TAT. N° 3, vol. I. p. 26.

"Tapestry." The art of weaving tapestry was brought into England by William Sheldon, efq. about the end of the reign of Hen. VIII. See DUGDALE'S "Warwickshire," p. 584. A manufacture of tapeftry, was fet up at Mortlack in Surry, in the time of James I. who gave 2000l. towards the undertaking. Sir Francis Crane erected the house, to execute the design in, and Francis Cleyn painted for the workmen. The manufactory foon arrived at a high degree of excellence, for Archbishop Williams paid for the four seasons, wrought I fuppofe for hangings, 2,500l. WALPOLE'S "Anecdotes," &c. p. 21; and DODSLEY'S " Old Plays," vol. V. p. 423.

TAT. No 229, vol. VI. p. 113.

"I have been annotated, re-tattled, examined, and coN"DOLED." It does not appear that there was any periodical paper under the title of the CONDOLER; but this feems to alJude to the following filly fcurrilous publication, on the conftant inexhauftible topic of STEELE'S "imprudence of generosity, or "vanity of profufion, which kept him always incurably necef"fitous."

n

** This day is published, "A condoling Letter to the "TATLER, on Account of the Misfortunes of Ifaac BICKER"STAFF, a Prifoner in the ----on Sufpicion of DEBT." Sold by S. Popping, at the Raven in Pater-nofter Row. FLYING POST, Sept. 16-19, 1710. See TAT. N° 251, vol. VI. 201. Note on WHISTON; and FAT. No 176, vol. V. p. 48, ad finem.

TAT. NO 245, vol. VI. p. 241.

Water of talc." Water, and oil of talc, was in repute as a cofmetic among the ladies of Ben Jonfon's age. It is mentioned in his " Foreft," fong 8, and had its name, fays Mr. Whalley, from curing a malady incident to fheep which was fo called. See DoDSLEY'S "Old Plays," ut fupra, p. 422.

TAT. N° 249, p. 265, vol. VI. note.

"A coach was a strange monfter in thofe days, &c."—"Some "faid it was a crab-shell brought out of China, and some imagined it to be one of the Pagan temples, in which the canibals "devoured the divell; at last thofe doubts were cleared, and coach-making became a substantial trade, fo that now all the

2 7

"world

"world may fee they are as common as w -S, and may be "hired as eafy as knights of the poft." When Buckingham began to draw with fix horfes, it was wondered at as a novelty, and imputed to him as a mastering pride. About the same time, 1619, he introduced fedan-chairs. DODSLEY'S "Old Plays," ut fupra, P. 475.

TAT. N° 263, vol. VI. p. 389.

"The curfeu, or eight o'clock bell," &c. In an old Scotifh poem, published in 1770, with many others from the MS. of G. Bannatyne their collector, curfew is written curphour, and it is faid in the annotations, that, by Act 144 parl. 13 Jam. I. this bell was to be rung in boroughs at nine in the evening, and that the hour was afterwards changed to ten at the follicitation of the wife of James Stewart, the favourite of James VI. Shakfpeare feems to be the only writer who hath tolled the curfeu at the break of day.

The fecond cock hath crowed,

The curfew bell hath rung, 'tis three o'clock. Rom. and JUL. We find the coverfeu is here mentioned, as a common and ap-' proved regulation; it was ufed in moft of, the ancient monafte ries and towns of the north of Europe, the intent being merely to prevent the accident of fires, for all the houfes confifted at this time of timber. Mufcow being built with this material, generally fuffers in this way, and fimilar injuries are, and were early, frequent in London, as appears from a paffage in FitzStephens, who wrote in the reign of Henry II. See BARRINGTON'S "Obfervations on ancient Statutes," &c. 4to, 4th edit. 1775, P. 154. It appears from the fame curious book, that expence and gluttony, mentioned in this and a preceding Paper of the TATLER, were immoderate, at a very early period of our hiftory. See remarks on a fumptuary law to reftrain the extravagance of entertainments in the fourteenth century, A. D. 1336, IBIDEM, p. 240. For the illuftration of the Paper of the TATLER on Efquires, fee IBIDEM, p. 288, and p. 382, and various illuftrations pafim, which came too late to the knowledge of the Annotator to be made ufe of in this firft part of his work, but which will be properly taken notice of in the fequel.

N. B. " M. Guillaume COURTEN fut plus connu pofterieurment fous le nom de CHARLTON qu'il prit apres avoir perdu un "tres beau domaine appericnant de fa famille." MSS. Birch. 4241, 4to. See TA1. vol. VI. p. 477, Addit. Notes.

STEELE'S

(ix)

STE E L E's

PRE F A CE

To the Original OCTAVO EDITION, 1710.

N the last Tatler I promised fome explanation

IN

of paffages and perfons mentioned in this work, as well as fome account of the affiftances I have had in the performance. I fhall do this in very few words; for when a man has no defign but to fpeak plain truth, he may fay a great deal in a very narrow compafs. I have, in the dedication of the first volume, made my acknowledgments to Dr. SWIFT*, whofe pleasant writings, in the name of BICKERSTAFF, created an inclination in the town towards any thing that could appear in the fame difguife. I must acknowledge alfo, that, at my first entering upon this work, a certain uncommon way of thinking, and a tura in converfation peculiar to that agreeable gentleman, rendered his company very advantageous to one whofe imagination was to be continually employed upon obvious and common fubjects, though at the fame time obliged to treat of them in a new and unbeaten method.

STEELE'S original dedications are all preferved in the prefent edition. They follow the Lift of his Subfcribers, which is likewife preferved, as containing the names of many eminent at that time for wit, beauty, valour, and wifdom. See STEELE'S Dedication to Vol. I. and TATL. N° 162. Vol. IV. p. 36S.

VOL. I.

b

His

His verses on the Shower in Town, and the De fcription of the Morning, are inftances of the happiness of that genius, which could raife fuch pleafing ideas upon occafions fo barren to an ordinary invention.

I

When I am upon the house of BICKERSTAFF, must not forget that genealogy of the family fent to me by the poft, and written, as I fince understand, by Mr. TWISDEN, who died at the battle of Mons, and has a monument in Westminster abbey, fuitable to the respect which is due to his wit and his valour. There are through the course of the work very many incidents which were written by unknown correfpondents. Of this kind is the tale in the fecond Tatler, and the epiftle from Mr. DowNES the prompter §, with others which were very well received by the public. But I have only one gentleman, who will be nameless ||, to thank for any frequent affiftance to me, which indeed it would have been barbarous in him to have denied to one with whom he has lived in an intimacy from childhood, confidering the great ease with which he is able to dispatch the most entertaining pieces of this nature. This good office he performed with fuch force of genius, humour, wit, and learning, that I fared like a diftreffed Prince, who calls in a powerful neighbour to his aid; I was undone by my

*TATL. N° 238. TATL. No 9.

TATL. N° 11.; No 75. STATL. No 193.

The veil of fecrecy has long fince been removed; it was fuf pected before the TATLER was re-publifhed in volumes, but it then became certain, that this auxiliary was ADDISON. His name (as well as thofe of many hitherto unknown writers, of the BICKERSTAFF family,) will appear throughout this edition to all the papers which can with certainty be appropriated.

6

auxiliary;

auxiliary; when I had once called him in, I could not fubfift without dependance on him.

The fame hand writ the distinguishing characters of men and women under the names of " Mufical Inftruments," "The Distress of the News-writers," "The Inventory of the Play-house, " and "The Defcription of the Thermometer §," which I cannot but look upon as the greatest embellishments of this work.

Thus far I thought neceffary to fay relating to the great hands which have been concerned in these volumes, with relation to the fpirit and genius of the work; and am far from pretending to modefty in making this acknowledgment. What a man obtains from the good opinion and friendship of worthy men, is a much greater honour than he can poffibly reap from any accomplishments of his own. But all the credit of wit which was given me by the gentlemen above-mentioned, with whom I have now accounted, has not been able to atone for the exceptions made against me for fome raillery in behalf of that learned advocate for the epifcopacy of the church, and the liberty of the people, Mr. HOADLY ||. I mentioned this only to defend myself against the imputation of being moved rather by party than opinion; and I think it is ap parent, I have with the utmost frankness allowed merit where-ever I found it, though joined an interefts different from thofe for which I have declared myself. When my FAVONIUS ** is acknow

* TATL. N° 153. † TATL. No 18.

1 TATL. N° 42. § TATL. N° 220.

See TATL. No 44; N° 50; N° 51; N° 115; N° 143; ** TATL. No. 72; No 114.

and notes.

b 2

leged