EARLY STRUGGLES. 23 have got at the very man; let Johnson once come to see that a thing is wrong, and he and it never shake hands again in this world. During the intervals when he was not engaged in such literary hack-work, Johnson must have found some relief in the composition of "London," a poem in imitation of the Third Satire of Juvenal, which was published in May, 1738. Although greatly inferior to his other and later Satire, which will be noticed in due time, "London" is nevertheless understood to be one of the best existing imitations of any classic author. The poet Gray, a competent judge, has pronounced the verdict that it "has all the ease and all the spirit of an original." Poetry, however, as such, formed so small a portion of the history of Johnson's mind and heart, that to us in these days the interest and significance of this whole work turn upon one or two lines in which the Man himself seems to come to the surface: the Man, with all his clear integrity of soul, his rugged independence of spirit, his strong consciousness of deserving a better place in the world than had then been apportioned him, and his stern determination, at the same time, to repress all unmanly cries of distress. Here are a few of those lines, which, whatever may be their value as poetry, are infinitely suggestive as little delicate disclosures of the author's inner life: "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, "This mournful truth is every where confess'd, True genius is not, indeed, self-conscious, as some understand the word, and moral worth is perhaps even less so; yet it ever holds good that, Though in whispers speaking, the full heart Will find a vent." HIS WIFE'S DEATH. 51 insight, one wonders, or only to supreme impertinence? Call the widowed man's prayer for his dead wife love, and not superstition, and then it will seem beautiful in our eyes. Beautiful, and not wholly unintelligible; for, "Love does not aim simply at the conscious good of the beloved object: it is not satisfied without perfect loyalty of heart; it aims at its own completeness." "April 23, 1753. I know not whether I do not too much indulge the vain longings of affection; but I hope they intenerate my heart, and that when I die like my Tetty, this affection will be acknowledged in a happy interview, and that in the meantime I am incited by it to piety. I will, however, not deviate too much from common and received methods of devotion." And then all his own little occasional faults of temper would come back upon the tender-hearted, large-souled man, as grievous offences hardly to be forgiven: but he never blamed the dead. Here is an extract from one of his prayers uttered about a year after his wife's decease : "O Lord, who givest the grace of repentance, and hearest the prayers of the penitent, grant that by true contrition I may obtain forgiveness of all the sins committed, and of all duties neglected, in my union with the wife whom thou hast taken from me; for the neglect of joint devotion, patient exhortation, and mild instruction." Johnson's faults, so far at least as they affected his wife, never lay about the roots of his character; that is abundantly evident. "And, O Lord, so far as it may be lawful in me, I commend to thy fatherly goodness the soul of my departed wife; beseeching thee to grant her whatever is best in her present state, and finally to receive her to eternal happiness." "Can we believe that the dear dead are gone?" 24 EARLY STRUGGLES. And may it not be obtuseness of vision on our part that prevents us from seeing how much real feeling has often gone to the composition of one of those poor rhymed couplets which it is now the fashion to despise? It is in the light of a belief like this that we recognize "London" as marking an era in its author's life. The thoughts with which his soul was big, and the feelings with which his heart was charged, found relief in song-a song which, if not marching to the grand music that now fires us, was yet, what poetry ever is, the finest utterance of the singer's highest self. The Satire was a great success; and, in the first burst of novelty and surprise, a sort of awed whisper went round the literary circle: "here is an unknown poet, greater even than Pope." Pope himself was so much pleased with the work as to make strict inquiry about the author of it-a complimentary curiosity which Johnson always remembered with honest pride. The poem reached a second edition in the course of a week. It was published by Robert Dodsley, who ultimately bought the copyright for ten guineas. "I might," says Johnson, "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." This rather makes us stare in these days, knowing, as we do, that hundreds of pounds are now given for poems which, in their way, create only the same sort of sensation as that produced by "London" in 1738. But if the praise bestowed upon the work was unlimited, not so was the supply of money it brought. Man cannot live by praise alone; and if "London" made some of the great court the author, the great required to be courted by the author in their turn. To this Johnson's stern pride could not submit ; so, sick of the sort of drudgery in which he had been hitherto chiefly employed, and despairing of the production of many more such works as his last, he began to let his thoughts wander once again to teaching, as a kind of forlorn hope. He was offered the mastership of the school of Appleby, in Leicestershire, provided he could obtain the degree of Master of Arts. He wrote to Dr. Adams, to ascertain if that could be given by the University of Oxford, as a kind of excep. tional favour. It was decided, however, that it was too great a EARLY STRUGGLES. 25 favour to expect to receive from that University. Pope therefore recommended Johnson to Lord Gower, who immediately wrote to a friend of Dean Swift's, in the hope that through the Dean's influence the degree might be obtained from the University of Dublin. The letter is worth quoting : "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. "Now these gentlemen do me the honour to 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 goodnatured 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 |