 The case was cited by Robert Walpole 's opponents as symbolising the age , which they perceived as greedy , corrupt and deceitful . One author , writing to the Prince of Wales 's mistress , suggested the story was a political portent of the approaching death of the prince 's father . On 7 January 1727 Mist 's Weekly Journal satirised the matter , making several allusions to political change , and comparing the affair to the events of 1641 when Parliament began its revolution against King Charles I. The scandal provided the writers of Grub Street with enough material to produce pamphlets , squibs , broadsides and ballads for several months . With publications such as St. André 's Miscarriage ( 1727 ) and The anatomist dissected : or the man @-@ midwife finely brought to bed ( 1727 ) satirists scorned the objectivity of men @-@ midwives , and critics of Toft 's attendants questioned their integrity , undermining their profession with sexual puns and allusions . The case raised questions about England 's status as an " enlightened " nation — Voltaire used the case in his brief essay <unk> de la nature to describe how the Protestant English were still influenced by an ignorant Church . 
