t he treated, or was consulted upon, he immediately
overflowed with all that it could possibly produce. It was at
anybody's service, for as soon as he was exonerated he did
not care what became of it; insomuch that his sons, when
young, have frequently made kites of his scattered papers of
hints, which would have furnished good matter for folios. Not
being in the least jealous of his fame as an author, he would
neither take the time nor the trouble of separating the best
from the worst; he worked out the whole mine, which
afterward, in the hands of skillful refiners, produced a rich
vein of ore. As his imagination was always at work, he was
frequently absent and inattentive in company, which made him
both say and do a thousand inoffensive absurdities; but
which, far from being provoking, as they commonly are,
supplied new matter for conversation, and occasioned wit both
in himself and others."

Speaking to Boswell of the writers of Queen Anne's time, Dr. Johnson
said, "I think Dr. Arbuthnot the first man among them. He was the most
universal genius, being an excellent physician, a man of deep learning,
and a man of much humor." He did not, however, think much of the
'Scriblerus' papers, and said they were forgotten because "no man would
be the wiser, better, or merrier for remembering them"; which is hard
measure for the wit and divertingness of some of the travesties. Cowper,
reviewing Johnson's 'Lives of the Poets,' declared that "one might
search these eight volumes with a candle to find a man, and not find
one, unless perhaps Arbuthnot were he." Thackeray, too, called him "one
of the wisest, wittiest, most accomplished, gentlest of mankind."

Thus fortunate in his sunny spirit, in his genius for friendship, in his
professional eminence, and in his literary capacity, Dr. Arbuthnot saw
his life flow smoothly to its close. He died in London on February 27th,
1735, at the age of sixty eight, still working and playing with youthful
ardor, and still surrounded with all the good things of life.

THE TRUE CHARACTERS OF JOHN BULL, NIC. FROG, AND
HOCUS

From 'The History of John Bull,' Part I.

For the better understanding the following history, the reader ought to
know that Bull, in the main, was an honest, plain-dealing fellow,
choleric, bold, and of a very unconstant temper; he dreaded not old
Lewis either at backsword, single falchion