footman,
whom she did not choose to discharge, through his learning the flute and
persisting in practising 'Away with melancholy'--the only tune he
knew--for an hour daily! But to return to the advertisements. A
schoolmaster announces that he 'has had such success with boys, as there
are almost forty ministers and schoolmasters that were his scholars. His
wife also teaches girls lace making, plain work, raising paste, sauces,
and cookery to a degree of exactness'--departments of education which
are, unfortunately, too much lost sight of in modern 'Establishments for
Young Ladies,' 'His price is L10 to L11 the year; with a pair of sheets
and one spoon, to be returned if desired.'

During the whole reign of William there was not a single newspaper
prosecution, but there were many in that of 'the good Queen Anne.' Still
editors were obliged to be very careful in the wording of their items of
news, generally prefacing them with 'We hear,' 'It is said,' 'It is
reported,' 'They continue to say,' ''Tis believed,' and so on. Of the
chief newspapers of this period we get the following account from John
Dunton, who was joint proprietor with Samuel Wesley of the _Athenian
Mercury_:

'The _Observator_ is best to towel the Jacks, the _Review_ is best
to promote peace, the _Flying Post_ is best for the Scotch news,
the _Postboy_ is best for the English and Spanish news, the _Daily
Courant_ is the best critic, the _English Post_ is the best
collector, the _London Gazette_ has the best authority, and the
_Postman_ is the best for everything.'

The _Daily Courant_, which was the first daily newspaper, first appeared
on the 11th of March, 1702. It was but a puny affair of two columns,
printed on one side of the sheet only, and consisted, like most of the
journals of the time, mainly of foreign intelligence. It lasted until
1735, when it was merged in the _Daily Gazetteer_. In spite of
prosecutions for libel, the press throve, and, perhaps, to a certain
extent, on that very account greatly improved in character. Addison,
Steele, Bolingbroke, Manwaring, Prior, Swift, Defoe, and other
celebrities became editors or contributors, and a battle royal was waged
among them in the _Examiner_, the _Whig Examiner_, the _Observator_, the
_Postboy_, the _Review_, the _Medley_, and other papers of less note.

Meanwhile newspapers began to appear in the provinces. The earliest was
the _Stamford Mercury_--a title preser