to be lamented that he had not intrusted sce f nd discreet person with the care 121 select on of them: instead of which. be in a precipitate manner. bort large mas

f them with little regard, as L'appre bent to lacrimination Not that I suppre we have thus been deprived of any compositions while he had ever intended for the public eve; but from what escaped the fines. I fire that many curious circonstances relating both to himself and other literary characters, have persted.

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Two very valuable articles. I am sure. we have lost, which were two quarto vo, lumes, coonining a fulll fair, and most particular account of his own life, from his earLex resection. I owned to him, that having accidentally seen them. I had read a great deal in them; and apologizing for the aberty I had taken. asked cim if I cald belp it. ́He placidly answered. Why. Str. I do not think you could have helped it." I said that I had. for once in my life. felt half an inclination to commit theft. It had come into my mind to carry off those two volumes, and never see him more. Upon my inquiring bow this would have affected Eim. Sir, (said he.) I believe I should have gone mad."

During his last illness. Johnson expe rienced the steady and kind attachment of his numerous friends. Mr. Hoole has drawn up a narrative of what passed in the vists which be paid him during that time. from the 10th of November to the 13th of December, the day of his death, inclusive. and has favoured me with a perusal of it, with permission to make extracts, which I have done. Nobody was more attentive to him than Mr. Langton.+ to whom he tenderly said. Te tenim moriens deficiente manu. And I think it highly to the honour of Mr. Windham, that his important occupations as an active statesman did not prevent him from paying assiduous respect to the dying Sage whom he revered. Mr. Langton in

• One of these volumes. Sir John Hawkins informs us, he put into his pocket; for which the excuse be states is, that he meant to preserve it from facing into the hands of a person whom he describes so as to make it sufciently clear who is meant; "having strong reasons (said be) to suspect that this man might find and make an ill use of the book." Why Sir John should suppose that the gentleman aladed to would act in this manner, he has not though: ft to explain. But what he did was not approved of by Johnson: who, upon be ing sornainted of it without delay by a friend, expressed great fanston, and warmly insisted on the book be ing delivered up, and, afterwards, in the supposition of his ming it, without knowing by whom it had been taken, he sai, “ S7, I §onld have gone out of the world distrusting half mankind” Sir John next day wrote a letter to Johnson, assuming reasons for his ecaduct; spe which Johnson observed to Mr. Langton. Bshop Sanderson could not have dictated a better letter. could almost say, Melisa est si: punitwisse The britation into which Johnson was thrown by this incident, probably made him hastay burn those precious recorò's which must ever be raretted. Mr. Langion, whose name so often occurs in these vohimes survived Johnson several years. He died at Southampton, Dec. 18, 1801. M.]

The following particulars of his conver sation within a few days of his death, I give on the authority of Mr. John Nichols :

He said, that the Parliamentary Debates were the only part of his writings

On the same undoubted authority, I give a fer des, which should have beenerted in chaos ligh cal order: but which, now that they are before me, I should be sorry to ormit

**In 1736, Dr. Johnson had a particular inclinative to have been engaged as an assistant to the Reverend Mr. Budworth, then head master of the Grammar-school, at Brewood, in Staffordshire, an excellent person, who possessed every talent of a perfect instructor of you h In a degree which to use the words of one of the brightest ornaments of Eiterature, the Reverend Dr. Hard Bishop of Worcester. has been rarely found in any of that profession since the days of Quintian." Mr. Bud worth, who was less known in his lifetime, from that obscure situation, to which the caprice of fortune oft condemns the most accomplished characters, than his highest merit deserved,' had been bred under Mr. Blackwell at Market Bosworth, where Johnson was some time an usher; which might naturally lead to the app cation Mr. Budworth was certainly no stranger to the learning or abilities of Johnson, as he more than oooe lamented his having been under the necessity of decis ning the engagement, from an apprehension that the paralytic affection, under which our great phuclogit laboured through life, might become the object of im tation or of ridicule, among his pupils."-Captain Dutworth, his grandson, has confirmed to me this anecdote.

**Among the early associates of Johnson, at St. John's Gate, was Samuel Boyse, well known by his ir genious productions; and not less noted for his imprudence. I was not unusual for Boyse to be a customer to the pawbroker. On one of these occasions, Dr. Johnson cl lected a sum of money to redeem his friend's clothes, which in two days after were pawned again. The sum, said Johnson, was collected by sixpences, at a time, when to me sixpence was a serious consideration."

**Speaking one day of a person for whom he had a real friendship, but in whom vanity was somewhat too predominant, he observed, that Kelly was so fond of playing on his sideboard the plate which he possessed, that he added to it his spurs For my part, sand be I never was master of a pair of spurs, but once; and they are now at the bottom of the ocean. By the carelessness of Boswell's servant, they were dropped from the end of the boat, on our return from the Isle of Sky."

The late Reverend Mr. Samuel Badcock, having been introduced to Dr. Johnson, by Mr. Nichols, some years before his death, thus expressed himself in a letter to that gentleman:

How much I am obliged to you for the favour you did me in introducing me to Dr. Johnsen! Tentum radī Tirun But to have seen him, and to have rece.ved a testimony of respect from him, was enough. I recolt all the conversation, and shall never forget one of his expressions. Sperking of Dr. P, whose writin.s I saw, he estimated at a low rate, he said, You have proved him as deficient in probity as he is in learning! called him an Inter-scholar; but he was not w ling to allow him a claim even to that merit. He said that he borrowed from those who had been borrowers themselves, and did not know that the mistakes he adopted had been answered by others.'-I often think of our short, but precious, visit to this great man. I shall consider it as a kind of an era in my life."

which then gave him any compunction: but that, at the time he wrote them, he had no conception he was imposing upon the world, though they were frequently written from very slender materials, and often from none at all, the mere coinage of his own imagination. He never wrote any part of his works with equal velocity. Three columns of the Magazine, in an hour, was no uncommon effort, which was faster than most persons could have transcribed that quantity.

"Of his friend Cave, he always spoke with great affection. Yet (said he,) Cave (who never looked out of his window, but with a view to the Gentleman's Magazine,) was a penurious paymaster; he would contract for lines by the hundred, and expect the long hundred; but he was a good man, and always delighted to have his friends at his table.'

"When talking of a regular edition of his own works, he said, that he had power [from the booksellers] to print such an edition, if his health admitted it; but had no power to assign over any edition, unless he could add notes, and so alter them as to make them new works; which his state of health forbade him to think of. I may possibly live (said he,) or rather breathe, three days, or perhaps three weeks; but find myself daily and gradually weaker.'

"He said at another time, three or four days only before his death, speaking of the little fear he had of undergoing a chirurgical operation, I would give one of these legs for a year more of life, I mean of comfortable life, not such as that which I now suffer and lamented much his inability to read during his hours of restlessness. I used formerly (he added,) when sleepless in bed, to read like a Turk.'

"Whilst confined by his last illness, it was his regular practice to have the churchservice read to him, by some attentive and friendly Divine. The Rev. Mr. Hoole performed this kind office in my presence for the last time, when, by his own desire, no more than the litany was read; in which his responses were in the deep and sonorous voice which Mr. Boswell has occasionally noticed, and with the most profound devotion that can be imagined. His hearing not being quite perfect, he more than once, interrupted Mr. Hoole, with, Louder, my dear Sir, louder, I entreat you, or you pray in vain!'-and, when the service was ended, he, with great earnestness, turned round to an excellent lady who was present, saying, "I thank you, madam, very heartily for your kindness in joining me in this solemn exercise. Live well, I conjure you; and you will not feel the compunction at the last, which I now feel.' So truly humble were the thoughts which this great and good man entertained of his own approaches to religious perfection.

"He was earnestly invited to publish a volume of Devotional Exercises; but this (though he listened to the proposal with much complacency, and a large sum of money was offered for it) he declined, from motives of the sincerest modesty.

"He seriously entertained the thought of translating Thuanus. He often talked to me on the subject; and once, in particular, when I was rather wishing that he would favour the world, and gratify his Sovereign, by a Life of Spenser (which he said that he would readily have done, had he been able to obtain any new materials for the purpose,) he added, "I have been thinking again, Sir, of Thuanus: it would not be the laborious task which you have supposed it. I should have no trouble but that of dictation, which would be performed as speedily as an amanuensis could write.'"

It is to the mutual credit of Johnson and Divines of different communions, that although he was a steady Church-of-England man, there was, nevertheless, much agreeable intercourse between him and them. Let me particularly name the late Mr. La Trobe, and Mr. Hutton, of the Moravian profession. His intimacy with the English Benedictines, at Paris, has been mentioned; and as an additional proof of the charity in which he lived with good men of the Romish Church, I am happy in this opportunity of recording his friendship with the Reverend Thomas Hussey, D.D. his Catholic Majesty's Chaplain of Embassy at the Court of London, that very respectable man, eminent not only for his powerful eloquence as a preacher, but for his various abilities and acquisitions.-Nay, though Johnson loved a Presbyterian the least of all, this did not prevent his having a long and uninterrupted social connexion "with the Reverend Dr. James Fordyce, who, since his death, hath gratefully celebrated him in a warm strain of devotional composition.

Amidst the melancholy clouds which hung over the dying Johnson, his characteristical manner shewed itself on different occasions.

When Dr. Warren, in the usual style, hoped that he was better; his answer was, "No, Sir; you cannot conceive with what acceleration I advance towards death."

A man whom he had never seen before was employed one night to sit up with him. Being asked next morning how he liked his attendant, his answer was, "Not at all, Sir: the fellow's an ideot; he is as awkward as a turnspit when first put into the wheel, and as sleepy as a dormouse."

Mr. Windham having placed a pillow conveniently to support him, he thanked him for his kindness, and said, "That will do,→→ all that a pillow can do."

He repeated with great spirit a poem, consisting of several stanzas, in four lines, in alternate rhyme, which he said he had com

e

ne

al to

'God bless you, my dear!' e last words he spoke.-His breathing increased till about k in the evening, when Mr. Barrs. Desmoulins, who were sitting oom, observing that the noise he n breathing had ceased, went to the nd found he was dead."

Dout two days after his death, the foling very agreeable account was commucated to Mr. Malone, in a letter by the Honourable John Byng, to whom I am much obliged for granting me permission to introduce it in my work.

and Bless n. Supne days of h; and reLasting hapSUS CHRIST.

"DEAR SIR,

"SINCE I saw you, I have had a long conversation with Cawston,+ who sat up with Dr. Johnson, from nine o'clock on Sunday evening, till ten o'clock on Monday morning. And, from what I can gather from him, it should seem, that Dr. Johnson was perfectly composed, steady in hope, and resigned to death. At the interval of each hour, they assisted him to sit up in his bed, and move his legs, which were in much pain; when he regularly addressed himself to fervent prayer; and though, sometimes, his voice failed him, his sense never did, during that time. The only sustenance he received was cider and water. He said his mind was prepared, and the time to his dissolution seemed long. At six in the morning, he inquired the hour, and, on being informed, said that all went on regularly, and he felt he had but a few hours to live.

"At ten o'clock in the morning, he parted from Cawston, saying, 'You should not detain Mr. Windham's servant: I thank you; bear my remembrance to your master.' Cawston says, that no man could appear more collected, more devout, or less terrified at the thoughts of the approaching minute.

from the time that he was h was near, appeared to be ed, was seldom or never frettemper, and often said to his ant, who gave me this account, rancis, to the salvation of your is the object of greatest imporalso explained to him passages in ure, and seemed to have pleasure g upon religious subjects. Monday, the 13th of December, the which he died, a Miss Morris, daugha particular friend of his, called, and to Francis, that she begged to be per

"This account, which is so much more agreeable than, and somewhat different from, yours, has given us the satisfaction of thinking that that great man died as he lived, full of resignation, strengthened in faith, and joyful in hope."

sensible man. You know his extreme zeal for orthoOxy. But did you ever hear whot he told me himself? That he had made it a rule not to admit Dr. Clarke's name in his Dictionary. This, however, wore off. At

A few days before his death, he had asked Sir John Hawkins, as one of his executors, where he should be buried; and on being answered, "Doubtless in Westminster-Abbey," seemed to feel a satisfaction very natural to a poet; and indeed in my opinion very natural to every man of any imagination, who has no family sepulchre in which he can be laid with his fathers. Accordingly, upon Monday, December 20, his remains

some distance of time he advised with me what books he should read in defence of the Christian Religion. I recommended Clarke's Evidences of Natural and Revealed Religion, as the best of the kind: and I find in what is called his Prayers and Meditations,' that he was frequently employed in the latter part of his time in reading Clarke's Sermons."

The Reverend Mr. Strahan took care to have it preserved, and has inserted it in "Prayers and Meditations," p. 216.

+ Servant to the Right Honourable William Windham