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recreation, the poor working vicar sees year after year whiten his locks, and enfeeble his frame, while not one beam of hope breaks through the dull cloudy canopy that for ever lies between him, and the rational expectations of that comfort and independence which his education, his talents, his profession, ought to ensure. He is like poor Christian shut up in the dungeons of Despair Castle. The term working clergy' may be ridiculed; but it is an honest and good term; it means, labor improbus et curta supellex:' there is some little difference between coming into a good stable, with plenty of corn and good grooming, after a hard day's work; and being turned out into a common to pick thistles. Mr. S. Smith's sketch of the clergy is as faithful, as his feeling towards them is singularly generous and honourable.

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wretched being in the community it is a poor clergyman in the country with a large family. If there is an object of compassion, he is one. If there is any occasion in life where a great man should lay aside his office, and put on those kind looks, and use those kind words which raise the humble from the dust, these are the occasions when those best parts of the Christian character ought to be displayed."*

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"I

"There are," he says, "many Bishops too generous, and too humane, and too Christian to oppress a poor clergyman; but I have seen (and am sorry to say,) many grievous instances of partiality, rudeness, and oppression. I have seen clergymen treated by Bishops with a violence and contempt which the lowest servant in the Bishop's establishment would not have endured for a single moment. And if there is a helpless, friendless, Instead of this, we see nothing but fresh demands made upon his time, fresh exactions on his pocket, - fresh laws and shackles binding him closer and closer, and a secret power constantly growing over him, which he can neither foresee nor resist. Being ill, he drops a duty, the penalty is five pounds, or he goes to assist a sick brother-it is the same.— "Have you had two services in your Church?" "I decline to answer. "I fine you 207." says the Bishop. "I have had only one service." fine you 2507." The Bishop may compel him to spend three years' income on his house; even if he himself is content with it. If his parish is large, by the newly proposed law, the Bishop may split his living into parts, and deprive him of half his income; in short, if half the additional power is granted, that is asked for in the new Acts,-to the Bishops over their clergy, and if another spirit than the present does not accompany its exercise, as a hopeful and confiding spirit of love, of brotherly kindness, of affection,-of sympathy, -and of familiar regard and association, binding together the humblest Curate with the most exalted Prelate, and acknowledging no distinction, but that which is necessary to all gradation of ranks in all professions, yet least of all in the Church ;-if a new breath is not kindled, and new blood transfused into the veins of the whole body of those in authority; we consider that this additional power will confer no real strength, and that the mortar of which the Church is built, will be found most untempered. "We are told," says the writer we last quoted, "if you agitate these questions among yourselves, you will have the democratic Philistines come down upon you, and sweep you all away together. Be I am quite ready to be swept away when the time comes. Every body has their favourite death. Some delight in apoplexy, others delight in marasmus. I would infinitely rather be crushed by democrats, than, under the plea of the public good, be blindly and mildly absorbed by Bishops."

it so.

* See Letter by Rev. S. Smith, &c. p. 47.
+ S. Smith's Letter, p. 39.

GENT. MAG. VOL. VII.

4 E

JOHNSONIANA.

(Continued from p. 467.)

P. 169. HE (Smart) has translated with success, and to Mr. Pope's satisfaction, his "St. Cecilia's Ode."-Whether to Mr. Pope's satisfaction we cannot say, but certainly without any success, by the soul of Sir John Cheke! Such a jumble of the metres was never seen before!

Cava Classica clangoribus auras
Repleant, resonent tremebundarum
Laquearia convulsa domorum,

Inque vicem lentâ gravia organa majestate

Spirent, augustoque sonore inflata tumescant.

Sapphics, hexameters, adonics, alcaics, iambics, all brought together, check by jowl; not to mention some pentameters, and lines without heads or tails.

P. 218. Johnson's declaration, that "every person has an equal capacity for reminiscences," is surely confuted by the extraordinary memory occasionally displayed by children; and in the same way his denial of a particular genius. A genius for poetry cannot surely be founded on "good sense applied with diligence to what was at first a mere accident."

P. 235. The following epitaph, by Cumberland, seems to have described, with more than the author's accustomed impartiality, Johnson's character. Herculean strength and a stentorian voice,

Of wit a fund, of words a countless choice:
In learning rather various than profound,

In truth intrepid, in religion sound:

A trembling form and a distorted sight,
But firm in judgment, and in genius bright:
In controversy seldom known to spare,
But humble as the Publican in prayer;
To more than merited his kindness, kind:
And though in manners harsh, of friendly mind;
Deep ting'd with Melancholy's blackest shade,
And, though prepar'd to die, of death afraid :
Such JOHNSON was-of him with justice vain,
When will this nation see his like again?

P. 245."Sir, I hate urns. They are nothing. They mean nothing, convey no ideas but ideas of horror."-Johnson's hatred of urns, as an ornament of our pleasure grounds, is founded, we think, on just reason. What have cinerary urns-stone coffins!-to do with our walks of delight? It is altogether in bad taste. But what is a more beautiful embellishment to the garden, than the elegant Grecian urn, crowned with its flowing wreath of the vine, and embossed with its dancing fawns and nymphs, all redolent of youth and of festivity. See the beautiful urns in the Albani and Ludovisi gardens. See the pictures of Poussin and the engravings of Piranesi.

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P. 247. Doctor Edward Harwood, whom Johnson called "puppy," was the person who was tutor in the Greek language to the late W. Windham. Perhaps his best work is his New Introduction to the New Testament,' 2 vols. 8vo, 1773, of which the learned Bishop Marsh says, " As these dissertations display great erudition and contain much information illustrative of the New Testament, Dr. Harwood's Introduction is certainly to be recommended to the theological student."

P. 257. "Dr. Johnson told Voltaire's antagonist, Freron, that- Vir erat acerrimi ingenii, ac paucarum literarum.' Warburton says of him, that he wrote indifferently well upon every thing.' On Voltaire's talents and

correct.

knowledge the reader should consult that excellent work Borante de la Literature Française, pp. 57, 88, and Tableau de la Literature Française, par Victor Fabre, pp. 30, 42, 120, 152. On the defects in his Life of Peter the Great, see Coxe's Travels in Poland, vol. iii. p. 298. For proofs that Voltaire drew secrets from the King of Prussia for the court of France, see Ellis's Letters on English History, 2d Series, vol. iv. pp. 346, 417; and Memoires de M. Richelieu, t. ii. p. 314. Gronin says that Voltaire was aided in writing the Pucelle by three ladies, one of whom was still alive in 1778.-Warburton's estimate of him, as given above, is hardly His Romances and Tales, his Letters, his Biographical Pieces, and especially some of his Tragedies, are not indifferently well, but first of their kind. Mr. Landor says justly- In the lighter touches of irony and derision he excels Rabelais and Moliere; but in that which requires a vigour of conception he falls short of Cervantes and Swift. You have other historians not only more faithful, but more powerful in style and more profound in thought.'-v. Imag. Convers. vol. i. p. 256. The following sentence also, of the first Historian of the present day, has not missed of the truth. "I recollect to have read, in some part of Voltaire's correspondence, an anecdote of his interference with that zeal against oppression, which is the shining side of his moral character, in behalf of those wretched slaves of Franche-Comte."-v. Hallam's Middle Ages, vol. i. P. 224. It must not be forgotten that, hearing the niece of Corneille was in poverty, he took her to his own house, brought her up, educated her, gave her a thousand pounds on her marriage, and the profits of his edition of Corneille's works, which came to about five thousand pounds-or vingt mille écus.

P. 254. Dr. Johnson one day observed, that poets in general preferred some one couplet that they had written to any other; he thought his best lines were

The encumbered oar scarce leaves the hostile coast,
Through purple billows and a floating host.

I confess that I can see no superior merit in this couplet, and prefer the comparative simplicity of the original :

Sed qualis rediit? nempe unâ nave, cruentis
Fluctibus ac tardâ per densa cadavera prorâ.

This reminds me that an expression in one of Johnson's poems, his Prologue to Irene

"Suspend the soft solicitudes of dress,"

is from Welsted,

"Her gentle looks and soft solicitude."

See the Freethinker, vol ii. p. 209, No. 99.
Again,

1. Let observation with extensive view,
Survey mankind from China to Peru.

See Boileau, Sat. 8.

'De Paris au Perou, du Japon jusqu'à Rome ;'

and John Warton's Poems, p. 16, (the father of the Laureate) 1748.

All human race from China to Peru.'

2. Where statutes glean the refuse of the sword.

See Macpherson's Great Britain, i. p. 452.

'Glean by the law, the wretched remains of the sword.'
3. The fierce Croatian and the wild Hussar.'

See Cawthorne's Poems

'The savage Croat and the fierce Hussar.'

P. 255: "Another admonition of his was, never to go out without some little book or other in their pocket. Much time," added he, " is lost by waiting, by travelling, &c.; this may be prevented by making use of every possible opportunity of improvement."-This also was Lord Chesterfield's Advice to his Son. I question its expediency. Why should any time be lost by a person whose mind is imbued with knowledge. Is not his memory a vast book full of diversified stores of knowledge. Is he never to refer to them to compare, arrange, new model, correct, improve, and alter? And when so well as when he is out of the reach of books? What book, little or great, can contain so much knowledge as a man's own mind, which has been formed of ten thousand books? The habit of thinking should be acquired, as well as that of reading. I have no doubt but that many men read too much. Hence the advantage of occasional separation from books, of observation, of conversation, debate, &c. When separated from books, is the time to consolidate one's knowledge, to sift it, to arrange it in masses, to make it philosophical, to pack it up, so as to be able always to find and to use it. The old saying is true-" Reading makes a full man, writing a correct man, conversing a ready man." If a man cannot occupy his spare time when waiting or travelling, by meditation, or by observation, his reading has been of little use to him. We therefore differ from Dr. Johnson on this point. Old Hobbes said, " If I had read as much as he has read, I should have been a great fool."

P. 265. "That Garrick loved money nobody will dispute; but, if you mean by loving money, that he was parsimonious to fault, Sir, you have been misinformed. To Foote, and such scoundrels, who circulated these reports, to such profligate spendthrifts, prudence is meanness, and economy is avarice." No one can read the repeated instances of Garrick's generosity in his Correspondence without being convinced that, if he had any parsimonious habits, they did not extend to the higher actions of his life; neither quench the force of his affections, nor weaken the performance of his duties.

P. 272. On the feeling of an actor. Garrick owned to Dr. Beattie that it was necessary for an actor to repress his feeling, and not permit himself to be carried away by it, in order to perform his part correctly and surely this is most reasonable, else the art would be lost. The account given of Kean is marvellous that, while the audience was in rapture, applauding his sublime passages of eloquence, he occupied those pauses by mocking them with the delivery of unintelligible gibberish. But Miss Kelly tells us, that Mrs. Siddons shed real tears. The dew of Lady Constance's sorrow fell duly on her neck.

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P. 309. "Recommended reading the Fasti of Ovid, also Wotton and Wood on Homer." The Fasti of Ovid is most valuable for knowledge of the ancient festivals, &c. Wood on Homer is little worth; but what is "also Wotton?" Does he mean Wotton on Ancient and Modern Learning, or Wotton's Roman History, or Wotton's Theological Treatises? Why are the commentators silent?

P. 311. "Erasmus appears to be totally ignorant of science and natural

knowledge," &c. No one can read the Life of Erasmus without feeling how perpetually disadvantageous to him was the want of sound and deep erudition and a wider spread of knowledge. The consciousness of his defect made him timorous and anxious to escape from disputations and controversies. "You cannot (says Coleridge) expect any thing very deep

from Erasmus."

P. 321. "De Lolme told me, that he thought Johnson's Political Pamphlets were the best things he had written." This also seemed to be Mr. Coleridge's opinion; see Table Talk, ii. p. 233.

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P. 322. He went so far as to refuse Fielding the great talents which are ascribed to him, and broke out into a noble panegyric on his competitor Richardson, who, he said, was as superior to him in talents as in virtue; and whom he pronounced to be the greatest genius that had shed its lustre on this path of literature." In letters, and in law-audi alteram partem. Let us hear another luminary-Mr. Coleridge :-"What a master of composition Fielding was! Upon my word, I think the Edipus Tyrannus, the Alchymist, and Tom Jones, the three most perfect plots ever planned. And how charming, how wholesome Fielding always is! To take him up after Richardson, is like emerging from a sick room heated by stoves, into an open lawn, on a breezy day in May."-See Table Talk, ii. p. 339.

P. 29. What a mass of learned, pedantic lumber would Parr's Life of Johnson have been, had he executed it as he designed. "I once intended to write Johnson's Life, and I had read through three shelves of books to prepare myself for it. It would have contained a view of the Literature of Europe. It would have been the third most learned work that ever appeared!! Thus was the whole Literature of Europe (which, by the bye, Parr did not understand, for he was acquainted with no MODERN LANGUAGE except a little French) to be dragged in to illustrate writings which belonged only to the literature of England, and the biography of a popular writer was to be rendered unintelligible to the people, by being the "third most learned work" in the world! Did pedantry and self-conceit ever surpass this? Contrast with this pompous vanity the learned, the elegant, the perspicuous, the delightful Life of Ruhnken, by the pen of Wyttenbach. It is the finest model for the biography of a scholar.

P. 51. "Johnson insisted, in his usual positive manner, that it was impos sible that Swift should have been the author of the Tale of a Tub, it was so eminently superior to all his other works." Quære, if at all supe

rior to Gulliver's Travels? or to some of his poems. See Warton on Pope, ii. 53, for the books which were the prototypes of this work, and Bayle Nouvelles, vol. 88, and ŒŒuvres de Voltaire, vol. iv. p. 223. "The authors of the Tale of a Tub, are now generally supposed at Oxford to be one Smith and one Phillips, the first a student, the second a commoner of Christ Church."-See Atterbury's Works, ed. Nichols, vol. i. p. 325. The copy of Swift's Tale of a Tub, in which are inserted the curious MS. notes comprising the main additions to Sir W. Scott's second edition of the Works of Swift, was once the property of Dr. Chauncy, the physician and antiquary at the sale of whose library, in 1790, it was purchased by the late Mr. Liptrap. Lady Betty Germain has certified, by her autograph at the commencement of the volume-" All that is contained here in writing was set down by Jonathan Swift himself."

P. 85." The man who retires to meditate mischief, and to exasperate his own rage; whose thoughts are employed only on means of distress

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