Wood, who describes him as 'a most seditious, mutable, and railing
writer, siding with the rout and scum of the people, making them weekly
sport by railing at all that was noble,' etc.--was Marchmont Nedham. In
1643 he brought out the _Mercurius Britannicus_, one of the ablest
periodicals on the Parliamentary side, whatever honest old Anthony may
say to the contrary. But, being imprisoned for libel, he thought it best
to change his politics, and for two years appeared as an ultra-virulent
Royalist partisan in the _Mercurius Pragmaticus_. After the execution of
Charles the First, however, he returned to his old party, and advocated
their cause in the _Mercurius Politicus_, which purported to be
published 'in defence of the commonwealth and for information of the
people.' After some years he fell into temporary disgrace, but was soon
received again into favor by the House of Commons, which passed a vote
in August, 1659, 'that Marchmont Nedham, gentleman, be and hereby is
restored to be writer of the _Publick Intelligence_ as formerly.' At the
Restoration he was discharged from his office, but contrived to make his
peace with the party in power, and, true to his instincts, changed his
political creed once more for that of the winning side, but without
succeeding in being reinstated in his old post. The other most
noteworthy writers of _Mercuries_ were John Birkenhead, author of the
_Mercurius Aulicus_, Peter Heylin, Bruno Ryves--all parsons--and John
Taylor, the Water Poet, author of the _Mercurius Aquaticus_.

Nothing was too great or too small for the writers of these _Mercuries_,
nothing too exalted or too mean. Nothing was sacred in their eyes; the
most private affairs were dragged into the political arena, and family
and domestic matters, that had nothing whatever to do with public life,
were paraded before the world. Bitter personalities and invective seem
to be inseparable concomitants of the early stage of journalism in all
countries. This was the case in France and Germany; it is the case in