SA,TA JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ., Of Aiichmkck. After the painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds. '' Bo SWELL'S Life of Johnson IiVCLUDiyO BOSW ELL'S JOURNAL OF A TOUR TO THE HEBRIDES AND JOHNSON'S DIARY OF A JOURNEY INTO NORTH tYALES EDITED BY GEORGE BIRKBECK HILL, D.C.L. PEMBROKE COLLEGE, OXFORD /AT SIX VOLUMES VOLUiME I.— LIFE (1709-1765) BIGELOW, BROWN & CO., Inc. NE^^' YORK THE COLONIAL PHESS C. H. SIMONDS CO., BOSTON, U. 8. Ao [TitU^ge to the Third Editioa.] THE LIFE OF SAMUEL JOHNSON, LL.D. COMPREHENDING AN ACCOUNT OF HIS STUDIES AND NUMEROUS WORKS, IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER; A SERIES OF HIS EPISTOLARY CORRESPONDENCE AND CONVERSATIONS WITH MANY EMINENT PERSONS ; VARIOUS ORIGINAL PIECES OF HIS COMPOSITION, NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED: THE WHOLE EXHIBITING A VIEW OF LITERATURE AND LITERARY MEN IN GREAT-BRITAIN, FOR NEAR HALF A CENTURY, DURING WHICH HE FLOURISHED. By JAMES BOSIVELL, Esq. Quo fit lit OMNIS Votiva fateat vehiti descripta tabella Vita senis. HORAT. THE THIRD EDITION, REVISED AND AUGMENTED, IN FOUR VOLUMES. LONDON: PRINTED BY H. BALDWIN AND SON, FOR CHARLES DILLY, IN THE POULTRY. MDCCXCIX. u ::^^^^\ - l^of ••••' I I / TO THE REVEREND BENJAMIN JOWETT, M.A. MASTER OF BALLIOL COLLEGE REGIUS PROFESSOR OF GREEK IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD HONORARY LL.D. OF THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH HONORARY D.D. OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LEYDEN WHO IS NOT ONLY •AN ACUTE AND KNOWING CRITIC BUT ALSO • JOHNSONI ANISSIMUS * IN GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE KINDLY INTEREST THAT HE HAS THROUGHOUT TAKEN IN THE PROGRESS OF THIS WORK THIS EDITION OF BOSWELL'S LIFE OF JOHNSON 3s IDebicaUb rAGB I 5 II 17 CONTENTS OF VOL. I. Dedication to Sir Joshua Reynolds Advertisement to the First Edition Advertisement to the Second Edition . Advertisement to the Third Edition . Chronological Catalogue of the Prose Works of Samuel Johnson, LL.D 19 Life of Samuel Johnson (Sept. 18, 1709 — October 1765) 29-579 Appendices A. Johnson's Debates in Parliament ... 581 B. Johnson's Letters to his Mother and Miss Porter in 1759 594 C. Johnson at Cambridge 599 D. Johnson's Letter to Dr. Leland .... 600 E. Johnson's ' Engaging in Politicks with H n ' 601 F. Johnson's first acquaintance with the Thrales and his serious Illness 603 PREFACE. Fielding, it is said, drank confusion to the man who invented the fifth act of a play. He who has edited an ex- tensive work, and has concluded his labours by the prepara- tion of a copious index, might well be pardoned, if he omitted to include the inventor of the Preface among the benefactors of mankind. The long and arduous task that years before he had set himself to do is done, and the last thing that he desires is to talk about it. Liberty is what he asks for, liberty to range for a time wherever he pleases in the wide and fair fields of literature. Yet with this longing for free- dom comes a touch of regret and a doubt lest the ' fresh woods and pastures new ' may never wear the friendly and familiar face of the plot of ground within whose narrower confines he has so long been labouring, and whose every corner he knows so well. May- be he finds hope in the thought that should his new world seem strange to him and uncomfortable, ere long he may be called back to his old task, and in the preparation of a second edition find the quiet and the peace of mind that are often found alone in * old use and wont.' With me the preparation of these volumes has, indeed, been the work of many years. Boswell's Life of Johnson I read for the first time in my boyhood, when I was too young f6r it to lay any hold on me. When I entered Pembroke College, Oxford, though I loved to think that Johnson had been xii Preface. been there before me, yet I cannot call to mind that I ever opened the pages of Boswell. By a happy chance I was turned to the study of the literature of the eighteenth cen- tury. Every week we were required by the rules of the College to turn into Latin, or what we called Latin, a pas- sage from The Spectator. Many a happy minute slipped by while, in forgetfulness of my task, I read on and on in its enchanting pages. It was always with a sigh that at last I tore myself away, and sat resolutely down to write bad Latin instead of reading good English. I'^rom Addison in the course of time I passed on to the other great writers of his and the succeeding age, finding in their exquisitely clear style, their admirable common sense and their freedom from all the tricks of affectation, a delightful contrast to so many of the eminent authors of our own time. Those trouble- some doubts, doubts of all kinds, which since the great upheaval of the French Revolution have harassed mankind, had scarcely begun to ruffle the waters of their life. Even Johnson's troubled mind enjoyed vast levels of repose. The unknown world alone was wrapped in stormy gloom ; of this world ' all the complaints which were made were unjust '.' Though I was now familiar with many of the great writers, yet Boswell I had scarcely opened since my boyhood. A happy day came just eighteen years ago when in an old book-shop, almost under the shadow of a great cathedral, I bought a second-hand copy of a somewhat early edition of the Life in five well-bound volumes. Of all my books none I cherish more than these. In looking at them I have known what it is to feel Bishop Percy's ' uneasiness at the thoughts of leaving his books in death*.' They became my almost inseparable companions. Before long I began to note the parallel passages and allusions not only in their pages, but in the various authors whom I studied. Yet in these early ' Post, iv. 198. - Post, iii. 355. days Preface. xiii days I never dreamt of preparing a new edition. It fell to my lot as time went on to criticise in some of our leading publications works that bore both on Boswell and Johnson. Such was my love for the subject that on one occasion, when I was called upon to write a review that should fill two col- umns of a weekly newspaper, I read a new edition of the Life from beginning to end without, 1 believe, missing a single line of the text or a single note. At length, ' tower- ing in the confidence ' ' of one who as yet has but set his foot on the threshold of some stately mansion in which he hopes to find for himself a home, I was rash enough more than twelve years ago to offer myself as editor of a new edition of Boswell's Life of JoJinson. Fortunately for me another writer had been already engaged by the publisher to whom I applied, and my offer was civilly declined. From that time on I never lost sight of my purpose but when in the troubles of life I well-nigh lost sight of every kind of hope. Everything in my reading that bore on my favourite author was carefully noted, till at length I felt that the materials which I had gathered from all sides were sufficient to shield me from a charge of rashness if I now began to raise the building. Much of the work of preparation had been done at a grievous disadvantage. My health more than once seemed almost hopelessly broken down. Never- theless even then the time was not wholly lost. In the sleepless hours of many a winter night I almost forgot my miseries in the delightful pages of Horace Walpole's Letters, and with pencil in hand and some little hope still in heart, managed to get a few notes taken. Three winters I had to spend on the shores of the Mediterranean. During two of them my malady and my distress allowed of no rival, and my work made scarcely any advance. The third my strength was returning, and in the six months that I spent three ' Post, i. 375- years xiv Prnpire, ed. 1807, vol. i. p. xi. ' Post, iii. 260. ' Post, i. 7. I- — B fresh xvi Preface. fresh reading has given fresh information, and caused many an addition, and not a few corrections moreover to be made, in passages which I had previously presumed to think already complete. Had it been merely the biography of a great man of letters that I was illustrating, such anxious care would scarcely have been needful. But Boswell's Life of Johnson, as its author with just pride boasts on its title-page, ' exhibits a view of literature and literary men in Great Britain, for near half a ccntur>' during which Johnson flour- ished.' Wide, indeed, is the gulf by which this half-century is separated from us. The reaction against the thought and style of the age over which Pope ruled in its prime, and Johnson in its decline, — this reaction, wise as it was in many ways and extravagant as it was perhaps in more, is very far from having spent its force. , Young men arc still far too often found in our Universities who think that one proof of their originality is a contempt of authors whose writings they have never read. Books which were in the hands of almost every reader of the Life when it first appeared are now read only by the curious. Allusions and quotations which once fell upon a familiar and a friendly ear now fall dead. Men whose names were known to every one, now often have not even a line in a Dictionary of Biography. Over manners too a change has come, and as Johnson justly observes, ' all works which describe manners require notes in sixty or seventy years, or less'.' But it is not only Bos- well's narrative that needs illustration. Johnson in his talk ranges over a vast number of subjects. In his capacious memory were stored up the fruits of an almost boundless curiosity, and a wide and varied reading. I have sought to follow him wherever a remark of his required illustration, and have read through many a book that I might trace to its source a reference or an allusion. I have examined, 1 Post, ii. 243. moreover Preface. xvii moreover, all the minor writings which are attributed to him by Boswell, but which are not for the most part included in his collected works. In some cases I have ventured to set my judgment against Boswell's, and have refused to admit that Johnson was the author of the feeble pieces which were fathered on him. Once or twice in the course of my reading I have come upon essays which had escaped the notice of his biographer, but which bear the marks of his workman- ship. To these I have given a reference. While the minute examination that I have so often had to make of Boswell's narrative has done nothing but strengthen my trust in his statements and my admiration of his laborious truthfulness, yet in one respect I have not found him so accurate as I had expected. ' I have,' he says, ' been extremely careful as to the exactness of my quotations '.' Though in preparing his manuscript he referred in each case ' to the originals,' yet he did not, I conjecture, examine them once more in revising his proof-sheets. At all events he has allowed errors to slip in. These I have pointed out in my notes, for in ever\' case where I could I have, I believe, verified his quotations. I have not thought that it was my duty as an editor to attempt to refute or even to criticise Johnson's arguments. The story is told that when Peter the Great v\as on his travels and far from his country, some members of the Rus- sian Council of State in St. Petersburgh ventured to with- stand what was known to be his wish. His walking-stick was laid upon the table, and silence at once fell upon all. In like manner, before that editor who should trouble him- self and his readers with attempting to refute Johnson's arguments, paradoxical as they often were, should be placed Reynold's portrait of that 'labouring working mind^' It might make him reflect that if the mighty reasoner could rise up and meet him face to face, he would be sure, on ■ Post, i. 7. " Post, iv. 511. which xviii Preface. which ever side the right might be. even if at first his pistol missed fire to knock him down w itii the butt-end of it '. I have attempted therefore not to criticise but to illustrate Johnson's statements. I have compared them with the opinions of the more eminent men among his contempora- ries, and with his own as they are contained in other parts of his Life, and in his writings. It is in his written works that his real opinion can be most surely found. ' He owned he sometimes talked for \ictor)' ; he was too conscientious to make error j)crmanent and pernicious by deliberately writing it".' M)- numerous extracts from the eleven vol- umes of his collected works will, I trust, not only give a truer insight into the nature of the man, but also will show the greatness of the author to a generation of readers who have wandered into widely different paths. In my attempts to trace the quotations of which both Johnson and Boswell were somewhat lavish, I have not in every case been successful, though I have received liberal as- sistance from more than one friend. In one case my long search was rewarded by the discovery that Boswell was quoting himself. That I have lighted upon the beautiful lines which Johnson quoted when he saw the Highland girl singing at her wheeP, and have found out who was 'one Giffard,' or rather Gifford, ' a parson,' is to me a source of just triumph. I have not known many happier hours than the one in which in the Library of the British Museum my patient investigation was rewarded and I perused Contem- plation. Fifteen hitherto unpublished letters of Johnson*; his college composition in Latin prose'; a long extract from his manuscript diary ^; a suppressed passage in his Joiirticy to the ' Post, ii. 115. " Post, iv. 495 ; v. 18. * Post, v. 133. * Post, i. 546. n. 4; iv. 300, n. 1 ; v. 461, /i. 4, 518, n. i • vi. xxi-xxxvii. ' Post, i. 70. «. 3. « Post, ii. 547. I Vest em Preface. xix Western Islands^ ; Boswell's letters of acceptance of the office of Secretary for Foreign Correspondence to the Royal Academy''; the proposal for the publication of a Geograph- ical Dictionary issued by Johnson's beloved friend, Dr. Bath- urst'; and Mr. Recorder Longley's record of his conversa- tion with Johnson on Greek metres*, will, I trust, throw some lustre on this edition. In many notes I have been able to clear up statements in the text which were not fully understood even by the au- thor, or were left intentionally dark by him, or have be- come obscure through lapse of time. I would particularly refer to the light that I have thrown on Johnson's engaging in politics with William Gerard Hamilton \ and on Burke's 'talk of retiring'.' In many other notes I have established Boswell's accuracy against attacks which had been made on it apparently with success. It was with much pleasure that 1 discovered that the story told of Johnson's listening to Dr. Sacheverel's sermon is not in any way improbable', and that Johnson's 'censure' of Lord Kames was quite just*. The ardent advocates of total abstinence will not, I fear, be pleased at finding at the end of my long note on Johnson's wine-drinking that I have been obliged to show that he thought that the gout from which he suffered was due to his temperance. ' I hope you persevere in drinking,' he wrote to his friend, Dr. Taylor. ' My opinion is that I have drunk too little'.' In the Appendices I have generally treated of subjects which demanded more space than could be given them in the narrow limits of a foot-note. In the twelve pages of the essay on Johnson's Debates ifi Parliament^'' I have com- • Post, vi. xxxii. * Post, iv. 9, n. 5. • Post, iii. 387, «. i. " Post, iii. 525. * Post, i. 566, 601. " Post, i. 120, n. 2. ' Post, vi. xxii. • Post, iv. 258, n. i. '" Post, i. 581. ' Post, i. 45, ti. 2. pressed XX Preface. pressed the result of the reading of many weeks. In ex- amining the character of George Psalmanazar' I have com- plied with the request of an unknown correspondent who was naturally interested in the history of that strange man, 'after whom Johnson sought the most\' In my essay on Johnson's Travels and Love of Travelling^ I have, in oppo- sition to Lord Macaulay's wild and wanton rhetoric, shown how ardent and how elevated was the curiosity with which Johnson's niiiul was possessed. In another essay I have ex- plained, 1 do not say justified, his strong feelings towards the founders of the United States*; and in a fifth I have examined the election of the Lord Mayors of London, at a time when the City was torn by political strife \ To the other Appendices it is not needful particularly to refer. In my Index, which has cost me many months' heavy work, ' while I bore burdens with dull patience and beat the track of the alphabet with sluggish resolution',' I have, I hope, shown that I am not unmindful of all that I owe to men of letters. To the dead we cannot pay the debt of gratitude that is their due. Some relief is obtained from its burthen, if we in our turn make the men of our own gener- ation debtors to us. The plan on which my Index is made will, I trust, be found convenient. By the alphabetical ar- rangement in the separate entries of each article the reader, I venture to think, will be greatly facilitated in his research- es. Certain subjects I have thought it best to form into groups. Under America, France, Ireland, London, Oxford, Paris, and Scotland, are gathered together almost all the ref- erences to those subjects. The provincial towns of France, however, by some mistake I did not include in the general article. One important but intentional omission I must justify. In the case of the quotations in which my notes > Post, iii. 503. ' Post, iii. 510. ^ Post, iii. 521. ' Post, iii. 357. * Post, ii. 549. 550. ' Post, \. 219, n. i. abound Preface. xxi abound I have not thought it needful in the Index to refer to the book unless the eminence of the author required a separate and a second entry. My labour would have been increased beyond all endurance and my Index have been swollen almost into a monstrosity had I always referred to the book as well as to the matter which was contained in the passage that I extracted. Though in such a variety of subjects there must be many omissions, yet I shall be great- ly disappointed if actual errors are discovered. Every entry I have made myself, and every entry I have verified in the proof-sheets, not by comparing it with my manuscript, but by turning to the reference in the printed volumes. Some indulgence nevertheless may well be claimed and granted. If Homer at times nods, an index-maker may be pardoned, should he in the fourth or fifth month of his task at the end of a day of eight hours' work grow drowsy. May I fondly hope that to the maker of so large an Index will be extend- ed the gratitude which Lord Bolingbroke says was once shown to lexicographers? ' I approve,' writes his Lordship, ' the devotion of a studious man at Christ Church, who was overheard in his oratory entering into a detail with God, and acknowledging the divine goodness in furnishing the world with makers of dictionaries'.' In the list that I give in the beginning of the sixth vol- ume of the books which I quote, the reader will find stated in full the titles which in the notes, through regard to space, I was forced to compress. The Concordance of Johnson's sayings which follows the Index' will be found convenient by the literary man who desires to make use of his strong and pointed utterances. Next to Shakespeare he is, I believe, quoted and misquoted the most frequently of all our writers. ' It is not every man that can carry a bon-nwt''.' Bons-mots that are miscarried ' Post, i. 343, n. 3. ' Post, vi. ^ Post, ii. 401. of xxii Preface. of all kinds of good things suffer the most. In this Con- cordance the general reader, moreover, may find much to delight him. Johnson's trade was wit and wisdom', and some of his best wares are here set out in a small space. It was, I must confess, with no little pleasure that in revising my proof-sheets I found that the last line in my Concord- ance and the last line in my six long volumes is Johnson's quotation of Goldsmith's fine saying : ' I do not love a man who is zealous for nothing.' In the ' forward ' references in the notes to other passages in the book, the reader may be surprised at finding that while often I only give the date under which the reference will be found, frequently I am able to quote the page and volume. The explanation is a simple one : two sets of com- positors were generally at work, and two volumes were pass- ing through the press simultaneously. In the selection of the text which I should adopt I hesi- tated for some time. In ordinary cases the edition which received the author's final revision is the one which all fut- ure editors should follow. The second edition, which was the last that was brought out in Boswell's lifetime, could not, I became convinced, be conveniently reproduced. As it was passing through the press he obtained many additional anecdotes and letters. These he somewhat awkwardly in- serted in an Introduction and an Appendix. He was en- gaged on his third edition when he died. ' He had pointed out where some of these materials should be inserted,' and ' in the margin of the copy which he had in part revised he had written notes^' His interrupted labours were completed by Edmond Malone, to whom he had read aloud almost the whole of his original manuscript, and who had helped him in the revision of the first half of the book when it was in type'. ' These notes,' says Malone, * are faithfully preserved.* He ' Post, iii. 155, ;/. 2, 442. * Post, i. 17, 18. ' Post, i. 8. adds Preface. xxiii adds that ' every new remark, not written by the author, for the sake of distinction has been enclosed within crotchets'.' In the third edition therefore we have the work in the con- dition in which it would have most approved itself to Bos- well's own judgment. In one point only, and that a trifling one, had Malone to exercise his judgment. But so skilful an editor was very unlikely to go wrong in those few cases in which he was called upon to insert in their proper places the additional material which the author had already published in his second edition. Malone did not, however, correct the proof-sheets. I thought it my duty, therefore, in revising my work to have the text of Boswell's second edition read aloud to me throughout Some typographical errors might, I feared, have crept in. In a few unimportant cases early in the book I adopted the reading of the second edition, but as I read on I became convinced that almost all the verbal alterations were Boswell's own. Slight errors, often of the nature of Scotticisms, had been corrected, and greater accu- racy often given. Some of the corrections and additions in the third edition that were undoubtedly from his hand were of considerable importance. I have retained Boswell's spelling in accordance with the wish that he expressed in the preface to his Account of Cor- sica. ' If this work,' he writes, 'should at any future period be reprinted, I hope that care will be taken of my orthog- raphy".' The punctuation too has been preserved. I should be wanting in justice were I not to acknowledge that I owe much to the labors of Mr. Croker. No one can know better than I do his great failings as an editor. His remarks and criticisms far too often deserve the contempt that Macaulay so liberally poured on them. Without being deeply versed in books, he was shallow in himself. Johnson's strong character was never known to him. Its breadth and » Post, i, 17, i8, » Post, IV, 37, ;/, i, length, xxiv Preface. length, and depth and height were far beyond his measure. With his writings even he shows few signs of being famihar. Boswell's genius, a genius which even to Lord Macaulay was foohshness, was altogether hidden from his dull eye. No one surely but a ' blockhead,' a ' barren rascal ',' could with scissors and paste -pot have mangled the biography which of all others is the delight and the boast of the Eng- lish-speaking world. He is careless in small matters, and his blunders are numerous. These I have only noticed in the more important cases, remembering what Johnson some- where points out, that the triumphs of one critic over an- other only fatigue and disgust the reader. Yet he has added considerably to our knowledge of Johnson. He knew men who had intimately known both the hero and his biographer, and he gathered much that but for his care would have been lost for ever. He was diligent and successful in his search after Johnson's letters, of so many of which Boswell with all his persevering and pushing diligence had not been able to get a sight. The editor of Mr. Croker's Correspondence and Diaries^ goes, however, much too far when, in writing of Ma- caulay's criticism, he says : ' The attack defeated itself by its very violence, and therefore it did the book no harm what- ever. Between forty and fifty thousand copies have been sold, although Macaulay boasted with great glee that he had smashed it.' The book that Macaulay attacked was with- drawn. That monstrous medley reached no second edition. In its new form all the worst excrescences had been cleared away, and though what was left was not Boswell, still less was it unchastened Croker. His repentance, however, was not thorough. He never restored the text to its old state ; wanton transpositions of passages still remain, and numerous insertions break the narrative. It was my good fortune to become a sound Boswellian before I even looked at his ' ii. 199. ' vol. ii. p. 47. edition Preface. xxv edition. It was not indeed till I came to write out my notes for the press that I examined his with any thoroughness. 'Notes,' says Johnson, 'are often necessary, but they are necessary evils'.' To the young reader who for the first time turns over Boswell's delightful pages I would venture to give the advice Johnson gives about Shakespeare: — 'Let him that is yet unacquainted with the powers of Shake- speare, and who desires to feel the highest pleasure that the drama can give, read every play from the first scene to the last with utter negligence of all his commentators. When his fancy is once on the wing, let it not stoop at correction or explanation. When his attention is strongly engaged let it disdain alike to turn aside to the name of Theobald and of Pope. Let him read on through brightness and obscurity, through integrity and corruption ; let him preserve his comprehension of the dialogue and his interest in the fable. And when the pleasures of novelty have ceased let him attempt exactness and read the commentators '.' So too let him who reads the Life of Jo/mson for the first time read it in one of the Pre-Crokerian editions. They are numerous and good. With his attention undiverted by notes he will rapidly pass through one of the most charming nar- ratives that the world has ever seen, and if his taste is uncor- rupted by modern extravagances, will recognise the genius of an author who, in addition to other great qualities, has an admirable eye for the just proportions of an extensive work, and who is the master of a style that is as easy as it is inimitable. Johnson, I fondly believe, would have been pleased, per- haps would even have been proud, could he have foreseen this edition. Few distinctions he valued more highly than those which he received from his own great University. The honorary degrees that it conferred on him, the gown that it entitled him to wear, by him were highly esteemed. In the ' Johnson's Works, ed. 1825, vol. v. p. 152. •' id. Clarendon xxvi Preface. Clarendon Press he took a great interest '. The efforts which that famous establishment has made in the excellence of the typography, the quality of the paper, and the admirably-ex- ecuted illustrations and facsimiles to do honor to his memory and to the genius of his biographer would have highly de- lighted him. To his own college he was so deeply attached that he would not have been displeased to learn that his editor had been nursed in that once famous * nest of sing- ing birds.' Of Hoswell's pleasure I cannot doubt. How much he valued any tribute of respect from Oxford is shown by the absurd importance that he gave to a sermon which was preached before the University by an insignificant cler- gyman more than a year and ' and the lit- erature of the eighteenth centurj'. Mr. C. G. Crump. B.A., of Balliol College, Oxford, has traced for me not a few of the quotations which had baffled my search. To .Mr. G. K. I'^or- tescue, Superintendent of the Reading Room of the British Museum, my most grateful acknowledgments are due. His accurate and extensive knowledge of books and his unfailing courtesy and kindness have lightened many a day's heavy work in the spacious room over which he so worthily pre- sides. But most of all am I indebted to Mr. C. E. Doble, M.A., of the Clarendon Press. He has read all my proof- sheets, and by his almost unrivalled knowledge of the men of letters of the close of the seventeenth and of the begin- ning of the eighteenth centuries, he has saved my notes from some blunders and has enriched them with much valuable information. In m)- absence abroad he has in more in- stances than I care to think of consulted for me the Bodleian Library Preface. xxix Librar>'. It is some relief to my conscience to know that the task was rendered lighter to him by his intimate familiarity with its treasures, and by the deep love for literature with which he is inspired. There are other thanks due which I cannot here fittingly express. 'An author partakes of the common condition of humanity; he is born and married like another man ; he has hopes and fears, expectations and disappointments, griefs and joys like a courtier or a statesman '.' In the hopes and fears, in the expectations and disappointments, in the griefs and joys — nay, in the very labours of his literary life, if his hearth is not a solitary one, he has those who largely share. I have now come to the end of my long labours. ' There are few things not purely evil,' wrote Johnson, ' of which we can say without some emotion of uneasiness, this is the last'.' F^rom this emotion I cannot feign that I am free. My book has been my companion in many a sad and many a happy hour. I take leave of it with a pang of regret, but I am cheered by the hope that it may take its place, if a lowly one, among the works of men who have laboured pa- tiently but not unsuccessfully in the great and shining fields of English literature. G. B. H. Clarens, Switzerland: March 1 6, 1887. ' Johnson's Works, ed. 18.15. vol. iv. p. 446. '^ Post, i. 384, n. 3. DEDICATION. TO SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS. My Dear Sir, Every liberal motive that can actuate an Au- thour in the dedication of his labours, concurs in directing me to you, as the person to whom the following Work should be inscribed. If there be a pleasure in celebrating the distinguished merit of a contemporary, mixed with a certain degree of vanity not altogether inexcusable, in appearing fully sensi- ble of it, where can I find one, in complimenting whom I can with more general approbation gratify those feelings? Your excellence not only in the Art over which you have long presided with unrivalled fame, but also in Philosophy and elegant Literature, is well known to the present, and will continue to be the admiration of future ages. Your equal and placid temper', your variety of conversation, your true politeness, b\' which you arc so amiable in private society, and that enlarged hospitality which has long made your house a common centre of union for the great, the ac- complished, the learned, and the ingenious ; all these quali- ties I can, in perfect confidence of not being accused of flat- tery, ascribe to you. If a man may indulge an honest pride, in having it known to the world, that he has been thought worthy of particular ' Johnson said of him :— ' Sir Joshua Reynolds is the same ail the year round;' post, March 28, 1776. Boswell elsewhere describes him as ' he who used to be looked upon as perhaps the most happy man in the world.' Letters 0/ Boswell, p. 344. I, I attention 2 Dedicatio7i. attention by a person of the first eminence in the age in which he hved, whose company has been universally court- ed, I am justified in avaiHng myself of the usual privilege of a Dedication, when I mention that there has been a long and uninterrupted friendship between us. If gratitude should be acknowledged for favours received, I have this opportunit)', ni)- dear Sir, most sincerely to thank you for the man)' happ)' hours which I owe to your kind- ness, — for the cordiality with which you have at all times been pleased to welcome me, — for the number of valuable acquaintances to whom you have introduced me, — for the nodes coenceqiie Deilui\ which 1 have enjoyed under vour xooV. If a work should be inscribed to one who is master of the subject of it, and whose approbation, therefore, must ensure it credit and success, the Life of Dr. Johnson is. with the greatest propriety, dedicated to Sir Joshua Reynolds, who was the intimate and beloved friend of that great man ; the friend, whom he declared to be ' the most invulnerable man he knew; whom, if he should quarrel with him, he should find the most difficulty how to abuse'.' You, my dear Sir, studied him, and knew him well: you venerated and ad- mired him. Yet, luminous as he was upon the whole, you ' ' O noctes ccensque Deum I' ' O joyous nights ! delicious feasts ! At which the gods might be my guests." Francis. Horace. Sat. ii. 6. 65. ' Six years before this Dedication Sir Joshua had conferred on him another favour. ' I have a proposal to make to you.' Bosvvell had written to him. ' I am for certain to be called to the English bar next February. Will you now do my picture.' and the price shall be paid out of the first fees which I receive as a barrister in Westminster Hall. Or if that fund should fail, it shall be paid at any rate five years hence by myself or my representatives.' Boswell told him at the same time that the debts which he had contracted in his father's lifetime would not be cleared ofT for some years. The letter was en- dorsed by Sir Joshua:— 'I agree to the above conditions;' and the portrait was painted. Taylor's Reynolds, ii. 477. * See Boswell's Hebrides. Aug. 24, 1773, perceived Dedication. % perceived all the shades which mingled in the grand com- position ; all the little peculiarities and slight blemishes which marked the b'terary Colossus. Your very warm com- mendation of the specimen which I gave in my Jotirnal of a Tour to the Hebrides, of my being able to preserve his conversation in an authentick and lively manner, which opinion the Publick has confirmed, was the best encourage- ment for me to persevere in my purpose of producing the whole of my stores'. In one respect, this Work will, in some passages, be dif- ferent from the former. In my Tour, I was almost unbound- edly open in my communications, and from my eagerness to display the wonderful fertility and readiness of Johnson's wit, freely shewed to the world its dexterity, even when I was myself the object of it. I trusted that I should be lib- erally understood, as knowing very well what I was about, and by no means as simply unconscious of the pointed ef- fects of the satire. I own, indeed, that I was arrogant enough to suppose that the tenour of the rest of the book would sufficiently guard me against such a strange imputa- tion. But it seems I judged too well of the world ; for, though I could scarcely believe it, I have been undoubtedly informed, that many persons, especially in distant quarters, not penetrating enough into Johnson's character, so as to understand his mode of treating his friends, have arraigned my judgement, instead of seeing that I was sensible of all that they could observe. It is related of the great Dr. Clarke", that when in one of ' ' I surely have the art of writing agreeably. The Lord Chancellor [Thurlow] told me he had read ever)' word of my Hebridian Journal ;' he could not help it; adding, 'could you give a rule how to write a book that a man ynust read } I believe Longinus could not.' Letters of Boswell, p. 322. * Boswell perhaps quotes from memorj' the following passage ii» Goldsmith's Life of Nash : — ' The doctor was one day conversing with Locke and two or three more of his learned and intimate com- panions with that freedom, gaiety, and cheerfulness, which is ever the result of innocence. In the midst of their mirth and laughter, the his 4 Dedication. his leisure hours he was unbcndinjj himself with a few friends in the most playful and frolicksome manner, he ob- served Beau Nash approaching; upon which he suddenly stopped : — ' My bf))'s. (said he,) let us be grave : here comes a fool.' The world, iii)' friiiul, I have found to be a great fool, as to that p.irticular. on which it has become nc-cessar>' to speak ver)' piainl)'. I have, therefore, in this Work been more reserved', and though I tell nothing but the truth, I have still kept in my mind that the whole truth is not al- ways to be exposed. This, however, I have managed .so as to occasion no diminution of the pleasure which my book should afford; though malignity may sometimes be disap- pointed of its gratifications. I am. My dear Sir, Your much »)bliged friend, And faithful humble servant, J.\Mi:S HOSWRT.L. London, April 20, 1 791. doctor, looking from the window, saw Nash's chariot stop at the door. " Boys, boys," cried the philosopher, "let us now be wise, for here is a fool coming,*" Cunningham's Goldsmith's Works, iv. 96. Dr. Warton in his criticism on Pope's line * Unthought of frailties cheat us in the wise,' {Moral Essays, i. 69) says: — ' For who could imagine that Dr. Clarke valued himself for his agility, and frequently amused himself in a private room of his house in leaping over the tables and chairs.' Warton's Essay on Pope. ii. 125. 'It is a good remark of Montaigne's," wrote Goldsmith, 'that the wisest men often have friends with whom they do not care how much they play the fool.' Forster's Goldsmith, i. 166. Mr. Seward says in his Anecdotes, ii. 320, that ' in the opinion of Dr. Johnson, Dr. Clarke was the most complete literary' character that England ever produced.' For Dr. Clarke's sermons stc post, April 7, 1778. ' S&cpost, Oct, 16, 1769, note. ADVERTISEMENT TO THE FIRST EDITION. I AT last deliver to the zvorld a Work which I have long promised, and of which, I am afraid, too high expectations have been raised.^ The delay of its publication must be im- puted, in a considerable degree, to the extraordinary ceal which has been shewn by distinguished persons in all quarters to sup- ply me with additional inforviation concerning its illustrious subject ; resembling i)i this the grateful tribes of ancient na- tions, of zuhich e7'cry individual ivas eager to throw a stone upon the grave of a departed Hero, and thus to share in the pious office of erecting an honourable monument to his mem- ory: ' How much delighted would Boswell have been, had he been shewn the following passage, recorded by Miss Burney, in an account she gives of a conversation with the Oueen : — The Queen : — ' Miss Bur- ney, have you heard that Boswell is going to publish a life of your friend Dr. Johnson ?' ' No, ma'am ! ' 'I tell you as I heard, I don't know for the truth of it, and I can't tell what he will do. He is so extraordinary a man that perhaps he will devise something extraor- dinary.' Mnic. D'Arbtays Diary, ii. 400. • Dr. Johnson's history,' wrote Horace Walpole. on June 20, 1785, 'though he is going to have as many lives as a cat, might be reduced to four lines ; but I shall wait to extract the quintessence till Sir John Hawkins, Madame Piozzi, and Mr. Boswell have produced their quartos.' Horace Walpole's Letters, viii. 557. ' The delay was in part due to Boswell's dissipation and place-hunt- ing, as is shewn by the following passages in his Letters to Temple : — Feb. 24, 1788, I have been wretchedly dissipated, so that I have not The Advertisement to the First Edition. The labour and anxious attention with 'ultiih I /tare col- lected and arranged the materials of which these volumes are composed, will hardly he conceived by those who read them with careless facility.^ The stretch of mind and prompt assiduity by which so ttiany conversations were preserved^ / myself, at wriiieii ;i line for a forlnijjht. p. :66. • Nov. 28, 1789. Malonc's hov pitality. and my otlicr invitations, and jiartirularly my attendance at Lorfl Lonsdale's, have lost us many eveninjjs.' lb. p. 311. "June 21. lyyo. How unfortunate to be oblijjed to interrupt my work! Never was a poor ambitious projector more mortified. I am suffering without any prospect of reward, and only froni my own folly." lb. p. 326. ' 'You cannot imagine what labour, what perplexity, what vexation I have endured in arranging a prodigious multiplicity of materials, in supplying omissions, in searching for paper>. buried in dillerrnl masses, and all this Inrsides the exertion of composing and polishing: many a time have 1 thought of giving it up.' l.ttten of Bortv/ll, p. 311 ' Hoswcll writing to Temple in 1775, says. " I tr>tokeepa journal, and shall shew you that I have done tolerably ; but it is hardly credi- ble what ground I go over, and what a variety of men and manners t contemplate in a day; and all the time I myself am />«jrj magna, for my exuberant spirits will not let me listen enough.' lb. p. 188. Mr. Barclay .said that "he had seen Jk)swi-ll lay down his knife and fork, and take out his tablets, in order to register a good anecdote.' Crokcr's Hor^L'cll. p. 837. The account given by F'aoli to Miss Rurney. shows that very early in life Boswell took out his tablets : — * He came to my country, and he fetched me some letter of recommending him ; but I was of the l>clief he might Iw an impostor, and I supposed in my mintc he was an espy; for I look away from him. and in a moment I IcHjk to him again, and I behold his tablets. Oh ! he was to the work of writing down all I siiy. Indeed I was angry. But soon I discover he was no impostor and no espy : and I only find I was myself the monster he had come to discern. Oh I he is a very good man ; I love him indeed ; so cheerful, so gay. so pleasant ! but at the first, oh ! I was indeed an- gry." Mute. I)'Arb/ay\>uuiq degree if L beg 8 Advert isemoit lo llu Firs/ Jidition. I bijr leave to express my wannest thanks to those who have been pleased to favour me with eommunieations and adviee in the eondnet of my Work. Hut f cannot sufficiently aekniKvled^e my oblii^ations to my friend Mr. Malonc, 'who was so }:;ood as to allow me to read to him almost the whole of my manuscript, and make such remarks as were jrreatly for the advantage of the \\'ork\- thoui^h it is but fair to him to mention, that upon many occasions I dilfercd from him, and folliKced my tnon Judi^ement. f ret^ret exceediujrly that I was deprived of the benefit of his revision, when not more than one half of the book had passed throuy^h the press ; but after haviny;^ completed his very laborious and admirable edition of Shakspcarc.yor which he y;cncronsly would accept of no other reward but that fame which he has so deservedly obtained, he fulfilled his promise of a long-wished-for visit to his relations in Ireland ; from whence his safe return finibus Atticis is desired by his friends here, with all the classical ardour of Sic tc Diva potcns Cypri'; for there is no man in 'whom more clci^ant and wor- thy ijualities are united ; and whose society, therefore, is more valued by those who know him. It is painful to me to think, that while I was carrying on this Work, several of those to whom it -would have been most interesting have died. Such melancholy disappointments TiV know to be incident to humanity : but we do not feel them the they had not been acquainted with Johnson" {post, under March 30. 1778). Writing to Temple in 1789. he said: — 'Johnson tau.ijhi me to cross-question in common hfe.' Letters of Bosuu-ll, p. 280. His quota- tions, nevertheless, are not unfrequently inaccurate. Yet to him might fairly be applied the words that Gibbon used of Tillemont : — ' His in- imitable accuracy almost assumes the character of genius.' Gibbon's Misc. Works, i. 213. ' ' The revision of my Life of Johnson, by so acute and knowing a critic as Mr. Malone. is of most essential consequence, especially as he is Johnsonianissimus' Liters of Boswelt. p. 310. A few weeks earlier he had written : — ' Yesterday afternoon Malone and I made ready for the press thirty pages of Johnsons Life : he is much pleased with it ; but I feel a sad indifference fhe had lately lost his wife], and he says I have not the use of my faculties.' Id. p. 308. ' Horace. Odes, i. 3. i. less AdvcrUsaiuul to llu J'lnl Edilion.^ k^s Lc, mc t«rtia,larty lament the Reverend Thomas War- Ton and tlu- Reverend Dr. Adams. Mr. Warton, awul.lu. Zuy fgemus and learning, '.as an e.eellent Bjraplur ZZ/rL,o,n to my Colleetion arc '^"(y "'^"^^ i^^^f, as he had a trne rel.sh of v,y Tom to the Hebrides //r,«/ Lud no., have been gratified '.ith a l^rS^:;''2;i%'j'' al,t,robation. Dr. Adams, eminent as the Head of a Colegt , Tat iter', and as a most amiaite man. had ^«.'^« Johnson Lson I had to Iwpe for the eonnteuanee <-/ /^« ' ~ Gentleman to this Work, will appear from what he ar«/< « tr^« a former oeeasion from Cford Noveml>cr .7, 7^^ 1'^.. S(r. 1 hazard this letter, not ^--"g;'^-^ "^ find vou to thank you for your very agreeable 7V./ n « men ' old h^ on my' return from the country and m wh>d vnn h ive depicted our friend so perfectly to my fancy, 1 '^vervtttitude every scene and situation, that I have thought Ld been a little more ^;^-^^:r;^^ :rrj:hn:ont:th°orC,aT in history al, ought to be " W, . sanction to my faenlty ofSf'S^f^^-f^;;;^ Hon of Dr. J ohnson / eonld not concee.. f'^ ^l PP ^^^^_ mv satisfaction in the '<>''''><>"f"''''f.'^^"%^^ brightest slderable a portion of the -wisdom and wit of the . , He had published an answer to Hume's Essay on Miracles. See post, March 20, 1 776. Orrerv to expose the defects ^ > . Macleod asked if it was not wrong m Orrery to exp ^^^ Hebrides, Sept. 22. 1773- See also /..A Sept. 17. 1777- ^^^^^^^^ lo Advertisement to the First Edition. ornament of the eighteenth century',' I have largely provided for the itistruetion and entertainment of mankind. London, April 20, 1791*. ' See Mr. Malone's Preface to his edition of Shakspeare. Boswell. ' ' April 6, 1 791. ' My Life of Johtison is at last drawing to a close ... I really hope to publish it on the 25th current ... I am at present in such bad spirits that I have ev^ery fear concerning it — that I may get no profit, nay, may lose — that the Public may be disappointed, and think that I have done it poorly — that I may make many enemies, and even have quarrels. Yet perhaps the very reverse of all this may happen.' Let- ters of Boswell, p. 335. ' August 22, 1 791. ' My viagmim opus sells wonderfully ; twelve hundred are now gone, and we hope the whole seventeen hundred may be gone before Christ- mas.' lb. p. 342. Malone in his Preface to the fourth edition, dated June 20, 1804, says that ' near four thousand copies have been dispersed.' The first edition was in 2 vols., quarto ; the second (1793) in 3 vols., octavo ; the third (1799), the fourth (1804), the fifth (1807). and the sixth (181 1), were each in 4 vols., octavo. The last four were edited by Malone, Boswell having died while he was preparing notes for the third edition. ADVERTISEMENT TO THE SECOND EDITION. That I was ayixious for the success of a Work which had employed vnich of 7>iy time and labour, I do not ivisJi to con- ceal : but whatever doubts I at any time entertained, have been entirely removed by the very favourable reception with which it has been honoured'. That reception has excited my best exer- tions to render my Book more perfect ; and in this endeavour I have had the assistance not only of some of my particular friends, but of many other learned and ingenious men, by which I have been enabled to rectify some mistakes, atid to en- rich the Work with many valuable additions. These I have ordered to be printed separately in q%iarto,for the accommoda- tioji of the purchasers of the first edition ^ May I be permit- ted to say that the typography of both editions does honour to the press of Mr. Henry Baldwin, noiv Master of the Worship- ful Company of Stationers, whom I hai'c long known as a worthy vtati and an obliging friend. In the strangely mixed scenes of human existence, our feel- ings are often at once pleasing and painful. Of this truth, the progress of the present W^ork furnishes a striking instance. It was highly gratifying to tne that ))iy friend, Sir Joshua ' 'Burke affirmed that Boswell's Life was a greater monument to Johnson's fame than all his writings put together.' Life of Mackin- tosh, i. 92. * It is a pamphlet of forty-two pages, under the title of T/ie Princi- pal Corrections and Additions to the First Edition of Mr. Bos^uell's L.ife of Dr. Johnson. Price two shillings and sixpence. Reynolds, 12 Advertisement to the Second Edition, Reynolds, to ivJiom it is inscribed, lived to peruse it, and to give the strongest testimony to its fidelity ; but before a second edition, which he contributed to improve, conld be finished, the world has been deprived of that vwst valuable man '; a loss of which the regret zvill be deep, and lasting.^ and extensive, pro- portionate to the felicity which he diffused through a wide circle of admirers and friends'^ . In reflecting that the illustrious subject oj this Work, by be- ing more extensively and intimately known, however elevated before, has risen in the veneration and love of mankind, I feel a satisfaction beyond ivhat fame can afford. We cannot, in- deed, too much or too often admire his zuonderfu I powers of mind, when toe consider that the principal store of zvit and wisdom which tJiis Work contains, ivas not a particular selcc- Hon from his general conversation, but was merely Ids occa- uonal talk at such times as I had the good fortune to be in his company'; and, without doubt, if his discourse at other periods ' Reynolds died on Feb. 23, 1792. - Sir Joshua in his will left ^200 to Mr. Boswell ' to be expended, if he thought proper, in the purchase of a picture at the sale of his paint- ings, to be kept for his sake.' Taylor's Reynolds, ii. 636. 2 Of the seventy-five years that Johnson lived, he and Boswell did not spend two years and two months in the same neighbourhood. Excluding the time they were together on their tour to the Hebri- des, they were dwelling within reach of each other a few weeks less than two years. Moreover, when they were apart, there were great gaps in their correspondence. Between Dec. 8, 1763, and Jan. 14, 1766, and again between Nov. 10, 1769, and June 20, 1771, during which pe- riods they did not meet, Boswell did not receive a single letter from Johnson. The following table shows the times they were in the same neighbourhood. 1763, May 16 to Aug. 6 London. 1766, a few days in February 1768, ,, „ March Oxford. 1768 May Londori. 1769, end of Sept. to Nov. 10 1772, March 21 to about May 10, ... . 1773, April 3 to May 10, Aug. 14 to Nov. 22 Scotland. 1775, March ^\ to April 18, May 2 to May 23, London. had Ailvertisement to the Second Editio7i. 13 Jiad bcoi collected zvith the same attention, the zvhole tenor of zvhat he uttered would have been found equally excellent. His strong, clear, and animated enforcement of religion, morality, loyalty, and subordination, wJiile it delights and im- proves the zi'isc and the good, will, I trust, prove an effectual antidote to that detestable sophistry which has been lately im- ported from France, under the false name of Philosophy, and with a malignant industry has been employed against the peace, good order, and happiness of society, in our free and prosperous country; but thanks be to GOD, without producing the perni- cious effects zuhich were hoped for by its propagators. It seems to me, in my mojnents of self-complacency, that this extensive biographical ivork, hozvever inferior in its nature, may in one respect be assimilated to the Odyssey. Amidst a thousand entertaining and instructive episodes the Hero is never long out of sight ; for they are all i)i some degree con- nected tuith him ; and He, /;/ tJie whole course of the History, is exhibited by the A ut hour for the best advantage of his readers. ' — Quid virtus et quid sapientia possit, Utile proposuit nobis exemplar Ulyssen'.' Should there be any cold-blooded and morose mortals wJio really dislike this Book, I zuill give them a story to apply. ] London, 1776, March 15 to May 16, with an inter- j Oxford, val of about a fortnight, when John- | Birmingham, son was at Bath and Boswell at Lichfield, London Ashbourne, J and Bath. 1777, Sept. 14 to Sept. 24, Ashbourne. 1778, March 18 to May 19 London. 1779, March 15 to May 3 „ Oct. 4 to Oct. 18 1781, March 19 to June 5, . . London and Southill. 1783, March 21 to May 30, London. 1784, May 5 to June 30, . . . London and Oxford. ' To shew what wisdom and what sense can do. The poet sets Ulysses in our view.' Francis. Horace, Ep. i. 2. 17. ■"■■■ ■ When 14 Advertisement to the Second Edition. WJicn tJie great Duke of Marlborough, accompanied by Lord Cadogan, was one day reconnoitering the army in Flanders, a heavy rain came on, and they both called for their cloaks. Lord Cadogan's servant, a good hmnoured alert lad, brought his Lordship's in a minute. The Duke's servant, a lazy sulky dog, was so sluggish, that his Grace being wet to the skin, re- proved him, and had for ansiver with a grunt, ' / came as fast as I could' upon ivhich the Duke calmly said, ' Cadogan, I woidd not for a thousand pounds have that fellow's temper.' There are some men, I believe, who have, or thi)ik they have, a very small share of vanity. Such juay speak of their liter- ary fame in a decorous style of diffidence. But I confess, that I am so formed by nature and by habit, that to restrain the effusion of delight, on having obtained such fame, to me would be truly painfid. Why then should I suppress it / Why 'out of the abundance of the heart ' should I not speak ' / Let me then mention luitJi a warm, but no insolent exultation, that I have been regaled with spontaneous praise of my work by viany and various persons eminent for their rank, learning, talents and accomplishments ; much of which praise I have under their hands to be reposited in my archives at Auchin- leck\ An honourable and reverend friend speaking of the favourable reception of my volumes, even in the circles of fashion and elegance, said to me, 'you have made them all talk Johnson' — Yes, I may add, I have Johnsonised the land ; and / trust they ivill not only talk, but \\\\\\V, Johnson. To enumerate those to zvhom I have been thus indebted, would be tediously ostentatious. I cannot however but na>ne one wliose praise is truly valuable, not only on account of his knoivledge and abilities, but on account of the magnif cent, yet ' In his Letter to the People of Scotland, p. 92, he wrote: — 'Allow me, my friends and countrymen, while I with honest zeal maintain your cause — allow me to indulge a little more my OT.vn cgotistn and vanity. They are the indigenous plants of my mind ; they distinguish it. I may prune their luxuriancy ; but I must not entirely clear it of them ; for then I should be no longer " as I am ;" and perhaps there might be something not so good.' ' Sec post, April 17, 1778, note. dangerous Adveriisenicut to the Seco7id Edition. 15 dangerous embassy, in zvliich he is now employed^, which makes every thing that relates to him peculiarly interesting. Lord Macartney favoured me with his oivn copy of )ny book, with a number of notes, of ivhich I have availed myself. On the first leaf I found in his Lordship's hand-writing, a7i inscrip- tion of such high commendation, that even I, vain as I am, cannot prevail on myself to publish it. [Juiy I. I793'-] ' Lord Macartney was the first English ambassador to the Court of Pekin. He left England in 1792 and returned in 1794. • Boswell writing to Temple ten days earlier had said : — ' Behold my hand ! the robbery is only of a few shillings ; but the cut on my head and bruises on my arms were sad things, and confined me to bed, in pain, and fever, and helplessness, as a child, many days. . . . This shall be a crisis in my life : I trust I shall henceforth be a sober regular man. Indeed, my indulgence in wine has, of late years espe- cially, been excessive.' Letters of Boswell, p. 346. ADVERTISEMENT TO THE THIRD EDITION. Several valuable letters, and other curious matter, having been eonnnunicateel to the Author too late to be arranged in that chronologieal order which he had endeavoured uniformly to observe in his work, he was obliged to introduce them in his Second Edition, by loay of Addenda, as commodiously as he could. In the present edition these have been distributed in their proper places. In revising his volumes for a new edi- tion, he had pointed out luhere some of these materials should be inserted ; but unfortunately in the midst of his labours, he was seised zvitJi a fever, of wJiicJi, to the great regret of all his friends, he died on the \gth of May, 1795'. All the Notes ' On this day his brother wrote to Mr. Temple : ' I have now the painful task of informing you that my dear brother expired this morn- ing at two o'clock ; we have both lost a kind, afifectionate friend, and I shall never have such another.' Letters of Boswell, p. 357. What was probably Boswell's last letter is as follows : — ' My dear Temple, ' I would fain write to you in my own hand, but really cannot. [These words, which are hardly legible, and probably the last poor Boswell ever wrote, afford the clearest evidence of his utter physical prostration.) Alas, my friend, what a state is this ! My son James is to write for me what remains of this letter, and I am to dictate. The pain which continued for so many weeks was very severe indeed, and when it went ofif I thought myself quite well ; but I soon felt a convic- tion that I was by no means as I should be — so exceedingly weak, as my miserable attempt to write to you afforded a full proof. All then that can be said is, that I must wait with patience. But, O my friend ! I, — 2 that 1 8 Advertisement to the Third Edition. that he had zvrittcn in the margin of the copy which he Iiad in part revised, are here faithfully preserved ; and a few new Notes have been added, principally by some of those friends to zvhom the Author in the former editions acknowledged his ob- ligations. Those subscribed with the letter B, were communi- cated by Dr. Burney : those to ivJiich the letters J B arc annexed, by the Rev. J. Blakcway, of Shrewsbury, to zvhom Mr. Boswell acknoivledged himself indebted for some judicious remarks on the first edition of his zvork : and the letters J B — O. are annexed to some remarks furnished by the Author s second son, a Student of Brazen-Nose College in Oxford. Some valuable observations were communicated by James Bindley, Esq. First Commissioner in the Stamp-Office, whicli have been acknowledged in their proper places. For all those zvithout any signature, Mr. Malone is anszverable. — Every new remark, not writteti by the Author, for the sake of distinction has been enclosed luithin crotchets : in one instance, hoiccver, the printer by jnistake has affixed this mark to a note relative to the Rev. Thomas Fysche Palmer, zvhicJi was written by Mr. Boswell, and therefore ought not to have been thus distinguished. I have only to add, that the proof-sheets of the present edi- tion not havifig passed through my haiids, I atn not answerable for any typographical errours that may be found in it. Hav- ing, Jiozvever, been printed at the very accurate press of Mr. Baldwin, I make no doubt it will be found not less perfect than the former edition ; the greatest care having been taken, by correctness and elegance to do justice to one of the most in- structive and entertaitiing works in the English language. EDMOND MALONE'. April 8, 1 799. how strange is it that, at this very time of my illness, you and Miss Temple should have been in such a dangerous state. Much occasion for thankfulness is there that it has not been worse with you. Pray write, or make somebody write frequently. I feel myself a good deal stronger to-day, notwithstanding the scrawl. God bless you, my dear Temple ! I ever am your old and affectionate friend, here and I trust hereafter. James Boswell.' Letters of Boswell, '^. j^y^. ' Malone died on May 25, 181 2. A CHRONOLOGICAL CATALOGUE OF THE PROSE WORKS' OF SAMUEL JOHNSON, LL.D. [N. B. To those which he himself acknowledged is added ac- know/. To those which may be fully believed to be his from in- ternal evidence, is added intern, evid.'] 1735. Abridgement and translation of Lobo's Voyage to Abys- sinia. ackno7vL 1738. Part of a translation of Father Paul Sarpi's History of the Council of Trent, achwivl. [N. B. As this work after some sheets were printed, suddenly stopped, I know not whether any part of it is now to be found.] For the Gentleman's Magazine. Preface, intern, ex'id. Life of Father Paul, acknowl. 1739. A complete vindication of the Licenser of the Stage from the malicious and scandalous aspersions of Mr. Brooke, authour of Gustavus Vasa, acknowl. ' I do not here include his Poetical Works ; for, excepting his Latin Translation of Pope's Messiah, his London, and his Vanity 0/ Hiimafi IVishes imitated from Juvenal ; his Prologue on the opening of Drury-Lane Theatre by Mr. Garrick, and his Irene, a Tragedy, they are very numerous, and in general short ; and I have promised a complete edition of them, in which I shall with the utmost care ascertain their authenticity, and illustrate them with notes and various readings. BOSWELL. Boswell's meaning, though not well expressed, is clear enough. Mr. Croker needlessly suggests that he wrote ' they are fiot very numerous.' Boswell a second time {post, under Aug. 12, 1784, note) mentions his intention to edit Johnson's poems. He died with- out doing it. See ^%q post, 1750, Boswell's note on Addison's style. Marmor 20 A Chronological CatalogJie of the M armor Norfolciense : or, an Essay on an ancient prophetical inscription in monkish rhyme, lately discovered near Lynne in Norfolk ; by Probus Britannicus. acknowl. For the Ge?itlefnan' s Magazine. Life of Roerhaave. achiowl. Address to the Reader, intern, ei'id. Appeal to the Publick in Behalf of the Editor, ifitern. evid. Considerations on the case of Ur. Trapp's Sermons ; a plausible attempt to prove that an authour's work may be abridged without injuring his property, acknowl. 1740. For the Gentleman' s Magazine. Preface, intern, evid. Life of Admiral Drake, acknowl. Life of Admiral Blake, acknowl. Life of Philip Barretier. ackno^vl. Essays on P^pitaphs. acknojvl. 1 741. For the Gentleman^ s Magazine. Preface, intern, evid. A free translation of the Jests of Hierocles, with an intro- duction, intern, evid. Debate on the Humble Petition and Advice of the Rump Par- liament to Cromwell in 1657, to assume the Title of King ; abridged, methodized and digested, intern, evid. Translation of Abbe Guyon's Dissertation on the Amazons. intern, evid. Translation of Fontenelle's Panegyrick on Dr. Morin. in- terfi. evid. 1742. For the Gentleman's Magazine. Preface, intern, evid. Essay on the Account of the Conduct of the Duchess of Marlborough. ack7iowl. An Account of the Life of Peter Burman. acknowl. The Life of Sydenham, afterwards prefixed to Dr. Swan's edition of his Works, acknowl. Proposals for printing 6ibliotheca Harleiana, or a Catalogue of the Library of the Earl of Oxford, afterwards prefixed to Prose Works of Samuel Johinon, LL.D. 2 1 to the first Volume of that Catalogue, in which the Latin Accounts of the Books were written by him. acknowl. Abridgement intitled, Foreign History, intern, evid. Essay on the Description of China, from the French of Du Halde. intern, evid. 1743. Dedication to Dr. Mead of Dr. James's Medicinal Diction- ary, ifitern. evid. For the Gentleman^ s Magazine. Preface, intern, evid. Parliamentary Debates under the Name of Debates in the Senate of Lilliput, from Nov. 19, 1740, to Feb. 23, 1742-3, inclusive. ack?iowl. Considerations on the Dispute between Crousaz and War- burton on Pope's Essay on Man. intern, evid. A Letter announcing that the Life of Mr. Savage was speed- ily to be published by a person who was favoured with his Confidence, interti. evid. Advertisement for Osborne concerning the Harleian Cata- logue. interJi. evid. 1744. Life of Richard Savage, acknowl. Preface to the Harleian Miscellany, acknowl. For the Gentlemari' s Magazine. Preface, intern, evid. 1745. Miscellaneous Observations on the Tragedy of Macbeth, with remarks on Sir T. H.'s (Sir Thomas Hanmer's) Edition of Shakspeare, and proposals for a new Edition of that Poet, acknowl. 1747. Plan for a Dictionary of the English Language, addressed to Philip Dormer, Earl of Chesterfield, acknowl. For the Geyitlemaji' s Magazine. 1748. Life of Roscommon, achwwl. Foreign History, November, intern, evid. For Dodsley's Preceptor. Preface, acknowl. Vision of Theodore the Hermit, acknowl. 1750. The Rambler, the first Paper of which was published 20th of 22 A Chronological Catalogue of the of March this year, and the last 17th of March, 1752, the day on which Mrs. Johnson died. acknoivL Letter in the General .Advertiser to excite the attention of the Publick to the Performance of Coinus, which was next day to be acted at Drury-Lane Playhouse for the Benefit of Milton's Grandaughter. ackno7ol. Preface and Postscript to Lauder's Pamphlet intitled, ' An Essay on Milton's Use and Imitation of the Moderns in his Paradise Lost.' ackncnvl. 1751. Life of Cheynel in the Miscellany called 'The Student.' acknotvl. Letter for Lauder, addressed to the Reverend Dr. John Douglas, acknowledging his Fraud concerning Milton in Terms of suitable Contrition, achiowl. Dedication to the Earl of Middlesex of Mrs. Charlotte Len- nox's 'Female Quixotte.' intern, evid.^ 1753. Dedication to John Earl of Orrery, of Shakspeare Illus- trated, by Mrs. Charlotte Lennox, acknowl. During this and the following year he wrote and gave to his much loved friend Dr. Bathurst the Papers in the Ad- venturer, signed T. acknowl. 1754. Life of Edw. Cave in the Gentleman's Magazine, ackno^i'l. 1755. A Dictionary, with a Grammar and History, of the Enc- LiSH Language. achio7vl. An Account of an Attempt to ascertain the Longitude at Sea, by an exact Theory of the Variations of the Magnet- ical Needle, with a Table of the Variations at the most remarkable Cities in Europe from the year 1660 to 1680. acknowl. This he wrote for Mr. Zachariah Williams, an ingenious ancient Welch Gentleman, father of Mrs. Anna Williams whom he for many years kindly lodged in his House. It was published with a Translation into Italian by Signor Baretti. In a Copy of it which he presented to the Bodleian Library at Oxford, is pasted a Character of the late Mr. Zachariah Williams, plainly written by Johnson, intern, tvid. 1756. An Abridgement of his Dictionary, acknowl. Several Essays in the Universal Visitor, which there is ' The Female Quixote was published in 1752. Sec post, 1762, note. some Prose Works of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. 23 some difficulty in ascertaining. All that are marked with two Asterisks have been ascribed to him, although I am confident from internal Evidence, that we should except from these ' The Life of Chaucer,' ' Reflections on the State of Portugal,' and ' An Essay on Architecture :' And from the same Evidence I am confident that he wrote 'Further Thoughts on Agriculture,' and 'A Dissertation on the State of Literature and Authours.' The Disser- tation on the Epitaphs written by Pope he afterwards acknowledged, and added to his ' Idler.' Life of Sir Thomas Browne prefixed to a new Edition of his Christian Morals, achiowl. In the Literary Magazine ; or. Universal Review, which began in January, 1756. His Origmal Essays are Preliminary Address, intern, evid. An introduction to the Political State of Great Britain. intern, evid. Remarks on the Militia Bill, ititcrn. evid. Observations on his Britannick ALijesty's Treaties with the Empress of Russia and the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel. interji. evid. Observations on the Present State of Affairs, intern, evid. Memoirs of Frederick \\\. King of Prussia, intern, evid. In the same Magazine his Reviews are of the following books : 'Birch's History of the Royal Society.' — 'Browne's Chris- tian Morals.' — 'Warton's Essay on the Writings and Genius of Pope, Vol. I.' — 'Hampton's Translation of Polybius.' — ' Sir Isaac Newton's Arguments in Proof of a Deity.' — ' Borlase's History of the Isles of Scilly.' — 'Home's Experiments on Bleaching.' — 'Browne's His- tory of Jamaica.' — 'Hales on Distilling Sea Waters, Ventilators in Ships, and curing an ill Taste in Milk.' — ' Lucas's Essay on Waters.'—' Keith's Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops.' — ' Philosophical Transactions, Vol. XLIX.'— ' Miscellanies by Elizabeth Harrison.'— Evans's Map and Account of the Middle Colonies in America.' The 24 A Chronological Catalogue of the — ' 'riic Cadet, a Military 'i'rcatise.' — 'The Conduct of the Ministry rehiting to the present War imixirtially ex- amined.' intern, cvid. 'Mrs. Lenno.x's 'IVansIation of Sully's Memoirs." — 'Letter on the Case of Admiral Hyng.' — 'Appeal to the I'eople concerning Admiral l^yng.' — ' Hanway's Eight Days' Journey, and Essay on 'I'ea.' — ' Some further Particulars in Relation to the Case of Admiral l>yng, by a Centlcmati of Oxford.' aiknowl. Mr. Jonas Hanway having written an angry Answer to the Review of his Essay on Tea, Johnson in the same Col- lection made a Reply to it. acknowl. This is the only Instance, it is believed, when he condescended to take Notice of any Thing that had been written against him ; and here his chief Intention seems to have been to make Sport. Dedication to the Earl of Rochford of, and Preface to, Mr. Payne's Introduction to the Game of Draughts, acknoivl. Introduction to the London Chronicle, an Evening Paper which still subsists with deserved credit, acknowt. 1757. Speech on the Subject of an Address to the Throne after the Expedition to Rochefort; delivered by one of his Eriends in some publick Meeting : it is printed in the Gentleman's Magazine for October 1785. intern, evid. The first two Paragraphs of the Preface to Sir William Chambers's Designs of Chinese Buildings, &c. acknowl. 1758. Thk Idlkr, which began April 5, in this year, and was con- tinued till April 5, 1760. acknowl. An Essay on the Bravery of the English Common Soldiers was added to it when published in Volumes, acknowl. 1759. Rasselas Prince of Abyssinia, a Tale, acknowl. Advertisement for the Proprietors of the Idler against cer- tain Persons who pirated those Papers as they came out singly in a Newspaper called the Universal Chronicle or Weekly Gazette, intern, evid. For Mrs. Charlotte Lennox's English Version of Brumoy, — 'A Dissertation on the Greek Comedy,' and the Gen- eral Conclusion of the Rook, intern, eind. Introduction to the World Displayed, a Collection of Voy- ages and Travels. ack)nmiJ Three Prose Works of Samuel Jo fmson.LL.D. 25 Three Letters in the Gazetteer, concerning the best plan for Blackfriars Bridge, acknowl. 1760. Address of the Painters to George III. on his Accession to the Throne, intern, evid. Dedication of Baretti's Italian and English Dictionary to the Marquis of Abreu, then Envoy-Extraordinary from Spain at the Court of Great-Britain. i?itern. evid. Review in the Gentleman's Magazine of Mr. Tytler's acute and able Vindication of Mary Queen of Scots, acknowl. Introduction to the Proceedings of the Committee for Cloathing the French Prisoners, acknowl. 1 76 1. Preface to Rolt's Dictionary of Trade and Commerce, ac- knowl. Corrections and Improvements for Mr. Gwyn the Archi- tect's Pamphlet, intitled 'Thoughts on the Coronation of George III.' ackiunul. 1762. Dedication to the King of the Reverend Dr. Kennedy's Complete System of Astronomical Chronology, unfolding the Scriptures, Quarto Edition, acknowl. Concluding Paragraph of that Work, intern, evid. Preface to the Catalogue of the Artists' Exhibition, intern. evid. 1763. Character of Collins in the Poetical Calendar, published by Fawkes and Woty. acknowl. Dedication to the Earl of Shaftesbury of the Edition of Roger Ascham's English Works, published by the Rev- erend Mr. Bennet. aclmowl. The Life of Ascham, also prefixed to that edition, acknowl. Review of Telemachus, a Masque, by the Reverend George Graham of Eton College, in the Critical Review, ac- knowl. Dedication to the Queen of Mr. Hoole's Translation of Tasso. acknowl. Account of the Detection of the Imposture of the Cock- Lane Ghost, published in the Newspapers and Gentle- man's Magazine, acknowl. 1764. Part of a Review of Grainger's ' Sugar Cane, a Poem,' in the London Chronicle, acknowl. Review of Goldsmith's 'i'raveller, a Poem, in the Critica' Review, acknowl. 176.5. 26 A Chronological Catalogue of the 1765. The Plays of William Shakspeare, in eight volumes, 8vo. with Notes, acknowl. 1766. The Fountains, a Fairy Tale, in Mrs. Williams's Miscellanies. acknowl. 1767. Dedication to the King of Mr. Adams's Treatise on the Globes, acknowl. 1769. Character of the Reverend Mr. Zachariah Mudge, in the London Chronicle. ackno7ul. 1770. The False Alarm, acknowl. 177 1. Thoughts on the late Transactions respecting Falkland's Islands, acknowl. 1772. Defence of a Schoolmaster; dictated to me for the House of Lords, acknowl. Argument in Support of the Law of Vicious Intromission; dictated to me for the Court of Session in Scotland, ac- knowl. 1773. Preface to Macbean's ' Dictionary of Ancient Geography.' acknowl. Argument in Favour of the Rights of Lay Patrons ; dictated to me for the General Assembly of the Church of Scot- land. ack?iowl. 1774. The Patriot, acknowl. 1775. A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland, acknowl. Proposals for publishing the Works of Mrs. Charlotte Len- nox, in Three Volumes Quarto, acknowl. Preface to Baretti's Easy Lessons in Italian and English. intern, evid. Taxation no Tyranny; an Answer to the Resolutions and Address of the American Congress, acknowl. Argument on the Case of Dr. Memis ; dictated to me for the Court of Session in Scotland, acknoivl. Argument to prove that the Corporation of Stirling was cor- rupt ; dictated to me for the House of Lords, acknowl. 1776. Argument in Support of the Right of immediate, and per- sonal reprehension from the Pulpit ; dictated to me. ac- knowl. Proposals for publishing an Analysis of the Scotch Celtick Language, by the Reverend William Shaw, acknowl. 1777. Dedication to the King of the Posthumous Works of Dr. Pearce, Bishop of Rochester, acknowl. Additions Prose Works of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. 27 Additions to the Life and Character of that Prelate ; pre- fixed to those Works, acknowl. Various Papers and Letters in Favour of the Reverend Dr. Dodd. acknowl. 1780. Advertisement for his Friend Mr. Thrale to the Worthy P^lectors of the Borough of Southwark. acknotvL The first Paragraph of Mr. Thomas Davies's Life of Garrick. acknowl. 1781. Prefaces Biographical and Critical to the Works of the most eminent English Poets; afterwards published with the Title of Lives of the English Poets*, acknowl. Argument on the Importance of the Registration of Deeds ; dictated to me for an Election Committee of the House of Commons, acknowl. On the Distinction between Tory and Whig; dictated to me. acknowl. On Vicarious Punishments, and the great Propitiation for the Sins of the W^orld, by Jesus Christ ; dictated to me. acknoivl. Argument in favour of Joseph Knight, an African Negro, who claimed his Liberty in the Court of Session in Scot- land, and obtained it ; dictated to me. acknowl. Defence of Mr. Robertson, Printer of the Caledonian Mer- cury, against the Society of Procurators in Fldinburgh, for having inserted in his Paper a ludicrous Paragraph against them ; demonstrating that it was not an injurious Libel ; dictated to me. acknowl. \1%z. The greatest part, if not the whole, of a Reply, by the Rev- erend Mr. Shaw, to a Person at Edinburgh, of the Name of Clark, refuting his arguments for the authenticity of the Poems published by Mr. James Macpherson as Trans- lations from Ossian. intern, evid. 1784. List of the Authours of the Universal History, deposited in the British Museum, and printed in the Gentleman's Magazine for December, this year, acknowl. ' The first four volumes of the Lives were published in 1779, the last six in 1 781. Various 28 A Chronological Catalogue^ &c. Various Years. Letters to Mrs. Thrale. acknowl. Prayers and Meditations, which he delivered to the Rev. Mr. Strahan, enjoining him to publish them, acknowl. Sermons left for Publication by John Taylor, LL.D. Pre- bendary of Westminster, and given to the World by the Reverend Samuel Hayes, A.M. intern, and. Such was the number and variety of the Prose Works of this extraordinary man, which I have been able to discover, and am at liberty to mention ; but we ought to keep in mind, that there must undoubtedly have been many more which are yet concealed ; and we may add to the account, the numerous Letters which he wrote, of which a considerable part are yet unpublished. It is hoped that those persons in whose possession they are, will favour the world with them. JAMES BOS WELL. * After my death I wish no other herald, ' No other speaker of my living actions, ' To keep mine honour from corruption, ' But such an honest chronicler as Griffith '.' Shaksi'kare, Henry VIIL [Act IV. Sc. 2.] 'See Dr. Johnson's letter to Mrs. Thrale, dated Ostick in Skie, Sep- tember 30, 1773: — ' Boswell writes a regular Journal of our travels, which I think contains as much of what I say and do, as of all other occurrences together; "for such a faithful chronicler is Griffith^'' Boswell. See Piozzi Letters, i. 159, where however we read 'as Griffith.' THE LIFE OF SAMUEL JOHNSON, LED. To write the Life of him who excelled all mankind in writing the lives of others, and who, whether we con- sider his extraordinary endowments, or his various works, has been equalled by few in any age, is an arduous, and may be reckoned in me a presumptuous task. Had Dr. Johnson written his own life, in conformity with the opinion which he has given ', that every man's life may be best written by himself ; had he employed in the preser- vation of his own history, that clearness of narration and elegance of language in which he has embalmed so many eminent persons, the world would probably have had the most perfect example of biography that was ever exhibited. But although he at different times, in a desultory manner, committed to writing many particulars of the progress of his mind and fortunes, he never had persevering diligence enough to form them into a regular composition"'. Of these ' Idler, No. 84. Boswell. — In this paper he says : ' Those relations are commonly of most value in which the writer tells his own story. He that recounts the life of another . . . lessens the familiarity of his taie to mcrease its dignity . . . and endeavours to hide the man that he may produce a hero.' * ' It very seldom happens to man that his business is his pleasure. What is done from necessity is so often to be done when against the present mclination, and so often fills the mind with anxiety, that an habitual dislike steals upon us, and we shrink involuntarily from the remembrance of our task From this unwillingness to perform more than is required of that which is commonly performed with reluct- ance it proceeds that few authors write their own lives.' Idler, No. IG2. See also /^.y/, May i, 1783. memorials 30 The author s qualifications. memorials a few have been preserved ; but the greater part was consigned by him to the flames, a few days before his death. As I had the honor and happiness of enjoying his friend- ship for upwards of twenty years ; as I had the scheme of writing his life constantly in view ; as he was well apprised of this circumstance', and from time to time obligingly sat- isfied my inquiries, by communicating to me the incidents of his early years; as I acquired a facility in recollecting, and was very assiduous in recording, his conversation, of which the extraordinary' \'igour and vivacity constituted one of the ' Mrs. Piozzi records the followinj.^ rotivcrsation with Johnson, which, she says, took place on July i8, 1773. ' And who will be my biographer,' said he, 'do you think?' • (i(;ldsmith, no doubt,' re- plied I; 'and he will do it the best amonj^ us.' 'The dog would write it best to be sure,' replied he; 'but his particular malice tow- ards mc, and general disregard for truth, would make the book useless to all, and injurious to my cliaractt-r." • ( )h ! as to that,' said I. ' we should all fasten upon him, and force him to do you justice; but the worst is, the Doctor does not kticrai your life ; nor can I tell indeed who does, except Dr. Taylor of Ashbourne." • Why Taylor,* said he, ' is better acquainted with my Juart than any man or wom- an now alive; and the history of my Oxford exploits lies all between him and Adams; but Dr. James knows my very early days better than he. After my coming to London to drive the world about a little, you must all go to Jack Hawkesworth for anecdotes : I lived in great familiarity with him (though I think there was not much affec- tion) from the year 1753 till the time Mr. Thrale and you took me up. I intend, however, to disappoint the rogues, and either make you write the life, with Taylor's intelligence ; or, which is better, do it myself after outliving you all. I am now,' added he, ' keeping a diary, in hopes of using it for that purpose some time.' Piozzi's Atux. p. 31. How much of this is true cannot be known. Boswell some time be- fore this conversation had told Johnson that he intended to write his Life, and Johnson had given him many particulars (see /^v/, March 31, 1772, and April 11, 1773). He read moreover in manuscript most of Boswell's Tour io the Hebrides, and from it learnt of his intention. ' It is no small satisfaction to me to reflect,' Boswell wrote, ' that Dr. Johnson, after being apprised of my intentions, communicated to me, at subsequent periods, many particulars of his life.' Boswell's Heih- rides, Oct. 14, 1773. first The Life by Sir J. Hawkins. 31 first features of his character; and as I have spared no pains in obtaining materials concerning him, from every quarter where I could discover that they were to be found, and have been favoured with the most Hberal communications by his friends ; I flatter myself that few biographers have entered upon such a work as this, with more advantages ; independent of literary abilities, in which I am not vain enough to compare myself with some great names who have gone before me in this kind of writing. Since my work was announced, several Lives and Memoirs of Dr. Johnson have been published', the most voluminous of which is one compiled for the booksellers of London, by Sir John Hawkins, Knight', a man, whom, during my long intimacy with Dr. Johnson, I never saw in his company, I think but once, and I am sure not above twice. John- son might have esteemed him for his decent, religious de- meanour, and his knowledge of books and literary history ; but from the rigid formality of his manners, it is evident that they never could have lived together with companionable ease and familiarity"; nor had Sir John Hawkins that nice * ' It may be said the death of Dr. Johnson kept the pubhc mind in agitation beyond all former example. No literary character ever excited so much attention.' Murphy's Johnson, p. 3. * The greatest part of this book was written while Sir John Hawkins was alive ; and I avow, that one object of my strictures was to make him feel some compunction for his illiberal treatment of Dr. Johnson. Since his decease, I have suppressed several of my remarks upon his work. But though I would not ' war with the dead ' offensively, I think it necessary to be strenuous in defence of my illustrious friend, which I cannot be without strong animadversions upon a writer who has greatly injured him. Let me add, that though I doubt I should not have been very prompt to gratify Sir John Hawkins with any com- pliment in his lifetime, I do now frankly acknowledge, that, in my opinion, his volume, however inadequate and improper as a life of Dr. Johnson, and however discredited by unpardonable inaccuracies in other respects, contains a collection of curious anecdotes and obser- vations, which few men but its author could have brought together. BOSWELL. ' 'The next name that was started was that of Sir John Hawkins; and Mrs. Thrale said, " Why now, Dr. Johnson, he is another of those perception 32 The Life by Sir jf. Hawk his. perception which was necessary to mark the finer and less obvious part of Johnson's character. His being appointed one of his executors, gave him an opportunity of taking pos- session of such fragments of a diaiy and other papers as were left ; of which, before delivering them up to the residuary legatee, whose property they were, he endeavoured to ex- tract the substance. In this he has not been very successful, as I have found upon a perusal of those papers, which have been since transferred to me. Sir John Hawkins's ponderous labours, I must acknowledge, exhibit a farrago, of which a considerable portion is not devoid of entertainment to the lovers of literary gossiping; but besides its being swelled out with long unnecessary extracts from various works (even one of several leaves from Osborne's Harleian Catalogue, and those not compiled by Johnson, but by Oldys), a very small part of it relates to the person who is the subject of the book ; and, in that, there is such an inaccuracy in the statement of facts, as in so solemn an authour is hardly excusable, and certainly makes his narrative very unsatis- factory. But what is still worse, there is throughout the whole of it a dark, uncharitable cast, by which the most unfavourable construction is put upon almost every circum- stance in the character and conduct of my illustrious whom you suffer nobody to abuse but yourself : Garrick is one too ; for, if any other person speaks against him, you brow-beat him in a minute." "Why madam," answered he, "they don't know when to abuse him, and when to praise him ; I will allow no man to speak ill of David that he does not deserve ; and as to Sir John, why really I believe him to be an honest man at the bottom ; but to be sure he is penurious, and he is mean, and it must be owned he has a degree of bru- tality, and a tendency to savageness, that cannot easily be defended." . . . He said that Sir John and he once belonged to the same club, but that as he eat no supper, after the first night of his admission he de- sired to be excused paying his share. "And was he excused?" "O yes ; for no man is angry at another for being inferior to himself. We all scorned him, and admitted his plea. For my part, I was such a fool as to pay my share for wine, though I never tasted any. But Sir John was a most unclubable man." ' Madame D'Arblay's Diary, i.65. friend ; Wardiu^ foils vieiv of biograpfiy. friend' ; who, I trust, will, by a true and fair delineation, be vindicated both from the injurious misrepresentations of this authour, and from the slighter aspersions of a lady who once lived in great intimacy with him ^ There is, in the British Museum, a letter from Bishop War- burton to Dr. Birch, on the subject of biography ; which, though I am aware it may expose me to a charge of art- fully raising the value of my own work, by contrasting it with that of which I have spoken, is so well conceived and expressed, that I cannot refrain from here inserting it : — ' I shall endeavour, (says Dr. Warburton,) to give you what satis- faction I can in any thing you want to be satisfied in any subject of Milton, and am extremely glad you intend to write his life. Almost all the life-writers we have had before Toland and Des- maiseaux^, are indeed strange insipid creatures; and yet I had rather read the worst of them, than be obliged to go through with • ' In censuring Mr. [j/r] J. Hawkins's book I say : "There is through- out the whole of it a dark, uncharitable cast, which puts the most un- favourable construction on my illustrious friend's conduct." Malone maintains cast will not do ; he will have " malignancy." Is that not too strong.^ How would " disposition " do ? . . . Hawkins is no doubt very malevolent. Observe how he talks of me as quite nnknowji! Let- ters of Boswell, p. 281. Malone wrote of Hawkins as follows: 'The bishop [Bishop Percy of Dromore] concurred with every other person I have heard speak of Hawkins, in saying that he was a most detest- able fellow. He was the son of a carpenter, and set out in life in the very lowest line of the law. Dyer knew him well at one time, and the bishop heard him give a character of Hawkins once that painted him in the blackest colours ; though Dyer was by no means apt to deal in such portraits. Dyer said he was a man of the most mischievous, un- charitable, and malignant disposition. Sir Joshua Reynolds observed to me that Hawkins, though he assumed great outward sanctity, was not only mean and grovelling in disposition, but absolutely dishonest. He never lived in any real intimacy with Dr. Johnson, who never opened his heart to him, or had in fact any accurate knowledge of his character.' Prior's MaloJie, pp. 425-7. See post, Feb. 1764, note. '■* Mrs. Piozzi. See post, under June 30, 1784. * Voltaire in his account of Bayle says : ' Des Maizeaux a ecrit sa vie en un gros volume; elle ne devait pas contenir six pages.' Vol- taire's IVorks, edition of 1819, xvii. 47. I. 3 this 34 -i fi^ author s viodc oj procedure. this of Milton's, or the other's life of Boileau, where there is such a dull, heavy succession of long quotations of disinteresting pas- sages, that it makes their method quite nauseous. But the verbose, tasteless Frenchman seems to lay it down as a principle, that every life must be a book, and what's worse, it proves a book without a life ; for what do we know of Boileau, after all his tedious stufi ? You are the only one, (and I speak it without a compliment,) that by the vigour of your stile and sentiments, and the real importance of your materials, have the art, (which one would imagine no one could have missed,) of adding agreements to the most agreeable subject in the world, which is literary history'. 'Nov. 24, 1737.' Instead of melting down my materials into one mass, and constantly speaking in my own person, by which I might have appeared to have more merit in the execution of the work, I have resolved to adopt and enlarge upon the excel- lent plan of Mr. Mason, in his Memoirs of Gray'. Wher- ever narrative is necessary to explain, connect, and supply, I furnish it to the best of my abilities ; but in the chrono- logical series of Johnson's life, which I trace as distinctly as I can, year by year, I produce, wherever it is in my power, his own minutes, letters or conversation, being convinced that this mode is more lively, and will make my readers better acquainted with him, than even most of those were who actually knew him, but could know him only partially; whereas there is here an accumulation of intelligence from various points, by which his character is more fully under- stood and illustrated '. • Brit. Mus. 4320, Ayscough's Catal., Sloane MSS. BOSWELL. — Hor- ace Walpole describes Birch as ' a worthy, good-natured soul, full of industry and activity, and running about like a young setting-dog in quest of anything, new or old, and with no parts, taste, or judgment.' Walpole's Letters, vii. 326. See post, Sept. 1743. ^ ' You have fixed the method of biography, and whoever will write a life well must imitate you.' Horace Walpole to Mason ; Walpole's Letters, vi. 211. ^ ' I am absolutely certain that my mode of biography, which gives not only a History of Johnson's visible progress through the world, and of his publications, but a view of his mind in his letters and con- Inde'^d Not a panegyruk, but a Life. 35 Indeed I cannot conceive a more perfect mode of writing any man's life, than not only relating all the most important events of it in their order, but interweaving what he pri- vately wrote, and said, and thought ; by which mankind arc enabled as it were to see him live, and to ' live o'er each scene' ' with him, as he actually advanced through the sev- eral stages of his life. Had his other friends been as diligent and ardent as I was, he might have been almost entirely preserved. As it is, I will venture to say that he will be seen in this work more completely than any man who has ever yet lived \ And he will be seen as he really was ; for I profess to write, not his panegyrick, which must be all praise, but his Life ; which, great and good as he was, must not be sup- posed to be entirely perfect. To be as he was, is indeed sub- ject of panegyrick enough to any man in this state of being ; but in every picture there should be shade as well as light, and when I delineate him without reserve, I do what he himself recommended, both by his precept and his example \ ' If the biographer writes from personal knowledge, and makes haste to gratify the publick curiosity, there is danger lest his versations, is the most perfect that can be conceived, and will be more of a Life than any work that has ever yet appeared." Letters of Bos well, p. 265. ■ Pope's Prologue to Addison's Cato, 1. 4. • ' . . . Boswell is the first of biographers. He has distanced all his competitors so decidedly that it is not worth while to place them. Eclipse is first, and the rest nowhere.' Macaulay's Essays, i. 374. » See post, Sept. 17. 1777. and Malone's note of March 15, 1781, and Boswell's Hebrides, Sept. 22. 1773. Hannah More met Boswell when he was carrying through the press his Journal of a Tour to the Heb- rides. 'Boswell tells me,' she writes, 'he is printing anecdotes of Johnson, not his Life, but, as he has the vanity to call it, yen's, pyramid. I besought his tenderness for our virtuous and most revered departed friend, and begged he would mitigate some of his asperities. He said roughly : " He would not cut ofi his claws, nor make a tiger a cat, to please anybody." It will, I doubt not, be a very amusing book. but. I hope, not an indiscreet one ; he has great enthusiasm and some fire.' H. M ore's Memoirs, i. 403. interest 36 Co7tversation best displays character, interest, his fear, his gratitude, or his tenderness overpower his fidelity, and tempt him to conceal, if not to invent. There are many who think it an act of piety to hide the faults or failings of their friends, even when they can no longer suffer by their detec- tion ; we therefore see whole ranks of characters adorned with uniform panegyrick, and not to be known from one another but by extrinsick and casual circumstances. " Let me remember, (says Hale,) when I find myself inclined to pity a criminal, that there is likewise a pity due to the country." If we owe regard to the memory of the dead, there is yet more respect to be paid to knowledge, to virtue and to truth '.' What I consider as the peculiar value of the following ■work, is, the quantity it contains of Johnson's conversation ; which is universally acknowledged to have been eminently instructive and entertaining; and of which the specimens that I have given, upon a former occasion', have been re- ceived with so much approbation, that I have good grounds for supposing that the world will not be indifferent to more ample communications of a similar nature. That the conversation of a celebrated man, if his talents have been exerted in conversation, will best display his char- acter, is, I trust, too well established in the judgment of man- kind, to be at all shaken by a sneering observation of Mr. Mason, in his Memoirs of Mr. William Whitehead, in which there is literally no Life, but a mere dry narrative of facts'. I do not think it was quite necessary to attempt a deprecia- tion of what is universally esteemed, because it was not to be found in the immediate object of the ingenious writer's pen ; for in truth, from a man so still and so tame, as to be contented to pass many years as the domestick companion of a superannuated lord and lady\ conversation could no more 1 Rambler, No. 60. Boswell. * In the Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides. ^ ' Mason's Life of Gray is excellent, because it is interspersed with letters which show us the 7nan. His Life of IV/utchead is not a life at all, for there is neither a letter nor a saying from first to last.' Let- ters of Boswell, p. 265. * The Earl and Countess of Jersey. Wright. be Dr. yo/uison on biography. 37 be expected, than from a Chinese mandarin on a chimney- piece, or the fantastick figures on a gilt leather skreen. If authority be required, let us appeal to Plutarch, the prince of ancient biographers. Ovre raU i'rri.^avecndraL'^ irpa^ea-i 7rdvTco' old and venerable authority, quoted by our great modern prel- ate, Seeker, in whose tenth sermon there is the following passage : ' Rabbi David Kimchi, a noted Jewish Commentator, who lived about five hundred years ago, explains that passage in the first Psalm, His leaf also shall not wither, from Rabbins yet older than himself, thus : That even the idle talk^ so he expresses it, of a good man ought to be regarded ; the most superfluous things he saith are always of some value. And other ancient authours have the same phrase, nearly in the same sense.' Of one thing I am certain, that considering how highly the small portion which we have of the table-talk and other anecdotes of our celebrated writers is valued, and how earn- estly it is regretted that we have not more, I am justified in preserving rather too many of Johnson's sayings, than too few ; especially as from the diversity of dispositions it can- not be known with certainty beforehand, whether what may seem trifling to some, and perhaps to the collector himself, may not be most agreeable to many ; and the greater num- ber that an authour can please in any degree, the more pleas- ure does there arise to a benevolent mind. To those who are weak enough to think this a degrading task, and the time and labour which have been devoted to it misemployed, I shall content myself with opposing the authority of the greatest man of any age, JULIUS C-(ESAR, of whom Bacon observes, that ' in his book of Apothegms which he collected, we see that he esteemed it more honour to make himself but a pair of tables, to take the wise and pithy words of others, than to have every word of his own to be made an apothegm or an oracle '.' Having said thus much by way of introduction, I commit the following pages to the candour of the Publick. » Bacon's Advancement of Learning, Book I. Boswell. Samuel 40 yo/insofis birth avd dapiism. [km. 1709. Samuel' Johnson was born at Lichfield, in Stafford- shire, on the i8th of September, N.S., 1709; and his initia- tion into the Christian Church was not delayed ; for his baptism is recorded, in the register of St, Mary's parish in that city, to have been performed on the day of his birth. His father is there stiled Gentleman, a circumstance of which an ignorant panegyrist has praised him for not being proud ; when the truth is, that the appellation of Gentleman, though now lost in the indiscriminate assumption of Esquire"^, was commonly taken by those who could not boast of gentility. Mis father was Michael Johnson, a native of Derbyshire, of obscure extraction ', who settled in Lichfield as a book- seller and stationer*. His mother was Sarah Ford, de- scended of an ancient race of substantial yeomanry in War- wickshire \ They were well advanced in years when they ' Johnson's godfather, Dr. Samuel Swinfen, according to the author of Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Dr. Jo/inson, 1785, p. 10, was at the time of his birth lodging with Michael Johnson. Johnson had uncles on the mother's side, named Samuel and Nathaniel (see Notes and Queries, 5th S. v. 13), after whom he and his brother may have been nanied. It seems more likely that it was his godfather who gave him his name. ^ So early as 1709 The Toiler complains of this ' indiscriminate as- sumption.' ' I'll undertake that if you read the superscriptions to all the offices in the kingdom, you will not fuid three letters directed to any but Esquires. ... In a word it is now Populus Arvtigeroruin, a people of Esquires. And I don't know but by the late act of natural- isation, foreigners will assume that title as part of the immunity of being Englishmen.' The Tatler, No. 19. ' ' I can hardly tell who was my grandfather,' said Johnson. See post, May 9, 1773. * Michael Johnson was born in 1656. He must have been engaged in the book-trade as early as 1681 ; for in the Life of Dryden his son says, 'The sale of Absalom and Achitophel was so large, that my father, an old bookseller, told me, he had not known it equalled but by Sacheverel's Trial.' Johnson's Works, vii. 276. In the Life of Sprat he is described by his son as ' an old man who had been no careless observer of the passages of those times.' lb. 392. ' Her epitaph says that she was born at Kingsnorton. Kingsnorton is in Worcestershire, and not, as the epitaph says, ' in agro Varvicensi.' When Johnson a few days before his death burnt his papers, some married, A.D. 1709.] His pare7itage. 41 married, and never had more than two children, both sons ; Samuel, their first born, who lived to be the illustrious char- acter whose various excellence I am to endeavour to record, and Nathaniel, who died in his twenty-fifth year. Mr. Michael Johnson was a man of a large and robust body, and of a strong and active mind ; yet, as in the most solid rocks veins of unsound substance are often discovered, there was in him a mixture of that disease, the nature of which eludes the most minute enquiry, though the effects are well known to be a weariness of life, an unconcern about those things which agitate the greater part of mankind, and a general sensation of gloomy wretchedness'. From him then his son inherited, with some other qualities, ' a vile melancholy,' which in his too strong expression of any dis- turbance of the mind, 'made him mad all his life, at least not sober^' Michael was, however, forced by the narrow- ness of his circumstances to be very diligent in business, not only in his shop", but by occasionally resorting to several fragments of his Annals escaped the flames. One of these was never seen by Boswell ; it was pubHshed in 1805 under the title of An Ac- count of the Lt'fe of Dr. Samuel "Johnson, from his Birth to his Eleventh Year, written by himself. In this he says (p. 14), * My mother had no value for my father's relations ; those indeed whom we knew of were much lower than hers.' Writing to Mrs. Thrale on his way to Scot- land he said : ' We changed our horses at Darlington, where Mr. Cor- nelius Harrison, a cousin-german of mine, was perpetual curate. He was the only one of my relations who ever rose in fortune above pen- ury, or in character above neglect.' Piozsi Letters, i. 105. His uncle Harrison he described as 'a very mean and vulgar man, drunk every night, but drunk with little drink, very peevish, very proud, very osten- tatious, but luckily not rich.' Annals, p. 28. In Notes and Queries, 6th S. X. 465, is given the following extract of the marriage of Johnson's parents from the Register of Packwood in Warwickshire :— '1706, Mickell Johnsones of lichfield and Sara ford maried June the 9th.' ' Mrs. Piozzi {Anec. p. 3) records that Johnson told her that 'his father was wrong-headed, positive, and afflicted with melancholy.' ' Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, 3rd edit. p. 213 [Sept. i6j. Bos- well. ' Stockdale in his Memoirs, ii. 102, records an anecdote told him towns 42 Cliaracier of Michael yohiison. [a.d. 1709. towns in the neighbourhood', some of which were at a con- siderable distance from Lichfield"'. At that time book- sellers' shops in the provincial towns of England were very rare, so that there was not one even in Birmingham, in which town old Mr. Johnson used to open a shop every market-day. He was a pretty good Latin scholar, and a citizen so creditable as to be made one of the magistrates of Lichfield'; and, being a man of good sense, and skill in by Johnson of ' the generosity of one of the customers of his father. "This man was purchasing a book, and pressed my father to let liiin have it at a far less price than it was worth. When his other topics of persuasion failed, he had recourse to one argument which, he thought, would infallibly prevail : — You know, Mr. Johnson, that I buy an almanac of you every year." ' ' Extract of a letter, dated ' Trentham, St. Peter's day, 1716,' written by the Rev. George Plaxton, Chaplain at that time to Lord Gower, which may serve to show the high estimation in which the Father of our great Moralist was held : 'Johnson, the Litchfield Librarian, is now here ; he propagates learning all over this diocese, and advanceth knowledge to its just height ; all the Clergy here are his Pupils, and suck all they have from him ; Allen cannot make a warrant without his precedent, nor our quondam John Evans draw a recognizance sine directione Michaelis.' Gentlanaft's Magazine. October, 1 791 . BOSWELL. * In Notes and Queries, 3rd S. v. 33, is given the following title-page of one of his books ' i-apnaKo-ldaa-avos : or t/ic Touchstone of Medicine etc. By Sir John Floyer of the City of Litchfield, Kt., M.D., of Queens College, Oxford. London : Printed for Michael Johnson, Bookseller, and are to be sold at his shops at Litchfield and Uttoxiter, in Staflford- shire; and Ashby-de-la-Zouch, in Leicestershire, 1687.' ' Johnson writing of his birth says : ' My father being that year sheriff of Lichfield, and to ride the circuit of the county [Mr. Croker suggests city, not being aware that ' the City of Lichfield was a coun- ty in itself.' See Harwood's Lichfield, p. i. In like manner, in the Militia Bill of 1756 {post 1756) we find entered, 'Devonshire with Exeter City and County,' ' Lincolnshire with Lincoln City and Coun- ty'] next day, which was a ceremony then performed with great pomp, he was asked by my mother whom he would invite to the Riding ; and answered, "all the town now." He feasted the citizens with uncommon magnificence, and was the last but one that maintained the splendour of the Riding,' Annals, p. 10. He served the office of church-warden in 1688; of sheriff in 1709; of junior bailiff in 1718; and senior bailiff in 1725.' Harwood's Lichfield, p. 449. his A.D. 1709.] An incident in his life. 43 his trade, he acquired a reasonable share of wealth, of which however he afterwards lost the greatest part, by engaging unsuccessfully in a manufacture of parchment'. He was a zealous high-church man and royalist, and retained his attach- ment to the unfortunate house of Stuart, though he recon- ciled himself, by casuistical arguments of expediency and necessity, to take the oaths imposed by the prevailing power\ There is a circumstance in his life somewhat romantick, but so well authenticated, that I shall not omit it. A young woman of Leek, in Staffordshire, while he served his appren- ticeship there, conceived a violent passion for him ; and though it met with no favourable return, followed him to Lichfield, where she took lodgings opposite to the house in which he lived, and indulged her hopeless flame. When he ' * My fathe« and mother had not much happiness from each other. They seldom conversed ; for my father could not bear to talk of his affairs, and my mother being unacquainted with books cared not to talk of anything else. Had my mother been more literate, they had been better companions. She might have sometimes introduced her unwelcome topic with more success, if she could have diversified her conversation. Of business she had no distinct conception ; and there- fore her discourse was composed only of complaint, fear, and suspi- cion. Neither of them ever tried to calculate the profits of trade, or the expenses of living. My mother concluded that we were poor, because we lost by some of our trades ; but the truth was, that my father, having in the early part of his life contracted debts, never had trade sufficient to enable him to pay them and maintain his family; he got something, but not enough.' Annals, p. 14. Mr. Croker no- ticing the violence of Johnson's language against the Excise, with great acuteness suspected 'some cause of personal animosity; this mention of the trade in parchment (an exciseable article) afforded a clue, which has led to the confirmation of that suspicion.' In the records of the Excise Board is to be found the following letter, ad- dressed to the supervisor of excise at Lichfield : 'July 27, 1725. The Commissioners received yours of the 22nd instant, and since the justices would not give judgment against Mr. Michael Johnson, the tanner, notwithstanding the facts were fairly against him, the Board direct that the next time he oftends, you do not lay an information against him, but send an affidavit of the fact, that he may be prose- cuted in the Exchequer.' • See/i7j/, March 27, 1775. was 44 Sarah yohnson. [a. d. 1712. was informed that it so preyed upon her mind that her h'fe was in danger, he with a generous humanity went to her and offered to marry her, but it was then too late : her vital power was exhausted ; and she actually exhibited one of the very rare instances of dying for love. She was buried in the cathedral of Lichfield ; and he, with a tender regard, placed a stone over her grave with this inscription : Here lies the body of Mrs. Elizabeth Blaney, a stranger. She departed this life 20 of September, 1694. Johnson's mother was a woman of distinguished under- standing. I asked his old school-fellow, Mr. Hector, surgeon of Birmingham, if she was not vain of her son. He said, ' she had too much good sense to be vain, but she knew her son's value.' Her piety was not inferiour to her understand- ing ; and to her must be ascribed those early impressions of religion upon the mind of her son, from which the world afterwards derived so much benefit. He told me, that he remembered distinctly having had the first notice of Heaven, ' a place to which good people went,' and hell, ' a place to which bad people went,' communicated to him by her, when a little child in bed with her'; and that it might be the better fixed in his memory, she sent him to repeat it to Thomas Jackson, their man-servant ; he not being in the way, this was not done ; but there was no occasion for any artificial aid for its preservation. In following so very eminent a man from his cradle to his grave, every minute particular, which can throw light on the progress of his mind, is interesting. That he was remark- able, even in his earliest years, may easily be supposed ; for to use his own words in his Life of Sydenham, 1 ' I remember, that being in bed with my mother one morning, I was told by her of the two places to which the inhabitants of this world were received after death : one a fine place filled with happi- ness, called Heaven ; the other, a sad place, called Hell. That this account much affected my imagination I do not remember.' Annals, p. 19. That Aetat. 3.] Anecdotes of yohnsons childhood. 45 * That the strength of his understanding, the accuracy of his dis- cernment, and ardour of his curiosity, might have been remarked from his infancy, by a diligent observer, there is no reason to doubt. For, there is no instance of any man, whose history has been minutely related, that did not in every part of life discover the same proportion of intellectual vigour'.' In all such investigations it is certainly unwise to pay too much attention to incidents which the credulous relate with eager satisfaction, and the more scrupulous or witty en- quirer considers only as topicks of ridicule : Yet there is a traditional story of the infant Hercules of toryism, so curiously characteristick, that I shall not withhold it. It was communicated to me in a letter from Miss Mary Adye, of Lichfield: ' When Dr. Sacheverel was at Lichfield, Johnson was not quite three years old. My grandfather Hammond observed him at the cathedral perched upon his father's shoulders, listening and gaping at the much celebrated preacher. Mr. Hammond asked Mr. John- son how he could possibly think of bringing such an infant to church, and in the midst of so great a croud. He answered, be- cause it was impossible to keep him at home ; for, young as he was, he believed he had caught the publick spirit and zeal for Sacheverel, and would have staid for ever in the church, satisfied with beholding him I' ' Johnson's Works, vi. 406. ^ Mr. Croker disbelieves the story altogether. ' Sacheverel," he says, 'by his sentence pronounced in Feb. 17 10, was interdicted for three years from preaching ; so that he could not have preached at Lichfield while Johnson was under three years of age. Sacheverel, indeed, made a triumphal progress through the midland counties in 1710 ; and it appears by the books of the corporation of Lichfield that he was received in that town, and complimented by the attendance of the corporation, "and a present of three dozen of wine," on June 16, 1710 ; but then "the infant Hercules of Toryz'sin " was just «/« ' My father had much vanity which his adversity hindered from being fully exerted.' Annals, p. 14. * This anecdote of the duck, though disproved by internal and ex- ternal evidence, has nevertheless, upon supposition of its truth, been made the foundation of the following ingenious and fanciful reflec- tions of Miss Seward, amongst the communications concerning Dr. Johnson with which she has been pleased to favour me : ' These in- fant numbers contain the seed of those propensities which through his life so strongly marked his character, of that poetick talent which afterwards bore such rich and plentiful fruits ; for, excepting his or- thographick works, every thing which Dr. Johnson wrote was Poetry, whose essence consists not in numbers, or in jingle, but in the strength and glow of a fancy, to which all the stores of nature and of art stand in prompt administration ; and in an eloquence which conveys their blended illustrations in a language "more tuneable than needs or rhyme or verse to add more harmony." 'The above little verses also shew that superstitious bias which "grew with his growth, and strengthened with his strength," and, of late years particularly, injured his happiness, by presenting to him the gloomy side of religion, rather than that bright and cheering one which gilds the period of closing life with the light of pious hope.' Young 48 His eyesight, [Aetat. 3. Young Johnson had the misfortune to be much afflicted with the scrophula, or king's evil, which disfigured a counte- nance naturally well formed, and hurt his visual nerves so much, that he did not see at all with one of his eyes, though its appearance was little difTerent from that of the other. There is amongst his prayers, one inscribed ' When viy KYE was restored to its 7ise\' which ascertains a defect that many of his friends knew he had, though I never perceived W. I supposed him to be only near-sighted ; and indeed I must observe, that in no other respect could I discern any defect in his vision ; on the contrary, the force of his attention and perceptive quickness made him see and distinguish all man- ner of objects, whether of nature or of art, with a nicety that is rarely to be found. When he and I were travelling in the Highlands of Scotland, and I pointed out to him a mountain which I observed resembled a cone, he corrected my inac- curacy, by shewing me, that it was indeed pointed at the top, but that one side of it was larger than the other". And the ladies with whom he was acquainted agree, that no man was more nicely and minutely critical in the elegance of female dress*. When I found that he saw the romantick beauties of Islam, in Derbyshire, much better than I did, 1 This is so beautifully imagined, that I would not suppress it. But like many other theories, it is deduced from a supposed fact, which is, indeed, a fiction. Boswell. ' Prayers and Meditations, p. 27. BoswELL. " Speaking himself of the imperfection of one of his eyes, he said to Dr. Burney, 'the dog was never good for much.' Malone. ^ Boswell's Hebrides, Sept. i, 1773. * 'No accidental position of a riband,' wrote Mrs. Piozzi, ' escaped him, so nice was his observation, and so rigorous his demands of pro- priety.' Piozzi's Anec. p. 287. Miss Burney .says : — ' Notwithstanding Johnson is sometimes so absent and always so near-sighted, he scru- tinizes into every part of almost everybody's appearance [at Streat- ham].' And again she writes : — ' His blindness is as much the efTect of absence [of mind] as of infirmity, for he sees wonderfully at times. He can see the colour of a lady's top-knot, for he often finds fault with it.' Mine. UArblays Diary, i. 85, ii. 174. He could, when well, distinguish the hour on Lichfield town-clock. Post, p. 74. told The king's evil. 49 told him that he resembled an able performer upon a bad instrument '. How false and contemptible then are all the remarks which have been made to the prejudice either of his candour or of his philosophy, founded upon a supposition that he was almost blind. It has been said, that he con- tracted this grievous malady from his nurse". His mother yielding to the superstitious notion, which, it is wonderful to think, prevailed so long in this country, as to the virtue of the regal touch ; a notion, which our kings encouraged, and to which a man of such inquiry and such judgement as Carte' could give credit; carried him to London, where he 1 See post, Sept. 22, 1777. " This was Dr. Swinfen's opinion, who seems also to have attributed Johnson's short-sightedness to the same cause. 'My mother,' he says, 'thought my diseases derived from her family.' Annals, p. 12. When he was put lOut at nurse, ' She visited me,' he says, ' every day, and used to go different ways, that her assiduity might not expose her to ridicule.' ^ In 1738 Carte published a masterly ' Account of Materials, etc., for a History of England with the method of his undertaking.' {Gent. Mag. viii. 227.) He proposed to do much of what has been since done under the direction of the Master of the Rolls. He asked for subscriptions to carry on his great undertaking, for in its researches it was to be very great. In 1744 the City of London resolved to sub- scribe ^50 for seven years (ib. xiv. 393). In vol. i. of his history, which only came down to the reign of John (published in 1748), he went out of his way to assert that the cure by the king's touch was not due to the ' regal unction ' / for he had known a man cured who had gone over to France, and had been there ' touched by the eldest lineal descend- ant of a race of kings who had not at that time been crowned or anointed: (ib. xviii. 13.) Thereupon the Court of Common Council by a unanimous vote withdrew its subscription, (ib. 185). The old Jacobites maintained that the power did not descend to Mary, Will- iam, or Anne. It was for this reason that Boswell said that Johnson should have been taken to Rome ; though indeed it was not till some years after he was ' touched' by Queen Anne that the Pretender dwelt there. The Hanoverian kings never 'touched.' The service for the ceremony was printed in the Book of Common Prayer as late as 1719. {Penny Cyclo. xxi. 113.) 'It appears by the newspapers of the time.' says Mr. Wright, quoted by Croker, 'that on March 30, 171 2, two hundred persons were touched by Queen Anne.' Macaulay says that I.— 4 ^'"^^ 50 yoknson at a dames school. was actually touched by Queen Anne. Mrs. Johnson in- deed, as Mr. Hector informed me, acted by the advice of the celebrated Sir John Ployer', then a physician in Lichfield. Johnson used to talk of this very frankly ; and Mrs. Piozzi has preserved his very picturesque description of the scene, as it remained upon his fancy. Being asked if he could re- member Queen Anne, ' \\c had (he said) a confused, but somehow a sort of solemn recollection of a lady in diamonds, and a long black hood'.' This touch, however, was without any effect. I ventured to say to him, in allusion to the political principles in which he was educated, and of which he ever retained some odour, that ' his mother had not car- ried him far enough ; she should have taken him to RoMP:.' He was first taught to read English by Dame Oliver \ a widow, who kept a school for young children in Lichfield. He told me she could read the black letter, and asked him to borrow for her, from his father, a bible in that character. When he was going to Oxford, she came to take leave of him, brought him, in the simplicity of her kindness, a present of gingerbread, and said, he was the best scholar she ever had. He delighted in mentioning this early compliment: adding, with a smile, that ' this was as high a proof of his merit as he could conceive.' His next instructor in English was a master, whom, when he spoke of him to me, he familiarly called Tom Brown, who, said he, ' published a spelling-book, and dedicated it to the UNIVERSE ; but. I fear, no copy of it can now be had*.' 'Charles the Second, in the course of his reign, touched near a hun- dred thousand persons. . . . The expense of the ceremony was little less than ten thousand pounds a year.' Macaulay's Engla}id, ch. xiv. ' S&e. post, p. io6, note. - Anecdotes, p. lo. BOSWELL. ' Johnson, writing of Addison's schoolmasters, says: — 'Not to name the school or the masters of men illustrious for literature is a kind of historical fraud, by which honest fame is injuriously dim.inished. I would therefore trace him through the whole process of his educa- tion.' Johnson's lVo>-ks,v\\. /i^i^. * Neither the British Museum nor the Bodleian Library has a copy. He Lichfield School. 51 He began to learn Latin' with Mr. Hawkins, usher, or under-master of Lichfield school, ' a man (said he) very skil- ful in his little way.' With him he continued two years*, and then rose to be under the care of Mr. Hunter, the head- master, who, according to his account, ' was very severe, and wrong-headedly severe. He used (said he) to beat us un- mercifully ; and he did not distinguish between ignorance and negligence ; for he would beat a boy equally for not knowing a thing, as for neglecting to know it. He would ask a boy a question ; and if he did not answer it, he would beat him, without considering whether he had an oppor- tunity of knowing how to answer it. For instance, he would call up a boy and ask him Latin for a candlestick, which the boy could not expect to be asked. Now, Sir, if a boy could answer every question, there would be no need of a master to teach him.' It is, however, but justice to the memory of Mr. Hunter to mention, that though he might err in being too severe, the school of Lichfield was very respectable in his time'. ' ' When we learned Propria quce maribus, we were examined in the Accidence ; particularly we formed verbs, that is, went through the same person in all the moods and tenses. This was very difficult to me, and I was once very anxious about the next day, when this exer- cise was to be performed in which I had failed till I was discouraged. My mother encouraged me, and I proceeded better. When I told her of my good escape, "We often." said she, dear mother! "come ofif best when we are most afraid." She told me that, once when she asked me about forming verbs, I said, " I did not form them in an ugly shape." " You could not," said she, " speak plain ; and I was proud that I had a boy who was forming verbs." These little memo- rials soothe my mind.' Atwa/s, p. 22. * ' This was the course of the school which I remember with pleas- ure ; for I was indulged and caressed by my master ; and, I think, really excelled the rest.' Annals, p. 25. ' Johnson said of Hunter :—' Abating his brutality, he was a very good master;' post, March 21, 1772. Steele in the Spectator, No. 157. two years after Johnson's birth, describes these savage tyrants of the grammar-schools. ' The boasted liberty we talk of,' he writes, ' is but a mean reward for the long servitude, the many heartaches and ter- rors to which our childhood is exposed in going through a grammar- The 52 Johnson s school-fellows. The late Dr. Taylor, Prebendary of Westminster, who was educated under him, told me, that ' he was an excellent master, and that his ushers were most of them men of emi- nence ; that Holbrook, one of the most ingenious men, best scholars, and best preachers of his age, was usher dur- ing the greatest part of the time that Johnson was at school'. Then came Hague, of whom as much might be .said, with the addition that he was an elegant poet. Hague was succeeded by Green, afterwards Bishop of Lincoln, whose character in the learned world is well known'. In the same form with Johnson was Congreve', who after- wards became chaplain to Archbishop Boulter, and by that connection obtained good i)rcfernunt in Ireland. He was a younger son of the ancient famil)' of Congreve, in Staf- fordshire, of which the poet was a branch. His brother school. . . . No one who has gone through what they call a great school but must remember to have seen children of excellent and in- genuous natures (as has afterwards appeared in their manhood); I say no man has passed through this way of education but must have seen an ingenuous creature expiring with shame, with pale looks, be- seeching sorrow and silent tears, throw up its honest eyes and kneel on its tender knees to an inexorable blockhead to be forgiven the false quantity of a word in making a Latin verse.' Likely enough Johnson's roughness was in part due to this brutal treatment: for Steele goes on to say : — ' It is wholly to this dreadful practice that we may attribute a certain hardiness and ferocity which some men, though liberally educated, carry about them in all their behaviour. To be bred like a gentleman, and punished like a malefactor, must, as we see It does, produce that illiberal sauciness which we see sometimes in men of letters.' ' Johnson described him as 'a peevish and ill-tempered man,' and not so good a scholar or teacher as Taylor made out. Once the boys perceived that he did not understand a part of the Latin lesson ; an- other time, when sent up to the upper-master to be punished, they had to complain that when they ' could not get the passage,' the as- sistant would not help them. Annals, pp. 26, 32. * One of the contributors to the At/iem'an Letters. See Gent. Mag. liv. 276. * Johnson, /o.y/, March 22, 1776, describes him as one 'who does not get drunk, for he is a very pious man, but he is always muddy.' sold Mr. Hunter. 53 sold the estate. There was also I.owe, afterwards Canon of Windsor'.' Indeed Johnson was very sensible how much he owed to Mr, Hunter. Mr. Langton one day asked him how he had acquired so accurate a knowledge of Latin, in which, I be- lieve, he was exceeded by no man of his time ; he said, ' My master whipt me very well. Without that. Sir, I should have done nothing.' He told Mr. Langton, that while Hunter was flogging his boys unmercifully, he used to say, ' And this I do to save you from the gallows.' Johnson, upon all occasions, expressed his approbation of enforcing instruction by means of the rod\ * I would rather (said he) ' A tradition had reached Johnson through his school-fellow An- drew Corbet that Addison had been at the school and had been the leader in a barring out. (Johnson's W^icr/fj.vii. 419). Garrick entered the school about two years after Johnson left. According to Garrick's biographer, Tom Davies (p. 3), ' Hunter was an odd mixture of the ped- ant and the sportsman. Happy was the boy who could slily inform his offended master where a covey of partridges was to be found ; this notice was a certain pledge of his pardon.' Lord Campbell in his Lives of the Chief Justices, ii. 279, says : — ' Hunter is celebrated for having flogged seven boys who afterwards sat as judges in the superior courts at Westminster at the same time. Among these were Chief Justice Wilmot, Lord Chancellor Northington. Sir T. Clarke, Master of the Rolls, Chief Justice Willes, and Chief Baron Parker. It is remark- able that, although Johnson and Wilmot were several years class- fellows at Lichfield, there never seems to have been the slightest intercourse between them in after life ; but the Chief Justice used frequently to mention the Lexicographer as "a long, lank, lounging boy, whom he distinctly remembered to have been punished by Hun- ter for idleness." ' Lord Campbell blunders here. Northington and Clarke were from Westminster School (Campbell's Chance/lors.v. 176). The school-house, famous though it was, was allowed to fall into decay. A writer in the Gent. Mag. in 1794 (p. 413) says that ' it is now in a state of dilapidation, and unfit for the use of either the master or boys.' • Johnson's observation to Dr. Rose, on this subject, deserves to be recorded. Rose was praising the mild treatment of children at school, at a time when flogging began to be less practised than formerly: ' But then, (said Johnson,) they get nothing else : and what they gain at one end, they lose at the other.' Burney. See post, under Dec. 17. 1775- have 54 ^'^' Hunter. have the rod to be the general terrour to all, to make them learn, than tell a child, if you do thus, or thus, you will be more esteemed than your brothers or sisters. The rod pro- duces an effect which terminates in itself. A child is afraid of being whipped, and gets his task, and there's an end on't ; whereas, by exciting emulation and comparisons of superior- ity, you lay the foundation of lasting mischief ; you make brothers and sisters hate each other'.' When Johnson saw some young ladies in Lincolnshire who were remarkably well behaved, owing to their mother's strict discipline and severe correction", he exclaimed, in one of Shakspeare's lines a little varied, ''Rod, I will honour thee for this thy duty'.' ' This passage is quoted from Boswell's Hebrides, Aug. 24, 1773. Mr. Boyd had told Johnson that Lady Errol did not use force or fear in educating her children ; whereupon he replied, ' Sir, she is wrong,' and continued in the words of the text. Gibbon in his Autobiography says : — ' The domestic discipline of our ancestors has been rela.xed by the philosophy and softness of the age : and if my father remembered that he had trembled before a stern parent, it was only to adopt with his son an opposite mode of behaviour.' Gibbon's Works, i. 112. Lord Chesterfield writing to a friend on Oct. iS, 1752, says : — •' Pray let my godson never know what a blow or a whipping is, unless for those things for which, were he a man, he would deserve them ; such as lying, cheating, making mis- chief, and meditated malice.' Chesterfield's Misc. Works, iv. 130. " Johnson, however, hated anything that came near to tyranny in the management of children. Writing to Mrs. Thrale, who had told him that she had on one occasion gone against the wish of her nurses, he said : — ' That the nurses fretted will supply me during life with an additional motive to keep every child, as far as is possible, out of a nurse's power. A nurse made of common mould will have a pride in overcoming a child's reluctance. There are few minds to which tyranny is not delightful ; power is nothing but as it is felt, and the delight of superiority is proportionate to the resistance overcome.' Piozzi Letters, ii. 67. * ' Sword, I will hallow thee for this thy deed.' 2 Henry VL act iv. so. 10. John Wesley's mother, writing of the way she had brought up her children, boys and girls alike, says: — 'When turned a year old (and some before) they were taught to fear the rod, and to cry softly ; That yolinson a King of men. 55 That superiority over his fellows, which he maintained with so much dignity in his march through life, was not assumed from vanity and ostentation, but was the natural and constant effect of those extraordinary powers of mind, of which he could not but be conscious by comparison ; the intellectual difference, which in other cases of comparison of characters, is often a matter of undecided contest, being as clear in his case as the superiority of stature in some men above others. Johnson did not strut or stand on tip-toe : He only did not stoop. From his earliest years his superior- ity was perceived and acknowledged'. He was from the be- ginning '' Xva^ dvSpcov, a king of men. His school-fellow, Mr. Hector, has obligingly furnished me with many particulars of his boyish days": and assured me that he never knew him corrected at school, but for talking and diverting other boys from their business. He seemed to learn by intuition ; for though indolence and procrastination were inherent in his constitution, whenever he made an exertion he did more than any one else. In short, he is a memorable instance of what has been often observed, that the boy is the man in miniature : and that the distinguishing characteristicks of each individual are the same, through the whole course of life. His favourites used to receive very liberal assistance from him ; and such was the submission and deference with which he was treated, such the desire to obtain his regard, that three of the boys, of whom Mr. Hector was sometimes one, used to come in the morning as his humble attendants, and carry him to school. One in the middle stooped, while by which means they escaped abundance of correction they might otherwise have had.' Wesley's Jour}ial i. 370. ' ' There dwelt at Lichfield a gentleman of the name of Butt, to whose house on holidays he was ever welcome. The children in the family, perhaps offended with the rudeness of his behaviour, would frequently call him the great boy, which the father once overhearing said:— 'You call him the great boy, but take my word for it, he will one day prove a great man.' Hawkins's JoJuison, p. 6. ' See post, March 22, 1776 and Johnson's visit to Birmingham in Nov. 1784. he 56 yohnsons tenacious memory. he sat upon his back, and one on each side supported him ; and thus he was borne triumphant. Such a proof of the early predominance of intellectual v'igour is very remarkable, and does honour to human nature. Talking to me once himself of his being much distinguished at school, he told me, ' they never thought to raise me by comparing me to any one ; they never said, Johnson is as good a scholar as such a one ; but such a one is as good a scholar as Johnson ; and this was said but of one, but of Lowe ; and I do not think he was as good a scholar.' He discovered a great ambition to excel, which roused him to counteract his indolence. He was uncommonly in- quisitive ; and his memory was so tenacious, that he never forgot any thing that he either heard or read. Mr. Hector remembers having recited to him eighteen verses, which, after a little pause, he repeated vcrbatijii, varying only one epithet, by which he improved the line. He never joined with the other boys in their ordinary diversions : his only amusement was in winter, when he took a, pleasure in being drawn upon the ice by a boy barefooted, who pulled him along by a garter fixed round him ; no very easy operation, as his size was remarkably large. His de- fective sight, indeed, prevented him from enjoying the com- mon sports ; and he once pleasantly remarked to me, ' how wonderfully well he had contrived to be idle without them.' Lord Chesterfield, however, has justly observed in one of his letters, when earnestly cautioning a friend against the per- nicious effects of idleness, that active sports are not to be reckoned idleness in young people ; and that the listless tor- por of doing nothing, alone deserves that name'. Of this dismal inertness of disposition, Johnson had all his life too great a share. Mr. Hector relates, that ' he could not oblige him more than by sauntering away the hours of vacation in ' 'You should never suffer your son to be idle one minute. I do not call play, of which he ought to have a good share, idleness ; but I mean sitting still in a chair in total inaction : it makes boys lazy and indolent.' Chesterfield's Misc. Works, iv. 348. the His fo7iciiicss for roiuances. 57 the fields, during which he was more engaged in talking to himself than to his companion.' Dr. Percy', the Bishop of Dromore, who was long inti- mately acquainted with him, and has preserv^ed a few anec- dotes concerning him, regretting that he was not a more diligent collector, informs me, that ' when a boy he was im- moderately fond of reading romances of chivalr>', and he re- tained his fondness for them through life ; so that (adds his Lordship) spending part of a summer* at my parsonage- house in the countr}', he chose for his regular reading the old Spanish romance of Fclixmarte of Hircania, in folio, which he read quite through \ Yet I have heard him at- tribute to these extravagant fictions that unsettled turn of mind which prevented his ever fixing in any profession.' 1725: ^TAT. 16. — After having resided for some time at the house of his uncle, Cornelius Ford', Johnson was, at the age of fifteen, removed to the school of Stourbridge, in Worcestershire, of which Mr. Wentworth was then master. ' The author of the Reliqties. '^ The summer of 1764. ' Johnson, writing of Paradise Lost, book ii. 1. 879, says : — ' In the history of Don Bellianis, when one of the knights approaches, as I remember, the castle of Brandezar the gates are said to open, grating harsh thunder upon their brazett hinges.' Johnson's ll'orks, V. 76. See post, March 27, 1776, where ' he had with him upon a jaunt II Palmerino d'Inghilterra.' Prior says of Burke that 'a very favour- ite study, as he once confessed in the House of Commons, was the old romances, Pahnerin of England and Don Belianis of Greece, upon which he had wasted much valuable time.' Prior's Burke, p. 9. * Hawkins {Life, p. 2) says that the uncle was Dr. Joseph Ford 'a physician of great eminence.' .The son. Parson Ford, was Cornelius. In Boswell's Hebrides, Oct. 15, 1773, Johnson mentions an uncle who very likely was Dr. Ford. In Notes and Queries, 5th S. v. 13, it is shown that by the will of the widow of Dr. Ford the Johnsons received ;i{^200 in 1722. On the same page the Ford pedigree is given, where it is seen that Johnson had an uncle Cornelius. It has been stated that 'Johnson was brought up by his uncle till his fifteenth year.' I un- derstand Boswell to say that Johnson, after leaving Lichfield School, resided for some time with his uncle before going to Stourbridge. This 58 Stourbridge School. This step was taken by the advice of his cousin, the Rever- end Mr. Ford, a man in whom both talents and good dispo- sitions were disgraced by Hcentiousness ', but who was a very able judge of what was right. At this school he did not receive so much benefit as was expected. It has been said, that he acted in the capacity of an assistant to Mr. Went- worth, in teaching the younger boys. ' Mr. Wentuorth (he told me) was a very able man, but an idle man, and to me very severe ; but I cannot blame him much. I was then a big boy ; he saw I did not reverence him ; and that he should get no honour by me. I had brought enough with me, to carry me through ; and all I should get at his school would be ascribed to my own labour, or to my former mas- ter. Yet he taught me a great deal.' He thus discriminated, to Dr. Percy, Bishop of Dromore, his progress at his two grammar-schools. 'At one, I learnt much in the school, but little from the master ; in the other, I learnt much from the master, but little in the school.' The Bishop also informs me, that ' Dr. Johnson's father, before he was received at Stourbridge, applied to have him admitted as a scholar and assistant to the Reverend Samuel Lea, M.A., head master of Newport school, in Shropshire (a very diligent, good teacher, at that time in high reputation, under whom Mr. Hollis" is said, in the Memoirs of his Life, to have been also educated '). This application to Mr. Lea ' He is said to be the original of the parson in Hogarth's Modern Midnight Conversation. Boswell. In the Life of Fenton Johnson describes Ford as ' a clergyman at that time too well known, whose abilities, instead of furnishing con- vivial merriment to the voluptuous and dissolute, might have enabled him to excel among the virtuous and the wise.' Johnson's Works, viii. 57. Writing to Mrs. Th rale on July 8, 1771, he says, "I would have been glad to go to Hagley [close to Stourbridge] for I should have had the opportunity of recollecting past times, and wandering per tnontes notos et fltimina nota,oi recalling the images of sixteen, and reviewing my conversations with poor Ford.' Piozzi Letters, i. 42. See 2i\sopost, May 12, 1778. -' See post, April 20, 1781. ' As was likewise the Bishop of Dromore many years afterwards. Boswell. was yohnso^is youthful compositions. 59 was not successful ; but Johnson had afterwards the gratifi- cation to hear that the old gentleman, who lived to a very advanced age, mentioned it as one of the most memorable events of his life, that ' he was very 7iear having that great man for his scholar.' He remained at Stourbridge little more than a year, and then returned home, where he may be said to have loitered, for two years, in a state very unworthy his uncommon abili- ties. He had already given several proofs of his poetical genius, both in his school-exercises and in other occasional compositions. Of these I have obtained a considerable col- lection, by the favour of Mr. Wentworth, son of one of his masters, and of Mr. Hector, his school -fellow and friend; from which I select the following specimens : Trafislation Foretold the coming evil by their dismal croak. ) Translation Mr. Hector informs me, that this was made almost impromptu, in his presence. Boswell. '* This he inserted, with many alterations, in the GeJitleman s Maga- Pleas'd yohiisons youthful compositions. 63 Pleas'd with the scene the smiling ocean yields, He scorns the verdant meads and flow'ry fields ; Then dances jocund o'er the watery way, While the breeze whispers, and the streamers play : Unbounded prospects in his bosom roll, And future millions lift his rising soul ; In blissful dreams he digs the golden mine, And raptur'd sees the new-found ruby shine. Joys insincere ! thick clouds invade the skies. Loud roar the billows, high the waves arise ; Sick'ning with fear, he longs to view the shore, And vows to trust the faithless deep no more. So the young Authour, panting after fame, And the long honours of a lasting name, Entrusts his happiness to human kind, More false, more cruel, than the seas or wind. ' Toil on, dull croud, in extacies he cries, For wealth or title, perishable prize ; While I those transitory blessings scorn, Secure of praise from ages yet unborn.' This thought once form'd, all council comes too late. He flies to press, and hurries on his fate ; Swiftly he sees the imagined laurels spread. And feels the unfading wreath surround his head. Warn'd by another's fate, vain youth be wise, Those dreams were Settle's' once, and Ogilby's^: The pamphlet spreads, incessant hisses rise. To some retreat the baffled writer flies ; Where no sour criticks snarl, no sneers molest. Safe from the tart lampoon, and stinging jest ; There begs of heaven a less distinguished lot, Glad to be hid, and proud to be forgot. sine, 1743 [p. 378J. BoswELL. The alterations are not always for the better. Thus he alters ' And the long honours of a lasting name ' mto ' And fir'd with pleasing hope of endless fame.' ' Settle was the last of the city-poets ; post. May i 5, 1776. ' ' Here swells the shelf with Ogilby the great.' Dunciad, j. 141. Epilogue, 64 Johnsons youthful compositions. [a.d. 1728. Epilogue, intended to have been spoken by a Lady jvho was to per- sonate the Ghost /t/Hermione '. Ye blooming train, who give despair or joy, Bless with a smile, or with a frown destroy ; In whose fair cheeks destructive Cupids wait, And with unerring shafts distribute fate ; Whose snowy breasts, whose animated eyes, Each youth admires, though each admirer dies ; Whilst you deride their pangs in barb'rous play, \ Unpitying see them weep, and hear them pray, \ And unrelenting sport ten thousand lives away ; ) For you, ye fair, I quit the gloomy plains ; Where sable night in all her horrour reigns ; No fragrant bovvers, no delightful glades, Receive the unhappy ghosts of scornful maids. For kind, for tender nymphs the myrtle blooms. And weaves her bending boughs in pleasing glooms : Perennial roses deck each purple vale. And scents ambrosial breathe in every gale : Far hence are banish'd vapours, spleen, and tears, Tea, scandal, ivory teeth, and languid airs : No pug, nor favourite Cupid there enjoys The balmy kiss, for which poor Thyrsis dies ; Form'd to delight, they use no foreign arms, Nor torturing whalebones pinch them into charms ; No conscious blushes there their cheeks inflame, For those who feel no guilt can know no shame ; Unfaded still their former charms they shew, Around them pleasures wait, and joys for ever new. But cruel virgins meet severer fates ; Expell'd and exil'd from the blissful seats. To dismal realms, and regions void of peace, Where furies ever howl, and serpents hiss. O'er the sad plains perpetual tempests sigh, And pois'nous vapours, black'ning all the sky. With livid hue the fairest face o'ercast, ■ Some young ladies at Lichfield having proposed to act The Dis- tressed Mother^ Johnson wrote this, and gave it to Mr. Hector to convey it privately to them. Boswell. '6tc post, 1747, for The D/stressed Mother. And Aetat. 19] yohnsofi two years at home. 65 And every beauty withers at the blast : Where e'er they fly their lovers' ghosts pursue, Inflicting all those ills which once they knew ; Vexation, Fury, Jealousy, Despair, Vex ev'ry eye, and every bosom tear ; Their foul deformities by all descry'd. No maid to flatter, and no paint to hide. Then melt, ye fair, while crouds around you sigh. Nor let disdain sit lowring in your eye ; With pity soften every awful grace, And beauty smile auspicious in each face ; To ease their pains exert your milder power. So shall you guiltless reign, and all mankind adore.' The two years which he spent at home, after his return from Stourbridge, he passed in what he thought idleness ', and was scolded by his father for his want of steady applica- tion '. He had no settled plan of life, nor looked forward at all, but merely lived from day to day. Yet he read a great deal in a desultory manner, without any scheme of study, as chance threw books in his way, and inclination di- rected him through them. He used to mention one curious instance of his casual reading, when but a boy. Having imagined that his brother had hid some apples behind a large folio upon an upper shelf in his father's shop, he climbed up to search for them. There were no apples ; but ' Yet he said to Boswell : — ' Sir, in my early years I read very hard. It is a sad reflection, but a true one, that I knew almost as much at eighteen as I do now ' {post,]\}i\y 21, 1763). He told Mr. Langton, that ' his great period of study was from the age of twelve to that of eighteen ' (lb. note). He told the King that his reading had later on been hindered by ill-health {post, Feb. 1767). ■^ Hawkins {^Life, p. 9) says that ' his father took him home, probably with a view to bring him up to his own trade ; for I have heard John- son say that he himself was able to bind a book." ' It were better bind books again,' wrote Mrs. Thrale to him on Sept. 18, 1777, 'as you did one year in our thatched summer-house.' Piozzi Letters, \. yjz,. It was most likely at this time that he refused to attend his father to Uttoxeter market, for which fault he made atonement in his old age impost, November 1784), I.— 5 the 66 His wide reading. [a.d. 1728. the large folio proved to be Petrarch, whom he had seen mentioned in some preface, as one of the restorers of learn- ing. His curiosity having been thus excited, he sat down with avidity, and read a great part of the book. What he read during these two years he told me, was not works of mere amusement, 'not voyages and travels, but all literature, Sir, all ancient writers, all manly : though but little Greek, only some of Anacreon and Hcsrod ; but in this irregular manner (added he) I had looked into a great man\' books, which were not commonly known at the Universities, where they seldom read any books but what are put into their hands by their tutors; so that when I came to Oxford, Dr. Adams, now master of Pembroke College, told me I was the best quali- fied for the University that he had ever known come there'.' In estimating the progress of his mind during these two years, as well as in future periods of his life, we must not regard his own hasty confession of idleness ; for we see, when he explains himself, that he was acquiring various stores ; and, indeed he himself concluded the account with saying, ' I would not have you think I was doing nothing then.' He might, perhaps, have studied more assiduously; but it may be doubted whether such a mind as his was not more enriched by roaming at large in the fields of literature than if it had been confined to any single spot. The analogy between body and mind is very general, and the parallel will hold as to their food, as well as any other particular. The flesh of animals who feed excursively, is allowed to have a higher flavour than that of those who are cooped up. May there not be the same difference between > Perhaps Johnson had his own early reading in mind when he thus describes Pope's reading at about the same age. ' During this period of his life he was indefatigably diligent and insatiably curious ,• wanting health for violent, and money for expensive pleasures, and having excited in himself very strong desires of intellectual eminence, he spent much of his time over his books; but he read only to store his mind with facts and images, seizing all that his authors presented with undistinguishing voracity, and with an appetite for knowledge too eager to be nice.' Johnson's Works, viii. 239, men Aetat. 19.] Johnson enters Oxford. 67 men who read as their taste prompts and men who are con- fined in cells and colleges to stated tasks? That a man in Mr. Michael Johnson's circumstances should think of sending his son to the expensive University of Ox- ford, at his own charge, seems very improbable. The sub- ject was too delicate to question Johnson upon. But I have been assured by Dr. Taylor that the scheme never would have taken place had not a gentleman of Shropshire, one of his school-fellows, spontaneously undertaken to support him at Oxford, in the character of his companion ; though, in fact, he never received any assistance whatever from that gentleman'. He, however, went to Oxford, and was entered a Com- moner of Pembroke College on the 31st of October, 1728', being then in his nineteenth year\ ' Andrew Corbet, according to Hawkins. Corbet had entered Pembroke College in 1727. Dr. Swinfen, Johnson's godfather, was a member of the College. I find the name of a Swinfen on the books in 1728. ' In the Caution Book of Pembroke College are found the two fol- lowing entries : — 'Oct. 31, 1728. Reed, then of Mr. Samuel Johnson Comr. of Pem. Coll. ye sum of seven Pounds for his Caution, which is to remain in ye Hands of ye Bursars till ye said Mr. Johnson shall depart ye said College leaving ye same fully discharg'd. ' Reed, by me, John Ratcliff, Bursar.' 'March 26, 1740. At a convention of the Master and Fellows to settle the accounts of the Caution it appear'd that the Persons Ac- counts under-written stood thus at their leaving the College : Caution not Repay'd Mr. Johnson ^7 o o Battells not discharg'd Mr. Johnson £y o o Mr. Carlyle is in error in describing Johnson as a servitor. He was a commoner as the above entry shows. Though he entered on Oct. 31, he did not matriculate till Dec. 16. It was on Palm Sunday of this same year that Rousseau left Geneva, and so entered upon his event- ful career. Goldsmith was born eleven days after Johnson entered (Nov. 10, 1728). Reynolds was five years old. Burke was born before lohnson left Oxford. ' He was in his twentieth year. He was born on Sept. 18. 1709, and The 68 His first tutor, [ad. ivas. The Reverend Dr. Adams, who afterwards presided over Pembroke College with universal esteem, told me he was present, and gave me some account of what passed on the night of Johnson's arrival at Oxford'. On that evening, his father, who had anxiously accompanied him, found means to have him introduced to Mr. Jorden, who was to be his tutor. His being put under any tutor reminds us of what Wood says of Robert Burton, authour of the 'Anatomy of Melan- choly,' when elected student of Christ Church : ' for form's sake, though he wanted not a tutor, he was put under the tuition of Dr. John Bancroft, afterwards Bishop of OxonV His father seemed very full of the merits of his son, and told the company he was a good scholar, and a poet, and wrote Latin verses. His figure and manner appeared strange to them ; but he behaved modestly, and sat silent, till upon something which occurred in the course of conversation, he suddenly struck in and quoted Macrobius; and thus he gave the first impression of that more extensive reading in which he had indulged himself. His tutor, Mr. Jorden, fellow of Pembroke, was not, it seems, a man of such abilities as we should conceive requi- site for the instructor of Samuel Johnson, who gave me the following account of him. ' He was a very worthy man, but a heavy man, and I did not profit much by his instruc- tions. Indeed, I did not attend him much'. The first day was therefore nineteen. He was somewhat late in entering. In his Life of Aschavi he says, ' Ascham took his bachelor's degree in 1534. in the eighteenth year of his age ; a time of life at which it is more common now to enter the universities than to take degrees.' John- son's Works, vi. 505. It was just after Johnson's entrance that the two Wesleys began to hold small devotional meetings at Oxford. • Builders were at work in the college during all his residence. 'July 16, 1728. About a quarter of a year since they began to build a new chapel for Pembroke Coll. next to Slaughter Lane.' Hearne's Remains, iii. 9. ' Aiken. Oxon. edit. 1721, i. 627. Boswell. * 'Johnson would oftener risk the payment of a small fine than attend his lectures . . . Upon occasion of one such imposition he said to Jorden: — "Sir, you have sconced [fined] me two pence for non- after Aetat. 19.] The fifth of November. 69 after I came to college I waited upon him, and then staid away four. On the sixth, Mr. Jorden asked me why I had not attended. I answered I liad been sliding in Christ- Church meadow'. And this I said with as much noncha- lance as I am now^ talking to you. I had no notion that I was wrong or irreverent to my tutor'. BOSWELL : 'That, Sir, was great fortitude of mind.' JOHNSON : * No, Sir ; stark insensibility*.' The fifth of November' was at that time kept with great attendance at a lecture not worth a penny." ' Hawkins's Johnson, p. 9. A passage in Whitefield's Diary shows that the sconce was often greater. He once neglected to give in the weekly theme which every Saturday had to be given to the tutor in the Hall ' when the bell rang.' He was fined half-a-crown. Tyerman's IVhitcficld, i. 22. In my time (1855-8) at Pembroke College every Saturday when the bell rang we gave in our piece of Latin prose — themes were things of the past. ' This was on Nov. 6, O. S., or Nov. 17, N. S. — a very early time for ice to bear. The first mention of frost that I find in the newspapers of that winter is in the Weekly Journal for No\^ 30, O. S. ; where it is stated that 'the passage by land and water |i. c. the Thames) is now become very dangerous by the snow, frost, and ice.' The record of meteorological observations began a few years later. * Oxford, 20th March, 1776. Boswell. 2 Mr. Croker discovers a great difference between this account and that which Johnson gave to Mr. Warton (/(J^/, under July 16, 1754). There is no need to have recourse, with Mr. Croker, ' to an ear spoiled by flattery.' A very simple explanation may be found. The accounts refer to dilYerent hours of the same day. Johnson's 'stark insensibil- ity' belonged to the morning, and his 'beating heart' to the after- noon. He had been impertinent before dinner, and when he was sent for after dinner ' he expected a sharp rebuke.' * It ought to be remembered that Dr. Johnson was apt, in his liter- ary as well as moral exercises, to overcharge his defects. Dr. Adams informed me, that he attended his tutor's lectures, and also the lect- ures in the College Hall, very regularly. Boswell. * Early in every November was kept 'a great gaudy [feast] in the college, when the Master dined in publick, and the juniors (by an an- cient custom they were obliged to comply with) went round the fire in the hall.' Philipps's Diary, Notes and <2ucr/es, 2nd S., x. 443. We can picture to ourselves among the juniors in November 1728, Samuel solemnity 70 The fifth of November. [Aeut. iw. solemnity at Pembroke College, and exercises upon the subr ject of the day were required'. Johnson neglected to per- form his, which is much to be regretted ; for his vivacity of imagination, and force of language, would probably have pro- duced something sublime upon the gunpowder plot\ To apologise for his neglect, he gave in a short cop}- of verses, entitled Sovinimn, containing a common thought ; ' that the Muse had come to him in his sleep, aiul whispered, that it did not become him to write on such subjects as politicks; he should confine himself to humbler themes :' but the ver- sification was truly Virgilian\ Johnson, going round the fire with the others. Here he heard day after day the Latin grace which Camden had composed for the society. ' I believe I can repeat it,' Johnson said at St. Andrew's, ' which he did.' Boswell's IMridcs, \\i^^. 19, 1773. ' Seven years before Johnson's time, on Nov. 5, • Mr. Peyne, Bachelor of Arts, made an oration in the hall suitable to the day.' Phllipps's Dmry. ■ Boswell forgot Johnson's criticism on Milton's exercises on this day. ' Some of the exercises on Gunpowder Treason might have been spared.' Johnson's lVorf:s,v\\. 119. ' It has not been preserved. There are in the college library four of his compositions, two of verse and two of prose. One of the copies of verse I give pos/, under July 16, 1754. Both have been often printed. As his prose compositions have never been published I will give one : — ' Mca nee Falernae Temperant Vites, neque Formiani Pocula Colles.' ' Ouaedam minus attente spectata absurda videntur, quae tamen penitus perspecta rationi sunt consentanea. Non enim semper facta per se, verum ratio occasioque faciendi sunt cogitanda. Deteriora ei offerre cui meliorum ingens copia est, cui non ridiculum videtur? Ouis sanus hirtam agrestemquc vestem Lucullo obtulisset, cujus omnia fere Serum opificia, omnia Parmae vellera, omnes Tyri colores latuerunt ? Hoc tamen fecisse Horatium non puduit, quo nullus urbanior, nullus procerum convictui magis assuetus. Maecenatem scilicet norat non quaesiturum an meliora vina domi posset bibere, verum an inter domesticos quenquam propensiori in se animo posset invenire. Amorem. non lucrum, optavit patronus ille munifentissimus (sic). Pocula licet vino minus puro implerentur, satis habuit, si hos- pitis vultus laetitia perfusus sinceram puramque amicitiam testaretur. He A.D. 1728.] Johnso7is version of Popes Messiah. 7 1 He had a love and respect for Jorden, not for his litera- ture, but for his worth. ' Whenever (said he) a young man becomes Jorden's pupil, he becomes his son.' Having given such a specimen of his poetical powers, he was asked by Mr. Jorden, to translate Pope's Messiah into Latin verse, as a Christmas exercise. He performed it with uncommon rapidity, and in so masterly a manner, that he obtained great applause from it, which ever after kept him high in the estimation of his College, and, indeed, of all the University'. It is said that Mr. Pope expressed himself concerning it in terms of strong approbation". Dr. Taylor told me, that it was first printed for old Mr. Johnson, without the knowl- edge of his son, who was very angry when he heard of it. A Miscellany of Poems collected by a person of the name of Husbands, was published at Oxford in I73I^ In that Ut ubi poetam carmine celebramus, non fastidit, quod ipse melius posset scribere, verum poema licet non magni facit {sic), amorem scriptoris libenter amplectitur, sic amici munuscula animum gratum testantia licet parvi sint, non nisi a superbo et morose contemnentur. Deos thuris fumis indigere nemo certe unquam credidit, quos tamen lis gratos putarunt, quia homines se non beneficiorum immemores his testimoniis ostenderunt.' Johnson. ' ' The accidental perusal of some Latin verses gained Addison the patronage of Dr. Lancaster, afterwards Provost of Queen's College, by whose recommendation he was elected into Magdalen College as a Demy' [a scholar]. Johnson's Works, \\\. \2o. Johnson's verses gained him nothing but 'estimation.' " He is reported to have said : — ' The writer of this poem will leav^e it a question for posterity, whether his or mine be the original.' Haw- kins, p. 13. ^ ' A Miscellany of Poems by several hands. Published by J. Hus- bands. A.M., Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxon., Oxford. Printed by Leon. Lichfield, near the East -Gate, In the year mdccxxxi." Among the subscribers I notice the name of Richard Savage, Esq., for twenty copies. It is very doubtful whether he paid for one. Pope did not subscribe. Johnson's poem is thus mentioned in the pref- ace : — 'The translation of Mr. Pope's Messiah was deliver'd to his Tutor as a College Exercise by Mr. Johnson, a commoner of Pem- broke-College in Oxford, and 'tis hoped will be no discredit to the excellent original,' Miscellany Mr. Covrtcnay s eulogy. [a.d. 1738. Miscellan)' Johnson's Translation of the Messiah appeared, with this modest motto from ScaHger's Poeticks. Ex alieno iitgcnio Poeta, ex sno tantuvi versificator. I am not ignorant that critical objections have been made to this and other specimens of Johnson's Latin Poetry'. 1 acknowledge myself not competent to decide on a question of such extreme nicety. But I am satisfied with the just and discriminative eulogy pronounced upon it by my friend Mr. Coiutcnay. ' And with like case his vivid lines assume 'I'he garb and dignity of ancient Konie. — Let college vcrse-mcn trite conceits express, Trick'd out in splendid shreds of \'irgirs dress; From playful Ovid cull the tinsel phrase, And vapid notions hitch in pilfer'd lays : Then with mosaick art the piece combine, And boast the glitter of each dulcet line : Johnson adventur'd boldly to transfuse His vigorous sense into the Lati.in muse ; Aspir'd to shine by unreflected light, And with a Roman's ardour think and write. He felt the tuneful Nine his breast inspire. And, like a master, wak'd the soothing lyre : Horatian strains a grateful heart proclaim. While Sky's wild rocks resound his 'I'hralia's name*. Hesperia's plant, in some less skilful hands. To bloom a while, factitious heat demands : Though glowing Maro a faint warmth supplies, The sickly blossom in the hot-house dies : By Johnson's genial culture, art, and toil. Its root strikes deep, and owns the fostVing soil ; Imbibes our sun through all its swelling veins. And grows a native of Britannia's plains ^' The 'morbid melancholy,' wdiich was lurking in his con- stitution, and to which we may ascribe those particularities, 1 St^ post, under July i6, 1754. ' See Boswell's Hebrides, Sept. 6. 1773. ' Poetical Rii'ie^u of the Literary and Moral Character of Dr. John- son, by John Courtenay, Esq., M.P. Boswell. and Aetat. 19.J yoknsons ' morbid melancholy! 73 and that aversion to regular life, which, at a very early period, marked his character, gathered such strength in his twentieth year, as to afflict him in a dreadful manner. While he was at Lichfield, in the college vacation of the year 1729', he felt himself overwhelmed with an horrible hypochondria, with perpetual irritation, fretfulness, and im- patience ; and with a dejection, gloom, and despair, which ' Hector, in his account of Johnsons early life, says :— ' After a long absence from Lichfield, when he returned, I was apprehensive ot something wrong in his constitution which might either impair his intellect or endanger his life ; but, thanks to Almighty God, my fears have proved false.' Hawkins, p. 8. The college books show that Johnson was absent but one week in the Long Vacation of 1729. It is by no means unlikely that he went to Lichfield in that week to con- sult Dr. Swinfen about his health. In that case his first attack, when he tried to overcome the malady by frequently walking to Birming- ham, must have been at an earlier date. In his time students often passed the vacation at the University. The following table shows the number of graduates and undergraduates in residence in Pembroke College at the end of each fourth week, from June to December 1729:— Members in residence. June 20, 1729 54 July 18. .. 34 Aug. 15. 25 Sept. 12, , 16 Oct. 10 30 Nov. 7, , 52 Dec. 5, „ 49 At Christmas there were still sixteen men left in the college. That under a zealous tutor the vacation was by no means a time of idleness is shown by a passage in Wesley's Journal, in which he compares the Scotch Universities with the English. ' In Scotland,' he writes, 'the students all come to their several colleges in November, and return home in May. So they may study five months in the year, and lounge all the rest ! O where was the common sense of those who instituted such colleges ? In the English colleges everj^one may reside all the year, as all my pupils did ; and I should have thought myself little better than a highwayman if I had not lectured them every day in the year but Sundays.' Wesley's Jourjtal, iv. 75. Johnson lived to see Oxford empty in the Long Vacation. Writing on Aug. i, 1775. he said: — 'The place is now a sullen solitude.' Piozzi Letters, i. 294. made 74 yohnsons ' niordid meianc/wiy.' (a.d. 1729. inade existence nuKer)-'. I'loni this dismal malady he never afterwards was perfectly relieved ; and all his labours, and all his enjoyments, were but temporary- interruptions ot its baleful influence'. How wonderful, how unsearchable are the ways of GoD ! Johnson, who was blest with all the powers of genius and understanding in a dej^^ree far above tile (jrdinary state of human nature, was at the same time visited with a disorder so afflictive, that the)- who know it by dire experience, will not envy his exalted endowments. That it was, in some degree, occasioned by a defect in his nervous s}stfm, that inexplicable part of our frame, appears highly probable. Me told Mr. Paradise' that he was some- times so languid and inefficient, that he could not distin- guish the hour upon the town-clock. Johnson, upon the first violent attack of this disorder, strove to overcome it by forcible exertions'. He frequently walked to Birmingham and back again', and tried many oth- er expedients, but all in vain. His e.xpression concerning ' Johnson, perhaps, was thinking of himself when lie thus criticised the character of Sir Roger de Coverley. ' The varialjle weather of the mind, the flying vapours of incipient madness, which from time to time cloud reason without eclipsing it, it requires so much nicety to exhibit that Addison seems to have been deterred from prosecuting his own design." Johnson's Works, vi\. ^■},\. ' Writing in his old age to Hector, he said. — ' My health has been from my twentieth year such as has seldom afTorded me a single day of ease' {post, under March 21, 1782). Hawkins writes, that he once told him 'that he knew not what it was to be totally free from pain.' Hawkins, p. 396. ^ See pos/, Oct. 27, 1784, note. * In the Rambler, No. 85, he pointed out 'how much happiness is gained, and how much misery escaped, by frequent and violent agita- tion of the body.' See post, July 21. 1763, for his remedies against melancholy. * Thirty-two miles in all. Southey mentions that in 1728, the Wes- leys, to save the more money for the poor, began to perform their journeys on foot. He adds, — ' It was so little the custom in that age for men in their rank of life to walk any distance, as to make them think it a discovery that four or five-and-twenty miles are an easy and safe day's journey.' Southey's WcsUy, i. 52. it Aetat. 30.] yohnson an hypochondriack. 75 it to me was * I did not then know how to manage it.' His distress became so intolerable, that he applied to Dr. Swinfen, physician in Lichfield, his god-father, and put into his hands a state of his case, written in Latin. Dr. Swinfen was so much struck with the extraordinary' acuteness, re- search, and eloquence of this paper, that in his zeal for his godson he shewed it to several people. His daughter, Mrs. Desmoulins, who was many years humanely supported in Dr. Johnson's house in London, told me, that upon his discovering that Dr. Swinfen had communicated his case, he was so much offended, that he was never afterwards fully reconciled to him. He indeed had good reason to be offended ; for though Dr. Swinfen's motive was good, he inconsiderately betrayed a matter deeply interesting and of great delicacy, which had been entrusted to him in confi- dence ; and exposed a complaint of his young friend and patient, which, in the superficial opinion of the generality of mankind, is attended with contempt and disgrace'. But let not little men triumph upon knowing that John.son was an HYPOCHONDRIACK, was subject to what the learned, philosophical, and pious Dr. Cheyne has so well treated un- der the title of 'The English Malady*.' Though he suffered severely from it, he was not therefore degraded. The powers of his great mind might be troubled, and their full exercise suspended at times ; but the mind itself was ever entire. As a proof of this, it is only necessary to consider, that, when he was at the very worst, he composed that state of his own case, which shewed an uncommon vigour, not only of fancy and taste, but of judgement. I am aware that he himself was too ready to call such a complaint by the name of madness^ ; in conformity with which notion, he has traced ' Boswell himself suffered from hypochondria. He seems at times to boast of it, as Dogberry boasted of his losses ; so that Johnson had some reason for writing to him with severity, as if he were ' affecting it from a desire of distinction.' Post, July 2, 1776. * Johnson on April 7, 1776, recommended Boswell to read this book, and again on July 2 of the same year. * On Dec. 24, 1754, writing of the poet Collins, who was either mad its 76 yoJinscni s dread of i7isanity. [a.d. I72ft its gradations, with exquisite nicety, in one of the chapters of his RaSSELAS". But there is surely a clear distinction between a disorder which affects onl)- the imagination and spirits, while the judgement is sound, and a disorder by which the judgement itself is impaired. This distinction was made to me by the late Professor Gaubius of Le)den, physician to the Prince of Orange, in a conversation which 1 had with him several years ago, and he expanded it thus : 'If (said he) a man tells me that he is grievously disturbed, for that he imagines he sees a ruffian coming against him with a drawn sword, though at the same time he is conscious it is a delusion, I pronounce him to have a disordered im- agination ; but if a man tells me that he sees this, and in consternation calls to me to look at it, I pronounce him to be mad.' It is a common effect of low spirits or melancholy, to make those who are afflicted with it imagine that they are actually suffering those evils which happen to be most strongly presented to their minds. Some have fancied themselves to be deprived of the use of their limbs, some to labour under acute diseases, others to be in extreme pov- erty; when, in truth, there was not the least reality in any of the suppositions ; so that when the vapours were dis- pelled, they were convinced of the delusion. To Johnson, whose supreme enjoyment was the exercise of his reason, the disturbance or obscuration of that faculty was the evil most to be dreaded. Insanity, therefore, was the object or close upon it. he said. — 'Poor dear Collins! I have often been near his state.' WooH's Warton, p. 229. ' I inherited,' Johnson said, ' a vile melancholy from my father, which has made me mad all my life, at least not sober.' Boswell's Hebrides, Sept. 16, 1773. 'When I survey my past life,' he wrote in 1777, ' I discover nothing but a barren waste of time, with some disorders of body and disturbances of the mind very near to madness.' Pr. and Med., p. 1 55. Reynolds recorded that 'what Dr. Johnson said a few days before his death of his dispo- sition to insanity was no new discovery to those who were intimate with him.' Taylor's i'^^wi?/^/^, ii. 455. See also />i).?/, Sept. 20, 1777. ' Ch. 44. of Aetat. 20.J Histovy of kis mind as to religion. 77 of his most dismal apprehension'; and he fancied himself seized by it, or approaching to it, at the very time when he was giving proofs of a more than ordinary soundness and vigour of judgement. That his own diseased imagina- tion should have so far deceived him, is strange ; but it is stranger still that some of his friends should have given credit to his groundless opinion, when they had such un- doubted proofs that it was totally fallacious ; though it is by no means surprising that those who wish to depreciate him, should, since his death, have laid hold of this circum- stance, and insisted upon it with very unfair aggravation ^ Amidst the oppression and distraction of a disease whicli very few have felt in its full extent, but many have experi- enced in a slighter degree, Johnson, in his writings, and in his conversation, never failed to display all the varieties of intellectual excellence. In his march through this world to a better, his mind still appeared grand and brilliant, and impressed all around him with the truth of Virgil's noble sentiment — ^ Igneus est ollis vigor et ccelesfis origo^.^ The history of his mind as to religion is an important article. I have mentioned the early impressions made upon his tender imagination by his mother, who continued her pious care with assiduity, but, in his opinion, not with judge- ment. ' Sunday (said he) was a heavy day to me when I was a boy. My mother confined me on that day, and made me read " The Whole Duty of Man," from a great part of which I could derive no instruction. When, for instance, I had read the chapter on theft, which from my infancy I had been taught was wrong, I was no more convinced that theft was wrong than before ; so there was no accession of knowledge. ' ' Of the uncertainties of our present state, the most dreadful and alarming is the uncertain continuance of reason.' Rasselas, ch. 43. ' Boswell refers to Mrs. Piozzi {Anec, pp. yj, 1 27), and Hawkins {Lzfe, pp. 287-8). ' * Quick in these seeds is might of fire and birth of heavenly place.* Morris, A£,neids, vi. 730. A bov y8 Law's Serious Call. (a.d. 1721^. A boy should be introduced to such books, by having his attention directed to the arrangement, to the style, and other excellencies of composition ; that the mind being thus engaged by an amusing variety of objects, may not grow weary.' He communicated to me the following particulars upon the subject of his religious progress. ' I fell into an inatten- tion to religion, or an indifference about it, in my ninth year. The church at Lichfield, in which we had a seat, wanted reparation', so I was to go and find a seat in other churches; and having bad eyes, and being awkward about this, I used to go and read in the fields on Sunday. This habit con- tinued till my fourteenth year; and still I find a great reluc- tance to go to church \ I then became a sort of lax talker against religion, for I did not much think against it ; and this lasted till I went to Oxford, where it would not be suffered". When at Oxford, I took up ' Law's Serio2is Call ' On Easter Sunday 17 16 during service some pieces of stone from the spire of St. Mary's fell on the roof of the church. The congrega- tion, thinking that the steeple was coming down, in their alarm broke through the windows. Johnson, we may well believe, witnessed the scene. The church was pulled down, and the new one was opened in Dec. 1 72 1. Harwood's Z/i:,^yft7<^/, p. 460. * 'Sept. 23, 1 77 1. I have gone voluntarily to church on the week day but few times in my life. I think to mend. April 9, 1773. I hope in time to take pleasure in public worship. April 6, 1777. I have this year omitted church on most Sundays, intending to supply the deficience in the week. So that I owe twelve attendances on wor- ship. I will make no more such superstitious stipulations, which en- tangle the mind with unbidden obligations.' Pr. aJid Med. pp. 108, 121, 161. In the following passage in the Life of Miliott, Johnson, no doubt, is thinking of himself : — ' In the distribution of his hours there was no hour of prayer, either solitary or with his household ; omitting public prayers he omitted all. . . . That he lived without prayer can hardly be affirmed ; his studies and meditations were an habitual prayer. The neglect of it in his family was probably a fault for which he condemned himself, and which he intended to correct, but that death, as too often happens, intercepted his reformation.' Johnson's Works, vii. 1 1 5. Stcpost, Oct. 10, 1779- ' We may compare with this a passage in Verecundulus's letter in to Aetat. 20.] yohusou gj'ounded in religion. 79 to a Holy Lifc^^ expecting to find it a dull book (as such books generally are), and perhaps to laugh at it. But 1 found Law quite an overmatch for me ; and this was the first occasion of my thinking in earnest of religion, after I The Rambler, No. 1 57 : — ' Though many among my fellow students [at the university] took the opportunity of a more remiss discipline to gratify their passions, yet virtue preserved her natural superiority, and those who v^entured to neglect were not suffered to insult her.' Oxford at this date was somewhat wayward in her love for religion. Whitefield records : — ' 1 had no sooner received the sacrament pub- licly on a week-day at St. Mary's, but I was set up as a mark for all the polite students that knew me to shoot at. By this they knew that I was commenced Methodist, for though there is a sacrament at the beginning of every term, at which all, especially the seniors, are by statute obliged to be present, yet so dreadfully has that once faith- ful city played the harlot, that very few masters, and no undergradu- ates but the Methodists attended upon it. I daily underwent some contempt at college. Some have thrown dirt at me ; others by de- grees took away their pay from me.' Tyerman's Whitefield, i. 19. Story, the Quaker, visiting Oxford in 1731, says, ' Of all places wher- ever I have been the scholars of Oxford were the rudest, most giddy, and unruly rabble, and most mischievous.' Story's Journal, p. 675. ' John Wesley, who was also at Oxford, writing of about this same year, says : — ' Meeting now with Mr. Law's Christia7t Perfection and Serious Call the light flowed in so mightily upon my soul that every- thing appeared in a new view.' Wesley's Journal, i. 94. Whitefield writes : — ' Before I went to the University, I met with Mr. Law's Serious Call, but had not then money to purchase it. Soon after my coming up to the University, seeing a small edition of it in a friend's hand I soon procured it. God worked powerfully upon my soul by that and his other excellent treatise upon Christian perfection.' Tyerman's Whitefield, i. 16. Johnson called the Serious Call ' the finest piece of hortatory theology^ in any language;' post, 1770. A few months before his death he said : — ' William Law wrote the best piece of parenetic divinity; but William Law was no reasoner ;' post, June 9, 1784. Law was the tutor of Gibbon's father, and he died in the house of the his- torian's aunt. In describing the Serious Call Gibbon says : — ' His pre- cepts are rigid, but they are founded on the gospel ; his satire is sharp, but it is drawn from the knowledge of human life; and many of his portraits are not unworthy of the pen of La Bruyere. If he finds a spark of piety in his reader's mind he will soon kindle it to a flame.' Gibbon's Misc. Works, i. 21. became 8o yohnsoji grounded in rcligio7i. |a.d. 1729. became capable of rational inquii}'.' I'loni this time for- ward religion was the predominant object of his thoughts' ; ' Mrs. Piozzi has given a strange fantastical account of the original of Dr. Johnson's belief in our most holy religion. ' At the age of ten years his mind was disturbed by scruples of infidelity, which preyed upon his spirits, and made him very uneasy, the more so, as he re- vealed his uneasiness to none, being naturally (as he said) of a sullen temper, and reserved disposition. He searched, however, diligently, but fruitlessly, for evidences of the truth of revelation ; and, at length, recollecting a book he had once seen \I suppose at five years olil\ in his father's shop, intitled Dc veritate Religionis, etc., he began to think himself Iiiglily culpable for neglecting such a means of information, and took himself severely to task for this s/n, adding many acts of voluntary, and, to others, unknown penance. The first opportunity which offered, of course, he seized the book with avidity ; but, on ex- amination, not finding himself scholar enough to peruse its contents, set his heart at rest ; and not thinking to enquire whether there were any English books written on the subject, followed his usual amusements and considered his conscience as lightened of a crime. He redoubled his diligence to learn the language that contained the information he most wished for ; but from the pain which guilt [namely having omitted to read what he did not understand^ had given him, he now began to deduce the soul's immortality \a sensation of pain in this world being an unquestionable proof of existence in another], which was the point that belief first stopped at; and from that moment resolvitig to be a Christian, became one of the most zealous and pious ones our nation ever produced.' Anecdotes, p. 17. This is one of the numerous misrepresentations of this lively lady, which it is worth while to correct; for if credit should be given to such a childish, irrational, and ridiculous statement of the foundation of Dr. Johnson's faith in Christianity, how little credit would be due to it. Mrs. Piozzi seems to wish, that the world should think Dr. Johnson also under the influence of that easy logick, Stet pro ratione voluntas. BoswELL. On April 28, 1783, Johnson said: — 'Religion had dropped out of my mind. It was at an early part of my life. Sickness brought it back, and I hope I have never lost it since." Most likely it was the sickness in the long vacation of 1729 men- tioned ante, p. 73. ^ In his Life of Milton, writing of Paradise Lost, he says : — ' But these truths are too important to be new; they have been taught to our infancy; they have mingled with our solitary thoughts and famil- iar conversations, and are habitually interwoven with the whole text- ure of life.' Johnson's Works, \\\. 134, thuu^'h Aetat. 20] yohnsons studies at Oxford. 8i though, with the just sentiments of a conscientious Christian, he lamented that his practice of its duties fell far short of what it ought to be. This instance of a mind such as that of Johnson being first disposed, by an unexpected incident, to think with anxiety of the momentous concerns of eternity, and of ' what he should do to be saved ',' may for ever be produced in op- position to the superficial and sometimes profane contempt that has been thrown upon those occasional impressions which it is certain many Christians have experienced ; though it must be acknowledged that weak minds, from an erroneous supposition that no man is in a state of grace who has not felt a particular conversion, have, in some cases, brought a degree of ridicule upon them ; a ridicule of which it is inconsiderate or unfair to make a general application. How seriously Johnson was impressed with a sense of re- ligion, even in the vigour of his youth, appears from the following passage in his minutes kept by way of diary : Sept. 7", 1736. I have this day entered upon my twenty- eighth year. ' Mayest thou, O God, enable me, for jESUS Christ's sake, to spend this in such a manner that I may receive comfort from it at the hour of death, and in the day of judgement ! Amen.' The particular course of his reading while at Oxford, and during the time of vacation which he passed at home, cannot be traced. Enough has been said of his irregular mode of study. He told me that from his earliest years he loved to read poetry, but hardly ever read any poem to an end ; that he read Shakspeare at a period so early, that the speech of the ghost in Hamlet terrified him when he was alone ' ; that Horace's Odes were the compositions in which he took most ' Acts xvi. 30. * Sept. 7, Old Style, or Sept. 18, New Style. • ' He that peruses Shakespeare looks round alarmed, and starts to find himself alone.' Johnson's Works, v. 71. 'I was many years ago so shocked by Cordelia's death, that I know not whether I ever en- dured to read again the last scenes of the play till I undertook to revise them as an editor.' lb, p. 175. I.— 6 delight 82 His knowledge of books. [a.d. 1729. delight, and it was long before he liked his Epistles and Satires. He told me what he read solidly at O.xford was Greek; not the Grecian historians, but Homer' and Eurip- ides, and now and then a little Epigram ; that the study of which he was the most fond was Metaphysicks, but he had not read much, even in that way. I always thought that he did himself injustice in his account of what he had read, and that he must have been speaking with reference to the vast portion of study which is possible, and to which a few scholars in the whole history of literature have attained ; for when I once asked him whether a person, whose name I have now forgotten, studied hard, he answered ' No, Sir ; I do not believe he studied hard. I never knew a man who studied hard. I conclude, indeed, from the effects, that some men have studied hard, as Bentley and Clarke.' Trying him by that criterion upon which he formed his judgement of others, we may be absolutely certain, both from his ^^•ritings and his conversation, that his reading was very extensive. Dr. Adam Smith, than whom few were better judges on this subject, once observed to me that ' Johnson knew more books than any man alive.' He had a peculiar facility in seizing at once what was valuable in any book, without sub- mitting to the labour of perusing it from beginning to end '. ' He told Mr. Windham that he had never read through the Odyssey completely. Windham's Diary, p. 17. At college, he said, he had been 'very idle and neglectful of his studies.' lb. ' ' It may be questioned whether, except his Bible, he ever read a book entirely through. Late in life, if any man praised a book in his presence, he was sure to ask, " Did you read it through ?" If the an- swer was in the affirmative, he did not seem willing to believe it.' Murphy's Johnsott, p. 12. It would be easy to show that Johnson read many books right through, though, according to Mrs. Piozzi, he asked, 'was there ever yet anything written by mere man that was wished longer by its readers excepting Don Quixote, Robinson Crusoe, and the Pilgrim's Progress?' Piozzi's ^«^f. p. 281. Nevertheless in Mur- phy's statement there is some truth. See what has been just stated by Boswell, that ' he hardly ever read any poem to an end,' and post, April 19, 1773, and June 15, 1784. To him might be applied his own description of Barretier: — 'He had a quickness of apprehension and He Aetat.30.] His rapid reading and composition. 83 He had, from the irritability of his constitution, at all times, an impatience and hurry when he either read or wrote. A certain apprehension, arising from novelty, made him write his first exercise at College twice over ' ; but he never took that trouble with any other composition ; and we shall see that his most excellent works were struck off at a heat, with rapid exertion '". Yet he appears, from his early notes or memorandums in my possession, to have at various times attempted, or at least planned, a methodical course of study, according to com- putation, of which he was all his life fond, as it fixed his firmness of memory which enabled him to read with incredible rapid- ity, and at the same time to retain what he read, so as to be able to recollect and apply it. He turned over volumes in an in.stant, and selected what was useful for his purpose.' Johnson's Works, vi. 390. 1 See />osf, June 15, 1784. Mr. Windham {Diary, p. 17) records the following ' anecdote of Johnson's first declamation at college ; having neglected to write it till the morning of his being {sic) to repeat it, and having only one copy, he got part of it by heart while he was walking into the hall, and the rest he supplied as well as he could ex- tempore.' Mrs. Piozzi, recording the same anecdote, says that 'hav- ing given the copy into the hand of the tutor who stood to receive it as he passed, he was obliged to begin by chance, and continue on how he could. ..." A prodigious risk, however," said some one. " Not at all," exclaims Johnson, " no man, I suppose, leaps at once into deep water who does not know how to swim." ' Piozzi's Anec. p. 30. '■* He told Dr. Burney that he never wrote any of his works that were printed, twice over. Dr. Burney 's wonder at seeing several pages of his Lives of the Poets, in Manuscript, with scarce a blot or erasure, drew this observation from him. Malone. ' He wrote forty-eight of the printed octavo pages of the Life of Savage at a sitting {post, Feb. 1744), and a hundred lines of the Vanity of Hmnaji IVis/ies in a day {post, under Feb. 15, 1766). The Ranibiers were written in haste as the moment pressed, without even being read over by him before they were printed' {post, beginning of 1750). In the second edition, however, he made corrections. ' He composed Rasselas in the evenings of one week' {post, under January 1759). ' T/ie False Alarm was written between eight o'clock on Wednesday night and twelve o'clock on Thursday night.' Piozzi's A?!ec. p. 41. ' T/ie Pa- triot,' he says, 'was called for on Friday, was written on Saturday' {post, Nov. 26, 1774). attention 84 yohnsorCs rooms in College. [a.d. 1729. attention steadily upon something without, and prevented his mind from preying upon itself '. Thus I find in his handwriting the number of lines in each of two of Euripides' Tragedies, of the Georgicks of Virgil, of the first six books of the ^neid, of Horace's Art of Poetr)% of three of the books of Ovid's Metamorphosis, of some parts of Theocritus, and of the tenth Satire of Juvenal; and a table, shewing at the rate of various numbers a day (I suppose verses to be read), what would be, in each case, the total amount in a week, month, and year *. No man had a more ardent love of literature, or a higher respect for it than Johnson. Mis apartment in Pembroke College was that upon the second floor, over the gateway. The enthusiasts of learning will ever contemplate it with veneration. One day, while he was sitting in it quite alone, Dr. Panting \ then master of the College, whom he called ' a fine Jacobite fellow,' overheard' him uttering this soliloquy in his strong, emphatick voice : ' Well, I have a mind to see what is done in other places of learning. I'll go and visit * 'When Mr. Johnson felt his fancy, or fancied he felt it. disordered, his constant recurrence was to the study of arithmetic' Piozzi's Anec. p. "]"]. ' Ethics, or figures, or metaphysical reasoninjj, was the sort of talk he most delighted in ;' ib. p. 80. See />osf, Sept. 34, 1777. * 'Sept. 18, 1764, I resolve to study the Scriptures; I hope in the original languages. 640 verses every Sunday will nearly comprise the Scriptures in a year.* Pr. and Med. p. 58. ' 1770, ist Sunday after Easter. The plan which I formed for reading the Scriptures was to read 600 verses in the Old Testament, and 200 in the New. twcry week ;' ib. p. 100. ''August I, 1715. This being the day on which the late Queen Anne died, and on which George, Duke and Elector of Brunswick, usurped the English throne, there was very little rejoicing in Oxford. . . . There was a sermon at St. Marie's by Dr. Panting, Master of Pembroke; . . . He is an honest gent. His sermon took no notice, at most very little, of the Duke of Brunswick." Hearne^s Remains, ii. 6. * The outside wall of the gateway-tower forms an angle with the wall of the Master's house, so that anyone sitting by the open window and speaking in a strong emphatic voice might have easily been over- heard. the Aetat.20.] yohnson a frolic k some fellow. 85 the Universities abroad. I'll go to France and Italy. I'll go to Padua*. — And I'll mind my business. For an Athenian blockhead is the worst of all blockheads \' Dr. Adams told me that Johnson, while he was at Pem- broke College, ' was caressed and loved by all about him, \\ as a gay and frolicksome ^ fellow, and passed there the happiest part of his life.' But this is a striking proof of the fallacy of appearances, and how little any of us know of the real internal state even of those whom we see most frequent- ly ; for the truth is, that he was then depressed by poverty, and irritated by disease. When I mentioned to him this ' Goldsmith did go to Padua, and stayed there some months. Forster's Goldsmith, i. 71. ' I had this anecdote from Dr. Adams, and Dr. Johnson confirmed it. Bramston, in his Alan of Taste, has the same thought : ' Sure, of all blockheads, scholars are the worst.' Boswell. Johnson's meaning, however, is, that a scholar who is a blockhead must be the worst of all blockheads, because he is without excuse. But Bramston, in the assumed character of an ignorant coxcomb, maintains that all scholars are blockheads on account of their schol- arship. J. BosAVELL, JUN. There is, I believe, a Spanish proverb to the efTect that, ' to be an utter fool a man must know Latin.' A writer in Notes and Queries ( 5th S. xii. 285 ) suggests that Johnson had in mind Acts xvii. 21. ' ' It was the practice in his time for a servitor, by order of the Master, to go round to the rooms of the young men, and knocking at the door to enquire if they were within ; and if no answer was returned to report them absent. Johnson could not endure this intrusion, and would frequently be silent, when the utterance of a word would have ensured him from censure, and would join with others of the young men in the college in hunting, as they called it, the servitor who was thus diligent in his duty, and this they did with the noise of pots and candlesticks, singing to the tune of Chevy Chase the words in the old ballad,— "To drive the deer with hound and horn!"' Hawkins, -p. \2. Whitefield, writing of a few years later, says : — ' At this time Satan used to terrify me much, and threatened to punish me if I discovered his wiles. It being my duty, as servitor, in my turn to knock at the gentlemen's rooms by ten at night, to see who were in their rooms, I thought the devil would appear to me every stair I went up.' Tyer- man's Whitefield, i. 20. account 86 Dr. Adams. [a.d. 1730. account as given me by Dr. Adams, he said, ' Ah, Sir, I was mad and violent. It was bitterness which they mistook for frolick'. I was miserably poor, and I thought to fight my way by my literature and my wit ; so I disregarded all power and all authority'.' The Bishop of Dromore observes in a letter to me, 'The pleasure he took in vexing the tutors and fellows has been often mentioned. Jiut I have heard him say, what ought to be recorded to the honour of the present venerable master of that College, the Reverend William Adams, D.D., who was then very young, and one of the junior fellows ; that the mild but judicious expostulations of this worthy man, whose virtue awed him, and whose learning he revered, made him really ashamed of himself, "though I fear (said he) I was too proud to own it." ' I have heard from some of his cotemporaries that he was gen- erally seen lounging at the College gate, with a circle of young students round him, whom he was entertaining with wit, and keep- ing from their studies, if not spiriting them up to rebellion against the College discipline, which in his maturer years he so much ex- tolled.' He very early began to attempt keeping notes or memo- randums, by way of a diary of his life. I find, in a parcel of loose leaves, the following spirited resolution to contend against his natural indolence : ' Oct. 1729. DesidicB valedixi ; syrenis is tins ca?itibus surdam post- hac aurem obversiirus. — I bid farewell to Sloth, being resolved henceforth not to listen to her syren strains.' I have also in my possession a few leaves of another Libel/us, or little book, entitled AnnalES, in which some of the early particulars of his history are registered in Latm. I do not find that he formed any close intimacies with ' Se.e post,] una 12, 1784. ' Perhaps his disregard of all authority was in part due to his genius. still in its youth. In his Life of Lyttelton he says :— ' The letters [Lyt- telton's Persian Letters'] have something of that indistinct and head- strong ardour for liberty which a man of genius always catches when he enters the world, and always suffers to cool as he passes forward.' Johnson's Works, viii. 488. his Aetat.2i.j His regard for Pembroke College. 8y his fellow-collegians. But Dr. Adams told me that he con- tracted a love and regard for Pembroke College, which he retained to the last. A short time before his death he sent to that College a present of all his works, to be deposited in their library'; and he had thoughts of leaving to it his house at Lichfield ; but his friends who were about him very properly dissuaded him from it, and he bequeathed it to some poor relations'. He took a pleasure in boasting of the many eminent men who had been educated at Pem- broke. In this list are found the names of Mr. Hawkins the Poetry Professor \ Mr. Shenstone, Sir William Blackstone, and others*; not forgetting the celebrated popular preacher, * Dr. Hall [formerly Master of the College] says, 'Certainly not all.' Croker. ' ' I would leave the interest of the fortune I bequeathed to a col- lege to my relations or my friends for their lives. It is the same thing to a college, which is a permanent society, whether it gets the money now or twenty years hence ; and I would wish to make my relations or friends feel the benefit of it;' pos/, April 17, 1778. Hawkins (Life. p. 582,) says that ' he meditated a devise of his house to the corpora- tion of that city for a charitable use, but, it being freehold he said. " I cannot live a twelvemonth, and the last statute of Mortmain stands in my way." ' The same statute, no doubt, would have hindered the bequest to the College. ' Garrick refused to act one of Hawkins's plays. The poet towards the end of a long letter which he signed, — ' Your much dissatisfied humble servant,' said : — 'After all, Sir, I do not desire to come to an open rupture with you. 1 wish not to exasperate, but to convince ; and I tender you once more my friendship and my play.' Garrick Corres. ii. 8. See post, April 9, 1778. * See Nash's History of Worcestershire, vol. i. p. 529. Boswell. To the list should be added, Francis Beaumont, the dramatic writer; Sir Thomas Browne, whose life Johnson wrote ; Sir James Dyer, Chief Justice of the King's Bench, Lord Chancellor Harcourt, John Pym, Francis Rous, the Speaker of Cromwell's parliament, and Bishop Bonner. Wright. Some of these men belonged to the ancient foundation of Broadgates Hall, which in 1624 was converted into Pembroke College. It is strange that Boswell should have passed over Sir Thomas Browne's name. Johnson in his life of Browne says that he was 'the first man of eminence graduated from the new col- lege, to which the zeal or gratitude of those that love it most can Mr. S8 A nest of singing-birds. [a.d. 1730. Mr. George Whitcfield, of whom, though Dr. Johnson did not think very highly', it must be acknowledged that his eloquence was powerful, his views pious and charitable, his assiduity almost incredible ; and, that since his death, the integrity of his character has been fully vindicated. Being himself a poet, Johnson was peculiarly happy in mentioning how many of the sons of Pembroke were poets ; adding, with a smile of sportive triumph, ' Sir, we are a nest of sing- ing birds \' wish little better than that it may long proceed as it began.' |ohn- son's Works, vi. 476. To this list Nash adds the name of the Rcvd. Richard Graves, author of The Spiritual (2uixotc, who took his degree of B.A. on the same day as Whitefield, whom he ridiculed in that romance. ' See^(?j/. Oct. 6, 1769, and Bosweirs Hebrides, Aug. 15. 1773. • In his Life of Shenstone he writes : — ' From school Shenstone was sent to Pembroke College in Oxford, a society which for half a cen- tury has been eminent for English poetry and elegant literature. Here it appears that he found delight and advantage ; for he continued his name in the book ten years, though he took no degree.' Johnson's Works, viii. 408. Johnson's name would seem to have been in like manner continued for more than eleven years, and perhaps for the same reasons. {Ante, p. 67 note.) Hannah More was at Oxford in June 1782, during one of Johnson's visits to Dr. Adams. ' You cannot imagine,' she writes, 'with what delight Dr. Johnson showed me every part of his own college. . . . After dinner he begged to conduct me to see the college ; he would let no one show it me but him.self. " This was my room ; this Shenstone's." Then, after pointing out all the rooms of the poets who had been of his college, " In short," said he, "we were a nest of singing-birds. Here we walked, there we played at cricket." [It may be doubted whether he ever played.] He ran over with pleasure the history of the juvenile days he passed there. When we came into the Common Room, we spied a fine large print of Johnson, framed and hung up that very morning, with this motto : " And is not Johnson ours, himself a host ;" under which stared you in the face. " From Miss More's Sensibility." ' Hannah More's Afe- moirs, i. 261. At the end of 'the ludicrous analysis of Pocockius ' quoted by Johnson in the Lz/e of Edmund Smith are the following lines : — ' Subito ad Batavos proficiscor, lauro ab illis donandus. Prius vcro Pembrochienses voco ad certamen poeticum.' Smith was at Christ Church. He seems to be mocking the neighbouring ' nest of singing-birds.' Johnson's Works, \'\\. i?>\. He Aetat. 21.J Dr. Taylor at Christ Cfnirch. 89 He was not, however, blind to what he thought the defects of his own College ; and I have, from the information of Dr. Taylor, a very strong instance of that rigid honesty which he ever inflexibly preserved. Taylor had obtained his fa- ther's consent to be entered of Pembroke, that he might be with his school-fellow Johnson, with whom, though some years older than himself, he was very intimate. This would have been a great comfort to Johnson. But he fairly told Taylor that he could not, in conscience, suffer him to enter where he knew he could not have an able tutor. He then made inquiry all round the University, and having found that Mr. Bateman, of Christ Church, was the tutor of highest reputation, Taylor was entered of that College '. Mr, Bate- man's lectures were so excellent, that Johnson used to come and get them at second-hand from Taylor, till his poverty being so extreme that his shoes were worn out, and his feet appeared through them, he saAv that this humiliating cir- cumstance was perceived by the Christ Church men, and he came no more'. He was too proud to accept of money, and somebody having set a pair of new shoes at his door, he threw them away with indignation '. How must we feel when we read such an anecdote of Samuel Johnson ! ' Taylor matriculated on Feb. 24, 1729. Mr. Croker in his note has confounded him with another John Taylor who matriculated more than a year later. Richard West, writing of Christ Church in 1735, says : — ' Consider me very seriously here in a strange country, inhab- ited by things that call themselves Doctors and Masters of Arts ; a country flowing with syllogisms and ale, where Horace and Virgil are equally unknown.' Gray's Letters, ii. i. * ' Si toga sordidula est et rupta calceus alter Pelle patet.' 'Or if the shoe be ript. or patches put.' Dryden, Juvenal, iii. 149. Johnson in his London, in describing 'the blockhead's insults,' while he mentions ' the tattered cloak,' passes over the ript shoe. Perhaps the wound had gone too deep to his generous heart for him to bear even to think on it. * ' Yet some have refused my bounties, more offended with my quickness to detect their wants than pleased with my readiness to succour them.' Rasselas.ch. 25. 'His [Savage'.s] distresses, however afflictive, never dejected him ; in his lowest state he wanted not spirit His 90 Johnson s worn-out Shoes. [a.d. 1730. His spirited refusal of an eleemosynary supply of shoes, arose, no doubt, from a proper pride. But, considering his ascetick disposition at times, as acknowledged by himself in his ' Meditations,' and the exaggeration with which some have treated the peculiarities of his character, I should not wonder to hear it ascribed to a principle of superstitious mortification ; as we are told by Tursellinus, in his Life of St. Ignatius Loyola, that this intrepid founder of the order of Jesuits, when he arrived at Goa, after having made a severe pilgrimage through the Eastern desarts persisted in wearing his miserable shattered shoes, and when new ones were offered him rejected them as an unsuitable indulgence. The res august a domV prevented him from having the advantage of a complete academical education '\ The friend to whom he had trusted for support had deceived him. His debts in College, though not great, were increasing' ; and his scanty remittances from Lichfield, which had all along been made with great difficulty, could be supplied no longer, his father having fallen into a state of insolvency. Compelled, to assert the natural dignity of wit, and was always ready to repress that insolence which the superiority of fortune incited ; ... he never admitted any gross familiarities, or submitted to be treated otherwise than as an equal. . . . His clothes were worn out ; and he received notice that at a coffee-house some clothes and linen were left for him. But though the offer was so far generous, it was made with some neg- lect of ceremonies, which Mr. Savage so much resented that he refused the present, and declined to enter the house till the clothes that had been designed for him were taken away.' Johnson's Works, x\\\. i6i and 169. ' ' Haud facile emergunt quorum virtutibus obstat Res angusta domi.' Juvenal, Sat. iii. 164. Paraphrased by Johnson in his Lojidim, ' Slow rises worth by poverty depressed.' * Cambridge thirty-six years later neglected Parr as Oxford neg- lected Johnson. Both these men had to leave the University through poverty. There were no open scholarships in those days. ' Yet his college bills came to only some eight shillings a week. As this was about the average amount of an undergraduate's bill it is clear that, so far as food went, he lived, in spite of Mr. Carlyle's asser- tion, as well as his fellow-students. therefore, Aetat. 21.J jfo/iiison leaves Oxford. 91 therefore, by irresistible necessity, he left the College in au- tumn, 1 73 1, without a degree, having been a member of it little more than three years'. ' Mr.Croker states that 'an examination of the college books proves that Johnson, who entered on the 31st October, 1728, remained there, even during the vacations, to the 12th December, 1729, when he per- sonally left the college, and never returned — though his name remained on the books till Sth October, 1731.' I have gone into this question at great length in my Dr. Johnson : His Friends and His Critics^ p. 329. I am of opinion that Mr. Croker's general conclusion is right. The proof of residence is established, and alone established, by the entries in the buttery books. Now these entries show that Johnson, with the exception of the week in October 1729 ending on the 24th, was in res- idence till December 12, 1729. He seems to have returned for a week in March 1730, and again for a week in the following September. On three other weeks there is a charge against him of fivepence in the books. Mr. Croker has made that darker which was already dark enough by confounding, as I have shewn, two John Taylors who both matriculated at Christ Church. Boswell's statement no doubt is pre- cise, but in this he followed perhaps the account given by Hawkins. He would have been less likely to discover Hawkins's error from the fact that, as Johnson's name was for about three years on the College books, he was so long, in name at least, a member of the College. Had Boswell seen Johnson's letter to Mr. Hickman, quoted by Mr. Croker (Croker's Boswell, p. 20), he would at once have seen that John- son could not have remained at college for a little more than three years. For within three years all but a day of his entrance at Pem- broke, he writes to Mr. Hickman from Lichfield, 'As I am yet unem- ployed, I hope you will, if anything should offer, remember and recom- mend, Sir, your humble servant, Sam. Johnson." In Boswell's Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides (Aug. 15, 1773) there is a very perplexing passage bearmg on Johnson's residence at Col- lege. ' We talked of Whitefield. He said he was at the same college with him, and knew him before he began to be better than other people.' Now Johnson, as Boswell tells us, read this journal in manu- script. The statement therefore seems to be well-established indeed. Yet Whitefield did not matriculate till Nov. 7, 1732, a full year after Johnson, according to Boswell, had left Oxford. We are told that, when Johnson was living at Birmingham, he borrowed Lobo's Abys- sinia from the library of Pembroke College. It is probable enough that a man who frequently walked from Lichfield to Birmingham and back would have trudged all the way to Oxford to fetch the book. In that case he might have seen Whitefield. But Thomas Warton says Dr. 92 His destitute state. [a.d. 1731. Dr. Adams, the worthy and respectable master of Pem- brokc College, has generally had the reputation of being Johnson's tutor. The fact, however, is, that in 1731 Mr. Jorden quitted the College, and his pupils were transferred to Dr. Adams; so that had Johnson returned, Dr. Adams would have been his tutor. It is to be wished, that this con- nection had taken place. His equal temper, mild disposition, and politeness of manner, might have insensibly softened , the harshness of Johnson, and infused into him those more delicate charities, those petites morales, in which, it must be confessed, our great moralist was more deficient than his best friends could fully justify. Dr. Adams paid Johnson this high compliment. He said to me at Oxford, in 1776, ' I was his nominal tutor ' ; but he was above my mark.' When I repeated it to Johnson, his eyes flashed with grateful sat- isfaction, and he exclaimed, ' That was liberal and noble.' And now (I had almost said poor) Samuel Johnson re- turned to his native city, destitute, and not knowing how he should gain even a decent livelihood. His father's misfor- tunes in trade rendered him unable to support his son '' ; and that ' the first time of his being at Oxford after quitting the University- was in 1754' {post, under July 16, 1754). ' ' March 16, 1728-9. Yesterday in a Convocation Mr. Wm. Jorden of Pembroke Coll. was elected by the Univ. of Oxford rector of As- tocke in com. Wilts (which belongs to a Roman Catholic family).' Hearne's Remains, '\\\. 17. His fellowship was filled up on Dec. 23, 1730. Boswell's statement therefore is inaccurate. If Johnson re- mained at college till Nov. 1 731, he would have really been for at least ten months Adams's pupil. We may assume that as his name re- mained on the books after Jorden left so he was //fw/waZ/K transferred to Adams. It is worthy of notice that Thomas Warton, in the account that he gives of Johnson's visit to Oxford in 1754, says: — ' He much regretted that \\\.?/, 1759. ' Hawkins (p. 163) gives the following extract from Johnson's An- nates : — ' Friday, August 27 (1734), 10 at night. This day I have trified away, except that I have attended the school in the morning. I read to-night in Rogers's sermons. To-night I began the breakfast law (sic) anew.' ^ May we not trace a fanciful similarity between Folitian and Johnson } Huetius, speaking of Paulus Felissonius Fontanerius, says, ' ... in quo Natura, ut olim in Angelo Politiano, deformitatem oris excellentis ingenii praestantia compensavit.' Comment, de reb. ad eum pertin. Edit. Amstel. 1718, p. 200. Boswell. In Paulus Felissonius Fontanerius we have difficulty in detecting Mme. de Sevigne's friend, Pelisson, of whom M. de Guilleragues used the phrase, 'qu'il abusait de la permission qu'ont les hommes d'etre laids.' See Mme. de Sevigne's Letter, 5 Jan., 1674. Croker. * The book was to contain more than thirty sheets, the price to be two shillings and sixpence at the time of subscribing, and two shillings and sixpence at the delivery of a perfect book in quires. Boswell. ' Among the books in his library, at the time of his decease, I found a very old and curious edition of the works of Folitian, which appeared to belong to Pembroke College, Oxford.' Hawkins, p. 445. See post. It. Aetat.25.] First letter to Edward Cave. 105 It appears that his brother NathanaeP had taken up his father's trade ; for it is mentioned that ' subscriptions are taken in by the Editor, or N. Johnson, bookseller, of Lich- field.' Notwithstanding the merit of Johnson, and the cheap price at which this book was offered, there were not subscri- bers enough to insure a sufficient sale ; so the work never appeared, and probably, never was executed. We find him again this year at Birmingham, and there is pre- served the following letter from him to Mr. Edward Cave^ the original compiler and editor of the Gentleman s Magazine : To Mr. Cave. 'Sir, Nov. 25, 1734. ' As you appear no less sensible than your readers of the de- fects of your poetical article, you will not be displeased, if, in order to the improvement of it, I communicate to you the sentiments of a person, who will undertake, on reasonable terms, sometimes to fill a column. ' His opinion is, that the publick would not give you a bad Nov. 1784. In his last work he shews his fondness for modern Latin poetry. He says : — ' Pope had sought for images and sentiments in a region not known to have been explored by many other of the Eng- lish writers ; he had consulted the modern writers of Latin poetry, a class of authors whom Boileau endeavoured to bring into contempt, and who are too generally neglected.' Johnson's Works, \\\\. 299. ^ A writer in Notes and Queries, ist S. xii. 266, says 'that he has a letter written by Nathanael, in which he makes mention of his brother " scarcely using him with common civility," and says, " I believe I shall go to Georgia in about a fortnight !" ' Nathanael died in Lich- field in 1737 ; see post, Dec. 2, 1784, for his epitaph. Among the MSS. in Pembroke College Library are bills for books receipted by Nath. Johnson and by Sarah Johnson (his mother). She writes like a per- son of little education. * Miss Cave, the grand-niece of Mr. Edward Cave, has obligingly shewn me the originals of this and the other letters of Dr. Johnson, to him, which were first published in the Gent. Mag. [Iv. 3], with notes by Mr. John Nichols, the worthy and indefatigable editor of that valu- able miscellany, signed N. ; some of which I shall occasionally tran- scribe in the course of this work. Boswell. I was able to examine some of these letters while they were still in the possession of one of Cave's collateral descendants, and I have in one or two places cor- rected errors of transcription. reception. io6 First letter to Edward Cave. [a. d. 1734. reception, if, beside the current wit of the month, which a critical examination would generally reduce to a narrow compass, you ad- mitted not only poems, inscriptions, &c. never printed before, which he will sometimes supply you with ; but likewise short literary dis- sertations in Latin or English, critical remarks on authours ancient or modern, forgotten poems that deserve revival, or loose pieces, like Floyer's', worth preserving. By this method, your literary article, for so it might be called, will, he thinks, be better recom- mended to the publick than by low jests, aukward buffoonery, or the dull scurrilities of either party. ' If such a correspondence will be agreeable to you, be pleased to inform me in two posts, what the conditions are on which you shall expect it. Your late offer'^ gives me no reason to distrust ' Sir John Floyer's Treatise on Cold Baths. Gfnt. Mag. 1734, p. 197. BoswELL. This letter shews how uncommon a thing a cold bath was. Floyer, after recommending 'a general method of bleeding and purg- ing' before the patient uses cold bathing, continues, ' I have commonly cured the rickets by dipping children of a year old in the bath every morning; and this wonderful effect has encouraged me to dip four boys at Lichfield in the font at their baptism, and none have suffered any inconvenience by it.' (For mention of Floyer, see ante, p. 50, and post, March 27 and July 20, 1784.) Locke, in his Treatise cm Kdttca- tion, had recommended cold bathing for children. Johnson, in his review of Lucas's Essay on Waters {post, 1756), thus attacks cold bath- ing : — ' It is incident to physicians, I am afraid, beyond all other men, to mistake subsequence for consequence. " The old gentleman," says Dr. Lucas, "that uses the cold bath, enjoys in return an uninterrupted state of health." This instance does not prove that the cold bath produces health, but only that it will not always destroy it. He is well with the bath, he would have been well without it.' Literary Magazine, p. 229. ^ A prize of fifty pounds for the best poem on ' Life, Death, Judge- ment, Heaven, and Hell.' See Gent. Mag. vol. iv. p. 560. N. Boswp:i,l. ' Cave sometimes offered subjects for poems, and proposed prizes for the best performers. The first prize was fifty pounds, for which, being but newly acquainted with wealth, and thinking the influence of fifty pounds extremely great, he expected the first authors of the kingdom to appear as competitors ; and offered the allotment of the prize to the universities. But when the time came, no name was seen among the writers that had ever been seen before ; the universities and sev- eral private men rejected the province of assigning the prize.' John- son's Works, vi. 432, your Aetat.25.] Verses on a sprig of myrtle. 107 your generosity. If you engage in any literary projects besides this paper, I have other designs to impart, if I could be secure from having others reap the advantage of what I should hint. 'Your letter by being directed to S. Sfnit/i, to be left at the Castle in' Birmingham, Warwickshire, will reach ' Your humble servant' Mr. Cave has put a note on this letter, 'Answered Dec. 2.' But whether anything was done in consequence of it we are not informed. Johnson had, from his early youth, been sensible to the influence of female charms. When at Stourbridge school, he was much enamoured of Olivia Lloyd, a young quaker, to whom he wrote a copy of verses, which I have not been able to recover; but with what facility and elegance he could warble the amorous lay, will appear from the following lines which he wrote for his friend Mr. Edmund Hector. Verses to a Lady, on receiving from her a Sprig 0/ Myrtle. 'What hopes, what terrours does thy gift create, Ambiguous emblem of uncertain fate : The myrtle, ensign of supreme command, Consign'd by Venus to Melissa's hand ; Not less capricious than a reigning fair, Now grants, and now rejects a lover's prayer. In myrtle shades oft sings the happy swain, In myrtle shades despairing ghosts complain ; The myrtle crowns the happy lovers' heads, The unhappy lovers' grave the myrtle spreads : O then the meaning of thy gift impart, And ease the throbbings of an anxious heart ! Soon must this bough, as you shall fix his doom, Adorn Philander's head, or grace his tomb-.' ' I suspect that Johnson wrote 'the Castle Inn, Birmingham.' * Mrs. Piozzi gives the following account of this little composition from Dr. Johnson's own relation to her, on her inquiring whether it was rightly attributed to him : — ' I think it is now just forty years ago, that a young fellow had a sprig of myrtle given him by a girl he courted, and asked me to write him some verses that he might present her in return. I promised, but forgot ; and when he called for his His io8 BoswelVs controversy witJi Miss Seward, [a.d. I7a4. His juv^enile attachments to the fair sex were, however, very transient ; and it is certain that he formed no criminal lines at the time agreed on — Sit still a moment, (says Y) dear Mund ' [see post. May 7, 1773, for Johnson's 'way of contracting the names of his friends'), 'and I'll fetch them thee — So stepped aside for five minutes, and wrote the nonsense you now keep such a stir about.' Afiec. p. 34. In my first edition I was induced to doubt the authenticity of this account, by the following circumstantial statement in a letter to me from Miss Seward, of Lichfield : — ' I /cnoiu those verses were addressed to Lucy Porter, when he was enamoured of her in his boyish days, two or three years before he had seen her mother, his future wife. He wTote them at my grandfather's, and gave them to Lucy in the pres- ence of my mother, to whom he showed them on the instant. She used to repeat them to me, when I asked her for t/ie I'erst's Dr. John- son ga7>c her oh a S/>?-/if of Myrtle, ivhicli he had stolen or begi^ed from her bosom. We all know honest Lucy Porter to have been incapable of the mean vanity of applying to herself a compliment not intended for her.' Such was this lady's statement, which I make no doubt she supposed to be correct ; but it shews how dangerous it is to trust too implicitly to traditional testimony and ingenious inference; for Mr. Hector has lately assured me that Mrs. Piozzi's account is in this in- stance accurate, and that he was the person for whom Johnson wrote those verses, which have been erroneously ascribed to Mr. Hammond. I am obliged in so many instances to notice Mrs. Piozzi's incorrect- ness of relation, that I gladly seize this opportunity of acknowledging, that however often, she is not always inaccurate. The author having been drawn into a controversy with Miss Anna Seward, in consequence of the preceding statement, (which may be found in the Gent. Mag. vol. liii. and liv.) received the following letter from Mr. Edmund Hector, on the subject : ' Dear Sir, ' I am sorry to see you are engaged in altercation with a Lady, who seems unwilling to be convinced of her errors. Surely it would be more ingenuous to acknowledge, than to persevere. ' Lately, in looking over some papers I meant to burn, I found the original manuscript of the J/j'r//^, with the date on it, 1731, which I have inclosed. 'The true history (which I could swear to) is as follows: Mr. Mor- gan Graves, the elder brother of a worthy Clergyman near Bath, with whom I was acquainted, waited upon a lady in this neighbourhood, who at parting presented him the branch. He shewed it to me, and wished much to return the compliment in verse. I applied to John- connection Aetat.25.] yohnson s personal appearance. 109 connection whatsoever. Mr. Hector, who Hved with him in his younger days in the utmost intimacy and social freedom, has assured me, that even at that ardent season his conduct was strictly virtuous in that respect' ; and that though he loved to exhilarate himself with wine, he never knew him intoxicated but once'. In a man whom religious education has secured from licentious indulgences, the passion of love, when once it has seized him, is exceedingly strong; being unimpaired by dissipation, and totally concentrated in one object. This was experienced by Johnson, when he became the fervent admirer of Mrs. Porter, after her first husband's death". Miss Porter told me, that when he was first introduced to her mother, his appearance was very forbidding : he was then lean and lank, so that his immense structure of bones was hideously striking to the eye, and the scars of the scrophula son, who was with me. and in about half an hour dictated the verses which I sent to my friend. ' I most solemnly declare, at that time Johnson was an entire stran- ger to the Porter family; and it was almost two years after that I introduced him to the acquaintance of Porter, whom I bought my cloaths of. ' If you intend to convince this obstinate woman, and to exhibit to the publick the truth of your narrative, you are at liberty to make what use you please of this statement. ' I hope you will pardon me for taking up so much of your time. Wishing you multos et felices annos, I shall subscribe myself, ' Your obliged humble servant, 'E. HECTOR.' Birmingham, Jan. 9th. 1794. BoswELL. For a further account of Boswell's controversy with Miss Seward, ?,^e. post, June 25, 1784. ' See pos/, beginning of 1744, April 28, 1783, and under Dec. 2, 1784. ' See post, near end of 1763, note. ' In the registry of St. Martin's Church, Birmingham, are the fol- lowing entries: — 'Baptisms, Nov. 8, 171 5, Lucy, daughter of Henrys Porter. Jan. 29, 1717 [O. S.], Jarvis Henr)% son of Henn,^ Porter. Burials, Aug. 3, 1734, Henry Porter of Edgbaston.' There were two sons; one, Captain Porter, who died in 1763 (Croker's Bosivcll, p. 130), the other who died in 1783 {post, Nov. 29, 1783). were I lo Mrs. Porter. [a. d. 1735. were deeply visible'. He also wore his hair\ which was straight and stiff, and separated behind : and he often had. seemingly, convulsive starts and odd gesticulations, which tended to excite at once surprize and ridicule'. Mrs. Por- ter was so much engaged by his conversation that she over- looked all these external disadvantages, and said to her daughter, 'this is the most sensible man that I ever saw in my life.' Though Mrs. Porter was double the age of Johnson', and her person and manner, as described to me by the late Mr. Garrick, were by no means pleasing to others, she must have had a superiority of understanding and talents, as she cer- tainly inspired him with a more than ordinary passion ; and she having signified her willingness to accept of his hand, ' According to Malone, Reynolds said that ' he had paid attention to Johnson's Hmbs; and far from being unsightly, he deemed them well formed.' Prior's Malotie, p. 175. Mrs. Piozzi says: — ' His stature was remarkably high, and his limbs exceedingly large; his features were strongly marked, and his countenance particularly rugged ; though the original complexion had certainly been fair, a circumstance somewhat unusual ; his sight was near, and otherwise imperfect ; yet his eyes, though of a light-grey colour, were so wild, so piercing, and at times so fierce, that fear was, I believe, the first emotion in the hearts of all his beholders.' Piozzi's Ancc. p. 297. See post, end of the book, and Boswell's tichridcs, near the beginning. ' If Johnson wore his own hair at Oxford, it must have exposed him to ridicule. Graves, the author of The Spiritual Quixote, tells us that Shenstone had the courage to wear his own hair, though ' it often ex- posed him to the ill-natured remarks of people who had not half his sense. After I was elected at All Souls, where there was often a party of loungers in the gateway, on my expostulating with Mr. Shenstone for not visiting me so often as usual, he said, " he was ashamed to face his enemies in the gate." ' ' See/f^j/, 1739. * Mrs. Johnson was born on Feb. 4, 1688-9. Malone. She was married on July 9, 1735, in St. Werburgh's Church, Derby, as is shewn by the following copy of the marriage register: ' 1735, July 9, Mard Samil Johnson of ye parish of S' Mary's in Litchfield, and Elizth Porter of ye parish of S' Phillip in Burmingham.' Xotes and Queries, 4th S. vi. 44. At the time of their marriage, therefore, she was forty-six, and Johnson only two months short of twenty-six. he Aetat. s.';.] yohnsons 77iarriage. 1 1 1 he went to Lichfield to ask his mother's consent to the marriage, which he could not but be conscious was a very imprudent scheme, both on account of their disparity of years, and her want of fortune'. But Mrs. Johnson knew too well the ardour of her son's temper, and was too tender a parent to oppose his inclinations. 1 know not for what reason the marriage ceremony was not performed at Birmingham ; but a resolution was taken that it should be at Derby, for which place the bride and bridegroom set out on horseback, I suppose in ver}- good humour. But though Mr. Topham Beauclerk used archly to mention Johnson's having told him, with much gravit)', 'Sir, it was a love marriage on both sides,' I have had from my ' The author of the Metnoirs of the Life and Writings of Dr. John- son, 1785, p. 25, says : — ' Mrs. Porter's husband died insolvent, but her settlement was secured. She brought her second husband about sev- en or eight hundred pounds, a great part of which was expended in fitting up a house for a boarding-school.' That she had some money can be almost inferred from what we are told by Boswell and Haw- kins. How otherwise was Johnson able to hire and furnish a large house for his school ? Boswell says that he had but three pupils. Hawkins gives him a few more. ' His number,' he writes (p. 36) 'at no time exceeded eight, and of those not all were boarders.' After nearly twenty months of married life, when he went to London, ' he had,' Boswell says, 'a little money.' It was not till a year later still that he began to write for the Ge7it. Mag. If Mrs. Johnson had not money, how did she and her husband live from July 1735 to the spring of 1738.? It could scarcely have been on the profits made from their school. Inference, however, is no longer needful, as there is positive evidence. Mr. Timmins in his Dr. Johnson in BirviiiigJiam (p. 4) writes: — 'My friend, Mr. Joseph Hill, says, A copy of an old deed which has recently come mto my hands, shews that a hundred pounds of Mrs. Johnson's fortune was left in the hands of a Birmingham at- torney named Thomas Perks, who died insolvent; and in 1745, a bulky deed gave his creditors is.^d. in the pound. Among the creditors for ;^ioo were "Samuel Johnson, gent., and Elizabeth his wife, executors of the last will and testament of Wzxry Porter, late of Birmingham aforesaid, woollen draper, deceased." Johnson and his wife were al- most the only creditors who did not sign the deed, their seals being left void. It is doubtful, therefore, whether they ever obtained the amount of the composition ^^36 13^-. 4^.' illustrious 1 1 2 His school at Edial. [a.d. i736. illustrious friend the following curious account of their jour- ney to church upon the nuptial morn : 9M July : — ' Sir, she had read the old romances, and had got into her head the fantastical notion that a woman of spirit should use her lover like a dog. So, Sir, at first she told me that I rode too fast, and she could not keep up with me ; and, when I rode a little slower, she passed me, and complained that I lagged behind. I was not to be made the slave of caprice ; and I resolved to begin as 1 meant to end. 1 therefore pushed on briskly, till 1 was fairly out of her sight. The road lay between two hedges, so 1 was sure she could not miss it ; and I contrived that she should soon come up with me. When she did, I observed her to be in tears,' This, it must be allowed, was a singular beginning of con- nubial felicity ; but there is no doubt that Johnson, though he thus shewed a manly firmness, proved a most affectionate and indulgent husband to the last moment of Mrs. John- son's life : and in his Prayers and Meditations, we find very remarkable evidence that his regard and fondness for her never ceased, even after her death. He now set up a private academy', for which purpose he hired a large house, well situated near his native city. In the Gentleman's Magazine for 1736, there is the following advertisement : ' At Edial, near Lichfield "', in Staffordshire, young gentlemen are boarded and taught the Latin and Greek languages, by Sam- uel Johnson.' But the only pupils that were put under his care were the celebrated David Garrick and his brother George, and a Mr. Offely, a young gentleman of good fortune who died early. As yet, his name had nothing of that celebrity which afterwards commanded the highest attention and respect of mankind. Had such an advertisement appeared after the ' Sir Walter Scott has recorded Lord Auchinleck's ' sneer of most sovereign contempt,' while he described Johnson as 'a dominie, mon — an auld dominie ; he keeped a schfile, and cau'd it an acaadamy. Croker's Boswell, p. 397, note. * ' Edial is two miles west of Lichfield.' Harwood's Lichfield, p. 56^, publication Aetat. 27.] yohusoii as a teacher. 113 publication of his London, or his Rambler, or his Dictionary^ howwould it have burst upon the world ! with what eagerness would the great and the wealthy have embraced an oppor- tunity of putting their sons under the learned tuition of Samuel Johnson. The truth, however, is, that he was not so well qualified for being a teacher of elements, and a conductor in learning by regular gradations, as men of infe- riour powers of mind. His own acquisitions had been made by fits and starts, by violent irruptions into the regions of knowledge ; and it could not be expected that his impa- tience would be subdued, and his impetuosity restrained, so as to fit him for a quiet guide to novices. The art of communicating instruction, of whatever kind, is much to be valued ; and I have ever thought that those who devote themselves to this employment, and do their duty with diligence and success, are entitled to very high respect from the community, as Johnson himself often maintained'. Yet I am of opinion that the greatest abilities are not only not required for this oflfice, but render a man less fit for it. ' Johnson in more than one passage in his writings seems to have in mind his own days as a schoolmaster. Thus in the Life of Milton he says : — ' This is the period of his Hfe from which all his biographers seem inclmed to shrink. They are unwilling that Milton should be degraded to a schoolmaster ; but, since it cannot be denied that he taught boys, one finds out that he taught for nothing, and another that his motive was only zeal for the propagation of learning and virtue ; and all tell what they do not know to be true, only to excuse an act which no wise man will consider as in itself disgraceful. His father was alive; his allowance was not ample; and he supplied its deficiencies by an honest and useful employment.' Johnson's Works, vii. 75. In the Life of Blackmorc he says : — ' In some part of his life, it is not known when, his indigence compelled him to teach a school, an humiliation with which, though it certainly lasted but a little while, his enemies did not forget to reproach him, when he became conspic- uous enough to excite malevolence ; and let it be remembered for his honour, that to have been once a schoolmaster is the only reproach which all the perspicacity of malice, animated by wit, has ever fixed upon his private life.' Johnson's Works, viii. 36. I.— 8 While 114 Mrs. yohnson. [a.d. 1736- While we acknowledge the justness of Thomson's beauti- ful remark, ' Delightful task ! to rear the tender thought, And teach' the young idea how to shoot!' we must consider that this delight is perceptible only by 'a mind at ease,' a mind at once calm and clear; but that a mind gloomy and impetuous like that of Johnson, cannot be fixed for any length of time in minute attention, and must be so frequently irritated by unavoidable slowness and errour in the advances of scholars, as to perform the duty, with little pleasure to the teacher, and no great advantage to the pup^ls^ Good temper is a most essential requisite in a Preceptor. Horace paints the character as bland . ■ ''.... Ut pueris ohm dant crustula blandi Doctores, elemaita velint ut discere prima '. ' Johnson was not more satisfied with his situation as the master of an academy, than with that of the usher of a school ; we need not wonder, therefore, that he did not keep his academy above a year and a half. From Mr. Garrick's account he did not appear to have been profoundly rever- enced by his pupils. His oddities of manner, and uncouth gesticulations, could not but be the subject of merriment to them ; and, in particular, the young rogues used to listen at the door of his bed-chamber, and peep through the key- hole, that they might turn into ridicule his tumultuous and awkward fondness for Mrs. Johnson, whom he used to name by the familiar appellation of Tetty or Tetsey, which, * In the original To Teach. Seasons, Spring, 1. 1149. Thomson is speaking, not of masters, but of parents. * In the Lzfe of Milton, Johnson records his own experience. ' Every man that has ever undertaken to instruct others can tell what slow advances he has been able to make, and how much patience it requires to recall vagrant inattention, to stimulate slug- gish indifference, and to rectify absurd misapprehension.' Johnson's Works, vii. 76. ' ' As masters fondly soothe their boys to read With cakes and sweetmeats.' Francis, Hor. i. Sat. t. 25. like Aetat. 27.] A scheme of study. 115 like Betty or Betsey, is provincially used as a contraction for Elisabeth, her christian name, but which to us seems ludicrous when applied to a woman of her age and appearance. Mr. Garrick described her to me as very fat, with a bosom of more than ordinary protuberance, with .swelled cheeks of a florid red, produced by thick painting, and increased by the liberal use of cordials ; flaring and fantastick in her dress, and affected both in her speech and her general behaviour. I have seen Garrick exhibit her, by his exquisite talent of mimickry, so as to excite the heartiest bursts of laughter; but he, probably, as is the case in all such representations, considerably aggravated the picture'. That Johnson well knew the most proper course to be pursued in the instruction of youth, is authentically ascer- tained b}' the following paper'' in his own hand -writing, given about this period to a relation, and now in the pos- session of Mr. John Nichols: * Scheme for the Classes of a Grammar School. ' When the introduction, or formation of nouns and verbs, is perfectly mastered, let them learn ' Corderius by Mr. Clarke, beginning at the same time to trans- late out of the introduction, that by this means they may learn the syntax. Then let them proceed to ' Erasmus, with an English translation, by the same authour. » As Johnson kept Garrick much in awe when present, David, when his back was turned, repaid the restraint with ridicule of him and his dulcinea, which should be read with great abatement. Percy. He was not consistent in his account, for ' he told Mrs. Thrale that she was a little pahited puppet of no value at all.' . . . 'He made out,' Mrs. Piozzi continues, ' some comical scenes, by mimicking her in a dialogue he pretended to have overheard. I do not know whether he meant such stuff to be believed or no, it was so comical. The picture I found of her at Lichfield was very pretty, and her daughter said it was like. Mr. Johnson has told me that her hair was eminently beau- tiful, quite blonde like that of a baby.' Piozzi's Anec. p. 148. ' Mr. Croker points out that in this paper ' there are two separate schemes, the first for a school — the second for the individual studies of some young friend.' 'Class Ii6 A scheme of sttidy. [a.d. 1736. 'Class II. Learns Eiitiopius and Cornelius Nepos, or Justin, with the translation. ' N.B. The first class gets for their part every morning the rules which they have learned before, and in the afternoon learns the Latin rules of the nouns and verbs. ' They are examined in the rules which they have learned every Thursday and Saturday. 'The second class does the same whilst they are in Eutropius ; afterwards their part is in the irregular nouns and verbs, and in the rules for making and scanning verses. They are examined as the first. 'Class III. Ovid's Metamorphoses in the morning, and Caesar's Commentaries in the afternoon. ' Practise in the Latin rules till they are perfect in them ; after- wards in Mr. Leeds's Greek Grammar. Examined as before. ' Afterwards they proceed to Virgil, beginning at the same time to write themes and verses, and to learn Greek ; from thence pass- ing on to Horace, Bernard Lintot {post, July 19. 1763) died Feb. 3, 1736. Gent. Mag. vi. 1 10. This, no doubt, was his son. of 120 Abstinence from zvine. [a.d. 1737. of them had travelled. They expected to meet every day ; but did not know one another's names. It used to cost the rest a shilling, for they drank wine ; but I had a cut of meat for six-pence, and bread for a penny, and gave the waiter a penny ; so that I was quite well served, nay, better than the rest, for they gave the waiter nothing'.' He at this time, I believe, abstained entirely from fer- mented liquors : a practice to which he rigidly conformed for many years together, at different periods of his life'. ' Dr. A. Carlyle {Auto. p. 195) says that being in London in 1746 he dined frequently with a club of officers, where they had an excellent dinner at ten-pence. From what he adds it is clear that the tavern- keeper made his profit on the wine. At Edinburgh, four years earlier, he and his fellow-students used to get ' at four-pence a-head a very good dinner of broth and beef, and a roast and potatoes ever}-' day, with fish three or four times a-week, and all the small beer that was called for till the cloth was removed ' {tb. p. 63). W. Hutton, who in 1750 opened a very small book-shop in Birmingham, for which he paid rent at a shilling a week, says {Life of Hut/on, p. 84) : — ' Five shillings a week covered every expense ; as food, rent, washing, lodging, &c.' He knew how to live wretchedly. ' On April 17, 1778. Johnson said : — ' Early in life I drank wine; for many years I drank none. I then for some years drank a great deal. I then had a severe illness, and left it off, and I have never begun it again.' Somewhat the same account is given in Boswell's Hebrides, Sept. 16, 1773. Roughly speaking, he seems to have been an abstainer from about 1736 to at least as late as 1757, and from about 1765 to the end of his life. In 1751 Hawkins {Life. p. 286) describes him as drink- ing only lemonade ' in a whole night spent in festivity ' at the Ivy Lane Club. In 1757 he described himself 'as a hardened and shame- less tea-drinker, who has for twenty years diluted his meals with only tea' (Johnson's Works, vi. 21). It was, I believe in his visit to Oxford in 1759 that ' University College witnessed his drinking three bottles of port without being the worse for it" {posf, April 7, 1778). When he was living in the Temple (between 1760-65) he had the frisk with Langton and Beauclerk when they made a bowl of Bishop {post, 1753)- On his birthday in 1760, he 'resolved to drink less strong liquors ' {Pr. and Med. p. 42). In 1762 on his visit to Devonshire he drank three bottles of wine after supper. This was the only time Reynolds had seen him intoxicated. (Northcote's Rcy7iolds, ii. 161^. In 1763 he affected Boswell's nerves by keeping him up late to drink port with him {post,]u\y 14, 1763). On April 21, 1764, he records: — His Aetat.28.] An Irish Ofellus. 121 His Ofellus in the Art of Living in London, I have heard him relate, was an Irish painter, whom he knew at Birmingham, ' From the beginning of this year I have in some measure forborne excess of strong drink' {Pr. and Med. p. 51). On Easter Sunday he records : ' Avoided wine ' (ib. p. 55). On March i, 1765, he is described at Cambridge as ' giving Mrs. Macaulay for his toast, and drinking her m two bumpers." It was about this time that he had the severe ill- ness Impost, under Oct. 17, 1765, note). In Feb. 1766, Boswell found him no longer drinking wine. He shortly returned to it again ; for on Aug. 2, 1767, he records, ' I have for some days forborne wine ;' and on Aug. 17, ' By abstinence from wine and suppers I obtained sudden and great relief (Pr. and Med. pp. 73, 4). According to Hawkins, Johnson said : — ' After a ten years' forbearance of every fluid except tea and sherbet, I drank one glass of wine to the health of Sir Joshua Reynolds on the evening of the day on which he was knighted ' (Hawkins's Johnsons Works (1787), xi. 215). As Reynolds was knighted on April 21, 1769 (Taylor's Reynolds, i. 321), Hawkins's report is grossly inaccurate. In Boswell's Hebrides, Sept. 16, ijjt,, and post, March 16, 1776, we find him abstaining. In 1778 he persuaded Bos- well to be 'a water-drinker upon trial' {post, April 28, 1778J. On April 7, 1779, 'he was persuaded to drink one glass of claret that he might judge of it, not from recollection.' On March 20, 1781, Boswell found that Johnson had lately returned to wine. ' I drink it now som.etimes,' he said, 'but not socially.' He seems to have generally abstained however. On April 20, 1 781, he would not join in drinking Lichfield ale. On March 17, 1782, he made some punch for himself, by which in the night he thought ' both his breast and imagination disordered ' {Pr. and Med. p. 205). In the spring of this year Hannah More urged him to takq a little wine. ' I can't drink a h'/t/e, child,' he answered ; ' therefore I never touch it ' (H. More's Metnoirs, i. 251). On July I, 1784, Beattie. who met him at dinner, says, 'he cannot be prevailed on to drink wine ' (Seattle's Life, p. 316). On his death-bed he refused any 'inebriating sustenance' {post, Dec. 1784). It is re- markable that writing to Dr. Taylor on Aug. 5, 1773, he said : — ' Drink a great deal, and sleep heartily ;' and that on June 23, 1776, he again wrote to him : — ' I hope you persevere in drinking. My opinion is that I have drunk too little, and therefore have the gout, for it is of my own acquisition, as neither my father had it nor my mother ' {Notes and Queries. 6th S. v. pp. 422, 3). On Sept. 19, 1777 (post), he even 'owned that in his opinion a free use of wine did not shorten life.' Johnson disapproved of fermented liquors only in the case of those who, like himself and Boswell, could not keep from excess. and 122 An Irish Ofelltis. [a.d. iTsr and who had practised his own precepts of oeconomy for several years in the British capital'. He assured Johnson, who, I suppose, was then meditating to \.xy his fortune in London, but was appreher^sive of the expence, ' that thirty pounds a year was enough to enable a man to live there without being contemptible. He allowed ten pounds for clothes and linen. He said a man might live in a garret at eighteen-pence a week ; few people would inquire where he lodged ; and if they did, it was easy to say, " Sir, I am to be found at such a place." By spending three-pence in a coffee- house, he might be for some hours every day in very good company; he might dine for six-pence, breakfast on bread and milk for a penny, and do without supper. On cleayi- sJiirt-day he went abroad, and paid visits.' I have heard him more than once talk of this frugal friend, whom he rec- ollected with esteem and kindness, and did not like to have one smile at the recital. ' This man (said he, gravely) was a very sensible man, who perfectly understood common affairs: a man of a great deal of knowledge of the world, fresh from life, not strained through books'. He borrowed a horse and ten pounds at Birmingham. Finding himself master of so much money, he set off for West Chester\ in order to get ' Ofellus, or rather Ofella, is the ' rusticus, abnormis sapiens, crassa- que Minerva' of Horace's Satire, ii. 2. 3. What he teaches is briefly expressed in Pope's Imitation, ii. 2. 1 : ' What, and how great, the virtue and the art To live on little with a cheerful heart (A doctrine sage, but truly none of mine) ; Let's talk, my friends, but talk before we dine.' In 1769 was published a worthless poem called The Art of Living in London; in which 'instructions were given to persons who live in a garret, and spend their evenings in an ale-house.' Gent. Mag. xxxix. 45. To this Boswell refers. * ' Johnson this day, when we were by ourselves, observed how com- mon it was for people to talk from books ; to retail the sentiments of others, and not their own ; in short, to converse without any original- ity of thinking. He was pleased to say, " You and I do not talk from books." ' Boswell's Hebrides, Nov. 3, 1773. ' The passage to Ireland was commonly made from Chester. to Aetat.28.] Mr. Henry Hervey. 123 to Ireland. He returned the horse, and probably the ten pounds too, after he got home.' Considering Johnson's narrow circumstances in the early- part of his life, and particularly at the interesting aera of his launching into the ocean of London, it is not to be won- dered at, that an actual instance, proved by experience of the possibility of enjoying the intellectual luxury of social life, upon a very small income, should deeply engage his attention, and be ever recollected by him as a circumstance of much importance. He amused himself, I remember, by computing how much more expence was absolutely neces- sary to live upon the same scale with that which his friend described, when the value of money was diminished by the progress of commerce. It may be estimated that double the money might now with difficulty be sufficient. Amidst this cold obscurity, there was one brilliant cir- cumstance to cheer him ; he was well acquainted with Mr. Henry Hervey\ one of the branches of the noble family of that name, who had been quartered at Lichfield as an officer of the army, and had at this time a house in Lon- don, where Johnson was frequently entertained, and had an opportunity of meeting genteel company. Not very long before his death, he mentioned this, among other particulars of his life, which he was kindly communicating to me ; and he described this early friend, 'Harry Hervey,' thus: 'He was a vicious man, but very kind to me. If you call a dog Hervey, I shall love him.' He told me he had now written only three acts of his Irene, and that he retired for some time to lodgings at Greenwich, where he proceeded in it somewhat further, and used to compose, walking in the Park'; but did not stay long enough at that place to finish it. ' The honourable Henry Hervey, third son of the first Earl of Bris- tol, quitted the army and took orders. He married a sister of Sir Thomas Aston, by whom he got the Aston Estate, and assumed the name and arms of that family. Vide CoUins's Peerage. Boswell. ' The following brief mention of Greenwich Park in 1750 is found In one of Miss Talbot's Letters. ' Then when I come to talk of At 1 24 Letter to Mr. Cave. | a.d. 1737. At this period we find the following letter from him to Mr. Edward Cave, which, as a link in the chain of his literar}- history, it is proper to insert : *To Mr. Cave. ' Greenwich, next door to the Golden Heart. Church-street, July \i, 1737. 'Sir, ' Having observed in your papers very uncommon offers of encouragement to men of letters, I have chosen, being a stranger m London, to communicate to you the following design, which, I /lope, if you join in it, will be of advantage to both of us. ' 'I'he History of the Council of Trent having been lately trans- lated into French, and published with large Notes by Dr. Le Cou- rayer', the reputation of that book is so much revived in England, that, it is presumed, a new translation of it from the Italian, together with Le Courayer's Notes from the French, could not fail of a favotirable reception. ' If it be answered, that the History is already in English, it must be remembered, that there was the same objection against Le Cou- rayer's undertaking, with this disadvantage, that the French had a version by one of their best translators, whereas you cannot read three pages of the English History without discovering that the style is capable of great improvements ; but whether those im- provements are to be expected from the attempt, you must judge from the specimen, which, if you approve the proposal, I shall sub- mit to your examination. ' Suppose the merit of the versions equal, we may hope that the addition of the Notes will turn the balance in our favour, consider- ing the reputation of the Annotator. ' Be pleased to favour me with a speedy answer, if you are not willing to engage in this scheme ; and appoint me a day to wait upon you, if you are. ' I am, Sir, Your humble servant, ' Sam. Johnson.' Greenwich — Did you ever see it ? It was quite a new world to me. and a very charming one. Only on the top of a most inaccessible hill in the park, just as we were arrived at a view that we had long been aiming at, a violent clap of thunder burst over our heads.' — Carter and Talbot Corres. i. 345. ' At the Oxford Commemoration of 1733 Courayer returned thanks It Aetat.28.] yohusoTi retums to Lichfield. 125 It should seem from this letter, though subscribed with his own name, that he had not yet been introduced to Mr. Cave. We shall presently see what was done in consequence of the proposal which it contains. In the course of the summer he returned to Lichfield, where he had left Mrs. Johnson, and there he at last finished his tragedy, which was not executed with his rapidity of composition upon other occasions, but was slowly and pain- fully elaborated. A few days before his death, while burning a great mass of papers, he picked out from among them the original unformed sketch of this tragedy, in his own hand- writing, and gave it to Mr. Langton, by whose fa\ our a copy of it is now in my possession. It contains fragments of the intended plot, and speeches for the different persons of the drama, partly in the raw materials of prose, partly worked up into verse ; as also a variety of hints for illustration, bor- rowed from the Greek, Roman, and modern writers. The hand-writing is very difficult to be read, even by those who were best acquainted with Johnson's mode of penmanship, which at all times was very particular. The King having graciously accepted of this manuscript as a literary curiosity, Mr. Langton made a fair and distinct copy of it, which he ordered to be bound up with the original and the printed tragedy; and the volume is deposited in the King's library'. His Majesty was pleased to permit Mr. Langton to take a copy of it for himself. The whole of it is rich in thought and imager>% and happy expressions; and of the disjecta inetnbra'^ scattered through- out, and as yet unarranged, a good dramatick poet might avail himself with considerable advantage. I shall give my readers some specimens of different kinds, distinguishing them by the Italick character. in his robes to the University for the honour it had done him two years before in presenting him with his degree. Dr. Johnson : His Friends and His Critics, p. 94. ' This library was given by George IV to the British Museum. Croker. * Ovid, Meta. iii. 724. 'Nor 126 Irene. [a.d.itst. ''Nor think to say, here -will I stop. Here will I fix the limits of transgression. Nor farther tempt the avenging rage of heaven. When guilt like this once harbours in the breast. Those holy beings, whose unseen direction Guides through the maze of life the steps of man. Fly the detested mansions of impiety. And quit their charge to horrour and to ruin! A small part oiih' of this interesting admonition is pre- s.rved in the play, and is \aried, I think, not to advantage: 'The soul once tainted with so foul ;i crime. No more shall glow with friendship's hallow'd ardour, Those holy beings whose superior care Guides erring mortals to the paths of virtue, Art'righted at impiety like thine, Resign their charge to baseness and to ruin'.' '■I feel the soft infection Flush in my cheek, and wander in my veins. Teach me the Grecian arts of soft persuasion.^ ' Sure this is love, which heretofore I conceived the dream of idle maids, and wanton poets. ' ' Though no comets or prodigies foretold the ruin of Greece, signs which heaven must by another miracle enable us to understand, yet might it be foreshewn, by tokens no less certain, by the "rices which ahvays bring it on.' This last passage is worked up in the tragedy itself, as follows : Leontius. ' That power that kindly spreads The clouds, a signal of impending showers, To warn the wand'ring linnet to the shade, Beheld, without concern, expiring Greece, And not one prodig}' foretold our fate. Demetrius. 'A thousand horrid prodigies foretold it; A feeble government, eluded laws, ' Act iii. sc. 8. A factious Aetat. 28.] IreXE. 1 2 7 A factious populace, luxurious nobles. And all the maladies of sinking States. When publick villainy, too strong for justice, Shows his bold front the harbinger of ruin. Can brave Leontius call for airy wonders. Which cheats interpret, and which fools regard ? When some neglected fabrick nods beneath The weight of years, and totters to the tempest. Must heaven despatch the messengers of light. Or wake the dead, to warn us of its fall' ?* Mahomet (Xo Irene). *■ I have tried thee, and joy to find that thou deseri'est to be loved by Mahomet^ — with a mind great as his own. Sure, thou art an errour of nature, and an exception to the rest of thy sex, and art immortal ; for sentiments like thine were never to sink into nothing. I thought all t/ie thoughts of tJu fair had been to select the graces of the day, dispose the colours of the flaunting {flawing) robe, tune the voice and roll the eye, plcue the gem, choose the dress, and add new roses to the faditig cheek, but — sparkling^ Thus in the tragedy: ' Illustrious maid, new wonders fix me thine ; Thy soul completes the triumphs of thy face : I thought, forgive my fair, the noblest aim. The strongest effort of a female soul Was but to choose the graces of the day. To tune the tongue, to teach the eyes to roll. Dispose the colours of the flowing robe. And add new roses to the faded cheek'.' I shall select one other passage, on account of the doctrine which it illustrates. Irene obser\-es. 'That the Supreme Being ivill accept of virtue, whatn-er outward circumstances it may be accompanied with, and may be delighted with varieties of worship : but is answered. That variety cannot affect that Being, who, infinitely happy in his 07i'ti perfections, wants no external gratifications ; nor can infinite truth be delighted 7vith falsehood : that though he may guide or pity those he leaves in darkness, he abandons those who shut their eyes against the bea?ns of day.'' ' Act i. sc. I. * Act ii. sc. 7. Johnson's 1 28 yohnso7i settles in London. [a.d. 1737. Johnson's residence at Lichfield, on his return to it at this time, was only for three months ; and as he had as yet seen but a small part of the wonders of the Metropolis, he had little to tell his townsmen. He related to me the following minute anecdote of this period : ' In the last age, when my mother lived in London, there were two sets of people, those who gave the wall, and those who took it ; the peaceable and the quarrelsome. When I returned to Lichfield, after hav- ing been in London, my mother asked me, whether I was one of those who gave the wall, or those who took it. Now it is fixed that every man keeps to the right ; or, if one is taking the wall, another )'ields it ; and it is never a dispute'.' He now removed to London with Mrs. Johnson ; but her daughter, who had lived with them at Edial, was left with her relations in the country^ His lodgings were for some time in Woodstock-street, near Hanover-square, and after- wards in Castle-street, near Cavendish-square. As there is something pleasingly interesting, to many, in tracing so great a man through all his different habitations, I shall, before this work is concluded, present my readers with an exact list of his lodgings and houses, in order of time, which, in placid condescension to my respectful curiosity, he one evening dictated to me\ but without specifying how long he lived at each. In the progress of his life I shall have occasion to mention some of them as connected with particular inci- dents, or with the writing of particular parts of his works. To some, this minute attention may appear trifling ; but when we consider the punctilious exactness with which the different houses in which Milton resided have been traced ' Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, 3rd edit. p. 232 [Sept. 20, 1773]. BOSWELL. - Johnson's letter to her of Feb. 6, 1759, shows that she was, at that time, living in his house at Lichfield. Miss Seward {Letters, i. 116) says that ' she boarded in Lichfield with his mother.' Some passages in other of his letters (Croker's Boswell, pp. 144, 145, 173) lead me to think that she stayed on in this house till 1766, when she had built herself a house with money left by her brother. ' Stcpost, Oct. 10, 1779. by Aetat. 28.] ThE GENTLEMAN'S MaQAZINE. 139 by the writers of his life, a similar enthusiasm may be par- doned in the biographer of Johnson. His tragedy being by this time, as he thought, completely finished and fit for the stage, he was very desirous that it should be brought forward. Mr. Peter Garrick told me, that Johnson and he went together to the Fountain tavern, and read it over, and that he afterwards solicited Mr. Fleetwood, the patentee of Drury-lane theatre, to have it acted at his house ; but Mr. Fleetwood would not accept it, probably because it was not patronized by some man of high rank'; and it was not acted till 1749, when his friend David Garrick was manager of that theatre. The Gentleman s Magazine, begun and carried on by Mr. Edward Cave, under the name of SvLVAXUS Urban ^, had attracted the notice and esteem of Johnson, in an eminent degree, before he came to London as an adventurer in litera- ture. He told me, that when he first saw St. John's Gate, the place where that deservedly popular miscellany^ was originally printed, he 'beheld it with reverence'.' I suppose, ' He could scarcely have solicited a worse manager. Horace Wal- pole writing in 1744 {Letters, i. 332) says: 'The town has been trying all this winter to beat pantomimes off the stage very boisterously. Fleetwood, the master of Drury-Lane, has omitted nothing to sup- port them as they supported his house. About ten days ago, he let into the pit great numbers of Bear-garden bruisers (that is the term) to knock down everybody that hissed. The pit rallied their forces and drove them out.' ' It was not till volume v. that Cave's name was given on the title- page. In volumes viii. and ix., and volumes xii. to xvii. the name is Edward Cave, Jun. Cave in his examination before the House of Lords on April 30, 1747, said : — 'That he was concerned in the Gentle- inatis Magazine at first with his nephew : and since the death of his nephew he has done it entirely himself.' Pari. Hist. xiv. 59. ' Its sale, according to Johnson, was ten thousand copies. Post, April 25, 1778. So popular was it that before it had completed its ninth year the fifth edition of some of the earliest numbers was printed. Johnson's Works, v. 349. In the Life of Ca-oe Johnson de- scribes it as ' a periodical pamphlet, of which the scheme is knowr wherever the English language is spoken.' lb. vi. 431. * Yet the early numbers contained verses as grossly indecent as I. — 9 indeed, 130 A list of yolinsons writings. [ah. 1738. indeed, that every young authour has had the same kind of feeling for the magazine or periodical publication which has first entertained him, and in which he has first had an oppor- tunity to see himself in print, without the risk of exposing his name. I myself recollect such impressions from ' The Scots Ma^a.zifir," which was begun at Edinburgh in the year 1739, and has been ever conducted with judgement, accuracy, and pro})riety. 1 yet cannot help thinking uf it with an affectionate regard. Johnson has dignified the Gentleman s Magazine, by the importance with which he invests the life of Cave ; but he has given it still greater lustre by the various admirable Essays which he wrote for it. Though Johnson was often solicited by his friends to make a complete list of his writings, and talked of doing it, I believe with a serious intention that they should all be col- lected on his own account, he put it off from year to year, and at last died without having done it perfectly. I have one in his own hand-writing, which contains a certain number' ; I indeed doubt if he could have remembered ever>' one of them, as they were so numerous, so various, and scattered in such a multiplicity of unconnected publications ; nay, several of them published under the names of other persons, to whom he liberally contributed from the abundance of his mind. We must, therefore, be content to discover them, partly from occasional information given b\- him to his friends, and partly from internal evidence'. His first performance in the Gentlevian s Magazine, which they were dull. Cave moreover advertised indecent books for sale at St. John's Gate, and in one instance, at least, the advertisement was in very gross language. ' See /£).?/, April 25, 1778. * While in the course of my narrative I enumerate his writings, I shall take care that my readers shall not be left to waver in doubt, between certainty and conjecture, with regard to their authenticity ; and. for that purpose, shall mark with an asterisk (*) those which he acknowledged to his friends, and with a dat^i^er (+) those which are ascertained to be his by internal evidence. When any other pieces are ascribed to him, I shall give my reasons, Boswell. for Aetat. 29.] Edward Cave. 131 for many years was his principal source for employment and support, was a copy of Latin verses, in March 1738, addressed to the editor in so happy a style of compliment, that Cave must have been destitute both of taste and sen- sibility had he not felt himself highly gratified'. 'Ad Urbanum*. ' Urban K", nullis fesse labor ibus. Urbane, nullis vide calumniis'^, ' Hawkins says that ' Cave had few of those qualities that constitute the character of urbanity. Upon the first approach of a stranger his practice was to continue sitting, and for a few minutes to continue silent. If at any time he was inclined to begin the discourse, it was generally by putting a leaf of the Maj^azuie then in the press into the hand of his visitor and asking his opinion of it. He was so incompe- tent a judge of Johnson's abilities that, meaning at one time to dazzle him wMth the splendour of some of those luminaries in literature who favoured him with their correspondence, he told him that, if he would in the evening be at a certain alehouse in the neighbourhood of Clerk- enwell. he might have a chance of .seeing Mr. Browne and another or two of the persons mentioned in the preceding note. [The note con- tained the names of .some of Cave's regular writers.] yohn.son ac- cepted the invitation ; and being introduced by Cave, dressed in a loose horseman's coat, and such a great bushy uncombed wig as he constantly wore, to the sight of Mr. Browne, whom he found sitting at the upper end of a long table, in a cloud of tobacco-smoke, had his curiosity gratified.' [Mr. Carlyle writes of ' bushy-wigged Cave;' but it was Johnson whose wig is described, and not Cave's. On p. 337 Hawkins again mentions his 'great bushy wig,' and says that 'it was ever nearly as impenetrable by a comb as a quickset hedge.'] Haw- kins's Johnson, pp. 45-50. Johnson, after mentioning Cave's slowness, says : ' The .same chillness of mind was observable in his conversa- tion ; he was watching the minutest accent of those whom he di.sgusted by seeming inattention ; and his visitant was surprised, when he came a second time, by preparations to execute the scheme which he sup- posed never to have been heard.' Johnson's Wo7-ks, vi. 434. ' ' The first lines put one in mind of Casimir's Ode to Pope Urban : — " Urbane, regum maxime, maxime Urbane vatum." The Polish poet was probably at that time in the hands of a man who had meditated the history of the Latin poets.' Murphy's John- son, p. 42. 'Cave had been grosslv attacked bv rival booksellers; see Gent. Cui 132 'Ad UkBANUm' [a.D. 1738. Cui fronte scrtum in eruditA Perpetuh viret ct virebit ; Quid moliatur gciis imifaniium, Quid ct minetui\ soliciiiis parum, Vacare solis pergc Musis, jpuxta animo studiisque felix. LingucB procacis plumbea spicula, Fidms, supt'rbo f range silcntio ; Viilrix per obstanics catervas Scdulitas aniniosa tendet. Intende ncr7'OS,/oriis, inanibus Risurus olim nisibus (cmuli ; Intcndc jam netTOS, habebis Participes opene Camainas. Non ulla Musis pagina gratior, Quam qUiC. srixris ludicra jungerc Novit, fatigatavique nugis Utilibus rccreare mentem. Texente Nyfnphis serta Lycoride, Ros(Z ruborem sic viola adjuvat I?ntnista, sic Iris refulget yEt/iereis variata /ucis\^ S. J. Mag. viii. 156. Hawkins says {Li/e, p. 92), ' With that sagacity which we frequently observe, but wonder at. in men of slow parts, he seemed to anticipate the advice contained in Johnson's ode. and forbore a reply, though not his revenge.' This he gratified by reprinting in his own Magazine one of the most scurrilous and foolish attacks. ' A translation of this Ode, by an unknown correspondent, appeared in the Magazine for the month of May following: ' Hail. Urban ! indefatigable man. Unwearied yet by all thy useful toil ! Whom num'rous slanderers assault in vain ; Whom no base calumny can put to foil. But still the laurel on thy learned brow Flourishes fair, and shall for ever grow. 'What mean the servile imitating crew. What their vain blust'ring, and their empty fibise, Ne'er seek : but still thy noble ends pursue, Unconquer'd by the rabble's vefial voice. It Aetat. 29.] Coimected with Gentlemax's Magazine. 133 It appears that he was now enlisted by Mr. Cave as a regu- lar coadjutor in his magazine, by which he probably obtained a tolerable livelihood. At what time, or by what means, he had acquired a competent knowledge both of French' Still to the Muse thy studious mind apply, Happy in temper as in industry. * The senseless sneerings of an haughty tongue, Unworthy thy attention to engage. Unheeded pass : and tho' they mean thee wrong, By manly silence disappoint their rage. Assiduous diligence confounds its foes, Resistless, tho' malicious crouds oppose. ' Exert thy powers, nor slacken in the course, Thy spotless fame shall quash all false reports : Exert thy powers, nor fear a rival's force. But thou shalt smile at all his vain efforts ; Thy labours shall be crown'd with large success; The Muse's aid thy Magazine shall bless. 'No page more grateful to th' harmonious nine Than that wherein thy labours we survey ; Where solemn themes in fuller splendour shine, (Delightful mixture,) blended with the gay, Where in improving, various joys we find, A welcome respite to the wearied mind. ' Thus when the nymphs in some fair verdant mead, Of various flow'rs a beauteous wreath compose, The lovely violet's azure-painted head Adds lustre to the crimson-blushing rose. Thus splendid Iris, with her varied dye, Shines in the aether, and adorns the sky. BRITON.' BOSWELI,. * ' I have some reason to think that at his first coming to town he frequented Slaughter's coffee-house with a view to acquire a habit of speaking French, but he never could attain to it. Lockman used the same method and succeeded, as Johnson himself once told me.' Haw- kins's "Jolinson, p. 516. Lockman is rUlustrc Lockman mentioned post, 1780, in Mr. Langton's Collection. It was at 'Old Slaughter's Cof- fee-house, when a number of foreigners were talking loud about lit- tle matters, that Johnson one evening said, " Does not this confirm old Meynell's observation. For anything I sec, foreigners are fools " .'' post, ib. and 134 Reports of the Debates. [a.d.1738. and Italian', I do not know ; but he was so well skilled in them, as to be sufficiently qualified for a translator. That part of his labour which consisted in emendation and im- provement of the productions of other contributors, like that employed in levelling ground, can be perceived only by those who had an opportunity of comparing the original with the altered copy. What we certainly know to have been done by him in this way, was the Debates in both houses of Parliament, under the name of ' The Senate of Lilliput,' sometimes with feigned denominations of the sev- eral speakers, sometimes with denominations formed of the letters of their real names, in the manner of what is called anagram, so that they might easily be decyphered. Parlia- ment then kept the press in a kind of mysterious awe, which made it necessary to have recourse to such devices. In our time it has acquired an unrestrained freedom, so that the people in all parts of the kingdom have a fair, open, and exact report of the actual proceedings of their representa- tives and legislators, which in our constitution is highly to be valued; though, unquestionably, there has of late been too much reason to complain of the petulance with which obscure scribblers have presumed to treat men of the most respectable character and situation \ ' He had read Petrarch ' when but a boy ;' ante. p. 66. 'Horace Walpole. writing of the year 1770. about libels, says: ' Their excess was shocking, and in nothing more condemnable than in the dangers they brought on the liberty of the press.' This evil was chiefly due to ' the spirit of the Court, which aimed at despotism, and the daring attempts of Lord Mansfield to stifle the liberty of the press. His innovations had given such an alarm that scarce a jury would find the rankest satire libellous.' Memoirs of the Rctg^i of George III, iv. 167. Smollett in Humphrey Clinker (published in 1771) makes Mr. Bramble write, in his letter of June 2 : ' The public papers are become the infamous vehicles of the most cruel and perfidious defamation ; every rancorous knave — every desperate incendiar\-, that can afford to spend half-a-crown or three shillings, may skulk behind the press of a newsmonger, and have a stab at the first character in the kingdom, without running the least hazard of detection or pun- ishment.' The scribblers who had of late shewn their petulance were This Aetat.39.j Williavt Guthrie. 135 This important article of the Gentiema?is Magazine was, for several years, executed by Mr. William Guthrie, a man who deser\'es to be respectably recorded in the literary annals of this country. He was descended of an ancient family in Scotland; but having a small patrimony, and being an adherent of the unfortunate house of Stuart, he could not accept of any office in the state ; he therefore came to Lon- don, and employed his talents and learning as an 'Authour b)' profession'.' His writings in histor)', criticism, and poli- ticks, had considerable merit ^ He was the first English historian who had recourse to that authentick source of information, the Parliamentary Journals; and such was the power of his political pen, that, at an early period. Govern- ment thought it worth their while to keep it quiet by a pen- sion, which he enjoyed till his death. Johnson esteemed him enousrh to wash that his life should be written'. The debates not always obscure. Such scurrilous but humorous pieces as Proba- tionary Odes for tlic Laurrah's/iip, The Rolliad, and Royal Recollections, which were all published while Boswell was writing The Life of John- son, were written, there can be little doubt, by men of position. In the first of the three (p. 27) Boswell is ridiculed. He is made to say; — ' I know Mulgrave is a bit of a poet as well as myself; for I dined in company once where he dined that ver)- day twelvemonth.' This evil of libelling had extended to America. Benjamin Franklin {Me- moirs, i. 148), writing in 1784, says that 'libelling and personal abuse have of late years become so disgraceful to our countn'. Many of our printers make no scruple of gratifying the malice of individuals by false accusations of the fairest characters.' ' Boswell perhaps refers to a book published in 1758, called T/ie Case of Authors by Profession. Gent. Mag. xxviii. 1 30. Guthrie applies the term to himself in the letter below. • How much poetry he wrote, I know not : but he informed me. that he was the authour of the beautiful little piece. The Eagle and Robin Redbreast, in the collection of poems entitled The Union, though it is there said to be w'ritten by Archibald Scott, before the year 1600. Boswell. Mr. P. Cunningham has seen a letter of Jos. Warton's which states that this poem was written by his brother Tom, who edited the volume. Croker. ' Dr. A. Carlyle in his Autobiography (p. 191) describes a curious scene that he witnessed in the British Coffee-house. A Captain in 1 36 William Giil/irie. [a.d. 1738. in Parliament, which were brought home and digested by Guthrie, whose memory, though surpassed by others who have since followed him in the same department, was yet very quick and tenacious, were sent by Cave to Johnson for his revision' ; and, after some time, when Guthrie had Cheap ' was employed by Lord Anson to look out for a proper person to write his voyage. Cheap had a predilection for his countrymen, and having heard of Guthrie, he had come down to the coflee-house to inquire about him. Not long after Cheap had sat down, Guthrie arrived, dressed in laced clothes, and talking loud to everybody, and soon fell awrangling with a gentleman about tragedy and comedy and the unities, cS:c., and laid down the law' of the drama in a peremptory manner, supporting his arguments with cursing and swearing. I saw Cheap was astonished, when, going to the bar, he asked who this was, and finding it was Guthrie he paid his cofTee and slunk off in silence.' Guthrie's meanness is shown by the following letter in D'Israeli's Calainities of Authors, i. 5 : — 'June 3, 1762. • My Lord, ' In the year 1745-6 Mr. Pelham, then First Lord of the Treas- ury, acquainted me that it was his Majesty's pleasure I should receive till better provided for, which never has happened, 200/. a year, to be paid by him and his successors in the Treasur}'. I was satisfied with the august name made use of, and the appointment has been regularly and quarterly paid me ever since. I have been equally punctual in doing the Government all the services that fell within my abilities or sphere of life, especially in those critical situations that call for una- nimity in the service of the Crown. ' Your Lordship may possibly now suspect that I am an Author by profession ; you are not deceived ; and will be less so, if you believe that I am disposed to serve his Majesty under your Lordship's future patronage and protection with greater zeal, if possible, than ever. ' I have the honour to be my Lord &c. 'William Guthrie.' The lord's name is not given. See post, spring of 1768, and 1780 in Mr. Langton's Collection for further mention of Guthrie. ' Perhaps there were Scotticisms for Johnson to correct ; for Churchill in Tlic Atithor, writing of Guthrie, asks : — ' With rude unnatural jargon to support Half Scotch, half English, a declining Court Is there not Guthrie ?' Churchill's Poetns, u. aq, actained Aetat.29.J LoNDON, A PoEM. 1 37 attained to greater variety of employment, and the speeches were more and more enriched by the accession of Johnson's genius, it was resolved that he should do the whole himself, from the scanty notes furnished by persons employed to attend in both houses of Parliament. Sometimes, however, as he himself told me, he had nothing more communicated to him than the names of the several speakers, and the part which they had taken in the debate'. Thus was Johnson employed during some of the best years of his life, as a mere literary labourer ' for gain, not glory',' solely to obtain an honest support. He however indulged himself in occasional little sallies, which the French so hap- pily express by the term Jcitx d' esprit, and which will be noticed in their order, in the progress of this work. But what first displayed his transcendent powers, and 'gave the world assurance of the Man',' was his London, a Poem, in Imitation of the Third Satire of Juvenal : which came out in May this year, and burst forth with a splendour, the rays of which will for ever encircle his name. Boileau had imitated the same satire with great success, applying it to Paris; but an attentive comparison will satisfy every reader, that he is much excelled by the English Juvenal. Oldham had also imitated it, and applied it to London ; all which performances concur to prove, that great cities, in every age, and in every country, will furnish similar topicks of satire\ Whether Johnson had previously read Oldham's imitation, I do not know ; but it is not a little remarkable, ' See Appendix A. * Pope, Imitations of Horace, \\. i. 71. ' ' To give the world assurance of a man.' Hainlct, Act iii. sc. 4. * In his Life of Pope Johnson says : ' This mode of imitation . . . was first practised in the reign of Charles II. by Oldham and Roches- ter; at least I remember no instances more ancient. It is a kind of middle composition between translation and original design, which pleases when the thoughts are unexpectedly applicable and the paral- lels lucky. It seems to have been Pope's favourite amusement, for he has carried it farther than any former poet.' Johnson's Works, viii. 295. that Oldham. 138 Oldham and yohnson cotnpared. [a.d. 1738. that there is scarcely any coincidence found between the two performances, though upon the very same subject. The only instances are, in describing London as the sink of for- eign worthlcssness : * the common shore. Where I'Vance does all her filth and ordure pour.' Oldham. 'The common shore of Paris and of Rome." Johnson. and, ' No calling or profession comes amiss, A needy monsieur can be what he please.' 'All sciences -^ fasting monsieur knows.' Johnson. The particulars which Oldham has collected, both as ex- hibiting the horrours of London, and of the times, contrasted with better days, are different from those of Johnson, and in general well chosen, and well exprest'. There are, in Oldham's imitation, many prosaick verses and bad rhymes, and his poem sets out with a strange inad- vertent blunder : 'Tho' much concem'd to leave my dear old friend, I must, however, his design commend Of fixing in the country .' ' I own it pleased me to find amongst them one trait of the manners of the age in London, in the last century, to shield from the sneer of English ridicule, which was some time ago too common a practice in my native city of Edinburgh : — 'If what I've said can't from the town affright, Consider other dangers of the night ; When brickbats are from upper stories thrown, And emptied chamberpots come pouring down From garret windows.' BOSWELL. See Boswell's Hebrides, Aug. 14, 1773, where Johnson, on taking his first walk in Edinburgh, 'grumbled in Boswell's ear, " I smell you in the dark." ' I once spent a night in a town of Corsica, on the great road between Ajaccio and Bastia, where, I was told, this Edinburgh practice was universal. It certainly was the practice of the hotel. It Aetat. 39.] The publication of London. 139 It is plain he was not going to leave h\s friend; his friend was going to leave him. A young lady at once corrected this with good critical sagacity, to 'The' much concern'd to lose my dear old friend.' There is one passage in the original, better transfused by Oldham than by Johnson : * JVil habet infelix pmipertas dtirius in se, Qudm quod ridiculos ho^nines facit ;' which is an exquisite remark on the galling meanness and contempt annexed to poverty: JOHNSON'S imitation is, 'Of all the griefs that harass the distrest, Sure the most bitter is a scornful jest.' Oldham's, though less elegant, is more just : * Nothing in poverty so ill is borne, As its exposing men to grinning scorn.' Where, or in what manner this poem was composed, I am sorry that I neglected to ascertain with precision, from John- son's own authority. He has marked upon his corrected copy of the first edition of it, 'Written in 1738;' and, as it was published in the month of May in that year, it is evident that much time was not employed in preparing it for the press. The history of its publication I am enabled to give in a very satisfactory manner ; and judging from myself, and many of my friends, I trust that it will not be uninteresting to my readers. We may be certain, though it is not expressly named in the following letters to Mr. Cave, in 1738, that they all relate to it : 'To Mr. Cave. 'Castle-street, Wednesday Morning. [No date. 1738.] •Sir, ' When I took the liberty of writing to you a few days ago, I did not expect a repetition of the same pleasure so soon : for a pleasure I shall always think it, to converse in any manner with an ingenious and candid man; but having the inclosed poem in my 140 Johnson s letters to Cave. [a.i-. ithr my hands to dispose of for the benefit of the aiithour (of whose abilities I shall say nothing, since I send you his performance,) I believed I could not procure more advantageous terms from any person than from you, who have so much distinguished yourself by your generous encouragement of poetry ; and whose judgment of that art nothing but your commendation of my trifle' can gi\e me any occasion to call in question. 1 do not doubt but you will look over this poem with another eye, and reward it in a different manner, from a mercenary bookseller, who counts the lines he is to purchase', and considers nothing but the bulk. I cannot help taking notice, that, besides what the authour may hope for on ac- count of his abilities, he has likewise another claim to your regard, as he lies at present under very disadvantageous circumstances of fortune. I beg, therefore, that you will favour me with a letter to- morrow, that I may know what you can afford to allow him, that he may either part with it to you, or find out, (which 1 do not ex- pect,) some other way more to his satisfaction. ' I have only to add, that as I am sensible I have transcribed it very coarsely, which, after having altered it, I was obliged to do, I will, if you please to transmit the sheets from the press, correct it for you ; and take the trouble of altering any stroke of satire which you may dislike. ' By exerting on this occasion your usual generosity, you will not only encourage learning, and relieve distress, but (though it be in comparison of the other motives of very small account) oblige in a very sensible manner, Sir, ' Your very humble servant, ' Sam. Johnson.' ♦To Mr. Cave. ' Monday, No. 6. Castle-street. •Sir, 'I am to return you thanks for the present you were so kind as to send by me', and to intreat that you will be pleased to in- form me by the penny- post*, whether you resolve to print the » His Ode Ad Urbanum probably. Nichols. Boswell. * Johnson, on his death-bed, had to own that ' Cave was a penurious paymaster ; he would contract for Hnes by the hundred, and expect the long hundred.' See/dJi-/, Dec. 1784. ^ Cave sent the present by Johnson to the unknown author. * See post, p. 151, note 5. poem. Aetat. 29.] Johnsons letters to Cave. 141 poem. If you please to send it me by the post, witli a note to Dodsley, I will go and read the lines to him, that we may have his consent to put his name in the title-page. As to the printing, if it can be set immediately about, I will be so much the authour's friend, as not to content myself with mere solicitations in his fa- vour. I propose, if my calculation be near the truth, to engage for the reimbursement of all that you shall lose by an impression of 500 ; provided, as you very generously propose, that the profit, if any, be set aside for the authour's use, excepting the present you made, which, if he be a gainer, it is fit he should repay. I ber:: that you will let one of your servants write an exact account of the expense of such an impression, and send it with the poem, that I may know what I engage for. I am very sensible, from your generosity on this occasion, of your regard to learning, even in its unhappiest state , and cannot but think such a temper deserving of the gratitude of those who suffer so often from a contrary dis- position. I am. Sir, ' Your most humble servant, ' Sam. Johnson'.' 'To Mr. Cave. [No da/e\] 'Sir, ' I waited on you to take the copy to Dodsley's : as I remem- ber the number of lines which it contains, it will be no longer than Eugenio^, with the quotations, which must be subjoined at the bot- tom of the page ; part of the beauty of the performance (if any beauty be allowed it) consisting in adapting Juvenal's sentiments to modern facts and persons. It will, with those additions, very conveniently make five sheets. And since the expense will be no ' The original letter has the following additional paragraph : — ' I beg that you will not delay your answer.' ' In later life Johnson strongly insisted on the importance of fully dating all letters. After giving the date in a letter to Mrs. Thrale, he would add. — ' Now there is a date, look at it ' {Piozzi Letters, ii. 109) ; or, ' Mark that— you did not put the year to your last ' {lb. p. 1 1::) ; or, 'Look at this and learn ' (lb. p. 138). She never did learn. The ar- rangement of the letters in the Piozzi Letters is often very faulty. For an omission of the date by Johnson in late life see fost, under March 5, 1774. ' A poem, published in 1737, of which see an account under April 30, 1773. BOSWELL. more. 142 Mrs. Carter. [a. d. 1738. more, I shall contentedly insure it, as I mentioned in my last. If it be not therefore gone to Dodsley's, I beg it may be sent me by the penny-post, that I may have it in the evening. I have com- posed a Greek epigram to Eliza', and think she ought to be cele- brated in as many different languages as Lewis le (irand'. Pray send me word when you will begin upon the poem, for it is a long way to walk. I would leave my Epigram, but have not daylight to transcribe it'. I am, Sir, * Your's, &c., ' Sam. Johnson*.' ' The learned Mrs. Elizabeth Carter. Hoswell. She was born Dec. 1 717, and died Feb. 19, 1806. She never married. Her father gave her a learned education. Dr. Johnson, speaking of some cele- brated scholar [perhaps Langton J, said, 'that he understood Greek better than any one whom he had ever known, except Elizabeth Carter.' Pennington's Carter, i. 13. Writing to her in 1756 he said, ' Poor dear Cave ! I owed him much ; for to him I owe that I have known you ' {lb. p. 40). Her father wrote to her on June 25, 1738: — ' You mention Johnson ; but that is a name with which I am utterly unacquainted. Neither his scholastic, critical, or poetical character ever reached my ears. I a little suspect his judgment, if he is very fond of Martial ' {lb. p. 39). Since 1734 she had written verses for the Gettf. Mag. under the name of Eliza {lb. p. 37). They are very poor. Her Ode to Melancholy her biographer calls her best. How bad it is three lines will show ; — ' Here, cold to pleasure's airy forms, Consociate with my sister worms. And mingle with the dead.' Gent. A fag. ix. 599. Hawkins records that Johnson, upon hearing a lady commended for her learning, said :— ' A man is in general better pleased when he has a good dinner upon his table than when his wife talks Greek. My old friend, Mrs. Carter, could make a pudding as well as translate Epictetus.' Johnson's Works ( 1787), xi. 205. Johnson, joining her with Hannah More and Fanny Burney, said : — ' Three such women are not to be found.' Post, May 15, 1784. * See Voltaire's Steele de Louts XIV, ch. xxv. ' At the end of his letter to Cave, quoted post, 1742, he says : — ' The boy found me writing this almost in the dark, when I could not quite easily read yours.' A man who at times was forced to walk the streets, for want of money to pay for a lodging, was likely also at times to be condemned to idleness for want of a light. * At the back of this letter is wxitten ;— -' Sir, Please to publish the 'To Aetat. 29.] Negotiations with Dodsley. 143 ' To Mr. Cave. S^No date.] 'Sir, ' I am extremely obliged by your kind letter, and will not fail to attend you to-morrow with Ire?ie, who looks upon you as one of her best friends. ' I was to day with Mr. Dodsley, who declares very warmly in favour of the paper you sent him, which he desires to have a share in, it being, as he says, a creditable thing to be concerned in. I knew not what answer to make till I had consulted you, nor what to de- mand on the authour's part, but am very willing that, if you please, he should have a part in it, as he will undoubtedly be more diligent to disperse and promote it. If you can send me word to-morrow what I shall say to him, I will settle matters, and bring the poem with me for the press, which, as the town empties, we cannot be too quick with. I am, Sir, ' Your's, &c., ' Sam. Johnson.' To us who have long known the manly force, bold spirit, and masterly versification of this poem, it is a matter of curiosity to observe the diffidence with which its authour brought it forward into publick notice, while he is so cau- tious as not to avow it to be his own production ; and with what humility he offers to allow the printer to ' alter any stroke of satire which he might dislike'.' That any such alteration was made, we do not know. If we did, we could not but feel an indignant regret ; but how painful is it to see that a writer of such vigorous powers of mind was actually in such distress, that the small profit which so short a poem, however excellent, could yield, was courted as a 'relief.' It has been generally said, I know not with what truth, that Johnson offered his London to several booksellers, none enclosed in your paper of first, and place to ace* of Mr. Edward Cave. For whom I am, Sir, your hum. ser' J. Bland. St. John's Gate, April 6, 1738.' Lcmdofi therefore was written before April 6. ' Boswell misread the letter. Johnson does not offer to allow the printer to make alterations. He says : — ' I will take the trouble of altering any stroke of satire which you may dislike.' The law against libel was as unjust as it was severe, and printers ran a great risk. of 144 Payme7it for London. [a.d. 1738. of whom would purchase it. To this circumstance Mr. Der- rick alludes in the following lines of his Foriiow, a Rhapsody. ' Will no kind patron Johnson own ? Shall JoHNS(jN friendless range the town? And every publisher refuse The offspring of his happy Muse ' .'" But we have seen that the worthy, modest, and ingenious Mr. Robert Dodsley" had taste enough to perceive its un- common merit, and thought it creditable to have a share in it. The fact is, that, at a future conference, he bargained for the whole property of it, for which he gave Johnson ten guineas'; who told me, 'I might, perhaps, have accepted of less ; but that Paul Whitehead had a little before got ten guineas for a poem and I would not take less than Paul Whitehead.' I may here observe, that Johnson appeared to me to undervalue Paul Whitehead upon every occasion when he was mentioned, and, in my opinion, did not do him justice; but when it is considered that Paul Whitehead was a mem- ber of a riotous and profane club*, we may account for Johnson's having a prejudice against him. Paul Whitehead was, indeed, unfortunate in being not only slighted by ' Derrick was not merely a poet, but also Master of the Ceremonies at Bath ; post, May i6, 1763. For Johnson's opinion of his ' Muse ' see post, under March 30, 1783. FortH7ie, a Rhapsody, wa.?, published in Nov. 1 75 1. Gent. Mag. xxi. 527. He is described in Humphrey Clinker in the letters of April 6 and May 6. "^ See post, March 20, 1776. * Six years later Johnson thus wrote of Savage's Wanderer: — ' From a poem so diligently laboured, and so successfully finished, it might be reasonably expected that he should have gained considerable ad- vantage ; nor can it without some degree of indignation and concern be tf)ld, that he sold the copy for ten guineas.' Johnson's Works, viii. 131. Mrs. Piozzi sold in 1788 the copyright of her collection of John- son's Letters for /500; post, Feb. 1767. * The Monks of Medmenham Abbey. See Almon's Life of Wilkes. iii. 60, for Wilkes's account of this club. Horace Walpole {Letters, \, 92) calls Whitehead ' an infamous, but not despicable poet.' Jolmson, Aetat.29.] Paul Whitehead. 145 Johnson, but violently attacked by Churchill, who utters the following imprecation : ' May I (can worse disgrace on manhood fall ?) Be born a Whitehead, and baptiz'd a Paul ' !' yet I shall never be persuaded to think meanly of the authour of so brilliant and pointed a satire as Manners'*. Johnson's London was published in May 1738'; and it is ■ From The Coftference, Churchill's Poems, ii. 15. * In the Life of Pope Johnson writes : — ' Paul Whitehead, a small poet, was summoned before the Lords for a poem called Manners, together with Dodsley his publisher. Whitehead, who hung loose upon society, sculked and escaped ; but Dodsley 's shop and family made his appearance necessar)'.' Johnson's \Vorks,v\\\. 297. Alanners was published in 1739. Dodsley was kept in custody for a week. Gent. Mag. ix. 104. ' The whole process was supposed to be intended rather to intimidate Pope [who in his Seventeen Hundred and T/u'rty- Etght had given offence] than to punish Whitehead, and it answered that purpose.' Chalmers, quoted in Pari. Hist. x. 1325. ^ Sir John Hawkins, p. 86, tells us : — ' The event is antedated, in the poem of London ; but in every particular, except the difference of a year, what is there said of the departure of Thales, must be under- stood of Savage, and looked upon as true history.' This conjecture is, I believe, entirely groundless. I have been assured, that Johnson said he was not so much as acquainted with Savage when he wrote his London. If the departure mentioned in it was the departure of Savage, the event was not antedated but foreseen ; for London was published in May 1738, and Savage did not set out for Wales till July 1739. However well Johnson could defend the credibility of second sight [see/oj-/, Feb. 1766], he did not pretend that he himself was pos- sessed of that faculty. Boswell. I am not sure that Hawkins is altogether wrong in his account. Boswell does not state of his own knoTuledge that Johnson was not acquainted with Savage when he wrote London. The death of Queen Caroline in Nov. 1737 deprived Savage of her yearly bounty, and 'abandoned him again to fortune ' (Johnson's Works, viii. 166). The elegy on her that he composed on her birth-day (March i) brought him no reward. He was 'for some time in suspense,' but nothing was done. ' He was in a short time reduced to the lowest degree of distress, and often wanted both lodging and food' (/^. p. 169). His friends formed a scheme that 'he should retire into Wales.' 'While this scheme was ripening,' he lodged ' in the liberties of the Fleet, that he might be secure from his I. — 10 remarkable. 146 PVas Richard Savage Thales? [a.d. 1738. remarkable, that it came out on the same mornin g with. creditors' {lb. p. 170). After many delays a subscription was at length raised to provide him with a small pension, and he left London in July 1739 ( /^. p. 173). London, as I have shewn, was written before April 6, 1738. That it was written with great rapidity we might mfer from the fact that a hundred lines of The Va)iiiy of Human Wishes were written in a day. At this rate London might have been the work of three days. That it was written in a very short time seems to be shown by a passage in the first of these letters to Cave. Johnson says : — ' When I took the liberty of writing to you a few days ago, I did not expect a repetition of the same pleasure so soon ; . . . but having the enclosed poem, &c.' It is probable that in these few days the poem was written. If we can assume that Savage's elegy was sent to the Court not later than March i — it may have been sent earlier — and that Johnson's poem was written in the last ten days of March, we have three weeks for the interv^ening events. They arc certainly not more than sufficient, if indeed they are sufficient. The coincidence is certainly very striking between Thales's retirement to ' Cambria's solitary shore ' and Savage's retirement to Wales. There are besides lines in the poem — additions to Juvenal and not transla- tions — which curiously correspond with what Johnson wrote of Sav- age in his L/ff. Thus he says that Savage ' imagined that he should be transported to scenes of flowery felicity ; ... he could not bear . . . to lose the opportunity of listening, without intermission, to the mel- ody of the nightingale, which he believed was to be heard from every bramble, and which he did not fail to mention as a very important part of the happiness of a country life ' {3. p. 170). In like manner Thales prays to find : — ' Some pleasing bank where verdant osiers play. Some peaceful vale, with nature's paintings gay. There every bush with nature's musick rings ; There every breeze bears health upon its wings.' Mr. Croker objects that ' if Thales had been Savage, Johnson could never have admitted into his poem two lines that point so forcibly at the drunken fray, in which Savage stabbed a Mr. Sinclair, for which he was convicted of vturder : — " Some frolic drwikard, reeling from a feast, Provokes a broil, and stabs you in a jest." ' But here Johnson is following Juvenal. Mr. Croker forgets that, if Savage was convicted of murder, ' he was soon after admitted to bail, and pleaded the Kiug's pardon.' ' Persons of distinction ' testified that he was ' a modest inoffensive man, not inclined to broils or to in- Pope's Aetat. 29.J General Oglethorpe. 147 Pope's satire. entitledJ^2Z3^' • ' so that England had at once its Juvenal and Horace'' as poetical monitors. The Rever- end Dr. Douglas, now Bishop of Salisbury, to whom I am indebted for some obliging communications, was then a stu- dent at Oxford, and remembers well the effect which London produced. Every body was delighted with it ; and there being no name to it, the first buz of the literary circles was 'here is an unknown poet, greater even than Pope.' And it is recorded in the Gentlonans Magazine of that year', that it 'got to the second edition in the course of a week.' One of the warmest patrons of this poem on its first appearance was General Oglethorpe, whose 'strong benevo- lence of souT,' was unabated during the course of a very science ;' the witnesses against him were of the lowest character, and his judge had shewn himself as ignorant as he was brutal. Sinclair had been drinking in a brothel, and Savage asserted that he had stabbed him ' by the necessity of self defence ' {lb. p. 1 17). It is, how- ever, not unlikely that Wales was suggested to Johnson as Thales's retreat by Swift's lines on Steele, in Miscellanies in Prose and Verse (v. 181), published only three years before Londo7i : — ' Thus Steele who owned what others writ, And flourished by imputed wit. From perils of a hundred jails Withdrew to starve and die in Wales.' ' The first dialogue was registered at Stationers' Hall, 12th May, 1738, under the title One Thousand Seven Hundred a7id Thirty Eight. The second dialogue was registered 17th July, 1738, as Otie Thousand Seven Hundred and Thirty Eight, Dialogue 2. Elwin's Pope. iii. 455. David Hume was in London this spring, finding a publisher for his first work, A Treatise of Human Nature. J. H. Burton's Hiwte, i. 66. " Pope had published Imitations of Horace. ^ P. 269. BoswELL. ' Short extracts from London, a Poem, become remarkable for having got to the second edition in the space of a week.' Gent. Mag. viii. 269. The price of the poem was one shilling. Pope's satire, though sold at the same price, was longer in reaching its second edition {lb. p. 280). * ' One driven by strong benevolence of soul Shall fly, like Oglethorpe, from pole to pole.' Pope's hnitatiotis of Horace, ii. 2. 276. 'General Oglethorpe, died 1785, earned commemoration in Pope's gallery of worthies by his Jacobite politics. He was, however, a re- long 148 General Oglethorpe. [a.l>. 1738. long life' ; though it is painful to think, that he had but too much reason to become cold and callous, and discontented with the world, from the neglect which he experienced of his publick and private worth, by those in whose power it was to gratify so gallant a veteran with marks of distinction. This extraordinary person was as remarkable for his learning and taste, as for his other eminent qualities; and no man was more prompt, active, and generous, in encouraging merit. 1 have heard Johnson gratefully acknowledge, in his presence, the kind and effectual support which he gave to his London, though unacquainted with its authour. Pope, who then filled the poetical throne without a ri\al. it may reasonably be presumed, must ha\c been particularl)' markable man. He first directed attention to the abuses of the Lon- don jails. His relinquishment of all the attractions of English life and fortune for the settlement of the colony of Georgia is as romantic: a story as that of Bishop Berkeley* (Pattisons Popi',\). 152). It is very likely that Johnson's regard for Oglethorpe was greatly increased by the stand that he and his brother -trustees in the settlement of Georgia made against slavery (see post, Sept. 23, 1777 ). 'The first principle which they laid down in their laws was that no slave should be employed. This was regarded at the time as their great and fun- damental error; it was afterwards repealed' iSouthey's frV.v/n', i. 75). In spite, however, of Oglethorpe's ' strong benevolence of soul ' he at one time treated Charles Wesley, who was serving as a missionary' in Georgia, with great brutality {lb. p. 88). According to Benjamin Franklin (Memoirs, i. 162) Georgia was settled with little forethought. ' Instead of being made with hardy industrious husbandmen, it was with families of broken shop-keepers, and other insolvent debtors ; many of idle habits, taken out of the jails, who being set down in the woods, unqualified for clearing land, and unable to endure the hard- ships of a new settlement, perished in numbers, leaving many helpless children unprovided for.' Johnson wished to write Oglethorpe's life; post, April 10, 1775. I Horace Walpole {Letters, viii. 548), writing of him 47 years after London was published, when he was 87 years old, says :— • His eyes, ears, articulation, limbs, and memory would suit a boy, if a boy could recollect a century backwards. His teeth are gone; he is a shadow, and a wrinkled one; but his spirits and his spirit are in full bloom: two years and a-half ago he challenged a neighbouring gentleman for trespassing on his manor.' struck Aetat. 39.] Pope admires London. 149 struck by the sudden appearance of such a poet ; and, to his credit, let it be remembered, that his feelings and con- duct on the occasion were candid and liberal. He requested Mr. Richardson, son of the painter', to endeavour to find out who this new authour was. Mr. Richardson, after some inquiry, having informed him that he had discovered only that his name was Johnson, and that he was some obscure man, Pope said, 'he will soon be dcterrc'." We shall pres- ently see, from a note written by Pope, that he was himself afterwards more successful in his inquiries than his friend. That in this justly-celebrated poem may be found a few rhymes^ which the critical precision of English prosody at this day would disallow, cannot be denied ; but with this small imperfection, which in the general blaze of its excel- lence is not perceived, till the mind has subsided into cool attention, it is, undoubtedly, one of the noblest productions in our language, both for sentiment and expression. The nation was then in that ferment against the court and the ' ' Once Johnson being at dinner at Sir Joshua's in company with many painters, in the course of conversation Richardson's Treatise on Painting happened to be mentioned. " Ah !" said Johnson. " I re- member, when I was at college, I by chance found that book on my stairs. I took it up with me to my chamber, and read it through, and truly I did not think it possible to say so much upon the art." Sir Joshua desired of one of the company to be informed what John- son had said ; and it being repeated to him so loud that Johnson heard it, the Doctor seemed hurt, and added, " But I did not wish, Sir, that Sir Joshua should have been told what I then said." ' North- cote's Reynolds, i. 236. Jonathan Richardson the painter had published several works on painting before Johnson went to college. He and his son, Jonathan Richardson, junior, brought out together Explana- tory Notes on Paradise Lost. * Sir Joshua Reynolds, from the information of the younger Richard- son. BoswELL. See post, Oct. 16, 1769, where John.son himself re- lates this anecdote. According to Murphy, ' Pope said, " The author, whoever he is, will not be long concealed ;" alluding to the passage in Terence \Eun. ii. 3, 4], Ubi, ubi est, diu celari non potest.' Murphy's yohnson, p. 35. ' Such as far and air, which comes twice ; vain and man, despair and bar. ministry 15° Johnson a 'trite-born Jinghshman. [a. d. 1738. ministry, which some years after ended in the downfall of Sir Robert Walpole ; and as it has been said, that Tories are Whigs when out of place, and Whigs, Tories when in place: so, as a Whig administration ruled with what force it could, a Tory opposition had all the animation and all the elo- quence of resistance to power, aided by the common topicks of patriotism, liberty, and independence ! Accordingly, we find in Johnson's London the most spirited invectives against tyranny and oppression, the warmest predilection for his own country, and the purest love of virtue; interspersed with traits of his own particular character and situation, not omit- ting his prejudices as a 'true-born Englishman',' "ot only against foreign countries, but against Ireland and Scotland'. On some of these topicks I shall quote a few passages: ' The cheated nation's happy fav'rites see ; Mark whom the great caress, who frown on me.' * Has heaven reserv'd in pity to the poor. No pathless waste, or undiscover'd shore ? No secret island in the boundless main ? No peaceful desart yet unclaim'd by Spain ? ' It is, however, remarkable, that he uses the epithet, which un- doubtedly, since the union between England and Scotland, ought to denominate the natives of both parts of our island : — 'Was early taught a Briton's rights to prize.' Boswell. Swift, in his Journal to Stella (Nov. 23, 171 1), having to mention England, continues: — 'I never will call it Britain, pray don't call it Britain.' In a letter written on Aug. 8, 1738, again mentioning Eng- land, he adds, — ' Pox on the modern phrase Great Britain, which is only to distinguish it from Little Britain, where old clothes and old books are to be bought and sold' (Swift's Works, 1803, xx. 185). George III 'gloried in being born a Briton;' post, 1760. Boswell thrice more at least describes Johnson as 'a true-born Englishman;' post, under Feb. 7, 1775. under March 30, 1783, and Boswell's Hebrides under Aug. 11, 1773. The quotation is from Richard II, Act i. sc. 3. * ' For who would leave, unbrib'd, Hibernia's land, Or change the rocks of Scotland for the Strand } There none are swept by sudden fate away. But all, whom hunger spares, with age decay.' London, 1. 9-12. Quick Aetat.29.] Sir Robert Walpole. 151 Quick let us rise, the happy seats explore, And bear Oppression's insolence no more'.' ' How, when competitors like these contend. Can surly Virtue hope to fix a friend ?' ' This mournful truth is every where confess'd. Slow rises worth, by poverty depress'd'!' We may easily conceive with what feeling a great mind like his, cramped and galled by narrow circumstances, uttered this last line, which he marked by capitals. The whole of the poem is eminently excellent, and there are in it such proofs of a knowledge of the world, and of a mature acquaintance with life, as cannot be contemplated without wonder, when we consider that he was then only in his twenty-ninth year, and had yet been so little in the 'busy haunts of men'.' Yet, while we admire the poetical excellence of this poem, candour obliges us to allow, that the flame of patriotism and zeal for popular resistance with which it is fraught, had no / -Y- just cause. There was, in truth, no * oppression ; ' the ' nation ' / " f^ was not ' cheated.' Sir Robert Walpole was a wise and 3 1 ,rf'^ benevolent minister, who thought that the happiness and ' prosperity of a commercial country like ours, would be best ' In the Life of Savage, Johnson, criticising the settlement of colo- nies, as it is considered by the poet and the politician, seems to be criticising himself. ' The politician, when he considers men driven into other countries for shelter, and obliged to retire to forests and deserts, and pass their lives, and fix their posterity, in the remotest corners of the world, to avoid those hardships which they suffer or fear in their native place, may very properly enquire, why the legisla- ture does not provide a remedy for these miseries, rather than encour- age an escape from them. He may conclude that the flight of every honest man is a loss to the community. . . . The poet guides the un- happy fugitive from want and persecution to plenty, quiet, and secur- ity, and seats him in scenes of peaceful solitude, and undisturbed repose.' Johnson's Works, \\\\. 1^6. ^ Three years later Johnson wrote : — ' Mere unassisted merit ad- vances slowly, -', what is not very common, it advances at all.' lb. vi. 393- * 'The busy hum of men.' Milton's L' Allegro, 1. 118. promoted 152 Hardships of writing for bread, [a. d. 1738. promoted by peace, which he accordingly niaiiitaiiicd, witli credit, during a very long period. Johnson himself after- wards honestly acknowledged the merit of W'alpole, w hom he called 'a fixed star;' while he characterized his oppo- nent, Pitt, as 'a meteor^.' But Johnson's juvenile poem was naturally impregnated with the fire of opposition, and upon every account was universally admired. Though thus elevated into fame, and conscious of uncom- mon powers, he had not that bustling confidence, or, I may rather say, that animated ambition, w hich one might have supposed would have urged him to endeavour at rising in life. But such was his inflexible dignity of character, that he could not stoop to court the great ; without w hich, hardh' any man has made his way to a high station". He could not expect to produce many such works as his London, and he felt the hardships of writing for bread ; he was, therefore, willing to resume the office of a schoolmaster, so as to have ' See Boswell's Hebrides, Oct. 21, 1773, and post, March 21. 1775, for Johnson's attack on Lord Chatham. In the Life of 'J'iwinson Johnson wrote : — ' At this time a long course of opposition to Sir Robert Wal- pole had filled the nation with clamours for liberty, of which no man felt the want, and with care for liberty, which was not in danger.' Johnson's Works, viii. 370. Hawkins says (Life. p. 514) : — ' Of Walpole he had a high opinion. He said of him that he was a fine fellow, and that his very enemies deemed him so before his death. He honcjured his memory for having kept this country in peace many years, as also for the goodness and placability of his temper.' Horace Walpole {Letters v. 509), says : — ' My father alone was capable of acting on one great plan of honesty from the beginning of his life to the end. He could for ever wage war with knaves and malice, and preserv^e his temper; could know men, and yet feel for them; could smile when opposed, and be gentle after triumph.' 'Johnson in the Life of Milton describes himself: — 'Milton was naturally a thinker for himself, confident of his own abilities, and dis- dainful of help or hindrance. From his contemporaries he neither courted nor received support; there is in his writings nothing by which the pride of other authors might be gratified, or favour gained ; no exchange of praise, nor solicitation of support." Johnson's Works, vii. 142. See post, Feb. 1766, for Johnson's opinion on 'courting great men.' a sure, Aetat. 29.] Appleby ScJiool. 153 a sure, though moderate income for his life ; and an offer being made to him of the mastership of a school', provided ' In a billet written by Mr. Pope in the following year, this school is said to have been in Shropshire ; but as it appears from a letter from Earl Gower, that the trustees of it were ' some worthy gentlemen in Johnson's neighbourhood,' I in my lirst edition suggested that Pope must have, by mistake, written Shropshire, instead of Staffordshire. But I have since been obliged to Mr. Spearing, attorney-at-law, for the following information : — ' William Adams, formerly citizen and haberdasher of London, founded a school at Newport, in the county of Salop, by deed dated 27th November, 1656, by which he granted " the yearly sum of sixty pounds to such able and learned schoolmaster from time to time, being of godly life and conversation, who should have been educated at one of the Universities of Oxford or Cam- bridge, and had taken the degree of Master of Arts, and was well read in the Greek and Latin tongues, as should be nominated from time to time by the said William Adams, during his life, and after the decease of the said William Adams, by the Governours {namely, the Master and Wardens of the Haberdashers' Company of the City of London) and their successors." The manour and lands out of which the reve- nues for the maintenance of the school were to issue are situate at Kttighton and Adbaston, in the cotmty of Stafford.' From the fore- going account of this foundation, particularly the circumstances of the salary being sixty pounds, and the degree of Master of Arts being a requisite qualification in the teacher, it seemed probable that this was the school in contemplation ; and that Lord Gower erroneously supposed that the gentlemen who possessed the lands, out of which the revenues issued, were trustees of the charity. Such was probable conjecture. But in the Gent. Mag. for May 1793, there is a letter from Mr. Henn, one of the masters of the school of Appleby, in Leicestershire, in which he writes as follows : — ' I compared time and circumstance together, in order to discover whether the school in question might not be this of Appleby. Some of the trustees at that period were " worthy gentlemen of the neigh- bourhood of Litchfield." Appleby itself is not far from the neigh- bourhood of Litchfield. The salary, the degree requisite, together with the time of e/ccfion, all agreeing with the statutes of Appleby. The election, as said in the letter, "could not be delayed longer than the nth of next month," which was the i ith of September, just three months after the annual audit-day of Appleby school, which is always on the nth of June; and the statutes enjoin iie itllins prceceptorum electio diutiits tribus mensibus nioraretur, etc. 'These I thought to be convincing proofs that my conjecture was he 154 ^cirl Gower's letter of rccommetidatiim. [a.d. 1738. he could obtain the degree of Master of Arts, Dr. Adams was applied to, by a common friend, to know whether that could be granted him as a favour from the University of Ox- ford. But though he had made such a figure in the literary world, it was then thought too great a favour to be asked. Pope, without any knowledge of him but from his London, recommended him to Earl Gower, who endeavoured to pro- cure for him a degree from Dublin, by the following letter to a friend of Dean Swift : ' Sir, ' Mr. Samuel Johnson (authour of London, a satire, and some other poetical pieces) is a native of this country, and much re- spected by some worthy gentlemen in his neighbourhood, who are trustees of a charity school now vacant ; the certain salary is sixty pounds a year, of which they are desirous to make him master ; but, unfortunately, he is not capable of receiving their bounty, which ivould tnake hitn happy for life, by not being a Master of Arts ; which, by the statutes of this school, the master of it must be. ' Now these gentlemen do me the honour to think that I have interest enough in you, to prevail upon you to write to Dean Swift, to persuade the University of Dublin to send a diploma to me, constituting this poor man Master of Arts in their University. not ill-founded, and that, in a future edition of that book, the circum- stance might be recorded as fact. ' But what banishes every shadow of doubt is the Minute-book of the school, which declares the headmastership to be at t/iat time VACANT." I cannot omit returning thanks to this learned gentleman for the very handsome manner in which he has in that letter been so good as to speak of this work. Boswell. Hawkins {Life, p. 6i) says that 'Johnson went to Appleby in Aug. 1738, and offered himself as a candidate for the mastership.' The date of 1738 seems to be Hawkins's inference. If Johnson went at all, it was in 1739. Pope, the friend of Swift, would not of course have sought Lord Gower's influence with Swift. He applied to his lordship, no doubt, as a great midland-county landowner, likely to have influence with the trustees. Why, when the difficulty about the degree of M.A. was discovered. Pope was not asked to solicit Swift cannot be known. See post, beginning of 1780 in Boswell's account of the Life of Swift. They Aetat. 29.] yokusoHS wisJi to practise law. 155 They highly extol the man's learning and probity; and will not be persuaded, that the University will make any difficulty of confer- ring such a favour upon a stranger, if he is recommended by the Dean. They say he is not afraid of the strictest examination, though he is of so long a journey ; and will venture it, if the Dean thinks it necessary; choosing rather to die upon the road, than be starved to death in tratislating for booksellers ; which has been his only subsistence for some time past. * 1 fear there is more difficulty in this affair, than those good- natured gentlemen apprehend ; especially as their election cannot be delayed longer than the nth of next month. If you see this matter in the same light that it appears to me, I hope you will burn this, and pardon me for giving you so much trouble about an im- practicable thing ; but, if you think there is a probability of obtain- ing the favour asked, I am sure your humanity, and propensity to relieve merit in distress, will incline you to serve the poor man, without my adding any more to the trouble I have already given you, than assuring you that I am, with great truth. Sir, ' Your faithful servant, ' GOWKR. 'Trentham, Aug. i, 1739.' It was, perhaps, no small disappointment to Johnson that this respectable application had not the desired effect ; yet how much reason has there been, both for himself and his country, to rejoice that it did not succeed, as he might prob- ably have wasted in obscurity those hours in which he after- wards produced his incomparable works. About this time he made one other effort to emancipate himself from the drudgery of authorship. He applied to Dr. Adams, to consult Dr. Smalbroke of the Commons, whether a person might be permitted to practise as an advocate there, without a doctor's degree in Civil Law. ' I am (said he) a total stranger to these studies ; but whatever is a profession, and maintains numbers, must be within the reach of com- mon abilities, and some degree of industry.' Dr. Adams was much pleased with Johnson's design to employ his talents in that manner, being confident he would have attained to great eminence. And, indeed, I cannot conceive a man better qualified to make a distinguished figure as a lawyer; for. he would 156 Paul Sarpis History. [a.d. 1T38. would have brought to his profession a rich store of various knowledge, an uncommon acuteness, and a command of lan- guage, in which few could have equalled, and none have surpassed him'. He who could display eloquence and wit in defence of the decision of the House of Commons upon Mr. Wilkes's election for Middlesex", and of the unconstitu- tional taxation of our fellow-subjects in America\ must have been a powerful advocate in any cause. But here, also, the want of a degree was an insurmountable bar. He was, therefore, under the necessity of jjcrsevcring in that course, into which he had been forced ; and we find, that his proposal from Greenwich to Mr. Cave, for a transla- tion of Father Paul Sarpi's Histor}', was accepted'. Some sheets of this translation were printed off, but the design was dropt ; for it happened, oddly enough, that ' 'What a pity it is, Sir,' said to hini Sir William Scott, afterwards Lord Stowell, ' that you did not follow the profession of the law ! You might have been Lord Chancellor of Great Britain.' Post, K^rW 17, 1778. " See post, beginning of 1770. ^ ScG^ post, March 21, 1775. * In the JVfcl'iy Miscellany. October 21, 1738, there appeared the following advertisement : — 'Just published, Proposals for printing the History of the Council of Trent, translated from the Italian of Father Paul Sarpi ; with the Authour's Life, and Notes theological, historical, and critical, from the French edition of Dr. Le Courayer. To which are added. Observations on the Histor)% and Notes and Illustrations from various Authours, both printed and manuscript. By S. Johnson. I. The work will consist of two hundred sheets, and be two volumes in quarto, printed on good paper and letter. 2. The price will be i8j. each volume, to be paid, half-a-guinea at the delivery of the first volume, and the rest at the delivery of the second volume in sheets. 3, Two-pence to be abated for every sheet less than two hundred. It may be had on a large paper, in three volumes, at the price of three guineas ; one to be paid at the time of subscribing, another at the de- livery of the first, and the rest at the delivery of the other volumes. The work is now in the press, and will be diligently prosecuted. Sub- scriptions are taken in by Mr. Dodsley in Pail-Mall, Mr. Rivington in St. Paul's Church-yard, by E. Cave at St. John's Gate, and the Trans- lator, at No. 6, in Castle-street, by Cavendish-square.' BOSWELL. another Aetat. 29.] Mr. Caves msinuation. 157 another person of the name of Samuel Johnson, Librarian of St. Martin's in the Fields, and Curate of that parish, cnga^^ed in the same undertaking, and was patronised by the Clergy, particularly by Dr. Pearce, afterwards Bishop of Rochester, Several light skirmishes passed between the rival translators, in the newspapers of the day; and the consequence was, that they destroyed each other, for neither of them went on with the work. It is much to be regretted, that the able per- formance of that celebrated genius Fra Paolo, lost the advantage of being incorporated into British literature by the masterly hand of Johnson. I have in my possession, by the favour of Mr. John Nich- ols, a paper in Johnson's hand- writing, entitled 'Account between Mr. Edward Cave and Sam. Johnson, in relation to a version of Father Paul, &c. begun August the 2d, 1738;' by which it appears, that from that day to the 21st of April, 1739, Johnson received for this work ^^"49 'js. in sums of one, two, three, and sometimes four guineas at a time, most fre- quently two. And it is curious to observe the minute and scrupulous accuracy with which Johnson has pasted upon it a slip of paper, which he has entitled ' Small Account,' and which contains one article, ' Sept. 9th, Mr. Cave laid down 2s. 6d! There is subjoined to this account, a list of some subscribers to the work, partly in Johnson's hand -writing, partly in that of another person ; and there follows a leaf or two on which are written a number of characters which have the appearance of a short hand, which, perhaps, Johnson was then trying to learn. *To Mr. Cave. ' Wednesday. 'Sir, ' I did not care to detain your servant while I wrote an answer to your letter, in which you seem to insinuate that I had promised more than 1 am ready to perform. If I have raised your expecta- tions by any thing that may have escaped my memory, I am sorry ; and if you remind me of it, shall thank you for the favour. If I made fewer alterations than usual in the Debates, it was only because there appeared, and still appears to be, less need of alteration. 158 His literary work. [a.d. 1738. alteration. The verses to Lady Firebrace ' may be had when you please, for you know that such a subject neither deser\'es much thought, nor requires it. ' The Chinese Stories^ may be had folded down when you please to send, in which I do not recollect that you desired any altera- tions to be made. ' An answer to another query 1 am very willing to write, and had consulted with yovi about it last night if there had been time ; for 1 think it the most proper way of inviting such a correspondence as may be an advantage to the paper, not a load upon it. 'As to the Prize Verses, a backwardness to determine their de- grees of merit is not peculiar to me. You may, if you please, still have what 1 can say ; but I shall engage with little spirit in an affair, which I shall hardly end to my own satisfaction, and certainly not to the satisfaction of the parties concerned'. * As to P'ather Paul, I have not yet been just to my proposal, but have met with impediments, which, I hope, are now at an end ; and if you find the progress hereafter not such as you have a right to expect, you can easily stimulate a negligent translator. ' If any or all of these have contributed to your discontent, 1 will endeavour to remove it ; and desire you to propose the question to which you wish for an answer. ' I am, Sir, ' Your humble servant, ' S.^.M. Johnson.' 'To Mr. Cave. •Sm, ^"""""^ ' I am pretty much of your opinion, that the Commentary can- not be prosecuted with any appearance of success ; for as the names of the authours concerned are of more weight in the per- formance than its own intrinsick merit, the publick will be soon satisfied with it. And I think the Examen should be pushed forward with the utmost expedition. Thus, "This day, &c., An ' They afterwards appeared in the Gent. Mai^-. [viii.4861 with this title — Verses to Lady Firebrace, at Bury Assizes. Bt )SWK1,i,. * Du Halde's Description of China was then publishing by Mr. Cave in weekly numbers, whence Johnson was to select pieces for the ^vix- bellishment of the i'l//<'. Nichols. Boswell. ' The premium of forty pounds proposed for the best poem on the Divine Attributes is here alluded to. Nichols. Boswell. Examen Aetat. 29.] ' Impyansus! 159 Examen of Mr. Pope's Essay, &:c., containing a succinct Account of the Philosophy of Mr. Leibnitz on the System of the Fatalists, with a Confutation of their Opinions, and an Illustration of the Doctrine of Free-will ;" [with what else you think proper]. ' It will, above all, be necessary to take notice, that it is a thing distinct from the Commentary. ' I was so far from imagining they stood still', that I conceived them to have a good deal before-hand, and therefore was less anx- ious in providing them more. But if ever they stand still on my account, it must doubtless be charged to me ; and whatever else shall be reasonable, I shall not oppose ; but beg a suspense of judgment till morning, when I must entreat you to send me a dozen proposals, and you shall then have copy to spare. ' I am, Sir, ' Your's, impransus^ , ' Sam. Johnson. * Pray muster up the Proposals if you can, or let the boy recall them from the booksellers.' But although he corresponded with Mr. Cave concerning a translation of Crousaz's Examen of Pope's Essay on Man, and gave advice as one anxious for its success, I was long ago convinced by a perusal of the Preface, that this translation was erroneously ascribed to him ; and I have found this point ascertained, beyond all doubt, by the following article in Dr. Birch's Manuscripts in the British Museum : ' Elis/E Carter/E. S. p. D. Thomas Birch. ' Versionem tuam Examinis Crousaziani jam perlegi. Summam styli et elcgafitiam, et in re difficillima proprietatem, admiratus. ^ Dabatn Novemb. 27° I738^' Indeed Mrs. Carter has lately acknowledged to Mr. Sew- ard, that she was the translator of the Examen. ' The Compositors in Mr. Cave's printing-office, who appear by this letter to have then waited for copy. Nichols. Boswell. " Twenty years later, when he was lodging in the Temple, he had fasted for two days at a time ; ' he had drunk tea, but eaten no bread ; this was no intentional fasting, but happened just in the course of a literary life." Boswell's Hebrides, Oct. 4, 1773. See post, Aug. 5, 1763. * Birch MSS. Brit. Mus. 4323. Boswell. It i6o Mr. Macbean. [a.d. 1738. It is remarkable, that Johnson's last quoted letter to Mr. Cave concludes with a fair confession that he had not a din- ner; and it is no less remarkable, that, though in this state of want himself, his benevolent heart was not insensible to the necessities of an humble labourer in literature, as appears from the very next letter : 'To Mr. Cave. \No date.] ' Dear Sir, * You may remember I have formerly talked with you about a Military Dictionary. The eldest Mr. Macbean', who was with Mr. Chambers'\ has very good materials for such a work, which I have seen, and will do it at a very low rate''. I think the terms of War and Navigation might be comprised, with good explanations, in one 8vo. Pica, which he is willing to do for twelve shillings a sheet, to be made up a guinea at the second impression. If you think on it, I will wait on you with him. ' I am, Sir, ' Your humble servant, ' Saim. Johnson. ' Pray lend me Topsel on Animals*.' I must not omit to mention, that this Mr. Macbean was a native of Scotland. In the Gcntlciiiaii s Alagaaiue of this year, Johnson gave a Life of Father Paul ;* and he wrote the Preface to the Vol- ume\ which, though prefixed to it when bound, is always published with the Appendix, and is therefore the last com- position belonging to it. The ability and nice adaptation ' Stcpost, under Dec. 30, 1747. and Oct. 24, 1780. ' See pos/, 1750. ' This book was published. Boswell. I have not been able to find it. * T/ie Historic of four-footed beasts and serpents. By Edward Top- Sell. London, 1607. Isaac Walton, in the Cotnplete Angler, more than once quotes Topsel. See p. 99 in the reprint of the tirst edition, where he says : — ' As our Topsel hath with great diligence observed.' ' In this preface he describes some pieces as ' deserving no other fate than to be hissed, torn, and forgotten." Johnson's Works, v. 346. with Aetat.29.] BoETHIUS DE CoNSOLATIONE. l6l with which he could draw up a prefatory address, was one of his peculiar excellencies. It appears too, that he paid a friendly attention to Mrs. Elizabeth Carter ; for in a letter from Mr. Cave to Dr. Birch, November 28, this year, I find 'Mr. Johnson advises Miss C. to undertake a translation of BoetJiiiis dc Cons, because there is prose and verse, and to put her name to it when published.' This advice was not followed ; probably from an apprehen- sion that the work was not sufficiently popular for an exten- sive sale. How well Johnson himself could have executed a translation of this philosophical poet, we may judge from the following specimen which he has given in the Rambler: {Motto to No. 7.) ' O qui perpetiia mundum ratione gubernas, Terr arum coelique sator! Disjice ter rente nebulas et ponder a molts, Atqiie tuo splendore mica .' Tu namque sereiiu?n, Tu requies tranquilla piis. Te ceniere finis, Principium, vector, dux, semita, terminus, idmi.^ ' O thou whose power o'er moving worlds presides. Whose voice created, and whose wisdom guides, On darkling man in pure effulgence shine, And cheer the clouded mind with light divine. 'Tis thine alone to calm the pious breast. With silent confidence and holy rest ; From thee, great God ! we spring, to thee we tend. Path, motive, guide, original, and end !' In 1739, beside the assistance which he gave to the Parlia- mentary Debates, his writings in the Gentleman s Magazine^ were, 'The Life of Boerhaave,'* in which it is to be observed, that he discovers that love of chymistry' which never forsook him; 'An appeal to the publick in behalf of the Editor ;'f ' The letter to Mr. Urban in the January number of this year (p. 3) is, I beheve, by Johnson. ' ' Yet did Boerhaave not suffer one branch of science to withdraw his attention from others ; anatomy did not withhold him from chy- mistr}', nor chymistry, enchanting as it is, from the study of botany.' Johnson's Works, vi. 276. 'Sitt post, under Sept. 9, 1779. I.— II 'An 1 62 Abridgments. [a. u. 1739. 'An Address to the Reader ;'t 'An Epigram both in Greek and Latin to Eliza','- and also English verses to her*;* and, 'A Greek Epigram to Dr. Birch'.'* It has been erroneously- supposed, that an Essay published in that Magazine this year, entitled ' The Apotheosis of Milton,' was written by Johnson ; and on that supposition it has been improperly inserted in the edition of his works by the Booksellers, after his decease. Were there no positive testimony as to this point, the style of the performance, and the name of Shakspeare not being mentioned in an Essay professedly reviewing the principal English poets, would ascertain it not to be the production of Johnson. But there is here no occasion to resort to internal evidence ; for my Lord Bishop of Salisbury (Dr. Douglas) has assured me, that it was written by Guthrie. His separate pub- lications were\ 'A Complete Vindication of the Licensers of ' Gent. Mag. viii. 210, and Johnson's Works, i. 170. ' What these verses are is not clear. On p. 372 there is an epigram Ad Elisam Popi Horto Lauros carpentcin. of which on p. 429 there are three translations. That by Urbanus may be Johnson's. ^ lb. p. 654, and Johnson's Works, i. 170. On p. 211 of this volume of the Gent. Mag. is given the epigram ' To a lady who spoke in de- fence of liberty.' This was ' Molly Aston ' mentioned ante, p. 96. * To the year 1739 belongs Considerations on the Case of Dr. T{rapp\s Sermons. Abridged by Mr. Cave, 1739; first published in the Gent. Mag. of July 1787. (See post under Nov. 5, 1784, note.) Cave had begun to publish in the Gent. Mag. an abridgment of four sermons preached by Trapp against Whitefield. He stopped short in the publication, deterred perhaps by the threat of a prosecution for an infringement of copy -right. 'On all difficult occasions,' writes the Editor in 1787, ' Johnson was Cave's oracle ; and the paper now before us was certainly written on that occasion.' Johnson argues that abridgments are not only legal but also justifiable. ' The design of an abridgment is to benefit mankind by facilitating the attainment of knowledge . . . for as an incorrect book is lawfully criticised, and false assertions justly confuted ... so a tedious volume may no less lawfully be abridged, because it is better that the proprietors should suffer some damage, than that the acquisition of knowledge should be ob- structed with unnecessary difficulties, and the valuable hours of thou- sands thrown away.' Johnson's Works, v. 465. Whether we have here Johnson's own opinion cannot be known. He was writing as Cave's advocate. See also Boswell's //ebrides, Aug. 20, 1773. the Aetat.30.] M ARMOR NoRFOLCIENSE. 1 63 the Stage, from the malicious and scandalous Aspersions of Mr. Brooke, Authour of Gustavus Vasa,'* being an ironical Attack upon them for their Suppression of that Tragedy'; and, ' Marmor Norfolciense ; or an Essay on an ancient pro- phetical Inscription in monkish Rhyme, lately discovered near Lynne in Norfolk, by Probus Britannicus.'* In this performance, he, in a feigned inscription, supposed to have been found in Norfolk, the county of Sir Robert Walpole, then the obnoxious prime»- minister of this country, inveighs against the Brunswick succession, and the measures of gov- ernment consequent upon it'^ To this supposed prophecy he added a Commentary, making each expression apply to the times, with warm Anti-Hanoverian zeal. This anonymous pamphlet, I believe, did not make so much noise as was expected, and, therefore, had not a very extensive circulation^ Sir John Hawkins relates', that, 'warrants were issued, and messengers employed to appre- hend the authour ; who, though he had forborne to subscribe his name to the pamphlet, the vigilance of those in pursuit of him had discovered ;' and we are informed, that he lay concealed in Lambeth-marsh till the scent after him grew cold. This, however, is altogether without foundation ; for Mr. Steele, one of the Secretaries of the Treasury, who amidst a variety of important business, politely obliged me with his attention to my inquiry, informed me, that ' he ' In his Life of Thomsoji Johnson writes : — ' About this time the act was passed for licensing plays, of which the first operation was the prohibition of Gustin'us Vasa, a tragedy of Mr. Brooke, whom the public recompensed by a very liberal subscription ; the ne.xt was the refusal of Edward and Elconora, offered by Thomson. It is hard to discover why either play should have been obstructed.' Johnson's Works, viii. 373. ' The Inscription and the Translation of it are preserved in the Lon- don Magazine for the year 1739, p. 244. Boswell. See Johnson's Worh, vi. 89. • It is a little heavy in its humour, and does not compare well with the like writings of Swift and the earlier wits. ♦ Hawkins's Johnson, p. 72. directed 164 Reprint of M armor Norfolciense. [a.d. 1739. directed every possible search to be made in the records of the Treasury and Secretary of State's Oflfice, but could find no trace whatever of any warrant having been issued to ap- prehend the authour of this pamphlet.' Marmor Norfolciense became exceedingly scarce, so that I, for many years, endeavoured in vain to procure a copy of it. At last I was indebted to the malice of one of Johnson's numerous petty adversaries, who, in 1775, published a new edition of it, 'with Notes and a dedication to SAMUEL JoilxsoN, LL.D. by Tkibunus ;' in which some puny scribbler invidiously attempted to found upon it a charge of inconsistency against its authour, because he had accepted of a pension from his present Majesty, and had written in support of the measures of government. As a mortification to such impotent malice, of which there are so many in- stances towards men of eminence, I am happy to relate, that this telujn imbellc' did not reach its exalted object, till about a year after it thus appeared, when 1 mentioned it to him, supposing that he knew of the re-publication. To my sur- prize, he had not yet heard of it. He requested me to go directly and get it for him, which I did. He looked at it and laughed, and seemed to be much diverted with the feeble efforts of his unknown adversary, who, I hope, is alive to read this account. ' Now (said he) here is somebody who thinks he has vexed me sadly; yet, if it had not been for you, you rogue, I should probably never have seen it.' As Mr. Pope's note concerning Johnson, alluded to in a former page, refers both to his London, and his Mar^nor Nor- folciense, I have deferred inserting it till now. I am indebted for it to Dr. Percy, the Bishop of Dromore, who permitted me to copy it from the original in his possession. It was presented to his Lordship by Sir Joshua Reynolds, to whom it was given by the son of Mr. Richardson the painter, the person to whom it is addressed. I have transcribed it ' ' Sic fatus senior, telumque imbelle sine ictu Conjecit.' 'So spake the elder, and cast forth a toothless spear and vain. Morris, JE^neids, ii. 544. with Aetat.30.] ^Paper-sparing Pope. 165 with minute exactness, that the pecuHar mode of writing, and imperfect spelling of that celebrated poet, may be ex- hibited to the curious in literature. It justifies Swift's epithet of ' paper-sparing Pope',' for it is written on a slip no larger than a common message-card, and was sent to Mr. Richardson, along with the Imitation of Juvenal. 'This is imitated by one Johnson who put in for a Publick- school in Shropshire", but was disappointed. He has an infirmity of the convoilsive kind, that attacks him sometimes, so as to make him a sad Spectacle. Mr. P. from the Merit of this Work which was all the knowledge he had of him endeavour'd to serve him without his own application ; cS: wrote to my L^ gore, but he did not succeed. Mr. Johnson published afterw^s another Poem in Latin with Notes the whole very Humerous call'd the Norfolk Prophecyl' ,p , Johnson had been told of this note ; and Sir Joshua Rey- nolds informed him of the compliment which it contained, > ' Get all your verses printed fair. Then let them well be dried ; And Curl! must have a special care To leave the margin wide. Lend these to paper -sparing Pope: And when he sits to write. No letter with an envelope Could give him more delight.' .Idvicc to the Griib-Strcet Verse- Writers. (Swift's Works. 1803, xi. 32.) Nichols, in a note on this passage, says: — 'The original copy of Pope's Homer is almost entirely written on the covers of letters, and sometimes between the lines of the letters themselves.' Johnson, in his Life 0/ Pope, writes : — ' Of Pope's domes- tic character frugality was a part eminently remarkable . . . This gen- eral care must be universally approved : but it sometimes appeared in petty artifices of parsimony, such as the practice of writing his com- positions on the back of letters, as may be seen in the remaining copy of the Iliad, by which perhaps in five years five shillings were saved.' Johnson's Works, viii. 312. ■t See note, p. 153. Bcswell. * The Marmor Norfolciense, price one shilling, is advertised in the Gent. Mag. for 1739 fp. 220) among the books for April. but, 1 66 yohnsons tricks of body. [a.d. 1739. but, from delicacy, avoided shewing him the paper itself. When Sir Joshua observed to Johnson that he seemed very desirous to see Pope's note, he answered, * Who would not be proud to have such a man as Pope so solicitous in in- quiring about him?' The infirmity to which Mr. Pope alludes, appeared to mc also, as I have elsewhere ' observed, to be of the convulsive kind, and of the nature of that distemper called St. Vitus's dance ; and in this opinion I am confirmed by the descrip- tion which Sydenham gives of that disease. ' This disorder is a kind of convulsion. It manifests itself by halting or un-, steadiness of one of the legs, which the patient draws after him like an ideot. If the hand of the same side be applied to the breast, or any other part of the body, he cannot keep it a moment in the same posture, but it will be drawn into a different one by a convulsion, notwithstanding all his efforts to the contrary.' Sir Joshua Reynolds, however, was of a different opinion, and favoured me with the following paper: 'Those motions or tricks of Dr. Johnson are improperly called convulsions^. He could sit motionless, when he was told so to do, ' Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, 3rd edit. p. 8. BoswKl.l,. ' According to Sir Joshua Reynolds, ' Every person who knew Dr. Johnson must have observed that the moment he was left out of the conversation, whether from his deafness or from whatever cause, but a few minutes without speaking or listening, his mind appeared to be preparing itself. He fell into a reverie accompanied with strange antic gestures ; but this he never did when his mind was engaged by the conversation. These were therefore improperly called convul- sions, which imply involuntary contortions ; whereas, a word addressed to him, his attention was recovered. Sometimes, indeed, it would be near a minute before he would give an answer, looking as if he laboured to bring his mind to bear on the question.' (Taylor's Reynolds, ii. 456). 'I still, however, think,' wrote Boswell, 'that these gestures were in- voluntary; for surely had not that been the case, he would have re- strained them in the public streets ' (Boswell's Hebrides, under date of Aug. II, 1773, note). Dr. T. Campbell, in his Diary of a Visit to England, p. 33, writing of Johnson on March 16, 1775. says : — ' He has the aspect of an idiot, without the faintest ray of sense gleaming from any one feature — with the most awkward garb, and unpowdered grey as Aeut. 30.] His dread of solitude. 167 as well as any other man ; my opinion is that it proceeded from a habit which he had indulged himself in, of accompanying his thoughts with certain untoward actions, and those actions always appeared to me as if they were meant to reprobate some part of his past conduct. Whenever he was not engaged in conversation, such thoughts were sure to rush into his mind ; and, for this rea- son, any company, any employment whatever, he preferred to being alone'. The great business of his life (he said) was to escape wig, on one side only of his head — he is for ever dancing the devil's jig, and sometimes he makes the most driveling effort to whistle some thought in his absent paroxysms.' Miss Burney thus describes him when she first saw him in 1778: — 'Soon after we were seated this great man entered. I have so true a veneration for him that the very sight of him inspires me with delight and reverence, notwithstanding the cruel infirmities to which he is subject ; for he has almost per- petual convulsive movements, either of his hands, lips, feet, or knees, and sometimes of all together.' Mine. UArblay's Diary, i. 63. See post, under March 30, 1783, Boswell's note on Johnson's peculiarities. * ' Solitude,' wrote Reynolds, 'to him was horror; nor would he ever trust himself alone but when employed in writing or reading. He has often begged me to go home with him to prevent his being alone in the coach. Any company was better than none ; by which he connected himself with many mean persons whose presence he could command.' Taylor's Reynolds, ii.455. Johnson writing to Mrs. Thrale, said : — ' If the world be worth winning, let us enjoy it ; if it is to be despised, let us despise it by conviction. But the world is not to be despised but as it is compared with something better. Company is in itself better than solitude, and pleasure better than indolence.' Piozzi Letters, i. 242. In The Idler, No. 32, he wrote : — ' Others are afraid to be alone, and amuse themselves by a perpetual succession of companions ; but the difference is not great ; in solitude we have our dreams to ourselves, and in company we agree to dream in con- cert. The end sought in both is forgetfulness of ourselves.' In The Rambler, No. 5, he wrote : — ' It may be laid down as a position which will seldom deceive, that when a man cannot bear his own company, there is something wrong. He must fly from himself, either because he feels a tediousness in life from the equipoise of an empty mind . . . or he must be afraid of the intrusion of some unpleasing ideas, and, perhaps, is struggling to escape from the remembrance of a loss, the fear of a calamity, or some other thought of greater horror.' Cowper, whose temperament was in some respects not unlike John- son's, wrote : — 'A vacant hour is my abhorrence ; because, when I am from 1 68 Hogarth meets yohnson. [a.d. 1739. from himself ; this disposition he considered as the disease of his mind, which nothing cured but company. ' One instance of his absence and particularity, as it is character- istick of the man, may be worth relating. When he and I took a journey together into the West, we visited the late Mr. Banks, of Dorsetshire; the conversation turning upon pictures, which John- son could not well see, he retired to a corner of the room, stretch- ing out his right leg as far as he could reach before him, then bringing up his left leg, and stretching his right further on. The old gentleman observing him, went up to him, and in a very cour- teous manner assured him, that though it was not a new house, the Hooring was perfectly safe. I'he Doctor started from his rev- erie, like a person waked out of his sleep, but spoke not a word.' While we arc on this subject, my readers may not be dis- pleased with another anecdote, communicated to me by the same friend, from the relation of Mr. Hogarth. Johnson used to be a pretty frequent visitor at the house of Mr. Richardson, authour of Clarissa, and other novels of extensive reputation. Mr. Hogarth came one day to see Richardson, soon after the execution of Dr. Cameron, for having taken arms for the house of Stuart in 1745-6; and being a warm partisan of George the Second, he observed to Richardson', that certainly there must have been some very unfavourable circumstances lately discovered in this particu- lar case, which had induced the King to approve of an ex- ecution for rebellion so long after the time when it was committed, as this had the appearance of putting a man to death in cold blood'\ and was very unlike his Majesty's usual not occupied, I suffer under the whole infiuence of my unhappy tem- perament.' Southey's Coivper, vi. 146. ' Richardson was of the same way of thinking as Hogarth. Writing of a speech made at the Oxford Commemoration of 1754 by the Jaco- bite Dr. King (see post, Feb. 1 7 5 5), he said : — ' There cannot be a greater instance of the lenity of the government he abuses than his pestilent harangues so publicly made with impunity furnishes (.v/r) all his read- ers with.' — Rich. Corresp. ii. 197. '^ Impartial posterity may, perhaps, be as little inclined as Dr. John- son was to justify the uncommon rigour exercised in the case of Dr. Archibald Cameron. He was an amiable and truly honest man ; and clemency. Aetat. 30.] George the Second's cruelly. 169 clemency. While he was talking, he perceived a person standing at a window in the room, shaking his head, and rolling himself about in a strange ridiculous manner. He concluded that he was an ideot, whom his relations had put under the care of Mr. Richardson, as a very good man. To his great surprize, however, this figure stalked forwards to where he and Mr. Richardson were sitting, and all at once took up the argument, and burst out into an invective against George the Second, as one, who, upon all occasions, was unrelenting and barbarous' ; mentioning many instances, his offence was owing to a generous, though mistaken principle of duty. Being obliged, after 1746, to give up his profession as a physi- cian, and to go into foreign parts, he was honoured with the rank of Colonel, both in the French and Spanish service. He was a son of the ancient and respectable family of Cameron, of Lochiel ; and his brother, who was the Chief of that brave clan, distinguished himself by mod- eration and humanity, while the Highland army marched victorious through Scotland. It is remarkable of this Chief, that though he had earnestly remonstrated against the attempt as hopeless, he was of too heroick a spirit not to venture his life and fortune in the cause, when personally asked by him whom he thought his prince. Boswell. Sir Walter Scott states, in his Introduction to Rcdgaitntlct, that the government of George II were in possession of sufficient evidence that Dr. Cameron had returned to the Highlands, not, as he alleged on his trial, for family affairs merely, but as the secret agent of the Pretender in a new scheme of rebellion : the ministers, however, preferred trying this indefatigable partisan on the ground of his un- deniable share in the insurrection of 1745, rather than rescuing them- selves and their master from the charge of harshness, at the expense of making it universally known, that a fresh rebellion had been in agitation so late as 1752. Lockhart. He was executed on June 7, 1753. Gent. Mag. xxiii. 292. Lord Campbell {Lives of the Chancellors, V. 109) says: — ' I regard his execution as a wanton atrocity." Horace Walpole, however, inclined to the belief that Cameron was engaged m a new scheme of rebellion. Walpole's Memoirs of George II, i. 333. ' Horace Walpole says that towards convicts under sentence of death 'George II's disposition in general was merciful, if the offence was not murder.' He mentions, however, a dreadful exception, when the King sent to the gallows at Oxford a young man who had been 'guilty of a most trifling forgery,' though he had been recommended to mercy by the judge, who ' had assured him his pardon.' Mercy particularly, lyo Johnsons writings in 1740. [a. p. 1740. particularly, that when an officer of high rank had been ac- quitted by a Court Martial, George the Second had with his own hand, struck his name off the list. In short, he displayed such a power of eloquence, that Hogarth looked at him with astonishment, and actually imagined that this idcot had been at the moment inspired. Neither Hogarth nor John- son were made known to each other at this interview'. 1740'' : .'K TAT. 31.] — In 1740 he wrote for the Gcntlcuiatis Magazine the ' Preface ','t ' Life of Sir Francis Drake,'* and the first parts of those of ' Admiral Blake", '''•■ and of ' Philip Baretier',*-' both which he finished the following year. He was refused, merely because the Judge, Willes, 'was attached to the Prince of Wales.' It is very likely that this was one of Johnson's ' instances,' as it had happened about four years earlier, and as an ac- count of the young man had been published by an Oxonian. Wal- pole's Memoirs of the Reign of George //, i. 175. ' It is strange that when Johnson had been sixteen years in London he should not be known to Hogarth by sight. ' Mr. Hogarth,' writes Mrs. Piozzi, ' was used to be very earnest that I should obtain the ac- quaintance, and if possible, the friendship of Dr. Johnson, " whose con- versation was to the talk of other men, like Titian's painting compared to Hudson's," he said. ... Of Dr. Johnson, when my father and he were talking together about him one day, "That man," says Hogarth, "is not contented with believing the Bible, but he fairly resolves, I think, to believe nothing but the Bible." ' Piozzi's Ancc. p. 136. ' On October 29 of this year James Boswell was born. * In this preface is found the following lively passage : — ' The Ro- man Gazetteers are defective in several material ornaments of style. They never end an article with the mystical hint, t/iis occasions great speculation. They seem to have been ignorant of such engaging in- troductions as, 1VC hear it is strongly reported ; and of that ingenious, but thread-bare excuse for a downright lie, // wants confirmation.' * The Lives of Blake and Drake were certainly written with a polit- ical aim. The war with Spain was going on. and the Tory party was doing its utmost to rouse the country against the Spaniards. It was ' a time.' according to Johnson. ' when the nation was engaged in a war with an enemy, whose insults, ravages, and barbarities have long called for vengeance.' Johnson's Works, vi. 293. ' Barretier's childhood surpassed even that of J. S. Mill. At the age of nine he was master of live languages, Greek and Hebrew being two of them. ' In his twelfth year he applied more particularly to also Aetat. 31.] Epitaph on Philips. 171 also wrote an ' Essay on Epitaphs '/f and an ' Epitaph on Philips, a Musician,'* which was afterwards published with some other pieces of his, in Mrs. Williams's Miscellanies. This Epitaph is so exquisitely beautiful, that I remember even Lord Kames^ strangely prejudiced as he was against Dr. Johnson, was compelled to allow it very high praise. It has been ascribed to Mr. Garrick, from its appearing at first with the signature G ; but I have heard Mr. Garrick declare, that it was written by Dr. Johnson, and give the following account of the manner in which it was composed. Johnson and he were sitting together; when, amongst other things, Garrick repeated an Epitaph upon this Philips by a Dr. Wilkes, in these words : ' Exalted soul ! whose harmony could please The love-sick virgin, and the gouty ease ; Could jarring discord, like Amphion, move To beauteous order and harmonious love ; Rest here in peace, till angels bid thee rise. And meet thy blessed Saviour in the skies.' Johnson shook his head at these common-place funereal lines, and said to Garrick, ' I think, Davy, I can make a better,* Then, stirring about his tea for a little while, in a state of med- itation, he almost extempore produced the following verses: ' Philips, whose touch harmonious could remove The pangs of guilty power or" hapless love ; Rest here, distress'd by poverty no more, Here find that calm thou gav'st so oft before ; the study of the fathers.' At the age of fourteen he published Anti- Arte7notuus ; snv hiithim evangelii S. Joannis adversiis Ariemonium vindicahim. The same year the University of Halle offered him the degree of doctor in philosophy. ' His theses, or philosophical posi- tions, which he printed, ran through several editions in a few weeks." He was a deep student of mathematics, and astronomy was his fa- vourite subject. His health broke down under his studies, and he died in 1740 in the twentieth year of his age. Johnson's Works, vi. 376. ' He wrote also xxWjifbA Dissertatio7i on the Epitaphs written by Pope. * See /^j/,^ Oct. 16, 1769. * In the original and. Gent. Mag. x. 464. The title of this poem Sleep, 172 Epigram on Gibber. [a. d. 1741, Sleep, undisturb'd, within this peaceful shrine, Till angels wake thee with a note like thine' !' At the same time that Mr. Garrick favoured me with this anecdote, he repeated a very pointed Epigram by Johnson, on George the Second and Colley Gibber, which has never yet appeared, and of which 1 know not the exact date\ Dr. Johnson afterwards gave it to me himself^ : as there given is : — ' An epitaph upon the celebrated Claudy Philips, Musician, who died very poor.' ' The epitaph of Phillips is in the porch of Wolverhampton Church. The prose part of it is curious : — ' Near this place lies Charles Claudius Phillips, Whose absolute contempt of riches and inimitable performances upon the violin luaik- iiiin the admiration of all that knew him. He was born in Wales, made the tour of Europe, and, after the experience of both kinds of fortune, Died in 1732.' Mr. Garrick appears not to have recited the verses correctly, the original being as follows : — ' Exalted soul, thy imrious sounds could please The love-sick virgin and the gouty ease ; Could jarring crcnvds, like old Amphion, move To beauteous order and harmonious love ; Rest here in peace, till Angels bid thee rise. And meet thy Saviour's consort in the skies.' Blakewav. Consort is defined in Johnson's D/ctwnary as a Jiuniber of instru- ments playitig togetJier. " 1 have no doubt that it was written in 1741 ; for the second line is clearly a parody of a line in the chorus of Cibber's Birthday Ode for that year. The chorus is as follows : ' While thou our Master of the Main Revives Eliza's glorious reign. The great Plantagenets look down, And see your race adorn your crown. Gent. Mag. xi. 549. In the Life of Barretier Johnson has also this fling at George II : — ' Princes are commonly the last by whom merit is distinguished." Johnson's Wor'ks, vi. 381. ' See Boswell's Hebrides. Oct. 23 and Nov, 21, 1773. 'Augustus Aetat. 32.] One of CromwelVs speeches. 173 ' Augustus still survives in Maro's strain, And Spenser's verse prolongs Eliza's reign ; Great George's acts let tuneful Gibber sing ; For Nature form'd the Poet for the King.' In 1 741' he wrote for the Gentleman s Magazine' \\\q. Pre- face,'* ' Conclusion of his lives of Drake and Baretier,'f ' A free translation of the Jests of Hierocles', with an Introduc- tion ;'f and, I think, the following pieces : ' Debate on the Proposal of Parliament to Cromwell, to assume the Title of King, abridged, modified, and digested' ;'t ' Translation of Abbe Guyon's Dissertation on the Amazons ;'f ' Translation of Fontenelle's Panegyrick on Dr. Morin.'f Two notes upon this appear to me undoubtedly his. He this year, and the ' Hester Lynch Salusbury. afterwards Mrs. Thrale, and later on Mrs. Piozzi, was born on Jan. 27, 1741. ^ This piece is certainly not by Johnson. It contains more than one ungrammatical passage. It is impossible to believe that he wrote such a sentence as the following :^' Another having a cask of wine sealed up at the top, but his servant boring a hole at the bottom stole the greatest part of it away ; sometime after, having called a friend to taste his wine, he found the vessel almost empty,' &c. ' Mr. Carlyle, by the use of the term ' Imaginary Editors ' ( Crom- luell's Letters and Speeches, iii. 229), seems to imply that he does not hold with Boswell in assigning this piece to Johnson. I am inclined to think, nevertheless, that Boswell is right. If it is Johnson's it is doubly interesting as showing the method which he often followed in writing the Parliamentary Debates. When notes were given him, while for the most part he kept to the speaker's train of thoughts, he dealt with the language much as it pleased him. In the Gent. Mag. Cromwell speaks as if he were wearing a flowing wig and were ad- dressing a Parliament of the days of George II. He is thus made to conclude Speech xi.: — 'For my part, could I multiply my person or dilate my power, I should dedicate myself wholly to this great end, in the prosecution of which I shall implore the blessing of God upon your counsels and endeavours.' Gent. Mag. xi. 100. The following are the words which correspond to this in the original : — ' If I could help you to many, and multiply myself into many, that would be to ser\'e you in regard to settlement. . . . But I shall pray to (xod Almighty that He would direct you to do what is according to His will. And this is that poor account I am able to give of myself in this thing.' Carlyle's Crotmiiell, iii. 255. two 174 Caves Parliamentary Debates, [a.d. 1741. two following, wrote the Parliamentary Debates. He told me himself, that he was the sole composer of them for those three years only. He was not, however, precisely exact in his statement, which he mentioned from hasty recollection ; for it is sufficiently evident, that his composition of them began November 19, 1740, and ended February 23, 1742-3'. It appears from some of Cave's letters to Dr. Birch, that Cave had better assistance for that branch of his Magazine, than has been generally supposed ; and that he was indefat- igable in getting it made as perfect as he could. Thus, 2ist July, 1735. 'I trouble you with the inclosed, because you said you could easily correct what is here given for Lord C Id's* speech. I beg you will do so as soon as you can for me, because the month is far advanced.' And 15th July, 1737. 'As you remember the debates so far as to perceive the speeches already printed are not exact, T beg the favour that you will peruse the inclosed, and, in the best manner your memory will serve, correct the mis- taken passages, or add anything that is omitted. I should be very glad to have something of the Duke of N le's' speech, which would be particularly of service. * A gentleman has Lord Bathurst's speech to add some- thing to.' And July 3, 1744. ' You will see what stupid, low, abomi- nable stuff is put^ upon your noble and learned friend's^ character, such as I should quite reject, and endeavour to do something better towards doing justice to the character. But as I cannot expect to attain my desires in that re- spect, it would be a great satisfaction, as well as an honour to our work to have the favour of the genuine speech. It is a method that several have been pleased to take, as I could show, but I think myself under a restraint. I shall say so far, that I have had some by a third hand, which I ' See Appendix A. * Lord Chesterfield. ' Duke of Newcastle. * I suppose in another compilation of the same kind. Boswell. * Doubtless, Lord Hardwick. Boswell. understood Aetat. 32.] yoluisoiis Parliamentary Debates. 175 understood well enough to come from the first ; others by penny-post', and others by the speakers themselves, who have been pleased to visit St. John's Gate, and show particular marks of their being pleased'.' There is no reason, I believe, to doubt the veracity of Cave. It is, however, remarkable, that none of these letters are in the years during which Johnson alone furnished the Debates, and one of them is in the very year after he ceased from that labour, Johnson told me that as soon as he found that the speeches were thought genuine, he determined that he would write no more of them ; for ' he would not be ac- cessary to the propagation of falsehood.' And such was the tenderness of his conscience, that a short time before his death he expressed his regret for having been the authour of fictions, which had passed for realities\ He nevertheless agreed with me in thinking, that the de- bates which he had framed were to be valued as orations upon questions of publick importance. They have accord- ingly been collected in volumes, properly arranged, and rec- ommended to the notice of parliamentary speakers by a preface, written by no inferior hand\ I must, howexer, observe, that although there is in those debates a wonderful store of political information, and very powerful eloquence, * The delivery of letters by the penny-post ' was originally confined to the cities of London and Westminster, the borough of Southwark and the respective suburbs thereof.' In 1801 the postage was raised to two-pence. The term ' suburbs ' must have had a very limited sig- nification, for it was not till 1831 that the limits of this delivery were extended to all places within three miles of the General Post Office. Ninth Report of the Cofnfiu'sswners of the Post Office, 1837, p. 4. ' Birch's MSS. in the British Museum, 4302. Boswell. ^ See post, Dec. 1784, in Nichols's Anecdotes. If we may trust Haw- kins, it is likely that Johnson's 'tenderness of conscience ' cost Cave a good deal ; for he writes that, while Johnson composed the Debates, the sale of the Magazine increased from ten to fifteen thousand cop- ies a month. ' Cave manifested his good fortune by buying an old coach and a pair of older horses.' Hawkins's Johnson, p. 123. * I am assured that the editor is Mr. George Chalmers, whose com- mercial works are well known and esteemed. Boswell. I cannot 1 76 Negotiations for Irene. [a.d. 1742. I cannot agree that they exhibit the manner of each particu- lar speaker, as Sir John Hawkins seems to think. But, in- deed, what opinion can we have of his judgement, and taste in publick speaking, who presumes to give, as the character- isticks of two celebrated orators, ' the deep-mouthed rancour of Pulteney', and the yelping pertinacity of Pitt".' This year I find that his tragedy of Irene had been for some time ready for the stage, and that liis necessities made him desirous of getting as much as he could for it, without delay ; for there is the following letter from Mr. Cave to Dr. ]5irch. in the same volume of manuscripts in the British Museum, from which I copied those above (juoted. They were most obligingly pointed out to me by Sir William Musgrave, one of the Curators of that noble repository. 'Sept. 9, 1 741. * I have put Mr. Johnson's play into Mr. Gray's' hands, in order to sell it to him, if he is inclined to buy it ; but 1 doubt whether he will or not. He would dispose of the copy, and whatever ad- vantage may be made by acting it. Would your society \ or any gentleman, or body of men that you know, take such a bargain ? He and I are very unfit to deal with theatrical persons. Fleet- wood was to have acted it last season, but Johnson's diffidence or " prevented it.' I have already mentioned that Irene was not brought into publick notice till Garrick was manager of Drury-lane theatre. ' The characteristic of Pulteney 's orator)^ is thus given in Hazlitt's Northcotes Cojtversations (p. 288): — 'Old Mr. Tolcher used to say of the famous Pulteney — " My Lord Bath always speaks in blank verse." ' ' Hawkins's Life of Johnson, p. 100. BoswELL. ^ A bookseller of London. Boswell. * Not the Royal Society; but the Society for the encouragement of learning, of which Dr. Birch was a leading member. Their object was to assist authors in printing expensive works. It existed from about 1735 to 1746, when having incurred a considerable debt, it was dissolved. Boswell. * There is no erasure here, but a mere blank ; to fill up which may be an exercise for ingenious conjecture. Boswell. 1742; \etat.33.] BiBLIOTHECA HaRLEIANA. 1 7/ 1742 : ^TAT. 33.] — In 1742' he wrote for the Gentleman s A fa^azine the ' Preface/f the ' ParHamentary Debates,'* * Essay- on the Account of the conduct of the Duchess of Marl- borough,'* then the popular topick of conversation. This • Essay ' is a short but masterly performance. We find him in No. 13 of his Rambler, censuring a profligate sentiment in that ' Account* ;' and again insisting upon it strenuously in conversation'. ' An account of the Life of Peter Burman,'* I believe chiefly taken from a foreign publication ; as, indeed, he could not himself know much about Burman ; 'Additions to his Life of Baretier ;'* ' The Life of Sydenham,'* after- wards prefixed to Dr. Swan's edition of his works ; ' Propo- sals for Printing Bibliotheca Harleiana, or a Catalogue of the Library of the Earl of Oxford*.'* His account of that celebrated collection of books, in which he displays the im- portance to literature of what the French call a catalogue raisotuic, when the subjects of it are extensive and various, and it is executed with ability, cannot fail to impress all his readers with admiration of his philological attainments. It was afterwards prefixed to the first volume of the Catalogue, in which the Latin accounts of books were written by him. ' Johnson, writing to Dr. Taylor on June 10, 1742, says : — * I propose to get Charles of Sweden ready for this winter, and shall therefore, as I imagine, be much engaged for some months with the dramatic writers into whom I have scarcely looked for many years. Keep Irene close, you may send it back at your leisure.' Azotes and Queries, 6th S., v. 303. Charles of Sweden must have been a play which he pro- jected. ' The profligate sentiment was, that ' to tell a secret to a friend is no breach of fidelity, because the number of persons trusted is not multiplied, a man and his friend being virtually the same.' Rambler, No. 13. ' Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, 3rd edit. p. 167. [Sept. 10. 1773.] BOSWELL. * This piece contains a passage in honour of some great critic. ' May the shade, at least, of one great English critick rest without disturbance ; and may no man presume to insult his memory, who wants his learning, his reason, or his wit.' Johnson's Works, v. 182. Bentley had died on July 14 of this year, and there can be little ques- tion that Bentley is meant. I.— 12 He I yS Osborne the bookseller. [a.d. 1742. He was employed in this business by Mr. Thomas Osborne the bookseller, who purchased the library for 13,000/., a sum which Mr. Oldys' says, in one of his manuscripts, was not more than the binding of the books had cost ; yet, as Dr. Johnson assured me, the slowness of the sale was such, that there was not much gained by it. It has been con- fidently related, with many embellishments, that Johnson one day knocked Osborne down in his shop, with a folio, and put his foot upon his neck. The simple truth I had from Johnson himself. ' Sir, he was impertinent to me, and I beat him. But it was not in his shop : it was in my own chamber^' A very diligent observer may trace him where we should not easily suppose him to be found. I have no doubt that he wrote the little abridgment entitled ' Foreign History,' in the MagarAnc for December. To prove it, I shall quote the Introduction. 'As this is that season of the year in which Nature may be said to command a suspension of hos- tilities, and which seems intended, by putting a short stop to violence and slaughter, to afford time for malice to relent, and animosity to subside ; we can scarce expect any other accounts than of plans, negotiations and treaties, of proposals for peace, and preparations for war.' As also this passage : ' Let those who despise the capacity of the Swiss, tell us by what wonderful policy, or by what happy conciliation of interests, it is brought to pass, that in a body made up of ' See post, end of 1 744. * ' There is nothing to tell, dearest lady, but that he was insolent and I beat him, and that he was a blockhead and told of it, which I should never have done. ... I have beat many a fellow, but the rest had the wit to hold their tongues.' Piozzi's Ancc. p. 233. In the Life of Pope Johnson thus mentions Osborne : — * Pope was ignorant enough of his own interest to make another change, and introduced Osborne contending for the prize among the booksellers \ Dunctad, ii. 167]. Osborne was a man entirely destitute of shame, without sense of any disgrace but that of poverty. . . . The shafts of satire were directed equally in vain against Gibber and Osborne ; being repelled by the impenetrable impudence of one, and deadened by the impassive dul- ness of the other.' Johnson's Works, viii. 302. different Aetat. 33.] A projected parliamentary history. 1 79 different communities and different religions, there should be no civil commotions', though the people are so warlike, that to nominate and raise an army is the same.' I am obliged to Mr. Astle* for his ready permission to copy the two following letters, of which the originals are in his possession. Their contents shew that they were written about this time, and that Johnson was now engaged in pre- paring an historical account of the British Parliament. 'To Mr. Cave. ^No date:\ 'Sir, ' I believe I am going to write a long letter, and have there- fore taken a whole sheet of paper. The first thing to be written about is our historical design. ' You mentioned the proposal of printing in numbers, as an al- teration in the scheme, but I believe you mistook, some way or other, my meaning ; I had no other view than that you might rather print too many of five sheets, than of five and thirty. ' With regard to what I shall say on the manner of proceeding, I would have it understood as wholly indifferent to me, and my opinion only, not my resolution. Emptoris sit eligere. ' I think the insertion of the exact dates of the most important events in the margin, or of so many events as may enable the reader to regulate the order of facts with sufficient exactness, the proper medium between a journal, which has regard only to time, and a history which ranges facts according to their dependence on each other, and postpones or anticipates according to the conven- ience of narration. I think the work ought to partake of the spirit of history, which is contrary to minute exactness, and of the regu- larity' of a journal, which is inconsistent with spirit. For this reason, I neither admit numbers or dates, nor reject them. ' I am of your opinion with regard to placing most of the reso- lutions tSjc, in the margin, and think we shall give the most com- plete account of Parliamentary proceedings that can be contrived. The naked papers, without an historical treatise interwoven, require some other book to make them understood. 1 will date the ' In the original contentions. ^ 'Dec. 21, 1775. In the Paper Office there is a wight, called Thomas Astle, who lives like moths on old parchments.' Walpole's Letters, vi. 299. succeeding I So Payment for work. [a.d. 1742. succeeding facts with some exactness, but I think in the margin. You told me on Saturday that I had received money on this work, and found set down 13/. 2s. (>d., reckoning the half guinea of last Saturday. As you hinted to me that you had many calls for money, I would not press you too hard, and therefore shall desire only, as I send it in, two guineas for a sheet of copy ; the rest you may pay me when it may be more convenient ; and even by this sheet-pay- ment 1 shall, for some time, be very expensive. 'The Life of Savage' I am ready to go upon; and in Great Primer, and Pica notes, I reckon on sending in half a sheet a day ; but the money for that shall likewise lye by in your hands till it is done. With the debates, shall not I have business enough ? if I had but good pens. 'Towards Mr. Savage's Life what more have you got.' I would willingly have his trial, &c., and know whether his defence be at Bristol, and would have his collection of poems, on account of the Preface. — The Plain Dealer'\ — all the magazines that have any- thing of his, or relating to him. ' 1 thought my letter would be long, but it is now ended ; and I am, Sir, ' Yours, &c. S.J^^r. Johnson.' ' The boy found me writing this almost in the dark, when I could not quite easily read yours. ' I have read the Italian — nothing in it is well. ' I had no notion of having any thing for the Inscription ' . I hope you don't think I kept it to extort a price. 1 could think of nothing, till to day. If you could spare me another guinea for the history, I should take it very kindly, to night ; but if you do not 1 shall not think it an injury. — I am almost well again.' 'To Mr. Cave. 'Sir, ' You did not tell me vour determination about the * Soldier's ' Savage died on Aug. i, 1743, so that this letter is misplaced. " The Plain Dealer was published in 1724, and contained some ac- count of Savage. Boswell. ' In the Gent. Mag. for Sept. 1743 (p. 490) there is an epitaph on R — d S — e, Esq., which may perhaps be this inscription. ' His life was want,' this epitaph declares. It is certainly not the Runick Inscription in the number for March 1742, as Malone suggests; for the earliest possible date of this letter is seventeen months later. Letter, Aetat. 33] Ad Lauram parituram Epigramma. 1 8 1 Letter',' which I am confident was never printed. I think it will not do by itself, or in any other place, so well as the Mag. Extraor- dinary" . If you will have it at all, I believe you do not think I set it high, and I will be glad if what you give, you will give quickly. ' You need not be in care about something to print, for I have got the State Trials, and shall extract Layer, Atterbury, and Mac- clesfield from them, and shall bring them to you in a fortnight; after which I will try to get the South Sea Report.' {^No date, nor szgnati(reJ\ I would also ascribe to him an ' Essay on the Description of China, from the French of Du Halde'.'f His writings in the Gentleman s Magaaine in 1743, are, the ' Preface^'t the ' Parliamentary Debates,'t ' Considerations on the Dispute between Crousaz/ and Warburton, on Pope's Essay on Man ;'f in which, while he defends Crousaz, he shews an admirable metaphysical acuteness and temperance in controversy*; 'Ad Lauram parituram Epigramma';'* ' I have not discovered what this was. Boswell. ^ The iMag .-Extraordinary is perhaps the Supplement to the De- cember number of each year. ^ This essay contains one sentiment eminently Johnsonian. The writer had shown how patiently Confucius endured extreme indi- gence. He adds: — 'This constancy cannot raise our admiration after his former conquest of himself ; for how easily may he support pain who has been able to resist pleasure.' Gent. Mag. xii. 355. * In this Preface there is a complaint that has been often repeated — ' All kinds of learning have given way to politicks.' ' In the Life of Pope (Johnson's Works, viii. 287) Johnson says that Crousaz, ' however little known or regarded here, was no mean antag- onist.' ' It is not easy to believe that Boswell had read this essay, for there is nothing metaphysical in what Johnson wrote. Two-thirds of the paper are a translation from Crousaz. Boswell does not seem to have distinguished between Crousaz's writings and Johnson's. We have here a striking instance of the way in which Cave sometimes treated his readers. One-third of this essay is given in the number for March, the rest in the number for November. ' Angliacas inter pulcherrinia Laura piiellas, Mox uteri pondus depositura grave, Adsit, Laura, tibi facilis Lucina dolenti. Neve tibi noceat prcenituisse Deo:. and. 1 82 Friendship, a)L Ode. [a. d. 1743. and, ' A Latin Translation of Pope's Verses on his Grotto' ;'* and, as he could employ his pen with equal success upon a small matter as a great, I suppose him to be the authour of an advertisement for Osborne, concerning the great Harleian Catalogue'. But I should think myself much wanting, both to my il- lustrious friend and my readers, did I not introduce here, with more than ordinary respect, an exquisitely beautiful Ode, which has not been inserted in any of the collections of Johnson's poetry, written by him at a very early period, as Mr. Hector informs me, and inserted in the Gentleman's Magazitie of this year. Friendship, an Ode.* ' Friendship, peculiar boon of heav'n, The noble mind's delight and pride, To men and angels only giv'n, To all the lower world deny'd. While love, unknown among the blest, Parent of thousand wild desires, The savage and the human breast Torments alike with raging fires ; Mr. Hector was present when this Epigram was made impromptu. The first Hne was proposed by Dr. James, and Johnson was called upon by the company to finish it. which he instantly did. Boswell. Macaulay {Essays, i. 364) criticises Mr. Croker's criticism of this epi- gram. ' The lines with which this poem is introduced seem to show that it cannot be Johnson's. He was not the man to allow that haste of performance was any plea for indulgence. They are as follows: — ' Though several translations of Mr. Pope's verses on his Grotto have already appeared, we hope that the following attempt, which, we are assured, was the casual amusement of half an hour during several solicitations to proceed, will neither be unacceptable to our readers, nor (these circumstances considered) dishonour the persons concerned by a hasty publication.' Gent. Mag. xiii. 550. * See Gent. Mag. xiii. 560. I doubt whether this advertisement be from Johnson's hand. It is ver>' unlikely that he should make the advertiser in one and the same paragraph when speaking of himself use us and mine. Boswell does not mention the Preface to vol. iii. of With Aetat. 34.J Dr. jfaDics and Dr. Mead. 183 With bright, but oft destructive, gleam, Alike o'er all his lightnings fly; Thy lambent glories only beam Around the fav'rites of the sky. Thy gentle flows of guiltless joys On fools and villains ne'er descend ; In vain for thee the tyrant sighs, And hugs a flatterer for a friend. Directress of the brave and just, O guide us through life's darksome way ! And let the tortures of mistrust On selfish bosoms only prey. Nor shall thine ardours cease to glow. When souls to blissful climes remove ; What rais'd our virtue here below. Shall aid our happiness above.' Johnson had now an opportunity of obliging his school- fellow Dr. James, of whom he once observed, ' no man brings more mind to his profession'.' James published this year his Medicinal Dictionary, in three volumes folio. Johnson, as I understood from him, had written, or assisted in writing, the proposals for this work ; and being very fond of the study of physick, in which James was his master, he furnished some of the articles'. He, however, certainly wrote for it the Dedi- cation to Dr. Mead,t which is conceived with great address, to conciliate the patronage of that very eminent man'. the Harleian Catalogue. It is included in Johnson's Works (v. 198). Its author, be he who he may, in speaking of literature, says : — ' I have idly hoped to revive a taste well-nigh extinguished.' ' Johnson did not speak equally well of Dr. James's morals. ' He will not,' he wrote, ' pay for three box tickets which he took. It is a strange fellow.' The tickets were no doubt for Miss Williams's bene- fit (Crocker's Boswell, 8vo. p. loi). See ante, p. 95, 2LVi6. post, March 28, 1776, end of 1780, note. ' See post, April 5, 1776. ' 'to dr. mead. 'Sir, ' That the Medicinal Dictionary is dedicated to you, is to be im- puted only to your reputation for superior skill in those sciences It 184 Dr. Birch. [a.d. 1743. It has been circulated, I know not with what authenticity, that Johnson considered Dr. Birch as a dull writer, and said of him, ' Tom Birch is as brisk as a bee in conversation ; but no sooner does he take a pen in his hand, than it becomes a torpedo to him, and benumbs all his faculties'.' That the literature of this country is much indebted to Birch's activity and diligence must certainly be acknowledged. We have seen that Johnson honoured him with a Greek Epigram'; and his correspondence with him, during many years, proves that he had no mean opinion of him. which I have endeavoured to explain and facilitate : and you are, therefore, to consider this address, if it be agreeable to you, as one of the rewards of merit ; and if, otherwise, as one of the inconveniences of eminence. * However you shall receive it, my design cannot be disappointed ; because this publick appeal to your judgement will shew that I do not found my hopes of approbation upon the ignorance of my readers, and that I fear his censure least, whose knowledge is most extensive. ' I am, Sir, ' Your most obedient humble servant, ' R.James.' BoswELL. See post. May i6, 1778, where Johnson said, 'Dr. Mead lived more in the broad sunshine of life than almost any man.' ' 'Johnson was used to speak of him in this manner : — " Tom is a lively rogue ; he remembers a great deal, and can tell many pleasant stories; but a pen is to Tom a torpedo, the touch of it benumbs his hand and his brain." ' Hawkins's Jo/mson, p. 209. Goldsmith in his Life of Nash (Cunningham's GoldsmitJi s Works, iv. 54) says: — 'Nash was not born a writer, for whatever humour he might have in conver- sation, he used to call a pen his torpedo ; whenever he grasped it, it benumbed all his faculties.' It is very likely that Nash borrowed this saying from Johnson. In Boswell's Hebrides, Sept. 24, 1773, we read : ' Dr. Birch being mentioned, Dr. Johnson said he had more anecdotes than any man. I said, Percy had a great many ; that he flowed with them like one of the brooks here. Johnson. " If Percy is like one of the brooks here, Birch was like the River Thames. Birch excelled Percy in that as much as Percy excels Goldsmith." ' Disraeli (Curi- osities of Literature, iii. 425) describes Dr. Birch as 'one to whom British history stands more indebted than to any superior author. He has enriched the British Museum by thousands of the most authentic documents of genuine secret history.' ' A7ite, p. 162. To Aetat.34.] Letter to Mr. Levett. 1S5 'To Dr. Birch. 'Thursday, Sept. 29, 1743. 'Sir, ' I hope you will excuse me for troubling you on an occasion on which I know not whom else I can apply to ; I am at a loss for the Lives and Characters of Earl Stanhope, the two Craggs, and the minister Sunderland ; and beg that you will inform [me] where I may find them, and send any pamphlets, &c. relating to them to Mr. Cave, to be perused for a few days by, Sir, ' Your most humble servant, ' Sam. Johnson.' His circumstances were at this time much embarrassed; yet his affection for his mother was so warm, and so Hberal, that he took upon himself a debt of her's, which, though small in itself, was then considerable to him. This appears from the following letter which he wrote to Mr. Levett, of Lichfield, the original of which lies now before me. 'To Mr. Levett; in Lichfield. ' December i, 1743. 'Sir, ' I am extremely sorry that we have encroached so much upon your forbearance with respect to the interest, which a great per- plexity of affairs hindered me from thinking of with that attention that I ought, and which I am not immediately able to remit to you, but will pay it (I think twelve pounds,) in two months. I look upon this, and on the future interest of that mortgage, as my own debt ; and beg that you will be pleased to give me directions how to pay it, and not mention it to my dear mother. If it be necessary to pay this in less time, I believe I can do it ; but I take two months for certainty, and beg an answer whether you can allow me so much time. I think myself very much obliged to your for- bearance, and shall esteem it a great happiness to be able to serve you. I have great opportunities of dispersing anything that you may think proper to make publick'. I will give a note for the ' In 1 761 Mr. John Levett was returned for Lichfield, but on petition was declared to be not duly elected {Pari. Hist. xv. 1088). Perhaps he was already aiming at public life. money, i86 The Life of Savage. [a. d. 1744. money, payable at the time mentioned, to any one here that you shall appoint. I am. Sir, ' Your most obedient, ' And most humble servant, ' Sam. Johnson. 'At Mr. Osborne's, bookseller, in Gray's Inn.' 1744: .^TAT. 35.] — It does not appear that he wrote any thing in 1744 for the Gentleman s Magazine, but the Preface. f His Life of Baretier was now re-published in a pamphlet by itself. But he produced one work this year, fully sufficient to maintain the high reputation which he had acquired. This was The Life of Richard Savage ;* a man, of whom it is dif- ficult to speak impartially, without wondering that he was for some time the intimate companion of Johnson' ; for his character was marked by profligacy, insolence, and ingrati- tude' : yet, as he undoubtedly had a warm and vigorous, ' One explanation may be found of Johnson's intimacy with Savage and with other men of loose character. ' He was,' writes Hawkins, ' one of the most quick-sighted men I ever knew in discovering the good and amiable qualities of others' (Hawkins's Johnson, \). ^^o). ' He was,' says Boswell {post, April 13, 1778), 'willing to take men as they are, imperfect, and with a mixture of good and bad qualities.' How intimate the two men were is shown by the following passage in Johnson's Life of Savage : — 'Savage left London in July, 1739, having taken leave with great tenderness of his friends, and parted from the author of this narrative with tears in his eyes.' Johnson's Works, viii. 173- * As a specimen of his temper, I insert the following letter from him to a noble Lord, to whom he was under great obligations, but who, on account of his bad conduct, was obliged to discard him. The original was in the hands of the late Francis Cockayne Cust, Esq., one of His Majesty's Counsel learned in the law : ' Right Honourable Brute, ajid BoOBV, ' I FIND you want (as Mr. is pleased to hint,) to swear away my life, that is, the life of your creditor, because he asks you for a debt. — The publick shall soon be acquainted with this, to judge whether you are not litter to be an Irish Evidence, than to be an Irish Peer. — I defy and despise you. ' I am, ' Your determined adversary, ' R. S.' though Aetat. 155.] yokiisous friendship with Savage. 187 though unregulated mind, had seen life in all its varieties, and been much in the company of the statesmen and wits of his time', he could communicate to Johnson an abundant supply of such materials as his philosophical curiosity most eagerly desired ; and as Savage's misfortunes and miscon- duct had reduced him to the lowest state of wretchedness as a writer for bread', his visits to St. John's Gate naturally brought Johnson and him together'. BoswELL. The noble Lord was no doubt Lord Tyrconnel. See Johnson's Works, viii. 140. Mr. Cust is mentioned /^5-A p. 170. ' ' Savage took all opportunities of conversing familiarly with those who were most conspicuous at that time for their power or their in- fluence ; he watched their looser moments, and examined their domes- tic behaviour with that acuteness which nature had given him, and which the uncommon variety of his life had contributed to increase, and that inquisitiveness which must always be produced in a vigorous mind by an absolute freedom from all pressing or domestic engage- ments.' Johnson's ^-F^r/^'i-, viii. 135. ' ' Thus he spent his time in mean expedients and tormenting sus- pense, living for the greatest part in the fear of prosecutions from his creditors, and consequently skulking in obscure parts of the town, of which he was no stranger to the remotest corners.' lb. p. 165. ' Sir John Hawkins gives the world to understand, that Johnson, ' being an admirer of genteel manners, was captivated by the address and demeanour of Savage, who, as to his exterior, was, to a remarkable degree, accomplished.' Hawkins's Life, p. 52. But Sir John's notions of gentility must appear somewhat ludicrous, from his stating the fol- lowing circumstance as presumptive evidence that Savage was a good swordsman ; ' That he understood the exercise of a gentleman's weap- on, may be inferred from the use made of it in that rash encounter which is related in his life.' The dexterity here alluded to was, that Savage, in a nocturnal fit of drunkenness, stabbed a man at a coffee- house, and killed him ; for which he was tried at the Old-Bailey, and found guilty of murder. Johnson, indeed, describes him as having ' a grave and manly de- portment, a solemn dignity of mien ; but which, upon a nearer ac- quaintance, softened into an engaging easiness of manners.' [John- son's Works, v\\\. 187.] How highly Johnson admired him for that knowledge which he himself so much cultivated, and what kindness he entertained for him, appears from the following lines in the Gen- tleman's Magazine for April 1738. which I am assured were written by Johnson ; It ^^8 Dining behind the screen. [a.d. 1744. It is melancholy to reflect, that Johnson and Savage were sometimes in such extreme indigence', that they could not pay for a lodging ; so that they have wandered together whole nights in the streets'. Yet in these almost incredible Mom that period, to his death in the prison of Bristol, the ac- count will be continued from materials still less liable to objection ; his own letters, and those of his friends, some of which will be in- serted in the work, and abstracts of others subjoined in the margin. ' It may be reasonably imagined, that others may have the same design ; but as it is not credible that they can obtain the same materials, it must be expected they will supply from invention the want of intelligence; and that under the title of "The Life of Savage," they will publish only a novel, filled with romantick ad- ventures, and imaginary amours. You may therefore, perhaps, grat- ify the lovers of truth and wit, by giving me leave to inform them in your Magazine, that my account will be published in 8vo. by Mr. Roberts, in Warwick-lane'.' \^No signature. \ In February 1744, it accordingly came forth from the shop ' Cave was the purchaser of the copyright, and the following is a copy of Johnson's receipt for the money : — ' The 14th day of Decem- ber, received of Mr. Ed. Cave the sum of fifteen guineas, in full, for compiling and writing The Life of Richard Savage, Esq., deceased ; and in full for all materials thereto applied, and not found by the said Edward Cave. I say, received by me, Sam. Johnson. Dec. 14, 1743.' Wright. The title-page is as follows : — ' An account of the Life of Mr. Richard Savage, son of the Earl Rivers. London. Printed for J. Roberts, in Warwick-Lane, mdccxliv." It reached a second edi- tion in 1748, a third in 1767, and a fourth in 1769. A French transla- tion was published in 1771. of Aetat.35.j Reynolds reads The Life of Savage. 191 of Roberts, between whom and Johnson I have not traced any connection, except the casual one of this publication'. In Johnson's Life of Savage, although it must be allowed that its moral is the reverse of — ' Rcspiccre exemplar vitce morunique jubebo' ,' a very useful lesson is inculcated, to guard men of warm passions from a too free indulgence of them ; and the various incidents arc related in so clear and animated a manner, and illuminated throughout with so much philoso- phy, that it is one of the most interesting narratives in the English language. Sir Joshua Reynolds told me, that upon his return from Italy' he met with it in Devonshire, knowing nothing of its authour, and began to read it while he was standing with his arm leaning against a chimney-piece. It seized his attention so strongly, that, not being able to lay down the book till he had finished it, when he attempted to move, he found his arm totally benumbed. The rapidity with which this work was composed, is a wonderful circum- stance. Johnson has been heard to say, * I wrote forty-eight of the printed octavo pages of the Life of Savage at a sit- ting ; but then I sat up all night\' He exhibits the genius of Savage to the best advantage in the specimens of his poetry which he has selected, some of which are of uncommon merit. We, indeed, occasionally find such vigour and such point, as might make us suppose that the generous aid of Johnson had been imparted to his friend. Mr. Thomas Warton made this remark to me ; and, in support of it, quoted from the poem entitled The Bastard, a line, in which the fancied superiority of one ' stamped in Nature's mint with extasy",' is contrasted with a regular law- ful descendant of some great and ancient family: ' Roberts published in 1745 Johnson's Observations on Macbeth. See Gent. Mag. xv. 1 12, 224. ' Horace, Ars Poetica, 1. 317. ' In the autumn of 1752. Northcote's Reynolds, i. 52. * Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, 3rd ed. p. 35 [p. 55. Aug. 19, 1773]. BOSWELL. • ' mint of ecstasy :' Savage's Works (1777), ii. 91. 'No 192 Resemblance of yohitsou to Savage, [a.d. I74t. 'No tenth transmitter of a foolish face'.' But the fact is, that this poem was published some years before Johnson and Savage were acquainted". ' ' He lives to build, not boast a generous race : No tenth transmitter of a foolish face." Savage ' s Works (1777), ii. 91. ' ' The Bastard : A poem, inscribed with all due reverence to Mrs. Bret, once Countess of Macclesfield. By Richard Savage, son of the late Earl Rivers. London, printed for T. Worrall, 1738.' Fol. first edition. P. CUNNINGHAM. Between Savage's character, as drawn by Johnson, and Johnson himself there are many points of likeness. Each ' always preserved a steady confidence in his own capacity,' and of each it might be said : — ' Whatever faults may be imputed to him, the virtue of suffering well cannot be denied him.' Each ' excelled in the arts of conversation and therefore willingly practised them." In Savage's refusal to enter a house till some clothes had been taken away that had been left for him ' with some neglect of ceremonies,* we have the counterpart of Johnson's throwing away the new pair of shoes that had been set at his door. Of Johnson the following lines are as true as of Savage : — ' His distresses, however afflictive, never dejected him ; in his lowest state he wanted not spirit to assert the natural dignity of wit, and was always ready to repress that insolence which the superiority of fortune incited ; ... he never admitted any gross familiarities, or submitted to be treated otherwise than as an equal.' Of both men it might be said that ' it was in no time of his life any part of his character to be the first of the company that de- sired to separate.' Each 'would prolong his conversation till mid- night, without considering that business might require his friend's application in the morning ;' and each could plead the same excuse that. ' when he left his company, he was abandoned to gloomy reflec- tions.' Each had the same 'accurate judgment,' the same 'quick apprehension,' the same 'tenacious memory.' In reading such lines as the following who does not think, not of the man whose biography was written, but of the biographer himself.-' — 'He had the peculiar felicity that his attention never deserted him ; he was present to every obiect, and regardful of the most trifling occurrences . . . To this quality is to be imputed the extent of his knowledge, compared with the small time which he spent in visible endeavours to acquire it. He mingled in cursory conversation with the same steadiness of atten- tion as others apply to a lecture . . . His judgment was eminently ex- act both with regard to writings and to men. The knowledge of life was indeed his chief attainment.' Of Johnson's London, as of Savage's It Aetat. 35.] yoliusoii s prejudice against players, 193 It is remarkable, that in this biographical disquisition there appears a very strong symptom of Johnson's prejudice against players'; a prejudice which may be attributed to the follow- ing causes: first, the imperfection of his organs, which were so defective that he was not susceptible of the fine impressions which theatrical excellence produces upon the generalit}- of mankind; secondly, the cold rejection of his tragedy; and, lastly, the brilliant success of Garrick, who had been his pupil, who had come to London at the same time with him, not in a much more prosperous state than himself, and whose talents he undoubtedly rated low, compared with his own. His being outstripped by his pupil in the race of immediate fame, as well as of fortune, probably made him feel some indignation, as thinking that whatever might be Garrick's merits in his art, the reward was too great when compared with what the most successful efforts of literary labour could attain. At all periods of his life Johnson used to talk con- temptuously of players^ ; but in this work he speaks of them with peculiar acrimony ; for which, perhaps, there was for- merly too much reason from the licentious and dissolute manners of those engaged in that profession'. It is but The Wanderer, it might equally well be said : — ' Nor can it without some degree of indignation and concern be told that he sold the copy for ten guineas.' • ' Savage was now again abandoned to fortune without any other friend than Mr. Wilks ; a man who, whatever were his abilities or skill as an actor, deserves at least to be remembered for his virtues, which are not often to be found in the world, and perhaps less often in his profession than in others. To be humane, generous, and candid is a very high degree of merit in any case, but those qualities deserve still greater praise when they are found in that condition which makes almost every other man, for whatever reason, contemptuous, insolent, petulant, selfish, and brutal.' Johnson's Works, viii. 107. * In his old age he wrote as he had written in the vigour of his man- hood : — ' To the censure of Collier ... he [Dryden ] makes little reply ; being at the age of sixty-eight attentive to better things than the claps of a play-house.' Johnson's Works, vii. 295. See. post, April 29, 1773. and Sept. 21, 1777. ^ Johnson, writing of the latter half of the seventeenth century, says : — ' The playhouse was abhorred by the Puritans, and avoided by I. — 13 justice 1 94 Garricks mistakes in emphasis, [a.d. 1744. justice to add, that in our own time such a change has taken place, that there is no longer room for such an unfavourable distinction'. His schoolfellow and friend, Dr. Taylor, told me a pleasant anecdote of Johnson's triumphing over his pupil David Gar- rick. When that great actor had played some little time at Goodman's Fields, Johnson and Taylor went to see him per- form, and afterwards passed the evening at a tavern with him and old Giffard\ Johnson, who was ever depreciating stage- players, after censuring some mistakes in emphasis which Garrick had committed in the course of that night's acting, said, ' the players. Sir, have got a kind of rant,w^ith which they run on, without any regard either to accent or emphasis^* Both Garrick and Giffard were offended at this sarcasm, and endeavoured to refute it; upon which Johnson rejoined, 'Well now, I'll give you something to speak, with which you those who desired the character of seriousness or decency. A grave lawyer would have debased his dignity, and a young trader would have impaired his credit, by appearing in those mansions of dissolute licentiousness." Johnson's Works, vii. 270. The following lines in Churchill's Apology {Poems, i. 65), published in 1761, shew how strong, even at that time, was the feeling against strolling players : — ' The strolling tribe, a despicable race. Like wand'ring Arabs shift from place to place. Vagrants by law, to Justice open laid, They tremble, of the beadle's lash afraid, And fawning cringe, for wretched means of life, To Madam May'ress, or his Worship's Wife.' ' Johnson himself recognises the change in the public estimation : — ' In Dryden's time,' he writes, ' the drama was very far from that universal approbation which it has now obtained.' Works, vii. 270. ' Giffard was the manager of the theatre in Goodman's Fields, where Garrick, on Oct. 19, 1741, made his first appearance before a London audience. Murphy's Garrick, pp. 13, 16. * ' Colonel Pennington said, Garrick sometimes failed in emphasis ; as, for instance, in Hamlet, "I will speak daggers to her; but use ?wne ;" instead of " I will speak daggers to her ; but use none." ' Boswell's Hebrides, Aug. 28, 1773. arc Aetat. 35.] A review in The Champion. 195 are little acquainted, and then we shall see how just my ob- servation is. That shall be the criterion. Let me hear you repeat the ninth Commandment, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour."' Both tried at it, said Dr. Taylor, and both mistook the emphasis, which should be upon not and false witness^. Johnson put them right, and enjoyed his victory with great glee. His Life of Savage was no sooner published, than the fol- lowing liberal praise was given to it, in The Champion, a periodical paper : ' This pamphlet is, without flattery to its authour, as just and well written a piece as of its kind I ever saw ; so that at the same time that it highly deserves, it certainly stands very little in need of this recommendation. As to the history of the unfortunate person, whose memoirs compose this work, it is certainly penned with equal accuracy and spirit, of which I am so much the better judge, as I know many of the facts mentioned to be strictly true, and fairly related. Besides, it is not only the story of Mr. Savage, but innumerable incidents relating to other persons, and other affairs, which renders this a very amusing, and, withal, a very instructive and valuable performance. The authour's obser- vations are short, significant, and just, as his narrative is re- markably smooth, and well disposed. His reflections open to all the recesses of the human heart ; and, in a word, a more just or pleasant, a more engaging or a more improving treatise, on all the excellencies and defects of human nat- ure, is scarce to be found in our own, or, perhaps, any other language^' ' I suspect Dr. Taylor was inaccurate in this statement. The em- phasis should be equally upon shalt and not, as both concur to form the negative injunction ; -Arvd. false li'itness, like the other acts prohib- ited in the Decalogue, should not be marked by any peculiar emphasis, but only be distinctly enunciated. Boswell. '■' This character of the Life of Savage was not written by Fielding as has been supposed, but most probably by Ralph, who, as appears from the minutes of the partners of The Champioft, in the possession of Mr. Reed of Staple Inn. succeeded Fielding in his share of the oaper, before the date of that eulogium. Boswell. Ralph is men- lohnson's 196 Parentage of Richard Savage. [a.d. 1744. Johnson's partiality for Savage made him entertain no doubt of his story, however extraordinary and improbable. It never occurred to him to question his being the son of the Countess of Macclesfield, of whose unrelenting barbarity lie so loudly complained, and the particulars of which arc related in so strong and affecting a manner in Johnson's life of him. Johnson was certainly well warranted in publishing his narrative, however offensive it might be to the lady and her relations, because her alledged unnatural and cruel con- duct to her son, and shameful avowal of guilt, were stated in a Life of Savage now lying before me, which came out so early as 1727, and no attempt had been made to confute it, or to punish the authour or printer as a libeller: but for the honour of human nature, we should be glad to find the shock- ing talc not true ; and, from a respectable gentleman' con- nected with the lady's family, 1 have received such informa- tion and remarks, as joined to my own inquiries, will, I think, render it at least somewhat doubtful, especially when we con- sider that it must have originated from the person himself who went by the name of Richard Savage. If the maxim /iz/jww in uno, falsiim in omnibus, vj ere to be received without qualification, the credit of Savage's narra- tive, as conveyed to us, would be annihilated ; for it contains some assertions which, beyond a question, are not true\ I. In order to induce a belief that Earl Rivers, on ac- count of a criminal connection with whom. Lady Macclesfield is said to have been divorced from her husband, by Act of tioned in T/ie Dunciad, iii. 165. A curious account of him is giver: \a Benjamin Franklin's Memoirs, i. 54-87, and 245. ^ The late Francis Cockayne Cust, Esq., one of his Majesty's Coun- sel. BOSWELL. * ' Savage's veracity was questioned, but with little reason ; his ac- counts, though not indeed always the same, were generally consistent. When he loved any man. he suppressed all his faults: and, when he had been oflended by him, concealed all his virtues : but his charac- ters were generally true so far as he proceeded ; though it cannot be denied that his partiality might have sometimes the effect of false- hood.' Johnson's Works, viii. 190. Parliament, Aetat. 35.J Parentage of Richard Savage. 197 Parliament', had a peculiar anxiety about the child which she bore to him, it is alledged, that his Lordship gave him his own name, and had it duly recorded in the register of St. Andrew's, Holborn\ I have carefully inspected that register, but no such entry is to be found'. 2. It is stated, that ' Lady Macclesfield having lived for some ' 1697. BOSWELL. ' Johnson's Works, viii. 98. ^ The story on which Mr. Cust so much relies, that Savage was a supposititious child, not the son of Lord Rivers and Lady Macclesfield, but the offspring of a shoemaker, introduced in consequence of her real son's death, was, without doubt, grounded on the circumstance of Lady Macclesfield having, in 1696, previously to the birth of Savage, had a daughter by the Earl Rivers, who died in her infancy ; a fact which was proved in the course of the proceedings on Lord Maccles- field's Bill of Divorce. Most fictions of this kind have some admixt- ure of truth in them. Malone. From The Earl of Macclesfield' s Case, it appears that ' Anne, Countess of Macclesfield, under the name of Madam Smith, in Fox Court, near Brook Street, Holborn, was deliv- ered of a male child on the i6th of January, 1696-7, who was baptized on the Monday following, the i8th, and registered by the name of Richard, the son of John Smith, by Mr. Burbridge ; and, from the pri- vacy, was supposed by Mr. Burbridge to be " a by-blow or bastard." ' It also appears, that during her deliver)\ the lady wore a mask ; and that Mary Pegler, on the next day after the baptism, took a male child, whose mother was called Madam Smith, from the house of Mrs. Pheasant, in Fox Court [running from Brook Street in Gray's Inn Lane], who went by the name of Mrs. Lee. Conformable to this statement is the entry in the register of St. Andrew's, Holborn. which is as follows, and which unquestionably re- cords the baptism of Richard Savage, to whom Lord Rivers gave his own Christian name, prefixed to the assumed surname of his mother ; — 'Jan. 1696-7. Richard, son of John Smith and Mary, in Fox Court, in Gray's Inn Lane, baptized the i8th.' Bindley. According to Johnsons account Savage did not learn who his parents were till the death of his nurse, who had always treated him as her son. Among her papers he found some letters written by Lady Macclesfield's mother proving his origin. Johnson's ]Vorks, viii. 102. Why these letters were not laid before the public is not stated. Johnson was one of the least credulous of men, and he was convinced by Savage's story. Horace Walpole, too, does not seem to have doubted it. Wal- pole's Letters, i. cv. time 198 Lady MacclesfielcTs divorce. [a.d. 1744. time upon very uneasy terms with her husband, thought a publick confession of adultery the most obvious and ex- peditious method of obtaining her Hberty';' and Johnson, assuming this to be true, stigmatises her with indignation, as *the wretch who had, without scruple, proclaimed herself an adulteress'.' But I have perused the Journals of both houses of Parliament at the period of her divorce, and there find it authentically ascertained, that so far from voluntarily sub- mitting to the ignominious charge of adultery, she made a strenuous defence by her Counsel ; the bill having been first moved 15th January, 1697, in the House of Lords, and pro- ceeded on, (with various applications for time to bring up witnesses at a distance, &c.) at intervals, till the 3d of March, when it passed. It was brought to the Commons, by a mes- sage from the Lords, the 5th of March, proceeded on the 7th, loth, nth, 14th, and 15th, on which day, after a full ex- amination of witnesses on both sides, and hearing of Counsel, it was reported without amendments, passed, and carried to the Lords. That Lady Macclesfield was convicted of the crime of which she was accused, cannot be denied ; but the question now is, whether the person calling himself Richard Savage was her son. It has been said', that when Earl Rivers was dying, and anxious to provide for all his natural children, he was in- formed by Lady Macclesfield that her son by him was dead. Whether, then, shall we believe that this was a malignant lie. invented by a mother to prevent her own child from receiv- ing the bounty of his father, which was accordingly the con- sequence, if the person whose life Johnson wrote, was her son ; or shall we not rather believe that the person who then assumed the name of Richard Savage was an impostor, being in reality the son of the shoemaker, under whose wife's care* ' Johnson's Works, viii. 97. ' lb. p. 142. ' lb. p. loi. * According to Johnson's account (Johnson's Works, viii. t02), the shoemaker under whom Savage was placed on trial as an apprentice was not the husband of his nurse. Lady Aetat. 35.] Lady Macclesfield' s alleged cruelty. 199 Lady Macclesfield's child was placed; that after the death of the real Richard Savage, he attempted to personate him ; and that the fraud being known to Lady Macclesfield, he was therefore repulsed by her with just resentment ? There is a strong circumstance in support of the last sup- position, though it has been m.entioned as an aggravation of Lady Macclesfield's unnatural conduct, and that is, her hav- ing prevented him from obtaining the benefit of a legacy left to him by Mrs. Lloyd his god-mother. For if there was such a legacy left, his not being able to obtain payment of it, must be imputed to his consciousness that he was not the real person. The just inference should be, that by the death of Lady Macclesfield's child before its god-mother, the legacy became lapsed, and therefore that Johnson's Richard Savage was an impostor. If he had a title to the legacy, he could not have found any difficulty in recovering it ; for had the executors resisted his claim, the whole costs, as well as the legacy, must have been paid by them, if he had been the child to whom it was given'. The talents of Savage, and the mingled fire, rudeness, pride, meanness, and ferocity of his character^ concur in making it credible that he was fit to plan and carry on an ambitious and daring scheme of imposture, similar instances of which have not been wanting in higher spheres, in the history of different countries, and have had a considerable degree of success. * He was in his tenth year when she died. ' He had none to prose- cute his claim, to shelter him from oppression, or call in law to the assistance of justice." Johnson's Works, viii. p. 99. '■' Johnson's companion appears to have persuaded that lofty-minded man, that he resembled him m having a noble pride ; for Johnson, after painting in strong colours the quarrel between Lord Tyrconnel and Savage, asserts that ' the spirit of Mr. Savage, indeed, never suffered him to solicit a reconciliation : he returned reproach for reproach, and insult for insult.' {lb. p. 141.] But the respectable gentleman to whom I have alluded, has in his possession a letter from Savage, after Lord Tyrconnel had discarded him, addressed to the Reverend Mr. Gilbert, his Lordship's Chaplain, in which he requests him. in the humblest manner, to represent his case to the Viscount. Boswell. Yet, 2CK) Lord Tyrconnel. [a.d. 1744. Yet, on the other hand, to the companion of Johnson, (who through whatever medium he was conveyed into this world, — be it ever so doubtful ' To whom related, or by whom begot',' was, unquestionably, a man of no common endowments,) we must allow the weight of general repute as to his Status or parentage, though illicit ; and supposing him to be an impostor, it seems strange that Lord T)'rcon- nel, the nephew of Lady Macclesfield, should patronise him, and even admit him as a guest in his family ^ Lastly, it must ever appear very suspicious, that three different ac- counts of the Life of Richard Savage, one published in The Plain Dealer^ in 1724, another in 1727, and another by the powerful pen of Johnson, in 1744, and all of them while Lady Macclesfield was alive, should, notwithstanding the severe attacks upon her', have been suffered to pass without any publick and effectual contradiction. ' How loved, how honoured once, avails thee not. To whom related, or by whom begot.' Pope's Elegy io the Memory of an U ft/or tuftate Lady. '' Trusting to Savage's information, Johnson represents this unhappy man's being received as a companion by Lord Tyrconnel. and pensioned by his Lordship, as if posteriour to Savage's conviction and pardon. But I am assured, that Savage had received the vohmtary bounty of Lord Tyrconnel, and had been dismissed by him, long before the mur- der was committed, and that his Lordship was very instrumental in procuring Savage's pardon, by his intercession with the Queen, through Lady Hertford. If, therefore, he had been desirous of prex'enting the publication by Savage, he would have left him to his fate. Indeed I must observe, that although Johnson mentions that Lord Tyrconnel's patronage of Savage was ' upon his promise to lay aside his desiffn of exposing the cruelty of his mother,' [Johnson's Works, v'ni. 124J, the great biographer has forgotten that he himself has mentioned, that Savage's story had been told several years before in The Plain Dealer ; from which he quotes this strong saying of the generous Sir Richard Steele, that 'the inhumanity of his mother had given him a right to find every good man his father.' \Ih. p. 104.) At the same time it must be acknowledged, that Lady Macclesfield and her relations might still wish that her story should not be brought into more conspicuous notice by the satirical pen of Savage. Boswell. ' According to Johnson, she was at Bath when Savage's poem of 1 have Aetat. 3.5] Lady Macclesfield's latter career. 201 I have thus endeavoured to sum up the evidence upon the case, as fairly as I can ; and the result seems to be, that the world must vibrate in a state of uncertainty as to what was the truth. This digression, I trust, will not be censured, as it relates to a matter exceedingly curious, and very intimately con- nected with Johnson, both as a man and an authour'. The Bastard was published. "She could not,' he wrote, 'enter the assembly-rooms or cross the walks without being saluted with some lines from The Bastard. This was perhaps the first time that she ever discovered a sense of shame, and on this occasion the power of wit was very conspicuous ; the wretch who had without scruple proclaimed herself an adulteress, and who had first endeavoured to starve her son, then to transport him, and afterwards to hang him, was not able to bear the representation of her own conduct ; but fled from reproach, though she felt no pain from guilt, and left Bath with the utmost haste to shelter herself among the crowds of London." Johnson's Works, viii. 141. ' Miss Mason, after having forfeited the title of Lady Macclesfield by divorce, was married to Colonel Brett, and, it is said, was well known in all the polite circles. Colley Gibber, I am informed, had so high an opinion of her taste and judgement as to genteel life, and manners, that he submitted every scene of his Careless Husband to Mrs. Brett's revisal and correction. Colonel Brett was reported to be too free in his gallantry with his Lady's maid. Mrs. Brett came into a room one day in her own house, and found the Colonel and her maid both fast asleep in two chairs. She tied a white handkerchief round her husband's neck, which was a sufficient proof that she had discovered his intrigue ; but she never at any time took notice of it to him. This incident, as I am told, gave occasion to the well-wrought scene of Sir Charles and Lady Easy and Edging. Boswell. Lady Macclesfield died 1753, aged above 80. Her eldest daughter, by Col. Brett, was, for the few last months of his life, the mistress of George L (Walpole's Reminiscences, i. cv.) Her marriage ten years after her royal lover's death is thus announced in the Gent. Mag., ijt,! '-—'Sept. 17. Sir W. Leman,of Northall, Bart., to Miss Brett [Britt] 0/ Bond Street, an heiress ;' and again next month — ' Oct. 8. Sir William Le- man, of Northall, Baronet, to Miss Brett, half sister to Mr. Savage, son to the late Earl Rivers ;' for the difference of date I know not how to account ; but the second insertion was, no doubt, made by Savage to countenance his own pretensions. Croker. ^:^TABY^B/^^^, 202 ObSEATAJ/OA'S 0,V AIaCBETH. [a.D. 1746. He this year wrote the Preface to tJic Harleian Miscel- lany'.* The selection of the pamphlets of which it was composed was made by Mr. Oldys', a man of eager curiosity and indefatigable diligence, who first exerted that spirit of inquiry into the literature of the old English writers, by which the works of our great dramatick poet have of late been so signally illustrated. In 1745 he published a pamphlet entitled Miscellaneous Observations on the Tragedy of Macbeth, with remarks on Sir T. H.'s {Sir Thojuas Hanmers) Edition of Shakspeare."^ To which he affixed, proposals for a new edition of that poet'. As we do not trace any thing else published by him during the course of this year, we may conjecture that he was occu- pied entirely with that work. But the little encouragement * ' Among the names of subscribers to the Harleian Miscellany there occurs that of " Sarah Johnson, bookseller in Lichfield." ' John- soniana, p. 466. ^ A brief account of Oldys is given in the Gent. Mag. liv. 161, 260. Like so many of his fellows he was thrown into the Fleet. ' After poor Oldys's release, such was his affection for the place that he con- stantly spent his evenings there.' ^ In the Feb. number of the Gent. Mag. for this year (p. 112) is the following advertisement: — 'Speedily will be published (price u.) Miscellaneous Observations on the Tragedy of Macbeth, with remarks on Sir T. H.'s edition of Shakespear ; to which is affi.x'd proposals for a new edition of S/iakespear, with a specimen. Printed for J. Roberts in Warwick Lane.' In the March number (p. 114), under the date of March 31. it is announced that it will be published on April 6. In spite of the two advertisements, and the title-page which agrees with the advertisements, I believe that the Proposals were not published till eleven years later (see. post, end of 1756). I cannot hear of any copy of the Miscellaneous Observations which contains them. The advertisement is a third time repeated in the April number of the Gent. Mag. for 1745 (p. 224). but the Proposals are not this time men- tioned. Tom Davies the bookseller gives 1756 as the date of their publication {Misc. and Fjigitive Pieces, ii. 87). Perhaps Johnson or the booksellers were discouraged by Hanmer's Shakespeare as well as by Warburton's. Johnson at the end of the Miscellaneous Observa- tions says : — ' After the foregoing pages were printed, the late edition of Shakespeare ascribed to Sir T. H. fell into my hands." which Aetat. 37.] The Rebellioji of 1 745. 203 which was given by the publick to his anonymous pro- posals for the execution of a task which Warburton was known to have undertaken, probably damped his ardour. His pamphlet, however, was highly esteemed, and was for- tunate enough to obtain the approbation even of the super- cilious Warburton himself, who, in the Preface to his Shaks- peare published two years afterwards, thus mentioned it : ' As to all those things which have been published under the titles of Essays, Remarks, Observations, &c. on Shaks- peare, if you except some critical notes on Macbeth, given as a specimen of a projected edition, and written, as appears, by a man of parts and genius, the rest are absolutely below a serious notice.' Of this flattering distinction shewn to him b\' W 'nirton, a very grateful remembrance was ever entertained bj, John- son, who said, ' He praised me at a time when praise was of value to me.' 1746: ^TAT. 37.] — In 1746 it is probable that he was still employed upon his Shakspeare, which perhaps he laid aside for a time, upon account of the high expectations which were formed of Warburton's edition of that great poet'. It is somewhat curious, that his literary career appears to have been almost totally suspended in the years 1745 and 1746, those years which were marked by a civil war in Great- Britain, when a rash attempt was made to restore the House of Stuart to the throne. That he had a tenderness for that unfortunate House, is well known ; and some may fancifully imagine, that a sympathetick anxiety impeded the exertion of his intellectual powers : but I am inclined to think, that he was, during this time, sketching the outlines of his great philological work". ' ' The excellence of the edition proved to be by no means proportion- ate to the arrogance of the editor." Cambridge Shakespeart\ \. .x.xxiv. * 'When you see Mr. Johnson pray [give] my compliments, and tell him I esteem him as a great genius — quite lost both to himself and the world.' Gilbert Walmesley to Garrick, Nov. 3, 1746. Garrick Cor- respondence, i. 45. Mr. Walmesley's letter does not shew that Johnson was idle. The old man had expected great things from him. ' I have None 204 yohnson not aii ardent yacobite. [a.d. 1747. None of his letters during those years are extant, so far as I can discover. This is much to be regretted. It might great hopes,' he had written in 1737 (see antt\ p. 118), 'that he will turn out a fine tragedy writer.' In the nine years in which Johnson had been in town he had done, no doubt, much admirable work ; but by his poem of London only was he known to the public. His Z//> of Savage did not bear his name. His Observatiojis on Macbeth were published in April, 1745; his Plan of the Dictionary in 1747. What was Johnson doing meanwhile? Boswell conjectures that he was engaged on his Shakespeare and his Dictionary. That he went on working at his Shakespeare when the prospect of publishing was so remote that he could not issue his proposals is very unlikely. That he had been for some time engaged on his Dictionary before he ad- dressed Lord Chesterfield is shewn by the opening sentences of the Plan. Mr. Croker's conjecture that he was absent or concealed on account of some difficulties which had arisen through the rebellion of 1745 is absurd. At no time of his life had he been an ardent Jaco- bite. 'I have heard him declare," writes Boswell, ' that if holding up his right hand would have secured victory at Culloden to Prince Charles's army, he was not sure he would have held it up ;' post, July 14, 1763. 'He had never in his life been in a nonjuring meeting- house ;' post, June 9, 1784. For the fact that he wrote very little, if indeed anything, in the Gent. Mag-, during these years more than one reason may be given. In the first place, public affairs take up an unusual amount of room in its columns. Thus in the number for Dec. 1745 we read: — 'Our readers being too much alarmed by the present rebellion to relish with their usual delight the Debates in the Senate of Lilliput we shall postpone them for a season, that we may be able to furnish out a fuller entertainment of what we find to be more suitable to their present taste." In the Preface it is stated : — ' We have sold more of our books than we desire for several months past, and are heartily sorry for the occasion of it, the present troubles.' During these years then much less space was given to literature. But besides this, John- son likely enough refused to write for the Magazine when it shewed itself strongly Hanoverian. He would highly disapprove of A Xc-^' Protestant Litany, which was written after the following fashion : — ' May Spaniards, or French, all who join with a Highland, In disturbing the peace of this our bless'd island, Meet tempests on sea and halters on dry land. We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord.' Gent. Mag. .xv. 551. He would be disgusted the following year at seeing the Duke of afford Aetat. :j8.] Tiie LifE OF AlfRED. 205 afford some entertainment to see how he then expressed himself to his private friends, concerning State affairs. Dr. Adams informs me, that ' at this time a favourite object which he had in contemplation was The Life of Alfred ; in which, from the warmth with which he spoke about it, he would, I believe, had he been master of his own will, have engaged himself, rather than on any other subject.' 1747 : ^TAT. 38.] — In 1747 it is supposed that the Gentle- jftans Magazine for May was enriched by him with five' short poetical pieces, distinguished by three asterisks. The first is a translation, or rather a paraphrase, of a Latin Epitaph on Sir Thomas Hanmer. Whether the Latin was his, or not, I have never heard, though I should think it probably was, if it be certain that he wrote the English"; as to which my only cause of doubt is, that his slighting character of Hanmer as an editor, in his Observations o)i Macbeth, is very different from that in the ' Elpitaph.' It may be said, that there is the same contrariety between the character in the Observations, and that in his own Preface to Shakspeare' ; but a considerable time elapsed between the Cumberland praised as ' the greatest man alive ' {Gent. Mag. xvi. 235), and sung in verse that would have almost disgraced Cibber (p. 36). It is remarkable that there is no mention of Johnson's Plan of a Dic- tionary in the Magazine. Perhaps some coolness had risen between him and Cave. ' Boswell proceeds to mention six. ' In Mrs. Williams's Miscellanies, in which this paraphrase is in- serted, it is stated that the Latin epitaph was written by Dr. Freind. I do not think that the English version is by Johnson. I should be sorry to ascribe to him such lines as : — ' Illustrious age ! how bright thy glories shone, When Hanmer filled the chair — and Anne the throne.' • In the Observations, Johnson, writing of Hanmer, says : — ' Surely the weapons of criticism ought not to be blunted against an editor who can imagine that he is restoring poetry while he is amusing himself with alterations like these :— For, — This is the sergeant Who like a good and hardy soldier fought r — This is the sergeant who Like a right good and hardy soldier fought. one 2o6 Poems wrongly assigned to Johnson, [a.d. 1747. one publication and the other, whereas the Observations and the ' Epitaph ' came close together. The others are ' To Miss , on her giving the Authour a gold and silk net- work Purse of her own weaving ;' ' Stella in Mourning ;' * The Winter's Walk ;' ' An Ode ;' and, ' To Lyce, an elderly- Lady.' I am not positive that all these were his produc- tions' ; but as 'The Winter's Walk' has never been contro- verted to be his, and all of them have the same mark, it is reasonable to conclude that they are all written by the same hand. Yet to the Ode, in which we find a passage very characteristick of him, being a learned description of the gout, ' Unhappy, whom to beds of pain Arthritick tyranny consigns ;' Such harmless industry may surely be forgiven, if it cannot be praised ; may he therefore never want a monosyllable who can use it with such wonderful dexterity." Johnson's Works, v. 93. In his Preface to Shakespeare published eighteen years later, he describes Hanmer as ' A man, in my opinion, eminently qualified by nature for such studies.' lb. p. 139. The editors of the Cambridge Shakespeare (i. xxxii) thus write of Hanmer ; — ' A country gentleman of great in- genuity and lively fancy, but with no knowledge of older literature, no taste for research, and no ear for the rhythm of earlier English verse, amused his leisure hours by scribbling down his own and his friend's guesses in Pope's Shakespeare! ' In the Utiiversal Visiter, to which Johnson contributed, the mark which is affixed to some pieces unquestionably his, is also found sub- joined to others, of which he certainly was not the author. The mark therefore will not ascertain the poems in question to have been writ- ten by him. They were probably the productions of Hawkesworth, who, it is believed, was afflicted with the gout. M alone. It is most unlikely that Johnson wrote such poor poems as these. I shall not easily be persuaded that the following lines are his : — ' Love warbles in the vocal groves, And vegetation paints the plain.' ' And love and hate alike implore The skies — "That Stella mourn no more."' ' The Winter's Walk ' has two good lines, but these may have been supplied by Johnson. The lines to ' Lyce, an elderly Lady,' would, if written by him, have been taken as a satire on his wife. there Aetat. 38.J Poems zvrongly assig7ied to yohnson. 207 there is the following note: 'The authour being ill of the gout :' but Johnson was not attacked with that distemper till at a very late period of his life'. May not this, however, be a poetical fiction ? Why may not a poet suppose himself to have the gout, as well as suppose himself to be in love, of which we have innumerable instances, and which has been admirably ridiculed by Johnson in his Life of Cowley'^? I have also some difficulty to believe that he could produce such a group of conceits^ as appear in the verses to Lyce, in which he claims for this ancient personage as good a right to be assimilated to heaven, as nymphs whom other poets have flattered ; he therefore ironically ascribes to her the at- tributes of the sky, in such stanzas as this : . ' Her teeth the night with darktiess dies, She's starred with pimples o'er ; Her tongue like nimble lighttiing plies, And can with thunder roar.' But as at a very advanced age he could condescend to trifle in yiamby-paniby^ rhymes, to please Mrs. Thrale and her daughter, he may have, in his earlier years, composed such a piece as this. It is remarkable, that in this first edition of TJie Winter s Walk, the concluding line is much more Johnsonian than it was afterwards printed ; for in subsequent editions, after praying Stella to ' snatch him to her arms,' he says, 'And shield me from the ills of life.' Whereas in the first edition it is 'And hide me from the sight of life.* * Stepost under Sept. 18, 1783. * See Johnson's Works, vii. 4, 34. ^ Boswell italicises conceits to shew that he is using it in the sense in which Johnson uses it in his criticism of Cowley: — 'These conceits Addison calls mixed wit ; that is, wit which consists of thoughts true in one sense of the expression and false in the other.' lb. vii. 35. * Namby Pamby was the name given to Ambrose PhiHps by Pope. lb. viii. 395. A horrour 2o8 Verses on Lord Loval. [a.d. 1747. A horrour at life in general is more consonant with John- son's habitual gloomy cast of thought. I have heard him repeat with great energy the following verses, which appeared in the Gcntlc)>iaii s Magazine for April this year ; but I have no authority to say they were his own. Indeed one of the best criticks of our age' suggests to me, that 'the word mdiffcrcntly being used in the sense of witJiout concern,' and being also very unpoetical, renders it improbable that they should have been his composition. ' On Lord Lovat's Execution. ' Pity'd by geritle minds Kil.marnock. died ; The brave, Balmkrino, were on thy side; Radcliffe, unhappy in his crimes of youth ^ Steady in what he still mistook for truth, Beheld his death so decently unmov'd. The soft lamented, and the brave approv'd. ' Malone most likely is meant. Mr. Croker says: — 'Johnson has " indifferently " in the sense of " without concern " in his Dictionary, with this example from Shakespeare, ' And I will look on death in- differently." ' Johnson however here defines indifferently as in a nentral state ; without wish or aversion ; which is not the same as without concern. The passage, which is from Julius Ccpsar, i. 2, is not correctly given. It is — 'Set honour in one eye and death i' the other And I will look on both indifferently." We may compare Johnson's use of indifferent in his Letter to Chester- field, /^j'/, Feb. 7, 1755 : — 'The notice which you have been pleased to take of my labours . . . has been delayed till I am indifferent, and can- not enjoy it.' ' ' Radcliffe. when quite a boy, had been engaged in the rebellion of 171 5, and being attainted had escaped from Newgate. . . . During the insurrection [of 1745], having been captured on board a French vessel bound for Scotland, he was arraigned on his original sentence which had slumbered so long. The only trial now conceded to him was confined to his identity. For such a course there was no prec- edent, except in the case of Sir Walter Raleigh, which had brought shame upon the reign of James I.' Campbell's Chancellors (edit. 1846), V. 108. Campbell adds, 'his execution, I think, reflects great disgrace upon Lord Hardwicke [the Lord Chancellor].' But Actat. 38.] A Prologue by JoJinson. 209 But Lovat's fate* indifferently we view, True to no King, to no religion true : No fair forgets the ruin he has done ; No child laments the tyrant of his son; No tory pities, thinking what he was ; No whig compassions,_/(>r he left the cause ; The brave regret not, for he was not brave ; The honest mourn not, knowing him a knave^ !' This year his old pupil and friend, David Garrick, having become joint patentee and manager of Drury-lane theatre, Johnson honoured his opening of it with a Prologue',* which for just and manly dramatick criticism, on the whole range of the English stage, as well as for poetical excellence*, * In the original end. ' These verses are somewhat too severe on the extraordinary person who is the chief figure in them, for he was undoubtedly brave. His pleasantry during his solemn trial (in which, by the way, I have heard Mr. David Hume observe, that we have one of the very few speeches of Mr. Murray, now Earl of Mansfield, authentically given) was very remarkable. When asked if he had any questions to put to Sir Everard Fawkener, who was one of the strongest witnesses against him, he answered, ' I only wish him joy of his young wife.' And after sentence of death, in the horrible terms in cases of treason, was pro- nounced upon him, and he was retiring from the bar, he said, ' Fare you well, my Lords, we shall not all meet again in one place.' He behaved with perfect composure at his execution, and called out ' Duke et decorum est pro patrid inori! [' What joys, what glories round him wait, Who bravely for his country dies !' Francis. Horace, OitV.s-, iii. 2. 13.] Boswell. ' Old Lovat was beheaded yesterday,' wrote Horace Walpole on April 10, 1747, 'and died extremely well: without passion, affectation, buffoonery, or timidity ; his behaviour was natural and intrepid.' Letters, ii. 77. ^ S^^ post, 1780, in Mr. Langton's Collection. " My friend, Mr. Courtenay, whose eulogy on Johnson's Latin Poetry has been inserted in this Work \a71te, p. 72], is no less happy in prais- ing his English poetry. But hark, he sings ! the strain ev'n Pope admires ; Indignant virtue her own bard inspires. I.— 14 is 2IO The Plan of the Dictionary, [a.d. 1747. is unrivalled. Like the celebrated Epilogue to the Dis- tressed Mother\ it was, during the season, often called for by the audience. The most striking and brilliant passages of it have been so often repeated, and are so well recollected by all the lovers of the drama and of poetry, that it would be superfluous to point them out. In the Gentleman s Magazine for December this year, he inserted an ' Ode on Winter,' which is, I think, an admirable specimen of his genius for lyrick poetry'. But the year 1747 is distinguished as the epoch, when Johnson's arduous and important work, his DlCTlONAR\' OK THE English Language, was announced to the world, by the publication of its Plan or Prospectus. How long this immense undertaking had been the object of his contemplation, I do not know. I once asked him by what means he had attained to that astonishing knowledge of our language, by which he was enabled to realise a design of such extent, and accumulated difficulty. He told me, that ' it was not the effect of particular study ; but that it had grown up in his mind insensibly.' I have been informed by Mr. James Dodsley, that several years before this period, Sublime as Juvenal he pours his lays, And with the Roman shares congenial praise; — In glowing numbers now he fires the age. And Shakspeare's sun relumes the clouded stage. Bosweli,. ' The play is by Ambrose Philips. ' It was concluded with the most successful Epilogue that was ever yet spoken on the English theatre. The three first nights it was recited twice ; and not only continued to be demanded through the run, as it is termed, of the play ; but, whenever it is recalled to the stage, where by peculiar fortune, though a copy from the French, it yet keeps its place, the Epilogue is still expected, and is still spoken.' Johnson's Works, viii. 389. See post, April 21, 1773, note on Eustace Budgel. The Epilogue is given in vol. v. p. 228 of Bohn's Addison, and the great success that it met with is described in The Spectator, No. 341. ' Such poor stufT as the following is certainly not by Johnson : — ' Let musick sound the voice of joy ! Or mirth repeat the jocund tale ; Let Love his wanton wiles employ. And o'er tlic season wine prevail." when Aetat. 38.] ThE PlAN OF THE DICTIONARY. 211 when Johnson was one day sitting in his brother Robert's shop, he heard his brother suggest to him, that a Dictionary of the EngHsh Language would be a work that would be well received by the publick' ; that Johnson seemed at first to catch at the proposition, but, after a pause, said, in his abrupt decisive manner, ' I believe I shall not undertake it.' That he, however, had bestowed much thought upon the subject, before he published his Plan, is evident from the en- larged, clear, and accurate views which it exhibits ; and we find him mentioning in that tract, that many of the writers whose testimonies were to be produced as authorities, were selected by Pope^ ; which proves that he had been furnished, probably by Mr. Robert Dodsley, with whatever hints that eminent poet had contributed towards a great literary proj- ect, that had been the subject of important consideration in a former reign. The booksellers who contracted with Johnson, single and unaided, for the execution of a work, which in other coun- tries has not been effected but by the co-operating exertions of many, were Mr. Robert Dodsley, Mr. Charles Hitch', Mr. Andrew Millar, the two Messieurs Longman, and the two Messieurs Knapton. The price stipulated was fifteen hun- dred and seventy-five pounds\ ' ' Dodsley first mentioned to me the scheme of an English Diction- ary ; but I had long thought of it.' Post, Oct. lo, 1779. * It would seem from the passage to which Boswell refers that Pope had wished that Johnson should undertake the Di'ctiojiary. Johnson, in mentioning Pope, says : — ' Of whom I may be justified in affirming that were he still alive, solicitous as he was for the success of this work, he would not be displeased that I have undertaken it.' Works, V. 20. As Pope died on May 30, 1744, this renders it likely that the work was begun earlier than Boswell thought. ^ In the title-page of the first edition after the name of Hitch comes that of L. Hawes. * ' During the progress of the work he had received at different times the amount of his contract ; and when his receipts were pro- duced to him at a tavern-dinner given by the booksellers, it appeared that he had been paid a hundred pounds and upwards more than his due.' Murphy's 7'^//«i'6i;/, p. 78. See /(?.?/, beginning of 1756. The 212 Address lo the Earl of Chesterfield, [a.h. 1747. The Plan was addressed to Philip Dormer, Earl of Chester- field, then one of his Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State' ; a nobleman who was very ambitious of literary dis- tinction, and who, upon being informed of the design, had expressed himself in terms very favourable to its success. There is, perhaps in every thing of any consequence, a secret history which it would be amusing to know, could we have it authentically communicated. Johnson told me', ' Sir, the way in which the Plan of my Dictionary came to be in- scribed to Lord Chesterfield, was this : I had neglected to write it by the time appointed. Dodsley suggested a desire to have it addressed to Lord Chesterfield. I laid hold of this as a pretext for delay, that it might be better done, and let Dodsley have his desire. I said to my friend, Dr. Ba- thurst, " Now if any good comes of my addressing to Lord Chesterfield, it will be ascribed to deep policy, when, in fact, it was only a casual excuse for laziness." ' It is worthy of observation, that the Plan has not only the substantial merit of comprehension, perspicuity, and precision, but that the language of it is unexceptionably ex- cellent ; it being altogether free from that inflation of style, and those uncommon but apt and encrgetick words', which in some of his writings have been censured, with more petulance than justice ; and never was there a more dignified ' * The truth is, that the several situations which I have been in having made me long \.\\^ plastron fbuttj of dedications, I am become as callous to flattery as some people are to abuse.' Lord Chesterfield, date of Dec. 15, 1755 ; Chesterfield's Misc. Works, iv. 266. * September 22, 1777, going from Ashbourne in Derbyshire, to see Islam. BoswELL. * Boswell here says too much, as the following passages in the Plan prove : — ' Who upon this survey can forbear to wish that these fun- damental atoms of our speech might obtain the firmness and im- mutability of the primogenial and constituent particles of matter?' ' Those translators who, for want of understanding the characteristical difference of tongues, have formed a chaotick dialect of heterogeneous phrases ;' ' In one part refinement will be subtili.sed beyond exactness, and evidence dilated in another beyond perspicuity.' Johnson's Works, V. 12, 21. 22. Strain Aetat. 38.] The style of the Plan. 2 1 3 strain of compliment than that in which he courts the atten- tion of one who, he had been persuaded to beheve, would be a respectable patron. ' With regard to questions of purity or propriety, (says he) I was once in doubt whether I should not attribute to myself too much in attempting to decide them, and whether my province was to ex- tend beyond the proposition of the question, and the display of the suffrages on each side ; but I have been since determined by your Lordship's opinion, to interpose my own judgement, and shall therefore endeavour to support what appears to me most conso- nant to grammar and reason. Ausonius thought that modesty for- bade him to plead inability for a task to which Caesar had judged him equal : Cur mc posse negcm posse quod ille putat ' 1 And I may hope, my Lord, that since you, whose authority in our language is so generally acknowledged, have commissioned me to declare my own opinion, I shall be considered as exercising a kind of vicarious jurisdiction ; and that the power which might have been denied to my own claim, will be readily allowed me as the delegate of your Lordship.' This passage proves, that Johnson's addressing his Plan to Lord Chesterfield was not merely in consequence of the result of a report by means of Dodsley, that the Earl favoured the design ; but that there had been a particular communication with his Lordship concerning it. Dr. Tay- lor told me, that Johnson sent his Pla}i to him in manu- script, for his perusal ; and that when it was lying upon his table, Mr. William Whitehead^ happened to pay him a visit, and being shewn it, was highly pleased with such parts of it as he had time to read, and begged to take it home with him, which he was allowed to do ; that from him * PiXiSOviwxs, Epigravi i. 12. * Whitehead in 1757 succeeded Colley Cibber as poet-laureate, and dying in 1785 was followed by Thomas Warton. From Warton the line of succession is Pye, Southey, Wordsworth, Tennyson. Stc post, under June 13, 1763. it 2 14 The Earl of Orrery. [a. d. 1747. it got into the hands of a noble Lord, who carried it to Lord Chesterfield'. When Taylor observed this might be an advantage, Johnson replied, ' No, Sir ; it would have come out with more bloom, if it had not been seen before by any body.' The opinion conceived of it by another noble authour, appears from the following extract of a letter from the Earl of Orrer)- to Dr. Birch : 'Caledon. Dec. 30. 1747. ' I have just now seen the specimen of Mr. Johnson's Dictionary, addressed to Lord Chesterfield. I am much pleased with the plan, and I think the specimen is one of the best that 1 have ever read. Most specimens disgust, rather than prejudice us in favour of the work to follow ; but the language of Mr. Johnson's is good, and the arguments are properly and modestly expressed. However, some expressions may be cavilled at, but they are trifles. I'll mention one. The barren Laurel. 'l"he laurel is not barren, in any sense whatever ; it bears fruits and flowers ". Sed hie sunt nug(B, and I have great expectation from the performance'.' That he was fully aware of the arduous nature of the un- dertaking, he acknowledges; and shews himself perfectly sensible of it in the conclusion of his PIa)i* ; but he had a ' Hawkins (Z/J/V, p. 176) likewise says that the manuscript passed through Whitehead and 'other hands' before it reached Chesterfield. Mr. Croker had seen ' a draft of the prospectus carefully written by an amanuensis, but signed in great form by Johnson's own hand. It was evidently that which was laid before Lord Chesterfield. Some useful remarks are made in his lordship's hand, and some in another. Johnson adopted all these suggestions.' '^ This poor piece of criticism confirms what Johnson said of Lord Orrery : — ' He grasped at more than his abilities could reach ; tried to pass for a better talker, a better writer, and a better thinker than he was.' Boswell's Hebrides, Sept. 22, 1773. See post, under April 7, 1778. ^ Birch, MSS. Brit. Mus. 4303. Boswell. * ' When I survey the Plajt which I have laid before you, I cannot, my Lord, but confess that I am frighted at its extent, and, like the soldiers of Caesar, look on Britain as a new world, which it is almost madness to invade.' Johnson's Works, v. 21. Jioble Aetat. 38.J The Dictionary of the French Academy. 2 1 5 noble consciousness of his own abilities, which enabled him to go on with undaunted spirit'. Dr. Adams found him one day busy at his Dictionary, when the following dialogue ensued. 'Adams. This is a great work, Sir. How are you to get all the etymologies? Johnson. Why, Sir, here is a shelf with Junius, and Skin- ner*, and others ; and there is a Welch gentleman who has published a collection of Welch proverbs, who will help me with the Welch'. Adams. But, Sir, how can you do this in three years? JOHNSON. Sir, I have no doubt that I can do it in three years. Adams. But the French Academy, which consists of forty members, took forty years to compile their Dictionary. JOHNSON. Sir, thus it is. This is the proportion. Let me see ; forty times forty is sixteen hun- dred. As three to sixteen hundred, so is the proportion of an Englishman to a Frenchman.' With so much ease and pleasantry could he talk of that prodigious labour which he had undertaken to execute. The publick has had, from another pen*, a long detail of ' There might be applied to him what he said of Pope : — ' Self- confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings. He, in- deed, who forms his opinion of himself in solitude without know- fng the powers of other men, is very liable to error ; but it was the felicity of Pope to rate himself at his real value.' Johnson's Works, viii. 237. ^ ' For the Teutonick etymologies I am commonly indebted to Ju- nius and Skinner . . . Junius appears to have excelled in extent of learning and Skinner in rectitude of understanding . . . Skinner is often ignorant, but never ridiculous: Junius is always full of knowl- edge, but his variety distracts his judgment, and his learning is very frequently disgraced by his absurdities.' lb. v. 29. Francis Junius the younger was born at Heidelberg in 1 589, and died at Windsor, at the house of his nephew Isaac Vossius, in 1678. His Etytnohgicum Angltcanum was not published till 1743. Stephen Skinner, M.D., was born in 1623, and died in 1667. His Efymologtcojt LiJigiia: AnglicancE was published in 167 1. Knight's Eng. Cyclo. * Thomas Richards published in 1753 Antiqucr Lingiice BritanniccE Thesaurus, to which is prefixed a Welsh Grammar and a collection of British proverbs. * See Sir John Hawkins's Life of Johnson [p. 171]. BosWELL. what 2i6 yohnsons amattuenses. [a. u. 1748. what had been done in this country by prior Lexicographers ; and no doubt Johnson was wise to avail himself of them, so far as they went : but the learned, yet judicious research of etymology', the various, yet accurate display of definition, and the rich collection of authorities, were reserved for the superior mind of our great philologist\ For the mechanical part he employed, as he told me, six amanuenses ; and let it be remembered by the natives of North-Britain, to whom he is supposed to have been so hostile, that five of them were of that country. There were two Messieurs Macbean ; Mr. Shiels, who we shall hereafter see partly wrote the Lives of the Poets to which the name of Gibber is affixed'; Mr. Stewart, son of Mr. George Stewart, bookseller at Edin- burgh ; and a Mr. Maitland. The sixth of these humble assistants was Mr, Peyton, who, I believe, taught French, and published some elementary tracts. To all these painful labourers, Johnson shewed a never- ceasing kindness, so far as they stood in need of it. The elder Mr. Macbean had afterwards the honour of being Librarian to Archibald, Duke of Argyle, for many years, but was left without a shilling, Johnson wrote for him a Pref- ace to A System of Ancient Geography ; and, by the favour of Lord Thurlow, got him admitted a poor brother of the Gharterhouse\ For Shiels, who died of a consumption, he ' ' The faults of the book resolve themselves, for the most part, into one great fault. Johnson was a wretched etymologist.' Macaulay's Aft'sc. Writings, p. 382. See post. May 13, 1778, for mention of Home Tooke's criticism of Johnson's etymologies. ' ' The etymology, so far as it is yet known, was easily found in the volumes where it is particularly and professedly delivered . , . But to COLLECT the WORDS of our language was a task of greater difficulty : the deficiency of dictionaries was immediately apparent ; and when they were exhausted, what was yet wanting must be sought by fortu- itous and unguided excursions into books, and gleaned as industry should find, or chance should offer it, in the boundless chaos of a living speech.' Johnson's Works.v. 2,\- * See /c7j/, under Apru 10, 1776. Boswell. * ' Mr. Macbean,' said Johnson in 1778, ' is a man of great learning, had Aetat. 39.J The Upper room i?i Goiigh-sqtiare. 217 had much tenderness ; and it has been thought that some choice sentences in the Lives of the Poets were suppHed by him'. Peyton, when reduced to penury, had frequent aid from the bounty of Johnson, who at last was at the expense of burying both him and his wife\ While the Dictionary was going forward, Johnson lived part of the time in Holborn, part in Gough-square, Fleet- street ; and he had an upper room fitted up like a count- ing-house for the purpose, in which he gave to the copy- ists their several tasks\ The words, partly taken from other dictionaries, and partly supplied by himself, having been first written down with spaces left between them, he delivered in writing their etymologies, definitions, and and for his learning I respect him, and I wish to serve him. He knows many languages, and knows them well ; but he knows nothing of life. I advised him to write a geographical dictionary ; but I have lost all hopes of his ever doing anything properly, since I found he gave as much labour to Capua as to Rome.' Mine. D'Arblays Diary, i. 114. Stt post, beginning of 1773. and Oct. 24, 1780. * Boswell is speaking of the book published under the name of Cihber mentioned above, but ' entirely compiled,' according to John- son, by Shiels. Se.e. post, April 10, 1776. " See Piozzi Letters, i. 312, and/Ji'5/, May 21, 1775, note. ' ■ We ourselves, not without labour and risk, lately discovered Gough Square . . . and on the second day of search the very House there, wherein the English Dictionary was composed. It is the first or corner house on the right hand, as you enter through the arched way from the North-west ... It is a stout, old-fashioned, oak-balus- traded house : " I have spent many a pound and penny on it since then," said the worthy Landlord ; " here, you see, this bedroom was the Doctor's study; that was the garden" (a plot of delved ground somewhat larger than a bed-quilt) " where he walked for exercise ; these three garret bedrooms" (where his three [six] copyists sat and wrote) "were the place he kept his — pupils in"! Tempus edax rerttm ! Yet ferax also : for our friend now added, with a wistful look, which strove to seem merely historical : " I let it all in lodg- ings, to respectable gentlemen ; by the quarter or the month ; it's all one to me." — " To me also," whispered the ghost of Samuel, as we went pensively our ways.' Carlyle's Miscellanies, edit, of 1872, iv. 112. various 2l8 Authors quoted in The Dictionary, [a. d. 1748. various significations'. The authorities were copied froni the books themselves, in which he had marked the pas- sages with a black-lead pencil, the traces of which could easily be effaced". I have seen several of them, in which that trouble had not been taken ; so that they were just as when used by the copyists\ It is remarkable, that he was so attentive in the choice of the passages in which words were authorised, that one may read page after page of his Dictionary with improvement and pleasure ; and it should not pass unobserved, that he has quoted no authour whose writings had a tendency to hurt sound religion and morality'. ' Boswell's account of the manner in which Johnson compiled his Dictionary is confused and erroneous. He began his task (as he himself expressly described to me), by devoting his first care to a diligent perusal of all such English writers as were most correct in their language, and under every sentence which he meant to quote he drew a line, and noted in the margin the first letter of the word under which it was to occur. He then delivered these books to his clerks, who transcribed each sentence on a separate slip of paper, and arranged the same under the word referred to. By these means he collected the several words and their different significations; and when the whole arrangement was alphabetically formed, he gave the definitions of their meanings, and collected their etymologies from Skinner, Junius, and other writers on the subject. Percy. * ' The books he used for this purpose were what he had in his own collection, a copious but a miserably ragged one, and all such as he could borrow ; which latter, if ever they came back to those that lent them, were so defaced as to be scarce worth owning, and yet some of his friends were glad to receive and entertain them as curiosities.' Hawkins, p. 175. " In the copy that he thus marked of Sir Matthew Hale's Primitive Origination of Mankind, opposite the passage where it is stated, that ' Averroes says that if the world were not eternal ... it could never have been at all, because an eternal duration must necessarily have anteceded the first production of the world,' he has written: — 'This argument will hold good equally against the writing that I now write.' * Boswell must mean ' whose writings taken as a luhole had a ten- dency,' &c, Johnson quotes Dryden, and of Dryden he says: — 'Of The Aetat. 39.] ' Tugging at his oar' 219 The necessary expense of preparing a work of such magni. tude for the press, must have been a considerable deduction from the price stipulated to be paid for the copy-right. I understand that nothing was allowed by the booksellers on that account ; and I remember his telling me, that a large portion of it having by mistake been written upon both sides of the paper, so as to be inconvenient for the com- positor, it cost him twenty pounds to have it transcribed upon one side only. He is now to be considered as ' tugging at his oar',' as engaged in a steady continued course of occupation, sufficient to employ all his time for some years ; and which was the the mind that can trade in corruption, and can deliberately pollute itself with ideal wickedness for the sake of spreading the contagion in society, I wish not to conceal or excuse the depravity. Such deg- radation of the dignity of genius, such abuse of superlative abilities, cannot be contemplated but with grief and indignation. What con- solation can be had Dryden has afforded by living to repent, and to testify his repentance." Johnson's Works, vii. 293. He quotes Con- greve, and of Congreve he says : ' It is acknowledged, with universal conviction, that the perusal of his works will make no man better; and that their ultimate effect is to represent pleasure in alliance with vice, and to relax those obligations by which life ought to be regu- lated.' lb. viii. 28. He would not quote Dr. Clarke, much as he ad- mired him, because he was not sound upon the doctrine of the Trinity. Post, Dec. 1784, note. ' In the Plan to the Dictionary, \ir\\.\.^x\ in 1747, he describes his task as one that ' may be successfully performed without any higher qual- ity than that of bearing burdens with dull patience, and beating the track of the alphabet with sluggish resolution.' Works, \. i. In 1751, in the Rambler, No. 141, he thus pleasantly touches on his work : ' The task of every other slave [except the " wit "] has an end. The rower in time reaches the port ; the lexicographer at last finds the conclu- sion of his alphabet.' On April 15, 1755, he writes to his friend Hec- tor : — ' I wish, come of wishes what will, that my work may please you, as much as it now and then pleased me, for I did not find dictionary making so very unpleasant as it may be thought.' Notes and Queries, 6th S., Ill, 301. He told Dr. Blacklock that ' it was easier to him to write poetry than to compose his Dictionary. His mind was less on the stretch in doing the one than the other.' Boswell's Hebrides, Aug. 17, 1773. best 2 20 The Ivy Lane Club. [a. d. 1748. best preventive of that constitutional melancholy which was ever lurking about him, ready to trouble his quiet. But his enlarged and lively mind could not be satisfied without more diversity of employment, and the pleasure of animated relaxation'. He therefore not only exerted his talents in occasional composition very different from Lexicography, but formed a club in Ivy-lane, Paternoster-row, with a view to enjoy literary discussion, and amuse his evening hours. The members associated with him in this little society were his beloved friend Dr. Richard Bathurst", Mr. Hawkes- worth', afterwards well known by his writings, Mr. John ' The well-known picture of the company at Tunbridgc Wells in Aug. 1748, with the references in Richardson's own writing, is given as a frontispiece to vol. iii. of Richardson's Correspondence. There can be no doubt that the figure marked by Richardson as Dr. John- son is not Samuel Johnson, who did not receive a doctor's degree till more than four years after Richardson's death. * 'Johnson hardly ever spoke of Bathurst without tears in his eyes.' Murphy's yo/mson, p. 56. Mrs. Piozzi, after recording an anecdote that he had related to her of his childhood, continues : — ' '• I cannot imag- ine," said he. "what makes me talk of myself to you so, for I really never mentioned this foolish story to anybody except Dr. Taylor, not even to my dear, dear Bathurst, whom I loved better than ever I loved any human creature ; but poor Bathurst is dead I" Here a long pause and a few tears ensued.' Piozzi's Anee. [■>. 18. Another day he said to her : — ' Dear Bathurst was a man to my very hearts content : he hated a fool, and he hated a rogue, and he hated a Whig; he was a very good hater.' lb. p. 83. In his Meditations on Kasfer-Day, 1764, he records : — ' After sermon I recommended Tetty in a prayer by her- self ;' and my father, mother, brother, and Bathurst in another.' Pr. and Med. p. 54. See also post, under March 18, 1752, and 1780 in Mr. Langton's Collection. ' Of Hawkesworth Johnson thus wrote ; ' An account of Dr. Swift has been already collected, with great diligence and acutencss, by Dr. Hawkesworth, according to a scheme which I laid before him in the intimacy of our friendship. I cannot therefore be expected to say much of a life concerning which I had long since communicated my thoughts to a man capable of dignifying his narrations with so much elegance of language and force of sentiment.' Johnson's Works, viii. 192. Hawkesworth was an imitator of Johnson's style; post, un- der Jan. I, 1753. Hawkins, Aetat. 39.] Mr. yohn Hawkifis, an attorjtey. 221 Hawkins, an attorney', and a few others of different pro- fessiQns\ ' He was afterwards for several years Chairman of the Middlesex Justices, and upon occasion of presenting an address to the King, ac- cepted the usual offer of Knighthood. He is authour of ' A His- tory of Musick.' in five volumes in quarto. By assiduous attendance upon Johnson in his last illness, he obtained the office of one of his executors ; in consequence of which, the booksellers of London em- ployed him to publish an edition of Dr. Johnson's works, and to write his Life. Boswell. This description of Hawkins, as ' Mr. John Hawkins, an attorney,' is a reply to his description of Bosoem in dia- logue than a drama, rather a succession of just sentiments in elegant When Aetat.40.] 'Like the Monument' 231 When asked how he felt upon the ill success of his tragedy, he replied, 'Like the Monument';' meaning that he con- tinued firm and unmoved as that column. And let it be remembered, as an admonition to the gemis irriiabiU* of dramatick writers, that this great man, instead of peevish- ly complaining of the bad taste of the town, submitted to its decision without a murmur. He had, indeed, upon all language than a representation of natural affections, or of any state probable or possible in human life. . . . The events are expected with- out solicitude, and are remembered without joy or sorrow. ... Its success has introduced or confirmed among us the use of dialogue too declamatory, of unaffecting elegance and chill philosophy.' Works, vii. 456. 'Johnson thought Cato the best model of tragedy we had; yet he used to say, of all things the most ridiculous would be to see a girl cry at the representation of it.' Johnson's Works (1787) xi. 207. Cato, if neglected, has added at least eight ' habitual quotations ' to the language (see Thackeray's English Humourists, p. 98). Irene has perhaps not added a single one. It has nevertheless some quotable lines, such as — 'Crowds that hide a monarch from himself.' Act i. sc. 4. 'To cant ... of reason to a lover.' Act iii. sc. i. ' When e'en as love was breaking off from wonder, And tender accents quiver'd on my lips.' lb. ' And fate lies crowded in a narrow space.' Act iii. sc. 6. ' Reflect that life and death, affecting sounds, Are only varied modes of endless being.' Act iii. sc. 8. ' Directs the planets with a careless nod.' lb. ' Far as futurity's untravell'd waste.' Act iv. sc. i. 'And wake from ignorance the western world.' Act iv. sc. 2. 'Through hissing ages a proverbial coward. The tale of women, and the scorn of fools.' Act iv. sc. 3. ' No records but the records of the sky.' lb. ' . . . thou art sunk beneath reproach.' Act v. sc. 2. 'Oh hide me from myself.' Act v. sc. 3. ' Johnson wrote of Milton : — ' I cannot but conceive him calm and confident, little disappointed, not at all dejected, relying on his own merit with steady consciousness, and waiting without impatience the vicissitudes of opinion, and the impartiality of a future generation.' Johnson's Works, vii. 108. * 'Genus irritabile vatum.' ' The fretful tribe of rival poets.' Francis, Horace, Ep. ii. 2. 102. occasions. 232 Deference for the general opinion, [a. d. 1749. occasions, a great deference for the general opinion' : 'A man (said he) who writes a book, thinks himself wiser or wittier than the rest of mankind ; he supposes that he can instruct or amuse them, and the publick to whom he appeals, must, after all, be the judges of his pretensions.' On occasion of his play being brought upon the stage, Johnson had a fancy that as a dramatick authour his dress should be more gay than what he ordinarily wore ; he there- fore appeared behind the scenes, and even in one of the side boxes, in a scarlet waistcoat, with rich gold lace, aijd a gold- laced hat^ He humourously observed to Mr. Langton, 'that when in that dress he could not treat people with the same ease as when in his usual plain clothes'.' Dress indeed, we ' This deference he enforces in many passages in his writings ; as for instance : — ' Dryden might have observed, that what is good only because it pleases, cannot be pronounced good till it has been found to please.' Johnson's Works, vii. 252. ' The authority of Addison is great ; yet the voice of the people, when to please the people is the purpose, deserves regard.' lb. 376. • About things on which the pub- lic thinks long, it commonly attains to think right.' lb. 456. ' These apologies are always useless : " de gustibus non est disputandum ;" men may be convinced, but they cannot be pleased against their will.' lb. viii. 26. ' Of things that terminate in human life, the world is the proper judge ; to despise its sentence, if it were possible, is not just ; and if it were just, is not possible.' lb. viii. 316. Lord Chesterfield in writmg to his son about his first appearance in the world said, ' You will be tried and judged there, not as a boy, but as a man ; and from that moment there is no appeal for character.' Lord Chesterfield's Letters, iii. 324. Addison in The Guardian, No. 98, had said that ' men of the best sense are always diffident of their private judgment, till it receives a sanction from the public. Provoco ad popu/um, I appeal to the people, was the usual saying of a very excellent dramatic poet, when he had any disputes with particular persons about the justness and regularity of his productions.' See post, March 23, 1783. * ' Were I,' he said, ' to wear a laced or embroidered waistcoat, it should be very rich. I had once a very rich laced waistcoat, which I wore the first night of my tragedy.' Boswell's Hebrides, Oct. 27, 1773. • ' Topham Beauclerc used to give a pleasant description of this greenroom finery, as related by the author himself : " But," said John- son, with great gravity, " I soon laid aside my gold-laced hat, lest it should make me proud."' Murphy's Johnson, p. 52. In The Idler (No. must Aetat.4l.] yohnson in the Green Room. 233 must allow, has more effect even upon strong minds than one should suppose, without having had the experience of it. His necessary attendance while his play was in rehearsal, and during its performance, brought him acquainted with many of the performers of both sexes, which produced a more favourable opinion of their profession than he had harshly expressed in his Life of Savage'. With some of them he kept up an acquaintance as long as he and they lived, and was ever ready to shew them acts of kindness. He for a con- siderable time used to frequent the Green Room, and seemed to take delight in dissipating his gloom, by mixing in the sprightly chit-chat of the motley circle then to be found there". Mr. David Hume related to me from Mr. Garrick, that Johnson at last denied himself this amusement, from considerations of rigid virtue ; saying, ' I'll come no more behind your scenes, David ; for the silk stockings and white bosoms of your actresses excite my amorous propensities.' 1750: i4iTAT. 41.] — In 1750 he came forth in the character for which he was eminently qualified, a majestick teacher of moral and religious wisdom. The vehicle which he chose was that of a periodical paper, which he knew had been, upon former occasions, employed with great success. The Taller, Spectator, and Guardian, were the last of the kind published in England, which had stood the test of a long triar; and such an interval had now elapsed since their publication, as made him justly think that, to many of his readers, this form 62) we have an account of a man who had longed to ' issue forth in all the splendour of embroider}'.' When his fine clothes were brought, ' I felt myself obstructed,' he wrote, ' in the common intercourse of civility by an uneasy consciousness of my new appearance ; as I thought myself more observed, I was more anxious about my mien and behaviour ; and the mien which is formed by care is commonly ridiculous.' ' See ante, p. 193. * S^e^ post, 1780, in Mr. Langton's Collection. * The Tatler came to an end on Jan. 2, 1710-1 ; the first series of The spectator on Dec. 6, 1712 ; The Guardian on Oct. i, 1713 ; and the second series of The Spectator on Dec. 20, 17 14. of 234 The Rambler. [a.d. i750. of instruction would, in some degree, have the advantage of novelty. A few days before the first of his Essays came out, there started another competitor for fame in the same form, under the title of The Tatler Revived\ which I believe was 'born but to die'.' Johnson was, I think, not very happy in the choice of his title, The Rambler, which certainly is not suited to a series of grave and moral discourses; which the Italians have literally, but ludicrously translated by // Vaga- hondo^ \ and which has been lately assumed as the denomina- tion of a vehicle of licentious tales, The Rambler s Magazine. He gave Sir Joshua Reynolds the following account of its getting this name : ' What must be done, Sir, will be done. When I was to begin publishing that paper, I was at a loss how to name it. I sat down at night upon my bedside, and resolved that I would not go to sleep till I had fi.xed its title. The Rambler sQ^mcd the best that occurred, and I took it*.' With what devout and conscientious sentiments this paper was undertaken, is evidenced by the following prayer, which he composed and offered up on the occasion: 'Almighty God, the giver of all good things, without whose help all labor is ineffectual, and without whose grace all wisdom is ' ' Two new designs have appeared about the middle of this month [March 1750], one entitled, The Tatler Revived ; or The Christian Philosopher and Politician, half a sheet, price id. (stamp>ed) ; the other, The Rambler, three half sheets (unstamped) ; price 2.d.' Gent. Mag. XX. 126. * Popes Essay on Man, ii. 10. ' Stt. post, under Oct. 12, 1779. * I have heard Dr. Warton mention, that he was at Mr. Robert Dodsley's with the late Mr. Moore, and several of his friends, con- sidering what should be the name of the periodical paper which Moore had undertaken. Garrick proposed The Sallad, which, by a curious coincidence, was afterwards applied to himself by Goldsmith : ' Our Garrick's a sallad, for in him we see Oil, vinegar, sugar, and saltness agree !' [Retaliation, Vmt 11.] At last, the company having separated, without any thing of which they approved having been ofTered, Dodsley himself thought of The World. BOSWELL. folly ; Actat, 41.] Contributors to The Rambler. 235 folly ; grant, I beseech Thee, that in this undertaking' thy Holy Spirit may not be with-held from me, but that I may promote thy glory, and the salvation of myself and others : grant this, O LORD, for the sake of thy son Jesus Christ. Amen\' The first paper of The Rambler was published on Tuesday the 20th of March, 1750; and its authour was enabled to continue it, without interruption, every Tuesday and Friday, till Saturday the 17th of March, 1752', on which day it closed. This is a strong confirmation of the truth of a remark of his, which I have had occasion to quote elsewhere*, that ' a man may write at any time, if he will set himself doggedly to it' ;' for, notwithstanding his constitutional indolence, his depres- sion of spirits, and his labour in carrying on his Dictionary, he answered the stated calls of the press twice a week from the stores of his mind, during all that time; having received no assistance, except four billets in No. 10, by Miss Mulso, now Mrs. Chapone'; No. 30, by Mrs. Catharine Talbot"; No. 97, by Mr. Samuel Richardson, whom he describes in an in- troductory note as 'An author who has enlarged the knowl- edge of human nature, and taught the passions to move at » In the original MS. 'in this my undertaking,' and below, 'the sal- vation both of myself and others.' • Prayers and Meditations, p. 9. BoswELL. ' In the original folio edition of The Ratnbler the concluding paper is dated Saturday, March 17. But Saturday was in fact March 14. This circumstance is worth notice, for Mrs. Johnson died on the 17th. Malone. • Journal 0/ a Tour to the Hebrides, 3d edit. p. 28. [Aug. 16, 1773]. BOSWELL. ' ' Gray had a notion not very peculiar, that he could not write but at certain times, or at happy moments ; a fantastic foppery, to which my kindness for a man of learning and virtue wishes him to have been superior.' Johnson's Works, viii. 482. See post, under April 15, 1758. • Her correspondence with Richardson and Mrs. Carter was pub- lished in 1807. ' The correspondence between her and Mrs. Carter was published in 1808. the 236 Revisio7i of The Rambler. [a.d. 1750. the command of virtue ;' and Nos. 44 and 100 by Mrs. Eliza- beth Carter. Posterity will be astonished when they are told, upon the authority of Johnson himself, that many of these discourses, which we should suppose had been laboured with all the slow attention of literary leisure, wxre written in haste as the mo- ment pressed, without even being read over by him before they were printed'. It can be accounted for only in this way; that by reading and meditation, and a very close inspec- tion of life, he had accumulated a great fund of miscellaneous knowledge, which, by a peculiar promptitude of mind, was ever ready at his call, and which he had constantly accus- tomed himself to clothe in the most apt and energetick ex- pression. Sir Joshua Reynolds once asked him by what ' Dr. Birch says : — ' The proprietor of the Rambler, Cave, told me that copy was seldom sent to the press till late in the night before the day of publication.' Croker's Boswell, p. 121, note. See post, April 12, 1776, and beginning of 1781. Johnson carefully revised the Katnblers for the collected edition. The editor of the Oxford edition of Johnson's Works states (ii. x), that ' the alterations exceeded six thousand.' The following passage from the last number affords a good instance of this revision. First edition. ' I have never complied with temporary curiosity, nor furnished my readers with abilities to discuss the topic of the day ; I have seldom exemplified my assertions by living characters ; from my papers there- fore no man could hope either censures of his enemies or praises of himself, and they only could be expected to peruse them, whose pas- sions left them leisure for the contemplation of abstracted truth, and whom virtue could please by her native dignity without the assistance of modish ornaments.' Gent. Mag. xxii. 117. Revised Edition. ' I have never complied with temporary curiosity, nor enabled my readers to discuss the topic of the day ; I have rarely exemplified my assertions by living characters ; in my papers no man could look for censures of his enemies, or praises of himself ; and they only were ex- pected to peruse them, whose passions left them leisure for abstracted truth, and whom virtue could please by its naked dignity.' Johnson's Works, iii. 462. means Aetat.41.] yoktisons rapid composition. 237 means he had attained his extraordinary accuracy and flow of language. He told him, that he had early laid it down as a fixed rule to do his best on every occasion, and in every company ; to impart whatever he knew in the most forcible language he could put it in ; and that by constant practice, and never suffering any careless expressions to escape him, or attempting to deliver his thoughts without arranging them in the clearest manner, it became habitual to him'. Yet he was not altogether unprepared as a periodical writer; for I have in my possession a small duodecimo vol- ume, in which he has written, in the form of Mr. Locke's Common-Place Book, a variety of hints for essays on different subjects. He has marked upon the first blank leaf of it, 'To the 128th page, collections for the Rambler;' and in another place, 'In fifty-two there were seventeen provided ; in 97 — 21 ; in 190 — 25.' At a subsequent period (probably after the work was finished) he added, ' In all, taken of provided materials, 30'.' Sir John Hawkins, who is unlucky upon all occasions, tells us, that 'this method of accumulating intelligence had been practised by Mr. Addison, and is humourously described in one of the Spectators', wherein he feigns to have dropped his paper of tiotanda, consisting of a diverting medley of broken sentences and loose hints, which he tells us he had collected, and meant to make use of. Much of the same kind is John- son's Adversaria* .' But the truth is, that there is no resem- blance at all between them. Addison's note was a fiction, in which unconnected fragments of his lucubrations were pur- posely jumbled together, in as odd a manner as he could, in order to produce a laughable effect. Whereas Johnson's ' 'Such relicks [Milton's early manuscripts] shew how excellence is acquired ; what we hope ever to do with ease, we must learn first to do with diligence.' Johnson's Works, vii. 119. ' Of the first 52 Ramblers 49 were wholly by Johnson ; of the last 156, 154. He seems to say that in the first 49, 17 were written from notes, and in the last 154 only 13. * No. 46. ♦ Hawkins's Life of Johnson, p. 268 [p. 265]. BoswELL. abbreviations 238 Hints for The Rambler. [a.d. 1760. abbreviations are all distinct, and applicable to each subject of which the head is mentioned. For instance, there is the following specimen : Youth's Entry, &c. ' Baxter's account of things in which he had changed his mind as he grew up. Voluminous. — No wonder. — If every man was to tell, or mark, on how many subjects he has changed, it would make vols, but the changes not always observed by man's self. — From pleasure to bus. [d2^stHess'\ to quiet ; from thoughtfulness to reflect, to piety ; from dissi- pation to domestic, by impercept. gradat. but the change is certain. T)\-a}i non progredi, progress, esse conspicinrus. Look back, consider what was thought at some dist. period. ' Hope predoni. in youth. Mind not willingly indulges un- pleasing thoughts. The world lies all enameled before him, as a distant prospect sun-gilt' ; inequalities only found by com- ing to it. Love is to be all joy — children excellent — Fame to be constant — caresses of the great — applauses of the learned — smiles of Beauty. ' Fear of disgrace — bashfubiess — Finds things of less im- portance. Miscarriages forgot like excellencies ; — if remem- bered, of no import. Danger of sinking into negligence of reputation. Lest the fear of disgrace destroy activity. ' Confidence in himself. Long tract of life before him. — No thought of sickness. — Embarrassment of affairs. — Distraction of family. Publick calamities. — No sense of the prevalence of bad habits. — Negligent of time — ready to undertake — care- less to pursue — all changed by time. * Confident of others — unsuspecting as unexperienced — im- agining himself secure against neglect, never imagines they will venture to treat him ill. Ready to trust ; expecting to ' ' The sly shadow steals away upon the dial, and the quickest eye can distinguish no more than that it is gone.' Glanville, quoted in Johnson's Dictionary. ' This most beautiful image of the enchanting delusion of youthful prospect has not been used in any of Johnson's essays. Boswell. be Aetat.4i.] Hints for The Rambler. 239 be trusted. Convinced by time of the selfishness, the mean- ness, the cowardice, the treachery of men. ' Youth ambitious, as thinking honours easy to be had. ' Different kinds of praise pursued at different periods. Of the gay in youth, dang, hurt, &c. despised. * Of the fancy in manhood. Ambit. — stocks — bargains. — Of the wise and sober in old age — seriousness — formality — maxims, but general — only of the rich, otherwise age is happy — but at last every thing referred to riches — no hav- ing fame, honour, influence, without subjection to caprice. ' Horace'. ' Hard it would be if men entered life with the same views with which they leave it, or left as they enter it. — No hope — no undertaking — no regard to benevolence — no fear of dis- grace, &c. ' Youth to be taught the piety of age — age to retain the honour of youth.' This, it will be observed, is the sketch of Number 196 of The Rambler. I shall gratify my readers with another specimen : ' Confederacies difficult ; ivhy. * Seldom in war a match for single persons — nor in peace , therefore kings make themselves absolute. Confederacies in learning— every great work the work of one. Bruy. Scholar's friendship like ladies. Scribebamus, &c. Mart.* the apple of discord — the laurel of discord — the poverty of criticism. Swift's opinion of the power of six geniuses united'. That union scarce possible. His remarks just ; * From Horace {Ars Poet. 1. 175) he takes his motto for the num- ber : — ' Multa ferunt anni venientes commoda secum, Malta recedentes adimunt.' ' The blessings flowing in with life's full tide Down with our ebb of life decreasing glide.' Francis. ' Lib. xii. 96 [95]. ' In Tuccam aemulum omnium suorum studio- rum.' Malone. ' 'There never appear,' says Swift, 'more than five or six men of genius in an age ; but if they were united, the world could not stand before them.' Johnson's Works, iv. 18. man 240 Hints for The Rambler. [a.d. 1750. man a social, not steady nature. Drawn to man by words, repelled by passions. Orb drawn by attraction rep. {repelled^ by centrifugal. ' Common danger unites by crushing other passions — but they return. Equality hinders compliance. Superiority pro- duces insolence and envy. Too much regard in each to pri- vate interest — too little. 'The mischiefs of private and exclusive societies — the fitness of social attraction diffused through the whole. The mischiefs of too partial love of our country. Contraction of moral duties — ot (f>c\oi ov (f)tXo^ man his own opinion — his own interest. 'Man and wife hardly united; — scarce ever without chil- dren. Computation, if two to one against two, how many against five ? If confederacies were easy^ — useless ; — many oppresses many. — If possible only to some, dangerous. Prin- cipum amicitias'.* Here we see the embryo of Number 45 of The Adventurer \ and it is a confirmation of what I shall presently have occa- sion to mention^ that the papers in that collection marked T. were written by Johnson. ' In the first edition this is printed J <^CKoi ov (f)i\os ; in the second, cJ (f>i\oi ov io?nm(fe) et affaim' d'argent. The manuscript being written in an exceedingly small hand, is indeed very hard to read ; but it would have been better to have left blanks than to write nonsense. Boswell. * When we know that of the 208 Ramblers all but five were written by Johnson, it is amusing to read a passage in one of Miss Talbot's letters to Mrs. Carter, dated Oct. 20, 1750: — 'Mr. Johnson would, I fear, be mortified to hear that people know a paper of his own by the sure mark of somewhat a little excessive, a little exaggerated in the expression." Carter Cor res. i. 357. I. — 16 have 242 Praise for The Rambler. [a.d. 1750. have now issued from the press, gain upon the world at large, that even in the closing number the authour says, ' I have never been much a favourite of the publick'.' Yet, very soon after its commencement, there were who felt and acknowledged its uncommon excellence. Verses in its praise appeared in the newspapers ; and the editor of the Gentleman s Magazine mentions, in October, his having re- ceived several letters to the same purpose from the learned'. * The Ramblers certainly were little noticed at first. Smart, the poet, first mentioned them to me as excellent papers, before I had heard any one else speak of them. When I went into Norfolk, in the autumn of 1751, I found but one person, (the Rev. Mr. Squires, a man of learning, and a general purchaser of new books,) who knew any- thing of them. Before I left Norfolk in the year 1760, the Ramblers were in high favour among persons of learnmg and good taste. Others there were, devoid of both, who said that the hard words in the Rambler were used by the authour to render his Dictionary indis- f)ensably necessary. BuRNEV. We have notices of The Rambler in the Carter Corres. : — ' May 28, 1 750. The author ought to be cautioned not to use over many hard words. In yesterday's paper (a very pretty one indeed) we had equiponderant, and another so hard I cannot re- member it [adscititious], both in one sentence.' ' Dec. 17, 1750: — Mr. Cave complains of him for not admitting correspondents; this does mischief. In the main I think he is to be applauded for it. But why then does he not write now and then on the living manners of the times ?' In writing on April 22, 1752, just after The Rambler had come to an end, Miss Talbot says : — ' Indeed 'tis a sad thing that such a paper should have met with discouragement from wise and learned and good people too. Many are the disputes it has cost me, and not once did I come off triumphant.' Mrs. Carter replied : — ' Many a bat- tle have I too fought for him in the country, but with little success.' Murphy says : — ' Of this excellent production the number sold on each day did not amount to five hundred ; of course the bookseller, who paid the author four guineas a week, did not carry on a successful trade.' Murphy's Johnson, p. 59. ' Richardson wrote to Cave on Aug. 9, 1750, after forty-one numbers had appeared : — ' I hope the world tastes them ; for its own sake I hope the world tastes them. The author I can only guess at. There is but one man, I think, that could write them.' Rich. Corres. i. 165, Cave replied : — ' Mr. Johnson is the Great Rambler, being, as you ob- ser\^e, the only man who can furnish two such papers in a week, be- 1/e Aetat. 41.] George II. not aji Augustus. 243 The Student, or Oxford and Cambridge Miscellany, in which Mr. Bonnell Thornton and Mr. Colman were the principal writers, describes it as 'a work that exceeds anything of the kind ever published in this kingdom, some of the Spectators excepted — if indeed they may be excepted.' And after- wards, ' May the publick favours crown his merits, and may not the English, under the auspicious reign of GEORGE the Second, neglect a man, who, had he lived in the first century, would have been one of the greatest favourites of Augustus.* This flattery of the monarch had no effect. It is too well known, that the second George never was an Augustus to learning or genius'. Johnson told me, with an amiable fondness, a little pleasing circumstance relative to this work. Mrs. Johnson, in whose judgement and taste he had great confidence, said to him, after a few numbers of The Rambler had come out, ' I thought very well of you before ; but I did not imagine you could have written anything equal to this'.' Distant praise, from whatever quarter, is not so delightful as that of a wife whom a man loves and esteems. Her approbation may be said to * come home to his boso)n ;' and being so near, its effect is most sensible and permanent. Mr. James Elphinston^ who has since published various sides his other great business.' He mentioned the recommendation it received from high quarters, and continued : — ' Notwithstanding, whether the price of two-pence, or the unfavourable season of their first publication hinders the demand, no boast can be made of it.' Johnson had not wished his name to be known. Cave says that ' Mr. Garrick and others, who knew the author's powers and style from the first, unadvisedly asserting their suspicions, overturned the scheme of secrecy.' lb. pp. 168-170. ' Horace Walpole, while justifying George H. against ' bookish men who have censured his neglect of literature,' says : — ' In truth, I be- lieve King George would have preferred a guinea to a composition as perfect as Alexander s Feast.' Reign of George III, iii. 304. * • Dr. Johnson said to an acquaintance of mine, " My other works are wine and water; but my Rambler is pure wine." Rogers's Table Talk, p. 10. * S^^post, April 5, 1772 ; April 19, 1773; and April 9, 1778. works. 244 Letters to AI?-. Elp/iinston. [a.d. 1750. works, and who was ever esteemed by Johnson as a worthy- man, happened to be in Scotland while The Rambler was com- ing out in single papers at London. With a laudable zeal at once for the improvement of his countrymen, and the reputation of his friend, he suggested and took the charge of an edition of those Essays at Edinburgh, which followed progressively the London publication'. The following letter written at this time, though not dated, will show how much pleased Johnson was with this publication, and what kindness and regard he had for Mr. Elphinston. 'To Mr. James Elphinston. [No date.] ' Dear Sir, ' 1 cannot but confess the failures of my correspondence, but hope the same regard which you express for me on every other occasion, will inclme you to forgive me. I am often, very often, ill ; and, when I am well, am obliged to work : and, indeed, have never much used myself to punctuality. You are, however, not to make unkind inferences, when I forbear to reply to your kindness ; for be assured, I never receive a letter from you without great pleasure, and a very warm sense of your generosity and friendship, which I heartily blame myself for not cultivating with more care. In this, as in many other cases, I go wrong, in opposition to con- viction; for I think scarce any temporal good equally to be de- sired with the regard and familiarity of worthy men. 1 hope we shall be some time nearer to each other, and have a more ready way of pouring out our hearts. ' I am glad that you still find encouragement to proceed in your publication, and shall beg the favour of six more volumes to add to my former six, when you can, with any convenience, send them me. Please to present a set, in my name, to Mr. Ruddiman'^, of ' It was executed in the printing-office of Sands, Murray, and Coch- ran, with uncommon elegance, upon writing-paper, of a duodecimo size, and with the greatest correctness ; and Mr. Elphinston enriched it with translations of the mottos. When completed, it made eight handsome volumes. It is, unquestionably, the most accurate and beautiful edition of this work ; and there being but a small impression, it is now become scarce, and sells at a very high price. Boswell. » Mr. Thomas Ruddiman, the learned grammarian of Scotland, well whom, Aeut.4i.] Letters to Mr. Elphinston. 245 whom, I hear, that his learning is not his highest excellence. I have transcribed the mottos, and returned them, I hope not too late, of which I think many very happily performed. Mr. Cave has put the last in the magazine', in which I think he did well. I beg of you to write soon, and to write often, and to write long letters, which I hope in time to repay you ; but you must be a patient creditor. I have, however, this of gratitude, that I think of you with regard, when I do not, perhaps, give the proofs which I ought, of being, Sir, ' Your most obliged and ' Most humble servant, ' Sam. Johnson.' This year he wrote to the same gentleman another letter, upon a mournful occasion. 'To Mr. James Elphinston. 'Dear Sir, 'September 25. 1750. ' You have, as I find by every kind of evidence, lost an excel- lent mother ; and I hope you will not think me incapable of par- taking of your grief. I have a mother, now eighty-two years of age, whom, therefore, I must soon lose^ unless it please God that she rather should mourn for me. I read the letters in which you relate your mother's death to Mrs. Strahan\ and think I do myself honour, when I tell you that I read them with tears ; but tears are neither to yoii nor to me of any further use, when once the tribute of nature has been paid. The business of life summons us away from useless grief, and calls us to the exercise of those virtues of which we are lamenting our deprivation. The greatest benefit known for his various excellent works, and for his accurate editions of several authours. He was also a man of a most worthy private char- acter. His zeal for the Royal House of Stuart did not render him less estimable in Dr. Johnson's eye. Boswell. ' In the Gent. Mag. for Sept. 1750, and for Oct. 1752, translations of many of the mottoes were given ; but in each number there are several of Elphinston's. Johnson seems to speak of only one. ' Writing to Miss Porter on July 12, 1749, he said : — ' I was afraid your letter had brought me ill news of my mother, whose death is one of the few calamities on which I think with terror.' Croker's Boswell, p. 62. • Mr. Strahan was Elphinston's brother-in-law. Post, April 9, 1778. which 246 The death of a mother. [a.d. 1750. which one friend can confer upon another, is to guard, and excite, and elevate his virtues. This your mother will still perform, if you diligently preserve the memory of her life, and of her death : a life, so far as I can learn, useful, wise, and innocent ; and a death resigned, peaceful, and holy. I cannot forbear to mention, that neither reason nor revelation denies you to hope, that you may in- crease her happiness by obeying her precepts ; and that she may, in her present state, look with pleasure upon every act of virtue to which her instructions or example have contributed. Whether this be more than a pleasing dream, or a just opinion of separate spirits, is, indeed, of no great importance to us, when we consider ourselves as acting under the eye of God : yet, surely, there is something pleasing in the belief, that our separation from those whom we love is merely corporeal ; and it may be a great incitement to virtuous friendship, if it can be made probable, that that union that has received the divine approbation shall continue to eternity. ' There is one expedient by which you may, in some degree, con- tinue her presence. If you write down minutely what you remem- ber of her from your earliest years, you will read it with great pleasure, and receive from it many hints of soothing recollection, when time shall remove her yet farther from you, and your grief shall be matured to veneration. To this, however painful for the present, I cannot but advise you, as to a source of comfort and satisfaction in the time to come ; for all comfort and all satisfac- tion is sincerely wished you by, dear Sir, ' Your most obliged, most obedient, ' And most humble servant, • Sam. Johnson.' Ike Rambler has increased in fame as in age. Soon after its first folio edition was concluded, it was published in six duodecimo volumes' ; and its authour lived to see ten numerous editions' of it in London, beside those of Ireland and Scotland'. • In the Gent. Mag. for January 1752, in the list of books published is : — ' A correct and beautiful edition of the Rambler in 4 volumes, in i2mo. Price \2s.' The Rambler was not concluded till the following March. The remaining two volumes were published in July. Gent. Mag. xxii. 338. ' According to Hawkins {Life, p. 269) each edition consisted of 1250 copies. ' Se.& post, July 20, 1763. I profess Aetat. 4l.j Goldsmitfi s debt to J^ohnson. 247 I profess myself to have ever entertained a profound veneration for the astonishing force and vivacity of mind which The Rambler exhibits. That Johnson had penetration enough to see, and seeing would not disguise the general misery of man in this state of being, may have given rise to the superficial notion of his being too stern a philosopher. But men of reflection will be sensible that he has given a true representation of human existence, and that he has, at the same time, with a generous benevolence displayed every consolation which our state affords us ; not only those arising from the hopes of futurity, but such as may be attained in the immediate progress through life. He has not depressed the soul to despondency and indifference. He has every- where inculcated study, labor, and exertion. Nay, he has shewn, in a very odious light, a man whose practice is to go about darkening the views of others by perpetual complaints of evil, and awakening those considerations of danger and distress, which are, for the most part, lulled into a quiet oblivion. This he has done very strongly in his character of Suspirius', from which Goldsmith took that of Croaker, in his comedy of The Good-Natured Man"" , as Johnson told me he acknowledged to him, and which is, indeed, very obvious'. ' No. 55 [59]. BOSWELL. ' Miss Burney records in her Diary that one day at Streatham, while she and Mrs. Thrale "were reading this Rambler, Dr. Johnson came in. We told him what we were about. " Ah, madam !" cried he, " Goldsmith was not scrupulous ; but he would have been a great man had he known the real value of his own internal resources." ' Mme. D'Arblays Diary, i. 83. Se.e post, beginning of 1768. ' It is possible that Mrs. Hardcastle's drive in She Stoops to Conquer was suggested by The Rambler, No. 34. In it a young gentleman de- scribes a lady's terror on a coach journey. ' Our whole conversation passed in dangers, and cares, and fears, and consolations, and stories of ladies dragged in the mire, forced to spend all the night on a heath, drowned in rivers, or burnt with lightning . . . We had now a new scene of terror, every man we saw was a robber, and we were ordered sometimes to drive hard, lest a traveller whom we saw behind should overtake us ; and sometimes to stop, lest we should come up to him To 248 The Beauties of Dr. Johnson, [a.d. 1750, To point out the nuxnerous subjects which The Rambler treats, with a dignity and perspicuity which are there united in a manner which we shall in vain look for any where else, would take up too large a portion of my book, and would, I trust, be superfluous, considering how universally those vol- umes are now disseminated. Even the most condensed and brilliant sentences which they contain, and which have very properly been selected under the name of Beauties^, are of considerable bulk. But I may shortly observe, that Tlic Rambler furnishes such an assemblage of discourses on prac- tical religion and moral duty, of critical investigations, and allegorical and oriental tales, that no mind can be thought very deficient that has, by constant study and meditation, as- similated to itself all that may be found there. No. 7, written in Passion-week on abstraction and self-examination\ and No. no, on penitence and the placability of the Divine Nat- ure, cannot be too often read. No. 54, on the effect which the death of a friend should have upon us, though rather too dispiriting, may be occasionally very medicinal to the mind. Every one must suppose the writer to have been deeply im- pressed by a real scene ; but he told me that was not the case; which shews how well his fancy could conduct him who was passing before us. She alarmed many an honest man by- begging him to spare her life as he passed by the coach.' ' Dr. Johnson was gratified by seeing this selection, and wrote to Mr. Kearsley, bookseller in Fleet-Street, the following note :— ' Mr. Johnson sends compliments to Mr. Kearsley, and begs the favour of seeing him as soon as he can. Mr. Kearsley is desired to bring with him the last edition of what he has honoured with the name of Beauties. May 20, 1782.' Boswell. The correspondence, post. May 15, 1782, shews that Johnson sent for this book, not because he was gratified, but because he was accused, on the strength of one of the Beauties, of recommending suicide. On that day, being in the country, he wrote : ' I never saw the book but by casual inspection, and considered myself as utterly disengaged from its consequences.' He adds: — ' I hope some time in the next week to have all rectified.' The letter of May 20 shews that on his return to town he lost little t^me, if any, in sending for Kearsley. " See i>ost, April 12, 178 1. to Aetat. 41.] ^ More bark and steel for the mind.' 249 to the 'house of mourning'.' Some of these more solemn papers, I doubt not, particularly attracted the notice of Dr. Young, the authour of T/ic Night TJioughts, of whom my estimation is such, as to reckon his applause an honour even to Johnson. I have seen some volumes of Dr. Young's copy of The Rambler, in which he has marked the passages which he thought particularly excellent by folding down a corner of the page; and such as he rated in a super-eminent de- gree, are marked by double folds. I am sorry that some of the volumes are lost. Johnson was pleased when told of the minute attention with which Young had signified his appro- bation of his Essays. I will venture to say, that in no writings whatever can be found more bark and steel for the mind, if I may use the ex- pression ; more that can brace and invigorate every manly and noble sentiment. No. 32 on patience, even under ex- treme misery, is wonderfully lofty, and as much above the rant of stoicism, as the Sun of Revelation is brighter than the twilight of Pagan philosophy. I never read the follow- ing sentence without feeling my frame thrill : ' I think there is some reason for questioning whether the body and mind are not so proportioned, that the one can bear all which can be inflicted on the other ; whether virtue cannot stand its ground as long as life, and whether a soul well principled, will not be sooner separated than subdued\' Though instruction be the predominant purpose of The Rambler, yet it is enlivened with a considerable portion of amusement. Nothing can be more erroneous than the no- tion which some persons have entertained, that Johnson was then a retired authour, ignorant of the world ; and, of con- sequence, that he wrote only from his imagination when he described characters and manners. He said to me, that ' Ecclesiastes vii. 4. * In the original ' separated sooner than subdued.' Johnson acted up to what he said. When he was close on his end, ' all who saw him beheld and acknowledged the invictum animufn Catonis . . . Talking of his illness he said : — " I will be conquered ; 1 will not capitulate." ' See/w/, Oct. 1784. before 250 A Club m Essex. [a.d. 1750. before he wrote that work, he had been ' running about the world,' as he expressed it, more than almost any body ; and I have heard him relate, with much satisfaction, that several of the characters in The Rambler were drawn so naturally, that when it first circulated in numbers, a club in one of the towns in Essex imagined themselves to be severally exhibited in it, and were much incensed against a person who, they suspected, had thus made them objects of publick notice ; nor were they quieted till authentick assurance was given them, that The Rambler was written by a person who had never heard of any one of them'. Some of the characters are believed to have been actually drawn from the life, par- ticularly that of Prospero from Garrick', who never entirely * In the Spectator, No. 568, Addison tells of a village in which ' there arose a current report that somebody had written a book against the 'squire and the whole parish.' The book was The Whole Duty of Man. • ' The character of Prospero was, beyond all question, occasioned by Garrick's ostentatious display of furniture and Dresden china.' Murphy's Johnson, p. 144. If Garrick was aimed at, it is surprising that the severity of the satire did not bring to an end, not only all friendship, but even any acquaintance between the two men. The writer describes how he and Prospero had set out in the world to- gether, and how for a long time they had assisted each other, till his friend had been lately raised to wealth by a lucky project. ' I felt at his sudden shoot of success an honest and disinterested joy.' Pros- pero reproached him with his neglect to visit him at his new house. When however he went to see him, he found that his friend's impa- tience ' arose not from any desire to communicate his happiness, but to enjoy his superiority.' He was kept waiting at the door, and when at length he was shewn up stairs, he found the staircase carefully secured by mats from the pollution of his feet. Prospero led him into a back room, where he told him he always breakfasted when he had not great company. After the visitor had endured one act of inso- lence after another, he says : — ' I left him without any intention of seeing him again, unless some misfortune should restore his under- standing.' Rambler, No. 200. See post, May 15, 1776, where Johnson, speaking of the charge of meanness brought against Garrick, said, ' he might have been much better attacked for living with more splendour than is suitable to a player.' forgave Aetat. 41.] The character of Prospero. 251 forgave its pointed satire'. For instances of fertility of fancy, and accurate description of real life, I appeal to No. 19, a man who wanders from one profession to another, with most plausible reasons for ever>' change. No. 34, female fastidious- ness and timorous refinement. No. 82, a Virtuoso who has collected curiosities. No. 88\ petty modes of entertaining a company, and conciliating kindness. No. 182, fortune-hunt- ing. No. 194-195, a tutor's account of the follies of his pupil. No. 197-198, legacy-hunting. He has given a specimen of his nice observation of the mere external appearances of life, in the following passage in No. 179, against affectation, that frequent and most disgusting quality: 'He that stands to contemplate the crouds that fill the streets of a populous city, will see many passengers whose air and motion it will be diflRcult to behold without contempt and laughter; but if he examine what are the appearances that thus powerfully excite his risibility, he will find among them neither poverty nor disease, nor any involuntary or painful defect. The dis- position to derision and insult, is awakened by the softness of foppery, the swell of insolence, the liveliness of levity, or ' In C. C. Greville's Journal (n. 316) we have an instance how stories about Johnson grew. He writes : — ' Lord Holland told some stories of Johnson and Garrick which he had heard from Kemble . . . When Garrick was in the zenith of his popularity, and grown rich, and lived with the great, and while Johnson was yet obscure, the Doctor used to drink tea with him, and he would say, " Davy, I do not envy you your money nor your fine acquaintance, but I envy you your power of drinking such tea as this." " Yes," said Garrick, " it is very good tea, but it is not my best, nor that which I give to my Lord this and Sir somebody t'other." ' There can be little doubt that the whole story is founded on the following passage in the character of Prospero : ' Breakfast was at last set, and, as I was not willing to indulge the peevishness that began to seize me, I commended the tea. Prospero then told me that another time I should taste his finest sort, but that he had only a very small quantity remaining, and reserved it for those whom he thought himself obliged to treat with particular respect.' See posi, April 10, 1778, where Johnson maintained that Garrick bore his good-fortune with modesty. ' No. 98. the 252 The style of The Rambler. [a.d. 1750. the solemnity of grandeur ; by the sprightly trip, the stately stalk, the formal strut, and the lofty mien ; by gestures in- tended to catch the eye, and by looks elaborately formed as evidences of importance.' Every page of The Rambler shews a mind teeming with classical allusion and poetical imagery : illustrations from other writers are, upon all occasions, so ready, and mingle so easily in his periods, that the whole appears of one uniform vivid texture. The style of this work has been censured by some shallow criticks as involved and turgid, and abounding with anti- quated and hard words. So ill-founded is the first part of this objection, that I will challenge all who may honour this book with a perusal, to point out any English writer whose language conveys his meaning with equal force and perspi- cuity. It must, indeed, be allowed, that the structure of his sentences is expanded, and often has somewhat of the inver- sion of Latin ; and that he delighted to express familiar thoughts in philosophical language ; being in this the reverse of Socrates, who, it was said, reduced philosophy to the sim- plicity of common life. But let us attend to what he himself says in his concluding paper : ' When common words were less pleasing to the ear, or less distinct in their signification, I have familiarised the terms of philosophy, by applying them to popular ideas'.' And, as to the second part of this objec- tion, upon a late careful revision of the work, I can with confidence say, that it is amazing how few of those words, for which it has been unjustly characterised, are actually to be found in it ; I am sure, not the proportion of one to each paper. This idle charge has been echoed from one babbler to another, who have confounded Johnson's Essays with * Yet his style did not escape the harmless shafts of pleasant hu- mour; for the ingenious Bonnell Thornton published a mock Ram- bler in the Drury-lane Journal. Boswell. Murphy (Lzfe.-p. 157), criticising the above quotation from Johnson, says: — 'He forgot the observation of Dryden : " If too many foreign words are poured in upon us, it looks as if they were designed, not to assist the natives, but to conquer them." ' Johnson's Aetat. 41.] Johnsons masters in style. 253 Johnson's Dictionary ; and because he thought it right in a Lexicon of our language to collect many words which had fallen into disuse, but were supported by great authorities, it has been imagined that all of these have been interwoven into his own compositions. That some of them have been adopted by him unnecessarily, may, perhaps, be allowed ; but, in general they are evidently an advantage, for with- out them his stately ideas would be confined and cramped. ' He that thinks with more extent than another, will want words of larger meaning'.' He once told me, that he had formed his style upon that of Sir William Temple^ and upon Chambers's Proposal for his Dictionary^. He certainly was ' Idter, No. 70. Boswell. In the same number Johnson writes : — ' Few faults of style, whether real or imaginary, excite the malignity of a more numerous class of readers than the use of hard words . . . But words are hard only to those who do not understand them ; and the critic ought always to inquire, whether he is incommoded by the fault of the writer or by his own. Every author does not write for every reader.' See posi, Sept. 19, 1777, where Johnson says: — 'If Robertson's style be faulty he owes it to me ; that is, having too many words, and those too big ones.' * The following passages in Temple's writings shew that a likeness may be discovered between his style and Johnson's : — ' There may be firmness and constancy of courage from tradition as well as of belief: nor, methinks, should any man know how to be a coward, that is brought up with the opinion, that all of his nation or city have ever been valiant.' Temple's IVoris, \. 167. 'This is a disease too refined for this country and people, who are well, when they are not ill, and pleased, when they are not troubled ; are content, because they think little of it ; and seek their happiness in the common eases and com- modities of life, or the increase of riches ; not amusing themselves with the more speculative contrivances of passion, or refinements oi pleasure.' /b. p. 170. ' They send abroad the best of their own butter into all parts, and buy the cheapest out of Ireland, or the north of England, for their own use. In short they furnish infinite luxury which they never practise, and traffic in pleasures which they never taste.' lb. p. 195. See post, April 9, 1778, where Johnson says: — ' Temple was the first writer who gave cadence to English prose.' ' Dean Stanley calls Ephraim Chambers ' the Father of Cyclopae- dias.' Memorials of Westminster Abbey, p. 299, note. The epitaph which Chambers wrote for himself the Dean gives as : — ' Multis per- mistaken ; 254 -^ Great Personage. [a.d. 1750. mistaken ; or if he imagined at first that he was imitating Temple he was very unsuccessful ; for nothing can be more unlike than the simplicity of Temple, and the richness of Johnson. Their styles differ as plain cloth and brocade. Temple, indeed, seems equally erroneous in supposing that he himself had formed his style upon Sandys's View of the State of Religion in the Western parts of the World. The style of Johnson was, undoubtedly, much formed upon that of the great writers in the last century, Hooker, Bacon, Sanderson, Hakewell, and others; those ' GlANTS',' as they were well characterised by A GREAT PERSONAGE', whose vulgatus, paucis notus, qui vitam inter lucem et umbram, nee eruditus nee idioticis Uteris deditus, transegit.' In the Gent. Mag. for 1740, p. 262, the last line is given, no doubt correctly, as : — ' Nee eruditus nee idiota, literis deditus.' The second edition of Chambers's Cyclopadia was published in 1738. There is no copy of his Proposal in the Brit- ish Museum or Bodleian. The resemblance between his style and Johnson's is not great. The following passage is the most Johnsonian that I could find : — * None of my predecessors can blame me for the use I have made of them ; since it is their own avowed practice. It is a kind of privilege attached to the office of lexicographer ; if not by any formal grant, yet by connivance at least. I have already assumed the bee for my device, and who ever brought an action of trover or trespass against that avowed free-booter } 'Tis vain to pretend any- thing of property in things of this nature. To ofTer our thoughts to the public, and yet pretend a right reserved therein to oneself, if it be not absurd, yet it is sordid. The words we speak, nay the breath we emit, is not more vague and common than our thoughts, when di- vulged in print.' Chambers's Preface, p. xxiii. ' ' There were giants in the earth in those days.' Gen. vi. 4. » A GREAT Personage first appears in the second edition. In the first edition we merely find ' by one whose authority,' &c. Boswell in his Hebrides, Aug. 28. 1773, speaks of George III. as 'a Great Per- sonage.' In his Letter to the People of Scotland (p. 90) he thus intro- duces an anecdote about the King and Paoli : — ' I have one other circumstance to communicate ; but it is of the highest value. I com- municate it with a mixture of awe and fondness. — That Great Person- age, who IS allowed by all to have the best memory of any man born a Briton,' &c. In the Probationary Odes for the Laureateship, published a few months after Boswell's Letter, a ' Great Personage ' is ludicrously introduced ; pp. xxx. 63. authority. Aetat.4i.j The motto to the Dictionary. 255 authority, were I to name him, would stamp a reverence on the opinion. We may, with the utmost propriety, apply to his learned style that passage of Horace, a part of which he has taken as the motto to his Dictionary'' : ' Cum tabutis animuni censoris sumet honesti ; Audebit qucecumque parum splendoris habfbunt Et sine pondere erunt, d honore indigna ferentur, Verba mover e loco, quamvis invita recedant, Et versentur adhuc intra penetralia Vestce. Obscurata dtu populo bonus eruet, atque Proferet in lucent speciosa vocabula rerum, Quce priscis memorata Catonibus atque Cethegis, Nunc situs informis premit et deserta vetustas : Adsciscet nova, qua; genitor produxerit usus : Vehemens, et liquidus, puroque simillimus amni, Fundet opes Latiumque beabit divite lingua'*.' To so great a master of thinking, to one of such vast and rarious knowledge as Johnson, might have been allowed a • The first nine lines form the motto. - Herat. Epist. Lib. ii. Epist. ii. [I. 1 10]. Boswell. ' But how severely with themselves proceed The men, who write such verse as we can read ! Their own strict judges, not a word they spare That wants or force, or hght, or weight, or care, Howe'er unwillingly it quits its place. Nay, though at court, perhaps, it may find grace : Such they'll degrade ; and sometimes, in its stead. In downright charity revive the dead ; Mark where a bold expressive phrase appears. Bright through the rubbish of some hundred years ; Command old words that long have slept to wake. Words that wise Bacon or brave Rawleigh spake ; Or bid the new be English, ages hence, (For use will father what's begot by sense ;) Pour the full tide of eloquence along, Serenely pure, and yet divinely strong. Rich with the treasures of each foreign tongTje." Pope. IviitatioJis of Horace, ii. 2. 157. liberal 25^ yohnson 7iot a coiner of words. [a. d. 1750. liberal indulgence of that licence which Horace claims in another place : ' Si forte necesse est Indiciis monstrare recentibus abdita rerum, Fingere cinctiitis noti exaudita Cethegis Continget, dabiturque licentia sumpta pudenter : Et nova fictaque nuper habebunt verba fidem si Greece fonte cadant, parce detorta. Quid autem CcBcilio Plaittoque dabit Romanus, ademptum Virgilio Varioque ? Ego cur, acquirere pauca Si possum, invideor ; cum lingua Catonis et Enni Sermonem patrium ditaverit, et nova rerum Nomina protulerit ? Licuit semperque licebit Signatum prcesente notd producere nomen\' Yet Johnson assured me, that he had not taken upon him to add more than four or five words to the English language, of his own formation' ; and he was very much offended at the general licence, by no means ' modestly taken ' in his time, not only to coin new words, but to use many words in senses quite different from their established meaning, and those frequently very fantastical. Sir Thomas Brown*, whose life Johnson wrote, was ' Horat. De Arte Poettca. [1. 48.] BOSWELL. ' See Boswell's Hebrides, Aug. 29, 1773, where Boswell says that up to that date he had twice heard Johnson coin words, per egrinity and depeditation. ^ ' The words which our authors have introduced by their knowl- edge of foreign languages, or ignorance of their own, by vanity or wantonness, by compliance with fashion or lust of innovation, I have registered as they occurred, though commonly only to censure them, and warn others against the folly of naturalizing useless foreigners to the injury of the natives. . . . Our language for almost a century has, by the concurrence of many causes, been gradually departing from its original Teutonick character, and deviating towards a Gallick struct- ure and phraseology, from which it ought to be our endeavour to recall it, by making our ancient volumes the groundwork of style. . . . From the authors which rose in the time of Elizabeth a speech might be formed adequate to all the purposes of use and elegance.' John- son's Works, V. pp. 31, 39. See. post. May 12, 1778. * If Johnson sometimes indulged his Brownism (s^^ post, beginning remarkablv Aetat. 41.] yoh^ison s injluence on style. 257 remarkably fond of Anglo-Latian diction ; and to his exam- ple we are to ascribe Johnson's sometimes indulging himself in this kind of phraseology'. Johnson's comprehension of mind was the mould for his language. Had his conceptions been narrower, his expression would have been easier. His sentences have a dignified march ; and, it is certain, that his example has given a general elevation to the language of his country, for many of our best writers have approached very near to him ; and, from the influence which he has had upon our composition, scarcely any thing is written now that is not better expressed than was usual before he appeared to lead the national taste. This circumstance, the truth of which must strike every critical reader, has been so happily enforced by Mr. Court- enay, in his Moral and Literary Character of Dr. Johnson, that I cannot prevail on myself to withhold it, notwith- standing his, perhaps, too great partiality for one of his friends : of 1756), yet he saw much to censure in Browne's style. * His style is, indeed, a tissue of many languages ; a mixture of heterogeneous words, brought together from distant regions, with terms originally appropriated to one art, and drawn by violence into the service of another. He must however be confessed to have augmented our philosophical diction. ... His innovations are sometimes pleasing, and his temerities happy.' Johnson's Works, vi. 500. ' It is remark- able that the pomp of diction, which has been objected to Johnson, was first assumed in the Rambler. His Dictionary was going on at the same time, and in the course of that work, as he grew familiar with technical and scholastic words, he thought that the bulk of his readers were equally learned ; or at least would admire the splendour and dignity of the style.' Murphy's Johnson, p. 156. ' The observation of his having imitated Sir Thomas Brown has been made by many people ; and lately it has been insisted on, and illustrated by a variety of quotations from Brown, in one of the popu- lar Essays written by the Reverend Mr. Knox [the Essay is No. xxii. of Winter Evenings, Knox's Works, ii. 397], master of Tunbridge school, whom I have set down in my list {post, under Dec. 6, 1784] of those who have sometimes not unsuccessfully imitated Dr. Johnson's style. BoswELL. I.-17 By 258, Courtenay s lines on yohnsons school, [ad. 1750. ' By nature's gifts ordain'd mankind to rule, He, like a Titian, form'd his brilliant school ; And taught congenial spirits to excel. While from his lips impressive wisdom fell. Our boasted Goldsmith felt the sovereign sway ; From him deriv'd the sweet, yet nervous lay. To Fame's proud clifiF he bade our Raphael rise ; Hence Reynolds' pen with Reynolds' pencil vies. With Johnson's flame melodious Burney glows, While the grand strain in smoother cadence flows. And you, Malone, to critick learning dear, Correct and elegant, refin'd though clear. By studying him, acquir'd that classick taste. Which high in Shakspeare's fane thy statue plac'd. Near Johnson Steevens stands, on scenick ground, Acute, laborious, fertile, and profound. Ingenious Hawkesworth to this school we owe, And scarce the pupil from the tutor know. Here early parts accomplish'd Jones sublimes, And science blends with Asia's lofty rhymes : Harmonious Jones ! who in his splendid strains Sings Camdeo's sports, on Agra's flowery plains : In Hindu fictions while we fondly trace Love and the Muses, deck'd with Attick grace. Amid these names can Boswell be forgot. Scarce by North Britons now esteem 'd a Scot' ? Who to the sage devoted from his youth, Imbib'd from him the sacred love of truth ; * The following observation in Mr. Boswell's Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides [p. 9] may sufficiently account for that Gentleman's being ' now scarcely esteem'd a Scot ' by many of his countrymen : — ' If he [Dr. Johnson] was particularly prejudiced against the Scots, it was because they were more in his way ; because he thought their success in England rather exceeded the due proportion of their real merit ; and because he could not but see in them that nationality which, I believe, no liberal-minded Scotchman will deny.' Mr. Boswell, indeed, is so free from national prejudices, that he might with equal propriety have been described as — ■ Scarce by South Britons now esteem'd a Scot.' Courtenay. Boswell. The Aetat.4i.] The styUs of Addis 071 and yoknson. 259 The keen research, the exercise of mind, And that best art, the art to know mankind. — Nor was his energy confin'd alone To friends around his philosophick throne ; /is infiumce wide improved our letter d isle, And lucid vigour marked the general style: As Nile's proud waves, swoln from their oozy bed, First o'er the neighbouring meads majestick spread ; Till gathering force, they more and more expand, And with new virtue fertilise the land.' Johnson's language, however, must be allowed to be too masculine for the delicate gentleness of female writing. His ladies, therefore, seem strangely formal, even to ridicule ; and are well denominated by the names which he has given them, as Misella', Zozima, Properantia, Rhodoclia. It has of late been the fashion to compare the style of Addison and Johnson, and to depreciate, I think very unjust- ly, the style of Addison as nerveless and feeble', because it has not the strength and energy of that of Johnson. Their prose may be balanced like the poetry of Dryden and Pope. ' Malone says that ' Baretti used sometimes to walk with Johnson through the streets at night, and occasionally entered into conversa- tion with the unfortunate women who frequent them, for the sake of hearing their stories. It was from a history of one of these, which a girl told under a tree in the King's Bench Walk in the Temple to Baretti and Johnson, that he formed the story of Misella in the /^am- bler [Nos. 170 and 171].' Prior's Malone, p. i6i. 'Of one [of these women] who was very handsome he asked, for what she thought God had given her so much beauty. She answered : — " To please gentle- men." ' Hawkins's y^^«j(7«, p. 321. See also^o^A under Dec. 2, 1784. - Hawkins {Life, p. 270) had said that ' the characteristics of Addi- son's style are feebleness and inanity.' He was thus happily ridiculed by Porson : — ' Soon after the publication of Sir John's book, a parcel of Eton boys, not having the fear of God before their eyes, etc., instead of playing truant, robbing orchards, annoying poultry, or performing any other part of their school exercise, fell foul in print (see the Microcosm, No. 36) upon his Worship's censure of Addison's middling style. . . . But what can you expect, as Lord Karnes justly observes, from a school where boys are taught to rob on the highway }' Porson, Tracts, p. 339. Both 26o The styles of Addison and yohnson, (a.d. 1750. Both are excellent, though in different ways. Addison writes with the ease of a gentleman. His readers fancy that a wise and accomplished companion is talking to them; so that he insinuates his sentiments and taste into their minds by an imperceptible influence. Johnson writes like a teacher. He dictates to his readers as if from an academ- ical chair. They attend with awe and admiration ; and his precepts are impressed upon them by his commanding elo- quence. Addison's style, like a light wine, pleases every- body from the first. Johnson's, like a liquor of more body, seems too strong at first, but, by degrees, is highly relished ; and such is the melody of his periods, so much do they captivate the ear, and seize upon the attention, that there is scarcely any writer, however inconsiderable, who does not aim, in some degree, at the same species of excellence. But let us not ungratefully undervalue that beautiful style, which has pleasingly conveyed to us much instruction and enter- tainment. Though comparatively weak, opposed to John- son's Herculean vigour, let us not call it positively feeble. Let us remember the character of his style, as given by Johnson himself: 'What he attempted, he performed; he is yiever feeble, and he did not wish to be energetick ; he is never rapid, and he never stagnates. His sentences have neither studied amplitude, nor affected brevity: his pe- riods, though not diligently rounded, are voluble and easy*. ' Works, vii. 473. * When Johnson shewed me a proof-sheet of the character of Addi- son, in which he so highly extols his style. I could not help observing, that it had not been his own model, as no two styles could differ more from each other. — 'Sir, Addison had his style, and I have mine.' — When I ventured to ask him, whether the difference did not consist in this, that Addison's style was full of idioms, colloquial phrases, and proverbs ; and his own more strictly grammatical, and free from such phraseology and modes of speech as can never be literally translated or understood by foreigners; he allowed the discrimination to be just. — Let any one who doubts it. try to translate one of Addison's Spec- tators into Latin. French, or Italian ; and though so easy, familiar, and elegant, to an Englishman, as to give the intellect no trouble ; yet he Whoever Aetat.4l.] BoswelVs projected works. 261 Whoever wishes to attain an EngHsh style, familiar but not coarse, and elegant but not ostentatious, must give his days and nights to the volumes of Addison'.' Though The Rambler was not concluded till the year 1752, I shall, under this year, say all that I have to ob- serve upon it. Some of the translations of the mottos by himself are admirably done. He acknowledges to have received ' elegant translations ' of many of them from Mr. James Elphinston ; and some are very happily translated by a Mr. F. Lewis', of whom I never heard more, except that would find the transfusion into another language extremely difficult, if not impossible. But a Rambler, Adventurer, or Idler ^ of Johnson, would fall into any classical or European language, as easily as if it had been originally conceived in it. Burney. Mrs. Piozzi {Anec. p. 125) recounts how Johnson recommended Addison's works as a model for imitation to Mr. Woodhouse, a poetical shoemaker. ' " Give nights and days, Sir, (said he) to the study of Addison, if you mean either to be a good writer, or, what is more worth, an honest man." When I saw something like the same expression in his criticism on that author, I put him in mind of his past injunctions to the young poet, to which he replied, " That he wished the shoemaker might have remembered them as well." ' Yet he says in his Life of Pope ( Works, viii. 284), ' He that has once studiously formed a style rarely writes afterwards with complete ease.' ' I shall probably, in another work, maintain the merit of Addison's poetry, which has been very unjustly depreciated. Boswell. He proposed also to publish an edition of Johnson's poems {ajite, p. 19), an account of his own travels {post, April 17, 1778), a collection, with notes, of old tenures and charters of Scotland (post, Oct. 27, 1779), and a History of James IV. of Scotland, 'the patron," as he said, 'of my family ' (Boswell's Hebrides, Aug. 23, 1773). ' Lewis thus happily translates the lines in Martial, — ' Diligat ilia senem quondam : sed et ipsa marito. Tunc quoque cum fuerit, non videatur, anus. ' Wrinkled with age, may mutual love and truth To their dim eyes recall the bloom of youth.' Rambler, No. 167. Some of Johnson's own translations are happy, as : — ' Quam juvat immites ventos audire cubantem — Aut, gelidas hibernus aquas quum fuderit auster, Securum somnos, imbre juvante, sequi ! Johnson 262 The last Rambler. [a.d. 1750. Johnson thus described him to Mr. Malone : 'Sir, he hved in London, and hiung loose upon society.' The concluding paper of his Rambler is at once dignified and pathetick. I cannot, however, but wish that he had not ended it with an unnecessary Greek verse, translated also into an English couplet'. It is too much like the conceit of those dramatick poets, who used to conclude each act with a rhyme ; and the expression in the first line of his couplet, ' Celestial powers^ though proper in Pagan poetry, is ill suited to Christianity, with ' a conformity' ' to which he consoles himself. How much better would it have been, to have ended with the prose sentence * I shall never envy the honours which wit and learning obtain in any other cause, if I can be numbered among the writers who have given ardour to virtue, and confidence to truth'.' His friend, Dr. Birch, being now engaged in preparing an edition of Ralegh's smaller pieces, Dr. Johnson wrote the following letter to that gentleman : 'To Dr. Birch. < c,„ ' Gough-square, May 12. 1750. ' Knowing that you are now preparing to favour the publick 'How sweet in sleep to pass the careless hours, Lull'd by the beating winds and dashing show'rs.' lb. No. 117. KvTwv iK fiaKapoiv dvrd^tos (ir) afiOi^rj. ' Celestial powers ! that piety regard, From you my labours wait their last reward.' A modification of the Greek line is engraved on the scroll in John- son's monument in St. Paul's (pos/, Dec. 1784). ' • The essays professedly serious, if I have been able to execute my own intentions, will be found exactly conformable to the precepts of Christianity. ... I therefore look back on this part of my work with pleasure, which no blame or praise of man shall diminish or augment.' Rambler, No. 208. ' I have little doubt that this attack on the concluding verse is an indirect blow at Hawkins, who had quoted the whole passage, and had clearly thought it the more 'awful' on account of the couplet. Sec Hawkins's Johnson, p. 291. with Aetat.4i.] Milton s grayid-daughter. 263 with a new edition of Ralegh's' miscellaneous pieces, I have taken the liberty to send you a Manuscript, which fell by chance within my notice. I perceive no proofs of forgery in my examination of it ; and the owner tells me, that he^ has heard, the handwriting is Sir Walter's. If you should find reason to conclude it genuine, it will be a kindness to the owner, a blind person^ to recommend it to the booksellers. I am, Sir, ' Your most humble servant, ' Sam. Johnson.' His just abhorrence of Milton's political notions was ever strong. But this did not prevent his warm admiration of Milton's great poetical merit, to which he has done illustrious justice, beyond all who have written upon the subject. And this year he not only wrote a Prologue, which was spoken by Mr. Garrick before the acting of Comus at Drury-lane theatre, for the benefit of Milton's grand-daughter, but took a very zealous interest in the success of the charity'. On the day preceding the performance, he published the follow- ing letter in the General Advertiser, addressed to the printer of that paper : 'Sir, 'That a certain degree of reputation is acquired merely by approving the works of genius, and testifying a regard to the ' In the original Raleigh's. * The italics are Boswell's. ' Mrs. Williams is probably the person meant. Boswell. * 'In 1750, April 5, Comus was played for her benefit. She had s(? little acquaintance with diversion or gaiety, that she did not know what was intended when a benefit was offered her. The profits of the night were only £\})0, though Dr. Newton brought a large contri> bution ; and £10 were given by Tonson, a man who is to be praised as often as he is named. . . . This was the greatest benefaction that Paradise Lost ever procured the author's descendants ; and to this he who has now attempted to relate his life had the honour of con- tributing a Prologue.' Johnson's Works, \\\. 118. In the Gent. Mag. (XX. 152) we read that, as on ' April 4, the night first appointed, many inconvenient circumstances happened to disappoint the hopes of suc- cess, the managers generously quitted the profits of another night, in which the theatre was expected to be fuller. Mr. Samuel Johnson's prologue was afterwards printed for Mrs, Foster's benefit.' memof}' 266 Johnson tricked by Lauder. [a.d. 1761. This extraordinary attempt of Lauder was no sudden effort. He had brooded over it for many years : and to this hour it is uncertain what his principal motive was, un- less it were a vain notion of his superiority, in being able, by whatever means, to deceive mankind. To effect this, he produced certain passages from Grotius, Masenius, and others, which had a faint resemblance to some parts of the Paradise Lost. In these he interpolated some fragments of Hog's Latin translation of that poem, alledging that the mass thus fabricated was the archetype from which Milton copied'. These fabrications he published from time to time in the Gentleman s Magazine ; and, exulting in his fancied success, he in 1750 ventured to collect them into a pamphlet, entitled An Essay on Milton's Use and Imitation of the Moderns in his Paradise Lost. To this pamphlet Johnson wrote a Preface', in full persuasion of Lauder's honesty, and the following paragraph : — ' Mr. Lauder confesses here and exhibits all his forgeries ; for which he assigns one motive in the book, and after asking pardon assigns another in the postscript ; he also takes an opportunity to publish several letters and testimonials to his former character." Goldsmith in Retaliation has a hit at Lauder : — ' Here Douglas retires from his toils to relax, The scourge of impostors, the terror of quacks. New Lauders and Bowers the Tweed shall cross over, No countryman living their tricks to discover." Dr. Douglas was afterwards Bishop of Salisbury {ante, p. 147). See /oj/, June 25, 1763. for the part he took in exposing the Cock Lane Ghost imposture. * Scott writing to Southey in 1810 said : — ' A witty rogue the other day, who sent me a letter signed Detector, proved me guilty of steal- ing a passage from one of Vida"s Latin poems, which I had never seen or heard of.' The passage alleged to be stolen ends with, — ' When pain and anguish wring the brow, A ministering angel thou !' which in Vida ad Eranen. El. ii. v. 21, ran, — ' Cum dolor atque supercilio gravis imminet angor, Fungeris angelico sola ministerio.' ' It is almost needless to add,' says Mr. Lockhart, 'there are no such lines." Life of Scott, iii. 294. ' The greater part of this Preface was given in the Gent. Mag. for August 1747 (xvii.404). a Postscript Aetat.42.] Johnsoji s admiratio7i of Milto7i. 267 a Postscript recommending, in the most persuasive terms', a subscription for the relief of a grand-daughter of Milton, of whom he thus speaks : ' It is yet in the power of a great people to reward the poet whose name they boast, and from their alliance to whose genius, they claim some kind of superiority to every other nation of the earth ; that poet, whose works may possibly be read when every other monument of British greatness shall be obliterated ; to re- ward him, not with pictures or with medals, which, if he sees, he sees with contempt, but with tokens of gratitude, which he, per- haps, may even now consider as not unworthy the regard of an immortal spirit.' Surely this is inconsistent with ' enmity towards Milton,' which Sir John Hawkins' imputes to Johnson upon this occasion, adding, ' I could all along observe that Johnson seemed to approve not only of the design, but of the argument ; and seemed to exult in a persuasion, that the reputation of Milton was likely to suffer by this discovery. That he was not privy to the imposture, I am well persuaded ; but that he wished well to the argument, may be inferred from the Preface, which indubitably was written by Johnson.' Is it possible for any man of clear judgement to suppose that Johnson, who so nobly praised the poetical excellence of Milton in a Postscript to this very ' discovery,' as he then supposed it, could, at the same time, exult in a persuasion that the great poet's reputation was likely to suffer by it ? ' ' Persuasive' is scarcely a fit description for this noble outburst of indignation on the part of one who knew all the miseries of poverty. After quoting Dr. Newton's account of the distress to which Milton's grand-daughter had been reduced, he says :—' That this relation is true cannot be questioned : but surely the honour of letters, the dig- nity of sacred poetry, the spirit of the English nation, and the glory of human nature require — that it should be true no longer. ... In an age, which amidst all its vices and all its follies has not become infa- mous for want of charity, it may be surely allowed to hope, that the living remains of Milton will be no longer suffered to languish in dis- tress.' Johnson's Works, v. 270. • Hawkins's Johnson, p. 275. This 268 Mrs. Amia Williams. [a.d.1751. This is an inconsistency of which Johnson was incapable ; nor can any thing more be fairly inferred from the Preface, than that Johnson, who was alike distinguished for ardent curiosity and love of truth, was pleased with an investiga- tion by which both were gratified. That he was actuated by these motives, and certainly by no unworthy desire to depreciate our great epick poet, is evident from his own words ; for, after mentioning the general zeal of men of genius and literature * to advance the honour, and distin- guish the beauties of Paradise Lost,' he says, 'Among the inquiries to which this ardour of criticism has natu- rally given occasion, none is more obscure in itself, or more worthy of rational curiosity, than a retrospect' of the progress of this mighty genius in the construction of his work ; a view of the fab- rick gradually rising, perhaps, from small beginnings, till its foun- dation rests in the centre, and its turrets sparkle in the skies ; to trace back the structure through all its varieties, to the simplic- ity of its first plan ; to find what was first projected, whence the scheme was taken, how it was improved, by what assistance it was executed, and from what stores the materials were collected ; wheth- er its founder dug them from the quarries of Nature, or demolished other buildings to embellish his own.' Is this the language of one who wished to blast the laurels of Milton' ? Though Johnson's circumstances were at this time far from being easy, his humane and charitable disposition was constantly exerting itself. Mrs. Anna Williams, daughter of a very ingenious Welsh physician, and a woman of more ' In the original retrospection. Johnson's Works, v. 268. ' In this same year Johnson thus ends a severe criticism on Samson Agonistes: — 'The everlasting verdure of Milton's laurels has nothing to fear from the blasts of malignity; nor can my attempt produce any other effect than to strengthen their shoots by lopping their luxuri- ance.' The Rambler, No. 140. ' Mr. Nichols shewed Johnson in 1780 a book called Remarks on Johnson s Life of Milton, in which the affair of Lauder was renewed with virulence. He read the libellous passage with attention, and instantly wrote on the margin : — " In the business of Lauder I was deceived ; partly by thinking the man too frantic to be fraudulent." ' Murphy's Johnson, p. 66. than Actat. 42.] Mrs. Anna Williams. 269 than ordinary talents and literature, having come to London in hopes of being cured of a cataract in both her eyes, which afterwards ended in total blindness, was kindly received as a constant visitor at his house while Mrs, Johnson lived ; and after her death, having come under his roof in order to have an operation upon her eyes performed with more comfort to her than in lodgings, she had an apartment from him during the rest of her life, at all times when he had a house'. ' 'Johnson turned his house,' writes Lord Macaulay, ' into a place of refuge for a crowd of wretched old creatures who could find no other asylum ; nor could all their peevishness and ingratitude weary out his benevolence.' {^Essays, i. 390). In his Biography of Johnson (p. 388) he says that Mrs. Williams's 'chief recommendations were her blindness and her poverty.' No doubt in Johnson's letters to Mrs. Thrale are found amusing accounts of the discord of the inmates of his house. But it is abundantly clear that in Mrs. Williams's com- pany he had for years found pleasure. A few months after her death he wrote to Mrs. Thrale : ' You have more than once wondered at my complaint of solitude, when you hear that I am crowded with visits. Inopem me copia fecit. Visitors are no proper companions in the chamber of sickness. . . . The amusements and consolations of languor and depression are conferred by familiar and domestic com- panions. . . . Such society I had with Levett and Williams' {Piozzz Letters, ii. 341). To Mrs. Montagu he wrote : — ' Thirty years and more she had been my companion, and her death has left me very desolate' (Croker's Boswell, p. 739). Boswell says that 'her departure left a blank in his house ' {post, Aug. 1783). ' By her death,' writes Murphy, ' he was left in a state of destitution, with nobody but his black servant to soothe his anxious moments' (Murphy's Johnson, p. 122). Haw- kins {Life, p. 558) says that 'she had not only cheered him in his solitude, and helped him to pass with comfort those hours which otherwise would have been irksome to him, but had relieved him from domestic cares, regulated and watched over the expenses of his house, etc' 'She had,' as Boswell says {post, Aug. 1783), 'valuable qualities.' ' Had she had,' wrote Johnson, ' good humour and prompt elocution, her universal curiosity and comprehensive knowledge would have made her the delight of all that knew her ' {Piozzi Letters, ii. 31 1). To Langton he wrote : — ' I have lost a companion to whom I have had recourse for domestic amusement for thirty years, and whose variety of knowledge never was exhausted' {post, Sept. 29, 1783). * Her acquisitions," he wrote to Dr. Burney, ' were many and her curi- osity universal ; so that she partook of every conversation ' {post, 1752: 270 The close of The Rambler. [a.d. 1752. 1752: i?iTAT. 43.] — In 1752 he was almost entirely occu- pied with his Dictionary. The last paper of his Rambler was published March 2', this year ; after which, there was a Sept. 1783). Murphy {Life, ■p. 72) says: — 'She possessed uncommon talents, and, though blind, had an alacrity of mind that made her conversation agreeable, and even desirable.' According to Hawkins {Life, 322-4) ' she had acquired a knowledge of French and Italian, and had made great improvements in literature. She was a woman of an enlightened understanding. Johnson in many exigencies found her an able counsellor, and seldom shewed his wisdom more than when he hearkened to her advice.' Perhaps Johnson had her in his thoughts when, writing of Pope's last years and Martha Blount, he said : — ' Their acquaintance began early; the life of each was pictured on the other's mind ; their conversation therefore was endearing, for when they met there was an immediate coalition of congenial notions.' (Johnson's Works, viii. 304). Miss Mulso (Mrs. Chapone) writing to Mrs. Carter in 1753, says: — 'I was charmed with Mr. Johnson's be- haviour to Mrs. Williams, which was like that of a fond father to his daughter. She shewed very good sense, with a great deal of modesty and humility; and so much patience and cheerfulness under her mis- fortune that it doubled my concern for her ' {Mrs. Chapone s Life, p. 73). Miss Talbot wrote to Mrs. Carter in 1756 : — ■ My mother the other day fell in love with your friend, Mrs. Williams, whom we met at Mr. Richardson's [where Miss Mulso also had met her], and is par- ticularly charmed with the sweetness of her voice ' (Talbot and Carter, Corresp. ii. 221). Miss Talbot was a niece of Lord Chancellor Talbot. Hannah More wrote in 1774 : — ' Mrs. Williams is engaging in her man- ners ; her conversation lively and entertaining ' (More's Memoirs, i. 49). Boswell, however, more than once complains that she was ' peevish ' {post, Oct. 26, 1769 and April 7, 1776). At a time when she was very ill, and had gone into the country to try if she could improve her health, Johnson wrote : — ' Age, and sickness, and pride have made her so peevish, that I was forced to bribe the maid to stay with her by a secret stipulation of half-a-crown a week over her wages ' {post, July 22, 1777). Malone, in a note on August 2, 1763, says that he thinks she had of her own ' about ^^35 or £\o a year.' This was in her latter days ; Johnson had prevailed on Garrick to give her a benefit and Mrs. Montagu to give her a pension. She used, he adds, to help in the house-work. ' March 14. See ante, p. 235, note 3. He had grown weary of his work. In the last Rambler but one he wrote: — 'When once our labour has begun, the comfort that enables us to endure it is the cessation Aetat.43.j Snspe)ision of his literary labors. 271 cessation for some time of any exertion of his talents as an essayist. But, in the same year, Dr. Hawkesworth, who was his warm admirer, and a studious imitator of his style', and then lived in great intimacy with him, began a periodical paper, entitled The Adventurer, in connection with other gen- tlemen, one of whom was Johnson's much-loved friend, Dr. Bathurst ; and, without doubt, they received many valuable hints from his conversation, most of his friends having been so assisted in the course of their works. That there should be a suspension of his literary labours during a part of the year 1752, will not seem strange, when it is considered that soon after closing his Rambler, he suf- fered a 'oss which, there can be no doubt, affected him with the deepest distress\ For on the 17th of March, O.S., his prospect of its end. . . . He that is himself weary will soon weary the public. Let him therefore lay down his employment, whatever it be, who can no longer exert his former activity or attention ; let him not endeavour to struggle with censure, or obstinately infest the stage, till a general hiss commands him to depart.' ' How successful an imitator Hawkesworth was is shewn by the following passage in the Carter and Talbot Corresp., ii. 109: — 'I dis- cern Mr. Johnson through all the papers that are not marked A, as evidently as if I saw him through the keyhole with the pen in his hand.* ' In The Rambler for Feb. 25 of this year (No. 203) he wrote in the following melancholy strain : — ' Every period of life is obliged to bor- row its happiness from the time to come. In youth we hav'e nothing past to entertain us, and in age we derive little from retrospect but hopeless sorrow. Yet the future likewise has its limits which the im- agination dreads to approach, but which we see to be not far distant. The loss of our friends and companions impresses hourly upon us the necessity of our own departure ; we know that the schemes of man are quickly at an end, that we must soon lie down in the grave with the forgotten multitudes of former ages, and yield our place toothers, who, like us, shall be driven a while by hope or fear about the surface of the earth, and then like us be lost in the shades of death.' In Pray- ers and Meditations, pp. 12-1 5, in a service that he used on May 6, ' as preparatory to my return to life to-morrow,' he prays : — ' Enable me to begin and perfect that reformation which I promised her, and to persevere in that resolution which she implored Thee to continue, in wife 272 Death of Johjisons wife. [a. d. 1752. wife died. Why Sir John Hawkins should unwarrantably take upon him even to suppose that Johnson's fondness for her was dissembled (meaning simulated or assumed,) and to assert, that if it was not the case, ' it was a lesson he had learned by rote',' I cannot conceive ; unless it proceeded from a want of similar feelings in his own breast. To argue from her being much older than Johnson, or any other cir- cumstances, that he could not really love her, is absurd ; for love is not a subject of reasoning, but of feeling, and there- fore there are no common principles upon which one can persuade another concerning it. Every man feels for him- self, and knows how he is affected by particular qualities in the person he admires, the impressions of which art too mi- nute and delicate to be substantiated in language. The following very solemn and affecting prayer was found after Dr. Johnson's decease, by his servant, Mr. Francis Bar- ber, who delivered it to my worthy friend the Reverend Mr. Strahan\ Vicar of Islington, who at my earnest request has obligingly favoured me with a copy of it, which he and I compared with the original. I present it to the world as an undoubted proof of a circumstance in the character of my illustrious friend, which though some whose hard minds I never shall envy, may attack as superstitious, will I am sure endear him more to numbers of good men'. I have an the purposes which I recorded in Thy sight when she lay dead before me.' See post, Jan. 20, 1780. The author of Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Dr. Johnson, 1785, says, p. 113, that on the death of his wife, ' to walk the streets of London was for many a lonesome night Johnson's constant substitute for sleep.' ' ' I have often been inclined to think that, if this fondness of John- son for his wife was not dissembled, it was a lesson that he had learned by rote, and that, when he practised it, he knew not where to stop till he became ridiculous.' Hawkins's yt»/;«^. ii. 454. • See ante, p. 214. ' ' Lord Southwell,' said Johnson, ' was the most qualitied man I ever saw,' Post, March 23, 1783. practice 282 Robert Level. [a.u. nsa practice in that way, that Mrs. Williams has told me, his walk was from Hounsditch to Marybone. It appears from Johnson's diary that their acquaintance commenced about the year 1746; and such was Johnson's predilection for him, and fanciful estimation of his moderate abilities, that I have heard him say he should not be satisfied, though attended by all the College of Physicians, unless he had Mr. Levet with him. Ever since I was acquainted with Dr. Johnson, and many years before, as I have been assured by those who knew him earlier, Mr. Levet had an apartment in his house, or his chambers, and waited upon him every morning, through the whole course of his late and tedious breakfast. He was of a strange grotesque appearance, stiff and formal in his manner, and seldom said a word while any company was present'. ' The account given of Levet in Gent. Mag. vl. loi, shews that he was a man out of the common run. He would not otherwise have attracted the notice of the French surgeons. The writer says : — ' Mr. Levet, though an Englishman by birth, became early in life a waiter at a coffee-house in Paris. The surgeons who frequented it, finding him of an inquisitive turn and attentive to their conversation, made a purse for him, and gave him some mstructions m their art. They afterwards furnished him with the means of other knowledge, by pro- curing him free admission to such lectures in pharmacy and anatomy Hs were read by the ablest professors of that period.' When he lived with Johnson, ' much of the day was employed in attendance on his patients, who were chiefly of the lowest rank of tradesmen. The re- mainder of his hours he dedicated to Hunter's lectures, and to as many different opportunities of improvement as he could meet with on the same gratuitous conditions.' ' All his medical knowledge," said Johnson, ' and it is not inconsiderable, was obtained through the ear. Though he buys books, he seldom looks into them, or discovers any power by which he can be supposed to judge of an author's merit.' ' Dr. Johnson has frequently observed that Levet was indebted to him for nothing more than house-room, his share in a penny-loaf at break- fast, and now and then a dinner on a Sunday. His character was rendered valuable by repeated proof of honesty, tenderness, and grati- tude to his benefactor, as well as by an unwearied diligence in his pro- fession. His single failing was an occasional departure from sobriety. Johnson would observe, " he was perhaps the onlv man who ever be- came intoxicated through motives of prudence, He reflected that, if The Aetat. 43.] Sir Joshiia Reynolds, 283 The circle of his friends, indeed, at this time was extensive and various, far beyond what has been generally imagined. To trace his acquaintance with each particular person, if it could be done, would be a task, of which the labour would not be repaid by the advantage. But exceptions are to be made ; one of which must be a friend so eminent as Sir Joshua Reynolds, who was truly his duke decus\ and with whom he maintained an uninterrupted intimacy to the last hour of his life. When Johnson lived in Castle-street, Cav- endish-square, he used frequently to visit two ladies who he refused the gin or brandy offered him by some of his patients, he could have been no gainer by their cure, as they might have had nothing else to bestow on him. This habit of taking a fee, in what- ever shape it was exhibited, could not be put off by advice. He would swallow what he did not like, nay what he knew would injure him, rather than go home with an idea that his skill had been exerted without recompense. Though he took all that was offered him, he demanded nothing from the poor." ' The writer adds that 'Johnson never wished him to be regarded as an inferior, or treated him like a dependent.' Mrs. Piozzi says : — ' When Johnson raised contributions for some distressed author, or wit in want, he often made us all more than amends by diverting descriptions of the lives they were then passing in corners unseen by anybody but himself, and that odd old surgeon whom he kept in his house to tend the out-pensioners, and of whom he said most truly and sublimely, that " In misery's darkest caverns known," ' etc. Piozzi's Anec. p. 118. ' Levet, madam, is a brutal fellow, but I have a good regard for him ; for his brutality is in his manners, not in his mind.' Afme. D' Arblay s Diary, i. 115. ' Whoever called in on Johnson at about midday found him and Levet at breakfast, Johnson, in deshabille, as just risen from bed, and Levet filling out tea for himself and his patron alternately, no conversation passing between them. All that visited him at these hours were welcome. A night's rest and breakfast seldom failed to refresh and fit him for discourse, and whoever withdrew went too soon.' Hawkins's Johnson, p. 435. How much he valued his poor friend hq showed at his death, ^oj/, Jan. 20, 1782. ' ' O et praesidium et dulce decus meum.' ' My joy, my guard, and sweetest good.' Creech. Horace, Od^s, i. i. 2. lived 284 One of 'Dr. yohnsons school! [a. d. 1752. lived opposite to him, Miss Cotterells, daughters of Admiral Cotterell. Reynolds used also to visit there, and thus they met'. Mr. Reynolds, as I have observed above^ had, from the first reading of his Life 0/ Savage, conceived a very high admiration of Johnson's powers of writing. His conversation no less delighted him ; and he cultivated his acquaintance with the laudable /.eal of one who was ambitious of general improvement^ Sir Joshua, indeed, was lucky enough at their ' It was in 1738 that Johnson was living in Castle Street. At the time of Reynolds's arrival in London in 1752 he had been living for some years in Gough Square. Boswell, I suppose, only means to say that Johnson s acquaintance with the Cotterells was formed when he lived in their neighbourhood. Northcote (Z//> 0/ Rt-ymolds, i. 69) says that the Cotterells lived 'opposite to Reynolds's." but his account seems based on a misunderstanding of Boswell. * Ante. p. 191. ' 'We are both of Dr. Johnson's school.' wrote Reynolds to some friend. ' For my own part. I acknowledge the highest obligations to him. He may be said to have formed my mind, and to have brushed from it a great deal of rubbish. Those very persons whom he has brought to think rightly will occasionally criticise the opinions of their master when he nods. But we should always recollect that it is he himself who taught us and enabled us to do it." Taylor's Rey- nolds, ii. 461. Burke, writing to Malone. said :— ' You state very prop- erly how much Reynolds owed to the writings and conversation of Johnson ; and nothing shews more the greatness of Sir Joshua's parts than his taking advantage of both, and making some application of them to his profession, when Johnson neither understood nor desired to understand anything of painting.' lb. p. 638. Reynolds, there can be little question, is thinking of Johnson in the following passage in his Sex'enth Discourse : — ' What partial and desultory reading cannot afford may be supplied by the conversation of learned and ingenious men, which is the best of all substitutes for those who have not the means or opportunities of deep study. There are many such men in this age: and they will be pleased with communicating their ideas to artists, when they see them curious and docile, if they are treated with that respect and deference which is so justly their due. Into such society young artists, if they make it the point of their ambition, will by degrees be admitted. There, without formal teaching, they will insensibly come to feel and reason like those they live with, and find a rational and systematic taste imperceptibly formed in their minds, which they will know how to reduce to a standard, by apply- verv Aetat.43.] The Miss Cotterells. 285 very first meeting to make a remark, which was so much above the common-place style of conversation, that Johnson at once perceived that Reynolds had the habit of thinking for himself. The ladies were regretting the death of a friend, to whom they owed great obligations ; upon which Reynolds observed, 'You have, however, the comfort of being relieved from a burthen of gratitude'.' They were shocked a little at this alleviating suggestion, as too selfish, but Johnson de- fended it in his clear and forcible manner, and was much pleased with the 7nind, the fair view of human nature, which it exhibited, like some of the reflections of Rochefaucault. The consequence was that he went home with Reynolds, and supped with him. Sir Joshua told me a pleasant characteristical anecdote of Johnson about the time of their first acquaintance. When they were one evening together at the Miss Cot- terells', the then Duchess of Argyle and another lady of high rank came in. Johnson thinking that the Miss Cot- terells were too much engrossed by them, and that he and his friend were neglected, as low company of whom they were somewhat ashamed, grew angry ; and resolving to shock their supposed pride, by making their great visitors ing general truth to their own purposes, better perhaps than those to whom they owned [? owed] the original sentiment.' Reynolds's Works, edit. 1824, i. 149. 'Another thing remarkable to shew how little Sir Joshua crouched to the great is, that he never gave them their proper titles. I never heard the words " your lordship " or " your ladyship" come from his mouth ; nor did he ever say " Sir " in speak- ing to any one but Dr. Johnson ; and when he did not hear distinctly what the latter said (which often happened) he would then say " Sir.'" that he might repeat it.' Northcote's Conversations, p. 289. Gibbon called Johnson ' Reynolds's oracle.' Gibbon's Misc. Works, i. 149. See 2\%o post, under Dec. 29, 1778. ' The thought may have been suggested to Reynolds by Johnson's writings. In The Rambler, No. 87, he had said :— ' There are minds so impatient of inferiority, that their gratitude is a species of revenge, and they return benefits, not because recompense is a pleasure, but because obligation is a pain.' In No. 166, he says : — ' To be obliged is to be in some respect inferior to another." imagine 286 Bennet Langton. [a.d. 1752. imagine that his friend and he were low indeed, he addressed himself in a loud tone to Mr. Reynolds, saying, * How much do you think you and I could get in a week, if we were to work as hard as we could ?' — as if they had been common mechanicks'. His acquaintance with Bennet Langton, Esq. of Langton, in Lincolnshire, another much valued friend, commenced soon after the conclusion of his Rambler ; which that gentle- man, then a youth, had read with so much admiration, that he came to London chiefly with the view of endeavouring to be introduced to its authourV By a fortunate chance he happened to take lodgings in a house where Mr. Levet frequently visited ; and having mentioned his wish to his landlady, she introduced him to Mr. Levet, who readily obtained Johnson's permission to bring Mr. Langton to him' ; as, indeed, Johnson, during the whole course of his life, had no shyness, real or affected, but was easy of access to all who were properly recommended, and even wished ' Northcote tells the following story on the authority of Miss Rey- nolds. It is to be noticed, however, that in her RecolUitions (Croker's Boswell, p. 832) the story is told somewhat differently. Johnson, Reynolds and Miss Reynolds one day called on the Miss Cotterells. ' Johnson was the last of the three that came in ; when the maid, see- ing this uncouth and dirty figure of a man, and not conceiving he could be one of the company, laid hold of his coat, just as he was going up-stairs, and pulled him back, saying, " You fellow, what is your business here ? I suppose you intended to rob the house." This mo.st unlucky accident threw him into such a fit of shame and anger that he roared out like a bull. " What have I done } What have I done }" ' Northcote's Reynolds, i. 73. ' Johnson writing to Langton on January 9. 1759, describes him as 'towering in the confidence of twenty-one.' The conclusion of The Rambler was in March 1752, when Langton must have been only four- teen or just fifteen at most ; Johnson's first letter to him dated May 6, 1755, shews that at that time their acquaintance had been but short. Lang^on's subscription to the Thirty-nine Articles in the Register of the University of Oxford was on July 7, 1757. Johnson's first letter to him at Oxford is dated June 28, 1757. * Stcpos/, March 20, 1782. to Aetat.43.] Topham Beauclerk. 287 to sec numbers at his Uvee\ as his morning circle of com- pany might, with strict propriety, be called. Mr. Langton was exceedingly surprised when the sage first appeared. He had not received the smallest intimation of his figure, dress, or manner. From perusing his writings, he fancied he should see a decent, well-drest, in short, a remarkably decorous philosopher. Instead of which, down from his bedchamber, about noon, came, as newly risen, a huge un- couth figure, with a little dark wig which scarcely covered his head, and his clothes hanging loose about him. But his conversation was so rich, so animated, and so forcible, and his religious and political notions so congenial with those in which Langton had been educated, that he conceived for him that veneration and attachment which he ever pre- served. Johnson was not the less ready to love Mr. Lang- ton, for his being of a very ancient family; for I have heard him say, with pleasure, ' Langton, Sir, has a grant of free warren from Henry the Second ; and Cardinal Stephen Langton, in King John's reign, was of this family'.' Mr. Langton afterwards went to pursue his studies at Trinity College, Oxford, where he formed an acquaintance with his fellow student, Mr. Topham Beauclerk' , who, ' 'My friend Maltby and I,' said Samuel Rogers, 'when we were very young men, had a strong desire to see Dr. Johnson ; and we de- termined to call upon him. and introduce ourselves. We accordingly proceeded to his house in Bolt Court ; and I had my hand on the knocker when our courage failed us, and we retreated. Many years afterwards I mentioned this circumstance to Boswell, who said, " What a pity that you did not go boldly in I he would have received you with all kindness.'" Rogers's Tabic Talk,Y>-9- For Johnson's levee 8ee/(7j/, 1770, in Dr. Maxwell's Collectanea. ' 'George Langton,' writes Mr. Best in his Memorials (p. 66), 'shewed me his pedigree with the names and arms of the families with which his own had intermarried. It was engrossed on a piece of parchment about ten inches broad, and twelve to fifteen feet long. " It leaves oft at the reign of Queen Elizabeth," said he.' * Topham Beauclerk was the only son of Lord Sidney Beauclerk, fifth son of the first Duke of St. Alban's. He was therefore the great- grandson of Charles II. and Nell Gwynne. He was born in Dec. 1739. though 288 Topham Beauclerk. [a.d. 1752. though their opinions and modes of life were so different, that it seemed utterly improbable that they should at all agree, had so ardent a love of literature, so acute an under- standing, such elegance of manners, and so well discerned the excellent qualities of Mr. Langton, a gentleman eminent not only for worth and learning, but for an inexhaustible fund of entertaining conversation', that they became inti- mate friends. Johnson, soon after their acquaintance began, passed a considerable time at Oxford'. Ho at first thought it strange that Langton should associate so much with one who had the character of being loose, both in his principles and prac- tice ; but, by degrees, he himself was fascinated. Mr, Beau- clerk's being of the St. Alban's family, and having, in some particulars, a resemblance to Charles the Second, contributed, in Johnson's imagination, to throw a lustre upon his other qualities'; and, in a short time, the moral, pious Johnson, In my Dr. Johnson : His Friends and his Critics I have put together such facts as 1 could find about Langton and Beauclerk. ' Mr. Best describes Langton as ' a very tall, meagre, long-visaged man, much resembling a stork standing on one leg near the shore in Raphael's cartoon of the Miraculous Draught of Fishes. His man- ners were, in the highest degree, polished ; his conv^ersation mild, equable and always pleasing.' Best's Memorials, p. 62. Miss Haw- kins writes • — ' If I were called on to name the person with whom Johnson might have been seen to the fairest advantage, I should cer- tainly name Mr. Langton.' Miss Hawkins's Memoirs, i. 144. Mrs. Piozzi wrote in 1817: — 'I remember when to have Langton at a man's house stamped him at once a literar)- character.' Hayward's Piozzi, ii. 203. ' In the summer of 1759. Ste fiosi, under April 15, 1758, and 1759. ' Lord Charlemont said that ' Beauclerk possessed an exquisite taste, various accomplishments, and the most perfect good breeding. He was eccentric, often querulous, entertaining a contempt for the generality of the world, which the politeness of his manners could not always conceal ; but to those whom he liked most generous and friendly. Devoted at one time to pleasure, at another to literature, sometimes absorbed in play, sometimes in books, he was altogether one of the most accomplished, and when in good humour and sur- rounded by those who suited his fancy, one of the most agreeable and Aetat. 43.] Beauclevk's propensity to satire. 289 and the gay, dissipated Beauclerk, were companions. ' What a coalition ! (said Garrick, when he heard of this ;) I shall have my old friend to bail out of the Round-house'.' But I can bear testimony that it was a very agreeable association. Beauclerk was too polite, and valued learning and wit too much, to offend Johnson by sallies of infidelity or licentious- ness ; and Johnson delighted in the good qualities of Beau- clerk, and hoped to correct the evil. Innumerable were the scenes in which Johnson was amused by these young men. Beauclerk could take more libert}- with him, than any body with whom I ever saw him ; but, on the other hand, Beau- clerk was not spared by his respectable companion, when re- proof was proper. Beauclerk had such a propensity to satire, that at one time Johnson said to him, * You never open your mouth but with intention to give pain ; and you have often given me pain, not from the power of what you said, but from seeing your intention.' At another time applying to him, with a slight alteration, a line of Pope, he said 'Thy love of folly, and thy scorn of fools — '■' Every thing thou dost shews the one, and every thing thou say'st the other.' At another time he said to him, ' Thy men that could possibly exist.' Lord Charlemont's Life, i. 210. Haw- kins writes {Life, p. 422) that ' over all his behaviour there beamed such a sunshine of cheerfulness and good-humour as communicated itself to all around him.' Mrs. Piozzi said of him . — ' Topham Beau- clerk (wicked and profligate as he wished to be accounted) was yet a man of very strict veracity. Oh Lord ' how I did hate that horrid Beauclerk.' Hayward's Piozzi, i. 348. Rogers {Table- Talk, p. 40) said that ' Beauclerk was a strangely absent person.' He once went to dress for a dinner-party in his own house. ' He forgot all about his guests; thought that it was bed-time, and got into bed. His servant, coming to tell him that his guests were waiting for him, found him fast asleep.' ' It was to the Round-house that Captain Booth was first taken in Fielding's Amelia, Book i, chap. 2. • ' Blends, in exception to all general rules, Your taste of follies with our scorn of fools.* Pope, Moral Essays, h*. 275. I.— 19 body 290 yohnso7i the Idle Apprentice. [a.d. 1752. body is all vice, and thy mind all virtue.' Beauclerk not seeming to relish the compliment, Johnson said, ' Nay, Sir, Alexander the Great, marching in triumph into Babylon, could not have desired to have had more said to him.' Johnson was some time with Beauclerk at his house at Windsor, where he was entertained with experiments in natural philosophy'. One Sunday, when the weather was ver>' fine, Beauclerk enticed him, insensibly, to saunter about all the morning. They went into a church-yard, in the time of divine service, and Johnson laid himself down at his ease upon one of the tomb-stones. ' Now, Sir, (said Beauclerk) you are like Hogarth's Idle Apprentice.' When Johnson got his pension, Beauclerk said to him, in the humorous phrase of Falstaff, ' I hope you'll now purge and live cleanly like a gentleman*.' One night when Beauclerk and Langton had supped at a tavern in London, and sat till about three in the morning, it came into their heads to go and knock up Johnson, and see if they could prevail on him to join them in a ramble. They rapped violently at the door of his chambers in the Temple, till at last he appeared in his shirt, with his little black wig on the top of his head, instead of a nightcap, and a poker in his hand, imagining, probably, that some ruffians were coming to attack him. When he discovered who they were, and was told their errand, he smiled, and with great good humour agreed to their proposal : ' What, is it you, you dogs! I'll have a frisk with you.' He was soon drest, and they sallied forth together into Covent- * In the college which Thf Club was to set up at St. Andrew's, Beauclerk was to have the chair of natural philosophy. Boswell's Hebrides, Aug. 25, 1773. Goldsmith, writing to Langton in 1771, says: — ' Mr. Beauclerk is now going directly forward to become a second Boyle; deep in chymistry and physics." Forster's Goldsmith, 11.283. Boswell described to Temple, in 1775, Beauclerk 's villa at Muswell Hill, with its 'observatory, laboratory for chymical experimei.ts.' Bos- well's Letters, p. 194. • 'I'll purge, and leave sack, and live cleanly as a nobleman should do.' \ Henry IV. Act v. sc. 4. Garden, Aetat.44.] A frisk with Beauclerk ajid Langton. 291 Garden, where the greengrocers and fruiterers were begin- ning to arrange their hampers, just come in from the coun- try. Johnson made some attempts to help them ; but the honest gardeners stared so at his figure and manner, and odd interference, that he soon saw his services were not relished. They then repaired to one of the neighbouring taverns, and made a bowl of that liquor called Bishop\ which Johnson had always liked ; while in joyous contempt of sleep, from which he had been roused, he repeated the festive lines, ' Short, O short then be thy reign. And give us to the world again^ !' They did not stay long, but walked down to the Thames, took a boat, and rowed to Billingsgate. Beauclerk and Johnson were so well pleased with their amusement, that they resolved to persevere in dissipation for the rest of the day : but Langton deserted them, being engaged to break- fast with some young Ladies. Johnson scolded him for ' leaving his social friends, to go and sit with a set of wretched tin-idea d girls.' Garrick being told of this ram- ble, said to him smartly, ' I heard of your frolick t'other night. You'll be in the Chronicle.' Upon which Johnson afterwards observed,'//^ durst not do such a thing. His wife would not let him ! ' 1753: iETAT. 44.] — He entered upon this year 1753 with his usual piety, as appears from the following prayer, which ' 'Bishop. A cant word for a mixture of wine, oranges, and sugar." Johnson's Dictionary. * Mr. Langton has recollected, or Dr. Johnson repeated, the passage wrong. The lines are in Lord Lansdowne's Drinking Song to Sleep, and run thus : — ' Short, very short be then thy reign, For I'm in haste to laugh and drink again.' BOSWELL. Lord Lansdowne was the Granville of Pope's couplet — • But why then publish ? Granville the polite. And knowing Walsh, would tell me I could write.' Prologue to the Satires, 1. 135. I transcribed 292 The Adventurer, [a.d. 1768. I transcribed from that part of his diary which he burnt a few days before his death' : 'Jan. I, 1753, N. S. which I shall use for the future. ' Almighty God, who hast continued my life to this day, grant that, by the assistance of thy Holy Spirit, I may improve the time which thou shalt grant me, to my eternal salvation. Make me to remember, to thy glory, thy judgements and thy mercies. Make me so to consider the loss of my wife, whom thou hast taken from me, that it may dispose me, by thy grace, to lead the residue of my life in thy fear. Grant this, O Lord, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.' He now relieved the drudgery of his Dictionary, and the melancholy of his grief, by taking an active part in the composition of The Adventurer, in which he began to write April 10', marking his essays with the signature T', by which most of his papers in that collection are distinguished : those, however, which have that signature and also that of Mysargyrus, were not written by him, but, as I suppose, by Dr. Bathurst. Indeed Johnson's energy of thought and rich- ness of language, are still more decisive marks than any signature. As a proof of this, my readers, I imagine, will not doubt that Number 39, on sleep, is his ; for it not only ' Boswell in his Hebrides (Aug. i8, 1773) says that Johnson, on start- ing from Edinburgh, left behind in an open drawer in Boswell's house ' one volume of a pretty full and curious Diary of his life, of which I have a few fragments.' He also states {post, under Dec. 9, 1784) : — ' I owned to hmi, that having accidentally seen them [two quarto vol- umes of his Lz/e] I had read a great deal in them.' It would seem that he had also transcribed a portion. * This is inconsistent with what immediately follows, for No. 39 on Sleep was published on March 20. ' Hawkesworth in the last number of The Adventurer says that he had help at first from A. ; ' but this resource soon failing, 1 was obliged to carry on the publication alone, except some casual supplies, till I obtained from the gentlemen who have distinguished their papers by T and Z, such assistance as I most wished." In a note he says that the papers signed Z are by the Rev. Mr. Warton. The papers signed A are written in a light style. In Southey's Cint'Per, i. 47, it is said that Bonnell Thornton wrote them. has Aetat. 44.] A letter to Dr. War ton. 293 has the general texture and colour of his style, but the authours with whom he was peculiarly conversant are readily introduced in it in cursory allusion. The translation of a passage in Statius' quoted in that paper, and marked C. B. has been erroneously ascribed to Dr. Bathurst, whose Christian name was Richard. How much this amiable man actually contributed to TIic Adventurer, cannot be known. Let me add, that Hawkesworth's imitations of Johnson are sometimes so happy, that it is extremely difficult to distin- guish them, with certainty, from the compositions of his great archetype. Hawkesworth was his closest imitator, a circumstance of which that writer would once have been proud to be told ; though, when he had become elated by having risen into some degree of consequence, he, in a con- versation with me, had the provoking effrontery to say he was not sensible of it". Johnson was truly zealous for the success of TJie Ad- venturer ; and very soon after his engaging in it, he wrote the following letter : *To THE Reverend Dr. Joseph Warton. 'Dear Sir, ' I ought to have written to you before now, but I ought to do many things which I do not ; nor can 1, indeed, claim any merit from this letter ; for being desired by the authours and proprietor of The Adventurer to look out for another hand, my thoughts necessarily fixed upon you, whose fund of literature will enable you to assist them, with very little interruption of your studies. They desire you to engage to furnish one paper a month, at two ' Boswell had read the passage carelessly. Statius is mentioned, but the writer goes on to quote Cowley, whose Latin lines C. B. has translated. Johnson's Works, iv. 10. ' Malone says that 'Johnson was fond of him, but latterly owned that Hawkesworth — who had set out a modest, humble man — was one of the many whom success in the world had spoiled. He was latterly, as Sir Joshua Reynolds told me, an affected insincere man, and a great coxcomb in his dress. He had no literature whatever.' Prior's Malone, p. 441. See post, April 11 and May 7, 1773, and Bos- well's Hebrides, Oct. 3. guineas 294 The yohnson-BatJnirst papers. i ad. 1753. guineas a paper, which you may very readily perform. We have considered that a paper should consi.st of piece.s of imagination, pictures of life, and disquisitions of literature. The part which depends on the imagination is very well supplied, as you will find when you read the paper ; for descriptions of life, there is now a treaty almost made with an aulhour and an authouress ; and the province of criticism and literature they are very desirous to assign to the commentator on Virgil. ' I hope this proposal will not be rejected, and that the ne.xt post will bring us your compliance. I speak as one of the fraternity, though I have no part in the paper, beyond now and then a motto ; but two of the writers are my particular friends, and I hope the pleasure of seeing a third united to them, will not be denied to, dear Sir, ' Your most obedient, ' And most humble servant, ' Sam. Johnson.' •March 8, 1753.' The consequence of this letter was, Dr. Warton's enrich- ing the collection with several admirable essays. Johnson's saying * I have no part in the paper beyond now and then a motto,' may seem inconsistent with his being the authour of the papers marked T. Hut he had, at this time, written only one number' ; and besides, even at any after period, he might have used the same expression, con- sidering it as a point of honour not to own them ; for Mrs. Williams told me that, ' as he had given tho.se Essays to Dr. Bathurst, who sold them at two guineas each, he never would ' Johnson's statement to Warton is definite and is borne out by in- ternal evidence, if internal evidence can be needful when he had once made a definite statement. The papers signed Misari^yriis, the first of which appeared on March 3. are all below his style. They were not, I feel sure, written by him. and are improperly given in the Ox- ford edition of his works. I do not find in them even any traces of his hand. The paper on Sleep, No. 39, is, I am almost sure, partly his, but I believe it is not wholly. In the frequency of quotations in the first part of it I see another, and probably a younger author. The passage on the ' low drudgery of digesting dictionaries ' is almost cer- tainly his. Dr. Bathurst. perhaps, wrote the Essay, and Johnson cor- rected it. Whether it was Johnson's or not. it was published after the letter to Dr. Warton was written. own Aetat.44.] Literary children. 295 own them ; nay, he used to say he did not ivrite them : but the fact was, that he dictated them, while Bathurst wrote.' I read to him Mrs. Williams's account ; he smiled, and said nothing'. I am not quite satisfied with the casuistry by which the productions of one person are thus passed upon the world for the productions of another. I allow that not only knowledge, but powers and qualities of mind may be com- municated ; but the actual effect of individual exertion never can be transferred, with truth, to any other than its own original cause. One person's child may be made the child of another person by adoption, as among the Romans, or by the ancient Jewish mode of a wife having children born to her upon her knees, by her handmaid. But these were children in a different sense from that of nature. It was clearly understood that they were not of the blood of their nominal parents. So in literary children, an authour may give the profits and fame of his composition to another man, but cannot make that other the real authour. A High- land gentleman, a younger branch of a family, once consult- ed me if he could not validly purchase the Chieftainship of his family, from the Chief who was willing to sell it. I told him it was impossible for him to acquire, by purchase, a right to be a different person from what he really was ; for that the right of Chieftainship attached to the blood of primogeniture, and, therefore, was incapable of being trans- ferred. I added, that though Esau sold his birth-right, or the advantages belonging to it, he still remained the first- born of his parents ; and that whatever agreement a Chief might make with any of the clan, the Herald's Ofifice could not admit of the metamorphosis, or with any decency at- test that the younger was the elder ; but I did not convince the worthy gentleman. Johnson's papers in TJie Adventurer are very similar to those of Tlie Rambler ; but being rather more varied in their » See post, April 25, 1778, for an instance where Johnson's silence did not imply assent. subjects, 296 Mrs. Le7inox. [a. d. 1754. subjects, and being mixed with essays by other writers, upon topicks more generally attractive than even the most elegant ethical discourses, the sale of the work, at first, was more ex- tensive. Without meaning, however, to depreciate The Ad- venturer, I must observe that as the \'alue of Tlic Rambler came, in the progress of time, to be better known, it grew upon the publick estimation, and that its sale has far exceed- ed that of any other periodical papers since the reign oT Queen Anne. In one of the books of his diary I find the following entry : 'Apr. 3, 1753. 1 began the second vol. of my Dictionary, room being left in the first for Preface, Grammar, and History, none of them yet begun. 'O God, who hast hitherto supported nie, enable me to proceed in this labour, and in the whole task of my present state ; that when I shall render up, at the last day, an account of the talent committed to me, I may receive pardon, for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen.' He this year favoured Mrs. Lennox' with a Dedication* to the Earl of Orrery, of her Sltakspeare Illustrated. 1754: iETAT. 45.] — In 1754 I can trace nothing published by him, except his numbers of The Adventurer, and 'The Life of Edward Cave,'* in the Gentleman s Magazine for February. In biography there can be no question that he excelled, beyond all who have attempted that species of ' ' One evening at the Club Johnson proposed to us the celebrating the birth of Mrs. Lennox's first hterary child, as he called her book, [ The Life of Harriet Stuart, a novel, published Dec. 1750] by a whole night spent in festivity. Our supper was elegant, and Johnson had directed that a magnificent hot apple-pie should make a part of it. and this he would have stuck with bay-leaves, because, forsooth, Mrs. Lennox was an authoress, and had written verses ; and further, he had prepared for her a crown of laurel, with which, but not till he had invoked the Muses by some ceremonies of his own invention, he encircled her brows. About five Johnson's face shone with meridian splendour, though his drink had been only lemonade.' Hawkins's Johnson, p. 286. StQ post, 1 780, in Mr. Langton's Collection, and May 15, 1784. composition ; Aetat. 45.] The Life of Edward Cave. 297 composition ; upon which, indeed, he set the highest value. To the minute selection of characteristical circumstances, for which the ancients were remarkable, he added a philo- sophical research, and the most perspicuous and energetick language. Cave was certainly a man of estimable qualities, and was eminently diligent and successful in his own busi- ness*, which, doubtless, entitled him to respect. But he was peculiarly fortunate in being recorded by Johnson, who, of the narrow life of a printer and publisher, without any di- gressions or adventitious circumstances, has made an interest- ing and agreeable narrative\ The Dictionary, we may believe, afforded Johnson full occupation this year. As it approached to its conclusion, he probably worked with redoubled vigour, as seamen in- crease their exertion and alacrity when they have a near prospect of their haven. Lord Chesterfield, to whom Johnson had paid the high compliment of addressing to his Lordship the Plan of his Dictionary, had behaved to him in such a manner as to ex- cite his contempt and indignation. The world has been for many years amused with a story confidently told, and as confidently repeated with additional circumstances', that a sudden disgust was taken by Johnson upon occasion of his having been one day kept long in waiting in his Lordship's antechamber, for which the reason assigned was, that he had company with him ; and that at last, when the door opened, out walked Colley Cibber ; and that Johnson was so violent- ly provoked when he found for whom he had been so long excluded, that he went away in a passion, and never would ' In a document in the possession of one of Cave's collateral de- scendants, which I have seen, dated May 3, 1754, and headed, ' Present state of the late Mr. Edward Cave's effects,' I found entered 'Maga- zine, ;£3,ooo. Daily Advertiser, £<)QO.' The total value of the effects was £^,70^. ' Johnson records of his friend that ' one of the last acts of reason which he exerted was fondly to press the hand that is now writing this little narrative.' Works, vi. 433. * See Hawkins's Johnson, p. 189. return. 298 Dedication of his Dictionary. [a.d. 1764. return. I remember having mentioned this story to George Lord Lyttelton, who told me, ho was very intimate with Lord Chesterfield ; and holding it as a well-known truth, de- fended Lord Chesterfield, by saying, that ' Cibbcr, who had been introduced familiarly by the back-stairs, had probably not been there above ten minutes.' It may seem strange even to entertain a doubt concerning a story so long and so widely current, and thus implicitly adopted, if not sanctioned, by the authority which I have mentioned ; but Johnson himself assured me, that there was not the least foundation for it. He told me, that there never was any particular in- cident which produced a quarrel between Lord Chesterfield and him ; but that his Lordship's continued neglect was the reason why he resolved to have no connection with him'. When the Dictionary was upon the eve of publica- tion. Lord Chesterfield, who, it is said, had flattered himself with expectations that Johnson would dedicate the work to him', attempted, in a courtly nianner, to sooth, and insinuate ' Lord Chesterfield writing to his son in 1751 (Letters, iii. 136) said : — ' People in high life are hardened to the wants and distresses of mankind, as surgeons are to their bodily pains ; they see and hear of them all day long, and even of so many simulated ones, that they do not know which are real, and which are not. Other sentiments arc therefore to be applied to than those of mere justice and humanity; their favour must be captivated by the sua7'iter in modo ; their love of ease disturbed by unwearied importunity; or their fears wrought upon by a decent intimation of implacable, cool resentment : this is the \.xvi^ fort iter in re! He was himself to experience an instance of the irut for titer in re. ' If Lord Chesterfield had read the last number of The Ratnbler (published in March 1752) he could scarcely have flattered himself with these expectations. Johnson, after saying that he would not endeavour to overbear the censures of criticism by the influence of a patron, added : — ' The supplications of an author never yet reprieved him a moment from oblivion ; and, though greatness has sometimes sheltered guilt, it can afford no protection to ignorance or dulness. Having hitherto attempted only the propagation of truth, I will not at last violate it by the confession of terrors which I do not feel ; hav- ing laboured to maintain the dignity of virtue, I will not now degrade it by the meanness of dedication.' himself Aetat.45.] Lord Chesterfield" s Jlattery. 299 himself with the Sage, conscious, as it should seem, of the cold indifference with which he had treated its learned au- thour; and further attempted to conciliate him, by writing two papers in The Wor/d\ in recommendation of the work ; and it must be confessed, that they contain some studied compliments, so finely turned, that if there had been no pre- vious offence, it is probable that Johnson would have been highly delighted^ Praise, in general, was pleasing to him ; but by praise from a man of rank and elegant accomplish- ments, he was peculiarly gratified. His Lordship says, ' I think the publick in general, and the republick of letters in particular, are greatly obliged to Mr. Johnson, for having under- taken, and executed, so great and desirable a work. Perfection is not to be expected from man ; but if we are to judge by the • On Nov. 28 and Dec. 5, 1754. T/ie World, by Adam Fitz-Adam, Jan. 1753 to Dec. 1765. The editor was Edward Moore. Among the contributors were the Earls of Chesterfield and Corke, Horace Walpole, R. O. Cambridge, and Soame Jenyns. See post, July i, 1763. ' With these papers as a whole Johnson would have been highly offended. The anonymous writer hopes that his readers will not sus- pect him ' of being a hired and interested puff of this work.' ' I most solemnly protest,' he goes on to say, ' that neither Mr. Johnson, nor any booksellers have ever offered me the usual compliment of a pair of gloves or a bottle of wine.' It is a pretty piece of irony for a wealthy nobleman solemnly to protest that he has not been bribed by a poor author, whom seven years before he had repulsed from his door. But Chesterfield did worse than this. By way of recommending a work of so much learning and so much labour he tells a foolish story of an assignation that had failed ' between a fine gentleman and a fine lady.' The letter that had passed between them had been badly spelt, and they had gone to different houses. ' Such examples,' he wrote, ' really make one tremble ; and will, I am convinced, determme my fair fel- low-subjects and their adherents to adopt and scrupulously conform to Mr. Johnson's rules of true orthography.' Johnson, in the last year of his life, at a time of great weakness and depression, defended the roughness of his manner. ' I have done more good as I am. Ob- scenity and impiety have always been repressed in my company (/w/, June II, 1784), various 300 Lord Chesterfield" s /lattery. [a.d. 1754. various works of Johnson' already published, we have good reason to believe, that he will bring this as near to perfection as any man could do. The Plan of it, which he published some years ago. seems to me to be a proof of it. Nothing can be more rationally imagined, or more accurately and elegantly expressed. I therefore recommend the previous perusal of it to all those who intend to buy the Dictionary, and who, I suppose, are all those who can af- ford it.' ******* ' It must be owned, that our language is. at present, in a state of anarchy, and hitherto, perhaps, it may not have been the worse for it. During our free and open trade, many words and expressions have been imported, adopted, and naturalized from other lan- guages, which have greatly enriched our own. Let it still preserve what real strength and beauty it may have borrowed from others ; but let it not, like the Tarpeian maid, be overwhelmed and crushed by unnecessary ornaments ^ The time for discrimination seems to be now come. Toleration, adoption, and naturalization have run their lengths. Good order and authority are now necessary. But where shall we find them. and. at the same time, the obedience due to them ? We must have recourse to the old Roman expedient in times of confusion, and chuse a dictator. Upon this principle, I give my vote for Mr. Johnson to fill that great and arduous post. And I hereby declare, that I make a total surrender of all my rights and privileges in the English language, as a free-born Brit- ish subject, to the said Mr. Johnson, during the term of his dicta- torship. Nay more, I will not only obey him, like an old Roman, as my dictator, but, like a modern Roman. I will implicitly believe in him as my Pope, and hold him to be infallible while in the chair, but no longer. More than this he cannot well require ; for, I pre- sume, that obedience can never be expected, when there is neither terrour to enforce, nor interest to invite it.' ******* ' But a Grammar, a Dictionary, and a History of our Language through its several stages, were still wanting at home, and impor- tunately called for from abroad. Mr. Johnson's labours will now, I dare say'', very fully supply that want, and greatly contribute to ' In the original ' Mr. Johnson.' « In the original ' unnecessary foreign ornaments.* ' In the original, 'will now, and, I dare sav.' the Aetat.45.] Its failure. 301 the farther spreading of our language in other countries. Learners were discouraged, by finding no standard to resort to ; and, conse- quently, thought it incapable of any. They will now be undeceived and encouraged.' This courtly device failed of its effect'. Johnson, who thought that 'all was false and hollow',' despised the honeyed words, and was even indignant that Lord Chester- field should, for a moment, imagine that he could be the dupe of such an artifice. His expression to me concerning Lord Chesterfield, upon this occasion, was, ' Sir, after making great professions', he had, for many years, taken no notice of me ; but when my Dictionary was coming out, he fell a scribbling in TJie World about it. Upon which, I wrote him a letter expressed in civil terms, but such as might shew him that I did not mind what he said or wrote, and that I had done with him*.' ' Hawkins (Zz/.?, p. 191) says that Chesterfield, further to appease Johnson, sent to him Sir Thomas Robinson (see /(^^/, July 19, 1763), who was 'to apologise for his lordship's treatment of him, and to make him tenders of his future friendship and patronage. Sir Thomas, whose talent was flattery, was profuse in his commendations of John- son and his writings, and declared that, were his circumstances other than they were, himself would settle ^500 a year on him. ' And who are you,' asked Johnson, 'that talk thus liberally.?' 'I am,' said the other, 'Sir Thomas Robinson, a Yorkshire baronet.' 'Sir,' replied Johnson, ' if the first peer of the realm were to make me such an offer, I would shew him the way down stairs.' ' Paradise Lost, ii. 112. ' Johnson, perhaps, was thinking of his interviews with Chesterfield, when in his Rambler on 'The Mischiefs of following a Patron' (No. 163) he wrote: — 'If you, Mr. Rambler, hav^e ever ventured your phi- losophy within the attraction of greatness, you know the force of such language, introduced with a smile of gracious tenderness, and im- pressed at the conclusion with an air of solemn sincerity.' * Johnson said to Garrick : — ' I have sailed a long and painful voy- age round the world of the English language ; and does he now send out two cock-boats to tow me into harbour.?' Murphy's Johnson, p. 74. This metaphor may perhaps have been suggested to Johnson by Warburton. ' I now begin to see land, after having wandered, ac- This LIBRARY STAT-^ THACHE3-S CU- E*^;: «;A TA BARBARA, CAHFORNU 302 yohnson's spelling. [a.d. 1754. This is that celebrated letter of which so much has been said, and about which curiosity has been so long excited, without being gratified. I for many years solicited Johnson to favour me with a copy of it', that so excellent a composi- tion might not be lost to posterity. He delayed from time to time to give it mc' ; till at last in 17.S1, when we were on a visit at Mr. Dilly's, at Southill in Bedfordshire, he was pleased to dictate it to me from memory". lie afterwards found among his papers a copy of it, which he had dictated to Mr. Baretti, with its title and corrections, in his own hand- writing. This he gave to Mr. Langton ; adding that if it were to come into print, he wished it to be from that copy. By Mr. Langton's kindness, I am enabled to enrich my work with a perfect transcript* of what the world has so eagerly desired to see. cording to Mr. Warburton's phrase, in thi.s vast sea of words.' Post, Feb. I, 1755. ' See post, Nov. zi. 1779, and April 8, 1780. Sir Henr\' Ellis says that 'address' in Johnson's own copy of his letter to Lord Chester- field is spelt twice with one d. Croker's Corrcs. ii. 44. In the series of Letters by Johnson given in Notes and (lucrics, 6th S. v, Johnson writes pcrsuit (p. 325); 'I cannot butt' (p. 342); 'to retain cotiuctT (p. 343) ; harrasscd {^. 6fi-^ ; iindfcillity {p. ^Zz). In a letter to Nichols quoted by me, post, beginning of 1783, he writes /hicss. He common- ly, perhaps always, spelt Boswell Boswcl. and Nichols's name in one series of letters he spelt Nichols, Nichol, and Nicol. Post, beginning of 1 78 1, note. * Dr. Johnson appeared to have had a remarkable delicacy with respect to the circulation of this letter ; for Dr. Douglas. Bishop of Salisbury, informs me that, having many years ago pressed him to be allowed to read it to the second Lord Hardwicke, who was very de- sirous to hear it (promising at the same time, that no copy of it should be taken), Johnson seemed much pleased that it had attracted the attention of a nobleman of such a respectable character; but after pausing some time, declined to comply with the request, saying, with a smile, ' No, Sir ; I have hurt the dog too much already;' or words to that purpose. Boswell. * '^ee post, June 4, 1 781. * In 1790, the year before the Life of Johnson came out, Boswell published this letter in a separate sheet of four quarto pages under 'To Aetat. 45.] yoknsou s Utter to Lord Chesterfield. 303 'To THE Right Honourable the Earl of Chesterfield. 'My Lord, ' February 7. i 755- ' I have been lately informed, by the proprietor of the World, that two papers, in which my Dictionary is recommended to the publick, were written by your Lordship. To be so distinguished, is an honour, which, being very little accustomed to favours from the great, I know not well how to receive, or in what terms to ac- knowledge. ' When, upon some slight encouragement, I first visited your Lordship, I was overpowered, like the rest of mankind, by the en- chantment of your address ; and could not forbear to wish that I might boast myself Le vamqueur dii vainqueur de la terre^ ; — that I might obtain that regard for which I saw the world contending; but I found my attendance so little encouraged, that neither pride nor modesty would suffer me to continue it. When I had once addressed your Lordship in publick, I had exhausted all the art of pleasing which a retired and uncourtly scholar can possess. I had done all that I could ; and no man is well pleased to have his all neglected, be it ever so little. ' Seven years, my Lord, have now past, since I waited in your outward rooms, or was repulsed from your door ; during which time I have been pushing on my work through difficulties, of which it is useless to complain, and have brought it, at last, to the verge of publication, without one act of assistance'^, one word of the following title:— 77/^' celebrated Letter from Samuel Johnson, LL.D., to Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield ; Notv first published ■x^'ith Notes, by fames Boswell, Esq., London. Printed by Henry Baldwin : for Charles Dilly in the Poultry, MDCCXC. Price Half-a-Gtiinea. Entered in the Hall- Book of the Company of Sta- tioners. It belongs to the same impression as T/ie Life of Johnson. ' 'Je chante le vainqueur des vainqueurs de la terre.' Boileau, L'Art poitique, iii. 272. ' The following note is subjoined by Mr. Langton : — ' Dr. Johnson, when he gave me this copy of his letter, desired that I would annex to it his information to me, that whereas it is said in the letter that " no assistance has been received," he did once receive from Lord Chesterfield the sum of ten pounds ; but as that was so inconsider- able a sum, he thought the mention of it could not properly find place in a letter of the kind that this was.' Boswell. ' This surely is an unsatisfactory excuse,' writes Mr. Croker. He read Johnson's encouragement, 304 Johnsons letter to Lord Chesterfield, [a.d. 1754, encouragement, or one smile of favour. Such treatment I did not expect, for I never had a Patron before. ' The shepherd in Virgil grew at last acquainted with Love, and found him a native of the rocks. ' Is not a Patron, my Lord, one who looks with unconcern on a man struggling for life in the water, and, when he has reached ground, encumbers him with help ? The notice which you have been pleased to take of my labours, had it been early, had been kind ; but it has been delayed till 1 am indifferent, and cannot enjoy it ; till I am solitary, and cannot impart it' ; till I am known, letter carelessly, as the rest of his note shews. Johnson says, that during the seven years that had passed since he was repulsed from Chesterfield's door he had pushed on his work without one act of assistance. These ten pounds, we may feel sure, had been received before the seven years began to run. No doubt they had been given in 1747 as an acknowledgment of the compliment paid to Chester- field in the Plan. He had at first been misled by Chesterfield's one act of kindness, but he had long had his eyes opened. Like the shep- herd in Virgil {Eclogues, viii. 43) he could say : — ' Xiiiic .scio quid sit Amor.' ' In this passage Dr. Johnson evidently alludes to the loss of his wife. We find the same tender recollection recurring to his mind upon innumerable occasions : and, perhaps no man ever more forci- bly felt the truth of the sentiment so elegantly expressed by my friend Mr. Malone, in his Prologue to Mr. Jephson's tragedy of Jlli.a. ( Julia or the Italian Lover was acted for the first time on .April 17, 1787. Gent. Mag. 1787, p. 354] : — 'Vain — wealth, and fame, and fortune's fostering care, If no fond breast the splendid blessings share; And, each day's bustling pageantry once past. There, only there, our bliss is found at last.' Boswell. Three years earlier, when his wife was dying, he had written in one of the last Ramblers (No. 203) : — ' It is necessary to the completion of every good, that it be timely obtained ; for whatever comes at the close of life will come too late to give much delight . . . What we acquire by bravery or science, by mental or corporal diligence, comes at last when we cannot communicate, and therefore cannot enjoy it.' Chesterfield himself was in no happy state. Less than a month be- fore he received Johnson's letter he wrote ( Works, lii. 308) : — ' For these six months past, it seems as if all the complaints that ever at- tacked heads had joined to overpower mine. Continual noises, head- ache, giddiness, and impenetrable deafness; I could not stoop to and Aetat. 45.] Warburtons compliments. 305 and do not want it. I hope it is no very cynical asperity not to confess obligations where no benefit has been received, or to be unwilling that the Publick should consider me as owing that to a Patron, which Providence has enabled nie to do for myself. ' Having carried on my work thus far with so little obligation to any favourer of learning', I shall not be disappointed though I should conclude it, if less be possible, with less ; for I have been long wakened from that dream of hope, in which I once boasted myself with so much exultation, ' My Lord, ' Your Lordship's most humble, ' Most obedient servant, ' Sam. JoHNSON^' ' While this was the talk of the town, (says Dr. Adams, in a letter to me) I happened to visit Dr. Warburton, who find- ing that I was acquainted with Johnson, desired me earnestly to carry his compliments to him, and to tell him, that he honoured him for his manly behaviour in rejecting these con- descensions of Lord Chesterfield, and for resenting the treat- ment he had received from him, with a proper spirit. John- son was visibly pleased with this compliment, for he had write ; and even reading, the only resource of the deaf, was painful to me.' He wrote to his son a year earlier (Letters, iv. 43), ' Reading, which was always a pleasure to me in the time even of my greatest dissipation, is now become my only refuge ; and I fear I indulge it too much at the expense of my eyes. But what can I do .-* I must do something. I cannot bear absolute idleness ; my ears grow every day more useless to me, my eyes consequently more necessary. I will not hoard them like a miser, but will rather risk the loss than not enjoy the use of them.' ' • The English Dictionary was written with little assistance of the learned, and without any patronage of the great ; not in the soft obscurities of retirement, or under the shelter of academick bowers, but amidst inconvenience and distraction, in sickness and in sorrow.' Johnson's Works^v. 51. ' Upon comparing this copy with that which Dr. Johnson dictated to me from recollection, the variations are found to be so slight, that this must be added to the many other proofs which he gave of the wonderful extent and accuracy of his memory. To gratify the curious in composition, I have deposited both the copies in the British Mu- seum. BoswELL. I. — 20 always 3o6 yofmsons Imitatioyis of yiwenal. [a.d. i754. always a high opinion of Warburton'. Indeed, the force of mind which appeared in this letter, was congenial with that which Warburton himself amply possessed\' There is a curious minute circumstance which struck me, in comparing the various editions of Johnson's imitations of Juvenal. In the tenth Satire, one of the couplets upon the vanity of wishes even for literary distinction stood thus: ' Yet think' what ills the scholar's life assail, Pride*, envy, want, the garret, and the jail.' But after experiencing the uneasiness which Lord Chester- field's fallacious patronage made him feel, he dismissed the ' Soon after Edwards's Canotts of Criticism came out. Johnson was dining at Tonson the Bookseller's, with Hayman the Painter and some more company. Hayman related to Sir Joshua Reynolds, that the conversation having turned upon Edwards's book, the gentlemen praised it much, and Johnson allowed its merit. But when they went farther, and appeared to put that authour upon a level with Warbur- ton, 'Nay, (said Johnson.) he has given him some smart hits to be sure ; but there is no proportion between the two men ; they must not be named together. A fly. Sir. may sting a stately horse and make him wince ; but one is but an insect, and the other is a horse still.' BOSWELL. Johnson in his Preface to Shakespeare ( Works, V. 141) wrote: — ' Dr. Warburton 's chief assailants are the authors of The Cations of Criticism, and of The Rrjisal of Shakespeare's Tc.rt. . . . The one stings like a fly, sucks a little blood, takes a gay flutter and returns for more: the other bites like a viper. . . . When I think on one with his confederates, I remember the danger of Coriolanus, who was afraid that " girls with spits, and boys with stones, should slay him in puny battle ;" when the other crosses my imagination, I remember the prodigy in Macbeth : "A falcon tow'ring in his pride of place. Was by a mousing owl hawk'd at and kill'd." Let me, however, do them justice. One is a wit and one a scholar." ^ To Johnson might be applied what he himself said of Dryden : — 'He appears to have known in its whole extent the dignity of his character, and to have set a very high value on his own powers and performances.' Works, vii. 291. ' In the original Vet mark. * In the original Toil. word Aetat.45.] For ^garret' read 'patron^ 307 word garret from the sad group, and in all the subsequent editions the line stands ' Pride*, envy, want, the Patron^ ^ and the jail.' That Lord Chesterfield must have been mortified by the lofty contempt, and polite, yet keen satire with which John- son exhibited him to himself in this letter, it is impossible to doubt. He, however, with that glossy duplicity which was his constant study, affected to be quite unconcerned. Dr. Adams mentioned to Mr. Robert Dodsley that he was sorry Johnson had written his letter to Lord Chesterfield. Dods- ley, with the true feelings of trade, said 'he was very sorry too ; for that he had a property in the Dictioriary, to which his Lordship's patronage might have been of consequence.' He then told Dr. Adams, that Lord Chesterfield had shewn him the letter. 'I should have imagined (replied Dr. Adams) that Lord Chesterfield would have concealed it.' ' Poh ! (said Dodsley) do you think a letter from Johnson could hurt Lord Chesterfield? Not at all, Sir. It lay upon his table, where any body might see it. He read it to me; said, "this man has great powers," pointed out the severest passages, and observed how well they were expressed.' This air of indiffer- ence, which imposed upon the worthy Dodsley, was certainly nothing but a specimen of that dissimulation which Lord Chesterfield inculcated as one of the most essential lessons for the conduct of life". His Lordship endeavoured to justify ' In the original Toil. * In his Dictionary he defined patron as ' commonly a wretch who supports with insolence and is paid with flattery.' This definition disappears in the Abridgemeiit, but remains in the fourth edition. ' Chesterfield, when he read Johnson's letter to Dodsley, was acting up to the advice that he had given his own son six years earlier {Let- ters, '\\. 172): — 'When things of this kind [bons mots] happen to be said of you, the most prudent way is to seem not to suppose that they are meant at you, but to dissemble and conceal whatever degree of anger you may feel inwardly; and, should they be so plain, that you cannot be supposed ignorant of their meaning, to join in the laugh of the company against yourself; acknowledge the hit to be a fair one, and the jest a good one, and play off the whole thing in seeming good himself 3o8 Defensive pride. [a.d. 1754 himself to Dodsley from the charges brought against him by Johnson ; but we may judge of the flimsiness of his defence, "from his having excused his neglect of Johnson, by saying that 'he had heard he had changed his lodgings, and did not know where he lived ;' as if there could have been the smallest difficulty to inform himself of that circumstance, by inquiring in the literary circle with which his Lordship was well acquainted, and was, indeed, himself one of its ornaments. Dr. Adams expostulated with Johnson, and suggested, that his not being admitted when he called on him, was, probably, not to be imputed to Lord Chesterfield ; for his Lordship had declared to Dodsley, that ' he would have turned off the best servant he ever had, if he had known that he denied him to a man who would have been always more than welcome ;' and, in confirmation of this, he insisted on Lord Chesterfield's general affability and easiness of access, especially to literary men. ' Sir, (said Johnson) that is not Lord Chesterfield ; he is the proudest man this day existing'.' ' No, (said Dr. Adams) there is one person, at least, as proud ; I think, by your own account, you are the prouder man of the two.' ' But mine, (replied Johnson, instantly) was defensive pride.' This, as Dr. Adams well observed, was one of those happy turns for which he was so remarkably ready. Johnson having now explicitly avowed his opinion of Lord Chesterfield, did not refrain from expressing himself concern- ing that nobleman with pointed freedom : ' This man (said he) I thought had been a Lord among wits; but, I find, he is only a wit among Lords'!' And when his Letters to his humour ; but by no means reply in the same way ; which only shows that you are hurt, and publishes the victory which you might have concealed.' ' See post, March 23, 1783. where Johnson said that ' Lord Chester- field was dignified, but he was insolent;' and June 27, 1784, where he said that ' his manner was exquisitely elegant.' ' ' Whate'er of mongrel no one class admits, A wit with dunces, and a dunce with wits.' Pope's Dunciad, iv. 90. natural Aetat.45.] ChesterfielcC s 'Respectable Hottentot^ 309 natural son were published, he observed, that ' they teach the morals of a whore, and the manners of a dancing master'.' The character of 'a respectable Hottentot,' in Lord Ches- terfield's letters', has been generally understood to be meant for Johnson, and I have no doubt that it was. But I remem- ber when the Literary Property of those letters was contested in the Court of Session in Scotland, and Mr. Henry Dundas\ ' A true choice spirit we admit ; With wits a fool, with fools a wit." Churchill's Duellist, Book iii. ' The solemn fop, significant and budge ; A fool with judges, amongst fools a judge.' Cowper's Poems, Conversation, 1. 299. According to Rebecca Warner {Original Letters, p. 204), Johnson tell- ing Joseph Fowke about his refusal to dedicate his Dictionary to Chesterfield, said : — ' Sir, I found I must have gilded a rotten post.' ' That collection of letters cannot be vindicated from the serious charge of encouraging, in some passages, one of the vices most de- structive to the good order and comfort of society, which his Lordship represents as mere fashionable gallantry'; and, in others, of inculcating the base practice of dissimulation, and recommending, with dispro- portionate anxiety, a perpetual attention to external elegance of man- ners. But it must, at the same time, be allowed, that they contain many good precepts of conduct, and much genuine information upon life and manners, very happily expressed ; and that there was con- siderable merit in paying so much attention to the improvement of one who was dependent upon his Lordship's protection ; it has, prob- ably, been exceeded in no instance by the most exemplary parent ; and though 1 can by no means approve of confounding the distinction between lawful and illicit offspring, which is, in effect, insulting the civil establishment of our country, to look no higher ; I cannot help thinking it laudable to be kindly attentive to those, of whose existence we have, in any way, been the cause. Mr. Stanhope's character has been unjustly represented as diametrically opposite to what Lord Chesterfield wished him to be. He has been called dull, gross, and aukward : but I knew him at Dresden, when he was Envoy to that court; and though he could not boast of \h& graces, he was, in truth, a sensible, civil, well-behaved man. Boswell. See post, March 28, 1775, under April 29, 1776, and June 27, 1784. * Chesterfield's Letters, iii. 129. ' Now one of his Majesty's principal Secretaries of State. Bos- WELL. Afterwards Viscount Melville. one 3o8 Defensive pride. [a. d. 1754 himself to Dodsley from the charges brought against him by Johnson; but we may judge of the flimsiness of his defence, 'from his having excused his neglect of Johnson, by saying that 'he had heard he had changed his lodgings, and did not know where he lived ;' as if there could have been the smallest difficulty to inform himself of that circumstance, by inquiring in the literary circle with which his Lordship was well acquainted, and was, indeed, himself one of its ornaments. Dr. Adams expostulated with Johnson, and suggested, that his not being admitted when he called on him, was, probably, not to be imputed to Lord Chesterfield ; for his Lordship had declared to Dodsley, that ' he would have turned off the best servant he ever had, if he had known that he denied him to a man who would have been always more than welcome ;' and, in confirmation of this, he insisted on Lord Chesterfield's general affability and easiness of access, especially to literary men. ' Sir, (said Johnson) that is not Lord Chesterfield ; he is the proudest man this day existing'.' ' No, (said Dr. Adams) there is one person, at least, as proud ; I think, by your own account, you are the prouder man of the two.' ' But mine, (replied Johnson, instantly) was defensive pride.' This, as Dr. Adams well observed, was one of those happy turns for which he was so remarkably ready. Johnson having now explicitly avowed his opinion of Lord Chesterfield, did not refrain from expressing himself concern- ing that nobleman with pointed freedom: 'This man (said he) I thought had been a Lord among wits ; but, I find, he is only a wit among Lords^!' And when his Letters to his humour ; but by no means reply in the same way ; which only shows that you are hurt, and publishes the victory which you might have concealed.' ' See post, March 23, 1783, where Johnson said that ' Lord Chester- field was dignified, but he was insolent;' and June 27, 1784, where he said that ' his manner was exquisitely elegant.' * ' Whate'er of mongrel no one class admits, A wit with dunces, and a dunce with wits.' Pope's Dunciad, iv. 90. natural Aetat.45.] Chesterfield' s 'Respectable Hottentot^ 309 natural son were published, he observed, that * they teach the morals of a whore, and the manners of a dancing master'.' The character of *a respectable Hottentot,' in Lord Ches- terfield's letters", has been generally understood to be meant for Johnson, and I have no doubt that it was. But I remem- ber when the Literary Property of those letters was contested in the Court of Session in Scotland, and Mr. Henry Dundas', ' A true choice spirit we admit ; With wits a fool, with fools a wit.' Churchill's Duellist, Book iii. ' The solemn fop, significant and budge ; A fool with judges, amongst fools a judge.' Cowper's Foetus, Coiversation, 1. 299. According to Rebecca Warner {Original Letters, p. 204), Johnson tell- ing Joseph Fowke about his refusal to dedicate his Dictionary to Chesterfield, said : — ' Sir, I found I must have gilded a rotten post.' ' That collection of letters cannot be vindicated from the serious charge of encouraging, in some passages, one of the vices most de- structive to the good order and comfort of society, which his Lordship represents as mere fashionable gallantr)^ ; and, in others, of inculcating the base practice of dissimulation, and recommending, with dispro- portionate anxiety, a perpetual attention to external elegance of man- ners. But it must, at the same time, be allowed, that they contain many good precepts of conduct, and much genuine information upon life and manners, very happily expressed ; and that there was con- siderable merit in paying so much attention to the improvement of one who was dependent upon his Lordship's protection ; it has, prob- ably, been exceeded in no instance by the most exemplary parent ; and though I can by no means approve of confounding the distinction between lawful and illicit offspring, which is, in effect, insulting the civil establishment of our country, to look no higher; I cannot help thinking it laudable to be kindly attentive to those, of whose existence we have, in any way, been the cause. Mr. Stanhope's character has been unjustly represented as diametrically opposite to what Lord Chesterfield wished him to be. He has been called dull, gross, and aukward : but I knew him at Dresden, when he was Envoy to that court ; and though he could not boast of the graces, he was, in truth, a sensible, civil, well-behaved man. Boswell. See post, March 28, 1775, under April 29, 1776, and June 27, 1784. ' Chesterfield's Letters, iii. 129. ' Now one of his Majesty's principal Secretaries of State. Bos- WELL. Afterwards Viscount Melville. one 3IO Chesterfield's 'Respectable Hottentot' [a.d.1754. one of the counsel for the proprietors, read this character as an exhibition of Johnson, Sir David Dalr>'mple, Lord Hailes, one of the Judges, maintained, with some warmth, that it was not intended as a portrait of Johnson, but of a late noble Lord, distinguished for abstruse science'. I have heard John- son himself talk of the character, and say that it was meant for George Lord Lyttelton, in which I could by no means agree ; for his Lordship had nothing of that violence which is a conspicuous feature in the composition. Finding that my illustrious friend could bear to have it supposed that it might be meant for him, I said, laughingly, that there was one trait which unquestionably did not belong to him ; ' he throws his meat anywhere but down his throat.' ' Sir, (said he,) Lord Chesterfield never saw me eat in his life\' * Probably George, second Earl of Macclesfield, who was, in 1752, elected President of the Royal Society. Crokkr. Horace Walpole {Letters, ii. 321) mentions him as 'engaged to a party for finding out the longitude.' » In another work {Dr. Johnson : His Friends and his Critics, p. 214), I have shewn that Lord Chesterfield's ' Respectable Hottentot' was not Johnson. From the beginning of 1748 to the end of 1754 Chesterfield had no dealings of any kind with Johnson. At no time had there been the slightest intimacy between the great nobleman and the poor author. Chesterfield had never seen Johnson eat. The letter in which the character is drawn opens with the epigram : Non amo te. Sabidi, nee possum dicere quare, Hoc tantum possum dicere. non amo te. Chesterfield goes on to show ' how it is possible not to lov-e anybody, and yet not to know the reason why. . . . How often,' he says, 'have I, in the course of my life, found myself in this situation with regard to many of my acquaintance whom I have honoured and respected, without being able to love.' He then instances the case of the man whom he describes as a respectable Hottentot. It is clear that he is writing of a man whom he knows well and who has some claim upon his affection. Twice he says that it is impossible to love him. The date of this letter is Feb. 28, 1751, more than three years after Johnson had for the last time waited in Chesterfield's outward rooms. More- over the same man is described in three other letters (Sept. 22, 1749; Nov. 1749; and May 27, 1753), and described as one with whom Ches- terfield lived on terms of intimacy. In the two former of these letters On Aetat.45.] Bolingbrokes Philosophy. 311 On the 6th of March came out Lord Bolingbroke's works, published by Mr. David Mallet'. The wild and pernicious rav- ings, under the name of Philosophy, which were thus ushered into the world, gave great offence to all well-principled men. Johnson, hearing of their tendency', which nobody disputed, he is called Mr. L. Lyttelton did not become Sir George Lyttelton till Sept. 14, 1751. He was raised to the peerage in 1757. Horace Walpole {Reign of George III, i. 256) says of him : — ' His ignorance of mankind, want of judgment, with strange absence and awkwardness, involved him in mistakes and ridicule.' Had Chesterfield's letter been published when it was written, no one in all likelihood would have so much as dreamt that Johnson was aimed at. But it did not come before the world till twenty-three years later, when Johnson's quarrel with Chesterfield was known to every one, when Johnson himself was at the very head of the literary world, and when his pe- culiarities had become a matter of general interest. ' About four years after this time Gibbon, on his return to England, became intimate with Mr. and Mrs. Mallet. He thus wrote of them : — 'The most useful friends of my father were the Mallets; they re- ceived me with civility and kindness at first on his account, and after- wards on my own ; and (if I may use Lord Chesterfield's words) I was soon domesticated in their house. Mr. Mallet, a name among the English poets, is praised by an unforgiving enemy for the ease and elegance of his conversation, and his wife was not destitute of wit or learning.' Gibbon's Misc. Works, \. 115. The 'unforgiving enemy' was Johnson, who wrote {Works,vn\. \(iS): — 'His conversation was elegant and easy. The rest of his character may, without injury to his memory, sink into silence.' Johnson once said : — ' I have seldom met with a man whose colloquial ability exceeded that of Mallet.' Johnson's Works, 1787, xi. 214. See post, March 27, 1772, and April 28, 1783; and Boswell's Hebrides, Sept. 10, 1773. ' Johnson had never read Bolingbroke's Philosophy. ' I have never read Bolingbroke's impiety,' he said (post, under March i, 1758). In the memorable sentence that he, notwithstanding, pronounced upon the author, he exposed himself to the retort which he had recorded in his Li/e of Boerhaave ( Works, vi. 277). ' As Boerhaave was sitting in a common boat, there arose a conversation among the passengers upon the impious and pernicious doctrine of Spinosa, which, as they all agjeed, tends to the utter overthrow of all religion. Boerhaave sat and attended silently to this discourse for some time, till one of the company . . . instead of confuting the positions of Spinosa by ar- gument began to give a loose to contumelious language and virulent was 312 A beggarly Scolc/nnan. [a. d. 1754. was roused with a just indignation, and pronounced this memorable sentence upon the noble authour and his edi- tor. * Sir, he was a scoundrel and a coward' : a scoundrel, for charging a blunderbuss against religion and morality ; a coward, because he had not resolution to fire it off himself, but left half a crown to a beggarly Scotchman, to draw the trigger after his death'^ !' Garrick, who I can attest from my own knowledge, had his mind seasoned with pious rev- erence, and sincerely disapproved of the infidel writings of several, whom, in the course of his almost universal gay inter- course with men of eminence, he treated with external civil- ity, distinguished himself upon this occasion. Mr. Pelham having died on the very day on which Lord Bolingbroke's invectives, which Boerhaave was so little pleased with, that at last he could not forbear asking him, whether he had ever read the author he declaimed against.' ' Lord Shelburne said that ' Bolingbroke was both a political and personal coward." Fitzmaurice's Shelburne, i. 29. '•* It was in the summer of this year that Murphy became acquainted with Johnson. (See/i^j/, 1760.) 'The first striking sentence that he heard from him was in a few days after the publication of Lord Bo- lingbroke's posthumous works. Mr. Garrick asked him, " if he had seen them." "Yes, I have seen them." "What do you think of them .'" " Think of them !" He made a long pause, and then re- plied : " Think of them ! a scoundrel and a coward ! A scoundrel who spent his life in charging a gun against Christianity; and a cow- ard, who was afraid of hearing the report of his own gun ; but left half-a-crown to a hungry Scotchman to draw the trigger after his death !" His mind, at this time strained and over laboured by con- stant exertion, called for an interval of repose and indolence. But indolence was the time of danger ; it was then that his spirits, not employed abroad, turned with inward hostility against himself.' Mur- phy's Johnson, p. 79, and Piozzi's Anec. p. 235. Adam Smith, perhaps, had this saying of Johnson's in mind, when in 1776 he refused the request of the dying Hume to edit after his death his Dialogues on Natural Religiott. Hume wrote back : — ' I think j^our scruples ground- less. Was Mallet anywise hurt by his publication of Lord Boling- broke ? He received an office afterwards from the present King and Lord Bute, the most prudish man in the world.' Smith did not yield. J. H. Burton's Hume, ii. 491. works Aetat.45.] Ode on Mr. Pelkam's death. 313 works came out, he wrote an elegant Ode on his death, be- ginning ' Let others hail the rising sun, I bow to that whose course is run ;' in which is the following stanza : 'The same sad morn, to Church and State (So for our sins 'twas fix'd by fate,) A double stroke was given ; Black as the whirlwinds of the North, St. John's fell genius issued forth. And Pelham fled to heaven'.' Johnson this year found an interval of leisure to make an excursion to Oxford, for the purpose of consulting the libraries there. Of this, and of many interesting circum- stances concerning him, during a part of his life when he conversed but little with the world, I am enabled to give a particular account, by the liberal communications of the Rev- erend Mr. Thomas Warton\ who obligingly furnished me with several of our common friend's letters, which he illustrated with notes. These I shall insert in their proper places. ' According to Horace Walpole {Letters, ii. 374), Pelham died of a surfeit. As Johnson says {Works, viii. 310): — 'The death of great men is not always proportioned to the lustre of their liv^es. The death of Pope was imputed by some of his friends to a silver sauce- pan, in which it was his delight to heat potted lampreys.' Fielding in 77/1? Voyage to Lz'sbofi ( JVorks, x. 201) records : — ' I was at the worst on that memorable day when the public lost Mr. Pelham. From that day I began slowly, as it were, to draw my feet out of the grave.' ' " I shall now hav^e no more peace," the King said with a sigh ; being told of his Minister's death.' Walpole's George II, i. 378. ' Thomas Warton, the younger brother of Dr. Warton, was a fellow of Trinity College, Oxford. He was Poetry Professor from 1758 to 1768. Mant's JVarton.i. xViv. In 1785 he was made Poet Laureate. Id. Ixxxiii. Mr. Mant, telling of an estrangement between Johnson and the Wartons, says that he had heard ' on unquestionable author- ity that Johnson had lamented, with tears in his eyes, that the Wartons had jiot called on him for the last four years ; and that he has been known to declare that Tom Warton was the only man of genius whom he knew without a heart.' Id. xxxix. Of 314 Thomas Warton, [a. d. 1754. *To THE Reverend Mr. Thomas Warton. ♦Sir, ' It is but an ill return for the book with which you were pleased to favour me', to have delayed my thanks for it till now. I am too apt to be negligent ; but 1 can never deliberately shew my disrespect to a man of your character : and I now pay you a very honest acknowledgement, for the advancement of the litera- ture of our native country. You have shewn to all, who shall here- after attempt the study of our ancient authours. the way to success ; by directing them to the perusal of the books which those authours had read. Of this method, Hughes' and men much greater than Hughes, seem never to have thought. The reason why the au- thours, which are yet read, of the sixteenth century, are so little understood, is, that they are read alone ; and no help is borrowed from those who lived with them, or before them. Some part of this ignorance I hope to remove by my book', which now draws towards its end ; but which I cannot finish to my mind, without visiting the libraries at Oxford, which I, therefore, hope to see in a fortnight*. I know not how long I shall stay, or where I shall lodge : but shall be sure to look for you at my arrival, and we shall easily settle the rest. I am, dear Sir, ' Your most obedient, &c. ' Sam. Johnson.' '[London] July 16, 1754.' Of his conversation while at Oxford at this time, Mr. Warton preserved and communicated to me the following memorial, which, though not written with all the care and attention which that learned and elegant writer bestowed on those compositions which he intended for the publick eye, is so happily expressed in an easy style, that I should injure it by any alteration : * ' Observations on Spenser's Fairy Queen, the first edition of which was now just published.' Warton. * ' Hughes published an edition of Spenser.' Warton. See John- son's Works, vii. 476. ' ' His Dictionary.' Warton. * ' He came to Oxford within a fortnight, and stayed about five weeks. He lodged at a house called Kettel-hall, near Trinity College. But during this visit at Oxford, he collected nothing in the libraries for his Dictionary.' Warton. 'When Aetat. 45.] yohnsoiC s visit to Oxford, 315 'When Johnson came to Oxford in 1754', the long vacation was beginning, and most people were leaving the place. This was the first time of his being there, after quitting the University. The next morning after his arrival, he wished to see his old College, Pembroke. I went with him. He was highly pleased to find all the College-servants' which he had left there still remaining, par- ticularly a very old butler^; and expressed great satisfaction at being recognised by them, and conversed with them familiarly. He waited on the master, Dr. Radcliffe, who received him very coldly. Johnson at least expected, that the master would order a copy of his Dictionary, now near publication : but the master did not choose to talk on the subject, never asked Johnson to dine, nor even to visit him, while he stayed at Oxford. After we had left the lodgings, Johnson said to me, " There lives a man, who lives by the revenues of literature, and will not move a finger to support it. If I come to live at Oxford, I shall take up my abode at Trinity." We then called on the Reverend Mr. Meeke, one of the fellows, and of Johnson's standing. Here was a most cordial greeting on both sides. On leaving him, Johnson said, '' I used to think ' Pitt this year described, in the House of Commons, a visit that he had paid to Oxford the summer before. He and his friends 'were at the window of the Angel Inn ; a lady was desired to sing God save great George our King. The chorus was re-echoed by a set of young lads drinking at a college over the way [Queen's], but with additions of rank treason.' Walpole's George II, i. 413. ' A Fellow of Pembroke College, of Johnson's time, described the college servants as in ' the state of servitude the most miserable that can be conceived amongst so many masters.' He says that 'the kicks and cuffs and bruises they submit to entitle them, when those who were displeased relent,' to the compensation that is afforded by draughts of ale. * There is not a college servant, but if he have learnt to suffer, and to be officious, and be inclined to tipple, may forget his cares in a gallon or two of ale every day of his life.' Dr. yohftson : His Friends, &!^c., p. 45. ' It was against the Butler that Johnson, in his college days, had written an epigram : — ' Quid mirum Maro quod digne canit arma virumque. Quid quod putidulum nostra Camoena sonat.? Limosum nobis Promus dat callidus haustum ; Virgilio vires uva Falerna dedit. Carmina vis nostri scnbant meliora Poetae.'' Ingenium jubeas purior haustus alat.' Meeke 3i6 Stories of old college days, [a. d. 1754. Meeke had excellent parts, when we were boys together at the College : but, alas ! 'Lost in a convent's solitary gloom'!' I remember, at the classical lecture in the Hall, I could not bear Meeke's superiority, and I tried to sit as far from him as I could, that I might not hear him construe." ' As we were leaving the College, he said, " Here I translated Pope's Messiah. Which do you think is the best line in it ? — My own favourite is, '■Vallis arotnaticas fundit Saronica nubes^y^ I told him, I thought it a very sonorous hexameter. I did not tell him, it was not in the Virgilian style\ He much regretted that \\\s first tutor* was dead ; for whom he seemed to retain the great- est regard. He said, " I once had been a whole morning sliding in Christ-Church Meadow, and missed his lecture in logick. After dinner, he sent for me to his room. I expected a sharp rebuke for my idleness, and went with a beating heart. When we were seated, he told me he had sent for me to drink a glass of wine with him, and to tell me, he was not angry with me for missing his lecture. This was, in fact, a most severe reprimand. Some more of the boys were then sent for, and we spent a very pleasant afternoon." Besides Mr. Meeke, there was only one other Fellow of Pembroke now resident : from both of whom Johnson received the greatest civilities during this visit, and they pressed him very much to have a room in the College. 'In the course of this visit (1754,) Johnson and I walked, three ' Pope, Eloisa to ^Ibelard^ 1. 38. * Johnson or Warton misquoted the line. It stands : — ' Mittit aromaticas vallis Saronica nubes.' Husbands's Miscellany, p. 112. ' De Ouincey {Works, xiii. 162), after saying that Johnson did not understand Latin ' with the elaborate and circumstantial accuracy required for the editing critically of a Latin classic,' continues : — ' But if he had less than that, he also had more : he possessed that language in a way that no extent of mere critical knowledge could confer. He wrote it genially, not as one translating into it painfully from English. but as one using it for his original (jrgan of thinking. And in Latin verse he expressed himself at times with the energy and freedom of a Roman.' * Mr. Jorden. See ante, p. 68. or Aetat.45.] Mr. Wise s house at Ellsfield. 317 or four times, to Ellsfield, a village beautifully situated about three miles from Oxford, to see Mr. Wise, Radclivian librarian, with •whom Johnson was much pleased. At this place, Mr. Wise had fitted up a house and gardens, in a singular manner, but with great taste. Here was an excellent library ; particularly, a valuable col- lection of books in Northern literature, with which Johnson was often very busy. One day Mr. Wise read to us a dissertation which he was preparing for the press, intitled, " A History and Chronology of the fabulous Ages." Some old divinities of Thrace, related to the Titans, and called the Cabiri, made a very important part of the theory of this piece ; and in conversation afterwards, Mr. Wise talked much of his Cabiri. As we returned to Oxford in the evening, I out-walked Johnson, and he cried out Sufflamina, a Latin word which came from his mouth with peculiar grace, and was as much as to say, Put on your drag chain. Before we got home, I again walked too fast for him ; and he now cried out, "Why, you walk as if you were pursued by all the Cabiri in a body." In an evening, we frequently took long walks from Oxford into the country, returning to supper. Once, in our way home, we viewed the ruins of the abbies of Oseney and Rewley, near Oxford. After at least half an hour's silence, Johnson said, " I viewed them with indignation' !" We had then a long conversation on Gothick buildings ; and in talking of the form of old halls, he said, " In these halls, the fire place was anciently always in the middle of the room% till the Whigs removed it on one side." — About this time there had been an execution of two or three criminals at Oxford on a Monday. Soon afterwards, one day at dinner, I was saying that Mr. Swinton the chaplain of the gaol, and also a frequent preacher before the University, a learned man, but often thought- less and absent, preached the condemnation-sermon on repentance, before the convicts, on the preceding day, Sunday ; and that in the close he told his audience, that he should give them the remainder ' Boswell {Hebrides, Aug. 19, 1773) says that Johnson looked at the ruins at St. Andrew's 'with a strong indignation. I happened to ask where John Knox was buried. Dr. Johnson burst out. " I hope in the highway. I have been looking at his reformations." ' "" In Erasmus Philipps's Diary it is recorded that in Pembroke Col- lege early in every November ' was kept a great Gaudy [feast], when the Master dined in public, and the juniors (by an ancient custom they were obliged to observe) went round the fire in the hall.' Notes 6- Queries, 2nd S. x. 443. of 3i8 Rev. Mr. Meeke. [a.d. 1754. of what he had to say on the subject, the next Lord's Day. Upon which, one of our company, a Doctor of Divinity, and a plain mat- ter-of-fact man, by way of offering an apology for Mr. Swinton, gravely remarked, that he had probably preached the same sermon before the University : " Yes, Sir, (says Johnson) but the Univer- sity were not to be hanged the next morning." ' 1 forgot to observe before, that when he left Mr. Meeke, (as I have told above) he added, " About the same time of life, Meeke was left behind at Oxford to feed on a Fellowship, and I went to London to get my living : now. Sir, see the difference of our liter- ary characters !" ' The following letter was written by Dr. Johnson to Mr. Chambers, of Lincoln College, afterwards Sir Robert Cham- bers, one of the judges in India' : 'To Mr. Chambers of Lincoln College. ' Dear Sir, * The commission which I delayed to trouble you with at your departure, I am now obliged to send you ; and beg that you will be so kind as to carry it to Mr. Warton, of Trinity, to whom I should have written immediately, but that I know not if he be yet come back to Oxford. ' In the Catalogue of MSS. of Or. Brit, see vol. L pag. 18. MSS. Bodl. Martyrium xv. martyrum sub yuliano, aiutore Theophylacto. ' It is desired that Mr. Warton will inquire, and send word, what will be the cost of transcribing this manuscript. 'Vol. II. pag. 32. Num. 1022. 58. Coll. Nov. — Commentaria in Acta Apostol. — Commeyit. in Sep tern Epistolas Catholicas. ' He is desired to tell what is the age of each of these manu- scripts : and what it will cost to have a transcript of the two first pages of each. ' If Mr. Warton be not in Oxford, you may try if you can get it done by any body else ; or stay till he comes, according to your own convenience. It is for an Italian literato. ' The answer is to be directed to his Excellency Mr. Zon, Vene- tian Resident, Soho-Square. ' Communicated by the Reverend Mr. Thomas Warton, who had the original. Boswell. In the imaginary college which was to be opened by The Club at St. Andrew's, Chambers was to be the professor of the law of England. See Boswell's Hebrides, Aug. 25, 1773; ^Iso post,]\x\y 5, 1773 and March 30, 1774. ' I hope, Aetat.45.] ^o/uisou dcsivcs tJic Degree of M.A. 319 ' I hope, dear Sir, that you do not regret the change of London for Oxford. Mr. Baretti is well, and Miss Williams' ; and we shall all be glad to hear from you, whenever you shall be so kind as to write to, Sir, ' Your most humble servant, ' Sam. Johnson.' ' Nov. 21, 1754.' The degree of Master of Arts, which, it has been observed', could not be obtained for him at an early period of his life, was now considered as an honour of considerable importance, in order to grace the title-page of his Dictionary ; and his character in the literary world being by this time deservedly high, his friends thought that, if proper exertions were made, the University of Oxford would pay him the compliment'. ' ' I presume she was a relation of Mr. Zachariah Williams, who died in his eighty-third year, July 12, 1755- When Dr. Johnson was with me at Oxford, in 1755, he gave to the Bodleian Library a thin quarto of twenty-one pages, a work in Italian, with an English translation on the opposite page. The English title-page is this : " An Account of an Attempt to ascertain the Longitude at Sea, by an exact Variation of the Magnetical Needle, &c. By Zachariah Williams. London, printed for Dodsley, 1755." The English translation, from the strong- est internal marks, is unquestionably the work of Johnson. In a blank leaf, Johnson has written the age, and time of death, of the authour Z. Williams, as I have said above. On another blank leaf, is pasted a paragraph from a newspaper, of the death and character of Williams, which is plainly written by Johnson. He was very anxious about placing this book in the Bodleian : and, for fear of any omission or mistake, he entered, in the great Catalogue, the title-page of it with his own hand.' Warton. — Boswkll. In this statement there is a slight mistake. The English account, which was written by Johnson, was the original; the Italian was a translation, dion^hy 'Q2lX^\X\. See ^cj'/, end of 1755. Malone. John- son has twice entered in his own hand that ' Zachariah Williams, died July 12, 1755, in his eighty-third year,' and also on the title-page that he was 82. * See ante, p. i 54. ' The compliment was, as it were, a mutual one. Mr. Wise urged Thomas Warton to get the degree conferred before the Dictionary was published. ' It is in truth,' he wrote, ' doing ourselves more hon- our than him, to have such a work done by an Oxford hand, and so able a one too, and will show that we have not lost all regard for good 'To 320 Collins the Poet. [a.d. 1754. 'To THE Reverend Mr. Thomas Warton. 'Dear Sir, ' I am extremely obliged to you and to Mr. Wise, for the un- common care which you have taken of my interest' : if you can accomplish your kind design, I shall certainly take me a little habitation among you. ' The books which 1 promised to Mr. Wise", 1 have not been able to procure : but I shall send him a Finnick Dictionary, the only copy, perhaps, in England, which was presented me by a learned Swede : but I keep it back, that it may make a set of my own books" of the new edition, with which 1 shall accompany it, more welcome. You will assure him of my gratitude. ' Poor dear Collins^ ! — Would a letter give him any pleasure .^ I have a mind to write. letters, as has been too often imputed to us by our enemies.' Wooll's Warton, p. 228. ' ' In procuring him the degree of Master of Arts by diploma at Oxford.' Warton. — Boswell. ' ' Lately fellow of Trinity College, and at this time Radclixian librarian, at Oxford. He was a man of very considerable learning. and eminently skilled in Roman and Anglo-Saxon antiquities. He died in 1767.' Warton. — Roswkll. * No doubt The Rambler. * 'Collins (the poet) was at this time at Oxford, on a visit to Mr. Warton ; but labouring under the most deplorable languor of body, and dejection of mind.' Warton. — Boswell. Johnson, writing to Dr. Warton on March 8, 1754, thus speaks of Collins : — ' 1 knew him a few years ago full of hopes, and full of projects, versed in many lan- guages, high in fancy, and strong in retention. This busy and forcible mind is now under the government of those who lately would not have been able to comprehend the least and most narrow of its de- signs.' Wooll's Warton, \. 219. Again, on Dec. 24, 1754: — ' Poor dear Collins ! Let me know whether you think it would give him pleasure if I should write to him. I hav-e often been near his state, and there- fore have it in great commiseration." lb. p. 229. Again, on April 15, 1756: — "That man is no common loss. The moralists all talk of the uncertainty of fortune, and the transitoriness of beauty : but it is yet more dreadful to consider that the powers of the mind are equally liable to change, that understanding may make its appearance and depart, that it may blaze and expire.' lb. p. 239. See post, beginning of 1763. ' I am Aetat. 45.] Collins the Poet. 321 ' I am glad of your hindrance in your Spenserian design', yet 1 would not have it delayed. Three hours a day stolen from sleep and amusement will produce it. Let a Servitour" transcribe the quotations, and interleave them with references, to save time. This will shorten the work, and lessen the fatigue. ' Can I do any thing to promoting the diploma ? I would not be wanting to co-operate with your kindness ; of which, whatever be the effect, I shall be, dear Sir, ' Your most obliged, «Scc. '[London.] Nov. 28, 1754.' ' Sam. Johnson.' ^ „ To THE Same. * Dear Sir, ' I am extremely sensible of the favour done me, both by Mr. Wise and yourself. The book^ cannot, I think, be printed in less than six weeks, nor probably so soon ; and I will keep back the title-page, for such an insertion as you seem to promise me. Be pleased to let me know what money I shall send you, for bearing the expence of the affair ; and I will take care that you may have it ready at your hand. ' I had lately the favour of a letter from your brother, with some account of poor Collins, for whom I am much concerned. 1 have a notion, that by very great temperance, or more properly absti- nence, he may yet recover'. ' There is an old English and Latin book of poems by Barclay, called "The Ship of Fools ;" at the end of which are a number of Eglogues \ so he writes it, from Egioga^, which are probably the * ' Of publishing a volume of observations on the best of Spenser's works. It was hindered by my taking pupils in this College." War- TON. — BOSWELL. ' ' Young students of the lowest rank at Oxford are so called.' Warton. — BoswELL. See Boswell's Hebrides, Aug. 28, 1773. " ' His Dictionary.' Warton. — Boswell. * Johnson says {IVorks, viii. 403) that when Collins began to feel the approaches of his dreadful malady ' with the usual weakness of men so diseased he eagerly snatched that temporary relief with which the table and the bottle flatter and seduce.' ' ' Petrarch, finding nothing in the word eclogue of rural meaning, supposed it to be corrupted by the copiers, and therefore called his own pastorals aeglogues, by which he meant to express the talk of goatherds, though it will mean only the talk of goats. This new name was adopted by subsequent writers.' Johnson's Works, viii. 390. I. — 21 first 32 2 The death of a Wife. [a. d, 1755. first in our language. If you cannot find the book I will get Mr. Dodsley to send it you. ' 1 shall be extremely glad to hear from you again, to know, if the afifair proceeds'. I have mentioned it to none of my friends for fear of being laughed at for my disappointment. ' You know poor Mr. Uodsley has lost his wife ; I believe he is much affected. 1 hope he will not suffer so much as I yet suffer for the loss of mine. Ol'^ot. ri fi* o(/xoi ; Qvrfra yufj nfTtiivdayLfv''. I have ever since seemed to myself broken oft" from mankind ; a kind of solitary wanderer in the wild of life, without any direction, or fixed point of view : a gloomy gazer on a world to which I have little relation. Yet 1 would endeavour, by the help of you and your brother, to supply the want of closer union, by friendship : and hope to have long the pleasure of being, dear Sir, ' Most affectionately your's, ' [London.] Dec. 21. i7S4-" ' ^''''- John.son.' 1755: i4?.TAT. 46.] — In 1755 wc behold him to frreat ad- vantage ; his degree of Master of Arts conferred upon him, his Dictionary published, his correspondence animated, his benevolence exercised. 'To THE Reverend Mr. Thomas Warton. 'Dear Sir, ' I wrote to you some weeks ago, but believe did not direct accurately, and therefore know not whether you had my letter. I would, likewise, write to your brother, but know not where to find him. I now begin to see land, after having wandered, according to Mr. Warburton's phrase, in this vast sea of words. What recep- tion I shall meet with on the shore, 1 know not ; whether the sound of bells, and acclamations of the people, which Ariosto talks of in his last Canto', or a general murmur of dislike, I know not: ' ' Of the degree at Oxford." Warton. — Boswell. "^ This verse is from the long-lost Bellerophon, a tragedy by Euripides. It is preserved by Suidas. Charles BuRXEV. • Alas ! but wherefore alas? Man is born to sorrow." » ' Sento venir per allegrezza un tuono Que fremer I'aria, e rimbombar fa I'onde-. Odo di squille," &c. Orlando Furioso, c. xlvi. s. 2. whether Aetat. 46.] His doubts as to the critics. 323 whetlier I shall find upon the coast a Calypso that will court, or a Polypheme that will resist. But if Polypheme comes, have at his eye. I hope, however, the criticks will let me be at peace ; for though I do not much fear their skill and strength, I am a little afraid of myself, and would not willingly feel so much ill-will in my bosom as literary quarrels are apt to excite. * Mr. Baretti is about a work for which he is in great want of Crescimbcni, which you may have again when you please. 'There is nothing considerable done or doing among us here. We are not, perhaps, as innocent as villagers, but most of us seem to be as idle. I hope, however, you are busy; and should be glad to know what you are doing. ' I am, dearest Sir, ' Your humble servant, •[London.] Feb. 4. 1755.' ' Sam. Johnson.' To THE Same. ' Dear Sir, ' 1 received your letter this day, with great sense of the favour that has been done me' ; for which I return my most sincere thanks : and entreat you to pay to Mr. Wise such returns as I ought to make for so much kindness so little deserved. ' I sent Mr. Wise the Lexicon^ and afterwards wrote to him ; but know not whether he had either the book or letter. Be so good as to contrive to enquire. ' But why does my dear Mr. Warton tell me nothing of himself 1 Where hangs the new volume' ? Can I help ? Let not the past labour be lost, for want of a little more : but snatch what time you can from the Hall, and the pupils', and the coffee-house, and the parks\ and complete your design. I am, dear Sir, &:c. ' Sam. Johnson.' '[London,] Feb. 4, 1755.' » ' His degree had now past, according to the usual form, the suf- frages of the heads of Colleges ; but was not yet finally granted by the University. It was carried without a single dissentient voice.' Warton. — Boswell. ■ ' On Spenser.' Warton. — Boswell. = Lord Eldon wrote of him : — ' Poor Tom Warton ! He was a tutor at Trinity; at the beginning of every term he used to send to his pu- pils to know whether they would wish to attend lecture that term.' Swiss's Eldon, iii. 302. * The fields north of Oxford. To 324 Dr. King. [A.D. 1755. To THE Same. ' Dear Sir, ' I had a letter last week from Mr. Wise, but have yet heard nothing from you, nor know in what state my affair stands' ; of which I beg you to inform me, if you can, to-morrow, by the re- turn of the post. ' Mr. Wise sends me word, that he has not had the Finnick Lexi- con yet, which I sent some time ago ; and if he has it not, you must enquire after it. However, do not let your letter stay for that. ' Your brother, who is a better correspondent than you, and not much better, sends me word, that your pupils keep you in College : but do they keep you from writing too .-' Let them, at least, give you time to write to, dear Sir, ' V'our most affectionate, »SiC. ' Sam. Johnson.' '[London,] Feb. 13, 1755.' ,^^ To THE Same. ' Dear Sir, ' Dr. King'^ was with me a few minutes before your letter ; this, however, is the first instance in which your kind intentions to me have ever been frustrated^ I have now the full effect of your care ' 'Of the degree.' Warton. — Boswell. ' ' Principal of St. Mary Hall at Oxford. He brought with him the diploma from Oxford.' Warton. — Boswell. Dr. King {Anec. p. 196) says that he was one of the Jacobites who were presented to the Pre- tender when, in September 1750, he paid a stealthy visit to England. The Pretender in 1783 told Sir Horace Mann that he was in London in that very month and year and had met fifty of his friends, among whom was the Earl of Westmoreland, the future Chancellor of the University of Oxford. Mahon's Englafid, iv. ii. Hume places the visit in 1753. Burtons Hume, ii.462. See also in Boswell's Hebrides, the account of the Young Pretender. In 1754, writes Lord Shelburne, ' Dr. King in his speech upon opening the Radcliflfe Library at Oxford, before a full theatre introduced three times the word Redeat, pausing each time for a considerable space, during which the most unbounded applause shook the theatre, which was filled with a vast body of peers, members of parliament, and men of property. Soon after the rebel- lion [of 1745], speaking of the Duke of Cumberland, he described him as a man, qui timet omnia prater Deum. I presented this same Dr. King to George HI. in 1760.' Fitzmaurice's Shelburne, i. 35. ' ' I suppose Johnson means that my kind intention of being the and Aetat. 46.J The Chancellor of Oxford s letter. 325 and benevolence ; and am far from thinking it a slight honour, or a small advantage ; since it will put the enjoyment of your conver- sation more frequently in the power of, dear Sir, ' Your most obliged and affectionate ' Sam. Johnson.' ' P.S. I have enclosed a letter to the Vice-Chancellor', which you will read ; and, if you like it, seal and give him. '[London,] Feb. 1755.' As the Publick will doubtless be pleased to see the whole progress of this well-earned academical honour, I shall insert the Chancellor of Oxford's letter to the University*, the di- ploma, and Johnson's letter of thanks to the Vice-Chancellor. ^To the Reverend Dr. Huddesford, Vice-Chancellor of the Univer- sity ^Oxford ; to be communicated to the Heads of Houses, and pro- posed in Convocation. ' Mr. Vice-Chancellor, and Gentlemen, ' Mr. Samuel Johnson, who was formerly of Pembroke College, having very eminently distinguished himself by the publication of a series of essays, excellently calculated to form the manners of the people, and in which the cause of religion and morality is every where maintained by the strongest powers of argument and lan- guage ; and who shortly intends to publish a Dictionary of the Eng- lish Tongue, formed on a new plan, and executed with the greatest labour and judgement : I persuade myself that I shall act agree- ably to the sentiments of the whole University, in desiring that it may be proposed in convocation to confer on him the degree of Master of Arts by diploma, to which I readily give my consent; and am, ' Mr. Vice-Chancellor, and Gentlemen, ' Your affectionate friend and servant, 'Grosvenor-street, Feb. 4, 1755.' 'Arran .' first to give him the good news of the degree being granted was frustrated, because Dr. King brought it before my intelligence ar- rived.' WaRTON. — B0S\VELL. ' ' Dr. Huddesford, President of Trinity College.' Warton. — Bos- WELL. * Extracted from the Convocation-Register. Oxford. Boswell. ' The Earl of Arran, ' the last male of the illustrious House of Or- Term. 326 Diploma Magistri Johnson. [a.d. 1755. Term. S'". Hilarii. 'Diploma Magistri Johnson. 1755- ' CANCELLARIUS, Magistri et Scholares UniversHatis Oxoni- ensis omnibus ad quos hoc presens scriptiim perrenerit. salutem in Domino sempitcrnam. ' Ciim eiim infinem gracilis academici a majoribus nostris institutifue- rint, ut viri ingenio et dodrind pra^stantcs iitidis quoque prceter cceteros insignireniur; ciimque vir doctissimus Samuel Johnson c Collegio Pem- brochiensi, scriptis siiis popidarium mores in/ormantibus dtidiim literato orbi innotucrit ; quin et lingua; patriiz tutn ornandic tum stabilienda. {Lexicon scilicet Anglicanum summo studio, summo d se judicio conges- tum propediem editurus) etiam nunc utilissimam impendat operant ; Nos igitur Cancellarius, Magistri, et Scholares antedictt, ne virum de Uteris humanioribus optime meritum diutius inhonoratum prcetereamus, in solenni Convocatione Doctorutn, Magistrorum, Regentium, et tiofi Re- gentium, decimo die Mcnsis Februarii Anno Domini Millesimo Septin- gentesimo Quinquagesimo quinto habita, prcefatum virum Samuelem Johnson {conspirantibus omnium suffragiis) Magistrum in Artibus renunciavimus et constituimus ; eumque, virtute prcEscntis diplomatis, singulis juribus privilcgiis et honoribus ad istum gradum qudqud, per- tinentibus frui et gaudere jussimus. mond,' was the third Chancellor in succession that that family had given to the University. The first of the three, the famous Duke of Ormond, had, on his death in 1688, been succeeded by his grandson, the young Duke. Macaulay's England, iii. 159. He, on his impeach- ment and flight from England in 171 5, was succeeded by his brother, the Earl of Arran. Richardson, writing in 1754 {Carres, ii. 198), said of the University. ' Forty years ago it chose a Chancellor in despite of the present reigning family, whose whole merit was that he was the brother of a perjured, yet weak, rebel.' On Arran's death in 1758. the Earl of Westmoreland, ' old dull Westmoreland ' as Walpole calls him {Letters, \. 290), was elected. It was at his installation that John- son clapped his hands till they were sore at Dr. King's speech {post, 1759). ' I hear,' wrote Walpole of what he calls the coronatton at Ox- ford, • my Lord Westmoreland's own retinue was all be-James'd with true-blue ribands." Letters, iii. 237. It is remarkable that this noble- man, who in early life was a Whig, had commanded ' the body of troops which George I. had been obliged to send to Oxford, to teach the University the only kind of passive obedience which they did not approve.' Walpole's George //, iii. 167. '/« Aetat.46.] Johnsons letter of thanks. 327 ' In aijus rei testimonium sigillum Universitatis Oxoniensis prcesenti- bus apponifecimus. ''Datum in Domo nostrcB Convocatiotiis die 20° Mens is Feb. Anno Dom. prcEdicto. ' Diploma supra scriptum per Registrarium tectum erat, et ex decreto venerabilis Domiis communi Universitatis sigillo munitum\' ' Dom. Doctori Huddesford, Oxoniensis Academi/E Vice- Cancellario. ' lA^GRA TUS plane et tibi et mihi videar, ?iisi quanta me gaudio affecerint^ quos nuper mihi hof lores {te credo auctore) decrevit Senatus Academicus, literarum, quo tameri nihil levins, officio, significetn: ingratus etiam, nisi comiiatem, qua vir eximius" 7niJii vestri testimonium amoris in manus tradidit, agnoscam et laudcm. Si quid est unde rei tarn gratcB accedat gratia, hoc ipso magis mihi placet, quod eo teittpore in ordines Acadcmicos denuo cooptatus sim, quo tuam imminuere auctori- tatem,fama}nque Oxonii lc£dere\ omnibus modis conantur homines vafri, nee tamen acuti: quibus ego, prout viro umbratico lieu it, semper restiti, semper restiturus. Qui enim, inter has rerufn procellas, vel Tibi vel Academics defuerit, ilium virtuti et Uteris, sibique et posteris, defuturum existimo. ' S. Johnson.' *To THE Reverend Mr. Thomas Warton. ' Dear Sir, ' After I received my diploma. I wrote you a letter of thanks, with a letter to the Vice-Chancellor, and sent another to Mr. Wise ; but have heard from nobody since, and begin to think myself ' The original is in my possession. Boswell. " We may conceive what a high gratification it must have been to Johnson to receive his diploma from the hands of the great Di . King, whose principles were so congenial with his own. Boswell. ' Johnson here alludes, I believe, to the charge of disloyalty brought against the University at the time of the famous contested election for Oxfordshire in 1754. A copy of treasonable verses was found, it was said, near the market-place in Oxford, and the grand jur\' made a presentment thereon. 'We must add,' they concluded, 'that it is the highest aggravation of this crime to have a libel of a nature so false and scandalous, published in a famous University, &c.' Gent. Mag. xxiv. 339. A reward of £200 was offered in the London Gazette for the detection of the writer or publisher. lb, p. 377. forgotten. 328 A projected Review. [a.d. 17M. forgotten. It is true, I sent you a double letter', and you may fear an expensive correspondent ; but I would have taken it kindly, if you had returned it treble : and what is a double letter to a petty king, that \iz.\\r\^ fellowship and fines, can sleep without a Modus in his head"^ ? ' Dear Mr. Warton, let me hear from you, and tell me something, I care not what, so I hear it but from you. Something 1 will tell you : — I hope to see my Dictionary bound and lettered, next week ; — vastd mole superbus. And I have a great mind to come to Oxford at Easter ; but you will not invite me. Shall I come uninvited, or stay here where nobody perhaps would miss me if I went ? A hard choice ! But such is the world to, dear Sir, ' Yours, &c. 'Sam. Johnson.' '[London] March 20, 1755. To THE Same. 'Dear Sir, 'Though not to write, when a man can write so well, is an offence sufficiently heinous, yet I shall pass it by. I am very glad that the Vice-Chancellor was pleased with my note. I shall impa- tiently expect you at London, that we may consider what to do next. I intend in the winter to open a Bibliothequc, and remember, that you are to subscribe a sheet a year ; let us try, likewise, if we ' A single letter was a single piece of paper; a second piece of paper, however small, or any inclosure constituted a double letter ; it was not the habit to prepay the postage. The charge for a single letter to Oxford at this time was three-pence, which was gradually in- creased till in 181 2 it was eight-pence. Penny Cyclo. xviii. 455. " ' The words in Italicks are allusions to passages in Mr. Warton's poem, called The Progress of Discontent, now lately published.' War- ton. — BOSWELL. ' And now intent on new designs, Sighs for a fellowship — and fines. ****** These fellowships are pretty things, We live indeed like petty kings. ****** And ev'ry night I went to bed, Without a Modus in my head.' Warton's Poems, ii. 192. For modus und fines see post, April 25, 1778. cannot Aetat.46.] Dr. Maty. 329 cannot persuade your brother to subscribe another. My book is now coming in luminis oras\ What will be its fate I know not, nor think much, because thinking is to no purpose. It must stand the censure of the great vulgar and the smalP ; of those that understand it, and that understand it not. But in all this, I suffer not alone : every writer has the same difficulties, and, perhaps, every writer talks of them more than he thinks. ' You will be pleased to make my compliments to all my friends: and be so kind, at every idle hour, as to remember, dear Sir, 'Your, &c. 'Sam. Johnson.' '[London.] March 25, 1755.' Dr. Adams told me, that this scheme of a BibliotJieque was a serious one : for upon his visiting him one day, he found his parlour floor covered with parcels of foreign and English literary journals, and he told Dr. Adams he meant to under- take a Review. ' How, Sir, (said Dr. Adams,) can you think of doing it alone ? All branches of knowledge must be con- sidered in it. Do you know Mathematicks ? Do you know Natural History?' Johnson answered, 'Why, Sir, I must do as well as I can. My chief purpose is to give my country- men a view of what is doing in literature upon the continent ; and I shall have, in a good measure, the choice of my sub- ject, for I shall select such books as I best understand.' Dr. Adams suggested, that as Dr. Maty had just then finished his BibliotJiiqiie Britanniquc^ , which was a well-executed work, giving foreigners an account of British publications, he might, with great advantage, assume him as an assistant. ' Hi\ (said Johnson) the little black dog ! I'd throw him into the Thames\' The scheme, however, was dropped. • Lucretius, i. 23. • ' Hence ye prophane ; I hate ye all. Both the Great Vulgar and the Small.' Cowley's hnit. of Horace, Odes, iii. I. ' Journal Br itanntque. It was to Maty that Gibbon submitted the manuscript of his first work. Gibbon's Misc. Works, i. 123. • Maty, as Prof, de Morgan pointed out, had in the autumn of 1755 been guilty of 'wilful suppression of the circumstances of Johnson's attack on Lord Chesterfield.' In an article in his Journal he regrets In 330 Dr. BircJis letter. (a.d. 1755. In one of his little memorandum-books I find the follow- ing hints for his intended Rcvicu' or Literary Journal : ' The Annals of Literature, foreign as well as domestick. Imitate Le Clerk — Bayle — IJarbeyrae. Infelicity of Journals in England. Works of the learned. We cannot take in all. vSometimes copy from foreign Journalists. Always tell.' 'To Dr. Birch. ■ March 29. i755- ' Sir, ' I have sent some parts of vcyy Dictionary, such as were at hand, for your inspection. The favour which I beg is, that if you do not like them, you will say nothing. I am, Sir, ' Your most affectionate humble servant, ' Sam. Johnson.' 'To Mr. Samuel Johnson. ('i-, v. 31 5) : — 'I think there is room to question whether a great part of mankind has yet been in- formed that life is sustained by the fruits of the earth. I was once, in- deed, provoked to ask a lady of great eminence for genius, " Whether she knew of what bread is made." ' Literature Aetat. 47.] ThE LiTEKARY MaGAZINE. 355 Literature and Authours'/f and 'A Dissertation on the Epi- taphs written by Pope.'f The last of these, indeed, he afterwards added to his Idler'. Why the essaj's truly writ- ten by him are marked in the same manner with some which he did not write, I cannot explain ; but with defer- ence to those who have ascribed to him the three essays which I have rejected, they want all the characteristical marks of Johnsonian composition. He engaged also to superintend and contribute largely to another monthly publication, entitled The Literary Magazine, or Universal Review;'^ the first number of which came out in May this year^ What were his emoluments from this ' In The Universal Visiter this Essay is entitled, ' Reflections on the Present State of Literature ;' and in Johnson's Works, v. 355,' A Proj- ect for the Employment of Authors.' The whole world, he says, is turning author. Their number is so large that employment must be found for them. ' There are some reasons for which they may seem particularly qualified for a militar^^ life. They are used to suffer want of ever}^ kind ; they are accustomed to obey the word of command from their patrons and their booksellers ; they have always passed a life of hazard and adventure, uncertain what maybe their slate on the next day. . . . There are some whom long depression under supercili- ous patrons has so humbled and crushed, that they will never have steadiness to keep their ranks. But for these men there may be found fifes and drums, and they will be well enough pleased to inflame others to battle, if they are not obliged to fight themselves.' t He added it also to his Life of Pope. • 'This employment,' wrote Murphy {^Life, p. 88), 'engrossed but little of Johnson's time. He resigned himself to indolence, took no exercise, rose about two, and then received the visits of his friends. Authors long since forgotten waited on him as their oracle, and he gave responses in the chair of criticism. He listened to the com- plaints, the schemes, and the hopes and fears of a crowd of inferior writers, "who," he said, in the words of Roger Ascham, " lived, men knew not how, and died obscure, men marked not when." He be- lieved, that he could give a better history of Grub Street than any man living. His house was filled with a succession of visitors till four or five in the evening. During the whole time he presided at his tea- table." In The Rambler. No. 145. Johnson takes the part of these in- ferior writers : — ' a race of beings equally obscure and equally indigent, who, because their usefulness is less obvious to vulgar apprehensions, undertaking. 356 Johnson s original essays. [a.d. 1756. undertaking, and what other writers were employed in it, I have not discovered. He continued to write in it, with in- termissions, till the fifteenth number ; and I think that he never gave better proofs of the force, acuteness, and vivacity of his mind, than in this miscellany, whether we consider his original essays, or his reviews of the works of others. The 'Preliminary Address 'f to the Publick is a proof how this great man could embellish, with the graces of superiour com- position, even so trite a thing as the plan of a magazine. His original essays are, 'An Introduction to the Political State of Great BritainVt ' Remarks on the Militia BilF;'t ' Observations on his Britannick Majesty's Treaties with the Empress of Russia and the Landgrave of Hesse Cas- seF;'! 'Observations on the Present State of Affairs^ ;'t and live unrewarded and die unpitied, and who have been long exposed to insult without a defender, and to censure without an apologist.' ' In this essay {Works, vi. 129) Johnson describes Canada as a ' region of desolate sterility,' ' a cold, uncomfortable, uninviting region, from which nothing but furs and fish were to be had.' ' The bill of 1756 that he considers passed through the Commons but was rejected by the Lords. It is curious as showing the compara- tive population of the different counties. Devonshire was to furnish 3200 men — twice as many as Lancashire. Essex, Kent, Norfolk and Sufifolk were each to furnish 1920 men; Lancashire, Surrey, Sussex, and Wiltshire 1600; Durham and Bedfordshire 800. From the three Ridings of Yorkshire 4800 were to be raised. The men were to be exercised every Sunday before and after service. The Lzicrary Mag- azine, p. 48. ' In this paper are found the forcible words, ' The desperate remedy of desperate distress.' which have been used since by orators. lb. p. 121. * john.son considers here the war in America between the English and French, and shows a strong feeling for the natives who had been wronged by both nations. ' Such is the contest that no honest man can heartily wish success to either party. . . . The American dispute between the French and us is only the quarrel of two robbers for the spoils of a passenger.' The French had this in their favour, that they had treated the natives better than we. ' The favour of the Indians which t'ney enjoy with very few exceptions among all the nations of the northern continent we ought to consider with other thoughts ; this favour we might have enjoyed, if we had been careful to deserve it.' Works, vi. 114, 122. ' Memoirs Aetat. 47.] yohuson s ^ Brownism' 357 * Memoirs of Frederick III, King of Prussia'. 'f In all these he displays extensive political knowledge and sagacity, ex- pressed with uncommon energy and perspicuity, without any of those words which he sometimes took a pleasure in adopt- ing in imitation of Sir Thomas Browne ; of whose Christian Morals he this year gave an edition, with his ' Life'* prefixed to it, which is one of Johnson's best biographical perform- ances. In one instance only in these essays has he indulged his Brownisni^ . Dr. Robertson, the historian, mentioned it to me, as having at once convinced him that Johnson was the authour of the 'Memoirs of the King of Prussia.' Speaking of the pride which the old King, the father of his hero, took in being master of the tallest regiment in Europe, he says, ' To review this towering regiment was his daily pleasure ; and to perpetuate it was so much his care, that when he met a tall woman he immediately commanded one of his Titanian retinue to marry her, that they might propagate procerity^ ." For this Anglo-Latian word procerity, Johnson had, however, the authority of Addison*. His reviews are of the following books: 'Birch's History of the Royal Society ;'t 'Murphy's Gray's Inn Journal;'! ' Warton's Essay on the Writings and Genius of Pope, Vol. I.'t ' Hampton's Translation of Polybius ;'t ' Blackwell's Me- moirs of the Court of Augustus ;'t ' Russel's Natural History of Alepipo'Vt ' Sir Isaac Newton's Arguments in Proof of a ' These Memoirs end with the year 1745. Johnson had intended to continue them, for he writes : — ' We shall here suspend our narrative.' Works, vi. 474. * See ante, p. 256. ' The sentence continues : — 'and produce heirs to the father's ha- biliments.' Works, vi. 436. Another instance may be adduced of his Brownism in the following line : — ' The war continued in an equilibra- tion by alternate losses and advantages.' Ih. 473. * In a letter from the Secretary of the Tall Club in The Guardian, No. 108. ' If the fair sex look upon us with an eye of favour, we shall make some attempts to lengthen out the human figure, and restore it to its ancient procerity.' * See post, March 23, 1783. Deity;* 358 The earthquake of Lisbon. [a.d. 1756. Deity ;'t ' Borlase's History of the Isles of Scilly ;'t ' Home's Experiments on Bleaching ;'t ' Browne's Christian Morals ;'t 'Hales on Distilling Sea -Water, Ventilators in Ships, and curing an ill Taste in Milk;'f 'Lucas's Essay on Waters ;'t ' Keith's Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops ;'t ' Browne's His- tory of Jamaica ;'t ' Philosophical Transactions, Vol. XLIX.'f ' Mrs. Lennox's Translation of Sully's Memoirs;'* ' Miscella- nies by Elizabeth Harrison ;'t ' Evans's Map and Account of the Middle Colonies in AmericaVt ' Letter on the Case of Admiral Byng;'* 'Appeal to the People concerning Admiral Byng;'* ' Hanway's Eight Days Journey, and Essay on Tea;'* ' The Cadet, a Military Treatise ;'t ' Some further Particulars in Relation to the Case of Admiral Byng, by a Gentleman of Oxford;'* 'The Conduct of the Ministry relating to the present War impartially examined ;'t 'A free Inquiry into the Nature and Origin of Evil.'* All these, from internal evi- dence, were written by Johnson; some of them I know he avowed, and have marked them with an asterisk accordingly'. ' ' As power is the constant and unavoidable consequence of learn- ing, there is no reason to doubt that the time is approaching when the Americans shall in their turn have some influence on the affairs of mankind, for literature apparently gains ground among them. A li- brary is established in Carolina and some great electrical discoveries were made at Philadelphia. . . . The fear that the American colonies will break off their dependence on England I have always thought chimerical and vain. . . . They must be dependent, and if they forsake us, or be forsaken by us, must fall into the hands of France.' Literary Magazine, pp. 293, 299. ' Johnson, I have no doubt, wrote the Review of A True Account of Lisbon since the Earthquake, in which it is stated that the destruction was grossly exaggerated. After quoting the writer at length, he con- cludes : — ' Such then is the actual, real situation of that place which once was Lisbon, and has been since gazetically and pamphletically quite destroyed, consumed, annihilated ! Now, upon comparing this simple narration of things and facts with the false and absurd accounts which have rather insulted and imposed upon us than informed us, who but must see the enormous disproportion ? . . . Exaggeration and the absurdities ever faithfully attached to it arc inseparable attri- butes of the ignorant, the empty, and the aflfected. Hence those elo- Mr. Aetat.47.] Johnsons ardoiir fov liberty. 359 Mr, Thomas Davies indeed, ascribed to him the Review of Mr. Burke's ' Inquir>^ into the Origin of our Ideas of the Subhme and Beautiful;' and Sir John Hawkins, with equal discernment, has inserted it in his collection of Johnson's works: whereas it has no resemblance to Johnson's composi- tion, and is well known to have been written by Mr. Murpliy, who has acknowledged it to me and many others. It is worthy of remark, in justice to Johnson's political character, which has been misrepresented as abjectly submis- sive to power, that his 'Observations on the Present State of Affairs' glow with as animated a spirit of constitutional lib- erty as can be found anywhere. Thus he begins : ' The time is now come, in which every Englishman expects to be informed of the national affairs ; and in which he has a right to have that expectation gratified. For, whatever may be urged by Ministers, or those whom vanity or interest make the followers of ministers, concerning the necessity of confidence in our govern- ours, and the presumption of prying with profane eyes into the recesses of policy, it is evident that this reverence can be claimed only by counsels yet unexecuted, and projects suspended in delib- eration. But when a design has ended in miscarriage or success, when every eye and every ear is witness to general discontent, or general satisfaction, it is then a proper time to disentangle confu- sion and illustrate obscurity ; to shew by what causes every event was produced, and in what effects it is likely to terminate ; to lay down with distinct particularity what rumour always huddles in gen- eral exclamation, or perplexes by indigested' narratives ; to shew whence happiness or calamity is derived, and whence it may be expected ; and honestly to lay before the people what inquiry can gather of the past, and conjecture can estimate of the future'.' quent tropes so familiar in every conversation, nionstroiisly pretty, vastly little ; . . . hence your eminent shoe-7naker, farriers, and under- takers. ... It is to the same muddy source we owe the many falsehoods and absurdities we have been pestered with concerning Lisbon. Thence your extravagantly sublime figures: Lisbon is no more ; can be seen no more, etc with all the other prodigal effusions of bombast beyond the stretch of time or temper to enumerate.' lb. p. 22. Sec post, under March 30, 1778. ' In the original undigested., * Johnson's Works, vi. 113. Here 360 Dr. Lucas. [a.d. 175«. Here we have it assumed as an incontrovertible principle, that in this country the people are the superintendants of the conduct and measures of those by whom government is administered ; of the beneficial effect of which the present reign afforded an illustrious example, when addresses from all parts of the kingdom controuled an audacious attempt to introduce a new power subversive of the crown". A still stronger proof of his patriotick spirit appears in his review of an ' Essay on Waters, by Dr. Lucas;' of whom, after describing him as a man well known to the world for his daring defiance of power, when he thought it exerted on the side of wrong, he thus speaks : 'The Irish ministers drove him from his native country by a proc- lamation, in which they charged him with crimes of which they never intended to be called to tlie proof, and oppressed by methods equally irresistible by guilt and innocence. ' Let the man thus driven into exile, for having been the friend of his country, be received in every other place as a confessor of liberty ; and let the tools of power be taught in time, that they may rob, but cannot impoverish^' Some of his reviews in this Magazine are very short ac- counts of the pieces noticed, and 1 mention them only that Dr. Johnson's opinion of the works may be known ; but many of them are examples of elaborate criticism, in the ' In the spring of 1784, after the king had taken advantage of Fox's India Bill to dismiss the Coalition Ministry. Stt post, March 28, 1784. * In Ireland there was no act to limit the duration of parliament. One parliament sat through the whole reign of George II.— thirty- three years. Dr. Lucas, a Dublin physician, in attacking other griev- ances, attacked also this. In 1749 he would have been elected mem- ber for Dublin, had he not, on a charge of seditious writings, been committed by the House of Commons to prison. He was to be con- fined, he was told, ' in the common hall of the prison among the felons.' He fled to England, which was all that the government wanted, and he practised as a physician in London. In 1761 he was restored to the liberties of the City of Dublin and was also elected one of its members. Hardy's Lord Charlemont, i. 249, 299 ; and Gent. Mag., XX. 58 and xxxi. 236. most Aetat. 47.] yohnson s orthodoxy and candour. 361 most masterly style. In his review of the ' Memoirs of the Court of Augustus,' he has the resolution to think and speak from his own mind, regardless of the cant transmitted from age to age, in praise of the ancient Romans'. Thus, * I know not why any one but a school-boy in his declamation should whine over the Common-wealth of Rome, which grew great only by the misery of the rest of mankind. The Romans, like others, as soon as they grew rich, grew corrupt ; and in their cor- ruption sold the lives and freedoms of themselves, and of one another'*.' Again, 'A people, who, while they were poor, robbed mankind; and as soon as they became rich, robbed one another'.' In his review of the Miscellanies in prose and verse, pub- lished by Elizabeth Harrison, but written by many hands, he gives an eminent proof at once of his orthodoxy and candour : ' The authours of the essays in prose seem generally to have imitated, or tried to imitate, the copiousness and luxuriance of Mrs. Rowe^. This, however, is not all their praise ; they have laboured to add to her brightness of imagery, her purity of sentiments. The poets have had Dr. Watts before their eyes ; a writer, who, if he stood not in the first class of genius, compensated that defect by a ready application of his powers to the promotion of piety. The attempt to employ the ornaments of romance in the decoration of religion, was, I think, first made by Mr. Boyle's Martyrdom of Theo- dora ; but Boyle's philosophical studies did not allow him time for the cultivation of style ; and the completion of the great design was reserved for Mrs. Bo7ve. Dr. Watts was one of the first who taught the Dissenters to write and speak like other men, by shewing ' Boswell himself falls into this 'cant.' See post, Sept. 23, 1777. ' Johnson's IVor^s, vi. 11. ' li/. p. 13. He vigorously attacks the style in which these 'Me- moirs' are written. 'Sometimes,' he writes, 'the reader is suddenly ravished with a sonorous sentence, of which, when the noise is past, the meaning does not long remain.' /I?, p. 15. * The author of Friendship ift Death. theno 362 Dr. Watts, [a.d. 1756. them that elegance might consist with piety'. They would have both done honour to a better society", for they had that char- ity which might well make their failings be forgotten, and with w^hich the whole Christian world might wish for communion. They were pure from all the heresies of an age, to which ever)' opin- ion is become a favourite that the universal church has hitherto detested ! ' This praise, the general interest of mankind requires to be given to writers who please and do not corrupt, who instruct and do not weary. But to them all human eulogies are vain, whom I believe applauded by angels, and numbered with the just\" His defence of tea against Mr. Jonas Hanway's violent attack upon that elegant and popular beverage^ shews how * In the Lh'cs of the Poets ( Works, viii. 383) Johnson writes : — * Dr. Watts was one of the first authors that taught the Dissenters to court attention by the graces of language. Whatever they had among them before, whether of learning or acuteness, was commonly obscured and blunted by coarseness and inelegance of style. He showed them that zeal and purity might be expressed and enforced by polished diction." ^ ' Such he [Dr. Watts] was as every Christian Church would rejoice to have adopted.' lb. p. 380. See also post,]\x\y 7, 1777, and May 19, 1778. ' Johnson's Works, vi. 79. * Mr. Hanway would have had the support of Johnson's father, who, as his son writes, 'considered tea as very expensive, and discouraged my mother from keeping company with the neighbours, and from pay- ing visits or receiving them. She lived to say, many years after, that if the time were to pass again, she would not comply with such un- social injunctions.' Account of Johtisons Early Life, p. 18. The Methodists, ten years earlier than Hanway, had declared war on tea. ' After talking largely with both the men and women Leaders,' writes Wesley, ' we agreed it would prevent great expense, as well of health as of time and of money, if the poorer people of our society could be persuaded to leave off drinking of tea.' Wesley's Jourfml, i. 526. Pepys, writing in 1660, says: 'I did send for a cup of tee, (a China drink) of which I never had drank before.' Pepys' Diary, i. 137. Horace Walpole {Letters, i. 224) writing in 1743 says: — 'They have talked of a new duty on tea, to be paid by every housekeeper for all the persons in their families; but it will scarce be proposed. Tea is so universal, that it would make a greater clamour than a duty on wine.' In October 1734 tea was sold in London at the following prices : — very Aetat.47.] yohnson s tea-drinking. 363 v^ery well a man of genius can write upon the slightest sub- ject, when he writes, as the Italians say, con atnore: I sup- pose no person ever enjoyed with more relish the infusion of that fragrant leaf than Johnson'. The quantities which he drank of it at all hours were so great, that his nerves must have been uncommonly strong, not to have been extremely relaxed by such an intemperate use of it^ He assured me, that he never felt the least inconvenience from it ; which is a proof that the fault of his constitution was rather a too great tension of fibres, than the contrary. Mr. Hanway wrote an angry answer to Johnson's review of his Essay on Tea, and Johnson, after a full and deliberate pause, made a reply to it ; the only instance, I believe, in the whole course of his Ordinary Bohea ()s. per lb. Fine " lo^-. to \2s. Pekoe 1 5^-. Hyson 20^-. to 25^. Getit. Mag. iv. 575. ' Yet in his reply to Mr. Hanway he said ( Works, vi. 33) : — ' I allowed tea to be a barren superfluity, neither medicinal nor nutritious, that neither supplied strength nor cheerfulness, neither relieved weariness, nor exhilarated sorrow.' Cumberland writes {Memoirs, i. 357) : — ' I remember when Sir Joshua Reynolds at my house reminded Dr. John- son that he had drank eleven cups, he replied : — " Sir, I did not count your glasses of wine, why should you number up my cups of tea.'" And then laughing in perfect good humour he added : — " Sir, I should have relea.sed the lady from any further trouble, if it had not been for your remark ; but you have reminded me that I want one of the dozen, and I must request Mrs. Cumberland to round up my number." ' '■* In this Review Johnson describes himself as ' a hardened and shameless tea- drinker, who has for twenty years diluted his meals with only the infusion of this fascinating plant ; whose kettle has scarcely time to cool ; who with tea amuses the evening, with tea solaces the midnight, and with tea welcomes the morning.' Johnson's Works, vi. 21. That ' he never felt the least inconvenience from it' may well be doubted. His nights were almost always bad. In 1774 he recorded : — ' I could not drink this day either coffee or tea after dinner. I know not when I missed before.' The next day he record- ed ; — ' Last night my sleep was remarkably quiet. I know not whether by fatigue in walking, or by forbearance of tea.' Diary of a Journey into North Wales, Aug. 4. life. 364 Admiral Byng. [a.d. 1756. life, when he condescended to oppose any thing that was written against him'. I suppose when he thought of any of his little antagonists, he was ever justly aware of the high sentiment of Ajax in Ovid: ' Iste hilit pretiiim jam nmic certaminis huj'us, Qui, cy7fi victus €?-it, mecuni certasse feretur^^ But, indeed, the good Mr. Hanway laid himself so open to ridicule, that Johnson's animadversions upon his attack were chiefly to make sport\ The generosity with which he pleads the cause of Admiral Byng is highly to the honour of his heart and spirit. Though Voltaire affects to be witty upon the fate of that unfortunate officer, observing that he was shot 'pour ciicoiirager les autn^s*,' the nation has long been satisfied that his life was sacrificed to the political fervour of the times. In the vault belonging to the Torrington family, in the church of SouthilT, in Bed- fordshire, there is the following Epitaph upon his monument, which I have transcribed : ' See post, May 1768. * ' Losing, he wins, because his name will be Ennobled by defeat who durst contend with me,' Dryden, Ovid, Afc/a. xiii. 19. ^ In Hanway's Essay Johnson found much to praise. Hanway often went to the root when he dealt with the evils of life. Thus he writes : ■ — 'The introducing new habits of life is the most substantial charity.' Rut he thus mingles sense and nonsense : — ' Though tea and gin have spread their baneful influence over this island and his Majesty's other dominions, yet you may be well assured that the Governors of the Foundling Hospital will exert their utmost skill and vigilance to pre- vent the children under their care from being poisoned, or enervated, by one or the other.' Johnson's Works, vi. 26, 28. * ' Et pourquoi tuer cet amiral } C'est, lui dit-on, parce qu'il n'a pas fait tuer assez de monde ; il a livre un combat a un amiral fran(;ais, et on a trouve qu'il n'etait pas assez pres de lui. Mais, dit Candide, I'amiral frangais etait aussi loin de I'amiral anglais que celui-ci I'etait de I'autre. Cela est incontestable, lui repliquat-on ; mais dans ce pays-ci il est bon de tuer de temps en temps un amiral pour encoura- ger les autres.' Candide, ch. xxiii. * See post, June 3, 1781, when Boswell went to this church. 'To Aetat.47.] Soame yenyns. 3:65. 'To THE PERPETUAL DISGRACE OF PUBLIC Justice, The Honourable John Byng, Esq. Admiral of the Blue, Fell a Martyr to political Persecution, March 14, in the Year, 1757; when Bravery and Loyalty WERE insufficient SECURITIES FOR THE Life and Honour of A Naval Officer.' Johnson's most exquisite critical essay in the Literary Magazine, and indeed any where, is his review' of Soame Jenyns's Inquiry into the Origin of Evil. Jenyns was pos- sessed of Hvely talents, and a style eminently pure and easy, and could very happily play with a light subject, either in prose or verse ; but when he speculated on that most difficult and excruciating question, the Origin of Evil, he ' ventured far beyond his depth^' and, accordingly, was exposed by Johnson, both with acute argument and brilliant wit. I re- member when the late Mr. Bicknell's humorous perform- ance, entitled TJic Musical Travels of Joel Collyer" , in which a slight attempt is made to ridicule Johnson, was ascribed to Soame Jenyns, ' Ha ! (said Johnson) I thought I had given him enough of it.' His triumph over Jenyns is thus described by my friend Mr. Courtenay in his Poetical Review of the literary and moral Character of Dr. Johnson ; a performance of such ' Johnson reprinted this Review in a small volume by itself. See Johnson's Works, vi. 47, note. * ' I have ventured. Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders, This many summers in a sea of glory. But far beyond my depth.' Henry VHI. Act iii. sc. 1. * Musical Travels through England, by Joel Collier [not Collyer], Organist. 1774. This book was written in ridicule of Dr. Burney's Travels, who. says his daughter, ' was much hurt on its first appear- ance.' Dr. Burney's Memoirs, i. 259, merit, 366 yohnsons triumph over Jenyns. [a.d. 1756. merit, that had I not been honoured with a very kind and partial notice in it', I should echo the sentiments of men of the first taste loudly in its praise : ' When specious sophists with presumption scan The source of evil hidden still from man ; Revive Arabian tales, and vainly hope To rival St. John, and his scholar Pope : Though metaphysicks spread the gloom of night, By reason's star he guides our aching sight ; The bounds of knowledge marks, and points the way To pathless wastes, where wilder'd sages stray ; Where, like a farthing link-boy, Jenyns stands. And the dim torch drops from his feeble hands\' * See a)ttc, p. 258. * Some time after Dr. Johnson's death there appeared in the news- papers and magazines an illiberal and petulant attack upon him, in the form of an Epitaph, under the name of Mr. Soame Jenyns, very unworthy of that gentleman, who had quietly submitted to the critical lash while Johnson lived. It assumed, as characteristicks of him, all the vulgar circumstances of abuse which had circulated amongst the ignorant. It was an unbecoming indulgence of puny resentment, at a time when he himself was at a very advanced age, and had a near prospect of descending to the grave. I was truly sorry for it ; for he was then become an avowed, and (as my Lord Bishop of London, who had a serious conversation with him on the subject, assures me) a sin- cere Christian. He could not expect that Johnson's numerous friends would patiently bear to have the memory of their master stigmatized by no mean pen, but that, at least, one would be found to retort. Ac- cordingly, this unjust and sarcastick Epitaph was met in the same publick field by an answer, in terms by no means soft, and such as wanton provocation only could justify : ' EPITAPH, ' Prepared for a creature not quite dead yet. ' Here lies a little ugly nauseous elf. Who judging only from its wretched self, Feebly attempted, petulant and vain, The " Origin of Evil " to explain. A mighty Genius at this elf displeeis'd, With a strong critick grasp the urchin squeez'd. For thirty years its coward spleen it kept. Till in the dust the mighty Genius slept ; This Aetat. 47.] Draughts and cards. 367 This year Mr. William Payne, brother of the respectable Bookseller' of that name, published An Introduction to the Game of Draughts, to which Johnson contributed a Dedi- cation to the Earl of Rochford,* and a Preface,* both of which are admirably adapted to the treatise to which they are prefixed. Johnson, I believe, did not play at draughts after leaving College", by which he suffered ; for it would have afforded him an innocent soothing relief from the melancholy which distressed him so often. I have heard him regret that he had not learnt to play at cards^ ; and the game of draughts we know is peculiarly calculated to fix the attention without straining it. There is a composure and gravity in draughts which insensibly tranquillises the mind ; and, accordingly, the Dutch are fond of it, as they are of smoaking, of the sedative influence of which, though he him- self never smoaked, he had a high opinion\ Besides, there is in draughts some exercise of the faculties ; and, accord- ingly, Johnson wishing to dignify the subject in his Dedica- tion with what is most estimable in it, observes, ' Triflers may find or make any thing a trifle ; but since it is the great characteristick of a wise man to see events in their courses, to obviate consequences, and ascertain contingencies, your Lord- ship will think nothing a trifle by which the mind is inured to cau- tion, foresight, and circumspection'.' Then stunk and fretted in expiring snuff, And blink'd at Johnson with its last poor puff.' BOSWELL. The epitaph is very Hkely Boswell's own. For Jenyns's conversion seepos/, April 12 and 15, 1778. ' Mr. John Payne, afterwards chief accountant of the Bank, one of the four surviving members of the Ivy Lane Club who dined together in 1783. See Hawkins's Johnso7t, pp. 220, 563 ; and post, December 1783. ' See post, under March 19, 1776. ' ' He said, " I am sorry I have not learnt to play at cards. It is very useful in life ; it generates kindness and consolidates society." ' Boswell's Hebrides, Nov. 21, 1773. * Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, 3d edit. p. 48. [Aug. 19.] Bos- WELL. * Johnson's Works, v. 435. M 368 Dr. Madden. [a.d. 1756. As one of the little occasional advantages which he did not disdain to take by his pen, as a man whose profession was literature, he this year accepted of a guinea' from Mr. Robert Dodsley, for writing the introduction to TJic London Chronicle, an evening news-paper ; and even in so slight a performance exhibited peculiar talents. This CJironicle still subsists, and from what I observed, when I was abroad, has a more extensive circulation upon the Continent than any of the English newspapers. It was constantly read by John- son himself^ ; and it is but just to observe, that it has all along been distinguished for good sense, accuracy, modera- tion, and delicacy. Another instance of the same nature has been communi- cated to me by the Reverend Dr. Thomas Campbell, who has done himself considerable credit by his own writings\ ' Sitting with Dr. Johnson one morning alone, he asked me if I had known Dr. Madden, who was authour of the premium-scheme in Ireland\ On my answering in the affirmative, and also that I had for some years lived in his neighbourhood, &c., he begged of me that when I returned to Ireland, I would endeavour to procure for him a poem of Dr. Madden's called Boulter's Monument. The reason (said he) why I wish for it, is this : when Dr. Madden came to London, he submitted that work to my castigation ; and I re- member I blotted a great many lines, and might have blotted many more, without making the poem worse. However, the Doctor was very thankful, and very generous, for he gave me ten guineas, whuh was to me at that time a great stmt'.'' ' He was paid at the rate of a little over twopence a line. For this Introduction see Works, v. 206. ^ See post, Oct. 26, 1769. ' See post, April 5, 1775. * In 1740 he set apart the yearly sum of ^100 to be distributed, by way of premium, to the authors of the best inventions, &c., in Ireland. Chalmers's Biog. Diet. ' Boulter's Monument. A Panegyrteal Poem, sacred to the mem- ory of that great and excellent prelate and patriot, the Most Rri'er- end Dr. Hugh Boulter ; Late Lord -Archbishop of Ardmagh, and Primate of All Irelatid. Dublin, 1745. Such lines as the follow- ing might well have been blotted, but of them the poem is chiefly formed 1— He Aetat. 47.J yoh^lSOU S SlIAk'SPEARE, 369 He this year resumed his scheme of giving an edition of Shakspeare with notes'. He issued Proposals of consider- able length\* in which he shewed that he perfectly well knew what a variety of research such an undertaking re- quired ; but his indolence prevented him from pursuing it with that diligence which alone can collect those scattered facts that genius, however acute, penetrating, and luminous, cannot discover by its own force. It is remarkable, that at this time his fancied activity was for the moment so vigor- ous, that he promised his work should be published before Christmas, I757^ Yet nine years elapsed before it saw the light'. His throes in bringing it forth had been severe and ' My peaceful song in lays instructive paints The first of mitred peers and Britain's saints.' p. 2. ' Ha ! mark ! what gleam is that which paints the air ? The blue serene expands ! Is Boulter there Y p. 88. The poet addresses Boulter's successor Hoadley, who he says, ' Shall equal him ; while, like Elisha, you Enjoy his spirit, and his mantle too.' p. 89. A note to inajitlc says ' Alluding to the metropolitan pallium." Boulter is the bishop in Pope's lines, (Prologue to the Satires, 1. 99) : — ' Does not one table Bavius still admit .'' Still to one bishop Philips seem a wit.'' Pattison's Pope's Satires, p. 107. In the Life of Addison, Johnson mentioning Dr. Madden adds : — ' a name which Ireland ought to honour.' Johnson's Works, vii. 455. ' See ante, p. 202. Hawkins writes {Life, p. 363) : — ' I congratulated him on his being now engaged in a work that suited his genius. His answer was: — " I look upon this as I did upon the Dietionary; it is all work, and my inducement to it is not love or desire of fame, but the want of money, which is the only motive to writing that I know of." ' * They have been reprinted by Mr. Malone, in the Preface to his edition of S/iakspeare. BoswEl.i,. ' At Christmas, 1757, he said that he should publish about March, 1758 {post, Dec. 24, 1757). When March came he said that he should publish before summer {post, March i, 1758). * In what Johnson says of Pope's slow progress in translating the Iliad, he had very likely his own case in view. ' Indolence, interrup- tion, business, and pleasure all take their turns of retardation ; and every long work is lengthened by a thousand causes that can, and ten thousand that cannot be recouated. Perhaps no extensive and multi- I. — 24 remittent : 370 yohnson refuses a country living. |a.d. 1756. remittent ; and at last we may almost conclude that the Caesarian operation was performed by the knife of Churchill, whose upbraiding satire, I dare say, made Johnson's friends urge him to despatch'. ' He for subscribers bates his hook, And takes your cash ; but where's the book ? No matter where ; wise fear, you know. Forbids the robbing of a foe ; But what, to serve our private ends. Forbids the cheating of our friends"?' About this period he was offered a living of considerable value in Lincolnshire, if he were inclined to enter into holy orders. It was a rectory in the gift of Mr. Langton, the father of his much valued friend. But he did not accept of it ; partly I believe from a conscientious motive, being per- suaded that his temper and habits rendered him unfit for farious performance was ever effected within the term originally fixed in the undertaker's mind. He that runs against time has an antag- onist not subject to casualties.' Johnson's Works, \\\\. 255. In Prior's Goldsmith (i. 238) we have the following extracts from letters written by Dr. Grainger {post, March 21. 1776) to Dr. Percy:— 'June 27, 1758. I have several times called on Johnson to pay him part of your sub- scription [for his edition of Shakespeare}. I say, part, because he never thinks of working if he has a couple of guineas in his pocket ; but if you notwithstanding order me, the whole shall be given him at once.' ' July 20, 1758. As to his Shakespeare, ntovet sed non proinoz'ct. I shall feed him occasionally with guineas.' ' Hawkins {Life, p. 440) says that ' Reynolds and some other of his friends, who were more concerned for his reputation than himself seemed to be, contrived to entangle him by a wager, or some other pecuniary engagement, to perform his task by a certain time.' Just as Johnson was oppressed by the engagement that he had made to edit Shakespeare, so was Cowper by his engagement to edit Milion. ' The consciousness that there is so much to do and nothing done is a burthen I am not able to bear. Milton especially is my grievance, and I might almost as well be haunted by his ghost, as goaded with such continual reproaches for neglecting him.' Southey's Cowper, v\\. 163. * From The Ghost, Bk. iii, 1. 801. Boswell makes two slight errors in quoting : ' Your cash ' should be ' their cash ;' and ' you know ' should be ' we know.' tnat Aetat.48.] ^ohnsofi s love of Londo7t life. 371 that assiduous and familiar instruction of the vulgar and ignorant which he held to be an essential duty in a clergy- man' , and partly because his love of a London life was so strong, that he would have thought himself an exile in any other place, particularly if residing in the country^ Who- ever would wish to see his thoughts upon that subject dis- played in their full force, may peruse The Adventurer, Num- ber 126'. 1757: ^TAT. 48.] — In 1757 it does not appear that he published any thing, except some of those articles in The Literary Magazine, which have been mentioned. That magazine, after Johnson ceased to write in it, gradually de- clined, though the popular epithet oi Antigallicayi^ was added to it; and in July 1758 it expired. He probably prepared a part of his Shakspeare this year, and he dictated a speech on the subject of an Address to the Throne, after the ex- pedition to Rochfort, which was delivered by one of his friends, I know not in what publick meeting^ It is printed ' Seeposi,A^r\\ 17, 1778. ' Mrs. Thrale writing to him in 1777, says: — 'You would rather be sick in London than well in the country.' Piozzi Letters, i. 394. Yet Johnson, when he could afford to travel, spent far more time in the country than is commonly thought. Moreover a great part of each summer from 1766 to 1782 inclusive he spent at Streatham. "' The motto to this number — ' Steriles nee legit arenas, Ut caneret paucis, mersitque hoc pulvere verum.' (Lucan). Johnson has thus translated : — ' Canst thou believe the vast eternal mind Was e'er to Syrts and Libyan sands confin'd .'' That he would choose this waste, this barren ground, To teach the thin inhabitants around, And leave his truth in wilds and deserts drown'd ?' * It was added to the January number of 1758, but it was dropped in the following numbers. * According to the note in the Gent. Mag. the speech was delivered • at a certain respectable talking society.' The chairman of the meet- ing is addressed as Mr. President. The speech is vigorously written and is, I have no doubt, by Johnson. ' It is fit,' the speaker says, ' that in 372 IrisJi literature. [a. d. 1757. in The Gentleman s Magazine for October 1785 as his, and bears sufficient marks of authenticity. By the favour of Mr. Joseph Cooper Walker, of the Treas- ury, DubHn, I have obtained a copy of the following letter from Johnson to the venerable authour of Dissertations on the History of Ireland. 'To Charles O'Connor, Esq'. ' Sir, ' I have lately, by the favour of Mr. Faulkner", seen your account of Ireland, and cannot forbear to solicit a prosecution of your design. Sir William I'emple complains that Ireland is less known than any other country, as to its ancient state \ The natives have had little leisure, and little encouragement for enquiry ; and strangers, not knowing the language, have had no ability. ' I have long wished that the Irish literature were cultivated^. Ireland is known by tradition to have been once the seat of piety and learning*; and surely it would be very acceptable to all those those whom for the future we shall employ and pay may know they are the servants of a people that expect duty for t/irtr niotuy. It is said an address expresses some distrust of the king, or may tend to disturb his quiet. An English king. Mr. President, has no great right to quiet when his people are in misery.' ' See post. May 19, 1777. " See post, March 21, 1772. ' ' I have often observed with wonder, that we should know less of Ireland than any other country in Europe." Temple's IVorks, iii. 82. * The celebrated oratour. Mr. Flood, has shewn himself to be of Dr. Johnson's opinion ; having by his will bequeathed his estate, after the death of his wife Lady Frances, to the University of Dublin ; ' desir- ing that immediately after the said estate shall come into their pos- session, they shall appoint two professors, one for the study of the native Erse or Irish language, and the other for the study of Irish antiquities and Irish history, and for the study of any other European language illustrative of, or auxiliary to, the study of Irish antiquities or Irish history ; and that they shall giv^e yearly two liberal premiums for two compositions, one in verse, and the other in prose, in the Irish language.' Bosw^ell. * Dr. T. Campbell records in his Diary of a Visit to England (p. 62), who Aetat. 48.] The affinities of language. 373 who are curious either in the original of nations, or the affinities of languages, to be further informed of the revolution of a people so ancient, and once so illustrious. ' What relation there is between the Welch and Irish language, or between the language of Ireland and that of Biscay, deserves enquiry. Of these provincial and unextended tongues, it seldom happens that more than one are understood by any one man ; and, therefore, it seldom happens that a fair comparison can be made. I hope you will continue to cultivate this kind of learning, which has too long lain neglected, and which, if it be suffered to remain in oblivion for another century, may, perhaps, never be retrieved. As I wish well to all useful undertakings, I would not forbear to let you know how much you deserve in my opinion, from all lovers of study, and how much pleasure your work has given to. Sir, ' Your most obliged, ' And most humble servant, ' Sam. Johnson.' ' London, April 9, 1757.' 'To THE Reverend Mr. Thomas Warton. ' Dear Sir, ' Dr. Marsili' of Padua, a learned gentleman, and good Latin poet, has a mind to see Oxford. 1 have given him a letter to Dr. Huddesford', and shall be glad if you will introduce him, and shew him any thing in Oxford. ' I am printing my new edition of Shakspeare. ' I long to see you all, but cannot conveniently come yet. You might write to me now and then, if you were good for any thing. that at the dinner at Messieurs Dilly's {post, April 5, 1775) he 'ven- tured to say that the first professors of Oxford, Paris, &c., were Irish. "Sir," says Johnson, "I believe there is something in what you say, and I am content with it, since they are not Scotch." ' ' On Mr. Thrale's attack of apoplexy in 1779, Johnson wrote to Mrs. Thrale: — 'I remember Dr. Marsigli, an Italian physician, whose seizure was more violent than Mr. Thrale's, for he fell down help- less, but his case was not considered as of much danger, and he went safe home, and is now a professor at Padua.' Piozsi Letto's, ii. 48. ' 'Now, or late, Vice-Chancellor.' Warton. — Boswell. He was Vice-Chancellor when Johnson's degree was conferred {ante, p. 327), but his term of office had now come to an end. But 174 Subscribers to yohnsons Shakspeare. [a. d. 1757. But honores mutant mores. Professors forget their friends'. I shall certainly complain to Miss Jones^ I am, ' Your, &c. 'Sam. Johnsok.' '[London,] June 21, 1757.' ' Please to make my compliments to Mr. Wise.' Mr. Burney having enclosed to him an extract from the review of his Dictionary in the Bibliotheqiic dcs Savans^, and a list of subscribers to his Shakspeare, which Mr. Burney had procured in Norfolk, he wrote the following answer : 'To Mr. Burney, in Lynne, Norfolk. 'Sir, ' That 1 may shew myself sensible of your favours, and not commit the same fault a second time, I make haste to answer the letter which I received this morning. The truth is, the other like- wise was received, and I wrote an answer ; but being desirous to transmit you some proposals and receipts, 1 waited till 1 could tind a convenient conveyance, and day was passed after day, till other things drove it from my thoughts ; yet not so, but that I remember with great pleasure your commendation of my Dictionary. Your praise was welcome, not only because 1 believe it was sincere, but because praise has been very scarce. A man of your candour will be surprised when I tell you, that among all my acquaintance there were only two, who upon the publication of my book did not en- deavour to depress me with threats of censure from the publick, or with objections learned from those who had learned them from my own Preface. Your's is the only letter of goodwill that I have ' ' Mr. Warton was elected Professor of Poetry at Oxford in the pre- ceding year.' Warton. — Boswell. ' ' Miss Jones lived at Oxford, and was often of our parties. She was a very ingenious poetess, and published a volume of poems ; and, on the whole, was a most sensible, agreeable, and amiable woman. She was a sister to the Reverend River Jones, Chanter of Christ Church Cathedral at Oxford, and Johnson used to call her the Chant- ress. I have heard him often address her in this passage from Jl Penseroso : " Thee, Chantress, oft the woods among I woo," etc. She died unmarried.' Warton. 3 Tom. iii. p. 482. Boswell. received : Aetat.48.] The danger of delay. 375 received ; though, indeed, I am promised something of that sort from Sweden. ' How my new edition' will be received I know not ; the sub- scription has not been very successful. I shall publish about March. ' If you can direct me how to send proposals, I should wish that they were in such hands. 'I remember, Sir, in some of the first letters with which you favoured me, you mentioned your lady. May I enquire after her .'' In return for the favours which you have shewn me, it is not much to tell you, that I wish you and her all that can conduce to your happiness. I am, Sir, ' Your most obliged, ' And most humble servant, ' Sam. Johnson.' ' Gough-square, Dec. 24, 1757.' In 1758 we find him, it should seem, in as easy and pleasant a state of existence, as constitutional unhappiness ever permitted him to enjoy. 'To BeNNET LaNGTON, Esq., at LaNGTON, LINCOLNSHIRE^ ' Dearest Sir, ' I must indeed have slept very fast, not to have been awakened by your letter. None of your suspicions are true ; I am not much richer than when you left me; and, what is worse, my omission of an answer to your first letter, will prove that I am not much wiser. But I go on as I formerly did, designing to be some time or other both rich and wise ; and yet cultivate neither mind nor fortune. Do you take notice of my example, and learn the danger of delay. When I was as you are now, towering in the confidence of twenty- one, little did I suspect that I should be at forty-nine, what I now am. ' But you do not seem to need my admonition. You are busy in acquiring and in communicating knowledge, and while you are * Of Shakspeare. BoswELL. ' This letter is misdated. It was written in Jan. 1759, and not in 1758. Johnson says that he is forty-nine. In Jan. 1758 he was forty- eight. He mentions the performance of Clcone, which was at the end of 1758; and he says that 'Murphy is to hav^e his Orphan of China acted next month.' It was acted in the spring of 1759. studying, 376 Dodshys Clroxr. [a.d. 1758. studying, enjoy the end of study, by making others wiser and hap- pier. I was much pleased with the tale that you told me of being tutour to your sisters. I, who have no sisters nor brothers, look with some degree of innocent envy on those who may be said to be born to friends ; and cannot see, without wonder, how rarely that native union is afterwards regarded. It sometimes, indeed, happens, that some supervenient cause of cUscord may overpower this original amity ; but it seems to me more frequently thrown away with levity, or lost by negligence, than destroyed by injury or violence. We tell the ladies that good wives make good husbands , I believe it is a more certain position that good brothers make good sisters. 'I am satisfied with your stay at home, as Juvenal with his friend's retirement to Cumae : 1 know that your absence is best, though it be not best for me. ' Quamvis digressu veteris confiisus amid, Laudo tamen vacuis quod sedcm figere Cumis Destinet, atqiu iinum civem donare Sibyii(e\' ' Langton is a good Cumae, but who must be Sibylla ? Mrs. Langton is as wise as Sibyl, and as good : and will live, if my wishes can prolong life, till she shall in time be as old. But she differs in this, that she has not scattered her precepts in the wind, at least not those which she bestoAved upon you. ' The two Wartons just looked into the town, and were taken to see Ckone, where, David"* says, they were starved for want of com- pany to keep them warm. David and Doddy' have had a new ' Juvnial, Sat. iii. i. ' Though grief and fondness in my breast rebel, When injured Thales bids the town farewell, Yet still my calmer thoughts his choice commend, I praise the hermit, but regret the friend ; Resolved at length from vice and London far To breathe in distant fields a purer air, And fixed on Cambria's solitary shore Give to St. David one true Briton more.' Johnson's London, 1. i. * Mr. Garrick. Boswell. ' Mr. Dodsley. the Authour of Clconc. Boswell. Garrick, accord- ing to Davies, had rejected Dodsley 's Cleone, ' and had termed it a cruel, bloody, and unnatural play.' Davies 's Garrick, \. 223. Johnson himself said of it :— ' I am afraid there is more blood than brains." quarrel, Aetat.49.] Dodsley s C LEONE. 377 quarrel, and, I think, cannot conveniently quarrel any more. Cleont was well acted by all the characters, but Bellamy' left nothing to Post, 1780, in Mr. Langton's Collection. The night it was brought out at Covent Garden, Garrick appeared for the tirst time as Marplot in the Busy Body at Drury Lane. The next morning he wrote to con- gratulate Dodsley on his success, and asked him at the same time to let him know how he could support his interest without absolutely giving up his own. To this Dodsley returned a cold reply. Garrick wrote back as follows : — ' Master Robert Dodsley, ' When I first read your peevish answer to my well-meant proposal to you, I was much disturbed at it— but when I considered, that some minds cannot bear the smallest portion of success, I most sincerely pitied you ; and when I found in the same letter, that you were gracious- ly pleased to dismiss me from your acquaintance, I could not but con- fess so apparent an obligation, and am with due acknowledgements, ' Master Robert Dodsley, ' Your most obliged ' David Garrick.' Garrick Carres. \. 80 (where the letters that passed are wrongly dated 1757). Mrs. Bellamy in her Life (iii. 109) says that on the evening of the performance she was provoked by something that Dodsley said, 'which,' she continues, ' made me answer that good man with a petu- lance which afterwards gave me uneasiness. I told him that I had a reputation to lose as an actress ; but, as for his piece, Mr. Garrick had anticipated the damnation of it publicly, the preceding evening, at the Bedford Coffee-house, where he had declared that it could not pass muster, as it was the very worst piece ever exhibited.' Shenstone ( Works, iii. 288) writing five weeks after the play was brought out, says : — ' Dodsley is now going to print his fourth edition. He sold 2000 of his first edition the very first day he published it.' The price was eighteen-pence. ' Mrs. Bellamy {Life, iii. 108) says that Johnson was present at the last rehearsal. ' When I came to repeat, " Thou shalt not murder," Dr. Johnson caught me by the arm, and that somewhat too briskly, saying, at the same time, " It is a commandment, and must be spoken. Thou shalt 7iot murder." As I had not then the honour of knowing personally that great genius, I was not a little displeased at his inforc- ing his instructions with so much vehemence.' The next night she heard, she says, amidst the general applause, 'the same voice which had instructed me in the commandment, exclaim aloud from the pit, " I will write a copy of verses upon her myself," I knew that my suc- cess was insured," See post, May 11, 1783, be 37^ Reynolds s prices for portraits. [a.d. itgh. be desired. I went the first night, and supported it, as well as I might ; for Doddy, you know, is my patron', and I would not de- sert him. The play was very well received. Doddy, after the danger was over, went every night to the stage-side, and cried at the distress of poor Cleone'. ' I have left off housekeeping^ and therefore made presents of the game which you were pleased to send me. The pheasant I gave to Mr. Richardson*, the bustard to Dr. Lawrence, and the pot I placed with Miss Williams, to be eaten by myself. She desires that her compliments and good wishes may be accepted by the family ; and I make the same request for myself. ' Mr. Reynolds has within these few days raised his price to twenty guineas a head', and Miss is much employed in miniatures*. I know not any body [else] whose prosperity has encreased since you left them. ' Murphy is to have his Orphan of China acted next month ; and is therefore, I suppose, happy'. I wish I could tell you of any ' Dodsley had published his London and his Vanity of Human Wishes {ante, pp. 144, 223, 224, note), and had had a large share in the Dictionary, {ante, p. 211). * It is to this that Churchill refers in the following lines : — 'Let them [the Muses] with Glover o'er Medea doze; Let them with Dodsley wail Cleone's woes, Whilst he, fine feeling creature, all in tears, Melts as they melt, and weeps with weeping Peers.* The yourney. Poems, ii. 328. * See post, p. 405, note 3 * Mr. Samuel Richardson, authour of Clarissa. Boswell. * In 1753 when in Devonshire he charged five guineas a head (Tay- lor's Reynolds, i. 89) ; shortly afterwards, when he removed to London, twelve guineas {ib. p. loi) ; in 1764. thirty guineas ; for a whole length 150 guineas {ib. p. 224). Northcote writes that 'he sometimes has lamented the being interrupted in his work by idle visitors, saying, "those persons do not consider that my time is worth to me five guineas an hour." ' Northcote's Reynolds, i. 83. * ' Miss Reynolds at first amused herself by painting miniature por- traits, and in that part of the art was particularly successful. In her attempts at oil-painting, however, she did not succeed, which made Reynolds say jestingly, that her pictures in that way made other people laugh and him cry ; and as he did not approve of her painting m oil, she generally did it by stealth.' Ib. ii. 160. ' Murphy was far from happy. The play was not produced till ereat Aetat. 49.] Johnso^i s Shakspeare delayed. 379 great good to which I was approaching, but at present my pros- pects do not much delight me ; however, I am always pleased when I find that you, dear Sir, remember, ' Your affectionate, humble servant, ' Sam, Johnson.' •Jan. 9. 1758.' 'To Mr. Burney, at Lynne, Norfolk. 'Sir, ' Your kindness is so great, and my claim to any particular regard from you so little, that I am at a loss how to express my sense of your favours' ; but I am, indeed, much pleased to be thus distinguished by you. ' I am ashamed to tell you that my Shakspeare will not be out so soon as I promised my subscribers ; but I did not promise them more than 1 promised myself. It will, however, be published be- fore summer. ' I have sent you a bundle of proposalc, which, I think, do not profess more than I have hitherto performed. I have printed many of the plays, and have hitherto left very few passages unex- plained ; where I am quite at a loss, I confess my ignorance, which is seldom done by commentators'. ' I have, likewise, enclosed twelve receipts ; not that I mean to impose upon you the trouble of pushing them, with more impor- tunity than may seem proper, but that you may rather have more than fewer than you shall want. The proposals you will dissemi- nate as there shall be an opportunity. I once printed them at length in the Chronicle, and some of my friends (I believe Mr. Murphy, who formerly wrote the Grays-Inn yournal) introduced them with a splendid encomium. ' Since the Life of Browne, I have been a little engaged, from time to time, in the Literary Magazine, but not very lately. I have April ; by the date of Johnson's letter, he had not by any means reached the end of what he calls ' the first, and indeed, the last, dis- agreeable controversy that he ever had with Mr. Garrick.' Murphy's Garrick, p. 213. ' This letter was an answer to one in which was enclosed a draft for the payment of some subscriptions to his Shakspeare. Boswell. ' In the Preface he says : — {Works, v. 152) 'I have not passed over with affected superiority what is equally difficult to the reader and to myself, but where I could not instruct him, have owned my ignorance.' not 38o The garret m Gougk-sguare. [ad. 1758. not the collection by me, and therefore cannot draw out a catalogue of my own parts, but will do it, and send it. Do not buy them,^ for I will gather all those that have anything of mine in them, and send them to Mrs. Burney, as a small token of gratitude for the regard which she is pleased to bestow upon me. ' I am, Sir, ' Your most obliged ' And most humble servant, ' Sam. Johnson.' ' London, March 8, 1758.' Dr. Burney has kindly favoured me with the following memorandum, which I take the liberty to insert in his own genuine easy style. I love to exhibit sketches of my illus- trious friend by various eminent hands. ' Soon after this, Mr. Burney, during a visit to the capital, had an interview with him in Gough-square, where he dined and drank tea with him, and was introduced to the acquaintance of Mrs. Williams. After dinner, Mr. Johnson proposed to Mr. Burney to go up with him into his garret, which being accepted, he there found about five or six Greek folios, a deal writing-desk, and a chair and a half. Johnson giving to his guest the entire seat, tot- tered himself on one with only three legs and one arm'. Here he ' Northcote gives the following account of this same garret in de- scribing how Reynolds introduced Roubiliac to Johnson. 'Johnson received him with much civility, and took them up into a garret, which he considered as his library ; where, besides his books, all covered with dust, there was an old crazy deal table, and a still worse and older elbow chair, having only three legs. In this chair Johnson seated himself, after having, with considerable dexterity and evident practice, first drawn it up against the wall, which served to support it on that side on which the leg was deficient.' Northcote's Reynolds, i. 75. Miss Reynolds improves on the account. She says that 'before Johnson had the pension he literally dressed like a beggar; and, from what I have been told, he as literally lived as such ; at least as to com- mon conveniences in his apartments, wanting even a chair to sit on, particularly in his study, where a gentleman who frequently visited him, whilst writing his Idlers, constantly found him at his desk, sitting on one with three legs; and on rising from it, he remarked . that Dr. Johnson never forgot its defect, but would either hold it in his hand, or place it with great composure against some support, taking no gave Aetat.4»."j Theobald and Warbiirton. 381 gave Mr. Bumey Mrs. Williams's history, and shewed hiin some volumes of his Shakspeare already printed, to prove that he was in earnest. Upon Mr. Burney's opening the first volume, at the Mer- chant of Vefiice, he observed to him, that he seemed to be more severe on Warburton than Theobald. "O poor Tib. ! (said John- son) he was ready knocked down to my hands ; Warburton stands between me and him." "But, Sir, (said Mr. Burney,) you'll have Warburton upon your bones, won't you?" "No, Sir; he'll not come out : he'll only growl in his den." " But you think. Sir, that Warburton is a superiour critick to Theobald ?" " O, Sir, he'd make two-and-fifty Theobalds, cut into slices' ! The worst of War- burton is, that he has a rage for sapng something, when there's nothing to be said." Mr. Burney then asked him whether he had seen the letter which Warburton had written in answer to a pam- phlet addressed "■ To the most impudent Man alive'." He answered in the negative. Mr. Burney told him it was supposed to be writ- ten by Mallet. The controversy now raged between the friends notice of its imperfection to his visitor. It was remarkable in John- son, that no external circumstances ever prompted him to make any apology, or to seem even sensible of their existence.' Croker's Bos- iiiell, p. 832. There can be little question that she is describing the same room — a room in a house in which Miss Williams was lodged, and most likely Mr. Levet, and in which Mr. Burney dined ; and in which certainly there must have been chairs. Yet Mr. Carlyle, misled by her account, says : — ' In his apartments, at one time, there were unfortunately no chairs.' Carlyle's Miscel/anu's, ed. 1872, iv. 127. * In his Lz/e of Pope {Works, v'm. 272) Johnson calls Theobald 'a man of heavy diligence, with very slender powers.' In the Preface to Shakspeare he admits that ' what little he did was commonly right.' Ib.v. 137. The Editors of the Cambridge Shakespeare on the other hand say ; — ' Theobald, as an Editor, is incomparably superior to his predecessors, and to his immediate successor Warburton, although the latter had the advantage of working on his materials. Many most brilliant emendations are due to him.' On Johnson's statement that • Warburton would make two-and-fifty Theobalds, cut into slices,' they write : — ' From this judgment, whether they be compared as critics or editors, we emphatically dissent.' Cambridge Shakespeare, i., xxxi., xxxiv., note. Among Theobald's ' brilliant emendations ' are ' a' bab- bled of green fields ' (Hejiry V, ii. 3), and ' lackeying the varying tide.' {Ant07iy and Cleopatra, i. 4). * ' A fajftiliar epistle [by Lord Bolingbroke] to the tnost impudent man liviftg, 1749.' Brit. Mus. Catal. of 382 The Idler. [a.d.1758, of Pope and Bolingbroke ; and Warburton and Mallet were the leaders of the several parties'. Mr. Bumey asked him then if he had seen Warburton's book against Bolingbroke's Philosophy^ t " No, Sir, I have never read Bolingbroke's impiety, and therefore am not interested about its confutation." ' On the fifteenth of April he began a new periodical paper, entitled TIic Idler^,"^ which came out every Saturday in a weekly new^s-paper, called The Universal Chronicle, or Week- ly Gazette, published by Newbery*. These essays were con- tinued till April 5, 1760. Of one hundred and three, their total number, twelve were contributed by his friends ; of which. Numbers 33, 93, and 96, were written by Mr. Thomas Warton ; No, 67 by Mr. Langton ; and Nos. 76, 79, and 82, * ' Mallet, by address or accident, perhaps by his dependence on the prince [of Wales], found his way to Bolingbroke, a man whose pride and petulance made his kindness difficult to gain or keep, and whom Mallet was content to court by an act, which, I hope, was unwillingly performed. When it was found that Pope had clandestinely printed an unauthorised number of the pamphlet called The Patriot King, Bolingbroke, in a fit of useless fury, resolved to blast his memory, and employed Mallet (1749) as the executioner of his vengeance. Mallet had not virtue, or had not spirit, to refuse the office ; and was rewarded not long after with the legacy of Lord Bolingbroke's works.' John- son's Works, viii. 467. See ante, p. 31 1, and Walpole's Letters, ii. 159. * A View of Lord Bolingbroke' s Philosophy in Four L^etters to a Friend, 1754-5. * A paper under this name had been started seven years earlier. See Carter and Talbot Corres. ii. 33. * In the two years in which Johnson wrote for this paper it saw many changes. The first Idler appeared in No. 2 of the Universal Chronicle or Weekly Gazette, which was published not by Newbery, but by J. Payne. On April 29, this paper took the title of Payne's Universal Chronicle, etc. On Jan. 6, 1759, it resumed the old title and was published by R. Stevens. On Jan. 5, 1760, the title was changed to The Universal Chronicle and Westfninster yournal, and it was pub- lished by W. Faden and R. Stevens. On March 15, 1760, it was pub- lished by R. Stevens alone. The paper consisted of eight pages. The Idler, which varied in length, came first, and was printed in larger characters, much like a leading article. The changes in title and ownership seem to show that in spite of Johnson's contributions it was not a successful publication. b> Aetat.49.] TjJE IdlER. 383 by Sir Joshua Reynolds; the concluding words of No. 82, ' and pollute his canvas with deformity,' being added by Johnson, as Sir Joshua informed me'. 77^1? Idler is evidently the work of the same mind which produced The Rambler, but has less body and more spirit. It has more variety of real life, and greater facility of lan- guage. He describes the miseries of idleness, with the live- ly sensations of one who has felt them' ; and in his private memorandums while engaged in it, we find ' This year I hope to learn diligence'.' Many of these excellent essays were written as hastily as an ordinary letter. Mr. Langton remembers Johnson, when on a visit at Oxford*, asking him one evening how long it was till the post went out ; and on being told about half an hour, he exclaimed, * then we shall do very well.' He upon this instantly sat down and finished an Idler, which it was necessary should be in London the next day. Mr. Langton having signified a wish to read it, ' Sir, (said he) you shall not do more than I have done my- self.' He then folded it up and sent it off. Yet there are in The Idler several papers which shew ai. much profundity of thought, and labour of language, as any of this great man's writings. No. 14, 'Robbery of Time;' No. 24, 'Thinking;' No. 41, 'Death of a Friend':' No. 43, ' ' Those papers may be considered as a kind of sj'llabus of all Rey^ nolds's future discourses, and certainly occasioned him some thinking in their composition. I have heard him say, that Johnson required them from him on a sudden emergency, and on that account, he sat up the whole night to complete them in time; and by it he was so much disordered, that it produced a vertigo in his head.' Northcote's Reynolds, i. 89. Reynolds must have spoken of only one paper ; as the three, appearing as they did on Sept. 29, Oct. 20, and Nov. 10. could not have been required at one time. ' ' To be idle and to be poor have always been reproaches, and there- fore every man endeavours with his utmost care to hide his poverty from others, and his idleness from himself.' The Idler, No. 17. ' Prayers and Meditations, p. 30 [36]. BOSWELL. * In July 1759. * This number was published a few days after his mother's death. It is in the form of a letter, which is thus introduced : — ' The follow- ' Flieht 384 Influence of the weather. [a.d. 1758. 'Flight of Time;' No. 51, ' Domestick greatness unattain- able ;' No. 52, ' Self-denial ;' No. 58, ' Actual, how short of fancied, excellence' ;' No. 89, ' Physical evil moral good^ ;' and his concluding paper on ' The horrour of the last' ;' will prove this assertion. T know not why a motto, the usual trapping of periodical papers, is prefixed to very few of the Idlers, as I have heard Johnson commend the custom : and he never could be at a loss for one, his memory being stored with innumerable passages of the classicks\ In this series of essays he exhibits admirable instances of grave humour, of which he had an uncommon share. Nor on some oc- casions has he repressed that power of sophistry which he possessed in so eminent a degree. In No. 11, he treats with the utmost contempt the opinion that our mental faculties depend, in some degree, upon the weather ; an opinion, which they who have never experienced its truth ing letter relates to an affliction perhaps not necessary to be imparted to the publick ; but I could not p>ersuade myself to suppress it, be- cause I think I know the sentiments to be sincere, and I feel no dis- position to provide for this day any other entertainment.' ' In the table of contents the title of No. 58 is, ' Expectations of pleasure frustrated.' In the original edition of The Idler no titles are given. In this paper he shews that ' nothing is more hopeless than a scheme of merriment.' ^ In this paper he begins by considering, ' why the only thinking being of this globe is doomed to think merely to be wretched, and to pass his time from youth to age in fearing or in suffering calamities.' He ends by asserting that ' of what virtue there is, misery produces far the greater part." ' 'There are few things,' he writes, 'not purely evil, of which we can say, without some emotion of uneasiness, this is the last. . . . The secret horrour of the last is inseparable from a thinking being, whose life is limited, and to whom death is dreadful." * ' I asked him one day, why the Idlers were published without mot- toes. He replied, that it was forborne the better to conceal himself, and escape discovery. " But let us think of some now," said he, " for the next edition. We can fit the two volumes in two hours, can't we ?" Accordingly he recollected, and I wrote down these following [nine mottoes], till some friend coming in, in about five minutes, put an end to our further progress on the subject.' Pioszi Letters, ii. 388. are Aetat.49.] Influence of the weather. 385 are not to be envied, antl of whicli he himself could not but be sensible, as the effects of weather upon him were ver)' visible. Yet thus he declaims : — ' Surely, nothing is more reproachful to a being endowed with reason, than to resign its powers to the influence of the air, and live in dependence on the weather and the wind for the only bless- ings which nature has put into our power, tranquillity and benevo- lence. This distinction of seasons is produced only by imagination operating on luxury. To temperance, every day is bright ; and every hour is propitious to diligence. He that shall resolutely excite his faculties, or exert his virtues, will soon make himself superiour to the seasons ; and may set at defiance the morning mist and the evening damp, the blasts of the east, and the clouds of the south'." ' See /t'j/', July 14 and 26, 1763, April 14, 1775, and Aug. 2, 1784, note, for instances in which Johnson ridicules the notion that weather and seasons have any necessary effect on man ; also April 17, 1778. In the IJfe of MiIto)i ( Works, vii. 102), he writes : — ' This dependence of the soul upon the seasons, those temporary and periodical ebbs and flows of intellect, may, I suppose, ju.stly be derided as the fumes of vain im- agination. Sapiens dominabiho- astris. The author that thinks him- self weather-bound will find, with a little help from hellebore, that he is only idle or exhausted. But while this notion has possession of the head, it produces the inability which it supposes. Our powers owe much of their energy to our hopes ; possunt quia posse videntur.' Boswell records, in his Hebrides (Aug. 16, 1773), that when 'somebody talked of happy moments for composition,' Johnson said : — * Nay, a man may write at any time, if he will set himself doggedly to it.' Rey- nolds, who avowed how much he had learnt from Johnson {ante, p. 284), says much the same in his Seventh Discourse: 'But when, in plain prose, we gravely talk of courting the Muse in shady bowers ; waiting the call and inspiration of Genius ... of attending to times and seasons when the imagination shoots with the greatest vigour, whether at the summer solstice or the vernal equinox . . . when we talk such language or entertain such sentiments as these, we generally rest contented with mere words, or at best entertain notions not only groundless but pernicious.' Reynolds's Works, i. 1 50. On the other hand, in 1773 Johnson recorded : — ' Between Easter and Whitsuntide, having always considered that time as propitious to study, I attempted to learn the Low-Dutch language.' Post, under May 9, 1773. J" The Rambler, No. 80, he says ; — ' To the men of study and imagination the I.— 2; Alas! 386 The attendant on a Court. [a.d. 1758. Alas ! it is too certain, that where the frame has delicate fibres, and there is a fine sensibility, such influences of the air are irresistible. He might as well have bid defiance to the ague, the palsy, and all other bodily disorders. Such boasting of the mind is false elevation. ' I think the Romans call it Stoicism'.' But in this number of his Idler his spirits seem to run riot ; for in the wantonness of his disquisition he forgets, for a moment, even the reverence for that which he held in high respect'^ ; and describes ' the attendant on a Court,' as one ' whose business is to watch the looks of a being, weak and foolish as himself'.' winter is generally the chief time of labour. Gloom and silence pro- duce composure of mind and concentration of ideas.' In a letter to Mrs. Thrale, written in 1775, he says :—' Most men have their bright and their cloudy days, at least they have days when they put their powers into act, and days when they suffer them to repose.' Piozzi Letters, i. 265. In 1781 he wrote : — ' I thought myself above assistance or obstruction from the seasons ; but find the autumnal blast sharp and nipping, and the fading world an uncomfortable prospect.' lb. ii. 220. Again, in the last year of his life he wrote : — ' The weather, you know, has not been balmy. I am now reduced to think, and am at least content to talk, of the weather. Pride must have a fall.' Post, Aug. 2, 1784. ' Addison's Cato, act i. sc. 4. * Johnson, reviewing the Duchess of Marlborough's attack on Queen Mary, says {Works, v'x. 8) : — 'This is a character so different from all those that have been hitherto given of this celebrated princess, that the reader stands in suspen.se, till he considers that . . . it has hitherto had this great advantage, that it has only been compared with those of kings.' ^ Johnson had explained how it comes to pass that Englishmen talk so commonly of the weather. He continues : — ' Such is the reason of our practice ; and who shall treat it with contempt ? Surely not the attendant on a court, whose business is to watch the looks of a being weak and foolish as himself, and whose vanity is to recount the names of men, who might drop into nothing, and leave no vacuity. . . . The weather is a nobler and more interesting subject ; it is the present state of the skies and of the earth, on which plenty and famine are His Aetat. 49.J Johnson not a plagiary. 387 His unqualified ridicule of rhetorical gesture or action is not. surely, a test of truth ; yet we cannot help admiring how well it is adapted to produce the effect which he wished. ' Neither the judges of our laws, nor the represen- tatives of our people, would be much affected by laboured gesticulation, or believe any man the more because he rolled his eyes, or puffed his cheeks, or spread abroad his arms, or stamped the ground, or thumped his breast ; or turned his eyes sometimes to the ceiling, and sometimes to the floor'.' A casual coincidence with other writers, or an adoption of a sentiment or image w'hich has been found in the writings of another, and afterwards appears in the mind as one's own, is not unfrequent. The richness of Johnson's fancy, which could supply his page abundantly on all occasions, and the strength of his memory, which at once detected the real owner of any thought, made him less liable to the imputa- tion of plagiarism than, perhaps, any of our writers'. In T/ic Idler, however, there is a paper^ in which conversation is assimilated to a bowl of punch, where there is the same train of comparison as in a poem by Rlacklock, in his collec- tion published in I756\ in which a parallel is ingeniously drawn between human life and that liquor. It ends, — suspended, on which millions depend ior the necessaries of life.' ' Garrick complained that when he went to read before the court, not a look or a murmur testified approbation ; there was a profound still- ness — every one only watched to see what the king thought.' Hazlitt's Con7'ersations of Northcote, p. 262. ' The Idler, No. 90. See post, April 3, 1773, where he declaims against action in public speaking. " He now and then repeats himself. Thus, in The Idler, No. 37, he noralises on the story, how Socrates, passing through the fair at Athens, cried out: — 'How many things are here which I do not need !' though he had already moralised on it in The Adventurer, Nos. 67, 119. ' No. 34- * P cents on Several Occasions, by Thomas Blacklock, p. 179. See f>osf. Aug. %,. T763. and Boswell's Hebrides. Aug. 17, 1773. ' Say, 388 Profits on th€ Idler. [a.d. 1758. * Say, then, physicians of each kind, Who cure the body or the mind. What harm in drinking can there be, Since punch and life so well agree ?' To The Idler, \\\\Q\\ collected in volumes', he added, beside the ' Essay on Epitaphs ' and the ' Dissertation on those of Pope^' an Essay on the ' Bravery of the English common Soldiers.' He, however, omitted one of the original papers, which in the folio copy is No. 22'. ' 'Among the papers of Newbery, in the possession of Mr. Murray, is the account rendered on the collection of T/ie Idler into two small volumes, when the arrangement seems to have been that Johnson should receive two-thirds of the profits. T/ie Idler. ' Dr. £ s. d. • Cr. £ s. d. Paid for Advertising, . 20 o 6 1,500 Sets at 16/. per 100 240 o o Printing two vols., 1.500 41 13 o Dr. Johnson two-thirds 84 2 4 P^P^*" 5 2 3 o Mr. Newbery one-third 42 i 2 £''l '6 6 ^,26 3 6 Profit on the edition . .126 3 6 ^240 o o Forster's Goldsmith, i. 204. If this account is correctly printed, the sale must have been slow. The first edition (2 vols. 5.$-.) was published in Oct. 1761, {Gent. Alag. xx.xi. 479). Johnson is called Dr. in the account ; but he was not made an LL.D. till July 1765. Prior, in his Ltje of GoldsDiith (i. 459), publishes an account between Goldsmith and Newbery in which the first entry is : — ' 1 761. Oct. 14, I set of The Idler ^o 5 o.' Johnson, as Newbery 's papers show, a year later bought a copy of Goldsmith's Life of Nash ; ih. p. 405. ' See ante, p. 355. ^ This paper may be found in Stockdale's supplemental volume of Johnson's Miscellaneous Pieces. Boswell. Stockdale's supplemental volumes — for there are two^ — are vols. xii. and xiii. of what is known as ' Hawkins's edition.' In this paper ( Works, iv. 450) he represents in a fable two vultures speculating on that mischievous being, man, ' who is the only beast who kills that which he does not devour,' who at times is seen to move in herds, while ' there is in every herd one 'To Aetat.49.] Letters to Mr. Thomas War ton. 389 To THE Reverend Mr. Thomas Warton. ' Dear Sir, 'Your notes upon my poet were very acceptable. I beg that you will be so kind as to continue your searches. It will be repu- table to my work and suitable to your professorship, to have some- thing of yours in the notes. As you have given no directions about your name, I shall therefore put it. 1 wish your brother would take the same trouble. A commentary must arise from the fortuitous discoveries of many men in devious walks of literature. Some of your remarks are on plays already printed : but I purpose to add an Appendix of Notes, so that nothing comes too late. ' You give yourself too much uneasiness, dear Sir, about the loss of the papers'. The loss is nothing, if nobody has found them ; nor even then, perhaps, if the numbers be known. You are not the only friend that has had the same mischance. You may repair your want out of a stock, which is deposited with Mr. Allen, of Magdalen-Hall ; or out of a parcel which I have just sent to Mr. Chambers" for the use of any body that will be so kind as to want them. Mr. Langtons are well ; and Miss Roberts'', whom I have at last brought to speak, upon the information which you gave me, that she had something to say. ' I am, &c. •[London] April 14, 1758.' 'Sam. Johnson.' 'To the Same. 'Dear Sir, 'You will receive this by Mr. Baretti, a gentleman particularly intitled to the notice and kindness of the Professor of poesy. He has time but for a short stay, and will be glad to have it filled up with as much as he can hear and see. ' In recommending another to your favour, I ought not to omit thanks for the kindness which you have shewn to myself. Have you any more notes on Shakspeare ? I shall be glad of them. ' I see your pupil sometimes' : his mind is as exalted as his that gives directions to the rest, and seems to be more eminently de- lighted with a wide carnage." ' ' Receipts for Shakespeare.' Warton.— Boswell. ' ' Then of Lincoln College. Now Sir Robert Chambers, one of the Judges in India.' Warton. — Boswell. • Old Mr. Langton's niece. S&c post, July 14, 1763. * ' Mr. Langton.' Warton. — Boswell. stature. 390 Experience compared with expectation, [a.d. 1758. stature'. I am half afraid of him ; but he is no less amiable than formidable. He will, if the forwardness of his spring be not blasted, be a credit to you, and to the University. He brings some of my plays^ with him, which he has my permission to shew you, on condition you will hide them from every body else. ' I am, dear Sir, &c. ' [London.] June i, 1758; ' Sam. Johnson.' 'To Bennet Langton, Esq., of Trinity College, Oxford. ' Dear Sir, ' Though I might have expected to hear from you, upon your entrance into a new state of life at a new place, yet recollecting, (not without some degree of shame,) that I owe you a letter upon an old account, I think it my part to write first. This, indeed, I do not only from complaisance but from interest ; for living on in the old way, I am very glad of a correspondent so capable as yourself, to diversify the hours. You have, at present, too many novelties about you to need any help from me to drive along your time. ' I know not any thing more pleasant, or more instructive, than to compare experience with expectation, or to register from time to time the difference between idea and reality. It is by this kind of observation that we grow daily less liable to be disappointed\ ' Boswell records : — ' Lady Di Beauclerk told me that Langton had never been to see her since she came to Richmond, his head was so full of the militia and Greek. "Why," said \, " Madam, he is of such a length, he is awkward and not easily moved." " But," said she, " if he had laid himself at his length, his feet had been in London, and his head might have been here eodetn die." ' Bostuelltana, p. 297. ' ' Part of the impression of the Shakespeare, which Dr. Johnson conducted alone, and published by subscription. This edition came out in 1765.' Warton. — Boswell. ' Stockdale records {Memoirs, ii. 191), that after he had entered on his charge as domestic tutor to Lord Craven's son, he called on John- son, who asked him how he liked his place. On his hesitating to an- swer, he said : — ' " You must expect insolence." He added that in his youth he had entertained great expectations from a powerful family. "At length," he said, " I found that their promises, and consequently my expectations, vanished into air. . . . But, Sir, they would have treated me much worse, if they had known that the motives from which I paid my court to them were purely selfish, and what opinion I had formed of them." He added, that since he knew mankind, he You, Aetat. 49.] An academical life. 391 You, who are very capable of anticipating: futurity, and raising phantoms before your own eyes, must often have imagined to your- self an academical life, and have conceived what would be the manners, the views, and the conversation, of men devoted to let- ters ; how they would choose their companions, how they would direct their studies, and how they would regulate their lives; Let me know what you expected, and what you have found. At least record it to yourself before custom has reconciled you to the scenes before you, and the disparity of your discoveries to your hopes has vanished from your mind. It is a rule never to be forgotten, that whatever strikes strongly, should be described while the hrst im- pression remains fresh upon the mind. ' I love, dear Sir, to think on you, and therefore, should willingly write more to you, but that the post will not now give me leave to do more than send my compliments to Mr. Warton, and tell you that 1 am, dear Sir, most affectionately, ' Vour very humble servant, •June 28. 1757'; ' ^^^i- Johnson.' 'To Bennet LANoroN, Esq., at Langton, near Spilsby, Lincolnshire, 'Dear Sir, ' I should be sorry to think that what engrosses the attention of my friend, should have no part of mine. \our mind is now full of the fate of Uury"; but his fate is past, and nothing remains but had not, on any occasion, been the sport of such delusion; and that he had never been disappointed by anybody but himself.' ' This, and some of the other letters to Langton, were not received bv Boswell till the first volume of the second edition had been carried through the press. He gave them as a supplement to the second \olume. The date of this letter was there wrongly given as June 27, 1758. In the third edition it was corrected. Nevertheless the letter was misplaced as if the wrong date were the right one. Langton, as I have shewn {ante, p. 286), subscribed the articles at Oxford on July 7, 1757. He must have come into residence, as Johnson did {ante, p. 67), some little while before this subscription. '' Major- General Alexander Dury, of the first regiment of foot- guards, who fell in the gallant discharge of his duty, near St. Cas, in the well-known unfortunate expedition against France, in 1758. His lady and Mr. Lungton's mother were sisters. He left an only son, Lieutenant-Colonel Pury, who has a company in the same regiment. to 392 A violent death. [a.d. 1759. to try what reflection will suggest to mitigate the terrours of a vio- lent death, which is more formidable at the first glance, than on a nearer and more steady view. A violent death is never very pain ful ; the only danger is lest it should be unprovided. But if a man can be supposed to make no provision for death in war, what can be the state that would have awakened him to the care of futurity ? When would that man have prepared himself to die, who went to seek death without preparation ? What then can be the reason why we lament more him that dies of a wound, than him that dies of a fever ? A man that languishes with disease, ends his life with more pain, but with less virtue ; he leaves no example to his friends, nor bequeaths any honour to his descendants. The only reason why we lament a soldier's death, is, that we think he might have lived longer ; yet this cause of grief is common to many other kinds of death which are not so passionately bewailed. The truth is, that every death is violent which is the effect of accident ; every death, which is not gradually brought on by the miseries of age, or when life is extinguished for any other reason than that it is burnt out. He that dies before sixty, of a cold or consumption, dies, in reality, by a violent death ; yet his death is borne with patience only because the cause of his untimely end is silent and invisi- ble. Let us endeavour to see things as they are, and then enquire whether we ought to complain. Whether to see life as it is, will give us much consolation, I know not •, but the consolation which is drawn from truth, if any there be, is solid and durable ; that which may be derived from errour must be, like its original, fallacious and fugitive. 1 am, dear, dear Sir, your most humble servant, ' Sam. Johnson.' 'Sept 21, 1758.' 1759: .^TAT. 50.] — In 1759, in the month of January, his mother died at the great age of ninety, an event which deeply affected him' ; not that ' his mind had acquired no firmness by the contemplation of mortality^ ; but that his BOSWELL. The expedition had been sent against St. Malo early in September. Failing in the attempt, the land forces retreated to St. Cas, where, while embarking, they were attacked by the French. About 400 of our soldiers were made prisoners, and 600 killed and wounded. An7i. Reg. i. 68. ' St&post, 1770, in Dr. Maxwell's Collectanea. ' Hawkijis's Lt/e of Johnson, p. 365. BoswELL, ' In the beginning reverential Aetat.50.] The death of yohnsons mother. 393 reverential affection for her was not abated by years, as in- deed he retained all his tender feelings even to the latest period of his life". I have been told that he regretted much his not having gone to visit his mother for several years, previous to her death\ But he was constantly engaged in of the year 1759 an event happened for which it might be imagined he was well prepared, the death of his mother, who had attained the age of ninety; but he, whose mind had acquired no firmness by the contemplation of mortality, was as little able to sustain the shock, as he would have been had this loss befallen him in his nonage.' ' We may apply to Johnson in his behaviour to his mother what he said of Pope in his behaviour to his parents :—' Whatever was his pride, to them he was obedient ; and whatever was his irritability, to them he was gentle. Life has among its soothing and quiet comforts few things better to give than such a son.' Johnson's Works, viii. 281. In The Idler of January 27, 1759 (No. 41), Johnson shews his grief for his loss. ' The last year, the last day must come. It has come, and is past. The life which made my own life pleasant is at an end, and the gates of death are shut upon my prospects. . . . Such is the con- dition of our present existence that life must one time lose its asso- ciations, and every inhabitant of the earth must walk downward to the grave alone and unregarded, without any partner of his joy or grief, without any interested witness of his misfortunes or success. Misfortune, indeed, he may yet feel ; for where is the bottom of the misery of man ? But what is success to him that has none to enjoy it.'' Happiness is not found in self - contemplation ; it is perceived only when it is reflected from another.' In Rasselas (ch. xlv.) he makes a sage say with a sigh ; — ' Praise is to an old man an empty sound. I have neither mother to be delighted with the reputation of her son, nor wife to partake the honours of her husband.' He here says once more what he had already said in his Letter to Lord Chester- field {ante, p. 303), and in the Preface to the Dictionary (ante, p. 344). * Writing to his Birmingham friend, Mr. Hector, on Oct. 7, 1756, he said : — ' I have been thinking every month of coming down into the country, but every month has brought its hinderances. From that kind of melancholy indisposition which I had when we lived together at Birmingham I have never been free, but have always had it oper- ating against my health and my life with more or less violence. I hope however to see all my friends, all that are remaining, in no very long time.' Azotes and Queries, 6th S. iii. 301. No doubt his constant poverty and the need that he was under of making ' provision for the day that was passing over him ' had had much to do in keeping him literar}- 394 Rasselas. \\.t>. 1759 literary labours which confined him to London ; and though he had not the comfort of seeing his aged parent, he con- tributed liberally to her support'. Soon after this event, he wrote his Rasse/as^, Prince of Abyssinia ;* concerning the publication of which Sir John from a journey to Lichfield. A passage in one of his letters shews that fourteen years later the stage-coach took twenty-six hours in going from London to Lichfield. {Pio2zi Letters, i. 55.) The return journey was very uncertain; for 'our carriages,' he wrote, 'are only such as pass through the place sometimes full and sometimes vacant.' A traveller had to watch for a place {ib. p. 51). As measured by time London was, in 1772. one hour farther from Lichfield than it now is from Marseilles. It is strange, when we consider the long separation between Johnson and his mother, that in Rasselas, written just after her death, he makes Imlac say : — ' There is such communication [in Europe] between distant places, that one friend can hardly be said to be absent from another.' Rasselas, chap. xi. His step-daughter. Miss Porter, though for many years she was well off^, had never been to London. Post, March 23, 1776. Nay, according to Horace Walpole {Memoirs of the Rezgn of George III, iv. 327), ' George HL had never seen the sea, nor ever been thirty miles from London at the age of thirty-four.' ' For the letters written at this time by Johnson to his mother and Miss Porter, see Appendix B. ■^ Rasselas was published in two volumes, duodecimo, and was sold for five shillings. It was reviewed in the Gent. Mag. for April, and was no doubt published in that month. In a letter to Miss Porter dated March 23, 1759 (See Appendi.x), Johnson says : — ' I am going to publish a little story-book, which I will send you when it is out.' I may here remark that the Gent. Mag. was published at the end of the month, or even later. Thus the number for April 1759, contains news as late as April 30. The name Rasselas Johnson got from Lobo's Voyage to Abyssinia. On p. 102 of that book he mentions 'Rassela Christos, Lieutenant -General to Sultan Segued.' On p. 262 he ex- plains the meaning of the first part of the word : — 'There is now a Generalissimo established under the title of Ras. or Chief.' The title still exists. Colonel Gordon mentions Ras Arya and Ras Aloula. The Rev. W. West, in his Introduction to Rasselas, p. xxxi. (Sampson Low and Co.), says : — ' The word Ras, which is common to the Amha- ric, Arabic, and Hebrew tongues, signifies a head, and hence a prince, chief, or captain. . . . Sela Christos means either " Picture of Christ," or " For the sake of Christ." ' Hawkins Aetat. 50.] RassELAS. 395 Hawkins guesses vaguely and idly', instead of having taken the trouble to inform himself with authentick precision. Not to trouble my readers with a repetition of the Knight's rev- eries, I have to mention, that the late Mr. Strahan the printer told me, that Johnson wrote it, that with the profits he might defray the expence of his mother's funeral, and pay some little debts which she had left. He told Sir Joshua Reynolds that he composed it in the evenings of one week, sent it to the press in portions as it was written, and had never since read it oveP. Mr. Strahan, Mr. Johnston, and Mr. Dodsley purchased it for a hundred pounds\ but after- wards paid him twenty-five pounds more, when it came to a second edition. Considering the large sums which have been received for compilations, and works requiring not much more genius than compilations*, we cannot but wonder at the very low price which he was content to receive for this admirable per- formance ; which, though he had written nothing else, would have rendered his name immortal in the world of literature. None of his writings has been so extensively diffused over Europe ; for it has been translated into most, if not all, of the modern languages\ This Tale, with all the charms of oriental imagery, and all the force and beauty of which the English language is capable, leads us through the most im- portant scenes of human life, and shews us that this stage of ' Hawkins's Johnson, p. 367, ' See post, June 2, 1781. Finding it then accidentally in a chaise with Mr. Boswell, he read it eagerly. This was doubtless long after his declaration to Sir Joshua Reynolds. Malone. ' Baretti told Malone that 'Johnson insisted on part of the money being paid immediately, and accordingly received ^^70. Any other person with the degree of reputation he then possessed would have got ^400 for that work, but he never understood the art of making the most of his productions." Prior's Malone, p. 160. Some of the other circumstances there related by Baretti are not correct. * Hawkesworth received ^6000 for his revision of Cook's Voyages; post. May 7, 1773. * StG^ post, March 4, 1773. our 39^ Rasselas and Candide. [a.d. 1759. our being is full of 'vanity and vexation of spirit'.' To those who look no further than the present life, or who maintain that human nature has not fallen from the state in which it was created, the instruction of this sublime story will be of no avail. But they who think justly, and feel with strong sensibility, will listen with eagerness and admiration to its truth and wisdom. Voltaire's Qandide ,\nx\Vi&x\ to refute the system of Optimism, which it has accomplished with brilliant success, is wonderfully similar in its plan and conduct to John- s,ori s Rasselas ; insomuch, that I have heard Johnson say*, that if they had not been published so closely one after the other that there was not time for imitation, it would have been in vain to deny that the scheme of that which came latest was taken from the other. Though the proposition illustrated by both these works was the same, namely, that in our pres- ent state there is more evil than good, the intention of the writers was very different. Voltaire, I am afraid, meant only by wanton profaneness to obtain a sportive victory over religion, and to discredit the belief of a superintending Provi- dence : Johnson meant, by shewing the unsatisfactory nature of things temporal, to direct the hopes of man to things eternal. Rasselas, as was observed to me by a very accom- plished lady, may be considered as a more enlarged and more deeply philosophical discourse in prose, upon the interesting truth, which in his Vanity of Human WisJics he had so suc- cessfully enforced in verse. The fund of thinking which this work contains is such, that almost every sentence of it may furnish a subject of long ' Ecclesiastes, i. 14. * See post. May 16, 1778. It should seem that Cattdide was published in the latter half of February 1759. Grimm in his letter of March i, speaks of its having just appeared. ' M. de Voltaire vient de nous egayer par un petit roman.' He does not mention it in his previous letter of Feb. 15. Grimm, Corrcs. Lit. (edit. 1829), ii. 296. Johnson's letter to Miss Porter, quoted in the Appendix, shows that Rasselas was written before March 23 ; how much earlier cannot be known. Candide is in the May list of books in the Gent. Mag. (pp. 233-5), price zs. 6d., and with it two translations, each price \s. 6d. meditation. Aetat. 50.] ApparifioHS. 397 meditation. I am not satisfied if a year passes without my having read it through ; and at every perusal, my admiration of the mind which produced it is so highly raised, that I can scarcely believe that I had the honour of enjoying the inti- macy of such a man. I restrain myself from quoting passages from this excellent work, or even referring to them, because I should not know what to select, or rather, what to omit. I shall, however, transcribe one, as it shews how well he could state the argu- ments of those who believe in the appearance of departed spirits ; a doctrine which it is a mistake to suppose that he himself ever positively held' : ' If all your fear be of apparitions, (said the Prince,) I will prom- ise you safety : there is no danger from the dead; he that is once buried will be seen no more.' 'That the dead are seen no more, (said Imlac,) I will not under- take to maintain, against the concurrent and unvaried testimony of all ages, and of all nations. There is no people, rude or learned, among whom apparitions of the dead are not related and believed. This opinion, which prevails" as far as human nature is diffused, could become universal only by its truth ; those that never heard of one another, would not have agreed in a tale which nothing but experience can make credible. That it is doubted by single cavil- lers, can very little weaken the general evidence; and some who deny it with their tongues, confess it by their fears.' Notwithstanding my high admiration of Rassclas, I will not maintain that the ' morbid melancholy' ' in Johnson's con- stitution may not, perhaps, have made life appear to him more insipid and unhappy than it generally is ; for I am sure that he had less enjoyment from it than I have. Yet, what- ever additional shade his own particular sensations may have thrown on his representation of life, attentive observation ' See /t'jr/, June 13, 1763. ' In the original, — 'which, perhaps, prevails.' Rasselas, ch. xxxi. ' This is the second time that Boswell puts ' morbid melancholy * in quotation marks {ante, p. 72). Perhaps he refers to a passage in Hawkins's Johnson (p. 387"), where the author speaks of Johnson's melancholy as ' this morbid affection, as he was used to call it.' and 398 ' Live pleasant' [a.d. 1759. and close inquiry have convinced me, that there is too much of reaHty in the gloomy picture. The truth, however, is, that we judge of the happiness and misery of Hfe differently at different times, according to the state of our changeable frame. I always remember a remark made to me by a Turk- ish lady, educated in France, "Ma foi. Monsieur, notrc honJiciir depend de la fa^on que notre sang circidc' This have I learnt from a pretty hard course of experience, and would, from sin- cere benevolence, impress upon all w4io honour this book with a perusal, that until a steady conviction is obtained, that the present life is an imperfect state, and only a passage to a better, if we comply with the divine scheme of progressive improvement ; and also that it is a part of the mysterious plan of Providence, that intellectual beings must ' be made perfect through suffering';' there wall be a continual recur- rence of disappointment and uneasiness. But if we walk with hope in ' the mid-day sun' of revelation, our temper and disposition will be such, that the comforts and enjoyments in our way will be relished, while we patiently support the inconveniences and pains. After much speculation and va- rious reasonings, I acknowledge myself convinced of the truth of Voltaire's conclusion, "Apres tont cest un inondc passable" i But we must not think too deeply; 'Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wiseV is, in many respects, more than poetically just. Let us cul- tivate, under the command of good principles, ' la theorie des sensations agreables ;' and, as Mr. Burke once admirably coun- selled a grave and anxious gentleman, ' live pleasanf*.' ' ' Perfect through sufferings.' Hebrews, ii. 10. * Perhaps the reference is to the conclusion of Le Monde cominc il va : — ' II resolut . . . de laisser aller /% then one of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty ; and Francis Barber was discharged, as he has am indebted to Lord Palmerston, whose talents and literary acquire- ments accord well with his respectable pedigree of Tempi, k. Bo.s- WELL. After the publication of the second edition of this work, the authour was furnished by Mr. Abercrombie, of Philadelphia, with the copy of a letter written by Dr. John Armstrong, the poet, to Dr. Smollet at Leghorne, containing the following paragraph : — ' As to the K. Bench patriot, it is hard to say from what motive he published a letter of yours asking some trifling favour of him in behalf of somebody, for whom the great Cham of literature, Mr. Johnson, had interested him- self.' Malone. In the first edition Boswell had said: — 'Had Dr. Smollet been bred at an English Univ-ersity, he would have known that a chum is a student who lives with another in a chamber common to them both. A chum of literature is nonsense." ' In a note to that piece of bad book-making, Almon's Memoirs of Wilkes (i.47), this allusion is thus explained : — 'A pleasantry of Mr. Wilkes on that passage in Johnson's Grammar of the English Tongue, prefixed to the Dictionary — " H seldom, perhaps never, begins any but the first syllable." ' For this ' pleasantry ' see ante, p. 347. told Aetat. 50.] Life ill Iimer Temp It -lane. 405 told me, without any wish of his own. He found his old master in Chambers in the Inner Tcmi)lc', and returned to his service. What particular new scheme of life Johnson had in view this year, I have not discovered ; but that he meditated one of some sort, is clear from his private devotions, in which we find", ' the change of outward things which I am now to make ;' and, ' Grant me the grace of thy Holy Spirit, that the course which I am now beginning may proceed accord- ing to thy laws, and end in the enjoyment of thy favour.' But he did not, in fact, make any external or visible change'. ' Mr. Croker says that he was not discharged till June 1760. Had he been discharged at once he would have found Johnson moving from Gough Square to Staple Inn ; for in a letter to Miss Porter, dated March 23, 1759. given in the Appendix, Johnson said : — ' I have this day mov^ed my things, and you are now to direct to me at Staple Inn.' '^ Prayers and Meditations, pp. 30 [39] and 40. BoswELL. ^ ' I have left off housekeeping ' wrote Johnson to Langton on Jan. 9, 1759. Murphy {Life, p. 90), writing of the beginning of the year 1759, says: — 'Johnson now found it necessary to retrench his ex- penses. He gave up his house in Gough Square. Mrs. Williams went into lodgings [see post, July i, 1763]. He retired to Gray's-Inn, [he had first moved to Staple Inn], and soon removed to chambers in the Inner Temple-lane, where he lived in poverty, total idleness, and the pride of WtcrdlnvQ, Magni stat nominis umbra. Mr. Fitzherbert used to say that he paid a morning visit to Johnson, intending from his chambers to send a letter into the city ; but, to his great surprise, he found an authour by profession without pen, ink. or paper.' (It was Mr. Fitzherbert, who sent Johnson some wine. See ante, p. 353, note 2. See ^\?,o post, Sept. 15, 1777). The following documents confirm Murphy's statement of Johnson's poverty at this time : ' May 19, 1759. ' I promise to pay to Mr. Newbery the sum of forty-two pounds, nine- teen shillings, and ten pence on demand, value received. £\2 19 10. ' Sam. Johnson.' ' I promise to pay to Mr. Newbery the sum of thirty pounds upon demand. ^3000. ' Sam. Johnson.' In 1 75 1 he had thrice borrowed money of Newbery, but the total amount of the loans was only four guineas. Prior's Goldsmith, i. 340. With Johnson's want of pen, ink, and paper we may compare the ac- At 4o6 BlackfriarS'bridge. [a.d. 1759. At this time, there being a competition among the archi- tects of London to be employed in the building of Black- friars-bridge, a question was very warmly agitated whether semicircular or elliptical arches were preferable. In the de- sign offered by Mr. Mylne the elliptical form was adopted, and therefore it was the great object of his rivals to attack it. Johnson's regard for his friend Mr. Gwyn induced him to en- gage in this controversy against Mr. Mylne' ; and after being count that he gives of Savage's destitution (^lVorks^\'\\\. iii) : — ' Nor had he any other conveniences for study than the fields or the streets allowed him ; there he used to walk and form his speeches, and after- wards step into a shop, beg for a few moments the use of the pen and ink, and write down what he had composed upon paper which he had picked up by accident.' Hawkins {U/f. p. 383) says that Johnson's chambers were two doors down the Inner Temple Lane. ' I have been told,' he continues, ' by his neighbour at the corner, that during the time he dwelt there, more inquiries were made at his shop for Mr. Johnson, than for all the inhabitants put together of both the Inner and Middle Temple.' In a court opening out of Fleet Street, Gold- smith at this very time was still more miserably lodged. In the be- ginning of March 1759, Percy found him 'employed in writing his Enquiry into Polite Learning in a wretched dirty room, in which there was but one chair, and when he from civility offered it to his visitant, himself was obliged to sit in the window.' Goldsmith's Misc. Works, i.6i. ' Sir John Hawkins {Life, p. 373) has given a long detail of it, in that manner vulgarly, but significantly, called rigmarole; in which, amidst an ostentatious exhibition of arts and artists, he talks of 'pro- portions of a column being taken from that of the human figure, and adjusted by Nature — masculine and feminine^in a man, sesquiocta7>e of the head, and in a woman sesquinonal;' nor has he failed to intro- duce a jargon of musical terms, which do not seem much to corre- spond with the subject, but serv^e to make up the heterogeneous mass. To follow the Knight through all this, would be an useless fatigue to myself, and not a little disgusting to my readers. I shall, therefore, only make a few remarks upon his statement. — He seems to exult in having detected Johnson in procuring ' from a person eminently skilled in Mathematicks and the principles of architecture, answers to a string of questions drawn up by himself, touching the comparative strength of semicircular and elliptical arches.' Now I cannot conceive how Johnson could have acted more wisely. Sir John complains that the at Aetat. 50.J Blackfriars-bridgc. 407 at considerable pains to study the subject, he wrote three several letters in the Gazetteer, in opposition to his plan. opinion of that excellent mathematician, Mr. Thomas Simpson, did not preponderate in favour of the semicircular arch. But he should have known, that however eminent Mr. Simpson was in the higher parts of abstract mathematical science, he was little versed in mixed and practical mechanicks. Mr. Muller, of Woolwich Academy, the scholastick father of all the great engineers which this country has employed for forty years, decided the question by declaring clearly in favour of the elliptical arch. It is ungraciously suggested, that Johnson's motive for opposing Mr. Mylne's scheme may have been his prejudice against him as a na- tive of North Britain ; when, in truth, as has been stated, he gave the aid of his able pen to a friend, who was one of the candidates ; and so far was he from having any illiberal antipathy to Mr. Mylne, that he afterwards lived with that gentleman upon very agreeable terms of acquaintance, and dined with him at his house. Sir John Hawkins, indeed, gives full vent to his own prejudice in abusing Blackfriars- bridge, calling it ' an edifice, in which beautj'^ and symmetry are in vain sought for ; by which the citizens of London have perpetuated their own disgrace, and subjected a whole nation to the reproach of foreigners.' Whoever has contemplated, //(jr/fyi? tiam'ne [Horace, Odes, iv. 3. 2], this stately, elegant, and airy structure, which has so fine an effect, especially on approaching the capital on that quarter, must wonder at such unjust and ill-tempered censure ; and I appeal to all foreigners of good taste, whether this bridge be not one of the most distinguished ornaments of London. As to the stability of the fab- rick, it is certain that the City of London took every precaution to have the best Portland stone for it ; but as this is to be found in the quarries belonging to the publick, under the direction of the Lords of the Treasury, it so happened that parliamentary interest, which is often the bane of fair pursuits, thwarted their endeavours. Notwith- standing this disadvantage, it is well known that not only has Black- friars-bridge never sunk either in its foundation or in its arches, which were so much the subject of contest, but any injuries which it has suffered from the effects of severe frosts have been already, in some measure, repaired with sounder stone, and every necessary renewal can be completed at a moderate expence. Boswell. Horace Wal- pole mentions an ineffectual application made by the City to Parlia- ment in 1764 'for more money for their new bridge at Blackfriars,' when Dr. Hay, one of the Lords of the Admiralty, 'abused the Com- mon Council, whose late behaviour, he said, entitled them to no If 4o8 'Born a Briton^ [a.d. 1760. If it should be remarked that this was a controversy which lay quite out of Johnson's way, let it be remembered, that after all, his employing his powers of reasoning and eloquence upon a subject which he had studied on the moment, is not more strange than what we often observe in lawyers, who, as Quicquid agiint Jioinincs' is the matter of law-suits, are some- times obliged to pick up a temporary knowledge of an art or science, of which they understood nothing till their brief was delivered, and appear to be much masters of it. In like manner, members of the legislature frequently introduce and expatiate upon subjects of which they have informed them- selves for the occasion. 1760: .«TAT, 51.] — In 1760 he wrote An Address of the Painters to George III. on his Accession to the Throne of these KingdoDis,^ which no monarch ever ascended with more sin- cere congratulations from his people. Two generations of foreign princes had prepared their minds to rejoice in having again a King, who gloried in being 'born a Briton".' He also wrote for Mr. Baretti the Dedicationf of his Italian and Eng- lish Dictionary to the Marquis of Abreu, then Envoy-Ex- traordinary from Spain at the Court of Great Britain. favour.' Walpole's Memoirs of the Reign of George III, i. 390. The late behaviour was the part taken by the City in Wilkes's case. It was the same love of liberty no doubt that lost the City the Portland stone. Smollett goes out of the way to praise his brother-Scot, Mr. Mylne, in Hitvipliry Clinker — 'a party novel written,' says Horace Walpole, 'to vindicate the Scots' {Reis^n of George III, iv. 328). In the letter dated May 29, he makes Mr. Bramble say : — ' The bridge at Blackfriars is a noble monument of taste and public spirit — I wonder how they stumbled upon a work of such magnificence and utility.' * Juvenal, Sat. \. 85. ' ' Born and educated in this country, I glory in the name of Briton." — George Ill's first speech to his Parliament. It appears from the Hardwicke Papers, writes the editor of the Pari. Hist. (xv. 982). that after the draft of the Speech had been settled by the cabinet, these words and those that came next were added in the King's own hand. Wilkes in his Dedication of Mortimer (see post. May 15, 1776) asserted that 'these endearing words, " Born. &c.," were permitted to be seen in the royal orthography of Britain for Briton.' Almon's IVor/cs, i. 84. Johnson Aetat. 51.J Relief of the Fi-ench Prisoners. 409 Johnson was now either very idle, or very busy with his SJiakspeare ; for I can find no other pubHck composition by him except an Introduction to the proceedings of the Com- mittee for cloathing the French Prisoners' ;* one of the many ' In this Introduction ( Works, vi. 148) Johnson answers objections that had been raised against the rehef. ' We know that for the pris- oners of war there is no legal provision ; we see their distress and are certain of its cause ; we know that they are poor and naked, and poor and naked without a crime. . . . The opponents of this charity must allow it to be good, and will not easily prove it not to be the best. That charity is best of which the consequences are most extensive ; the relief of enemies has a tendency to unite mankind in fraternal affection.' The Committee for which Johnson's paper was written began its work in Dec. 1759. In the previous October Wesley records in his Jotcrnal (ii. 461) : — ' I walked up to Knowle, a mile from Bristol, to see the French prisoners. Above eleven hundred of them, we were informed, were confined in that little place, without anything to lie on but a little dirty straw, or anything to cover them but a few foul thin rags, either by day or night, so that they died like rotten sheep. I was much affected, and preached in the evening on Exodus xxiii. 9.' Money was at once contributed, and clothing bought. ' It was not long before contributions were set on foot in various parts of the Kingdom.' On Oct. 24 of the following year he records : — ' I visited the French prisoners at Knowle, and found many of them almost naked again.' lb. iii. 23. ' The prisoners,' wrote Hume {Private Corres. p. 55), ' received food from the public, but it was thought that their own friends would supply them with clothes, which, however, was found after some time to be neglected. The cry arose that the brave and gallant men, though enemies, were perishing with cold in prison ; a -subscription was set on foot ; great sums were given by all ranks of people ; and, notwithstanding the national foolish prejudices against the French, a remarkable zeal ever^'where appeared for this charity. I am afraid that M. Rousseau could not have produced many parallel instances among his heroes, the Greeks; and still fewer among the Romans.' Baretti, in his Journey from London to Genoa (i. 62, 66), after telling how on all foreigners, even on a Turk wearing a turban, ' the pretty appellation of French dog was liberally bestowed by the London rabble,' continues: — 'I have seen the populace of England contribute as many shillings as they could spare towards the maintenance of the French prisoners ; and I have heard an universal shout of joy when their parliament voted ;^ 100.000 to the Portuguese on hearing of the tremendous earthquake.' proofs / 4IO Mary Queen of Scots. [a.d. ITGO. proofs that he was ever awake to the calls of humanity ; and an account which he gave in the Gentleman s Magazine of Mr. Tytler's acute and able vindication of Mary Queen of Scots.* The generosity of Johnson's feelings shines forth in the following sentence: — ' It has now been fashionable, for near half a century, to defame and vilify the house of Stuart, and to exalt and magnify the reign of Elizabeth. The Stuarts have found few apologists, for the dead cannot pay for praise; and who will, without reward, oppose the tide of popularity ? Yet there remains still among us, not wholly extinguished, a zeal for truth, a desire of establishing right in oppo- sition to fashion'.' In this year I have not discovered a single private letter written by him to any of his friends. It should seem, how- ever, that he had at this period a floating intention of writing a history of the recent and wonderful successes of the British arms in all quarters of the globe ; for among his resolutions or memorandums, September i8, there is, 'Send for books for Hist, of War\' How much it is to be regretted ' Johnson's Worths, vi. 8i. See Boswell's Hebrides, Aug. i6, 1773, where Johnson describes Mary as ' such a Queen as every man of any s;allantry of spirit would have sacrificed his life for.' ' There are,' wrote Hume, ' three events in our history which may be regarded as touch-stones of party-men. An English Whig who asserts the reality of the popish plot, an Irish Catholic who denies the massacre in 1641, and a Scotch Jacobite who maintains the innocence of Queen Mary, must be considered as men beyond the reach of argument or reason, and must be left to their prejudices.' H/story of Eiii^tand, ed. 1802, V. 504- * Prayers aiid Meditations, p. 42. BOSWELL. The following is his entry on this day : — ' 1760, Sept. 18. Resolved D[eo] j[uvante] To combat notions of obligation. To apply to study. To reclaim imagination. To consult the resolves on Tetty's coffin. [In a prayer made less than a month after his wife's death he mentions 'the purposes which I recorded in thy sight, when she lay dead before me." //'. p. I2.j that Aetat. 51.] Consecrated lies. 411 that this intention was not fulfilled. His majestick ex- pression would have carried down to the latest posterity the glorious achievements of his country with the same fervent glow which they produced on the mind at the time. He would have been under no temptation to deviate in any de- gree from truth, which he held very sacred, or to take a licence, which a learned divine told me he once seemed, in a conversation, jocularly to allow to historians. * There are (said he) inexcusable lies, and consecrated lies. For instance, we are told that on the arrival of the news of the unfort- unate battle of Fontenoy, every heart beat, and every eye was in tears. Now we know that no man eat his dinner the worse', but there should have been all this concern ; and to say there was^ (smiling) may be reckoned a consecrated lie.' This year Mr. Murphy, having thought himself ill-treated by the Reverend Dr. Francklin, who was one of the writers of TJie Critical Review, published an indignant vindication in A Poetical Epistle to Samuel Johnson, A.M. in which he compliments Johnson in a just and elegant manner: ' Transcendant Genius ! whose prolifick vein Ne'er knew the frigid poet's toil and pain ; To whom Apollo opens all his store. And every Muse presents her sacred lore ; Say, pow'rful Johnson, whence thy verse is fraught With so much grace, such energy of thought ; To rise early. To study religion. To go to church. To drink less strong liquors. To keep a journal. To oppose laziness, by doing what is to be done to-morrow. Rise as early as I can. Send for books for Hist, of War. Put books in order. Scheme of life.' ' See post, Oct. 19, 1769, and May 15, 1783, for Johnson's measure of emotion by eating. Whether 412 ArtJmr Ahirphy. [a.d. 1760. Whether thy Juvenal instructs the age In chaster numbers, and new-points his rage ; Or fair Irp:ne sees, alas! too late Her innocence exchang'd for guilty state ; Whate'er you write, in every golden line Sublimity and elegance combine ; Thy nervous phrase impresses every soul. While harmony gives rapture to the whole.' Again, towards the conclusion : * Thou then, my friend, who see'st the dang'rous strife In which some demon bids me plunge my life. To the Aonian fount direct my feet. Say where the Nine thy lonely musings meet ? Where warbles to thy ear the sacred throng, Thy moral sense, thy dignity of song ? Tell, for you can, by what unerring art You wake to finer feelings every heart ; In each bright page some truth important give, And bid to future times thy Rambler live'.' I take this opportunity to relate the manner in which an acquaintance first commenced between Dr. Johnson and Mr. Murphy. During the publication of TJic Grays-Inn Journal, a periodical paper which was successfully carried on by Mr. Murphy alone, when a very young man, he hap- pened to be in the country with Mr. Foote; and having mentioned that he was obliged to go to London in order to get ready for the press one of the numbers of that Journal, Foote said to him, ' You need not go on that account. Here is a French magazine, in which you will find a very pretty oriental tale ; translate that, and send it to your printer.' Mr. Murphy having read the tale, was highly pleased with it, and followed Foote's advice. When he returned to town, this tale was pointed out to him in The Rambler, from whence it had been translated into the French magazine. Mr. Murphy then waited upon Johnson, ' Mr. Croker points out that Murphy's Epistle was an imitation of Boileau's Epitre a Molicrc. to Aetat.51.] Letter to Mr. Langton. 413 to explain this curious incident. His talents, literature, and y,'cntlcman-like manners, were soon perceived by Johnson, and a friendship was formed which was never broken'. 'To Bennet Langton, Esq., at Langton, near Spilsbv, Lincolnshire. 'Dear Sir, ' You that travel about the world, have more materials for letters, than I who stay at home ; and should, therefore, write with frequency equal to your opportunities. I should be glad to have all England surveyed by you, if you would impart your observations ' The paper mentioned in the text is No. 38 of the second series of the Gray's-Iini Journal, published on June 15, 1754; which is a trans- lation from the French v^ersion of Johnson's Rai)iblcr\ No. 190. Ma- LONE. Mrs. Piozzi relates how Murphy ' used to tell before Johnson of the first time they met. He found our friend all covered with soot, like a chimney-sweeper, in a little room, with an intolerable heat and strange smell, as if he had been acting Lungs in the Alchymist, making aether. " Come, come," says Dr. Johnson, " dear Mur. the story is black enough now ; and it was a very happy day for me that brought you first to my house, and a very happy mistake about the Ramblers." ' Piozzi's Ajit'c. p. 235. Murphy quotes her account, Murphy's Jo/inson, p. 79. See q\?>o posf, 1770, where Dr. Maxwell records in his Collectanea how Johnson 'very much loved Arthur Murphy.' Miss Burney thus describes him : — ' He is tall and well-made, has a very gentleman-iike appearance, and a quietness of manner upon his first address that to me is very pleasing. His face looks sensible, and his deportment is perfectly easy and polite." A few days later she records : — ' Mr. Mur- phy was the life of the party ; he was in good spirits, and extremel}' entertaining; he told a million of stories admirably well.' Mnie. D'Arblays Diary, i. 195, 210. Rogers, who knew Murphy well, says that ' towards the close of his life, till he received a pension of ^200 from the King, he was in great pecuniary difficulties. He had eaten himself out of every tavern from the other side of Temple-Bar to the west end of the town.' He owed Rogers a large sum of money, which he never repaid. ' He assigned over to me the whole of his works ; and I soon found that he had already disposed of them to a book- seller. One thing,' Rogers continues, ' ought to be remembered to his honour; an actress with whom he had lived bequeathed to him all her property, but he gave up every farthing of it to her relations.' He was pensioned in 1803, and he died in 1805. Rogers's Table-Talk, p. 106. in 414 Thomas Sheridan. [a.d. 1760. in narratives as agreeable as your last. Knowledge is always to be wished to those who can communicate it well. While you have been riding and running, and seeing the tombs of the learned, and the camps of the valiant, I have only staid at home, and in- tended to do great things, which 1 have not done. Beau' went away to Cheshire, and has not yet found his way back. Chambers passed the vacation at Oxford. ' I am very sincerely solicitous for the preservation or curing of Mr. Langton's sight, and am glad that the chirurgeon at Coventry gives him so much hope. Mr. Sharpe is of opinion that the tedious maturation of the cataract is a \ul2:ar crrour, and that it may be removed as soon as it is formed. I'liis notion deserves to be considered; 1 doubt whether it be universally true; but if it be true in some cases, and those cases can be distinguished, it may save a long and uncomfortable delay. 'Of dear Mrs. Langton you give me no account ; which is the less friendly, as you know how highly 1 think of her. and how much 1 interest myself in her health. 1 suppose you told her of my opinion, and likewise suppose it was not followed ; however, i still believe it to be right. ' Let me hear from you again, wherever you are, or whatever you are doing ; whether you wander or sit still, plant trees or make Rusticks\ play with your sisters or muse alone ; and in re- turn I will tell you the success of Sheridan\ who at this instant is playing Cato, and has already played Richard twice. He had more company the second than the first night, and will make, I believe, a good figure in the whole, though his faults seem to be very many ; some of natural deficience, and some of laborious •iffectation. He has, I think, no power of assuming either that dignity or elegance which some men, who have little of either in common life, can exhibit on the stage. His voice when strained is unpleasing, and when low is not always heard. He seems to think too much on the audience, and turns his face too often to the galleries*. ' Topham Beauclerk, Esq. Boswell. * Essays with that title, written about this time by Mr. Langton, but not published. BoswELL. * Thomas Sheridan, bom 1721, died 1788. He was the son of Swift's friend, and the father of R. B. Sheridan (who was born in 17^1), and the great-great-grandfather of the present Earl of DufFerin. * Sheridan was acting in Garrick's Company, generally on the nights * However. Aetat. 52.] Mr. Rolt. 4 1 5 ' However, I wish him well ; and among other reasons, becauiie I like his wife'. * Make haste to wTite to, dear Sir, ' Your most affectionate servant, ' Sam. Johnson.' 'Oct. i8. 1760.' 1761 : ^TAT. 52.] — In 1761 Johnson appears to have done little. He was still, no doubt, proceeding in his edition of SJiak spear e ; but what advances he made in it cannot be ascertained. He certainly was at this time not active ; for in his scrupulous examination of himself on Easter eve, he laments, in his too rigorous mode of censuring his own con. duct, that his life, since the communion of the preceding Easter, had been ' dissipated and useless^' He. however, contributed this year the Preface* to Rolt's Dictionary of Trade and Commerce, in which he displays such a clear and comprehensive knowledge of the subject, as might lead the reader to think that its authour had devoted all his life to it. I asked him whether he knew much of Rolt, and of his work. ' Sir, (said he) I never saw the man, and never read the book. The booksellers wanted a Preface to a Dictionary of Trade and Commerce. I knew very well what such a Dictionary should be, and wrote a Preface accordingly.' Rolt, who wrote a great deal for the booksellers, was, as Johnson told me, a singular character'. Though not in the least acquainted with him, he used to say, ' I am just come from Sam. Johnson.' This was a sufficient specimen of his vanity and impudence. But he gave a more eminent proof on which Garrick did not appear. Davies's Garrick. i. 299. Johnson criticises his reading. j?^c;i-/, April 18, 1783. ' Mrs. Sheridan was authour of Memoirs of Miss Sydney Bidditlph, a nov'el of great merit, and of some other pieces. — See her character. post, beginning of 1763. Boswei.l. " Prayers and Meditations, p. 44. BoswELL. ' 1761. Easter Eve. Since the communion of last Easter I have led a life so dissipated and useless, and my terrours and perplexities have so much increased, that I am under great depression and discouragement.' • See/fl.f/, April 6, 1775. of 41 6 Instances of literary fraud. [a. d. 1761. of it in our sister kingdom, as Dr. Johnson informed me. When Akenside's Pleasures of the luiagination first came out, he did not put his name to the poem. Rolt went over to Dublin, published an edition of it, and put his own name to it. Upon the fame of this he lived for several months, being entertained at the best tables as the ingenious Mr. Rolt'.' His conversation indeed, did not discover much of the fire of a poet , but it was recollected, that both Addi- son and Thomson were equally dull till excited by wine. Akenside having been informed of this imposition, vindi- cated his right by publishing the poem with its real au- thour's name. Several instances of such literary fraud have been detected. The Reverend Dr. Campbell, of St. An- drew's, wrote An Enquiry into the original of Moral Virtue , the manuscript of which he sent to Mr. Innes, a clergyman in England, who was his countryman and acquaintance. Innes published it with his own name to it ; and before the imposition was discovered, obtained considerable promotion, as a reward of his merit'. The celebrated Dr. Hugh Blair, * I have had inquiry made in Ireland as to this story, but do not find it recollected there. I give it on the authority of Dr. Johnson, to which may be added that of the Biographical Dictionaiy, and Biographia Dramatica ; in both of which it has stood many years. Mr. Malone observes, that the truth probably is, not that an edition was published with Rolt's name in the title-page, but, that the poem being then anonymous, Rolt acquiesced in its being attributed to him in conversation. Boswell. * I have both the books. Innes was the clergyman who brought Psalmanazar to England, and was an accomplice in his extraordinary fiction. Boswell. It was in 1728 that Innes, who was a Doctor of Divinity and Preacher-Assistant at St. Margaret's, Westminster, pub- lished this book. In his impudent Dedication to Lord Chancellor King he says that 'were matters once brought to the melancholy pass that mankind should become proselytes to such impious delusions ' as Mandeville taught, ' punishments must be annexed to virtue and rewards to vice.' It was not till 1730 that Dr. Campbell 'laid open this imposture.' Preface, p. xxxi. Though he was Professor of Ec- clesiastical History in St. Andrew's, yet he had not, it should seem, heard of the fraud till then : so remote was Scotland from London in and Aetat. 52.] ThE MaN OF FeELING. 417 and his cousin Mr. George Bannatine, when students in divinity, wrote a poem, entitled, The Res7irrectio7i, copies of which were handed about in manuscript. They were, at length, very much surprised to see a pompous edition of it in folio, dedicated to the Princess Dowager of Wales, by a Dr. Douglas, as his own. Some years ago a little novel, en- titled The Alan of Feeling, was assumed by Mr. Eccles, a young Irish clergyman, who was afterwards drowned near Bath'. He had been at the pains to transcribe the whole book, with blottings, interlineations, and corrections, that it might be shewn to several people as an original. It was, in truth, the production of Mr. Henry Mackenzie, an Attorney in the Exchequer at Edinburgh, who is the authour of several other ingenious pieces ; but the belief with regard to Mr. Eccles became so general, that it was thought necessary for Messieurs Strahan and Cadell to publish an advertise- ment in the newspapers, contradicting the report, and men- tioning that they purchased the copy-right of Mr. Macken- zie^ I can conceive this kind of fraud to be very easily practised with successful effrontery. The Filiation of a literary performance is difficult of proof ; seldom is there any witness present at its birth. A man, either in confidence or Dy improper means, obtains possession of a copy of it in those days. It was not till 1733 that he published his own edition. For Psalmanazar, see post, April 18, 1778. * ' Died, the Rev. Mr. Eccles, at Bath. In attempting to save a boy, whom he saw sinking in the Avon, he, together with the youth, were both drowned.' Gent. Mag. Aug. 15, 1777. And in the magazine for the next month are some verses on this event, with an epitaph, of which the first line is, 'Beneath this stone the "Man of Feeling" lies.' Croker., * ' Harry Mackenzie,' wrote Scott in 18 14, ' never put his name in a title-page till the last edition of his works.' Lockhart's Scott, iv. 178. He wrote also T/ie Majt of the World, which Johnson ' looked at, but thought there was nothing in it.' Boswell's Hebrides, Oct. 2, 1773. Scott, however, called it 'a very pathetic tale.' Croker 's Boswell, p. 359. Burns, writing of his twenty-third year, says: — ' Tristram Shandy and the Man of Feeling were my bosom favourites.' Currie's Life of Burns, ed. 1846, p. 21. I. — 27 manuscript, 4l8 Letter to Mr. Baretti. [a.d. 1761. manuscript, and boldly publishes it as his own. The true authour, in many cases, may not be able to make his title clear. Johnson, indeed, from the peculiar features of his lit- erary offspring, might bid defiance to any attempt to appro- priate them to others. ' But Shakspeare's magick could not copied be, Within that circle none durst walk but he' !' Me this year lent his friendly assistance to correct and improve a pamphlet written by Mr. Gwyn, the architect, en- titled. Thoughts on the Coro7iation of George III." Johnson had now for some years admitted Mr. Baretti to his intimacy ; nor did their friendship cease upon their being separated by Baretti's revisiting his native country, as appears from Johnson's letters to him. 'To Mr. Joseph Baretti, at MII,AN^ 'You reproach me very often with parsimony of writing: but you may discover by the extent of my paper, that I design to rec- ompence rarity by length. A short letter to a distant friend is, in my opinion, an insult like that of a slight bow or cursory salu- tation ; — a proof of unwillingness to do much, even where there is a necessity of doing something. Yet it must be remembered, that he who continues the same course of life in the same place, will have little to tell. One week and one year are very like one another. The silent changes made by time are not always per- ceived ; and if they are not perceived, cannot be recounted. I have risen and lain down, talked and mused, while you have roved over a considerable part of Europe^ ; yet I have not envied my Baretti any of his pleasures, though, perhaps, I have envied others ' From the Prologue to Dryden's adaptation of T/if Tempest. * The originals of Dr. Johnson's three letters to Mr. Baretti, which are among the very best he ever wrote, were communicated to the proprietors of that instructive and elegant monthly miscellany, TJie European Magazine, in which they first appeared. Boswell. ' Baretti left London for Lisbon on Aug. 14, 1760. He went through Portugal, Spain, and France to Antibes, whence he went by sea to Genoa, where he arrived on Nov. 18. In 1770 he published a lively account of his travels under the title of A Journey from London to Genoa, his Aetat. 52.] Barettts knowledge of languages. 419 his company : and I am glad to have other nations made acquaint- ed with the character of the English, by a traveller who has so nicely inspected our manners, and so successfully studied our literature. I received your kind letter from Falmouth, in which you gave me notice of your departure for Lisbon, and another from Lisbon, in which you told me, that you were to leave Portu- gal in a few days. To either of these how could any answer be returned ? I have had a third from Turin, complaining that I have not answered the former. Your English style still continues in its purity and vigour. With vigour your genius will supply it ; but its purity must be continued by close attention. To use two lan- guages familiarly, and without contaminating one by the other, is very difificult : and to use more than two is hardly to be hoped'. The praises which some have received for their multiplicity of languages, may be sufficient to excite industry, but can hardly generate confidence. ' I know not whether I can heartily rejoice at the kind reception which you have found, or at tJie popularity to which you are ex- 'ilted. 1 ani willing that your merit should be distinguished ; but cannot wish that your afifections may be gained. I would have you happy wherever you are : yet I would have you wish to return to England. If ever you visit us again, you will find the kindness of your friends undiminished. To tell you how many enquiries are made after you, would be tedious, or if not tedious, would be vain ; because you may be told in a very few words, that all who knew you wish you well ; and that all that you embraced at your departure, will caress you at your return : therefore do not let Italian academicians nor Italian ladies drive us from your thoughts. You may find among us what you will leave behind, ' Malone says of Baretti that 'he was certainly a man of extraordi- nary talents, and perhaps no one ever made himself so completely master of a foreign language as he did of English.* Prior's Malone, p. 392. Mrs. Piozzi gives the following ' instance of his skill in our low street language. Walking in a field near Chelsea he met a fel- low, who, suspecting him from dress and manner to be a foreigner, said sneeringly, " Come, Sir, will you show me the way to France ?" "No, Sir," says Baretti instantly, "but I will show you the way to Tyburn." * He travelled with her in France. ' Oh how he would court the maids at the inns abroad, abuse the men perhaps, and that with a facility not to be exceeded, as they all confessed, by any of the natives. But so he could in Spain, I find.' Ha3rward's Piozzi, ii. 347. soft 420 The Exhibitiofi of Pictures. [a.d. 1761. soft smiles and easy sonnets. Yet I shall not wonder if all our invitations should be rejected ; for there is a pleasure in being considerable at home, which is not easily resisted. 'By conducting Mr. Southwell' to Venice, you fulfilled, 1 know, the original contract : yet I would wish you not wholly to lose him from your notice, but to recommend him to such acquaintance as may best secure him from suffering by his own follies, and to take such general care both of his safety and his interest as may come within your power. His relations will thank you for any such gratuitous attention : at least they will not blame you for any evil that may happen, whether they thank you or not for any good. ' You know that we have a new King and a new Parliament. Of the new Parliament Fitzherbert'^ is a member. We were so weary of our old King, that we are much pleased with his succes- sor ; of whom we are so much inclined to hope great things, that most of us begin already to believe them. The young man is hitherto blameless ; but it would be unreasonable to expect much from the immaturity of juvenile years, and the ignorance of prince- ly education. He has been long in the hands of the Scots, and has already favoured them more than the English will contentedly endure. But, perhaps, he scarcely knows whom he has distin- guished, or whom he has disgusted. ' The Artists have instituted a yearly Exhibition'' of pictures and statues, in imitation, as I am told, of foreign academies. This year was the second Exhibition. They please themselves much ' Johnson was intimate with Lord Southwell, ante, p. 281. It seems unlikely that Baretti merely conducted Mr. Southwell from Turin to Venice ; yet there is not a line in his Journey to show that any Eng- lishman accompanied him from London to Turin. ' See ante, p. 405, note 3. ' The first of these annual cxliibilions was opened on April 2\, 1760. at the Room of the Society of Arts, in the Strand. 'As a con- sequence of their success, grew the incorporation of a Society of Artists in 1765, by secession from which finally was constituted the Royal Academy [in Dec. 1768].' Taylor's Reynolds, i. 179. For the third exhibition Johnson wrote the Preface to the Catalogue. In this, speaking for the Committee of the Artists, he says : — ' The pur- pose of this Exhibition is not to enrich the artist, but to advance the art; the eminent are not flattered with preference, nor the obscure in- sulted with contempt ; whoever hopes to deserve public favour is here invited to display his merit.' Northcote's Reynolds, i. loi. with Aetat.52.] yohnsotis indifference to pictures. 421 with the multitude of spectators, and imagine that the English School will rise in reputation. Reynolds is without a rival, and continues to add thousands to thousands, which he deserves, among other excellencies, by retaining his kindness for Baretti. This Exhibition has filled the heads of the Artists and lovers of art. Surely life, if it be not long, is tedious, since we are forced to call in the assistance of so many trifles' to rid us of our time, of that time which never can return. ' Hawkins {Lz/e, p. 318) says that Johnson told him 'that in his whole life he was nev^er capable of discerning the least resemblance of any kind between a picture and the subject it was intended to rep- resent.' This, however, must have been an exaggeration on the part either of Hawkins or Johnson. His general ignorance of art is shown by Mrs. Piozzi (Anec. p. 98) : — ' Sir Joshua Reynolds mentioned some picture as excellent. " It has often grieved me. Sir," said Mr. John- son, "to see so much mind as the science of painting requires, laid out upon such perishable materials : why do not you oftener make use of copper.' I could wish your superiority in the art you profess to be preserved in stuff more durable than canvas." Sir Joshua urged the difficulty of procuring a plate large enough for historical subjects. " What foppish obstacles are these !" exclaims on a sudden Dr. John- son. " Here is Thrale has a thousand tun of copper ; you may paint it all round if you will, I suppose ; it will serve him to brew in after- wards. Will it not. Sir.'" to my husband who sat by. Indeed his utter scorn of painting was such, that I have heard him say, that he should sit very quietly in a room hung round with the works of the greatest masters, and never feel the slightest disposition to turn them, if their backs were outermost, unless it might be for the sake of tell- ing Sir Joshua that he /lad turned them.' Such a remark of John- son's must not, however, be taken too strictly. He often spoke at random, often with exaggeration. 'There is in many minds a kind of vanity exerted to the disadvantage of themselves.' This reflection of his is the opening sentence to the number of T//e Idler (No. 45) in which he thus writes about portrait - painting : — 'Genius is chiefly exerted in historical pictures ; and the art of the painter of portraits is often lost in the obscurity of his subject. But it is in painting as in life ; what is greatest is not always best. I should grieve to see Reynolds transfer to heroes and to goddesses, to empty splendour and to airy fiction, that art which is now employed in diffusing friend- ship, in reviving tenderness, in quickening the affections of the absent, and continuing the presence of the dead.' It is recorded in Johnson's Works, (1787) xi. 208, that 'Johnson, talking with some persons about * I know 42 2 Monastick life. [a. d. 1761. * I know my Baretti will not be satisfied with a letter in which T give him no account of myself : yet what account shall I give him ? I have not, since the day of our separation, suffered or done any thing considerable. The only change in my way of life is, that I have frequented the theatre more than in former seasons. But I have gone thither only to escape from myself. We have had many new farces, and the comedy called The jfealoiis Wife\ which, though not written with much genius, was yet so well adapted to the stage, and so well exhibited by the actors, that it was crowded for near twenty nights. I am digressing from myself to the play-house ; but a barren plan must be filled with episodes. Of myself I have nothing to say, but that I have hitherto lived without the concurrence of my own judgment ; yet I continue to flatter myself, that, when you return, you will find me mended. I do not wonder that, where the monastick life is permitted, every order finds votaries, and every monastery inhabitants. Men will submit to any rule, by which they may be exempted from the tyranny of caprice and of chance. They are glad to supply by ex- ternal authority their own want of constancy and resolution, and court the government of others, when long experience has con- vinced them of their own inability to govern themselves*. If I allegorical painting said, " I had rather see the portrait of a dog that I know than all the allegorical paintings they can show me in the world."' He bought prints of Burke, Dyer, and Goldsmith — 'Good impressions' he said to hang in a little room that he was fitting up with prints. Croker's Boswell, p. 639. Among his effects that were sold after his death were 'sixty-one portraits framed and glazed. '/£>.?/, under Dec. 9, 1784. When he was at Paris, and saw the picture-gal- lery at the Palais Royal, he entered in his Diary : — ' I thought the pictures of Raphael fine ;' post, Oct. 16, 1775. The philosopher Hume was more insensible even than Johnson. Dr. J. H. Burton says : — ' It does not appear from any incident in his life, or allusions in his let- ters, which I can remember, that he had ever really admired a picture or a statue.' Life of Hume, ii. 134. * By Colman. 'There is nothing else new,' wrote Horace Walpole on March 7. 1761 {Letters, iii. 382), 'but a very indifferent play, called The Jealous Wife, so well acted as to have succeeded greatly.' ' In Chap. 47 of Rasselas Johnson had lately considered monastic life. Imlac says of the monks : — ' Their time is regularly distributed , one duty succeeds another, so that they are not left open to the dis- traction of unguided choice, nor lost in the shades of listless inactiv- werc Aetat.53.] Monastick life. 423 were to visit Italy, my curiosity would be more attracted by con- vents than by palaces : though I am afraid that I should find ex- pectation in both places equally disappointed, and life in both places supported with impatience and quitted with reluctance. That it must be so soon quitted, is a powerful remedy against im- patience ; but what shall free us from reluctance ? Those who have endeavoured to teach us to die well, have taught few to die willingly : yet I cannot but hope that a good life might end at last in a contented death. ' You see to what a train of thought I am drawn by the mention of myself. Let me now turn my attention upon you. I hope you take care to keep an exact journal, and to register all occurrences and observations' ; for your friends here expect such a book of travels as has not been often seen. You have given us good specimens in your letters from Lisbon. I wish you had staid longer in Spain", for no country is less known to the rest of Europe ; but the quickness of your discernment must make amends for the celerity of your motions. He that knows which way to direct his view, sees much in a little time. ' Write to me very often, and I will not neglect to write to you; and I may, perhaps, in time, get something to write : at least, you will know by my letters, whatever else they may have or want, that I continue to be ' Your most aiTectionate friend, T , T /: ■, . 'Sam. Johnson.' 'London, June 10,1761^. -^ ity. ... He that lives well in the world is better than he that lives in a monastery. But perhaps every one is not able to stem the temptations of publick life ; and, if he cannot conquer, he may prop- erly retreat." See 2\%o post, March 15, 1776, and Boswell's Ht^hrides, Aug. 19. 1773- ' Baretti, in the preface to his Journey (p.vi.), says that the method of the book was due to Dr. Johnson. ' It was he that exhorted me to write daily, and with all possible minuteness; it was he that pointed out the topics which would most interest and most delight in a future publication.' « He advised Boswell to go to Spain. Post, June 25 and July 26, 1763. "•" Dr. Percy records that 'the first visit Goldsmith ever received from Johnson was on May 31, 1761, [ten days before this letter was written] when he gave an invitation to him, and much other company, many of them literary men, to a supper in his lodgings in Wine Office 1762 : 424 Lhronology of tlie Scriptures. [a.d. 1762. 1762: .4iTAT. 53.] — In 1762 he wrote for the Reverend Dr. Kennedy, Rector of Bradley in Derbyshire, in a strain of very courtly elegance, a Dedication to the King* of that gentleman's work, entitled, y^ Complete Systejii of Astronom- ical Chronology, unfolding the Scriptiires. He had certainly looked at this work before it was printed ; for the conclud- ing paragraph is undoubtedly of his composition, of which let my readers judge: 'Thus have 1 endeavoured to free Religion and History from the darkness of a disputed and uncertain chronology ; from diffi- culties which have hitherto appeared insuperable, and darkness which no luminary of learning has hitherto been able to dissipate. 1 have established the truth of the Mosaical account, by evidence which no transcription can corrupt, no negligence can lose, and no interest can pervert. I have shewn that the universe bears wit- ness to the inspiration of its historian, by the revolution of its orbs and the succession of its seasons ; that the stars in their courses fight against^ incredulity, that the works of God give hourly confirmation to the law, the prophets, and the gospel, of which ofte day telleth another, and one flight certifieth another" : and that the va- lidity of the sacred writings can never be denied, while the moon shall increase and wane, and the sun shall know his going down^' He this year wrote also the Dedicationf to the Earl of Middlesex of Mrs. Lennox's Female Quixote*, and the Pref- ace to the Catalogue of the Artists' Exhibition.^ Court, Fleet Street. Percy being intimate with Johnson, was desired to call upon him and take him with him. As they went together the former was much struck with the studied neatness of Johnson's dress. He had on a new suit of clothes, a new wig nicely powdered, and everything about him so perfectly dissimilar from his usual appearance that his companion could not help inquiring the cause of this singu- lar transformation. " Why, Sir," said Johnson, " I hear that Gold- smith, who is a very great sloven, justifies his disregard of cleanliness and decency by quoting my practice, and I am desirous this night to show him a better example." ' Goldsmith's Misc. Works, i. 62. ' Judges, v. 20. ' Psalms, .xix. 2. ' Psalms, civ. 19. * Boswell is ten years out in his date. This work was published in 1752. The review of it in the Gent. Mag.iox that year, p. 146, was, I believe, by Johnson, The Aetat. 53.] The Care of living. 425 The following letter, which, on account of its intrinsick merit, it would have been unjust both to Johnson and the publick to have with-held, was obtained for me by the solici- tation of my friend Mr. Seward : ' To Dr. Staunton, (now Sir George Staunton, Baronet'). 'Dear Sir, ' I make haste to answer your kind letter, in hope of hearing again from you before you leave us. I cannot but regret that a man of your qualifications should find it necessary to seek an es- tablishment in Guadaloupe, which if a peace should restore to the French^, I shall think it some alleviation of the loss, that it must restore likewise Dr. Staunton to the English. 'It is a melancholy consideration, that so much of our time is necessarily to be spent upon the care of living, and that we can seldom obtain ease in one respect but by resigning it in another ; yet I suppose we are by this dispensation not less happy in the whole, than if the spontaneous bounty of Nature poured all that we want into our hands. A few, if they were thus left to them- selves, would, perhaps, spend their time in laudable pursuits ; but the greater part would prey upon the quiet of each other, or, in the want of other objects, would prey upon themselves. ' This, however, is our condition, which we must improve and solace as we can : and though we cannot choose always our place of residence, we may in every place find rational amusements, and possess in every place the comforts of piety and a pure conscience. ' In America there is little to be observed except natural curiosi- ties. The new world must have many vegetables and animals with which philosophers are but little acquainted. I hope you will furnish yourself with some books of natural history, and some glasses and other instruments of observation. Trust as little as you can to report ; examine all you can by your own senses. I do not doubt but you will be able to add much to knowledge, and, perhaps, to medicine. Wild nations trust to simples ; and, per- haps, the Peruvian bark is not the only specifick which those ex- tensive regions may afford us. ' Wherever you are, and whatever be your fortune, be certain, ' He accompanied Lord Macartney on his embassy to China in 1792. In 1797 he published his Account of the Evibassy. ' It was taken in 1759, and restored to France in 1763. Penny Cyclo. xi. 463. dear 426 Improper expectations. | a. p. 1762. dear Sir, that you carry with you my kind wishes ; and that whether you return hither, or stay in the other hemisphere', to hear that you are happy will give pleasure to. Sir, ' Your most affectionate humble servant. •Junei..762; ' Sam. Johnson.' A lady having at this time solicited him to obtain the Archbishop of Canterbury's patronage to have her son sent to the University, one of those solicitations which are too frequent, where people, anxious for a particular object, do not consider propriety, or the opportunity which the persons whom they solicit have to assist them, he wrote to her the following answer, with a copy of which I am favoured by the Reverend Dr. Farmer^ Master of Emanuel College, Cambridge. ' Madam, ' I hope you will believe that my delay in answering your letter could proceed only from my unwillingness to destroy any hope that you had formed. Hope is itself a species of happiness, and, perhaps, the chief happiness which this world affords' : but, like all other pleasures immoderately enjoyed, the excesses of hope must be expiated by pain ; and expectations improperly indulged, must end in disappointment. If it be asked, what is the improper ex- pectation which it is dangerous to indulge, experience will quickly answer, that it is such expectation as is dictated not by reason, but by desire ; expectation raised, not by the common occurrences of life, but by the wants of the expectant ; an expectation that ' W. S. Landor ( Works, ed. 1876, v. 99) says: — ' Extraordinary as were Johnson's intellectual powers, he knew about as much of poetry as of geograph}'. In one of his letters he talks of Guadaloupe as being in another hemisphere. Speaking of that island, his very words are these : " Whether you return hither or stay in another hemisphere." ' Guadaloupe, being in the West Indies, is in another hemisphere. ' See/fi-/", April 12. 1776. ^ ' It is necessary to hope, though hope should always be deluded ; for hope itself is happiness, and its frustrations, however frequent, are less dreadful than its extinction.' The Idler, No. 58. See also post, under March 30, 1783, where he ranks the situation of the Prince of Wales as the happiest in the kingdom, partly on account of the enjoy- ment of hope. requires Aetat. 53.] Johnson s second letter to Baretti. 427 requires the common course of things to be changed, and the gen- eral rules of action to be broken. ' When you made your request to me, you should have con- sidered, Madam, what you were asking. You ask me to solicit a great man, to whom I never spoke, for a young person whom I had never seen, upon a supposition which I had no means of knowing to be true. There is no reason why, amongst all the great, I should chuse to supplicate the Archbishop, nor why, among all the possible objects of his bounty, the Archbishop should chuse your son. I know. Madam, how unwillingly conviction is admitted, when interest opposes it ; but surely. Madam, you must allow, that there is no reason why that should be done by me, which every other man may do with equal reason, and which, indeed, no man can do properly, without some very particular relation both to the Archbishop and to you. If I could help you in this exigence by any proper means, it would give me pleasure ; but this proposal is so very remote from all usual methods, that 1 cannot comply with it, but at the risk of such answer and suspicions as I believe you do not wish me to undergo. ' I have seen your son this morning ; he seems a pretty youth, and will, perhaps, find some better friend than I can procure him ; but, though he should at last miss the University, he may still be wise, useful, and happy. I am. Madam, ' Your most humble servant, 'Junes, 1762.' ' Sam. Johnson.' 'To Mr. Joseph Baretti, at Milan. ' London, July 20, 1762'. 'Sir, ' However justly you may accuse me for want of punctuality in correspondence, I am not so far lost in negligence as to omit the opportunity of writing to you, which Mr. Beauclerk's passage through Milan affords me. ' f suppose you received the Idlers, and I intend that you shall soon receive Shakspeare, that you may explain his works to the ladies of Italy, and tell them the story of the editor, among the other strange narratives with which your long residence in this unknown region has supplied you. ' Though Johnson wrote this same day to Lord Bute to thank him for his pension, he makes no mention to Baretti of this accession to his fortune. 'As 428 yohnsou's visit to Lichfield. [a.d. I7fi3. ' As you have now been long away, I suppose your curiosity may pant for some news of your old friends. Miss Williams and I live much as we did. Miss Cotterel' still continues to cling to Mrs. Porter, and Charlotte^ is now big of the fourth child. Mr. Rey- nolds gets six thousands a year'*. Levet is lately married, not without much suspicion that he has been wretchedly cheated in his match'. Mr. Chambers is gone this day, for the first time, the cir- cuit with the Judges. Mr. Richardson is dead of an apoplexy^ and his second daughter has married a merchant. ' My vanity, or my kindness, makes me flatter myself, that you would rather hear of me than of those whom I have mentioned; but of myself I have very little which I care to tell. Last winter I went down to my native town\ where I found the streets much > See ante, p. 284. Mrs. Porter, the actress, lived some time with Mrs. Cotterel and her eldest daughter. Croker. ^ Miss Charlotte Cotterel, married to Dean Lewis. See post, Dec. 21, 1763. ' Reynolds's note-book shows that this year he had close on 150 sitters. Taylor's Reynolds, i. 218. ♦ ' He married a woman of the town, who had persuaded him (not- withstanding their place of congress was a small coalshed in Fetter Lane) that she was nearly related to a man of fortune, but was inju- riously kept by him out of large possessions. She regarded him as a physician already in considerable practice. He had not been married four months, before a writ was taken out against him for debts in- curred by his wife. He was secreted ; and his friend then procured him a protection from a foreign minister. In a short time afterwards she ran away from him, and was tried (providentially in his opinion) for picking pockets at the Old Bailey. Her husband was with diffi- culty prevented from attending the Court, in the hope she would be hanged. She pleaded her own cause and was acquitted. A separa- tion between them took place.' Gent. Mag. Iv. loi. ' Richardson had died more than a year earlier, — on July 4, 1761. That Johnson should think it needful at the date of his letter to in- form Baretti of the death of so famous a writer shows how slight was the communication between London and Milan. Nay, he repeats the news in his letter of Dec. 21, 1762. ' On Dec. 8, 1765, he wrote to Hector :—' A few years ago I just saluted Birmingham, but had no time to see any friend, for I came in after midnight with a friend, and went away in the morning.' Notes and Queries, 6th S. iii. 321. He passed through Birmingham, I con- jecture, on his visit to Lichfield. narrower Aetat. 53.] yohnsons visit to Lichfield. 429 narrower and shorter than I thought I had left them, inhabited by a new race of people, to whom T was very Uttle known. My play- fellows were grown old, and forced me to suspect that I was no longer young. My only remaining friend has changed his prin- ciples, and was become the tool of the predominant faction. My daughter-in-law, from whom 1 expected most, and whom I met with sincere benevolence, has lost the beauty and gaiety of youth, with- out having gained much of the wisdom of age'. I wandered about for five days^ and took the first convenient opportunity of return- ing to a place, where, if there is not much happiness, there is, at least, such a diversity of good and evil, that slight vexations do not fix upon the heart^ ' I think in a few weeks to try another excursion ' ; though to what end } Let me know, my Baretti, what has been the result of your return to your own country: whether time has made any alteration for the better, and whether, when the first raptures of salutation were over, you did not find your thoughts confessed their disappointment. ' Moral sentences appear ostentatious and tumid, when they have no greater occasions than the journey of a wit to his own town : yet such pleasures and such pains make up the general mass of life ; and as nothing is little to him that feels it with gr&at sensi- bility, a mind able to see common incidents in their real state, is disposed by very common incidents to very serious contemplations. Let us trust that a time will come, when the present moment shall * Writing to Mrs. Thrale from Lichfield on July 20, 1767, he says : — ' Miss Lucy [Porter, his step-daughter, not his daughter-in-law, as he calls her above] is more kind and civil than I expected, and has raised my esteem by many excellencies very noble and resplendent, though a little discoloured by hoary virginity. Everything else recalls to my remembrance years, in which I proposed what I am afraid I have not done, and promised myself pleasure which I have not found.' Piozzi Letters, i. 4. * In his Journey into Wales (Aug. 24, 1774), he describes how Mrs. Thrale visited one of the scenes of her youth. * She remembered the rooms, and wandered over them with recollection of her childhood. This species of pleasure is always melancholy. The walk was cut down and the pond was dry. Nothing was better.' ' This is a very just account of the relief which London affords to melancholy minds. Boswell. * To Devonshire. be 430 The accession of George III. [a.d. 1762. be no longer irksome ; when we shall not borrow all our happiness from hope, which at last is to end in disappointment. '1 beg that you will shew Mr. Beauclerk all the civilities which you have in your power ; for he has always been kind to me. ' I have lately seen Mr. Stratico, Professor of Padua, who has told me of your quarrel with an Abbot of the Celestine order ; but had not the particulars very ready in his memory. When you write to Mr. Marsili', let him know that I remember him with kindness. ' May you, my Baretti, be very happy at Milan", or some other place nearer to, Sir, ' Your most affectionate humble servant, 'Sam. Johnson.' The accession of George the Third to the throne of these kingdoms, opened a new and brighter prospect to men of literary merit, who had been honoured with no mark of royal favour in the preceding reign. His present Majesty's edu- cation in this country, as well as his taste and beneficence, prompted him to be the patron of science and the arts ; and early this year Johnson, having been represented to him as a very learned and good man, without any certain provision, his Majesty was pleased to grant him a pension of three hundred pounds a year". The Earl of Bute, who was then ' See ante, p. 373. ' Dr. T. Campbell {Diary of a visit to England, p. 32) recorded on March 16, 1775, that ' Baretti said that now he could not live out of London. He had returned a few years ago to his own country, but he could not enjoy it; and he was obliged to return to London to those connections he had been making for near thirty years past.' Baretti had come to England in 1750 {attte. p. 349), so that thirty years is an exaggeration. ^ How great a sum this must have been in Johnson's eyes is shown by a passage in his Life of Savage ( Works, viii. 125). Savage, he says, was received into Lord Tyrconnel's family and allowed a pension of ^200 a year. ' His presence,' Johnson writes, 'was sufficient to make any place of publick entertainment popular ; and his approbation and example constituted the fashion. So powerful is genius when it is invested with the glitter of afifluence !' In the last summer of his life, speaking of the chance of his pension being doubled, he said that with six hundred a year ' a man would have the consciousness that he should pass the remainder of his life in splendour, how long soever Prime Aetat. 53.] jfohnsou s peiisiofi. 431 Prime Minister, had the honour to announce this instance of his Sovereign's bounty, concerning which, many and various stories, all equally erroneous, have been propagated : mali- ciously representing it as a political bribe to Johnson, to desert his avowed principles, and become the tool of a government which he held to be founded in usurpation. I have taken care to have it in my power to refute them from the most authentick information. Lord Bute told me, that Mr. Wed- derburne, now Lord Loughborough, was the person who first mentioned this subject to him'. Lord Loughborough told it might be.' /'(Jj/, June 30, 1784. David Hume writing in 1751. says : — ' I have £10 a year, a £\oo worth of books, great store of linens and fine clothes, and near ^100 in my pocket ; along with order, frugality, a strong spirit of independency, good health, a contented humour, and an unabating love of study. In these circumstances I must esteem myself one of the happy and fortunate.' J. H. Burton's Hume, i. 342. Goldsmith, in his Present State of Polite Learning (chap, vii.), makes the following observation on pensions granted in France to authors : — ' The French nobility have certainly a most pleasing way of satisfy- ing the vanity of an author without indulging his avarice. A man of literary merit is sure of being caressed by the great, though seldom enriched. His pension from the crown just supplies half a compe- tence, and the sale of his labours makes some small addition to his circumstances ; thus the author leads a life of splendid poverty, and seldom becomes wealthy or indolent enough to discontinue an exer- tion of those abilities by which he rose.' Whether Johnson's pension led to his writing less than he would otherwise have done may be questioned. It is true that in the next seventeen years he did little more than finish his edition of Shakespeare, and write his yourney to tJie Western Islands and two or three political pamphlets. But since he wrote the last number of T/ie Idler in the spring of 1760 he had done very little. His mind, which, to use Murphy's words {Life, p. 80), had been 'strained and over-laboured by constant exertion,' had not recovered its tone. It is likely, that without the pension he would not have lived to write the second greatest of his works — the Li7fes of the Poets. ' Mr. Forster {I^ife of Goldsmith, i. 281) says:—' Bute's pensions to his Scottish crew showing meaner than ever in Churchill's daring verse, it occurred to the shrewd and wary Wedderburne to advise, for a set off, that Samuel Johnson should be pensioned.' I'he Prophecy of Famine in which Churchill's attack was made on the pensioned me 432 yohnsons pension. [a.d. 1763. me, that the pension was granted to Johnson solely as the reward of his literary merit, without any stipulation what- ever, or even tacit understanding that he should write for administration. His Lordship added, that he was confident the political tracts which Johnson afterwards did write, as they were entirely consonant with his own opinions, would have been written by him though no pension had been granted to him'. Mr. Thomas Sheridan and Mr. Murphy, who then lived a good deal both with him and Mr. Wedderburne, told me, that they previously talked with Johnson upon this matter, Scots was published in Jan. 1763, nearly half a year after Johnson's pension was conferred. ' For his Falkland' s Islands ' materials were furnished to him by the ministry' {post, 1771). ' The Patriot was called for,' he writes, 'by my political friends' {post, Nov. 26, 1774). 'That Taxation no Tyranny was written at the desire of those who were then in power, I have no doubt,' writes Boswell (post, under March 21, 1775). 'John- son complained to a friend that, his pension having been given to him as a literary character, he had been applied to by administration to write political pamphlets ' {ib.). Are these statements inconsistent with what Lord Loughborough said, and with Boswell's assertion [il>.) that 'Johnson neither asked nor received from government any re- ward whatsoever for his political labours ?' I think not. I think that, had Johnson unpensioned been asked by the Ministry to write these pamphlets, he would have written them. He would have been pleased by the compliment, and for pay would have tru.sted to the sale. Speak- ing of the first two of these pamphlets — the third had not yet appeared — he said, ' Except what I had from the booksellers, I did not get a farthing by them' {post, March 21, 1772). They had not cost him much labour. T/if False Alarm was written between eight o'clock of one night and twelv^e o'clock of the ne.\t. It went through three edi- tions in less than two months {post. 1770). Tlie Patriot was written on a Saturday {post, Nov. 26, 1774). At all events Johnson had re- ceived his pension for more than seven years before he did any work for the Ministry. In Croft's Life of Young, which Johnson adopted ( Works, viii. 422), the following passage was perhaps intended to be a defence of Johnson as a writer for the Ministry: — ' Yet who shall say with certainty that Young was a pensioner ? In all modern periods of this countr)-, have not the writers on one side been regularly called hirelings, and on the other patriots }' and Aetat. 53.] yohnson s interview with Lord Bute. 433 and that it was perfectly understood by all parties that the pension was merely honorary. Sir Joshua Reynolds told me, that Johnson called on him after his Majesty's intention had been notified to him, and said he wished to consult his friends as to the propriety of his accepting this mark of the royal favour, after the definitions which he had given in his Dictionary oi pension zw^ pensioners^ . He said he would not have Sir Joshua's answer till next day, when he would call again, and desired he might think of it. Sir Joshua answered that he was clear to give his opinion then, that there could be no objection to his receiving from the King a reward for literary merit ; and that certainly the definitions in his Dic- tionary w&xo: not applicable to him. Johnson, it should seem, was satisfied, for he did not call again till he had accepted the pension, and had waited on Lord Bute to thank him. He then told Sir Joshua that Lord Bute said to him ex- pressly, ' It is not given you for anything you are to do, but for what you have done.' His Lordship, he said, behaved in the handsomest manner. He repeated the words twice, that he might be sure Johnson heard them, and thus set his mind perfectly at ease. This nobleman, who has been so virulently abused, acted with great honour in this in- stance, and displayed a mind truly liberal. A minister of a more narrow and selfish disposition would have availed himself of such an opportunity to fix an implied obliga- tion on a man of Johnson's powerful talents to give him his support. Mr. Murphy and the late Mr. Sheridan severally contended for the distinction of having been the first who mentioned to Mr. Wedderburne that Johnson ought to have a pension. When I spoke of this to Lord Loughborough, wishing to know if he recollected the prime mover in the business, he said, ' All his friends assisted :' and when I told him that Mr. Sheridan strenuously asserted his claim to it, his Lord- ship said, ' He rang the bell.' And it is but just to add, that Mr. Sheridan told me, that when he communicated to Dr. » See ante, p. 341. L — 28 Johnson 434 Murphy s account of the pension, [a.d. 1763. Johnson that a pension was to be granted him, he repHed in a fervour of gratitude, ' The English language does not afford me terms adequate to my feelings on this occasion. I must have recourse to the F"rench. I i\vc\ ptUietrc \\\\\\ his Majesty's goodness.' When I repeated this to Dr. Johnson, he did not contradict it'. His definitions o[ pension d,w6^ pensioner, partly founded on the satirical verses of Pope', which he quotes, may be gener- ally true ; and yet every body must allow, that there may be, ' Murphy's account is nearly as follows ( [j'fc. p. 92) : — ' Lord Lough- borough was well acquainted with Johnson ; but having heard much of his independent spirit, and of the downfall of Osborne the book- seller [ante, p. 178), he did not know but his benevolence might be rewarded with a folio on his head. He desired me to undertake the task. I went to the chambers in the Inner Temple Lane, which, in fact, were the abode of wretchedness. By slow and studied approaches the message was disclosed. Johnson made a long pause; he asked if it was seriously intended. He fell into a profound meditation, and his own definition of a pensioner occurred to him. He desired to meet next day, and dine at the Mitre Tavern. At that meeting he gave up al! his scruples. On the following day Lord Loughborough conducted him to the Earl of Bute. The conversation that passed w^as in the evening related to me by Dr. Johnson. He expressed his sense of his Majesty's bounty, and thought himself the more highly honoured, as the fav'our was not bestowed on him for having dipped his pen in faction. " No, Sir," said Lord Bute, " it is not offered to you for having dipped your pen in faction, nor with a design that you ever should." ' The reviewer of Hawkin.s's JoJntson in the Monthly Rroiew, Ixxvi. 375, who was, no doubt. Murphy, adds a little circum- stance : — ' On the next day Mr. Murphy was in the Temple Lane soon after nine; he got Johnson up and dressed in due time; and saw him set off at eleven.' Malone's note on what Lord Bute said to Johnson is as follows : — ' This was said by Lord Bute, as Dr. Burney was in- formed by Johnson himself, in answer to a question which he put. previously to his acceptance of the intended bounty : " Pray, my Lord, what am I expected to do for this pension ?" ' ' ' In Britain's senate he a seat obtains And one more pensioner St. Stephen gains.' Moral Essays, iii. 392. Johnson left the definition of pension and pensioner unchanged in the fourth edition of the Dictionary, corrected by him in 1773. and Aetat.53.] yohjison s letter to Lord Bute. 435 and have been, instances of pensions given and received upon liberal and honourable terms. Thus, then, it is clear, that there was nothing inconsistent or humiliating in Johnson's accepting of a pension so unconditionally and so honourably offered to him. But I shall not detain my readers longer by any words of my own, on a subject on which I am happily enabled, by the favour of the Earl of Bute, to present them with what John- son himself wrote ; his lordship having been pleased to com- municate to me a copy of the following letter to his late father', which does great honour both to the writer, and to the noble person to whom it is addressed : 'To THE Right Honourable the Earl of Bute, 'Mv Lord, 'When the bills" were yesterday delivered to me by Mr. Wed- derburne, I was informed by him of the future favours which his ' He died on March 10, 1792. This paragraph and the letter are not in the first two editions. * 'The Treasury, Home Office, Exchequer of Receipt and Audit Office Records have been searched for a warrant granting a pension to Dr. Johnson without success. In 1782, by Act of ParHament all pensions on the Civil List Establishment were from that time to be paid at the Exchequer. In the Exchequer Order Book, Michaelmas 1782, No. 46, p. 74, the following memorandum occurs : — " Memdum. 3 Dec. 1782. There was issued to the following persons (By order 6th of Nov. 1782) the sums set against their names respectively, etc. : — Persons names: Johnson Sam', LL.D. Pensions p. ann. ;^300. Due to 5 July 1782, two quarters. £iyi." ' This pension was paid at the Exchequer from that time to the quarter ending 10 Oct. 1784. 'It is clear that the pension was pay- able quarterly [for confirmation of this, sec post, Nov. 3. 1762, and July 16, 1765] and at the old quarter days, July 5, Oct. 10, Jan. 5, April 5, though payment was sometimes delayed. [Once he was paid half- yearly; see /cj'/, under March 20, 1771]. The expression " bills " was a general term at the time for notes, cheques, and warrants, and no doubt covered some kind of Treasury warrant.' The above informa- tion I owe to the kindness of my friend Mr. Leonard H. Courtney, M.P., late Financial Secretary to the Treasury. The 'future favours' are the future payments. His pension was not for life, and depended therefore entirely on the kings pleasure (see post, under March 21, Majesty 43^ A visit to Devonshire. [a.d. 1762. Majesty has, by your Lordship's recommendation, been induced to intend for me. 'Bounty always receives part of its value from the manner in which it is bestowed ; your Lordship's kindness includes every circumstance that can gratify delicacy, or enforce obligation. You have conferred your favours on a man who has neither alliance nor interest, who has not merited them by services, nor courted them by officiousness ; you have spared him the shame of solicitation, and the anxiety of suspense. ' What has been thus elegantly given, will, 1 hope, not be re- proachfully enjoyed ; I shall endeavour to give your Lordship the only recompense which generosity desires, — the gratification of finding that your benefits are not improperly bestowed. I am, my Lord, ' Your Lordship's most obliged, ' Most obedient, and most humble servant, ' Sam. Johnson.' ' July 2o, 1762.' This year his friend Sir Joshua Rc\'nolds paid a visit of some weeks to his native country, Devonshire, in which he was accompanied by Johnson, who was much pleased with this jaunt, and declared he had derived from it a great ac- cession of new ideas'. He was entertained at the seats of '775)- The following letter in the Gre7i7nih' Papas, ii. 68, seems to show that Johnson thought the pension due on the )ir\<.< quarter- day : — 'Dr. Johnson to Mr. Grp:nv)llk. , , •Sir. 'July-. 1763. ' Be pleased to pay to the bearer seventy-five pounds, being the quarterly payment of a pension granted by his Majesty, and due on the 24th day of June last, to Sir, ' Your most humble ser\'ant, * Sam. Johnson." * They left London on Aug. 16 and returned to it on Sept. 26, Taylor's Reynolds, i. 214. Northcote records of this visit: — 'I re- member when Mr. Reynolds was pointed out to me at a public meeting, where a great crowd was assembled, I got as near to him as I could from the pressure of the people to touch the skirt of his coat, which I did with great satisfaction to my mind.' Northcote 's Reyn- olds, i. 116. In like manner Reynolds, when a youth, had in a great crowd touched the hand of Pope. lb. p. 19. Pope, when a boy of eleven, 'persuaded some friends to take him to the coffee-house several Aetat. 53.] jfohnson at Plymouth. 437 several noblemen and gentlemen in the West of England'; but the greatest part of the time was passed at Plymouth, where the magnificence of the navy, the ship-building and all its circumstances, afforded him a grand subject of contempla- tion. The Commissioner of the Dock-yard paid him the com- pliment of ordering the yacht to convey him and his friend to the Eddystone, to which they accordingly sailed. But the weather was so tempestuous that they could not land*. Reynolds and he were at this time the guests of Dr. Mudge^ the celebrated surgeon, and now physician of that which Dryden frequented.' Johnson's J^F^ryC'^.viii. 236. Who touched old Northcote's hand .'* Has the apostolic succession been continued ? — Since writing these lines I have read with pleasure the following passage in Mr. Ruskin's Praeierita, chapter i. p. i6 : — 'When at three- and-a-half I was taken to have my portrait painted by Mr. Northcote, I had not been ten minutes alone with him before I asked him why there were holes in his carpet.' Drj^den, Pope, Reynolds, Northcote, Ruskin, so runs the chain of genius, with only one weak link in it. ' At one of these seats Dr. Amyat, Physician in London, told me he happened to meet him. In order to amuse him till dinner should be ready, he was taken out to walk in the garden. The master of the house, thinking it proper to introduce something scientifick into the conversation, addressed him thus : 'Are you a botanist. Dr. Johnson ?' ' No, Sir, (answered Johnson,) I am not a botanist ; and, (alluding, no doubt, to his near sightedness) should I wish to become a botanist, I must first turn myself into a reptile.' Boswell. ^ Mrs. Piozzi {Anec. 285) says:— 'The roughness of the language used on board a man of war, where he passed a week on a visit to Captain Knight, disgusted him terribly. He asked an officer what some place was called, and received for answer that it was where the loplolly man kept his loplolly; a reply he considered as disrespectful, gross and ignorant.' Mr. Croker says that Captain Knight of the l^ellcisle lay for a couple of months in 1762 in Plymouth Sound. Croker's Boswel/, p. 480. It seems unlikely that Johnson passed a whole week on ship-board. Loplolly, or Loblolly, is explained in Rod- crick Randotn, chap, xxvii. Roderick, when acting as the surgeon's assistant on a man of war, 'suffered,' he says, 'from the rude insults of the sailors and petty officers, among whom I was known by the name of Loblolly Boy.' ^ He was the father of Colonel William Mudge, distinguished by his trigonometrical survey of England and Wales. W^right. place, 438 The guest of Dr. Miidge. [a.d.1762. place, not more distinguished for quickness of parts and va- riety of knowledge, than loved and esteemed for his amiable manners ; and here Johnson formed an acquaintance with Dr. Mudge's father, that very eminent divine, the Reverend Zachariah Mudge', Prebendary' of Exeter, who was idolised in the west, both for his excellence as a preacher and the uni- form perfect propriety of his private conduct. He preached a sermon purposely that Johnson might hear him ; and we shall see afterwards that Johnson honoured his memory by drawing his character^ While Johnson was at Plymouth, he saw a great many of its inhabitants, and was not sparing of his very entertaining conversation. It was here that he made that frank and truly original confession, that * ignorance, pure ignorance,' was the cause of a wrong definition in his Dictionary of the word pastcrti^, to the no small surprise of the Lady who put the question to him ; who having the most profound reverence for his character, so as almost to suppose him endowed with infallibility, expected to hear an explanation (of what, to be sure, seemed strange to a com- mon reader,) drawn from some deep - learned source with which she was unacquainted. Sir Joshua Reynolds, to whom I was obliged for my infor- mation concerning this excursion, mentions a ver>' charac- teristical anecdote of Johnson while at Plymouth. Having observed that in consequence of the Dock-yard a new town* had arisen about two miles off as a ri\al to the old ; and knowing from his sagacity, and just observation of human nature, that it is certain if a man hates at all. he will hate his next neighbour ; he concluded that this new and rising town could not but excite the envy and jealousy of the old, in ' ' I have myself heard Reynolds declare, that the elder Mr. Mudge was, in his opinion, the wisest man he had ever met with in his life. He has always told me that he owed his first disposition to generalise, and to view things in the abstract, to him." Northcote's Reynolds, i. 112, 118. ' See post, under March 20, 1781. * See anft', p. 340. BoswELL. * The present Devonport. which Aetat.53.] All enemy of the Dockers. 439 which conjecture he was ver>' soon confirmed ; he therefore set himself resolutely on the side of the old town, the cs- tablished town, in which his lot was cast, considering it as a kind of duty to stand by it. He accordingly entered warm- ly into its interests, and upon every occasion talked of the dockers, as the inhabitants of the new town were called, as upstarts and aliens. Plymouth is very plentifully supplied with water by a river brought into it from a great distance, which is so abundant that it runs to waste in the town. The Dock, or New-town, being totally destitute of water, petitioned Plymouth that a small portion of the conduit might be permitted to go to them, and this was now under consideration. Johnson, affecting to entertain the passions of the place, was violent in opposition ; and, half-laughing at himself for his pretended zeal where he had no concern, ex- claimed, ' No, no! I am against the dockers; I am a Plym- outh-man. Rogues! let them die of thirst. They shall not have a drop' !' ' A friend of mine once heard him, during this visit, exclaim with the utmost vehemence 'I hate a Docker.' Blakewav. Northcote {Life of Reynolds, i. 118) says that Reynolds took Johnson to dine at a house where ' he devoured so large a quantity of new honey and of clouted cream, besides drinking large potations of new cyder, that the entertainer found himself much embarrassed between his anxious re- gard for the Doctor's health and his fear of breaking through the rules of politeness, by giving him a hint on the subject. The strength of Johnson's constitution, however, saved him from any unpleasant consequences.' 'Sir Joshua informed a friend that he had never seen Dr. Johnson intoxicated by hard drinking but once, and that happened at the time that they were together in Devonshire, when one night after supper Johnson drank three bottles of wine, which affected his speech so much that he was unable to articulate a hard word, which occurred in the course of his conversation. He attempted it three times but failed ; yet at last accomplished it, and then said, " Well, Sir Joshua, I think it is now time to go to bed." ' lb. ii. 161. One part of this story however is wanting in accuracy, and therefore all may be untrue. Reynolds at this time was not knighted. Johnson said {post, April 7, 1778) : ' I did not leave off wine because I could not bear it; I have drunk three bottles of port without being the worse for it. University College has witnessed this.' See however post. April 24, Lord 440 yohnsoiis third letter to Baretti. [a. d. 1762. Lord Macartney obligingly favoured mc with a copy of the following letter, in his own hand-writing, from the original, which was found, by the present Earl of Bute, among his father's papers. 'To THE Right Honourable the Eari. of Bute. ' My Lord, ' That generosity, by which I was recommended to the favour of his Majesty, will not be ofifended at a solicitation necessary to make that favour permanent and effectual. ' The pension appointed to be paid me at Michaelmas I have not received, and know not where or from whom I am to ask it. I beg, therefore, that your Lordship will be pleased to supply Mr. Wedderburne with such directions as may be necessary, which, I believe, his friendship will make him think it no trouble to convey to me. ' To interrupt your Lordship, at a time like this, with such petty difficulties, is improper and unseasonable ; but your knowledge of the world has long since taught you, that every man's affairs, how- ever little, are important to himself. Every man hopes that he shall escape neglect ; and, with reason, may every man, whose vices do not preclude his claim, expect favour from that beneficence which has been extended to, ' My Lord, 'Your Lordship's ' Most obliged 'And ' Most humble servant, 'Temple Lane, ' Sam. Johnson.' 'Nov. 3, 1762.' 'To Mr. Joseph Baretti, at Milan. 'Sir ' London. Dec. 21, 1762. ' You are not to suppose, with all your conviction of my idle- ness, that I have passed all this time without writing to my Baretti. I gave a letter to Mr. Beauclerk, who, in my opinion, and in his own, was hastening to Naples for the recovery of his health' ; but 1779, where he said: — 'I used to sHnk home when I had drunk too much ;' also ante, p. 120, and post, April 28, 1783. ' George Selwyn wrote : — ' Topham Beauclerk is arrived. 1 hear he lost ;^io,ooo to a thief at Venice, which thief, in the course of the he Aetat. 53.] Love and marriage. 441 he has stopped at Paris, and I know not when he will proceed. Langton is with him. ' I will not trouble you with speculations about peace and war. The good or ill success of battles and embassies extends itself to a very small part of domestick life : we all have good and evil, which we feel more sensibly than our petty part of publick miscar- riage or prosperity'. I am sorry for your disappointment, with which you seem more touched than I should expect a man of your resolution and experience to have been, did I not know that general truths are seldom applied to particular occasions ; and that the fallacy of our self - love extends itself as wide as our interest or affections. Every man believes that mistresses are unfaithful, and patrons capricious ; but he excepts his own mistress, and his own patron. We have all learned that greatness is negligent and con- temptuous, and that in Courts life is often languished away in un- gratified expectation ; but he that approaches greatness, or glitters in a Court, imagines that destiny has at last exempted him from the common lot. ' Do not let such evils overwhelm you as thousands have suf- fered, and thousands have surmounted ; but turn your thoughts with vigour to some other plan of life, and keep always in your mind, that, with due submission to Providence, a man of genius has been seldom ruined but by himself'. Your Patron's weakness or insensibility will finally do you little hurt, if he is not assisted by your own passions. Of your love I know not the propriety, nor can estimate the power ; but in love, as in every other passion, of which hope is the essence, we ought always to remember the un- certainty of events. There is, indeed, nothing that so much seduces reason from vigilance, as the thought of passing life with an amia- ble woman ; and if all would happen that a lover fancies, I know not what other terrestrial happiness would deserve pursuit. But love and marriage are different states. Those who are to suffer the evils together, and to suffer often for the sake of one another, soon lose that tenderness of look, and that benevolence of mind, year, will be at Cashiobury.' (The reference to this quotation I have mislaid.) ' Two years later he repeated this thought in the lines that he added to Goldsmith's Traveller. /'^^A under Feb. 1766. ' We may compare with this what 'old Bentley' said : — ' Depend upon it, no man was ever written down but by himself.' Boswell's Hebrides, Oct, i, 1773. which 442 Love and marriage. [a.d. 1762. which arose from the participation of unmingled pleasure and suc- cessive amusement. A woman, we are sure, will not be always fair ; we are not sure she will always be virtuous : and man cannot retain through life that respect and assiduity by which he pleases for a day or for a month. I do not, however, pretend to have dis- covered that life has any thing more to be desired than a prudent and virtuous marriage ; therefore know not what counsel to give you. ' If you can quit your imagination of love and greatness, and leave your hopes of preferment and bridal raptures to try once more the fortune of literature and industry, the way through France is now open'. We flatter ourselves that we shall cultivate, with great diligence, the arts of peace ; and every man will be welcome among us who can teach us any thing we do not know^. For your part, you will find all your old friends willing to receive you. ' Reynolds still continues to increase in reputation and in riches. Miss Williams, who very much loves you, goes on in the old way. Miss Cotterel is still with Mrs. Porter. Miss Charlotte is married to Dean Lewis, and has three children. Mr. Levet has married a street-walker'. But the gazette of my narration must now arrive to tell you, that Bathurst went physician to the army, and died at the Havannah*. ' I know not whether I have not sent you word that Huggins' and Richardson' are both dead. When we see our enemies and friends gliding away before us, let us not forget that we are subject to the general law of mortality, and shall soon be where our doom will be fixed for ever. ' I prav God to bless you, and am, Sir, ' Your most affectionate humble servant. ^ 'Write soon.' 'Sam. Johnson.' ' The preliminaries of peace between England and France had been signed on Nov. 3 of this year. Ann. Reg. v. 246. "^ Of Baretti's Travels through Spain, &^c., Johnson wrote to Mrs. Thrale : — ' That Baretti's book would please you all I made no doubt. I know not whether the world has ever seen such Travels before. Those whose lot it is to ramble can seldom write, and those who know how to write very seldom ramble.' Pioszi Letters, \. 32. ' See atite, p. 428. * See ante, p. 280. note 2. ' Huggins had quarrelled with Johnson and Baretti (Croker's Bos- well, 129, note). See -eHi^o post, 1780, in Mr. Langton"s Collection. * See ante, p. 428, Aetat. 54.] yollUSOilS LiFE OF CoLLINS. 443 1763: /ETAT. 54.] — In 1763 he furnished to TJic Poetical Calendar, pubHshed by Fawkes and Woty, a character of Collins'^, which he afterwards ingrafted into his entire hfe of that admirable poet', in the collection of lives which he wrote for the body of English poetry, formed and published by the booksellers of London, His account of the melancholy de- pression with which Collins was severely afflicted, and which brought him to his grave, is, I think, one of the most tender and interesting passages in the whole series of his writings\ He also favoured Mr. Hoole with the Dedication of his translation of Tasso to the Queen,'^ which is so happily con- ceived and elegantly expressed, that I cannot but point it out to the peculiar notice of my readers'. ' Cowper, writing in 1784 about Collins, says : — ' Of whom I did not know that he existed till I found him there ' — in the Lh>cs of the Poets, that is to say. Southey's Cowper, v. 1 1. * To this passage Johnson, nearly twenty years later, added the fol- lowing ( Works, viii. 403) : — ' Such was the fate of Collins, with whom I once delighted to converse, and whom I yet remember with tender- ness.' ' ' Madam, To approach the high and the illustrious has been in all ages the privilege of Poets ; and though translators cannot justly claim the same honour, yet they naturally follow their authours as attend- ants ; and I hope that in return for having enabled Tasso to diffuse his fame through the British dominions, I may be introduced by him to the presence of Your Majesty. Tasso has a peculiar claim to Your Majesty's favour, as follower and panegyrist of the House of Este, which has one common ancestor with the House of Hanover; and in reviewing his life it is not easy to forbear a wish that he had lived in a happier time, when he might, among the descendants of that illustrious family, have found a more liberal and potent patronage. I cannot but observe, Madam, how unequally reward is propor- tioned to merit, when I reflect that the happiness which was withheld from Tasso is reser\^ed for me ; and that the poem which once hardly procured to its authour the countenance of the Princess of Ferrara, has attracted to its translator the favourable notice of a British Queen. Had this been the fate of Tasso, he would have been able to have This 444 Boswell meets yohnson. [a.d. 1763. This is to me a memorable year ; for in it I had the happi- ness to obtain the acquaintance of that extraordinary man whose memoirs I am now writing ; an acquaintance which I shall ever esteem as one of the most fortunate circumstances in my life. Though then but two -and -twenty', I had for celebrated the condescension of Your Majesty in nobler language, but could not have felt it with more ardent gratitude, than Madam, Your Majesty's Most faithful and devoted servant.' — BOSWELL. ' Young though Boswell was, he had already tried his hand at more than one kind of writing. In 1761 he had published anonymously an Elegy on the Death of an Amiable Young Lady, with an Epistle from Menalcas to Lyeidas. (Edinburgh, Donaldson.) The Elegy is full of such errors as 'Thou liv'd,' 'Thou led,' but is recommended by a puff- ing preface and three letters — one of which is signed J— B — . About the same time he brought out a piece that was even more impudent. It Via.?, An Ode to Tragedy. By a gentleman of Scotland. (Edinburgh, Donaldson, 1761. Price sixpence.) In the ' Dedication to James Bos- well, Esq.,' he says : — ' I have no intention to pay you compliments — To entertain agreeable notions of one's own character is a great in- centive to act with propriety and spirit. But I should be sorry to contribute in any degree to your acquiring an excess of self-sufficiency ... I own indeed that when ... to display my extensive erudition, I have quoted Greek. Latin, and French sentences one after another with astonishing celerity; or have got into my Old-hock Jnimour and fallen a-raving about princes and lords, knights and geniuses, ladies of quality and harpsichords ; you, with a peculiar comic smile, have gently reminded me of the importance of a inan to himself, and slily left the room with the witty Dean lying open at — '9. V. clerk of this parish [Swift's Works, ^A. 1803, xxiii. 142]. I, Sir, who enjoy the pleas- ure of your intimate acquaintance, know that many of your hours of retirement are devoted to thought.' The Ode is serious. He describes himself as having . ' A soul by nature formed to feel Grief sharper than the tyrant's steel, And bosom big with swelling thought From ancient lore's remembrance brought.' In the winter of 1761-2 he had helped as a contributor and part-editor in bringing out a Collection of Original Poems. (Bosivell and Erskine's Letters, p. 27.) His next publication, also anonymous, was The Cub several Aetat. 54.] Dictionary yohjison. 445 several years read his works with deHght and instruction, and had the highest reverence for their authour, which had grown up in my fancy into a kind of mysterious veneration', by figuring to myself a state of solemn elevated abstraction, in which I supposed him to live in the immense metropolis of London. Mr. Gentleman, a native of Ireland, who passed some years in Scotland as a player, and as an instructor in the English language, a man whose talents and worth were depressed by misfortunes", had given me a representation of the figure and manner of Dicti(3NARY Johnson ! as he was then generally called'; and during my first visit to London, at Newmarket , written, as the Preface says, ' in the Newmarket Coffee Room, in which the author, being elected a member of the~J<5rtJ6y Club, had the happiness of passing several sprightly good-humoured evenings.' It is very poor stuff. In the winter of 1762-3 he joined in writing the Critical Strictures, mentioned post, June 25, 1763. Just about the time that he first met Johnson he and his friend the Hon. Andrew Erskine had published in their own names a very impudent little volume of the correspondence that had passed between them. Of this I published an edition with notes in 1879, -together with Boswell's Journal of a Tour to Corsica. (Messrs. Thos. De La Rue &Co.) ' Boswell, in 1768, in the preface to the third edition of his Corsica described ' the warmth of affection and the dignity of veneration ' with which he never ceased to think of Mr. Johnson. 'In the Garrick Corres. (ii. 83) there is a confused letter from this unfortunate man, asking Garrick for the loan of five guineas. He had a scheme for delivering dramatic lectures at Eton and Oxford ; 'but,' he added, 'my externals have so unfavourable an appearance that I cannot produce myself with any comfort or hope of success.' Garrick sent him five guineas. He had been a Major in the army, an actor, and dramatic author. ' For the last seven years of his life he struggled under sickness and want to a degree of uncommon misery.' Gent. Mag. for 1784, p. 959. ' As great men of antiquity such as Scipio Africanus had an epithet added to their names, in consequence of some celebrated action, so my illustrious friend was often called Dictionary Johnson, from that wonderful atchievement of genius and labour, his Dictionary of the English Language ; the merit of which I contemplate with more and more admiration. Boswell. In like manner we have ' Hermes Harris,' ' Pliny Melmoth,' ' Demosthenes Taylor,' ' PersiT'' Jones,' which 446 yohnsoiis quarrel with Sherida?!. [a. d. 1763. which was for three months in 1760, Mr. Derrick the poet', who was Gentleman's friend and countryman, flattered me with hopes that he would introduce me to Johnson, an hon- our of which I was very ambitious. But he never found an opportunity ; which made me doubt that he had promised to do what was not in his power; till Johnson some years afterwards told me, * Derrick, Sir, might ver>' well have intro- duced you. I had a kindness for Derrick, and am sorry he is dead.' In the summer of 1761 Mr. Thomas Sheridan was at Edin- burgh, and delivered lectures upon the English Language and Publick Speaking to large and respectable audiences. I was often in his company, and heard him frequently expa- tiate upon Johnson's extraordinary knowledge, talents, and virtues, repeat his pointed sayings, describe his particularities, and boast of his being his guest sometimes till two or three in the morning. At his house I hoped to have many oppor- tunities of seeing the sage, as Mr. Sheridan obligingly assured me I should not be disappointed. When I returned to London in the end of 1762, to my surprise and regret I found an irreconcileable difference had taken place between Johnson and Sheridan. A pension of two hundred pounds a year had been given to Sheridan. Johnson, who, as has been already mentioned, thought slight- ingly of Sheridan's art, upon hearing that he was also pen- sioned, exclaimed, ' What ! have they given him a pension ? Then it is time for me to give up mine.' Whether this pro- ceeded from a momentary indignation, as if it were an affront to his exalted merit that a player should be rewarded in the same manner with him, or was the sudden effect of a fit of peevishness, it was unluckily said, and, indeed, cannot be justified. Mr. Sheridan's pension was granted to him not as a player, but as a sufferer in the cause of government, when ' Abyssinian Bruce,' ' Microscope Baker,' ' Leonidas Glover,' ' Hesiod Cooke,' and ' Corsica Boswell.' ' See ante, p. 144. He introduced Boswell to Davies, who was 'the immediate introducer.' J'ost, under June 18, 1783, note. he Aetat. 54.J Sheridan as a teacher 447 he was manager of the Theatre Royal in Ireland, when par- ties ran high in 1753'. And it must also be allowed that he was a man of literature, and had considerably improved the arts of reading and speaking with distinctness and propriety. Besides, Johnson should have recollected that Mr. Sheri- dan taught pronunciation to Mr. Alexander Wedderburne', whose sister was married to Sir Harry Erskinc', an intimate friend of Lord Bute, who was the favourite of the King ; and surely the most outrageous Whig will not maintain, that, whatever ought to be the principle in the disposal of offices, a pension ought never to be granted from any bias of court connection. Mr. Macklin*, indeed, shared with Mr. Sheridan the honour of instructing Mr. Wedderburne ; and though it was too late in life for a Caledonian to acquire the genuine English cadence, yet so successful were Mr. VVedderburne's instructors, and his own unabating endeavours, that he got rid of the coarse part of his Scotch accent, retaining only as much of the ' native wood-note wild',' as to mark his country; ' On March 2, 1754 (not 1753), the audience called for a repetition of some lines which they applied against the government. ' Diggs, the actor, refused by order of Sheridan, the manager, to repeat them; Sheridan would not even appear on the stage to justify the prohibition. In an instant the audience demolished the inside of the house, and reduced it to a shell.' Walpole's Reign of George II, i. 389, and Getit. Mag. xxiv. 141, Sheridan's friend. Mr. S. Whj^e, says {Miscellanea Nova, p. 16) : — ' In the year 1762 Sheridan's scheme for an English Dictionary was published. That memorable year he was nominated for a pension.' He quotes (p. 1 1 1) a letter from Mrs. Sheridan, dated Nov. 29. 1762, in which she says :— ' I suppose you must have heard that the King has granted him a pension of 200/. a year, merely as an encouragement to his undertaking.' ' See posf, March 28, 1776. ' Horace Walpole describes Lord Bute as 'a man that had passed his life in solitude, and was too haughty to admit to his familiarity but half a dozen silly authors and flatterers. Sir Henry Erskine, a militar)' poet, Home, a tragedy -writing parson,' &c. Mem. of the Reign of George III, i. 37. * S^^ post, March 28, 1776. * ' Native \iOoA-notes wild.' Milton's L' Allegro. 1. 134. which, 448 Lord Loughborough. [a. d. 1763. which, if any Scotchman should affect to forget, I should heartily despise him. Notwithstanding the difficulties which are to be encountered by those who have not had the ad- vantage of an English education, he by degrees formed a mode of speaking to which Englishmen do not deny the praise of elegance. Hence his distinguished oratory, which he exerted in his own country as an advocate in the Court of Session, and a ruling elder of the Kirk, has had its fame and ample reward, in much higher spheres. When I look back on this noble person at Edinburgh, in situations so un- worthy of his brilliant powers, and behold Lord LOUGH- BOROUGH at London, the change seems almost like one of the metamorphoses in Ovid ; and as his two preceptors, by refining his utterance, gave currency to his talents, we may say in the words of that poet, ' Nam vos )iij(tastis\' I have dwelt the longer upon this remarkable instance of successful parts and assiduity ; because it affords animating encouragement to other gentlemen of North-Britain to try their fortunes in the southern part of the Island, where they may hope to gratify their utmost ambition ; and now that we are one people by the Union, it would surely be illiberal to maintain, that they have not an equal title with the na- tives of any other part of his Majesty's dominions. Johnson complained that a man who disliked him repeated his sarcasm to Mr. Sheridan, without telling him what fol- lowed, which was, that after a pause he added, ' However, I am glad that Mr. Sheridan has a pension, for he is a very good man.' Sheridan could never forgive this hasty con- temptuous expression. It rankled in his mind ; and though I informed him of all that Johnson said, and that he would ' ' In nova fert animus mutatas dicere formas Corpora. Di coeptis (nam vos mutastis et ilJas) Adspirate meis." ' Of bodies changed to various forms I sing : — Ye Gods from whence these miracles did spring Inspire, &c.' — Drvden, Ov. Met. i. i. See post under March 30, 1783, for Lord Loughborough. be Aetat. 54.] Sheridan s attack on yohnsoji. 449 be very glad to meet him amicably, he positively declined repeated offers which I made, and once went off abruptly from a house where he and I were engaged to dine, because he was told that Dr. Johnson was to be there'. I have no sympathetick feeling with such persevering resentment. It is painful when there is a breach between those who have lived together socially and cordially; and I wonder that there is not, in all such cases, a mutual wish that it should be healed. I could perceive that Mr. Sheridan was by no means satisfied with Johnson's acknowledging him to be a good man". That could not sooth his injured vanity. I could not but smile, at the same time that I was offended, to observe Sheridan in The Life of Siviff, which he afterwards ' See post, May 17, 1783, and June 24, 1784. Sheridan was not of a forgiving nature. For some years he would not speak to his famous son : yet he went with his daughters to the theatre to see one of his pieces performed. 'The son took up his station by one of the side scenes, opposite to the box where they sat, and there continued, un- observed, to look at them during the greater part of the night. On his return home he burst into tears, and owned how deeply it had gone to his heart, " to think that there sat his father and his sisters before him, and yet that he alone was not permitted to go near them."' Moore's S/ierida/i, i. 167. * As Johnson himself said : — ' Men hate more steadily than they love; and if I have said something to hurt a man once, I shall not get the better of this by saying many things to please him.' Post, Sept. 15- ^777- '^ P. 447. BoswELL. ' There is another writer, at present of gigantic fame in these days of little men, who has pretended to scratch out a life of Swift, but so miserably executed as only to reflect back on himself that disgrace which he meant to throw upon the character of the Dean." T/ic Life of Doctor Swift, Swift's Works, ed. 1803, ii. 200. There is a passage in the Lives of the Poets {Works, viii. 43) in which Johnson might be supposed playfully to have anticipated this attack. He is giving an account of Blackmore's imaginary Literary Club of Lay Monks, of which the hero was 'one Mr. Johnson.' 'The rest of the Lay Monks,' he writes, ' seem to be but feeble mortals, in compari- son with the gigantick Johnson." See also/^j/, Oct. 16, 1769. Horace Walpole {Letters, v. 458) spoke no less scornfully than Sheridan of Johnson and his contemporaries. On April 27, 1773, after saying that he should like to be intimate with Anstey (the author of the New I. — 29 published, 450 Mrs, Sheridan. [a.d. 1768. published, attempting, in the writhings of his resentment, to depreciate Johnson, by characterising him as ' A writer of gigantick fame in these days of Httle men ;' that very John- son whom he once so highly admired and venerated. This rupture with Sheridan deprived Johnson of one of his most agreeable resources for amusement in his lonely even- ings; for Sheridan's well-informed, animated, and bustling mind never suffered conversation to stagnate ; and Mrs. Sheridan' was a most agreeable companion to an intellectual man. She was sensible, ingenious, unassuming, yet com- municative. I recollect, with satisfaction, many pleasing hours which I passed with her under the hospitable roof of her husband, who was to me a very kind friend. Her novel, entitled Memoirs of Miss Sydney Biddulph, contains an ex- cellent moral while it inculcates a future state of retribution'; Bath Guide), or with the author of the Heroic Epistle, he continues : — ' I have no thirst to know the rest of my contemporaries, from the absurd bombast of Dr. Johnson down to the silly Dr. Goldsmith ; though the latter changeling has had bright gleams of parts, and the former had sense, till he changed it for words, and sold it for a pen- sion. Don't think me scornful. Recollect that I have seen Pope and lived with Gray.' ' Johnson is thus mentioned by Mrs. Sheridan in a letter dated, Blois, Nov. 1 6, 1743, according to the Garrick Carres, i. 17, but the date is wrongly given, as the Sheridans went to Blois in 1764: 'I have heard Johnson decry some of the prettiest pieces of writing we have in English ; yet Johnson is an honourable man — that is to say, he is a good critic, and in other respects a man of enormous talents.' * My position has been very well illustrated by Mr. Belsham of Bedford, in his Essay on Draviattc Poetry. ' The fashionable doctrine (says he) both of moralists and criticks in these times is, that virtue and happiness are constant concomitants ; and it is regarded as a kind of dramatick impiety to maintain that virtue should not be re- warded, nor vice punished in the last scene of the last act of every tragedy. This conduct in our modern poets is, however, in my opin- ion, extremely injudicious ; for, it labours in vain to inculcate a doc- trine in theory, which every one knows to be false in fact, vz's. that virtue in real life is always productive of happiness ; and vice of mis- er)'. Thus Congreve concludes the Tragedy of The Moiirnitig Bride with the following foolish couplet : — and Aetat.54.] Mrs. Sheridan. 451 and what it teaches is impressed upon the mind by a series of as deep distress as can affect humanity, in the amiable and pious heroine who goes to her grave unrelieved, but resigned, and full of hope of ' heaven's mercy.' Johnson paid her this high compliment upon it : ' I know not, Madam, that you have a right, upon moral principles, to make your readers suffer so much'.' ' For blessings ever wait on virtuous deeds, And though a late, a sure reward succeeds.' ' When a man eminently virtuous, a Brutus, a Cato, or a Socrates, finally sinks under the pressure of accumulated misfortune, we are not only led to entertain a more indignant hatred of vice than if he rose from his distress, but we are inevitably induced to cherish the sublime idea that a day of future retribution will arrive when he shall receive not merely poetical, but real and substantial justice.' Essays PJtilo- sophical. Historical, atid Literary, London, 1791, vol. II. 8vo. p. 317. This is well reasoned and well expressed. I wish, indeed, that the ingenious authour had not thought it necessary to introduce any in- stance of ■ a man eminently virtuous ;' as he would then have avoided mentioning such a ruffian as Brutus under that description. Mr. Bel- sham discovers in his Essays so much reading and thinking, and good composition, that I regret his not having been fortunate enough to be educated a member of our excellent national establishment. Had he not been nursed in nonconformity, he probably would not have been tainted with those heresies (as I sincerely, and on no slight in- vestigation, think them) both in religion and politicks, which, while I read, I am sure, with candour, I cannot read without offence. Bos- WELL. Boswell's ' position has been illustrated ' with far greater force by Johnson. ' It has been the boast of some swelling moralists, that ever)- man's fortune was in his own power, that prudence supplied the place of all other divinities, and that happiness is the unfailing conse- quence of virtue. But surely the quiver of Omnipotence is stored with arrows against which the shield of human virtue, however ada- mantine it has been boasted, is held up in vain ; we do not always suffer by our crimes ; we are not always protected by our innocence.' TJic Advc7tturer, No. 120. See also Rassclas, chap. 27. ' 'Charles Fox said that Mrs. Sheridan's Sydney Biddulph was the best of all modern novels. By the by [R. B.] Sheridan used to de- clare that he had never read it.' Rogers's Table- Talk, p. 90. The editor says, in a note on this passage : — ' The incident in The School for Scandal of Sir Oliver's presenting himself to his relations in dis- guisr is manifestly taken by Sheridan from his mother's novel.' Mr. 45^ ^^- Thomas Davies. [a.d. 1763. Mr. Thomas Davies the actor, who then kept a bookseller's shop in Russel-street, Covent-garden', told me that Johnson was very much his friend, and came frequently to his house, where he more than once invited me to meet him ; but by some unlucky accident or other he was prevented from com- ing to us. Mr. Thomas Davies was a man of good understanding and talents, with the advantage of a liberal education\ Though somewhat pompous, he was an entertaining companion ; and his literary performances' have no inconsiderable share of merit. He was a friendly and very hospitable man. Both he and his wife, (who has been celebrated for her beauty*,) ' No. 8. — The very place where I was fortunate enough to be intro- duced to the illustrious subject of th-is work, deserves to be particu- larly marked. I never pass by it without feeling reverence and regret. BOSWEI.L. ' Johnson said : — ' Sir, Davies has learning enough to give credit to a clergyman.' Post, 1780, in Mr. Langton's Collection. The spiteful Steevens thus wrote about Davies : — ' His concern ought to be with the outside of books ; but Dr. Johnson, Dr. Percy, and some others have made such a coxcomb of him, that he is now hardy enough to open volumes, turn over their leaves, and give his opinions of their contents. Did I ever tell you an anecdote of him "> About ten years ago I wanted the Oxford Homer, and called at Daviess to ask for it, as I had seen one thrown about his shop. Will you believe me, when I assure you he told me " he had but one, and that he kept for his own reading}" ' Gar rick Carres, i. 608. ' Johnson, writing to Beattie, j2^^^/, Aug. 21, 1780, says : — ' Mr. Davies has got great success as an author, generated by the corruption of a bookseller.' His principal works are Memoirs of Garrick, 1780, and Dramatic Miscellanies, 1784. * Churchill, in the Rosciad, thus celebrated his wife and mocked his recitation : — 'With him came mighty Davies. On my life That Davies hath a very pretty wife : — Statesman all over ! — In plots famous grown ! — He mouths a sentence, as curs mouth a bone.' Churchill's Poems, i. 16. See fost, under April 20, 1764, and March 20, 1778. Charles Lamb in a note to his Essay on the Tragedies of Shakespeare says of Davies. that he ' is recorded to have recited the Paradise Lost better than any though Aetat.54] Mr. Daviess back-parlour. 453 though upon the stage for many years, maintained an uni- form decency of character; and Johnson esteemed them, and lived in as easy an intimacy with them, as with any family which he used to visit'. Mr. Davies recollected sev- eral of Johnson's remarkable sayings, and was one of the best of the many imitators of his voice and manner, while relating them. He increased my impatience more and more to see the extraordinary man whose works I highly valued, and whose conversation was reported to be so peculiarly excellent. At last, on Monday the i6th of May, when I was sitting in Mr. Davies's back-parlour, after having drunk tea with him and Mrs. Davies, Johnson unexpectedly came into the shop' ; and Mr. Davies having perceived him through the glass-door in the room in which we were sitting, advancing towards us, — he announced his aweful approach to me, somewhat in the manner of an actor in the part of Horatio, when he addresses Hamlet on the appearance of his father's ghost, ' Look, my Lord, it comes.' I found that I had a very perfect idea of Johnson's figure, from the portrait of him painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds soon after he had published his Dictionary, in the attitude of sitting in his easy chair in deep medita- tion, which was the first picture his friend did for him, which Sir Joshua very kindly presented to me, and from which an man in England in his day (though I cannot help thinking there must be some mistake in this tradition).' Lamb's Works, ed. 1840, p. 517. ' See Johnson's letter to Davies, /t^i-/, June 18, 1783. * Mr. Murphy, in his Essay on the Life and Genius of Dr. Johnson, [p. 106], has given an account of this meeting considerably different from mine, I am persuaded without any consciousness of errour. His memor\\ at the end of near thirty years, has undoubtedly deceived him, and he supposes himself to have been present at a scene, which he has probably heard inaccurately described by others. In my note taken on the very day, in which I am confident I marked every thing material that passed, no mention is made of this gentleman ; and I am sure, that I should not have omitted one so well known in the literary world. It may easily be imagined that this, my first interview with Dr. Johnson, with all its circumstances, made a strong impression on my mind, and would be registered with peculiar attention. Boswell. engraving 454 BoswcUs introduction to Johnson, [a.d. 1768. engraving has been made for this work. Mr. Davies men- tioned my name, and respectfully introduced me to him. I was much agitated ; and recollecting his prejudice against the Scotch, of which I had heard much, I said to Davies, ' Don't tell where I come from.' — ' From Scotland,' cried Davies roguishly. ' Mr. Johnson, (said I) I do indeed come from Scotland, but I cannot help it'.' I am willing to flatter my- self that I meant this as light pleasantry to sooth and con- ciliate him, and not as an humiliating abasement at the expence of my country. But however that might be, this speech was somewhat unlucky ; for with that quickness of wit for which he was so remarkable, he seized the expression ' come from Scotland,' which I used in the sense of being of that country; and, as if I had said that I had come away from it, or left it, retorted, ' That, Sir, I find, is what a very great many of your countrymen cannot help.' This stroke stunned me a good deal ; and when we had sat down, I felt myself not a little embarrassed, and apprehensive of what might come next. He then addressed himself to Davies : 'What do you think of Garrick? He has refused me an order for the play for Miss Williams, because he knows the house will be full, and that an order would be worth three shillings.' Eager to take any opening to get into conversa- tion with him, I ventured to say, ' O, Sir, I cannot think Mr. Garrick would grudge such a trifle to you.' ' Sir, (said he, with a stern look,) I have known David Garrick longer than you have done : and I know no right you have to talk to me on the subject." Perhaps I deserved this check ; for it was rather presumptuous in me, an entire stranger, to express any doubt of the justice of his animadversion upon his old ac- quaintance and pupil". I now felt myself much mortified, ' %&Q post, April 8, 1775. ^ That this was a momentary sally against Garrick there can be no doubt ; for at Johnson's desire he had, some years before, given a benefit-night at his theatre to this very person, by which she had got two hundred pounds. Johnson, indeed, upon all other occasions, when I was in his company, praised the very liberal charity of Garrick. I and Aetat.54.j His Jirst record of Johnson s talk, 455 and began to think that the hope which I had long indulged of obtaining his acquaintance was blasted. And, in truth, had not my ardour been uncommonly strong, and my reso- lution uncommonly persevering, so rough a reception might have deterred me for ever from making any further attempts. Fortunately, however, I remained upon the field not wholly discomfited ; and was soon rewarded by hearing some of his con\'ersation, of which I preserved the following short min- ute, without marking the questions and observations by which it was produced. ' People (he remarked) may be taken in once, who imagine that an authour is greater in private life than other men. Uncommon parts require uncommon opportunities for their exertion. ' In barbarous society, superiority of parts is of real conse- quence. Great strength or great wisdom is of much value to an individual. But in more polished times there are people to do every thing for money; and then there are a number of other superiorities, such as those of birth and fortune, and rank, that dissipate men's attention, and leave no extraordi- nary' share of respect for personal and intellectual superior- ity. This is wisely ordered by Providence, to preserve some equality among mankind.' ' Sir, this book {The Elements of Criticism', which he had taken up,) is a pretty essay, and deserves to be held in some estimation, though much of it is chimerical.' once mentioned to him, ' It is observed, Sir, that you attack Garrick yourself, but will suffer nobody else to do it.' Johnson, (smiling) * Why. Sir, that is true." BOSWELL. S^t post. May 15, 1776. and April 17. 1778. ' By Henry Home, Lord Karnes, 3 vols. Edinburgh, 1762. See post, Oct. 16. 1769. 'Johnson laughed much at Lord Karnes's opinion that war was a good thing occasionally, as so much valour and virtue were exhibited in it. " A fire," says Johnson, " might as well be thought a good thing ; there is the bravery and address of the firemen employed in extinguishing it; there is much humanity exerted in saving the lives and properties of the poor sufferers; yet after all this, who can say a fire is a good thing?" ' Johnson's Works, (1787) xi. 209. Speaking 456 Sheridan s lectures on Oratory. [a. d. 1768. Speaking of one who with more than ordinary boldness attacked publick measures and the royal family, he said, ' I think he is safe from the law, but he is an abusive scoundrel ; and instead of applying to my Lord Chief Justice to punish him, I would send half a dozen footmen and have him well ducked'.' ' The notion of liberty amuses the people of England, and helps to keep off the tccdiitm vitcc. When a butcher tells you that Jiis heart bleeds for Ids country, he has, in fact, no uneasy feeling.' ' Sheridan will not succeed at Bath with his oratory. Ridi- cule has gone down before him, and, I doubt, Derrick is his enemy'\' ' No. 45 of the North Briton had been published on April 23. Wilkes was arrested under a general warrant on April 30. On May 6 he was discharged from custody by the Court of Common Pleas, be- fore which he had been brought by a writ of Habeas Corpus. A few days later he was served with a subpoena upon an information exhib- ited against him by the Attorney - General in the Court of King's Bench. He did not enter an appearance, holding, as he said, the serv- ing him with the subpoena as a violation of the privilege of parlia- ment. Part. H/'st.xv. \2,(>o. ^ Mr. Sheridan was then reading lectures upon Oratory at Bath, where Derrick was Master of the Ceremonies ; or, as the phrase is. King. Boswp:ll. Dr. Parr, who knew Sheridan well, describes him 'as a wrong-headed, whimsical man.' 'I remember,' he continues, ' hearing one of his daughters, in the house where I lodged, trium- phantly repeat Dryden's Ode upon St. Cecilia s Day, according to the instruction given to her by her father. Take a sample : — " None but the brave None but the brave None but the brave deserve the fair." Naughty Richard [R. B. Sheridan], like Gallio, seemed to care nought for the.se things.' Moore's Sheridan, i. 9, ii. Sheridan writing from Dublin on Dec. 7, 1771, says: — 'Never was party violence carried to such a height as in this session ; the House [the Irish House of Par- liament] seldom breaking up till eleven or twelve at night. From these contests the desire of improving in the article of elocution is become very general. There are no less than five persons of rank and fortune now waiting my leisure to become my pupils.' lb. p. 60. See post, July 28, 1763. ' Derrick Aetat. 54.J Boszvclfsjirsl call on Joluisoji. 457 ' Derrick may do very well, as long as he can outrun his character ; but the moment his character gets up with him, it is all over.* It is, however, but just to record, that some years after- wards, when I reminded him of this sarcasm, he said, ' Well, but Derrick has now got a character that he need not run away from.' I was highly pleased with the extraordinary vigour of his conversation, and regretted that I was drawn away from it by an engagement at another place. I had, for a part of the evening, been left alone with him, and had ventured to make an observation now and then, which he received very civilly ; so that I was satisfied that though there was a roughness in his manner, there was no ill-nature in his disposition. Davies followed me to the door, and when I complained to him a little of the hard blows which the great man had given me, he kindly took upon him to console me by saying, ' Don't be uneasy. I can see he likes you very well.' A few days afterwards I called on Davies, and asked him if he thought I might take the liberty of waiting on Mr. Johnson at his Chambers in the Temple. He said I certainly might, and that Mr. Johnson would take it as a compliment. So upon Tuesday the 24th of May, after havang been enliv- ened by the witty sallies of Messieurs Thornton', Wilkes, Churchill and Lloyd^ with whom I had passed the morning, ' Bonnell Thornton. See j2^f?^/, July i, 1763. ' Lloyd was one of a remarkable group of Westminster boys. He was a school-fellow not onl" of Churchill, the elder Colman, and Cum- berland, but also of Cowper and Warren Hastings. Bonnell Thornton was a few years their senior. Not many weeks after this meeting with Boswell, Lloyd was in the Fleet prison. Churchill in Independence {Poems, ii. 310) thus addresses the Patrons of the age : — ' Hence, ye vain boasters, to the Fleet repair And ask, with blushes ask, if Lloyd is there.' Of the four men who thus ' enlivened ' Boswell. two were dead before the end of the following year. Churchill went first. When Lloyd heard of his death, ' " I shall follow poor Charles," was all he said, as he went to the bed from which he never rose again.' Thornton lived I boldly 45^ The Giant in his den. [a.d. 1763. T boldly repaired to Johnson. His Chambers were on the first floor of No. i, Inner-TempIe-lane, and I entered them with an impression given me by the Reverend Dr. Blair', of Edinburgh, who had been introduced to him not long before, and described his having ' found the Giant in his den :' an expression, which, when I came to be pretty well acquainted with Johnson, I repeated to him, and he was diverted at this picturesque account of himself. Dr. Blair had been presented to him by Dr. James Fordyce". At this time the controversy concerning the pieces published by Mr. James Macpherson, as translations of Ossian^, was at its height. Johnson had all along denied their authenticity; and, what was still more provoking to their admirers, maintained that they had no merit. The subject having been introduced by Dr. Fordyce, Dr. Blair, relying on the internal evidence of their antiquity, asked Dr. Johnson whether he thought any man of a modern age could have written such poems? Johnson replied, 'Yes, Sir, many men, many women, and many children' Johnson, at this time, did not know that Dr. Blair had just published a Dissertation, not only defending their authenticity, but seriously ranking them with the poems of Homer and Virgil; and when he was afterwards informed of this circumstance, he expressed some displeasure at Dr. Fordyce's having sug- gested the topick, and said, ' I am not sorry that they got thus much for their pains. Sir, it was like leading one to three or four years longer. Forster's Essays, ii. 217, 270, 289. See also his L/fi- of Goldsmtthy i. 264, for an account how ' Lloyd invited Gold- smith to sup with some friends of Grub Street, and left him to pay the reckoning.' Thornton, Lloyd, Colman, Cowper, and Joseph Hill, to whom Cowper"s famous Epistle was addressed, had at one time been members of the Nonsense Club. Southey's Cowper, i. 37. ' The author of the well-known sermons, see post, under Dec. 21 1776. * Ste. post, under Dec. 9, 1784. 3 See post, Feb. 7, 1775, under Dec. 24, 1783. and Boswell's Hebrides. Nov. 10, 1773. * 'Sir,' he said tcj Reynolds, 'a man mi^ht write such stuff forever, if he would abandon his mind to it;' post, under March 30, 1783. talk Aetat. 54.] Christopher Smarfs madness. 459 talk of a book when the authour is concealed behind the door'.' He received me very courteously; but, it must be con- fessed, that his apartment, and furniture, and morning dress, were sufficiently uncouth. His brown suit of cloaths looked very rusty; he had on a little old shrivelled unpowdered wig, which was too small for his head ; his shirt-neck and knees of his breeches were loose ; his black worsted stockings ill drawn up ; and he had a pair of unbuckled shoes by way of slippers. But all these slovenly particularities were forgotten the moment that he began to talk. Some gentlemen, whom I do not recollect, were sitting with him ; and when they went away, I also rose ; but he said to me, ' Nay, don't go.' ' Sir, (said I,) I am afraid that I intrude upon you. It is benevolent to allow me to sit and hear you.' He seemed pleased with this compliment, which I sincerely paid him, and answered, * Sir, I am obliged to any man who visits me.' I have preserved the following short minute of what passed this day : — ' Madness frequently discovers itself merely by unnecessary deviation from the usual modes of the world. My poor friend Smart shewed the disturbance of his mind, by falling upon his knees, and saying his prayers in the street, or in any other unusual place. Now although, rationally speaking, it is greater madness not to pray at all, than to pray as Smart did, I am afraid there are so many who do not pray, that their understanding is not called in question.' Concerning this unfortunate poet, Christopher Smart, who was confined in a mad-house, he had, at another time, the following conversation with Dr. Burney : — BURNEY. ' How does poor Smart do, Sir; is he likely to recover?' JOHNSON. ' It seems as if his mind had ceased to struggle with the dis- ease ; for he grows fat upon it.' BURNEY. ' Perhaps, Sir, that may be from want of exercise.' Johnson. *No, Sir;he has partly as much exercise as he used to have, for he digs in the garden. Indeed, before his confinement, he used for ' 'Or behind the screen ' some one might have added, ante, i. 188. exercise 460 yohnsons Christianity. [a.d. 1768. exercise to walk to the ale-house ; but he was carried back again. I did not think he ought to be shut up. His infirmi- ties were not noxious to society. He insisted on people praying with him' ; and I'd as lief pray with Kit Smart as any one else. Another charge was, that he did not love clean linen ; and I have no passion for it.' — Johnson con- tinued. ' Mankind have a great aversion to intellectual labour^; but even supposing knowledge to be easily attain- able, more people would be content to be ignorant than would take even a little trouble to acquire it.' ' The morality of an action depends on the motive from which we act. If I fling half a crown to a beggar with in- tention to break his head, and he picks it up and buys vic- tuals with it, the physical effect is good ; but, with respect to me, the action is very wrong. So, religious exercises, if not performed with an intention to please GOD, avail us nothing. As our Saviour says of those who perform them from other motives, " Verily they have their reward^" ' The Christian religion has very strong evidences*. It, indeed, appears in some degree strange to reason ; but in History we have undoubted facts, against which, reasoning a priori, we have more arguments than we have for them ; but then, testimony has great weight, and casts the balance. I would recommend to every man whose faith is yet unsettled, Grotius, — Dr. Pearson, — and Dr. Clarke'.' ' Wesley was told that a whole waggon-load of Methodists had been lately brought before a Justice of the Peace. When he asked what they were charged with, one replied, ' Why they pretended to be better than other people, and besides they prayed from morning to night.' Wesley's Journal, i. 361. See also post, 1780, near the end of Mr. Langton's Collection. ^ ' The progress which the understanding makes through a book has,' he said, ' more pain than pleasure in it ;' post. May i, 1783. * Matthew, vi. 16. ■* Boswell, it is clear, in the early days of his acquaintance with Johnson often led the talk to this subject. See post, June 25, July 14, 21, and 28, 1763. ' St& post, April 7, 1778. Talkincf Aetat. 54.] Johnsons mode of life. 461 Talking of Garrick, he said, ' He is the first man in the world for sprightly conversation.' When I rose a second time he again pressed me to stay, which I did. He told me, that he generally went abroad at four in the afternoon, and seldom came home till two in the morning'. I took the liberty to ask if he did not think it wrong to live thus, and not make more use of his great talents\ He owned it was a bad habit. On reviewing, at the distance of many years, my journal of this period, I wonder how, at my first visit, I ventured to talk to him so freely, and that he bore it with so much indulgence. Before we parted, he was so good as to promise to favour me with his company one evening at my lodgings ; and, as I took my leave, shook me cordially by the hand. It is almost needless to add, that I felt no little elation at having now so happily established an acquaintance of which I had been so long ambitious. My readers will, I trust, excuse me for being thus minutely circumstantial, when it is considered that the acquaintance of Dr. Johnson was to me a most valuable acquisition, and laid the foundation of whatever instruction and entertain- ment they may receive from my collections concerning the great subject of the work which they are now perusing. I did not visit him again till Monday, June 13, at which time I recollect no part of his conversation, except that when I told him I had been to see Johnson ride upon three horses\ ' He finished his day, ' however late it might be,' by taking tea at Miss Williams's lodgings ; post, July i, 1763. ' See post, under Feb. 15, 1766, Feb. 1767, March 20, 1776, and Bos- well's Hebrides, Sept. 20, 1773, where Johnson says : — ' I have been trying to cure my laziness all my life, and could not do it.' It was this kind of life that caused so much of the remorse which is seen in his Prayers and Meditations. * Horace Walpole writing on June 12, 1759 (Letters, iii. 231), says : — ' A war that reaches from Muscov)' to Alsace, and from Madras to California, don't produce an article half so long as Mr. Johnson's rid- ing three horses at once.' I have a curious copper -plate 'showing he 462 yohnson the horse-rider. f a.d. 1763 he said, ' Such a man, Sir, should be encouraged ; for his per- formances shew the extent of the human powers in one in- stance, and thus tend to raise our opinion of the faculties of man. He shews what maybe attained by persevering appli- cation ; so that every man may hope, that by giving as much application, although perhaps he may never ride three horses at a time, or dance upon a wire, yet he may be equally expert in whatever profession he has chosen to pursue.' He again shook me by the hand at parting, and asked me why I did not come oftener to him. Trusting that I was now in his good graces, I answered, that he had not given me much encouragement, and reminded him of the check I had received from him at our first interview. ' Poh, poh ! (said he, with a complacent smile,) never mind these things. Come to me as often as you can. I shall be glad to see you.' I had learnt that his place of frequent resort was the Mitre tavern in Fleet-street, where he loved to sit up late, and I begged I might be allowed to pass an evening with him there soon, which he promised I should. A few days afterwards I met him near Temple-bar, about one o'clock in the morning, and asked if he would then go to the Mitre. * Sir, (said he) it is too late; they won't let us in. But I'll go with you another night with all my heart.' A revolution of some importance in my plan of life had just taken place ; for instead of procuring a commission in the foot-guards, which was my own inclination', I had, in Johnson standing on one, or two, and leading a third horse in full speed.' It bears the date of November 1758. Se& post, April 3, 1778. ' In the impudent Correspondence (pp. 63, 65) which Boswell and Andrew Erskine published this year, Boswell shows why he wished to enter the Guards. ' My fondness for the Guards.' he writes, ' must appear very strange to you, who have a rooted antipathy at the glare of scarlet. But I must inform you, that there is a city called London, for which I have as violent an affection as the most romantic lover ever had for his mistress. ... I am thinking of the brilliant scenes of happiness, which I shall enjoy as an officer of the guards. How I shall be acquainted with all the grandeur of a court, and all the ele- gance of dress and diversions ; become a favourite of ministers of state, compliance Aetat. 54.] A revoluticm in Boswelfs life. 463 compliance with my father's wishes, agreed to study the law ; and was soon to set out for Utrecht, to hear the lectures of an excellent Civilian in that University, and then to proceed on my travels. Though very desirous of obtaining Dr. Johnson's advice and instructions on the mode of pursuing my studies, I was at this time so occupied, shall I call it ? or so dissipated, by the amusements of London, that our next meeting was not till Saturday, June 25, when happening to dine at Clifton's eating-house, in Butcher-row', I was sur- prized to perceive Johnson come in and take his seat at an- other table. The mode of dining, or rather being fed, at such houses in London, is well known to many to be partic- ularly unsocial, as there is no Ordinary, or united company, but each person has his own mess, and is under no obligation to hold any intercourse with any one. A liberal and full- minded man, however, who loves to talk, will break through this churlish and unsocial restraint. Johnson and an Irish gentleman got into a dispute concerning the cause of some part of mankind being black. 'Why, Sir, (said Johnson,) it has been accounted for in three ways: either by supposing that they are the posterity of Ham, who was cursed ; or that and the adoration of ladies of quality, beauty, and fortune ! How many parties of pleasure shall I have in town ! How many fine jaunts to the noble seats of dukes, lords, and members of parliament in the country ! I am thinking of the perfect knowledge which I shall ac- quire of men and manners, of the intimacies which I shall have the honour to form with the learned and ingenious in every science, and of the many amusing literary anecdotes which 1 shall pick up,' etc. Bos- well, in his Hebrides (Aug. 18, 1773), says of himself : — ' His inclination was to be a soldier; but his father, a respectable Judge, had pressed him into the profession of the law.' A row of tenements in the Strand, between Wych Street and Temple Bar, and ' so called from the butchers' shambles on the south side.' {Strype, B. iv. p. 118.J Butcher Row was pulled down in 1813, and the present Pickett Street erected in its stead. P. Cunningham. In Humphry Clinker, in the letter of June 10, one of the poor authors is described as having been ' reduced to a woollen night-cap and liv- ing upon sheep's-trotters, up three pair of stairs backward in Butcher Row.' God 464 The Mitre. [a.d. 1763. God at first created two kinds of men, one black and another white ; or that by the heat of the sun the skin is scorched, and so acquires a sooty hue. This matter has been much canvassed among naturaHsts, but has never been brought to any certain issue.' What the Irishman said is totally oblit- erated from my mind ; but I remember that he became very warm and intemperate in his expressions; upon which John- son rose, and quietly walked away. When he retired, his antagonist took his revenge, as he thought, by saying, ' He has a most ungainly figure, and an affectation of pomposity, unworthy of a man of genius.' Johnson had not observed that I was in the room. I fol- lowed him, however, and he agreed to meet me in the even- ing at the Mitre. I called on him, and we went thither at nine. We had a good supper, and port wine, of which he then sometimes drank a bottle. The orthodox high-church sound of the Mitre, — the figure and manner of the cele- brated Samuel Johnson, — the extraordinary power and precision of his conversation, and the pride arising from find- ing myself admitted as his companion, produced a variety of sensations, and a pleasing elevation of mind beyond what I had ever before experienced. I find in my journal the fol- lowing minute of our conversation, which, though it will give but a very faint notion of what passed, is in some degree a valuable record ; and it will be curious in this view, as shew- ing how habitual to his mind were some opinions which ap- pear in his works. ' Colley Gibber', Sir, was by no means a blockhead ; but by arrogating to himself too much, he was in danger of los- ing that degree of estimation to which he was entitled. His friends gave out that he intended his birth-day Odes should ' Cibber was poet-laureate from 1730 to 1757. Horace Walpole de- scribes him as ' that good humoured and honest veteran, so unworthily aspersed by Pope, whose Memoirs, with one or two of his comedies, will secure his fame, in spite of all the abuse of his contemporaries." His successor Whitehead, Walpole calls 'a man of a placid genius.' Reign of George II, iii. 81. See ante, pp. 172, 213, and post, Oct. 19, 1769, May 15, 1776, and Sept. 21, 1777, be Aetat. 54.J Cibber and Whitehead. 465 be bad : but that was not the case, Sir ; for he kept them many months by him, and a few years before he died he shewed me one of them, with great soHcitude to render it as perfect as might be, and I made some corrections, to which he was not very wilHng to submit. I remember the follow- ing couplet in allusion to the King and himself: " Perch'd on the eagle's soaring wing, The lowly linnet loves to sing.' Sir, he had heard something of the fabulous tale of the wren sitting upon the eagle's wing, and he had applied it to a lin- net. Gibber's familiar style, however, was better than that which Whitehead has assumed. Grand nonsense is insup- portable'. Whitehead is but a little man to inscribe verses to players.' I did not presume to controvert this censure, which was tinctured with his prejudice against players^ ; but I could not help thinking that a dramatick poet might with propriety ' The following quotations show the difference of style in the two poets : — CoLLEY Cibber. ' When her pride, fierce in arms. Would to Europe give law; At her cost let her come, To our cheer of huzza! Not lightning with thunder more terrible darts, Than the burst of huzza from our bold British hearts.' Gent. Mag. xxv. 515. Wm. Whitehead. 'Ye guardian powers, to whose command, At Nature's birth, th' Almighty mind The delegated task assign 'd To watch o'er Albion's favour'd land. What time your hosts with choral lay, Emerging from its kindred deep. Applausive hail'd each verdant steep, And white rock, glitt'ring to the new-born day !' lb. xxix. 32. * See ante, p. 193. I.— 30 pay 466 The abruptness of Grays Ode. [a.d. 1763. pay a compliment to an eminent performer, as Whitehead has very happily done in his verses to Mr. Garrick'. ' Sir, I do not think Gray a first-rate poet. He has not a bold imagination, nor much command of words. The ob- scurity in which he has involved himself will not persuade us that he is sublime^ His Elegy ui a Church-yard has a happy selection of images, but I don't like what are called his great things. His Ode which begins " Ruin seize thee, ruthless King, Confusion on thy banners wait !" has been celebrated for its abruptness, and plunging into the subject all at once". But such arts as these have no merit, unless when they are original. We admire them only once ; and this abruptness has nothing new in it. We have had it often before. Nay, we have it in the old song of Johnny Armstrong*: ' 'Whitehead was for some while Garrick's "reader" of new plays for Drur5'--lane.' Forster's Goldsmith, ii. 41. See post, April 25, 1778, note. The verses to Garrick are given in Chalmers's English Poets, xvii. 222. * ' In 1757 Gray published The Progress of Poetry and The Bard, two compositions at which the readers of poetry were at first content to gaze in mute amazement. Some that tried them confessed their inability to understand them. . . . Garrick wrote a few lines in their praise. Some hardy champions undertook to rescue them from neg- lect ; and in a short time many were content to be shown beauties which they could not see.' Johnson's Works, viii. 478. See post, March 28, and April 2, 1775, and 1780 in Mr. Langton's Collection. Goldsmith, no doubt, attacked Gray among 'the misguided innova- tors,' of whom he said in his Life of Parnell :—' Thty have adopted a language of their own, and call upon mankind for admiration. All those who do not understand them are silent, and those who make out their meaning are willing to praise to show they understand.' Goldsmith's Misc. Works, iv. 22. ^ Johnson, perhaps, refers to the anonymous critic quoted by Mason in his notes on this Ode, who says : — ' This abrupt execration plunges the reader into that sudden fearful perplexity which is designed to predominate through the whole.' Mason's Grav. cd. 1807, 1. 96. * ■ Of the first stanza [of The luird] the abrupt beginning has been "Is Aetat. 54.J Johns lis opinion of Gray s poetry. 467 "Is there ever a man in all Scotland From the highest estate to the lowest degree, &c." And then, Sir, "Yes, there is a man in Westmoreland, And Johnny Armstrong they do him call." There, now, you plunge at once into the subject. You have no previous narration to lead you to it. The two next lines in that Ode are, I think, v&xy good : " Though fann'd by conquest's crimson wing, They mock the air with idle state'."' Here let it be observed, that although his opinion of Gray's poetry was widely different from mine, and I believe from that of most men of taste", by whom it is with justice highly- admired, there is certainly much absurdity in the clamour which has been raised, as if he had been culpably injurious celebrated ; but technical beauties can give praise only to the invent- or. It is in the power of any man to rush abruptly upon his subject that has read the ballad of Johnny Armstrong.' Johnson's Works, viii.485. ' My friend Mr. Malone, in his valuable comments on Shakspeare, has traced in that great poet the disjecta membra of these lines. Bos- WELL. Gray, in the edition of The Bard of the year 1768, in a note on these lines had quoted from King John, act v. sc. i : — ' Mocking the air with colours idly spread.' Gosse's Gray, i. 41. But Malone quotes also from Macbeth, act i. sc. 2 : — ' Where the Norweyan banners flout the sky And fan our people cold.' ' Out of these passages,' he said, ' Mr. Gray seems to have framed the first stanza of his celebrated Ode! Malone's Shakespeare, xv. 344. ^ Cradock records {^Memoirs, i. 230) that Goldsmith said to him : — ' You are so attached to Hurd, Gray, and Mason, that you think noth- ing good can proceed but out of that formal school ; — now, I'll mend Gray's Elegy by leaving out an idle word in every line. " The curfew tolls the knell of day. The lowing herd winds o'er the lea, The ploughman homeward plods his way, And " Enough, enough, I have no ear for more,' to 468 Bosivcil opens his "mind. [a.d. 1763. to the merit of that bard, and had been actuated by envy. Alas! ye httle short-sighted criticks, could JOHNSON be en- vious of the talents of any of his contemporaries? That his opinion on this subject was what in private and in publick he uniformly expressed, regardless of what others might think, we may wonder, and perhaps regret ; but it is shallow and unjust to charge him with expressing what he did not think. Finding him in a placid humour, and wishing to avail my- self of the opportunity w hich I fortunately had of consulting a sage, to hear whose wisdom, I conceived in the ardour of }'outhful imagination, that men filled with a noble enthusiasm for intellectual improvement would gladly ha\'e resorted from distant lands ; — I opened my mind to him ingenuously, and gave him a little sketch of my life, to which he was pleased to listen with great attention'. I acknowledged, that though educated very strictly in the principles of religion, I had for some time been misled into a certain degree of infidelity ; but that I was come now^ to a better way of thinking, and was fully satisfied of the truth of the Christian revelation, though I w^as not clear as to ever>' point considered to be orthodox. Being at all times a curi- ous examiner of the human mind, and pleased with an undis- guised display of what had passed in it, he called to me with warmth, * Give me your hand ; I have taken a liking to you.' He then began to descant upon the force of testimony, and the little we could know^ of final causes ; so that the objec- tions of, why was it so ? or why w^as it not so ? ought not to disturb us: adding, that he himself had at one period been guilty of a temporary neglect of religion, but that it was not the result of argument, but mere absence of thought". After having given credit to reports of his bigotry, I was ' So, less than two years later, Boswell opened his mind to Paoli. ' My time passed here in the most agreeable manner. I enjoyed a sort of luxury of noble sentiment. Paoli became more affable with me. I Tiade myself known to him.' Boswell's Corsica, p. 167. * See ante, p. 78. agreeably Aetat.54.j The dijjerences of Christians. 469 aL;reeabl)' surprized when he expressed the following very liberal sentiment, which has the additional value of obvi- ating an objection to our hoi)' religion, founded upon the discordant tenets of Christians themselves: ' For my part, Sir, I think all Christians, whether Papists or Protestants, agree in the essential articles, and that their differences are trivial, and rather political than religious'.' We talked of belief in ghosts. I le said, ' Sir, I make a distinction between what a man may experience b)' the mere strength of his imagination, and what imagination cannot possibl}' i)r(Kiucc. Thus, suppose I should think that I saw a form, and heard a voice cry " Johnson, you are a \ or\- wicked fellow, and unless you repent you will certainly be punished ;"' m\' own unworthiness is so deeply impressed upon my mind, that I might iniagiiu- I thus saw and heard, anil therefore I should not believe that an external com- munication had been made to me. But if a form should appear, and a voice should tell me that a particular man had died at a particular place, and a jiarticular hour, a fact which 1 had Ud apprehension of, nor any means of knowing, and this fact, with all its circumstances, should afterwards be unquestionabl)- pro\cd. 1 should, in that case, be persuaded that I had supernatural intelligence imparted to me.' llerc it is proper, once for all, to gi\e a true and fair statement of Johnson's wa\' of thinking ujion the question, whether de[)arted spirits are ever permitted to appear in this world, or in any way to operate ujion human life. He has been ignorant!)- misrepresented as weakl\- credulous upon that subject ; .ind, therefore, though I feel an inclination to disdain and treat with silent contempt so foolish a notion concerning m\- illustrious friend, yet as I find it has gained gnnind. it is necessar)- to refute it. The real fact then is, that Johnson had a very philosophical mind, and such a rational respect for testimou)'. as to make him submit his understanding to what was authenticall)- pro\'ed. though he could not comprehend why it was so. Being thus disposed, I See post, Sept. 12, 1777. he 470 ^/^ was false, and from that time was no longer solicitous about novelty. BuRNEV. Mr. Forster (Life of Goldsmtt/i, i. 421) says that this note ' is another in- stance of the many various and doubtful forms in which stories about Johnson and Goldsmith are apt to appear when once we lose sight of the trustworthy Boswell. This is obviously a mere confused recollec- tion of what is correctly told by Boswell [post, March 26, 1779].' There is much truth in Mr. Forster's general remark : nevertheless Burney likely enough repeated to the best of his memory what he had himself heard from Johnson. ingenious Aetat.w.j The 'advantages' of poverty. 511 ingenious things, that is to say, most new things, could be said upon it. Sir, there is nothing for which you may not muster up more plausible arguments, than those which are urged against wealth and other external advantages. Why, now, there is stealing; why should it be thought a crime? When we consider by what unjust methods property has been often acquired, and that what was unjustly got it must be unjust to keep, where is the harm in one man's taking the property of another from him ? Besides, Sir, when we con- sider the bad use that many people make of their property, and liow much better use the thief may make of it, it may be defended as a very allowable practice. Yet, Sir, the ex- perience of mankind has discovered stealing to be so very bad a thing, that they make no scruple to hang a man for it. When I was running about this town a very poor fellow, I was a great arguer for the advantages of poverty ; but I was, at the same time, very sorry to be poor. Sir, all the argu- ments which are brought to represent poverty as no evil, shew it to be evidently a great evil. You never find people la- bouring to convince you that you may live very happily upon a plentiful fortune. — So you hear people talking how miserable a King must be ; and yet they all w^ish to be in his place'.' It was suggested that Kings must be unhappy, because they are deprived of the greatest of all satisfactions, easy and unreserved society. JOHNSON. 'That is an ill-founded notion. Being a King does not exclude a man from such societ)'. Great Kings have always been social. The King of Prussia, the only great King at present, is very social'. * 'Their [the ancient moralists'] arguments have been, indeed, so unsuccessful, that I know not whether it can be shewn, that by all the wit and reason which this favourite cause has called forth a single convert was ever made ; that even one man has refused to be rich, when to be rich was in his power, from the conviction of the greater happiness of a narrow fortune.' Johnson's Works, ii. 278. See post, June 3, 1781, and June 3, Sept. 7, and Dec. 7, 1782. * Johnson ( Works, vi. 440) shows how much Frederick owed to ' the difficulties of his youth.' ' Kings, without this help from temporary Charles 512 Disiinctioii of rank. [a.d. 1763. Charles the Second, the last King of England who was a man of parts, was social; and our Henrys and Edwards were all social.' Mr. Dempster having endeavoured to maintain that in- trinsick merit ouglit to make the only distinction amongst mankind. JOHNSON. ' Why, Sir, mankind have found that this cannot be. How shall we determine the proportion of intrinsick merit ? Were that to be the only distinction amongst mankind, we should soon quarrel about the degrees of it. Were all distinctions abolished, the strongest would not long acquiesce, but would endeavour to obtain a superi- ority by their bodily strength. But, Sir, as subordination is very necessary for society, and contensions for superiority very dangerous, mankind, that is to say, all civilized nations, have settled it upon a plain invariable principle. A man is born to hereditary rank ; or his being appointed to cer- tain offices, gives him a certain rank. Subordination tends greatly to human happiness. Were we all upon an equal- ity, wc should have no other enjoym.ent than mere animal pleasure'.' I said, I considered distinction of rank to be of so much importance in civilised society, that if I were asked on the same day to dine with the first Duke in England, and with the first man in Britain for genius, I should hesitate which to prefer. JOHNSON. 'To be sure. Sir, if you were to dine only once, and it were never to be known where you dined, you would choose rather to dine with the first man for infelicity, see the wo-rld in a mist, which niagnifies everything near them, and bounds their view to a narrow compass, which few are able to extend by the mere force of curiosity.' He next points out what Cromwell ' owed to the private condition in which he first entered the world ;' and continues : — ' The King of Prussia brought to the throne the knowledge of a private man, without the guilt of usurpation. Of this general acquaintance with the world there may be found son?e traces in his whole life. His conversation is like that of other men upon common topicks, his letters have an air of familiar elegance, and his whole conduct is that of a man who has to do with men.' ' See ante, p. 472. genius ; Aetat. 54.] yoJinsoris respect for rank. 5 1 3 genius ; but to gain most respect, you should dine with the first Duke in England. For nine people in ten that you meet with, would have a higher opinion of you for having dined with a Duke ; and the great genius himself would re- ceive you better, because you had been with the great Duke.' He took care to guard himself against any possible sus- picion that his settled principles of reverence for rank and respect for wealth were at all owing to mean or interested motives ; for he asserted his own independence as a literary man. ' No man (said he) who ever lived by literature, has lived more independently than I have done.' He said he had taken longer time than he needed to have done in com- posing his Dictionary. He received our compliments upon that great work with complacency, and told us that the Academy dclla Crzisca^ could scarcely believe that it was done by one man. Next morning I found him alone, and have preserved the following fragments of his conversation. Of a gentleman* who was mentioned, he said, ' I have not met with any man for a long time who has given me such general displeasure. He is totally unfixed in his principles, and wants to puzzle other people.' I said his principles had been poisoned by a noted infidel writer, but that he was, nevertheless, a benevo- lent good man. JOHNSON. ' We can have no dependance upon that instinctive, that constitutional goodness which is not founded upon principle. I grant you that such a man may be a very amiable member of society. I can conceive ' See atite, p. 345. " That this was Mr. Dempster seems likely from the Letters of Bos- well (p. 34). -.vhere Boswell says : — ' I had prodigious satisfaction to find Dempster's sophistry (which he has learnt from Hume and Rous- seau) vanquished by the solid sense and vigorous reasoning of Johnson. Dempster,' he continues, ' was as happy as a vanquished argumentator could be.' The character of the 'benevolent good man ' suits Demp- ster is^Q. post, under Feb. 7, 1775, where Boswell calls him ' the virtuous and candid Dempster'), while that of the 'noted infidel writer' suits Hume. We find Boswell, Johnson, and Dempster again dining to- gether on May 9, 1772. I.— 33 him 514 Sceptical innovators. [a.d. 1763. him placed in such a situation that he is not much tempted to deviate from what is right ; and as every man prefers vir- tue, when there is not some strong incitement to transgress its precepts, I can conceive him doing nothing wrong. But if such a man stood in need of money, I should not h'kc to trust him ; and I should certainly not trust him with )-oung ladies, for there there is alwaj's temptation. Hume, and other sceptical innovators, are vain men, and will gratify themselves at any expence. Truth will not afford sufificient food to their vanity ; so they have betaken themselves to errour. Truth, Sir, is a cow which will yield such people no more milk, and so they are gone to milk the bull'. If I could have allowed myself to gratify my vanit)- at the expence of truth, what fame might I have acquired. Every thing which Hume has advanced against Christianity had passed through my mind long before he wrote. Always remember this, that after a system is well settled upon positive evidence, a few partial objections ought not to shake it. The human mind is so limited, that it cannot take in all the parts of a sub- ject, so that there may be objections raised against any thing. There are objections against a plenum, and objections against a vacinan ; yet one of them must certainly be true\' I mentioned Hume's argument against the belief of mir- acles, that it is more probable that the witnesses to the * ' Thou wilt at best but suck a bull, Or sheer swine, all cry and no wool.' Hudihras, Part i. Canto i. 1. 851. Dr. Z. Grey, in his note on these lines, quotes the proverbial saying 'As wise as the Waltham calf that went nine times to suck a bull.' He quotes also from The Spectator, No. 138, the passage where the Cynic said of two disputants, ' One of these fellows is milking a ram. and the other holds the pail.' ^ The writer of the article Vacuum in the Penny Cycio. (xxvi. 76), quoting Johnson's words, adds : — ' That is, either all space is full of matter, or there are parts of space which have no matter. The alter- native is undeniable, and the inference to which the modem philoso- phy would give the greatest probability is, that all space is full of matter in the common sense of the word, but really occupied by par- ticles of matter with vacuous interstices.' truth Aetat. 54.] The proofs of Christianity. 5 1 5 truth of them are mistaken, or speak falsely, than that the mir- acles should be true'. JOHNSOX. ' Why, Sir, the great difiFi- culty of proving miracles should make us very cautious in be- lieving them. But let us consider ; although GOD has made Nature to operate by certain fixed laws, yet it is not unrea- sonable to think that he may suspend those laws, in order to establish a system highly advantageous to mankind. Now the Christian religion is a most beneficial system, as it gives us light and certainty where w^e were before in darkness and doubt. The miracles which prove it are attested by men who had no interest in deceiving us ; but who, on the contrary, were told that they should suffer persecution, and did actu- ally lay down their lives in confirmation of the truth of the facts which they asserted. Indeed, for some centuries the heathens did not pretend to deny the miracles ; but said they were performed by the aid of evil spirits. This is a circum- stance of great weight. Then, Sir, when we take the proofs derived from prophecies which have been so exactly fulfilled, we have most satisfactory evidence. Supposing a miracle possible, as to which, in my opinion, there can be no doubt, we have as strong evidence for the miracles in support of Christianity, as the nature of the thing admits.' At night Mr. Johnson and I supped in a private room at the Turk's Head coffee-house, in the Strand\ ' I encourage this house (said he ;) for the mistress of it is a good civil woman, and has not much business.' ' Sir, I love the acquaintance of young people ; because, in the first place, I don't like to think myself growing old. In the next place, young acquaintances must last longest, if they do last; and then. Sir, young men have more virtue than old ' ' When any one tells me that he saw a dead man restored to life, / immediately consider with myself, whether it be more probable that this p>erson should either deceive or be deceived, or that the fact which he relates should really have happened.' Hume's Essay on Miracles, Paxt i. Se& post, Sept. 22, 1777, where Boswell again quotes this pas- sage. ' A coffee-house over against Catherine Street, now the site of a tourists' ticket office. Atheticeitm, No. 3041. men . 5 1 6 yohnsons recollection of early years, [a.d. 1763. men ; they have more generous sentiments in every respect'. I love the young dogs of this age : they have more wit and humour and knowledge of life than we had ; but then the dogs are not so good scholars. Sir, in my early years I read very hard. It is a sad reflection, but a true one, that I knew almost as much at eighteen as I do now\ My judgement, to be sure, was not so good ; but I had all the facts. I remem- ber very well, when I was at Oxford, an old gentleman said to me, " Young man, ply your book diligently now, and ac- quire a stock of knowledge; for when years come upon you, you will find that poring upon books will be but an irksome task.' " This account of his reading, given by himself in plain words, sufficiently confirms what I have already advanced upon the disputed question as to his application. It recon- ciles any seeming inconsistency in his way of talking upon it at different times ; and shews that idleness and reading hard were with him relative terms, the import of which, as used by him, must be gathered from a comparison with what scholars of different degrees of ardour and assiduity have \y been known to do. And let it be remembered, that he was now talking spontaneously, and expressing his genuine sen- timents ; whereas at other times he might be induced from his spirit of contradiction, or more properly from his love of argumentative contest, to speak lightly of his own application ' Stockdale records {Memoirs, i. 202) that Johnson once said to him: — ' Whenever it is the duty of a young and old man to act at the same time with a spirit of independence and generosity ; we may always have reason to hope that the young man will ardently perform, and to fear that the old man will desert, his duty.' * Boswell thus writes of this evening : — ' I learn more from him than from any man I ever was with. He told me a very odd thing, that he knew at eighteen as much as he does now ; that is to say, his judge- ment is much stronger, but he had then stored up almost all the facts he has now, and he says that he has led but an idle life ; only think. Temple, of that !' Letters of Boswell, p. 34. See ante, p. 65, and post, ii. 41. He told Windham in 1784 'that he read Latin with as much ease when he went to college as at present.' Windham's Diary, p. 17. to Aetat. 54.] Remedies for melancholy. 5 1 7 to study. It is pleasing to consider that the old gentleman's gloomy prophecy as to the irksomeness of books to men c»f an advanced age, which is too often fulfilled, was so far from being verified in Johnson, that his ardour for literature never failed, and his last writings had more ease and vivacity than any of his earlier productions. He mentioned to me now, for the first time, that he had been distrest by melancholy, and for that reason had been obliged to fly from study and meditation, to the dissipating variety of life. Against melancholy he recommended con- stant occupation of mind, a great deal of exercise, modera- tion in eating and drinking, and especially to shun drinking at night. He said melancholy people were apt to fly to in- temperance for relief, but that it sunk them much deeper in misery'. He observed, that labouring men who work hard, and live sparingly, are seldom or never troubled with low spirits. He again insisted on the duty of maintaining subordina- tion of rank. ' Sir, I would no more deprive a nobleman of ' Johnson in 1739 wrote of 'those distempers and depressions, from which students, not well acquainted with the constitution of the hu- man body, sometimes fly for relief to wine instead of exercise, and purchase temporary ease, by the hazard of the most dreadful conse- quences.' Works, vi. 271. In The Rambler, No. 85, he says : — ' How much happiness is gained, and how much misery is escaped, by fre- quent and violent agitation of the body.' Boswell records {Hebrides, Sept. 24, 1773) : — ' Dr. Johnson told us at breakfast, that he rode harder at a fox-chace than anybody.' Mrs. Piozzi {Anec. p. 206) says : — ' He certainly rode on Mr. Thrale's old hunter with a good firmness, and. though he would follow the hounds fifty miles an end sometimes, would never own himself either tired or amused. I think no praise ever went so close to his heart, as when Mr. Hamilton called out one day upon Brighthelmstone Downs, " Why Johnson rides as well, for aught I see, as the most illiterate fellow in England." ' He wrote to Mrs. Thrale in 1777 : — ' No season ever was finer. Barley, malt, beer and money. There is the series of ideas. The deep logicians call it a sorites. I hope my master will 710 longer endure the reproach of not keeping me a horse.' Piozzi Letters, i. 360. See post, March 19 and 28, 1776, Sept. 20, 1777, and Nov. 21, 1778. his 5i8 Mrs. Macaulays footman. [a.d. 1768. his respect, than of his money. I consider myself as acting a part in the great system of society, and I do to others as I would have them to do to mc. I would behave to a noble- man as I should expect he would behave to me, were I a nobleman and he Sam. Johnson. Sir, there is one Mrs. Ma- caulay' in this town, a great republican. One day when I was at her house, I put on a very grave countenance, and said to her, " Madam, I am now become a convert to your way of thinking. I am convinced that all mankind are upon an equal footing ; and to give you an unquestionable proof, Madam, that I am in earnest, here is a very sensible, civil, well-behaved fellow-citizen, your footman ; I desire that he may be allowed to sit down and dine with us'"." I thus, Sir, shewed her the absurdity of the levelling doctrine. She has never liked me since. Sir, your levellers wish to level down as far as themselves ; but they cannot bear levelling up to themselves. They would all have some people under them ; why not then have some people above them ?' I mentioned a certain authour who disgusted me by his forwardness, and by shewing no deference to noblemen into whose company he was admitted. JoilNSOX. 'Suppose a shoemaker should claim an equality with him, as he does with a Lord ; how he would stare. " Why, Sir, do you stare? (says the shoemaker,) I do great service to society. 'Tis true I am paid for doing it ; but so are you, Sir: and I am sorry to say it, paid better ' This one Mrs. Macaulay was the same personage who afterwards made herself so much known as 'the celebrated female historian.' BoswELL. Hannah More (Memoirs, i. 234) tells the following story of Mrs. Macaulays daughter: — ' Desirous from civility to take some notice of her, and finding she was reading Shakespeare, I asked her if she was not delighted with many parts of King John. " I never read the Kings, ma'am," was the truly characteristic reply.' See post, April 13, 1773, and May 15, 1776. ° This speech was perhaps suggested to Johnson by the following passage in The Govertinient of the Tongue (p. 106) — a book which he quotes in his Dictionary : — ' Lycurgus once said to one who impor- tuned him to establish a popular parity in the state, " Do thou," says he, " begin it first in thine own family." ' than Aetat.54.] Dr. Joseph Warton. 519 than I am, for doing something not so necessary. For man- kind could do better without your books, than without my shoes." Thus, Sir, there would be a perpetual struggle for precedence, were there no fixed invariable rules for the dis- tinction of rank, which creates no jealousy, as it is allowed to be accidental.' He said, Dr. Joseph Warton was a very agreeable man, and his Essay on tJie Genius and Writings of Pope, a very pleasing book. I wondered that he delayed so long to give us the continuation of it'. JOHNSON. ' Why, Sir, I suppose he finds himself a little disappointed, in not having been able to per- suade the world to be of his opinion as to Pope.' We have now been favoured with the concluding volume, in which, to use a parliamentary expression, he has explained, so as not to appear quite so adverse to the opinion of the world, concerning Pope, as was at first thought"; and we must all agree that his work is a most valuable accession to English literature. A writer of deserved eminence"* being mentioned, Johnson ' The first volume was published in 1756, the second in 1782. " Warton, to use his own words, 'did not think Pope at the head of his profession. In other words, in that species of poetry wherein Pope excelled, he is superior to all mankind ; and I only say that this species of poetry is not the most excellent one of the art.' He dis- poses the English poets in four classes, placing in the first only Spen- ser, Shakespeare, and Milton. ' In the second class should be ranked such as possessed the true poetical genius in a more moderate degree, but who had noble talents for moral, ethical, and panegyrical poetry.' In this class, in his concluding volume, he says, 'we may venture to assign Pope a place, just above Dryden. Yet, to bring our minds steadily to make this decision, we must forget, for a moment, the divine Mtcsic Ode of Dryden ; and may, perhaps, then be compelled to confess that though Dryden be the greater genius, yet Pope is the better artist." Warton's Essay, i. i, vii. and ii. 404. See post, March 31, 1772. ^ Mr. Croker believes Joseph Warton was meant. His father, how- ever, had been Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, and was after- wards Vicar of Basingstroke and Cobham, and Professor of Poetry in his own University, so that the sou could scarcely be described as said. 520 Sir James Macdonald. [a.d. 17«8. said, ' Why, Sir, he is a man of good parts, but being origi- nally poor, he has got a love of mean company and low joe-, ularity ; a very bad thing. Sir. To laugh is good, as to talk is good. But you ought no more to think it enough if you laugh, than }'ou are to think it enough if you talk. You may laugh in as many ways as you talk ; and surely every way of talking that is practised cannot be esteemed.' I spoke of Sir James Macdonald' as a young man of most distinguished merit, who united the highest reputation at Eaton and Oxford, with the patriarchal spirit of a great Highland Chieftain. 1 mentioned that Sir James had said to me, that he had never seen Mr. Johnson, but he had a being 'originally poor.' It is, no doubt, after Boswell's fashion to in- troduce in consecutive paragraphs the same person once by name and once anonymously; but then the 'certain author who disgusted Boswell by his forwardness,' mentioned just before Warton, may be Warton himself. ■ ' When he arrived at Eton he could not make a verse ; that is, he wanted a point indispensable with us to a certain rank in our system. But this wonderful boy, having satisfied the Master [Dr. Barnard] that he was an admirable scholar, and possessed of genius, was at once placed at the head of a form. He acquired the rules of Latin verse ; tried his powers ; and perceiving that he could not rise above his rivals in Virgil, Ovid, or the lyric of Horace, he took up the ser- vi07ii propiora, and there overshadowed all competitors. In the fol- lowing lines he describes the hammer of the auctioneer with a mock sublimity which turns Horace into Virgil : — 'Jam-jamque cadit, celerique recursu Erigitur, lapsum retrahens, perque aera nutat.' Nichols's Lit. Anec. viii. 547. Horace Walpole wrote of him in Sept. 1765 {^Letters, iv. 41 1) : — ' He is a very extraordinary young man for variety of learning. He is rather too wise for his age, and too fond of showing it ; but when he has seen more of the world, he will choose to know less.' He died at Rome in the following year. Hume, on hearing the news, wrote to Adam Smith: — 'Were you and I together, dear Smith, we should shed tears at present for the death of poor Sir James Macdonald. We could not possibly have suffered a greater loss than in that valu- able young man.' J. H. Burton's Hnini\ ii. 349. See Boswell's Heb- rides, Sept. 5, 1773. threat Aetat.54.] MartiiLs Western Isles. 521 great respect for him, though at the same time it was mixed with some degree of terrour'. JOHNSON. ' Sir, if he were to be acquainted with me, it might lessen both.' The mention of this gentleman led us to talk of the West- ern Islands of Scotland, to visit which he expressed a wish that then appeared to me a very romantick fancy, which I little thought would be afterwards realised'^ He told me, that his father had put Martin's account of those islands into his hands when he was very young, and that he was high- ly pleased with it ; that he was particularly struck with the St. Kilda man's notion that the high church of Glasgow had been hollowed out of a rock' ; a circumstance to which old ' Boswell says that Macdonald had for Johnson "■^ great terrour.' {Boswellia7ia, p. 216.) Northcote {Life of Reynolds, i. 329) says: — ' It is a fact that a certain nobleman, an intimate friend of Reynolds, had strangely conceived in his mind such a formidable idea of all those persons who had gained great fame as literary characters, that I have heard Sir Joshua say, he verily believed he could no more have pre- vailed upon this noble person to dine at the same table with Johnson and Goldsmith than with two tigers.' According to Mr. Seward {Bio- graphiana, p. 600), Mrs. Cotterell having one day asked Dr. Johnson to introduce her to a celebrated writer, ' Dearest madam,' said he, ' you had better let it alone ; the best part of every author is in gen- eral to be found in his book, I assure you.' Mr. Seward refers to The Rambler, No. 14, where Johnson says that 'there has often been ob- served a manifest and striking contrariety between the life of an authour and his writings.' ^ See post, Jan. 19, 1775. In his Hebrides (p. i) Boswell writes: — ' When I was at Ferney, in 1764, I mentioned our design to Voltaire. He looked at me as if I had talked of going to the North Pole, and said, "You do not insist on my accompanying you .''" "No, Sir." "Then I am very willing you should go." ' ^ ' When he went through the streets he desired to have one to lead him by the hand. They asked his opinion of the high church. He answered that it was a large rock, yet there were some in St. Kilda much higher, but that these were the best caves he ever saw ; for that was the idea which he conceived of the pillars and arches upon which the church stands.' M. Martin's Western Isles, p. 297. Mr. Croker compares the passage in T/ie Spectator (No. 50), in which an Indian king is made to say of St. Paul's : — ' It was probably at first an huge misshapen rock that grew upon the top of the hill, which the Mr. 522 A schoolboys happiness. [a. d. 1763. Mr. Johnson had directed his attention. He said he would go to the Hebrides with me, when I returned from my travels, unless some ver^' good companion should offer when I was absent, which he did not think probable ; adding, ' There arc few people to whom I take so much to as you.' And when I talked of my leaving England, he said with a very affectionate air, ' My dear Boswell, I should be very un- happy at parting, did 1 think we were not to meet again'.' I cannot too often remind my readers, that although such instances of his kindness are doubtless very flattering to me, yet I hope my recording them will be ascribed to a better motive than to vanity ; for they afford unquestionable evi- dence of his tenderness and complacency, which some, while they were forced to acknowledge his great powers, have been so strenuous to deny. He maintained that a boy at school was the happiest of human beings". I supported a different opinion, from \\ hich I have never yet varied, that a man is happier ; and I en- larged upon the anxiety and sufferings which are endured at school. JoHN'SOX. 'Ah! Sir, a boy's being flogged is not so severe as a man's having the hiss of the world against him. Men have a solicitude about fame' ; and the greater natives of the country (after having cut it into a kind of regular figure) bored and hollowed with incredible pains and industry.' ' Boswell, writing to Temple the next day, slightly varies these words : — ' He said. " My dear Boswell, it would give me great pain to part with you, if I thought we were not to meet again." ' Letters of Boswell, p. 34. "Gibbon {M/sc. IViv/cs, i. 43) protests against 'the trite and lavish praise of the happiness of our boyish years, which is echoed with so much affectation in the world. That happiness I have never known, that time I have never regretted. The poet may gaily describe the short hours of recreation ; but he forgets the daily tedious labours of the school, which is approached each morning with anxious and re- luctant steps.' See ante, p. 51, and post, under Feb. 27, 1772. ' About fame Gibbon felt much as Johnson did. ' I am disgusted,' he wrote {ib. 272), 'with the aflfectation of men of letters, who com- plain that they have renounced a substance for a shadow, and that their fame (which sometimes is no insupportable weight) affords a shru-L Aetat. 54.] Praise of Sir David Dalrymple. 523 share they have of it, the more afraid they are of losing it.' I silently asked myself, ' Is it possible that the great Samuel Johnson really entertains any such apprehension, and is not confident that his exalted fame is established upon a founda- tion never to be shaken?' He this evening drank a bumper to Sir David Dalrymple', ' as a man of worth, a scholar, and a wit.' ' I have (said he) never heard of him except from you ; but let him know my opinion of him : for as he does not shew himself much in the w^orld, he should have the praise of the few who hear of him.' On Tuesday, July 26, I found Mr, Johnson alone. It was a very wet day, and I again complained of the disagreeable effects of such weather. JOHNSON. ' Sir, this is all imagi- nation, which physicians encourage : for man lives in air, as a fish lives in water ; so that if the atmosphere press heavy from above, there is an equal resistance from below. To be sure, bad weather is hard upon people who are obliged to be abroad ; and men cannot labour so well in the open air in bad weather, as in good : but, Sir, a smith or a taylor, whose work is within doors, will surely do as much in rainy weather, as in fair. Some very delicate frames, indeed, may be af- fected by wet weather ; but not common constitutions\' We talked of the education of children ; and I asked him what he thought was best to teach them first. JOHNSON. * Sir, it is no matter what you teach them first, any more than what leg you shall put into your breeches first. Sir, you may stand disputing which is best to put in first, but in the meantime your breech is bare. Sir, while you are con- sidering which of two things you should teach your child first, another boy has learnt them both.' poor compensation for envy, censure, and persecution. My own ex- perience, at least, has taught me a very different lesson ; twenty happy years have been animated by the labour of my History, and its success has given me a name, a rank, a character, in the world, to which I should not otherwise have been entitled." ' See ante, p. 500. * See ante, p. 385. On 524 The Tale of a Tub. [a. d. 1763. On Thursday, July 28, wc again supped in private at the Turk's Head coffee-house. Johnson. 'Swift has a higher reputation than he deserves. His excellence is strong sense ; for his humour, though very well, is not remarkably good. I doubt whether Tlic Tale of a Tub be his ; for he never owned it, and it is much above his usual manner'.' ' Thompson, I think, had as much of the poet about him as most writers. Every thing appeared to him through the medium of his favourite pursuit. He could not have viewed those two candles burning but with a poetical eye\' ' This opinion was given by him more at large at a subsequent period. See Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, 3rd edit. p. 32 [Aug. 16]. BoswELL. ' That Swift was its authour, though it be universal- ly believed, was never owned by himself, nor very well proved by any evidence ; but no other claimant can be produced, and he did not deny it when Archbishop Sharpe and the Duchess of Somerset, by shewing it to the Queen, debarred him from a bishoprick." Johnson's Works, viii. 197. See also post, March 24, 1775. Stockdale records {Mcj/wi'rs, ii.6i) that Johnson said 'that if Swift was really the author of T/ie Tate of a Tub, as the best of his other performances were of a very inferior merit, he should have hanged himself after he had writ- ten it.' Scott {Life of Swift, ed. 1834, p. yj) says: — 'Mrs. Whiteway observed the Dean, in the latter years of his life [in 1735], looking over the Tale, when suddenly closing the book he muttered, in an unconscious soliloqu3^ " Good God ! what a genius I had when I wrote that book !" She begged it of him, who made some excuse at the moment; but on her birthday he presented her with it inscribed, " From her affectionate cousin." On observing the inscription, she ventured to say, " I wish. Sir, you had said the gift of the author !" The Dean bowed, smiled good-humouredly, and answered, " No, I thank you," in a very significant manner.' There is this to be said of Johnson's incredulity about the Tale of a Tub, that the History of JoJm Bull and the Memoirs of Martimis Scriblerus, though both by Arbuth- not, were commonly assigned to Swift, and are printed in his Works. - "Thomson thinks in a peculiar train, and he thinks always as a man of genius ; he looks round on Nature and on Life with the eye which Nature bestows only on a poet ; — the eye that distinguishes in everything presented to its view whatever there is on which imagina- tion can delight to be detained, and with a mind that at once compre- hends the vast, and attends to the minute.' Johnson's Works, viii. 377. 3^0. fiost, ii. 72, and April 11, 1776. ' Has Aetat.54.| Mr. T/iomas Sheridaiis diilness. 525 'Has not ' a great deal of wit, Sir?' JOHNSON. 'I do not think so, Sir. He is, indeed, continually attempting wit, but he fails. And I have no more pleasure in hearing a man attempting wit and failing, than in seeing a man try- ing to leap over a ditch and tumbling into it.' He laughed heartily, when I mentioned to him a saying of his concerning Mr. Thomas Sheridan, which Foote took a wicked pleasure to circulate. 'Why, Sir, Sherry is dull, naturally dull ; but it must have taken him a great deal of pains to become what we now see him. Such an excess of stupidity. Sir, is not in Nature.' ' So (said he,) I allowed him all his own merit.' He now added, ' Sheridan cannot bear me. I bring his declamation to a point. I ask him a plain question, " What do you mean to teach ?" Besides, Sir, what influence can Mr. Sheridan have upon the language of this great country, by his narrow exertions? Sir, it is burning a farthing can- dle at Dover, to shew light at Calais^' Talking of a young man' who was uneasy from thinking that he was very deficient in learning and knowledge, he said, ' A man has no reason to complain who holds a middle place, and has many below him ; and perhaps he has not six of his years above him ; — perhaps not one. Though he may not know any thing perfectly, the general mass of ' Burke seems to be meant. Sg^c posf, April 25, 1778, and Boswell's Hebrides, Aug. 15, and Sept. 1 5, 1773. It is strange however that, while in these three places Boswell mentions Burke's name, he should leave a blank here. In BoswclliiHia, p. 328, Boswell records : — ' Langton said Burke hammered his wit upon an anvil, and the iron was cold. There were no sparks flashing and flying all about.' ' In Bosiuelliana (p. 214) this anecdote is thus given : — ' Boswell was talking to Mr. Samuel Johnson of Mr. Sheridan's enthusiasm for the advancement of eloquence. " Sir," said Mr. Johnson, " it won't do. He cannot carry through his scheme. He is like a man attempting to stride the English Channel. Sir, the cause bears no proportion to the eflect. It is setting up a candle at Whitechapel to give light at Westminster." ' See also ante, p. 446, 2Ln6. post, Oct. 16, 1769, April 18 and May 17, 1783. ^ Most likel}^ Boswell himself. See aufc. p. 475. knowlcdfie 526 Experience the test of truth. [a. d. 1763. knowledge that he has acquired is considerable. Time will do for him all that is wanting.' The conversation then took a philosophical turn. John- son. ' Human experience, which is constantly contradicting theory, is the great test of truth. A system, built upon the discoveries of a great many minds, is always of more strength, than what is produced by the mere workings of any one mind, which, of itself, can do little. There is not so poor a book in the world that would not be a prodigious effort were it wrought out entirely by a single mind, without the aid of prior investigators. The French writers are superficial' ; be- cause they are not scholars, and so proceed upon the mere power of their own minds ; and we see how very little power they have.' ' As to the Christian religion, Sir, besides the strong evi- dence which we have for it, there is a balance in its favour from the number of great men who have been convinced of its truth, after a serious consideration of the question. Gro- tius was an acute man, a lawyer, a man accustomed to ex- amine evidence, and he was convinced. Grotius was not a recluse, but a man of the world, who certainly had no bias to the side of religion. Sir Isaac Newton set out an infidel'', and came to be a very firm believer.' ' ' Let a Frenchman talk twice with a minister of state, he desires no more to furnish out a volume.' Swift's Works, ed. 1803, xvi. 197. Lord Chesterfield wrote from Paris in 1741 : — 'They [the Parisians] despise us, and with reason, for our ill-breeding ; on the other hand, we despise them for their want of learning, and we are in the right of it.' Supplement to Chesterfield's Letters, '^. \(). See Bos well 's //t'^r/c/^'^-, Oct. 14, 1773. * ' Dr. Johnson said that he had been told by an acquaintance of Sir Isaac Newton, that in early life he started as a clamorous infidel." Seward's Anecdotes, ii. 324. In Brewster's Life of Newton I find no mention of early infidelity. On the contrary, Newton had been de- scribed as one who ' had been a searcher of the Scriptures from his youth' (ii. 314). Brewster says that 'some foreign writers have en- deavoured to shew that his theological writings were composed at a late period of life, when his mind was in its dotage.' It was not so, however. /<^. p. 315. He Aetat. 54.] The University of Salamancha. 527 He this evening again recommended me to perambulate Spain'. I said it would amuse him to get a letter from me dated at Salamancha. Johnson. ' I love the University of Salamancha ; for when the Spaniards were in doubt as to the lawfulness of their conquering America, the University of Salamancha gave it as their opinion that it was not law- ful,' He spoke this with great emotion, and with that gen- erous warmth which dictated the lines in his London, against Spanish encroachment". I expressed my opinion of my friend Derrick as but a poor writer. JOHNSON, ' To be sure, Sir, he is ; but you are to con- sider that his being a literary man has got for him all that he has. It has made him King of Bath', Sir, he has nothing to say for himself but that he is a writer. Had he not been a writer, he must have been sweeping the crossings in the streets, and asking halfpence from every body that past.' In justice, however, to the memory of Mr. Derrick, who was my first tutor in the ways of London, and shewed me the town in all its variety of departments, both literary and ' I fully intended to have followed advice of such weight ; but hav- ing staid much longer both in Germany and Italy than I proposed to do, and having also visited Corsica, I found that I had exceeded the time allowed me by my father, and hastened to France in my way homewards. Boswell. See a7ttc, p. 474. ' Has heaven reserved, in pity to the poor, No pathless waste, or undiscovered shore ? No secret island in the boundless main ? No peaceful desert, yet unclaimed by Spain ?' Johnson looked upon the discovery of America as a misfortune to mankind. In Taxation no Tyranny ( Works, vi. 233) he says that ' no part of the world has yet had reason to rejoice that Columbus found at last reception and employment. In the same year, in a year hith- erto disastrous to mankind, by the Portuguese was discovered the passage of the Indies, and by the Spaniards the coast of America.' On March 4, 1773, he wrote (Croker's Boswell, p. 248) : — 'I do not much wish well to discoveries, for I am always afraid they will end in conquest and robbery.' See ante, p. 356, note 4, and post, March 21, 1775, and under Dec. 24, 1783. * See ante, p. 456, note 2, sportive, 528 Mr. Derrick. [a.d. 1763. sportive, the particulars of which Dr. Johnson advised me to put in writing, it is proper to mention what Johnson, at a sub- sequent period, said of him both as a writer and an editor: ' Sir, I have often said, that if Derrick's letters' had been writ- ten by one of a more established name, they would have been thought very pretty letters'.' And, ' I sent Derrick to Dry- den's relations to gather materials for his life ; and I believe he got all that I myself should have got'.' Poor Derrick ! I remember him with kindness. Yet I can- not with-hold from my readers a pleasant humorous sally which could not have hurt him had he been alive, and now is perfectly harmless. In his collection of poems, there is one upon entering the harbour of Dublin, his native city, after a long absence. It begins thus : ' Eblana ! much lov'd city, hail ! Where first I saw the light of day.' And after a solemn reflection on his being ' numbered with forgotten dead,' there is the following stanza : 'Unless my lines protract my fame. And those, who chance to read them, cry, I knew him ! Derrick was his name. In yonder tomb his ashes lie.' Which was thus happil)' parodied by Mr. John Home, to whom we owe the beautiful and pathctick tragedy of Douglas: ' Unless my deeds protract my fame. And he who passes sadly sings, I knew him ! Derrick was his name, 0?i yonder tree his carcase swings P I doubt much whether the amiable and ingenious authour ' Letters ivrtttenfrom Le7>erpoole, Chester, Corke, (Sr^c, by Samuel Der- rick, 1767. ' Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, 3rd ed. p. 104 [Aug. 27, 1773]. BOSWEI.L. ' Ibid. p. 142 [242, Sept. 22, 1773J. BOSWELL. Johnson added: — 'but it was nothing.' Derrick, in 1760, published Dryden's Misc. Works, with an Account of his Life, of Aetat. 54.] A day at Greenwich. 529 of these burlesque lines will recollect them, for they were produced extempore one evening while he and I were walk- ing together in the dining-room at Eglintoune Castle, in 1760, and I have never mentioned them to him since. Johnson said once to me, 'Sir, I honour Derrick for his presence of mind. One night, when Floyd', another poor authour, was wandering about the streets in the night, he found Derrick fast asleep upon a bulk* ; upon being sud- denly waked, Derrick started up, " My dear Floyd, I am sorry to see you in this destitute state ; will you go home with me to my lodgings .^" ' I again begged his advice as to my method of study at Utrecht. ' Come, (said he) let us make a day of it. Let us go down to Greenwich and dine, and talk of it there.' The following Saturday was fixed for this excursion. As we walked along the Strand to-night, arm in arm, a woman of the town accosted us, in the usual enticing man- ner. ' No, no, my girl, (said Johnson) it won't do.' He, how- ever, did not treat her with harshness, and we talked of the wretched life of such women ; and agreed, that much more misery than happiness, upon the whole, is produced by illicit commerce between the sexes. On Saturday, July 30, Dr. Johnson and I took a sculler at the Temple-stairs, and set out for Greenwich. I asked him if he really thought a knowledge of the Greek and Latin lan- guages an essential requisite to a good education. JOHN- SON. 'Most certainly. Sir; for those who know them have a ' He published a biographical work, containing an account of emi- nent writers, in three vols. 8vo. Boswell. ' ' Thus the soft gifts of sleep conclude the day, And stretched on bulks, as usual, poets lay.' The Diinciad, ii. 420. In Humphry Clinker, in the Letter of June 10, in which is described the dinner given by S to the poor authors, of one of them it is said : — ' The only secret which he ever kept was the place of his lodg- ings; but it was believed that during the heats of summer he com- monly took his repose upon a bulk.' Johnson defines bulk as a part of a building jutting out. I.— 34 very 530 The desire of knowledge. [a. d. 1763. very great advantage over those who do not. Nay, Sir, it is wonderful what a difference learning makes upon people even in the common intercourse of life, which does not ap- pear to be much connected with it.' ' And yet, (said I) people go through the world very well, and carry on the business of life to good advantage, without learning.' JOHNSON. ' Why, Sir, that maybe true in cases where learning cannot possibly be of any use ; for instance, this boy rows us as well without learning, as if he could sing the song of Orpheus to the Ar- gonauts, who were the first sailors.' He then called to the boy, ' What would you give, my lad, to know about the Ar- gonauts ?' ' Sir, (said the boy,) I would give what I have.' Johnson was much pleased with his answer, and we gave him a double fare. Dr. Johnson then turning to me, ' Sir, (said he,) a desire of knowledge is the natural feeling of mankind ; and every human being, whose mind is not debauched, will be willing to give all that he has to get knowledge'.' We landed at the Old Swan\ and walked to Billingsgate, where we took oars, and moved smoothly along the silver Thames. It was a very fine day. We were entertained with the immense number and variety of ships that were lying at anchor, and with the beautiful country on each side of the river. I talked of preaching, and of the great success which those called Methodists^ have. JOHNSON. * Sir, it is owing to their ' ' Knowledge is certainly one of the means of pleasure, as is con- fessed by the natural desire which every mind feels of increasing its ideas . . . without knowing why we always rejoice when we learn, and grieve when we forget.' Rassclas, ch. xi. ^ In the days of Old London Bridge, as Mr. Croker points out, even when the tide would have allowed passengers to shoot it, those who were prudent landed above the bridge, and walked to some wharf below it. ' All who are acquainted with the history of religion, (the most im- portant, surely, that concerns the human mind,) know that the appel- lation of Methodists was first given to a society of students in the University of Oxford, who about the year 1730 were distinguished by an earnest and incthodical attention to devout exercises. This dispo- sition of mind is not a novelty, or peculiar to any sect, but has been, and still may be found, in many Christians of every denomination. expressing Aetat. 54.J The Methodists. 531 expressing themselves in a plain and familiar manner, which is the only way to do good to the common people, and which clergymen of genius and learning ought to do from a Johnson himself was, in a dignified manner, a Methodist. In his Rambler, No. no, he mentions with respect 'the whole discipline of regulated piety;' and in his Prayers and Meditations, many instances occur of his anxious examination into his spiritual state. That this religious earnestness, and in particular an observation of the influence of the Holy Spirit, has sometimes degenerated into folly, and some- times been counterfeited for base purposes, cannot be denied. But it is not, therefore, fair to decry it when genuine. The principal argu- ment in reason and good sense against methodism is, that it tends to debase human nature, and prevent the generous exertions of good- ness, by an unworthy supposition that God will pay no regard to them ; although it is positively said in the scriptures that He ' will reward every man according to his works." [St. Matthew, xvi. 27.] But I am happy to have it [in] my power to do justice to those whom it is the fashion to ridicule, without any knowledge of their tenets; and this I can do by quoting a passage from one of their best apolo- gists, Mr. Milner, v/ho thus expresses their doctrine upon this subject. 'Justified by faith, renewed in his faculties, and constrained by the love of Christ, their believer moves in the sphere of love and grati- tude, and all his duties flow more or less from this principle. And though they are accwmdating for him in heaven a treasure of bliss proportioned to his faithfulness and activity, and it is by no means in- consistent with his principles to feel the force of this consideration, yet love itself sweetens every duty to his mind ; and he thinks there is no absurdity in his feeling the love of GoD as the grand commanding principle of his life.' Essays 07i several religious Subjects, &^c., by Jo- seph Milner, A.M., Af aster of the Grammar School of Kingston-upon- Hull, 1789, p. II. BOSWELL. Southey (/-//> of Wesley, i. 41 ), men- tioning the names given at Oxford to Wesley and his followers, continues : — ' One person with less irreverence and more learning observed, in reference to their methodical manner of life, that a new sect of Methodists was sprung up, alluding to the ancient school of physicians known by that name.' Wesley, in 1744, wrote The Humble Address to the King of the Societies in derision called Methodists. Journal, i. 437. He often speaks of 'the people called Methodists,' but sometimes he uses the term without any qualification. Mrs. Thrale, in 1780, wrote to Johnson : — ' Methodist is considered always a term of reproach, I trust, because I never yet did hear that any one person called himself a Methodist.' Piozzi Letters, ii. 119. principle 532 Greenwich hospital. [a. d. 1763. principle of duty, when it is suited to their congregations; a practice, for which they will be praised by men of sense'. To insist against drunkenness as a crime, because it debases rea- son, the noblest faculty of man, w^ould be of no service to the common people : but to tell them that they may die in a fit of drunkenness, and shew them how dreadful that would be, cannot fail to make a deep impression. Sir, when your Scotch clergy give up their homely manner, religion will soon decay in that country.' Let this observation, as Johnson meant it, be ever remembered. I was much pleased to find myself with Johnson at Green- wich, which he celebrates in his London as a favourite scene. 1 had the poem in my pocket, and read the lines aloud with enthusiasm : ' On Thames's banks in silent thought we stood : Where Greenwich smiles upon the silver flood : Pleas'd" with the seat which gave Eliza birth. We kneel, and kiss the consecrated earth.' He remarked that the structure of Greenwich hospital was too magnificent for a place of charity, and that its parts were too much detached to make one great whole. Buchanan, he said, was a very fine poet ; and observed, that he was the first who complimented a lady, by ascribing to her the different perfections of the heathen goddesses^ ; but that Johnston" improved upon this, by making his lady, at the same time, free from their defects. ' Wesley said : — ' We should constantly use the most common, lit- tle, easy words ( so they are pure and proper ) which our language affords. When first I talked at Oxford to plain people in the Castle [the prison] or the town, I observed they gaped and stared. This quickly obliged me to alter my style, and adopt the language of those I spoke to ; and yet there is a dignity in their simplicity, which is not disagreeable to those of the highest rank.' Southey's Wesley, i. 431. St&post, 1770, in Dr. Maxwell's Collectanea, Oct. 12, 1779, Aug. 30, 1780, and Boswell's Hebrides, Nov. lo, 1773. ' In the original, struck. ' Epigram, Lib. ii. ' In Elizabeth. Angliae Reg.' Malone. * See Boswell's Hebrides, Aug. 23. He Aetat. 54.] A course of study. 533 He dwelt upon Buchanan's elegant verses to Mary Queen of Scots, Nyjiip/ia Ca/cdonice, &c., and spoke with enthusiasm of the beauty of Latin verse. ' All the modern languages (said he) cannot furnish so melodious a line as ^ Formosam rcsonare doces Amarillida silvas^.^ Afterwards he entered upon the business of the day, which was to give me his advice as to a course of study. And here 1 am to mention with much regret, that my record of what he said is miserably scanty. I recollect with admiration an ani- mating blaze of eloquence, which rouzed every intellectual power in me to the highest pitch, but must have dazzled me so much, that my memory could not preserve the sub- stance of his discourse^; for the note which I find of it is no more than this: — ' He ran over the grand scale of human knowledge ; advised me to select some particular branch to excel in, but to acquire a little of every kind.' The defect of my minutes will be fully supplied by a long letter upon the subject which he favoured me with, after I had been some time at Utrecht, and which my readers will have the pleasure to peruse in its proper place. We walked in the evening in Greenwich Park. He asked me, I suppose, by way of trying my disposition, ' Is not this very fine?' Having no exquisite relish of the beauties of Nature', and being more delighted with 'the busy hum of men",' I answered, ' Yes, Sir ; but not equal to Fleet-street\' Johnson. 'You are right, Sir.' ' Virgil, Eclogues, i. 5. Johnson, when a boy, turned the line thus : — 'And the wood rings with Amarillis' name.' Ante, p. 59. "^ Boswell said of Paoli's talk about great men : — ' I regret that the fire with which he spoke upon such occasions so dazzled me, that I could not recollect his sayings, so as to write them down when I re- tired from his presence.' Corsica, p. 197. ' More passages than one in Boswell's Letters to Temple shew this absence of relish. Thus in 1775 he writes: — ' I perceive some dawn- ings of taste for the country' (p. 2i6) ; and again: — 'I will force a taste for natural beauties ' (p, 219). * Milton's L Allegro, I. 118. ' See post, April 2, 1775, and April 17, 1778. I am 534 Affected by the temperature. [a.d. 17G3. I am aware that many of my readers may censure my want of taste. Let me, however, shelter myself under the authority of a very fashionable Baronet' in the brilliant world, who, on his attention being called to the fragrance of a May evening in the country, observed, ' This may be very well ; but, for my part, I prefer the smell of a flambeau at the play-house'.' We staid so long at Greenwich, that our sail up the river, in our return to London, was by no means so pleasant as in the morning ; for the night air was so cold that it made me shiver, I was the more sensible of it from having sat up all the night before, recollecting and writing in my journal what I thought worthy of preservation ; an exertion, which, during the first part of my acquaintance with Johnson, I frequently made. I remember having sat up four nights in one week, without being much incommoded in the day time. Johnson, whose robust frame was not in the least affected by the cold, scolded me, as if my shivering had been a pal- try effeminacy, saying, ' Why do you shiver?' Sir William Scott\ of the Commons, told me, that when he complained of a head-ach in the post-chaise, as they were travelling to- gether to Scotland, Johnson treated him in the same manner : ' My friend Sir Michael Le Fleming. This gentleman, with all his experience of sprightly and elegant life, inherits, with the beautiful family Domain, no inconsiderable share of that love of literature, which distinguished his venerable grandfather, the Bishop of Carlisle. He one day observed to me, of Dr. Johnson, in a felicity of phrase, ' There is a blunt dignity about him on every occasion.' Boswell. '■' Wordsworth's lines to the Baronet's daughter. Lady Fleming, might be applied to the father : — ' Lives there a man whose sole delights Are trivial pomp and city noise. Hardening a heart that loathes or slights What every natural heart enjoys ?' Wordsworth's Poems, iv. 338. ' Afterwards Lord Stowell. He was a member of Doctors' Com- mons, the College of Civilians in London, who practised in the Eccle- siastical Courts and the Court of the Admiralty. See Boswell's Heb- rides, ^u^. 14, 1773. 'At Aetat. 54.] Atichiuleck. 535 ' At your age, Sir, I had no head-ach.' It is not easy to make allowance for sensations in others, which we ourselves have not at the time. We must all have experienced how very differently we are affected by the complaints of our neighbours, when we are well and when we are ill. In full health, we can scarcely believe that they suffer much ; so faint is the image of pain upon our imagination : when soft- ened by sickness, we readily sympathize with the sufferings of others. We concluded the day at the Turk's Head coffee-house very socially. He was pleased to listen to a particular ac- count which I gave him of my family, and of its hereditary estate, as to the extent and population of which he asked questions, and made calculations; recommending, at the same time, a liberal kindness to the tenantry, as people over whom the proprietor was placed by Providence'. He took delight in hearing my description of the romantick seat of my an- cestors. ' I must be there. Sir, (said he) and we will live in the old castle ; and if there is not a room in it remaining, we will build one.' I was highly flattered, but could scarcely indulge a hope that Auchinleck would indeed be honoured by his presence, and celebrated by ? description, as it after- wards was, in his Journey to the IVestej'n Islands'' . After we had again talked of my setting out for Holland, he said, ' I must see thee out of England ; I will accompany you to Harwich.' I could not find words to express what I felt upon this unexpected and very great mark of his affec- tionate regard. Next day, Sunday, July 31,1 told him I had been that morning at a meeting of the people called Quakers, where I had heard a woman preach. JOHNSON. ' Sir, a woman's preaching is like a dog's walking on his hinder legs. It is not done well ; but you are surprized to find it done at all.' ' He repeated this advice on the death of Boswell's father, /c;^'/ Sept. 7, 1782. ° Johnson {li'oris, ix. 159) describes ' the sullen dignity of the old castle.' See also Boswell's Hebrides, Nov. 4, 1773. On 536 Tea witJi Miss JVillianis. [a.i\1763. On Tuesday, August 2, (the d.i)- of nn- tlcparlurc from London havini;" been fixed for the 5th,) Dr. Johnson did me the lionour to pass a part of the morning with me at my Chambers, lie said, that 'he always felt an inclination to do nothing." I observed, that it was strange to think that the most indolent man in Britain had written the most laborious work. The linglisli Dictionary. I mentioned an imprudent publication', hy a certain friend of his, at an early period of life, and asked him if lu- thought it would hurt him. Johnson. 'No, Sir; not much. It may, perhaps, be mentioned at an election." I had now made good nn- title to be a privilegetl man', and was carried by him in the evening to drink tea with Miss Williams, whom, though under the misfortune of having lost her sight, I found to be agreeable in conversation ; for she had a variety of literature, and expressed herself well ; but her peculiar value was the intimac)' in which she had long lived with Johnson, by which she was well ae(iuaiiited with his habits, and knew how to lead him on to talk. After tea he carried me to what he called his walk, \\ hich was a long narrow paved ccnirt in the neighbourhood, over- shadowed b)' some trees. There we sauntered a consider- able time; and I complained to him that nn' love of London and his compan)- was such, that I shrunk almost from the thought of going away, even to travel, which is generall\- so much desired b)' young men". He roused me b\' manly and spirited cc^iversation. He advised me, when settled in any place abroad, to study with an eagerness after knowletlge, and to apply to Greek an hour every day ; and w hen I was moving about, to read diligently the great book of mankind. ' Probably Burke's Vindication of Xatural Society, published in 1756 when Burke was twenty-six. ' Sec ante, p. 488. ' Boswell wrote to Temple on |uly 28, 1763: — 'My departure fills me with a kind of gloom that quite overshadows my mind. I could almost weep to think of leaving dear Londoti, and the calm retire- ment of the Inner Temple. This is very etTeminate and very young, but 1 cannot help it.' Letters of Bos^ivell, p. 46. On Aetat. 54.] Convocation. 537 On Wednesday, August 3, we had our last social evening at the Turk's Head coffee-house, before my setting out for foreign parts. I had the misfortune, before we parted, to irritate him unintentional!)'. 1 mentioned to him how com- mon it was in the world to tell absurd stories of him, and to ascribe to him veiy strange sayings. JoilN.SON. * What do they make me say. Sir?' BoswELL. 'Why, Sir, as an in- stance very strange indeed, (laughing heartily as I spoke,) David Hume told me, you said that you would stand before a battery of cannon, to restore the Convocation to its full powers.' Little did I apprehend that he had actually said this: but I was soon convinced of my errour ; for, with a determined look, he thundered out 'And would I not, Sir? Shall the Presbyterian Kirk of Scotland have its General Assembly, and the Church of England be denied its Con- vocation?' He was walking up and down the room while 1 told him the anecdote ; but when he uttered this explo- sion of high-church zeal, he had come close to my chair, and his eyes flashed wath indignation'. I bowed to the storm, and diverted the force of it, by leading him to ex- patiate on the influence which religion derived from main- taining the church with great external respectability. I must not omit to mention that he this year wrote Tlie Life of Asc/iaiir\, and the Dedication to the Earl of Shaftes- bury f, prefixed to the edition of that writer's English works, published by Mr. Bennet\ ' Mrs. Piozzi says {Aftcc. p. 297) that 'Johnson's eyes were so wild, so piercing, and at times so fierce, that fear was, I believe, the first emotion in the hearts of all his beholders.' * Johnson was, in fact, the editor of this work, as appears from a letter of Mr. T. Davies to the Rev. Edm. Bettesworth : — ' Reverend Sir, ■ — I take the liberty to send you Roger Ascham's works in English. Though Mr. Bennets name is in the title, the editor was in reality Mr. Johnson, the author of T/tc Ra)nblcr, who wrote the life of the au- thor, and added several notes. Mr. Johnson gave it to Mr. Bennet, for his advantage,' &c. — Croker. Very likely Davies exaggerated Johnson's share in the book. Bennet's edition was published, not in 1763, but in 1761, On 53^ -^'^ i^i^^ Harwich stage coach. |a.u. 1763. On Friday, August 5, we set out early in the morning in the Harwich stage coach. A fat elderly gentlewoman, and a young Dutchman, seemed the most inclined among us to conversation. At the inn where we dined, the gentlewoman said that she had done her best to educate her children ; and particularly, that she had never suffered them to be a mo- ment idle. Johnson. ' I wish, madam, )'ou would educate me too ; for I have been an idle fellow all my life.' ' I am sure, Sir, (said she) you have not been idle.' JOHNSON. ' Na)', Madam, it is very true ; and that gentleman there (pointing to me,) has been idle. He was idle at Edinburgh. His father sent him to Glasgow, where he continued to be idle. He then came to London, where he has been very idle ; and now he is going to Utrecht, where he will be as idle as ever.' I asked him privately how he could expose me so. JOHNSON. ' Poh, poh ! (said he) they knew nothing about you, and will think of it no more.' In the afternoon the gentlewoman talked violently against the Roman Catholicks, and of the horrours of the Inquisition. To the utter astonishment of all the passengers but myself, who knew that he could talk upon any side of a question, he defended the Inquisition, and maintained, that ' false doctrine should be checked on its first appearance ; that the civil powder should unite with the church in punishing those who dared to attack the established reli- gion, and that such only Avere punished by the Inquisition'.' He had in his pocket ' Pomponins Mela dc situ Orbis,' in which he read occasionally, and seemed very intent upon ancient ' Lord Sheffield describes the change in Gibbon's opinions caused by the Reign of Terror : — ' He became a warm and zealous advocate for every sort of old establishment. I recollect in a circle where French affairs were the topic and some Portuguese present, he, seem- ingly with seriousness, argued in favour of the Inquisition at Lisbon, and said he would not, at the present moment, give up even that old establishment.' Gibbon's Misc. Works, i. 328. One of Gibbon's cor- respondents told him in 1792, that the Wealth of Nations had been condemned by the Inquisition on account of 'the lowness of its style and the looseness of the morals which it inculcates.' lb. ii. 479. See iS,^o post, May 7, 1773. geography. Aetat.54.] Blackloclcs poetry. 539 geography. Though by no means niggardly, his attention to what was generally right was so minute, that having ob- served at one of the stages that I ostentatiously gave a shil- ling to the coachman, when the custom was for each passen- ger to give only six-pence, he took me aside and scolded me, saying that what I had done would make the coachman dis- satisfied with all the rest of the passengers, who gave him no more than his due. This was a just reprimand ; for in what- ever way a man may indulge his generosity or his vanity in spending his money, for the sake of others he ought not to raise the price of any article for which there is a constant demand. He talked of Mr. Blacklock's poetry, so far as it was de- scriptive of visible objects ; and observed, that ' as its authour had the misfortune to be blind, we may be absolutely sure that such passages are combinations of what he has remem- bered of the works of other writers who could see. That fool- ish fellow, Spence, has laboured to explain philosophically how Blacklock may have done, by means of his own faculties, what it is impossible he should do.' The solution, as I have given it, is plain. Suppose, I know a man to be so lame that he is absolutely incapable to move himself, and I find him in a different room from that in which I left him ; shall I puzzle myself with idle conjectures, that, perhaps, his nerves have by some unknown change all at once become effective ? ' Johnson wrote on Aug. 17, 1773: — 'This morning I saw at break- fast Dr. Blacklock, the blind poet, who does not remember to have seen light, and is read to by a poor scholar in Latin, Greek, and French. He was originally a poor scholar himself. I looked on him with reverence.' Piozzi Letters, '\. wo. See also '^0'irf}€\\''s Hebrides, Aug. 17, 1773. Spence published an Account of Blacklock, in which he meanly omitted any mention of Hume's great generosity to the blind poet. J. H. Burton's Hume, i. 392. Hume asked Blacklock whether he connected colour and sound. ' He answered, that as he met so often with the terms expressing colours, he had formed some false associations, but that they were of the intellectual kind. The illumi- nation of the sun, for instance, he supposed to rese-mble the presence of a friend.* lb. p. 389. No 540 Torture in Holland. [a.d. 1763. No, Sir; it is clear how he got into a different room: he was carried' Having stopped a night at Colchester', Johnson talked of that town with veneration, for having stood a siege for Charles the First. The Dutchman alone now remained with us. He spoke English tolerably well ; and thinking to rec- ommend himself to us by expatiating on the superiority of the criminal jurisprudence of this country over that of Hol- land, he inveighed against the barbarity of putting an accused person to the torture, in order to force a confession''. But Johnson was as ready for this, as for the Inquisition. ' Why, Sir, you do not, I find, understand the law of your own country. The torture of Holland is considered as a favour ' They left London early and yet they travelled only 51 miles that day. The whole distance to Harwich is 71 miles. Paterson's Itiner- ary, I. 323. ' Mackintosh [Life, ii. 162) writing of the time of William III, says that 'torture was legal in Scotland, and familiar in every country of Europe but England. Was there a single writer at that time who had objected to torture.'' I think not.' In the Gent. Mag. for 1742 (p. 660) it is stated that ' the King of Prussia has forbid the use of torture in his dominions.' In 1747 (p. 298) we read that Dr. Blackwell, an English physician, had been put to the torture in Sweden. Montes- quieu in the Esprit des Lois,w\. 17, published in 1748. writing of 'la question ou torture contre les criminels,' says : — • Nous voyons au- jourd'hui une nation tres-bien policee [la nation anglaise] la rejeter sans inconvenient. Elle n'est done pas necessaire par sa nature.' Boswell in 1765 found that Paoli tortured a criminal with fire. Cor- sua, p. 158. Voltaire, in 1777, after telling how innocent men had been put to death with torture in the reign of Lewis XIV, continues — ' Mais un roi a-t-il le temps de songer a ces menus details d'hor- reurs au milieu de ses fetes, de ses conquetes, et de ses maitresses ? Daignez vous en occuper, o Louis XVI, vous qui n'avez aucune de ces distractions !' Voltaire's Works, xxvi. 332. Johnson, two years before Voltaire thus wrote, had been shown la c/tanibre de question — the tort- ure-chamber — in Paris. Post, Oct. 17, 1775. It was not till the Rev- olution that torture was abolished in France. One of the Scotch judges in 1793, at the trial of Messrs. Palmer and Muir for sedition {post, June 3, 1 78 1, note). ' asserted that now the torture was banished, there was no adequate punishment for sedition.' Pari. Hist, xxx. 1 569. to Aetat. 54.] Johnsons relish for good eating. 541 to an accused person ; for no man is put to the torture there, unless there is as much evidence against him as would amount to conviction in England. An accused person among you, therefore, has one chance more to escape punishment, than those who are tried among us.' At supper this night he talked of good eating with uncom- mon satisfaction. ' Some people (said he,) have a foolish way of not minding, or pretending not to mind, what they eat. For my part, I mind my belly very studiously, and very carefully ; for I look upon it, that he who does not mind his belly will hardly mind anything else'.' He now appeared to me Jean Bull pJiilosoplic, and he was, for the moment, not only serious but vehement. Yet I have heard him, upon other occasions, talk with great contempt of people who were anxious to gratify their palates ; and the 206th number of his Rambler is a masterly essay against gulosity^ His practice, indeed, I must acknowledge, may be considered as casting the balance of his different opinions upon this ' ' A cheerful and good heart will have a care of his meat and drink.' Ecciest'ast/ais, xxx. 25. ' Verecundari neminem apud mensam decet, Nam ibi de divinis atque humanis cemitur.' Tritmmimis, act 2, sc. 4. Mrs. Piozzi (Afur. p. 149) records that 'Johnson often said, "that wherever the dinner is ill got, there is poverty, or there is avarice, or there is stupidity ; in short, the family is somehow grossly wrong ; for," continued he, "a man seldom thinks with more earnestness of anything than he does of his dinner ; and if he cannot get that well dressed, he should be suspected of inaccuracy in other things." ' Yet he ' used to say that a man who rode out for an appetite consulted but little the dignity of human nature.' Johnson's Works (1787), xi. 204. ' This essay is more against the practices of the parasite than gu- losity. It is entitled T/ie art of In'tng at the cost of others. Johnson wrote to one of Mrs. Thrale's children : — ' Gluttony is, I think, less common among women than among men. Women commonly eat more sparingly, and are less curious in the choice of meat ; but if once you find a woman gluttonous, expect from her very little virtue. Her mind is enslaved to the lowest and grossest temptation.' Piozzi Let- ters, ii. 298. subject 542 Johnson s relish for good eating, [a.d. 1703. subject ; for I never knew any man who relished good eating more than he did. When at table, he was totally absorbed in the business of the moment ; his looks seemed rivetted to his plate ; nor would he, unless when in very high company, say one word, or even pay the least attention to what was said by others, till he had satisfied his appetite', which was so fierce, and indulged with such intenseness, that while in the act of eating, the veins of his forehead swelled, and gen- erally a strong perspiration was visible". To those whose sensations were delicate, this could not but be disgusting; and it was doubtless not very suitable to the character of a philosopher, who should be distinguished by self-command. But it must be owned, that Johnson, though he could be rigidly abstemious, was not a temperate man either in eating or drinking. He could refrain, but he could not use mod- erately'. He told me, that he had fasted two days without inconvenience, and that he had never been huilgry but once". They who beheld with wonder how much he eat upon all occasions when his dinner was to his taste, could not easily ' Hawkins {Life, p. 355) mentions 'the greediness with which he ate, his total inattention to those among whom he was seated, and his profound silence at the moment of refection.' '-' Cumberland {Memoirs, i. 357) says: — 'He fed heartily, but not voraciously, and was extremely courteous in his commendations of any dish that pleased his palate.' ^ Johnson wrote to Mrs. Thrale on July 10, 1780: — ' Last week I saw flesh but twice and I think fish once ; the rest was pease. You are afraid, you say, lest I extenuate myself too fast, and are an enemy to violence; but did you never hear nor read, dear Madam, that every man has \\\% genius, and that the great rule by which all excellence is attained and all success procured, is to ioWo^ genius ; and have you not observed in all our conversations that my genius is always in ex- tremes ; that I am very noisy or very silent ; very gloomy or very merry ; very sour or very kind ? And would you have me cross my genius when it leads me sometimes to voracity and sometimes to ab- stinence ?' Piozzi Letters, ii. i66. * 'This,' he told Boswell, 'was no intentional fasting, but happened just in the course of a literary life.' Boswell's Hebrides, Oct. 4, 1773. See post, April 17, 1778. conceive Aetat. 54.] A cvitick of cookery. 543 conceive what he must have meant by hunger; and not only was he remarkable for the extraordinary quantity which he eat, but he was, or affected to be, a man of very nice discern- ment in the science of cookery. He used to descant critically on the dishes which had been at table where he had dined or supped, and to recollect very minutely what he had liked'. I remember, when he was in Scotland, his praising 'Gordon s palates,' (a dish of palates at the Honourable Alexander Gor- don's) with a warmth of expression which might have done honour to more important subjects. ' As for Maclaurin's imitation of a made dish, it was a wretched attempt".' He about the same time was so much displeased with the per- formances of a nobleman's French cook, that he exclaimed with vehemence, * I'd throw such a rascal into the river ;' and he then proceeded to alarm a lady at whose house he was to sup\ by the following manifesto of his skill : ' I, Madam, who live at a variety of good tables, am a much better judge of cookery, than any person who has a very tolerable cook, but lives much at home ; for his palate is gradually adapted to the taste of his cook ; whereas, Madam, in trying by a wider range, I can more exquisitely judge\' When invited to dine, even with an intimate friend, he was not pleased if some, thing better than a plain dinner was not prepared for him. I have heard him say on such an occasion, ' This was a good * III the last year of his life, when he knew that his appetite was diseased, he wrote to Mrs. Thrale : — ' I have now an inclination to hixury which even your table did not excite ; for till ncnu 7ny talk was 7>torf about the dishes than my thoughts. I remember you commended me for seeming pleased with my dinners when you had reduced your table ; I am able to tell you with great veracity, that I never knew when the reduction began, nor should have known that it was made, had not you told me. / now think and considt to-day what I shall eat to-tnorrow. This disease will, I hope, be cured.' Pioszi Letters, ii. 362. ' Johnson's visit to Gordon and Maclaurin are just mentioned in Boswell's Hebrides, under Nov. 11, 1773. ' The only nobleman with whom he dined ' about the same time ' was Lord Elibank. After dining with him, ' he supped,' says BosweH 'with my wife and myself.' lb. * Steposf, April 15, t778. dinner 544 Studied behaviour. [a. d. 1763. dinner enough, to be sure ; but it was not a dinner to ask a man to.' On the other hand, he was wont to express, with great glee, his satisfaction when he had been entertained quite to his mind. One day when we had dined with his neighbour and landlord in Bolt-court, Mr. Allen, the printer, whose old housekeeper had studied his taste in every thing, he pronounced this eulogy : ' Sir, we could not have had a better dinner had there been a Synod of Cooks'! While we were left by ourselves after the Dutchman liad gone to bed. Dr. Johnson talked of that studied behaviour which many have recommended and practised. He disap- proved of it ; and said, ' I never considered whether I should be a grave man, or a merry man, but just let inclination, for the time, have its course*.' He flattered me with some hopes that he would, in the course of the following summer, come over to Holland, and accompany me in a tour through the Netherlands. I teized him with fanciful apprehensions of unhappiness. A moth having fluttered round the candle, and burnt itself, he laid hold of this little incident to admonish me; saying, with a sly look, and in a solemn but quiet tone, ' That creature was its own tormentor, and I believe its name was BOSWELL,' Next day we got to Harwich to dinner ; and my passage ' Mrs. Piozzi {Aiicc. p. 102) says, 'Johnson's own notions about eating were nothing less than delicate ; a leg of pork boiled till it dropped from the bone, a veal-pie with plums and sugar, or the outside cut of a salt buttock of beef were his favourite dainties.' Cradock saw Burke at a tavern dinner send Johnson a very small piece of a pie, the crust of which was made with bad butter. ' Johnson soon returned his plate for more. Burke exclaimed : — " I am glad that you are able so well to relish this pie." Johnson, not at all pleased that what he ate should ever be noticed, retorted: — "There is a time of life. Sir, when a man requires the repairs of a table." ' Cradock's Memoirs, i. 229. A passage in Baretti's Italy, ii. 316, seems to show that English eating in general was not delicate. ' I once heard a Frenchman swear,' he writes, ' that he hated the English " parce qu'ils versent du beurre fondu sur leur veau roti." ' ' ' He had an abhorrence of affectation,' said Mr. Langton. Post, 1780, in Mr. Langton's Collection. m Aetat. 54.] Bishop Berkeley s sophistry. 545 in the packet-boat to Helvoetsluys being secured, and my baggage put on board, we dined at our inn by ourselves. I happened to say it would be terrible if he should not find a speedy opportunity of returning to London, and be confined to so dull a place. JOHNSON. ' Don't, Sir, accustom your- self to use big words for little matters'. It would not be ter- rible^ though I were to be detained some time here,' The practice of using words of disproportionate magnitude, is, no doubt, too frequent everywhere ; but, I think, most remark- able among the French, of which, all who have travelled in France must have been struck with innumerable instances. We went and looked at the church, and having gone into it and walked up to the altar, Johnson, whose piety was con- stant and fervent, sent me to my knees, saying, ' Now that you are going to leave your native country, recommend your- self to the protection of your CREATOR and REDEEMER.' After we came out of the church, we stood talking for some time together of Bishop Berkeley's ingenious sophistry to prove the non-existence of matter, and that every thing in the universe is merely ideal. I observed, that though we are satisfied his doctrine is not true, it is impossible to refute it. I never shall forget the alacrity with which Johnson answered, striking his foot with mighty force against a large stone, till he rebounded from it, ' I refute it thus'.' This was a stout exemplification of the first truths of Perc Boiifficr^, or the original principles of Reid and of Beattie ; without admit- ting which, we can no more argue m metaphysicks, than we can argue in mathematicks without axioms. To me it is not conceivable how Berkeley can be answered by pure ' At college he would not let his companions sa.y prodtgzoiis. Post, April 17, 1778. ^ See post, Sept. 19, 1777, and 1780 in Mr. Langton's Collection. Dugald Stewart quotes a saying of Turgot : — ' He who had never doubted of the existence of matter might be assured he had no turn for metaphysical disquisitions.' Lt/e of Reid, p. 416. ' Claude Buffier, born 1661, died 1737. Author of Traits des pre- mieres veritis et de la source de nos jugements. I. — 35 reasoning; 546 Boswell embarks for Holland. [a.u. 1768. reasoning ; but I know that the nice and difficult task was to have been undertaken by one of the most luminous minds of the present age, had not politicks ' turned him from calm philosophy aside'.' What an admirable display of subtilty, united with brilliance, might his contending with Berkeley have afforded us"! How must we, when we reflect on the loss of such an intellectual feast, regret that he should be characterised as the man, ' Who born for the universe narrow'd his mind, And to party gave up what was meant for mankind'?' My revered friend walked down with me to the beach, where we embraced and parted with tenderness, and engaged to correspond by letters. 1 said, ' I hope, Sir, you will not forget me in my absence.' JOHNSON. ' Nay, Sir, it is more likely you should forget me, than that I should forget you.' As the vessel put out to sea, I kept my eyes upon him for a considerable time, while he remained rolling his majestick frame in his usual manner: and at last I perceived him walk back into the town, and he disappeared', ' ' Not when a gilt buffet's reflected pride Turns you from sound philosophy aside.' Pope's Satires, ii. 5. "^ Mackintosh (Life, i. 71) said that ' Burke's treatise on the Sublime and Beautiful is rather a proof that his mind was not formed for pure philosophy; and if we may believe Boswell that it was once the inten- tion of Mr. Burke to have written against Berkeley, we may be assured that he would not have been successful in answering that great spec- ulator; or, to speak more correctly, that he could not have discovered the true nature of the questions in dispute, and thus have atlorded the only answer consistent with the limits of the human faculties.' ' Goldsmith's Retaliation. * I have the following autograph letter written by Johnson to Dr. Taylor three weeks after Boswell's departure. ' Dear Sir, ' Having with some impatience reckoned upon hearing from you these two last posts, and been disappointed, I can form to myself no reason for the omission but your perturbation of mind, or disorder of body arising from it, and therefore I once more advise removal from Ashbourne as the proper remedy both for the cause and the effect. Utrecht Aetat. 54.] yohnsofts first letter to Boswell. 547 Utrecht seeming at first very dull to me, after the animated scenes of London, my spirits were grievously affected ; and I wrote to Johnson a plaintive and desponding letter, to which he paid no regard. Afterwards, when I had acquired a firmer tone of mind, I wrote him a second letter, expressing much anxiety to hear from him. At length I received the follow- ing epistle, which was of important service to me, and, I trust, will be so to many others. *A M. M. BoswELL, X LA CouR DE l'Empereur, Utrecht. 'Dear Sir, ' You are not to think yourself forgotten, or criminally neg- lected, that you have had yet no letter from me. I love to see my friends, to hear from them, to talk to them, and to talk of them ; but it is not without a considerable effort of resolution that I pre- vail upon myself to write. I would not, however, gratify my own ' You perhaps ask. whither should I go } any whither where your case is not known, and where your presence will cause neither looks nor whispers. Where you are the necessary subject of common talk, you will not safely be at rest. ' If you cannot conveniently write to me yourself let somebody write for you to ' Dear Sir, ' Your most affectionate, ' Sam. Johnson.' •August 25, 1763. ' To the Reverend Dr. Taylor in Ashbourne, Derbyshire." Five other letters on the same subject are given in Notes and Queries, 6th S. V. pp. 324, 342, 382. Taylor and his wife ' never lived very well together' (p. 325), and at last she left him. On May 22nd of the next year Johnson congratulated Taylor ' upon the happy end of so vexa- tious an affair, the happyest [sic] that could be next to reformation and reconcilement ' (p. 382). Taylor did not follow the advice to leave Ashbourne ; for on Sept. 3 Johnson wrote to him : — ' You seem to be so well pleased to be where you are, that I shall not now press your removal ; but do not believe that every one who rails at your wife wishes well to you. A small country town is not the place in which one would chuse to quarrel with a wife ; every human being in such places is a spy.' lb. p. 343. indolence 54^ yohnsons first letter to BoswelL [a.d. 1763. indolence by the omission of any important duty, or any office of real kindness. ' To tell you that 1 am or am not well, that I have or have not been in the country, that I drank your health in the room in which we sat last together, and that your acquaintance continue to speak of you with their former kindness, topicks with which those letters are commonly filled which are written only for the sake of writing, I seldom shall think worth communicating ; but if I can have it in my power to calm any harassing disquiet, to excite any virtuous desire, to rectify any important opinion, or fortify any generous res- olution, you need not doubt but 1 shall at least wish to prefer the pleasure of gratifying a friend much less esteemed than yourself, before the gloomy calm of idle vacancy. Whether I shall easily arrive at an exact punctuality of correspondence, 1 cannot tell. I shall, at present, expect that you will receive this in return for two which I have had from you. The first, indeed, gave me an account so hopeless of the state of your mind, that it hardly admitted or deserved an answer ; by the second I was much better pleased : and the pleasure will still be increased by such a narrative of the progress of your studies, as may evince the continuance of an equal and rational application of your mind to some useful enquiry. ' You will, perhaps, wish to ask, what study I would recommend. I shall not speak of theolog}^ because it ought not to be consid- ered as a question whether you shall endeavour to know the will of God. ' I shall, therefore, consider only such studies as we are at liberty to pursue or to neglect; and of these I know not how you will make a better choice, than by studying the civil law, as your father advises, and the ancient languages, as you had determined for yourself ; at least resolve, while you remain in any settled resi- dence, to spend a certain number of hours every day amongst your books. The dissipation of thought, of which you complain, is nothing more than the vacillation of a mind suspended between different motives, and changing its direction as any motive gains or loses strength. If you can but kindle in your mind any strong desire, if you can but keep predominant any wish for some partic- ular excellence or attainment, the gusts of imagination will break away, without any effect upon your conduct, and commonly with- out any traces left upon the memory. ' There lurks, perhaps, in every human heart a desire of distinc- tion, which inclines every man first to hope, and then to believe, that Aetat. 54.] BoswelVs character sketched by Johfison. 549 that Nature has given him something peculiar to himself. This vanity makes one mind nurse aversion, and another actuate desires, till they rise by art much above their original state of power ; and as affectation, in time, improves to habit, they at last tyrannise over him who at first encouraged them only for show. Every desire is a viper in the bosom, who, while he was chill, was harmless ; but when warmth gave him strength, exerted it in poison. You know a gentleman, who, when first he set his foot in the gay world, as he prepared himself to whirl in the vortex of pleasure, imagined a total indifference and universal negligence to be the most agree- able concomitants of youth, and the strongest indication of an airy temper and a quick apprehension. Vacant to every object, and sensible of every impulse, he thought that all appearance of dili- gence would deduct something from the reputation of genius ; and hoped that he should appear to attain, amidst all the ease of care- lessness, and all the tumult of diversion, that knowledge and those accomplishments which mortals of the common fabrick obtain only by mute abstraction and solitary drudgery. He tried this scheme of life awhile, was made weary of it by his sense and his virtue ; he then wished to return to his studies ; and finding long habits of idleness and pleasure harder to be cured than he expected, still willing to retain his claim to some extraordinary prerogatives, re- solved the common consequences of irregularity into an unalter- able decree of destiny, and concluded that Nature had originally formed him incapable of rational employment. ' Let all such fancies, illusive and destructive, be banished hence- forward from your thoughts for ever. Resolve, and keep your res- olution ; choose, and pursue your choice. If you spend this day in study, you will find yourself still more able to study to-morrow ;' not that you are to expect that you shall at once obtain a complete victory. Depravity is not very easily overcome. Resolution will sometimes relax, and diligence will sometimes be interrupted ; but let no accidental surprise or deviation, whether short or long, dis- pose you to despondency. Consider these failings as incident to aH mankind. Begin again where you left off, and endeavour to avoid the seducements that prevailed over you before. ' This, my dear Boswell, is advice which, perhaps, has been often given you, and given you without effect. But this advice, if you will not take from others, you must take from your own reflections, if you purpose to do the duties of the station to which the bounty ©f Providence has called you. 'Let 550 The Frisick language. [a.d. 1764. ' Let me have a long letter from you as soon as you can. I hope you continue your journal, and enrich it with many observations upon the country in which you reside. It will be a favour if you can get me any books in the Frisick language, and can enquire how the poor are maintained in the Seven Provinces. I am, dear Sir, ' Your most affectionate servant, ' Sam. Johnson.' ' London, Dec. 8, 1763.' I am sorry to observe, that neither in my own minutes, nor in my letters to Johnson, which have been preserved by him, can I find any information how the poor are maintained in the Seven Provinces. But I shall extract from one of my letters what I learnt concerning the other subject of his curiosity. ' I have made all possible enquiry with respect to the Frisick language, and find that it has been less cultivated than any other of the northern dialects ; a certain proof of which is their deficiency of books. Of the old Frisick there are no remains, except some ancient laws preserved by Schofanus in his Bcschryvinge van die Heerlykheid van Friesland; and his Historia Frisica. 1 have not yet been able to find these books. Professor Trotz, who formerly M'as of the University of Vranyken in Friesland, and is at present preparing an edition of all the Frisick laws, gave me this informa- tion. Of the modern Frisick, or what is spoken by the boors at this day, I have procured a specimen. It is Gisbert jfapixs Ryme- icrk, which is the only book that they have. It is amazing, that they have no translation of the bible, no treatises of devotion, nor even any of the ballads and story-books which are so agreeable to country people. You shall have yapix by the first convenient op- portunity. I doubt not to pick up Schotanus. Mynheer Trotz has promised me his assistance.' 1764: ^TAT. 55.] — Early in 1764 Johnson paid a visit to the Langton family, at their seat of Langton, in Lincolnshire, where he passed some time, much to his satisfaction'. His ' According to Mrs. Piozzi {Anec. p. 210) he was accompanied by his black servant Frank. ' I must have you know, ladies,' said he, 'that Frank has carried the empire of Cupid further than most men. When I was in Lincolnshire so many years ago he attended me thither ; and when we returned home together, I found that a female friend Aetat.55.] yohnson s visit to Langton, 551 friend Bennet Langton, it will not be doubted, did every thing in his power to make the place agreeable to so illus- trious a guest , and the elder Mr. Langton and his lady, being fully capable of understanding his value, were not wanting in attention. He, however, told me, that old Mr. Langton, though a man of considerable learning, had so little allow- ance to make for his occasional ' laxity of talk',' that because in the course of discussion he sometimes mentioned what might be said in favour of the peculiar tenets of the Romish church, he went to his grave believing him to be of that communion\ Johnson, during his stay at Langton, had the advantage of a good library, and saw several gentlemen of the neighbour- hood. I have obtained from Mr. Langton the following par- ticulars of this period. He was now fully convinced that he could not have been satisfied with a country living'; for, talking of a respectable clergyman in Lincolnshire, he observed, ' This man. Sir, fills up the duties of his life well. I approve of him, but could not imitate him.' To a lady who endeavoured to vindicate herself from blame for neglecting social attention to worthy neighbours, by saying, ' I would go to them if it would do them any good,' he said, ' What good. Madam, do you expect to have in your power to do them ? It is shewing them respect, and that is doing them good.' So socially accommodating was he, that once when Mr. Langton and he were driving together in a coach, and Mr, haymaker had followed him to London for love." If this story is gen- erally true, it bears the mark of Mrs. Piozzi's usual inaccuracy. The visit was paid early in the year, and was over in February ; what hay- makers were there at that season ? ' Boswell by his quotation marks refers, I think, to his Hebrides, Oct. 24, 1773. where Johnson says: — 'Nobody, at times, talks more laxly than I do.' See ^\^o post, ii. 83. " See post, April 26, 1776, for old Mr. Langton's slowness of under- standing. ^ See ante, i. 370, 371. Langton 552 The Literary Club. [a. d. 1764, Langton complained of bciiiL; sick, lie insistctl that they should go out and sit on the back of it in the open air, which they did. And being sensible how strange the appearance must be, observed, that a countryman whom they saw in a field, would probably be thinking, ' If these two madmen should come down, what would become of me'?' Soon after his return to London, which was in February, was founded that Club which existed long without a name, but at Mr. Garrick's funeral became distinguished b}' the title of The Literary Club'. Sir Joshua Re)'nolds had the merit of being the first proposer of it'', to which Johnson ac- ceded, and the original members were, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Dr. Johnson, Mr. Edmund Bucke, Dr. Nugent*, Mr. Beauclerk, * Mr. Best {Memorials, p. 65) thus writes of a visit to Langton :— 'We walked to the top of a very steep hill behind the house. Mr. Langton said, " Poor dear Dr. Johnson, when he came to this spot, turned back to look down the hill, and said he was determined to take a roll down. When we understood what he meant to do, we en- deavoured to dissuade him ; but he was resolute, saying, he had not had a roll for a long time; and taking out of his lesser pockets what- ever might be in them, and laying himself parallel with the edge of the hill, he actually descended, turning himself over and over till he came to the bottom." This story was told with such gravity, and with an air of such aflfectionate remembrance of a departed friend, that it was impossible to suppose this extraordinary freak an invention of Mr. Langton.' It must have been in the winter that he had this roll. * Boswell himself so calls it in a letter to Temple written three or four months after Garrick's death. Letters of Boswe/l, p. 242. See also Boswell's Hebrides, Aug. 25, 1773. ' Malone says: — ' Reynolds was the original founder of our Literary Club about the year 1762, the first thought of which he .started to Dr. Johnson at his own fireside.' Prior's Malone, p. 434. Mrs. Piozzi (Afiee. p. 122) says: — 'Johnson called Reynolds their Romulus, or said somebody else of the company called him so, which was more likely.' According to Hawkins {Life, p. 425) the Club was founded in the winter of 1763, i. e. 1763-4. ■* Dr. Nugent, a physician, was Burke's father-in-law. Macaulay {Essays, i. 407) says : — ' As we close Boswell's book, the club-room is before us, and the table on which stands the omelet for Nugent, and the, lemons for Johnson.' It was from Mrs. Piozzi that Macaulay learnt of the omelet. Nugent was a Roman Catholic, and it was on Mr. Aetat. 55.] The Literary Club. 553 Mr. Lan<^ton, Dr. Goldsmith, Mr. Chamicr', and Sir John Hawkins". They met at the Turk's Head, in Gerrard-street, Soho, one evening in every week, at seven, and generally con- tinued their conversation till a pretty late hour". This club Friday that the Club before long came to meet. We may assume that he Avould not on that day eat meat. ' I fancy,' Mrs. Piozzi writes {Alice, p. 122), ' Dr. Nugent ordered an omelet sometimes on a Friday or Saturday night : for I remember Mr. Johnson felt very painful sen- sations at the sight of that dish soon after his death, and cried : — " Ah my poor dear friend ! I shall never eat omelet with thcc again !" quite in an agony.' Dr. Nugent, in the imaginary college at St. Andrews, was to be the professor of physic. Boswell's Hebrides, Aug. 25, 1773. ' Mr. Andrew Chamier was of Huguenot descent, and had been a stock-broker. He was a man of liberal education. 'He acquired such a fortune as enabled him, though young, to quit business, and become, what indeed he seemed by nature intended for, a gentleman.' Hawkins's Johnson, ^. \22. In 1764 he was Secretary in the War Office. In 1775 he was appointed Under Secretary of State. Fors- ter's Goldsmith, \. 310. He was to be the professor of commercial politics in the imaginary college. Johnson passed one of his birth- days at his house ; post, under Sept. 9, 1779, note. "^ ' It was Johnson's intention,' writes Hawkins {Life, p. 423), ' that their number should not exceed nine.' Nine was the number of the Ivy Lane Club {ante, p. 220). Johnson, I suppose, looked upon nine as the most cliibable number. * It was intended,' says Dr. Percy, 'that if only two of these chanced to meet for the evening, they should be able to entertain each other.' Goldsmith's Misc. Works, i. 70. Haw- kins adds that 'Mr. Dyer {post, 1780, in Mr. Langton's Collection), a member of the Ivy Lane Club, who for some years had been abroad, made his appearance among us, and was cordially received.* Accord- ing to Dr. Percy, by 1768 not only had Hawkins formally withdrawn, but Beauclerk had forsaken the club for more fashionable ones. 'Upon this the Club agreed to increase their number to twelve; every new member was to be elected by ballot, and one black ball was sufficient for exclusion. Mr. Beauclerk then desired to be re- stored to the Society, and the following new members were introduced on Monday, Feb. 15, 1768: Sir R. Chambers, Dr. Percy and Mr. Col- man.* Goldsmith's Misc. U^or/cs, i. 72. In the list in Croker's Bosiucll, ed. 1844, ii. 326, the election of Percy and Chambers is placed in 1765. " Boswell wrote on April 4, 1775:— 'I dine, Friday, at the Turk's Head, Gerrard-street, with our Club, Sir Joshua Reynolds, etc., who now dine once a month, and sup every Friday.' Letters of Boswell, has 554 Zz'j/ of the member's. [a.d.17G4. has been gradually increased to its present number, thirty- five'. After about ten years, instead of supping weekly, it was resolved to dine together once a fortnight during the meeting of Parliament. Their original tavern having been converted into a private house, they moved first to Prince's in Sackvillc-strcet, then to Le Telier's in Dover-street, and now meet at Parsloe's, St. James's-street^ Between the time of its formation, and the time at which this work is passing through the press, (June 1792,)' the following persons, now dead, were members of it : Mr. Dunning, (afterwards Lord Ashburton,) Mr. Samucil Dyer, Mr. Garrick, Dr. Shipley Bishop of St. Asaph, Mr. Vesey, Mr. Thomas Warton and Dr. Adam Smith. The present members are, — Mr. Burke, Mr. Langton, Lord Charlemont, Sir Robert Chambers, Dr. Percy Bishop of Dromore, Dr. Barnard Bishop of Killaloe, Dr. Marlay Bishop of Clonfert, Mr. Fox, Dr. George Fordyce, Sir William Scott, Sir Joseph Banks, Sir Charles Bunbury, Mr. Windham of Norfolk, Mr. Sheridan, Mr. Gibbon, Sir William Jones, Mr. Colman, Mr. Steevens, Dr. Burney, Dr. Joseph Warton, Mr. Malone, Lord Ossory, Lord Spencer, p. 186. In 1766, Monday was the night of meeting. Posf, May 10, 1766. In Dec. 1772 the night was changed to Friday. Goldsmith's Misc. Works, i. 72. Hawkins says {Life, pp. 424, 5 ) : — ' We seldom got together till nine ; preparing supper took up till ten ; and by the time that the table was cleared, it was near eleven. Our evening toast was the motto of Padre Paolo, Esto pcrpctna.' Esio pcrpeiiia was not Padre Paolo's motto, but his dying prayer. ' As his end evidently ap- proached, the brethren of the convent came to pronounce the last prayers, with which he could only join in his thoughts, being able to pronounce no more than these words, " Esto perpetua," mayst thou last for ever ; which was understood to be a prayer for the prosperity of his country.' Johnson's IVorks, vi. 269. ' See posf, March 14, 1777. ' 'After 1783 it removed to Prince's, in Sackville-street, and on his house being soon afterwards shut up, it removed to Baxter's, which subsequently became Thomas's, in Dover-street. In Januarys 1792 it removed to Parsloe's, in St. James 's-street ; and on February 26, 1799, to the Thatched-house in the same street.' Forster's GoldsiiiitJi, i. 31 1 . ' The second edition is here spoken of. Malone. Lord Aetat. 55.] Garrick and the I^iterary Club. 555 Lord Lucan, Lord Palmerston, Lord Eliot, Lord Macartney, Mr, Richard Burke junior, Sir William Hamilton, Dr. War- ren, Mr. Courtenay, Dr. Hinchcliffe Bishop of Peterborough, the Duke of Leeds, Dr. Douglas Bishop of Salisbury, and the writer of this account. Sir John Hawkins' represents himself as a ^ seceder' from this society, and assigns as the reason of his ^ ivithdr awing' himself from it, that its late hours were inconsistent with his domestick arrangements. In this he is not accurate; for the fact was, that he one evening attacked Mr. Burke, in so rude a manner, that all the company testified their displeasure ; and at their next meeting his reception was such, that he never came again*. He is equally inaccurate with respect to Mr. Garrick, of whom he says, ' he trusted that the least intimation of a de- sire to come among us, would procure him a ready admis- sion ; but in this he was mistaken. Johnson consulted me upon it ; and when I could find no objection to receiving him, exclaimed, — " He will disturb us by his buffoonery;" — and afterwards so managed matters that he was never for- mally proposed, and, by consequence, never admitted\' ' Life of Johnson, p. 425. Boswell. ^ From Sir Joshua Reynolds. Boswell. The Knight having re- fused to pay his portion of the reckoning for supper, because he usually eat no supper at home, Johnson observed, ' Sir John, Sir, is a very unclubahh- man.' BURNEV. Hawkins {Life, p. 231) says that ' Mr. Dyer had contracted a fatal intimacy with some persons of des- perate fortunes, who were dealers in India stock, at a time when the affairs of the company were in a state of fluctuation.' Malone, com- menting on this passage, says that 'under the.se words Mr. Burke is darkly alluded to, together with his cousin.' He adds that the char- acter given of Dyer by Hawkins ' is di.scoloured by the malignant prejudices of that shallow writer, who. having quarrelled with Mr. Burke, carried his enmity even to Mr. Burke's friends.' Prior's Ma- lone, p. 419. See also ante, p. 31. Hawkins {Life, p. 420) said of Gold- smith : — ' As he wrote for the booksellers, we at the Club looked on him as a mere literary drudge, equal to the task of compiling and translat- ing, but little capable of original, and still less of poetical composition.' ^ Life if Jii/inson, \). 425. BoswKi.L. Hawkins is "equally inaccu- In 556 Garrick and the Literary Club. [a. d. 1764. In justice both to Mr. Garrick and Dr. Johnson, I think it necessary to rectify this mis-statement. The truth is, that not very long after the institution of our club. Sir Joshua Reynolds was speaking of it to Garrick. ' I like it much, (said he,) I think 1 shall be of you.' When Sir Joshua men- tioned this to Dr. Johnson, he was much displeased with the actor's conceit. 'Hell be 0/713, (said Johnson) how does he know we will penult him ? The first Duke in England has no right to hold such language.' However, when Garricl^ was regularly proposed some time afterwards, Johnson, though he had taken a momentary offence at his arrogance, warmly and kindly supported him., and he was accordingly elected, was a most agreeable member, and continued to at- tend our meetings to the time of his death. Mrs. Piozzi' has also given a similar misrepresentation of Johnson's treatment of Garrick in this particular, as if he had used these contemptuous expressions : 'If Garrick does apply, I'll black-ball him. Surely, one ought to sit in a society like ours, "Unelbow'd by a gamester, pimp, or player^" ' I am happy to be enabled by such unquestionable author- ity as that of Sir Joshua Reynolds, as well as from my own knowledge, to vindicate at once the heart of Johnson and the social merit of Garrick\ rate' in saying 'that Johnson was so constant at our meetings as never to absent himself.' (I/>. p. 424.) See post, Johnson's letter to Langton of March 9, 1766. where he says: — 'Dyer is constant at the Club; Hawkins is remiss; I am not over diligent.' ' Letters to and from Dr. Johnso7i. Vol. ii. p. 278 [387]. Boswell. The passage is as follows : — ' " If he does apply," says our Doctor to Mr. Thrale, "I'll black-ball him." "Who, Sir? Mr. Garrick, your friend, your companion, — black-ball him!" "Why, Sir, I love my little David dearly, better than all or any of his flatterers do, but sure- ly one ought, &c."' ' " Pope's Moral Essays, iii. 242. ^ Malone says that it was from him that Boswell had his account of Garrick's election, and that he had it from Reynolds. He adds that ' Johnson warmly supported Garrick, being in reality a very In Aetat.55.] Grainger s Sugar Cane. 557 In this year, except what he may have done in revis- ing SJiakspeare, we do not find that he laboured much in literature. He wrote a review of Grainger's Sugar Cane, a Pooh, in the London Chronicle. He told me, that Dr. Percy wrote the greatest part of this review ; but, I im- agine, he did not recollect it distinctly, for it appears to be mostly, if not altogether, his own'. He also wrote in The tender affectionate man. He was merely offended at the actor's conceit.' He continues : — ' On the former part of this story it prob- ably was that Hawkins grounded his account that Garrick never was of the Club, and that Johnson said he never ought to be of it. And thus it is that this stupid biographer, and the more flippant and mali- cious Mrs. Piozzi have miscoloured and misrepresented almost every anecdote that they have pretended to tell of Dr. Johnson." Prior's Malone, p. 392. Whatever was the slight cast upon Garrick, he was nevertheless the sixth new member elected. Four, as I have shown, were added by 1768. The next elections were in 1773 (Croker's Bos- wcll, ed. 1844, ii. 326), when five were added, of whom Garrick was the second, and Boswell the fifth. In 1774 five more were elected, among whom were Fox and Gibbon. Hannah More (Mt-moirs, i. 249) says that ' upon Garrick's death, when numberless applications were made to succeed him [in the Club], Johnson was deaf to them all. He said, " No, there never could be found any successor worthy of such a man ;" and he insisted upon it there should be a year's widowhood in the club, before they thought of a new election.' 'Grainger wrote to Percy on April 6, 1764: — 'Sam. Johnson says he will review it in T/te Critical. In August 1765, he wrote: — ' I am perfectly satisfied with the reception the Sugar Cane has met with, and am greatly obliged to you and Mr. Johnson for the generous care you took of it in my absence.' Prior's Goldsmith, i. 238. He was ab- sent in the West Indies. He died on Dec. 16, 1766. lb. p. 241. The review of the Sugar Cane in the Critical Review (p. 270) is certainly by Johnson. The following passage is curious: — 'The last book begins with a striking invocation to the genius of Africa, and goes on to give proper instructions for the buying and choice of negroes. . . . The poet talks of this ungenerous commerce without the least appearance of detestation ; but proceeds to direct these purchasers of their fellow-creatures with the same indifference that a groom would give instructions for choosing a horse. ' Clear roll their ample eye ; their tongue be red ; Broad swell their chest ; their shoulders wide expand ; Critical 558 Johnsons self -accusations. [a.d. 1764. Critical Review, an accountf of Goldsmith's excellent poem, The Travcller\ The ease and independence to which he had at last at- tained by royal munificence, increased his natural indolence. In his Meditations he thus accuses himself : — 'Good Friday, April 20, 1764. — I have made no reformation; I have lived totally useless, more sensual in thought, and more ad- dicted to wine and meat^' And next morning he thus feelingly complains: — ' My indolence, since my last reception of the sacrament, has sunk into grosser sluggishness, and my dissipation spread into wilder negligence. My thoughts have been clouded with sensual- ity ; and, except that from the beginning of this year I have, in some measure, forborne excess of strong drink, my appetites have predominated over my reason. A kind of strange oblivion has overspread me, so that I know not what has become of the last year ; and perceive that incidents and intelligence pass over me, without leaving any impression.' He then solemnly says, 'This is not the life to which heaven is promised';' and he earnestly resolves an amendment. It was his custom to observe certain days with a pious abstraction ; viz. New-year's-day, the day of his wife's death, Good Friday, Easter-day, and his own birth-day. He this year says*: — 'I have now spent fifty-five years in resolving; Not prominent their belly ; clean and strong Their thighs and legs in just proportion rise.' See also/<75/, March 21, 1776. ' Johnson thus ends his brief review : — 'Such is the poem on which we now congratulate the public as on a production to which, since the death of Pope, it will not be easy to find anything equal.' Critical Rtrc'iew, p. 462. * Pr. and Med. p. 50. BoswELL. He adds : — ' I hope To put my rooms in order. Disorder I have found one great cause of idleness.' * //-. p. 51. BOSWELL. * It was on his birth-day that he said this. He wrote on the same having, Aetat. 55.] A severe attack of hypocho7idria. 559 having, from the earhest time almost that I can remember, been forming schemes of a better life. I have done nothing. The need of doing, therefore, is pressing, since the time of doing is short. O GoD, grant me to resolve aright, and to keep my resolutions, for jESUS Christ's sake. Amen'.' Such a tenderness of conscience, such a fervent desire of improvement, will rarely be found. It is, surely, not decent in those who are hardened in indifference to spiritual improve- ment, to treat this pious anxiety of Johnson with contempt. About this time he was afflicted with a ver}' severe return of the hypochondriack disorder, which was ever lurking about him. He was so ill, as, notwithstanding his remarkable love of company, to be entirely averse to society, the most fatal symptom of that malady. Dr. Adams told me, that as an old friend he was admitted to visit him, and that he found him in a deplorable state, sighing, groaning, talking to him- self, and restlessly walking from room to room. He then used this emphatical expression of the misery which he felt : ' I would consent to have a limb amputated to recover my spirits".' Talking to himself was, indeed, one of his singularities ever since I knew him. I was certain that he was frequently uttering pious ejaculations ; for fragments of the Lord's Prayer have been distinctly overheard \ His friend Mr. Thomas Davies, of whom Churchill says, day : — •' I have outlived many friends. I have felt many sorrows. I have made few improvements." ' Prayers and Meditations, p. 58. Boswell. In his Vision of Theodore ( Works, ix. 174) he describes the state of mind which he has recorded in his Meditations : — ' There were others whose crime it was rather to neglect Reason than to disobey her; and who re- treated from the heat and tumult of the way, not to the bowers of Intemperance, but to the maze of Indolence. They had this peculi- arity in their condition, that they were always in sight of the road of Reason, always wishing for her presence, and always resolving to re- turn to-morrow.' ' See Appendix F. ' It used to be imagined at Mr. Thrale's, when Johnson retired to a 'That 560 yoJnisoiis particularities. [a. d. 1764. ' That Davies hath a very pretty wife',' when Dr. Johnson muttered ' lead us not into temptation,' used with waggish and gallant humour to whisper Mrs. Davies, ' You, my dear, are the cause of this.' He had another particularity, of which none of his friends ever ventured to ask an explanation". It appeared to me some superstitious habit, w hich he had contracted early, and window or corner of the room, by perceivintj his lips in motion, and liearing a murmur without audible articulation, that he was praying : but this was not ahuays the case, for I was once, perhaps unperceived by him, writing at a table, so near th€ place of his retreat, that I heard him repeating some lines in an ode of Horace, over and over again, as if by iteration, to exercise the organs of speech, and fix the ode in his memory; Audiet chfes acuisse ferritm Quo graves Persse melius perirent, Audiet pugnas. . . . Odes, i. 2. 21. [' Our sons shall hear, shall hear to latest times, Of Roman arms with civil gore imbrued, Which better had the Persian foe subdued.' Frafieis.] It was during the American War. Burnev. Boswell in his Hebrides (Oct. 12, 1773) records, ' Dr. Johnson is often uttering pious ejacula- tions, when he appears to be talking to himself, for sometimes his voice grows stronger, and parts of the Lord's Prayer are heard.' In the same passage he describes other ' particularities,' and adds in a note : — ' It is remarkable that Dr. Johnson should have read this ac- count of some of his own peculiar habits, without saying anything on the subject, which I hoped he would have done.' S&e post, Dec. 1784, note. ' Churchill's Poems, i. 16. See nu/e, p. 452. ■•* ' It is in vain to try to find a meaning in every one of his particu- larities, which, I suppose, are mere habits contracted by chance ; of which every man has some that are more or less remarkable.' Bos- well's Hebrides, Oct. 1 2, 1 773. ' The love of symmetry and order, which is natural to the mind of man, betrays him sometimes into ver}' whim- sical fancies. "This noble principle," says a French author, " loves to amuse itself on the most trifling occasions. You may .see a pro- found philosopher," says he, " walk for an hour together in his cham- ber, and industriously treading at every step upon every other board in the flooring." ' The Spectator, No, 632, from Aetat.55.j yoJinsous particularities. 561 from which he had never called upon his reason to disen- tangle him. This was his anxious care to go out or in at a door or passage by a certain number of steps from a certain point, or at least so as that either his right or his left foot, (I am not certain which,) should constantly make the first actual movement when he came close to the door or passage. Thus I conjecture : for I have, upon innumerable occasions, observed him suddenly stop, and then seem to count his steps with a deep earnestness ; and when he had neglected or gone wrong in this sort of magical movement, I have seen him go back again, put himself in a proper posture to begin the ceremony, and, having gone through it, break from his abstraction, walk briskly on, and join his companion". A strange instance of something of this nature, even when on horseback, happened when he was in the isle of Sky^ Sir Joshua Reynolds has observed him to go a good way about, rather than cross a particular alley in Leicester-fields ; but this Sir Joshua imputed to his having had some disagreeable recollection associated with it. That the most minute singularities which belonged to him, and made very observable parts of his appearance and man- ner, may not be omitted, it is requisite to mention, that while talking or even musing as he sat in his chair, he commonly ' Mr. S. Whyte {M/sce/Iafwa A'tnui, p. 49) tells how from old Mr. Sheridan's house in Bedford-street, opposite Henrietta-street, with an opera-glass he watched Johnson approaching. ' I perceived him at a good distance working along with a peculiar solemnity of deportment, and an awkward sort of measured step. Upon every post as he passed along, he deliberately laid his hand ; but missing one of them, when he had got at some distance, he seemed suddenly to recollect himself, and immediately returning carefully performed the accustomed cere- mony, and resumed his former course, not omitting one till he gained the crossing. This, Mr. Sheridan assured me, was his constant prac- tice.' ' Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, 3rd edit. p. 316. Boswell. 'The day that we left Talisker, he bade us ride on. He then turned the head of his horse back towards Talisker, stopped for some time ; then wheeled round to the same direction with ours, and then came briskly after us.' Boswell's Hebrides, Oct. 12, 1773. I.— 36 held 562 Illness of JosJuia Reynolds. [a.d. 1764. held his head to one side towards his right shoulder, and shook it in a tremulous manner, moving his body backwards and forwards, and rubbing his left knee in the same direc- tion, with the palm of his hand. In the intervals of articu- lating he made various sounds with his mouth, sometimes as if ruminating, or what is called chewing the cud, sometimes giving a half whistle, sometimes making his tongue play backwards from the roof of his mouth, as if clucking like a hen, and sometimes protruding it against his upper gums in front, as if pronouncing quickly under his breath, too, too, too : all this accompanied sometimes with a thoughtful look, but more frequently with a smile. Generally when he had con- cluded a period, in the course of a dispute, by which time he was a good deal exhausted by violence and vociferation, he used to blow out his breath like a Whale. This I supposed was a relief to his lungs ; and seemed in him to be a con- temptuous mode of expression, as if he had made the argu- ments of his opponent fly like chaff before the wind. I am fully aware how v^xy obvious an occasion I here give for the sneering jocularity of such as have no relish of an exact likeness ; which to render complete, he who draws it must not disdain the slightest strokes. But if witlings should be inclined to attack this account, let them have the candour to quote what I have offered in my defence. He was for some time in the summer at Easton Maudit, Northamptonshire, on a visit to the Reverend Dr. Percy, now Bishop of Dromore. Whatever dissatisfaction he felt at what he considered as a slow progress in intellectual im- provement, we find that his heart was tender, and his affec- tions warm, as appears from the following veiy kind letter: *To Joshua Reynolds, Esq., in Leicester-fields, London. ' Dear Sir, ' I did not hear of your sickness till I heard likewise of your recovery, and therefore escaped that part of your pain, which every man must feel, to whom you are known as you are known to me. ' Having had no particular account of your disorder, I know not in Aetat. 56.] Johfison at Cambridge. 563 in what state it has left you. If the amusement of my company can exhilarate the languor of a slow recovery, I will not delay a day to come to you ; for I know not how I can so effectually pro- mote my own pleasure as by pleasing you, or my own interest as by preserving you, in whom, if 1 should lose you, I should lose almost the only man whom I call a friend. ' Pray let me hear of you from yourself, or from dear Miss Reyn- olds'. Make my compliments to Mr. Mudge. I am, dear Sir, ' Your most affectionate 'And most humble servant, ' Sam. Johnson.' ' At the Rev. Mr. Percy's, at Easton Maudit, Northamptonshire, (by Castle Ashby.) Aug. 19, 1764.' 1765: ^TAT. 56.]— Early in the year 1765 he paid a short visit to the University of Cambridge, with his friend Mr. Beauclerk. There is a lively picturesque account of his behaviour on this visit, in The Gentleman s Magar:inc for March 1785, being an extract of a letter from the late Dr. John Sharp. The two following sentences are very charac- teristical : — ' Sir Joshua's sister, for whom Johnson had a particular affection, and to whom he wrote many letters which I have seen, and which I am sorry her too nice delicacy will not permit to be published. Bos- well. ' Whilst the company at Mr. Thrale's were speculating upon a microscope for the mind, Johnson exclaimed : — " I never saw one that would bear it, except that of my dear Miss Reynolds, and hers is very near to purity itself." ' Northcote's Rtynolds, i. 80. Once, says Northcote, there was a coolness between her and her brother. She wished to set forth to him her grievances in a letter. Not finding it easy to write, she consulted Johnson, ' who offered to write a letter himself, which when copied should pass as her own.' This he did. It began : — ' I am well aware that complaints are always odious, but com- plain I must.' Such a letter as this she saw would not pass with Sir Joshua as her own, and so she could not use it. Ih. p. 203. Of John- son's letters to her Malone published one, and Mr. Croker several more. Mme. D'Arblay. in the character she draws of her {Memoirs of Dr. Burney, i. 332), says that ' Dr. Johnson tried in vain to cure her of living in an habitual perplexity of mind and irresolution of conduct, which to herself was restlessly tormenting, and to all around her was teazingly wearisome." 'He 564 Trinity College, Dublin. [a. d. 1765. * He drank his large potations of tea with me, interrupted by many an indignant contradiction, and many a noble sentiment.' ' Several persons got into his company the last evening at Trinity, where, about twelve, he began to be very great ; stripped poor Mrs. Macaulay to the very skin, then gave her for his toast, and drank her in two bumpers'.' The strictness of his self-examination and scrupulous Christian humility appear in his pious meditation on Easter- day this year. ' I purpose again to partake of the blessed sacrament ; yet when I consider how vainly I have hitherto resolved at this annual com- memoration of my Saviour's death, to regulate my life by his laws, I am almost afraid to renew my resolutions.' The concluding words arc very remarkable, and shew that he laboured under a severe depression of spirits. ' Since the last Easter I have reformed no evil habit, my time has been unprofitably spent, and seems as a dream that has left nothing behind. My memory grows confused, and I kno7v nof how the days pass over me. Good Lord deliver meM' No man was more gratefully sensible of any kindness done to him than Johnson. There is a little circumstance in his diary this year, which shews him in a very amiable light. 'July 2. — I paid Mr. Simpson ten guineas, which he had for- merly lent me in my necessity, and for which Tetty expressed her gratitude.' 'July 8. — I lent Mr. Simpson ten guineas more'.' Here he had a pleasing opportunity of doing the same kindness to an old friend, which he had formerly received from him. Indeed his liberality as to money was very re- markable. The next article in his diary is, 'July 16. — I received seventy-five pounds'. Lent Mr. Davis twenty-five.' Trinity College, Dublin, at this time surprised Johnson with a spontaneous compliment of the highest academical • See Append i.x C. "^ Pr. and Med.\>.(y\. BoswELL. ' See ante, p. 400. * His quarter's pension. See ante,^. 435. honours, Aetat. 5G.j yohusou created Doctor of Laws. 565 honours, by -eating him Doctor of Laws*. The diploma, which is in » y possession, is as follows : ' OMNIB US ad quos prcEscntes literal pervenerint, salutcm. Nos Pnepositiis ct Socii seniorcs Colkgii sacrosancttr ct individuce Trini- tatis Reghice Elizabetha- juxta Dublin, tcstarnnr, Sainueli Johnson, Armigerd', oh egregiam scriptormn elegantiain ft utilitatem, grafiam concessam fuisse pro gradu Doctoratfis in uttflque yure, octavo die ' Mr. Croker, misunderstanding a passage in Hawkins, writes : — ' Hawkins says that he disliked to be called Doctor, as reminding him that he had been a schoolmaster.' What Hawkins really says (Life, p. 446) is this : — ' His attachment to Oxford prevented Johnson from receiving this honour as it was intended, and he never assumed the title which it conferred. He was as little pleased to be called Doctor in consequence of it, as he was with the title of Domine, which a friend of his once incautiously addressed him by. He thought it alluded to his having been a schoolmaster.' It is clear that 'it' in the last line refers only to the title of Domine. Murphy {Life, p. 98; says that Johnson never assumed the title of Doctor, till Oxford con- ferred on him the degree. Boswell states {post, March 31, 1775, note) : — • It is remarkable that he never, so far as I know, assumed his title of Doctor, but called himself .J/r. Johnson.' In this, as I show there, Boswell seems to be not perfectly accurate. I do not believe Haw- kins's assertion that Johnson 'was little pleased to be called Qoctor in consequence of his Dublin degree.* In Boswell's Hebrides, most of which was read by him before he received his O.xford degree, he is commonly styled Doctor. Boswell says in a note on Aug. 15, 1773: — ' It was some time before I could bring myself to call him Doctor.' Had Johnson disliked the title it would have been known to Boswell. Mrs.Thrale, it is true, in her letters to him, after he had received both his degrees, commonly speaks of him as Mr. Johnson. We may as- sume that he valued his Oxford degree of M.A. more highly than the Dublin degree of LL.D. ; for in the third edition of the Abridgment of /lis Dictionary, T^uhWshed in 1766, he is styled Samuel Johnson, A.M. In his Lilies of the Poets he calls himself simply Samuel Johnson. He had by that time risen above degrees. In his foiirncy to the LLebrides {Works, ix. 14), after stating that 'An English or Irish doctorate can- not be obtained by a very young man,' he continues : — ' It is reasona- ble to suppose . . . that he who is by age qualified to be a doctor, has in so much time gained learning sufficient not to disgrace the title, or wit sufficient not to desire it.' ■■' Trinity College made him, it should .seem, Armiger at the same time that it made him Doctor of Laws. Jnlii, 566 On becoming a politician. [a.d. 1765. yulii, Afifio Domini millesimo sep/ingefitesifjw sexages 'tno-quinto. In cujus rei testiiuonimn singuloruyn man us et sigillum 'i,o in fiisce uti- mur apposuitnus ; vicesimo tertio die yulii. Anno Dotnini millesimo septingentesimo sexagesimo-quinto. 'GuL. Clement. Fran. Andrews. R. Murray. ' Tho. Wilson. Praps. Rob*"^ Law. 'Tho. Leland. Mich. Kearney.' This unsolicited mark of distinction, conferred on so great a literary character, did much honour to the judgement and liberal spirit of that learned body. Johnson acknowledged the favour in a letter to Dr. Leland, one of their number; but I have not been able to obtain a copy of it". He appears this year to have been seized with a tempo- rary fit of ambition, for he had thoughts both of studying law and of engaging in politics. His 'Prayer before the Study of Law' is truly admirable : — ' Sept. 26, 1765. ' Almighty God, the giver of wisdom, without whose help resolu- tions are vain, without whose blessing study is ineffectual ; enable me, if it be thy will, to attain such knowledge as may qualify me to direct the doubtful, and instruct the ignorant ; to prevent wrongs and terminate contentions ; and grant that I may use that knowl- edge which I shall attain, to thy glory and my own salvation, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen".' His prayer in the view of becoming a politician is enti- tled, ' Engaging in Politicks with H n,' no doubt his friend, the Right Honourable William Gerard Llamilton', for whom, during a long acquaintance, he had a great esteem, and to whose conversation he once paid this high compli- ment : ' I am very unwilling to be left alone. Sir, and there- fore I go with my company down the first pair of stairs, in some hopes that they may, perhaps, return again. I go with you, Sir, as far as the street-door.' In what particular ' See Appendix D for this letter. '•' Pr. and Med. p. 66. Boswf.LL. ^ Single-speech Hamilton, as he was commonly called, though in the House of Commons he had spoken more than once. For above thirty sessions together, however, he held his tongue. Prior's Burke, p. 67. departmetit Aetat. 5G.J John SOUS introduction to the Thrales. 567 department he intended to engage does not appear, nor can Mr. Hamilton explain'. His prayer is in general terms: — ' Enlighten my understanding with knowledge of right, and gov- ern my will by thy laws, that no deceit may mislead me, nor temp- tation corrupt me ; that I may always endeavour to do good, and hinder evil".' There is nothing upon the subject in his diary. This year' was distinguished by his being introduced into the family of Mr. Thrale, one of the most eminent brewers in England, and Member of Parliament for the borough of Southwark. Foreigners are not a little amazed when they hear of brewers, distillers, anjd men in similar departments of trade, held forth as persons of considerable consequence. In this great commercial country it is natural that a situation which produces much wealth should be considered as very respectable ; and, no doubt, honest industry is entitled to esteem. But, perhaps, the too rapid advance of men of low extraction tends to lessen the value of that distinction by birth and gentility, which has ever been found beneficial to the grand scheme of subordination. Johnson used to give this account of the rise of Mr. Thrale's father: ' He worked at six shillings a week for twenty years in the great brewery, which afterwards was his own. The proprietor of it had an only daughter, who was married to a nobleman. It was not fit that a peer should continue the business. On the old man's death, therefore, the brewery was to be sold. To find a purchaser for so large a property was a difficult matter; and, after some time, it was suggested, that it would be adviseable to treat with Thrale, a sensible, active, honest man, who had been employed in the house, and to transfer the whole to him for thirty thousand pounds, security being taken upon the property. This was accordingly settled. In eleven years Thrale paid the purchase-money*. He acquired * See Appendix E for an explanation. ' Pr. a)td Med. p. 67. Bosw^ell. ' See Appendix F. ^ Mr. Blakeway, in a note on this passage, says : — ' The predecessor a large 568 Old Tkrale. [a.d. 1765. a large fortune, and lived to be Member of Parliament for Southwark. But what was most remarkable was the liber- ality with which he used his riches. He gave his son and daughters the best education. The esteem which his good conduct procured him from the nobleman who had married his master's daughter, made him be treated with much atten- tion ; and his son, both at school and at the University of Oxford, associated with young men of the first rank. His allowance from his father, after he left college, was splendid ; no less than a thousand a year. This, in a man who had risen as old Thralc did, was a very extraordinary instance of generosity. He used to say, " If this young dog does not find so much after I am gone as he expects, let him remem- ber that he has had a great deal in my own time." ' The son, though in affluent circumstances, had good sense enough to carry on his father's trade, which was of such ex- tent, that I remember he once told me, he would not quit it for an annuity of ten thousand a year ; ' Not (said he,) that I get ten thousand a year by it, but it is an estate to a family.' Having left daughters only, the property was sold for the im- mense sum of one hundred and thirty-five thousand pounds'; a magnificent proof of what may be done by fair trade in no long period of time. of old Thrale was Edmund Halsey, Esq. ; the nobleman who married his daughter was Lord Cobham. The family of Thrale was of some consideration in St. Albans; in the Abbey -church is a handsome monument to the memory of Mr. John Thrale, late of London, mer- chant, who died in 1704.' He describes the arms on the monument. Mr. Hayward, in Mrs. Piozzi's Autobiography, i. 9, quotes her marginal note on this page in Boswell. She says that Edmund Halsey, son of a miller at St. Albans, married the only daughter of his master, old Child, of the Anchor Brewhouse, Southwark, and succeeded to the business upon Child's death. ' He sent for one of his sister's sons to London (my Mr. Thrale's father) ; said he would make a man of him, and did so ; but made him work very hard, and treated him very roughly.' He left him nothing at his death, and Thrale bought the brewery of Lord and Lady Cobham. ' Sec pos/, under April 4, 1 781, and June 16, 1781. There Aetat. 56,] A nctv system of gentility. 569 There may be some who think that a no.'w system of gen- tility' might be established, upon principles totally different from what have hitherto prevailed. Our present heraldry, it may be said, is suited to the barbarous times in which it had its origin. It is chiefly founded upon ferocious merit, upon military excellence. Why, in civilised times, we may be asked, should there not be rank and honours, upon prin- ciples, which, independent of long custom, are certainly not less worthy, and which, when once allowed to be connected with elevation and precedency, would obtain the same dig- nity in our imagination? Why should not the knowledge, the skill, the expertness, the assiduity, and the spirited haz- ards of trade and commerce, when crowned with success, be entitled to give those flattering distinctions by which man- kind are so universally captivated ? Such are the specious, but false arguments for a proposi- tion which always will find numerous advocates, in a nation where men are ever>' day starting up from obscurity to wealth. To refute them is needless. The general sense of mankind cries out, with irresistible force, ' Un gcntilJiomvie est toiijoiirs ZentilJiovmie'^ .' ' Mrs. Burney informs me that she heard Dr. Johnson say, 'An English Merchant is a new species of Gentleman.' He perhaps, had in his mind the following ingenious passage in The Conscious Lovers, act iv. scene ii., where Mr. Sealand thus addresses Sir John Bevil : — ' Give me leave to say, that we merchants are a species of gentry that have grown into the world this last centur}^ and are as honourable, and almost as useful as you landed-folks, that have always thought yourselves so much above us ; for your trading forsooth is extended no farther than a load of hay, or a fat ox.— You are pleasant people indeed ! because you are generally bred up to be lazy, therefore, I war- rant your industry is dishonourable.' Boswell. The Conscious Loz'ers is by Steele. ' I never heard of any plays fit for a Christian to read,' said Parson Adams, ' but Cafo and The Con- scious Lovers ; and I must own, in the latter there are some things almost solemn enough for a sermon.' Joseph Andrews, Book III. chap. xi. '• In the first number of The Hypochondriack Boswell writes :— ' It is a saying in feudal treatises, Semel Baro semper Baro, " Once a baron Mr. 570 A neiv home for ^o/msoji. [a. d. 1765. Mr.Thrale had married Miss Hesther Lynch Salusbury, of good Welsh extraction', a lady of lively talents, improved by education. That Johnson's introduction into Mr. Thrale's family, which contributed so much to the happiness of his life, was owing to her desire for his conversation, is very prob- able and a general supposition : but it is not the truth. Mr. Murphy, who was intimate with Mr. Thrale'\ having spoken very highly of Dr. Johnson, he was requested to make them acquainted\ This being mentioned to Johnson, he accepted of an invitation to dinner at Thrale's, and was so much pleased with his reception, both by Mr. and Mrs. Thrale, and they so much pleased with him, that his invitations to their house were more and more frequent, till at last he be- came one of the family, and an apartment was appropriated to him, both in their house in Southwark, and in their villa at Streatham*. always a baron."' London Mag. 1777, p. 493. He seems at times to mark his sense of Mr. Thrale's inferiority by speaking of him as Thrale and his house as Thrale's. See posf, April 5 and 12, 1776, April 7, 1778, and under March 30, 1783. He never, I believe, is thus familiar in the case of Beauclerk, Burke, Langton, and Reynolds. * For her extraction see Hayward's Mrs. Piozzi, \. 238. ' Miss Burney records in May 1779, how one day at Streatham ' Mr. Murphy met with a very joyful reception ; and Mr. Thrale, for the first time in his life, said he was "a good fellow;" for he makes it a sort of rule to salute him with the title of " scoundrel," or " rascal." They are very old friends; and I question if Mr. Thrale loves any man so well.' Mmt'. D' Arblays Diary, i. 210. =■ From the Garrzck Corres. i. 116, it seems that Murphy introduced Garrick to the Thrales. He wrote to him on May 13, 1760: — 'You stand engaged to Mr. Thrale for Wednesday se'ennight. You need not apprehend drinking; it is a very easy house.' * Murphy {Life, p. 98) says that Johnson's introduction to the Thrales 'contributed more than anything else to e.xempt him from the .solicitudes of life.' He continues that ' he looks back to the share he had in that business with self congratulation, since he knows the tenderness which from that time soothed Johnson's cares at Streat- ham, and prolonged a valuable life.' Johnson wrote to Mrs. Thrale from Lichfield on July 20. 1767:— '1 have found nothing that with- draws my affections from the friends whom I left behind, or which Johnson Aetat.56.] Mr. Thrale. 571 Johnson had a very sincere esteem for Mr. Thrale, as a man of excellent principles, a good scholar, well skilled in trade, of a sound understanding, and of manners such as presented the character of a plain independent English 'Squire'. As this family will frequently be mentioned in the course of the following pages, and as a false notion has prevailed that Mr. Thrale was inferiour, and in some degree insignificant, com- pared with Mrs. Thrale, it may be proper to give a true state of the case from the authority of Johnson himself in his own words. ' I know no man, (said he,) who is more master of his wife and family than Thrale. If he but holds up a finger, he is obeyed. It is a great mistake to suppose that she is above him in literary attainments'. She is more flippant ; but he makes me less desirous of reposing at that place which your kindness and Mr. Thrale's allows me to call my home.' Piozsi Letters, i. 4. From Mull, on Oct. 15, 1773, h^ wrote: — ' Having for many weeks had no letter, my longings are very great to be informed how all things are at home, as you and mistress allow me to call it.' lb. p. 166. Miss Burney in 1778 wrote that 'though Dr. Johnson lives almost wholly at Streatham, he always keeps his apartments in town.' Mme. D'Ar- blays Diary, i. 58. Johnson {Works, viii. 381) tells how, in the house of Sir Thomas Abney, ' Dr. Watts, with a constancy of friendship and uniformity of conduct not often to be found, was treated for thirty-six years with all the kindness that friendship could prompt, and all the attention that respect could dictate.' He continues: — 'A coalition like this, a state in which the notions of patronage and dependence were overpowered by the perception of reciprocal benefits, deserves a particular memorial.' It was such a coalition which he formed with the Thrales — a coalition in which, though the benefits which he re- ceived were great, yet those which he conferred were still greater. * On this Mrs. Piozzi notes : — ' No, no ! Mr. Thrale's manners pre- sented the character of a gay man of the town; like Millamant, in Congreve's comedy, he abhorred the country and everything in it.' Hayward's Piozzi, \. 10. Mrs. Millamant, in 77/*? Way of the World, act iv. sc. iv., says : — * I loathe the country and everything that relates to it.' ' ' It is but justice to Mr. Thrale to say, that a more ingenuous frame of mind no man possessed. His education at Oxford gave him the habits of a gentleman ; his amiable temper recommended his conver- has 572 Mrs. Thrale. [a.d.1765. has ten times her learning: he is a regular scholar; but her learning is that of a school-boy in one of the lower forms.' My readers may naturally wish for some representation of the figures of this couple. Mr. Thrale was tall, well propor- tioned, and stately. As for Madatn, or my Mistress', by which epithets Johnson used to mention Mrs. Thrale, she was short, plump, and brisk". She has herself given us a lively view of the idea which Johnson had of her person, on her appearing before him in a dark-coloured gown; 'You little creatures should never wear those sort of clothes, however; they arc unsuitable in every way. What ! have not all insects gay colours'?' Mr. Thrale gave his wife a liberal indulgence, both in the choice of their company, and in the mode of sation, and the goodness of his heart made him a sincere friend.' Murphy's Johnsofi, p. ()(). Johnson wrote of him to Mrs. Thrale: — ' He must keep well, for he is the pillar of the house ; and you must get well, or the house will hardly be worth propping." Piozsi Letters, i. 340. S^Gpost, April 18, 1778. Mme. D'Arblay (Memoirs of Dr. Bur- ney, ii. 104) gives one reason for Thrale's fondness for Johnson's so- ciety. ' Though entirely a man of peace, and a gentleman in his character, he had a singular amusement in hearing, instigating, and provoking a war of words, alternating triumph and overthrow, be- tween clever and ambitious colloquial combatants, where there was nothing that could inflict disgrace upon defeat." ' In like manner he called Mr. Thrale Master or My }?iaster. ' I hope Master's walk will be finished when I come back.' Piozzi Let- ters, i. 355. ' My master may plant and dig till his pond is an ocean.' lb. p. 357. See post. July 9. 1777. ' Miss Burney thus described her in 1776 : — ' She is extremely lively and chatty ; and showed none of the supercilious or pedantic airs so scoffingly attributed to women of 'earning or celebrity ; on the con- trary, she is full of sport, remarkably gay, and excessively agreeable. I liked her in everything except her entrance into the room, which was rather florid and flourishing, as who should say, " It is I ! — No less a person than Mrs. Thrale !" However, all that ostentation wore out in the course of the visit, which lasted the whole morning ; and you could not have helped liking her, she is so very entertaining — though not simple enough, I believe, for quite winning your heart.' Memoirs of Dr. Burney, ii. 88. - * Mrs. Ptozzt's Anecdotes.^, lyg. Boswell. - - -i entertaining Aetat.56.] Mrs, Tlirale. 573 entertaining them. He understood and valued Johnson, without remission, from their first acquaintance to the day of his death. Mrs. Thrale was enchanted with Johnson's conversation, for its own sake, and had also a very allowable vanity in appearing to be honoured with the attention of so celebrated a man. Nothing could be more fortunate for Johnson than this connection'. He had at Mr. Thrale's all the comforts and even luxuries of life ; his melancholy was diverted, and his irregular habits lessened^ by association with an agreeable and well-ordered family. He was treated with the utmost respect, and even affection. The vivacity of Mrs. Thrale's literary talk roused him to cheerfulness and exertion, even when they were alone. But this was not often the case ; for he found here a constant succession of what gave him the highest enjoyment: the society of the learned, the witty, and the eminent in every way, who were assembled in numerous companies\ called forth his wonderful powers, and gratified him with admiration, to which no man could be insensible. ' Johnson wrote to Mrs. Thrale on Oct. 13. 1777: — 'I cannot but think on your kindness and my master's. Life has upon the whole fallen short, very short, of my early expectation ; but the acquisition of such a friendship, at an age when new friendships are seldom ac- quired, is something better than the general course of things gives man a right to expect. I think on it with great delight ; I am not very apt to be delighted.' Piozzi Letters, ii. 7. Johnson's friends suf- fered from this connection. Se.G^ post, March 20, 1778, where it is said that ' at Streatham he was in a great measure absorbed from the so- ciety of his old friends.' "^ Yet one year he recorded : — ' March 3, I have never, I thank God, since new year's day deviated from the practice of rising. In this practice I persisted till I went to Mr. Thrale's sometime before Mid- summer ; the irregularity of that family broke my habit of rising. I was there till after Michaelmas.' Hawkins's Johnson, p. 458, note. Hawkins places this in 1765 ; but Johnson states {Pr. and Med. p. 71 ), ' I returned from Streatham, Oct. i, — 66, having lived there more than three months.' ' Boswell wrote to Temple in 1775: — 'I am at present in a tottr- btllon of conversations ; but how come you to throw in the Thrales In 574 Johnsons S/iakspeake pitbiished. [ad. I7e5. In the October of this year' he at length gave to the world his edition of Shakspearc', which, if it had no other merit but that of producing his Preface\ in which the excellencies and defects of that immortal bard arc displayed with a masterly hand, the nation would have had no reason to complain. A blind indiscriminate admiration of Shakspeare had exposed the British nation to the ridicule of foreigners'. Johnson, by among the Reynoldses and the Beauclcrks .' Mr. Thrale is a worthy, sensible man, and has the wits much about his house ; but he is not one himself. Perhaps you mean Mrs. Thrale." Letters of Hoswell, p. 192. Murphy {Life, p. 141) says : — ' It was late in life before Johnson had the habit of mixing, otherwise than occasionally, with polite com- pany. At Mr. Thrale's he saw a constant succession of well-accom- plished visitors. In that society he began to wear oflf the rugged points of his own character. The time was then expected when he was to cease being what George Garrick, brother to the celebrated actor, called him the first time he heard him converse. " A Tre.men- Dous Companion." ' ' Johnson wrote to Dr. Warton on Oct. 9: — ' Mrs. Warton uses me hardly in supposing that I could forget so much kindness and civility as she showed me at Winchester.' VVooll's Warton, p. 309. Malone on this remarks :—' It appears that Johnson spent some time with that gentleman at Winchester in this year." I believe that Johnson is speaking of the year 1762, when, on his way to Devonshire, he passed two nights in that town. See Taylor's Reynolds, i. 214. ' It was in 1745 ^hat he published his ObserTations on Macbeth, as a specimen of his projected edition (ante, p. 202). In 1756 he issued Proposals undertaking that his work should be published before Christmas, 1757 (p. 369). On June 21, 1757, he writes: — ' I am print- ing my new edition of Shakspeare' (p. 373). On Dec. 24 of the same year he says, '1 shall publish about March' (p. 375). On March 8, 1758, he writes: — 'It will be published before summer. ... I have printed many of the plays ' (p. 379). In June of the same year Lang- ton took some of the plays to Oxford (p. 390). Churchill's Ghost (Parts I and 2) was published in the spring of 1762 (p. 370). On July 20, 1762, Johnson wrote to Baretti, ' I intend that you shall soon re- ceive Shakspeare' (p. 427). In October 1765 it was published. 'According to Mr. Seward {Anec. ii. 464), 'Adam Smith styled it the most manly piece of criticism that was ever published in any country.' * George III, at all events, did not share in this blind admiration. candidly Aetat. 56.J Praise of Shakspeare. 575 candidly admitting the faults of his poet, had the more credit in bestowing on him deserved and indisputable praise ; and doubtless none of all his panegyrists have done him half so much honour. Their praise was, like that of a counsel, upon his own side of the cause : Johnson's was like the grave, well- considered, and impartial opinion of the judge, which falls from his lips with weight, and is received with reverence. What he did as a commentator has no small share of merit, though his researches were not so ample, and his investiga- tions so acute as they might have been, which we now cer- tainly know from the labours of other able and ingenious criticks who have followed him'. He has enriched his edi- tion with a concise account of each play, and of its charac- teristick excellence. Many of his notes have illustrated obscurities in the text, and placed passages eminent for beauty in a more conspicuous light ; and he has in general exhibited such a mode of annotation, as may be beneficial to all subsequent editors^ 'Was there ever,' cried he, 'such stuff as great part of Shakespeare? only one must not say so. But what think you? What? Is there not sad stuff? What? What?' ' Yes, indeed, I think so, Sir, though mixed with such excellencies that — ' ' O !' cried he, laughing good- humouredly, ' I know it is not to be said ! but it's true. Only it's Shakespeare, and nobody dare abuse him.' Mine. D'Arblay's Diary, ii. 398. ' That Johnson did not slur his work, as has been often said, we have the best of all evidence — his own word. ' I have, indeed,' he writes ( Works, v. 152), ' disappointed no opinion more than my own ; yet I have endeavoured to perform my task with no slight solicitude. Not a single passage in the whole work has appeared to me corrupt which I have not attempted to restore ; or obscure which I have not attempted to illustrate.' ' Steevens wrote to Garrick : — ' To say the truth, the errors of War- burton and Johnson are often more meritorious than such corrections of them as the obscure industry of Mr. Farmer and myself can furnish. Disdaining crutches, they have sometimes had a fall ; but it is my duty to remember, that I, for my part, could not have kept on my legs at all without them.' Garrick Corrcs. ii. 130. 'Johnson's preface and notes are distinguished by clearness of thought and diction, and by masterly common sense.' Cambridge Shakespeare, i. xxxvi. His 576 Dr. Kejtrick. [a.d. 1765. His SJiakspcarc was virulently attacked by Mr. William Kenrick, who obtained the degree of LL.D. from a Scotch University, and wrote for the booksellers in a great variety of branches. Though he certainly was not without consider- able merit, he wrote with so little regard to decency and principles, and decorum", and in so hasty a manner, that his reputation was neither extensive nor lasting. I remember one evening, when some of his works were mentioned, Dr. Goldsmith said, he had never heard of them ; upon which Dr. Johnson observed, ' Sir, he is one of the many who have made themselvcs///^//V/(', without making themselves X7/i2). It was admitted that this privilege expired at the end of every parliament. When the dissolution had come every one might publish what he pleased. With the House of Lords it was far otherwise, for 'it is a Court of Record, and as such its rights and privileges never die. It may punish a printer for printing any part of its proceedings for thirty or forty years back' {il>. p. 807). Mr. Winnington, when speaking to this resolu tion of April 13, said that if they did not put a speedy stop to this practice of reporting 'they will have every word that is spoken here hy gentlemen misrepresented hy fellows who thrust themselves into our gallery ' {ib. p. 806). Walpole complained ' that he had been made to speak the very reverse of what he meant. He had read debates wherein all the wit, the learning, and the argument had been thrown into one side, and on the other nothing but what was low, mean, and ridiculous ' {ib. p. 809). Later on, Johnson in his reports 'saved appearances tolerably well; but took care that the Whig Dogs should not have the best of it ' (Murphy's yohnson, p. 45). It was but a few days after he became a contributor to the Maga- zine that this resolution was passed. Parliament rose on May 20, and in the June number the reports of the debates of the Senate of Lilliput began. To his fertile mind was very likely due this humorous expedient by which the resolution of the House was mocked. That he wrote the introduction in which is narrated the voyage of Captain Gulliver's grandson to Lilliputia can scarcely be doubted. It bears all the marks of his early style. The Lords become Hurgoes, and the Commons Clinabs, Walpole becomes Walelop, Pulteney Pulnub, and Pitt Ptit ; otherwise the report is much as it had been. At the end of the volume for 1739 was given a key to all the names. The London Magazine had boldly taken the lead. In the May number, which was published at the close of the month, and therefore after parliament had risen, began the Appendix A. 58 3 the report of the proceedings and debates of a political and learned club of young noblemen and gentlemen, who hoped one day to enter parliament, and who therefore, the better to qualify them- selves for their high position, only debated questions that were there discussed. To the speakers were given the names of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Thus we find the Hon. Marcus Cato and the Right Hon. M. Tullius Cicero. By the key that was published in 1742 Cicero was seen to be VValpole, and Cato, Pulte- ney. What risks the publishers and writers ran was very soon shown. In December 1740 the ministers proposed to lay an em- bargo on various articles of food. As the members entered the House a printed paper was handed to each, entitled Consuieraiions upon the Embargo. Adam Smith had just gone up as a young student to the University of Oxford. There are ' considerations ' suggested in this paper which the great authority of the author of the Wealth 0/ Nations has not yet made pass current as truths. The paper contained, moreover, charges of jobbery against 'great men,' though no one was named. It was at once voted a malicious and scandalous libel, and the author, William Cooley, a scrivener, was committed to Newgate. With him was sent the printer of the Daily Post, in which part of the Cofisiderations had been published. After seven weeks' imprisonment in the depth of winter in that miserable den, 'without sufficient sustenance to support life,' Cooley was discharged on paying his fees. He was in knowledge more than a hundred years before his time, and had been made to suffer accordingly. The printer would have been discharged also, but the fees were more than he could pay. Two months later he petitioned for mercy. The fees by that time were £121. His petition was not received, and he was kept in prison till the close of the session {Far/. Hist. xi. 867-894). Such were the risks run by Cave and Johnson and their fellow- workers. That no prosecution followed was due perhaps to that dread of ridicule which has often tempered the severity of the law. ' The Hurgolen Branard, who in the former session was Pretor of Mildendo,' might well have been unwilling to prove that he was Sir John Barnard, late Lord Mayor of London. Johnson, it should seem, revised some of the earliest Debates. In a letter to Cave which cannot have been written later than Sep- tember 1738, he mentions the alterations that he had made {ante, p. 136). The more they were written by him, the less authentic did 584 Appendix A. did they become, for he was not one of those ' fellows who thrust themselves into the gallery of the House.' His employer, Cave, if we can trust his own evidence, had been in the habit of going there and taking notes with a pencil {Pari. Hist. xiv. 60). But Johnson, Hawkins says {Life, p. 122), 'never was within the walls of either House.' According to Murphy {Life, p. 44), he had been inside the House of Commons once. Be this as it may, in the end the Debates were composed by him alone {ante, p. 137). From that time they must no longer be looked upon as authentic records, in spite of the assertions of the Editor of the Pari. Hist. (xi. Preface). Johnson told Boswell {atite, p. 137) 'that sometimes he had nothing more communicated to him than the names of the several speakers, and the part which they had taken in the debate ;' sometimes ' he had scanty notes furnished by persons employed to attend in both Houses of Parliament.' Often, his Debates were written 'from no materials at all — the mere coinage of his own imagination ' {post, under Dec. 9, 1784). ' He never wrote any part of his works with equal velocity. Three columns of the Magazine in an hour was no uncommon effort, which was faster than most persons could have transcribed that quantity ' (/^.). According to Hawkins {Life, p. 99), ' His practice was to shut himself up in a room assigned to him at St. John's Gate, to which he would not sufifer any one to approach, ex- cept the compositor or Cave's boy for matter, which, as fast as he composed it, he tumbled out at the door.' From Murphy we get the following curious story : — ' That Johnson was the author of the debates during that period [Nov. 1740 to Feb. 1743] was not generally known ; but the secret trans- pired several years afterwards, and was avowed by himself on the fol- lowing occasion :^Mr. Wedderburne (now Lord Loughborough), Dr. Johnson, Dr. Francis (the translator of Horace), the present writer, and others dined with the late Mr. Foote. An important debate towards the end of Sir Robert Walpole's administration being mentioned, Dr. Francis observed, "that Mr. Pitt's speech on that occasion was the best he had ever read." He added, " that he had employed eight years of his life in the study of Demosthenes, and finished a translation of that celebrated orator, with all the decorations of style and language within the reach of his capacity ; but he had met with nothing equal to the speech above mentioned." Many of the company remembered the debate ; and some passages were cited with the approbation and applause of all present. During the ardour of conversation, Johnson remained silent. As soon as the warmth of praise subsided, he opened with Appendix A. 585 with these words : — " That speech I wrote in a garret in Exeter Street." The company was struck with astonishment. After staring at each other in silent amaze, Dr. Francis asked how that speech could be written by him? "Sir," said Johnson, "I wrote it in Exeter Street. I never had been in the gallery of the House of Commons but once. Cave had interest with the door-keepers. He, and the persons em- ployed under him, gained admittance : they brought away the subject of discussion, the names of the speakers, the side they took, and the order in which they rose, together with notes of the arguments ad- vanced in the course of the debate. The whole was afterwards com- municated to me, and I composed the speeches in the form which they now have in the Parliamentary Debates." To this discovery Dr. Francis made answer : — " Then, sir, you have exceeded Demosthenes himself, for to say that you have exceeded Francis's Demosthenes, would be saying nothing." The rest of the company bestowed lavish en- comiums on Johnson : one, in particular, praised his impartiality ; ob- serving, that he dealt out reason and eloquence with an equal hand to both parties. "That is not quite true," said Johnson; "I saved ap- pearances tolerably well, but I took care that the Whig DOGS should not have the best of it." ' Murphy's Life of Johnson, p. 343. Murphy, we must not forget, wrote from memory, for there is no reason to think that he kept notes. That his memory cannot alto- gether be trusted has been shown by Boswell {ante, p. 391, note 4). This dinner with Foote must have taken place at least nineteen years before this account was published, for so many years had Dr. Francis been dead. At the time when Johnson was living in Exeter-street he was not engaged on the magazine. Nevertheless the main facts may be true enough. Johnson himself told Boswell impost, May 13, 1778) that in Lord Chesterfield's Miscei/a?ieous Works (ii. 319) there were two speeches ascribed to Chesterfield which he had himself entirely written, Horace Walpole {Letters, i. 147) complained that the published report of his own first speech 'did not contain one sentence of the true one.' Johnson, in his preface to the Literary Magazine of 1756, seems to confess what he had done, unless, indeed, he was altogether making himself the mere mouth - piece of the publisher. He says : — ' We shall not attempt to give any regular series of debates, or to amuse our readers with senatorial rhetorick. The speeches inserted in other papers have been long known to be fictitious, and produced some- times by men who never heard the debate, nor had any authentick information. We have no design to impose thus grossly on our readers.' { Works, v. 363.) The ^86 Appendix A. The secret that Johnson wrote these Debates was indeed well kept. He seems to be aimed at in a question that was put to Cave in his examination before the House of Lords in 1747. 'Being asked " if he ever had any person whom he kept in pay to make speeches for him," he said, "he never had." ' {Pari. Hist. xiv. 60.) Herein he lied in order, no doubt, to screen Johnson. Forty-four years later Horace Walpole wrote [Letters, ix. 319), ' I never knew Johnson wrote the speeches in the Gent/email's Magazine till he died.' Johnson told Boswell 'that as soon as he found that they were thought genuine he determined that he would write no more of them, "for he would not be accessory to the propagation of falsehood.'" {Ante,^. 175.) One of his Debates was translated into French, German, and Spanish {Gent. Mag. xiii. 59), and, no doubt, was accepted abroad as authentic. When he learnt this his conscience might well have received a shock. That it did receive a shock seems almost capable of proof. It was in the number of the Magazine iox February 1743 — at the beginning of March, that is to say — that the fact of these foreign translations was made known. The last Debate that Johnson wrote was for the 22nd day of February in that year. In 1740, 1741, and 1742, he had worked steadily at his Debates. The beginning of 1743 found him no less busy. His task suddenly came to an end. Among foreign nations his speeches were read as the very words of Fnglish statesmen. To the propagation of such a falsehood as this he would no longer be accessory. Fifteen years later Smollett quoted them as if they were genuine {History 0/ Englafid, iii. 73). Here, however, John- son's conscience was void of offence; for 'he had cautioned him not to rely on them, for that they were not authentic' (Hawkins, Life, p. 129.) That they should generally have passed current shews how un- acquainted people at that time were with real debating. Even if we had not Johnson's own statement, both from external and in- ternal evidence we could have known that they were for the most part ' the mere coinage of his imagination.' They do not read like speeches that had ever been spoken. ' None of them,' Mr. Flood said, 'were at all like real debates' {post, under March 30, 177 1). They are commonly formed of general statements which suit any one speaker just as well as any other. The scantier were the notes that were given him by those who had heard the debate, the more he had to draw on his imagination. But his was an imagination which Appendix A. 587 which supplied him with what was general much more readily than with what was particular. Had De Foe been the composer he would have scattered over each speech the most ingenious and probable matters of detail, but De Foe and Johnson were wide as the poles asunder. Neither had Johnson any dramatic power. His parliamentary speakers have scarcely more variety than the characters in Irene. Unless he had been a constant frequenter of the galleries of the two Houses, he could not have acquired any knowledge of the style and the peculiarities of the different mem- bers. Nay, even of their modes of thinking and their sentiments he could have gained but the most general notions. Of debating he knew nothing. It was the set speeches in Livy and the old historians that he took as his models. In his orations there is very little of ' the tart reply ;' there is, indeed, scarcely any examination of an adversary's arguments. So general are the speeches that the order in which they are given might very often without inconven- ience be changed. They are like a series of leading articles on both sides of the question, but all written by one man. Johnson is constantly shifting his character, and, like Falstafif and the Prince, playing first his own part and then his opponent's. It is wonderful how well he preserves his impartiality, though he does ' take care that the Whig dogs should not have the best of it.' He not only took the greatest liberties in his reports, but he often took them openly. Thus an army bill was debated in com- mittee on Dec. 10, 1740, and again the following day on the report in the full House. ' As in these two debates,' he writes, ' the argu- ments were the same, Mr. Gulliver has thrown them into one to prevent unnecessary repetitions.' {Gent. Mag. Dec. 1742, p. 676.) In each House during the winter of 1742-3 there was a debate on taking the Hanoverian troops into pay. The debate in the Lords was spread over five numbers of the Magazine in the following summer and autumn. It was not till the spring of 1744 that the turn of the Commons came, and then they were treated somewhat scurvily. ' This debate,' says the reporter, who was Johnson, ' we thought it necessary to contract by the omission of those argu- ments which were fully discussed in the House of Hurgoes, and of those speakers who produced them, lest we should disgust our readers by tedious repetitions.' {lb. xiv. 125.) Many of these de- bates have been reported somewhat briefly by Bishop (afterwards Archbishop) Seeker. To follow his account requires an accurate knowledge c88 Appendix A. knowledge of the times, whereas Johnson's rhetorick for the most part is easily understood even by one very ignorant of the history of the first two Georges. Much of it might have been spoken on almost any occasion, for or against almost any minister. It is true that we here and there find such a correspondence between the two reports as shews that Johnson, as he has himself told us, was at times furnished with some information. Jiut, on the other hand, we can no less clearly see that he was often drawing solely on his imagination. Frequently there is but the slightest agreement be- tween the reports given by the two men of the same speeches. Of this a good instance is afforded by Lord Carteret's speech of Feb. 13, 1741. According to Johnson ' the Hurgo Quadrert began in this manner ' : — ' As the motion which I am about to make is of the highest impor- tance and of the most extensive consequences . as it cannot but meet with all the opposition which the prejudices of some and the interest of others can raise against it ; as it must have llie whole force of min- isterial influence to encounter without any assistance but from iustice and reason, I hope to be excused by your Lordships for spending some time in endeavouring to shew that it wants ncj other support ; that it is not founded upon doubtful suspicions but upon uncontestable facts,' and so on for eight more lines. {Gent. Ma^. xi. 339.) The Bishop's note begins as follows : — ' Carteret. I am glad to see the House so full. The honour of the nation is at stake. And the oldest man hath not known such cir- cumstances as we are in. When storms rise you must see what pilots you have, and take methods to make the nation easy. I shall ''O go through the foreign transactions of several years ; (2) The domestic ; (3) Prove that what I am about to propose is a parliamentar>- method.' {Pari. Hist. xi. 1047.) Still more striking is the difference in the two reports of a speech by Lord Talbot on May 25, 1742. According to the Gent. Mag. xii. 519, 'the Hurgo Toblat spoke to this eiTect' :— 'So high is my veneration for this great assembly that it is never without the utmost efforts of resolution that I can prevail upon myself to give my sentiments upon any question that is the subject of debate, however strong may be my conviction, or however ardent my zeal." The Bishop makes him say : — ' I rise up only to give time to others to consider how they will carry on the debate,' {Pari. Hist. xii. 646.) On Appendix A. ^3^ On Feb. 13, 1741, the same Lord, being called to order for say- ing that there were Lords who were influenced by a place, ex- claimed, according to the Bishop, ' " By the eternal G — d, I will defend my cause everywhere — ." But Lords calling to order, he recollected himself and made an excuse.' {Pari. Hist. xi. 1063.) In the Gent. Mag. xi. 419, 'the Hurgo Toblat resumed: — "My Lords, whether anything has escaped from me that deserves such severe animadversions your Lordships must decide." ' Once at least in Johnson's reports a speech is given to the wrong member. In the debate on the Gin Bill on Feb. 22, 1743 {Gent. Mag. xiii. 696), though the Bishop's notes show that he did not speak, yet a long speech is put into his mouth. It was the Earl of Sandwich who had spoken at this turn of the debate. The edi- tor of the Pari. Hist. (xii. 1398), without even notifying the change, coolly transfers the speech from the 'decent' Seeker', who was afterwards Primate, to the grossly licentious Earl. A transference such as this is, however, but of little moment. For the most part the speeches would be scarcely less lifelike, if all on one side were assigned to some nameless Whig, and all on the other side to some nameless Tory. It is nevertheless true that here and there are to be found passages which no doubt really fell from the speaker in whose mouth they are put. They mention some fact or contain some allusion which could not otherwise have been known by Johnson. Even if we had not Cave's word for it, we might have inferred that now and then a member was himself his own reporter. Thus in the Gent. Mag. for February 1744 (p. 68) we find a speech by Sir John St. Aubyn that had appeared eight months earlier in the very same words in the London Magazine. That Johnson copied a rival publication is most unlikely — impos- sible, I might say. St. Aubyn, I conjecture, sent a copy of his speech to both editors. In the Gent.AIag. for April 1743 (p, 184), a speech by Lord Percival on Dec. 10, 1742, is reported apparently at full length. The debate itself was not published till the spring of 1744, when the reader is referred for this speech to the back number in which it had already been inserted. {Ib.xiw. 123). The London Magazine generally gave the earlier report; it was, however, twitted by its rival with its inaccuracy. In one debate, > 'E'en in a bishop I can spy desert, Seeker is decent, Rundel has a heart.' Pope, Epil. Sat. 1 1 . 70. 590 Appendix A. it was said, ' it had introduced instead of twenty speakers but six, and those in a very confused manner. It had attributed to Caecil- ius words remembered by the whole audience to be spoken by M, Agrippa.' {Gent. Mag. xii. 512.) The report of the debate of Feb. 13, 1 741, in the London Magazine fills more than twenty-two columns of the Pari. Hist. (xi. 1130) with a speech by Lord Bathurst. That he did speak is shewn by Seeker {ib. p. 1062). No mention of him is made, however, in the report in the Gent. Mag. (xi. 339). But, on the other hand, it reports eleven speakers, while the London Magazine gives but five. Seeker shows that there were nineteen. Though the London Magazine was generally earlier in publishing the debates, it does not therefore follow that Johnson had seen their reports when he wrote his. His may have been kept back by Cave's timidity for some months even after they had been set up in type. In the staleness of the debate there was some safeguard against a parliamentary prosecution. Mr. Croker maintains (Croker's Bostve/l, p. 44) that Johnson wrote the Debates from the time (June 1738) that they assumed the Lilliputian title till 1744. In this he is certainly wrong. Even if we had not Johnson's own statement, from the style of the earlier Debates we could have seen that they were not written by him. No doubt we come across numerous traces of his work ; but this we should have expected. Boswell tells us that Guthrie's reports were sent to Johnson for revision [ante, p. 136). Nay, even a whole speech now and then may be from his hand. It is very likely that he wrote, for instance, the Debate on buttons and button-holes [Gent. Mag. viii. 627) and the Debate on the registra- tion of seamen (//;. xi. i). But it is absurd to attribute to him passages such as the following, which in certain numbers are plentiful enough long after June 1738. 'There never was any measure pursued more consistent with, and more consequential of, the sense of this House ' {ib. ix. 340). ' It gave us a handle of making such reprisals upon the Iberians as this Crown found the sweets of {ib. x. 281). 'That was the only expression that the least shadow of fault was found with ' {ib. xi. 292). 'Johnson told me himself,' says Boswell {ante, p. 174J, 'that he was the sole composer of the Debates for those three years only ( 1 741-2-3). He was not, however, precisely exact in his state- ment, which he mentioned from hasty recollection ; for it is suffi- ciently evident that liis composition of them began November 19, Appendix A, 591 1740, and ended February 23 [22], 1742-3,' Some difficulty is caused in following Boswell's statement by the length of time that often elapsed between the debate itself and its publication. The speeches that were spoken between Nov. 19, or, more strictly speaking, Nov. 25, 1740, and Feb. 22, 1743, were in their publica- tion spread through the Magazine from July 1741 to March 1744. On Feb. 13, 1741, Lord Carteret in the House of Lords, and Mr. Sandys, 'the Motion-maker',' in the House of Commons, moved an address to the King for the removal of Sir Robert Walpole. Johnson's report of the debate in the Lords was published in the Magazine for the next July and August. The year went round. Walpole's ministry was overthrown, and Walpole himself was ban- ished to the House of Lords. A second year went by. At length, in three of the spring liumbers of 1743, the debate on Sandys's motion was reported. It had been published in the London Mag- azine eleven months earlier. Cave, if he was tardy, nevertheless was careful that his columns should not want variety. Thus in the number for July 1743, we have the middle part of the debate in the Lords on Feb. i, 1743, the end of the debate in the Commons on March 9, 1742, and the beginning of another in the Commons on the following March 23. From the number for July 1741 to the number for March 1744 John- son, as I have already said, was the sole composer of the Debates. The irregularity with which they were given at first sight seems strange ; but in it a certain method can be discovered. The pro- ceedings of a House of Commons that had come to an end might, as I have shown, be freely published. There had been a disso- lution after the session which closed in April 1741. The publi- cation of the Debates of the old parliament could at once begin, and could go on freely from month to month all the year round. But they would not last for ever. In 1742, in the autumn recess, the time when experience had shewn that the resolution of the House could be broken with the least danger, the Debates of the new parliament were published. They were continued even in the short session before Christmas. But the spring of 1743 saw a cautious return to the reports of the old parliament. The ses- sion closed on April 21, and in the May number the comparatively fresh Debates began again. In one case the report was not six months after date. In the beginning of 1744 this publication ' So Smollett calls him in his History of Etigland, iii. i6. went 592 Appe7uiix A. went on even in the session, but it was confined to the proceedings of the previous winter. The following table shews the order in which Johnson's Debates were published : — Gentlemati^s Magasme. July. Aug. j Parliament was dissolved / \ on April 25, 1741. \ Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Supplement to 1741 Jan. 1742 Feb. .. Mar. „ April „ May „ June „ July .. Aug. „ Sept. „ Oct. „ Nov. „ \ The new Parliament \ on Dec. i. met Debate or part of debate of Feb. 13, 1 741 Feb. 13, \ Jan. 27, \ Mar. 2, Mar. 2. Mar. 2. Dec. 9, 1740 j Dec. 2, „ \ Dec. 12, „ Feb. 3, 1 741 Feb. 27, „ 3 Jan. 26, „ \ April 13, ., \ Feb. 24, „ \ April 13, „ S Jan. 27. „ \ Feb. 24, „ Nov. 25, 1740 \ Nov. 25, „ { April 8, 1 74 1 The Session ended on July \ JP \ Dec. I, 15. ^ ' ^ Dec. 4. „ Dec. 4, \ Dec. 4, „ \ Dec. 8, „ ) Dec. 8. „ / May 25, 1742 May 25, „ Dec i May 25. .. { June I, Supplement to 1742 . . . • j t j The Session opened on i Nov. 16. Dec. 10, 1740 une I, 1742 Jan. 1743 Dec. 10, 1740 Feb. „ Feb. 13, 1741 Mar. „ Feb. 13, „ April „ The Session ended on April 21 Feb. 13, „ Gentleman's Appendix A. 593 Gentleman^s Debate or part Magazine. of debate of ^^^■'« iN:v.?6.':*^ June M"-* ■■ ( beb. I. 1743 !Mar. 9, 1742 Mar, 23, „ Feb. I, 1743 Aug. „ Feb. I, Sept Feb. i. Oct Feb. I. Nov. „ Feb. 22, Dec. „ The Session opened on Dec. i Feb. 22, Supplement to 1743 .... Feb. 22, Jan. 1744 Feb. 22, Feb \ ^^^- '°' '742 i Feb. 22, 1743 Mar. „ Dec. 10, 1742 During the rest of 1744 the debates were given in the old form, and in a style that is a close imitation of Johnson's. Most likely they were composed by Hawkesworth {au/e, p. 293). In 1745 they were fewer in number, and in 1746 the reports of the Senate of Lilliputia with its Hurgoes and Clinabs passed away for ever. They had begun, to quote the words of the Preface to the Maga zine for 1747, at a time when ' a determined spirit of opposition in the national assemblies communicated itself to almost every indi- vidual, multiplied and invigorated periodical papers, and rendered politics the chief, if not the only object, of curiosity.' They are a monument to the greatness of Walpole, and to the genius of John- son. Had that statesman not been overthrown, the people would have called for these reports even though Johnson had refused to write them. Had Johnson still remained the reporter, even though Walpole no longer swayed the Senate of the Lilliputians, the speeches of that tumultuous body would still have been read. For though they are not debates, yet they have a vast vigour and a great fund of wisdom of their own. I.-38 APPENDIX 594 Appendix B. APPENDIX B. Johnson's Letters to his Mother and Miss Porter in 1759. {Page 394.) Malone published seven of the following letters in the fourth edition, and Mr. Croker the rest. •To Mrs. Johnson in Lichfield. ' Honoured Madam, ' The account which Miss [Porter] gives me of your health pierces my heart. God comfort and preserve you and save you, for the sake of Jesus Christ. ' I would have Miss read to you from time to time the Passion of our Saviour, and sometimes the sentences in the Communion Service, beginning " Come unto ffie, all ye that travail and are /leavy lade?!, and I will give you rest." ' I have just now read a physical book, which inclines me to think that a strong infusion of the bark would do you good. Do, dear mother, try it. ' Pray, send me your blessing, and forgive all that I have done amiss to you. And whatever you would have done, and what debts you would have paid first, or any thing else that you would direct, let Miss put it down ; I shall endeavour to obey you. ' I have got twelve guineas ' to send you, but unhappily am at a loss how to send it to-night. If I cannot send it to-night, it will come by the next post. ' Pray, do not omit any thing mentioned in this letter : God bless you for ever and ever. ' I am your dutiful son, ' Sam. Johnson.' •Jan. 13, 1758'.' 'To Miss Porter, at Mrs. Johnson's, in Lichfield. 'Mv dear Miss, ' I think myself obliged to you beyond all expression of gratitude for your care of my dear mother. God grant it may not be without ' Six of these twelve guineas Johnson appears to have borrowed from Mr. Allen, the printer. See Hawkins's Life of Johnson, p. 366 n. Malone. "^ Written by mistake for 1759. On the outside of the letter of the 13th was written by another hand — ' Pray acknowledge the receipt of this by return of post, without fail.' Malone. success. Appendix B. 595 success. Tell Kitty * that I shall nev^er forget her tenderness for her mistress. Whatever you can do, continue to do. My heart is very full. ' I hope you received twelve guineas on Monday. I found a way of sending them by means of the postmaster, after I had written my letter, and hope they came safe. I will send you more in a few days. God bless you all. * I am, my dear, ' Your most obliged ' And most humble servant, ' Sam. Johnson.' 'Jan. 16, 1759. ' Over the leaf is a letter to my mother.' ' Dear honoured Mother, ' Your weakness afflicts me beyond what I am willing to commu- nicate to you. I do not think you unfit to face death, but I know not how to bear the thought of losing you. Endeavour to do all you [can] for yourself. Eat as much as you can. ' I pray often for you ; do you pray for me. I have nothing to add to my last letter. ' I am, dear, dear mother, ' Your dutiful son, ' Sam. Johnson.' 'Jan. 16, 1759' 'To Mrs. Johnson, in Lichfield. ' Dear honoured Mother, ' I fear you are too ill for long letters ; therefore I will only tell you, you have from me all the regard that can possibly subsist in the heart. I pray God to bless you for evermore, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. ' Let Miss write to me every post, however short. ' I am, dear mother, ' Your dutiful son, ' Sam. Johnson.' 'Jan. 18, 1759.' 'To Miss Porter, at Mrs. Johnson's, in Lichfield. • Dear Miss, ' I will, if it be possible, come down to you. God grant I may yet [find] my dear mother breathing and sensible. Do not tell her, lest I disappoint her. If I miss to write next post. I am on the road. ' I am, my dearest Miss, 'Your most humble servant, ' Sam. Johnson.' 'Jan. 20. 1759.' ' Catherine Chambers, Mrs. Johnson's maid-servant. She died in October, 1767. Malune. See /£7j^, ii. 49. On 596 Appendix B. On the other side. 'Dear honoured Mother', ' Neither your condition nor your character make it fit for me to say much. You have been the best mother, and I beheve the best woman in the world. I thank you for your indulgence to me, and beg forgiveness of all that I have done ill, and all that I have omitted to do well. God grant you his Holy Spirit, and receive you to ever- lasting happiness, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Lord Jesus receive your spirit. Amen. ' 1 am, dear, dear mother, 'Your dutiful son, ' Sam. Johnson.' 'Jan. 20, 1759-' 'To Miss Porter in Lichfield. ' You will conceive my sorrow for the loss of my mother, of the best mother. If she were to live again surely I should behave better to her. But she is happy, and what is past is nothing to her; and for me, since I cannot repair my faults to her, I hope repentance will efface them. I return you and all those that have been good to her my sincerest thanks, and pray God to repay you all with infinite advantage. Write to me, and comfort me, dear child. I shall be glad likewise, if Kitty will write to me. I shall send a bill of twenty pounds in a few days, which I thought to have brought to my moth- er; but God suffered it not. I have not power or composure to say much more. God bless you, and bless us all. ' I am, dear Miss, ' Your affectionate humble servant, •Sam. Johnson.* 'Jan. 23, 1759'.' 'To Miss Porter. ( The beginn/iii; is torn and lost.) ' You will forgive me if I am not yet so composed as to give any directions about any thing. But you are wiser and better than \, and I shall be pleased with all that you shall do. It is not of any use for me now to come down ; nor can I bear the place. If you want any • This letter was written on the second leaf of the preceding, addressed to Miss Porter. Ma lone. ' Mrs. Johnson probably died on the 20th or 2ist January, and was buried on the day this letter was written. Malone. On the day on which his mother was buried Johnson composed a prayer, as being ' now about to return to the com- mon comforts and business of the world.' Pr. and Med. p. 38. After his wife's death he had allowed forty days to pass before his 'return to life.' Set ante, p. 271, note 2. directions, Appendix B. 597 directions, Mr. Howard ' will advise you. The twenty pounds I could not get a bill for to-night, but will send it on Saturday. ' I am, my dear, your affectionate servant, ' Sam. Johnson.' 'Jan. 25, 1759.' 'To Miss Porter. ' Dear Miss, ' I have no reason to forbear writing, but that it makes my heart heavy, and I had nothing particular to say which might not be de- layed to the next post ; but had no thoughts of ceasing to correspond with my dear Lucy, the only person now left in the world with whom I think myself connected. There needed not my dear mother's de- sire, for every heart must lean to somebody, and I have nobody but you ; in whom I put all my little affairs with too much confidence to desire you to keep receipts, as you prudently proposed. ' If you and Kitty will keep the house, I think I shall like it best. Kitty may carry on the trade for herself, keeping her own stock apart, and laying aside any money that she receives for any of the goods which her good mistress has left behind her. I do not see, if this scheme be followed, any need of appraising the books. My mothers debts, dear mother, I suppose I may pay with little difficulty; and the little trade may go silently forward. I fancy Kitty can do nothing better ; and I shall not want to put her out of a house, where she has lived so long, and with so much virtue. I am very sorry that she is ill, and earnestly hope that she will soon recover ; let her know that I have the highest value for her, and would do any thing for her ad- vantage. Let her think of this proposal. I do not see any likelier method by which she may pass the remaining part of her life in quietness and competence. ' You must have what part of the house you please, while you are inclined to stay in it ; but I flatter myself with the hope that you and I shall some time pass our days together. I am very solitary and comfortless, but will not invite you to come hither till I can hope of making you live here so as not to dislike your situation. Pray, my dearest, write to me as often as you can. ' I am, dear Madam, ' Your affectionate humble servant, ' Sam. Johnson.' ' Feb. 6, 1759.' 'To Miss Porter. 'Dear Madam, ' I thought your last letter long in coming ; and did not require or expect such an inventory of little things as you have sent me. I could have taken your word for a matter of much greater value. I > See ante, p. 94. am 598 Appendix B. am glad that Kitty is better ; let her be paid first, as my dear, dear mother ordered, and then let me know at once the sum necessary to discharge her other debts, and I will find it you very soon. ' I beg, my dear, that you would act for me without the least scru- ple, for I can repose myself yery confidently upon your prudence, and hope we shall never have reason to love each other less. I shall take it very kindly if you make it a rule to write to me once at least every week, for I am now very desolate, and am loth to be universally for- gotten. ' I am, dear sweet, ' Your affectionate servant, ' Sam. Johnson.* •March i, i758[9].' 'To Miss Porter. ' Dear Madam, ' I beg your pardon for having so long omitted to write. One thing or other has put me off. I have this day moved my things and you are now to direct to me at Staple Inn, London. T hope, my dear, you are well, and Kitty mends. I wish her success in her trade. I am going to publish a little story book \Rasselas\ which I will send you when it is out. Write to me, my dearest girl, for I am always glad to hear from you. ' I am, my dear, your humble servant, ' Sam, Johnson.' 'March 23, 1759.' 'To Miss Porter. * Dear Madam, ' I am almost ashamed to tell you that all your letters came safe, and that I have been always very well, but hindered, I hardly know how, from writing. I sent, last week, some of my works, one for you, one for your aunt Hunter, who was with my poor dear mother when she died, one for Mr. Howard, and one for Kitty. ' I beg you, my dear, to write often to me, and tell me how you like my little book. * I am, dear love, your affectionate humble servant, ' Sam. Johnson.' •May 10, 1759.' APPENDIX Appendix C. 599 APPENDIX C. Johnson at Cambridge. {Page 563.) The following is the full extract of Dr. Sharp's letter giving an account of Johnson's visit to Cambridge in 1765 : — 'Camb. Mar. i, 1765. ' As to Johnson, you will be surprised to hear that I have had him in the chair in which I am now writing. He has ascended my aerial citadel. He came down on a Saturday evening, with a Mr. Beauclerk, who has a friend at Trinity. Caliban, you may be sure, was not roused from his lair before next day noon, and his breakfast probably kept him till night. I saw nothing of him, nor was he heard of by any one, till Monday afternoon, when I was sent for home to two gentlemen unknown. In conversation I made a slrango. faux fias about Burnaby Greene's poem, in which Johnson is drawn at full length'. He drank his large potations of tea with me, interrupted by many an indignant contradiction, and many a noble sentiment. He had on a better wig than usual, but, one whose curls were not, like Sir Cloudesly's^ formed for 'eternal buckler' Our conversation was chiefly on books, you may be sure. He was much pleased with a small Milton of mine, published in the author's lifetime, and with the Greek epigram on his own effigy, of its being the picture, not of him, but of a bad painter*. There are many manuscript stanzas, for aught I know, in Milton's own handwriting, and several interlined hints and fragments. We were puzzled about one of the sonnets, which • Burnaby Greene had just published The Laiireat, a poem, in which Johnson is abused. It is in the February list of books in the Gent. Mag. for 1765. " Sir Cloudesly Shovel's monument is thus mentioned by Addison in The Spectator, No. 26 : — ' It has very often given me great offence ; instead of the brave rough English Admiral, which was the distinguishing character of that plain gallant man, he is represented on his tomb by the figure of a beau, dressed in a long periwig, and reposing himself upon velvet cushions under a canopy of state.' ^ 'That live-long wig, which Gorgon's self might own, Eternal buckle takes in Parian stone.' Pope's Moral Essays, iii. 295. * Milton's Epigram is in his Sylvarum Liber, and is entitled In Effigiei ejus Sculptor em. WC 6oo Appoidix D. we thought was not to be found in Newton's edition ', and differed from all the printed ones. Hut Johnson cried, " No, no !" repeated the whole sonnet instantly, mcmoriter, and shewed it us in Newton's book. After which he learnedly harangued on sonnet-writing, and its different numbers. He tells me he will come hither again quickly, and is promised "an habitation in Emanuel College"." He went back to town next morning; but as it began to be known that he was in the university, several persons got into his company the last evening at Trinity, where, about twelve, he began to be very great ; stripped poor Mrs. Macaulay to the very skin, then gave her for his toast, and drank her in two bumpers.' (Gent. Mag. for 1785, p. 173.) APPENDIX D. Johnson's Letter to Dr. Leland. {Page 566.) 'To THE Rev. Dr. Leland. 'Sir, ' Among the names subscribed to the degree which I have had the honour of receiving from the university of Dublin, I find none of which I have any personal knowledge but those of Dr. Andrews and yourself. ' Men can be estimated by those who know them not, only as they are represented by those who know them ; and therefore I flatter myself that I owe much of the pleasure which this distinction gives me to your concurrence with Dr. Andrews in recommending me to the learned society. ' Having desired the Provost to return my general thanks to the University, I beg that you, sir, will accept my particular and imme- diate acknowledgements. ' I am, Sir, • Your most obedient and most humble servant, ' Sam. Johnson.' 'Johnson's-court, Fleet-street, London, Oct. 17, 1765.' ' Johnson's acquaintance, Bishop Newton (/^j/, June 3, 1784), published an (edition of Milton. ' It was no doubt by the Master of Emanuel College, his friend Dr. Farmer (antt, p. 426), that Johnson was promibcd ' an habitation ' there. APPENDIX App€7idix E. 60 1 APPENDIX E. Johnson's ' Engaging in Politicks with H- {Page 566.) In a little volume entitled Parliamentary Logick, by the Right Hon. W. G. Hamilton, published in 180S, twelve years after the author's death, is included ConsUcrations on Corn, by Dr. Johnson {Works, V. 321). It was written, says Hamilton's editor, in No- vember 1766. A dearth had caused riots. 'Those who want the supports of life.' Johnson wrote, 'will seize them wherever they can be found.' {lb. p. 322.) He supported in this tract the bount}- for exporting com. If more than a year after he had en- gaged in politics with Mr. Hamilton nothing had been produced but this short tract, the engagement was not of much importance. But there was. I suspect, much more in it. Indeed, the editor says {Preface, p. ix.) that * Johnson had entered into some engage- ment \rsxkv Mr. Hamilton, occasionally to furnish him with his sen- timents on the great political topicks that should be considered in Parliament.' Mr. Croker draws attention to a passage in John- son's letter to Miss Porter of Jan. 14. 1766 (Croker's Boswell, p. 173). in which he says : ' I cannot well come [to Lichfield] during the session of parliament." In the spring of this same year Burke had broken with Hamilton, in whose service he had been. ' The occasion of our difference,' he wrote, * was not any act whatsoever on my part ; it was entirely upon his, by a voluntar}- but most in- solent and intolerable demand, amounting to no less than a claim of servitude during the whole course of my life, without leaving to me at any time a power either of getting forward with honour, or of retiring with tranquillity' (Burke's Corres. i. 77). It seems to me highly probable that Hamilton, in consequence of his ha\-ing just lost, as I have shewn, Burke's senices, sought Johnson's aid. He had taken Burke ' as a companion in his studies.' {Ih. p. 4S. ) * Six of the best years of my life,' wrote Burke, ' he took me from every pursuit of literar)- reputation or of improvement of my fort- une. In that time he made his own fortune (a verv great one.)' {lb. p. 67.) Burke had been recommended to Hamilton bv Dr. Warton. On losing him Hamilton, on Feb. 12, 1765. wrote to •'m^ A-?. 6o2 Appendix E. Warton, giving a false account of his separation with Burke, and asking him to recommend some one to fill his place — some one 'who, in addition to a taste and an understanding of ancient authors, and what generally passes under the name of scholarship, has likewise a share of modern knowledge, and has applied him- self in some degree to the study of the law.' By way of payment he offers at once ' an income, which would neither be insufficient for him as a man of letters, or disreputable to him as a gentleman,' and hereafter ' a situation ' — a post, that is to say, under govern- ment. (Wooll's IVarton, i. 299.) Warton recommended Cham- bers. Chambers does not seem to have accepted the post, for we find him staying on at Oxford {post, ii. 28, 52;. Johnson had all the knowledge that Hamilton required, except that of law. It is this very study that we find him at this very time entering upon. All this shows that for some time and to some extent an engage- ment was formed between him and Hamilton. Boswell, writing to Malone on Feb. 25, 1791, while The Life of yohnson was going through the press, says : — ' I shall have more cancels. That ncr^'ous mortal W. G. H. is not satisfied with my report of some particular.s 7uhich I lurote dcni'ii from /us (nvn //lou/Zi, and is so much at^itated that Courtenay has persuaded me to allow a «e"rt' edition of them by H. himself to be made at H.'s expense.' (Croker's Boswell, p. 829). This would seem to show that there was something that Hamilton wished to conceal. Horace Walpole {Memoirs of the Reign of George ///, iii. 402) does not give him a character for truthfulness. He writes on one occasion : — ' Hamil- ton denied it, but his truth was not renowned.' Miss Burney, who met Hamilton fourteen years after this, thus describes him : — ' This Mr. Hamilton is extremely tall and handsome ; has an air of haughty and fashionable superiority; is intelligent, dry, sarcastic, and clever. I should have received much pleasure from his con- versational powers, had I not previously been jjrejudiced against him, by hearing that he is infinitely artful, double, and crafty." \Mme. D'Arblafs Diary, i. 293.) APPKXDIX Appendix F. 603 APPENDIX F. Johnson's First Acquaintance with the Thrales AND HIS Serious Illness. {Page 567.) Johnson {Pr. and Med. p. 191) writes :— ' My first knowledge of Thrale was in 1765.' \\\ a letter to Mrs. Thrale, he says : — ' You were but five-and-twenty when I knew you first." [Piozzi Letters., i. 284.) As she was born on Jan. H, 1741, this would place their introduction in 1766. In another letter, written on July 8, 1784, he talks of her ' kindness which soothed twenty years of a life radically wretched.' {lb. ii. 376.) Perhaps, however, he here spoke in round numbers. Mrs. Piozzi {Anec. p. 125) says they first met in 1764. Mr. Thrale, she writes, sought an excuse for inviting him. 'The celebrity of Mr. Woodhouse {post, ii. 146), a shoe- maker, whose verses were at that time the subject of common dis- course, soon afforded a " pretence." ' There is a notice of Wood- house in the Gent. Mag. for June 1764 (p. 289). Johnson, she says, dined with them every Thursday through the winter of 1764-5, and in the autumn of 1765 followed them to Brighton. In the Piozzi Letters (i. i) there is a letter of his, dated Aug. 13, 1765, in which he speaks of his intention to join them there. ' From that time,' she writes, 'his visits grew more frequent till, in the year 1766, his health, which he had always complained of, grew so exceedingly bad, that he could not stir out of his room in the court he inhabited for many weeks together, I think months. Mr. Thrale's attentions and my own now became so acceptable to him, that he often lamented to us the horrible condition of his mind, which, he said, was nearly distracted: and though he charged ^^s to make him odd solemn promises of secrecy on so strange a subject, yet when we waited on him one morning, and heard him, in the most pathetic terms, beg the prayers of Dr. Delap [the Rector of Lewes] who had left him as we came in, I felt excessively affected with grief, and well remember my husband involuntarily lifted up one hand to shut his mouth, from provocation at hearing a man so widely proclaim what he could at last persuade no one to believe; and what, if true, would have been so unfit to reveal. Mr. Thrale went away soon after, leav- ing me with him, and bidding me prevail on him to quit his close habitation in the court, and come with us to Streatham, where I undertook 6o4 Appendix F. undertook the care of his health, and had the honour and happiness of contributing to its restoration.' It is not possible to reconcile the contradiction in dates between Johnson and Mrs. Piozzi, nor is it easy to fi.x the time of this ill- ness. That before February 1766, he had had an illness so seri- ous as to lead him altogether to abstain from wine is beyond a doubt. Boswell, on his return to England in ihat month, heard it from his owm lips {post, W. 9). That this illness must have at- tacked him after March i. 1765, when he visited Cambridge, is also clear: for at that time he wa.s still drinking wine uvite. Ap- pendix Q). That he was unusually depressed in the spring of this year is shewn by his entry at Easter KanU. p. 5641. From his visit to Dr. Percy in the summer of 1764 uinU, p. 56:1 1 to the autumn of 1765. we have ver)- little information about him. For more than two years he did not write to Hoswell {post, ii. 1 1. Dr. Adams {ante, p. 559) describes the same kind of attack as Mrs. Piozzi. Its date is not given. Boswell, after quoting an entry made on Johnson's birthday, Sept. 18, 1764, says 'about this time he was afflicted ' with the illness Dr. Adams describes. From Mrs. Piozzi, from Johnson's account to Boswell, and from Dr. Adams we learn of a serious illness. Was there more than one ? If there was only one, then Boswell is wrong in placing it before March 1, 1765, when Johnson was still a wine-drinker, and Mrs. Piozzi is wrong in placing it after Februar)^ 1766, when he had become an ab- stainer. Johnson certainly stayed at Streatham from before Mid- summer to October in 1766 {post, ii. 28, and Pr. and Med. p. 71), and this fact lends support to Mrs. Piozzi's statement. But, on the other hand, his meetings with Boswell in February of that year, and his letters to Langton of March 9 and May 10 {post, ii. 18, 19 >. shew a not unhappy frame of mind. Boswell. in his Hebrides (Oct 16. i773\ speaks of Johnson's illness in 1766. If it was in 1766 that he was ill, it must have been after May 10 and before Mid- summer-day, and this period is almost too brief for Mrs. Piozzi's account. It is a curious coincidence that Cowper was introduced to the Unwins in the same year in which Johnson, according to his own account, had his first knowledge of the Thrales. (Southey's Cowper, i, 171.) THE END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 3 1205 00330 1973 @