EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.
69d
ptoductions of this new press which he had seen were a book of the year 1713, and the Gazettet of 1714. The art seems to have spread rapidly in this city ; in 1719 the senate of St. Peters- burg appears to have had a printing-press of its own: in 1718 or 1720 one was erected in the monastery of Saint Alexander Newski : in 1724 the college of the admiralty possessed one : by an ordinance of the empress Catherine, dated Dec, 21, 1725, an academy of sciences, which has long been well-known to the learned world by its learned traniacHotu, had a press peculiar to itself in 1727 : and in 1735 the synod of the clergy enjoyed a similar advantage.
171 1 , Oct. 23. Fourteen booksellers, printers, and publishers were committed to Newgate by order of Mr. Secretary St. John, amongst whom were Mr. Darby, jnn. for printing a translation of Tacilut, which relates now Coellius Bassus deceived the emperor Nero with the promise of an immense but imaginary treasure.
Mrs. Popping, (widow of Mr. J. Popping, bookseller, whom Pope has placed in the Jhm- <iad,) for publishing the Protettant Post Boy.
Mr. George Ridpath, for writing the Fly- ing Pott,* a whig paper, was bailed,and forfeited his recognizances to the amount of £600.
Mr. Hart, for printing the British ambassa- dor's speech to the French king, was adjudged to stand three times in the pillory, pay a fine of jC50, and to find sureties for his good behaviour during life.
Among the various circumstances tending to throw light, though certainly not lustre, on the character of dean Swift, must be accounted the Tengeance be cherished against those in whom he perceived a disposition to offer him the slightest injury as political opponents. The following extracts from his journal to his female corres- pondents wiU prove the accuracy of this assertion, so far as regards those connected with the press.
" A rogue that writes a newspaper, called the Protettant Pott Boy, has reflected on me in one of his papers ; but the secretary (St. John) has taken him up, and he shall have a squeeze ex- traordinary. Me says, ' that an ambitious Tan- tivy, missmg of his towering hopes of prefer- ment in Ireland, is come over to vent his spleen on the late ministry,' Sec. I'll tantivy him with a Tengeance." — October 10, 1711.
" One Boyer, a French dog, has abused me in a pamphlet, and I have got him up in a mes- sengers bands. The secretary promises me to swinge him. I must make that rogue an ex- ample to others." — Deetmier, 1711.
" These devils of Grub-street rogues that write
• Mr. John Salngbory, printer, wm a desperate hyper- gergonic Welshman. He would dress, as it were, in print, only to have the ladies say, " Look what a delicate shape and foot that gentleman has I" He was a silly, empty, morose fellow. He had as much conceit, and as little reason for it, as any man that I ever knew. He was the llrat that printed The Flying Pott ; and to the grlrf of Us anthor did often lUl it with stolen copies. He went to law with the company of stationers, (to keep himself from tlie livery,) would hector the best man of the trade ; but now lies as hash and quiet as a body would wish, in the n«w bnryinc-place.— I>i<ii<Ofi.
the Flying Pott and Medley \n one paper, will not be quiet. They are always mauling the lord treasurer, lord Bolinbroke, and me. We have the dog (that is the editor) under prosecu- tion, but Bolinbroke is not active enough ; but I hope to twinge him. He is a Scotch rogue, one 'RiAwOi."*— February, 1712.
If Swift was thus cruel in his revenge upon his enemies, he g^tified his vanity by incessant and teazing solicitations in favour of those who called themselves his friends, but who were, at least, his servile and obsequious flatterers :
" I presented my printer and bookseller (John Barberf and Benjamin Tooke^) to lord Rivers, to be stationers to the ordnance. I believe it will be worth jC300 per annum between them. This is the thiid employment I have got for them." — January 13, 1712.
" My printer and bookseller want me to hook in another employment for them, because it was enjoyed before by a stationer, although it be to serve the ordnance with oil, tallow, &c., and is wortii £400 per annum. I will try what I can do for them; they are resolved to ask several other employments of the same nature to other offices, and I will grease fat tout, and see whether it be possible to satisfy them ! !" — January 16.
The last important service which he rendered to his friends was obtaining a patent, which passed the great seal on the 13th of October, 1713, constituting Benjamin Tooke and John Barber, printers to the queen's most excellent majesty ; which, as was explained at the time by a public advertisement, was to commence after the expiration of the term existing to Mr. Baskett; namely, in January, 1739.
1711, Jan. 13. 7%« Tatler, by Donald Mac- staff § of the North, No. 1. This is the first pub- lication, apart from politics, which was printed in Scotland, and issued from Watson's press, in four folio pages, price one penny. It seems to have been started in consequence of the cessation of the London Tatler, and the first article con- tains a well written and panegyrical criticism on the writings of Steele,Addison, and others,in the latter publication. But Donald Macstaff seems to have got little encouragement from his coun- trymen, and his work only to have reached a very few numbers.
1711. The Politictd State of Europe was com- menced by Abel Boyer, a French refugee, and the author of the well-known i^rencA and English Dictionary. This publication was continued till the year 1739. ft may be considered as the first .4n»tt«j/ Register. Although this work came out in annual volumes, it was also published in monthly numbers.
- Mr. George Ridpath was one of the original anthora
of the Worki of the Learned, and corrected captain Robin- son's Voyages, in eight volumes. Swill has placed him in the Tale of a Tti6 1 and Pope in the Dunciad ;
To Dulness Ridpath is as dear as Mist.l
t Of whom see notice 1741, post. t Of whom see notice IJii, pott. i Robert Hepburn, who died at an early age in 1719. I Matbaniel Mist was the printer of a tory paper, of whom ace notice 1737 post-
VjOOQ IC
