Johnson's boyhood and youth were passed amid severe struggles and hardships not easily endured; but, by the exercise of the great talents with which he was gifted, he secured comfort and ease in his declining years. He occupies a distinguished place among English men of letters, and has been called "the brightest ornament of the eighteenth century," which may be now not unreasonably thought too high praise; but it is not too much to say of him as a critic, that during his life his influence among his countrymen was supreme, and that, since his death, they have regarded his name with pride and respect. His face and figure with all their peculiarities, are stamped on the memories of intelligent men, his recorded table-talk affords them amusement, and his works are perused with profit and pleasure. The boyhood of so great a man cannot surely be without its lesson.

He was born at Lichfield, on the 18th of September, 1709. His father, Michael Johnson, was a native of Derbyshire, of humble birth, who had settled there as a bookseller; and his mother belonged to a family of substantial yeomanry, which had for ages been planted in the county of Worcester. Both parents were above the ordinary stamp, and the influence of their characteristics can be distinctly traced in their son's career. The father was a pretty fair Latin scholar, and so respectable a citizen as to be made one of the magistrates of the town, though never in prosperous circumstances. He was a zealous High Churchman and Jacobite, so that the sage was cradled and nurtured in those opinions and prejudices to which he clang through life, and expressed without any particular regard or toleration for the views and feelings of others His mother was a woman of strong sense and understanding, without being very literate. She was truly pious, however, and early conveyed to her boy those devout impressions which, with the exception of a short interval, were afterwards so apparent in his words and actions. She used to impart to him some religious lesson, and then send him to repeat it to the rnan-servant, in order to have it permanently fixed in his memory; though there was in reality no occasion for any artificial aid for its preservation. His memory, indeed, was always most tenacious, and the following instance of its early power is given by the faithful and admiring Boswell:—

"When he was a child in petticoats, and had learned to read, Mrs. Johnson one morning put the Common Prayer-Book into his hands, pointing to the Collect for the day, and said, 'Sam, you must get this by heart.' She went upstairs, leaving him to study it, hut by the time she had reached the second floor she heard him following her. 'What's the matter?' said she. 'I can say it!' he replied, and repeated it distinctly, though he could not have read it more than twice."

When he was not quite three years old, Dr. Sa-cheverel visited Lichfield. Johnson insisted on being taken to hear him, and, perched on Ms father's shoulders, gazed with rapture at the well-known preacher.

Being sorely afflicted with the king's evil, which disfigured a countenance said to have been originally pleasing, and deprived him of the use of one eye, Johnson was, in accordance with a superstition of the age, carried to London by his mother to be touched by the Queen. Though the touch was without effect, he seems to have been extremely proud of it. "He had," he said, when asked if he remembered Queen Anne, "a confused, but somehow a solemn, recollection of a lady in diamonds and a long black hood."

He received his first instruction in English at a dame's school in his native town. One day the servant, who usually came to take him home, being behind time, he set off alone, notwithstanding his nearsightedness, which obliged him to stoop down and take a view of the street-gutter before venturing to cross it. The good dame, fearing that he might be run over, or that some other accident might befall him by the way, followed at a little distance, till perceived by her youthful pupil, who manifested" that jealous independence of spirit and impetuosity of temper which never forsook him," by a not very be coming attempt to beat her.

Having next passed through the hands of an English teacher, whom he used familiarly to talk of as Tom Brown, he began Latin, in 1719, with the under-master of Lichfield School, described by him as "very skilful in his little way." Two years later he came under the care of the head-master, whom he accused of anything rather than sparing the rod. However, Johnson profited largely by his instruction, and confessed that he should never have acquired his accurate knowledge of Latin but for having been well whipped. In fact, he was ever strongly of opinion that a little flogging was by no means un-conducive to a hoy's improvement; but he was hardly ever corrected at school himself, except for talking and diverting other boys from their lessons. Doubtless he was, by nature, indolent, but not so much so as ambitious to excel; and the latter feeling roused him to those efforts which laid the foundation of his fame. He was almost disqualified by his defective sight from joining in the ordinary diversions of the school, but much given to reading. Romances, indeed, formed the chief part of it, and he retained his attachment to them throughout life. He often regretted his devotion to them, attributing to it a restless turn of mind, which prevented him from settling to any regular profession; but, considering the height to which, in spite of all obstacles, he worked his way, it is impossible not to rejoice that he should have so spent a portion of his time. It was probably for the purpose of indulging in the day-dreams created by them that he loved to saunter away the vacation hours, accompanied by a friend, but generally talking to himself. His memory was marvellous in its powers, and grasped anything presented to it with a tenacity little less than miraculous. One of his schoolfellows in after-life related that, on one occasion, having recited to him eighteen verses, he repeated them after a pause with a single variation, which was, in reality, an improvement Thus, whatever he read was added to his knowledge and the effect was soon visible in the influence he possessed with his companions, who, especially- his favourites, found the value of his assistance, and were in the habit of requiting it by carrying him to school in the morning. He sat on the back of one, while two others supported him on each side. In frosty weather he had a strange fancy for being draws, along the ice by a barefooted boy. This was done by means of a cord fastened round his body, which even then was so heavy as to render the duty somewhat severe.

After leaving Lichfield School, and residing some time in the house of his maternal uncle, a request was made by his father to have him received as a scholar and assistant at Newport School, in Shropshire. This was not acceded to, though the head-master afterwards boasted that he was nearly having so great a man for his pupil. On this scheme failing, he was sent to the school at Stourbridge, in Worcestershire, without receiving so much benefit as was expected, owing to his not being on the best of terms with the master. At this place he remained two years, assisting to teach the younger boys, and then returned home, where he spent his time in reading, without any regular plan of study. He was scolded by his father for idleness, but in reality was roaming at large in classic realms, and storing his huge mind from the works of the ancient authors.