That Johnfon was anxious that an authentick and favourable account of his extraordinary friend fhould first get poffeffion of the publick attention, is evident from a letter which he wrote in the Gentleman's Magazine for Auguft of the year preceding its publication.

"Mr. URBAN,

"AS your collections fhow how often you have owed the ornaments of your poetical pages to the correspondence of the unfortunate and ingenious Mr. Savage, I doubt not but you have fo much regard to his memory as to encourage any design that may have a tendency to the prefervation of it from infults or calumnies; and therefore, with fome degree of affurance, intreat you to inform the publick, that his life will speedily be published by a person who was favoured with his confidence, and received from himself an account of most of the transactions which he propofes to mention, to the time of his retirement to Swanfea in Wales.

"From that period, to his death in the prifon of Bristol, the account will be continued from materials ftill lefs liable to objection; his own letters, and those of his friends, fome of which will be inferted in the work, and abstracts of others fubjoined in the margin.

"It may be reafonably imagined, that others may have the fame defign; but as it is not credible that they can obtain the fame materials, it must be expected they will fupply from invention the want of intelligence; and that under the title of The Life of Savage,' they will publifh only a novel,

17440

tat. 35.

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Etat. 35.

filled with romantick adventures, and imaginary amours. You may therefore, perhaps, gratify the lovers of truth and wit, by giving me leave to inform them in your magazine, that my account will be published in 8vo. by Mr. Roberts, in Warwick-lane."

[No fignature.]

In February, 1744, it accordingly came forth from the fhop of Roberts, between whom and Johnson I have not traced any connection, except the cafual one of this publication. In Johnson's "Life of Savage," although it must be allowed that its moral is the reverfe of" Refpicere exemplar vite morumque jubebo," a very ufeful leffon is inculcated, to guard men of warm paffions from a too free indulgence of them; and the various încidents are related in fo clear and animated a manner, and illuminated throughout with so much philofophy, that it is one of the most interesting narratives in the English language. Sir Joshua Reynolds told me, that upon his return from Italy he met with it in Devonshire, knowing nothing of its authour, and began to read it while he was ftanding with his arm leaning against a chimneypiece. It feized his attention fo ftrongly, that, not being able to lay down the book till he had finished it, when he attempted to move, he found his arm totally benumbed. The rapidity with which this work was composed, is a wonderful circumftance. Johnfon has been heard to fay, "I wrote forty-eight of the printed octavo pages

3.

of

of the Life of Savage at a fitting; but then I fat up all night"."

He exhibits the genius of Savage to the best advantage, in the fpecimens of his poetry which he has felected, fome of which are of uncommon merit. We, indeed, occafionally find fuch vigour and fuch point, as might make us suppose that the generous aid of Johnfon had been imparted to his friend. Mr. Thomas Warton made this remark to me; and, in fupport of it, quoted from the poem entitled "The Baftard," a line in which the fancied fuperiority of one " stamped in Nature's mint with extafy," is contrafted with a regular lawful defcendant of fome great and ancient family:

"No tenth transmitter of a foolish face."

but the fact is, that this poem was published fome years before Johnson and Savage were acquainted.

It is remarkable, that in this biographical difquifition there appears a very strong symptom of Johnfon's prejudice against players; a prejudice, which may be attributed to the following caufes : firft, the imperfection of his organs, which were fo defective that he was not fufceptible of the fine impreffions which theatrical excellence produces upon the generality of mankind; fecondly, the cold rejection of his tragedy; and, laftly, the brilliant fuccefs of Garrick, who had been his pupil, who had come to London at the fame time with him, not in a much more profperous ftate

2 Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, 3d edit. p. 35. VOL. I.

than

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Ætat. 35.

1744.

Etat. 35.

than himself, and whofe talents he undoubtedly
rated low, compared with his own.
His being
outftripped by his pupil in the race of immediate
fame, as well as of fortune, probably made him
feel fome indignation, as thinking that whatever
might be Garrick's merits in his art, the reward
was too great when compared with what the most
fuccefsful efforts of literary labour could attain.
At all periods of his life Johnson used to talk con-
temptuously of players; but in this work he speaks
of them with peculiar acrimony; for which, per-
haps, there was formerly too much reafon from
the licentious and diffolute manners of thofe engaged
in that profeffion. It is but juftice to add, that in
our own time fuch a change has taken place, that
there is no longer room for fuch an unfavourable
diftinction.

His fchoolfellow and friend, Dr. Taylor, told me a pleasant anecdote of Johnson's triumphing over his pupil David Garrick. When that great actor had played fome little time at Goodman'sfields, Johnson and Taylor went to fee him perform, and afterwards paffed the evening at a tavern with him and old Giffard. Johnfon, who was ever depreciating ftage-players, after cenfuring fome mistakes in emphafis which Garrick had committed in the courfe of that night's acting, faid "the players, Sir, have got a kind of rant, with which they run on, without any regard either to accent or emphafis." Both Garrick and Giffard were offended at this farcafm, and endeavoured to refute it; upon which Johnfon rejoined, "Well now, I'll give you fomething to fpeak, with which

you

you are little acquainted, and then we shall fee how
just my obfervation is.
obfervation is. That fhall be the criterion.
Let me hear you repeat the ninth Commandment,
"Thou shalt not bear falfe witness against thy
neighbour." Both tried at it, faid Dr. Taylor,
and both mistook the emphasis, which should be
upon not and false witness3. Johnfon put them right,
and enjoyed his victory with great glee.

His "Life of Savage" was no fooner published, than the following liberal praife was given to it, in "The Champion," a periodical paper: "This pamphlet is, without flattery to its authour, as just and well written a piece as of its kind I ever faw; fo that at the fame time that it highly deferves, it certainly stands very little in need of this recommendation. As to the history of the unfortunate perfon, whose memoirs compofe this work, it is certainly penned with equal accuracy and spirit, of which I am fo much the better judge, as I know many of the facts mentioned to be strictly true, and very fairly related. Befides, it is not only the ftory of Mr. Savage, but innumerable incidents relating to other perfons, and other affairs, which renders this a very amusing, and, withal, a very instructive and valuable performance. The authour's obfervations are fhort, fignificant, and juft, as his narrative is remarkably fmooth and well difpofed. His reflections open to all the

1744.

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3 I fufpect Dr. Taylor was inaccurate in this statement. The emphasis should be equally upon shalt and not, as both concur to form the negative injunction; and false witness, like the other acts prohibited in the Decalogue, should not be marked by any peculiar emphafis, but only be distinctly enunciated.