Be cairful ayfor to invent The way to get thy awin intent.' Both the poems by various authors, and the next collection by unknown ones, contain many beautiful, and often harmonious verfes. They are chiefly of the elegiac and moral kind; but, in the last collection, a few political ballads are also inferted. The following ftanzas contain a more pointed and elegant allution, expreffed in a more expreffive concife manner than we commonly perceive in old poems. • The Reids in the Loch fay; Thoch raging stormes move us to schaik ; So, baneist men, (thoch princes raige,) Abyde the [blaft] quhill that it fuaige: ; The Lines addreffed also to mifs Mary Maitland, seemingly written on a paper-book, are easy and poetical: one or two paffages are not quite fo elegantly expreffed as could be wished, in an address to a poetefs, and the transcriber of the Maitland manufcript. Next follow, Poems by Sir Richard Maitland, the collector of the manufcript, whofe life is written among thofe of the Scotch poets, in the lift prefixed. Sir Richard's lines are moral and religious rather than poetical. Many of these are only ftrings of independent maxims; and fir Richard has, in one place, told us, that in these eight lines you may begin at · ony nuke you like,' (any corner) and read backward or forword, and you will find the fame fenfe and rhyme. The poems were chiefly written in his old age, when his fight was decaying; and fome of them were dictated to his daughter after he was blind. What a beautiful fubject for a picture! The poems which follow, are eulogies on fir Richard Maitland, and his fecond fon, afterwards lord Thirlftane. The fecond epitaph, by Hudfon, is highly beautiful, and morally inftructive. In the last line, his children are called worthie imps.' The two fragments which conclude the collection are of little confequence. The notes are full of curious circumftances; but, as they relate chiefly to the work, we cannot eafily felect any part of them, except it be of a more general kind. The following paffage is spirited; but our author has left out of the question, the power of the whole kingdom of France, which was almost conftantly exerted, though in many inftances indirectly, in their favour. • It It is here that Froifart mentions that inftance of the Scotish hardihood in war, their using caldrons made of untanned leather to boil their meat, which was eaten half raw. This may rather be called an inftance of poverty by fome who love to reproach the Scots for poverty, which is in fact no reproach at all, if it is not produced by folly or knavery. Our London authors of Grub-street, who have not a fhirt to their backs, warm and amufe themselves with railing against the poverty of Scotland; never once reflecting that there cannot be a higher praise than for a kingdom without wealth to have maintained a conftant rivalfhip with England, at that period the most powerful kingdom in Europe. The poorer Scotland was, the more applause must be given to her valour and conduct. Say she had nothing at all, and you proclaim her the first of kingdoms.' The rest of the note is highly ludicrous; and we ought, in juftice to our author, to infert it. Allow me to add a rifible blunder of Froifart, who, in the next fentence or two, tells us, that, upon entering the deferted camp of the Scots, the Englith found fome prifoners whofe legs were broken; "fi les defierent, fays he, et les laifferent aller,' they unbound them, and let them go. It may be thought they would not go far. This ground feems indeed to be fatal to the common fenfe of hiftorians. Hear Hume: "Edward, on entering the place of the Scottish encampment, found only fix Englifhmen, whom the enemy, after breaking their legs, had tied to trees, in order to prevent their carrying any intelligence to their countrymen.' Hift. vol. ii. p. 375, ed. 1782, with his laft corrections. What are we to think? Why that the prisoners were bound to trees, but that the breaking of their legs was a mere hoftile hyperbole, a figure of fpeech, of which a thousand inftances might be given from the hiftory of last war. Froifart is never tired of speaking of the unparalleled generofity of the English and Scottish wars: fee his admirable account of the battle of Otterburn. Was the most barbarous action that could be committed, a proof of generofity? Were William, earl of Douglas, and Thomas Randel, earl Murray, men to commit fuch an action?' We must commend Mr. Pinkerton, for not explaining the obfcene paffages; and we fhall not point them out, even to reprehend them; but he again returns to his defence, though with no greater fuccefs. In the Appendix, our author gives fome account of the contents of the Maitland MSS. in folio and quarto, formerly in the poffeffion of Mr. Pepys. He points out thofe poems which were published either by Allan Ramfay or lord Hailes, those which are contained in his own work, as well as those which are still unpublished, and, in his opinion, which, from the fpecimens, appear well founded, do not deferve to be printed. printed. In the course of this account he gives a more correct copy of Chrift's Kirk on the Green' than we have yet feen. The next article in the Appendix is a list of the poems in the Banatyne MS. with marks to diftinguish those which have been printed. The greater number feem to be yet unpublished; but we have no great defire to fee them, if we can judge from their titles. About fifty-five pieces are common to this and the Maitland folio. A restoration of some paffages in the Life of Wallace, and a ballad against the Scotch, written upon the execution of fir Simon Frazer, an. 1305, then follow; but on these we need not enlarge. The Scraps concerning old Scotish songs' are amufing but the legend of St. Serf, from the Winton Chronicle, is dullness itfelf. The reigns of Duncan and Macbeth, from the fame fource, are only interefting as they are connected with the play of Shakspeare. A gloffary then follows, and after it an explanation of fome phrafes and words, which lord Hailes did not understand; and a list of others, for the labours of future gloffarists, since their meaning is not yet clear. On the whole, as an editor, we think our author has fucceeded well. In his Introduction and Notes we have freely pointed out errors, errors of the greatest confequence, as they are connected with our dearest interests. He promises, in different parts of his work, very voluminous publications in the fame line. We ftill retain fo much regard for his abilities, as to wish that he may avoid these faults, and render his future volumes equally inftructive and less exceptionable. Anecdotes of the late 'Samuel Johnson, LL. D. During the last Twenty Years of his Life. By Hefther Lynch Piozzi. Small 800. 45. Cadell. WHAT! another collection of memorabilia? Yes, another, and another ftill fucceeds, and each shall receive a welcome proportioned to its deferts. Let not the fastidious critic exclaim, that these frequent repetitions, thefe accumulated collections of the fayings of one man, difplay only an eager credulity in the reader, or misapplied attention in the author, We must look farther, and shall then tell him that we have hitherto feen Dr. Johnfon through a mift, which, like dulnefs, has enlarged his attainments, and exaggerated his powers, Anecdotes of this kind bring us nearer to the object, and dif, pel the magic cloud which difguifed it, The admirers of the Coloffus, who gazed at a distance, may fhudder at this unhallowed invafion of the fhrine of their deity; but they need not be apprehenfive: Dr. Johnson will retain, after every alVol. LXI. March, 1786, lowance T Jowance has been made, enough to fatisfy his rational friends. The lady who engaged to write Anecdotes relating to him, and began to write his Life, though fhe has concluded with Anecdotes only; this lady was many years his friend to her attentive care he owed the continuation of his exiftence, or, what was of more confequence, his reafon; in her fociety, many years were spent in the most undisguised and open manner; and, if we except the laft caufe of their separation, feemingly with unremitted, with unreferved friendship. To her, therefore, the office of preferving his fentiments muft peculiarly belong; efpecially, if we add to her care in obferving, that she poffeffed abilities to diftinguish the propriety and the juítnefs of his remarks. Our readers want not now a character of Johnfon; the prefent likeness is not a finished piece, but it is a characteristic sketch, which often conveys more information than the fineft painting. We fhall enlarge on the more striking outlines; and our remarks fhall be illuftrated by Mrs. Piozzi's work: in this way, we fhall preferve fufficient fpecimens of her performance. Mr. Johnfon had never, by his own account, been a close ftudent, and ufed to advise young people never to be without a book in their pocket, to be read at bye-times, when they had nothing else to do. "It has been by that means (faid he to a boy at our house one day) that all my knowledge has been gained, except what I have picked up by running about the world with my wits ready to obferve, and my tongue ready to talk. A man is feldom in a humour to unlock his book-cafe, fet his desk in order, and betake himself to serious study; but a retentive memory will do fomething, and a fellow shall have ftrange credit given him, if he can but recollect ftriking paffages from different books, keep the authors feparate in his head, and bring his ftock of knowledge artfully into play: how elfe (added he) do the gamefters manage when they play for more money than they are worth?" His Dictionary, however, could not, one would think, have been written by running up and down; but he really did not confider it as a great performance; and used to say, " that he might have done it easily in two years, had not his health received several shocks during the time." It is from these, and fimilar circumstances, that this lady thinks Dr. Johnson owed more to genius than to study. We muft change the terms. A vigorous comprehenfive mind, a clear recollection, and à retentive memory, may perform, without much study, every thing attributed to Dr. Johnson; but these talents deferve not the name of genius, which at leaft requires, if not invention, a new and original combination, which we feek for, in vain, in the Rambler. The The lady's opinion gains additional force, from his great fondness for conversation. In his later days, we need not enquire into the reafon of it; for the fubmiffive attention with which his dictates were received, must have been highly pleafing to a mind fufceptible of flattery; and, by his own confeffion, he had this failing. Yet, in earlier life, the fondness for converfation was probably acquired; fince the reclufe ftudent can rarely attain, in his more advanced years, the qualifications for it which Johnfon poffeffed. Befides, we perceive an acuteness, a difcrimination in his obfervations, which are acquired only by a confiderable intercourfe with fociety. The great attention which was always paid to him, added a feverity and defpotifm to his manner, which feem to have been always void either of grace or elegance. For many of the fpeeches which Mrs. Piozzi has recorded, he deserved to be expelled from fociety, if he had not a power of compenfating for his errors, by the moral rectitude of his life, and the chearing falutary tendency of his precepts. We fhall felect one or two of the many instances with which this work abounds, • Mr. Johnfon did not like any one who faid they were happy, or who faid any one elfe was fo. "It is all cant (he would cry), the dog knows he is miferable all the time." A friend whom he loved exceedingly, told him on fome occafion notwithstanding, that his wife's fifter was really happy, and called upon the lady to confirm his affertion, which fhe did fomewhat roundly as we fay, and with an accent and manner capable of offending Mr. Johnson, if her pofition had not been fufficient, without any thing more, to put him in very ill-humour." If your fifter-in-law is really the contented being the profeffes her felf, fir (faid he), her life gives the lie to every research of humanity; for he is happy without health, without beauty, without money, and without understanding." This story he told me himself; and when I expreffed fomething of the horror I felt, "The fame ftupidity (faid he) which prompted her to extol felicity fhe never felt, hindered her from feeling what fhocks you on repetition. I tell you, the woman is ugly, and fickly, and foolish, and poor; and would it not make a man hang himself to hear fush a creature fay it was happy ?? Again, • The Lincolnshire lady who fhewed him a grotto she had been making, came off no better as I remember: Would it not be a pretty cool habitation in fummer? faid he, Mr. Johnfon!" I think it would, madam (replied he),-for a toad." Once more, Mr. Johnson's hatred of the Scotch is fo well known, and fo many of his bons mots, expreffive of that hatred, have been already repeated in fo many books and pamphlets, that 'tis per Ta haps |