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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:45:55 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:45:55 -0700 |
| commit | e028165117b8df5066d4ae899807e13bed6d0a6f (patch) | |
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diff --git a/15045-h/15045-h.htm b/15045-h/15045-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..27ba587 --- /dev/null +++ b/15045-h/15045-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,15784 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?> +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta name="generator" content= + "HTML Tidy for Linux/x86 (vers 1st August 2004), see www.w3.org" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content= + "text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <title> + Autobiograyhy Letters and Literary Remains of Mrs. Piozzi + (Thrale) + </title> +<style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[*/ + + <!-- + + body {margin-left:8%; margin-right:7%; max-width: 40em;} + + p { /* all paragraphs unless overridden */ + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 0; + line-height: 1.4em; + } + + body > p { /* paras at <body> level - not in <div> or <table> */ + text-align: justify; + } + + li {/* loosen spacing in list items */ + margin-top: 0.33em; + line-height: 1.2em; } + + h1, h2, h3, h5 {text-align: center; } + + .title {margin-top: 4em; margin-bottom: 4em;} /* use for spacing titles */ + + p.break { margin-top: 2em; } /* use for some thought-breaks */ + + p.citation { /* author citation at end of blockquote or poem */ + text-align: right; + font-style: normal; + } + p.quotdate { /* date of a letter aligned right */ + text-align: right; + } + p.quotsig { /* author signature at end of letter */ + margin-left: 35%; + text-indent: -4em; /* gimmick to move 2nd line right */ + } + + ul.toc { /* styling the Table of Contents */ + list-style-type: none; /* a list with no symbol */ + position: relative; /* makes a "container" for span.tocright */ + margin-right: 0%; /* pulls the page#s in a skosh */ + } + span.tocright { /* use absolute positioning to move page# right */ + position: absolute; right: 0; + } + hr { + width:45%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-left: auto; /* these two ensure a.. */ + margin-right: auto; /* ..centered rule */ + clear: both; /* don't let sidebars & floats overlap rule */ + } + + .ctr { text-align: center; } + + p.caption { margin-top: 0; font-size: smaller; } + + img { /* the default image has */ + border: 1px solid black; /* a thin black line border */ + padding: 6px; /* ..spaced a bit out from the graphic */ + } + + .poem { + text-align: left; + margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%; margin-top: 1em; + position: relative; /* basis of .linenum positions */ + } + .poem p {line-height: 1.1em; + margin-top: 0em; margin-bottom: 0em; + } + .poem h4 { + margin-left: 5em; + } + .poem .stanza { + margin-top: 1em; /* vertical break between stanzas */ + } + .i1 {margin-left: 1em;} /* p or span indents */ + .i2 {margin-left: 2em;} /* indents */ + .i3 {margin-left: 3em;} /* indents */ + .i4 {margin-left: 4em;} /* indents */ + .i5 {margin-left: 5em;} /* indents */ + .i6 {margin-left: 6em;} /* indents */ + .i7 {margin-left: 7em;} /* indents */ + .i8 {margin-left: 8em;} /* indents */ + .i9 {margin-left: 9em;} /* indents */ + .i10 {margin-left: 10em;} /* indents */ + .i11 {margin-left: 11em;} /* indents */ + .i12 {margin-left: 12em;} /* indents */ + .i13 {margin-left: 13em;} /* indents */ + .i14 {margin-left: 14em;} /* indents */ + + + .pagenum { display: inline; /* none or inline */ + font-size:50%; + text-align: right; + padding: 0 0 0 0 ; + margin: 0 0 0 0; + position: absolute; right: 1%;} + + + .fnref { + font-size: smaller; /* discreet [X] */ + vertical-align: 2px; /* bumped up a trace from baseline */ + } + + .footnote { + font-size: 90%; /* somewhat smaller */ + margin: 0 1em 1em 2em; + text-align: justify; + } + + a:link {color:#0000ff; + text-decoration:none} + link {color:#0000ff; + text-decoration:none} + a:visited {color:#0000ff; + text-decoration:none} + a:hover {color:#ff0000} + + pre {font-size: 8pt;} + + --> + +/*]]>*/ +</style> + </head> + <body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Autobiography, Letters and Literary Remains +of Mrs. Piozzi (Thrale) (2nd ed.) (2 vols.), by Mrs. Hester Lynch Piozzi + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Autobiography, Letters and Literary Remains of Mrs. Piozzi (Thrale) (2nd ed.) (2 vols.) + Edited with notes and Introductory Account of her life and writings + +Author: Mrs. Hester Lynch Piozzi + +Release Date: February 14, 2005 [EBook #15045] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LITERARY REMAINS OF MRS. PIOZZI *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Leonard Johnson and the PG Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. + + + + + + +</pre> + + <div class="ctr"> + <a id="image01" name="image01"></a> <img src="images/image01.jpg" + alt="Portrait of Mrs. Piozzi." title= + "Portrait of Mrs. Piozzi." /> + <p class="caption"> + Portrait of Mrs. Piozzi + </p> + </div> + <div class="title"> + <h1> + AUTOBIOGRAPHY + </h1> + <h1> + LETTERS AND LITERARY REMAINS + </h1> + <h5> + OF + </h5> + <h1> + MRS. PIOZZI (THRALE) + </h1> + <h3> + EDITED WITH NOTES + </h3> + <h5> + AND + </h5> + <h3> + AN INTRODUCTORY ACCOUNT OF HER LIFE AND WRITINGS + </h3> + <h5> + BY + </h5> + <h1> + A. HAYWARD, ESQ. Q.C. + </h1> + </div> + <hr /> + <h5> + Welcome, Associate Forms, where'er we turn Fill, Streatham's + Hebe, the Johnsonian urn—St. Stephen's + </h5> + <hr /> + <h5> + In Two Volumes + <br /> + VOL. I. + </h5> + <h5> + SECOND EDITION + </h5> + <h3> + LONDON + <br /> + LONGMAN, GREEN, LONGMAN, AND ROBERTS + <br /> + 1861 + </h3> + <hr /> + <h2> + PREFACE + </h2> + <h2> + TO + </h2> + <h2> + THE SECOND EDITION. + </h2> + <hr /> + <p> + THE first edition of a work of this kind is almost necessarily + imperfect; since the editor is commonly dependent for a great + deal of the required information upon sources the very existence + of which is unknown to him till reminiscences are revived, and + communications invited, by the announcement or publication of the + book. Some valuable contributions reached me too late to be + properly placed or effectively worked up; some, too late to be + included at all. The arrangement in this edition will therefore, + I trust, be found less faulty than in the first, whilst the + additions are large and valuable. They principally consist of + fresh extracts from Mrs. Piozzi's private diary ("Thraliana"), + amounting to more than fifty pages; of additional marginal notes + on books, and of copious extracts from letters hitherto + unpublished. + </p> + <p> + Amongst the effects of her friend Conway, the actor, after his + untimely death by drowning in North America, were a copy of Mrs. + Piozzi's "Travel Book" and a copy of Johnson's "Lives of the + Poets," each enriched by marginal notes in her handwriting. Such + of those in the "Travel Book" as were thought worth printing + appeared in "The Atlantic Monthly" for June last, from which I + have taken the liberty of copying the best. The "Lives of the + Poets" is now the property of Mr. William Alexander Smith, of New + York, who was so kind as to open a communication with me on the + subject, and to have the whole of the marginal notes transcribed + for my use at his expense. + </p> + <p> + Animated by the same liberal wish to promote a literary + undertaking, Mr. J.E. Gray, son of the Rev. Dr. Robert Gray, late + Bishop of Bristol, has placed at my disposal a series of letters + from Mrs. Piozzi to his father, extending over nearly twenty-five + years (from 1797 to the year of her death) and exceeding a + hundred in number. These have been of the greatest service in + enabling me to complete and verify the summary of that period of + her life. + </p> + <p> + So much light is thrown by the new matter, especially by the + extracts from "Thraliana," on the alleged rupture between Johnson + and Mrs. Piozzi, that I have re-cast or re-written the part of + the Introduction relating to it, thinking that no pains should be + spared to get at the merits of a controversy which now involves, + not only the moral and social qualities of the great + lexicographer, but the degree of confidence to be placed in the + most brilliant and popular of modern critics, biographers and + historians. It is no impeachment of his integrity, no detraction + from the durable elements of his fame, to offer proof that his + splendid imagination ran away with him, or that reliance on his + wonderful memory made him careless of verifying his original + impressions before recording them in the most gorgeous and + memorable language. + </p> + <p> + No one likes to have foolish or erroneous notions imputed to him, + and I have pointed out some of the misapprehensions into which an + able writer in the "Edinburgh Review" (No. 231) has been hurried + by his eagerness to vindicate Lord Macaulay. Moreover, this + struck me to be as good a form as any for re-examining the + subject in all its bearings; and now that it has become common to + reprint articles in a collected shape, the comments of a + first-rate review can no longer be regarded as transitory. + </p> + <p> + I gladly seize the present opportunity to offer my best + acknowledgments for kind and valuable aid in various shapes, to + the Marquis of Lansdowne, His Excellency M. Sylvain Van de Weyer + (the Belgian Minister), the Viscountess Combermere, Mr. and the + Hon. Mrs. Monckton Milnes, the Hon. Mrs. Rowley, Miss Angharad + Lloyd, and the Rev. W.H. Owen, Vicar of St. Asaph and Dymerchion. + </p> + <div class="quotsig"> + <p> + 8, St. James's Street: + <br /> + Oct. 18th, 1861. + </p> + </div> + <hr /> + <h2> + CONTENTS + </h2> + <h5> + OF + </h5> + <h2> + THE FIRST VOLUME + </h2> + <p class="quotdate"> + PAGE + </p> + <ul class="toc"> + <li>Origin and Materials of the Work<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg003">3</a>-<a href="#pg007">7</a></span> + </li> + <li>Object of the Introduction<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg007">7</a></span> + </li> + <li>Origin, Education, and Character of Thrale<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg007">7</a>-<a href="#pg011">11</a></span> + </li> + <li>Introduction of Johnson to the Thrales<span class="tocright"> + <a href="#pg011">11</a>-<a href="#pg014">14</a></span> + </li> + <li>Johnson's Habits at the Period<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg014">14</a>-<a href= + "#pg020">20</a></span> + </li> + <li>His Household<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg021">21</a>-<a href="#pg024">24</a></span> + </li> + <li>His Social Position<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg025">25</a></span> + </li> + <li>Society at Streatham<span class="tocright"><a href="#pg026"> + 26</a></span> + </li> + <li>Blue Stocking Parties<span class="tocright"><a href="#pg027"> + 27</a>-<a href="#pg028">28</a></span> + </li> + <li>Johnson's Fondness for Female Society<span class="tocright"> + <a href="#pg029">29</a>-<a href="#pg035">35</a></span> + </li> + <li>Nature of his Intimacy with Mrs. Thrale<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg035">35</a></span> + </li> + <li>His Verses to her<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg036">36</a>-<a href="#pg038">38</a></span> + </li> + <li>Her Age<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg039">39</a>-<a href="#pg040">40</a></span> + </li> + <li>Her Personal Appearance and Handwriting<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg041">41</a>-<a href="#pg042">42</a></span> + </li> + <li>Portraits of her<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg043">43</a>-<a href="#pg044">44</a></span> + </li> + <li>Boswell at Streatham<span class="tocright"><a href="#pg044"> + 44</a>-<a href="#pg048">48</a></span> + </li> + <li>Her Behaviour to Johnson<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg048">48</a></span> + </li> + <li>Her Acquirements<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg049">49</a>-<a href="#pg052">52</a></span> + </li> + <li>Johnson's Estimate of her<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg053">53</a>-<a href="#pg057">57</a></span> + </li> + <li>Popular Estimate of her<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg058">58</a></span> + </li> + <li>Manners of her Time<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg059">59</a></span> + </li> + <li>Madame D'Arblay at Streatham<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg060">60</a></span> + </li> + <li>Her Account of Conversations there<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg061">61</a>-<a href="#pg067">67</a></span> + </li> + <li>Johnson's Politeness<span class="tocright"><a href="#pg068"> + 68</a></span> + </li> + <li>Mrs. Thrale's Domestic Trials<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg069">69</a>-<a href= + "#pg070">70</a></span> + </li> + <li>Electioneering with Johnson<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg071">71</a></span> + </li> + <li>Thrale's Embarrassments, and Johnson's Advice<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg072">72</a>-<a href="#pg074">74</a></span> + </li> + <li>Johnson on Housekeeping and Dress<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg075">75</a>-<a href="#pg077">77</a></span> + </li> + <li>His Opinions on Marriage<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg078">78</a></span> + </li> + <li>Johnson in the Country<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg079">79</a>-<a href="#pg080">80</a></span> + </li> + <li>Johnson fond of riding in a Carriage, but a bad + Traveller<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg080">80</a>-<a href="#pg081">81</a></span> + </li> + <li>His Want of Taste for Music or Painting<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg082">82</a></span> + </li> + <li>Tour in Wales<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg082">82</a>-<a href="#pg089">89</a></span> + </li> + <li>Tour in France<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg090">90</a>-<a href="#pg091">91</a></span> + </li> + <li>Baretti<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg091">91</a>-<a href="#pg099">99</a></span> + </li> + <li>Campbell's Diary<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg099">99</a>-<a href="#pg102">102</a></span> + </li> + <li>Mrs. Thrale's Account of her Quarrel with + Baretti<span class="tocright"><a href="#pg103">103</a>-<a href= + "#pg108">108</a></span> + </li> + <li>His Account<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg108">108</a></span> + </li> + <li>Alleged Slight to Johnson<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg109">109</a></span> + </li> + <li>Miss Streatfield<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg110">110</a>-<a href="#pg122">122</a></span> + </li> + <li>Thrale's Infidelity<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg123">123</a></span> + </li> + <li>Madame D'Arblay as an Inmate<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg124">124</a>-<a href="#pg126">126</a></span> + </li> + <li>Dr. Burney<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg127">127</a></span> + </li> + <li>Mrs. Thrale canvassing Southwark<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg127">127</a></span> + </li> + <li>Attack by Rioters on the Brewhouse<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg128">128</a></span> + </li> + <li>Thrale's Illness and Winter in Grosvenor Square<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg129">129</a>-<a href= + "#pg131">131</a></span> + </li> + <li>Proposed Tour<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg131">131</a>-<a href="#pg132">132</a></span> + </li> + <li>Thrale's Death<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg132">132</a>-<a href="#pg136">136</a></span> + </li> + <li>His Will<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg137">137</a></span> + </li> + <li>Johnson as Executor<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg138">138</a></span> + </li> + <li>Her Management of the Brewery<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg139">139</a>-<a href= + "#pg140">140</a></span> + </li> + <li>Italian Translation<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg141">141</a></span> + </li> + <li>A strange Incident<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg142">142</a></span> + </li> + <li>Mrs. Montagu—Mr. Crutchley<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg143">143</a>-<a href= + "#pg144">144</a></span> + </li> + <li>Sale of the Brewery<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg144">144</a>-<a href="#pg147">147</a></span> + </li> + <li>Mrs. Thrale's Introduction to Piozzi<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg147">147</a></span> + </li> + <li>Scene with him at Dr. Burney's<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg148">148</a>-<a href= + "#pg151">151</a></span> + </li> + <li>Her early Impressions of him<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg152">152</a>-<a href="#pg153">153</a></span> + </li> + <li>Melancholy Reflections<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg154">154</a></span> + </li> + <li>Johnson's Regard for Thrale<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg155">155</a>-<a href="#pg156">156</a></span> + </li> + <li>Mrs. Thrale's and Johnson's Feelings towards each + other<span class="tocright"><a href="#pg156">156</a>-<a href= + "#pg160">160</a></span> + </li> + <li>Johnson at Streatham after Thrale's Death<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg161">161</a></span> + </li> + <li>Piozzi—Verses to him<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg162">162</a></span> + </li> + <li>Johnson's Health<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg163">163</a></span> + </li> + <li>Self-Communings<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg164">164</a></span> + </li> + <li>Town Gossip<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg165">165</a></span> + </li> + <li>Verses on Pacchierotti<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg165">165</a>-<a href="#pg167">167</a></span> + </li> + <li>Fears for Johnson<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg167">167</a></span> + </li> + <li>Reports of her marrying again<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg167">167</a>-<a href= + "#pg168">168</a></span> + </li> + <li>Reasons for quitting Streatham<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg169">169</a></span> + </li> + <li>Resolution to quit approved by Johnson<span class="tocright"> + <a href="#pg169">169</a>-<a href="#pg170">170</a></span> + </li> + <li>Complaints of Johnson's Indifference<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg171">171</a></span> + </li> + <li>Piozzi—to marry or not to marry<span class="tocright"> + <a href="#pg172">172</a>-<a href="#pg175">175</a></span> + </li> + <li>Was Johnson driven out of Streatham<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg176">176</a></span> + </li> + <li>His Farewell to Streatham<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg177">177</a>-<a href="#pg178">178</a></span> + </li> + <li>His last Year there<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg179">179</a>-<a href="#pg185">185</a></span> + </li> + <li>Johnson and Mrs. Thrale at Brighton<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg186">186</a>-<a href= + "#pg188">188</a></span> + </li> + <li>Conflicting Feelings<span class="tocright"><a href="#pg189"> + 189</a></span> + </li> + <li>Gives up Piozzi<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg190">190</a>-<a href="#pg191">191</a></span> + </li> + <li>Meditated Journey to Italy<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg192">192</a></span> + </li> + <li>Parting with Piozzi<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg193">193</a>-<a href="#pg195">195</a></span> + </li> + <li>Unkindness of Daughters<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg197">197</a></span> + </li> + <li>Position as regards Johnson<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg198">198</a></span> + </li> + <li>Objections to him as an Inmate<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg199">199</a>-<a href= + "#pg204">204</a></span> + </li> + <li>Parting with Piozzi<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg205">205</a></span> + </li> + <li>Verses to him on his Departure<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg206">206</a></span> + </li> + <li>Her undiminished Regard for Johnson proved by + </li> + <li>their Correspondence<span class="tocright"><a href="#pg207"> + 207</a>-<a href="#pg214">214</a></span> + </li> + <li>Character of Daughters<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg212">212</a></span> + </li> + <li>Madame D'Arblay, Scene with Johnson<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg214">214</a>-<a href= + "#pg216">216</a></span> + </li> + <li>Lord Brougham's Commentary<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg216">216</a></span> + </li> + <li>Correspondence with Johnson<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg217">217</a>-<a href="#pg219">219</a></span> + </li> + <li>Recall of Piozzi<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg220">220</a>-<a href="#pg221">221</a></span> + </li> + <li>Trip to London<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg222">222</a>-<a href="#pg223">223</a></span> + </li> + <li>Verses to Piozzi on his Return<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg224">224</a></span> + </li> + <li>Journey with Daughters<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg225">225</a></span> + </li> + <li>Feelings on Piozzi's Return, and Marriage<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg226">226</a></span> + </li> + <li>Objections to her Second Marriage discussed<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg227">227</a>-<a href= + "#pg230">230</a></span> + </li> + <li>Correspondence with Madame D'Arblay on the + Marriage<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg231">231</a>-<a href="#pg233">233</a></span> + </li> + <li>Objections of Daughters—Lady Keith<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg233">233</a>-<a href= + "#pg236">236</a></span> + </li> + <li>Correspondence with Johnson as to the Marriage<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg236">236</a>-<a href= + "#pg243">243</a></span> + </li> + <li>Baretti's Story of her alleged Deceit<span class="tocright"> + <a href="#pg243">243</a>-<a href="#pg247">247</a></span> + </li> + <li>Her uniform Kindness to Johnson<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg247">247</a>-<a href= + "#pg248">248</a></span> + </li> + <li>Johnson's Feelings and Conduct<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg249">249</a>-<a href= + "#pg251">251</a></span> + </li> + <li>Miss Wynn's Commonplace Book<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg251">251</a>-<a href="#pg253">253</a></span> + </li> + <li>Johnson's unfounded Objections to the Marriage and erroneous + Impressions of Piozzi<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg254">254</a>-<a href="#pg255">255</a></span> + </li> + <li>Miss Seward's Account of his Loves<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg256">256</a></span> + </li> + <li>Misrepresentation and erroneous Theory of a + Critic<span class="tocright"><a href="#pg257">257</a>-<a href= + "#pg260">260</a></span> + </li> + <li>Last Days and Death of Johnson<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg261">261</a>-<a href= + "#pg262">262</a></span> + </li> + <li>Lord Macaulay's Summary of Mrs. Piozzi's Treatment of + Johnson<span class="tocright"><a href="#pg262">262</a>-<a href= + "#pg266">266</a></span> + </li> + <li>Life in Italy<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg266">266</a>-<a href="#pg269">269</a></span> + </li> + <li>Projected Work on Johnson<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg269">269</a>-<a href="#pg270">270</a></span> + </li> + <li>The Florence Miscellany<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg271">271</a></span> + </li> + <li>Correspondence with Cadell and Publication of the + "Anecdotes"<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg272">272</a>-<a href="#pg274">274</a></span> + </li> + <li>Her alleged Inaccuracy, with Instances<span class="tocright"> + <a href="#pg274">274</a>-<a href="#pg285">285</a></span> + </li> + <li>H. Walpole<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg286">286</a></span> + </li> + <li>Peter Pindar<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg287">287</a>-<a href="#pg289">289</a></span> + </li> + <li>H. Walpole again<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg290">290</a></span> + </li> + <li>Hannah More<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg291">291</a></span> + </li> + <li>Marginal Notes on the "Anecdotes"<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg292">292</a>-<a href= + "#pg297">297</a></span> + </li> + <li>Extracts from Dr. Lort's Letters<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg297">297</a>-<a href= + "#pg299">299</a></span> + </li> + <li>Her Thoughts on her Return from Italy<span class="tocright"> + <a href="#pg299">299</a>-<a href="#pg302">302</a></span> + </li> + <li>Her Reception<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg303">303</a>-<a href="#pg306">306</a></span> + </li> + <li>Miss Seward's Impressions of her and Piozzi<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg307">307</a></span> + </li> + <li>Publication of the "Letters"<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg307">307</a>-<a href="#pg308">308</a></span> + </li> + <li>Opinions on them—Madame D'Arblay, Queen Charlotte, + <br /> + Hannah More, and Miss Seward<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg309">309</a>-<a href="#pg314">314</a></span> + </li> + <li>Baretti's libellous Attacks<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg314">314</a></span> + </li> + <li>Her Character of him on his Death<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg315">315</a>-<a href= + "#pg318">318</a></span> + </li> + <li>"The Sentimental Mother"<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg319">319</a></span> + </li> + <li>"Johnson's Ghost"<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg320">320</a></span> + </li> + <li>The Travel Book<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg321">321</a></span> + </li> + <li>Offer to Cadell<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg322">322</a></span> + </li> + <li>Publication of the Book and Criticisms—Walpole and Miss + Seward<span class="tocright"><a href="#pg322">322</a>-<a href= + "#pg324">324</a></span> + </li> + <li>Mrs. Piozzi's Theory of Style<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg325">325</a></span> + </li> + <li>Attacked by Walpole and Gifford<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg326">326</a>-<a href= + "#pg327">327</a></span> + </li> + <li>The Preface<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg327">327</a>-<a href="#pg328">328</a></span> + </li> + <li>Extracts<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg329">329</a>-<a href="#pg335">335</a></span> + </li> + <li>Anecdote of Goldsmith<span class="tocright"><a href="#pg336"> + 336</a></span> + </li> + <li>Publication of her "Synonyms"—Gifford's + Attack<span class="tocright"><a href="#pg337">337</a></span> + </li> + <li>Extract<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg338">338</a>-<a href="#pg341">341</a></span> + </li> + <li>Remarks on the Appearance of Boswell's Life of + Johnson<span class="tocright"><a href="#pg342">342</a></span> + </li> + <li>"Retrospection"<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg343">343</a>-<a href="#pg344">344</a></span> + </li> + <li>Moore's Anecdotes of her and Piozzi<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg344">344</a>-<a href= + "#pg345">345</a></span> + </li> + <li>Lord Lansdowne's Visit and Impressions<span class="tocright"> + <a href="#pg345">345</a>-<a href="#pg346">346</a></span> + </li> + <li>Adoption and Education of Piozzi's Nephew, afterwards Sir + John Salusbury<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg347">347</a>-<a href="#pg350">350</a></span> + </li> + <li>Life in Wales<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg351">351</a></span> + </li> + <li>Character and Habits of Piozzi<span class= + "tocright"><a href="#pg352">352</a>-<a href= + "#pg353">353</a></span> + </li> + <li>Brynbella<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg354">354</a></span> + </li> + <li>Illness and Death of Piozzi<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg355">355</a>-<a href="#pg356">356</a></span> + </li> + <li>Miss Thrale's Marriage<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg358">358</a></span> + </li> + <li>The Conway Episode<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg357">357</a>-<a href="#pg361">361</a></span> + </li> + <li>Anecdotes<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg361">361</a></span> + </li> + <li>Celebration of her Eightieth Birthday<span class="tocright"> + <a href="#pg361">361</a>-<a href="#pg362">362</a></span> + </li> + <li>Her Death and Will<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg362">362</a>-<a href="#pg364">364</a></span> + </li> + <li>Madame D'Arblay's Parallel between Mrs. Piozzi and Madame de + Staël<span class="tocright"><a href="#pg364">364</a>-<a href= + "#pg369">369</a></span> + </li> + <li>Character of Mrs. Piozzi, Moral and + Intellectual<span class="tocright"><a href= + "#pg369">369</a>-<a href="#pg375">375</a></span> + </li> + </ul> + <hr /> + <p class="ctr"> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg001" id="pg001">001</a></span> + AUTOBIOGRAPHY &c. OF MRS. PIOZZI + </p> + <p class="ctr"> + VOL. I + </p> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg002" id="pg002">002</a></span> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg003" id="pg003">003</a></span> + </p> + <h2> + INTRODUCTION: + </h2> + <h2> + LIFE AND WRITINGS OF MRS. PIOZZI. + </h2> + <p> + Dr. Johnson was hailed the colossus of Literature by a generation + who measured him against men of no common mould—against + Hume, Robertson, Gibbon, Warburton, the Wartons, Fielding, + Richardson, Smollett, Gray, Goldsmith, and Burke. Any one of + these may have surpassed the great lexicographer in some branch + of learning or domain of genius; but as a man of letters, in the + highest sense of the term, he towered pre-eminent, and his + superiority to each of them (except Burke) in general + acquirements, intellectual power, and force of expression, was + hardly contested by his contemporaries. To be associated with his + name has become a title of distinction in itself; and some + members of his circle enjoy, and have fairly earned, a peculiar + advantage in this respect. In their capacity of satellites + revolving round the sun of their idolatry, they attracted and + reflected his light and heat. As humble companions of their + <i>Magnolia grandiflora</i>, they did more than live with + it<span class="fnref">[1]</span>; they gathered and <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg004" id="pg004">004</a></span> preserved the + choicest of its flowers. Thanks to them, his reputation is kept + alive more by what has been saved of his conversation than by his + books; and his colloquial exploits necessarily revive the memory + of the friends (or victims) who elicited and recorded them. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] "Je ne suis pas la rose, mais j'ai vécu près + d'elle."—<i>Constant</i>. + </p> + </div> + <p> + If the two most conspicuous among these have hitherto gained + notoriety rather than what is commonly understood by fame, a + discriminating posterity is already beginning to make reparation + for the wrong. Boswell's "Letters to Temple," edited by Mr. + Francis, with "Boswelliana," printed for the Philobiblion Society + by Mr. Milnes, led, in 1857, to a revisal of the harsh sentence + passed on one whom the most formidable of his censors, Lord + Macaulay, has declared to be not less decidedly the first of + biographers, than Homer is the first of heroic poets, Shakspeare + the first of dramatists, or Demosthenes the first of orators. The + result was favourable to Boswell, although the vulnerable points + of his character were still more glaringly displayed. The appeal + about to be hazarded on behalf of Mrs. Piozzi, will involve + little or no risk of this kind. Her ill-wishers made the most of + the event which so injuriously affected her reputation at the + time of its occurrence; and the marked tendency of every + additional disclosure of the circumstances has been to elevate + her. No candid person will read her Autobiography, or her + Letters, without arriving at the conclusion that her long life + was morally, if not conventionally, irreproachable; and that her + talents were <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg005" id= + "pg005">005</a></span> sufficient to confer on her writings a + value and attraction of their own, apart from what they possess + as illustrations of a period or a school. When the papers which + form the basis of this work were laid before Lord Macaulay, he + gave it as his opinion that they afforded materials for a "most + interesting and durably popular volume."<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] His letter, dated August 22, 1859, was addressed to Mr. T. + Longman. The editorship of the papers was not proposed to me + till after his death, and I had never any personal + communication with him on the subject; although in the + Edinburgh Review for July 1857, I ventured, with the same + freedom which I have used in vindicating Mrs. Piozzi, to + dispute the paradoxical judgment he had passed on Boswell. The + materials which reached me after I had undertaken the work, and + of which he was not aware, would nearly fill a volume. + </p> + </div> + <p> + They comprise:— + </p> + <p> + 1. Autobiographical Memoirs. + </p> + <p> + 2. Letters, mostly addressed to the late Sir James Fellowes. + </p> + <p> + 3. Fugitive pieces of her composition, most of which have never + appeared in print. + </p> + <p> + 4. Manuscript notes by her on Wraxall's Memoirs, and on her own + published works, namely: "Anecdotes of the late Samuel Johnson, + LL.D., during the last twenty years of his life," one volume, + 1786: "Letters to and from the late Samuel Johnson, LL.D., + &c.," in two volumes, 1788: "Observations and Reflections + made in the course of a journey through France, Italy, and + Germany," in two volumes, 1789: "Retrospection; or, Review of the + most striking and important Events, Characters, Situations, and + their Consequences <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg006" id= + "pg006">006</a></span> which the last Eighteen Hundred Years have + presented to the View of Mankind," in two volumes, quarto, 1801. + </p> + <p> + The "Autobiographical Memoirs," and the annotated books, were + given by her to the late Sir James Fellowes, of Adbury House, + Hants, M.D., F.R.S., to whom the letters were addressed. He and + the late Sir John Piozzi Salusbury were her executors, and the + present publication takes place in pursuance of an agreement with + their personal representatives, the Rev. G.A. Salusbury, Rector + of Westbury, Salop, and Captain J. Butler Fellowes. + </p> + <p> + Large and valuable additions to the original stock of materials + have reached me since the announcement of the work. + </p> + <p> + The Rev. Dr. Wellesley, Principal of New Inn Hall, has kindly + placed at my disposal his copy of Boswell's "Life of Johnson" + (edition of 1816), plentifully sprinkled with marginal notes by + Mrs. Piozzi. + </p> + <p> + The Rev. Samuel Lysons, of Hempsted Court, Gloucester, has + liberally allowed me the free use of his valuable collection of + books and manuscripts, including numerous letters from Mrs. + Piozzi to his father and uncle, the Rev. Daniel Lysons and Mr. + Samuel Lysons. + </p> + <p> + From 1776 to 1809 Mrs. Piozzi kept a copious diary and note-book, + called "Thraliana." Johnson thus alludes to it in a letter of + September 6th, 1777: "As you have little to do, I suppose you are + pretty diligent at the 'Thraliana;' and a very curious collection + posterity will find it. Do not remit the practice <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg007" id="pg007">007</a></span> of writing + down occurrences as they arise, of whatever kind, and be very + punctual in annexing the dates. Chronology, you know, is the eye + of history. Do not omit painful casualties or unpleasing + passages; they make the variegation of existence; and there are + many passages of which I will not promise, with Æneas, <i>et hæc + olim meminisse juvabit</i>." "Thraliana," which at one time she + thought of burning, is now in the possession of Mr. Salusbury, + who deems it of too private and delicate a character to be + submitted to strangers, but has kindly supplied me with some + curious passages and much valuable information extracted from it. + </p> + <p> + I shall have many minor obligations to acknowledge as I proceed. + </p> + <p> + Unless Mrs. Piozzi's character and social position are freshly + remembered, her reminiscences and literary remains will lose much + of their interest and utility. It has therefore been thought + advisable to recapitulate, by way of introduction, what has been + ascertained from other sources concerning her; especially during + her intimacy with Johnson, which lasted nearly twenty years, and + exercised a marked influence on his tone of mind. + </p> + <p> + "This year (1765)," says Boswell, "was distinguished by his + (Johnson) being introduced into the family of Mr. Thrale, one of + the most eminent brewers in England, and member of Parliament for + the borough of Southwark.... Johnson used to give this account of + the rise of Mr. Thrale's father: 'He worked at six shillings a + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg008" id="pg008">008</a></span> + week for twenty years in the great brewery, which afterwards was + his own. The proprietor of it had an only daughter, who was + married to a nobleman. It was not fit that a peer should continue + the business. On the old man's death, therefore, the brewery was + to be sold. To find a purchaser for so large a property was a + difficult matter; and after some time, it was suggested that it + would be advisable to treat with Thrale, a sensible, active, + honest man, who had been employed in the house, and to transfer + the whole to him for thirty thousand pounds, security being taken + upon the property. This was accordingly settled. In eleven years + Thrale paid the purchase money. He acquired a large fortune, and + lived to be a member of Parliament for Southwark. But what was + most remarkable was the liberality with which he used his riches. + He gave his son and daughters the best education. The esteem + which his good conduct procured him from the nobleman who had + married his master's daughter made him be treated with much + attention; and his son, both at school and at the University of + Oxford, associated with young men of the first rank. His + allowance from his father, after he left college, was splendid; + not less than a thousand a year. This, in a man who had risen as + old Thrale did, was a very extraordinary instance of generosity. + He used to say, 'If this young dog does not find so much after I + am gone as he expects, let him remember that he has had a great + deal in my own time.'" + </p> + <p> + What is here stated regarding Thrale's origin, on <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg009" id="pg009">009</a></span> the alleged + authority of Johnson, is incorrect. The elder Thrale was the + nephew of Halsey, the proprietor of the brewery whose daughter + was married to a nobleman (Lord Cobham), and he naturally + nourished hopes of being his uncle's successor. In the Abbey + Church of St. Albans, there is a monument to some members of the + Thrale family who died between 1676 and 1704, adorned with a + shield of arms and a crest on a ducal coronet. Mrs. Thrale's + marginal note on Boswell's account of her husband's family is + curious and characteristic: + </p> + <p> + "Edmund Halsey was son to a miller at St. Albans, with whom he + quarrelled, like Ralph in the 'Maid of the Mill,' and ran away to + London with a very few shillings in his pocket.<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span> He was eminently handsome, and old Child of + the Anchor Brewhouse, Southwark, took him in as what we call a + broomstick clerk, to sweep the yard, &c. Edmund Halsey + behaved so well he was soon preferred to be a house-clerk, and + then, having free access to his master's table, married his only + daughter, and succeeded to the business upon Child's demise. + Being now rich and prosperous, he turned his eyes homewards, + where he learned that sister Sukey had married a hardworking man + at Offley in Hertfordshire, and had many children. He sent for + one of them to London (my Mr. Thrale's father); said he would + make a man of him, and did so: but made him work very hard, and + treated him very roughly, Halsey <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg010" id="pg010">010</a></span> being more proud than tender, + and his only child, a daughter, married to Lord Cobham. + </p> + <p> + "Old Thrale, however, as these fine writers call him,—then + a young fellow, and, like his uncle, eminent for personal + beauty,—made himself so useful to Mr. Halsey that the + weight of the business fell entirely on him; and while Edmund was + canvassing the borough and visiting the viscountess, Ralph Thrale + was getting money both for himself and his principal: who, + envious of his success with a wench they both liked but who + preferred the young man to the old one, died, leaving him never a + guinea, and he bought the brewhouse of Lord and Lady Cobham, + making an excellent bargain, with the money he had saved." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] In "Thraliana" she says: "strolled to London with only + 4<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> in his pocket." + </p> + </div> + <p> + When, in the next page but one, Boswell describes Thrale as + presenting the character of a plain independent English squire, + she writes: "No, no! Mr. Thrale's manners presented the character + of a gay man of the town: like Millamant, in Congreve's comedy, + he abhorred the country and everything in it." + </p> + <p> + In "Thraliana" after a corresponding statement, she adds: "He + (the elder Thrale) educated his son and three daughters quite in + a high style. His son he wisely connected with the Cobhams and + their relations, Grenvilles, Lyttletons, and Pitts, to whom he + lent money, and they lent assistance of every other kind, so that + my Mr. Thrale was bred up at Stowe, and Stoke and Oxford, and + every genteel place; had been abroad with Lord Westcote, whose + expenses old Thrale cheerfully paid, I suppose, who was thus a + kind of tutor to the <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg011" id= + "pg011">011</a></span> young man, who had not failed to profit by + these advantages, and who was, when he came down to Offley to see + his father's birthplace, a very handsome and well accomplished + gentleman." + </p> + <p> + After expatiating on the advantages of birth, and the presumption + of new men in attempting to found a new system of gentility, + Boswell proceeds: "Mr. Thrale had married Miss Hester Lynch + Salusbury, of good Welsh extraction, a lady of lively talents, + improved by education. That Johnson's introduction into Mr. + Thrale's family, which contributed so much to the happiness of + his life, was owing to her desire for his conversation, is a very + probable and the general supposition; but it is not the truth. + Mr. Murphy, who was intimate with Mr. Thrale, having spoken very + highly of Dr. Johnson, he was requested to make them acquainted. + This being mentioned to Johnson, he accepted of an invitation to + dinner at Thrale's, and was so much pleased with his reception + both by Mr. and Mrs. Thrale, and they so much pleased with him, + that his invitations to their house were more and more frequent, + till at last he became one of the family, and an apartment was + appropriated to him, both in their house at Southwark and in + their villa at Streatham." + </p> + <p> + Long before this was written, Boswell had quarrelled with Mrs. + Thrale (as it is most convenient to call her till her second + marriage), and he takes every opportunity of depreciating her. He + might at least, however, have stated that, instead of sanctioning + the "general supposition" as to the introduction, she herself + supplied <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg012" id= + "pg012">012</a></span> the account of it which he adopts. In her + "Anecdotes" she says: + </p> + <p> + "The first time I ever saw this extraordinary man was in the year + 1764, when Mr. Murphy, who had long been the friend and + confidential intimate of Mr. Thrale, persuaded him to wish for + Johnson's conversation, extolling it in terms which that of no + other person could have deserved, till we were only in doubt how + to obtain his company, and find an excuse for the invitation. The + celebrity of Mr. Woodhouse, a shoemaker, whose verses were at + that time the subject of common discourse, soon afforded a + pretence<span class="fnref">[1]</span>, and Mr. Murphy brought + Johnson to meet him, giving me general caution not to be + surprised at his figure, dress, or behaviour<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span>.... Mr. Johnson liked his new acquaintance so + much, however, that from that time he dined with us every + Thursday through the winter, and in the autumn of the next year + he followed us to Brighthelmstone, whence we were gone before his + arrival; so he was disappointed and enraged, and wrote us a + letter expressive of anger, which we were very desirous to + pacify, and to obtain his company again if <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg013" id="pg013">013</a></span> possible. Mr. + Murphy brought him back to us again very kindly, and from that + time his visits grew more frequent, till in the year 1766 his + health, which he had always complained of, grew so exceedingly + bad, that he could not stir out of his room in the court he + inhabited for many weeks together, I think months." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] "He (Johnson) spoke with much contempt of the notice taken + of Woodhouse, the poetical shoemaker. He said that it was all + vanity and childishness, and that such objects were to those + who patronised them, mere mirrors of their own superiority. + They had better, said he, furnish the man with good implements + for his trade, than raise subscriptions for his poems. He may + make an excellent shoemaker, but can never make a good poet. A + schoolboy's exercise may be a pretty thing for a schoolboy, but + it is no treat to a man."—<i>Maxwell's Collectanea</i>. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The "Anecdotes" were written in Italy, where she had no means of + reference. The account given in "Thraliana" has a greater air of + freshness, and proves Boswell right as to the year. + </p> + <p> + "It was on the second Thursday of the month of January, 1765, + that I first saw Mr. Johnson in a room. Murphy, whose intimacy + with Mr. Thrale had been of many years' standing, was one day + dining with us at our house in Southwark, and was zealous that we + should be acquainted with Johnson, of whose moral and literary + character he spoke in the most exalted terms; and so whetted our + desire of seeing him soon that we were only disputing <i>how</i> + he should be invited, <i>when</i> he should be invited, and what + should be the pretence. At last it was resolved that one + Woodhouse, a shoemaker, who had written some verses, and been + asked to some tables, should likewise be asked to ours, and made + a temptation to Mr. Johnson to meet him: accordingly he came, and + Mr. Murphy at four o'clock brought Mr. Johnson to dinner. We + liked each other so well that the next Thursday was appointed for + the same company to meet, exclusive of the shoemaker, and since + then Johnson has remained till this day our constant + acquaintance, visitor, companion, and friend." <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg014" id="pg014">014</a></span> + </p> + <p> + In the "Anecdotes" she goes on to say that when she and her + husband called on Johnson one morning in Johnson's Court, Fleet + Street, he gave way to such an uncontrolled burst of despair + regarding the world to come, that Mr. Thrale tried to stop his + mouth by placing one hand before it, and desired her to prevail + on him to quit his close habitation for a period and come with + them to Streatham. He complied, and took up his abode with them + from before Midsummer till after Michaelmas in that year. During + the next sixteen years a room in each of their houses was set + apart for him. + </p> + <p> + The principal difficulty at first was to induce him to live + peaceably with her mother, who took a strong dislike to him, and + constantly led the conversation to topics which he detested, such + as foreign news and politics. He revenged himself by writing to + the newspapers accounts of events which never happened, for the + sole purpose of mystifying her; and probably not a few of his + mischievous fictions have passed current for history. They made + up their differences before her death, and a Latin epitaph of the + most eulogistic order from his pen is inscribed upon her tomb. + </p> + <p> + It had been well for Mrs. Thrale and her guests if there had + existed no more serious objection to Johnson as an inmate. At the + commencement of the acquaintance, he was fifty-six; an age when + habits are ordinarily fixed: and many of his were of a kind which + it required no common temper and tact to tolerate or control. + They had been formed at a period when he was <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg015" id="pg015">015</a></span> frequently + subjected to the worst extremities of humiliating poverty and + want. He describes Savage, without money to pay for a night's + lodging in a cellar, walking about the streets till he was weary, + and sleeping in summer upon a bulk or in winter amongst the ashes + of a glass-house. He was Savage's associate on several occasions + of the sort. He told Sir Joshua Reynolds that, one night in + particular, when Savage and he walked round St. James's Square + for want of a lodging, they were not at all depressed; but in + high spirits, and brimful of patriotism, traversed the square for + several hours, inveighed against the minister, and "resolved they + would stand by their country." Whilst at college he threw away + the shoes left at his door to replace the worn-out pair in which + he appeared daily. His clothes were in so tattered a state whilst + he was writing for the "Gentleman's Magazine" that, instead of + taking his seat at Cave's table, he sate behind a screen and had + his victuals sent to him. + </p> + <p> + Talking of the symptoms of Christopher Smart's madness, he said, + "Another charge was that he did not love clean linen; and I have + no passion for it." + </p> + <p> + His deficiency in this respect seems to have made a lasting + impression on his hostess. Referring to a couplet in "The Vanity + of Human Wishes":— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Through all his veins the fever of renown + </p> + <p> + <i>Spreads</i> from the strong contagion of the gown," + </p> + </div> + <p> + "he had desired me (says Boswell) to change <i>spreads</i> into + <i>burns.</i> I thought this alteration not only cured + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg016" id="pg016">016</a></span> + the fault, but was more poetical, as it might carry an allusion + to the shirt by which Hercules was inflamed." She has written in + the margin: "Every fever burns I believe; but Bozzy could think + only on Nessus' dirty shirt, or Dr. Johnson's." In another + marginal note she disclaims that attention to the Doctor's + costume for which Boswell gives her credit, when, after relating + how he had been called into a shop by Johnson to assist in the + choice of a pair of silver buckles, he adds: "Probably this + alteration in dress had been suggested by Mrs. Thrale, by + associating with whom his external appearance was much improved." + She writes: "it was suggested by Mr. Thrale, not by his wife." + </p> + <p> + In general his wigs were very shabby, and their foreparts were + burned away by the near approach of the candle, which his + short-sightedness rendered necessary in reading. At Streatham, + Mr. Thrale's valet had always a better wig ready, with which he + met Johnson at the parlour door when dinner was announced, and as + he went up stairs to bed, the same man followed him with another. + </p> + <p> + One of his applications to Cave for a trifling advance of money + is signed <i>Impransus</i> (Dinnerless); and he told Boswell that + he could fast two days without inconvenience, and had never been + hungry but once. What he meant by hungry is not easy to explain, + for his every day manner of eating was that of a half-famished + man. When at table, he was totally absorbed in the business of + the moment; his looks were riveted to his plate, till he had + satisfied his appetite; which was indulged with such in-* + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg017" id="pg017">017</a></span> + tenseness, that the veins of his forehead swelled, and generally + a strong perspiration was visible. Until he left off drinking + fermented liquors altogether, he acted on the maxim "claret for + boys, port for men, brandy for heroes." He preferred the + strongest because he said it did its work (<i>i.e.</i> + intoxicate) the soonest. He used to pour capillaire into his port + wine, and melted butter into his chocolate. His favourite dishes + are accurately enumerated by Peter Pindar: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <h4> + MADAME PIOZZI <i>(loquitur).</i> + </h4> + <p> + "Dear Doctor Johnson loved a leg of pork, + </p> + <p> + And hearty on it would his grinders work: + </p> + <p> + He lik'd to eat it so much over done, + </p> + <p> + That <i>one</i> might shake the flesh from off the bone. + </p> + <p> + A veal pye too, with sugar crammed and plums, + </p> + <p> + Was wondrous grateful to the Doctor's gums. + </p> + <p> + Though us'd from morn to night on fruit to stuff, + </p> + <p> + He vow'd his belly never had enough." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Mr. Thackeray relates in his "Irish Sketches" that on his asking + for currant jelly for his venison at a public dinner, the waiter + replied, "It's all gone, your honour, but there's some capital + lobster sauce left." This would have suited Johnson equally well, + or better: he was so fond of lobster sauce that he would call for + the sauce-boat and pour the whole of its remaining contents over + his plum pudding. A clergyman who once travelled with him + relates, "The coach halted as usual for dinner, which seemed to + be a deeply interesting business to Johnson, who vehemently + attacked a dish of stewed carp, using his fingers only in feeding + himself." <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg018" id= + "pg018">018</a></span> At the dinner when he passed his + celebrated sentence on the leg of mutton—"That it was as + bad as bad could be: ill-fed, ill-killed, ill-kept, and + ill-dressed"—the ladies, his fellow-passengers, observed + his loss or equanimity with wonder. + </p> + <p> + Two of Mrs. Thrale's marginal notes on Boswell refer to her + illustrious friend's mode of eating. On his reported remark, that + "a dog will take a small bit of meat as readily as a large, when + both are before him," she adds, "which Johnson would never have + done." When Boswell, describing the dinner with Wilkes at + Davies', says, "No man eat more heartily than Johnson, or loved + better what was nice and delicate," she strikes in + with—"What was gustful rather: what was strong that he + could taste it, what was tender that he could chew it." + </p> + <p> + When Boswell describes him as occupied for a considerable time in + reading the "Memoirs of Fontenelle," leaning and swinging upon + the low gate into the court (at Streatham) without his hat, her + note is: "I wonder how he liked the story of the + asparagus,"—an obvious hint at his selfish habits of + indulgence at table. + </p> + <p> + With all this he affected great nicety of palate, and did not + like being asked to a plain dinner. "It was a good dinner + enough," he would remark, "but it was not a dinner to ask a man + to." He was so displeased with the performances of a nobleman's + French cook, that he exclaimed with vehemence, "I'd throw such a + rascal into the river;" and in reference to one of his Edinburgh + hosts he said, "As for Maclaurin's imitation of a made dish, it + was a wretched attempt." <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg019" + id="pg019">019</a></span> + </p> + <p> + His voice was loud, and his gesticulations, voluntary or + involuntary, singularly uncouth. He had superstitious fancies + about crossing thresholds or squares in the carpet with the right + or left leg foremost, and when he did not appear at dinner might + be found vainly endeavouring to pass a particular spot in the + anteroom. He loved late hours, or more properly (say Mrs. Thrale) + hated early ones. Nothing was more terrifying to him than the + idea of going to bed, which he never would call going to rest, or + suffer another to call it so. "I lie down that my acquaintance + may sleep; but I lie down to endure oppressive misery, and soon + rise again to pass the night in anxiety and pain." When people + could be induced to sit up with him, they were often amply + compensated by his rich flow of mind; but the resulting sacrifice + of health and comfort in an establishment where this sitting up + became habitual, was inevitably great.<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span> Instead of being grateful, he always + maintained that no one forbore his own gratification for the + purpose of pleasing another, and "if one did sit up, it was + probably to amuse oneself." Boswell excuses his wife for not + coinciding in his enthusiasm, by admitting that his illustrious + friend's irregular hours and uncouth habits, such as turning the + candles with their ends downwards when they did not burn bright + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg020" id="pg020">020</a></span> + enough, and letting the wax drop upon the carpet, could not but + be displeasing to a lady. He was generally last at breakfast, but + one morning happened to be first and waited some time alone; when + afterwards twitted by Mrs. Thrale with irregularity, he replied, + "Madam, I do not like to come down to vacuity." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Dr. Burney states that in 1765 "he very frequently met + Johnson at Streatham, where they had many long conversations, + after sitting up as long as the fire and candles lasted, and + much longer than the patience of the servants subsisted." + </p> + </div> + <p> + He was subject to dreadful fits of depression, caused or + accompanied by compunction for venial or fancied sins, by the + fear of death or madness—(the only things he did fear), and + by ingrained ineradicable disease. When Boswell speaks of his + "striving against evil," "Ay," she writes in the margin, "and + against the King's evil." + </p> + <p> + If his early familiarity with all the miseries of destitution, + aggravated by disease, had increased his natural roughness and + irritability, on the other hand it had helped largely to bring + out his sterling virtues,—his discriminating charity, his + genuine benevolence, his well-timed generosity, his large-hearted + sympathy with real suffering. But he required it to be material + and positive, and scoffed at mere mental or sentimental woes. + "The sight of people who want food and raiment is so common in + great cities, that a surly fellow like me has no compassion to + spare for wounds given only to vanity or softness." He said it + was enough to make a plain man sick to hear pity lavished on a + family reduced by losses to exchange a fine house for a snug + cottage; and when condolence was demanded for a lady of rank in + mourning for a baby, he contrasted her with a <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg021" id="pg021">021</a></span> washerwoman + with half-a-dozen children dependent on her daily labour for + their daily bread.<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] "It's weel wi' you gentles that can sit in the house wi' + handkerchers at your een when ye lose a friend; but the like o' + us maun to our wark again, if our hearts were beating as hard + as any hammer."—<i>The Antiquary</i>. For this very + reason the "gentles" commonly suffer most. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Lord Macaulay thus portrays the objects of Johnson's hospitality + as soon as he had got a house to cover them. "It was the home of + the most extraordinary assemblage of inmates that ever was + brought together. At the head of the establishment he had placed + an old lady named Williams, whose chief recommendations were her + blindness and her poverty. But in spite of her murmurs and + reproaches, he gave an asylum to another lady who was as poor as + herself, Mrs. Desmoulins, whose family he had known many years + before in Staffordshire. Room was found for the daughter of Mrs. + Desmoulins, and for another destitute damsel, who was generally + addressed as Mrs. Carmichael, but whom her generous host called + Polly. An old quack doctor called Levet, who bled and dosed + coalheavers and hackney coachmen, and received for fees crusts of + bread, bits of bacon, glasses of gin, and sometimes a little + copper, completed this menagerie."<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Miscellaneous Writings, vol. i. p. 293. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Mrs. Williams was the daughter of a physician, and of a good + Welsh family, who did not leave her dependent on Johnson. She is + termed by Madame D'Arblay a very pretty poet, and was treated + with uniform respect <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg022" id= + "pg022">022</a></span> by him.<span class="fnref">[1]</span> All + the authorities for the account of Levet were collected by + Hawkins<span class="fnref">[2]</span>: from these it appears that + his patients were "chiefly of the lowest class of tradesmen," and + that, although he took all that was offered him by way of fee, + including meat and drink, he demanded nothing from the poor, nor + was known in any instance to have enforced the payment of even + what was justly his due. Hawkins adds that he (Levet) had acted + for many years in the capacity of surgeon and apothecary to + Johnson under the direction of Dr. Lawrence. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Miss Cornelia Knight, in her "Autobiography," warmly + vindicates her respectability, and refers to a memoir, by Lady + Knight, in the "European Magazine" for Oct. 1799. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [2] Life of Johnson, p. 396-400. + </p> + </div> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "When fainting Nature called for aid, + </p> + <p> + And hovering death prepared the blow, + </p> + <p> + His vigorous remedy display'd + </p> + <p> + The power of Art without the show; + </p> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + No summons mocked by chill delay, + </p> + <p> + <i>No petty gains disdained by pride,</i> + </p> + <p> + The modest wants of every day + </p> + <p> + The toil of every day supplied." + </p> + </div> + </div> + <p> + Johnson's verses, compared with Lord Macaulay's prose, strikingly + shew how the same subject can be degraded or elevated by the mode + of treatment; and how easily the historian or biographer, who + expands his authorities by picturesque details, may brighten or + darken characters at will. + </p> + <p> + To complete the picture of Johnson's interior, it should be added + that the inmates of his house were <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg023" id="pg023">023</a></span> quarrelling from, morning to + night with one another, with his negro servant, or with himself. + In one of his letters to Mrs. Thrale, he says, "Williams hates + everybody: Levet hates Desmoulins, and does not love Williams: + Desmoulins hates them both: Poll (Miss Carmichael) loves none of + them." In a conversation at Streatham, reported by Madame + D'Arblay, the <i>menagerie</i> was thus humorously + described:— + </p> + <p> + "<i>Mrs. Thrale</i>.—Mr. Levet, I suppose, Sir, has the + office of keeping the hospital in health? for he is an + apothecary. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Dr. J</i>.—Levet, Madam, is a brutal fellow, but I have + a good regard for him; for his brutality is in his manners, not + his mind. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Mr. Thrale</i>.—But how do you get your dinners drest? + </p> + <p> + "<i>Dr. J</i>.—Why De Mullin has the chief management of + the kitchen; but our roasting is not magnificent, for we have no + jack. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Mr. T</i>.—No jack? Why how do they manage without? + </p> + <p> + "<i>Dr. J</i>.—Small joints, I believe, they manage with a + string, and larger are done at the tavern. I have some thoughts + (with a profound gravity) of buying a jack, because I think a + jack is some credit to a house. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Mr. T</i>.—Well, but you will have a spit, too? + </p> + <p> + "<i>Dr. J</i>.—No, Sir, no; that would be superfluous; for + we shall never use it; and if a jack is seen, a spit will be + presumed! + </p> + <p> + "<i>Mrs. T</i>.—But pray, Sir, who is the Poll you talk + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg024" id="pg024">024</a></span> + of? She that you used to abet in her quarrels with Mrs. Williams, + and call out,' At her again, Poll! Never flinch, Poll!' + </p> + <p> + "<i>Dr. J</i>.—Why I took to Poll very well at first, but + she won't do upon a nearer examination. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Mrs. T</i>.—How came she among you, Sir? + </p> + <p> + "<i>Dr. J</i>.—Why I don't rightly remember, but we could + spare her very well from us. Poll is a stupid slut; I had some + hopes of her at first; but when I talked to her tightly and + closely, I could make nothing of her; she was wiggle waggle, and + I could never persuade her to be categorical." + </p> + <p> + The effect of an unbroken residence with such inmates, on a man + of irritable temper subject to morbid melancholy, may be guessed; + and the merit of the Thrales in rescuing him from it, and in + soothing down his asperities, can hardly be over-estimated. Lord + Macaulay says, they were flattered by finding that a man so + widely celebrated preferred their house to every other in London; + and suggests that even the peculiarities which seem to unfit him + for civilised society, including his gesticulations, his + rollings, his puffings, his mutterings, and the ravenous + eagerness with which he devoured his food, increased the interest + which his new associates took in him. His hostess does not appear + to have viewed them in that light, and she was able to command + the best company of the intellectual order without the aid of a + "lion," or a bear. If his conversation attracted many, it drove + away many, and silenced more. He accounted for the little + attention <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg025" id= + "pg025">025</a></span> paid him by the great, by saying that + "great lords and great ladies do not like to have their mouths + stopped," as if this was peculiar to them as a class. "My + leddie," remarks Cuddie in "Old Mortality," "canna weel bide to + be contradicted, as I ken neabody likes, if they could help + themselves." + </p> + <p> + Johnson was in the zenith of his fame when literature, politics, + and fashion began to blend together again by hardly perceptible + shades, like the colours in shot-silk, as they had partially done + in the Augustan age of Queen Anne. One marked sign was the + formation of the Literary Club (The Club, as it still claims to + be called), which brought together Fox, Burke, Gibbon, Johnson, + Goldsmith, Garrick, Reynolds, and Beauclerc, besides blackballing + a bishop (the Bishop of Chester), and a lord-chancellor + (Camden).<span class="fnref">[1]</span> Yet it is curious to + observe within how narrow a circle of good houses the Doctor's + engagements were restricted. Reynolds, Paoli, Beauclerc, Allan + Ramsay, Hoole, Dilly, Strahan, Lord Lucan, Langton, Garrick, and + the Club formed his main reliance as regards dinners; and we find + Boswell recording with manifest symptoms of exultation in 1781: + "I dined with him at a bishop's where were Sir Joshua Reynolds, + Mr. Berenger, and some more company. He had dined the day before + at another bishop's." His reverence for the episcopal bench well + merited some return on their part. Mr. <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg026" id="pg026">026</a></span> Seward saw + him presented to the Archbishop of York, and described his bow to + an Archbishop as such a studied elaboration of homage, such an + extension of limb, such a flexion of body, as have seldom or ever + been equalled. The lay nobility were not equally grateful, + although his deference for the peerage was extreme. Except in + Scotland or on his travels, he is seldom found dining with a + nobleman. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Canning was blackballed the first time he was proposed. He + was elected in 1798, Mr. Windham being his proposer, and Dr. + Burney his seconder. + </p> + </div> + <p> + It is therefore hardly an exaggeration to say that he owed more + social enjoyment to the Thrales than to all the rest of his + acquaintance put together. Holland House alone, and in its best + days, would convey to persons living in our time an adequate + conception of the Streatham circle, when it comprised Burke, + Reynolds, Garrick, Goldsmith, Boswell, Murphy, Dr. Burney and his + daughter, Mrs. Montagu, Mrs. Boscawen, Mrs. Crewe, Lord + Loughborough, Dunning (afterwards Lord Ashburton), Lord Mulgrave, + Lord Westcote, Sir Lucas and Mr. (afterwards Sir William) Pepys, + Major Holroyd afterwards Lord Sheffield, the Bishop of London and + Mrs. Porteous, the Bishop of Peterborough and Mrs. Hinchcliffe, + Miss Gregory, Miss Streatfield, &c. As at Holland House, the + chief scene of warm colloquial contest or quiet interchange of + mind was the library, a large and handsome room, which the pencil + of Reynolds gradually enriched with portraits of all the + principal persons who had conversed or studied in it. To supply + any deficiencies on the shelves, a hundred pounds, Madame + D'Arblay states, was placed at Johnson's disposal to expend in + books; and we may take it for <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg027" id="pg027">027</a></span> granted that any new + publication suggested by him was ordered at once. But a bookish + couple, surrounded by a literary set, were surely not exclusively + dependent on him for this description of help, nor laid under any + extraordinary obligation by reason of it. Whilst the "Lives of + the Poets" was in progress, Dr. Johnson "would frequently produce + one of the proof sheets to embellish the breakfast table, which + was always in the library, and was certainly the most sprightly + and agreeable meeting of the day." ... "These proof sheets Mrs. + Thrale was permitted to read aloud, and the discussions to which + they led were in the highest degree entertaining."<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] "Memoirs of Dr. Burney," &c., by his daughter, Madame + D'Arblay. In three volumes, 1832. Vol. ii. p. 173-178. + </p> + </div> + <p> + It was mainly owing to his domestication with the Thrales that he + began to frequent drawing-rooms at an age when the arm-chair at + home or at the club has an irresistible charm for most men of + sedentary pursuits. It must be admitted that the evening parties + in which he was seen, afforded a chance of something better than + the "unidead chatter of girls," with an undue fondness for which + he reproached Langton; for the <i>Blue Stocking</i> clubs had + just come into fashion,—so called from a casual allusion to + the blue stockings of an <i>habitué</i>, Mr. + Stillingfleet.<span class="fnref">[1]</span> Their founders were + Mrs. Vesey and <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg028" id= + "pg028">028</a></span> Mrs. Montagu; but according to Madame + D'Arblay, "more bland and more gleeful than that of either of + them, was the personal celebrity of Mrs. Thrale. Mrs. Vesey, + indeed, gentle and diffident, dreamed not of any competition, but + Mrs. Montagu and Mrs. Thrale had long been set up as rival + candidates for colloquial eminence, and each of them thought the + other alone worthy to be her peer. Openly therefore when they + met, they combated for precedence of admiration, with placid + though high-strained intellectual exertion on the one side, and + an exuberant pleasantry or classical allusion or quotation on the + other; without the smallest malice in either." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] The first of these was then (about 1768) in the meridian of + its lustre, but had been instituted many years previously at + Bath, It owed its name to an apology made by Mr. Stillingfleet + in declining to accept an invitation to a literary meeting at + Mrs. Vesey's, from not being, he said, in the habit of + displaying a proper equipment for an evening assembly. "Pho, + pho," said she, "don't mind dress. Come in your blue + stockings." With which words, humorously repeating them as he + entered the apartment of the chosen coterie, Mr. Stillingfleet + claimed permission for entering according to order. And these + words, ever after, were fixed, in playful stigma, upon Mrs. + Vesey's associations. <i>(Madame D'Arblay.)</i> Boswell also + traces the term to Stillingfleet's blue stockings; and Hannah + More's "Bas-Bleu" gave it a permanent place in literature. + </p> + </div> + <p> + A different account of the origin of Bluestocking parties was + given by Lady Crewe to a lady who has allowed me to copy her note + of the conversation, made at the time (1816): + </p> + <p> + "Lady Crewe told me that her mother (Mrs. Greville), the Duchess + of Portland, and Mrs. Montagu were the first who began the + conversation parties in imitation of the noted ones, <i>temp.</i> + Madame de Sevigne', at Rue St. Honore. Madame de Polignac, one of + the first guests, came in blue silk stockings, then the newest + fashion in Paris. Mrs. Greville and all the lady members of Mrs. + Montagu's <i>club</i>, adopted the <i>mode</i>. A foreign + gentleman, after spending an evening at Mrs. Montagu's + <i>soirée</i>, wrote to tell a friend of the charming + intellectual party, who had one rule; 'they wear blue stockings + as a distinction.'" <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg029" id= + "pg029">029</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Wraxall, who makes the same comparison, remarks: "Mrs. Thrale + always appeared to me to possess at least as much information, a + mind as cultivated, and more brilliancy of intellect than Mrs. + Montagu, but she did not descend among men from such an eminence, + and she talked much more, as well as more unguardedly, on every + subject. She was the provider and conductress of Johnson, who + lived almost constantly under her roof, or more properly under + that of Mr. Thrale, both in Town and at Streatham. He did not, + however, spare her more than other women in his attacks if she + courted and provoked his animadversions." + </p> + <p> + Although he seldom appeared to greater advantage than when under + the combined spell of feminine influence and rank, his demeanour + varied with his mood. On Miss Monkton's (afterwards Countess of + Cork) insisting, one evening, that Sterne's writings were very + pathetic, Johnson bluntly denied it. "I am sure," she rejoined, + "they have affected me." "Why," said Johnson, smiling and rolling + himself about, "that is because, dearest, you're a dunce." When + she some time afterwards mentioned this to him, he said, with + equal truth and politeness, "Madam, if I had thought so, I + certainly should not have said it." + </p> + <p> + He did not come off so well on another occasion, when the + presence of women he respected might be expected to operate as a + cheek. Talking, at Mrs. Garrick's, of a very respectable author, + he told us, says Boswell, "a curious circumstance in his life, + which was that he had married a printer's devil. <i>Reynolds</i>. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg030" id="pg030">030</a></span> + 'A printer's devil, Sir! why, I thought a printer's devil was a + creature with a black face and in rags.' <i>Johnson</i>. 'Yes, + Sir. But I suppose he had her face washed, and put clean clothes + on her.' Then, looking very serious, and very earnest. 'And she + did not disgrace him;—the woman had a bottom of good + sense.' The word <i>bottom</i> thus introduced was so ludicrous + when contrasted with his gravity, that most of us could not + forbear tittering and laughing; though I recollect that the + Bishop of Killaloe kept his countenance with perfect steadiness, + while Miss Hannah More slily hid her face behind a lady's back + who sat on the same settee with her. His pride could not bear + that any expression of his should excite ridicule, when he did + not intend it: he therefore resolved to assume and exercise + despotic power, glanced sternly around, and called out in a + strong tone, 'Where's the merriment?' Then collecting himself, + and looking awful, to make us feel how he could impose restraint, + and as it were searching his mind for a still more ludicrous + word, he slowly pronounced, 'I say the <i>woman</i> was + <i>fundamentally</i> sensible;' as if he had said, Hear this now, + and laugh if you dare. We all sat composed as at a funeral." + </p> + <p> + This resembles the influence exercised by the "great commoner" + over the House of Commons. An instance being mentioned of his + throwing an adversary into irretrievable confusion by an arrogant + expression of contempt, the late Mr. Charles Butler asked the + relator, an eye-witness, whether the House did not laugh at the + ridiculous figure of the poor member. "No, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg031" id="pg031">031</a></span> Sir," was the + reply, "we were too much awed to laugh." + </p> + <p> + It was a marked feature in Johnson's character that he was fond + of female society; so fond, indeed, that on coming to London he + was obliged to be on his guard against the temptations to which + it exposed him. He left off attending the Green Room, telling + Grarrick, "I'll come no more behind your scenes, Davy; for the + silk stockings and white bosoms of your actresses excite my + amorous propensities." + </p> + <p> + The proneness of his imagination to wander in this forbidden + field is unwittingly betrayed by his remarking at Sky, in support + of the doctrine that animal substances are less cleanly than + vegetable: "I have <i>often</i> thought that, if I kept a + seraglio, the ladies should all wear linen gowns, or cotton, I + mean stuffs made of vegetable substances. I would have no silks: + you cannot tell when it is clean: it will be very nasty before it + is perceived to be so; linen detects its own dirtiness." His + virtue thawed instead of becoming more rigid in the North. "This + evening," records Boswell of their visit to an Hebridean chief, + "one of our married ladies, a lively pretty little woman, + good-humouredly sat down upon Dr. Johnson's knee, and being + encouraged by some of the company, put her hands round his neck + and kissed him. 'Do it again,' said he, 'and let us see who will + tire first.' He kept her on his knee some time whilst he and she + drank tea." + </p> + <p> + The Rev. Dr. Maxwell relates in his "Collectanea," that "Two + young women from Staffordshire visited <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg032" id="pg032">032</a></span> him when I + was present, to consult him on the subject of Methodism, to which + they were inclined. 'Come,' said he, 'you pretty fools, dine with + Maxwell and me at the Mitre, and we will talk over that subject:' + which they did, and after dinner he took one of them upon his + knee, and fondled her for half an hour together." <span class= + "fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] "Amongst his singularities, his love of conversing with the + prostitutes he met in the streets, was not the least. He has + been known to carry some of these unfortunate creatures into a + tavern, for the sake of striving to awaken in them a proper + sense of their condition. I remember, he said, once asking one + of them for what purpose she supposed her Maker had bestowed on + her so much beauty. Her answer was, 'To please the gentlemen, + to be sure; for what other purpose could it be given me?" + <i>(Johnsoniana.)</i> He once carried one, fainting from + exhaustion, home on his back. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Women almost always like men who like women; or as the phenomenon + is explained by Pope— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Lust, through some certain strainers well refined, + </p> + <p> + Is gentle love, and charms all womankind." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Johnson, despite of his unwieldy figure, scarred features and + uncouth gestures, was a favourite with the fair, and talked of + affairs of the heart as things of which he was entitled to speak + from personal experience as confidently as of any other moral or + social topics. He told Mrs. Thrale, without the smallest + consciousness of presumption or what Mr. Square would term the + unfitness of things, of his and Lord Lyttleton's having contended + for Miss Boothby's preference with an emulation that occasioned + hearty disgust and ended in lasting animosity. "You may see," he + added, when the Lives of the Poets were printed, "that dear + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg033" id="pg033">033</a></span> + Boothby is at my heart still. She would delight in that fellow + Lyttleton's company though, all that I could do, and I cannot + forgive even his memory the preference given by a mind like + hers." <span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] In point of personal advantages the man of rank and fashion + and the scholar were nearly on a par. + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "But who is this astride the pony, + </p> + <p> + So long, so lean, so lank, so bony? + </p> + <p> + Dat be de great orator, Littletony." + </p> + </div> + </div> + <p> + Mr. Croker surmises that "Molly Aston," not "dear Boothby," must + have been the object of this rivalry<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span>; and the surmise is strengthened by Johnson's + calling Molly the loveliest creature he ever saw; adding (to Mrs. + Thrale), "My wife was a little jealous, and happening one day + when walking in the country to meet a fortune-hunting gipsy, Mrs. + Johnson made the wench look at my hand, but soon repented of her + curiosity,'for,' says the gipsy, 'your heart is divided between a + Betty and a Molly: Betty loves you best, but you take most + delight in Molly's company.' When I turned about to laugh, I saw + my wife was crying. Pretty charmer, she had no reason." This + pretty charmer was in her forty-eighth year when he married her, + he being then twenty-seven. He told Beauclerc that it was a love + match on both sides; and Garrick used to draw ludicrous pictures + of their mutual fondness, which he heightened by representing her + as short, fat, tawdrily dressed, and highly rouged. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] See "Croker's Boswell," p. 672, and Malone's note in the + prior edition. + </p> + </div> + <p> + On the question whether "Molly Aston" or "dear <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg034" id="pg034">034</a></span> Boothby" was + the cause of his dislike of Lyttleton, one of Mrs. Piozzi's + marginal notes is decisive. "Mrs. Thrale (says Boswell) suggests + that he was offended by Molly Aston's preference of his lordship + to him." She retorts: "I never said so. I believe Lord Lyttleton + and Molly Aston were not acquainted. No, no: it was Miss Boothby + whose preference he professed to have been jealous of, and so I + said in the 'Anecdotes.'" + </p> + <p> + One of Rochefoucauld's maxims is: "Young women who do not wish to + appear <i>coquette</i>, and men of advanced years who do not wish + to appear ridiculous, should never speak of love as of a thing in + which they might take part." Mrs. Thrale relates an amusing + instance of Johnson's adroitness in escaping from the dilemma: + "As we had been saying one day that no subject failed of + receiving dignity from the manner in which Mr. Johnson treated + it, a lady at my house said, she would make him talk about love; + and took her measures accordingly, deriding the novels of the day + because they treated about love. 'It is not,' replied our + philosopher, 'because they treat, as you call it, about love, but + because they treat of nothing, that they are despicable: we must + not ridicule a passion which he who never felt, never was happy, + and he who laughs at, never deserves to feel—a passion + which has caused the change of empires, and the loss of + worlds—a passion which has inspired heroism and subdued + avarice.' He thought he had already said too much. 'A passion, in + short,' added he, with an altered tone, 'that consumes me away + for my pretty Fanny here, <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg035" + id="pg035">035</a></span> and she 'is very cruel,' speaking of + another lady (Miss Burney) in the room." + </p> + <p> + As the high-flown language which he occasionally employed in + addressing or discussing women, has originated a theory that the + basis or essence of his character was romance, it may be as well + to contrast what he said in soberer moods on love. He remarked to + Dr. Maxwell, that "its violence and ill-effects were much + exaggerated; for who knows any real sufferings on that head, more + than from the exorbitancy of any other passion?" On Boswell + asking him whether he did not suppose that there are fifty women + in the world with any of whom a man may be as happy as with any + one woman in particular, he replied, "Ay, Sir, fifty thousand. I + believe marriages would in general be as happy, and often more + so, if they were all made by the lord-chancellor upon a due + consideration of the characters and circumstances without the + parties having any choice in the matter." On another occasion he + observed that sensible men rarely married for love. + </p> + <p> + These peculiarities throw light on more questions than one + relating to Johnson's prolonged intimacy and alleged quarrel with + Mrs. Thrale. His gallantry, and the flattering air of deferential + tenderness which he threw into his commerce with his female + favourites, may have had little less to do with his domestication + at Streatham than his celebrity, his learning, or his wit. The + most submissive wife will manage to dislodge an inmate who is + displeasing to her, "Aye, a marriage, man," said Bucklaw to his + led captain, "but wherefore droops thy mighty <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg036" id="pg036">036</a></span> spirit? The + board will have a corner, and the corner will have a trencher, + and the trencher will have a glass beside it; and the board end + shall be filled, and the trencher and the glass shall be + replenished for thee, if all the petticoats in Lothian had sworn + the contrary." "So says many an honest fellow," said Craigenfelt, + "and some of my special friends; but curse me if I know the + reason, the women could never bear me, and always contrived to + trundle me out before the honey-moon was over."<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Bride of Lammermoor. + </p> + </div> + <p> + It was all very well for Johnson to tell Boswell, "I know no man + who is more master of his wife and family than Thrale. If he + holds up a finger, he is obeyed." The sage never acted on the + theory, and instead of treating the wife as a cipher, lost no + opportunity of paying court to her, though in a manner quite + compatible with his own lofty spirit of independence and + self-respect. Thus, attention having been called to some Italian + verses by Baretti, he converted them into an elegant compliment + to her by an improvised paraphrase: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "Viva! viva la padrona! + </p> + <p> + Tutta bella, e tutta buona, + </p> + <p> + La padrona e un angiolella + </p> + <p> + Tutta buona e tutta bella; + </p> + <p> + Tutta bella e tutta buona; + </p> + <p> + Viva! viva la padrona!" + </p> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "Long may live my lovely Hetty! + </p> + <p> + Always young and always pretty; <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg037" id="pg037">037</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Always pretty, always young, + </p> + <p> + Live my lovely Hetty long! + </p> + <p> + Always young and always pretty; + </p> + <p> + Long may live my lovely Hetty!" + </p> + </div> + </div> + <p> + Her marginal note in the copy of the "Anecdotes" presented by her + to Sir James Fellowes in 1816 is:—"I heard these verses + sung at Mr. Thomas's by three voices not three weeks ago." + </p> + <p> + It was in the eighth year of their acquaintance that Johnson + solaced his fatigue in the Hebrides by writing a Latin ode to + her. "About fourteen years since," wrote Sir Walter Scott, in + 1829, "I landed in Sky with a party of friends, and had the + curiosity to ask what was the first idea on every one's mind at + landing. All answered separately that it was this ode." Thinking + Miss Cornelia Knight's version too diffuse, I asked Mr. Milnes + for a translation or paraphrase, and he kindly complied by + producing these spirited stanzas: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "Where constant mist enshrouds the rocks, + </p> + <p> + Shattered in earth's primeval shocks, + </p> + <p> + And niggard Nature ever mocks + </p> + <p class="i8"> + The labourer's toil, + </p> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + I roam through clans of savage men, + </p> + <p> + Untamed by arts, untaught by pen; + </p> + <p> + Or cower within some squalid den + </p> + <p class="i8"> + O'er reeking soil. + </p> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + Through paths that halt from stone to stone, + </p> + <p> + Amid the din of tongues unknown, + </p> + <p> + One image haunts my soul alone, + </p> + <p class="i8"> + Thine, gentle Thrale! + </p> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + Soothes she, I ask, her spouse's care? + </p> + <p> + Does mother-love its charge prepare? + </p> + <p> + Stores she her mind with knowledge rare, + </p> + <p class="i8"> + Or lively tale? <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg038" id= + "pg038">038</a></span> + </p> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + Forget me not! thy faith I claim, + </p> + <p> + Holding a faith that cannot die, + </p> + <p> + That fills with thy benignant name + </p> + <p class="i8"> + These shores of Sky." + </p> + </div> + </div> + <p> + "On another occasion," says Mrs. Thrale, in the "Anecdotes," "I + can boast verses from Dr. Johnson. As I went into his room the + morning of my birthday once and said to him, 'Nobody sends me any + verses now, because I am five-and-thirty years old; and Stella + was fed with them till forty-six, I remember.' My being just + recovered from illness and confinement will account for the + manner in which he burst out suddenly, for so he did without the + least previous hesitation whatsoever, and without having + entertained the smallest intention towards it half a minute + before: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Oft in danger, yet alive, + </p> + <p> + We are come to thirty-five; + </p> + <p> + Long may better years arrive, + </p> + <p> + Better years than thirty-five. + </p> + <p> + Could philosophers contrive + </p> + <p> + Life to stop at thirty-five, + </p> + <p> + Time his hours should never drive + </p> + <p> + O'er the bounds of thirty-five. + </p> + <p> + High to soar, and deep to dive, + </p> + <p> + Nature gives at thirty-five. + </p> + <p> + Ladies, stock and tend your hive, + </p> + <p> + Trifle not at thirty-five; + </p> + <p> + For howe'er we boast and strive, + </p> + <p> + Life declines from thirty-five; + </p> + <p> + He that ever hopes to thrive + </p> + <p> + Must begin by thirty-five; + </p> + <p> + And all who wisely wish to wive + </p> + <p> + Must look on Thrale at thirty-five." + </p> + </div> + <p> + "'And now,' said he, as I was writing them down, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg039" id="pg039">039</a></span> 'you may see + what it is to come for poetry to a dictionary-maker; you may + observe that the rhymes run in alphabetical order exactly.' And + so they do." + </p> + <p> + Byron's estimate of life at the same age, is somewhat different: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Too old for youth—too young, at thirty-five + </p> + <p class="i2"> + To herd with boys, or hoard with good threescore, + </p> + <p> + I wonder people should he left alive. + </p> + <p class="i2"> + But since they are, that epoch is a bore." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Lady Aldborough, whose best witticisms unluckily lie under the + same merited ban as Rochester's best verses, resolved not to pass + twenty-five, and had her passport made out accordingly till her + death at eighty-five. She used to boast that, whenever a foreign + official objected, she never failed to silence him by the remark, + that he was the first gentleman of his country who ever told a + lady she was older than she said she was. Actuated probably by a + similar feeling, and in the hope of securing to herself the + benefit of the doubt, Mrs. Thrale omitted in the "Anecdotes" the + year when these verses were addressed to her, and a sharp + controversy has been raised as to the respective ages of herself + and Dr. Johnson at the time. It is thus summed up by one of the + combatants: + </p> + <p> + "In one place Mr. Croker says that at the commencement of the + intimacy between Dr. Johnson and Mrs. Thrale, in 1765, the lady + was twenty-five years old. In other places he says that Mrs. + Thrale's thirty-fifth year coincided with Johnson's seventieth. + Johnson was born <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg040" id= + "pg040">040</a></span> in 1709. If, therefore, Mrs. Thrale's + thirty-fifth year coincided with Johnson's seventieth, she could + have been only twenty-one years old in 1765. This is not all. Mr. + Croker, in another place, assigns the year 1777 as the date of + the complimentary lines which Johnson made on Mrs. Thrale's + thirty-fifth birthday. If this date be correct Mrs. Thrale must + have been born in 1742, and could have been only twenty-three + when her acquaintance commenced. Mr. Croker, therefore, gives us + three different statements as to her age. Two of the three must + be incorrect. We will not decide between them."<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Macaulay's Essays. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Mr. Salusbury, referring to a china bowl in his possession, says: + "The slip of paper now in it is in my father's handwriting, and + copied, I have heard him say, from the original slip, which was + worn out by age and fingering. The exact words are, 'In this + bason was baptised Hester Lynch Salusbury, 16th Jan. 1740-41 old + style, at Bodville in Carnarvonshire.'" + </p> + <p> + The incident of the verses is thus narrated in "Thraliana": "And + this year, 1777<span class="fnref">[1]</span>, when I told him + that it was my birthday, and that I was then thirty-five years + old, he repeated me these verses, which I wrote down from his + mouth as he made them." If she was born in 1740-41, she must have + been thirty-six in 1777; and there is no perfectly satisfactory + settlement of the controversy, which many will think derives its + sole importance from the two chief controversialists. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] In one of her Memorandum books, 1776. <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg041" id="pg041">041</a></span> + </p> + </div> + <p> + The highest authorities differ equally about her looks. "My + readers," says Boswell, "will naturally wish for some + representation of the figures of this couple. Mr. Thrale was + tall, well-proportioned, and stately. As for <i>Madam</i>, or + <i>My Mistress</i>, by which epithets Johnson used to mention + Mrs. Thrale, she was short, plump, and brisk." "He should have + added," observes Mr. Croker, "that she was very pretty." This was + not her own opinion, nor that of her cotemporaries, although her + face was attractive from animation and expression, and her + personal appearance pleasing on the whole. Sometimes, when + visiting the author of "Piozziana,"<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + she used to look at her little self, as she called it, and spoke + drolly of what she once was, as if speaking of some one else; and + one day, turning to him, she exclaimed: "No, I never was + handsome: I had always too many strong points in my face for + beauty." On his expressing a doubt of this, and hinting that Dr. + Johnson was certainly an admirer of her personal charms, she + replied that his devotion was at least as warm towards the table + and the table-cloth at Streatham. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] "Piozziana; or Recollections of the late Mrs. Piozzi, with + Remarks. By a Friend." (The Rev. E. Mangin.) Moxon, 1833. These + reminiscences, unluckily limited to the last eight or ten years + of her life at Bath, contain much curious information, and + leave a highly favourable impression of Mrs. Piozzi. + </p> + </div> + <p> + One day when he was ill, exceedingly low-spirited, and persuaded + that death was not far distant, she appeared before him in a + dark-coloured gown, which <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg042" + id="pg042">042</a></span> his bad sight, and worse apprehensions, + made him mistake for an iron-grey. "'Why do you delight,' said + he, 'thus to thicken the gloom of misery that surrounds me? is + not here sufficient accumulation of horror without anticipated + mourning?'—'This is not mourning, Sir!' said I, drawing the + curtain, that the light might fall upon the silk, and show it was + a purple mixed with green.—'Well, well!' replied he, + changing his voice; 'you little creatures should never wear those + sort of clothes, however; they are unsuitable in every way. What! + have not all insects gay colours?'" + </p> + <p> + According to the author of "Piozziana," who became acquainted + with her late in life, "She was short, and though + well-proportioned, broad, and deep-chested. Her hands were + muscular and almost coarse, but her writing was, even in her + eightieth year, exquisitely beautiful; and one day, while + conversing with her on the subject of education, she observed + that 'all Misses now-a-days, wrote so like each other, that it + was provoking;' adding, 'I love to see individuality of + character, and abhor sameness, especially in what is feeble and + flimsy.' Then, spreading her hand, she said, 'I believe I owe + what you are pleased to call my good writing, to the shape of + this hand, for my uncle, Sir Robert Cotton, thought it was too + manly to be employed in writing like a boarding-school girl; and + so I came by my vigorous, black manuscript.'" + </p> + <p> + It was fortunate that the hand-writing compensated for the hands; + and as she attached great importance to blood and race, that she + did not live to read Byron's <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg043" id="pg043">043</a></span> "thoroughbred and tapering + fingers," or to be shocked by his theory that "the hand is almost + the only sign of blood which aristocracy can generate." Her Bath + friend appeals to a miniature (engraved for this work) by Roche, + of Bath, taken when she was in her seventy-seventh year. Like + Cromwell, who told the painter that if he softened a harsh line + or so much as omitted a wart, he should never be paid a + sixpence,—she desired the artist to paint her face deeply + rouged, which it always was<span class="fnref">[1]</span>, and to + introduce a trivial deformity of the jaw, produced by a horse + treading on her as she lay on the ground after a fall. In this + respect she proved superior to Johnson; who, with all his love of + truth, could not bear to be painted with his defects. He was + displeased at being drawn holding a pen close to his eye; and on + its being suggested that Reynolds had painted himself holding his + ear in his <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg044" id= + "pg044">044</a></span> hand to catch the sound, he replied: "He + may paint himself as deaf as he pleases, but I will not be + Blinking Sam." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] "One day I called early at her house, and as I entered her + drawing-room, she passed me, saying, 'Dear Sir, I will be with + you in a few minutes; but, while I think of it, I must go to my + dressing-closet and paint my face, which I forgot to do this + morning.' Accordingly she soon returned, wearing the requisite + quantity of bloom; which, it must be noticed, was not in the + least like that of youth and beauty. I then said that I was + surprised she should so far sacrifice to fashion, as to take + that trouble. Her answer was that, as I might conclude, her + practice of painting did not proceed from any silly compliance + with Bath fashion, or any fashion; still less, if possible, + from the desire of appearing younger than she was, but from + this circumstance, that in early life she had worn rouge, as + other young persons did in her day, as a part of dress; and + after continuing the habit for some years, discovered that it + had introduced a dull yellow colour into her complexion, quite + unlike that of her natural skin, and that she wished to conceal + the deformity."—<i>Piozziana</i>. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Reynolds' portrait of Mrs. Thrale conveys a highly agreeable + impression of her; and so does Hogarth's, when she sat to him for + the principal figure in "The Lady's Last Stake." She was then + only fourteen; and he probably idealised his model; but that he + also produced a striking likeness, is obvious on comparing his + picture with the professed portraits. The history of this picture + (which has been engraved, at Lord Macaulay's suggestion, for this + work) will be found in the Autobiography and the Letters. + </p> + <p> + Boswell's account of his first visit to Streatham gives a + tolerably fair notion of the footing on which Johnson stood + there, and the manner in which the interchange of mind was + carried on between him and the hostess. This visit took place in + October, 1769, four years after Johnson's introduction to her; + and Boswell's absence from London, in which he had no fixed + residence during Johnson's life, will hardly account for the + neglect of his illustrious friend in not procuring him a + privilege which he must have highly coveted and would doubtless + have turned to good account. + </p> + <p> + "On the 6th of October I complied with this obliging invitation; + and found, at an elegant villa, six miles from town, every + circumstance that can make society pleasing. Johnson, though + quite at home, was yet looked up to with an awe, tempered by + affection, and <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg045" id= + "pg045">045</a></span> seemed to be equally the care of his host + and hostess. I rejoiced at seeing him so happy." + </p> + <p> + "Mrs. Thrale disputed with him on the merit of Prior. He attacked + him powerfully; said he wrote of love like a man who had never + felt it; his love verses were college verses: and he repeated the + song, 'Alexis shunn'd his fellow swains,' &c. in so ludicrous + a manner, as to make us all wonder how any one could have been + pleased with such fantastical stuff. Mrs. Thrale stood to her + guns with great courage, in defence of amorous ditties, which + Johnson despised, till he at last silenced her by saving, 'My + dear lady, talk no more of this. Nonsense can be defended but by + nonsense.' + </p> + <p> + "Mrs. Thrale then praised Garrick's talents for light gay poetry; + and, as a specimen, repeated his song in 'Florizel and Perdita,' + and dwelt with peculiar pleasure on this line:— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'I'd smile with the simple, and feed with the poor.' + </p> + </div> + <p> + "<i>Johnson.</i>—'Nay, my dear lady, this will never do. + Poor David! Smile with the simple!—what folly is that? And + who would feed with the poor that can help it? No, no; let me + smile with the wise, and feed with the rich.'" Boswell adds, that + he repeated this sally to Glarrick, and wondered to find his + sensibility as a writer not a little irritated by it; on which + Mrs. Thrale remarks, "How odd to go and tell the man!" + </p> + <p> + The independent tone she took when she deemed the Doctor + unreasonable, is also proved by Boswell in his report of what + took place at Streatham in reference to <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg046" id="pg046">046</a></span> Lord + Marchmont's offer to supply information for the Life of Pope: + </p> + <p> + "Elated with the success of my spontaneous exertion to procure + material and respectable aid to Johnson for his very favourite + work, 'the Lives of the Poets,' I hastened down to Mr. Thrale's, + at Streatham, where he now was, that I might insure his being at + home next day; and after dinner, when I thought he would receive + the good news in the best humour, I announced it eagerly: 'I have + been at work for you to-day, Sir. I have been with Lord + Marchmont. He bade me tell you he has a great respect for you, + and will call on you to-morrow at one o'clock, and communicate + all he knows about Pope.' <i>Johnson.</i> 'I shall not be in town + to-morrow. I don't care to know about Pope.' <i>Mrs. Thrale</i> + (surprised, as I was, and a little angry). 'I suppose, Sir, Mr. + Boswell thought that as you are to write Pope's Life, you would + wish to know about him.' <i>Johnson.</i> 'Wish! why yes. If it + rained knowledge, I'd hold out my hand; but I would not give + myself the trouble to go in quest of it.' There was no arguing + with him at the moment. Sometime afterwards he said, 'Lord + Marchmont will call upon me, and then I shall call on Lord + Marchmont.' Mrs. Thrale was uneasy at this unaccountable caprice: + and told me, that if I did not take care to bring about a meeting + between Lord Marchmont and him, it would never take place, which + would be a great pity." + </p> + <p> + The ensuing conversation is a good sample of the freedom and + variety of "talk" in which Johnson luxuriated, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg047" id="pg047">047</a></span> and shows how + important a part Mrs. Thrale played in it: + </p> + <p> + "Mrs. Thrale told us, that a curious clergyman of our + acquaintance (Dr. Lort is named in the margin) had discovered a + licentious stanza, which Pope had originally in his 'Universal + Prayer,' before the stanza,— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'What conscience dictates to be done, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Or warns us not to do,' &c. + </p> + </div> + <p> + It was this:— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'Can sins of moment claim the rod + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Of everlasting fires? + </p> + <p> + And that offend great Nature's God + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Which Nature's self inspires." + </p> + </div> + <p> + and that Dr. Johnson observed, it had been borrowed from + <i>Guarini</i>. There are, indeed, in <i>Pastor Fido</i>, many + such flimsy superficial reasonings as that in the last two lines + of this stanza. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Boswell</i>. 'In that stanza of Pope's, "<i>rod of fires</i>" + is certainly a bad metaphor.' <i>Mrs. Thrale</i>. 'And "sins of + <i>moment</i>" is a faulty expression; for its true import is + <i>momentous</i>, which cannot be intended.' <i>Johnson</i>. 'It + must have been written "of <i>moments</i>." Of <i>moment</i>, is + <i>momentous</i>; of <i>moments, momentary</i>. I warrant you, + however, Pope wrote this stanza, and some friend struck it out.' + </p> + <p> + "Talking of divorces, I asked if Othello's doctrine was not + plausible:— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'He that is robb'd, not wanting what is stolen, + </p> + <p> + Let him not know't, and he's not robb'd at all.' + </p> + </div> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg048" id="pg048">048</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Dr. Johnson and Mrs. Thrale joined against this. <i>Johnson</i>. + 'Ask any man if he'd wish not to know of such an injury.' + <i>Boswell</i>. 'Would you tell your friend to make him unhappy?' + <i>Johnson</i>. 'Perhaps, Sir, I should not: but that would be + from prudence on my own account. A man would tell his father.' + <i>Boswell</i>. 'Yes; because he would not have spurious children + to get any share of the family inheritance.' <i>Mrs. Thrale</i>. + 'Or he would tell his brother.' <i>Boswell</i>. 'Certainly his + <i>elder</i> brother.... Would you tell Mr. ——?' + (naming a gentleman who assuredly was not in the least danger of + so miserable a disgrace, though married to a fine woman). + <i>Johnson</i>. 'No, Sir: because it would do no good; he is so + sluggish, he'd never go to Parliament and get through a + divorce.'" <i>Marginal Note</i>: "Langton." + </p> + <p> + There is every reason to believe that her behaviour to Johnson + was uniformly marked by good-breeding and delicacy. She treated + him with a degree of consideration and respect which he did not + always receive from other friends and admirers. A foolish rumour + having got into the newspapers that he had been learning to dance + of Vestris, it was agreed that Lord Charlemont should ask him if + it was true, and his lordship with (it is shrewdly observed) the + characteristic spirit of a general of Irish volunteers, actually + put the question, which provoked a passing feeling of irritation. + Opposite Boswell's account of this incident she has written, "Was + he not right in hating to be so treated? and would he not have + been right to have <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg049" id= + "pg049">049</a></span> loved me better than any of them, because + I never did make a Lyon of him?" + </p> + <p> + One great charm of her companionship to cultivated men was her + familiarity with the learned languages, as well as with French, + Italian, and Spanish. The author of "Piozziana" says: "She not + only read and wrote Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, but had for sixty + years constantly and ardently studied the Scriptures and the + works of commentators in the original languages." She did not + know Greek, and he probably over-estimated her other + acquirements, which Boswell certainly underestimates when he + speaks slightingly of them on the strength of Johnson's having + said: "It is a great mistake to suppose that she is above him + (Thrale) in literary attainments. She is more flippant, but he + has ten times her learning: he is a regular scholar; but her + learning is that of a school-boy in one of the lower forms." If + this were so, it is strange that Thrale should cut so poor a + figure, should seem little better than a nonentity, whilst every + imaginable topic was under animated discussion at his table; for + Boswell was more ready to report the husband's sayings than the + wife's. In a marginal note on one of the printed letters she + says: "Mr. Thrale was a very merry talking man in 1760; but the + distress of 1772, which affected his health, his hopes, and his + whole soul, affected his temper too. Perkins called it being + planet struck, and I am not sure he was ever completely the same + man again." The notes of his conversation during the antecedent + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg050" id="pg050">050</a></span> + period are equally meagre.<span class="fnref">[1]</span> He is + described by Madame D'Arblay as taking a singular amusement in + hearing, instigating, and provoking a war of words, alternating + triumph and overthrow, between clever and ambitious colloquial + combatants. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] "Pray, Doctor, said a gentleman to Johnson, is Mr. Thrale a + man of conversation, or is he only wise and silent?' 'Why, Sir, + his conversation does not show the <i>minute</i> hand; but he + generally strikes the hour very + correctly.'"—<i>Johnsoniana</i>. + </p> + </div> + <p> + No one would have expected to find her as much at home in Greek + and Latin authors as a man of fair ability who had received and + profited by an University education, but she could appreciate a + classical allusion or quotation, and translate off-hand a Latin + epigram. + </p> + <p> + "Mary Aston," said Johnson, "was a beauty and a scholar, and a + wit and a whig; and she talked all in praise of liberty; and so I + made this epigram upon her. She was the loveliest creature I ever + saw! + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'Liber ut esse velim, suasisti, pulchra Maria, + </p> + <p> + Ut maneam liber, pulchra Maria, vale!' + </p> + </div> + <p> + "Will it do this way in English, Sir? (said Mrs. Thrale)— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'Persuasions to freedom fall oddly from you, + </p> + <p> + If freedom we seek, fair Maria, adieu." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Mr. Croker's version is:— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'You wish me, fair Maria, to be free, + </p> + <p> + Then, fair Maria, I must fly from thee.' + </p> + </div> + <p> + Boswell also has tried his hand at it; and a correspondent + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg051" id="pg051">051</a></span> + of the "Gentleman's Magazine" suggests that Johnson had in his + mind an epigram on a young lady who appeared at a masquerade in + Paris, habited as a Jesuit, during the height of the contention + between the Jansenists and Molinists concerning free will:— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "On s'étonne ici que Calviniste + </p> + <p> + Eût pris l'habit de Moliniste, + </p> + <p> + Puisque que cette jeune beauté + </p> + <p> + Ôte à chacun sa liberté, + </p> + <p> + N'est ce pas une Janséniste."<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] "Menagiana," vol. iii. p. 376. Edition of 1716. Equally + happy were Lord Chesterfield's lines to a young lady who + appeared at a Dublin ball, with an orange breastknot:— + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Thrale took the lead even when her husband might be + expected to strike in, as when Johnson was declaiming + paradoxically against action in oratory: "Action can have no + effect on reasonable minds. It may augment noise, but it never + can enforce argument." <i>Mrs. Thrale</i>. "What then, Sir, + becomes of Demosthenes' saying, Action, action, action?" + <i>Johnson</i>. "Demosthenes, Madam, spoke to an assembly of + brutes, to a barbarous people." "The polished Athenians!" is + her marginal protest, and a conclusive one. + </p> + <p> + In English literature she was rarely at fault. In + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Pretty Tory, where's the jest + </p> + <p> + To wear that riband on thy breast, + </p> + <p> + When that same breast betraying shows + </p> + <p> + The whiteness of the rebel rose?" + </p> + </div> + <p> + White was adopted by the malcontent Irish as the French emblem. + Johnson's epigram may have been suggested by Propertius: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Nullus liber erit si quis amare volet." + </p> + </div> + </div> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg052" id="pg052">052</a></span> + </p> + <p> + reference to the flattery lavished on Garrick by Lord Mansfield + and Lord Chatham, Johnson had said, "When he whom everybody else + flatters, flatters me, then I am truly happy." <i>Mrs. + Thrale</i>. "The sentiment is in Congreve, I think." + <i>Johnson</i>. "Yes, Madam, in 'The Way of the World.' + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'If there's delight in love, 'tis when I see + </p> + <p> + The heart that others bleed for, bleed for me.'" + </p> + </div> + <p> + When Johnson is reported saying, "Those who have a style of + distinguished excellence can always be distinguished," she + objects: "It seems not. The lines always quoted as Dryden's, + beginning, + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + 'To die is landing on some silent shore,' + </p> + </div> + <p> + are Garth's after all." Johnson would have been still less + pleased at her discovery that a line in his epitaph on Phillips, + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Till angels wake thee with a note like thine," + </p> + </div> + <p> + was imitated from Pope's + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "And saints embrace thee with a love like mine." + </p> + </div> + <p> + In one of her letters to him (June, 1782) she writes: "Meantime + let us be as <i>merry</i> as reading Burton upon + <i>Melancholy</i> will make us. You bid me study that book in + your absence, and now, what have I found? Why, I have found, or + fancied, that he has been cruelly plundered: that Milton's first + idea of 'L'Allegro' and 'Il Penseroso' were suggested by the + verses at the beginning; that Savage's speech of Suicide in the + 'Wanderer' grew <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg053" id= + "pg053">053</a></span> up out of a passage you probably remember + towards the 216th page; that Swift's tale of the woman that holds + water in her mouth, to regain her husband's love by silence, had + its source in the same farrago; and that there is an odd + similitude between my Lord's trick upon Sly the Tinker, in + Shakspeare's 'Taming of the Shrew,' and some stuff I have been + reading in Burton." + </p> + <p> + It would be easy to heap proof upon proof of the value and + variety of Mrs. Thrale's contributions to the colloquial + treasures accumulated by Boswell and other members of the set; + and Johnson's deliberate testimony to her good qualities of head + and heart will far more than counterbalance any passing + expressions of disapproval or reproof with her mistimed vivacity, + or alleged disregard of scrupulous accuracy in narrative, may + have called forth. No two people ever lived much together for a + series of years without many fretful, complaining, dissatisfied, + uncongenial moments,—without letting drop captious or + unkind expressions, utterly at variance with their habitual + feelings and their matured judgments of each other. The hasty + word, the passing sarcasm, the sly hit at an acknowledged foible, + should count for nothing in the estimate, when contrasted with + earnest and deliberate assurances, proceeding from one who was + commonly too proud to flatter, and in no mood for idle compliment + when he wrote. + </p> + <p> + "Never (he writes in 1773) imagine that your letters are long; + they are always too short for my curiosity. I do not know that I + was ever content with a single perusal.... My nights are grown + again very uneasy <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg054" id= + "pg054">054</a></span> and troublesome. I know not that the + country will mend them; but I hope your company will mend my + days. Though I cannot now expect much attention, and would not + wish for more than can be spared from the poor dear lady (her + mother), yet I shall see you and hear you every now and then; and + to see and hear you, is always to hear wit, and to see virtue." + </p> + <p> + He would not suffer her to be lightly spoken of in his presence, + nor permit his name to be coupled jocularly with hers. "I + yesterday told him," says Boswell, when they were traversing the + Highlands, "I was thinking of writing a poetical letter to him, + on his return from Scotland, in the style of Swift's humorous + epistle in the character of Mary Gulliver to her husband, Captain + Lemuel Gulliver, on his return to England from the country of the + Houyhnhnms:— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'At early morn I to the market haste, + </p> + <p> + Studious in ev'ry thing to please thy taste. + </p> + <p> + A curious <i>fowl</i> and <i>sparagrass</i> I chose; + </p> + <p> + (For I remember you were fond of those:) + </p> + <p> + Three shillings cost the first, the last seven groats; + </p> + <p> + Sullen you turn from both, and call for OATS.' + </p> + </div> + <p> + He laughed, and asked in whose name I would write it. I said in + Mrs. Thrale's. He was angry. 'Sir, if you have any sense of + decency or delicacy, you won't do that.' <i>Boswell</i>. 'Then + let it be in Cole's, the landlord of the Mitre tavern, where we + have so often sat together.' <i>Johnson</i>. 'Ay, that may do.'" + </p> + <p> + Again, at Inverary, when Johnson called for a gill of whiskey + that he might know what makes a Scotchman <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg055" id="pg055">055</a></span> happy, and + Boswell proposed Mrs. Thrale as their toast, he would not have + <i>her</i> drunk in whiskey. Peter Pindar has maliciously added + to this reproof:— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "We supped most royally, were vastly frisky, + </p> + <p> + When Johnson ordered up a gill of whiskey. + </p> + <p> + Taking the glass, says I, 'Here's Mistress Thrale,' + </p> + <p> + 'Drink her in <i>whiskey</i> not,' said he, 'but <i>ale</i>.'" + </p> + </div> + <p> + So far from making light of her scholarship, he frequently + accepted her as a partner in translations from the Latin. The + translations from Boethius, printed in the second volume of the + Letters, are their joint composition. + </p> + <p> + After recapitulating Johnson's other contributions to literature + in 1766, Boswell says, "'The Fountains,' a beautiful little fairy + tale in prose, written with exquisite simplicity, is one of + Johnson's productions; and I cannot withhold from Mrs. Thrale the + praise of being the author of that admirable poem 'The Three + Warnings.'" <i>Marginal note</i>: "How sorry he is!" Both the + tale and the poem were written for a collection of + "Miscellanies," published by Mrs. Williams in that year. The + character of Floretta in "The Fountains" was intended for Mrs. + Thrale, and she thus gracefully alludes to it in a letter to + Johnson in Feb. 1782: + </p> + <p> + "The newspapers would spoil my few comforts that are left if they + could; but you tell me that's only because I have the reputation, + whether true or false, of being a <i>wit</i> forsooth; and you + remember <i>poor Floretta</i>, who was teased into wishing away + her spirit, her <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg056" id= + "pg056">056</a></span> beauty, her fortune, and at last even her + life, never could bear the bitter water which was to have washed + away her wit; which she resolved to keep with all its + consequences." + </p> + <p> + Her fugitive pieces, mostly in verse, thrown off from time to + time at all periods of her life, are numerous; and the best of + them that have been recovered will be included in these volumes. + In a letter to the author of "Piozziana," she says:—"When + Wilkes and Liberty were at their highest tide, I was bringing or + losing children every year; and my studies were confined to my + nursery; so, it came into my head one day to send an infant + alphabet to the 'St. James Chronicle':— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'A was an Alderman, factious and proud; + </p> + <p> + B was a Bellas that blustered aloud, &c.' + </p> + </div> + <p> + "In a week's time Dr. Johnson asked me if I knew who wrote it? + 'Why, who did write it, Sir?' said I. 'Steevens,' was the reply. + Some time after that, years for aught I know, he mentioned to me + Steevens's veracity! 'No, no;' answered H.L.P., anything but + that;' and told my story; showing him by incontestable proofs + that it was mine. Johnson did not utter a word, and we never + talked about it any more. I durst not introduce the subject; but + it served to hinder S. from visiting at the house: I suppose + Johnson kept him away." + </p> + <p> + It does not appear that Steevens claimed the Alphabet; which may + have suggested the celebrated squib that appeared in the "New + Whig Guide," and was <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg057" id= + "pg057">057</a></span> popularly attributed to Mr. Croker. It was + headed "The Political Alphabet; or, the Young Member's A B C," + and begins: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "A was an Althorpe, as dull as a hog: + </p> + <p> + B was black Brougham, a surly cur dog: + </p> + <p> + C was a Cochrane, all stripped of his lace." + </p> + </div> + <p> + What widely different associations are now awakened by these + names! The sting is in the tail: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "W was a Warre, 'twixt a wasp and a worm, + </p> + <p> + But X Y and Z are not found in this form, + </p> + <p> + Unless Moore, Martin, and Creevey be said + </p> + <p> + (As the last of mankind) to be X Y and Z." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Amongst Miss Reynolds' "Recollections" will be found:—"On + the praises of Mrs. Thrale, he (Johnson) used to dwell with a + peculiar delight, a paternal fondness, expressive of conscious + exultation in being so intimately acquainted with her. One day, + in speaking of her to Mr. Harris, author of 'Hermes,' and + expatiating on her various perfections,—the solidity of her + virtues, the brilliancy of her wit, and the strength of her + understanding, &c.—he quoted some lines (a stanza, I + believe, but from what author I know not<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span>), with which he concluded his most eloquent + eulogium, and of these I retained but the two last lines:— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + 'Virtues—of such a generous kind, + </p> + <p> + Pure in the last recesses of the mind.'" + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Dryden's Translation of Persius. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The place assigned to Mrs. Thrale by the popular voice + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg058" id="pg058">058</a></span> + amongst the most cultivated and accomplished women of the day, is + fixed by some verses printed in the "Morning Herald" of March + 12th, 1782, which attracted much attention. They were commonly + attributed to Mr. (afterwards Sir W.W.) Pepys, and Madame + d'Arblay, who alludes to them complacently, thought them his; but + he subsequently repudiated the authorship, and the editor of her + Memoirs believes that they were written by Dr. Burney. They were + provoked by the proneness of the Herald to indulge in + complimentary allusions to ladies of the demirep genus: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Herald, wherefore thus proclaim + </p> + <p> + Nought of women but the <i>shame</i>? + </p> + <p> + Quit, oh, quit, at least awhile, + </p> + <p> + Perdita's too luscious smile; + </p> + <p> + Wanton Worsley, stilted Daly, + </p> + <p> + Heroines of each blackguard alley; + </p> + <p> + Better sure record in story + </p> + <p> + Such as shine their sex's glory! + </p> + <p> + Herald! haste, with me proclaim + </p> + <p> + Those of literary fame. + </p> + <p> + Hannah More's pathetic pen, + </p> + <p> + Painting high th' impassion'd scene; + </p> + <p> + Carter's piety and learning, + </p> + <p> + Little Burney's quick discerning; + </p> + <p> + Cowley's neatly pointed wit, + </p> + <p> + Healing those her satires hit; + </p> + <p> + Smiling Streatfield's iv'ry neck, + </p> + <p> + Nose, and notions—<i>à la Grecque!</i> + </p> + <p> + Let Chapone retain a place, + </p> + <p> + And the mother of her Grace<span class="fnref">[1]</span>, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg059" id="pg059">059</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Each art of conversation knowing, + </p> + <p> + High-bred, elegant Boscawen; + </p> + <p> + Thrale, in whose expressive eyes + </p> + <p> + Sits a soul above disguise, + </p> + <p> + Skill'd with-wit and sense t'impart + </p> + <p> + Feelings of a generous heart. + </p> + <p> + Lucan, Leveson, Greville, Crewe; + </p> + <p> + Fertile-minded Montagu, + </p> + <p> + Who makes each rising art her care, + </p> + <p> + 'And brings her knowledge from afar!' + </p> + <p> + Whilst her tuneful tongue defends + </p> + <p> + Authors dead, and absent friends; + </p> + <p> + Bright in genius, pure in fame:— + </p> + <p> + Herald, haste, and these proclaim!" + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Mrs. Boscawen was the mother of the Duchess of Beaufort and + Mrs. Leveson Gower: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "All Leveson's sweetness, and all Beaufort's grace." + </p> + </div> + </div> + <p> + These lines merit attention for the sake of the comparison they + invite. An outcry has recently been raised against the laxity of + modern fashion, in permitting venal beauty to receive open homage + in our parks and theatres, and to be made the subject of prurient + gossip by maids and matrons who should ignore its existence. But + we need not look far beneath the surface of social history to + discover that the irregularity in question is only a partial + revival of the practice of our grandfathers and grandmothers, + much as a crinoline may be regarded as a modified reproduction of + the hoop. Junius thus denounces the Duke of Grafton's indecorous + devotion to Nancy Parsons: "It is not the private indulgence, but + the public insult, of which I complain. The name of Miss Parsons + would hardly have been known, if the First Lord of the Treasury + had not led her in triumph through the Opera House, even in the + presence of the Queen." Lord March (afterwards Duke of + Queensberry) was a lord of the bedchamber in the decorous court + of <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg060" id= + "pg060">060</a></span> George the Third, when he wrote thus to + Selwyn: "I was prevented from writing to you last Friday, by + being at Newmarket with my little girl (Signora Zamperini, a + noted dancer and singer). I had the whole family and Cocchi. The + beauty went with me in my chaise, and the rest in the old + landau." + </p> + <p> + We have had Boswell's impression of his first visit to Streatham; + and Madame D'Arblay's account of hers confirms the notion that My + Mistress, not My Master, was the presiding genius of the place. + </p> + <p> + "<i>London, August</i> (1778).—I have now to write an + account of the most consequential day I have spent since my + birth: namely, my Streatham visit. + </p> + <p> + "Our journey to Streatham was the least pleasant part of the day, + for the roads were dreadfully dusty, and I was really in the + fidgets from thinking what my reception might be, and from + fearing they would expect a less awkward and backward kind of + person than I was sure they would find. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Thrale's house is white, and very pleasantly situated, in a + fine paddock. Mrs. Thrale was strolling about, and came to us as + we got out of the chaise. + </p> + <p> + "She then received me, taking both my hands, and with mixed + politeness and cordiality welcomed me to Streatham. She led me + into the house, and addressed herself almost wholly for a few + minutes to my father, as if to give me an assurance she did not + mean to regard me as a show, or to distress or frighten me by + drawing me out. Afterwards she took me up stairs, and showed me + the house, and said she had very much <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg061" id="pg061">061</a></span> wished to see + me at Streatham, and should always think herself much obliged to + Dr. Burney for his goodness in bringing me, which she looked upon + as a very great favour. + </p> + <p> + "But though we were some time together, and though she was so + very civil, she did not <i>hint</i> at my book, and I love her + much more than ever for her delicacy in avoiding a subject which + she could not but see would have greatly embarrassed me. + </p> + <p> + "When we returned to the music-room, we found Miss Thrale was + with my father. Miss Thrale is a very fine girl, about fourteen + years of age, but cold and reserved, though full of knowledge and + intelligence. + </p> + <p> + "Soon after, Mrs. Thrale took me to the library; she talked a + little while upon common topics, and then, at last, she mentioned + 'Evelina.' + </p> + <p> + "I now prevailed upon Mrs. Thrale to let me amuse myself, and she + went to dress. I then prowled about to choose some book, and I + saw, upon the reading-table, 'Evelina.' I had just fixed upon a + new translation of Cicero's 'Lælius,' when the library door was + opened, and Mr. Seward entered. I instantly put away my book, + because I dreaded being thought studious and affected. He offered + his service to find anything for me, and then, in the same + breath, ran on to speak of the book with which I had myself + 'favoured the world!' + </p> + <p> + "The exact words he began with I cannot recollect, for I was + actually confounded by the attack; and his abrupt manner of + letting me know he was <i>au fait</i> <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg062" id="pg062">062</a></span> equally + astonished and provoked me. How different from the delicacy of + Mr. and Mrs. Thrale!" + </p> + <p> + A high French authority has laid down that good breeding consists + in rendering to all what is socially their due. This definition + is imperfect. Good breeding is best displayed by putting people + at their ease; and Mrs. Thrale's manner of putting the young + authoress at her ease was the perfection of delicacy and tact. + </p> + <p> + If Johnson's entrance on the stage had been premeditated, it + could hardly have been more dramatically ordered. + </p> + <p> + "When we were summoned to dinner, Mrs. Thrale made my father and + me sit on each side of her. I said that I hoped I did not take + Dr. Johnson's place;—for he had not yet appeared. + </p> + <p> + "'No,' answered Mrs. Thrale, 'he will sit by you, which I am sure + will give him great pleasure.' + </p> + <p> + "Soon after we were seated, this great man entered. I have so + true a veneration for him, that the very sight of him inspires me + with delight and reverence, notwithstanding the cruel infirmities + to which he is subject; for he has almost perpetual convulsive + movements, either of his hands, lips, feet, or knees, and + sometimes of all together. + </p> + <p> + "Mrs. Thrale introduced me to him, and he took his place. We had + a noble dinner, and a most elegant dessert. Dr. Johnson, in the + middle of dinner, asked Mrs. Thrale what was in some little pies + that were near him. <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg063" id= + "pg063">063</a></span> + </p> + <p> + "'Mutton,' answered she, 'so I don't ask you to eat any, because + I know you despise it.' + </p> + <p> + "'No, Madam, no,' cried he: 'I despise nothing that is good of + its sort; but I am too proud now to eat of it. Sitting by Miss + Burney makes me very proud to-day!' + </p> + <p> + "'Miss Burney,' said Mrs. Thrale, laughing, 'you must take great + care of your heart if Dr. Johnson attacks it; for I assure you he + is not often successless.' + </p> + <p> + "'What's that you say, Madam?' cried he; 'are you making mischief + between the young lady and me already?' + </p> + <p> + "A little while after he drank Miss Thrale's health and mine, and + then added: + </p> + <p> + "'Tis a terrible thing that we cannot wish young ladies well, + without wishing them to become old women.'" + </p> + <p> + Madame D'Arblay's memoirs are sadly defaced by egotism, and + gratified vanity may have had a good deal to do with her + unqualified admiration of Mrs. Thrale; for "Evelina" (recently + published) was the unceasing topic of exaggerated eulogy during + the entire visit. Still so acute an observer could not be + essentially wrong in an account of her reception, which is in the + highest degree favourable to her newly acquired friend. Of her + second visit she says: + </p> + <p> + "Our journey was charming. The kind Mrs. Thrale would give + courage to the most timid. She did not ask me questions, or + catechise me upon what I knew, or use any means to draw me out, + but made it her <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg064" id= + "pg064">064</a></span> business to draw herself out—that + is, to start subjects, to support them herself, and take all the + weight of the conversation, as if it behoved her to find me + entertainment. But I am so much in love with her, that I shall be + obliged to run away from the subject, or shall write of nothing + else. + </p> + <p> + "When we arrived here, Mrs. Thrale showed me my room, which is an + exceeding pleasant one, and then conducted me to the library, + there to divert myself while she dressed. + </p> + <p> + "Miss Thrale soon joined me: and I begin to like her. Mr. Thrale + was neither well nor in spirits all day. Indeed, he seems not to + be a happy man, though he has every means of happiness in his + power. But I think I have rarely seen a very rich man with a + light heart and light spirits." + </p> + <p> + The concluding remark, coming from such a source, may supply an + improving subject of meditation or inquiry; if found true, it may + help to suppress envy and promote contentment. Thrale's state of + health, however, accounts for his depression independently of his + wealth, which rested on too precarious a foundation to allow of + unbroken confidence and gaiety. + </p> + <p> + "At tea (continues the diarist) we all met again, and Dr. Johnson + was gaily sociable. He gave a very droll account of the children + of Mr. Langton— + </p> + <p> + "'Who,' he said, 'might be very good children if they were let + alone; but the father is never easy when he is not making them do + something which they cannot do; they must repeat a fable, or a + speech, or the Hebrew <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg065" id= + "pg065">065</a></span> alphabet; and they might as well count + twenty, for what they know of the matter: however, the father + says half, for he prompts every other word. But he could not have + chosen a man who would have been less entertained by such means.' + </p> + <p> + "'I believe not!' cried Mrs. Thrale: 'nothing is more ridiculous + than parents cramming their children's nonsense down other + people's throats. I keep mine as much out of the way as I can.' + </p> + <p> + "'Yours, Madam,' answered he, 'are in nobody's way; no children + can be better managed or less troublesome; but your fault is, a + too great perverseness in not allowing anybody to give them + anything. Why should they not have a cherry, or a gooseberry, as + well as bigger children?' + </p> + <p> + "Indeed, the freedom with which Dr. Johnson condemns whatever he + disapproves, is astonishing; and the strength of words he uses + would, to most people, be intolerable; but Mrs. Thrale seems to + have a sweetness of disposition that equals all her other + excellences, and far from making a point of vindicating herself, + she generally receives his admonitions with the most respectful + silence." + </p> + <p> + But it must not be supposed that this was done without an effort. + When Boswell speaks of Johnson's "accelerating her pulsation," + she adds, "he checked it often enough, to be sure." + </p> + <p> + Another of the conversations which occurred during this visit is + characteristic of all parties: + </p> + <p> + "We had been talking of colours, and of the fantastic + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg066" id="pg066">066</a></span> + names given to them, and why the palest lilac should be called a + <i>soupir étouffé</i>. + </p> + <p> + "'Why, Madam,' said he, with wonderful readiness, 'it is called a + stifled sigh because it is checked in its progress, and only half + a colour.' + </p> + <p> + "I could not help expressing my amazement at his universal + readiness upon all subjects, and Mrs. Thrale said to him, + </p> + <p> + "'Sir, Miss Burney wonders at your patience with such stuff; but + I tell her you are used to me, for I believe I torment you with + more foolish questions than anybody else dares do.' + </p> + <p> + "'No, Madam,' said he, 'you don't torment me;—you teaze me, + indeed, sometimes.' + </p> + <p> + "'Ay, so I do, Dr. Johnson, and I wonder you bear with my + nonsense.' + </p> + <p> + "'No, Madam, you never talk nonsense; you have as much sense, and + more wit, than any woman I know!' + </p> + <p> + "'Oh,' cried Mrs. Thrale, blushing, 'it is my turn to go under + the table this morning, Miss Burney!' + </p> + <p> + "'And yet,' continued the Doctor, with the most comical look, 'I + have known all the wits, from Mrs. Montagu down to Bet Flint!' + </p> + <p> + "'Bet Flint,' cried Mrs. Thrale; 'pray who is she?' + </p> + <p> + "'Oh, a fine character, Madam! She was habitually a slut and a + drunkard, and occasionally a thief and a harlot.' + </p> + <p> + "'And, for heaven's sake, how came you to know her?' <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg067" id="pg067">067</a></span> + </p> + <p> + "'Why, Madam, she figured in the literary world, too! Bet Flint + wrote her own life, and called herself Cassandra, and it was in + verse. So Bet brought me her verses to correct; but I gave her a + half-a-crown, and she liked it as well.' + </p> + <p> + "'And pray what became of her, Sir?' + </p> + <p> + "'Why, Madam, she stole a quilt from the man of the house, and he + had her taken up: but Bet Flint had a spirit not to be subdued; + so when she found herself obliged to go to jail, she ordered a + sedan chair, and bid her footboy walk before her. However, the + boy proved refractory, for he was ashamed, though his mistress + was not.' + </p> + <p> + "'And did she ever get out of jail again, Sir?' + </p> + <p> + "'Yes, Madam; when she came to her trial, the judge acquitted + her. "So now," she said to me, "the quilt is my own, and now I'll + make a petticoat of it."<span class="fnref">[1]</span> Oh, I + loved Bet Flint!' + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] This story is told by Boswell, roy. 8vo, edit. p. 688. + </p> + </div> + <p> + "Bless me, Sir!' cried Mrs. Thrale, 'how can all these vagabonds + contrive to get at <i>you</i>, of all people?' + </p> + <p> + "'Oh the dear creatures!' cried he, laughing heartily, 'I can't + but be glad to see them!'" + </p> + <p> + Madame D'Arblay's notes (in her Diary) of the conversation and + mode of life at Streatham are full and spirited, and exhibit + Johnson in moods and situations in which he was seldom seen by + Boswell. The adroitness with which he divided his attentions + amongst the ladies, blending approval with instruction, and + softening contradiction <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg068" id= + "pg068">068</a></span> or reproof by gallantry, gives + plausibility to his otherwise paradoxical claim to be considered + a polite man.<span class="fnref">[1]</span> He obviously knew how + to set about it, and (theoretically at least) was no mean + proficient in that art of pleasing which attracts + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Rather by deference than compliment, + </p> + <p> + And wins e'en by a delicate dissent." + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] "When the company were retired, we happened to be talking + of Dr. Barnard, the provost of Eton, who died about that time; + and after a long and just eulogium on his wit, his learning, + and goodness of heart—'He was the only man, too,' says + Mr. Johnson, quite seriously, 'that did justice to my good + breeding; and you may observe that I am well-bred to a degree + of needless scrupulosity. No man,' continued he, not observing + the amazement of his hearers, 'no man is so cautious not to + interrupt another; no man thinks it so necessary to appear + attentive when others are speaking; no man so steadily refuses + preference to himself, or so willingly bestows it on another, + as I do; nobody holds so strongly as I do the necessity of + ceremony, and the ill effects which follow the breach of it: + yet people think me rude; but Barnard did me + justice.'"—<i>Anecdotes</i>. "I think myself a very + polite man,"—<i>Boswell</i>. 1778. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Sir Henry Bulwer (in his "France") says that Louis the Fourteenth + was entitled to be called a man of genius, if only from the + delicate beauty of his compliments. Mrs. Thrale awards the palm + of excellence in the same path to Johnson. "Your compliments, + Sir, are made seldom, but when they are made, they have an + elegance unequalled; but then, when you are angry, who dares make + speeches so bitter and so cruel?" "I am sure," she adds, after a + semblance of defence on his part, "I have had my share of + scolding from you." <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg069" id= + "pg069">069</a></span> <i>Johnson</i>. "It is true, you have, but + you have borne it like an angel, and you have been the better for + it." As the discussion proceeds, he accuses her of often + provoking him to say severe things by unreasonable commendation; + a common mode of acquiring a character for amiability at the + expense of one's intimates, who are made to appear uncharitable + by being thus constantly placed on the depreciating side. + </p> + <p> + Some years prior to this period (1778) Mrs. Thrale's mind and + character had undergone a succession of the most trying ordeals, + and was tempered and improved, without being hardened, by them. + In allusion to what she suffered in child-bearing, she said later + in life that she had nine times undergone the sentence of a + convict,—confinement with hard labour. Child after child + died at the age when the bereavement is most affecting to a + mother. Her husband's health kept her in a constant state of + apprehension for his life, and his affairs became embarrassed to + the very verge of bankruptcy. So long as they remained + prosperous, he insisted on her not meddling with them in any way, + and even required her to keep to her drawing-room and leave the + conduct of their domestic establishment to the butler and + housekeeper. But when (from circumstances detailed in the + "Autobiography") his fortune was seriously endangered, he wisely + and gladly availed himself of her prudence and energy, and was + saved by so doing. I have now before me a collection of autograph + letters from her to Mr. Perkins, then manager and afterwards one + of the proprietors of <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg070" id= + "pg070">070</a></span> the brewery, from which it appears that + she paid the most minute attention to the business, besides + undertaking the superintendence of her own hereditary estate in + Wales. On September 28, 1773, she writes to Mr. Perkins, who was + on a commercial journey:— + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Thrale is still upon his little tour; I opened a letter from + you at the counting-house this morning, and am sorry to find you + have so much trouble with Grant and his affairs. How glad I shall + be to hear that matter is settled at all to your satisfaction. + His letter and remittance came while I was there to-day.... + Careless, of the 'Blue Posts,' has turned refractory, and applied + to Hoare's people, who have sent him in their beer. I called on + him to-day, however, and by dint of an unwearied solicitation, + (for I kept him at the coach side a full half-hour) I got his + order for six butts more as the final trial." + </p> + <p> + Examples of fine ladies pressing tradesmen for their votes with + compromising importunity are far from rare, but it would be + difficult to find a parallel for Johnson's Hetty doing duty as a + commercial traveller. She was simultaneously obliged to + anticipate the electioneering exploits of the Duchess of + Devonshire and Mrs. Crewe; and in after life, having occasion to + pass through Southwark, she expresses her astonishment at no + longer recognising a place, every hole and corner of which she + had three times visited as a canvasser. + </p> + <p> + After the death of Mr. Thrale, a friend of Mr. H. Thornton + canvassed the borough on behalf of that gentleman. He waited on + Mrs. Thrale, who promised her <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg071" id="pg071">071</a></span> support. She concluded her + obliging expressions by saying:—"I wish your friend + success, and I think he will have it: he may probably come in for + two parliaments, but if he tries for a third, were he an angel + from heaven, the people of Southwark would cry, 'Not <i>this</i> + man, but Barabbas.'"<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Miss Laetitia Matilda Hawkins vouches for this + story.—"Memoir, &c." vol. i. p.66, note, where she + adds:—"I have heard it said, that into whatever company + she (Mrs. T.) fell, she could be the most agreeable person in + it." + </p> + </div> + <p> + On one of her canvassing expeditions, Johnson accompanied her, + and a rough fellow, a hatter by trade, seeing the moralist's hat + in a state of decay, seized it suddenly with one hand, and + clapping him on the back with the other, cried out, "Ah, Master + Johnson, this is no time to be thinking about hats." "No, no, + Sir," replied the Doctor, "hats are of no use now, as you say, + except to throw up in the air and huzzah with;" accompanying his + words with the true election halloo. + </p> + <p> + Thrale had serious thoughts of repaying Johnson's electioneering + aid in kind, by bringing him into Parliament. Sir John Hawkins + says that Thrale had two meetings with the minister (Lord North), + who at first seemed inclined to find Johnson a seat, but + eventually discountenanced the project. Lord Stowell told Mr. + Croker that Lord North did not feel quite sure that Johnson's + support might not sometimes prove rather an incumbrance than a + help. "His lordship perhaps thought, and not unreasonably, that, + like the elephant <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg072" id= + "pg072">072</a></span> in the battle, he was quite as likely to + trample down his friends as his foes." Flood doubted whether + Johnson, being long used to sententious brevity and the short + flights of conversation, would have succeeded in the expanded + kind of argument required in public speaking. Burke's opinion + was, that if he had come early into Parliament, he would have + been the greatest speaker ever known in it. Upon being told this + by Reynolds, he exclaimed, "I should like to try my hand now." On + Boswell's adding that he wished he <i>had</i>, Mrs. Thrale + writes: "Boswell had leisure for curiosity: Ministers had not. + Boswell would have been equally amused by his failure as by his + success; but to Lord North there would have been no joke at all + in the experiment ending untowardly." + </p> + <p> + He was equally ready with advice and encouragement during the + difficulties connected with the brewery. He was not of opinion + with Aristotle and Parson Adams, that trade is below a + philosopher<span class="fnref">[1]</span>; and he eagerly buried + himself in computing the cost of the malt and the possible + profits on the ale. In October 1772, he writes from Lichfield: + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] "Trade, answered Adams, is below a philosopher, as + Aristotle proves in his first chapter of 'Politics,' and + unnatural, as it is managed now."—<i>Joseph Andrews</i>. + </p> + </div> + <p> + "Do not suffer little things to disturb you. The brew-house must + be the scene of action, and the subject of speculation. The first + consequence of our late trouble ought to be, an endeavour to brew + at a cheaper rate; an endeavour not violent and transient, but + steady and <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg073" id= + "pg073">073</a></span> continual, prosecuted with total contempt + of censure or wonder, and animated by resolution not to stop + while more can be done. Unless this can be done, nothing can help + us; and if this be done, we shall not want help. Surely there is + something to be saved; there is to be saved whatever is the + difference between vigilance and neglect, between parsimony and + profusion. The price of malt has risen again. It is now two + pounds eight shillings the quarter. Ale is sold in the + public-houses at sixpence a quart, a price which I never heard of + before." + </p> + <p class="break"> + In November of the same year, from Ashbourne: + </p> + <p> + "DEAR MADAM,—So many days and never a + letter!—<i>Fugere fides, pietasque pudorque</i>. This is + Turkish usage. And I have been hoping and hoping. But you are so + glad to have me out of your mind.<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <p> + "I think you were quite right in your advice about the thousand + pounds, for the payment could not have been delayed long; and a + short delay would have lessened credit, without advancing + interest. But in great matters you are hardly ever mistaken." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] This tone of playful reproach, when adopted by Johnson at a + later period, has been cited as a proof of actual + ill-treatment. + </p> + </div> + <p class="break"> + In May 17, 1773: + </p> + <p> + "Why should Mr. T—— suppose, that what I took the + liberty of suggesting was concerted with you? He does not know + how much I revolve his affairs, and how honestly I desire his + prosperity. I hope he has let the hint take some hold of his + mind." + </p> + <p> + In the copy of the printed letters presented by Mrs. <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg074" id="pg074">074</a></span> Thrale to Sir + James Fellowes, the blank is filled up with the name of Thrale, + and the passage is thus annotated in her handwriting: + </p> + <p> + "Concerning his (Thrale's) connection with quack chemists, quacks + of all sorts; jumping up in the night to go to Marlbro' Street + from Southwark, after some advertising mountebank, at hazard of + his life," In "Thraliana": + </p> + <p> + "18<i>th July</i>, 1778.—Mr. Thrale overbrewed himself last + winter and made an artificial scarcity of money in the family + which has extremely lowered his spirits. Mr. Johnson endeavoured + last night, and so did I, to make him promise that he would never + more brew a larger quantity of beer in one winter than 80,000 + barrels<span class="fnref">[1]</span>, but my Master, mad with + the noble ambition of emulating Whitbread and Calvert, two + fellows that he despises,—could scarcely be prevailed on to + promise even <i>this</i>, that he will not brew more than four + score thousand barrels a year for five years to come. He did + promise that much, however; and so Johnson bade me write it down + in the 'Thraliana';—and so the wings of Speculation are + clipped a little—very fain would I have pinioned her, but I + had not strength to perform the operation." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] "If he got but <i>2s. 6d.</i> by each barrel, 80,000 half + crowns are £10,000; and what more would mortal man desire than + an income of ten thousand a year—five to spend, and five + to lay up?" + </p> + </div> + <p> + That Johnson's advice was neither thrown away nor undervalued, + may be inferred from an incident related by Boswell. Mr. Perkins + had hung up in the counting-house <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg075" id="pg075">075</a></span> a fine proof of the mezzotinto + of Dr. Johnson by Doughty; and when Mrs. Thrale asked him, + somewhat flippantly, "Why do you put him up in the + counting-house?" Mr. Perkins answered, "Because, Madam, I wish to + have one wise man there." "Sir," said Johnson, "I thank you. It + is a very handsome compliment, and I believe you speak + sincerely." + </p> + <p> + He was in the habit of paying the most minute attention to every + branch of domestic economy, and his suggestions are invariably + marked by shrewdness and good sense. Thus when Mrs. Thrale was + giving evening parties, he told her that though few people might + be hungry after a late dinner, she should always have a good + supply of cakes and sweetmeats on a side table, and that some + cold meat and a bottle of wine would often be found acceptable. + Notwithstanding the imperfection of his eyesight, and his own + slovenliness, he was a critical observer of dress and demeanour, + and found fault without ceremony or compunction when any of his + canons of taste or propriety were infringed. Several amusing + examples are enumerated by Mrs. Thrale: + </p> + <p> + "I commended a young lady for her beauty and pretty behaviour one + day, however, to whom I thought no objections could have been + made. 'I saw her,' said Dr. Johnson, 'take a pair of scissors in + her left hand though; and for all her father is now become a + nobleman, and as you say excessively rich, I should, were I a + youth of quality ten years hence, hesitate between a girl so + neglected, and a <i>negro</i>.' <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg076" id="pg076">076</a></span> + </p> + <p> + "It was indeed astonishing how he <i>could</i> remark such + minuteness with a sight so miserably imperfect; but no accidental + position of a riband escaped him, so nice was his observation, + and so rigorous his demands of propriety. When I went with him to + Litchfield, and came downstairs to breakfast at the inn, my dress + did not please him, and he made me alter it entirely before he + would stir a step with us about the town, saying most satirical + things concerning the appearance I made in a riding-habit; and + adding, ''Tis very strange that such eyes as yours cannot discern + propriety of dress: if I had a sight only half as good, I think I + should see to the centre.' + </p> + <p> + "Another lady, whose accomplishments he never denied, came to our + house one day covered with diamonds, feathers, &c., and he + did not seem inclined to chat with her as usual. I asked him why? + when the company was gone. 'Why, her head looked so like that of + a woman who shows puppets,' said he, 'and her voice so confirmed + the fancy, that I could not bear her to-day; when she wears a + large cap, I can talk to her.' + </p> + <p> + "When the ladies wore lace trimmings to their clothes, he + expressed his contempt of the reigning fashion in these terms: 'A + Brussels trimming is like bread-sauce,' said he, 'it takes away + the glow of colour from the gown, and gives you nothing instead + of it; but sauce was invented to heighten the flavour of our + food, and trimming is an ornament to the manteau, or it is + nothing. Learn,' said he, 'that there is propriety <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg077" id="pg077">077</a></span> or + impropriety in every thing how slight soever, and get at the + general principles of dress and of behaviour; if you then + transgress them, you will at least know that they are not + observed.'" + </p> + <p> + Madame D'Arblay confirms this account. He had just been finding + fault with a bandeau worn by Lady Lade, a very large woman, + standing six feet high without her shoes: + </p> + <p> + "<i>Dr. J.</i>—The truth is, women, take them in general, + have no idea of grace. Fashion is all they think of. I don't mean + Mrs. Thrale and Miss Burney, when I talk of women!—they are + goddesses!—and therefore I except them. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Mrs. Thrale.</i>—Lady Lade never wore the bandeau, and + said she never would, because it is unbecoming. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Dr. J. (laughing.)</i>—Did not she? then is Lady Lade a + charming woman, and I have yet hopes of entering into engagements + with her! + </p> + <p> + "<i>Mrs. T.</i>—Well, as to that I can't say; but to be + sure, the only similitude I have yet discovered in you, is in + size: there you agree mighty well. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Dr. J.</i>—Why, if anybody could have worn the bandeau, + it must have been Lady Lade; for there is enough of her to carry + it off; but you are too little for anything ridiculous; that + which seems nothing upon a Patagonian, will become very + conspicuous upon a Lilliputian, and of you there is so little in + all, that one single absurdity would swallow up half of you." + </p> + <p> + Matrimony was one of his favourite subjects, and he was fond of + laying down and refining on the duties of <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg078" id="pg078">078</a></span> the married + state, with the amount of happiness and comfort to be found in + it. But once when he was musing over the fire in the drawing-room + at Streatham, a young gentleman called to him suddenly, "Mr. + Johnson, would you advise me to marry?" "I would advise no man to + marry, Sir," replied the Doctor in a very angry tone, "who is not + likely to propagate understanding;" and so left the room. "Our + companion," adds Mrs. Thrale, in the "Anecdotes," "looked + confounded, and I believe had scarce recovered the consciousness + of his own existence, when Johnson came back, and, drawing his + chair among us, with altered looks and a softened voice, joined + in the general chat, insensibly led the conversation to the + subject of marriage, where he laid himself out in a dissertation + so useful, so elegant, so founded on the true knowledge of human + life, and so adorned with beauty of sentiment, that no one ever + recollected the offence, except to rejoice in its consequences." + </p> + <p> + The young gentleman was Mr. Thrale's nephew, Sir John Lade; who + was proposed, half in earnest, whilst still a minor, by the + Doctor as a fitting mate for the author of "Evelina." He married + a woman of the town, became a celebrated member of the + Four-in-Hand Club, and contrived to waste the whole of a fine + fortune before he died. + </p> + <p> + In "Thraliana" she says:—"Lady Lade consulted him about her + son, Sir John. 'Endeavour, Madam,' said he, 'to procure him + knowledge; for really ignorance to a rich man is like fat to a + sick sheep, it only serves <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg079" + id="pg079">079</a></span> to call the rooks about him.' On the + same occasion it was that he observed how a mind unfurnished with + subjects and materials for thinking can keep up no dignity at all + in solitude. 'It is,' says he, 'in the state of a mill without + grist.'" + </p> + <p> + The attractions of Streatham must have been very strong, to + induce Johnson to pass so much of his time away from "the busy + hum of men" in Fleet Street, and "the full tide of human + existence" at Charing Cross. He often found fault with Mrs. + Thrale for living so much in the country, "feeding the chickens + till she starved her understanding." Walking in a wood when it + rained, she tells us, "was the only rural image he pleased his + fancy with; for he would say, after one has gathered the apples + in an orchard, one wishes them well baked, and removed to a + London eating-house for enjoyment." This is almost as bad as the + foreigner, who complained that there was no ripe fruit in England + but the roasted apples. Amongst other modes of passing time in + the country, Johnson once or twice tried hunting and, mounted on + an old horse of Mr. Thrale's, acquitted himself to the surprise + of the "field," one of whom delighted him by exclaiming, "Why + Johnson rides as well, for ought I see, as the most illiterate + fellow in England." But a trial or two satisfied him— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "He thought at heart like courtly Chesterfield, + </p> + <p> + Who after a long chase o'er hills, dales, fields, + </p> + <p> + And what not, though he rode beyond all price, + </p> + <p> + Ask'd next day,'If men ever hunted twice?'" + </p> + </div> + <p> + It is very strange, and very melancholy, was his reflection, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg080" id="pg080">080</a></span> + that the paucity of human pleasures should persuade us ever to + call hunting one of them. The mode of locomotion in which he + delighted was the vehicular. As he was driving rapidly in a + postchaise with Boswell, he exclaimed, "Life has not many things + better than this." On their way from Dr. Taylor's to Derby in + 1777, he said, "If I had no duties, and no reference to futurity, + I would spend my life in driving briskly in a postchaise with a + pretty woman, but she should be one who could understand me, and + would add something to the conversation." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Croker attributes his enjoyment to the novelty of the + pleasure; his poverty having in early life prevented him from + travelling post. But a better reason is given by Mrs. Thrale: + </p> + <p> + "I asked him why he doated on a coach so? and received for + answer, that in the first place, the company were shut in with + him <i>there</i>; and could not escape, as out of a room; in the + next place, he heard all that was said in a carriage, where it + was my turn to be deaf; and very impatient was he at my + occasional difficulty of hearing. On this account he wished to + travel all over the world: for the very act of going forward was + delightful to him, and he gave himself no concern about + accidents, which he said never happened; nor did the running-away + of the horses at the edge of a precipice between Vernon and St. + Denys in France convince him to the contrary: 'for nothing came + of it,' he said, 'except that Mr. Thrale leaped out of the + carriage into a chalk-pit, and then came up again, looking as + <i>white</i>!' <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg081" id= + "pg081">081</a></span> When the truth was, all their lives were + saved by the greatest providence ever exerted in favour of three + human creatures: and the part Mr. Thrale took from desperation + was the likeliest thing in the world to produce broken limbs and + death." + </p> + <p> + The drawbacks on his gratification and on that of his fellow + travellers were his physical defects, and his utter insensibility + to the beauty of nature, as well as to the fine arts, in so far + as they were addressed to the senses of sight and hearing. "He + delighted," says Mrs. Thrale, "no more in music than painting; he + was almost as deaf as he was blind; travelling with Dr. Johnson + was, for these reasons, tiresome enough. Mr. Thrale loved + prospects, and was mortified that his friend could not enjoy the + sight of those different dispositions of wood and water, hill and + valley, that travelling through England and France affords a man. + But when he wished to point them out to his companion: 'Never + heed such nonsense,' would be the reply: 'a blade of grass is + always a blade of grass, whether in one country or another: let + us, if we <i>do</i> talk, talk about something; men and women are + my subjects of inquiry; let us see how these differ from those we + have left behind." + </p> + <p> + It is no small deduction from our admiration of Johnson, and no + trifling enhancement of his friends' kindness in tolerating his + eccentricities, that he seldom made allowance for his own + palpable and undeniable deficiencies. As well might a blind man + deny the existence of colours, as a purblind man assert that + there was no charm in a prospect, or in a Claude or <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg082" id="pg082">082</a></span> Titian, + because he could see none. Once, by way of pleasing Reynolds, he + pretended to lament that the great painter's genius was not + exerted on stuff more durable than canvas, and suggested copper. + Sir Joshua urged the difficulty of procuring plates large enough + for historical subjects. "What foppish obstacles are these!" + exclaimed Johnson. "Here is Thrale has a thousand ton of copper: + you may paint it all round if you will, I suppose; it will serve + him to brew in afterwards. Will it not, Sir?" (to Thrale, who + sate by.) + </p> + <p> + He always "civilised" to Dr. Burney, who has supplied the + following anecdote: + </p> + <p> + "After having talked slightingly of music, he was observed to + listen very attentively while Miss Thrale played on the + harpsichord; and with eagerness he called to her, 'Why don't you + dash away like Burney?' Dr. Burney upon this said to him, 'I + believe, Sir, we shall make a musician of you at last.' Johnson + with candid complacency replied, 'Sir, I shall be glad to have a + new sense given to me.'" + </p> + <p> + In 1774, the Thrales made a tour in Wales, mainly for the purpose + of revisiting her birthplace and estates. They were accompanied + by Johnson, who kept a diary of the expedition, beginning July + 5th and ending September 24th. It was preserved by his negro + servant, and Boswell had no suspicion of its existence, for he + says, "I do not find that he kept any journal or notes of what he + saw there." The diary was first published by Mr. Duppa in 1816; + and some manuscript notes by Mrs. Thrale which reached that + gentleman too late for <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg083" id= + "pg083">083</a></span> insertion, have been added in Mr. Murray's + recent edition of the Life. The first entry is: + </p> + <p> + "<i>Tuesday, July 5</i>.—We left Streatham 11 A.M. Price of + four horses two shillings a mile. Barnet 1.40 P.M. On the road I + read 'Tully's Epistles.' At night at Dunstable." At Chester, he + records:—"We walked round the walls, which are complete, + and contain one mile, three quarters, and one hundred and one + yards." Mrs. Thrale's comment is, "Of those ill-fated walls Dr. + Johnson might have learned the extent from any one. He has since + put me fairly out of countenance by saying, 'I have known <i>my + mistress</i> fifteen years, and never saw her fairly out of + humour but on Chester wall.' It was because he would keep Miss + Thrale beyond her hour of going to bed to walk on the wall, where + from the want of light, I apprehended some accident to her, + perhaps to him." + </p> + <p> + He thus describes Mrs. Thrale's family mansion: + </p> + <p> + "<i>Saturday, July 30.</i>—We went to Bâch y Graig, where + we found an old house, built 1567, in an uncommon and + incommodious form—My mistress chatted about tiring, but I + prevailed on her to go to the top—The floors have been + stolen: the windows are stopped—The house was less than I + seemed to expect—The River Clwyd is a brook with a bridge + of one arch, about one third of a mile—The woods have many + trees, generally young; but some which seem to decay—They + have been lopped—The house never had a garden—The + addition of another story would make an useful house, but it + cannot be great." <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg084" id= + "pg084">084</a></span> + </p> + <p> + On the 4th August, they visited Rhuddlan Castle and + Bodryddan<span class="fnref">[1]</span>, of which he says:— + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Now the property of Mr. Shipley Conway, the great-grandson + of Johnson's acquaintance, the Bishop of St. Asaph, and + representative, through females, of Sir John Conway or Conwy, + to whom Rhuddlan Castle, with its domain, was granted by Edward + the First. + </p> + </div> + <p> + "Stapylton's house is pretty: there are pleasing shades about it, + with a constant spring that supplies a cold bath. We then went + out to see a cascade. I trudged unwillingly, and was not sorry to + find it dry. The water was, however, turned on, and produced a + very striking cataract."<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Bowles, the poet, on the unexpected arrival of a party to + see his grounds, was overheard giving a hurried order to set + the fountain playing and carry the hermit his beard. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Mrs. Piozzi remarks on this passage: "He teased Mrs. Cotton about + her dry cascade till she was ready to cry." + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Cotton, <i>née</i> Stapylton, married the eldest son of Sir + Lynch Cotton, and was the mother of Field-Marshal Viscount + Combermere. She said that Johnson, despite of his rudeness, was + at times delightful, having a manner peculiar to himself in + relating anecdotes that could not fail to attract both old and + young. Her impression was that Mrs. Thrale was very vexatious in + wishing to engross all his attention, which annoyed him much. + This, I fancy, is no uncommon impression, when we ourselves are + anxious to attract notice. + </p> + <p> + The range of hills bordering the valley or delta of the Clwyd, is + very fine. On their being pointed out to him by his host, he + exclaimed: "Hills, do you call <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg085" id="pg085">085</a></span> them?—mere mole-hills to + the Alps or to those in Scotland." On being told that Sir Richard + Clough had formed a plan for making the river navigable to + Rhyddlan, he broke out into a loud fit of laughter, and + shouted—"why, Sir, I could clear any part of it by a leap." + He probably had seen neither the hills nor the river, which might + easily be made navigable. + </p> + <p> + On two occasions, Johnson incidentally imputes a want of + liberality to Mrs. Thrale, which the general tenor of her conduct + belies: + </p> + <p> + "<i>August 2.</i>—We went to Dymerchion Church, where the + old clerk acknowledged his mistress. It is the parish church of + Bâch y Graig; a mean fabric; Mr. Salusbury (Mrs. Thrale's father) + was buried in it.... The old clerk had great appearance of joy, + and foolishly said that he was now willing to die. He had only a + crown given him by my mistress." + </p> + <p> + "<i>August 4.</i>—Mrs. Thrale lost her purse. She expressed + so much uneasiness that I concluded the sum to be very great; but + when I heard of only seven guineas, I was glad to find she had so + much sensibility of money." + </p> + <p> + Johnson might have remarked, that the annoyance we experience + from a loss is seldom entirely regulated by the pecuniary value + of the thing lost. + </p> + <p> + On the way to Holywell he sets down: "Talk with mistress about + flattery;" on which she notes: "He said I flattered the people to + whose houses we went: I was saucy and said I was obliged to be + civil for two, meaning <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg086" id= + "pg086">086</a></span> himself and me.<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span> He replied nobody would thank me for + compliments they did not understand. At Gwanynog (Mr. + Middleton's), however, <i>he</i> was flattered, and was happy of + course." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Madame D'Arblay reports Mrs. Thrale saying to Johnson at + Streatham, in September, 1778: "I remember, Sir, when we were + travelling in Wales, how you called me to account for my + civility to the people; 'Madam,' you said, 'let me have no more + of this idle commendation of nothing. Why is it, that whatever + you see, and whoever you see, you are to be so indiscriminately + lavish of praise?' 'Why I'll tell you, Sir,' said I, 'when I am + with you, and Mr. Thrale, and Queeny, I am obliged to be civil + for four!'" + </p> + </div> + <p> + The other entries referring to the Thrales are: + </p> + <p> + "<i>August</i> 22.—We went to visit Bodville, the place + where Mrs. Thrale was born, and the churches called Tydweilliog + and Llangwinodyl, which she holds by impropriation." + </p> + <p> + "<i>August</i> 24.—We went to see Bodville. Mrs. Thrale + remembered the rooms, and wandered over them, with recollections + of her childhood. This species of pleasure is always + melancholy.... Mr. Thrale purposes to beautify the churches, and, + if he prospers, will probably restore the tithes. Mrs. Thrale + visited a house where she had been used to drink milk, which was + left, with an estate of 200<i>l.</i> a year, by one Lloyd, to a + married woman who lived with him." + </p> + <p> + "<i>August</i> 26.—<i>Note</i>. Queeny's goats, 149, I + think." + </p> + <p> + Without Mr. Duppa's aid this last entry would be a puzzle for + commentators. His note is: + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Thrale was near-sighted, and could not see the goats + browsing on Snowdon, and he promised his <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg087" id="pg087">087</a></span> daughter, who + was a child of ten years old, a penny for every goat she would + show him, and Dr. Johnson kept the account; so that it appears + her father was in debt to her one hundred and forty-nine pence. + <i>Queeny</i> was an epithet, which had its origin in the + nursery, by which (in allusion to <i>Queen</i> Esther) Miss + Thrale (whose name was Esther) was always distinguished by + Johnson." She was named, after her mother, Hester, not Esther. + </p> + <p> + On September 13, Johnson sets down: "We came, to Lord Sandys', at + Ombersley, where we were treated with great civility." It was + here, as he told Mrs. Thrale, that for the only time in his life + he had as much wall fruit as he liked; yet she says that he was + in the habit of eating six or seven peaches before breakfast + during the fruit season at Streatham. Swift was also fond of + fruit: "observing (says Scott) that a gentleman in whose garden + he walked with some friends, seemed to have no intention to + request them to eat any, the Dean remarked that it was a saying + of his dear grandmother: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'Always pull a peach + </p> + <p> + When it is within your reach;' + </p> + </div> + <p> + and helping himself accordingly, his example was followed by the + whole company." Thomson, the author of the "Castle of Indolence," + was once seen lounging round Lord Burlington's garden, with his + hands in his waistcoat pockets, biting off the sunny sides of the + peaches. <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg088" id= + "pg088">088</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Johnson's dislike to the Lyttletons was not abated by his visit + to Hagley, of which he says, "We made haste away from a place + where all were offended." Mrs. Thrale's explanation is: "Mrs. + Lyttelton, <i>ci-devant</i> Caroline Bristow, forced me to play + at whist against my liking, and her husband took away Johnson's + candle that he wanted to read by at the other end of the room. + Those, I trust, were the offences." + </p> + <p> + He was not in much better humour at Combermere Abbey, the seat of + her relative, Sir Lynch Cotton, which is beautifully situated on + one of the finest lakes in England. He commends the place + grudgingly, passes a harsh judgment on Lady Cotton, and is + traditionally recorded to have made answer to the baronet who + inquired what he thought of a neighbouring peer (Lord Kilmorey): + "A dull, commonplace sort of man, just like you and your + brother." + </p> + <p> + In a letter to Levet, dated Lleweny, in Denbighshire, August 16, + 1774, printed by Boswell, is this sentence: "Wales, so far as I + have yet seen of it, is a very beautiful and rich country, all + enclosed and planted." Her marginal note is: "Yet to please Mr. + Thrale, he feigned abhorrence of it." + </p> + <p> + I am indebted to an intelligent and accurate in-formant for a + curious incident of the Welsh tour: + </p> + <p> + "Dr. Johnson was taken by Mr. and Mrs. Thrale to dine at + Maesnynan, with my relation, Mr. Lloyd, who, with his pretty + young daughter (motherless), received them at the door. All came + out of the carriage except the great lexicographer, who was + crouching in what <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg089" id= + "pg089">089</a></span> my uncle jokingly called the Poets' + Corner, deeply interested evidently with the book he was reading. + A wink from Mrs. Thrale, and a touch of her hand, silenced the + host. She bade the coachman not move, and desired the people in + the house to let Mr. Johnson read on till dinner was on the + table, when she would go and whistle him to it. She always had a + whistle hung at her girdle, and this she used, when in Wales, to + summon him and her daughters<span class="fnref">[1]</span>, when + in or out of doors. Mr. Lloyd and all the visitors went to see + the effect of the whistle, and found him reading intently with + one foot on the step of the carriage, where he had been (a + looker-on said) five minutes." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "He cast off his friends as a huntsman his pack, + </p> + <p> + For he knew when he pleas'd he could whistle them back." + </p> + </div> + </div> + <p> + "This scene is well told by Miss Burney, in her + 'Camilla'<span class="fnref">[1]</span> <i>ex relatione</i> Mrs. + Williams (Lady Cotton's sister, who was present) and Beata Lloyd, + whose brother, Colonel Thomas Lloyd, of the Guards, was the + Brummell of his day, celebrated for his manly beauty and + accomplishments. I heard Lord Crewe say that Colonel Lloyd's + horse, and his graceful manner of mounting him, used to attract + members of both Houses (he among them) to <i>turn out</i> to see + him mount guard; and the Princesses were forbidden, when driving + out, to go so often that way and at that time." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Book viii. chap, iv., Dr. Orkborne is described standing on + the staircase of an inn absorbed in the composition of a + paragraph whilst the party are at dinner. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Their impressions of one another as travelling companions were + sufficiently favourable to induce the party <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg090" id="pg090">090</a></span> (with the + addition of Baretti) to make a short tour in France in the autumn + of the year following, 1775, during part of which Johnson kept a + diary in the same laconic and elliptical style. The only allusion + to either of his friends is: + </p> + <p> + "We went to Sansterre, a brewer. He brews with about as much malt + as Mr. Thrale, and sells his beer at the same price, though he + pays no duty for malt, and little more than half as much for + beer. Beer is sold retail at sixpence a bottle." + </p> + <p> + In a letter to Levet, dated Paris, Oct. 22, 1775, he says: + </p> + <p> + "We went to see the king and queen at dinner, and the queen was + so impressed by Miss, that she sent one of the gentlemen to + inquire who she was. I find all true that you have ever told me + at Paris. Mr. Thrale is very liberal, and keeps us two coaches, + and a very fine table; but I think our cookery very bad. Mrs. + Thrale got into a convent of English nuns, and I talked with her + through the grate, and I am very kindly used by the English + Benedictine friars." + </p> + <p> + A striking instance of Johnson's occasional impracticability + occurred during this journey: + </p> + <p> + "When we were at Rouen together," says Mrs. Thrale, "he took a + great fancy to the Abbe Kofiette, with whom he conversed about + the destruction of the order of Jesuits, and condemned it loudly, + as a blow to the general power of the church, and likely to be + followed with many and dangerous innovations, which might at + length become fatal to religion itself, and shake even + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg091" id="pg091">091</a></span> + the foundation of Christianity. The gentleman seemed to wonder + and delight in his conversation: the talk was all in Latin, which + both spoke fluently, and Mr. Johnson pronounced a long eulogium + upon Milton with so much ardour, eloquence, and ingenuity, that + the abbé rose from his seat and embraced him. My husband seeing + them apparently so charmed with the company of each other, + politely invited the abbé to England, intending to oblige his + friend; who, instead of thanking, reprimanded him severely before + the man, for such a sudden burst of tenderness towards a person + he could know nothing at all of; and thus put a sudden finish to + all his own and Mr. Thrale's entertainment from the company of + the Abbé Roffette." + </p> + <p> + In a letter dated May 9, 1780, also, Mrs. Thrale alludes to more + than one disagreement in France: + </p> + <p> + "When did I ever plague you about contour, and grace, and + expression? I have dreaded them all three since that hapless day + at Compiegne, when you teased me so, and Mr. Thrale made what I + hoped would have proved a lasting peace; but French ground is + unfavourable to fidelity perhaps, and so now you begin again: + after having taken five years' breath, you might have done more + than this. Say another word, and I will bring up afresh the + history of your exploits at St. Denys and how cross you were for + nothing—but some how or other, our travels never make any + part either of our conversation or correspondence." + </p> + <p> + Joseph Baretti, who now formed one of the family, is so mixed up + with their history that some account <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg092" id="pg092">092</a></span> of him + becomes indispensable. He was a Piedmontese, whose position in + his native country was not of a kind to tempt him to remain in + it, when Lord Charlemont, to whom he had been useful in Italy, + proposed his coming to England. His own story was that he had + lost at play the little property he had inherited from his + father, an architect. The education given him by his parents was + limited to Latin; he taught himself English, French, Spanish, and + Portuguese. His talents, acquirements, and strength of mind must + have been considerable, for they soon earned him the esteem and + friendship of the most eminent members of the Johnsonian circle, + in despite of his arrogance. He came to England in 1753; is + kindly mentioned in one of Johnson's letters in 1754; and when he + was in Italy in 1761, his illustrious friend's letters to him are + marked by a tone of affectionate interest. Ceremony and + tenderness are oddly blended in the conclusion of one of them: + </p> + <p> + "May you, my Baretti, be very happy at Milan, or some other place + nearer to, Sir, your most affectionate humble servant, SAMUEL + JOHNSON." + </p> + <p> + Johnson remarked of Baretti in 1768: "I know no man who carries + his head higher in conversation than Baretti. There are strong + powers in his mind. He has not indeed many hooks, but with what + hooks he has, he grapples very forcibly." Cornelia Knight was + "disgusted by his satirical madness of manner," although + admitting him to be a man of great learning and information. + Madame D'Arblay was more struck <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg093" id="pg093">093</a></span> by his rudeness and violence + than by his intellectual vigour. "Thraliana" confirms Johnson's + estimate of Baretti's capacity: + </p> + <p> + "Will. Burke was tart upon Mr. Baretti for being too dogmatical + in his talk about politics. 'You have,' says he, 'no business to + be investigating the characters of Lord Falkland or Mr. Hampden. + You cannot judge of their merits, they are no countrymen of + yours.' 'True,' replied Baretti, 'and you should learn by the + same rule to speak very cautiously about Brutus and Mark Antony; + they are my countrymen, and I must have their characters tenderly + treated by foreigners.' + </p> + <p> + "Baretti could not endure to be called, or scarcely thought, a + foreigner, and indeed it did not often occur to his company that + he was one; for his accent was wonderfully proper, and his + language always copious, always nervous, always full of various + allusions, flowing too with a rapidity worthy of admiration, and + far beyond the power of nineteen in twenty natives. He had also a + knowledge of the solemn language and the gay, could be sublime + with Johnson, or blackguard with the groom; could dispute, could + rally, could quibble, in our language. Baretti has, besides, some + skill in music, with a bass voice, very agreeable, besides a + falsetto which he can manage so as to mimic any singer he hears. + I would also trust his knowledge of painting a long way. These + accomplishments, with his extensive power over every modern + language, make him a most pleasing companion while he is in good + humour; and his lofty consciousness of his own superiority, which + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg094" id="pg094">094</a></span> + made him tenacious of every position, and drew him into a + thousand distresses, did not, I must own, ever disgust me, till + he began to exercise it against myself, and resolve to reign in + our house by fairly defying the mistress of it. Pride, however, + though shocking enough, is never despicable, but vanity, which he + possessed too, in an eminent degree, will sometimes make a man + near sixty ridiculous. + </p> + <p> + "France displayed all Mr. Baretti's useful powers—he + bustled for us, he catered for us, he took care of the child, he + secured an apartment for the maid, he provided for our safety, + our amusement, our repose; without him the pleasure of that + journey would never have balanced the pain. And great was his + disgust, to be sure, when he caught us, as he often did, + ridiculing French manners, French sentiments, &c. I think he + half cryed to Mrs. Payne, the landlady at Dover, on our return, + because we laughed at French cookery, and French accommodations. + Oh, how he would court the maids at the inns abroad, abuse the + men perhaps! and that with a facility not to be exceeded, as they + all confessed, by any of the natives. But so he could in Spain, I + find, and so 'tis plain he could here. I will give one instance + of his skill in our low street language. Walking in a field near + Chelsea, he met a fellow, who, suspecting him from dress and + manner to be a foreigner, said sneeringly, 'Come, Sir, will you + show me the way to France?' 'No, Sir,' says Baretti, instantly, + 'but I will show you the way to Tyburn.' Such, however, was his + ignorance in a certain line, that he once asked Johnson for + information <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg095" id= + "pg095">095</a></span> who it was composed the Pater Noster, and + I heard him tell Evans<span class="fnref">[1]</span> the story of + Dives and Lazarus as the subject of a poem he once had composed + in the Milanese dialect, expecting great credit for his powers of + invention. Evans owned to me that he thought the man drunk, + whereas poor Baretti was, both in eating and drinking, a model of + temperance. Had he guessed Evans's thoughts, the parson's gown + would scarcely have saved him a knouting from the ferocious + Italian." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Evans was a clergyman and rector of Southwark. + </p> + </div> + <p> + On Oct. 20, 1769, Baretti was tried at the Old Bailey on a charge + of murder, for killing with a pocket knife one of three men who, + with a woman of the town, hustled him in the + Haymarket.<span class="fnref">[1]</span> He was acquitted, and + the event is principally memorable for the appearance of Johnson, + Burke, Grarrick, and Beauclerc as witnesses to character. The + substance of Johnson's evidence is thus given in the "Gentleman's + Magazine": + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] In his defence, he said:—"I hope it will be seen that + my knife was neither a weapon of offence or defence. I wear it + to carve fruit and sweetmeats, and not to kill my fellow + creatures. It is a general custom in France not to put knives + on the table, so that even ladies wear them in their pockets + for general use." + </p> + </div> + <p> + "<i>Dr. J</i>.—I believe I began to be acquainted with Mr. + Baretti about the year 1753 or 1754. I have been intimate with + him. He is a man of literature, a very studious man, a man of + great diligence. He gets his living by study. I have no reason to + think he was ever disordered with liquor in his life. A man that + I never knew to be otherwise than peaceable, and a man that I + take to be rather timorous.—<i>Q</i>. Was he addicted + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg096" id="pg096">096</a></span> + to pick up women in the streets?—<i>Dr. J. I</i> never knew + that he was.—<i>Q</i>. How is he as to + eyesight?—<i>Dr. J.</i> He does not see me now, nor do I + see him. I do not believe he could be capable of assaulting any + body in the street, without great provocation." + </p> + <p> + It would seem that Johnson's sensibility, such as it was, was not + very severely taxed. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Boswell</i>.—But suppose now, Sir, that one of your + intimate friends were apprehended for an offence for which he + might be hanged? + </p> + <p> + "<i>Johnson</i>.—-I should do what I could to bail him; but + if he were once fairly hanged, I should not suffer. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Boswell</i>.—Would you eat your dinner that day, Sir? + </p> + <p> + "<i>Johnson</i>.—Yes, Sir, and eat it as if he were eating + it with me. Why, there's Baretti, who is to be tried for his life + to-morrow. Friends have risen up for him on every side, yet if he + should be hanged, none of them will eat a slice of plum-pudding + the less. Sir, that sympathetic feeling goes a very little way in + depressing the mind." + </p> + <p> + Steevens relates that one evening previous to the trial a + consultation of Baretti's friends was held at the house of Mr. + Cox, the solicitor. Johnson and Burke were present, and differed + as to some point of the defence. On Steevens observing to Johnson + that the question had been agitated with rather too much warmth, + "It may be so," replied the sage, "for Burke and I should have + been of one opinion if we had had no audience." This is coming + very near to— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Would rather that the man should die + </p> + <p> + Than his prediction prove a lie." + </p> + </div> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg097" id="pg097">097</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Two anecdotes of Baretti during his imprisonment are preserved in + "Thraliana": + </p> + <p> + "When Johnson and Burke went to see Baretti in Newgate, they had + small comfort to give him, and bid him not hope too strongly. + 'Why what can <i>he</i> fear,' says Baretti, placing himself + between 'em, 'that holds two such hands as I do?' + </p> + <p> + "An Italian came one day to Baretti, when he was in Newgate for + murder, to desire a letter of recommendation for the teaching of + his scholars, when he (Baretti) should be hanged. 'You rascal,' + replies Baretti, in a rage, 'if I were not <i>in my own + apartment</i>, I would kick you down stairs directly,'" + </p> + <p> + The year after his acquittal Baretti published "Travels through + Spain, Portugal, and France;" thus mentioned by Johnson in a + Letter to Mrs, Thrale, dated Lichfield, July 20, 1770: + </p> + <p> + "That Baretti's book would please you all, I made no doubt. I + know not whether the world has ever seen such travels before. + Those whose lot it is to ramble can seldom write, and those who + know how to write can seldom ramble." The rate of pay showed that + the world was aware of the value of the acquisition. He gained + <i>500l.</i> by this book. His "Frusta Letteraria," published + some time before in Italy, had also attracted much attention, + and, according to Johnson, he was the first who ever received + money for copyright in Italy, + </p> + <p> + In a biographical notice of Baretti which appeared in the + "Gentleman's Magazine" for May, 1789, written by Dr. Vincent, + Dean of Westminster, it is stated that it was <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg098" id="pg098">098</a></span> not distress + which compelled him to accept Mr. Thrale's hospitality, but that + he was overpersuaded by Johnson, contrary to his own inclination, + to undertake the instruction of the Misses Thrale in Italian. "He + was either nine or eleven years almost entirely in that family," + says the Dean, "though he still rented a lodging in town, during + which period he expended his own <i>500l.</i>, and received + nothing in return for his instruction, but the participation of a + good table, and <i>150l.</i> by way of presents. Instead of his + letters to Mrs. Piozzi in the 'European Magazine,' had he told + this plain unvarnished tale, he would have convicted that lady of + avarice and ingratitude, without incurring the danger of a reply, + or exposing his memory to be insulted by her advocates." + </p> + <p> + He was less than three years in the family. As he had a pension + of <i>80l.</i> a year, besides the interest of his <i>500l.</i>, + he did not want money. If he had been allowed to want it, the + charge of avarice would lie at Mr., not Mrs., Thrale's door; and + his memory was exposed to no insult beyond the stigma which (as + we shall presently see) his conduct and language necessarily + fixed upon it. All his literary friends did not entertain the + same high opinion of him. An unpublished letter from Dr. Warton + to his brother contains the following passage: + </p> + <p> + "He (Huggins, the translator of Ariosto) abuses Baretti + infernally, and says that he one day lent Baretti a gold watch, + and could never get it afterwards; that after many excuses + Baretti, skulked, and then got Johnson to write to Mr. Huggins a + suppliant letter; <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg099" id= + "pg099">099</a></span> that this letter stopped Huggins awhile, + while Baretti got a protection from the Sardinian ambassador; and + that, at last, with great difficulty, the watch was got from a + pawnbroker to whom Baretti had sold it." + </p> + <p> + This extract is copied from a valuable contribution to the + literary annals of the eighteenth century, for which we are + indebted to the colonial press.<span class="fnref">[1]</span> It + is the diary of an Irish clergyman, containing strong internal + evidence of authenticity, although nothing more is known of it + than that the manuscript was discovered behind an old press in + one of the offices of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. That + such a person saw a good deal of Johnson in 1775, is proved by + Boswell, whose accuracy is frequently confirmed in return. In one + marginal note Mrs. Thrale says: "He was a fine showy talking man. + Johnson liked him of all things in a year or two." In another: + "Dr. Campbell was a very tall handsome man, and, speaking of some + other <i>High</i>-bernian, used this expression: 'Indeed now, and + upon my honour, Sir, I am but a Twitter to him.'"<span class= + "fnref">[2]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Diary of a Visit to England in 1775. By an Irishman (the + Rev. Doctor Thomas Campbell, author of "A Philosophical Survey + of the South of Ireland.") And other Papers by the same hand. + With Notes by Samuel Raymond, M.A., Prothonotary of the Supreme + Court of New South Wales. Sydney. Waugh and Cox. 1854. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [2] He is similarly described in the "Letters," vol. i. p. 329. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Several of his entries throw light on the Thrale establishment: + </p> + <p> + "<i>14th.</i>—This day I called at Mr. Thrale's, where I + was received with all respect by Mr. and Mrs. Thrale. She + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg100" id="pg100">100</a></span> + is a very learned lady, and joins to the charms of her own sex, + the manly understanding of ours. The immensity of the brewery + astonished me." + </p> + <p> + "<i>16th.</i>—Dined with Mr. Thrale along with Dr. Johnson, + and Baretti. Baretti is a plain sensible man, who seems to know + the world well. He talked to me of the invitation given him by + the College of Dublin, but said it (100<i>l.</i> a year and + rooms) was not worth his acceptance; and if it had been, he said, + in point of profit, still he would not have accepted it, for that + now he could not live out of London. He had returned a few years + ago to his own country, but he could not enjoy it; and he was + obliged to return to London, to those connexions he had been + making for near thirty years past. He told me he had several + families with whom, both in town and country, he could go at any + time and spend a month: he is at this time on these terms at Mr. + Thrale's, and he knows how to keep his ground. Talking as we were + at tea of the magnitude of the beer vessels, he said there was + one thing in Mr. Thrale's house still more + extraordinary;—meaning his wife. She gulped the pill very + prettily,—so much for Baretti! + </p> + <p> + "Johnson, you are the very man Lord Chesterfield describes: a + Hottentot indeed, and though your abilities are respectable, you + never can be respected yourself! He has the aspect of an idiot, + without the faintest ray of sense gleaming from any one + feature—with the most awkward garb, and unpowdered grey + wig, on one side only of his head—he is for ever dancing + the devil's <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg101" id= + "pg101">101</a></span> jig, and sometimes he makes the most + driveling effort to whistle some thought in his absent + paroxysms." + </p> + <p> + "<i>25th.</i>—Dined at Mr. Thrale's where there were ten or + more gentlemen, and but one lady besides Mrs. Thrale. The dinner + was excellent: first course, soups at head and foot, removed by + fish and a saddle of mutton; second course, a fowl they call + galena at head, and a capon larger than some of our Irish + turkeys, at foot; third course, four different sorts of ices, + pine-apple, grape, raspberry, and a fourth; in each remove there + were I think fourteen dishes. The two first courses were served + in massy plate. I sat beside Baretti, which was to me the richest + part of the entertainment. He and Mr. and Mrs. Thrale joined in + expressing to me Dr. Johnson's concern that he could not give me + the meeting that day, but desired that I should go and see him." + </p> + <p> + "<i>April 1st.</i>—Dined at Mr. Thrale's, whom in proof of + the magnitude of London, I cannot help remarking, no coachman, + and this is the third I have called, could find without inquiry. + But of this by the way. There was Murphy, Boswell, and Baretti: + the two last, as I learned just before I entered, are mortal + foes, so much so that Murphy and Mrs. Thrale agreed that Boswell + expressed a desire that Baretti should be hanged upon that + unfortunate affair of his killing, &c. Upon this hint, I + went, and without any sagacity, it was easily discernible, for + upon Baretti's entering Boswell did not rise, and upon Baretti's + descry of Boswell he grinned a perturbed glance. Politeness + however smooths the most hostile brows, and theirs <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg102" id="pg102">102</a></span> were + smoothed. Johnson was the subject, both before and after dinner, + for it was the boast of all but myself, that under that roof were + the Doctor's fast friends. His <i>bon-mots</i> were retailed in + such plenty, that they, like a surfeit, could not lie upon my + memory." + </p> + <p> + "N.B. The 'Tour to the Western Isles' was written an twenty days, + and the 'Patriot' in three; 'Taxation no Tyranny,' within a week: + and not one of them would have yet seen the light, had it not + been for Mrs. Thrale and Baretti, who stirred him up by laying + wagers." + </p> + <p> + "<i>April 8th.</i>—Dined with Thrale, where Dr. Johnson + was, and Boswell (and Baretti as usual). The Doctor was not in as + good spirits as he was at Dilly's. He had supped the night before + with Lady ——, Miss Jeffries, one of the maids of + honour, Sir Joshua Reynolds, &c., at Mrs. Abington's. He said + Sir C. Thompson, and some others who were there, spoke like + people who had seen good company, and so did Mrs. Abington + herself, who could not have seen good company." + </p> + <p> + Boswell's note, alluding to the same topic, is: + </p> + <p> + "On Saturday, April 8, I dined with him at Mr. Thrale's, where we + met the Irish Dr. Campbell. Johnson had supped the night before + at Mrs. Abington's with some fashionable people whom he named; + and he seemed much pleased with having made one in so elegant a + circle. Nor did he omit to pique his <i>mistress</i> a little + with jealousy of her housewifery; for he said, with a smile, + 'Mrs. Abington's jelly, my dear lady, was better than yours.'" + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg103" id="pg103">103</a></span> + </p> + <p> + The next year is chiefly memorable for the separation from + Baretti, thus mentioned in "Thraliana": + </p> + <p> + "Baretti had a comical aversion to Mrs. Macaulay, and his + aversions are numerous and strong. If I had not once written his + character in verse,<span class="fnref">[1]</span> I would now + write it in prose, for few people know him better: he + was—<i>Dieu me pardonne</i>, as the French say—my + inmate for very near three years; and though I really liked the + man once for his talents, and at last was weary of him for the + use he made of them, I never altered my sentiments concerning + him; for his character is easily seen, and his soul above + disguise, haughty and insolent, and breathing defiance against + all mankind; while his powers of mind exceed most people's, and + his powers of purse are so slight that they leave him dependent + on all. Baretti is for ever in the state of a stream dammed up: + if he could once get loose, he would bear down all before him. + </p> + <p> + "Every soul that visited at our house while he was master of it, + went away abhorring it; and Mrs. Montagu, grieved to see my + meekness so imposed upon, had thoughts of writing me on the + subject an anonymous letter, advising me to break with him. + Seward, who tried at last to reconcile us, confessed his wonder + that we had lived together so long. Johnson used to oppose and + battle him, but never with his own consent: the moment he was + cool, he would always condemn himself for exerting his + superiority over a man who was his friend, a foreigner, and poor: + yet I have been told <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg104" id= + "pg104">104</a></span> by Mrs. Montagu that he attributed his + loss of our family to Johnson: ungrateful and ridiculous! if it + had not been for his mediation, I would not so long have borne + trampling on, as I did for the last two years of our + acquaintance. + </p> + <p> + "Not a servant, not a child, did he leave me any authority over; + if I would attempt to correct or dismiss them, there was instant + appeal to Mr. Baretti, who was sure always to be against me in + every dispute. With Mr. Thrale I was ever cautious of contending, + conscious that a misunderstanding there could never answer, as I + have no friend or relation in the world to protect me from the + rough treatment of a husband, should he chuse to exert his + prerogatives; but when I saw Baretti openly urging Mr. Thrale to + cut down some little fruit trees my mother had planted and I had + begged might stand, I confess I did take an aversion to the + creature, and secretly resolved his stay should not be prolonged + by my intreaties whenever his greatness chose to take huff and be + gone. As to my eldest daughter, his behaviour was most + ungenerous; he was perpetually spurring her to independence, + telling her she had more sense and would have a better fortune + than her mother, whose admonitions she ought therefore to + despise; that she ought to write and receive her own letters + <i>now</i>, and not submit to an authority I could not keep up if + she once had the spirit to challenge it; that, if I died in a + lying-in which happened while he lived here, he hoped Mr. Thrale + would marry Miss Whitbred, who would be a pretty companion for + Hester, and not tyrannical <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg105" + id="pg105">105</a></span> and overbearing like me. Was I not + fortunate to see myself once quit of a man like this? who thought + his dignity was concerned to set me at defiance, and who was + incessantly telling lies to my prejudice in the ears of my + husband and children? When he walked out of the house on the 6th + day of July, 1776, I wrote down what follows in my table book. + </p> + <p> + "<i>6 July, 1776.</i>—This day is made remarkable by the + departure of Mr. Baretti, who has, since October, 1773, been our + almost constant inmate, companion, and, I vainly hoped, our + friend. On the 11th of November, 1773, Mr. Thrale let him have + <i>50l.</i> and at our return from France <i>50l.</i> more, + besides his clothes and pocket money: in return to all this, he + instructed our eldest daughter—or thought he did—and + puffed her about the town for a wit, a genius, a linguist, + &c. At the beginning of the year 1776, we purposed visiting + Italy under his conduct, but were prevented by an unforeseen and + heavy calamity: that Baretti, however, might not be disappointed + of money as well as of pleasure, Mr. Thrale presented him with + 100 guineas, which at first calmed his wrath a little, but did + not, perhaps, make amends for his vexation; this I am the more + willing to believe, as Dr. Johnson not being angry too, seemed to + grieve him no little, after all our preparations made. + </p> + <p> + "Now Johnson's virtue was engaged; and he, I doubt not, made it a + point of conscience not to increase the distresses of a family + already oppressed with affliction. Baretti, however, from this + time grew sullen and captious; he went on as usual + notwithstanding, <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg106" id= + "pg106">106</a></span> making Streatham his home, carrying on + business there, when he thought he had any to do, and teaching + his pupil at by-times when he chose so to employ himself; for he + always took his choice of hours, and would often spitefully fix + on such as were particularly disagreeable to me, whom he has now + not liked a long while, if ever he did. He professed, however, a + violent attachment to our eldest daughter; said if <i>she</i> had + died instead of her poor brother, he should have destroyed + himself, with many as wild expressions of fondness. Within these + few days, when my back was turned, he would often be telling her + that he would go away and stay a month, with other threats of the + same nature; and she, not being of a caressing or obliging + disposition, never, I suppose, soothed his anger or requested his + stay. + </p> + <p> + "Of all this, however, I can know nothing but from <i>her</i>, + who is very reserved, and whose kindness I cannot so confide in + as to be sure she would tell me all that passed between them; and + her attachment is probably greater to him than me, whom he has + always endeavoured to lessen as much as possible, both in her + eyes and—what was worse—her father's, by telling him + how my parts had been over-praised by Johnson, and over-rated by + the world; that my daughter's skill in languages, even at the age + of fourteen, would vastly exceed mine, and such other idle stuff; + which Mr. Thrale had very little care about, but which Hetty + doubtless thought of great importance. Be this as it may, no + angry words ever passed between him and me, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg107" id="pg107">107</a></span> except + perhaps now and then a little spar or so when company was by, in + the way of raillery merely. + </p> + <p> + "Yesterday, when Sir Joshua and Fitzmaurice dined here, I + addressed myself to him with great particularity of attention, + begging his company for Saturday, as I expected ladies, and said + he must come and flirt with them, &c. My daughter in the + meantime kept on telling me that Mr. Baretti was grown very old + and very cross, would not look at her exercises, but said he + would leave this house soon, for it was no better than + Pandæmonium. Accordingly, the next day he packed up his + cloke-bag, which he had not done for three years, and sent it to + town; and while we were wondering what he would say about it at + breakfast, he was walking to London himself, without taking leave + of any one person, except it may be the girl, who owns they had + much talk, in the course of which he expressed great aversion to + me and even to her, who, he said, he once thought well of. + </p> + <p> + "Now whether she had ever told the man things that I might have + said of him in his absence, by way of provoking him to go, and so + rid herself of his tuition; whether he was puffed up with the + last 100 guineas and longed to be spending it <i>all' + Italiano;</i> whether he thought Mr. Thrale would call him back, + and he should be better established here than ever; or whether he + really was idiot enough to be angry at my threatening to whip + Susan and Sophy for going out of bounds, although <i>he</i> had + given them leave, for Hetty said that was the first offence he + took huff at, <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg108" id= + "pg108">108</a></span> I never now shall know, for he never + expressed himself as an offended man to me, except one day when + he was not shaved at the proper hour forsooth, and then I would + not quarrel with him, because nobody was by, and I knew him be so + vile a lyar that I durst not trust his tongue with a dispute. He + is gone, however, loaded with little presents from me, and with a + large share too of my good opinion, though I most sincerely + rejoice in his departure, and hope we shall never meet more but + by chance. + </p> + <p> + "Since our quarrel I had occasion to talk of him with Tom Davies, + who spoke with horror of his ferocious temper; 'and yet,' says I, + 'there is great sensibility about Baretti: I have seen tears + often stand in his eyes.' 'Indeed,' replies Davies, 'I should + like to have seen that sight vastly, when—even butchers + weep.'" + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] In "The Streatham Portraits." (See Vol. II.) + </p> + </div> + <p> + His intractable character appears from his own account of the + rupture: + </p> + <p> + "When Madam took it into her head to give herself airs, and treat + me with some coldness and superciliousness, I did not hesitate to + set down at breakfast my dish of tea not half drank, go for my + hat and stick that lay in the corner of the room, turn my back to + the house <i>insalutato hospite</i>, and walk away to London + without uttering a syllable, fully resolved never to see her + again, as was the case during no less than four years; nor had + she and I ever met again as friends if she and her husband had + not chanced upon me after that lapse of time at the house of a + gentleman near Beckenham, and coaxed me into a reconciliation, + which, <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg109" id= + "pg109">109</a></span> as almost all reconciliations prove, was + not very sincere on her side or mine; so that there was a total + end of it on Mr. Thrale's demise, which happened about three + years after."<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] The European Magazine, 1788. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The monotony of a constant residence at Streatham was varied by + trips to Bath or Brighton; and it was so much a matter of course + for Johnson to make one of the party, that when (1776), not + expecting him so soon back from a journey with Boswell, the + Thrale family and Baretti started for Bath without him, Boswell + is disposed to treat their departure without the lexicographer as + a slight: + </p> + <p> + "This was not showing the attention which might have been + expected to the 'guide, philosopher, and friend;' the + <i>Imlac</i> who had hastened from the country to console a + distressed mother, who he understood was very anxious for his + return. They had, I found, without ceremony, proceeded on their + journey. I was glad to understand from him that it was still + resolved that his tour to Italy with Mr. and Mrs. Thrale should + take place, of which he had entertained some doubt, on account of + the loss which they had suffered; and his doubts afterwards + appeared to be well founded. He observed, indeed, very justly, + that 'their loss was an additional reason for their going abroad; + and if it had not been fixed that he should have been one of the + party, he would force them out; but he would not advise them + unless his advice was asked, lest they might suspect that he + recommended what he wished on his own <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg110" id="pg110">110</a></span> account.' I + was not pleased that his intimacy with Mr. Thrale's family, + though it no doubt contributed much to his comfort and enjoyment, + was not without some degree of restraint<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span>: not, as has been grossly + suggested<span class="fnref">[2]</span>, that it was required of + him as a task to talk for the entertainment of them and their + company; but that he was not quite at his ease: which, however, + might partly be owing to his own honest pride—that dignity + of mind which is always jealous of appearing too compliant." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] (<i>Marginal note</i>). "What restraint can he mean? + Johnson kept every one else under restraint." + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [2] (<i>Marginal note.</i>) "I do not believe it ever was + suggested." + </p> + </div> + <p> + In his first letter of condolence on Mr. Thrale's death, Johnson + speaks of her having enjoyed happiness in marriage, "to a degree + of which, without personal knowledge, I should have thought the + description fabulous." The "Autobiography" and "Thraliana" tell a + widely different tale. The mortification of not finding herself + appreciated by her husband was poignantly increased, during the + last years of his life, by finding another offensively preferred + to her. He was so fascinated by one of her fair friends, as to + lose sight altogether of what was due to appearances or to the + feelings of his wife. + </p> + <p> + A full account of the lady in question is given in the + "Thraliana": + </p> + <p> + "<i>Miss Streatfield</i>.—I have since heard that Dr. + Collier picked up a more useful friend, a Mrs. Streatfield, a + widow, high in fortune and rather eminent both for the beauties + of person and mind; her children, I find, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg111" id="pg111">111</a></span> he has been + educating; and her eldest daughter is just now coming out into + the world with a great character for elegance and + literature.—<i>20 November, 1776.</i>" + </p> + <p> + "<i>19 May, 1778.</i>—The person who wrote the title of + this book at the top of the page, on the other side—left + hand—in the black letter, was the identical Miss Sophia + Streatfield, mentioned in 'Thraliana,' as pupil to poor dear + Doctor Collier, after he and I had parted. By the chance meeting + of some of the currents which keep this ocean of human life from + stagnating, this lady and myself were driven together nine months + ago at Brighthelmstone: we soon grew intimate from having often + heard of each other, and I have now the honour and happiness of + calling her my friend. Her face is eminently pretty; her carriage + elegant; her heart affectionate, and her mind cultivated. There + is above all this an attractive sweetness in her manner, which + claims and promises to repay one's confidence, and which drew + from me the secret of my keeping a 'Thraliana,' &c. &c. + &c." + </p> + <p> + "<i>Jan. 1779.</i>—Mr. Thrale is fallen in love, really and + seriously, with Sophy Streatfield; but there is no wonder in + that; she is very pretty, very gentle, soft, and insinuating; + hangs about him, dances round him, cries when she parts from him, + squeezes his hand slyly, and with her sweet eyes full of tears + looks so fondly in his face<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span>—and <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg112" id="pg112">112</a></span> all for love of me as she + pretends; that I can hardly, sometimes, help laughing in her + face. A man must not be a <i>man</i> but an <i>it</i>, to resist + such artillery. Marriott said very well, + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'Man flatt'ring man, not always can prevail, + </p> + <p> + But woman flatt'ring man, can never fail.' + </p> + </div> + <p> + "Murphy did not use, I think, to have a good opinion of me, but + he seems to have changed his mind this Christmas, and to believe + better of me. I am glad on't to be sure: the suffrage of such a + man is well worth having: he sees Thrale's love of the fair S.S. + I suppose: approves my silent and patient endurance of what I + could not prevent by more rough and sincere behaviour." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "And Merlin look'd and half believed her true, + </p> + <p> + So tender was her voice, so fair her face, + </p> + <p> + So sweetly gleam'd her eyes behind her tears, + </p> + <p> + Like sunlight on the plain, behind a shower." + </p> + <p> + <i>Idylls of The King.—Vivien.</i> + </p> + </div> + </div> + <p> + "20 <i>January</i>, 1780.—Sophy Streatfield is come to + town: she is in the 'Morning Post' too, I see (to be in the + 'Morning Post' is no good thing). She has won Wedderburne's heart + from his wife, I believe, and few married women will bear + <i>that</i> patiently if I do; they will some of them wound her + reputation, so that I question whether it can recover. Lady + Erskine made many odd inquiries about her to me yesterday, and + winked and looked wise at her sister. The dear S.S. must be a + little on her guard; nothing is so spiteful as a woman robbed of + a heart she thinks she has a claim upon. She will not lose + <i>that</i> with temper, which she has taken perhaps no pains at + all to preserve: and I do not observe with any pleasure, I fear, + that my husband prefers Miss Streatfield to me, though I must + acknowledge her younger, handsomer, and a better scholar. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg113" id="pg113">113</a></span> + Of her chastity, however, I never had a doubt: she was bred by + Dr. Collier in the strictest principles of piety and virtue; she + not only knows she will be always chaste, but she knows why she + will be so.<span class="fnref">[1]</span> Mr. Thrale is now by + dint of disease quite out of the question, so I am a + disinterested spectator; but her coquetry is very dangerous + indeed, and I wish she were married that there might be an end + on't. Mr. Thrale loves her, however, sick or well, better by a + thousand degrees than he does me or any one else, and even now + desires nothing on earth half so much as the sight of his Sophia. + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'E'en from the tomb the voice of nature cries! + </p> + <p> + E'en in our ashes live their wonted fires!' + </p> + </div> + <p> + "The Saturday before Mr. Thrale was taken ill, Saturday, 19th + February—he was struck Monday, 21st February—we had a + large party to tea, cards, and supper; Miss Streatfield was one, + and as Mr. Thrale sate by her, he pressed her hand to his heart + (as she told me herself), and said 'Sophy, we shall not enjoy + this long, and to-night I will not be cheated of my only + comfort.' Poor soul! how shockingly tender! On the first Fryday + that he spoke after his stupor, she came to see him, and as she + sate by the bedside pitying him, 'Oh,' says he, 'who would not + suffer even all that I have endured to be pitied by you!' This I + heard myself." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Besides, her inborn virtue fortify, + </p> + <p> + They are most firmly good, who best know why." + </p> + </div> + </div> + <p> + "Here is Sophy Streatfield again, handsomer than <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg114" id="pg114">114</a></span> ever, and + flushed with new conquests; the Bishop of Chester feels her + power, I am sure; she showed me a letter from him that was as + tender and had all the tokens upon it as strong as ever I + remember to have seen 'em; I repeated to her out of Pope's + Homer—'Very well, Sophy,' says I: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'Range undisturb'd among the hostile crew, + </p> + <p> + But touch not Hinchliffe<span class="fnref">[1]</span>, + Hinchliffe is my due.' + </p> + </div> + <p> + Miss Streatfield (says my master) could have quoted these lines + in the Greek; his saying so piqued me, and piqued me because it + was true. I wish I understood Greek! Mr. Thrale's preference of + her to me never vexed me so much as my consciousness—or + fear at least—that he has reason for his preference. She + has ten times my beauty, and five times my scholarship: wit and + knowledge has she none." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] For Hector. Hinchliffe was Bishop of Peterborough. + </p> + </div> + <p> + "<i>May</i>, 1781.—Sophy Streatfield is an incomprehensible + girl; here has she been telling me such tender passages of what + passed between her and Mr. Thrale, that she half frights me + somehow, at the same time declaring her attachment to Vyse yet + her willingness to marry Lord Loughborough. Good God! what an + uncommon girl! and handsome almost to perfection, I think: + delicate in her manners, soft in her voice, and strict in her + principles: I never saw such a character, she is wholly out of my + reach; and I can only say that the man who runs mad for Sophy + Streatfield has no reason to be ashamed of his passion; few + people, however, <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg115" id= + "pg115">115</a></span> seem disposed to take her for + life—everybody's admiration, as Mrs. Byron says, and + nobody's choice. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Streatham, January 1st</i>, 1782.—Sophy Streatfield has + begun the new year nicely with a new conquest. Poor dear Doctor + Burney! <i>he</i> is now the reigning favourite, and she spares + neither pains nor caresses to turn that good man's head, much to + the vexation of his family; particularly my Fanny, who is + naturally provoked to see sport made of her father in his last + stage of life by a young coquet, whose sole employment in this + world seems to have been winning men's hearts on purpose to fling + them away. How she contrives to keep bishops, and brewers, and + doctors, and directors of the East India Company, all in chains + so, and almost all at the same time, would amaze a wiser person + than me; I can only say let us mark the end! Hester will perhaps + see her out and pronounce, like Solon, on her wisdom and + conduct." + </p> + <p> + As this lady has excited great interest, and was much with the + Thrales, I will add what I have been able to ascertain concerning + her. She is frequently mentioned in Madame D'Arblay's Diary: + </p> + <p> + "<i>Streatham, Sept</i>. 1778.—To be sure she (Mrs. Thrale) + saw it was not totally disagreeable to me; though I was really + astounded when she hinted at my becoming a rival to Miss + Streatfield in the Doctor's good graces. + </p> + <p> + "'I had a long letter,' she said, 'from Sophy Streatfield t'other + day, and she sent Dr. Johnson her elegant edition of the + 'Classics;' but when he had read the <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg116" id="pg116">116</a></span> letter, he + said 'she is a sweet creature, and I love her much; but my little + Burney writes a better letter.' Now,' continued she, 'that is + just what I wished him to say of you both.'" + </p> + <p> + "<i>Streatham, Sept</i>. 1779.—Mr. Seward, you know, told + me that she had tears at command, and I begin to think so too, + for when Mrs. Thrale, who had previously told me I should see her + cry, began coaxing her to stay, and saying, 'If you go, I shall + know you don't love me so well as Lady Gresham,'—she did + cry, not loud indeed, nor much, but the tears came into her eyes, + and rolled down her fine cheeks. + </p> + <p> + "'Come hither, Miss Burney,' cried Mrs. Thrale; 'come and see + Miss Streatfield cry!' + </p> + <p> + "I thought it a mere <i>badinage</i>. I went to them, but when I + saw real tears, I was shocked, and saying, 'No, I won't look at + her,' ran away frightened, lest she should think I laughed at + her, which Mrs. Thrale did so openly, that, as I told her, had + she served me so, I should have been affronted with her ever + after. + </p> + <p> + "Miss Streatfield, however, whether from a sweetness not to be + ruffled, or from not perceiving there was any room for taking + offence, gently wiped her eyes, and was perfectly composed!" + </p> + <p> + "<i>Streatham, June</i>, 1779.—Seward, said Mrs. Thrale, + had affronted Johnson, and then Johnson affronted Seward, and + then the S.S. cried. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Sir Philip</i> (<i>Clerke</i>).—Well, I have heard so + much of these tears, that I would give the universe to have a + sight of them. <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg117" id= + "pg117">117</a></span> + </p> + <p> + "<i>Mrs. Thrale</i>.—Well, she shall cry again, if you like + it. + </p> + <p> + "<i>S.S.</i>.—No, pray, Mrs. Thrale. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Sir Philip</i>.—Oh, pray do! pray let me see a little + of it. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Mrs. Thrale</i>.—Yes, do cry a little Sophy [in a + wheedling voice], pray do! Consider, now, you are going to-day, + and it's very hard if you won't cry a little: indeed, S.S., you + ought to cry. + </p> + <p> + "Now for the wonder of wonders. When Mrs. Thrale, in a coaxing + voice, suited to a nurse soothing a baby, had run on for some + time,—while all the rest of us, in laughter, joined in the + request,—two crystal tears came into the soft eyes of the + S.S., and rolled gently down her cheeks! Such a sight I never saw + before, nor could I have believed. She offered not to conceal or + dissipate them: on the contrary, she really contrived to have + them seen by everybody. She looked, indeed, uncommonly handsome; + for her pretty face was not, like Chloe's, blubbered; it was + smooth and elegant, and neither her features nor complexion were + at all ruffled; nay, indeed, she was smiling all the time. + </p> + <p> + "'Look, look!' cried Mrs. Thrale; 'see if the tears are not come + already.' + </p> + <p> + "Loud and rude bursts of laughter broke from us all at once. How, + indeed, could they be restrained?" + </p> + <p> + "<i>Streatham, Sunday, June</i> 13, 1779.—After church we + all strolled round the grounds, and the topic of our discourse + was Miss Streatfield. Mrs. Thrale asserted that she had a power + of captivation that was irresistible; <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg118" id="pg118">118</a></span> that her + beauty, joined to her softness, her caressing manners, her + tearful eyes, and alluring looks, would insinuate her into the + heart of any man she thought worth attacking. + </p> + <p> + "Sir Philip declared himself of a totally different opinion, and + quoted Dr. Johnson against her, who had told him that, taking + away her Greek, she was as ignorant as a butterfly. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Seward declared her Greek was all against her with him, for + that, instead of reading Pope, Swift, or the + Spectator—books from which she might derive useful + knowledge and improvement—it had led her to devote all her + reading time to the first eight books of Homer. + </p> + <p> + "'But,' said Mrs. Thrale, 'her Greek, you must own, has made all + her celebrity;—you would have heard no more of her than of + any other pretty girl, but for that.' + </p> + <p> + "'What I object to,' said Sir Philip, 'is her avowed preference + for this parson. Surely it is very indelicate in any lady to let + all the world know with whom she is in love!" + </p> + <p> + "'The parson,' said the severe Mr. Seward, 'I suppose, spoke + first,—or she would as soon have been in love with you, or + with me!' + </p> + <p> + "You will easily believe I gave him no pleasant look." + </p> + <p> + The parson was the Rev. Dr. Vyse, Rector of Lambeth. He had made + an imprudent marriage early in life, and was separated from his + wife, of whom he hoped <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg119" id= + "pg119">119</a></span> to get rid either by divorce or by her + death, as she was reported to be in bad health. Under these + circumstances, he had entered into a conditional engagement with + the fair S.S.; but eventually threw her over, either in despair + at his wife's longevity or from caprice. On the mention of his + name by Boswell, Mrs. Piozzi writes opposite: "whose connection + with Sophia Streatfield was afterwards so much talked about, and + I suppose never understood: certainly not at all by H.L.P." To + return to the D'Arblay Diary: + </p> + <p> + "<i>Streatham, June</i> 14, 1781.—We had my dear father and + Sophy Streatfield, who, as usual, was beautiful, caressing, + amiable, sweet, and—fatiguing." + </p> + <p> + "<i>Streatham, Aug</i>. 1781.—Some time after Sophy + Streatfield was talked of,—Oh, with how much impertinence! + as if she was at the service of any man who would make proposals + to her! Yet Mr. Seward spoke of her with praise and tenderness + all the time, as if, though firmly of this opinion, he was warmly + her admirer. From such admirers and such admiration Heaven guard + me! Mr. Crutchley said but little; but that little was bitter + enough. + </p> + <p> + "'However,' said Mr. Seward, 'after all that can be said, there + is nobody whose manners are more engaging, nobody more amiable + than the little Sophy; and she is certainly very pretty; I must + own I have always been afraid to trust myself with her.' + </p> + <p> + "Here Mr. Crutchley looked very sneeringly. + </p> + <p> + "'Nay, 'squire,' cried Mr. Seward, 'she is very dangerous, I can + tell you; and if she had you at a fair trial, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg120" id="pg120">120</a></span> she would + make an impression that would soften-even your hard heart.' + </p> + <p> + "'No need of any further trial,' said he, laughing, 'for she has + done that already; and so soft was the impression that it + absolutely all dissolved!—melted quite away, and not a + trace of it left!' + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Seward then proposed that she should marry Sir John Miller, + who has just lost his wife; and very gravely said, he had a great + mind to set out for Tunbridge, and carry her with him to Bath, + and so make the match without delay! + </p> + <p> + "'But surely,' said Mrs. Thrale, 'if you fail, you will think + yourself bound in honour to marry her yourself?' + </p> + <p> + "'Why, that's the thing,' said he; 'no, I can't take the little + Sophy myself; I should have too many rivals; rivals; no, that + won't do.' + </p> + <p> + "How abominably conceited and <i>sure</i> these pretty gentlemen + are! However, Mr. Crutchley here made a speech that half won my + heart. + </p> + <p> + "'I wish,' said he, 'Miss Streatfield was here at this moment to + cuff you, Seward!' + </p> + <p> + "'Cuff me,' cried he. 'What, the little Sophy!—and why?' + </p> + <p> + "'For disposing of her so freely. I think a man deserves to be + cuffed for saying <i>any</i> lady will marry him.' + </p> + <p> + "I seconded this speech with much approbation." + </p> + <p> + "<i>London, Jan.</i> 1783.—Before they went came Miss + Streatfield, looking pale, but very elegant and pretty. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg121" id="pg121">121</a></span> + She was in high spirits, and I hope has some reason. She made, at + least, speeches that provoked such surmises. When the Jacksons + went,— + </p> + <p> + "'That,' said I, 'is the celebrated Jackson of Exeter; I dare say + you would like him if you knew him.' + </p> + <p> + "'I dare say I should,' cried she, simpering; 'for he has the two + requisites for me,—he is tall and thin.' + </p> + <p> + "To be sure, this did not at all call for raillery! Dr. Vyse has + always been distinguished by these two epithets. I said, however, + nothing, as my mother was present; but she would not let my looks + pass unnoticed. + </p> + <p> + "'Oh!' cried she, 'how wicked you look!—No need of seeing + Mrs. Siddons for expression!—However, you know how much + that is my taste,—tall and thin!—but you don't know + how <i>apropos</i> it is just now!'" + </p> + <p> + Nine years after the last entry, we find: + </p> + <p> + "<i>May</i> 25, 1792.—We now met Mrs. Porteous; and who + should be with her but the poor pretty S.S., whom so long I had + not seen, and who has now lately been finally given up by her + long-sought and very injurious lover, Dr. Vyse? + </p> + <p> + "She is sadly faded, and looked disturbed and unhappy but still + beautiful, though no longer blooming; and still affectionate, + though absent and evidently absorbed. We had a little chat + together about the Thrales. In mentioning our former intimacy + with them, 'Ah, those,' she cried, 'were happy times!' and her + eyes glistened. Poor thing! hers has been a <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg122" id="pg122">122</a></span> lamentable + story!—Imprudence and vanity have rarely been mixed with so + much sweetness, and good-humour, and candour, and followed with + more reproach and ill success. We agreed to renew acquaintance + next winter; at present she will be little more in town." + </p> + <p> + In a letter to Madame D'Arblay, Oct. 20, 1820, Mrs. Piozzi says: + "Fell, the bookseller in Bond Street, told me a fortnight or + three weeks ago, that Miss Streatfield lives where she did in his + neighbourhood, Clifford Street, S.S. still." On the 18th January, + 1821: "'The once charming S.S. had inquired for me of Nornaville + and Fell, the Old Bond Street book-sellers, so I thought she + meditated writing, but was deceived." + </p> + <p> + The story she told the author of "Piozziana," in proof of + Johnson's want of firmness, clearly refers to this lady: + </p> + <p> + "I had remarked to her that Johnson's readiness to condemn any + moral deviation in others was, in a man so entirely before the + public as he was, nearly a proof of his own spotless purity of + conduct. She said, 'Yes, Johnson was, on the whole, a rigid + moralist; but he could be ductile, I may say, servile; and I will + give you an instance. We had a large dinner-party at our house; + Johnson sat on one side of me, and Burke on the other; and in the + company there was a young female (Mrs. Piozzi named her), to whom + I, in my peevishness, thought Mr. Thrale superfluously attentive, + to the neglect of me and others; especially of myself, then near + my confinement, and dismally low-spirited; <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg123" id="pg123">123</a></span> + notwithstanding which, Mr. T. very unceremoniously begged of me + to change place with Sophy ——, who was threatened + with a sore throat, and might be injured by sitting near the + door. I had scarcely swallowed a spoonful of soup when this + occurred, and was so overset by the coarseness of the proposal, + that I burst into tears, said something petulant—that + perhaps ere long, the lady might be at the head of Mr. T.'s + table, without displacing the mistress of the house, &c., and + so left the apartment. I retired to the drawing-room, and for an + hour or two contended with my vexation, as I best could, when + Johnson and Burke came up. On seeing them, I resolved to give a + <i>jobation</i> to both, but fixed on Johnson for my charge, and + asked him if he had noticed what passed, what I had suffered, and + whether allowing for the state of my nerves, I was much to blame? + He answered, "Why, possibly not; your feelings were outraged." I + said, "Yes, greatly so; and I cannot help remarking with what + blandness and composure you <i>witnessed</i> the outrage. Had + this transaction been told of others, your anger would have known + no bounds; but, towards a man who gives good dinners &c., you + were meekness itself!" Johnson coloured, and Burke, I thought, + looked foolish; but I had not a word of answer from either.'" + </p> + <p> + The only excuse for Mr. Thrale is to be found in his mental and + bodily condition at the time, which made it impossible for + Johnson or Burke to interfere without a downright quarrel with + him, nor without making matters worse. This, however, is not the + only instance <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg124" id= + "pg124">124</a></span> in which Johnson witnessed Thrale's laxity + of morals without reproving it. Opposite the passage in which + Boswell reports Johnson as palliating infidelity in a husband by + the remark, that the man imposes no bastards on his wife, she + writes: "Sometimes he does. Johnson knew a man who did, and the + lady took very tender care of them." + </p> + <p> + Madame D'Arblay was not uniformly such a source of comfort to her + as that lady supposed. The entries in "Thraliana" relating to her + show this: + </p> + <p> + "<i>August,</i> 1779.—Fanny Burney has been a long time + from me; I was glad to see her again; yet she makes me miserable + too in many respects, so restlessly and apparently anxious, lest + I should give myself airs of patronage or load her with the + shackles of dependance. I live with her always in a degree of + pain that precludes friendship—dare not ask her to buy me a + ribbon—dare not desire her to touch the bell, lest she + should think herself injured—lest she should forsooth + appear in the character of Miss Neville, and I in that of the + widow Bromley. See Murphy's 'Know Your Own Mind.'" + </p> + <p> + "Fanny Burney has kept her room here in my house seven days, with + a fever or something that she called a fever; I gave her every + medicine and every slop with my own hand; took away her dirty + cups, spoons, &c.; moved her tables: in short, was doctor, + and nurse and maid—for I did not like the servants should + have additional trouble lest they should hate her for it. And + now,—with the true gratitude of a wit, she tells me + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg125" id="pg125">125</a></span> + that the world thinks the better of me for my civilities to her. + It does? does it?" + </p> + <p> + "Miss Burney was much admired at Bath (1780); the puppy-men said, + 'She had such a drooping air and such a timid intelligence;' or, + 'a timid air,' I think it was,' and a drooping intelligence;' + never sure was such a collection of pedantry and affectation as + rilled Bath when we were on that spot. How everything else and + everybody set off my gallant bishop. 'Quantum lenta solent inter + viburna Cupressi.' Of all the people I ever heard read verse in + my whole life, the best, the most perfect reader, is the Bishop + of Peterboro' (Hinchcliffe.)"<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] In a marginal note on Boswell, she says: "The people (in + 1783) did read shamefully. Yet Mr. Lee, the poet, many years + before Johnson was born, read so gracefully, the players would + not accept his tragedies till they had heard them from other + lips: his own (they said) sweetened all which proceeded from + them." Speaker Onslow equally was celebrated for his manner of + reading. + </p> + </div> + <p> + "<i>July 1st</i>, 1780.—Mrs. Byron, who really loves me, + was disgusted at Miss Burney's carriage to me, who have been such + a friend and benefactress to her: not an article of dress, not a + ticket for public places, not a thing in the world that she could + not command from me: yet always insolent, always pining for home, + always preferring the mode of life in St. Martin's Street to all + I could do for her. She is a saucy-spirited little puss to be + sure, but I love her dearly for all that; and I fancy she has a + real regard for me, if she did not think it beneath the dignity + of a wit, or of what she values more—the dignity of Dr. + Burnett's daughter—to <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg126" + id="pg126">126</a></span> indulge it. Such dignity! the Lady + Louisa of Leicester Square!<span class="fnref">[1]</span> In good + time!" + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Alluding to a character in "Evelina." + </p> + </div> + <p> + "1781.—What a blockhead Dr. Burney is to be always sending + for his daughter home so! what a monkey! is she not better and + happier with me than she can be anywhere else? Johnson is enraged + at the silliness of their family conduct, and Mrs. Byron + disgusted; I confess myself provoked excessively, but I love the + girl so dearly—and the Doctor, too, for that matter, only + that he has such odd notions of superiority in his own house, and + will have his children under his feet forsooth, rather than let + 'em live in peace, plenty, and comfort anywhere from home. If I + did not provide Fanny with every wearable—every wishable, + indeed,—it would not vex me to be served so; but to see the + impossibility of compensating for the pleasures of St. Martin's + Street, makes one at once merry and mortified. + </p> + <p> + "Dr. Burney did not like his daughter should learn Latin even of + Johnson, who offered to teach her for friendship, because then + she would have been as wise as himself forsooth, and Latin was + too masculine for Misses. A narrow-souled goose-cap the man must + be at last, agreeable and amiable all the while too, beyond + almost any other human creature. Well, mortal man is but a paltry + animal! the best of us have such drawbacks both upon virtue, + wisdom, and knowledge." <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg127" id= + "pg127">127</a></span> + </p> + <p> + In what his daughter calls a doggrel list of his friends and his + feats, Dr. Burney has thus mentioned the Thrales: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "1776.—This year's acquaintance began with the Thrales, + </p> + <p> + Where I met with great talents 'mongst females and males, + </p> + <p> + But the best thing it gave me from that time to this, + </p> + <p> + Was the freedom it gave me to sound the abyss, + </p> + <p> + At my ease and my leisure, of Johnson's great mind, + </p> + <p> + Where new treasures unnumber'd I constantly find." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Highly to her credit, Mrs. Thrale did not omit any part of her + own duties to her husband because he forgot his. In March, 1780, + she writes to Johnson: + </p> + <p> + "I am willing to show myself in Southwark, or in any place, for + my master's pleasure or advantage; but have no present conviction + that to be re-elected would be advantageous, so shattered a state + as his nerves are in just now.—Do not you, however, fancy + for a moment, that I shrink from fatigue—or desire to + escape from doing my duty;—spiting one's antagonist is a + reason that never ought to operate, and never does operate with + me: I care nothing about a rival candidate's innuendos, I care + only about my husband's health and fame; and if we find that he + earnestly wishes to be once more member for the Borough—he + <i>shall</i> be member, if anything done or suffered by me will + help make him so." + </p> + <p> + In the May following she writes: "Meanwhile, Heaven send this + Southwark election safe, for a disappointment would half kill my + husband, and there is <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg128" id= + "pg128">128</a></span> no comfort in tiring every friend to death + in such a manner and losing the town at last." + </p> + <p> + This was an agitating month. In "Thraliana ": + </p> + <p> + "<i>20th May</i>, 1780.—I got back to Bath again and staid + there till the riots<span class="fnref">[1]</span> drove us all + away the first week in June: we made a dawdling journey, cross + country, to Brighthelmstone, where all was likely to be at peace: + the letters we found there, however, shewed us how near we were + to ruin here in the Borough: where nothing but the astonishing + presence of mind shewed by Perkins in amusing the mob with meat + and drink and huzzas, till Sir Philip Jennings Clerke could get + the troops and pack up the counting-house bills, bonds, &c. + and carry them, which he did, to Chelsea College for + safety,—could have saved us from actual undoing. The + villains <i>had</i> broke in, and our brewhouse would have blazed + in ten minutes, when a property of £150,000 would have been + utterly lost, and its once flourishing possessors quite undone. + </p> + <p> + "Let me stop here to give God thanks for so very undeserved, so + apparent, an interposition of Providence in our favour. + </p> + <p> + "I left Mr. Thrale at Brighthelmstone and came to town again to + see what was left to be done: we have now got arms and mean to + defend ourselves by force if further violence is intended. Sir + Philip comes every day at some hour or another—good + creature, how kind he is! and how much I ought to love him! God + knows <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg129" id= + "pg129">129</a></span> I am not in this case wanting to my duty. + I have presented Perkins, with my Master's permission, with two + hundred guineas, and a silver urn for his lady, with his own + cypher on it and this motto—Mollis responsio, Iram + avertit." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] The Lord George Gordon Riots. + </p> + </div> + <p> + In the spring of 1781, "I found," says Boswell, "on visiting Mr. + Thrale that he was now very ill, and had removed, I suppose by + the solicitation of Mrs. Thrale, to a house in Grosvenor Square." + She has written opposite: "Spiteful again! He went by direction + of his physicians where they could easiest attend to him." + </p> + <p> + The removal to Grosvenor Square is thus mentioned in "Thraliana": + </p> + <p> + "<i>Monday, January 29th</i>, 1781.—So now we are to spend + this winter in Grosvenor Square; my master has taken a + ready-furnished lodging-house there, and we go in to-morrow. He + frighted me cruelly a while ago; he would have Lady Shelburne's + house, one of the finest in London; he would buy, he would build, + he would give twenty to thirty guineas a week for a house. Oh + Lord, thought I, the people will sure enough throw stones at me + now when they see a dying man go to such mad expenses, and all, + as they will naturally think, to please a wife wild with the love + of expense. This was the very thing I endeavoured to avoid by + canvassing the borough for him, in hopes of being through that + means tyed to the brewhouse where I always hated to live till + now, that I conclude his constitution lost, and that the world + will say <i>I</i> tempt him in his weak state of body and mind + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg130" id="pg130">130</a></span> + to take a fine house for me at the flashy end of the town." "He + however, dear creature, is as absolute, ay, and ten times more + so, than ever, since he suspects his head to be suspected, and to + Grosvenor Square we are going, and I cannot be sorry, for it will + doubtless be comfortable enough to see one's friends + commodiously, and I have long wished to quit <i>Harrow + Corner</i>, to be sure; how could one help it? though I did + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'Call round my casks each object of desire' + </p> + </div> + <p> + all last winter: but it was a heavy drag too, and what signifies + resolving <i>never</i> to be pleased? I will make myself + comfortable in my new habitation, and be thankful to God and my + husband." + </p> + <p class="break"> + On February 7, 1781, she writes to Madame D'Arblay: + </p> + <p> + "Yesterday I had a conversazione. Mrs. Montagu was brilliant in + diamonds, solid in judgment, critical in talk. Sophy smiled, + Piozzi sung, Pepys panted with admiration, Johnson was good + humoured, Lord John Clinton attentive, Dr. Bowdler lame, and my + master not asleep. Mrs. Ord looked elegant, Lady Rothes dainty, + Mrs. Davenant dapper, and Sir Philip's curls were all blown about + by the wind. Mrs. Byron rejoices that her Admiral and I agree so + well; the way to his heart is connoisseurship it seems, and for a + background and contorno, who comes up to Mrs. Thrale, you know." + </p> + <p> + In "Thraliana": + </p> + <p> + "<i>Sunday, March 18th</i>, 1781.—Well! Now I have + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg131" id="pg131">131</a></span> + experienced the delights of a London winter, spent in the bosom + of flattery, gayety, and Grosvenor Square; 'tis a poor thing, + however, and leaves a void in the mind, but I have had my + compting-house duties to attend, my sick master to watch, my + little children to look after, and how much good have I done in + any way? Not a scrap as I can see; the pecuniary affairs have + gone on perversely: how should they chuse [an omission here] when + the sole proprietor is incapable of giving orders, yet not so far + incapable as to be set aside! Distress, fraud, folly, meet me at + every turn, and I am not able to fight against them all, though + endued with an iron constitution, which shakes not by sleepless + nights or days severely fretted. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Thrale talks now of going to Spa and Italy again; how shall + we drag him thither? A man who cannot keep awake four hours at a + stroke &c. Well! this will indeed be a tryal of one's + patience; and who must go with us on this expedition? Mr. + Johnson!—he will indeed be the only happy person of the + party; he values nothing <i>under</i> heaven but his own mind, + which is a spark <i>from</i> heaven, and that will be invigorated + by the addition of new ideas. If Mr. Thrale dies on the road, + Johnson will console himself by learning how it is to travel with + a corpse: and, after all, such reasoning is the true + philosophy—one's heart is a mere incumbrance—would I + could leave mine behind. The children shall go to their sisters + at Kensington, Mrs. Cumyns may take care of them all. God grant + us a happy meeting some <i>where</i> and some <i>time</i>! + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg132" id="pg132">132</a></span> + </p> + <p> + "Baretti should attend, I think; there is no man who has so much + of every language, and can manage so well with Johnson, is so + tidy on the road, so active top to obtain good accommodations. He + is the man in the world, I think, whom I most abhor, and who + <i>hates</i> and <i>professes</i> to <i>hate me</i> the most; but + what does that signifie? He will be careful of Mr. Thrale and + Hester whom he <i>does</i> love—and he won't strangle + <i>me</i>, I suppose. Somebody we <i>must</i> have. Croza would + court our daughter, and Piozzi could not talk to Johnson, nor, I + suppose, do one any good but sing to one,—and how should we + <i>sing songs in a strange land</i>? Baretti must be the man, and + I will beg it of him as a favour. Oh, the triumph he will have! + and the lyes he will tell!" Thrale's death is thus described in + "Thraliana": + </p> + <p> + "On the Sunday, the 1st of April, I went to hear the Bishop of + Peterborough preach at May Fair Chapel, and though the sermon had + nothing in it particularly pathetic, I could not keep my tears + within my eyes. I spent the evening, however, at Lady Rothes', + and was cheerful. Found Sir John Lade, Johnson, and Boswell, with + Mr. Thrale, at my return to the Square. On Monday morning Mr. + Evans came to breakfast; Sir Philip and Dr. Johnson to + dinner—so did Baretti. Mr. Thrale eat voraciously—so + voraciously that, encouraged by Jebb and Pepys, who had charged + me to do so, I checked him rather severely, and Mr. Johnson added + these remarkable words: "Sir, after the denunciation of your + physicians this morning, such eating is little better than + suicide." He did not, however, desist, and <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg133" id="pg133">133</a></span> Sir Philip + said, he eat apparently in defiance of control, and that it was + better for us to say nothing to him. Johnson observed that he + thought so too; and that he spoke more from a sense of duty than + a hope of success. Baretti and these two spent the evening with + me, and I was enumerating the people who were to meet the Indian + ambassadors on the Wednesday. I had been to Negri's and bespoke + an elegant entertainment. + </p> + <p> + "On the next day, Tuesday the 3rd, Mrs. Hinchliffe called on me + in the morning to go see Webber's drawings of the South Sea + rareties. We met the Smelts, the Ords, and numberless + <i>blues</i> there, and displayed our pedantry at our pleasure. + Going and coming, however, I quite teazed Mrs. Hinchliffe with my + low-spirited terrors about Mr. Thrale, who had not all this while + one symptom worse than he had had for months; though the + physicians this Tuesday morning agreed that a continuation of + such dinners as he had lately made would soon dispatch a life so + precarious and uncertain. When I came home to dress, Piozzi, who + was in the next room teaching Hester to sing, began lamenting + that he was engaged to Mrs. Locke on the following evening, when + I had such a world of company to meet these fine Orientals; he + had, however, engaged Roncaglia and Sacchini to begin with, and + would make a point of coming himself at nine o'clock if possible. + I gave him the money I had collected for his + benefit—35<i>l</i>. I remember it was—a banker's + note—and burst out o' crying, and said, I was sure I should + not go to it. The man was shocked, and wondered what I meant. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg134" id="pg134">134</a></span> + Nay, says I, 'tis mere lowness of spirits, for Mr. Thrale is very + well now, and is gone out in his carriage to spit cards, as I + call'd it—sputar le carte. Just then came a letter from Dr. + Pepys, insisting to speak with me in the afternoon, and though + there was nothing very particular in the letter considering our + intimacy, I burst out o' crying again, and threw myself into an + agony, saying, I was sure Mr. Thrale would dye. + </p> + <p> + "Miss Owen came to dinner, and Mr. Thrale came home so well! and + in such spirits! he had invited more people to my concert, or + conversazione, or musical party, of the next day, and was + delighted to think what a show we should make. He eat, however, + more than enormously. Six things the day before, and eight on + this day, with strong beer in such quantities! the very servants + were frighted, and when Pepys came in the evening he said this + could not last—either there must be + <i>legal</i><span class="fnref">[1]</span> restraint or certain + death. Dear Mrs. Byron spent the evening with me, and Mr. + Crutchley came from Sunning-hill to be ready for the morrow's + flash. Johnson was at the Bishop of Chester's. I went down in the + course of the afternoon to see after my master as usual, and + found him not asleep, but sitting with his legs + up—<i>because</i>, as he express'd it. I kissed him, and + said how good he was to be so careful of himself. He enquired who + was above, but had no disposition to <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg135" id="pg135">135</a></span> come up + stairs. Miss Owen and Mrs. Byron now took their leave. The Dr. + had been gone about twenty minutes when Hester went down to see + her papa, and found him on the floor. What's the meaning of this? + says she, in an agony. I chuse it, replies Mr. Thrale firmly; I + lie so o' purpose. She ran, however, to call his valet, who was + gone out—happy to leave him so particularly <i>well</i>, as + he thought. When my servant went instead, Mr. Thrale bid him + begone, in a firm tone, and added that he was very well and chose + to lie so. By this time, however, Mr. Crutchley was run down at + Hetty's intreaty, and had sent to fetch Pepys back. He was got + but into Upper Brook Street, and found his friend in a most + violent fit of the apoplexy, from which he only recovered to + relapse into another, every one growing weaker as his strength + grew less, till six o'clock on Wednesday morning, 4th April, + 1781, when he died. Sir Richard Jebb, who was fetched at the + beginning of the distress, seeing death certain, quitted the + house without even prescribing. Pepys did all that could be done, + and Johnson, who was sent for at eleven o'clock, never left him, + for while breath remained he still hoped. I ventured in once, and + saw them cutting his clothes off to bleed him, but I saw no + more." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] (<i>Note</i> by Mrs. T.). "I rejected all propositions of + the sort, and said, as he had got the money, he had the best + right to throw it away.... I should always prefer my husband, + to my children: let him do his <i>own</i> way." + </p> + </div> + <p> + We learn from Madame D'Arblay's Journal, that, towards the end of + March, 1781, Mr. Thrale had resolved on going abroad with his + wife, and that Johnson was to accompany them, but a subsequent + entry states that the doctors condemned the plan; and + "therefore," she adds, "it is settled that a great meeting of his + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg136" id="pg136">136</a></span> + friends is to take place before he actually prepares for the + journey, and they are to encircle him in a body, and endeavour, + by representations and entreaties, 'to prevail with him to give + it up; and I have little doubt myself but, amongst us, we shall + be able to succeed." This is one of the oddest schemes ever + projected by a set of learned and accomplished gentlemen and + ladies for the benefit of a hypochondriac patient. Its execution + was prevented by his death. A hurried note from Mrs. Thrale + announcing the event, beginning, "Write to me, pray for me," is + endorsed by Madame D'Arblay: "Written a few hours after the death + of Mr. Thrale, which happened by a sudden stroke of apoplexy, on + the morning of a day on which half the fashion of London had been + invited to an intended assembly at his house in Grosvenor + Square." These invitations had been sent out by his own express + desire: so little was he aware of his danger. + </p> + <p> + Letters and messages of condolence poured in from all sides. + Johnson (in a letter dated April 5th) said all that could be said + in the way of counsel or consolation: + </p> + <p> + "I do not exhort you to reason yourself into tranquillity. We + must first pray, and then labour; first implore the blessing of + God, and those means which He puts into our hands. Cultivated + ground, has few weeds; a mind occupied by lawful business, has + little room for useless regret. + </p> + <p> + "We read the will to-day; but I will not fill my first letter + with any other account than that, with all my <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg137" id="pg137">137</a></span> zeal for your + advantage, I am satisfied; and that the other executors, more + used to consider property than I, commended it for wisdom and + equity. Yet, why should I not tell you that you have five hundred + pounds for your immediate expenses, and two thousand pounds + a-year, with both the houses and all the goods? + </p> + <p> + "Let us pray for one another, that the time, whether long or + short, that shall yet be granted us, may be well spent; and that + when this life, which at the longest is very short, shall come to + an end, a better may begin which shall never end." + </p> + <p class="break"> + On April 9th he writes: + </p> + <p> + "DEAREST MADAM,—That you are gradually recovering your + tranquillity, is the effect to be humbly expected from trust in + God. Do not represent life as darker than it is. Your loss has + been very great, but you retain more than almost any other can + hope to possess. You are high in the opinion of mankind; you have + children from whom much pleasure may be expected; and that you + will find many friends, you have no reason to doubt. Of my + friendship, be it worth more or less, I hope you think yourself + certain, without much art or care. It will not be easy for me to + repay the benefits that I have received; but I hope to be always + ready at your call. Our sorrow has different effects; you are + withdrawn into solitude, and I am driven into company. <i>I</i> + am afraid of thinking what I have lost. I never had such a friend + before. Let me have your prayers and those of my dear Queeny. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg138" id="pg138">138</a></span> + </p> + <p> + "The prudence and resolution of your design to return so soon to + your business and your duty deserves great praise; I shall + communicate it on Wednesday to the other executors. Be pleased to + let me know whether you would have me come to Streatham to + receive you, or stay here till the next day." + </p> + <p> + Johnson was one of the executors and took pride in discharging + his share of the trust. Mrs. Thrale's account of the pleasure he + took in signing the documents and cheques, is incidentally + confirmed by Boswell: + </p> + <p> + "I could not but be somewhat diverted by hearing Johnson talk in + a pompous manner of his new office, and particularly of the + concerns of the brewery, which it was at last resolved should be + sold. Lord Lucan tells a very good story, which, if not precisely + exact, is certainly characteristical; that when the sale of + Thrale's brewery was going forward, Johnson appeared bustling + about, with an ink-horn and pen in his button-hole, like an + excise-man; and on being asked what he really considered to be + the value of the property which was to be disposed of, answered, + 'We are not here to sell a parcel of boilers and vats, but the + potentiality of growing rich beyond the dreams of avarice.'" + </p> + <p> + The executors had legacies of 200<i>l.</i> each; Johnson, to the + surprise of his friends, being placed on no better footing than + the rest. He himself was certainly disappointed. Mrs. Thrale says + that his complacency towards Thrale was not wholly devoid of + interested motives; and she adds that his manner towards Reynolds + and Dr. Taylor was also softened by the vague <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg139" id="pg139">139</a></span> expectation + of being named in their wills. One of her marginal notes is: + "Johnson mentioned to Reynolds that he had been told by Taylor he + was to be his heir. His fondness for Reynolds, ay, and for + Thrale, had a dash of interest to keep it warm." Again, on his + saying to Reynolds, "I did not mean to offend you,"—"He + never would offend Reynolds: he had his reason." + </p> + <p> + Many and heavy as were the reproaches subsequently heaped upon + the widow, no one has accused her of having been found wanting in + energy, propriety, or self-respect at this period. She took the + necessary steps for promoting her own interests and those of her + children with prudence and promptitude. Madame D'Arblay, who was + carrying on a flirtation with one of the executors (Mr. + Crutchley), and had personal motives for watching their + proceedings, writes, April 29th:— + </p> + <p> + "Miss Thrale is steady and constant, and very sincerely grieved + for her father. + </p> + <p> + "The four executors, Mr. Cator, Mr. Crutchley, Mr. Henry Smith, + and Dr. Johnson, have all behaved generously and honourably, and + seem determined to give Mrs. Thrale all the comfort and + assistance in their power. She is to carry on the business + jointly with them. Poor soul! it is a dreadful toil and worry to + her." + </p> + <p> + In "Thraliana": + </p> + <p> + "<i>Streatham, 1st May</i>, 1781.—I have now appointed + three days a week to attend at the counting-house. <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg140" id="pg140">140</a></span> If an angel + from heaven had told me twenty years ago that the man I knew by + the name of <i>Dictionary Johnson</i> should one day become + partner with me in a great trade, and that we should jointly or + separately sign notes, drafts, &c., for three or four + thousand pounds of a morning, how unlikely it would have seemed + ever to happen! Unlikely is no word tho',—it would have + seemed <i>incredible</i>, neither of us then being worth a groat, + God knows, and both as immeasurably removed from commerce as + birth, literature, and inclination could get us. Johnson, + however, who desires above all other good the accumulation of new + ideas, is but too happy with his present employment; and the + influence I have over him, added to his own solid judgment and a + regard for truth, will at last find it in a small degree + difficult to win him from the dirty delight of seeing his name in + a new character flaming away at the bottom of bonds and leases." + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + "Apropos to writing verses in a language one don't understand, + there is always the allowance given, and that allowance (like our + excise drawbacks) commonly larger than it ought to be. The + following translation of the verses written with a knife, has + been for this reason uncommonly commended, though they have no + merit except being done quick. Piozzi asked me on Sunday morning + if ever I had seen them, and could explain them to <i>him</i>, + for that he heard they were written by his friend Mr. Locke. The + book in which they were reposited was not ferreted out, however, + till Monday night, and on Tuesday morning I sent him verses and + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg141" id="pg141">141</a></span> + translation: we used to think the original was Garrick's, I + remember." + </p> + <p> + Translation of the verses written with a knife. + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Taglia Amore un coltello, + </p> + <p> + Cara, l'hai sentita dire; + </p> + <p> + Per l'Amore alla Moda, + </p> + <p> + Esso poco può soffrire. + </p> + <p> + Cuori che non mai fur giunti + </p> + <p> + Pronti stanno a separar, + </p> + <p> + Cari nodi come i nostri + </p> + <p> + Non son facili tagliar. + </p> + <p> + Questo dico, che se spezza + </p> + <p> + Tua tenera bellezza, + </p> + <p> + Molto ancor ci resterà; + </p> + <p> + Della mia buona fede + </p> + <p> + Il Coltello non s'avvede, + </p> + <p> + Nè di tua gran bontà. + </p> + <p> + Che tagliare speranze + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Ben tutto si puo, + </p> + <p> + Per piaceri goduti + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Oh, questo poi no? + </p> + <p class="i4"> + Dolci segni! + </p> + <p class="i4"> + Cari pegni! + </p> + <p> + Di felècità passata, + </p> + <p> + Non temer la coltellata, + </p> + <p> + Resterete—Io loro: + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Se del caro ben gradita, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Trovo questa donatura, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Via pur la tagliatura + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Sol d'Amore sta ferita." + </p> + </div> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg142" id="pg142">142</a></span> + </p> + <p> + "The power of emptying one's head of a great thing and filling it + with little ones to amuse care, is no small power, and I am proud + of being able to write Italian verses while I am bargaining + 150,000<i>l</i>., and settling an event of the highest + consequence to my own and my children's welfare. David Barclay, + the rich Quaker, will treat for our brewhouse, and the + negotiation is already begun. My heart palpitates with hope and + fear—my head is bursting with anxiety and calculation; yet + I can listen to a singer and translate verses about a knife." + </p> + <p> + "Mrs. Montagu has been here; she says I ought to have a statue + erected to me for my diligent attendance on my compting-house + duties. The <i>wits</i> and the <i>blues</i> (as it is the + fashion to call them) will be happy enough, no doubt, to have me + safe at the brewery—<i>out of their way</i>." + </p> + <p> + "A very strange thing happened in the year 1776, and I never + wrote it down,—I must write it down now. A woman came to + London from a distant county to prosecute some business, and fell + into distress; she was sullen and silent, and the people with + whom her affairs connected her advised her to apply for + assistance to some friend. What friends can I have in London? + says the woman, nobody here knows anything of me. One can't tell + <i>that</i>, was the reply. Where have you lived? I have wandered + much, says she, but I am originally from Litchfield. Who did you + know in Litchfield in your youth? Oh, nobody of any note, I'll + warrant: I knew one <i>David Garrick</i>, indeed, but I once + heard <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg143" id= + "pg143">143</a></span> that he turned strolling player, and is + probably dead long ago; I also knew an obscure man, <i>Samuel + Johnson</i>, very good he was too; but who can know anything of + poor Johnson? I was likewise acquainted with <i>Robert James</i>, + a quack doctor. <i>He</i> is, I suppose, no very reputable + connection if I could find him. Thus did this woman name and + discriminate the three best known characters in + London—perhaps in Europe." + </p> + <p> + "'Such,' says Mrs. Montagu, 'is the dignity of Mrs. Thrale's + virtue, and such her superiority in all situations of life, that + nothing now is wanting but an earthquake to show how she will + behave on <i>that</i> occasion.' Oh, brave Mrs. Montagu! She is a + monkey, though, to quarrel with Johnson so about Lyttleton's + life: if he was a great character, nothing said of him in that + book can hurt him; if he was not a great character, they are + bustling about nothing." + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Crutchley lives now a great deal with me; the business of + executor to Mr. Thrale's will makes much of his attendance + necessary, and it begins to have its full effect in seducing and + attaching him to the house,—Miss Burney's being always + about me is probably another reason for his close attendance, and + I believe it is so. What better could befall Miss Burney, or + indeed what better could befall <i>him</i>, than to obtain a + woman of honour, and character, and reputation for superior + understanding? I would be glad, however, that he fell honestly in + love with her, and was not trick'd or trapp'd into marriage, poor + fellow; he is no match for the arts of a novel-writer. A mighty + particular character <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg144" id= + "pg144">144</a></span> Mr. Crutchley is: strangely mixed up of + meanness and magnificence; liberal and splendid in large sums and + on serious occasions, narrow and confined in the common + occurrences of life; warm and generous in some of his motives, + frigid and suspicious, however, for eighteen hours at least out + of the twenty-four; likely to be duped, though always expecting + fraud, and easily disappointed in realities, though seldom + flattered by fancy. He is supposed by those that knew his mother + and her connections to be Mr. Thrale's natural son, and in many + things he resembles him, but not in person: as he is both ugly + and awkward. Mr. Thrale certainly believed he was his son, and + once told me as much when Sophy Streatfield's affair was in + question but nobody could persuade him to court the S.S. Oh! well + does the Custom-house officer Green say,— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'Coquets! leave off affected arts, + </p> + <p> + Gay fowlers at a flock of hearts; + </p> + <p> + Woodcocks, to shun your snares have skill, + </p> + <p> + You show so plain you strive to kill.'" + </p> + </div> + <p> + "<i>3rd June</i>, 1781.—Well! here have I, with the grace + of God and the assistance of good friends, completed—I + really think very happily—the greatest event of my life. I + have sold my brewhouse to Barclay, the rich Quaker, for + 135,000<i>l</i>., to be in four years' time paid. I have by this + bargain purchased peace and a stable fortune, restoration to my + original rank in life, and a situation undisturbed by commercial + jargon, unpolluted by commercial frauds, undisgraced by + commercial connections. They who succeed me in the house have + purchased the power <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg145" id= + "pg145">145</a></span> of being rich beyond the wish of + rapacity<span class="fnref">[1]</span>, and I have procured the + improbability of being made poor by flights of the fairy, + speculation. 'Tis thus that a woman and men of feminine minds + always—I speak popularly—decide upon life, and chuse + certain mediocrity before probable superiority; while, as Eton + Graham says sublimely,— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p class="i12"> + "'Nobler souls, + </p> + <p> + Fir'd with the tedious and disrelish'd good, + </p> + <p> + Seek their employment in acknowledg'd ill, + </p> + <p> + Danger, and toil, and pain.' + </p> + </div> + <p> + "On this principle partly, and partly on worse, was dear Mr. + Johnson something unwilling—but not much at last—to + give up a trade by which in some years 15,000<i>l.</i> or + 16,000<i>l.</i> had undoubtedly been got, but by which, in some + years, its possessor had suffered agonies of terror and tottered + twice upon the verge of bankruptcy. Well! if thy own conscience + acquit, who shall condemn thee? Not, I hope, the future husbands + of our daughters, though I should think it likely enough; + however, as Johnson says very judiciously, they must either think + right or wrong: if they think right, let us now think with them; + if wrong, let us never care what they think. So adieu to + brewhouse, and borough wintering; adieu to trade, and tradesmen's + frigid approbation; may virtue and wisdom sanctify our contract, + and make buyer and seller happy in the bargain!" + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] There is a curious similarity here to Johnson's phrase, + "the potentiality of becoming rich beyond the dreams of + avarice." + </p> + </div> + <p> + After mentioning some friends who disapproved of <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg146" id="pg146">146</a></span> the sale, she + adds: "Mrs. Montagu has sent me her approbation in a letter + exceedingly affectionate and polite. 'Tis over now, tho', and + I'll clear my head of it and all that belongs to it; I will go to + church, give God thanks, receive the sacrament and forget the + frauds, follies, and inconveniences of a commercial life this + day." + </p> + <p> + Madame D'Arblay was at Streatham on the day of the sale, and + gives a dramatic colour to the ensuing scene: + </p> + <p> + "<i>Streatham, Thursday</i>.—This was the great and most + important day to all this house, upon which the sale of the + brewery was to be decided. Mrs. Thrale went early to town, to + meet all the executors, and Mr. Barclay, the Quaker, who was the + <i>bidder</i>. She was in great agitation of mind, and told me, + if all went well she would wave a white pocket-handkerchief out + of the coach window. + </p> + <p> + "Four o'clock came and dinner was ready, and no Mrs. Thrale. Five + o'clock followed, and no Mrs. Thrale. Queeny and I went out upon + the lawn, where we sauntered, in eager expectation, till near + six, and then the coach appeared in sight, and a white + pocket-handkerchief was waved from it. I ran to the door of it to + meet her, and she jumped out of it, and gave me a thousand + embraces while I gave my congratulations. We went instantly to + her dressing-room, where she told me, in brief, how the matter + had been transacted, and then we went down to dinner. Dr. Johnson + and Mr. Crutchley had accompanied her home." <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg147" id="pg147">147</a></span> + </p> + <p> + The event is thus announced to Langton by Johnson, in a letter + printed by Boswell, dated June 16, 1781: "You will perhaps be + glad to hear that Mrs. Thrale is disencumbered of her brewhouse, + and that it seemed to the purchaser so far from an evil that he + was content to give for it 135,000<i>l</i>. Is the nation + ruined." <i>Marginal note</i>: "I suppose he was neither glad nor + sorry." + </p> + <p> + Thrale died on the 4th April, 1781, and Mrs. Thrale left + Streatham on the 7th October, 1782. The intervening eighteen + months have been made the subject of an almost unprecedented + amount of misrepresentation. Hawkins, Boswell, Madame D'Arblay, + and Lord Macaulay have vied with each other in founding + uncharitable imputations on her conduct at this period of her + widowhood; and it has consequently become necessary to + recapitulate the authentic evidence relating to it. As Piozzi's + name will occur occasionally, he must now be brought upon the + scene. + </p> + <p> + He is first mentioned in "Thraliana" thus: + </p> + <p> + "<i>Brighton, July</i>, 1780.—I have picked up Piozzi here, + the great Italian singer. He is amazingly like my father. He + shall teach Hester." + </p> + <p> + A detailed account of the commencement of the acquaintance is + given in one of the autobiographical fragments. She says he was + recommended to her by letter by Madame D'Arblay as "a man likely + to lighten the burthen of life to her," and that both she and Mr. + Thrale took to him at once. Madame D'Arblay is silent as to the + introduction or recommendation; but gives an amusing account of + one of their first meetings: <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg148" id="pg148">148</a></span> + </p> + <p> + "A few months after the Streathamite morning visit to St. + Martin's Street, an evening party was arranged by Dr. Burney, for + bringing thither again Dr. Johnson and Mrs. Thrale, at the desire + of Mr. and Mrs. Greville and Mrs. Crewe; who wished, under the + quiet roof of Dr. Burney, to make acquaintance with these + celebrated personages." The conversation flagged, and recourse + was had to music— + </p> + <p> + "Piozzi, a first-rate singer, whose voice was deliciously sweet, + and whose expression was perfect, sung in his very best manner, + from his desire to do honour to <i>il Capo di Casa</i>; but <i>il + Capo di Casa</i> and his family alone did justice to his strains: + neither the Grevilles nor the Thrales heeded music beyond what + belonged to it as fashion: the expectations of the Grevilles were + all occupied by Dr. Johnson; and those of the Thrales by the + authoress of the Ode to Indifference. When Piozzi, therefore, + arose, the party remained as little advanced in any method or + pleasure for carrying on the evening, as upon its first entrance + into the room.... + </p> + <p> + "Dr. Burney now began to feel considerably embarrassed; though + still he cherished hopes of ultimate relief from some auspicious + circumstance that, sooner or later, would operate, he hoped, in + his favour, through the magnetism of congenial talents. + </p> + <p> + "Vainly, however, he sought to elicit some observations that + might lead to disserting discourse; all his attempts received + only quiet, acquiescent replies, 'signifying nothing.' Every one + was awaiting some spontaneous opening from Dr. Johnson. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg149" id="pg149">149</a></span> + </p> + <p> + "Mrs. Thrale, of the whole coterie, was alone at her ease. She + feared not Dr. Johnson; for fear made no part of her composition; + and with Mrs. Greville, as a fair rival genius, she would have + been glad, from curiosity, to have had the honour of a little + tilt, in full carelessness of its event; for though triumphant + when victorious, she had spirits so volatile, and such utter + exemption from envy or spleen, that she was gaily free from + mortification when vanquished. But she knew the meeting to have + been fabricated for Dr. Johnson; and, therefore, though not + without difficulty, constrained herself to be passive. + </p> + <p> + "When, however, she observed the sardonic disposition of Mr. + Greville to stare around him at the whole company in curious + silence, she felt a defiance against his aristocracy beat in + every pulse; for, however grandly he might look back to the long + ancestry of the Brookes and the Grevilles, she had a glowing + consciousness that her own blood, rapid and fluent, flowed in her + veins from Adam of Saltsberg; and, at length, provoked by the + dullness of a taciturnity that, in the midst of such renowned + interlocutors, produced as narcotic a torpor as could have been + caused by a dearth the most barren of human faculties; she grew + tired of the music, and yet more tired of remaining, what as + little suited her inclinations as her abilities, a mere cipher in + the company; and, holding such a position, and all its + concomitants, to be ridiculous, her spirits rose rebelliously + above her control; and, in a fit of utter recklessness of what + might be thought of her by her fine new acquaintance, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg150" id="pg150">150</a></span> + she suddenly, but softly, arose, and stealing on tip-toe behind + Signor Piozzi, who was accompanying himself on the piano-forte to + an animated <i>arria parlante</i>, with his back to the company, + and his face to the wall; she ludicrously began imitating him by + squaring her elbows, elevating them with ecstatic shrugs of the + shoulders, and casting up her eyes, while languishingly reclining + her head; as if she were not less enthusiastically, though + somewhat more suddenly, struck with the transports of harmony + than himself. + </p> + <p> + "This grotesque ebullition of ungovernable gaiety was not + perceived by Dr. Johnson, who faced the fire, with his back to + the performer and the instrument. But the amusement which such an + unlooked for exhibition caused to the party, was momentary; for + Dr. Burney, shocked lest the poor Signor should observe, and be + hurt by this mimicry, glided gently round to Mrs. Thrale, and, + with something between pleasantness and severity, whispered to + her, 'Because, Madam, you have no ear yourself for music, will + you destroy the attention of all who, in that one point, are + otherwise gifted?' + </p> + <p> + "It was now that shone the brightest attribute of Mrs. Thrale, + sweetness of temper. She took this rebuke with a candour, and a + sense of its justice the most amiable: she nodded her approbation + of the admonition; and, returning to her chair, quietly sat down, + as she afterwards said, like a pretty little miss, for the + remainder of one of the most humdrum evenings that she had ever + passed. + </p> + <p> + "Strange, indeed, strange and most strange, the event + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg151" id="pg151">151</a></span> + considered, was this opening intercourse between Mrs. Thrale and + Signor Piozzi. Little could she imagine that the person she was + thus called away from holding up to ridicule, would become, but a + few years afterwards, the idol of her fancy and the lord of her + destiny! And little did the company present imagine, that this + burlesque scene was but the first of a drama the most + extraordinary of real life, of which these two persons were to be + the hero and heroine: though, when the catastrophe was known, + this incident, witnessed by so many, was recollected and repeated + from coterie to coterie throughout London, with comments and + sarcasms of endless variety."<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Memoirs of Dr. Burney, &c., vol. ii, pp. 105—111. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Madame D'Arblay mentioned the same circumstance in conversation + to the Rev. W. Harness: yet it seems strange in connection with + an entry in "Thraliana" from which it would appear that her + friend was far from wanting in susceptibility to sweet sounds: + </p> + <p> + "13 <i>August</i>, 1780.—Piozzi is become a prodigious + favourite with me, he is so intelligent a creature, so + discerning, one can't help wishing for his good opinion; his + singing surpasses everybody's for taste, tenderness, and true + elegance; his hand on the forte piano too is so soft, so sweet, + so delicate, every tone goes to the heart, I think, and fills the + mind with emotions one would not be without, though inconvenient + enough sometimes. He wants nothing from us: he comes for his + health he says: I see nothing ail the man but pride. The + newspapers <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg152" id= + "pg152">152</a></span> yesterday told what all the musical folks + gained, and set Piozzi down 1200<i>l</i>. o' year." + </p> + <p> + On the 24th August, 1780, Madame D'Arblay writes: "I have not + seen Piozzi: he left me your letter, which indeed is a charming + one, though its contents puzzled me much whether to make me sad + or merry." Mrs. Thrale was still at Brighton; so that the scene + at Dr. Burney's must have occurred subsequently; when she had + already begun to find Piozzi what the Neapolitan ladies + understand by <i>simpatico</i>. Madame D'Arblay's "Memoirs," as I + shall have occasion to point out, are by no means so trustworthy + a register of dates, facts, or impressions as her "Diary." + </p> + <p> + Whilst Thrale lived, Mrs. Thrale's regard for Piozzi was + certainly not of a nature to cause scandal or provoke censure, + and as it ripened into love, it may be traced, step by step, from + the frankest and fullest of all possible unveilings of the heart. + Rare indeed are the instances in which such revelations as we + find in "Thraliana" could be risked by either man or woman, + without giving scope to malevolence; and they should not only be + judged as a whole and by the context, but the most favourable + construction should be put upon them. When, in this sort of + self-communing, every passing emotion, every transitory + inclination, is set down, it would be unfair and even foolish to + infer that the emotion at once became a passion, or that the + inclination was criminally indulged. + </p> + <p> + The next notice of Piozzi occurs in Madame D'Arblay's "Diary" for + July 10th, 1781: <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg153" id= + "pg153">153</a></span> + </p> + <p> + "You will believe I was not a little surprised to see Sacchini. + He is going to the Continent with Piozzi, and Mrs. Thrale invited + them both to spend the last day at Streatham, and from hence + proceed to Margate.... The first song he sang, beginning 'En quel + amabil volto,' you may perhaps know, but I did not; it is a + charming mezza bravura. He and Piozzi then sung together the duet + of the 'Amore Soldato;' and nothing could be much more + delightful; Piozzi taking pains to sing his very best, and + Sacchini, with his soft but delicious whisper, almost thrilling + me by his exquisite and pathetic expression. They then went + through that opera, great part of 'Creso,' some of 'Erifile,' and + much of 'Rinaldo.'" + </p> + <p> + Piozzi's attentions had attracted Johnson's notice without + troubling his peace. On November 24th, 1781, he wrote from + Ashbourne: "Piozzi, I find, is coming in spite of Miss Harriet's + prediction, or second sight, and when <i>he</i> comes and + <i>I</i> come, you will have two about you that love you; and I + question if either of us heartily care how few more you have. But + how many soever they may be, I hope you keep your kindness for + me, and I have a great mind to have Queeny's kindness too." + </p> + <p> + Again, December 3rd, 1781: "You have got Piozzi again, + notwithstanding pretty Harriet's dire denunciations. The Italian + translation which he has brought, you will find no great + accession to your library, for the writer seems to understand + very little English. When we meet we can compare some passages. + Pray contrive a multitude of good things for us to do when we + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg154" id="pg154">154</a></span> + meet. Something that may <i>hold all together</i>; though if any + thing makes <i>me</i> love you more, it is going from you." + </p> + <p> + We learn from "Thraliana," that the entanglement with Piozzi was + not the only one of which Streatham was contemporaneously the + scene: + </p> + <p> + "<i>August,</i> 1781.—I begin to wish in good earnest that + Miss Burney should make impression on Mr. Crutchley. I think she + honestly loves the man, who in his turn appears to be in love + with some one else—Hester, I fear, Oh! that would indeed be + unlucky! People have said so a long while, but I never thought it + till now; young men and women will always be serving one so, to + be sure, if they live at all together, but I depended on Burney + keeping him steady to herself. Queeny behaves like an angel about + it. Mr. Johnson says the name of Crutchley comes from <i>croix + lea</i>, the cross meadow; <i>lea</i> is a meadow, I know, and + <i>crutch</i>, a crutch stick, is so called from having the + handle go <i>crosswise</i>." + </p> + <p> + "<i>September,</i> 1781.—My five fair daughters too! I have + so good a pretence to wish for long life to see them settled. + Like the old fellow in 'Lucian,' one is never at a loss for an + excuse. They are five lovely creatures to be sure, but they love + not me. Is it my fault or theirs?" + </p> + <p> + "<i>12th October</i>, 1781.—Yesterday was my wedding-day; + it was a melancholy thing to me to pass it without the husband of + my youth. <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg155" id= + "pg155">155</a></span> + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'Long tedious years may neither moan, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Sad, deserted, and alone; + </p> + <p> + May neither long condemned to stay + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Wait the second bridal day!!!'<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + </div> + <p> + "Let me thank God for my children, however, my fortune, and my + friends, and be contented if I cannot be happy." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] <i>Note by Mrs. T.</i>: "Samuel Wesley's verses, making + part of an epithalamium." + </p> + </div> + <p> + "<i>15th October</i>, 1781.—My maid Margaret Rice dreamed + last night that my eldest daughter was going to be married to Mr. + Crutchley, but that Mr. Thrale <i>himself</i> prevented her. An + odd thing to me, who think Mr. Crutchley is his son." + </p> + <p> + Although the next day but one after Thrale's death Johnson + carried Boswell to dine at the Queen's Arms' Club, his grief was + deep and durable. Indeed, it is expressed so often and so + earnestly as to rebut the presumption that "my mistress" was the + sole or chief tie which bound him to Streatham. Amongst his + Prayers and Meditations is the following: + </p> + <p> + "<i>Good Friday, April 13th</i>, 1781.—On Wednesday, 11th, + was buried my dear friend Thrale, who died on Wednesday, 4th; and + with him were buried many of my hopes and pleasures. About five, + I think, on Wednesday morning, he expired. I felt almost the last + flutter of his pulse, and looked for the last time upon the face + that for fifteen years had never been turned upon me but with + respect or benignity. Farewell. May God, that delighteth in + mercy, have had mercy on <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg156" + id="pg156">156</a></span> thee! I had constantly prayed for him + some time before his death. The decease of him, from whose + friendship I had obtained many opportunities of amusement, and to + whom I turned my thoughts as to a refuge from misfortunes, has + left me heavy. But my business is with myself." + </p> + <p> + On the same paper is a note: "My first knowledge of Thrale was in + 1765. I enjoyed his favours for almost a fourth part of my life." + </p> + <p> + On the 20th March, 1782, he wrote thus to Langton: + </p> + <p> + "Of my life, from the time we parted, the history is mournful. + The spring of last year deprived me of Thrale, a man whose eye + for fifteen years had scarcely been turned upon me but with + respect or tenderness; for such another friend, the general + course of human things will not suffer man to hope. I passed the + summer at Streatham, but there was no Thrale; and having idled + away the summer with a weakly body and neglected mind, I made a + journey to Staffordshire on the edge of winter. The season was + dreary, I was sickly, and found the friends sickly whom I went to + see." + </p> + <p> + There is ample evidence that he neither felt nor suspected any + diminution of kindness or regard, and continued, till their final + departure from Streatham, to treat it as his home. + </p> + <p class="break"> + In November she writes, "Do not forget Streatham and its + inhabitants, who are all much yours;" and he replies: + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg157" id="pg157">157</a></span> + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "Birmingham, Dec. 8th, 1781. + </p> + <p> + "DEAR MADAM,—I am come to this place on my way to London + and to Streatham. I hope to be in London on Tuesday or Wednesday, + and Streatham on Thursday, by your kind conveyance. I shall have + nothing to relate either wonderful or delightful. But remember + that you sent me away, and turned me out into the world, and you + must take the chance of finding me better or worse. This you may + know at present, that my affection for you is not diminished, and + my expectation from you is increased. Do not neglect me, nor + relinquish me. Nobody will ever love you better or honour you + more." + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "Feb. 16th, 1782. + </p> + <p> + "DEAREST LADY,—I am better, but not yet well; but hope + springs eternal. As soon as I can think myself not troublesome, + you may be sure of seeing me, <i>for such a place to visit nobody + ever had</i>. Dearest Madam, do not think me worse than I am; be + sure, at least, that whatever happens to me, I am with all the + regard that admiration of excellence and gratitude for kindness + can excite, Madam, your" &c. + </p> + <p> + In "Thraliana": + </p> + <p> + "<i>23rd February, 1782 (Harley Street)</i>.—The truth is, + Mr. Johnson has some occult disorder that I cannot understand; + Jebb and Bromfield fancy it is water between the heart and + pericardium—I do not think it is <i>that</i>, but I do not + know what it is. He apprehends no danger himself, and he knows + more of the matter than any of them all." <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg158" id="pg158">158</a></span> + </p> + <p> + On February 27th, 1782, he writes to Malone: "I have for many + weeks been so much out of order, that I have gone out only in a + coach to Mrs. Thrale's, where I can use all the freedom that + sickness requires." + </p> + <p> + On March 20th, 1782, to Mrs. Grastrell and Mrs. Aston: "When Dr. + Falconer saw me, I was at home only by accident, for I lived much + with Mrs. Thrale, and had all the care from her that she could + take or could be taken." + </p> + <p class="break"> + April 26th, 1782, to Mrs. Thrale: + </p> + <p> + "MADAM,—I have been very much out of order since you sent + me away; but why should I tell you, who do not care, nor desire + to know? I dined with Mr. Paradise on Monday, with the Bishop of + St. Asaph yesterday, with the Bishop of Chester I dine to-day, + and with the Academy on Saturday, with Mr. Hoole on Monday, and + with Mrs. Garrick on Thursday, the 2nd of May, and + then—what care you? <i>What then</i>? + </p> + <p> + "The news run, that we have taken seventeen French transports; + that Langton's lady is lying down with her eighth child, all + alive; and Mrs. Carter's Miss Sharpe is going to marry a + schoolmaster sixty-two years old. + </p> + <p> + "Do not let Mr. Piozzi nor any body else put me quite out of your + head, and do not think that any body will love you like your" + &c. + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "April 30th, 1782. + </p> + <p> + "Mrs. Sheridan refused to sing, at the Duchess of Devonshire's + request, a song to the Prince of Wales. They pay for the Theatre + neither principal nor interest; <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg159" id="pg159">159</a></span> and poor Garrick's funeral + expenses are yet unpaid, though the undertaker is broken. Could + you have a better purveyor for a little scandal? But I wish I was + at Streatham. I beg Miss to come early, and I may perhaps reward + you with more mischief." + </p> + <p> + She went to Streatham on the 18th April, 1782, and Johnson + evidently with her. In "Thraliana" she writes: + </p> + <p> + "<i>Saturday, 9th May, 1782.</i>—To-day I bring home to + Streatham my poor Dr. Johnson: he went to town a week ago by the + way of amusing himself, and got so very ill that I thought I + should never get him home alive,"—by <i>home</i> meaning + Streatham. + </p> + <p> + Johnson to Mrs. Thrale: + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "June 4th, 1782. + </p> + <p> + "This day I dined upon skate, pudding, goose, and your asparagus, + and could have eaten more, but was prudent. Pray for me, dear + Madam; I hope the tide has turned. The change that I feel is more + than I durst have hoped, or than I thought possible; but there + has not yet passed a whole day, and I may rejoice perhaps too + soon. Come and see me, and when you think best, upon due + consideration, take me away." + </p> + <p> + From her to him: + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "Streatham, June 14th, 1782. + </p> + <p> + "DEAR SIR,—I am glad you confess yourself peevish, for + confession must precede amendment. Do not study to be more + unhappy than you are, and if you can eat and sleep well, do not + be frighted, for there can be no real danger. Are you acquainted + with Dr. Lee, the <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg160" id= + "pg160">160</a></span> master of Baliol College? And are you not + delighted with his gaiety of manners and youthful vivacity now + that he is eighty-six years old? I never heard a more perfect or + excellent pun than his, when some one told him how, in a late + dispute among the Privy Counsellors, the Lord Chancellor + (Thurlow) struck the table with such violence that he split it. + 'No, no,' replied the Master, drily, 'I can hardly persuade + myself that he <i>split the table</i>, though I believe he + <i>divided the Board</i>.' Will you send me anything better from + Oxford than this? for there must be no more fastidiousness now; + no more refusing to laugh at a good quibble, when you so loudly + profess the want of amusement and the necessity of diversion." + </p> + <p> + From him to her: + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "Oxford, June 17th, 1782. + </p> + <p> + "Oxford has done, I think, what for the present it can do, and I + am going slyly to take a place in the coach for Wednesday, and + you or my sweet Queeny will fetch me on Thursday, and see what + you can make of me." + </p> + <p> + Hannah More met him during this visit to Oxford, and writes, June + 13th, 1782: "Who do you think is my principal cicerone at Oxford? + only Dr. Johnson! and we do so gallant it about." + </p> + <p> + Madame D'Arblay, then at Streatham, writes, June 26th, 1782: "Dr. + Johnson, who had been in town some days, returned, and Mr. + Crutchley came also, as well as my father." After describing some + lively conversation, she adds: "I have <i>very often</i>, though + I <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg161" id="pg161">161</a></span> + mention them not, long and melancholy discourses with Dr. + Johnson, about our dear deceased master, whom, indeed, he regrets + unceasingly; but I love not to dwell on subjects of sorrow when I + can drive them away, especially to you (her sister), upon this + account as you were so much a stranger to that excellent friend, + whom you only lamented for the sake of those who survived him." + He had only returned that very day, and she had been absent from + Streatham, as she states elsewhere, till "the Cecilian business + was arranged," <i>i.e.</i> till the end of May. + </p> + <p class="break"> + On the 24th August, 1782 (this date is material) Johnson writes + to Boswell: + </p> + <p> + "DEAR SIR,—Being uncertain whether I should have any call + this autumn into the country, I did not immediately answer your + kind letter. I have no call; but if you desire to meet me at + Ashbourne, I believe I can come thither; if you had rather come + to London, I can stay at Streatham: take your choice." + </p> + <p> + This was two days after Mrs. Thrale, with his full concurrence, + had made up her mind to let Streatham. He treats it, + notwithstanding, as at his disposal for a residence so long as + she remains in it. + </p> + <p> + The books and printed letters from which most of these extracts + are taken, have been all along accessible to her assailants. + Those from "Thraliana," which come next, are new: + </p> + <p> + "<i>25th November</i>, 1781.—I have got my + Piozzi<span class="fnref">[1]</span> home <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg162" id="pg162">162</a></span> at last; he + looks thin and battered, but always kindly upon me, I think. He + brought me an Italian sonnet written in his praise by Marco + Capello, which I instantly translated of course; but he, prudent + creature, insisted on my burning it, as he said it would + inevitably get about the town how <i>he</i> was praised, and how + Mrs. Thrale translated and echoed the praises, so that, says he, + I shall be torn in pieces, and you will have some <i>infamità</i> + said of you that will make you hate the sight of me. He was so + earnest with me that I could not resist, so burnt my sonnet, + which was actually very pretty; and now I repent I did not first + write it into the Thraliana. Over leaf, however, shall go the + translation, which happens to be done very closely, and the last + stanza is particularly exact. I must put it down while I remember + it: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <h4> + 1. + </h4> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "'Favoured of Britain's pensive sons, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Though still thy name be found, + </p> + <p> + Though royal Thames where'er he runs + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Returns the flattering sound, + </p> + </div> + <h4> + 2. + </h4> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + Though absent thou, on every joy + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Her gloom privation flings, + </p> + <p> + And Pleasure, pining for employ, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Now droops her nerveless wings, + </p> + </div> + <h4> + 3. + </h4> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + Yet since kind Fates thy voice restore + </p> + <p class="i2"> + To charm our land again<span class="fnref">[2]</span>,— + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg163" id= + "pg163">163</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Return not to their rocky shore, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Nor tempt the angry main. + </p> + </div> + <h4> + 4. + </h4> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + Nor is their praise of so much worth, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Nor is it justly given, + </p> + <p> + That angels sing to them on earth + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Who slight the road to heaven.' + </p> + </div> + </div> + <p> + "He tells me—Piozzi does—that his own country manners + greatly disgusted him, after having been used to ours; but Milan + is a comfortable place, I find. If he does not fix himself for + life here, he will settle to lay his bones at Milan. The Marquis + D'Araciel, his friend and patron, who resides there, divides and + disputes his heart with me: I shall be loth to resign it." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] This mode of expression did not imply then what it might + now. See <i>ante</i>, p. 92, where Johnson writes to "my + Baretti." + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [2] "Capello is a Venetian poet." + </p> + </div> + <p> + "<i>17th December, 1781.</i>—Dear Mr. Johnson is at last + returned; he has been a vast while away to see his country folks + at Litchfield. My fear is lest he should grow + paralytick,—there are really some symptoms already + discoverable, I think, about the mouth particularly. He will + drive the gout away so when it comes, and it must go + <i>somewhere</i>. Queeny works hard with him at the classicks; I + hope she will be <i>out</i> of leading-strings at least before he + gets <i>into</i> them, as poor women say of their children." + </p> + <p> + "<i>1st January, 1782.</i>—Let me not, while censuring the + behaviour of others, however, give cause of censure by my own. I + am beginning a new year in a new character. May it be worn + decently yet lightly! I wish not to be rigid and fright my + daughters by too much <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg164" id= + "pg164">164</a></span> severity. I will not be wild and give them + reason to lament the levity of my life. Resolutions, however, are + vain. To pray for God's grace is the sole way to obtain + it—'Strengthen Thou, O Lord, my virtue and my + understanding, preserve me from temptation, and acquaint me with + myself; fill my heart with thy love, restrain it by thy fear, and + keep my soul's desires fixed wholly on that place where only true + joys are to be found, through Jesus Christ our + Lord,—Amen.'" + </p> + <p> + <i>January</i>, 1782.—(After stating her fear of illness + and other ills.) "<i>If</i> nothing of all these misfortunes, + however, befall one; <i>if</i> for my sins God should take from + me my monitor, my friend, my inmate, my dear Doctor Johnson; + <i>if</i> neither I should marry, nor the brewhouse people break; + <i>if</i> the ruin of the nation should not change the situation + of affairs so that one could not receive regular remittances from + England: and <i>if</i> Piozzi should not pick him up a wife and + fix his abode in this country,—<i>if</i>, therefore, and + <i>if</i> and <i>if</i> and <i>if</i> again all should conspire + to keep my present resolution warm, I certainly would, at the + close of the four years from the sale of the Southwark estate, + set out for Italy, with my two or three eldest girls, and see + what the world could show me." + </p> + <p> + In a marginal note, she adds: + </p> + <p> + "Travelling with Mr. Johnson <i>I</i> cannot bear, and leaving + him behind <i>he</i> could not bear, so his life or death must + determine the execution or laying aside my schemes. I wish it + were within reason to <i>hope</i> he could live four years." + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg165" id="pg165">165</a></span> + </p> + <p> + "<i>Streatham, 4th January</i>, 1782.—I have taken a house + in Harley Street for these three months next ensuing, and hope to + have some society,—not company tho': crowds are out of the + question, but people will not come hither on short days, and 'tis + too dull to live all alone so. The world will watch me at first, + and think I come o' husband-hunting for myself or my fair + daughters, but when I have behaved prettily for a while, they + will change their mind." + </p> + <p> + "<i>Harley Street, 14th January</i>, 1782.—The first + seduction comes from Pepys. I had a letter to-day desiring me to + dine in Wimpole Street, to meet Mrs. Montagu and a whole <i>army + of blues</i>, to whom I trust my refusal will afford very pretty + speculation ... and they may settle my character and future + conduct at their leisure. Pepys is a worthless fellow at last; he + and his brother run about the town, spying and enquiring what + Mrs. Thrale is to do this winter, what friends she is to see, + what men are in her confidence, how soon she will be + <i>married</i>, &c.; the brother Dr.—the Medico, as we + call him—lays wagers about me, I find; God forgive me, but + they'll make me hate them both, and they are no better than two + fools for their pains, for I was willing to have taken them to my + heart." + </p> + <p> + "They say Pacchierotti, the famous soprano singer, is ill, and + <i>they say</i> Lady Mary Duncan, his frightful old protectress, + has made him so by her <i>caresses dénaturées</i>. A little envy + of the new woman, Allegrante, has probably not much mended his + health, for Pacchierotti, dear creature, is envious enough. I + was, however, turning <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg166" id= + "pg166">166</a></span> over Horace yesterday, to look for the + expression <i>tenui fronte</i><span class="fnref">[1]</span>, in + vindication of my assertion to Johnson that low foreheads were + classical, when the 8th Ode of the First Book of Horace struck me + so, I could not help imitating it while the scandal was warm in + my mind: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <h4> + 1. + </h4> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "'He's sick indeed! and very sick, + </p> + <p> + For if it is not all a trick + </p> + <p class="i2"> + You'd better look about ye. + </p> + <p> + Dear Lady Mary, prythee tell + </p> + <p> + Why thus by loving him too well + </p> + <p class="i2"> + You kill your Pacchierotti? + </p> + </div> + <h4> + 2. + </h4> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + Nor sun nor dust can he abide, + </p> + <p> + Nor careless in a snaffle ride, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + The steed we saw him mount ill. + </p> + <p> + <i>You</i> stript him of his manly force, + </p> + <p> + When tumbling headlong from his horse + </p> + <p class="i2"> + He pressed the plains of Fonthill.<span class= + "fnref">[2]</span> + </p> + </div> + <h4> + 3. + </h4> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + Why the full opera should he shun? + </p> + <p> + Where crowds of critics smiling run, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + To applaud their Allegrante. <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg167" id="pg167">167</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Why is it worse than viper's sting, + </p> + <p> + To see them clap, or hear her sing? + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Surely he's envious, ain't he? + </p> + </div> + <h4> + 4. + </h4> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + Forbear his house, nor haunt his bed + </p> + <p> + With that strange wig and fearful head, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Then, though he now so ill is, + </p> + <p> + We o'er his voice again may doze, + </p> + <p> + When, cover'd warm with women's clothes, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + He acts a young Achilles.'" + </p> + </div> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Insignem tenui fronte Lycorida Cyri torret amor— + </p> + <p> + But <i>tenuis</i> is <i>small</i> or <i>narrow</i> rather than + <i>low</i>. One of Fielding's beauties, Sophia Western, has a + low forehead: another, Fanny, a high one. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [2] <i>Note by Mrs. T.:</i> "Fonthill, the seat of young + Beckford. They set him o' horseback, and he tumbled off." + </p> + </div> + <p> + "<i>1st February, 1782.</i>—Here is Mr. Johnson ill, very + ill indeed, and—I do not see what ails him; 'tis repelled + gout, I fear, fallen on the lungs and breath of course. What + shall we do for him? If I lose <i>him</i>, I am more than undone; + friend, father, guardian, confident!—God give me health and + patience. What shall I do?" + </p> + <p> + "<i>Harley Street, 13th April, 1782.</i>—When I took off my + mourning, the watchers watched me very exactly, 'but they whose + hands were mightiest have found nothing:' so I shall leave the + town, I hope, in a good disposition towards me, though I am + sullen enough with the town for fancying me such an amorous idiot + that I am dying to enjoy every filthy fellow. God knows how + distant such dispositions are from the heart and constitution of + H.L.T. Lord Loughboro', Sir Richard Jebb, Mr. Piozzi, Mr. Selwyn, + Dr. Johnson, every man that comes to the house, is put in the + papers <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg168" id= + "pg168">168</a></span> for me to marry. In good time, I wrote + to-day to beg the 'Morning Herald' would say no more about me, + good or bad." + </p> + <p> + "<i>Streatham, 17th April, 1782.</i>—I am returned to + Streatham, pretty well in health and very sound in heart, + notwithstanding the watchers and the wager-layers, who think more + of the charms of their sex by half than I who know them better. + Love and friendship are distinct things, and I would go through + fire to serve many a man whom nothing less than fire would force + me to go to bed to. Somebody mentioned my going to be married + t'other day, and Johnson was joking about it. I suppose, Sir, + said I, they think they are doing me honour with these imaginary + matches, when, perhaps the man does not exist who would do me + honour by marrying me! This, indeed, was said in the wild and + insolent spirit of Baretti, yet 'tis nearer the truth than one + would think for. A woman of passable person, ancient family, + respectable character, uncommon talents, and three thousand a + year, has a right to think herself any man's equal, and has + nothing to seek but return of affection from whatever partner she + pitches on. To marry for love would therefore be rational in me, + who want no advancement of birth or fortune, and <i>till I am in + love</i>, I will not marry, nor perhaps then." + </p> + <p> + "<i>22nd August, 1782.</i>—An event of no small consequence + to our little family must here be recorded in the 'Thraliana.' + After having long intended to go to Italy for pleasure, we are + now settling to go thither for convenience. <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg169" id="pg169">169</a></span> The + establishment of expense here at Streatham is more than my income + will answer; my lawsuit with Lady Salusbury turns out worse in + the event and infinitely more costly than I could have dreamed + on; 8000<i>l.</i> is supposed necessary to the payment of it, and + how am I to raise 8000<i>l</i>.? My trees will (after all my + expectations from them) fetch but 4000<i>l</i>., the money lent + Perkins on his bond 1600<i>l</i>., the Hertfordshire copyholds + may perhaps be worth 1000<i>l</i>., and where is the rest to + spring from? I must go abroad and save money. To show Italy to my + girls, and be showed it by Piozzi, has long been my dearest wish, + but to leave Mr. Johnson shocked me, and to take him appeared + impossible. His recovery, however, from an illness we all thought + dangerous, gave me courage to speak to him on the subject, and + this day (after having been let blood) I mustered up resolution + to tell him the necessity of changing a way of life I had long + been displeased with. I added that I had mentioned the matter to + my eldest daughter, whose prudence and solid judgment, unbiassed + by passion, is unequalled, as far as my experience has reached; + that she approved the scheme, and meant to partake it, though of + an age when she might be supposed to form connections here in + England—attachments of the tenderest nature; that she + declared herself free and resolved to follow my fortunes, though + perfectly aware temptations might arise to prevent me from ever + returning—a circumstance she even mentioned herself. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Johnson thought well of the project, and wished <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg170" id="pg170">170</a></span> me to put it + early in execution: seemed less concerned at parting with me than + I wished him: thought his pupil Miss Thrale quite right in + forbearing to marry young, and seemed to entertain no doubt of + living to see us return rich and happy in two or three years' + time. He told Hester in my absence that he would not go with me + if I asked him. See the importance of a person to himself. I + fancied Mr. Johnson could not have existed without me, forsooth, + as we have now lived together for above eighteen years. I have so + fondled him in sickness and in health. Not a bit of it. He feels + nothing in parting with me, nothing in the least; but thinks it a + prudent scheme, and goes to his books as usual. This is + philosophy and truth; he always said he hated a <i>feeler</i>.... + </p> + <p> + "The persecution I endure from men too who want to marry + me—in good time—is another reason for my desiring to + be gone. I wish to marry none of them, and Sir Philip's teazing + me completed my mortification; to see that one can rely on + <i>nobody!</i> The expences of this house, however, which are + quite past my power to check, is the true and rational cause of + our departure. In Italy we shall live with twice the respect and + at half the expence we do here; the language is familiar to me + and I love the Italians; I take with me all I love in the world + except my two baby daughters, who will be left safe at school; + and since Mr. Johnson cares nothing for the loss of my personal + friendship and company, there is no danger of any body else + breaking their hearts. My sweet Burney <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg171" id="pg171">171</a></span> and Mrs. + Byron will perhaps think they are sorry, but my consciousness + that no one <i>can</i> have the cause of concern that Johnson + has, and my conviction that he has <i>no concern at all</i>, + shall cure me of lamenting friends left behind." + </p> + <p> + In the margin of this entry she has written, "I begin to see (now + everything shows it) that Johnson's connection with me is merely + an interested one; he <i>loved</i> Mr. Thrale, I believe, but + only wished to find in me a careful nurse and humble friend for + his sick and his lounging hours; yet I really thought he could + not have <i>existed</i> without <i>my conversation</i> forsooth! + He cares more for my roast beef and plum pudden, which he now + devours too dirtily for endurance; and since he is glad to get + rid of me, I'm sure I have good cause to desire the getting rid + of him." + </p> + <p> + No great stress should be laid on this ebullition of mortified + self-love; but it occurs oddly enough at the very time when, + according to Lord Macaulay, she was labouring to produce the very + feeling that irritated her. + </p> + <p> + "<i>August 28th</i>, 1782.—He (Piozzi) thinks still more + than he says, that I shall give him up; and if Queeney made + herself more amiable to me, and took the proper methods—I + suppose I should." + </p> + <p> + "<i>20 September</i> 1782, <i>Streatham</i>.—And now I am + going to leave Streatham (I have let the house and grounds to + Lord Shelburne, the expence of it eat me up) for three years, + where I lived—never happily indeed, but always easily: the + more so perhaps from the total absence of love and + ambition— <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg172" id= + "pg172">172</a></span> + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'Else these two passions by the way + </p> + <p> + Might chance to show us scurvy play.'" + </p> + </div> + <p> + Ten days later (October 1st) she thus argues out the question of + marriage: + </p> + <p> + "Now! that dear little discerning creature, Fanny Burney, says + I'm in love with Piozzi: very likely; he is so amiable, so + honourable, so much above his situation by his abilities, that if + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'Fate had not fast bound her + </p> + <p class="i2"> + With Styx nine times round her, + </p> + <p class="i4"> + Sure musick and love were victorious.' + </p> + </div> + <p> + But if he is ever so worthy, ever so lovely, he is <i>below + me</i> forsooth! In what is he below me? In virtue? I would I + were above him. In understanding? I would mine were from this + instant under the guardianship of his. In birth? To be sure he is + below me in birth, and so is almost every man I know or have a + chance to know. But he is below me in fortune: is mine sufficient + for us both?—more than amply so. Does he deserve it by his + conduct, in which he has always united warm notions of honour + with cool attention to oeconomy, the spirit of a gentleman with + the talents of a professor? How shall any man deserve fortune, if + he does not? But I am the guardian of five daughters by Mr. + Thrale, and must not disgrace <i>their</i> name and family. Was + then the man my mother chose for me of higher extraction than him + I have chosen for myself? No,—but his fortune was + higher.... I wanted fortune then, perhaps: do I want it + now?—Not <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg173" id= + "pg173">173</a></span> at all; but I am not to think about + myself; I married the first time to please my mother, I must + marry the second time to please my daughter. I have always + sacrificed my own choice to that of others, so I must sacrifice + it again: but why? Oh, because I am a woman of superior + understanding, and must not for the world degrade myself from my + situation in life. But if I <i>have</i> superior understanding, + let me at least make use of it for once, and rise to the rank of + a human being conscious of its own power to discern good from + ill. The person who has uniformly acted by the will of others has + hardly that dignity to boast. + </p> + <p> + "But once again: I am guardian to five girls; agreed: will this + connection prejudice their bodies, souls, or purse? My marriage + may assist <i>my</i> health, but I suppose it will not injure + <i>theirs</i>. Will his company or companions corrupt their + morals? God forbid; if I did not believe him one of the best of + our fellow beings, I would reject him instantly. Can it injure + their fortunes? Could he impoverish (if he would) five women, to + whom their father left <i>20,000l.</i> each, independent almost + of possibilities?—To what then am I guardian? to their + pride and prejudice? and is anything else affected by the + alliance? Now for more solid objections. Is not the man of whom I + desire protection, a foreigner? unskilled in the laws and + language of our country? Certainly. Is he not, as the French say, + <i>Arbitre de mon sort?</i> and from the hour he possesses my + person and fortune, have I any power of decision how or where I + may continue or end my life? Is not the man, upon the continuance + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg174" id="pg174">174</a></span> + of whose affection my whole happiness depends, <i>younger</i> + than myself<span class="fnref">[1]</span>, and is it wise to + place one's happiness on the continuance of <i>any</i> man's + affection? Would it not be painful to owe his appearance of + regard more to his honour than his love? and is not my person, + already faded, likelier to fade sooner, than his? On the other + hand, is his life a good one? and would it not be lunacy even to + risque the wretchedness of losing all situation in the world for + the sake of living with a man one loves, and then to lose both + companion and consolation? When I lost Mr. Thrale, every one was + officious to comfort and to soothe me; but which of my children + or quondam friends would look with kindness upon Piozzi's widow? + If I bring children by him, must they not be Catholics, and must + not I live among people the <i>ritual</i> part of whose religion + I disapprove? + </p> + <p> + "These are <i>my</i> objections, these <i>my</i> fears: not those + of being censured by the world, as it is called, a composition of + vice and folly, though 'tis surely no good joke to be talked of + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'By each affected she that tells my story, + </p> + <p> + And blesses her good stars that <i>she</i> was prudent.' + </p> + </div> + <p> + "These objections would increase in strength, too, if my present + state was a happy one, but it really is not. I live a quiet life, + but not a pleasant one. My children govern without loving me; my + servants devour and despise me; my friends caress and censure me; + my money wastes in expences I do not enjoy, and my time + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg175" id="pg175">175</a></span> + in trifles I do not approve. Every one is made insolent, and no + one comfortable; my reputation unprotected, my heart unsatisfied, + my health unsettled. I will, however, resolve on nothing. I will + take a voyage to the Continent in spring, enlarge my knowledge + and repose my purse. Change of place may turn the course of these + ideas, and external objects supply the room of internal felicity. + If he follow me, I may reject or receive at pleasure the + addresses of a man who follows on <i>no explicit promise</i>, nor + much probability of success, for I would really wish to marry no + more without the consent of my children (such I mean as are + qualified to give their opinions); and how should <i>Miss + Thrales</i> approve of my marrying <i>Mr. Piozzi</i>? Here then I + rest, and will torment my mind no longer, but commit myself, as + he advises, to the hand of Providence, and all will end <i>all' + ottima perfezzione</i>. + </p> + <p> + "Written at Streatham, 1st October, 1782." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] <i>Note by Mrs. Piozzi</i>: "He was half a year + <i>older</i> when our registers were both examined." + </p> + </div> + <p> + "<i>October, 1782.</i>—There is no mercy for me in this + island. I am more and more disposed to try the continent. One day + the paper rings with my marriage to Johnson, one day to + Crutchley, one day to Seward. I give no reason for such + impertinence, but cannot deliver myself from it. Whitbred, the + rich brewer, is in love with me too; oh, I would rather, as Ann + Page says, be set breast deep in the earth<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span> and bowled to death with turnips. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Crutchley bid me make a curtsey to my daughters for keeping + me out of a goal (<i>sic</i>), and the <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg176" id="pg176">176</a></span> newspapers + insolent as he! How shall I get through? How shall I get through? + I have not deserved it of any of them, as God knows. + </p> + <p> + "Philip Thicknesse put it about Bath that I was a poor girl, a + mantua maker, when Mr. Thrale married me. It is an odd thing, but + Miss Thrales like, I see, to have it believed." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Anne Page says, "quick in the earth." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The general result down to this point is that, whatever the + disturbance in Mrs. Thrale's heart and mind, Johnson had no + ground of complaint, nor ever thought he had, which is the + essential point in controversy. In other words, he was not + driven, hinted, or manoeuvred out of Streatham. Yet almost all + his worshippers have insisted that he was. Hawkins, after + mentioning the kind offices undertaken by Johnson (which + constantly took him to Streatham) says:—"Nevertheless it + was observed by myself, and other of Johnson's friends, that soon + after the decease of Mr. Thrale, his visits to Streatham became + less and less frequent, and that he studiously avoided the + mention of the place or the family." This statement is + preposterous, and is only to be partially accounted for by the + fact that Hawkins, as his daughter informs us, had no personal + acquaintance with Mrs. Thrale or Streatham. Boswell, who was in + Scotland when Johnson and Mrs. Thrale left Streatham together, + gratuitously infers that he left it alone, angry and mortified, + in consequence of her altered manner: + </p> + <p> + "The death of Mr. Thrale had made a very material alteration with + respect to Johnson's reception in that <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg177" id="pg177">177</a></span> family. The + manly authority of the husband no longer curbed the lively + exuberance of the lady; and as her vanity had been fully + gratified, by having the Colossus of Literature attached to her + for many years, she gradually became less assiduous to please + him. Whether her attachment to him was already divided by another + object, I am unable to ascertain; but it is plain that Johnson's + penetration was alive to her neglect or forced attention; for on + the 6th of October this year we find him making a 'parting use of + the library' at Streatham, and pronouncing a prayer which he + composed on leaving Mr. Thrale's family. + </p> + <p> + "'Almighty God, Father of all mercy, help me by Thy grace, that I + may, with humble and sincere thankfulness, remember the comforts + and conveniences which I have enjoyed at this place; and that I + may resign them with holy submission, equally trusting in Thy + protection when Thou givest, and when Thou takest away. Have + mercy upon me, O Lord! have mercy upon me! To Thy fatherly + protection, O Lord, I commend this family. Bless, guide, and + defend them, that they may so pass through this world, as finally + to enjoy in Thy presence everlasting happiness, for Jesus + Christ's sake. Amen.' + </p> + <p> + "One cannot read this prayer without some emotions not very + favourable to the lady whose conduct occasioned it. + </p> + <p> + "The next day, he made the following memorandum: + </p> + <p> + "'<i>October 7.</i>—I was called early. I packed up my + bundles, and used the foregoing prayer, with my morning + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg178" id="pg178">178</a></span> + devotions somewhat, I think, enlarged. Being earlier than the + family, I read St. Paul's farewell in the Acts, and then read + fortuitously in the Gospels,—which was my parting use of + the library.'" + </p> + <p> + Mr. Croker, whose protest against the groundless insinuations of + Boswell should have put subsequent writers on their guard, states + in a note:—"He seems to have taken leave of the kitchen as + well as the church at Streatham in Latin." The note of his last + dinner there, done into English, would run thus: + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "Oct. 6th, Sunday, 1782. + </p> + <p> + "I dined at Streatham on boiled leg of lamb, with spinach, the + stuffing of flour and raisins, round of beef, and turkey poult; + and after the meat service, figs, grapes, not yet ripe in + consequence of the bad season, with peaches, also hard. I took my + place at table in no joyful mood, and partook of the food + moderately, lest I should finish by intemperance. If I rightly + remember, the banquet at the funeral of Hadon came into my + mind.<span class="fnref">[1]</span> When shall I revisit + Streatham?" + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] "Si recte memini in mentem venerunt epulæ in exequiis + Hadoni celebratæ." I cannot explain this allusion. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The exclamation "When shall I revisit Streatham?" loses much of + its pathos when connected with these culinary details. + </p> + <p> + Madame D'Arblay's description of the last year at Streatham is + too important to be much abridged: + </p> + <p> + "Dr. Burney, <i>when the Cecilian business was + arranged</i><span class="fnref">[1]</span>, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg179" id="pg179">179</a></span> again + conveyed the Memorialist to Streatham. No further reluctance on + his part, nor exhortations on that of Mr. Crisp, sought to + withdraw her from that spot, where, while it was in its glory, + they had so recently, and with pride, seen her distinguished. And + truly eager was her own haste, when mistress of her time, to try + once more to soothe those sorrows and chagrins in which she had + most largely participated, by answering to the call, which had + never ceased tenderly to pursue her, of return. + </p> + <p> + "With alacrity, therefore, though not with gaiety, they + re-entered the Streatham gates—but they soon perceived that + they found not what they had left! + </p> + <p> + "Changed, indeed, was Streatham! Gone its chief, and changed his + relict! unaccountably, incomprehensibly, indefinably changed! She + was absent and agitated; not two minutes could she remain in a + place; she scarcely seemed to know whom she saw; her speech was + so hurried it was hardly intelligible; her eyes were assiduously + averted from those who sought them; and her smiles were faint and + forced." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] This may mean when the arrangements were made for the + publication, or when the book was published. It was published + about the beginning of June, 1782. + </p> + </div> + <p> + "The mystery, however, soon ceased; the solicitations of the most + affectionate sympathy could not long be urged in vain;—the + mystery passed away—not so the misery! That, when revealed, + was but to both parties doubled, from the different feelings set + in movement by its disclosure. <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg180" id="pg180">180</a></span> + </p> + <p> + "The astonishing history of the enigmatical attachment which + impelled Mrs. Thrale to her second marriage, is now as well known + as her name: but its details belong not to the history of Dr. + Burney; though the fact too deeply interested him, and was too + intimately felt in his social habits, to be passed over in + silence in any memoirs of his life. + </p> + <p> + "But while ignorant yet of its cause, more and more struck he + became at every meeting, by a species of general alienation which + pervaded all around at Streatham. His visits, which, heretofore, + had seemed galas to Mrs. Thrale, were now begun and ended almost + without notice: and all others,—Dr. Johnson not + excepted,—were cast into the same gulph of general neglect, + or forgetfulness;—all,—save singly this + Memorialist!—to whom, the fatal secret once acknowledged, + Mrs. Thrale clung for comfort; though she saw, and generously + pardoned, how wide she was from meeting approbation. + </p> + <p> + "In this retired, though far from tranquil manner, <i>passed many + months; during which</i>, with the acquiescent consent of the + Doctor, his daughter, wholly devoted to her unhappy friend, + <i>remained uninterruptedly at sad and altered Streatham;</i> + sedulously avoiding, what at other times she most wished, a + <i>tête-à-tête</i> with her father. Bound by ties indissoluble of + honour not to betray a trust that, in the ignorance of her pity, + she had herself unwittingly sought, even to him she was as + immutably silent, on this subject, as to all others—save, + singly, to the eldest daughter of the house: <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg181" id="pg181">181</a></span> whose + conduct, through scenes of dreadful difficulty, notwithstanding + her extreme youth, was even exemplary; and to whom the + self-beguiled, yet generous mother, gave full and free permission + to confide every thought and feeling to the Memorialist." + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + "Various incidental circumstances began, at length, to open the + reluctant eyes of Dr. Burney to an impelled, though clouded + foresight, of the portentous event which might latently be the + cause of the alteration of all around at Streatham. He then + naturally wished for some explanation with his daughter, though + he never forced, or even claimed her confidence; well knowing, + that voluntarily to give it him had been her earliest delight. + </p> + <p> + "But in taking her home with him one morning, to pass a day in + St. Martin's Street, he almost involuntarily, in driving from the + paddock, turned back his head towards the house, and, in a tone + the most impressive, sighed out: 'Adieu, + Streatham!—Adieu!'" + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + "<i>A few weeks earlier</i>, the Memorialist had passed a nearly + similar scene with Dr. Johnson. Not, however, she believes, from + the same formidable species of surmise; but from the wounds + inflicted upon his injured sensibility, through the palpably + altered looks, tone, and deportment, of the bewildered lady of + the mansion; who, cruelly aware what would be his wrath, and how + overwhelming his reproaches against her projected <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg182" id="pg182">182</a></span> union, wished + to break up their residing under the same roof before it should + be proclaimed. + </p> + <p> + "This gave to her whole behaviour towards Dr. Johnson, a sort of + restless petulancy, of which she was sometimes hardly conscious, + at others, nearly reckless; but which hurt him far more than she + purposed, <i>though short of the point at which she aimed</i>, of + precipitating a change of dwelling that would elude its being + cast, either by himself or the world, upon a passion that her + understanding blushed to own, even while she was sacrificing to + it all of inborn dignity that she had been bred to hold most + sacred. + </p> + <p> + "Dr. Johnson, while still uninformed of an entanglement it was + impossible he should conjecture, attributed her varying humours + to the effect of wayward health meeting a sort of sudden wayward + power: and imagined that caprices, which he judged to be partly + feminine, <i>and partly wealthy</i>, would soberise themselves + away in being unnoticed." + </p> + <p> + "But at length, as she became more and more dissatisfied with her + own situation, and impatient for its relief, she grew less and + less scrupulous with regard to her celebrated guest: she slighted + his counsel; did not heed his remonstrances; avoided his society; + was ready at a moment's hint to lend him her carriage when he + wished to return to Bolt Court; but awaited a formal request to + accord it for bringing him back. + </p> + <p> + "The Doctor then began to be stung; his own aspect became + altered; and depression, with indignant uneasiness, sat upon his + venerable front. <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg183" id= + "pg183">183</a></span> + </p> + <p> + "It was at this moment that, finding the Memorialist was going + one morning to St. Martin's Street, he desired a cast thither in + the carriage, and then to be set down at Bolt Court. + </p> + <p> + "Aware of his disturbance, and far too well aware how short it + was of what it would become when the cause of all that passed + should be detected, it was in trembling that the Memorialist + accompanied him to the coach, filled with dread of offending him + by any reserve, should he force upon her any inquiry; and yet + impressed with the utter impossibility of betraying a trusted + secret. + </p> + <p> + "His look was stern, though dejected, as he followed her into the + vehicle; but when his eye, which, however short-sighted, was + quick to mental perception, saw how ill at ease appeared his + companion, all sternness subsided into an undisguised expression + of the strongest emotion, that seemed to claim her sympathy, + though to revolt from her compassion; while, with a shaking hand, + and pointing finger, he directed her looks to the mansion from + which they were driving; and, when they faced it from the coach + window, as they turned into Streatham Common, tremulously + exclaiming: 'That house ... is lost to <i>me</i>—for ever!' + </p> + <p> + "During a moment he then fixed upon her an interrogative eye, + that impetuously demanded: 'Do you not perceive the change I am + experiencing?' + </p> + <p> + "A sorrowing sigh was her only answer. + </p> + <p> + "Pride and delicacy then united to make him leave her to her + taciturnity. <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg184" id= + "pg184">184</a></span> + </p> + <p> + "He was too deeply, however, disturbed to start or to bear any + other subject; and neither of them uttered a single word till the + coach stopt in St. Martin's Street, and the house and the + carriage door were opened for their separation! He then suddenly + and expressively looked at her, abruptly grasped her hand, and, + with an air of affection, though in a low, husky voice, murmured + rather than said: 'Good morning, dear lady!' but turned his head + quickly away, to avoid any species of answer." + </p> + <p> + "She was deeply touched by so gentle an acquiescence in her + declining the confidential discourse upon which he had + indubitably meant to open, relative to this mysterious + alienation. But she had the comfort to be satisfied, that he saw + and believed in her sincere participation in his feelings; while + he allowed for the grateful attachment that bound her to a friend + so loved; who, to her at least, still manifested a fervour of + regard that resisted all change; alike from this new partiality, + and from the undisguised, and even strenuous opposition of the + Memorialist to its indulgence." + </p> + <p> + The Memoirs of Dr. Burney, by his daughter, published in 1832, + together with her Diary and Letters, supplied the materials of + Lord Macaulay's celebrated article on Madame D'Arblay in the + "Edinburgh Review" for January, 1843, since reprinted amongst his + Essays. He describes the Memoirs as a book "which it is + impossible to read without a sensation made up of mirth, shame, + and loathing," and adds:—"The two works are lying side by + side before us; and we never <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg185" id="pg185">185</a></span> turn from the Memoirs to the + Diary without a sense of relief. The difference is as great as + the difference between the atmosphere of a perfumer's shop, + scented with lavender water and jasmine soap, and the air of a + heath on a fine morning in May."<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Critical and Historical Essays (one volume edition), 1851, + p. 652. The Memoirs were composed between 1828 and 1832, more + than forty years after the occurrence of the scenes I have + quoted from them. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The passages I have quoted amply establish the justice of this + comparison, for they are utterly irreconcileable with the + unvarnished statements of the Diary; from which we learn that + "Cecilia" was published about the beginning of June, when Johnson + was absent from Streatham; that the Diarist had left Streatham + prior to August 12th, and did not return to it again that year. + How could she have passed many months there after she was + entrusted with the great secret, which (as stated in "Thraliana") + she only guessed in September or October? + </p> + <p> + How again could Johnson have attributed Mrs. Thrale's conduct to + caprices "partly wealthy," when he knew that one main source of + her troubles was pecuniary; or how can his alleged sense of + ill-treatment be reconciled with his own letters? That he groaned + over the terrible disturbance of his habits involved in the + abandonment of Streatham, is likely enough; but as the only words + he uttered were, "That house is lost to <i>me</i> for ever," and + "Good morning, dear lady," the accompanying look is about as safe + a foundation for a theory <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg186" + id="pg186">186</a></span> of conduct or feeling as Lord + Burleigh's famous nod in "The Critic." The philosopher was at + this very time an inmate of Streatham, and probably returned that + same evening to register a sample of its hospitality. At all + events, we know that, spite of hints and warnings, sighs and + groans, he stuck to Streatham to the last; and finally left it + with Mrs. Thrale, as a member of her family, to reside in her + house at Brighton, as her guest, for six weeks.<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span> To talk of conscious ill-treatment or wounded + dignity, in the teeth of facts like these, is laughable. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] The Edinburgh reviewer says, "Johnson went in Oct. 1782 + from Streatham to Brighton, where he lived a kind of + boarding-house life;" and adds, "he was not asked out into + company with his fellow-lodgers." The Thrales had a handsome + furnished house at Brighton, which is mentioned both in the + Correspondence and Autobiography. + </p> + <p> + It is amusing enough to watch these attempts to shade away the + ruinous effect of the Brighton trip on Lord Macaulay's + Streatham pathos. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Madame D'Arblay joined the party as Mrs. Thrale's guest on the + 26th October, and on the 28th she writes: + </p> + <p> + "At dinner, we had Dr. Delap and Mr. Selwyn, who accompanied us + in the evening to a ball; as did also Dr. Johnson, to the + universal amazement of all who saw him there:—but he said + he had found it so dull being quite alone the preceding evening, + that he determined upon going with us: 'for,' he said, 'it cannot + be worse than being alone.' Strange that he should think so! I am + sure I am not of his mind." + </p> + <p> + On the 29th, she records that Johnson behaved very rudely to Mr. + Pepys, and fairly drove him from the <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg187" id="pg187">187</a></span> house. The + entry for November 10th is remarkable:—"We spent this + evening at Lady De Ferrars, where Dr. Johnson accompanied us, for + the first time he has been invited of our parties since my + arrival." On the 20th November, she tells us that Mrs. and the + three Miss Thrales and herself got up early to bathe. "We then + returned home, and dressed by candle-light, and, <i>as soon as we + could get Dr. Johnson ready</i>, we set out upon our journey in a + coach and a chaise, and arrived in Argyll Street at dinner time. + Mrs. Thrale has there fixed her tent for this short winter, which + will end with the beginning of April, when her foreign journey + takes place." + </p> + <p> + One incident of this Brighton trip is mentioned in the + "Anecdotes": + </p> + <p> + "We had got a little French print among us at Brighthelmstone, in + November 1782, of some people skaiting, with these lines written + under: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + 'Sur un mince chrystal l'hyver conduit leurs pas, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Le precipice est sous la glace; + </p> + <p> + Telle est de nos plaisirs la légère surface, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Glissez, mortels; n'appuyez pas.' + </p> + </div> + <p> + "And I begged translations from every body: Dr. Johnson gave me + this: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + 'O'er ice the rapid skater flies, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + With sport above and death below; + </p> + <p> + Where mischief lurks in gay disguise, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Thus lightly touch and quickly go.' + </p> + </div> + <p> + "He was, however, most exceedingly enraged when he knew that in + the course of the season I had asked half a dozen acquaintance to + do the same thing; and <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg188" id= + "pg188">188</a></span> said, it was a piece of treachery, and + done to make every body else look little when compared to my + favourite friends the <i>Pepyses</i>, whose translations were + unquestionably the best."<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] By Sir Lucas: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "O'er the ice, as o'er pleasure, you lightly should glide, + </p> + <p> + Both have gulphs which their flattering surfaces hide." + </p> + </div> + <p> + By Sir William: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Swift o'er the level how the skaiters slide, + </p> + <p> + And skim the glitt'ring surface as they go: + </p> + <p> + Thus o'er life's specious pleasures lightly glide, + </p> + <p> + But pause not, press not on the gulph below." + </p> + </div> + </div> + <p> + Madame D'Arblay's Diary describes the outward and visible state + of things at Brighton. "Thraliana" lays bare the internal + history, the struggles of the understanding and the heart: + </p> + <p> + "At Brighthelmstone, whither I went when I left Streatham, 7th + October 1782, I heard this comical epigram about the Irish + Volunteers: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'There's not one of us all, my brave boys, but would rather + </p> + <p> + Do ought than offend great King George our good father; + </p> + <p> + But our country, you know, my dear lads, is our <i>mother</i>, + </p> + <p> + And that is a much surer side than the other.'" + </p> + </div> + <p> + "I had looked ill, or perhaps appeared to feel so much, that my + eldest daughter would, out of tenderness perhaps, force me to an + explanation. I could, however, have evaded it if I would; but my + heart was bursting, and partly from instinctive desire of + unloading it—partly, I hope, from principle, too—I + called her into my room and fairly told her the truth; told her + the <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg189" id= + "pg189">189</a></span> strength of my passion for Piozzi, the + impracticability of my living without him, the opinion I had of + his merit, and the resolution I had taken to marry him. Of all + this she could not have been ignorant before. I confessed my + attachment to him and her together with many tears and agonies + one day at Streatham; told them both that I wished I had two + hearts for their sakes, but having only one I would break it + between them, and give them each <i>ciascheduno la metà!</i> + After that conversation she consented to go abroad with me, and + even appointed the place (Lyons), to which Piozzi meant to follow + us. He and she talked long together on the subject; yet her never + mentioning it again made me fear she was not fully apprized of my + intent, and though her concurrence might have been more easily + obtained when left only to my influence in a distant country, + where she would have had no friend to support her different + opinion—yet I scorned to take such mean advantage, and told + her my story <i>now</i>, with the winter before her in which to + take her measures—her guardians at hand—all + displeased at the journey: and to console her private distress I + called into the room to her my own bosom friend, my beloved Fanny + Burney, whose interest as well as judgment goes all against my + marriage; whose skill in life and manners is superior to that of + any man or woman in this age or nation; whose knowledge of the + world, ingenuity of expedient, delicacy of conduct, and zeal in + the cause, will make her a counsellor invaluable, and leave me + destitute of every comfort, of every hope, of every expectation. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg190" id="pg190">190</a></span> + </p> + <p> + "Such are the hands to which I have cruelly committed thy + cause—my honourable, ardent, artless Piozzi!! Yet I should + not deserve the union I desire with the most disinterested of all + human hearts, had I behaved with less generosity, or endeavoured + to gain by cunning what is withheld by prejudice. Had I set my + heart upon a scoundrel, I might have done virtuously to break it + and get loose; but the man I love, I love for his honesty, for + his tenderness of heart, his dignity of mind, his piety to God, + his duty to his mother, and his delicacy to me. In being united + to this man only can I be happy in this world, and short will be + my stay in it, if it is not passed with him." + </p> + <p> + "<i>Brighthelmstone, 16th November 1782</i>.—For him I have + been contented to reverse the laws of nature, and request of my + child that concurrence which, at my age and a widow, I am not + required either by divine or human institutions to ask even of a + parent. The life I gave her she may now more than repay, only by + agreeing to what she will with difficulty prevent; and which, if + she does prevent, will give her lasting remorse; for those who + stab <i>me</i> shall hear me groan: whereas if she will—but + how can she?—gracefully or even compassionately consent; if + she will go abroad with me upon the chance of his death or mine + preventing our union, and live with me till she is of age— + ... perhaps there is no heart so callous by avarice, no soul so + poisoned by prejudice, no head so feather'd by foppery, that will + forbear to excuse her when she returns to the rich and the + gay—for having saved the life of a <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg191" id="pg191">191</a></span> mother thro' + compliance, extorted by anguish, contrary to the received + opinions of the world." + </p> + <p> + "<i>Brighthelmstone, 19th November, 1782</i>.—What is above + written, though intended only to unload my heart by writing it, I + shewed in a transport of passion to Queeney and to Burney. Sweet + Fanny Burney cried herself half blind over it; said there was no + resisting such pathetic eloquence, and that, if she was the + daughter instead of the friend, she should be tempted to attend + me to the altar; but that, while she possessed her reason, + nothing should seduce her to approve what reason itself would + condemn: that children, religion, situation, country, and + character—besides the diminution of fortune by the certain + loss of 800<i>l.</i> a year, were too much to sacrifice for any + <i>one man</i>. If, however, I were resolved to make the + sacrifice, <i>a la bonne heure!</i> it was an astonishing proof + of an attachment very difficult for mortal man to repay." + </p> + <p> + "I will talk no more about it." + </p> + <p> + What comes next was written in London: + </p> + <p> + "<i>Nov. 27, 1782</i>.—I have given my Piozzi some + hopes—dear, generous, prudent, noble-minded creature; he + will hardly permit himself to believe it ever can + be—<i>come quei promessi miracoli</i>, says he, <i>che non + vengono mai</i>. For rectitude of mind and native dignity of soul + I never saw his fellow." + </p> + <p> + "<i>Dec. 1, 1782</i>.—The guardians have met upon the + scheme of putting our girls in Chancery. I was frighted at the + project, not doubting but the Lord Chancellor would stop us from + leaving England, as he would certainly <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg192" id="pg192">192</a></span> see no joke + in three young heiresses, his wards, quitting the kingdom to + frisk away with their mother into Italy: besides that I believe + Mr. Crutchley proposed it merely for a stumbling-block to my + journey, as he cannot bear to have Hester out of his sight. + </p> + <p> + "Nobody much applauded my resolution in going, but Johnson and + Cator said they would not concur in stopping me by violence, and + Crutchley was forced to content himself with intending to put the + ladies under legal protection as soon as we should be across the + sea. This measure I much applaud, for if I die or marry in Italy + their fortunes will be safer in Chancery than any how else. + Cator<span class="fnref">[1]</span> said <i>I</i> had a right to + say that going to Italy would benefit the children as much as + <i>they</i> had to say it would <i>not</i>; but I replied that as + I really did not mean anything but my own private gratification + by the voyage, nothing should make me say I meant <i>their</i> + good by it; and that it would be like saying I eat roast beef to + mend my daughters' complexions. The result of all is that we + certainly <i>do go</i>. I will pick up what knowledge and + pleasure I can here this winter to divert myself, and perhaps my + <i>compagno fidele</i> in distant climes and <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg193" id="pg193">193</a></span> future times, + with the recollection of England and its inhabitants, all which I + shall be happy and content to leave <i>for him</i>." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] <i>Note by Mrs. T.:</i> "Cator said likewise that the + attorney's bill ought to be paid by the ladies as a bill of Mr. + Thrale's, but I replied that perhaps I might marry and give my + estate away, and if so it would be unjust that they should pay + the bill which related to that estate only. Besides, if I + should leave it to Hester, says I, ... why should Susan and + Sophy and Cecilia and Harriet pay the lawyer's bill for their + sister's land? He agreed to this plea, and I will live on bread + and water, but I will pay Norris myself. 'Tis but being a + better huswife in pins." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Madame D'Arblay writes, Friday, December 27th, 1782: + </p> + <p> + "I dined with Mrs. Thrale and Dr. Johnson, who was very comic and + good-humoured.... Mrs. Thrale, who was to have gone with me to + Mrs. Orde's, gave up her visit in order to stay with Dr. Johnson. + Miss Thrale, therefore, and I went together." + </p> + <p> + I return to "Thraliana": + </p> + <p> + "<i>January</i>, 1783.—A fit of jealousy seized me the + other day: some viper had stung me up to a notion that my Piozzi + was fond of a Miss Chanon. I call'd him gently to account, and + after contenting myself with slight excuses, told him that, + whenever we married, I should, however, desire to see as little + as possible of the lady <i>chez nous</i>." + </p> + <p> + There is a large gap in "Thraliana" just in the most interesting + part of the story of her parting with Piozzi in 1783, and his + recall. + </p> + <p> + "<i>January 29, 1783</i>.—Adieu to all that's dear, to all + that's lovely; I am parted from my life, my soul, my Piozzi. If I + can get health and strength to write my story here, 'tis all I + wish for now—oh misery! [Here are four pages missing.] The + cold dislike of my eldest daughter I thought might wear away by + familiarity with his merit, and that we might live tolerably + together, or, at least, part friends—but no; her aversion + increased daily, and she communicated it to the others; + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg194" id="pg194">194</a></span> + they treated <i>me</i> insolently, and <i>him</i> very + strangely—running away whenever he came as if they saw a + serpent—and plotting with their governess—a cunning + Italian—how to invent lyes to make me hate him, and twenty + such narrow tricks. By these means the notion of my partiality + took air, and whether Miss Thrale sent him word slily or not I + cannot tell, but on the 25th January, 1783, Mr. Crutchley came + hither to conjure me not to go to Italy; he had heard such + things, he said, and by <i>means</i> next to <i>miraculous</i>. + The next day, Sunday, 26th, Fanny Burney came, said I must marry + him instantly or give him up; that my reputation would be lost + else. + </p> + <p> + "I actually groaned with anguish, threw myself on the bed in an + agony which my fair daughter beheld with frigid indifference. She + had indeed never by one tender word endeavoured to dissuade me + from the match, but said, coldly, that if I <i>would</i> abandon + my children I <i>must</i>; that their father had not deserved + such treatment from me; that I should be punished by Piozzi's + neglect, for that she knew he hated me; and that I turned out my + offspring to chance for his sake, like puppies in a pond to swim + or drown according as Providence pleased; that for her part she + must look herself out a place like the other servants, for my + face would she never see more.' 'Nor write to me?' said I. 'I + shall not, madam,' replied she with a cold sneer, 'easily find + out your address; for you are going you know not whither, I + believe.' + </p> + <p> + "Susan and Sophy said nothing at all, but they taught + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg195" id="pg195">195</a></span> + the two young ones to cry 'Where are you going, mama? will you + leave us and die as our poor papa did?' There was no standing + <i>that</i>., so I wrote my lover word that my mind was all + distraction, and bid him come to me the next morning, 27th + January—my birthday—and spent the Sunday night in + torture not to be described. My falsehood to my Piozzi, my strong + affection for him, the incapacity I felt in myself to resign the + man I so adored, the hopes I had so cherished, inclined me + strongly to set them all at defiance, and go with him to church + to sanctify the promises I had so often made him; while the idea + of abandoning the children of my first husband, who left me so + nobly provided for, and who depended on my attachment to his + offspring, awakened the voice of conscience, and threw me on my + knees to pray for <i>His</i> direction who was hereafter to judge + my conduct. His grace illuminated me, His power strengthened me, + and I flew to my daughter's bed in the morning and told her my + resolution to resign my own, my dear, my favourite purpose, and + to prefer my children's interest to my love. She questioned my + ability to make the sacrifice; said one word from him would undo + all my—[Here two pages are missing]. + </p> + <p> + "I told Dr. Johnson and Mr. Crutchley three days ago that I had + determined—seeing them so averse to it—that I would + not go abroad, but that, if I did not leave England, I + <i>would</i> leave London, where I had not been treated to my + mind, and where I had flung away much unnecessary money with + little satisfaction; that I was greatly in debt, and somewhat + like distress'd: that borrowing <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg196" id="pg196">196</a></span> was always bad, but of one's + children worst: that Mr. Crutchley's objection to their lending + me their money when I had a mortgage to offer as security, was + unkind and harsh: that I would go live in a little way at Bath + till I had paid all my debts and cleared my income: that I would + no more be tyrannized over by people who hated or people who + plundered me, in short that I would retire and save my money and + lead this uncomfortable life no longer. They made little or no + reply, and I am resolved to do as I declared. I will draw in my + expenses, lay by every shilling I can to pay off debts and + mortgages, and perhaps—who knows? I may in six or seven + years be freed from all incumbrances, and carry a clear income of + 2500<i>l.</i> a year and an estate of 500<i>l.</i> in land to the + man of my heart. May I but live to discharge my obligations to + those who <i>hate me</i>; it will be paradise to discharge them + to him who <i>loves me</i>." + </p> + <p> + "<i>April, 1783</i>.—I will go to Bath: nor health, nor + strength, nor my children's affections, have I. My daughter does + not, I suppose, much delight in this scheme [viz, retrenchment of + expenses and removal to Bath], but why should I lead a life of + delighting her, who would not lose a shilling of interest or an + ounce of pleasure to save my life from perishing? When I was near + losing my existence from the contentions of my mind, and was + seized with a temporary delirium in Argyll Street, she and her + two eldest sisters laughed at my distress, and observed to dear + Fanny Burney, that it was <i>monstrous droll</i>. <i>She</i> + could hardly suppress her indignation. <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg197" id="pg197">197</a></span> + </p> + <p> + "Piozzi was ill.... A sore throat, Pepys said it was, with four + ulcers in it: the people about me said it had been lanced, and I + mentioned it slightly before the girls.' Has he cut his own + throat?' says Miss Thrale in her quiet manner. This was less + inexcusable because she hated him, and the other was her sister; + though, had she exerted the good sense I thought her possessed + of, she would not have treated him so: had she adored, and + fondled, and respected him as he deserved from her hands, and + from the heroic conduct he shewed in January when he gave into + her hands, that dismal day, all my letters containing promises of + marriage, protestations of love, &c., who knows but she might + have kept us separated? But never did she once caress or thank + me, never treat him with common civility, except on the very day + which gave her hopes of our final parting. Worth while to be sure + it was, to break one's heart for her! The other two are, however, + neither wiser nor kinder; all swear by her I believe, and follow + her footsteps exactly. Mr. Thrale had not much heart, but his + fair daughters have none at all."<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] This is the very accusation they brought against her. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Johnson was not called in to counsel on these matters of the + heart, but he was not cast off or neglected. Madame D'Arblay + lands him in Argyll Street on the 20th November, 1782. We hear of + him at Mrs. Thrale's house or in her company repeatedly from + Madame D'Arblay and Dr. Lort. "Johnson," writes Dr. Lort, January + 28th, 1783, "is much better. I <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg198" id="pg198">198</a></span> saw him the other evening at + Madame Thrale's in very good spirits." Boswell says: + </p> + <p> + "On Friday, March 21, (1783) having arrived in London the night + before, I was glad to find him at Mrs. Thrale's house, in Argyle + Street, appearances of friendship between them being still kept + up. I was shown into his room; and after the first salutation he + said, 'I am glad you are come; I am very ill'.... + </p> + <p> + "He sent a message to acquaint Mrs. Thrale that I was arrived. I + had not seen her since her husband's death. She soon appeared, + and favoured me with an invitation to stay to dinner, which I + accepted. There was no other company but herself and three of her + daughters, Dr. Johnson, and I. She too said she was very glad I + was come; for she was going to Bath, and should have been sorry + to leave Dr. Johnson before I came. This seemed to be attentive + and kind; and I, <i>who had not been informed of any change, + imagined all to be as well as formerly</i>. He was little + inclined to talk at dinner, and went to sleep after it; but when + he joined us in the drawing-room he seemed revived, and was again + himself." + </p> + <p> + This is quite decisive so far as Boswell is concerned, and + disposes at once of all his preceding insinuations to her + disadvantage. He had not seen her before since Thrale's death; + and now, finding them together and jealously scrutinising their + tone and manner towards each, he imagined all to be as well as + formerly.<span class="fnref">[1]</span> That <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg199" id="pg199">199</a></span> they were on + the point of living apart, and of keeping up their habitual + interchange of mind exclusively by letters, is no proof that + either was capriciously or irrecoverably estranged. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] "Now on March 21, 1783, fifteen months before the marriage + in question, Boswell speaks of the severance of the old + friendship as effected: 'appearances of friendship,' he says, + 'were still maintained between them.' Boswell was at feud with + the lady when he wrote, as we all know. But his evidence is + surely sufficient as to the fact of the rupture, though not as + to its causes."—<i>(Edin. Rev.</i> p. 510.) Boswell's + concluding evidence, that to the best of his knowledge and + observation, there was no change or rupture, is suppressed! + </p> + </div> + <p> + The pleasures of intimacy in friendship depend far more on + external circumstances than people of a sentimental turn of mind + are willing to concede; and when constant companionship ceases to + suit the convenience of both parties, the chances are that it + will be dropped on the first favourable opportunity. Admiration, + esteem, or affection may continue to be felt for one whom, from + altered habits or new ties, we can no longer receive as an inmate + or an established member of the family. Johnson was now in his + seventy-fourth year, haunted by the fear of death, and fond of + dwelling nauseously on his ailments and proposed remedies. From + what passed at Brighton, it would seem that there were moods in + which he was positively unbearable, and could not be received in + a house without driving every one else out of it. In a roomy + mansion like Streatham he might be endured, because he could be + kept out of the way; but in an ordinary town-house or small + establishment, such a guest would resemble an elephant in a + private menagerie. <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg200" id= + "pg200">200</a></span> + </p> + <p> + There is also a very great difference, when arrangements are to + be made for the domestication of a male visitor, between a family + with a male head, and one consisting exclusively of females. Let + any widow with daughters make the case her own, and imagine + herself domesticated in Argyll or Harley Street with the + lexicographer. The manly authority of Thrale was required to keep + Johnson in order quite as much as to steady the imputed + flightiness of the lady; and his idolaters must really remember + that she was a sentient being, with feelings and affections which + she was fully entitled to consult in arranging her scheme of + life. When Lord Macaulay and his school tacitly assume that these + are to weigh as dust in the balance against the claims of + learning, they argue like sundry upholders of the temporal + sovereignty of the Pope, who contend that his subjects should + complacently endure any amount of oppression rather than endanger + (what they deem) the vital interests of the Church. When it is + maintained that the discomfort was amply repaid by the glory he + conferred, we are reminded of what the Strasbourg goose undergoes + for fame: "Crammed with food, deprived of drink, and fixed near a + great fire, before which it is nailed with its feet upon a plank, + this goose passes, it must be owned, an uncomfortable life. The + torment would indeed be intolerable, if the idea of the lot which + awaits him did not serve as a consolation. But when he reflects + that his liver, bigger than himself, loaded with truffles, and + clothed in a scientific <i>patè</i>, will, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg201" id="pg201">201</a></span> through the + instrumentality of M. Corcellet, diffuse all over Europe the + glory of his name, he resigns himself to his destiny, and suffers + not a tear to flow."<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Almanach des Gourmands. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Her case for a separation <i>de corps</i> is thus stated in the + "Anecdotes ": + </p> + <p> + "All these exactnesses in a man who was nothing less than exact + himself, made him extremely impracticable as an inmate, though + most instructive as a companion, and useful as a friend. Mr. + Thrale too could sometimes overrule his rigidity, by saying + coldly, 'There, there, now we have had enough for one lecture, + Dr. Johnson, we will not be upon education any more till after + dinner, if you please,'—or some such speech; but when there + was nobody to restrain his dislikes, it was extremely difficult + to find any body with whom he could converse, without living + always on the verge of a quarrel, or of something too like a + quarrel to be pleasing. I came into the room, for example, one + evening, where he and a gentleman, whose abilities we all + respected exceedingly, were sitting; a lady who had walked in two + minutes before me had blown 'em both into a flame, by whispering + something to Mr. S——d, which he endeavoured to + explain away, so as not to affront the Doctor, whose suspicions + were all alive. 'And have a care, Sir,' said he, just as I came + in; 'the old lion will not bear to be tickled.'<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span> <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg202" id= + "pg202">202</a></span> The other was pale with rage, the lady + wept at the confusion she had caused, and I could only say with + Lady Macbeth, + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + 'So! you've displaced the mirth, broke the good meeting + </p> + <p> + With most admir'd disorder.' + </p> + </div> + <p> + "Such accidents, however, occurred too often, and I was forced to + take advantage of my lost lawsuit, and plead inability of purse + to remain longer in London or its vicinage. I had been crossed in + my intentions of going abroad, and found it convenient, for every + reason of health, peace, and pecuniary circumstances, to retire + to Bath, where I knew Mr. Johnson would not follow me, and where + I could for that reason command some little portion of time for + my own use; a thing impossible while I remained at Streatham or + at London, as my hours, carriage, and servants, had long been at + his command, who would not rise in the morning till twelve + o'clock perhaps, and oblige me to make breakfast for him till the + bell rung for dinner, though much displeased if the toilet was + neglected, and though much of the time we passed together was + spent in blaming or deriding, very justly, my neglect of economy, + and waste of that money which might make many families happy. The + original reason of our connexion, his <i>particularly disordered + health and spirits</i><span class="fnref">[2]</span>, had been + long at an end, and he had no other ailments than old age and + general infirmity, which every professor of <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg203" id="pg203">203</a></span> medicine was + ardently zealous and generally attentive to palliate, and to + contribute all in their power for the prolongation of a life so + valuable. + </p> + <p> + "Veneration for his virtue, reverence for his talents, delight in + his conversation, and habitual endurance of a yoke my husband + first put upon me, and of which he contentedly bore his share for + sixteen or seventeen years, made me go on so long with Mr. + Johnson; but the perpetual confinement I will own to have been + terrifying in the first years of our friendship, and irksome in + the last, nor could I pretend to support it without help, when my + coadjutor was no more. To the assistance we gave him, the shelter + our house afforded to his uneasy fancies, and to the pains we + took to soothe or repress them, the world perhaps is indebted for + the three political pamphlets, the new edition and correction of + his Dictionary, and for the Poets' Lives, which he would scarce + have lived, I think, and kept his faculties entire, to have + written, had not incessant care been exerted at the time of his + first coming to be our constant guest in the country; and several + times after that, when he found himself particularly oppressed + with diseases incident to the most vivid and fervent + imaginations. I shall for ever consider it as the greatest honour + which could be conferred on any one, to have been the + confidential friend of Dr. Johnson's health; and to have in some + measure, with Mr. Thrale's assistance, saved from distress at + least, if not from worse, a mind great beyond the comprehension + of common mortals and <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg204" id= + "pg204">204</a></span> good beyond all hope of imitation from + perishable beings." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] This must be the quarrel between Johnson and Seward at + which Miss Streatfield cried. <i>(Antè,</i> p. 116.) + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [2] These words are underlined in the manuscript. + </p> + </div> + <p> + This was written in Italy in 1785, when, painfully alive to the + insults heaped upon her on Johnson's account, she may be excused + for dwelling on what she had endured for his sake. But if, as may + be inferred from her statement, some of the cordiality shewn him + during the palmy days of their intimacy was forced, this rather + enhances than lessens the merit of her services, which thus + become elevated into sacrifices. The question is not how she + uniformly felt, but how she uniformly behaved to him; and the + fact of her being obliged to retire to Bath to get out of his way + proves that there had been no rupture, no coolness, no serious + offence given or taken on either side, up to April, 1783; just + one year-and-a-half after the alleged expulsion from Streatham. + </p> + <p> + There were ample avowable reasons for her retirement, and no + suspicion could have crossed Johnson's mind that he was an + incumbrance, or he would not have been found at her house by + Boswell, as he was found on the 21st March, 1783, when she said + "she was going to Bath, and should have been sorry to leave Dr. + Johnson before I came." Considering the heart-rending struggle in + which she was engaged at this time, with the aggravated + infliction of an unsympathising and dogmatic friend, the wonder + is how she retained her outward placidity at all. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Sunday Morning, 6th April</i>, 1783.—I have been very + busy preparing to go to Bath and save my money; <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg205" id="pg205">205</a></span> the Welch + settlement has been examined and rewritten by Cator's desire in + such a manner that a will can revoke it or charge the estate, or + anything. I signed my settlement yesterday, and, before I slept, + wrote my will, charging the estate with pretty near <i>3000l</i>. + But what signifies it? My daughters deserve no thanks from my + tenderness and they want no pecuniary help from my + purse—let me provide in some measure, for my dear, my + absent Piozzi.—God give me strength to part with him + courageously.—I expect him every instant to breakfast with + me for the <i>last time</i>.—Gracious Heavens, what words + are these! Oh no, for mercy may we but meet again! and without + diminished kindness. Oh my love, my love! + </p> + <p> + "We did meet and part courageously. I persuaded him to bring his + old friend Mecci, who goes abroad with him and has long been his + confidant, to keep the meeting from being too tender, the + separation from being too poignant—his presence was a + restraint on our conduct, and a witness of our vows, which we + renewed with fervour, and will keep sacred in absence, adversity, + and age. When all was over I flew to my dearest, loveliest + friend, my Fanny Burney, and poured all my sorrows into her + tender bosom." + </p> + <p> + "<i>Bath, April 14th, 1783.</i>—Here I am, settled in my + plan of economy, with three daughters, three maids and a man," + &c. + </p> + <p> + Piozzi left England the night of the 8th May, 1783. + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Come, friendly muse! some rhimes discover + </p> + <p> + With which to meet my dear at Dover, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg206" id="pg206">206</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Fondly to bless my wandering lover + </p> + <p> + And make him dote on dirty Dover. + </p> + <p> + Call each fair wind to waft him over, + </p> + <p> + Nor let him linger long at Dover, + </p> + <p> + But there from past fatigues recover, + </p> + <p> + And write his love some lines from Dover. + </p> + <p> + Too well he knows his skill to move her, + </p> + <p> + To meet him two years hence at Dover, + </p> + <p> + When happy with her handsome rover + </p> + <p> + She'll bless the day she din'd at Dover." + </p> + </div> + <p> + "<i>Russell Street, Bath, Thursday, 8th May</i>, 1783.—I + sent him these verses to divert him on his passage. Dear angel! + <i>this day</i> he leaves a nation to which he was sent for my + felicity perhaps, I hope for his own. May I live but to make him + happy, and hear him say 'tis <i>me</i> that make him so!"— + </p> + <p> + In a note on the passage in which he states that Johnson + studiously avoided all mention of Streatham or the family after + Thrale's death, Hawkins says:—"It seems that between him + and the widow there was a formal taking of leave, for I find in + his Diary the following note: '1783, April 5th, I took leave of + Mrs. Thrale. I was much moved. I had some expostulations with + her. She said she was likewise affected. I commended the Thrales + with great good will to God; may my petitions have been heard.'" + This being the day before her parting interview with Piozzi, no + doubt she was much affected: and as the newspapers had already + taken up the topic of <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg207" id= + "pg207">207</a></span> her engagement, the expostulations + probably referred to it. + </p> + <p> + Preceding commentators were not bound to know what is now learned + from "Thraliana"; but they were bound to know what might always + have been learned from Johnson's printed letters; and the tone of + these from the separation in April, 1783, to the marriage in + July, 1784, is identically the same as at any period of the + intimacy which can be specified. There are the same warm + expressions of regard, the same gratitude for acknowledged + kindness, the same alternations of hope and disappointment, the + same medical details, and the same reproaches for silence or + fancied coldness, in which he habitually indulged towards all his + female correspondents. Shew me a complaint or reproach, and I + will instantly match it with one from a period when the intimacy + was confessedly and notoriously at its height. If her occasional + explosions of irritability are to be counted, what inference is + to be drawn from Johnson's depreciatory remarks on her, and + indeed on everybody, so carefully treasured up by Hawkins and + Boswell? + </p> + <p class="break"> + On June 13th, 1783, he writes to her: + </p> + <p> + "Your last letter was very pleasing; it expressed kindness to me, + and some degree of placid acquiescence in your present mode of + life, <i>which is, I think, the best which is at present within + your reach</i>. + </p> + <p> + "My powers and attention have for a long time been almost wholly + employed upon my health, I hope not wholly without success, but + solitude is very tedious." <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg208" + id="pg208">208</a></span> + </p> + <p> + She replies: + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "Bath, June 15th, 1783. + </p> + <p> + "I believe it is too true, my dear Sir, that you think on little + except yourself and your own health, but then they are subjects + on which every one else would think too—and that is a great + consolation. + </p> + <p> + "I am willing enough to employ all my thoughts upon + <i>myself</i>, but there is nobody here who wishes to think with + or about me, so I am very sick and a little sullen, and disposed + now and then to say, like king David, 'My lovers and my friends + have been put away from me, and my acquaintance hid out of my + sight.' If the last letter I wrote showed some degree of placid + acquiescence in a situation, which, however displeasing, is the + best I can get at just now, I pray God to keep me in that + disposition, and to lay no more calamity upon me which may again + tempt me to murmur and complain. <i>In the meantime assure + yourself of my undiminished kindness and veneration: they have + been long out of accident's power either to lessen or + increase."</i>.... + </p> + <p> + "That <i>you</i> should be solitary is a sad thing, and a strange + one too, when every body is willing to drop in, and for a quarter + of an hour at least, save you from a <i>tête-à-tête</i> with + yourself. I never could catch a moment when you were alone whilst + we were in London, and Miss Thrale says the same thing." + </p> + <p class="break"> + A few days afterwards, June 19th, he writes: + </p> + <p> + "I am sitting down in no cheerful solitude to write a narrative + which would once have affected you with tenderness <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg209" id="pg209">209</a></span> and sorrow, + but which you will perhaps pass over now with the careless glance + of frigid indifference. For this diminution of regard, however, I + know not whether I ought to blame you, who may have reasons which + I cannot know, and I do not blame myself, who have for a great + part of human life done you what good I could, and have never + done you evil." + </p> + <p> + Two days before, he had suffered a paralytic stroke, and lost the + power of speech for a period. After minutely detailing his + ailments and their treatment by his medical advisers, he + proceeds: + </p> + <p> + "How this will be received by you I know not. I hope you will + sympathise with me; but perhaps + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "My mistress gracious, mild, and good, + </p> + <p> + Cries! Is he dumb? 'Tis time he should. + </p> + </div> + <p> + "But can this be possible? I hope it cannot. I hope that what, + when I could speak, I spoke of you, and to you, will be in a + sober and serious hour remembered by you; and surely it cannot be + remembered but with some degree of kindness. I have loved you + with virtuous affection; I have honoured you with sincere esteem. + Let not all our endearments be forgotten, but let me have in this + great distress your pity and your prayers. <i>You see, I yet turn + to you with my complaints as a settled and unalienable + friend</i>; do not, do not drive me from you, for I have not + deserved either neglect or hatred. + </p> + <p> + "O God! give me comfort and confidence in Thee; forgive my sins; + and if it be thy good pleasure, relieve my diseases for Jesus + Christ's sake. Amen. <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg210" id= + "pg210">210</a></span> + </p> + <p> + <i>"I am almost ashamed of this querulous letter, but now it is + written, let it go."</i> + </p> + <p> + The Edinburgh reviewer quotes the first paragraph of this letter + to prove Johnson's consciousness of change on her side, and omits + all mention of the passages in which he turns to her as "a + settled and unalienable friend," and apologises for his + querulousness! + </p> + <p> + Some time before (November 1782), she had written to him: + </p> + <p> + "My health is growing very bad, to be sure. I will starve still + more rigidly for a while, and watch myself carefully; but more + than six months will I not bestow upon that subject; you shall + not have in me a valetudinary correspondent, <i>who is always + writing such letters, that to read the labels tied on bottles by + an apothecary's boy would be more eligible and amusing</i>; nor + will I live, like Flavia in 'Law's Serious Call,' who spends half + her time and money on herself, with sleeping draughts, and waking + draughts, and cordials and broths. My desire is always to + determine against my own gratification, so far as shall be + possible for my body to co-operate with my mind, and you will not + suspect me of wearing blisters, and living wholly upon vegetables + for sport. If that will do, the disorder may be removed; but if + health is gone, and gone for ever, we will act as Zachary Pearce + the famous bishop of Rochester did, when he lost the wife he + loved so—call for one glass to the health of her who is + departed, never more to return—and so go quietly back to + the usual duties of life, and forbear to mention her again from + that time till the last day of it." <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg211" id="pg211">211</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Instead of acting on the same principle, he perseveres in + addressing his "ideal Urania" as if she had been a consulting + physician: + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "London, June 20th, 1783. + </p> + <p> + "DEAREST MADAM,—I think to send you for some time a regular + diary. You will forgive the gross images which disease must + necessarily present. Dr. Lawrence said that medical treatises + should be always in Latin. The two vesicatories did not perform + well," &c. &c. + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "June 23, 1783. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Your offer, dear Madam, of coming to me, is charmingly + kind</i>; but I will lay it up for future use, and then let it + not be considered as obsolete; <i>a time of dereliction may come, + when I may have hardly any other friend</i>, but in the present + exigency I cannot name one who has been deficient in civility or + attention. What man can do for man has been done for me. Write to + me very often." + </p> + <p> + That the offer was serious and heartfelt, is clear from + "Thraliana": + </p> + <p> + "<i>Bath, June 24th</i>, 1783.—A stroke of the palsy has + robbed Johnson of his speech, I hear. Dreadful event! and I at a + distance. Poor fellow! A letter from himself, <i>in his usual + style</i>, convinces me that none of his faculties have failed, + and his physicians say that all present danger is over." + </p> + <p> + He writes: + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "June 24th, 1783. + </p> + <p> + "Both Queeny's letter and yours gave me, to-day, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg212" id="pg212">212</a></span> great + pleasure. Think as well and as kindly of me as you can, but do + not flatter me. Cool reciprocations of esteem are the great + comforts of life; hyberbolical praise only corrupts the tongue of + the one, and the ear of the other." + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "June 28th, 1783. + </p> + <p> + "Your letter is just such as I desire, and as from you I hope + always to deserve." + </p> + <p> + Her own state of mind at this time may be collected from + "Thraliana": + </p> + <p> + "<i>June,</i> 1783.—Most sincerely do I regret the + sacrifice I have made of health, happiness, and the society of a + worthy and amiable companion, to the pride and prejudice of three + insensible girls, who would see nature perish without concern ... + were their gratification the cause. + </p> + <p> + "The two youngest have, for ought I see, hearts as impenetrable + as their sister. They will all starve a favourite + animal—all see with unconcern the afflictions of a friend; + and when the anguish I suffered on their account last winter, in + Argyll Street, nearly took away my life and reason, the younger + ridiculed as a jest those agonies which the eldest despised as a + philosopher. When all is said, they are exceeding valuable + girls—beautiful in person, cultivated in understanding, and + well-principled in religion: high in their notions, lofty in + their carriage, and of intents equal to their expectations; + wishing to raise their own family by connections with some more + noble ... and superior to any feeling of tenderness which might + clog the wheels of <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg213" id= + "pg213">213</a></span> ambition. What, however, is my state? who + am condemned to live with girls of this disposition? to teach + without authority; to be heard without esteem; to be considered + by them as their superior in fortune, while I live by the money + borrowed from them; and in good sense, when they have seen me + submit my judgment to theirs at the hazard of my life and wits. + Oh, 'tis a pleasant situation! and whoever would wish, as the + Greek lady phrased it, to teize himself and repent of his sins, + let him borrow his children's money, be in love against their + interest and prejudice, forbear to marry by their advice, and + then shut himself up and live with them."<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] After Buckingham had been some time married to Fairfax's + daughter, he said it was like marrying the devil's daughter and + keeping house with your father-in-law. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Is it possible to misconstrue such a letter as the following from + Johnson to her, now that the querulous and desponding tone of the + writer is familiar to us? + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "London, Nov. 13th, 1783. + </p> + <p> + "DEAR MADAM,—Since you have written to me with the + attention and tenderness of ancient time, your letters give me a + great part of the pleasure which a life of solitude admits. You + will never bestow any share of your good-will on one who deserves + better. Those that have loved longest, love best. A sudden blaze + of kindness may by a single blast of coldness be extinguished, + but that fondness which length of time has connected with many + circumstances and occasions, though it may <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg214" id="pg214">214</a></span> for a while + be suppressed by disgust or resentment, with or without a cause, + is hourly revived by accidental recollection.<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span> To those that have lived long together, every + thing heard and every thing seen recals some pleasure + communicated, or some benefit conferred, some petty quarrel, or + some slight endearment. Esteem of great powers, or amiable + qualities newly discovered, may embroider a day or a week, but a + friendship of twenty years is interwoven with the texture of + life. A friend may be often found and lost, but an <i>old + friend</i> never can be found, and Nature has provided that he + cannot easily be lost." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Yet, oh yet thyself deceive not: + </p> + <p> + Love may sink by slow decay, + </p> + <p> + But by sudden wrench believe not + </p> + <p> + Hearts can thus be torn away."—BYRON. + </p> + </div> + </div> + <p> + The date of the following scene, as described by Madame D'Arblay + in the "Memoirs," is towards the end of November, 1783: + </p> + <p> + "Nothing had yet publicly transpired, with certainty or + authority, relative to the projects of Mrs. Thrale, who had now + been nearly a year at Bath<span class="fnref">[1]</span>; though + nothing was left unreported, or unasserted, with respect to her + proceedings. Nevertheless, how far Dr. Johnson was himself + informed, or was ignorant on the subject, neither Dr. Burney nor + his daughter could tell; and each equally feared to learn. + </p> + <p> + "Scarcely an instant, however, was the latter left alone in Bolt + Court, ere she saw the justice of her long apprehensions; + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg215" id="pg215">215</a></span> + for while she planned speaking upon some topic that might have a + chance to catch the attention of the Doctor, a sudden change from + kind tranquillity to strong austerity took place in his altered + countenance; and, startled and affrighted, she held her peace.... + </p> + <p> + "Thus passed a few minutes, in which she scarcely dared breathe; + while the respiration of the Doctor, on the contrary, was of + asthmatic force and loudness; then, suddenly turning to her, with + an air of mingled wrath and woe, he hoarsely ejaculated: + 'Piozzi!' + </p> + <p> + "He evidently meant to say more; but the effort with which he + articulated that name robbed him of any voice for amplification, + and his whole frame grew tremulously convulsed. + </p> + <p> + "His guest, appalled, could not speak; but he soon discerned that + it was grief from coincidence, not distrust from opposition of + sentiment, that caused her taciturnity. This perception calmed + him, and he then exhibited a face 'in sorrow more than anger.' + His see-sawing abated of its velocity, and, again fixing his + looks upon the fire, he fell into pensive rumination. + </p> + <p> + "At length, and with great agitation, he broke forth with: 'She + cares for no one! You, only—You, she loves still!—but + no one—and nothing else!—You she still + loves——' + </p> + <p> + "A half smile now, though of no very gay character, softened a + little the severity of his features, while he tried to resume + some cheerfulness in adding: 'As ... she loves her little + finger!' + </p> + <p> + "It was plain by this burlesque, or, perhaps, playfully + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg216" id="pg216">216</a></span> + literal comparison, that he meant now, and tried, to dissipate + the solemnity of his concern. + </p> + <p> + "The hint was taken; his guest started another subject; and this + he resumed no more. He saw how distressing was the theme to a + hearer whom he ever wished to please, not distress; and he named + Mrs. Thrale no more! Common topics took place, till they were + rejoined by Dr. Burney, whom then, and indeed always, he likewise + spared upon this subject." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] About six months. + </p> + </div> + <p> + After quoting this description at length, Lord Brougham remarks: + </p> + <p> + "Now Johnson was, perhaps unknown to himself, in love with Mrs. + Thrale, but for Miss Burney's thoughtless folly there can be no + excuse. And her father, a person of the very same rank and + profession with Mr. Piozzi, appears to have adopted the same + senseless cant, as if it were less lawful to marry an Italian + musician than an English. To be sure, Miss Burney says, that Mrs. + Thrale was lineally descended from Adam de Saltsburg, who came + over with the Conqueror. But assuredly that worthy, unable to + write his name, would have held Dr. Johnson himself in as much + contempt as his fortunate rival, and would have regarded his + alliance as equally disreputable with the Italian's, could his + consent have been asked."<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Lives of Men of Letters, &c, vol. ii. + </p> + </div> + <p> + If the scene took place at all, it must have taken place within a + few days after the profession of satisfied and unaltered + friendship contained in Johnson's letter of November 13th. His + next letter is to Miss Thrale: <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg217" id="pg217">217</a></span> + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "Nov. 18th, 1783. + </p> + <p> + "Dear Miss,—Here is a whole week, and nothing heard from + your house. Baretti said what a wicked house it would be, and a + wicked house it is. Of you, however, I have no complaint to make, + for I owe you a letter. Still I live here by my own self, and + have had of late very bad nights; but then I have had a pig to + dinner, which Mr. Perkins gave me. Thus life is chequered." + </p> + <p> + On February 24th, 1784, Dr. Lort writes to Bishop Percy: + </p> + <p> + "Poor Dr. Johnson has had a very bad winter, attended by Heberden + and Brocklesby, who neither of them expected he would have + survived the frost: that being gone, he still remains, and I hope + will now continue, at least till the next severe one. It has + indeed carried off a great many old people." + </p> + <p> + Johnson to Mrs. Thrale: + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "March 10th, 1784. + </p> + <p> + "Your kind expressions gave me great pleasure; do not reject me + from your thoughts. Shall we ever exchange confidence by the + fireside again?" + </p> + <p> + He was so absorbed with his own complaints as to make no + allowance for hers. Yet her health was in a very precarious + state, and in the autumn of the same year, his complaints of + silence and neglect were suspended by the intelligence that her + daughter Sophia was lying at death's door. On March 27th, 1784, + she writes: <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg218" id= + "pg218">218</a></span> + </p> + <p> + "You tell one of my daughters that you know not with distinctness + the cause of my complaints. I believe she who lives with me knows + them no better; one very dreadful one is however removed by dear + Sophia's recovery. It is kind in you to quarrel no more about + expressions which were not meant to offend; but unjust to + suppose, I have not lately thought myself dying. Let us, however, + take the Prince of Abyssinia's advice, <i>and not add to the + other evils of life the bitterness of controversy.</i> If courage + is a noble and generous quality, let us exert it <i>to</i> the + last, and <i>at</i> the last: if faith is a Christian virtue, let + us willingly receive and accept that support it will most surely + bestow—and do permit me to repeat those words with which I + know not why you were displeased: <i>Let us leave behind us the + best example that we can</i>. + </p> + <p> + "All this is not written by a person in high health and + happiness, but by a fellow-sufferer, who has more to endure than + she can tell, or you can guess; and now let us talk of the Severn + salmons, which will be coming in soon; I shall send you one of + the finest, and shall be glad to hear that your appetite is + good." + </p> + <p> + Johnson to Mrs. Thrale: + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "April 21st, 1784. + </p> + <p> + "The Hooles, Miss Burney, and Mrs. Hull (Wesley's sister), + feasted yesterday with me very cheerfully on your noble salmon. + Mr. Allen could not come, and I sent him a piece, and a great + tail is still left." <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg219" id= + "pg219">219</a></span> + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "April 26th, 1784. + </p> + <p> + "Mrs. Davenant called to pay me a guinea, but I gave two for you. + Whatever reasons you have for frugality, it is not worth while to + save a guinea a year by withdrawing it from a public charity." + </p> + <p> + "Whilst I am writing, the post has brought me your kind letter. + Do not think with dejection of your own condition: a little + patience will probably give you health: it will certainly give + you riches, and all the accommodations that riches can procure." + </p> + <p> + Up to this time she had put an almost killing restraint on her + inclinations, and had acted according to Johnson's advice in + everything but the final abandonment of Piozzi; yet Boswell + reports him as saying, May 16th: "Sir, she has done everything + wrong since Thrale's bridle was off her neck." + </p> + <p> + The next extracts are from "Thraliana": + </p> + <p> + "<i>Bath, Nov. 30th, 1783.</i>—Sophia will live and do + well; I have saved my daughter, perhaps obtained a friend. They + are weary of seeing me suffer so, and the eldest beg'd me + yesterday not to sacrifice my life to her convenience. She now + saw my love of Piozzi was incurable, she said. Absence had no + effect on it, and my health was going so fast she found that I + should soon be useless either to her or him. It was the hand of + God and irresistible, she added, and begged me not to endure any + longer such unnecessary misery. + </p> + <p> + "So now we may be happy if we will, and now I <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg220" id="pg220">220</a></span> trust + <i>some</i> [<i>(sic) query "no?</i>"] other cross accident will + start up to torment us; I wrote my lover word that he might come + and fetch me, but the Alps are covered with snow, and if his + prudence is not greater than his affection—my life will yet + be lost, for it depends on his safety. Should he come at my call, + and meet with any misfortune on the road ... death, with + accumulated agonies, would end me. May Heaven avert such + insupportable distress!" + </p> + <p> + "<i>Dec.</i> 1783.—My dearest Piozzi's Miss Chanon is in + distress. I will send her 10<i>l</i>. Perhaps he loved her; + perhaps she loved <i>him</i>; perhaps both; yet I have and will + have confidence in his honour. I will not suffer love or jealousy + to narrow a heart devoted to <i>him</i>. He would assist her if + he were in England, and <i>she</i> shall not suffer for his + absence, tho' I <i>do</i>. She and her father have reported many + things to my prejudice; she will be ashamed of herself when she + sees me forgive and assist her. O Lord, give me grace so to + return good for evil as to obtain thy gracious favour who died to + procure the salvation of thy professed enemies. 'Tis a good Xmas + work!" + </p> + <p> + "<i>Bath, Jan. 27th</i>, 1784.—On this day twelvemonths ... + oh dreadfullest of all days to me I did I send for my Piozzi and + tell him we must part. The sight of my countenance terrified Dr. + Pepys, to whom I went into the parlour for a moment, and the + sight of the agonies I endured in the week following would have + affected anything but interest, avarice, and pride personified, + ... with such, however, I had to deal, so my sorrows <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg221" id="pg221">221</a></span> were + unregarded. Seeing them continue for a whole year, indeed, has + mollified my strong-hearted companions, and they <i>now</i> + relent in earnest and wish me happy: I would now therefore be + <i>loath to dye</i>, yet how shall I recruit my constitution so + as to live? The pardon certainly did arrive the very instant of + execution—for I was ill beyond all power of description, + when my eldest daughter, bursting into tears, bid me call home + the man of my heart, and not expire by slow torture in the + presence of my children, who had my life in their power. 'You are + dying <i>now</i>,' said she. 'I know it,' replied I, 'and I + should die in peace had I but seen him <i>once again</i>.' 'Oh + send for him,' said she, 'send for him quickly!' 'He is at Milan, + child,' replied I, 'a thousand miles off!' 'Well, well,' returns + she, 'hurry him back, or I myself will send him an express.' At + these words I revived, and have been mending ever since. This was + the first time that any of us had named the name of Piozzi to + each other since we had put our feet into the coach to come to + Bath. I had always thought it a point of civility and prudence + never to mention what could give nothing but offence, and cause + nothing but disgust, while they desired nothing less than a + revival of old uneasiness; so we were all silent on the subject, + and Miss Thrale thought him dead." + </p> + <p> + According to the Autobiography, the daughters did not + conclusively relent till the end of April or the beginning of + May, when a missive was dispatched for <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg222" id="pg222">222</a></span> Piozzi, and + Mrs. Thrale went to London to make the requisite preparations. + </p> + <p class="i6"> + <i>Mrs. Thrale to Miss F. Burney</i>. + </p> + <p class="quotsig"> + "Mortimer Street, Cavendish Square, + <br /> + "Tuesday Night, May, 1784. + </p> + <p> + "I am come, dearest Burney. It is neither dream nor fiction; + though I love you dearly, or I would not have come. Absence and + distance do nothing towards wearing out real affection; so you + shall always find it in your true and tender H.L.T. + </p> + <p> + "I am somewhat shaken bodily, but 'tis the mental shocks that + have made me unable to bear the corporeal ones. 'Tis past ten + o'clock, however, and I must lay myself down with the sweet + expectation of seeing my charming friend in the morning to + breakfast. I love Dr. Burney too well to fear him, and he loves + me too well to say a word which should make me love him less." + </p> + <p> + <i>Journal (Madame D'Arblay's) Resumed</i>. + </p> + <p> + "May 17.—Let me now, my Susy, acquaint you a little more + connectedly than I have done of late how I have gone on. The rest + of that week I devoted almost wholly to sweet Mrs. Thrale, whose + society was truly the most delightful of cordials to me, however, + at times mixed with bitters the least palatable. + </p> + <p> + "One day I dined with Mrs. Grarrick to meet Dr. <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg223" id="pg223">223</a></span> Johnson, Mrs. + Carter, Miss Hamilton, and Dr. and Miss Cadogan; and one evening + I went to Mrs. Vesey, to meet almost everybody,—the Bishop + of St. Asaph, and all the Shipleys, Bishop Chester and Mrs. + Porteous, Mrs. and Miss Ord, Sir Joshua Reynolds and Miss Palmer, + Mrs. Buller, all the Burrows, Mr. Walpole, Mrs. Boscawen, Mrs. + Grarrick, and Miss More, and some others. But all the rest of my + time I gave wholly to dear Mrs. Thrale, who lodged in Mortimer + Street, and who saw nobody else. Were I not sensible of her + goodness, and full of incurable affection for her, should I not + be a monster? + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + "I parted most reluctantly with my dear Mrs. Thrale, whom, when + or how, I shall see again, Heaven only knows! but in sorrow we + parted—on <i>my</i> side in real affliction." + </p> + <p> + The excursion is thus mentioned in "Thraliana": "<i>28th May</i>, + 1784.—Here is the most sudden and beautiful spring ever + seen after a dismal winter: so may God grant me a renovation of + comfort after my many and sharp afflictions. I have been to + London for a week to visit Fanny Burney, and to talk over my + intended (and I hope approaching) nuptials, with Mr. Borghi: a + man, as far as I can judge in so short an acquaintance with him, + of good sense and real honour:—who loves my Piozzi, + <i>likes</i> my conversation, and wishes to serve us sincerely. + He has recommended Duane to take my power of attorney, and + Cator's loss will be the less felt. Duane's name is as high as + the <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg224" id= + "pg224">224</a></span> Monument, and his being known familiarly + to Borghi will perhaps quicken his attention to our concerns. + </p> + <p> + "Dear Burney, who loves me <i>kindly</i> but the world + <i>reverentially</i>, was, I believe, equally pained as delighted + with my visit: ashamed to be seen in my company, much of her + fondness for me must of course be diminished; yet she had not + chatted freely so long with anybody but Mrs. Philips, that my + coming was a comfort to her. We have told all to her father, and + he behaved with the utmost propriety. + </p> + <p> + "Nobody likes my settling at Milan except myself and Piozzi; but + I think 'tis nobody's affair but our own: it seems to me quite + irrational to expose ourselves to unnecessary insults, and by + going straight to Italy all will be avoided." + </p> + <p> + The crisis is told in "Thraliana": + </p> + <p> + "<i>10th June</i>, 1784.—I sent these lines to meet Piozzi + on his return. They are better than those he liked so last year + at Dover: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Over mountains, rivers, vallies, + </p> + <p> + See my love returns to Calais, + </p> + <p> + After all their taunts and malice, + </p> + <p> + Ent'ring safe the gates of Calais, + </p> + <p> + While delay'd by winds he dallies, + </p> + <p> + Fretting to be kept at Calais, + </p> + <p> + Muse, prepare some sprightly sallies + </p> + <p> + To divert my dear at Calais, + </p> + <p> + Say how every rogue who rallies + </p> + <p> + Envies him who waits at Calais <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg225" id="pg225">225</a></span> + </p> + <p> + For her that would disdain a Palace + </p> + <p> + Compar'd to Piozzi, Love, and Calais." + </p> + </div> + <p> + "<i>24th June</i>, 1784.—He is set out sure enough, here + are letters from Turin to say so.... Now the Misses <i>must</i> + move; they are very loath to stir: from affection perhaps, or + perhaps from art—'tis difficult to know.—Oh 'tis, + yes, it is from tenderness, they want me to go with them to see + Wilton, Stonehenge, &c.—I <i>will</i> go with them to + be sure." + </p> + <p> + "<i>27th June, Sunday</i>.—We went to Wilton, and also to + Fonthill; they make an admirable and curious contrast between + ancient magnificence and modern glare: Gothic and Grecian again, + however. A man of taste would rather possess Lord Pembroke's + seat, or indeed a single room in it; but one feels one should + live happier at Beckford's.—My daughters parted with me at + last prettily enough <i>considering</i> (as the phrase is). We + shall perhaps be still better friends apart than together. + Promises of correspondence and kindness were very sweetly + reciprocated, and the eldest wished for Piozzi's safe return very + obligingly. + </p> + <p> + "I fancy two days more will absolutely bring him to Bath. The + present moments are critical and dreadful, and would shake + stronger nerves than mine! Oh Lord, strengthen me to do Thy will + I pray." + </p> + <p> + "<i>28th June</i>.—I am not <i>yet sure of</i> seeing him + again—not <i>sure</i> he lives, not <i>sure</i> he loves me + <i>yet</i>.... Should anything happen now!! Oh, I will not trust + myself with such a fancy: it will either kill me or drive me + distracted." <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg226" id= + "pg226">226</a></span> + </p> + <p> + "<i>Bath, 2nd July</i>, 1784.—The happiest day of my whole + life, I think—Yes, quite the happiest: my Piozzi came home + yesterday and dined with me; but my spirits were too much + agitated, my heart was too much dilated. I was too + <i>painfully</i> happy <i>then</i>; my sensations are more quiet + to-day, and my felicity less tumultuous." + </p> + <p> + Written in the margin of the last entry—"We shall go to + London about the affairs, and there be married in the Romish + Church." + </p> + <p> + "<i>25th July</i>, 1784.—I am returned from church the + happy wife of my lovely faithful Piozzi ... subject of my + prayers, object of my wishes, my sighs, my reverence, my + esteem.—His nerves have been horribly shaken, yet he lives, + he loves me, and will be mine for ever. He has sworn, in the face + of God and the whole Christian Church; Catholics, Protestants, + all are witnesses." + </p> + <p> + In one of her memorandum books she has set down: + </p> + <p> + "We were married according to the Romish Church in one of our + excursions to London, by Mr. Smith, Padre Smit as they called + him, chaplain to the Spanish Ambassador.... Mr. Morgan tacked us + together at St. James's, Bath, 25th July, 1784, and on the first + day I think of September, certainly the first week, we took leave + of England." + </p> + <p> + When her first engagement with Piozzi became known, the + newspapers took up the subject, and rang the changes on the + amorous disposition of the widow, and the adroit cupidity of the + fortune-hunter. On the announcement of the marriage, they + recommenced the <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg227" id= + "pg227">227</a></span> attack, and people of our day can hardly + form a notion of the storm of obloquy that broke upon her, except + from its traces, which have never been erased. To this hour, we + may see them in the confirmed prejudices of writers like Mr. + Croker and Lord Macaulay, who, agreeing in little else, agree in + denouncing "this miserable <i>més</i>alliance" with one who + figures in their pages sometimes as a music-master, sometimes as + a fiddler, never by any accident in his real character of a + professional singer and musician of established reputation, + pleasing manners, ample means, and unimpeachable integrity. The + repugnance of the daughters to the match was reasonable and + intelligible, but to appreciate the tone taken by her friends, we + must bear in mind the social position of Italian singers and + musical performers at the period. "Amusing vagabonds" are the + epithets by which Lord Byron designates Catalani and Naldi, in + 1809<span class="fnref">[1]</span>; and such is the light in + which they <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg228" id= + "pg228">228</a></span> were undoubtedly regarded in 1784. Mario + would have been treated with the same indiscriminating + illiberality as Piozzi. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Well may the nobles of our present race + </p> + <p> + Watch each distortion of a Naldi's face; + </p> + <p> + Well may they smile on Italy's buffoons, + </p> + <p> + And worship Catalani's pantaloons." + </p> + </div> + <p> + "Naldi and Catalani require little notice; for the visage of + the one and the salary of the other will enable us long to + recollect these amusing vagabonds."—<i>English Bards and + Scotch Reviewers</i>. Artists in general, and men of letters by + profession, did not rank much higher in the fine world. (See + Miss Berry's "England and France," vol. ii. p. 42.) A German + author, non-noble, had a <i>liaison</i> with a Prussian woman + of rank. On her husband's death he proposed marriage, and was + indignantly refused. The lady was conscious of no degradation + from being his mistress, but would have forfeited both caste + and self-respect by becoming his wife. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Did those who took the lead in censuring or repudiating Mrs. + Piozzi, ever attempt to enter into her feelings, or weigh her + conduct with reference to its tendency to promote her own + happiness? Could they have done so, had they tried? Rarely can + any one so identify himself or herself with another as to be sure + of the soundness of the counsel or the justice of the reproof. + She was neither impoverishing her children (who had all + independent fortunes) nor abandoning them. She was setting public + opinion at defiance, which is commonly a foolish thing to do; but + what is public opinion to a woman whose heart is breaking, and + who finds, after a desperate effort, that she is unequal to the + sacrifice demanded of her? She accepted Piozzi deliberately, with + full knowledge of his character; and she never repented of her + choice. + </p> + <p> + The Lady Cathcart, whose romantic story is mentioned in "Castle + Rackrent," was wont to say:—"I have been married three + times; the first for money, the second for rank, the third for + love; and the third was worst of all." Mrs. Piozzi's experience + would have led to an opposite conclusion. Her love match was a + singularly happy one; and the consciousness that she had + transgressed conventional observances or prejudices, not moral + rules, enabled her to outlive and bear down calumny.<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] The <i>pros</i> and <i>cons</i> of the main question at + issue are well stated in <i>Corinne</i>: "Ah, pour heureux,' + interrompit le Comte d'Erfeuil, 'je n'en crois rien: on n'est + heureux que par ce qui est convenable. La société a, quoi qu'on + fasse, beaucoup d'empire sur le bonheur; et ce qu'elle + n'approuve pas, il ne faut jamais le faire.' 'On vivrait done + toujours pour ce que la société dira de nous,' reprit Oswald; + 'et ce qu'on pense et, ce qu'on sent ne servirait jamais de + guide.' 'C'est très bien dit,' reprit le comte, + 'très-philosophiquement pensé; mais avec ces maximes là, l'on + se perd; et quand l'amour est passé, le blâme de l'opinion + reste. Moi qui vous paraîs léger, je ne ferai jamais rien qui + puisse m'attirer la désapprobation du monde. On peut se + permettre de petites libertés, d'aimables plaisanteries, qui + annoncent de l'indépendance dans la manière d'agir; car, quand + cela touche au sérieux.'—'Mais le sérieux, repondit Lord + Nelvil, 'c'est l'amour et le bonheur.'"—<i>Corinne</i>, + liv. ix. ch. 1. <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg229" id= + "pg229">229</a></span> + </p> + </div> + <p> + In reference to these passages, the Edinburgh reviewer remarks: + </p> + <p> + "Nothing can be more reasonable; and we should certainly live in + a more peaceful (if not more entertaining) world, if nobody in it + reproved another until he had so far identified himself with the + culprit as to be sure of the justice of the reproof; perhaps, + also, if a fiddler were rated higher in society than a duke + without accomplishments, and a carpenter far higher than either. + But neither reasoning nor gallantry will alter the case, nor + prevail over the world's prejudice against unequal marriages, any + more than its prejudices in favour of birth and fashion. It has + never been quite established to the satisfaction of the + philosophic mind, why the rule of society should be that 'as the + husband, so the wife is,' and why a lady who contracts a marriage + below her station is looked on with far severer eyes than a + gentleman <i>qui s'encanaille</i> to the same degree. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg230" id="pg230">230</a></span> + But these things are so,—as the next dame of rank and + fortune, and widow of an M.P., who, rashly relying on Mr. + Hayward's assertion that the world has grown wiser, espouses a + foreign 'professional,' will assuredly find to her cost, although + she may escape the ungenerous public attacks which poor Mrs. + Piozzi earned by her connexion with literary men." + </p> + <p> + In 1784 they hanged for crimes which we should think adequately + punished by a short imprisonment; as they hooted and libelled for + transgressions or errors which, whatever their treatment by a + portion of our society, would certainly not provoke the thunders + of our press. I think (though I made no assertion of the kind) + that the world has grown wiser; and the reviewer admits as much + when he says that his supposititious widow "may escape the + ungenerous public attacks which poor Mrs. Piozzi earned by her + connexion with literary men." But where do I recommend unequal + marriages, or dispute the claims of birth and fashion, or + maintain that a fiddler should be rated higher than a duke + without accomplishments, and a carpenter <i>far</i> higher than + either? All this is utterly beside the purpose; and surely there + is nothing reprehensible in the suggestion that, before harshly + reproving another, we should do our best to test the justice of + the reproof by trying to make the case our own. Goethe proposed + to extend the self-same rule to criticism. One of his favourite + canons was that a critic should always endeavour to place himself + temporarily in the author's point of view. If the reviewer had + done so, he might <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg231" id= + "pg231">231</a></span> have avoided several material + misapprehensions and misstatements, which it is difficult to + reconcile with the friendly tone of the article or the known + ability of the writer. + </p> + <p> + Envy at Piozzi's good fortune sharpened the animosity of + assailants like Baretti, and the loss of a pleasant house may + have had a good deal to do with the sorrowing indignation of her + set. Her meditated social extinction amongst them might have been + commemorated in the words of the French epitaph: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Ci git une de qui la vertu + </p> + <p> + Etait moins que la table encensée; + </p> + <p> + On ne plaint point la femme abattue, + </p> + <p> + Mais bien la table renversée." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Which may be freely rendered: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Here lies one who adulation + </p> + <p> + By dinners more than virtues earn'd; + </p> + <p> + Whose friends mourned not her reputation— + </p> + <p> + But her table—overturned." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Madame D'Arblay has recorded what took place between Mrs. Piozzi + and herself on the occasion: + </p> + <p class="ctr"> + <i>Miss F. Burney to Mrs. Piozzi</i>. + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "Norbury Park, Aug. 10, 1784. + </p> + <p> + "When my wondering eyes first looked over the letter I received + last night, my mind instantly dictated a high-spirited + vindication of the consistency, integrity, and faithfulness of + the friendship thus abruptly reproached <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg232" id="pg232">232</a></span> and cast + away. But a sleepless night gave me leisure to recollect that you + were ever as generous as precipitate, and that your own heart + would do justice to mine, in the cooler judgment of future + reflection. Committing myself, therefore, to that period, I + determined simply to assure you, that if my last letter hurt + either you or Mr. Piozzi, I am no less sorry than surprised; and + that if it offended you, I sincerely beg your pardon. + </p> + <p> + "Not to that time, however, can I wait to acknowledge the pain an + accusation so unexpected has caused me, nor the heartfelt + satisfaction with which I shall receive, when you are able to + write it, a softer renewal of regard. + </p> + <p> + "May Heaven direct and bless you! + </p> + <p class="citation"> + "F.B. + </p> + <p> + "N.B. This is the sketch of the answer which F.B. most painfully + wrote to the unmerited reproach of not sending <i>cordial + congratulations</i> upon a marriage which she had uniformly, + openly, and with deep and avowed affliction, thought wrong." + </p> + <p class="ctr"> + <i>Mrs. Piozzi to Miss Burney</i>. + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p class="i14"> + "'Wellbeck Street, No. 33, Cavendish Square. + </p> + <p class="i14"> + "'Friday, Aug. 13, 1784. + </p> + </div> + <p> + "'Give yourself no serious concern, sweetest Burney, All is well, + and I am too happy myself to make a friend <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg233" id="pg233">233</a></span> otherwise; + quiet your kind heart immediately, and love my husband if you + love his and your + </p> + <p class="citation"> + "'H.L. PIOZZI.' + </p> + <p> + "N.B. To this kind note, F.B. wrote the warmest and most + affectionate and heartfelt reply; but never received another + word! And here and thus stopped a correspondence of six years of + almost unequalled partiality, and fondness on her side; and + affection, gratitude, admiration, and sincerity on that of F.B., + who could only conjecture the cessation to be caused by the + resentment of Piozzi, when informed of her constant opposition to + the union." + </p> + <p> + If F.B. thought it wrong, she knew it to be inevitable, and in + the conviction that it was so, she and her father had connived at + the secret preparations for it in the preceding May. + </p> + <p> + A very distinguished friend, whose masterly works are the result + of a consummate study of the passions, after dwelling on the + "impertinence" of the hostility her marriage provoked, writes: + "She was evidently a very vain woman, but her vanity was + sensitive, and very much allied to that exactingness of heart + which gives charm and character to woman. I suspect it was this + sensitiveness which made her misunderstood by her children." The + justness of this theory of her conduct is demonstrated by the + self-communings in "Thraliana;" and she misunderstood them as + much as they misunderstood her. By her own <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg234" id="pg234">234</a></span> showing she + had little reason to complain of what they <i>did</i> in the + matter of the marriage; it was what they said, or rather did not + say, that irritated her. She yearned for sympathy, which was + sternly, chillingly, almost insultingly withheld. + </p> + <p> + In 1800, she wrote thus to Dr. Gray: "What a good example have + you set them (his children)! going to visit dear mama at + Twickenham—long may they keep their parents, pretty + creatures! and long may they have sense to know and feel that no + love is like parental affection,—the only good perhaps + which cannot be flung away."<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] "We may have many friends in life, but we can only have one + mother: a discovery, says Gray, which I never made till it was + too late."—ROGERS. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Madame D'Arblay states that her father was not disinclined to + admit Mrs. Piozzi's right to consult her own notions of happiness + in the choice of a second husband, had not the paramount duty of + watching over her unmarried daughters interfered. But they might + have accompanied her to Italy as was once contemplated; and had + they done so, they would have seen everything and everybody in it + under the most favourable auspices. The course chosen for them by + the eldest was the most perilous of the two submitted for their + choice. The lady, Miss Nicholson, whom their mother had so + carefully selected as their companion, soon left them; or + according to another version was summarily dismissed by Miss + Thrale (afterwards Viscountess Keith), who <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg235" id="pg235">235</a></span> fortunately + was endowed with high principle, firmness, and energy. She could + not take up her abode with either of her guardians, one a + bachelor under forty, the other the prototype of Briggs, the old + miser in "Cæcilia." She could not accept Johnson's hospitality in + Bolt Court, still tenanted by the survivors of his menagerie; + where, a few months later, she sate by his death-bed and received + his blessing. She therefore called to her aid an old nurse-maid, + named Tib, who had been much trusted by her father, and with this + homely but respectable duenna, she shut herself up in the house + at Brighton, limited her expenses to her allowance of + 200<i>l.</i> a-year, and resolutely set about the course of study + which seemed best adapted to absorb attention and prevent her + thoughts from wandering. Hebrew, Mathematics, Fortification, and + Perspective have been named to me by one of trusted friends as + specimens of her acquirements and her pursuits. + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "There's a Divinity that shapes our ends, + </p> + <p> + Rough-hew them how we may." + </p> + </div> + <p> + In that solitary abode at Brighton, and in the companionship of + Tib, may have been laid the foundation of a character than which + few, through the changeful scenes of a long and prosperous life, + have exercised more beneficial influence or inspired more genuine + esteem. On coming of age, and being put into possession of her + fortune, she hired a house in London, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg236" id="pg236">236</a></span> and took her + two eldest sisters to live with her. They had been at school + whilst she was living at Brighton. The fourth and youngest, + afterwards Mrs. Mostyn, had accompanied the mother. On the return + of Mr. and Mrs. Piozzi, Miss Thrale made a point of paying them + every becoming attention, and Piozzi was frequently dining with + her. Latterly, she used to speak of him as a very worthy sort of + man, who was not to blame for marrying a rich and distinguished + woman who took a fancy to him. The other sisters seem to have + adopted the same tone; and so far as I can learn, no one of them + is open to the imputation of filial unkindness, or has suffered + from maternal neglect in a manner to bear out Dr. Burney's + forebodings by the result. Occasional expressions of + querulousness are matters of course in family differences, and + are seldom totally suppressed by the utmost exertion of good + feeling and good sense. + </p> + <p> + Johnson's idolised wife was, at the lowest estimate, twenty-one + years older than himself when he married her; and her sons were + so disgusted by the connection, that they dropped the + acquaintance. Yet it never crossed his mind that "Hetty" had as + much right to please herself as "Tetty." Of the six letters that + passed between him and Mrs. Piozzi on the subject of the + marriage, only two (Nos. 1 and 5) have hitherto been made public; + and the incompleteness of the correspondence has caused the most + embarrassing confusion in the minds of biographers and editors, + too prone to act on the maxim that, wherever female reputation is + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg237" id="pg237">237</a></span> + concerned, we should hope for the best and believe the worst. + Hawkins, apparently ignorant that she had written to Johnson, to + announce her intention, says, "He was made uneasy by a report" + which induced him to write a strong letter of remonstrance, of + which what he calls an <i>adumbration</i> was published in the + "Gentleman's Magazine" for December 1784. Mr. Croker, avoiding a + similar error, says:—"In the lady's own (part) publication + of the correspondence, this letter (No. 1) is given as from Mrs. + Piozzi, and is signed with the initial of her name: Dr. Johnson's + answer is also addressed to Mrs. Piozzi, and both the letters + allude to the matter as <i>done</i>; yet it appears by the + periodical publications of the day, that the marriage did not + take place until the 25th July. The editor knew not how to + account for this but by supposing that Mrs. Piozzi, to avoid + Johnson's importunity, had stated that as done which was only + <i>settled to be done</i>." + </p> + <p> + The matter of fact is made plain by the circular (No. 2) which + states that "Piozzi is coming back from Italy." He arrived on + July 1st, after a fourteen months' absence, which proved both his + loyalty and the sincerity of the struggle in her own heart and + mind. Her letter (No. 1) as printed, is not signed with the + initial of her name; and both Dr. Johnson's autograph letters are + addressed to <i>Mrs. Thrale</i>. But she has occasioned the + mistake into which so many have fallen, by her mode of heading + these when she printed the two-volume edition of "Letters" in + 1788. By the kindness of Mr. Salusbury <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg238" id="pg238">238</a></span> I am now + enabled to print the whole correspondence, with the exception of + her last letter, which she describes. + </p> + <p class="ctr"> + No. 1. + </p> + <p class="ctr"> + <i>Mrs. Piozzi to Dr. Johnson</i>. + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "Bath, June 30. + </p> + <p> + "My Dear Sir,—The enclosed is a circular letter which I + have sent to all the guardians, but our friendship demands + somewhat more; it requires that I should beg your pardon for + concealing from you a connexion which you must have heard of by + many, but I suppose never believed. Indeed, my dear Sir, it was + concealed only to save us both needless pain; I could not have + borne to reject that counsel it would have killed me to take, and + I only tell it you now because all is irrevocably settled and out + of your power to prevent. I will say, however, that the dread of + your disapprobation has given me some anxious moments, and though + perhaps I am become by many privations the most independent woman + in the world, I feel as if acting without a parent's consent till + you write kindly to + </p> + <p class="citation"> + "Your faithful servant." + </p> + <p class="ctr"> + No. 2. <i>Circular</i>. + </p> + <p> + "Sir,—As one of the executors of Mr. Thrale's will and + guardian to his daughters, I think it my duty to acquaint you + that the three eldest left Bath last Friday <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg239" id="pg239">239</a></span> (25th) for + their own house at Brighthelmstone in company with an amiable + friend, Miss Nicholson, who has sometimes resided with us here, + and in whose society they may, I think, find some advantages and + certainly no disgrace. I waited on them to Salisbury, Wilton, + &c., and offered to attend them to the seaside myself, but + they preferred this lady's company to mine, having heard that Mr. + Piozzi is coming back from Italy, and judging perhaps by our past + friendship and continued correspondence that his return would be + succeeded by our marriage. + </p> + <p> + "I have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient servant. + </p> + <p> + "Bath, June 30, 1784." + </p> + <p class="ctr"> + No. 3.<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] What Johnson termed an "adumbration" of this letter + appeared in the "Gentleman's Magazine" for Dec. 1784: + </p> + <p> + "MADAM,—If you are already ignominiously married, you are + lost beyond all redemption;—if you are not, permit me one + hour's conversation, to convince you that such a marriage must + not take place. If, after a whole hour's reasoning, you should + not be convinced, you will still be at liberty to act as you + think proper. I have been extremely ill, and am still ill; but + if you grant me the audience I ask, I will instantly take a + post-chaise and attend you at Bath. Pray do not refuse this + favour to a man who hath so many years loved and honoured you." + </p> + </div> + <p> + "MADAM,—If I interpret your letter right, you are + ignominiously married: if it is yet undone, let us <i>once</i> + more <i>talk</i> together. If you have abandoned your children + and your religion, God forgive your wickedness; if you have + forfeited your fame and your country, may <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg240" id="pg240">240</a></span> your folly do + no further mischief. If the last act is yet to do, I who have + loved you, esteemed you, reverenced you, and <i>served + you</i><span class="fnref">[1]</span>, I who long thought you the + first of womankind, entreat that, before your fate is + irrevocable, I may once more see you. I was, I once was, Madam, + most truly yours, + </p> + <p class="citation"> + "SAM. JOHNSON. + </p> + <p> + "July 2, 1784. + </p> + <p> + "I will come down, if you permit it." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] The four words which I have printed in italics are + indistinctly written, and cannot be satisfactorily made out. + </p> + </div> + <p class="ctr"> + No. 4. + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "July 4, 1784. + </p> + <p> + "SIR,—I have this morning received from you so rough a + letter in reply to one which was both tenderly and respectfully + written, that I am forced to desire the conclusion of a + correspondence which I can bear to continue no longer. The birth + of my second husband is not meaner than that of my first; his + sentiments are not meaner; his profession is not meaner, and his + superiority in what he professes acknowledged by all mankind. It + is want of fortune, then, that is ignominious; the character of + the man I have chosen has no other claim to such an epithet. The + religion to which he has been always a zealous adherent will, I + hope, teach him to forgive insults he has not deserved; mine + will, I hope, enable me to bear them at once with dignity and + patience. To hear that I have forfeited my fame is indeed the + greatest insult I ever yet received. My fame <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg241" id="pg241">241</a></span> is as + unsullied as snow, or I should think it unworthy of him who must + henceforth protect it. + </p> + <p> + "I write by the coach the more speedily and effectually to + prevent your coming hither. Perhaps by my fame (and I hope it is + so) you mean only that celebrity which is a consideration of a + much lower kind. I care for that only as it may give pleasure to + my husband and his friends. + </p> + <p> + "Farewell, dear Sir, and accept my best wishes. You have always + commanded my esteem, and long enjoyed the fruits of a friendship + <i>never infringed by one harsh expression on my part during + twenty years of familiar talk. Never did I oppose your will, or + control your wish; nor can your unmerited severity itself lessen + my regard</i>; but till you have changed your opinion of Mr. + Piozzi, let us converse no more. God bless you." + </p> + <p class="ctr"> + No. 5. + </p> + <p class="ctr"> + <i>To Mrs. Piozzi</i>. + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "London, July 8, 1784. + </p> + <p> + "DEAR MADAM,—What you have done, however I may lament it, I + have no pretence to resent, as it has not been injurious to me: I + therefore breathe out one sigh more of tenderness, perhaps + useless, but at least sincere. + </p> + <p> + "I wish that God may grant you every blessing, that you may be + happy in this world for its short continuance, and eternally + happy in a better state; and <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg242" id="pg242">242</a></span> whatever I can contribute to + your happiness I am very ready to repay, for that kindness which + soothed twenty years of a life radically wretched. + </p> + <p> + "Do not think slightly of the advice which I now presume to + offer. Prevail upon Mr. Piozzi to settle in England: you may live + here with more dignity than in Italy, and with more security; + your rank will be higher, and your fortune more under your own + eye. I desire not to detail all my reasons, but every argument of + prudence and interest is for England, and only some phantoms of + imagination seduce you to Italy. + </p> + <p> + "I am afraid, however, that my counsel is vain, yet I have eased + my heart by giving it. + </p> + <p> + "When Queen Mary took the resolution of sheltering herself in + England, the Archbishop of St. Andrew's, attempting to dissuade + her, attended on her journey; and when they came to the + irremeable stream<span class="fnref">[1]</span> that separated + the two kingdoms, walked by her side into the water, in the + middle of which he seized her bridle, and with earnestness + proportioned to her danger and his <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg243" id="pg243">243</a></span> own affection pressed her to + return. The Queen went forward.—If the parallel reaches + thus far, may it go no farther.—The tears stand in my eyes. + </p> + <p> + "I am going into Derbyshire, and hope to be followed by your good + wishes, for I am, with great affection, + </p> + <p class="citation"> + "Your, &c. + </p> + <p> + "Any letters that come for me hither will be sent me." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Queen Mary left the Scottish for the English coast, on the + Firth of Solway, in a fishing-boat. The incident to which + Johnson alludes is introduced in "The Abbot;" where the scene + is laid on the sea-shore. The unusual though expressive term + "irremeable," is defined in his dictionary, "admitting no + return." His authority is Dryden's Virgil: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "The keeper dream'd, the chief without delay + </p> + <p> + Pass'd on, and took th' irremeable way." + </p> + </div> + <p> + The word is a Latin one anglicised: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Evaditque celer ripam irremeabilis undæ." + </p> + </div> + </div> + <p> + In a memorandum on this letter, she says:—"I wrote him (No. + 6) a very kind and affectionate farewell." + </p> + <p> + Before calling attention to the results of this correspondence, I + must notice a charge built upon it by the reviewer, with the + respectable aid of the foul-mouthed and malignant Baretti: + </p> + <p> + "This letter is now printed for the first time by Mr. Hayward. + But he has omitted to notice the light which is thrown on it by + Baretti's account of the marriage. That account is given in the + 'European Magazine' for 1788. It is very circumstantial, and too + long to transcribe, but the upshot is this: He says that, in + order to meet her returning lover, she left Bath with her + daughters as for a journey to Brighton; quitted them on some + pretence at Salisbury, and posted off to town, <i>deceiving Dr. + Johnson, who continued to direct to her at Bath as + usual</i>.<span class="fnref">[1]</span> 'In London she kept + herself concealed for some days in my parish, and not very + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg244" id="pg244">244</a></span> + far distant from my own habitation, ... in Suffolk Street, + Middlesex Hospital.' 'In a <i>few weeks</i>,' he adds, 'she was + in a condition personally to resort to Mr. Greenland (her lawyer) + to settle preliminaries, then returned to Bath with Piozzi, and + there was married.' Now Baretti was a libeller, <i>and not to be + believed except upon compulsion</i>; but if he does speak the + truth, then the date, 'Bath, June 30,' of her circular letter, is + a mystification; so is the passage in her letter to Johnson of + July <i>4</i>, about 'sending it by the coach to prevent his + coming.' Of course she was mortally afraid of the Doctor's + coming, for if he had come he would have found her flown. + According to this supposition, she did not return to Bath at all, + but remained perdue in London, with her lover, during the whole + 'Correspondence.' Is it the true one? + </p> + <p> + "We cannot but suspect that it is, and that the solution of the + whole of this little domestic mystery is to be found in a passage + in the 'Autobiographical Memoir,' vol. i. p. 277. There were + <i>two</i> marriages:— + </p> + <p> + "'Miss Nicholson went with us to Stonehenge, Wilton, &c., + <i>whence I returned to Bath</i> to wait for Piozzi. He was here + on the eleventh day after he got Dobson's letter. In twenty-six + more we were married <i>in London</i> by the Spanish ambassador's + chaplain, and returned hither to be married by Mr. Morgan, of + Bath, at St. James's Church, July 25, 1784.' + </p> + <p> + "Now in order to make this account tally with Baretti's we must + allow for a slight exertion of that talent for 'white lies' on + the lady's part, of which her <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg245" id="pg245">245</a></span> friends, Johnson included, used + half playfully and half in earnest to accuse her. And we are + afraid Baretti's story does appear, on the face of it, the more + probable of the two. It does seem more likely, since they were to + be married in London (of which Baretti knew nothing), that she + met Piozzi secretly in London on his arrival, than that she + performed the awkward evolutions of returning from Salisbury to + Bath to wait for him there, then going to London in company with + him to be married, and then back to Bath to be married over + again. But if this be so, then the London marriage most likely + took place almost immediately on the meeting of the enamoured + couple, and while the 'Correspondence' was going on. In which + case the words in the 'Memoir' 'in twenty-six days,' &c., + were apparently intended, by a little bit of feminine adroitness, + to appear to apply to this first marriage,—of the + suddenness of which she may have been ashamed,—while they + really apply to the conclusion of the whole affair by the + <i>second</i>. Will any one have the Croker-like curiosity to + inquire whether any record remains of the dates of marriages + celebrated by the Spanish ambassador's chaplain?"<span class= + "fnref">[2]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] These words, italicised by the reviewer, contain the pith + of the charge, which has no reference to her visit to London + six weeks before. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [2] Edinb. Review, No. 230, p. 522. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Why Croker-like curiosity? Was there anything censurable in the + curiosity which led an editor to ascertain whether a novel like + "Evelina" was written by a girl of eighteen or a woman of + twenty-six? But Lord Macaulay sneered at the inquiry<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span>, and his worshippers <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg246" id="pg246">246</a></span> must go on + sneering like their model—<i>vitiis imitabile</i>. The + certificate of the London marriage (now before me) shews that it + was solemnised on the 23rd July, by a clergyman named Richard + Smith, in the presence of three attesting witnesses. This, and + the entries in "Thraliana," prove Baretti's whole story to be + false. "Now Baretti was a libeller, and not to be believed except + upon compulsion;" meaning, I suppose, without confirmatory + evidence strong enough to dispense with his testimony altogether. + He was notorious for his <i>black</i> lies. Yet he is believed + eagerly, willingly, upon no compulsion, and without any + confirmatory evidence at all. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] The following passage is reprinted in the corrected edition + of Lord Macaulay's Essays:—"There was no want of low + minds and bad hearts in the generation which witnessed her + (Miss Burney's) first appearance. There was the envious Kenrick + and the savage Wolcot; the asp George Steevens and the polecat + John Williams. It did not, however, occur to them to search the + parish register of Lynn, in order that they might be able to + twit a lady with having concealed her age. That truly + chivalrous exploit was reserved for a bad writer of our own + time, whose spite she had provoked by not furnishing him with + materials for a worthless edition of Boswell's Life of Johnson, + some sheets of which our readers have doubtless seen round + parcels of better books." There is reason to believe that the + entry Mr. Croker copied was that of the baptism of an elder + sister of the same name who died before the birth of the famous + Fanny. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The internal evidence of the improbability of the story has + disappeared in the reviewer's paraphrase. Baretti says that at + Salisbury "she suddenly declared that a letter she found of great + importance demanded her immediate presence <i>in London</i>.... + But Johnson did not know the least tittle of this transaction, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg247" id="pg247">247</a></span> + and he continued to direct his letters to Bath as usual, + expressing, no doubt, an immense wonder <i>at her pertinacious + silence</i>." So she told her daughters that she was going to + London, whilst she deceived Johnson, who was sure to learn the + truth from them; and he was wondering at her pertinacious silence + at the very time when he was receiving letters from her, dated + Bath! Why, having formally announced her determination to marry + Piozzi, she should not give him the meeting in London if she + chose, fairly passes my comprehension. + </p> + <p> + Whilst the reviewer thinks he is strengthening one point, he is + palpably weakening another. She would not have been "mortally + afraid of the Doctor's coming," if she had already thrown him off + and finally broken with him? That she was afraid, and had reason + to be so, is quite consistent with my theory, quite inconsistent + with Lord Macaulay's and the critic's. Johnson's letter (No. 3) + is that of a coarse man who had always been permitted to lecture + and dictate with impunity. Her letter (No. 4) is that of a + sensitive woman, who, for the first time, resents with firmness + and retorts with dignity. The sentences I have printed in italics + speak volumes. "Never did I oppose your will, or control your + wish, nor can your unmitigated severity itself lessen my regard." + There is a shade of submissiveness in her reply, yet, on + receiving it, he felt as a falcon might feel if a partridge were + to shew fight. Nothing short of habitual deference on her part, + and unrepressed indulgence of temper on <i>his</i>, can account + for <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg248" id= + "pg248">248</a></span> or excuse his not writing before this + unexpected check as he wrote after it. If he had not been + systematically humoured and flattered, he would have seen at a + glance that he had "no pretence to resent," and have been ready + at once to make the best return in his power for "that kindness + which soothed twenty years of a life radically wretched." She + wrote him a kind and affectionate farewell; and there (so far as + we know) ended their correspondence. But in "Thraliana" she sets + down: + </p> + <p> + "<i>Milan, 27th Nov</i>. 1784.—I have got Dr. Johnson's + picture here, and expect Miss Thrale's with impatience. I do love + them dearly, as ill as they have used me, and always shall. Poor + Johnson did not <i>mean</i> to use me ill. He only grew upon + indulgence till patience could endure no further." + </p> + <p> + In a letter to Mr. S. Lysons from Milan, dated December 7th, + 1784, which proves that she was not frivolously employed, she + says: + </p> + <p> + "My next letter shall talk of the libraries and botanical + gardens, and twenty other clever things here. I wish you a + comfortable Christmas, and a happy beginning of the year 1785. Do + not neglect Dr. Johnson: you will never see any other mortal so + wise or so good. I keep his picture in my chamber, and his works + on my chimney." + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Forgiveness to the injured doth belong, + </p> + <p> + But they ne'er pardon who have done the wrong." + </p> + </div> + <p> + What he said of her can only be learned from her <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg249" id="pg249">249</a></span> bitter + enemies or hollow friends, who have preserved nothing kindly or + creditable. + </p> + <p> + Hawkins states that a letter from Johnson to himself contained + these words:—"Poor Thrale! I thought that either her virtue + or her vice (meaning her love of her children or her pride) would + have saved her from such a marriage. She is now become a subject + for her enemies to exult over, and for her friends, if she has + any left, to forget or pity." + </p> + <p> + Madame D'Arblay gives two accounts of the last interview she ever + had with Johnson,—on the 25th November, 1784. In the + "Diary" she sets down: + </p> + <p> + "I had seen Miss T. the day before." + </p> + <p> + "'So,' said he, 'did I.' + </p> + <p> + "I then said, 'Do you ever, Sir, hear, from her mother?' + </p> + <p> + "'No,' cried he, 'nor write to her. I drive her quite from my + mind. If I meet with one of her letters, I burn it + instantly.<span class="fnref">[1]</span> I have burnt all I can + find. I never speak of her, and I desire never to hear of her + name. I drive her, as I said, wholly from my mind.'" + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] If this was true, it is strange that he did not destroy the + letter (No. 4) which gave him so sudden and mortifying a check. + Miss Hawkins says in her Memoirs: "It was I who discovered the + letter. I carried it to my father; he enclosed and sent it to + her, <i>there never having been any intercourse between + them</i>." Anything from Hawkins about Streatham and its + inmates must therefore have been invention or hearsay. + </p> + </div> + <p> + In the "Memoirs," describing the same interview, she + says:—"We talked then of poor Mrs. Thrale, but only for a + moment, for I saw him greatly incensed, and with such severity of + displeasure, that I hastened to <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg250" id="pg250">250</a></span> start another subject, and he + solemnly enjoined me to mention that no more." + </p> + <p> + This was only eighteen days before he died, and he might be + excused for being angry at the introduction of any agitating + topic. It would stain his memory, not hers, to prove that, + belying his recent professions of tenderness and gratitude, he + directly or indirectly encouraged her assailants. + </p> + <p> + "I was tempted to observe," says the author of "Piozziana," "that + I thought, as I still do, that Johnson's anger on the event of + her second marriage was excited by some feeling of + disappointment; and that I suspected he had formed some hope of + attaching her to himself. It would be disingenuous on my part to + attempt to repeat her answer. I forget it; but the impression on + my mind is that she did not contradict me." Sir James Fellowes' + marginal note on this passage is: "This was an absurd notion, and + I can undertake to say it was the last idea that ever entered her + head; for when I once alluded to the subject, she ridiculed the + idea: she told me she always felt for Johnson the same respect + and veneration as for a Pascal."<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] When Sheridan was accused of making love to Mrs. Siddons, + he said he should as soon think of making love to the + Archbishop of Canterbury. + </p> + </div> + <p> + On the margin of the passage in which Boswell says, "Johnson + wishing to unite himself with this rich widow was much talked of, + but I believe without foundation,"—she has written, "I + believe so too!!" The report sufficed to bring into play the + light artillery <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg251" id= + "pg251">251</a></span> of the wits, one of whose best hits was an + "Ode to Mrs. Thrale, by Samuel Johnson, LL.D., on their + approaching Nuptials," beginning: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "If e'er my fingers touched the lyre, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + In satire fierce, in pleasure gay, + </p> + <p> + Shall not my Thralia's smiles inspire, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Shall Sam refuse the sportive lay? + </p> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "My dearest lady, view your slave, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Rehold him as your very <i>Scrub</i>: + </p> + <p> + Ready to write as author grave, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Or govern well the brewing tub. + </p> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "To rich felicity thus raised, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + My bosom glows with amorous fire; + </p> + <p> + Porter no longer shall be praised, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + 'Tis I Myself am <i>Thrale's Entire</i>." + </p> + </div> + </div> + <p> + She has written opposite these lines, "Whose fun was this? It is + better than the other." The other was: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Cervisial coctor's viduate dame, + </p> + <p> + Opinst thou this gigantick frame, + </p> + <p> + Procumbing at thy shrine, + </p> + <p> + Shall catinated by thy charms, + </p> + <p> + A captive in thy ambient arms + </p> + <p> + Perennially be thine." + </p> + </div> + <p> + She writes opposite: "Whose silly fun was this? Soame Jenyn's?" + </p> + <p> + The following paragraph is copied from the note-book of the late + Miss Williams Wynn<span class="fnref">[1]</span>, who had + recently <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg252" id= + "pg252">252</a></span> been reading a large collection of Mrs. + Piozzi's letters addressed to a Welsh neighbour: + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Daughter of Sir Watkyn Wynn (the fourth baronet) and + granddaughter of George Grenville, the Minister. She was + distinguished by her literary taste and acquirements, as well + as highly esteemed for the uprightness of her character, the + excellence of her understanding, and the kindness of her heart. + Her journals and note-books, carefully kept during a long life + passed in the best society, are full of interesting anecdotes + and curious extracts from rare books and manuscripts. They are + now in the possession of her niece, the Honourable Mrs. Rowley. + </p> + </div> + <p> + "<i>London, March</i>, 1825.—I have had an opportunity of + talking to old Sir William Pepys on the subject of his old + friend, Mrs. Piozzi, and from his conversation am more than ever + impressed with the idea that she was one of the most inconsistent + characters that ever existed. Sir William says he never met with + any human being who possessed the talent of conversation in such + a degree. I naturally felt anxious to know whether Piozzi could + in any degree add to this pleasure, and found, as I expected, + that he could not even understand her. + </p> + <p> + "Her infatuation for him seems perfectly unaccountable. Johnson + in his rough (I may here call it brutal) manner said to her, 'Why + Ma'am, he is not only a stupid, ugly dog, but he is an old dog + too.' Sir William says he really believes that she combated her + inclination for him as long as possible; so long, that her senses + would have failed her if she had attempted to resist any longer. + She was perfectly aware of her degradation. One day, speaking to + Sir William of some persons whom he had been in the habit of + meeting continually at Streatham during the lifetime of Mr. + Thrale, she said, not one of them has taken the smallest notice + of me ever since: they dropped me before I had <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg253" id="pg253">253</a></span> done anything + wrong. Piozzi was literally at her elbow when she said this." + </p> + <p> + The reviewer quotes the remark, "She was perfectly aware of her + degradation," as resting on the personal responsibility of Miss + Wynn, "who knew her in later life in Wales." The context shews + that Miss Wynn (who did not know her) was simply repeating the + impressions of Sir William Pepys, one of the bitterest opponents + of the marriage, to whom she certainly never said anything + derogatory to her second husband. The uniform tenor of her + letters and her conduct shew that she never regarded her second + marriage as discreditable, and always took a high and + independent, instead of a subdued or deprecating, tone with her + alienated friends. A bare statement of the treatment she received + from them is surely no proof of conscious degradation. + </p> + <p> + In a letter to a Welsh neighbour, near the end of her life, some + time in 1818, she says: + </p> + <p> + "Mrs. Mostyn (her youngest daughter) has written again on the + road back to Italy, where she likes the Piozzis above all people, + she says, <i>if they were not so proud of their family</i>. Would + not that make one laugh two hours before one's own death? But I + remember when Lady Egremont raised the whole nation's ill will + here, while the Saxons were wondering how Count Bruhle could + think of marrying a lady born Miss Carpenter. The Lombards + doubted in the meantime of my being a gentlewoman by birth, + because my first husband was a brewer. A pretty world, is it + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg254" id="pg254">254</a></span> + not? A Ship of Fooles, according to the old poem; and they will + upset the vessel by and by." + </p> + <p> + This is not the language of one who wished to apologise for a + misalliance. + </p> + <p> + As to Piozzi's assumed want of youth and good looks, Johnson's + knowledge of womankind, to say nothing of his self-love, should + have prevented him from urging this as an insuperable objection. + He might have recollected the Roman matron in Juvenal, who + considers the world well lost for an old and disfigured + prize-fighter; or he might have quoted Spenser's description of + one— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Who rough and rude and filthy did appear, + </p> + <p> + Unseemly man to please fair lady's eye, + </p> + <p> + Yet he of ladies oft was loved dear, + </p> + <p> + When fairer faces were bid standen by: + </p> + <p> + Oh! who can tell the bent of woman's phantasy?" + </p> + </div> + <p> + Madame Campan, speaking of Caroline of Naples, the sister of + Marie Antoinette, says, she had great reason to complain of the + insolence of a Spaniard named Las Casas, whom the king, her + father-in-law, had sent to persuade her to remove M. + Acton<span class="fnref">[1]</span> from the conduct of affairs + and from about her person. She had told him, to convince him of + the nature of her sentiments, that she would have Acton painted + and sculptured by the most celebrated artists of Italy, and send + his bust and his portrait to the King of Spain, to prove to him + that the desire of fixing a man of superior capacity <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg255" id="pg255">255</a></span> could alone + have induced her to confer the favour he enjoyed. Las Casas had + dared to reply, that she would be taking useless trouble; that a + man's ugliness did not always prevent him from pleasing, and that + the King of Spain had too much experience to be ignorant that the + caprices of a woman were inexplicable. Johnson may surely be + allowed credit for as much knowledge of the sex as the King of + Spain. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] M. Acton, as Madame Campan calls him, was a member of the + ancient English family of that name. He succeeded to the + baronetcy in 1791, and was the grandfather of Sir John E.E. + Dalberg Acton, Bart., M.P., &c. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Others were simultaneously accusing her of marrying a young man + to indulge a sensual inclination. The truth is, Piozzi was a few + months older than herself, and was neither ugly nor disagreeable. + Madame D'Arblay has been already quoted as to his personal + appearance, and Miss Seward (October, 1787) writes: + </p> + <p> + "I am become acquainted with Mr. and Mrs. Piozzi. Her + conversation is that bright wine of the intellects which has no + lees. Dr. Johnson told me truth when he said she had more + colloquial wit than most of our literary women; it is indeed a + fountain of perpetual flow. But he did not tell me truth when he + asserted that Piozzi was an ugly dog, without particular skill in + his profession. Mr. Piozzi is a handsome man, in middle life, + with gentle, pleasing, unaffected manners, and with very eminent + skill in his profession. Though he has not a powerful or + fine-toned voice, he sings with transcending grace and + expression. I am charmed with his perfect expression on his + instrument. Surely the finest sensibilities must vibrate through + his frame, since they breathe so sweetly through his song." + </p> + <p> + The concluding sentence contains what Partridge <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg256" id="pg256">256</a></span> would call a + <i>non sequitur</i>, for the finest musical sensibility may + coexist with the most commonplace qualities. But the lady's + evidence is clear on the essential point; and another passage + from her letters may assist us in determining the precise nature + of Johnson's feelings towards Mrs. Piozzi, and the extent to + which his later language and conduct regarding her were + influenced by pique: + </p> + <p> + "Love is the great softener of savage dispositions. Johnson had + always a metaphysic passion for one princess or another: first, + the rustic Lucy Porter, before he married her nauseous mother; + next the handsome, but haughty, Molly Aston; next the sublimated, + methodistic Hill Boothby, who read her bible in Hebrew; and + lastly, the more charming Mrs. Thrale, with the beauty of the + first, the learning of the second, and with more worth than a + bushel of such sinners and such saints. It is ridiculously + diverting to see the old elephant forsaking his nature before + these princesses: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'To make them mirth, use all his might, and writhe, + </p> + <p> + His mighty form disporting.' + </p> + </div> + <p> + "<i>This last and long-enduring passion for Mrs. Thrale was, + however, composed perhaps of cupboard love, Platonic love, and + vanity tickled and gratified, from morn to night, by incessant + homage</i>. The two first ingredients are certainly oddly + heterogeneous; but Johnson, in religion and politics, in love and + in hatred, was composed of such opposite and contradictory + materials, as never before met in the human mind. This + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg257" id="pg257">257</a></span> + is the reason why folk are never weary of talking, reading, and + writing about a man— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'So various that he seem'd to be, + </p> + <p> + Not one, but all mankind's epitome.'" + </p> + </div> + <p> + After quoting the sentence printed in italics, the reviewer says: + "On this hint Mr. Hayward enlarges, nothing loth." I quoted the + entire letter without a word of comment, and what is given as my + "enlarging" is an <i>olla podrida</i> of sentences torn from the + context in three different and unconnected passages of this + Introduction. The only one of them which has any bearing on the + point shews, though garbled, that, in attributing motives, I + distinguished between Johnson and his set. + </p> + <p> + Having thus laid the ground for fixing on me opinions I had + nowhere professed, the reviewer asks, "Had Mr. Hayward, when he + passed such slighting judgment on the motives of the venerable + sage who awes us still, no fear before his eyes of the anathema + aimed by Carlyle at Croker for similar disparagement? 'As + neediness, and greediness, and vain glory are the chief qualities + of most men, so no man, not even a Johnson, acts, or can think of + acting, on any other principle. Whatever, therefore, cannot be + referred to the two former categories, Need and Greed, is without + scruple ranged under the latter.'"<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Edinb, Review, No. 230, p. 511. + </p> + </div> + <p> + This style of criticism is as loose as it is unjust; for + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg258" id="pg258">258</a></span> + one main ingredient in Miss Seward's mixture is Platonic love, + which cannot be referred to either of the three categories. Her + error lay in not adding a fourth ingredient,—the admiration + which Johnson undoubtedly felt for the admitted good qualities of + Mrs. Thrale. But the lady was nearer the truth than the reviewer, + when he proceeds in this strain: + </p> + <p> + "We take an entirely different view at once of the character and + the feelings of Johnson. Rude, uncouth, arrogant as he + was—spoilt as he was, which is far worse, by flattery and + toadying and the silly homage of inferior + worshippers—selfish as he was in his eagerness for small + enjoyments and disregard of small attentions—that which lay + at the very bottom of his character, that which constitutes the + great source of his power in life, and connects him after death + with the hearts of all of us, is his spirit of imaginative + romance. He was romantic in almost all things—in politics, + in religion, in his musings on the supernatural world, in + friendship for men, and in love for women." + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + "Such was his fancied 'padrona,' his 'mistress,' his 'Thralia + dulcis,' a compound of the bright lady of fashion and the ideal + Urania who rapt his soul into spheres of perfection." + </p> + <p> + Imaginative romance in politics, in religion, and in musings on + the supernatural world, is here only another term for prejudice, + intolerance, bigotry, and credulity—for rabid Toryism, High + Church doctrines verging on Romanism, and a confirmed belief in + ghosts. Imaginative <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg259" id= + "pg259">259</a></span> romance in love and friendship is an + elevating, softening, and refining influence, which, especially + when it forms the basis of character, cannot co-exist with + habitual rudeness, uncouthness, arrogance, love of toadying, + selfishness, and disregard of what Johnson himself called the + minor morals. Equally heterogeneous is the "compound of the + bright lady of fashion and the ideal Urania." A goddess in + crinoline would be a semi-mundane creature at best; and the image + unluckily suggests that Johnson was unphilosophically, not to say + vulgarly, fond of rank, fashion, and their appendages. + </p> + <p> + His imagination, far from being of the richest or highest kind, + was insufficient for the attainment of dramatic excellence, was + insufficient even for the nobler parts of criticism. Nor had he + much to boast of in the way of delicacy of perception or + sensibility. His strength lay in his understanding; his most + powerful weapon was argument: his grandest quality was his good + sense. + </p> + <p> + Thurlow, speaking of the choice of a successor to Lord Mansfield, + said, "I hesitated long between the intemperance of Kenyon, and + the corruption of Buller; not but what there was a + d——d deal of corruption in Kenyon's intemperance, and + a d——d deal of intemperance in Buller's corruption." + Just so, we may hesitate long between the romance and the + worldliness of Johnson, not but what there was a d——d + deal of romance in his worldliness, and a d——d deal + of worldliness in his romance. <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg260" id="pg260">260</a></span> + </p> + <p> + The late Lord Alvanley, whose heart was as inflammable as his wit + was bright, used to tell how a successful rival in the favour of + a married dame offered to retire from the field for <i>5001</i>., + saying, "I am a younger son: her husband does not give dinners, + and they have no country house: no <i>liaison</i> suits me that + does not comprise both." At the risk of provoking Mr. Carlyle's + anathema, I now avow my belief that Johnson was, nay, boasted of + being, open to similar influences; and as for his "ideal + Uranias," no man past seventy idealises women with whom he has + been corresponding for years about his or their "natural + history," to whom he sends recipes for "lubricity of the bowels," + with an assurance that it has had the best effect upon his + own.<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Letters, vol. ii. p. 397. The letter containing the recipe + actually begins "My dear Angel." Had Johnson forgotten Swift's + lines on Celia? or the repudiation of the divine nature by + Ermodotus, which occurs twice in Plutarch? The late Lord + Melbourne complained that two ladies of quality, sisters, told + him too much of their "natural history." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Rough language, too, although not incompatible with affectionate + esteem, can hardly be reconciled with imaginative romance— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Perhaps it was right to dissemble your love, + </p> + <p> + But why did you kick me down stairs?" + </p> + </div> + <p> + "His ugly old wife," says the reviewer, "was an angel." Yes, an + angel so far as exalted language could make her one; and he had + always half-a-dozen angels or goddesses on his list. "<i>Je + change d'objet, mais la passion reste</i>." For <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg261" id="pg261">261</a></span> this very + reason, I repeat, his affection for Mrs. Piozzi was not a deep, + devoted, or absorbing feeling at any time; and the gloom which + settled upon the evening of his days was owing to his infirmities + and his dread of death, not to the loosening of cherished ties, + nor to the compelled solitude of a confined dwelling in Bolt + Court. The plain matter of fact is that, during the last two + years of his life, he was seldom a month together at his own + house, unless when the state of his health prevented him from + enjoying the hospitality of his friends. When the fatal marriage + was announced, he was planning what Boswell calls a jaunt into + the country; and in a letter dated Lichfield, Oct. 4, 1784, he + says: "I passed the first part of the summer at Oxford (with Dr. + Adams); afterwards I went to Lichfield, then to Ashbourne (Dr. + Taylor's), and a week ago I returned to Lichfield." + </p> + <p> + In the journal which he kept for Dr. Brocklesby, he writes, Oct. + 20: "The town is my element; there are my friends, there are my + books to which I have not yet bid farewell, and there are my + amusements. Sir Joshua told me long ago that my vocation was to + public life; and I hope still to keep my station, till God shall + bid me <i>Go in peace</i>." Boswell reports him saying about this + time, "Sir, I look upon every day to be lost when I do not make a + new acquaintance." + </p> + <p> + After another visit to Dr. Adams, at Pembroke College, he + returned on the 16th Nov. to London, where he died on the 13th + Dec. 1784. The proximate cause of his death was dropsy; and there + is not the smallest <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg262" id= + "pg262">262</a></span> sign of its having been accelerated or + embittered by unkindness or neglect. + </p> + <p> + Whoever has accompanied me thus far will be fully qualified to + form an independent opinion of Lord Macaulay's dashing summary of + Mrs. Piozzi's imputed ill-treatment of Johnson: + </p> + <p> + "Johnson was now in his seventy-second year. The infirmities of + age were coming fast upon him. That inevitable event of which he + never thought without horror was brought near to him; and his + whole life was darkened by the shadow of death. He had often to + pay the cruel price of longevity. Every year he lost what could + never be replaced. The strange dependants to whom he had given + shelter, and to whom, in spite of their faults, he was strongly + attached by habit, dropped off one by one; and, in the silence of + his home, he regretted even the noise of their scolding matches. + The kind and generous Thrale was no more; and it would have been + well if his wife had been laid beside him. But she survived to be + the laughing-stock of those who had envied her, and to draw from + the eyes of the old man who had loved her beyond any thing in the + world, tears far more bitter than he would have shed over her + grave. + </p> + <p> + "With some estimable, and many agreeable qualities, she was not + made to be independent. The control of a mind more steadfast than + her own was necessary to her respectability. While she was + restrained by her husband, a man of sense and firmness, indulgent + to her taste in trifles, but always the undisputed master + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg263" id="pg263">263</a></span> + of his house, her worst offences had been impertinent jokes, + white lies, and short fits of pettishness ending in sunny good + humour. But he was gone; and she was left an opulent widow of + forty, with strong sensibility, volatile fancy, and slender + judgment. She soon fell in love with a music-master from Brescia, + in whom nobody but herself could discover anything to admire. Her + pride, and perhaps some better feelings, struggled hard against + this degrading passion. But the struggle irritated her nerves, + soured her temper, and at length endangered her health. Conscious + that her choice was one which Johnson could not approve, she + became desirous to escape from his inspection. Her manner towards + him changed. She was sometimes cold and sometimes petulant. She + did not conceal her joy when he left Streatham: she never pressed + him to return; and, if he came unbidden, she received him in a + manner which convinced him that he was no longer a welcome guest. + He took the very intelligible hints which she gave. He read, for + the last time, a chapter of the Greek Testament in the library + which had been formed by himself. In a solemn and tender prayer + he commended the house and its inmates to the Divine protection, + and, with emotions which choked his voice and convulsed his + powerful frame, left for ever that beloved home for the gloomy + and desolate house behind Fleet Street, where the few and evil + days which still remained to him were to run out. + </p> + <p> + "Here, in June 1783, he had a paralytic stroke, from which, + however, he recovered, and which does not appear <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg264" id="pg264">264</a></span> to have at + all impaired his intellectual faculties. But other maladies came + thick upon him. His asthma tormented him day and night. Dropsical + symptoms made their appearance. While sinking under a + complication of diseases, he heard that the woman whose + friendship had been the chief happiness of sixteen years of his + life, had married an Italian fiddler; that all London was crying + shame upon her; and that the newspapers and magazines were filled + with allusions to the Ephesian matron and the two pictures in + Hamlet. He vehemently said that he would try to forget her + existence. He never uttered her name. Every memorial of her which + met his eye he flung into the fire. She meanwhile fled from the + laughter and hisses of her countrymen and countrywomen to a land + where she was unknown, hastened across Mount Cenis, and learned, + while passing a merry Christmas of concerts and lemonade-parties + at Milan, that the great man with whose name hers is inseparably + associated, had ceased to exist."<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] "Encyclopædia Britannica," last edition. The Essay on + Johnson is reprinted in the first volume of Lord Macaulay's + "Miscellaneous Writings." + </p> + </div> + <p> + "Splendid recklessness," is the happy expression used by the + "Saturday Review" in characterising this account of the alleged + rupture with its consequences; and no reader will fail to admire + the rhetorical skill with which the expulsion from Streatham with + its library formed by himself, the chapter in the Greek + testament, the gloomy and desolate home, the music-master + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg265" id="pg265">265</a></span> + in whom nobody but herself could see anything to admire, the few + and evil days, the emotions that convulsed the frame, the painful + and melancholy death, and the merry Christmas of concerts and + lemonade parties, have been grouped together with the view of + giving picturesqueness, impressive unity, and damnatory vigour to + the sketch. "Action, action, action," says the orator; "effect, + effect, effect," says the historian. Give Archimedes a place to + stand on, and he would move the world. Give Fouché a line of a + man's handwriting, and he would engage to ruin him. Give Lord + Macaulay the semblance of an authority, an insulated fact or + phrase, a scrap of a journal, or the tag end of a song, and on + it, by the abused prerogative of genius, he would construct a + theory of national or personal character, which should confer + undying glory or inflict indelible disgrace. + </p> + <p> + Johnson was never driven or expelled from Mrs. Piozzi's house or + family: if very intelligible hints were given, they certainly + were not taken; the library was not formed by him; the Testament + may or may not have been Greek; his powerful frame shook with no + convulsions but what may have been occasioned by the unripe + grapes and hard peaches; he did not leave Streatham for his + gloomy and desolate house behind Fleet Street; the few and evil + days (two years, nine weeks) did not run out in that house; the + music-master was generally admired and esteemed; and the merry + Christmas of concerts and lemonade-parties is simply another + sample of the brilliant historian's mode of <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg266" id="pg266">266</a></span> turning the + abstract into the concrete in such a manner as to degrade or + elevate at will. An Italian concert is not a merry meeting; and a + lemonade-party, I presume, is a party where (instead of + <i>eau-sucrée</i> as at Paris) the refreshment handed about is + lemonade: not an enlivening drink at Christmas. In a word, all + these graphic details are mere creations of the brain, and the + general impression intended to be conveyed by them is false, + substantially false; for Mrs. Piozzi never behaved otherwise than + kindly and considerately to Johnson at any time. + </p> + <p> + Her life in Italy has been sketched in her best manner by her own + lively pen in the "Autobiography" and what she calls the "Travel + Book," to be presently mentioned. Scattered notices of her + proceedings occur in her letters to Mr. Lysons, and in the + printed correspondence of her cotemporaries. + </p> + <p> + On the 19th October, 1784, she writes to Mr. Lysons from Turin: + </p> + <p> + "We are going to Alexandria, Genoa, and Pavia, and then to Milan + for the winter, as Mr. Piozzi finds friends everywhere to delay + us, and I hate hurry and fatigue; it takes away all one's + attention. Lyons was a delightful place to me, and we were so + feasted there by my husband's old acquaintances. The Duke and + Duchess of Cumberland too paid us a thousand caressing civilities + where we met with them, and we had no means of musical parties + neither. The Prince of Sisterna came yesterday to visit Mr. + Piozzi, and present me with the key of his box at the opera for + the time we stay at Turin. Here's <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg267" id="pg267">267</a></span> honour and glory for you! When + Miss Thrale hears of it, she will write perhaps; the other two + are very kind and affectionate." + </p> + <p> + In "Thraliana": + </p> + <p> + "<i>3rd November</i>, 1784.—Yesterday I received a letter + from Mr. Baretti, full of the most flagrant and bitter insults + concerning my late marriage with Mr. Piozzi, against whom, + however, he can bring no heavier charge than that he disputed on + the road with an innkeeper concerning the bill in his last + journey to Italy; while he accuses me of murder and fornication + in the grossest terms, such as I believe have scarcely ever been + used even to his old companions in Newgate, whence he was + released to scourge the families which cherished, and bite the + hands that have since relieved him. Could I recollect any + provocation I ever gave the man, I should be less amazed, but he + heard, perhaps, that Johnson had written me a rough letter, and + thought he would write me a brutal one: like the Jewish king, + who, trying to imitate Solomon without his understanding, said, + 'My father whipped you with whips, but I will whip you with + scorpions.'" + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "Milan, Dec. 7. + </p> + <p> + "I correspond constantly and copiously with such of my daughters + as are willing to answer my letters, and I have at last received + one cold scrap from the eldest, which I instantly and tenderly + replied to. Mrs. Lewis too, and Miss Nicholson, have had accounts + of my health, for I found <i>them</i> disinterested and attached + to me: those who led the stream, or watched which <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg268" id="pg268">268</a></span> way it ran, + that they might follow it, were not, I suppose, desirous of my + correspondence, and till they are so, shall not be troubled with + it." + </p> + <p> + Miss Nicholson was the lady left with the daughters, and Mrs. + Piozzi could have heard no harm of her from them or others when + she wrote thus. The same inference must be drawn from the + allusions to this lady at subsequent periods. After stating that + she "dined at the minister's o' Tuesday, and he called all the + wise men about me with great politeness indeed"—"Once + more," she continues, "keep me out of the newspapers if you + possibly can: they have given me many a miserable hour, and my + enemies many a merry one: but I have not deserved public + persecution, and am very happy to live in a place where one is + free from unmerited insolence, such as London abounds with. + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'Illic credulitas, illic temerarius error.' + </p> + </div> + <p> + God bless you, and may you conquer the many-headed monster which + I could never charm to silence." In "Thraliana," she says: + </p> + <p> + "<i>January</i>, 1785.—I see the English newspapers are + full of gross insolence to me: all burst out, as I guessed it + would, upon the death of Dr. Johnson. But Mr. Boswell (who I + plainly see is the author) should let the <i>dead</i> escape from + his malice at least. I feel more shocked at the insults offered + to Mr. Thrale's memory than at those cast on Mr. Piozzi's person. + My present husband, thank God! is well and happy, and able to + defend himself: but dear Mr. Thrale, that had fostered + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg269" id="pg269">269</a></span> + these cursed wits so long! to be stung by their malice even in + the grave, is too cruel:— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'Nor church, nor churchyards, from such fops are + free.'"<span class="fnref">[1]</span>—POPE. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + [1] Probably misquoted for— + </p> + <p class="i4"> + "No place is sacred, not the church is free." + </p> + <p class="i8"> + <i>Prologue to the Satires</i>. + </p> + </div> + </div> + <p> + The license of our press is a frequent topic of complaint. But + here is a woman who had never placed herself before the public in + any way so as to give them a right to discuss her conduct or + affairs, not even as an author, made the butt of every + description of offensive personality for months, with the tacit + encouragement of the first moralist of the age. + </p> + <p> + January 20th, 1785, she writes from Milan:—"The Minister, + Count Wilsick, has shown us many distinctions, and we are visited + by the first families in Milan. The Venetian Resident will, + however, be soon sent to the court of London, and give a faithful + account, as I am sure, to all their <i>obliging</i> inquiries." + </p> + <p> + In "Thraliana": + </p> + <p> + "<i>25th Jan</i>., 1785.—I have recovered myself + sufficiently to think what will be the consequence to me of + Johnson's death, but must wait the event, as all thoughts on the + future in this world are vain. Six people have already undertaken + to write his life, I hear, of which Sir John Hawkins, Mr. + Boswell, Tom Davies, and Dr. Kippis are four. Piozzi says he + would have me add to the number, and so I would, but that I think + my anecdotes too few, and am afraid of saucy answers if I send to + England for others. The saucy answers <i>I</i> should + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg270" id="pg270">270</a></span> + disregard, but my heart is made vulnerable by my late marriage, + and I am certain that, to spite me, they would insult my husband. + </p> + <p> + "Poor Johnson! I see they will leave <i>nothing untold</i> that I + laboured so long to keep secret; and I was so very delicate <i>in + trying to conceal his [fancied]<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + insanity</i> that I retained no proofs of it, or hardly any, nor + even mentioned it in these books, lest by my dying first + <i>they</i> might be printed and the secret (for such I thought + it) discovered. I used to tell him in jest that his biographers + would be at a loss concerning some orange-peel he used to keep in + his pocket, and many a joke we had about the lives that would be + published. Rescue me out of their hands, my dear, and do it + yourself, said he; Taylor, Adams, and Hector will furnish you + with juvenile anecdotes, and Baretti will give you all the rest + that you have not already, for I think Baretti is a lyar only + when he speaks of himself. Oh, said I, Baretti told me yesterday + that you got by heart six pages of Machiavel's History once, and + repeated them thirty years afterwards word for word. Why this is + a <i>gross</i> lye, said Johnson, I never read the book at all. + Baretti too told me of you (said I) that you once kept sixteen + cats in your chamber, and yet they scratched your legs to such a + degree, you were forced to use mercurial plaisters for some time + after. Why this (replied Johnson) is an unprovoked lye indeed; I + thought the fellow would not have broken through divine and human + laws thus to make puss his heroine, but I see I was mistaken." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Sic in the MS. See <i>antè</i>, p. 202. <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg271" id="pg271">271</a></span> + </p> + </div> + <p> + On February 3rd, 1785, Horace Walpole writes from London to Sir + Horace Mann at Florence:—"I have lately been lent a volume + of poems composed and printed at Florence, in which another of + our exheroines, Mrs. Piozzi, has a considerable share; her + associates three of the English bards who assisted in the little + garland which Ramsay the painter sent me. The present is a plump + octavo; and if you have not sent me a copy by our nephew, I + should be glad if you could get one for me: not for the merit of + the verses, which are moderate enough and faint imitations of our + good poets; but for a short and sensible and genteel preface by + La Piozzi, from whom I have just seen a very clever letter to + Mrs. Montagu, to disavow a jackanapes who has lately made a noise + here, one Boswell, by Anecdotes of Dr. Johnson. In a day or two + we expect another collection by the same Signora." + </p> + <p> + Her associates were Greathead, Merry, and Parsons. The volume in + question was "The Florence Miscellany." "A copy," says Mr. + Lowndes, "having fallen into the hands of W. Grifford, gave rise + to his admirable satire of the 'Baviad and Moeviad.'" + </p> + <p> + In his Journal of the Tour to the Hebrides, Boswell makes Johnson + say of Mrs. Montagu's "Essay on Shakespeare": "Reynolds is fond + of her book, and I wonder at it; for neither I, nor Beauclerc, + nor Mrs. Thrale could get through it." This is what Mrs. Piozzi + wrote to disavow, so far as she was personally concerned. In a + subsequent letter from Vienna, she says: "Mrs. Montagu has + written to me very sweetly." The other collection expected from + her was her "Anecdotes of the <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg272" id="pg272">272</a></span> late Samuel Johnson, during the + last Twenty Years of his Life. Printed for T. Cadell in the + Strand, 1786." + </p> + <p> + She opened the matter to Mr. Cadell in the following terms: + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "Florence, 7th June, 1785. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Sir</i>.,—As you were at once the bookseller and friend + of Dr. Johnson, who always spoke of your character in the kindest + terms, I could wish you likewise to be the publisher of some + Anecdotes concerning the last twenty years of his life, collected + by me during the many days I had opportunity to spend in his + instructive company, and digested into method since I heard of + his death. As I have a large collection of his letters in + England, besides some verses, known only to myself, I wish to + delay printing till we can make two or three little volumes, not + unacceptable, perhaps, to the public; but I desire my intention + to be notified, for divers reasons, and, if you approve of the + scheme, should wish it to be immediately advertized. My return + cannot be in less than twelve months, and we may be detained + still longer, as our intention is to complete the tour of Italy; + but the book is in forwardness, and it has been seen by many + English and Italian friends." + </p> + <p> + On July 27th, 1785, she writes from Florence: + </p> + <p> + "We celebrated our wedding anniversary two days ago with a + magnificent dinner and concert, at which the Prince Corsini and + his brother the Cardinal did us the honour of assisting, and + wished us joy in the tenderest and politest terms. Lord and Lady + Cowper, Lord Pembroke, and <i>all</i> the English indeed, doat on + my husband, and show us every possible attention." <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg273" id="pg273">273</a></span> + </p> + <p> + On the 18th July, 1785, she writes again to Mr. Cadell:—"I + am favoured with your answer and pleased with the advertisement, + but it will be impossible to print the verses till my return to + England, as they are all locked up with other papers in the Bank, + nor should I choose to put the key (which is now at Milan) in any + one's hand except my own." + </p> + <p> + She therefore proposes that the "Anecdotes" shall be printed + first, and published separately. On the 20th October, 1785, she + writes from Sienna: + </p> + <p> + "I finished my 'Anecdotes of Dr. Johnson' at Florence, and taking + them with me to Leghorn, got a clear transcript made there, such + as I hope will do for you to print from; though there may be some + errors, perhaps many, which have escaped me, as I am wholly + unused to the business of sending manuscripts to the press, and + must rely on you to get everything done properly when, it comes + into your hands." + </p> + <p> + Such was the surviving ascendency of Johnson, or such the + placability of her disposition, that, but for Piozzi's + remonstrances, she would have softened down her "Anecdotes" to an + extent which would have destroyed much of their sterling value. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Lysons made the final bargain with Cadell, and had full power + to act for her. She writes thus to Cadell: + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "Rome, 28th March, 1786. + </p> + <p> + "SIR,—I hasten to tell you that I am perfectly pleased and + contented with the alterations made by my worthy and amiable + friends in the 'Anecdotes of Johnson's <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg274" id="pg274">274</a></span> Life.' + Whatever is done by Sir Lucas Pepys is certainly well done, and I + am happy in the thoughts of his having interested himself about + it. Mr. Lysons was very judicious and very kind in going to the + Bishop of Peterboro', and him and Dr. Lort for advice. There is + no better to be had in the world, I believe; and it is my desire + that they should be always consulted about any future + transactions of the same sort relating to, Sir, your most + obedient servant, + </p> + <p class="citation"> + "H. L. PIOZZI."<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] The letters to Mr. Cadell were published in the + "Gentleman's Magazine" for March and April, 1852. + </p> + </div> + <p> + The early portions of "Thraliana" were evidently amongst the + papers locked up in the Bank, and she consequently wrote most of + the Anecdotes from memory, which may account for some minor + discrepancies, like that relating to the year in which she made + the acquaintance with Johnson. + </p> + <p> + The book attracted great attention; and whilst some affected to + discover in it the latent signs of wounded vanity and pique, + others vehemently impugned its accuracy. Foremost amongst her + assailants stood Boswell, who had an obvious motive for + depreciating her, and he attempts to destroy her authority, + first, by quoting Johnson's supposed imputations on her veracity; + and secondly, by individual instances of her alleged departure + from truth. + </p> + <p> + Thus, Johnson is reported to have said:—"It is amazing, + Sir, what deviations there are from precise truth, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg275" id="pg275">275</a></span> in the + account which is given of almost everything. I told Mrs. Thrale, + You have so little anxiety about truth that you never tax your + memory with the exact thing." + </p> + <p> + Her proneness to exaggerated praise especially excited his + indignation, and he endeavours to make her responsible for his + rudeness on the strength of it. + </p> + <p> + "Mrs. Thrale gave high praise to Mr. Dudley Long (now North). + <i>Johnson</i>. 'Nay, my dear lady, don't talk so. Mr. Long's + character is very <i>short</i>. It is nothing. He fills a chair. + He is a man of genteel appearance, and that is all. I know nobody + who blasts by praise as you do: for whenever there is exaggerated + praise, every body is set against a character. They are provoked + to attack it. Now there is Pepys; you praised that man with such + disproportion, that I was incited to lessen him, perhaps more + than he deserves. <i>His blood is upon your head</i>. By the same + principle, your malice defeats itself; for your censure is too + violent. And yet (looking to her with a leering smile) she is the + first woman in the world, could she but restrain that wicked + tongue of hers;—she would be the only woman, could she but + command that little whirligig.'" + </p> + <p> + Opposite the words I have printed in italics she has written: "An + expression he would not have used; no, not for worlds." + </p> + <p> + In Boswell's note of a visit to Streatham in 1778, we + find:— + </p> + <p> + "Next morning, while we were at breakfast, Johnson gave a very + earnest recommendation of what he himself <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg276" id="pg276">276</a></span> practised + with the utmost conscientiousness: I mean a strict attention to + truth even in the most minute particulars. 'Accustom your + children,' said he, 'constantly to this: if a thing happened at + one window, and they, when relating it, say that it happened at + another, do not let it pass, but instantly check them: you do not + know where deviation from truth will end.' <i>Boswell</i>. 'It + may come to the door: and when once an account is at all varied + in one circumstance, it may by degrees be varied so as to be + totally different from what really happened.' Our lively hostess, + whose fancy was impatient of the rein, fidgeted at this, and + ventured to say 'Nay, this is too much. If Dr. Johnson should + forbid me to drink tea, I would comply, as I should feel the + restraint only twice a day: but little variations in narrative + must happen a thousand times a day, if one is not perpetually + watching.' <i>Johnson</i>. 'Well, Madam, and you <i>ought</i> to + be perpetually watching. It is more from carelessness about + truth, than from intentional lying, that there is so much + falsehood in the world.'" + </p> + <p> + Now for the illustrative incident, which occurred during the same + visit:— + </p> + <p> + "I had before dinner repeated a ridiculous story told me by an + old man, who had been a passenger with me in the stage-coach + to-day. Mrs. Thrale, having taken occasion to allude to it in + talking to me, called it, 'The story told you by the old + <i>woman</i>.' 'Now, Madam,' said I, 'give me leave to catch you + in the fact: it was not an old <i>woman</i>, but an old + <i>man</i>, whom I mentioned <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg277" id="pg277">277</a></span> as having told me this.' I + presumed to take an opportunity, in the presence of Johnson, of + showing this lively lady how ready she was, unintentionally, to + deviate from exact authenticity of narration." + </p> + <p> + In the margin: "Mrs. Thrale knew there was no such thing as an + Old Man: when a man gets superannuated, they call him an Old + Woman." + </p> + <p> + The remarks on the value of truth attributed to Johnson are just + and sound in the main, but when they are pointed against + character, they must be weighed in reference to the very high + standard he habitually insisted upon. He would not allow his + servant to say he was not at home when he was. "A servant's + strict regard for truth," he continued, "must be weakened by such + a practice. A philosopher may know that it is merely a form of + denial; but few servants are such nice distinguishers. If I + accustom a servant to tell a lie for me, have I not reason to + apprehend that he will tell many lies for himself?" + </p> + <p> + One of his townspeople, Mr. Wickens, of Lichfield, was walking + with him in a small meandering shrubbery formed so as to hide the + termination, and observed that it might be taken for an extensive + labyrinth, but that it would prove a deception, though it was, + indeed, not an unpardonable one. "Sir," exclaimed Johnson, "don't + tell me of deception; a lie, Sir, is a lie, whether it be a lie + to the eye or a lie to the ear." Whilst he was in one of these + paradoxical humours, there was no pleasing him; and he has been + known to insult persons of respectability for repeating current + accounts of events, <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg278" id= + "pg278">278</a></span> sounding new and strange, which turned out + to be literally true; such as the red-hot shot at Gibraltar, or + the effects of the earthquake at Lisbon. Yet he could be lax when + it suited him, as speaking of epitaphs: "The writer of an epitaph + should not be considered as saying nothing but what is strictly + true. Allowance must be made for some degree of exaggerated + praise. In lapidary inscriptions a man is not upon oath." Is he + upon oath in narrating an anecdote? or could he do more than + swear to the best of his recollection and belief, if he was. + Boswell's notes of conversations are wonderful results of a + peculiar faculty, or combination of faculties, but the utmost + they can be supposed to convey is the substance of what took + place, in an exceedingly condensed shape, lighted up at intervals + by the <i>ipsissima verba</i>, of the speaker. + </p> + <p> + "Whilst he went on talking triumphantly," says Boswell, "I was + fixed in admiration, and said to Mrs. Thrale, 'O for short-hand + to take this down!' 'You'll carry it all in your head,' said she; + 'a long head is as good as short-hand.'" On his boasting of the + efficiency of his own system of short-hand to Johnson, he was put + to the test and failed. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Piozzi at once admits and accounts for the inferiority of + her own collection of anecdotes, when she denounces "a trick + which I have seen played on common occasions, of sitting steadily + down at the other end of the room, to write at the moment what + should be said in company, either <i>by</i> Dr. Johnson or + <i>to</i> him, I never practised myself, nor approved of in + another. There <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg279" id= + "pg279">279</a></span> is something so ill-bred, and so inclining + to treachery in this conduct, that were it commonly adopted, all + confidence would soon be exiled from society, and a conversation + assembly room would become tremendous as a court of justice." + This is a hit at Boswell, who (as regards Johnson himself) had + full licence to take notes the best way he could. Madame + D'Arblay's are much fuller, and bear a suspicious resemblance to + the dialogues in her novels. + </p> + <p class="break"> + In a reply to Boswell, dated December 14th, 1793, Miss Seward + pointedly remarks: + </p> + <p> + "Dr. Johnson's frequently-expressed contempt for Mrs. Thrale on + account of that want of veracity which he imputes to her, at + least as Mr. Boswell has recorded, either convicts him of + narrating what Johnson never said, or Johnson himself of that + insincerity of which there are too many instances, amidst all the + recorded proofs of his unprovoked personal rudeness, to those + with whom he conversed; for, this repeated contempt was coeval + with his published letters, which express such high and perfect + esteem for that lady, which declare that 'to hear her, was to + hear Wisdom, that to see her, was to see Virtue.'" + </p> + <p> + Lord Macaulay and his advocate in the "Edinburgh Review," who + speak of Mrs. Piozzi's "white lies," have not convicted her of + one; and Mr. Croker bears strong testimony to her accuracy. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Piozzi prefaces some instances of Johnson's rudeness and + harshness by the remark, that "he did not hate the persons he + treated with roughness, or <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg280" + id="pg280">280</a></span> despise them whom he drove from him by + apparent scorn. He really loved and respected many whom he would + not suffer to love him." Boswell echoes the remark, multiplies + the instances, and then accuses her of misrepresenting their + friend. After mentioning a discourteous reply to Robertson the + historian, which was subsequently confirmed by Boswell, she + proceeds to show that Johnson was no gentler to herself or those + for whom he had the greatest regard. "When I one day lamented the + loss of a first cousin, killed in America, 'Prithee, my dear + (said he), have done with canting: how would the world be worse + for it, I may ask, if all your relations were at once spitted + like larks and roasted for Presto's supper?'—Presto was the + dog that lay under the table." To this Boswell opposes the + version given by Baretti: + </p> + <p> + "Mrs. Thrale, while supping very heartily upon larks, laid down + her knife and fork, and abruptly exclaimed, 'O, my dear Johnson! + do you know what has happened? The last letters from abroad have + brought us an account that our poor cousin's head was taken off + by a cannon-ball.' Johnson, who was shocked both at the fact and + her light unfeeling manner of mentioning it, replied, 'Madam, it + would give <i>you</i> very little concern if all your relations + were spitted like those larks, and dressed for Presto's supper." + </p> + <p> + This version, assuming its truth, aggravates the personal + rudeness of the speech. But her marginal notes on the passage + are: "Boswell appealing to Baretti for a testimony of the truth + is comical enough! I never addressed <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg281" id="pg281">281</a></span> him (Johnson) + so familiarly in my life. I never did eat any supper, and there + were no larks to eat." + </p> + <p> + "Upon mentioning this story to my friend Mr. Wilkes," adds + Boswell, "he pleasantly matched it with the following sentimental + anecdote. He was invited by a young man of fashion at Paris to + sup with him and a lady who had been for some time his mistress, + but with whom he was going to part. He said to Mr. Wilkes that he + really felt very much for her, she was in such distress, and that + he meant to make her a present of 200 louis d'ors. Mr. Wilkes + observed the behaviour of Mademoiselle, who sighed indeed very + piteously, and assumed every pathetic air of grief, but ate no + less than three French pigeons, which are as large as English + partridges, besides other things. Mr. Wilkes whispered the + gentleman, 'We often say in England, "Excessive sorrow is + exceeding dry," but I never heard "Excessive sorrow is exceeding + hungry." Perhaps one hundred will do. The gentleman took the + hint." Mrs. Piozzi's marginal ebullition is: "Very like my hearty + supper of larks, who never eat supper at all, nor was ever a hot + dish seen on the table after dinner at Streatham Park." + </p> + <p> + Two instances of inaccuracy, announced as particularly worthy of + notice, are supplied by "an eminent critic," understood to be + Malone, who begins by stating, "I have often been in his + (Johnson's) company, and never <i>once</i> heard him say a severe + thing to any one; and many others can attest the same." Malone + had lived very little with Johnson, and to appreciate his + evidence, we should know what he <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg282" id="pg282">282</a></span> and Boswell would agree to call + a severe thing. Once, on Johnson's observing that they had "good + talk" on the "preceding evening," "Yes, Sir," replied Boswell, + "you tossed and gored several persons." Do tossing and goring + come within the definition of severity? In another place he says, + "I have seen even Mrs. Thrale stunned;" and Miss Reynolds relates + that "One day at her own table he spoke so very roughly to her, + that every one present was surprised that she could bear it so + placidly; and on the ladies withdrawing, I expressed great + astonishment that Dr. Johnson should speak so harshly to her, but + to this she said no more than 'Oh, dear, good man.'" + </p> + <p> + One of the two instances of Mrs. Piozzi's inaccuracy is as + follows:—"He once bade a very celebrated lady (Hannah More) + who praised him with too much zeal perhaps, or perhaps too strong + an emphasis (which always offended him) consider what her + flattery was worth before she choaked <i>him</i> with it." + </p> + <p class="break"> + Now, exclaims Mr. Malone, let the genuine anecdote be contrasted + with this: + </p> + <p> + "The person thus represented as being harshly treated, though a + very celebrated lady, was <i>then</i> just come to London from an + obscure situation in the country. At Sir Joshua Reynolds's one + evening, she met Dr. Johnson. She very soon began to pay her + court to him in the most fulsome strain. 'Spare me, I beseech + you, dear Madam,' was his reply. She still <i>laid it on</i>. + 'Pray, Madam, let us have no more of this,' he rejoined. Not + paying any attention to these warnings, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg283" id="pg283">283</a></span> she continued + still her eulogy. At length, provoked by this indelicate and + <i>vain</i> obtrusion of compliments, he exclaimed, 'Dearest + lady, consider with yourself what your flattery is worth, before + you bestow it so freely.' + </p> + <p> + "How different does this story appear, when accompanied with all + those circumstances which really belong to it, but which Mrs. + Thrale either did not know, or has suppressed!" + </p> + <p> + How do we know that these circumstances really belong to it? what + essential difference do they make? and how do they prove Mrs. + Thrale's inaccuracy, who expressly states the nature of the + probable, though certainly most inadequate, provocation. + </p> + <p> + The other instance is a story which she tells on Mr. Thrale's + authority, of an argument between Johnson and a gentleman, which + the master of the house, a nobleman, tried to cut short by saying + loud enough for the doctor to hear, "Our friend has no meaning in + all this, except just to relate at the Club to-morrow how he + teased Johnson at dinner to-day; this is all to do himself + honour." "No, upon my word," replied the other, "I see no honour + in it, whatever you may do." "Well, Sir," returned Mr. Johnson + sternly, "if you do not see the honour, I am sure I feel the + disgrace." Malone, on the authority of a nameless friend, asserts + that it was not at the house of a nobleman, that the gentleman's + remark was uttered in a low tone, and that Johnson made no retort + at all. As Mrs. Piozzi could hardly have invented the story, the + sole question is, whether Mr. Thrale or Malone's friend was + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg284" id="pg284">284</a></span> + right. She has written in the margin: "It was the house of Thomas + Fitzmaurice, son to Lord Shelburne, and Pottinger the + hero."<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <p> + "Mrs. Piozzi," says Boswell, "has given a similar + misrepresentation of Johnson's treatment of Garrick in this + particular (as to the Club), as if he had used these contemptuous + expressions: 'If Garrick does apply, I'll blackball him. Surely + one ought to sit in a society like ours— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'Unelbow'd by a gamester, pimp, or player.'" + </p> + </div> + <p> + The lady retorts, "He did say so, and Mr. Thrale stood + astonished." Johnson was constantly depreciating the profession + of the stage.<span class="fnref">[2]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] "Being in company with Count Z——, at Lord + ——'s table, the Count thinking the Doctor too + dogmatical, observed, he did not at all think himself honoured + by the conversation.' And what is to become of me, my lord, who + feel myself actually disgraced?"—<i>Johnsoniana</i>, p. + 143, first edition. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [2] "<i>Boswell</i>. There, Sir, you are always heretical, you + never will allow merit to a player. <i>Johnson</i>. Merit, Sir, + what merit? Do you respect a rope-dancer or a + ballad-singer?"—<i>Boswell's Life of Johnson</i>, p. 556. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Whilst finding fault with Mrs. Piozzi for inaccuracy in another + place, Boswell supplies an additional example of Johnson's + habitual disregard of the ordinary rules of good breeding in + society:— + </p> + <p> + "A learned gentleman [Dr. Vansittart], who, in the course of + conversation, wished to inform us of this simple fact, that the + council upon the circuit of Shrewsbury were much bitten by fleas, + took, I suppose, seven or eight minutes in relating it + circumstantially. He in a <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg285" + id="pg285">285</a></span> plenitude of phrase told us, that large + bales of woollen cloth were lodged in the town-hall; that by + reason of this, fleas nestled there in prodigious numbers; that + the lodgings of the council were near the town-hall; and that + those little animals moved from place to place with wonderful + agility. Johnson sat in great impatience till the gentleman had + finished his tedious narrative, and then burst out (playfully + however), 'It is a pity, Sir, that you have not seen a lion; for + a flea has taken you such a time, that a lion must have served + you a twelve-month.'" + </p> + <p> + He complains in a note that Mrs. Piozzi, to whom he told the + anecdote, has related it "as if the gentleman had given the + natural history of the mouse." But, in a letter to Johnson she + tells <i>him</i> "I have seen the man that saw the mouse," and he + replies "Poor V——, he is a good man, &c.;" so + that her version of the story is the best authenticated. Opposite + Boswell's aggressive paragraph she has written: "I saw old + Mitchell of Brighthelmstone affront him (Johnson) terribly once + about fleas. Johnson, being tired of the subject, expressed his + impatience of it with coarseness. 'Why, Sir,' said the old man, + 'why should not Flea bite o'me be treated as Phlebotomy? It + empties the capillary vessels.'" + </p> + <p> + Boswell's Life of Johnson was not published till 1791; but the + controversy kindled by the Tour to the Hebrides and the + Anecdotes, raged fiercely enough to fix general attention and + afford ample scope for ridicule: "The Bozzi &c. subjects," + writes Hannah More <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg286" id= + "pg286">286</a></span> in April 1786, "are not exhausted, though + everybody seems heartily sick of them. Everybody, however, + conspires not to let them drop. <i>That</i>, the Cagliostro, and + the Cardinal's necklace, spoil all conversation, and destroyed a + very good evening at Mr. Pepys' last night." In one of Walpole's + letters about the same time we find: + </p> + <p> + "All conversation turns on a trio of culprits—Hastings, + Fitzgerald, and the Cardinal de Rohan.... So much for tragedy. + Our comic performers are Boswell and Dame Piozzi. The cock + biographer has fixed a direct lie on the hen, by an advertisement + in which he affirms that he communicated his manuscript to Madame + Thrale, and that she made no objection to what he says of her low + opinion of Mrs. Montagu's book. It is very possible that it might + not be her real opinion, but was uttered in compliment to + Johnson, or for fear he should spit in her face if she disagreed + with him; but how will she get over her not objecting to the + passage remaining? She must have known, by knowing Boswell, and + by having a similar intention herself, that his 'Anecdotes' would + certainly be published: in short, the ridiculous woman will be + strangely disappointed. As she must have heard that <i>the whole + first impression of her book was sold the first day</i>, no doubt + she expected on her landing, to be received like the governor of + Gibraltar, and to find the road strewed with branches of palm. + She, and Boswell, and their Hero, are the joke of the public. A + Dr. Walcot, <i>soi-disant</i> Peter Pindar, has published a + burlesque eclogue, in which Boswell and the Signora are the + interlocutors, and all <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg287" id= + "pg287">287</a></span> the absurdest passages in the works of + both are ridiculed. The print-shops teem with satiric prints in + them: one in which Boswell, as a monkey, is riding on Johnson, + the bear, has this witty inscription, 'My Friend + <i>delineavit</i>.' But enough of these mountebanks." + </p> + <p> + What Walpole calls the absurdest passages are precisely those + which possess most interest for posterity; namely, the minute + personal details, which bring Johnson home to the mind's eye. + Peter Pindar, however, was simply labouring in his vocation when + he made the best of them, as in the following lines. His satire + is in the form of a Town Eclogue, in which Bozzy and Madame + Piozzi contend in anecdotes, with Hawkins for umpire: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <h4> + BOZZY. + </h4> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "One Thursday morn did Doctor Johnson wake, + </p> + <p> + And call out 'Lanky, Lanky,' by mistake— + </p> + <p> + But recollecting—'Bozzy, Bozzy,' cry'd— + </p> + <p> + For in <i>contractions</i> Johnson took a pride!" + </p> + </div> + <h4> + MADAME PIOZZI. + </h4> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "I ask'd him if he knock'd Tom Osborn down; + </p> + <p> + As such a tale was current through the town,— + </p> + <p> + Says I, 'Do tell me, Doctor, what befell.'— + </p> + <p> + 'Why, dearest lady, there is nought to <i>tell</i>; + </p> + <p> + 'I ponder'd on the <i>proper'st</i> mode to <i>treat</i> + him— + </p> + <p> + 'The dog was impudent, and so I beat him! + </p> + <p> + 'Tom, like a fool, proclaim'd his fancied wrongs; + </p> + <p> + '<i>Others</i>, that I belabour'd, held their tongues.'" + </p> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "Did any one, that he was <i>happy</i>, cry— + </p> + <p> + Johnson would tell him plumply, 'twas a lie. + </p> + <p> + A Lady told him she was really so; + </p> + <p> + On which he sternly answer'd, 'Madam, no! <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg288" id="pg288">288</a></span> + </p> + <p> + 'Sickly you are, and ugly—foolish, poor; + </p> + <p> + 'And therefore can't he happy, I am sure. + </p> + <p> + ''Twould make a fellow hang himself, whose ear + </p> + <p> + 'Were, from such creatures, forc'd such stuff to hear.'" + </p> + </div> + <h4> + BOZZY. + </h4> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "Lo, when we landed on the Isle of Mull, + </p> + <p> + The megrims got into the Doctor's skull: + </p> + <p> + With such bad humours he began to fill, + </p> + <p> + I thought he would not go to Icolmkill: + </p> + <p> + But lo! those megrims (wonderful to utter!) + </p> + <p> + Were banish'd all by tea and bread and butter!" + </p> + </div> + </div> + <p> + At last they get angry, and tell each other a few home + truths:— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <h4> + BOZZY. + </h4> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "How could your folly tell, so void of truth, + </p> + <p> + That miserable story of the youth, + </p> + <p> + Who, in your book, of Doctor Johnson begs + </p> + <p> + Most seriously to know if cats laid eggs!" + </p> + </div> + <h4> + MADAME PIOZZI. + </h4> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "<i>Who</i> told of Mistress Montagu the lie— + </p> + <p> + So palpable a falsehood?—Bozzy, fie!" + </p> + </div> + <h4> + BOZZY. + </h4> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "<i>Who</i>, madd'ning with an anecdotic itch, + </p> + <p> + Declar'd that Johnson call'd his mother <i>b-tch?</i>" + </p> + </div> + <h4> + MADAME PIOZZI. + </h4> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "<i>Who</i>, from M'Donald's rage to save his snout, + </p> + <p> + Cut twenty lines of defamation out?" + </p> + </div> + <h4> + BOZZY. + </h4> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "<i>Who</i> would have said a word about Sam's wig, + </p> + <p> + Or told the story of the peas and pig? + </p> + <p> + Who would have told a tale so very flat, + </p> + <p> + Of Frank the Black, and Hodge the mangy cat?" + </p> + </div> + <h4> + MADAME PIOZZI. + </h4> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "Good me! you're grown at once confounded <i>tender</i>; + </p> + <p> + Of Doctor Johnson's fame a <i>fierce</i> defender: + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg289" id= + "pg289">289</a></span> + </p> + <p> + I'm sure you've mention'd many a pretty story + </p> + <p> + Not much redounding to the Doctor's glory. + </p> + <p> + <i>Now</i> for a <i>saint</i> upon us you would palm + him— + </p> + <p> + First <i>murder</i> the poor man, and then <i>embalm + him!</i>" + </p> + </div> + <h4> + BOZZY. + </h4> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "Well, Ma'am! since all that Johnson said or wrote, + </p> + <p> + You hold so sacred, how have you forgot + </p> + <p> + To grant the wonder-hunting world a reading + </p> + <p> + Of Sam's Epistle, just before your <i>wedding</i>: + </p> + <p> + Beginning thus, (in strains not form'd to flatter) 'Madam, + </p> + <p> + '<i>If that most ignominious matter</i> + </p> + <p> + '<i>Be not concluded</i>'—<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p>Farther shall I say? + <p> + No—we shall have it from <i>yourself</i> some day, + </p> + <p> + To justify your passion for the <i>Youth</i>, + </p> + <p> + With all the charms of eloquence and truth." + </p> + </div> + <h4> + MADAME PIOZZI. + </h4> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "What was my marriage, Sir, to <i>you</i> or <i>him?</i> + </p> + <p> + <i>He</i> tell me what to do!—a pretty whim! + </p> + <p> + <i>He</i>, to <i>propriety</i>, (the beast) <i>resort!</i> + </p> + <p> + As well might <i>elephants preside</i> at <i>court</i>. + </p> + <p> + Lord! let the world to <i>damn</i> my match <i>agree;</i> + </p> + <p> + Good God! James Boswell, what's <i>that world</i> to + <i>me?</i> + </p> + <p> + The folks who paid respects to Mistress Thrale, + </p> + <p> + Fed on her pork, poor souls! and swill'd her ale, + </p> + <p> + May <i>sicken</i> at Piozzi, nine in ten— + </p> + <p> + Turn up the nose of scorn—good God! what then? + </p> + <p> + For <i>me</i>, the Dev'l may fetch their souls so + <i>great</i>; + </p> + <p> + <i>They</i> keep their homes, and <i>I</i>, thank God, my + meat. + </p> + <p> + When they, poor owls! shall beat their cage, a jail, + </p> + <p> + I, unconfin'd, shall spread my peacock tail; + </p> + <p> + Free as the birds of air, enjoy my ease, + </p> + <p> + Choose my own food, and see what climes I please. + </p> + <p> + <i>I</i> suffer only—if I'm in the wrong: + </p> + <p> + So, now, you prating puppy, hold your tongue." + </p> + </div> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] This evidently referred to the "adumbration" of Johnson's + letter (No. 4), <i>antè</i>, p. 239. <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg290" id="pg290">290</a></span> + </p> + </div> + <p> + Walpole's opinion of the book itself had been expressed in a + preceding letter, dated March 28th, 1786: + </p> + <p> + "Two days ago appeared Madame Piozzi's Anecdotes of Dr. Johnson. + I am lamentably disappointed—in her, I mean: not in him. I + had conceived a favourable opinion of her capacity. But this new + book is wretched; a high-varnished preface to a heap of rubbish + in a very vulgar style, and too void of method even for such a + farrago. . . The Signora talks of her doctor's <i>expanded</i> + mind and has contributed her mite to show that never mind was + narrower. In fact, the poor woman is to be pitied: he was mad, + and his disciples did not find it out<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span>, but have unveiled all his defects; nay, have + exhibited all his brutalities as wit, and his worst conundrums as + humour. Judge! The Piozzi relates that a young man asking him + where Palmyra was, he replied: 'In Ireland: it was a bog planted + with palm trees.'" + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] See <i>antè</i>, p. 202 and 270. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Walpole's statement, that the whole first impression was sold the + first day, is confirmed by one of her letters, and may be placed + alongside of a statement of Johnson's reported in the book. + Clarissa being mentioned as a perfect character, "on the contrary + (said he) you may observe that there is always something which + she prefers to truth. Fielding's Amelia was the most pleasing + heroine of all the romances; but that vile broken nose never + cured, ruined the sale of perhaps the only book, which, being + printed off betimes one morning, a new edition was called for + before night." <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg291" id= + "pg291">291</a></span> + </p> + <p> + When the king sent for a copy of the "Anecdotes" on the evening + of the publication, there was none to be had. + </p> + <p class="break"> + In April, 1786, Hannah More writes: + </p> + <p> + "Mrs. Piozzi's book is much in fashion. It is indeed + entertaining, but there are two or three passages exceedingly + unkind to Garrick which filled me with indignation. If Johnson + had been envious enough to utter them, she might have been + prudent enough to suppress them." + </p> + <p class="break"> + In a preceding letter she had said: + </p> + <p> + "Boswell tells me he is printing anecdotes of Dr. Johnson, not + his <i>life</i>, but, as he has the vanity to call it, his + <i>pyramid</i>, I besought his tenderness for our virtuous and + most revered departed friend, and begged he would mitigate some + of his asperities. He said roughly, he would not cut off his + claws, nor make a tiger a cat to please anybody." The retort will + serve for both Mrs. Piozzi and himself. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Piozzi writes from Venice, May 20th, 1786: "Cadell says he + never yet published a work the sale of which was so rapid, and + that rapidity of so long continuance. I suppose the fifth edition + will meet me at my return." + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "Milan, July 6th, 1786. + </p> + <p> + "If Cadell would send me some copies, I should be very much + obliged to him. <i>'Tis like living without a looking-glass never + to see one's own book so</i>." + </p> + <p> + The copy of the "Anecdotes" in my possession has two inscriptions + on the blank leaves before the title-page. The one is in Mrs. + Piozzi's handwriting: "This <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg292" + id="pg292">292</a></span> little dirty book is kindly accepted by + Sir James Fellowes from his obliged friend, H.L. Piozzi, 14th + February, 1816;" the other: "This copy of the 'Anecdotes' was + found at Bath, covered with dirt, the book having been long out + of print<span class="fnref">[1]</span>, and after being bound was + presented to me by my excellent friend, H.L.P. (signed) J.F." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] The "Anecdotes" were reprinted by Messrs. Longman in 1856, + and form part of their "Traveller's Library." + </p> + </div> + <p> + It is enriched by marginal notes in her handwriting, which enable + us to fill up a few puzzling blanks, besides supplying some + information respecting men and books, which will be prized by all + lovers of literature. + </p> + <p> + One of the anecdotes runs thus: "I asked him once concerning the + conversation powers of a gentleman with whom I was myself + unacquainted. 'He talked to me at the Club one day (replies our + Doctor) concerning Catiline's conspiracy; so I withdrew my + attention, and thought about Tom Thumb.'" + </p> + <p> + In the margin is written "Charles James Fox." Mr. Croker came to + the conclusion that the gentleman was Mr. Vesey. Boswell says + that Fox never talked with any freedom in the presence of + Johnson, who accounted for his reserve by suggesting that a man + who is used to the applause of the House of Commons, has no wish + for that of a private company. But the real cause was his + sensitiveness to rudeness, his own temper being singularly sweet. + By an odd coincidence he occupied the presidential chair at the + Club on the evening when Johnson emphatically declared patriotism + the last refuge of a scoundrel. <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg293" id="pg293">293</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Again: "On an occasion of less consequence, when he turned his + back on Lord Bolingbroke in the rooms of Brighthelmstone, he made + this excuse: 'I am not obliged, Sir,' said he to Mr. Thrale, who + stood fretting, 'to find reasons for respecting the rank of him + who will not condescend to declare it by his dress or some other + visible mark: what are stars and other signs of superiority made + for?' The next evening, however, he made us comical amends, by + sitting by the same nobleman, and haranguing very loudly about + the nature, and use, and abuse, of divorces. Many people gathered + round them to hear what was said, and when my husband called him + away, and told him to whom he had been talking, received an + answer which I will not write down." + </p> + <p> + The marginal note is: "He said: 'Why, Sir, I did not know the + man. If he will put on no other mark of distinction, let us make + him wear his horns.'" Lord Bolingbroke had divorced his wife, + afterwards Lady Diana Beauclerc, for infidelity. + </p> + <p> + A marginal note naming the lady of quality (Lady Catherine Wynne) + mentioned in the following anecdote, verifies Mr. Croker's + conjectural statement concerning her: + </p> + <p> + "For a lady of quality, since dead, who received us at her + husband's seat in Wales, with less attention than he had long + been accustomed to, he had a rougher denunciation: 'That woman,' + cries Johnson, 'is like sour small beer, the beverage of her + table, and produce of the wretched country she lives in: like + that, she could <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg294" id= + "pg294">294</a></span> never have been a good thing, and even + that bad thing is spoiled.' It was in the same vein of asperity, + and I believe with something like the same provocation, that he + observed of a Scotch lady, 'that she resembled a dead nettle; + were she alive,' said he, 'she would sting.'" + </p> + <p> + From similar notes we learn that the "somebody" who declared + Johnson "a tremendous converser" was George Grarrick; and that it + was Dr. Delap, of Sussex, to whom, when lamenting the tender + state of his <i>inside</i>, he cried out: "Dear Doctor, do not be + like the spider, man, and spin conversation thus incessantly out + of thy own bowels." + </p> + <p> + On the margin of the page in which Hawkins Browne is commended as + the most delightful of conversers, she has written: "Who wrote + the 'Imitation of all the Poets' in his own ludicrous verses, + praising the pipe of tobacco. Of Hawkins Browne, the pretty Mrs. + Cholmondeley said she was soon tired; because the first hour he + was so dull, there was no bearing him; the second he was so + witty, there was no bearing him; the third he was so drunk, there + was no bearing him." <span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Query, whether this is the gentleman immortalised by Peter + Plymley: "In the third year of his present Majesty (George + III.) and in the thirtieth of his own age, Mr. Isaac Hawkins + Brown, then upon his travels, danced one evening at the court + of Naples. His dress was a volcano silk, with lava buttons. + Whether (as the Neapolitan wits said) he had studied dancing + under Saint Vitus, or whether David, dancing in a linen vest, + was his model, is not known; but Mr. Brown danced with such + inconceivable alacrity and vigour, that he threw the Queen of + Naples into convulsions of laughter, which terminated in a + miscarriage, and changed the dynasty of the Neapolitan throne." + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg295" id="pg295">295</a></span> + </p> + </div> + <p> + In the "Anecdotes" she relates that one day in Wales she meant to + please Johnson with a dish of young peas. "Are they not + charming?" said I, while he was eating them. "Perhaps," said he, + "they would be so—to a pig;" meaning (according to the + marginal note), because they were too little boiled. Pennant, the + historian, used to tell this as having happened at Mrs. Cotton's, + who, according to him, called out, "Then do help yourself, Mr. + Johnson." But the well-known high breeding of the lady justifies + a belief that this is one of the many repartees which, if + conceived, were never uttered at the time.<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] I have heard on good authority that Pennant afterwards + owned it as his own invention. + </p> + </div> + <p> + When a Lincolnshire lady, shewing Johnson a grotto, asked him: + "Would it not be a pretty cool habitation in summer?" he replied: + "I think it would, Madam, <i>for a toad</i>." Talking of Gray's + Odes, he said, "They are forced plants, raised in a hotbed; and + they are poor plants: they are but cucumbers after all." A + gentleman present, who had been running down ode-writing in + general, as a bad species of poetry, unluckily said, "Had they + been literally cucumbers, they had been better things than odes." + "Yes, Sir," said Johnson, "<i>for a hog</i>." + </p> + <p> + To return to the Anecdotes: + </p> + <p> + "Of the various states and conditions of humanity, he despised + none more, I think, than the man who marries for maintenance: and + of a friend who made his alliance on no higher principles, he + said once, 'Now <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg296" id= + "pg296">296</a></span> has that fellow,' it was a nobleman of + whom we were speaking, 'at length obtained a certainty of three + meals a day, and for that certainty, like his brother dog in the + fable, he will get his neck galled for life with a collar.'" The + nobleman was Lord Sandys. + </p> + <p> + "He recommended, on something like the same principle, that when + one person meant to serve another, he should not go about it + slily, or, as we say, underhand, out of a false idea of delicacy, + to surprise one's friend with an unexpected favour; 'which, ten + to one,' says he, 'fails to oblige your acquaintance, who had + some reasons against such a mode of obligation, which you might + have known but for that superfluous cunning which you think an + elegance. Oh! never be seduced by such silly pretences,' + continued he; 'if a wench wants a good gown, do not give her a + fine smelling-bottle, because that is more delicate: as I once + knew a lady lend the key of her library to a poor scribbling + dependant, as if she took the woman for an ostrich that could + digest iron.'" This lady was Mrs. Montagu. + </p> + <p> + "I mentioned two friends who were particularly fond of looking at + themselves in a glass—'They do not surprise me at all by so + doing,' said Johnson: 'they see reflected in that glass, men who + have risen from almost the lowest situations in life; one to + enormous riches, the other to everything this world can + give—rank, fame, and fortune. They see, likewise, men who + have merited their advancement by the exertion and improvement of + those talents which God had given them; and I see not why they + should avoid the mirror.'" The one, she <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg297" id="pg297">297</a></span> writes, was + Mr. Cator, the other, Wedderburne. Another great lawyer and very + ugly man, Dunning, Lord Ashburton, was remarkable for the same + peculiarity, and had his walls covered with looking-glasses. His + personal vanity was excessive; and his boast that a celebrated + courtesan had died with one of his letters in her hand, provoked + one of Wilkes's happiest repartees. + </p> + <p> + Opposite a passage descriptive of Johnson's conversation she has + written: "We used to say to one another familiarly at Streatham + Park, 'Come, let us go into the library, and make Johnson speak + Ramblers.'" + </p> + <p> + Dr. Lort writes to Bishop Percy: + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "December 16th, 1786. + </p> + <p> + "I had a letter lately from Mrs. Piozzi, dated Vienna, November + 4, in which she says that, after visiting Prague and Dresden, she + shall return home by Brussels, whither I have written to her; and + I imagine she will be in London early in the new year. Miss + Thrale is at her own house at Brighthelmstone, accompanied by a + very respectable companion, an officer's widow, recommended to + her as such.<span class="fnref">[1]</span> There is a new life of + Johnson published by a Dr. Towers, a Dissenting minister and Dr. + Kippis's associate in the Biographia Britannica, for which work I + take it for granted this life is to be hashed up again when the + letter 'J' takes its turn. There is nothing new in it; and the + author gives Johnson and his biographers all fair play, except + when he treats of <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg298" id= + "pg298">298</a></span> his political opinions and pamphlets. I + was glad to hear that Johnson confessed to Dr. Fordyce, a little + before his death, that he had offended both God and man by his + pride of understanding.<span class="fnref">[2]</span> Sir John + Hawkins' Life of him is also finished, and will be published with + the works in February next. From all these I suppose Boswell will + borrow largely to make up his quarto life;—and so our + modern authors proceed, preying on one another, and complaining + sorely of each other." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] The Hon. Mrs. Murray, afterwards Mrs. Aust! + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [2] He used very different language to Langton. + </p> + </div> + <p class="quotdate"> + "March 8th, 1787. + </p> + <p> + "I had a letter lately from Mrs. Piozzi from Brussels, intimating + that she should soon be in England, and I expect every day to + hear of her arrival. I do not believe that she purchased a + marquisate abroad; but it is said, with some probability, that + she will here get the King's license, or an act of Parliament, to + change her name to Salusbury, her maiden name. Sir John Hawkins, + I am told, bears hard upon her in his 'Life of Johnson.'" + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "March 21st, 1787. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. and Mrs. Piozzi are arrived at an hotel in Pall Mall, and + are about to take a house in Hanover Square; they were with me + last Saturday evening, when I asked some of her friends to meet + her; she looks very well, and seems in good spirits; told me she + had been that morning at the bank to get 'Johnson's + Correspondence' amongst other papers, which she means forthwith + to commit to the press. There is a bookseller has printed + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg299" id="pg299">299</a></span> + two supplementary volumes to Hawkins' eleven, consisting almost + wholly of the 'Lilliputian Speeches.' Hawkins has printed a + Review of the 'Sublime and Beautiful' as Johnson's, which Murphy + says was his." + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "March 13th, 1787. + </p> + <p> + "Mrs. Piozzi and her <i>caro sposo</i> seem very happy here at a + good house in Hanover Square, where I am invited to a rout next + week, the first I believe she has attempted, and then will be + seen who of her old acquaintance continue such. She is now + printing Johnson's Letters in 2 vols. octavo, with some of her + own; but if they are not ready before the recess they will not be + published till next winter. Poor Sir John Hawkins, I am told, is + pulled all to pieces in the Review." Sir John was treated + according to his deserts, and did not escape whipping. One of the + severest castigations was inflicted by Porson. + </p> + <p> + Before mentioning her next publication, I will show from + "Thraliana" her state of mind when about to start for England, + and her impressions of things and people on her return: + </p> + <p> + "1786.—It has always been my maxim never to influence the + inclination of another: Mr. Thrale, in consequence, lived with me + seventeen and a half years, during which time I tried but twice + to persuade him to <i>do</i> anything, and but once, and that in + vain, to let anything alone. Even my daughters, as soon as they + could reason, were always allowed, and even encouraged, by me to + reason their own way, and not suffer their <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg300" id="pg300">300</a></span> respect or + affection for me to mislead their judgment. Let us keep the mind + clear if we can from prejudices, or truth will never be found at + all.<span class="fnref">[1]</span> The worst part of this + disinterested scheme is, that other people are not of my mind, + and if I resolve not to use my lawful influence to make my + children love me, the lookers-on will soon use their unlawful + influence to make them hate me: if I scrupulously avoid + persuading my husband to become a Lutheran or be of the English + church, the Romanists will be diligent to teach him all the + narrowness and bitterness of their own unfeeling sect, and soon + persuade him that it is not delicacy but weakness makes me desist + from the combat. Well! let me do right, and leave the + consequences in His hand who alone sees every action's motive and + the true cause of every effect: let me endeavour to please God, + and to have only my own faults and follies, not those of another, + to answer for." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] "Clear your mind of <i>cant</i>."—JOHNSON. + </p> + </div> + <p> + "1787, <i>May</i> 1<i>st</i>.—It was not wrong to come home + after all, but very right. The Italians would have said we were + afraid to face England, and the English would have said we were + confined abroad in prisons or convents or some stuff. I find Mr. + Smith (one of our daughter's guardians) told that poor baby + Cecilia a fine staring tale how my husband locked me up at Milan + and fed me on bread and water, to make the child hate Mr. Piozzi. + Good God! What infamous proceeding was this! My husband never saw + the fellow, so could not have provoked him." <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg301" id="pg301">301</a></span> + </p> + <p> + "<i>May</i> 19<i>th</i>.—We bad a fine assembly last night + indeed: in my best days I never had finer: there were near a + hundred people in the rooms which were besides much admired." + </p> + <p> + "1788, <i>January</i> 1<i>st</i>.—How little I thought this + day four years that I should celebrate this 1st of January, 1788, + here at Bath, surrounded with friends and admirers? The public + partial to <i>me</i>, and almost every individual whose kindness + is worth wishing for, sincerely attached to my husband." + </p> + <p> + "Mrs. Byron is converted by Piozzi's assiduity, she really likes + him now: and sweet Mrs. Lambert told everybody at Bath she was in + love with him." + </p> + <p> + "I have passed a delightful winter in spite of them, caressed by + my friends, adored by my husband, amused with every entertainment + that is going forward: what need I think about three sullen + Misses? ... and yet!"—— + </p> + <p> + "<i>August</i> 1<i>st</i>—Baretti has been grossly abusive + in the 'European Magazine' to me: <i>that</i> hurts me but + little; what shocks me is that those treacherous Burneys should + abet and puff him. He is a most ungrateful because unprincipled + wretch; but I <i>am</i> sorry that anything belonging to Dr. + Burney should be so monstrously wicked." + </p> + <p> + "1789, <i>January</i> 17<i>th</i>.—Mrs. Siddons dined in a + coterie of my unprovoked enemies yesterday at Porteous's. She + mentioned our concerts, and the Erskines lamented their absence + from one we gave two days ago, at which Mrs. Garrick was present + and gave a good report to the <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg302" id="pg302">302</a></span> <i>Blues</i>. Charming Blues! + blue with venom I think; I suppose they begin to be ashamed of + their paltry behaviour. Mrs. Grarrick, more prudent than any of + them, left a loophole for returning friendship to fasten through, + and it <i>shall</i> fasten: that woman has lived a <i>very wise + life</i>, regular and steady in her conduct, attentive to every + word she speaks and every step she treads, decorous in her + manners and graceful in her person. My fancy forms the Queen just + like Mrs. Grarrick: they are countrywomen and have, as the phrase + is, had a hard card to play; yet never lurched by tricksters nor + subdued by superior powers, they will rise from the table unhurt + either by others or themselves ... having played a <i>saving + game. I</i> have run risques to be sure, that I have; yet— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'When after some distinguished leap + </p> + <p> + She drops her pole and seems to slip, + </p> + <p> + Straight gath'ring all her active strength, + </p> + <p> + She rises higher half her length;' + </p> + </div> + <p> + and better than <i>now</i> I have never stood with the world in + general, I believe. May the books just sent to press confirm the + partiality of the Public!" + </p> + <p> + "1789, <i>January</i>.—I have a great deal more prudence + than people suspect me for: they think I act by chance while I am + doing nothing in the world unintentionally, and have never, I + dare say, in these last fifteen years uttered a word to husband, + or child, or servant, or friend, without being very careful what + it should be. Often have I spoken what I have repented after, but + that was want of <i>judgment</i>, not of <i>meaning</i>. What I + said I <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg303" id= + "pg303">303</a></span> meant to say at the time, and thought it + best to say, ... I do not err from haste or a spirit of rattling, + as people think I do: when I err, 'tis because I make a false + conclusion, not because I make no conclusion at all; when I + rattle, I rattle on purpose." + </p> + <p> + "1789, <i>May</i> 1<i>st</i>.—Mrs. Montagu wants to make up + with me again. I dare say she does; but I will not be taken and + left even at the pleasure of those who are much nearer and dearer + to me than Mrs. Montagu. We want no flash, no flattery. I never + had more of either in my life, nor ever lived half so happily: + Mrs. Montagu wrote creeping letters when she wanted my help, or + foolishly <i>thought</i> she did, and then turned her back upon + me and set her adherents to do the same. I despise such conduct, + and Mr. Pepys, Mrs. Ord, &c. now sneak about and look ashamed + of themselves—well they may!" + </p> + <p> + "1790, <i>March</i> 18<i>th</i>.—I met Miss Burney at an + assembly last night—'tis six years since I had seen her: + she appeared most fondly rejoyced, in good time! and Mrs. Locke, + at whose house we stumbled on each other, pretended that she had + such a regard for me, &c. I answered with ease and coldness, + but in exceeding good humour: and we talked of the King and + Queen, his Majesty's illness and recovery ... and all ended, as + it should do, with perfect indifference." + </p> + <p> + "I saw <i>Master Pepys</i><span class="fnref">[1]</span> too and + Mrs. Ord; and only see how foolish and how mortified the people + do but look." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] This is Sir W. Pepys mentioned <i>antè</i>, p. 252. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg304" id="pg304">304</a></span> + </p> + </div> + <p> + "Barclay and Perkins live very genteelly. I dined with them at + our brewhouse one day last week. I felt so oddly in the old house + where I had lived so long." + </p> + <p> + "The Pepyses find out that they have used me very ill.... I hope + they find out too that I do not care, Seward too sues for + reconcilement underhand ... so they do all; and I sincerely + forgive them—but, like the linnet in 'Metastasio'— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'Cauto divien per prova + </p> + <p> + Nè più tradir si fà.' + </p> + </div> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'When lim'd, the poor bird thus with eagerness strains, + </p> + <p> + Nor regrets his torn wing while his freedom he gains: + </p> + <p> + The loss of his plumage small time will restore, + </p> + <p> + And once tried the false twig—it shall cheat him no + more.'" + </p> + </div> + <p> + "1790, <i>July</i> 28<i>th</i>.—We have kept our seventh + wedding day and celebrated our return to <i>this + house</i><span class="fnref">[1]</span> with prodigious splendour + and gaiety. Seventy people to dinner.... Never was a pleasanter + day seen, and at night the trees and front of the house were + illuminated with coloured lamps that called forth our neighbours + from all the adjacent villages to admire and enjoy the diversion. + Many friends swear that not less than a thousand men, women, and + children might have been counted in the house and grounds, where, + though all were admitted, nothing was stolen, lost, or broken, or + even damaged—a circumstance almost incredible; and which + gave Mr. Piozzi a high opinion of English gratitude and + respectful attachment." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Streatham. <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg305" id= + "pg305">305</a></span> + </p> + </div> + <p> + "1790, <i>December 1st</i>.—Dr. Parr and I are in + correspondence, and his letters are very flattering: I am proud + of his notice to be sure, and he seems pleased with my + acknowledgments of esteem: he is a prodigious scholar ... but in + the meantime I have lost Dr. Lort."<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] He died November 5th, 1790. + </p> + </div> + <p> + In the Conway Notes, she thus sums up her life from March 1787 to + 1791: + </p> + <p> + "On first reaching London, we drove to the Royal Hotel in Pall + Mall, and, arriving early, I proposed going to the Play. There + was a small front box, in those days, which held only two; it + made the division, or connexion, with the side boxes, and, being + unoccupied, we sat in it, and saw Mrs. Siddons act Imogen, I well + remember, and Mrs. Jordan, Priscilla Tomboy. Mr. Piozzi was + amused, and the next day was spent in looking at houses, counting + the cards left by old acquaintances, &c. The lady-daughters + came, behaved with cold civility, and asked what I thought of + <i>their</i> decision concerning Cecilia, then at school. No + reply was made, or a gentle one; but she was the first cause of + contention among us. The lawyers gave her into my care, and we + took her home to our new habitation in Hanover Square, which we + opened with music, cards, &c., on, I think, the 22nd March. + Miss Thrales refused their company; so we managed as well as we + could. Our affairs were in good order, and money ready for + spending. The World, as <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg306" id= + "pg306">306</a></span> it is called, appeared good-humoured, and + we were soon followed, respected, and admired. The summer months + sent us about visiting and pleasuring, ... and after another gay + London season, Streatham Park, unoccupied by tenants, called us + as if <i>really home</i>. Mr. Piozzi, with more generosity than + prudence, spent two thousand pounds on repairing and furnishing + it in 1790;—and we had danced all night, I recollect, when + the news came of Louis Seize's escape from, and recapture by, his + rebel subjects.'" + </p> + <p> + The following are some of the names most frequently mentioned in + her Diary as visiting or corresponding with her after her return + from Italy: Lord Fife, Dr. Moore, the Kembles, Dr. Currie, Mrs. + Lewis (widow of the Dean of Ossory), Dr. Lort, Sir Lucas Pepys, + Mr. Selwin, Sammy Lysons (<i>sic</i>), Sir Philip Clerke, Hon. + Mrs. Byron, Mrs. Siddons, Arthur Murphy, Mr. and Mrs. Whalley, + the Greatheads, Mr. Parsons, Miss Seward, Miss Lee, Dr. Barnard + (Bishop of Killaloe, better known as Dean of Derry), Hinchcliffe + (Bishop of Peterborough), Mrs. Lambert, the Staffords, Lord + Huntingdon, Lady Betty Cobb and her daughter Mrs. Gould, Lord + Dudley, Lord Cowper, Lord Pembroke, Marquis Araciel, Count + Marteningo, Count Meltze, Mrs. Drummond Smith, Mr. Chappelow, + Mrs. Hobart, Miss Nicholson, Mrs. Locke, Lord Deerhurst. + </p> + <p> + Resentment for her imputed unkindness to Johnson might have been + expected to last longest at his birthplace. But Miss Seward + writes from Lichfield, October 6th, 1787: <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg307" id="pg307">307</a></span> + </p> + <p> + "Mrs. Piozzi completely answers your description: her + conversation is indeed that bright wine of the intellects which + has no lees.... I shall always feel indebted to him (Mr. Perkins) + for eight or nine hours of Mr. and Mrs. Piozzi's society. They + passed one evening here, and I the next with them at their inn." + </p> + <p> + Again to Miss Helen Williams, Lichfield, December, 25th, 1787: + </p> + <p> + "Yes, it is very true, on the evening he (Colonel Barry) + mentioned to you, when Mrs. Piozzi honoured this roof, his + conversation greatly contributed to its Attic spirit. Till that + day I had never conversed with her. There has been no + exaggeration, there could be none, in the description given you + of Mrs. Piozzi's talents for conversation; at least in the powers + of classic allusion and brilliant wit." + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Piozzi's next publication was "Letters To and From the late + Samuel Johnson, LL.D., &c." In the Preface she speaks of the + "Anecdotes" having been received with a degree of approbation she + hardly dared to hope, and exclaims, "May these Letters in some + measure pay my debt of gratitude! they will not surely be the + <i>first</i>, the <i>only</i> thing written by Johnson, with + which our nation has not been pleased." ... "The good taste by + which our countrymen are distinguished, will lead them to prefer + the native thoughts and unstudied phrases scattered over these + pages to the more laboured elegance of his other works; as bees + have been observed to reject roses, and fix upon the wild + fragrance of a neighbouring heath." <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg308" id="pg308">308</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Whenever Johnson took pen in hand, the chances were, that what he + produced would belong to the composite order; the unstudied + phrases were reserved for his "talk;" and he wished his Letters + to be preserved.<span class="fnref">[1]</span> The main value of + these consists in the additional illustrations they afford of his + conduct in private life, and of his opinions on the management of + domestic affairs. The lack of literary and public interest is + admitted and excused: + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] "Do you keep my letters? I am not of your opinion that I + shall not like to read them hereafter."—<i>Letters</i>, + vol. i. p. 295. + </p> + </div> + <p> + "None but domestic and familiar events can be expected from a + private correspondence; no reflexions but such as they excite can + be found there; yet whoever turns away disgusted by the + insipidity with which this, and I suppose every correspondence + must naturally and almost necessarily begin—will here be + likely to lose some genuine pleasure, and some useful knowledge + of what our heroic Milton was himself contented to respect, as + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'That which before thee lies in daily life.' + </p> + </div> + <p> + "And should I be charged with obtruding trifles on the public, I + might reply, that the meanest animals preserved in amber become + of value to those who form collections of natural history; that + the fish found in Monte Bolca serve as proofs of sacred writ; and + that the cart-wheel stuck in the rock of Tivoli, is now found + useful in computing the rotation of the earth." <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg309" id="pg309">309</a></span> + </p> + <p> + In "Thraliana" she thus refers to the reception of the book: + </p> + <p> + "The Letters are out. They were published on Saturday, 8th of + March. Cadell printed 2,000 copies, and says 1,100 are already + sold. My letter to Jack Rice on his marriage (Vol. i. p. 96), + seems the universal favourite. The book is well spoken of on the + whole; yet Cadell murmurs. I cannot make out why." + </p> + <p> + This entry is not dated; the next is dated March 27th, 1788. + </p> + <p> + "This collection," says Boswell, "as a proof of the high + estimation set on any thing that came from his pen, was sold by + that lady for the sum of 500<i>l</i>." She has written on the + margin: "How spiteful." + </p> + <p> + Boswell states that "Horace Walpole thought Johnson a more + amiable character after reading his Letters to Mrs. Thrale, but + never was one of the true admirers of that great man." Madame + D'Arblay came to an opposite conclusion; in her Diary, January + 9th, 1788, she writes: + </p> + <p> + "To-day Mrs. Schwellenberg did me a real favour, and with real + good nature, for she sent me the letters of my poor lost friends, + Dr. Johnson and Mrs. Thrale, which she knew me to be almost + pining to procure. The book belongs to the Bishop of Carlisle, + who lent it to Mr. Turbulent, from whom it was again lent to the + Queen, and so passed on to Mrs. S. It is still unpublished. With + what a sadness have I been reading! What scenes has it revived! + What regrets renewed! These letters have not been more improperly + published in the whole than they are injudiciously displayed in + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg310" id="pg310">310</a></span> + their several parts. She has given all, every word, and thinks + that perhaps a justice to Dr. Johnson, which, in fact, is the + greatest injury to his memory. + </p> + <p> + "The few she has selected of her own do her, indeed, much credit; + she has discarded all that were trivial and merely local, and + given only such as contain something instructive, amusing, or + ingenious." + </p> + <p> + She admits only four of Johnson's letters to be worthy of his + exalted powers: one upon Death, in considering its approach, as + we are surrounded, or not, by mourners; another upon the sudden + death of Mrs. Thrale's only son. Her chief motive for "almost + pining" for the book, steeped as she was in egotism, may be + guessed: + </p> + <p> + "Our name once occurred; how I started at its sight! 'Tis to + mention the party that planned the first visit to our house." + </p> + <p> + She says she had so many attacks upon "her (Mrs. Piozzi's) + subject," that at last she fairly begged quarter. Yet nothing she + could say could put a stop to, "How can you defend her in this? + how can you justify her in that? &c. &c." "Alas! that I + cannot defend her is precisely the reason I can so ill bear to + speak of her. How differently and how sweetly has the Queen + conducted herself upon this occasion. Eager to see the Letters, + she began reading them with the utmost avidity. A natural + curiosity arose to be informed of several names and several + particulars, which she knew I could satisfy; yet when she + perceived how tender a string she touched, she soon suppressed + her inquiries, or <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg311" id= + "pg311">311</a></span> only made them with so much gentleness + towards the parties mentioned, that I could not be distressed in + my answers; and even in a short time I found her questions made + in so favourable a disposition, that I began secretly to rejoice + in them, as the means by which I reaped opportunity of clearing + several points that had been darkened by calumny, and of + softening others that had been viewed wholly through false + lights. To lessen disapprobation of a person, and so precious to + me in the opinion of another, so respectable both in rank and + virtue, was to me a most soothing task, &c." + </p> + <p> + This is precisely what many will take the liberty to doubt; or + why did she shrink from it, or why did she not afford to others + the explanations which proved so successful with the Queen? + </p> + <p> + The day following (Jan. 10th), her feelings were so worked upon + by the harsh aspersions on her friend, that she was forced, she + tells us, abruptly to quit the room; leaving not her own (like + Sir Peter Teazle) but her friend's character behind her: + </p> + <p> + "I returned when I could, and the subject was over. When all were + gone, Mrs. Schwellenberg said, 'I have told it Mr. Fisher, that + he drove you out from the room, and he says he won't do it no + more.' + </p> + <p> + "She told me next, that in the second volume I also, was + mentioned. Where she may have heard this I cannot gather, but it + has given me a sickness at heart, inexpressible. It is not that I + expect severity; for at the time of that correspondence, at all + times indeed previous to the marriage with Piozzi, if Mrs. Thrale + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg312" id="pg312">312</a></span> + loved not F. B., where shall we find faith in words, or give + credit to actions. But her present resentment, however unjustly + incurred, of my constant disapprobation of her conduct, may + prompt some note, or other mark, to point out her change of + sentiment. But let me try to avoid such painful expectations; at + least not to dwell upon them. O, little does she know how + tenderly at this moment I could run into her arms, so often + opened to receive me with a cordiality I believed inalienable. + And it was sincere then, I am satisfied; pride, resentment of + disapprobation, and consciousness if unjustifiable + proceedings—these have now changed her; but if we met, and + she saw and believed my faithful regard, how would she again feel + all her own return! Well, what a dream I am making!" + </p> + <p> + The ingrained worldliness of the diarist is ill-concealed by the + mask of sensibility. The correspondence that passed between the + ladies during their temporary rupture (<i>antè</i>, p. 230) shews + that there was nothing to prevent her from flying into her + friend's arms, could she have made up her mind to be seen on open + terms of affectionate intimacy with one who was repudiated by the + Court. In a subsequent conversation with which the Queen honoured + her on the subject, she did her best to impress her Majesty with + the belief that Mrs. Piozzi's conduct had rendered it impossible + for her former friends to allude to her without regret, and she + ended by thanking her royal mistress for her forbearance. + </p> + <p> + "Indeed," cried she, with eyes strongly expressive of the + complacency with which she heard me, "I have <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg313" id="pg313">313</a></span> always spoken + as little as possible upon this affair. I remember but twice that + I have named it: once I said to the Bishop of Carlisle that I + thought most of these letters had better have been spared the + printing; and once to Mr. Langton, at the drawing-room I said, + 'Your friend Dr. Johnson, Sir, has had many friends busy to + publish his books, and his memoirs, and his meditations, and his + thoughts; but I think he wanted one friend more.' 'What for, + Ma'am?' cried he. 'A friend to suppress them,' I answered. And, + indeed, this is all I ever said about the business." + </p> + <p> + Hannah More's opinion of the Letters is thus expressed in her + Memoirs: + </p> + <p> + "They are such as ought to have been written but ought not to + have been printed: a few of them are very good: sometimes he is + moral, and sometimes he is kind. The imprudence of editors and + executors is an additional reason why men of parts should be + afraid to die.<span class="fnref">[1]</span> Burke said to me the + other day, in allusion to the innumerable lives, anecdotes, + remains, &c. of this great man, 'How many maggots have + crawled out of that great body!'" + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] In reference to the late Lord Campbell's "Lives of the Lord + Chancellors," it was remarked, that, as regards persons who had + attained the dignity, the threatened continuation of the work + had added a new pang to death. I am assured by the + Ex-Chancellor to whom I attributed this joke, that it was made + by Sir Charles Wetherell at a dinner at Lincoln's-Inn. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Miss Seward writes to Mrs. Knowles, April, 1788: + </p> + <p> + "And now what say you to the last publication of your sister wit, + Mrs. Piozzi? It is well that she has <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg314" id="pg314">314</a></span> had the good + nature to extract almost all the corrosive particles from the old + growler's letters. By means of her benevolent chemistry, these + effusions of that expansive but gloomy spirit taste more oily and + sweet than one could have imagined possible." + </p> + <p> + The letters contained two or three passages relating to Baretti, + which exasperated him to the highest pitch. One was in a letter + from Johnson, dated July 15th, 1775: + </p> + <p> + "The doctor says, that if Mr. Thrale comes so near as Derby + without seeing us, it will be a sorry trick. I wish, for my part, + that he may return soon, and rescue the fair captives from the + tyranny of B——i. Poor B——i! do not + quarrel with him; to neglect him a little will be sufficient. He + means only to be frank, and manly, and independent, and perhaps, + as you say, a little wise. To be frank, he thinks is to be + cynical, and to be independent, is to be rude. Forgive him, + dearest lady, the rather, because of his misbehaviour, I am + afraid he learned part of me. I hope to set him hereafter a + better example." + </p> + <p> + The most galling was in a letter of hers to Dr. Johnson: + </p> + <p> + "How does Dr. Taylor do? He was very kind I remember when my + thunder-storm came first on, so was Count Manucci, so was Mrs. + Montagu, so was everybody. The world is not guilty of much + general harshness, nor inclined I believe to increase pain which + they do not perceive to be deserved.—Baretti alone tried to + irritate a wound so very deeply inflicted, and he will find few + to approve his cruelty. Your friendship <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg315" id="pg315">315</a></span> is our best + cordial; continue it to us, dear Sir, and write very soon." + </p> + <p> + In the margin of the printed copy is written, "Cruel, cruel + Baretti." He had twitted her, whilst mourning over a dead child, + with having killed it by administering a quack medicine instead + of attending to the physician's prescriptions; a charge which he + acknowledged and repeated in print. He published three successive + papers in "The European Magazine" for 1788, assailing her with + the coarsest ribaldry. "I have just read for the first time," + writes Miss Seward in June, 1788, "the base, ungentleman-like, + unmanly abuse of Mrs. Piozzi by that Italian assassin, Baretti. + The whole literary world should unite in publicly reprobating + such venomed and foul-mouthed railing." He died soon afterwards, + May 5th, 1789, and the notice of him in the "Gentleman's + Magazine" begins: "Mrs. Piozzi has reason to rejoice in the death + of Mr. Baretti, for he had a very long memory and malice to + relate all he knew." And a good deal that he did not know, into + the bargain; as when he prints a pretended conversation between + Mr. and Mrs. Thrale about Piozzi, which he afterwards admits to + be a gratuitous invention and rhetorical figure of his own, for + conveying what is a foolish falsehood on the face of it. + </p> + <p> + Baretti's death is thus noticed in "Thraliana," 8th May, 1789: + </p> + <p> + "Baretti is dead. Poor Baretti! I am sincerely sorry for him, and + as Zanga says, 'If I lament thee, sure thy worth was great.' He + was a manly character, <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg316" id= + "pg316">316</a></span> at worst, and died, as he lived, less like + a Christian than a philosopher, refusing all spiritual or + corporeal assistance, both which he considered useless to him, + and perhaps they were so. He paid his debts, called in some + single acquaintance, told him he was dying, and drove away that + <i>Panada</i> conversation which friends think proper to + administer at sick-bedsides with becoming steadiness, bid him + write his brothers word that he was dead, and gently desired a + woman who waited to leave him quite alone. No interested + attendants watching for ill-deserved legacies, no harpy relatives + clung round the couch of Baretti. He died! + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'And art thou dead? so is my enmity: + </p> + <p> + I war not with the dead.' + </p> + </div> + <p> + "Baretti's papers—manuscripts I mean—have been all + burnt by his executors without examination, they tell me. So + great was his character as a mischief-maker, that Vincent and + Fendall saw no nearer way to safety than that hasty and + compendious one. Many people think 'tis a good thing for me, but + as I never trusted the man, I see little harm he could have done + me." + </p> + <p> + In the fury of his onslaught Baretti forgot that he was + strengthening her case against Johnson, of whom he says: "His + austere reprimand, and unrestrained upbraidings, when face to + face with her, always delighted Mr. Thrale and were approved even + by her children. 'Harry,' said his father to her son, 'are you + listening to what the doctor and mamma are talking about?' 'Yes, + papa.' And quoth Mr. Thrale, 'What <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg317" id="pg317">317</a></span> are they saying?' 'They are + disputing, and mamma has just such a chance with Dr. Johnson as + Presto (a little dog) would have were he to fight Dash (a big + one).'" He adds that she left the room in a huff to the amusement + of the party. If scenes like this were frequent, no wonder the + "yoke" became unendurable. + </p> + <p> + Baretti was obliged to admit that, when Johnson died, they were + not on speaking terms. His explanation is that Johnson irritated + him by an allusion to his being beaten by Omai, the Sandwich + Islander, at chess. Mrs. Piozzi's marginal note on Omai is: "When + Omai played at chess and at backgammon with Baretti, everybody + admired at the savage's good breeding and at the European's + impatient spirit." + </p> + <p> + Amongst her papers was the following sketch of his character, + written for "The World" newspaper. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Mr. Conductor</i>.—Let not the death of Baretti pass + unnoticed by 'The World,' seeing that Baretti was a wit if not a + scholar: and had for five-and-thirty years at least lived in a + foreign country, whose language he so made himself completely + master of, that he could satirise its inhabitants in their own + tongue, better than they knew how to defend themselves; and often + pleased, without ever praising man or woman in book or + conversation. Long supported by the private bounty of friends, he + rather delighted to insult than flatter; he at length obtained + competence from a public he esteemed not: and died, refusing that + assistance he considered as useless—leaving no debts (but + those of gratitude) undischarged; <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg318" id="pg318">318</a></span> and expressing neither regret + of the past, nor fear of the future, I believe. Strong in his + prejudices, haughty and independent in his spirit, cruel in his + anger,—even when unprovoked; vindictive to excess, if he + through misconception supposed himself even slightly injured, + pertinacious in his attacks, invincible in his aversions: the + description of Menelaus in 'Homer's Iliad,' as rendered by Pope, + exactly suits the character of Baretti: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'So burns the vengeful Hornet, soul all o'er, + </p> + <p> + Repuls'd in vain, and thirsty still for gore; + </p> + <p> + Bold son of air and heat on angry wings, + </p> + <p> + Untamed, untired, he turns, attacks, and stings.'" + </p> + </div> + <p> + In reference to this article, she remarks in "Thraliana": + </p> + <p> + "There seems to be a language now appropriated to the newspapers, + and a very wretched and unmeaning language it is. Yet a certain + set of expressions are so necessary to please the diurnal + readers, that when Johnson and I drew up an advertisement for + charity once, I remember the people altered our expressions and + substituted their own, with good effect too. The other day I sent + a Character of Baretti to 'The World,' and read it two mornings + after more altered than improved in my mind: but no matter: they + will talk of <i>wielding</i> a language, and of <i>barbarous</i> + infamy,—sad stuff, to be sure, but such is the taste of the + times. They altered even my quotation from Pope; but that was too + impudent." + </p> + <p> + The comparison of Baretti to the hornet was truer <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg319" id="pg319">319</a></span> than she + anticipated: <i>animamque in vulnere ponit</i>. Internal evidence + leads almost irresistibly to the conclusion that he was the + author or prompter of "The <i>Sentimental</i> Mother: a Comedy in + Five Acts. The Legacy of an Old Friend, and his 'Last Moral + Lesson' to Mrs. Hester Lynch Thrale, now Mrs. Hester Lynch + Piozzi. London: Printed for James Ridgeway, York Street, St. + James's Square, 1789. Price three shillings." The principal + <i>dramatis personæ</i> are Mr. Timothy Tunskull (Thrale), Lady + Fantasma Tunskull, two Misses Tunskull, and Signor Squalici. + </p> + <p> + Lady Fantasma is vain, affected, silly, and amorous to excess. + Not satisfied with Squalici as her established gallant, she makes + compromising advances to her daughter's lover on his way to a + <i>tête-à-téte</i> with the young lady, who takes her wonted + place on his knee with his arm round her waist. Squalici is also + a domestic spy, and in league with the mother to cheat the + daughters of their patrimony. Mr. Tunskull is a respectable and + complacent nonentity. + </p> + <p> + The dialogue is seasoned with the same malicious insinuations + which mark Baretti's letters in the "European Magazine;" without + the saving clause with which shame or fear induced him to qualify + them, namely, that no breach of chastity was suspected or + believed. It is difficult to imagine who else would have thought + of reverting to Thrale's establishment eight years after it had + been broken up by death; and in one of his papers in the + "European Magazine," he holds out a threat that she might find + herself the subject <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg320" id= + "pg320">320</a></span> of a play: "Who knows but some one of our + modern dramatic geniusses may hereafter entertain the public with + a laughable comedy in five long acts, entitled, with singular + propriety, 'the <i>Scientific</i> Mother'?" + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Piozzi had some-how contracted a belief, to which she + alludes more than once with unfeigned alarm, that Mr. Samuel + Lysons had formed a collection of all the libels and caricatures + of which she was the subject on the occasion of her marriage. His + collections have been carefully examined, and the sole semblance + of warrant for her fears is an album or scrap-book containing + numerous extracts from the reviews and newspapers, relating to + her books. The only caricature preserved in it is the celebrated + one by Sayers entitled "Johnson's Ghost." The ghost, a flattering + likeness of the doctor, addresses a pretty woman seated at a + writing table: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "When Streatham spread its pleasant board, + </p> + <p> + I opened learning's valued hoard, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + And as I feasted, prosed. + </p> + <p> + Good things I said, good things I eat, + </p> + <p> + I gave you knowledge for your meat, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + And thought th' account was closed. + </p> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "If obligations still I owed, + </p> + <p> + You sold each item to the crowd, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + I suffered by the tale. + </p> + <p> + For God's sake, Madam, let me rest, + </p> + <p> + No longer vex your <i>quondam</i> guest, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + I'll pay you for your ale." + </p> + </div> + </div> + <p> + When a prize was offered for the best address on the rebuilding + of Drury Lane, Sheridan proposed an additional <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg321" id="pg321">321</a></span> reward for + one without a phoenix. Equally acceptable for its rarity would be + a squib on Mrs. Piozzi without a reference to the brewery. + </p> + <p> + Her manuscript notes on the two volumes of Letters are numerous + and important, comprising some curious fragments of + autobiography, written on separate sheets of paper and pasted + into the volumes opposite to the passages which they expand or + explain. They would create an inconvenient break in the narrative + if introduced here, and they are reserved for a separate section. + </p> + <p> + Her next literary labour is thus mentioned in "Thraliana": + </p> + <p> + "While Piozzi was gone to London I worked at my Travel Book, and + wrote it in two months complete—but 'tis all to correct and + copy over again. While my husband was away I wrote him these + lines: he staid just a fortnight: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "I think I've worked exceeding hard + </p> + <p class="i2"> + To finish five score pages. + </p> + <p> + I write you this upon a card, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + In hopes you'll pay my wages. + </p> + <p> + The servants all get drunk or mad, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + This heat their blood enrages, + </p> + <p> + But your return will make me glad,— + </p> + <p class="i2"> + That hope one pain assuages. + </p> + <p> + "To shew more kindness, we defy + </p> + <p class="i2"> + All nations and all ages, + </p> + <p> + And quite prefer your company + </p> + <p class="i2"> + To all the seven sages. <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg322" + id="pg322">322</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Then hasten home, oh, haste away! + </p> + <p class="i2"> + And lengthen not your stages; + </p> + <p> + We then will sing, and dance and play, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + And quit awhile our cages." + </p> + </div> + <p> + She had now taken rank as a popular writer, and thought herself + entitled to use corresponding language to her publisher: + </p> + <p> + "MR. CADELL,—Sir, this is a letter of business. I have + finished the book of observations and reflections made in the + course of my journey thro' France, Italy, and Germany, and if you + have a mind to purchase the MS. I make you the first offer of it. + Here, if complaints had any connection with business, I would + invent a thousand, and they should be very kind ones too; but it + is better to tell you the size and price of the book. My + calculations bring it to a thousand pages of letter-press like + Dr. Moore's; or you might print it in three small volumes, to go + with the 'Anecdotes.' Be that as it will, the price, at a word + (as the advertisers say of their horse), is 500 guineas and + twelve copies to give away, though I will not, like them, warrant + it free from blemishes. No creature has looked over the papers + but Lord Huntingdon, and he likes them exceedingly. Direct your + answer here, if you write immediately; if not, send the letter + under cover to Mrs. Lewis, London Street, Reading, Berks; and + believe me, dear Sir, your faithful humble servant, + </p> + <p class="citation"> + "H. L. PIOZZI. + </p> + <p> + "Bennet Street, Bath, + <br /> + Friday, Nov. 14th, 1788." <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg323" + id="pg323">323</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Whether these terms were accepted, does not appear; but in Dec. + 1789 she published (Cadell and Strahan) "Observations and + Reflections made in the course of a Journey through France, + Italy, and Germany," in two volumes octavo of about 400 pages + each. As happened to almost everything she did or wrote, this + book, which she calls the "Travel-book," was by turns assailed + with inveterate hostility and praised with animated zeal. It + would seem that sustained calumny had seasoned her against the + malevolence of criticism. On the passage in Johnson's letter to + T. Warton, "I am little afraid for myself," her comment is: "That + is just what I feel when insulted, not about literary though, but + social quarrels. The others are not worth a thought." In + "Thraliana," Dec. 30th, 1789, she writes: "I think my + Observations and Reflexions in Italy, &c., have been, upon + the whole, exceedingly well liked, and much read." + </p> + <p class="break"> + Walpole writes to Mrs. Carter, June 13th, 1789: + </p> + <p> + "I do not mean to misemploy much of your time, which I know is + always passed in good works, and usefully. You have, therefore, + probably not looked into Piozzi's Travels. I, who have been + almost six weeks lying on a couch, have gone through them. It was + said that Addison might have written his without going out of + England. By the excessive vulgarisms so plentiful in these + volumes, one might suppose the writer had never stirred out of + the parish of St. Giles. Her Latin, French, and Italian, too, are + so miserably spelt, that she had better have studied her own + language before she floundered into other tongues. Her friends + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg324" id="pg324">324</a></span> + plead that she piques herself on writing as she talks: methinks, + then, she should talk as she would write. There are many + indiscretions too in her work of which she will perhaps be told + though Baretti is dead." + </p> + <p> + Miss Seward, much to her credit, repeated to Mrs. Piozzi both the + praise and the blame she had expressed to others. On December + 21st, 1789, she writes: + </p> + <p> + "Suffer me now to speak to you of your highly ingenious, + instructive, and entertaining publication; yet shall it be with + the sincerity of friendship, rather than with the flourish of + compliment. No work of the sort I ever read possesses, in an + equal degree, the power of placing the reader in the scenes and + amongst the people it describes. Wit, knowledge, and imagination + illuminate its pages—but the infinite inequality of the + style!—Permit me to acknowledge to you what I have + acknowledged to others, that it excites my exhaustless wonder, + that Mrs. Piozzi, the child of genius, the pupil of Johnson, + should pollute, with the vulgarisms of unpolished conversation, + her animated pages!—that, while she frequently displays her + power of commanding the most chaste and beautiful style + imaginable, she should generally use those inelegant, those + strange <i>dids</i>, and <i>does</i>, and <i>thoughs</i>, and + <i>toos</i>, which produce jerking angles, and stop-short + abruptness, fatal at once to the grace and ease of the + sentence;—which are, in language, what the rusty black silk + handkerchief and the brass ring are upon the beautiful form of + the Italian countess she mentions, arrayed in embroidery, and + blazing in jewels." <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg325" id= + "pg325">325</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Piozzi's theory was that books should he written in the same + colloquial and idiomatic language which is employed by cultivated + persons in conversation, "Be thou familiar, but by no means + vulgar;" and vulgar she certainly was not, although she sometimes + indulged her fondness for familiarity too far. The period was + unluckily chosen for carrying such a theory into practice; for + Johnson's authority had discountenanced idiomatic writing, whilst + many phrases and forms of speech, which would not be endured now, + were tolerated in polite society. + </p> + <p> + The laws of spelling, too, were unfixed or vague, and those of + pronunciation, which more or less affect spelling, still more so. + "When," said Johnson, "I published the plan of my dictionary, + Lord Chesterfield told me that the word <i>great</i> should be + pronounced so as to rhyme to <i>state</i>; and Sir William Yonge + sent me word that it should be pronounced so as to rhyme to + <i>seat</i>, and that none but an Irishman would pronounce it + <i>grait</i>. Now here were two men of the highest rank, one the + best speaker in the House of Lords, the other the best speaker in + the House of Commons, differing entirely." Mrs. Piozzi has + written on the margin:—"Sir William was in the right." Two + well-known couplets of Pope imply similar changes:— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Dreading e'en fools, by flatterers besieged, + </p> + <p> + And so obliging that he ne'er obliged." + </p> + </div> + <hr /> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Here thou, great Anna, whom three realms obey, + </p> + <p> + Dost sometimes counsel take, and sometimes tea." + </p> + </div> + <p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg326" id="pg326">326</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Within living memory, elderly people of quality, both in writing + and conversation, stuck to Lunnun, Brummagem, and Cheyny (China). + Charles Fox would not give up "Bour<i>dux</i>." Johnson + pronounced "heard" <i>heerd</i>. In 1800 "flirtation" was deemed + a vulgar word.<span class="fnref">[1]</span> Lord Byron wrote + <i>redde</i> (for <i>read</i>, in the past tense), and Lord + Dudley declined being helped to apple <i>tart</i>. When, + therefore, we find Mrs. Piozzi using words or idioms rejected by + modern taste or fastidiousness, we must not be too ready to + accuse her of ignorance or vulgarity. I have commonly retained + her original syntax, and her spelling, which frequently varies + within a page. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] "Those abstractions of different pairs from the rest of the + society, which I must call 'flirtation,' spite of the vulgarity + of the term."—<i>Journal kept during a Visit to + Germany</i> in 1799 and 1800. Edited by the Dean of Westminster + (not published), p. 38. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Two days afterwards, Walpole returns to the charge in a letter to + Miss Berry, which is alone sufficient to prove the worthlessness + of his literary judgments:— + </p> + <p> + "Read 'Sindbad the Sailor's Voyages,' and you will be sick of + Æneas's. What woful invention were the nasty poultry that dunged + on his dinner, and ships on fire turned into Nereids! A barn + metamorphosed into a cascade in a pantomime is full as sublime an + effort of genius.... I do not think the Sultaness's narratives + very natural or very probable, but there is a wildness in them + that captivates. However, if you could wade through two octavos + of Dame Piozzi's <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg327" id= + "pg327">327</a></span> <i>though's</i> and <i>so's</i> and <i>I + trows</i>, and cannot listen to seven volumes of Scheherezade's + narratives, I will sue for a divorce in foro Parnassi, and + Boccalini shall be my proctor." + </p> + <p> + A single couplet of Gifford's was more damaging than all + Walpole's petulance: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "See Thrale's grey widow with a satchel roam, + </p> + <p> + And bring in pomp laborious nothings home."<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] "She, one evening, asked me abruptly if I did not remember + the scurrilous lines in which she had been depicted by Gifford + in his 'Baviad and Moeviad.' And, not waiting for my answer, + for I was indeed too much embarrassed to give one quickly, she + recited the verses in question, and added, 'how do you think + "Thrale's grey widow" revenged herself? I contrived to get + myself invited to meet him at supper at a friend's house, (I + think she said in Pall Mall), soon after the publication of his + poem, sate opposite to him, saw that he was "perplexed in the + extreme;" and smiling, proposed a glass of wine as a libation + to our future good fellowship. Gifford was sufficiently a man + of the world to understand me, and nothing could be more + courteous and entertaining than he was while we remained + together.'"—<i>Piozziana</i>. + </p> + </div> + <p> + This condemnatory verse is every way unjust. The nothings, or + somethings, which form the staple of the book, are not laboured; + and they are presented without the semblance of pomp or + pretension. The Preface commences thus: + </p> + <p> + "I was made to observe at Rome some vestiges of an ancient custom + very proper in those days. It was the parading of the street by a + set of people called Preciæ, who went some minutes before the + Flamen Dialis, to bid the inhabitants leave work or play, and + attend wholly to the procession; but if ill-omens prevented + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg328" id="pg328">328</a></span> + the pageants from passing, or if the occasion of the show was + scarce deemed worthy its celebration, these Precise stood a + chance of being ill-treated by the spectators. A prefatory + introduction to a work like this can hope little better usage + from the public than they had. It proclaims the approach of what + has often passed by before; adorned most certainly with greater + splendour, perhaps conducted with greater regularity and skill. + Yet will I not despair of giving at least a momentary amusement + to my countrymen in general; while their entertainment shall + serve as a vehicle for conveying expressions of particular + kindness to those foreign individuals, whose tenderness softened + the sorrows of absence, and who eagerly endeavoured by unmerited + attentions to supply the loss of their company, on whom nature + and habit had given me stronger claims." + </p> + <p> + The Preface concludes with the happy remark that—"the + labours of the press resemble those of the toilette: both should + be attended to and finished with care; but once completed, should + take up no more of our attention, unless we are disposed at + evening to destroy all effect of our morning's study." + </p> + <p> + It would be difficult to name a book of travels in which + anecdotes, observations, and reflections are more agreeably + mingled, or one from which a clearer bird's-eye view of the + external state of countries visited in rapid succession may be + caught. I can only spare room for a few short extracts: + </p> + <p> + "The contradictions one meets with every moment at <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg329" id="pg329">329</a></span> Paris + likewise strike even a cursory observer,—a countess in a + morning, her hair dressed, with diamonds too perhaps, a dirty + black handkerchief about her neck, and a flat silver ring on her + finger, like our ale-wives; a <i>femme publique</i>, dressed + avowedly for the purposes of alluring the men, with a not very + small crucifix hanging at her bosom;—and the Virgin Mary's + sign at an ale-house door, with these words, + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "'Je suis la mère de mon Dieu, + </p> + <p> + Et la gardienne de ce lieu.'" + </p> + </div> + <p> + "I have stolen a day to visit my old acquaintance the English + Austin Nuns at the Foffèe, and found the whole community alive + and cheerful; they are many of them agreeable women, and having + seen Dr. Johnson with me when I was last abroad, inquired much + for him: Mrs, Fermor, the Prioress, niece to Belinda in the Rape + of the Lock, taking occasion to tell me, comically enough, 'that + she believed there was but little comfort to be found in a house + that harboured <i>poets</i>; for that she remembered Mr. Pope's + praise made her aunt very troublesome and conceited, while his + numberless caprices would have employed ten servants to wait on + him; and he gave one,' (said she) 'no amends by his talk neither, + for he only sate dozing all day, when the sweet wine was out, and + made his verses chiefly in the night; during which season he kept + himself awake by drinking coffee, which it was one of the maids' + business to make for him, and they took it by turns.'" + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg330" id="pg330">330</a></span> + </p> + <p> + At Milan she institutes a delicate inquiry: "The women are not + behind-hand in openness of confidence and comical sincerity. We + have all heard much of Italian cicisbeism; I had a mind to know + how matters really stood; and took the nearest way to information + by asking a mighty beautiful and apparently artless young + creature, <i>not noble</i>, how that affair was managed, for + there is no harm done <i>I am sure</i>, said I: 'Why no,' replied + she, 'no great <i>harm</i> to be sure: except wearisome + attentions from a man one cares little about; for my own part,' + continued she, 'I detest the custom, as I happen to love my + husband excessively, and desire nobody's company in the world but + his. We are not <i>people of fashion</i> though you know, nor at + all rich; so how should we set fashions for our betters? They + would only say, see how jealous he is! if <i>Mr. Such-a-one</i> + sat much with me at home, or went with me to the Corso; and I + <i>must</i> go with some gentleman you know: and the men are such + ungenerous creatures, and have such ways with them: I want money + often, and this <i>cavaliere servente</i> pays the bills, and so + the connection draws closer—<i>that's all</i>.' And your + husband! said I—'Oh, why he likes to see me well dressed; + he is very good-natured, and very charming; I love him to my + heart.' And your confessor! cried I.—'Oh! why he is <i>used + to it</i>'—in the Milanese dialect—<i>è + assuefaà."</i> + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "An English lady asked of an Italian + </p> + <p class="i2"> + What were the actual and official duties + </p> + <p> + Of the strange thing, some women set a value on, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Which hovers oft about some married beauties, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg331" id="pg331">331</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Called 'cavalier servente,' a Pygmalion + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Whose statues warm, I fear! too true 't is + </p> + <p> + Beneath his art. The dame, press'd to disclose them, + </p> + <p> + Said, Lady, I beseech you to <i>suppose them</i>."<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] "Don Juan," Canto ix. See also "Beppo," verses 36, 37: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "But Heaven preserve Old England from such courses! + </p> + <p> + Or what becomes of damage and divorces?" + </p> + </div> + </div> + <p> + At Venice, the tone was somewhat different from what would be + employed now by the finest lady on the Grand Canal: + </p> + <p> + "This firmly-fixed idea of subordination (which I once heard a + Venetian say, he believed must exist in heaven from one angel to + another), accounts immediately for a little conversation which I + am now going to relate. + </p> + <p> + "Here were two men taken up last week, one for murdering his + fellow-servant in cold blood, while the undefended creature had + the lemonade tray in his hand going in to serve company; the + other for breaking the new lamps lately set up with intention to + light this town in the manner of the streets at Paris. 'I hope,' + said I, 'that they will hang the murderer.' 'I rather hope,' + replied a very sensible lady who sate near me, 'that they will + hang the person who broke the lamps: for,' added she, 'the first + committed his crime only out of revenge, poor fellow!! because + the other had got his mistress from him by treachery; but this + creature has had the impudence to break our fine new lamps, all + for the sake of spiting <i>the Arch-duke!!</i>' The Arch-duke + meantime hangs nobody at all; but sets his prisoners <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg332" id="pg332">332</a></span> to work upon + the roads, public buildings, &c., where they labour in their + chains; and where, strange to tell! they often insult passengers + who refuse them alms when asked as they go by; and, stranger + still, they are not punished for it when they do." ... + </p> + <p> + The lover sacrificing his reputation, his liberty, or his life, + to save the fair fame of his mistress, is not an unusual event in + fiction, whatever it may be in real life. Balzac, Charles de + Bernard, and M. de Jarnac have each made a self-sacrifice of this + kind the basis of a romance. But neither of them has hit upon a + better plot than might be formed out of the following Venetian + story: + </p> + <p> + "Some years ago then, perhaps a hundred, one of the many spies + who ply this town by night, ran to the state inquisitor, with + information that such a nobleman (naming him) had connections + with the French ambassador, and went privately to his house every + night at a certain hour. The <i>messergrando</i>, as they call + him, could not believe, nor would proceed, without better and + stronger proof, against a man for whom he had an intimate + personal friendship, and on whose virtue he counted with very + particular reliance. Another spy was therefore set, and brought + back the same intelligence, adding the description of his + disguise: on which the worthy magistrate put on his mask and + bauta, and went out himself; when his eyes confirming the report + of his informants, and the reflection on his duty stifling all + remorse, he sent publicly for <i>Foscarini</i> in the morning, + whom the populace attended all weeping to his door. <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg333" id="pg333">333</a></span> + </p> + <p> + "Nothing but resolute denial of the crime alleged could however + be forced from the firm-minded citizen, who, sensible of the + discovery, prepared for that punishment he knew to be inevitable, + and submitted to the fate his friend was obliged to inflict: no + less than a dungeon for life, that dungeon so horrible that I + have heard Mr. Howard was not permitted to see it. + </p> + <p> + "The people lamented, but their lamentations were vain. The + magistrate who condemned him never recovered the shock: but + Foscarini was heard of no more, till an old lady died forty years + after in Paris, whose last confession declared she was visited + with amorous intentions by a nobleman of Venice whose name she + never knew, while she resided there as companion to the + ambassadress. So was Foscarini lost! so died he a martyr to love, + and tenderness for female reputation!" + </p> + <p> + The Mendicanti was a Venetian institution which deserves to be + commemorated for its singularity: + </p> + <p> + "Apropos to singing;—we were this evening carried to a + well-known conservatory called the Mendicanti, who performed an + oratorio in the church with great, and I dare say deserved + applause. It was difficult for me to persuade myself that all the + performers were women, till, watching carefully, our eyes + convinced us, as they were but slightly grated. The sight of + girls, however, handling the double bass, and blowing into the + bassoon, did not much please <i>me</i>; and the deep-toned voice + of her who sung the part of Saul seemed an odd unnatural thing + enough. <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg334" id= + "pg334">334</a></span> + </p> + <p> + "Well! these pretty sirens were delighted to seize upon us, and + pressed our visit to their parlour with a sweetness that I know + not who would have resisted. We had no such intent; and amply did + their performance repay my curiosity for visiting Venetian + beauties, so justly celebrated for their seducing manners and + soft address. They accompanied their voices with the forte-piano, + and sung a thousand buffo songs, with all that gay voluptuousness + for which their country is renowned. + </p> + <p> + "The school, however, is running to ruin apace; and perhaps the + conduct of the married women here may contribute to make such + <i>conservatorios</i> useless and neglected. When the Duchess of + Montespan asked the famous Louison D'Arquien, by way of insult, + as she pressed too near her, '<i>Comment alloit le metier</i>?' + '<i>Depuis que les dames s'en mèlent</i>,' (replied the courtesan + with no improper spirit,) '<i>il ne vaut plus rien</i>.'" + </p> + <p> + Describing Florence, she says:— + </p> + <p> + "Sir Horace Mann is sick and old; but there are conversations at + his house of a Saturday evening, and sometimes a dinner, to which + we have been almost always asked." + </p> + <p> + So much for Walpole's assertion that "she had broken with his + Horace, because he could not invite her husband with the Italian + nobility." She held her own, if she did not take the lead, in + whatever society she happened to be thrown, and no one could have + objected to Piozzi without breaking with her. In point of fact, + no one did object to him. <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg335" + id="pg335">335</a></span> + </p> + <p> + One of her notes on Naples is: + </p> + <p> + "Well, well! if the Neapolitans do bury Christians like dogs, + they make some singular compensations we will confess, by nursing + dogs like Christians. A very veracious man informed me yester + morning, that his poor wife was half broken-hearted at hearing + such a Countess's dog was run over; 'for,' said he, 'having + suckled the pretty creature herself, she loved it like one of her + children.' I bid him repeat the circumstance, that no mistake + might be made: he did so; but seeing me look shocked, or ashamed, + or something he did not like,—'Why, Madam,' said the + fellow, 'it is a common thing enough for ordinary men's wives to + suckle the lap-dogs of ladies of quality:' adding, that they were + paid for their milk, and he saw no harm in gratifying one's + <i>superiors</i>. As I was disposed to see nothing <i>but</i> + harm in disputing with such a competitor, our conference finished + soon; but the fact is certain." + </p> + <p> + On the margin she has written: + </p> + <p> + "Mrs. Greathead could scarcely be made to credit so hideous a + fact, till I showed her the portrait (at a broker's shop) of a + woman <i>suckling a cat</i>." + </p> + <p> + Cornelia Knight says: "Mr. and Mrs. Piozzi passed the winter at + Naples and gave little concerts. He played with great taste on + the pianoforte, and used to carry about a miniature one in his + carriage." + </p> + <p> + Whilst discussing the propriety of complying with the customs of + the country, she relates: + </p> + <p> + "Poor Dr. Goldsmith said once—'I would advise <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg336" id="pg336">336</a></span> every young + fellow setting out in life <i>to love gravy</i>:'—and + added, that he had formerly seen a glutton's eldest nephew + disinherited, because his uncle never could persuade him to say + he liked gravy." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Forster thinks that the concluding anecdote conveys a false + impression of one + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Who wrote like an angel, but talked like poor Poll." + </p> + </div> + <p> + "Mrs. Piozzi, in her travels, quite solemnly sets forth that poor + Dr. Goldsmith said once, 'I would advise every young fellow + setting forth in life to love gravy,' alleging for it the serious + reason that 'he had formerly seen a glutton's eldest nephew + disinherited because his uncle never could persuade him to say he + liked gravy.' Imagine the dullness that would convert a jocose + saying of this kind into an unconscious utterance of grave + absurdity."<span class="fnref">[1]</span> In his index may be + read: "Mrs. Piozzi's absurd instance of Goldsmith's absurdity." + Mrs. Piozzi does not quote the saying as an instance of + absurdity; nor set it forth solemnly. She repeats it, as an + illustration of her argument, in the same semi-serious spirit in + which it was originally hazarded. Sydney Smith took a different + view of this grave gravy question. On a young lady's declining + gravy, he exclaimed: "I have been looking all my life for a + person who, on principle, rejected gravy: let us vow eternal + friendship." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Life of Goldsmith, vol. ii. p. 205. Mr. Forster allows her + the credit of discovering the lurking irony in Goldsmith's + verses on Cumberland, vol. ii. p. 203. <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg337" id="pg337">337</a></span> + </p> + </div> + <p> + The "British Synonymy" appeared in 1794. It was thus assailed by + Gifford: + </p> + <p> + "Though 'no one better knows his own house' than I the vanity of + this woman; yet the idea of her undertaking such a work had never + entered my head; and I was thunderstruck when I first saw it + announced. To execute it with any tolerable degree of success, + required a rare combination of talents, among the least of which + may be numbered neatness of style, acuteness of perception, and a + more than common accuracy of discrimination; and Mrs. Piozzi + brought to the task, a jargon long since become proverbial for + its vulgarity, an utter incapability of defining a single term in + the language, and just as much Latin from a child's Syntax, as + sufficed to expose the ignorance she so anxiously labours to + conceal. 'If such a one be fit to write on Synonimes, speak.' + Pignotti himself laughs in his sleeve; and his countrymen, long + since undeceived, prize the lady's talents at their true worth, + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Et centum Tales<span class="fnref">[1]</span> curto centusse + licentur." + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Quere Thrales?—<i>Printer's Devil</i>." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Other critics have been more lenient or more just. Enough + philosophical knowledge and acuteness were discovered in the work + to originate a rumour that she had retained some of the great + lexicographer's manuscripts, or derived a posthumous advantage, + in some shape, from her former intimacy with him. In "Thraliana," + Denbigh, 2nd January, 1795, she writes: + </p> + <p> + "My 'Synonimes' have been reviewed at last. The <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg338" id="pg338">338</a></span> critics are + all civil for aught I see, and nearly just, except when they say + that Johnson left some fragments of a work upon Synonymy: of + which God knows I never heard till now one syllable; never had he + and I, in all the time we lived together, any conversation upon + the subject." + </p> + <p> + Even Walpole admits that it has some marked and peculiar merits, + although its value consists rather in the illustrative matter, + than in the definitions and etymologies. Thus, in distinguishing + between <i>lavish</i>, <i>profuse</i> and <i>prodigal</i>, she + relates: + </p> + <p> + "Two gentlemen were walking leisurely up the Hay-Market some time + in the year 1749, lamenting the fate of the famous Cuzzona, an + actress who some time before had been in high vogue, but was then + as they heard in a very pitiable situation. 'Let us go and visit + her,' said one of them, 'she lives but over the way.' The other + consented; and calling at the door, they were shown up stairs, + but found the faded beauty dull and spiritless, unable or + unwilling to converse on any subject. 'How's this?' cried one of + her consolers, 'are you ill? or is it but low spirits chains your + tongue so?'—'Neither,' replied she: ''tis hunger I suppose. + I ate nothing yesterday, and now 'tis past six o'clock, and not + one penny have I in the world to buy me any food.'—'Come + with us instantly to a tavern; we will treat you with the best + roast fowls and Port wine that London can produce.'—'But I + will have neither my dinner nor my place of eating it prescribed + to <i>me</i>,' answered Cuzzona, in a sharper tone, 'else I need + never have wanted.' 'Forgive <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg339" id="pg339">339</a></span> me,' cries the friend; 'do your + own way; but eat in the name of God, and restore fainting + nature.'—She thanked him then; and, calling to her a + friendly wretch who inhabited the same theatre of misery, gave + <i>him</i> the guinea the visitor accompanied his last words + with; 'and run with this money,' said she, 'to such a + wine-merchant,' (naming him); 'he is the only one keeps good + Tokay by him. 'Tis a guinea a bottle, mind you,' to the boy; 'and + bid the gentleman you buy it of give you a loaf into the + bargain,—he won't refuse.' In half an hour or less the lad + returned with the Tokay. 'But where,' cries Cuzzona, 'is the loaf + I spoke for?' 'The merchant would give me no loaf,' replies her + messenger; 'he drove me from the door, and asked if I took him + for a baker.' 'Blockhead!' exclaims she; 'why I must have bread + to my wine, you know, and I have not a penny to purchase any. Go + beg me a loaf directly.' The fellow returns once more with one in + his hand and a halfpenny, telling 'em the gentleman threw him + three, and laughed at his impudence. She gave her Mercury the + money, broke the bread into a wash-hand basin which stood near, + poured the Tokay over it, and devoured the whole with eagerness. + This was indeed a heroine in PROFUSION. Some active well-wishers + procured her a benefit after this; she gained about 350<i>l</i>., + 'tis said, and laid out two hundred of the money instantly in a + <i>shell-cap</i>. They wore such things then." + </p> + <p> + When Savage got a guinea, he commonly spent it in a tavern at a + sitting; and referring to the memorable <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg340" id="pg340">340</a></span> morning when + the "Vicar of Wakefield" was produced, Johnson says: "I sent him + (Goldsmith) a guinea, and promised to come to him directly. I + accordingly went as soon as I was dressed, and found that his + landlady had arrested him for his rent. I perceived that he had + already changed my guinea, and had got a bottle of Madeira and a + glass before him." Mrs. Piozzi continues: + </p> + <p> + "But Doctor Johnson had always some story at hand to check + extravagant and wanton wastefulness. His improviso verses made on + a young heir's coming of age are highly capable of restraining + such folly, if it is to be restrained: they never yet were + printed, I believe. + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + "'Long expected one-and-twenty, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Lingering year, at length is flown; + </p> + <p> + Pride and pleasure, pomp and plenty, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Great Sir John, are now your own. + </p> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + Loosen'd from the minor's tether, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Free to mortgage or to sell, + </p> + <p> + Wild as wind, and light as feather, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Bid the sons of thrift farewell. + </p> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + Call the Betseys, Kates, and Jennies, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + All the names that banish care; + </p> + <p> + LAVISH of your grandsire's guineas, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Show the spirit of an heir. + </p> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + All that prey on vice or folly + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Joy to see their quarry fly; <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg341" id="pg341">341</a></span> + </p> + <p> + There the gamester light and jolly, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + There the lender grave and sly. + </p> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + Wealth, my lad, was made to wander, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Let it wander as it will; + </p> + <p> + Call the jockey, call the pander, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Bid them come and take their fill. + </p> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + When the bonny blade carouses, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Pockets full, and spirits high— + </p> + <p> + What are acres? what are houses? + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Only dirt or wet or dry. + </p> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <p> + Should the guardian friend or mother + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Tell the woes of wilful waste; + </p> + <p> + Scorn their counsel, scorn their pother— + </p> + <p class="i2"> + You can hang or drown at last.'" + </p> + </div> + </div> + <p> + These verses were addressed to Thrale's nephew, Sir John Lade, in + August, 1780. They bear a strong resemblance to some of Burns' in + his "Beggar's Sonata," written in 1785:— + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "What is title, what is treasure, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + What is reputation's care; + </p> + <p> + If we lead a life of pleasure, + </p> + <p class="i2"> + Can it matter how or where?" + </p> + </div> + <p> + Boswell's "Life of Johnson" was published in May, 1791. It is + thus mentioned in "Thraliana":— + </p> + <p> + "<i>May</i>, 1791.—Mr. Boswell's book is coming out, and + the wits expect me to tremble: what will the fellow say? ... that + has not been said already." <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg342" + id="pg342">342</a></span> + </p> + <p> + No date, but previous to 25th May, 1791.—"I have been now + laughing and crying by turns, for two days, over Boswell's book. + That poor man should have a <i>Bon Bouillon</i> and be put to bed + ... he is quite light-headed, yet madmen, drunkards, and fools + tell truth, they say ... and if Johnson was to me the back friend + he has represented ... let it cure me of ever making friendship + more with any human being." + </p> + <p> + "<i>25th May</i>, 1791.—The death of my son, so suddenly, + so horribly produced before my eyes now suffering from the tears + then shed ... so shockingly brought forward in Boswell's two + guinea book, made me very ill this week, very ill + indeed<span class="fnref">[1]</span>; it would make the modern + friends all buy the work I fancy, did they but know how sick the + <i>ancient</i> friends had it in their power to make me, but I + had more wit than tell any of 'em. And what is the folly among + all these fellows of wishing we may know one another in the next + world.... Comical enough! when we have only to expect deserved + reproaches for breach of confidence and cruel usage. Sure, sure I + hope, rancour and resentment will at least be put off in the last + moments: ... sure, surely, we shall meet no more, except on the + great day when each is to answer to other and before other.... + After <i>that</i> I hope to keep better company than any of + them." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] The death of her son is not unkindly mentioned by Boswell. + See p. 491, roy. oct. edit. But the imputations on her veracity + rest exclusively on his prejudiced testimony. <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg343" id="pg343">343</a></span> + </p> + </div> + <p> + In 1801, Mrs. Piozzi published "Retrospection; or a Review of the + Most Striking and Important Events, Characters, Situations, and + their Consequences, which the Last Eighteen Hundred Years have + presented to the View of Mankind." It is in two volumes quarto, + containing rather more than 1000 pages. A fitting motto for it + would have been <i>De omnibus rebus et quibusdam aliis.</i> The + subject, or range of subjects, was beyond her grasp; and the best + that can be said of the book is that a good general impression of + the stream of history, lighted up with some striking traits of + manners and character, may be obtained from it. It would have + required the united powers and acquirements of Raleigh, Burke, + Gibbon, and Voltaire to fill so vast a canvass with appropriate + groups and figures; and she is more open to blame for the + ambitious conception of the work than for her comparative failure + in the execution. In 1799 she writes to Dr. Gray: "The truth is, + my plans stretch too far for these times, or for my own age; but + the wish, though scarce hope, of my heart, is to finish the work + I am engaged in, get you to look it over for me, and print in + March 1801." She published it in January 1801, but it was not + looked over by her learned correspondent. Some slight misgiving + is betrayed in the Preface: + </p> + <p> + "If I should have made improper choice of facts, and if I should + be found at length most to resemble Maister Fabyan of old, who + writing the life of Henry V. lays heaviest stress on a new + weathercock set-up on St. Paul's steeple during that eventful + reign, my book <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg344" id= + "pg344">344</a></span> must share the fate of his, and be like + that forgotten: reminding before its death perhaps a friend or + two of a poor man (Macbean) living in later times, that Doctor + Johnson used to tell us of; who being advised to take + subscriptions for a new Geographical Dictionary, hastened to Bolt + Court and begged advice. There having listened carefully for + half-an-hour, 'Ah, but dear Sir,' exclaimed the admiring + parasite, 'if I am to make all this eloquent ado about Athens and + Rome, where shall we find place, do you think, for Richmond, or + Aix La Chapelle?'" + </p> + <p class="break"> + Writing from Bath, December 15th, 1802, she says: + </p> + <p> + "The 'Gentleman's Magazine' for July 1801 contained my answer to + such critics as confined themselves to faults I could have helped + committing—had they been faults. Those who merely told + disagreeable truths concerning my person, or dress, or age, or + such stuff, expected, of course, no reply. There are innumerable + press errors in the book, from my being obliged to print on new + year's day—during an insurrection of the printers. These + the 'Critical Review' laid hold of with an acuteness sharpened by + malignity." + </p> + <p> + Moore, who was staying at Bowood, sets down in his diary for + April, 1823: "Lord L. in the evening, quoted a ridiculous passage + from the Preface to Mrs. Piozzi's 'Retrospections,' in which, + anticipating the ultimate perfection of the human race, she says + she does not despair of the time arriving when 'Vice will take + refuge in the arms of impossibility.' Mentioned also an ode of + hers to Posterity, beginning, 'Posterity, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg345" id="pg345">345</a></span> gregarious + dame,' the only meaning of which must be, a lady <i>chez qui</i> + numbers assemble—a lady at <i>home</i>."<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Memoirs, &c., vol. iv. p. 38. + </p> + </div> + <p> + There is no such passage in the Preface to "Retrospection," and + the ode is her "Ode to Society," who is not improperly addressed + as "gregarious." + </p> + <p> + "I repeated," adds Moore, "what Jekyll told the other day of + Bearcroft saying to Mrs. Piozzi, when Thrale, after she had + repeatedly called him Mr. Beercraft: 'Beercraft is not my name, + Madam; it may be your trade, but it is not my name.'" It may + always be questioned whether this offensive description of + repartee was really uttered at the time. But Bearcroft was + capable of it. He began his cross-examination of Mr. Vansittart + by—"With your leave, Sir, I will call you Mr. Van for + shortness." "As you please, Sir, and I will call you Mr. Bear." + </p> + <p> + Towards the end of 1795, Mrs. Piozzi left Streatham for her seat + in North Wales, where (1800 or 1801) she was visited by a young + nobleman, now an eminent statesman, distinguished by his love of + literature and the fine arts, who has been good enough to recall + and write down his impressions of her for me: + </p> + <p> + "I did certainly know Madame Piozzi, but had no habits of + acquaintance with her, and she never lived in London to my + knowledge. When in my youth I made a tour in Wales—times + when all inns were bad, and all houses hospitable—I put up + for a day at her house, I <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg346" + id="pg346">346</a></span> think in Denbighshire, the proper name + of which was Bryn, and to which, on the occasion of her marriage + I was told, she had recently added the name of Bella. I remember + her taking me into her bed-room to show me the floor covered with + folios, quartos, and octavos, for consultation, and indicating + the labour she had gone through in compiling an immense volume + she was then publishing, called 'Retrospection.' She was + certainly what was called, and is still called, blue, and that of + a deep tint, but good humoured and lively, though affected; her + husband, a quiet civil man, with his head full of nothing but + music. + </p> + <p> + "I afterwards called on her at Bath, where she chiefly resided. I + remember it was at the time Madame de Staël's 'Delphine,' and + 'Corinne,' came out<span class="fnref">[1]</span>, and that we + agreed in preferring 'Delphine,' which nobody reads now, to + 'Corinne,' which most people read then, and a few do still. She + rather avoided talking of Johnson. These are trifles, not worth + recording, but I have put them down that you might not think me + neglectful of your wishes; but now <i>j'ai vuidé mon sac</i>." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] "Delphine" appeared in 1804; "Corinne," in 1806. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Her mode of passing her time when she had ceased writing books, + with the topics which interested her, will be best learned from + her letters. Her vivacity never left her, and the elasticity of + her spirits bore up against every kind of depression. A lady who + met her on her way to Wynnstay in January, 1803, describes her as + "skipping about like a kid, quite <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg347" id="pg347">347</a></span> a figure of fun, in a tiger + skin shawl, lined with scarlet, and <i>only</i> five colours upon + her head-dress—on the top of a flaxen wig a bandeau of blue + velvet, a bit of tiger ribbon, a white beaver hat and plume of + black feathers—as gay as a lark." + </p> + <p class="break"> + In a letter, dated Jan. 1799, to a Welsh neighbour, Mrs. Piozzi + says: + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Piozzi has lost considerably in purse, by the cruel inroads + of the French in Italy, and of all his family driven from their + quiet homes, has at length with difficulty saved one little boy + who is now just turned of five years old. We have got him here + (Bath) since I wrote last, and his uncle will take him to school + next week; for as our John has nothing but his talents and + education to depend upon, he must be a scholar, and we will try + hard to make him a very good one. + </p> + <p> + "My poor little boy from Lombardy said as I walked him across our + market, 'These are sheeps' heads, are they not, aunt? I saw a + basket of men's heads at Brescia.' + </p> + <p> + "As he was by a lucky chance baptized, in compliment to me, John + Salusbury, five years ago, when happier days smiled on his + family, he will be known in England by no other, and it will be + forgotten he is a foreigner. A lucky circumstance for one who is + intended to work his way among our islanders by talent, + diligence, and education." + </p> + <p> + She thus mentions this event in "Thraliana," January 17th, 1798: + </p> + <p> + "Italy is ruined and England threatened. I have sent for one + little boy from among my husband's <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg348" id="pg348">348</a></span> nephews. He was christened John + Salusbury: he shall be naturalised, and then we will see whether + he will be more grateful and natural and comfortable than Miss + Thrales have been to the mother they have at length driven to + desperation." + </p> + <p> + She could hardly have denied her husband the satisfaction of + rescuing a single member of his family from the wreck; and they + were bound to provide handsomely for the child of their adoption. + Whether she carried the sentiment too far in giving him the + entire estate (not a large one) is a very different question; on + which she enters fearlessly in one of the fragments of the + Autobiography. In a marginal note on one of the printed letters + in which Johnson writes: "Mrs. Davenant says you regain your + health,"—she remarks: "Mrs. Davenant neither knew nor + cared, as she wanted her brother Harry Cotton to marry Lady + Keith, and I offered my estate with her. Miss Thrale said she + wished to have nothing to do either with my family or my fortune. + They were all cruel and all insulting." Her fits of irritation + and despondency never lasted long. + </p> + <p> + Her mode of bringing up her adopted nephew was more in accordance + with her ultimate liberality, than with her early intentions or + professions of teaching him to "work his way among our + islanders." Instead of suffering him to travel to and from the + University by coach, she insisted on his travelling post; and she + is said to have remarked to the mother of a Welsh baronet, who + was similarly anxious for the comfort and <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg349" id="pg349">349</a></span> dignity of + her heir, "Other people's children are baked in coarse common pie + dishes, ours in patty-pans." + </p> + <p> + She was misreported, or afterwards improved upon the thought; + for, in June 1810, she writes to Dr. Gray: "He is a boy of + excellent principle. Education at a private school has an effect + like baking loaves in a tin. The bread is more insipid, but it + comes out <i>clean</i>; and Mr. Gray laughed, when at breakfast + this morning, our undercrusts suggested the comparison." + </p> + <p> + In the Conway Notes, she says: + </p> + <p> + "Had we vexations enough? We had certainly many pleasures. The + house in Wales was beautiful, and the Boy was beautiful too. Mr. + Piozzi said I had spoiled my own children and was spoiling his. + My reply was, that I loved spoiling people, and hated any one I + could not spoil. Am I not now trying to spoil dear Mr. Conway?" + </p> + <p> + When she talks of spoiling, she must not be understood literally. + In 1817 she writes from Bath to Dr. Gray: + </p> + <p> + "Sir John and Lady Salusbury staid with me six or seven weeks, + and made themselves most beloved among us. They are very good + young creatures.... My children read your <i>Key</i> to each + other on Sunday noons: the <i>Connection</i> on Sunday nights. + You remember me hoping and proposing to make dear Salusbury a + gentleman, a Christian, and a scholar; and when one has succeeded + in the first two wishes, there is no need to fret if the third + does fail a <i>little</i>. Such is my situation concerning my + <i>adopted</i>, as you are accustomed to call him." <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg350" id="pg350">350</a></span> + </p> + <p> + Before she died she had the satisfaction of seeing him sheriff of + his county; and on carrying up an address, he was knighted and + became Sir John Salusbury Piozzi Salusbury. Miss Williams Wynn + has preserved a somewhat apocryphal anecdote of his + disinterestedness: + </p> + <p> + "When I read her (Mrs. P.'s) lamentations over her poverty, I + could not help believing that Sir J. Salusbury had proved + ungrateful to his benefactress. For the honour of human nature I + rejoice to find this is not the case. When he made known to his + aunt his wish to marry, she promised to make over to him the + property of Brynbella. Even before the marriage was concluded she + had distressed herself by her lavish expenditure at Streatham. I + saw by the letters that Gillow's bill amounted to near + 2,400<i>l</i>., and Mr. (the late Sir John) Williams tells me she + had continually very large parties from London. Sir John + Salusbury then came to her, offered to relinquish all her + promised gifts and the dearest wish of his heart, saying he + should be most grateful to her if she would only give him a + commission in the army, and let him seek his fortune. At the same + time he added that he made this offer because all was still in + his power, but that from the moment he married, she must be aware + that it would be no longer so, that he should not feel himself + justified in bringing a wife into distress of circumstances, nor + in entailing poverty on children unborn.<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span> She refused; he married; and she went on in + her <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg351" id= + "pg351">351</a></span> course of extravagance. She had left + herself a life income only, and large as it was, no tradesman + would wait a reasonable time for payment; she was nearly eighty; + and they knew that at her death nothing would be left to pay her + debts, and so they seized the goods." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] If the estate was settled in the usual manner, he would + have only a life estate; and I believe it was so settled. + </p> + </div> + <p> + When Fielding, the novelist, rather boastingly avowed that he + never knew, and believed he never should know, the difference + between a shilling and sixpence, he was told: "Yes, the time will + come when you will know it—when you have only eighteen + pence left." If the author of "Tom Jones" could not be taught the + value of money, we must not be too hard on Mrs. Piozzi for not + learning it, after lesson upon lesson in the hard school of + "impecuniosity." Whilst Piozzi lived, her affairs were faithfully + and carefully administered. Although they built Brynbella, spent + a good deal of money on Streatham, and lived handsomely, they + never wanted money. He had a moderate fortune, the produce of his + professional labours, and left it, neither impaired nor + materially increased, to his family. With peculiar reference + probably to her habits of profuse expenditure, he used to say + that "white monies were good for ladies, yellow for gentlemen." + He took the guineas under his especial charge, leaving only the + silver to her. This was a matter of notoriety in the + neighbourhood, and the tenants, to please her or humour the joke, + sometimes brought bags of shillings and sixpences in part payment + of their rents. + </p> + <p> + In the Conway Notes she says: + </p> + <p> + "Our head-quarters were in Wales, where dear Piozzi <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg352" id="pg352">352</a></span> repaired my + church, built a new vault for my old ancestors, chose the place + in it where he and I are to repose together.... He lived some + twenty-five years with me, however, but so punished with gout + that we found Bath the best wintering-place for many, many + seasons.—Mrs. Siddons' last appearance there he witnessed, + when she played Calista to Dimond's Lothario, in which he looked + <i>so</i> like Garrick, it shocked us <i>all three</i>, I + believe; for Garrick adored Mr. Piozzi, and Siddons hated the + little great man to her heart. Poor Dimond! he was a well-bred, + pleasing, worthy creature, and did the honours of his own house + and table with peculiar grace indeed. No likeness in private life + or manner,—none at all; no wit, no fun, no frolic humour + had Mr. Dimond:—no grace, no dignity, no real unaffected + elegance of mien or behaviour had his predecessor, + David,—whose partiality to my fastidious husband was for + that reason never returned. Merriment, difficult for <i>him</i> + to comprehend, made no amends for the want of that which no one + understood better,—so he hated all the wits but Murphy." + </p> + <p> + There is hardly a family of note or standing within visiting + distance of their place, that has not some tradition or + reminiscence to relate concerning them; and all agree in + describing him as a worthy good sort of man, obliging, + inoffensive, kind to the poor, principally remarkable for his + devotion to music, and utterly unable to his dying day to + familiarise himself with the English language or manners. It is + told of him that being required to pay a turnpike toll near the + house of a <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg353" id= + "pg353">353</a></span> country neighbour whom he was on his way + to visit, he took it for granted that the toll went into his + neighbour's pocket, and proposed setting up a gate near Brynbella + with the view of levying toll in his turn. + </p> + <p class="break"> + In September, 1800, she wrote from Brynbella to Dr. Gray: + </p> + <p> + "Dear Mr. Piozzi, who takes men out of misery so far as his power + extends in this neighbourhood, feels flattered and encouraged by + your very kind approbation. He has been getting rugs for the + cottagers' beds to keep them warm this winter, while we are away, + and they all take me into their sleeping rooms when I visit them + <i>now</i>, to show how comfortably they live. As for the old hut + you so justly abhorred, and so kindly noticed—it is knocked + down and its coarse name too, Potlicko: we call it + Cottage-o'-the-Park. Some recurrence to the original derivation + in soup season will not, however, be much amiss I suppose." + </p> + <p> + "Amongst the company," says Moore, "was Mrs. John Kemble. She + mentioned an anecdote of Piozzi, who upon calling upon some old + lady of quality, was told by the servant, she was 'indifferent.' + 'Is she indeed?' answered Piozzi, huffishly, 'then pray tell her + I can be as indifferent as she;' and walked away."<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Moore's Memoirs, vol. iv. p. 329. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Till he was disabled by the gout, his principal occupation was + his violin, and it was her delight to listen to him. She more + than once observed to the vicar, "Such music is quite heavenly." + "I am in despair," <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg354" id= + "pg354">354</a></span> cried out the village fiddler, "I may now + stick my fiddle in my thatched roof, for a greater performer is + come to reside in the parish." The existing superstition of the + country is that his spirit, playing on his favourite instrument, + still haunts one wing of Brynbella. If he designed the building, + his architectural taste does not merit the praises she lavishes + on it. The exterior is not prepossessing; but there is a look of + comfort about the house; the interior is well arranged: the + situation, which commands a fine and extensive view of the upper + part of the valley of the Clywd, is admirably chosen; the garden + and grounds are well laid out; and the walks through the woods on + either side, especially one called the Lovers' Walk, are + remarkably picturesque. Altogether, Brynbella may be fairly held + to merit the appellation of a "pretty villa." The name implies a + compliment to Piozzi's country as well as to his taste; for she + meant it to typify the union between Wales and Italy in his and + her own proper persons. She says in the Conway Notes: + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Piozzi built the house for me, he said; my own old chateau, + Bachygraig by name, tho' very curious, was wholly uninhabitable; + and we called the Italian villa he set up as mine in the Vale of + Cluid, Brynbella, or the beautiful brow, making the name half + Welsh and half Italian, as <i>we</i> were." + </p> + <p> + Dr. Burney, in a letter to his daughter, thus described the + position and feelings of the couple towards each other in 1808: + </p> + <p> + "During my invalidity at Bath I had an unexpected <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg355" id="pg355">355</a></span> visit from + your Streatham friend, of whom I had lost sight for more than ten + years. She still looks very well, but is graver, and candour + itself; though she still says good things, and writes admirable + notes and letters, I am told, to my granddaughters C. and M., of + whom she is very fond. We shook hands very cordially, and avoided + any allusion to our long separation and its cause. The <i>caro + sposo</i> still lives, but is such an object from the gout, that + the account of his sufferings made me pity him sincerely; he + wished, she told me, 'to see his old and worthy friend,' and + <i>un beau matin</i> I could not refuse compliance with his wish. + She nurses him with great affection and tenderness, never goes + out or has company when he is in pain." + </p> + <p> + In the Conway Notes she says: + </p> + <p> + "Piozzi's fine hand upon the organ and pianoforte deserted him. + Gout, such as I never knew, fastened on his fingers, distorting + them into every dreadful shape.... A little girl, shown to him as + a musical wonder of five years old, said, 'Pray, Sir, why are + your fingers wrapped up in black silk so?' 'My dear,' replied he, + 'they are in mourning for my voice.' 'Oh, me!' cries the child, + '<i>is she dead?</i>' He sung an easy song, and the baby + exclaimed, 'Ah, Sir! you are very naughty—you tell fibs!' + Poor dears! and both gone now!" + </p> + <p> + "When life was gradually, but perceptibly, closing round him at + Bath, in 1808, I asked him if he would wish to converse with a + Romish priest,—we had full opportunity there. 'By no + means,' said he. 'Call <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg356" id= + "pg356">356</a></span> Mr. Leman of the Crescent.' We did + so,—poor Bessy ran and fetched him. Mr. Piozzi received the + blessed Sacrament at his hands; but recovered sufficiently to go + home and die in his own house." + </p> + <p> + He died of gout at Brynbella in March 1809, and was buried in a + vault constructed by her desire in Dymerchion Church. There is a + portrait of him (period and painter unknown) still preserved + amongst the family portraits at Brynbella. It is that of a + good-looking man of about forty, in a straight-cut brown coat + with metal buttons, lace frill and ruffles, and some leaves of + music in his hand. There are also two likenesses of Mrs. Piozzi: + one a three-quarter length (kit-kat), taken apparently when she + was about forty; the other a miniature of her at an advanced age. + Both confirm her description of herself as too strong-featured to + be pretty. The hands in the three-quarter length are gloved. + </p> + <p> + Brynbella continued her headquarters till 1814, when she gave it + up to Sir John Salusbury. From that period she resided + principally at Bath and Clifton, occasionally visiting Streatham + or making summer trips to the seaside. + </p> + <p> + That she and her eldest daughter should ever be again (if they + ever were) on a perfect footing of confidence and affection, was + a moral impossibility. Estrangements are commonly durable in + proportion to the closeness of the tie that has been severed; and + it is no more than natural that each party, yearning for a + reconciliation and not knowing that the wish is reciprocated, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg357" id="pg357">357</a></span> + should persevere in casting the blame of the prolonged coldness + on the other. Occasional sarcasms no more prove disregard or + indifference, than Swift's "only a woman's hair" implies contempt + for the sex. + </p> + <p> + Miss Thrale's marriage with Lord Keith in 1808 is thus mentioned + in "Thraliana": + </p> + <p> + "The 'Thraliana' is coming to an end; so are the Thrales. The + eldest is married now. Admiral Lord Keith the man; a <i>good</i> + man for ought I hear: a <i>rich</i> man for ought I am told: a + <i>brave</i> man we have always heard: and a <i>wise</i> man I + trow by his choice. The name no new one, and excellent for a + charade, <i>e.g</i>. + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "A Faery my first, who to fame makes pretence; + </p> + <p> + My second a Rock, dear Britannia's defence; + </p> + <p> + In my third when combined will too quickly be shown + </p> + <p> + The Faery and Rock in our brave Elphin-stone." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Her way of life after Piozzi's death may be collected from the + Letters, with the exception of one strange episode towards the + end. When nearly eighty, she took a fancy for an actor named + Conway, who came out on the London boards in 1813, and had the + honour of acting Romeo and Jaffier to the Juliet and Belvidera of + Miss O'Neill (Lady Becher). He also acted with her in Dean + Milman's fine play, "Fazio." But it was his ill fate to reverse + Churchill's famous lines: + </p> + <div class="poem"> + <p> + "Before such merits all objections fly, + </p> + <p> + Pritchard's genteel, and Garrick's six feet high." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Conway was six feet high, and a very handsome man to boot; but + his advantages were purely physical; not <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg358" id="pg358">358</a></span> a spark of + genius animated his fine features and commanding figure, and he + was battling for a moderate share of provincial celebrity, when + Mrs. Piozzi fell in with him at Bath. It has been rumoured in + Flintshire that she wished to marry him, and offered Sir John + Salusbury a large sum in ready money (which she never possessed) + to give up Brynbella (which he could not give up), that she might + settle it on the new object of her affections. But none of the + letters or documents that have fallen in my way afford even + plausibility to the rumour, and some of the testamentary papers + in which his name occurs, go far towards discrediting the belief + that her attachment ever went beyond admiration and friendship + expressed in exaggerated terms.<span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Since the appearance of the first edition of this work, it + has been stated on the authority of a distinguished man of + letters that Conway shewed the late Charles Mathews a letter + from Mrs. Piozzi, offering marriage.—<i>New Monthly + Magazine</i> (edited by Mr. Harrison Ainsworth) for April, + 1861. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Conway threw himself overboard and was drowned in a voyage from + New York to Charleston in 1828. His effects were sold at New + York, and amongst them a copy of the folio edition of Young's + "Night Thoughts," in which he had made a note of its having been + presented to him by his "dearly attached friend, the celebrated + Mrs. Piozzi." In the preface to "Love Letters of Mrs. Piozzi, + Written when she was Eighty, to William Augustus Conway," + published in London in 1842, it is stated that the originals, + seven in number, were purchased by an <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg359" id="pg359">359</a></span> American + "lady," who permitted a "gentleman" to take copies and use them + as he might think fit. What this "gentleman" thought fit, was to + publish them with a catchpenny title and an alleged extract by + way of motto to sanction it. The genuineness of the letters is + doubtful, and the interpolation of three or four sentences would + alter their entire tenor. But taken as they stand, their language + is not warmer than an old woman of vivid fancy and sensibility + might have deemed warranted by her age. "Tell Mr. Johnson I love + him exceedingly," is the mission given by the old Countess of + Eglinton to Boswell in 1778. <i>L'age n'a point de sexe</i>; and + no one thought the worse of Madame Du Deffand for the impassioned + tone in which she addressed Horace Walpole, whose dread of + ridicule induced him to make a most ungrateful return to her + fondness.<span class="fnref">[1]</span> Years before the + formation of this acquaintance, Mrs. Piozzi had acquired the + difficult art of growing old; <i>je sais vieillir</i>: she dwells + frequently but naturally on her age: she contemplates the + approach of death with firmness and without self-deception: and + her elasticity of spirit never for a moment suggests the image of + an antiquated coquette. Of the seven letters in question, the one + cited as most compromising is the sixth, in which Conway is + exhorted to bear patiently a rebuff he had just received from + some younger beauty: + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] "The old woman's fancy for Mr. Conway represents a relation + of warm friendship that is of every-day occurrence between + youth and age that is not crabbed."—<i>The Examiner</i>, + Feb. 16, 1861. <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg360" id= + "pg360">360</a></span> + </p> + </div> + <p> + "'Tis not a year and a quarter since, dear Conway, accepting of + my portrait sent to Birmingham, said to the bringer, 'Oh if + <i>your lady</i> but retains her friendship: oh if I can but keep + <i>her</i> patronage, I care not for the rest.' And now, when + that friendship follows you through sickness and through sorrow; + now that her patronage is daily rising in importance: upon a lock + of hair given or refused by une petite Traitresse, hangs all the + happiness of my once high-spirited and high-blooded friend. Let + it not be so. EXALT THY LOVE: DEJECTED HEART—and rise + superior to such narrow minds. Do not however fancy she will ever + be punished in the way you mention: no, no; she'll wither on the + thorny stem dropping the faded and ungathered leaves:—a + China rose, of no good scent or flavour—false in apparent + sweetness, deceitful when depended on—unlike the flower + produced in colder climates, which is sought for in old age, + preserved <i>even after death</i>, a lasting and an elegant + perfume,—a medicine, too, for those whose shattered nerves + require <i>astringent remedies</i>. + </p> + <p> + "And now, dear Sir, let me request of you—to love + yourself—and to reflect on the necessity of not dwelling on + any <i>particular subject</i> too long, or too intensely. It is + really very dangerous to the health of body and soul. Besides + that our time here is but short; a mere preface to the great book + of eternity: and 'tis scarce worthy of a reasonable being not to + keep the end of human existence so far in view that we may tend + to it—either directly or obliquely in every step. This is + preaching—but remember how the sermon is written at three, + four, and <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg361" id= + "pg361">361</a></span> five o'clock by an octogenary pen—a + heart (as Mrs. Lee says) twenty-six years old: and as H.L.P. + feels it to be,—ALL YOUR OWN. Suffer your dear noble self + to be in some measure benefited by the talents which are left + <i>me</i>; your health to be restored by soothing consolations + while <i>I remain here</i>, and am able to bestow them. All is + not lost yet. You <i>have</i> a friend, and that friend is + PIOZZI." + </p> + <p> + Conway's "high blood" was as great a recommendation to Mrs. + Piozzi as his good looks, and he vindicated his claim to noble + descent by his conduct, which was disinterested and gentlemanlike + throughout. + </p> + <p> + Moore sets down in his Diary, April 28, 1819: "Breakfasted with + the Fitzgeralds. Took me to call on Mrs. Piozzi; a wonderful old + lady; faces of other times seemed to crowd over her as she + sat,—the Johnsons, Reynoldses, &c. &c.: though + turned eighty, she has all the quickness and intelligence of a + gay young woman." + </p> + <p> + Nichol, the bookseller, had said that "Johnson was the link that + connected Shakespeare with the rest of mankind." On hearing this, + Mrs. Piozzi at eighty exclaimed, "Oh, the dear fellow, I must + give him a kiss for that idea." When Nichol told the story, he + added, "I never got it, and she went out of the world a kiss in + my debt." + </p> + <p> + One of the most characteristic feats or freaks of this + extraordinary woman was the celebration of her eightieth birthday + by a concert, ball, and supper, to between six and seven hundred + people, at the Kingston Rooms, Bath, on the 27th January, 1820. + At the conclusion <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg362" id= + "pg362">362</a></span> of the supper, her health was proposed by + Admiral Sir James Sausmarez, and drunk with three times three. + The dancing began at two, when she led off with her adopted son, + Sir John Salusbury, dancing (according to the author of + "Piozziana," an eye-witness) "with astonishing elasticity, and + with all the true air of dignity which might have been expected + of one of the best bred females in society." When fears were + expressed that she had done too much, she replied:—"No: + this sort of thing is greatly in the mind; and I am almost + tempted to say the same of growing old at all, especially as it + regards those of the usual concomitants of age, viz., laziness, + defective sight, and ill-temper." + </p> + <p> + "So far from feeling fatigued or exhausted on the following day + by her exertions," remarks Sir James Fellowes in a note on this + event, "she amused us by her sallies of wit, and her jokes on + 'Tully's Offices,' of which her guests had so eagerly availed + themselves.". Tully was the cook and confectioner, the Bath + Gunter, who provided the supper. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Piozzi died in May, 1821. Her death is circumstantially + communicated in a letter from Mrs. Pennington, the lady mentioned + in Miss Seward's correspondence as the beautiful and agreeable + Sophia Weston:— + </p> + <p class="quotdate"> + "Hot Wells, May 5th, 1821. + </p> + <p> + "Dear Miss Willoughby,—It is my painful task to communicate + to you, who have so lately been the kind associate of dearest + Mrs. Piozzi, the irreparable loss we <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg363" id="pg363">363</a></span> have all + sustained in that incomparable woman and beloved friend. + </p> + <p> + "She closed her various life about nine o'clock on Wednesday, + after an illness of ten days, with as little suffering as could + be imagined under these awful circumstances. Her bed-side was + surrounded by her weeping daughters: Lady Keith and Mrs. Hoare + arrived in time to be fully recognised<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span>; Miss Thrale, who was absent from town, only + just before she expired, but with the satisfaction of seeing her + breathe her last in peace. + </p> + <p> + "Nothing could behave with more tenderness and propriety than + these ladies, whose conduct, I am convinced, has been much + misrepresented and calumniated by those who have only attended to + <i>one</i> side of the history: but may all that is past be now + buried in oblivion! Retrospection seldom improves our view of any + subject. Sir John Salusbury was too distant, the close of her + illness being so rapid, for us to entertain any expectation of + his arriving in time to see the dear deceased. He only reached + Clifton late <i>last</i> night. I have not yet seen him; my whole + time has been devoted to the afflicted ladies." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] On hearing of their arrival she is reported to have said, + "Now, I shall die in state." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Mrs. Pennington told a friend that Mrs. Piozzi's last words were: + "I die in the trust and the fear of God." When she was attended + by Sir George Gibbes, being unable to articulate, she traced a + coffin in the air with her hands and lay calm. Her will, dated + the 29th March, <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg364" id= + "pg364">364</a></span> 1816, makes Sir John Salusbury Piozzi + Salusbury heir to all her real and personal property with the + exception of some small bequests, Sir James Fellowes and Sir John + Salusbury being appointed executors. + </p> + <p> + A Memorandum signed by Sir James Fellowes runs thus:—"After + I had read the Will, Lady Keith and her two sisters present, said + they had long been prepared for the contents and for such a + disposition of the property, and they acknowledged the validity + of the Will." + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + In any endeavour to solve the difficult problem of Mrs. Piozzi's + conduct and character, it should be kept in view that the highest + testimony to her worth has been volunteered by those with whom + she passed the last years of her life in the closest intimacy. + She had become completely reconciled to Madame D'Arblay, with + whom she was actively corresponding when she died, and her mixed + qualities of head and heart are thus summed up in that lady's + Diary, May, 1821: + </p> + <p> + "I have lost now, just lost, my once most dear, intimate, and + admired friend, Mrs. Thrale Piozzi, who preserved her fine + faculties, her imagination, her intelligence, her powers of + allusion and citation, her extraordinary memory, and her almost + unexampled vivacity, to the last of her existence. She was in her + eighty-second year, and yet owed not her death to age nor to + natural decay, but to the effects of a fall in a journey from + Penzance to Clifton. On her eightieth birthday she gave a great + ball, concert, and supper, in the public <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg365" id="pg365">365</a></span> rooms at + Bath, to upwards of two hundred persons, and the ball she opened + herself. She was, in truth, a most wonderful character for + talents and eccentricity, for wit, genius, generosity, spirit, + and powers of entertainment. + </p> + <p> + "She had a great deal both of good and not good, in common with + Madame de Staël Holstein. They had the same sort of highly + superior intellect, the same depth of learning, the same general + acquaintance with science, the same ardent love of literature, + the same thirst for universal knowledge, and the same buoyant + animal spirits, such as neither sickness, sorrow, nor even + terror, could subdue. Their conversation was equally luminous, + from the sources of their own fertile minds, and from their + splendid acquisitions from the works and acquirements of others. + Both were zealous to serve, liberal to bestow, and graceful to + oblige; and both were truly high-minded in prizing and praising + whatever was admirable that came in their way. Neither of them + was delicate nor polished, though each was flattering and + caressing; but both had a fund inexhaustible of good humour, and + of sportive gaiety, that made their intercourse with those they + wished to please attractive, instructive, and delightful; and + though not either of them had the smallest real malevolence in + their compositions, neither of them could ever withstand the + pleasure of uttering a repartee, let it wound whom it might, even + though each would serve the very person they goaded with all the + means in their power. Both were kind, charitable, and munificent, + and therefore <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg366" id= + "pg366">366</a></span> beloved; both were sarcastic, careless, + and daring, and therefore feared. The morality of Madame de Staël + was by far the most faulty, but so was the society to which she + belonged; so were the general manners of those by whom she was + encircled." + </p> + <p> + There is one real point of similarity between Madame de Staël and + Mrs. Piozzi, which has been omitted in the parallel. Both were + treated much in the same manner by the amiable, sensitive, and + unsophisticated Fanny Burney. In Feb. 1793, she wrote to her + father, then at Paris, to announce her intimacy with a small + "colony" of distinguished emigrants settled at Richmond, the + cynosure of which was the far-famed daughter of Necker. He writes + to caution her on the strength of a suspicious <i>liaison</i> + with M. de Narbonne. She replies by declaring her belief that the + charge is a gross calumny. "Indeed, I think you could not spend a + day with them and not see that their commerce is that of pure, + but exalted and most elegant, friendship. I would, nevertheless, + give the world to avoid being a guest under their roof, now that + I have heard even the shadow of such a rumour." + </p> + <p> + If Mr. Croker was right, she was then in her forty-second year; + at all events, no tender, timid, delicate maiden, ready to start + at a hint or semblance of impropriety; and she waved her scruples + without hesitation when they stood in the way of her intercourse + with M. D'Arblay, whom she married in July 1793, he being then + employed in transcribing Madame de Staël's Essay on the Influence + of the Passions. <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg367" id= + "pg367">367</a></span> + </p> + <p> + As to the parallel, with all due deference to Madame D'Arblay's + proved sagacity aided by her personal knowledge of her two gifted + friends, it may be suggested that they present fewer points of + resemblance than any two women of at all corresponding + celebrity.<span class="fnref">[1]</span> The superiority in the + highest qualities of mind will be awarded without hesitation to + the French woman, although M. Thiers terms her writings the + perfection of mediocrity. She grappled successfully with some of + the weightiest and subtlest questions of social and political + science; in criticism she displayed powers which Schlegel might + have envied while he aided their fullest development in her + "Germany"; and her "Corinne" ranks amongst the best of those + works of fiction which excel in description, reflection, and + sentiment, rather than in pathos, fancy, stirring incident, or + artfully contrived plot. But her tone of mind was so essentially + and notoriously masculine, that when she asked Talleyrand whether + he had read her "Delphine," he answered, "Non, Madame, mais on + m'a dit que-nous y sommes tous les deux déguisés en + femmes."<span class="fnref">[2]</span> This was a material + drawback on her agreeability: in a moment of excited + consciousness, she exclaimed, that she would give all her fame + for the power of fascinating; <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg368" id="pg368">368</a></span> and there was no lack of + bitterness in her celebrated repartee to the man who, seated + between her and Madame Recamier, boasted of being between Wit and + Beauty, "Oui, et sans posséder ni l'un ni l'autre."<span class= + "fnref">[3]</span> The view from Richmond Park she called "calme + et animée, ce qu'on doit être, et que je ne suis pas." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Lady Morgan and Madame de Genlis have been suggested as + each presenting a better subject for a parallel. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [2] "To understand the point of this answer," says Mr. + Mackintosh, "it must be known that an old countess is + introduced in the novel full of cunning, finessing, and trick, + who was intended to represent Talleyrand, and Delphine was + intended for herself."—<i>Life of Sir James + Mackintosh</i>, vol. ii. p. 453. + </p> + </div> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [3] This <i>mot</i> is given to Talleyrand in Lady Holland's + Life of Sydney Smith. But it may be traced to one mentioned by + Hannah More in 1787, as then current in Paris. One of the + <i>notables</i> fresh from his province was teased by two + <i>petits maîtres</i> to tell them who he was. "Eh bien donc, + le voici: je suis ni sot ni fat, mais je suis entre les + deux."—<i>Memoirs of Hannah More</i>, vol. ii. p. 57. + </p> + </div> + <p> + In London she was soon voted a bore by the wits and people of + fashion. She thought of convincing whilst they thought of dining. + Sheridan and Brummell delighted in mystifying her. Byron + complained that she was always talking of himself or + herself<span class="fnref">[1]</span>, and concludes his account + of a dinner-party by the remark:—"But we got up too soon + after the women; and Mrs. Corinne always lingers so long after + dinner, that we wish her—in the drawing-room." In another + place he says: "I saw Curran presented to Madame de Staël at + Mackintosh's; it was the grand confluence between the Rhone and + the Saône, and they were both so d—d ugly that I could not + help wondering how the best intellects of France and England + could have taken up respectively such residences." He afterwards + qualifies this opinion: "Her figure was not bad; her legs + tolerable; her arms good: altogether I can conceive her having + been a desirable <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg369" id= + "pg369">369</a></span> woman, allowing a little imagination for + her soul, and so forth. She would have made a great man." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Johnson told Boswell: "You have only two topics, yourself + and myself, and I am heartily sick of both." + </p> + </div> + <p> + This is just what Mrs. Piozzi never would have made. Her mind, + despite her masculine acquirements, was thoroughly feminine: she + had more tact than genius, more sensibility and quickness of + perception than depth, comprehensiveness, or continuity of + thought. But her very discursiveness prevented her from becoming + wearisome: her varied knowledge supplied an inexhaustible store + of topics and illustrations; her lively fancy placed them in + attractive lights; and her mind has been well likened to a + kaleidoscope which, whenever its glittering and heterogeneous + contents are moved or shaken, surprises by some new combination + of colour or of form. She professed to write as she talked; but + her conversation was doubtless better than her books: her main + advantages being a well-stored memory, fertility of images, + aptness of allusion, and <i>apropos</i>. + </p> + <p> + Her colloquial excellence and her agreeability are established by + the unanimous testimony of her cotemporaries. Her fame in this + respect rests on the same basis as that of all great wits, all + great actors, and many great orators. To question it for want of + more tangible and durable proofs, would be as unreasonable as to + question Sydney Smith's humour, Hook's powers of improvisation, + Garrick's Richard, or Sheridan's Begum speech. But <i>ex pede + Herculem</i>. Marked indications of her quality will be found in + her letters and her books. "Both," remarks an acute and by no + means <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg370" id= + "pg370">370</a></span> partial critic<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span>, "are full of happy touches, and here and + there will be found in them those deep and piercing thoughts + which come intuitively to people of genius." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] The Athenæum. Jan. 26th, 1861. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Surely these are happy touches: + </p> + <p> + "I hate a general topic as a pretty woman hates a general + mourning when black does not become her complexion." + </p> + <p> + "Life is a schoolroom, not a playground." + </p> + <p> + In allusion to the rage for scientific experiment in 1811: "Never + was poor Nature so put to the rack, and never, of course, was she + made to tell so many lies." + </p> + <p> + "Science (i.e. learning), which acted as a sceptre in the hand of + Johnson, and was used as a club by Dr. Parr, became a lady's fan, + when played with by George Henry Glasse." + </p> + <p> + "Hope is drawn with an anchor always, and Common Sense is never + strong enough to draw it up." + </p> + <p> + "The poppy which Nature sows among the corn, to shew us that + sleep is as necessary as bread." <span class="fnref">[1]</span> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Or to shew us that the harvest diminishes with sloth, and + that what we gain in sleep we lose in bread. But <i>qui dort, + dine</i>. + </p> + </div> + <p> + "The best writers are not the best friends; and the last + character is more to be valued than the first by cotemporaries: + after fifty years, indeed, the others carry away all the + applause." + </p> + <p> + This is the reason why posterity always takes part with the + famous author or man of genius against those who witnessed his + meanness or suffered from his selfishness; why fresh apologists + will constantly be found for <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pg371" id="pg371">371</a></span> Bacon's want of principle and + Johnson's want of manners. + </p> + <p> + In the course of his famous definition or description of wit, + Barrow says: "Sometimes it lieth in pat allusion to a known + story, or in seasonable application of a trivial saying: + sometimes it playeth in words and phrases, taking advantage from + the ambiguity of their sense or the affinity of their sound." If + this be so, she possessed it in abundance. In a letter, dated + Bath, 26th April, 1818,—about the time when Talleyrand said + of Lady F.S.'s robe: "<i>Elle commence trop tard et finit trop + tôt</i>,"—she writes: + </p> + <p> + "A genteel young clergyman, in our Upper Crescent, told his mamma + about ten days ago, that he had lost his heart to pretty Miss + Prideaux, and that he must absolutely marry her or die. <i>La + chère mère</i> of course replied gravely: 'My dear, you have not + been acquainted with the lady above a fortnight: let me recommend + you to see more of her.' 'More of her!' exclaimed the lad, 'why I + have seen down to the fifth rib on each side already.' This story + will serve to convince Captain T. Fellowes and yourself, that as + you have always acknowledged the British Belles to <i>exceed</i> + those of every other nation, you may now say with truth, that + they <i>outstrip</i> them." + </p> + <p> + On the 1st July, 1818: + </p> + <p> + "The heat has certainly exhausted my faculties, and I have but + just life enough left to laugh at the fourteen tailors who, + united under a flag with '<i>Liberty and Independence</i>' + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg372" id="pg372">372</a></span> + on it, went to vote for some of these gay fellows, I forget + which, but the motto is ill chosen, said I, they should have + written up, '<i>Measures not Men</i>'" + </p> + <p> + Her verses are advantageously distinguished amongst those of her + blue-stocking contemporaries by happy turns of thought and + expression, natural playfulness, and an abundant flow of + idiomatic language. But her facility was a fatal gift, as it has + proved to most female aspirants to poetic fame, who rarely stoop + to the labour of the file. Although the first rule laid down by + Goldsmith's connoisseur<span class="fnref">[1]</span> is far from + universally applicable to productions of the pencil or the pen, + all fruitful writers would do well to act upon it, and what Mrs. + Piozzi could do when she took pains is decisively proved by her + "Streatham Portraits." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] "Upon my asking him how he had acquired the art of a + conoscente so very suddenly, he assured me that nothing was + more easy. The whole secret consisted in an adherence to two + rules: the one always to observe that the picture might have + been better if the painter had taken more pains; and the other + to praise the works of Pietro Perugino."—<i>The Vicar of + Wakefield</i>, ch. xx. + </p> + </div> + <p> + She was wanting in refinement, which very few of the eighteenth + century wits and authors possessed according to more modern + notions; and she abounded in vanity, which, if not necessarily a + baneful or unamiable quality, is a fruitful source of folly and + peculiarly calculated to provoke censure or ridicule. In her, + fortunately, its effects were a good deal modified by the + frankness of its avowal and display, by her habits of + self-examination, by her impulsive generosity of character, and + by her readiness to admit the claims and consult the feelings + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg373" id="pg373">373</a></span> + of others. To seek out and appreciate merit as she appreciated + it, is a high merit in itself. + </p> + <p> + Her piety was genuine; and old-fashioned politicians, whose + watchword is Church and King, will be delighted with her + politics. Literary men, considering how many curious inquiries + depend upon her accuracy, will be more anxious about her + truthfulness, and I have had ample opportunities of testing it; + having not only been led to compare her narratives with those of + others, but to collate her own statements of the same + transactions or circumstances at distant intervals or to + different persons. It is difficult to keep up a large + correspondence without frequent repetition. Sir Walter Scott used + to write precisely the same things to three or four fine-lady + friends, and Mrs. Piozzi could no more be expected to find a + fresh budget of news or gossip for each epistle than the author + of "Waverley." Thus, in 1815, she writes to a Welsh baronet from + Bath: + </p> + <p> + "We have had a fine Dr. Holland here.<span class= + "fnref">[1]</span> He has seen and written about the Ionian + Islands; and means now to practise as a physician, exchanging the + Cyclades, say we wits and wags, for the Sick Ladies. We made + quite a lion of the man. I was invited to every house he visited + at for the last three days; so I got the <i>Queue du lion</i> + despairing of <i>le Coeur</i>." + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Sir Henry Holland, Bart., who, with many other titles to + distinction, is one of the most active and enterprising of + modern travellers. + </p> + </div> + <p> + Two other letters written about the same time contain the same + piece of intelligence and the same joke. <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pg374" id="pg374">374</a></span> She was very + fond of writing marginal notes; and after annotating one copy of + a book, would take up another and do the same. I have never + detected a substantial variation in her narratives, even in those + which were more or less dictated by pique; and as she generally + drew upon the "Thraliana" for her materials, this, having been + carefully and calmly compiled, affords an additional guarantee + for her accuracy. + </p> + <p> + Her taste for reading never left her or abated to the last. In + reference to a remark (in Boswell) on the irksomeness of books to + people of advanced age, she writes: "Not to me at eighty years + old: being grieved that year (1819) particularly, I was forced + upon study to relieve my mind, and it had the due effect. I wrote + this note in 1820." + </p> + <p> + She sometimes gives anecdotes of authors. Thus, in the letter + just quoted, she says: "Lord Byron protests his wife was a + fortune without money, a belle without beauty, and a + blue-stocking without either wit or learning." But her literary + information grew scanty as she grew old: "The literary world (she + writes in 1821) is to me terra incognita, far more deserving of + the name, now Parry and Ross are returned, than any part of the + polar regions:" and her opinions of the rising authors are + principally valuable as indications of the obstacles which + budding reputations must overcome. "Pindar's fine remark + respecting the different effects of music on different + characters, holds equally true of genius: so many as are not + delighted by it are disturbed, perplexed, irritated. The beholder + either recognises <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg375" id= + "pg375">375</a></span> it as a projected form of his own being, + that moves before him with a glory round its head, or recoils + from it as a spectre."<span class="fnref">[1]</span> The + octogenarian critic of the Johnsonian school recoils from + "Frankenstein" as from an incarnation of the Evil Spirit: she + does not know what to make of the "Tales of my Landlord"; and she + inquires of an Irish acquaintance whether she retained + recollection enough of her own country to be entertained with + "that strange caricature, Castle Rack Rent." Contemporary + judgments such as these (not more extravagant than Horace + Walpole's) are to the historian of literature what fossil remains + are to the geologist. + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <p> + [1] Coleridge, "Aids to Reflection." + </p> + </div> + <p> + Although perhaps no biographical sketch was ever executed, as a + labour of love, without an occasional attack of what Lord + Macaulay calls the <i>Lues Boswelliana</i> or fever of + admiration, I hope it is unnecessary for me to say that I am not + setting up Mrs. Piozzi as a model letter-writer, or an eminent + author, or a pattern of the domestic virtues, or a fitting object + of hero or heroine worship in any capacity. All I venture to + maintain is, that her life and character, if only for the sake of + the "associate forms," deserve to be vindicated against unjust + reproach, and that she has written many things which are worth + snatching from oblivion or preserving from decay. + </p> + <p> + END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. <span class="pagenum"><a name="pg376" + id="pg376">376</a></span> + </p> + <p> + LONDON + </p> + <p> + PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. + </p> + <p> + NEW-STREET SQUARE + </p> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Autobiography, Letters and Literary +Remains of Mrs. Piozzi (Thrale) (2nd ed.) (2 vols.), by Mrs. Hester Lynch Piozzi + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LITERARY REMAINS OF MRS. 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