Charles the Second was an unsparing and unscrupulous foe to the press,
and put in practice every possible form of oppression in order to crush
it. One's blood boils at the perusal of the persecutions to which the
struggling apostles of freedom of speech were subjected, so that the
contempt which this miserable 'king of shreds and patches' inspires in
other respects wellnigh changes into positive hatred. But despite of
fine and imprisonment, scourge and pillory, the press toiled on steadily
toward its glorious goal. The Newspaper began to assume--as far as its
contents were concerned--the appearance which it wears at the present
day. Straggling advertisements had long ago appeared, the first on
record being one offering a reward for the recovery of two horses that
had been stolen. This appeared in the first number of the _Impartial
Intelligencer_, in 1648. Booksellers and the proprietors of quack
medicines were among the earliest persons to discover the advantages of
advertising, and in 1657 came out the _Public Advertiser_, which
consisted almost entirely of advertisements. The following curious
notification appeared in the _Mercurius Politicus_, of September 30,
1658:

'That excellent and by all Physicians approved _China_ Drink,
called by the _Chineans, Tcha_, by other Nations _Tay_, alias
_Tee_, is sold at the _Sultaness' Head Cophee House_, in
_Sweeting's_ Rents, by the Royal Exchange, _London_.'

The earliest illustrated paper is _Mercurius Civicus, London's
Intelligencer_, in 1643. The first commercial newspaper was a venture of
L'Estrange's in 1675, and was styled _The City Mercury, or
Advertisements concerning Trade_. The first literary paper issued from
the press in 1680, under the denomination of _Mercurius Librarius, or a
Faithful Account of all Books and Pamphlets_. The first sporting paper