not done; but there was no occasion for any artificial aid for its preservation. In following so very eminent a man from his cradle to his grave, every minute particular which can throw light on the progress of his mind is interesting. That he was remarkable even in his earliest years may easily be supposed; for to use his own words in his Life of Sydenham, 'That the strength of his understanding, the accuracy of his discernment, and the ardour of his curiosity, might have been remarked from his infancy by a diligent observer there is no reason to doubt; for there is no instance of any man whose history has been minutely related that did not in every part of life discover the same proportion of intellectual vigour.' In all such investigations it is certainly unwise to pay too much attention to incidents which the credulous relate with eager satisfaction and the more scrupulous or witty inquirer considers only as topics of ridicule; yet there is a traditional story of the infant Hercules of toryism, so curiously characteristic that I shall not withhold it. It was communicated to me in a letter from Miss Mary Ady of Lichfield: 'When Dr. Sacheverel was at Lichfield, Johnson was not quite three years old. My grandfather Hammond observed him at the cathedral perched upon his father's shoulders, listening and gaping at the much celebrated preacher. Mr. Hammond asked Mr. Johnson how he could possibly think of bringing such an infant to church, and in the midst of so great a crowd. He answered because it was impossible to keep him at home, for, young as he was, he believed he had caught the public spirit and zeal for Sacheverel, and would have stayed for ever in the church, satisfied with beholding him.' |