served, "This man, sir, fills up the duties of his life well. I approve of him, but could not imitate him.” To a lady who endeavoured to vindicate herself from blame for neglecting social attention to worthy neighbours, by saying "I would go to them if it would do them any good;" he said, "What good, madam, do you expect to have in your power to do them? It is shewing them respect, and that is doing them good." So socially accommodating was he, that once when Mr. Langton and he were driving together in a coach, and Mr. Langton complained of being sick, he insisted that they should go out, and sit on the back of it in the open air, which they did. And being sensible how strange the appearance must be, observed, that a countryman whom they saw in a field would probably be thinking, "If these two madmen should come down, what would become of me?" Soon after his return to London, which was in February, was founded that CLUB which existed long without a name, but at Mr. Garrick's funeral became distinguished by the title of THE LITERARY CLUB. Sir Joshua Reynolds had the merit of being the first proposer of it, to which Johnson acceded, and the original members were, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Dr. Johnson, Mr. Edmund Burke, Dr. Nugent, Mr. Beauclerk, Mr. Langton, Dr. Goldsmith, Mr. Chamier, and Sir John Hawkins. They met at the Turk's Head, in Gerrard-street, Soho, one evening in every week, at seven, and generally continued their conversation till a pretty late hour. This club has been gradually increased to its present number, thirty-five. After about ten years, instead of supping weekly, it was resolved to dine together once a fortnight during the meeting of Parliament. Their original tavern having been converted into a private house, they moved first to Prince's in Sackville-street, then to Le Telier's in Dover-street, and now meet at Parsloe's, St. James's-street. Between the time of its formation, and the time at which this work is passing through the press (June 1792), ' the following persons, now dead, were members of it : Mr. Dunning (afterwards Lord Ashburton), Mr. Samuel Dyer, Mr. Garrick, Dr. Shipley Bishop of St. Asaph, Mr. Vesey, Mr. Thomas Warton, and Dr. Adam Smith. The present members are, Mr. Burke, Mr. Langton, Lord Charlemont, Sir Robert Chambers, Dr. Percy Bishop of Dromore, Dr. Barnard Bishop of Killaloe, Dr. Marlay Bishop of Clonfert, Mr. Fox, Dr. George Fordyce, Sir William Scott, Sir Joseph Banks, Sir Charles Bunbury, Mr. Windham of Norfolk, Mr. Sheridan, Mr. Gibbon, Sir William Jones, Mr. Colman, Mr. Steevens, Dr. Burney, Dr. Joseph Warton, Mr. Malone, Lord Ossory, Lord Spencer, Lord Lucan, Lord Palmerston, Lord Eliot, Lord Macartney, Mr. Richard Burke, junior, Sir William Hamilton, Dr. Warren, Mr. Courtenay, Dr. Hinchliffe Bishop of Peterborough, the Duke of Leeds, Dr. Douglas Bishop of Salisbury, and the writer of this account.2 1 [The second edition is here spoken of. M. ] 2 [The LITERARY CLUB has since been deprived by death of the authour of this work, Mr. Burke, his son Mr. Richard Burke, Mr. Gibbon, Sir William Jones, Mr. Colman, Dr. Warren, Dr. Hinchliffe Bishop of Peterborough, the Duke of Leeds, the Earl of Lucan, James Earl of Charlemont, Mr. Steevens, Dr. Warton, Mr. Langton, Lord Palmerston, Dr. Fordyce, Dr. Marlay Bishop of Waterford, Sir William Hamilton, Sir Robert Chambers, Lord Eliot, Lord Macartney, the Rev. Dr. Farmer, and the Marquis of Bath. The two persons last named were chosen members of it after the above account was written. It has since that time acquired Sir Charles Blagden, Major Rennell, the Honourable Frederick North, the Right Honourable George Canning, Mr. Marsden, the Right Honourable J. H. Frere, the Right Honourable Thomas Grenville, the Reverend Dr. Vincent Dean of Westminster, Mr. William Lock, jun. Mr. George Sir John Hawkins' represents himself as a 66 seceder" from this society, and assigns as the reason of his "withdrawing" himself from it, that its late hours were inconsistent with his domestick arrangements. In this he is not accurate; for the fact was, that he one evening attacked Mr. Burke, in so rude a manner, that all the company testified their displeasure; and at their next meeting their reception was such, that he never came again. He is equally inaccurate with respect to Mr. Garrick, of whom he says, "he trusted that the least intimation of a desire to come among us, would procure him a ready admission; but in this he was mistaken. Johnson consulted me upon it; and when I could find no objection to receiving him, exclaimed, He will disturb us by his buffoonery;'-and afterwards so managed matters, that he was never formally proposed, and, by consequence, never admitted." 3 Injustice both to Mr. Garrick and Dr. Johnson, I think it necessary to rectify this mis-statement. The truth is, that not very long after the institution of our club, Sir Joshua Reynolds was speaking of it to Garrick. “I like it much (said he); I think I shall be of you." When Sir Joshua mentioned this to Dr. Johnson, he was much displeased with the actor's conceit. "He'll be of us, (said Johnson) how Ellis, Lord Minto, Dr. French Lawrence, the Right Honourable Sir William Grant Master of the Rolls, Sir George Staunton, Bart. Dr. Horsley Bishop of St. Asaph, Mr. Charles Wilkins, the Right Honourable William Drummond, and Henry Vaughan, M. D. M.] 1 Life of Johnson, p. 425. 2 From Sir Joshua Reynolds. [The Knight having refused to pay his portion of the reckoning for supper, because he usually eat no supper at home, Johnson observed, "Sir John, sir, is a very unclubable man." B.] 3 Life of Johnson, p. 425. does he know we will permit him? The first Duke in England has no right to hold such language.” However, when Garrick was regularly proposed some time afterwards, Johnson, though he had taken a momentary offence at his arrogance, warmly and kindly supported him, and he was accordingly elected,1 was a most agreeable member, and continued to attend our meetings to the time of his death. Mrs. Piozzi has also given a similar misrepresentation of Johnson's treatment of Garrick in this particular, as if he had used these contemptuous expressions: "If Garrick does apply, I'll black-ball him. -Surely, one ought to sit in a society like ours, 'Unelbow'd by a gamester, pimp, or player.' I am happy to be enabled by such unquestionable authority as that of Sir Joshua Reynolds, as well as from my own knowledge, to vindicate at once the heart of Johnson and the social merit of Garrick. ،، In this year, except what he may have done in revising Shakspeare, we do not find that he laboured much in literature. He wrote a review of Grainger's Sugar Cane," a poem, in the London Chronicle. He told me, that Dr. Percy wrote the greatest part of this review; but, I imagine, he did not recollect it distinctly, for it appears to be mostly, if not alto− gether, his own. He also wrote in the Critical Review, an account + of Goldsmith's excellent poem, "The Traveller." The ease and independence to which he had at last attained by royal munificence, increased his natural indolence. In his “ Meditations," he thus accuses himself: “ GooD FRIDAY, April 20, 1764. I have made no reformation; I have lived totally useless, 1 [Mr. Garrick was elected in March 1773. M. ] more sensual in thought, and more addicted to wine and meat." And next morning.he thus feelingly complains: "My indolence, since my last reception of the sacrament, has sunk into grosser sluggishness, and my dissipation spread into wilder negligence. My thoughts have been clouded with sensuality; and, except that from the beginning of this year I have, in some measure, forborne excess of strong drink, my appetites have predominated over my reason, A kind of strange oblivion has overspread me, so that I know not what has become of the last year; and perceive that incidents and intelligence pass over me without leaving any impression." He then solemnly says, "This is not the life to which heaven is promised;"2 and he earnestly resolves an amendment. It was his custom to observe certain days with a pious abstraction: viz. New-year's day, the day of his wife's death, Good Friday, Easter-day, and his own birth-day. He this year says, "I have now spent fifty-five years in resolving; having, from the earliest time almost that I can remember, been forming schemes of a better life. I have done nothing. The need of doing, therefore, is pressing, since the time of doing is short. O God, grant me to resolve aright, and to keep my resolutions, for JESUS CHRIST'S sake. Amen."3 Such a tenderness of conscience, such a fervent desire of improvement, will rarely be found. It is, surely, not decent in those who are hardened in indifference to spiritual improvement, to treat this pious anxiety of Johnson with contempt. About this time he was afflicted with a very severe return of the hypochondriack disorder, which was ever lurking about him. He was so ill, as, notwithstanding his remarkable love of company, to be en 1 Prayers and Meditations, p. 53. 2 Ibid, p. 51. |