180J.] 



Memoirs of Gotthold Ephraim Lejfing, 



S9 



at Vienna. It was tranflated into Italian, 

 into Danifh, and into French ; but though 

 afled at Saint Germain, it did not fup- 

 port iti'elf at Paris. Tlie talle, or the 

 gratitude, of DiJeior, apphuded sloud, 

 and confoled the tia.iflator of the Pcie de 

 Famille for the indifference of the other 

 Parilians. 



Lefling loved change of place, as of 

 employment. He w^.it in 1755 10 Leip^ 

 zig, wiih theatrical Ipecimens in his 

 pocket, began to rc-fadiion the Erede For- 

 tunata of Goidoni, renewed his acquaint- 

 ance with the amiable Wcifle, and was 

 introduced by him to a Mr. Winkler, a 

 man of fortune, who wanted a companion 

 (he was not young enough to want a pre- 

 Ci-p!or) during his projcfltd tour of Eu- 

 rope. Lefiing agreed to be of the party: 

 he was to be tranked of all expences : he 

 was to have for four years an allowance of 

 aoo dollars a year. 



Before this great journey, LefTing went 

 to vifit the paternal houle, and the moll 

 entire harmony and cordiality was re- 

 ertablifhed between him and every indivi- 

 dual of the family. On the lothof May, 

 1756, he i&i out with Mr. Winkler fiom 

 Leipzig; on the 19th of July following 

 they arrived at Am:'erdam, their proi^rel's 

 having been leilurely but not very devious : 

 it was inteniltd next 10 em'iark. for Eng- 

 Jand. But at Amfterdam an account ar- 

 rived that the PrulTian troops had entered 

 Leipfig, nnd that the commandant, Ge- 

 neral Von Hauil:n, had, without cere- 

 mony, occupied Mr. V/inkl-r's houlc for 

 his head qu-arie:^. Many domcftic fr-li- 

 citudes of courfe arofe, and Mr. V/mkier 

 chole to return. There was property to 

 watch over, and Mr. Winklsr chcfe to 

 remain. He next endeavoured, unbe- 

 comingly, to be rid of LeflF.ng without 

 any indemnity. Thediliniflal was abrupt : 

 the pretext, thst Lefling alTociated with 

 •KIcift, and other Pruiiian officers, and 

 took part againd the inhabitants. Ltfiing 

 demanded his due, and ajipeal d to his 

 contraft: he pleaded (for he was obligid 

 to plead in a court of juliice) that he hnd 

 put himfcif to many expences for travel- 

 ling tquipmentf, that he had diffolvcd 

 contiatts with editcrs and bo:-kfellcrs, 

 which inltrrupttd his relbiuces of main- 

 tenance; th?.t he had fpeiit in receffary un- 

 profitnhlenefs the months | a fled witii Mr. 

 Wii kler, without the equivalent lie ex- 

 pefted in the knowledge ot foreign na- 

 tion!, and that he could not aff'^rd this 

 gratuitous lofs of time. In 1765 the law- 



• Authyi cf iiprir.gj ana uCher poemi.. 



fuit terminated in LefTing's favour, to 

 whom the 3oo Holhiri for his four yeart' 

 falary were adju Iged. It would hasre 

 been more dignitied to difdain legal re- 

 drds, and f> leave thf rich inan his debtor. 

 But Mr. V/inkler ought furely to have 

 been glad of a pretext for putting the 

 whole 800 doUar.s at once at Leffing's 

 difpolal, in circumitances which wnuid 

 have inrerceptii^ ail the arrogance of mu- 

 nificence, and ha\ e given to a ival fervice 

 the inofFenfive form of a deb; difcharged, 

 LefTing owed to -his journey, fhort as it 

 was, the infpeftion of many private as 

 well as public cabinets of art, and had 

 begun to collecl materials for a hiiiory of 

 engraving. 



In 1754 Lefling tranflated, at Mendel- 

 fohn's iniiignt oil, Hutcliefun's Moral Phi- 

 lolbphy into German ; and at his book- 

 feller's requeltRichardlbn's Selection IrotH 

 .ffi.'bp's Fables. This lait went through 

 four cdit;cnSj,and gave occnfion to the 

 compoiitlon of that elegant little volume 

 of original fables, which Mr. Richanifon 

 tranflaitd into Englifh, and printed at 

 York. Anathcr piece of befpoken work 

 which he began, but which a friend com- 

 pleted, was a verfion of Law's E.xhorta- 

 tions. 



In 173T Nichohi, Mendelfohn, and 

 Leffing, undertook conjointly the Library 

 of Fine Literature. It was a review, 

 which profeffedly oniiitted the polemic 

 fcribblage of theology and politics. Out 

 of the profits of the work an ann.ial piize 

 v.as to be given lor the beff play : Nicho- 

 lai hoped that LefTing would thus derive 

 from the concern the mafs (f what it 

 miglit produce beyond the wa^es of com- 

 pofiti n. Much of ccrrelpcndence, as 

 well as of formal critxifin, was inferted, 

 and the contributors exerted on one an- 

 other's articles a fc verity of cenlure, 

 which they fparingly infl ited on llrangeis. 

 This leview was eminently luccelsful, 

 and is Hill carried on by anoiher gencra- 

 ti; n of authors. A greater divifion of 

 labour is certainly defirable in reviews; 

 fome fliould attach themlelves to icience 

 and philofophv, and be adapted to the 

 bold eye of learning ; fbme Ihuuld confine 

 themlelves to works cf elegant amufe- 

 iiitnt and inftruiSlion, and. be luited to the 

 refined and delicate talte of the feminine 

 and poliflied reader ; iomt fl'.oiild mingle 

 in pra<:lica! life, and dilciiiis the ISatiJiics, 

 the theology, the legsl, military, hiitori- 

 cal, and politicnl infotmation, which cir- 

 culates in church and fiaic paities, and 

 influences the conduft of the buly world. 



The t«r& fuft diamaiic prizes weii.- won 



