[ii] P. 2, line 4. Cf. Hervey's comment on Edmund Gibson, Bishop of London, who "affected to conciliate in himself both characters of Whig and Tory, declaring himself always a Whig in the State and a Tory in the Church" (pp. 90-91). Gibson's attitude can be traced back at least as far as Swift's Sentiments of a Church of England Man (1711).
[iii] line 11. Patriots: the self-awarded designation of the major group of Walpole's opponents.
[iv] P. 3, line 6. Parliament devoted considerable time to fixing turnpike tolls.
[v] Fleury: André Hercule de (1653-1743). Created a cardinal in 1726, he was chief adviser to Louis XV of France from that date till his death, and therefore a person of great interest to England. His guiding principle was to keep France at peace with the rest of Europe.
[vi] P. 4, lines 2-3. "Tory" originally meant an Irish outlaw, and "Whig" a Scottish rebel. For other theories of the origin of "Whig" that were current in 1729, see OED.
[vii] line 12. Repetition Day: a day on which schoolboys recite memorized lessons.
[viii] P. 5, lines 7. The human face in Bramston's frontispiece has been said to resemble Heidegger, but it does not seem to match his reputation for extreme ugliness. See TE, 5, 92, 290, 443-44.
[ix] All Mr. Heydegger's Letters come directed to him from abroad, A Monsieur, Monsieur Heydegger, Surintendant des Plaisirs d' Angleterre.
[x] P. 6, lines 3-4. Ridpath: George Ridpath (d. 1726), Whig journalist. Abel Roper (1665-1726), publisher of the Tory Post Boy.
[xi] P. 7, line 10. Pinkethman: William Pinkethman (or Penkethman) (d. 1725), a comic actor said to have once eaten three chickens in two seconds. See TE, 4, 220, 377.