Isaac Bickerstaff | Page 3

and all

other references to Project Gutenberg, or:
[1] Only give exact copies of it. Among other things, this requires that
you do not remove, alter or modify the etext or this "small print!"
statement. You may however, if you wish, distribute this etext in
machine readable binary, compressed, mark-up, or proprietary form,
including any form resulting from conversion by word pro- cessing or
hypertext software, but only so long as *EITHER*:
[*] The etext, when displayed, is clearly readable, and does *not*
contain characters other than those intended by the author of the work,
although tilde (~), asterisk (*) and underline (i) characters may be used
to convey punctuation intended by the author, and additional characters
may be used to indicate hypertext links; OR
[*] The etext may be readily converted by the reader at no expense into
plain ASCII, EBCDIC or equivalent form by the program that displays
the etext (as is the case, for instance, with most word processors); OR
[*] You provide, or agree to also provide on request at no additional
cost, fee or expense, a copy of the etext in its original plain ASCII form
(or in EBCDIC or other equivalent proprietary form).
[2] Honor the etext refund and replacement provisions of this "Small
Print!" statement.
[3] Pay a trademark license fee to the Project of 20% of the net profits
you derive calculated using the method you already use to calculate
your applicable taxes. If you don't derive profits, no royalty is due.
Royalties are payable to "Project Gutenberg
Association/Carnegie-Mellon University" within the 60 days following
each date you prepare (or were legally required to prepare) your annual
(or equivalent periodic) tax return.
WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU
DON'T HAVE TO?
The Project gratefully accepts contributions in money, time, scanning

machines, OCR software, public domain etexts, royalty free copyright
licenses, and every other sort of contribution you can think of. Money
should be paid to "Project Gutenberg Association / Carnegie-Mellon
University".
We are planning on making some changes in our donation structure in
2000, so you might want to email me, [email protected] beforehand.

This eText was prepared by Les Bowler, St. Ives, Dorset.

*END THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN
ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END*

Isaac Bickerstaff, Physician and Astrologer by Richard Steele. Papers
from Steele's "Tatler."

Introduction by Henry Morley.

Of the relations between Steele and Addison, and the origin of Steele's
"Tatler," which was developed afterwards into the "Spectator," account
has already been given in the introduction to a volume of this Library, *
containing essays from the "Spectator"-- "Sir Roger de Coverley and
the Spectator Club." There had been a centre of life in the "Tatler,"
designed, as Sir Roger and his friends were designed, to carry the
human interest of a distinct personality through the whole series of
papers. The "Tatler's" personality was Isaac Bickerstaff, Physician and
Astrologer; as to years, just over the grand climacteric, sixty-three,
mystical multiple of nine and seven; dispensing counsel from his
lodgings at Shire Lane, and seeking occasional rest in the vacuity of
thought proper to his club at the "Trumpet."

The name of Isaac Bickerstaff Steele borrowed from his friend Swift,
who, just before the establishment of the "Tatler," had borrowed it from
a shoemaker's shop-board, and used it as the name of an imagined
astrologer, who should be an astrologer indeed, and should attack John
Partridge, the chief of the astrological almanack makers, with a definite
prediction of the day and hour of his death. This he did in a pamphlet
that brought up to the war against one stronghold of superstition an
effective battery of satire. The pamphlet itself has been given in our
volume of "The Battle of the Books, and other short pieces, by
Jonathan Swift." * The joke once set rolling was kept up in other
playful little pamphlets written to announce the fulfilment of the
prophecy, and to explain to Partridge that, whether he knew it or not, he
was dead. This joke was running through the town when Steele began
his "Tatler" on the 12th of April, 1709. Steele kept it going, and, in
doing so, wrote once or twice in the character of Bickerstaff. Then he
proceeded to develop the astrologer into a central character, who should
give life and unity to his whole series of essays.
They were published for a penny a number, at the rate of three numbers
a week. Steele, for his threepence a week, sought to give wholesome
pleasure while good-humouredly helping men to rise above the vices
and the follies of their time. Evil ways of the court of Charles the
Second still survived in empty tradition. The young man thought it
polite to set up for an atheist, said Steele, though it could be