the degree of Master of Arts, Dr. Adams was applied to, by a common friend, to know whether that could be granted him as a favour from the University of Oxford. But though he had made fuch a figure in the literary world, it was then thought too great a favour to be asked.

Pope, without any knowledge of him but from his "London," recommended him to Earl Gower, who endeavoured to procure for him a degree from Dublin, by the following letter to a friend of Dean Swift:

"SIR,

"MR. SAMUEL JOHNSON (authour of London, a fatire, and fome other poetical pieces) obliged to Mr. Spearing, attorney-at-law, for the following information :-" William Adams, formerly citizen and haberdafher of London, founded a school at Newport, in the county of Salop, by deed dated 27th November, 1656, by which he granted the yearly fum of fixty pounds to fuch able and learned schoolmaster, from time to time, being of godly life and converfation, who should have been educated at one of the Universities of Oxford or Cambridge, and had taken the degree of Master of Arts, and was well read in the Greek and Latin tongues, as fhould be nominated from time to time by the said William Adams, during his life, and after the decease of the faid William Adams, by the Governours (namely, the Mafter and Wardens of the Haberdafhers' Company of the City of London) and their fucceffors.' The manour and lands out of which the revenues for the maintenance of the fchool were to iffue are fituate at Knighton and Adbafton, in the county of Stafford." From the foregoing account of this foundation, particularly the circumftances of the falary being fixty pounds, and the degree of Master of Arts being a requifite qualification in the teacher, it feems probable that this was the school in contemplation; and that Lord Gower erroneously fuppofed that the gentlemen who poffeffed the lands, out of which the revenues iffued, were trustees of the charity.

is a native of this country, and much respected by 1738. fome worthy gentlemen in his neighbourhood, Etat. zg. who are trustees of a charity-school now vacant; the certain falary is fixty pounds a year, of which they are defirous to make him master; but, unfortunately, he is not capable of receiving their bounty, which would make him happy for life, by not being a Master of Arts; which, by the statutes of this school, the master of it must be.

"Now these gentlemen do me the honour to think that I have intereft enough in you, to prevail upon you to write to Dean Swift, to perfuade the University of Dublin to fend a diploma to me, conftituting this poor man Mafter of Arts in their University. They highly extol the man's learning and probity; and will not be perfuaded, that the University will make any difficulty of conferring fuch a favour upon a stranger, if he is recommended by the Dean. They fay he is not afraid of the ftricteft examination, though he is of fo long a journey; and will venture it, if the Dean thinks it neceffary; choofing rather to die upon the road, than be starved to death in tranflating for bookfellers; which has been his only fubfiftence for fome time past.

"I fear there is more difficulty in this affair, than thofe good-natured gentlemen apprehend; efpecially as their election cannot be delayed longer than the 11th of next month. If you fee this matter in the fame light that it appears to me, I hope you will burn this, and pardon me for giving you so much trouble about an impracticable thing; but, if you think there is a probability of obtaining

the

1738.

Etat. 29.

the favour asked, I am fure your humanity, and propenfity to relieve merit in diftrefs, will incline you to ferve the poor man, without my adding any more to the trouble I have already given you, than affuring you that I am, with great truth, Sir, "Your faithful fervant,

It was, perhaps no fmall disappointment to Johnson that this refpectable application had not the defired effect; yet how much reafon has there been, both for himself and his country, to rejoice that it did not fucceed, as he might probably have wafted in obfcurity thofe hours in which he afterwards produced his incomparable works.

"I am

About this time he made one other effort to emancipate himself from the drudgery of authourfhip. He applied to Dr. Adams, to confult: Dr. Smalbroke of the Commons, whether a perfon might be permitted to practice as an advocate there, without a doctor's degree in Civil Law. (faid he) a total stranger to thefe ftudies; but whatever is a profeffion, and maintains numbers, must be within the reach of common abilities, and fome degree of induftry." Dr. Adams was much pleased with Johnfon's defign to employ his talents in that manner, being confident he would have attained to great eminence. And, indeed, I cannot conceive a man better qualified to make a diftinguished figure as a lawyer; for, he would have brought to his profeffion a rich ftore of various

various knowledge, an uncommon acuteness, and a command of language, in which few could have equalled, and none have furpaffed him. He who could difplay eloquence and wit in defence of the decifion of the Houfe of Commons upon Mr. Wilkes's election for Middlefex, and of the unconftitutional taxation of our fellow fubjects in America, must have been a powerful advocate in any cause. But here, also, the want of a degree was an infurmountable bar.

C

He was, therefore, under the neceffity of perfevering in that courfe, into which he had been forced; and we find, that his propofal from Greenwich to Mr. Cave, for a tranflation of Father Paul Sarpi's History, was accepted'.

7 In the Weekly Mifcellany, October 21, 1738, there appear. ed the following advertisement: "Juft published, Proposals for printing the Hiftory of the Council of Trent, tranflated from the Italian of Father Paul Sarpi; with the Authour's Life, and Notes theological, hiftorical, and critical, from the French edition of Dr. Le Courayer. To which are added, Observations on the Hiftory, and Notes and Illuftrations from various Authours, both printed and manufcript. By S. Johnson. 1. The work will confift of two hundred fheets, and be two volumes in quarto, printed on good paper and letter. 2. The price will be 18s. each volume, to be paid, half a guinea at the delivery of the firft volume, and the reft at the delivery of the fecond volume in fheets. 3. Two-pence to be abated for every fheet lefs than two hundred. It may be had on a large paper, in three volumes, at the price of three guineas; one to be paid at the time of fubfcribing, another at the delivery of the first, and the rest at the delivery of the other volumes. The work is now in the prefs, and will be diligently profecuted. Subfcriptions are taken in by Mr. Dodfley in Pall-Mall, Mr. Rivington in St. Paul's Church-yard, by E. Cave at St. John's Gate, and the Tranflator, at No. 6 in Cafle-freet, by Cavendish-fquare."

Some

1738.

Etat. 29.

Some sheets of this tranflation were printed off, but the defign was dropt; for it happened, oddly enough, that another person of the name of Samuel Johnson, Librarian of St. Martin's in the Fields, and Curate of that parish, engaged in the fame undertaking, and was patronifed by the Clergy, particularly by Dr. Pearce, afterwards Bishop of Rochester. Several light skirmishes paffed between the rival translators, in the news-papers of the day; and the confequence was, that they destroyed each other, for neither of them went on with the work. It is much to be regretted, that the able perform ance of that celebrated genius FRA PAOLO, loft the advantage of being incorporated into British literature by the masterly hand of Johnson.

I have in my poffeffion, by the favour of Mr. John Nichols, a paper in Johnson's hand-writing, entitled "Account between Mr. Edward Cave and Sam. Johnson, in relation to a verfion of Father Paul, &c. begun Auguft the 2d, 1738;" by which it appears, that from that day to the 21ft of April, Johnson received for this work 491. 75. in fums of one, two, three, and fometimes four guineas at a time, moft frequently two. And it is curious to obferve the minute and fcrupulous accuracy with which Johnson has pasted upon it a flip of paper, which he has entitled "Small Account," and which contains one article," Sept. 9th, Mr. Cave laid down 2s. 6d." There is fubjoined to this account, a list of some subscribers to the work, partly in Johnson's hand-writing, partly in that of another perfon; and there follows a leaf or two on which are written a number of characters