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embellishment of a character fo replete with infolence, ingratitude, and criminal diffipation, can hardly be afcribed to motives of greater purity than the fale of the copy, unless we fhould take into the account the delicacies of friendfhip, and the congenial talents of the man and his orator.

Savage was a poet, and in his biographer's opinion, a poet above mediocrity, and not inferior in the poetical fcale of Dr. Johnson to fome of thofe whom he hath honoured with his prefatory narratives.

May we not then prefume, that the Doctor's Life of Savage will be added to thofe elogies of eminent bards which have been received by the public with

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do much applanufe, and read with fo

much avidity

We would not anticipate the pleasure of his readers in obferving the Doctor's improvements in political wisdom fince the year 1744; we shall only give one inftance of it, taken from pages 120, 121, 122, of the edition of Savage's Life that year, where there are fome juft, and indeed beautiful, contemplations, on the rife and fettlement of colonies, both in a poetical and political view 20

Savage compofed a poem on the subject, where, as the biographer informs us, he has laudably " afferted the natural equality of mankind, and endea

voured to fupprefs that pride which

"" inclines

inclines men to imagine that right is the confequence of power."

The benevolent Dr. Price himself could not have advanced a doctrine more unfavoury to the palate of Dr. Johnson's friends, nor needs it much fagacity to fhew how it appears in contraft with the change which experience hath made in the Doctor's opinions *. The Doctor, we prefume, found his account in both his opinions, and all fides ought to be fatiffied.

There is indeed one performance af cribed to the pen of the Doctor, where the prostitution is of fo fingular a nature, that it would be difficult to felect an adequate motive for it out of the Life of Savage, p. 122,

moun

mountainous heap of conjectural caufes of human paffions or human caprice. We allude to the fpeech delivered by the late unhappy Dr. William Dodd, when he was about to hear the fentence of the law pronounced upon him, in confequence of an indictment for forgery.

The voice of the public has given the honour of manufacturing this fpeech to Dr. Johnson; and the ftile and configuration of the fpeech itself confirm the imputation.

. Dr. Dodd was a man of parts, a poet, and an orator. He can hardly be fupposed to have fufpected that the powers of his own rhetorie would be too feeble for fo critical an occafion. Prefence of mind he could not want to compofe a fpeech

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fpeech for himfelf. His effufions both in profe and poetry, during the moft trying moments of his confinement, prove that he did not. The naked unadorned feelings of his own mind on that awful occafion (which he could hardly convey to Dr. Johnfon) would have been the most expreffive of his fincerity and selfhumiliation; and the moft proper and effectual recommendation of his cafe to the commiferation of his audience, and the merciful interpofition of his judges.

An ambition to go out of the world with the applause of having made a florid fpeech, we cannot, with any degree of charity, impute to the unfortunate criminal. He muft, in that case, have

had

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