Barber then attended him as his servant, and went back with him to London. He never was at school there, but had formerly, I believe, been placed by his master at one of the cheap schools in Yorkshire, and afterwards, if I mistake not, at a school in or near Bishop's Stortford, where poor Frank, I fear, never got beyond his accidence; but I am unacquainted with the particulars.

"I found lately a memorandum about the club at the Turk's Head, in Gerard Street, which is at your service. Its first origin you have in Sir John Hawkins's book, and some account of it in Mrs. Piozzi's: but neither of them have noticed what I have heard Johnson mention as the principal or avowed reason for the small number of members to which, for many years, it was limited; viz, at first to eight, and afterwards to twelve. It was intended the club should consist of such men, as that if only two of them chanced to meet, they should be able to entertain each other sufficiently without wishing for more company with whom to pass an evening.*

"When the club was first instituted I was not resident in London; and, it being at first limited to eight members, no vacancy offered till about 1768, when in consequence of Sir John (then Mr.) Hawkins's having withdrawn from the club, it was agreed by the remaining members to extend their number to twelve; and then Mr. Chambers, (now Sir Robert,) Mr. Colman, and myself, were elected. I was received therein on Monday evening, 15th Feb. 1768; for at that time, and for several years, the club always met to sup and spend the evening every Monday during the winter and spring months; and, with the above addition, the club then consisted of the following members:

“1. Dr. Sam. Johnson.

"2. Mr. (afterwards Sir Joshua) Reynolds. "3. Mr. Burke.

"4. Dr. Nugent (Mr. Burke's wife's father). "5. Mr. Dyer.†

"6. Dr. Goldsmith.

"7. Mr. Chamier (a gentleman of fortune, some time under-secretary of war).

It is rather a curious fact, that the late Lord Liverpool once dined at this club solus. J. M.

+ “Mr. Dyer was a great friend of the Burkes ; and if you wish to have it, I will try to recover the Eloge which Edmund Burke printed in the newspapers on Dyer's death. T. D." On Mr. Dyer, see Hawkins's Life of Johnson, pp. 222, 252.

"8. Mr. Langton.

"9. Mr. Beauclerk (who had forsaken the club, but afterwards returned to it).

"10. Mr. (now Sir Robert) Chambers, then Vinerian Professor of Law at Oxford.

"11. Mr. Colman.

"12. Myself (Rev. Mr. Percy).

"The deaths, first of Mr. Dyer, and afterwards of Mr. Chamier, breaking in upon this set, opened (though not till some years after) the door to the admission of an enlarged number of members. But Sir Joshua Reynolds and Mr. Langton can tell you more, as they were more constant in their attendance than Mr. Burke,—these three being all that now remain of the original members.

"Mrs. Percy joins in compliments with, dear Sir, your very faithful servant, THO. DROMORE. "P.S. I should be glad of a list of the present members of the club, at your leisure.

"N.B. In the old club-room at the Turk's Head, was a book of entries of the members of the club, showing the variations of it for many years."

Mr. BOSWELL to Bp. PERCY.

"MY DEAR LORD,

Queen Anne Street, West'. 12 March, 1790.

"I am indeed ashamed of my long silence. But, although I felt very gratefully the kindness of your Lordship's last obliging letter, containing some good information for my Life of Dr. Johnson, many things have since my receiving it made me rather an irregular correspondent. As the great cause of all my dissipation of mind, Ì have to mention the loss of a most valuable wife, who died in June last of a consumption, which, being an hereditary complaint, had afflicted her for many, many years. I have three daughters, the eldest of whom is only sixteen, and two sons, the eldest of whom is only fourteen. I have, therefore, a great charge, for which I am very unfit; but I must do my best. I was every day wishing to write to your Lordship, for that consolation which your office enables you to give. I thank God for having afforded me more than I at first supposed possible.

"It gives me great pleasure to hear that your Lordship and family intend a visit to us next summer. I shall by that time be well advanced in my magnum opus, of which

a hundred pages are now printed. I hope we shall have many of those happy days which olim meminisse juvabit.

"I engaged to Sir Joshua Reynolds to send your Lordship Mr. Burke's speech on the French affairs. It accordingly comes under cover as your Lordship mentioned. I have added to it Lord Stanhope's answer, which I will venture to call somewhat blackguard.

"Sir Joshua has been shamefully used by a junto of the Academicians. I live a great deal with him, and he is much better than you would suppose.

"Pray, how does your edition of Goldsmith go on? I am in the way of getting at many additional works of his, which I shall communicate to your Lordship.

"I offer my best compliments to Mrs. Percy and the ladies; and ever am your Lordship's faithful humble JAMES BOSWELL."

young servant,

"MY DEAR LORD, London, 9 April, 1790. "Stockdale has promised a list of the members who voted on both sides on the great question of the Corporation and Test Acts. But he is so very long about it that I will wait no longer, but send you the debate as published by him. I most heartily rejoice to find that the Church is so respectably established in the opinion of the laity.

"As to suppressing your Lordship's name when relating the very few anecdotes of Johnson with which you have favoured me, I will do anything to oblige your Lordship but that very thing. I owe to the authenticity of my work, to its respectability, and to the credit of my illustrious friends, to introduce as many names of eminent persons as I can. It is comparatively a very small portion which is sanctioned by that of your Lordship, and there is nothing even bordering on impropriety. Believe me, my Lord, you are not the only bishop in the number of great men with which my pages are graced. I am quite resolute as to this matter.

"Pray, who is it that has the charge of Goldsmith's works here? I should like to talk with him. I know not where the plan of his Encyclopædia is, or if it be preserved.* "Our amiable friend, Sir Joshua Reynolds, has received from the Empress of Russia the present of a very fine gold snuff-box, beautifully enamelled, with her head on the lid, set round with five-and-thirty capital diamonds. Within

*It is not in Mr. Prior's edition of "The Miscellaneous Works of Goldsmith."

it is a slip of paper, on which are written in her own hand these words, I think I recollect them exactly, 'Pour le Chevalier Reynolds, en témoignage du contentement que j'ai ressenti de ses excellens discours sur la Peinture.'*

"I offer my best compliments to Mrs. Percy, and the young ladies; and have the honour to be, my dear Lord, your Lordship's faithful, humble servant,

"JAMES BOSWELL."

** IN Boswell's Life of Johnson are three interesting letters relative to Bishop Percy. 1. A letter from Mr. Boswell to Dr. Johnson, upon an unlucky contest in conversation between Johnson and Percy. 2. A letter from Dr. Johnson to Boswell, dated April 3, 1778, warmly praising Dr. Percy, and with which, when afterwards given to him, he was so delighted as to say, "I would rather have this than degrees from all the universities in Europe." 3. A letter from Mr. Boswell to Dr. Percy, inclosing the preceding letter.

TWO LETTERS

From JAMES BOSWELL, Esq. to JAMES ABERCROMBIE, Esq. of Philadelphia.

“SIR, London, June 11, 1792. "The packet with which your spontaneous kindness has been pleased to honour me, after being a little while delayed by the ship's having put into Ireland, came safely to my hands. The two letters + from Dr. Johnson to American gentlemen are a valuable acquisition. I received them in time to be inserted in the second edition of my Life of that great man, which is now in the press. It is to be in three volumes octavo, and will contain a good many additions. A copy from the author shall be sent to you, hoping that you will allow it a place in your library. Meantime, Sir, my grateful acknowledgments to you be wafted across the Atlantic.

shall

"In the letter to Bishop White, I observe Dr. Johnson says, I take the liberty which you give me, of troubling you with a letter, of which you will please to fill up the direction.' There must, therefore, have been a third letter of my illustrious friend's sent to your continent. If the respectable gentleman, under whose care it was trans

*These passages are printed in Prior's Life of Goldsmith, i. 454, †These two letters are dated March 4, 1773, and are printed in Boswell's Life of Johnson.

mitted, can procure a copy of it for me, I shall be much obliged to him, and to you, of whom I beg pardon for giving you more trouble after what you have done for me.

"You are, I find, Sir, a true Johnsonian; and you may believe that I have great pleasure in being of any service to one of that description. I have not yet been able to discover any more of his sermons, besides those left for publication by Dr. Taylor. I am informed by the Lord Bishop of Salisbury, that he gave an excellent one to a clergyman, who preached and published it in his own name, on some public occasion. But the Bishop has not as yet told me the name, and seems unwilling to do it. Yet I flatter myself I shall get at it.

"Your list of Johnson's works, and of what has been written concerning him, has what is most valuable. There have, however, been various other publications concerning him, several of which I have mentioned in my book. If you think it worth your while to collect all that can be had, I will do all that I can to assist you, though some of them attack me with a good deal of ill-nature, the effect of which, however, I assure you, is by no means painful.

"I now send you a poetical review of Dr. Johnson's literary and moral character, by my friend Mr. Courtenay; in which, though I except to several passages, you will find some very good writing.

"It will be kind if you will be so good as to let me know if any thing be published in the New World relative to Johnson. My worthy bookseller Mr. Dilly will take care of whatever packets you may have to send to me. I am, Sir, your much obliged humble servant, "JAMES BOSWELL.'

London, July 28, 1793.

"DEAR SIR, "I have this very day received your packet, concerning your letter of 17th May; and, as a vessel sails for Philadelphia to-morrow, I shall not delay to express my sincere thanks for your accumulated favours.

"I am very sorry that you have experienced any uneasiness at not hearing from me, in answer to your obliging letter of 10th October, 1792, which came safe to my hands, together with Mr. Hopkins's Miscellaneous Works, and the Magazine giving an account of that gentleman. The truth is, I delayed writing to you again, till I could send you the second edition of my Life of Dr, Johnson, which