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Johnson and Dodfley were foon agreed; the price afked by the one and affented to by the other, was, as I have been informed, fifty pounds; a reward for his labour and ingenuity, that induced Johnson ever after to call Dodfley his patron. It came abroad in the year above-mentioned with the name of Cave as the printer, though without that of the author. Lord Lyttelton, the inftant it was published, carried it in rapture to Mr. Pope, who, having read it, commended it highly, and was very importunate with Dodfley to know the author's name; but, that being a fecret the latter was bound not to reveal, Pope affured him that he could not long be unknown, recollecting, perhaps, a paffage recorded of Milton, who, feeing a beautiful young lady pass him whom he never had feen before, turned to look at her, and faid, Whoever thou art, thou canst not long be concealed.'

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The topics of this fpirited poem, fo far as it refpects this country, or the time when it was written, are evidently drawn from thofe weekly publications, which, to anfwer the view of a malevolent faction, first created, and for fome years fupported, a diftinction between the interefts of the government and the people, under the feveral denominations of the court and the country parties: thefe publications were carried on under the direction of men, profeffing themfelves to be whigs and friends of the people, in a paper intitled, 'The Country Journal or the Craftfinan,' now defervedly forgotten, the end whereof was, to blow the flame of national discontent, to delude the honeft and well-meaning people of this country into a belief that the minifter 'was its greatest enemy, and that his opponents, only, meant its welfare. To this end it was neceffary to fur

nish them with fubjects of complaint, and these were plentifully diffeminated among them; the chief of them were, that science was unrewarded, and the arts neglected; that the objects of our politics were peace and the extenfion of commerce; that the wealth of the nation was unequally divided, for that, while fome were poor, others were able to raise palaces and purchafe manors; that reftraints were laid on the stage; that the land was plundered, and the nation cheated; our fenators hirelings, and our nobility venal; and, laftly, that in his vifits to his native country, the king drained this of its wealth.

That Johnson has adopted thefe vulgar complaints, his poem muft witnefs. I fhall not take upon me to demonstrate the fallacy of most of the charges contained in it, nor animadvert on the wickedness of those, who, to effect their own ambitious defigns, fcruple not to oppose the best endeavours of the perfon in power, nor fhall I mark the folly of thofe who fuffer themselves to be fo deluded: the fucceffion of knave to knave, and fool to fool, is hereditary and interminable: our fathers were deceived by the pretenfions of false patriots; the delufion stopped not with their children nor will it with our's.

The publication of this poem was of little advantage to Johnson, other than the relief of his immediate wants it procured him fame but no patronage. He was therefore difpofed to embrace any other profpect of advantage that might offer; for, a fhort time after, viz. in Auguft 1738, hearing that the mafterfhip of Appleby fchool in Leicestershire was become vacant, he, by the advice of Sir Thomas Griefly a

Derbyshire

Derbyshire baronet, and other friends, went to Appleby, and offered himself as a candidate for that employment; but the statutes of the fchool requiring, that the perfon chofen fhould be a Master of Arts, his application was checked. To get over this difficulty, he found means to obtain from the late Lord Gower, a letter to a friend of his, foliciting his interest with Dean Swift towards procuring him a master's degree from the university of Dublin: the letter has appeared in print, but with a mistaken date of the year, viz. 1737; for it mentions Johnson's being the author of the poem of London,' which, as I have above fixed it, was written in 1738. It is as follows:

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‹ SIR,

• Mr. Samuel Johnson, (author of London a fatire, • and fome other poetical pieces,) is a native of this country, and much respected by fome worthy gen⚫tlemen in his neighbourhood, who are trustees of a charity school now vacant, the certain falary of which is 60l. per year, of which they are defirous to make him mafter; but, unfortunately, he is ⚫ not capable of receiving their bounty, which would 'make him happy for life, by not being a Master of Arts, which, by the statutes of this fchool, the mafter of it must be.

Now these gentlemen do me the honour to think, that I have intereft enough in you to prevail upon you to write to Dean Swift, to perfuade the university ' of Dublin to fend a diploma to me, conftituting this

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poor man Master of Arts in their university. They

highly extol the man's learning and probity, and will

not

not be perfuaded that the univerfity will make any • difficulty of conferring fuch a favour upon a stranger, if he is recommended by the Dean. They fay he is not afraid of the stricteft examination, though he is of fo long a journey, and will venture it if the <Dean thinks it neceffary, choofing rather to die upon the road, than to be ftarved to death in tranflating < for booksellers, which has been his only fubfiftence ⚫ for fome time past.

I fear there is more difficulty in this affair than thefe good-natured gentlemen apprehend, especially, as their election cannot be delayed longer than the 11th of next month. If you fee this matter in the fame light that it appears to me, I hope you ⚫ will burn this and pardon me for giving you so much ⚫ trouble about an impracticable thing; but if you ⚫ think there is a probability of obtaining the favour

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asked, I am fure your humanity and propenfity to relieve merit in diftrefs, will incline you to ferve the poor man, without my adding any more to the trouble I have already given you, than affuring you that I that I am, with great truth,

‹ Sir,

• Your faithful humble fervant, Trentham, Auguft, 1, 1737.

GOWER,'

If ever Johnson had reafon to lament the fhortness of his ftay at the university, it was now. The want of an honour, which, after a short efflux of years, is conferred almost of courfe, was, at this crifis, his greatest misfortune: it ftood between him and the acquifition of an income of 60l. a year, in a country and at a

time that made it equivalent to a much larger fum at present.

The letter of Lord Gower failing of its effect, Johnson returned to London, refolving on a vigorous effort to fupply his wants: this was a tranflation into English of Father Paul's Hiftory of the Council of Trent*: the former by Sir Nathaniel Brent, though a faithful one, being, in the judgment of fome perfons, rather obfolete. Johnfon was well enough fkilled in the Italian language for the undertaking, and was encouraged to it by many of his friends; as namely, Mr. Walmsley, Mr. Caflon the letter-founder, Mr. [afterwards Dr.] Birch, and others; but he chofe to make it a joint project, and take Cave into the adventure, who, as the work proceeded, advanced him fmall fums, at two or three guineas a week, amounting together to near fifty pounds.f

It happened at this time that another perfon of the fame chriftian and furname, the then keeper of Dr. Tenifon's library in St. Martin's parish, had engaged in the like defign, and was fupported therein by Dr. Zachary Pearce, and also by most of the bishops, and by many of the dignified clergy, which being the cafe, the folicitations in behalf of the two verfions croffed

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Vide Gent. Mag. for Jan. 1785, page 6.

↑ Proposals for publishing it were advertised in the Weekly Mifcellany of 21st Oct. 1738, in the following terms: Juft published, propofals for printing the History of the Council of Trent, tranflated from the Italian of Father Paul Sarpi, with the author's life, and notes Theological, Hiftorical, and • Critical, from the French edition of Dr. Le Courayer. To which are added, obfervations on the hiftory and notes; and illuftrations from various authors, both printed and manufcript, by S. Johnfon, in two volumes quarto.

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