Grotto;" and, as he could employ his pen with equal success upon a small matter as a great, I suppose him to be the author of an advertisement for Osborne, concerning the great Harleian Catalogue. But I should think myself much wanting, both to my illustrious friend and my readers, did I not introduce here, with more than ordinary respect, an exquisitely beautiful Ode, which has not been inserted in any of the collections of Johnson's poetry, written by him at a very early period, as Mr. Hector informs me, and inserted in "The Gentleman's Magazine" of this year. FRIENDSHIP, AN ODE.* Friendship, peculiar boon of heaven, Thy gentle flows of guiltless joys On fools and villains ne'er descend: In vain for thee the tyrant sighs, Nativa sic te gratia, te nitor Ergo fluentum tu, male sedula, Pulvere dedecores capillos; Quales nec olim Ptolemæia Verticis exuviæ decori; Nec diva mater, cum similem tuæ Mentita formam, et pulcrior adspici, Permisit incomtas protervis Fusa comas agitare ventis. In vol. xiv. p. 46, of the same work, an elegant Epigram was inserted, in answer to the to going Ode, which was written by Dr. Inyon of Norfolk, a physician, and an excellent classica scholar : "Ad Authorem Carminis AD ORNATISSIMAM PUELLAM. "O cui non potuit, quia culta, placere puella, Directress of the brave and just, O guide us through life's darksome way! On selfish bosoms only prey. Nor shall thine ardour cease to glow, When souls to blissful climes remove: Shall aid our happiness above. Johnson had now an opportunity of obliging his schoolfellow Dr. James, of whom he once observed, "No man brings more mind to his profession." James published this year his "Medicinal Dictionary," in three volumes folio. Johnson, as I understood from him, had written, or assisted in writing, the proposals for this work; and being very fond of the study of physic, in which James was his master, he furnished some of the articles. He, however, certainly wrote for it the Dedication to Dr. Mead, † which is conceived with great address, to conciliate the patronage of that very eminent man.' It has been circulated, I know not with what authenticity, that Johnson considered Dr. Birch as a dull writer, and said of him, "Tom 1" TO DR. MEAD. "SIR, "That the 'Medicinal Dictionary' is dedicated to you, is to be imputed only to your reputation for superior skill in those sciences which I have endeavoured to explain and facilitate; and you are, therefore, to consider this address, if it be agreeable to you, as one of the rewards of merit; and if otherwise, as one of the inconveniences of eminence. "However you shall receive it, my design cannot be disappointed, because this public appeal to your judgment will show that I do not found my hopes of approbation upon the ignorance of my readers, and that I fear his censure least whose knowledge is most extensive. I am, Sir, your most obedient humble servant, "R. JAMES."-BOSWELL. Birch is as brisk as a bee in conversation. but no sooner does he take a pen in his hand, than it becomes a torpedo to him, and benumbs all his faculties." That the literature of this country is much indebted to Birch's activity and diligence must certainly be acknowledged. We have seen that Johnson honoured him with a Greek Epigram; and his correspondence with him, during many years, proves that he had no mean opinion of him. "SIR, 'TO DR. BIRCH. Thursday, Sept. 29, 1743. "I hope you will excuse me for troubling you on an occasion on which I know not whom else I can apply to; I am at a loss for the Lives and Characters of Earl Stanhope, the two Craggs, and the minister Sunderland; and beg that you will inform [me] where I may find them, and send any pamphlets, &c. relating to them to Mr. Cave to be perused for a few days by, Sir, "Your most humble servant, "SAM. JOHNSON." His circumstances were at this time embarrassed; yet his affection for his mother was so warm, and so liberal, that he took upon himself a debt of hers, which, though small in itself, was then considerable to him. This appears from the following letter which he wrote to Mr. Levett, of Lichfield, the original of which lies now before me : "SIR, "TO MR. LEVETT, IN LICHFIELD. December 1, 1743. "I am extremely sorry that we have encroached so much upon your forbearance with respect to the interest, which a great perplexity of affairs hindered me from thinking of with that attention that I ought, and which I am not immediately able to remit to you, but will pay it (I think twelve pounds) in two months. I look upon this, and on the future interest of that mortgage, as my own debt; and beg that you will be pleased to give me directions how to pay it, and not mention it to my dear mother. If it be necessary to pay this in less time, I believe I can do it; but I take two months for certainty, and beg an answer whether you can allow me so much time. I think myself very much obliged to your forbearance, and shall esteem it a great happiness to be able to serve you. I have great opportunities of dispersing any thing that you may think it proper to make public. I will give a note for the money, payable at the time mentioned, to any one here that you shall appoint. I am, Sir, "Your most obedient and most humble servant, “At Mr. Osborne's, bookseller, in Gray's Inn.” "SAM. JOHNSON. JOHNSON PUBLISHES THE LIFE OF SAVAGE-MERITS OF THIS BIOGRAPHY-DISCUSSION AS TO SAVAGE'S PARENTAGE-PREFACE TO HARLEIAN MISCELLANY-"MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS ON THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH "-GARRICK MANAGER OF DRURY-LANE THEATRE-JOHNSON'S "PROLOGUE "9 ON ITS OPENING-" PLAN" OF THE DICTIONARY ADDRESSED TO LORD CHESTERFIELD-RESIDENCE IN GOUGH SQUARE-INSTITUTION OF THE CLUB IN IVY LANE-WRITES LIFE OF ROSCOMMON-CONTRIBUTIONS TO DODSLEY'S "PRECEPTOR." does not appear that Johnson wrote anything in 1744 for the "Gentleman's Magazine," but the Preface.t His "Life of Barretier" was now published in a pamphlet by itself. But he produced one work this year, fully sufficient to maintain the high reputation which he had acquired. This was "The Life of Richard Savage; "* a man, of whom it is difficult to speak impartially, without wondering that he was for some time the intimate companion of Johnson; for his character1 was marked by profligacy, insolence, and ingratitude: yet, as he undoubtedly had a warm and vigorous, though unregulated mind, had seen life in all its varieties, and been much in the company of the states As a specimen of his temper, I insert the following letter from him to a noble Lord Tyrconnel] to whom he was under great obligations, but who, on account of his bad conduct, was obliged to discard him. The original was in the hands of the late Francis Cockayne Cust, Esq., one of his Majesty's Counsel, learned in the law : "Right Honourable BRUTE and BOOBY, "I find you want (as Mr. is pleased to hint) to swear away my life, that is, the life of your creditor, because he asks you for a debt.-The public shall soon be acquainted with this, to judge whether you are not fitter to be an Irish evidence, than to be an Irish Peer.-I defy and despise you. I am "Your determined adversary, "R. S."-BOSWELL. men and wits of his time, he could communicate to Johnson an abundant supply of such materials as his philosophical curiosity most eagerly desired; and as Savage's misfortunes and misconduct had reduced him to the lowest state of wretchedness as a writer for his bread, his visit to St. John's Gate naturally brought Johnson and him together.1 It is melancholy to reflect, that Johnson and Savage were sometimes in such extreme indigence, that they could not pay for a lodging; so that they have wandered together whole nights in the streets. Yet in these almost incredible scenes of distress, we may suppose that Savage mentioned many of the anecdotes with which Johnson afterwards enriched the life of his unhappy companion, and those of other poets. He told Sir Joshua Reynolds, that one night in particular, when Savage and he walked round St. James's-square for want of a lodging, they were not at all depressed by their situation, but in high spirits, and 1 Sir John Hawkins gives the world to understand, that Johnson, "being an admirer of genteel manners, was captivated by the address and dem anour of Savage, who, as to his exterior, was to a remarkable degree accomplished."-Hawkins's Life, p. 52. But Sir John's notions of gentility must appear somewhat ludicrous, from his stating the following circumstance as presumptive evidence that Savage was a good swordsman:-" That he understood the exercise of a gentleman's weapon, may be inferred from the use made of it in that rash encounter which is related in his life." The dexterity here alluded to was, that Savage, in a nocturnal fit of drunkenness, stabbed a man at a coffee-house, and killed him: for which he was tried at the Old Bailey, and found guilty of murder. Johnson, indeed, describes him as having "a grave and manly deportment, a solemn dignity of mien; but which, upon a nearer acquaintance, softened into an engaging easiness of manners." How highly Johnson admired him for that knowledge which he himself so much cultivated, and what kindness he entertained for him, appears from the following lines in the "Gentleman's Magazine" for April, 1738, which I am assured were written by Johnson: "Ad RICARDUM SAVAGE. "Humani studium generis cui pectore fervet O colat humanum te foveatque genus."-BOSWELL. 2 The following striking proof of Johnson's extreme indigence, when he published the Life of Savage, was communicated to Mr. Boswell, by Mr. Richard Stowe, of Aspley, in Bedfordshire, from the information of Mr. Walter Harte, author of the Life of Gustavus Adolphus : "Soon after Savage's Life was published, Mr. Harte dined with Edward Cave, and occasionally praised it. Soon after, meeting him, Cave said, 'You made a man very happy t'other day.'-'How could that be?' says Harte; nobody was there but ourselves.' Cave answered, by reminding him that a plate of victuals was sent behind a screen, which was to Johnson, dressed so shabbily, that he did not choose to appear; but on hearing the conversation, he was highly delighted with the encomiums on his book."-MALONE. 3 As Johnson was married before he settled in London, and must have always had a habitation for his wife, some readers have wondered how he ever could have been driven to stroll about with Savage, all night, for want of a lodging. But it should be remembered, that Johnson, at different periods, had lodgings in the vicinity of London; and his finances certainly would not admit of a double establishment. When, therefore, he spent a convivial day in London, and found it too late to return to any country residence he may occasionally have had, having no lodging in town, he was obliged to pass the night in the manner described above; for, though at that period, it was not uncommon for two men to sleep together, Savage, it appears, could accommodate him with nothing but his company in the open air. The Epigram given above, which doubtless was written by Johnson, shows, that their acquaintance commenced before April, 1738.-MALONE. |