The Tatler, Volume 1, 1899

The Tatler, Volume 1, 1899

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Title: The Tatler, Volume 1, 1899
Author: George A. Aitken
Release Date: October 5, 2004 [EBook #13645]
Language: English
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TATLER, VOLUME 1, 1899 ***

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#THE TATLER#
Edited with Introduction & Notes by #George A. Aitken#
Author of "The Life of Richard Steele," Etc.
Vol. I
New York Hadley & Mathews 156 Fifth Avenue London: Duckworth
& Co. 1899

Preface

_The original numbers of the Tatler were reissued in two forms in
1710-11; one edition, in octavo, being published by subscription, while
the other, in duodecimo, was for the general public. The present edition
has been printed from a copy of the latter issue, which, as recorded on
the title-page, was "revised and corrected by the Author"; but I have
had by my side, for constant reference, a complete set of the folio
sheets, containing the "Lucubrations of Isaac Bickerstaff" in the form in
which they were first presented to the world. Scrupulous accuracy in
the text has been aimed at, but the eccentricities of spelling--which
were the printer's, not the author's--have not been preserved, and the
punctuation has occasionally been corrected.
The first and the most valuable of the annotated editions of the Tatler
was published by John Nichols and others in 1786, with notes by Dr.
Percy, Bishop of Dromore, Dr. John Calder, and Dr. Pearce, Bishop of
Rochester; and though these notes are often irrelevant and out of date,
they contain an immense amount of information, and have been freely
made use of by subsequent editors. I have endeavoured to preserve
what is of value in the older editions, and to supplement it, as concisely
as possible, by such further information as appeared desirable. The
eighteenth-century diaries and letters published of late years have in
many cases enabled me to throw light on passages which have hitherto
been obscure, and sometimes useful illustrations have been found in the
contemporary newspapers and periodicals.
The portraits of Steele, Addison, and Swift, the writers most associated
with the Tatler, have been taken from contemporary engravings in the
British Museum; and the imaginary portrait of Isaac Bickerstaff in the
last volume is from a rare picture drawn by Lens in 1710 as a
frontispiece to collections of the original folio numbers._
G. A. A.
_August 1898._

INTRODUCTION
When the first number of the Tatler appeared in 1709, Steele and
Addison were about thirty-seven years of age, while Swift, then still
counted among the Whigs, was more than four years their senior.
Addison and Steele had been friends at the Charterhouse School and at
Oxford, and though they had during the following years had varying

experiences, their friendship had in no way lessened. Addison had been
a fellow of his college, had gained the patronage of Charles Montague
and Lord Somers, had made the grand tour, and published an account
of his travels; had gained popularity by his poem "The Campaign,"
written in celebration of the victory at Blenheim; had been made an
Under-Secretary of State, and finally (in December 1708) had been
appointed secretary to Lord Wharton, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
Steele, on the other hand, had enlisted in the Guards, without taking
any degree; had obtained an ensign's commission after dedicating to
Lord Cutts a poem on Queen Mary's death; and had written a little book
called "The Christian Hero," designed "to fix upon his own mind a
strong impression of virtue and religion, in opposition to a stronger
propensity towards unwarrantable pleasures." At the close of the same
year (1701) he brought out a successful comedy, "The Funeral," which
was followed by "The Lying Lover" and "The Tender Husband," plays
which gave strong evidence of the influence of Jeremy Collier's attack
on the immorality of the stage. "The Tender Husband" owed "many
applauded strokes" to Addison, to whom it was dedicated by Steele,
who wished "to show the esteem I have for you, and that I look upon
my intimacy with you as one of the most valuable enjoyments of my
life." In 1705 Steele married a lady with property in Barbados, and on
her death married, in 1707, Mary Scurlock, the "dear Prue" to whom he
addressed his well-known letters. For the rest, he had been made
gentleman-waiter to Prince George of Denmark, and appointed
Gazetteer, with a salary of £300, less a tax of