BUNYAN'S "PILGRIM" RESTORED.*

IT is currently reported that when Oliver Cromwell was having his portrait painted, he, with that love of reality and hatred of shams which marked the great Puritan Protector, requested the artist to paint the wart that was on his face. He wished the picture to be as true as possible, even though it might be in some respects to his disparagement. Mr. Elliot Stock has acted on a similar principle in the production of this facsimile edition of the Pilgrim's Progress of 1678. "The spelling and grammar," it is stated, "are frequently both inaccurate and inconsistent from a modern point of view," but in "all matters

of orthography, grammar, rough or quaint expression, typographical peculiarity," etc., the Pilgrim is absolutely and literally reproduced. Of that first edition, printed by " Nath. Ponder at the Peacock, in the Poultry, near Cornhill, 1678," only one copy exists, and that is in the library of H. S. Holford, Esq., and is described as being unique and priceless, and as full of material peculiarities as any that ever taxed the correctness of a facsimilist.

To admirers of John Bunyan it is an indescribable gratification (even though we have the warts and moles brought out to view), to see his Pilgrim just as he was when he set out on his immortal journey, with his broadbrimmed hat, stout and well supporting staff, heavy burden strapped to his back, and the latchet that fastened his shoes. We are glad to see him through the same windows of antique

Who's this; the Pilgrim. How! 'tis very true Old things are passed away, all's become new. Strange! he's another man upon my word They be fine Feathers that make a fine Bird. type and singular pictures that our great grandfathers-and-grandmothers looked through with such eager interest. John Morely says, "Curiosity with reference to origins is, for various reasons, the most marked element among modern scientific tendencies," and we are glad that a similar * The Pilgrim's Progress, as originally published by John Bunyan. Being a facsimile of the First Edition. London: E. Stock. 1875.

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curiosity at work in the regions of literature has yielded so welcome a treasure as this restoration of Bunyan's Pilgrim. As we take it we feel that we are at once lifted into the past. The yellow grey paper, the enormous amount of margin, the quaint looking letters, the rough illustrations, the humorous and characteristic notes, make us denizens of the literary world of two hundred years ago.

The illustrations (of which, by the kindness of the Publisher, we are able to give two examples,) are copied from the fifth and subsequent

Difficult is behind Fear is before,

Though he's got on the Hill, the Lions roar;

A Christian man is never long at ease,
When one fright's gone, another doth him seize.

editions, and they show by what rude pictorial illustrations the early readers of the "Pilgrim's Progress" were enabled to realize the stirring scenes of the allegory. It is not improbable that they were drawn and engraved abroad, as some of them have an Albert Durer like roughness which suggests the possibility of their having been produced in Germany or Holland.

Students of the character of Bunyan will be able to enrich their collection of illustrations of his wit and humour, his force of style, his power of compressing the meaning of a paragraph into a sarcastic exclamation, or a pithy proverb, from this volume. "Talkative's fine discourse!" "O brave Talkative!" "The carkass of religion," are marginal notes set over against the voluble speech and deceiving words of the Iman who was known as

66 Christian

a saint abroad and a devil at home. "The ease that pilgrims have is but little in this life." "Lucre Hill a dangerous hill." roundeth up Demas." "One temptation does make away for another." "One saint sometimes takes another for his enemy." "Strong Christians may lead weak ones out of the way." "No great heart for God where there is but little faith." "Christians are well spoken of when gone, though called fools while they are here," are in fine Bunyan style. This ought to be a favourite edition of the richest allegory in the English or any other tongue. JOHN CLIFFORD.

NEWSPAPERS AND NEWSPAPER MEN.

No. I.-Historical.

BY REV. G. W. MCCREE.

THE ancient Romans had their newspaper. It was called Acta Diurna, and contained glowing pictures of the victories of the Imperial Army, for the information of its generals and officers. The issue of the Acta Diurna was, however, intermittent.

A publication remotely resembling the modern newspaper seems to have existed in the time of Tully, for in one of his letters he writes:— "Do you think that I left it in charge of you to send an account of the matches of gladiators, the adjudgments of courts, and such like articles, which, even when I am in Rome, nobody ventures to tell me? From you I expect a political sketch of the Commonwealth, and not Chrestus' newspaper." Before the advent of Christ, then, the newspaper was known.

One of the items of news in the Acta Diurna, dated the 4th of the Kalends of April, in the year 585, after the building of Rome, reads rather like a modern local journal :-"It thundered, and a oak was struck with lightening in that part of Mount Palatine called Summa Velia, early in the afternoon. A fray happened in a tavern at the lower end of the Beake Street, in which the keeper of the Hog-in-Armour tavern was dangerously wounded." We should like to know what the Sir Wilfrid Lawson of that time said about that fray. No doubt it enabled him to make a point in some senatorial speech.

The Chinese claim to have had newspapers before the Romans, and that they were called The Daily Advertisers of China; but the Chinese sometimes claim too much.

The origin of our word newspaper has been the subject of much literary debate. Some contend that it came from the letters of the compass-N. E. W. S.

"When news doth come, if any would discuss

The letter of the word, resolve it thus:

News is conveyed by letter, word, or mouth,

And comes to us from North, East, West, and South."

Many writers have stated that the first English newspaper was entitled The English Mercurie, dated 1588. This, however, is now proved to have been a forgery; and probably the palm of precedence must be given to Butler's Weekly News, of 1622.

Some of the early newspapers were very curious productions, and not at all models of wisdom and good taste. There was The Weekly Discoverer. This was followed by The Discoverer Stripped Naked. We need not say that the latter was the scurrilous antagonist of the former. There also was The Scot's Dove-a curious title for a paper. These were followed by The Parliamentary Kite, The Secret Owl, and The Man in the Moon. There also were The Scout, The Spy, and The Post; and then out came "The Mercury Mastiff, testing all Scouts, Mercuries, Posts, Spies, and others." Many of those newspapers were low, vulgar, abusive, and unreliable, and when they had not enough "news," filled up their pages by printing a chapter of the Bible.

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Modern readers would turn pale were the Editor of the Daily News to assail the Editor of the Daily Telegraph, as Mr. Nathaniel Thompson did Mr. Carte, Editor of the City and Country News :-"There hath lately (says Nathaniel Thompson) dropped into the world, an abortive birth (some fifteen days before the legitimate issue) by a factious, infamous, perjured anti-Christian, a senseless, lying pamphlet, by the name of the City and Country News. This is the first of his offspring that ever bore a name, the rest being spurious and illegitimate, like his natural issue, which he either durst not own, and would not bring to the font to receive the marks of Christianity no more than himself. This pamphlet-trapper and press-pirate hath crimped abroad since he put up for himself to make a prize of another man's copies, to stuff his own cargo with ill-gotten profit; making his business cheating and usurpation, to defraud all men; and by factious libels to sow sedition amongst the people, and frighten allegiance from the subjects' bosoms. Now I leave yourselves and all honest men to be judges whether of the two be the best intelligence; he having not only stolen from our other intelligences, but likewise from mine, to make up his senseless scrawl, and particularly of Mr. Carte, the Jesuit, taken in St. James, which he inserted in his, for want of matter, three days after the same was published by me in a single half-sheet; and this is the whole proceeding of this infallible newsmonger."

The London Gazette was commenced at Oxford in 1665, and was designated The Oxford Gazette, the court then being in that city in consequence of the Plague raging in London. This state paper is thus described by Lord Macaulay as it was in the time of Charles II. :"The London Gazette came out on Mondays and Thursdays, but now, and for a long time past, on Tuesdays and Fridays. The contents generally were, a royal proclamation, two or three Tory addresses, notices of two or three promotions, an account of a skirmish between the Imperial troops and the Jannissaries on the Danube, a description of a highwayman, an announcement of a grand cock-fight between two persons of honour, and an advertisement offering a reward for a strayed dog. The whole made up two pages of moderate size. Whatever was communicated respecting matters of the highest moment was communicated in the most meagre and formal style. Sometimes, indeed, the Government was disposed to gratify the public curiosity respecting an important transaction, a broadside was put forth, giving further details than could be found in the Gazette: but neither the Gazette, nor any supplementary broadside printed by authority, ever contained any intelligence which it did not suit the purposes of the court to publish. The most important parliamentary debate, the most important state trials recorded in our history, were passed over in profound silence."

Some of the contents of the early newspapers would astound us. What do our readers think of this extract from the Marine Mercury of 1642 ?" A true relation of the strange appearance of a man-fish about three miles within the river Thames, having a musket in one hand and a petition in the other, credibly reported by six sailors, who both saw and talked with the monster, whose names here following are inserted." We do not give the names of the witnesses, because nobody would believe them.

In the Mercurius Demetricus; or, a True and Faithful Nocturnal, we read:-"A perfect mermaid was by the last great wind driven ashore near Greenwich, with her comb in one hand and her lookingglass in the other. She seemed to be of the countenance of a most fair and beautiful woman, with her arms crossed, weeping out many pearly drops of salt tears; and afterwards she, gently turning herself upon her back again, swam away without being seen any more." It was, no doubt, well that she was not seen any more, for such a lovely creature might have induced foolish young men to swim after her.

Some of the advertisements in these early papers were very curious, and sometimes furnish interesting glimpses of English life. Our readers will peruse with pleasure the following advertisement, the date of which is 1659:-"Considerations touching the likeliest means to remove hirelings out of the church; wherein is also discoursed of tithes, church fees, church revenues, and whether any maintenance of ministers can be settled by law. The author J. M. Sold by Lemuell Chapman, at the Crown, in Pope's Head Alley."

Who was J. M.? It was John Milton. Here is another, which will show our lady readers the "style" of 1660 :-" A black-haired maid, of a middle stature, thick set, having her face full marked with the smallpox, calling herself by the name of Nan or Agnes Hobson, did, upon Monday, the 28th of May, about six o'clock in the morning, steal away from her ladies' house in the Pall Mall a mingled-coloured wrought tabby gown of deer colour and white; a black striped satin gown, with four broad bone black silk laces; and a plain black watered French tabby gown; also one scarlet-coloured and one other pink-coloured sarcenet petticoat, and a white watered tabby waistcoat, plain; several sarcenet, mode, and thin black hoods and scarfs; several fine holland shirts; a laced pair of cuffs and dressing; one pair of pink-coloured worsted stockings; a silver spoon; a leather bag, etc. She went away in greyish cloth waistcoat turned, and a pink-coloured paragon upper petticoat, with a green tammy under one. If any shall give notice of this person, or thing, at one Hopkin's, a shoemaker's, next door to the Vine Tavern, near the Pall Mall End, near Charing Cross; or at Mr. Ostler's, at the Bull Head, in Cornhill, near the Old Exchange; they shall be rewarded for their pains."

From some of the advertisements we learn what travelling was in the good old times which we never wish to see again. Thus, in 1658, we find that "Stage coaches ran from the George Inn, without Aldersgate." They ran to Salisbury in two days for twenty shillings; to Exeter in four days for forty shillings. (We now go in four hours and a quarter!) And to York in four days for forty shillings. Think of the slow coaches and the fast trains, and see what progress has been made in our modes of transit.

The early newspapers had many a struggle for freedom of speech and issue. During Cromwell's reign they were free. In Charles the Second's time they were suppressed. In 1660, during the Restoration, they numbered, perhaps, a dozen. In 1688, the year of the great Revolution, they increased to seventy. Newspapers are now the wonder and glory of the great age in which we live.