hua paints faces in a history-piece: he imagines an heroic
countenance. You must look upon Robertson's work as romance, and try
it by that standard. History it is not. Besides, Sir, it is the great
excellence of a writer to put into his book as much as his book will
hold. Goldsmith has done this in his History. Now Robertson might have
put twice as much into his book. Robertson is like a man who has packed
gold in wool: the wool takes up more room than the gold. No, Sir; I
always thought Robertson would be crushed by his own weight,--would be
buried under his own ornaments. Goldsmith tells you shortly all you want
to know: Robertson detains you a great deal too long. No man will
read Robertson's cumbrous detail a second time; but Goldsmith's plain
narrative will please again and again. I would say to Robertson what
an old tutor of a college said to one of his pupils: "Read over your
compositions, and where ever you meet with a passage which you think
is particularly fine, strike it out." Goldsmith's abridgement is better
than that of Lucius Florus or Eutropius; and I will venture to say, that
if you compare him with Vertot, in the same places of the Roman History,
you will find that he excels Vertot. Sir, he has the art of compiling,
and of saying every thing he has to say in a pleasing manner. He is now
writing a Natural History and will make it as entertaining as a Persian
Tale.'

I cannot dismiss the present topick without observing, that it is
probable that Dr. Johnson, who owned that he often 'talked for
victory,' rather urged plausible objections to Dr. Robertson's excellent
historical works, in the ardour of contest, than expressed his real and
decided opinion; for it is not easy to suppose, that he should so widely
differ from the rest of the literary world.

JOHNSON. 'I remember once being with Goldsmith in Westminster-abbey.
While we surveyed the Poets' Corner, I said to him,

"Forsitan et nostrum nomen miscebitur istis."

when we got to Temple-bar he stopped me, pointed to the heads upon it,
and slily whispered me,

"Forsitan et nostrum nomen miscebitur ISTIS."'*

* In allusion to Dr. Johnson's supposed political
principles, and perhaps his own. Boswell.

Johnson praised John Bunyan highly. 'His Pilgrim's Progress has great
merit, both for invention, imagination, and the conduct of the story;
and it has had the best evidence of its merit, the general and continued
approbation of manki