figure, which he had not before noticed, observing the boats paffing on the Thames. 'Twas Johnson! whom indeed he did not know, and luckily for him, he feemed wholly abforbed in his own contemplations. Well, young fir!' fays Mr. Chamberlaine, again casting an eye towards the window, I suppose you can give a better derivation.' 'O yes, fir! in an inftant; from the Latin; bilariter celeriter, merrily and fwiftly won't that do?'... No answer was made, but they huftled him out of the room as fast as they could; and afterwards, with fome judicious animadversions on his temerity, our flippant etymologift was made sensible how near he was getting, what perhaps he deserved, a good rap over the knuckles.

As one ftory often begets another, one little Anecdote more, and for the prefent we have done. . . . . . Mr. Chamberlaine, already mentioned, was a furgeon, eminent in his profeffion; for many a long year the Oracle of the Grecian coffee-house, and the delight of the young Templars, particularly from Ireland; for he was a humourist and dearly loved a quibble. In the year 1758, MR. WHYTE, of Graftonfreet, Dublin, opened his Seminary for Education. Several of his friends honoured him with particular attention on the occafion, and, according to good old cuftom, made him prefents towards house-keeping; among the reft Mr. Chamberlaine sent him a very handsome Tea-chest with an infcription on a filver plate neatly let into the lid,

"TU DOCES,"

Thou teachest; a professional allufion, by construction in the dialect of punsters-thou tea-cheft.

The Author of the Curiofities of Literature, printed Anno 1784, mentions a fimilar device, which, according to the relation, "has been lately given by the ingenious Harry Erskine, who infcribed on his Tea-cheft the following words"

"TU DOCES."

"Thefe,

"Thefe, however inapplicable they may appear, when tranflated into our vernacular tongue run thus

"THOU TEA-CHEST."

"The second perfon fingular of the verb, docere, making a very neat pun of the fubftantive Tea-cheft."

Cur. of Literature, London, vol. i. p. 564.

Mr. Chamberlaine has evidently the advantage of Mr. Erskine in two material points, viz. precedence as to time, and aptitude in the application: and after all, like most travelling Anecdotes, as Voltaire says of Columbus's Egg, it may have been told of others. So Wyllyam of Cloudeflé, a famous old English Archer, fhot the apple off his fon's head, before William Tell, the celebrated Swifs, was born. The fame is recorded of one Tocho, a Goth.

'Pfha!' cries the critic, this is abfolute trifling; what in the name of common sense has all this to say to Johnson? Why nothing, fir! it has nothing to fay to Johnson: 'tis a mere bagatelle, brought in head and shoulders, one scarce can tell why; but before you cenfure, by way of apologue, apply it, and fee if many of the ftories ferioufly obtruded by Mr. Bofwell, ay! and by greater clerks than he, don't come precifely under the fame description.

(1) page 13.-Corporeal notice, as meditated against the reprobated tranflator of Offian,... Mr. Boswell, who can feldom be accused of nationality, on the circumstance alluded to, fays- at this time the controverfy concerning the pieces published by Mr. James Macpherson, as translations of Offian, was at its height. Johnson had all along denied their authenticity, and what was ftill more provoking to their admirers, maintained that they had no merit. The fubject having been introduced by Dr. Fordyce, Dr. Blair, relying on the internal evidence of their antiquity, asked Dr. Johnson, whether he thought any man of modern age

could

could have written such poems? Johnson replied, Yes, fir! many men, many women, and many children;' this is given as his ferious opinion; but we are yet to learn, whether it is meant as a fpecimen of his venerated friend's judgment, or his inviolable regard to truth. It is certain however that Dr. Johnson plumed himself highly on his own fagacity on that occafion, as well as on the detection of the Cock-lane Ghoft, which after all he did not detect;* and maintained his affertions with an afperity of language unbecoming a philofopher: we fhall venture to oppofe him with a different opinion; an opinion which the Doctor himself might have bowed to without disparagement, though not accompanied with fo much rage. Hear what Dr. Young fays in his memoir relating to thofe poems; addreffed to the Royal Irish Academy, of which that gentleman is a diftinguished member, and one of its brighteft ornaments. alfo made a tour to the Highlands.

He

"The

* Bofwell in his accustomed mode of prefacing, with a pompous flourish on his illuftrious friend's fagacity, vol. i. pp. 370, 1, 2, gives the tale of this famous detection as it appeared in the Public Papers, written by the Sage himself, fetting forth, in fubftance, as follows: that he, affifted by many others of rank and character, paid a vifit to a little girl, fuppofed to be disturbed by a fpirit, and having examined the matter with a jealous attention, did ask certain queftions, which the faid ghost, as we may well prefume, not conceiving itself obliged to answer interrogatories, did not think convenient to reply to; upon which the gentlemen, who thus examined the evidence, being fatisfied of its falfity (not having uttered a fingle fyllable) came to the following refolution, which, referring to the statement, verbatim runs thus:

"It is, therefore, the opinion of the whole affembly, that the child has some art of making or counterfeiting a particular noise, and that there is no agency of any higher caufe."

He was of opinion it was a trick, and fo were thousands befides; but what the particular art or contrivance of the little female Breslaw was, remains in its priftine obfcurity to this day. Call you that detection?

"The great intereft which has for many years been taken in the controverfy concerning the authenticity of Mr. M'Pherson's Offian, made me defirous of collecting all the information in my power, during my excurfion through the Scottish Highlands in the Summer of 1784. The following poems are part of the collection which I made at the time; and notwithstanding Mr. Hill has done fo much towards bringing this warmly-contefted queftion to a decided iffue; I imagined they might throw fome new additional light on the fubject. I have therefore ventured to, lay them before the Academy, with translations and a few explanatory notes."

"Mr. M'Pherson is by many fuppofed to be the fole and original Author of the Compofitions which he has published as tranflations of the Works of Offian; this charge I am enabled to refute, at least in part, having fortunately met with the Originals of fome of them. Mr. McPherson, I acknowledge, hath taken very great liberties with them; retrenching, adding and altering as he judged proper: but we must admit that he has difcovered great ingenuity in thefe variations."

And speaking of his own tranflation he farther fays.... "Upon the whole, I believe no errors of material confequence have escaped me; but if there be fuch, the originals are at hand, by which they may be corrected; fome of which," he tells 66 us, are current in Ireland, and to be seen amongst the Irish Manufcripts in the Library of the College of Dublin."

Tranfactions of the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin 1787, Vol. i. under the head of Antiquities, page 43 paffim. An Irishman, we fee, has candour and honefty enough to acknowlege merit and do justice to Mr. Macpherson, while his countryman Bofwell complaifantly abandons the cause,

and

and joins iffue with his adversary. Dr. Johnfon, whatever he might really think of Swift, would hardly call this gentleman a very fhallow fellow :", but he was a particular man, and there is no fwearing what he might be tempted to.

Mr. Macpherson, it feems, having heard of fome illiberal attacks on his character made behind his back by Dr. Johnfon, thought fit to remonftrate by letter, which letter is however conveniently kept out of fight, fo that we are left to imagine the contents; a ftrong foundation for doubts and furmises, where a point was to be gained. Mr. Bofwell, as you are to suppose, scrupuloufly accurate in his account, gives us verbatim the fage's reply; the substance of which, conveyed in very appofite terms, is that he would cudgel him. Mr. Bofwell's illuftrious friend appears now upon the stage in a new character, and his minute Biographer is at some pains to convince his readers, that he was no less able than willing to perform it; " for having provided himself with a proper implement, I have no doubt," faith his paper champion, "but he would have made his corporal prowess be felt as much as his intellectual." To put the matter beyond controverfy, as deeds speak louder than words, he corroborates his opinion by the relation of fome half dozen inftances; feveral of them ludicrous enough, of which, courteous Reader! if haply thou haft not feen the book, the following will give thee a delectable idea.

"In the Play-house at Lichfield, Johnson having quitted a chair that was placed for him behind the scenes, a gentleman took poffeffion of it, and on Johnson's return, rudely refused to give it up; Johnfon laid hold of it, and toffed him and the chair into the pit.".... The gentleman could not, one fhould think, be very rudely difpofed, who could

fo