warm admiration of Milton's great poetical merit, to which he has done illustrious justice, beyond all who have written upon the subject. And this year he not only wrote a Prologue, which was spoken by Mr. Garrick before the acting of Comus at Drury-lane theatre, for the benefit of Milton's grand-daughter, but took a very zealous interest in the fuccefs of the charity. On the day preceding the performance, he published the following letter in the "General Advertiser," addreffed to the printer of that paper; "SIR, "THAT a certain degree of reputation is acquired merely by approving the works of genius, and testifying a regard to the memory of authours, is a truth too evident to be denied; and therefore to ensure a participation of fame with a celebrated poet, many who would, perhaps, have contributed to starve him when alive, have heaped expenfive pageants upon his grave. "It must, indeed, be confeffed, that this method of becoming known to pofterity with honour, is peculiar to the great, or at least to the wealthy; but an opportunity now offers for almost every individual to fecure the praise of paying a juft regard to the illuftrious dead, united with the pleafure of doing good to the living. To affift induftrious indigence, ftruggling with diftrefs and debilitated by age, is a display of virtue, and an acquifition of happiness and honour. "Whoever, then, would be thought capable of pleasure in reading the works of our incomparable Milton, 1750. Milton, and not fo deftitute of gratitude as to refuse to lay out a trifle in rational and elegant en Atat. 41. tertainment, for the benefit of his living remains, for the exercise of their own virtue, the increase of their reputation, and the pleafing consciousness of doing good, fhould appear at Drury-lane theatre to-morrow, April 5, when Comus will be performed for the benefit of Mrs. Elizabeth Fofter, grand-daughter to the authour, and the only furviving branch of his family. Etat. 42. "N. B. There will be a new prologue on the occafion, written by the authour of Irene, and spoken by Mr. Garrick; and, by particular desire, there will be added to the Mafque a dramatick fatire, called Lethe, in which Mr. Garrick will perform," In 1751 we are to confider him as carrying on both his Dictionary and Rambler. But he alfo wrote "The Life of Cheynel,*" in the mifcellany called "The Student;" and the Reverend Dr. Douglas having, with uncommon acutenefs, clearly detected a grofs forgery and imposition upon the publick by William Lauder, a Scotch schoolmafter, who had, with equal impudence and ingenuity, reprefented Milton as a plagiary from certain modern Latin poets, Johnfon, who had been fo far impofed upon as to furnish a Preface and Postfcript to his work, now dictated a letter for Lauder, addreffed to Dr. Douglas, acknowledging his fraud in terms of suitable contrition 3, This 3 Left there should be any perfon, at any future period, abfurd enough to fufpect that Johnfon was a partaker in Lauder's fraud, 1 This extraordinary attempt of Lauder was no 1751. fudden effort. He had brooded over it for many Etat. 42. years and to this hour it is uncertain what his principal motive was, unlefs it were a vain notion of his fuperiority, in being able, by whatever. means, to deceive mankind. To effect this, he produced certain paffages from Grotius, Mafenius, and others, which had a faint refemblance to fome parts of the "Paradife Loft." In these he interpolated fome fragments of Hog's Latin tranflation of that poem, alledging that the mafs thus fabricated was the archetype from which Milton copied. These fabrications he published from time to time in the Gentleman's Magazine; and, exulting in his fancied fuccefs, he in 1750 ventured to collect them into a pamphlet, entitled "An Effay on Milton's Ufe and Imitation of the Moderns in his Paradife Loft." To this pamphlet Johnfon wrote a Preface, in full perfuafion of Lauder's fraud, or had any knowledge of it, when he affifted him with his honesty, Etat. 42. 1751. honefty, and a Poftfcript recommending, in the most persuasive terms, a fubfcription for the relief of a grand-daughter of Milton, of whom he thus fpeaks: "It is yet in the power of a great people to reward the poet whofe name they boast, and from their alliance to whofe genius, they claim fome kind of fuperiority to every other nation of the earth; that poet, whose works may poffibly be read when every other monument of British greatnefs shall be obliterated; to reward him, not with pictures or with medals, which, if he fees, he fees with contempt, but with tokens of gratitude, which he, perhaps, may even now confider as not unworthy the regard of an immortal fpirit," Surely this is inconfiftent with "enmity towards Milton," which Sir John Hawkins imputes to Johnson upon this occasion, adding, "I could all along obferve that Johnson feemed to approve not only of the design, but of the argument; and feemed to exult in a perfuafion, that the reputation of Milton was likely to fuffer by this difcovery. That he was not privy to the imposture, I am well perfuaded; but that he wished well to the argument, may be inferred from the Preface, which indubitably was written by Johnson." Is it poffible for any man of clear judgement to fuppofe that Johnson, who fo nobly praised the poetical excellence of Milton in a Postscript to this very "difcovery," as he then fuppofed it, could, at the fame time, exult in a perfuafion that the great poet's reputation was likely to fuffer by it? This is an inconfiftency of which Johnson was incapable; nor can any thing more be fairly inferred from the Preface, than that Johnson, 3 1751. Johnson, who was alike diftinguished for ardent curiofity and love of truth, was pleased with an Atat. 47. investigation by which both were gratified. That he was actuated by these motives, and certainly by no unworthy defire to depreciate our great epick poet, is evident from his own words; for, after mentioning the general zeal of men of genius and literature to advance the honour, and distinguish the beauties of Paradise Loft," he says, "Among the inquiries to which this ardour of criticism has naturally given occafion, none is more obfcure in itself, or more worthy of rational curiofity, than a retrospect of the progress of this mighty genius in the construction of his work; a view of the fabrick gradually rifing, perhaps, from fmall beginnings, till its foundation refts in the centre, and its turrets sparkle in the skies; to trace back the structure through all its varieties, to the fimplicity of its first plan; to find what was first projected, whence the scheme was taken, how it was improved, by what affiftance it was executed, and from what ftores the materials were collected; whether its founder dug them from the quarries of Nature, or demolished other buildings to embellish his own."-Is this the language of one who wished to blaft the laurels of Milton? Though Johnson's circumftances were at this time far from being eafy, his humane and charitable difpofition was conftantly exerting itself. Mrs. Anna Williams, daughter of a very ingenious Welsh physician, and a woman of more than ordinary talents and literature, having come to London in hopes of being cured of a cataract in both her |