Johnson, at that time, lodged at Greenwich. He there fixes the scene,
and takes leave of his friend; who, he says in his life, parted from him
with tears in his eyes. The poem, when finished, was offered to Cave. It
happened, however, that the late Mr. Dodsley was the purchaser, at the
price of ten guineas. It was published in 1738; and Pope, we are told,
said, "The author, whoever he is, will not be long concealed;" alluding
to the passage in Terence, "Ubi, ubi est, diu celari non potest."
Notwithstanding that prediction, it does not appear that, besides the
copy-money, any advantage accrued to the author of a poem, written with
the elegance and energy of Pope. Johnson, in August, 1738, went, with
all the fame of his poetry, to offer himself a candidate for the
mastership of the school at Appleby, in Leicestershire. The statutes of
the place required, that the person chosen should be a master of arts.
To remove this objection, the then lord Gower was induced to write to a
friend, in order to obtain for Johnson a master's degree in the
university of Dublin, by the recommendation of Dr. Swift. The letter was
printed in one of the magazines, and was as follows:

SIR,--Mr. Samuel Johnson, author of London, a satire, and some other
poetical pieces, is a native of this county, and much respected by some
worthy gentlemen in the neighbourhood, who are trustees of a
charity-school, now vacant; the certain salary of which is sixty pounds
per year, of which they are desirous to make him master; but,
unfortunately, he is not capable of receiving their bounty, which would
make him happy for life, by not being a master of arts, which, by the
statutes of the school, the master of it must be.

Now these gentlemen do me the honour to think, that I have interest
enough in you, to prevail upon you to write to dean Swift, to persuade
the university of Dublin to send a diploma to me, constituting this poor