fore compelled to recur to the conclusion, that the earliest English newspaper, as we understand the term, was Butter's Weekly News, of 1622.

Some writers, in their zeal to make out a high antiquity for English newspapers, go even much farther back than the reign of Elizabeth. There is a publication entitled the Relations, published as early as 1462, which some have contended comes under the category of a newspaper; but it has no pretensions to be so regarded, because it relates to only one subject, namely "A Manifesto by the new Archbishop of Cologne against Adolph of Nassau." A few A few years later, namely in 1475, there is an account-published in a pamphlet of two centuries later of the Siege and Capture of Caffa by the Turks; but that pamphlet too confined itself to the one subject which the title indicates. In 1493 there is a letter of Columbus, printed at Rome, giving an account -the first ever published-of the discovery of America; but that is the only topic, and therefore the production has no claim to be regarded as a newspaper. But there is a pamphlet of a date anterior to the year 1527, which even the late Mr. Watts, of the British Museum, was disposed to think ought to be classed among early English newspapers. It is one bearing the title of New Tidings. Its contents are given as follows: "The Battle of the Turkish Emperor with Louis, King of Hungary, on the Day of the Beheading of John the Baptist, 1526. Also the Turkish Challenge sent to King Louis be2

VOL. I.

fore the Battle. Also a Lamentable Epistle that the Hungarians have sent to the King of Poland since the Battle. Also some New Tidings of the Pope at Rome-what happened on the 27th September, 1526."

It will be seen that the several headings here given, with the sole exception of that which relates to the Pope at Rome, have a close connexion with each other. Not having access to the publication, which is not in the British Museum, it is possible that which refers to the Pope may be of the briefest and least interesting kind. After hearing all the arguments which have been advanced in favour of an earlier newspaper history than that which I have assigned to it, I am forced to the conclusion that no case has been made out for the existence of a newspaper, in the proper sense of the word, before the time which I have specified.

Towards the close of the first half of the seventeenth century various journals made their appearance. This particular period is called by some historians "the era of the Mercuries," owing to the fact that the majority of the publications which then made their appearance were called Mercuries. To mention only a few of the abundant crop of Mercuries which sprung up at this time, I will enumerate the following. There was then the Mercurie Pragmatical, and a journal got up in opposition to it, under the title of the Anti-Mercurius Pragmaticus. Other Mercury titles were the Mercurius Bellicosus; or an Alarm to all Rebels; and the Mercurius Melancholicus. There were

also at this period Medical Mercuries, devoted to the interests of the medical profession.

It is a curious fact, that for nearly half a century no name of any note appeared in connexion with the newspaper press of that day, with the exception of the names of Marchmont Needham and Nathaniel Butter. It was the latter who printed the first English weekly paper. Two other names came prominently forward immediately after those I have mentioned, and to these I shall hereafter refer.

Though I have been unable to find any trace of what may be called a regular newspaper prior to 1622, the year in which the Thirty Years War broke out, there were previous to this time journals that were published irregularly, some of them at intervals of several months. The name of the earliest of the journals of that time was The Certaine News of the Present Week. It was the first of a certain class of political journals. The proprietor was a wellknown man in the newspaper world at the time. Afterwards there came a crowd of journals, all of them of small dimensions, and most of them published weekly. They soon got into collision, and rated each other in the coarsest style. In fact the only thing in the shape of original writing which appeared in their columns was their vituperation of each other. One newspaper was often started for the avowed purpose of assailing another. One publication made its appearance under the title of the Weekly Discoverer. Close on its heels followed

another, bearing the title of the Discoverer Stripped Naked, and breathing a spirit of intense antagonism to the journal which it was set on foot to destroy. The titles of many of these journals towards the close of the first half of the seventeenth century sound very strange to modern ears. We find one called the Scots Dove, which, notwithstanding its title, was published in London. It would be difficult to ascertain the reason why this title was adopted. The people of Scotland have no established special character for dove-like dispositions. It is just possible that the reason for choosing the title in question may have been given in the first number, but it happens to be lost. Nor indeed is there any number in the British Museum earlier than 103. Another strange title of a newspaper of the closing first quarter of the seventeenth century is the Parliamentary Kite; a third, the Secret Owl; and a fourth, the Man in the Moon. I have said that one journal was at this period in the history of the newspaper press frequently started for the avowed purpose of doing battle with some other journal; but about the beginning of the second quarter of the seventeenth century there appeared a journal proclaiming, in the most energetic language it could employ, its determination to raise its editorial hand against one and all of the editorial fraternity; and that it was its purpose to enter the arena of conflict single-handed. It feared no foe, and courted no favour. Its title was, as one of Shakspeare's

Welsh characters would say, as "prave" as its challenge to the entire editorial host of its day. It was called Mercury Mastix; Faithfully Lashing all Scouts, Mercuries, Posts, Spies, and Others. Scout, Spy, &c., I ought here to remark, were titles of contemporary journals.

The following is a specimen of the sort of abuse which characterized the journalism of that day. The Mercurius Britannicus, first published in 1642, is the assailant, and the Academicus the party assailed. At this time, it will be seen, italics were liberally used:

Now come on, Academicus;. down with your pack, and let's see what peddling stuff you have brought to town. How, a comment upon Britannicus! That work has befitted some one more reverend; and the novice might have had the manners to give his elders leave first. But O-see, the Oxford Pamphleteer means to forestall the design, and spoil the market at London; though I can tell you I value no such farthing projects, for they are easily puffed away in half a page. My ink immediately destroys all paper worms ; and if need be, I add aquafortis and bay-salt to my galls and copperas. And now let them proceed when they please. In the mean time, I just order Academicus, and take his brains off the tenter hooks; for the wretch crucifies himself, and me too, in every line, without fears or wit; and he begins thus:

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The first thing we meet with this week is a sheet of Britannicus, and, indeed, a sheet will become him as the garment of repentance."

You see that he rises early; and it is his week's work to crow over Britannicus. Yet to little purpose; for he is not able to understand him as he should do in the least measure; besides, he hath not left his school-boy tricks yet, but sullies and blurs my proofs with blots and impudence; so