The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-04-26
XVLII.-EARLY BRITISH PERIOD
ICAIS.
BY THOMAS MARC PARROT
PHI. D.

BY THOMAS MARC PARROTT
PHI. D.
The origin Of the English periodical
literature may be traced back to the
Courant or Weekly News. published AT
irregular intervals from 1921 To 1e41
py Nathaniel Butter. This was an ar
Tempt TO give the public at large what
mad before been the privilege of those
rlcn enough to pay a newswriter. II
iIdu 10 contend on the one hand AGAINST
the severity Of the official censor. and
Oh the other against the indifference
Vi the pubic. But with the advent of
the Long parliament the censorship
was temporarily overthrow and the
PuplIc awakened to the liveliest inter
est IN the events of the dav. Conse-
quently the period of the civil wars is
marked by the sudden and numerous
appearance of Intelligencers, Diursals
ana Mercuries. Bitterly partisan in
tone, these We're not so much newt
papers as weekly outbursts of scurriI-
lty. The Mercurius Aulicus OF Oxford
advocated the royal cause with a
sredt oeal OF wit and buffoonery." Its
rival, the Morcurius Britannicus. was
the work of Marchmont Neiham
styled by his enemies that Goliath
CT the Philistines." But the Restora-
tion put a sharp and sudden stop TO
shese productions. Roger L'Estrage
became at once the censor of the preel;
ana the publisher of the official organ.
winch doled out such scraps of news
as royalty deigned TO allow its sub
Jects. After the Revolution. however.
the press sprang into lusty life. Three
newspapers appeared on the very day
after James fed from London. and
such a publication as the Athenian
mercury, q mild weekly which 6ls-
cussed philoSOphic and fancifuI CUES
lons, showed a demand on the part of
the public for something more and bet
Ter than broken bits of news.
This demand Daniel Defoe from his
uncomfortable quarters in Newgate un-
dertook to crafty His Weekly Re
view OF the Affairs of France (17O4-1D
wa5 the first step toward higher Jour
nalism, ana Defoe was the first editor
IN our modern sense. He not only gave
the news, but commented upon If.
warned the people against the prevail
ing frauds and follies of the day, and
IN d department entitled Advice from
the Scandalous Club" gave "a weekly
history of nonsense, impertinence. vice
and debauchery."
The game of publication went uerri-
ly on. By 1909 there were six period
lcals appearing on Monday. WedneS-
day and Friday, and a round dozen on
the alternate days on which the post
left London.
The Taller.
In the midst of this jostIing throng
there appeared the Taller. owned. ed
TIED and in great part written by Rich
Steele A fxx7a
straits, Steele was at this time looking
about for some means of adding to his
income possibly the need of supply
ing Prue' with guineaS for her
pocket was more than usually i'm
peratIye. The issue of a periodical
somewhat above the common TYNE
promised to be remunerative, for he
had special inducements to offer the
pubic. As editor of the official Ca
zette he would have early and auther-
tic news of the war in Spain and Elan
ders, as a gentleman of the beau monoe
ne could serve up under the thin dis
gulse OF classic names the latest COS
SIP or court and town, as poet and
playwright he could furnish news of
the world Of letters, and, lastly, as au-
ChOr OF the Christian Hero and self
appointed censor n1Orum he could con-
unue the attack on fashionable dis
dpation begun by Jeremy. Collier. and
Jonathan Swift. All that was needed
was fictitious personality to give
unity and character to the periodical
and for this he seized upon the mock
a'srrcloger, Isaac Bickerstaff. whom
Swift had created a year before to the
confusion and ridicule of old Partridge.
the cObbler, astrologer and almanac
maker of the day.
The Taller was published tri-weekly
on the post days. The first four num-
bers were distributed gratis after
which the price was fixed at a penny. a
humorous apology in the first number
recounting the pains and expense to
which Mr.. Bickerstaff was put in gath
ering news at the coffee houses. Steele
took pains, no doubt, but I fancy he
was put to little extraordinary ex-
pensa in collecting material for the
Taller. All was stuff that came in his
way. Thus in the first few numbers
We have a bit of society gossip. a re-
pert of the benefit for the old TRACED
ian, Betterton; the news Of the gather
ing of the forces for the campaign of
Malplaquet. a eulOgy of the Wing min
iStry, q broadly humorous sketch of the
adventures of a strOlling pack of play
ems. and an oUtSDOken rebuke of a
young nObleman for coming drunk into
the theatre.
From first to last Steele was respon-
sible for the Taller, and by far the
greater number of its papers are his
work. Swift, indeed. gave occasional
aid. and the names of one or two 9TH
ers are mentioned as contributors. But
TO quote Steele's own words: 7 have
only one gentleman. who will be
nameless, to thank for any frequent as
siStance. This good Office he
performer with such force Of Genius.
Humor. Wit and Learning that I Jared
like a distressed Prince who calls IL a
powerful NeighbOr to his Aid l was
undOne by my Auxiliary; when had
once called him in. could not srubsi at
without Dependence on him" The
naneless gentleman was, of course,
Steele's old friend, Joseph Addison.
With AddisOn's aid the Tatlei. ran