J O H 



iing faid, *' I fliould have thought fo too, if you had not 

 written io well." In this year he pubhflied his edition of 

 Shakfpeare's Works, which was fent into the world with 

 a preface, written with all the powers of his maftcrly pen, 

 and which is reckoned amone the mo!l valuable of his cri- 

 tical difquifitions. About tliir period he inftituted a literary 

 club, confiftinsj of feveral of the moft celebrated men of tl;e 

 age, among whom were feme who occupied very elevated 

 fituations in fociety. In 1770 he appeared an advocate for 

 the meafures of government, and publifhed, firll, " The Falfe 

 Alarm," occafioned by the expulfion of Mr. Wilkes from 

 thehoufe of commons. Tliis was followed by " Thoughts 

 on the late Tranfaflions refpefting Falkland's Ifland,'' de- 

 figned to fiiew the unreafonablenefs of going to war on 

 account of the conduct of Spain relative to that barren 

 poirefiion. His next publication or. political fubjecls was 

 entitled " The Patriot," which was compofed on the eve of 

 a general eleclion in order to indlfpofe the people againll tlie 

 meafures of the oppofnion. In 1775 he publiflied, "Tax- 

 ation no Tyranny," which was written in defence of the 

 right of the mother country taxing the colonies at pleafure. 

 Thefe pamphlets, which were probably written on principle, 

 did but little fervice to the caufe which he vindicated. In 

 1773 ^^ "'^"' °" ^ '°"'' "'"^ '^^''- Bofwell to the weftern 

 iflands of Scotland, of which journey he pubhihed an ac- 

 count under the title of " A Journey to the WeHern Wands 

 of Scotland." In this he gave a mod decifive opinion 

 againft the authenticity of the poems afcnbed to Oflian, 

 which o cafioned a difference between him and the tranf- 

 lator, Mr. Macphc.fon. In 1773, the univerfity of Oxford 

 conferred on him, through the intereft of the niniller, the 

 degree of dodor of laws, which he highly valued. The 

 forae honour had been given hini fome years before by the 

 univerfity of Dublin, of which h» had made no ufe. 

 When the unhappy Dr. Dodd lay under fentence of death, 

 in Newgate, Johnfon, moved either by compafiion for the 

 man, or by a defire of refcuing the cloth from p'.ibhc dif- 

 grace, wrote two petitions to his majefty in his name, and 

 fopplied him with a fpeech at the bar, and a fermon to be 

 preached to his fellow convids. (See Dodd ) In the year 

 1779, Dr. Johnfon began his fed literary undertaking, •' The 

 Lives of the Englilh Poets," which, notwithftanding the 

 ftrong prejudices of the author, may be regarded as a moll va- 

 luable treafure of found criticifm, ^nd a model of htcrary 

 tiography. This work was completed in 17S1 : it is not only 

 attached to his edition of the Englidi poets, but has been 

 re-printed a great many times in a feparate form. The con- 

 cluding portion of Dr. Johnfon's life was clouded over by 

 the lofs of feveral highly refpccted friends, by a progrcffive 

 decline of health, and by the profpeft of approaching dif- 

 folution, which neither his religion nor his philofophy taught 

 him to bear with even decent compofure. At lad, however, 

 his mind became calm, compofed, and truly refigned : he 

 died December 13th, 1^85, in the 75th year of his age. 

 His remains, attended by a refpettable concourfe of friends, 

 ■were inrerrcd in Wedminilcr abbey ; and a monumental 

 ftStue has been erefted to his memory in St. Paul's cathedral. 

 His works, with a life of the author, were publifhed col- 

 leaively in 11 volumes. 8vo. by lir John Hawkins, in 1787; 

 and in 1792, a new edition of them in 12 volumes, wi'h a 

 life by Mr. Murphy, was given to the public. Mr. Bofwell 

 and Mrs. Piozzi have likewife given ample accounts of their 

 friend : perhaps there is no inftance of a private man of let- 

 ters, in this country, whofe dcceafc was marked by the ap- 

 pearance of fo many laudatory and biographical tributes to 

 his pubhc reputation. As a writer. Dr. Johnfon did much 

 iernce to his country, by fixing its language and regulating 



50 H 



its Riovality. In his perfon he was large, rohud, and un- 

 wieldy ; in his drefs he was fingular and flovenly ; in con- 

 verfation he was pofitive. and impatient of all contradiction. 

 But with thefe deductions, he was an excellent cha- 

 rafter ; he had a heart full of tendernefs and compafiion, 

 and all his aftions were tlie refult of principle. He was a 

 zealous advocate for what he regarded as the truth. He 

 was high in his religious and political principles, and at one 

 period of his hfe he was friendly to the vie.vs of the honfe of 

 Stuart. He had a noble independeixe of mind, and would 

 never iloop to any man however exalted, nor dilguife his 

 fer.timents to flatter another. Plis judgment was uncom- 

 monly acute, his imagination quick, his memory tenacious, 

 and his converfation, though very dictatorial, was often 

 brilliant, and always initruttiv.'. For farther particulars, 

 the readiT is referred to the works above mentioned. 



Johnson, in Geography, a county of America, in North 

 Carolina and Newbtrn diltrift, containing 6201 inhabitants, 

 of wliom 1763 are flaves. It is 30 miles fquare, and wa- 

 tered by feveral dreams. The greatell part of the county 

 is level, and its principal produce is corn. Its chief town is 

 Smith field. 



JOHNSONIA, in Botany, fo named by Mr. R. 

 Brown in memory of Dr. Thomas Johnfon, author of fome 

 little botanical works, publiflied in the form ot travels be- 

 tween 1629 and 1641, and editor of the fecoiKl edition of 

 Gerarde's Herbal in 1633. Wood fays he was killed, while 

 fighting in the royal caufe, in September 1644. Brown. 

 Prodr. Ncv. HoU. v. i. 287. Clafs and order, Tru:nJria 

 /tj'onogynia. Nat Ord. AfpkadeTi, JufT. 



Efl^ Ch. Perianth (rather corolla) in fi.x deep equal feg- 

 ments, withering, deciduous. Filaments dilated and united 

 at their bafe, inferted into the bafe of the inner fegments of 

 the corolla. Style thread-diaped. Stigma obtufe. Cap- 

 fule fuperior, of three cells and three valves, with partitioHS 

 from the middle of the valves. Seeds two in each cell, in- 

 ferted into the central column, one of them pendulous. 

 Scar crefted. 



I. J. lupulwa. Native of the fouth coad of New Hol- 

 land. Root fibrous, perennial. Leaves two-ranked, twided, 

 linear, dilated, and half flieathing at the bafe. Stalk radi- 

 cal, fimple, bearing near its top a folitary, oblong, hop- 

 like fpike of fmali feffile foivers, with coloured imbricated 

 bradeas, the lowermoft of wliich are fmall and barren. 



JOHNSTON, John, in Biography, an eminent na- 

 turalid, was born at Sambter, in Great Poland, in the year 

 1603: he received the greater part of his education in his 

 own country ; but in 1622, he came to England, and from 

 thence he went to Scotland, where he dudied with great 

 diligence in the univerfity of St. Andrews till the year 1625. 

 He afterwards dudied at Leyden and Cambridge. He un- 

 dertook the education of the two fons of the count de 

 Kurtzbacli, and arcompanied them to Holland. While he 

 rcfided with his pupils at Leyden, he took his degree as 

 doftor of phyfic ; and when he went a third time to Eng- 

 land, the lame honour was conferred on him by the uni- 

 verfity of Cambridge. He died in June 1675, in the 72d 

 year of his age. He is known in the literary world by a 

 number of works in the different departments of natural liif- 

 tory. Gen. Biog. 



Johnston, in Geography, a towndiip of America, in 

 Providence county, Rhode illand, well of the town of Pro- 

 vidence ; containing 1364 inhabitants. — Alfo, a towndiip 

 in Franklin county, Vermont; having 13J inhabitants. 



JOHNSTONE, George, in Biography, a naval com- 

 mander, fon of a Scotch baronet, devoted himfelf tothe fea 

 fervice at an early period of life. After paffing through the 



fubordipatc 



