Author: George Birkbeck Hill

Publisher: Forgotten Books

Published: 2015-06-15

Total Pages: 483

ISBN-13: 9781330315897

Excerpt from Letters of Samuel Johnson, LL. D , Vol. 1 of 2: Oct; 30, 1731 Dec; 21, 1776 How extensive was Johnson's correspondence, and how much of it has been preserved, is not perhaps generally known. He wrote unwillingly. 'I know not how it happens,' he told Dr. Taylor in the year 1756, 'but I fancy that I write letters with more difficulty than some other people who write nothing but letters; at least I find myself very unwilling to take up a pen only to tell my friends that I am well; and indeed I never did exchange letters regularly but with dear Miss Boothby.' Seven years later he wrote to Boswell: 'I love to see my friends, to hear from them, to talk to them, and to talk of them; but it is not without a considerable effort of resolution that I prevail upon myself to write.' In this he was like Goldsmith who, apologising for his neglect in correspondence, said, 'No turnspit dog gets up into his wheel with more reluctance than I sit down to write.' I have seen in an Auction Catalogue an extract from a letter by Grainger, the author of the Sugar Cane, in which he says: 'When I taxed little Goldsmith for not writing as he promised inc, his answer was that he never wrote a letter in his life; and faith I believe him, unless to a bookseller for money.' Nevertheless, however indolent a man may be with his correspondence, if he lives to the age of seventy-five, and if his letters arc thought worth keeping, a great mass will be preserved. Happily, there was one person to whom Johnson wrote eagerly enough. His letters to Mrs. Thrale are more than 300 in number. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.