In the end of this year he was seized with a spasmodick asthma of such violence, that he was confined to the house in great pain, being sometimes obliged to sit all night in his chair, a recumbent posture being so hurtful to his respiration, that he could not endure lying in bed; and there came upon him at the same time that oppressive and fatal disease, a dropsy. It was a very severe winter, which probably aggravated his complaints; and the solitude in which Mr. Levett and Mrs. Williams had left him, rendered his life very gloomy.
Mrs. Desmoulins, who still lived, was herself so very ill, that she could contribute very little to his relief.
He, however, had none of that unsocial shyness which we commonly see in people afflicted with sickness. He did not hide his head from the world, in solitary abstraction; he did not deny himself to the visits of his friends and acquaintances; but at all times, when he was not overcome by sleep, was ready for conversation as in his best days.
'To MRS. LUCY PORTER, IN LICHFIELD.
'DEAR MADAM,
'You may perhaps think me negligent that I have not written to you again upon the loss of your brother; but condolences and consolations are such common and such useless things, that the omission of them is no great crime: and my own diseases occupy my mind, and engage my care. My nights are miserably restless, and my days, therefore, are heavy. I try, however, to hold up my head as high as I can.
'I am sorry that your health is impaired; perhaps the spring and the summer may, in some degree, restore it: but if not, we must submit to the inconveniences of time, as to the other dispensations of Eternal Goodness. Pray for me, and write to me, or let Mr. Pearson write for you.
'I am, &c.
'SAM. JOHNSON.'
'London, Nov. 29, 1783.'
1784: Aetat. 75.— And now I am arrived at the last year of the life of SAMUEL JOHNSON, a year in which, although passed in severe indisposition, he nevertheless gave many evidences of the continuance of those wondrous powers of mind, which raised him so high in the intellectual world. His conversation and his letters of this year were in no respect inferiour to those of former years.
The following is a remarkable proof of his being alive to the most minute curiosities of literature.
'To MR. DILLY, BOOKSELLER, IN THE POULTRY.
'SIR,
'There is in the world a set of books which used to be sold by the booksellers on the bridge {“Old” London Bridge, completed in 1209, and in use until 1831. – Editor}, and which I must entreat you to procure me. They are called Burton's Books; the title of one is Admirable Curiosities, Rarities, and Wonders in England. I believe there are about five or six of them; they seem very proper to allure backward readers; be so kind as to get them for me, and send me them with the best printed edition of Baxter's Call to the Unconverted.
'I am, &c.
'SAM. JOHNSON.'
'Jan. 6, 1784.'
'To MR. PERKINS.'
DEAR SIR,
'I was very sorry not to see you when you were so kind as to call on me; but to disappoint friends, and if they are not very good natured, to disoblige them, is one of the evils of sickness. If you will please to let me know which of the afternoons in this week I shall be favoured with another visit by you and Mrs. Perkins, and the young people, I will take all the measures that I can to be pretty well at that time.
'I am, dear Sir,
'Your most humble servant,
'SAM. JOHNSON.'
'Jan. 21, 1784.'
His attention to the Essex-Head Club appears from the following letter to Mr. Alderman Clark, a gentleman for whom he deservedly entertained a great regard.
'To RICHARD CLARK, ESQ.
'DEAR SIR,
'You will receive a requisition, according to the rules of the Club, to be at the house as President of the night. This turn comes once a month, and the member is obliged to attend, or send another in his place. You were enrolled in the Club by my invitation, and I ought to introduce you; but as I am hindered by sickness, Mr. Hoole will very properly supply my place as introductor, or yours as President. I hope in milder weather to be a very constant attendant.
'I am, Sir, &c.
'SAM. JOHNSON.'
'Jan. 27, 1784.'
'You ought to be informed that the forfeits began with the year, and that every night of non-attendance incurs the mulct of three-pence, that is, nine pence a week.'
'To JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ.
'DEAR SIR,
'I hear of many enquiries which your kindness has disposed you to make after me. I have long intended you a long letter, which perhaps the imagination of its length hindered me from beginning. I will, therefore, content myself with a shorter.
'Having promoted the institution of a new Club in the neighbourhood, at the house of an old servant of Thrale's, I went thither to meet the company, and was seized with a spasmodick asthma so violent, that with difficulty I got to my own house, in which I have been confined eight or nine weeks, and from which I know not when I shall be able to go even to church. The asthma, however, is not the worst. A dropsy gains ground upon me; my legs and thighs are very much swollen with water, which I should be content if I could keep there, but I am afraid that it will soon be higher. My nights are very sleepless and very tedious. And yet I am extremely afraid of dying.
'My physicians try to make me hope, that much of my malady is the effect of cold, and that some degree at least of recovery is to be expected from vernal breezes and summer suns. If my life is prolonged to autumn, I should be glad to try a warmer climate; though how to travel with a diseased body, without a companion to conduct me, and with very little money, I do not well see. Think for me what I can do.
'I received your pamphlet {Boswell had written a pamphlet on political matters of the day, and sent a copy to Johnson. – Editor}, and when I write again may perhaps tell you some opinion about it; but you will forgive a man struggling with disease his neglect of disputes, politicks, and pamphlets.
Let me have your prayers. My compliments to your lady, and young ones. Ask your physicians about my case: and desire Sir Alexander Dick to write me his opinion.
'I am, dear Sir, &c.
'SAM. JOHNSON.'
'Feb. 11, 1784.'
'TO MRS. LUCY PORTER, IN LICHFIELD.
'MY DEAREST LOVE,
'I have been extremely ill of an asthma and dropsy, but received, by the mercy of GOD, sudden and unexpected relief last Thursday, by the discharge of twenty pints of water. Whether I shall continue free, or shall fill again, cannot be told. Pray for me.
'Death, my dear, is very dreadful; let us think nothing worth our care but how to prepare for it: what we know amiss in ourselves let us make haste to amend, and put our trust in the mercy of GOD, and the intercession of our Saviour. I am, dear Madam,
'Your most humble servant,
'SAM. JOHNSON.'
'Feb. 23, 1784.'
'TO JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ.
'DEAR SIR,
'I have just advanced so far towards recovery as to read a pamphlet; and you may reasonably suppose that the first pamphlet which I read was yours. I am very much of your opinion, and, like you, feel great indignation at the indecency with which the King is every day treated.
Your paper contains very considerable knowledge of history and of the constitution, very properly produced and applied. It will certainly raise your character, though perhaps it may not make you a Minister of State.
'I am, dear Sir, &c.
'SAM. JOHNSON.'
'London, Feb. 27, 1784.'
(classix comix™ is made possible in part through the continuing support of the Bob’s Bowery Bar Fund for Underemployed Writers and Artists: “Don’t forget, folks, every Wednesday night at Bob’s Bowery Bar is ‘Half-Price Pizza Nite’! Enjoy our brick-oven pizzas (available by the slice, as well as 12-inch and 18-inch whole pies) with your choice of toppings including anchovies, pepperoni, hot or sweet sausage, potato ‘n’ sage, pesto, broccoli rabe, or, my favorite: plain house sauce and extra mozzarella!” –
Horace P. Sternwall, host and narrator of Bob’s Bowery Bar Presents Philip Morris Commander’s “Blanche Weinberg, Lady Psychiatrist” , broadcast live 8pm Sundays {EST} exclusively on the Dumont Television Network. This week’s play: “The Neurotic Collie”, by Herbie Pete Shackleton, starring Kitty Carlisle as “Dr. Blanche”, and with special guest star Lassie.)
part 251
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