ex-tempore in Parliament he
muffed the subject, forgot his theme, and sat down in confusion. With all
his incisive thought and fine command of language, Addison could not think
on his feet. And as if aware of his limitations, in one of the "Spectator"
essays he said, with more or less truth, "The fluent orator, ready to
speak on any topic, is never profound, and when once his thought is cold
it will seldom repay examination--it was only a skyrocket."

* * * * *

Without Addison's literary reputation, resting upon his essays published
in the "Tatler" and the "Spectator," it is very possible that we would now
know about as much concerning him as we do about Sir John Hawkins. The
"Tatler" and the "Spectator" allowed him to express his best, and in his
own way.

With the name of Addison is inseparably coupled that of Richard Steele.
These men had a literary style which they held in partnership. The nearest
approach to it in our time is the "Easy Chair" of George William Curtis.
Curtis was once called by Lowell, with a goodly degree of justice, "our
modern Addison."

Steele and Addison had been schoolmates at the Charterhouse, and friends
for a lifetime. They were of the same age within a year. Steele had been a
soldier and an adventurer, and his disposition was decidedly convivial. He
was a clever writer, knowing the world of politics and society, but he
lacked the spiritual and artistic qualities which Addison's moderate and
studious life had fostered. But on simple themes, where the argument did
not rise above the commonplace, Addison and Steele wrote exactly alike,
just as all writers on the "Sun" used to write like Dana. Steele had
filled the lowest office in the Ministry, the office of "Gazeteer": the
duties of the office being to issue a newspaper giving the official news
of the day. It was a licensed monopoly, and all infringers were severely
punished.

Steele, however, did not like the office, because the Powers demanded that
all writing in the "Gazette" be very innocent and very insipid. "To
publish a newspaper and say nothing is no easy task," said Steele. Had he
lived in our day he could have seen the trick performed on every hand.

Finally the office of Gazetteer was abolished, and any man who wished
might issue a "gazette," provided he kept within proper bounds. The result
was a flight of small leaflet periodicals, quite like the Chapbook
Renaissance of Eighteen Hundred Nin