punging from the plays acted at his theatre, every expreffion capable of any other than a good meaning. And whereas it had for many years been the custom, at one or more of the theatres, to indulge the mob, in the evening of the lord-mayor's day, with the reprefentation of The London Cuckolds,' a comedy written by Ravenscroft in times of great licentioufnefs, and abounding in fcenes of vulgar humour, he paid a handfome compliment to the citizens, and fhewed his regard for the welfare of youth, by difcontinuing the practice, and fubftituting in its place the affecting tragedy of George Barnwell,' a play adapted to the fituation and circumftances of city apprentices, and affording an inftructive leffon of difcretion and morality.

Notwithstanding the perpetual competition between him and Rich, for the favour of the town, they lived together upon the most friendly terms. Rich, who was never celebrated either for his wit or his understanding, once made him a very elegant compliment: the occafion was this: Rich had improved his house at Covent garden, by altering the difpofition of the feats, fo as to accommodate a greater number of fpectators than formerly it would, and Mr. Garrick wifhing to fee thefe improvements, Mr. Rich invited him to the houfe, and went with him all over it. In the course of their furvey, Mr. Garrick afked, in the language of the theatre, what fum of money the houfe would hold.-- Sir,' faid Mr. Rich, that question I am at prefent unable to answer; but were Mr. Garrick to appear but one night on my stage, I fhould be able to tell to the utmost shil•ling.'

After

After all that has been faid of Mr. Garrick, envy must own, that he owed his celebrity to his merit ; and yet, of that himself feemed fo diffident, that he practifed fundry little, but innocent arts, to infure the favour of the public. He kept up an interest in the city by appearing, about twice in a winter, at Tom's coffee-house in Cornhill, the ufual rendezvous of young merchants at 'change time; and frequented a club, established for the fake of his company, at the Queen's-arms tavern in St. Paul's church-yard, where were used to affemble Mr. Samuel Sharpe the furgeon, Mr. Paterfon the city-folicitor, Mr. Draper the bookfeller, Mr. Clutterbuck a mercer, and a few others; they were none of them drinkers, and in order to make a reckoning, called only for French wine. These were his standing council in theatrical affairs, and were of use to him in moderating his refentment after thofe riots at his theatre, which would fometimes happen, and the indignation he once felt upon an attack on his dwellinghouse, in which the windows thereof were broken.

He had also a strong party of friends at Batfon's coffee-house, and among them Dr. Wilfon a physician, a man of great learning, but no practice, who having an easy fortune and no family, and being mafter of his own time, was at liberty to indulge himfelf in a variety of pursuits and humours that diftinguifhed him from most other men. He lodged in an obfcure part of the town, and spent his mornings in mathematical ftudies; but at noon was conftantly to

He was the editor of the works of Benjamin Robins, pubJifhed in two volumes 8vo.

VOL. I.

Ff

be

be seen at Batson's, with a circle of perfons round him, whom he entertained with his converfation. He had no tafte for polite literature or stage entertainments; but in his old age took it into his head to be an admirer of Mr. Garrick, and feldom failed to be at his theatre, whenever he had a part in the play of the night. His conftant appearance there had procured him almost a prescriptive right to a particular feat in the pit. In that region of the house he was the first, and almost the loudest applauder of Mr. Garrick, and his praises were the chief fubject of his difcourfe the fucceeding day. To this perfon, as to a city-friend, Mr. Garrick held himself obliged, and by many perfonal civilities he courted his favour.

Such as thofe above noted were the foibles in the character of that celebrated actor of whom I have been speaking, and fuch were the arts which he practifed to acquire and enfure popularity; arts as unneceffary as they were innocent, seeing, that almoft from the time he first became known, he was in the actual poffeffion of that applause which he was feeking, and received from the public an ample reward of reputation, as well for the part he acted in social life, as for his excellent performance on the stage.

Befides Mr. Garrick, there were others that were defirous of becoming members of this our club, the fame whereof had spread abroad, and induced many, who hoped to acquire a reputation for literature, to wish for an admiffion among us. That unfortunate divine, as he was called, Dr. William Dodd, was one of the number, and made a fecret effort for this purpose. This perfon, at that time, dwelt with his wife in an obfcure corner of Hounslow heath,

near

near a village called Worton; but kept, in a back lane near him, a girl who went by the name of Kennedy. His pretenfions to learning, and especially to claffical erudition, were very great; and he had in his house a few young gentlemen, who, at very expenfive rates, were committed to his care, as to an academy, for instruction. A brother of his wife's rented fome land of me, and of him I learned from time to time many particulars respecting his character and manner of living, which latter, as he reprefented it, was ever fuch as his visible income would no way account for. He faid that he was the most importunate fuitor for preferment ever known, and that himself had been the bearer of letters and meffages to great men, foliciting promotion to vacant livings, and had hardly escaped kicking down ftairs. Dodd's wish to be received into our fociety was conveyed to us only by a whisper, and that being the cafe, all oppofition to his admiffion became unneceffary.

Johnson was now at eafe in his circumftances: he wanted his ufual motive to impel him to the exertion of his talents, neceffity, and he funk into indolence. Whoever called in on him at about midday, found him and Levett at breakfast, Johnson in deshabille, as just risen from bed, and Levett filling out tea for himself and his patron alternately, no conversation paffing between them. All that vifited him at these hours, were welcome. A night's reft, and breakfast, seldom failed to refresh and fit him for difcourfe, and whoever withdrew went too foon. His invitations to dinners abroad were numerous, and he feldom balked them. At evening parties, where were Ff2

no

no cards, he very often made one; and from thefe, when once engaged, moft unwillingly retired.

In the relaxation of mind, which almoft any one might have foreseen would follow the grant of his penfion, he made little account of that lapfe of time, on which, in many of his papers, he fo feverely moralizes. And, though he was fo exact an observer of the paffing minutes, as frequently, after his coming from church, to note in his diary how many the fervice took up in reading, and the fermon in preaching; he feemed to forget how many years had paffed fince he had begun to take in fubfcriptions for his edition of Shakespeare. Such a torpor had feized his faculties, as not all the remonstrances of his friends were able to cure: applied to fome minds, they would have burned like cauftics, but Johnson felt them not: to other objects he was fufficiently attentive, as I fhall presently fhew.

In the performance of the engagement I am under, I find myself compelled to make public, as well those particulars of Johnson that may be thought to abase as thofe that exalt his character. Among the former, may be reckoned the credit he for fome time gave to the idle ftory of the Cock-lane ghoft, concerning which the following facts are the leaft unworthy of being noted. In the month of January 1762, it was reported, that at a houfe in Cock lane near Weft Smithfield, there were heard certain noises, accompanied with extraordinary circumftances, tending to the difcovery of the death of a young woman who was said to have been destroyed by poison. The agent in this business was a girl, who pretended, that

the