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664 SAMUEL JOHNSON mont, and the strong will of the patient, the disease was held in check, and the threatened wreck of intellect averted. He remained at the university about three years, left it on ac- count of poverty without a degree, and pro- cured employment as an usher in a school at Market Bosworth, Leicestershire. He next spent some time at Birmingham with a book- seller, who also published a small newspaper, to which Johnson contributed. Here he be- came acquainted with the family of Mr. Por- ter, a linen draper, whose widow he afterward married. About this time he executed his first literary work, a translation of Father Lobo's " Voyage to Abyssinia." He soon after issued proposals to publish by subscription the Latin poems of Politian, with a history of Latin poetry from the age of Petrarch to the time of Politian ; but the work was never completed. He spent his time alternately at Birmingham and Lichfield, till after two years he was mar- ried to Mrs. Porter, who was nearly twice his age, and then he opened a private academy at Edial Hall, near Lichfield. But he obtained only three pupils, two of whom were David Garrick and his younger brother; and after trial of a year and a half the enterprise was abandoned. In the spring of 1737 he set out for London accompanied by Garrick. He sought employment among the booksellers, and lived at the most economical rates, bearing all his privations and discouragement with a sullen fortitude. He contributed to the "Gentle- man's Magazine," and at length became assis- tant editor of that publication. He first be- came known in 1738 by the publication of "London," a poem in imitation of the third satire of Juvenal, which was received with de- cided favor. He was recommended to the mas- tership of a school at Appleby, but his want of a degree disqualified him by the statutes of the corporation. A like difficulty prevent- ed his entering the legal profession. He now contributed to the " Gentleman's Magazine " a class of papers in biography and general literature which gave a new and higher charac- ter to that work. He also wrote two or three political pamphlets against Walpole and the whig administration. At the beginning of the session of parliament in November, 1740, Johnson undertook to write imaginary reports of the debates, following the order in which the members spoke, and imitating their respec- tive styles. The eloquence of the speeches thus produced excited universal admiration, and the sale of the magazine was greatly increased; but after a little more than two years Johnson relinquished the position, be- cause he doubted the morality of the decep- tion he was practising upon the world, though he still retained his connection with the maga- zine. Early in 1744 was published the "Life of Richard Savage," which Johnson had prom- ised to the public immediately upon the death of its subject, a few months before. The book contributed very considerably to fix the repu- tation of its author. The next year, among other labors, he wrote the preface and index to the Harleian miscellany, a collection of pam- phlets from the library of the earl of Oxford, which had beun purchased by the bookseller Os- horne. In that painful drudgery Johnson toiled as a day laborer, and was treated by Osborue with an insolence that once provoked Johnson to knock him down. The same year he issued a pamphlet entitled "Miscellaneous Observa- tions on the Tragedy of Macbeth," to which he affixed proposals for a new edition of Shake- speare. This pamphlet attracted the attention of Warburton, who was then engaged in a similar work, and was commended by him as evidently the work of " a man of parts." In 1747 Garrick became joint manager of Drury Lane theatre,' and Johnson wrote a prologue to be spoken at its opening, which added greatly to his reputation. In this year he issued proposals for his "Dictionary of the English Language." The plan of the work, which indicates a thorough acquaintance with the subject, and a comprehensive knowledge of the method to be pursued in its prosecu- tion, was addressed to the earl of Chester- field, then one of the secretaries of state, who was ambitious of the reputation of a patron of learning, and expressed a warm interest in the enterprise. Five publishing houses were con- cerned in the contract. Johnson was to re- ceive 1,575, which amount however was to cover all the incidental expenses of preparing the work for the press. To facilitate his work he removed to Gough square in Fleet street, where he had rooms properly arranged for its prosecution, being assisted by six copyists. He availed himself of whatever helps were offered in the extant works on English phi- lology and lexicography, but relied chiefly on his own original labors. This great work oc- cupied its author, though not exclusively, du- ring the next seven years. A trip to Tunbridge Wells, in the summer of 1748, brought him into contact with some of the celebrities of the metropolis, among them William Pitt, Lord Lyttelton, and Speaker Onslow, who paid him marked attention. To facilitate his intercourse with his literary associates, he also this year originated a club, called from its place of meet- ing the " Ivy Lane Club." At its organization it consisted of ten members, of whom John- son, Hawkins, and Dyer afterward belonged to the celebrated "Literary Club." In 1748 Dodsley brought out his "Preceptor," a com- pilation of choice pieces for young persons, in which first appeared Johnson's " Vision of Theo- dore, the Hermit of Teneriffe." To this year also belongs his second poetical production, " The Vanity of Human Wishes," an imitation of the 10th satire of Juvenal; it was printed by Dodsley, and brought its author 15 guineas. While yet residing at Lichfield Johnson had commenced a tragedy, in five acts, called " Irene," which he finished during his first two or three years in London ; and Garrick,