Boswell’s Life of Johnson: 278

Edited by Dan Leo, Professor of 18th Century British Parodical Literature, Olney Community College; author of Bozzie and Dr. Sam: Better to Be Imitated Than to Imitate, the Olney Community College Press.
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During his sleepless nights he amused himself by translating into Latin verse, from the Greek, many of the epigrams in the Anthologica {the Anthologia Graeca, or Greek Anthology, a collection of poems from the classical and Byzantine periods – Editor}. These translations, with some other poems by him in Latin, he gave to his friend Mr. Langton, who, having added a few notes, sold them to the booksellers for a small sum, to be given to some of Johnson's relations, which was accordingly done; and they are printed in the collection of his works. A very erroneous notion has circulated as to Johnson's deficiency in the knowledge of the Greek language, partly owing to the modesty with which, from knowing how much there was to be learnt, he used to mention his own comparative acquisitions. When Mr. Cumberland talked to him of the Greek fragments which are so well illustrated in The Observer, and of the Greek dramatists in general, he candidly acknowledged his insufficiency in that particular branch of Greek literature. Yet it may be said, that though not a great, he was a good Greek scholar. Dr. Charles Burney, the younger, who is universally acknowledged by the best judges to be one of the few men of this age who are very eminent for their skill in that noble language, has assured me, that Johnson could give a Greek word for almost every English one; and that although not sufficiently conversant in the niceties of the language, he upon some occasions discovered, even in these, a considerable degree of critical acumen. Mr. Dalzel, Professor of Greek at Edinburgh, whose skill in it is unquestionable, mentioned to me, in very liberal terms, the impression which was made upon him by Johnson, in a conversation which they had in London concerning that language. As Johnson, therefore, was undoubtedly one of the first Latin scholars in modern times, let us not deny to his fame some additional splendour from Greek.  I shall now fulfil my promise of exhibiting specimens of various sorts of imitation of Johnson's style. WILLIAM ROBERTSON, D.D. 'In other parts of the globe, man, in his rudest state, appears as lord of the creation, giving law to various tribes of animals which he has tamed and reduced to subjection. The Tartar follows his prey on the horse which he has reared, or tends his numerous herds, which furnish him both with food and clothing; the Arab has rendered the camel docile, and avails himself of its persevering strength; the Laplander has formed the rein-deer to be subservient to his will; and even the people of Kamschatka have trained their dogs to labour. This command over the inferiour creatures is one of the noblest prerogatives of man, and among the greatest efforts of his wisdom and power. Without this, his dominion is incomplete. He is a monarch who has no subjects; a master without servants; and must perform every operation by the strength of his own arm.' EDWARD GIBBON, Esq. 'Of all our passions and appetites, the love of power is of the most imperious and unsociable nature, since the pride of one man requires the submission of the multitude. In the tumult of civil discord the laws of society lose their force, and their place is seldom supplied by those of humanity. The ardour of contention, the pride of victory, the despair of success, the memory of past injuries, and the fear of future dangers, all contribute to inflame the mind, and to silence the voice of pity.' MISS BURNEY. 'My family, mistaking ambition for honour, and rank for dignity, have long planned a splendid connection for me, to which, though my invariable repugnance has stopped any advances, their wishes and their views immovably adhere. I am but too certain they will now listen to no other. I dread, therefore, to make a trial where I despair of success; I know not how to risk a prayer with those who may silence me by a command.' A distinguished authour in The Mirror, a periodical paper, published at Edinburgh, has imitated Johnson very closely. Thus, in No. 16,— 'The effects of the return of spring have been frequently remarked as well in relation to the human mind as to the animal and vegetable world. The reviving power of this season has been traced from the fields to the herds that inhabit them, and from the lower classes of beings up to man. Gladness and joy are described as prevailing through universal Nature, animating the low of the cattle, the carol of the birds, and the pipe of the shepherd.' The Reverend Dr. KNOX, master of Tunbridge school, appears to have Johnson's style perpetually in his mind; and to his assiduous, though not servile, study of it, we may partly ascribe the extensive popularity of his writings. In his Essays, Moral and Literary, No. 3, we find the following passage:— 'The polish of external grace may indeed be deferred till the approach of manhood. When solidity is obtained by pursuing the modes prescribed by our fore-fathers, then may the file be used. The firm substance will bear attrition, and the lustre then acquired will be durable.' But I think the most perfect imitation of Johnson is a professed one, entitled A Criticism on Gray's Elegy in a Country Church-Yard, said to be written by Mr. Young, Professor of Greek, at Glasgow. It has not only the peculiarities of Johnson's style, but that very species of literary discussion and illustration for which he was eminent. It is entitled A Continuation of Dr. J— n's Criticism on the Poems of Gray. The following is perhaps the best passage:— 'On some fine evening Gray had seen the moon shining on a tower such as is here described. An owl might be peeping out from the ivy with which it was clad. Of the observer the station might be such that the owl, now emerged from the mantling, presented itself to his eye in profile, skirting with the Moon's limb. All this is well. The perspective is striking; and the picture well defined. But the poet was not contented. He felt a desire to enlarge it; and in executing his purpose gave it accumulation without improvement. The idea of the Owl's complaining is an artificial one; and the views on which it proceeds absurd. Gray should have seen, that it but ill befitted the Bird of Wisdom to complain to the Moon of an intrusion which the Moon could no more help than herself.' Yet whatever merit there may be in any imitations of Johnson's style, every good judge must see that they are obviously different from the original; for all of them are either deficient in its force, or overloaded with its peculiarities; and the powerful sentiment to which it is suited is not to be found.   (classix comix™ is brought to you by “the old original” Bob’s Bowery Bar, conveniently located near several public-transportation stops at the northwest corner of Bleecker and the Bowery: “Ever get the hankering for just an old-fashioned fried baloney ‘n’ cheese sandwich? Well, I sure do! And I’m happy to announce that the new fall menu at Bob’s Bowery bar now includes the eponymous ‘Sternwall Baloney Spectacular’: half-a-dozen slices of kosher beef baloney fried in bacon grease, and topped with a generous mound of melted organic ‘American’ cheese ‘n’ bacon-fried onions, encased in a fresh-from-the-oven sourdough roll, with your choice of homemade mayo, spicy ‘granular’ brown mustard, or Bob’s fearsome Hellfire Sauce! Served with a side of hand-cut fries, and goes swell with a brimming imperial pint of Bob’s justly famed basement-brewed bock!” – 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 Voices in My Head Told Me to Shut the H--- Up”, by Humbert P. Stumbert, starring Kitty Carlisle as “Dr. Blanche”, with special guest stars The Ink Spots.)   part 279

Boswell’s Life of Johnson: 277

Edited by Dan Leo, Professor of Heathen Mythology, Olney Community College; author of Bozzie and Dr. Sam: The Case of Good Intentions, the Olney Community College Press.
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Soon after Johnson's return to the metropolis, both the asthma and dropsy became more violent and distressful. He had for some time kept a journal in Latin of the state of his illness, and the remedies which he used, under the title of Aegri Ephemeris {The Patient’s Diary – Editor}, which he began on the 6th of July, but continued it no longer than the 8th of November; finding, I suppose, that it was a mournful and unavailing register. It is in my possession; and is written with great care and accuracy. Still his love of literature did not fail. It is truly wonderful to consider the extent and constancy of Johnson's literary ardour, notwithstanding the melancholy which clouded and embittered his existence. Besides the numerous and various works which he executed, he had, at different times, formed schemes of a great many more, of which the following catalogue was given by him to Mr. Langton, and by that gentleman presented to his Majesty: 'DIVINITY:  'A small book of precepts and directions for piety; the hint taken from the directions in Morton's exercise. 'PHILOSOPHY, HISTORY, and LITERATURE in general:  'History of Criticism, as it relates to judging of authours, from Aristotle to the present age. An account of the rise and improvements of that art; of the different opinions of authours, ancient and modern. 'Translation of the History of Herodian. 'New edition of Fairfax's Translation of Tasso, with notes, glossary, &c. 'Chaucer, a new edition of him, from manuscripts and old editions, with various readings, conjectures, remarks on his language, and the changes it had undergone from the earliest times to his age, and from his to the present: with notes explanatory of customs, &c., and references to Boccace, and other authours from whom he has borrowed, with an account of the liberties he has taken in telling the stories; his life, and an exact etymological glossary. 'Aristotle's Rhetorick, a translation of it into English. 'A Collection of Letters, translated from the modern writers, with some account of the several authours. 'Oldham's Poems, with notes, historical and critical. 'Roscommon's Poems, with notes. 'Lives of the Philosophers, written with a polite air, in such a manner as may divert as well as instruct.  'History of the Heathen Mythology, with an explication of the fables, both allegorical and historical; with references to the poets.  'History of the State of Venice, in a compendious manner.  'Aristotle's Ethicks, an English translation of them, with notes.  'Geographical Dictionary, from the French.  'Hierocles upon Pythagoras, translated into English, perhaps with notes.   'A book of Letters, upon all kinds of subjects.  'Claudian, a new edition of his works, cum notis variorum, in the manner of Burman.  'Tully's Tusculan Questions, a translation of them. 'Tully's De Natura Deorum, a translation of those books. 'Benzo's New History of the New World, to be translated. 'Machiavel's History of Florence, to be translated. 'History of the Revival of Learning in Europe, containing an account of whatever contributed to the restoration of literature; such as controversies, printing, the destruction of the Greek empire, the encouragement of great men, with the lives of the most eminent patrons and most eminent early professors of all kinds of learning in different countries.  'A Body of Chronology, in verse, with historical notes. 'A Table of the Spectators, Tatlers, and Guardians, distinguished by figures into six degrees of value, with notes, giving the reasons of preference or degradation. 'A Collection of Letters from English authours, with a preface giving some account of the writers; with reasons for selection, and criticism upon styles; remarks on each letter, if needful. 'A Collection of Proverbs from various languages.  'A Dictionary to the Common Prayer, in imitation of Calmet's Dictionary of the Bible. 'A Collection of Stories and Examples, like those of Valerius Maximus. 'Collection of Travels, Voyages, Adventures, and Descriptions of Countries. 'Dictionary of Ancient History and Mythology. 'Treatise on the Study of Polite Literature, containing the history of learning, directions for editions, commentaries, &c. 'Maxims, Characters, and Sentiments, after the manner of Bruyère, collected out of ancient authours, particularly the Greek, with Apophthegms.  'Classical Miscellanies, Select Translations from ancient Greek and Latin authours. 'Lives of Illustrious Persons, as well of the active as the learned, in imitation of Plutarch. 'Judgement of the learned upon English authours. 'Poetical Dictionary of the English tongue. 'Considerations upon the present state of London. 'Collection of Epigrams, with notes and observations. 'Observations on the English language, relating to words, phrases, and modes of Speech. 'Minutiae Literariae, Miscellaneous reflections, criticisms, emendations, notes. 'History of the Constitution. 'Comparison of Philosophical and Christian Morality, by sentences collected from the moralists and fathers. 'Plutarch's Lives, in English, with notes. 'POETRY and works of IMAGINATION: 'Hymn to Ignorance. 'The Palace of Sloth,— a vision. 'Coluthus, to be translated. 'Prejudice,— a poetical essay. 'The Palace of Nonsense,— a vision.'   (classix comix™ is made possible in part through the beneficence of the Bob’s Bowery Bar Fund for the Unremunerative Arts: “I should like to invite everyone in our studio and at-home audience to join me every Tuesday night at the ‘original old’ Bob’s Bowery Bar at the northeast corner of Bleecker and the Bowery for ‘Shuffleboard with the Stars’ hosted by yours truly and broadcast live on the Dumont Radio Network, with ‘color commentary' by my good friend, the noted poet Seamas McSeamas. The festivities start at 9pm, and this week’s guests will include Buddy Hackett, Thelma Ritter, Barton MacLane, and Arnold Stang, as well as who knows who might stop in? Sorry, all betting is strictly prohibited!” – 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 presentation: “I Said I Was Sorry, What More Do You Want”, by Herbie Pete Stumpelmeyer, starring Kitty Carlisle as “Dr. Blanche”, with special guest star Joe E. Lewis.)   part 278

Boswell’s Life of Johnson: 276

Edited by Dan Leo, Professor of Advanced Remedial Spelling Studies for Native English Speakers, Olney Community College; author of Bozzie and Dr. Sam: The Fatal Dose of Squills, the Olney Community College Press.

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He arrived in London on the 16th of November, and next day sent to Dr. Burney the following note, which I insert as the last token of his remembrance of that ingenious and amiable man, and as another of the many proofs of the tenderness and benignity of his heart:— 'MR. JOHNSON, who came home last night, sends his respects to dear Dr. Burney, and all the dear Burneys, little and great.' {Fanny Burney noted in her diaries that Johnson said to her of her brother Charles: 'I should be glad to see him if he were not your brother; but were he a dog, a cat, a rat, a frog, and belonged to you, I must needs be glad to see him.' In a later entry, from November of that year, she wrote: 'He let me in, though very ill. He told me he was going to try what sleeping out of town might do for him. "I remember," said he, "that my wife, when she was near her end, poor woman, was also advised to sleep out of town; and when she was carried to the lodgings that had been prepared for her, she complained that the staircase was in very bad condition, for the plaster was beaten off the walls in many places." "Oh!" said the man of the house, "that's nothing but by the knocks against it of the coffins of the poor souls that have died in the lodgings." He laughed, though not without apparent secret anguish, in telling me this.' Miss Burney continues: 'How delightfully bright are his faculties, though the poor and infirm machine that contains them seems alarmingly giving way. Yet, all brilliant as he was, I saw him growing worse, and offered to go, which, for the first time I ever remember, he did not oppose; but most kindly pressing both my hands, "Be not," he said, in a voice of even tenderness, "be not longer in coming again for my letting you go now." I assured him I would be the sooner, and was running off, but he called me back in a solemn voice, and in a manner the most energetic, said: "Remember me in your prayers."' – Editor} 'TO MR. HECTOR, IN BIRMINGHAM. 'DEAR SIR, 'I did not reach Oxford until Friday morning, and then I sent Francis to see the balloon fly, but could not go myself. I staid at Oxford till Tuesday, and then came in the common vehicle easily to London. I am as I was, and having seen Dr. Brocklesby, am to ply the squills; but, whatever be their efficacy, this world must soon pass away. Let us think seriously on our duty. I send my kindest respects to dear Mrs. Careless {Mr. Hector’s sister and Johnson’s first love. – Editor}: let me have the prayers of both. We have all lived long, and must soon part. GOD have mercy on us, for the sake of our Lord JESUS CHRIST. Amen. 'I am, &c. 'SAM. JOHNSON.' 'London, Nov. 17, 1784.' His correspondence with me, after his letter on the subject of my settling in London, shall now, so far as is proper, be produced in one series:— July 26, he wrote to me from Ashbourne:— 'On the 14th I came to Lichfield, and found every body glad enough to see me. On the 20th, I came hither, and found a house half-built, of very uncomfortable appearance; but my own room has not been altered. That a man worn with diseases, in his seventy-second or third year, should condemn part of his remaining life to pass among ruins and rubbish, and that no inconsiderable part, appears to me very strange. I know that your kindness makes you impatient to know the state of my health, in which I cannot boast of much improvement. I came through the journey without much inconvenience, but when I attempt self-motion I find my legs weak, and my breath very short; this day I have been much disordered. I have no company; the Doctor {the Reverend Dr. Taylor. – Editor} is busy in his fields, and goes to bed at nine, and his whole system is so different from mine, that we seem formed for different elements; I have, therefore, all my amusement to seek within myself.' Having written to him, in bad spirits, a letter filled with dejection and fretfulness, and at the same time expressing anxious apprehensions concerning him, on account of a dream which had disturbed me; his answer was chiefly in terms of reproach, for a supposed charge of 'affecting discontent, and indulging the vanity of complaint.' It, however, proceeded,— 'Write to me often, and write like a man. I consider your fidelity and tenderness as a great part of the comforts which are yet left me, and sincerely wish we could be nearer to each other....My dear friend, life is very short and very uncertain; let us spend it as well as we can. My worthy neighbour, Allen, is dead. Love me as well as you can. Pay my respects to dear Mrs. Boswell. Nothing ailed me at that time; let your superstition at last have an end.' Feeling very soon, that the manner in which he had written might hurt me, he two days afterwards, July 28, wrote to me again, giving me an account of his sufferings; after which, he thus proceeds:— 'Before this letter, you will have had one which I hope you will not take amiss; for it contains only truth, and that truth kindly intended....Make the most and best of your lot, and compare yourself not with the few that are above you, but with the multitudes which are below you.... Go steadily forward with lawful business or honest diversions. Be (as Temple says of the Dutchmen) well when you are not ill, and pleased when you are not angry.... This may seem but an ill return for your tenderness; but I mean it well, for I love you with great ardour and sincerity. Pay my respects to dear Mrs. Boswell, and teach the young ones to love me.' I unfortunately was so much indisposed during a considerable part of the year, that it was not, or at least I thought it was not in my power to write to my illustrious friend as formerly, or without expressing such complaints as offended him. Having conjured him not to do me the injustice of charging me with affectation, I was with much regret long silent. His last letter to me then came, and affected me very tenderly:— 'TO JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ. 'DEAR SIR, 'I have this summer sometimes amended, and sometimes relapsed, but, upon the whole, have lost ground, very much. My legs are extremely weak, and my breath very short, and the water is now encreasing upon me. In this uncomfortable state your letters used to relieve; what is the reason that I have them no longer? Are you sick, or are you sullen? Whatever be the reason, if it be less than necessity, drive it away; and of the short life that we have, make the best use for yourself and for your friends....I am sometimes afraid that your omission to write has some real cause, and shall be glad to know that you are not sick, and that nothing ill has befallen dear Mrs. Boswell, or any of your family. 'I am, Sir, your, &c. 'SAM. JOHNSON.' 'Lichfield, Nov. 5, 1784.' Yet it was not a little painful to me to find, that in a paragraph of this letter, which I have omitted, he still persevered in arraigning me as before, which was strange in him who had so much experience of what I suffered. I, however, wrote to him two as kind letters as I could; the last of which came too late to be read by him, for his illness encreased more rapidly upon him than I had apprehended; but I had the consolation of being informed that he spoke of me on his death-bed, with affection, and I look forward with humble hope of renewing our friendship in a better world. I now relieve the readers of this Work from any farther personal notice of its authour, who if he should be thought to have obtruded himself too much upon their attention, requests them to consider the peculiar plan of his biographical undertaking.   (classix comix™ is brought to you by Bob’s Bowery Bar, conveniently located at the northwest corner of Bleecker and the Bowery: “Yes, football season is here, but perhaps you are among those who seek a place for refreshment and relaxation where televisions are not blasting the Monday night contest? Why not join me then every Monday night until further notice at Bob’s Bowery Bar where I will be hosting ‘Darts for the Arts’, in which noted celebrities will be matching their skills against all comers, broadcast live on the Dumont Radio Network. As in previous years, all celebrity prize money will be in aid of the Bob’s Bowery Bar Charitable Trust for Indigent Artists and Writers. This week’s celebrity contestants: Bishop Fulton J. Sheen and the Reverend Billy Graham!” – 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: “Sometimes Things Don’t Happen for a Reason”, by Holly P. Stubbs, starring Kitty Carlisle as “Dr. Blanche”, with special guest star Tom Ewell.)     part 277

Boswell’s Life of Johnson: 275

Edited by Dan Leo, Professor of 18th Century English Religious Literature, Olney Community College; author of Bozzie and Dr. Sam: The Case of the Educated Pig, the Olney Community College Press.

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While in the country, notwithstanding the accumulation of illness which he endured, his mind did not lose its powers. He translated an Ode of Horace, which is printed in his Works, and composed several prayers. I shall insert one of them, which is so wise and energetick, so philosophical and so pious, that I doubt not of its affording consolation to many a sincere Christian, when in a state of mind to which I believe the best are sometimes liable. 'O LORD, my Maker and Protector, who hast graciously sent me into this world to work out my salvation, enable me to drive from me all such unquiet and perplexing thoughts as may mislead or hinder me in the practice of those duties which Thou hast required. When I behold the works of thy hands, and consider the course of thy providence, give me grace always to remember that thy thoughts are not my thoughts, nor thy ways my ways. And while it shall please Thee to continue me in this world, where much is to be done, and little to be known, teach me by thy Holy Spirit, to withdraw my mind from unprofitable and dangerous enquiries, from difficulties vainly curious, and doubts impossible to be solved. Let me rejoice in the light which Thou hast imparted, let me serve Thee with active zeal and humble confidence, and wait with patient expectation for the time in which the soul which Thou receivest shall be satisfied with knowledge. Grant this, O LORD, for JESUS CHRIST'S sake. Amen.' We now behold Johnson for the last time, in his native city, for which he ever retained a warm affection, and which, by a sudden apostrophe, under the word Lich, he introduces with reverence, into his immortal Work, THE ENGLISH DICTIONARY:  'Lich, a dead carcase; whence Lichfield, the field of the dead, a city in Staffordshire, so named from martyred Christians. Salve magna parens {“Hail mighty parent”; from Virgil’s Georgics – Editor}.' While here, he felt a revival of all the tenderness of filial affection, an instance of which appeared in his ordering the grave-stone and inscription over Elizabeth Blaney to be substantially and carefully renewed. To Mr. Henry White, a young clergyman, with whom he now formed an intimacy, so as to talk to him with great freedom, he mentioned that he could not in general accuse himself of having been an undutiful son.  'Once, indeed, (said he,) I was disobedient; I refused to attend my father to Uttoxeter-market. Pride was the source of that refusal, and the remembrance of it was painful. A few years ago, I desired to atone for this fault; I went to Uttoxeter in very bad weather, and stood for a considerable time bareheaded in the rain, on the spot where my father's stall used to stand. In contrition I stood, and I hope the penance was expiatory.' 'I told him (says Miss Seward) in one of my latest visits to him, of a wonderful learned pig, which I had seen at Nottingham; and which did all that we have observed exhibited by dogs and horses. The subject amused him.  'Then, (said he,) the pigs are a race unjustly calumniated. Pig has, it seems, not been wanting to man, but man to pig. We do not allow time for his education, we kill him at a year old.'  Mr. Henry White, who was present, observed that if this instance had happened in or before Pope's time, he would not have been justified in instancing the swine as the lowest degree of groveling instinct. Dr. Johnson seemed pleased with the observation, while the person who made it proceeded to remark, that great torture must have been employed, ere the indocility of the animal could have been subdued. ' Certainly, (said the Doctor;) but, (turning to me,) how old is your pig?' I told him, three years old. 'Then, (said he,) the pig has no cause to complain; he would have been killed the first year if he had not been educated, and protracted existence is a good recompence for very considerable degrees of torture.' As Johnson had now very faint hopes of recovery, and as Mrs. Thrale was no longer devoted to him, it might have been supposed that he would naturally have chosen to remain in the comfortable house of his beloved wife's daughter, and end his life where he began it. But there was in him an animated and lofty spirit, and however complicated diseases might depress ordinary mortals, all who saw him, beheld and acknowledged the invictum animum Catonis {“the invincible spirit of Cato”; from Horace – Editor}.  Such was his intellectual ardour even at this time, that he said to one friend, 'Sir, I look upon every day to be lost, in which I do not make a new acquaintance;' and to another, when talking of his illness, 'I will be conquered; I will not capitulate.' And such was his love of London, so high a relish had he of its magnificent extent, and variety of intellectual entertainment, that he languished when absent from it, his mind having become quite luxurious from the long habit of enjoying the metropolis; and, therefore, although at Lichfield, surrounded with friends, who loved and revered him, and for whom he had a very sincere affection, he still found that such conversation as London affords, could be found no where else. These feelings, joined, probably, to some flattering hopes of aid from the eminent physicians and surgeons in London, who kindly and generously attended him without accepting fees, made him resolve to return to the capital. From Lichfield he came to Birmingham, where he passed a few days with his worthy old schoolfellow, Mr. Hector, who thus writes to me:— 'He was very solicitous with me to recollect some of our most early transactions, and transmit them to him, for I perceive nothing gave him greater pleasure than calling to mind those days of our innocence. I complied with his request, and he only received them a few days before his death. I have transcribed for your inspection, exactly the minutes I wrote to him.' This paper having been found in his repositories after his death, I have made occasional use of it and other communications from Mr. Hector, in the course of this Work. I have both visited and corresponded with him since Dr. Johnson's death, and by my inquiries concerning a great variety of particulars have obtained additional information. I followed the same mode with the Reverend Dr. Taylor, in whose presence I wrote down a good deal of what he could tell; and he, at my request, signed his name, to give it authenticity. It is very rare to find any person who is able to give a distinct account of the life even of one whom he has known intimately, without questions being put to them.  Johnson then proceeded to Oxford, where he was again kindly received by Dr. Adams, who was pleased to give me the following account in one of his letters, (Feb. 17th, 1785):— 'His last visit was, I believe, to my house, which he left, after a stay of four or five days. We had much serious talk together, for which I ought to be the better as long as I live. You will remember some discourse which we had in the summer upon the subject of prayer, and the difficulty of this sort of composition. He reminded me of this, and of my having wished him to try his hand, and to give us a specimen of the style and manner that he approved. He added, that he was now in a right frame of mind, and as he could not possibly employ his time better, he would in earnest set about it.' It has since appeared that various prayers had been composed by him at different periods, which, intermingled with pious resolutions, and some short notes of his life, were entitled by him Prayers and Meditations, and have, in pursuance of his earnest requisition, in the hopes of doing good, been published, with a judicious well-written Preface, by the Reverend Mr. Strahan, to whom he delivered them. This admirable collection, to which I have frequently referred in the course of this Work, evinces, beyond all his compositions for the publick, and all the eulogies of his friends and admirers, the sincere virtue and piety of Johnson. It proves with unquestionable authenticity, that amidst all his constitutional infirmities, his earnestness to conform his practice to the precepts of Christianity was unceasing, and that he habitually endeavoured to refer every transaction of his life to the will of the Supreme Being.   (classix comix™ is brought to you by Bob’s Bowery Bar, conveniently located near public transportation at Bleecker and the Bowery: “Yes, it’s Labor Day weekend, when we celebrate that greatest American hero, the American worker, toiling in factories and on the docks, on the farms and on the fishing boats, and deep down in the darkest coal mines! So join me if you will as I host the annual Philip Morris Commander Labor Day Telethon, live from the Prince Hal Room in the venerable Hotel St Crispin! As always all proceeds will go to Brother Mike’s Soup Kitchen – right across the street from my favorite watering hole Bob’s Bowery Bar. For thirty-seven years now good Brother Mike has been feeding the down-on-their luck with his nutritious and hearty soups, but he depends on the generosity of good folk like you, so: don’t be stingy, friends, someday you may find yourself on the Bowery without a dime for a cup of coffee, and forget about the doughnut! All the girls from the Betty Baxter Dancers will be at the switchboards when they’re not hoofing it on our stage, and they’ll be joined on the telephone lines by lots of surprise guests from the stage, silver screen, radio and TV – all of whom, like Betty’s gals, will be giving their services free, gratis and for nothing!” – 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 presentation: “Who Prays for the Damned?”, by Hapgood P. Smithers, starring Kitty Carlisle as “Dr. Blanche”, with special guest star George Sanders.)    part 276