Addison in his papers in the _Tatler_ and the _Spectator_ has
brought what may be styled the Essay of Satiric Portraiture--in after
days to be developed along other lines by Praed, Charles Lamb, Leigh
Hunt, and R.L. Stevenson--to an unsurpassed standard of excellence.
Such character studies as those of Sir Roger de Coverley, his household
and friends, Will Honeycomb, Sir Andrew Freeport, Ned Softly, and
others, possess an endless charm for us in the sobriety and moderation
of the colours, the truth to nature, the delicate raillery, and the
polished sarcasm of their satiric animadversions. Addison has studied
his Horace to advantage, and to the great Roman's attributes has added
other virtues distinctly English.
Arbuthnot, the celebrated physician of Queen Anne, takes rank among the
best of English satirists by virtue of his famous work _The History of
John Bull_. The special mode or type employed was the "allegorical
political tale", of which the plot was the historic sequence of events
in connection with the war with Louis XIV. of France. The object of the
fictitious narrative was to throw ridicule on the Duke of Marlborough,
and to excite among the people a feeling of disgust at the protracted
hostilities. The nations involved are represented as tradesmen
implicated in a lawsuit, the origin of the dispute being traced to
their narrow and selfish views. The national characteristics of each
individual are skilfully hit off, and the various events of the war,
with the accompanying political intrigues, are symbolized by the stages
in the progress of the suit, the tricks of the lawyers, and the devices
of the principal attorney, Humphrey Hocus (Marlborough), to prolong the
struggle.
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