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In 1631 "Whimzies, or, A new Cast of Characters” inscribed to Sir Alexander Radcliffe by one who signed his dedication Clitus Alexandrinus, gave twenty-four Characters, of which this of the maker of a Courant or news sheet is one:—­

A CORRANTO-COINER

Is a state newsmonger; and his own genius is his intelligencer.  His mint goes weekly, and he coins money by it.  Howsoever, the more intelligent merchants do jeer him, the vulgar do admire him, holding his novels oracular; and these are usually sent for tokens or intermissive courtesies betwixt city and country.  He holds most constantly one form or method of discourse.  He retains some military words of art, which he shoots at random; no matter where they hit they cannot wound any.  He ever leaves some passages doubtful, as if they were some more intimate secrecies of state, closing his sentence abruptly with—­hereafter you shall hear more. Which words, I conceive, he only useth as baits, to make the appetite of the reader more eager in his next week’s pursuit fora more satisfying labour.  Some general-erring relations he picks up, as crumbs or fragments, from a frequented ordinary; of which shreds he shapes a coat to fit any credulous fool that will wear it.  You shall never observe him make any reply in places of public concourse; he ingenuously acknowledges himself to be more bounden to the happiness of a retentive memory, than either ability of tongue or pregnancy of conceit.  He carries his table-book still about with him, but dares not pull it out publicly.  Yet no sooner is the table drawn than he turns notary, by which means he recovers the charge of his ordinary.  Paul’s is his walk in winter, Moorfields in summer, where the whole discipline, designs, projects, and exploits of the States, Netherlands, Poland, Switzer, Crimchan and all, are within the compass of one quadrangle walk most judiciously and punctually discovered.  But long he must not walk, lest he make his news-press stand.  Thanks to his good invention, he can collect much out of a very little; no matter though more experienced judgments disprove him, he is anonymous, and that will secure him.  To make his reports more credible or (which he and his stationer only aims at) more vendible, in the relation of every occurrence he renders you the day of the month; and to approve himself a scholar, he annexeth these Latin parcels, or parcel-gilt sentences, veteri stylo, novo stylo.  Palisados, parapets, counter-scarps, forts, fortresses, rampiers, bulwarks, are his usual dialect.  He writes as if he would do some mischief, yet the charge of his shot is but paper.  He will sometimes start in his sleep, as one affrighted with visions, which I can impute to no other cause but to the terrible skirmishes which he discoursed of in the daytime.  He has now tied himself apprentice to the trade of minting,