JOHNSON. 



Garrick as his companion, lieiiig farnifhed with recom- 

 mendatory letters by Mr Gilbert Wiilmney, a j^cntleman 

 y/ha had beca before the friend and benefartor of Johnfon. 

 .Tohnfon and his friend arrived in London in March i/jjy ; 

 his firft and principal cnjra<rement was with Cave, the pro- 

 prietor of the Gentleman's Magazine, and at the defire of 

 this gentleman he undertook a tranflation of Father Paul's 

 Hiftory of the Council of Trent, which was partly printed 

 and then the fcheme was given up. At this period Johnfon 

 became acquainted with Sarage, in whofe misfortunes he 

 fympathized, and in wliofe company he w^as a fpeflator of 

 the vicjs and diforders of the metropolis, and probably a 

 (barer in the hardlhips which he endured, and in the irregu- 

 larities which he committed, but whatever llaiii the morals 

 of johnfon might receive from this connedion, it was obli- 

 terated by the permanent influence of the principles of piety 

 and virtue. The literary piece which brought him into 

 public notice, was entitled " London, a Poem;" written 

 in imitation of Juvenal's Third Satire. For this he re- 

 ceived of Dodfley the fum of lo/. It was printed without 

 auy name, but it was faid by Pope, then in the height of 

 his popularity, that the author of fo good a fatire could 

 rot remain long concealed. Johnfon, at this period, wanted 

 fomething more fubllantial than mere praife, and offered 

 himfelf as a candidate for the mafterlhip of a free-fchool in 

 the country. This he was unable to attain, becaufe it was 

 neceflary that the mailer (hould hive taken his degree of 

 M. A. This he had negleded to do while he was at Ox- 

 ford, and now he had applied for the honour to the univerlity 

 of Dublin, through the medium of lord Gower, who, in 

 writing to his friend on the fubjeft, fays, " he is not afraid 

 of the ftricleft examination, though he is of fo long a 

 journey; and vet he will venture it, if the dean (Swift) 

 thinks it necefiary, chooling rather to die on the road, than 

 to be llarved to death in tranllating tor the bookfellers, 

 which has been his only fubliilence for fome time pall." 

 This application produced no eifett, and he was obliged to 

 content himfelf with the patronage of the London book- 

 fellers, particularly with the employment which he obtained 

 in the Gentleman's Magazine. In this work were given 

 the parliamentary debates, under the ficlion of " Debates 

 in the Senate of Liliput," and the fpeakers were difguifed 

 under feigned names. Guthrie, for a time, compofed thefe 

 fpeeches from fuch hints as he could bring away in his me- 

 mory. Johnfon liril afiiiled in this department, and then 

 entirely tilled it, and the public was highly gratified with the 

 eloquence difplayed in thefe compofitions. In i 739 he pub- 

 lilhc.d a humorous pamphlet, entitled "MarmorNariolcienfe," 

 conlliling of a fuppofed ancient prophecy in Latin monkifh 

 rhymes, with an explanation. He compofed, about the 

 fame period, feveral biographical articles for the Gentleman's 

 Magazine, of which the principal was the life of Savage, 

 which was afterwards publilhed feparately, and has been 

 univerfally admired both as a mod interelling and curious 

 portrait, and as containing many admirable reflections on 

 life and manners In the year 1747 he publilhed the plan 

 of his Englith Dictionary, addrefi'ed to the earl of Chelter- 

 ficld, whom he would gladly have recognized as his patron 

 in this arduous tafli. But his lordlhip concerned himfelf 

 very little about the author or his work. No two men 

 could be more oppolite in their manners than Johnfon and 

 lord Chellerfield, and a very flight intercourfe on this occa- 

 fion terminated in their mutual averfion, fo that the author 

 in his prcfa;:e informed the pubUc, that " the Engli/h Dicii- 

 »nary was written with little allillance of the learned, and 

 ■without any patronage of the great ; not in the foft obfcu- 

 lities of retirement, qr uiidcc the ihclter of academic 



bowers, but amidft inconvenience and dif\ra£lion, in (Ick- 

 nefs and in forrow." From the bookfellers, Johnfon re- 

 ceived fifteen hundred guineas for his labour, which was 

 not completed till the year 17JJ. The intervals of this 

 compilation were fufficient to allow of various literary avo- 

 cations. In 1747 he wrote a prologue on the opening of 

 Drury-lane theatre. In 1749 he produced another imita- 

 tion of Juvenal, entitled "The Vanityof Human Wifhcs ;' 

 and his tragedy of " Irene.'" He next commenced hii 

 periodical work, entitled " The Rambler," which came out 

 in papers at the rate of two in a week, from the month of 

 March I75'0, till the fame month in 17J2. He was the 

 autiior of the whule of this work, with the exception of 

 about ten papers only, and in it he appears the warm and 

 ftedfaft friend of religion and morality. The ferious (lyli; 

 of the Rambler prevented it at tirll from attai!iing a very 

 extenlive circulation, but after it was collected iiilo \c- 

 lumes, it rofe in the public eiliination, and the author faw 

 the publication of the tenth edition. Soon after the clofe 

 of this paper he had the misfortune to lofe his wife, a cir- 

 cumllance which he never ceafcd to deplore. Not long 

 afterwards he took into his houfe, as an inmate, Mrs Anne 

 Williams, the daughter of a phylician in South Wales, 

 who had confumed his time and fortune in purfuit of the 

 longitude. Her deftitute condition, aggravated by blind- 

 iiefs, with her talents for writing and converfation, recom- 

 mended her to the benevolence of Mr. Johnfon. In the 

 " Adventurer," conducted by Dr. Hawkfworth, he inte- 

 relied himfelf, fupplicd it with feveral papers of his own, 

 and obtained for it tlie contributions of Mr. Warton. Pre- 

 vioufly to the publication of his diclionary, the degree uf 

 M. A. was conferred on him by the univerlity of Oxfori', 

 and about the fame time the earl of Cheilerfield wrote two 

 letters in its favour in " The World." Tliis civility was 

 regarded, by Johnfon, as an advance from that nobleman 

 for the purpofe of obtaining from him a dedication as pa- 

 tron of the work, but he now rejedled the patronage which 

 he would before have gladly accepted, and wrote a letter 

 to the noble lord, in which he employed all the force of 

 pointed farcafm and manly difdain to make him afhamed 

 of his former condutt. The dictionary was received by 

 the public with general applaufe, and its author was imme- 

 diately ranked among the greatell benefactors of his native 

 tongue. The publication of this great work did not relieve 

 him from his cmbarrafTments, for the price of the labour 

 had been confumed in the progrefs of its compilation. He 

 was Hill entirely dependent upon the exertions of the day 

 for its fupport, and fo low was he reduced, though now- 

 regarded as an honour to his country, that in the following 

 year he was put under an arretl for the trifling fum of live 

 or fix pounds. In 1758 he began " The Idler," a perio- 

 dical paper, which was pubhfhed in a weekly newfpaper. 

 On the death of his mother in 17J9. he wrote the romance 

 of " Raffelas," to defray the expences of her funeral, and 

 to pay her debts. This, though written in a very haily 

 manner, is reckoned one of l;is moll fplendid performances : 

 it is elegant in l.inguage, rich in imagery, and weighty in 

 fentiment. It has been tranflated into leveral modern Ian- 

 guages. Such, however, was the depreffed flate of hi* 

 finances, that he was obhged to break up houfe-keeping 

 and retire to chambers.. From this lif.iation he was 

 refcued by the grant of a penlion of 390/. pir annum, in 

 1762, without any (lipulation with rcf; ect to his literary 

 exertions. In 1 76 J ho h;id the honour of an interview with 

 his majelly in the rojal library, when the fovereign afl-;ed if 

 he intended to pubhlh any more works ? To this he re- 

 plied, that he thought he had wriiteii enoug^li, on which the 



king 



