_Reflections on a Grave, &c._ (_ante_, ii. 26), published in
1766, and perhaps written in part by Johnson, has a line borrowed from
this poem:--
'These all the hapless state of mortals show
The sad vicissitude of things below.'
Cowper, _Table-Talk_, ed. 1786, i. 165, writes of
'The sweet vicissitudes of day and night.'
The following elegant version of these lines by Mr. A. T. Barton, Fellow
and Tutor of Johnson's own College, will please the classical reader:--
Musa levat duros, quamvis rudis ore, labores;
Inter opus cantat rustica Pyrrha suum;
Nec meminit, secura rotam dum versat euntem,
Non aliter nostris sortibus ire vices.
[369] He was the brother of the Rev. John M'Aulay (_post_, Oct. 25), the
grandfather of Lord Macaulay.
[370] See _ante_, ii. 51.
[371] In Scotland, there is a great deal of preparation before
administering the sacrament. The minister of the parish examines the
people as to their fitness, and to those of whom he approves gives
little pieces of tin, stamped with the name of the parish as _tokens_,
which they must produce before receiving it. This is a species of
priestly power, and sometimes may be abused. I remember a lawsuit
brought by a person against his parish minister, for refusing him
admission to that sacred ordinance. BOSWELL.
Pages:
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621