25. Dyer's letter. Dyer's News Letter was published three times a week. It dealt more in domestic news than did the regular newspapers, such as The Postman, and was sometimes driven to fill up space by relating fictitious events. Cf. Tatler 18, in which Steele and Addison declare that Dyer is famous for whales in the Thames!
29. under the quality of. In the office of. Cf. Shakespeare, Henry V., III. vi. 146, 'What is thy name? I know thy quality.'
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2. ordinary. Used as an adverb.
5. expence. Now expense, v. note on chace, p. 46, 1. 22.
13. You praised them. v. Spectator 98, On Ladies' Headdresses.
14. the humour. The fluid which causes the disease.
30. Sir George Etherege. v. note on p. 6, 1. 22. His first comedy, 1664, was entitled The Comical Revenge, or Love in a Tub. The reference is to IV. vi.
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2. the farthingale was a framework for extending the skirt of a woman's dress. It was introduced in 1545, and finally assumed a perfectly cylindrical shape.