and atchievements. In the fecond class we have Marcus Antoninus; this writer has given us a feries of reflections on his own life; but his sentiments are fo noble, his morality fo fublime, that his meditations are univerfally admired. In the third clafs we have fome others of tolerable credit, who have given importance to their own private history by an intermixture of literary anecdotes, and the occurrences of their own times; the celebrated Huetius has published an entertaining volume upon this plan, De rebus ad eum pertinentibus.' In the fourth clafs we have the journalists, temporal and fpiritual; Elias Afhmole, William Lilly, George Whitfield, John Wefley, and a thoufand other old women and fanatick writers of memoirs and meditations."

"Lord Hailes's Annals of Scotland' (faid he) have not that painted form which is the tafte of this age; but it is a book which will always fell, it has such a stability of dates, fuch a certainty of facts, and fuch a punctuality of citation. I never before read Scotch hiftory with certainty."

Talking of antiquarian refearches, Johnfon faid, "All that is really known of the ancient ftate of Britain is contained in a few pages. We can know no more than what the old writers have told us; yet what large books have

we úpon it, the whole of which, excepting fuch parts as are taken from those old writers, is all a dream, fuch as Whitaker's Manchefter.' I have heard Henry's Hiftory of Britain' well fpoken of; I am told it is carried on in feparate divifions, as the civil, the military, the religious hiftory; I with much to have one branch well done, and that is the hiftory of manners; of common life."-Dr. Robertson obferved, Henry fhould have applied his attention to that alone, which is enough for any man; and he might have found a great deal fcattered in various books, had he read folely with that view. Henry erred in not felling his first volume at a moderate price to the bookfellers, that they might have pushed him on till he had got reputation. I fold my ' History of Scotland' at a moderate price, as a work by which the bookfellers might either gain or not; and Cadell has told me that Millar and he have got fix thousand pounds by it. I afterwards. received a much higher price for my writings. An author fhould fell his work for what the bookfellers will give, till it fhall appear whether he is an author of merit, or, which is the fame thing as to purchase-money, an author who pleases the public."

On a question whether Martinelli fhould continue his History of England to the present day,

day, Goldfmith faid, " To be fure he fhould.” JOHNSON." No, Sir; he would give great offence. He would have to tell of almost all the living great what they do not wish told."— GOLDSMITH." It may, perhaps, be neceffary for a native to be more cautious; but a foreigner, who comes among us without prejudice, may be confidered as holding the placé of a Judge, and may speak his mind freely.”— J. 7. Sir, a foreigner, when he fends a work from the prefs, ought to be on his guard against catching the error and miftaken enthufiafin of the people among whom he happens to be."G. " Sir, he wants only to fell his hiftory, and to tell truth; one an honest, the other a laudable motive."." Sir, they are both laudable motives. It is laudable in a man to wifh to live by his labours; but he should write fo as he may live by them, not fo as he may be knocked on the head. I would advise him to be at Calais before he publishes his hiftory of the prefent age. A foreigner, who attaches himself to a political party in this country, is in the worst ftate that can be imagined; he is looked upon as a mere intermeddler. A native may do it from intereft."-Boswell. " Or principle."-G.

"-G." There are people who tell a hundred political lies every day, and are not burt by it. Surely then one may tell truth

with safety."-J.

Why, Sir, in the first

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place, he who tells a hundred lies has difarmed the force of his lies. But befides; a man had rather have a hundred lies told of him, than one truth which he does not wifh fhould be told."-G. "For my part, I'd tell truth, and fhame the devil."-7. "Yes, Sir; but the devil will be angry. I wish to fhame the devil as much as you do, but I fhould choose to be out of the reach of his claws."-G. "His claws can do you no harm, when you have the fhield of truth."

Talking of letter-writing, Johnfon observed, "It is now become fo much the fashion to publish letters, that in order to avoid it, I put as little into mine as I can."-"Do what you will, Sir (faid Mr. Bofwell), you cannot avoid it. Should you even write as ill as you can, your letters would be publifhed as curiofities:

• Behold a miracle! instead of wit,

• See two dull lines with Stanhope's pencil writ.'

Johnson's attention to precifion and clearnefs in expreffion was very remarkable. He difapproved of parentheses; and perhaps in all his voluminous writings not half a dozen of them will be found. He never used the phrafes the former and the latter, having obferved that they often occafioned obfcurity; he therefore contrived to conftruct his fentences fo as not to have occafion for them, and would even rather

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ther repeat the fame words in order to avoid them. Nothing is more common than to miftake firnames when we hear them carelessly uttered for the first time. To prevent this, he ufed not only to pronounce them flowly and diftinctly, but to take the trouble of spelling them.

He was no admirer of blank verfe, and faid it always failed, unless sustained by the dignity of the fubject. In blank verfe, he faid, the language fuffered more diftortion to keep it. out of profe, than any inconvenience or limitation to be apprehended from the fhackles and circumfpection of rhyme.

Johnson one day, for fport perhaps, or from the spirit of contradiction, eagerly maintained, that Derrick had merit as a writer. Mr. Morgan argued with him in vain. At length he had recourfe to this device: " Pray, Sir (faid he), do you reckon Derrick or Smart the best poet?" Johnson at once felt himself roused; and answered, "Sir, there is no fettling the point of precedency between a loufe and a flea."

After having on fome occafion made obfer vations upon the fimilarity between Raffelas' and Candide,' he faid, Candide' he thought had more power in it than any thing that Voltaire had written.