JOHNSON. 22^ 
mart of the metropolis. Among his few pupils was 
David Garrick, afterwards the very celebrated aftor. 
This youth became his companion in the fearch of for¬ 
tune; and they were furnifhed with a recommendatory 
letter from Mr. Gilbert Walmfley, regiltrar of the eccle- 
fiaflical court of Litchfield, a man of letters and gene- 
rofity, w}io had before patronifed Johnfon, notwithftand- 
ing a radical difference in political opinions, which the 
great author has recorded in terms not very honourable 
to his gratitude. 
In March 1737, the two adventurers arrived in Lon¬ 
don ; Johnfon with his unfinifhed tragedy of Irene in his 
pocket, and with all his other fortune in his head. The 
relics of his wife’s property were probably left with her 
in the country. His engagement with Cave fcems to 
have been his principal dependence; and at Cave’s in- 
fligatioh he undertook a tranflation of Father Paul’s Hif- 
tory of the Council of Trent, of which fome (beets were 
printed, but the defign was then dropped. Johnfon’s ac¬ 
quaintance with Savage was one of the molt memorable 
incidents of his life at this period. That unfortunate 
and mifguided man, to his literary talents added an eal’y 
politenefs of manner and elegance of converfation, which 
had at lead; their full value in the eyes of a ruftic fcholar. 
Johnfon fympathifed in his misfortunes, and was capti¬ 
vated with his fociety to fuch a degree as to become his 
companion in nodturnal rambles, in which he was a 
fpedtator of the vice and diforder of the metropolis, and 
a (barer in the hard(hips of penury and irregularity. It 
is faid that this connexion produced a (hort feparation 
from his wife, who was now come to London; but the 
breach was foon clofed ; and, whatever temporary (lain 
the morals of Johnfon might receive, it was obliterated 
by 'the permanent influence of rooted principles of piety 
and virtue. 
He firfl: attrafled the notice of judges of literary merit 
by the publication, in 1738, of London, a Poem, written 
i'n imitation of Juvenal’s third fatire. After being re¬ 
jected by feveral bookfellers, it was publifhed by Dodfley, 
who gave the author ten pounds ; and Pope, who was 
then in the height of reputation as a fatirift, gave a liberal 
testimony. to its merit, and prophened that the author 
could not be long concealed. The manly vigour and 
ftrong painting of this piece, place it high among works 
of the kind, though its cenfure is moftly coarfe and ex¬ 
aggerated, and it ranks as a party rather than a moral 
poem. Whatever praife he might receive from this per¬ 
formance, he thought his profpects fo little improved, 
that in this year he offered himfelf as a candidate for the 
rnafterfliip of a free-fehool in Leicefterfliire. As it was 
necefiary, for occupying this ftation, that he (hould have 
the degree of M.A. the recommendation of Pope induced 
lord Gower to apply to a friend in Dublin to obtain it 
for him from that univerfity, through the mediation of 
dean Swift. His lordftiip’s letter has been printed; ancT 
the following paragraph from it affords a (hiking picture 
of a man of genius in dittrefs, under the eye of a noble¬ 
man capable of feeling his merit! “ They fay he is not 
afraid of the ftricteft examination, though he is of To long 
a journey; and yet he will venture it, if the dean thinks 
it neceffary, chufing rather to die upon the road, than to 
be ftarved to dea*h in tranflating for bookfellers, which 
has been his only fubfiftence for fome time pad.” The 
application produced no effedt; and from Swift’s unwil- 
Jingnefs to interfere in the matter, Johnfon’s permanent 
dillike of him has been deduced. 
His engagement in the Gentleman’s Magazine gave 
occafion to the exercifeof his powers in a new’ way. The 
parliamentary debates were given to the public in that 
mifcellany, under the fidtion of Debates in the Senate of 
Lilliput, and the fpeakers were difguifed under feigned 
names. Guthrie, a writer of hiftory, for a time compofed 
thefe fpeeches from fuch heads as could be brought away 
in the memory. Johnfon firfl: aflifted in this department, 
and then entirely filled it; and the public was highly 
Yol. XI. No, 748, 
gratified with the extraordinary eloquence difplayed irt 
thefe compofitions,'which was almoft exclufively the pro* 
duft of his own invention. In procefs of time he earns 
to confider this deceit as an unjuftifiable impofition upon 
the World. It is probable, however, that he adhered in 
general to the tenor of argument really employed by the 
fuppofed fpeakers, otherwife they could fcarcely have 
paffed at the time for genuine. He owned that he was 
not quite impartial in dealing out his reafon and rhetoric, 
but “ took care that the whig dogs (hould not have the 
beft of it.” His attachment to the tory, or rather Jaco- 
bite, party was further (hown by a humorous pamphlet 
in 3-739 entitled Marmor Norfolcienfe, confifling of afup- 
pofed ancient prophecy in Latin monkifh rhymes, with 
an explanation. For fome years longer, Johnfon’s lite¬ 
rary exertions are fcarcely to be traced except in the 
Gentleman's Magazine. For that mifcellany he com* 
pofed feveral biographical articles, in which he gave fpe- 
cimens of a fpecies of compofition very happily adapted' 
to his manly caft of thought, and fagacity of refearclv 
into the human character. His principal performance irt 
this clafs was the Life of Savage, publilhed feparately in 
1744, and generally admired, both as a moft interefting. 
and curious individual portrait, and as the vehicle of 
many admirable reflections on life and manners. 
After a number of abortive projects, fome deferted by 
himfelf, others coldly received by the public, Johnfon: 
fettled in earned to a work which was to form the bafe of 
his philological fame, and entitle him to the gratitude 
of a long fuccefilon of writers in his native language. 
This was his Englifli Dictionary, of which the plan was 
given to the public in 1747, in a pamphlet addreffed to 
the earl of Cbefterfield. The plan was an excellent piece 
of writing, which proved how much he was a mailer of 
the language he was about to fix and elucidate. It pre- 
prefented a very perfpicuous and comprehenfive view of 
the defiderata which he was to fupply, and the mode he 
meant to purfue for that purpofe. At the prefent time* 
however, a perfon would be thought inadequately quali¬ 
fied for fuch a ta(k, without a much greater knowledge 
of the congenerous dialeCts than Johnfon poffeffed. The 
contlellation of wits in the reign of Anne, who projected 
fuch a national work, were, indeed, perhaps lefs qualified 
in this refpect; and none of them probably would have 
been capable of equal accuracy of diferimination. No¬ 
thing could be more dignified than the manner in which 
the writer befpeaks the attention and favour of his pa¬ 
tron ; if, indeed, that name can be applied to one who- 
concerned himfelf very little with the liiccefs of the un¬ 
dertaking. No two men, in facT, could be more oppofite- 
in manners and principles than Johnfon and lord Chef- 
terfield ; and their (light intercourfe on this occafion 
terminated in mutual averfion. The bookfellers were- 
the fubflantial patrons of the work; and the fum offered 
by them was fuch as induced Johnfon to leave his ob-- 
feure lodgings, and take a houfe in Gough-fquare, where 
a room was fitted up for the amanuenfes who were to 
execute the laborious part of the bufinefs. The intervals 
of this compilation, which has without reafon been ac¬ 
counted a wonderful exertion of induftry on the part 
of our author, were fufficient to allow of various literary' 
avocations. In 1747 lie furnifhed Garrick with a pro-' 
logue on the opening of the Drury-lane theatre, which : 
in fenfe and poetry has not a competitor among compo-* 
fitions of this clafs, except Pope’s prologue to Cato. 
Another imitation of Juvenal, entitled The Vanity off 
Human Wi(hes, printed in 1749, reaches the fublime of 
ethical poetry, and (lands at the head of claflical imi¬ 
tations. In the fame year, his tragedy of Irene, which 
had been rejedted by the manager Fleetwood, was brought 
on the ftage of Drury-lane under the aufpices of Gar¬ 
rick. It ran thirteen nights, but with no extraordinary 
applaule, and it has never fince appeared at the theatre.- 
With fplendour of didtion and weight of fentiment, it is 
totally deficient in thofe vivid and natural expreflions of- 
3 N emotion 
