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keeper; but he divulged the plot, and received a pardon, provided he went to Antigua. There he found soldiering so disagreeable, that, by bribery and address, he escaped, and, arriving in England, begun his new campaigns on the Bath road. Having replenished his purse, he entered as a midshipman on board the Royal George; and now and then, upon leave of absence, levied contributions as usual; one of which was upon Lord Perceval, for which he was taken up, but acquitted. While confined in Salisbury Gaol, he was frequently visited by ladies of the highest character and respectability, on whom he made such a sensible impression, by his genteel address and captivating manners, as to become the tea-table chat of that town. mediately after his acquittal at the Assizes, he received the following:

CERTAIN BELLES TO DUMAS.

Joy to thee, lovely thief! that thou
Hast 'scap'd the fatal string;
Let gallows groan with ugly rogues,
Dumas must never swing.

Dost thou seek money? to thy wants
Our purses we'll resign;

Im

Could we our hearts to guineas coin,
Those guineas all were thine.

To Bath in safety let my Lord
His loaded pockets carry ;

Thou ne'er again shalt tempt the road,
Sweet youth! if thou wilt marry.

No more shall niggard travellers
Avoid thee; we'll ensure 'em :
To us thou shalt consign thy balls
And pistol:-we'll secure 'em.

Yet think not, when the chains are off,
Which now thy legs bedeck,
To fly ;-in fetters, softer far,

We'll chain thee by the neck."

He never failed to captivate the fair sex, wherever he came, on which he valued himself; and he was discovered by means of some letters directed to them. His character seems to have been a medley of levity, composed of virtues and vices: he had a large share of understanding, with a tolerable scholastic education. When in necessity, he was daring beyond credibility; and his courage was frequently restrained, by his high notion of honour, which he defined,-detesting a mean appearance, and an abhorrence

of cruelty. He possessed a soul, which, in every hazardous enterprise, overlooked all dan gers and difficulties; and which was so firmly attached to his paramours, that his shameful end must be imputed to their extravagances: he was fond of elegance in dress, and of being thought handsome.

He suffered before he arrived at the age of twenty-one; and behaved with great intrepidity at the gallows, preparing his neck for the rope, putting it on, and then throwing himself off the ladder, without giving the executioner the signal agreed on to turn him off.

The character of Macheath was his delight, and with it he diverted himself while in Oxford Gaol.

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WHILST Johnson was sitting in one of the coffee houses at Oxford, about the time when he had a Doctor's degree conferred on him by the University, some young men approached him with a view to entertainment. They knew the subject of Scotch poetry and Scotch literature would call him forth. They talked of "Ossian" and Home's tragedy of "Douglas ;" and one of them repeated, from the latter,

"Ere a sword was drawn,

An arrow from my bow had pierc'd their chief,
Who wore that day the arms which now I wear.
Returning home in triumph, I disdain'd
The shepherd's slothful life, and having heard
That our good king had summon'd his bold peers
To lead their warriors to the Carron side,
I left my father's house, and took with me
A chosen servant to conduct my steps."

After which he called out, "there's imagery for you, Dr. Johnson! there's description! did you ever know any man write like that?" Johnson replied, with that tone of voice for which he was so remarkable, and which it is said Garrick used to mimic most inimitably, "Yes, Sir, many a man, many a woman, and many a child!”

VOL. III.

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Cooke, the translator of " Hesiod," used to say that Johnson was "half a madman, half a scholar, three parts a Roman Catholic, and a complete Jacobite."

SHAKSPEARE, AND GERARD BRANDT.

GERARD BRANDT, a Dutch Poet of some eminence, was born at Amsterdam in 1626, and intended to pursue the business of his father, who was a watchmaker; but the love of song had taken possession of his mind, and caused him to turn his thoughts to that difficult, but, in those days, much-esteemed branch of literature -the Tragic Drama. At the age of seventeen, he produced a piece entitled "The Dissembling Torquatus;" the scene of which is laid at Rome, without, however, any other adherence to history, or even to the original names. We copy from Mr. Bowring's delightful work, the "Batavian Anthology," the following observations of a Dutch Critic, Van Kampen, on this singular production.

"There is in this piece a remarkable resemblance to Hamlet: Shakspeare has drawn from an old Northern tradition preserved by Saxo Grammaticus: Brandt's idea seems to be entirely

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