was its greatest enemy, and that his opponents, only, meant its welfare. To this end it was neceffary to furnifh 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 purchase manors; that restraints 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 these vulgar complaints, his poem must witnefs. I fhall not take upon me to demonftrate the fallacy of moft of the charges contained in it, nor animadvert on the wickedness of those, who, to effect their own ambitious designs, fcruple not to oppose the best endeavours of the perfon in power, nor fhall I mark the folly of those 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 falfe 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 prospect of advantage that might offer; for, a fhort time after, viz. in Auguft 1738, hearing that the mafter

fhip of Appleby school in Leicestershire was become vacant, he, by the advice of Sir Thomas Griefly a Derbyshire baronet, and other friends, went to Appleby, and offered himself as a candidate for that employment; but the ftatutes of the school requiring, that the person chofen fhould be a Mafter 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 intereft with Dean Swift towards procuring him a mafter's degree from the univerfity 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:

SIR,

Mr. Samuel Johnfon, (author of London a fatire, and fome other poetical pieces,) is a native of this country, and much refpected by fome worthy gentlemen 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 ftatutes of this school, the master of it must • be.

Now thefe 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

poor man Master of Arts in their univerfity. They

highly extol the man's learning and probity, and will 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 say he is not afraid of the ftricteft 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 translating ' for booksellers, which has been his only subsistence for fome time past.

'I fear there is more difficulty in this affair than thefe good-natured gentlemen apprehend, efpecially, ' 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 fo much ⚫ trouble about an impracticable thing; but if you ' think there is a probability of obtaining the favour afked, I am fure your humanity and propensity to relieve merit in diftrefs, will incline you to ferve the poor man, without my adding any more to the trou⚫ble I have already given you, than affuring you that I am, with great truth,

Sir,

Your faithful humble fervant,

Trentham, August 1, 1737.

GOWER.'

If ever Johnson had reafon to lament the fhortnefs. of his stay at the university, it was now. The want of an honour, which, after a fhort efflux of years, is conferred almost of course, was, at this crifis, his greatest misfortune it stood between him and the acquifition of an income of 60l. a year, in a country and at a

time

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

The letter of Lord Gower failing of its effect, Johnson returned to London, refolving on a vigorous effort to supply 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 skilled 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 chose 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.†

It happened at this time that another perfon of the fame christian 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

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

+ Propofals for publishing it were advertifed in the Weekly Mifcellany of 21st Oct. 1738, in the following terms: Juft published, propofals for printing the Hiftory 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 history and notes; and illuftrations from various authors, both printed and manufcript, by S. Johnfon, in two vo

lumes quarto.'

each other, and rendered both abortive. Twelve quarto fheets of Johnson's were printed off; but what became of the other is not known. This difappointment, however mortifying, did not hinder Johnson from profecuting a part of his original design, and writing the life of the author, which, with the affistance of a life of him, written by an Italian nobleman, whose name I could never learn, and published in a closely printed duodecimo, he was enabled to complete, and in an abridgment to infert in Cave's Maga

zine.

Various other projects about this time did he form of publications on literary fubjects, which, in a subsequent page, by the help of a lift in his own hand-writing, I have enumerated, but they were either blafted by other publications of a fimilar nature, or abandoned for want of encouragement.

However, that he might not be totally unemployed, Cave engaged him to undertake a translation of an Examen of Pope's Effay on Man, written by Mr. Croufaz, a profeffor in Switzerland, who had acquired fome eminence by a treatife on Logic of his writing, and alfo, by his Examen de Pyrrhonisme; and of whom Johnson, after obferving that he was no mean antagonift, has given this character:--- His mind was one of those in which philofophy and piety are happily united. He was accustomed to argument and difqui'fition, and perhaps was grown too defirous of detecting faults, but his intention was always right, his opinions were folid, and his religion pure. His in'ceffant vigilance for the promotion of piety difpofed him to look with diftruft upon all metaphyfical fyftems of Theology, and all schemes of virtue and happiness purely rational; and therefore, it was not long VOL. I. 'before

F