ship of Appleby school in Leicestershire was become vacant, he, by the advice of Sir Thomas Griefly a Derbyshire baronet, and other friends, went to Appleby, and offered himself as a candidate for that employment; but the ftatutes of the school requiring, that the person chofen should be a Master of Arts, his application was checked. To get over this difficulty, he found means to obtain from the late Lord Gower, a letter to a friend of his, foliciting his intereft with Dean Swift towards procuring him a master's degree from the university of Dublin: the letter has appeared in print, but with a mistaken date of the year, viz. 1737; for it mentions Johnson's being the author of the poem of 'London,' which, as I have above fixed it, was written in 1738. It is as follows:

< SIR,

Mr. Samuel Johnson, (author of London a fatire, ' and some other poetical pieces,) is a native of this country, and much respected by fome worthy gen‹ tlemen in his neighbourhood, who are trustees of a ⚫ charity school now vacant, the certain falary of which

is 60l. per year, of which they are defirous to make < him master; but, unfortunately, he is not capable of ' receiving their bounty, which would make him hap

ру for life, by not being a Master of Arts, which, by the statutes of this fchool, the mafter of it must ⚫ be.

Now these gentlemen do me the honour to think, < that I have intereft enough in you to prevail upon 'you to write to Dean Swift, to perfuade the university

⚫ of Dublin to fend a diploma to me, conftituting this poor man Master of Arts in their univerfity. They

• highly

'highly extol the man's learning and probity, and will not be perfuaded that the university will make any ⚫ difficulty of conferring fuch a favour upon a stranger, if he is recommended by the Dean. They say he is not afraid of the ftricteft examination, though he is of fo long a journey, and will venture it if the • Dean thinks it neceffary, choosing rather to die upon the road, than to be ftarved to death in tranflating ' for booksellers, which has been his only fubfiftence for fome time past.

'I fear there is more difficulty in this affair than thefe good-natured gentlemen apprehend, especially, as their election cannot be delayed longer than the 11th of next month. If you fee this matter in the fame light that it appears to me, I hope you will burn this and pardon me for giving you fo much 'trouble about an impracticable thing; but if you ' think there is a probability of obtaining the favour ' asked, I am fure your humanity and propenfity to ' relieve merit in distress, will incline you to ferve the poor man, without my adding any more to the trou⚫ble I have already given you, than affuring you that 'I am, with great truth,

Your faithful humble fervant,

. Sir,

Trentham, August 1, 1737.

Gower.'

If ever Johnson had reafon to lament the shortnefs of his stay at the univerfity, it was now. The want of an honour, which, after a fhort efflux of years, is conferred almost of course, was, at this crifis, his greatest misfortune it ftood between him and the acquifition of an income of 60l. a year, in a country and at a

II

time

time that made it equivalent to a much larger fum at present.

The letter of Lord Gower failing of its effect, Johnson returned to London, refolving on a vigorous effort to fupply his wants: this was a tranflation into English of Father Paul's History of the Council of Trent*: the former by Sir Nathaniel Brent, though a faithful one, being, in the judgment of fome perfons, rather obfolete. Johnfon was well enough fkilled in the Italian language for the undertaking, and was encouraged to it by many of his friends; as namely, Mr. Walmsley, Mr. Caflon the letter-founder, Mr. [afterwards Dr.] Birch, and others; but he chofe to make it a joint project, and take Cave into the adventure, who, as the work proceeded, advanced him fmall fums, at two or three guineas a week, amounting together to near fifty pounds.†

It happened at this time that another perfon of the fame chriftian and furname, the then keeper of Dr. Tenifon's library in St. Martin's parish, had engaged in the like defign, and was supported therein by Dr. Zachary Pearce, and alfo by most of the bishops, and by many of the dignified clergy, which being the cafe, the folicitations in behalf of the two verfions croffed

Vide Gent. Mag. for Jan. 1785, page 6.

+ Propofals for publishing it were advertifed in the Weekly Mifcellany of 21st Oct. 1738, in the following terms: Juft publifhed, proposals for printing the Hiftory of the Council of Trent, • tranflated from the Italian of Father Paul Sarpi, with the author's life, and notes Theological, Hiftorical and Critical, from the French edition of Dr. Le Courayer. To which are added, ob⚫ fervations on the history and notes; and illustrations from various authors, both printed and manufcript, by S. Johnson, in two vo⚫ lumes quarto.'

each other, and rendered both abortive. Twelve quarto fheets of Johnfon's were printed off; but what became of the other is not known. This difappointment, however mortifying, did not hinder Johnfon from profecuting a part of his original defign, and writing the life of the author, which, with the affiftance of a life of him, written by an Italian nobleman, whofe name I could never learn, and published in a closely printed duodecimo, he was enabled to complete, and in an abridgment to infert in Cave's Maga

zine.

Various other projects about this time did he form of publications on literary fubjects, which, in a fubfequent page, by the help of a lift in his own hand-writing, I have enumerated, but they were either blasted by other publications of a fimilar nature, or abandoned for want of encouragement.

However, that he might not be totally unemployed, Cave engaged him to undertake a tranflation of an Examen of Pope's Effay on Man, written by Mr. Croufaz, a profeffor in Switzerland, who had acquired fome eminence by a treatife on Logic of his writing, and alfo, by his Examen de Pyrrhonifme; and of whom Johnfon, after obferving that he was no mean antagonist, has given this character:--- His mind was one of those in which philofophy and piety are happily united. He was accustomed to argument and difquifition, and perhaps was grown too defirous of detecting faults, but his intention was always right, his opinions were folid, and his religion pure. His inceffant vigilance for the promotion of piety difpofed him to look with diftruft upon all metaphyfical fyf'tems of Theology, and all fchemes of virtue and happinefs purely rational; and therefore, it was not long • before

F

before he was perfuaded that the pofitions of Pope, as they terminated for the most part in natural reli

gion, were intended to draw mankind away from Revelation, and to reprefent the whole courfe of ¿ things as a neceffary concatenation of indiffoluble fatality; and it is undeniable, that in many paffages, a religious eye may easily discover expreffions not very favourable to morals or to liberty.'*

The reputation of the Effay on Man foon after its publication invited a tranflation of it into French, which was undertaken and completed by the Abbé Refnel, and falling into the hands of Croufaz, drew from him first a general cenfure of the principles maintained in the poem, and afterwards, a commentary thereon containing particular remarks on every paragraph. The former of these it was that Johnson tranflated, as appears by the following letter of his to Cave, which is rendered fomewhat remarkable by his ftiling himself Impranfus.

Dear SIR,

I am pretty much of your opinion, that the Commentary cannot be profecuted with any appearance of fuccefs; for, as the names of the authors con⚫cerned are of more weight in the performance than ⚫ its own intrinsic merit, the public will be foon fatisfied with it. And I think the Examen fhould be pufhed forward with the utmost expedition. Thus, "This day, &c. An Examen of Mr. Pope's effay, &c. containing a fuccinct account of the philofophy of "Mr. Leibnitz on the system of the Fatalifts, with a

C

Life of Pope among the poets.

2

"confutation