his confederates, that they are not easily distinguished. Those generally attributed to him are, the celebrated History of John Bull; A Treatise con cerning the Altercation, or Scolding of the Ancients; and, The Art of Political Lying; with a few more in the same spirit. DANIEL DEFOE. DANIEL DEFOE, the son of a butcher and protestant dissenter, whose name was Foe, was born in London, in the year 1661. Little is known of the manner in which he passed his early years: he was educated at Mr. Morton's dissenting academy, at Newington Green, and appears to have had religious sentiments strongly grafted upon his mind, both by his parents and instructors. His education, notwithstanding the assertion of Dr. Browne and others that he was without any, was far from ordinary, as we learn from his own confessions scattered in his writings, that he had been master of five languages, and that he had studied the mathematics, natural philosophy, logic, geography and history. Shortly after leaving the academy, he was nominated a Presbyterian minister; but having directed his mind to politics more than divinity, it was his disaster, as he himself expresses it, "first to be set apart for, and then to be set apart from, the honour of that sacred employ." His earliest efforts as an author, however, were in defence of the dissenters against the attacks of the established clergy, in 1682, when he published a lampoon, entitled Speculum Crape-Gownorum, in answer to Sir Roger L'Estrange's Guide to the Inferior Clergy. In 1683, turning his attention to the war which then subsisted between the Turks and the Austrians, he wrote a pamphlet in favour of the latter, saying he would rather the emperor should tyrannize than the Turks, as these were opposed to Christianity itself, the emperor only to protestantism. His zeal for that cause, and the interests of civil liberty, caused him to regard the administration of James the Second with such aversion, that, on the rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth, he joined his standard, and was fortunate enough, after the duke's fall, to escape in safety to London. Here he commenced trade as a horse factor, in Freeman's Yard, Cornhill; but being carried away by his vivacity into companies who were gratified by his wit, he spent more time in the tavern than the counting-house. In 1687, he took up his freedom of the city, by the right of patrimony, and shortly after the revolution of 1688, which he hailed as the salvation of protestantism, he attended King William and Mary to Guildhall, superbly mounted, among an equestrian body of rich citizens. Continuing to pay less attention to trade than to politics, and having embarked in some unsuccessful mercantile speculations, he was, in 1692, declared bankrupt, on a commission, which was, however, soon superseded on the petition of his principal creditors, who accepted a composition on his single bond. This he not only paid, but, on his ability to do so, voluntarily discharged the whole of his liabilities to their original amount. "About 1694," says Defoe, "I was invited by some merchants, with whom I had corresponded abroad, and some also at home, to settle at Cadiz, in Spain; and that with the offers of very good commissions. But Providence, which had other work for me to do, placed a secret aversion in my mind to quitting England, and made me refuse the best offers of that kind, to be concerned with some eminent persons at home in proposing ways and means to the government for raising money to supply the occasions of the war, then newly begun." As a reward, probably, for his suggestions respecting the ways and means alluded to, he was, in 1695, without solicitation, appointed accountant to the commissioners of the glass duties; in which service he continued until the suppression of the duties, in 1699. In the interval, he of invasion, Defoe presented a threatening remonstrance to the commons, signed "Legion," which frightened, for a time, several of the members from attending the house. It is said that Defoe presented it to the speaker, disguised in a woman's dress, whilst others assert that he did so in his own character, guarded by about sixteen gentlemen of quality, who, if any notice had been taken of him, were ready to have carried him off by force. In the same year, he published, successively,_The Original Power of the Collective Body of the People of England examined and asserted, dedicated to King William, and his Reasons against a War with France, in which he argues that the French king's having declared the son of James the Second, who had just died, to be his lawful successor, was no just ground of a war. "In this piece," says Dr Towers," Defoe wrote against the views and conduct of the court, and against what then seemed to be the prevailing sense of the nation." He appears, nevertheless, to have been perfectly right; to have exhibited, on this occasion, great political discernment; and to have been influenced by no motives but those of public spirit. was employed in projecting several commons to grant King William supschemes, an account of which he pub-plies for arming against France in case lished in 1697, entitled, An Essay upon Projects; to which he was stimulated by the numerous inventions of that period, which he designated "The Projecting Age." His own projects related chiefly to politics, commerce, and benevolence; and among them he proposed a law for registering seamen, country banks, factories for goods, a commission of inquiry into the estates of bankrupts, and a pension office for the relief of the poor. The work discovers great versatility of genius, and is spoken of by Dr. Franklin as one from which he had received impressions that probably influenced the principal events of his life. About the same time, he published his Inquiry into the Occasional Conformity of Dissenters in Cases of Preferment, which involved him in a contror y with Mr. Howe, whose arguments in favour of conformity being very ably answered by Defoe, the former retorted with a charge of disaffection upon the subject of our memoir, who, in a very spirited reply to his opponent, observes, "I ted you I am no Independent, nor Fifth-monarchy man, nor Leveller." His Reflections were followed by a pamphlet in favour of a standing army; but the opinions he expresses are, in many respects, qualified, and are to be considered only with reference to the times in which he wrote. He continued for three years to publish, in succession, a variety of pamphlets concerning the moral and political state of the country; and, in 1701, appeared his True-born Englishman, a poem, commencing with the wellknown couplet, Wherever God erects a house of prayer, His object, in this work, was to reproach In the following year, however, we find Defoe not only advocating a war with France, but proposing to King William, whose confidence he had gained by his previous publications, a plan of operations against the Spanish dominions in the West Indies; in the conduct of which, had it gone on, he was to have had a principal share. Upon the death of the king, he published a satirical poem, called The Mock Mourners; in which he eulogized the memory of his late sovereign, and, at the same time, satirized those who had been the principal opposers of his administration. This was followed by a publication called The Shortest Way with the Dissenters, or Proposals for the Establishment of the Church; in which he assumed, with such exquisite irony, the tone of a high churchman, that it was not only hailed with applause by some of the church party, but deceived even the dissenters themselves, in whose behalf it was written. It was, however, sufficiently understood by the leaders of the former party, to cause an order from the house of commons for the burning of Defoe's book, and a proclamation to be issued in the Gazette, offering a reward of £50 for his apprehension. At this time, he appears to have been owner of some brick and pantile works, near Tilbury Fort, whence he absconded to avoid capture; but on the commencement of a prosecution against his bookseller and printer, he gave himself up, and was committed to Newgate for trial. This took place in July, 1703, when, yielding to the advice of his advocates to throw himself on the mercy of Queen Anne, he pleaded guilty, and was condemned to pay a fine of two hundred marks, to stand thrice in the pillory, to be imprisoned during the queen's pleasure, and to find sureties for his good behaviour for seven years. This unjust sentence led to the composition of his Hymn to the Pillory; and whilst in Newgate, he wrote several spirited rephies to the various attacks made upon him in the publications of the time. He also brought out an edition of his own works, and, in 1704, he commenced a periodical paper, entitled The Review, which extended to nine quarto volumes, and was continued until May, 1713. "It is easy to see," says Mr. Chalmers, "that The Review pointed the way to The Tatlers, Spectators, and Guardians; which may be allowed, however, to have treated the same topics with more delicacy of humour, more terseness of style, and greater depth of learning; yet has Defoe many passages, both of prose and poetry, which, for refinement of wit, neatness of expression, and efficacy of moral, would do honour either to Steele or Addison." In the August of the year last-mentioned, Defoe, at the solicitation of Mr. Harley, then secretary of state, was released from confinement by order of the queen, who not only expressed her dissatisfaction at the severity of his sentence, but sent a considerable sum to his wife and family, and transmitted to him, in Newgate, sufficient money to pay his fine and the expenses of his discharge. After his release, he removed to Bury St. Edmund's, and published an Elegy on the Author of the True-born Englishman; in the preface to which he states himself as being "metaphorically dead," on account of his being compelled to give security for his good behaviour for seven years. This was followed by several other pieces of a political and satirical nature, and a second volume of his writings appeared in 1705; in the summer of which year he was sent abroad, by Harley, upon a secret mission. On his return, he wrote The High Church Legion, being an answer to Dr. Drake's Memorial of the Church of England; and shortly afterwards, having gone a journey to Exeter, an attempt was made by the Tory party to cause his apprehension on a charge of sedition; in addition to which, sham actions were brought against him; his Reviews were stolen from the coffee-houses; and a variety of other means were in vain resorted to, for the purpose of accomplishing his ruin. In 1706, having made some remarks upon Lord Haversham's speech relative to the state of the nation, that nobleman published a Vindication of his Speech, containing a charge against Defoe of mean and mercenary motives, which our author replied to in a strain of satire and noble indignation that has seldom been equalled. In the same year appeared his Jure Divino, a satire, in twelve books; in which he attacks the doctrine of divine right. His sentiments in this performance are generally just; but, from some passages in his preface, he appears, notwithstanding the accuracy of his ideas on the subject of civil liberty, to have been somewhat tinctured with the spirit of religious bigotry. The union with Scotland being in contemplation about this time, Defoe wrote several works in support of it, which led to his being taken into the service of the queen, by whom he was sent into Scotland for the purpose of using his exertions in reconciling that country to the measure. His zeal exposed him to some personal danger at Edinburgh, where he published a poem, entitled, Caledonia, which the Duke of Queensberry granted him exclusive permission to publish for the space of seven years. In 1707, he entered into a controversy with Webster, in vindication of the dissenters; and, on his return home, in 1708, he was rewarded with a pension from government for his exertions in behalf of the union; of which he published a history in the following year, with a dedication to the queen and also to the Duke of Queensberry. In 1711, he paid a visit to the north of England; and, in consequence of his observations of the people's disposition in that part to favour the Pretender, he published, on his return, A Seasonable Caution and Warning against the Insinuations of the Papists and Jacobites in favour of the Pretender. In 1713, he wrote some ironical pamphlets with the same view; but being again mistaken in his intent, he was accused of writing a seditious libel, and committed to Newgate; from which he was, a second time, liberated through the interference of Harley. During his confinement he finished his Review; so that, as Mr. Chalmers observes, "in Newgate it began, and in Newgate it ended." Towards the close of Queen Anne's reign, our author had been reproached with versatility in his political sentiments, in consequence of having retained his pension under every change of administration; and "no sooner," he says, "was the queen dead, but the rage of men increased upon me to that degree, that the threats and insults I received were such as I am not able to express." This determined him to bring out, in 1715, a vindication of his political conduct, under the title of An Appeal to Honour and Justice; in which he justifies himself with great spirit, and completely removes all ground of accusation against him on the score of interested mutability. In allusion to the charge of his being a creature of Lords Oxford and Godolphin, he says, "I solemnly protest, in the presence of Him who shall judge us all, that I have received no instructions, orders, or directions for writing anything, or materials from Lord Oxford, since Lord Godolphin was treasurer, or that I have ever shown to Lord Oxford anything I had written or printed." The ill treatment he had experienced so preyed upon his health, that, before the completion of his Appeal, he experienced a shock of apoplexy, from which he with difficulty recovered. the year last-mentioned appeared his Family Instructor; a work intended to promote religion and virtue in all the In domestic relations, and by which, according to Mr. Chalmers, the family of George the First were instructed. His next publication of importance was his celebrated Robinson Crusoe, to the origin of which we have alluded in our memoir of Captain Woodes Rogers. It was first published in 1719, and obtained immediate and universal approbation. The work is too well known to need a description of its merits, which are attested by the opinions of the first critics of the present and last centuries, by the numerous editions through which it has passed, and by the various translations it has received in other countries. "No fiction in any language," says Dr. Blair," was ever better supported than the Adventures of Robinson Crusoe;" and Johnson observed to Mrs. Thrale, that nothing ever yet written by mere man was wished longer by its readers, excepting Don Quixote, the Pilgrim's Progress, and Robinson Crusoe. But the highest testimony in its favour is that of Rousseau, in the second volume of his Emilius. "As we must have books," runs the translation, "there is one already written, which, in my opinion, affords a complete treatise on natural education. This book shall be the first Emilius shall read: in this, indeed, will, for a long time, consist his whole library, and it will always hold a distinguished place among others. It will afford us the text to which all our conversations on the objects of natural science will serve only as a comment. It will serve us as our guide during our progress to a state of reason; and will ever afterwards give us constant pleasure, unless our taste be totally vitiated. You ask impatiently what is the title of this wonderful book? Is it Aristotle, Pliny, or Buffon? No; it is Robinson Crusoe." In order to deprive Defoe, who was without an enemy at no time of his life, of the merit of this publication, several absurd stories were circulated at the time of its appearance, and, among others, that it was written by Harley, Earl of Oxford, during his confinement in the Tower. Others accused the author of stealing the papers of Alexander Selkirk; but as Selkirk had no papers to communicate, it was impossible for Defoe to make use of any. The story of the former was first pub lished in 1712; and although there is no doubt that our author borrowed from this and subsequent accounts his first idea of Robinson Crusoe, the whole arrangement and execution, the filling up of incident, reflection, and character, are entirely his own. In 1722, he vindicated his character from the above aspersions in a publication called Serious Reflections during the Life of Robinson Crusoe; and, in the interim, appeared his Life, Adventures, and Piracies of the famous Captain Singleton; and The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders. This was followed by his Religious Courtship, and his Journal of the Plague, one of the most ingenious and celebrated of his works, in which he so skilfully blended fiction with truth, that it deceived Dr. Mead into quoting it as an authentic history. Many of the particulars, however, are from fact; their interest being heightened by the manner in which they are related, and by the moral conclusions with which they are dismissed. "For the genius which Defoe has displayed in this work," says Sir Walter Scott, he would have deserved immortality, had he not been the author of Robinson Crusoe." His next publications were, Memoirs of a Cavalier, The History of Colonel Jack, The Fortunate Mistress, A Tour through Great Britain, The Political History of the Devil, and A New Voyage round the World, besides several others of minor importance; all having a moral tendency, and addressed, with equal felicity, to the feelings, the reason, and the imagination. weak, having had some fits of fever that have left me low." In the same letter, he speaks of the inhuman dealing of one of his sons, who, he says, "suffers my two dear unprovided children, and their poor dying mother, to beg their bread at his door, himself living in a profusion of plenty :-it is too much for me." Under these circumstances, he welcomed with satisfaction the approach of his death, which took place in the parish of St. Giles's, Cripplegate, on the 24th of April, 1731. He died insolvent, and was buried in Tindall's burial ground, now known by the name of Bunhill Fields. The person of Defoe may be judged of by its description in the proclamation issued for his apprehension, in 1703. At that time he is set forth as a middlesized, spare man, of a brown complexion, and dark brown coloured hair, but wearing a wig, with a hooked nose a sharp chin, grey eyes, and a large mole near his mouth. He was twice married, and had seven children; six of whom survived him. One of them, Norton, as well as his father, is mentioned by Pope in the Dunciad. No man was ever embroiled in such a continuous literary warfare as Defoe; and, perhaps, no man ever entered the field with honester intentions, or with more formidable weapons. Without any of the benefit, he incurred all the odium of a political hireling, having no sooner conciliated one party by his opinions of to-day, than he brought the same and a host more against him by his opinions of to-morrow. Had he written less, he would have done more towards the acThe number and excellence of his complishment of his wishes, and have various works, whilst they brought him diminished the number of his enemies, enemies in the maturity, failed to pro- who, as it was, did not find it difficult cure him the means of repose in the to get up a very plausible charge of decline, of his life; and it is melancholy inconsistency against an opponent, who, to reflect, that his last days were passed in the course of his literary career, had in extreme wretchedness. Pecuniary written upwards of two hundred works distress having driven him from his in reference to the revolutionary period residence at Newington, he appears in which he lived. His poetical perto have wandered about from one place formances are not to be compared to to another without possessing any settled his prose, particularly his political and habitation. A few months before his commercial tracts, in which he exdeath, he writes to his son-in-law, Mr. hibits uncommon penetration on the Baker, "I am at a distance from Lon-subject of trade, and expresses himself don, in Kent, nor have I a lodging in London, nor have I been at that place in the Old Bailey since I wrote you I was removed from it. At present, I am with justness of sentiment, and in a style at once forcible and perspicuous. His ecclesiastical pamphlets savour too much of bigotry and of orthodox |