stance, he said, he had not read much, compared with Dr. Warburton. Upon which, the king said, that he heard Dr. Warburton was a man of such general knowledge, that you could scarce talk with him on any subject on which he was not qualified to speak; and that his learning resembled Garrick's acting, in its universality. His majesty then talked of the controversy between Warburton and Lowth, which he seemed to have read, and asked Johnson what he thought of it. Johnson answered, "War. burton has most general, most scholastic learning; Lowth is the more correct scholar. I do not know which of them calls names best." The king was pleased to say he was of the same opinion; adding, "You do not think then, Dr. Johnson, that there was much argument in the case?" Johnson said, he did not think there was. "Why, truly," said the king, "when once it comes to calling names, argument is pretty well at an end."

His majesty then asked him what he thought of Lord Lyttelton's history, which was just published. Johnson said, he thought his style pretty good, but that he had blamed Henry the Second rather too much. 66 Why," ," said the king," they seldom do these things by halves." "No, sir," answered Johnson, "not to kings." But, fearing to be misunderstood, he proceeded to explain himself; and immediately subjoined, “That for those who spoke worse of kings than they deserved, he could find no excuse; but that he could more easily conceive how some might speak better of them than they deserved, without any ill intention; for, as kings had much in their power to give, those who were favoured by them would frequently, from

gratitude, exaggerate their praises; and as this proceeded from a good motive, it was certainly excusable, as far as error could be excusable."

The king then asked him what he thought of Dr. Hill. Johnson answered, that he was an ingenious man, but had no veracity; and immediately mentioned, as an instance of it, an assertion of that writer, that he had seen objects magnified to a much greater degree by using three or four microscopes at a time than by using one. "Now," added Johnson, " every one acquainted with microscopes knows, that the more of them he looks through, the less the object will appear."* 66 'Why," replied the king, "this is not only telling an untruth, bat telling it clumsily; for, if that be the case, every one who can look through a microscope will be able to detect him."

"I now," said Johnson to his friends, when relating what had passed, “began to consider that I was depreciating this man in the estimation of his sovereign, and thought it was time for me to say something that might be more favourable." He added, therefore, that Dr. Hill was, notwithstanding, a very curious observer; and if he would have been contented to tell the world no more than he knew, he might have been a very considerable man, and needed not to have recourse to such mean expedients to raise his reputation.

The king then talked of literary journals, mentioned particularly the Journal des Savans, and asked Johnson if it was well done. Johnson said,

In this assertion, Johnson showed his own ignorance of the subject.-Ed.

it was formerly very well done; and gave some account of the persons who began it, and carried it on for some years; enlarging, at the same time, on the nature and use of such works. The king then asked him if it was well done now. Johnson answered, he had no reason to think that it was. The king then asked him if there were any other literary journals published in this kingdom, except the Monthly and Critical Reviews; and on being answered, there was no other, his majesty asked which of them was the best: Johuson answered, that the Monthly Review was done with most care, the Critical upon the best principles; adding, that the authors of the Monthly Review were enemies to the church this, the king said he was sorry to hear.

The conversation next turned on the Philosophical Transactions, when Johnson observed, that they had now a better method of arranging their materials than formerly. 66 "Ay," said the king, they are obliged to Dr. Johnson for that;" for his majesty had heard and remembered the circumstance, which Johnson himself had forgot.

His majesty expressed a desire to have the literary biography of this country ably executed, and proposed to Dr. Johnson to undertake it. Johnson signified his readiness to comply with his majesty's wishes.

During the whole of this interview, Johnson talked to his majesty with profound respect, but still in his firm, manly manner, with a sonorous voice, and never in that subdued tone, which is commonly used at the levee, and in the drawing room. After the king withdrew, Johnson showed

"

himself highly pleased with his majesty's conversation and gracious behaviour. He said to Mr. Barnard, "C Sir, they may talk of the king as they will, but he is the finest gentleman I have ever seen." And he afterwards observed to Mr. Langton, "Sir, his manners are those of as a fine a gentleman as we may suppose Louis the Fourteenth, or Charles the Second."

Mrs. Montague, a lady distinguished for having written an Essay on Shakspeare, being mentioned : -REYNOLDS. "I think that Essay does her honour.” JOHNSON. " Yes, sir, it does her honour, but it would do nobody else honour. I have, indeed, not read it all; but when I take up the end of a web, and find it packthread, I do not expect, by looking farther, to find embroidery. Sir, I will venture to say, there is not one sentence of true criticism in her book." GARRICK. "But, sir, surely it shows how much Voltaire has mistaken Shakspeare, which nobody else has done." JOHNSON. Sir, nobody else has thought it worth while; and what merit is there in that? You may as well praise a school-master for whipping a boy who has construed ill. No, sir, there is no real criticism in it; none, showing the beauty of thought, as formed on the workings of the human heart."*

Johnson proceeded-" The Scotchman has taken the right method in his Elements of Criticism. I do not mean that he has taught us any thing; but he has told us old things in a new way." MURPHY. "He seems to have read a great deal of French

As an answer, however, to Voltaire, Johnson allowed it the merit of being conclusive ad hominem.

criticism, and wants to make it his own; as if he had been for years anatomising the heart of mau, and peeping into every cranny of it." GOLDSMITH,

It is easier to write that book than to read it." JOHNSON. "We have an example of true criticism in Burke's Essay on the Sublime and Beautiful; and, if I recollect, there is also Du Bos; and Bouhours, who shows all beauty to depend on truth, There is no great merit in telling how many plays have ghosts in them, and how this ghost is better than that. You must show how terror is impressed on the human heart. In the description of night in Macbeth, the beetle and the bat detract from the general idea of darkness,-inspissated gloom."

Johnson spoke unfavourably of a certain pretty voluminous author, saying, "He used to write anonymous books, and then other books commending those books, in which there was something of rascality."

He said, "I am very unwilling to read the manuscripts of authors, and give them my opinion. If the authors who apply to me have money, I bid them boldly print without a name; if they have written in order to get money, I tell them to go to the booksellers, and make the best bargain they can." BOSWELL. "But, sir, if a bookseller should bring you a manuscript to look at?" JOHNSON. "Why, sir, I would desire the bookseller to take it away."

He talked with approbation of an intended edition of the Spectator, with notes; two volumes of which had been prepared by a gentleman eminent in the literary world, and the materials which he had collected for the remainder had been transfer