Dr Johnson's Pride
Sir Joshua Reynolds used to relate the following characteristic anecdote
of Johnson:--About the time of their early acquaintance, they met one
evening at the Misses Cotterell's, when the Duchess of Argyll and another
lady of rank came in. Johnson, thinking that the Misses Cotterell were
too much engrossed by them, and that he and his friend were neglected
as low company, of whom they were somewhat ashamed, grew angry, and,
resolving to shock their suspected pride, by making the great visitors
imagine they were low indeed, Johnson addressed himself in a loud tone
to Reynolds, saying, "How much do you think you and I could get in a
week if we were to work as hard as we could?" just as though they were
ordinary mechanics.
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Collins's Poems
Mr. John Ragsdale, of Richmond, in Surrey, who was the intimate friend of Collins, states that some of his Odes were written while on a visit at his, Mr. Ragsdale's house. The poet, however, had such a poor opinion of his own productions, that after... Colton's Lacon
This remarkable book was written upon covers of letters and scraps of paper of such description as was nearest at hand; the greater part at a house in Princes-street, Soho. Colton's lodging was a penuriously-furnished second-floor, and upon a rough ... Conceited Alarms Of Dennis
John Dennis, the dramatist, had a most extravagant and enthusiastic opinion of his tragedy of Liberty Asserted. He imagined that there were in it some strokes on the French nation so severe, that they would never be forgiven; and that, in consequenc... Contemporary Copyrights
The late Mr. Tegg, the publisher in Cheapside, gave the following list of remunerative payments to distinguished authors in his time; and he is believed to have taken considerable pains to verify the items: Fragments of History, by Charles Fox, so... Cowley At Chertsey
The poet Cowley died at the Porch House, Chertsey, on the 21st of July, 1667. There is a curious letter preserved of his condition when he removed here from Barn Elms. It is addressed to Dr. Sprat, dated Chertsey, 21 May, 1665, and is as follows:-- ... Cowper's Poems
Johnson, the publisher in St. Paul's Churchyard, obtained the copyright of Cowper's Poems, which proved a great source of profit to him, in the following manner:--One evening, a relation of Cowper's called upon Johnson with a portion of the MS. poem... Creed Of Lord Bolingbroke
Lord Brougham says:--"The dreadful malady under which Bolingbroke long lingered, and at length sunk--a cancer in the face--he bore with exemplary fortitude, a fortitude drawn from the natural resources of his vigorous mind, and unhappily not aided b... Curran's Imagination
"Curran!" (says Lord Byron) "Curran's the man who struck me most. Such imagination!--there never was anything like it that I ever heard of. His published life--his published speeches, give you no idea of the man--none at all. He was a machine of ima... Dangerous Fools
Sydney Smith writes:--If men are to be fools, it were better that they were fools in little matters than in great; dulness, turned up with temerity, is a livery all the worse for the facings; and the most tremendous of all things is a magnanimous du... Death Bed Revelations
Men before they die see and comprehend enigmas hidden from them before. The greatest poet, and one of the noblest thinkers of the last age, said on his death-bed:--"Many things obscure to me before, now clear up and become visible." * ... Death Of Sir Charles Bell
This distinguished surgeon died suddenly on April 29, 1842, at Hallow Park, near Worcester, while on his way to Malvern. He was out sketching on the 28th, being particularly pleased with the village church, and some fine trees which are beside it; o... Devotion To Science
M. Agassiz, the celebrated palaeontologist, is known to have relinquished pursuits from which he might have been in the receipt of a considerable income, and all for the sake of science. Dr. Buckland knew him, when engaged in this arduous career, wi... Disadvantageous Correction
Lord North had little reason to congratulate himself when he ventured on an interruption with Burke. In a debate on some economical question, Burke was guilty of a false quantity--"Magnum vect[)i]gal est parsimonia." "Vect[=i]gal," said the minister... Dr Chalmers In London
When Dr. Chalmers first visited London, the hold that he took on the minds of men was unprecedented. It was a time of strong political feeling; but even that was unheeded, and all parties thronged to hear the Scottish preacher. The very best judges ... Dr Chalmers's Industry
In October, 1841, Dr. Chalmers commenced two series of biblical compositions, which he continued with unbroken regularity till the day of his decease, May 31, 1847. Go where he might, however he might be engaged, each week-day had its few verses rea... Dr Johnson And Hannah More
When Hannah More came to London in 1773, or 1774, she was domesticated with Garrick, and was received with favour by Johnson, Reynolds, and Burke. Her sister has thus described her first interview with Johnson:-- "We have paid another visit to Mis... Dr Johnson In London
The following were Dr. Johnson's several places of residence in and near London:-- 1. Exeter-street, off Catherine-street, Strand. (1737.) 2. Greenwich. (1737.) 3. Woodstock-street, near Hanover-square. (1737.) 4. Castle-court, Cavendish... Dr Johnson's Criticisms
Johnson decided literary questions like a lawyer, not like a legislator. He never examined foundations where a point was already ruled. His whole code of criticism rested on pure assumption, for which he sometimes gave a precedent or authority, but ... Dr Johnson's Pride
Sir Joshua Reynolds used to relate the following characteristic anecdote of Johnson:--About the time of their early acquaintance, they met one evening at the Misses Cotterell's, when the Duchess of Argyll and another lady of rank came in. Johnson, t... Dr Johnson's Wigs
Dr. Johnson's wigs were in general very shabby, and their fore-parts were burned away by the near approach of the candle, which his short-sightedness rendered necessary in reading. At Streatham, Mr. Thrale's butler always had a wig ready; and as Joh... Drollery Spontaneous
More drolleries are uttered unintentionally than by premeditation. There is no such thing as being "droll to order." One evening a lady said to a small wit, "Come, Mr. ----, tell us a lively anecdote;" and the poor fellow was mute the rest of the ev... Dryden Drubbed
"Dryden," says Leigh Hunt, "is identified with the neighbourhood of Covent Garden. He presided in the chair at Russell Street (Will's Coffee-house); his plays came out in the theatre at the other end of it; he lived in Gerrard Street, which is not f... Epitaph On Charles Lamb
Lamb lies buried in Edmonton churchyard, and the stone bears the following lines to his memory, written by his friend, the Rev. H. F. Cary, the erudite translator of Dante and Pindar:-- "Farewell, dear friend!--that smile, that harmless mirth, ... Every-day Life Of James Smith
"One of the Authors of the Rejected Addresses" thus writes to a friend:-- "Let me enlighten you as to the general disposal of my time. I breakfast at nine, with a mind undisturbed by matters of business; I then write to you, or to some editor, an... Families Of Literary Men
A Quarterly Reviewer, in discussing an objection to the Copyright Bill of Mr. Sergeant Talfourd, which was taken by Sir Edward Sugden, gives some curious particulars of the progeny of literary men. "We are not," says the writer, "going to speculate ... Felon Literature
One of the most stinging reproofs of perverted literary taste, evidently aimed at Newgate Calendar literature, appeared in the form of a valentine, in No. 31 of Punch, in 1842. The valentine itself reminds one of Churchill's muse; and it needs no ... Fielding's Tom Jones
Fielding having finished the manuscript of Tom Jones, and being at the time hard pressed for money took it to a second-rate publisher, with the view of selling it for what it would fetch at the moment. He left it with the trader, and called upon him... Fine Flourishes
Lord Brougham, in an essay published long ago in the Edinburgh Review, read a smart lesson to Parliamentary wits. "A wit," says his lordship, "though he amuses for the moment, unavoidably gives frequent offence to grave and serious men, who don't th... Fontenelle's Insensibility
Fontenelle, who lived till within one month of a century, was very rarely known to laugh or cry, and even boasted of his insensibility. One day, a certain bon-vivant Abbe came unexpectedly to dine with him. The Abbe was fond of asparagus dressed wit... Foote's Wooden Leg
George Colman, the younger, notes:--"There is no Shakspeare or Roscius upon record who, like Foote, supported a theatre for a series of years by his own acting, in his own writings; and for ten years of the time, upon a wooden leg! This prop to his ... Fox And Gibbon
When Mr. Fox's furniture was sold by auction, after his decease in 1806, amongst his books there was the first volume of his friend Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: by the title-page, it appeared to have been presented by the author to... French-english Jeu-de-mot
The celebrated Mrs. Thicknesse undertook to construct a letter, every word of which should be French, yet no Frenchman should be able to read it; while an illiterate Englishman or Englishwoman should decipher it with ease. Here is the specimen of th... Fuller's Memory
Marvellous anecdotes are related of Dr. Thomas Fuller's memory. Thus, it is stated that he undertook once, in passing to and from Temple Bar to the farthest conduit in Cheapside, to tell at his return every sign as they stood in order on both sides ... Gibbon's House At Lausanne
The house of Gibbon, in which he completed his "Decline and Fall," is in the lower part of the town of Lausanne, behind the church of St. Francis, and on the right of the road leading down to Ouchy. Both the house and the garden have been much chang... Goldsmith's She Stoops To Conquer
Goldsmith, during the first performance of this comedy, walked all the time in St. James' Park in great uneasiness. Finally, when he thought that it must be over, hastening to the theatre, hisses assailed his ears as he entered the green-room. Askin... Hard Fate Of Authors
Sir E. B. (now Lord) Lytton, in the memoir which he prefixed to the collected works of Laman Blanchard, draws the following affecting picture of that author's position, after he had parted from an engagement upon a popular newspaper:-- "For t...