CHAPTER II.

THE NEWSPAPER PRESS OF THE SEVENTEENTH

CENTURY.-PART FIRST.

First Printed Newspapers-Nathaniel Butter the first PrinterThe Weekly News the first Printed Newspaper-Facts connected with the first Printed Political Journal-Ben Jonson's Hostility to the Newspapers of his Day-That of other Dramatists-No Newspaper Reports of Proceedings in Parliament during the Seventeenth Century-Superstition of Editors and the Public-The News Letters when Printed-Printers followed Cromwell's Army-Lord Macaulay's Description of the London Gazette in the earlier Period of its History-The Great Fire of London as described by the London GazetteSir Roger l'Estrange as Licenser of the Press-His Character in that Capacity-His End.

IN speaking of the earliest newspapers, it is important that the fact, to which I have already made a passing allusion, should not be lost sight of that for very many years after the written News Letters, to which I have repeatedly pointed attention, there were no printed news journals. Nathaniel Butter, before referred to, had, as I shall show presently, been for many years a news-letter writer before the idea occurred to him of printing newspapers. He was a man who, before he adopted this step, had not only enjoyed considerable reputation as a collector and arranger of news in a manuscript form, but was regarded as

a man of great general abilities. When therefore, in the year 1622, he printed the first number of a newspaper, under, as before mentioned, the title of the Weekly News, his journal met with great success. It soon rose to a large circulation,-large, I mean, compared with the circulation of newspapers of that day. Pamphlets on political questions, and containing some amount of intelligence, had before this been published in a printed form; but no newspaper, strictly so called, as the Weekly News of Butter was, had before this issued from any printing press. Its example was, however, speedily followed. Other printed newspapers succeeded in somewhat rapid succession; but, instead of being regularly published weekly, they were issued at longer-in several cases irregular-intervals, the favourite one being a fortnight. But before this the intervals had not only been irregular, but in many cases very long. Eight, ten, or even twelve weeks were no uncommon interval. There is one wellattested case, though the title of the journal has escaped my recollection, in which the interval between the publication of a particular number and that by which it was followed, was no less than fifteen weeks, or nearly four months. In these cases the different impressions were not numbered, but appeared as if that which succeeded the one before had been entirely unconnected with it. Nathaniel Butter's

Weekly News was the first English newspaper which appeared duly numbered like our newspapers of the present day.

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As might be expected, a resort to the manuscript writing of newspapers gradually became more and more rare, until it all but ceased entirely. For some time it was limited to what may be called private writing of political and party news, to leading men in the provinces who wished to receive intelligence of a kind which they could not obtain in papers which were printed, and therefore accessible to all who chose to pay for the public journals. For upwards of half a century after the Restoration, so far as my researches go, no allusion is made to these in the newspapers; but, curiously enough, I find an advertisement in one of the journals of the day, published in 1712, intimating that at least one newspaper in manuscript was then published, and that blank pages were left for those purchasers who might wish to avail themselves of that means of privately corresponding with their friends in the country. This is the last allusion which I have met with to the manuscript newspapers, for upwards of half a century the only form in which the earlier English newspapers were issued.

During the whole of the seventeenth century, and until a later period, as I shall show hereafter, no reports of the proceedings in Parliament appeared in any of the newspapers. Neither, indeed, except on very rare occasions, was the slightest reference made to them. The same observation equally applies to public meetings. No one would know from the newspapers of the seventeenth century that such things as public meetings on important public ques

tions ever were held. Some tragical occurrences, such as frightful murders or fearfully fatal accidents, were briefly recorded; but there was hardly anything else to be found in the columns of these prints in the shape of general intelligence. What is now called " pennya-lining" was unknown in those days. Neither, indeed, can I find any trace of any one being attached to any of their establishments, invested with the functions incident to the office-universal in our dayof that of reporter. How different the state of matters now!

The smallest newspapers in this year of grace 1871 -even those which are published at a halfpennyhave one or more reporters belonging to their establish

ments.

But though ordinary intelligence of public interest seemed to have but few or no attractions for these journals, they seized with avidity, and gave prominence to, anything which bore the stamp of superstition. Here is one instance of the extreme superstition which existed at the time, and the eagerness with which the newspaper press of the day ministered to the prevalent credulity. In the Marine Mercury of 1642 we find what is there headed

A True Relation of the Strange Appearance of a ManFish about three miles within the River Thames, having a Musket in one Hand and a Petition in the other, credibly reported by Six Sailors, who both saw and talked with the Monster, whose names here following are inserted.

But this is not the only "monster" whose advent

is there duly recorded. Eleven years later we have another instance brought before us of the advent of one of these marine marvels, and which is invested with, in some respects, a still greater interest. The "monster" in this case is a lady; and being so, we are sorry that the epithet should have been applied to her, as it was by some of the journals of the day. It is not so applied, however—it is gratifying to be able to say-by the writer to whom we are indebted for what follows, which I give with this prefatory observation,—that one cannot but regret that as the marine gentleman and lady seemed to visit the same locality on the banks of the Thames, they did not do so at or about the same time, instead of at the long interval of eleven years; because in that case there would have been a dramatic fitness in considering them to be husband and wife. In one of the newspapers, dated November 2, 1653, and entitled the Mercurius Demetricus; or, a True and Faithful Nocturnal, we read—

A perfect Mermaid was, by the last great wind, driven ashore near Greenwich, with her comb in one hand and her looking-glass in the other. She seemed to be of the countenance of a most fair and beautiful woman, with her arms crossed, weeping out many pearly drops of salt tears; and afterwards, she gently turning herself upon her back again, swam away without being seen any more.

I have no means of knowing whether the writer who penned this paragraph ever attained to the reputation of a novelist, or sought to attain it by some such blending of fiction with fact; but assuredly