Lives Of The Poets, Vol. 1 (fiscle part-III) - Samuel Johnson (classic books to read txt) 📗
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[Footnote 167: Addison'S Father, Who Was Then Dean Of Lichfield, Died in
April, 1703; A Circumstance Which Should Have Been Mentioned on His Tomb
At Lichfield: He Is Said To Have Been Seventy-One.]
[Footnote 168: Rosamond Was First Exhibited, March 4Th, 1707, And, After
Three Representations, Was Laid Aside. M.]
[Footnote 169: Thomas _Earl_ Of Wharton Was Constituted lord Lieutenant
Of Ireland Dec. 4, 1708, And Went There In april, 1709. He Was Not Made A
_Marquis_ Till Dec. 1714. M.]
[Footnote 170: The First Number Of The Tatler Was Published april 12,
1709. The Last (271) Jan. 2, 1710-11. The First Number Of The Spectator
Appeared march 1, 1710-11, And N Deg.. 555, Which Is The Last Of The Seventh
Volume, Was Published dec. 6, 1712. The Paper Was Then Discontinued, And
Was Recommenced, June 18, 1714, When N Deg.. 556 Appeared. From Thence, To
N Deg.. 635 Inclusive, Forms The Eighth Volume. M.]
[Footnote 171: This Particular Number Of The Spectator, It Is Said, Was
Not Published till Twelve O'Clock, That It Might Come Out Precisely At
The Hour Of Her Majesty'S Breakfast, And That No Time Might Be Left
For Deliberating about Serving it Up With That Meal, As Usual. See The
Edition Of The Tatler With Notes, Vol. Vi. No. 271, Note; P. 462, Sec. N.]
[Footnote 172: Newspapers Appear To Have Had An Earlier Date Than Here
Assigned. Cleiveland, In his Character Of A London Diurnal, Says, "The
Original Sinner Of This Kind Was Dutch; Gallo-Belgicus The Protoplast,
And The Modern Mercuries But Hans En Kelders." Some Intelligence Given By
Mercurius Gallo-Belgicus Is Mentioned in carew'S Survey Of Cornwall, P.
126, Originally Published in 1602. These Vehicles Of Information Are
Often Mentioned in the Plays Of James And Charles The First. R.
See Idler, N. 7, And Note; And Idler, N. 40, And Note. Ed.]
[Footnote 173: The Errors In this Account Are Explained at Considerable
Length In the Preface To The Spectator, Prefixed to The Edition In the
British Essayists. The Original Delineation Of Sir Roger Undoubtedly
Belongs To Steele.
See, However, Addisoniana, Vol. I.]
[Footnote 174: That This Calculation Is Not Exaggerated, That It Is Even
Much Below The Real Number, See The Notes On The Taller, Edit. 1786, Vol.
Vi. 452. N--See Likewise Prefatory Notice To The Rambler, Vol. Ii. P.
Viii. Of The Present Edition. Ed.]
[Footnote 175: Tickell Says, "He Took Up A Design Of Writing a Play Upon
This Subject When He Was At The University, And Even Attempted something
In It Then, Though Not A Line As It Now Stands. The Work Was Performed by
Him In his Travels, And Retouched in england, Without Any Formed design
Of Bringing it On The Stage." Cibber (Apol. 377.) Says, That In 1704 He
Had The Pleasure Of Reading the First Four Acts Of Cato (Which Were All
That Were Then Written) Privately With Sir Richard Steele; And Steele
Told Him They Were Written In italy. M.]
[Footnote 176: The Story About Hughes Was First Told By Oldmixon, In his
Art Of Criticism, 1728. M.]
[Footnote 177: Spence.]
[Footnote 178: Alluding to The Duke Of Marlborough, At That Time
Suspected of An Ambitious Aim To Obtain The Post Of General In chief For
Life. Ed.]
[Footnote 179: Spence.]
[Footnote 180: The Guardian Was Published in the Interval Between The
Spectator'S Being laid Down And Taken Up Again. The First Number Was
Published march 12, 1713; And The Last Appeared october 1St, 1713. M.]
[Footnote 181: From A Tory Song In vogue At The Time, The Burden Whereof
Is,
And He, That Will This Health Deny,
Down Among The Dead Men Let Him Lie.
H.]
[Footnote 182: Addison Wrote Twenty-Three Papers Out Of Forty-Five, Viz.
Numbs. 556, 557, 558, 559, 561, 562. 565. 567, 568, 569. 571. 574, 575.
579, 580. 582,583, 584, 585. 590. 592. 598. 600; So That He Produced more
Than One Half.]
[Footnote 183: When Lord Sunderland Was Appointed lord Lieutenant Of
Ireland, In 1714, Addison Was Appointed his Secretary. Johnson Has
Omitted another Step In his Promotions. He Was, In 1715, Made A Lord Of
Trade. M.]
[Footnote 184: August 2.]
[Footnote 185: Spence.]
[Footnote 186: It Has Been Said, That Addison First Discovered his
Addresses To The Countess Of Warwick Would Not Be Unacceptable, From The
Manner Of Her Receiving such An Article In the Newspapers, Of His Own
Inserting, At Which, When He Read It To Her, He Affected to Be Much
Astonished. Many Anecdotes Are On Record Of Addison'S Tavern Resorts When
Holland-House Was Rendered disagreeable By The Haughty Caprices Of His
Aristocratic Bride. When He Had Suffered any Vexation From Her, He Would
Propose To Withdraw The Club From Button'S, Who Had Been A Servant In the
Countess'S Family. Ed.]
[Footnote 187: Spence.]
[Footnote 188: Spence.]
[Footnote 189: This Is Inaccurately Stated. Pope Does Not Mention The
Conjecture Of Tonson At All. Spence Himself Has Mentioned it From
Tonson'S Own Information; For He Has Subscribed the Name Of Tonson To The
Paragraph In question, According to His Constant Practice Of Stating the
Name Of His Informer. M.]
[Footnote 190: Spence.]
[Footnote 191: This Account Of Addison'S Death Is From Dr. Young, Who
Calls Lord Warwick A Youth Finely Accomplished; And Does Not Give The
Least Ground For The Representation In the Text, That He Was Of Irregular
Life, And That This Was A Last Effort Of Addison'S To Reclaim Him.
M.--Dr. Young Was Far Too Much Of A Courtier To See The Vices Of A
Peer, But Even His Guarded statement Does Give Ground For Dr. Johnson'S
Conclusion. His Words Are, "Finely Accomplished, But Not Above Being the
Better For Good Impressions From A Dying friend." Ed.]
[Footnote 192: Who Died at Bilton, In warwickshire, At A Very Advanced
Age, In 1797. See Gent. Mag. Vol. Lxvii. P. 256. 385. N.]
[Footnote 193: Spence.]
[Footnote 194: Tonson And Spence.]
[Footnote 195: Spence.]
[Footnote 196: Spence.]
[Footnote 197: Spence.]
[Footnote 198: "Paint Means," Says Dr. Warton, "Express, Or Describe
Them."]
[Footnote 199: But, According to Dr. Warton, "Ought Not To Have
Intended."]
[Footnote 200: Spence.]
[Footnote 201: The Person Meant By The Initials, J.G. Is Sir John Gibson,
Lieutenant-Governor Of Portsmouth In the Year 1710, And Afterwards. He
Was Much Beloved in the Army, And By The Common Soldiers Called johnny
Gibson. H.]
[Footnote 202: Taste Must Decide. Warton.]
[Footnote 203: Far, In dr. Warton'S Opinion, Beyond Dryden.]
[Footnote 204: But, Says Dr. Warton, He Sometimes Is So; And, In another
Manuscript Note, He Adds, Often So.]
Hughes
John Hughes, The Son Of A Citizen Of London, And Of Anne Burgess, Of An
Ancient Family In wiltshire, Was Born At Marlborough, July 29, 1677. He
Was Educated at A Private School; And Though His Advances In literature
Are In the Biographia Very Ostentatiously Displayed, The Name Of His
Master Is Somewhat Ungratefully Concealed[205].
At Nineteen He Drew The Plan Of A Tragedy; And Paraphrased, Rather Too
Diffusely, The Ode Of Horace Which Begins "Integer Vitas." To Poetry
He Added the Science Of Musick, In which He Seems To Have Attained
Considerable Skill, Together With The Practice Of Design, Or Rudiments Of
Painting.
His Studies Did Not Withdraw Him Wholly From Business, Nor Did Business
Hinder Him From Study. He Had A Place In the Office Of Ordnance; And Was
Secretary To Several Commissions For Purchasing lands Necessary To Secure
The Royal Docks At Chatham And Portsmouth; Yet Found Time To Acquaint
Himself With Modern Languages.
In 1697 He Published a Poem On The Peace Of Ryswick: And, In 1699,
Another Piece, Called the Court Of Neptune, On The Return Of King
William, Which He Addressed to Mr. Montague, The General Patron Of The
Followers Of The Muses. The Same Year He Produced a Song On The Duke Of
Gloucester'S Birthday.
He Did Not Confine Himself To Poetry, But Cultivated other Kinds Of
Writing with Great Success; And About This Time Showed his Knowledge Of
Human Nature By An Essay On The Pleasure Of Being deceived. In 1702, He
Published, On The Death Of King william, A Pindarick Ode, Called the
House Of Nassau; And Wrote Another Paraphrase On The "Otium Divos" Of
Horace.
In 1703, His Ode On Musick Was Performed at Stationers' Hall; And He
Wrote Afterwards Six Cantatas, Which Were Set To Musick By The Greatest
Master Of That Time, And Seem Intended to Oppose Or Exclude The Italian
Opera, An Exotick And Irrational Entertainment, Which Has Been Always
Combated, And Always Has Prevailed.
His Reputation Was Now So Far Advanced, That The Publick Began To Pay
Reverence To His Name; And He Was Solicited to Prefix A Preface To The
Translation Of Boccalini, A Writer Whose Satirical Vein Cost Him His Life
In Italy, But Who Never, I Believe, Found Many Readers In this Country,
Even Though Introduced by Such Powerful Recommendation.
He Translated fontenelle'S Dialogues Of The Dead; And His Version Was,
Perhaps, Read At That Time, But Is Now Neglected; For By A Book Not
Necessary, And Owing its Reputation Wholly To Its Turn Of Diction, Little
Notice Can Be Gained but From Those Who Can Enjoy The Graces Of The
Original. To The Dialogues Of Fontenelle He Added two Composed by
Himself; And, Though Not Only An Honest But A Pious Man, Dedicated his
Work To The Earl Of Wharton. He Judged skilfully Enough Of His Own
Interest; For Wharton, When He Went Lord Lieutenant To Ireland, Offered
To Take Hughes With Him, And Establish Him; But Hughes, Having hopes Or
Promises From Another Man In power, Of Some Provision More Suitable To
His Inclination, Declined wharton'S Offer, And Obtained nothing from The
Other.
He Translated the Miser Of Moliere, Which He Never Offered to The Stage;
And Occasionally Amused himself With Making versions Of Favourite Scenes
In Other Plays.
Being now Received as A Wit Among The Wits, He Paid His Contributions
To Literary Undertakings, And Assisted both The Tatler, Spectator, And
Guardian. In 1712, He Translated vertot'S History Of The Revolution Of
Portugal; Produced an Ode To The Creator Of The World, From The Fragments
Of Orpheus; And Brought Upon The Stage An Opera, Called calypso And
Telemachus, Intended to Show That The English Language Might Be Very
Happily Adapted to Musick. This Was Impudently Opposed by Those Who
Were Employed in the Italian Opera; And, What Cannot Be Told Without
Indignation, The Intruders Had Such Interest With The Duke Of Shrewsbury,
Then Lord Chamberlain, Who Had Married an Italian, As To Obtain An
Obstruction Of The Profits, Though Not An Inhibition Of The Performance.
There Was, At This Time, A Project Formed by Tonson For A Translation Of
The Pharsalia By Several Hands; And Hughes Englished the Tenth Book.
But This Design, As Must Often Happen Where The Concurrence Of Many
Is Necessary, Fell To The Ground; And The Whole Work Was Afterwards
Performed by Rowe.
His Acquaintance With The Great Writers Of His Time Appears To Have Been
Very General; But Of His Intimacy With Addison There Is A Remarkable
Proof. It Is Told, On Good Authority, That Cato Was Finished and Played
By His Persuasion. It Had Long Wanted the Last Act, Which He Was Desired
By Addison To Supply. If The Request Was Sincere, It Proceeded from An
Opinion, Whatever It Was, That Did Not Last Long; For When Hughes Came
In A Week To Show Him His First Attempt, He Found Half An Act Written By
Addison Himself.
He Afterwards Published the Works Of Spenser, With His Life, A Glossary,
And A Discourse On Allegorical Poetry; A Work For Which He Was Well
Qualified as A Judge Of The Beauties Of Writing, But, Perhaps, Wanted an
Antiquary'S Knowledge Of The Obsolete Words. He Did Not Much Revive
The Curiosity Of The Publick; For Near Thirty Years Elapsed before His
Edition Was Reprinted. The Same Year Produced his Apollo And Daphne, Of
Which The Success Was Very Earnestly Promoted by Steele, Who, When The
Rage Of Party Did Not Misguide Him, Seems To Have Been A Man Of Boundless
Benevolence.
Hughes Had Hitherto Suffered the Mortifications Of A Narrow Fortune;
But, In 1717, The Lord Chancellor Cowper Set Him At Ease, By Making him
Secretary To The Commissions Of The Peace; In which He Afterwards, By A
Particular Request, Desired his Successor, Lord Parker, To Continue Him.
He Had Now Affluence; But Such Is Human Life,
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