situation and affairs, we shall pass to the death of his sovereign and patron, which took place 8th March, 1702. The succession of Anne having restored the line of Stuart, to whom the politics and conduct of De Foe had been peculiarly obnoxious, our author was shortly reduced, as before, to live on the produce of his wits :—and it is perhaps lucky for the world that there is so much truth in the universal outcry against the neglect of living authors; for there seems a certain laziness concomitant with genius, which can only be incited to action by the pressure of necessity. Had William lived, probably the world would never have been delighted with the Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. Whether De Foe found politics the most vendible produce of the press, or, like Macbeth, felt himself Stept in so far, that should I wade no more, we are yet to learn; but he ventured to reprint his Shortest Way with the Dissenters, and to publish several other treatises, which were considered libellous by the Commons; and on the 25th of February, 1702-3, a complaint being made in the House, of a book entitled, The Shortest Way with the Dissenters, and the folios 11-18 and 26 being read, "Resolved, that this book, being full of false and scandalous reflections on this Parliament, and tending to promote sedition, be burnt by the hands of the common hangman, in New Palace-Yard.” Our unfortunate author's political sins were now all mustered in array against him, and a tremendous catalogue they made. He had been the favourite and panegyrist of William; he had fought for Monmouth, and opposed James; he had vindicated the Revolution, and defended the rights of the people, he had bantered, insulted, and offended the whole Tory leaders of the Commons; and, after all, he could not be quiet, but must republish his most offensive productions. Thus overpowered, De Foe was obliged to secrete himself; and we are indebted to a very disagreeable circumstance for the following accurate description of his person. A proclamation was issued by the secretaries of state, in January, 1705, in the following terms: "St. James's, Jan. 10, 1702-3. "Whereas Daniel De Foe, alias De Fooe, is charged with writing a scandalous and seditious pamphlet, entitled, The Shortest way with the Dissenters; he is a middle-sized spare man, about forty years old, of a brown complexion, and dark brown coloured hair, but wears a wig, a hooked nose, a sharp chin, grey eyes, and a large mole near his mouth; was born in London, and for many years was a hose-factor, in Freeman's Yard, in Cornhill, and now is owner of the brick and pantile-works near Tilbury Fort, in Essex; whoever shall discover the said Daniel De Foe to one of her majesty's principal secretaries of state, or any of her majesty's justices of peace, so as he may be apprehended, shall have a reward of 50l., — which her majesty has ordered immediately to be paid upon such discovery.” He was shortly after caught, fined, pilloried, and imprisoned. "Thus," says he, "was I a second time ruined; for by this affair I lost above 3,500l. sterling. While he was confined in Newgate, he occupied his time in correcting for the press a collection of his own writings, which was published in the course of the year; and he even amused himself by writing an Ode to the Pillory, of which he had so lately been made the unwilling acquaintance. Hence Pope's insulting verse, which classes De Foe with his Tory rival: Earless on high stood unabash'd De Foe, His Hymn to the Pillory, in rough and harsh iambics, has, like the True-born Englishman, and indeed all De Foe's poetry, a strong fund of manly satire; and we are mistaken if, in the lines which follow, the author does not successfully retort upon his prosecutors the shame at least of the punishment to which he had been subjected. They are in the spirit, though without the eloquence, of the gallant old cavalier, Lovelace. Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor iron bars a cage; Minds innocent and quiet take That for a hermitage. The hymn of De Foe commences thus: Hail! Hi'roglyphic State Machine, Condemn'd to punish fancy in; Men, that are men, can in thee feel no pain, And all thy insignificance disdain. Contempt, that false new word for shame, But never frights the wise or well-fix'd mind; Virtue despises human scorn, And scandals innocence adorn. Exalted on thy stool of state, That fools look out, and knaves look on. Not satisfied with this unpleasant subject for iambics, De Foe afterwards wrote a Hymn to the Gallows. But the chief object to which the author directed his mind, was the projection of The Review. The publication of this periodical work commenced in 4to, on the 19th February, 1704, and continued at the rate of two numbers a-week, till March, 1705, when an additional weekly number was published; and it was continued every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, till May, 1713, forming in whole nine thick volumes. De Foe was the sole writer. This work treats of foreign and domestic intelligence, politics, and trade; but as our author foresaw that it was not likely to become popular unless amusing, he discusses various other topics, under the head of a Scandal Club, -Love, Marriage, Poetry, Language, and the prevailing tastes and habits of the times. Neither did these occupations find sufficient employment for his active mind. While he was still in Newgate (1704), he published The Storm, or a collection of the most remarkable casualties which happened in the tempest, 26th November, 1703. Nor was this work a dry detail of disasters only, De Foe having taken the occasion, with his usual felicity, to inculcate the truths of religion, and the superintendency of Providence. About the end of 1704, when, as our author tells us, he lay ruin 1 The following account of this tremendous visitation is extracted from the records of the period. "November 26. About midnight began the most terrible storm that had been known in England; the wind W. S. W. attended with flashes of lightning. It uncovered the roofs of many houses and churches, blew down the spires of several steeples, and chimneys, tore whole groves of trees up by the roots. The leads of some churches were rolled up like scrolls of parchment, and several vessels, boats, and barges, were sunk in the river of Thames; but the royal navy sustained the greatest damage, being just returned from the Straits; four thirdrates, one second-rate, four fourth-rates, and many others of less force, were cast away upon the coast of England, and above fifteen hundred seamen lost, besides those that were cast away in merchant ships. The loss that London alone sustained was computed at one million sterling, and the city of Bristol lost to the amount of two hundred thousand pounds. Among the persons who were drowned was Rear-Admiral Beaumont. "Upon this calamity the Commons addressed her Majesty, that she would give directions for rebuilding and repairing the royal navy; and that she would make some provision for the families of those seamen that perished in the storm, with which her Majesty complied." ed and friendless in Newgate, without hopes of deliverance, Sir Robert Harley, then secretary of state, of whom De Foe had no previous personal knowledge, sent a verbal message to him, desiring to know" what he could do for him." Our author, no doubt, made a suitable reply; in consequence of which, Sir Robert took an opportunity to represent to the Queen his present misery, and unmerited sufferings. Anne, however, did not immediately consent to his liberation, but she inquired into the circumstances of his family, and sent, by Lord Godolphin, a considerable sum to his wife. She afterwards, through the same medium, conveyed a sum to himself, equal to the payment of his fine and discharge, and thus bound him eternally to her interest. He was liberated from Newgate the end of 1704, and retired immediately to his family at St. Edmund's Bury. He was not allowed, however, to enjoy the quiet he courted. Booksellers, news-writers, and wits, circulated everywhere reports, that he had fled from justice, and deserted his security. He despised their spite, and resumed his labours; the first fruits of which were, a Hymn to Victory, and A Double Welcome to the Duke of Marlborough, the subjects for both of which were furnished by the glorious achievements of that general. Our author now continued his Review, and his political pamphleteering, for several years; in the course of which he was subjected to much disquiet, and frequently to danger; but the consciousness of his situation as an English freeholder, and a liveryman of London, united to a considerable degree of resolution and personal courage, enabled him to encounter and overcome the machinations of his enemies. It will scarcely be believed, at this time of day, that, on a journey which his affairs led him to take to the western parts of England, a project was formed to kidnap and send him as a soldier to the army; that the western justices, in the ardour of their party zeal, determined to apprehend him as a vagabond; and that suits were commenced against him in his absence for fictitious debts yet all these circumstances De Foe has asserted in his Review, and we have not learned that any attempt was ever made to controvert the truth of his statements. About this time (1706) a situation occurred, for which our author's abilities were peculiarly fitted. The cabinet of Queen Anne was in want of a person of general commercial knowledge, ready talents, and insinuating manners, to go to Scotland for the purpose of promoting the great measure of the Union. Lord Godolphin determined to employ De Foe; he accordingly carried him to the Queen, by whom our author was graciously received, and in a few days he was sent to Edinburgh. The particular nature of his instructions has never been made public; but on his arrival at Edinburgh, in October, 1706, De Foe was recognised as a character almost diplomatic. We must refer our readers to his History of the Union, for the various and interesting particulars of this mission; the detail of which, here, would occupy an extent beyond the limits of our biography. De Foe appears to have been no great favourite in Scotland, although, while there, he published Caledonia, a poem in honour of the nation. He mentions many hair-breadth'scapes, which, "by his own prudence, and God's providence," he effected; and it is not wonderful, that where almost the whole nation was decidedly averse to the Union, a character like De Foe, sent thither to promote it by all means, direct and indirect, should be regarded with dislike, and even exposed to the danger of assassination. The act for the Union was passed by the Scotch parliament in January, and De Foe returned to London in February, 1707, to write a history of that great international treaty. It is believed that his services were rewarded by a pension from Queen Anne. During the troublous period which followed, until the conclusion of the war by the treaty of Utrecht, De Foe, wiser by experience, lived quietly at Newington, publishing his Review. He encountered, however, in the fulfilment of this task, much contentious opposition and obloquy, which he manfully resisted and retorted; but, after the political changes, by which his first patron Sir Robert Harley, and next Lord Godolphin, were turned out of power, his pecuniary allowance from the Treasury seems to have ceased, and he was compelled, as before, to launch out as a general writer for the supply of his necessities. The political agitation of the times dictated his subjects; but, unfortunately for De Foe, both Tories and Jacobites, in those days, were such plain matter-of-fact men, that his raillery was misunderstood, a d he was arrested and committed to his old habitation, for several squibs, which were obviously ironical. The writings on which he was indicted were two; What if the Pretender should come? and, What if the Queen should die?" Nothing," says De Foe, "could be more plain, than that the titles of these are amusements, in order to get the books into the hands of those who had been deluded by the Jacobites." His explanation would not suffice; he was tried and found guilty, fined in 800l. and committed to Newgate. He was now compelled to drop the publication of his Review; and it is singular that he did so while confined in Newgate, the very place in which its idea had first entered his head nine years before. After lying in jail a few months, he was liberated by the queen's order in November, 1713. Although thus released, and the innocence of his intentions admitted, if not established, nothing was done for him; and the |