she had laid out in building a stately house, and making a handsome garden, in an
elevated situation in Lichfield. Johnson, when here by himself, used to live at her house.
She reverenced him, and he had a parental tenderness for her.
We then visited Mr. Peter Garrick, who had that morning received a letter from his
brother David, announcing our coming to Lichfield. He was engaged to dinner, but asked
us to tea, and to sleep at his house. Johnson, however, would not quit his old
acquaintance Wilkins, of the Three Crowns. The family likeness of the Garricks was very
striking; and Johnson thought that David's vivacity was not so peculiar to himself as was
supposed. 'Sir, (said he,) I don't know but if Peter had cultivated all the arts of gaiety as
much as David has done, he might have been as brisk and lively. Depend upon it, Sir,
vivacity is much an art, and depends greatly on habit.' I believe there is a good deal of
truth in this, notwithstanding a ludicrous story told me by a lady abroad, of a heavy
German baron, who had lived much with the young English at Geneva, and was
ambitious to be as lively as they; with which view, he, with assiduous exertion, was
jumping over the tables and chairs in his lodgings; and when the people of the house ran
in and asked, with surprize, what was the matter, he answered, 'Sh' apprens t'etre fif.'
We dined at our inn, and had with us a Mr. Jackson, one of Johnson's schoolfellows,
whom he treated with much kindness, though he seemed to be a low man, dull and
untaught. He had a coarse grey coat, black waistcoat, greasy leather breeches, and a
yellow uncurled wig; and his countenance had the ruddiness which betokens one who is
in no haste to 'leave his can.' He drank only ale. He had tried to be a cutler at
Birmingham, but had not succeeded; and now he lived poorly at home, and had some
scheme of dressing leather in a better manner than common; to his indistinct account of
which, Dr. Johnson listened with patient attention, that he might assist him with his
advice. Here was an instance of genuine humanity and real kindness in this great man,
who has been most unjustly represented as altogether harsh and destitute of tenderness. A
thousand such instances might have been recorded in the course of his long life; though
that his temper was warm and hasty, and his manner often rough, cannot be denied.
I saw here, for the first time, oat ale; and oat cakes not hard as in Scotland, but soft like a
Yorkshire cake, were served at breakfast. It was pleasant to me to find, that Oats, the food
of horses, were so much used as the food of the people in Dr. Johnson's own town. He
expatiated in praise of Lichfield and its inhabitants, who, he said, were 'the most sober,
decent people in England, the genteelest in proportion to their wealth, and spoke the
purest English.' I doubted as to the last article of this eulogy: for they had several
provincial sounds; as THERE, pronounced like FEAR, instead of like FAIR; ONCE
pronounced WOONSE, instead of WUNSE, or WONSE. Johnson himself never got
entirely free of those provincial accents. Garrick sometimes used to take him off,
squeezing a lemon into a punch-bowl, with uncouth gesticulations, looking round the
company, and calling out, 'Who's for POONSH?'
Very little business appeared to be going forward in Lichfield. I found however two
strange manufactures for so inland a place, sail- cloth and streamers for ships; and I
observed them making some saddle-cloths, and dressing sheepskins: but upon the whole,
the busy hand of industry seemed to be quite slackened. 'Surely, Sir, (said I,) you are an
idle set of people.' 'Sir, (said Johnson,) we are a city of philosophers, we work with our
heads, and make the boobies of Birmingham work for us with their hands.'
There was at this time a company of players performing at Lichfield, The manager, Mr.
Stanton, sent his compliments, and begged leave to wait on Dr. Johnson. Johnson
received him very courteously, and he drank a glass of wine with us. He was a plain
decent well-behaved man, and expressed his gratitude to Dr. Johnson for having once got
him permission from Dr. Taylor at Ashbourne to play there upon moderate terms.
Garrick's name was soon introduced. JOHNSON. 'Garrick's conversation is gay and
grotesque. It is a dish of all sorts, but all good things. There is no solid meat in it: there is
a want of sentiment in it. Not but that he has sentiment sometimes, and sentiment, too,
very powerful and very pleasing: but it has not its full proportion in his conversation.'
When we were by ourselves he told me, 'Forty years ago, Sir, I was in love with an
actress here, Mrs. Emmet, who acted Flora, in Hob in the Well.' What merit this lady had
as an actress, or what was her figure, or her manner, I have not been informed: but, if we
may believe Mr. Garrick, his old master's taste in theatrical merit was by no means
refined; he was not an elegans formarum spectator. Garrick used to tell, that Johnson said
of an actor, who played Sir Harry Wildair at Lichfield, 'There is a courtly vivacity about
the fellow;' when in fact, according to Garrick's account, 'he was the most vulgar ruffian
that ever went upon boards.'
We had promised Mr. Stanton to be at his theatre on Monday. Dr. Johnson jocularly
proposed me to write a Prologue for the occasion: 'A Prologue, by James Boswell, Esq.
from the Hebrides.' I was really inclined to take the hint. Methought, 'Prologue, spoken
before Dr. Samuel Johnson, at Lichfield, 1776;' would have sounded as well as,
'Prologue, spoken before the Duke of York, at Oxford,' in Charles the Second's time.
Much might have been said of what Lichfield had done for Shakspeare, by producing
Johnson and Garrick. But I found he was averse to it.
We went and viewed the museum of Mr. Richard Green, apothecary here, who told me he
was proud of being a relation of Dr. Johnson's. It was, truely, a wonderful collection, both
of antiquities and natural curiosities, and ingenious works of art. He had all the articles
accurately arranged, with their names upon labels, printed at his own little press; and on
the staircase leading to it was a board, with the names of contributors marked in gold
letters. A printed catalogue of the collection was to be had at a bookseller's. Johnson
expressed his admiration of the activity and diligence and good fortune of Mr. Green, in
getting together, in his situation, so great a variety of things; and Mr. Green told me that
Johnson once said to him, 'Sir, I should as soon have thought of building a man of war, as
of collecting such a museum.' Mr. Green's obliging alacrity in shewing it was very
pleasing.
We drank tea and coffee at Mr. Peter Garrick's, where was Mrs. Aston, one of the maiden
sisters of Mrs. Walmsley, wife of Johnson's first friend, and sister also of the lady
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