[The Catalonian Insurrection; Rumours of the Press]

First published Edinburgh Saturday Post, 29 September 1827, p. 164. Never reprinted. This article, half-way through De Quincey’s tenure as editor, continues the analysis of contemporary newspapers (including, in this case, London’s Morning Chronicle), and their penchant for publishing unfounded rumours. Aside from the subject-matter, the italicization of ‘that’ was almost a trade-mark of De Quincey’s at this time; it very seldom appears in articles in the Saturday Post, except ones that appear to be his. Italics and dashes, and sentences starting with ‘But’ and ‘And’, all help to establish a conversational manner that is unlike the formality of the other Post writers. The tenuous logic of the last paragraph (where a London rumour is first said to be ‘Much more plausible’, and then hinted to be ‘unfounded’), seems to confirm that this piece was dashed off shortly before going to press, with little time for allusions, effects of style, or even consistency.