to sit up with him. Being asked next morning how he liked his attendant, his answer was, "Not at all, Sir. The fellow's an ideot; he is as aukward as a turn-spit when first put into the wheel, and as sleepy as a dormouse." "1 Mr. Windham having placed a pillow conveniently to support him, he thanked him for his kindness, and said, "That will do--all that a pillow can do." Third Edition.-Line 7: Omit next paragraph, and after " can do," read-" He repeated with great spirit a poem, consisting of several stanzas, in four lines, in alternate rhyme, which he said he had composed some years before, on occasion of a rich, extravagant young gentleman's coming of age; saying he had never repeated it but once since he composed it, and had given but one copy of it. That copy was given to Mrs. Thrale, now Piozzi, who has published it in a book which she entitles British Synonimy,' but which is truly a collection of entertaining remarks and stories, no matter whether accurate or not. Being a piece of exquisite satire, conveyed in a strain of pointed vivacity and humour, and in a manner of which no other instance is to be found in Johnson's writings, I shall here insert it : "Long-expected one-and-twenty, Ling'ring year, at length is flown; are now your own. "Loosen'd from the Minor's tether, "Call the Betseys, Kates, and Jennies, "All that prey on vice and folly "Wealth, my lad, was made to wander, Call the jockey, call the pander, Bid them come and take their fill. "When the bonny blade carouses, "Should the guardian friend or mother He repeated1 with great spirit a poem, consisting of about fifteen stanzas in four lines, in alternate rhymes, which he said he had composed some years before, on occasion of a young gentleman's coming of age; saying he had never repeated it but once since he composed it, and had given but one copy of it. From the specimen of it which Mrs. Piozzi had given of it in her "Anecdotes,” p. 196, it is much to be wished that we could see the whole. As he opened a note which his servant brought to him, he said, "An odd thought strikes me. We shall receive no letters in the grave." He requested three things of Sir Joshua Reynold:-To forgive him thirty pounds which he had borrowed of him-to read the Bible--and never to use his pencil on a Sunday. Sir Joshua readily acquiesced.2 Indeed he shewed the greatest anxiety for the religious improvement of his friends, to whom he discoursed on its infinite consequence. He begged of Mr. Hoole to think of what he had said, and to commit it to writing; and upon being afterwards assured that this was done, pressed his hands, and in an earnest tone, thanked him. Dr. Brocklesby having attended him with the utmost assiduity and kindness as his physician and friend, he was peculiarly desirous that this gentleman should not entertain any loose speculative notions but be confirmed in the truths of Christianity, and insisted on his writing down in his presence, as nearly as he could collect it, the import of what passed on the subject; and Dr. Brocklesby having complied with the request, he made him sign the paper, and urged him to keep it in his own custody as long as he lived. Johnson, with that native fortitude which amidst all his bodily distress and mental sufferings never forsook him, asked Dr. Brocklesby, as a man in whom he had confidence, to tell him plainly whether he could recover. "Give me (said he) a direct answer." Second Edition.-Line 5: Altered to-"From the specimen which Mrs. Piozzi has exhibited of it, it is much to be wished that the world could see the whole." And on "it" put note-"Anecdotes,' 196." Cor. et Ad.-Line 7: After "whole," read—“Indeed I can speak from my own knowledge, for having had the pleasure to read it, I found it to be an exquisite piece of satire, conveyed in a strain of pointed vivacity and humour, and in a manner of which no other instance is to be found in Johnson's writings. After describing the ridiculous and ruinous career of a wild spendthrift, he consoles him with this reflection: "You may hang or drown at last.'" 1 Mr. Croker inscrutably omits the preceding paragraph: "Mr. Windham having placed," &c. 2 "With some hesitation," says Hannah More. But Mr. Tom Taylor ascertained by the evidence of the painter's "pocket-books," that he did not adhere to his promise of not painting on a Sunday. The Doctor having first asked him if he could bear the whole truth, which way soever it might lead, and being answered that he could, declared that in his opinion he could not recover without a miracle. "Then (said Johnson) I will take no more physick, not even my opiates; for I have prayed that I may render up my soul to GOD unclouded." In this resolution he persevered, and at the same time used only the weakest kinds of sustenance. The Reverend Mr. Strahan, who was the son of his friend, and had been always one of his great favourites, had, during Johnson's last illness, the satisfaction of contributing to soothe and comfort him. That gentleman's house at Islington, of which he is Vicar, afforded occasionally and easily an agreeable change of place and fresh air; and he attended also upon Johnson in town in the discharge of the sacred offices of his profession. Mr. Strahan has given me the agreeable assurance, that after being in much agitation, Johnson became quite composed, and con. tinued so till his death. Dr. Brocklesby, who will not be suspected of fanaticism, obliged me with the following accounts: "For some time before his death all his fears were calmed and absorbed by the prevalence of his faith, and his trust in the merits and propitiation of JESUS CHRIST. "He talked often to me about the necessity of faith in the sacrifice of JESUS, as necessary beyond all good works whatever for the salvation of mankind. "He pressed me to study Dr. Clarke, and to read his Sermons. asked him why he pressed Dr. Clarke, an Arian. 'Because (said he) he is fullest on the propitiatory sacrifice." Johnson having thus in his mind the true Christian scheme, at once rational and consolatory, uniting justice and mercy in the The change of his sentiments with regard to Dr. Clarke, is thus mentioned to me in a letter from the late Dr. Adams, Master of Pembroke College, Oxford.— "The Doctor's prejudices were the strongest, and certainly in another sense the weakest, that ever possessed a sensible man. You know his extreme zeal for orthodoxy. But did you ever hear what he told me himself? That he had made it a rule not to admit Dr. Clarke's name in his Dictionary. This, however, wore off. At some distance of time he advised with me what books he should read in defence of the Christian Religion. I recommended 'Clarke's Evidences of Natural and Revealed Religion,' as the best of the kind; and I find in what is called his 'Prayers and Meditations,' that he was frequently employed in the latter part of his time in reading Clarke's Sermons. Cor. et Ad.-Line 7: After "sustenance," read-"Being pressed by Mr. Windham to take somewhat more generous nourishment, lest too low a diet should have the very effect he dreaded by debilitating his mind, he said 'I will take anything but inebriating substance.' Divinity, with the improvement of human nature, while the Holy Sacrament was celebrating in his apartment, fervently uttered this prayer: a Almighty and most merciful Father, I am now, as to human eyes it seems, about to commemorate, for the last time, the death of thy Son JESUS CHRIST our Saviour and Redeemer. Grant, O LORD, that my whole hope and confidence may be in his merits, and thy mercy; enforce and accept my imperfect repentance; make this commemoration available to the confirmation of my faith, the establishment of my hope, and the enlargement of my charity; and make the death of thy Son JESUS CHRIST effectual to my redemption. Have mercy upon me, and pardon the multitude of my offences. Bless my friends; have mercy upon all men. Support me, by thy Holy Spirit, in the days of weakness, and at the hour of death; and receive me, at my death, to everlasting happiness, for the sake of JESUS CHRIST. Amen. " From my brother Thomas David I have these particulars : "The Doctor, from the time that he was certain his death was near, appeared to be perfectly resigned, was seldom or never fretful or out of temper, and often said to his faithful servant, who gave me this account, Attend, Francis, to the salvation of your soul, which is the object of greatest importance:' he also explained to him passages in the scripture, and seemed to have pleasure in talking upon religious subjects.1 The Reverend Mr. Strahan took care to have it preserved, and has inserted it in "Prayers and Meditations," p. 222. Cor. et Ad.-Line 1: For "while" read "previous to his receiving ;" and, line 2, dele was celebrating." After "apartment" read "composed and. Ibid. After line 16 read as follows:- 66 :- Having, as has been already mentioned, made his will on the 8th and 9th of December, and settled all his worldly affairs, he languished till Monday, the 13th of that month, when he expired, about seven o'clock in the evening, with so little apparent pain that his attendants hardly perceived when his dissolution took place. Of his last moments, my brother Thomas David has furnished me with the following particulars." Ibid.-Dele line 17. Sir John Hawkins supplies some touching incidents of this closing scene: "He was now so weak as to be unable to kneel, and lamented, that he must pray sitting, but, with an effort, he placed himself on his knees, while Mr. Strahan repeated the Lord's Prayer. During the whole of the evening, he was much composed and resigned. In the presence and hearing of Mr. Strahan and Mr. Langton, asked me where I meant to bury him. I answered, doubtless, in Westminster Abbey: If,' said he, 'my executors think it proper to mark the spot of my interment by a stone, let it be so placed as to protect my body from "On Monday the 13th of December, the day on which he died, a Miss Morris, daughter to a particular friend of his, called, and said to Francis, that she begged to be permitted to see the Doctor, that she might earnestly request him to give her his blessing. Francis went into the room, followed by the young lady, and delivered the message. The Doctor turned himself in the bed, and said 'GOD bless you, my dear !' These were the last words he spoke. His difficulty of breathing increased till about seven o'clock in the evening, when Mr. Barber and Mrs. Desmoulins, who were sitting in the room, observing that the noise he made in breathing had ceased, went to the bed, and found he was dead." About two days after his death, the following very agreeable account was communicated to Mr. Malone, in a letter by the Honourable John Byng, to whom I am much obliged for granting me permission to introduce it in my work. "DEAR SIR,-Since I saw you, I have had a long conversation with Cawston, who sat up with Dr. Johnson from nine o'clock on Sunday evening till ten o'clock on Monday morning. And from what I can gather from him, it should seem, that Dr. Johnson was perfectly composed, steady in hope, and resigned to death. At the interval of each hour, they assisted him to sit up in his bed, and move his legs, which were in much pain; when he regularly addressed himself to fervent prayer; and though sometimes his voice failed him, his senses never did during that time. The only sustenance he received was cyder and water. He said his mind was prepared, and the time to his dissolution seemed long. At six in the morning he enquired the hour, and on being informed, said that all went on regularly, and he felt he had but a few hours to live. "At ten o'clock in the morning he parted from Cawston, saying, 'You should not detain Mr. Windham's servant.-I thank you ;bear my remembrance to your master.' Cawston says, that no man could appear more collected, more devout, or less terrified at the thoughts of the approaching minute. "This account, which is so much more agreeable than, and somewhat different from yours, has given us the satisfaction of thinking that that great man died as he lived, full of resignation, strengthened in faith, and joyful in hope." A few days before his death he had asked Sir John Hawkins, as one of his executors, where he should be buried; and on being answered, "Doubtless in Westminster Abbey," seemed to feel a ⚫ Servant to the Right Honourable William Windham. |