columns that appear in many

newspapers and periodicals.

of our modern

All persons who choose might send any question by a "Penny Post Letter to Mr. Smith at his Coffee-house in Stocks Market in the Poultry," and the answer would appear in the next weekly issue of the paper. The first number appeared on 16th March, 1690-91, and the last on 14th June, 1697, the series extending to twenty volumes.

Dunton afterwards published a selection of the most interesting answers, in three volumes, under the title of the Athenian Oracle.

The volumes of the Athenian Oracle are not quite so scarce as those of the British Apollo. There are several copies of its various editions in the British Museum. More is known also about its contributors and of its originator, John Dunton, the bookseller. He was born on 4th May, 1659. He came of a family connected with the Church for three generations. At fifteen he was apprenticed to Thomas Parkhurst, a Presbyterian bookseller, carrying on business at the sign of the Bible and Three Crowns in Cheapside. His occupation was at first distasteful to him, but he afterwards became reconciled with it. On the conclusion of his apprenticeship, he commenced business for

himself as a bookseller, and soon afterwards attained the object of his ambition, to be a printer and publisher of books. Dunton now bethought himself of taking a wife, and consulted his friends on the matter. Three ladies were suggested for his selection-Sarah Day, pretty and well-bred, of good fortune and great good nature; Sarah Doolittle, the daughter of a popular preacher and author-one of his works had actually reached its twentieth edition. The third Sarah was Miss Briscoe of Uxbridge, handsome, rich, and religious. While this serious matrimonial problem was still unsolved, Dunton happened to stroll one Sunday into Dr. Annesley's meeting-house, where he fell violently in love with a young lady. There was nothing unusual in this, as it had happened several times before, and under similar circumstances; but Dunton was now actually in search of a wife, which made the event of more consequence. On inquiry the lady proved to be a daughter of Dr. Annesley, but being "another's," as Mr. Moddle would have said, our would-be benedict was recommended to try his success with one of her sisters, and in this courtship he was fortunate, ultimately marrying Elizabeth Annesley. Samuel Wesley, the father of the famous Methodist,

married her sister Susannah, and Daniel Defoe wedded another sister. One of the books Dunton published was a work by Samuel Wesley, entitled, Maggots or Poems on several Subjects.

After Monmouth's Rebellion, Dunton went to New England to collect some debts owing him, and with an adventure of books to sell. After his return he removed to a new shop in the Poultry at the sign of the Black Raven. Previous to this, however, the idea occurred to him of publishing the Athenian Mercury.

"I was one day walking over St. George's Fields," wrote Dunton, "and Mr. Larkin and Mr. Harris were along with me, and on a sudden I made a stop and said, 'Well, sirs, I have a thought I'll not exchange for fifty guineas'; they smiled, and were very urgent with me to discover it, but they could not get it from me. The first rude hint of it was no more than a confused idea of concealing the querist and answering his question. However, so soon as I came home, I managed it to some better purpose, brought it into form, and hammered out a title for't, which happened to be extremely lucky, and those who are well acquainted with the Grecian history may discover some peculiar beauties in it."

The first number appeared on Tuesday, March 17th, 1690-91, and was entitled the Athenian Gazette, but, probably from some objection offered by the publisher of the London Gazette, the title of the succeeding numbers was altered to that of Athenian Mercury. The Athenian Society, as Dunton liked to designate the authors of his periodical, comprised, besides himself, his brotherin-law, Samuel Wesley, and Richard Sault, the mathematician. The "ingenious Dr. Norris " gave his occasional services, but declined to be a member of the Society. Many eminent men sent questions to the Athenian Mercury, and Defoe, Motteux, Tate, Richardson, and other versifiers wrote odes in its praise. One of these commendatory odes contained these bombastic lines, which Dunton would no doubt print with some pride :—

"Learning and solid truths advance,
They're noble subjects, for such noble pens;
Let your opposers trifling jests pursue,
They write for minutes, but for ages, you."

The Athenian Mercury had a successful career of nearly six years. It was first published on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and for a short time four times a week in order to make use of the

excessive literàry material at the disposal of the editors. The continuous publication of the Mercury came to an end in February, 1696, but ten more numbers were issued a few months later, the last appearing on Monday, June 14th, 1697.

As already stated, Dunton afterwards published a selection of the most interesting answers, in three volumes, under the title of the Athenian Oracle. The copyright was afterwards sold to Andrew Bell, Bookseller at the Cross Keys and Bible, in Cornhill, who issued several editions, the third appearing in 1706; and in 1710 he added a. fourth volume of selections. The Athenian Oracle was perhaps a popular equivalent of the more abstruse and learned Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, which had been commenced in March, 1664.

The title of the third edition, published in 1706, is as follows:-"The Athenian Oracle, being an entire collection of all the valuable questions and answers in the old Athenian Mercuries, intermixed with cases in divinity, history, philosophy, mathematics, love, poetry, never before published, to which is added in each volume alphabetical tables for the speedy finding of any questions, by a member of the Athenian Society."