Mrs. Johnson, and there he at last finished his tragedy, which was not
executed with his rapidity of composition upon other occasions, but was
slowly and painfully elaborated. A few days before his death, while
burning a great mass of papers, he picked out from among them the
original unformed sketch of this tragedy, in his own hand-writing, and
gave it to Mr. Langton, by whose favour a copy of it is now in my
possession. It contains fragments of the intended plot, and speeches for
the different persons of the drama, partly in the raw materials of
prose, partly worked up into verse; as also a variety of hints for
illustration, borrowed from the Greek, Roman, and modern writers. The
hand-writing is very difficult to be read, even by those who were best
acquainted with Johnson's mode of penmanship, which at all times was
very particular. The King having graciously accepted of this manuscript
as a literary curiosity, Mr. Langton made a fair and distinct copy of
it, which he ordered to be bound up with the original and the printed
tragedy; and the volume is deposited in the King's library[314]. His
Majesty was pleased to permit Mr. Langton to take a copy of it for
himself.
The whole of it is rich in thought and imagery, and happy expressions;
and of the _disjecta membra_[315] scattered throughout, and as yet
unarranged, a good dramatick poet might avail himself with considerable
advantage. I shall give my readers some specimens of different kinds,
distinguishing them by the Italick character.
'Nor think to say, here will I stop,
Here will I fix the limits of transgression,
Nor farther tempt the avenging rage of heaven.
When guilt like this once harbours in the breast,
Those holy beings, whose unseen direction
Guides through the maze of life the steps of man,
Fly the detested mansions of impiety,
And quit their charge to horrour and to ruin.'
A small part only of this interesting admonition is preserved in the
play, and is varied, I think, not to advantage:
'The soul once tainted with so foul a crime,
No more shall glow with friendship's hallow'd ardour,
Those holy beings whose superior care
Guides erring mortals to the paths of virtue,
Affrighted at impiety like thine,
Resign their charge to baseness and to ruin[316].'
'_I feel the soft infection
Flush in my cheek, and wander in my veins.
Teach me the Grecian arts of soft persuasion.'
'Sure this is love, which heretofore I conceived the dream of idle
maids, and wanton poets.'
'Though no comets or prodigies foretold the ruin of Greece, signs which
heaven must by another miracle enable us to understand, yet might it be
foreshewn, by tokens no less certain, by the vices which always bring it
on_.'
This last passage is worked up in the tragedy itself, as follows:
LEONTIUS.
'----That power that kindly spreads
The clouds, a signal of impending showers,
To warn the wand'ring linnet to the shade,
Beheld, without concern, expiring Greece,
And not one prodigy foretold our fate.
DEMETRIUS.
'A thousand horrid prodigies foretold it;
A feeble government, eluded laws,
A factious populace, luxurious nobles,
And all the maladies of sinking States.
When publick villainy, too strong for justice,
Shows his bold front, the harbinger of ruin,
Can brave Leontius call for airy wonders,
Which cheats interpret, and which fools regard?
When some neglected fabrick nods beneath
The weight of years, and totters to the tempest,
Must heaven despatch the messengers of light,
Or wake the dead, to warn us of its fall[317]?'
MAHOMET (to IRENE). 'I have tried thee, and joy to find that thou
deservest to be loved by Mahomet,--with a mind great as his own. Sure,
thou art an errour of nature, and an exception to the rest of thy sex,
and art immortal; for sentiments like thine were never to sink into
nothing. I thought all the thoughts of the fair had been to select the
graces of the day, dispose the colours of the flaunting (flowing) robe,
tune the voice and roll the eye, place the gem, choose the dress, and
add new roses to the fading cheek, but--sparkling.'
[Page 110: Johnson settles in London. A.D. 1737.]
Thus in the tragedy:
'Illustrious maid, new wonders fix me thine;
Thy soul completes the triumphs of thy face:
I thought, forgive my fair, the noblest aim,
The strongest effort of a female soul
Was but to choose the graces of the day,
To tune the tongue, to teach the eyes to roll,
Dispose the colours of the flowing robe,
And add new roses to the faded cheek[318].'
I shall select one other passage, on account of the doctrine which it
illustrates. IRENE observes,
'That the Supreme Being will accept of virtue, whatever outward
circumstances it may be accompanied with, and may be delighted with
varieties of worship: _but is answered_, that variety cannot affect that
Being, who, infinitely happy in his own perfections, wants no external
gratifications; nor can infinite truth be delighted with falsehood; that
though he may guide or pity those he leaves in darkness, he abandons
those who shut their eyes against the beams of day.'
Johnson's residence at Lichfield, on his return to it at this time, was
only for three months; and as he had as yet seen but a small part of the
wonders of the Metropolis, he had little to tell his townsmen. He
related to me the following minute anecdote of this period: 'In the last
age, when my mother lived in London, there were two sets of people,
those who gave the wall, and those who took it; the peaceable and the
quarrelsome. When I returned to Lichfield, after having been in London,
my mother asked me, whether I was one of those who gave the wall, or
those who took it. _Now_ it is fixed that every man keeps to the right;
or, if one is taking the wall, another yields it; and it is never a
dispute[319].'
He now removed to London with Mrs. Johnson; but her daughter, who had
lived with them at Edial, was left with her relations in the country[320].
His lodgings were for some time in Woodstock-street, near
Hanover-square, and afterwards in Castle-street, near Cavendish-square.
As there is something pleasingly interesting, to many, in tracing so
great a man through all his different habitations, I shall, before this
work is concluded, present my readers with an exact list of his lodgings
and houses, in order of time, which, in placid condescension to my
respectful curiosity, he one evening dictated to me[321], but without
specifying how long he lived at each. In the progress of his life I
shall have occasion to mention some of them as connected with particular
incidents, or with the writing of particular parts of his works. To
some, this minute attention may appear trifling; but when we consider
the punctilious exactness with which the different houses in which
Milton resided have been traced by the writers of his life, a similar
enthusiasm may be pardoned in the biographer of Johnson.
[Page 111: The Gentleman's Magazine. Ætat 28.]
His tragedy being by this time, as he thought, completely finished and
fit for the stage, he was very desirous that it should be brought
forward. Mr. Peter Garrick told me, that Johnson and he went together to
the Fountain tavern, and read it over, and that he afterwards solicited
Mr. Fleetwood, the patentee of Drury-lane theatre, to have it acted at
his house; but Mr. Fleetwood would not accept it, probably because it
was not patronized by some man of high rank[322]; and it was not acted
till 1749, when his friend David Garrick was manager of that theatre.
_The Gentleman's Magazine_, begun and carried on by Mr. Edward Cave,
under the name of SYLVANUS URBAN[323], had attracted the notice and esteem
of Johnson, in an eminent degree, before he came to London as an
adventurer in literature. He told me, that when he first saw St. John's
Gate, the place where that deservedly popular miscellany[324] was
originally printed, he 'beheld it with reverence[325].' I suppose, indeed,
that every young authour has had the same kind of feeling for the
magazine or periodical publication which has first entertained him, and
in which he has first had an opportunity to see himself in print,
without the risk of exposing his name. I myself recollect such
impressions from '_The Scots Magazine_,' which was begun at Edinburgh in
the year 1739, and has been ever conducted with judgement, accuracy, and
propriety. I yet cannot help thinking of it with an affectionate regard.
Johnson has dignified the _Gentleman's Magazine_, by the importance with
which he invests the life of Cave; but he has given it still greater
lustre by the various admirable Essays which he wrote for it.
[Page 112: A list of Johnson's writings. A.D. 1738.]
Though Johnson was often solicited by his friends to make a complete
list of his writings, and talked of doing it, I believe with a serious
intention that they should all be collected on his own account, he put
it off from year to year, and at last died without having done it
perfectly. I have one in his own handwriting, which contains a certain
number[326]; I indeed doubt if he could have remembered every one of them,
as they were so numerous, so various, and scattered in such a
multiplicity of unconnected publications; nay, several of them published
under the names of other persons, to whom he liberally contributed from
the abundance of his mind. We must, therefore, be content to discover
them, partly from occasional information given by him to his friends,
and partly from internal evidence[327].
[Page 113: Edward Cave. Ætat 29.]
His first performance in the _Gentleman's Magazine_, which for many
years was his principal source for employment and support, was a copy of
Latin verses, in March 1738, addressed to the editor in so happy a style
of compliment, that Cave must have been destitute both of taste and
sensibility had he not felt himself highly gratified[328].
[Page 114: 'Ad Urbanum.' A.D. 1738.]
'_Ad_ URBANUM'.
URBANE[329], _nullis fesse laboribus_,
URBANE, _nullis victe calumniis_[330],
Cui fronte sertum in eruditâ
Perpetuò viret et virebit;
Quid moliatur gens imilantium,
Quid et minetur, solicitus parùm,
Vacare solis perge Musis,
Juxta animo studiisque felix.
Linguæ procacis plumbea spicula,
Fidens, superbo frange silentio;
Victrix per obstantes catervas
Sedulitas animosa tendet.
Intende nervos, fortis, inanibus
Risurus olim nisibus æmuli;
Intende jam nervos, habebis
Participes operæ Camoenas.
Non ulla Musis pagina gratior,
Quam quæ severis ludicra jungere
Novit, fatigatamque nugis
Utilibus recreare mentem.
Texente Nymphis serta Lycoride,
Rosæ ruborem sic viola adjuvat
Immista, sic Iris refulget
Æthereis variata fucis[331].'
S.J.
[Page 115: Reports of the Debates. Ætat 29.]
[Page 116: Libels in the press. A.D. 1738.]
It appears that he was now enlisted by Mr. Cave as a regular coadjutor
in his magazine, by which he probably obtained a tolerable livelihood.
At what time, or by what means, he had acquired a competent knowledge
both of French[332] and Italian[333], I do not know; but he was so well
skilled in them, as to be sufficiently qualified for a translator. That
part of his labour which consisted in emendation and improvement of the
productions of other contributors, like that employed in levelling
ground, can be perceived only by those who had an opportunity of
comparing the original with the altered copy. What we certainly know to
have been done by him in this way, was the Debates in both houses of
Parliament, under the name of 'The Senate of Lilliput,' sometimes with
feigned denominations of the several speakers, sometimes with
denominations formed of the letters of their real names, in the manner
of what is called anagram, so that they might easily be decyphered.
Parliament then kept the press in a kind of mysterious awe, which made
it necessary to have recourse to such devices. In our time it has
acquired an unrestrained freedom, so that the people in all parts of the
kingdom have a fair, open, and exact report of the actual proceedings of
their representatives and legislators, which in our constitution is
highly to be valued; though, unquestionably, there has of late been too
much reason to complain of the petulance with which obscure scribblers
have presumed to treat men of the most respectable character and
situation[334].
[Page 117: William Guthrie. Ætat 29.]
This important article of the _Gentleman's Magazine_ was, for several
years, executed by Mr. William Guthrie, a man who deserves to be
respectably recorded in the literary annals of this country. He was
descended of an ancient family in Scotland; but having a small
patrimony, and being an adherent of the unfortunate house of Stuart, he
could not accept of any office in the state; he therefore came to
London, and employed his talents and learning as an 'Authour by
profession[335].' His writings in history, criticism, and politicks, had
considerable merit[336]. He was the first English historian who had
recourse to that authentick source of information, the Parliamentary
Journals; and such was the power of his political pen, that, at an early
period, Government thought it worth their while to keep it quiet by a
pension, which he enjoyed till his death. Johnson esteemed him enough to
wish that his life should be written[337]. The debates in Parliament,
which were brought home and digested by Guthrie, whose memory, though
surpassed by others who have since followed him in the same department,
was yet very quick and tenacious, were sent by Cave to Johnson for his
revision[338]; and, after some time, when Guthrie had attained to greater
variety of employment, and the speeches were more and more enriched by
the accession of Johnson's genius, it was resolved that he should do the
whole himself, from the scanty notes furnished by persons employed to
attend in both houses of Parliament. Sometimes, however, as he himself
told me, he had nothing more communicated to him than the names of the
several speakers, and the part which they had taken in the debate[339].
[Page 118: London, a Poem. A.D. 1738.]
Thus was Johnson employed during some of the best years of his life, as
a mere literary labourer 'for gain, not glory[340],' solely to obtain an
honest support. He however indulged himself in occasional little
sallies, which the French so happily express by the term _jeux
d'esprit_, and which will be noticed in their order, in the progress of
this work.
[Page 119: Oldham and Johnson compared. Ætat 29.]
But what first displayed his transcendent powers, and 'gave the world
assurance of the MAN[341],' was his _London, a Poem, in Imitation of the
Third Satire of Juvenal_: which came out in May this year, and burst
forth with a splendour, the rays of which will for ever encircle his
name. Boileau had imitated the same satire with great success, applying
it to Paris; but an attentive comparison will satisfy every reader, that
he is much excelled by the English Juvenal. Oldham had also imitated it,
and applied it to London; all which performances concur to prove, that
great cities, in every age, and in every country, will furnish similar
topicks of satire[342]. Whether Johnson had previously read Oldham's
imitation, I do not know; but it is not a little remarkable, that there
is scarcely any coincidence found between the two performances, though
upon the very same subject. The only instances are, in describing London
as the _sink_ of foreign worthlessness:
'----the _common shore_,
Where France does all her filth and ordure pour.'
OLDHAM.
'The _common shore_ of Paris and of Rome.'
JOHNSON.
and,
'No calling or profession comes amiss,
A _needy monsieur_ can be what he please.'
OLDHAM.
'All sciences a _fasting monsieur_ knows.'
JOHNSON.
The particulars which Oldham has collected, both as exhibiting the
horrours of London, and of the times, contrasted with better days, are
different from those of Johnson, and in general well chosen, and well
exprest[343].
There are, in Oldham's imitation, many prosaick verses and bad rhymes,
and his poem sets out with a strange inadvertent blunder:
'Tho' much concern'd to _leave_ my dear old friend,
I must, however, _his_ design commend
Of fixing in the country--.'
[Page 120: The publication of London. A.D. 1738.]
It is plain he was not going to leave his _friend_; his friend was going
to leave _him_. A young lady at once corrected this with good critical
sagacity, to
'Tho' much concern'd to _lose_ my dear old friend.'
There is one passage in the original, better transfused by Oldham than
by Johnson:
'Nil habet infelix paupertas durius in se,
Quàm quod ridiculos homines facit;'
which is an exquisite remark on the galling meanness and contempt
annexed to poverty: JOHNSON'S imitation is,
'Of all the griefs that harass the distrest,
Sure the most bitter is a scornful jest.'
OLDHAM'S, though less elegant, is more just:
'Nothing in poverty so ill is borne,
As its exposing men to grinning scorn.'
Where, or in what manner this poem was composed, I am sorry that I
neglected to ascertain with precision, from Johnson's own authority. He
has marked upon his corrected copy of the first edition of it, 'Written
in 1738;' and, as it was published in the month of May in that year, it
is evident that much time was not employed in preparing it for the
press. The history of its publication I am enabled to give in a very
satisfactory manner; and judging from myself, and many of my friends, I
trust that it will not be uninteresting to my readers.
[Page 121: Johnson's letters to Cave. Ætat 29.]
We may be certain, though it is not expressly named in the following
letters to Mr. Cave, in 1738, that they all relate to it:
'To MR. CAVE.
'Castle-street, Wednesday Morning.
[_No date_. 1738.]
'SIR,
'When I took the liberty of writing to you a few days ago, I did not
expect a repetition of the same pleasure so soon; for a pleasure I shall
always think it, to converse in any manner with an ingenious and candid
man; but having the inclosed poem in my hands to dispose of for the
benefit of the authour, (of whose abilities I shall say nothing, since I
send you his performance,) I believed I could not procure more
advantageous terms from any person than from you, who have so much
distinguished yourself by your generous encouragement of poetry; and
whose judgment of that art nothing but your commendation of my trifle[344]
can give me any occasion to call in question. I do not doubt but you
will look over this poem with another eye, and reward it in a different
manner, from a mercenary bookseller, who counts the lines he is to
purchase[345], and considers nothing but the bulk. I cannot help taking
notice, that, besides what the authour may hope for on account of his
abilities, he has likewise another claim to your regard, as he lies at
present under very disadvantageous circumstances of fortune. I beg,
therefore, that you will favour me with a letter to-morrow, that I may
know what you can afford to allow him, that he may either part with it
to you, or find out, (which I do not expect,) some other way more to his
satisfaction.
'I have only to add, that as I am sensible I have transcribed it very
coarsely, which, after having altered it, I was obliged to do, I will,
if you please to transmit the sheets from the press, correct it for you;
and take the trouble of altering any stroke of satire which you may
dislike.
'By exerting on this occasion your usual generosity, you will not only
encourage learning, and relieve distress, but (though it be in
comparison of the other motives of very small account) oblige in a very
sensible manner, Sir,
'Your very humble servant,
'SAM. JOHNSON.'
'To MR. CAVE.
'Monday, No. 6, Castle-street.
SIR,
'I am to return you thanks for the present you were so kind as to send
by me[346], and to intreat that you will be pleased to inform me by the
penny-post[347], whether you resolve to print the poem. If you please to
send it me by the post, with a note to Dodsley, I will go and read the
lines to him, that we may have his consent to put his name in the
title-page. As to the printing, if it can be set immediately about, I
will be so much the authour's friend, as not to content myself with mere
solicitations in his favour. I propose, if my calculation be near the
truth, to engage for the reimbursement of all that you shall lose by an
impression of 500; provided, as you very generously propose, that the
profit, if any, be set aside for the authour's use, excepting the
present you made, which, if he be a gainer, it is fit he should repay. I
beg that you will let one of your servants write an exact account of the
expense of such an impression, and send it with the poem, that I may
know what I engage for. I am very sensible, from your generosity on this
occasion, of your regard to learning, even in its unhappiest state; and
cannot but think such a temper deserving of the gratitude of those who
suffer so often from a contrary disposition. I am, Sir,
'Your most humble servant,
'SAM. JOHNSON[348].'
[Page 122: Mrs. Carter. A.D. 1738.]
'To MR. CAVE.
[No date[349].]
'SIR,
'I waited on you to take the copy to Dodsley's: as I remember the number
of lines which it contains, it will be no longer than _Eugenio_[350], with
the quotations, which must be subjoined at the bottom of the page; part
of the beauty of the performance (if any beauty be allowed it)
consisting in adapting Juvenal's sentiments to modern facts and persons.
It will, with those additions, very conveniently make five sheets. And
since the expense will be no more, I shall contentedly insure it, as I
mentioned in my last. If it be not therefore gone to Dodsley's, I beg it
may be sent me by the penny-post, that I may have it in the evening. I
have composed a Greek epigram to Eliza[351], and think she ought to be
celebrated in as many different languages as Lewis le Grand[352]. Pray
send me word when you will begin upon the poem, for it is a long way to
walk. I would leave my Epigram, but have not daylight to transcribe
it[353]. I am, Sir,
'Your's, &c.,
'SAM. JOHNSON[354].'
[Page 123: Negotiations with Dodsley. Ætat 29.]
'TO MR. CAVE.
[No date.]
'SIR,
'I am extremely obliged by your kind letter, and will not fail to attend
you to-morrow with _Irene_, who looks upon you as one of her best
friends.
'I was to day with Mr. Dodsley, who declares very warmly in favour of
the paper you sent him, which he desires to have a share in, it being,
as he says, _a creditable thing to be concerned in_. I knew not what
answer to make till I had consulted you, nor what to demand on the
authour's part, but am very willing that, if you please, he should have
a part in it, as he will undoubtedly be more diligent to disperse and
promote it. If you can send me word to-morrow what I shall say to him, I
will settle matters, and bring the poem with me for the press, which, as
the town empties, we cannot be too quick with. I am, Sir,
'Your's, &c.,
'SAM. JOHNSON.'
[Page 124: Payment for London. A.D. 1738.]
To us who have long known the manly force, bold spirit, and masterly
versification of this poem, it is a matter of curiosity to observe the
diffidence with which its authour brought it forward into publick
notice, while he is so cautious as not to avow it to be his own
production; and with what humility he offers to allow the printer to
'alter any stroke of satire which he might dislike[355].' That any such
alteration was made, we do not know. If we did, we could not but feel an
indignant regret; but how painful is it to see that a writer of such
vigorous powers of mind was actually in such distress, that the small
profit which so short a poem, however excellent, could yield, was
courted as a 'relief.'
It has been generally said, I know not with what truth, that Johnson
offered his _London_ to several booksellers, none of whom would purchase
it. To this circumstance Mr. Derrick alludes in the following lines of
his _Fortune, a Rhapsody_:
'Will no kind patron JOHNSON own?
Shall JOHNSON friendless range the town?
And every publisher refuse
The offspring of his happy Muse[356]?'
But we have seen that the worthy, modest, and ingenious Mr. Robert
Dodsley[357] had taste enough to perceive its uncommon merit, and thought
it creditable to have a share in it. The fact is, that, at a future
conference, he bargained for the whole property of it, for which he gave
Johnson ten guineas[358]; who told me, 'I might, perhaps, have accepted of
less; but that Paul Whitehead had a little before got ten guineas for a
poem and I would not take less than Paul Whitehead.'
[Page 125: Paul Whitehead. Ætat 29.]
I may here observe, that Johnson appeared to me to undervalue Paul
Whitehead upon every occasion when he was mentioned, and, in my opinion,
did not do him justice; but when it is considered that Paul Whitehead
was a member of a riotous and profane club[359], we may account for
Johnson's having a prejudice against him. Paul Whitehead was, indeed,
unfortunate in being not only slighted by Johnson, but violently
attacked by Churchill, who utters the following imprecation:
'May I (can worse disgrace on manhood fall?)
Be born a Whitehead, and baptiz'd a Paul[360]!'