mind, he thus delineates the person, who, in language the most nervous and elegant had endeavoured to render him refpectable in the republic of letters, and in that particular to do for him what he was never able to do for himself. 'There is a man whose moral cha⚫racter, deep learning, and superior parts, I acknowledge, admire, and refpect; but whom it is fo impofiì⚫ble for me to love, that I am almost in a fever whenever I am in his company. His figure (without ⚫ being deformed) feems made to difgrace or ridicule ⚫ the common ftructure of the human body. His legs ⚫ and arms are never in the pofition which, according 'to the fituation of his body, they ought to be in, but conftantly employed in committing acts of hoftility < upon the graces. He throws any where, but down his throat, whatever he means to drink, and only < mangles what he means to carve. Inattentive to all 'the regards of focial life, he mif-times and mif-places every thing. He difputes with heat, and indifcriminately, mindlefs of the rank, character, and situation of them with whom he difputes: abfolutely 'ignorant of the feveral gradations of familiarity and respect, he is exactly the fame to his fuperiors, his equals, and his inferiors; and therefore, by a neceffary confequence, abfurd to two of the three. Is 'it poffible to love fuch a man? No. The utmost 'I can do for him, is, to confider him as a respectable 'Hottentot*.' Had Socrates been living, and not learned, as we are told he did in his old age, to dance, lord Chesterfield had paffed the same cenfure on him.

C

Johnson was, by this time, able to determine on a fact which, in his address to this nobleman, he ex

preffes

Letter 212.

preffes a doubt of, viz. whether the unexpected diftinction his lordship had shewn him, was to be rated among the happy incidents of his life: he was now convinced that it was not, and that, far from every thing like encouragement or affiftance, or what elfe is included in the idea of patronage, his lordship's approbation of his plan was to be the only recompence for the labour of drawing it out and reducing it to form. Befides declaring, whenever occafion required it, his mistake in supposing that lord Chesterfield was either a judge of or a friend to literature, he expreffed in a letter to his lordship himself his refentment of the affront he had received at his last visit, and concluded it with a formal renunciation for ever of his lordship's pa tronage.

If Johnson had reflected a moment on the little effect likely to be produced by a letter in which he profeffed to reject that which he could not retain, he would never have wrote it. Thofe evils which cannot be remedied must be borne with patience, and to refent injuries when we cannot enforce redrefs, is to give our adverfaries an occafion of triumph: lord Chesterfield knew this, and made no reply: when the dictionary was completed and about to be published, he wrote two effays in a periodical paper, intitled The World,' that contain fome forced compliments of the author, which being mentioned to Johnfon he rejected with fcorn.

Further to appeafe him, his lordship fent two perfons, the one a fpecious but empty man, Sir Thomas Robinson, more diftinguished by the tallness of his

perfon

person than for any eftimable qualities*; the other ari eminent painter now living. These were inftructed to apologize for his lordship's treatment of him, and to make him tenders of his future friendship and patronage. Sir Thomas, whose talent was flattery, was profufe in his commendations of Johnfon and his writings, and declared that were his circumstances other than they were, himself would fettle five hundred pounds a year on him. And who are you,' asked Johnson, that talk thus liberally?' I am,' faid the other, Sir Thomas Robinson, a Yorkshire baronet.' Sir,' replied Johnson, if the first peer of the realm were to make me fuch an offer, I would fhew him 'the way down stairs.'

No one will commend this manner of declining an intentional kindness, even. where the fincerity of the intention might be doubtful, but the rejecting it with a menace was both unneceffary and infolent. The pride of independence

This perfon who is now at reft in Westminster-abbey, was, when living, distinguished by the name of long Sir Thomas Robinfon. He was a man of the world or rather of the town, and a great pest to persons of high rank or in office. He was very troublesome to the late duke of Newcastle, and when in his vifits to him he was told that his Grace was gone out, would defire to be admitted to look at the clock, or to play with a monkey that was kept in the hall, in hopes of being fent for in to the duke. This he had fo frequently done, that all in the houfe were tired of him. At length it was concerted among the fervants that he fhould receive a fummary answer to his ufual questions, and accordingly at his next coming, the porter as foon as he had opened the gate and without waiting for what he had to fay, dismissed him with these words, 'Sir, his Grace is gone out, the clock stands, and the monkey is dead.'

was

was most strong in Johnfon at thofe periods of his life when his wants were greateft, and though at other times he would fubject himself to great obligations, he was uniform, except only in one inftance, in an opinion that an offer of pecuniary affiftance was an infult, and not feldom rejected it with fuch indignation, that were I to characterife it more particularly, I should do it by an allufion to the following apologue: A gardener's dog had fallen into a well and was unaable to get out his mafter paffing by, and feeing his distress, put down his arm to fave him the dog bit his hand, and the gardener left him to drown.

The uneafinefs which Johnfon felt, at the time when he wrote the above-mentioned letter, gave way to a call of his friend Garrick, who in the fame year, 1747, was, by a series of occurrences, become mafter of Drury-lane theatre. I was never much converfant with the hiftory of the stage, and therefore can give but a flight account of an event, which, at that time, interested many, and was deemed a very important one. Mr. Fleetwood's extravagance had reduced him to the neceffity of feeking out for fome one or more perfons to whom, for an adequate confideration, he might relinquifh his intereft in the patent. At that time a man of the name of Lacy had attracted the notice of the town by a competition. with orator Henley, which he began at the great room in York buildings, with a fatirical difcourse of great licence, which he advertifed by the name of Peter's vifitation. The liberties he had taken with the clergy and the principal officers of state in this ludicrous difcourfe gave great offence:

offence: he was feized, dealt with as a vagrant, and, in fhort, filenced. This man had lived among players, and was fupposed to understand stage-management, and had fome friends. Mr. Garrick had many, and those opulent men: three of them, Mr. Draper the partner of Mr. Tonfon the bookfeller, Mr. Clut terbuck a mercer, and Mr. Samuel Sharpe one of the furgeons of Guy's hospital, negociated a partnership between those two perfons, and by purchafing of them and affifting them to difpofe of what are called renters' fhares, enabled them to buy out Fleetwood, and before the commencement of the acting season, they were become joint-patentees of the theatre above-mentioned.

Mr. Garrick's province in the management was to appoint the plays and to caft the parts; Lacy's was to fuperintend the workmen and fervants, to order the scenery, and, with the affiftance of artists, to adjust the ornaments and decorations. It was their refolution to banish from their ftage, pantomimes and all grotesque reprefentations, and to exhibit fuch only as a rational and judicious audience might be fuppofed inclined to approve.

To notify this their intention to the town, it feemed to them that a prologue was neceffary: Johnson was eafily prevailed upon by Mr. Garrick to write one, and at the opening of the theatre in 1747, it was fpoken by the latter in a manner that did equal honour to the author and himfelf.

Prologues are addreffes from the ftage to the people, and either refpect merely the drama that is to follow, or are of more general import fetting forth to the audience the views and defigns of managers,

their