when I had once called him in, I could not subsist without dependence on him." 1

"I shall not carry my humility so far as to call myself a vicious man, but at the same time must confess, my life is at best but pardonable.

66

2

The most approved pieces in it [the Tatler] were written by others, and those which have been most excepted against, by myself. The hand that has assisted me in those noble discourses is a person who is too fondly my friend ever to own them; but I should little deserve to be his, if I usurped the glory of them. I must acknowledge at the same time, that I think the finest strokes of wit and humor in all Mr. Bickerstaff's lucubrations, are those for which he is also beholden to him."3

"I am, indeed, much more proud of his [Addison's] long-continued friendship, than I should be of being thought the author of any writings which he himself is capable of producing. I remember when I finished the "Tender Husband," I told him there was nothing I so ardently wished, as that we might some time or other publish a work written by us both, which should bear the name of the Monument, in honor of our friendship. I heartily wish what I have done here were as honorary to that sacred name, as learning, wit, and humanity render those pieces which I have taught the reader how to distinguish for his. When the play above mentioned was last acted, there were so many applauded strokes in it which I had from the same hand, that I thought very meanly of myself that I had never publicly acknowledged them.

994

I rejoiced in being excelled, and made those little. talents, whatever they are, which I have, give way and be subservient to the superior qualities of a friend whom I loved. . But whatever Steele owes to Mr. Addison, the public owes Addison to Steele."5

The only "reputation" of which Steele seemed especially jealous was that of fairness and justice. His preface to Addison's "Drummer" shows that.

1

He is wildly indignant

Preface to the octavo edition of the Tatler, vol. iv.

2 Tatler No. 271 (last number).

4

Spectator No. 555.

5

3 lbid.

Preface to the Drummer.

at the imputations of Tickell that he could be "guilty of anything that was disingenuous. But he candidly admits that he always "preferred the state of his mind to that of his fortune;" that Addison "could always send for him, from his natural power over him, as much as he could send for any of his clerks when he was Secretary of State; and when, in Tatler No. 89, he gives a whimsical picture of himself, he seems perfectly willing to be laughed at.

But tardy justice is at last being done to Steele. John Forster in his " Essay, " Mr. Aitken in his extended "Life," and Austin Dobson in his brief one, present the amiable founder of the Tutler in a far more favorable light as to literary ability and especially as to character, so that were Leigh Hunt now living he would have added reason for his famous remark:

"I love Steele with all his faults better than Addison with all his essays.

EUSTACE BUDGELL.

This unfortunate writer was also an Oxford man, and intended to follow the law. But Addison, who was his cousin, and several years his senior, took him to Ireland as a clerk when he himself received his first appointment as Irish Secretary. Budgell developed considerable literary ability, and wrote occasional papers for the Tatler, Spectator, and Guardian. Chapters XV. and XXXI. of this collection are from his pen, and it will be seen that he has successfully imitated the Addisonian style. Later he became a member of the Irish Parliament, and not long after was made comptroller-general of the Irish revenues. Macaulay thinks that if Addison had lived, Budgell would have prospered, but he paints a most lurid picture of his closing years. He is said to have lost-one year after Addison's death-£20,000 in the South Sea Bubble, and to have spent £5,000 more in an unsuccessful attempt to enter Parliament. He founded the Bee, a short-lived literary

periodical, endeavored to retrieve his numerous failures by forgery, and finally, in 1636, loading his pockets with stones, leaped into the Thames from a boat near London Bridge and was drowned.

On his table was found a slip of paper containing the words,

"What Cato did and Addison approved, cannot be wrong.'

'Budgell's inference was untrue. Those who read the words of the dying Cato will see that Addison makes even the stern Roman repent of his deed, and confess the fear that he has been too hasty.

SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHERS AND

STUDENTS

WHEN books "for reading" are prescribed by our colleges, it is not wise to look upon them as an added load to the already considerable burden under which young men and women struggle up the steep hill Difficulty toward the palace Beautiful and fields that are wide and green;— rather do they resemble the arbor by the way, built by the lord of the country, in which Pilgrim sat down for a while to rest and refresh himself. They should profit by Pilgrim's experience, however, and not fall asleep while resting.

Although Queen Anne herself was not a particularly attractive character, she has lent her name to an era which, in social, political, and literary interest, rivals any period of English civilization; and there is no better gate of admission to this interesting field than that presided over by Addison and Steele. The de Coverley papers are by common consent among the choicest portions of the Spectator, and the Spectator and Tatler are undeniably superior to any of the periodical essays of the time. They are the beginnings of elegant periodical literature; and though they have had countless imitators, few, if any, have equalled them, and none have surpassed them.

I have

Interest in a subject increases with knowledge. found it an incentive to exhaustive work to begin with an outline of some subject-whether in history, literature, or biography-and, using this as a skeleton, to proceed to clothe it with flesh and endue it with life. These papers very happily present such an outline of social life in

Queen Anne's time. Allusions are constantly made to obsolete customs and fashions, then matters of common, everyday experience, that pique our curiosity and make us eager to know more. The notes in this edition are not intended to clear away all obstructions. Many of them serve merely as finger-posts to point the way to unfamiliar regions; others aim to lead the thinking pupil to conclusions of his own and to tempt him sooner or later into the field of original research.

While it is believed that the charm of these essays is so great that the pupil of developing literary sense will read and search, read and search, read and search and read again, on independent lines,—yet for concerted class-work some method like the following is suggested, subject of course to the limitations of time and circumstance.

I. It is assumed that every student will have access to a complete Spectator, and it is hoped that most will be able to consult a complete Tatler also. All who have this opportunity are urged to read the papers referred to in the notes, leisurely, as they were read when published. Soon they will find themselves breathing in the very atmosphere of old-time days,-drinking coffee and listening to the latest news from Flanders, not over three days old; tiptoeing along the muddy alleys, dodging into the shops to avoid a city shower, jostling to keep the wall, and going home at night by link and chair through the narrow streets of Mohock-infested London.

II. While thus becoming familiar with the daily life of modern Babylon two centuries ago, the readers will continually stumble upon political allusions and historical references, which will need to be cleared up in order to ensure a full appreciation and consequent enjoyment of the subject. A question box may be kept at the teacher's desk, into which members of the class may be invited to drop requests for information on obscure points. These may be assigned to different members of the class for investiga