raert thought it worth their while to keep it quiet by a pension, which he enjoyed till his death. johnson esteemed him enough to wish that his life should be written. The debates in Parliament, which were brought home and digested by Guthrie, whose memory, though surpassed by others who have since followed him in the same department, was yet very quick and tenacious, were sent by Cave to Johnson for his revision; and, after some time, when Guthrie had attained to greater variety of employment, and the speeches were more and more enriched by the accession of Johnson's genius, it was resolved that he should do the whole himself, from the scanty notes furnished by persons employed to attend in both houses of Parliament. Sometimes, however, as he himself told me, he had nothing more communicated to him than the names of the several speakers, and the part which they had taken in the debate. Thus was Johnson employed during some of the best years of his life, as a mere literary labourer, "for gain, not glory," solely to obtain an honest support. He, however, indulged himself in occasional little sallies, which the French so happily express by the term jeux d'esprit, and which will be noticed in their order, in the progress of this work. But what first displayed his transcendent powers, and "gave the world assurance of the man," was his "London, a Poem, in Imitation of the third Satire of Juvenal;" which came out in May this year and burst forth with a splendour, the rays of which will for ever encircle his name. Boileau had im'tated the same satire with great success, applying it to Paris; but an attentive comparison will satisfy every reader, that he is much excelled by the English Juvenal. Oldham had also imitated it, and applied it to London: all which performances concur to prove, that great cities, in every age, and in every country, will furnish similar topics of satire. Whether Johnson had previously read Oldham's imitation, I do not know; but it is not a little remarkable, that there is scarcely any coincidence found between the two performances, though upon the very same subject. The only instances are, in describing London as the sink of foreign worthlessness : from those of Johnson, and in general well chosen, and well expressed.* There are, in Oldham's imitation, many prosaic verses and bad rhymes, and his poem sets out with a strange inadvertent blunder :"Tho' much concern'd to leave my dear old friend, I must, however, his design commend Of fixing in the country." It is plain he was not going to leave his friend; his friend was going to leave him. A young lady at once corrected this with good critical sagacity, to "Tho' much concern'd to lose my old dear friend." There is one passage in the original, better transfused by Oldham than by Johnson : "Nil habet infelix paupertas durius in se, Quàm quod ridiculos homines facit—” which is an exquisite remark on the galling meanness and contempt annexed to poverty; Johnson's imitation is,— "Of all the griefs that harass the distrest, : Oldham's, though less elegant, is more just :"Nothing in poverty so ill is borne, As its exposing men to grinning scorn. Where, or in what manner this poem was composed, I am sorry that I neglected to ascertain with precision, from Johnson's own authority. He has marked upon his corrected copy of the first edition of it, "Written in 1738;" and, as it was published in the month of May in that year, it is evident that much time was not employed in preparing it for the press. The history of its publication I am enabled to give in a very satisfactory manner; and judging from myself, and many of my friends, I trust that it will not be uninteresting to my readers. We may be certain, though it is not expressly named in the following letter to Mr Cave, in 1738, that they all relate to it : "SIR, "TO MR CAVE. "Castle Street, Wednesday Morning. [March, 1738.] "When I took the liberty of writing to you a few days ago, I did not expect a repetition of the same pleasure so soon; for a pleasure I shall always think it, to converse in a manner with an ingenious and candid man; but having the enclosed poem in my hands to dispose of for the benefit of the author (of whose abilities I shall say nothing, since I send you his performance), I believe I could not procure more advantageous terms from * I own it pleased me to find amongst them one trait of the manners of the age in London, in the last century, to shield from the sneer of English ridicule, what was some time ago too common a practice in my native city of Edinburgh! "If what I have said can't from the town affright any person than from you, who have so much distinguished yourself by your generous encouragement of poetry; and whose judgment of that art nothing but your commendation of my trifle can give me any occasion to call in question. I do not doubt but you will look over this poem with another eye, and reward it in a different manner from a mercenary bookseller, who counts the lines he is to purchase, and considers nothing but the bulk. I cannot help taking notice that besides what the author may hope for on account of his abilities, he likewise has another claim to your regard, as he lies at present under very disadvantageous circumstances of fortune. I beg, therefore, that you will favour me with a letter to-morrow, that I may know what you can afford to allow him, that he may either part with it to you, or find out (which I do not expect), some other way more to his satisfaction. "I have only to add, that as I am sensible I have transcribed it very coarsely, which, after having altered it, I was obliged to do, I will, if you please to transmit the sheets from the press, correct it for you; and take the trouble of altering any stroke of satire which you may dislike. "By exerting on this occasion your usual generosity, you will not only encourage learning, and relieve distress, but (though it be, in comparison of the other motives, of very small account) oblige in a very sensible manner, Sir, "Your very humble servant, "SAMUEL JOHNSON." "I am to return you thanks for the present you were so kind as to send by me, and to entreat that you will be pleased to inform me by the penny-post, whether you resolve to print the poem. If you please to send it me by the post, with a note to Dodsley, I will go and read the lines to him, that we may have his consent to put his name in the title-page. As to the printing, if it can be set immediately about, I will be so much the author's friend, as not to content myself with mere solicitations in his favour. I propose, if my calculation be near the truth, to engage for the reimbursement of all that you shall lose by an impression of 500; provided, as you very generously propose, that the profit, if any, be set aside for the author's use, excepting the present you made, which, if he be a gainer, it is fit he should repay. I beg that you will let one of your servants write an exact account of the expense of such an impression, and send it with the poem, that I may know what I engage for. I am very sensible, from your generosity on this occasion, of your regard to learning, even in its unhappiest state; and cannot but think such a temper deserving the gratitude of those who "SIR, "Your most humble servant, "SAM. JOHNSON." "TO MR CAVE. [No date.] "I waited on you to take the copy of Dodsley's; as I remember the number of lines which it contains, it will be no longer than 'Eugenio,'* with the quotations, which must be subjoined at the bottom of the page; part of the beauty of the performance (if any beauty be allowed it) consisting in adapting Juvenal's sentiments to modern facts and persons. It will, with those additions, very conveniently make five sheets. And since the expense will be no more, I shall contentedly insure it, as I mentioned in my last. If it be not, therefore, gone to Dodsley's, I beg it may be sent me by the penny-post, that I may have it in the evening. I have composed a Greek Epigram to Eliza,+ and think she ought to be celebrated in as many different languages as Lewis Le Grand. Pray send me word when you will begin upon the poem, for it is a long way to walk. I will leave my Epigram, but have not daylight to transcribe it. I am, Sir, "Yours, &c. "SIR, "ŚAM. JOHNSON." "TO MR CAVE. [No date.] "I am extremely obliged by your kind letter, and will not fail to attend you to-morrow with 'Irene,' who looks upon you as one of her best friends. "I was to-day with Mr Dodsley, who declares very warmly in favour of the paper you sent him, which he desires to have a share in, it being, as he says, a creditable thing to be concerned in. I knew not what answer to make till I had consulted you, nor what to demand on the author's part, but am very willing that, if you please, he should have a part in it, as he will undoubtedly be more diligent to disperse and promote it. If you can send me word to-morrow what I shall say to him, I will settle matters, and bring the poem with me for the press, which, as the town empties, we cannot be too quick with. I am, Sir, "Yours, &c. "SAM. JOHNSON." To us who have long known the manly force, bold spirit, and masterly versification of this poem, it is a matter of curiosity to observe the diffidence with which its author brought it forward into public notice, while he is so cautious as not to avow it to be his own production; * A poem, published in 1737, of which see an account under April 30, 1773. The learned Mrs Elizabeth Carter. and with what humility he offers to allow the printer to "alter any stroke of satire which he might dislike." That any such alteration was made, we do not know. If we did, we could not but feel an indignant regret; but how painful is it to see that a writer of such vigorous powers of mind was actually in such distress, that the small profit which so short a poem, however excellent, could yield, was courted as a "relief." It has been generally said, I know not with what truth, that Johnson offered his "London" to several booksellers, none of whom would purchase it. To this circumstance Mr Derrick alludes in the following lines of his "Fortune, a Rhapsody: " "Will no kind patron Johnson own? Shall Johnson friendless range the town? The offspring of his happy Muse?" But we have seen that the worthy, modest, and ingenious Mr Robert Dodsley had taste enough to perceive its uncommon merit, and thought it creditable to have a share in it. The fact is, that, at a future conference, he bargained for the whole property of it, for which he gave Johnson ten guineas; who told me, "I might perhaps have accepted of less; but that Paul Whitehead had a little before got ten guineas for a poem; and I would not take less than Paul Whitehead." I may here observe, that Johnson appeared to me to undervalue Paul Whitehead upon every occasion when he was mentioned, and, in my opinion, did not do him justice; but when it is considered that Paul Whitehead was a member of a riotous and profane club,15 we may account for Johnson having a prejudice against him. Paul Whitehead was, indeed, unfortunate in being not only slighted by Johnson, but violently attacked by Churchill, who utters the following imprecation : "May I (can worse disgrace on manhood fall?) yet I shall never be persuaded to think meanly of the author of so brilliant and pointed a satire as "Manners." Johnson's "London" was published in May, was published in May, 1738;* and it is remarkable, that it came out on the same morning with Pope's satire, entitled "1738"; so that England had at once its Juvenal and Horace as poetical monitors. The Reverend Dr Douglas, now Bishop of Salisbury, to whom I am indebted for some obliging communications, was then a student at Oxford, Sir John Hawkins, p. 86, tells us, "The event is antedated, in the poem of 'London'; but in every particular, except the difference of a year, what is there said of the departure of Thales, must be understood of Savage, and looked upon as true history." This conjecture is, I believe, entirely groundless. I have been assured that Johnson said he was not so much as acquainted with Savage, when he wrote his "London." If the departure mentioned in it was the departure of Savage, the event was not antedated but foreseen; for "London" was published in May, 1738, and Savage did not set out for Wales till July 1739. However well Johnson could defend the credibility of second sight, he did not pretend that he himself was possessed of that faculty. and remembers well the effect which "London" produced. Everybody was delighted with it; and there being no name to it, the first buzz of the literary circle was, "Here is an unknown poet, greater even than Pope." And it is recorded in the "Gentleman's Magazine" of that year, that it "got to the second edition in the course of a week." One of the warmest patrons of this poem on its first appearance was General Oglethorpe, whose strong "benevolence of soul was unabated during the course of a very long life; though it is painful to think, that he had but too much reason to become cold and callous, and discontented with the world, from the neglect which he experienced of his public and private worth by those in whose power it was to gratify so gallant a veteran with marks of distinction. This extraordinary person was as remarkable for his learning and taste as for his other eminent qualities; and no man was more prompt, active, and generous, in encouraging merit. I have heard Johnson gratefully acknowledge, in his presence, the kind and effectual support which he gave to his "London," though unacquainted with its author. Pope, who then filled the poetical throne without a rival, it may reasonably be presumed, must have been particularly struck by the sudden appearance of such a poet; and, to his credit, let it be remembered, that his feelings and conduct on the occasion were candid and liberal. He requested Mr Richardson, son of the painter, to endeavour to find out who this new author was. Mr Richardson, after some inquiry, having informed him that he had discovered only that his name was Johnson, and that he was some obscure man, Pope said, "He will soon be déterré."* We shall presently see, from a note written by Pope, that he was himself afterwards more successful in his inquiries than his friend. That in this justly celebrated poem may be found a few rhymes which the critical position of English prosody at this day would disallow, cannot be denied; but with this small imperfection, which in the general blaze of its excellence is not perceived, till the mind has subsided into cool attention, it is, undoubtedly, one of the noblest productions in our language, both for sentiment and expression. The nation was then in that ferment against the court and the ministry, which some years after ended in the downfall of Sir Robert Walpole; and it has been said, that Tories are Whigs when out of place, and Whigs Tories when in place; so, as a Whig Administration ruled with what force it could, a Tory Opposition had all the animation and all the eloquence of resistance to power, aided by the common topics of patriotism, liberty, and independence. Accordingly, we find in Johnson's "London" the most spirited invectives against tyranny and oppression, the warmest predilection for his own country, and the purest * Sir Joshua Reynolds, from the information of the younger Richardson. "The cheated nation's happy fav'rites see; Mark whom the great caress, who frown on me." "Has heaven reserv'd, in pity to the poor, No pathless waste, or undiscover'd shore? No secret island in the boundless main? No peaceful desert yet unclaimed by Spain? Quick let us rise, the happy seats explore, And bear Oppression's insolence no more." "How when competitors like these contend, Can surly Virtue hope to find a friend?" "This mournful truth is everywhere confess'd, SLOW RISES WORTH, BY POVERTY DEPRESS'D!" We may easily conceive with what feeling a great mind like his, cramped and galled by narrow circumstances, uttered this last line, which he marked by capitals. The whole of the poem is eminently excellent, and there are in it such proofs of a knowledge of the world, and of a mature acquaintance with life, as cannot be contemplated without wonder, when we consider that he was then only in his twenty-ninth year, and had yet been so little in the "busy haunts of men." Yet, while we admire the poetical excellence of this poem, candour obliges us to allow, that the flame of patriotism and zeal for popular resistance with which it is fraught, had no just cause. There was, in truth, no oppression "; the "nation" was not "cheated." Sir Robert Walpole was a wise and benevolent minister, who thought that the happiness and prosperity of a commercial country like ours would be best promoted by peace, which he accordingly maintained with credit, during a very long period. Johnson himself afterwards [October 21, 1773, honestly acknowledged the merit of Walpole, whom he called "a fixed star;" while he characterised his opponent, Pitt, as "a meteor." But Johnson's juvenile poem was naturally impregnated with the fire of opposition, and upon every account was universally admired. Though thus elevated into fame, and conscious of uncommon powers, he had not that bustling confidence, or, I may rather say, that animated ambition, which one might have supposed would have urged him to endeavour at rising in life. But such was his inflexible dignity of character, that he could not stoop to court the great; without which, hardly any man has made his way to a high station. He could not expect to produce many such works as his "“London,” and he felt the hardships of writing for bread; he was therefore willing to resume the office of a schoolmaster, so as to have a sure, though moderate income for his life; and an offer being made to *It is, however, remarkable, that he uses the epithet, which undoubtedly, since the union between England and Scotland, ought to denominate the natives of both parts of our island:"Was early taught a Briton's rights to prize." him of the mastership of a school,* provided he could obtain the degree of Master of Arts, Dr Adams was applied to, by a common friend, to know whether that could be granted him as a favour from the University of Oxford. But though he had made such a figure in the literary world, it was then thought too great a favour to be asked. Pope, without any knowledge of him but from his "London," recommended him to Earl Gower, who endeavoured to procure for him a degree from Dublin, by the following letter to a friend of Dean Swift: "SIR, "Trentham, August 1, 1739. "Mr Samuel Johnson (author of 'London,' a satire, and some other poetical pieces) is a native of this country, and much respected by some worthy gentlemen in his neighbourhood, who are trustees of a charity-school now vacant; the certain salary is sixty pounds a year, of which they are desirous to make him master; but, unfortunately, he is not capable of receiving their bounty, which 'would make him happy for life,' by not being 'a Master of Arts;' which, by the statutes of this school, the master of it must be. 66 "Now these gentlemen do me the honour to In a billet written by Mr Pope in the following year, this school is said to have been in Shropshire; but as it appears from a letter from Earl Gower, that the trustees of it were 'some worthy gentlemen in Johnson's neighbourhood," I in my first edition suggested that Mr Pope must have, by mistake, written Shropshire, instead of Staffordshire. But I have since been obliged to Mr Spearing, attorney-at-law, for the following information:-"William Adams, formerly citizen and haberdasher of London, founded a school at Newport, in the county of Salop, by deed dated 27th November, 1656, by which he granted the yearly sum of sixty pounds to such able and learned schoolmaster, from time to time, being of godly life and conversation, who should have been educated at one of the Universities of Oxford or Cambridge, and had taken the degree of Master of Arts, and was well read in the Greek and Latin tongues, as should be nominated from time to time by the said William Adams, during his life, and after the decease of the said William Adams by the governors (namely, the Master and Wardens of the Haberdashers' Company of the City of London) and their successors. The manor and lands out of which the revenues for the maintenance of the school were to issue, are situate at Knighton and Adbaston, in the County of Stafford." From the foregoing account of this foundation, particularly the circumstances of the salary being sixty pounds, and the degree of Master of Arts being a requisite qualification in the teacher, it seemed probable that this was the school in contemplation; and that Lord Gower erroneously supposed that the gentlemen who possessed the lands, out of which the revenues issued, were trustees of the charity. Such was the probable conjecture. But in the "Gentleman's Magazine" for May, 1793, there is a letter from Mr Henn, one of the masters of the school of Appleby, in Leicestershire, in which he writes as follows: "I compared time and circumstances together, in order to discover whether the school in question might not be this of Appleby. Some of the trustees at that period were 'worthy gentlemen of the neighbourhood of Lichfield. Appleby itself is not far from the neighbourhood of Lichfield' the salary, the degree requisite, together with the time of election, all agreeing with the statutes of Appleby. The election, as said in the letter, could not be delayed longer than the 11th of next month,' which was the 11th of September, just three months after the annual audit-day of Appleby school, which is always on the 11th of June; and the statutes enjoin ne ullius præcep torum electio diutius tribus mensibus moraretur, &c. "These I thought to be convincing proofs that my conjecture was not ill-founded, and that in a future edition of that book the circumstance might be recorded as fact. "But what banishes every shadow of doubt is the Minutebook of the school, which declares the headmastership to be at that time VACANT." I cannot omit returning thanks to this learned gentleman for the very handsome manner in which he has in that letter been so good as to speak of this work. think that I have interest enough in you, to prevail upon you to write to Dean Swift, to persuade the University of Dublin to send a diploma to me, constituting this poor man Master of Arts in their University. They highly extol the man's learning and probity; and will not be persuaded that the University will make any difficulty of conferring such a favour upon a stranger, if he is recommended by the Dean. They say, he is not afraid of the strictest examination, though he is of so long a journey. and will venture it, if the Dean thinks it necessary; choosing rather to die upon the road, than be starved to death in translating for booksellers;' which has been his only subsistence for some time past. "I fear there is more difficulty in this affair, than those good-natured gentlemen apprehend; especially as their election cannot be delayed longer than the 11th of next month. If you see this matter in the same light that it appears to me, I hope you will burn this, and pardon me for giving you so much trouble about an impracticable thing; but, if you think there is a probability of obtaining the favour asked, I am sure your humanity, and propensity to relieve merit in distress, will incline you to serve the poor man, without my adding any more to the trouble I have already given you, than assuring you that I am, with great truth, Sir, "Your faithful servant, "GOWER." It was, perhaps, no small disappointment to Johnson that this respectable application had not the desired effect; yet how much reason has there been, both for himself and his country, to rejoice that it did not succeed, as he might probably have wasted in obscurity those hours in which he afterwards produced his incomparable works. About this time he made one other effort to emancipate himself from the drudgery of authorship. He applied to Dr Adams, to consult Dr Smalbroke of the Commons, whether a person might be permitted to practise as an advocate there, without a doctor's degree in Civil Law. "I am," said he, "a total stranger to these studies; but whatever is a profession, and maintains numbers, must be within the reach of common abilities, and some degree of industry." Dr Adams was much pleased with Johnson's design to employ his talents in that manner, being confident he would have attained to great eminence. And, indeed, I cannot conceive a man better qualified to make a distinguished figure as a lawyer; for he would have brought to his profession a rich store of various knowledge, an uncommon acuteness, and a command of language, in which few could have equalled, and none have surpassed, him. He who could display eloquence and wit in defence of the decision of the House of Commons upon Mr Wilkes's election for Middlesex, and of the unconstitutional taxation of our fellow subjects in America, must have been a powerful advocate in any cause. But here, also, the want of a degree was an insurmountable bar. He was, therefore, under the necessity of persevering in that course into which he had been forced; and we find that his proposal from Greenwich to Mr Cave, for a translation of Father Paul Sarpi's History, was accepted.* Some sheets of this translation were printed off, but the design was dropped; for it happened, oddly enough, that another person of the name of Samuel Johnson, Librarian of St. Martin's-inthe-Fields, and curate of that parish, engaged in the same undertaking, and was patronised by the clergy, particularly by Dr Pearce, afterwards Bishop of Rochester. Several light skirmishes passed between the rival translators in the newspapers of the day; and the consequence was that they destroyed each other, for neither of them went on with the work. It is much to be regretted that the able performance of that celebrated genius, Fra Paolo, lost the advantage of being incorporated into British literature by the masterly hand of Johnson. I have in my possession, by the favour of Mr John Nichols, a paper in Johnson's handwriting, entitled "Account between Mr Edward Cave and Sam. Johnson, in relation to a version of Father Paul, &c., begun August the 2nd, 1738;” by which it appears, that from that day to the 21st of April, 1739, Johnson received for this work 497. 7s. in sums of one, two, three, and sometimes four guineas at a time, most frequently two. And it is curious to observe the minute and scrupulous accuracy with which Johnson had passed upon it a slip of paper, which he has entitled "Small Account," and which contains one article, Sept. 9th, Mr Cave laid down 2s. 6d." There is subjoined to this account, a list of some subscribers to the work, partly in Johnson's handwriting, partly in that of another person; and there follows a leaf or two, on which are written a number of characters which have the appearance of a short-hand, which, perhaps, Johnson was then trying to learn. "I did not care to detain your servant while I wrote an answer to your letter, in which you * In the "Weekly Miscellany," October 21, 1738, there appeared the following advertisement:-"Just published, proposals for printing the History of the Council of Trent, translated from the Italian of Father Paul Sarpi; with the Author's life, and Notes, Theological, Historical, and Critical, from the French edition of Dr Le Courayer; to which are added, Observations on the History, and Notes and Illustrations from various Authors, both printed and Manuscript. By S. Johnson. 1. The work will consist of two hundred sheets, and be two volumes in quarto, printed on good paper and letter. 2. The price will be 18s. each volume, to be paid, half a guinea at the delivery of the first volume, and the rest at the delivery of the second volume in sheets. 3. Twopence to be abated for every sheet less than two hundred. It may be had on a large paper, in three volumes, at the price of three guineas; one to be paid at the time of subscribing, another at the delivery of the first, and the rest at the delivery of the other volumes. The work is now in the press, and will be diligently prosecuted. Subscriptions are taken in by Mr Dodsley, in Pall Mall, Mr Rivington, in St Paul's Churchyard, by E. Cave, at St John's Gate, and the Translator, at No. 6, in Castle Street, by Cavendish Square." |