You acquaint me in your last, that you are still so busy building at
----, that your friends must not hope to see you in Town this year: at
the same time, you desire me, that you may not be quite at a loss in
conversation among the _beau monde_ next winter, to send you an account
of the present State of Wit in Town: which, without further preface, I
shall endeavour to perform; and give you the histories and characters of
all our Periodical Papers, whether monthly, weekly, or diurnal, with the
same freedom I used to send you our other Town news.
I shall only premise, that, as you know, I never cared one farthing,
either for Whig or Tory: so I shall consider our Writers purely as they
are such, without any respect to which Party they belong.
Dr. KING has, for some time, lain down his monthly _Philosophical
Transactions_, which the title-page informed us at first, were only to be
continued as they sold; and though that gentleman has a world of Wit, yet
as it lies in one particular way of raillery, the Town soon grew weary of
his Writings: though I cannot but think that their author deserves a much
better fate than to languish out the small remainder of his life in the
Fleet prison.
About the same time that the Doctor left off writing, one Mr. OZELL put
out his _Monthly Amusement_; which is still continued: and as it is
generally some French novel or play indifferently translated, it is more
or less taken notice of, as the original piece is more or less agreeable.
As to our Weekly Papers, the poor _Review_ [_by DANIEL DEFOE_] is quite
exhausted, and grown so very contemptible, that though he has provoked
all his Brothers of the Quill round, none of them will enter into a
controversy with him. This fellow, who had excellent natural parts, but
wanted a small foundation of learning, is a lively instance of those Wits
who, as an ingenious author says, "will endure but one skimming"[!].
The _Observator_ was almost in the same condition; but since our party
struggles have run so high, he is much mended for the better: which is
imputed to the charitable assistance of some outlying friends.
These two authors might however have flourished some time longer, had not
the controversy been taken up by abler hands.
The _Examiner_ is a paper which all men, who speak without prejudice,
allow to be well written. Though his subject will admit of no great
variety; he is continually placing it in so many different lights, and
endeavouring to inculcate the same thing by so many beautiful changes of
expression, that men who are concerned in no Party, may read him with
pleasure. His way of assuming the Question in debate is extremely artful;
and his _Letter to Crassus_ is, I think, a masterpiece. As these Papers
are supposed to have been written by several hands, the critics will tell
you that they can discern a difference in their styles and beauties; and
pretend to observe that the first _Examiners_ abound chiefly in Wit, the
last in Humour.
Soon after their first appearance, came out a Paper from the other side,
called the _Whig Examiner_, written with so much fire, and in so
excellent a style, as put the Tories in no small pain for their favourite
hero. Every one cried, "_BICKERSTAFF_ must be the author!" and people were
the more confirmed in this opinion, upon its being so soon laid down:
which seemed to shew that it was only written to bind the _Examiners_ to
their good behaviour, and was never designed to be a Weekly Paper.
The _Examiners_, therefore, have no one to combat with, at present, but
their friend the _Medley_: the author of which Paper, though he seems to
be a man of good sense, and expresses it luckily now and then, is, I
think, for the most part, perfectly a stranger to fine writing.
I presume I need not tell you that the _Examiner_ carries much the more
sail, as it is supposed to be written by the direction, and under the eye
of some Great Persons who sit at the helm of affairs, and is consequently
looked on as a sort of Public Notice which way they are steering us.
The reputed author is Dr. S[WIF]T, with the assistance, sometimes, of Dr.
ATT[ERBUR]Y and Mr. P[RIO]R.
The _Medley_ is said to be written by Mr. OLD[MIXO]N; and supervised by
Mr. MAYN[WARIN]G, who perhaps might entirely write those few Papers which
are so much better than the rest.
Before I proceed further in the account of our Weekly Papers, it will be
necessary to inform you that at the beginning of the winter [_on Jan. 2_,
1711], to the infinite surprise of all men, Mr. STEELE flang up his
_Tatler_; and instead of _ISAAC BICKERSTAFF, Esquire_, subscribed himself
RICHARD STEELE to the last of those Papers, after a handsome compliment to
the Town for their kind acceptance of his endeavours to divert them.
The chief reason he thought fit to give for his leaving off writing was,
that having been so long looked on in all public places and companies as
the Author of those papers, he found that his most intimate friends and
acquaintance were in pain to speak or act before him.
The Town was very far from being satisfied with this reason, and most
people judged the true cause to be, either
That he was quite spent, and wanted matter to continue his
undertaking any longer; or
That he laid it down as a sort of submission to, and composition
with, the Government, for some past offences;
or, lastly,
That he had a mind to vary his Shape, and appear again in some new
light.
However that were, his disappearance seemed to be bewailed as some
general calamity. Every one wanted so agreeable an amusement, and the
Coffee-houses began to be sensible that the _Esquire's Lucubrations_
alone had brought them more customers, than all their other News Papers
put together.
It must indeed be confessed that never man threw up his pen, under
stronger temptations to have employed it longer. His reputation was at a
greater height, than I believe ever any living author's was before him.
It is reasonable to suppose that his gains were proportionably
considerable. Every one read him with pleasure and good-will; and the
Tories, in respect to his other good qualities, had almost forgiven his
unaccountable imprudence in declaring against them.
Lastly, it was highly improbable that, if he threw off a Character the
ideas of which were so strongly impressed in every one's mind, however
finely he might write in any new form, that he should meet with the same
reception.
To give you my own thoughts of this Gentleman's Writings, I shall, in the
first place, observe, that there is a noble difference between him and all
the rest of our Polite and Gallant Authors. The latter have endeavoured to
please the Age by falling in with them, and encouraging them in their
fashionable vices and false notions of things. It would have been a jest,
some time since, for a man to have asserted that anything witty could be
said in praise of a married state, or that Devotion and Virtue were any
way necessary to the character of a Fine Gentleman. _BICKERSTAFF_
ventured to tell the Town that they were a parcel of fops, fools, and
coquettes; but in such a manner as even pleased them, and made them more
than half inclined to believe that he spoke truth.
Instead of complying with the false sentiments or vicious tastes of the
Age--either in morality, criticism, or good breeding--he has boldly
assured them, that they were altogether in the wrong; and commanded them,
with an authority which perfectly well became him, to surrender themselves
to his arguments for Virtue and Good Sense.
It is incredible to conceive the effect his writings have had on the
Town; how many thousand follies they have either quite banished or given
a very great check to! how much countenance, they have added to Virtue
and Religion! how many people they have rendered happy, by shewing them
it was their own fault if they were not so! and, lastly, how entirely
they have convinced our young fops and young fellows of the value and
advantages of Learning!
He has indeed rescued it out of the hands of pedants and fools, and
discovered the true method of making it amiable and lovely to all
mankind. In the dress he gives it, it is a most welcome guest at
tea-tables and assemblies, and is relished and caressed by the merchants
on the Change. Accordingly there is not a Lady at Court, nor a Banker in
Lombard Street, who is not verily persuaded that Captain STEELE is the
greatest Scholar and best Casuist of any man in England.
Lastly, his writings have set all our Wits and Men of Letters on a new
way of Thinking, of which they had little or no notion before: and,
although we cannot say that any of them have come up to the beauties of
the original, I think we may venture to affirm, that every one of them
writes and thinks much more justly than they did some time since.
The vast variety of subjects which Mr. STEELE has treated of, in so
different manners, and yet ALL so perfectly well, made the World believe
that it was impossible they should all come from the same hand. This set
every one upon guessing who was the _Esquire's_ friend? and most people
at first fancied it must be Doctor SWIFT; but it is now no longer a
secret, that his only great and constant assistant was Mr. ADDISON.
This is that excellent friend to whom Mr. STEELE owes so much; and who
refuses to have his name set before those Pieces which the greatest pens
in England would be proud to own. Indeed, they could hardly add to this
Gentleman's reputation: whose works in Latin and English Poetry long
since convinced the World, that he was the greatest Master in Europe of
those two languages.
I am assured, from good hands, that all the visions, and other tracts of
that way of writing, with a very great number of the most exquisite
pieces of wit and raillery throughout the _Lucubrations_ are entirely of
this Gentleman's composing: which may, in some measure, account for that
different Genius, which appears In the winter papers, from those of the
summer; at which time, as the _Examiner_ often hinted, this friend of Mr.
STEELE was in Ireland.
Mr. STEELE confesses in his last Volume of the _Tatlers_ that he is
obliged to Dr. SWIFT for his _Town Shower_, and the _Description of the
Morn_, with some other hints received from him in private conversation.
I have also heard that several of those _Letters_, which came as from
unknown hands, were written by Mr. HENLEY: which is an answer to your
query, "Who those friends are, whom Mr. STEELE speaks of in his last
_Tatler_?"
But to proceed with my account of our other papers. The expiration of
_BICKERSTAFF's Lucubrations_ was attended with much the same consequences
as the death of _MELIBOEUS's Ox_ in VIRGIL: as the latter engendered
swarms of bees, the former immediately produced whole swarms of little
satirical scribblers.
One of these authors called himself the _Growler_, and assured us that,
to make amends for Mr. STEELE's silence, he was resolved to _growl_ at us
weekly, as long as we should think fit to give him any encouragement.
Another Gentleman, with more modesty, called his paper, the _Whisperer_;
and a third, to please the Ladies, christened his, the _Telltale_.
At the same time came out several _Tatlers_; each of which, with equal
truth and wit, assured us that he was the genuine _ISAAC BICKERSTAFF_.
It may be observed that when the _Esquire_ laid down his pen; though he
could not but foresee that several scribblers would soon snatch it up,
which he might (one would think) easily have prevented: he scorned to
take any further care about it, but left the field fairly open to any
worthy successor. Immediately, some of our Wits were for forming
themselves into a Club, headed by one Mr. HARRISON, and trying how they
could shoot in this BOW of ULYSSES; but soon found that this sort of
writing requires so fine and particular a manner of Thinking, with so
exact a Knowledge of the World, as must make them utterly despair of
success.
They seemed indeed at first to think, that what was only the garnish of
the former _Tatlers_, was that which recommended them; and not those
Substantial Entertainments which they everywhere abound in. According
they were continually talking of their _Maid, Night Cap, Spectacles_, and
CHARLES LILLIE. However there were, now and then, some faint endeavours at
Humour and sparks of Wit: which the Town, for want of better
entertainment, was content to hunt after, through a heap of
impertinences; but even those are, at present, become wholly invisible
and quite swallowed up in the blaze of the _Spectator_.
You may remember, I told you before, that one cause assigned for the
laying down the _Tatler_ was, Want of Matter; and, indeed, this was the
prevailing opinion in Town: when we were surprised all at once by a paper
called the _Spectator_, which was promised to be continued every day; and
was written in so excellent a style, with so nice a judgment, and such a
noble profusion of Wit and Humour, that it was not difficult to determine
it could come from no other hands but those which had penned the
_Lucubrations_.
This immediately alarmed these gentlemen, who, as it is said Mr. STEELE
phrases it, had "the Censorship in Commission." They found the new
_Spectator_ came on like a torrent, and swept away all before him. They
despaired ever to equal him in Wit, Humour, or Learning; which had been
their true and certain way of opposing him: and therefore rather chose to
fall on the Author; and to call out for help to all good Christians, by
assuring them again and again that they were the First, Original, True,
and Undisputed _ISAAC BICKERSTAFF_.
Meanwhile, the _Spectator_, whom we regard as our Shelter from that flood
of false wit and impertinence which was breaking in upon us, is in every
one's hands; and a constant topic for our morning conversation at
tea-tables and coffee-houses. We had at first, indeed, no manner of
notion how a diurnal paper could be continued in the spirit and style of
our present _Spectators_: but, to our no small surprise, we find them
still rising upon us, and can only wonder from whence so prodigious a run
of Wit and Learning can proceed; since some of our best judges seem to
think that they have hitherto, in general, outshone even the _Esquire_'s
first _Tatlers_.
Most people fancy, from their frequency, that they must be composed by a
Society: I withal assign the first places to Mr. STEELE and his Friend.
I have often thought that the conjunction of those two great Geniuses,
who seem to stand in a class by themselves, so high above all our other
Wits, resembled that of two statesmen in a late reign, whose characters
are very well expressed in their two mottoes, viz., _Prodesse quam
conspici_ [LORD SOMERS], and _Otium cum dignitate_ [CHARLES MONTAGU, Earl
of HALIFAX]. Accordingly the first [_ADDISON_] was continually at work
behind the curtain, drew up and prepared all those schemes, which the
latter still drove on, and stood out exposed to the World, to receive its
praises or censures.
Meantime, all our unbiassed well-wishers to Learning are in hopes that
the known Temper and prudence of one of these Gentlemen will hinder the
other from ever lashing out into Party, and rendering that Wit, which is
at present a common good, odious and ungrateful to the better part of the
Nation [_by which, of course, GAY meant the Tories_].
If this piece of imprudence does not spoil so excellent a Paper, I
propose to myself the highest satisfaction in reading it with you, over a
dish of tea, every morning next winter.
As we have yet had nothing new since the _Spectator_, it only remains for
me to assure you, that I am
Yours, &c., J[OHN] G[AY].
_Westminster, May_ 3, 1711.
_POSTCRIPT_.
Upon a review of my letter, I find I have quite forgotten the _British
Apollo_; which might possibly have happened, from its having, of late,
retreated out of this end of the Town into the country: where, I am
informed however, that it still recommends itself by deciding wagers at
cards, and giving good advice to shopkeepers and their apprentices.
_FINIS_.