Dr. Butter, and Mr. Cruikshank, the eminent furgeon. Eternity prefented to his mind an aweful profpect, and, with as much virtue as perhaps ever is the lot of man, he fhuddered at the thought of his diffolution. His friends awakened the comfortable reflection of a wellfpent life; and, as his end drew near, they had the fatisfaction of feeing him composed, and even chearful, infomuch that he was able, in the course of his restless nights, to make translations of Greek epigrams from the Anthologia; and to compofe a Latin epitaph for his father, his mother, and his brother Nathaniel. He meditated, at the fame time, a Latin infcription to the memory of Garrick, but his vigour was exhausted. His love of Literature was a paffion that ftuck to his laft fand. Seven days before his death he wrote the following letter to his friend Mr. Nichols.. "SIR, "The late learned Mr. Swinton of Oxford having one day remarked that one man, meaning, I fuppofe, no man but himself, could affign all the parts of the Ancient Universal VOL. I. i History History to their proper authors, at the requeft of Sir Robert Chambers, or myself, gave the account which I now tranfmit to you in his own hand, being willing that of fo great a work the history fhould be known, and that each writer fhould receive his due proportion of praise from pofterity. "I recommend to you to preserve this scrap of literary intelligence in Mr. Swinton's own hand, or to depofit it in the Museum *, that the veracity of this account may never be doubted. The History of the Regio Syrtica. Turks, Tartars, and Moguls. Indians. Chinese. of America. Differtation on the peopling The History of the Differtation on the Independency of the Arabs. The Cofmogony, and a small part of the history immediately following. By Mr. Sale. To the Birth of Abraham. Chiefly by Mr. Shelvock. History of the Jews, Gauls, and Spaniards. By Mr. Pfalmanazar. Xenophon's Retreat. By the fame. Hiftory of the Perfians, and the Conftantinopolitan Empire. By Dr. Campbell. History of the Romans. By Mr. Bower *. On * Before this authentic communication, Mr. Nichols had given, in the volume of the Magazine for 1781, p. 370, the following account of the Universal History. The proposals were published October 6, 1729; and the authors of the first feven volumes were, Vol. 1. Mr. Sale, tranflator of the Koran. II. George Pfalmanazar. III. George Pfalmanazar. On the morning of Dec. 7, Dr. Johnson requefted to fee Mr. Nichols. A few days before, he had borrowed some of the early volumes of the Magazine, with a profeffed intention to point out the pieces which he had written in that collection. The books lay on the table, with many leaves doubled down, and in particular thofe which contained his share in the Parliamentary Debates. Such was the goodnefs of Johnfon's heart, that he then declared, that "thofe debates were the only parts "of his writings which gave him any com"punction; but that at the time he wrote them "he had no conception that he was impofing upon the world, though they were frequently "written from very flender materials, and often "from none at all, the mere coinage of his III. Archibald Bower. Dr. Campbell. IV. The fame as vol. III. V. Mr. Bower. VI. Mr. Bower. Rev. John Swinton. VII. Mr. Swinton, Mr. Bower, "own imagination." He added, "that he never "wrote any part of his work with equal velo 66 city. Three columns of the Magazine in an "hour," he said, "was no uncommon effort; "which was faster than most perfons could "have tranfcribed that quantity. In one day "in particular, and that not a very long one, "he wrote twelve pages, more in quantity than "ever he wrote at any other time, except in the Life of Savage, of which forty-eight pages in octavo were the production of one long day, including a part of the night." In the course of the converfation, he asked, whether any of the family of Faden the printer were living. Being told that the geographer near Charing-crofs was Faden's fon, he faid, after a fhort paufe, "I borrowed a guinea of "his father near thirty years ago; be so good "as to take this, and pay it for me." Withing to discharge every duty, and every obligation, Johnfon recollected another debt of ten pounds, which he had borrowed from his friend Mr. Hamilton the printer, about twenty years before. before. He fent the money to Mr. Hai 3 milton |