Nonfiction · 1712
The History of John Bull
The War of the Spanish Succession retold as a lawsuit. John Bull the clothier and Nicholas Frog the linen-draper go to law against Lewis Baboon over the estate of the late Lord Strutt, and the suit runs on for years while the attorney Humphry Hocus grows rich, John's first wife nags him into continuing, his mother and his half-sister quarrel about the family religion, and John slowly works out that the only person profiting from the case is his own lawyer. The pamphlets invented John Bull — bluff, quarrelsome, honest, easily led, fond of a fight and bad at sums — and the figure has stood for England ever since.
John Arbuthnot, physician to Queen Anne and a member of the Scriblerus Club with Swift and Pope, published the five pamphlets in 1712 to argue for ending the war. This edition is the one prepared by Henry Morley for Cassell's National Library.
This Bibliomancer edition presents the complete text.
Contents
- Introduction by Henry Morley
- Author’s Preface
- Chapter I — The Occasion of the Law Suit
- Chapter II — How Bull and Frog grew jealous that the Lord Strutt intended to give all his custom to his grandfather Lewis Baboon
- Chapter III — A Copy of Bull and Frog’s Letter to Lord Strutt
- Chapter IV — How Bull and Frog went to law with Lord Strutt about the premises, and were joined by the rest of the tradesmen
- Chapter V — The true characters of John Bull, Nic. Frog, and Hocus
- Chapter VI — Of the various success of the Lawsuit
- Chapter VII — How John Bull was so mightily pleased with his success that he was going to leave off his trade and turn Lawyer
- Chapter VIII — How John discovered that Hocus had an Intrigue with his Wife;* and what followed thereupon
- Chapter IX
- Chapter X — Of John Bull’s second Wife, and the good Advice that she gave him.
- Chapter XI — How John looked over his Attorney’s Bill
- Chapter XII — How John grew angry, and resolved to accept a Composition; and what Methods were practised by the Lawyers for keeping him from it.
- Chapter XIII — Mrs. Bull’s vindication of the indispensable duty incumbent upon Wives in case of the Tyranny, Infidelity, or Insufficiency of Husbands; being a full Answer to the Doctor’s Sermon against Adultery.
- Chapter XIV
- Chapter XV — An Account of the Conference between Mrs. Bull and Don Diego.
- Chapter XVI — How the guardians of the deceased Mrs. Bull’s three daughters came to John, and what advice they gave him; wherein is briefly treated the characters of the three daughters. Also John Bull’s answer to the three guardians.
- Chapter XVII — Esquire South’s Message and Letter to Mrs. Bull
- Part II — The Publisher’s Preface
- Chapter I — The Character of John Bull’s Mother
- Chapter II — The Character of John Bull’s Sister Peg,* with the Quarrels that happened between Master and Miss in their Childhood
- Chapter III — Jack’s Charms,* or the Method by which he gained Peg’s Heart
- Chapter IV — How the relations reconciled John and his sister Peg, and what return Peg made to John’s message.
- Chapter V — Of some Quarrels that happened after Peg was taken into the Family.
- Chapter VI — The conversation between John Bull and his wife
- Chapter VII — Of the hard shifts Mrs. Bull was put to preserve the Manor of Bullock’s Hatch, with Sir Roger’s method to keep off importunate duns.
- Chapter VIII — A continuation of the conversation betwixt John Bull and his wife
- Chapter IX — A Copy* of Nic. Frog’s Letter to John Bull
- Chapter X — Of some extraordinary Things* that passed at the “Salutation” Tavern, in the Conference between Bull, Frog, Esquire South, and Lewis Baboon
- Chapter XI — The apprehending, examination, and imprisonment of Jack for suspicion of poisoning
- Chapter XII — How Jack’s friends came to visit him in prison, and what advice they gave him
- Chapter XIII — How Jack hanged himself up by the persuasion of his friends, who broke their words, and left his neck in the noose
- Chapter XIV — The Conference between Don Diego and John Bull
- Chapter XV — The sequel of the meeting at the “Salutation.”
- Chapter XVI — How John Bull and Nic. Frog settled their Accounts
- Chapter XVII
- Chapter XVIII — How Lewis Baboon came to visit John Bull, and what passed between them.
- Chapter XX — The discourse that passed between Nic. Frog and Esquire South, which John Bull overheard.
- Chapter XXI — The rest of Nic.’s fetches to keep John out of Ecclesdown Castle.
- Chapter XXII — Of the great joy that John expressed when he got possession of Ecclesdown.
- Postscript
- Chap. XV
- Chap. XVI — Commentary upon the Spanish Proverb, “Time and I against any Two;” or Advice to Dogmatical Politicians exemplified in some New Affairs between John Bull and Lewis Baboon
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About this edition
The text is free of copyright. This edition was prepared from an authoritative digitisation, processed by Bibliomancer under its own review protocol; every automated correction is recorded in its transformation log. Rights assessed for CA, EU, GB, US.
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