tion of Mr. Campbell."[5a]

"As long as Atalantis shall be read," some readers were sure to find
little to their taste in the curious information contained in the first
biography of Campbell, but Mrs. Haywood was not reluctant to gratify an
appetite for scandal when she could profitably cater to it. Developing
the clue afforded her by the announcement in Defoe's "Life and
Adventures" of a forthcoming little pocket volume of original letters
that passed between Mr. Campbell and his correspondents,[6] she composed
a number of epistles as coming from all sorts of applicants to the
prophet. These missives, however, were preceded by a long letter
addressed to an anonymous lord and signed "Justicia," which was chiefly
concocted of anecdotes illustrative of the dumb man's powers. Unlike the
incidents in Defoe's work, the greater number of the stories relate to
love affairs in the course of which one party or the other invoked the
seer's assistance. Although the author was thoroughly acquainted with
the previous history of Mr. Campbell,[7] she was evidently more
interested in the phenomena of passion than in the theory of divination,
A brief discussion of astrology, witchcraft, and dreams easily led her
to a narrative of "Mr. Campbell's sincerity exemplify'd, in the story of
a lady injured in the tenderest part by a pretended friend." A glance
through the table of contents reveals the preponderance of such headings
as "A strange story of a young lady, who came to ask the name of her
husband"; "A whimsical story of an old lady who wanted a husband";
"Reflections on the inconstancy of men. A proof of it in a ruin'd girl,
that came to ask Mr. Campbell's advice"; "A story of my Lady
Love-Puppy"; "A merry story of a lady's chamber-maid, cook-maid, and
coach-man," and so on. Evidences of an attempt to suggest, if not actual
references to, contemporary scandal, are to be found in such items as "A
strange instance of vanity and jealousy in the behaviour of Mrs. F--- ";
"The particulars of the fate of Mrs. J---- L---- "; and "A story of
the Duke of---- 's mistress." It is not surprising that "Memoirs of a
Certain Island" appeared within six months of "A Spy upon the Conjurer."

When "Justicia" refers to her personal relations with the lord to whom
her letter is addressed, her comments are still more in keeping with the
acknowledged forte of the lady novelist. They are permeated with the
tenderest emotions. The author of "Moll Flanders"