om Hull that ever came to London of
the Proceedings of the Earl of Warwick's Shipps_; _The best and happiest
Newes from Ireland, from the Army before Kildare_; _Newes from
Blackheath concerning the Meeting of the Kentish Men_; _Exceedingly
joyfull Newes from Holland_; _The best Newes that ever was Printed_,
consists of, 1. _Prince Rupert's Resolution to bee gone to his Mother,
who hath sent for him_; 2. _His Majestie's royall Intentions declared to
joyne with the Parliament in a treaty of Peace_; 3. _The Particulars of
the High Court of Parliament drawn up to be sent to his Majesty for
Peace_; 4. _Directions from the Lords and Commons directed to the
Commanders for the ordering of the Army._ One _quaint_ title presents a
very odd association: _Newes from Hell and Rome and the Innes of Court_.
The contending parties appear to have suited their titles to the
substance of the _Newes_ they chronicled accordingly as it affected
their interests. Thus, while many pamphlets bore the titles of
_Glorious_, _Joyful_, _Victorious_, etc., others were dubbed _Horrible
Newes_, _Terrible News_, and so forth. By far the greater number of
these were issued by the partisans of the Parliament; but the Royalists
were by no means idle, and the king carried about a travelling printing
press, as is evidenced by several proclamations, manifestoes, etc.,
issued at Oxford, Worcester, York, and other places, sometimes in
ordinary type, sometimes in black letter, by 'Robert Barker, his
Majestie's Printer.' All the emanations of the press were not, however,
mere isolated pamphlets, but there was a large crop of periodicals, such
as _The Kingdom's Weekly Intelligencer_--_The Royal Diurnall_, etc.
About this time the name _Mercurius_ began to be very freely adopted for
these periodicals. It had been already, for a long time, assumed as a
_nom de plume_ by writers and printers, but the title was now
assigned to the publications themselves. One of the earliest of
these was _Mercurius Aulicus_, a scurrilous print in the interest
of the court party--as its name imports--which first appeared in 1642.
Others were entitled respectively _Mercurius Britannicus_--_Mercurius
Anti-Britannicus_--_Mercurius Fumigosus, a Smoaking Nocturnal_--_Mercurius
Pragmaticus_--_Mercurius Anti-Pragmaticus_--_Mercurius Mercuriorum
Stultissimus_--_Mercurius Insanus Insanissimus_--_Mercurius
Diabolicus_--_Mercurius Mastix, faithfully lashing all Scouts, Mercuries,
Posts, Spyes, and