Transcriber's Note:
Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as
possible. Some changes of spelling and punctuation have been made.
They are listed at the end of the text.
Italic text has been marked with _underscores_.
OE ligatures have been expanded.
THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY
ARBUTHNOTIANA:
The Story of the St. Alb-ns Ghost
(1712)
A Catalogue
of Dr. Arbuthnot's Library
(1779)
_Introduction by_
PATRICIA KÖSTER
PUBLICATION NUMBER 154
WILLIAM ANDREWS CLARK MEMORIAL LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES
1972
GENERAL EDITORS
William E. Conway, William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
George Robert Guffey, University of California, Los Angeles
Maximillian E. Novak, University of California, Los Angeles
David S. Rodes, University of California, Los Angeles
ADVISORY EDITORS
Richard C. Boys, University of Michigan
James L. Clifford, Columbia University
Ralph Cohen, University of Virginia
Vinton A. Dearing, University of California, Los Angeles
Arthur Friedman, University of Chicago
Louis A. Landa, Princeton University
Earl Miner, University of California, Los Angeles
Samuel H. Monk, University of Minnesota
Everett T. Moore, University of California, Los Angeles
Lawrence Clark Powell, William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
James Sutherland, University College, London
H. T. Swedenberg, Jr., University of California, Los Angeles
Robert Vosper, William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
Curt A. Zimansky, State University of Iowa
CORRESPONDING SECRETARY
Edna C. Davis, William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Jean T. Shebanek, William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
INTRODUCTION
The two pieces here reproduced have long been unavailable; their
connections with Arbuthnot are rather complex. _The Story of the St.
Alb-ns Ghost_ has been ambiguously associated with Arbuthnot since the
year of its first publication, but it does not seem to have been
reprinted since the nineteenth century when editors regularly included
it among the minor works of Swift. Whoever wrote it, the _Story_ is a
lively and effective Tory squib, whose narrative vigor can carry even
the twentieth-century reader over the occasional topical obscurities. _A
Catalogue of the ... Library of ... Dr. Arbuthnot_ has never been
reprinted at all, and appears to be unknown by scholars who have thus
far written about Arbuthnot.
_The Story of the St. Alb-ns Ghost_, the first piece included, has
always been of doubtful authorship, and must for the present so
continue. Two days after the _Story_ first appeared, Swift tantalizingly
wrote to Stella: "I went to Ld Mashams to night, & Lady Masham made me
read to her a pretty 2 penny Pamphlet calld the St Albans Ghost. I
thought I had writt it my self; so did they, but I did not" (22 February
1712). Whoever wrote it, the _Story_ succeeded: it was pirated within a
week, and had reached its third regular "edition" within three weeks of
the first; it appeared in a fifth and apparently final edition on 19
July 1712.[1] Now just during these same months Arbuthnot was producing
his first political satires, five pamphlets later gathered under the
title _History of John Bull_. He published the first of these 4 March
1712 and the last 31 July 1712.[2] There are several thematic and
methodological connections between _The Story of The St. Alb-ns Ghost_
and the John Bull pamphlets: as Tory propaganda pieces, they attack
leading Whigs and make the usual suggestions about irreligion, moral
turpitude and misuse of public funds. Furthermore, they do so by means
of vigorous if sometimes difficult reductive allegories which mock the
victims by presenting them as farcical figures from low life. The
connection as well as the difficulties must have appeared quite early,
for some enterprising publisher (presumably Curll)[3] soon brought out
_A Complete Key to the Three Parts of Law is a Bottomless-Pit, and the
Story of the St. Alban's Ghost_. Although the exact date of this is not
known, it must lie between the _termini_ 17 April and 9 May 1712, the
dates of the third and fourth parts respectively of John Bull.
Furthermore, a "Second Edition Corrected" of the Key appeared before the
publication of pamphlet four. (The last pages of these two Keys,
concerning the _Story of the St. Alb-ns Ghost_, are reproduced in the
Appendix.) The Key ran through two further editions as _A Complete Key
to the Four Parts of Law is a Bottomless-Pit, and the Story of the St.
Alban's Ghost_, presumably before 31 July 1712, and came to a fifth
(seemingly last) edition with a more general title referring to "all
Parts" of John Bull, and still including the _Story_.
While the Keys by association suggest Arbuthnot as author, the only
other contemporary document attributes the _Story_ to a different
physician and wit: the so-called _Miscellaneous Works of Dr. William
Wagstaffe_ (London, 1726) reprint the fourth edition of the Story. Now
the _Miscellaneous Works_ were printed some five months after the death
of Dr. Wagstaffe and more than three months after that of the supposed
editor Dr. Levett;[4] it is possible that the contents are in part
erroneous. In any case, Arbuthnot, Wagstaffe and Swift remain the
possible authors with whom scholars must deal until some further
evidence is forthcoming. Roscoe interprets Swift's ambiguous remarks in
the _Journal to Stella_ as an indirect acknowledgement, and Dilke goes
one step further in assuming that the so-called _Miscellaneous Works of
Dr. Wagstaffe_ are a mystification, a means for Swift to pass off works
which he did not wish to include in the _Miscellanies_ with Pope. Sir
Walter Scott thinks that the _Story_ is probably a collaboration between
Arbuthnot and Swift, "judging from the style"; Professor Herbert Davis
dissociates Wagstaffe material generally from the writings of Swift, but
does not specifically mention the _Story_; however, "Mr. Granger thought
St. Alban's Ghost, attributed to Dr. Wagstaffe, was [Arbuthnot's]."[5]
Although recent scholars seem to agree in selecting Wagstaffe as author
of the _Story_, the evidence of the 1726 _Works_ is implicitly
contradicted by the Keys. I have made two separate attempts to solve the
question of authorship, neither of which has been fully satisfactory.
The first of these, a computerized test based on the methods of
Professor Louis T. Milic for distinguishing works by Swift from works by
other authors, has given inconclusive results. In this test the _Story_
was the chief unknown, and was compared with samples of similar length
from Swift, Arbuthnot, Wagstaffe and, as a control, Mrs. Manley, who
wrote politically keyed narratives but has never been associated with
the _Story_. The _Story_ turned out to be fairly similar to all four
authors in the number of different three-word patterns (D), and unlike
all of them in number of Introductory Connectives (IC), where Wagstaffe
stood the highest, and the _Story_ by far the lowest. In the proportion
of Verbals (VB) the _Story_ and Wagstaffe were fairly close together and
different from the other authors tested, who clustered near the Swift
figures. Thus the test tends to exclude Swift, Arbuthnot and Mrs. Manley
as possible authors, but does not encourage a full confidence in
replacing them with Wagstaffe. (It also tends to show that some of the
other pieces included in the so-called _Miscellaneous Works of Dr.
Wagstaffe_ differ considerably in the usages tested both from one
another and from the patterns established by the signed works of Dr.
Walstaffe.)[6]
My second attempt was based on textual changes among editions of the
_Story_. In the second edition there are three small changes from the
first; the third and fourth editions seem to be line-for-line reprints
of the second. (The "sham, Imperfect Sort" introduces a large number of
variants, mainly errors.) In the fifth edition, however, somebody has
altered the typography: many past forms of verbs are altered. Thus at
the bottom of p. 3 _unbody'd_ becomes _unbodyed_, _carry'd_ and
_deliver'd_ become _carryed_, _delivered_. The task of editing is not
complete; particularly near the end of the fifth edition many verbs
still carry the apostrophe of the earlier editions. The date of the
attempt suggests that Swift's _Proposal for Correcting, Improving and
Ascertaining the English Tongue_ (first published 17 May 1712, a week
after the fourth edition of the _Story_) could have provided the
motivation, and also that Swift himself could not have been the person
who made the changes. A study of a few contemporaries shows that Swift
himself tried to eliminate the apostrophes from the _Conduct of the
Allies_, first published 27 November 1711, and from other works
published after that date, but not from works published before that
date. Oldisworth, apparently under the instructions of Swift, tried to
do the same during the first few months of the _Examiner_, vol. 2
(beginning 6 December 1711), but by the time he reached volume 3,
Oldisworth had apparently given up the struggle against unwilling
printers. Arbuthnot, Roper and Manley are not very interested in the
matter, and neither are other pamphleteers published by Morphew during
the months immediately following Swift's _Proposal_. The items included
in the so-called _Miscellaneous Works of Dr. Wagstaffe_, on the other
hand, fall into three groups chronologically: those which precede
Swift's _Proposal_, and include many apostrophied verb forms; those
which immediately follow Swift's _Proposal_, and include abnormally few
apostrophied verb forms; the two "late" pieces (1715, 1719), which are
back to the proportion of apostrophied verbs to be found in the early
items. If Pseudo-Wagstaffe was indeed a single writer, then he followed
the same pattern as Oldisworth, but began later and continued longer to
use verbs with an _-ed_ ending. Since the genuine signed prose works of
Dr. Wagstaffe come "late" (1717, 1721) and have a fairly large (i.e.,
normal) number of apostrophied verbs, there is no evidence here as to
whether or not Pseudo-Wagstaffe is Wagstaffe; at least there is no
contradiction. In the light of these facts, we can see that neither
Swift nor Arbuthnot is a probable author of the _Story_; Swift would
presumably have altered verb typography in the first and all editions,
and Arbuthnot would not have altered it at all.[7] In these two projects
on authorship we find that authors other than Wagstaffe tend to be
eliminated, but that Wagstaffe himself is not strongly confirmed. The
authorship remains as problematic as before, and the _Story_ may as well
for this century continue with the Arbuthnotiana, as it did during the
nineteenth with the Swiftiana.
The device of using a ghost story as vehicle for political satire was by
1712 a well-established one. Elias F. Mengel Jr. refers to "the 'ghost'
convention, so popular in the Restoration,"[8] and an important poem of
Queen Anne's reign shows some similarities with and perhaps provided a
model for the _Story_. In _Moderation Display'd_ (London, 1705) the
recently deceased second Earl of Sunderland rises from Hell to confound
his guilty Whig companions. Tonson (Bibliopolo) is the most terrified,
and as in the _Story_ Wharton (Clodio) is so wicked that he is not
frightened at all. The _Story_, however, is both more subtle and more
flexible than most other satiric "ghost" narratives. It compresses the
actual apparition into the last quarter of the narrative, despite the
perhaps deliberately misleading title. Nearly half of the _Story_ deals
with previous events; much of the rest is machinery, introduction of
seemingly irrelevant details with a mischievous verisimilitude which
actually advances the main satiric aims. The opening paragraph, for
example, first denounces Roman Catholic superstition, a denunciation
which almost every Englishman could join, and then turns the fire toward
"Our Sectarists." The war on heterodoxy continues in the references to
Dr. Garth, the Whig poet and physician noted for his scepticism in
religion, to William Whiston who during the winter of 1711-1712 was
transcribing documents and writing elaborate treatises to uphold his
view that Christian churches and theologians had all been essentially
heretical since the time of Athanasius, and to the Reverend and
Honourable Lumley Lloyd, a low-church minister whose sermons attracted
at least two Tory satires.[9] None of these men belongs in the
narrative, and only Garth was even remotely connected with the
Marlboroughs, but all of them were Whigs, and in various ways serve to
"demonstrate" that Whigs must be false brethren to the Church of
England.
This charge, although a cliché of Tory satires, is here made indirect
and witty, as are the staple charges against the Duke and Duchess of
Marlborough. Whereas, however, the wickedness of nonconformity had been
attacked for decades, the Duke of Marlborough had been associated with
the Whigs for a relatively short time. As late as 1706 Wagstaffe could
generously declare that "_Woodstock's_ too little" a reward (_Ramelies,
a Poem_), but since Swift's "Bill of British Ingratitude" in the
_Examiner_ (17 November 1710) the Tory press had begun to say that the
rewards were too many and too great. The _Story_ repeats the charge that
Avaro and Haggite "grew Richer than their Mistress" (p. 11), together
with the ridiculous insinuations of cowardice and incompetence found
constantly reiterated in the second volume of _Examiners_. The Duchess
of Marlborough attracted massive satire earlier than her husband, in
such books as _The Secret History of Queen Zarah_ (London, 1705),[10]
and her habit of saying "Lawrd" with an affected drawl is mentioned in
_The Secret History of Arlus and Odolphus_ (n.p., 1710), pp. 21, 22, 23.
Although not so frequent as attacks on the Duke and Duchess of
Marlborough, attacks on Mrs. Jennings the mother of the Duchess had
already been made, and indeed the _Story_ relies for part of its effect
on the fact that Mrs. Jennings is already associated with witchcraft. In
_Memoirs of Europe_ (London, 1710)[10] for example, she inherits a
familiar spirit from Sir Kenelm Digby, there reported the real father of
the Duchess (II, 44-46). In _Oliver's Pocket Looking-Glass_ (n.p., 1711)
Mrs. Jennings appears as "the famous Mother Shipton, who by the Power
and Influence of her Magick Art, had plac'd a Daughter in the same
Station at Court [i.e., Maid of Honour] with _Meretricia_ [Arabella
Churchill] ..." (p. 21). Because the author of the Story assumes that
previous Tory allegations are well-known, he is free to perform elegant
variations or to allude indirectly. Assuming the fact of witchcraft
allows him to heap up an ambiguous burlesque of popular superstition
which is in part entertainment and in part rebuttal of recent Whig
sneers at Tory credulity during the Jane Wenham witch trial.[11] Here as
throughout the pamphlet, the author demonstrates the virtuosity which
even Swift commends. Since Swift praises few pamphlets except those
written by himself and Arbuthnot (or occasionally Mrs. Manley), the
_Story_ enters a fairly select company. It is the only Pseudo-Wagstaffe
piece mentioned by name in the _Journal to Stella_, the only one found
worthy to stand beside the productions of Swift and Arbuthnot.[12]
The second document reproduced claims to be _A Catalogue of the Capital
and Well-Known Library of Books, of the Late Celebrated Dr. Arbuthnot_.
To the extent that the claim is true, the _Catalogue_ will be important
for studies of the Scriblerian Club generally, since Arbuthnot is the
member with the greatest reputation for learning. Although the contents
of a man's library do not correspond exactly with the contents of his
mind, scholars can discover a good deal about the intellectual methods
of Dr. Arbuthnot by examining the books which he owned. Until now this
has not been possible; the _Catalogue_ is a recent acquisition of the
British Museum, not so much as mentioned in books thus far published
about Arbuthnot. For several reasons, however, the document must be used
with caution. First of all, the compilers list a total of 2525 volumes,
but they itemize only 1639,[13] and even then often give inadequate
information. Furthermore, a xerox copy of the Sale Book records of the
auction, very kindly sent to me by the present Messrs. Christie, Manson
and Woods, shows that almost a quarter of the lots (items 53-65,
243-245, 276-372, 426), or 999 volumes, belonged not to the Arbuthnot
estate but to other owners. Finally, Dr. Arbuthnot died in 1735, whereas
the auction was not held until December 1779, about three and a half
months after the death of his bachelor son George. Of the books
belonging to the Arbuthnot estate, almost 20% were printed after 1735,
and belonged not to the father but to the son, or perhaps in some cases
to the daughter Anne, who lived with her brother.[14] The legal books
are likely all to have been George Arbuthnot's, and presumably some of
the other books printed before 1735 also. Despite these obscurities, the
Catalogue throws a good deal of new light upon the most learned
Scriblerian--and upon his family.
Dr. Arbuthnot seems to have bought relatively few antiquarian books;
about 20% of the itemized volumes belonging to his estate come before
1691, the year when he first went to London. In selecting these older
works Arbuthnot has shown a catholic taste and linguistic ability: he
bought grammars and dictionaries, besides works on medicine and science,
literature, history and religion, written in English, French, Italian,
Latin and Greek, plus a solitary Hebrew Bible (item 234); his copy of
Udall's _Key to the Holy Tongue_ is dated 1693 (item 183). Less than a
quarter of these earlier books are in English. The sole "cradle" date of
the catalogue, 1495 for _Rosa Anglica_ (item 417), may be a misprint:
editions of 1492 and 1595, among others, have been previously recorded,
but none for 1495.[15]
When compared with the antiquarian books, the list of titles from the
Arbuthnot estate either dated or first published after the death of Dr.
Arbuthnot reveals a number of differences. English is the predominant
language of the late group, with French a poor second. There is another
Hebrew Bible (253), a Spanish Cervantes (25), an Italian Machiavelli
(96), but no Greek book at all, and astonishingly only two Latin: a
dictionary (89) and a Horace (147); Cicero appears in a French
translation (26). In part, of course, the shift in languages accompanies
the general decline of humanistic learning in the eighteenth century,
but it also strengthens our knowledge of Dr. Arbuthnot's erudition.
Although apparently not interested in science, George Arbuthnot read
widely, however, in other areas (see for example 10, 15, 49, 158, 160,
168, 170, 254, 271). Similarly, the books from outside the Arbuthnot
estate are less learned than those of Arbuthnot. They do include two
Greek testaments (290, 310) and some recent scientific works (e.g. 314,
*349), but lack the great Greek writers whom Arbuthnot collected, such
as Plato (125), Aristotle (126), Herodotus (385) or Aristophanes (387).
Whereas Arbuthnot read Newton's treatises (81, 85, 197, 217), one of the
other owners read Algarotti's simplification (*312).
The subjects of the books in the Arbuthnot estate can be variously
divided. By sheer number of titles, literature is the most important
subject, closely followed by science (including medicine as the biggest
sub-group), and then by history. In number of volumes, however, the
historical section is considerably larger than the literary, and science
comes third. Books on geography and travel, philosophical treatises,
grammars and dictionaries, even a work on astrology (109), attest to the
breadth of Arbuthnot's interests. A few works in the fine arts are
listed, somewhat surprisingly only two of them on music (32, 373). The
military item (391) may come from the Doctor's brother George, who was
in the army, or it may represent another aspect of the general interest
in all human affairs. There is a fairly large number of religious works,
including books by Eusebius and Sozomen (127), Spotswood (380), Huet
(383), Charles Leslie (251), Leibniz (141), Tillotson (395) and Jeremy
Taylor (3,394). The elaborately bound Greek Septuagint (272) and Greek
New Testament (273) must be the ones which Arbuthnot specified in his
will (the only books there mentioned), calling them "the Gift of my late
Royal Mistress Queen Anne."[16] As the _Catalogue_ does not describe
any other fine bindings, the other books seem to have been bought for
use rather than for show.
A study of the duplications among the books in the Arbuthnot estate
reinforces the opinion that the books were bought for use. The only
items appearing three times are the works of Pope (76, 180) and Pope's
_Iliad_ (11, 77, 242). Since two of the former were published after the
death of Arbuthnot, and must have belonged to the Arbuthnot children,
perhaps the extra _Iliads_ were equally the property of Arbuthnot's
heirs. The duplicates of Molière (21, 135), Prideaux (50, 379), and
Veneroni (90, *229) could also have belonged to the children. However,
the bulk of the duplications seem to involve obtaining a later edition
or a necessary text, and thus to have a scholarly rationale. For
example, the two editions of Eustachius are dated 1714, 1728 (115, 259),
those of Livy are dated 1578, 1708 (7, 386), while both sets of
Sennertus seem to be broken (406, 407).
Not surprisingly, Arbuthnot owned a number of satirical works. In
addition to Pope and Molière, already mentioned, he owned Petronius (9),
Juvenal and Persius (230), Terence (231), Plautus (232), Boileau (98),
Gay (79) and Swift's _Tale of a Tub_ (178). He presumably bought or was
given other works by Swift, but no others are itemized; perhaps some
were in the "Large parcel of pamphlets" (1). George Arbuthnot added a
copy of _The Four Last Years of Queen Anne_ (173), not published until
1758.
Although literature bulks large among Arbuthnot's books, English poetry
is not very conspicuous. According to some of the dates, Arbuthnot may
have developed his interest in English poetry rather late in life.
Although he owned a 1611 Spenser (423), he did not buy the listed
Chaucer (110) until 1721. Pope may have inspired the urge to acquire
Milton (80, 185), but there seems to be no literary reason for wanting a
Milton in French (184). Some other member of the family was, however,
sufficiently interested in Milton to buy Newton's edition in 1749 (78).
The minor poets listed are also late in date (72, 187). The only Dryden
is the translation of Virgil (16), which could represent an interest in
classical just as much as in English poetry. There are, however, two
copies of Prior's _Poems_ in the large paper edition (106, 252). As the
compilers of the _Catalogue_ have left many volumes unspecified, there
must have been other poetic works, but the listed sample is rather
small.
Characteristically uninterested in his personal fame, Arbuthnot kept no
copies of his own writings except the reissued _Tables of Ancient Coins_
(84, 193), associated with a favorite son. The reader revealed by this
library is the same Arbuthnot whom his contemporaries admired: witty,
yet thoughtful and religious; deeply learned, yet modest. His children,
although less learned than the father, continued to buy books on current
topics, particularly literature, history and travel. Aged over seventy,
George Arbuthnot was still ingesting such materials as Laughton's
_History of Ancient Egypt_ (168) and Raynal's comprehensive history of
colonialism (10). Despite the obscurity of the word "more" under which
the compilers listed half of the total volumes, even the sample of the
library is a welcome addition to our knowledge about Dr. Arbuthnot.
University of Victoria
NOTES TO THE INTRODUCTION
[1] See advertisements in the _Evening Post_, 19, 21, 26 February, 13
March 1712; and in the _Post-Boy_, 10 May and 19 July 1712.
The research necessary for the present publication was supported by a
grant from the University of Victoria and by a Leave Fellowship from the
Canada Council.
[2] The dates given by Professor H. Teerink in _The History of John Bull
for the first time faithfully re-issued from the original pamphlets_
(Amsterdam, 1925), pp. 6-7, are drawn from dates in the Examiner, a
weekly newspaper. Three of these dates are correct, and the other two
are close, but can be corrected by consulting papers published more
often. The first pamphlet seems to have appeared on 4 March 1712 (see
_Post-Boy_ of that date), and the third may have appeared on 16 April
1712 (see the _Daily Courant_ of 16 and 17 April; the _Post-Boy_,
however, agrees with the _Examiner_ on the date 17 April).
[3] Although no publisher is named on the title page of the Keys, the
fifth edition is advertised among "New Pamphlets Printed for E. Curll"
on the back of the half-title page to _The Tunbridge-Miscellany:
Consisting of Poems, &c. Written at Tunbridge-Wells this Summer. By
Several Hands_ (London, 1712).
[4] Wagstaffe died 5 May 1726, Levett 2 July 1726; the _Miscellaneous
Works_ were published on about 18 October 1726. Dr. Norman Moore in his
account of Wagstaffe has shown that the "life" in the _Miscellaneous
Works_ is substantially correct, and has suggested that Dr. Levett wrote
it; see Moore, _History of St. Bartholomew's Hospital_ (London, 1918),
II, 523-529.
[5] Thomas Roscoe, ed., _The Works of Jonathan Swift_ (London, 1850), I,
529; [C.W. Dilke], "Dean Swift and the Scriblerians v. Dr. Wagstaffe,"
_Notes and Queries_, 3d ser., I, 381-384; Sir Walter Scott, ed., _The
Works of Swift_, 2d ed. (London, 1883), V, 414; Herbert Davis,
"Introduction," Prose Works of Swift, VIII, xiv-xv; Mark Noble, _A
Biographical History of England, From the Revolution to the end of
George I's Reign_ (London, 1806), III, 367-368. Vinton A. Dearing in his
"Jonathan Swift or William Wagstaffe?" _HLB_, VII (1953), 121-130, makes
a survey of previous discussions, and concludes that Wagstaffe wrote all
the pieces in the _Miscellaneous Works_. See also the article cited in
footnote 6.
[6] "Words and Numbers: A Quantitative Approach to Swift and some
Understrappers," _Computers and the Humanities_, IV (1970), 289-304.
This article has been reprinted with minor revisions in Roy Wisbey, ed.,
_The Computer in Literary and Linguistic Research_ (Cambridge, 1971),
pp. 129-147.
[7] The question of verb typography will be further studied in a future
article.
[8] _Poems on Affairs of State: Augustan Satirical Verse_, II (New
Haven, 1965), 217.
[9] _Tint for Taunt. The Manager Managed: or the Exemplary MODERATION
and MODESTY, of a Whig Low-Church-Preacher discovered, from his own
Mouth_ (London, 1710); _and Punch turn'd Critick, in a Letter to the
Honourable and (some time ago) Worshipful Rector of Covent-Garden. With
some Wooden Remarks on his Sermon_ (n.p., 1712). Neither squib is of
much literary value, but the second acquires some interest by being
associated with the _Story of the St. Alb-ns Ghost_ and a third edition
of _A Learned Comment on Tom Thumb_ (an earlier Pseudo-Wagstaffe piece)
in the advertising column of _Examiner_, vol. II, no. 13 (28 February
1712).
[10] Reproduced in _The Novels of Mary Delariviere Manley_, intro. by P.
Köster (Gainesville, Fla., 1971), 2 vols.
[11] Jane Wenham was sentenced 4 March 1712. White Kennet lists a number
of pamphlets on both sides in _The Wisdom of Looking Backwards_ (London,
1715), pp. 203-205, but does not mention the _Story_. The _Protestant
Post-Boy_ has a series of articles, stemming from the trial, on the
improbability of witchcraft (3, 5, 8, 12 April 1712), but predictably
ignores the _Story_.
[12] Dr. Moore, however, seems to include the _Story_ in his
condemnation of all the Pseudo-Wagstaffe pieces except the _Comment upon
... Tom Thumb_ (now reproduced in Augustan Reprint no. 63) as "abusive,
coarse, or dull" (_History of St. Bartholomew's Hospital_, II, 526).
[13] Mr. Allan Trumpour wrote a sorting program which provided the
statistics here and below; Mr. James Carley and Mrs. Edna Cox both gave
considerable help in preparing the contents of the _Catalogue_ for
computer sorting.
[14] For biographical information see G.A. Aitken, _The Life and Works
of John Arbuthnot_ (Oxford, 1892), pp. 159-161.
[15] See W. Wulff, "Introduction," _Rosa Anglica seu Rosa Medicinae_,
Irish Texts Society, XXV (London, 1929), p. xix.
[16] Aitken, p. 159.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
The texts of these facsimiles of _The Story of the St. Alb-ns Ghost_
(T.1860 Tract 8) and _A Catalogue of the Capital and Well-Known Library
of Books, of the Late Celebrated Dr. Arbuthnot_ (C.131.dd.9) are
reproduced from copies in the British Museum. The two Keys to _The
Story of the St. Alb-ns Ghost_ are reproduced from the first and
second editions of _A Complete Key to the Three Parts of Law is a
Bottomless-Pit and the Story of the St. Alban's Ghost_ (both editions
1712; E.1984 Tracts 6 and 7; both versos), also in the British Museum.
All items are reproduced with the kind permission of the Trustees.
THE
STORY
OF THE
St. Alb-ns
GHOST,
OR THE
APPARITION
OF
Mother _HAGGY_.
Collected from the best Manuscripts.
_Sola, Novum, Dictuq, Nefas, Harpyia Celano
Prodigium canit, & tristes denuntiat Iras._ Virg.
_LONDON_:
Printed in the Year 1712.
THE STORY OF THE ST. ALB-NS GHOST.
I can scarcely say whether we ought to attribute the Multitude of Ghosts
and Apparitions, which were so common in the Days of our Forefathers, to
the Ignorance of the People, or the Impositions of the Priest. The
Romish Clergy found it undoubtedly for their Interest to deceive them,
and the Superstition of the People laid themselves open to receive
whatsoever They thought proper to inculcate. Hence it is, that their
Traditions are little else, than the Miracles and Atchievements of
unbody'd Heroes, a Sort of spiritual Romance, so artfully carry'd on,
and delivered in so probable a Manner, as may easily pass for Truth on
those of an uncultivated Capacity, or a credulous Disposition. Our
Sectarists indeed still retain the Credulity, as well as some of the
Tenets of that Church; and Apparitions, and such like, are still the
Bug-bears made use of by some of the most Celebrated of their
Holders-forth to terrify the old Women of their Congregation, (who are
their surest Customers) and enlarge their Quarterly Subscriptions. I
know one of these Ambidexters, who never fails of Ten or Twenty Pounds
more than Ordinary, by nicking _something Wonderful_ in due Time; he
often cloaths his whole Family _by the Apparition of a Person lately
executed at_ Tyburn; or, _a Whale seen at_ Greenwich, _or thereabouts_;
and I am credibly inform'd, that his Wife has made a Visit with a Brand
new Sable Tippet on, since the Death of the _Tower Lions_.
But as these Things will pass upon none but the Ignorant or
Superstitious, so there are others that will believe nothing of this
Nature, even upon the clearest Evidence. There are, it must be own'd,
but very few of these Accounts to be depended on; some however are so
palpable, and testify'd by so good Authority, by those of such undoubted
Credit, and so discerning a Curiosity, that there is no Room to doubt of
their Veracity, and which none but a Sceptic can disbelieve. Such is the
following Story of Mother _Haggy_ of St. _Alb----ns_, in the Reign of
King _James_ the First, the mighty Pranks she plaid in her Life-time,
and her Apparition afterwards, made such a Noise, both at Home and
Abroad, and were so terrible to the Neighbourhood, that the Country
People, to this Day, cannot hear the Mention of her Name, without the
most dismal Apprehensions. The Injuries they receiv'd from the Sorceries
and Incantations of the Mother, and the Injustice and Oppression of the
Son and Daughter, have made so deep an Impression upon their Minds, and
begot such an Hereditary Aversion to their Memory, that they never speak
of them, without the bitterest Curses and Imprecations.
I have made it my Business, being at St. _Alb----ns_ lately, to enquire
more particularly into this Matter, and the Helps I have receiv'd from
the _most noted Men of Erudition in this City, have been Considerable_,
and to whom I make my publick Acknowledgment. The Charges I have been at
in _getting Manuscripts_, and Labour in _collating them_, the
Reconciling the Disputes about the most _material Circumstances_, and
adjusting the _various Readings_, as they have took me up a considerable
Time, so I hope they may be done to the Satisfaction of my Reader. I
wish I could have had Time to have distinguish'd by an Asterism the
Circumstances deliver'd by Tradition only, from those of the
Manuscripts, which I was advis'd to do by my worthy Friend the Reverend
Mr. _Wh----n_, who, had he not been _Employ'd otherways_, might have
been a very proper Person to have undertaken such a Performance.
The best Manuscripts are now in the Hands of the Ingenious Dr.
_G----th_, where they are left for the Curious to peruse, and where any
_Clergyman_ may be welcome; for however he may have been abus'd by
those who deny him to be the Author of the _D----y_, and tax'd by others
with Principles and Practices unbecoming a Man of his Sense and Probity,
yet I will be bold to say in his Defence, that I believe he is as good a
Christian, as he is a Poet, and if he publishes any Thing on the late
D----d _M----y_, I don't question but it will be interspers'd with as
many Precepts of Reveal'd Religion, as the Subject is capable of
bearing: And it is very probable, those _Refin'd Pieces_ that the Doctor
has been pleas'd to own, since the Writing of the _D----y_, have been
look'd upon, by the lewd debauch'd Criticks of the Town, to be dull and
insipid, for no other Reason, but because they are grave and sober; but
this I leave for others to determine, and can say for his Sincerity,
that I am assur'd he believes the following Relation as much as any of
us all.
Mother _Haggy_ was marry'd to a plain home-spun Yeoman of St.
_Alb----ns_, and liv'd in good Repute for some Years: The Place of her
Birth is disputed by some of the most celebrated Moderns, tho' they have
a Tradition in the Country, that she was never Born at all, and which is
most probable. At the Birth of her Daughter _Haggite_, something
happen'd very remarkable, and which gave Occasion to the Neighbourhood
to mistrust she had a Correspondence with _Old Nick_, as was confirm'd
afterwards, beyond the Possibility of Disproof. The Neighbours were got
together a Merry-making, as they term it, in the Country, when the old
Woman's High-crown'd Hat, that had been thrown upon the Bed's Tester
during the Heat of the Engagement, leap'd with a wonderful Agility into
the Cradle, and being catch'd at by the Nurse, was metamorphos'd into a
Coronet, which according to her Description, was not much unlike that of
a _German_ Prince; but it soon broke into a thousand Pieces. _Such_,
cries old Mother _Haggy, will be the Fortune of my Daughter, and such
her Fall_. The Company took but little Notice what she said, being
surpris'd at the Circumstance of the Hat. _But this is Fact_, says the
Reverend and Honourable L----y _L----d_, _and my Grandmother, who was a
Person of Condition, told me_, says He, _she knew the Man, who knew the
Woman, who was_, said she, _in the Room at that Instant_. The very same
Night, I saw a Comet, neither have I any Occasion to tell a Lye as to
this Particular, _says my Author_, brandishing its Tail in a very
surprising Manner in the Air, but upon the Breaking of a Cloud, I could
discern, _continues he_, a Clergyman at the Head of a Body of his own
Cloth, and follow'd by an innumerable Train of Laity, who coming towards
the Comet, it disappear'd.
This was the first Time Mother _Haggy_ became suspected, and it was the
Opinion of the Wisest of the Parish, that they should Petition the King
to send her to be try'd for a Witch by the _Presbytery of Scotland_. How
this past off I cannot tell, but certain it is, that some of the Great
Ones of the Town were in with her, and 'tis said she was Serviceable to
them in their Amours: She had a Wash that would make the Skin of a
Blackamore as white as Alabaster, and another, that would restore the
Loss of a Maidenhead, _without any Hindrance of Business, or the
Knowledge of any one about them_. She try'd this Experiment so often
upon her Daughter _Haggite_, that more than Twenty were satisfy'd they
had her Virginity before Marriage.
She soon got such a Reputation all about the Country, that there was not
a Cow, a Smock, or a silver Spoon lost, but they came to her to enquire
after it; All the young People flock'd to have their Fortunes told,
which, they say she never miss'd. She told _Haggite_'s Husband, he
should grow Rich, and be a Great Man, but by his Covetousness and
Griping of the Poor, should come to an ill End. All which happen'd so
exactly, _That there are several old Folks in our Town, who can remember
it, as if it was but Yesterday_.
She has been often seen to ride full gallop upon a Broom-Stick at
Noon-Day, and swim over a River in a Kettle-Drum. Sometimes she wou'd
appear in the Shape of a Lioness, and at other times of a Hen, or a Cat;
but I have heard, could not turn herself into a Male Creature, or walk
over two Straws across. There were never known so many great Winds as
about that Time, or so much Mischief done by them: The Pigs gruntled,
and the Screech-Owls hooted oftner than usual; a Horse was found dead
one Morning with Hay in his Mouth; and a large overgrown Jack was caught
in a Fish-Pond thereabouts with a silver Tobacco-Box in his Belly;
several Women were brought to Bed of two Children, Some miscarry'd, and
old Folks died very frequently.
These Things could not chuse but breed a great Combustion in the Town,
as they call it, and every Body certainly had rejoyc'd at her Death,
had she not been succeeded by a Son and Daughter, who, tho' they were no
Conjurers, were altogether as terrible to the Neighbourhood. She had two
Daughters, one of which was marry'd to a Man who went beyond Sea; the
other, her Daughter _Haggite_, to _Avaro_, whom we shall have Occasion
to mention in the Sequel of this Story.
There liv'd at that Time in the Neighbourhood two Brothers, of a great
Family, Persons of a vast Estate and Character, and extreamly kind to
their Servants and Dependants. _Haggite_ by her Mother's Interest, was
got into this Family, and _Avaro_, who was afterwards her Husband, was
the Huntsman's Boy. He was a Lad of a fine Complexion, good Features,
and agreeable to the fair Sex, but wanted the Capacity of some of his
fellow Servants: Tho' he got a Reputation afterwards for a Man of
Courage, but upon no other Grounds, than by setting the Country Fellows
to Cudgelling or Boxing, and being a Spectator of a broken Head and a
bloody Nose.
There are several authentic Accounts of the Behaviour of these Two, in
their respective Stations, and by what Means they made an Advancement of
their Fortunes. There are several Relations, I say, now extant, that
tell us, how one of these great Brothers took _Avaro_'s Sister for his
Mistress, which was the Foundation of his Preferment, and how _Haggite_,
by granting her Favours to any one who would go to the Expence of them,
became extreamly Wealthy, and how Both had gain'd the Art of getting
Money out of every Body they had to do with, and by the most
dishonourable Methods. Never perhaps, was any Couple so match'd in
every Thing as these, or so fit for one another: A Couple so link'd by
the Bonds of Iniquity, as well as Marriage, that it is impossible to
tell which had the greatest Crimes to answer for.
It will be needless to relate the Fortune of the Brothers, who were
their Successive Masters, and the Favours they bestow'd on them. It is
sufficient that the Estate came at last to a Daughter of the younger
Brother, a Lady, who was the Admiration of the Age she liv'd in, and the
Darling of the whole Country, and who had been attended from her Infancy
by _Haggite_.
Then it was _Avaro_ began his Tyranny; he was entrusted with all the
Affairs of Consequence, and there was nothing done without his
Knowledge. He marry'd his Daughters to some of the most considerable
Estates in the Neighbourhood, and was related by Marriage to one
_Baconface_, a sort of Bailiff to his Lady. He, and _Baconface_ and
_Haggite_ got into Possession, as it were, of their Lady's Estate, and
carry'd it with so high a Hand, were so haughty to the Rich, and
oppressive to the Poor, that they quickly began to make themselves
odious; but for their better Security, they form'd a sort of Confederacy
with one _Dammyblood_, _Clumzy_ their Son-in-Law, _Splitcause_ an
Attorney, and _Mouse_ a noted Ballad-Maker, and some others. As soon as
they had done this, they began so to domineer, that there was no Living
for those who would not compliment, or comply with them in their
Villany. _Haggite_ cry'd, _Lord, Madam_, to her Mistress, _It must be
so_; _Avaro_ swore, _By_ G----d, and _Baconface_ shook his Head, and
look'd dismally. They made every Tenant pay a Tax, and every Servant
considerably out of his Wages toward the Mounding their Lady's Estate,
as they pretended, but most part of it went into their own Pockets. Once
upon a Time, the Tenants grumbling at their Proceedings, _Clumzy_, the
Son-in-Law, brought in a Parcel of Beggars to settle upon the Estate.
Thus they liv'd for some Years, till they grew Richer than their
Mistress, and were, perhaps, the Richest Servants in the World: Nay,
what is the most Remarkable, and will scarcely find Belief in future
Ages, they began at last to deny her Title to the Estate, and affirm,
she held it only by their Permission and Connivance.
Things were come to this pass, when one of the Tenants Sons from
_Oxf----rd_ preach'd up Obedience to their Lady, and the Necessity of
their Downfall, who oppos'd it. This open'd the Eyes of all the honest
Tenants, but enrag'd _Avaro_ and his Party, to that Degree, that they
had hir'd a Pack of Manag'd Bull-Dogs, with a Design to bait him, and
had done it infallibly, had not the Gentry interpos'd, and the Country
People run into his Assistance. These, with much ado, muzled the Dogs,
and petition'd their Lady to discard the Mismanagers, who consented to
it.
Great were the Endeavours, and great the Struggles of the Faction, for
so they were call'd, to keep themselves in Power, as the Histories of
those Times mention. They stirr'd up all their Ladies Acquaintance to
speak to her in their behalf, wrote Letters to and fro, swore and
curs'd, laugh'd and cry'd, told the most abominable and inconsistent
Lyes, but all to no Purpose: They spent their Money, lavish'd away their
Beef, Pudding, and _October_, most unmercifully, and made several
_Jointed-Babies_ to shew for Sights, and please the Tenants Sons about
_Christmas_.
Old _Drybones_ was then the Parson of the Parish, a Man of the most
notorious Character, who would change his Principles at any Time to
serve a Turn, preach or pray _Extempore_, talk Nonsense, or any Thing
else, for the Advancement of _Avaro_ and his Faction. He was look'd upon
to be the greatest Artist in _Legerdemain_ in that Country; and had a
Way of shewing the Pope and little Master in a Box, but the Figures were
so very small, it was impossible for any Body but himself to discern
them. He was hir'd, as is suppos'd, to tax the New Servants with Popery,
together with their Mistress, which he preach'd in several Churches
thereabouts; but his Character was too well known to make any Thing
credited that came from him.
There are several Particulars related, both by Tradition and the
Manuscripts, concerning the turning out of these Servants, which
would require greater Volumes than I design. It is enough, that
notwithstanding their Endeavours, they were Discarded, and the Lady
chose her new Servants out of the most honest and substantial of her
Tenants, of undoubted Abilities, who were tied to her by Inclination as
well as Duty. These began a Reformation of all the Abuses committed by
_Avaro_ and _Baconface_, which discover'd such a Scene of Roguery to
the World, that one would hardly think the most mercenary Favourites
could be guilty of.
_Avaro_ now began to be very uneasie, and to be affrighted at his own
Conscience; he found nothing would pacifie the enrag'd Tenants, and that
his Life wou'd be but a sufficient Recompence for his Crimes. His Money
which he rely'd on, and which he lavish'd away to Bribe off his
Destruction, had not Force enough to Protect him: He could not, as it is
reported, Sit still in one Place for two Minutes, never Slept at all,
Eat little or nothing, Talk'd very rambling and inconsistent, of
_Merit_, _Hardships_, _Accounts_, _Perquisites_, _Commissioners_,
_Bread_ and _Bread-Waggons_, but was never heard to mention any
_Cheese_.
He came and made a Confession in his own House to some People he never
saw before in his Life, and which shews no little Disorder in his Brain;
_That, whatever they might think of him, he was as Dutiful a Servant as
any his Mistress had_. _Haggite_ rav'd almost as bad as he, and had got
St. _Anthony's Fire_ in her Face; but it is a question, says Dr.
_G--th_, whether there was any Thing Ominous in that, since it is
probable, the Distemper only chang'd it's Situation.
Mean while, it was agreed by _Baconface_ and others, that a Consultation
should be call'd at _Avaro_'s House, something Decisive resolv'd on, in
order to prevent their Ruin; and accordingly _Jacobo_ the Messenger was
sent to inform the Cabal of it.
Dismal and horrid was the Night of that infernal Consultation, nothing
heard but the melancholly Murmuring of Winds, and the Croaking of Toads
and Ravens; Every thing seem'd Wild and Desert, and double Darkness
overspread the Hemisphere: Thunder and Lightning, Storms and Tempest,
and Earthquakes, seem'd to Presage something more then Ordinary, and
added to the Confusion of that Memorable Night. Nature sicken'd, and
groan'd, as it were, under the Tortures of universal Ruine. Not a
Servant in the House but had Dreamt the strangest Dreams, and _Haggite_
her self had seen a Stranger in the Candle. The Fire languish'd and
burnt Blue, and the Crickets sung continually about the Oven: How far
the Story is true concerning the Warming-Pan and Dishes, I cannot say,
but certain it is, a Noise was heard like that of rolling Pease from the
top of the House to the bottom; and the Windows creak'd, and the Doors
rattled in a manner not a little terrible. Several of their Servants
made Affidavit, That _Haggite_ lost a red Petticoat, a Ruff, and a Pair
of Green-Stockings, that were her Mother's, but the Night before, and a
Diamond-Cross once gave her by a _Great Man_.