maintained, that "If a man is to write A Pane gyric he may keep vices out of sight; but if he professes to write A Life he must represent it really as it was;" and when a person objected to the danger of telling that Parnell drank to excess, he said, that "it would produce an instructive caution to avoid drinking, when it was seen, that even the learning and genius of Parnell could be debased by it." In the Hebrides he maintained, as appears from Mr. Boswell's "Journal,' that a man's intimate friend should mention his faults, if he writes his life.

"The writer of an epitaph (he observed) should not be considered as saying nothing but what is strictly true. Allowance must be made for some degree of exaggerated praise. In lapidary inscriptions a man is not upon oath."

At another time, when somebody endeavoured to argue in favour of the Epitaph for Goldsmith's tablet in Westminster Abbey being in English, Johnson said, "The language of the country of which a learned man was a native is not the language fit for his epitaph, which should be in ancient and permanent language. Consider, Sir, how you should feel, were you to find at Rotterdam an epitaph upon Erasmus in Dutch!" Mr. Boswell thought it would be best to have epitaphs written both in a learned language, and in the language of the country; so that they might

have the advantage of being more universally understood, and at the same time be secured of classical stability.

A gentleman asking Johnson whether he would advise him to read the Bible with a commentary, and what commentaries he would recommend, Johnson said, "To be sure, Sir, I would have you read the Bible with a commentary; and I would recommend Lowth and Patrick on the Old Testament, and Hammond on the New."

Speaking one day of Arthur Murphy, whom he very much loved, "I don't know (said he) that Arthur can be classed with the very first dramatic writers; yet at present I doubt much whether we have any thing superior to Arthur."

A lady's verses on Ireland being mentioned, Miss Reynolds said, "Have you seen them, Sir?" JOHNSON. "No, Madam. I have seen a translation from Horace by one of her daughters. She shewed it me."-MISS REYNOLDS. "And how was it, Sir?"-J. "Why, very well for a young Miss's verse;-that is to say, compared with excellence, nothing; but very well for the person who wrote them. I am vexed at being shewn verses in that manner."-Miss R." But if they should be good, why not give them hearty praise?"-J. "Why, Madam, because I have not then got the better of my bad humour from having been shewn them. You must consider,

Madam; before-hand they may be bad as well as good. Nobody has a right to put another under such a difficulty, that he must either hurt the person by telling the truth, or hurt himself by telling what is not true."-BOSWELL. "A man often shews his writings to people of eminence to obtain from them, either from their good nature, or from their not being able to tell the truth firmly, a commendation of which he may afterwards avail himself."-J. "Very true, Sir. Therefore the man who is asked by an author what he thinks of his work is put to the torture, and is not obliged to speak the truth; so that what he says is not considered as his opinion; yet he has said it, and cannot retract it; and this author, when mankind are hunting him with a canister at his tail, can say, 'I would not have published, had not Johnson, or Reynolds, or Musgrave, or some other good judge, commended the work.' Yet I consider it as a very difficult question in conscience, whether one should advise a man not to publish a work, if profit be his object; for the man may say, Had it not been for you, I should have had the money.' Now you cannot be sure; for you have only your own opinion, and the public may think very differently."-SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS. "You must upon such an occasion have two judgments; one as to the real value of the work, the other as to

what may please the general taste at the time."J. "But you can be sure of neither; and therefore I should scruple much to give a suppressive vote. Both Goldsmith's comedies were once refused; his first by Garrick, his second by Colman, who was prevailed on at last by much solicitation, nay a kind of force, to bring it on. His Vicar of Wakefield' I myself did not think would have had much success. It was written, and sold to a bookseller before his Traveller: but published after; so little expectation had the bookseller from it. Had it been sold after the ← Traveller,' he might have had twice as much money for it, though sixty guineas was no mean price. The bookseller had the advantage of Goldsmith's reputation from The Traveller' in the sale, though Goldsmith had it not in selling the copy." Sir J. R. "The Beggar's Opera affords a proof how strangely people will differ in opinion about a literary performance. Burke thinks it has no merit."-J. "It was refused by one of the houses; but I should have thought it would succeed, not from any great excellence in the writing, but from the novelty, and the general spirit and gaiety of the piece, which keeps the audience always attentive, and dismisses them in good humour."

He once mentioned with an air of satisfaction what Baretti had told him; that meeting, in the

course of his studying English, with an excellent paper in the Spectator, one of four that were written by the respectable dissenting minister Mr. Grove of Taunton, and observing the genius and energy of mind that it exhibits, it greatly quickened his curiosity to visit our country; as he thought if such were the lighter periodical essays of our authors, their productions on more weighty occasions must be wonderful indeed.

Mr. Boswell expressed a liking for Mr. Francis Osborn's works, and asked Johnson what he thought of that writer. He answered, "A conceited fellow. Were a man to write so now, the boys would throw stones at him." He however (says Mr. B.) did not alter my opinion of a favourite author, to whom I was first directed by his being quoted in The Spectator,' and in whom I have found much shrewd and lively sense, expressed indeed in a style somewhat quaint, which however I do not dislike. His book has an air of originality. We figure to ourselves an ancient gentleman talking to us.

Johnson once 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 transferred to another hand. He observed, that all works which describe man