Table Of ContentOxford Scholarly Editions Online
Sir Richard Steele, The Tatler: No. 1 Tuesday, April 12,
1709 (1709)
Donald F. Bond (ed.), The Tatler, Vol. 1
Published in print: 1987 Published online: May 2014
...........................................................................................................................
PG 15
NO. 1
TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 1709
1
Quicquid agunt Homines nostri Farrago Libelli.
THO' the other Papers which are publish'd for the Use of the Good People of England have
certainly very wholesom Effects, and are laudable in their Particular Kinds, they do not seem
to come up to the Main Design of such Narrations, which, I humbly presume, should be
2
principally intended for the Use of Politick Persons, who are so publick-spirited as to neglect
their own Affairs to look into Transactions of State. Now these Gentlemen, for the most Part,
being Persons of strong Zeal and weak Intellects, it is both a Charitable and Necessary Work
to offer something, whereby such worthy and well-affected Members of the Commonwealth
may be instructed, after their Reading, what to think: Which shall be the End and Purpose
of this my Paper, wherein I shall from Time to Time Report and Consider all Matters of what
Kind soever that shall occur to Me, and publish such my Advices and Reflections every
3
Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, in the Week, for the Convenience of the Post. I resolve
a
also to have something which may be of Entertainment to the Fair Sex, in Honour of whom
b
I have invented the Title of this Paper. I therefore earnestly desire all Persons, without
4
Distinction, to take it in for the present Gratis, and hereafter at the Price of One Penny,
forbidding all Hawkers to take
...........................................................................................................................
pg 16
more for it at their Peril. And I desire all Persons to consider, that I am at a very great Charge
for proper Materials for this Work, as well as that before I resolv'd upon it, I had settled
c
a Correspondence in all Parts of the Known and Knowing World. And forasmuch as this
Globe is not trodden upon by mere Drudges of Business only, but that Men of Spirit and
Genius are justly to be esteem'd as considerable Agents in it, we shall not upon a Dearth
of News present you with musty Foreign Edicts, or dull Proclamations, but shall divide our
Page 1 of 11
DOI of this work: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oseo/instance.00044494
http://www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com/view/10.1093/actrade/9780198124849.book.1/actrade-9780198124849-div1-10
PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARLY EDITIONS ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com). (c) Oxford University Press,
2015. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out single copies of portions
of Oxford Scholarly Editions Online for personal use (for details see http://www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com/page/privacypolicy/
privacy-policy). Subscriber: University of Edinburgh; date: 01 November 2017
Relations of the Passages which occur in Action or Discourse throughout this Town, as well as
elsewhere, under such Dates of Places as may prepare you for the Matter you are to expect,
in the following Manner.
All Accounts of Gallantry, Pleasure, and Entertainment, shall be under the Article of White's
Chocolate-house; Poetry, under that of Will's Coffee-house; Learning, under the Title of
Graecian; Foreign and Domestick News, you will have from St. James's Coffee-house; and
d 5
what else I have to offer on any other Subject, shall be dated from my own Apartment.
I once more desire my Reader to consider, That as I cannot keep an Ingenious Man to go
daily to Will's, under Twopence each Day merely for his Charges; to White's, under Sixpence;
6
nor to the Graecian, without allowing him some Plain Spanish, to be as able as others at the
Learned Table;
...........................................................................................................................
pg 17
7
and that a good Observer cannot speak with even Kidney at St. James's without clean
Linnen. I say, these Considerations will, I hope, make all Persons willing to comply with my
Humble Request (when my Gratis Stock is exhausted) of a Penny a Piece; especially since
they are sure of some Proper Amusement, and that it is impossible for me to want Means to
e
entertain 'em, having, besides the Force of my own Parts, the Power of Divination, and that
I can, by casting a Figure, tell you all that will happen before it comes to pass.
But this last Faculty I shall use very sparingly, and speak but of few Things 'till they are
f
pass'd, for fear of divulging Matters which may offend our Superiors.
White's Chocolate-house, April 7.
THE deplorable Condition of a very pretty Gentleman, who walks here at the Hours when
Men of Quality first appear, is what is very much lamented. His History is, That on the 9th of
September, 1705, being in his One and twentieth Year, he was washing his Teeth at a Tavern
Window in Pall-Mall, when a fine Equipage pass'd by, and in it a young Lady who look'd up at
him; away goes the Coach, and the young Gentleman pull'd off his Night-Cap, and instead
of rubbing his Gums, as he ought to do, out of the Window 'till about Four of Clock, he sits
him down, and spoke not a Word 'till Twelve at Night; after which, he began to enquire, If
any body knew the Lady—The Company ask'd, What Lady? But he said no more, 'till they
broke up at Six in the Morning. All the ensuing Winter he went from Church to Church every
g
Sunday, and from Play-house to Play-house every Night in the Week, but could never find
the Original of the Picture which dwelt in his Bosom. In a Word, his Attention to any Thing,
but his Passion, was utterly gone. He has lost all the Money he ever play'd for, and been
confuted in every Argument he has enter'd upon since the Moment he first saw her. He is of
Page 2 of 11
DOI of this work: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oseo/instance.00044494
http://www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com/view/10.1093/actrade/9780198124849.book.1/actrade-9780198124849-div1-10
PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARLY EDITIONS ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com). (c) Oxford University Press,
2015. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out single copies of portions
of Oxford Scholarly Editions Online for personal use (for details see http://www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com/page/privacypolicy/
privacy-policy). Subscriber: University of Edinburgh; date: 01 November 2017
...........................................................................................................................
pg 18
a Noble Family, has naturally a very good Air, is of a frank, honest Temper: But this Passion
8 9
has so extreamely maul'd him, that his Features are set and uninform'd, and his whole
Visage is deaden'd by a long Absence of Thought. He never appears in any Alacrity, but
when rais'd by Wine; at which Time he is sure to come hither, and throw away a great deal
of Wit on Fellows, who have no Sense further than just to observe, That our poor Lover has
h 10
most Understanding when he's Drunk, and is least in his Senses when he's Sober.
Will's Coffee-house, April 8.
11
On Thursday last was acted, for the Benefit of Mr. Betterton, the Celebrated Comedy, call'd
12 13 14
Love for Love. Those Excellent Players, Mrs. Barry, Mrs. Bracegirdle,
...........................................................................................................................
pg 19
15
and Mr. Dogget, tho' not at present concern'd in the House, acted on that Occasion. There
i
has not been known so great a Concourse of Persons of Distinction as at that Time; the
Stage it self was cover'd with Gentlemen and Ladies, and when the Curtain was drawn, it
j
discovered even there a very splendid Audience. This unusual Encouragement which was
given to a Play for the Advantage of so Great an Actor, gives an undeniable Instance, That
the True Relish for Manly Entertainment and Rational Pleasures is not wholly lost. All the
Parts were acted to Perfection; the Actors were careful of their Carriage, and no one was
k l
guilty of the Affectation to insert Witticisms of his own, but a due Respect was had to the
Audience, for encouraging this accomplish'd Player. It is not now doubted but Plays will
revive, and take their usual Place in the Opinion of Persons of Wit and Merit, notwithstanding
16 17
their late Apostacy in Favour of Dress and Sound. This Place is very much alter'd since
Mr. Dryden frequented it; where you us'd to see Songs, Epigrams, and Satyrs, in the Hands
of every Man you met, you have now only a Pack of Cards; and instead of the Cavils about
the Turn of the Expression, the Elegance of the Style, and the like, the Learned now dispute
m
only about the Truth of the Game. But, however
...........................................................................................................................
pg 20
the Company is alter'd, all have shewn a great Respect for Mr. Betterton; and the very
Gaming Part of this House have been so much touch'd with a Sence of the Uncertainty of
Humane Affairs, (which alter with themselves every Moment) that in this Gentleman, they
pitied Mark Anthony of Rome, Hamlett of Denmark, Mithridates of Pontus, Theodosius of
Greece, and Henry the Eighth of England. It is well known, he has been in the Condition of
each of those illustrious Personages for several Hours together, and behav'd himself in those
Page 3 of 11
DOI of this work: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oseo/instance.00044494
http://www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com/view/10.1093/actrade/9780198124849.book.1/actrade-9780198124849-div1-10
PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARLY EDITIONS ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com). (c) Oxford University Press,
2015. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out single copies of portions
of Oxford Scholarly Editions Online for personal use (for details see http://www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com/page/privacypolicy/
privacy-policy). Subscriber: University of Edinburgh; date: 01 November 2017
18
high Stations, in all the Changes of the Scene, with suitable Dignity. For these Reasons,
n
we intend to repeat this Favour to him on a proper Occasion, lest he who can instruct us so
o
well in personating Feigned Sorrows, should be lost to us by suffering under Real Ones. The
Town is at present in very great Expectation of seeing a Comedy now in Rehearsal, which
19
is the 25th Production of my Honour'd Friend Mr. Thomas D'Urfey; who, besides his great
Abilities in the Dramatick, has a peculiar Talent in the Lyrick Way of Writing, and that with
p
a Manner wholly new and unknown to the Antient Greeks and Romans, wherein he is but
faintly imitated in the Translations of the Modern Italian Opera's.
20
St. James's Coffee-house, April 11.
q
Letters from the Hague of the 16th, say, That Major
...........................................................................................................................
pg 21
21
General Cadogan was gone to Brussels, with Orders to disperse proper Instructions for
assembling the whole Force of the Allies in Flanders in the Beginning of the next Month. The
late Offers concerning Peace, were made in the Style of Persons who think themselves upon
equal Terms: But the Allies have so just a Sense of their present Advantages, that they will
22
not admit of a Treaty, except France offers what is more suitable to her present Condition.
At the same Time we make Preparations, as if we were alarm'd by a greater Force than that
which we are carrying into the Field. Thus this Point seems now to be argued Sword in Hand.
r
This was what a Great General alluded to, when being ask'd the Names of those who were
to be Plenipotentiaries for the ensuing Peace; answer'd, with a serious Air, There are about
23 s
an Hundred thousand of us. Mr. Kidney, who has the Ear of the Greatest Politicians that
come hither, tells me, There is a Mail come in to Day with Letters, dated Hague, April 19,
N.S. which say, a Design of bringing Part of our Troops into the Field at the latter End of this
Month, is now alter'd to a Resolution of marching towards the Camp about the 20th of the
t
next. There happen'd t'other Day, in the Road of Scheveling, an Engagement between a
Privateer of Zealand and one of Dunkirk. The Dunkirker, carrying 33 Pieces of
...........................................................................................................................
pg 22
24
Cannon, was taken and brought into the Texel. It is said, the Courier of Monsieur Rouillé
25
is return'd to him from the Court of France. Monsieur Vendosme being reinstated in the
Favour of the Dutchess of Burgundy, is to command in Flanders.
Mr. Kidney added, that there were Letters of the 17th from Ghent, which give an Account,
that the Enemy had form'd a Design to surprise two Battalions of the Allies which lay at
Page 4 of 11
DOI of this work: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oseo/instance.00044494
http://www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com/view/10.1093/actrade/9780198124849.book.1/actrade-9780198124849-div1-10
PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARLY EDITIONS ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com). (c) Oxford University Press,
2015. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out single copies of portions
of Oxford Scholarly Editions Online for personal use (for details see http://www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com/page/privacypolicy/
privacy-policy). Subscriber: University of Edinburgh; date: 01 November 2017
Alost; but those Battalions receiv'd Advice of their March, and retir'd to Dendermond.
26
Lieutenant General Wood appear'd on this Occasion at the Head of 5000 Foot and 1000
Horse, upon which the Enemy withdrew without making any further Attempt.
From my own Apartment.
I am sorry I am obliged to trouble the Publick with so much Discourse, upon a Matter which
I at the very first mentioned as a Trifle, viz. the Death of Mr. Partridge, under whose Name
27
there is an Almanack come out for the Year 1709. In one Page of which, it is asserted by
the said John
...........................................................................................................................
pg 23
u
Partridge, That he is still living, and not only so, but that he was also living some Time
before, and even at the Instant when I writ of his Death. I have in another Place, and in a
Paper by it self, sufficiently convinc'd this Man that he is dead, and if he has any Shame, I
don't doubt but that by this Time he owns it to all his Acquaintance: For tho' the Legs and
Arms, and whole Body, of that Man may still appear and perform their animal Functions;
yet since, as I have elsewhere observ'd, his Art is gone, the Man is gone. I am, as I said,
concern'd, that this little Matter should make so much Noise; but since I am engag'd, I take
my self oblig'd in Honour to go on in my Lucubrations, and by the Help of these Arts of
v
which I am Master, as well as my Skill in Astrological Speculations, I shall, as I see Occasion,
proceed to confute other dead Men, who pretend to be in Being, that they are actually
deceased. I therefore give all Men fair Warning to mend their Manners, for I shall from Time
to Time print Bills of Mortality; and I beg the Pardon of all such who shall be nam'd therein, if
they who are good for Nothing shall find themselves in the Number of the Deceased.
Page 5 of 11
DOI of this work: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oseo/instance.00044494
http://www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com/view/10.1093/actrade/9780198124849.book.1/actrade-9780198124849-div1-10
PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARLY EDITIONS ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com). (c) Oxford University Press,
2015. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out single copies of portions
of Oxford Scholarly Editions Online for personal use (for details see http://www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com/page/privacypolicy/
privacy-policy). Subscriber: University of Edinburgh; date: 01 November 2017
NOTES
1
Motto. Juvenal, Satires, 1. 85–6:
Whate'er men do, or say, or think, or dream,
Our motley paper seizes for its theme. PERCY
In the original folio sheets (but not in the 12mo and 8vo reprints) this motto was used in the
first forty numbers. It appeared again in folio, 12mo, and 8vo editions, in Nos. 47, 49–54, 56–
63, 65–8, and 70–8.
15. 4 they] yet they 12mo
9 Persons] Men 12mo
2
In the early numbers satire on amateur interpreters of the news is much to the fore, and
the long reports of news may be especially directed to these 'coffeehouse politicians'. In
Spectator 403 Addison describes how the news of the day is received in the various coffee-
houses of London.
3
The post went out from London on these days.
a
1. I resolve also] It is also resolv'd by me Fol.; I have also resolved 12mo
b
invented] Taken Fol.; taken 12mo
4
The first four numbers were distributed gratis, and thereafter sold for a penny.
16. 1 All Persons] my Readers 12mo
c
World. And] World; and Fol.
d
I have … Subject ] I shall on any other Subject offer Fol., 12mo
5
White's chocolate-house, in St. James's street, was founded by Francis White and early
became a rendezvous for men of fashion (Lillywhite, 1511). Steele in Spectator 88 reports
that 'Lovers and Men of Intrigue' are often to be met with there. Will's coffee-house
(Lillywhite, 1548), named after Will Urwin, its proprietor, stood at the north-west corner
of Russell and Bow streets, Covent Garden, and was formerly the resort of wits, presided
over by Dryden. The Grecian (Lillywhite, 494), in Devereux Court in the Strand, was
founded by the Greek servant of an English merchant returned from the Levant; it was a
Page 6 of 11
DOI of this work: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oseo/instance.00044494
http://www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com/view/10.1093/actrade/9780198124849.book.1/actrade-9780198124849-div1-10
PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARLY EDITIONS ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com). (c) Oxford University Press,
2015. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out single copies of portions
of Oxford Scholarly Editions Online for personal use (for details see http://www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com/page/privacypolicy/
privacy-policy). Subscriber: University of Edinburgh; date: 01 November 2017
favourite meeting place of lawyers, scholars, and members of the Royal Society. St. James's
(Lillywhite, 1131), on the west side of St. James's street, near the palace and not far from
the Houses of Parliament, was an obvious centre for news. Like White's, it was favoured
by the Whigs (Holmes, pp. 22–3). Swift, before he deserted the Whig party, had his letters
directed there in care of Steele (Journal to Stella, 2 Sept. 1710). For London coffee-houses
see Ashton, chap. xviii.
20 Reader] Readers 12mo
6
Snuff. At the Star in Bedford Court, near Covent Garden, 'All sorts of Plain Spanish, the
lowest at 3s. 6d.' (advertisement in No. 82). Similar advertisements appear in Spectator 10,
12, 27, etc.
7
For Humphrey Kidney, waiter at St. James's coffee-house, see Spectator 24 and note.
e
Force] Helps Fol., 12mo
f
speak … pass'd ] not speak of any Thing 'till it is pass'd Fol., 12mo
17. 23 he sits] sits 8vo
g
every Night in the Week] all the Week Fol., 12mo
18. 1 is] and is 12mo
8
In the transferred sense of 'damage seriously' OED gives but one earlier example.
9
Not animated. Cf. Steele in Spectator 33: 'Without this irradiating Power … her most perfect
Features are Uninform'd and Dead.'
h
The Reader is desir'd to take Notice of the Article from this Place from Time to Time, for
I design to be very exact in the Progress this unhappy Gentleman makes, which may be of
great Instruction to all who actually are, or who ever shall be, in Love. Fol.
10
In No. 5 Steele reveals that this is Cynthio.
11 acted] presented 12mo
11
Thomas Betterton, whose acting career had spanned nearly forty years, was now over 70.
He died the following Apr. For Steele's eulogy see No. 167.
Page 7 of 11
DOI of this work: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oseo/instance.00044494
http://www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com/view/10.1093/actrade/9780198124849.book.1/actrade-9780198124849-div1-10
PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARLY EDITIONS ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com). (c) Oxford University Press,
2015. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out single copies of portions
of Oxford Scholarly Editions Online for personal use (for details see http://www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com/page/privacypolicy/
privacy-policy). Subscriber: University of Edinburgh; date: 01 November 2017
12
Performed at Drury Lane on the seventh. Congreve's comedy was an appropriate vehicle
for Betterton's benefit, since he had created the role of Valentine in this play when it opened
the new theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields on 30 Apr. 1695. The epilogue by Rowe (spoken by
Mrs. Barry) was printed in Tonson's sixth Miscellany (Poetical Miscellanies: The Sixth Part
(1709), pp. 570–2).
13
Elizabeth Barry (born c. 1658) was now at the end of a brilliant career which had begun
in the mid-1670s; she was a superb actress in both comic and tragic parts, particularly the
latter. She created the roles of Monimia in Otway's The Orphan, Belvidera in his Venice
Preserved (a play written especially for her and Betterton), and Zara in Congreve's Mourning
Bride. According to Downes (p. 38) her greatest roles were Monimia, Belvidera, and Isabella
(in The Fatal Marriage by Southerne). She had appeared as Mrs. Frail in the first performance
of Love for Love. She retired from the stage shortly after her performance mentioned here
and died in Nov. 1713.
14
Anne Bracegirdle (born c. 1663) after a successful career as singer and actress had retired
from the stage in 1707, possibly as a result of rivalry with Mrs. Oldfield. Like Mrs. Barry
she had gone with Betterton to Lincoln's Inn Fields, where she was the original Angelica
in Love for Love. Congreve created the role of Millamant for her in The Way of the World.
'Never any woman', wrote Cibber, 'was in such general favour of her spectators, which, to
the last scene of her dramatick life, she maintain'd, by not being unguarded in her private
character' (Apology, chap. v, p. 91).
15
Thomas Doggett, born in Dublin, came to London about 1690, for a time operated a booth
in Bartholomew Fair, and became an actor in comic roles at Drury Lane. He too followed
Betterton to Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1695 and created the role of Ben in Love for Love. In
1709–11 he was partner, with Cibber, Wilks, and Swiny, in the management of the Queen's
Theatre in the Haymarket. He wrote one play, The Country Wake (1696), in which he played
the part of Hob. Later (1716) he founded the race for Doggett's Coat and Badge, rowed for
by the Thames watermen every 1 Aug. from London Bridge to Chelsea. The Trunk-maker in
Spectator 235 had 'broken half a dozen Oaken Plants' in admiration of Doggett's acting. See
T. A Cook and Guy Nickalls, Thomas Doggett deceased: A Famous Comedian (1908).
i
as at that Time] Added 12mo, 8vo
j
it discovered even there] there appear'd also Fol.
19. 9 Entertainment] Entertainments
k
Perfection; the Actors … guilty ] Perfection, and there seem'd a peculiar Regard had to their
Behaviour on this Occasion: No one was guilty Fol.
Page 8 of 11
DOI of this work: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oseo/instance.00044494
http://www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com/view/10.1093/actrade/9780198124849.book.1/actrade-9780198124849-div1-10
PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARLY EDITIONS ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com). (c) Oxford University Press,
2015. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out single copies of portions
of Oxford Scholarly Editions Online for personal use (for details see http://www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com/page/privacypolicy/
privacy-policy). Subscriber: University of Edinburgh; date: 01 November 2017
l
was had] had Fol.
16
Steele had written to Joseph Keally the preceding autumn: 'The taste for Plays is expired.
We are all for Operas, performed by eunuchs every way impotent to please' (Corresp., p.
25).
17
i.e. Will's.
m
But, however] But however, Fol., 12mo, 8vo
18
Of Betterton's roles mentioned by Steele only that of Henry VIII had been acted by him
during the current season (20 Jan. 1709), but he had recently played Macbeth, Lear, Falstaff
(in Henry IV), and Othello. In addition the current season had seen him as Heartwell in The
Old Batchelor, Montezuma in The Indian Emperor, and Virginius in Appius and Virginia. His
roles as Mark Antony (in All for Love), Hamlet, Mithridates, and Theodosius (both plays by
Lee) were starring parts in Betterton's early years.
n
this Favour] this late Favour Fol.
o
should be] may not be Fol.
19
The new comedy, The Modern Prophets, or, New Wit for a Husband, was produced at
Drury Lane in the following month (3 May), and had only the customary three performances.
See below, Nos. 11 and 43, for further references to D'Urfey.
p
wherein he] and Fol.
20
The reports of news 'foreign and domestick' are particularly full in the early numbers.
As official editor of the London Gazette (he had been appointed almost exactly two years
earlier) Steele had unrivalled access to the news dispatches from the Continent. For
the general situation of the war against Louis XIV now reaching its climax, see Winston
Churchill's Marlborough: His Life and Times (1933), and Trevelyan, ii. chap. xix.
At this time, the French, who had suffered a severe defeat at Oudenarde in the preceding
July and the fall of the citadel of Lille in Dec, began to consider terms of peace, still under
negotiation when this number of the Tatler was published. The campaign in the early months
of 1709 was fought between Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy at the head of the
Allies and Marshal Villars in command of the French.
q
say] said Fol.
Page 9 of 11
DOI of this work: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oseo/instance.00044494
http://www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com/view/10.1093/actrade/9780198124849.book.1/actrade-9780198124849-div1-10
PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARLY EDITIONS ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com). (c) Oxford University Press,
2015. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out single copies of portions
of Oxford Scholarly Editions Online for personal use (for details see http://www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com/page/privacypolicy/
privacy-policy). Subscriber: University of Edinburgh; date: 01 November 2017
21
William Cadogan, recently advanced to Lieutenant-General, had served under William III
and played a leading part in all of Marlborough's campaigns, serving throughout the war. He
was created Earl Cadogan in 1718, and in 1722 succeeded Marlborough as head of the army.
22
Following their defeat at Oudenarde in July 1708 and the unprecedented severe winter of
1708–9, the French were at last ready for peace, and active negotiations were entered into
throughout Mar., Apr., and May.
r
Hand. This] Hand; which Fol.
23
In a review of the year's events the Post Boy (29 Dec. 1709) quoted the Duke of
Marlborough as 'having wittily said [at the opening of the campaign], That the Peace was to
be treated of in France, the next summer, by 150000 Plenipotentiaries'.
s
that] who Fol.
t
Prince Eugene was then return'd thither from Amsterdam. He sets out for Brussels on
Tuesday: The Greater Number of the General Officers at the Hague, have Orders to go at the
same Time. The Squadron at Dunkirk consists of seven Vessels. Fol.
24
Pierre Rouillé, seigneur de Marbeuf (1657–1712), the well-known diplomat, had lived in
Brussels for some time as an unofficial agent of the French. In March he was sent to Holland
to begin secret negotiations with the States-General for peace.
25
Louis Joseph, duc de Vendôme (1654–1712), with the Duke of Burgundy, had been
defeated the preceding year at Oudenarde. The newspapers were reporting that he was to
command in Flanders, but the Due de Villars was placed in command instead. Saint-Simon
gives an unflattering picture of Vendôme's arrogance and unsavoury personal life. In 1710
he was to fight successfully in Spain.
26
Lieutenant-General Cornelius Wood (d. 1712). The Gazette (14 Apr.) in a dispatch from
Brussels reports his readiness 'to march upon the first advice of the Motion of the French'.
Wood has been thought to be the Sylvius of No. 144, note 4. For further details of the affair
at Alost see No. 4.
27
The reference here is to Merlinus Liberatus (Partridge's almanac for 1709), in which
Partridge protested that he was 'still alive'. Swift's Predictions for the Year 1708, in which
he had foretold the death of Partridge, had been signed 'Isaac Bickerstaff Esq.', and had not
only given rise to a series of Bickerstaffian pamphlets but of course had given Steele the
name for the assumed author of the Tatler. In this final paragraph of the first number Steele
Page 10 of 11
DOI of this work: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oseo/instance.00044494
http://www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com/view/10.1093/actrade/9780198124849.book.1/actrade-9780198124849-div1-10
PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARLY EDITIONS ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com). (c) Oxford University Press,
2015. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out single copies of portions
of Oxford Scholarly Editions Online for personal use (for details see http://www.oxfordscholarlyeditions.com/page/privacypolicy/
privacy-policy). Subscriber: University of Edinburgh; date: 01 November 2017
