The Coverley Papers | Page 4

Overbury and Earle.
These 'characters' had always been entirely typical; they were treated
rather from the abstract than from the human point of view, and had no
names or other individualization than that of their character and calling.
In some of the numbers of the Spectator we still find these 'characters'
occurring, such as the character of Will Wimble, [Footnote: Spectator
108.] of the honest yeoman, [Footnote: Spectator 122.] and of Tom
Touchy; [Footnote: Spectator 122.] but they are surrounded by
circumstances peculiar to themselves, and so are much more highly
individualized. The Tatler and the Spectator very greatly extended the
range of essay-writing, and with it the flexibility of prose style; it is this
extension that gives to them their modern quality. Nothing came amiss:
fable, description, vision, gossip, literary criticism or moral essays,
discussion of large questions such as marriage and education, or of the
smaller social amenities--any subject which would be of interest to a
sufficiently large number of readers would furnish a paper; as Steele
wrote at the beginning of the Tatler, 'Quicquid agunt homines nostri
libelli farrago.' Different interests were voiced by the various members
of the club, and the light humorous treatment and an easy style
attracted a larger public than had ever been reached by a single
publication. [Footnote: v. Appendix IV.] The elasticity of the structure
enabled Addison to produce the maximum effect, and to bring into play
the full weight of his character.

The nature of the work was determined throughout by its strongly
human interest. It is significant as standing between the lifeless
'characters' of the seventeenth century and the great development of the
novel. Thackeray calls Addison 'the most delightful talker in the world',
and his essays have precisely the charm of the conversation of a
well-informed and thoughtful man of the world. They are entirely
discursive; he starts with a certain subject, and follows any line of
thought that occurs to him. If he thinks of an anecdote in connexion
with his subject, that goes down; if it suggests to him abstract
speculations or moral reflections he gives us those instead. It is the
capricious chat of a man who likes to talk, not the product of an
imperative need of artistic expression. It is significant that so much of
his work consists of gossip about people. This growing interest in the
individual was leading up to the great eighteenth century novel. It
seems to arise out of a growing sense of identity, a stronger interest in
oneself; there is a common motive at the root of our observation of
other people, of the interest attaching to ordinary actions presented on
the stage, and of the fascination of a reflection or a portrait of ourselves;
by these means we are enabled to some extent to become detached, and
to take an external and impersonal view of ourselves. The stage had
already turned to the representation of contemporary life and manners;
portraiture was increasing in popularity; and the novel was on its way.
In the Coverley Papers all the characteristic species of the Spectator are
represented except the allegory and the essays in literary criticism.
Steele, who was always full of projects and swift and spontaneous in
invention, wrote the initial description of the club members, and the
characters were sustained by the two friends with wonderful
consistency. Apparently each was mainly responsible for a certain
number of the characters, and Sir Roger was really the property of
Addison, but no one person was strictly monopolized by either. The
papers were written independently, but it is easy to see that the two
authors had an identical conception of their characters. It is true that the
singularity of Sir Roger's behaviour described by Steele in the first
draft of his character is very lightly touched in subsequent papers, and
that, judging by the simplicity of his conduct in town, he has forgotten
very completely the 'fine gentleman' [Footnote: Spectator 2.] period of

his life, when, like Master Shallow, he 'heard the chimes at midnight',
but these are insignificant details.
Since Sir Roger belongs to Addison, it follows naturally that in the
present selection Addison's share compared with Steele's is larger in
proportion than in the complete Spectator, but it would be a mistake to
lose sight of the importance of Steele's part of the work. Addison was
the greater artist, and the balance and shapeliness of his style enhances
the effect of his thought and judgment, but we should be no less sorry
to relinquish Steele's headlong directness and warmth of feeling. The
humorous character sketches of Sir Roger's ancestors [Footnote:
Spectator 109.] are his, and his the passage at arms between the Quaker
and the soldier in the coach--the delightful soldier of whose remark the
Spectator tells us: 'This was followed