ministry 
 had concluded a premature peace, which neutralised the 
 effect of the advantages which had been so gloriously 
 achieved at so much cost to the treasure of the nation, 
 and they were suspected of conniving at the infraction of 
 one of the leading articles of the treaty they had concluded, 
 by suffering the port of Dunkirk to remain undestroyed. 
 Certain it is that the period stipulated for its demolition 
 had then elapsed several months. No wonder, then, that 
 they should have set up such a howl of disloyalty, ingra- 
 titude, and every foul name at any one who brought in a 
 light where they wanted darkness. 
 
 These attacks, in which the unscrupulous nature of 
 party warfare was aggravated and embittered by personal 
 animosity, induced Steele to draw up a reply in his own 
 vindication, which he entitled, " The Importance of Dun- 
 kirk considered : in defence of the Guardian of August 
 the 7th, in a Letter to the Bailiff of Stockbridge." In this 
 pamphlet he included a copy of the memorial circulated
 
 1 4 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xi. 
 
 by the deputy of the Dunkirk magistrates, together with 
 the obnoxious letter in the Guardian, and extracts from 
 the replies of his opponents, containing the most offensive 
 passages, accompanied with a map of the coast adjacent 
 to Dunkirk. Besides his personal vindication, he enlarged 
 his former statements on the subject in dispute, and illus- 
 trated them with more ample details, in which the extent 
 of his information on such a subject seemed wonderful. 
 After quoting his own communication in the Guardian, he 
 merely says, in reference to his opponents, " This letter 
 happened to disoblige some people," but in reference to the 
 charge of being under salary when he commenced this 
 discussion, he states — 
 
 " Mr Bailiff, it is so far otherwise, that to avoid the least appearance of 
 it, I did not attempt doing what proceeded from a true, grateful, and loyal 
 heart, — viz., the laying before her Majesty's ministry that the nation had a 
 strict eye upon their behaviour with relation to Dunkirk, before I had 
 resigned all which their interposition with her most gracious Majesty 
 could take from me. I am so far from eating her bread with a disincli- 
 nation to her service, that I had resigned a plentiful income I had from 
 her f avour, in a considerable office and pension, which incapacitate a man 
 for sitting in Parliament, to render myself more useful to her and my 
 country in the station with which your borough has since honoured me." 
 
 He then proceeds to say — 
 
 '' The author of the Letter from the Country Whig personates that 
 character so awkwardly, and the Examiner, without entering into the 
 point, treats me so outrageously, that I know not how to offer against such 
 adversaries reason and argument, without appearing void of both. How- 
 ever, since it has for some time been the fashion to run down men of 
 much greater consequence than I am, . . . these writers shall treat me as 
 they think fit, as I am their brother scribbler ; but I shall not be so un- 
 concerned when they attack me as an honest man. I shall therefore inform 
 them that it is not in the power of a private and an indifferent man to 
 hurt the honour and prerogative of the Crown without being punished, if 
 the ministry think fit, as he deserves, by the laws of our country ; but true 
 and real danger to the Queen's honour may arise if persons in authority
 
 i7i3.] Steele's Reply to his Opponents. 15 
 
 tolerate men (who have no compunction of conscience) in abusing such in- 
 struments of glory and nonour to our country as the illustrious Duke of 
 Marlborough, such wise and faithful managers as the late Earl of Go- 
 dolphin, &c. 
 
 " There is no man will deny but that it is in the power of the ministry 
 to call the Examiner to an account, as well as the Flying Post. It is not 
 for me to enter into the reasons why they do not do themselves that jus- 
 tice ; but where is honour, where is government, where is prerogative, 
 while neither age nor sex, virtue nor innocence, can have any redress from 
 the assaults made upon their reputation, which is dearer than life 1 But 
 such injuries the Examiner repeats every week with impunity." 
 
 With reference to the prerogative, after a variety of 
 arguments to shew the absurdity of its introduction into 
 the discussion, he remarks — 
 
 " I say again and again, if once men are so intimidated as not to dare 
 to offer their thoughts upon public affairs, without incurring the imputa- 
 tion of offending against the prerogative ; that prince, whatever advantage 
 his ministers might make of his prerogative, would himself soon have no 
 prerogative but that of being deceived. . . . What ! are majesty and min- 
 istry so consolidated, and must the people of Great Britain make no dis- 
 tinction between the one and the other ? "We very well know the differ- 
 ence, sir, and humbly conceive that if a whole ministry were impeached and 
 condemned by the people of Great Britain in Parliament for any notorious 
 neglect of duty or breach of trust, the prince could not suffer by it." 
 
 He then gives in a few words the gist of the question — 
 
 " My adversaries," he goes on to say, " are so unjust, they will not take 
 the least notice of what led me into the necessity of writing my letter to 
 the Guardian. They know, if they stated it honestly, they must acknow- 
 ledge that instead of what they call me I was a faithful servant to the 
 Queen, and an honest fellow-subject to the ministry. My Lord Boling- 
 broke tells the Sieur Tugghe, [French deputy,] as a Secretary of State 
 from the Queen, that his request cannot be complied with : the Sieur 
 prints a memorial, which is no other than an appeal to all the weak people 
 in England against her severity. Nay, if the translator has done him jus- 
 tice, lie has used the very word severe. This I take for the utmost insult 
 against the Queen and her ministry. . . . But I deserve well of them 
 in this question about Tugghe, or else they are not so angry as I am at what 
 Tugghe has done against their Queen. 
 
 "We know not," he says, " what is the equivalent for Dunkirk, but, 
 according to the circumstances of France before the suspension of the
 
 16 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xi. 
 
 English arms under the gallant Duke of Ormond, (who would certainly 
 have done his duty,) the French have owned that the equivalent might 
 have been Paris. 
 
 " When," he adds with withering sarcasm, " such was our case, and such 
 is our case, some men lately preferred, and grown too delicate, would have 
 men of liberal education, that know the world as well as themselves, afraid, 
 for fear of offending them in their new clothes, to speak when they think 
 their Queen and country ill-treated." 
 
 Then alluding to the prevalent impression, " That a man 
 of so small a fortune must have secret views or supports, 
 which could move him to leave his employments and lose 
 a crowd of well-wishers, to subject himself, as he must 
 know he has, not only to the disesteem, but to the scorn 
 and hatred of very many who, before he meddled with the 
 public, had a partiality towards him/' he goes on to express 
 the nature of those enlarged principles and sentiments 
 of public spirit which were powerful enough to make him 
 "lay aside the common views by which the mistaken 
 world are actuated." 
 
 " Great qualifications,'' he says, " are not praises to the possessor, but 
 from the application of them, and all that is justly commendable among 
 men is to love and serve them as much as it is in your power, with a 
 contempt of all advantages to yourself (above the conveniences of life) 
 but as they tend to the service of the public. He who has warmed his 
 heart with impressions of this kind, will find glowings of good-will which 
 will support him in the service of his country against all the calumny, 
 reproach, and invective that can be thrown upon him. He is but a poor 
 creature who cannot bear being odious in the service of virtue. Eiches 
 and honours can administer to the heart no pleasure like what an honest 
 man feels when he is contending for the interests of his country, and the 
 civil rights of his fellow-subjects." 
 
 Referring to " the prostituted pens which are employed 
 in a quite contrary service," he says : — 
 
 " It is the disgrace of literature that there are such instruments, and 
 to good government that they are suffered. But this mischief is gone so 
 far in our age, that the pamphleteers do not only attack those whom they
 
 i7i3.] The Treaty of Utrecht. 17 
 
 believe iu general to be disaffected to their own principles, but even such 
 as they believe their friends, provided they do not act with as sincere a 
 prejudice as themselves. Upon the least deviation from an implicit 
 hatred of the opposite party, though in a case which in the nearest con- 
 cern affects their country, all their good qualities are turned to ridicule ; 
 and everything which before was valued in them is become contemptible. 
 
 "It is as frivolous as unjust to hope to stop our mouths, when we are 
 concerned for so great a point as the business of Dunkirk, by mention of 
 the prerogative, and urging our safety in our good and gracious Queen. 
 . . . But I persist in it, that it is no manner of diminution of the wis- 
 dom of a prince that he is obliged to act by the information of others. 
 
 " If I might make an abrupt digression," he pointedly concludes, " from 
 great things to small, I should on this occasion mention a little circum- 
 stance which happened to the late King William. He had a Frenchman 
 who took care of the gun-dogs, whose business it was also to charge and 
 deliver the piece to the king. This minister forgot to bring out shot 
 into the field, but did not think fit to let so passionate a man and eager a 
 sportsman as the king know his offence, but gave his majesty the gun 
 loaded only with powder. When the king missed his aim, this impudent 
 cur stood chattering, admiring, commending the king's skill in shooting, 
 and holding up his hands, he had never seen set majeste miss before in his 
 whole life. This circumstance was no manner of argument (to those who 
 afterwards found out the fellow's iniquity) against the king's reputation 
 for a quick eye and shooting very finely." 
 
 With this anecdote he concludes his letter of vindication 
 to the civic representative of his constituents, of whom 
 Gay subsequently says, — 
 
 " Of all our race of mayors shall Snow alone 
 Be by Sir Richard's dedication known." * 
 
 But whatever may have been the importance of Dun- 
 kirk, fears and misgivings were entertained by the Whigs, 
 in reference to the ministry in power, of a graver char- 
 acter than any it could inspire. They feared lest the 
 hasty treaty which had been concluded on the 5th of May 
 1713, should be accompanied by secret articles subversive 
 of the great principles in Church and State for which they 
 had contended with their lives and fortunes at the recent 
 
 •Journey to Exeter, 1710. 
 VOL. II. B
 
 18 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xi. 
 
 Revolution, and lest that struggle would have to be re- 
 peated on the death of the Queen, by an attempt, which 
 there was too much reason to dread, on the part of France, 
 in concert with the ministry, to introduce the Pretender 
 and set aside the Act of Settlement, which vested the 
 succession to the crown in the house of Hanover. 
 
 It was these signs of the times, by indications which ap- 
 peared too truly like coming events casting their shadows 
 before, that induced Steele, regardless of all personal con- 
 sequences, to put himself forward, as he thought became a 
 true patriot, a good citizen, and an honest man, who prized 
 too dearly those principles which he now saw in danger, 
 to permit them to be sacrificed without raising a warning 
 voice. With this view he had started the Englishman; and 
 relinquishing those literary pursuits in which he delighted, 
 and by which he had acquired so high a reputation, as 
 well as domestic leisure, he acceded to the offer of the 
 Duke of Newcastle to put him in nomination for the 
 borough of Stockbriclge, in Dorset, where accordingly he 
 was duly elected. 
 
 With the view of still further enforcing the constitutional 
 doctrines which he believed to be in the most imminent 
 peril by the intrigues of France and the Jacobite party, he 
 prepared early in the following year (1714) a pamphlet, en- 
 titled " The Crisis," setting forth the just causes and results 
 of the late Revolution, on the authority of the most im- 
 portant state documents. These included the Declaration 
 of Rights and Settlement to the Succession of the Crown ; 
 the Resolutions of the Convention of the Lords and Com- 
 mons of Scotland in 1689, reciting the grounds for abjuring 
 the authority of James — viz., his assumption of the royal
 
 lru.] Publication of " The Crisis." 19 
 
 authority without having taken the required oath, his 
 invasion of the fundamental constitution of the kingdom, 
 his assumption of arbitrary power, his violation of the laws 
 and liberties of the state, illustrated by a variety of details ; 
 two acts for the further limitation of the crown in the Pro- 
 testant line, by fixing the entail on the Princess Sophia 
 and the house of Hanover, in consequence of the death 
 of Queen Mary without issue, and the Duke of Gloucester, 
 son of the Princess Anne ; an act of the first year of 
 Queen Anne for enlarging the time for taking the oath of 
 abjuration ; an act of the fourth year of the same reign 
 for the better security of her majesty's person, and the 
 succession to the crown in the Protestant line; an act for 
 the union of the two kingdoms, of the fifth year of Queen 
 Anne, reciting some of the leading articles. The first hint 
 of this publication, he tells us afterwards in the preface to 
 " The Apology," was given by Mr Moore of the Inner Temple, 
 a gentleman thoroughly skilled in the histoiy, laws, and 
 constitution of the kingdom, and who undertook the super- 
 vision of the legal and technical part. " When I thought it 
 my duty," he says in the same place, " I thank God I had 
 no further consideration for myself than to do it in a law- 
 ful and proper way, so as to give no disparagement to a 
 glorious cause from my indiscretion or want of judgment." 
 Before finally making it public, he submitted copies for the 
 opinion of several friends for whose judgment he had the 
 greatest respect. " When ' The Crisis/ " he adds, " was 
 written hand in hand with this gentleman, I, who was to 
 answer for it with my all, would not venture upon our 
 single judgment; therefore I caused it to be printed, and 
 left one copy with Mr Addison, another with Mr Lech-
 
 20 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xi. 
 
 mere, another with Mr Minshall, and another with Mr 
 Hoadley. From these corrected copies (no one of these 
 gentlemen knowing till this day that the other had seen 
 it) 'The Crisis' became the piece it is."* 
 
 "With reference to the supposed spurious birth of the 
 pretended Prince of Wales, he refers to the fact, though 
 considering it "not material to mention/' "that at the time 
 of the pretended birth, the Princess Anne, now our most 
 gracious queen, was at Bath ; that the bishops were 
 clapt up in the Tower ; that the women about the queen 
 were Papists ; that the presumptive heir was not present ; 
 . . . that our own history informs us that the first Queen 
 Mary was prevailed on to feign herself with child, to ex- 
 clude her Protestant sister, the Lady Elizabeth ; that the 
 imposture had been carried on, and a birth been imposed 
 upon the nation, had not King Philip, her husband, wisely 
 considered that the impostor would not only succeed to the 
 crown of England, but also to that of Spain, and so pre- 
 vented it." 
 
 In reference to the settlement of the crown, he says, — 
 
 " I cannot forbear to express my wonder that there can be found any 
 Briton weak enough to contend against a power in their own nation which 
 is practised to a much greater degree in other states. . . . How hard is 
 it that Britain should be debarred the privilege of establishing its own 
 security, even by relinquishing only those branches of the royal line which 
 threaten it with destruction, whilst other nations never scruple, upon less 
 occasions, to go much greater lengths. There have been, even in France, 
 three different races of their kings : the first began with Pharamond, the 
 second with Charles Martel, the third with Hugh Capet ; and I doubt 
 whether, if the direct line of the blood-royal of France were to be followed, 
 it would make for the title of his present most Christian majesty. But, 
 to come to fresh instances, in which Great Britain itself hath not been 
 unconcerned, what right, by the contrary rule, could the Duke of Savoy 
 
 * " Apology," &c., Preface, pp. 14-15.
 
 lrn.] Historical Parallels. 21 
 
 have to the kingdom of Sicily, ox- the Elector of Bavaria to that of Sar- 
 dinia ? Can Great Britain help to advance men to other thrones, and 
 have no power in limiting its own ? Has not Louis XIV. given us fresh 
 instances of such innovations in his own family 1 Or can men think he ia 
 not in earnest in excluding his grandson the King of Spain and his descend- 
 ants from the crown of France, and the Dauphin and the Duke of Berry 
 and their descendants from the crown of Spain 1 And if sacred things as 
 kingdoms themselves may be thus disposed of out of the right line, not 
 by any resignation that can, in any equitable sense, be called voluntary, 
 but apparently for mere reasons of state and ambition, certainly the 
 English and Scotch, for the preservation of religion, liberty, and property, 
 the essential benefits of life, might with more justice settle their crown 
 in the Protestant line in the manner they have done." 
 
 All these cogent arguments, strengthened with the 
 1 barrier of laws and oaths, of policy and religion, of pen- 
 alties without and conscience within/"' were apparently 
 enough to banish all fear ; but on considering certain indi- 
 cations both at home and abroad, his misgivings revive. 
 He then takes a vivid retrospect of the state of Europe 
 for some years past, before the conclusion of the war, con- 
 trasting it in a melancholy manner with the existing con- 
 dition of affairs. " I shall not presume/' he says, " to 
 enter into an examination of the articles of peace between 
 us and France ; but there can be no crime in affirming 
 (if it be a truth) that the house of Bourbon is at this junc- 
 ture become more formidable, and bids fairer for a uni- 
 versal monarchy, and to engross the whole trade of Europe, 
 than it did before the war." 
 
 The obligations of the house of Stuart to the crown of 
 France were notorious. The last two kings of that race 
 had been pensioners upon it; and if it possessed the power 
 to serve them, the will could not be doubted. 
 
 " We cannot help it," he concludes, " if so many thousands of our 
 brave brethren who laid down their lives against the power of France have 
 died in vain; but we may value our own lives dearly, like honest men.
 
 22 
 
 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xi. 
 
 Whatever may befall the glory and wealth of Great Britain, let us struggle 
 to the last drop of our blood for its religion and liberty. The banners 
 under which we are to enter this conflict, whenever we are called to it, are 
 the laws mentioned in this discourse. . . . Her Majesty's parlia- 
 mentary title, and the succession in the illustrious house of Hanover, is 
 the ark of God to Great Britain, and, like that of old, carries death to the 
 profane hand that shall dare to touch it." 
 
 About the same time Steele published also, as a distinct 
 pamphlet, " The Englishman : being the close of the paper 
 so called, with an Epistle concerning the Whigs, Tories, and 
 New Converts/' This was No. 72 of the political successor of 
 the Guardian, and dated Feb. 15, 1714. The writer says, — 
 
 " I was once so happy in the kind thoughts of the generality of people 
 of all conditions in this town that I cannot, without regret, look back upon 
 them ; and indeed I should be still more concerned had I not forfeited it 
 for such considerations as only are to be preferred to their good opinion, 
 . . . the testimony of a good conscience. 
 
 " That which moved in me," he adds, " an indignation not to be sup- 
 pressed was the licentious abuse of great and good men who had served 
 their country with honour and success. I thought what favour I had 
 obtained by being the author of an instructive way of representing the 
 manners of men, and describing vices and virtues in a style that might 
 fall in with their ordinary entertainments, could not be more worthily 
 employed, improved, or lost, than in defence of such men, and of the 
 constitution itself, which they had supported. 
 
 " When the subjects of peace or war were all the conversation in town, 
 I took upon me to be as concerned as I thought I had a right to be, and 
 sjieak my sentiments with the freedom of an English gentleman. 
 
 " This behaviour brought upon me the invectives of many unknown 
 authors, each of whom has writ against me with as much violence as if I 
 had been personally his most inveterate enemy ; for they have been succinct 
 enough in what concerned the argument, but have largely dwelt upon 
 the author they writ against, in the articles of birth, education, and 
 fortune. 
 
 " If empty words are all that are required to make up the virtue we 
 express by the word loyalty, I must own that he (the Examiner) and his 
 friends are the best subjects that either king or queen were blessed with ; 
 
 . . but I will suppose loyalty to be only, what it should be very much, 
 a love and zeal to the queen's person, honour, interest, and safety ; and 
 even on these heads it is visible that their zeal hath been shamefully to
 
 1714.] Conclusion of '" Englishman.'' 23 
 
 their own interests and places, and that her honour, and interest, and love 
 of her people, hath heen sacrificed to a scandal. 
 
 " To pass by the blackening and ridiculing all the noblest parts of her 
 reign, the inhuman usage of her old servants, and the last insolent jest the 
 Examiner made on the report of her death, and his sudden triumph and 
 joy, even while the life of the queen was yet doubtful, — to pass all these, 
 and many a real injury besides, I will only ask whether it be for the 
 queen's honour and interest to have one-half of her people's affections 
 alienated from her by studied provocations ? ... If her Majesty, in 
 great complaisance to them, will throw off one-half of the people as enemies 
 that have no right to any favour that is worth having, and lend them her 
 name and purse and power to keep those hated people under, or else ruin 
 them, then they in requital will stand by her in distributing all places 
 and preferments among themselves ; and so will the worst sect we have 
 amongst us, and the worse they are, the higher they will strain their un- 
 limited loyalty in sacrifices of the nation's rights. . . . Though flattery 
 carries witchcraft, yet when she shall see that these men . . . cannot carry 
 their elections but by representing all others as under her displeasure ; 
 v, hen she shall see that they overbear the rights of corporations by the 
 impertinent interposition of her power and name ; . . . when she shall see 
 that those noisy men who embarrass the nation in every question by calling 
 out the Church, are but like the weathercocks and clappers of the steeple ; 
 and that the sober and laborious and peaceable churchmen are its real 
 supports and pillars ; when a little more time shall bring out things that 
 begin to appear pretty plain already ; then the queen will shew selfish 
 men who would engross her favour, that she will be mother of all her 
 people ; and as, in spite of these men's studied provocations, she hath 
 their hearts and affections, so she will rule with equal justice towards all. 
 . . . And for those who shall dare to insult and exasperate the other as 
 enemies, they are sycophants instead of friends, and rob her of her best 
 treasure, which is the love of all her people." 
 
 Referring to all the designs of the opposite party being- 
 carried on under the watchword of the Church, he com- 
 pares the Church and State to the union of soul and body, 
 so that one cannot suffer without injury to the other. "I 
 have enlarged the more upon this head, because, since the 
 Examiner and oracles of policy have opened themselves, 
 many of the clergy are for giving unreasonable preferences 
 of the Church to the State, and advance such notions fo
 
 24 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xi. 
 
 the securing of the former as, if put in practice, will infal- 
 libly destroy the whole." 
 
 After alluding to one of the scurrilous publications of 
 his opponents as " a very notable piece," though we believe 
 the writer was one of the understrappers of the party, 
 named Wagstaff, Steele says, " I think I know the author 
 of this," (evidently referring to Swift,) " and to shew him I 
 know no revenge but in the method of heaping coals on 
 his head by benefits, I forbear giving him what he deserves ; 
 for no other reason but that I know his sensibility of re- 
 proach is such, as that he would be unable to bear life 
 itself under half the ill language he has given me." This 
 doubtless alluded to some confession in the intimacy of 
 their early friendship. But what an example of magna- 
 nimity! He would neither employ licentious ridicule, of 
 which he was no contemptible master, out of consideration 
 for him who had been his friend, nor would he on his own 
 account stoop to retort the low arts of his opponent by 
 flinging dirt from the gutter. 
 
 Among other matters in this pamphlet, it rectifies the 
 misstatements of the Examiner in endeavouring to throw 
 the odium of some rumours originating in the illness of 
 the queen upon the Whigs, and in treating with contempt 
 some reported affidavits respecting enlisting recruits for 
 the Pretender in Ireland, and in reference to the latter 
 quotes a resolution of the Grand Jury of Waterford, and 
 a proclamation of the Lord-Lieutenant in confirmation of 
 the fact. 
 
 This pamphlet has been dwelt upon the more, as it was 
 the last of those political writings which the ardour of his 
 patriotism led him to publish, to denounce a violent, reck-
 
 17H.] Conclusion, of " Englishman" 25 
 
 less, and infatuated faction, ■who were madly drifting the 
 ship of the state upon the rocks and quicksands, and 
 hazarding the wreck of the constitution in their blind 
 fury. These publications drew upon their author, as we 
 shall see, the unbounded rage of his opponents; and he 
 was made to expiate the offence against them by being- 
 expelled the House, and elevated to the honour of a 
 political martyr and patriot. 
 
 It may be proper here to refer to a statement by Dr 
 Somerville, the historian,* who, after remarking that 
 " perhaps there never was in the annals of political 
 literature a book more universally read, or so much the 
 subject of conversation as 'The Crisis/" proceeds to quote 
 a letter written by Mr Moore, in the year 1716, bringing 
 his claims before Lord Chancellor Macclesfield as the 
 writer of " The Crisis," from which he infers that Steele 
 only lent his name to it. But the internal evidence, as 
 well as the positive statement of Steele, is opposed to this 
 inference. In his " Apology," published two years pre- 
 vious to the date of this letter, Steele, as previously no- 
 ticed, had acknowledged Mr Moore as the proposer and 
 joint-executor of the work, and had paid him many com- 
 pliments on his legal and constitutional knowledge, but 
 stated at the same time that " ' The Crisis ' was written 
 hand in hand with this gentleman," so that there can be 
 no doubt of the general literary portion being his. 
 
 * " History of Great Britain," &c, Appendix, No. xxxvi.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE POLITICIAN AND PATKIOT— (Continued.) 
 
 Meeting of the new parliament — Steele takes his seat as member for 
 Stockbridge — Petition against his return on the ground of bribery — 
 Display of factious opposition to him on the occasion of his first 
 remarks in the House — Arraigned by the Ministry as guilty of libel 
 and sedition in his political writings — His defence— Is supported by 
 Walpole, General Stanhope, Lord Lumley, Lord Finch, and others 
 — Memorable incident on the occasion — His expulsion voted by a 
 large majority — Hallam on the right of expulsion, and its unscru- 
 pulous exercise — Publishes his " Apology " for himself and his writ- 
 ings — Pieflections of Pope, and ribaldry of Dennis- -Correspondence 
 to the time of his expulsion. 
 
 The new parliament met in the beginning of March 1714, 
 and Steele took his seat for Stockbridge in Dorsetshire, 
 where he had been elected the previous August. His 
 election was followed up by a petition against his return, 
 on the ground of bribery, which was probably merely a 
 piece of party vindictiveness ; but as he was exposed soon 
 after to other proceedings, which had no doubt been fully 
 concerted in the interim, the validity of the petition was 
 never tested. He had an early intimation of the treatment 
 in store for him. After two or three gentlemen had pro- 
 posed Sir Thomas Hanmer as Speaker of the House of 
 Commons, Steele took on him to say he had the same 
 honourable sentiments of that gentleman in the following- 
 words to the Clerk of the House : — 
 
 " Mr Jodrell, — At the close of the last parliament her majesty was
 
 1714.] Takes his Seat tit the New Parliament. 27 
 
 graciously pleased to declare from the throne that the late rejected bill of 
 commerce between Great Britain and France should be offered to this 
 House. That declaration was certainly made that every gentleman who 
 should have the honour to be returned hither might make himself master 
 of that important question. It is demonstration that was a most perni- 
 cious bill, and no man can have a greater merit to this House than his by 
 whose weight and authority that pernicious bill was thrown out. I rise 
 up to do him honour, and distinguish myself by giving him my vote for 
 that his inestimable service to his country." 
 
 We have his own account of the reception of this his 
 first parliamentary effort. It will be impossible, he says, 
 for the reader to conceive how this speech was received, 
 except he has happened to have been at a cock-match, 
 and has seen the triumph and exultation which is raised 
 when a volatile, whose fall was some way gainful to part 
 of the company, has been necked. At the mention of the 
 bill of commerce the cry began ; at calling it pernicious, it 
 increased; at the words "doing him honour," it grewinsup- 
 portably loud. Having no reason, however, he adds, for 
 being confounded for other people's folly or absurdity, he 
 bore the insolence well enough to speak out what he in- 
 tended. At the same time he did not attribute this par- 
 ticular outrage to the House, he said, any further than that 
 they ought to have suppressed, and severely observed upon 
 it, by turning out the offenders, who, it is supposed, were 
 a parcel of rustics who crowded in with the members 
 before the election of the Speaker, from a received error 
 that there is no authority in the House till he is chosen. 
 Whether this was meant as a satiric touch, he tells us, he 
 could hear those loud critics as he came out remarking to 
 one another, " Oh, 'tis not so easy a thing- to speak in the 
 
 House;"— "He fancies because he can scribble ," 
 
 and the like deep animadversions.
 
 28 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xii. 
 
 On March 12 complaint was made to the House against 
 certain paragraphs in three printed pamphlets, — one en- 
 titled " The Englishman," from Saturday, Jan. 16, to Tues- 
 day, Jan. 19, 1713-14, wherein is a printed letter to the 
 Englishman, to which is subscribed the name of Richard 
 Steele ; another, entitled " The Crisis," in the title-page 
 whereof it is said, "By Richard Steele, Esq.;" and the 
 other, entitled " The Englishman," being the close of the 
 paper so called, in the title-page whereof it is also said, " By 
 Richard Steele, Esq.," — as containing several paragraphs 
 tending to sedition, highly reflecting on her Majesty, and 
 arraigning her administration and government. Upon 
 which the accused member was ordered to attend in his 
 place the next morning. He attended accordingly on 
 Saturday the 13th, and heard the several paragraphs in 
 the pamphlets complained of read. He afterwards stood 
 up and read from a paper the following statement : — 
 
 " Mr Speaker, — I have -written and caused to be printed several books 
 and papers, with a sincere zeal and good intent to serve my queen and 
 country, the present happy establishment in Church and State, and par- 
 ticulai'ly the Protestant succession in the house of Hanover. . . . 
 
 " Though I was ordered to attend in my place before any particular 
 passages, if I am rightly informed, were read or objected to in the House, 
 yet now that I have heard what they are, I trust to the justice of this 
 House that I shall have a reasonable time to peruse and compare them, 
 and if 1 find them, upon perusal, to be really the same which I wrote and 
 published, I shall ingenuously own them, and hope to make such a defence 
 of them as will be satisfactory to this House ; for which I doubt not but 
 you will allow me sufficient time." 
 
 Mr Auditor Harley moved that the following Monday be 
 the day appointed for hearing his defence. Steele, how- 
 ever, after reminding the House that the only intervening 
 day was Sunday, and that, besides collating the papers, 
 much more must be supposed as material to his defence,
 
 iri4.] Arraigned for Libel and Sedition. 29 
 
 said he did. not think he abused the indulgence of tho 
 House by desiring till Saturday following. After some 
 further discussion, Thursday was named by him, in which 
 he was seconded by Mr Pitt of Worcestershire, and it was 
 finally agreed to. 
 
 Believing that a great part of the ill-will against him 
 was owing to what he had written respecting Dunkirk, and 
 that it would make for his defence that the affairs relative 
 to the collusive demolition should be brought before the 
 House previous to the day appointed for his defence, Steele, 
 on the following Mondaj^, determined to act on that im- 
 pression. He accordingly moved, " That a humble ad- 
 dress be presented to Her Majesty, that she will be pleased 
 to give directions that the several representations of her 
 Majesty's engineers and officers who have had the care and 
 inspection of the demolition of Dunkirk, and all orders and 
 instructions given thereupon, be laid before this House." 
 The motion passed in the negative, and this, he tells us, 
 tended to heighten the depressing impression he had of 
 the issue of his cause. He fortified himself, however, as 
 he best might, for the w r orst, considering all that was to 
 follow, he says, as a farce wherein heedless men were to 
 indulge their curiosity, mirth, or cruelty, without any 
 regard to justice, or how far w r hat they were doing would 
 affect him or themselves. 
 
 The important day, Thursday the 18th, 
 
 " Big with the fate of Cato and of Rome," 
 
 arrived in due course. The order of the day for taking 
 into consideration the printed pamphlets complained of to 
 the House being read, Mr Foley, the accuser, demanded 
 that the matter appointed for the day might be entered
 
 30 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xii. 
 
 upon. The other leading opponents were, Sir William 
 Wyndham, Sir Edward Northey, the Attorney-General, and 
 other friends of the administration. Steele had chosen to 
 make his appearance near the bar of the House, and had 
 on either side of him Mr Stanhope and Mr Walpole, the 
 afterwards celebrated minister, who, he tells us, conde- 
 scended to take upon them the parts of his advocates — a 
 circumstance of the scene, he says, which very much sweet- 
 ened his affliction. He was also assisted by his friend Mr 
 Addison, member for Malmsbury, who sat near him, to 
 prompt him when occasion required. The first question 
 proposed was, whether the member accused acknowledged 
 the writings or not ; upon which Steele stood up and said, — 
 
 " Mr Speaker, — When I was called upon the other day, upon the same 
 occasion, I suspended the utter acknowledgment of the papers laid on your 
 table against me. I was advised to do so. "What has hitherto been insisted 
 upon by me was mere formality in favour of other innocent men who may 
 hereafter fall into my circumstances. I now frankly and ingenuously own 
 all these papers laid to my charge to be parts of my writings. I wrote 
 them in behalf of the house of Hanover, and I own them with the same 
 unreservedness with which I abjured the Pretender. I humbly submit 
 myself to this honourable assembly, and depend upon your justice." 
 
 Though he had too much at stake, he tells us, to be in 
 humour enough to enjoy the scene, there was, with all the 
 cruelty of it, something particularly comic in the affair. 
 All the men of sense in the majority of the House, though 
 they did not deny a friend a vote, stood off and left the 
 whole management to the family and the office. 
 
 The onset, he says, was made in the poorest manner, and 
 the accusation laid with an insipid action and cold expres- 
 sion. The accuser arraigned a man for sedition with the 
 same indolence and indifference as another man pares his 
 nails. What was spoken appeared only a rheum from the
 
 iri4.] Makes his Defence in the House. 31 
 
 mouth, and Mr Foley, as well as clo what he did, might 
 have blown his nose and put the question. But though the 
 choler of his accusers, he says, was corrected by their 
 phlegm, yet had they perseverance to go on, insensible of 
 the raillery of the contrary party, and the contempt of their 
 own. The most lamentable thing of all to consider, he 
 adds, was that, though there was not one man of honour 
 who spoke on the side of the ministry but did it upon 
 general terms, wherein he apparently discovered his dis- 
 approbation of the work he was about, so many honest 
 gentlemen should join in a vote of expulsion.* 
 
 A person of much less knowledge of the world and of 
 human nature need hardly have been surprised at such a 
 result in the then state of parties, and the passions by which 
 they were actuated. He might have been surprised that a 
 minister should convert the legislative assembly into a 
 judicial body to take cognisance of what had not passed 
 within the walls of the House, and of acts and writings by 
 one not at the time a member of it, and with which the 
 courts of justice were competent to deal ; but having done 
 so, it was no matter of surprise that he should accomplish 
 his purpose, under the existing state of things. The cir- 
 cumstances of the legislative body at that time were directly 
 the reverse of what they are now. The majority of the 
 House of Commons was Tory, and the Whig strength lay 
 in the Lords. 
 
 After some considerable discussion as to the mode of pro- 
 ceeding, the call became general, "Mr Steele," "Mr Steele;" 
 but his friends induced him to sit still, until it was inti- 
 mated that, if he omitted taking advantage of the present 
 
 * Freface to Apology for himself and his writings.
 
 C>0 
 
 O -j 
 
 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xii. 
 
 occasion to make his defence, lie would have no further 
 opportunity to do so, when he rose and addressed the 
 House. 
 
 He commenced by bespeaking the indulgence of those 
 whom he addressed, in consideration of the disadvantages 
 under which he laboured, the shortness of the time allowed 
 him for preparation, the natural excitement of his feelings, 
 the want of rest, and the confused state of the mass of 
 papers to which he had to refer. He shewed that if he had 
 committed any errors or displayed undue warmth in con- 
 tending for the rights of his country in reference to Dun- 
 kirk, or the succession of the house of Hanover, of which he 
 was not sensible, that he had been betrayed into it by the 
 statements of the organ of the Opposition, as well as by its 
 personal outrages and abuse ; that if statements originat- 
 ing in a paper warfare were to be taken cognisance of in 
 that place, they were constituting the Examiner one of the 
 ministry, and must have a mean opinion of the dignity of 
 a British House of Commons, if they made themselves 
 parties on either side in such a case. 
 
 " I say, Sir," he argued, " there are many who have written with as great 
 zeal in a cause which is condemned as treasonable by our acts of Parlia- 
 ment, and yet have had the good luck to escape the notice of those who 
 have either the making of laws or the putting them in execution. . . . 
 Those writers who declared themselves the professed advocates of the 
 ministry, and gave themselves the air of being in the secrets of the ad- 
 ministration, were the first aggressors. . . . Those papers I am now 
 speaking of prejudged my election, denounced to me the displeasure of 
 men in great places, and foretold that storm which is now falling upon 
 me, unless it be averted by the justice and honour of gentlemen, who are 
 the only persons that can interpose in this case between an innocent man 
 and an offended minister. Such has been the cruel and ungenerous 
 usage which I have met with from an author who has professed himself 
 a champion for the ministry, that no longer since than last Friday, he 
 has fallen upon me with that rage and malice which are unbecoming
 
 1714.] Steele makes his Defence vn Parliament. 33 
 
 a scholar, a gentleman, or a Christian, at the time that so great a misfor- 
 tune betel me, as to be accused before this House. As if he did not think 
 that weight heavy enough upon me, he makes his court to his superiors 
 by determining the cause which lay before this honourable assembly, and 
 represents me in such a character as, I hope, is due to no man living. I 
 cannot but take notice of his last paper, which if any gentleman will be at 
 the pains of perusing, he will find (by what strange accident, or concerted 
 measures, I know not) that it is a brief of the chai'ges against me before 
 this House. It was in answer to this writer that I first employed my pen, 
 and, as I thought, for the service of my country. This man has repre- 
 sented half of her Majesty's subjects as a different people, who have for- 
 feited the common protection allowed them by the constitution ; but has 
 never been called to account for it, as a writer of matters tending to sedi- 
 tion. He has treated the fathers of our Church like the basest among the 
 people, torn in pieces the reputation of the most eminent names in Great 
 Britain, marked out several members in both Houses of Parliament, and 
 endeavoured to render them odious to the nation when they have dis- 
 agreed with him in opinion, or rejected any Bill which the Ministry had 
 seemed to promote. He has vilified those in friendship and alliance with 
 her Majesty, and condemned treaties which are still in force. He has 
 trilled upon so melancholy a subject as that of her Majesty's late indis- 
 position, and represented her as actually dead, for the sake of a poor 
 conceit which the greatest part of his readers were not able to take, and 
 those who did, could not but regard with horror. All this, Sir, the author 
 I am now mentioning has done, without being called to account for any 
 reflection tending to sedition, highly reflecting on her Majesty, and arraign- 
 ing her administration and government. In the opinion of the world he 
 has not only done all this with impunity, but with encouragement. It is 
 chiefly in answer to this author, that those papers were written which are 
 now upon your table. I could not see without indignation an endeavour 
 set on foot to confound truth with falsehood, and to turn the whole history 
 of the present times into a lie." 
 
 He then refers to and quotes the paragraph objected 
 against him in No. 46 of the Englishman, which has these 
 words : — 
 
 " I speak all this because I am much afraid of the Pretender, and my 
 fears are increased because many others laugh at the danger. I presume 
 to say, those who do laugh at either do not think at all, or think it will be 
 no day of danger to themselves. But I thus early let go my fire against, 
 the Pretender's friends, because I think myself a very good judge of men's 
 Vol,. II. C
 
 34 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xil. 
 
 mien and air, and see what they intend at a distance. I own I have 
 nothing to say .... when nobody else talks in the same style, but what 
 the sailor did when he fired out of the stage-coach upon highway-men 
 before they cried, ' stand' — Would you have me stay till they have boarded 
 
 MS?" 
 
 The interest of the defence, as a whole, was injured by 
 the necessity he was under of applying himself to the 
 particular passages marked against him in the different 
 publications referred to, and the consequent introduction 
 of a variety of minute and unconnected details and ex- 
 planations. 
 
 Referring to the first passage marked in " The Crisis," — 
 from which he supposed, he said, those who marked it would 
 fetch an inuendo out of it that he spoke disrespectfully of 
 the Universities, — after quoting some passages to shew that 
 the general tenor of his writings was directly opposed to 
 such an insinuation, he adds, " It appears by these, and 
 many other passages in my writings, that I have retained 
 the greatest honour and esteem for those learned bodies, 
 in one of which I received my education, and where I can 
 still boast of much personal friendship and acquaintance." 
 
 Alluding to the next passage marked in the same work, 
 the imputed inference from which was supposed to reflect 
 upon the clergy (to whom the pamphlet was dedicated) 
 in reference to the Hanover succession, he said, " Sir, I 
 am afraid that those who stir up this accusation against 
 me, only make use of the name of the clergy to give it a 
 more popular turn, and to take off the odium from them- 
 selves, by the use of such venerable names." He then 
 alluded to the notorious fact, that his writings had been 
 noted for their advocacy of virtue and religion, as well as 
 the defence of their teachers ; and after having cited
 
 i7i4.] Allusion to Swift. 3."> 
 
 various passages in confirmation of this, he added, 'T 
 can 't tell, Sir, what they would have me do to prove me 
 a Churchman, but I think I have appeared one in so trifl 
 ing a thing as a comedy ; and considering me as a comic 
 poet, I have been a martyr and confessor for the Church ; 
 for this play (' The Lying Lover ') was damned for its 
 piety." Among other passages, he quotes from the Tatler 
 the favourable notice he had given of an anonymous pam- 
 phlet by Swift, entitled " A Project for the Advancement 
 of Religion," and adds these pointed words : — " The gentle- 
 man I here intended was Dr Swift ; this kind of man 1 
 thought him at that time. We have not met of late, but 
 i hope he deserves this character still." 
 
 After explanations in reference to various passages 
 marked against him, he protests against forcing a meaning 
 from his words to bear a censurable construction contrary 
 to their natural and literal sense, and insists " that if an 
 author's words, in the obvious and natural interpretation 
 of them, have a meaning which is innocent, they cannot, 
 without great injustice, be condemned of another meaning 
 which is criminal." 
 
 In defence of what he had said in reference to Dunkirk, 
 lie remarked : — 
 
 " I have regulated my thoughts on that subject by the treaty of peace, 
 which has been published for the perusal of her Majesty's subjects. It 
 thereby stipulated that the mole and harbour should be first demo- 
 lished ; but, instead of this, the French (for it is there I lay the blame) 
 have only demolished the fortifications towards the land ; and thus, as 1 
 have said in another [.lace, the Queen's garrison is exposed, by levelling 
 i he works, to the mercy of the French ; and the mole\ind harbour, which 
 were first to be demolished, stand as they did. Will any one say that this 
 proceeding of the French, so contrary to what was stipulated by the articles 
 of peace, is Dot begun contemptuously and arbitrarily their own waj i
 
 36 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xii. 
 
 The time stipulated by the same treaty for the demolition of the mole and 
 harbour, is long since elapsed, and no longer since than a week ago, as I 
 can prove by incontestible evidence, they were actually repairing that very 
 mole, which should have been long before this a heap of ruins." 
 
 In reference to some further passages, he says : — 
 
 " But here the gentleman finds another innendo, and has marked out a 
 seditious blank : that is, in reality he is very angry with me, not for any- 
 thing I have said, but for something I have not said ; or rather, because 
 I have not written what he would have had me write. But if he finds 
 both my silence and my words criminal, I must confess I don't know how 
 to please him." 
 
 In conclusion, he says : — 
 
 " I must declare, sir, that upon the perusal of those paragraphs -which 
 have been marked against me, I have been more puzzled to know why 1 
 ought to defend them, than how they ought to be defended ! And I dare 
 appeal to any gentleman who is used to read pamphlets, whether he has 
 seen any of either side for some years past, that have been written with 
 more caution, or more thoroughly guarded against giving any occasion of 
 just offence. 
 
 " Upon the whole matter, I do humbly conceive that no words which 1 
 have made use of can be censured as criminal, in the candid and natural 
 interpretation of them, and can only be construed as such by distant 
 implications and far-fetched inuendoes." 
 
 He then quotes the words of the then Lord Chancellor 
 of England, on the trial of Dr Sacheverell, shewing that in 
 such cases, if a man's words admitted of an innocent inter- 
 pretation in their plain and natural sense, the mercy of the 
 law gave him the benefit of it, and did not sanction the 
 departing from the words, by resorting to an imputed 
 criminal meaning, and that though there were formerly 
 too many instances of this nature, the late happy revolu- 
 tion put an end to such arbitrary constructions. After 
 this felicitous reference to such a high authority, and a 
 case the result of which might serve as a warning to his
 
 1714.] Steele's Supporters in the House. 37 
 
 accusers, lie wound up in the following admirable man- 
 ner : — 
 
 " I have heard it said in this place, that no private man ought to take 
 the liberty of expressing his thoughts as I have done, in matters relating 
 to the administration. I do own that no private man ought to take a 
 liberty which is against the law of the land. But, Sir, I presume that the 
 liberty I have taken is a legal liberty, and obnoxious to no penalty in any 
 court of justice. If it had, I cannot believe that this extraordinary 
 method would have been made use of to distress me upon that account. 
 And why should I here suffer for having done that which perhaps in a 
 future trial would not be judged criminal by the laws of the land I Why 
 should I see persons whose particular province it is to prosecute seditious 
 writers in the courts, employing their eloquence against me in this place ? 
 I think that I have not offended against any law in being ; 1 think that I 
 have taken no more liberty than what is consistent with the laws of the 
 land ; if I have, let me be tried by those laws. Is not the executive power 
 sufficiently armed to inflict a proper punishment on all kinds of criminals ? 
 Why then should one part of the legislative power take this executive 
 power into its own hands ? But, sir, I throw myself upon the honour of 
 this House, who are able, as well as obliged, to screen any commoner of 
 England from the wrath of the most powerful man in it, and who will 
 never sacrifice a member of their own body to the resentment of any 
 single minister." 
 
 With these words he concluded a most able and tempe- 
 rate address, which had occupied about three hours, and 
 with a courteous obeisance to the Speaker, withdrew. 
 When he was withdrawn, Mr Foley rose and said, without 
 amusing the House with long speeches, it was plain the 
 writings they complained of were scandalous and seditious, 
 injurious to her Majesty's Government, the Church, and the 
 Universities, and called for the question. A very warm 
 debate then arose, which lasted till eleven at night. The 
 first who spoke on behalf of Steele was Robert Walpole, 
 Esq., who had himself been the victim of a similar factious 
 expulsion, with the addition of incarceration in the Tower. 
 lie had only recently resumed his seat, and now distill-
 
 38 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xii. 
 
 guished himself, and added to his popularity with his 
 party, by his able advocacy of the liberty of the subject to 
 freedom of speech, and the privileges of the Commons of 
 England. He was followed by his brother Horace, and 
 Lord Lumley, Lord Hinchinbrokc, and Lord Finch. A 
 memorable incident occurred when the latter rose to 
 address the House. He was the eldest son of the Earl of 
 Nottingham, and brother of the young lady in whose 
 defence Steele had broken the bounds of neutrality to 
 which he had restricted himself in the Guardian, in reply 
 to the Examiner. It was the young lord's maiden effort, 
 and, in addition to any other motives by which he ma.\ 
 have been actuated, he had a debt of gratitude to pay ; but, 
 after rising to address the House, overcome with ingenuous 
 diffidence, he was about to resume his seat, muttering 
 audibly, however, at the same time, "It is strange how I 
 can't speak for this man, though I could readily fight for 
 him." The first appearance of a young member naturally 
 created an interest, and his muttered words spreading 
 through the House like wildfire, he was greeted with the 
 cry of "Hear him, hear him," from all quarters, when 
 again stepping forward, he made a first speech of which it 
 is recorded that every word told. In a dedication which 
 Steele afterwards addressed to him, he alluded to " the 
 noble motive which first produced your natural eloquence, 
 as what should be the great purpose of that charming 
 force in all who are blessed with it, the protection of the 
 oppressed." 
 
 Eloquence and argument, however, were alike impotent 
 against the force of numbers, and it was " resolved," by a 
 majority of 245 against 152 —
 
 1714.] Gross Abuse of the Right of Expulsion. 39 
 
 " That a printed pamphlet, entitled "The Englishman," being the close of 
 the paper so called, and one other pamphlet, entitled "The Crisis," written 
 by Richard Steele, Esq., a member of this House, are scandalous and sedi- 
 tions libels, containing many expressions highly reflecting upon her 
 Majesty, and upon the nobility, gentry, clergy, and universities of this 
 kingdom, maliciously insinuating that the Protestant succession in the 
 house of Hanover is in danger under her Majesty's administration, and 
 tending to alienate the affections of her Majesty's good subjects, and te 
 create jealousies and divisions among them — 
 
 " Resolved — That Richard Steele, Esq., for his offence in writing an i 
 publishing the said scandalous and seditious libels, be expelled this House." 
 
 Thus prematurely terminated for the present Steele's 
 Parliamentary career. It may not bo uninteresting or 
 inappropriate here to refer to the strictures on this right 
 of expulsion exercised by the Commons, by the highest 
 authority on constitutional history : — 
 
 " It was carried to a great excess," remarks Mr Hallam, " by the Lo 
 Parliament, and again in the year 1680. These, however, were times of 
 extreme violence, and the prevailing faction had an apology, in the designs 
 of the court, which required an energy beyond the law to counteract them. 
 The offences, too, which the "Whigs thus punished in 1680 were, in their 
 effect, against the power, and even the existence of Parliament. The 
 privilege was far more unwarrantably exerted by the opposite party in 
 1714 against Sir Richard Steele, expelled (he House for writing 'The Crisis, 1 
 a pamphlet reflecting on the Ministry. This was perhaps the first instance 
 wherein the House of Commons so identified itself with the executive 
 administration, independently of the sovereign's person, as to considei 
 itself libelled by those who impugned its measures." * 
 
 Steele had so little of the courtier or politician about 
 him, that he seemed to think the way to success was to 
 speak the honest truth, and he tells us that the kindness 
 and discretion of his friends at his defence prevented his 
 adding many statements of that nature which would only 
 have exasperated the feeling against him. Truth is said 
 proverbially to lie at the bottom of a well, and it is often 
 
 Hallam's Constitutional History, vol. iii . p 265
 
 40 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xii. 
 
 the only reward of those who are sedulously bent on draw- 
 ing it up to tumble in headforemost themselves. The 
 mere fact of resuscitating the most solemn acts and reso- 
 lutions of the legislature at and subsequent to the Revolu- 
 tion, with some strictures upon them, (in "The Crisis,") was 
 an unpardonable offence. But now that he had suffered 
 the worst that an unscrupulous and vindictive Ministry 
 could inflict upon him, he felt himself as much concerned, 
 he says, to shew why this sentence should not be a reproach 
 to him, now it was passed, as he was before to speak against 
 its being pronounced. With this view he prepared for the 
 press the substance of his defence, with some additions, 
 and published it, with an elaborate dedication, by way of 
 preface, to Mr (afterwards the famous Sir Robert) Walpole, 
 in which he indulges in some very severe strictures on the 
 minister by whose influence he was sacrificed, and de- 
 nounces " the arbitrary use of numbers in the most odious 
 colours, that gentlemen may have a just detestation of 
 practising a thing in itself unwarrantable, from the sup- 
 port only of the insolent and unmanly sanction of a ma- 
 jority." He entitled the work an " Apology for Himself 
 and his Writings," occasioned by his expulsion from the 
 House of Commons; and it may be regarded as not the 
 least masterly of his productions. It has been quoted to a 
 considerable extent in the preceding notice of his defence 
 in the House. Speaking of the minister, as he does in 
 very severe terms in the dedication, among other state- 
 ments he expresses the opinion he had always entertained 
 of him, that "whatever became of his country, which I 
 believe had little share in his lordship's cares, he would, 
 with the wand in his hand, raise powers which he would
 
 i7i4.] His Apology for Himself and Writings. 41 
 
 want skill to command, and which, consequently, would 
 tear himself in pieces." 
 
 In the supplementary statements he says : — ■ 
 
 " It may be objected that I am sure to come off when I, who am the 
 criminal, am also to be the judge. I may make the same objection against 
 the determination of the House ; they who were the judges were also the 
 accusers. . . . But my fate is so extraordinary, that I am punished by 
 the House of Commons, (where freedom of speech is an essential privilege), 
 for saying what was criminal nowhere else. Had what I have written been 
 spoken in the House of Commons, no man will pretend to say it had been 
 criminal. How, then, when it was innocent in another place, came it to 
 be criminal when produced there ? I was safe, when in circumstances 
 that rendered me more accountable, and run into danger by being privi- 
 leged. . . . 
 
 " There w^s not one argument used to support this heavy accusation ; 
 but I suppose, upon consideration that his reflecting upon the Queen so 
 directly . . . was just the quite contrary to what he had done, the ill- 
 behaviour towards her Majesty is in the resolution scattered among her 
 subjects. . . . Let this resolve be taken out of its formality, and it is 
 just as if they had said, he has been guilty of treason and also of ill 
 manners. 
 
 " There are many instances of punishment in the House for being too 
 obsequious to the Court against the people, but Mr Steele is the first that 
 fell there for being audacious towards ministers in behalf of his country. 
 
 " But let those who were for an oppressed gentleman, their fellow- 
 citizen, ... be had in everlasting remembrance, . . . who have nobler 
 prospects in view than to follow mercenaries with their vote against a poor 
 and impotent patriot, who attempted to rouse his country out of a lethargy 
 fruin which she has awakened only to behold her danger ; and upon seeing 
 it too great, has only sighed, folded her arms, and returned to her trance." 
 
 Among the various publications of Steele at this period, 
 was a volume of " Poetic Miscellanies," consisting of a col- 
 lection of pieces contributed by himself and his poetical 
 friends, with a dedication to Congreve. He also published 
 another collection in three volumes, of an instructive 
 character, entitled, " The Ladies' Library," dedicated to 
 three accomplished ladies — the first to the Countess of ]>ur- 
 lington, daughter of Henry Noel, second son of Viscount
 
 42 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xii. 
 
 Campden ; the second to Mrs Boevey ; and the third to 
 Mrs Steele. The last will be referred to on another occa- 
 sion. The second is the only one on which it is necessary 
 to dwell at present, and that from the circumstance of 
 there being a tradition of Steele having had an early 
 attachment to this lady, and of her having been the original 
 of the perverse widow of Sir Roger de Coverley. This sur- 
 mise was communicated first by the Rev. Duke Yonge of 
 Plympton, in Devonshire, through Archdeacon Nares to 
 Mr Chalmers, the editor of the " Essayists." 
 
 " My attention," says the reverend gentleman, " was first drawn to this 
 subject by a very vague tradition in the family of Sir Thomas Crawley 
 Boevey, of Flaxley Abbey in Gloucestershire, that Mrs Catherine Boevey, 
 widow of Wm. Boevey, Esq., and who died January 21, 1726, was the 
 original from whence the picture of the perverse widow in the Spectator 
 was drawn. She was left a widow at the early age of twenty-two, and her 
 portrait (now at Flaxley Abbey, and drawn at a more advanced period of 
 her life) appears to have been a woman of a handsome, dignified figure, as 
 she is described to have been in the 113th No. of the Spectator. She was 
 a personage well known, and much distinguished in her day, and is de- 
 scribed very respectably in the Neio Atlantis, under the name of Portia. 
 
 . . . "No. 113 of the Spectator, as far as it relates to the widow, is 
 almost a parody on the character of Mrs Boevey, as shewn in the dedica- 
 tion. Sir Boger tells his friend that she is a reading lady, and that her 
 discourse was as learned as the best philosopher could possibly make. She 
 reads upon the nature of plants, and understands everything. In the 
 dedication Steele says, ' instead of assemblies and conversations, books 
 and solitude have been your choice : you have charms of your own sex, 
 and knowledge not inferior to the most learned of ours.' In No. 118, ' her 
 superior merit is such,' says Sir Boger, 'that I cannot approach her with- 
 out awe ; my heart is checked by too much esteem.' Dedication, — ' Your 
 person and fortune equally raise the admiration and awe of our whole 
 
 sex.' 
 
 " She is described as having a confidant, as the knight calls her, to 
 whom he expresses a peculiar aversion, No. 118 being chiefly on that sub- 
 ject. ' Of all persons,' says the good old knight, ' be sure to set a mark on 
 confidants.' . . . Mrs Boevey certainly had a female friend of this descrip- 
 tion, of the name of Pope : who lived with her more than forty years,
 
 1714.] Supposed Original of Coverley Widow. i'S 
 
 whom she left her executrix; and who, it is believed in the family, did 
 not execute her office in the most liberal manner." * 
 
 This coincidence is certainly curious, and the inference 
 Dot improbable. It may be added that though Mrs Boeve\ 
 at her decease in 1726 was interred in the family vault 
 at Flaxley, there is also a splendid monument to her 
 memory in Westminster Abbey, under that of Lord Howe, 
 with a bust on a small medallion, and with a suitable 
 inscription. This was erected by Mrs Pope, the executrix 
 and confidant above-mentioned. 
 
 Before proceeding to notice the engagements of Steele 
 after his expulsion, a few letters may here be introduced, 
 bringing his correspondence up to that event : — 
 
 Letter CCXXII. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Bloomsbur// Square, Dec. 24, 1713. 
 Dear Prue, — I dine with Lord Halifax, and shall be at home half hour 
 after six. For thee I die, for thee I languish. Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXX1II. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Jan. 20, 1713-14. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I am gone to Buckley's,t and from thence am to go and 
 
 * Chalmers' edit. " Essayists" — Sjwxtator, introduction to vol. i. pp. 7<3-7S. 
 
 f " Sam. Buckley at the Dolphin, in Little Britain, for whom seven volumes of 
 the original Sjiectator in folio had been printed. The Spectator being discon 
 tinned at the close of the seventh volume, was succeeded by the Guardian . and 
 Pope informs us that Steele was engaged in articles of penalty to Jacob Tonson, 
 for all the papers he published under this last name. The same author says 
 ' The true reason why Steele laid down the Guardian was a quarrel between him 
 and the bookseller above-mentioned ;' he adds, ' that Steele, by desisting two days. 
 and altering the title of his paper to that of the Englishman, got quit of his 
 obligation.' At the date of this letter, the periodical paper to which Steele gave 
 the title of the Engli hman was in course of publication; it was printed bj S. 
 15uckky in Amen Corner, and announced as the sequel of the Guardian. The 
 title of Spectator was resumed some months after. Number first of the eighth 
 volume, printed by S. Buckley, in Amen Corner, folia, is dated on the 1Mb of tie- 
 June following, in 1714."
 
 44 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xii. 
 
 dine at a place where I am to be with the Elector's Envoy. From thence 
 I shall again return to Buckley's. I trust I shall bring home good news. 
 I want clean linen, being very dirty with running about. I have left Mr 
 Cragg's subscription* books at his house. — I am, dear Prue, yours faith- 
 fully, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXXIV. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 March 11, 1713-14. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I send you this to let you know that Lord Halifax would 
 not let me go to the House, but thought it would be better to have the 
 first attack made in my absence. Mr Foley t was the gentleman who did 
 me that honour ; but they could not bring it to bear so far as to obtain 
 an order for my attending in my place, J or anything else to my disadvan- 
 tage, than that all pamphlets are to come on on Saturday. Lord Halifax, 
 in the House of Lords, told the Ministry that he believed, if they would 
 recommend " The Crisis" to her Majesty's perusal, she would think quite 
 otherwise of the book than they do. 
 
 I think they have begun very unhappily and ungracefully against me, 
 
 and doubt not but God will turn their malice to the advantage of the in- 
 
 nocent. — Your faithful husband and humble servant, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXXV. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Bow Street, March 12, 1713-14. 
 Dear Prue, — I am going to Mr Walpole's, to meet some friends. There 
 
 * Of Steele's celebrated political pamphlet, " The Crisis," which was printed 
 and published by Buckley. On the subject of this subscription, see some severe 
 remarks in Swift's " Public Spirit of the Whigs." A few days before the date 
 of this letter, Swift published a paraphrase of an ode of Horace, beginning — 
 
 " Dick, thou 'rt resolved, as I am told, 
 Some strange arcana to unfold ; 
 And, with the help of Buckley's pen, 
 To vamp the good old cause again. 
 Which thou (such Burnet's shrewd advice is,) 
 Must furbish up, and nickname ' Crisis,' " &c. 
 
 Supplement to Swift. 
 t " The motion which Mr Auditor Foley particularly levelled at Steele, in a 
 debate on the bill for limiting the number of officers in the House of Commons, 
 was ' to take into consideration that part of the Queen's speech which related to 
 the suppressing seditious libels and factious rumours.' " 
 X " They obtained it. however, on the next day."
 
 1714.] Correspondence. 4/3 
 
 is nothing can arise to me * which ought to afflict you, therefore, pray be 
 a Roman lady, and assume a courage equal to your goodness. The Queen 
 is very ill. — Your faithful, very cheerful husband, 
 
 Rich. Steei.i:. 
 Do not mention, if you see Harris, the business of the Queen. 
 
 Letter CCXXVI. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 March 13, 1713-14. 
 Dear Prue, — They have given me till Thursday. The House is in 
 very good inclination to me. I will come home to dinner if Lord Halifax 
 does not detain me. Your merit is what saves yours, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXXYII. To Mrs Steele, 
 
 March 18, f 1713-14. 
 Temple, seven o'clock-. 
 Dear Prue, — I have made my defence,! and am ordered to withdraw. 
 Addison was sent out after me, by my friends, to bid me not be seen 
 till I heard what will be the censure. If you please to go to Mrs Keek's 
 I will send to you thither by a porter an hour or two hence. Nothing can 
 happen to make my condition in private the worse, and I have busied 
 myself enough for the public. The next is for you and yours, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 * " On this day a regular complaint was made to the House by Mr Foley, of 
 three pamphlets by Steele, (" The Crisis" and two single numbers of the English- 
 man?) as containing 'several paragraphs tending to sedition, highly reflecting 
 upon her Majesty, and arraigning her administration and government.' Mr 
 Steele was ordered to attend in his place on the 13th, which he did accordingly, 
 and was then allowed four days for making his defence." 
 
 T " The original is misdated, March 17." 
 
 t " He owned, in his place, ' that he wrote and published the pamphlets com- 
 plained of;' and read the paragraphs to the House 'with the same cheerfulness 
 ami satisfaction with which he abjured the Pretender.' Steele spoke on this 
 occasion with such a temper, modesty, unconcern, easy and manly eloquence, as 
 gave entire satisfaction to all who were not invetcrately prepossessed against him. 
 He was strongly supported by Mr Walpole, General Stanhope, the Lord Finch, 
 the Lord Hinchinbroke, and the Lord Lumley. His principal opponents were 
 Mr Foley, Sir W. Wyndham, Sir Edward Northey, (the Attorney-General,) and 
 other courtiers. After a long and interesting debate, Steele was expelled the 
 House by 254 voices against 152. lie took ample revenge, however, three days 
 after, on the Harleys and the Foleys, under the name of the Crabtrees and the 
 Brickdusts, in the eleventh number of the Lover."
 
 46 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xii. 
 
 It is certainly edifying (whatever our opinion of the 
 prudence of Steele may be) to find sentimental Mr Pope 
 delivering himself of a homily on this occasion against 
 violence, in a letter to Congreve, dated the 19th of March. 
 After stating the result of Steele's affair, and his opinion 
 that he had not only been punished by the others, but 
 suffered much even from his own party, in the point of 
 character, without receiving any amends in that of in- 
 terest, he proceeds to say, " I wish all violence may suc- 
 ceed as ill ; but am really amazed that so much of that 
 sour and pernicious quality should be joined with so much 
 natural good humour, as I think Mr Steele is possessed 
 of." Of course, the mild, sweet author of the " Dunciad," 
 good, easy man, had none of this " sour, pernicious qua- 
 lity," nor had ever displayed any violence. He only 
 libelled and stabbed individuals on all hands, with initial 
 letters attached to his verses, including all who had ever 
 given him any offence, real or imaginary ; but not exclud- 
 ing some of whom he professed to think favourably, and 
 to number among his friends, and when taxed with it, 
 prevaricated and shuffled in the most paltry manner. In 
 the case of his friend Aaron Hill, he referred him to an 
 edition he had altered, to shew that his name would not 
 have suited the measure.* Nay, among the victims of his 
 atrocious virulence was Lady Montagu, for whom he had 
 formerly professed the most romantic devotion, and to 
 whom the fact of her being a married woman did not 
 
 * Hill repaid him with .a character similar to his own satire on Addison, as 
 one who 
 
 " sneakingly approv'd, 
 
 And wanted soul to spread the worth lie lov'd."
 
 iri4.] Popes Strictures on Steele. 4 7 
 
 prevent him making the most extravagant declarations. 
 In other cases, where personal chastisement had been 
 threatened, some of his biographers have given him very 
 equivocal credit for courage in carrying pistols. If ever 
 Dennis was justified in the exercise of his " sour and per- 
 nicious quality," it was surely when he reminded him of 
 what the initial letters of his own tw r o names and the final 
 one would make. 
 
 We hear nothing of the violence of his reverend friend, 
 Dr Jonathan Swift, who was employing anonymously all 
 the roughest weapons of party warfare,— scurrility, satire, 
 and libel, with a violence and unscrupulousness almost 
 without example, at least in any writer of reputation, and 
 which, if it had been exerted against the Government 
 instead of for it, might had a very different result. But 
 it was only one who wrote in a manly, straightforward 
 way, who signed his name, or if he satired anonymously, 
 did it under a fictitious name, and within the bounds of 
 decency, and who could say, as he did to Swift, that his 
 controversy was with principles, not men — that incurred 
 the censure of the author of the " Dunciad." Verily 
 
 " One fool thinks himself more wise than t' other, 
 And shakes his empty noddle at his brother.'' 
 
 Nor was Pope the only Job's comforter that Steele 
 found. Another mild individual, John Dennis, the critic, 
 indulged himself in a characteristic piece of ribald humour 
 on the subject. Steele one time gave the title of hangman 
 of the gospel to a furious preacher. He might have called 
 John Dennis the hangman of literature. "Indeed he was 
 worse than the hangman, who merely executes a painful 
 but necessary duty. Dennis, on the contrary, indulged in
 
 48 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xti. 
 
 wanton cruelty ; and if he had been the functionary re- 
 ferred to, would have treated his victim to a preliminary 
 rehearsal of his office before executing it. He now took 
 the opportunity, when Steele was suffering both in mind 
 and in fortune, to aggravate his adversity by publishing, in 
 the Post-Boy of the 27th April, the advertisement of an 
 insulting poetical epistle, in imitation of Horace.* 
 
 * ''John Dennis, the sheltering poet's invitation to E. Steele, the excluded 
 party writer and member, to come and live with him in the Mint. In imitation 
 of Horace, Ep. v., lib. i. Trice 3d. Fit to be bound up with ' The Crisis.' "
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 FROM PUS EXPULSION TILL THE DEATH OF QUEEN ANNE. 
 
 Steele not unduly depressed by his political martyrdom — Displays great 
 industry on literary and political subjects — Publication of the peri- 
 odical papers entitled the Lover and the Reader — Satirises his political 
 opponents under the titles of the Crabtrees and Brkkdusts — Pro- 
 poses a " History of the Duke of Marlborough"— Publishes various 
 political pamphlets, besides literary works, including " Poetic Mis. 
 cellanies" and "The Ladies' Library"— Short-lived triumph of his 
 enemies — The tables turned by the death of the Queen — Correspond- 
 ence up to that event. 
 
 Notwithstanding what Steele has said in deprecation of 
 the censure of the House, there were not wanting some 
 who professed to think that, so far from being surprised at 
 his expulsion, he even courted that honour, and was not 
 ill pleased that he did not attain to political martyrdom, 
 like some of his predecessors, through the Tower. With- 
 out stopping to discuss this point, there is no reason to 
 believe that, after the first excitement was over, he was 
 unduly cast down by the event. Though his circumstances 
 were no doubt in a critical position, he immediately applied 
 himself to a variety of work with an industry in which, 
 with all his excitability, he appears never to have been 
 wanting. The Englishman* had terminated on the 15th 
 
 * It may lie worthy of mention that it, was in this paper that the history of 
 Alexander Selkirk first appeared, which formed the groundwork of thai romana 
 by De Foe which has been the delight of boyhood since — " Robinson Crusoe." 
 VOL. II. I>
 
 50 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xiii. 
 
 of February, at the end of fifty-seven numbers. Previous to 
 the event, he had started, on February 14th, a fresh literary 
 periodical paper, after the manner of the eminent ones he 
 had brought to a close. It was entitled the Lover, and 
 was published three times a week, under the fictitious 
 name of Marmaduke Myrtle, Esq. In the eleventh number 
 he took his revenge on the Harleys and the Foleys, under 
 the titles of the Crabtrees and Brickdusts. The paper 
 generally bears a resemblance to a sequel of his series of 
 sketches in the Toiler under the character of Cynthio. It 
 was perhaps on too narrow a foundation, but from what- 
 ever cause, — in which the fact of his mind running on 
 more exciting topics no doubt had a considerable share, — it 
 only reached to forty numbers, and came to a close on the 
 27th of May. Indeed, so much was he preoccupied with 
 political matters that, better than a month previous to 
 the close of the former paper, he had started a second, 
 the Reader, in opposition to the Examiner, the brazen 
 mouthpiece of the administration. It only reached to nine 
 numbers, however, beginning on the 22d of April and 
 closing on the 10th of May. In both papers he had Addi- 
 son as an occasional contributor. 
 
 The Lover was dedicated by Steele to Sir Samuel Garth, 
 the benevolent and poetical physician, whom he celebrates 
 as " the best-natured man." Dr Garth was a leading 
 fellow-member of the Kit-Cat. This eminent man was 
 descended of a good Yorkshire family, pursued his studies 
 at Cambridge, and took his degree of M.D. in 1691. He 
 then became a member of the College of Physicians in 
 London. A plan for the appropriation of an apartment 
 in the college for giving advice gratis, and medicine at a
 
 1714. J Sir Samuel Garth. 51 
 
 trilling cost to the sick poor, proposed in the year 1690, 
 was warmly espoused by Dr Garth \ but being stoutly 
 opposed by some members of the profession and the 
 apothecaries, he called his muse to the aid of the cause, 
 and in a mock-heroic poem, "The Dispensary/' exposed the 
 selfishness of its opponents with the happiest effect, and 
 covered it and them with deserved ridicule. The poem 
 was published in six cantos, with a dedication to Anthony 
 Henley, and was much read and admired, running through 
 several editions. Among numerous complimentary verses 
 to the author on the occasion were those of Codrington, 
 containing the lines, — 
 
 " I read thee over with a lover's eye ; 
 Thou hast no faults, or I no faults can spy ; 
 Thou art all beauty, or all blindness I." 
 
 In the year 1697 he gave evidence of his eminent profes- 
 sional, as well as classical attainments, by a Latin oration 
 delivered before the Faculty. On the death of Dryden in 
 1701, Dr Garth took upon him the chief care of the last 
 offices ; and, after pronouncing a suitable discourse on the 
 occasion, had the remains interred in Westminster Abbe}*, 
 in the same grave with Chaucer. In 1702 he was chosen 
 one of the Censors of the College of Physicians, and shortly 
 after, on the formation of the famous Kit-Cat Club, became 
 a member. The eminent professional skill of Dr Garth, his 
 literary reputation, his unaffected good-nature and agree- 
 able conversation, gained him an immense practice among 
 the higher classes, and a private esteem equally extensive. 
 On the resignation of the Whig Ministry in 1710, Dr 
 Gartli addressed some complimentary verses to Lord 
 Godolphin, in which occur the following lines: —
 
 52 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xiii. 
 
 " So much the public to your prudence owes, 
 You think no labours long for our repose. 
 Such conduct, such integrity are shown, 
 There are no coffers empty but your own." 
 
 They were, however, so hastily penned as to lay them 
 open in some degree to the severe cavilling animadversions 
 they received in the Examiner. These were written by 
 Prior, one of the Tory converts, who had been dismissed 
 from the Kit-Cat in consequence. They were, however, 
 vindicated by Addison in a Whig Examiner of Sept. 14. 
 In 1711, Dr Garth wrote a dedication for an intended 
 edition of Lucretius, addressed to the Elector of Hanover, 
 which was much admired as one of the purest specimens 
 of Latinity. The Elector, on his accession to the throne 
 as George I., conferred on Dr Garth the honour of knight- 
 hood with the sword of Marlborough, and made him his 
 own Physician-in-Ordinary and Physician-General to the 
 army. 
 
 He died, after a short illness, Jan. 18, 1718-19, and was 
 interred in the church of Harrow-on-the-Hill, in a vault he 
 had prepared. His only daughter was married to Colonel 
 the Hon. William Boyle. 
 
 Spence, on the authority of Tonson and others, speaks 
 very highly of his social character, and mentions a rumour 
 of his having died a Catholic, which is the more remark- 
 able, as his enemies accused him of wanting any fixed 
 notions on religion. Pope, in one of his letters, says, " The 
 best-natured of men, Sir Samuel Garth, has left me in the 
 truest concern for his loss. His death was very heroical, 
 and yet unaffected enough to have made a saint or a philo- 
 sopher famous. But ill tongues and worse hearts have 
 branded his last moments, as wrongfully as they did his
 
 iri4.] Proposed History of Marlborough. 53 
 
 life, with irreligion. You must have heard many tales on 
 this subject ; but, if ever there was a good Christian with- 
 out knowing himself to be so, it was Dr Garth." * 
 
 Almost immediate]}' after his expulsion, Steele issued pro- 
 posals for a " History of the Duke of Marlborough," who 
 was still living, to date from his commission of Captain- 
 General and Plenipotentiary to the expiration of those 
 commissions. That the history, if it had been destined 
 ever to have been written, whatever it might have been 
 otherwise, would have been drawn in partial colours, we 
 cannot doubt, from the admiration he had for his extraor- 
 dinary abilities, and the great regard in which he was held 
 personally by the illustrious subject of his intended history. 
 Singularly enough, that feeling had its beginning in a 
 pleasantry of Steele's on his grace's taking good care of 
 his own relations, which, being reported to him, to the 
 credit of his good-nature was taken in good part. What 
 Steele's history of the duke might have been we cannot of 
 
 * Several amusing anecdotes are recorded of Dr Garth. It is said, at the 
 Kit-Cat, on one occasion, after mentioning his Laving a number of patients to 
 visit, he sat for a considerable time enjoying himself. At length Steele, who 
 was of the company, partly perhaps out of consideration for the sufferers, and 
 possibly as much in banter, said, " Really, Garth, you ought to have no more 
 wine, but be off to see those poor devils." " It's no great matter," replied Garth, 
 " whether I see them to-night or not ; for nine of them have such bad constitu- 
 tions that all the physicians in the world can't save them, and the other six such 
 good ones that all the physicians in the world can't kill thcin." On another 
 occasion, at a coffeehouse, writing a letter, he found himself overlooked by an 
 Irishman, whose curiosity seemed to be in proportion to his stature. Bringing 
 his epistle to a conclusion without appearing to notice the impertinence, he added, 
 in his most legible hand, " I would write you more by this post, but there's a 
 
 d d tall, impudent Irishman looking over my shoulder all the time ! " 
 
 " What do you mean, sir.'" cried the other in a fury; "*do you think I looked 
 over your letter?" "Sir," replied Garth, " I never opened my lips to you." 
 " Ay, but you've put it down for all that." " 'Tis impossible, sir, von should 
 know that, as you never looked over my letter."
 
 54 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xnr. 
 
 course tell, but, in the absence of it, it may not be unin- 
 teresting to quote a succinct sketch he has given in " The 
 Crisis" of his career during the war : — 
 
 " The first thing that meets my imagination is, the French army 
 broken, routed, flying over the plains of Blenheim, and choosing rather to 
 throw themselves headlong into the Danube than face about upon their 
 conqueror. I see the just honours done him by the emperor and the whole 
 empire ; I hear him, with loud acclamations, acknowledged the deliverer 
 of Europe. He is introduced into the college of princes, and takes pos- 
 session of the principality of Mindelheim. Triumphant columns are 
 erected in the plains of Blenheim, recording the seasonable assistance of 
 the British arms, and the glories of that immortal day. 
 
 " The British leader returns from the Danube to the Rhine ; he and 
 his brave companions are the delight of the nations through whom they 
 march, and are styled their good, their guardian angels. After passing so 
 many different nations in a triumphant manner, he lands in his own 
 country a humble, unattended subject, honouring and adorning his nation 
 by privacy and modesty at home, much more than by the highest triumphs 
 and ostentations abroad. 
 
 " The Queen and Senate pass in religious pomp to thank the Almighty 
 for victory over their common oppressor. But the prospect does not 
 end here ; the plains of Ramillies are a new scene of glory to the confede- 
 rate arms, and a second happy day ends the bondage of many cities. 
 
 " His most Christian Majesty [Louis XIV.] conceives new hopes from 
 changing his generals, and from the conduct of Vendosme promises him- 
 self to repair the diminution of his glory by ViUeroy. The branches of his 
 royal family, the Dukes of Burgundy and Berry, are to animate the 
 soldiery by their presence ; but Vendosme, Burgundy, and Berry are not 
 strong enough for the genius of the Duke of Marlborough at Oudenarde. 
 
 " The French still change their general, and Villars is in command. 
 He soon shares the same fate with his predecessors, by being beaten out 
 of his camp by an inferior number of troops ; a camp so strong by nature 
 and art, that as none but the Duke of Marlborough would have attempted, 
 so none but that captain, at the head of his brave countrymen, would 
 have succeeded in it. In short, methinks I see Ostend, Menin, Lisle, 
 Tournay, Mons, Aire, Doway, and innumerable other towns held im- 
 pregnable, all besieged, taken, and restored to their lawful prince and 
 ancient liberties. 
 
 " The English general, during the course of ten campaigns, besieged no 
 town but what he took, attacked no army but what he routed, and re- 
 turned each year with tlie humility of a private man.
 
 iri4.] Sketch of Marlborough. 55 
 
 '• If beating the enemy in the field, and being too vigilant for their 
 councils in foreign courts, were effectual means towards ending the war, 
 and reducing them to a condition too low for giving fresh disturbance to 
 Europe, the Duke of Marlborough took just measures ; but however un- 
 accountable it may appear to posterity, that general was not permitted to 
 enjoy the fruits of his glorious labours ; but, as France changed her 
 generals for want of success in their conduct, so Britain changed hers after 
 an uninterrupted series of conquests. The minds of the people, against all 
 common sense, are debauched with impressions of the Duke's affectation 
 of prolonging the war for his own glory ; and bis adversaries attack a 
 reputation which could not well be impaired without sullying the glory of 
 Great Britain itself ; his enemies were not to be softened by that con- 
 sideration ; he is dismissed, and soon after a suspension of arms between 
 Great Britain and France is proclaimed at the head of the armies. The 
 British, in the midst of the enemy's garrisons, withdraw themselves from 
 their confederates. The French, now no longer having the Britons, or 
 their great leader, to fear, affect no more strong garrisons and fortified 
 camps ; but attack and rout the Earl of Albemarle at Deuain, and neces- 
 sitate the brave Prince Eugene to abandon Landrecy, a place of such 
 importance that it gave entrance into the heart of France, of which the 
 French king was so sensible that, before he recovered from his fright, he 
 acknowledged he in a manner owed his crown to the suspension of arms 
 between him and Great Britain. The suspension is followed by a treaty 
 of peace at Utrecht. The peace is concluded between Great Britain and 
 France, and between France and the States-General. The emperor and the 
 empire continue the war ! I shall not presume to enter into an examina- 
 tion of the articles of peace between us and France ; but there can be no 
 crime in affirming (if it be a truth) that the house of Bourbon is at this 
 juncture become more formidable, and bids fairer for a universal mon- 
 archy, and to engross the whole trade of Europe, than it did before the 
 
 Still pursuing a subject of which lie professed to have 
 grown sick, Steele drew up a pamphlet, after laying down 
 the Lover and Reader, entitled " French Faith in the 
 Present State of Dunkirk ; a Letter to the Examiner in 
 Defence of Mr Steele." It was written shortly after the 
 
 * "The Crisis," pp. 30, 31. The task of biographer to Marlborough, after his 
 th, was committed to Mallet, who received a thousand pounds, but nevei 
 ■vork, which was reserved for Archdeacon Coxe.
 
 56 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xiii. 
 
 delivery of the place to the French. The harbour had 
 indeed been destroyed, in which result, it is not improb- 
 able, the agitation in which he had taken so prominent a 
 part may have been instrumental ; but the French were 
 evading the spirit of the treaty by making a new and 
 equally commodious one at Mardyke, a piece of material 
 casuistry which Steele regarded as giving just ground of 
 alarm and reprehension. At the same time he entered 
 the field as the champion of toleration in defence of the 
 civil and religious liberties of his fellow-subjects and fellow- 
 Christians, the Dissenters, occasioned by a narrow and 
 bigoted measure introduced into Parliament for prevent- 
 ing the growth of schism, in which, despite the measures 
 for their relief passed in the previous reign, it was pro- 
 posed not merely to enact penalties against the free exer- 
 cise of their religion by Dissenters, but against secular 
 teachers who had not conformed. Against this measure, 
 Steele, though himself bred up in the Established Church, 
 entered his protest in very spirited terms, in " A Letter to 
 a Member of Parliament:" — " The first thing that occurs 
 to me is that, by the Act of Union, the Churches of Eng- 
 land and Scotland are equally exempted from any inno- 
 vation. The schism seems to be too geographical ; for as 
 the whole United Kingdom is equally under the care of 
 the Parliament, it seems a great omission that Dissenters 
 in the north part of Britain should not be as much dis- 
 couraged as they are in the south. According to justice, 
 Episcopal clergy should be under the same disadvantages 
 in Scotland, as Dissenting teachers are in England." After 
 a great variety of the most cogent arguments, — among 
 others, that they were setting an example of greater in-
 
 1714.] Advocates Toleration. 57 
 
 tolerance than the Turks, and interfering with the in- 
 alienable rights of the Dissenters as fellow -men and 
 fellow-subjects, as well as doing a real injury to the 
 Establishment itself, — he thus throws derision upon the 
 measure : — " Prodigious ! that a church adorned with so 
 many excellent and learned members, supplied by two 
 famous universities, both endowed with ample revenues, 
 immunities, and jurisdictions, should be affronted with 
 the offer of being reinforced with penal laws against the 
 combination of women and children ! You might with 
 the same propriety provide against schismatic nurses ! " 
 The bill ultimately fell to the ground in consequence of 
 the death of the Queen. 
 
 But though he was prepared to do battle for the rights 
 of all as men and citizens, he claimed for himself the 
 privilege which he accorded to others, of meeting those 
 with whom he differed with the weapons of reason and 
 argument. Another treatise which he published at this 
 time, entitled " The Romish Ecclesiastical History of late 
 Years," he no doubt deemed a seasonable sequel to the 
 various warnings he had already given against the Pre- 
 tender. It had an appendix containing a variety of 
 curious information on the subject-matter. It was ac- 
 companied by a dedication to his generous and spirited 
 defender, Lord Finch, in which, after referring to the sub- 
 ject-matter, he compliments him on his eloquence, and 
 gratefully alludes to the occasion, previously noticed, of 
 its first exercise in his own favour. 
 
 It was followed up by a volume on " TherState of Roman 
 Catholic Religion throughout the World." This was a 
 translation from the Italian, written for the use of Pope
 
 58 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xiii. 
 
 Innocent XI. The dedication to the Pope, which was 
 a fine piece of grave irony, was understood to be by Dr 
 Hoadley, then Bishop of Winchester ; and Steele, by father- 
 ing it, laid himself open to the sarcasm of Swift : — 
 
 " Steele, who own'd what others writ, 
 And flourish'd by imputed wit," &c. 
 
 Dr John Hoadley, son of the bishop, seemed to think that 
 Swift considered himself so much the undisputed monarch 
 of this sort of irony, and so ill brooked any rival near his 
 throne, as thus arrogantly and characteristically to resent 
 this invasion of the territory of his wit. 
 
 In the midst of these engagements in defence of civil 
 and religious liberty, and of what he deemed needful 
 reminders, in the exisiting state of his country, for the 
 maintenance of the precious and dear-bought privileges 
 she possessed, an event not unlooked for occurred, the 
 effect of which was to compensate him for the short-lived 
 triumph of his enemies at his expulsion, to scatter to the 
 winds that insolent majority, and to produce a recoil that 
 covered them with confusion, whilst it elevated him to a 
 degree of moderate prosperity, such as he had never pre- 
 viously enjoyed. This event was the decease of Queen 
 Anne, after a lengthened illness, on the 1st of August 
 1714. 
 
 Previous to narrating the result, it is necessary to bring 
 up his correspondence to that event, or rather, for con- 
 venience, a little beyond it. 
 
 Letter CCXXVIII. To Mrs Steele, 
 
 March 19, 1713-14. 
 My dear Life, — I will take immediate care of what you send about.
 
 17U.] Correspondence. 59 
 
 Fray, let nothing disquiet you, for God will protect and prosper your in- 
 nocence and virtue, and for your sake, dear Prue, your faithful husband 
 and humble servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXXLX. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 March 19, 1713-14. 
 Dear Prue, — I am in very good humour, and in no concern but fear of 
 your being uneasy. I will gi to the club to-night ; for, as you say, I must 
 press things well now or never. — Your faithful Dick Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXXX. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Bloomsbury Square, March 20, 1713-14. 
 Dear Prue, — I will do all you desire ; and, after I have been with 
 Lord Wharton and the rest in the morning, I will come to Bloomsbury, 
 where the Mayor of Stockbridge dines with your most faithful husband, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXXXI. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 March 24,* 1713-14. 
 Dear Prue, — All I know further is that, when I was a-bed last night, 
 Ashurst called here, and left word he had been about the business, and all 
 would go beyond expectation. — Your reprehended spouse and humble 
 servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXXXII. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Tonson's, March 25, 1714. 
 
 Dear Prue, — All I hear now is this morning from Ashurst, that L.3000 
 is to be paid in to Mr Warner for my use ; but when, and by what hand, 1 
 am still in the dark. I suppose Ashur.st will in the afternoon be here, 
 and I am to be in the evening with young Minshull. 
 
 I am very impatient to have this matter ended some way or other, that 
 I might be with you and the brats. God will preserve us, and let us meet 
 with joy. — Your most obedient husband, Rich. Steele. 
 
 * "The Case of Richard Steele, Esq., with an Impartial Account of the Pro 
 cccdings against Ilim, in a Letter to a Friend," was published on (his day.
 
 60 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xiii. 
 
 Letter CCXXXIII. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Easter Sunday, March 28, 1714. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I write this to acquaint you that I am going to Dr West's 
 chapel. 
 
 I cannot learn anything of our great business more than it is a-doing, 
 and my chief creditor seems easy in expectation of his money that way. 
 
 I am going this morning to a very solemn work,* and invoke Almighty 
 God to bless you and your little ones, beseeching Him to spare me a little 
 life to acquit myself to you and them, whom of all the world I have 
 hitherto least endeavoured to serve. But you, and Betty, and Dick,t and 
 Eugene, and Molly, shall be henceforth my principal cares next to the 
 keeping a good conscience. — Yours, good Prue, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Service to Mrs Keck. 
 
 Letter CCXXXIV. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 March 30, 1714. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I sit down to give you some account of our affairs. The 
 affair with Ashurst, he says, is in great forwardness ; but I cannot dive 
 into the secret by what hands I am to be obliged. I had the good fortune 
 to be with Mr Cadogan J alone yesterday after I dined with him. His 
 discourse was much to my satisfaction, but I cannot write it ; therefore, 
 if you please to come hither in the evening, between seven and eight, we 
 will talk all over. After I had been with Cadogan till six in the evening, 
 he carried me to a ball, where were his mother, sister, and several re- 
 lations, among whom was Lady Blundell. I did not come home till three 
 in the morning, which is the reason that you hear from me so late as now, 
 at twelve o'clock. It is a mighty silly thing for you and I to be melan- 
 choly ; but let us cheer one another, and be a comfort to each other. 
 According to the situation of affairs, nothing but Divine Providence can 
 
 * A short prayer of Steele's on a similar occasion lias been preserved, and is 
 here quoted in proof of his devotional feeling : — 
 
 " Almighty Lord God and Saviour, look down with compassion on me, and 
 give me grace to approach the mysterious ordinance of salvation with fear and 
 reverence. 
 
 " Lord, I love, I adore, I believe in Thee. Give me, Lord, a life suitable 
 to my faith ; and let me not [be] cast away, with a soul conscious of, and adoring, 
 Thy unspeakable goodness. But wash out my offences; and give me the benefit 
 of this cup, in order to a good mortal, and a glorious immortal, life; through the 
 merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour!" 
 
 f His eldest son, who died soon after. 
 
 + The famous General, afterwards Earl Cadogan.
 
 i n 4.] Correspondence. 6 1 
 
 prevent a civil war within a few years j and against sucli disasters there 
 can be no remedy but preparing our minds for the incidents we are to 
 meet with, with cheerfulness. — Dear wife, I honour, I love, I dote on you, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXXXV. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 April 1, 1714. 
 Dear Prue, — I want the lease and all receipts about the house in York 
 Buildings, to which Mr Reason is landlord. Pray, send them by Harris. 
 I have heard no news to-day, but expect some by and by, of which you 
 shall have an account — Your faithful husband and humble servant, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXXXVI. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Devereux Court, April 3, 1714. 
 Dear Prue, — I cannot come home, having the Under-Sheriff to speak 
 with first at five o'clock ; from thence I shall go to the play, which I make 
 a place of business, for I am in hopes of seeing two or three people in the 
 boxes whom I cannot see elsewhere. I desire Will may carry the three 
 bottles of wine of mine, at Tonson's, to Bloomsbury. I will be at home as 
 soon as the play is done. — Yours, yours, ever, ever, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXXXVII. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 May 21, 1714. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I will come for you at six o'clock, to go by land or water 
 
 to Chelsea. I think things go pretty well. I am gone to Fox Hall. I 
 
 must come to London again before I go to Chelsea. — Yours ever, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXXXVIII. To Mrs Steele, fifth door, Bloomsbury Square. 
 
 May 21, 1714. 
 Dear Piiue, — I send this to let you know that we do not go out of town 
 _;ht. — I am your affectionate, faithful husband, 
 
 - Rich. Steele. 
 
 Pray pardon impatiences, which have their foundation in care and soli 
 citude for you, and vexation that I have not been so just as to prefer my 
 family to all the world.
 
 62 Steele and his Contempof'aries. [chap. xiii. 
 
 Letter CCXXXIX. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Bloomsbury Square, May 28, 1714. 
 Dear Prue, — I will come to you as soon as possibly I can. I hope you 
 will like the lampreys which I left at home. I am going to the Hanover 
 Club, but must be back at the press before half-hour after seven. — Your 
 most obedient husband, Kich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXL. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Tonson's, Bow Street, June 2, 1714. 
 Dear Prue, — I stay here to attend this thing * close, or it will not be 
 ready, for I am forced to make alterations according to new intelligence 
 about the bill. When I have done I will come to you. — Yours ever, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXLI. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Bloomsbury Square, June 24, 1714. 
 Dear Prue, — Lord Wharton, whom I met at the House, engaged me at 
 the Kit-Cat at three o'clock ; so that, had I come home, I should have 
 had time but just to come back again. I will wait on you after sis. — 
 Yours most obediently, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXLIL To Mrs Steele. 
 
 July 8, 1714. 
 Dear Prue, — After having settled with Tryon to pay Tishmaker, I am 
 attending other business, and wait Mr Walpole's motions. I will be at 
 home at seven o'clock. — Yours, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXL1II. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Charing Cross, July 15, 1714. 
 Dear Prue, — Mr Walpole going out of town to-morrow, I am obliged 
 to dine where he does, to get an opportunity of speaking to him. — I am, 
 dear Prue, your most affectionate, obedient husband, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 * " The second edition of ' A Letter to a Member of Parliament, concerning 
 the Bill for Preventing the Growth of Schism, by Richard Steele, Esq.,' was pub- 
 lished June 5, 1714. His ' Romish Ecclesiastical History of late Years,' appeared 
 on the 25th of the preceding month."
 
 1 7 1 4 . J Dea th of ih e Queen. G :3 
 
 Letter CCXLIV. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 St James's Coffeehouse, July 31, 1714. 
 Dear Prue, — The news is come hither that the Queen is dead.* — I am, 
 dear Prue, your most affectionate and most obedient husband, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXLV. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Thatched House, St James's Street, Aug. 4, 1714. 
 Dear Prue, — I have been loaded with compliments from the Regents, 
 and assured of something immediately, but have not heard what answer 
 Philips brings from Scott. I desire you to send me a guinea. I shall 
 have cash in the morning. I wait here to speak with Cadogan, with whom 
 I would explain the posture of my affairs more earnestly. — Faithfully 
 yours, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter COXLVI. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Aug. 6, 1714. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I was obliged to borrow of Mr Minshull t money to pay 
 Scott £50. 
 
 He obliged me to dine with him, after which I must go to Mr Moore,f 
 and after that to Mr Ashurst, and after that, to the delight of my eves, 
 your dear self. Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXLVII. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Aug. 8, 1714. 
 Dear Prue, — I send Wilmot ; but stay at St James's, because they talk 
 of great news, which I will bring you ; and am, your most obedient hus- 
 band, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXLVIII. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 St James's, Aug. 15, 1714. 
 Dear Prue, — I have been with Cadogan, who gives me great hopes of 
 
 * "She actually died next morning, a little after seven cAilock, Aug. 1, 1714, 
 in the fiftieth year of her age, and thirteenth year of her reign." 
 
 + "Mr Minshull, Mr Moore, Mr Lechmere, Bishop Eoadley, and Addison, 
 were all said to have been concerned with Steele in the composition, reviBal, and 
 correction of ' The Crisis/ which was published in Steele's name, Jan. 19, 171 I."
 
 64 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xiii. 
 
 success in the patent for farthings.* Baron Bothniar dines with him, and 
 he will have me be there. 
 
 If I do not deserve good fortune, I hope being joined to you and yours 
 will be, in the sight of Heaven, a motive for blessing me, who, wdth God's 
 grace, shall grow better. — Your obedient husband, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXLIX. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 St James's, Aug. 23, 1714. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I have ordered Wilmot to carry home the things you speak 
 of in Covent Garden. I shall be with the Broderickst and others till 
 after eleven o'clock this night, for which I hope you will pardon me ; but 
 I will not drink. — Your obedient husband, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Wilmot will tell you about the house in this street. 
 
 Letter CCL. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Sept. 8, 1714. 
 Dear Prue, — I shall dine at Cleland's.J in order to see Lady Marl- 
 borough § as soon as she is at leisure after dinner. I have spoken to two 
 or three of the justices, and I think all will do well. — Your most obedient 
 husband, Rich. Steele. 
 
 * " This seems to have been an abortive project." 
 
 + " Thomas Broderick, Esq., was elected at the same time with Steele a re- 
 presentative for Stockb ridge." 
 
 t " The friend and correspondent of Tope, and supposed to be the Will Honey- 
 comb of the Spectator. Of his son, . . . see ' Anecdotes of Mr Bowyer,' p. 366." 
 
 § " On the subject, possibly, of the history of her lord. In the sixth number of 
 the Header, May 3, 1714, Steele gives an account of his design to write the his- 
 tory of the Duke of Marlborough from the date of his commission of Captain- 
 general and Plenipotentiary to the expiration of those commissions. The mate- 
 rials were then in his custody, but the work afterwards devolved to Glover and 
 Mallet, to whom the Duchess gave by her wdl £1000 for that purpose, with as 
 little result."
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 PROM THE ACCESSION OF GEORGE I. TILL THE CLOSE OF 1715. 
 
 Character of Queen Anne — Return of the Whigs to power on the acces- 
 sion of George I. — Steele appointed surveyor of the royal stables 
 at Hampton Court, and governor of the royal company of come- 
 dians — Is placed in the commission of the peace for Middlesex, and 
 appointed a deputy-lieutenant of the county — Elected member of 
 Parliament for Boroughbridge — Is knighted by the King on tlio 
 occasion of receiving an address from the lieutenancy of Middlesex 
 — Gives a grand entertainment in honour of the event and of the 
 King's birthday — Lines spoken on the occasion— Republishes his 
 political writings — New literary papers, the Town-Talk, Tea-Table, 
 and Chit-cluit — Correspondence to close of 1715. 
 
 Queen Anne, destined to be the last of the Stuart race 
 to sit on the throne of these kingdoms, whose recent de- 
 cease produced so important a revolution in the affairs of 
 Steele, was a well-intentioned but weak and commonplace 
 princess. She was of a dignified presence, though latterly 
 too much inclined to stoutness, but was by no means intel- 
 lectual, nor distinguished by any accomplishments or social 
 qualities. She was very strict in attention to her devo- 
 tional duties, but her religion consisted too much in a 
 scrupulous observance of forms, to which indeed, in all 
 the concerns of life, she appears to have been a slave, and 
 savoured strongly of the dogged bigotry "of her father. 
 She seemed to feel the necessity of some one to lean upon, 
 
 and was addicted to favourites, on whom she lavished all 
 vol, n. E
 
 66 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xiv. 
 
 her regards, but degraded at pleasure. She professed to 
 have been a believer in the supposititious birth of the 
 Prince of Wales ; but latterly her own son, the Duke of Glou- 
 cester, of whom great hopes had been entertained, having 
 died young, she became strongly desirous of promoting the 
 interest of the Pretender ; and as Harley, probably, was 
 not deemed sufficiently pliant on that subject, she dis- 
 missed him a few days before her death, leaving his rival, 
 Bolingbroke, in power, and the treasurer's staff in the 
 hands of Shrewsbury. 
 
 Immediately on the death of the Queen, a regency was 
 appointed. Steele's friends, the Whigs, as the supporters 
 of the house of Hanover, were once more in the ascendant, 
 and Bolingbroke, who had been left in power, was at once 
 dismissed, and fled to avoid the result of rumoured meas- 
 ures affecting his personal safety. 
 
 On the arrival of George I. in England, Steele was of 
 course recommended to his notice as a zealous friend of 
 his house, and an able writer in its interests ; and, as a 
 reward of his services, was at once appointed surveyor 
 of the royal stables at Hampton Court, put into the com- 
 mission of the peace for Middlesex and the liberties of 
 Westminster, and nominated one of the deputy-lieuten- 
 ants of the county. 
 
 At the same time, the licence of the royal company of 
 comedians of Drury Lane having expired at the death of 
 the Queen, they immediately applied to Steele for his 
 interest in procuring its renewal, expressing, at the same 
 time, their desire that he would do them the honour of 
 having his own name inserted with theirs in the commis- 
 sion. A full account of this transaction is given by Colley
 
 1714.] Obtains a Patent as Governor of the Theatre. G 
 
 Cibber, who was one of the managers in conjunction with 
 Wilks, Doggett, and Booth, which, not only from its being- 
 written in his usual lively style, but from the honour it 
 reflects on Steele, it would be injustice to give in any other 
 than his own words : — 
 
 " Their licence, however, being of course to be renewed, and since they 
 knew the pension of L.700 a year which had been levied upon them for 
 Collier* must still be paid to somebody, they imagined the merit of a Whig 
 might now have as good a chance of getting into it as that of a Tory had 
 of being continued in it. Having no obligations therefore to Collier, who 
 had made the last penny of them, they applied themselves to Sir Richard 
 Steele, who had distinguished himself by his zeal for the house of Hanover, 
 and had been expelled the House of Commons for carrying it (as was 
 judged at a certain crisis) into a reproach of the government. This we 
 knew was his pretension to that favour in which he now stood at court. 
 We knew, too, the obligations the stage had to his writings, there being 
 scarce a comedian of merit in our whole company whom his TatUrs had 
 not made better by his public recommendation of them, and many days 
 had our house been particularly filled by the influence and credit of his 
 pen. Obligations of this kind, from a gentleman with whom they all had 
 the pleasure of a personal intimacy, the managers thought could not be 
 more justly returned than by shewing him some warm instance of their 
 desire to have him at the head of them. We therefore begged him to use 
 his interest for the renewal of our licence, and that he would do us the 
 honour of getting our names to stand with his in the same commission. 
 This, we told him, would put it still further in his power of supporting 
 the stage, in that reputation to which his lucubrations had already so 
 much contributed, and that therefore we thought no man had better pre- 
 tensions to partake of its success. He was highly pleased with the offer, 
 and his spirits took such a lively turn upon it, that, had we been all his 
 own sons, no unexpected act of filial duty could have more endeared us to 
 him. The licence being obtained, the managers agreed to give Sir Richard 
 L.700 per annum, as they had done before to Mr Collier. Soon after this, 
 the house in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields being finished by the old patentee, who 
 had been silenced, he procured, by the interest of Mr Craggs the younger, 
 his suspension to be taken off ; upon which, that playhouse being opened, 
 proved at first a great drawback upon the profits of the old house. On 
 this occasion the managers remonstrated to Sir Richard that, as he now 
 
 * Win. Colli.r, M.l'. for Truro.
 
 C8 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xiv. 
 
 stood in Collier's place, his pension of L.700 per annum was liable to the 
 same conditions, which were, that it was only payable dming their con- 
 tinuance to be the only company permitted to act ; but in case another 
 was set up against them, this pension was to be liquidated into an equal 
 share with them, and which they now hoped he would be contented with. 
 While they were offering to proceed, Sir Richard stopped them short by 
 assuring them that, as he came among them by their own invitation, he 
 should always think himself obliged to come into any measure for their 
 use and service ; that to be a burden to their industry would be more 
 disagreeable to him than it could be to them ; and as he had always taken 
 a delight in his endeavours for their prosperity, he should be still ready on 
 their own terms to continue them. Every one who knew Sir Richard in 
 his prosperity (before the effects of his good-nature had brought him to 
 distress) knows that this was his manner of dealing with his friends in 
 business. Another instance of the same nature will immediately fall in 
 my way. 
 
 " When we proposed to put this agreement into writing, he desired us 
 not to hurry ourselves ; for that he was advised, upon the late desertion 
 of our actors, to get our licence (which only subsisted during pleasure) 
 enlarged into a more ample and durable authority, and which he said he 
 had reason to think would be more easily obtained if we were willing that 
 a patent for the same purpose might be granted to him only, for his life 
 and three years after, which he would then assign over to us. This was a 
 prospect beyond our hopes, and what we had long wished for ; for, though 
 I cannot say we had ever reason to grieve at the personal severities or 
 behaviour of any one lord chamberlain in my time, yet the several 
 officers under them, who had not the hearts of noblemen, often treated us 
 (to use Shakespeare's expression) with all the insolence of office that narrow 
 minds are apt to be elated with. But a patent, we knew, would free us 
 from so abject a state of dependency. Accordingly we desired Sir Richard 
 to lose no time. ... In a few days after, Sir Richard told us that his 
 Majesty, being apprised that others had a joint power with him in the 
 licence, it was expected we should, under our hands, signify that his 
 petition for a patent was preferred by the consent of us all. Such an 
 acknowledgment was immediately signed, and the patent thereupon passed 
 the great seal ; for which I remember the Lord Chancellor Cowper, in 
 compliment to Sir Richard, would receive no fee." * 
 
 The patent was received on the 19th of the ensuing- 
 January I7l5,t and the patentee being obliged to start the 
 
 * Cibber's Apology, c. xv., 1740. 
 
 f An example occurs in this matter of the facility with which literary errors
 
 171 
 
 4. J Elected Member for Boroughbridge. Gd 
 
 next morning for Boroughbridge, in Yorkshire, where his 
 return to Parliament was pending, the managers were 
 obliged to draw up hastily his assignment to them of equal 
 shares in the patent, till their counsel might more ad- 
 visedly perfect it, with further conditions of partnership. 
 The result of this haste may be stated in the words of the 
 same writer. " But here," says Cibber, " I ought to take 
 shame to myself, and at the same time to give this second 
 instance of the equity and honour of Sir Richard ; for this 
 assignment (which I had myself the hasty penning of) was 
 so worded, that it gave Sir Richard an equal title to our 
 property, as it had given us to his authority in the patent ; 
 but Sir Richard notwithstanding, when he returned to 
 town, took no advantage of the mistake, and consented, 
 in our second agreement, to pay us L.1200, to be equally 
 entitled to our property, which at his death we were 
 obliged to repay (as we afterwards did) to his executors." 
 The writer adds that Steele's equity and moderation had 
 their reward, for his income from the theatre averaged 
 L.1000 a year, while the former patentee, by his stiffness 
 in insisting on his pension, lost annually to the extent of 
 the difference. 
 
 A few days after Steele's arrival at Boroughbridge, he 
 was elected one of the representatives for that place. Mrs 
 Steele accompanied him as far as York, where she awaited 
 
 are perpetuated. The date of the patent had heen erroneously given in the life 
 of Gibber as 1718, probably by a typographical mistake, which has been repeated 
 in a late edition, (Hunt and Clarke, 182G.) This erroneous statement was fol- 
 lowed in the sketch of Steele by Dr Drake ; and the " Biographia," though it docs 
 not adopt this error, gives in a marginal note a retrospective one, still more un- 
 accountable — namely, 1714, making the patent date before the death of the Queen, 
 ii 1 adds that Cowper was made Chancellor the same day (19th Jan.) thai the 
 Mt was Bigned, though he entered upon office in the previous September.
 
 70 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xiv. 
 
 his return, and the following letters passed between them 
 in the interim, the first of which may perhaps require a 
 reference to the circumstances in which it is stated to 
 have been written, in the reading, and gives reason to fear 
 that he had not then, as he states in the next one, followed 
 her directions " exactly : " — 
 
 Letter CCLI. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Jan. 27, 1714-15. 
 
 Dear, dearest Prue, — I hope this will find you well, as I am at this 
 present writing. I send Wilmot to know how you do only, and to bring 
 the books concerning the law of elections ; or, what is better, let him 
 bring the green covers with him. If you have a letter with a note of 
 Warner's, send it hither, and I will have it of his neighbour, Mr Jessop. 
 I write now among dancing, singing, hooping, hallooing, and drinking. I 
 think I shall succeed. My dear, I love you to death. 
 
 If the bill is not come, and you have a guinea or two, send them ; for I 
 would not borrow till my bill comes, which will certainly be next arrival 
 of the post to York. Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCLII. To Mrs Steele, at Mr Harrison's, over against the Black 
 
 Man, in Coney Street, York. 
 
 Boroughbridge, Twelve at Night, Jan. 28, 1714-15. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I obey your directions exactly, and avoid drinking, and 
 everything else that might give you any trouble. The precept for electing 
 members for this place came hither to-day, and the election is to be on 
 Wednesday. It looks with a good face on my side. I take the opportunity 
 of writing by the gentleman who keeps the Black Man. He has very 
 much pleased me with an account that you had a river at the end of your 
 garden. There will be there, I doubt not, a thousand prayers offered up 
 to grant me discretion, and the ease of this world. You and yours, I fear, 
 will make me covetous ; I am sure you have made me value wealth much 
 more than I ever thought I should ; but indeed I have a reason which 
 makes it worth the pursuit : it will make me more agreeable to you.* 
 
 I hope Nanny does not misbehave, so as to disturb your tranquillity. 
 
 * "See Letter 257 and note, ad fnem."
 
 i rn.] Takes his Seat in Parliament and is Kn ighted. 71 
 
 If the post should not this night bring me money, I find I can have 
 money in the country, and draw a bill on Mr Castleman at Loudon. 
 
 Letter CCLIII. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Boroughbridge, Feb. 1, 1714-15. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I am astonished Warner has not sent me a bill before 
 now. Mr Jessop * is at the neighbouring borough, where he is to be chosen 
 this morning. 
 
 I will take twenty pounds of him, and send you money by an express, 
 which I will send to you to-morrow, with advice of our success here. The 
 election is to be between eight and eleven in the morning. — I am, dear 
 Prue, ever thine, Kich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCLIV. To Mrs Steele, at Mr Harrison's, at York, Coney Street. 
 
 Feb. 4, 1714-15. 
 
 Dear Prue, — This is to acquaint you that I will be with you on Satur- 
 day, and then settle your journey home, which I propose shall be in the 
 coach this day se'nnight. 
 
 I have got money, and you shall hear of me again to-morrow morning. 
 
 Mr Jessop has been very zealous in my election, and stood by with his 
 skill and knowledge on the spot. — Yours ever, Rich. Steele. 
 
 On his return to town, Steele took his seat in the 
 first Parliament of the first George, and on the 7th of 
 April following joined with the other deputy-lieutenants 
 of Middlesex in giving a splendid entertainment to the 
 Earl of Clare, their Lord-Lieutenant, when an address to 
 the King was agreed upon, which was drawn up by Steele, 
 and on the following day presented by Lord Clare at the 
 head of his deputy-lieutenants. On this occasion, his 
 Majesty, as a mark of his gratification and favour, con- 
 ferred on Steele and two other of the deputies, Thornhill 
 and Cooke, the honour of knighthood. To celebrate this 
 
 * " William Jessop, Esq., elected in this and several succeeding Parliaments 
 for Aldborough, in Yorkshire."
 
 72 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xiv. 
 
 event, as well as the fifty-sixth birthday of the King, Sir 
 Richard, on the 28th of May following, invited a dis- 
 tinguished company of upwards of two hundred persons 
 of both sexes to partake of an elegant and sumptuous ban- 
 quet, where, amid every variety of delicacies, " the feast of 
 reason and the flow of soul " were not omitted. A pro- 
 logue, written by Mr Tickell, and spoken by Mrs Younger, 
 was succeeded by an abundant supply of burgundy, 
 champagne, and other wines of the choicest kind, while 
 pyramids of various sweets towered on the board. The 
 company afterwards adjourned to the concert-room, where 
 in the mazy dance they " chased the glowing hours with 
 flying feet." An ode of Horace, and several songs com- 
 posed for the occasion and set to music, were performed, 
 and the entertainment was wound up with an epilogue, 
 Avritten by Addison, and spoken by Mr Wilks. These 
 verses have been attributed, though erroneously, to Steele 
 himself, and he was supposed to have amused the com- 
 pany with pleasant allusions to a variety of circumstances 
 relative to himself ; but the humour of the raillery lost 
 nothing by being by his illustrious friend* 
 
 " The sage whoso guests you are to-night, is known 
 To watch the public weal, though not his own; 
 Still have his thoughts uncommon schemes pursu'd, 
 And teem'd with projects for his country's good. 
 Early in youth, his enemies have shewn 
 How narrowly he miss'd the chemic stone : t 
 
 * See Nichol's Select Collection of Poems. 
 
 •f It has been stated that one of the earliest projects of Steele was with refer- 
 ence to the discovery of the philosopher's stone, and that the laboratory at 
 Poplar, where his experiments were conducted, was afterwards converted into a
 
 1714.] Fete on the King's Birthday. 73 
 
 Not Friar Bacon promised England more ; 
 
 Our artist, lavish of his fancied ore, 
 
 Could he have brought his great design to pass, 
 
 Had wall'd us round with gold instead of brass. 
 
 That project sunk, you saw him entertain 
 
 A notion more chimerical and vain : 
 
 To give chaste morals to ungovern'd youth, 
 
 To gamesters honesty, to statesmen truth ; 
 
 To make you virtuous all ; a thought more bold, 
 
 Than that of changing dross and lead to gold. 
 
 But now to greater actions he aspir'd, 
 
 For still his country's good our champion fir'd ; 
 
 In treaties versed, in politics grown wise, 
 
 He look'd on Dunkirk with suspicious eyes ; 
 
 Iu a few months he is not without hope, — 
 
 But 'tis a secret, — to convert the Pope : 
 
 Of this, however, he '11 inform you better, • 
 
 Soon as his holiness receives his letter." 
 
 If we could imagine a man of so much good-nature and 
 so humane a spirit as Steele, indulging in vindictive and 
 revengeful feeling, he might now have done so to his heart's 
 content, in seeing the men who had persecuted and pursued 
 him with the utmost malignity fallen from their high 
 estate — Bolingbroke a fugitive in a foreign land, Harley a 
 captive in the Tower, with impeachment for treason hang- 
 ing over him. Still he had no ground for a very exalted 
 opinion of the gratitude of princes or of parties. He saw 
 his friend Addison, to the highest and best part of whose 
 literary reputation he had been materially instrumental, 
 elevated to the important posts of Secretary for Ireland, 
 and afterwards one of the Secretaries of State in England, 
 
 garden-house. Whether this was true, or founded on some experiments of a 
 more practical character, is of course impossihlc now to ascertain. 
 
 The moral experiment alludes to his Tatlers, Spectators, and Guardians, and 
 the other allusions are to his political pamphlets.
 
 74 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xiv. 
 
 on the sole ground of his literary merit, whilst he who had 
 accomplished such literary services to the country, both in 
 his own person and by drawing out the resources of others, 
 who had distinguished himself, moreover, by his courage 
 and ability in defence of the existing dynasty, now in 
 power, at a time when its interests were in peril, and had 
 suffered by his exertions in the cause, was rewarded with 
 the surveyorship of the royal stables. What the remuner- 
 ation of that appointment may have been has not been 
 stated, and it is a secondary consideration ; but it could not 
 have required the abilities of Steele ; and as to the gover- 
 norship of the theatre, that he might perhaps have had as 
 good a chance of obtaining if he had never made any sacri- 
 fices to his political zeal. He might naturally, therefore, 
 feel that his reward was none of the most liberal. When, 
 therefore, he collected his various pamphlets, and repub- 
 lished them this year, under the title of his " Political 
 Writings," with a dedication to the Earl of Clare, we may 
 believe that it was with no view of trampling on his 
 fallen enemies, but of drawing attention to his legitimate 
 claims. In his dedication to the Earl of Clare, formerly 
 Lord Pelham, and afterwards Duke of Newcastle, then 
 one of the existing government, he says, in reference to 
 the origin of these writings, " The painful struggle under 
 so great a difficulty as explaining with a ministry in open 
 contradiction to their proceedings, is what can be sup- 
 ported by nothing less than the testimony of a good con- 
 science, and a heart pure from avaricious ambition. And 
 these are such supports as will keep a man from languish- 
 ing in discontent, should he, among the prosperities of a 
 cause he has endeavoured to serve, live to find zeal for the
 
 1714.] Republishes his Political Writings. 75 
 
 public, of all human virtues, the most exposed to the cool 
 comfort of being its own reward ; and that which was 
 undertaken against the inclinations to mirth and pleasure, 
 out of a sense of duty and honour, to have little other 
 effect than to become a man's characteristic, and by that 
 means to give a turbulent air to all his other pretensions, 
 and even to sink the agreeableness of the friend and com- 
 panion in the appearance of somewhat supposed to be de- 
 manding in the patriot." These remarks leave little doubt 
 as to the feelings he justly entertained of the princely re- 
 ward of his services in the cause of princes. In August, 
 however, of this year he received L.500 from Sir Robert 
 Walpole for special services, which was entered in the 
 name of Mr Leonard Welsted, a gentleman holding a 
 situation in one of the secretaries' offices, who, on account 
 of his literary talents, was highly esteemed by Steele, and 
 from whom he received the amount. It was intended, 
 doubtless, to remunerate him for his actual loss by re- 
 linquishing the places he formerly held. 
 
 Among the other publications of Steele this year, be- 
 sides " The State of the Roman Catholic Religion," pre- 
 viously noticed in anticipation, in connexion with another 
 kindred publication, were the second volume of " The 
 Englishman," and " A Letter from the Earl of Mar to 
 the King, before his Majesty's arrival in England, with 
 some Remarks on my Lord's subsequent conduct." 
 
 Though much allowance may be made for one who had 
 had all the weight of power, as well as its meanest tools, 
 exerted against him to crush him in the-cruellest manner, 
 both by injury and insult, for some tenacity in self- vindi- 
 cation, yet it would have been more gratifying to our idea
 
 76 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xiv. 
 
 of his general character, and more in keeping with that 
 forbearance and lenity which he invariably displayed in 
 other cases, and for which he even incurred blame, — in 
 reference, for instance, to the rebels of 1715, and those 
 concerned in the disastrous South Sea scheme, — if, now 
 that his enemies were fallen and powerless, he had avoided 
 anything having even the appearance of vindictiveness ; 
 but the sea will labour after the storm has passed, and it 
 is not always that philosophy has power to still the passions 
 that have been lashed into disorder by the malignity and 
 baseness of others. 
 
 It is gratifying to find him turning from his unhappy 
 politics to his old, best mistress, Literature, though with 
 but a divided heart. On the 17th of December he started 
 a new weekly paper on something of the old model, entitled 
 the Toivn-Talk, in a series of letters to a lady in the 
 country. It has been supposed to have formed the sub- 
 stance of genuine letters written to his lady, then in the 
 country, giving an account of the principal events of the 
 week in the busy and fashionable world. In the following 
 letter to his friend Hughes, the poet, he refers to it : — 
 
 Letter CCLV. To Mr Hughes. 
 
 St James's Street, Jan. 8, 1715-16. 
 Dear Sir, — A paper, called the Town-Talk, is particularly designed to be 
 helpf ul to the stage. If you have not sent " The Mask," * which is to come 
 out on Thursday, to press, if you please to send me the copy, it shall be 
 recommended to the town, and published on Thursday night with that 
 paper. — Your affectionate friend, and most humble servant, 
 
 Eichard Steele. 
 
 It appears to have only reached nine numbers, termin- 
 
 * " Apollo and Daphne," a masque by Mr Hughes, set to music by Dr Pepusch.
 
 1715.] Spasmodic Literary Efforts. 77 
 
 ating February 13 ; but a week previously he brought out 
 another under the title of the Tea-Table, which was of still 
 shorter date, and, ending on the 2d of March, was suc- 
 ceeded by Chit-chat, which, like the Town-Talk, was in the 
 form of letters to a lady in the country, and was equally 
 brief in its existence with its immediate predecessor, 
 coming to a close on the 16th of March. These changes of 
 arrangements, including even the very days of publication, 
 which were altered from one number to another, indicate 
 either that his mind was not fully given to the work, or 
 probably that these spasmodic efforts were mere tem- 
 porary expedients to tide over some pressing emergency, 
 a state of things in every point of view to be regretted. 
 
 The following letters, with those previously given, bring 
 up his correspondence to the close of the year 1715 : — 
 
 Letter CCLVI. To Mrs* Steele, at her house, over against Park Place, 
 
 St James's. 
 
 Claremont, April 10, 1715. 
 Dear Prue, — My Lord Clare f (who you will own to have some pretence 
 to command me) will not let me come away from hence this night. Pray, 
 forgive your most obedient, humble servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCLYII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Speaker's Chambers, Aug. 14, 1715. 
 Dear Prue, — I write this before I go to Lord Marlborough's, to let you 
 
 * " This might have heen addressed to Lady Steele." 
 
 t " Afterwards the patriotic Duke of Newcastle. Steele had just before dedi- 
 cated to him the collection of his ' Political Writings.' This nobleman, who was 
 then Lord- Lieutenant of the county of Middlesex, had, not long before, placed 
 Steele in the commission of the peace for that county, and appointed him one of 
 his deputy-lieutenants. It was in this capacity that, two days only before the 
 date of this letter, he was knighted on presenting to the King an address from 
 the lieutenancy of Middlesex and Westminster, which Steele had the honour oi 
 drawing up."
 
 78 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xiv. 
 
 know that there was no one at the Treasury but Kelsey, with whom 
 Welsted* left the order, and he is to be at the Treasury again to-morrow, 
 between two and three, when, without doubt, the money will be paid.f 
 I have no hopes from that, or anything else, but, by dint of riches, J to get 
 the government of your ladyship. — Yours, Rich. Steele. 
 
 * " Leonard Welsted, an ingenious young clerk in the office of one of the Secre- 
 taries of State, whom Steele very highly esteemed. Welsted had, not long before 
 this, addressed to him two several pieces, an imitation of an ode of Horace, under 
 the title of ' A Prophecy,' and ' An Epistle on the King's Accession.' " 
 
 + " In the notes on the ' Dunciad,' (among much equally wanton abuse,) Mr 
 Welsted is reproached with having ' received at onetime L.500 for secret services, 
 among the other excellent authors hired to write anonymously for the ministry. 
 This idle calumny (which arose from that sum appearing in the report of the 
 Secret Committee, 1742, as issued 'to Leonard Welsted, gent., for special 
 services, August 27, 1715') was refuted on the| authority of Welsted's own 
 declaration to Walthoe, an alderman of St Albans, ' that he received the money 
 for Sir K. Steele and paid it to him.' If any further proof of this assertion were 
 wanting, we have here the express testimony of Steele himself that the money was 
 issued for his use. And we are so far indebted to the author of the 'Dunciad,' 
 that he has unwittingly contributed to illustrate this letter, which would otherwise 
 have wanted a clue." 
 
 J " It appears from this, and other passages in these letters, that Lady Steele 
 had an undue love of money, which was a source of much vexation to herself, 
 and of some uneasiness to her husband. There is presumptive proof of this in 
 the following quotation, which is happily illustrated in this publication. Steele, 
 in his Englishman, celebrates the greatness and equanimity of a poor man with 
 a tar neckcloth, who, with perfect sang-froid, was first informed at a coffeehouse 
 of his having got a prize of L.10,000 in the lottery. After strictly and coolly 
 examining into the truth of the information, he turned out of his pocket half-a- 
 crown and sixpence. Presenting the half crown to the waiter, ' It is all I have 
 got now,' said he ; ' but I will call another time, and give you more for your good 
 news.' Having related the incident with his usual spirit and high approbation, 
 Steele adds, ' I speak it sincerely, I had much rather have his temper than his 
 fortune ; for had it happened to me, alas ! I should have given it, like a slave as 
 I am, to a woman who despises me without it. Hang her, however, I wish I had 
 it for her sake.' — Englishman, No. 47, Jan. 21, 1714."
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Little of incident in the two ensuing years of Steele's life— Notice of tLe 
 Pretender, of George L, and of the insurrection of 1715 in favour of 
 the Pretender — Steele is appointed a commissioner of the forfeited 
 estates in the North and in Scotland — Delays occasioned in entering 
 on the duties — His Fish-pool invention — Correspondence in 1716 
 and part of 1717. 
 
 During the greater part of the two ensuing years, there is 
 little incident to diversify the record in Steele's life. His 
 time was occupied in great part by his parliamentary 
 duties ; and the few events that ruffled the even current of 
 his daily course are to be gleaned from his correspondence, 
 which during this period was more than ordinarily ample, 
 from the circumstance of Lady Steele, owing to failing 
 health, having retired into Wales for the benefit of her 
 native air. 
 
 It is a proof of the political sagacity of Steele that he 
 foretold, as we have seen in one of his letters to his wife, 
 the certainty, unless Providence interfered to prevent it, 
 of a civil war. Yet, perhaps, some of the appearances on 
 which his heated imagination had formed its conclusions 
 were more apparent than substantial. Neither can it be 
 doubted that the Whigs themselves, in their intemperate 
 exultation on coming into power, and their apparent design 
 to drive their opponents to desperation, were the immediate 
 occasion of precipitating the event. If any measures had 
 been kept with the chiefs of the party, they would undoubt-
 
 80 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xv. 
 
 edly have waited at least for a more convenient season, and 
 the crisis might have been tided over. If no subordinate 
 agent had been found to take the initiative, Prince James, 
 the young Chevalier as he was called, was not likely to 
 have taken any active steps himself, and he had just lost 
 the most powerful of his friends by the death of Louis 
 XIV. He was then about his twenty-sixth year, a person 
 of most sweet and amiable disposition ; but, though dis- 
 playing a highly intellectual countenance, not at all gifted 
 with intellectual vigour, and indeed considered rather weak 
 and deficient. This was in the next generation rectified by 
 the infusion of the heroic blood of the Polish royal family of 
 Sobieski. It has been made a subject of speculation whether 
 the subsequent civil dissensions might not have been 
 avoided if, at the time when, according to a picturesque 
 tradition, the Queen his mother stood with him, then an 
 infant, in her arms under Lambeth Church, waiting for an 
 hour for a hackney coach to convey her in her flight, the 
 young prince had been seized and educated so as to remove 
 the obstacles to making the succession hereditary. The 
 neglect of this step at one time or other is said to have 
 been the grand error of the chiefs of the Revolution.* 
 But, not to speak of the questionable right of interference 
 with the liberty of the prince, even for his good, another 
 great doubt arises of any certainty of its success, judging 
 from the history of his family, or whether other evils might 
 not have arisen from a race so fickle, and so extrava- 
 gant, that the two last kings of the family had been pen- 
 sioners upon the crown of France. In fact, they had been 
 tried in the balance too often and found wanting to give 
 
 * Chambers's History of the Scottish Eebellions, vol. iv. p. 158.
 
 1715.] George the First. M 
 
 much hope of the favourable result of another experiment. 
 
 The nation did wisely in again repudiating practically that 
 astounding figment, which royalty had the influence to get 
 inculcated in all countries, of nations being made for kings, 
 and not kings for nations, — yet with as little violence as 
 possible. 
 
 George Louis, who now ascended the throne as George 
 I., owed his elevation mainly to the ambition of his mother, 
 lather than any strong inclination of his own, which it is 
 understood led him to prefer the quiet of his little Hano- 
 verian court. Not so, however, the Electress Sophia, his 
 mother, a woman of vigorous mind and unbounded ambi- 
 tion, who, when the failure of issue by William or Anne 
 became apparent, set up her claim through her mother 
 Elizabeth of Bohemia, who was the daughter of James I. 
 By her indefatigable exertion she got it recognised ; for, 
 though there were about forty nearer, yet they had the 
 same disqualification as the Chevalier himself; and had 
 any of them even made profession of Protestantism, which 
 to their credit none of them did, it may be doubtful whether 
 a suspicious conversion would have availed them. At the 
 suggestion, probably, of his ambitious mother, he had come 
 over to England in the year 1680, and made a proposal to 
 the Princess Anne, hoping thereby probably to facilitate 
 the splendid prospect which had dazzled the imagination 
 of the Electress. He was not successful, however. She 
 afterwards married Prince George of Denmark, and had 
 several children, but by the death of them all, the former 
 pretender to her hand was destined to be her successor. 
 
 Scarcely had he ascended the throne when the standard 
 of insurrection was raised in the north. This result must 
 
 YnL II. F
 
 82 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xv. 
 
 be attributed, at least at that time, to the reception which 
 he gave to the heads of the Tory party, when, on his land- 
 ing at Greenwich, Sept. 18th, they greeted his arrival with 
 an appearance of cordiality that the most loyal could not 
 have exceeded. But he had been taught by the Whigs, 
 who seemed bent upon crushing their opponents beyond 
 redemption, to consider them his secret enemies ; and 
 though perhaps a wiser policy would have led him to con- 
 ciliation, his mind had been so poisoned against them, that 
 he did not affect to conceal his feelings. He scarcely re- 
 ceived them with civility. To the Earl of Mar, who had 
 been one of the Secretaries of State, he is said to have 
 turned his back. At the close of the previous month that 
 nobleman had addressed a letter of congratulation to the 
 king, expressing the utmost duty to his house, with the 
 hope for the nation of his prolonged sway over them, and 
 for himself deprecating any insinuations of his loyalty that 
 might be made to his disadvantage. He further reminded 
 the king that his family had been hereditary custodians of 
 the persons of his Majesty's Scottish ancestors when minors. 
 He is even said to have endeavoured to procure from the 
 leading Highland families a written document congratulat- 
 ing him on his accession. Either his duplicity or his self- 
 ishness must have been unbounded. But he and his party 
 soon learned that they had nothing to hope for ; and despair 
 is a bad counsellor. Bolingbroke was displaced, and, to 
 avoid rumoured steps against him, fled to the Continent. 
 Ormond was forbidden the royal presence, and soon fol- 
 lowed ; and Oxford was shortly after sent to the Tower. 
 The two former, as if to justify the suspicions of their 
 enemies, soon took office under the Chevalier.
 
 1715.] Hostile Proceedings of the Earl of Mar. 83 
 
 With regard to Mar, he became fixed in his hostility, but 
 carried out his duplicity to the end, by paying his respects 
 to the king the very day previous to proceeding to the north 
 to organise a hostile movement. He had already changed 
 with every change of government since entering public 
 life. He had been one of the leading agents in bringing 
 about the legislative union, which had drawn on him much 
 odium in his own country ; and he was now about to make 
 open confession of penitence (as he did) for that act, and 
 to make reparation by restoring to Scotland not merely its 
 legislature, but its ancient crown under James VIII. It 
 may be added, as some palliation for his versatility, that his 
 family had been impoverished by their attachment to the 
 cause of Charles I. Such was John Erskine, eleventh Earl 
 of Mar, a man of the most insinuating address, who had 
 succeeded so often in making his pliability available, but 
 who, finding that he could do so no longer, did not scruple 
 to plunge his country in all the horrors of a civil war. It 
 was certainly damaging to a great cause to be intrusted to 
 such hands. 
 
 While Mar was proceeding to arouse the north against 
 the new settlement of the Crown, the popular feeling, fos- 
 tered most likely by the gentry, the bulk of whom in both 
 parts of the kingdom were in favour of the exiled family, 
 displayed itself in serious riots, which assumed the safe 
 watchword of " The Church." In the south the Jacobite 
 faction was less ardent and more cautious of consequences. 
 In England, the greater part of the nobility and the mass 
 of the middle classes, except in Lancashire and the more 
 northerly counties, where Catholicism prevailed, were in 
 favour of the Protestant succession; and the same may be
 
 84 Steele and Ms Contemporaries. [chap. xv. 
 
 said of the lowland or southern part of Scotland. The High - 
 lands of Scotland, and the north and west of England, 
 were the great strongholds of the Jacobite interest. 
 
 There was a great deficiency of concerted plan in refer- 
 ence to the movement. A memorial of Mar had stated the 
 necessity of twenty thousand foreign troops, to insure a suc- 
 cessful issue, without which the English Jacobites would 
 not make any move ; yet the Chevalier, though conscious 
 that he could command no force at all approaching that 
 amount, and professing to his more prudent advisers that 
 he yielded to the necessity of delay, at the same time gave 
 Mar secret encouragement to proceed. Whether this step 
 was the result of an over sanguine temperament, or a neces- 
 sity he felt compelled to in consideration of the large funds 
 that had been raised by the Catholic potentates and 
 wealthy individuals of that persuasion, which has been 
 stated at upwards of twelve millions, it was unquestionably 
 rash and ill-advised. However, Mar, having received his 
 instructions, proceeded on the 2d of August to Scotland by 
 way of Newcastle in a coasting vessel, (having the previous 
 day paid his compliments to the king,) and as the first step 
 of concerting measures, got up a hunting-match, to be fol- 
 lowed by a festive entertainment, to which all the leading- 
 Jacobites were invited. An occurrence of such an ordinary 
 kind appeared the best cover for such a purpose. 
 
 At Aboyne, which was the appointed place of rendez- 
 vous, the Earl of Mar made an elaborate harangue to the 
 noblemen and gentlemen assembled, which he began by 
 professing the deepest contrition for the prominent part 
 he had taken in the matter of the union, and his resolu- 
 tion to use his best endeavours to undo the mischief. He
 
 inr..] Precautions taken by the Government So 
 
 denounced the Hanoverian usurpation, and the measures 
 consequent upon it. He then entered into particulars 
 respecting the proposed movement, of which he had been 
 appointed generalissimo by his exiled sovereign, who had 
 furnished him with funds for the defraying of all expenses. 
 He spoke of large foreign supplies already obtained, and 
 promises of more, which should be shipped as soon as 
 convenient, and concluded by expressing his confident 
 hope that all present would zealously join in a cause in- 
 volving their best and dearest interests. He then dis- 
 played to them his powers and instructions to organise 
 the movement. Before the assembly broke up, it was 
 resolved that they should return to their respective homes 
 and raise their retainers to co-operate in such ways as 
 should be determined on at a future occasion. 
 
 In the meantime the Government having received intima- 
 tion from the Earl of Stair, the English minister at the 
 court of France, of the designs of the party, by means of 
 the imprudent openness of discourse of its friends and 
 agents in Paris, had taken such steps in anticipation as 
 seemed most suited to the emergency. Besides an addi- 
 tion of seven thousand to the army, a force of six thousand 
 men, which the Dutch had promised to furnish, was ob- 
 tained, and the fleet reinforced to an equal extent. The 
 Habeas Corpus Act was suspended. The half-pay officers 
 were sent throughout the country to organise bodies of 
 local militia, and an act was passed for the prevention 
 of riots. A reward of a hundred thousand pounds was 
 offered for the apprehension of the Pretender if taken 
 within the British dominions. The stringent laws exist- 
 ing against Catholics were put in force. Persons of that
 
 86 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xv. 
 
 persuasion were prohibited coming within ten miles of the 
 metropolis ; and on the 30th of August, an act was passed 
 for the purpose of summoning all suspected persons in 
 Scotland to Edinburgh to give security for their loyalty. 
 This was an unfortunate step, and very injurious in its 
 operation. Summonses to this effect were sent to all 
 suspected persons, requiring their appearance within seven 
 or fifteen days, according as they resided north or south 
 of the river Tay; and probably many who might have 
 taken no active part, finding they were compromised, and 
 ashamed, from a point of honour, openly to give in their ad- 
 hesion against their sympathies, were, as they might think, 
 left no honourable alternative but in turning out. It was 
 following out the course they had adopted with the heads 
 of the Tory party, and, as it were, forcing them over the 
 edge of the precipice. 
 
 Urgent entreaties w r ere now T forwarded to the Chevalier 
 that he would no longer delay appearing in person among 
 them. But without waiting for that event, Mar, on the 
 6th of September, erected his standard at Kirkmichael, in 
 Braemar, with only a small retinue, not amounting to one 
 hundred men. A trifling accident, in the falling of the 
 gilt ball from the top of the pole on the occasion of its 
 being fixed in the ground, was construed into an ill omen 
 by a superstitious people. 
 
 A letter written in the after part of this eventful day by 
 the Earl to the bailie of his barony of Kildrummy, (and 
 which Steele published in his Toivn-Talh, it having prob- 
 ably got into the hands of the Government,) in addition 
 to the ludicrous and familiar tone, gives a curious view of 
 the man who was lately haranguing the nobles and gentry
 
 1715.] Failure in the Capture of Edinburgh Castle. 8 
 
 o / 
 
 on the recovery of their lost liberties, now threatening his 
 tenantry with fire and sword if they did not turn out, 
 which, it appears, they were in no hurry to do. On the 
 following day he published an elaborate manifesto, ex- 
 plaining at large the objects and policy of the Jacobite 
 party. 
 
 A very well-contrived plan for a very important object, 
 the capture of Edinburgh Castle, was at the same time 
 defeated by the most culpable negligence and mismanage- 
 ment in the execution. In addition to the prestige of 
 such an exploit, they would have gained possession of the 
 bulk of the military stores in Scotland, and a sum of a 
 hundred thousand pounds which had been deposited there 
 after the Union in compensation of certain inequalities 
 which affected Scotland. They had bribed four of the 
 garrison to their interest, had contrived scaling ladders 
 admitting of four at a time, which were to be placed 
 against the least precipitous side of the rock on which the 
 castle stands, and had fixed on nine o'clock on the night 
 of September the 9th for the attempt. Yet, though the 
 authorities had got notice on the same night, though not 
 till after the appointed hour, the conspirators delayed their 
 task two hours, drinking their courage up to the mark 
 at a tavern ; and when they made the attempt, the guard 
 was just being changed, and the plan failed. Its success 
 would have been of paramount importance to the Jacobite 
 interest, and would, in fact, have been tantamount to 
 giving it the supremacy in Scotland. 
 
 This incident, which a little better management mighl 
 have made disastrous to the Government, led to more 
 energetic measures for the repression of insurrection. In
 
 88 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xv. 
 
 addition to the seizure of a number of suspected persons 
 of note, the commander of the forces in Scotland was 
 directed to form a camp at Stirling, so as to command the 
 passage of the Forth. This command was now assumed 
 by the Duke of Argyle. Still the force he had was quite 
 inadequate, amounting only to about a thousand foot and 
 five hundred horse ; the Government imagining that the 
 movement in Scotland was only intended as a diversion to 
 lure the troops from the protection of the richer prize 
 in the south ; and had the Jacobite levies been under 
 more skilful and energetic command, notwithstanding the 
 failure of the hopeful scheme in the metropolis, they might 
 have swept any force in Scotland from the field. 
 
 By the middle of September, Mar's force had become 
 considerable, and the seizure of Perth by his orders, in 
 anticipation of a movement for that purpose by the 
 loyalist party, had been attended with credit and advan- 
 tage, it being the key of the country north of the Forth. 
 On the 28th, at which date his force amounted to about 
 five thousand, though it ultimately increased to about 
 double that number, he himself entered the town, and the 
 same day received letters from the Chevalier by the Hon. 
 Mr Murray, who, strange to say, had landed at Dover, 
 and made his way in safety from thence. Twelve ships, 
 laden with munitions of war and officers, were announced 
 as about to start, and the Chevalier himself shortly to 
 follow. 
 
 The Fabian policy pursued by Mar was perhaps natural 
 to a prudent man whose experience was not in military 
 affairs, but it was probably injurious to the cause. He 
 seemed bent upon not risking an action till the risk of
 
 1715.] The Standard of Insurrection Raised. 89 
 
 failure was out of the question, and he had. succeeded in 
 surrounding the enemy on all sides, in what he termed a 
 " hose-net." Yet it was almost a necessity, in his position, 
 that some decisive blow should be struck, both as regards 
 those who had already joined, and those who were inclined 
 to join, as the fiery spirit of the Highlanders made them 
 impatient for action. One dashing and brilliant achieve- 
 ment he did accomplish with promptitude, in intercept- 
 ing a vessel laden with 400 stand of arms for the use of 
 the loyalists beyond Inverness, where the Earl of Suther- 
 land had gone to raise volunteers. This vessel had started 
 from Leith, but had put in in a gale on the Fife coast, 
 where she was captured by a detachment ordered by Mar 
 on that service. 
 
 A detachment of 2000 men was now sent by Mar, 
 under the command of Brigadier Macintosh, an experi- 
 enced veteran officer, across the Forth, to co-operate with 
 the insurgents in the Border country. The crossing was 
 effected by taking the most unobserved route, and by a 
 feint made openly in the face of the enemy to act as a 
 diversion in favour of the crossing party. After being 
 diverted from their main design by a tempting chance of 
 capturing Edinburgh, which was relinquished, and para- 
 lysed by distracting counsels as to the plan of operations, 
 arising from the decided objections of the Highlanders to 
 cross the English border, which were at last overcome 
 after much valuable time had been spent and oppor- 
 tunities lost, they ultimately joined with the Jacobite 
 forces in the north of England. In the .south the system 
 of repression adopted in the disaffected districts by a 
 judicious distribution of the Government forces had been
 
 90 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xv. 
 
 perfectly successful. In Northumberland alone had there 
 been any demonstration. The command of this force had 
 been given to Mr Forster, a member of Parliament, not 
 because he was the most influential among the party, or 
 the most suited to the command, but from a considera- 
 tion of policy, he being a Protestant. Among the other 
 leaders was the Earl of Derwentwater, son of one of the 
 natural daughters of Charles II. They had been fore- 
 stalled by General Carpenter, the commander of the 
 Government force, in their design of getting possession of 
 Newcastle, then a fortified place. The two bodies formed 
 a junction at Kelso. The reluctance of the Highlanders 
 having been ultimately removed, they marched through 
 Warkworth, Alnwick, and Morpeth, gathering strength as 
 they proceeded, and proclaiming James III., to join their 
 friends in Lancashire, and took up their position in Pres- 
 ton, which they fortified in the best manner they could. 
 
 Meantime Mar had made a movement towards an action 
 with Argyle, and on the 13th of November the two forces 
 met on the rising ground of SherifFmuir, which resulted in 
 the defeat of one wing of each army. Though a drawn 
 battle, Argyle seemed to have borne off the trophies and 
 honours ; and such was the characteristic timidity and 
 want of decision of Mar, that when the exhausted party of 
 Argyle's army returned from the pursuit of his defeated 
 wing, seeming to fear an ambuscade, he allowed them to 
 wheel quietly round the rising ground on which he was 
 posted, and from which he had only to descend to anni- 
 hilate them. He then fell back once more upon Perth, 
 which he prepared to defend. 
 
 Almost at the same time the party in the south had
 
 1715.] Battles of Sheriff inuir and Preston. 91 
 
 taken up their position at Preston, which they prepared 
 to fortify as well as it would admit of. This was Mr 
 Forster's policy ; but it appears to have been a fatal mis- 
 take to allow themselves to be cooped up behind walls, 
 and even those such as could not be defended for any 
 time, instead of contesting the approaches to it and the 
 passage of the Ribble, where, if they did not even cut 
 off the enemy, they might with certainty have maintained 
 their position and kept the communication open with 
 their friends. They succeeded in maintaining their posi- 
 tion, and inflicted considerable loss upon the besiegers by 
 lining the houses with their troops and by barricades. But 
 despairing of doing so long, especially as the besieging 
 forces had been reinforced by General Carpenter from 
 Newcastle, (on the very day on which the battle of ShcriU- 
 niuir was fought,) they proposed terms of capitulation. 
 The bearer of them was astonished and confounded to 
 find that they were not eagerly received, the general in 
 command expressing doubts whether he ought to treat 
 with rebels who had sacrificed the lives of the king's 
 troops. Even after every remonstrance as to not accept- 
 ing the proposal of men willing to submit, the utmost that 
 he would accede to was an unconditional surrender till the 
 pleasure of the Government was known. This they ulti- 
 mately accepted, giving hostages for their compliance. 
 When, however, the Highlanders heard of it, they were 
 furious, and would, it is believed, have sacrificed Mr 
 Forster, through whom they considered themselves to 
 have been betrayed, had he not kept -out of the way. 
 Indeed, an attempt was made to shoot him, and these 
 fiery mountaineers were inclined, even after they were, as
 
 92 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xv. 
 
 they considered, sold, to cut their way through the enemy 
 and return to their own country. 
 
 While these events, so fatal to the cause of the Chevalier, 
 were occurring, he himself was delayed, by one cause or 
 another, long beyond the period at which he had proposed 
 to embark, and at length arrived at Peterhead, a small 
 seaport in Aberdeenshire, only on the 22d of December, 
 when all hope of the cause had almost gone. On the 4th 
 of February following he secretly re-embarked, leaving 
 instructions for his followers to disband, and taking Mar 
 with him, on the ground that those left behind would 
 make better terms in his absence. Thus ended the un- 
 fortunate and ill-advised insurrection of 1715. 
 
 By the unconditional surrender at Preston, six noble- 
 men, who were among the insurgent leaders, were tried by 
 their Peers at Westminster Hall, early in the following- 
 February, and condemned to death. They were the Earl 
 of Derwentwater, Lord Widdrington, the Earl of Niths- 
 dale, the Earl of Carnwath, Viscount Kenmure, and Lord 
 Nairne. Some of them succeeded in effecting their escape. 
 Steele has given some account of the proceedings in the 
 9th number of the Town-Talk. 
 
 After alluding to " the transactions of that High Court 
 of Parliament, wherein the exercise of royalty itself was, 
 in a kind, vested in the Lord High Steward,* who indeed 
 performed it with a certain air and meekness of majesty 
 which . . . could be exceeded only by what appeared in 
 the countenance of that very prince then present/' t he 
 
 * Lord Chancellor Cowper. 
 
 t The King and Prince of Wales were both present in the box prepared for 
 the roval family.
 
 i7i5.] Trial of the Six Peers. 93 
 
 proceeds to give a brief notice of the imposing and solemn 
 scene : — 
 
 " You are to suppose Westminster Hall, in a kind, amphitheatrically 
 disposed. The Lord High Steward, placed under a canopy of state, sur- 
 rounded by the regalia, carried by proper officers ; Garter-king-at-arms at 
 his right, and the Black-Rod at his left ; the peers of Great Britain in 
 their robes, facing towards him in the area of the hall ; on his right hand, 
 by a rail dividing them from that court, were seated the Commons of 
 Great Britain, in ascending rows behind each other ; over against them, 
 on the left, divided also from the House of Lords, were disposed, on like 
 ascents, people of the first quality of both sexes, which filled and com- 
 pleted the solemnity of the appearance. When silence was thrice pro- 
 claimed, the Lieutenant of the Tower was commanded to bring forth his 
 prisoners. The gentleman gaoler, accordingly, bearing the point of his 
 axe from the offenders, marched before them, so as to place himself on the 
 left hand of him of first quality, when they stood at the bar, — to wit, the 
 Earl of Derwentwater on his right ; next to him the Lord Widdrington ; 
 to him the Earl of Kithsdale ; to him the Earl Carnwath ; to him the 
 Viscount Kenmure ; to him the Lord Nairne ; and this unhappy rank was 
 closed on the right by the Deputy-Lieutenant of the Tower. . . . There was 
 a structure particularly appointed on the left of the prisoners for the accom- 
 modation of the managers of the House of Commons. . . . Their [the prison- 
 ers'] quality, change of condition, the vigour of their days, and the present 
 inability to offend further, pleaded very strongly to a good-natured and 
 generous people, who are quick to anger, but slow to revenge. The youth 
 of one, the equanimity of another, the plain honesty in the countenance of 
 a third, the pathetic simplicity and sorrow of a fourth, and nothing but 
 what was to be pitied in a fifth, the sixth expressing only despair, jointly 
 and severally moved the heart in behalf of each and all of them. But 
 when they had all said what they could to excite pity, and frankly, after 
 being asked in direct woi'ds, acknowledged they had nothing to say in 
 arrest of judgment, the Lord High Steward, ... in conclusion, with a 
 voice and air of as deep and undissembled sorrow as they were in upon 
 whom he pronounced it, uttered the fatal sentence." * 
 
 When called upon to plead, after some introductory 
 remarks, Lord Derwentwater said : — ■ 
 
 " But the terrors of your Lordships' just sentence, which at once deprive 
 
 * Town-Talk, No. 9.
 
 94 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xv. 
 
 me of my life and estate, and complete the misfortunes of my wife and 
 innocent children, are so heavy on my mind, together with my inexperi- 
 ence, that I am scarce able to allege what may extenuate my offence, if 
 anything can do it. I have confessed myself guilty ; but, my Lords, that 
 guilt was rashly incurred, without any premeditation. ... I was wholly 
 unprovided with men, horses, arms, and other necessaries. ... As my 
 offence was sudden, so my submission was early. When his Majesty's 
 generals thought fit to demand hostages for securing the terms of the 
 cessation, I voluntarily offered myself. . . . And whilst I continued hostage, 
 the great character of his Majesty's clemency, and the repeated encourage- 
 ment I had to hope for mercy, by surrendering to it, soon determined me, 
 and I accordingly . . . from that time submitted myself to his goodness, 
 on which I still entirely depend." 
 
 He concluded by an appeal to the intercession of his 
 brother peers, protesting that his future life should be 
 found not unworthy of such an act of grace. But notwith- 
 standing the strong public interest in his favour, the inter- 
 cession of several peers and leading commoners, as well as 
 the personal application of his Countess, accompanied by 
 other ladies of distinction, to the Sovereign and both Houses 
 of Parliament, all proved of no avail. His sentence was 
 carried out, and he was executed on Tower Hill, February 
 24, 1716. Having concluded his devotions, he proceeded 
 to read an address in favour of the Pretender, asking par- 
 don of those whom he had scandalised by his breach of 
 loyalty to his lawful and rightful sovereign, James III., by 
 his plea of guilty. Notwithstanding, he added, if his life 
 had been spared, he should have felt himself bound in 
 honour not to take up arms again against the reigning 
 sovereign. 
 
 James Ratcliffe, Earl of Derwentwater, was the son of a 
 natural daughter of Charles II. His mother, Mary Tudor, 
 was the daughter of an actress, Mrs Mary Davies, whom 
 Charles had taken off the stage. Having married Francis,
 
 1715.] The Condemned Peers. 9o 
 
 Lord Ratcliffe, eldest son of the first Earl of Derwentwater, 
 she became the mother of this last unhappy peer of the 
 name. He was only in his 24th year, -was distinguished by 
 his private virtues, being equally noted for his munificent 
 hospitality and constant acts of benevolence, in the practice 
 of which he spent his time and estate, without reference to 
 religious persuasion, though himself a Catholic. It appears 
 that before he had given any ground of offence to the 
 Government, he received information of a Secretary of 
 State's warrant having been issued for his apprehension, 
 on suspicion of his having secretly joined the Jacobites, 
 who were going about the country at the time. Having pre- 
 sented himself to a justice of the peace, and failed to obtain 
 information respecting the charges against him, he unfor- 
 tunately secreted himself ; and on the appearance of For- 
 ster's party in the neighbourhood, was induced to join them. 
 The extending of mercy in such a case would surely have 
 been a graceful exercise of the prerogative on the inaugu- 
 ration of the new dynasty, and have tended to make their 
 throne 
 
 " The centre 
 Round which love a circle drew, 
 That treason durst not enter." 
 
 Lord Somers was among those who shed tears for his fate. 
 Of the other condemned peers Lord Widdrington had 
 the good fortune to effect his escape, but was attainted. 
 The Earl of Nithsdale was equally fortunate, joined tin 1 
 Pretender at Avignon, and died at Rome in 174-1. The 
 Earl of Carnwath had both his life and estates remitted to 
 him, and died in 1737, at the age of eighty-four. Lord 
 Kenmure was executed; but his estate, though not th I
 
 96 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xv. 
 
 title, was restored to his son. Lord Nairne, brother to the 
 Duke of Athol, received several respites, and in 1717 was 
 included in the act of grace, and had his estate, but not 
 his title, restored. 
 
 Of other prisoners taken at Preston, Forster, the leader 
 of the northern insurgents, succeeded in making his escape ; 
 as did Charles Ratcliffe, brother of Lord Derwentwater, 
 who had been offered a pardon, but rejected it. He was 
 one of the most active and courageous of the insurgent 
 leaders. He subsequently obtained a naval commission in 
 the French service, and being captured carrying stores for 
 the use of the insurgents at the following rising in Scot- 
 land, was executed on Tower Hill, December 8, 1746. 
 
 Whilst the fate of the condemned peers was still in sus- 
 pense, and their ladies and friends were making the utmost 
 exertions on their behalf, Steele was one of the minority 
 inclined to mercy, and was accused of inconsistency by the 
 bigoted and narrow-minded, who thought they could not 
 be too profuse in their zeal for the triumphant cause, by 
 vindictiveness to the fallen ; who could not understand 
 reprobation of the offence with mercy to the offenders, but 
 who would infallibly have been the foremost and loudest 
 in their homage to those they now persecuted, if the for- 
 tune of war had been reversed. Steele not only presented 
 one of the petitions on their behalf, accompanied by a 
 speech of some length, but advocated their cause through 
 the press as well. He was seconded in Parliament by Mr 
 Fuller, one of the members for Petersfield, (who had been 
 a contributor to the Tatle?*), and by Mr Shippen. In refer- 
 ence to the misrepresentation he suffered on this subject, 
 he published a ''Letter to a Member" concerning the con-
 
 171 g.J Correspondence. 97 
 
 demned lords, in which lie said he advocated " mercy and 
 clemency for the sake of his king and country, in whose 
 behalf he dared to say that ... all noble geniuses in the 
 art of government have less owed their safety to punish- 
 ment and terror, than grace and magnanimity." 
 
 This unfortunate rebellion having resulted in a large 
 confiscation of property, a commission was appointed on 
 the subject, of which Steele was made a member. 
 
 The following letters comprise the correspondence in 
 1716 and part of 1717 :— 
 
 Letter CCLVIII. To Lady Steele, humbly present. 
 
 Jan. 10, 1715-16. 
 Dear Prue, — I have that in my pocket which, within a few clays, will 
 be a great sum of money, besides what is growing at the play-house. I 
 prefer your ease to all things. I beg of you to send for coals and all things 
 necessary for this week, and keep us only to the end of it out of your 
 abundance ; and I shall ever add to it hereafter, instead of attempting to 
 diminish it. I cannot indeed get money immediately without appearing 
 most scandalously indigent, which I would avoid for the future. — Ever 
 yours, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCLIX. To Lady Steele, over against Park Place, St James's St 
 
 Baldwin's, East Street, near Red Lion Square, 
 Jan. 11, 1715-10. 
 Dear Prue, — I am here very busy, and shall be all night. Pray send 
 me a book which is upon the Witoire iu the dining-room. It is a 
 History of Ireland, and many leaves of it turned down, and papers in it. 
 It is a sad thing I must take such pains, but you are to bo the better for 
 it, which is the main comfort to yours ever, Ricn. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCLX. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Chdsca, Monday, Feb. 14, 1715-16. 
 Dear Prde, — Mr Fuller* and I came hither to dine -in the air, but the 
 
 * One of Steele's assistants as a writer in the Taller. 
 VoL. II. U
 
 98 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xv. 
 
 maid has been so slow that we are benighted, and choose to lie here, rather 
 than go this road in the dark. I lie at our own house, and my friend at a 
 relation's in the town. I desire Willmot may come in the morning with 
 my linen. — Your obedient husband, Eich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCLXI. To Lady Steele. 
 
 March 26, 1716. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I did not come to town to-day, because I find my hand in, 
 
 and, by the help of Dymock,* shall be able this evening to finish what I 
 
 have deferred from day to day for two months last past. Lest you should 
 
 be uneasy, I send Willmot to let you know that I shall not come home till 
 
 to-morrow about eleven in the morning ; and am, dear creature, absolutely 
 
 thine, Eich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCLXII. To Lady Steele, with a Case. 
 
 St James's Street, Aug. 9, 1716. 
 
 Dear Prue, — You may observe in those excellent books which your 
 polite cousin + reads to you that necessaries are often wanting to the 
 heroes and heroines, for want of stowing their portmanteaus with proper 
 materials. 
 
 The bearer brings you, with this, a case of instruments for eating and 
 drinking, that may be upon the road both of ornament and use to, madam, 
 your obedient husband, Eich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCLXIII. To Lady Steele, at Carmarthen, South Wales. 
 
 Saturday, Nov. 17, 1716. 
 
 Dear Prue,- — Molly's distemper proves the small-pox, which she has 
 very favourably, and a good kind. Mrs Evans is very good ; nurse Jervase 
 very diligent. Sarah has every good quality, and the whole family are in 
 health beside the dear infant. I am very close at my papers, not having 
 been two hours out of the house since I parted with you. I love you to 
 distinction ; for I cannot be angry at anything you do, let it be ever so 
 odd and unexpected, to the tenderest of husbands, Eich. Steele. 
 
 We had not, when you left us, an inch of candle, a pound of coal, or a 
 bit of meat in the house , but we do not want now. 
 
 * Steele's " amanuensis." 
 
 t Alexander Scurloek, son of a brother of Lady Steele's father.
 
 i7i6.] Correspondence. 9i) 
 
 Letter CCLXIV. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Nov. 20, 1716. 
 Dear Prue, — I am here under the double severity of your absence and 
 Molly's sickness ; but I hope you are well, as the child is, in her condition. 
 She has the small-pox, with very favourable symptoms, and is very well 
 attended by Evans and her husband, Sarah, and nurse Jervase. — I am, with 
 t lie utmost affection, your obedient husband, and most humble servant, 
 
 Ricn. Steele. 
 I hope to begin my journey* the day after "Willmot's return. I opened 
 this after [being] sealed, to let you know Willmot is come. 
 
 Letter CCLX V. To Lady Stt ele. 
 
 Nov. 26, 1716. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I hope this will find you safe at Carmarthen, and that 
 you fiud all things easy there. There is nothing extraordinary has oc- 
 curred here. Your daughter Betty was very well yesterday : I made 
 her be out as I rode by. 
 
 I have been much upon horseback to prepare me for my journey, for 
 which I expect orders on Monday next out of Scotland. This is the ninth 
 day with my dear Molly in the small-pox ; she has many in the body and 
 face : they are, they say, very kindly. Nurse Jervase, with her duty, 
 recommends herself to you for her extraordinary care and diligence about 
 your child. Mrs Evans and her husband deserve very well of us. — I am, 
 with the tenderest love, your most obedient husband and most humble 
 servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 My most humble service to the widow and all the family. 
 
 Letter CCLXVI. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Nov. 27, 1716. 
 Dear Prue, — I writ to my cousin Alexander this post, and desired 
 him to excuse my not writing to you ; but, on second thoughts, fearing 
 you might be displeased, I send this, though it has only to say that I am, 
 with entire love and duty, your most obedient husband and humble 
 servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCLXVII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Nov. 29, 1716. 
 Dear Prue, — I am extremely obliged to you for your letter on the re- 
 
 * To Scotland, whither he was going as a commissioner of the forfeited 
 estat
 
 100 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xv. 
 
 verse of my cousin's. Your indisposition is a very great grief to me. I 
 desire you to use brandy to bathe your head, till you hear Dr Garth's 
 advice by next post. Betty is very well, and Molly up, and has this day 
 taken physic, which shall be continued as much as proper, and at proper 
 distances. I have a great packet to answer from Scotland, of which you 
 shall have a further account in my next. — I am, devotedly yours, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCLXVIII. To Lady Steele, at Carmarthen, South Wales. — 
 
 Frank, Richard Steele. 
 
 Dec. 6, 1716. 
 Dear Prue, — This is only to say we are all well. Among other little 
 matters, I wait an answer from you before I set out for Scotland — I am, 
 dear Prue, faithfully thine, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Garth advises your washing your head with water and salt. 
 
 Letter CCLXIX. To Lady Steele. 
 
 St James's Street, Dec. 11, 1716. 
 Dear Prue, — I have received yours with the enclosed bill for fifty 
 pounds. I earnestly entreat you not to excruciate your spirit with what you 
 ought to overlook and despise. I will write to you at large on Thursday 
 about all matters, especially the method of my journey. — I am, dear 
 woman, entirely yours, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCLXX. To Lady Steele.* 
 
 [undated.'] 
 Dearest Prue, — This is only to ask how you do. — I am your, Betty, 
 Dick, Eugene, Molly's humble servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCLXXI. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Dec. 13, 1716. 
 My dear Prue, — Mrs Secretary Bevansf has acquainted me, by the 
 
 * " This scrap is placed here, most probahly out of its proper order ; a circum- 
 stance of no more consequence than the letter itself, which is only preserved as 
 enumerating all his family in a way that no man but himself would ever have 
 thought of." 
 
 + " Sister to Lady Steele's mother. . . . She was at this time a widow." — 
 See letter of November 26.
 
 ]7i6.] Correspondence. 101 
 
 7th instant, that you are well, and very much my friend and servant. 
 Mrs Evans went to see Betty yesterday, who, she says, is grown a very 
 fine lady. Moll sat by me a little as I was writing yesterday ; she will not 
 be at all marked, but is a dear child. Eugene is grown a very lively 
 gentleman. After all this news, which takes in all the compass of what- 
 ever you care for,* you will not much regard politics, if I should write 
 any. But it seems my Lord Townshend is out, and Stanhope and Meth- 
 ven the two secretaries for England, and Duke Roxborought made a third 
 secretary for Scotland ; for which place I intend to set out this day, with 
 an opportunity of a gentleman's coach going down. — I am, dear Brue, your 
 most affectionate, obedient, languishing relict, Rich. Steele. 
 
 The machine is almost ready. 
 
 Letter CCLXXII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Dec. 18, 1716. 
 Dear Brue, — Whether I love you because you are the mother of the 
 children, or them because you are their mother, I know not ; but I am 
 sure I am growing a very covetous creature for the sake of both of you. 
 I am making haste to Scotland ; have only a small affair, which I will 
 acquaint you with in my next, and am entirely yours, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCLXXIII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 St James's Street, Dec. 20, 1716. 
 Dear Brue, — Mrs Secretary $ writes me word you have a curiosity to 
 know what bustle it was that you heard of at the play-house. It was 
 occasioned by a gentleman's coming in very rough, in a riding habit, and 
 the sentry inquiring of him where he was going, as he offered to pass into 
 a box, he told him, if he opposed his passage, he would shoot him through 
 the head. The soldier was the more alarmed at him, and persisted to deny 
 him entrance ; at which the stranger pulled out a pistol, and shot the man 
 
 * "By this expression it appears their first boy, Dick, was now dead. Eugene 
 died in November 1723." 
 
 t " John Ker, Duke of Roxborough, was appointed Secretary for North Britain 
 December 16, 1716. He resigned that office August 25, 1725; and since that 
 period, instead of a distinct Secretary for Scotland, there has been regularly a 
 Keeper of the Signet under the other two secretaries." 
 
 X " Mrs Bcvans." In playful allusion to her acting as secretary to Lady 
 Steele.
 
 102 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap, xv, 
 
 in the neck. He was seized, and several pistols found about him, and 
 proves one Mr Freeman, a madman. The house was in a very great uproar, 
 crying out, " The Prince I " who only appeared indifferent and composed.* 
 
 I long to be gone from hence. The children are all well. — I am, dear 
 Prue, ever thine, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Your man Sam owes me threepence, which must be deducted in the 
 account between you and me ; therefore, pray take care to get it in, or 
 stop it.t 
 
 Letter CCLXXIV. To Lady Steele. 
 
 St James's Street, Dec. 22, 171G. 
 Dear Prue, — This wishes you an agreeable Christmas. I have taken 
 such care as to be as easy on the roadi as travelling about this town. — I 
 am, dear Prue, with the sincerest passion, ever yours, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCLXXV. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Christmas Day. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I went the other day to see Betty at Chelsea, who repre- 
 sented to me, in her pretty language, " that she seemed helpless and 
 friendless, without anybody's taking notice of her at Christmas, when all 
 the children but she and two more were with their relations." I have in- 
 vited her to dinner to-day with one of the teachers, and they are here now 
 in the room ; Betty and Molly very noisy and pleased together. Bess goes 
 back again, as soon as she has dined, to Chelsea. I have stayed in to get a 
 very advantageous affair despatched ; for, I assure you, I love money at 
 present as well as your ladyship, and am entirely yours, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 I told Betty I had writ to you ; and she made me open the letter again 
 
 * " The strange circumstance, here alluded to, happened at Drury Lane 
 Theatre on the 6th of December 1716, when the Prince of Wales was present at 
 the tragedy of ' Tamerlane.' A particular account of the whole transaction, of 
 which Steele has here given his lady a good abstract, is in the ' Political State,' 
 vol. xii. p. 547. Mr Freeman was a gentleman of Surrey, and had for several 
 years been troubled with fits of lunacy. Though the soldier's wounds did not 
 prove mortal, Mr Freeman was committed to Newgate on the additional charge 
 of having killed a man in the country two days before." 
 
 + In playful allusion to Lady Steele's excessive attention to money. 
 
 J " In his journey to Scotland."
 
 1717.] Curresjiontlciice. 103 
 
 and give her humble duty to her mother, and desire to know when she 
 shall have the honour to see her in town. She gives her love to Mrs 
 Bevaus and all her cousins. 
 
 Letter CCLXXVI. To Lady Steele. 
 
 St James's Street, Dec. 28, 1716. 
 
 Dear Prue, — It is matter of gain, not matter of gallantry, keeps me 
 here thus long. I hope, within a post or two, to give an account of a 
 thing that will bring us a great sum of money.* 
 
 All my endeavours and thoughts tend only to extricate my condition, 
 and have no debt but that to a good wife and a few dear innocents. — I ain^" 
 dear Prue, eternally thine, Rich. Steele. 
 
 The King leaves Hanover the 4th of January, our style. 
 
 Letter CCLXXVII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 St James's Street, Jan. 1, 1716-17. 
 Dear, dear Prue, — I wish you from my soul a happy new year, and 
 many, very different from what we have hitherto had. In order there- 
 unto, I have taken a resolution, which, by the blessing of God, I will 
 steadfastly keep, to make my children partners with me in all my future 
 gain, in the manner I have before described to you. That you may be 
 convinced of this happy change, you shall be yourself the keeper of what 
 I lay up for them by quarterly portions from this day. — I am, with the 
 tenderest affection, your faithful husband and most humble servant, 
 
 E. Steele. 
 Your children are all very well. 
 
 Letter CCLXXVIII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 St James's Street, Thursday, Jan. 3, 1716-17. 
 Dear Prue, — I have the pleasure to acquaint you that Gillmore's workf 
 is just finished ; and that there are some little matters besides, which will 
 forthwith highly conduce to the good of you and your little ones. The 
 courtiers are in a very great hurry, which cannot be composed till the 
 king comes.J The order for the pay of our commission lies before the 
 
 * " A contrivance of a machine for bringing fish to Lendon ; of which a more 
 particular account is given in the sequel." — Sec letter Jan. 3, 171G-17, &e. 
 t The project referred to in letter of December 28, 1710. 
 \ " Who wae then at Hanover."'
 
 104 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xv. 
 
 Treasury ; when that is signed I shall leave the town, though but to go 
 and come from Scotland. — Ever yours, Rich. Steele. 
 
 You may be sure I mean to return by way of Carmarthen. 
 
 Letter CCLXXIX. To Lady Steele. 
 
 St James's Street, Jan. 4, 1716-17. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I have received your long letter, for which I thank you, 
 and will punctually observe the directions. I have answered concerning 
 my cousin Griffith to Mr Madocks, because you, being unacquainted with 
 the methods of the university, would not have comprehended what 1 
 mean. You shall find Jonathan provided for in a short time. Every 
 tittle shall be observed as you directed. — I am your most obedient and 
 affectionate husband, Rich. Steele. 
 
 You are utterly mistaken in your suspicion of my having borx-owed of 
 my cousin ; there is indeed no such thing, directly or indirectly. 
 
 Letter CCLXXX. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Jan. 8, 1716-17. 
 Dear Prue, — Forgive me, that I can say no more now than just to tell 
 you we are well, and am, with all truth, your faithful Dick Steele. 
 
 Letter CCLXXXI. To Lady Steele. 
 
 St James's Street, Jan. 10, 1716-17. 
 Dear Prue, — I have some matters of profit now on the anvil, which I 
 cannot be able to explain till Tuesday's post, at which time you shall have 
 a full account ; but, between that and this, little more than to tell you I 
 am alive ; and, while so, inviolably thine, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCLXXXII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Jan. 12, 1716-17. 
 Dear Prue, — I have yours of last post without a date, and shall, in 
 every particular, govern myself as you direct. You know you are next 
 week to have particulars concerning all the present views of, madam, your 
 most affectionate husband, and most devoted humble servant, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 Our little people are very lively and well.
 
 kit.] Correspondence. 105 
 
 Letter CCLXXXIII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Jan. 17, 1716-17. 
 Dear Prue, — 1 have yours on a leaf of the widow's. If you knew how 
 deeply it touches me, you would not write in so scornful and unkind style 
 to, madam, your most affectionate, obedient husband, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCLXXXIV. To Lady Steele. 
 
 St James's, Jan. 19, 1716-17. 
 Dear Prue, — I have prepared the letter for Morgan Davies, &c, but 
 they are at home, and I am at court, and cannot go to my own house till 
 too late for the post. You shall have all your commands spoken to next 
 post. The king came hither about five o'clock. — I am, dear Prue, eternally 
 yours, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCLXXXV. To Lady Steele. 
 
 [ Undated.'] 
 
 Dear Prue, — I have yours, and if I have ever offended you, I am 
 heartily sorry for it, and beg your pardon. As to the next circumstance, 
 the world is all alike everywhere, and I know no occasion for expecting 
 great friendship and disinterested conduct, but maintain a discreet and 
 distant correspondence, at the same time always ready to do what good one 
 can to relations, without thinking of what return they will make. I do, as 
 you advise, court and converse with men able and willing to serve me. 
 Put, after this, you grow very pleasant, and talk of L.800. Please to shew 
 me in your next how you make out such a demand upon me, and you shall 
 have my serious answer to it. Your words are, " the full L.800 you owe 
 me." You advise me to take care of my soul ; I do not know what you 
 can think of yours, when you have and do withhold from me your body. I 
 observe what you say of cousin Alexander, and shall be glad of his corre- 
 spondence. I have not yet had any money as a commissioner, but shall 
 next week, and then will pay Betty's schooling, &c. — Your most obedient 
 humble husband and servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 I enclose to you a letter from Morgan Davies, with my answer on the 
 back. I believe you had better conceal that. I send you his letter ; you 
 may be sure he shall have no consent of mine separate from yours, for you 
 rule me entirely. 
 
 Letter CCLXXXVI. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Feb. 5, 1716-17. 
 DEAB True,— 1 write without having anything now to say. I am going
 
 106 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xy. 
 
 to be very easy, God be thanked, in my affairs ; to throw off all hangers- 
 on, put my debts in a regular way of payment, which I cannot immediately 
 discharge ; and try to behave myself with the utmost circumspection and 
 prudence in all the duties of life, especially of being, dear Prue, your most 
 obliged husband, and obedient humble servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCLXXXVII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Feb. 9, 1716-17. 
 Dear Prue, — I shall observe your directions concerning Dick Philips, 
 but it gives me great indignation to observe that you are forced to go to 
 law for the balance of your accompt. I hope you take care of your health, 
 and let nothing discompose you, that, when we meet, we may have healthy 
 bodies and easy minds, and enjoy the comforts of life with tranquillity. — 
 I am ever yours, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCLXXXVIII. To Mr M. Davits. 
 
 Feb. 14, 1716-17. 
 
 Sir, — I have yours of the 9th inst., but am wholly unacquainted with 
 the point on which you and my wife differ in your accounts. If I knew 
 that, I should be more able to advise her. I daresay she is as averse to 
 contests as you can be, but I can make no further answer till I hear from 
 her. I am extremely concerned that there is any occasion of dispute ; for 
 I was always very much disposed to continue, Sir, your most obedient 
 humble servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 I have writ to my wife, and believe you will hear from her. 
 
 Letter CCLXXXIX. To Lady Steele. 
 
 [1717.] 
 
 Madam, — If I have a tender regard for every one that lives under my 
 
 roof, so as to be uneasy if they want for any convenience, how much more 
 
 am I concerned for my wife and children. I desire therefore, that, for the 
 
 future, I may be well assured that there is enough with thankfulness, and 
 
 my expense shall be hereafter much more confined within my own walls. 
 
 I am coming home. Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXC. To Lady Steele. 
 
 [1718.] 
 
 Dear Prue, — I write this in very great haste, being just come out of the 
 
 country, where I lay last night, with some friends, at a place called Car- 
 
 shalton, in Surrey.
 
 1717.] Correspondence. 107 
 
 I am very sorry for neglecting a post, and hastened now to town to 
 prevent the like accident. — I am, dear creature, ever thine, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 My Lord Cadogan * has sent hither this evening ; he is labouring to do 
 me good at court. I shall know more in the morning. 
 
 Letter CCXCI. To Mr Alex. Scurlock. 
 
 May 26, 1725. 
 
 Cousin Sandy, — I have yours with the accompt, upon which you refer 
 me to the last, which I have found among my papers. You will find the 
 charge in the accompt ending Michaelmas, concerning collecting and re- 
 turns, is for £313, 17s. 6d. 
 
 But I have not time to observe upon this matter carefully, so as to avoid 
 errors, but my care is about the £100 to the king. Till that is over, I 
 know not how to rest easy, but shall take a journey down to Wales to take 
 it up rather than let it lie out, so much do I dread being accomptant to 
 the crown. — I am, Sir, your most obedient humble servant, 
 
 Eich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXCI I. To the Lady Steele, at Carmarthen, South Wales. — 
 
 Frank, Richard Steele. 
 
 Feb. 16, 1716-17. 
 Dear Prue, — Sober or not, I am ever yours, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXCTII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Feb. 23, 1716-17. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I have not anything particular to say to-night, but that I 
 
 am informed there will be, within a few days, further changes at court. 
 
 Your children are all very well. I wait with great impatience for the 
 
 receipt of my money. There is forfeited money in town, but it is not yet 
 
 in the Exchequer. — I am, dear Prue, ever yours, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXCIV. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Feb. 28, 1716-17. 
 Dear Prue, — I am very well pleased with the behaviour of David t at 
 Oxford, who has rendered himself very agreeable to all the "Whig world, on 
 
 * This nobleman (of whom see p. 304) was not created a Peer till M,n 1 8, 1 718, 
 -" that this is one of the latest letters written by Sir Richard Steele to his wife. 
 t David Scurlock, probably a son of Lady Steele's uncle.
 
 108 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xv. 
 
 a very proper occasion, at Oxon. He spoke contemptibly of the Pretender 
 in a public speech, and the Proctor thought fit to reprove him thereupon. 
 The Bishop of Bangor* takes occasion to espouse him in this juncture. 
 
 Your daughter Moll is noisy, Betty very grave, and Eugene very strong 
 and lusty. We are not yet paid a farthing ; when we are I shall send you 
 down a receipt for Betty's schooling. — Ever yours, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXCV. To Lady Steele. 
 
 March 2, 1716-17. 
 Dear Prue, — I usually write to you the first thing I do on a post-day, 
 but to-day company came in and made me neglect it. Afterwards I was 
 called abroad, then came home, and Budgell,t Benson, J and Fuller, § 
 came in upon me to dinner. The two last stayed till the evening, and 
 Fuller carried me with him to the play, from whence I am now returned 
 home. Your friend Keck II was the finest, gayest figure there, and Captain 
 Ferrers gallantly attending behind her. All your family is well. Good 
 night. — I am, dear Prue, ever thine, Kich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXCVL To Lady Steele. 
 
 [Undated.] 
 
 My dearest Prue and beloved Wipe, &c, — I have yours of the 7th 
 instant, which turns wholly upon my taking care of my health, and advice 
 to forbear embarking too deeply in public matters, which you enforce by 
 reminding me of the ingratitude I have met with. I have as quick sense 
 of the ill-treatment I have received as is consistent with keeping up my 
 own spirit and good humour. Whenever I am a malcontent I will take 
 care not to be a gloomy one, but hope to keep some stings of wit and 
 humour in my own defence. I am talking to my wife, and therefore may 
 speak my heart, and the vanity of it. I know, and you are my witness, 
 that I have served the royal family with an unreservedness due only to 
 Heaven, and I am now, (I thank my brother Whigs,) not possessed of twenty 
 shillings from the favour of the court. The playhouse it had been bar- 
 barity to deny at the player's request, and therefore I do not allow it a 
 
 * Bishop Hodley. 
 
 + Eustace Budgell, Addison's cousin. 
 t "William Benson, Esq., Auditor of the Imprest. 
 § See note to letter of Feb. 14, 1716. 
 
 || This lady afterwards proved herself an excellent friend to one of Steele's 
 daughters, as appears from some subsequent letters.
 
 in?.] Correspon dence. 109 
 
 favour. But I banish the very memory of things, nor will I expect any- 
 thing but what I must strike out of myself. By Tuesday's post I think I 
 shall be able to guess when I shall leave the town, and turn all my thoughts 
 to finish my comedy.* You will find I have got so much constancy and 
 fortitude as to live my own way (within the rules of good breeding and 
 decency) wherever I am ; for I will not sacrifice your husband, and the 
 father of the poor babes, to any one's humour in the world. But to pro- 
 vide for and do you good, is all my ambition. 
 
 I have a list of twenty-one leases for the setting out £199, 8s. per annum. 
 I have not yet heard of Mr Philips. — I am, dear Prue, ever yours, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXCVII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Hampton Court, March 16, 1716-17. 
 Dear Prue, — If you have written anything to me which I should have 
 received last night, I beg your pardon that I cannot answer till the next 
 post. The House of Commons will be very busy the next week ; and I 
 had many things, public and private, for which I wanted four and twenty 
 hours' retirement, and therefore came to visit your son. I came out of 
 town yesterday, being Friday, and shall return to-morrow. Your son, at 
 the present writing, is mighty well employed in tumbling on the floor of 
 the room, and sweeping the sand with a feather. He grows a most de- 
 lightful child, and very full of play and spirit. He is also a very great 
 scholar ; he can read his Primer, and I have brought down my Virgil. He 
 makes most shrewd remarks upon the pictures. We are very intimate 
 friends and play-fellows. He begius to be very ragged ; and I hope I shall 
 be pardoned if I equip him with new clothes and frocks, or what Mrs 
 Evans and I shall think for his service. — I am, dear Prue, ever yours, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXCVIIL To Lady Steele. 
 
 March 19, 1716-17. 
 Dear Prue, — Mr Richard Philips was with me this morning, and I signed 
 the leases to which I saw your hand. This day has been a great affair in 
 the House of Commons. Mr Walpole, in very clear and excellent terms, 
 laid before us the state of the debt of the nation, and proposed a way, by 
 lowering the interest given to the creditors of thejdngdom, and other 
 methods, to ease our circumstances. I happened to be the only man in 
 
 * " If this was his 'Conscious Lovers,' it remained unfinished till 1721."
 
 110 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xv. 
 
 the House who spoke against it,* because I did not think the way of doing 
 it just. I believe the scheme will take place ; and if it does, Walpole 
 must be a very great man. 
 
 I am very well pleased with the project from Mr Gillmore's design ; and, 
 from the integrity of my intentions in all my actions, in great tranquillity 
 of mind. I contract my sails every day ; and when I receive my money, 
 shall in such a way as will shew that you and my little ones are all my 
 sincere delight. — 1 am, dear Prue, ever yours, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCXCIX. To Lady Steele. 
 
 This goes to dear Prue, to comfort her in her absence from her husband. 
 If she thinks the distance as painful as he does, hearing from him must 
 be a great satisfaction. I am sure, as soon as I have made my affairs so 
 easy as that we can be together without being interrupted with worldly 
 care, I shall put an end to the distance between us. I every day do 
 something towards this, and next week shall pay off Madam Dawson. 
 You shall have, within a few days, a state of my circumstances, the 
 prospect of bettering them, and the progress I have already made in this 
 necessary work. The children do come on so well that it would make me 
 even covetous to put them in a condition equal to the good genius, I bless 
 God, they seem to be of. Moll is the noisiest little creature in the world, 
 and as active as a boy. Madam Betty is the gravest of matrons in her 
 airs and civilities : Eugene a most beautiful and lusty child. The Parlia- 
 ment goes on but coldly ; but I hope there is a warmer spirit will soon 
 appear in the service of this nation, which, possessed of the most solid 
 blessings, sacrifices itself to trifles. — Yours ever, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCC. To Lady Steele. 
 
 [ Undated.'] 
 Dear Prue, — Yours of the 18th lies before me ; and I am convinced 
 that generous in my carriage should rather be what you call it, thoughtless. 
 As for the company I am to meet with, I shall maintain a general com- 
 plaisance, and think the sincerity of speaking all one thinks a great injury 
 and insult towards the rest of the world. I assure you, we will have no 
 quarrels on that score ; for, as I owe everybody civility, so I owe you to 
 go on your own way ; nor will I debate with you on these subjects, but 
 proceed in my own way. To shew you that I am grown a very hard- 
 
 * " This is confirmed by the account in the ' Political State ' for March 
 1716-17."
 
 in:.] Correspondence. Ill 
 
 hearted fellow, and fit for this world, Mrs Long* has been arrested, and I 
 have, upon her application, refused to concern myself in her affairs. It 
 was, I think, a little confident in her to ask it of me ; and, in such cases, 
 I think I may be as bold as to deny unreasonable things, as they are to 
 ask them. The Lords of the Treasury have ordered us some money, and 
 I shall husband it to the best advantage, to keep above this ill-natured 
 world ; but it is a terrible circumstance to have one's money due to others 
 before it comes into one's own hands. 
 
 Dick Philips has been here to-day ; and, after we had dined, I executed 
 the leases. I am highly pleased and satisfied with your conduct, and think 
 you come up to the description in the Proverbs t of the good woman of whom 
 it is said that her husband shall be honoured from her character. I do 
 assure you, I am not ashamed to tell you, that I submit my conduct to the 
 imitation of yours, and shall take you with me in all matters of concern. 
 You are to know that I have been casting about how to turn a kind in- 
 clination towards me at present into what is solid. There is an estate 
 forfeited to the king, of L.100 a year, by one who died for murder. It is a 
 thing I have come to the knowledge of by the by ; and believe I shall 
 have a grant of it to help me out of the inconveniences my zeal brought 
 upon me, and I have not yet recovered. One does not know what fate 
 any letter may meet with; therefore I can never find in my heart to 
 commit secrets to paper. But take it for granted, I shall hereafter shew 
 very little romance in the temper and conduct of, dear Prue, your most 
 affectionate husband, and most obedient servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCI. To Lady Steele. 
 
 [Undated.] 
 
 Dear Prue, — I have yours, wherein you mention Fuller, and the account 
 you have that he shewed an insolent joy at his wife's death. I do not set 
 up to excuse his conduct towards his wife, but shall take care of mine 
 towards my own. 
 
 You tell me you want a little flattery from me. I assure you, I know 
 no one who deserves so much commendation as yourself, and to whom 
 saying the best things would be so little like flattery. The thing speaks 
 itself, considering you as a very handsome woman that loves retirement, 
 
 * " It might have been supposed that this was the eelehjated beauty recorded 
 among the Kit-cat toasts, who retired from the world on account of pecuniary 
 distress; but it appears from the 'Supplement to Swift,' that she died at Lynn, 
 December 21, 1711." 
 
 t Chap. xxi. 23.
 
 112 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xv. 
 
 one who does not want wit, and yet is extremely sincere ; and so T could 
 go through all the vices which attend the good qualities of other people, 
 from which you are exempt. But, indeed, though you have every perfection, 
 you have one extravagant fault, which almost frustrates the good in you to 
 me ; and that is, that you do not love to dress, to appear, to shine out, 
 even at my request, and to make me proud of you, or rather to indulge 
 the pride I have that you are mine. This is all I wish changed in you, 
 which I hope you will bring about, and condescend to be, what nature 
 made you, the most beauteous and most agreeable of your sex, at the 
 instance of, dear Prue, your most affectionate, obsequious husband, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 A quarter of Molly's schooling is paid. 
 
 The children are perfectly well. 
 
 Letter CCCII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 March 23, 1716-17. 
 Dear Prue, — I write by your order though I have nothing new. My 
 money is not yet come to hand, and I am very impatient for it, because 
 I would shew you, as soon as it is in my power, a reformation in the 
 management of my expense. — I am, dear Prue, your most obedient, 
 obliged husband, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCIII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 March 26, 1717. 
 
 My dearest Prue, — I have received yours, wherein you give me the 
 sensible affliction of letting me know of the continual pain in your head. 
 I could not meet with necessary advice ; but, according to the description 
 you give me, I am confident washing your head in cold water will cure 
 you ; I mean, having water poured on your head, and rubbed with one 
 hand, froni the crown of your head to the nape of your neck. When I 
 lay in your place, and on your pillow, I assure you, I fell into tears last 
 night, to think that my charming little insolent might be then awake 
 and in pain, and took it to be a sin to go to sleep. 
 
 For this tender passion towards you, I must be contented that your 
 Prueship will condescend to call yourself my well-wisher. I am going 
 abroad, and write before I go out, lest accidents should happen to prevent 
 my writing at all. If I can meet with further advice for you, I will send 
 it in a letter to Alexander. — I am, dear Prue, ever thine, 
 
 Rich. Steele.
 
 in:.] Correspondence. 113 
 
 Letter CCCIV. To Lady Steele. 
 
 March 30, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — The omission of last post was occasioned by my attend- 
 ance on the Duke of Newcastle, who was in the chair at the Kit-Cat. Be 
 so good as to forgive me. We have not yet one shilling from the com- 
 mission, though L.750 is become due, nor indeed know we when to expect 
 it. I hope, however, within a few days to take up as much money as will 
 pay off all hangers-on, and to have no more for the future. I pant for 
 leisure and tranquillity, which I hope to enjoy when we meet again — I 
 am, dear Prue, your most obedient, affectionate, faithful husband, 
 
 PacH. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCV. To Lady Steele. 
 
 April 2, 1717. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I am just come from a parliamentary club, and can only 
 
 say all your family is well, especially he who is ever yours, 
 
 R. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCVI. To Lady Steele. 
 
 April 9, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — I write according to your advice, before I go out in the 
 morning ; and indeed the House of Commons sit so late, that what with 
 that, and being carried off to dinner, one is apt to run into the expense of 
 the whole day, without having an hour to send to one's best friend. I 
 gave Mrs Evans the part of your letter, but thei'e is no occasion for that 
 caution ; the child in her eyes, and everywhere else, is in perfect good 
 health. God be thanked, the rest are in the same condition ; and we 
 want nothing here but the receipt of money. I dined yesterday in 
 Chancery Lane, and after dinner visited Mr Keck, who is very well, and 
 much your ladyship's servant. Keep up your spirits, and let us live like 
 a man and woman that love when we next meet. — I embrace you, and am 
 your most affectionate, and most obliged, humble servant, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCVTT. To Lady Steele, at Carmarthen, South Wales. 
 
 Frank, Richard Steele. 
 
 [Undated.] 
 Dear Prue, — I am, as you observe, still in town, and have your rally- 
 ing letter.* The claims of the fair sex are, you say, unaccountable. It is 
 
 * See letters of December 28, 171G, and May 30, 1717. 
 \'<>L II. II
 
 114 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xv. 
 
 well for you they are ; for, I assure you, I think you both the fairest and 
 the best of women. 
 
 I have been much at home and alone since we parted. I am come to a 
 resolution of making my three children my partners, and will constantly 
 lay up something out of all receipts of money for each of them, in a box 
 bearing the name of the little one to whom it belongs. Betty grows tall, 
 and has the best air I ever saw in any creature of her age. I am going to 
 dine with the Speaker. Things at Court seem to be in a very uncertain 
 way. — I am, dear Prue, eternally yours, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCVIIL To Lady Steele. 
 
 April 10, 1717. 
 
 Dear Prue, — It is now Wednesday, and meeting with your letter, I 
 write now, lest I should not have leisure to-morrow, when our Board are 
 to meet very early. Now, as to your letter, you say I am reported a Tory. 
 You know I have always an unfashionable thing called conscience, in all 
 matters of judicature or justice. There happened, a little while ago, a 
 petition to be brought into the House of Commons from the Roman Catho- 
 lics, praying relief as to point of time, and the meaning of certain clauses 
 which affected them. When there was a question just ready to be put 
 upon this, as whether it should be rejected or not, I stood up and said to 
 this purpose : — 
 
 " Mr Speaker, I cannot but be of opinion that to put severities upon 
 men merely on account of religion is a most grievous and unwarrantable 
 proceeding. But, indeed, the Roman Catholics hold tenets which are in- 
 consistent with the being and safety of a Protestant people ; for this reason 
 we are justified in laying upon them the penalties which the Parliament 
 has from time to time thought fit to inflict ; but, sir, let us not pursue 
 Roman Catholics with the spirit of Roman Catholics, but act towards them 
 with the temper of our own religion. If we do so, we shall not expect 
 them to do anything in less time than is necessary to do it, or to conduct 
 themselves by rules which they do not understand," &c. 
 
 When I had adventured to say this, others followed ; and there is a bill 
 directed for the relief of the petitioners. I suppose this gave a handle 
 to the fame of my being a Tory ; but you may, perhaps, by this time have 
 heard that I am turned Presbyterian ; for the same day, in a meeting of a 
 hundred Parliament men, I laboured as much for the Protestant Dissenters. 
 Now for the news. Mr Walpole, Mr Methuen, and Mr Pulteney have resigned 
 their offices. Mr Stanhope is to go into the Treasury. Mr Addison and 
 Lord Sunderland are to be Secretaries of State. Lord Townshend is re- 
 moved from Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland ; he is to be succeeded by the 
 Duke of Bolton, and the Duke of Newcastle to be Lord Chamberlain. We
 
 1717.] Correspondence. 115 
 
 have got no money. I recover very fast my gouty lameness ; and, now L 
 am in a better way, I own to you I have had a sad time — scarce ever well 
 of the gout since we parted. The children and all your family are well. 
 God bless you ! Rich. Steele. 
 
 As soon as I have money, I will have Pall Mall searched for a house. 
 
 Letter CCCIX. To Lady Steele. 
 
 St James's, April 13, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — "We are here all well. They tell me I shall be something 
 in the new changes ; but what, I know not, nor do I care, [but] as it may 
 make me, with more comfort and pleasure, your most obedient servant and 
 loving husband, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCX. To Lady Steele. 
 
 April 16, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — I dined this day with Mr Secretary Addison, who received 
 the seals of office last night. 
 
 The employment of Commissioner, by the act which constitutes the 
 commission, forbids my having any other office. But I am not out of 
 humour, &c.— I am your most affectionate, obedient husband, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCX I . To Lady Steele. 
 
 [ Undated.] 
 
 Dear Prue, — I had a letter from Mr Scurlock, coolly saying you ordered 
 him to let me know you were indisposed, and could not write. 
 
 I expect more fondness, and that you say, at least, some kind thing to 
 me under your own hand every post. The Lords of the Treasury, when 
 they went out of their post, ordered half-a-year's salary to our commis- 
 sion ; and when that comes out of the manager's hands, from the estates 
 forfeited, we shall be paid, and that, I believe, will be about a fortnight 
 hence. In the meantime I want it sorely, to pay off many things and 
 keep something by me, if ever I can bring myself to that economy. You 
 have the kindest of husbands. Rich. Steele. 
 
 I am very lame, but in good health otherwise. 
 
 i:r CCCX II. To Lady Steele. 
 
 April ID, 1717. 
 Dear PEUE, — Your family and children are in good health. We have
 
 116 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xy. 
 
 half-a-year's salary ordered to our commission, which will be paid as soon 
 as our country receivers can remit it out of Lancashire ; which is all that 
 at present occurs to, madam, your most obsequious, faithful husband, 
 
 Kich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCX1II. To Lady Steele. 
 
 April 22, 1717. 
 
 My dear Prue, — I have yours, which is full of good sense, and shews 
 in you a true greatness of mind. But at the same time that, according to 
 your advice, I shun all engagements which may ensnare my integrity, I 
 am to seek all occasions of profit that are consistent with it. Little Molly, 
 who is in the house with me, is a constant dun to get money ; for it gives 
 my imagination the severest wound when I consider that she, or any of 
 my dear innocents, with nothing but their mere innocence to plead for 
 them, should be exposed to that world which would not so much as repair 
 the losses and sufferings of their poor father, after all his zeal and super- 
 erogatory service. You say well, " It will be well for them to have it to 
 say, their father kept his integrity ; but if they say, at the same time, he 
 left us competent estates, it will be so far from lessening, that it will ad- 
 vance his character." But I shall not spend much time to convince you 
 that [I think] it is a good thing to get money, but solemnly promise I will 
 no more omit any fair opportunity of doing it. 
 
 You writ to me some time ago to order you a newspaper ; I have done 
 so, and the letter* from the secretary's office also will come every post to 
 you. 
 
 The scene of business will be very warm at the next session, but my 
 lesson is so short, (that of following my conscience,) that I shall go through 
 the storm without losing a wink of sleep. 1 have told you, in a former 
 letter, that ever since you went, I have been almost as great a cripple as 
 your dear mother was,t and indeed I recover mighty slowly. I take your 
 advice of temperance, and am, with my whole heart, yours for ever, 
 
 Eich. Steele. 
 Mr Gillmore's affair is quite finished with great success, insomuch that 
 Sir Isaac Newton is desirous the machine may stand at his house, and be 
 carried from thence to the Parliament. Benson, Gillmore, and I meet 
 to-morrow, to concert all matters relating to it against the House of Com- 
 mons meet again, which is on the 6th of May. 
 
 Letter CCCXIV. To Lady Steele. 
 
 [ Undated] 
 
 Dear Prue, — I have yours, with your advice against temptation, &c. 
 * The Gazette. t This intimates her decease.
 
 1717.] Correspondence. 117 
 
 All I can aver is, that I have learned a language, and written a book, to 
 keep me out of vanities.* All shall be done as fast as I can. You have 
 here enclosed what you directed I should send for Morgan Davies. 
 
 Thus far I writ on Saturday last ; but went to Mrs Clayton's,f and 
 with some people there, went to Court, and was detained, so as not to be 
 able to get away to despatch my letter to you, for which I beg your pardon. 
 If I do not do my business just now, I must be contented to go on in the 
 beaten dull road, and aim no more at lively strokes. 
 
 Prue, you are very unkind in writing in so cool a strain to the 
 warmest, tenderest heart that ever woman commanded. — I am, dear Prue, 
 your most obedient husband and most humble servant, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 1 have directed the cream of tartar to " Mr Alexander Scurlock." 
 
 Letter CCCXY. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Wednesday, April 24, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — I have a letter from your secretary,:}: intimating that you 
 were going to see the entry of the judges, and could not write yourself. I 
 would not use so harsh a phrase as expect, though I have formerly taken 
 the liberty of that word, when it concerned a queen ; § but I beseech you, 
 when you have health, to employ your own fair hand to, madam, your 
 most obliged and affectionate husband, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCXVI. To Lady Steele. 
 
 April 26, 1717. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I am much obliged to you for so long a letter in your 
 own handwriting. I am glad you are in any way got out of Davies's 
 clutches ; there is no possibility of escaping out of such claws without 
 some loss of blood. I am trying to get out of a huckster's hands here also. 
 
 It is not possible to describe to you the perplexities into which the 
 business of this nation is plunged ; and it is a melancholy reflection that 
 one has no comfort in considering the affairs of this distressed people, but 
 as ill-usage and a general corruption abate one's concern for the public. — 
 Yours ever, Rich. Steele. 
 
 * Steele assigns this among other reasons for the publication of his little book 
 entitled " The Christian Hero." 
 
 t Afterwards Lady Sundon, bedchamber-woman and friend of Queen Caroline. 
 In the life of Bishop Hoadly, prefixed to his work, arc many letters from that 
 Worthy prelate to Mrs Clayton. 
 
 % Either Mrs Bevans or Mr Alexander Scurlock. 
 
 § In hia pamphlet on Dunkirk.
 
 118 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xy. 
 
 Letter CCCXVII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 April 30, 1717. 
 
 Dear Prue, — Yours, without date, lies before me. I am sorry you give 
 
 yourself any inquietude about the frivolous little humours of others. 
 
 There is a plain, affable way of acting, without engaging one's self with 
 
 much concern, which you understand well enough if you please. I take 
 
 Sir Thomas Stepney* to be a fair, worthy gentleman, and in the interest of 
 
 his country. That this may find you in ease and tranquillity is the hearty 
 
 prayer of your affectionate husband, Eich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCXVIIL To Lady Steele. 
 
 [May 1, 1717.] 
 
 Dear Prue, — You never date your letters, which very much perplexes 
 me. To avoid the same fault, I tell you that I have received yours on 
 Wednesday evening, May the 1st, and sit down to answer now I am alone 
 and at leisure. I am heartily concerned for your eyes. I have often told 
 you, I believe you have used enchantments to enslave me ; for an expres- 
 sion of yours, of good Dick, has put me in so much rapture, that I could 
 forget my present most miserable lameness and walk down to you. I 
 have at this time interest enough to do what you ask for Sandy, but I do 
 not ask Mr Secretary Addison anything. Gilhnore dined with me to-day, 
 when Benson was expected but did not come, to our great uneasiness, for 
 we were to have taken measures to bring the matter into Parliament, and 
 concerted everything else relating to the machine, which is a most pro- 
 digious work. 
 
 My Lord Cadogan, who is now in the first degree of favour, sat with me 
 here the other night above an hour. I should, by his great frankness and 
 generosity of mind, be rightly recommended and represented, but my 
 decrepit condition spoils all. The money is not yet come to hand, which 
 makes me very uneasy and out of patience. I think the affair which 
 Sandy asks for is to be surveyor of glass windows for Carmarthen and an 
 adjacent county. I had not interest in the Treasury till this new com- 
 missiont was constituted, but think there is not one in it that would not 
 be ready to do me a little favour. My dear little peevish, beautiful, wise 
 governess, God bless you ! Eich. Steele. 
 
 I do not write news to you, because I have ordered the letter from the 
 secretary's office to be sent to you constantly. 
 
 * Sir Thomas Stepney, Bart., was then one of the members for the county of 
 Carmarthen. 
 
 + The then Lords Commissioners were, Viscount Stanhope, Lord Torrington, 
 with John Wallop, George Baillie, and Thomas Micklethwayte, Esqs.
 
 1717. j Correspondence. 119 
 
 Letter CCCXIX. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Thursday, 3 in the afternoon, May 2, 1717. 
 I had a very painful night last night ; but, after a little chocolate an hour 
 or two ago, and a chickeu for dinner, am much more at ease. — Your 
 servant, R. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCXX. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Hay 7, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — I am glad to hear, by a letter from your cousin, that you 
 are well : but have taken physic this morning, and cannot hold down my 
 head to paper ; therefore hope you will excuse your faithful, obliged 
 husband, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCXXI. To Lady Steele, 
 
 [ Undated.'] 
 
 Dear Prue, — I am under much mortification from not having a letter 
 from you yesterday, but will hope that the distance from the post, now 
 you are at Blancorse, is the occasion. 
 
 I love you with the most ardent affection, and very often run over little 
 heats that have sometimes happened between us, with tears in my eyes. 
 I think no man living has so good, so discreet a woman to his wife as my- 
 self ; and I thank you for the perseverance in urging me incessantly to 
 have done with the herd of indigent, unthankful people, who have made 
 me neglect those who should have been my care from the first principle of 
 charity. 
 
 I have been very importunate for justice to the endeavours I have used 
 to serve the public ; and hope I shall very soon have such reparation as 
 will give me agreeable things to say to you at our meeting, which God 
 grant to you and your most obsequious husband, Rich. Steele. 
 
 L liter CCCXXI 1. To Lady Steele. 
 
 [ Undated.'] 
 My dear, honoured, lovely Prue, — I yesterday received two letters 
 from you by the same post, and am comforted from the fear of your want 
 of health, which I thought occasioned the omission of a letter. The letter 
 wherein you speak of the L.100 remitted to Mrs Clark has no date, which 
 always creates puzzles. I highly admire and honour you for your good 
 I.' induct in clearing your estate and paying your debts. Nothing on my 
 part shall be omitted to render you cheerful in your endeavours for our 
 common good; for I design to allow you to be the headpiece, and give as 
 much into your power as I can, which is but justice to the good and skil-
 
 120 Steele and hia Contemporaries. [chap. xv. 
 
 ful use you have made of the power already reposed in you. — The poor 
 Spanish horse is dead ; the mule I shall make a present of to a young 
 gentleman who is fond of him. I expect a horse fit for my own riding in 
 return. I gave Mrs Evans your letter ; her brother-in-law is at present 
 very ill, so that she cannot make any resolution. You ask about my 
 chariot. Fuller made me a present of a very good one ; the old one, 
 with ten pounds, will purchase a good chaise. Depend upon it, I abhor 
 debt as much as treason. — Ever yours, Rich. Steele. 
 
 You may be sure I have said nothing to Dick Philips which I should 
 not have said, &c. 
 
 Letter CCCXXI1I. To Lady Steele. 
 
 May 9, 1717. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I have intelligence from Carmarthen that you are well at 
 Blancorse. Upon serious reflection, your not giving me one line yourself 
 is such a slight notice of me, that indeed I will not write you hereafter 
 but in answer to your own hand. If Sandy tells me that " you are well," 
 I will repartee, " I am well," to him, without further painstaking. I was 
 forced to lie last night at a lodging next door to Mr Wilks, in Covent 
 Garden. 
 
 The children and all your family are well. — Yours ever, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCXXIV. To Lady Steele. 
 
 May 11, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — I have a letter from Blancorse of the 6th, from Mr 
 Sandy. You might have made use of the same conveyance. I cannot, 
 nor will I, bear such apparent neglect of me ; and therefore, if you do 
 not write yourself, except you are not well, I will not write to you any 
 more, than by telling your secretary " I am well," &c. — Yours, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCXXV. To Lady Steele. 
 
 May 14, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — I have your kind letter of May 7, which was a great 
 pleasure to me. I begin to think I shall have my limbs very soon again, 
 for I am in an unusual freedom in my faculties. If you have business to 
 do in the country, do it, for things here are not yet in so good a way as I 
 hope they will be soon. You must not put me off with excuses for want 
 of paper, since I send you every post a sheet to answer with, enclosed with 
 that I write to you. — I am, dear Prue, ever yours, Rich. Steele.
 
 1717.] Correspondence. 121 
 
 Letter CCCXXVI. To Lady Steele. 
 
 May 18, 1717. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I was mightily pleased with a letter under your hand, for 
 the length of which I thank you. I do not insist upon long epistles ; but 
 to have a line is absolutely necessary to keep up our spirits to each other. 
 I am obliged to you for your inclination towards the girls, and the thought 
 of taking up the mortgage. You bid me write no cross stuff. I ask no 
 unreasonable things to keep me in good humour. I cannot imagine what 
 you and your cousin can have disagreed so much about ; but she is my 
 relation, as she is yours. I am wonderfully recovered to what I was. 
 Eugene, Betty, and Molly are in perfect health. — Ever yours, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Mrs Clark has just now been here. She pleads poverty ; and I have 
 promised her, as soon as I get money, to pay her the interest which was 
 due on the L.50 which you have paid off. 
 
 Letter CCCXXVII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 May 22, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — Your son is now with me, very merry in rags, which con- 
 dition I am going to better, for he shall have new things immediately, 
 lie is extremely pretty, and has his face sweetened with something of the 
 Yenus his mother, which is no smaU delight to the Vulcan [his father.] — 
 Ever yours, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCXXVIII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 May 22, 1717. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I have yours of the 18th, and am always pleased when I 
 see anything under your fair hand ; but, by the way, I expect the sheet 
 of paper I send to you to be sent up to me in the next letter, and not such 
 scandalous half-sheets. The report of exempting me from pay is false ; 
 for five hundred pounds, " for the time the commission was in Scotland," 
 is already ordered me, which I daily expect to receive. As for your stay- 
 ing all the winter, I long to see you, and we will never part again till death 
 separate us. Benson is so busy with great men that Gillmore's affair * is 
 retarded by it. I will say nothing about my coming down till I see fur- 
 ther about the duration of this session of Parliament. — I am ever yours, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Lest you should not read well the interlineation, I say the L.500 ordered 
 mc is for the time the commission was in Scotland. ^ 
 
 1 This alludes to his own Fish-pool invention, of which notice will be taken 
 on a future occasion, and in the construction of which the person referred to was 
 engaged.
 
 122 Steele and Ids Contemporaries. [chap. xv. 
 
 Letter CCCXXIX. To Lady Steele. 
 
 [Undated.'] 
 
 Dear Prue, — If you knew how glad I am to see a long letter from you, 
 I daresay, as fantastically shy as you are of doing anything that should 
 make your husband think you love him, you would oftener afford me that 
 pleasure. When Jonathan answers my letters, I shall know what to do ; 
 but if I thought quite so ill of him as the rest of his relations do, I should 
 wholly decline the thought of serving him. I never had any thought of 
 making an expense at Carmarthen but on a fairer prospect than I ever yet 
 saw. 
 
 I have had abundance of reflection since we parted ; and in the future 
 part of my life you will find me a very reserved man, and clear of all 
 hangers-on. I find by all the care and industry which a man uses for 
 others, if they are beholden to your pccket, they are only ashamed they 
 were obliged to you, and leave your interest. I shall, therefore, hereafter 
 make my expense upon my own way of living, and my own household and 
 little family. Though my wife gives herself whimsical airs of saying, " If 
 she is unworthy, yet the children," — I say, though you talk of the children, 
 if I will not mind you, I tell you they are dear to me, more that they are 
 yours than that they are mine. For which I know no reason, but that I 
 am, in spite of your ladyship's coyness and particularities, utterly yours, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCXXX. To Lady Steele. 
 
 May 27, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — To shew you how little I deserve, or understand what you 
 mean by Mrs Bevans's insolence or Mr Philips's wrongs to you, I make no 
 answer to such unreasonable intimations, as if they were supported by me. 
 I assure you my head is too full at present to enter into what it is impos- 
 sible for me, at this distance, to apprehend. I wish I could make you easy, 
 I am sure I would do it ; for I have no tranquillity when I think you are 
 under any discomposure. — I am ever yours, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCXXXI. To Lady Steele. 
 
 May SO, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — I have yours, wherein you rally about Venus and Vul- 
 can* I do not doubt but I shall see you as fine a lady as ever you were ; 
 
 * See Letter CCCXXVIL, p. 121.
 
 1717.] Correspondence. 123 
 
 I am sure I shall think you so : but complacency and a little regard to a 
 poor decrepit creature, ungratefully and barbarously used, I should think 
 you owe me as a Whig, if not as a wife. This day there comes on in the 
 House of Commons a debate,* whether the Earl of Oxford should be tried, 
 and when. — I am, dear Prue, ever yours, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCXXXII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 June 11, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — I have yours of the 5th instant, for which I heartily thank 
 you. Your expedient of nurse Jervase is a very rough medicine ; but your 
 own kind letters are a safe and pleasant cm-e against such evils as you, in 
 raillery, seem to apprehend. I write this from Richmond,' where I have 
 been since yesterday morning at a lodging near Wilks, who, I believe, will 
 bring matters to bear so as that there will be no playhouse but ours, allow- 
 ing Rich, who is almost broke, a salary while there is but one house. I am 
 in hopes, one way or other, let the courtiers do as unthankfully as they 
 please, I shall pick up a comfortable fortune. When I said I would do 
 towards you as to all mankind, you were to understand that if I am hard 
 upon no part of mankind, I shall not be so towards the nearest relation in 
 nature, a good wife. Do not talk of love taking leave of an object ; I tell 
 you I love you to dotage. Gillmore is here with me ; I took him to talk 
 over our affairs, which I doubt not will succeed.t I am going to London, 
 whence you shall hear how the family does. 
 
 June 11, St James's Street, half hour after nine. 
 I am just returned hither, where I find all things in good order, and 
 your children in perfect health. — Your most obedient and obsequious 
 husband, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCXXXII I. To Lady Steele. 
 
 June 15, 1717. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I am heartily glad my letter, which you received on 
 
 Whitsuntide, was so agreeable to you. It is indeed in our power to make 
 
 each other as happy as mortals are capable of being. I have, in pursuance 
 
 of the resolution I told you of, parted with my new man, and have now 
 
 only Willmot. If you think Sam would recover here, it is well to send 
 
 + 
 
 ; ' See an account of it in ' Political State,' vol. xiii. p. 724." 
 " Mr Gulmor^s place of abode was at Ncttleton, in Wiltshire."
 
 124 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xv. 
 
 him ; but I cannot tell when I can leave the town, because the trial of 
 my Lord Oxford will prolong the session : the managers for that purpose 
 were named yesterday. I have been a little intemperate and discomposed 
 with it ; but I will be very sober for the future, especially for the sake of 
 the most amiable and most deserving woman, who has made me her 
 happy slave and most obedient husband, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCXXXIV. To Lady Steele. 
 
 June 20, 1717. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I have yours of the 14th, and am infinitely obliged to 
 you for the length of it. I do not know another whom I could commend 
 for that circumstance ; but where we entirely love, the continuance of 
 anything they do to please us is a pleasure. As for your relations, once 
 for all, pray take it for granted, that my regard and conduct towards all 
 and singular of them shall be as you direct. 
 
 I hope, by the grace of God, to continue what you wish me, every way, 
 an honest man. My wife and my children are the objects that have 
 wholly taken up my heart ; and as I am not invited or encouraged in 
 anything which regards the public, I am easy under that neglect or envy 
 of my past actions, and cheerfully contract that diffusive spirit within the 
 interests of my own family. You are the head of us ; and I stoop to a 
 female reign, as being naturally made the slave of beauty. But to prepare 
 for our manner of living when we are again together, give me leave to say, 
 while I am here at leisure, and come to lie at Chelsea, what I think may 
 contribute to our better way of living. I very much approve Mrs Evans 
 and her husband ; and if you take my advice, I would have them have a 
 being in our house, and Mrs Clark the care and inspection of the nursery. I 
 would have you entirely at leisure, to pass your time with me in diversions, 
 in books, in entertainments, and no manner of business intrude upon us 
 but at stated times. For, though your are made to be the delight of my 
 eyes, and food of all my senses and faculties, yet a turn of care and house- 
 wifery, and I know not what prepossession against conversation-pleasures, 
 robs me of the witty and the handsome woman to a degree not to be 
 expressed. I will work my brains and fingers to procure us plenty of all 
 things, and demand nothing of you but to take delight in agreeable dresses, 
 cheerful discourses, and gay sights attended by me. This may be done by 
 putting the kitchen and the nursery in the hands I propose ; and I shall 
 have nothing to do but to pass as much time at home as I possibly can, 
 in the best company in the world. We cannot tell here what to think of 
 the trial of my Lord Oxford ; if the Ministry are in earnest in that, and I 
 should see it will be extended to a length of time, I will leave them to
 
 I7ir.] Correspondence. 125 
 
 themselves, and wait upon you. Miss Moll grows a mighty beauty, and 
 she shall be very prettily dressed, as likewise shall Betty and Eugene ; and 
 if I throw away a little money in adorning my brats, I hope you will for- 
 give me : they are, I thank God, all very well ; and the charming form of 
 their mother has tempered the likeness they bear to their rough sire, who 
 is, with the greatest fondness, your most obliged and most obedient 
 husband, Rich. Steele.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Remarks on the Correspondence of Steele — Continuation of it to the 
 
 end of 1717. 
 
 These letters of Steele, from which we gather all that is to 
 be known of the daily life of the writer at this period, are 
 certainly unique among the correspondence of literary men. 
 They are of the most unpremeditated character, evidently 
 written without the most remote thought to publication, 
 most of them being in fact mere hastily-penned memoranda 
 of the most familiar incidents of domestic life, of the most 
 private thoughts, confessions, and hopes of the writer. 
 Never man before, perhaps, was subjected to such a test, 
 in having, as it were, his very breast laid bare ; yet those 
 who cherish the memory of Steele with a love and tender- 
 ness accorded to few literary men, need feel little shrinking 
 at the result of the unwonted and trying scrutiny. Most 
 literary men have in their correspondence dressed out 
 their thoughts with care, and frequently with scrupulous 
 formality. The letters of Pope, in particular, are full of 
 the most studied affectation of fine sentiment, and a strain- 
 ing after a philosophic turn of thought, and something of 
 the same kind attaches even to the correspondence of 
 Burns. In reading the present letters, the occasion on 
 which they were written must ever be borne in mind. 
 They are the mere familiar prattle of one who communi-
 
 in:.] Remarks on Correspondence of Steele. 127 
 
 cated the most trivial incident to the partner of his life in 
 her absence, with a constancy that might have been ex- 
 pected in a lover ; and to the unexampled economy of the 
 receiver in preserving these documents we owe it that a 
 chasm is not left in this still period of the life of Steele. 
 But, though they are devoid of fine sentiments in a literary 
 sense, they are full of those the source of which is in the 
 heart, not the head, which are worth whole volumes of 
 Popish sentimentality. 
 
 We find him resenting with spirit, but without temper, 
 his wife's occasional negligence in not writing personalty, 
 and expressing himself grateful for any communication of 
 unusual length. The whole correspondence abounds with 
 expressions of his ardent affection. A single word of kind- 
 ness from her ; the epithet "good Dick" so transports him 
 that he says he feels as though he could forget his gout 
 and walk all the way down to Wales to her. He is never 
 tired of praising her amiabilit} r . He tells her at one time 
 that he sometimes recalls little trifling differences between 
 them with tears in his eyes. As Mr Thackeray has said 
 that he paid, in one of his Tatlers, the finest compliment 
 ever offered to a lady when he said that to love her was a 
 liberal education, so in one of these letters he pays perhaps 
 the finest compliment ever offered to a wife when, in reply 
 to what he calls one of her " whimsical airs," as if she 
 thought he had no regard for her, he says, in reference to 
 the children, to whom she had alluded, that they were 
 dearer to him in consideration that they were hers than of 
 their being his own. There is indeed something touching 
 in the tone of the last of the preceding letters, and to find 
 him laying his domestic plans for the future, in anticipation
 
 128 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xvi. 
 
 of their reunion, in the way that he thought would contri- 
 bute most to her ease and happiness, and putting, as it 
 were, his house in order, little aware how soon it would be 
 left to him desolate. An obscure remark which he makes 
 in another about her urging him to have done with a " herd 
 of indigent, unthankful people," whatever it means, is an 
 addition to many other proofs that the extravagance which 
 was so injurious to him was not all personal. Only in one 
 single instance throughout this lengthened correspondence 
 does anything occur bearing an unkind construction, and 
 that was when accused of coldness, which he retorts cer- 
 tainly in very plain terms, but without bitterness, and 
 simply as a matter of fact, but which must have been very 
 mortifying, intensified as it was by an expression of thank- 
 fulness that his love had survived it. If he gave any 
 ground for such a charge, it certainly has not been preserved 
 with the rest of the correspondence, the whole tenor of 
 which is as directly opposite as possible. 
 
 Letter CCCXXXV. To Lady Steele. 
 
 June 21, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — I have yours of the 17th, and am beholden to you that 
 you will be persuaded to dress when I am with you. As for my share about 
 the brats, Gillmore's affair goes on so happily that I am in no manner of 
 doubt but I shall be able to do amply for them. I like your expression 
 about immortality, and know our happiness in next life will depend very 
 much upon our behaviour to each other in this. We may promote or in- 
 terrupt each other on the way thither by our conduct ; and, as I do not 
 now doubt your part to me, so I hope you will not mine to you. As for 
 my vivacities, they are changed into, changed into, changed into cheerful 
 endeavours for my family. I never can, I own at the same time, be what 
 they call thoroughly frugal; but my expense shall be at home, in a plentiful 
 supply of all things for you and the brats, with regard to pleasures as well
 
 1717.] The Bangorian Controversy. 129 
 
 as necessaries. Mr Hoadly, the Bishop of Bangor, has, in the sermon * for 
 which he is so ill-treated, done like an apostle, and asserted the true 
 dominion estahlished by our blessed Saviour.— I am, dear Prue, your most 
 affectionate, obliged, obedient husband, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCXXXVI. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Chelsea, June 24, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — I received a letter from you without date. Your first 
 article is about Sam, for whom you have the enclosed advice. There was 
 no danger of my being a manager against Lord Oxford, without I had 
 sought for it, which I was far from doing ; so far from that, that I had 
 not the curiosity to be there to-day, which was the first day of his trial. I 
 am at Chelsea witli my books, and, by the help of God, will, for the future, 
 avoid all odious offices, except where the safety of my country is imme- 
 diately concerned. I wish the behaviour of selfish and unskilful people 
 may not put us into the danger which we escaped only by the intervention 
 of Providence. I have been at Chelsea ever since Saturday, and have 
 enjoyed great satisfaction in my solitude. Betty and Molly were with me 
 here yesternight— that is, on Sunday evening ; they were very good com- 
 pany, and I treated them with strawberries and cream, and, according to 
 my fond way, ate more than both of them. I do not design to be at the 
 House of Commons during the trial, but pass my time, while it lasts, in 
 what will, I hope, bring in a large sum of money in the winter. I am glad 
 your opinion falls in with mine as to parting with Dymock, &c— I am, 
 dear Prue, ever yours, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCXXXVII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 June 27, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — I am very uneasy upon not hearing from you last post. I 
 have a great deal of merry and agreeable things to say, but the terror of 
 
 * " This was the famous sermon on ' the ^Nature of the Kingdom or Church of 
 Christ,' preached before the King, March 31, 1717, which gave birth to the well- 
 known Bangorian controversy. In the preface to a volume of sermons published 
 in 17.^4, in which this discourse is preserved, Bishop Hoadly says, ' At wlio.se 
 request it was commanded to be published, I know not ; but I know that it was 
 not, either directly or indirectly, from any desire of mine.' — ' An Account of all 
 the considerable Pamphlets, &c., with Occasional Observations, by Philanagnostes 
 Clcricus,' was published in 1719." 
 
 Vol, II. I
 
 130 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xvi. 
 
 my letters finding you out of order makes me forbear any such unseason- 
 able gaiety. Pray write without fail next post, if you are able. You will 
 best judge of the enclosed. — I am your most humble servant and obedient 
 husband, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCXXXVIII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 July 2, 1717. 
 
 Dear Prue, — Yours of the 25th of last month is inquisitive whether 
 the affair of Gillmore passes the House this present session of Parliament. 
 We have examined into the necessary method for such an invention. We 
 must, in the first place, have a patent under the Great Seal for fourteen 
 years, which is a thing cannot be denied. When we have this, we are to 
 set forth to the Parliament by petition that we have such a patent ; and 
 hope we shall appear to merit a longer term than the Crown is able to give 
 us, and ask of the legislature power to add to the fourteen years twenty- 
 one more ; so that, on the whole, the profits in the invention will be in 
 our families thirty-five years. We are going to take the patent immedi- 
 ately, which secures at first, and shall bring our petition for the longer 
 time next session. Benson is at all the charge — that is, the main ex- 
 pense ; but you need not doubt but I shall, one way or other, be out a 
 hundred pounds before it is perfected. All this while you are to know 
 that we are to have our charges placed in common when the thing comes 
 to bear. It is demonstration that here is a very considerable estate ; but 
 I am come to that, that, be it never so certain, I shall not act upon it in 
 my expenses till I am actually in possession of the growing profits. Ex- 
 cellent reformation ! You shall be obeyed about Mrs Clark and Mrs Keck, 
 and everything else in my power. The children are the most amiable 
 things in the world, and I will keep them very gay and prettily dressed, 
 for I grow a dull family creature. All my public spirit and gallantry is 
 turned into the care of a wayward beauty called a wife, and a parcel of 
 brats called children. 
 
 Last night my Lord Oxford was acquitted by the Lords without coming 
 to a trial. The Commons exhibited articles of impeachment against him : 
 when they came to place of trial, the Lords insisted that the articles of 
 treason should be first tried. The Commons insisted on their own method, 
 and would not come to the hall on those terms ; upon which the Lords 
 acquitted their peer. But the Commons immediately went into a debate, 
 to bring in a bill to punish him another way ; which debate is adjourned 
 till to-morrow morning, and it is possible my Lord Oxford's triumph may 
 be short. — Yours ever, Rich. Steele.
 
 1717.] Trial of the Earl of Oxford. 1 3 1 
 
 Letter CCCXXXIX. To Lady Steele. 
 
 July 4, 1717. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I have yours of the 30th of last month, full of concern 
 and care for me, for which I am infinitely obliged to you. As to my 
 journey, I cannot tell what to say as to the time of setting out ; but can 
 by no means think of the stage-coach. I must travel so as to have my 
 hours my own, and halt when I please ; for, you must know, I begin to 
 take great care of your husband, as knowing he grows a very good one 
 every way. As to money for our expenses, I assure you I will take care of 
 that, and much approve your scheme as to the Bath, before and after 
 Carmarthen visit. 
 
 I believe Madam Evans is not with child, so that you may have hopes 
 of seeing her ; but the House of Commons were at a Committee of Elec- 
 tions till twelve o'clock, at the end of which, instead of waiting in the cold 
 for a coach, and other inconveniences in that wearied condition, I bid 
 Willmot get me a bed in Palace Yard. He did get one next to St Mar- 
 garet's Church, from whence I now write to you. And now, at ten o'clock, 
 the House are coming together, the next morning, about an address to his 
 Majesty. 
 
 The Lords have been so careful of that great patriot the Earl of Oxford, 
 as to acquit him, upon a pretence of privilege, which they never exerted be- 
 fore. The Commons have much indignation at this usage ; and address 
 the King not to pardon him, that they, the next session, may prosecute 
 him in a Parliamentary way. 
 
 But what are these things to us and brats ? I am entirely devoted to 
 you aud yours. — Your most obedient husband, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCXL. To Lady Steele. 
 
 July 11, 1717. 
 
 Ten thousand times my dear, dear, pretty Prue, — I have been in very 
 great pain for having omitted writing last post. You know the unhappy 
 gaiety of my temper when I get in, and indeed I went into, company, 
 without having writ before I left my house in the morning, which I will 
 not do any more. It is impossible to guess at all the views of courtiers ; 
 but, however, I am of opinion that the Earl of Oxford is not in so trium- 
 phant a w r ay as his friends imagine. He is to be prosecuted by way of 
 bill, or Act of Parliament, next session, in order to punish him as he shall 
 appear to deserve ; and in the meantime to be excepted out of the act of 
 grace, which comes out next week. 
 
 Please to take the advice you give mc on this subject, and keep your
 
 132 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xvi. 
 
 conversation out of the dispute. Your letter has extremely pleased me 
 with the gaiety of it ; and, you may depend upon it, my ambition is now 
 only turned towards keeping that up in you, and giving you reasons for 
 it in all things about you. Two people who are entirely linked together 
 in interest, in humour, and affection, may make this being very agreeable ; 
 the main thing is to preserve always a disposition to please and be pleased. 
 Now as to your ladyship, when you think fit, to look at you, to hear you, 
 to touch you, gives delight in a greater degree than any other creature can 
 bestow ; and indeed it is not virtue, but good sense and wise choice to be 
 constant to you. You did well not to dwell upon one circumstance in 
 your letter ; for when I am in good health, as I thank God I am at this 
 present writing, it awakes wishes too warmly to be well borne when you 
 are at so great a distance. I do not see any mention of your man Sam ; 
 I hope the doctor's prescription has been useful to him. 
 
 Think, dream, and wish for nothing but me, who make you a return in 
 the same affection to you for ever. — Your most obsequious, obedient hus- 
 band, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Pray date your letters. 
 
 Letter CCCXLI. To Lady Steele. 
 
 St James's Street, July 16, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — Yours of the 10th instant lies before me. You are very 
 good in thanking me for, what is my duty, being in pain when anything 
 disturbs you. You recommend care of health and money. God will, in His 
 due time, restore me to the former by the use of my limbs, which is all I 
 want of perfect health. As to money, I am grown very fond of it ; but, as 
 you are a good keeper of it, I design your estate shall constantly be laid 
 up after the mortgage is paid off ; and the allowance for you and children 
 shall come from me, over and above what your estate brings. This will 
 enable us to put our children into the world, if God shall please to con- 
 tinue us to see them disposed of. The contest of the Bishop * has ended 
 in the confusion of his adversaries. Dr Edwards is, I suppose, of Bangor's 
 side of the question in the main argument. I cannot tell what to answer 
 you about the Bath ; but when I leave this town, my servants shall have 
 board wages, and I will take a snap anyhow ; for I must keep myself to 
 myself, and have my play t ready this ensuing winter, in order to be quite 
 out of debt. 
 
 * " Dr Hoadly, Bishop of Bangor." 
 
 t "'The Conscious Lovers,' not acted till Nov. 7, 1722."
 
 i:i7.] Correspondence. 133 
 
 I approve your reflection, from what you see in others from want of 
 education, to be careful of our brats in that point. They are all well. 
 Moll is as great a charmer as her mother, and will prove as great a sharper. 
 Dear thing, how I love you ! Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCXLII. To Lad// Steele. 
 
 July 24, 1717. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I have yours of the 20th. I lament the lamentable con- 
 dition you are in, with relation to the place and other matters, therein 
 described with great wit and spirit. But your letter is an argument 
 against what you say — to wit, that it is impossible to write for a polite 
 part of the world in that neighbourhood. The King is at Hampton Court, 
 and I design next week to go thither, with a petition for a small grant, to 
 make myself easy. 
 
 If I succeed, as I am encouraged to expect, our labour for ourselves will 
 be very much shortened, and I have little more to care for than to enjoy 
 the pleasure of being, dear Prue, your most affectionate husband and most 
 obedient, humble servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 As I was going to close this, I hear the voice of Mrs Keck talking to 
 Molly ; but she is so great a Prue, that she comes and goes without seeing 
 me, though I am in the house. But I have sent her word I am writing, 
 and she gives her services. 
 
 Letter CCCXLIII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 July 26, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — I have your kind letter, which exjn'esses your fears that I 
 do not take care of myself as to catching cold and the like. I am careful 
 enough when I am awake, but in the night the clothes are kicked on the 
 floor, and I am exposed to the damp till the coolness wakes me. This I 
 feel at present in my arms and legs, but will be carefully tucked up here- 
 after. I wait with impatience for the receipt of money out of the Trea- 
 sury to make further payments. I believe, when I have it, I shall wholly 
 turn oft" my coach-horses ;' for, since I am at my study whole days together, 
 it is, I think, a senseless thing for me to pay as if I was padding all that 
 while, and shewing myself to the world. I have sent your enclosed to Mrs 
 Keck. She came into the dining-room to me when I sent«way rny last letter, 
 and we had some tea ; and, instead of such chat as should naturally arise 
 ireen a great gallant and a tine lady, she took upon her to tell me that 
 1 did spend my money upon my children, but that they ought to be better 
 iffimodated as to their dress and the like. She is indeed a very good
 
 134 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xvi. 
 
 Prue ; and though I divert myself with her gravity and admonition, I have 
 a sincere respect for her. I was last night so much enamoured with an 
 author I was reading, and some thoughts which I put together on that 
 occasion, that I was up till morning, which makes me a little restive to- 
 day. Your daughter Moll has stole away my very heart, but doubt not 
 but her brother and sister will recover their share when we are all together, 
 except their mother robs them all of him who is, dear Prue, entirely yours, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCXLIV. To Lady Steele. 
 
 [July 27, 1717.] 
 My dear Wife, — I read your kind letter with a great deal of pleasure, 
 and promise myself as much happiness as ever man knew when we meet 
 again. I hope it will please God to prosper our little affairs in such man- 
 ner as that we may pass the remainder of our days in tranquillity ; that is 
 a state I have never yet known, but it is very much in your power to con- 
 tribute towards possessing it for the future. — You mistake when you say 
 I wish to see Wales out of any suspicion ; I assure you I design that 
 journey only out of curiosity to see what, by your favour, will one day be 
 in my posterity, if it shall please God to continue our children to us. They 
 are now all three in good health, and I hope to tell you before this day 
 se'nnight that I have paid Betty's schooling. As to the persons you men- 
 tion in your letter, I shall conduct myself towards them as you shall 
 advise. I cannot yet answer you as to the L.200 you speak of to be ready 
 three months hence, but shall do all I can. I place the utmost of the 
 happiness of this life in you, and earnestly exhort you to meet me with 
 the same disposition to be pleasing to me, as I have to manifest myself, 
 in little as well as great occasions, your most affectionate and faithful 
 husband and servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCXLV. To Lady Steele. 
 
 July 29, 1717. 
 
 Dear Prue, — Yours of the 25th is before me. I am always glad when you 
 
 write a great deal ; but do not hurt your eyes to scribble longer than is easy 
 
 to you. Your kind expression is the most welcome aud pleasing thing which 
 
 could possibly arrive at me. — Mr Glanvill* of the Treasury asked me the 
 
 * " William GlanviU, Esq., one of the clerks of the Treasury, and receiver of the 
 revenues of the First-fruits office. He died in the January following, and was 
 buried at Wooton in Surrey, where the following concise epitaph, dictated by him- 
 self, preserves his memory :—
 
 1717.] Correspondence. 135 
 
 other day " how my wonderful girl did ?" There is, it seems, a lady of 
 his acquaintance who visits Betty at school, and cries her up for a greater 
 wit than her father — that is not much — but than her mother either. — I am 
 every day walking about the offices to get our salaries paid, that I might 
 go into the country, particularly the Bath, whence you shall direct me 
 further — that is, command my motions. But, if I find my limbs easy to 
 me, 1 believe I shall vigorously pursue my journey to the dearest of 
 women to the most affectionate of men. — Poor, dear, angry, pleased, pretty, 
 witty, silly, everything Prue, yours ever, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCXLVI. To Lady Steele. 
 
 [July 31, 1717.] 
 My dear "Wife, — Yours of the 27th came to hand. I am very far from 
 being insincere in my resolves about parting with insignificant people. I 
 am ready to burst with indignation against my own folly, and melt with 
 gratitude for your goodness in bearing so long as you have. I am in pur- 
 gatory till it is otherwise, and am really in danger of falling into the con- 
 trary extreme of being too near and reserved. God Almighty grant we 
 may meet together in such dispositions as to enjoy with our little ones 
 the only true pleasures of religion and virtue. — Yours ever, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCXLVII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 St Jameis Street, Aug. 3, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — I have yours, wherein you dissuade me from Wales, and 
 tell me you hear I am ordered for Scotland. Mine of Saturday is on that 
 subject. — I come now from the most disagreeable place in the world, a 
 great man's table, and am unfit for writing, &c, but will be very long on 
 this affair on Thursday. — Your most obsequious husband and most humble 
 servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 ' (Vicesimo secundo die Januarh,) 
 Anno salutis reparatse, 
 (MDCCXVII.) 
 Hie sitte fuerunt reliquiae, *. 
 
 GULIELMI CLAN VI LL. 
 Requicscant donee veniat Rcderuptor.' 
 The rubstance of his charitable will may be seen in Aubrey's ' Survey/ vol. ii. 
 p. \\L"
 
 136 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xvi. 
 
 Letter CCCXLVIII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Aug. 3, 1717. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I am going to Hampton Court, where the King now is, to 
 solicit some matters relating to our commission. I give a thousand thou- 
 sand thanks for your very pretty and very kind letter of the 29th of last 
 month. Forgive me that I am in haste, with a steadfast resolution in what 
 you are so kind as to approve with so much affection. — I remain your most 
 affectionate husband and most obedient, humble servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCXLIX. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Aug. 9, 1717. 
 
 My dear Wife, — Yours of the 4th is full of that natural terror you have 
 upon you by the apprehensions of thunder. There is no talking away such 
 fears. I earnestly recommend you to the protection of God, under that 
 and all other amazement and- failing of spirit. I take all the measures I 
 am able to be a comfort to you, as you are a very great one to me ; for I 
 indeed, from reason and reflection, as well as tenderness and passion, take 
 you for the best of women. How happy shall we be when we are out of 
 debt, to have nothing to do but to please and exhilarate each other, and 
 educate our children in the love of that God who made us their parents ! 
 The poor little things seem (as far as my partiality will let me judge) to 
 have very good endowments. I hope we shall live to see these talents im- 
 proved. 
 
 We have not had any thunder at all in these parts. God preserve you 
 to your family, and, dear Moll, your most affectionate husband and most 
 obedient servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCL. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Aug. 17, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — I am in the utmost concern to find you so very uneasy as 
 you are in the country. I am confident if you had such a fellow as Dy- 
 mock, whom you might command, it would be better with you, and you 
 might be mistress of your estate as absolutely as you are of, dear Prue, 
 your most obsequious husband and servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCLI. To Lady Steele. 
 
 [Aug. 24, 1717.] 
 
 Dear Prue, — I have yours of the 19th. I have done about the mention 
 
 of Dvmock, and believe you are in the right. The other circumstance to
 
 i7i7.] Correspondence. 137 
 
 be considered in your letter is about removing. You say I did not tell 
 you I bad resolved it wben you left tbe town. I did not myself know it 
 tben ; but your instructions to me were, Pall Mall, St James's Street, Ger- 
 ard Street, or a place near a cburcb, wbicb last you will bave. I am con- 
 fident, daily intelligence of wbat passes at tbe playbouse will be some 
 bundreds in my way ; and money is tbe main thing : get I always could, 
 but now I will get it and keep it. Your affair is to make and keep your- 
 self cheerful ; you shall have nothing to do but to enjoy — it shall be my 
 part to labour and get. 
 
 I have had much struggle by reason of ill payments, and unreasonable, 
 hasty, severe people ; among tbe rest that hog, Lady Vandeput. I have 
 paid her to the end of last quarter, and bave given her warning, and can 
 remove any time between this and quarter-day without paying more than 
 this quarter. 
 
 I shall on Michaelmas-day have L.533 due to me. If I can find means 
 to have that advanced, I will pay off tbe coach-horses quite, and have no 
 charge of equipage of any kind till we are together again in London. 
 
 How can you let your spirits sink so as to mind what people say whom 
 you do not esteem '\ Be yourself, and reserve your best self for, dear Prue, 
 yours ever, Rich. Steele. 
 
 I go to-morrow to Tunbridge, w T ith Dr Garth, to visit Lady Marlborough 
 and the Duke ; * so perhaps you may not have a letter by Tuesday's post, 
 for I fear I shall not return till Wednesday. 
 
 Letter CCCLII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 [Aug. 28, 1717.] 
 
 Dear Prue, — I returned last night from Tunbridge, whither my last 
 told you I was going on Sunday morning, to be back on Wednesday night, 
 which I did accordingly, and found yours of the 22d and that of the 24th. 
 Yours, 22d, speaks again of Dymock. I give that matter up, and believe 
 you in the right. Yours, 24th, concerning Mrs Philips ; I lament the poor 
 lady's fate, and share in the uneasiness the reflection upon it gives yon. 
 Pray do not give way to fancies about your health, but bear up and expect 
 good days, — negligent of this world as to its duration, careful as to its un- 
 certainty. Tbe enclosed letter I send you, to shew you a present difficulty 
 I labour under, and shall be determined. 
 
 * " Who had, in the December preceding:, been seized with an apoplexy, which, 
 though by the skill of Dr (Jarth it was for some time palliated, impaired his 
 senses, and at length terminated in a total decay and his dissolution. His Grace, 
 however, had, after the year 1717, some lucid intervals."
 
 138 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xvi. 
 
 When the Commissioners parted, they resolved to meet at Edinburgh 
 on the 10th of the next month. But that I am not able to do, for many- 
 reasons. The gentleman who writes the enclosed, Sir Harry Houghton, 
 will be ready to relieve me the middle of November, provided I hasten 
 thither now ; if not, I must stay till the latter end of January. The stay- 
 ing in Scotland till then would break all my measures. If I followed my 
 own inclinations, I should go to Wales, though I stayed but two days, and 
 cross the country into the Lancashire road. I got on horseback at Tun- 
 bridge, and am confident I can ride thirty miles a day with ease ; however, 
 I design to take the method you propose of a chaise. Suppose I should 
 bring Madam Clark down with me, only to attend your journey ; it would, 
 I think, be right. Your opinion of these great points, next post, will be 
 very welcome. Your daughter Betty, who is here two or three days for 
 the holidays of Bartholomew-tide, desires to know whether I am writing to 
 you or not ; if I am, she desires her duty. Molly cannot endure any kind- 
 ness I shew this visitant, and I am not a little delighted to see a young 
 lady jealous of my favour. If you and I were together, and all our chil- 
 dren with us, I should never be a leisure moment out of my own house. 
 
 I am resolved, God willing, to have it so ; and, for the future, even travel 
 with my whole family. I will get the better of you in this matter ; and 
 you must submit to have me fond of you and yours, at what place and in 
 what way I think fit. This is the harshest piece of arbitrary power I will 
 ever be guilty of. — Yours ever, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCLIII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 [ Undated] 
 
 Dear Prue, — I do not know how to give you an account of my present 
 prospects ; but can only say that the Commissioners of Scotland demand 
 me there with so much impatience, that go I must. However, it is less 
 painful to me, because Benson is now in town, and will take care, in my 
 absence, of the greatest concern of all, which is now brought to perfec- 
 tion.* If I can value myself upon the half-year's pay already due to me, 
 I shall leave the town without any murmur against me. God send us a 
 happy meeting, and that the rest of our days may be free from debt. — I 
 am, faithfully, affectionately yours, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCLIV. To Lady Steele. 
 
 [ Undated.'] 
 
 Dear Prue, — The last I received from you, which was last night, had 
 
 <■• The Fishpool."
 
 1717.] Correspondence. 139 
 
 no date. It is indeed, as you observe, a strange kind of life we lead, and 
 the separation is painful to me for one reason more than it is to you. 
 
 If you think fit to go to the Bath, I cannot imagine but a woman of your 
 estate will find friends enough to raise as much money as will carry you 
 thither. 
 
 I alter the manner of taking my journey every time I think of it. My 
 present disposition is, to borrow what they call a post-chaise of the Duke 
 of Roxborough. It is drawn by one horse, runs on two wheels, and is led 
 by a servant riding by. This rider and leader is to be Mr Willmot, for- 
 merly a carrier, who answers for managing on a road to perfection, by 
 keeping tracks and the like. I think also at present to be off my new 
 house, and let things be as they are till we meet, when you shall choose 
 for yourself a house ; which I will like because you like it. 
 
 As to your desire of contriving plenty of money, I have made a bargain 
 with our paymaster for so much, whether it is come out of the Treasury, 
 to pay always within ten days of quarter-day from Christmas next, so that 
 we will not want any more. I shall contrive also to have a quarter before- 
 hand, and never let family tick more for victuals, clothes, or rent. I know 
 this is better talk to you than if it were a paper of wit written by your 
 beloved Cowley. But all shall, God willing, be punctually performed by, 
 dear Prue, your most obsequiuus husband and most humble servant, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCLV. To Lady Steele. 
 
 [Hampton Court, Saturday, Aug. 31, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — A man of quality, going to town, waits to take this with 
 him, so that I cannot say more till Tuesday. — Yours ever, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCLV1. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Hampton Court, Aug. 31, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — I wish you would once say you would like a thing 
 because I like it. I know not whether what I have taken is to be called 
 in a court. It is a fore-door, at which a coach can set down at the very 
 threshold, in Hart Street, Covent Garden. I have taken no lease, and can 
 part with it when I please to Mr Wilks,* who designs to buy it of the land- 
 lord. As to all other matters, I am contriving for the best. You talk of 
 the cheapest way, &c, to get to town. I beg of you to be easy in such 
 
 Then one of the managers of Drury Lane Theatre."
 
 140 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xvi= 
 
 points ; you shall have everything your heart can wish, in the reach of a 
 moderate fortune. Pray be contented with laying up all your estate, 
 which I will enable you to do ; for you shall be at no manner of charge 
 on anything in nature, for yourself, children, or servants, and they shall be 
 better provided than any other family in England, for I shall turn my 
 expense and delight all that way. Therefore, in the name of God, have 
 done with talk of money, and do not let me lose the right I have in a 
 woman of wit and beauty, by eternally turning herself into a dun — for- 
 give the comparison. When my heart is fixed to think of you as the 
 object of love, esteem, and friendship, and all that is soft, it is in a 
 moment turned into sorrow and anxiety, to find ways to make you con- 
 tented about trash and dirt. Pray let it be otherwise ; till you do, a 
 thousand good qualities in you are (like a miser's wealth) mine without 
 enjoyment. Your son grows a lusty boy, and is your servant, as is his 
 father most heartily. Rich. Steele. 
 
 I writ to you a note to-day before, by one going to town, and write 
 again, having occasion to send Willmot on other business. 
 
 Letter CCCLVII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Hampton Court, Sept. 12, 1717. 
 
 Dear Prue, — Willmot brought me, yesterday, yours of the 2d and 5th 
 instant. The first determines my Scotch journey before I see Wales. I 
 shall take your advice in the manner of it, if I cannot yet do better ; but I 
 may possibly join with two or three gentlemen, and hire a coach for our- 
 selves. You may depend upon it, I will take care of myself, now you say 
 you value me. 
 
 I had altered my design of removing, for fear you should not like the 
 house, and should have given a sum to be off ; but Lady Vandeput has 
 sent me word she has let the house, therefore I must go. 
 
 Yours of the 5th imports only that you are gone to Blancorse, bidding 
 me take care of my health, and ending "yours entirely." This last 
 phrase is easy to utter at this distance, but I fear, were we together, I 
 should have you at the same coy tricks. But if I am, by the blessing of 
 God, in as good health and as good plight as at present, when we meet I 
 must banish all these for ever. — For ever yours, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Since I writ the above, I am to thank you for the receipt of a third 
 letter, dated the 5th, from Blancorse. I have before said that I cannot 
 help going to the house now, for Madam Vandeput has another tenant. 
 But you shall do what you will, stay or leave it, when you have seen it. — 
 Yours, R. S.
 
 1717.] Correspondence. 141 
 
 Letter CCCLVIII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Hampton Court, Sept. 14, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — You hear from me so often from this place that I fear you 
 think I am become, what you mortally hate, a courtier. But, being obliged 
 to defer my journey for some days, I have taken it into my head to spend 
 that little wit and humour which they say I have, rather in the company 
 of the greatest persons in the world, (who, if they do me no other good, are 
 cheaper conversation,) than with such from whom I can neither reap expe- 
 rience nor any other valuable thing, and by whom I daily impoverish my- 
 self. Madam Vandeput has thoroughly nettled me ; but, as she is of the 
 fair sex, I shall not make answer to her usage in word or deed, but go to 
 town on Monday, and move from her house that week, and towards Scot- 
 land the week after, so as to be at Edinburgh the beginning of October. 
 Sir Harry Houghton has again writ me word he will relieve me when I let 
 him know my business requires my return to London. — Yours ever, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCLIX. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Sept. 18, 1717. 
 Dear Pruf, — Yours of the 15th of September tells me you have got the 
 amusement of the gout. We must, in all cases, look upon everything in 
 the most hopeful light, and not put the worst upon accidents. If women 
 are instigated .... as men when they are gouty, we shall have odd 
 time of it ; and you will, in your heart at least, be tractable to me. We 
 shall be rich, and we must take the distemper peculiar to that circumstance 
 in good part. You see I obey your orders, and do not write peevishly, 
 though I cannot but be out of humour at losing so delicious a morsel as 
 your ladyship by frequent incapacities, as you will be in if this disease 
 should frequently visit you. Gillmore's project* is certain to succeed, and 
 I bear the present, from the prospect of the future, with an equal mind. — 
 I am, madam, your ladyship's most obliged husband and most obedient, 
 humble servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCLX. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Sept. 20, 1717. 
 My dear Prue, — I have yours of the 10th, and am heartily troubled that 
 we share in a new calamity — to wit, having the samejlistemper.t Pray 
 take care of yourself, and you will find that we shall be in great plenty 
 
 See letter of June 11th. -|- " The gout " — see preceding letter.
 
 142 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xvi. 
 
 before another year turns round. My dear wife, preserve yourself for hirn 
 that sincerely loves you, and to be an example to your little ones of 
 religion and virtue. If it please God to bless us together with life and 
 health, we will live a life of piety and cheerful virtue. Your daughter 
 Bess gives her duty to you, and says she will be your comfort, but she is 
 very sorry you are afflicted with the gout. The brats, my girls, stand on 
 each side the table, and Molly says that what I am writing now is about 
 her new coat. Bess is with me till she has new clothes. Miss Moll has 
 taken upon her to hold the sand-box, and is so impertinent in her office, 
 that I cannot write more. But you are to take this letter as from your 
 three best friends, 
 
 Bess, Moll, and their Father. 
 
 Eugene was very well this morning. 
 
 Moll bids me tell you that she fell down just now, and did not hurt 
 herself. 
 
 Betty and Moll give their service to Sam and Myrtle. 
 
 Letter CCCLXI. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Sept. 24, 1717. 
 
 Dear Prue,- — I am still in the house at St James's Street, but shall leave 
 it on Thursday, if I can despatch the business I expect to do to-morrow. 
 I do hereby promise you never, directly or indirectly, to have anything to 
 do with the Court ; for I am convinced there is nothing to be done with 
 those poor creatures called great men, but by an idolatry towards them 
 which it is below the spirit of an honest, free, or religious man to pay. 
 
 This, I hope, you will take for good news, for it brings my thoughts and 
 cares into a narrower compass, and is what you have been ever persuading 
 me to. My own studies at the theatre, Gillmore, &c, will amply do any- 
 thing I can form to myself, without stooping to servilities. I have some 
 reason to expect that the Royal Family itself would be glad to favour me, 
 but there are many obstacles between poor me and them. 
 
 Now, if I have health, which, by the blessing of God, increases to a 
 comfortable degree, this resolution of throwing away all pretensions from 
 the Court may, perhaps, fortify me to be the more useful to my king and 
 country in Parliament, and everywhere else. The children, God be thanked, 
 are all well. Now let me answer to what you say, that I have not expressed 
 anything about a desire of our meeting again. There is nothing upon 
 earth I wish so much, provided always that you will be what you ought to 
 be to me, . . . and that you will have the children in the house with 
 us, for I am come to take great delight in them. When I return from 
 Scotland, we will never part more. — I am, with the sincerest affection, 
 your obsequious husband and obedient servant, Rich. Steele.
 
 1717.] Correspondence. 143 
 
 Letter CCCLXII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 [Sept. 28, 1717.] 
 Dear Prue, — I have your agreeable letter of the 23d instant ; the first 
 time you ever so much as alluded to anything that way. My dear wife, 
 let us strive to improve and recommend our persons to each other. As 
 for the L.100 a quarter, I have secured it, during this commission, from 
 Christmas next ; for I have agreed with a paymaster to let me have my 
 salary ten days after the quarter shall become due ; and have provided that 
 this will be having a quarter beforehand, for I shall be supported in Scot- 
 land by what is already due, and not what is growing due. When we once 
 come to endeavour to please each other, we shall succeed, and be always 
 in good humour. The brats are all well ; and I am ever truly thine, 
 
 Eich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCLXIII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Sept. 30, 1717. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I am sorry you have spent your time so as that you are 
 at a loss for credit enough to bring you from a place you dislike. I have 
 told you that I cannot pay a quarter beforehand till Christmas ; but from 
 that instant, I think we shall be in as much plenty as any family in Eng- 
 land. Gillmore* is an inestimable jewel; he is now with his family at 
 Nettleton, within eight miles of the Bath, but has this post sent me a 
 letter, in which I find certain proof of the most useful work in the world. 
 
 The commission in Scotland stands still for want of me at Edinburgh. 
 It is necessary there should be four there, and there are now but two ; 
 three others halt on the road, and will not go forward till I have passed 
 by York. 
 
 I have, therefore, taken places in the York coach for Monday next. 
 I shall, I hope, be able to send you word, the post before I leave the town, 
 that all things are left in a comfortable way. — I am, dear Prue, your most 
 obsequious husband and most humble servant, R. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCLXIV. To Lady Steele. 
 
 St James's Street, Oct. 3, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — I have yours. As to the incivilities and the like, I wish 
 I had known they were so great a degree sooner, I would have come and 
 pi r.suaded you to remove where you might have been mistress ; and it is 
 a jest, for one who has of their own, to be uneasy for want of changing 
 place. 
 
 See p. 141 and note.
 
 144 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xvi. 
 
 I fear I shall be detained here a day or two longer than I intended, for 
 want of money ; bnt in all things I will go as near as I can to your de- 
 mands. I shall not have L.100 to lay down till Christmas. — Yours, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCLXV. To Lady Steele. 
 
 [Oct. 5, 1717.] 
 
 Dear Prue, — Yours of the 30th of September now lies before me. I 
 have already told you that I cannot pay down L.100 beforehand, for your 
 house and the like, till the 25th of December ; from after which I have 
 agreed to be paid punctually my salary as soon as due — that is, within ten 
 days after it is due. I take you at your word, to pocket none of it, but let 
 it go to family uses ; but you shall, if you please, leave the house-rent out 
 of it, for I will spend on my children more than what is barely necessary. 
 You are a coquette in the expression of " setting aside the agreeableness 
 of my person," — you well know no woman has a better. I wish you would 
 resolve to keep a discreet, orderly woman, to take care of your children ; 
 and why may not Mrs Evans do for your business of providing the table 
 and the like ? 
 
 I will not go in the chaise ; but will, according to your ladyship's advice, 
 go in the stage-coach. I observe that you are pleased that I do not move 
 till you come to town : I am very glad it is agreeable to you. I am very 
 much troubled at your postscript ; but what has a woman of your spirit 
 and fortune to do but to live in a house or lodgings where she is mistress ? 
 But I cannot, at this distance, understand your reasons ; when we meet, I 
 hope these kind of ails will be at an end for ever. 
 
 As to money, I have at this hour L.843 due to me, and find it a very hard 
 matter at any rate to supply myself with cash to leave the town, paying 
 the coach, the house bills, new clothing the children, and the like. It is 
 known by those to whom I apply that I want it, and I shall pay enough 
 for it. But nothing is dearer than asking a courtier anything. There is 
 no doubt of Gillrnore's* affair being a considerable fortune, and the theatre 
 seems to be in a very prosperous way. — I am, dear Prue, ever yours, 
 
 K Steele. 
 
 * " See note on Letter CCCXXVIIL, p. 121, and Letter CCCXXXII., p. 123. 
 The author of ' The Ode-maker,' a hanter on Dean Smedley, printed in the ' Sup- 
 plement to Swift,' thus glances contemptuously, though impotently, at Steele : — 
 " ' Or, lest thy chiming vein should cool, 
 What if thy friend Sir Richard's Pool 
 Thou didst descrihe, in lines and feet, 
 For that queer nick-nack, pat and meet;
 
 in 7. J Correspondence. 145 
 
 Letter CCCLXVL To Lady Steele. 
 
 Oct. 8, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — I have been bustling about the town all day, and am come 
 home when the post last rings. 
 
 Despise those who use you ill, and value those who love you, and you 
 will make happy yourself and most humble servant, your fond husband, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCLXVII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 [ Undated.'] 
 
 Dear Wife, — You cannot imagine the rage yours put me into. How 
 can you believe I can bear the treatment you tell me you receive, as being 
 affronted and called fool to your face by rude blockheads 1 I could not 
 outlive such an injury done you, were I present at it ; nor know I how to 
 suffer it as it is, with all the excuses which I make to keep myself in 
 countenance from their stupidity and brutality. If I had patience, I 
 should debate with you on this subject, and ask how it is possible a woman 
 of your sense could possibly fall into a dispute with such idiots and sav- 
 ages ? But my heart is too much raised to chastise them, to enter into 
 such cool expostulations with you. 
 
 Take it for granted, it is impossible to be easy but with mere correspon- 
 dents and kind servants. You never will be with relations, who are 
 often apt to think your being in the world an injury. For the remainder 
 of our days, let us have an entire confidence in each other, with a mutual 
 complacency and desire to please each other ; and I shall be a protection 
 to you, and you a comfort to me against all that can happen from without. 
 
 Mrs Evans is not to be expected down ; and when I proposed to Mrs 
 Clark what you bid me, she did not receive it as she ought, I thought ; 
 but made scruples, and seemed to be forming a merit in case she should 
 comply, which shewed that she would have shynesses and airs that would 
 have made you constantly uneasy. Pluck up a resolute calm spirit, and 
 do not doubt but there are people enough to be had fit for your purpose, 
 without courting any of your present acquaintance. I will consult Mrs 
 Keck on this subject of a maid fit for you, and proper to go down to you, 
 of which you shall have an account next post. You bid me take care of 
 
 Inform the town, this freak being over, 
 He would proceed, and soon discover 
 An art long doom'd to deep despair, 
 And build a castle in the air." 
 VOL. II.
 
 146 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xvi. 
 
 my health ; pray do you preserve yourself to your little ones, who are per- 
 fectly well, and your husband, who cannot be well except you are so. 
 I love you with all my soul, poor dear Prue, and am, for ever yours, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCLXVIII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 [ Undated*'] 
 
 Dear Prue, — Yours lies before me, I mean that of the 14th. I will add 
 two horses to your equipage. I did not think of a strange woman, but 
 because you named no one of your acquaintance ; I like Madam Clark as 
 well as anybody, and am glad she will go, for your children heartily want 
 you. I am glad you resolve to live well on the road. As to the coldness, 
 on this subject I answer very sincerely, that your ladyship's coldness to me 
 as a woman and a wife has made me think it necessary to suppress the 
 expression of my heart towards you, because it could not end in the plea- 
 sures and enjoyments I ought to expect from it, and which you obliged 
 me to wean myself from, till I had so much money, &c, and I know not 
 what impertinence. God be thanked, this whimsey has not been fatal to 
 our love ! — It is impossible to decline going to Scotland, for ten thousand 
 reasons, as well as regard to honour and interest. — I am, dear Prue, ever 
 yours, Kich. Steele. 
 
 I was going to close my letter, when Betty and Moll desire their duty 
 to you. 
 
 Letter CCCLXIX. To Lady Steele. 
 
 St James's Street, Oct. 9, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — Yours of October the 3d and 5th lie before me ; most part 
 of them are about things and persons that I can only neglect, &c. Your 
 journey is a matter of consequence, and in this posture I will leave it. I 
 will send you down a direction t to be sent to London with a proper direc- 
 tion ; and that order shall command a coach and six horses, with a discreet 
 woman in it, to bring you to town. This woman shall wait upon Mrs 
 Keck, and have her approbation, and the whole settled with her, which is 
 the readiest way I can think of to follow your commands and inclinations. 
 — I am, Madam, your most affectionate husband, and, Prue, your faithful 
 servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 * This being, as stated, in reply to one of the 14th, (probably Oct.,) should be 
 of the date of 19th probably, 
 f " So the original."
 
 1717.] Correspondence. 147 
 
 Letter CCCLXX. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Oct. 15, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — Yours of the 10th, concerning the mortgagee's refusal of 
 his money is very surprising. All that you have to do, is to take notice 
 of the time when he refused it, and you will from thence be liable to pay 
 no further interest. I am giving extravagantly for money ; but my reso- 
 lution is to be rid of blood-suckers, though I lose a good deal at their last 
 draft from, dear Prue, your most affectionate husband and most humble 
 servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCLXXI. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Oct. 17, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — I have yours of the 12th, and have enclosed a letter to Mi- 
 Thomas. I could not write to him directly, because I did not know where 
 his Trejendeg stands. You had best not destroy the mortgage, because it 
 may be of use to have it in being, in defence against any other securities, 
 till we are both wholly out of debt. But, if he insists to have it destroyed, 
 do not delay it, but comply with him, for I shall be a clear man before 
 New- Year's day. But, besides such considerations, while it is undestroyed, 
 it may, by Mr Thomas's assignment of it, at any time be so much well 
 secured for the girls. Your lesson, therefore, is, take up the mortgage, 
 but do not tear the instrument ; but rather than not take it up, tear the 
 instrument. — Your most obsequious husband, and most humble servant, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCLXXII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Oct. 20, 1717. 
 
 Dear Prce, — After many resolutions and irresolutions concerning my 
 way of going, I go, God willing, to-morrow morning by the Wakefield coach, 
 on my way to York and Edinburgh. God of His infinite mercy preserve 
 you, and grant us an happy meeting ! 
 
 I am in too great a hurry, for I go on a sudden, but the next stage shall 
 bring you a long letter from your most affectionate husband, and most 
 faithful humble servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCLXXIII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Stamford, Oct. 23, 1717. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I am got thus far ; and my journey, I thiuk, does me as 
 much good for the gout, as rocking the same way did you for the spleen. 
 
 I have ever proposed to myself to move in as useful a sphere to man-
 
 148 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xti. 
 
 kind as I was able, and have this journey taken with me Mr Majon, a 
 French minister, (whom you have seen,) in order to speak French readily 
 at my return ; for I find one cannot understand what passes without that 
 language. He lies in the same room with me on the road ; and the loqua- 
 city which is usual at his age, and inseparable from his nation, at once 
 contributes to my purpose, and makes him very agreeable. It is my busi- 
 ness, while I am absent from you, to fill my leisure hours with as much 
 innocent amusement as I can. The children are almost always in my head 
 at the same time with yourself ; and I hope we shall, when God blesses us 
 in a meeting, contrive to make them a pleasure as a care. I take very great 
 care of myself, in hopes of that happy hour, and am, your most affection- 
 ate, obsequious husband, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCLXXIV. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Edinburgh, Nov. 5, 1717. 
 
 Dear Prue, — Five letters from you followed me to this place, which I 
 received all at once this day. One of the 21st approves my letter to Mr 
 John Thomas, and desires you may do what you shall think fit by fine by 
 way of reserving a respect from your children, and doing what you think 
 fit with your estate* in favour of such of your children as shall please you 
 most. This is what I have often advised you to do, and shall never gainsay. 
 
 Another letter is without date, and has in it an enclosed note from your 
 cousin Alexander. What is required there shall come to you by the post 
 of Thursday next from this place. A third scrip, without date, says my 
 " letters are short, and so shall yours,'' and concludes. Your fourth is in 
 a very pleasant humour, which you say you can support, provided you do 
 not want money, and you have bespoke gossips for your next child, &c. 
 This is as it should be ; keep up this spirit, and live and reign ; you shall 
 want nothing on my part towards it. 
 
 That which I think must have been the last you writ is of the 28th, 
 and speaks of an assurance or obligation that concerns my aunt Scurlock. 
 The post here comes in and out the same day ; and I have many other 
 letters to write, so must take till Thursday also for that. — I am, dear 
 Prue, ever yours, Rich. Steele. 
 
 I shall return to London the beginning of next week, and I know the 
 Parliament will separate some days after they meet, which time I would 
 take to come with a coach and six horses for you, accompanied by Mrs 
 Pugh. If you like this, I think it would close your negotiations with a 
 good air, and drown all impertinences about us. 
 
 It descended to her eldest daughter, afterwards Lady Trevor.
 
 inr.] Correspondence. 149 
 
 Letter CCCLXXV. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Elton, in Scotland, Nov. 11, 1717. 
 Dear Prue, — Yours of October 31 came to my hand between six and 
 seven the second morning, I should say Monday the third morning, going 
 into the coach on my return to London. I hope, God willing, to be at 
 London Saturday come se'nnight. I will pay off the news when I come to 
 town, and forbid it. I desire you would answer as to my proposal of com- 
 ing down for you in a coach and six with Mrs Clark, which, I think, will 
 pin up your affairs with a good grace, and shew your power over your most 
 obedient husband, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCLXXVI. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Pearce Bridge, in the County of Durham, 
 Friday, Nov. 15, 1717. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I am now at my inn in perfect good health, with my limbs 
 much better than usual, after seven days' journey from Edinburgh towards 
 London. You cannot imagine the civilities and honours I had done me 
 there, and never lay better, ate or drank better, or conversed with men of 
 better sense than there. I grow very fond of waiting upon you, and 
 bringing you from Wale», when the house is adjourned for a few days ; and 
 since you hear travelling agrees with me, I hope to receive your permission 
 to attend you. It will be a ridiculous thing for me to go down thither 
 without you, and, when you are there, never come near the place, and I 
 am firmly resolved to see your territories the first leisure days from Par- 
 liament. Therefore you must consider whether you will let me bring you, 
 or come alone, and go backward and forward with me again this winter ; 
 for, as for seasons and bad roads, I despise those considerations when I 
 have a view for the good of my family or country. — Yours ever, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 \Ve shall, God willing, be at York on Friday, and London the Saturday 
 following. 
 
 Letter CCCLXXVII. To Lady Steele. 
 
 Wednesday Night, Dec. 4, 1717. 
 
 Dear Prde, — Yours of Sunday was very late notice of your arrival. 
 Willmot went to meet you that very day ; but lest you should escape him, 
 I send Mr Evans to meet you on the day you hope to-eome. I write this 
 after being in the House of Commons from one at noon to twelve at 
 night, where King George begins to have true and real honest power. 
 
 You come in smiles, and I will sacrifice all to your good humour. — 
 Obediently yours, Pica. Steele.
 
 150 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xvi. 
 
 I am glad to find journeying agrees with you as well as me. I hope we 
 shall never part more. 
 
 Thursday mom. 
 
 I went to bed last night after taking only a little broth, and all the day 
 before a little tea and bread and butter, with two glasses of rum and a 
 piece of bread at the House of Commons. 
 
 Temperance and your company, as agreeable as you can make it, will 
 make life tolerable, if not easy, even with the gout. God give us a happy 
 meeting. — Yours faithfully, tenderly, &c, Rich. Steele.
 
 CHAPTER XVU. 
 
 Return of Lady Steele from Wales — Contrast in facility of travelling 
 with present time — Retrospect of occurrences during Steele's visit 
 to Edinburgh. — Flattering reception among tke higher classes — His 
 humorous mode of studying character — A curious dinner party — 
 Intercourse with the clergy — Anecdotes of some popular preachers 
 — Project of Steele's for an ecclesiastical union — Scottish intelligence 
 — the Tower of Repentance — Return to London — Failure of the 
 Fish-pool invention from unforeseen causes — Visit to Duke of Marl- 
 borough at Blenheim, with Bishop Hoadly — Anecdotes at an ama- 
 teur performance there, and at a public dinner with the Bishop — 
 Steele's kindness to Richard Savage — Anecdotes related by the latter 
 — Notice of Savage — Death of Lady Steele — Her character — Lines 
 addressed to her husband — Royal Theatricals at Hampton Court. 
 
 The event so long discussed at length occurred — Lady 
 Steele returned to town from Wales — and we may reason- 
 ably hope that the joyful meeting, which Sir Richard 
 prayed for, was, notwithstanding one little recent passage 
 of arms between them, fully realised. Of the fact, how- 
 ever, we have no account, as the foregoing letters close 
 the correspondence with his wife, not only for the year 
 1717, but, with one solitary exception, finally.* From the 
 
 * As there will occur no opportunity of introducing in the text this final 
 memorial of their epistolary intercourse, it is here given as. a note :— 
 
 Monday mom., June 23, 1718. 
 Dear True, — I Bend this messenger to inform you I shall not be with you till 
 eight o'clock to-morrow morning. At that hour, God willing, I shall reach 
 Hampton Court, and hasten (as soon as I have taken up you and the rest of my
 
 152 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xvii. 
 
 same cause we are left in the dark as to the mode in which 
 the journey was performed, whether by the stage-coach or 
 the coach and six, with which it was proposed to astonish 
 the natives of the principality. One thing is certain, that 
 Steele himself did not go down to see his wife's estate, as 
 he had proposed, nor did he succeed in carrying out that 
 intention till he sought it as a retirement in broken health 
 and fortune. It may seem amusing to us at this time of day, 
 with the locomotive privileges we enjoy, to find so much 
 made of this journey. But in those days, what between 
 bad roads and the other appliances of travelling, we must 
 presume equally primitive, it was rather a formidable 
 affair. We find Steele replying to his wife's letters at an 
 interval of five days ; and though we might be disposed to 
 attribute part of this to delay in writing, yet, besides that 
 this inference is negatived by Steele's remarkable punc- 
 tuality in that respect, this is the exact time recorded by 
 Swift as having been occupied in his journey between 
 Chester and London. 
 
 Before entering on the events of the year 1718, to which 
 we are now arrived, it will be necessary to advert to those 
 of the close of the year preceding, to which only a very 
 general reference has been made by Steele in his letters. 
 We cannot tell exactly the length of his stay in Edinburgh, 
 as the date of his first letter from thence was probably 
 some little time after his arrival, though he does not state, 
 but we may infer, that his business arrangements, which 
 
 dear cargo) to London, where it is necessary I should be in the forenoon. — I am, 
 dear Prue, your most affectionate, most obedient, husband and servant, 
 
 Eich. Steele. 
 I was so pleased with my son from his lodging to Hampton that 1 shall, 
 please God, take him with me to Scotland.
 
 ir n. J Retrospect of Events in Edinburgh. 153 
 
 had been so long pending, might interfere with his writing 
 immediately. He started from town on the 21st October, 
 reached Stamford on the 23d, and his letter from Edin- 
 burgh is dated the 5th November. However, his visit to 
 Scotland could not have exceeded about ten days, but into 
 that space he appears to have crowded a considerable 
 amount of incident. Though the nature of his errand 
 might naturally have tended to his prejudice in the 
 popular mind, yet the chronicles of the times record that 
 he was received by the higher classes with every mark of 
 distinction, and this is confirmed by the statement of his 
 letter of the 15th November, where he tells his wife she 
 cannot imagine the civilities and honours done him. This 
 led him to consider whether he might not turn this regard 
 to what he considered good account, by opening up the 
 question of perfecting the union, by extending it to a 
 uniformity of ecclesiastical policy north and south of the 
 Tweed. Not deterred from so hopeless an undertaking by 
 previous failures, or feeling, like Fitz-James, the danger of 
 the enterprise a sufficient incentive, he held communica- 
 tions with some of the Presbyters by way of feeling the 
 pulse of the ministers on the subject. Among those with 
 whom he conversed with that view, was a Mr Hart, whom 
 Sir Richard, from the reputation he had of preaching the 
 terrors of the law, called the hangman of the gospel. Not- 
 withstanding this professional austerity of behaviour, he 
 was in private a very good-natured and facetious man, so 
 that Steele contracted a friendship for him, which he 
 afterwards maintained by occasional correspondence. 
 The project, however, in which it originated, as may be 
 imagined, never came to anything. In order to get an
 
 154 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xvii. 
 
 insight into the peculiar genius of the people, and to 
 study their character and humour where they were to be 
 found unrestrained by conventionalities, Steele, during 
 this visit to the Scottish metropolis, made a great feast, 
 and, when the preparations were completed, directed his 
 servants to gather all the poor they could find in the 
 streets and lanes, and invite them to the entertainment. 
 In this way Steele soon found himself surrounded by two 
 or three score of poor and decayed people, at whose head 
 he presided as host. After partaking of substantial fare 
 to their satisfaction, they were supplied with punch and 
 other beverages, under the influence of which care was 
 soon banished, and they gave a loose to their native 
 humours and unrestrained gaiety of heart, which, as their 
 entertainer anticipated, produced a fund of drollery, mirth, 
 and broad, but not the less genuine, humour. The mirth, 
 hilarity, and ludicrous incidents of the novel scene were 
 no doubt highly enjoyed by the entertainer, whose satis- 
 faction in beholding so many happy human faces of his 
 making, may be well conceived ; and he afterwards stated 
 that, in addition to the pleasure of filling so many empty 
 stomachs, he had been furnished with materials enough 
 for a good comedy.* 
 
 Probably this humorous frolic may have contributed to 
 keep Steele in popular remembrance in Scotland, as we 
 find an anecdote which has descended in reference to the 
 period of this visit recorded by Scott.t On a hill near 
 Hoddom Castle, a structure dating back to the middle of 
 the fifteenth century, and picturesquely situated on the 
 
 * Cibber's Lives of the Poets, vol. iv. p. 118. t Border Minstrelsy.
 
 1717. J Scottish Intelligence — Tower of Repentance. 155 
 
 river Annan, i3 a square building known as the Tower of 
 Repentance, from a device of a serpent and a dove with 
 that word inscribed upon it. This tower is said to have 
 been built by a certain Lord Hemes, who, like the Rhine 
 barons, followed the " carrying" trade, and had perpe- 
 trated deeds of cruelty and blood, as a monument of his 
 remorse. It may have been passed by Sir Richard on his 
 road either going or returning in his journey, as his limited 
 stay in Scotland, as well as the season of the year, and the 
 business nature of his visit, forbid the supposition that he 
 could have indulged his curiosity to any extent beyond the 
 vicinity of Edinburgh in pursuit of the picturesque. The 
 story relates that as Sir Richard rode in this neighbourhood 
 he passed a shepherd lad reading his Bible, and inquired 
 of him what he learned from it, to which the boy replied, 
 " The way to heaven." " An' can you shew it to met" 
 returned Sir Richard in banter. " You must go by that 
 tower," said the shepherd lad, as he pointed to the hill and 
 informed his querist of the name of the structure upon it. 
 
 The year 1718 was as full of incident in reference to 
 Steele as the preceding year or two had been barren, and 
 the only difficulty is so to dispose them as to display them 
 in their proper lights, and without the effect of crowding. 
 We have seen from various allusions in his correspondence 
 the slow progress in bringing to completion his invention 
 called the Fishpool. The aim of this project was to bring 
 fish alive from any part of the kingdom, but with special 
 reference to salmon from the coast of Ireland to the Lon- 
 don market, where it then sold at the enormous price of 
 five shillings the pound. No wonder that he should have 
 buoyed himself up with the prospect of a handsome fortune.
 
 156 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xvii. 
 
 A mathematician of good repute, a Mr Gilmore, to -whom 
 he had confided the construction of the machine, reported 
 favourably, and he had obtained a patent bearing date the 
 10th of June this year. He at the same time published 
 " An Account of the Fishpool," &c, which he dedicated to 
 Sir John Ward, Lord Mayor of London. But though the 
 project was perfectly good in theory, it failed from causes 
 which only experience could have suggested ; for, notwith- 
 standing an ingenious provision for supplying a constant 
 stream of water and air in crossing the sea, yet the result 
 proved that, in the passage, the efforts of the fish to escape 
 from their confinement caused them to bruise themselves 
 so much against the sides of the " pool" as seriously to 
 deteriorate their value in the market, to such an extent, 
 indeed, as wholly to neutralise the utility of the invention. 
 This, however, was not discovered for some considerable 
 time subsequently. Thus, by an accident which no human 
 foresight could have foreseen, fell to the ground a project 
 on which had been expended much ingenuity and consider- 
 able sums of money, and which involved in its failure the 
 extinction of such long-cherished golden hopes. It is 
 satisfactory at least to know, however, as we do from his 
 letter of the 2d July preceding, that his part of the expense 
 was by no means so ruinous as has been stated in some 
 accounts. The project, as he admits, was the subject of 
 some harmless ridicule, in which it only shared the fate of 
 all failures. 
 
 In the course of the summer of this year Sir Richard, 
 together with Bishop Hoadly and Dr Samuel Clarke, had 
 an invitation to spend some days at Blenheim House. 
 During his stay there the family, with the assistance of
 
 ins.] Visit to the Duke of Marlborough. 157 
 
 some ladies and gentlemen in the neighbourhood, got up an 
 amateur performance of the tragedy of " All for Love," for 
 the amusement of the Duke of Marlborough, who about this 
 time had some lucid intervals from the complaint which 
 ultimately reduced him to a state of second childhood. 
 Steele, for once, appears to have been wanting in his usual 
 gallantry. Lady Bateman, one of the Duke's grand- 
 daughters, vainly solicited Sir Richard for a prologue on 
 the occasion. The good-natured bishop, however, having 
 procured writing materials over-night, produced the re- 
 quired prologue in a very satisfactory manner, which he 
 handed to the lady the following morning at breakfast. It 
 was spoken by her the same evening, and it is said drew 
 tears from the old Duke at an unexpected compliment it 
 contained, coming from a favourite grandchild.* Steele, 
 
 * The following prologue was the one intended by Steele for " All for Love," 
 
 as acted at Blenheim, but withdrawn out of compliment to his friend the 
 
 bishop : — 
 
 " Since faint is praise which living merit draws, 
 
 And always posthumous is true applause ; 
 
 Deny not worth, far from your eyes removed, 
 
 Its late reward to be revered and loved. 
 
 To poetry devoted be this night, 
 
 And kill not, with your paltry cares, delight; 
 
 See how great Dryden could your sires surprise, 
 
 Ere funds were given, or stocks could fall or rise, 
 
 Ere avarice had banish'd love and truth, 
 
 And with its vile contagion seized even youth ; 
 
 When vice had yet no other fools to shew 
 
 But the well-natured cully and the beau ; 
 
 'Twas ' all for love' the world well lost of old, 
 
 But now for money better bought and sold. 
 
 For shame, that's only yours, which well you give ; 
 
 Neglect not life, only for means to live ; 
 
 Look on yourselves, ye gaming race, with scorn, 
 
 And see what images these scenes adorn ; 
 
 While love and fame alternately prevail, 
 
 Aa the great master works the charming talc.
 
 158 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xvii. 
 
 who sat next Dr Hoadly, (it will be remembered they were 
 old friends,) having noticed with what feeling the part of 
 Anthony was performed by Captain Fishe, at one scene 
 where he was particularly sweet upon Cleopatra, Sir 
 Richard turned round and whispered the bishop, " I doubt 
 this Fishe is flesh, my lord." On taking their departure, 
 Sir Richard, finding that his funds were not in a state to 
 meet the demands of the legion of laced coats and ruffles 
 that met them in the hall, accosted them, saying, that 
 having noticed their taste and discrimination at the per- 
 formance in timing their applause, he invited them all to 
 Drury Lane Theatre to whatever play they liked to bespeak, 
 and so beat his retreat under cover of this compliment.* 
 
 In another curious anecdote of this period the bishop 
 had also a part, and indeed his son, Dr John Hoadly, Chan- 
 cellor of Winchester, is the authority for it. " My father," he 
 
 Compare the generous passions he excites, 
 
 To the fell anguish of your gaming nights, 
 
 When round pale boards you sit with fiend-like pain, 
 
 For base vicissitudes of loss and gain ; 
 
 When robbers, beggars, peers, with silent hate, 
 
 And throbbing breasts, to be each other, wait. 
 
 When thus our bard (resist him if you can) 
 
 Has fairly from the gamester won the man ; 
 
 Eaise thyself still — and the past times survey, 
 
 Since first the age received this tow'ring play, 
 
 Since careless luxury its force could prove 
 
 In one consent the ' world well lost for love.' 
 
 Reflect how care pursues her thoughtless hours, 
 
 And fear the adder lurking in the flowers j 
 
 Think on great William, England's shame and pride, 
 
 And how unthank'd the toiling hero died, 
 
 On baffled virtue, fortune vainly kind, 
 
 Think on your conquests to your foes consign'd ; 
 
 But think, though in tenrpestuous seasons tost, 
 
 While liberty is safe, the world not lost." 
 
 * Duncombe's Correspondence and Memoir of Hughes, vol. i. pp. 290-3.
 
 ins.] Steele and Bishop Hoadly. 159 
 
 says, "when Bishop of Bangor, was, by invitation, present at 
 one of the Whig meetings held at the Trumpet in Shoe Lane, 
 where Sir Richard, in his zeal, rather exposed himself, hav- 
 ing the double duty of the day upon him, as well to celebrate 
 the memory of King William, it being the 4th November, as 
 to drink his friend Addison up to conversation pitch, whose 
 phlegmatic constitution teas hardly warmed for society by 
 the time Steele was not fit for it. Two remarkable cir- 
 cumstances happened : John Sly, the hatter, of facetious 
 memory, w r as in the house, and wdien pretty mellow, took 
 it into his head to come into the company on his knees, 
 with a tankard of ale in his hand, to drink off the im- 
 mortal memory, and to retire in the same manner. Steele, 
 sitting next my father, whispered him, 'Do laugh; it is 
 humanity to laugh/ Sir Richard, in the evening, being 
 too much in the same condition, was put into a chair and 
 sent home. Nothing would serve him but being carried 
 to the Bishop of Bangor's, late as it was. However, the 
 chairmen carried him home, and got him up stairs, wdien 
 his great complaisance would wait on them down stairs, 
 which he did, and then was got quietly to bed. The next 
 morning he was much ashamed, and sent the distich 
 printed above. On such another occasion the w r aiters 
 w r ere hoisting him into a hackney coach with some labour 
 and pains, when a Tory mob was passing, with their cry, 
 ' Down with the Rump !' 'Up with the Rump !' cried Sir 
 Richard, ' or I shall not be at home to-night."' 
 
 The pleasant lines referred to w r ere enclosed in the 
 following letter : — 
 
 To Bishop Hoadly. 
 
 [1718.] 
 
 My Lord, — I Lope I shall bo able to w&it upon you at the place you
 
 160 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xvii. 
 
 command me at three of the clock on Monday next. There is no great 
 clanger of your assuming more power than is welcome : you never exert so 
 much as is voluntarily given you. Coming home the other night, after 
 your great condescension in liking such pleasures as I entertained your 
 Lordship with, I made the distich which you will find if you turn over the 
 leaf : — 
 
 " Virtue with so much ease on Bangor sits, 
 All faults he pardons, though he none commits." 
 
 I am, my Lord, your most obliged, most obedient humble servant, 
 
 Richard Steele. 
 
 As this eminent prelate was so intimately connected with 
 Steele, both as a fellow-labourer in the cause of civil and 
 religious liberty and in private, having, among his last acts 
 of friendship, accepted the office of executor and guardian 
 of his children, a few words of notice respecting him may 
 not be out of place. 
 
 Dr Benjamin Hoadly, (1676-1761,) born at "Westerham, 
 in Kent, after studying at Catherine Hall, Cambridge, of 
 which he was elected a Fellow in 1697, obtained the Rectory 
 of St Peter-le-Poer, in the metropolis, in 1704. Some 
 years subsequently he was promoted to the Rectory of 
 Streatham, in Surrey. Having about the same time distin- 
 guished himself in controversy with Bishops Atterbury 
 and Bramhall on the subject of passive obedience, he 
 received the thanks of the Commons for his services, on 
 the motion of Mr Henley, M.P. ; and at the same time an 
 address recommending him for preferment was presented 
 to the Queen, who promised compliance with the applica- 
 tion, but owing, no duubt to the accession of her Tory 
 advisers shortly after, failed in the performance. Shortly 
 after Steele's expulsion by the Tory House of Commons, he 
 gave his name to a publication by Dr Hoadly, entitled 
 " An Account of the State of the Roman Catholic Religion
 
 1 7 1 s . ] Not ice of Bish op Iloadly. 161 
 
 throughout the World," the dedication of which to the 
 Pope was considered a fine piece of grave irony. 
 Although the real authorship was very well known, the 
 circumstance was seized on by Swift to vent his malice ; 
 and it has been surmised by Mr Hoadly, the bishop's son 
 and biographer, also to resent what he regarded as an 
 invasion of his peculiar province in wit, by the reflection 
 in the lines — 
 
 " Steele, who own'd what others writ, 
 And flourish'd by imputed wit," &c. 
 
 Early in the following reign (1716) the services of Dr 
 Hoadly in the cause of civil and religious liberty met with 
 the reward they merited by his receiving the appointment 
 of King's chaplain, and being elevated to the diocese of 
 Bangor. Not long after his elevation to the Episcopal 
 bench occurred a memorable incident in the life of the 
 bishop. In the year 1717 Dr Hoadly preached before the 
 King, in the Chapel Royal, a sermon " On the Nature of 
 the Kingdom of Christ," in which he asserted religious 
 liberty as the right of the subject, and maintained that an 
 established church was a mere human institution, having no 
 divine authority to make its teachings compulsory, or to en- 
 force them on the mind or conscience. At the next meeting 
 of the convocation of the English clergy, they were about 
 to vote a censure on the bishop, and to adopt other measures, 
 when they were summarily dissolved, and this body, which 
 from a very early period had exercised most formidable 
 powers of a politico-theological nature, was never subse- 
 quently revived. 
 
 In 1721, Dr Iloadly was translated to the see of Here- 
 ford ; two years after to that of Salisbury ; and finally to 
 vor.. ii. l
 
 1G2 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xvii. 
 
 that of Winchester, which he held nearly twenty-seven 
 years, surviving to the advanced age of eighty-five, 
 when he calmly expired at his palace at Chelsea. His 
 works, with an account of his life, were published by 
 his son, Dr John Hoaclly, who was Archdeacon of 
 Winchester. 
 
 This was about the period of Steele's connexion with 
 Richard Savage, whose interests he espoused with char- 
 acteristic zeal and generosity, little deserved by the worth- 
 lessness of him on whom they were expended. This ill- 
 starred, but ingenious youth, in addition to the interest 
 thrown around him by his story, (probably fictitious,) has 
 had the advantage with posterity of having it eloquently 
 recorded by Dr Johnson, who was thrown much into his 
 society in his early days in London, and bound to him by 
 the sympathy of mutual poverty. He was, as is well 
 known, the reputed natural son of Lord Rivers and the 
 Countess of Macclesfield, and at this time was about 
 twenty years of age. His reputed mother always asserted 
 that her child had died quite young, and that Savage was an 
 impostor. He was probably in reality the son of the woman 
 who had been employed to nurse the natural child referred 
 to, and this woman dying suddenly, some letters of Lady 
 Mason, the maternal grandmother of the child she had 
 nursed, came into the possession of Savage, and may have 
 put him upon the plan of assuming to be the child to whom 
 they referred. He had received some education, and been 
 afterwards apprenticed to a shoemaker. But, on making 
 the discovery furnished by these papers, finding many to 
 believe his story and befriend him, he enhanced his claims 
 to public sympathy by the exercise of the talents with
 
 1718.] Anecdotes by Richard Savage, 163 
 
 which he was gifted. Among the earliest and warmest of 
 his patrons was Steele. He took every opportunity of 
 making known his merits and the story of his misfortunes, 
 declaring " that the inhumanity of his mother had given 
 him a right to the friendship of every good man." It was 
 his intention to have established him in some plan of life, 
 and he designed to marry him to Miss Ously, an accom- 
 plished young lady, a natural daughter of his own, to whom 
 he was much attached, and to give him a L.1000 dowry 
 with her. But the state of his affairs not permitting him 
 immediately to carry his design into execution, he allowed 
 Savage an annuity in the meantime. But hearing after- 
 wards, however, that he made it his amusement to turn 
 his benefactor into ridicule, he withdrew from all further 
 interference in his favour, and closed his doors against 
 him for the future. 
 
 . Whilst, therefore, the following anecdotes of Sir Richard, 
 which rest on the authority of Savage, are here given, and 
 are of a kind that have unfortunately a certain amount of 
 verisimilitude, yet they have also an air of improbability 
 and exaggeration, that, taken in connexion with the 
 quarter from which they come, entitle them only to a 
 very qualified confidence. 
 
 It is said that on one occasion, in the course of this year, 
 he requested Savage, with an appearance of urgency, to be 
 with him early the following morning. On his arrival, he 
 found the chariot at the door, and Sir Richard waiting. 
 The coachman was ordered to drive with the utmost ex- 
 pedition to Hyde Park corner, where they alighted at a 
 second-rate tavern, and engaged a private room. Sir 
 Richard then told Savage that he had a pamphlet to pre-
 
 164 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xvn. 
 
 pare, and wished his assistance in writing for him. 
 Savage accordingly wrote from Steele's dictation till the 
 arrival of the dinner that had been ordered, the meanness 
 of which surprised the guest, (no doubt, in comparison 
 with what he had been accustomed to.) Savage, after 
 some hesitation, ventured to ask for wine, which his 
 entertainer, not without reluctance, ordered. Dinner 
 being finished, they proceeded with the pamphlet, which 
 was completed in the course of the afternoon. Savage 
 thought his task was then over, but Sir Richard undeceived 
 him by stating that he was without money, and that the 
 pamphlet must be sold before the dinner could be paid 
 for. Savage was therefore obliged to go and offer the 
 pamphlet for sale, and, after some difficulty, succeeded 
 in disposing of it for two guineas. Sir Richard having 
 paid the reckoning, for which alone he had written the 
 pamphlet, returned home in the evening, having spent 
 the day away from it for the purpose of evading his 
 creditors. But one would suppose that a man, wish- 
 ing to do this, would take a less public way than that 
 of starting from his door in his own chariot, and would 
 have gone farther out of the way than Hyde Park 
 corner. 
 
 On another occasion, we are told on the same authority 
 that Steele, having invited a large party of the first quality, 
 they were surprised at the array of liveries they beheld, 
 and after dinner, when the circulation of the wine had dis- 
 solved the frosts of ceremony, one of the guests ventured 
 to suggest whether they were in accordance with his cir- 
 cumstances 1 He then owned that they were retainers of 
 whom he would gladly be quit. Why, then, did he not
 
 iris.] Notice of Savage. 165 
 
 discharge them 1 To this he candidly confessed that they 
 were bailiffs, who, having introduced their company with 
 an execution for debt, he had thought it convenient, since 
 he could not get rid of them, to turn them to account, and 
 grace them with liveries, in order that they might do him 
 credit during their compulsory attendance. His friends, 
 we are told, were amused at this mode of increasing the 
 grandeur of his establishment ; and, having strongly urged 
 him not again to place himself in a position to resort to it, 
 enabled him to pay the debt.* 
 
 A story of a similar kind relates that Steele, Savage, and 
 Philips having issued from a tavern in Gerrard Street, 
 where they had supped, in a very merry mood, had their 
 mirth spoiled by a tradesman, who, apologising for accost- 
 ing them, said, that at the top of an adjoining lane, " he 
 had seen two or three suspicious-looking fellows who 
 appeared to be bailiffs." Immediately, it is said, without 
 even waiting to thank their informant, all three rushed off 
 in opposite directions, carefully avoiding, however, the 
 locality indicated. 
 
 With regard to Savage, a few words may be added to 
 conclude his story. A performance had been kindly got 
 up by Wilks at Drury Lane for his benefit, and some years 
 after his intercourse with Steele had ceased, (1723,) he 
 himself appeared upon the boards, without much success, in 
 the principal character of his tragedy of "Sir Thomas Over- 
 bury." By this production he realised about L.200. Four 
 years later he enacted a real tragedy in his own person, 
 having killed a Mr Sinclair in a brawl at a house of disre- 
 pute, lie was tried and found guilty, but obtained the King's 
 
 * Johnson's Life of Savage.
 
 166 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xvii. 
 
 pardon through the good offices of Lady Hertford. After 
 this, he was taken into the house of Lord Tyrconnel, who 
 allowed him L.200 a year. Two years after the unfortunate 
 event referred to, he produced his poem of the " Wanderer." 
 Having quarrelled with his patron, he found himself again 
 without a home and without resources. His next produc- 
 tion was the " Bastard." He soon after made a fortunate 
 hit in addressing a birth-day Ode to the Queen, which pro- 
 cured him a pension of L.50 a year, and this for some time 
 formed his principal maintenance ; but after the death of 
 the Queen, when it ceased, he sunk into a state of extreme 
 wretchedness. Some literary friends, however, among 
 whom Pope took an active part, came to the rescue, and 
 raised a fund for his benefit, but stipulating, in order to 
 remove him from the temptations of the metropolis and for 
 the sake of economy, that he should reside in Wales. They 
 found him, however, impracticable and unmanageable. 
 Instead of keeping faith with them, he went to Bristol, 
 where he not only squandered the money, but got 
 into debt, for which he was arrested. From the county 
 jail he was ultimately removed to Newgate, and there 
 died in 1743. Such was the chequered story of Richard 
 Savage, who created an interest, and had chances in 
 life greater than his personal merits warranted. His 
 poetical pretensions were of no high order, and in most 
 instances his productions were only redeemed by a few 
 vigorous lines. 
 
 To Steele this year closed, as the following opened, in 
 darkness and disaster. No merry Christmas or happy 
 New- Year awaited him. On the day succeeding the first 
 of these festive occasions, Dec. 26, 1718, he received an
 
 ins.] Death of Lady Steele — her Character. 167 
 
 irreparable blow in the fatal termination of the illness from 
 which Lady Steele appears to have suffered for a consider- 
 able time. She was in her fortieth year, and her remains 
 were interred in Westminster Abbey.* 
 
 The following letter, communicating the melancholy 
 event to her friends, was written immediately after : — 
 
 Letter CCCLXXVII. To Mr Alexander Scurlock. 
 
 Dec. 27, 1718. 
 
 Dear Cousin, — This is to let you know that my dear and honoured 
 wife departed this life last night. 
 
 I desire my aunt Scurlock, and Mrs Bevan, and you yourself, would 
 immediately go into mourning, and place the charge for such mourning of 
 those two ladies and your own to the account of, Sir, your most affectionate 
 kinsman and most humble servant, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Thus was prematurely severed to Steele the dearest 
 earthly tie, which, with whatever of the alloy of infirmity, 
 which is the condition of all things human, it may have 
 been accompanied, was, in the main, a happy one, we can- 
 not doubt. He has left us too many proofs under his own 
 hand to admit of that. And now, at a most critical time, 
 when so much needed, that presence which had light- 
 ened the darkest clouds, and lent additional brightness to 
 the sunshine for better than ten years, was withdrawn for 
 ever ; and that the dreary blank was keenly felt during the 
 remaining ten we cannot doubt from his affectionate and 
 social nature. 
 
 * With this inscription : " Dame Mary Steele, wife of Sir Richard Steele, 
 Knight, daughter and sole heiress of Jonathan Scurlock, Esq., of the county of 
 Carmarthen, died Dec. 26, 1718, aged 40 years, leaving issue, one son and two 
 liters, Eugene, Elizabeth, and Mary."
 
 168 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xvii. 
 
 In considering the attributed weaknesses of her character, 
 which consisted chiefly in her conduct as a capricious 
 beauty and the undue love of money, which was with him 
 a frequent subject of pleasant banter, we must not forget 
 the probability that these shortcomings were, at the least, 
 greatly aggravated by his culpable improvidence. But his 
 correspondence is full of testimonies to his appreciation of 
 her worth ; and in a beautiful letter in which he dedicates 
 to her the third volume of the " Ladies' Library," (which 
 may probably have suggested to Charles Lamb the dedica- 
 tion to his sister, where he speaks of the " monotony of 
 the affection" which is apt to exist with people living much 
 together, so that it is sometimes necessary " to call to our 
 aid the trickery of surprise,") he dwells upon her wit, her 
 beauty, and her numerous amiable qualities, as well as his 
 many obligations to her for her ministrations to him, in a 
 strain of courtly compliment which, though we made some 
 allowance for colouring in an epistle dedicatory, yet there 
 could be no reason to doubt of its being sincere and well 
 founded. He there winds up with this climax : " If there 
 are such beings as guardian angels, thus are they em- 
 ployed. I will no more believe one of them more good 
 in its inclinations than I can conceive it more charm- 
 ing in its form than my wife." And on a subsequent 
 occasion, when her loss had made the preceding allusion 
 still more literal, he says, ' The best woman that ever 
 man had cannot now lament and pine at his neglect of 
 himself."* 
 
 Though we might infer that she was not ordinarily de- 
 monstrative in her affection, yet we might be disposed to 
 
 * The Theatre, No. 12.
 
 1718.1 Royal Theatricals at Hampton Court. 169 
 
 retract even that impression on reading the following 
 lines addressed to her husband during some period of their 
 early married life : — 
 
 " Ah ! Dick Steele, that I were sure 
 Your love, like mine, would still endure ; 
 That time nor absence, which destroys 
 The cares of lovers, and their joys, 
 May never rob me of that part 
 Which you have given me of your heart : 
 Others, unenvied, may possess 
 Whatever they think happiness. 
 Grant this, God, my great request, 
 In his dear arms may 1 for ever rest." 
 
 Having mentioned the private theatricals at Blenheim, 
 those which took place at Hampton Court about this time 
 may be here referred to. These, however, were not 
 private theatricals, in the sense of being performed by 
 amateurs. By direction of the King, the great old hall at 
 Hampton was fitted up as a theatre, with the intention of 
 having plays performed twice a week during the summer 
 season. The arrangements, however, occupied so much 
 time that only seven performances took place before the 
 return of the Court to town. The services of the actors 
 from Drury Lane were engaged on the occasion. Among 
 the plays performed was " Henry VIII. ," and Cibber, who 
 gives an account of the matter,* mentions a pleasantry of 
 Steele in reference to this performance. Being asked by 
 a grave nobleman, shortly after, how the King liked it, he 
 replied, in reference to his office of governor of the com- 
 pany, " So well, my lord, that I was afraid we should have 
 lost all the actors ; for I was not sure the King would not 
 
 * Cibbcr's Apology, chap. xvi.
 
 170 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xvii. 
 
 keep them to fill the posts at Court that he saw them so 
 fit for in the play." 
 
 The following prologue was written for these theatricals 
 by Steele : — 
 
 " Howe'er we 're wont to feign, we now appear 
 With true concern and unassembled fear ; 
 Our disadvantage, too, too well we know, 
 And here dare only comic humour show ; 
 Our tragic pomps are for the world below. 
 They know not sentiment from empty rage, 
 When the theatric monarch shakes the stage ; 
 Strides o'er his realms with sceptre in his hand, 
 By hat and feather raising his high stand, 
 Mantle and train half covering his command ; 
 But audiences who weigh the source of things, 
 The rise of nations, and the fate of kings, 
 Detest an inexperienced, wild essay, 
 And close examine by the life a play. 
 By such, stage heroes with contempt are seen 
 Who swell with rage, to form a princely mien. 
 The counterfeit abhors a nearer view, 
 The mimic greatness dreads to approach the true — 
 With easy, kind, familiar power that reigns, 
 As life informs our frame, as blood our veins : 
 Terror and noise spring from erroneous force : 
 Thunder is an offence in nature's course — 
 That bursts around, an empty meteor forms, 
 It mounts in vapours and descends in storms. 
 Nature's true force is in calm order seen ; 
 Small power is rough, consummate is serene. 
 True majesty 's by smiling virtue known, 
 Mix'd in a crowd, attended, or alone. 
 With conscious goodness raised above its throne, 
 Homage it loathes, delights to make men free, 
 And raise the bended suppliant from the knee ; 
 Bules not by stupid pomp, but human arts, 
 And with the social virtues glads our hearts ; 
 Smiles at our follies, steals our souls away, 
 And with our wills has arbitrary sway ; 
 Neglected want and friendless merit trace, 
 In tender features of a gracious face ;
 
 iris.] Royal Theatricals at Hampton Court. 171 
 
 Not fierce the lord, but friend of human race. 
 
 As grace and favour heaven itself employs, 
 
 But, by its angels' ministering, destroys ; 
 
 In gentle acts of every passing hour, 
 
 The King diffuses through the land his power ; 
 
 While conquering arms and dreaded fleets restrain 
 
 Rash distant powers, and vindicate the main." * 
 
 * The Theatre, No. 13.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Steele's opposition to the Government Peerage Bill in Parliament — Pub- 
 lishes the Plebeian paper on the same subject— Replied to by Addi- 
 son in the Old Whig — Kupture between them — Letter to Lord 
 Oxford on the subject of the Bill — Notice of that nobleman — By a 
 mean retaliation of the Government, Steele's theatrical patent is 
 threatened to be revoked — Publication of the Spinster — Correspon- 
 dence during the year 1719 — To Mr Scurlock — To Mr Law — From 
 Mr Dennis — To his daughter. 
 
 ■&■• 
 
 The visits of misfortune, unlike those of angels, are pro- 
 verbially said to be often not far between. Scarcely had 
 Steele had time to recover from the first shock of that 
 most overwhelming calamity, which had left his home and 
 hearth desolate, than an unfortunate controversy on a 
 public question, arising out of a strong sense of what he 
 deemed his public duty, led to coldness and estrangement 
 with his dearest remaining earthly friend. Nor was this 
 all ; for a thunderbolt was at the same time, and owing to 
 the same causes, hurled at his head, charged with loss and 
 damage to his pecuniary interests. About the beginning 
 of the year 1719 a bill was proposed by the Earl of Sun- 
 derland, a member of the ministry, for the purpose of fix- 
 ing permanently the number of the House of Peers, and 
 preventing, for the future, any fresh creations, except when 
 an existing one had become extinct. The lords, of course,
 
 1719.] Political Controversy with Mr Addison. 173 
 
 highly approved a measure which enhanced the value of 
 their privileges, and the King, who, as Johnson states, 
 " was yet little acquainted with his own prerogative, and, 
 as is now well known, almost indifferent to the possession 
 of the Crown, had been persuaded to consent." The Com- 
 mons, however, as was natural to expect, were not dis- 
 posed to recognise the permanent exclusion of themselves 
 and their posterity from the chances of the dignity what- 
 ever it was worth. The professed ground of the proposed 
 measure was the abuse of the prerogative in the last reign, 
 by the creation of twelve new peers at one time for party 
 purposes, and to prevent a like abuse for the future ; yet, 
 by a glaring inconsistency, it was proposed now to make 
 a still greater addition, which would of course have been 
 from the friends of the party in power, and then to close 
 the door for ever. It was, therefore, obviously a party 
 measure — but though that party was his own, Steele so 
 strongly objected to it that, not satisfied with the prospect 
 of opposing it in his place in Parliament, he endeavoured 
 to stifle it by bringing to bear against it the powerful 
 influence of public opinion. With this view he started a 
 paper called the Plebeian, the first number of which ap- 
 peared on the 14th of March 1719. He there insisted that 
 the tendency of such a stereotyped aristocracy was the 
 introduction of that worst form of government, an oli- 
 garchy, and adduced numerous examples, both ancient 
 and modern, to shew that where the prerogative was not 
 excessive the reduction of it had invariably proved the 
 prelude to the assumption of proportionate power on the 
 part of the nobles, when there ceased to be any check 
 upon them by the Crown. He maintained that the in-
 
 174 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap, xviii. 
 
 creasing the number of peers is always to be wished for by 
 the Commons, because, the greater their number, the less 
 considerable they become, and the less within the influence 
 of Court favours ; that since the Habeas Corpus Act, and 
 the many restraints upon the power of the Crown in King 
 William's time, the prerogative was now so reduced that 
 the Commons had nothing to fear from it ; that the pro- 
 posed measure was an important innovation on the con- 
 stitution, as well as an infringement of the privileges 
 guaranteed by the articles of union, in the case of the 
 Scottish peers, and concluded by denouncing, in the 
 strongest terms, those who should support such a measure 
 by having in their pocket the assurance of being made a 
 peer as the reward of their advocacy. 
 
 To this, Addison, on the 19th of the same month, replied 
 in a paper or pamphlet entitled the Old Whig. He 
 argued that it was desirable to reduce the prerogative from 
 the example of its abuse in the late reign, and that the 
 prerogative of the veto was enough for the Crown. That, 
 so long as the Crown had the power of filling the House 
 of Lords with its creatures, there were virtually only two 
 branches in the Legislature ; that it was as legitimate to 
 fix permanently the number of the Peers as of the Com- 
 mons,* and that the additions which the Crown would 
 still retain the power of making, in order to supply the 
 place of those which had lapsed, would be quite sufficient 
 new creations for all necessary purposes. Although Addi- 
 
 * Tt is obvious that the cases are not analogous except in a merely literal sense 
 of fixed numbers, for no one in the state was precluded from aiming at admission 
 to the House of Commons, nor was the honour hereditary. The argument of 
 Steele, that the greater the number of the Peers the more inconsiderable they 
 became, appears much more solid.
 
 1719.] Discussions on the Peerage Bill. 175 
 
 son advocated the side tending to the aggrandisement of 
 the Peers, he does not by any means take an exalted tone 
 in reference to that body, but speaks almost with ridicule 
 similar to Sydney Smith in reference to their opposition to 
 the Reform Bill, at the notion of the Commons having 
 anything to fear from them ; and this was in fact the point 
 of that remark so long erroneously supposed to be person- 
 ally disrespectful to Steele. 
 
 The personalities which too generally accompany the 
 discussion of public questions of exciting interest were 
 unfortunately not wanting on this occasion, but they have 
 not been quite accurately stated in the general accounts of 
 the affair. The statement of Dr Johnson has been generally 
 followed by subsequent writers. His account of the origin 
 and progress of the controversy is remarkably succinct and 
 lucid, but he admits that he had his information second- 
 hand, (the Old Whig not having been inserted in the 
 original editions of Addison,) and has been mistaken as to 
 the exact phraseology employed. He attributes to Addison 
 a contemptuous allusion to Steele as " Little Dicky, whose 
 trade was to write pamphlets/' Now, no such single 
 sentence occurs. The expression " Little Dicky" occurs 
 in a reference which he makes to a passage in the " Spanish 
 Friar" of Dryden by way of illustration ; and though the 
 exact meaning of the allusion would not be obvious to the 
 general reader, it would be a natural supposition that the 
 diminutive epithet could not have applied to one who had 
 been a guardsman. This imputation was for the first time 
 satisfactorily refuted, however, by the explanation of Lord 
 Macaulay, who states that " Little Dicky" was the nick- 
 name of Henry Norris, an actor of remarkably small
 
 176 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap, xviii. 
 
 stature, but of great humour, who played the usurer Gomez, 
 then a most popular part, in Dryden's " Spanish Friar." * 
 In this case the reference to the diminutive stature of the 
 actor heightened the humour of the allusion to the passage 
 of the play referred to. Nor is the other part of the re- 
 flection put in so pointed a form as that so often quoted, 
 though scarcely sufficient to exonerate him, as Lord 
 Macaulay has clone, of stepping wide of the rules of good 
 taste and good breeding. On the contrary, he was the 
 first to introduce the element of direct personality by com- 
 mencing his second Old Whig with the remark that "the 
 author of the Plebeian, to shew himself a perfect master in 
 the vocation of pamphlet-writing, begins like a son of 
 Grub Street," &c. Of course, both writers were anonymous, 
 and therefore it may be said he was not applying this to 
 his friend ; neither is the remark tantamount to saying 
 that his opponent was a Grub Street writer, but it certainly 
 savours of the offensive. It is true Lord Macaulay says, 
 " Steele so far forgot himself as to throw an odious impu- 
 tation on the morals of the chiefs of the administration." 
 If so, it must have been a far-fetched inference from some 
 historical allusions he makes. The oft-repeated statement 
 founded on Johnson's account gives Steele credit for 
 humility and moderation, and not forgetting even under 
 provocation his settled veneration for his friend, but merely 
 conveying his reproof in a quotation from Cato. Lord 
 Macaulay, on the contrary, says he replied " with great 
 acrimony." We think neither account is exactly accurate. 
 He certainly makes use of the terms "mean" and "inso- 
 lent," but he does so apparently rather in sorrow than in 
 
 * Macaulay on Life and Writings of Addison.
 
 i7i9.] " The Plebeian." 177 
 
 anger, and without excitement. The " kind and courteous 
 expressions" with which Lord Macaulay says Addison 
 
 ' softened" his personalities must refer to the conclusion 
 of his paper, and appear to savour rather of a patronising 
 air, or the trick of a controversialist 'who pays a compliment 
 to his opponent at the expense of his cause : " I must own, 
 however, that the writer of the 'Plebeian' has made the 
 best of a weak cause, and do believe that a good one 
 would shine in his hands," &c. Lord Macaulay has taken 
 his usual depreciating view in reference to Steele. With- 
 out stating what the error was, he says, " It seems to us 
 that the premises of both controversialists were unsound ; 
 that on those premises Addison reasoned well and Steele 
 ill; and that consequently Addison brought out a false 
 conclusion, while Steele blundered upon the truth." That 
 at least was something to do, and this ingenious way of 
 accounting for Steele's success is the only credit he gives 
 him for opposing a measure which he admits he considers 
 " was most pernicious ;" but it is quite in keeping with the 
 ungracious way in which this distinguished writer ever 
 allows a shadow of credit to Steele. As an illustration of 
 the old proverb how doctors differ, we may add that Mr 
 Forster expresses the opinion " that both in the argument 
 and the conclusion Steele had the advantage." The re- 
 marks of Johnson on this unhappy controversy are too 
 admirable to be omitted : " Every reader surely," he says, 
 
 ' 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 con- 
 troversy was Bellum plusquam civile, as Lucan expresses it 
 
 VOL II. m
 
 1 78 Steele and his Contemporaries, [ciiap. xviii. 
 
 Why could not faction find other advocates 1 But, among 
 the uncertainties of the human state, we are doomed to 
 number the instability of friendship."* In consequence of 
 the opposition offered to the bill, it was dropt during that 
 session, and when introduced again in December following, 
 was thrown out. In the interim, Addison was no more. 
 
 On the same day in which the bill was reported in the 
 House of Lords, namely April 6th, appeared the fourth 
 and last Plebeian. On the 7th of December following, 
 when, after the second reading, a motion was made for 
 committing the bill, Steele was the first to speak in oppo- 
 sition, making use of the same arguments as he had 
 already done in his pamphlets and in a letter which he had 
 addressed the same day to the Earl of Oxford. He was 
 succeeded, among others, by Mr Pitt, Horatio Walpole, 
 and Sir John Pakington. The latter spoke eloquently 
 on the occasion. He acknowledged the reason they all 
 had to be sensible of the good intentions his Majesty had 
 been pleased to express in his speech towards his subjects, 
 but "that, in his opinion, his Majesty was not rightly in- 
 formed of the maimer of making his subjects feel the 
 effects of those gracious intentions ; and that, in particular, 
 the bill before them was a very improper return for all the 
 demonstrations of duty, zeal, and affection which his faith- 
 ful Commons had given since his Majesty's happy acces- 
 sion to the throne." After referring to several examples, 
 he added, "But after all these, and several other, in- 
 stances of obsequiousness and complaisance which the 
 Commons had shewn for the ministers, it was matter of 
 wonder that they should at last be no better rewarded 
 
 * Lives of the Poets.
 
 1719.] Discussion on Peerage Bill. 179 
 
 than by a bill which was visibly calculated to exclude them 
 from titles of honour, and to raise the dignity and power 
 of the peers. That, for his own part, he never desired to 
 be a lord, but that he had a son who might one day have 
 that ambition : that it was indeed an extraordinary and 
 unexampled condescension in his Majesty to part with so 
 valuable a branch of his royal prerogative. However, con- 
 sidering what equivalent was given by this bill to his 
 Majesty, nobody would wonder at this concession, if it 
 reached no further than his Majesty. But he hoped this 
 House would never concur in depriving of so bright a jewel 
 of the crown the Prince who, in his proper turn, was to 
 wear it." He was replied to by Mr Hampden and Mr 
 Secretary Craggs. The former, referring to the argument 
 of the increased importance of the peers, endeavoured to 
 show, as Addison had done in the Old Whig, that its 
 tendency would be the reverse, by retaining the great 
 fortunes among the Commons. The latter, referring to 
 the abuse of the prerogative in the previous reign, said, 
 " That it was only in the reigns of good princes that 
 legislators had opportunities to remedy and amend the 
 defects to which all human institutions are subject ; and 
 that if the present occasion of rectifying that flaw in our 
 constitution was lost, it might never be retrieved." Mr 
 Methucn, a former Secretary of State, replied, urging the 
 danger of attempting alterations in the ancient fabric of the 
 constitution, the removing of one stone in the foundation 
 of which might endanger the whole edifice. After some 
 others had spoken on the same side, Mr Attorney-General 
 spoke in defence of the measure. Though he owned he 
 did not like the bill as it stood, "yet he did not doubt but
 
 180 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap, xviii. 
 
 it might be made a good one, provided the Lords would 
 give the Commons an equivalent, and share with them several 
 privileges and advantages which their lordships enjoy. 
 Therefore he insisted on the committing the bill, that they 
 might make proper amendments to it ; and as to the 
 objection, that it was dangerous to make any innovations 
 in the constitution, the Act for limiting the succession and 
 the Act of Union had altered, but had rather improved and 
 strengthened, than prejudiced the original constitution." 
 Mr Walpole, the afterwards eminent minister, followed, 
 and spoke against the measure with his usual force and 
 eloquence. Among other arguments, he stated, " That 
 among the Romans, the wisest people on earth, the Temple 
 of Fame was placed behind the Temple of Virtue, to de- 
 note that there was no coming to the former, without 
 going through the other : but that, if this bill passed into 
 a law, one of the most powerful incentives to virtue would 
 be taken away, since there would be no coming to honour 
 but through the winding-sheet of an old decrepit lord, and 
 the grave of an extinct noble family. That it was matter of 
 just surprise that a bill of this nature should either have 
 been projected, or at least promoted, by a gentleman who 
 not long ago sat amongst them, and who having now got 
 into the House of Peers, would shut up the door after him. 
 That this bill would not only be a discouragement to virtue 
 and merit, but also endanger our excellent constitution ; 
 for as there was a due balance between the three branches 
 of the legislature, if any more weight were thrown into 
 any one of these branches, it would destroy that balance, 
 and consequently subvert the whole constitution. That 
 the peers were already possessed of many valuable privi-
 
 1719.] Discussion on Peerage Bill. 181 
 
 leges, and to give them more power and authority, by 
 limiting their number, would in time put the Commons 
 again into that state of servile dependency they were in 
 when they wore the badges of the Lords. That he could 
 not but wonder that the Lords would send such a bill to 
 the Commons ; for how could they expect that they would 
 give their concurrence to so injurious a law, by which they 
 and their posterities are to be excluded from the peerage ? 
 And how would the Lords receive a bill by which it should 
 be enacted that a baron should not be made a viscount, 
 nor a viscount be made an earl, and so on ? That besides 
 all this, that part of the bill which related to the peerage 
 of Scotland would be a manifest violation of the Act of 
 Union on the part of England, and a dishonourable breach 
 of trust in those who represented the Scotch nobility. 
 That such an infringement of the union would endanger 
 the entire dissolution of it, by disgusting so great a number 
 of the Scotch peers as should be excluded from sitting in 
 the British Parliament. For, as it was well known that 
 the Revolution Settlement stood upon the principle of a 
 mutual compact, if we should break first the articles of 
 union, it would be natural for the Scots to think themselves 
 thereby freed from all allegiance. And as for what had 
 been suggested, that the election of the sixteen Scotch 
 peers was no less expensive to the crown than injurious to 
 the peerage of Scotland, it might be answered, that the 
 making twenty-five hereditary sitting Scotch peers would 
 .still increase the discontents of the electing peers, who 
 thereby would be cut off of a valuable consideration for 
 not being chosen." 
 After Mr Aislabie, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr
 
 182 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xvm. 
 
 Sergeant Pengelly, and one or two other members had 
 spoken, the question was put, on the motion of Lord 
 William Powlett, and carried in the negative by 269 to 
 177, so that the bill was lost.* 
 
 On the same day on which the bill was introduced, 
 Steele had, by anticipation, addressed an able letter on 
 the subject to his former antagonist, Lord Oxford, in which 
 he at the same time took occasion to make a frank and 
 manly avowal of the excess to which he had been led by 
 the ardour of his zeal in reference to him in his former 
 writings, and of the pain which the consciousness of this had 
 since caused him. It was occasioned by the coincidence 
 of their views with regard to the bill. In reference to the 
 sentiments of a personal nature, it will be remembered 
 that Steele had formerly been under obligations to Oxford, 
 and, in his letter resigning his Commissionership of Stamps, 
 had expressed his personal good feeling. The arguments 
 in this letter formed the substance of Steele's speech 
 against the bill the same day in the House : — 
 
 December 7, 1719. 
 "My Loud, — I am very glad of an occasion wherein I have the good 
 fortune to think the same way with your lordship, because I have very 
 long suffered a great deal of pain in reflecting upon a certain virulence 
 with which my zeal has heretofore transported me to treat your lordship's 
 person and character. I do protest to you, excepting in the first smart of 
 my disgrace and expulsion out of the House of Commons, I never wrote 
 anything that ought to displease you, but with a reluctant heart, and in 
 opposition to much good will and esteem for your many great and un- 
 common talents. And I take the liberty to say, thus publicly to yourself, 
 what I have often said to others on the subject of my behaviour to you ; 
 I never had any other reason to lessen, my Lord of Oxford — than Brutus 
 had to stab Ctesar — the love of my country. Your lordship will, I hope, 
 
 * See the Political State, December 1719.
 
 1719.] Letter to Lord Oxford. 183 
 
 believe there cannot be a more voluntary unrestrained reparation made to 
 a man than that I make to you, in begging your pardon thus publicly, for 
 everything I have written to your disadvantage foreign to the argument 
 and cause which I was then labouring to support. You will please to 
 believe, that I could not be so insensible as not to be touched with the 
 generosity of part of your conduct towards me, or have omitted to 
 acknowledge it accordingly, if I had not thought that your very virtue 
 was dangerous ; that it was, as the world then stood, absolutely necessary 
 to depreciate so adventurous a genius, surrounded by so much power as 
 your lordship then had. I transgressed, my lord, against you when you 
 could make twelve peers in a day ; I ask your pardon when you are a 
 private nobleman ; and, as I told you, when I resigned the stamp office, I 
 wished you all prosperity consistent with the public good, so now I con- 
 gratulate you upon the pleasure you must needs have in looking back 
 upon the true fortitude with which you have passed through the dangers 
 arising from the rage of the people and the envy of the rest of the world. 
 If to have rightly judged of men's passions and prejudices, vices and 
 virtues, interests and inclinations, and to have waited with skill and 
 courage for proper seasons and incidents to make use of them for a man's 
 safety and honour, can administer pleasure to a man of sense and spirit, 
 your lordship has abundant cause of satisfaction." 
 
 The spirit displayed in these introductory remarks 
 affords a striking proof of the tenderness of Steele's con- 
 science and feelings. He was not at ease until he had 
 made amend for his former severity, which, though it 
 might have been undue, was committed in a time of war, 
 and which, whether before or after his unjustifiable ex- 
 pulsion from the House of Commons, most men would 
 have considered as cancelled by that act. Steele, how- 
 ever, forgetting his own grievance, thought only of the 
 offence against his former antagonist, instead, as might 
 have been supposed, of rejoicing in his humiliation since 
 the time when, in his day of power, he was so injuriously 
 treated at his bidding. 
 
 After this graceful amende, he enters on a review of the 
 various provisions of the obnoxious bill, which might, he
 
 184 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap, xviii. 
 
 said, change this free state into the worst of all tyrannies 
 — that of an aristocracy. He notices that no allusion was 
 made in the bill to the only plausible reason for it, in the 
 late abuse of the prerogative by the nobleman he ad- 
 dressed. After referring to the part relating to the peers 
 of Scotland, from whom it was proposed to remove the 
 representative element, and to raise their number from 
 sixteen to twenty-five hereditary peers, as a breach of the 
 terms of the union, which might lead to the most dangerous 
 consequences, he proceeds to urge that we are safer under 
 the prerogative than under an aristocracy. That the 
 animosities and quarrels of the time should not deprive 
 the sovereign of a power which was proper to him, and 
 which would be so felt a hundred years hence. Any 
 sudden and surprising way of creation, he said, was open to 
 the legislature for censure ; and the great diminution 
 which all creations bring upon the King's authority is a 
 sufficient defence against the abuse of that authority : for 
 when the King makes peers, he makes perpetual opponents 
 of his will and power, if they shall think fit. But in case 
 this should not be deemed sufficient, he proposed, that to 
 prevent the sudden occasional increase of peers, an easy 
 and obvious method would be that new peers should be 
 prohibited to sit or vote in Parliament till after a con- 
 venient time from their creation. He spoke not this 
 that he approved of such a remedy, but named that ex- 
 pedient only to shew that more is asked than is needed. 
 There was no part of society, he said, considered in this 
 bill but the peers. Though a commoner was not to be 
 admitted to the ranks of the peerage, yet the power of 
 making promotions within the body was not removed, nor
 
 1719.] Letter to Lord Oxford. 185 
 
 was the crown prohibited from making peers from the 
 members of the royal family, who were not to count in 
 the fixed number. The restraint of the peers to a certain 
 number would, he said, render the House useless, because 
 it is well known that the great business is always carried 
 on by men created first in their own persons. The Lords 
 exercise a power in the last resource of justice, and an 
 appeal, they say, lies to them from the courts of West- 
 minster Hall, for determining all the property in Great 
 Britain, yet they are willing to have a law which must 
 disable them from being a capable court of justice for the 
 future. When they were confined to a number, the most 
 powerful of them would have the rest under their direc- 
 tion, and all the property disputed before them liable to 
 be bestowed, not by judgment, but by vote and humour or 
 worse. Judges made by the blind order of birth will be 
 capable of no other way of decision. It is said, he re- 
 marked, that power attends property; it is as true that 
 power will command property, and according to the de- 
 generacy of human nature the Lords may as well grow 
 corrupt as other men. Shall we, then, expose ourselves 
 to probable evils with the prospect of impossible remedies 
 against them 1 
 
 With relation to the Scottish peers, the bill was a viola- 
 tion of justice and common right; and the principles of 
 the union once broken, it w r ould exist only on sufferance 
 or by force, not by law. With regard to the King's pre- 
 rogative, this law would diminish it to an irreparable 
 degree, and at a time when in possession of a prince so 
 moderate as to be willing to resign it. It was a part of 
 the estate of the crown which they should not consent
 
 186 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap, xviii. 
 
 to remove without just occasion. The prerogative can 
 do no hurt when ministers do their duty; but a certain 
 number of peers may abuse their power, when no man is 
 answerable for them. He knew it was said the manner of 
 their power would be the same as now, but then the ap- 
 plication of it may be altered when they are an un- 
 changeable body. 
 
 He had always asserted, he said, that if there had been 
 any outrage in the case of the twelve simultaneous crea- 
 tions, the peers should have then withstood the receiving 
 of them, or done what they thought fit for their satisfac- 
 tion, and not, when it is too late, instead of asserting their 
 liberties, seek their future security in unreasonable conces- 
 sions from the crown and discouragements of the merit of 
 the Commons. As to the provisions of the bill respect- 
 ing the order and economy of the nobility, plain men and 
 commoners would not dispute about things merely trifling 
 and ornamental ; and if they would be satisfied with their 
 present power as peers, they should be dukes, marquises, 
 earls, or what other words they pleased, without envy or 
 opposition. But as it was the last time it might be in their 
 power to make a stand for themselves and their posterity, 
 they should be very zealous. At the same time, they 
 could not be more exorbitant in their use of this bill if 
 successful, than in the circumstances under which they 
 send it for acceptance ; and it was not thirst of power, but 
 moderation in the use of it, could recommend men to further 
 trust : it was to be apprehended that what was founded in 
 usurpation would be exerted in tyranny. It was a melan- 
 choly consideration that, under the pressure of debts, the 
 necessities of a war, the perplexities of trade, and the
 
 i7io.] Letter to Lord Oxford. 187 
 
 calamities of the poor, the legislature should thus be taken 
 up and. employed in schemes for the advancement of the 
 power, pride, and luxury of the rich and noble. He spoke 
 not thus, he said, to spread discontents or sow divisions, 
 but to heal them, and in charity to all men. If this bill 
 was necessary to prevent the creation of occasional peers, 
 why at the same time are an unprecedented number to 
 be made now % Is it not the same as saying, if you will 
 let us make so many this one time under the sanction of a 
 law, we will make no more, for we shall have no occasion 
 for any more. The former conduct of the House of Peers, 
 of admitting or opposing creations of the crown, shows that 
 they well knew that they have a power of so doing, when the 
 reason of the thing gives them authority for it. The latter end 
 of the bill, he says, seems to have some compassion towards 
 the prerogative, and enacts something gracious towards the 
 descendants of the sovereign before the commencement of 
 the aristocracy, laying no restraint upon the " advancing or 
 promoting any peer, having vote and seat in Parliament, 
 to any higher rank or degree of dignity or nobility ; 
 nor from creating any of the princes of the blood peers of 
 Great Britain or lords of Parliament ; such princes, so 
 created, not to be esteemed any part of the number to 
 which the peers are by this Act restrained." He concludes 
 by applauding those who had taken an active part in 
 opposing the bill, especially one young nobleman, probably 
 the son of his correspondent, to whom he alludes, — speak- 
 ing of himself as "a poor plebeian who, from the love of 
 justice and virtue, had, at the entrance into old age, but 
 just lifted his head out of obscurity into noise, clamour, 
 ;md envy, "—a singular and characteristic proof of modesty
 
 188 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xvm. 
 
 in one who had previously raised to himself a monument 
 more lasting than the fleeting interests of politics could 
 confer. 
 
 Having thus endeavoured to give the substance of this 
 letter as nearly in Steele's own words as was consistent 
 with brevity, it may not be out of place here, where his 
 name occurs for the last time, to glance at the nobleman 
 to whom it was addressed, who acted so conspicuous a 
 part in the memorable transactions of the preceding reign. 
 
 Robert Harley, (1661-1724,) who became Earl of Ox- 
 ford and Mortimer, was the elder son of Sir Edward 
 Harley, a Hertfordshire baronet, who had been an active 
 partisan of the Parliament in the civil war, and at the 
 Revolution, in conjunction with his son, raised a troop of 
 horse, and joined the Prince of Orange. After receiving 
 an excellent private education, young Harley had been 
 destined for the military profession, but, in accordance 
 with the evident tendency of his talents and inclinations, 
 which clearly pointed to civil life, the original intention 
 was relinquished. Shortly after the Revolution, Mr Harley 
 entered Parliament as member for Tregony. He after- 
 wards sat for Radnor, which he represented till removed 
 to the Upper House. His family being Presbyterians and 
 Whigs, he commenced life professing his hereditary prin- 
 ciples. From whatever cause, however, whether dissatis- 
 faction, or more probably from what he regarded as his 
 interest, (for he still had a leaning to his old principles,) 
 he soon enlisted himself among the opposition party. 
 Marlborough had not then joined the Whigs, and with him 
 Harley formed an intimate connexion. Having established 
 a character for ability by his address in debate, the know-
 
 1719.] Harley, Earl of Oxford. 189 
 
 ledge he displayed on financial questions, and his manage- 
 ment of a bill for the more frequent summoning of parlia- 
 ments, he was chosen Speaker in the fifth Parliament of 
 William (1701,) as he was again at the commencement of 
 the following year, and a third time in the first Parliament 
 of Queen Anne. This important office, which did not then 
 preclude the active participation in the strife of party, he 
 was considered to have filled with credit. A curious 
 example of chicanery over-reaching itself occurred in the 
 discussions on the Act of Settlement, when Harley, in the 
 interest of his adopted party, which could not openly 
 oppose a measure which was only the sequel of the Re- 
 volution, suggested, among other expedients of obstruc- 
 tion, certain restrictions of the prerogative which, he said, 
 had been overlooked from haste in the existing Govern- 
 ment. These were actually adopted by the promoters of 
 the bill and passed along with it. So that a prominent 
 leader of the party assuming to be the special friends of 
 the crown and its prerogatives, and the man who after- 
 wards made his way to power by fostering the Queen's 
 prejudices against the Whigs, and representing them as 
 actuated by a desire to curtail the prerogative, was the 
 means of permanently reducing it beyond what it had ever 
 previously been. In the administration of Marlborough 
 and Godolphin, they attempted the same policy of a coali- 
 tion of the moderate of both parties, which he afterwards 
 endeavoured to carry out. Through their influence he 
 was appointed to the office of Secretary jof State in 1704, 
 and Henry St John, afterwards Lord Bolingbroke, was 
 nominated Secretary-at-War. He was not long in office, 
 however, when, by the agency of Mrs Masham, a lady of
 
 190 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap, xviii. 
 
 the Queen's household, who had been appointed through 
 the influence of Lady Marlborough, to whom, as well as to 
 Harley, she was related, he began that system of intrigue 
 and duplicity against his patrons which has given him a 
 pre-eminence, in an unscrupulous age, as the most un- 
 scrupulous of politicians and perfidious of friends. The 
 particulars have been previously referred to, and need not 
 here be repeated. Suffice it to say that, with the aid of 
 his friend, and taking advantage of his official position, he 
 succeeded in ingratiating himself with the Queen, and 
 ultimately, by those insinuating arts of which he was 
 master, and by flattering her prejudices, acquired an 
 ascendancy over her greater than that of any other of her 
 ministers. The aim of the compact between Harley and 
 Mrs Masham was nothing less than to promote their 
 ambitious views by undermining the influence of the pre- 
 sent Ministry, and the formation of another on its ruins, 
 of which he should be head. The lady had already suc- 
 ceeded in supplanting her patron, and by assisting the 
 Secretary to follow her example, she would be able to 
 serve herself and the husband who had recently married 
 her without a dower. The great means employed to this 
 end was the peace policy, which had begun to find favour 
 with the Queen, and even with the nation, which now 
 began to wince under the burden of the war. During all 
 this time he had been making the most plausible profes- 
 sions of attachment to the interests of his chiefs. But 
 these intrigues and clandestine interviews becoming known 
 before Harley 's plans were ripe, Godolphin and Marl- 
 borough insisted on his dismissal. With this the Queen 
 refused compliance ; but the affair of Greg's treasonable
 
 1719.] Ilarlcij, Earl of Oxford. 191 
 
 correspondence emanating from his office, though there 
 was no evidence implicating the Secretary, yet occurring 
 at the same time with his own treachery and duplicity, 
 with which it seemed to have so suspicious a family like- 
 ness, its effect was so damaging as to induce him volun- 
 tarily to resign. He was followed by St John, Harcourt, 
 and others of the party he had been organising. This was 
 the first instance of his crooked policy recoiling on himself, 
 which did not, however, make him despair of employing it 
 successfully on a future occasion. For about two years 
 and a half he remained out of office, though still enjoying 
 the confidence of the Queen, watching his opportunity and 
 employing the interim in sowing dissensions and jealousies 
 among the opposing parties. At length the opportunity 
 for which he waited arrived. In an ill-fated hour the 
 Ministers, despite the advice of Somers, determined on 
 impeaching a foolish parson for some violent rhodomontade 
 of a political nature in the pulpit. The opportunity was 
 seized on by the opposite party to set up the cry of " The 
 Church in danger," and the furious and wide-spread dis- 
 play of High Church popular enthusiasm proved a storm 
 too violent for the Whig pilots to weather. The Queen, 
 seeing that she had now a favourable pretext for following 
 her inclinations, lost no time in clearing the way for her 
 favourite. The Chamberlain was first dismissed to make 
 way for the Earl of Shrewsbury, without consulting Godol- 
 phin; Sunderland followed, being a connexion of Marl- 
 borough, as if to intimate that that interest was shaken. 
 Whether this was intended to pique him into a resignation, 
 or any overtures were made him with the view of a com- 
 promise, is uncertain But early in August 1710, Godol-
 
 192 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap, xviii. 
 
 pliin, the Lord Treasurer, was dismissed. The probability 
 is that Harley calculated on the others being induced to 
 remain in office, according to his favourite theory of uniting 
 the talents and experience of both parties. Indeed, ac- 
 cording to his own acknowledgment, this was not merely 
 a matter of policy, but almost of necessity, the Tories 
 having no men of business ability or experience among 
 them. The remainder of the Ministers, however, at once 
 gave in their resignation. 
 
 The new Tory Ministry was duly inaugurated in August 
 1710, Harley himself holding the offices of Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer and one of the Commissioners of the 
 Treasury ; the Earl of Rochester, the Queen's uncle, being 
 Lord President of the Council. The other offices were 
 not hastily filled, Harley, as virtual, though not nomi- 
 nal, chief of the Cabinet, hoping to lure some Whigs 
 of experience and influence to join them. Not only by 
 his personal exertions, but by means of a pamphlet de- 
 signed to show the folly of party distinctions, and that 
 they were more imaginary than real, did he endeavour to 
 compass his design of the fusion of ri^al interests. In 
 this scheme, the theory of which might be very good if it 
 could be honestly carried out, he was unsuccessful. His 
 own party, meantime, were much disappointed. It was 
 not until St John and Harcourt had threatened to retire 
 and leave him to his fate, that they succeeded in their 
 wishes. The former then became Secretary of State, and 
 by his great eloquence, both in speech and writing, be- 
 came the great champion of the Administration. At the 
 elections, owing to the extraordinary outburst of High 
 Church zeal, the interest of the new Government carried
 
 iri9.] Hark y, Earl of Oxford. 193 
 
 all before it. But it was internally weak. Heart-burnings 
 and jealousies manifested themselves from the very outset. 
 Harley's professedly moderate, or, as they termed it, trim- 
 ming policy, was displeasing to his colleagues, and there 
 were various contending claimants struggling for prece- 
 dence in the Cabinet. The bickerings between Rochester 
 and Harley were matter of notoriety. The former founded 
 his claim to precedence on his long experience and his 
 affinity to the Queen, while the ambition of St John, with 
 his towering abilities, ill brooked a superior. A forebod- 
 ing of a speedy break-up led both Harley and St John to 
 pay court to the Whigs. 
 
 An event of a startling nature finally decided this ques- 
 tion, and, by the shock which it gave, tended to stifle for a 
 time the suicidal contentions in the Cabinet. A French 
 adventurer, the Abb6 de Bourlie, better known as the 
 .Marquis de Guiscard, who pretended some claims on the 
 ground of services rendered to the allies, had, after much 
 importunity, succeeded in obtaining the sanction of the 
 Queen to the grant of a pension, the amount of which 
 Harley had reduced. In his indignation at this, Guiscard 
 had sought to revenge himself, and make his peace with 
 his own government by a treasonable correspondence, for 
 which he had been brought before the Privy Council on a 
 secretary's warrant. He was very violent under examina- 
 tion, and after requesting a private interview with Mr St 
 John, with whom he had formerly been intimate, and who 
 had signed the warrant, which was refused him, ap- 
 proached the table and stabbed Mr Harley twice with a 
 pen-knife. Mr St John, seeing Harley fall, drew his sword, 
 and with others inflicted, on the assassin a number of 
 
 VOL II. N
 
 194 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xvm. 
 
 wounds, of which he died in prison. The sensation pro- 
 duced by an event so shocking was of course very great, and 
 tended to fix universal attention and interest on the 
 victim. Addresses of condolence and sympathy on his 
 behalf were presented to the Queen by both Houses of 
 Parliament. Constant messages of inquiry were sent 
 during his confinement by the most distinguished persons, 
 including the sovereign herself, and on his convalescence 
 he received a congratulatory address from the Commons 
 couched in the most flattering terms. The regret ex- 
 pressed by Harlcy at the death of Guiscard, mentioned by 
 Swift,* although his living could not have been much to 
 his advantage after such a deed, was, if sincere, a remark- 
 able proof of his amiability. 
 
 On his recovery, the recognition of his precedence in 
 the Cabinet immediately followed. Two months after, he 
 was raised to the peerage by the title of Earl of Oxford 
 and Mortimer, and a few weeks later promoted to the 
 office of Lord Treasurer. This extraordinary accession of 
 popularity caused his great financial scheme for the pay- 
 ment of the national debt, which he introduced shortly 
 after his return to the House, to be received with general 
 acceptance, though not quite approved by some of his 
 colleagues. By his admirers, indeed, it was extravagantly 
 extolled. Yet the leading provisions of the measure were 
 for the establishment of a lottery and the formation of 
 that delusive South Sea Company which, in the following 
 reign, terminated in most disastrous results. He was the 
 first governor of the company. 
 
 The two most notable acts of the Oxford Administration 
 
 * Journal to Stella, April 13, 1711.
 
 1719.] Harley, Ea rl of ( )xj brd. 195 
 
 were the creation of twelve new peers in one day at the 
 close of 1711, and the treaty of peace (Utrecht) in 1713, 
 which terminated a ten years' war. With regard to the 
 former, though the politico-theological fanaticism existing 
 when they entered upon office enabled the Tories to re- 
 turn an overwhelming majority in the Commons, the Lords 
 had still remained a stronghold of the Whig interest, and 
 had proved on various occasions a thorn in the side of the 
 Administration. It was to obviate this constantly-recur- 
 ring difficulty, the last of which was in the discussion rela- 
 tive to the proposed treaty of peace, when they were in a 
 minority,* that the Lord Treasurer proposed to the Queen 
 an exercise of the prerogative, which, though there was no 
 legal impediment to it, was an unprecedented straining of 
 the power of the Crown for party purposes, and so far un- 
 constitutional in spirit that its direct aim was to interfere 
 with the freedom of Parliament. The treaty which after 
 tedious negotiations was at length concluded at Utrecht, 
 in the early part of 1713, between Great Britain, Holland, 
 and France, was assailed by the Whigs with a storm of 
 opposition which had such an effect upon the public mind 
 
 * This produced a great panic among the Tories, which was increased by their 
 fears that the Queen was wavering. Mrs Masham, after having supplanted her 
 patron, Lady Marlborough, was now in a great measure supplanted in turn by the 
 Duchess of Somerset. "I immediately told Sirs Masham that either she and the 
 Lord Treasurer had joined with the Queen to betray us, or that they two were 
 betrayed by the Queen. She protested solemnly it was not the former, and I 
 believed her; but she gave me some lights to suspect the Queen is changed. 
 For yesterday, when the Queen was going from the House, where she sat to hear 
 the debate, the Duke of Shrewsbury, Lord Chamberlain, asked her ' whether he or 
 the Great Chamberlain, Lindsay, ought to lead her out,' she answered shortly, 
 ' Neither of yon,' and gave her hand to the Duke of Somerset, who was louder 
 than any in the House for the clause against peace. She gave me one or two 
 mori sea of this sort, which convince me that the Queen is false, or at 
 
 rerj much wavering." Swift's Journal to Stella, Dec. 8, 1711
 
 196 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap, xviii. 
 
 as to make the Ministry dread a reaction in public opinion, 
 and led to the most stringent and arbitrary measures 
 against the freedom of the press. At the close of the 
 previous year there were no less than twelve prosecutions 
 for seditious pamphlets on the first day of term in the 
 Queen's Bench. The portion of the treaty which related 
 to commerce, in which the interests of the country were 
 considered as sacrificed to the incompetence or treachery 
 of the Ministers, was attacked with special severity. 
 Among the assailants were Addison, Maynwaring, and 
 Martyn. The only advantage the country derived from 
 the lavish expenditure of its blood and treasure in a ten 
 years' war was the cession of Gibraltar and Minorca, and 
 what was called the assiento contract, by which the exclu- 
 sive privilege of the carrying trade in reference to the 
 slaves to the Spanish West Indies, was guaranteed to this 
 country. Philip V. retained the crown of Spain and its 
 West Indian possessions, but it was stipulated that his 
 descendants should be incompetent to inherit the French 
 crown, or the Kings of France that of Spain. The French 
 at the same time relinquished their pretensions in the 
 Netherlands. Thus the Spanish crown, the usurpation of 
 which, contrary to the barrier treaty, had been one of the 
 principal causes of the war, remained as before. In ad- 
 dition to the advantages being wholly inadequate to the 
 success of the war by British instrumentality, it was a 
 stigma upon the national honour that we should have de- 
 serted our ally the Emperor of Germany and have stooped 
 to a separate treaty, leaving him to struggle single-handed. 
 The execution of the treaty was chiefly the work of 
 Bolingbroke, though in pursuance of the policy of Harley,
 
 17 19. J Harley, Earl of Oxford. 197 
 
 among other reasons from his accomplishments as a lin- 
 guist, in which he had so great a talent that he boasted of 
 having acquired Spanish in a fortnight. But in the midst 
 of the triumph of Oxford and his colleagues at having, as 
 it were, taken the ground from under the feet of the Whigs, 
 a retributive vengeance pursued him. What Steele fore- 
 told came to pass, that " he would raise up powers he 
 would be unable to control, and which would tear him to 
 pieces.'' The Duke of Somerset, whom his arts, probably, 
 had seduced, along with others, on some ground of disgust, 
 from his allegiance to the Whigs, was soon dissatisfied with 
 his new allies, and was supposed to be fraternising with his 
 old friends. His duchess, who had succeeded Lady Marl- 
 borough at court, and whose insinuating manners had 
 firmly established her in the favour of the Queen, was also 
 a thorn in the side of the Ministers. The extreme section 
 of the treasurer's own party, moreover, known as the 
 October Club, irritated with his professed moderation and 
 trimming policy, had on the treaty of commerce risen in 
 open rebellion against him ; his colleague Bolingbroke had 
 placed himself at the head of an independent party, and 
 galled him on every opportunity. Nor was this all. Through 
 the very agency by which Harley had supplanted his pre- 
 decessor and patron Godolphin, and by the same wily arts, 
 he found that Bolingbroke had succeeded in supplanting 
 him. The secretary had done the favourite, now Lady 
 Masham, a service which Oxford had failed to do, and she 
 consequently employed her influence for him as she had 
 formerly done for the other. There is reason to believe 
 that Bolingbroke's Jacobite tendencies had also as much to 
 do with his advancement to favour as his talents and in-
 
 198 Steele and Itis Contemporaries, [chap, xviii. 
 
 sinuating address. Harlcy had played with the Jacobites, 
 and wished to be thought by them as favourable to their 
 views, but he also wished to be thought not by the opposite 
 party. They probably saw through him, and this most 
 likely was the cause of his fall. Then commenced a scene 
 of recrimination of unprecedented acrimony, which neither 
 the respect due to the presence of the sovereign, nor her 
 sex, nor the feebleness of her health, could restrain. The 
 meeting was prolonged till two in the morning, and the 
 Queen is said to have declared, that she never would 
 recover the effect of the perturbation into which she was 
 thrown by such an unseemly altercation. On the 27th of 
 July 1714, the treasurer's staff was demanded, and placed 
 in the hands of Shrewsbury by the dying Queen, who, after 
 remaining in a lethargic condition, expired on the 1st of 
 August. 
 
 By the publication of the memoirs of the Duke of Ber- 
 wick, who was a natural son of James II., it appears that 
 the disgrace of llarley was the result of an intrigue between 
 him, Bolingbroke, and Mrs Masham, and that the sudden- 
 ness of the Queen's demise prevented the measures that 
 were intended to be concerted subsequently. As it was, it 
 is said that Bishop Atterbury offered to proclaim the Pre- 
 tender in full canonicals if he were only allowed a troop of 
 guards to protect him. On the day following the dismissal 
 of Oxford, Bolingbroke entertained a party of the leading- 
 Whigs, possibly with the double design of celebrating his 
 triumph, and as a cover to his designs ; but he was not des- 
 tined to realise the hopes of promotion he had founded on 
 it. He had also invited the Duke of Marlborough to return, 
 and Oxford is even stated to have attempted a rcconcilia-
 
 1/iu.] Hurley, Earl of Oxford. 199 
 
 tion by the same means. It is certain that the duke did 
 proceed on his return previous to the Queen's decease, and 
 was only detained by contrary winds. 
 
 On the arrival of the King on the 18th of August, Boling- 
 broke was dismissed, and shortly after fled. Articles of 
 impeachment were prepared against both him and Oxford; 
 but the latter, with the courage he had displayed under the 
 most critical circumstances on former occasions, stood his 
 ground. He was. committed to the Tower, where, in con- 
 sequence of the prorogation of Parliament, he remained 
 upwards of two years. On his petition, May 22, 1717, that 
 the House of Peers would take his case into consideration, 
 " being assured it was not their Lordships' intention that 
 his confinement should be indefinite," the day for the trial 
 was fixed for the 24th of June. On his appearing, how- 
 ever, some difference arose on a point of form between the 
 two Houses, and the Commons declining to appear on the 
 terms proposed, the Lords acquitted Oxford. The Whigs 
 were so implacable against him that the Commons pro- 
 posed to try him in a different form, and addressed the 
 King on the subject, but the matter ultimately fell to the 
 ground without any further proceedings. 
 
 The remainder of the life of Lord Oxford was spent in 
 retirement, and devoted to art and literature, of which he 
 had ever been an admirer, patron, and cultivator, from 
 something more than policy. Although his personal attain- 
 ments did not rise above mediocrity, he was a persevering 
 student, and the uniform and liberal patron of men of 
 letters. Among others, Defoe was indebted to his liberality, 
 and for his release from the lung incarceration he had suf- 
 fered in consequence of the intolerance of the times. We
 
 200 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap, xviii. 
 
 find Steele acknowledging his generosity in the letter in 
 which he resigned his office. The completion of that noble 
 collection of books and MSS. which bears his name, and 
 now forms one of the most valuable portions of the treasure 
 of the nation in the British Museum, was the work of his 
 latter years. And, to compare great things with small, as 
 in the cases of Milton, Bacon, and others, whose brightest, 
 best, and no doubt happiest days, which have made the 
 world their debtors, were those of their retirement, conse- 
 quent on what the world calls disgrace, it may be ques- 
 tioned if, in the society of the living ornaments of letters, 
 Pope, Prior, Gay, Arbuthnot, and others, and the brightest 
 part of those departed enshrined in books, Harley had not 
 a truer enjoyment of life than when, in the fickle sunshine 
 of a court, he intrigued against his friends, or was intrigued 
 against by others of them in turn. 
 
 Mr Lewis, an official favourite of Lord Oxford, in a 
 letter to Swift, written some years later, remarked in 
 reference to his " History of the Four Last Years of Queen 
 Anne," which was only published posthumously, that the 
 true monument of Oxford was the treaty of Utrecht. But 
 it is no bad test of the difficulties that stood in the way of 
 his predecessors in making an honourable peace, that he 
 should have been so long after entering upon office in 
 carrying out the very measure on the strength of which he 
 attained to power, that it was conducted in a clandestine 
 manner, and that it was finally concluded by a partial and 
 unsatisfactory measure, and by the desertion of the Ger- 
 man allies. When the Duke of Marlborough proposed 
 peace, the French Court construed it into weakness, and 
 treated it accordingly. Several years previously the Whigs
 
 1719. J Harleij, Earl of Oxford. 201 
 
 had all but settled a peace, which would not have left the 
 Spanish Crown in possession of the Bourbons, but for the 
 difficulty of obtaining satisfactory guarantees for the ful- 
 filment of the conditions, considering that the war was 
 occasioned by the breach of a former treaty. 
 
 Swift, with whom he agreed in fondness for la bagatelle, 
 and would trifle like a schoolboy, has drawn his portrait. 
 He represents him as unaffected by the possession of 
 power in a remarkable degree; as abounding in good- 
 nature and good-humour ; as having the greatest variety 
 of knowledge he had ever met with ; as a perfect master 
 of the learned languages, and well skilled in divinity ; as 
 possessing a prodigious memory and most exact judgment ; 
 as a great favourer of men of wit and learning ; of the 
 greatest liberality and contempt of money; as an utter 
 stranger to fear ; as reading the libels and pamphlets 
 against himself with a most unaffected indifference; 
 and possessing as much virtue as could consist with 
 the love of power. He might have said with power so 
 attained. 
 
 The reputation of Lord Oxford was first acquired by 
 his financial and constitutional knowledge, and his tact in 
 debate, but did not keep pace with his advancement. As 
 the world, whether justly or not, recognises a difference 
 between public and private character and honour, in the 
 latter Lord Oxford was of unblemished reputation. Boling- 
 broke is said to have been exceedingly jealous of those 
 beautiful but extravagant lines addressed io him by Tope, 
 in his dedication to " Parnell's Poems:" — 
 
 " And sure, if aught below the seats divine 
 Can touch immortality, 'tis a soul like thine .
 
 202 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xvm. 
 
 A soul supreme, in each hard instance tried, 
 Above all pain, all passion, and all pride, 
 The rage of power, the blast of public breath, 
 The lust of lucre, and the dread of death." 
 
 In the autumn of this year Steele received a compli- 
 mentary dedication from Mr Colley Cibber of his tragedy 
 of "Zimenes, or the Heroic Daughter," in which, after 
 dwelling upon the obligations the drama was under to him, 
 and the improvement and reformation of the stage by his 
 criticisms, he refers to the depreciation of his literary fame 
 by his political enemies, and the invidious comparisons by 
 which Addison was allowed the lion's share, which have 
 unhappily survived : — 
 
 " How long and happily did old Isaac (Bickerstaff) triumph in the 
 universal love and favour of his readers 1 The grave, the cheerful, the 
 wise, the witty, old, young, rich and poor, all sorts, though ever so opposite 
 in character, whether beaux or bishops, rakes or men of business, coquettes 
 or statesmen, Whigs or Tories, — all were equally his friends, and thought 
 their tea in a morning had not its taste without him. Thus, while you ap- 
 peared the agreeable philosopher only, mankind, by a general assent, came 
 into your applause and service. And yet, how in a moment was this 
 calm and unrivalled enjoyment blown into the air, when the apprehen- 
 sion of your country's being in a flame called upon you to resign it ... . 
 in the restless office of a Patriot ! for no sooner did you rise the champion 
 of our insulted constitution, than one-half of the nation (that had just 
 before allowed you the proper censor of our morals) in an instant denied 
 you to have wit, sense, or genius. The column they had been two years 
 jointly raising to your reputation, was then, in a few days, thrown down by 
 the implacable hands that raised it. But when they found that no attacks 
 of prejudice could deface the real beauty of your writings, and that they 
 still recovered from the blow, their malice was then indeed driven to its 
 last hold, of giving the chief merit of them to another great author, who, 
 they allowed, had never so audaciously provoked them. This was, indeed, 
 turning your own cannon upon you, and making use of your private 
 virtue to depreciate your character ; for had not the diffusive benevolence 
 of your heart thought even fame too great a good to be possessed alone, 
 you would never (as you confessed in the preface to those works) have
 
 1719.] Correspondence. 203 
 
 taken your nearest friend into a share of it Your enemies, there- 
 fore, thus knowing that your own consent had partly justified their in- 
 sinuations, saved a great deal of their malice from being ridiculous." 
 
 He concluded with a quotation from Shakespeare which, 
 by inference, — which none would more have deprecated 
 than Steele himself — placed him above his illustrious friend. 
 
 The following compose his correspondence in 1719 : — 
 
 Letter CCCLXXXI. To Mr Alexander Scurlock. 
 
 Villiers Street, York Buildings, 
 Feb. 19, 1718-19. 
 Dear Cousin,— I believe this will come to Carmarthen about the time 
 of your arrival there : and I send it to signify to you, that I foresaw many 
 inconveniences which might arise from making any assignment on the 
 playhouse ; and, therefore, instead of giving Mrs Koach any order on that 
 part uf my income, I gave her another letter of attorney for a hundred a 
 year to be paid by you — that is, a further hundred ; in all, two hundred. 
 I shall take care, God willing, to appropriate all arising from the estate to 
 the service of the children ; but, at the same time, I must make it pay all 
 funeral charges of the late possessors of it, my honoured mother and dear 
 wife : therefore I entreat you to have your thoughts upon supplying those 
 proper charges with the greatest expedition that may be proper. I have 
 ordered all the tradesmen to bring in their bills, and shall transmit the 
 sums to you, and desire thereupon that you may tell me what they are to 
 trust to as to time of payment. — I am, dear Sandy, your faithful friend 
 and humble servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCLXXXII. To Mr Law* at Paris. 
 
 Aug. 12, 1719. 
 Sir, — I believe you may have heard my name mentioned since I had the 
 honour to converse with you, and therefore will not suppose you have 
 
 * " John Law, Esq., (one of the early friends and companions of Captain Steele,) 
 was memorable for a fatal duel, in 1C94, with licau Wilson, for which he was 
 tried at tlie Old Bailey, and, being convicted, received a pardon from the Crown, 
 but was detained in prison by the relations of Mr Wilson under an appeal. He 
 found means, however, to escape; and, going to France, became the founder of 
 the famuii.-, Mississippi scheme. In 1721 (having pacified (he surviving relations 
 "f Mr Wilson with L.100,000) he returned to England, where he continued to
 
 204 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap, xviii. 
 
 wholly forgot rue. With this hope I enter upon the business of this letter 
 with the less preface, and at once inform you that the King has given me 
 his letters patent for the sole use of an invention for bringing fish alive 
 and in good health, wherever taken, to any other part however distant. 
 It is well known how ill Paris and other parts of France are supplied with 
 that commodity ; and it will soon occur to you what great advantage may 
 be made of such a privilege given by the King of France for his dominions. 
 
 You have, enclosed, an examplar of the letters patent in print ; and you 
 shall join your own, that of your brother, or any other name, in partnership 
 with me in such patent. 
 
 The thing pretended is done to all intents and purposes ; and I have, 
 under a great deal of ridicule and contempt of the greater, the unthinking, 
 part of the world, worked it up to an undoubted experiment in a sloop of 
 sixty-one tons. Farther I am not able to carry it of myself ; but, now the 
 truth of the design is evident, I doubt not but I shall find means to carry 
 it on from a partnership from the profits that may very visibly arise from 
 it. The thing itself is a service to the world in general, and a merit to the 
 whole species of men, and not only to this or any other nation ; and there- 
 fore I presume it is a request grounded upon the law of nature, that every 
 country should distinguish those from whom they receive benefit, without 
 regard to the places of abode or nativity, or the soil to which they are born 
 subjects. You have too enlarged a view, and the prince whom you serve 
 has too well shown (by his just regard and favour to you) the same 
 magnanimity, to need much discourse on this occasion. 
 
 reside till he received the mortifying intelligence of the confiscation of his whole 
 property in France ; but, being conscious of the rectitude of his conduct in the 
 management of the finances, and that the balance would, upon examination, be 
 found considerably in his favour, he had good reason to natter himself with the 
 hopes of receiving a large sum, especially as the Regent always professed a more 
 than ordinary regard for him, and continued punctually to remit his official 
 salary of 20,000 livres a year. But the death of his Royal Highness, December 
 2, 1723, was a fatal blow to the hopes of Mr Law, who, in a memorial to the Duke 
 of Bourbon, dated October 15, 1724, states himself as ' bankrupt, not only in 
 France, but also in other countries,' and ' his children counted by the most con- 
 siderable families in France as destitute of fortune and establishment.' ' 1 had 
 in my power,' he says, ' to have settled my daughter in marriage in the first 
 houses in Italy, Germany, and England ; but I refused all offers of that nature, 
 thinking it inconsistent with my duty to, and my affection for, the state in whose 
 service I had the honour to be engaged.' He bade a final adieu to Britain in 
 1725, and fixed his residence at Venice, where he concluded the chequered 
 course of his life, in a state but little removed from indigence, March 21, 1729, 
 in the fifty-eighth year of his age."
 
 1719.] 
 
 From Mr Dennis. 205 
 
 But whatever 1 befalls this application, I wish your great and noble genius 
 the continuance of prosperous adventures, and am, sir, your most obedient 
 and most humble servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCLXXXIII. From Mr Dennis, 
 
 Declaring the reasons for which he published the tivo volumes of "Select 
 
 Works." 
 
 Sept. 4, 1719. 
 
 Sir, — I here send you, by the bearer, several pieces in verse and prose, 
 written formerly by me, and lately printed in two volumes ; but I send 
 them not without a double design on you. For, first, I desire that you 
 would have the goodness to oblige your managers to make me some recom- 
 pense this winter for the wrong which they did me the last. Secondly, 
 I desire that you will give me leave to say something concerning the pieces 
 contained in these two volumes, and more particularly concerning the 
 motive which obliged me to write the chief of them at the first, and to 
 publish them lately together ; which I shall do with pleasure to one who 
 has done so much good in the same cause in which most of them were 
 written. 
 
 Several of the pieces in verse and prose, and three of the plays, were 
 written in the cause of liberty. The narrative poems of greater length 
 were all of them written upon great and public occasions ; and were 
 designed as so many panegyrics upon those illustrious persons whose 
 great and heroic actions had made them benefactors to Great Britain and 
 liberty. 
 
 It has always been my opinion that a free nation can never be too 
 zealous in maintaining their liberties, because we have been taught by too 
 many fatal events, that they have at last been often lost by the security 
 and corruptions of those who had for several centuries enjoyed them. 
 Witness the ancient Grecians and Romans, and the ancient and modern 
 Spaniards and French. But whenever the liberties of a great nation are 
 in manifest danger, there all the several members of it, who are not 
 abjectly base, will use their utmost efforts in defending them. The 
 liberties of Great Britain have in our own memory been in so much 
 danger, that they have been twice in thirty years retrieved from imme- 
 diate ruin, first, by the Revolution, and, secondly, by the accession of 
 King George to the imperial crown of this island ; but even now they by 
 no means appear to me to be entirely secured. ** 
 
 Since the Revolution things appear to have been strangely reversed in 
 Great Britain with regard to liberty. In four or five reigns immediately 
 preceding the arrival of King William, of immortal memory, the court was 
 for arbitrary power, and the people appeared strenuous for liberty. But
 
 206 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap, xviii. 
 
 since that time the court has for the most part contended for liberty, and 
 the people, I mean too great a part of them, have declared for slavery. 
 Now, if ever we should come to be under a king who would sacrifice his 
 Protestant Dissenting subjects to the High Church clergy, we should 
 quickly see whether the liberties of a nation are most secure when a con- 
 siderable part of the people (who are their natural guardians) are resolved 
 to defend or determined to resign them. In the meantime, sir, it must 
 be acknowledged, to the immortal honour of the present King, that, by 
 endeavouring to secure the Dissenters from such treatment in time to 
 come, he is taking the most effectual method to immortalise liberty. 
 
 Thus, sir, I have acquainted you with the only motive of writing the 
 chief of these poems, which was the apprehension I had of the danger 
 which the liberties of my country were in, and consequently the liberties 
 of the Christian world, of which ours are the strongest bulwark. I wrote 
 them not then as one who espoused a party, but as a lover of my country, 
 and one zealous to promote the happiness of Great Britain. I have been 
 so far from having any ambitious aims or sordid views of interest, that I 
 have been contented to see several of the public rewards engrossed by 
 some who are lukewarm, and by others who are Jacobites in Whig clothing, 
 while I have remained very poor in a very advanced age. But one thing, 
 indeed, 1 have sometimes been apt to think exceeding hard ; and that is, 
 that these lukewarm persons, and these Jacobites in Whig clothing, should 
 be suffered to make use of the power which they have acquired by their 
 falsehood, to the utter ruin of one who has behaved himself all along with 
 the utmost sincerity in the noblest cause of liberty. 
 
 Thus, sir, have I laid before you the motive which engaged me to write 
 the greater part of the pieces which are contained in the two volumes. I 
 shall now show you how the same motive obliged me to use my endeavours 
 to preserve them, if they should appear worthy of it, and consequently to 
 publish them in the two forementioned volumes. 
 
 It was in October 1716 that I desired a bookseller to collect them for 
 me. I thought that, after so much time had passed since the writing 
 them, I should be capable of forming as true a judgment myself of them 
 as any other person whatsoever, who has no better judgment in poetical 
 matters than I have, or that the precept of Horace, nonum prematur in 
 annum, must be false and vain. 
 
 Upon a very slow and deliberate perusal of them, I could not but con- 
 clude that, with all their faults, they were not altogether deprived of that 
 noble fire which alone can make them pleasing, nor of that justness and 
 solidity which alone can make them lasting. I believed that, if they were 
 published together, they might be able one day to do some good to the 
 public, and no discredit to me. 
 
 And I was the more encouraged to venture on this publication, because,
 
 1719.] 
 
 From Mr Dennis. 207 
 
 sir, you may bo pleased to remember that they had been favourably received 
 by the most illustrious persons of both parties for their judgment in poetry, 
 and their knowledge of the Belles Lettres, by the late Earls of Godolphin 
 and Halifax, Mr Mayn waring, and others, among the Whigs ; and by the 
 present Duke of Buckingham and my Lord Lansdowne, among the Tories. 
 And if any temptation could make me vain, it would be the favourable 
 opinions of the last two noble persons, because, as their judgments in 
 matters of poetry are unquestioned, they can never be supposed to be 
 partial to one who has all his lifetime appeared very zealous in contrary 
 principles to those of a party which they by some means have been sup- 
 posed to favour. My Lord Lansdowne, by making me a present so noble 
 as has never been made by a subject to any author now living, sufficiently 
 declared that what I had written had not been altogether displeasing to 
 him. And it is to the warm approbation which the Duke of Buckingham 
 gave to the poem, " On the Battle of Blenheim," that I owe the honour of 
 being first known to the late illustrious Earl of Godolphin, whose good and 
 great qualities, and the benefits which Great Britain received from his 
 good and his wise administration, make me proud to own for the first and 
 greatest of my benefactors. 
 
 Thus, sir, 1 found encouragement to preserve these pieces, and especially 
 the poems written in the cause of liberty. But I was convinced, at the 
 same time, that the only way to preserve them would be to publish them 
 together. They were in a great many different hands, and some of them 
 in the hands of such as were mortal enemies to the cause in which they 
 were written. Some of them had been very incorrectly printed. The 
 very subject which ought to recommend them to all Englishmen, as well 
 as the harmony without rhyme in several of the poems, made some of 
 them for the present less pleasing to above half the readers of poetry. 
 Some of them that had once appeared with applause seemed to have been 
 forgotten. For all things of late days have been managed by cabal and 
 party ; and there seems to have been a conspiracy in the commonwealth 
 of learning, among fools of all sorts, to exalt folly at the expense of com- 
 mon-sense, and make stupidity triumph over merit in the dominions of wit, 
 which has been one of the causes why things are reduced to that deplorable 
 state upon our British Parnassus. Apollo and the Muses seem to have 
 abandoned it, disdaining that their divinities should honour a place with 
 their songs, where fools and pedants, buffoons, eunuchs, and tumblers, 
 have so often met with applause. 
 
 "Who could have thought, if he had been told twenty years ago, that he 
 aid outlive tragedy and comedy, that he had been promised a life of 
 not quite twenty years 1 Yet it is very plain that tho promise had ex- 
 tended no further, such is the power of cabal and party. 
 
 I have all along had a great aversion to the making a party, or the en-
 
 208 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap, xviii. 
 
 tering into a cabal ; and have sometimes looked upon it with horror, and 
 sometimes with contempt. Who that has common-sense can forbear 
 laughing, when he sees a parcel of fellows who call themselves wits, sit in 
 combination round a coffee-table, as sharpers do round a hazard table, to 
 trick honest gentlemen into an approbation of their works, and bubble 
 them of their understanding ! 
 
 And yet I have all along known that nothing in the greater poetry can 
 grow immediately popular without a cabal or party. I have long been 
 convinced that the more sublimely anything is written in poetry, and the 
 nearer it comes to perfection, the longer it will be before it grows popular 
 without such a cabal : because the more sublimely it is written, and the 
 nearer it comes to perfection, the more it is raised above the apprehension 
 of the vulgar. And yet, notwithstanding this knowledge, I have all along 
 resolved to have no reputation, or to owe it to my writings. 
 
 Thus, sir, you see the reasons why the writings that make up these two 
 volumes, or at least the greater part of them, had been in danger of being 
 lost, if I had not taken pains during my lifetime to correct and publish 
 them together. There is one more reason remaining, and that is, the 
 malice of those people whom the world calls poets, whose hatred I have 
 been proud to incur, by speaking bold and necessaiw truths in the behalf 
 of a noble art, which they have miserably abused by their vile poems, and 
 their more vile criticisms. 
 
 And yet it is from these people that the foolish readers of poetry, which 
 are nine parts in ten, take their opinion of poets and their works ; little 
 believing, or once imagining, that these persons are, of all mankind, the 
 very worst qualified to judge of their own art, as having neither the capa- 
 city nor the impartiality which are requisite for the judging truly ; for it 
 will be found, generally speaking, that poets, painters, and musicians are 
 capacitated less than other men to judge of poetry, painting, and music. 
 This, I must confess, may appear to some to be so bold a paradox, that I 
 shall endeavour to make it out both by reason and authority, though I 
 know very well, at the same time, that you can make no doubt of it. The 
 generality of poets, painters, and musicians are such by the mere power of 
 a warm imagination ; and it is very rarely that a strong imagination and 
 a penetrating judgment are found in the same subject. We need go no 
 further than Boileau to hear that a celebrated poet is often a contemptible 
 judge :— 
 
 Tel excelle a rimer qui jug e sottement, 
 
 Et tel s 'est fait par ses vers distinguer par la ville, 
 
 Qui jamais clu Lxicain via distingue Virgile. 
 
 As for what relates to painters, I shall content myself with the citation of 
 a remark from the ingenious and judicious author of " Observations upon
 
 1719.] To his Daughter. 209 
 
 Fresnoy's Art of Painting," translated by Mr Dryden. It is the fiftieth 
 remark upon these words of Mr Dryden's translation, " as being the 
 sovereign judge of his own art." 
 
 " This word, Sovereign Judge or Arbiter of his own art, presupposes a 
 painter to be fully instructed in all the parts of painting ; so that, being 
 set, as it were, above his art, he may be the master and sovereign of it, 
 which is no easy matter. Those of that profession are so seldom endowed 
 with that supreme capacity, that few of them arrive to be good judges of 
 painting ; and I should many times make more account of their judgment 
 who are men of sense, and yet have never touched a pencil, than of the 
 opinions which are given by the greatest part of painters. All painters, 
 therefore, may be called arbiters of their own art, but to be sovereign 
 arbiters belongs only to knowing painters." 
 
 What is said by this ingenious gentleman of painters is exactly true of 
 musicians, for which I have the opinion of more than one master among 
 them ; and as to the truth of this observation with relation to poets, I 
 have said enough above. 
 
 But as poets are not capable, neither are they impartial judges. I speak 
 of those who are only rhymesters. For a great master is for the most part 
 as impartial as he is knowing ; but for the rest the readers of poetry would 
 do well to consider, that if a mistress who is courted by a great many 
 passionate rivals should ask any one of them his opinion of the rest, it is 
 ten to one that he would prefer him most whom he esteemed least, and 
 whom he believed least capable of getting that mistress from him. 
 
 Thus, Sir, have I acquainted you with the motives which obliged me to 
 write the greater part of these treatises, and which afterwards engaged me 
 to publish them in the two volumes which you will receive with this. I 
 hope I shall not be thought troublesome if, in a second letter, I say some- 
 thing in particular of the pieces both in verse and prose. However, these 
 two letters will convince you of the good opinion I have a long time enter- 
 tained both of your discernment and your impartiality. — I am, Sir, your 
 most humble and most obedient servant, John Dennis. 
 
 Letter CCCLXXXIV. To Mrs Elizabeth Steele." 
 
 My dear Child, Miss Betty, — One matter of moment or other has de- 
 tained me all this day ; nor can I see you to-night. I thank you for your 
 purse ; and, if you and 1 live till this day twelvemonth, you are to ask me 
 for it again full of gold. God bless you. Remember *me to Molly. Be 
 ! \ ant of the good guardian God has raised for you. 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 'Afterwards Lady Trevor. 
 yOL.II. o
 
 210 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap, xviii. 
 
 Letter CCCLXXXV. To Mrs Elizabeth Steele. 
 
 Dear Betty, — If you have a letter from Mrs Keck to me, pray send it me 
 by the bearer, sealed up. You may remember you sent me one open by him. 
 He is a very faithful servant, but he might have been otherwise for aught 
 you knew, not to say that it is also respect to me to have a letter from you 
 when I send you one. 
 
 Give my most humble service to Mrs Snow when you see her, and beg 
 her favour to visit you. You are at your new lodgings, and always pre- 
 serve the highest respect to her being willing to receive you. 
 
 But it is impossible for me to be easy without seeing you every moment 
 I have leisure. — I am, most affectionately, your father, 
 
 Bich. Steele. 
 
 My service to Molly. 
 
 I had business kept me at home all clay. 
 
 Letter CCCLXXXVI. To Dear Betty Steele. 
 
 May 21, 1719. 
 
 Dear Child, — I have your pretty letter, and have sent to know whether 
 I can have any tickets* or not, or whether there will be room, but have 
 not yet an answer. Be grateful, obedient, and respectful to Mrs Keck, and 
 you will oblige your most affectionate father, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Service to Molly. 
 
 Letter CCCLXXXVII. To Mrs Elizabeth Steele. 
 
 August 21, 1719. 
 My dear Child, — I have your letter, and am very much pleased with 
 the improvement of your hand. I earnestly desire you to be careful of 
 obeying whatever your good guardianf and kind mistressj direct. I have 
 been taken up with cares, which, I hope, will make my children easy after 
 me. I pray for you and your sister, and am, your affectionate father, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 * " This possibly might be to a splendid ball which was given to the young 
 Princesses in the Greenhouse at Kensington Gardens on the king's birthday, May 
 28, the day on which their household establishment was formed." 
 t Mrs Keck. J Mrs Nazerean.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Mean persecution of Steele by the Court in consequence of his parlia- 
 mentary opposition— Threatened with the revocation of his theatri- 
 cal patent— Starts a paper called The Theatre, with a view to avert 
 that result — His efforts unavailing — Mr Gibber is dismissed — Appli- 
 cation to the Chamberlain and his arrogant reply— The patent is 
 revoked by a signed Manual — Publishes the State of the Case between 
 himself and the Lord Chamberlain — Notice of the Duke of Newcastle 
 — Dastardly and ribald attack upon Steele, by Dennis the critic, in 
 his adversity, though under personal obligations — Steele's humorous 
 retort — Opposes the South-sea scheme — His reputation as a patriot 
 — Close of The Theatre — Depressed state of his fortune — His mag- 
 nanimity under it — Means adopted to recruit his finances — His pro- 
 spects brighten — Lines on death of Addison, addressed to Steele — 
 Correspondence in 1720 — To the Lord Chancellor, Duke of Argyle, 
 and Secretaries Stanhope and Craggs — From Mr Dennis — To Mr 
 Brooksby and to his daughter, Miss Steele. 
 
 The satisfaction and triumph of Steele at the failure of the 
 attempted innovation on the constitution, which had called 
 forth his spirited opposition, was very far indeed from being 
 unalloyed. He was soon made to feel that courts were 
 not to be thwarted with impunity by those in their power, 
 and the meanness and injustice of the revenge to which it 
 condescended was for some years most disastrous to his 
 interests. It is true that when the Duke of Newcastle, 
 the then Lord Chamberlain, had entered upon his office 
 three years previously, notwithstanding the marked favour
 
 212 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xix. 
 
 he had formerly shown to Steele, he had, apparently from 
 officiousness or jealousy that anything connected with his 
 office should be out of his power, or as Steele expressed it 
 to himself, " a dangerous design of making every office and 
 authority the better for his wearing," requested a resigna- 
 tion of his patent, and offering a licence in return. This 
 modest request Steele had thought proper to decline, and 
 petitioned his Majesty for his protection in the grant 
 formerly made him. This setting at nought his authority 
 must naturally have nettled the Lord Chamberlain, who 
 told Sir Richard that his patent should be invalidated by 
 process of law. Thus the matter had rested for a con- 
 siderable time ; but when he had afterwards incurred the 
 displeasure not merely of a great officer of the household 
 but of the Government, by daring to oppose their uncon- 
 stitutional efforts, the weapon which had been so long 
 suspended over his head descended, and inflicted a damag- 
 ing blow to his personal interests. It was all the more 
 cruel as it came from a hand which had formerly con- 
 ferred benefits ; and to add to the hopelessness of any 
 opposition, his steady friend Walpole was now out of office, 
 the Duke of Marlborough invalided, and every avenue to 
 the royal ear closed by his powerful adversary. He could 
 not submit, however, to be beggared without exerting 
 every possible effort to prevent it ; he therefore had 
 recourse to that engine which had stood him in such good 
 stead on so many occasions, and determined to make his 
 appeal to the public through the press. Accordingly he 
 started a periodical paper entitled The Theatre, with the 
 ostensible design to advocate the utility of the stage and 
 the merit of deserving performers, but in reality chiefly to
 
 1720.] Publication of the " Theatre:' 21 
 
 o 
 
 vindicate himself and the managers, and to deprecate the 
 threatened injury and injustice. The first number ap- 
 peared on the 2d of January 1720, and it was continued 
 twice a week for some months. The effort served as a 
 diversion of his spirits, but failed of any successful result. 
 Not many weeks had elapsed from its commencement 
 when the preparatory blow was struck by an order for the 
 dismissal of Mr Colley Cibber, one of the managers and 
 a principal performer. Steele immediately took up his 
 vindication in the paper, and wrote a letter of expostula- 
 tion on the subject to the Lord Chamberlain. This pro- 
 duced only a very haughty and arrogant message to Sir 
 Richard through the Chamberlain's secretary, telling him 
 that his patent should be prosecuted by law, and forbid- 
 ding him all further personal intercourse by word or writing. 
 Such a result, of course, in reference to one from whom 
 he had formerly received high favours, must have pro- 
 duced a very painful struggle in the mind of such a man as 
 Steele, between sorrow and indignation. After expressing 
 to the bearer, in remembrance of the past, his unfeigned 
 regret, he added, " At the same time, you may very truly 
 say, that if any other man were Chamberlain, and should 
 send me such a message, my reply should be as haughty 
 as it is now 1 nimble." The fatal blow soon followed, by 
 an order revoking his patent, accompanied by a signed 
 manual. Steele then addressed an expostulatory letter to 
 the Chamberlain through the medium of the paper, as he 
 was forbidden any other channel. He therein, after ex- 
 pressing liis sorrow at seeing the signature at the bottom 
 of the order he had received, that he had believed it im- 
 possible for him to have been prevailed udoii to take such
 
 214 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xix. 
 
 a step, and that he made him allowance for the disadvan- 
 tages of youth and prosperity, adds his conviction that his 
 patent could not legally be hurt unless it could be shown 
 that it was obtained per deceptionem, and that if the 
 matter had been fairly represented, it had been impossible 
 to destroy by a signed manual what had been granted by 
 the great seal. The greatest malefactor was permitted 
 what was denied to him, an unprejudiced trial by due 
 course of law, as the signed manual must necessarily dis- 
 able him as to his defence. When he represented his case 
 by petition, he knew not, he said, by what accident his 
 petition was never read, but the next news he heard was 
 the order of revocation. After referring to the careful 
 wording of the signed manual, " as much as in us lies, and 
 as by law we may," and regretting that the Chamberlain had 
 not been as careful in leaving him to the law, he concludes 
 by requesting to be made acquainted with the name of his 
 legal adviser in this affair, on whom he vents all the vials 
 of his indignation in as strong terms as language would 
 permit. " When I know who has made your grace thus 
 injure the best master and the best servant that ever man 
 had," that is, the king and himself, " I will teach him the 
 difference between law and justice : he shall soon under- 
 stand, that he who advises how to escape the law and do 
 injustice to his fellow-subject is an agent of hell ; such a 
 man, for a larger fee, would lend a dark lanthorn to a 
 murderer." It could not escape him, though, as he had 
 previously stated, the prince" is presumed to be the au- 
 thor only of favour to his subjects, and the minister who 
 subscribes the document is answerable for what he writes, 
 yet whatever censure applies to a lawyer for giving any
 
 1720.] Controversy with Lord Chamberlain. 215 
 
 specific advice, is at least equally applicable to him who 
 asks and acts upon it. He concluded by reminding the 
 Chamberlain that it was not alone himself and his family 
 that were concerned, and that his obligations to him could 
 not discharge those he was under to the rest of the world. 
 He could not, he said, consign to distress and poverty 
 above sixty families, who all lived comfortably, many of 
 them plentifully, under his present jurisdiction. 'When 
 I resign them, they may be governed by your grace's suc- 
 cessor in your office, as they have been by your predecessor, 
 according to humour and caprice, and not reason and jus- 
 tice. In their defence and my own, I deny all allegations of 
 voluntary neglect imputed to me or them ; or undue de- 
 mands made upon the subject by me or them."* 
 
 Finding this appeal, as might have been anticipated, 
 without effect, Steele drew up a pamphlet, which he then 
 published, under the title of " The State of the Case be- 
 tween the Lord Chamberlain of his Majesty's Household 
 and the Governor of the Royal Company of Comedians," 
 accompanied with the opinion of three eminent lawyers on 
 the question. He considers L.6000 a moderate estimate 
 of the value of L.G00 a year, which was his salary, which, 
 with three years' income after his death (which was the 
 terms of his patent) making L.1800 more ; and taking his 
 interest in the property of the company at L.1000, and the 
 profits arising from his own plays at a similar sum, would 
 make his total loss amount to L.9800. He protests against 
 having done one single act to justify the proceedings against 
 him, and accuses the Chamberlain of openly stating that 
 he would ruin him ; "which," says Steele, " in a man in 
 
 ■ The Theatre, No. 8.
 
 216 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xix. 
 
 his circumstances against one in mine, is as great as the 
 humour of Malagine in the comedy, who valued himself 
 upon his activity in tripping up cripples." " All this," he 
 adds, " is done against a man to whom Whig, Tory, Roman 
 Catholic, Dissenter, native, foreigner, owe zeal and good- 
 will for good offices endeavoured towards every one of them 
 in their civil rights, and their kind wishes for him are but 
 a just return. But what ought to weigh most with his 
 Lordship the Chamberlain is my zeal for his Master, of 
 which I shall at present say no more than that his Lord- 
 ship, and many others, may perhaps have done more for 
 the House of Hanover than I have, but I am the only man 
 in his Majesty's dominions who did all he could." * 
 
 Steele had learned by bitter experience the justice of 
 that admonition, " Put not your trust in princes," and his 
 only hope was in the removal or retirement of the existing 
 Chamberlain, on whose advice he acted. Though it is 
 scarcely matter of surprise, from what we know of the 
 Duke of Newcastle, that Steele should have experienced 
 such treatment at his hands, after having thwarted him by 
 not relinquishing his property at his bidding, and subse- 
 quently given offence to the Government by his opposition ; 
 yet it is painful to think that he should have been at the 
 mercy of such a man, " dressed in a little brief authority." 
 For grasping greediness of power, jobbery, and perfidy, 
 combined with mental imbecility, considering the high 
 offices he held by such a lengthened tenure, he transcended 
 all example. The honours and emoluments showered on 
 such a man give anything but an exalted notion of courts 
 or court favours. 
 
 * State of the Case, p. 30.
 
 1720.] Notice of Duke of Newcastle. 217 
 
 Thomas Pelham, Duke of Newcastle (1694-1768), who 
 succeeded his father as Lord Pelham in 1712, and was the 
 adopted heir of his uncle, John Holies, Duke of Newcastle, 
 was now in his seven-and-twentieth year, having already 
 ascended through all the steps of the peerage, and being 
 subsequently destined to honours and rewards that could 
 not have been exceeded in the case of the highest merit. 
 At the close of Queen Anne's reign, and on the accession 
 of George I., he had distinguished himself by his zeal in 
 the cause of the House of Hanover. On the new settle- 
 ment of the Crown, the Tories being driven to despair by 
 the policy pursued towards them, which indicated a per- 
 manent exclusion from all offices of honour or emolument, 
 were led into a union with the Jacobites ; and under 
 their joint auspices, serious and extensive riots, under the 
 convenient watchword of the Church, had taken place by 
 an organised system of mobs in various parts of the pro- 
 vinces, as well as in the metropolis. The interposition of 
 the military was not considered politic by the new Govern- 
 ment, except in extreme cases. On this occasion, Lord 
 Pelham displayed his zeal in the cause of loyalty and order 
 by the very questionable, but, as it proved, effective method 
 of resorting to a counter mob, which bore his name. He 
 had not established any claim to ministerial place, and 
 there were too many claimants of tried ability and expe- 
 rience for those offices ; but having succeeded in obtaining 
 high favour with the King, his assiduity in promoting the 
 cause of loyalty was amply rewarded with other honours 
 and emoluments. In October 1714, he was created Earl of 
 Clare and Viscount Pelham of Haughton, and appointed 
 Lord-Lieutenant and Custos-rolulorum of Nottingham
 
 218 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xix. 
 
 county. In the following month he was appointed to the 
 same offices for Middlesex and the liberties of "Westminster, 
 and before the close of the year made Steward of Sher- 
 wood Forest. In the course of the following year he was 
 created Marquis, and Duke of Newcastle-under-Line. 
 
 Two years after (1717), on the promotion of the Duke of 
 Bolton to the Vice-royalty of Ireland, Newcastle succeeded 
 him as Lord Chamberlain of the Household. The next 
 year he was honoured with a vacant Garter, and in 1719 
 was one of the Lords Justices during the King's absence in 
 Hanover, an office which he subsequently held at different 
 times in that and the following reign. In 1724, he resigned 
 the Chamberlainship, having succeeded as one of the prin- 
 cipal Secretaries of State on the appointment of Lord 
 Carteret as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. His brother, the 
 Hon. Henry Pelham, who possessed considerable ability, 
 succeeded at the same time as Secretary at War, and then 
 commenced that long, combined, and eager pursuit of self- 
 aggrandisement on the part of the two brothers, which has 
 rendered their names pre-eminent in that respect. Two 
 years subsequent^, the Duke became Recorder of Notting- 
 ham, in which county his interest chiefly lay. 
 
 The next year (1727), George II. succeeded, when a 
 change in the Cabinet was anticipated by the Tories, the 
 prince and Walpole not having been on good terms, but the 
 Minister brought the interest of the Queen to his aid by 
 offering her a larger allowance than his opponents. Wal- 
 pole's power continued firmly established, and as long as 
 it remained so, the Pelhams were his strenuous supporters. 
 
 In 1742, Walpole was obliged to succumb to a violent 
 combined opposition, under the title of patriots, who
 
 1720.] Notice of Duke of Newcastle. 219 
 
 brought that name into derision and contempt on coming 
 into power, both by their omissions and commissions, re- 
 pudiating the measures they had previously clamoured for, 
 and shamefully transcending what they had formerly de- 
 nounced and thundered against. A coalition Ministry of 
 discordant materials was then formed, in which Henry 
 Pelham, in the following year, became First Lord of the 
 Treasury, and Newcastle second in authority. The times 
 being favourable, some excellent measures were passed by 
 that administration, particularly that for the reduction of 
 the interest on the national debt, and another which effected 
 the change from the old to the new style of marking the 
 year. But the present notice is only concerned with what 
 is personal to the Duke of Newcastle, of whom we have a 
 sketch by Lord Macaulay, too graphic to be omitted : — 
 
 " If," he says, " the fate of Walpole's colleagues had been inseparably 
 bound up with his, he probably would, even after the unfavourable elec- 
 tions of 1741, have been able to weather the storm. But as soon as it was 
 understood that the attack was directed against him alone, and that, if he 
 were sacrificed, his associates might expect advantageous and honourable 
 terms, the Ministerial ranks began to waver, and the murmur of sauve qui 
 pent was heard. That Walpole had foul play is almost certain, but to 
 what extent it is difficult to say. Lord Islay was suspected ; the Duke of 
 Newcastle something more than suspected. It would have been strange 
 indeed if his grace had been idle when treason was hatching. ' His name,' 
 said Sir Robert, ' is perfidy.' ... It would have been a busy time indeed 
 in which the Pelhams wanted leisure for jobbing ; and to the Pelhams the 
 whole cry of place-hunters and pension-hunters resorted. The parlia- 
 mentary influence of the two brothers became stronger every day, till at 
 length they were at the head of a decided majority in the House of Com- 
 mons. 
 
 " We wonder that Sir Walter Scott never tried his hand on the Duke of 
 Newcastle. An interview between his grace and- Jeanie Deans would 
 have been delightful and by no means unnatural. There is scarcely a 
 l>uhlic man in our history of whose manners and conversation so many 
 particulars have been preserved. Single stories may be unfounded or
 
 220 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xix. 
 
 exaggerated. But all the stories about him . . . are of the same character. 
 Horace Walpole and Smollett differed iu their tastes and opinions as much 
 as any two human beings could differ. . . . Yet Walpole's duke and Smol- 
 lett's duke are as like as if they were both from one hand. Smollett's 
 Newcastle runs out of his dressing-room, with his face covered with soap- 
 suds, to embrace the Moorish envoy. Walpole's Newcastle pushes his 
 way into the Duke of Grafton's sick-room to kiss the old nobleman's 
 plasters. No man was so unmercifully satirised. But, in truth, he was a 
 satire ready made. All that the art of the satirist does for other men, 
 nature had done for him. Whatever was absurd about him stood out 
 with grotesque prominence from the rest of the character. He was a 
 living, moving, talking caricature. His gait was a shuffling trot ; his 
 utterance a rapid stutter ; he was always in a hurry ; he was never in 
 time ; he abounded in fulsome caresses and hysterical tears. His oratory 
 resembled that of Justice Shallow. It was nonsense effervescent with 
 animal spirits and impertinence. Of his ignorance many anecdotes remain, 
 some well authenticated, some probably invented at coffee-houses, but all 
 exquisitely characteristic. ' Oh, yes, yes, to be sure ; Annapolis must be 
 defended ; troops must be sent to Annapolis. Pray, where is Annapolis V 
 ' Cape Breton, an island ! wonderful ! Show it me in the map. So it is, 
 sure enough. My dear sir, you always bring us good news. I must go and 
 tell the king Cape Breton is an island.' 
 
 " And this man was during near thirty years Secretary of State, and 
 during near ten years First Lord of the Treasury ! His large fortune, his 
 strong, hereditary connexion, his great parliamentary interest, will not 
 alone explain this extraordinary fact. His success is a signal instance of 
 what may be effected by a man who devotes his whole heart and soul, 
 without reserve, to one object. He was eaten up by ambition. His love 
 of influence and authority resembled the avarice of the old usurer in the 
 4 Fortunes of Nigel.' It was so intense a passion that it supplied the j)lace 
 of talents, that it supplied even fatuity with cunning. ' Have no money 
 dealings with my father,' says Martha to Lord Glenvarloch, ' for, dotard as 
 he is, he will make an ass of you.' It was as dangerous to have any 
 political connexion with Newcastle as to buy and sell with old Trapbois. 
 He was greedy after power with a greediness all his own. He was jealous 
 of all his colleagues, and even of his own brother. Under the disguise of 
 levity, he was false beyond all example of political falsehood. All the able 
 men of his time ridiculed him as a dunce, a driveller, a child, who never 
 knew his own mind for an hour together, and he over-reached them all 
 round. 
 
 "... But the inauspicious commencement of the Seven Years' 
 War brought on a crisis to which Newcastle was altogether unequal. After 
 a calm of fifteen years, the spirit of the nation was again stirred to its
 
 720.] Dennis the Critic. 221 
 
 inmost depths. In a few days the whole aspect of the political world was 
 changed." * 
 
 It was the fate of Steele to experience ingratitude and 
 meanness in another quarter, where he should least have 
 expected it, from a man of some pretensions in literature, 
 but unfortunately combined with those qualities which 
 have tended to degrade and render contemptible the 
 profession of letters. John Dennis (1657-1734) was the 
 friend of no man., and least of all of his own order. The 
 son of a London citizen, he had studied at Cambridge, and, 
 after making the tour of France and Italy, produced some 
 dramatic pieces of little merit. His want of success pro- 
 bably tended to sour his disposition, and was aggravated 
 by straitened circumstances. He became a critic, and 
 attacked with severity, though not without acuteness, all 
 merit greater than his own. Addison and Pope were 
 among his victims, and the latter, who, without the extenu- 
 ating circumstances in his case, resembled him in his 
 malignity and vindictiveness, gave him a prominent place 
 in the Dunciad. He survived to a great age ; and having 
 outlived his fortune and his sight, and disposed of an em- 
 ployment he had obtained from the Dnke of Marlborough, 
 a benefit was given him at the Haymarket Theatre, when 
 his former antagonist Pope, to his honour, contributed the 
 prologue. Whether at this time he was hired by the Lord 
 Chamberlain to make this dastardly attack, which was the 
 second he had made upon Steele, in both cases when he 
 was involved in his circumstances, and suffering persecu- 
 tion from those in authority, may admit of doubt. He 
 evident])' enjoyed a malignant pleasure in endeavouring to 
 
 * Essay on Horace Walpole.
 
 222 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xix. 
 
 embitter the cup of adversity, and to make it overflow. 
 What intensified the baseness of his conduct was the fact 
 that he was under personal obligations to Steele, who had 
 actually suffered arrest by having gone security for him. 
 On hearing it, " S'cleath," said he, " why did he not keep 
 out of the way, as I did." Dennis at this time published a 
 pamphlet entitled " The Character and Conduct of Sir 
 John Edgar, called by himself sole monarch of the Stage in 
 Drury Lane, and his three Deputy-Governors. In two 
 Letters to Sir John Edgar."* This was the feigned name 
 under which Steele conducted the periodical paper, The 
 Theatre. The two points of the scurrilous and impotent 
 attack, which would have been simply ludicrous if it had 
 been nothing worse, were his country and his personal 
 appearance. He gave a vulgar caricature implying that 
 Steele was ugly and ill-made, and that he had the vanity to 
 think otherwise. The mirth with which Steele very pro- 
 perly met this low attack must not only have had a salutary 
 effect upon his mind by acting as a diversion to the depress- 
 ing thoughts which the state of his affairs must have forced 
 upon him, but have proved to his insulter that he had pro- 
 voked one that was more than his match at his own wea- 
 pons. It brought home to him the proverb about those 
 who live in glass-houses, and sent him away covered with 
 ridicule and contempt. Mr Bickerstaff is himself again. 
 " The defamer," he says, speaking in his assumed character 
 
 * " His pamphlet is so cruel," says Steele, "that it could not he writ by any- 
 thing hut a coward, indulging, sating, and wreaking his malice upon an object 
 wholly in his power, which he could stab without resistance." In a note to 
 Nichol's edition of The Theatre, &c, it is stated " Dennis was expelled from his 
 college for stabbing a man in the dark, (see ' Farmer's Essay on Shakespeare,' 
 p. 6,) but it is doubtful if Steele knew this."
 
 1720.] Retort to Dennis. 223 
 
 of Sir John Edgar, " has this phrase in his first page, 
 ! Your black peruke and your dusky countenance.' This 
 treatment of a visage so well known is an impudence that 
 transcends all example, and I have ordered new editions 
 of his face after Kneller, Thornhill, and Richardson, to 
 disabuse mankind in this particular. He is painted by the 
 first resolute, by the second thoughtful, by the third indolent. 
 Sir Godfrey bewailed that Caraccio was not living when he 
 sat to him, and when he took pencil in hand repeated this 
 sentence out of Mr Steele's epistle to the bailiff of Stock- 
 bridge : ' He is gone but a little way in the course of virtue, 
 who cannot bear reproach for her sake! You may observe 
 a roughness in the portraiture from the rigour of that 
 thought, which has occasioned that most ladies choose Mr 
 Richardson's work rather than Sir Godfrey's.""" In a 
 subsequent number he followed up the subject in the same 
 strain of humour : — " An eminent Turkey merchant and 
 an ingenious foreigner do hereby give notice, that if any 
 person will discover the libeller or libellers who has and 
 have falsely and maliciously insinuated in their writings 
 that Sir R — d St — le is ugly, so that they may be prosecuted 
 by law, he shall have all fitting encouragement, the said 
 gentlemen having lost considerable matches by reason of 
 the similitude of their persons to the said injured knight." f 
 Nor did he let his antagonist go until he had visited 
 him with ridicule of a sharper and severer kind, and car- 
 ried the war into the enemy's country. "Thou never 
 didst let the sun into thy garret for fear lip should bring a 
 bailiff along with him Your years are about sixty- 
 
 * The Theatre, No. 10. t Ibid., No. 18.
 
 224 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xix. 
 
 five, an ugly vinegar face, that, if you had any command, 
 you would be obeyed out of fear, from your ill-nature pic- 
 tured there ; not from any other motive. Your height is 
 about some five feet five inches. You see I can give your 
 exact measure as well as if I had taken your dimensions 
 with a good cudgel, which I promise you to do as soon as 
 ever I have the good fortune to meet you 
 
 "Thy works are libels upon others, and satires upon thy- 
 self ; and while they bark at men of sense, call him knave 
 and fool that wrote them. Thou hast a great antipathy 
 to thy own species, and hatest the sight of a fool but in 
 thy glass." 
 
 Cibber having offered ten pounds for the discovery of 
 the author — 
 
 " I am only sorry," says Steele, " he has offered so much, 
 because the twentieth part would have over-valued his 
 whole carcase." He concludes by a ludicrous account of 
 the precautions he took for his personal safety. " It takes 
 him up half an hour every night to fortify himself with his 
 old hair trunk, two or three joint-stools, and some other 
 lumber, which he ties together with cords so fast that it 
 takes him up the same time in the morning to release 
 himself." * 
 
 The encounter with this ferocious literary Ishmael, whose 
 hand was against every man and every man's hand against 
 him, though it left the assailant little to boast of, yet what 
 could hurt such a man, or what honour could be derived 
 from an encounter with such a one \ And this considera- 
 tion is probably the source of the temerity in such cases. 
 
 The periodical paper, The Theatre, which had served 
 
 * " Answer to a whimsical pamphlet called the ' Character of Sir John Edgar.' "
 
 1720.] Close of " Theatre " Paper. 225 
 
 Steele as the organ of his vindication both in this encounter 
 with an unworthy antagonist and in his unequal contest 
 with power in hands scarcely less contemptible, had now 
 done its work. It had made a brave fight, but it had unfor- 
 tunately not been successful in the object for which it had 
 been started, and it was relinquished on the 5th of April, 
 after an existence of about three months, and the completion 
 of twenty-eight numbers. Its special aim, and the anxieties 
 connected with his affairs which oppressed his mind at the 
 time, tended to limit the range of its literature, but it was not 
 wholly devoid of general interest, and its miscellaneous con- 
 tents include some of Steele's poetical effusions. But it is 
 much to be regretted that in the full maturity of his powers, 
 and ere their vigour had suffered decay, he had not concen- 
 trated his mental energies in the elaboration of one more 
 serial which might have descended to us with his early 
 labours, and contested the palm with the delightful phan- 
 tasies of the immortal Bickerstaff or De Coverley. If he 
 had, the result might have enabled him to laugh to scorn 
 the meanness of chamberlains or the patronage of courts. 
 No doubt other engagements, anxiety perhaps, and failing 
 health, may have interfered to prevent it. He was no 
 doubt about this time engaged upon his next comedy, and 
 may have been anxious to insure its completion. But we 
 doubt if even that, admirable as it was, repaid him, either 
 as regarded the present or the future, at all in comparison 
 with what he might have effected, after his mind had so 
 long lain fallow, by a resumption of his former pursuits. 
 
 One subject which he had taken up in the columns of 
 The Theatre, and which was at this time a topic of intensely 
 exciting public interest, the South-Sea scheme, he resumed 
 
 VOL. II. P
 
 226 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xix. 
 
 in a distinct form. The way in which this pamphlet was 
 first announced to the public is too amusing to be omitted. 
 He represents the feigned Sir John Edgar as paying a 
 visit to himself, which he describes in the pages of The 
 Theatre. After some discourse, he asks the subject of a 
 bundle of writings he observes on the table, and being 
 informed by Sir Richard that it was a calculation of his 
 for paying the debts of the nation, founded on what he 
 termed his first rule in politics, to wit, a nation a family ; 
 Sir John gravely made answer, " People would expect 
 great things of him indeed on that foundation, he had such 
 a reputation for economy." He is then represented as 
 leaving in rather a testy humour, and heading the paper 
 in The Theatre, in which he describes the interview, with 
 the extempore distich — 
 
 " To make his public spirit better known, 
 He to the public debts postpones his own." 
 
 The publication thus curiously announced made its ap- 
 pearance on the 1st of February, entitled " The Crisis of 
 Property; an argument proving that the annuitants for 
 ninety-nine years, as such, are not in the condition of other 
 subjects of Great Britain, but, by a compact with the 
 Legislature, are exempt from any direction relating to the 
 said estates." This was followed at the latter end of the 
 same month by " A Nation a Family ; being the Sequel of 
 the Crisis of Property ; or, a Plan for the Improvement of 
 the South-Sea Proposals." 
 
 This scheme had been originally projected, as previously 
 stated, by Harley, Lord Oxford, in 1711. His design was 
 the incorporation of a company of merchants, who, in con-
 
 1720.] South-Sea Bubble. 227 
 
 sideration of certain commercial privileges, should buy up 
 the debts of the nation from the present holders of Govern- 
 ment stock, and retain them on more favourable terms to 
 the country. The depreciation of public credit by the 
 removal of the Whig ministry had been foretold by all the 
 great monied interests, and the prediction seems to have 
 been realised. Swift, in his Journal, attributes the mone- 
 tary difficulties of the Tory Ministry, and the depreciation 
 of credit, to the fact that the great Whig capitalists would 
 not lend to them. If this was so, they probably contem- 
 plated that, by means of this company, they would have a 
 grand monied corporation of their own, but it would not 
 appear to have progressed much in its object under their 
 auspices. Extravagant rumours were set afloat of the 
 Spaniards opening a free trade, or rather giving them a 
 monopoly of trade, to their South American possessions 
 and golden visions were conjured up of the rich harvest to 
 be reaped by the exchange of British manufactures for the 
 produce of the mines of Mexico and Peru. But the only 
 real concession which the King of Spain could be induced 
 to make was to permit one annual ship, of a certain pre- 
 scribed tonnage, to trade with his South American posses- 
 sions, in consideration of a considerable portion of the pro- 
 fits to himself, and an additional per centage in duty. Even 
 of this slender privilege they do not seem to have been in 
 any hurry to avail themselves, for it was not till 1717 that 
 the ship made its first annual voyage, and the intercourse 
 was subsequently interrupted by the rupture with Spain. 
 In the same year, the King's speech at the opening of Par- 
 liament contained a recommendation of some measure for 
 the reduction of the debt of the nation. In the following
 
 228 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xix. 
 
 May, the South-Sea Company made proposals on the sub- 
 ject. But it was not till the beginning of 1720, after a 
 similar recommendation from the throne, that the House 
 resolved itself into a committee for the consideration of 
 the question. The national debt was then nearly thirty- 
 one millions, and this the South-Sea Company proposed to 
 take upon themselves at the rate of five per annum, till 
 1727, when it was to be reduced to four, and the whole to 
 be redeemable at the option of the Legislature in four 
 years. At the beginning of February the company's pro- 
 posals were agreed to in preference to those of the bank, 
 and a bill was prepared on the subject. Walpole alone 
 opposed it in the Lower House, and predicted in strong 
 and eloquent terms the pernicious results of the scheme, 
 as countenancing the dangerous practice of stock-jobbing, 
 and tending to divert the resources of the nation from 
 trade and industry, and to lure the people to part with the 
 earnings of their labour for an imaginary wealth. He 
 prophetically foretold that the result would be general 
 discontent and ruin, and that people would start up as 
 from a dream, and ask if such things could be true. Such 
 language, in view of the actual result, would appear little 
 short of inspiration, were it not that an example of a 
 similar kind had just occurred in France, in the disastrous 
 results of the Mississippi scheme set on foot by the famous 
 John Law, who had been comptroller-general in that 
 country. Walpole was usually listened to with the greatest 
 attention, but now, such was the mania that seemed to 
 prevail, his warnings were unheeded or scoffed at. 
 
 On the acceptance of their proposals, the company 
 petitioned to be allowed to increase their original stock of
 
 1720.] South-Sea Bubble. 229 
 
 ten millions, and books were opened for receiving fresh 
 subscriptions and shareholders. Again those delusive 
 stories of participating in the wealth of the Mexican and 
 Peruvian mines were put in circulation. It was stated 
 that proposals had been made for the cession of Gibraltar 
 and Minorca to Spain, in consideration of a monopoly of 
 this trade. The various means employed to raise the 
 stock to a fictitious value were successful. The subscrip- 
 tion filled up rapidly. Cornhill and Exchange Alley were 
 blocked up with carriages. All classes were in a fever of 
 avaricious excitement. The shares which had previously 
 been at L.130 rapidly rose to L.400, and, after some 
 fluctuations, continued to advance. By the beginning of 
 August they had reached the astonishing height of L.1000 
 the share. After attaining that culminating point, and 
 oscillating for a little, they receded and continued to decline 
 still more rapidly than they had risen, having in the follow- 
 ing month fallen to L.700, and soon after to L.400. A 
 panic then ensued. The Government became alarmed 
 and called in the aid of the bank, but, after an unwilling 
 and ineffectual effort, they withdrew from all interference, 
 fearing to be swept away in the torrent. The advice of 
 all persons of financial abilities was called for by the 
 Ministers. In this extremity Walpole submitted a draft 
 of a scheme which was ultimately adopted as the ground- 
 work of a plan to meet the case, and the public excite- 
 ment was in some degree allayed. The proposal of 
 Walpole was to incorporate nine millions of the stock 
 with that of the East India Company. "Still, notwith- 
 standing all the efforts that could be made to restore 
 public confidence, by the end of September the stock
 
 230 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xix. 
 
 had fallen to about L.135. The crisis was such that the 
 King, who had been absent in Hanover, hastened his 
 return, and a parliamentary inquiry into the conduct of 
 the directors was commenced early in December. The 
 treasurer of the company, named Knight, had however 
 absconded, taking with him all the books and papers he 
 could conveniently. The chairman and directors were 
 committed to custody, and those who were members of 
 Parliament were expelled, Cries of vengeance were every- 
 where heard, and petitions to that effect were forwarded 
 from all parts of the kingdom. No one seemed to attach 
 any blame to the sufferers who had been duped and over- 
 reached by their own grasping avarieiousness. Very ex- 
 citing discussions occurred in both Houses of Parliament, 
 and insinuations thrown out implicating Ministers, inu- 
 endoes being directed particularly against Mr Craggs and 
 Earl Stanhope, two of the Secretaries of State. The 
 former met them with defiance; and the latter, in his 
 vehemence and excitement, caused a rush of blood to the 
 head which, though remedies were immediately applied, 
 proved fatal on the following day. The other also died 
 suddenly shortly after, not without suspicions of violence. 
 But he was also said to have been suffering from gout, and 
 his decease to have been accelerated by grief for the loss 
 of his son, who had been one of the Secretaries of the 
 Treasury, and had died recently,* 
 
 * See, in a note to a paper in Lady Montagu's works, (Bonn's edit. vol. i. p. 130,) 
 entitled " An Account of the Court of George I.," which is one continued tissue 
 of scandal and gossip, a repudiation of the family history of this statesman which 
 had been current, which is not only given by Lady Mary, but has found a place 
 in Lord Macaulay's history. Its origin is here traced to some scandalous and 
 libellous pamphlet of the time.
 
 1720.] South-Sea Bubble. 231 
 
 By the report of the committee of secrecy, it appeared 
 that in the books produced there were false and fictitious 
 entries, and in other cases blanks were left for the names 
 of the stockholders. In some instances there were erasures 
 and alterations, and in others leaves were altogether torn 
 out. Among other revelations, it appeared that previous 
 to the passing of the act in favour of the company, an 
 assignment of stock to a large amount had been made to 
 various persons connected with the Government, for which 
 no consideration had been given — including the amount 
 of L.50,000 to the Earl of Sunderland, (the Premier,) to 
 Mr Charles Stanhope, (one of the Secretaries of the Trea- 
 sury,) L. 10,000 — in addition to the immense sum of 
 L. 250,000 to the latter, being the difference in the price of 
 stock. His name had, however, been altered. Mr Aislabie, 
 the Chancellor of the Exchequer, had an account with 
 a firm, who, being also South-Sea directors, may be 
 presumed to have been the confidential brokers of the 
 company, to the amount of L. 794,451, and had not only 
 sanctioned, but advised the exceeding by the company in 
 their second subscription the amount for which they had 
 authority by half a million. In their third subscription his 
 name was down for L. 70,000; Mr Craggs, senior, for 
 L.659,000 ; the Earl of Sunderland for L. 160,000, and Mr 
 Stanhope's for L.47,000. 
 
 Mr Charles Stanhope was the first who was called to 
 account by the House, but he, as well as the Earl of 
 Sunderland, by plausible pleas, and the active exertions of 
 his personal friends, was acquitted by a small majority. 
 But the public voice was vociferous in demanding a victim, 
 and Mr Aislabie, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was
 
 232 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xix. 
 
 given to them. He was found guilty, without a dissen- 
 tient voice, of complicity in the infamous practices of the 
 directors, was expelled the House, and committed to the 
 Tower, amid the most extravagant demonstrations of joy 
 by the public. 
 
 Among the resolutions adopted, was one to the effect 
 that the delinquents ought all to be required to make 
 satisfaction out of their estates to those whom they had 
 injured, and a bill was ordered to be brought in for the 
 relief of the sufferers. A sum of upwards of two millions 
 was ultimately confiscated from the property of the direc- 
 tors,* who were each allowed only a few thousands out of 
 fortunes which, in many cases, had amounted to hundreds. 
 In addition to this, a sum of upwards of eight millions 
 was deducted from the capital of the company, and simi- 
 larly appropriated.! 
 
 The reputation acquired by Steele as a patriot, by his 
 opposition to the Peerage Bill and this nefarious scheme, 
 was no inconsiderable indemnity for the pecuniary loss 
 he sustained by the disgraceful persecution of the court. 
 Yet notwithstanding his zeal in exposing the system, he 
 was one of the few opposed to unduly vindictive proceed- 
 ings against the perpetrators, and was subjected to re- 
 flections for inconsistency by Whiston, just as he had been 
 with regard to the rebels in 1715 — as if there were any 
 inconsistency in denouncing a crime, and yet objecting 
 to a blind and furious vindictiveness to the offender. 
 
 * One of these was Mr Edward Gibbon, grandfather of the historian, who in 
 his autobiography enters his protest against this arbitrary system of post facto 
 legislation, or rather its retrospective operation, and asserts that his progenitor 
 had previously amassed a considerable fortune, as he did subsequently. 
 
 t See Dr Mackay's " Memoirs of Popular Delusions."
 
 1720,] Correspondence. 233 
 
 The following is Steele's correspondence for 1720 : — 
 
 Letter CCCLXXXVIII. To the Lord Chancellor* 
 
 Jan. 17, 1719-20. 
 My Lord, — That you were Lord Chief-Justice, was a consideration 
 which gave me much resolution in the last reign ; that you are Chancellor, 
 is a comfort to me under much hardships in this. I have, my lord, a . . . 
 by letters patent from his majesty, to keep and govern a company of 
 comedians ; the tenure is for my life, and three years after my death. My 
 Lord Chamberlain thinks his office injured in this grant, and disturbs me 
 in it. His grace has already sent an order to silence one of the chief 
 actors ; upon which I wrote to him, and complained of the oppression, 
 which I took the liberty of [calling] it. Upon this, I received a message 
 by his secretary, never to write or speak to him more during our natural 
 lives. His grace has since declared, he will obtain a sign manual to silence 
 the theatre. I cannot, by his own order, expostulate with him ; therefore 
 am obliged to apply to other Lords of the Council to prevent the grant of 
 such an instrument. My lord has acquainted me that this patent of mine 
 shall be disputed in Westminster Hall ; which I am very glad of, and am 
 ready to defend myself ; but cannot do so if my means of doing it are 
 taken from me, and the cause is in effect to begin at the latter end of it, 
 and, by the interposition of the King's name and authority, I am to be 
 bereaved in a summary and arbitrary way of what I am to dispute accord- 
 ing to the rules of justice. 
 
 I presume to write to the other great officers of the crown on this sub- 
 ject ; and hope I shall not be distinguished by receiving injustice with 
 relation to the playhouse, as I have been by right justice in case of omis- 
 sion of duty in the Commission of Forfeitures, t — I am, my lord, your 
 lordship's most obedient and most humble servant, 
 
 Eich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCLXXX1X. To the Duke of Argyle.% 
 
 Jan. 17, 1719-20. 
 
 My Lord, — I am necessitated to be guilty of this presumption, from a 
 
 menace of my Lord Chamberlain, that he would silence the theatre under 
 
 my government by a sign manual, though at the same time he sent me 
 
 word by his secretary that he will prosecute my patent according to law. 
 
 * " Thomas, Lord Parker ; Lord Chief-Justice of the Kiin/a Bench, 1710 ; Lord 
 Chancellor, 1716; created Earl of Macclesfield, 1721." 
 t " For which he incurred and paid a penalty of L.500." 
 X " John Campbell, Duke of Argyle and Greenwich."
 
 234 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xix. 
 
 I have not the honour of your grace's friendship, and therefore want a 
 powerful man who knows superiority is maintained only by benefaction, 
 and that no man is truly above a gentleman of England, but merely in a 
 ceremonial and insipid way, but he who is ready to favour, protect, and 
 defend him. 
 
 This, my lord, is what you are well known to understand and perform 
 with a frankness and beauty which very few are capable of imitating. But 
 as I have no pretension to such protection and patronage from you, I only 
 apply to you, as you are a Privy Councillor, for justice ; and humbly beg 
 of you to grant me so far your observation (as it may come before you 
 either in business or conversation) should a step be made ; but I shall not 
 omit to tell you, who know human life, and have reason about you, in spite 
 of being a man of immense fortune, and the highest title I can say to you, 
 that this attack at the playhouse, and taking from me the penalty of L.500 
 for my absence from Scotland, has extremely reduced my finances and 
 credit. 
 
 Forgive me, my lord, for this application to you, which proceeds from a 
 deep sense of your many noble qualities, which make me, (though I speak 
 it when I am a petitioner,) my lord, with great truth, your grace's most 
 obedient and most humble servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCXC. To James Craggs, Esq.* 
 
 Jan. 17, 1719-20. 
 Sir, — I presume to give you this trouble in hopes of your protection, as 
 you are a Privy Councillor, against what his grace, my Lord Chamberlain, 
 is pleased to threaten, contrary to the rules of justice. My lord is insti- 
 gated to dispute the King's authority in giving me a patent for the govern- 
 ment of the playhouse, and has sent me word that he will go to law with 
 me on that subject, but at the same time menaces to silence the house by 
 his Majesty's sign manual. I insist upon it that it will be an arbitrary ap- 
 plication of the sign manual, and doubt not but you will, in duty to your 
 sovereign and justice to your fellow-subjects, if it should fall to your pro- 
 vince to be consulted, avert this calamity from, sir, your most obedient 
 and most humble servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 * " This was the 'statesman, yet friend to truth,' who is so justly complimented 
 by Mr Pope. He was made Secretary of State in 1718, and died Feb. 14, 1720." 
 He was the friend and successor of Addison, who dedicated to him the collected 
 edition of his works.
 
 1720.] Correspondence. 235 
 
 Letter CCCXCI. To Earl Stanhope* 
 
 Jan. 17, 1719-20. 
 My Lord, — I am obliged to give your lordship this trouble on occasion 
 of a menace from my Lord Chamberlain, that he will silence the actors 
 under my government by his Majesty's letters patent, though, at the same 
 time, he has notified to me by his secretary that he will proceed against 
 this little theatrical authority according to law. I presume to assert 
 that a sign inatmal on such an occasion is illegal and arbitrary ; and 
 humbly desire your lordship will, in a ministerial capacity, protest against 
 such an insult upon the property of, sir, your most obedient and most 
 humble servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Mr Dennis, finding he took so little by the experiment 
 of his low, personal attack upon Steele, modestly assumed 
 a tone of injured innocence, and addressed one of his 
 long-winded letters with his ground of complaint to Sir 
 Richard : — 
 
 Letter CCCXCII. From Mr Dennis, t 
 
 March 4, 1719-20. 
 
 Sir, — Though, at the time of writing this, I am almost overwhelmed 
 both with sickness and grief, yet I cannot forbear making a just complaint 
 to you, for your being the occasion of both these, either by your actually 
 breaking your word with me, or being perfectly passive while your 
 managers broke it ; which, if it has not reduced me to immediate necessity, 
 yet has brought me within the danger of it, and consequently within the 
 apprehension of it, which is as grievous almost as the thing. And that 
 this complaint is but too justly grounded, you yourself will acknowledge 
 when I have laid my case before you, which I shall do in as few words as 
 1 can. 
 
 It was upon the 27th of February 1717-18, that I received a letter from 
 Mr Booth, by your direction, and the direction of the managers under you, 
 desiring me to dine at your house on the 28th, and after dinner to read 
 the tradegy of " Coriolauus " to you, which I had altered from Shakespeare. 
 
 ' Who was one of Steele's supporters in 1714, when he made his defence at the 
 bar of the Commons, and to whom (then General Stanhope) he dedicated the first 
 volume of the Englishman. 
 
 t " Directed, ' To Sir Richard Steele, Patentee of the Theatre in Drury Lane.' "
 
 236 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xix. 
 
 You cannot but remember, sir, that, upon reading it, the play, with the 
 alterations, was approved of, nay, and warmly approved of, by yourself, 
 Mr Cibber, and Mr Booth, (the other manager was not there ;) and that 
 resolutions were taken for the acting of it in the beginning of this winter. 
 Now, I appeal to yourself if any dramatic performance could be more 
 seasonable in the beginning of a winter, when we were threatened with an 
 invasion from Sweden on the north, and from Spain on the west, than a 
 tradegy whose moral is thus expressed in the last lines of the play : — 
 
 " They who, through ambition or revenge, 
 
 Or impious interest, join with foreign foes, 
 T' oppress or to destroy their native country ; 
 Shall find, like Coriolanus, soon or late, 
 From their perfidious foreign friends their fate." 
 
 I am sure, sir, I need not tell one of your understanding, that this 
 moral is so apparently the foundation of the dramatic action, and must 
 appear to every spectator and reader to be so truly the genuine result of 
 it, that if I had not said one word of it, every reader and spectator would 
 have been able to have suggested so much to himself. 
 
 Well, sir, when the winter came on, what was done by your deputies ? 
 Why, instead of keeping their word with me, they spent above two 
 months of the season in getting up " All for Love ; or, The World Well 
 Lost," a play which has indeed a noble first act, an act which ends with a 
 scene becoming of the dignity of the tragic stage. But if Horace had 
 been now alive, and been either a reader or spectator of that entertain- 
 ment, he would have passed his old sentence upon the author, — 
 
 " Infelix operis summa, quia ponere totum 
 Nesciet." * 
 
 For, was ever anything so pernicious, so immoral, so criminal, as the 
 design of that play ? I have mentioned the title of it, give me leave to 
 set before you the last two lines : — 
 
 " And fame to late posterity shall tell, 
 No lovers lived so great, or died so well." 
 
 And this encomium of the conduct and death of Anthony and Cleopatra — 
 a conduct so immoral, and a self-murder so criminal — is to give it more 
 force, put into the mouth of the high priest of Isis ; though that priest 
 could not but know that what he thus commended would cause imme- 
 
 " Unhappy in the whole, because unskill'd 
 To join the parts, and make them harmonise." — Duncombe. 

 
 1720.] 
 
 From Mr Dennis. 237 
 
 diately the utter destruction of his country, and make it become a con- 
 quered and a Roman province. Certainly, never could the design of an 
 author square more exactly with the design of Whitehall at the time when 
 it was written, which was, by debauching the people, absolutely to en- 
 slave them. 
 
 For pray, sir, what do the title and the last two hues of the play amount 
 to in plain English ? Why, to this, that if any person of quality, or other, 
 shall turn away his wife, his young, affectionate, virtuous, charming wife, 
 (for all these Octavia was,) to take to his bed a loose abandoned prostitute, 
 and shall in her arms exhaust his patrimony, destroy his health, emas- 
 culate his mind, and lose his reputation and all his friends ; why all this 
 is well and greatly done, his ruin is his commendation. And if after- 
 wards, in despair, he either hangs or drowns himself, or goes out of the 
 world, like a rat, with a dose of arsenic or sublimate, why it is a great and 
 envied fate, he does nobly and heroically. 
 
 It is, sir, with extreme reluctance that I have said all this ; for I would 
 not be thought to affront the memory of Mr Dryden, for whose extra- 
 ordinary qualities no man has a greater veneration than myself. But that 
 all considerations ought to give place to the public good, is a truth of 
 which you and all men, I am sure, can never doubt. 
 
 And can you believe then, after having recommended virtue and public 
 spirit for so many years to the world, that you can give your subalterns 
 authority to preach up adultery to a town which stands so little in need 
 of their doctrine ? Is not the chastity of the marriage bed one of the chief 
 inceudiaries of public spirit, and the frequency of adulteries one of the chief 
 extinguishers of it ? according to that of Horace : * — 
 
 " Fsecunda culpee secula, nuptias 
 Primum inquiuavere, et genus, et domos. 
 Hoc fonte derivata clades 
 In patriam populumque fluxit." \ 
 
 For when adultery is become so frequent, especially among persons of con- 
 dition, upon whose sentiments all public spirit chiefly depends, that a 
 great many husbands begin to believe, or perhaps but to suspect, that 
 
 3 Od. vi. 17. 
 
 " Fruitful of crimes, this age first stain'd 
 Their hapless offspring, and profaneu 
 The nuptial hed, from whence the woes, 
 That various and unnumher'd rose 
 From this polluted fountainhead, 
 O'er Rome, and o'er the nations spread."
 
 238 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xix. 
 
 they who are called their children are not their own ; I appeal to you, 
 sir, if that belief, or that suspicion, must not exceedingly cool their zeal 
 for the welfare of those children, and consequently for the welfare of 
 posterity. 
 
 As I had infinitely the advantage of "All for Love" in the moral of 
 " Coriolanus," I had it by consequence in the whole tragedy ; for the 
 " Coriolanus," as I have altered it, having a just moral, and, by conse- 
 quence, at the bottom a general and allegorical action, and universal and 
 allegorical characters, and for that very reason a fable, is therefore a true 
 tragedy, if it be not a just and regular one ; but it is as just and as regular 
 as I could make it, upon so irregular a plan as Shakspeare's ; whereas, 
 " All for Love" having no moral, and consequently no general and alle- 
 gorical action, nor general and allegorical characters, can for that reason 
 have no fable, and therefore can be no tragedy. It is indeed only a parti- 
 cular account of what happened formerly to Anthony and Cleopatra, and 
 a most pernicious amusement. 
 
 And as I had the advantage in the merit of " Coriolanus," I had it like- 
 wise in the world's opinion of the merit and reputation of Shakspeare in 
 tragedy above that of Mr Dryden. For, let Mr Dryden's genius for tragedy 
 be what it will, he has more than once publicly owned that it was much 
 inferior to Shakspeare's, and particularly in those two remarkable lines in 
 his Prologue to Aurenge-Zebe : — 
 
 " And when he hears his god-like Romans rage, 
 He in a just despair would quit the stage." 
 
 And in the verses to Sir Godfrey Kneller — 
 
 " Shakspeare, thy gift, I place before my sight ; 
 With awe I ask his blessing ere I write ; 
 With reverence look on his majestic face, 
 Proud to be less, but of his godlike race." 
 
 And the same Mr Dryden has more than once declared to me that there 
 was something in this very tragedy of " Coriolanus," as it was written by 
 Shakspeare, that is truly great and truly Roman, aud I more than once 
 answered him that it had always been my own opinion. Now, I appeal to 
 you and your managers if it has lost anything under my hands. 
 
 But what is more considerable than all this, your deputy-lieutenants for 
 the stage have ten times the opinion of the advantage which Shakspeare 
 has over Mr Dryden in tragedy than either I or the rest of the world have. 
 Ever since I was capable of reading Shakspeare, I have always had, and 
 have always expressed that veneration for him which is justly his due, of 
 which I believe no one can doubt who has read the essay which I pub-
 
 1720.] To his Daughter. 239 
 
 lished some years ago upon his genius and writings. But what they express 
 upon all occasions is not esteem, is not admiration, but flat idolatry. 
 
 And lastly, I had the advantage of the very opinion which those people 
 had of their own interest in the case. They knew very well that it was 
 but twelve years since " All for Love" had been acted. And they were 
 likewise satisfied that from its first run, as they call it, to the beginning 
 of this last winter, it had never brought four audiences together. At the 
 same time, there was no occasion to tell them that the " Coriolanus" of 
 Shakspeare had not been acted in twenty years, and that, when it was 
 brought upon the stage twenty years ago, it was acted twenty nights 
 together. 
 
 And now, sir, I shall be obliged to you if you will acquaint me for what 
 mighty and unknown reason the " Coriolanus," notwithstanding your 
 words solemnly given to act it as soon as it could conveniently be brought 
 upon the stage this winter, notwithstanding the merit of the play itself — I 
 speak of Shakspeare's part of it — notwithstanding the world's and their own 
 opinion of the superior merit of Shakspeare to Mr Dryden in tragedy, and 
 their very opinion of their own interest in the case ; nay, notwithstanding 
 the exact seasonableness of the moral for the service of King George and 
 of Great Britain, which above all things ought to have been considered by 
 those who call themselves the king's servants, and who act under his 
 authority ; I say, sir, I should be extremely obliged to you if you would 
 tell me what powerful reason could so far prevail over all those I have 
 mentioned as to engage them to postpone the " Coriolanus," not only for 
 " All for Love," but likewise for that lamentable tragic farce, " Csesar 
 Borgia," * from which nobody expected anything but themselves ; and a 
 comedy after it called " The Masquerade," f from which they themselves 
 declared they expected nothing. — I am, &c. John Dennis. 
 
 Letter CCCXCIII. To Mrs Elizabeth Steele, at Mrs Nazereau's, 
 
 at Chelsea. 
 
 Edinburgh, Sept. 17, 1720. 
 
 My dear Child, — I keep your letters safely tied together, in order to 
 
 observe your improvement, which I take notice of with great pleasure. Mrs 
 
 Mary's mark is no less a satisfaction to me, because it denotes that she is 
 
 well, and shows her endeavours to converse with me. But I hope you 
 
 * " A tragedy, by Nat. Lee." 
 
 t " A farce, by Benjamin Griffin, performed in 1717, at Lincolns-Inn-Ficlds» 
 with some success." — Biog. Dram.
 
 240 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xix. 
 
 will now make her begin to sign the first letters of her name. Be pleased 
 to write every other letter in English. To make this easy, I will be con- 
 tented that what is written in your mother tongue one post may be in 
 French the next. 
 
 Be very dutiful and obedient to Mrs Keck, and believe me to be the 
 most affectionate of fathers, Bich. Steele. 
 
 Bern ember me to Molly. 
 
 Letter CCCXCIV. To Mrs Elizabeth Steele. 
 
 Edinburgh, Oct. 7, 1720. 
 
 My dear Child, — I have yours of the 30th of the last month ; and, 
 from your diligence and improvement, conceive hopes of your being as 
 excellent a person as your mother. You have great opportunities of 
 becoming such a one by observing the maxims and sentiments of her 
 bosom friend, Mrs Keck, who has condescended to take upon her the care 
 of you and your sister, for which you are always to pay her the same 
 respect as if she were your mother. 
 
 I have observed that your sister has, for the first time, written the 
 initial or first letters of her name. Tell her I am highly delighted to see 
 her subscription in such fair, fair letters, and how many fine things those 
 two letters stand for when she writes them. M. S. is milk and sugar, 
 mirth and safety, music and songs, meat and sauce, as well as Molly, and 
 Spot, and Mary Steele. 
 
 You see I take pleasure in conversing with you by prattling anything to 
 divert you. I hope we shall next month have a happy meeting, when I 
 will entertain you with something that may be as good for the father as 
 the children, and consequently please us. — I am, madam, your affectionate 
 father and most humble servant, Bich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCXCV. To Mr Brookesby* 
 
 Dec. 1, 1720. 
 Sir, — I thank you for your intended favour of communicating to me dis- 
 coveries in Alchemy, but I have long resolved never to concern myself in 
 inquiries of that sort. — I am, sir, your most humble servant, 
 
 Bich. Steele. 
 
 * Directed, " At his house, the first door on the right hand in the Little 
 Almonry, hy the Dutch Envoy's, near Dean's Yard."
 
 1720.] Lines on Death of Addison. 241 
 
 Letter CCCXCVI. Copy of a Letter, written in a cipher, " To Mr Gilmore, 
 
 at his house at Poplar, near the Church." 
 
 Dec. 10, 1720. 
 Sir,— I have great reason of complaint against Mr Dale for his conduct 
 in relation to the Fish-pool. The way in which he has acted, and now 
 proceeds, can lead to nothing but ruin of that invention, and dishonour to 
 you and myself, who brought it into the world. I will, with the blessing 
 of God, take the most just and effectual methods to obtain satisfaction to 
 all innocent persons concerned for the affair, beginning with you, and end- 
 ing with myself. In the meantime, I must conjure and charge you at your 
 peril not to finish the tender, or let him into the secret of the structure 
 thereof, without notice and consent of, Sir, your most obedient humble 
 servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Perhaps the reader will not be displeased if the notice of 
 this period close with some lines addressed to Steele, by a 
 lad}-, on the death of Addison, and upbraiding his silence 
 on the subject : — 
 
 March 1, 1720 
 If I, Steele, presumptuous shall appear, 
 And these unskilful notes offend thine ear, 
 Forbear to censure what I 've artless writ, 
 No well-bred man e'er damn'd a woman's wit. 
 But sure there 's none of all the inspired train 
 Who do not of thy indolence complain. 
 Ingrate, or indolent ■ or why thus long 
 Should Addison require his funeral song ? * 
 When a loved monarch quits his cares below, 
 The meanest subjects join the common woe ; 
 But from the favourite who his worth best knew 
 A tribute of superior grief is due. 
 Shall Ramsey, and Melissa, lays produce, 
 (That a mechanic's, this a woman's muse,) 
 While thou, wit's sole surviving hope ! supine, 
 The melancholy theme dost still decline ? 
 
 * The death of Addison, which occurred June 17, 1719, was lamented in an 
 elegy by Tickell, his literary executor, which has been much admired, though 
 Steele did not do justice to it, and appears to have contemplated some memorial of 
 his friend, which it is much to be regretted should never have been executed. 
 VOL. II. Q
 
 242 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xix. 
 
 Exert that fire which glows within your breast, 
 Nor longer thus in lazy silence rest ; 
 Aloft your skilful muse can wing her flight, 
 And emulate his strains whose praise you write. 
 
 For me, the meanest of the tuneful train, 
 T' attempt th' unequal task were fond and vain ; 
 But, could I sing, sacred shade ! thy praise 
 Alone should claim, alone inspire my lays. 
 Thou kind preceptor of the tender fair ! 
 Great was the charge, and generous the care. 
 You show'd us virtue, so celestial bright, 
 So amiable, in so divine a light ; 
 Ashamed at last, false glories we resign'd, 
 By thee instructed to improve the mind. 
 How oft, reclined beneath a sylvan shade, 
 Have I thy Marcia read, thy matchless maid ! 
 In her superior worth and virtue shine, 
 Her wisdom, manners, her whole self divine. 
 A great exalted mind in her appears ; 
 And gentle Lucia melts my soul to tears. 
 
 Here, ye fair ! in this bright mirror learn, 
 Your minds with never-fading charms t' adorn ! 
 On these accomplishments bestow some care, 
 'Tis no great merit to be only fair. 
 
 His Rosamonda shall for ever prove 
 A mark to keep us safe from guilty love. 
 Beauty's a snare, unless with virtue join'd, 
 An angel form should have an angel mind. 
 But when the bard displays the artful scene, 
 The suppliant beauty, and the furious queen, 
 In melting notes sings her disastrous love, 
 With tears we pity what we can't approve. 
 
 How learn'd he was, Steele, do thou declare, 
 For that 's a task beyond a woman's sphere. 
 Some works I 've seen, wrought up by rules of art, 
 Where poor excluded nature had no part ; 
 But he, the Stagyrite's strict axioms knew, 
 Yet still to nature, as to art, was true. 
 He touch'd the heart, the passions could command, 
 'Twas nature all but mended by his hand. 
 His style is noble, sentiments refined, 
 Full of benevolence to all mankind. 
 In more than theory he religion knew,
 
 1720.1 Lines on Death of Addison, 243 
 
 And kept the heav'nly still in view ; 
 
 Rapt on her wings, his soul ecstatic soars, 
 
 Leaves our dull orb, a better world explores, 
 
 And now he 's reach'd th' ethereal plains above, 
 
 Th' eternal seat of harmony and love ; 
 
 Blest harmony and love anew inspire, 
 
 With hymns, like theirs, he joins th' angelic quire. 
 
 He's gone ! obr, never, never to return ! 
 Around his tomb, ye sacred Muses, mourn ; 
 Your pious tears on the cold marble shed ; 
 You loved him living, now lament him dead ! 
 Cold is that breast, where glow'd your hallow'd fire ; 
 Silent that voice whose notes you did inspire ; 
 Still lies that hand th' harmonious lyre best strung, 
 Unmoved the gen'rous heart, and mute the tuneful tongue ! 
 That dome, where his remains now lie confined, 
 Holds not the clay that held a nobler mind. 
 Here peaceful rest, to wait Heaven's great decree, 
 Soft be thy slumbers, sweet thy waking be ! 
 
 Who can his Warwick's anxious woes express, 
 The bitter anguish, and the deep distress ? 
 The lonely mourner does not grieve alone, 
 And distant Cambria echoes to each groan ; 
 Her native country lends this poor relief. 
 We weep, we sigh, with sympathetic grief. 
 Ev'n I, oppress'd with sorrows of my own, 
 Suspend them all, to mourn her Addison. 
 Oh, will she deign to accept these lowly lays 
 My humble Muse thus offers to his praise ! 
 
 Oh, may the lovely child, the budding fair, 
 Soothe all her griefs, and sweeten every care ! 
 Still grow in virtue, as she grows in years, 
 Till she in full-blown excellence appears ; 
 May she be perfect, as his fancy wrought, 
 The poet's race excel the poet's thought ! 
 Let charms united blooming Marcia grace, 
 Her sire's exalted wit, her mother's beauteous face.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 The return of Walpole to office causes Steele's prospects to brighten — 
 Notice of Walpole — Fragment of a Diary commenced by Steele — 
 Dialogue between Steele and Lord Sunderland — Letter to Mr Pelham 
 requesting his interest — Is restored to his office through the interest 
 of Mr Walpole — Bishop Hoadly becomes his executor — Correspond- 
 ence in 1721— To his daughter, to Mr Scurlock, to Mr Wilks, to Mr 
 Cibber, to Mr Booth — 1722, Produces his Comedy of the " Con- 
 scious Lovers" — Its great success — Dedicated to the King, who 
 presents him with 500 guineas — Ballad from it. 
 
 The alternation of sunshine and clouds by which the career 
 of Steele was so remarkably chequered, received at this 
 time a fresh illustration by another turn in the wheel of 
 fortune. The quiet magnanimity with which he had borne 
 the long and cruel adversity inflicted on him by his unprin- 
 cipled adversary was above all praise. He had now 
 fathomed the lowest depth of his fortune. But the darkest 
 hour of the night is that which precedes the dawn. The 
 continuance of his steady friend, Mr Walpole, in power 
 would no doubt have saved him from his recent misfortunes, 
 but unluckily he had resigned his office of First Lord of the 
 Treasury in 1717, about the same time that that uncertain 
 and selfish patron, the Duke of Newcastle, became Lord 
 Chamberlain. Walpole — who, since the previous June had 
 held the lucrative but minor office of Paymaster of the 
 Forces, on the 2d of April 1721, in consequence of the 
 retirement of the Earl of Sunderland, as previously stated — 
 once more resumed his place at the head of the Treasury.
 
 i72i.] Notice of Walpole. 245 
 
 As this eminent statesman was so intimately connected 
 with Steele in his political capacity, and exerted so favour- 
 able an influence on his fortune, a few words respecting him 
 may here be added. Robert Walpole, afterwards Earl of 
 Orford, (1676-1745,) was of a good old Norfolk family. 
 Being a younger son he had, in consequence, been origin- 
 ally designed for the Church, and always asserted that he 
 would have risen to the Primacy. After a preparatory 
 education in a private school at Massingham, in his native 
 county, he proceeded to Eton, and thence to King's College, 
 Cambridge, where in 1696 he obtained a scholarship. This 
 he resigned, after two years, in consequence of the death 
 of his elder brother, and having himself suffered serious 
 indisposition. He then returned to reside on the estate of 
 which he was now heir, along with his father, who was one 
 of the representatives of the borough of Castle Rising. 
 
 At the close of 1700, Mr Walpole succeeded to the pro- 
 perty — about L.2000 a year — by the death of his father, 
 having in the course of the previous summer married the 
 daughter of Sir John Shorter, Lord Mayor of London. At 
 the same time he also succeeded his father in the repre- 
 sentation of Castle Rising, the two seats of which, as well 
 as one of King's Lynn, were in the interest of his family. 
 In the last year of King William, when his parliamentary 
 career commenced, though the Tory party was in the 
 ascendant, he became an active supporter of the Whig in- 
 terest. He seconded the motion for extending the Oath of 
 Abjuration to members of the Church andjhe universities. 
 His merit did not fail to attract the attention of Godolphin 
 and Marlborough ; and when they were strengthening the 
 Whig interest in the then mixed cabinet, he received the
 
 246 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xx. 
 
 appointment of a member of the council of the Prince 
 Consort, George of Denmark, as Lord High Admiral, in 
 1705 ; and on the retirement of Harley and his party, three 
 years after, succeeded St John as Secretary at War, and be- 
 came afterwards Treasurer of the Navy. When that Whig- 
 folly, for which they paid so dearly — the impeachment of 
 Sacheverell — was proposed, he did all he could to prevent 
 it ; but when it was determined on he was appointed one 
 of the managers. On the dismissal of Godolphin, to make 
 way for the Tory favourites of the Queen, disdaining the 
 overtures of the new dispensers of power, he resolutely fol- 
 lowed the fortunes of his chiefs. As he would not be one 
 of them, he was to be ruined. His offence was aggravated 
 by subsequently entering the lists against the assailants of 
 Marlborough, who had also been vainly tampered with, and 
 was similarly treated. In the course of the following year 
 he was expelled the House by a small majority of that Tory 
 parliament, and committed to the Tower on the charge of 
 corruption in his office of Secretary at War, in having re- 
 ceived two notes of L.500 each from a contractor. Walpole 
 drew up a pamphlet on the subject. His plea was, that the 
 pecuniary advantage was not for himself. In the terms of 
 agreement a certain proportion of the contract had been 
 reserved for the benefit of a friend whom he should name. 
 This friend, since dead, was Mr Mann, of whose name the 
 other contractors not being aware, the notes were drawn in 
 favour of Walpole. However dubious the transaction may 
 be, it is remarkable that they never ventured to impeach or 
 prosecute him. So much was he regarded as the victim of 
 party malice, that some of the ministerial party had voted 
 in his favour, and others had declined to vote. Being re-
 
 1721.] Notice of Walpole. 247 
 
 elected, lie was declared ineligible to sit in the same parlia- 
 ment. 
 
 During the few remaining years that the Queen survived, 
 he devoted himself to the most energetic opposition, and 
 for the time rather involved his means by the splendour of 
 his hospitality at Houghton, and in other ways in the in- 
 terest of his party. It is a curious fact in the history of 
 part}', that on Oxford's dismissal Bolingbroke made it a day 
 of rejoicing by entertaining Walpole and some of the other 
 leading Whigs. This was probably done with the double 
 object to mortify his hated rival, and as a blind to his real 
 designs, and possibly with the hope of making friends on 
 the opposite side in case of the game going against him. 
 
 On the accession of George I., which almost immediately 
 followed that event, the Whigs were again in the ascendant, 
 and Walpole was appointed, in the first instance, Paymaster 
 of the Forces, Treasurer of Chelsea Hospital, and a Privy 
 Councillor, (Sept. 1714,) and in October of the following 
 year First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer. He was also elected Chairman of the Com- 
 mittee of Secrecy to inquire into the conduct of the previous 
 ministers, and drew up and moved the impeachment of 
 Bolingbroke and Oxford. An illness succeeded, probably 
 caused by the anxieties and exertions of the year of the 
 rebellion in favour of the Pretender, and during his absence 
 the Septennial Bill, a measure in the preparation of which 
 he is supposed to have had a principal hand, was introduced 
 by his brother-in-law, Lord Townshend, who was nominally 
 chief of the Cabinet. During the King's visit to his Hano- 
 verian dominions in 171G, he was accompanied by the Earl 
 of Sunderland, one of the Secretaries of State, who sue-
 
 248 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xx. 
 
 ceecled on that occasion in establishing himself in a position 
 of great personal influence. As the ambition of Sunder- 
 land had always aimed at the premiership, his increased 
 influence led to differences in the cabinet, which induced 
 Townshend to exchange his Secretaryship for the Vice- 
 royalty of Ireland ; and Walpole, not finding his position 
 satisfactory, tendered his resignation in March 1717. The 
 King is said to have playfully thrown back the seals to him 
 many times before he w T ould accept them from him. 
 
 On the day of his resignation Walpole brought in his Sink- 
 ing Fund Bill for reducing the debt of the nation. He 
 is supposed to have subsequently arrived at a similar 
 opinion of the fallacy of the principle of a sinking fund 
 now entertained — but as no doubt was then entertained 
 on the subject, it answered the practical purpose of 
 enabling the Government to borrow money at a greatly 
 reduced rate of interest. Walpole soon established him- 
 self in a position of such strength in opposition as to oblige 
 the selfish rival, who, on the strength of the royal favour, 
 seemed bent upon reigning alone, to come to terms. 
 He consequently resumed office in June 1720 in a place 
 he had formerly held, that of Paymaster of the Forces. 
 On the bursting of the South Sea Bubble in that year, the 
 King, the legislature, and the nation displayed their confi- 
 dence in the prophet whose warnings had been despised or 
 unheeded, and seemed to regard him as the only man equal 
 to the occasion. When it was known he had taken the 
 matter in hand, the popular excitement sensibly abated, 
 and the stock rose from its excessive depreciation. On 
 the reluctant, but almost compulsory retirement of Sunder- 
 land, as something more than suspected of participation in
 
 1721.] Treason oj Atterburij. 249 
 
 the practices of the company, though acquitted by the 
 House, Walpole again resumed his place, in the beginning 
 of April, at the head of the Treasury. He displayed his 
 generosity towards the man who, in the day of his triumph, 
 had been chiefly instrumental in driving him from power, 
 by shielding him in the hour of his extremity, when angry 
 cries for vengeance rung through the land. Though these 
 were chiefly aimed at the directors of the company, yet 
 Sunderland's conduct was greatly aggravated by his respon- 
 sible and elevated position. Though Walpole suffered 
 some diminution of popularity in consequence, he failed of 
 receiving in return the gratitude of him he had so mate- 
 rially contributed to save. In the re-adjustment of the 
 cabinet, Walpole's brother-in-law, Lord Townshend, became 
 again the nominal chief. 
 
 In the following year the disclosure of a Jacobite con- 
 spiracy, in which the celebrated Atterbury was implicated, 
 resulted in the exile of that intriguing prelate, the evidence 
 against whom was only circumstantial, but has been fully 
 confirmed by the subsequent publication of his correspond- 
 ence. Indeed, he justified the suspicions against him, like 
 Bolingbroke, by his own act in immediately taking office 
 under the Pretender ; and, like him, too, was fated to 
 meet with an ungrateful reward of his zeal in being dis- 
 carded. At the same time Walpole gave proof of his 
 moderation and freedom from vindictiveness in withdraw- 
 ing the proceedings against Bolingbroke, to the extent of 
 permitting him to return according to his wish, but with- 
 out restoring to him either his property of title. But if he 
 anticipated any services or gratitude in return, he was 
 fated to be disappointed, fur that arch intriguer fully
 
 250 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xx. 
 
 realised the definition of the latter quality as "a lively sense 
 of favours to come," and considering nothing done so long 
 as anything remained undone, became one of the most 
 bitter and violent of the opponents of his benefactor. 
 
 In the same year (1723) Walpole was one of the Lords 
 Justices, and sole Secretary of State, in the absence of Lords 
 Townshend and Carteret with the king in Hanover, and 
 in the next had the Order of the Bath conferred upon him. 
 A peerage, which he had himself declined, was granted to 
 his son ; and, after having in the previous year again filled 
 the office of one of the Lords Justices, in 1726 he received 
 the Order of the Garter, an honour which, with one excep- 
 tion, had previously been confined to the peerage. 
 
 The opposition to the minister, the nucleus of which his 
 predecessor had fostered and left behind him in revenge 
 for having been supplanted by him, found a powerful ally 
 in Ireland in another disappointed politician. Swift, on 
 the break up of the Tory Cabinet of Queen Anne, of whose 
 members he had been the friend and adviser, retired to 
 his deanery — the first promotion he had received from 
 them, and only just in time — and devoted himself for some 
 years, in sullen disappointment and chagrin, to the exem- 
 plary discharge of its duties. On his first arrival he had 
 been very unpopular, and had even been subjected to insults 
 in the streets as a Jacobite. But it was not possible that 
 such energies and such passions should remain for ever 
 unemployed. After having published a " Proposal for the 
 Universal Use of Irish Manufactures/' which had turned the 
 tide of popularity very strongly in his favour, in the year 
 1724 an opportunity occurred for striking a memorable 
 blow at the Government. A patent having been granted
 
 1721. J Swift's D rapier s Letters. 251 
 
 to a person of the name of Wood for a copper coinage for 
 Ireland, Swift, in a series of letters, written with great 
 plausibility in the character of a man of plain sense, under 
 the signature of " M. B. Drapier," denounced the affair as 
 a scandalous job, and successfully persuaded the people 
 to reject it, or that they would be ruined by the worthless 
 coin. It can scarcely be believed, even if the coin had 
 been as bad as he represented, that any one could have 
 been injured by it, unless on the supposition of any one 
 having a large amount of it, and that it had ceased to be 
 a legal tender. But so far was his representation from 
 being justified that, after the outcry against it, it was 
 tested by the Master of the Mint, no less a person than Sir 
 Isaac Newton, and found to be satisfactory. At the same 
 time that he had shown his power in thus successfully 
 opposing one of the measures of the Government, he 
 prudently avoided closing the door of hope against himself, 
 by exonerating the minister personally of blame. It may 
 also be stated, in Swift's behalf, that there was much more 
 justice in his statement of the general grievances of Ire- 
 land, of which this was the prelude. So effective was 
 the opposition that the patent was ultimately withdrawn. 
 Walpole took the opportunity also to avail himself of 
 the remarkable talents of Lord Carteret, afterwards Earl 
 Granville, by sending him to Ireland as Lord-Lieutenant 
 to allay the agitation on the subject, at the same time that 
 he rid himself of a formidable rival. 
 
 Two years after, Swift spent some months of the summer 
 with Pope, and took the opportunity of waiting upon Wal- 
 pole, with the ostensible view of laying before the minister 
 a just representation of the affairs of Ireland. If there
 
 252 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xx. 
 
 was only one visit, his reception and the result have been 
 variously stated, but his failure has been attributed to the 
 minister having previously had intimation of a letter of 
 his to Arbuthnot, in which he had expressed his design of 
 stealing a march upon him, and his opinion of the amount 
 of flattery he would bear. The accounts of Dr Rundle, 
 Bishop of Deny, and Horace Walpole, in his "Reminis- 
 cences," have a general resemblance. The former repre- 
 sents him as saying to the minister, " For God's sake, Sir 
 Robert, take me out of that cursed country, and place me 
 somewhere in England." " Mr Dean," replied Sir Robert, 
 " I should be glad to oblige you, but I fear removing you 
 would spoil your wit. I transplanted that tree (pointing to 
 one under the window) from the hungry soil of Houghton 
 to the Thames side, but it is good for nothing here." Swift 
 is said to have hastened his departure much chagrined ; 
 and to this his subsequent acrimonious treatment of the 
 minister, both in prose and verse, has been attributed. 
 In the " Rhapsody" on poetry, one of the most elaborate 
 of his poetical pieces, Walpole comes in for his full share 
 of the satire : — 
 
 " Now sing the minister of state, 
 Who shines alone without a mate. 
 Observe with what majestic port 
 This Atlas stands to prop the court, 
 Intent the public debts to pay, 
 Like prudent Fabius, by delay. . 
 
 St George beheld thee with delight 
 Vouchsafe to be an azure knight, 
 When on thy breast and sides herculean 
 He fixed the star and string cerulean." 
 
 To enter into the details of the public life of Walpole
 
 i72i.] Walpole — The Opposition. 253 
 
 would be to write the history of the country for twenty 
 years. On the accession of George II., in 1727, he retained 
 his places, though he had been necessarily involved in 
 the differences between the father and son in the preced- 
 ing reign, and the Opposition eagerly looked for his dis- 
 missal. Differences between him and Townshend led to 
 the retirement of the later, from which time Walpole 
 reigned alone. In 1733 his celebrated excise scheme 
 called forth the strenuous opposition of Pulteney, after- 
 wards Earl of Bath, who, from his immense wealth and 
 great talents in debate, was a powerful leader of the 
 Opposition. That party, already strong, received an acces- 
 sion, two years later, of incalculable importance in the 
 surpassing abilities of the elder Pitt. He was then a 
 young officer in a cavalry regiment, and Walpole made 
 the fatal, and with him unusual, mistake of making an 
 enemy for life, and in addition concentrating his energies 
 on politics, by depriving him of his commission. This 
 eminent man lived to see and openly to confess his mistake 
 in his violent opposition to Walpole. The Opposition, in 
 the House and out of the House, was composed of such in- 
 congruous materials as to resemble Ovid's description of 
 chaos, having no principle of cohesion but hatred of the 
 minister. It was headed by the Prince of Wales, and 
 composed of Jacobites, Tories, disappointed Whigs, and 
 unpatronised authors. 
 
 The great blot upon the administration of Walpole was 
 his allowing himself to be driven into an unjustifiable war 
 with Spain in 1739, by the clamour of the Opposition and 
 the popular feeling, contrary to his own judgment, for the 
 sake of retaining power. It must, however, be admitted
 
 254 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xx. 
 
 that Walpole tendered his resignation, and was only re- 
 tained in office by the urgent intreaties and commands of 
 the King. With another foolish war, entered into a few 
 years later, against France and in favour of Hungary, in 
 compliance with the wishes of the King and the people, 
 he declined to be identified, and allowed himself to be 
 driven from power in the beginning of 1742. On his re- 
 tirement he was created Baron Houghton, Viscount Wal- 
 pole, and Earl of Orford. The old veteran had maintained 
 the fight gallantly to the last, nor would submit to a com- 
 promise by the division of power for the sake of retaining 
 it — "leaving," in the words of Macaulay, "to those who 
 had overthrown him shame, discord, and ruin." 
 
 It is a remarkable example of the vitality of prejudice 
 and injustice, notwithstanding the trite sentiment about 
 " Veritas prevalebit," that the reputation which an Opposi- 
 tion, unprecedented in political warfare for its duration and 
 violence, succeeded in attaching to the name of Walpole, 
 as a monster of corruption, should have survived in popular 
 estimation, perhaps somewhat modified, to the present 
 time* 
 
 * Two very striking vindications of him have appeared within the last 
 twenty or thirty years by two eminent individuals, who united political experience 
 with the highest literary merit, and who were little likely to sympathise with 
 corruption — Brougham and Macaulay. The former says, " Few men have ever 
 reached and maintained for so many years the highest station which the citizen 
 of a free state can hold, who have enjoyed more power than Sir Robert Walpole, 
 and have left behind them less just cause of blame, or more monuments of the 
 wisdom and virtue for which his country has to thank him. . . . We may now 
 distinctly perceive the merits of this great statesman, and we shall easily admit 
 that he was one of the ablest, wisest, safest rulers who ever bore sway in this 
 country. . . . Walpole yet ranks in the very highest class of those whose un- 
 varying prudence, clear apprehension, fertility of resource to meet unexpected 
 difficulties, firmness of purpose, just and not seemingly exaggerated self-con- 
 fidence, point them out by common consent as the men qualified to guide the
 
 i72i. J Brougham and Macaulay on Walpole. 255 
 
 After successfully endeavouring to sow divisions and 
 jealousies among his rivals and successors, the remainder 
 of his life was spent in a very retired manner, though fre- 
 quently consulted by the King, whose esteem and confi- 
 dence he retained. His pictures, his garden, and the 
 sweets of private friendship divided his closing years. His 
 own hospitality had ever been rather in excess. In general 
 society, his frank, unreserved and generous nature, his 
 heartiness and constant good humour, made him an 
 
 course of human affairs, to ward off public dangers, and to watch over the peace 
 of empires. ... It was this general tide of public opinion, as well as the under- 
 current of royal and courtly inclination, that Walpole had to stem for many a 
 long year. He did stem it ; gallantly he kept the vessel to her course ; and he 
 was not driven from the helm by the combined clamours of the mob and in- 
 trigues of party, until after he had secured the incalculable blessings of a repose, 
 without example, for all the great interests committed to his charge." — Hist. 
 Sketches of Statesmen, vol. iii. 
 
 Lord Macaulay, in the latter part of one of his essays, says, " We have no rever- 
 ence for the memory of those who were then called the patriots. We are for the 
 principles of good government against Walpole, and for Walpole against the 
 Opposition. . . . They held up a siugle man as the sole cause of all the vices of 
 a bad system which had been in full operation before his entrance into public 
 life, and continued to be in full operation when some of these very brawlers had 
 succeeded to his power." And, again, " The government could not go on unless 
 the Parliament could be kept in order. . . . The Parliament had shaken off the 
 control of the royal prerogative. It had not yet fallen under the control of public 
 opinion. . . . Under these circumstances the country could be governed only by cor- 
 ruption. Bolingbroke, who was the ablest and most vehement of those who raised 
 the clamour against corruption, had no better remedy than that the royal preroga- 
 tive should be strengthened. The remedy would no doubt have been effective. The 
 only question is, whether it would not have been worse than the disease. The 
 fault was in the constitution of the legislature ; and to blame those ministers 
 who managed the legislature in the only way in which it could be managed, is 
 gross injustice. They submitted to extortion because they could not help them- 
 selves. We might as well accuse the poor lowland farmer, who paid black mail 
 to Rob Roy, of corrupting the virtue of the Highlanders, as accuse Sir R. 
 Walpole of corrupting the virtue of Parliament. His crime was merely this, 
 that he employed his money more dexterously, and got more support in return 
 for it than any of those who preceded or followed him. He was himself incor- 
 ruptable." — Essay on Horace Walpole.
 
 256 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xx. 
 
 eminent favourite. It is remarkable that Pope, though 
 professing to think it his vocation to satirise corruption, 
 never ventured to attack him whom his enemies re- 
 presented as its very fountain head. On the contrary, 
 he noticed him in the most flattering manner, describing 
 him in private in a way in which all his contemporaries 
 concur : — 
 
 " Seen him I have, but in his happier hour 
 Of social pleasure, ill-exchanged for power ; 
 Seen him, uucumber'd with a venal tribe, 
 Stnile without art, and win without a bribe." — Epilog to Sat. 
 
 A painful complaint, from which he had long suffered, 
 proved fatal in the year 1745, in his sixty-ninth year. 
 
 The restoration of Walpole to power was an event so 
 favourable to Steele that his hopes were raised accordingly, 
 and stimulated him to fresh exertions for the restoration 
 of the rights of which he had long been so unjustly and 
 cruelly deprived. Before, however, anticipating the result, 
 some fragments of a diary which Steele commenced about 
 this time may be here presented to the reader. It is much to 
 be regretted that he did not sooner commence this practice 
 of noting down passing events and feelings, and continue 
 it longer. Of the value and interest that might have been 
 attached to the result, we may judge from Swift's journal 
 to Stella, which is certainly among the most valuable and 
 interesting of his productions, though merely recording 
 his unpremeditated remarks upon passing events. The 
 present fragment of a diary was begun by Steele just two 
 days after the resumption of office by his powerful and 
 consistent friend, Mr Walpole. We find him stating dis- 
 tinctly his impression of the secret cause of the depriva-
 
 1721.] Steele's Diari/. 257 
 
 tion of his rights, in a way to exonerate the Duke of 
 Newcastle, at least of the exclusive blame. 
 
 FRAGMENT OF A DIARY. 
 
 April 4, 1721. — I have lately had a fit of sickness, which has awakened 
 in me, among other things, a sense of the little care I have taken of my 
 own family. And as it is natural for men to be more affected with the 
 actions and sufferings and observations upon the rest of the world, set 
 down by their predecessors, than by what they receive from other men ; 
 I have taken a resolution to write down in this book, as in times of leisure 
 I may have opportunity, things past, or things that may occur hereafter, 
 for the perusal and consideration of my son, Eugene Steele, and his sisters 
 Elizabeth Steele and Mary Steele, my beloved children. 
 
 Faster Sunday, April 9, 1721. — After the repeated perusal of Dr Tillot- 
 son's seventh sermon, in the third volume of the small edition of his 
 admirable and comfortable writings, and after having done certain acts of 
 benevolence and charity to some needy persons of merit, I went this 
 day to the holy sacrament. In addition to the proper prayers of the 
 Church, I framed for my private use on this occasion the following 
 prayer : — 
 
 " Almighty Lord God, I prostrate myself before thy divine majesty, in 
 hopes of mei'cy for all my former transgressions, through the merits of 
 Thy Son, Jesus Christ. 
 
 " Thou art my Maker, and knowest my infirmities, appetites, and pas- 
 sions, and the miserable habit of mind which I have contracted through a 
 guilty indulgence of them. Pardon me, Lord, in that I permitted them 
 to grow upon me ; and allow the moments for retrospect and repentance ; 
 or afford me Thy mercy, if Thou shalt please to take me away in the course 
 of a faithful endeavour. I bow down to Thee with a firm resolution to 
 resist all perverse and sensual inclinations for the future. I beg Thy 
 grace and assistance, for the sake of our Lord Jesus, who has instituted 
 this means of salvation, to which I approach with faith. Lord, Lord, 
 receive a broken and contrite heart. Amen." 
 
 April 9, (10?) 1721. — I have this morning resolved to pursue very 
 warmly my being restored to my government of the Theatre Royal, which 
 is my right, under the title of the Governor of the Royal Company of 
 Comedians, and from which I have been violently dispossessed by the 
 Duke of Newcastle, Lord Chamberlain of his Majesty's Household, upon a 
 frivolous pretence of jurisdiction in his office, which he has been persuaded 
 to assert against the force of the King's patent to me. This violation of 
 property I take to have been instigated by the late Secretaries Stanhope 
 VOL. II. R
 
 "25S Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xx. 
 
 and Craggs, for my opposition to the Peerage Bill, by speeches in the 
 House and printed pamphlets. 
 
 The Duke of Newcastle brought me into this present Parliament for the 
 town of Burroughbridge, upon which consideration I attempt all manner 
 of fair methods to bring his grace to reason without a public trial in a 
 court of justice : and, therefore, after applying to my Lord Sunderland * 
 
 * Son-in-law to the Duke of Marlborough, and the Secretary of State, with 
 whom Steele was early connected as gazetteer. " The following dialogue, which 
 is said to have passed, in or about 1719, between Sir Richard Steele and the 
 Earl of Sunderland, first Lord Commissioner of the Treasury from 1718 to 1721, 
 (whether genuine or not,) is characteristic, and is here transcribed from Ralph's 
 ' Case of Authors by Profession : ' — 
 
 " Steele. — I beg your pardon, my lord, though such as you seldom remember, 
 such as I seldom forget. And I must now beg leave to put you in mind of what 
 you have told me over and over again, that you thought Dick Steele had almost 
 as good pretensions as Bob Walpole ; that it was unpardonable in one who had 
 been my right-hand man at the bar of the House, to turn his back upon me when 
 at the head of the Treasury; and that, when you came to be minister, all should 
 be made up to me. 
 
 " Lord Sundekland.— I did, I did, sure enough. But, my dear Sir Richard — 
 
 " Steele. — My lord, my lord, I know what you would say ; and I will save you 
 the trouble of saying it. I am of the miller's mind. The fault is in the mill, in 
 more senses than one. 
 
 " Lord Sundekland. — What mill ? I do not understand you. 
 
 " Steele. —Afford me a little patience, my lord, and I will make you under- 
 stand me. A poor country fellow, coming too late of a Saturday evening to the 
 mill with his corn to be ground, found the miller had shut up, and was jogging 
 home. This was a sorry sight, as Macbeth says. Bread for himself and family 
 for the next week was the point in question : the miller was a churl, and not easy 
 to be talked into anything. However, he did his best, scratched bis ears, told his 
 tale, and so far with success, that he obtained the custody of the mill, with leave 
 to grind for himself, on condition he did justice to the crib, and paid the same 
 toll as if the miller had done the job himself. The fellow promised, like any 
 minister, my lord, and performed accordingly ; for going to the till, with an 
 honest purpose, he thought, to pay the miller his due, he found such a quantity of 
 grist lodged there already, that he could not resist the temptation which assailed 
 him to take twice as much away as he had been enjoined to add. But here the 
 parallel fails, my lord : for on his return home his heart smote him. He could 
 not sleep all night; he could not eat all day; and at last, he found himself under 
 an irresistible impulse to make restitution. The miller, in the meantime, having 
 examined his crib, and seeing him approach with a sack on his back as before, 
 took it for granted he was come to repeat his experiment, and resolved to give 
 him a suitable reception; but was not allowed time enough. For the poor
 
 i72i.] Dialogue with Lord Sunderland. 259 
 
 and "Walpole for their good offices, I writ the following letter to his 
 grace's brother, Mr Henry Pelharn, lately appointed one of the Lords of 
 the Treasury : — 
 
 (Letter CCCXCVII.) — " Sir, — I presume to address myself to you for 
 your favour and patronage with your brother, the Duke of Newcastle. The 
 matter is too public, and necessarily made so even in print, by a command 
 to me from his grace to apply to him neither by friends, speech, or letter, 
 and consequently leaving me no other way to represent my condition. It 
 is my misfortune to do exactly as the question lies before me in a certain 
 House, where, I am glad to see, you are growing eminent. 
 
 " By this means good-will towards me is tossed from one interest into 
 another, as the point which I vote for is respectively acceptable or un- 
 grateful. At present I am wholly friendless, for no one is obliged to one 
 who will do nothing but what he thinks just, because his suffrage never 
 attends persons or parties. However, sir, your quality and time of life 
 make me hope you have the disinterested magnanimity to espouse an un- 
 happy man, to the dissuasion even of your brother from prolonging a 
 mortification, which unhappy incidents (without any particular provoca- 
 tion from me, or personal resentment in his grace) brought upon me, to 
 the suffering of a long series of time all the evils and sorrows that this 
 life can afford. — I am, sir, your most obedient and most humble servant, 
 
 "Rich. Steele. 
 
 " To the Right Hon. Henry Pelharn, Esq., 
 one of the Lords of the Treasury, &c, 
 April 5, 1721." 
 
 April 29, 1721. — I purchased this day fifteen assignments in the Fish- 
 
 penitent made all the haste he could to confess the fraud, and, with tears of con- 
 trition, discharged the load at his feet. This melted the miller into another 
 mood; and, having paused upon the matter a moment or two, ' Gum, gum/ said 
 he, ' tak hart, mun, tak hart ! The vaate's in the mill. I do knau it is. Why, 
 mun, I was as honest as the day, when I com'd into it vurst. And now — sha't 
 ha* the grist — sha't ! For, mun, wur I to do as thee hast done, I should not ha' 
 a bed to lie on.' 
 
 " Lord Sunderland. — Ha, ha, ha ! You were always a wag, Sir Richard, — ha, 
 ha, ha ! 
 
 "Steele. — To be serious, then, for once, my lord, — Knaves take care of them- 
 selves, and fools are undone by relying on other people's promises. 
 
 " ' Addison,' Mr Ralph adds, ' and his advancement, hardly need to be men- 
 tioned, the instance is so notorious; but everybody may not so readily recollect 
 that his party services contributed more to it than all his laudable efforts to 
 refine our manners and perfect our taste.'"
 
 260 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xx. 
 
 pool undertaking, with a promissory note to deliver to Mr Robert 
 Wilks (who sold them to me) a bond of five hundr.ed pounds upon 
 demand ; * the said bond to be payable within two years after this day. 
 
 These entries, with another small fragment at a later 
 date, constitute the whole of the diary ; and comparatively 
 trifling as they are, these few items but make us regret 
 the more what we might have had if the plan which he 
 thus late and fitfully took up had been sooner adopted, 
 and he had given us the spirit of those Attic nights which 
 he enjoyed in the company of Addison, Congreve, and the 
 other wits, as well as notices and anecdotes of the leading 
 men and events of the time. 
 
 With regard to the foregoing application, we may imagine 
 it was about as successful as the numerous others which he 
 had thought it his duty to make, and for which, however 
 hopeless, he cannot be blamed. Within a month or six 
 weeks, however, namely, on the 18th of May following, he 
 was once more restored to his office and emoluments, 
 through the good offices of Mr Walpole, now the most rising 
 statesman of the time, or more properly speaking, perhaps, 
 one of the few of the then public men deserving of the 
 name. Of his engagements immediately subsequent to 
 that happy event, we have no note ; but as no news is com- 
 monly said to be good news, we may presume that he was 
 getting on as tranquilly and satisfactorily as was consistent 
 with that great deficit which the prolonged lapse of the 
 income arising from his office must necessarily have 
 created. As he produced nothing this year, we may sup- 
 pose he was engaged, now that he was restored to ease of 
 
 * "June 6, 1721. — I purpose to carry the above-mentioned bond to Mr Wilks 
 this morning."
 
 i72i.] Bishop Iloadly his Executor. 261 
 
 mind, upon the comedy lie had so long had on hands. In 
 this dearth of information, it only remains, after a brief 
 entry in continuation of his diary, to furnish his correspond- 
 ence for the 3 r ear, as the only source from which anything 
 is to be gleaned. The only thing noticeable about it is, 
 that it affords indications of that difference with the mana- 
 gers which unhappily led to subsequent litigation. 
 
 Sunday, Sept. 17, 1721. — I am going this morning to the Lord Bishop of 
 Bangor,* now nominated Bishop of Hereford, with a design to leave with 
 his lordship my last will, whereby he is my executor and guardian to my 
 son ; and (humbly resigning myself to Providence, whether I shall live to 
 do anything I design,) I purpose to leave all my papers in as good order as 
 I can for his perusal before I go to Scotland. 
 
 The following is his correspondence for this year : — 
 
 Letter CCCXCVIII. To Mrs Elizabeth Steele. 
 
 March 29, 1721. 
 Dear Child, — I have yours, and beg your pardon that I did not, as I 
 designed, visit you with your brother ; but he was so dirty that I was 
 ashamed to bring him to your school. I beseech you to continue in the 
 good and diligent way you are in, and you will be an unspeakable delight 
 and satisfaction to, madam, your most affectionate father and most humble 
 servant, Bich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCXCIX. To Mrs Elizabeth Steele. 
 
 April 5, 1721. 
 
 My dear Child, — I have received your letter by the penny post, and 
 read it with great pleasure and comfort, though I was then a little discom- 
 posed. 
 
 I have to-day had a tooth drawn, and am disordered also with a cold ; 
 but, as soon as I go out, I will not fail to visit Mrs Keck and my dear little 
 ones. 
 
 Service to Miss Molly, but tell her I am sorry she has forgot the charms 
 I find in M. S. — Your affectionate father, Bich. Steele. 
 
 Dr Benjamin Hoadly.
 
 262 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xx. 
 
 Letter CCCC. To Mrs Elizabeth Steele. 
 
 April 5, 1721. 
 
 My dear Daughter, — I thank you for your kindness, -which makes you 
 attempt to draw your father's picture, but I hope and am confident you 
 are still better employed in imitating the life of your excellent mother. 
 Her friendship is the best example and help you can have in pursuing that 
 amiable and worthy pattern. I am this morning much better, and pur- 
 pose, God willing, to go and bring home your brother, but I shall not 
 adventure to introduce him to such fine ladies as his sisters are till he has 
 got his new clothes. — I am, dear child, most affectionately yours, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 My thanks and service to M. S. 
 
 Letter CCCCI. To Mrs Elizabeth Steele. 
 
 April 12, 1721. 
 My dear Betty, — "Write this carefully over again, with the amendment 
 of a large letter beginning every line, as likewise the stops as pointed to 
 you, and send both this and what you write again to, madam, your most 
 affectionate father and most humble servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCII. To Mrs Elizabeth Steele. 
 
 April 14, 1721. 
 My dear Child, — I have received yours of this day, with the corrected 
 copy, in which there are still some faults, and which I will shew you when 
 I see you. In the meantime, as I take pleasure in instructing you from 
 the diligence I see in you, I remark to you, that you are apt to add flour- 
 ishes to your writing. To this you must by no means accustom yourself, 
 but remember that plainness and simplicity are the chief beauties in all 
 works and performances whatsoever. Be pleased to forbear adding at the 
 
 end of a verse a line as thus . You have done so to every line of this 
 
 last copy. In the main, you have done it very well, and to the satisfaction 
 of, madam, your most affectionate father and most humble servant, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCIII. To Mr Alexander Scurlock. 
 
 Aug. 13, 1721. 
 Cousin Sandy, — I had a letter from you last post, without date of the 
 month, and bearing only the year. Your four twenty pounds are well paid 
 to me, and entered in my day-book.
 
 1721.] Correspondence. 263 
 
 I observe you cannot understand that you may with safety comply with 
 my request, of sending me your note or money for what is already due. 
 That matter is so plain, that I know it cannot be for want of apprehension 
 that you do not come into it. All I shall say on that subject is, that people 
 do not their duty in life who will not readily execute anything consis- 
 tent with their own interest and safety that is conducive to the ease and 
 prosperity of their friends. — Your humble servant, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCIV. To Mr Alexander Scurlock. 
 
 Aug. 29, 1721. 
 Cousin Sandy, — This is to acquaint you that I am applied to by eminent 
 persons who deal in mines in order to work that near Llangmmor. I desire 
 you would ask Mr Morgan Davies whether the persons who had a lease of 
 it, to wit, Caresbrook, Batchelor, and Harry Owen, were not ejected regu- 
 larly and by formal course of law ; if not, I am to consider and advise 
 whether, for default of working or other failure, their pretensions are not 
 extinct. I shall be very cautious in this matter, and go no hazard myself, 
 or entail any on my successors, on this head, but be as circumspect as 
 possible. Please to give me the best intelligence you can get in the history 
 of this transaction, in which you will oblige, sir, your most humble servant, 
 
 Eich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCV. To Mr Wilks. 
 
 Dec. 7, 1721. 
 
 Sir, — I have great acknowledgments to make to you for putting me in 
 the head at first of being concerned at the playhouse, and I have ever 
 endeavoured to shew you very particular instances of my esteem and affec- 
 tion during the time we have been together. 
 
 I am sorry that the gift of L.1400, for what was mine before, could not 
 prevail so much as to let what I had stand as a deposit, for a contingent, in 
 case an impudent cheat is not determined to be such in Wilbraham, who 
 detains my writings contrary to the order of Minshall, to which he is 
 obliged under his hand to deliver them. 
 
 But the business of this letter is in particular to speak to you, not to 
 I list in so unreasonable a thing as the denial of payment of the sum 
 which remains above what there is any claim or pretence against my 
 receiving. 
 
 It is hardly in your power to make me other than, sir, your most affec- 
 tionate friend and most humble servant, Iticu. Steele.
 
 264 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xx. 
 
 Letter CCCCVI. To Mr Cibber. 
 
 York Buildings, Dec. 7, 1721. 
 
 Sir, — When you came to me with the modest request of desiring I 
 would repurchase my share in the scenes and the stock, I did not doubt 
 but you had sentiments of great kindness towards me in general ; and that 
 all the chapter, as I have taken the liberty to call us in conjunction, had 
 as much terror of doing as receiving a hardship. But, if it could have 
 entered into my thoughts that it was possible men could fail of placing 
 the same value (as a security against a contingent demand) which I gave 
 for it, your answer had not been at all like what it was. 
 
 You have been the chief engine in ensnaring me into a concession which 
 I should have been ashamed to own, before you had the resolution to deny 
 so equitable a demand as I made to you. But, as it now is, besides the 
 folly of giving to men richer than myself, I have done it to those who 
 have no regard for me, but as a tool and a screen against others, who want 
 to treat you ill, and forbear only because of my relation to you, which 
 shall not be very long, for I have it in my power to get rid of my enemies 
 much more easily than I can have common justice of my friends. This is 
 evident in the monstrous hardiness of denying the governor of your house, 
 as you shall find I am, the superfluity of his income, which is liable to no 
 demand or pretence but that of, sir, your most humble servant, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCVII. To Mr Booth. 
 
 Dec. 7, 1721. 
 Sir, — It has not happened to me to be so conversant with you as I have 
 been with Mr Wilks and Mr Cibber, and therefore could not expect that 
 concern and tenderness for me as I hoped from them. But as you are 
 affected by my late concession of a large sum of money greatly to your 
 advantage, I hoped the justice of letting that value secure me against pre- 
 tences to it elsewhere. But, since you have not thought that reasonable, 
 and have taken counsel whether a partner who has paid the mortgage oft' 
 of his part of the effects, and given the partners, in pure benevolence, a 
 thousand pounds as a title to their taking his share of the estate, security 
 against the mortgage-deeds unjustly detained from him — I say, since this 
 is the disposition you are in towards me, I expect you, for your own sakes 
 as well as mine, not to detain the fifth of the fourth heretofore demanded, 
 and to which there is no claim. — I am, sir, your most obedient and most 
 humble servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 The ease and freedom of mind resulting from the resto-
 
 1T22.J II is neiv Comedy. 265 
 
 ration of his rights and emoluments by the removal of the 
 suspension of his patent, had enabled him to put the finish- 
 ing hand upon the comedy which the infirm state of his 
 health, and the harassing anxiety connected with his 
 affairs, had kept so long in abeyance. The " Conscious 
 Lover" was this year (1722) brought upon the stage. After 
 having for such a long series of years relinquished his 
 dramatic pursuits, in consequence of the undeserved recep- 
 tion of one of his last efforts in that line, he had once more 
 reverted to them in the full maturity of his powers with 
 renewed and heightened brilliancy in the result, and a 
 reward in the reception which must have equalled, if it did 
 not surpass, his most sanguine expectations. The success 
 of this celebrated comedy was immense, but not beyond its 
 merit. The scenes in some parts trench so much on the 
 province of tragedy as rather to entitle it a melodrama 
 than a comedy. It is confessedly an adaptation from 
 Terence. A lyrical ballad, descriptive of the distress of a 
 love-sick maid, which Steele tells us was omitted in the 
 performance for want of a singer, may here be introduced 
 as a pleasing specimen of his versification : — 
 
 " From place to place forlorn I go, 
 
 With downcast eyes a silent shade ; 
 Forbidden to declare my woe, 
 To speak, till spoken to, afraid. 
 
 " My inward pangs, my secret grief, 
 My soft consenting looks betray ; 
 He loves, but gives me no relief ; 
 Why speaks not he who may ? " 
 
 In a pecuniary point of view, the harvest he reaped on 
 this occasion must have been very considerable, if we in- 
 clude the receipts from the representation, the sale of the
 
 266 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xx. 
 
 copy, and the sum of L.500 presented him by the King, to 
 whom it was dedicated. The probability is, however, that 
 it was all absorbed in meeting the deficiency of the pre- 
 ceding years, if indeed it sufficed to fill the gap, and, as in 
 the dream of the eastern monarch, the lean and blasted 
 ears swallowed up the rank and full ones. 
 
 There are few remaining incidents to notice of this year, 
 except a very complimentary dedication of a work on the 
 " Antiquities of Westminster Abbey," which Steele re- 
 ceived, and the recrimination to which the oblique reflec- 
 tions and latent depreciation of Mr Tickell, in the preface 
 to the writings of Addison, led him. His appeal from Mr 
 Tickell was made in a letter to Congreve, forming a sort of 
 epistle dedicatory to a new edition of the " Drummer.' 7 
 It is undeniable that there had existed no very good feeling 
 between Steele and Tickell at any time, and that the 
 ardour of his love and friendship for Addison made him 
 jealous and resentful of what he regarded as being sup- 
 planted in some degree by an attachment which had not 
 been cemented by early ties and nurtured by the early 
 dews ; and but for the sensitiveness arising from this cause, 
 the remarks of Addison's editor, though not strictly correct, 
 might have passed unnoticed. Steele had stated that he 
 owed "some of the most applauded strokes" in his comedy 
 of the "Tender Husband" to the friend, whose praise he 
 was never tired of sounding, and the remark might have 
 applied to an occasional suggested word or line ; but Tickell, 
 in referring to this acknowledgment, gives it a more whole- 
 sale application, and makes it " some of the most taking 
 scenes." After referring to Addison's occasional assistance 
 in the Tatler, he adds, that it " was dropped at last, as it
 
 17-22.] Controversy with Tickell. 267 
 
 had been taken up without his participation," in which 
 there seems nothing particularly to find fault with, yet the 
 sensitiveness of Steele seemed to detect a latent reflection. 
 Addison's editor then proceeds to say that, though Steele 
 handsomely acknowledged this assistance in the preface to 
 the collected papers, yet that being only in general terms, 
 in the subsequent work, the Spectator, Mr Addison, "who 
 was content with the praise arising from his own works," 
 thought fit to affix to his writings certain distinguishing 
 marks. To this Steele replied by stating that he had been 
 prohibited mentioning his friend by name, but shewed by 
 a reference to the preface that he had indicated the prin- 
 cipal of his papers by their subject-matter, and that with 
 reference to the papers in the Spectator and Guardian, he 
 had himself, as stated in the preface, inserted those distin- 
 guishing marks, which Mr Tickell had ascribed to Addison, 
 as a precaution against him. Steele's exception to Mr 
 Tickell's way of accounting for Addison's not taking orders, 
 which he attributes to his modesty and overpowering sense 
 of the responsibilities of the priesthood, seems too minute 
 and critical ; for, though it is true that Lord Halifax did 
 use his influence with the heads of his college not to insist 
 on his taking orders, yet it is quite certain that, before that 
 event, he had not exhibited any haste to take that irrevo- 
 cable step. 
 
 Among many interesting remarks in this letter, he says, 
 " He could shew under the Dean's (Addison's father) own 
 hand, in the warmest terms, his blessings on the friend- 
 ship between his son and him ; nor hati he a child who 
 did not prefer him in the first place of kindness and 
 esteem, as their father loved him like one of them." It is
 
 2G8 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xx. 
 
 here also that he makes that allusion to Addison that he 
 had " often reflected after a night spent with him apart 
 from all the world, that he had had the pleasure of con- 
 versing with an intimate acquaintance of Terence and 
 Catullus, who had all their wit and nature, heightened 
 with humour more exquisite and delightful than any other 
 man ever possessed;" and that other remark respecting 
 his singular bashfulness in mixed company. Speaking of 
 the comedy of the " Drummer," he says, " Here is that 
 smiling mirth, that delicate satire, and genteel raillery, 
 which appeared in Mr Addison when he was free among 
 intimates: I say, when he was free from his remarkable 
 bashfulness, which is a cloak that hides and muffles merit." 
 He also makes an interesting allusion to his facility of 
 composition, in reference to Mr Tickell's statement of 
 the many years he was engaged on " Cato," and which 
 is contrary to the popular impression: "If I remember 
 right, the fifth act was written in less than a week's 
 time ; for . . . when he had taken his resolution, or made 
 his plan for what he had designed to write, he would 
 walk about the room, and dictate it into language with 
 as much freedom and ease as any one could write it 
 down/' 
 
 After stating his belief, and his reasons for it, that the 
 comedy of the " Drummer," which Addison had handed 
 him to dispose of for a gentleman he did not name, was 
 the production of his friend, though Mr Tickell had not 
 included it in his works, he concludes by a remark of 
 deferring to give the world a true notion of the character 
 and talents of Mr Addison, which makes it much to be 
 regretted that he did not carry out an intention he seems
 
 lr-:^.] Controversy with Tickell. 269 
 
 to have entertained of giving some literary memorial of 
 his illustrious friend. 
 
 Steele's insinuation that the translation of the first book 
 of the Iliad, which appeared under Tickell's name, was 
 the production of Addison, which was also a common 
 impression at the time, does not appear to be con- 
 firmed by a subsequent examination of the MS., which is 
 in the handwriting of the reputed translator, with inter- 
 lineations by Addison ; nor, whatever the real facts of the 
 case may have been, was there any reason for doubting 
 Tickell's capability for the work, as in the art of versifica- 
 tion, at least, he was quite equal to Addison 
 
 We find from Steele's correspondence in the course of 
 this year — which is the only available source from which, 
 in the dearth of information respecting this period, any 
 additional details, however slight, are to be gathered — 
 that the unfortunate Fishpool scheme was still in suspense, 
 and a source of anxiety and cost to the projector. 
 
 Letter CCCCVIII. To Mrs Eliz. Steele, Molly Steele. 
 
 Feb. 11, 1721-2. 
 My dear Girls, — Your brother is, just now, at ease, after great torment 
 of the gravel or stone. I love you all so tenderly that my tears are ready 
 to flow when I tell you that I am, dearest creatures, your most affectionate 
 father and most humble servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCIX. To Mrs Eliz. Steele. 
 
 March 31, 1722. 
 
 My dear Cbild, — 1 beg your pardon that I made Mrs Keek's servant 
 
 stay so long ; it was occasioned by a crowd of people importunate to speak 
 
 with me on my coming to town.* I send you such tickets t as I can by 
 
 * " He was just then elected into Parliament for Wendover." 
 
 t " Either for the theatre at Drury Lane, or for some conceit in York Buildings. 
 
 In the latter business, Steele was principally concerned, by which he did not 
 
 better his circumstances."
 
 2 70 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xx. 
 
 our present rules ; and am, with joy in your hopeful behaviour and to- 
 ward spirit, madam, your most affectionate father, and most humble 
 servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Give my most humble service to your good and honoured guardian. 
 
 Letter CCCCX. To Mr Gilmour. 
 
 May 24, 1722. 
 
 Sir, — I have yours of to-day, consisting of a declaration that you shall 
 be forced to do what you otherwise would not, by reason of my paying you 
 L.15 instead of L.30 ; and that L.30, you say, will still leave me in your 
 debt L.80, by balance ending in April. I should seem insensible, and not 
 to know the nature of my own actions, if I should not on this occasion 
 acquaint you that I am become your creditor from a great opinion of your 
 talents, and making an expense in support of them at all hazards ; and that 
 all the adversity that befell the Fishpool, happened from your having been 
 persuaded to throw yourself into the hands of Mr Dale, by the minister of 
 your parish, who introduced you to me. 
 
 If you calmly consider, you will very well know that you have never 
 had any disappointments from me, but what have been abatements of 
 what I was inclined to do for you out of freewill and respect to you, with 
 very hazardous hopes of gain to myself ; and those abatements occasioned 
 by unforeseen distress in my health and fortune, on which occasions you 
 have always sent me a declaration of your being ready to join with any- 
 body else in mortification of me. 
 
 I have said all this as it is extorted from me by your reproaches ; but I 
 have at the same time, in spite of all particularity towards me, a great 
 sense of your merit, and an ambition of producing it for the good of the 
 world as well as ourselves. If your labours come to nothing, I am, by a 
 condition imposed on me by myself, a considerable loser ; and if they 
 turn to advantage, I am sure I have proportionate pretence to gain. 
 
 I thank God, I am, from great torment, restored to present ease ; and 
 hope the next dressing will give authority to my physician to allow me 
 the use of my legs : and nothing shall be wanting, within the rules of 
 honour, justice, and discretion, to promote the present project.* — I am, 
 sir, &c, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCXI. To Mr Alexander Scurlock. 
 
 York Buildings, May 26, 1722. 
 Dear Cousin and Counsellor, — After I have condoled with you upon 
 
 * " The Fishpool went into Brunsden's Dock, Nov. 1, 1722."— R. S.
 
 1722.] Correspondence. 271 
 
 the death of poor Jonathan, I must acknowledge the receipt of yours with 
 L.30 drawn on Mr Horn by Mr Philips, which, with L.30 sent me before, 
 and the L.40 which Marmaduke Williams sent in your absence, complete 
 L.100 which I desired of you. 
 
 Had you sent it me at once, it had been better to me than L.200 : but 
 I must submit to the inconveniences which a certain easiness and irregu- 
 larity in my own affairs subject me to. Thus I only complain of myself; and 
 hope, by the blessing of Almighty God, to put my affairs, and keep them, 
 so much within my income, as not to put my friends in any future pain 
 or trouble for me. — I am, sir, your affectionate friend and most humble 
 servant, Rich. Steele.
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THE RETIRED VETERAN. 
 
 Steele commences two other Comedies, "The School of Action," and 
 " The Gentleman" — Both left in a fragmentary state— Continued de- 
 cline of his health, aggravated by the state of his affairs — Takes 
 his departure from London — Takes up his residence at Bath — His 
 resolution of making his future residence in the country — Death of 
 his only remaining son, Eugene — Correspondence in 1723 — To his 
 daughter, to Mrs Caney — Residence at Hereford — Proposals for 
 his daughter — Urgent application from the Managers for his pre- 
 sence in London — Not complied with — Subsequent litigation with 
 them by his trustees — Colley Cibber's account of the affair — Erroneous 
 surmise of Lord Macaulay — Correspondence in 1724— To his daugh- 
 ters, to Right Hon. R. Walpole, from Messrs Wilks, Booth, and Gib- 
 ber, to Mr Morgan, from Mr Morgan — Retires to his seat in Wales — 
 Pursued by the malignity of Swift— Letter to his daughter, 1725 — 
 Adverse decision of the law-suit with the Managers — Paralytic attack 
 — Letter to his daughters, 1726 — His kindness in the interests of 
 others — Receives an unexpected compliment — Last letter to his 
 daughter, 1728 — His love of nature and appreciation of retirement — 
 His sympathy with the sports of the rustics — The sacred volume his 
 constant companion — His decease — Notice of his family — His per- 
 sonal and literary character. 
 
 AYith what broken health and fortune permitted to remain 
 of that mental activity and industry of which Steele, with 
 all his recklessness and love of enjoyment, must be admitted 
 to have displayed a remarkable example in his earlier 
 years, before his health gave way, he now set himself to 
 follow up his recent triumph with a double task. He had
 
 1723. J His Unfinished Co medics. 273 
 
 actually undertaken two comedies at the same time ; and, 
 whether actuated by that self-deception to which all are 
 liable, but persons of his ardent temperament are peculiarly 
 prone, he had given expression to hopes of an early result 
 which he was little likely to realise, or, as is more probable, 
 there were officious people who knew more of his affairs than 
 he did himself, it was currently reported through the press 
 that he would probably present the town with another 
 comedy in the course of the ensuing winter. This was 
 1 The School of Action," in which he had made some pro- 
 gress, and a second, founded on Terence, which he had 
 commenced, but left in a more fragmentary state, was en- 
 titled, "The Gentleman." Whether, if he had concentrated 
 his efforts on one task he would have accomplished more, 
 is difficult to say, for, though the rule is a good one, it is not 
 invariable, and a change is often a stimulant. But, though 
 it is vain to speculate on that subject, we may be permitted 
 to regret, if he was sanguine enough to anticipate an early 
 completion of his labours, after his previous experience, the 
 disappointment to which he and we were destined. 
 
 Some contributions to the periodical paper called P«s- 
 quin are also attributed to Steele at this time. 
 
 Towards the close of the year, however, in consequence 
 of the continuance of his failing health, aggravated, beyond 
 a doubt by the state of his affairs, and distress at the 
 gloomy prospects of his family, he took leave of London in 
 a state of great depression, as appears from an affecting 
 confession to his daughter, and proceeded to Bath for the 
 benefit of the waters, but with the resolution, if not formed 
 previous to his departure, at least not long after, of making 
 
 his future residence in Wales. In this resolution he was, 
 
 vol, ii. s
 
 274 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xxi. 
 
 no doubt, actuated by the double motive of health and 
 economy. 
 
 Fully to appreciate the state of his affairs, not merely at 
 this time but in the past, it must be borne in mind that, 
 while by his heedless and culpable extravagance or gene- 
 rosity his income was ever forestalled, his wife's property 
 had yielded him but trifling benefit. It was mortgaged, 
 and his mother-in-law's life interest absorbed what re- 
 mained, and after her death it went to the education of 
 the children. 
 
 To the accumulated troubles of Steele at this time, arising 
 from the state of his health and the embarrassment of his 
 affairs, which mutually tended to aggravate one another, 
 there was added a bitter and irreparable affliction which 
 he suffered this year in the loss of his only remaining son, 
 Eugene, a youth of great promise, who seemed to inherit 
 his father's talents, vivacity, and amiability. He had only 
 attained the age of ten or twelve years. Had he survived, 
 he might have been a great comfort to his father ; but, in 
 addition to other complaints from which he suffered, he 
 appears to have inherited something of a consumptive ten- 
 dency, probably from his mother, which was fatally de- 
 veloped by imprudent exposure. By this afflicting stroke 
 Steele saw himself bereft of the consoling prospect of per- 
 petuating his name in his offspring. But the sad intelli- 
 gence, which reached him at a distance, was probably 
 lightened by having been anticipated. 
 
 The following is his correspondence for this year : — 
 
 Letter CCCCXII. To Mrs Elizabeth Steele. 
 
 May 24,1723. 
 Dear Child, — I send the franks for Mrs Bullock, to whom I desire you
 
 1723.] Correspondence. 275 
 
 to write with great gratitude and respect, alway remembering the great 
 
 obligation you have to her for so tender an education. I am, dear Betty, 
 
 your most affectionate father and most humble servant, 
 
 R. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCXIII. To Mrs Elizabeth Steele. 
 
 July 15, 1723. 
 My dear Child, — I have received a letter from you, but without a 
 date ; which, my dear, was a great omission. I ought not to find faults in 
 so kind and so affectionate an epistle ; but exactness is an excellent quality 
 which every one may be mistress of, and therefore I-would not have you 
 want it. I am much better than I was, and attribute my recovery to the 
 prayers of my dear children. I have taken a great deal of pains to serve 
 the world, and hope God will allow me some time to serve my own family. 
 My good girl, employ yourself always in some good work, that you may be 
 as good a woman as your mother. Pray remember me to dear little 
 Molly ; and know me for, madam, your affectionate father and humble 
 servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCXIV. To Mrs Elizabeth Steele. 
 
 Bath, Oct. 1, 1723. 
 
 My dear Child, — This confesses to my dear children, that 1 came to 
 this place three weeks ago with a very heavy heart ; but I hope I am now 
 better, and desire Betty to write to me, and let me know what she hears 
 from Mrs Bullock, and the like accounts, for my soul is wrapped up in 
 your welfare ; and I am, dear children, your most affectionate father and 
 most humble servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Direct, " To Sir Richard Steele, Member of Parliament, at Bath." 
 
 Letter CCCCXV. To Mrs Martha Caney. 
 
 Bath, Nov. 2, 1723. 
 Madam, — I had a letter from you to supply you with money on account 
 of my lodgings at your house, which I am very sorry I was unable to do. 
 But when I come to town, I shall make it my immediate care to discharge 
 it ; but, as I believe all the time I shall spend in the Country will hereafter 
 be at the Bath, or in "Wales, I beg the favour of you to take this letter for 
 ;i dismission of the lodgings at Fulham ; and believe me to be, with great 
 truth, madam, your most obedient humble servant, Bien. Steele.
 
 276 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap, xxl 
 
 Letter CCCCXVI. To Mrs Elizabeth Steele. 
 
 Nov. 20, 1723. 
 My dear Child, — I acknowledge the receipt of your kind letters, and 
 desire you to write to me once every week, which will be a great comfort 
 to me, and, I hope, hasten my recovery and our meeting. — I am, dear 
 child, your affectionate father and most humble servant, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Love to Molly. 
 
 Letter CCCCXVII. To Mrs Elizabeth Steele. 
 
 Nov. 22, 1723. 
 My dear Child, — I have your letter, with the news of Eugene's death,* 
 and your reflections thereupon. Do you and your sister stay at home, and 
 do not go to the funeral. Lord grant me patience ! Pray write to me 
 constantly. — Your affectionate father and obedient servant, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 Why do you not mention Molly ? Is she dead too t 
 
 Letter CCCCXVIII. To Mrs Elizabeth Steele. 
 
 Bath, Dec. 2, 1723. 
 Dear Betty, — I have your letter of the 30th from Mrs Snow. I writ to 
 Mrs Nazerean in great concern, not hearing from you, and desired her to 
 chide you very severely, if you were in health, for omitting to write me in 
 the distress you must needs think I was in when I heard nothing of you ; 
 your mourning was no manner of excuse, for you might have found time to 
 write to your father, whatever other business you had. I desire you would 
 give my most humble service to Mrs Snow ; I know not how to behave 
 myself under the obligation of your being such a trouble as you must needs 
 
 * Eugene Steele, named in honour of Prince Eugene, was born March 4, 1712. 
 " He was," says Nichols, " some years under the care of Mr Solomon Lowe, of 
 Blythe-house, Hammersmith, who gave him the character of a sprightly lad of 
 fine parts. He was afterwards a hopeful scholar in that noble foundation where 
 his father was educated, the Charter House. Not long after he was taken home 
 to his father's house in York Buildings, being indulged (as his genius lay that 
 way) in acting plays in the great room there, called the Censorium, — his consti- 
 tution is said to have been hurt by frequent colds. He appears also to have been 
 grievously tormented with the stone, and was cut for that terrible disorder by the 
 celebrated Cheselden."
 
 1723.] Residence at Hereford. 277 
 
 be at her house. Let me know as soon as Mrs Bullock comes to town. 
 My service to Molly. — I am, dear Betty, your affectionate father and most 
 humble servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCXIX. To Mrs Elizabeth Steele. 
 
 Bath, Dec. 14, 1723. 
 
 My dear Child,— You must pardon me if I write you by a servant's 
 hand, because I have a great deal of business to do to-night, and therefore 
 cannot, under my present infirmity, do it in my own hand. I know no- 
 thing of the gentlewoman with whom you are left, but depend very much 
 upon Mrs Bullock's conduct and judgment. You say the gentlewoman 
 who is your governess is a very well-bred woman. If she proves so to me, 
 I shall honour her as my sister, for the justice and kindness she shews 
 you. Pray shew her this letter, and tell her so. You say she never was 
 abroad in any dependent way before. Pray desire her to write to me, to 
 let me know what terms she is upon, that I may proceed accordingly for 
 her service. I am, my dear child, most tenderly affected with the kind 
 and prudent expressions in your letter ; but cannot speak my mind to you 
 till I see you, which I hope will be at the time the Parliament meets. — I 
 ana, dear Betty, your most affectionate father and most humble servant, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Give my love to your sister Molly, and service to Mr Snow and Mrs 
 Snow. 
 
 Letter CCCCXX. To Mrs Elizabeth Steele. 
 
 Bath, Dec. 21, 1723. 
 My dearest, dear Child, — I have yours of the 19th, for which I thank 
 you. Am preparing to come to town. God grant a happy meeting between 
 you and your most affectionate father, and most humble servant, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 We have little trace of Steele's engagements in the follow- 
 ing year (1724,) nor does it very clearly appear where he 
 resided. But it is likely that he left Bath early in the 
 spring, and it was probably at this time that he took up his 
 quarters in the city of Hereford, and that he spent part of 
 liis time at Carmarthen, though he does not appear to have 
 retired permanently to that place till the next year, as we
 
 278 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap, xxi- 
 
 find him at the former place in the spring of 1725. Whilst 
 at Hereford, he lodged in the house of a mercer, who was 
 his agent and receiver of the rents of his wife's estate.* 
 
 We find, from his correspondence, that Steele had at 
 this time proposals for his eldest daughter, who, then 
 scarcely sixteen, afterwards became the subject of matri- 
 monial contention among numerous claimants, a duel 
 having been fought about her by two of them at Bath. 
 She was afterwards married to the Hon. John Trevor, 
 and thus became connected with the Marlborough family, 
 into which her husband's sister was then recently married. 
 
 In the autumn of this year, as will be seen in the cor- 
 respondence, Steele received a very urgent letter from the 
 managers of Drury Lane, requesting his immediate pre- 
 sence in town to concert measures in what they represent 
 as a very critical state of the affairs of the theatre. But he 
 appears to have been so hurt by their treatment of him, that 
 their representations failed to draw him from his retire- 
 ment. It is to be regretted that we have not got his reply 
 to this letter. Though generally represented as prior to 
 this period, it must have been subsequently that he made 
 the assignment of his share in the theatre for the benefit 
 of his creditors, and the trustees commenced a litigation 
 with the managers, which was decided against him in 1726. 
 The only account of this affair we have is that written by 
 Colley Gibber, which on that account, and as it is written 
 with his usual liveliness, is here given necessarily some- 
 
 * Nichols mentions a gratifying proof he received at this time of not being 
 forgotten in his solitude, by having inscribed to him a small production entitled 
 " Remarks upon Dacier," by his friend Dr Parnell ; but, as he died in 1718, there 
 must be some mistake in the matter, at least as to the date.
 
 1724.] Litigation of his Trustees with Managers. 279 
 
 what condensed. But though he speaks with great good 
 feeling of Steele, the reader is requested to remember that 
 it is written by an interested party, and we have not Steele's 
 explanation of the facts, but we have in a former cor- 
 respondence his very strongly expressed remonstrance to 
 the managers on what he regarded as their very illiberal 
 treatment of him, and even having been entrapped into 
 some concessions to their interest. 
 
 " In all the transactions of life," writes Mr Cibber, with much good feel- 
 ing, " there cannot be a more painful circumstance than a dispute at law 
 with a man with whom we have long lived in agreeable unity. But when 
 Sir Eichard, to get himself out of difficulties, was obliged to throw his 
 affairs into the hands of lawyers and trustees, that consideration then 
 could be of no weight : the friend, or the gentleman, had no more to do in 
 the matter. Thus, while Sir Richard no longer acted for himself, it may 
 be no wonder if a flaw was found in our conduct for the law to make work 
 with. About two or three years before the law suit commenced, upon Sir 
 Richard's totally absenting himself from all care and management of the 
 stage, which, by our articles, he was equally and jointly obliged with us 
 to attend, we were reduced to let him know that we could not go on at that 
 rate ; but that, if he expected to make the business a sinecure, we had as 
 much reason to expect a consideration for our extraordinary care of it > 
 and that, during his absence, we therefore intended to charge ourselves at 
 a salary of L.l. 13s. 4d. every acting day (unless he could shew us cause to 
 the contrary) for our management. To which, in his composed manner, 
 he only answered, that, to be sure, we knew what was fitter to be done 
 than he did ; that he had always taken a delight in making us easy, and 
 had no reason to doubt of our doing him justice. . . . He never once ob- 
 jected to, or complained of, this for near three years together. . . . The 
 cause came to a hearing before Sir Joseph Jekyll, Master of the Rolls, 
 in the year 1726. Though no man alive can write better of economy than 
 he, yet perhaps he is above the drudgery of practising it. Sir Richard then 
 was often in want of money ; and, while we were in friendship with him, 
 we assisted his occasions. This compliance had so unfortunate an effect 
 that it only heightened his importunity of borrowing more. The more 
 we lent, the less he minded us, or showed any coticern for our welfare. 
 I '|»<m this we stopt our hands at once, and peremptorily refused to advance 
 another shilling, until, by the balance of our account, it became due to 
 him. This treatment (though we hope it is not in the least uniustihable)
 
 280 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xxi. 
 
 so ruffled his temper, that lie was at once as short with us as we had been 
 with him ; for from that time he never came near us. Nay, he not only- 
 continued to neglect what he ought to have done, but did what he ought 
 not to have done. He made an assignment of his share without our con- 
 sent, in manifest breach of our agreement. . . . But supposing his assign- 
 ing his share may have done us no great injury, there is a particular 
 reason to believe that his neglect did : his rank and figure in the world, while 
 he gave us the assistance of them, were of extraordinary service to us. The 
 issue was, that Sir Richard, not having made any objection to our 
 charge for management for three years together, as our proceedings had 
 all been transacted in open day, without any intention of fraud, we were 
 allowed the sum in dispute above mentioned. Sir Richard not judging it 
 advisable to apply to the Lord Chancellor to overturn the award, both 
 parties paid their own costs, and thought it their mutual interest to let 
 this be the last of their law suits."* 
 
 Lord Macaulay lias ventured on a remark in reference 
 to Steele, implying that his difficulties arose from gam- 
 bling. This would be fully adequate to the solution of the 
 difficulty certainly, and if Steele had been addicted to it 
 he would have had to bear the reproach as he best might, 
 in common with some remarkable men, such as Fox, who 
 should have been above such a vice ; but, while he got the 
 greatest credit for having made a crusade against the 
 gamblers of his day, no contemporary, nor indeed any 
 subsequent writer, but the eminent one above named, ever 
 insinuated participation in that vice against him. The 
 surmise therefore, however plausible, must be dismissed as 
 unsupported by evidence or authority. 
 
 The correspondence for 1724, which follows, is somewhat 
 more general : — 
 
 Letter CCCCXXI. To Mrs Elizabeth Steele. 
 
 Bath, Jan. 8, 1723-4. 
 Dear Betty, — This is to let you and your sister know I am in good 
 
 * Cibber's " Apology," chap. xvi.
 
 1724.] Correspondence. 281 
 
 health, and, dear creature, your affectionate father and most humble 
 servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 My service to Mrs Baker. 
 
 Letter CCCCXXII. To Mrs Elizabeth Steele. 
 
 April 5, 1724. 
 
 My dear little Girls, — Pray send me word when Mrs Evans and you 
 begin your journey, and let her know she shall be well received here by 
 all us country people. God send us a happy meeting ! Dear child, your 
 affectionate father and humble servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Give my service to the good old man, and to his son, and his sons, and 
 to his cousin Betty. 
 
 Letter CCCCXXIII. To Mrs Elizabeth Steele. 
 
 April 8, 1724. 
 Dear Betty, — I desire you to be carefully dressed to-day in your black, 
 in order to receive a visitor in honour of your brother ; let your sister be 
 in her white ; and be both as cheerfully suited as you can be. I shall call 
 upon you soon after dinner, and am your friend upon all occasions. — Dear 
 Betty, your obedient, faithful father, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCXXIV. To Mrs Elizabeth Steele. 
 
 June 25, 1724. 
 Dear Betty, — I was much troubled to find you were sent to my lodg- 
 ings with your keys. I hope you will find everything right there. But 
 be exact in all your affairs hereafter, and we shall meet with fewer disap- 
 pointments than we have hitherto met with. — I am, your affectionate 
 father, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCGCXXV. To the Right Hon. Robert Walpole. 
 
 Carmarthen, Aug. 10, 1724. 
 
 Sir, — It is reported here that Mr Clavering, now treasurer of St David's 
 is to be made Bishop of Llandaff. 
 
 In case that happens, I beg your favour to Mr David Scurlock to be 
 steward of St David's. The Bishop of Salisbury and Dr Clarke will both 
 give him their good character ; and you will oblige the"gcntry of these parts, 
 who know he is well allied here, as well as you will do what you have 
 always done to your creature, and most obliged, most obedient, humble 
 servant, Rich. Steele.
 
 282 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xxi. 
 
 Letter CCCCXXVI. Sir Richard Steele to Mr Morgan.* 
 
 Dec. 7, 1724. 
 Sir, — I had the other day the honour of a message from you by Mr 
 Pritchard, with an account that you had the greatest respect and love for 
 my daughter, and a request of my permission to make your address to her. 
 I told Mr Pritchard that " he who was to have her must win her and wear 
 her ; that she was a girl of good sense, and I should take that with her in 
 whomsoever pretended to her;" but, upon speaking of the same subject 
 that evening, and mentioning your civility for her to her, she told me with 
 a great deal of calmness and ease, that " she was very young, and very well 
 contented to wait her time and choice under my care ;" and begged of me 
 to let you know, that nothing could do her a greater offence than such an 
 application. I told Mr Pritchard this the same evening ; but I cannot 
 forbid it with more earnestness than I do now, and desire you would give 
 my service to your father, to whom I am, as well as to you, sir, your most 
 obedient, humble servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCXXVII. From Mr Morgan. 
 
 Dec. 9, 1724. 
 Honoured Sir, — I came on purpose, on Friday evening, to wait on you, in 
 order to return you thanks for all favours, but particularly the honour you 
 were pleased to do me, in signifying your and pretty Mrs Steele's thoughts 
 in relation to her unfortunate, though sincere, humble servant. But it 
 seems my visit was unseasonable ; and, since that time, I have not been very 
 well, so hope you will pardon me for not making my acknowledgments 
 earlier. Mr Pritchard was very just in delivering me your messages ; but 
 the last at once awed me into silence, otherwise I should not have been 
 under the same roof without paying my respects to you ; but when I found 
 my company was rather an offence than otherwise, I chose to withdraw. 
 It is with the utmost concern that I observe the young lady is pleased to 
 conceive a particular prejudice to me. However, notwithstanding all that, 
 I must beg leave to assure you that I shall always have the utmost venera- 
 tion for worthy Sir Richard Steele, and his fair, but cruel daughter, though 
 with a disinterested view; and I sincerely wish her all the happiness 
 imaginable in her choice ; for, since the lady, as I apprehend, is pleased to 
 command my silence, I must acquiesce under the severe sentence, and shall 
 endeavour to avoid giving either of you any offence ; but, on the contrary, 
 
 * " From a paper in the handwriting of Lady Trevors, entitled, ' An exact copy 
 of a letter my father wrote to Mr Edward Morgan, in answer to a message he sent 
 him by Mr Pritchard, December the 6th, 1724.'"
 
 1724.] Correspondence. 283 
 
 if ever it lies in my way to be serviceable to you or yours, none shall be 
 readier to obey your commands than, good sir, your most obliged and most 
 obedient humble servant, Ed. Morgan. 
 
 Letter CCCCXXVIII. From Messrs Wills, Booth, and Cibber. 
 
 London, Dec. 12, 1724. 
 
 Sir, — We have long wished for your coming to town, but are now obliged 
 to desire you to make all possible speed to us. Our audiences decrease 
 daily, and those low entertainments which you and we so heartily despise, 
 draw the numbers, while we act only to the few who are blest with com- 
 mon sense. Though the operas are allowed to be much worse than they 
 were formerly, yet they draw much better audiences ; and some persons of 
 distinction not to be named have encouraged a set of French comedians to 
 come over by subscription, who are to act next Wednesday at the little 
 theatre in the Haymarket. Thus, while there are three playhouses exhibit- 
 ing nonsense of different kinds against us, it is impossible we should sub- 
 sist much longer. Both the courts have forsaken us. All we can do is to 
 make the best of a losing game, and part from the whole upon the best 
 terms we can. No person living, but ourselves, is sensible of the low state 
 we are reduced to, therefore we need not observe to you how very needful 
 it is to keep the secret. 
 
 There are several persons of fortune that, we have reason to believe, 
 would be glad to purchase our interests, and put it upon the foot of the 
 opera, by fixing the direction into an Academy, which is, we think, the only 
 way to support and perpetuate the English theatre. We have nothing 
 more to add, but our hearty wishes for your health, and quick arrival 
 among us, and in the meantime to beg your speedy answer. — We are, sir, 
 your most obedient, humble servants, 
 
 Robert Wilks, B. Booth, C. Cibber. 
 
 P.M. — Our profits were ever more than double to what they have been 
 this year, and we are very far from any hopes of their growing better. Our 
 proposal of parting with our interests will still leave room for any of us to 
 be adventurers upon this new scheme, in what proportion we please. 
 
 Letter CCCCXXIX. From Mr Morgan. 
 
 Dec. 19,1724. 
 Honoured Sir, — I am so much at a loss for a sufficient apology for my 
 importunity on this occasion, that I submit myself entirely to your clem- 
 ency, which, by all accounts, has hitherto been very extensive, but parti- 
 cularly so in favour of the distressed : which, since it is my misfortune to
 
 284 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xxi. 
 
 be one of that body at present, I hope to meet with your indulgence, if not 
 compassion. 
 
 Self-preservation is what is natural to most ; and with that view, I natter 
 myself, you will pardon me if I once more beg a favourable thought from 
 you, and, if possible, from the young lady your daughter ; for her most 
 irresistible charms have, in my own defence, obliged me to be thus trouble- 
 some. Give me leave, then, dear sir, to tell you, that I find it impossible 
 for me to avoid having the utmost love and respect for pretty Mrs Steele, 
 though in pursuance to her severe decree, which I hope is not yet final, I 
 have made it my study to act as agreeably thereto as possibly I could ; for, 
 rather than give her the least uneasiness, I would torture myself first. I 
 do not doubt but my father's circumstances and mine have been rendered 
 to you in a worse light than what, probably, upon a due inquiry, they may 
 appear to be. I beg leave to assure you that my designs are grounded 
 upon a foot of honour ; and then, I hope, you will imagine those affairs 
 must have come to light. However, it is a usual thing to meet with 
 back-friends upon these occasions ; but probably I may find them out at 
 long run. 
 
 Were it possible the lady could conquer all objections to my person, I 
 believe I should be able to convince you that my fortune is not despicable ; 
 yet I must own it is a trifle when in competition with so much personal 
 merit, which to me out-balances fortune, any more than what may be ab- 
 solutely necessary to render the affairs of this world as happy as may be ; 
 but were I master of ever so great a fortune, I should never think it so 
 well bestowed as upon your daughter. I heartily ask pardon for trespass- 
 ing so long upon your patience ; so shall only beg that my most sincere 
 humble service may be acceptable to the young lady, and that you would 
 believe that I am, with the utmost respect, sir, your most obliged and most 
 obedient, humble servant, Ed. Morgan. 
 
 Letter CCCCXXX. Sir Richard Steele to Mr Morgan. 
 
 Dec. 20, 1724. 
 Sir, — I have the favour of yours of the 19th instant, about the same 
 matter to which I thought I had fully answered before. Speaking of " back- 
 friends" is unnecessary, for indeed nobody can have any power with me 
 but what should be necessary for affairs of that kind concerning which I 
 am talking ; therefore nobody could possibly lay any exceptions concerning 
 you or your family. But there was no dispute raised about that matter 
 in the least ; the young woman did not enter into any inquiry concerning 
 your circumstances, neither does she yet. Therefore, I earnestly desire 
 you will lay aside all thoughts of this kind : for the child is young and 
 discreet, and utterly declares against admitting your courtship, which I
 
 1725.] Pursued by the Malignity of Swift. 285 
 
 desire you would please to forbear, and you will very much oblige, sir, your 
 most obedient, humble servant, Rich. Steele.* 
 
 In the following year sometime, most probably, Steele 
 retired to Wales, with the intention there to fix his future 
 residence, and, with the consent of the mortgagees, took 
 up his abode at his seat of Langunnor, near Carmarthen. 
 Even there, the inveterate and detestable malignity of his 
 former friend, Swift, pursued him, representing the retire- 
 ment which he sought for the sake of his broken health 
 and in the interest of his creditors — after having made over 
 to them an assignment of his property — as a refuge where 
 he, 
 
 " From perils of a hundred jails, 
 Withdrew to starve and die in Wales." 
 
 Even if it had been true, it would not have been the less 
 cruel. But it was so far from being so, that, independent 
 of the perils being purely imaginary, there can be no doubt 
 that the claims of his creditors were fully satisfied, though 
 the arrangement, doubtless, left him very poor in the 
 interim. That this was so is clearly proved by the fact 
 that, after his decease, a considerable balance remained 
 to his daughters, though they failed to derive any benefit 
 from it by the conduct of a fraudulent agent. It must, 
 with regret, be acknowledged that Steele was not equally 
 v> isc in his generation with the Reverend Dr Swift, and it 
 was perhaps but natural that he who had gone such lengths 
 in doing the foul work of party, to earn the wages of mer- 
 cenary apostasy, should be prudent in guarding the trea- 
 
 * "From a paper in the handwriting of Lady Trevor, entitled, 'An exact copy 
 of an answer my father wrote to a letter of Mr Morgan's, December the 20th, 
 1721."'
 
 286 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xxi. 
 
 sure — small as it was in comparison with his aspirations — 
 which he had scrupled at the use of no weapon to acquire. 
 Steele's folly, resulting in his poverty, must have given him 
 many a pang, doubtless, for the sake of those dear to him 
 who were affected by it ; but there was no sting in it. 
 He had never wantonly injured a human being, and he had 
 used his talents for the noblest purposes, and the benefit of 
 his species — not in vilifying them. Nor — could he have 
 inhabited the "hundred jails" at the same time — could 
 they have made him such a hell as his malignant critic 
 found in his own bosom in his latter years — goaded almost 
 to madness by the effect on his fierce temper of the failure 
 of his schemes of misdirected ambition and the hopeless 
 ruin of the party to which, in an evil hour, he had trans- 
 ferred his allegiance, and lashed by the avenging furies 
 which his cold-blooded selfishness to two of the most 
 accomplished women of their time had nurtured there — 
 women whom he had attracted by his talents, and whom 
 he held year after year in a state of cruel suspense, and 
 saw pining in wretchedness without realising the hopes he 
 had inspired, while he monopolised their society, until at 
 last both expired, weary of life, broken-hearted, and almost 
 execrating him. 
 
 His correspondence grows gradually more scant, and 
 this year there is but one slight missive to his youngest 
 daughter. 
 
 l e>* 
 
 Letter CCCCXXXL To Mrs Molly Steele. 
 
 Feb. 6, 1724-25. 
 Dear Molly, — My cousin Scurlock sends me word you are mighty un- 
 easy for coming hither. My dear child, you stayed at your own request, 
 and I am heartily glad that you think of coming to me, where you shall
 
 1726.] Seized with a Paralytic Attach. 287 
 
 enjoy all the happiness that you can. I am glad also to hear my cousin 
 thinks of coming with you when the coach comes to Hereford * in better 
 time. 
 
 She shall have all the welcome this place will afford her, which you may 
 tell her from your affectionate father, Rich. Steele. 
 
 The next year was marked by an important event 
 affecting Steele, the adverse decision of the long- pending 
 litigation with the managers, which has been already 
 noticed somewhat in anticipation. It will have been 
 noticed in the account given by Mr Cibber that he ascribed 
 it to Steele's trustees and their lawyers, rather than 
 himself, and this was still more distinctly stated in a part 
 that, for the sake of brevity, was omitted. He states, 
 among other circumstances not quoted, that two of the 
 lawyers employed against them afterwards rose to be Lord 
 Chancellors, 
 
 But events of a darker and sadder nature have been 
 assigned to this period, though in other accounts made a 
 year or two later. Whatever the precise time, however, 
 the physical infirmity from which he had suffered for a 
 considerable period, aided in its malignity by mental 
 anxiety, which the capability of greater bodily exertion 
 would no doubt have tended to dissipate, resulted in a 
 paralytic attack, which ultimately impaired the vigour of 
 his mental powers. All serious literary exertion after that 
 afflicting event was, of course, out of the question, and, if 
 it had not, would no doubt have been prohibited. 
 
 * " In 1725," ('23) Bays Mr Victor, " Sir Richard Steele left London. He retired 
 to the city of Hereford, and was lodged and boarded there at.the house of a mercer, 
 who was his agent and receiver of the rents of an encumbered estate of L.600 a 
 year, which Sir Richard obtained by his late wife : at his death it devolved to his 
 two daughters." — Victor's " Dramatic Ticccs, Focms, and Original Letters," p. 
 330, 1770.
 
 288 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xxi. 
 
 Again his correspondence for the year is comprised in a 
 single brief letter to his eldest daughter, complaining of 
 her sending him a troublesome guest. 
 
 Letter CCCOXXXII. To Mrs Eliz. Steele. 
 
 March 3, 1725-26. 
 
 My dearest Child, — You were indiscreet to send Sandy here yesterday 
 night, for he is a gentleman I have some reason to know very well. 
 
 Give my most humble service to Mrs Scurlock and Mrs Bevans. There 
 is no need of bidding you be civil to all you see kind to me. — I am, dear 
 girl, your dutiful and compassionate father, Rich. Steele. 
 
 The succeeding year was, if possible, still more scant in 
 details, and the correspondence was nil. Mr Victor has, 
 however, recorded some pleasing particulars of Steele at 
 this time, from which it appears that, though he had un- 
 happily survived the capability of promoting his own 
 interests, his kindness in seeking to serve those of others 
 had not forsaken him. "In the year 1727/' he says, 
 " when I was a levee-hunter, and making an interest with 
 the first minister, that good old man, hearing of it, en- 
 closed me an open letter to Sir Robert Walpole, that, I 
 remember, began thus, ' If the recommendation of the most 
 obliged man can be of any service to the bearer:' Sir Robert 
 received it with his usual politeness." * 
 
 The monotonous serenity of Steele's solitude in that 
 picturesque land which he had chosen as the scene of his 
 closing career was occasionally pleasantly stirred with a 
 little bland excitement, borne to him from the distant 
 busy world in a breath of incense sweetly soothing, both 
 as an evidence that he was not forgotten, and reviving 
 
 * Victor's " Original Letters, Dramatic Pieces, and Poems," vol. i. p. 330, 1776.
 
 172s.] A Complimentary Inscription. 289 
 
 reminiscences of his days of triumph. One of these, — 
 recalling to the literary veteran his days of active service, 
 when his lucubrations were a luxury as indispensable to 
 every breakfast-table, of any pretension, as the tea and 
 toast; to the invalid, his days of buoyant health; and to 
 the recluse, his days of social distinction, — reached him 
 at this time. It was a mere trifle, an epistle dedicatoiy, 
 and important only as it was suggestive of reflection, like 
 the inscription of a triumphal column read by a veteran 
 warrior, telling him of the field on which he had won his 
 honours. It was prefixed to a treatise, published this year, 
 by the Rev. William Asplin, of St Alban Hall, Oxford, 
 who had been a correspondent of the Tatler or Spectator. 
 
 * 
 
 " To Sir Richard Steele. 
 
 "March 2, 1727-8. 
 
 " In the brightest days of Britain, when Bickerstaff presided in the chair 
 
 of wit, and o'er this happy land showered manna down, which suited every 
 
 taste, I had the honour (though unworthy and unknown) to be accepted as 
 
 an humble correspondent. And it gives me now a melancholy reflection, 
 
 when I am once more inclined to visit the world in print, that the only 
 
 person who introduced me to it is himself retired. To be an intruder upon 
 
 solitude, I am conscious, is rudeness ; but, as the greatest souls have never 
 
 been so much adored as when departed, sutler me, sir, to approach your 
 
 recess (which ought to be sacred) with the reverence due to the genius of 
 
 our isles, and to make this small oblation of gratitude to the immortal 
 
 manes of the Spectator." 
 
 A brief note to his younger daughter closes the cor- 
 respondence of Steele for the year and for ever. 
 
 EBR CCCCXXXIII. To Mrs Mary Steele. 
 
 M July 22, 1728. 
 
 My dear, DEAR MOLLY, — I write to you because Mr Duke is going to 
 
 Bristol. I desire you would give my service to Dr Lane ; and remember, 
 
 dear Molly, your ever loving and affectionate father, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 VOL. [I. T
 
 290 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xxi. 
 
 We have little definite information of the manner in 
 which Steele employed himself in his retirement, amid 
 scenes so very different from the bustle and gaiety of the 
 life to which he had been so long accustomed. But 
 incompatible as the present might seem with enjoyment 
 to one who had lived such a life as he had done, or one-of 
 his disposition, yet we find, scattered over his writings, 
 numerous indications of his ardent love of nature and his 
 appreciation of retirement. Speaking in one place of the 
 encroachment of artificial habits, and the changes of modern 
 hours, compared with those of former times, or even what 
 might still be found in the country, he launches out in 
 praise of the early, or what he calls the still hours of the 
 day, in these terms : — " The mind in these early seasons of 
 the day is so refreshed in all her faculties, and borne up 
 with such new supplies of animal spirits, that she finds her- 
 self in a state of youth ; above all, ivhen the breath of 
 flowers entertains her, the melody of birds, the dews that hang 
 upon the plants, and all those other sweets of nature that are 
 so peculiar to the morning." * And he compares with this 
 the loss of the " exquisite taste of life " by him " who does 
 not come into the world till it is in all its noise and hurry." 
 Now these sweets thus casually glanced at as peculiar to 
 the morning are also peculiar to the country, and to one 
 possessing the tastes and sympathies here indicated, re- 
 tirement could not be uncongenial or synonymous with dul- 
 ness. In another paper, speaking of that calm and elegant 
 satisfaction, as he felicitously expresses it, " which is the 
 true and proper delight of men of knowledge and virtue," 
 he adds, " Such a frame of mind raises that sweet enthu- 
 
 * Taller, No. 2G3.
 
 1723.] A Characteristic Trait. 291 
 
 siasm which warms the imagination at the sight of every 
 work of nature, and turns all around you into picture and 
 landscape." * 
 
 Indeed, it is incredible that he who had sketched the 
 immortal portrait of Sir Roger de Coverley, that model 
 country gentleman, and had so considerable a hand in the 
 filling up, should have been without strong appreciation of 
 the pursuits of rural life. He has there referred more 
 pointedly to the charms of the country than any of his 
 coadjutors in that celebrated series. In his second paper 
 on Sir Roger's courtship of the perverse widow, he says : — 
 " To one used to live in a city, the charms of the country 
 arc so exquisite that the mind is lost in a certain trans- 
 port which raises us above ordinary life, and is yet not 
 strong enough to be inconsistent with tranquillity. This 
 state of mind was I in, ravished with the murmur of 
 waters, the whisper of breezes, the singing of birds ; and 
 whether I looked up to the heavens, down on the earth, 
 or turned on the prospects around me, still struck with 
 new sense of pleasure."t This subject is alluded to 
 merely that the closing years of so genial a spirit should 
 not be associated with anything like banishment and 
 gloom, as the malignity of Swift suggested. 
 
 But ere the curtain falls, one little trait, that has been 
 recorded by an authority previously quoted, must be pre- 
 sented. " I was told," says Mr Victor, " he retained his 
 cheerful sweetness of temper to the last; and would often 
 be carried out of a summer's evening, where the country 
 lads and lasses were assembled at their rural sports, — and, 
 with his pencil, gave an order on his agent, the mercer, 
 
 * Toiler, No. 89. t Sj N T o. 118.
 
 292 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xxi. 
 
 for a new gown to the best dancer."* That is a charac- 
 teristic picture, forming a fitting close of the life-story of 
 one so genial, who, like the Vicar of Wakefield, delighted 
 in the sight of happy human faces, and in contributing to 
 produce them. 
 
 With such associations, and with only one other fact, 
 that the sacred volume is stated to have been his constant 
 companion and the source of consolation in his more 
 serious hours, — it is pleasant to close the story of 
 Richard Steele ; and it only remains to add, that he paid 
 the last debt at Carmarthen, September 1, 1729, t at the 
 early age of fifty-eight, and his remains were laid, in 
 accordance with his own desire, in the town chancel. 
 
 Of Steele's family, Richard had died in infancy, Eugene 
 in his boyhood in 1722, and Mary, his younger daughter, 
 at Bristol, of a lingering consumption, April 18, 1730. 
 Elizabeth, the elder, married the Hon. John Trevor, 
 one of the Welsh judges, afterwards Lord Trevor of 
 Bromham, May 31, 17324 They had one daughter, 
 Diana, who, like Addison's, though beautiful, was of weak 
 mind. 
 
 It is needless to trace any elaborate character of Steele 
 after the foregoing details, in which it is sufficiently por- 
 trayed. But it may be proper to glance at the salient 
 points in the scattered materials. One obvious char- 
 acteristic which influenced his destiny at every stage of 
 life, was his ardent and impetuous feelings, which, though 
 united with good judgment, sometimes got the mastery, and 
 had the effect of producing an exaggerated estimate of the 
 
 * " Original Letters, Dramatic Pieces," &c, p. 330. 
 
 f Weekly Medley, Sept. 13, 1729. % Universal Spectator, June 3, 1732.
 
 1729.] Personal and Literary Character. 293 
 
 immediate object of pursuit, and giving additional tenacity 
 to an aim once adopted. We see this exemplified in his 
 first rash plunge into life as a guardsman,* and his equally 
 precipitate and imprudent dash into politics. Of the in- 
 fluences which acted on his mind in inducing the former 
 step, beyond the general feeling in youths of spirit in 
 favour of a military life, and his great admiration of the 
 illustrious William, we know nothing, though we learn 
 from himself that the result of it was to lose him the 
 reversion of a considerable estate in Ireland. In the latter, 
 he feared for the interests of liberty, civil and religious, 
 and, like Uzzah, raising his hand to support the ark, which 
 appeared to him tottering, received from his opponents, 
 not indeed an equal punishment, but one terribly cruel 
 and unscrupulous, and from the friends of the cause scant 
 compensation for his sacrifices and his zeal. 
 
 With the exception of his besetting infirmity of extra- 
 vagance and want of attention to economy, for which there 
 is little to be said, and his undue indulgence in convivial 
 pleasures, he was exemplary in all the relations of life. 
 His frank, engaging demeanour, the sweetness of his 
 temper, the warmth of his affections, his eminent good 
 nature, amiability, and generous qualities, made him 
 generally beloved ; whilst the additional attractions of his 
 wit and humour made him courted in societ} r , with the 
 drawback, unfortunately, of leading to excesses at convivial 
 meetings, of which they were the chief charm. In cxtenua- 
 
 * He appears to have left Mcrton College, Oxford, where he held a scholarship, 
 in the year 1G04, after a three years' residence, his name not being found among 
 the records after that date. We are indebted to the kindness of the Rev. J. 
 Griffith*, M.A., keeper of the archives, for this information.
 
 294 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xxi. 
 
 tion of this error, however, it is but just that the habits of 
 those times should be borne in mind. He was an affectionate 
 and tender husband, almost to weakness, an indulgent and 
 fond parent, a warm friend, a delightful companion, a 
 firm and enlightened patriot, as displayed not merely in 
 the question of the sucession, but in his strenuous opposi- 
 tion to the nefarious South-Sea scheme and the pernicious 
 Peerage Bill, which would have converted the constitution 
 into an oligarchy. Though himself a member of the 
 Establishment, he was the firm advocate of toleration to 
 all others ; and, though zealous to an extreme in the poli- 
 tical views which he approved, he suffered reproach for 
 advocating clemency to the fallen. His religious impres- 
 sions were strong, and formed the consolation of his closing 
 years; and in all his writings he was the warm friend of 
 virtue, which he drew in such charming colours as to 
 make universally attractive. He was a friend to all 
 the friendless, and in his general benevolence bounded 
 only by his limited means. But his desires and intentions 
 in all the affairs of life, were marred by his unfortunate 
 want of prudence, which left as great a disparity between 
 his aspirations and his acts almost as in the case of Ham- 
 let. His debts — which amounted to the comparatively 
 trifling sum, as it would be considered in mercantile trans- 
 actions, of L.4000, and a considerable portion of which was 
 no doubt the result of the unprincipled conduct by which 
 for several years he was deprived of what he justly con- 
 sidered a certain income — were fully liquidated before his 
 death by the assignment he made of his property for the 
 benefit of his creditors, leaving a considerable balance 
 (about L.1400) to his credit,
 
 1720. J His Literary Character. 295 
 
 Of his literary character a few observations may be 
 added. Appearing at an era subsequent to a long suc- 
 cession of civil wars and party conflicts, and during the 
 existence of a continental one of ten years' duration, when 
 all literature almost had become extinct, he revived the 
 memory of the past and made fresh additions to the com- 
 mon stock, by directing public attention to the existing 
 productions of genius in the various departments of letters, 
 and himself inaugurating one additional. He brought 
 into notice, in particular, the surpassing merits of Shake- 
 speare and Milton, neglected and almost unknown to a 
 degree that appears now utterly incredible. In addition 
 to these, there existed many high names in almost every 
 department — Bacon and Boyle, Spenser, Ben Jonson, 
 Dryden, Cowley, and many others. But letters seemed a 
 thing apart from the interests of society and the living- 
 world. No one had yet arisen to reconcile them, unless 
 indeed the dramatists who ministered to the popular re- 
 creation, and they and society in that age seemed mutually 
 to have corrupted one another. Society was leavened with 
 an unprecedented viciousness from the time of Charles II., 
 and the dramatists pandered shamelessly to the popular 
 taste. But, apart from these, no one had yet undertaken 
 to write on topics and in a manner that would have an 
 attraction for all, which, in the phrase of Bacon, would 
 " come home to men's business and bosoms," and be read 
 by those not professedly literary. To this task Steele set 
 himself as the business of his life. 
 
 After having first tried his powers in the interesting 
 little moral essay, entitled the "Christian Hero," he next 
 set himself to reform the comic drama from the unpa-
 
 296 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xxi. 
 
 rallelecl licentiousness that had characterised the writings 
 of his predecessors in that department, and produced a 
 series of unexceptionable and admirable comedies, which 
 Mr Thackeray thought " such pleasant reading, and their 
 heroes such fine gentlemen."* He then, after some in- 
 terval, began his celebrated series of periodical papers 
 commencing with the Taller, which adopted a motto im- 
 plying that its range extended over the whole field of life. 
 With a dramatic framework and the machinery of a club, 
 the whole was invested with a living and personal interest, 
 and wit, and humour, and reason were brought to bear on 
 the follies and vices of the age in a continuous battery. 
 Such pleasant raillery and ridicule gained a ready hearing, 
 and gave delight, when acrimonious, dry, didactic reasoning- 
 would have utterly failed. With the delineation of char- 
 acter and manners, it combined literary, critical, and 
 ethical disquisitions, " to allure the reader," as it was ex- 
 pressed in the concluding paper, " with the variety of its 
 subjects, and to insinuate the weight of reason with the 
 agreeableness of wit." 
 
 * One of the causes contributing to this effect, in the opinion of Mr Thackeray, 
 was his warm but rational appreciation of the female character, by which he is 
 distinguished from all preceding writers, particularly among his contemporaries. 
 " All women especially are bound to be grateful to Steele, as he was the first of 
 our writers who really seemed to admire and respect them." After referring to 
 Congreve, to the women of Shakespeare, and to Swift, he adds, " Addison laughs 
 at women equally; but, with the politeness and gentleness of his nature, smiles at 
 them, and watches them, as if they were harmless, half-witted, amusing, pretty 
 creatures. ... It was Steele who first began to pay a manly homage to their 
 goodness and understanding as well as to their tenderness and beauty. In his 
 comedies, his heroes do not rant and rave about the divine beauties of Gloriana 
 or Statira, as ... in the chivalry romances and high-flown dramas just going 
 out of vogue ; but Steele admires women's virtue, acknowledges their sense, and 
 adores their purity and beauty with an ardour that should win the good-will of 
 all women to their hearty and respectful champion." — Lectures on Humourists.
 
 1729.] The Public Good effected. 297 
 
 In the Tatter, with the exception of one or two short 
 essays and some occasional hints, Addison, who was then 
 officially engaged in Ireland, did not commence his contri- 
 butions until after the appearance of eighty numbers, when 
 the work was a decided success, and then came to partake, 
 and possibly to heighten, the triumph of his friend. In 
 the Spectator they worked simultaneously from the first, 
 and almost alternately.* 
 
 We have the most unequivocal contemporary evidence of 
 the eminent success of these exertions for the public good. 
 In a tract published in 1711, and attributed to Gay, among 
 other circumstances from being signed with his initials, 
 after stating the great and general regret caused by the 
 recent decease of Bickerstaff, the assumed name of the 
 Toiler, the writer adds : — 
 
 " It is incredible to conceive the effect his writings have had on the 
 town ; how niauy 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 t by showing 
 
 * " Of all our periodical essayists," says Mr Hazlett, " the Tatler has always 
 appeared to me the most accomplished and agreeable. For myself, I . . . think 
 at least there is in the last work (the SiKCtator) a much greater proportion of 
 commonplace matter. ... On this account my pleasure in reading these two 
 admirable books is not at all in proportion to their comparative reputation. 
 The Tatler contains only half the number of volumes, and I will venture to 
 say, at least an equal quantity of sterling wit and sense. The first sprightly 
 runnings are there; it has more of the original spirit, more of the freshness and 
 stamp of nature. The indications of chai'acter and strokes of humour are more 
 true and frequent ; the reflections that suggest themselves arise more from the 
 occasion, and are less spun out into regular dissertations." — Lectures on the Comic 
 Writers. 
 
 t "I owed this acknowledgment," says Mr Hazlett, after speaking of Steele, 
 and the remark may be quoted in confirmation of the a}x>ve, "to a writer who 
 has often put me in good humour with myself and everything about me, when 
 few tilings else could, and when the tomes of casuistry and ecclesiastical history, 
 with which the little volumes of the Tatler were overwhelmed and surrounded, 
 had tried their tranquillising effect upon me in vain."
 
 298 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xxi. 
 
 them it was their own fault if they were not so ; and lastly, how entirely 
 they have convinced our fops and young fellows of the value and advan- 
 tages 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 has given it, it is a most welcome guest 
 at tea-tables and assemblies, and is relished and caressed by the merchants 
 on the 'Change. 
 
 " Lastly, his writings have set all our wits and men of letters upon a 
 new way of thinking, of which they had little or no notion before ; and 
 though we cannot yet 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." * 
 
 And in an obituary essay on Steele, published in 1729, 
 shortly after his decease, the writer thus emphatically 
 speaks of the great public benefit conferred by his writings 
 and those of his coadjutors : — 
 
 " To him (Sir Richard) we owe that invaluable work which he com- 
 menced in the Tatler, and, assisted by the immortal labours of his inge- 
 nious friend, Mr Addison, carried into numerous volumes. Here he began 
 a work which at once refined our language and improved our morals. None 
 ever attempted with more success to form the mind to virtue, or polish the 
 manners of common life ; none ever touched the passions in that pleasing 
 prevailing method, or so well inculcated the most useful and instructive 
 lessons. I say none did ever thus happily perform so important a work as 
 these illustrious colleagues, who, by adapting themselves to the pleasures, 
 promoted the best virtues of human nature ; insinuated themselves by all 
 the arts of fine persuasion ; employed the most delicate wit and humour 
 in the cause of truth and good sense, nor gave offence to the most rigid 
 devotees or loosest debauchees, but soon grew popular, though advocates 
 of virtue. 
 
 " This was laying the axe to the root of vice and immorality. All the 
 pulpit discourses of a year scarce produced half the good which flowed from the 
 Spectator of a day. They who were tired or lulled to sleep by a long and 
 laboured harangue, or terrified at the appearance of large and weighty 
 volumes, could cheerfully attend to a single half -sheet, where they found 
 the images of virtue so lively and amiable, where vice was so agreeably 
 ridiculed, that it grew painful to no man to part with his beloved follies ; 
 
 * « 
 
 The Present State of Wit," 1711.
 
 1720.] Occasional Negligence of Style. 299 
 
 nor was lie easy till he had practised those qualities which charmed so 
 much in speculation. Thus good-nature and good sense became habitual 
 to their readers. Every morning they were instructed in some new prin- 
 ciple of duty, which was endeared to them by the beauties of description, 
 and thereby impressed upon their minds in the most indelible character. 
 
 " Such a work as this in a Roman age would have been more glorious 
 than a public triumph ; statues would have been raised, and medals would 
 have been struck in honour of the authors. Antiquity had so high a sense 
 of gratitude for the communication of knowledge, that they worshipped 
 their lawgivers, and deified the fathers of science. How, then, must they 
 have acknowledged services like these, where every man grew wiser and 
 better by the fine instruction."* 
 
 It has been said with much justice that nothing has con- 
 tributed more to depreciate Steele, in comparison with 
 his friend and coadjutor Addison, than his frequent negli- 
 gence in reference to style. If the question that has been 
 very needlessly raised respecting their relative merits had 
 gone no further than the greater general equality and finish 
 of style, the admirers of Steele would have been obliged 
 to give up his cause as hopeless. Though matter is un- 
 doubtedly the primary aim in theory, yet practically it will 
 be found an almost invariable rule that it is style which im- 
 parts to literary productions their permanence and popu- 
 larity. But there are various qualities of style, even in its 
 most limited sense, and the superiority in general finish 
 and elegance being conceded to Addison, we think it is 
 equally undeniable that there are others, and some of the 
 very highest — such as simplicity — in which the advantage 
 must be allowed to rest with Steele, and that not in a merely 
 verbal sense, but as indicating a quality of mind. This 
 carelessness of Steele in too many instances, his occa- 
 sionally involved sentences, and neglect in the choice of 
 
 * " An Essay Sacred to the Memory of Sir Richard Steele," from the British 
 Juu.r ;', Sept. 13, 1729.
 
 300 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xxi. 
 
 his phraseology, are indeed much to be regretted, the more 
 so as we see that they were defects not unavoidable ; for, 
 when he allowed himself proper leisure, and gave himself 
 thoroughly up to his subject, he wrote with unexceptionable 
 clearness and accuracy, and, at his best, with a force, a 
 richness, and a fervour, we think, superior to Addison. His 
 faults of negligence may probably be attributed to several 
 causes. The very title of his paper, and the comparatively 
 limited views with which he commenced until the import- 
 ance of his labours became apparent, and the consciousness 
 of his own powers developed, seem to have led him to the 
 adoption of a most objectionable theory, that, as he stated 
 it, of " writing in an air of common speech." Wordsworth 
 commenced with the application of the same theory to 
 poetry, in which it is still less admissible. Fortunately, 
 however, Steele did not adhere strictly to his rule, and when 
 he came to write in conjunction with Addison, many of 
 their papers would not be easily distinguished, after all that 
 has been said upon the subject, by a mere reference to 
 style, nor their respective portions in those which were 
 joint productions. The bustle and excitement in which he 
 kept himself, and the want of the serenity and methodical 
 habits of Addison, contributed to the same effect ; and 
 being the responsible writer, and obliged to make up any 
 deficiency, the natural result followed under the circum- 
 stances, that he frequently did it negligently. There is a 
 tradition that he was often hunted up with difficulty with 
 an urgent demand for " copy," and would write what was 
 required in a back-room of the printing-office while the 
 press waited. 
 Though not affecting the character of a professed critic,
 
 1729.] His Taste and Criticism. 301 
 
 or dealing generally in elaborate disquisition or analysis, 
 Steele lias afforded frequent examples of the justness and 
 accuracy of his taste in literature and the fine arts, and the 
 keenness of his relish of their beauties and merits, which 
 he has pointed out with much acuteness and discrimination. 
 In what concerned the drama he particularly interested 
 himself, and gave a series of admirable strictures on the 
 subject, which had the most beneficial effect upon both 
 actors and audience, and tended materially to rectify the 
 depraved taste of the times. Their obligations to him for 
 this service were warmly acknowledged by the actors them- 
 selves. By one of the most striking examples on record of 
 the capriciousness of public taste, Shakespeare, with all his 
 surpassing merits, was supplanted by a number of inferior 
 dramatists, now no longer heard of, with the exception of 
 Dryden, who, though of the first order otherwise as a poet, 
 was only second-rate as a dramatist. From an early period 
 of his labours Steele took every opportunity of extolling his 
 merits, as well as those of Milton, — the former of whom had 
 not merely been superseded on the stage, but had sunk out 
 of notice in the closet to a degree now scarcely conceivable ; 
 while the latter, from political circumstances in a great 
 measure, and his connexion with a fallen cause, had made 
 but little way with the public. In these casual notices and 
 quotations, Steele was among the first to direct attention to 
 his merits, long prior to Addison's more elaborate critique. 
 The admiration and appreciation of the higher order 
 of poetry and the drama which he displayed, and endea- 
 voured to diffuse, was also extended to ttie sister art of 
 painting, which he sought in like manner to elevate from 
 its depressed condition. He recommended the cultivation
 
 302 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xxi. 
 
 of historical painting to our artists, and suggested a number 
 of subjects, with remarks displaying much acuteness and 
 knowledge of the subject. Mr Hazlitt — and he was an 
 authority on such subjects — has characterised one of his 
 art papers, that on the cartoons of Raphael, as " the best 
 criticism in the Spectator, of which Mr Fuseli has availed 
 himself with great spirit in his lectures." 
 
 Whatever may have been the imaginative powers of 
 Steele, he seldom displayed an ambition to soar beyond 
 " the visible diurnal sphere." He seemed to agree with 
 Pope in the sentiment — 
 
 " The proper study of mankind is man ;" 
 
 and it was in calling into existence imaginary beings, with 
 whom he crowded his pages, and investing his creations 
 with the most varied characteristic attributes, combined 
 with a moral aim, that he chiefly displayed the fertility of 
 his invention. But, though he seems not to have delighted 
 in an equal degree with Addison in visions and allegories, 
 he has notwithstanding given us several pieces of this de- 
 scription. In No. 514 of the Spectator, we have a very 
 ingenious "Vision of Parnassus" from his pen. Of the al- 
 legory of Arcadia, also, concluding the series of papers on 
 pastoral poetry in the Guardian, he is the only recognised 
 author. In No. 141 of the Guardian, likewise, he has alle- 
 gorised the principal events of his life, and in No. 2 of the 
 Reader has given us another allegory having also a personal 
 reference. The former of these, particularly, affords a 
 beautiful example, that if he generally left this species of 
 production to Addison, it was not for want of the capa- 
 bility to excel in it, but that he loved other things better.
 
 i729.| His Invention, Imagination, and Pathos. 30 
 
 •-> 
 
 Addison's great partiality in that way is the more remark- 
 able, as even in poetry, where it is most suitably employed, 
 he had formerly objected to it, and had ventured to speak 
 of its use by one of the greatest masters, Spenser, in such 
 terms as these — 
 
 " The long-spun allegories fulsome grow." * 
 
 Of his power over the pathetic, his dramas, though 
 comedies, afford numerous felicitous examples, but the 
 " Conscious Lovers" in particular, to a degree that makes 
 it trench almost on the province of tragedy. It is also re- 
 markably displayed in those wonderful little tales and nar- 
 ratives he has given us, particularly in the Tatler — including 
 the account of the couching of the young man born blind ; 
 of the shipwreck in connexion with the young Cornish 
 couple ; of the Lover's Dream with reference to Dover 
 Cliff, (which, though ascribed to Addison, modern critics 
 agree that, from the circumstances, it must have been re- 
 lated to him by Steele, but more than this, it bears the im- 
 press of his manner) ; of the burning of the lovers in a 
 crowded theatre ; of the young man who shot his intended 
 bride by mistake ; of the domestic scenes in the two papers 
 where Mr Bickcrstaff renews his acquaintance with an 
 early friend ; and in the other papers, the touching tale of 
 " Inkle and Yarico," and the story of Alexander Selkirk, 
 which formed the groundwork of the romance which immor- 
 talised Defoe. These brief tales possess a charm of vivid- 
 ness, of simple beauty and pathos, that for a parallel we 
 should be at a loss where to look except in some of the Old 
 Testament domestic narratives. Well, indeed, might he say, 
 
 * " Verses on the Principal English Poets."
 
 304 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xxi. 
 
 as he does in his concluding paper, " I must confess it has 
 been a most exquisite pleasure to me to frame characters 
 of domestic life." And certainly scarcely less exquisite is 
 the pleasure he has afforded his readers in these sweet 
 and touching and instructive pictures. Of the possession 
 or appreciation of the pathetic, Addison's writings, with all 
 their finish, scarcely afford the slightest indication. The 
 possession of this quality, in conjunction with humour, 
 must be admitted to form the most exquisite and delightful 
 of mental combinations, and especially when we feel that 
 we are not being imposed upon by a mere affected or 
 whimsical sentimentalist. That is but an arid soil on 
 which, however brightly the sun may shine, its effects 
 are not mitigated by the dews and showers. 
 
 Of his humour and delineation of character, the latter 
 of course including invention, his dramatic writings also 
 afford many happy examples. But in addition to these, he 
 had mingled so variously with men, and was so quick an 
 observer — though, it is needless to say, not an ill-natured 
 one — that when he started his periodical papers his mind 
 was furnished as a gallery with such portraits, from which 
 he drew at will. To particularise these generally would 
 exceed all reasonable limits, but the leading dramatis 
 persona? in his different series of papers, which were almost 
 all struck out by his own hand, may be briefly referred to. 
 The character of Bickerstaff, so humorously conceived and 
 well-sustained, with his astrological and censorial preten- 
 sions and genial philosophy, forms a sort of pervading 
 spirit throughout the Toiler, and affords scope for much 
 pleasant raillery, satire, and mingled seriousness. His 
 three nephews are made the vehicle of expressing some
 
 1729.] The Club at the Trumpet. 305 
 
 general views on education and the training of youth, 
 whilst his half-sister, Jenny Distaff, is the representative 
 of the sex, and her history, with the account of her mar- 
 riage, and of her husband Tranquillus, forms an episode of 
 some extent, and the ground of many pleasant and instruc - 
 tive pictures and precepts referring to the matrimonial 
 state. Supplimentary to Mr Biekerstaff's knowledge of 
 the occult sciences, he obtains the aid of a good genius or 
 guardian spirit, whose aerial facilities are placed at his dis- 
 posal in the discharge of his censorial functions. This 
 familiar, under the title of Pacolet, is the medium of some 
 useful raillery and satire ; but was not made of so much 
 avail as was probably at first designed. 
 
 In addition to these, he exercised his invention and 
 humour in sketching the characters of Mr Biekerstaff's club 
 at the Trumpet — a knot of old smokers and story-tellers, 
 whose recollections went back to the era of the civil wars, 
 and who had a profound contempt for the degeneracy of 
 modern times. Among these Mr Bickerstaff was reckoned 
 as the chief wit, which did not lessen his satisfaction in their 
 company, and was sometimes designated the philosopher, 
 but not allowed much knowledge of the world. Another 
 kindred sketch may serve to throw light on his feelings to- 
 wards them. It is that of one of the class of easy friends, 
 who, without any shining qualities, and exempt from any 
 obtrusive faults, who never contradict us unless we should 
 chance to speak ill of ourselves, make their way to our 
 esteem rather by an air of complacency to whatever we 
 say or do than any gross adulation. One such Mr Bicker- 
 staff says he often smoked with, who made it a point to 
 light and to be out at the same moment with himself. 
 
 VOL. II 17
 
 306 Steele and his Contemporaries, [chap. xxi. 
 
 " This/' he adds, " is all the praise or assent he is capable 
 of, yet there are more hours in which I would rather be in 
 his company than in that of the brightest man I know." * 
 The old decayed courtier, too, whose portrait he has struck 
 out, was among the members of this dull, but good-natured 
 company. " The man," he says, " has but a bare subsist- 
 ence, just enough to pay his way with us at the Trumpet ; 
 but, by having spent the beginning of his life in the hearing 
 of great men and persons of power, he is always promising 
 to do good offices, and to introduce every man he converses 
 with into the world. He will desire one of ten times his 
 substance to let him see him sometimes, and hints that he 
 doesn't forget him. He answers to matters of no conse- 
 quence with great circumspection ; but, however, maintains 
 a general civility in his words and actions, and an insolent 
 benevolence to all whom he has to do with. This he prac- 
 tises with a grave tone and air ; and though I am his senior 
 by twelve years, and richer by L.40 per annum, he had 
 yesterday the impudence to commend me to my face, 
 and tell me 'he should be always ready to encourage 
 
 me.'"t 
 
 After the sketches of the Tatler Club, the invention of 
 Steele was next displayed in that of the Spectator, includ- 
 ing the immortal portrait of Sir Roger de Coverley. Ad- 
 dison, with his fine taste, at once recognised the beauty and 
 merit of the latter, and took the child of his friend to his 
 bosom. He adopted it, devoted himself to it with a jealous 
 care, and has probably left it more carefully provided for 
 than its more negligent parent might have done. Yet even 
 
 * Tatler, No. 208. f Ibid., No. 127.
 
 1729.] The Spectator Club. 307 
 
 in this one series, the credit of which is usually thought to 
 belong exclusively to Addison, and to which he brought all 
 his art, gave some of his most finished touches, and im- 
 parted such delicate and varied tints — the part that, per- 
 haps, after all, gives most individuality and interest to 
 the whole — the sketch of the charming but perverse widow, 
 and her influence on the history of the good old knight — 
 was contributed by Steele. His share altogether in that 
 series, in addition to the original creation, was seven papers, 
 or nearly a fourth part of the whole. In addition to Sir 
 Roger himself, who was intended as the representative of 
 the country interest in its best form, with nothing shining, 
 but with a simplicity, benevolence, and good-nature charac- 
 teristic of the English gentleman, we have the contrasted 
 portrait of Sir Andrew Freeport, a great merchant, with 
 his shrewd keen sense, the representative of the industrial 
 and moneyed interest ; the Templar ; Will Honeycomb, 
 the man of the world ; Will Wimble, the representative of 
 younger sons ; Captain Sentry, the nephew and heir of Sir 
 Roger ; and the divine — all the creatures of Steele's prolific 
 invention. The distinguished coadjutors seem at first to 
 have regularly contributed alternately. On a Thursday we 
 Lave the whole design opened up, with an account of the 
 Spectator himself, by Addison. On the Friday, Steele fol- 
 lows, with an account of the club. Then, after a consider- 
 able interval, Addison, on a Monday, introduces us to 
 Coverlcy Hal], and on the Tuesday Steele makes us ac- 
 quainted with the Coverlcy household and its economy. 
 Addison gives us an account of the guests, and Steele fol- 
 lows by introducing us to the Coverlcy gallery of family 
 portraits, with Sir Roger himself as the guide. Without
 
 308 Steele and his Contemporaries. [chap. xxi. 
 
 further pursuing the subject, or more than referring to the 
 subsequent sketches in the Guardian, we may add that, 
 while we delight to acknowledge the incomparable elegance 
 and finish of Addison, both in his writings generally and 
 in this unique series of literary paintings, we must equally 
 do justice to the peculiar excellence of Steele. Though he 
 may be inferior to Addison in elegant dissertation or alle- 
 gory, (in which, however, we have seen that he was well 
 able to bear his part,) yet, if we consider the immense 
 variety of masterly sketches of character with which he 
 has vivified and peopled the various series of these cele- 
 brated papers, it seems impossible to deny his superior 
 invention in that respect. In what is peculiar and char- 
 acteristic in these classic serials, as distinguished from 
 other collections of essays, the " teaching by examples," 
 the dramatic portraiture of life and manners, — in the im- 
 mense amount and variety of the offspring of his invention, 
 without exhaustion and without repetition, Steele stands 
 to this day unapproached either by contemporaries or suc- 
 cessors. Nor less unquestionable is the precedence he 
 takes in his control over our softer emotions. 
 
 Among the many lessons which his genial sagacity incul- 
 cated is, that the nil admirari is the shallowest of philo- 
 sophy and most miserable of criticism. In illustration of 
 this, we have known of one who showed the greatness of 
 his mind by speaking contemptuously of the Rhine, and of 
 another who, after some hesitation, acknowledged that 
 Niagara was " very pretty." But the admirable works of 
 nature and of art, despite their critics, whether eminent or 
 obscure, will continue to shine on ; and among the latter 
 we do not fear for the fate of what has been bequeathed
 
 1729.] His Humour and Delineation of Character. 309 
 
 us by the pen of Steele — like the luminary of day, giving 
 vitality, warmth, ami brightness to everything it touches, 
 and extracting something good or agreeable from all, 
 whether trivial or great ; like it, when in the camera, 
 under the hand of the artist, it imprints with an instan- 
 taneous but unrivalled minuteness and fidelity of little 
 touches, its vivid pictures ; and like it, too, when passing 
 over the dial in the garden, it leaves its shining and sug- 
 gestive but quiet moral, only indicated by the opposing 
 shadow which it throws.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 SOME LETTEES OF STEELE WITHOUT DATE. 
 
 Letter CCCCXXXIV. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 I beg of you not to be impatient, though it be an hour before you see 
 your obliged husband and humble servant, Eich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCXXXV. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 My attendant, you mention, is dismissed till night. I am to meet the 
 people I have to do with at such hours as will consist with going to Mr 
 Boyle's.* Pray be advised and content. I must go to know what will 
 become of us with relation to this office, t 
 
 Letter CCCCXXXVI. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Half hour after nine. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I was coming home from the office, after having received 
 some money, but am invited to supper to Mr Boyle's. God be thanked, 
 all will do well ; and I rejoice that I had the spirit to refuse what has been 
 lately offered me. 
 
 Dear Prue, do not send after me, for I shall be ridiculous. I send you 
 word to put you out of frights. 
 
 * Then Secretary of State, and afterwards Lord Carleton. As Chancellor of 
 the Exchequer, he had waited upon Addison at the instance of Lord Godolphin, 
 with reference to his poem in celebration of Marlborough's victory at Blenheim. 
 
 t This was probably when he was seeking to succeed Addison as Under-Secre- 
 tary, shortly before the publication of the Tatter,
 
 312 Appendix. 
 
 Letter CCCCXXXVII. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 My Dear, — Upon my honour and salvation, I hide nothing. Your 
 generous declaration towards me makes me melt into tears. Mr Boyle has 
 desired me to diue with him, which at this time I must not deny. As 
 soon as I have dined, I will come to you. Pray send not thither. 
 
 Dear Prue, talk thus, and govern yours, Eich. Steele. 
 
 Pray be careful of Lugger, &c. 
 
 Tell Mr Nutt * I shall call upon him wherever he is to be in the even- 
 ing ; but do not enter into any discourse with him, for reasons I shall tell 
 you. 
 
 Letter CCCCXXXVIII. To Mrs Steele* 
 
 Dear Prue, — I shall not come home till five o'clock, at which time I 
 have good news to tell you. 
 
 Letter CCCCXXXIX. To Mrs Steele. % 
 
 Dear Prue, — Don't be displeased that I do not come home till eleven 
 o'clock. — Yours ever, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCXL. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Friday morning. 
 My Dear, — Cousin is much as she was, but rather weaker. Pray let the 
 boy be immediately sent back with my linen, after you have told me, 
 under your hand, that I am in your favour, and that you are well ; which 
 can only make happy your obedient husband, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCXLI. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Dear Prue, — Forgive me dining abroad, and let Will carry the papers 
 to Buckley's immediately, and leave the other letters at Ashurst's. — Your 
 fond, devoted, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCXLII. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Dear, dear Prue, — Forgive me that I do not dine at home, having 
 
 Printer of the Tatler. t " In Berry Street." 
 
 '• At Mrs Sewell's, in King Street, Westminster."
 
 Appendix. 313 
 
 very particular business to concert with a gentleman who is with me. — 
 I am, yours affectionately, constantly, tenderly, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCLXIII. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 St James's Coffeehouse. 
 Dear Prde, — Send me word how you do ; I have not got the money 
 yet, but I am going to try elsewhere. — Yours, with the utmost affection, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCXLIV. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 6 o'clock, Tuesday. 
 Dear Prue, — I wish our private affairs were as happy as the enclosed 
 will show you the public are. I am going to the Temple. After I have 
 been there a little while, I '11 to you. — Yours faithfully, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCXLV. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Dear, dear Prue, — Pray forgive me that I do not come to dinner. 
 Salkield goes out of town before three ; and I cannot conclude with him 
 if I miss this opportunity. — I am, your obliged husband, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCXLVI. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Indeed you are ill-natured in talking to me at this strange rate. The 
 place * is of your own choosing, before one I liked better. I will come 
 to you in the afternoon, and, if you are able, bring you to town. 
 
 It is wonderful, when you know what I had to do last night, that you 
 will talk so to me thus. — Yours ever, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCXLVII. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Prue, — It is unworthy your virtue and merit to be diffident. I'll 
 warrant you all will be well before to-morrow night. I will come home 
 then with cash, and everything else that can please. — Yours faithfully, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Hampton Court.
 
 314 Appendix. 
 
 Letter CCCCXLVIII. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Buckley's, 8 o'clock. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I have yours, but cannot imagine what I omit that is 
 kind. I suppose you would not have had me avoided the gentleman I 
 named to-day ? 
 
 I am come hither, and not one word* ready for to-morrow. — In haste, 
 yours, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCXLIX. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Pray, Prue, look a little dressed, and be beautiful, or else everybody will 
 be entertained but the entertainer ; but, if you please, you can outshine 
 the whole company, and my costly lustre. Come in good humour. — Yours, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCL. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Whether I deserve it or not, I humbly desire you will smile upon me 
 when I come into your presence. I wait for your answer, who am, yours 
 tenderly, Eich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCLI. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Dear Creature, — I go away because you will have it so, but I have 
 been guilty of nothing that ought to exclude me from the happiness of 
 being yours. 
 
 You will take this for an argument how much I am, dear wife, yours, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCLII. To Mrs Steele, t 
 
 Dear Prue, — It is a strange thing, because you are handsome, you will 
 not behave yourself with the obedience that people of worse features do — 
 but I must be always giving you an account of every trifle and minute of 
 my time. 
 
 I send you this to tell you I am waiting to be sent for when my Lord 
 Wharton is stirring. Rich. Steele. 
 
 * Of the Gazette. 
 
 f " At Mrs Binn's, at a mathematical maker, Dean Street."
 
 Appendix. 315 
 
 Letter CCCCLIII. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 4 o'clock. 
 Dear Prue, — Take this boy to sit behind you in the boat ; and put on 
 your mask, and come to Somerset Stairs. From whence send him to call 
 me from Nutt's, where your servant [waits] for your arrival to visit my 
 grand-daughter* Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCLIV. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Dear Prue, — Send word when you are ready and hoods on, and I '11 
 come for you. Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCLV. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Young Man's Coffeehouse. 
 Dear Prue, — I have not yet been at the Savoy, f but stay near the 
 Devil Tavern till I see Will Elderton. 
 
 Do not be out of humour, for all will be easy in an hour or two. — Yours,- 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCLVI. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I desire you to dress yourself decently before you appear 
 before me ; for I will [not] be so easily pleased as I have been, being now 
 in a fair way of being a great man. — Yours ever, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCLVII. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I propose setting off in the morning at five o'clock to 
 Windsor, at which hour the coach will be at our door. I stay at the office 
 now, to despatch as much of the Gazette as I can to-night. — I am, your 
 obliged husband, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCLVIII. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 After eight. 
 Dear Prue, — I send this to acquaint thee that I shall come home about 
 
 * There is no explanation of this, unless Mrs Aynston was so called. 
 t " Where the Gazelle was printed."
 
 316 Appendix. 
 
 an hour hence, and desire, in the meantime, that the boy may rest, for he 
 has been up ever since five. — Yours tenderly, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCLIX. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 It is now professedly point of party, and I am required to be here, be- 
 cause a great man advised it yesterday. But the remainder of the money 
 will be ready, by means of Martyn and Elderton, before two o'clock to- 
 morrow. In the meantime, I am contented, and desire you not to come 
 hither till early to-morrow morning, between seven and eight, at which 
 time I would have you be with me precisely. I sent young Elderton to 
 the nurse's, and the child is much better. — Yours, with great truth now, 
 and with care hereafter, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCLX. To Mrs Steele* 
 
 Rummer Tavern, Covent Garden. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I am just going to Jeffrey's ; have settled my matter with 
 Mr Potter, who lends me the money. 
 
 I desire you would go to bed at home, and be of good cheer. — Yours 
 ever, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Martyn never came near me. 
 
 Letter CCCCLXI. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 I have four tickets for the music to-night. If you will send for Mrs 
 Keck, we will go altogether, or, if you please, only you and your most 
 obedient servant, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCLXII. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Hampton Court. 
 Dear Prue, — I am going to Watford, and shall be at home to-morrow. 
 The coach is passing, so can say no more. — Yours ever, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCLXIII. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 If you have not a coach of your own, come to me in a chair, and we will 
 be together all day, which will be a great favour to yours most obediently, 
 
 Rich. Steele. 
 
 "Berry Street."
 
 Appendix. 317 
 
 Letter CCCCLXIV. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I will be at Desmaiseaux'; and if you will spend the evening 
 with me, please to call on me at the corner of St James's Place, and I '11 go 
 with you. If you do not like this proposal, send word- — Your humble 
 servant and obedient husband, Eich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCLXV. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Dear "Wife, — It is an unspeakable trouble to me that I ever let fall a 
 passionate word in return for any impatience you show about the provision 
 I make for you. I am indeed. [It is indeed ?] 
 
 I take all the pains imaginable, and love you better than tongue can 
 express. — Yours faithfully, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCLXYI. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Dear Prue, — It is impossible for me now to get a coach, and it is [a] 
 very bleak and raw night. I must, therefore, stay here, or lose all my pains 
 for want of despatching what I have been about. Except your uneasiness, 
 I am perfectly well and pleased. — Ever yours, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCLXVII. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 My Dear, — The coachmen were so very dear that I have taken places in 
 the stage-coach, where we are to be exactly half-an-hour after one. Pray give 
 my duty to my mother, and excuse that I cannot come to receive her com- 
 mands. Put money in your pocket. Give necessary orders for the house 
 to be in readiness against our return. — Yours ever, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter CCCCLXVIII. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Dear Prue, — I cannot answer yours to all points till I have received 
 answers to two or three letters, but will write in the afternoon. 
 
 Be sure to keep Mrs Keck. — Yours, Rich. Steele. 
 
 Letter C( ' N I.XIX. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Dear True, — If you and Mrs Edwards can make" use of these tickets 
 which were given me, I shall be glad ; if not, send them back, and I will 
 give them to other people, for I will not go myself to any public diversion, 
 except you are of the assembly.— Yours ever, Ricn. Steele.
 
 318 Appendix. 
 
 Letter CCCCLXX. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 Dear Prue,— I have read yours concerning the Anniversary Sermon, and 
 the impertinent ill-bred behaviour upon it, with indignation, and your 
 mention of tears that it drew from you put me in a rage as great as ever I 
 have been in. We will take care to be above the necessities of life, and 
 that will support our minds to contemn such low spirits, and all their 
 imaginations. I cannot but pity the way of life you are in, without one 
 body to converse with whom you like. I do not know whether I have told 
 you the news of Mrs Sartre's * marriage at Bristol to one Mr Combs, who 
 is an agent of the army. He is a very handsome fellow, and she has, with- 
 out much reserve, given herself wholly to him, without care of a settle- 
 ment, even of her own, but in very loose words. 
 
 Had I been present when the young gentleman was so pert at table, I 
 should, I believe, have spoiled his stomach. I cannot but fancy, when you 
 and I come to talk, such vexations from such mean objects will vanish. — 
 I am, dear Prue, with the strictest truth, your faithful and obsequious hus- 
 band, RlCH - Steele. 
 
 *•> 
 
 Letter CCCCLXXI. To Mrs Steele. 
 
 If you have that paper, keep it safe. It was offered me, but rejected. 
 Nothing of yours is unsafe by me, and I contemn him. 
 
 * Addison's sister. Mr Sartre died in 1713. She survived till 1750. See 
 notice of her by Swift, vol. i., p. 223.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Addison, Joseph, his birth and parent- 
 age, i. 161 ; at the Charter-House, 161 ; 
 enters Queen's College, Oxford, 162 ; 
 writes complimentary verses to distin- 
 guished persons, 165 ; receives a pen- 
 sion of £300 a-year, 165; writes the 
 "Campaign," 167: is appointed Under 
 Secretary of State, 168 ; becomes 
 Chief Secretary to Ireland, 122, 123, 
 168; the Spectator, 168, 169; his 
 " Cato," 169 ; his intercourse with 
 Pope, 171 ; his Whig Examiner, 173; 
 his Freeholder, 174; his marriage 
 with the Countess Dowager of War- 
 wick, 1 75 ; appointed Secretary of 
 State, 175 ; failure of his health, and 
 retirement from office, 175 ; his " Old 
 Whig," 1 75 ; his death, 176 ; estimate 
 of his character, 176-179 ; his contri- 
 butions to the Tatler, 148; extract 
 from a paper by, 138-160, n. ; epi- 
 logue written by, for a fete given by 
 Steele, ii. 72, 73; his controversy 
 with Steele on the Peerage Bill, 174- 
 178 ; lines on the death of, 241-243. 
 
 Addison, .Mr Gulston, brother of the 
 above, i. 123; appointed Governor of 
 Fort St Georuc, 123; his death, 123, n. 
 
 Addison, Dr Launcelot, father of the 
 above, notice of, i. 161. 
 
 Adrian's, The Emperor, verses on his 
 deathbed, Pope's remarks on, and 
 translation of, i. 313, 315; Byron's 
 translation of, 314, 315, n. 
 
 Adversity, inadequacy of heathen philo- 
 sophy to sustain men againi i, as illus- 
 ited in the lives of Ceesar, Cato, 
 Brutus, and Cassius, i. 22, -l i. 
 
 Aiken, Miss, i. 3 ; her character of 
 Steele, 15 ; her remark on Addison, 
 166, 167, 172. 
 
 " All for Love," Steele's prologue to, ii. 
 157, 158. 
 
 America, Dr Berkeley's efforts to convert 
 the savages of, i. 333; lines on the 
 future greatness of, 334. 
 
 Anne, Queen, continental policy at her 
 accession, i. 66 ; her leaning towards 
 the Tories, 66 ; dismisses the Whigs 
 from office, 68; her favourites, and 
 their conduct, 68 ; her attachment to 
 the Duchess of Marlborough, and its 
 result, 125, 126 ; her treatment of the 
 Whigs, 228, ii. 5, 6; her death and 
 character, 58, 65, 66. 
 
 Angel, simile of the, remarks regarding 
 Addison's, i. 167, n. 
 
 "Arabian Tales, The," curious Oriental 
 MSS. presented to Trinity College, 
 Cambridge, i. 197. 
 
 Arhuthnot, epigram attributed to, i. 
 12. 
 
 Argyle, Duke of, commands the royal 
 forces in Scotland, ii. 88; fights the 
 battle of Sheriftmuir, 90; letter to, 
 233, 234. 
 
 Ashe, 1 >r George, said to have celebrated 
 S ift's marriage with Stella, i. 404. 
 
 Asplin, Mr, a contributor to the Tatler, 
 i. 151, n. 
 
 Asplin, Rev. William, his dedicatory 
 epistle to Steele, ii. 289. 
 
 Atterbury, Dr, i. 152; his friendship 
 for, and remark on Pope, '■'>'•','>; oilers 
 to proclaim the pretender, ii. 198; 
 his exile, 2 19.
 
 320 
 
 Index. 
 
 " Atticus," Pope's portrait of Addison 
 
 in the character of, i. 173. 
 Aumont, Due de, French ambassador, 
 
 his public entry into London, i. 420. 
 Aynston, Mr, marries Steele's natural 
 
 daughter, i. 102. 
 
 Bacon, Lord, i. 135, 157. 
 
 Bangorian controversy, notice of, ii. 129. 
 
 Barlow, Dr, i. 28. 
 
 Beattie, Dr, i. 74. 
 
 Berkeley, Dr George, the metaphysi- 
 cian, his birth, education, and first 
 work, i. 328 ; his " Dialogues," and 
 the controversy they caused, 328, 329; 
 his political and literary friends, 329- 
 335 ; made Dean of Derry, 333 ; his 
 "Minute Philosopher," 334; promoted 
 to the bishopric of Cloyne, 335 ; his 
 death, character, and contributions to 
 the Guardian, 336, 337. 
 
 Berkeley, Earl of, offers to take Swift 
 to Ireland as his secretary, i. 387. 
 
 Betterton, the actor, obtains a patent, 
 along with Congreve, for a new 
 theatre, i. 38. 
 
 Bettesworth, Sergeant, a lawyer, Swift's 
 epigram on, i. 414. 
 
 " Bickerstaff, Squire, Detected," an 
 anonymous pamphlet, i. 139 ; extract 
 from, 139-144. 
 
 Bickerstaff, Isaac, pseudonym adopted 
 by Steele in the Taller, i. 134 ; origin 
 of the name, 138; popularity of, 
 157. 
 
 Biographv, The value and interest of, 
 i.^12. 
 
 Blenheim, battle of, i. 284. 
 
 Blenheim House, Vanbrugh appointed 
 architect of, i. 39. 
 
 Bolingbroke, Lord, i. 73, 127; his re- 
 mark on Pope's death, 353 ; his trea- 
 son and flight, ii. 198, 199; his con- 
 duct on Oxford's dismissal, 247 ; his 
 conduct to Walpole, 249, 250. 
 
 Bolton, Duke of, his quarrel with Bud- 
 gell, i. 244, 245. 
 
 Booth, Mr, the actor, letter to, ii. 264. 
 
 Bovey, Mrs Catherine, object of an early 
 attachment of Steele's, and the origi- 
 nal of the " perverse widow " of the 
 Coverley papers in the Spectator, i. 
 77; ii. 42, 43. 
 
 Boyle, Mr, i. 167. 
 
 Boyle, Right Hon. Henry, notice of, i. 
 277, 278. 
 
 Bristol, Countess of, i. 198. 
 
 British Journal, or Censor, The, ex- 
 tract from on the merit of Steele's 
 writings, ii. 298, 299. 
 
 Brougham, Lord, his vindication of 
 Walpole, ii. 254, 255, n. 
 
 Brown, Haig, Dr, present head-master of 
 Charter-House, i. 6, n. 
 
 Brutus, Marcus, speech of, to Cassius, 
 on the eve of the battle of Philippi, 
 22, 23. 
 
 Bruyere, La, i. 135, 137. 
 
 Buckingham, Duke of, befriends Wy- 
 cherley, i. 29. 
 
 Buckley, Sam, bookseller, Steele's con- 
 nexion with, ii. 42, n. 
 
 Budgell, Eustace, a contributor to the 
 Spectator, his birth and education, i. 
 241, 242; his literary productions, 
 241-243, 248; his political life and 
 quarrels, 243-246 ; recklessness of his 
 last years, and suicide, 247-249. 
 
 Bute, Earl of, i. 201. 
 
 Bute, Lady, daughter of Lady Wortley 
 Montagu, i. 200, 201. 
 
 Button, keeper of the famous coffee- 
 house, butler to the Countess of War- 
 wick, i. 175, n. 422. 
 
 Byron, Lord, i. 3, n. ; his translation of 
 the Emperor Adrian's famous verses, 
 314, 315, n. 
 
 Cadogan, Earl, notice of, i. 372. 
 Caesar, i. 22. 
 
 Capel, Lord Deputy, i. 3S6. 
 Carnwath, Earl of, a Jacobite, i. 95. 
 Carlisle, Earl of, befriends Vanbrugh, i. 
 
 38. 
 Cassius, i. 22. 
 I ato, i., 22, 23. 
 " Cato," Addison's, its production and 
 
 reception, i. 169, 170, Pope's advice 
 
 regarding, 172. 
 Cervantes, Don Miguel, serves as a pri- 
 vate soldier, i. 8. 
 Chancellor, the Lord, letter to, ii. 233. 
 Chandos, Duke of, satirised by Pope 
 
 under the title of " Timon," i. 348. 
 Charles II., his liberality to Wycherley, 
 
 i. 29. 
 Charter-House, account of foundation 
 
 of, i. 4. 
 Chesterfield, Lord, his opinion of Lord 
 
 Cowper's oratory, i. 2u4. 
 Chit-Chat, Steele's periodical, entitled, 
 
 ii. 77. 
 Christ Church College, Oxford, Steele 
 
 matriculates at, i. 5.
 
 Indi x. 
 
 321 
 
 Christian, the Dying, to his Soul, Pope's 
 OJc of, i. 318. 
 
 Cibber, Colley, cause of Pope's enmity 
 to, i. 35S, 359; his account of the ob- 
 taining of the patent to Drury Lane 
 Theatre, with Steele as governor, ii. 
 67-69^ dedicates his tragedy of - 'Zi- 
 menes " to Steele, 202, 203 ; letter to, 
 264; his account of the litigation of 
 the trustees of Steele with the mana- 
 gers, 27S-2S0. 
 
 Cicero, i. 32. 
 
 Cleveland, Duchess of. her acquaintance 
 with Wycherley, i. 28, 29; her gift to 
 Marlborough, 279. 
 
 Club, Kit-Cat, account of the, i. 70-33. 
 
 Mr Bickerstaff's at the Trumpet, 
 
 i. 155, 156 ; ii. 303, 30 i. 
 
 ■Spectator, The, i. 233-210 ; ii. 306- 
 
 308. 
 
 of little men, Pope's account of 
 the, i. 355. 
 
 Coffee-house, St James's, great resort of 
 Whig wits, i. 392. 
 
 Coleridge, S. T., compares his life with 
 Steele's, i. 9 ; his opinion of Steele's 
 letters, 78, 17'!. 
 
 Collier, Jeremy, notice of, i. 45 ; his at- 
 tack on the English stage, 46 ; his 
 essays, 136. 
 
 Colloquial powers, Addison's great, i. 
 177, 178. 
 
 Comedies, Steele's, the great merit of, 
 i. 59-63 ; Thackcrav's opinion of, ii. 
 296. 
 
 Composition, Addison's method of, i. 
 178. 
 
 Comptou, Bishop of London, i. 66. 
 
 " Confederacy, The," written by Yan- 
 brugh for a new theatre, i. 38. 
 
 Congreve, William, his birth and edu- 
 cation, i. 179 ; success of his " Old 
 Bachelor," 180 ; his " Double Dealer, - ' 
 181 ; obtains along with Betterton a 
 patent for a new theatre, 38, 181 ; 
 his " Love for Love," 181 ; suc- 
 cess of his " Mourning Bride," 
 182; his "Way of the World," and 
 retirement as dramatist, 27,182; his 
 coir with Collier, 45-47, I 
 
 183 ; hi | on among politicians 
 and men of Letters, I ' ! • ; his at- 
 bment to Mrs Bracegirdle, 185, 
 : hi- Friendship with the Duchess 
 of Marlborough, 186, 187; his death 
 and capricious will, 186 ; his charac- 
 ter as a writer, 187. 
 
 VOL II. 
 
 Conviviality, dangers of excessive, i. 17, 
 18 ; eminent men who hare over-in- 
 dulged in, 19. 
 
 Correspon lenee of Steele, remarks on 
 the. ii. 126-128, 
 
 Country, The, Steele's praise of the 
 charms of, ii. 291. 
 
 "Country Wife, The," by Wycherley, 
 when written, i. 28 ; when published, 
 29. 
 
 "Covent Garden, Adventures of," anony- 
 mous work of Farquhar's, i. 43. 
 
 Coverlev, Sir Roger de, sketch of, i. 231, 
 237. 
 
 Cowley, the poet, an essayist, i. 135, 136. 
 
 Cowper, Lord Chancellor, notice of, i. 
 203-205; Steele's estimate of, 202. 
 
 Crabtrees and Briekdusts, Steele satir- 
 ises his opponents under the titles of, 
 ii. 50. 
 
 Craggs, James, Secretary of State, letter 
 to, ii. 234. 
 
 " Crisis, The," a pamphlet by Steele, 
 ii. 18; analysis of, 20, 22; various 
 hands in the authorship of, 25: Swift's 
 lines on, 44, n. ; Steele's Sketch of 
 Marlborough in, 54, 55; friends said 
 to have assisted Steele in the conrpo- 
 sition of, 63, n. 
 
 Crown, settlement of the, Steele's re- 
 marks on, ii. 20, 21. 
 
 Cutts, Lord, a soldier and author, 
 account of, i. 14. 
 
 Dartiquexave, Charles, i. 151, n. 
 
 Davies, Mr, letter to, ii. 106. 
 
 Defoe, Daniel, i. 67; aids in effecting 
 the Union with Scotland, 67 ; his 
 Review, 136. 
 
 Delafaye, Charles, Esq., Under Secre- 
 tary of State, i. 122, //. 
 
 Denmark, Prince George of, consort of 
 Queen Anne, i. IIS; his death, and 
 funeral, 118, 119. 
 
 Dennis, John, the critic, his attack on 
 ■le, i. 11 ; his abuse of " Cato," 1 70, 
 171 ; his letters to Steele, 217, 218, 
 .239; ii. 205-209; his remark on 
 Pope's translation of Homer, i. 334; 
 his attack on Steele after his expulsion 
 from Parliament, ii. 48,49; and re- 
 garding the theatrical patent, 221-225. 
 
 Derry, Bishop uJ', objects to Swift's ap- 
 pointment loth v of, i. 387. 
 
 Desniaiseaux, Peter, Secretary of the 
 Royal Society, i. 108, n. 
 
 Derwentwater, Earl of, notice of his 
 
 X
 
 322 
 
 Index. 
 
 trial, defence, and execution, for par- 
 ticipation in the rebellion of 1715, ii. 
 94, 95. 
 
 Dialogue said to have passed between 
 Steele and Lord Sunderland, ii. 258, 
 259. 
 
 Diary, Fragment of a, by Steele, ii. 257- 
 264. 
 
 Dingley, Mrs, a relative of the Temple 
 family, and companion to Stella, i. 
 221, 389. 
 
 Doggett, Thomas, author and actor, 
 notice of, i. 374, n. 
 
 Dorset, Lord, i. 72, 189, 206. 
 
 " Double Dealer, The," Congreve's co- 
 medy of, i. 181. 
 
 Drake, Dr, i. 3. 
 
 Dramatic predecessors of Steele, i. 27, 
 et seq. 
 
 Dramatists, The comic, before Steele, 
 faults of, i. 60, 61. 
 
 " Drapier's Letters, The," excitement 
 caused by Swift's publication of, i. 
 407, 408, ii. 250, 251; a reward of 
 £300 offered for the discovery of the 
 author of, 408. 
 
 Drogheda, Countess of, her marriage 
 with AVycherley, i. 30 ; her jealous 
 treatment of him, 31. 
 
 Drury Lane Theatre, account of the 
 granting of the patent to, ii. 67-69 ; 
 strange freak of a madman in, 101, 
 102, n.; Steele's controversy Avith the 
 Lord Chamberlain regarding the pa- 
 tent to, 211-216 ; litigation of Steele's 
 trustees with managers, 278-280. 
 
 Dryden, John, i. 34, 37 ; his funeral, 
 43; 164, 171; his opinion of Swift 
 as a poet, 387. 
 
 Duel, a, Steele forced into, i. 25; its 
 consequences, 26. 
 
 Dunkirk, allusion to, in the controversy 
 between Steele and the Examiner, ii. 
 9-17 ; Steele's pamphlet on, 55, 56. 
 
 Edinburgh, failure of an attack on the 
 castle of, by the Jacobites, ii. 87; 
 Steele's visit to, 153-155. 
 
 Ellis, Kev. Dr, Steele's college tutor, i. 6. 
 
 Englishman, The, a political publication 
 by Steele, ii. 2 ; its conclusion, 22-25 ; 
 issued as a pamphlet, 22-24. 
 
 Essay literature, account of the first pro- 
 ductions in, i. 134138. 
 
 Eugene, Prince, i. 165. 
 
 Evans, Dr, his epitaph on Yanbrugh, i. 40. 
 
 Evelyn, John, i. 37. 
 
 Examiner, The, newspaper, origin of, i. 
 395; Swift's letter to Steele regarding, 
 377, 381 ; Steele's controversy with, 
 regarding Dunkirk, ii. 6-17; his re- 
 ply to its remarks on Queen Anne, 23. 
 
 Farquhar, George, the dramatist, his 
 birth and education, i. 41 ; enters the 
 army, 42 ; turns dramatist, and pro- 
 duces several comedies, 42, 43 ; his 
 death, and estimate of his works, 44, 
 45. 
 
 Family, list of Steele's, ii. 292. 
 
 Fenton, Miss, her success as Polly in the 
 " Beggars' Opera," i. 361. 
 
 Finch, Lord, failure of his attempt to 
 defend Steele in Parliament, ii. 3S. 
 
 Fishe, Captain, Steele's witticism on, ii. 
 158. 
 
 Fishpool, Steele's invention of the, notice 
 of, ii. 130, 155, 156. 
 
 Foley, Mr, his speech in the debate on 
 Steele's expulsion, ii. 37, 44 n., 45 n. 
 
 Forster, Mr, commander of the Jacobite 
 force at the battle of Preston, ii. 90, 
 91. 
 
 Forster, Mr, his opinion of Steele's tales, 
 i. 158. 
 
 Franklin, Benjamin, his style, i. 132, 
 n. 
 
 Freeholder, The, Addison's notice of, i. 
 174. 
 
 Freethinker, The, a periodical paper by 
 Philips, notice of its contributors, i. 
 366. 
 
 Fuller, Mr, a contributor to the Tatter, 
 notice of, i. 151, n. 
 
 " Funeral, The," or " Grief a la Mode," 
 Steele's first comedy, i. 47; analysis 
 of, 47, 48 ; scene from, 49, 50. 
 
 Furnese, Sir Harry, a rich alderman, 
 Swift's remarks on, i. 302, 303, n. 
 
 Garth, Dr Samuel, i. 72; notice of, ii. 
 50-53; anecdotesregarding,53; Pope's 
 remarks on the death of, 52, 53. 
 
 Gay, John, notice of, i. 356-363 ; his 
 " Fables," 360 ; immense success of 
 his " Beggars' Opera," 361 ; his death, 
 and contributions to the Guardian, 
 363 ; his testimony to the good done 
 by the Tatter, 159-161, ii. 297, 298; 
 the " Present State of Wit," attri- 
 buted to, 152. 
 
 Genealogy, Pope's ridiculous claim to an 
 aristocratic, i. 349. 
 
 " Gentleman Dancing- Master," Wycher-
 
 Index. 
 
 323 
 
 ley's, -when written, i. 28 ; when pub- 
 lished, 29. 
 
 Gt ntlemans Magazine, extract from, on 
 Stella, i. 390, n. 
 
 Gellius, Aulus, i. 135. 
 
 George I., notice of. ii. 81, 82. 
 
 Gilinore, Mr, letters to, ii. 241, 270. 
 
 Glanville, "William, a clerk in the Trea- 
 sury, epitaph on, ii. 134, 135, n. 
 
 Godolphin, Lord, i. 68, 125, 127, 128, 
 166, 167, 190, 21S ; his dismissal from 
 office, 228; his reception of Swift, 
 393 ; his death and character, 229. 
 
 Greenwood, James, a contributor to the 
 Tatler, notice of, i. 151, n. 
 
 Gregg, Mr, clerk in Secretary of State's 
 office, treasonable conduct of, i. 128. 
 
 Guardian, The, 168, 169 ; succeeds the 
 ctator, 323 ; first number of, 323 ; 
 dramatis persona of, 323, 326; med- 
 dles with politics, and quarrels with 
 the Examiner, 326; is brought to a 
 sudden close, 327 ; number of papers 
 contributed to by Steele and Addisou, 
 327, 328; notice of contributors to, 
 32S-371 ; Pope's acknowledgment of 
 his connexion with, 316, «.; list of 
 occasional contributors to, 371. 
 
 Guiscard. Marquis de, stabs Mr llarlcv, 
 ii. 193. 
 
 " Gulliver's Travels," immense success 
 of, when first published, i. 409, 410. 
 
 Halifax, Lord, i. 37, 69, 70, n., 73, 100, 
 164 ; his patronage of Addison, 165, 
 166, 167, 194; Steele's estimate of, 
 205; notice of his birth, education, 
 and public career, 206, 208 ; his libe- 
 ral patronage of men of letters, 208. 
 
 Hallam, Mr. his opinion of the charge 
 against Sacheverell, ii. 4, n ; on the 
 gross abuse of expulsion from Parlia- 
 ment, 39. 
 
 Hamilton, Duchess of, i. 63. 
 
 Hampton Court, private theatricals at, 
 ii. 169-171 ; prologue written for by 
 Steele, 170-171. 
 
 Hanover, Elector of, i. 39. 
 
 Karley, Robert, Karl of Oxford, sketch 
 of, ii. 192-202 ; anecdote of the, and 
 liowe the poet, i. 369, 370 ; letters to, 
 i. 418, 419, ii. 182-188. See also i. 
 70, n., 127, 128, 188; ii. 6, et al. 
 
 Harrison, William, notice of, i. 150, 
 n.; originates a successor to the '/'"/ 
 ler, 150, n. 
 
 Hazlitt, .Mr, his opinion of Steele's 
 
 comedies, i. 59-61 ; of the Tatler, ii. 
 297, n. 
 
 Henley, Anthony, i. 151, «., 268, n. 
 
 " Hero, the Christian," Steele's first 
 prose publication, i. 16, 17 ; analysis 
 of, 19-25. 
 
 Hervey, Lord, i. 198 ; satirised by Pope 
 in the character of " Lord Fanny," 
 349. 
 
 Hill, Mrs. See Masham. 
 
 Historical painting, Steele's recommen- 
 dation of the study of, ii. 301, 302. 
 
 Hoadley, Dr Benjamin, Bishop of Ban- 
 gor, notice of, ii. 160-162; his anec- 
 dote of Steele, 158. See also Ban- 
 gorian controversy. 
 
 Hoadley, Dr J., i. 10, n. 
 
 Holland House, Addison's death at, 
 i. 176. 
 
 Hughes, John, a contributor to the Tat- 
 ler and Spectator, i. 150, n. ; his li- 
 terary productions, 251-254; his cha- 
 racter, 254, 255 ; letter to, 304, ii. 76 ; 
 his proposal to Addison to start a 
 new literary paper, 2, 3. 
 
 Humour and delineation of character, 
 Steele excels in, ii. 204-309. 
 
 Hunt, Leigh, i. 43, 179, 180. 
 
 "Husband, The Tender," Steele's co- 
 medy of, i. 50 ; analysis of, 51 ; scene 
 from, 52-54. 
 
 Iliad, Pope's conduct regarding Tickell's 
 
 translation of the first book of, i. 263, 
 
 2G4. 
 Impudence, Lady Mary W. Montagu's 
 
 opinion of the necessity of possessing 
 
 a large stock of, i. 193. 
 " Incle and Yarico," Steele's story of, 
 
 ii. 303. 
 " Inconstant, The," Farquhar's comedy 
 
 of, i. 43. 
 Ironside, Nestor, Steele's pseudonym in 
 
 the Guardian, i. 323 ; sketch of, 322- 
 
 326. 
 Irving, AVashington, i. 132, n. 
 
 Jacobite faction, plottingsof the, at the 
 accession of George I.,ii. 83; energetic 
 measures of the Government against, 
 85-88; their doings in Scotland, 84- 
 90 ; finally crushed at i'reston, 91, 
 92. 
 
 James II. pensions Wycherley, i. 33. 
 
 Jeffrey, Lord, his estimate oi Swift's in- 
 come as rector of Agher and vicar of 
 Laracor aud Rathbeggin, i. 388, n.
 
 324 
 
 Index. 
 
 ohnson, Dr, i. 101, 136 ; his opinion of 
 the Tatler, 137 ; of the Whig Exam- 
 iner, 173; of Addison's writings, 178; 
 of the loan which Steele had from 
 Addison, 301, 302, n. 
 
 Johnson, Esther, (Stella,) her parentage, 
 i. 221, 389 ; Swift's first acquaint- 
 ance with, 221 ; supposed to be an 
 illegitimate daughter of Sir W. Tem- 
 ple's, 390, 71. ; follows Swift to Ire- 
 land, 389 ; her private marriage with 
 him, 401, 405 ; her death, 411 ; anec- 
 dote regarding, 411, 412. 
 
 Johnson, Mrs, mother of Stella, notice 
 of, i. 389, 390, n. 
 
 Keally, Joseph, Esq., of Dublin, letters 
 
 to, i. 115, 301, 303. 
 Kenmure, Lord, a Jacobite, i. 95, 96. 
 Kingston, Duke of, i. 73, 192. 
 Kit-Cat Club, notice of, i. 70-73. 
 Kneller, Sir Godfrey, i. 71. 
 
 Lamb's Essay " On the Artificial Come- 
 dy of the Last Century," i. 36, n. 
 
 Layer, Christopher, his reflections on 
 the political fidelity of Lord Chancel- 
 lor Cowper, i. 204. 
 
 Law, Mr John, a friend of Steele's, 
 notice of, ii. 203, 204, n. ; letter to, 
 203, 205. 
 
 Lines on the death of Addison, ii. 
 241-243. 
 
 Lintott, Mr, letter to, i. 311. 
 
 Lion's-head letter-box, antiquarian relic, 
 notice of, i. 327, n. ; Rowe's allusion 
 to, 371. 
 
 Literature and the fine arts, justness 
 and accuracy of Steele's taste in, ii. 
 301, 302. 
 
 Literar v character, estimate of Steele's, 
 ii. 295. 
 
 Literary men, friendships of, i. 73. 
 
 Lizard family, the, Steele's sketch of, in 
 the Guardian, i. 323-325. 
 
 Locke, the philosopher, i. 208. 
 
 Lover, The, Steele's periodical of, notice 
 of, ii. 50. 
 
 " Lovers, The Conscious," comedy of, 
 Steele's masterpiece, i. 59. 
 
 " Lover, The Lying," Steele's comedy of, 
 i. 54 ; his defence of, 55 ; analysis of, 
 56 ; scene from, 56-59. 
 
 " Love in a Bottle," favourable recep- 
 tion of Farquhar's comedy of, i. 42. 
 
 " Love in a Wood," by Wycherley, when 
 written, i. 28. 
 
 " Love for Love," Congreve's comedy of, 
 i. 181. 
 
 Macaulat, Lord, his opinion of " Isaac 
 Bickerstaff," i. 157-176; of Steele's 
 conduct in the controversy with Ad- 
 dison regarding the Peerage Bill, ii. 
 176, 177; his sketch of the Duke of 
 Newcastle, 219-221 : his vindication 
 of AValpole, 254, 255, n. ; his remark 
 on the cause of Steele's pecuniary 
 difficulties, 280. 
 
 Malplaquet, battle of, i. 224, 285. 
 
 Manchester, Ladv, Addison's toast at 
 the Kit-Cat Club, i. 166. 
 
 Manlev, Mrs, letters to, i. 212, 213; ii. 
 275," 278. 
 
 Marlborough, Duchess of, her dispute 
 with Vanbrugh, i. 39 ; her influence 
 with the Queen, 125 ; loses the royal 
 favour, 126, 168 ; her interview with 
 the Queen, 228 ; Pope's satire on, in 
 the character of " Atossa," 352. 
 
 Marlborough, Duke of, his birth and 
 early years, i. 278, 279 ; enters the 
 army, 279 ; his marriage and royal 
 favour, 280, 281 ; appointed Captain- 
 General, 282 ; wins the battle of 
 Blenheim, 284; his victories at Fa- 
 milies, Oudenarde, Malplaquet, 285; 
 his treatment by the Tories, and 
 death, 286, 289 ; sketch of, by Steele 
 in the " Crisis," ii. 54, 55 ; the pro- 
 jected life of, 53, 54-64,w.; Steele's 
 visit to, 156-158. 
 
 Mar, Earl of, welcomes George I. to 
 England, i. 82; his duplicity to the 
 King, 83 ; joins the Jacobites, 83, 
 84 ; raises the standard of rebellion, 
 86; his movements in Scotland, 88, 
 89; the battle of Sheriffmuir, 90; 
 embarks for the Continent with the 
 Pretender, 92. 
 
 Masham, Mrs, her influence with the 
 Queen, i. 126 ; supplants the Duchess 
 of Marlborough as royal favourite, 
 126; her intrigues at Court, 127, 
 128. 
 
 Mavnwarin^', Arthur, i. 69, 70, n. ; 
 notice of,"l88-190. 
 
 Mercury, The Muses, contains a song of 
 Steele's, i. 129, n. 
 
 Merton College, Oxford, Steele obtains 
 a scholarship at, i. 5. 
 
 Methuen, Sir Paul, notice of, i. 297, 298. 
 
 Milton, Steele one of the first to notice 
 his merits, ii. 301.
 
 Judex. 
 
 325 
 
 Montague, Charles, notice of, i. 206. 
 See also Halifax. 
 
 Montagu, Edward, first Earl of Sand- 
 wich, i. 190. 
 
 Montagu, Lady Mary W., anecdote of, 
 when a child, i. 73; her remarks on 
 the similarity between Steele and 
 Fielding, 74, n. ; her prophecy re- 
 garding Addison's marriage and pro- 
 motion, 175 ; her letters before and 
 alter marriage, 193; her residence 
 abroad, 195-200; her quarrel with 
 Pope, 198, 199, 345, 349; introduces 
 inoculation for the small-pox, 190 ; 
 her death and character, 201, 202; 
 extraordinary career of her son, 201, 
 202 ; and his miserable death, 201. 
 
 Montagu, Mr Wortley, i. 169; notice 
 of, 190. et seq. ; letter from to Addi- 
 son, 191; his marriage, 192; ap- 
 pointed ambassador to the Porte, 
 195; his residence abroad, 195-200; 
 his death, 200. 
 
 Montagu, lion. Sidney and Lady Wort- 
 ley, i. 190. 
 
 Montaigne, Michael de, his essays, i. 
 135, 137. 
 
 Moore, Thomas, extract from his me- 
 moirs, i. 3, n. 
 
 Moor Park, Surrey, residence of Sir 
 William Temple, i. 385, 386. 
 
 Morgan, Mr, a suitor of Steele's daugh- 
 ter's, letters to, ii. 282, 284. 
 
 Morning, The, Steele's praise of the 
 enjoyments of, ii. 290, 291. 
 
 " Mourning Bride," Congreve's tragedy 
 of, i. 182. 
 
 " Mouse, The City and Country," the 
 satire of, procures its author, Charles 
 Montagu, a pension of £500 a year, 
 i. 205. 
 
 Music, Account of the, to -which "Alex- 
 ander's Feast" was first set, i. 304, 305. 
 
 Nairne, Lord, a Jacobite, i. 96. 
 
 Newcastle, Duke of, notice of the, ii. 
 217-221. 
 
 Xeweomb, Mr, his complimentary verses 
 on Steele, i. 318-321. 
 
 Newton, Sir Isaac, i. 208 ; Master of 
 .Mint. ii. 251. 
 
 Kithsdale, Earl of, attainted for partici- 
 pation in the Rebellion of 1715, i. 95. 
 
 Normanby, Marcmis of, i. 71, n. 
 
 October Club, The, ii. 197 ; Swift's 
 letter to, i. 395. 
 
 " Officer, The Recruiting," Farquhar's 
 comedy of, i. 44. 
 
 " Old Bachelor," Congreve's comedv of, 
 i. 180. 
 
 Oldhehl, Mrs, the actress, i. 43. 
 
 Oldisworth, a writer in the Examiner, 
 ii. 275, 278. 
 
 Ormond, James, first Duke of, Lord- 
 Lieutenant of Ireland, i. :'.. 0. 
 
 Ormond, Duke of, grandson of the 
 above, notice of, i. 63. 
 
 Orrery, Lord, i. 42; his opinion regard- 
 ing Swift's private marriage, i. 404, 
 ii. 
 
 Oudenarde, battle of, i. 224, 285. 
 
 Parker, Mr, Fellow of Merton College, 
 his opinion of Steele's first comedy, 
 i. 0. 
 
 Parliament, Expulsion from, Dallam's 
 remarks on the gross abuse of, ii. 39 ; 
 the debate on Steele's expulsion, 37, 
 38, 45, iu ; memorable incident in, 
 38. 
 
 Parnell, Dr Thomas, his parentage and 
 education, i. 256, 257 ; his position 
 amongst his literary contemporaries, 
 258, 259 ; his death and character, 
 260, 261. 
 
 Partridge, the astrologer, account of, i. 
 144, 145, n.; his annoyance on being 
 attacked by Swift, 138, 139; jeu 
 tVesprit regarding, 139-144. 
 
 Pastoral poetry, Pope's comparison of 
 his, with Philips's, i. 354, 355. 
 
 Pathetic, The, Steele's power over, and 
 delineation of, ii. 303. 
 
 "Patriot King, The," Pope's tampering 
 with the MS. of, i. 353, 354, n. 
 
 Paul, St, i. 23, 24. 
 
 Pelham, Hon. Henry, letter to, ii. 
 259. 
 
 Peerage Bill, account of, i. 295 ; its in- 
 troduction, and important discussion 
 on, ii. 172-188. ( 
 
 Peers, trial of the six Jacobite, in West- 
 minster Hall, account of the, ii. 92, 
 93. 
 
 Perkins, Sir William, tried for high 
 treason, i. 203. 
 
 Philips, Ambrose, notice of, i. 364- 
 367. 
 
 "Plain-Dealer, The," Wycherley's, when 
 written, i. 28 ; when published, and 
 what resulted from it, 29, 30. 
 
 Plebeian, The, Steele's paper entitled, 
 account of, ii. 173-178.
 
 326 
 
 Index. 
 
 Pope, Alexander, his parentage and 
 youthful studies, i. 338, 339 ; his first 
 poems, 339, 340 ; his acquaintance 
 with Wycherley, 34, 35, 340; his 
 attack on Dennis, 171, 342; his 
 quarrel with Addison, 171-173, 342 ; 
 his remarks on the latter's style of 
 composition, 178 ; his Homeric trans- 
 lations, 343, 344 ; his admiration for 
 Lady Wortley Montagu, 195, n. ; 
 
 345, 359, n.; his quarrel with her, 
 198, 199, 349; his contributions to 
 the Spectator, 256; the " Dunciad," 
 
 346, 347; severity and injustice of 
 his satire, 347, 349; publication of 
 his correspondence, 350, 351 ; his 
 death, and character of his friends, 
 352, 353; letters to, 303, 306, 307, 
 315, 317; his contributions to the 
 Guardian, 354-356; his remarks on 
 Steele's expulsion from Parliament, 
 ii. 46, 47. 
 
 Prayers composed on various occasions 
 
 by Steele, i. 93, n.; 124, n. 
 Pretender, The, notice of, ii. 80; his 
 
 arrival at, and departure from, Peter- 
 head, 92. 
 Prior, the poet, i. 208, 371, 395. 
 " Procession, The," Steele's first poem, 
 
 account of, i. 6, 7. 
 Prologue by Steele to " All for Love," 
 
 ii. 157, 158. 
 "Provoked Wife, The," Yanbrugh's 
 
 comedy of, i. 37. 
 Pulteney, William, notice of, i. 372, 
 
 373. 
 
 Queensberry, Duke of, i. 67 ; instru- 
 mental in effecting the Union with 
 Scotland, 67. 
 
 Ramixlies, battle of, i. 285. 
 
 Eatcliffe, Charles, executed for partici- 
 pation in the rebellion of 1715, i. 
 96. 
 
 Reader, Tlie, Steele's periodical entitled, 
 ii. 50. 
 
 Eebellion, The, of 1715, account of its 
 origin, progress, and suppression, ii. 
 83-97. 
 
 " Kelapse, The," Yanbrugh's comedy of, 
 
 i. 37. 
 Eepentance, the Tower of, anecdote 
 
 of, ii. 154, 155. 
 Revieiv, The, originated by De Foe, i. 
 
 136. 
 Reynolds, Sir Joshua, his opinion of the 
 
 architectural works of Vanbrugh, i. 
 40. 
 
 Roman Catholics, Steele's efforts on be- 
 half of, ii. 114. 
 
 Rowe, Nicholas, notice of, i. 367-371 ; 
 his description of Vanbrugh, 41 ; 
 pamphlet attributed to, 139. 
 
 Sacheverell, Dr, his violent High 
 Church sermon, i. 225, 226 ; his trial 
 and sentence, 226, 227; his enthu- 
 siastic reception by the people, 227 ; 
 ii. 4, 5, n. 
 St John, Henry. See Bolingbroke. 
 Sartre, James, M.A., Prebendary of 
 Westminster, and brother-in-law of 
 Addison, notice of, i. 110, n. ; 223, 
 n.; his widow afterwards Mrs Combs, 
 ii. 318. 
 Savage, Richard, notice of, ii. 162- 
 166 ; his intercourse with Steele, i. 
 101 ; his anecdotes of Steele, ii. 163- 
 165. 
 
 Selkirk, Alexander, his remarkable his- 
 tory first appears in the Englishman, 
 ii. 49, n. 
 
 Seneca, quotation from, on a brave man, 
 i. 23, 24. 
 
 Scott, Sir Walter, his opinion of Swift's 
 counsel in " Free Thoughts on the 
 Present State of Affairs," i. 400. 
 
 Scurlock, Miss Mary, Steele's second 
 wife, account of, i. 76, 77 ; letters 
 addressed to, 78-90. See also Lady 
 Steele. 
 
 Scurlock, Mrs, mother of the above, 
 letters addressed to, i. 86-89, 92, 94, 
 96, 104, 311-313. 
 
 Scurlock, Mr A., letters to, ii. 167, 203, 
 263, 270, 271. 
 
 Scotland, union with, account of, and 
 its promoters, i. 67. 
 
 Schlosser's, Professor, estimate of Addi- 
 son, i. 10, n. ; his depreciatory criti- 
 cism on Steele and Addison noticed 
 and refuted, 19-22, n. 
 
 Shakespeare neglected, and his merits 
 brought into notice by Steele, ii. 
 301. 
 
 Sharp, Archbishop, prevents Swift being 
 made a bishop, i. 398. 
 
 Sickness and ill-health, Pope's remarks 
 on, i. 309, 310. 
 
 Skipwith, Sir Thomas, his encourage- 
 ment of Vanbrugh, i. 37. 
 
 Smalridge, Dr, i. 152, 189. 
 
 Smith, Sydney, his admiration for
 
 Index. 
 
 327 
 
 Steele's comedy of " The Funeral," 
 i. 63. 
 
 Society, English, state of, in 1709, when 
 the Toiler appeared, i. 132, 134. 
 
 Solitude, Pope's remarks on, i. 308, 
 309. 
 
 Somers, Lord, his labours as an author, 
 i. 269, 270 ; his position and abilities 
 as a lawyer, 270, 271 ; his elevation to 
 the woolsack, and political vicissitudes, 
 272, 273 ; charges brought against by 
 the Tories, 273, 274 ; his death and 
 character, 276, 277. 
 
 Somerset, Duchess of, i. 398. 
 
 Somerset, Duke of, i. 72, 165, 166, 189. 
 
 South, Dr, his prebend at Westminster, 
 i. 393. 
 
 South Sea Bubble, account of, ii. 226- 
 232. 
 
 Spectator, The, when begun, i. 168 ; Ad- 
 dison's signature in, 168 ; the first 
 number of, 232 ; character of, 233 ; 
 the dramatis personal of, 233 ; ii. 
 306-308 ; the club, 234 ; sketches of 
 the contributors to, 241-268 ; num- 
 ber of papers contributed to, by Ad- 
 dison, Steele, Budgell, and Hughes, 
 240, 241 ; its immense circulation and 
 success, 299, 300. 
 
 Spence, Rev. Joseph, his anecdotes of 
 Pope, i. 351, 352, n. 
 
 Stair, Earl of, English ambassador at 
 Paris, informs Government of the 
 Jacobite designs, ii. 85. 
 
 Stanhope, Earl, letter to, ii. 235. 
 
 Steele, Eugene, son of Sir Richard, 
 death of, ii. 274 ; notice of, 276, n. 
 
 Steele, Lady, letters to, i. 93-124, 209- 
 220, 301-303, 307, 309, 312, 316, 374, 
 375, 419, 422; ii. 43-45; 70, 71, 77, 
 78, 97-125, 128-151, 311-318 ; anec- 
 dotes regarding, i. Ill, 112; ii. 78, 
 n. ; her death and character, 166- 
 169. 
 
 Steele, Mrs Elizabeth, Steele's daughter, 
 letters to, ii. 209, 210, 239, 240, 261, 
 262, 269, 270, 274-277, 280, 281, 
 288. 
 
 Steele, Mrs -Mary, Sir Richard's young- 
 est daughter, letters to, ii. 286, 
 289. 
 
 Steele, Sir Richard, his birth and pa- 
 rentage, i. 3; is sent to the Charter- 
 House^; enters Christ Church Col- 
 lege, Oxford, 5; leaves the university 
 without a degree, and writes " The 
 Procession," a poem, 6 ; enters the 
 
 Guards as a volunteer, 8 ; illiberal 
 criticism on, 9, n. ; appointed sccre- 
 to Lord Cutts, 13 ; writes the " Chris- 
 tian Hero," 16 ; analysis of the work, 
 19-25 ; turns dramatist, 27 ; his first 
 comedy, " The Funeral ; or, Grief a- 
 la-Mode," 47-50 ; his second dramatic 
 piece, " The Tender Husband," 50-54 ; 
 his third comedy, " The Lying Lover," 
 54-59 ; his fourth comedy, " The 
 Conscious Lovers," 59 ; his character 
 as a comic dramatist, 59-63 ; appointed 
 Gazetteer, 69 ; made a Commission- 
 er of Stamps, 74, 230; his first wife, 
 74 ; allusion to her early death, 75 ; 
 his second wife, 76 ; letters addressed 
 to her before marriage, 78-90 ; state- 
 ment of his property and income, 86, 
 87 ; letters to his wife after marriage, 
 93-124, 209-220, 301-303, 307, 309, 
 312, 316, 374, 375, 419, 422; ii. 
 43-45, 70, 71, 78, 97-125, 128-151, 
 311-318 ; his imprudence in money- 
 matters, i. 99 ; borrows £1000 from 
 Addison, 100 ; his natural daughter, 
 and her marriage, 101, 102 ; his resi- 
 dence at Hampton, 106 ; repays Addi- 
 son's £1000, 108; his embarrassments, 
 120, 121 ; originates the Tatler, 130; 
 state of English society at the period, 
 132-134; design of the publication, 
 145-147 ; Swift's notices of, in bis 
 journal to Stella, 221-223; let- 
 ters to, 304, 305, 308, 309-318; ii. 
 205-209, 235-239, 282-284 ; starts the 
 Spectator, i. 232 ; succeeded by the 
 Guardian, 323 ; his correspondence 
 with Swift, 377, 381 ; resigns his 
 Commissionership of Stamps, 418, 
 419; starts the Englishman, ii. 2; 
 enters Parliament, 26, 27 ; his recep- 
 tion there, 27 ; arraigned for libel 
 and sedition, 28, 29 ; his defence, 29- 
 37 ; his expulsion, 38, 39 ; publishes 
 his " Apology for Himself and his 
 Writings," 40, 41 ; his " Poetic Mis- 
 cellanies," and the " Ladies' Library," 
 41 ; begins the Header, 50, and the 
 Lover, 50 ; appointed surveyor of the 
 royal stables, 66 ; obtains a patent 
 as Governor of Drury Lane Theatre, 
 67-69; returned to Parliament for 
 Boroughbridg*e, 69 ; is knighted, and 
 gives a grand fete on the occasion, 71, 
 72 ; republishes his political writings, 
 71, 75; his Tovm-Taih, Tea-Table, 
 and Chit-Chat, 76, 77 ; his excr-
 
 328 
 
 Index. 
 
 tions in Parliament in behalf of the 
 defeated Jacobites, 96, 97 ; appointed 
 a Commissioner of the forfeited es- 
 tates of the Jacobites, 97 ; and in 
 the performance of his duties visits 
 Edinburgh, 153-155; his contro- 
 versy with Addison regarding the 
 Peerage Bill, 172 178; and letter to 
 Lord Oxford on, 182-188; starts 
 the Plebeian, 173 ; the Theatre, 
 212 ; his controversy with the Lord 
 Chamberlain regarding the patent 
 to Drury Lane Theatre, 211-216 ; 
 his dispute with Dennis, 221-225 ; 
 extracts from his Diary, 257-264 ; 
 his comedy of the "Conscious Lovers" 
 produced, 265 ; his controversy with 
 Tickell, 266-269 ; his unfinished co- 
 medies, " The School of Action," 
 and "The Gentleman," 273; takes 
 up his residence at Bath, 274 ; 
 Swift's malignity to, 285-286; re- 
 sides in Wales, 285 ; seized with 
 an attack of paralysis, 287 ; his 
 mode of life in retirement, 290- 
 292; his death, 292; his family, 292 ; 
 his debts, 294 ; estimate of his char- 
 acter, 292-309. 
 
 Steele, Sir Richard, high sheriff of 
 county of Dublin, Moore's notice of, 
 i. 3. 
 
 Stella. See Johnson. 
 
 Stella, Journal to, extracts from Swift's, 
 i. 222, 223, 376 ; ii. 195, n. 
 
 Stockbridge, Steele returned to Parlia- 
 ment for the Duke of Newcastle's 
 borough of, ii. 18, 26. 
 
 " Stratagem, The Beaux," Farquhar's 
 masterpiece, i. 44. 
 
 Style, Remarks on Steele's, ii. 299, 300. 
 
 Sunderland, Earl of, i. 293; Secretary 
 of State, 293 ; appointed Lord- Lieu- 
 tenant of Ireland, 294; his attempt to 
 introduce the Peerage Bill, 295 ; his 
 surrender of office, and character, 
 296, 297 ; dialogue said to have oc- 
 curred between him and Steele, ii. 
 258, 259, n. 
 
 Sutton, Sir Thomas, founder of the 
 Charter-House, i. 4. 
 
 Swift, Jonathan, his parentage and edu- 
 cation, i. 384, 385 ; his attack on Par- 
 tridge the astrologer, 138, 139; his 
 contributions to the Toiler, 149 ; 
 made secretary to Sir William Temple, 
 385; rector of Agher, and vicar of 
 Laracor and Rathbeggin, 387 ; " Ca- 
 
 rina," 388 ; his acquaintance with 
 Esther Johnston, "Stella," 389; his 
 first political pamphlet, 391 ; his 
 " Tale of a Tub," 391 ; " Argument 
 against abolishing Christianity," and 
 " A Project for the Advancement of 
 Religion," 392; deserts his former 
 friends, the "Whigs, and joins the 
 Tories, 394 ; conducts the Examiner, 
 395; his controversy with Steele, 375- 
 383 ; " Letter to the October club," 
 and "Conduct of the Allies," 395, 
 396 ; his treatment of ministers, 397; 
 appointed Dean of St Patrick's. 399 ; 
 his "Public Spirit of the Whigs," 
 and " Free Thoughts on the Present 
 State of Affairs," 400 ; his acquaint- 
 ance with, and treatment of Vanessa, 
 (Miss Vanhomrigh,) 331, 332, 402- 
 406 ; his private marriage with Stella, 
 404, 405 ; his " Drapier's Letters," 
 407, 408 ; immense success of " Gul- 
 liver's Travels," 409 ; his last years, 
 412-416; his death, 417; his inter- 
 course with Walpole, ii. 250-252. 
 
 Tatter, The, origin of, i. 130 ; design 
 of, 145-147, 153 ; Addison and Swift 
 early contributors to, 147-150; rivals 
 to, 150, n.; list of contributors to, 
 150, 151, n.; its days of publication, 
 151 ; its termination, 152 ; its deline- 
 ation of character, 153, 155 ; its 
 dramatis personse, 156-158 ; good ac- 
 complished by, 159, 160 ; ii. 297, 298. 
 
 Tea-Table, The, Steele's paper entitled, 
 ii. 77. 
 
 Temperament, difference of, between 
 Steele and Addison, i. 176, 177. 
 
 Temple, Sir William, i. 135 ; his Eng- 
 lish style, 385; is visited by King 
 William, 385 ; his kindness to Swift, 
 385-387. 
 
 Temple, Sir John, father of the above, 
 Master of the Rolls in Ireland, i. 385. 
 
 " Tender Husband, The," Steele's comedy 
 of, i. 50 ; analysis of, 51 ; scene from, 
 52-54 ; controversy regarding Addi- 
 son's share in, ii. 266-269. 
 
 Thackeray, Mr, i. 5, 9, «.; his opinion of 
 Steele's comedies, 63, ii. 296 ; of his 
 narrative sketches, i. 158, n.; his re- 
 marks on Pope's depreciation of the 
 literary character, 346, n.; on his cor- 
 respondence, 352 ; on Swift, 383, n. 
 
 Theophrastus, i. 135. 
 
 Tickell, Thomas, a contributor to the
 
 Index. 
 
 329 
 
 Spectator, and friend of Addison's, 
 notice of, 261-266; his remarks re- 
 garding Addison's contributions to 
 the Tatler, 147, n.; his remarks on 
 Addison, 162, 163, 167, 172; his 
 controversy with Steele, ii. 266- 
 269. 
 
 Tindal, Dr, his bequest to Budgell, i. 
 249. 
 
 Theatre, The, Steele's periodical of, ac- 
 count of, ii. 212, 224. 
 
 Toleration, Steele's defence of, in " A 
 Letter to a .Member of Parliament,*' 
 ii. 56, 57. 
 
 Tonson, Jacob, the eminent publisher, 
 and secretary to the Kit-Cat Club, i. 
 71. 
 
 Tories, The, their condition and influ- 
 ence at the accession of Anne, i. 66 ; 
 called to office by the Queen, OS ; 
 their divisions, and loss of power, 68, 
 69 ; their impeachment of Lord 
 Halifax, 207 ; reaction in favour of, 
 225 ; restored to office by the Queen, 
 229 ; their impeachment of Lord 
 Somers, 273, 274 ; their treatment of 
 the Duke of Marlborough, 286, 2S7 ; 
 their arraignment of Steele for libel 
 and sedition, ii. 28-30. 
 
 Town Talk; The, Steele's periodical, en- 
 titled, ii. 76. 
 
 Twisden, Mr, a contributor to the 
 Tatler, notice of, i. 151, n. 
 
 Utrecht, Treaty of, Whig fears regard- 
 ing the, ii. 17, 18. 
 
 Vaxbrugh, Sir John, soldier, dramatist, 
 and architect, his birth and education, 
 3>i, 37 ; his first plays and their pro- 
 duction, 37; superintends the erection 
 of Blenheim House, 39 ; marries — is 
 knighted — and appointed comptroller 
 of royal works, 40 ; his death and 
 character, 40, 41. 
 
 Vanessa. See Vanhomrigh. 
 
 Vanhomrigh, Esther, (Vanessa,) her 
 acquaintance with and affection lor 
 it. i. 331 102, 103; follows 
 
 him to Ireland, 405 ; her harsh treat- 
 ment and death, 106. 
 
 Vanhomrigh, Mrs, mother of the 
 above, Swift's intercourse with, i. 
 ■lol, -Ml'. 
 
 Varina. See WaryiE 
 
 ! >uke of Marl- 
 borough, i. 286, ii. 
 
 Victor, Mr, his recollections of Steele, 
 
 ii. 287, n. ; 288, 291. 
 Voltaire, his visit to Congreve, i. 185. 
 
 Walpole, Horace, i. 13 ; his opinion of 
 the writing of tragedy and comedy, 
 55, 56 ; Congreve, 60 ; of Lord 
 Somers, 277. 
 
 "Walpole, Sir Robert, i. 40 ; his parentage 
 and education, ii. 245 ; enters Parlia- 
 ment, 245 ; is committed to the Tower 
 on a charge of corruption, 246 ; be- 
 comes Prime Minister, 247 ; his con- 
 duct in reference to the South Sea 
 Bubble, 248, 249 ; his intercourse 
 with Swift, 250-252 ; his struggle with 
 the Opposition, 252-254 ; his death 
 and character, 254-256 ; vindication 
 of, by Macaulay and Brougham, 254, 
 255 ; letter to, 281. 
 
 Warwick, Countess Dowager of, her 
 marriage with Addison, i. 175. 
 
 Warying, Miss, (Varina,) Swift's treat- 
 ment of, i. 388, 389. 
 
 " Way of the World, The," Congreve's 
 comedy of, i. 27. 
 
 AVelsted, Leonard, a clerk in the Secre- 
 tary of State's office, notice of, ii. 75- 
 78, n. 
 
 Westminster Hall, trial of the six 
 Jacobite peers in, ii. 92-94. 
 
 Wharncliffe, Lord, i. 73, n. 
 
 Wharton, Earl of, his parentage and 
 reckless early years, i. 288, 289 ; his 
 political life and associates, 290-292 ; 
 his character, as drawn by Pope, 292, 
 293. 
 
 Wharton, Lord, i. 72, 148. 
 
 Whigs, The, their condition and policy 
 at the accession of Anne, i. 68, 69; 
 her dislike of them, 68 ; their dis- 
 missal by her, 68; their influence 
 again dominant, 69 ; their dissensions, 
 125 ; origin of the terms old and new 
 W T higs, 125 ; their return to office 
 under Walpole, 224; and at the ac- 
 cession of George I., ii. 66. 
 
 " Whig, Old," Addison's, its publication, 
 i. 175; ii. 171-179. 
 
 Whiteway, Mrs, her anecdote regarding 
 Stella, i. 112. 
 
 Widdrington, Lord, attainted for parti- 
 cipation in therebellion of 1715, ii. '■<-. 
 
 " Wildair, Sir Harry," Earquhar's 
 comedy of, i. 43. 
 
 Wilde, Dr, "Closing Years of Swift's 
 Life," i. 384, n.; Stella considered
 
 330 
 
 Index. 
 
 a natural daughter of Sir William 
 Temple's, i. 390, n. ; his remarks on 
 Stella's marriage, 403, 405, n. ; his 
 opinion regarding the nature of 
 Swift's malady, 417. 
 
 Wilks, the actor, accompanies Farquhar 
 to London, i. 42 ; letter to, ii. 263. 
 
 William III., king, notice of, i. 64- 
 67. 
 
 Wycherley, William, his hirth, family, 
 and education, i. 27, 28 ; his first 
 play, 28 ; his favour with the Duchess 
 of Cleveland, 28 ; introduced to 
 
 Charles II., who presents him with 
 £500, 29 ; his marriage with the 
 Countess of Drogheda, 30; loses favour 
 at court, and is imprisoned for debt, 
 31, 32 ; receives a pension of £200 a- 
 year from James II., 33 ; his acquaint- 
 ance with Pope, 34, 35; his death, 
 and character as a writer, 35, 36. 
 
 Yalden, Eev. Dr, i. 139. 
 
 Yarborough, Colonel, father-in-law of 
 
 Vanbrugh, i. 40. 
 Young, Dr Edward, i. 371.
 
 Errata. — Vol. ii. p. 32, middle of page, for " organ of the opposition," read 
 "opposite party." Vol. ii. p. 227, line 15 from bottom, after "golden visions 
 were conjured," read " up." Vol. ii. p. 2S4, 9th line from top, after the word 
 " final," insert comma instead of period. Vol. ii. p. 254, for "was only remained 
 in office," read "retained." A letter has been misplaced in vol. ii. p. 107, owing 
 to the author's distance from the press, for which the reader's indulgence is 
 requested.
 
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