It seems strange, that two such men as Johnson and Warburton, who lived in the same age and country, should not only not have been in any degree of intimacy, but been almost personally unacquainted. But such instances, though we must wonder at them, are not rare. If I am rightly informed, after a careful inquiry, they never met but once, which was at the house of Mrs. French, in London, well known for her elegant assemblies, and bringing eminent characters together. The interview proved to be mutually agreeable.

I am well informed, that Warburton said of Johnson, “I admire him, but I cannot bear his style ;" and that Johnson being told of this, said, "That is exactly my case as to him." The manner in which he expressed his admiration of the fertility of Warburton's genius and of the variety of his materials, was, "The table is always full, Sir. He brings things from the north, and the south, and from every quarter. In his Divine Legation,' you are always entertained. He carries you round and round, without carrying you forward to the point; but then you have no wish to be carried forward." He said to the Rev. Mr. Strahan, "Warburton is perhaps the last man who has written with a mind full of reading and reflection."

It is remarkable, that in the Life of Broome, Johnson takes notice of Dr. Warburton using a mode of expression which he himself used, and that not seldom, to the great offence of those who did not know him. Having occasion to mention a note, stating the different parts which were executed by the associated translators of "The Odyssey," he says, “Dr. Warburton told me, in his warm language, that he thought the relation given in the note a lie. The language is warm indeed; and, I must own, cannot be justified in consistency with a decent regard to the established forms of speech.' Johnson had accustomed himself to use the word lie, to express a mistake or an error in relation; in short, when the thing was not so as told, though the relator did not mean to deceive. When he

perfections of this extraordinary man, while he endeavoured to do justice to his numerous and transcendental excellencies. He defended him when living, amidst the clamours of his enemies; and praised him when dead, amidst the silence of his friends."

Having availed myself of this editor's eulogy on my departed friend, for which I warmly thank him, let me not suffer the lustre of his reputation, honestly acquired by profound learning and vigorous eloquence, to be tarnished by a charge of illiberality. He has been accused of invidiously dragging again into light certain writings of a person respectable by his talents, his learning, his station, and his age, which were published a great many years ago, and have since, it is said, been silently given up by their author. But when it is considered that these writings were not sins of youth, but deliberate works of one well-advanced in life, overflowing at once with flattery to a great man of great interest in the Church, and with unjust and acrimonious abuse of two men of eminent merit; and that, though it would have been unreasonable to expect an humiliating recantation, no apology whatever has been made in the cool of the evening, for the oppressive fervour of the heat of the day; no slight relenting indication has appeared in any note, or any corner of later publications; is it not fair to understand him as superciliously persevering? When he allows the shafts to remain in the wounds, and will not stretch forth a lenient hand, is it wrong, is it not generous to become an indignant avenger ?-BOSWELL.

thought there was intentional falsehood in the relator, his expression was, "He lies, and he knows he lies."

Speaking of Pope's not having been known to excel in conversation, Johnson observes, that "traditional memory retains no sallies of raillery, or sentences of observation; nothing either pointed or solid, wise or merry; and that one apophthegm only is recorded." In this respect, Pope differed widely from Johnson, whose conversation was, perhaps, more admirable than even his writings, however excellent. Mr. Wilkes has, however, favoured me with one repartee of Pope, of which Johnson was not informed. Johnson, after justly censuring him for having "nursed in his mind a foolish disesteem of kings," tells us, "yet a little regard shown him by the Prince of Wales melted his obduracy and he had not much to say when he was asked by his Royal Highness, how he could love a Prince, while he disliked Kings?” The answer which Pope made was, "The young lion is harmless, and even playful; but when his claws are full grown he becomes cruel, dreadful, and mischievous."

But although we have no collection of Pope's sayings, it is not therefore to be concluded, that he was not agreeable in social intercourse; for Johnson has been heard to say, that "the happiest conversation is that of which nothing is distinctly remembered, but a general effect of pleasing impression.' The late Lord Somerville,1 who saw much of great and brilliant life, told me, that he had dined in company with Pope, and that after dinner the little man, as he called him, drank his bottle of Burgundy, and was exceedingly gay and entertaining.

I cannot withhold from my great friend a censure of at least culpable inattention to a nobleman, who, it has been shown, behaved to him with uncommon politeness. He says, "Except Lord Bathurst, none of Pope's noble friends were such as that a good man would wish to have his intimacy with them known to posterity.' This will not apply to Lord Mansfield, who was not ennobled in Pope's lifetime; but Johnson should have recollected, that Lord Marchmont was one of those noble friends. He includes his lordship along with Lord Bolingbroke, in a charge of neglect of the papers which Pope left by his will; when, in truth, as I myself pointed out to him, before he wrote that Poet's life, the papers were committed to the sole care and judgment of Lord Bolingbroke, unless he (Lord Bolingbroke) shall not survive me;" so that Lord

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1 James Lord Somerville, who died in 1766.-MALONE.

Let me here express my grateful remembrance of Lord Somerville's kindness to me, at a very early period. He was the first person of high rank that took particular notice of me in the way most flattering to a young man fondly ambitious of being distinguished for his literary talents; and by the honour of his encouragement made me think well of myself, and aspire to deserve it better. He had a happy art of communicating his varied knowledge of the world, in short remarks and anecdotes, with a quiet pleasant gravity that was exceedingly engaging. Never shall I forget the hours which I enjoyed with him at his apartments in the royal palace of Holyrood house, and at his seat near Edinburgh, which he himself had formed with an elegant taste.-Boswell.

Marchmont had no concern whatever with them. After the first edition of the Lives, Mr. Malone, whose love of justice is equal to his accuracy, made, in my hearing, the same remark to Johnson; yet he omitted to correct the erroneous statement.1 These particulars I mention, in the belief that there was only forgetfulness in my friend; but I owe this much to the Earl of Marchmont's reputation, who, were there no other memorials, will be immortalized by that line of Pope, in the verses on his Grotto:

"And the bright flame was shot through Marchmont's soul.”

Various Readings in the Life of POPE.

"[Somewhat free] sufficiently bold in his criticism.

"All the gay [niceties] varieties of diction.

"Strikes the imagination with far [more] greater force.

"It is [probably] certainly the noblest version of poetry which the world has

ever seen.

"Every sheet enabled him to write the next with [less trouble] more facility.

"No man sympathises with [vanity depressed] the sorrows of vanity.

"It had been [criminal] less easily excused.

"When he [threatened to lay down] talked of laying down his pen.

"Society [is so named emphatically in opposition to] politically regulated, is

a state contra-distinguished from a state of nature.

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A fictitious life of an [absurd] infatuated scholar.

'A foolish [contempt, disregard] disesteem of kings.

"His hopes and fears, his joys and sorrows [were like those of other mortals] acted strongly upon his mind.

"Eager to pursue knowledge, and attentive to [accumulate] retain it.

"A mind [excursive] active, ambitious, and adventurous.

'In its [noblest] widest searches still longing to go forward.

"He wrote in such a manner as might expose him to few [neglects] hazards.

ocean.

More terrific and more powerful beings] phantoms perform on the stormy

"The inventor of [those] this petty [beings] nation.

"The [mind] heart naturally loves truth."

In the Life of Addison we find an unpleasing account of his having lent Steele a hundred pounds, and "reclaimed his loan by an execution." In the new edition of the Biographia Britannica, the authenticity of this

1 This neglect, however, assuredly did not arise from any ill-will towards Lord Marchmont, but from inattention; just as he neglected to correct the statement concerning the family of Thomson, the poet, after it had been shown to be erroneous.-MALOne.

anecdote is denied. But Mr. Malone has obliged me with the following note concerning it :

"March 15, 1782.

"Many persons having doubts concerning this fact, I applied to Dr. Johnson to learn on what authority he asserted it. He told me he had it from Savage, who lived in intimacy with Steele, and who mentioned that Steele told him the story with tears in his eyes. Ben Victor, Dr. Johnson said, likewise informed him of this remarkable transaction, from the relation of Mr. Wilkes, the comedian, who was also an intimate of Steele's. Some, in defence of Addison, have said that 'the act was done with the good-natured view of rousing Steele, and correcting that profusion which always made him necessitous.' If that were the case,' said Johnson, and that he only wanted to alarm Steele, he would afterwards have returned the money to his friend, which it is not pretended he did. This, too,' he added, 'might be retorted by an advocate for Steele, who might allege, that he did not repay the loan intentionally, merely to see whether Addison would be mean and ungenerous enough to make use of legal process to recover it. But of such speculations there is no end: we cannot dive into the hearts of men; but their actions are open to observation.'

"I then mentioned to him that some people thought that Mr. Addison's character was so pure, that the fact, though true, ought to have been suppressed. He saw no reason for this. If nothing but the bright side of characters should be shown, we should sit down in despondency, and think it utterly impossible to imitate them in anything. The sacred writers,' he observed, 'related the vicious as well as the virtuous actions of men; which had this moral effect, that it kept mankind from despair, into which otherwise they would naturally fall, were they not supported by the recollection that others had offended like themselves, and by penitence and amendment of life had been restored to the favour of Heaven.'

"E. M." The last paragraph of this note is of great importance; and I request that my readers may consider it with particular attention. It will be afterwards referred to in this work.

Various Readings in the Life of ADDISON.

"[But he was our first example] He was, however, one of our earliest examples of correctness.

"And [overlook] despise their masters.

"His instructions were such as the [state] character of his [own time] readers made [necessary] proper.

"His purpose was to [diffuse] infuse literary curiosity by gentle and unsuspected conveyance [among] into the gay, the idle, and the wealthy.

"Framed rather for those that [wish] are learning to write.

"Domestic [manners] scenes.'

In his Life of Parnell, I wonder that Johnson omitted to insert an

1 The late Mr. Burke informed me, in 1792, that Lady Dorothea Primrose (who died at a great age, I think in 1768, and had been well acquainted with Steele) told him the same story.-MALONE.

Epitaph which he had long before composed for that amiable man, without ever writing it down, but which he was so good as, at my request, to dictate to me, by which means it has been preserved.

"Hic requiescit THOMAS PARNELL, S. T. P.

"Qui sacerdos pariter et poeta,
Utrasque partes ita implevit,

Ut neque sacerdoti suavitas poetæ,

Nec poetæ sacerdotis sanctitas, deesset.'

Various Readings in the Life of PARNELL.

"About three years [after] afterwards.

"[Did not much want] was in no great need of improvement.

"But his prosperity did not last long [was clouded with that which took away all his powers of enjoying either profit or pleasure, the death of his wife, whom he is said to have lamented with such sorrow, as hastened his end. ]1 His end, whatever was the cause, was now approaching.

"In the Hermit, the [composition] narrative, as it is less airy, is less pleasing."

In the Life of Blackmore, we find that writer's reputation generously cleared by Johnson from the cloud of prejudice which the malignity of contemporary wits had raised around it. In this spirited exertion of justice he has been imitated by Sir Joshua Reynolds, in his praise of the architecture of Vanbrugh.

"" 66

We trace Johnson's own character in his observations on Blackmore's "magnanimity as an author. "The incessant attacks of his enemies, whether serious or merry, are never discovered to have disturbed his quiet, or to have lessened his confidence in himself." Johnson, I recollect, once told me, laughing heartily, that he understood it had been said of him, "He appears not to feel; but when he is alone, depend upon it, he suffers sadly." I am as certain as I can be of any man's real sentiments, that he enjoyed the perpetual shower of little hostile arrows as evidences of his fame.

Various Readings in the Life of BLACKMORE.

"To [set] engage poetry [on the side] in the cause of virtue. "He likewise [established] enforced the truth of Revelation. "[Kindness] benevolence was ashamed to favour.

"His practice, which was once [very extensive] invidiously great.

There is scarcely any distemper of dreadful name [of] which he has not [shown] taught his reader how [it is to be opposed] to oppose.

1 I should have thought that Johnson, who had felt the severe affliction from which Parnell never recovered, would have preserved this passage.-BOSWELL.

He omitted it, doubtless, because he afterwards learnt that, however he might have lamented his wife, bis end was hastened by other means.-MALONE.