ys. As a man he was much beloved; and his remains, on interment in the Abbey, were covered by a stone, on ich was inscribed, in imitation of the epitaph on Ben nson, "O rare Sir William Davenant!" We must still loiter upon such a pavement as the one n which we stand; and, though no Boswell is of the arty, our next gossip shall be of SAMUEL JOHNSON. The 18th of September, 1709, witnessed the birth of this giant of literature, who was the son of a country bookseller, and was born at Lichfield, where he received the preliminaries of an education completed at Oxford. From the misfortune which befell his parent, he quitted Pembroke College without a degree, and became for a time the usher of a school. He subsequently opened an academy near to his native city, but with Garrick, his pupil-now sleeping by his side-he ultimately came to London : "Here come two Less feverish, less exalted, soon to part A Garrick and a Johnson: wealth and fame And want the other." Poverty became the companion of Johnson, who, in his earlier day, was ashamed to appear at the dinner-table of his publisher, on account of his threadbare coat, and was content to devour his platter of food behind a screen! Genius, however, will rise superior to circumstances. Men of the highest renown have built their own fame-poverty, want of education, and opposition of every kind disappearing before the human mind, and becoming stepping-stones to fame. It has been said that "Genius has rarely arrived at the Promised Land without first marching through the Red Sea, lingering for awhile in the wilderness, and crossing the Jordan. She has been pursued by the Egyptians, refused hospitality by Edom, and cursed by Balaam; and yet has triumphed in spite of all!" In this way Johnson ultimately triumphed, his success being only obtained after long adversity. He possessed gigantic strength of body and mighty powers of mind, and has left upon posterity a strong and vivid impression. His distinguished career terminated in 1783, when literature was deprived of a successful cultivator, and virtue of a steady supporter. London has many places which retain `a recollection of Johnson, his respective residences having exceeded a dozen. We should scarcely expect, however, to encounter memories of him in the brewery of Messrs. Barclay and Perkins. Such, nevertheless, are there to be found. The great moralist was one of the executors of Mr. Thrale, the original possessor of the brewery; and Boswell relates that, "when the sale of Thrale's brewery was going on (which fetched £135,000), Johnson appeared bustling about with an inkhorn and pen in his buttonhole like an exciseman; and, on being asked what he really considered to be the value of the property which was to be disposed of, said, 'We are not here to sell a parcel of boilers and vats, but the potentiality of growing rich beyond the dream of avarice.' Our thoughts wandered first, as in duty bound, to the tutor; but the pavement on which we loiter was, in point of time, raised first to receive the remains of the pupil,— DAVID GARRICK. This celebrated actor was born at Hereford on the 20th of February, 1716, his father having been a captain of the Old Buffs. Whilst at a grammar-school in Lichfield he evinced his predilection for the stage by performing Sergeant Kite in The Recruiting Officer. After a visit to Lisbon Garrick returned to Lichfield, and became the pupil of Johnson, with whom he started for London on the 2nd of March, 1736. At first he thought of the law, and became connected with Lincoln's Inn; other pursuits followed, but all were at length forsaken for the stage. His first trial in London was made at the theatre in Goodman's Fields, on the 19th of October, 1741, in the character of Richard III. After a few nights he became a favourite with the town, and from the distant East he was soon invited to Drury Lane and Covent Garden. He reached the highest step of the dramatic ladder, and ultimately became sole manager of Drury Lane, which he conducted until his retirement from the stage, June 10th, 1776, his farewell performance being Don Felix, in The Wonder. Garrick has been declared the most complete actor that ever trod the British stage. He died at his residence on the Adelphi Terrace, on the 20th of January, 1779, at the age of sixty-three, when the stern moralist, Johnson, remarked that the gaiety of nations was eclipsed. His remains were honoured with a sumptuous funeral, being followed to the Abbey by "troops of friends," the list including Samuel Johnson, Sheridan (chief mourner), and Richard Cumberland. These were indeed friends, honouring his remains when they were on their transit to the tomb, and finally lying down by their side. They rest beneath this pavement! "If manly sense; if nature link'd with art; If strong expression and strange powers, which lie If feelings which few hearts like his can know, And which no face so well as his can show, Deserve the preference-Garrick, take the chair, Nor quit it till thou place an equal there."-CHURCHILL. JOHN HENDERSON, honoured with interment in the midst of such goodly company, was an actor of great talent, which paled only before the brilliance of Garrick's reputation. Henderson was born in Cheapside in 1746, and his earliest histrionic attempt was made upon the boards of the Bath Theatre in 1772. The "little theatre" in the Haymarket introduced him to the metropolitan playgoers in 1777, the same year marking his entrée upon the more lordly stage of Drury Lane. From this period until the time of his death (1785) he continued an honour to the stage and to the society into which he was welcomed. This gifted actor, during Lent, gave readings at Freemasons' Tavern, and frequently amongst the delighted auditory were to be encountered the manly figure of John Kemble, with the graceful form of his incomparable sister, Mrs. Siddons, JOHN HENDERSON-RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN. 27 both of whom the Abbey seeks to perpetuate by statues. Henderson died before he had reached his fortieth summer, and when the partial shade into which he had been cast by the refulgence of Garrick was gradually passing away. George III. once witnessed his performance of Benedick, which afforded him so much pleasure that he forwarded to the favoured actor the message: If the king were manager of a theatre, Mr. Henderson would perform upon the same boards with Mrs. Siddons." Garrick, we have said, lies on one side of Johnson. On the other side repose the remains of RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN. This. distinguished writer and orator was born in Dublin, but was brought to England at an early age, and was placed at Harrow School. Upon the completion of his studies he was entered at the Middle Temple. The law occupied, however, but little of his attention, and before reaching his twentieth year he assisted in the translation. of some epistles from the Greek; whilst prior to his twentyfourth birthday, he had produced his first play, The Rivals. Sheridan subsequently became a part proprietor of Drury Lane Theatre, and entered a parliament enlightened by the brilliancy of Burke, and which owned the sway of Pitt and Fox. In his first efforts in the Commons, Sheridan was unsuccessful, and was counselled to seek again the more congenial atmosphere of Drury Lane. There was less of bitterness in this reverse than that which fell to the share of some of his gifted compeers: insolence, for example, was once |