hundred faults instead of four or five; but you do not consider that it
would take me up three whole months' labour, and when the time was expired
the work would not be done." When the booksellers set him about it,
however, some years after, he went cheerfully to the business, said he was
well paid, and that they deserved to have it done carefully. His reply to
the person who complimented him on its coming out first, mentioning the ill
success of the French in a similar attempt, is well known, and, I trust,
has been often recorded. "Why, what would you expect, dear sir," said he,
"from fellows that eat frogs?" I have, however, often thought Dr. Johnson
more free than prudent in professing so loudly his little skill in the
Greek language; for though he considered it as a proof of a narrow mind to
be too careful of literary reputation, yet no man could be more enraged
than he if an enemy, taking advantage of this confession, twitted him with
his ignorance; and I remember when the King of Denmark was in England one
of his noblemen was brought by Mr. Colman to see Dr. Johnson at our country
house, and having heard, he said, that he was not famous for Greek
literature, attacked him on the weak side, politely adding that he chose
that conversation on purpose to favour himself. Our Doctor, however,
displayed so copious, so compendious a knowledge of authors, books, and
every branch of learning in that language, that the gentleman appeared
astonished. When he was gone home, says Johnson, "Now, for all this
triumph I may thank Thrale's Xenophon here, as I think, excepting that ONE,
I have not looked in a Greek book these ten years; but see what haste my
dear friends were all in," continued he, "to tell this poor innocent
foreigner that I know nothing of Greek! Oh, no, he knows nothing of
Greek!" with a loud burst of laughing.

When Davies printed the "Fugitive Pieces" without his knowledge or consent,
"How," said I, "would Pope have raved, had he been served so!" "We should
never," replied he, "have heard the last on't, to be sure; but then Pope