, which he gave to the
geometrician, accompanied by a delicacy which few but a man of genius
could conceive. "I do not give it to you," he said, "as a salary, but an
annuity, that you may be independent, and quit me when you dislike me."
Something nearly similar embellishes our own literary history. When
Akenside was in great danger of experiencing famine as well as fame, Mr.
Dyson allowed him three hundred pounds a year. Of this gentleman,
perhaps, nothing is known; yet whatever his life may be, it merits the
tribute of the biographer. To close with these honourable testimonies of
literary friendship, we must not omit that of Churchill and Lloyd. It is
known that when Lloyd heard of the death of our poet, he acted the part
which Fugere did to Goguet. The page is crowded, but my facts are by no
means exhausted.

The most illustrious of the ancients prefixed the name of some friend to
the head of their works.--We too often place that of some patron. They
honourably inserted it in their works. When a man of genius, however,
shows that he is not less mindful of his social affection than his fame,
he is the more loved by his reader. Plato communicated a ray of his
glory to his brothers; for in his Republic he ascribes some parts to
Adimanthus and Glauchon; and Antiphon the youngest is made to deliver
his sentiments in the Parmenides, To perpetuate the fondness of
friendship, several authors have entitled their works by the name of
some cherished associate. Cicero to his Treatise on Orators gave the
title of Brutus; to that of Friendship, Lelius; and to that of Old Age,
Cato. They have been imitated by the moderns. The poetical Tasso to his
dialogue on Friendship gave the name of Manso, who was afterwards his
affectionate biographer. Sepulvueda entitles his Treatise on Glory by
the name of his friend Gonsalves. Lociel to his Dialogues on the Lawyers
of Paris prefixes the name of the learned Pasquier. Thus Plato
distinguishes his Dialogues by the names of certain persons; the one on
Lying is entitled Hippius; on Rhetoric, Gorgias; and on Beauty, Phaedrus.

Luther has perhaps carried this feeling to an extravagant point. He was
so delighted by his favourite "Commentary on the Epistle to the
Galatians," that he distinguished it by a title of doting fondness; he
named it after his wife, and called it "His Catherine."

ANECDOTES OF ABSTRACTION OF MIND.

Some have exercised this power of abstraction to a degree that app