Saturday to Monday, and frequently at other times, being never fo, happy as when he made others fo, being himself, in his narrower fphere, the Grandifon he drew; his heart and hand ever open to diftrefs. Mr. Richardfon was a plain man, who feldom exhibited his talents in mixed company. He heard the fentiments of others fometimes with attention, and feldom gave his own; rather defirous of gaining your friendship by his modefty than his parts. Befides his being a great genius, he was a truly good man in all refpects; in his family, in commerce, in converfation, and in every inftance of conduct. He was pious, virtuous, exemplary, benevolent, friendly, generous, and humane to an uncommon degree, glad of every opportunity of doing good offices to his fellow-creatures in diftrefs, and relieving many without their knowledge. His chief delight was doing good. He was highly revered and beloved by his domestics, because of his happy temper and discreet conduct. He had great tenderness towards his wife and children, and great condefcenfion towards his fervants, He was always very fedulous in bufinefs, and almoft always 'employed in it; and dispatched a great deal by the prudence of his manage. ment. His turn of temper led him to improve his fortune with mechanical affiduity; and having no violent paffions, nor any defire of being triflingly distinguished from others, he at laft became rich, and left his family in easy independence; though his house and table, both in town and country, were ever open to his numerous friends. By many family misfortunes, and his own writings, which in a manner realised every feigned diftrefs, his nerves naturally weak, or, as Pope expreffes it, "trem"blingly alive all o'er," were fo unhinged, that for many years before his death his hand fhook, he had frequent vertigoes, and would fometimes have fallen had he not fupported himself by his cane under his coat. His paralytic diforder affected his nerves to fuch a degree for a confiderable time before his death, that he could not lift a glafs of wine to his mouth without affiftance. This dif order at length terminating in an apoplexy, deprived the world of this amiable man and truly original genius, on July 4, 1761, at the age of 72. He was buried, by his own direction, with his first wife, in the middle aile, near the pulpit of St. Bride's church. The memorial on his tomb may be seen in the "Anecdotes of Bowyer," p. 312. His picture by Mr. Highmore, whence a mezzotinto has been been taken, is in the poffeffion of his fon-in-law Mr. Bridgen. The two first volumes of his "Pamela," which were written in three months [D], first introduced him to the literary world; and never was a book of the kind more generally read and admired. It was even recommended not unfrequently from the pulpit, particularly by Dr. Slocock, late of Christ Church, Surrey, who had a very high efteem for it, as well as for its author. But it is much to be regretted that his improved edition, in which much was altered, much omitted, and the whole newmodeled, has never yet been given to the public, as the only reafon which prevented it in his life-time, that there was an edition unfold, muft long have ceafed [E]. 66 In a MS. of the late Mr. Whifton the bookfeller, was the following paffage: "Mr. Samuel Richardson was a worthy man altogether. Being very liable to paffion, he directed all his men, it is faid, by letters: not trufting to reprove by words, which threw him into haftinefs, and hurt him, who had always a tremor on his nerves." We have heard nearly the fame account from fome of his workmen. But this, we believe, was not the reafon; though the fact was certainly true, it was rather for convenience, to avoid altercation, and going up into the printing-office; and his principal affiftant Mr. Tewley was remarkably deaf. Befides his three great works, his PAMELA, CLARISSA, and GRANDISON, he published, 1. The Ne[D] Sec Aaron Hill's Letters, in "mafter of the heart, the Shakspeare the tecond volume of his Works, p. "of Romance." 198. It was tranflated into French in 1741, by the permiffion of Mr. Richardfon, who furnished the tranflator with feveral corrections. Clariffa was tranflated into Dutch by the Rev. Mr. Stinftra, author of "A Paftoral Letter again Fanaticifm," tranflated into. English by Mr. Rimius. With this learned foreigner Mr. Richardfon afterwards carried on a correfpondence (Mr. Stinftra writing in Latin, which was interpreted to Mr. Richardfon by fome of his literary friends), and invited him to England, which his attendance on an aged mother obliged Mr. Stintra to decline. See, in the collection of Mr. Hughes's Letters, vol. II. p. 2, a letter from Mr. Dun. combe to Mr. Richardfon, who is very jaily ftyled by the editor "The great I [E] Propofals were fome years fince circulated, "for printing and publifh"ing a correct, uniform, and beautiful "edition of thofe celebrated and ad"mired pieces, written by the late "Mr. Samuel Richardfon, intituled, "Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded; The "Hiftory of Mifs Clariffa Harlowe; "and The Hiftory of Sir Charles "Grandifon. To which will be added "anecdotes of the author, with his "head elegantly engraved, a critique "on his genius and writings, and a "collection of letters written by him "on moral and entertaining fubjects, "never before published. By William The Richardfon [his nephew]." whole was intended to be comprized in twenty volumes octavo, to be published monthly, at four fhillings a volume. gotiation "gotiation of Sir Thomas Roe, in his Embaffy to the Nrandifon, was printed in 1755, 12mo. +9 N° 97, vol. II. of the "Ramblers," it is well known, was written by Mr. Richardfon; in the preamble to which Dr. Johnfon ftyles him "an author from whom "the age has received greater favours, who has enlarged "the knowledge of human nature, and taught the paf"fions to move at the command of Virtue." In the "Anecdotes of Bowyer," are collected a confiderable number of valuable teftimonials to his literary merit; of which a few muft here fuffice. 66 Aaron Hill, in a letter to Mallet, who fuppofed there Hill's were fome traces of Hill's hand in Pamela, fays, Upon Works, my faith, I had not any (the minuteft) fhare in that de- vol. II. p. lightful nursery of virtue. The fole and abfolute au"thor is Mr. Richardfon; and fuch an author too he is, that hardly mortal ever matched him, for his ease of "natural power. He feems to move like a calm fummer "fea, that fwelling upward, with unconfcious deepnefs, lifts the heaviest weights into the fkies, and fhews no "fenfe of their incumbency. He would, perhaps, in [] See this Cafe at large in the "Anecdotes of Bowyer," p. 356. 66 every 221. Vol. I. p. 283. every thing he fays or does be more in nature than all men before him, but that he has one fault, to an un"natural excess, and that is MODESTY." In Dr. Warton's "Effay on Pope," is the following elogium: "Of all reprefentations of madness, that of Cle"mentina in the Hiftory of Sir Charles Grandifon is the "moft deeply interefting. I know not whether even "the madness of Lear is wrought up, and expreffed by fo "many little ftrictures of nature and genuine paffions." Mr.Sherlock, the celebrated English Traveller, observes, "the greatest effort of genius that perhaps was ever "made was, forming the plan of Clariffa Harlowe." "Richardson is not yet arrived at the fulnefs of his glory."...." "Richardfon is admirable for every species "of delicacy; for delicacy of wit, fentiment, language, ac"tion, every thing." "His genius was immenfe. His "misfortune was, that he did not know the ancients. Had "he but been acquainted with one fingle principle, 'Omne fupervacuum pleno de pectore manat,' (all fuperfluities "tire); he would not have fatiated his reader as he has "done. There might be made out of Clariffa and Sir "Charles Grandifon TWO works, which would be "both the moft entertaining, and the most ufeful, that ever were written..... His views were grand. His "foul was noble, and his heart was excellent. He formed a plan that embraced all human nature. His object was "to benefit mankind. His knowledge of the world "fhewed him that happiness was to be attained by man, only in proportion as he practifed virtue. His good "fenfe then thewed him that no practical fyftem of "morality exifted; and the fame good fenfe told him "that nothing but a body of morality, put into ac"tion, could work with efficacy on the minds o "youth." Dr. Johnfon, in his Preface to Rowe, obferves, "The character of Lothario feems to have been expanded by "Richardfon into Lovelace, but he has excelled his ori.. "ginal in the moral effect of the fiction. Lothario, with gaiety which cannot be hated, and bravery which can"not be defpifed, retains too much of the fpectator's "kindness. It was in the power of Richardfon alone to teach us at once efteem and detestation; to make virtu46 ous refentment overpower all the benevolence which "wit, and elegance, and courage, naturally excite; and "to lofe at last the hero in the villain." The The Dutchefs of Somerfet fays, "We are at prefent very "highly entertained with the Hiftory of Sir Charles Grandifon, which is fo. vaftly above Pamela or Clariffa, "that I fhall not be eafy till you have read it, and "fent me your fentiments upon it." And Shenftone adds, "I am, like the rest of the world, perufing. "Sir Charles Grandifon. I don't know whether that. "world joins me in preferring the author's Clariffa." Mr. Richardfon's reputation is far from being confined to his own country. He has been read in many of the languages, and known to moft of the nations, of Europe'; and has been greatly admired, notwithstanding every diffimilitude of manners, or even difadvantage of tranflation. Several writers abroad, where no prepoffeffion in his fa→ vour could poffibly take place, have expreffed the high fense which they entertained of the merit of his works. M. Diderot, in his "Effay on Dramatic Poetry," p. 96, mentions Richardfon particularly as a perfect master of that art: "How ftrong," fays he, "how fenfible, how pathetic, are his defcriptions! his perfonages, though " filent, are alive before me; and of thofe who fpeak, the "actions are still more affecting than the words. Dr. Young was long and intimately acquainted with him, Gent. Mag. and had always the highest esteem for him on account of Nov. 1783, the many excellences, natural and moral, which he dif cerned in him. Mr. Richardfon having not had the ad- ́ vantage of a complete education, Dr. Young, to whom he was recounting the various difficulties he had paffed through, afking him, "How he came to be an author?" he anfwered, "When I was about twelve years of age, I "drew up a fhort character of a certain gentlewoman in "the parish, who was reputed a great Saint, but I looked "upon her to be a great hypocrite. The character it "feems was fo exactly drawn, that, when it came to be privately handed about amongst some felect friends, every one could difcern the features, and appropriate the picture to the true original, though no name was affixed to "it. This little fuccefs at firft fetting out did, you will "naturally fuppofe, tempt me at different times to employ my pen yet further in fome trivial amufements or other "for my own diverfion, till at length, though many years "after, I fat down to write in good earneft, going upon fubjects that took my fancy moft, and following the bent of my natural inclination, &c." Dr. Young made this pertinent and juft obfervation, that this man, with the advantages only or chiefly of mere nature, im 66 |