Life of Johnson Volume II Part 61

[595] Now Doctor White, and Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Pennsylvania. During his first visit to England in 1771, as a candidate for holy orders, he was several times in company with Dr. Johnson, who expressed a wish to see the edition of his _Ra.s.selas_, which Dr. White told him had been printed in America. Dr. White, on his return, immediately sent him a copy. BOSWELL.

[596] Horace. _Odes_, iii. I. 34.

[597] See _post_, Oct. 12, 1779.

[598] Malone had the following from Baretti: 'Baretti made a translation of _Ra.s.selas_ into French. He never, however, could satisfy himself with the translation of the first sentence, which is uncommonly lofty.

Mentioning this to Johnson, the latter said, after thinking two or three minutes, "Well, take up the pen, and if you can understand my p.r.o.nunciation, I will see what I can do." He then dictated the sentence to the translator, which proved admirable, and was immediately adopted.'

Prior's _Malone_, p. 161. Baretti, in a MS. note on his copy of _Piozzi Letters_, i. 225, says:--'Johnson never wrote to me French, but when he translated for me the first paragraph of his _Ra.s.selas_.' That Johnson's French was faulty, is shown by his letters in that language. _Ante_, ii.

82, and _post_, under Nov. 12, 1775.

[599] It has been translated into Bengalee, Hungarian, Polish, Modern Greek, and Spanish, besides the languages mentioned by Johnson. Dr. J.

Macaulay's _Bibliography of Ra.s.selas_. It reached its fifth edition by 1761. _A Bookseller of the Last Century_, p. 243. In the same book (p.

19) it is mentioned that 'a sixteenth share in _The Rambler_ was sold for 22 2s. 6d.'

[600] A motion in the House of Commons for a committee to consider of the subscription to the Thirty nine Articles had, on Feb. 23 of this year, been rejected by 159 to 67. _Parl. Hist_. xvii. 742-758. A bill for the relief of Protestant Dissenters that pa.s.sed the House of Commons by 65 to 14 on March 25, was rejected in the House of Lords by 86 to 28 on April 2. _Ib_ p. 790.

[601] See _post_, April 25, 1778, where Johnson says that 'Colman [the manager] was prevailed on at last by much solicitation, nay, a kind of force, to bring it on.' Mr. Forster (_Life of Goldsmith_, ii. 334-6) writes:--'The actors and actresses had taken their tone from the manager. Gentleman Smith threw up Voting Marlow; Woodward refused Tony Lumpkin; Mrs. Abington declined Miss Hardcastle [in _The Athenaeum_, No.

3041, it is pointed out that Mrs. Abington was not one of Colman's Company]; and, in the teeth of his own misgivings, Colman could not contest with theirs. He would not suffer a new scene to be painted for the play, he refused to furnish even a new dress, and was careful to spread his forebodings as widely as he could.' The play met with the greatest success. 'There was a new play by Dr. Goldsmith last night, which succeeded prodigiously,' wrote Horace Valpole (_Letters_, v. 452).

The laugh was turned against the doubting manager. Ten days after the play had been brought out, Johnson wrote to Mrs. Thrale:--'C----[Colman]

is so distressed with abuse about his play, that he has solicited Goldsmith to _take him off the rack of the newspapers_.' _Piozzi Letters_, i. 80. See _post_, just before June 22, 1784, for Mr.

Steevens's account.

[602] It was anything but an apology, unless _apology_ is used in its old meaning of _defence_.

[603] Nine days after _She Stoops to Conquer_ was brought out, a vile libel, written, it is believed, by Kenrick (_ante_ i. 297), was published by Evans in _The London Packet_. The libeller dragged in one of the Miss Hornecks, 'the Jessamy Bride' of Goldsmith's verse.

Goldsmith, believing Evans had written the libel, struck him with his cane. The blow was returned, for Evans was a strong man. 'He indicted Goldsmith for the a.s.sault, but consented to a compromise on his paying fifty pounds to a Welsh charity. The papers abused the poet, and steadily turned aside from the real point in issue. At last he stated it himself, in an _Address to the Public_, in the _Daily Advertiser_ of March 31.' Forster's _Goldsmith_, ii. 347-351. The libel is given in Goldsmith's _Misc. Works_ (1801), i. 103.

[604] '_Your_ paper,' I suppose, because the _Chronicle_ was taken in at Bolt Court. _Ante_, ii. 103.

[605] See Forster's _Goldsmith_, i. 265, for a possible explanation of this sarcasm.

[606] Horace Walpole is violent against Dalrymple and the King. 'What must,' he says, 'be the designs of this reign when George III.

encourages a Jacobite wretch to hunt in France for materials for blackening the heroes who withstood the enemies of Protestantism and liberty.' _Journal of the Reign of George III_, i. 286.

[607] Mr. Hallam pointed out to Mr. Croker that Johnson was speaking of Dalrymple's description of the parting of Lord and Lady Russell:--'With a deep and n.o.ble silence; with a long and fixed look, in which respect and affection unmingled with pa.s.sion were expressed, Lord and Lady Russell parted for ever--he great in this last act of his life, but she greater.' Dalrymple's _Memoirs_, i. 31. See _post_, April 30, 1773, for the foppery of Dalrymple; and Boswell's _Hebrides_, near the end, for Johnson's imitation of Dalrymple's style.

[608] See _ante_, i. 334.

[609] See _ante_, ii. 170.

[610] Horace Walpole says:--'It was not Chesterfield's fault if he had not wit; nothing exceeded his efforts in that point; and though they were far from producing the wit, they at least amply yielded the applause he aimed at.' _Memoirs of the Reign of George II_, i. 51.

[611] A curious account of Tyrawley is given in Walpole's _Reign of George II_, iii. 108. He had been Amba.s.sador at Lisbon, and he 'even affected not to know where the House of Commons was.' Walpole says (_Letters_, i. 215, note) that 'Pope has mentioned his and another amba.s.sador's seraglios in one of his _Imitations of Horace_.' He refers to the lines in the _Imitations_, i. 6. 120:--

'Go live with Chartres, in each vice outdo K----l's lewd cargo, or Ty----y's crew.'

Kinnoul and Tyrawley, says Walpole, are meant.

[612] According to Chalmers, who himself has performed this task, Dr.

Percy was the first of these gentlemen, and Dr. John Calder the second. CROKER.

[613] Sir Andrew Freeport, after giving money to some importunate beggars, says:--'I ought to give to an hospital of invalids, to recover as many useful subjects as I can, but I shall bestow none of my bounties upon an almshouse of idle people; and for the same reason I should not think it a reproach to me if I had withheld my charity from those common beggars.' _The Spectator_, No. 232. This paper is not by Addison. In No.

549, which is by Addison, Sir Andrew is made to found 'an almshouse for a dozen superannuated husbandmen.' I have before (ii. 119) contrasted the opinions of Johnson and Fielding as to almsgiving. A more curious contrast is afforded by the following pa.s.sage in _Tom Jones_, book i.

chap. iii:--'I have told my reader that Mr. Allworthy inherited a large fortune, that he had a good heart, and no family. Hence, doubtless, it will be concluded by many that he lived like an honest man, owed no one a shilling, took nothing but what was his own, kept a good house, entertained his neighbours with a hearty welcome at his table, and was charitable to the poor, i.e. to those who had rather beg than work, by giving them the offals from it; that he died immensely rich, and built an hospital.'

[614] Boswell says (_Hebrides_, Aug. 26, 1773):--'His recitation was grand and affecting, and, as Sir Joshua Reynolds has observed to me, had no more tone than it should have.' Mrs. Piozzi (_Anec_. p. 302) writes:--'His manner of repeating deserves to be described, though at the same time it defeats all power of description; but whoever once heard him repeat an ode of Horace would be long before they could endure to hear it repeated by another.' See _ante_, ii. 92, note 4.

[615] 'Some of the old legendary stories put in verse by modern writers provoked him to caricature them thus one day at Streatham:--

"The tender infant, meek and mild, Fell down upon the stone; The nurse took up the squealing child, But still the child squeal'd on."

'A famous ballad also beginning--_Rio verde, Rio verde_, when I commended the translation of it, he said he could do it better himself, as thus:--

"Gla.s.sy water, gla.s.sy water, Down whose current clear and strong, Chiefs confused in mutual slaughter, Moor and Christian roll along."

"But, Sir," said I, "this is not ridiculous at all." "Why no," replied he, "why should I always write ridiculously?"' Piozzi's _Anec_. p. 65.

See _ante_, ii. 136, note 4. Neither Boswell nor Mrs. Piozzi mentions Percy by name as the subject of Johnson's ridicule.

[616] See Boswell's _Hebrides_, Oct. 4, 1773.

[617] Rogers (_Table-Talk_, p. 88) said that 'Fox considered Burnet's style to be perfect.'

[618] Johnson (_Works_, vii. 96) quotes; 'Dalrymple's observation, who says "that whenever Burnet's narrations are examined, he appears to be mistaken."' Lord Bolingbroke (_Works_, iv. 151) wrote of party pamphlets and histories:--'Read them with suspicion, for they deserve to be suspected; pay no regard to the epithets given, nor to the judgments pa.s.sed; neglect all declamation, weigh the reasoning, and advert to fact. With such precautions, even Burnet's history may be of some use.'

Horace Walpole, noticing an attack on Burnet, says (_Letters_, vi.

487):--'It shows his enemies are not angry at his telling falsehoods, but the truth ... I will tell you what was said of his _History_ by one whose testimony you yourself will not dispute. That confessor said, "d.a.m.n him, he has told a great deal of truth, but where the devil did he learn it?" This was St. Atterbury's testimony.'

[619] The cross-buns were for Boswell and Levet. Johnson recorded (_Pr.

and Med_. p. 121):--'On this whole day I took nothing of nourishment but one cup of tea without milk; but the fast was very inconvenient. Towards night I grew fretful and impatient, unable to fix my mind or govern my thoughts.'

[620] It is curious to compare with this Johnson's own record:--'I found the service not burdensome nor tedious, though I could not hear the lessons. I hope in time to take pleasure in public works.' _Pr. and Med_. p. 121.

[621] In the original _in_.

[622] Afterwards Charles I. BOSWELL.

[623] See _ante_, ii. 47.

[624] See _post_, April 9, 1778, where Johnson said:-'Goldsmith had no settled notions upon any subject; so he talked always at random.'

[625] The next day Johnson recorded:--'I have had some nights of that quiet and continual sleep which I had wanted till I had almost forgotten it.' _Pemb. Coll. MSS_.

[626] See _ante_, ii. 11.

[627] We have the following account of Johnson's kitchen in 1778: 'Mr.

Thale.--"And pray who is clerk of your kitchen, Sir?" Dr. J.--"Why, Sir, I am afraid there is none; a general anarchy prevails in my kitchen, as I am told Mr. Levet, who says it is not now what it used to be." Mr.

T.--"But how do you get your dinners drest?" Dr. J.--"Why, Desmouline has the chief management, for we have no jack." Mr. T.--"No jack? Why, how do they manage without?" Dr. J.--"Small joints, I believe, they manage with a string, and larger one done at the tavern. I have some thoughts (with a profound gravity) of buying a jack, because I think a jack is some credit to a house." Mr. T.--"Well, but you'll have a spit too?" Dr. J.--"No Sir, no; that would be superfluous; for we shall never use it; if a jack is seen, a spit will be presumed."' Mme. D'Arblay's _Diary_, i. 115.

[628] See _ante_, i. 418.