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 fchool requiring, that the perfon chofen fhould 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 Johnfon, (author of London a fatire, ⚫ and fome other poetical pieces,) is a native of this country, and much refpected by fome worthy gen<tlemen in his neighbourhood, who are trustees of a < charity school now vacant, the certain salary 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 happy for life, by not being a Master of Arts, which, by the ftatutes of this school, 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 such a favour upon a stranger, if he is recommended by the Dean. They fay he is not afraid of the stricteft 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 bookfellers, which has been his only fubfiftence ⚫ for fome time past.

'I fear there is more difficulty in this affair than 'these good-natured gentlemen apprehend, especially, ' as their election cannot be delayed longer than the '11th of next month. If you see 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 propensity to ' relieve merit in diftrefs, will incline you to ferve the poor man, without my adding any more to the trouble I have already given you, than assuring you that 'I am, with great truth,

. Sir,

Your faithful humble fervant,

'Trentham, August 1, 1737.

Gower."

If ever Johnson had reafon to lament the shortness of his ftay at the university, 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 time

II

time that made it equivalent to a much larger funt 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 translation into English of Father Paul's Hiftory of the Council of Trent: the former by Sir Nathaniel Brent, though a faithful one, being, in the judgment of fome perfons, rather obfolete. Johnson was well enough skilled 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 chose 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 person of the fame christian and furname, the then keeper of Dr. Tenifon's library in St. Martin's parish, had engaged in the like defign, and was fupported 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.

+ Proposals for publishing it were advertised in the Weekly Mifcellany of zift Oct. 1738, in the following terms: Just publish

ed, proposals for printing the Hiftory of the Council of Trent, ⚫ translated 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, observations on the history and notes; and illuftrations from various authors, both printed and manuscript, by S. Johnson, in two vo• lumes quarto.'

sach other, and rendered both abortive. Twelve quarto fheets of Johnson's were printed off; but what became of the other is not known. This disappointment, however mortifying, did not hinder Johnson from profecuting a part of his original defign, and writing the life of the author, which, with the affistance 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 subsequent page, by the help of a list 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 translation of an Examen of Pope's Effay on Man, written by Mr. Croufaz, a profeffor in Switzerland, who had acquired fome eminence by a treatise on Logic of his writing, and alfo, by his Examen de Pyrrhonifme; and of whom Johnson, after observing 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 detect'ing faults, but his intention was always right, his ' opinions were folid, and his religion pure. His in'ceffant vigilance for the promotion of piety difpofed him to look with diftrust upon all metaphyfical fyf'tems of Theology, and all schemes of virtue and happiness purely rational; and therefore, it was not long VOL. I. • before

F

before he was perfuaded that the pofitions of Pope,. as they terminated for the most part in natural religion, were intended to draw mankind away from Revelation, and to reprefent the whole course 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 thefe it was that Johnson translated, as appears by the following letter of his to Cave, which is rendered somewhat 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 intrinfic merit, the public will be foon fatis'fied with it. And I think the Examen fhould be

pushed 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

Life of Pope among the poets.

2

"confutation