JOHN THE BAPTIST

France, Oct. 25, 1180. He studied at Oxford, and in 1136 passed over to France, where he attended with enthusiastic admiration the lectures of Abelard, whom he esteemed the most profound and brilliant of the doctors, and afterward of Alberic of Rheims, Robert of Melun, William of Soissons, Richard the Bishop, and Pierre Hélie. He opened a school at Paris about 1140, but with little success, and on account of his poverty retired to the abbey of Montier la Celle. About 1151 he returned to England with recommendations from Pierre de Celle and St. Bernard, and was appointed secretary to Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury, who introduced him to his future successor Thomas à Becket. He was sent on important diplomatic missions to Popes Eugenius III., Anastasius IV., and Adrian IV., with the last of whom he was an especial favorite. He was the secretary of Becket when he became archbishop of Canterbury, was called his eye and his arm, supported him in his contest with Henry II., shared his exile and disgrace, and returned with him to England. In 1176 he was elected to the bishopric of Chartres, and passed the rest of his life in his diocese. He was highly reputed not only as a scholar, but as a poet and orator. His most important works are: Polycraticus, sive de Curialium Nugis et Vestigiis Philosophorum, an erudite and caustic satire on the follies of courtiers and philosophers, and Metalogicus, in which he vindicates the studies of the schools against the sneers and outcries of the ignorant. His complete works were first collected by J. A. Giles (5 vols., Oxford, 1848).

JOHN THE BAPTIST, the forerunner and relative of Christ, son of the priest Zacharias and Elizabeth, and cousin of the Virgin Mary, born at Jutta or at Hebron in 5 B. C., beheaded about the end of A. D. 28. His birth and office were foretold by the angel Gabriel to his father as he was burning incense in the temple of Jerusalem. When Zacharias asked for some sign of the truth of the prophecy, his tongue was sealed, and he did not recover his speech till after the birth of the child. Six months after Elizabeth had conceived, she was visited by Mary, and at her salutation she felt the babe leap in her womb. John abode in the desert until, a short time before the ministry of Jesus, he appeared clothed with camels' hair and with a leathern girdle about his loins as a prophet in the country about the Dead sea, exhorting the people to repentance, and proclaiming the approach of the Messiah. Those who believed he baptized in the Jordan, announcing at the same time the coming of a mightier one, who should baptize them with the Holy Ghost and with fire. He recognized the Messiah in Jesus, who presented himself for baptism, and publicly declared him "the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world." It is not certain what were the relations between John and Jesus, but the disciples of the former were a separate sect after his death, and still exist in the East under the name of Sabians or Christians of St. John. On ac

count of his censure of the marriage of Herod Antipas with his sister-in-law Herodias, John was imprisoned in the castle of Macharus, where he was beheaded at the instance of Herodias. His birth and death are commemorated by the Roman Catholic church respectively on June 24 and Aug. 29. In England he was formerly esteemed the patron of architects, and was held in special honor by the free masons.-See Rohden, Johannes der Täufer (Lübeck, 1838).

JOHN THE EVANGELIST, one of the apostles, son of the fisherman Zebedee and Salome, born in Bethsaida, on the lake of Galilee, died about A. D. 100. He followed the occupation of his parents, was probably a disciple of John the Baptist, and became when about 25 years old, with his brother James, a disciple of Jesus, whom he was one of the first constantly to accompany. It is believed that he was the youngest of the apostles, and the special attachment of the Saviour to him is expressed in his description of himself as "that disciple whom Jesus loved." He was present at the transfiguration, prepared the last supper, at which he reclined on the bosom of his master, and was the only disciple who accompanied Jesus to the cross. While hanging on the cross the Saviour confided his mother to the care of St. John. After the ascension John remained for a while at Jerusalem, but from this time history is silent concerning him. The traditions, however, agree that he afterward abode in Ephesus and Asia Minor. According to Jerome, he was arrested by command of the proconsul, and taken to Rome, where he was plunged into a vessel of boiling oil, but, as this did not harm him, was banished (A. D. 95) to the island of Patmos; he was released after the death of Domitian, and died in the reign of Trajan, at a very advanced age. According to the same authority, he became at last so weak that he was obliged to be carried to the Christian_assemblies, and when there could only say: "Love one another, my children." His festival is celebrated by the Roman Catholic church on Dec. 27. He is usually painted with a cup from which a serpent is issuing, in allusion to poison which was believed to have been offered him in a glass, from which he expelled the venom in the form of a serpent by making the sign of the cross.-The New Testament contains a Gospel, three Epistles, and the Apocalypse, or book of Revelations, bearing his name. His Gospel gives the speeches of Christ more fully than the synoptic Gospels, but historical facts appear less prominently in it than the doctrines which are implied and established by the facts. According to the fathers, it was written at Ephesus or at Patmos in the latter part of the 1st century, but the certain external proofs of its authenticity begin with the year 170; from that time it was received without question by the church. Bretschneider (1820) supposed it to have been written in the first half of the 2d century to develop a metaphysical doctrine of the divinity of Christ. Schwegler (1841), Baur (1847), and others, have viewed

it as skilfully composed in the 2d century for the purpose of reconciling the Jewish and gentile Christians. Its genuineness has been maintained among others by Calmberg, Hauff, Schleiermacher, Baumgarten-Crusius, Luthardt, Niermayr, and Schneider.-The 1st Epistle was probably addressed to Christian congregations in Asia Minor, which had been under the charge of the apostle, and urges love, devotion, and moral strictness. It consists of separate thoughts and precepts, with little logical connection. The 2d Epistle is addressed to a lady of rank, called "the elect lady," supposed by some to refer to a Christian church. The 3d Epistle is addressed to Gaius, who is commended for his hospitality to the faithful, and contains, like the 1st, allusions to Gnostic errors.-The Apocalypse has been treated in this work under its special head. The most comprehensive commentary on the writings of John is that of Lücke (3d ed., under the care of Bertheau, 1856). Other important commentators on them, beside those on the New Testament collectively, are: on the Gospel only, Tholuck (1827) and Lange (1860); on the Epistles, Düsterdieck (1852); on the 1st Epistle, Steinhofer (1848), Neander (1851), and Erdmann (1854).

so.

JOHN SCOTUS. See ERIGENA. JOHNSON, the name of 8 counties in the United States. I. A N. co. of Texas, intersected by Brazos river; area, 998 sq. m.; pop. in 1858, 2,304, of whom 257 were slaves. The surface on the E. of the Brazos is undulating, and on the W. hilly. The soil is well adapted to wheat, and is generally fertile. Prairie and timber lands are distributed in nearly equal quantities. The county was organized in 1854. Value of land in 1858, $190,980. Capital, Buchanan. II. A N. W. co. of Ark., traversed by Arkansas river, which is here navigable by steamboats; area, 840 sq. m.; pop. in 1854, 5,021, of whom 920 were slaves. The surface is moderately uneven, and the soil is fertile, but not uniformly The productions in 1854 were 246,505 bushels of Indian corn, 8,484 of wheat, 58,876 of oats, and 1,362 bales of cotton. Capital, Clarksville. III. A N. E. co. of Tenn., bordering on Va. and N. C., and having the Alleghany mountains on its S. E. boundary; area, 300 sq. m.; pop. in 1850, 3,705, of whom 206 were slaves. It is watered by Watauga river and its branches. The surface is mountainous and thickly wooded, and the county is rich in iron. The agricultural productions in 1850 were 87,801 bushels of Indian corn, 57,037 of oats, 43,214 lbs. of butter, 9,675 of wool, and 1,801 of tobacco. There were 21 grist mills, 9 saw mills, 7 churches, and 600 pupils attending public schools. Capital, Taylorsville. IV. An E. co. of Ky., traversed by the W. fork of Big Sandy river; area, 140 sq. m.; pop. in 1850, 3,873, of whom 30 were slaves. It abounds in sandstone and coal, and has a hilly surface with a sandy but. fertile soil. The productions in 1850 were 185,120 bushels of Indian corn, 1,736 of wheat, 21,786 of oats, 9,250 lbs. of tobacco, 11,173 of

wool, and 6,320 of flax. There were 2 saw mills, 4 churches, and 305 pupils attending public schools. Capital, Paintville. V. A certral co. of Ind., watered by the W. fork of White river and several smaller streams; area, 320 sq. m.; pop. in 1850, 12,101. The surface is moderately uneven, and the soil is chiefly a rich loam. The productions in 1850 were 993,375 bushels of Indian corn, 99,038 of wheat, 34,262 of oats, 41,602 lbs. of wool, and 3,082 tons of hay. There were 13 grist mills, 11 saw mills, 1 newspaper office, 85 churches, and 4,708 pupils attending public schools. The Martinsville and Jeffersonville railroads meet at Franklin, the capital. VI. A S. co. of Ill., drained by Cash river; area, 486 sq. m.; pop. in 1855, 6,946. It has a level surface and a good soil. The productions in 1850 were 133,295 bushels of Indian corn, 6,887 of wheat, 10,689 of oats, and 19,036 lbs. of butter. There were 11 grist mills, 2 saw mills, 9 churches, and 524 pupils attending public schools. Capital, Vienna. VII. A W. co. of Mo., drained by branches of Blackwater river; area, 785 sq. m.; pop. in 1856, 10,880, of whom 1,513 were slaves. The surface is mostly prairie, diversified with large tracts of timber. The soil is generally good and suitable for pasturage, and the county contains rich beds of coal. The productions of agriculture in 1850 were 445,895 bushels of Indian corn, 22,930 of wheat, 89,245 of oats, and 1,247 tons of hay. There were 18 grist mills, 11 saw mills, 12 churches, and 1,151 pupils attending public schools. The so called Pacific railroad, now in progress, will pass through Warrensburg, the capital. VIII. An E. co. of Iowa, drained by Iowa river, which is navigable by small steamboats in the S. part of the county; area, 324 sq. m.; pop. in 1859, 16,900. The surface is moderately uneven and the soil remarkably fertile. The productions in 1859 were 683,743 bushels of Indian corn, 19,513 of wheat, 28,202 of oats, 43,857 of potatoes, 198,016 lbs, of butter, 6,870 galls. of molasses, and 11,197 tons of hay. Capital, Iowa City.

JOHNSON, ALEXANDER BRYAN, an American author and banker, born in Gosport, England, May 29, 1786. He removed to the United States in 1801, and has since resided in Utica, N. Y., where he has been engaged for more than 40 years in the business of banking. He was admitted to the bar, but never practised. Early in youth he began the special studies to which he has devoted nearly all his leisure, and which may be defined as an attempt to ascertain the nature of human knowledge as it exists apart from the words in which it is expressed. Previous speculation on this problem, he affirms, had always resulted in the formation of some verbal system, while he sought a solution that should be unverbal and absolute, and applicable alike to every department of knowledge, to all subjects on which words can be employed. He has therefore not attempted to enforce any tenets, or to combat any, but simply to show the ultimate meaning of words-not their meaning as

related to each other by definition, but the ideas, irrespective of words, for which words stand. His first publication on this subject was the "Philosophy of Human Knowledge, or a Treatise on Language" (New York, 1828). It was followed by his "Treatise on Language, or the Relation which Words bear to Things" (8vo., 1836), and by his most mature work, entitled "The Meaning of Words Analyzed into Words and Unverbal Things, and Unverbal Things Classified into Intellections, Sensations, and Emotions" (12mo., 1854). In the last publication, a singularly profound and analytic production, he confessed that he had before but dimly seen the object of his search, which he had approached by slow approximations during reflections for more than 50 years. His "Physiology of the Senses, or How and What we See, Hear, Taste, Feel, and Smell " (12mo., 1856) was the earliest of his writings in the order of conception. Beside the above works, which embody his main studies, he has written frequently on miscellaneous topics; on the nature of value, capital, &c. (1813); on "Religion in its Relation to the Present Life" (1840), an argument in favor of Christianity from the congruity of its precepts with man's physical, intellectual, and emotional organization; an "Encyclopædia of Instruction, or Apologues and Breviates on Men and Manners" (12mo., 1857); and a "Guide to the Right Understanding of our American Union, or Political, Economical, and Literary Miscellanies" (12mo., 1857).

JOHNSON, ANDREW, a U. S. senator from Tennessee, born in Raleigh, N. C., Dec. 29, 1808. When he was 4 years of age he lost his father, who died from the effects of exertions to save a friend from drowning. At the age of 10 he was apprenticed to a tailor in his native city, with whom he served 7 years. His mother was unable to afford him any educational advantages, and he never attended school a day in his life. While learning his trade, however, he resolved to make an effort to educate himself. His anxiety to be able to read was particularly excited by an incident which is worthy of mention. A gentleman of Raleigh was in the habit of going into the tailor's shop and reading while the apprentice and journeymen were at work. He was an excellent reader, and his favorite book was a volume of speeches, principally of British statesmen. Johnson became interested, and his first ambition was to equal him as a reader and become familiar with those speeches. He took up the alphabet without an instructor; but by applying to the journeymen with whom he worked, he obtained a little assistance. Having acquired a knowledge of the letters, he applied for the loan of the book which he had so often heard read. The owner made him a present of it, and gave him some instruction on the use of letters in the formation of words. Thus his first exercises in spelling were in that book. By perFeverance he soon learned to read, and the hours which he devoted to his education were at night after he was through his daily labor upon the

shop board. He now applied himself to books from 2 to 3 hours every night, after working from 10 to 12 hours at his trade. Having completed his apprenticeship in the autumn of 1824, he went to Laurens Court House, S. C., where he worked as a journeyman for nearly 2 years. While there he became engaged to be married, but the match was broken off by the violent opposition of the girl's mother and friends, the ground of objection being Mr. Johnson's youth and want of pecuniary means. In May, 1826, he returned to Raleigh, where he procured journey work, and remained until September. He then set out to seek his fortune in the West, carrying with him his mother, who was dependent upon him for support. He stopped at Greenville, Tenn., and commenced work as a journeyman. He remained there about 12 months, married, and soon afterward went still further westward; but failing to find a suitable place to settle, he returned to Greenville and commenced business. Up to this time his education was limited to reading, as he had never had an opportunity of learning to write or cipher; but under the instructions of his wife he learned these and other branches. The only time, however, he could devote to them was in the dead of night. The first office which he ever held was that of alderman of the village, to which he was elected in 1828. He was reelected to the same position in 1829, and again in 1830. In that year he was chosen mayor, which position he held for 3 years. In 1835 he was elected to the legislature. In the session of that year he took decided ground against a scheme of internal improvements, which he contended would not only prove a failure, but entail upon the state a burdensome debt. The measure was popular, however, and at the next election (1837) he was defeated. He became a candidate again in 1839. By this time many of the evils he had predicted from the internal improvement policy which he had opposed 4 years previous were fully demonstrated, and he was elected by a large majority. In 1840 he served as presidential elector for the state at large on the democratic ticket. He canvassed a large portion of the state, meeting upon the stump several of the leading whig orators. In 1841 he was elected to the state senate. In 1843 he was elected to congress, where, by successive elections, he served until 1853. During this period of service he was conspicuous and active in advocating, respectively, the bill for refunding the fine imposed upon Gen. Jackson at New Orleans in 1815, the annexation of Texas, the tariff of 1846, the war measures of Mr. Polk's administration, and a homestead bill. In 1853 he was elected governor of Tennessee, after an exciting canvass, in which he was opposed by Gustavus A. Henry. He was reelected in 1855, after another active contest, his competitor being Meredith P. Gentry. At the expiration of his 2d period as governor, in 1857, he was elected U. S. senator for a full term, ending March 3, 1863.

JOHNSON, CHAPMAN, an American lawyer, born in Louisa co., Va., in March, 1779, died in

Richmond in July, 1849. He completed his education at William and Mary college, studied law under Judge St. George Tucker, and commenced the practice at Staunton in 1802. Although he met with little success at first, his talents, industry, and profound legal learning soon placed him in the front rank of the profession. In 1815 he was elected from the Staunton district to the state senate, which office he held by successive elections for 16 years. He removed from Staunton to Richmond in 1824 with a view of concentrating his extensive practice, which had spread over many of the counties of the Valley and Piedmont country. During the war of 1812 he was elected captain of a volunteer company, and was afterward appointed aid to Gen. James Breckinridge, under whom he was engaged in active service. He was a member of the convention of 1829-30 assembled in Richmond to amend the state constitution, and was here the champion of the "white basis party." A few years before his death he retired from practice on account of ill health.

JOHNSON, EDWARD, a historian of New England, born in Kent, England, about 1600, died April 23, 1672. He emigrated to America probably with Gov. Winthrop in 1630. In 1632 he was engaged in trade at Merrimack, but appears to have resided usually at Charlestown. He was on the committee appointed to superintend the foundation of a new town and church at the place now called Woburn. In 1643 he went to Providence with Capt. Cook's party to seize Gorton, and in the same year was elected by the townsmen of Woburn a member of the legislature of Massachusetts, in which he continued to sit till 1671, with the exception of 1648. In 1655 he was chosen speaker of the house. He was recorder of Woburn from the time of its incorporation till his death. In 1665 he was one of the members deputed to hold conference with the commissioners sent from England by Charles II. He wrote a "History of New England from the English Planting in 1628 till 1652, or Wonder-Working Providence of Zion's Saviour" (London, 1654), which, notwithstanding its defective and desultory style, is interesting and valuable. It has been reprinted in the 2d series of the Massachusetts historical collections, scattered through vols. ii., iii., iv., vii., viii. JOHNSON, ISAAC, one of the orignal colonizers of Massachusetts, born in Clipsham, Rutlandshire, England, died in Boston, Sept. 30, 1630. He arrived at Salem with his wife, June 12, 1630, and was one of the 4 persons who founded the first church at Charlestown in the following month. The water there however being bad, Mr. Johnson and some others removed to Shawmut, now Boston, where was an excellent spring." He superintended the first settlement of Boston, was a good, wise, and wealthy man, and bequeathed, at his death, considerable property to the colony.-ARBELLA, or ARABELLA, wife of the preceding, and daughter of Thomas, 14th earl of Lincoln, accompanied her husband to New England, and died in

66

Salem in the August subsequent to her arrival. She was usually styled the "lady Arbella," and was highly esteemed by Winthrop, who changed the name of his ship, and called it after her.

JOHNSON, MANUEL JOHN, an English astronomer, born in 1805, died in Oxford, Feb. 28, 1859. He was educated at Addiscombe, and in 1821 entered the army. During the leisure of a 10 years' military residence in St. Helena he devoted himself to astronomical observations, and mainly by his exertions an observatory was erected on the island. Working in this with great assiduity he produced in 1835 a "Catalogue of 606 principal Fixed Stars of the Southern Hemisphere." Upon the disbanding of the artillery corps he returned to England, entered at Magdalen college, Oxford, and was graduated in due course. Scarcely had he taken his degree when he was appointed astronomer at the Radcliffe observatory. He immediately commenced the re-observation of all the stars, more than 4,000 in number, included in the Groombridge catalogue, to which he added 1,500 other stars not found in it, recording his observations in vols. xl. to liii. of the Radcliffe observatory. These were designed for ultimate collection in one large catalogue of circumpolar stars, a work which Mr. Johnson did not live to complete. Subsequent to 1849 he devoted much time to observations with the great heliometer of the Radcliffe observatory, with a view of determining the parallaxes of the fixed stars. Two series of these have been published.

JOHNSON, REVERDY, an American lawyer and statesman, born in Annapolis, Md., May 21, 1796. He was educated at St. John's college in that city, and at the age of 17 began to study law in Prince George's co. in the office of his father, who was chief justice of the judicial district of which that county was a part. In 1815 he was admitted to the bar, and in 1817 removed to Baltimore, where he has ever since resided. He has devoted much of his time to the arguing of cases before the U. S. supreme court. In conjunction with Mr. Thomas Harris he reported 7 vols. of the decisions of the Maryland court of appeals, known as "Harris's and Johnson's Reports," the 1st vol. of which appeared in 1820 and the 7th in 1827. In 1821 he was elected a state senator, and at the expiration of his term in 1825 he was reelected for a second term. In 1845 he was chosen a U. S. senator, which office he resigned in 1849 on being appointed by President Taylor attorneygeneral of the United States. On the succession of Mr. Fillmore after the death of President Taylor, Mr. Johnson resigned that office, and resumed in Baltimore the practice of the law, which he has since constantly pursued.

JOHNSON, RICHARD MENTOR, an American statesman and soldier, born at Floyd's station, near Louisville, Ky., Oct. 17, 1780, died in Frankfort, Nov. 19, 1850. He was educated at Transylvania university, and subsequently studied law and practised with success. He commenced his public career as a member of the

Kentucky legislature, to which he was elected at the age of 23, and in 1807 was returned to congress, and remained a member of the house until 1819. He was a firm supporter of the administration of President Madison, and upon the commencement of the war of 1812 raised a body of Kentucky mounted riflemen, whom he commanded, with the rank of colonel, on the Canadian frontier. He resumed his legislative duties in the autumn of that year, but upon the adjournment of congress in the spring of 1813 he immediately raised another mounted regiment, with which he was employed for several months on the Indian frontier. In September he joined Gen. Harrison, then in pursuit of Proctor, and by the decisive charge of his mounted volunteers mainly contributed to the brilliant victory gained over the British and Indians at the battle of the Thames, Oct. 5. Col. Johnson fought with distinguished valor in this engagement, and it was by his hand that the Indian leader Tecumseh is commonly supposed to have fallen. He was carried from the field desperately wounded, his person, clothing, and horse having been pierced by upward of 25 bullets; but in the following February he resumed his seat in congress. In 1819 he was elected to fill a vacancy in the U. S. senate, of which he continued a member until 1829, when he was again returned to the house of representatives. He remained a member until his election by the senate in March, 1837, as vice-president of the United States, no one of the candidates for that office having had a majority of votes in the electoral college, although Col. Johnson's plurality was very large. He discharged the duties of presiding officer of the senate for 4 years, and in the presidental election of 1840 was an unsuccessful candidate of the democratic party for vice-president. He returned to his farm in Scott co., Ky., after upward of 34 years' continuous public service, and thenceforth lived chiefly in retirement. He was, however, serving a term in the state legislature at the time of his death. In congress his chief efforts were against the discontinuance of the Sunday mails, and in behalf of soldiers of the revolution or of the war of 1812, who applied for pensions. He was the author of the law abolishing imprisonment for debt in Kentucky. He was buried in the state cemetery at Frankfort, at the base of the public military monument. JOHNSON, SAMUEL, D.D., first president of King's (now Columbia) college, New York, born in Guilford, Conn., Oct. 14, 1696, died in Stratford, Conn., June 6, 1772. He was graduated at Yale college in 1714, and two years later was appointed tutor there. In 1720 he resigned his tutorship to receive ordination as a Congregational minister, and settled at West Haven in order to enjoy the advantages of the college library. He relinquished his pastoral charge in 1722, and soon after, in company with Mr. Catler, rector of the college, and another gentleman, sailed for England, where they received Episcopal ordination in 1723, and in May Mr.

Johnson received the degree of A.M. from the university of Oxford. Shortly after he returned to America, bearing a commission as missionary of the society for the propagation of the gospel in foreign parts, and settled in Stratford, Conn., as rector of an Episcopal church there. In 1743 he received the degree of D.D. from the university of Oxford. In 1746 he published a work on ethics entitled "A System of Morality," and in 1752 a compend of logic and metaphysics, and another of ethics, originally prepared for the use of his sons; the two latter were printed in Philadelphia by Dr. Franklin as text books for the university of Pennsylvania. In 1755 he was offered the presidency of that university, but declined it. In 1753 he was invited to accept the presidency of the newly founded college in New York, in all the plans for which he had been consulted. He did so with reluctance, but entered upon his duties with great zeal, and, in addition to teaching the classes, assisted in planning the college edifices, and made earnest appeals to his friends in England for assistance in its endowment. During the 9 years of his presidency he lost his wife, younger son, and stepson, and he became so much depressed as to be unwilling to remain longer in charge of the college. He accordingly wrote to England for a successor, and in 1763 resigned and returned to Stratford. During his presidency he published one or two small works, and after his return to Stratford, where he resumed his parochial duties, revised his previous works, and published an English and a Hebrew grammar.

JOHNSON, SAMUEL, LL.D., an English essayist, poet, and lexicographer, born in Lichfield, Sept. 18, 1709, died in London, Dec. 13, 1784. His father, Michael Johnson, was a bookseller and stationer, and for some time was a magistrate of Lichfield; but his fortune was limited, and dying in middle age, he left his family in poverty. From his birth the younger Johnson was afflicted with a malignant scrofula which permanently disfigured his face, and injured both his sight and hearing. At 10 years of age he commenced the study of Latin at the Lichfield free school, and by the united agencies of great natural aptitude and severe discipline he made a fair proficiency. He remained there about 5 years, and another year at a private academy in Stourbridge. On account of his father's poverty his entrance at Oxford was delayed for two years, during which time he amused himself chiefly in reading the books in his father's shop. At length a schoolmate, the son of a neighboring gentleman, was about to go up to Oxford, and it was arranged that young Johnson should accompany him as assistant and fellow student. He was accordingly admitted to Pembroke college as a commoner in 1728. His college life was disorderly, but not vicious. He especially distinguished himself in a Latin translation of Pope's "Messiah," for which he received the applause of his college, while Pope himself declared that it would be a question for posterity which was the original and which the transla