people; he had displeased the Treasurer and the General, by objecting to the Flanders war; he had bantered Sir Edward Seymour, and Sir Christopher Musgrave, the Tory-leaders of the Commons; he had juft ridiculed all the high-flyers in the kindom: and he was at length obliged to feek for fhelter from the indignation of perfons and parties, thus overpowering and refistless. A proclamation was iffued in January, 1702-3*, offering a reward of fifty pounds for discovering his retreat. De Foe was described by the Gazetteas a middle-fized spare man, about forty years old, of a brown complexion, and dark-brown hair, though he wears a wig, having a hook nofe, a fharp chin, grey eyes, and a large mole near his mouth." He foon published An Explanation; though he "wonders to find there fhould be any occafion for it." "But fince ignorance," fays he, " has led * He who is defirous of reading the proclamation, may be gratified by the following copy from the London Gazette, No. 3879. St. James's, Jan. 10, 1702-3. Whereas Daniel De Foe, alias De Fooe, is charged with writing a scandalous and feditious pamphlet, entitled "The Shortest Way with the Diffenters :" he is a middle-sized spare man, about 40 years old, of a brown complexion, and dark-brown coloured hair, but wears a wig, a hooked nofe, a fharp chin, grey eyes, and a large mole near his mouth; was born in London, and for many years was a hofe-factor, in Freeman's-yard, in Cornhill, and now is owner of the brick and pantile works near Tilbury-fort in Effex whoever fhall discover the said Daniel De Foe, to one of her Majesty's principal Secretaries of State, or any of her Majefty's Juftices of Peace, fo as he may be apprehended, shall have a reward of £50, which her Majesty has ordered immediately to be paid upon fuch difcovery. : VOL. II. C c most most men to a cenfure of the book, and fome peo ple are like to come under the displeasure of the Government for it; in juftice to thofe who are in danger to fuffer by it; in fubmiffion to the Parliament and Council who may be offended at it; and courtefy to all mistaken people, who, it seems, have not penetrated into the real defign; the Author prefents the world with the genuine meaning of the paper, which he hopes may allay the anger of Government, or at leaft fatisfy the minds of fuch as imagine a defign to inflame and divide us. Neither his fubmifliveness to the ruling powers, nor his generosity to his printers, was a fufficient fhield from the refentment of his enemies. He was found guilty of a libel, fentenced to the pillory, and adjudged to be fined and imprisoned. Thus, as he acknowledges, was he a fecond time ruined; and by this affair, as he afferts, he loft above £3,500 fterling, which confifted probably in his brick works and in the more abundant product of his pen. When, by these means, immured in Newgate, our Author confoled himself with the animating reflection, that having meant well he unjustly fuffered. He had a mind too active to be idle in the folitude of a prison which is feldom invaded by vifitors. And he wrote a hymn to the pillory, that— Hieroglyphick state machin, Contrived to punish fancy in. In this ode the reader will find fatire, pointed by his fufferings; generous fentiments, arising from his fituation; and an unexpected flow of eafy verfe. For example: The The first intent of laws Was to correct the effect, and check the cause. And all the ends of punishment But juftice is inverted, when Instead of pinching vicious men, He employed this involuntary leisure in correcting for the prefs a collection of his writings, which, with feveral things he had no hand in, had been already published by a piratical printer. He thought it a most unaccountable boldness in him to print that particular book called The Shortest Way with the Diffenters, while he lay under the public refentment for the fame fact. In this collection of 1703, there åre one-and-twenty treatifes in poetry and profe, beginning with The True-born Englishman, and ending with The Shortest Way to Peace and Union. To this volume there was prefixed the first print of De Foe; to which was afterwards added, the apt infcription: Laudatur et alget. In the folitarinefs of a goal, the energy of De Foe projected The Review. This is a periodical paper in quarto, which was firft published on the 19th of February, 1703-4; and which was intended to treat of news, foreign and domeftic; of politics, British and European; of trade, particular and univerfal. But our Author forefaw, from the natural averfion of the age to any tedious affair, that however profitable, the world would never read, if it were not diverting. With this defign, both inftructive and amusing, he skilfully inftitutes a Scandal Club, which Cc 2 which difcuffes questions in divinity, morals, war, trade, language, poetry, love, marriage, drunkennefs, and gaming. Thus, it is easy to fee, that The Review pointed the way to the Tatlers, Spectators, and Guardians, which may be allowed however to have treated those interesting topics with more delicacy of humour, more terfeness of style, and greater depth of learning: yet, has De Foe many paffages, both of profe and poetry, which, for refinement of wit, neatness of expreffion, and efficacy of moral, would do honour to Steele or to Addison. Of all this was Johnson unconscious, when he fpeaks of the Tatlers and Spectators as the first English writers who had undertaken to reform either the favageness of neglect, or the impertinence of civility; to fhew when to speak, or to be filent; how to refufe, or how to comply. In the midst of these labours our Author published, in July 1704, The Storm; or, a collection of the most remarkable cafualties, which happened in the tempeft, on the 23d of November, 1703. In explaining the natural caufes of winds De Foe fhews more science, and in delivering the opinions of the ancients that this island was more fubject to storms than other parts of the world, he difplays more literature, than he has been generally fuppofed to poffefs. Our Author is moreover entitled to yet higher praife. He feized that awful occafion to inculcate the fundamental truths of religion; the being of a GOD, the fuperintendency of Providence, the certainty of heaven and hell, the one to reward, the other to punish. While, as he tells himself, he lay friendless in the prifon of Newgate, his family ruined, and himself himfelf without hopes of deliverance, a meffage was brought him from a person of honour, whom till that time he had not the leaft knowledge of. This was no lefs a person than Sir Robert Harley, the Speaker of the Houfe of Commons. Harley approved probably of the principles and conduct of De Foe, and doubtlefs forefaw, that, during a factious age, fuch a genius could be converted to many ufes. And he fent a verbal meffage to the prifoner, defiring to know what he could do for him. Our Author readily wrote the story of the blind man in the Gofpel; concluding-Lord, that 1 may receive my fight. When the high-flyers were driven from the station which enabled them to inflame rather than conciliate, Harley became Secretary of State, in April 1704. He had now frequent opportunities of reprefenting the unmerited fufferings of De Foe to the Queen and to the Trecfurer; yet, our Author continued four months longer in goal. The Queen, however, in. quired into his circumftances; and Lord Godolphin fent, as he thankfully acknowledges, a confiderable fum to his wife, and to him money to pay his fine and the expence of his difcharge. Here is the foundation, fays he, on which he built his first fense of duty to the Queen, and the indelible bond of gratitude to his first benefactor. "Let any one fay, then," he asks," what I could have done, lefs or more than I have done for fuch a Queen and fuch a benefactor?" All this he manfully avowed to the world *, when Queen Anne lay lifelefs and cold as King William, his first patron; and when Oxford, By his Appeal in 1715. |