joyed feasts which were made more agreeable by contrast.
But in general he dined, and thought that he dined well, on
sixpenny-worth of meat and a pennyworth of bread at an ale-house near
Drury Lane.

About a year after Johnson had begun to reside in London he was
fortunate enough to obtain regular employment from Cave, an
enterprising and intelligent bookseller, who was proprietor and editor
of the _Gentleman's Magazine_.

A few weeks after Johnson had entered on these obscure labors he
published a work which at once placed him high among the writers of
his age. It is probable that what he had suffered during his first
year in London had often reminded him of some parts of that noble poem
in which Juvenal had described the misery and degradation of a needy
man of letters, lodged among the pigeons' nests in the tottering
garrets which overhung the streets of Rome. Pope's admirable
imitations of Horace's "Satires and Epistles" had recently appeared,
were in every hand, and were by many readers thought superior to the
originals. What Pope had done for Horace, Johnson aspired to do for
Juvenal. The enterprise was bold, and yet judicious. For between
Johnson and Juvenal there was much in common--much more, certainly,
than between Pope and Horace.

Johnson's "London" appeared, without his name, in May, 1738. He
received only ten guineas for this stately and vigorous poem; but the
sale was rapid and the success complete. A second edition was required
within a week. Those small critics who are always desirous to lower
established reputations ran about proclaiming that the anonymous
satirist was superior to Pope in Pope's own peculiar department of
literature. It ought to be remembered, to the honor of Pope, that he
joined heartily in the applause with which the appearance of a rival
genius was welcomed. He then made inquiries about the author of
"London." Such a man, he said, could not long be concealed. The name
was soon discovered; and Pope, with great kindness, exerted himself to
obtain an academical degree and the mastership of a grammar-school for
the poor young poet. The attempt failed, and Johnson remained a
bookseller's hack.

The fame of his abilities and learning continued to grow. Warburton
pronounced him a man of parts and genius; and the praise of Warburton
was then no light thing. Such was Johnson's reputation that, in 1747,
several eminent booksellers combined to employ him in the arduous work
of preparing