help all labour is ineffectual, and without whofe grace all wisdom is folly; grant, I befeech Thee, that in this undertaking thy Holy Spirit may not be with-held from me, but that I may promote thy glory, and the falvation of myself and others: grant this, O LORD, for the fake of thy fon JESUS CHRIST. Amen+." The first paper of the Rambler was published on Tuesday the 20th of March, 1750; and its authour was enabled to continue it, without interruption, every Tuesday and Friday, till Saturday the 17th of March, 1752, on which day it closed. This is a ftrong confirmation of the truth of a remark of his, which I have had occafion to quote elsewhere, that "a man may write at any time, if he will set himself doggedly to it; for, notwithstanding his constitutional indolence, his depreffion of spirits, and his labour in carrying on his Dictionary, he answered the stated calls of the prefs twice a week from the ftores of his mind, during all that time having received no affiftance, except four billets in No. 10 by Miss Mulfo, now Mrs. Chapone; No. 30, by Mrs. Catharine Talbot; No. 97, by Mr. Samuel Richardson, whom he describes in an introductory note as "An authour who has enlarged the knowledge of human nature, and taught the paffions to move at the command. of virtue;" and Numbers 44 and 100, by Mrs. Elizabeth Carter. 1750. Etat. 41. Posterity will be astonished when they are told, upon the authority of Johnson himself, that many of these discourses, which we should suppose had been laboured with all the flow attention of literary leifure, were writen in haste as the moment preffed, without even being read over by him before they were printed. It can be accounted for only in this way; that by reading and meditation, and a very close inspection of life, he had accumulated a great fund of miscellaneous knowledge, which, by a peculiar promptitude of mind, was ever ready at his call, and which he had conftantly accustomed himself to clothe in the most apt and energetick expreffion. Sir Joshua Reynolds once asked him by what means he had attained his extraordinary accuracy and flow of language. He told him, that he had early laid it down as a fixed rule to do his best on every occasion, and in every company; to impart whatever he knew in the most forcible language he could put it in; and that by constant practice, and never fuffering any careless expreffions to escape him, or attempting to deliver his thoughts without arranging them in the cleareft manner, it became habitual to him. Yet he was not altogether unprepared as a periodical writer; for I have in my poffeffion a small duodecimo volume, in which he has written, in the 5 Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, 3d edit. p. 28. • Prayers and Meditations, p. 9. form 1750. Etat. 41. form of Mr. Locke's Common-Place Book, a variety of hints for effays on different fubjects. He has marked upon the first blank leaf of it, "To the 128th page, collections for the RAMBLER ;" and in another place, « In fiftytwo there were feventeen provided; in 97-21; in 190-25." At a fubfequent period (probably after the work was finished) he added, "In all, taken of provided materials, 30." Sir John Hawkins, who is unlucky upon all occafions, tells us, that "this method of accumulating intelligence had been practised by Mr. Addison, and is humourously defcribed in one of the Spectators, wherein he feigns to have dropped his paper of notanda, confifting of a diverting medley of broken fentences and loofe hints, which he tells us he had collected, and meant to make ufe of. Much of the fame kind is Johnfon's Adverfaria"." But the truth is, that there is no refemblance at all between them. Addifon's note was a fiction, in which unconnected fragments of his lucubrations were purpofely jumbled together, in as odd a manner as he could, in order to produce a laughable effect. Whereas Johnfon's abbreviations are all diftinct, and applicable to each fubject of which the head is mentioned. up. For instance, there is the following specimen : "Youth's Entry, &c. "Baxter's account of things in which he had changed his mind as he grew Voluminous. No wonder.-If every man was to tell, or mark, on how many fubjects he has changed, it would make vols. but the changes not always obferved by mans felf.-From pleasure to bus. [business.] to quiet; from thoughtfulness to reflect. to piety; from diffipation to domeftic. by impercept. gradat. but the change is certain. Dial non progredi, progreff. effe confpicimus. Look back, confider what was thought at some dist. period. Hope predom. in youth. Mind not willingly indulges unpleafing thoughts. The world lies all enameld before him, as a diftant profpect fun-gilt7;inequalities only found by coming to it. Love is to be all joy-children excellent-Fame to be conftant-careffes of the great-applaufes of the learned-fmiles of Beauty. "Fear of difgrace-Bajhfulness-Finds things of lefs importance. Miscarriages forgot like excellencies;-if remembered, of no import. Danger of 6 Hawkins's Life of Johnfon, p. 268. 7 This most beautiful image of the enchanting delufion of youthful profpect has not been used in any of Johnfon's effays. 4 finking finking into negligence of reputation. Left the fear of difgrace deftroy activity. Confidence in himself. Long tract of life before him.-No thought of ficknefs.-Embarrasment of affairs.-Distraction of family.-Publick calamities. No fenfe of the prevalence of bad habits.-Negligent of time-ready to undertake-careless to pursue—all changed by time. "Confident of others-unfufpecting as unexperienced-imagining himself fecure against neglect, never imagines they will venture to treat him ill. Ready to truft; expecting to be trufted. Convinced by time of the selfishness, the meanness, the cowardice, the treachery of men. "Youth ambitious, as thinking honours easy to be had. "Different kinds of praise purfued at different periods. Of the gay in youth. dang. hurt, &c. defpifed. "Of the fancy in manhood. Ambit.-stocks-bargains.—Of the wife and fober in old age-seriousness-formality-maxims, but general-only of the rich, otherwise age is happy-but at laft every thing referred to riches-no having fame, honour, influence, without fubjection to caprice. "Horace. "Hard it would be if men entered life with the fame views with which they leave it, or left as they enter it.-No hope-no undertaking-no regard to benevolence-no fear of difgrace, &c. "Youth to be taught the piety of age-age to retain the honour of youth." This, it will be observed, is the sketch of No. 196 of the Rambler. I fhall gratify my readers with another specimen: "Confederacies difficult; why. << Seldom in war a match for single perfons-nor in peace; therefore kings make themselves abfolute. Confederacies in learning-every great work the work of one. Bruy. Scholars' friendship like ladies. Scribebamus, &c. Mart. The apple of difcord-the laurel of discord—the poverty of criticism. Swift's opinion of the power of fix geniuses united. That union scarce poffible. His remarks just;—man a social, not steady nature. Drawn to man by words, repelled by paffions. Orb drawn by attraction rep. [repelled] by centifrugal. "Common 1750. Etat. 41 1750. Etat. 41. "Common danger unites by crushing other paffions-but they return. Equality hinders compliance. Superiority produces infolence and envy. Too much regard in each to private interest-too little. "The mischiefs of private and exclufive focieties-the fitnefs of focial attraction diffused through the whole. The mischiefs of too partial love of our country. Contraction of moral duties 2018 Pin©. ᾧ φιλοι φιλΘ. Every man moves upon his own center, and therefore repels others from too near a contact, though he may comply with fome general laws. "Of confederacy with fuperiours, every one knows the inconvenience. With equals, no authority;-every man his own opinion-his own interest. "Man and wife hardly united ;-scarce ever without children. Computation, if two to one against two, how many against five? If confederacies. were easy-useless ;-many oppreffes many.-If poffible only to fome, dangerous. Principum amicitias." Here we see the embryo of No. 45 of the Adventurer; and it is a confirmation of what I have mentioned, that the papers in that collection marked T. were written by Johnson. This fcanty preparation of materials will not, however, much diminish our wonder at the extraordinary fertility of his mind; for the proportion which they bear to the number of effays which he wrote, is very fmall; and it is remarkable, that those for which he had made no preparation, are as rich and as highly finished, as those for which the hints were lying by him. It is also to be observed, that the papers formed from his hints are worked up with fuch strength and elegance, that we almoft lofe fight of the hints, which become like "drops in the bucket." Indeed, in feveral inftances, he has made a very flender use of them, fo that many of them remain still unapplied3. 8 Sir John Hawkins has felected from this little collection of materials, what he calls the "Rudiments of two of the papers of the Rambler." But he has not been able to read the manuscript diftinctly. Thus he writes, p. 266, "Sailors fate any manfion;" whereas the original is "Sailor's life my averfion." He has alfo tranfcribed the unappropriated hints on Writers for bread, in which he decyphers these notable paffages, one in Latin, fatui non famæ, instead of fami non famæ; Johnson having in his mind what Thuanus fays of the learned German antiquary and linguist, Xylander, who, he tells us, lived in fuch poverty, that he was supposed fami non famæ fcribere; and another in French, Degente de fate et affame d'argent, instead of Degouté de fame, (an old word for fame) et affamé d'argent. The manufcript being written in an exceedingly small hand, is indeed very hard to read; but it would have been better to have left blanks than to write nonsense. As As the Rambler was entirely the work of one man, there was, of courfe, fuch an uniformity in its texture, as very much to exclude the charm of variety; and the grave and often folemn caft of thinking, which distinguished it from other periodical papers, made it, for fome time, not generally liked. So flowly did this excellent work, of which twelve editions have now iffued from the prefs, gain upon the world at large, that even in the closing number the authour fays, "I have never been much a favourite of the publick." Yet, very foon after its commencement, there were who felt and acknowledged its uncommon excellence. Verfes in its praise appeared in the newfpapers; and the editor of the Gentleman's Magazine mentions, in October, his having received feveral letters to the fame purpofe from the learned. "The Student, or Oxford and Cambridge Mifcellany," in which Mr. Bonnell Thornton and Mr. Colman were the principal writers, defcribes it as "a work that exceeds any thing of the kind ever published in this kingdom, some of the Spectators excepted,-if indeed they may be excepted." And afterwards, "May the publick favours crown his merits, and may not the English, under the aufpicious reign of GEORGE the Second, neglect a man, who, had he lived in the first century, would have been one of the greatest favourites of AUGUSTUS." This flattery of the monarch had no effect. It is too well known, that the second George never was an Auguftus to learning or genius. Johnson told me, with an amiable fondnefs, a little pleafing circumftance relative to this work. Mrs. Johnson, in whofe judgement and taste he had great confidence, faid to him, after a few numbers of the Rambler had come out, "I thought very well of you before; but I did not imagine you could have written any thing equal to this." Diftant praise, from whatever quarter, is not fo delightful as that of a wife whom a man loves and esteems. Her approbation may be faid to "come home to his bofom;" and being fo near, its effect is moft fenfible and permanent. Mr. James Elphinfton, who has fince published various works, and who was ever esteemed by Johnson as a worthy man, happened to be in Scotland while the Rambler was coming out in fingle papers at London. With a laudable zeal at once for the improvement of his countrymen and the reputation of his friend, he suggested and took the charge of an edition of those Effays at Edinburgh, which followed progreffively the London publication". The > It was executed in the printing-office of Sands, Murray, and Cochran, with uncommon elegance, upon writing paper, of a duodecimo fize, and with the greatest correctnefs; and Mr. Q Elphinston 1750. Etat. 41. |