her mother's name. Steele
alludes to her as "pretty Mrs. Bignell" in No. 11, and as his friend in
the _Guardian_, No. 50. She was Miss Prue in Congreve's "Love for Love,"
and Miss Hoyden in Vanbrugh's "Relapse." In the _Spectator_ (No. 370)
Steele praises her dancing.]

[Footnote 87: Cibber writes thus of this actress: "Mrs. Mountford, whose
second marriage gave her the name of Verbruggen, was mistress of more
variety of humour than I ever knew in any one woman actress. This
variety, too, was attended with an equal vivacity, which made her
excellent in characters extremely different.... She was so fond of
humour, in what low part soever to be found, that she would make no
scruple of defacing her fair form to come heartily into it." She could
act admirably as a Devonshire lass, a pretty fellow, or a fine lady.
Mrs. Verbruggen's first husband, the actor Mountford, was killed by
Captain Hill, with the assistance of Lord Mohun, in 1692, because Hill,
who was making unsuccessful suit to Mrs. Bracegirdle was jealous of her
fellow-actor. Mountford was then in his thirty-third year. Mrs.
Mountford's second husband, John Verbruggen, is described by Tony Aston
as "nature without extravagance." ... "That rough diamond shone more
bright than all the artful polished brilliants that ever sparkled on our
stage." The same writer says of Mrs. Verbruggen: "She was all art, but
dressed so nice, it looked like nature. She was the most easy actress in
the world. Her maiden name was Percival."]

[Footnote 88: Various Societies for the Reformation of Manners were
founded in the reign of William III. An "Account" of these societies was
published in 1699, and Defoe often wrote on the subject. In 1708 the
Society for London and Westminster secured the conviction of 3299 "lewd
and scandalous" persons, guilty of Sunday trading swearing, drunkenness,
&c.]

[Footnote 89: See Steele's apology to Blackmore, author of this poem, in
No. 14. Sir Richard Blackmore (died 1729) was a Whig physician who wrote
epics on religious and other subjects, and was often at loggerheads with
the actors and wits. Though he was not a poet, Addison and Steele
praised him on account of the religious tone of his work (see
_Spectator_, Nos. 6, 339).]

[Footnote 90: Vanderbank, or as his father sometimes wrote his name,
Vandrebanc, was a son of Peter Vanderbank, a Parisian, who came into
England with Gascar the painter, about 1674, and died at Bradfield, in
Hertfordshir