that border on intolerance are those in which he deals with the free-thinker; but it should not be forgotten that the commonest type of free-thinker in Queen Anne's time was not a thoughtful man who battled openly with doubt and made an independent search for truth, but an idler who repudiated thought and formed his character upon tradition of the Court of Charles the Second. And throughout the
Spectator
we may find a Christian under-tone in Addison's intolerance of infidelity, which is entirely wanting when the moralist is Eustace Budgell. Two or three persons in the comedy of the
Drummer
give opportunity for good character-painting in the actor, and on a healthy stage, before an audience able to discriminate light touches of humour and to enjoy unstrained although well-marked expression of varieties of character, the
Drummer
would not fail to be a welcome entertainment.
But our sketch now stands at the year 1705, when Steele had ceased for a time to write comedies. Addison's
Campaign
had brought him fame, and perhaps helped him to pay, as he now did, his College debts, with interest. His