Ætat. 67. 1776. quickness both of his perception and sensibility dispo sed him to sudden explosions of satire; to which his extraordinary readiness of wit was a strong and almost irresistible incitement. To adopt one of the finest images in Mr. Home's "Douglas," On each glance of thought "Decision followed, as the thunderbolt I admit that the beadle within him was often so eager to apply the lash, that the Judge had not time to consider the case with sufficient deliberation. That he was occasionally remarkable for violence of temper may be granted: but let us ascertain the degree, and not let it be supposed that he was in a perpetual rage, and never without a club in his hand to knock down every one who approached him. On the contrary, the truth is, that by much the greatest part of his time he was civil, obliging, nay, polite in the true sense of the word; so much so, that many gentlemen who were long acquainted with him never received, or even heard a strong expression from him. The following letters concerning an Epitaph which he wrote for the monument of Dr. Goldsmith, in Westminster-Abbey, afford at once a proof of his unaffected modesty, his carelessness as to his own writings, and of the great respect which he entertained for the taste and judgement of the excellent and eminent person to whom they are addressed: ss TO SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS. "DEAR SIR, "I HAVE been kept away from you, I know not Etat. 67. well how, and of these vexatious hindrances I know 1776. not when there will be an end. I therefore send you the poor dear Doctor's epitaph. Read it first yourself; and if you then think it right, show it to the Club. I am, you know, willing to be corrected. If you think any thing much amiss, keep it to yourself, till we come together. I have sent two copies, but prefer the card. The dates must be settled by Dr. Percy. I am, Sir, "Your most humble servant, "May 16, 1776. TO THE SAME. "SAM. JOHNSON." SIR, "MISS REYNOLDS has a mind to send the Epitaph to Dr. Beattie; I am very willing, but having no copy, cannot immediately recollect it. She tells me you have lost it. Try to recollect, and put down as much as you retain ; you perhaps may have kept what I have dropped. The lines for which I am at a loss are something of rerum civilium sivè naturalium. It was a sorry trick to lose it; help me if you can. I am, Sir, "June 22, 1776. "Your most humble servant, "SAM. JOHNSON." "The gout grows better but slowly." It was, I think, after I had left London in this year, that this Epitaph gave occasion to a Remonstrance to the MONARCH OF LITERATURE, for an account of 9 These words must have been in the other copy. They are not in that which was preferred. 1776. which I am indebted to Sir William Forbes, of PitEtat. 67, sligo. That my readers may have the subject more fully and clearly before them, I shall first insert the Epitaph. "OLIVARII GOLDSMITH, "Poetæ, Physici, Historici, "Nullum quod tetigit non ornavit : "Affectuum potens at lenis dominator : "Amicorum fides, "Lectorum veneratio. "Natus in Hibernia Fornia Longfordiensis, April. IV, MDCCLXXIV." Sir William Forbes writes to me thus: "I enclose the Round Robin. This jeu d'esprit took its rise one day at dinner at our friend Sir Joshua Rey [This was a mistake, which was not discovered till after Goldsmith's monument was put up in Westminster Abbey. He was born Nov. 29, 1728; and therefore, when he died, he was in his forty-sixth year. MALONE.] Etat. 67. nolds's. All the company present, except myself, 1776. were friends and acquaintance of Dr. Goldsmith. The Epitaph, written for him by Dr. Johnson, became the subject of conversation, and various emendations were suggested, which it was agreed should be submitted to the Doctor's consideration.-But the question was, who should have the courage to propose them to him? At last it was hinted, that there could be no way so good as that of a Round Robin, as the sailors call it, which they make use of when they enter into a conspiracy, so as not to let it be known who puts his name first or last to the paper. This proposition was instantly assented to; and Dr. Barnard, Dean of Derry, now Bishop of Killaloe,1 drew up an address to Dr. Johnson on the occasion, replete with wit and humour, but which it was feared the Doctor might think treated the subject with too much levity. Mr. Burke then proposed the address as it stands in the paper in writing, to which I had the honour to officiate as clerk. "Sir Joshua agreed to carry it to Dr. Johnson, who received it with much good humour,2 and de This prelate, who was afterwards translated to the See of Limerick, died at Wimbledon in Surrey, June 7, 1806, in his eightieth year. The original Round Robin remained in his possession; the paper which Sir William Forbes transmitted to Mr. Boswell, being only a copy. MALONE.] 2 He however, upon seeing Dr. Warton's name to the suggestion, that the Epitaph should be in English, observed to Sir Joshua, "I wonder, that Joe Warton, a scholar by profession, should be such a fool." He said too, "I should have thought Mund Burke would have had more sense." Mr. Langton, who was one of the company at Sir Joshua's, like a sturdy scholar, resolutely refused to sign the Round Robin. This Epitaph is engraved upon Dr. Goldsmith's monument without any alteration. At another time, when somebody endeavoured to argue in favour Etat. 67. 1776. sired Sir Joshua to tell the gentlemen, that he would alter the Epitaph in any manner they pleased, as to the sense of it; but he would never consent to disgrace the walls of Westminster Abbey, with an English inscription. "I consider this Round Robin as a species of literary curiosity worth preserving, as it marks, in a certain degree, Dr. Johnson's character." My readers are presented with a faithful transcript of a paper, which I doubt not of their being desirous to see. Sir William Forbes's observation is very just. The anecdote now related proves, in the strongest man of its being in English, Johnson said, "The language of the country of which a learned man was a native, is not the language fit for his epitaph, which should be in ancient and permanent language. Consider, Sir, how you should feel, were you to find at Rotterdam an epitaph upon Erasmus in Dutch !"-For my own part, I think it would be best to have epitaphs written both in a learned language, and in the language of the country; so that they might have the advantage of being more universally understood, and at the same time be secured of classical stability. I cannot, however, but be of opinion, that it is not sufficiently discriminative. Applying to Goldsmith equally the epithets of "Poeta, Historici, Physici," is surely not right; for as to his claim to the last of those epithets, I have heard Johnson himself say, "Goldsmith, Sir, will give us a very fine book upon the subject; but if he can distinguish a cow from a horse, that, I believe, may be the extent of his knowledge of natural history." His book is indeed an excellent performance, though in some instances he appears to have trusted too much to Buffon, who, with all his theoretical ingenuity and extraordinary eloquence, I suspect had little actual information in the science on which he wrote so admirably. For instance, he tells us that the cow sheds her horns every two years; a most palpable errour, which Goldsmith has faithfully transferred into his book. It is wonderful that Buffon, who lived so much in the country, at his noble seat, should have fallen into such a blunder. I suppose he has confounded the cow with the deer. |