wise advice of Dr. Smith of Philadelphia, 
"wasted none of his time in qother literary 
pursuits. Among his learned and ingenious 
_cote1npora1'ies, however, he acquired a general 
knowledge of the passing literature of the day, 
and in consequence, there are few authors of 
any celebrity, especially the cotemporaries of 
Johnson, of whom he does not possess interest- 
ing anecdotes, as well as an acquaintance with 
the merit which they were severally allowed to 
POSSGSS. 
One day at Sir Joshua Reynolds, after dinner, 
when Dr. Johnson, Goldsmith, and Burke were 
present, the conversation turned on the degree 
of excellence which sculpture attained among 
the Greeks.  It Was observed incidentally, that 
there was something in the opinion of the 
ancients, on this subject, quite inexplicable; 
for, in the time of Alexander the Great, although 
painting was allowed to have been progressive, 
sculpture was said to have declined, and yet the 
finest examples of the art, the Apollo and 
Venus, were considered as the Works of that 
period. Diiferent theories were sported on this