The Makers of English Prose

the outside wrought up with consummate patience of detail and vividness of colouring. Carlyle has given us his sketch of the moral significance of the man and his times, by virtue of his intense insight aud sympathy going far deeper than Macaulay, and touching-in his portrait with more lifelike realism and effect. Other aud minor hands have again aud again assumed the task, aud few have altogether failed, because the mau himself is so full of interest that it is hardly possible for any one to be quite dull in writing of him. Boswell's Life of Johnson has held its place for a century as a classic biography, and is not likely to be displaced. It is one of the few books which a man would choose for lifelong companionship, a book which fascinates the scholar and student uot less than the common people who run and read. It has the superb merit of being graphic and alive in its every detail. Boswell has no need to describe his hero: we see him for ourselves. There is no reticence about James Boswell; he tells us all he knows. His worship for his burlyhero is touching in its thoroughness and simplicity. He is quite willing to acknowledge that his one function in life was to gather up the scattered conversational gems of Dr. Johnson, and he reckons it a task worth living for. Vain as he is, he has no vanity in the presence of his idol. He is his most devoted humble servant. He enjoys being insulted by Johnson more than he would relish being flattered by any other man. Al...