SS ee ee ee 
—— 
SS SS ee eee 
pr == a 
848 
has been altered by the bifhop, fo as to 
‘withdraw the fatire on the clergy © he 
reads i in the third line, 
Tell time it is but motion. | 
Another ftanza, fatirifing the nobility, 
is, with the fame fort of attention, quietly 
fupprefled: the poem gains by both 
changes. 
SPENSER, THE POET*. 
I was: told by. Lord Carteret, that, 
when he was Lord Lieutenant of Ire- 
Jand, 1724, a true defcendant of this Ed- 
mund Spenfer, who bore his name, had a 
trial before Baron Hale, and he knew fo 
little of the Englifli language, that he was 
forced to have an interpreter. 
‘BISHOP GIBSGN*. 
There is an account of Mr. Camden’s 
Life prefixed to Gibfon’s edition of the 
Britannia, 1695, in Eng. fo. dedicated to 
my Lord Somers. The fame Life of Mr. 
Camden, with fome alterations, was added 
to the new edition of the Britannia, pub- 
lifhed 1722, by the fame Edmund Gibfon, 
now become Bithop of Lincoln. TI will 
enly netice one great partiality in this 
worthy author. In the firft edition, he 
mentions Dr. Charlet, Mafter of Univerfi- 
ty College, with great refpect, as he had 
many obligations to him, and being then 
et the fame univerfity, fellow of Queen’ ey; 
but this is all left out in the fecond edi- 
tion : 
was Bifhop of Lincoln, in the high road 
to preferment, as he is now Bifhop of Lon- 
con, where he hopes not to ftop. Poor 
honeft Charlet died Mafter of Univerfity, 
with.no other preferment, having kept to 
the honeft principles he fet out with, and 
Gibfon, for being a turn- coat rafeal, is 
now Bifhop: of London: 
GARDENS. 
Henry Lyte; of Lyte’s Cary, in Somer- 
fetfhire, Eig. wno tranflated a Herbal into 
Engiith, which Ke dedicated to Queen Eli- 
zabeth, 
plants for that age; but it was Sir 
Danvers, of Chelfea, byother and heir to 
Henry, Earl of Danby, wio firit introdu- 
ced the Italian methcd of gardening. He 
was a great friend of the Lord Chancellor 
Bacon, who took great delight in: his ele- 
gant garden at Chelfea. He had another 
at Lavington, in Wiltfhire. 
Witton Garpen was the third ear- 
den after thofe two in the Ltalian mode. 
But in the-time of King Charles IT. 
gardening was much improved, and be- 
* From an Alphabetical Inft of ae by 
Edward, Earl of Oxford and Mortimer. 
From the Port-folio of a Man of Letters. 
Gibfow’ wanted not Charlet; “he - 
had a pretty good colleétion of 
pe Dea 
Fobhn 
[April f, 
‘came common. ‘There was; in 1691, tern 
times as much gardening about London, 
ds in 1660; and trom 1683 to 1693, there 
were not ‘lefs than 7o00 exotic plants 
brought into England. 
‘JOHNSON. 
The celebrated Diétionary ‘of the En-. 
glifh language, to which is’ prefixed the | 
name-of-Dr. Johnfon, did not‘originaté 
with him.- He has indeed the credit of it, 
but it is rather an afcribed credif, than 2 
merited one. - Fhe hint came firft- from 
Lord Chefterfield, who conimunicated it to 
Mr.R. Dodfley (the bookfeller)and explain- 
ed hisidea of giving the different fignifiéa- 
tions of words, by quotations from ‘the beft 
authors, arranged in the order of time. 
Dosfley approved ef the hint, and men- 
tioned it to Dr. Campbell, author of the - 
Lives of the Admirals, &c. But Can 
bell could not be brought to tafte of it, and 
therefore declined to undertake it. Dodf- 
ley afterwards mentioned it to Mt. Gar- 
rick, by accident. Garrick liked the 
thought very much, and recommended his 
friend Johnfon to. execute it. Johni{on | at 
firft was rather fluggifh about it ; but 
Garrick prefled it warmly to him, and 
promifed to give him his utmoft affiftance. 
At length Johnfon undertook it. Mr. 
Garrick was faithful to his promife: he fur-~ 
nifhed him with all or moft of his dramatic 
quotations. Lord Chefterfield furmithed 
him with almoft every thing froin polite 
literature. Mr. Melmoth (tranflator of 
Pliny) « did the fame. Mr. Moore, author 
of the Fables for the Ladies; Mr. Richard 
Owen Cambridge, Mr. Soame Jenyns, 
Mr. Horace Walpole, 8c. &c. all contri- 
buted. So that Fonen was very ably 
and amply fupplied, although no acknow- 
ledgment was ever made of thefe affift- 
ants. 
RONSARD. 
Peter de Ronfard was defcended from a 
noble family, and born, accerding to fome 
accounts, on. Saturday, September 11, 
1524, the day on which the battle of Pa- 
via was fought. Some-writers, and among 
thefe the great Thuanus, prefuming on 
this fac, “confider France as enjoying a 
fitiqeuk: aamunlaane for the misfortunes 
of that day, in the honour of producing 
fo ncble a genius. Bayle, who had not 
much reverence for poets, cenfures, with 
proper indignation, the folly of- this fen- 
timent: Notwithftanding the {plendour af 
his birth, there is reafon to fuppofe that 
he generally lived poor. ‘The meannefs of © 
his refidence, which 4s {aid to have been 
at the top of a high tower, afforded a fub- 
ject to the wits of the age. He was a 
penfioner 
