sioned in both their spirits. Time, and resignation to the will of God, cured every breach in his heart before I made acquaintance with him, though he always persisted in saying he never rightly recovered the loss of his wife. It is in allusion to her that he records the observation of a female critic, as he calls her, in Gay's Life; and the lady of great beauty and elegance, mentioned in the criticisms upon Pope's epitaphs, was miss Molly Aston. The person spoken of in his strictures upon Young's poetry, is the writer of these Anecdotes, to whom he likewise addressed the following verses when he was in the Isle of Sky with Mr. Boswell. The letters written in his journey, f used to tell him, were better than the printed book; and he was not displeased at my having taken the pains to copy them all over. Here is the Latin ode; Permeo terras, ubi nuda rupes Torva ubi rident steriles coloni Rura labores. Pervagor gentes, hominum ferorum Foda lateseit. Inter erroris salebrosa longi, Inter ignotæ strepitus loquelæ, Quot modis mecum, quid agat requiro Thralia dulcis? Seu viri curas pia nupta mulcet, Sedula mentem: Sit memor nostri, fideique merces, Stet fides constans, meritoque blandum Littora Skiæ. On another occasion I can boast verses from Dr. Johnson-as I went into his room the morning of my birth-day once and said to him, Nobody sends me any verses now, because I am five-and-thirty years old; and Stella was fed with them till forty-six, I remember. My being just recovered from illness and confinement will account for the manner in which he burst out suddenly, for so he did without the least previous hesitation whatsoever, and without having entertained the smallest intention towards it half a minute before: Oft in danger, yet alive, Could philosophers contrive Life to stop at thirty-five, Time his hours should never dive O'er the bounds of thirty-five. High to soar, and deep to drive, Ladies, stock and tend your hive, For howe'er we boast and strive, "And now (said he, as I was writing them down) you may see what it is to come for poetry to a Dictionary-maker; you may observe that the rhymes run in alphabetical order exactly."And so they do. Mr. Johnson did indeed possess an almost Tuscan power of improvisation: when he called to my daughter, who was consulting with a friend about a new gown and dressed hat she thought of wearing to an assembly, thus suddenly, while she hoped he was not listening to their conversation, Wear the gown and wear the hat, Hadst thou nine lives like a cat, Soon those nine lives would be past. It is impossible to deny to such little sallies the power of the Florentines, who do not permit their verses to be ever written down though they often deserve it, because, as they express it, cosi se perderebbe la poca gloria. As for translations, we used to make him sometimes run off with one or two in a good humour. He was praising this song of Metastatio, Deh, se piacermi vuoi, Chi ciecamente crede, Impegna a serbar fede; Chi sempre inganno aspetta, "Should you like it in English (said he) thus?" Would you hope to gain my heart, Only teaches how to cheat. Mr. Baretti coaxed him likewise one day at Streatham out of a translation of Emirena's speech to the false courtier Aquileius, and it is probably printed before now, as I think two or three people took copies; but perhaps it has slipped their memories. Ah! tu in corte invecchiasti, e giurerei Vezzeggiare un nemico; accio vi cada, Grown old in courts, thou art not surely one To sink the fatal precipice before him, And then lament his fall with sceming friendship: Thou know'st those arts which blast with envious praise, Which aggravate a fault with feign'd excuses, Aud drive discountenanced virtue from the throne: That leave the blame of rigour to the prince, And of his every gift usurp the merit; That hide in seeming zeal a wicked purpose, 1 These characters Dr. Johnson however did K |