COLLINS. WILLIAM COLLINS was born at Chichester on the twenty-fifth of December, about 1720. His father was a hatter of good reputation. He was in 1733, as Dr. Warton has kindly informed me, admitted scholar of Winchester College, where he was educated by Dr. Burton. His English exercises were better than his Latin. He first courted the notice of the publick by fome verses to a Lady weeping, published in The Gentleman's Magazine. In 1740, he ftood firft in the lift of the scholars to be received in fucceffion at New College; Y 2 College; but unhappily there was no vacancy. This was the original misfortune of his life. He became a Commoner of Queen's College, probably with a scanty maintenance; but was in about half a year elected a Demy of Magdalen College, where he continued till he had taken a Bachelor's degree, and then fuddenly left the University; for what reason I know not that he told. He now (about 1744) came to London a literary adventurer, with many projects in his head, and very little money in his pocket. He defigned many works; but his great fault was irrefolution, or the frequent calls of immediate neceffity broke his schemes, and fuffered him to purfue no fettled purpose. A man, doubtful of his dinner, or trembling at a creditor, is not much difpofed to abftracted meditation, or remote enquiries. He published proposals for a History of the Revival of Learning; and I have heard him speak with great kindness of Leo the Tenth, and with keen refentment of his taftelefs fucceffor. But probably not a page of the History was ever written. He planned feveral tragedies, but he only planned them. He |