! NOTE. "THE INTELLIGENCER was published in Dublin, commencing May 11th, 1728, and continued for nineteen numbers. On June 12th, 1731, Swift, writing to Pope, gives some account of its inception, and the amount of writing he did for it: "Two or three of us had a fancy, three years ago, to write a weekly paper, and call it an 'Intelligencer.' But it continued not long; for the whole volume (it was reprinted in London, and I find you have seen it) was the work only of two, myself, and Dr. Sheridan. If we could have got some ingenious young man to have been the manager, who should have published all that might be sent him, it might have continued longer, for there were hints enough. But the printer here could not afford such a young man one farthing for his trouble, the sale being so small, and the price one halfpenny; and so it dropped. In the volume you saw, (to answer your questions,) the 1, 3, 5, 7, were mine. Of the 8th I writ only the verses, (very uncorrect, but against a fellow we all hated [Richard Tighe],) the 9th mine, the 10th only the verses, and of those not the four last slovenly lines; the 15th is a pamphlet of mine printed before, with Dr. Sheridan's preface, merely for laziness, not to disappoint the town: and so was the 19th, which contains only a parcel of facts relating purely to the miseries of Ireland, and wholly useless and unentertaining "(Scott's edition, xvii. 375-6). Of the contributions thus acknowledged, Nos. 1, 3, and 19 are reprinted here from the original edition; Nos. 5 and 7 were included by Pope in the fourth volume of "Miscellanies," under the title "An Essay on the Fates of Clergymen "; No. 9 he entitled "An Essay on Modern Education"; No. 15 was a reprint of the pamphlet "A Short View of the State of Ireland "-these will be found in this edition under the above titles. The verses in No. 8 ("Mad Mullinix and Timothy ") and in No. 10 ("Tim and the Fables") are in Swift's "Poems," Aldine edition, vol. iii., pp. 132-43. "and The nineteen numbers of "The Intelligencer" were collected and published in one volume, which was reprinted in London in 1729, sold by A. Moor in St. Paul's Church-yard." Monck Mason never saw a copy of the London reprint referred to by Swift. He had in his possession the original papers ་་ ; they are twenty in number," he says; "the last is double. The second London edition, published in 12mo in 1730, as "printed for Francis Cogan, at the Middle-Temple-Gate in Fleet-street," includes No. 20, "Dean Smedley, gone to seek his Fortune," and also a poem, "The Pheasant and the Lark. A Fable." In the poem, several writers are compared to birds, Swift being the nightingale : "At length the nightingale was heard, The poem was written by Swift's friend, Dr. Delany. The title-page of this second edition ascribes the authorship, "By the Author of a Tale of a Tub." "The Intelligencer," in the words of W. Monck Mason, "served as a vehicle of satire against the Dean's political and literary enemies; of these the chief were, Richard Tighe, Sir Thomas Prendergast, and Jonathan Smedley, Dean of Clogher" ("Hist. and Antiq. of St. Patrick's,” pp. 376-7). [T. S.] IT THE INTELLIGENCER, NUMB. I.1 SATURDAY, MAY II, TO BE CONTINUED WEEKLY. T may be said, without offence to other cities, of much greater consequence in the world, that our town of Dublin doth not want its due proportion of folly, and vice, both native and imported; and as to those imported, we have the 1 In the "Contents" to both the editions of 1729 and 1730, this is called "Introduction." Each of the numbers has a special title in this table, as follows: No. I. Introduction. II. The Inhospitable Temper of 'Squire Wether. III. A Vindication of Mr. Gay, and the Beggar's Opera, V. A Description of what the World calls Discretion. VI. A Representation of the Present Condition of Ireland. VIII. A Dialogue between Mullinix and Timothy. IX. The foolish Methods of Education among the Nobility. XI. Proposals in Prose and Verse for, An Universal View of all XII. Sir Ralph the Patriot turned Courtier. XIII. The Art of Story-Telling. XIV. Prometheus's Art of Man-making: And the Tale of the XV. The Services the Drapier has done his Country, and the XVI. The Adventures of the three Brothers, George, Patrick, and Andrew. XVII. The Marks of Ireland's Poverty, shewn to be evident XVIII. St. Andrew's Day, and the Drapier's Birth-Day. [XX. Dean Smedley, gone to seek his Fortune. The Pheasant and the Lark. A Fable.]-[T. S.] advantage to receive them last, and consequently after our happy manner to improve, and refine upon them. But, because there are many effects of folly and vice among us, whereof some are general, others confined to smaller numbers, and others again, perhaps to a few individuals; there is a society lately established, who at great expense, have erected an office of Intelligence, from which they are to receive weekly information of all important events and singularities, which this famous metropolis can furnish. Strict injunctions are given to have the truest information in order to which, certain qualified persons are employed to attend upon duty in their several posts; some at the play-house, others in churches, some at balls, assemblies, coffee-houses, and meetings for quadrille ;1 some at the several courts of justice, both spiritual and temporal, some at the college, some upon my lord mayor, and aldermen in their public affairs; lastly, some to converse with favourite chamber-maids, and to frequent those ale-houses, and brandy-shops, where the footmen of great families meet in a morning; only the barracks and Parliament-house are excepted; because we have yet found no enfans perdus bold enough to venture their persons at either. Out of these and some other store-houses, we hope to gather materials enough to inform, or divert, or correct, or vex the town. But as facts, passages, and adventures of all kinds, are like to have the greatest share in our paper, whereof we cannot always answer for the truth; due care shall be taken to have them applied to feigned names, whereby all just offence will be removed; for if none be guilty, none will have cause to blush or be angry; if otherwise, then the guilty person is safe for the future upon his present amendment, and safe for the present, from all but his own conscience. There is another resolution taken among us, which I fear will give a greater and more general discontent, and is of so singular a nature, that I have hardly confidence enough to 1 A fashionable card game of the time. See also Swift's poem, "The Journal of a Modern Lady" (Aldine edition, vol. i., pp. 214-23), and "A New Proposal for the better regulation . . of Quadrille," written by Dr. Josiah Hort, Bp. of Kilmore, in 1739 (afterwards Abp. of Tuam), and included by Scott in his edition of Swift (vii. 372-7). [T. S.] mention it, although it be absolutely necessary by way of apology, for so bold and unpopular an attempt. But so it is, that we have taken a desperate counsel to produce into the world every distinguished action, either of justice, prudence, generosity, charity, friendship, or public spirit, which comes well attested to us. And although we shall neither here be so daring as to assign names, yet we shall hardly forbear to give some hints, that perhaps to the great displeasure of such deserving persons may endanger a discovery. For we think that even virtue itself, should submit to such a mortification, as by its visibility and example, will render it more useful to the world. But however, the readers of these papers, need not be in pain of being overcharged, with so dull and ungrateful a subject. And yet who knows, but such an occasion may be offered to us, once in a year or two, after we shall have settled a correspondence round the kingdom. But after all our boasts of materials, sent us by our several emissaries, we may probably soon fall short, if the town will not be pleased to lend us further assistance toward entertaining itself. The world best knows its own faults and virtues, and whatever is sent shall be faithfully returned back, only a little embellished according to the custom of authors. We do therefore demand and expect continual advertisements in great numbers, to be sent to the printer of this paper, who hath employed a judicious secretary to collect such as may be most useful for the public. And although we do not intend to expose our own persons by mentioning names, yet we are so far from requiring the same caution in our correspondents, that on the contrary, we expressly charge and command them, in all the facts they send us, to set down the names, titles, and places of abode at length; together with a very particular description of the persons, dresses, and dispositions of the several lords, ladies, squires, madams, lawyers, gamesters, toupees, sots, wits, rakes, and informers, whom they shall have occasion to mention; otherwise it will not be possible for us to adjust our style to the different qualities, and capacities of the persons concerned, and treat them with the respect or familiarity, that may be due to their stations and characters, which we are determined to observe with the utmost strictness, that none may have cause to complain. |