History of English Humour with an Introduction Upon Ancient Humour

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: 62 CHAPTER IV. Steele—The Funeral—The Tatler—Contributions of Swift —Of Addison—Expansive Dresses — "Bodily Wit" — Bustic Obtuseness—Crosses in Love—Snuff-taking. ANEW description of periodical was published in 1709, and met with deserved success. It was little more or less than the first lady's newspaper, consisting of a small half sheet printed on both sides, and sold three times a week. The price was a penny, and the form was so unpretentious that depre- cators spoke of its " tobacco-paper" and "scurvy letter." Like Defoe's review, it was strong in Foreign War intelligence, but beyond this the aim was to attract readers, not by political sarcasm or coarse jesting, but by sparkling satire on the foibles of the fashionable world. Addison says that the design was to bring philosophy to tea-tables, and to check improprieties " too trivial for the chastisement of the law, and too fantastical for the cognizance of the pulpit," and that these papers had a " perceptible influence upon the conversation ofSteele. 63 the time, and taught the frolic and gay to unite merriment with decency." Johnson says that previously, with the exception of the writers for the theatre, " England had no masters of common life," and considers the Italian and the French to have introduced this kind of literature. From its social character, this publication gives us a great amount of interesting information as to the manners and customs of the time, and the name " Tatler " was selected " in honour of the fair." The originator of this enterprise, Richard Steele, was English on his father's side, Irish on his mother's. He was educated at Charterhouse, and followed much the same course as his countryman, Farquhar. He tells us gaily, " At fifteen I was sent to the University, and stayed there for s...