in its Present State, from the Revolution to the Union. With an Appendix of some Transactions since the Union. London: printed for Emanuel Matthews, at the Bible, and T. Warner, at the Black Boy, both in Paternoster row. 1717.' The materials for this valuable work were probably gleaned by De Foe during his frequent visits to Scotland. As a compendious narrative of an important period in the Scottish history, De Foe's work will always retain its interest, both for the value of its facts, and the felicitous manner in which they are related. His narrative of the earlier part of the eventful history of the Presbyterian Church may be perused with pleasure, even by those who have lived to see the same period treated of by one of the greatest historical writers of the present period, Dr M'Crie; while his representations of the more recent troubles in the times of the Covenanters, his descriptions of the battles of Claverhouse, and the cruelties of the persecution under James II, need scarcely shrink from a comparison with some of the most picturesque passages in the first Tales of my Landlord.' There are, perhaps, few English writers to whom the Church of Scotland owes so many obligations as to De Foe, who watched her interests with fidelity and affection at a time when she was threatened by powerful enemies, and defended her with a zeal and ability which could only be expected from a warm friend and admirer. His 'Memoirs of the Church of Scotland' has never been reprinted, and is now amongst the scarcest of his works.

In 1718, De Foe followed up his method of familiarizing religion to the young and the uninformed, by publishing a second volume of his moral dialogues. It is entitled, "The Family Instructor; in Two Parts. 1. Relating to Family Breaches, and their obstructing Religious Duties. 2. To the great Mistake of mixing the Passions in the managing and correcting of Children. With a great variety of Cases relating to setting ill Examples to Children and Servants. Vol. II. London printed for Emanuel Matthews, at the Bible in Paternoster row. 1718.' In point of value this second volume is not inferior to the first. The dialogue is equally pleasing, and the moral no less important and instructive. It is rather a companion than a sequel to the former volume, the story being unconnected. The excellent maxims that run through the volume commend it to the judgment of every judicious reader, whilst it breathes a strain of piety calculated to arouse the attention, and kindle the best affections of the heart. A third edition was printed in 1727, and since then has been often reprinted with the first volume. They are both admirably adapted to awaken the attention of the careless, to instruct the ignorant, and to please the virtuous. Whilst the young are attracted by the incidents that compose the narratives, their accurate delineation of human nature must extort praise from the learned, and will remain a standing monument of the skill and ingenuity of the writer. There are few books better adapted for family reading, for parochial libraries, or for circulation amongst young persons. If the author had written nothing else, these volumes alone possess sufficient merit to give him a high place amongst English moralists.

In the same year appeared our author's 'Memoirs of the Life and Eminent Conduct of that Learned and Reverend Divine, Daniel Williams, D.D., with a true Copy of the last Will and Testament of Dr Williams.' Dr Williams was an eminent Presbyterian divine, first in Dublin, and afterwards in London. He was a liberal benefactor to the Dissenters, and dying in 1716, left the bulk of his property, which was considerable, to charitable uses. He was the founder of an extensive library for the use of the Dissenters, bearing his name, and situated in Redcross street, London.

In the controversy concerning the doctrine of the Trinity, during the early part of the last century, the Dissenters, it is well known, took a large share. During the contention, much angry feeling was displayed on both sides, and the cause of charity was sacrificed to a zeal for orthodoxy. Salter's Hall, the arena of the disputers, exhibited

scenes of tumult and discord but little befitting an assembly of grave divines, met together for the avowed purpose of composing their differences. The conduct manifested by the more violent drew down much obloquy upon the Dissenters, and exposed them to the talk and the derision of their enemies. Pamphlets flew about in all directions, abounding in censure and recriminations, but having no tendency to settle the points at issue. In the midst of this paper war De Foe stepped in, not as a partisan, nor as interfering in any way in the quarrel, but in the pacific character of a mediator between the two parties. He conjures them to lay aside their quarrels, and to consult the safety and reputation of their cause, as Dissenters, by studying the things that make for peace. The title of his book is, 'A Letter to the Dissenters. London : 1719.'

In the same year he appeared again before the world as the translator of a French work, relative to the disputes between the Jesuits and the Jansenists. It is entitled A curious Oration delivered by Father Andrews, concerning the present Great Quarrels that divide the Clergy of France. Translated from the French. By D. De F-e. London: 1719.' 8vo.

In this year De Foe assigned over some property that he had in the hands of the South Sea Company, to the person named in the following deed, but for what purpose does not appear. "Know all Men by these Presents That I Daniel De Foe, of Stoke Newington in the County of Midx. Gent. have made, ordained, deputed, authorised, and appointed, and by these Presents do make, ordain, depute, authorize, and appoint Mordecai Jenkins of London, Gent., my true and lawful attorney, for me, and in my name, to assign and transfer to any person or persons whomsoever, the sum of One hundred Twenty seven pounds ten shillings, being all the stock which I have in the Books of the Governor and Company of Merchants of Great Britain, trading to the South Seas, and other parts of America, and for encouraging the Fishery, with full power to make and give proper and sufficient acquittance for the consideration money to be had and received for the same, and generally to make and do all such other necessary acts and things proper to be done, as fully and effectually as I myself might or should do being personally present, hereby ratifying and confirming whatsoever my said Attorney shall lawfully do or cause to be done in and about the premises. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this Two and Twentieth day of March, Anno Domo 1719. Anno D R Georgii D. G. Mag. Britan. 6o. "DANIEL DE FOE.

"Sealed and delivered in the presence of us,

"JOSEPH BOONE,

"JA. RUCK."

CHAPTER XVII.

THE series of imaginative works which now fell from the pen of De Foe with astonishing rapidity, will entail honour upon his name so long as true genius, consecrated by moral worth, shall continue to be an object of estimation. No man, without the resources of De Foe, could have combined, with the same rapidity, so much varied and useful information. To extensive reading upon almost every branch of literature, he united an intimate knowledge of the world; and these resources were so much at his command that he appears to have drawn upon them with little apparent labour. Accustomed to view mankind in all its gradations of station and character, conversing sometimes with the great, at other times with the low, he had stored his mind with an abundance of materials, which a lively fancy enabled him to turn to a good account. His commerce with the world had brought him acquainted with its habits and occupations, its business and amusements, and with all the forms in which society has developed the human passions. Engaged from his earliest

years in active pursuits, and thrown by the accidents of life into almost every variety of situation, he had an opportunity of reading instructive lessons upon human nature, and furnished many scenes of real life from the storehouse of his own experience. A character formed in so extensive a school, acutely alive to passing events, and disciplined by correct habits of thinking, was at no loss for incidents to awaken the attention of mankind; whilst his habitual seriousness led him to improve every occasion for converting them into channels of instruction. Intimately acquainted with the whole circle of common life, he possessed the talent above most men of seizing upon ordinary occurrences, and throwing over them a charm which they owe entirely to the force of his own fancy. At the same time, his genius was happily chastened by a correct and solid judgment. His mind was no less vigorous than acute, and being tempered by a high tone of moral feeling, he insinuates instruction insensibly upon his readers, whilst he administers to their amusement. If some of his fictions partake of less refinement than could be desired, he nowhere sacrifices decency to wit; nor does he offend by the extravagance of his descriptions. De Foe uniformly pays homage to virtue; and when he dives into the depravity of the human character, it is for the purpose of raising it to the standard of excellence.

The following remarks upon De Foe's novels, by Charles Lamb, appeared for the first time in Mr Wilson's work :-" In the appearances of truth, in all the incidents and conversations that occur in them, they exceed any works of fiction that I am acquainted with. It is perfect illusion. The author never appears in these self-narratives (for so they ought to be called, or rather auto-biographies), but the narrator chains us down to an implicit belief in everything he says. There is all the minute detail of a log-book in it. Dates are painfully pressed upon the memory. Facts are repeated over and over in varying phrases, till you cannot choose but believe them. It is like reading evidence in a court of justice. So anxious the story-teller seems that the truth should be clearly comprehended, that when he has told us a matter of fact, or a motive, in a line or two further down he repeats it, with his favourite figure of speech, I say, so and so, though he had made it abundantly plain before. This is in imitation of the common people's way of speaking, or rather of the way in which they are addressed by a master or mistress, who wishes to impress something upon their memories, and has a wonderful effect upon matter-of-fact readers. Indeed, it is to such principally that he writes. His style is everywhere beautiful, but plain and homely. Robinson Crusoe' is delightful to all ranks and classes; but it is easy to see that it is written in a phraseology peculiarly adapted to the lower conditions of readers. Hence it is an especial favourite with seafaring men, poor boys, servant-maids, &c. His novels are capital kitchen-reading, while they are worthy, from their interest, to find a shelf in the libraries of the wealthiest and the most learned. His passion for matter-of-fact narrative sometimes betrayed him into a long relation of common incidents, which might happen to any man, and have no interest beyond the intense appearance of truth in them to recommend them. The whole latter half, or two-thirds, of Colonel Jack' is of this description. The beginning of 'Colonel Jack' is the most affecting natural picture of a young thief that was ever drawn. His losing the stolen money in the hollow tree, and finding it again when in despair, and then being in equal distress at not knowing how to dispose of it, and several similar touches in the early history of the Colonel, evince a deep knowledge of human nature; and putting out of question the superior romantic interest of the latter, in my mind very much exceeds Crusoe.' 'Roxana' (first edition) is the next in interest, though he left out the best part of it in subsequent editions, from a foolish hypercriticism of his friend Southerne. But Moll Flanders,' the account of the 'Plague,' &c. &c., are all of one family, and have the same stamp of character.

The first, and by far the most celebrated, of those works of imagination, which have conferred immortality upon the name of De Foe, appeared in 1719, under the title of

'The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner ;' &c. Next to the Holy Scriptures, it may safely be asserted that this delightful romance has ever since it was written excited the first and most powerful influence upon the juvenile mind of England, nor has its popularity been much less among any of the other nations of Christendom. At a period when few of the productions of English genius had been transferred into any of the languages of foreigners, this masterpiece of the homely, unaffected, unpretending, but rich and masculine intellect of Daniel De Foe, had already acquired, in every cultivated tongue of Europe, the full privileges of a native work.

A second part, the labour of little more than three months, appeared in August, and the work was finally completed in the following year by the publication of 'Serious Reflections during the Life and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.'

The success of this work encouraged our author to persevere in the new line he had marked out for himself; and the fertility of his invention enabled him to supply the public with a series of volumes, as various in their nature as they are ingenious in their contrivance.

The same year that produced his master-piece gave birth to The Dumb Philosopher; or, Great Britain's Wonder; containing a faithful and very surprising Account of Dickory Cronke,' &c. In this simple story, De Foe has put in practice, without any apparent effort, the same peculiarity of invention that distinguishes his other performances. Although the incidents of the narrative are few in number, they are told in the same unpretending manner, and with so much exactness, that it is difficult for the reader to persuade himself it is any other than a real history. As De Foe wrote, in a great measure, for the common people, he fed their appetites with such stimulants as were suited to their love of excitement; and when he lays a tax upon their credulity, it is levied with an air of seriousness that extorts belief, and finds ample remuneration in the moral lessons with which it is accompanied.

As De Foe had mixed much in society, he was become familiar with the habits and modes of talking that distinguished different persons, particularly in common life; and it is upon such subjects that he feels most at home. His different excursions to the Continent would bring him in contact with the British sailor, whose peculiarity of character was not lost upon him; and it is not improbable that he numbered amongst his acquaintance, persons of a seafaring life, from whom he derived that correct knowledge of nautical affairs which is so conspicuous in his writings. When personating the sailor he is as much at home as when he is discoursing upon trade or discussing politics. It has been pretty well understood, indeed, that he was acquainted, and spent, at one time, many evenings with the celebrated Dampier, who, to give him his due, to professional skill united other commendable qualities. De Foe lived at a period when buccaneering was carried on to a great extent, being fostered by the long wars that grew out of the Revolution, particularly the war of the Spanish Succession. From the relations of the lawless adventurers who had been engaged in such expeditions, of which fraternity his friend Dampier was a distinguished member, De Foe derived many anecdotes of surprising encounters and hair-breadth 'scapes by flood and field, which he made skilful use of. He was also well read in the voyages and travels of former days, from whence he transferred the most striking incidents inte his own imaginary voyages and narratives.

The favourable reception of 'Robinson Crusoe' might be partly owing to the partiality with which every circumstance illustrating the character of the British sailor is viewed by the British public. It was probably in accommodation to this national taste, that De Foe now recorded the adventures of a Buccaneer, which he depicts with all that spirit of enterprise and variety of incident which usually marked the operations of that

hardy character. This work he entitled 'The Life, Adventures, and Piracies of the famous Captain Singleton. 1720.' Second edition, 1737. Third edition, 1768. This is a work in which the lovers of wild adventure will find much amusement. The hero, however, is a sad hand. He is a hardened, brutal desperado, without one redeeming trait, or almost human feeling; and, in spite of what Mr Lamb says of his lonely musings and agonies of a conscience-stricken repentance, we find nothing of this in the text. The captain is always merry and well if there is any mischief going on; and his only qualm is after he has retired from his trade of plunder and murder on the high seas, and is afraid of being assassinated for his ill-gotten wealth, and does not know how to dispose of it. De Foe (whatever his intentions may be) is led, by the force of truth and circumstances, to give the devil his due - he puts no gratuitous remorse into his adventurer's mouth, nor spoils the keeping by expressing one relenting pang, any more than his hero would have done in reality. This is, indeed, the excellence of De Foe's representations, that they are perfect fac-similes of the characters he chooses to pourtray.

In the same year De Foe published some particulars of a noted seer of those days, who gave rise to a variety of speculations. Steele introduces him in the Tatler' as a dumb fortune-teller, who imposed upon the vulgar by pretending to tell fortunes by the second-sight. Whether he was actually deaf and dumb, or only feigned so for the purpose of notoriety, was a matter of doubt; but, be this as it may, he practised many years upon the credulity of the public, and with so much success as to amass a fortune by his profession. The celebrity to which he attained is thus noticed by the 'Spectator.' "Every one has heard of the famous conjuror, who, according to the opinions of the vulgar, has studied himself dumb; for which reason, as it is believed, he delivers out his oracles in writing. Be that as it will, the blind Teresias was not more famous in Greece than this dumb artist has been for some years last past in the cities of London and Westminster."*

So remarkable a character was not likely to escape the observation of De Foe, who rightly considered that he would be a popular subject for his pen. He therefore composed The History of the Life and Adventures of Mr Duncan Campbell, a Gentleman who, though Deaf and Dumb, writes down any Stranger's Name at first sight, with their future Contingencies of Fortune. London: 1720.' So great was the demand for the work, that a second edition appeared in the same year. It was accompanied by a portrait of Mr Duncan Campbell, ætat. 40, engraved by M. Vangergucht, in his best manner; and there are some other plates illustrative of the subject.

In the days of De Foe the resort to fortune-tellers for the purpose of prying into futurity was not confined to the lower orders. The slender education then bestowed upon females, and the habits of society so accurately described by Steele and Addison, left the higher orders equally exposed to the inroads of imposture.† Accordingly, the levee of our seer, who affected to look down upon the vulgar arts resorted to by his rivals in the trade, could boast of a large assemblage of the fair sex of various ranks, who had recourse to him for information upon the point that dwelt uppermost in their thoughts.

A rhyming fit having returned upon De Foe, he now produced "The Compleat Art of Painting: a Poem. Translated from the French of M. du Fresnoy. By D.F., Gent.

Spectator, No. 560.

†The Spectator' (No. 505) observes, "It is not to be conceived how many wizards, gipsies, and cunning men are dispersed through all the counties and market towns of Great Britain; not to mention the fortune-tellers and astrologers who live very comfortably upon the curiosity of several well-disposed persons in the cities of London and Westminster."-Moorfields had been, time out of mind, the most common habitation of these gentry.