Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 02.djvu/107

 various knots of pert insipid, lively stupid, well-bred impertinent, good-humoured malicious, obliging deceitful, waspy drivelling gossips; nor enter into juntos with people who were not to his liking' (Medical Essays). Habitual inertness and a splenetic temperament were probably the real drawbacks to his advancement. Dr. Beattie, in a letter to Sir William Forbes, writes: 'I know not what is the matter with Armstrong, but he seems to have conceived a rooted aversion against the whole human race, except a few friends, which it seems are dead.' In Thomson's 'Castle of Indolence' there is a stanza which is supposed to refer to Armstrong:—

In 1744 appeared the 'Art of preserving Health,' a didactic poem in four books, which sprang at once into popularity, and has passed through several editions down to our own day. In the class of poetry to which it belongs, the 'Art of preserving Health' holds a distinguished place. No writer of the eighteenth century had so masterful a grasp of blank verse as is shown in parts of this poem. The powerful passage descriptive of the plague (book iii.) has been highly praised. As in all didactic poetry, the practical directions are of little interest; but those who value austere imagination and weighty diction cannot afford to neglect Armstrong's masterpiece.

He was appointed, in February 1746, a physician to the Hospital for Lame, Maimed, and Sick Soldiers in London. Five years later (1751) he published 'Benevolence, an Epistle,' which added little to his fame; and in 1753 'Taste, an Epistle to a young Critic,' readable but acrimonious. At this time Dr, Theobald addressed to him two complimentary Latin odes. Armstrong's next venture was a tragedy, 'The Forced Marriage,' written in 1754, but not published until 1770. Much more interesting are the 'Sketches or Essays on various subjects, in two parts,' published in 1758 under the pseudonym of Launcelot Temple. It has been suggested—without evidence—that he was assisted in the composition of these essays by Wilkes, with whom he was nearly acquainted for many years. Always terse, often original, and sometimes brilliant, Armstrong's prose is undeserving of the neglect into which it has fallen.

In 1760 he received the post of physician to the army in Germany. Writing to Wilkes on 3 Nov. of that year, he enclosed a poetical epistle entitled 'Day,' which was published in the following year. A letter in the 'Public Advertiser' of 23 March 1773 accused Wilkes of having published it against the author's wish. In the following number appeared a reply, signed 'Truth,' denying the charge; and this was followed, on 1 April, by a letter, signed 'Nox,' wherein the writer declared that the verses were published at Armstrong's repeated requests and against Wilkes's advice. Several years afterwards there appeared in the 'Gentleman's Magazine' (January 1792) the notes of a conversation between Wilkes and Armstrong on the subject of the correspondence in the 'Public Advertiser.' According to this report Armstrong accused Wilkes of having written the three letters in question, Wilkes denying the charge with caustic pleasantry. Whether the letters were written by Wilkes, or whether any such conversation ever occurred, is extremely doubtful; but as to the publication of 'Day' we are able to refer to Armstrong's unpublished letters in the valuable 'Wilkes Correspondence' acquired a few years ago by the British Museum (Add. MS 30867). On 3 Nov. 1760, When sending the epistle to Wilkes, he writes:—'I &hellip; send you letters by the brace. If you approve of that in rhyme, I wish all the people in Britain and Ireland would read it, that I might be indulged in the vanity of being known for your friend. But if you think it worthy of Mr. Bowyer's press, don't submit it to that severe operation till everything you find wrong in it is altered.' Wilkes ruthlessly excised whatever he thought to be inferior, and exposed a tattered version to the public, indicating the cancelled passages by stars. Moreover, after sending the epistle to press, he seems not to have troubled himself to make any communication on the subject with the author; for on 29 Oct. 1762, unaware that the epistle was already in print, Armstrong wrote from abroad to ask Wilkes to hand over to Millar, the bookseller, 'one strayed ode—item one elegy—item one epistle entitled a "Day," which I shall be glad to clear of a few clouds. You must know I kept only the first copy, which is mislaid, or more probably lost.' The next letter broke off, once for all, the connection between the friends. We print it, for the first time, from Add. MS. 30867, p. 216:—'London, 17 Sept. 1763. Sir,—I thank you for the honour of a letter, and continue sensible of every mark