*132] 
melancholy to the social circle in 
consequence of a bankruptcy, or 
when he feels the elation of prospe- 
rity at: the success of a vast specula- 
tion. The author is not less immer- 
sed in cares, or agitated by success, 
for literature -has its bankruptcies 
and its speculations. 
The anxieties and disappointments 
ofan author, even of the most suc- 
cessful, are incalculable. If he is 
Jearned, learning is the torment of 
unquenchable thirst, and his elabo- 
rate work is exposed to the accident- 
_ alrecollection vf an inferior mind, 
as well as the fatal omissions of wea- 
ried vigilance. If he excels in the 
magic of diction, and the graces of 
fancy, his path, is strewed with roses, 
but his feet bleed on invisible yet 
piercing thorns. Rousseau has given 
a glowing description of the cease- 
less inquietudes by which he ac- 
quired skill in the arts of composi- 
tion ; and has said, that with what- 
ever talent a man may be born, the 
art of writing 1s not easily obtained. 
It is observed by M. La Harpe 
(an author by profession) that as it 
has been proved there are some ma- 
ladies peculiar to artists, there are 
also surrows which are peculiar to 
them ; and which the world. can 
neither pity nor soften, because it 
cannot have their conceptions. We 
read not without a melancholy emo- 
tion, the querulous. expressions of 
men of genius. We have a little 
catalogue de calamitate Litteratorum; 
we might add a volume by the addi- 
uon. of most of our own authors, 
The votarics of the arts and sci 
ences are Called, by Cicero, heroes 
of peace; their labours, their dan- 
gers, and their intrepidity, make 
them heroes ; but peace is rarely the 
ornament of their feverish esistence. 
Some are now only agreeable, 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 
7 
1795. 
who might have been great writeys, 
had their application: to study, and 
the modes of their life, been differ- 
ent. In Mr, Greaves’s lively recol~ 
lections of his friend Shenstone, are 
some judicious observations on this 
subject. He has drawn a compari- 
son between the elevated abilities of 
Gray, and the humble talents of 
Shenstone; and he has -essayed to 
shew, that it was the accidental cir- 
cumstances of Gray’ ’s place of birth, 
education, his admittance into some 
of the best circles, and his assiduous 
application to science, which gave 
him that superiority over the indo- 
lence, the retirement, and the i iner= 
tion of a want of patronage, which 
made Shenstone, as Gray familiarly 
said, ‘* hop round his walks’? like a 
bird in a string, 
Men of genius are often. reveren- 
ced only where they are known by 
their writings. In the romance of 
life they are divinities, in its his- 
tory they are men. From errors - 
of the mind, and derelictions of the 
heart, they may not be exempt; 
these are perceived by: their ac~ 
quaintance, who can often discern 
only these qualities. The defects 
of great men are the consolation of 
the dunces, 
For their foibles it appears more 
difficult to account than for their 
vices ; for a violent passion depends 
on its direction to become either ex- 
cellence or depravity ; but why 
their exalted mind should not pre- 
serve them from the imbecilities of 
fools, appears a mere caprice of na- 
ture. A curious list may be formed 
of 
“Fears of the brave and follies of 
“ the wise.” Johnson. 
In the note underneath I have 
thrown together a few facts which 
may 
