empire: but it may be remarked, that after he became poffeffed of an income which would have enabled him to change his fituation, London was always his favourite refidence, and he seems never to have been long eafy in any other place. In his "Vanity of Human Wishes," he exhibited in fome degree his political sentiments, by the manner in which he speaks of the death of STRAFFORD, and by his panegyric on archbishop LAUD, whom he represents as having been brought to the block by his genius and his learning. See, when the vulgar 'fcape, defpis'd or aw'd, Rebellion's vengeful talons feize on LAUD. From meaner minds, tho' fmaller fines content, The plunder'd palace, or fequefter'd rent; [fhock, Mark'd out by DANGEROUS PARTS, he meets the And FATAL LEARNING leads him to the block: Around his tomb let Art and Genius weep, But hear his death, ye blockheads, hear and fleep." ARCHBISHOP . ARCHBISHOP LAUD undoubtedly poffeffed both learning and abilities, and in many respects promoted the interests of literature. But it was neither his talents nor his learning to which he owed his untimely end. The arbitrary principles of government which he laboured to maintain both in the church and in the ftate, his zeal in fupport of unjuft claims, his perfecuting spirit, and the tyranny which he exercised in the Star-chamber, and in the court of high commiffion, were the real causes of his being brought to the scaffold. AMONG the earlier productions of Johnfon was his "Account of the Life of Mr. "RICHARD SAVAGE, fon of the Earl Rivers," the fécond edition of which was published, in 8vo. in 1748. This has been thought too favourable to Savage; but it is an excellent piece of biography, and has great merit as a compofition. X 3 HIS HIS LIFE OF JOHN PHILIP BARRETIER, which was published in 1744, is a very curious pamphlet; but it has little of Johnson's manner, and there is fome reafon to fufpect it to be only a tranflation, Mr. Formey, fecretary to the Royal Academy of Sciences at Berlin, published a life of Barretier, in French, from materials furnished by the father of that extraordinary young man in 1741 ; and from fome paffages in Johnson's publication, feems probable, that it is only a tranflation of that piece, But this I cannot affirm with certainty, as I have never feen the original. 28 IN 1747, he published in 8vo. the "Plan of a Dictionary of the English "language; addreffed to the Right Ho 2 Vid. Formey's account of his own life, prefixed to the tranflation of his Philofophical Mifcellanies, printed at London in 1759, P. 7. "nourable nourable Philip Dormer, Earl of Chef"terfield, one of his Majesty's principal "fecretaries of ftate." He had now engaged in the compilation of his Dictionary, and was flattered by the prospect of the patronage of lord Chesterfield, who had testified his approbation of the undertaking. Though many literary men were at this time not unacquainted with Johnson's merit, and, indeed, had a high fense of it; yet his name appears not then to have been much celebrated, or very generally known; and this performance, which was very elegantly written, was well calculated to excite the attention of the public, and to fhew how well qualified the author was for the execution of the important work in which he had engaged. THE fame year he wrote that fine prologue, which was fpoken by Mr. Garrick, on the opening of Drury-lane theatre; and in which he fo happily delineated the genius of SHAKESPEARE: "When learning's triumph o'er her barb'rous foes It was in 1749, when he had completed his fortieth year, that his tragedy of IRENE was brought upon the ftage; and on this occafion he appeared, perhaps for the first time, in the character of a beau, He then wore at the theatre, as he himself informed Mr. Bofwell, a waistcoat richly laced. This gaiety of appearance, as it was not very natural to him, was probably not long continued. The prologue to this tragedy was written in a much more manly 29 Tour to the Hebrides, p. 458. |