im, left his own country, and came to
London in quest of employment, but found his solicitations fruitless,
and his necessities every day more pressing. In this distress he wrote a
tragedy, and offered it to the players, by whom it was rejected. Thus
were his last hopes defeated, and he had no other prospect than of the
most deplorable poverty. But Mr. Wilks thought his performance, though
not perfect, at least worthy of some reward, and, therefore, offered him
a benefit. This favour he improved with so much diligence, that the
house afforded him a considerable sum, with which he went to Leyden,
applied himself to the study of physick, and prosecuted his design with
so much diligence and success, that, when Dr. Boerhaave was desired by
the czarina to recommend proper persons to introduce into Russia the
practice and study of physick, Dr. Smith was one of those whom he
selected. He had a considerable pension settled on him at his arrival,
and was one of the chief physicians at the Russian court. Dr. J.

A letter from Dr. Smith, in Russia, to Mr. Wilks, is printed in
Chetwood's History of the Stage. R.]

[Footnote 60: "This," says Dr. Johnson, "I write upon the credit of the
author of his life, which was published in 1727;" and was a small
pamphlet, intended to plead his cause with the publick while under
sentence of death "for the murder of Mr. James Sinclair, at Robinson's
coffee-house, at Charing-cross, price 6d. Roberts." Savage sent a copy
of it to Mrs. Carter, with some corrections and remarks. See his letter
to that lady in Mrs. Carter's life by Mr. Pennington, vol. i. p. 58.]

[Footnote 61: Chetwood, however, has printed a poem on her death, which
he ascribes to Mr. Savage. See History of the Stage, p. 206]

[Footnote 62: In 1724.]

[Footnote 63: Printed in the late collection of his poems.]

[Footnote 64: It was acted only three nights, the first on June 12,1723.
When the house opened for the winter season it was once more performed
for the author's benefit, Oct. 2. R.]

[Footnote 65: To Herbert Tryst, esq. of Herefoulshire. Dr. J.]

[Footnote 66: The Plain Dealer was a periodical paper, written by Mr.
Hill and Mr. Bond, whom Savage called the two contending powers of light
and darkness. They wrote, by turns, each six essays; and the character
of the work was observed regularly to rise in Mr. Hill's weeks, and fall
in Mr. Bond's. Dr. J.]

[Footnote 66: The Plain Dealer was a periodical paper, written by