discover them, partly from occasional information given by him to his friends, and partly from internal evidence.1 His first performance in the Gentleman's Magazine, which for many years was his principal source for employment and support, was a copy of Latin verses, in March 1738, addressed to the editor in so happy a style of compliment, that Cave must have been destitute both of taste and sensibility, had he not felt himself highly gratified. Ad URBANUM. [*] URBANE, nullis fesse laboribus, Quid moliatur gens imitantium, Juxta animo studiisque felix. Linguæ procasis plumbea spicula, Fidens, superbo frange silentio ; Victrix per obstantes catervas Sedulitas animosa tendet. Intende nervos, fortis, inanibus Non ulla Musis pagina gratior, Utilibus recreare mentem. Texente Nymphis serte Lycoride, Rosæ ruborum sic viola adjuvat Immista, sic Iris refulget Æthereis variata fucis.2 S. J. It appears that he was now enlisted by Mr. Cave as a regular coadjutor in his magazine, by While in the course of my narrative I enumerate his writings, I shall take care that my readers shall not be left to waver in doubt between certainty and conjecture with regard to their authenticity; and for that purpose shall mark with an asterisk [*] those which he acknowledged to his friends, and with a dagger [+] those which are ascertained to be his by internal evidence. When any other pieces are ascribed to him, I shall give my reasons.-BOSWELL. 2 A translation of this Ode, by an unknown correspondent, appeared in the Magazine for the month of May following: Hail, URBAN! indefatigable man, Unwearied yet by all thy useful toil! Whom num'rous slanderers assault in vain ; Whom no base calumny can put to foil. But still the laurel on thy learned brow Flourishes fair, and shall for ever grow. What mean the servile, imitating crew, What their vain blust'ring, and their empty noise? Ne'er seek; but still thy noble ends pursue, Unconquer'd by the rabble's venal voice. Still to the Muse thy studious mind apply, Happy in temper as in industry. which he probably obtained a tolerable livelihood. At what time or by what means he had acquired a competent knowledge both of French and Italian, I do not know; but he was so well skilled in them as to be sufficiently qualified for a translator. That part of his labour which consisted in emendation and improvement of the productions of other contributors, like that employed in levelling ground, can be perceived only by those who had an opportunity of comparing the original with the altered copy. What we certainly know to have been done by him in this way, was the debates in both Houses of Parliament, under the name of 'The Senate of Lilliput,' sometimes with feigned denominations of the several speakers, sometimes with denominations formed of the letters of their real names, in the manner of what is called anagram, so that they might easily be deciphered. Parliament then kept the press in a kind of mysterious awe, which made it necessary to have recourse to such devices. In our time it has acquired an unrestrained freedom, so that the people in all parts of the kingdom have a fair, open, and exact report of the actual proceedings of their representatives and legislators, which in our constitution is highly to be valued; though, unquestionably, there has of late been too much reason to complain of the petulance with which obscure scribblers have presumed to treat men of the most respectable character and situation. This important article of the Gentleman's Magazine was for several years executed by Mr. William Guthrie, a man who deserves to be respectably recorded in the literary annals of this country. He was descended of an ancient family in Scotland; but having a small patrimony, and being an adherent of the unfortunate house of Stuart, he could not accept of any 'The senseless sneerings of an haughty tongue, Unworthy thy attention to engage, Unheeded pass; and tho' they mean thee wrong, By manly silence disappoint their rage. Assiduous diligence confounds its foes, Resistless, tho' malicious crowds oppose. 'Exert thy powers, nor slacken in the course, Thy spotless fame shall quash all false reports: Exert thy powers, nor fear a rival's force, But thou shalt smile at all his main efforts. Thy labours shall be crown'd with large success: The Muse's aid thy Magazine shall bless. 'No page more grateful to th' harmonious nine 'Thus, when the nymphs in some fair verdant mead 'BRITON.' any conicidence found between the two performances, though upon the very same subject. The only instances are, in describing London as the sink of foreign worthlessness: the common shore, Where France does all her filth and ordure pour' office in the State. He therefore came to Lon- 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 imitated 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. Oldham2 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 How much poetry he wrote, I know not; but he informed me that he was the author of the beautiful little piece, The Eagle and Robin Redbreast, in the collection of poems entitled the Union, though it is there said to be written by Archibald Scott, before the year 1600.-BOSWELL. 2 Called the English Juvenal; born 1653, died 1683. The common shore of Paris and of Rome.' JOHNSON. No calling or profession comes amiss, OLDHAM. All sciences a fasting monsieur knows.' JOHNSON. The particulars which Oldham has collected, both as exhibiting the horrors of London and of the times, contrasted with better days, are different from those of Johnson, and in general well chosen and well expressed.1 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, 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 dear old friend.' There is one passage in the original, better transfused by Oldham than by Johnson: Nil habet in felix paupertas durius in se, which is an exquisite remark on the galling Of all the griefs that harass the distrest, Oldham's, though less elegant, is more just: 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 autho I own it pleased me to find amongst them one trait of the manners of the age in London, in the last cen tury, 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, When brickbats are from upper stories thrown, rity. 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 letters to Mr. Cave in 1738, that they all relate to it : 'TO MR. CAVE. 'CASTLE STREET, Wednesday Morning. [March 1738.] 'SIR,-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 any 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 any person than from you, who have so much distinguished your self by your generous encouragement of poetry, and whose judgment of that art nothing but your commendation of my trifle1 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 mannen, sir, your very humble servant, 'SAM. JOHNSON.' 1 His Ode Ad Urbanum, probably.-NICHOLS. 'TO MR. CAVE. 'Monday, No. 6 CASTLE STREET. 'SIR,--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 suffer so often from a contrary disposition.-I am, sir, your most humble servant, 'SAM. JOHNSON.' 'TO MR CAVE. [No date.] 'SIR,-I waited on you to take the copy to Dodsley's; as I remember the number of lines which it contains, it will be no longer than Eugenio,1 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, etc.' 'SAM. JOHNSON.' 1 A poem published in 1737, of which see an account under April 30, 1778. The learned Mrs. Elizabeth Carter. This lady, of whom frequent mention will be found in these memoirs, was daughter of Nicholas Carter, D.D. She died in Clarges Street, Feb. 19, 1806, in her eightyninth year.-MALONE. 'TO MR. CAVE. [No date.] 'SIR,--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, etc., '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; 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? 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,1 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 1738;2 and it is remarkable that it came out on the some 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, 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 circles 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 1 The Beef-Steak Club, which met in Covent Garden. 2 Sir John Hawkins, p. 86, tells us, 'The event is ante-dated 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 ac quainted with Savage when he wrote his London. If the departure mentioned in it was the departure of Savage, the event was not ante-dated, 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.-BoSWELL. The assertion that Johnson was not even acquainted with Savage when he published his London, may be doubtful. Johnson took leave of Savage when he went to Wales in 1739, and must have been acquainted with him before that period. See his Life of Savage.A. CHALMERS. 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 déterre." 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 love of virtue; interspersed with traits of his own particular character and situation, not omitting his prejudices as a true - born Englishman,'2 not only against foreign countries, but against Ireland and Scotland. On some of these topics I shall quote a few passages : The cheated nation's happy fav'rites see; Sir Joshua Reynolds, from the information of the younger Richardson.-BosWELL. * It is, however, remarkable that he uses the epithet No secret island in the boundless main? 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 twentyninth 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 characterized his opponent, Pitt, as But Johnson's juvenile poem 'a meteor.' 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 him of the mastership of a school,1 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. which undoubtedly, since the Union between England Was early taught a Briton's rights to prize.' 1 There seems every reason to believe that this was the school of Appleby, in Leicestershire. |