The unlucky chaise went quite to pot,
Old Dobbin, too, was undone;
At great expense a cart they got
To take them back to London.

Arriv'd at home, th' enraged Cit,
With words the most uncivil,
Sent horses, jockies, E O too,

All packing to the devil!

In the same journal as that from which I have made the preceding quotation, there was given a series of sketches of the most fashionable ladies of the period. The series commenced at the close of 1799, and continued through the early part of 1800. Had it not been that these poetic sketches of ladies of prominence, either for their aristocratic connexions, or for some other kind of distinction, did not in all cases, though they did in some, consist of the fourteen lines which are deemed indispensable to the orthodox Sonnet,— they would have come under that class of poetical effusions. subjoin two samples. The first relates to the then Duchess of Gordon,-" the brilliant Duchess of Gordon," as she was called, who, though not strictly speaking, handsome, exercised a marvellous fascination over all men and women alike, with whom she came in contact. Even William Pitt, a man who, as a rule, saw no attractions in women, not even in the greatest beauties of the Court during his Premiership,-even he was a perfect slave to the Duchess of Gordon, and often said to her and to others, that were it not that he was married to his

country, and never could have any other bride, he would marry one of her three daughters. The following is the sketch of her Grace :

THE DUCHESS OF GORDON.!

Behold the placid sweetness of her mien ;
'Tis like the radiance of the blushing morn,
Diffusing wide the genial sweets of May;
Behold her upright, befitting well
Her titled state and high nobility.
In her the British Matron is displayed;
In her gay Fashion shines,-from folly free,
No girlish airs-no tricks—no smiles unmeaning,
Taint her visage. Each look is wisdom fraught,
Each smile beams love to all. This is the dame
In whom both Wisdom, Wit, and Mirth combine,
With Charity to stamp her soul divine,
'Tis Gordon affable, 'tis Gordon free,
Whose living fame shall reach posterity;

Whose liberal heart for human sorrow grieves;

Whose breast can pity, and whose hand relieves.
'Tis Gordon, first in Fashion's airy throng;

Alive to Mirth, awake to Misery's Song.

The other quotation which I will give as a specimen of the newspaper poetry of the year 1800, consists of a sketch of Mrs. Sheridan, wife of the celebrated Mr. Richard Brinsley Sheridan.

MRS. SHERIDAN.

Mark her shape and witching air;
"Twas that form so chastely fair,
'Twas that grace and dimpled smile
Did the statesman's heart beguile;

Yes, the Sage confessed Love's fire-
Who could gaze and not admire ?
Live then, fair one! live in joy;
Charms like thine can never cloy:
No, Love's garland ne'er shall fade,
For 'twas Wisdom deck'd the maid,
And Venus' self her form array'd.

Be it remembered that the series of sketches of which the above are fair specimens, of the aristocratic and fashionable ladies who figured most prominently in the circles of high life in the beginning of the present century,—did not appear in some obscure weekly journal, but in a morning paper which at the time competed with the other morning papers, including the Times and the Morning Chronicle, both in circulation and popularity. I leave it to the reader to picture to his own mind what would be the amount of amazement were any of the morning papers of the present day to give a similar series of poetical sketches of the beauties of Queen Victoria's Court.

It will surprise most of the readers of this work when I mention the fact, that while the morning journals of seventy years ago devoted so much of their space to matter of the kind of which I have furnished specimens, there was nothing in the shape of general intelligence in their pages. There might, it is true, have been a simple reference to the fact that an International Exhibition was opened early in May, but no account of the circumstances under which the opening took place. The late lucifer match monster procession to Parliament might, in the same

way have been alluded to, but that would have been all. Public meetings of all descriptions passed by without any record. Law intelligence, police intelligence, and public proceedings of all kinds, however interesting, were then entirely ignored. What a contrast in every way with the morning journals of our day! It is by contrasting those of 1871 with the daily journals of the beginning of the eighteenth, or even the nineteenth century, that we can best appreciate the character of the journalism of this country in the days in which these volumes are brought before the public.

CHAPTER XI.

PAST METROPOLITAN DAILY PAPERS.

THE MORNING CHRONICLE.-PART FIRST.

Commencement of the Morning Chronicle-Mr. William Woodfall -Mr. James Perry-Literary Men on Mr. Perry's Staff, including Mr. Sergeant Spankie, Mr. S. T. Coleridge, Mr. Thomas Campbell, Mr. Charles Lamb, Mr. John Campbell, afterwards Lord Campbell, Lord Chancellor of England; Mr. Mackintosh, afterwards Sir James Mackintosh, Mr. William Hazlitt Profits of the Morning Chronicle at Mr. Perry's Death Editorship of Mr. John Black-"Tom Hill"Literary Men on Mr. Black's Staff-Mr. George Hogarth, Mr. John Payne Collier, Mr. Albany Fonblanque, Rev. W. J. Fox, &c.

BEFORE I come to the existing daily journals it is necessary, in order that I may make my history of the Newspaper Press as complete as possible, that I should devote some amount of the space at my disposal to a retrospective glance at some of the political journals, which, within the memory of many persons now living, enjoyed a great popularity, and exercised a powerful influence on the public mind. I will take them in the order in which they entered the newspaper world.

In accordance with this arrangement I begin with the late Morning Chronicle, regarding which I have