Reyn. MSS. for the taste and judgment of the excellent and eminent person to whom the first and last are addressed : "DR. JOHNSON TO SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS. "16th May, 1776. "DEAR SIR,—I have been kept away from you, I know not well how, and of these vexatious hindrances I know not when there will be an end. I therefore send you the poor dear doctor's epitaph. Read it first yourself; and if you then think it right, show it to the club. I am, you know, willing to be corrected. If you think any thing much amiss, keep it to yourself till we come together. I have sent two copies, but prefer the card. The dates must be settled by Dr. Percy. I am, sir, most humble servant, "SAM. JOHNSON." your ["MISS REYNOLDS TO DR. JOHNSON. "Richmond-hill, 21st June, 1776. "SIR,-You saw by my last letter that I knew nothing of your illness, and it was unkind of you not to tell me what had been the matter with you; and you should have let me know how Mrs. Thrale and all the family were; but that would have been a sad transgression of the rule you have certainly prescribed to yourself of writing to some sort of people just such a number of lines. Be so good as to favour me with Dr. Goldsmith's epitaph; and if you have no objection I should be very glad to send it to Dr. Beattie. I am writing now to Mrs. Beattie, and can scarce hope she will ever excuse my shameful neglect of writing to her, but by sending her something curious for Dr. Beattie. "I don't know whether my brother ever mentioned to you what Dr. Beattie said in a letter he received from him the beginning of last month. As I have his letter here, I will transcribe it. • In my third essay, which treats of the advantages of classical learning, I have said something of Dr. Johnson, which I hope will please him; I ought not to call it a compliment, for it expresses nothing but the real sentiments of my heart. I can never forget the many and great obligations I am under to his genius and to his virtue, and I wish for an opportunity of testifying my gratitude to the world.' 66 My brother says he has lost Dr. Goldsmith's epitaph, otherwise I would not trouble you for it. Indeed I should or I ought have asked if you had any objection to my sending it, before I did send it.—I am, my good sir, your obliged and obedient humble servant, "FRANCES REYNOLDS."] say. ["DR. JOHNSON TO MISS REYNOLDS. "21st June, 1776. "DEAREST MADAM,-You are as naughty as you can be. I am willing enough to write to you when you have any thing to As for my disorder, as Sir Joshua saw me, I fancied he would tell you, and that I needed not tell you myself. "Of Dr. Goldsmith's epitaph, I sent Sir Joshua two copies, and had none myself. If he has lost it, he has not done well. But I suppose I can recollect it, and will send it to you.—I am, madam, your most humble servant, SAM. JOHNSON. "P. S.-All the Thrales are well, and Mrs. Thrale has a great regard for Miss Reynolds."] "TO SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS. "22d June, 1776. "SIR,-Miss Reynolds has a mind to send the epitaph to Dr. Beattie; I am very willing, but having no copy, cannot "The gout grows better, but slowly." It was, I think, after I had left London in this year, that this epitaph gave occasion to a remonstrance to the monarch of literature, for an account of which I am indebted to Sir William Forbes, of Pitsligo. That my readers may have the subject more fully and clearly before them, I shall insert the epitaph : [These words must have been in the other copy. They are not in that which was preferred. ED.] Reyn. MSS. Oratione grandis, nitidus, venustus: Amicorum fides, Lectorum veneratio. Natus in Hiberniâ Forniæ Longfordiensis, April. IV. MDCCLXXIV." Sir William Forbes writes to me thus: "I enclose the Round Robin. This jeu d'esprit took its rise one day at dinner at our friend Sir Joshua Reynolds's. All the company present, except myself, were friends and acquaintance of Dr. Goldsmith. The epitaph written for him by Dr. Johnson became the subject of conversation, and various emendations were suggested, which it was agreed should be submitted to the doctor's consideration. But the question was, who should have the courage to propose them to him? At last it was hinted, that there could be no way so good as that of a Round Robin, as the sailors call it, which they make use of when they enter into a conspiracy, so as not to let it be known who puts his name first or last to the paper. This proposition was instantly assented to; and Dr. Barnard, dean of Derry, now bishop of Killaloe, drew up an address to Dr. Johnson on the occasion, replete with wit and humour, but which it was feared the doctor might 1 This was a mistake, which was not discovered till after Goldsmith's monument was put up in Westminster Abbey. He was born Nov. 29, 1728; and therefore, when he died, he was in his forty-sixth year.-MALONE. 2 This prelate. who was afterwards translated to the see of Limerick, died at Wimbledon in Surrey, June 7, 1806, in his eightieth year. The original Round Robin remained in his possession; the paper which Sir William Forbes transmitted to Mr. Boswell being only a copy.-MALONE. [The engraving published by Mr. Boswell was not an exact fac simile of the whole of this curious paper (which is of the size called foolscap, and too large to be folded into an ordinary volume), but of the signatures only; and, in later editions, even these have, by successive copying, lost some of their original accuracy. By the favour of the Earl of Balcarras (to whom the paper has descended from his aunt, Lady Anne, the widow of the son of Bishop Barnard) the Editor has been enabled to present his readers with a fresh and more accurate fac simile of the signatures. -ED.] |