Talking of Rochester's Poems, he faid, he had given them to Mr. Steevens to caftrate for the edition of the Pocts to which he was to write Prefaces. Dr. Taylor (the only time fays Mr. B. I ever heard him fay any thing witty) obferved, that " If Rochefter had been caftrated himself, his exceptionable poems would not have been written." One afked if Burnet had not given a good Life of Rochester. "We have (faid Johnson) a good Death; there is not much Life."

He faid, "Burnet's Hiftory of his own Times' is very entertaining. The ftyle indeed is mere chit-chat. I do not believe that Burnet intentionally lied; but he was fo much prejudiced, that he took no pains to find out the truth. He was like a man who refolves to regulate his time by a certain watch; but will not enquire whether the watch is right or not.

Such was Johnfon's fenfibility, and fo much was he affected by pathetick poetry, that the reading of Dr. Beattie's Hermit' brought tears into his eyes.

Baxter's 'Reasons of the Chriftian Religion," he thought, contained the beft collection of the evidences of the divinity of the Chriftian fyftem.

Being asked what works of Richard Baxter's a perfon fhould read, he faid, " Any of them; they are all good." Johnfon

Johnfon praised John Bunyan highly. "His દ Pilgrim's Progrefs' has great merit, both for invention, imagination, and the conduct of the ftory; and it has had the beft evidence of its merit, the general and continued approbation of mankind. Few books, I believe, have had a more extenfive fale. It is remarkable, that it begins very much like the poem of Dante; yet there was no tranflation of Dante when Bunyan wrote. There is reafon to think. that he had read Spenfer."

Mr. Bofwell mentioning that we were to have the Remains of Mr. Gray, in profe and verfe, publifhed by Mr. Mafon, "I think (faid Johnson) we have had enough of Gray.”

Mr. Murphy faid, that the Memoirs of Gray's Life fet him much higher in his eftimation than his Poems did; for you there faw a man conftantly at work in literature.-Johnfon acquiefced in this, but depreciated the book, perhaps unreasonably; for he faid, “ I forced myself to read it, only because it was a common topick of converfation. I found it mighty dull; and as to the fiyle, it is fit for the fecond table."

He now gave it as his opinion, that " Akenfide was a fuperior poet both to Gray and Mafon." Yet he faid, "I fee they have publifhed a fplendid edition of Akenfide's works.

One bad ode may be fuffered; but a number of them together makes one fick."-Bos WELL. "Akenfide's diftinguished poem is his Pleafures of Imagination;' but for my part, I never could admire it fo much as most people do." -JOHNSON. "Sir, I could not read it through."-B. "I have read it through; but I did not find any great power in it."

Mr. B. told him, that he heard Dr. Percy was writing the hiftory of the wolf in Great Britain. JOHNSON. "The wolf, Sir! why the wolf? Why does he not write of the bear, which we had formerly? Nay, it is faid we had the beaver; or why does he not write of the grey rat, the Hanover rat, as it is called, because it is faid to have come into this country about the time that the family of Hanover came? I should like to fee The Hiftory of the Grey Rat,' by Thomas Percy, D. D. Chaplain in Ordinary to his Majefty," (laughing immoderately).BOSWELL. "I am afraid a

court chaplain could not decently write of the grey rat."-. "Sir, he need not give it the name of the Hanover rat."-Thus could he indulge a luxuriant fportive imagination, when talking of a friend whom he loved and efteemed. Having talked of Grainger's Sugar Cane,'

Mr. Bofwell mentioned Mr. Langton's having told him, that this poem, when read in mamufcript

3

nufcript at Sir Joshua Reynolds's, had made all the affembled wits burft into a laugh, when after much blank-verse pomp, the poet began a new paragraph thus:

"Now, Mufe, let's fing of rats."

And what increafed the ridicule was, that one of the company, who flily overlooked the reader, perceived that the word had been originally mice, and had been altered to rats as more dignified.

This paffage does not appear in the printed work. Dr. Grainger or fome of his friends, it fhould fcem, having become fenfible that introducing even Rats in a grave poem might be liable to banter. He, however, could not bring himself to relinquifh the idea; for they are thus, in a still more ludicrous manner, periphraftically exhibited in his Poem as it now ftands.

"Nor with lefs wafte the whisker'd vermin race, "A countless clan, defpoil the lowland cane."

Johnfon faid, that Dr. Grainger was an agreeable man; a man who would do any good that was in his power. His tranflation of Tibullus, he thought, was very well done; but 'The Sugar Cane' did not please him; for he exclaimed, "What could he make of a fugar

cane? One might as well write the Parfley

Bed, a Poem;' or,

Poem."-BoS WELL.

The Cabbage Garden, a "You must then pickle

your cabbage with the fal atticum."-JOHNSON. "You know there is already The Hop Garden, a Poem ;' and I think one could fay a great deal about cabbage. The poem might begin with the advantages of civilized fociety over a rude state, exemplified by the Scotch, who had no cabbages till Oliver Cromwell's foldiers introduced them; and one might thus fhew how arts are propagated by conqueft, as they were by the Roman arms."-He feemed to be much diverted with the fertility of his own fancy.

Fleece.'

He spoke flightingly of Dyer's "The fubject, Sir, cannot be made poctical. How can a man write poetically of ferges and druggets? Yet you will hear many people talk to you gravely of that excellent poem The Fleece."

Speaking of Cheyne, whom Mr. Bofwell reckoned whimsical, "So he was (faid Johnfon) in fome things; but there is no end of objections. There are few books to which fome objection or other may not be made."-He added, " I would not have you read any thing clfe of Cheyne, but his book on Health, and his English Malady."

He