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_Works_. 1787, and are often quoted in my notes. It should beremembered that Steevens is not trustworthy. See _ante_, iii. 281,and iv. 178.[1002] See _ante_, ii. 96.[1003] See _ante_, p. iii.[1004] _She Stoops to Conquer_ was first acted on March 15, 1773. TheKing of Sardinia had died on Feb. 20. _Gent. Mag_. 1773, pp. 149, 151.[1005] Hannah More (_Memoirs_, i. 170) describes how, in 1780, she wentto one of Mrs. Ord's assemblies at a time when 'the mourning for someforeign Wilhelmina Jaquelina was not over. Every human creature was indeep mourning, and I, poor I, all gorgeous in scarlet. Even JacobiteJohnson was in deep mourning.'[1006] In the tenth edition of the _Rambler_, published in 1784, theentry is still found:--'Milton, Mr. John, remarks on his versification.'In like manner we find:--'Shakspeare, Mr. William, his eminent successin tragi-comedy;' 'Spenser, Mr. Edmund, some imitations of his dictioncensured;' 'Cowley, Mr. Abraham, a passage in his writing illustrated.'[1007] See _ante_, p. 116.[1008] See _ante_, iii. 425, note 3.[1009] Hawkins (_Life_, p. 571) writes:--'The plan for Johnson'svisiting the Continent became so well known, that, as a lady thenresident at Rome afterwards informed me, his arrival was anxiouslyexpected throughout Italy.'[1010] Edward Lord Thurlow. BOSWELL.[1011] See _ante_, p. 179.[1012] In 1778.[1013] 'With Lord Thurlow, while he was at the bar, Johnson was wellacquainted. He said to Mr. Murphy twenty years ago, "Thurlow is a man ofsuch vigour of mind that I never knew I was to meet him, but--I wasgoing to tell a falsehood; I was going to say I was afraid of him, andthat would not be true, for I was never afraid of any man--but I neverknew that I was to meet Thurlow, but I knew I had something toencounter."' _Monthly Review_ for 1787, lxxvi. 382. Murphy, no doubt,was the writer. Lord Campbell (_Lives of the Chancellors_, ed. 1846,v.621) quotes from 'the Diary of a distinguished political character' anaccount of a meeting between Thurlow and Horne Tooke, in 1801. 'Tookeevidently came forward for a display, and as I considered his powers ofconversation as surpassing those of any person I had ever seen (in pointof skill and dexterity, and if necessary in _lying_), so I took forgranted old grumbling Thurlow would be obliged to lower his top-sail tohim--but it seemed as if the very _look_ and _voice_ of Thurlow scaredhim out of his senses from the first moment. So Tooke tried to recruithimself by wine, and, though not generally a drinker, was very drunk,but all would not do.'[1014] It is strange that Sir John Hawkins should have related that theapplication was made by Sir Joshua Reynolds, when he could so easilyhave been informed of the truth by inquiring of Sir Joshua. Sir John'scarelessness to ascertain facts is very remarkable. BOSWELL.[1015] There is something dreadful in the thought of the old man quietlygoing on with his daily life within a few hundred yards of this shockingscene of slaughter, this 'legal massacre,' to use his own words (_ante_,p. 188, note 3). England had a kind of Reign of Terror of its own;little thought of at the time or remembered since. Twenty-four men weresentenced to death at the Old Bailey Sessions that ended on April 28. OnJune 16 nine of these had the sentence commuted; the rest were hangedthis day. Among these men was not a single murderer. Twelve of them hadcommitted burglary, two a street robbery, and one had personated anotherman's name, with intent to receive his wages. _Ann. Reg_. xxvii, 193,and _Gent. Mag_. liv. 379, 474. The _Gent. Mag_. recording thesentences, remarks:--'Convicts under sentence of death in Newgate andthe gaols throughout the kingdom increase so fast, that, were they allto be executed, England would soon be marked among the nations as the_Bloody Country_.' In the spring assizes the returns are given for tentowns. There were 88 capital convictions, of which 21 were atWinchester. _Ib_. 224. In the summer assizes and at the Old BaileySessions for July there were 149 capital convictions. At Maidstone a manon being sentenced 'gave three loud cheers, upon which the judge gavestrict orders for his being chained to the floor of the dungeon.' _Ib_.pp. 311, 633. The hangman was to grow busier yet. This increase in thenumber of capital punishments was attributed by Romilly in great part toMadan's _Thoughts on Executive Justice_; 'a small tract, in which, by amistaken application of the maxim "that the certainty of punishment ismore efficacious than its severity for the prevention of crimes," heabsurdly insisted on the expediency of rigidly enforcing, in everyinstance, our penal code, sanguinary and barbarous as it was. In 1783,the year before the book was published, there were executed in Londononly 51 malefactors; in 1785, the year after the book was published,there were executed 97; and it was recently after the publication of thebook that was exhibited a spectacle unseen in London for a long courseof years before, the execution of nearly 20 criminals at a time.' _Lifeof Romilly_, i. 89. Madan's Tract was published in the winter of 1784-5.Boswell's fondness for seeing executions is shewn, _ante_, ii. 93.[1016] See _ante_, ii. 82, 104; iii. 290; and v. 7l.[1017] A friend of mine happened to be passing by a _field congregation_in the environs of London, when a Methodist preacher quoted this passagewith triumph. BOSWELL. On Dec. 26, 1784, John Wesley preached thecondemned criminals' sermon to forty-seven who were under sentence ofdeath. He records:--'The power of the Lord was eminently present, andmost of the prisoners were in tears. A few days after, twenty of themdied at once, five of whom died in peace. I could not but greatlyapprove of the spirit and behaviour of Mr. Villette, the Ordinary; and Irejoiced to hear that it was the same on all similar occasions.'Wesley's _Journal_, ed. 1827, iv. 287.[1018] I trust that THE CITY OF LONDON, now happily in unison with THECOURT, will have the justice and generosity to obtain preferment forthis Reverend Gentleman, now a worthy old servant of that magnificentCorporation. BOSWELL. In like manner, Boswell in 1768 praised the Rev.Mr. Moore, Mr. Villette's predecessor. 'Mr. Moore, the Ordinary ofNewgate, discharged his duty with much earnestness and a fervour forwhich I and all around me esteemed and loved him. Mr. Moore seems worthyof his office, which, when justly considered, is a very important one.'_London Mag._ 1783, p. 204. For the quarrel between the City and theCourt, see _ante_, iii. 201.[1019] See _ante_, i. 387.[1020] Knox in _Winter Evenings_, No. xi. (_Works_, ii. 348), attacksJohnson's biographers for lowering his character by publishing hisprivate conversation. 'Biography,' he complains, 'is every daydescending from its dignity.' See _ante_, i. 222, note 1.[1021] _Piozzi Letters_, ii. 256.[1022] Johnson wrote on April 15:--'I am still very weak, though myappetite is keen and my digestion potent. ... I now think and consultto-day what I shall eat to-morrow. This disease likewise will, I hope,be cured.' _Piozzi Letters_, ii. 362. Beattie, who dined withJohnson on June 27, wrote:--'Wine, I think, would do him good, but hecannot be prevailed on to drink it. He has, however, a voraciousappetite for food. I verily believe that on Sunday last he ate as muchto dinner as I have done in all for these ten days past.' Forbes's_Beattie_, ed. 1824, p. 315. It was said that Beattie latterly indulgedsomewhat too much in wine. _Ib_. p. 432.[1023] Horace Walpole wrote in April 1750 (_Letters_, ii. 206):--'Thereis come from France a Madame Bocage who has translated Milton: my LordChesterfield prefers the copy to the original; but that is not uncommonfor him to do, who is the patron of bad authors and bad actors. She haswritten a play too, which was damned, and worthy my lord's approbation.'It was this lady who bade her footman blow into the spout of thetea-pot. _Ante_, ii. 403. Dr. J. H. Burton writes of her in his _Life ofHume_, ii. 213:--'The wits must praise her bad poetry if they frequentedher house. "Elle etait d'une figure aimable," says Grimm, "elle estbonne femme; elle est riche; elle pouvait fixer chez elle les gensd'esprit et de bonne compagnie, sans les mettre dans l'embarras de luiparler avec peu de sincerite de sa Colombiade ou de ses Amazones."'[1024] It is the sea round the South Pole that she describes in her_Elegy_ (not _Ode_). The description begins:--'While o'er the deep in many a dreadful form,The giant Danger howls along the storm,_Furling the iron sails with numbed hands,Firm on the deck the great Adventurer stands;_Round glitt'ring mountains hear the billows rave,And the vast ruin thunder on the wave.'In the _Gent. Mag._ 1793, p. 197, were given extracts abusive of Johnsonfrom some foolish letters that passed between Miss Seward and Hayley, apoet her equal in feebleness. Boswell, in his _Corrections and Additionsto the First Edition_ (_ante_, i.10), corrected an error into which hehad been led by Miss Seward (_ante_, i.92, note 2). She, in the _Gent.Mag._ for 1793, p.875, defended herself and attacked him. His reply isfound on p.1009. He says:--'As my book was to be a _real history_, andnot a _novel_, it was necessary to suppress all erroneous particulars,however entertaining.' (_Ante_, ii 467, note 4.) He continues:--'So farfrom having any hostile disposition towards this Lady, I have, in my_Life of Dr. Johnson_...quoted a compliment paid by him to one of herpoetical pieces; and I have withheld his opinion of herself, thinkingthat she might not like it. I am afraid it has reached her by some othermeans; and thus we may account for various attacks by her on hervenerable townsman since his decease...What are we to think of thescraps of letters between her and Mr. Hayley, impotently attempting toundermine the noble pedestal on which the publick opinion has placedDr. Johnson?'[1025] See _ante_, i.265, and iv. 174.[1026] 'Johnson said he had once seen Mr. Stanhope at Dodsley's shop,and was so much struck with his awkward manners and appearance that hecould not help asking Mr. Dodsley who he was.' Johnson's _Works_,(1787) xi.209.[1027] Chesterfield was Secretary of State from Nov. 1746 to Feb. 1748.His letters to his son extend from 1739 to 1768.[1028] Foote had taken off Lord Chesterfield in _The Cozeners_. Mrs.Aircastle trains her son Toby in the graces. She says to herhusband:--'Nothing but grace! I wish you would read some late_Posthumous Letters_; you would then know the true value of grace.' Actii. sc. 2.[1029] See _ante_, p.78, note 1.[1030] See a pamphlet entitled _Remarks on the Characters of the Courtof Queen Anne_, included in Swift's _Works_, ed. 1803, vi. 163.[1031] Carleton, according to the _Memoirs_, made his first service inthe navy in 1672--seventeen years before the siege of Derry. There is nomention of this siege in the book.[1032] 'He had obtained, by his long service, some knowledge of thepractic part of an engineer.' Preface to the _Memoirs_.[1033] Nearly 200 pages in Bohn's edition. See _ante_, i. 71, forJohnson's rapid reading.[1034] Lord Mahon (_War of the Succession in Spain_, Appendix, p. 131)proves that a Captain Carleton really served. 'It is not impossible,' hesays, 'that the MS. may have been intrusted to De Foe for the purpose ofcorrection or revision...The _Memoirs_ are most strongly marked withinternal proofs of authenticity.' Lockhart (_Life of Scott_, iii. 84)says:--'It seems to be now pretty generally believed that Carleton's_Memoirs_ were among the numberless fabrications of De Foe; but in thiscase (if the fact indeed be so), as in that of his _Cavalier_, he nodoubt had before him the rude journal of some officer.' Dr. Burton(_Reign of Queen Anne_ ii. 173) says that MSS. in the British Museumdisprove 'the possibility of De Foe's authorship.'[1035] Lord Chesterfield (_Letters_, ii. 109) writing to his son on Nov.29, 1748, says of Mr. Eliot:--'Imitate that application of his, whichhas made him know all thoroughly, and to the bottom. He does not contenthimself with the surface of knowledge; but works in the mine for it,knowing that it lies deep.'[1036] The Houghton Collection was sold in 1779 by the third Earl ofOrford, to the Empress of Russia for L40,555. (Walpole's _Letters_, vii.227, note 1.)Horace Walpole wrote on Aug. 4 of that year (_ib_. p. 235):--'Well!adieu to Houghton! about its mad master I shall never trouble myselfmore. From the moment he came into possession, he has undermined everyact of my father that was within his reach, but, having none of thatgreat man's sense or virtues, he could only lay wild hands on lands andhouses; and since he has stript Houghton of its glory, I do not care astraw what he does with the stone or the acres.'[1037] This museum at Alkerington near Manchester is described in the_Gent. Mag_. 1773, p.219. A proposal was made in Parliament to buy itfor the British Museum. _Ib_. 1783, p. 919. On July 8, 1784, a billenabling Lever to dispose of it by lottery passed the House of Commons._Ib_. 1784, p.705.[1038] Johnson defines _intuition_ as _sight of anything; immediateknowledge_; and _sagacity_ as _quickness of scent; acuteness ofdiscovery_.[1039] In the first edition it stands '_A gentleman_' and below insteadof Mr. ----, Mr. ----. In the second edition Mr. ---- becomes Mr. ----.In the third edition _young_ is added. Young Mr. Burke is probablymeant. As it stood in the second edition it might have been thought thatEdmund Burke was the gentleman; the more so as Johnson often denied hiswant of wit.[1040] _Hamlet_, act i. sc. 2.[1041] See _ante_, i. 372, note 1.[1042] Windham says (_Diary_, p. 34) that when Dr. Brocklesby made thisoffer 'Johnson pressed his hands and said, "God bless you through JesusChrist, but I will take no money but from my sovereign." This, if Imistake not, was told the King through West.' Dr. Brocklesby wrote toBurke, on July 2, 1788, to make him 'an instant present of L1000,which,' he continues, 'for years past, by will, I had destined as atestimony of my regard on my decease.' Burke, accepting the present,said:--'I shall never be ashamed to have it known, that I am obliged toone who never can be capable of converting his kindness into a burthen.'Burke's _Corres._ iii.78. See _ante_, p. 263, for the just praisebestowed by Johnson on physicians in his _Life of Garth_.[1043] See _ante_, ii. 194.[1044] _Letters to Mrs. Thrale_, vol. ii. p 375. BOSWELL.[1045] Rogers (_Table-Talk_, p. 45) describes him as 'a very handsome,gentlemanly, and amiable person. Mme. D'Arblay tells how one evening atDr. Burney's home, when Signor Piozzi was playing on the piano, 'Mrs.Thrale stealing on tip-toe behind him, ludicrously began imitating him.Dr. Burney whispered to her, "Because, Madam, you have no ear yourselffor music, will you destroy the attention of all who in that one pointare otherwise gifted?"' Mrs. Thrale took this rebuke very well. This washer first meeting with Piozzi. It was in Mr. Thrale's life-time._Memoirs of Dr. Burney_, ii. 110.[1046] Dr. Johnson's letter to Sir John Hawkins, _Life_, p. 570.BOSWELL. The last time Miss Burney saw Johnson, not three weeks beforehis death, he told her that the day before he had seen Miss Thrale. 'Ithen said:--"Do you ever, Sir, hear from mother?" "No," cried he, "norwrite to her. I drive her quite from my mind. If I meet with one of herletters, I burn it instantly. I have burnt all I can find. I never speakof her, and I desire never to hear of her more. I drive her, as I said,wholly from my mind."' Mme. D'Arblay's _Diary_, ii. 328.[1047] See _ante_, i. 493.[1048] _Anec_. p. 293. BOSWELL.[1049] 'The saying of the old philosopher who observes, "that he whowants least is most like the gods who want nothing," was a favouritesentence with Dr. Johnson, who on his own part required less attendance,sick or well, than ever I saw any human creature. Conversation was allhe required to make him happy.' Piozzi's _Anec_. p.275. Miss Burney'saccount of the life at Streatham is generally very cheerful. I suspectthat the irksome confinement described by Mrs. Piozzi was not felt byher till she became attached to Mr. Piozzi. This caused a great changein her behaviour and much unhappiness. (_Ante_, p. 138, note 4.) He attimes treated her harshly. (_Ante_, p. 160, note.) Two passages in herletters to Miss Burney shew a want of feeling in her for a man who fornearly twenty years had been to her almost as a father. On Feb. 18,1784, she writes:--'Johnson is in a sad way doubtless; yet he may stillwith care last another twelve-month, and every week's existence is gainto him, who, like good Hezekiah, wearies Heaven with entreaties forlife. I wrote him a very serious letter the other day.' On March 23 shewrites:--' My going to London would be a dreadful expense, and bring ona thousand inquiries and inconveniences--visits to Johnson and fromCator.' It is likely that in other letters there were like passages, butthese letters Miss Burney 'for cogent reasons destroyed.' Mme.D'Arblay's _Diary_, ii. 305, 7, 8.[1050]'Bless'd paper credit! last and best supply!That lends corruption lighter wings to fly!'Pope, _Moral Essays_, iii. 39.[1051] Who has been pleased to furnish me with his remarks. BOSWELL. Nodoubt Malone, who says, however: 'On the whole the publick is indebtedto her for her lively, though very inaccurate and artful, account of Dr.Johnson.' Prior's _Malone_, p. 364.[1052] See _ante_, iii. 81.[1053] _Anec._ p. 183. BOSWELL.[1054] Hannah More. She, with her sisters, had kept a boarding-school atBristol.[1055] She first saw Johnson in June, 1774. According to her _Memoirs_(i. 48) he met her 'with good humour in his countenance, and continuedin the same pleasant humour the whole of the evening.' She called on himin Bolt Court. One of her sisters writes:--'Miss Reynolds told thedoctor of all our rapturous exclamations [about him] on the road. Heshook his scientific head at Hannah, and said, "She was a silly thing."'_Ib_. p. 49. 'He afterwards mentioned to Miss Reynolds how much he hadbeen touched with the enthusiasm of the young authoress, which wasevidently genuine and unaffected.' _Ib_. p. 50. She met him again in thespring of 1775. Her sister writes:--'The old genius was extremelyjocular, and the young one very pleasant. They indeed tried which could"pepper the highest" [Goldsmith's _Retaliation_], and it is not clear tome that he was really the highest seasoner.' _Ib_. p. 54. From the Moreswe know nothing of his reproof. He had himself said of 'a literarylady'--no doubt Hannah More--'I was obliged to speak to Miss Reynolds tolet her know that I desired she would not flatter me so much.' _Ante_,iii.293. Miss Burney records a story she had from Mrs. Thrale, 'which,'she continues, 'exceeds, I think, in its severity all the severe thingsI have yet heard of Dr. Johnson's saying. When Miss More was introducedto him, she began singing his praise in the warmest manner. For sometime he heard her with that quietness which a long use of praise hasgiven him: she then redoubled her strokes, till at length he turnedsuddenly to her, with a stern and angry countenance, and said, "Madam,before you flatter a man so grossly to his face, you should considerwhether or not your flattery is worth his having."' Mme. D'Arblay's_Diary_, i.103. Shortly afterwards Miss Burney records (_ib_. p. 121)that Mrs. Thrale said to him:--'We have told her what you said to MissMore, and I believe that makes her afraid.' He replied:--'Well, and ifshe was to serve me as Miss More did, I should say the same thing toher.' We have therefore three reports of what he said--one from Mrs.Thrale indirectly, one from her directly, and the third from Malone.However severe the reproof was, the Mores do not seem to have been muchtouched by it. At all events they enjoyed the meeting with Johnson, andHannah More needed a second reproof that was conveyed to her throughMiss Reynolds.[1056] _Anec._ p. 202. BOSWELL.[1057] See _ante_, i. 40, 68, 92, 415, 481; ii. 188, 194; iii. 229; and_post_, v. 245, note 2.[1058] _Anec._ p. 44. BOSWELL. See _ante_, p. 318, _note_ 1, where Iquote the passage.[1059] _Ib_. p. 23. BOSWELL.[1060] _Ib_. p. 45. Mr. Hayward says:--'She kept a copious diary andnotebook called _Thraliana_ from 1776 to 1809. It is now,' [1861] hecontinues, 'in the possession of Mr. Salusbury, who deems it of tooprivate and delicate a character to be submitted to strangers, but haskindly supplied me with some curious passages from it.' Hayward's_Piozzi_, i. 6.[1061] _Ib_. p. 51 [192]. BOSWELL.[1062] _Anec._ p. 193 [51]. BOSWELL.