Boswell’s Life of Johnson: 149

Edited by Dan Leo, LL.D., Associate Professor of 18th Century British Social Studies; author of Bozzie and Dr. Sam: The Return of the Bawd from Battersea, the Olney Community College Press.

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On the 23rd of June, I again wrote to Dr. Johnson, enclosing a ship-master's receipt for a jar of orange-marmalade, and a large packet of Lord Hailes's Annals of Scotland. 'To JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ. 'DEAR SIR, 'I have just received your packet from Mr. Thrale's, but have not day-light enough to look much into it. I am glad that I have credit enough with Lord Hailes to be trusted with more copy. I hope to take more care of it than of the last. I return Mrs. Boswell my affectionate thanks for her present, which I value as a token of reconciliation. 'Poor Dodd {William Dodd, a clergyman sentenced to be hanged for forgery – Editor} was put to death yesterday, in opposition to the recommendation of the jury — the petition of the city of London — and a subsequent petition signed by three-and-twenty thousand hands. Surely the voice of the publick, when it calls so loudly, and calls only for mercy, ought to be heard. 'The saying that was given me in the papers I never spoke; but I wrote many of his petitions, and some of his letters. He applied to me very often. He was, I am afraid, long flattered with hopes of life; but I had no part in the dreadful delusion; for, as soon as the King had signed his sentence, I obtained from Mr. Chamier an account of the disposition of the court towards him, with a declaration that there was no hope even of a respite. This letter immediately was laid before Dodd; but he believed those whom he wished to be right, as it is thought, till within three days of his end. He died with pious composure and resolution. I hope all is not true that is charged upon him. Of his behaviour in prison an account will be published. 'I give you joy of your country-house, and your pretty garden; and hope some time to see you in your felicity.  'I hope to meet you somewhere towards the north, but am loath to come quite to Carlisle. Can we not meet at Manchester? But we will settle it in some other letters.  'Mr. Seward, a great favourite at Streatham, has been, I think, enkindled by our travels with a curiosity to see the Highlands. I have given him letters to you and Beattie. He desires that a lodging may be taken for him at Edinburgh, against his arrival. He is just setting out. 'Mrs. Williams is, I fear, declining. Dr. Lawrence says he can do no more. She is gone to summer in the country, with as many conveniences about her as she can expect; but I have no great hope. We must all die: may we all be prepared!  'I suppose Miss Boswell reads her book, and young Alexander takes to his learning. Let me hear about them; for every thing that belongs to you, belongs in a more remote degree, and not, I hope, very remote, to, dear Sir,  'Yours affectionately,  'SAM. JOHNSON.'  'June, 28, 1777.' TO THE SAME.  'DEAR SIR, 'This gentleman is a great favourite at Streatham, and therefore you will easily believe that he has very valuable qualities. Our narrative has kindled him with a desire of visiting the Highlands, after having already seen a great part of Europe. You must receive him as a friend, and when you have directed him to the curiosities of Edinburgh, give him instructions and recommendations for the rest of his journey. I am, dear Sir,  'Your most humble servant, 'SAM. JOHNSON.'  'June 24, 1777.' Johnson's benevolence to the unfortunate was, I am confident, as steady and active as that of any of those who have been most eminently distinguished for that virtue. Innumerable proofs of it I have no doubt will be for ever concealed from mortal eyes. We may, however, form some judgement of it, from the many and very various instances which have been discovered. One, which happened in the course of this summer, is remarkable from the name and connection of the person who was the object of it. The circumstance to which I allude is ascertained by two letters, one to Mr. Langton, and another to the Reverend Dr. Vyse, rector of Lambeth, son of the respectable clergyman at Lichfield, who was contemporary with Johnson, and in whose father's family Johnson had the happiness of being kindly received in his early years. 'DR. JOHNSON TO BENNET LANGTON, ESQ.  'DEAR SIR,  'I have lately been much disordered by a difficulty of breathing, but am now better. I hope your house is well. 'I have an old acquaintance whose distress makes him very desirous of an hospital, and I am afraid I have not strength enough to get him into the Chartreux. He is a painter, who never rose higher than to get his immediate living, and from that, at eighty-three, he is disabled by a slight stroke of the palsy, such as does not make him at all helpless on common occasions, though his hand is not steady enough for his art. 'My request is, that you will try to obtain a promise of the next vacancy, from the Bishop of Chester. It is not a great thing to ask, and I hope we shall obtain it. Dr. Warton has promised to favour him with his notice, and I hope he may end his days in peace. I am, Sir, 'Your most humble servant,  'SAM. JOHNSON.'  'June 29, 1777.' 'To THE REVEREND DR. VYSE, AT LAMBETH.  'SIR,  'I doubt not but you will readily forgive me for taking the liberty of requesting your assistance in recommending an old friend to his Grace the Archbishop, as Governour of the Charter-house.  'His name is De Groot; he was born at Gloucester; I have known him many years. He has all the common claims to charity, being old, poor, and infirm, in a great degree. He has likewise another claim, to which no scholar can refuse attention; he is by several descents the nephew of Hugo Grotius; of him, from whom perhaps every man of learning has learnt something. Let it not be said that in any lettered country a nephew of Grotius asked a charity and was refused.  'I am, reverend Sir,  'Your most humble servant,  'SAM. JOHNSON.'  'July 9, 1777.' 'To DR. SAMUEL JOHNSON.  'Edinburgh, July 15, 1777.  'MY DEAR SIR,  'The fate of poor Dr. Dodd made a dismal impression upon my mind.  * * * * * 'I received Mr. Seward as the friend of Mr. and Mrs. Thrale, and as a gentleman recommended by Dr. Johnson to my attention. I have introduced him to Lord Kames, Lord Monboddo, and Mr. Nairne. He is gone to the Highlands with Dr. Gregory; when he returns I shall do more for him. 'Be so kind as to let me know how your time is to be distributed next autumn. I will meet you at Manchester, or where you please; but I wish you would complete your tour of the cathedrals, and come to Carlisle, and I will accompany you a part of the way homewards. 'I am ever,  'Most faithfully yours,  'JAMES BOSWELL.' 'To JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ.  'DEAR SIR,  'Your notion of the necessity of an yearly interview is very pleasing to both my vanity and tenderness. I shall, perhaps, come to Carlisle another year; but my money has not held out so well as it used to do. I shall go to Ashbourne, and I purpose to make Dr. Taylor invite you. If you live awhile with me at his house, we shall have much time to ourselves, and our stay will be no expence to us or him. I shall leave London the 28th; and after some stay at Oxford and Lichfield, shall probably come to Ashbourne about the end of your Session, but of all this you shall have notice. Be satisfied we will meet somewhere.  'What passed between me and poor Dr. Dodd you shall know more fully when we meet. 'Sir Alexander Dick is the only Scotsman liberal enough not to be angry that I could not find trees, where trees were not. I was much delighted by his kind letter. 'Our ramble in the islands hangs upon my imagination, I can hardly help imagining that we shall go again. 'You have done right in taking your uncle's house. Some change in the form of life, gives from time to time a new epocha of existence. In a new place there is something new to be done, and a different system of thoughts rises in the mind. I wish I could gather currants in your garden. Now fit up a little study, and have your books ready at hand; do not spare a little money, to make your habitation pleasing to yourself. 'I have dined lately with poor dear ——. I do not think he goes on well. His table is rather coarse, and he has his children too much about him. But he is a very good man. 'Mrs. Williams is in the country to try if she can improve her health; she is very ill. Matters have come so about that she is in the country with very good accommodation; but 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.  'The Thrales are well.   'I am, dear Sir, 'Your most affectionate, &c.  'SAM. JOHNSON.' 'July 22, 1777.'  'DR. JOHNSON TO MRS. BOSWELL.  'MADAM,  'Though I am well enough pleased with the taste of sweetmeats, very little of the pleasure which I received at the arrival of your jar of marmalade arose from eating it. I received it as a token of friendship, as a proof of reconciliation, things much sweeter than sweetmeats, and upon this consideration I return you, dear Madam, my sincerest thanks. By having your kindness I think I have a double security for the continuance of Mr. Boswell's, which it is not to be expected that any man can long keep, when the influence of a lady so highly and so justly valued operates against him. Mr. Boswell will tell you that I was always faithful to your interest, and always endeavoured to exalt you in his estimation. You must now do the same for me. We must all help one another, and you must now consider me, as, dear Madam,  'Your most obliged,  'And most humble servant,  'SAM. JOHNSON.'  'July 22, 1777.' 'MR. BOSWELL TO DR. JOHNSON. 'Edinburgh, July 28, 1777. 'My Dear Sir, 'This is the day on which you were to leave London and I have been amusing myself in the intervals of my law-drudgery, with figuring you in the Oxford post-coach. I doubt, however, if you have had so merry a journey as you and I had in that vehicle last year, when you made so much sport with Gwyn, the architect. Incidents upon a journey are recollected with peculiar pleasure; they are preserved in brisk spirits, and come up again in our minds, tinctured with that gaiety, or at least that animation with which we first perceived them.' * * * * * [I added, that something had occurred, which I was afraid might prevent me from meeting him; and that my wife had been affected with complaints which threatened a consumption, but was now better.] 'To JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ. 'DEAR SIR, 'Do not disturb yourself about our interviews; I hope we shall have many; nor think it any thing hard or unusual, that your design of meeting me is interrupted. We have both endured greater evils, and have greater evils to expect.  'Mrs. Boswell's illness makes a more serious distress. Does the blood rise from her lungs or from her stomach? From little vessels broken in the stomach there is no danger. Blood from the lungs is, I believe, always frothy, as mixed with wind. Your physicians know very well what is to be done. The loss of such a lady would, indeed, be very afflictive, and I hope she is in no danger. Take care to keep her mind as easy as is possible. 'Make my compliments to Miss Veronica. The rest are too young for ceremony. 'That you and your lady may both be happy, and long enjoy your happiness, is the sincere and earnest wish of, dear Sir, 'Your most, &c. 'SAM. JOHNSON.' 'Oxford, Aug. 4, 1777.' (classix comix™ is underwritten in part by the Bob’s Bowery Bar Endowment for the Unlucrative Arts: “Feeling the need for a bit of comfort food after a hard day at the office or factory? Why not toddle over to Bob’s Bowery Bar at Bleecker and the Bowery and order up a big plate of Bob’s Mom’s Homemade Kielbasa & Pierogis, served with sour cream and sauerkraut – goes swell with a tall schooner of Bob’s famous basement-brewed house bock!” – Horace P. 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Boswell’s Life of Johnson: 148

Edited by Dan Leo, LL.D., Assistant Professor of Memoiristic Studies; author of Bozzie and Dr. Sam: The Case of the Contumacious Constable, the Olney Community College Press.

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To DR. SAMUEL JOHNSON. 'Glasgow, April 24, 1777. 'MY DEAR SIR, 'Our worthy friend Thrale's death having appeared in the newspapers, and been afterwards contradicted, I have been placed in a state of very uneasy uncertainty, from which I hoped to be relieved by you: but my hopes have as yet been vain. How could you omit to write to me on such an occasion? I shall wait with anxiety. 'I am going to Auchinleck to stay a fortnight with my father. It is better not to be there very long at one time. But frequent renewals of attention are agreeable to him. 'My wife has made marmalade of oranges for you. I left her and my daughters and Alexander all well yesterday. I have taught Veronica to speak of you thus;— Dr. John-son, not John-ston. 'I remain, my dear Sir, 'Your most affectionate, 'And obliged humble servant, 'JAMES BOSWELL.' 'To JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ. 'DEAR SIR, 'The story of Mr. Thrale's death, as he had neither been sick nor in any other danger, made so little impression upon me, that I never thought about obviating its effects on any body else. It is supposed to have been produced by the English custom of making April fools, that is, of sending one another on some foolish errand on the first of April. 'Tell Mrs. Boswell that I shall taste her marmalade cautiously at first. Beware, says the Italian proverb, of a reconciled enemy. But when I find it does me no harm, I shall then receive it and be thankful for it, as a pledge of firm, and, I hope, of unalterable kindness. She is, after all, a dear, dear lady. 'Your frequent visits to Auchinleck, and your short stay there, are very laudable and very judicious. Your present concord with your father gives me great pleasure; it was all that you seemed to want. 'My health is very bad, and my nights are very unquiet. What can I do to mend them? I have for this summer nothing better in prospect than a journey into Staffordshire and Derbyshire, perhaps with Oxford and Birmingham in my way. 'Make my compliments to Miss Veronica; I must leave it to her philosophy to comfort you for the loss of little David. You must remember, that to keep three out of four is more than your share. Mrs. Thrale has but four out of eleven. 'I am engaged to write little Lives, and little Prefaces, to a little edition of The English Poets. I am, dear Sir, 'Your most affectionate humble servant, 'SAM. JOHNSON.' 'May 3, 1777.' To those who delight in tracing the progress of works of literature, it will be an entertainment to compare the limited design with the ample execution of that admirable performance, The Lives of the English Poets, which is the richest, most beautiful and indeed most perfect production of Johnson's pen. His notion of it at this time appears in the preceding letter.  He has a memorandum in this year,  '29 May, Easter Eve, I treated with booksellers on a bargain, but the time was not long.'  The bargain was concerning that undertaking; but his tender conscience seems alarmed lest it should have intruded too much on his devout preparation for the solemnity of the ensuing day. But, indeed, very little time was necessary for Johnson's concluding a treaty with the booksellers; as he had, I believe, less attention to profit from his labours than any man to whom literature has been a profession.  I shall here insert from a letter to me from my late worthy friend Mr. Edward Dilly, though of a later date, an account of this plan so happily conceived; since it was the occasion of procuring for us an elegant collection of the best biography and criticism of which our language can boast. 'TO JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ. 'Southill, Sept. 26, 1777. 'DEAR SIR,  'You will find by this letter, that I am still in the same calm retreat, from the noise and bustle of London, as when I wrote to you last. I am happy to find you had such an agreeable meeting with your old friend Dr. Johnson; I have no doubt your stock is much increased by the interview; few men, nay I may say, scarcely any man, has got that fund of knowledge and entertainment as Dr. Johnson in conversation. When he opens freely, every one is attentive to what he says, and cannot fail of improvement as well as pleasure. 'The edition of The Poets, now printing, will do honour to the English press; and a concise account of the life of each authour, by Dr. Johnson, will be a very valuable addition, and stamp the reputation of this edition superiour to any thing that is gone before. The first cause that gave rise to this undertaking, I believe, was owing to the little trifling edition of The Poets, printing by the Martins, at Edinburgh, and to be sold by Bell, in London. Upon examining the volumes which were printed, the type was found so extremely small, that many persons could not read them; not only this inconvenience attended it, but the inaccuracy of the press was very conspicuous. These reasons as well as the idea of an invasion of what we call our Literary Property, induced the London Booksellers to print an elegant and accurate edition of all the English Poets of reputation, from Chaucer to the present time. 'Accordingly a select number of the most respectable booksellers met on the occasion; and, on consulting together, agreed, that all the proprietors of copy-right in the various Poets should be summoned together; and when their opinions were given, to proceed immediately on the business. Accordingly a meeting was held, when it was agreed that an elegant and uniform edition of The English Poets should be immediately printed, with a concise account of the life of each authour, by Dr. Samuel Johnson; and that three persons should be deputed to wait upon Dr. Johnson, to solicit him to undertake the Lives, viz., T. Davies, Strahan, and Cadell. The Doctor very politely undertook it, and seemed exceedingly pleased with the proposal. As to the terms, it was left entirely to the Doctor to name his own: he mentioned two hundred guineas: it was immediately agreed to; and a farther compliment, I believe, will be made him. A committee was likewise appointed to engage the best engravers, viz., Bartolozzi, Sherwin, Hall, etc. Likewise another committee for giving directions about the paper, printing, etc., so that the whole will be conducted with spirit, and in the best manner, with respect to authourship, editorship, engravings, etc., etc.  I am, dear Sir, 'Ever your's, 'EDWARD DILLY.' 'MR. BOSWELL TO DR. JOHNSON. 'July 9, 1777. 'MY DEAR SIR, 'For the health of my wife and children I have taken the little country-house at which you visited my uncle, Dr. Boswell, who, having lost his wife, is gone to live with his son. We took possession of our villa about a week ago; we have a garden of three quarters of an acre, well stocked with fruit-trees and flowers, and gooseberries and currants, and peas and beans, and cabbages, &c. &c., and my children are quite happy. I now write to you in a little study, from the window of which I see around me a verdant grove, and beyond it the lofty mountain called Arthur's Seat. 'Your edition of The English Poets will be very valuable, on account of the Prefaces and Lives. 'Most sincerely do I regret the bad health and bad rest with which you have been afflicted; and I hope you are better. I send you a letter which I wrote to you two years ago at Wilton; and did not send it at the time, for fear of being reproved as indulging too much tenderness; and one written to you at the tomb of Melancthon, which I kept back, lest I should appear at once too superstitious and too enthusiastick. I now imagine that perhaps they may please you. 'You do not take the least notice of my proposal for our meeting at Carlisle. Though I have meritoriously refrained from visiting London this year, I ask you if it would not be wrong that I should be two years without having the benefit of your conversation, when, if you come down as far as Derbyshire, we may meet at the expence of a few days' journeying, and not many pounds. I wish you to see Carlisle, which made me mention that place. But if you have not a desire to complete your tour of the English cathedrals, I will take a larger share of the road between this place and Ashbourne. So tell me where you will fix for our passing a few days by ourselves. Now don't cry "foolish fellow," or "idle dog." Chain your humour, and let your kindness play. 'You will rejoice to hear that Miss Macleod, of Rasay, is married to Colonel Mure Campbell, an excellent man, with a pretty good estate of his own, and the prospect of having the Earl of Loudoun's fortune and honours. Is not this a noble lot for our fair Hebridean?  'My friend Mr. Anderson, Professor of Natural Philosophy at Glasgow, at whose house you and I supped, and to whose care Mr. Windham, of Norfolk, was entrusted at that University, paid me a visit lately; and after we had talked with indignation and contempt of the poisonous productions with which this age is infested, he said there was now an excellent opportunity for Dr. Johnson to step forth. I agreed with him that you might knock Hume's and Smith's heads together, and make vain and ostentatious infidelity exceedingly ridiculous. Would it not be worth your while to crush such noxious weeds in the moral garden? 'Pray make my best compliments acceptable to Mr. and Mrs. Thrale, by assuring them of my hearty joy that the Master, as you call him, is alive. I hope I shall often taste his Champagne— soberly. 'I remain, my dear Sir, 'Your most affectionate, and faithful humble servant, 'JAMES BOSWELL.' (classix comix™ is brought to you by Bob’s Bowery Bar, conveniently located at the northwest corner of Bleecker and the Bowery: “It is with great pleasure that I should like to apprise our viewers of the ‘rolling-out’ of the enticing new ‘Winter Menu’ at Bob’s Bowery Bar, including that perennial favorite, Bob’s Mom’s Black Bean ‘n’ Boar Soup, a thick spicy mélange of organic black beans, truck farm vegetables and wild boar, simmered with Bob’s basement-brewed house bock in a great cast-iron pot for a minimum of 24 hours and served with your choice of Uneeda biscuits or Ritz crackers!” – Horace P. Sternwall, host of The Bob’s Bowery Bar/Philip Morris Commander Poor Folks’ Theatre,Wednesdays at 9pm (EST), exclusively on the Dumont Television Network. This week’s presentation: A Hot Time in Harlem, by Lucius Pierrepont St. Clair III, starring Sammy Davis Sr, Sammy Davis Jr, and Pearl Bailey; co-starring Miss Kitty Carlisle as “Mrs. Mountebank”.) part 149

Boswell’s Life of Johnson: 147

Edited by Dan Leo, LL.D., Associate Professor of 18th Century Melancholia Issues; author of Bozzie and Dr. Sam: The Case of the Unapologetic Urchin, the Olney Community College Press.

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The Reverend Dr. Hugh Blair, who had long been admired as a preacher at Edinburgh, thought now of diffusing his excellent sermons more extensively, and encreasing his reputation, by publishing a collection of them. He transmitted the manuscript to Mr. Strahan, the printer, who after keeping it for some time, wrote a letter to him, discouraging the publication. Such at first was the unpropitious state of one of the most successful theological books that has ever appeared.  Mr. Strahan, however, had sent one of the sermons to Dr. Johnson for his opinion; and after his unfavourable letter to Dr. Blair had been sent off, he received from Johnson on Christmas-eve, a note in which was the following paragraph: 'I have read over Dr. Blair's first sermon with more than approbation; to say it is good, is to say too little.' I believe Mr. Strahan had very soon after this time a conversation with Dr. Johnson concerning them; and then he very candidly wrote again to Dr. Blair, enclosing Johnson's note, and agreeing to purchase the volume, for which he and Mr. Cadell gave one hundred pounds.  The sale was so rapid and extensive, and the approbation of the publick so high, that to their honour be it recorded, the proprietors made Dr. Blair a present first of one sum, and afterwards of another, of fifty pounds, thus voluntarily doubling the stipulated price; and when he prepared another volume, they gave him at once three hundred pounds, being in all five hundred pounds; and now for a third octavo volume he has received no less than six hundred pounds. 1777: ÆTAT. 68.— In 1777, it appears from his Prayers and Meditations, that Johnson suffered much from a state of mind 'unsettled and perplexed,' and from that constitutional gloom, which, together with his extreme humility and anxiety with regard to his religious state, made him contemplate himself through too dark and unfavourable a medium. It may be said of him, that he 'saw GOD in clouds.' Certain we may be of his injustice to himself in the following lamentable paragraph, which it is painful to think came from the contrite heart of this great man, to whose labours the world is so much indebted: 'When I survey my past life, I discover nothing but a barren waste of time, with some disorders of body, and disturbances of the mind, very near to madness, which I hope He that made me will suffer to extenuate many faults, and excuse many deficiencies.' But we find his devotions in this year eminently fervent; and we are comforted by observing intervals of quiet, composure, and gladness. On Easter-day we find the following emphatick prayer: 'Almighty and most merciful Father, who seest all our miseries, and knowest all our necessities, look down upon me, and pity me. Defend me from the violent incursion of evil thoughts, and enable me to form and keep such resolutions as may conduce to the discharge of the duties which thy providence shall appoint me; and so help me, by thy Holy Spirit, that my heart may surely there be fixed, where true joys are to be found, and that I may serve thee with pure affection and a cheerful mind. Have mercy upon me, O GOD, have mercy upon me; years and infirmities oppress me, terrour and anxiety beset me. Have mercy upon me, my Creator and my Judge. In all dangers protect me. In all perplexities relieve and free me; and so help me by thy Holy Spirit, that I may now so commemorate the death of thy Son our Saviour JESUS CHRIST, as that when this short and painful life shall have an end, I may, for his sake, be received to everlasting happiness. Amen.' While he was at church, the agreeable impressions upon his mind are thus commemorated:  'I was for some time distressed, but at last obtained, I hope from the GOD of Peace, more quiet than I have enjoyed for a long time. I had made no resolution, but as my heart grew lighter, my hopes revived, and my courage increased.' 'MR. BOSWELL TO DR. JOHNSON.  'Edinburgh, Feb. 14, 1777.  'My Dear Sir, 'My state of epistolary accounts with you at present is extraordinary. The balance, as to number, is on your side. I am indebted to you for two letters. 'My heart was warmed with gratitude by the truely kind contents of both of them; and it is amazing and vexing that I have allowed so much time to elapse without writing to you. But delay is inherent in me, by nature or by bad habit. I waited till I should have an opportunity of paying you my compliments on a new year. I have procrastinated till the year is no longer new. 'I ever am, my dear Sir, 'Your most faithful, 'And affectionate humble servant, 'JAMES BOSWELL.' 'To JAMES BOSWELL, Esq. 'DEAR SIR,  'It is so long since I heard any thing from you, that I am not easy about it; write something to me next post. When you sent your last letter, every thing seemed to be mending; I hope nothing has lately grown worse. I suppose young Alexander continues to thrive, and Veronica is now very pretty company. I do not suppose the lady is yet reconciled to me, yet let her know that I love her very well, and value her very much. 'Dr. Blair is printing some sermons. If they are all like the first, which I have read, they are excellently written both as to doctrine and language. 'I have been so distressed by difficulty of breathing, that I lost, as was computed, six-and-thirty ounces of blood in a few days. I am better, but not well.  'Mrs. Williams sends her compliments, and promises that when you come hither, she will accommodate you as well as ever she can in the old room. 'My dear Boswell, do not neglect to write to me; for your kindness is one of the pleasures of my life, which I should be sorry to lose. 'I am, Sir, 'Your humble servant, 'SAM. JOHNSON.' 'February 18, 1777.' 'To DR. SAMUEL JOHNSON.  'Edinburgh, Feb. 24, 1777.  'DEAR SIR,  'Your letter dated the 18th instant, I had the pleasure to receive last post. Although my late long neglect, or rather delay, was truely culpable, I am tempted not to regret it, since it has produced me so valuable a proof of your regard. I did, indeed, during that inexcusable silence, sometimes divert the reproaches of my own mind, by fancying that I should hear again from you, inquiring with some anxiety about me, because, for aught you knew, I might have been ill. 'You are pleased to shew me, that my kindness is of some consequence to you. My heart is elated at the thought. Be assured, my dear Sir, that my affection and reverence for you are exalted and steady. I do not believe that a more perfect attachment ever existed in the history of mankind. And it is a noble attachment; for the attractions are Genius, Learning, and Piety.  'Your difficulty of breathing alarms me, and brings into my imagination an event, which although in the natural course of things, I must expect at some period, I cannot view with composure.   'My wife is much honoured by what you say of her. She begs you may accept of her best compliments. She is to send you some marmalade of oranges of her own making. 'I ever am, my dear Sir,  'Your most obliged  'And faithful humble servant,  'JAMES BOSWELL.' 'To JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ. 'DEAR SIR, 'I have been much pleased with your late letter, and am glad that my old enemy Mrs. Boswell, begins to feel some remorse. As to Miss Veronica's Scotch, I think it cannot be helped. An English maid you might easily have; but she would still imitate the greater number, as they would be likewise those whom she must most respect. Her dialect will not be gross. Her Mamma has not much Scotch, and you have yourself very little. I hope she knows my name, and does not call me Johnston. 'It is proposed to augment our club from twenty to thirty, of which I am glad; for as we have several in it whom I do not much like to consort with. 'I am, dear Sir,  'Most affectionately your's,  'SAM. JOHNSON.'  'March 11, 1777.'  'My respects to Madam, to Veronica, to Alexander, to Euphemia, to David.' 'MR. BOSWELL TO DR. JOHNSON.  'Edinburgh, April 4, 1777. [After informing him of the death of my little son David, and that I could not come to London this spring:—]  'I think it hard that I should be a whole year without seeing you. May I presume to petition for a meeting with you in the autumn? You have, I believe, seen all the cathedrals in England, except that of Carlisle. If you are to be with Dr. Taylor, at Ashbourne, it would not be a great journey to come thither. We may pass a few most agreeable days there by ourselves, and I will accompany you a good part of the way to the southward again. Pray think of this.' (classix comix™ is underwritten by a generous grant from the Bob’s Bowery Bar Endowment for the Unremunerative Arts: “I should like to recommend a personal favorite on Bob’s Bowery Bar’s new menu of ‘Winter Warmers’: ‘Bob’s Mom’s’ Mulled Cider – a soothing yet bracing concoction of homemade organic apple cider, Early Times™ bourbon, Bob’s own proprietary applejack, cinnamon and rock candy, simmered in a huge vat with eight varieties of preserved fruits and served piping hot in antique pewter tankards – you won’t care if the landlord cuts off your heat after drinking a few of these babies!” – Horace P. Sternwall, host of the Bob’s Bowery Bar/Philip Morris Commander Demotic Theatre Showcase, broadcast live Mondays at 8pm (EST). This week’s play: “The Secret Love of Rosa Luxemburg”, by Helena Piersall Sinclair, starring Hyacinth Wilde, Angus Strongbow, and Jerry Colonna, with very special guest Miss Kitty Carlisle as “The Chanteuse”.) part 148