Sir John Hawkins,-worthy of immortality, if not as witty himself, yet as the cause of wit in others, the subject of Goldsmith's irresistible epitaph: "Here lies Sir John Hawkins, In his shoes and stawkings." We hear these men talk, we hear them laugh, we see them flushing with anger or struggling to "get a word in." Then leaving the Club or Tavern we step with Johnson into the streets, and are touched on seeing the rough, rude, overbearing talker, reckless of wounding the susceptibilities of his associates, now full of tenderness for the unfortunate -relieving the beggars, although he knows they will spend the money on gin (for why should not these miserable creatures have their moments of pleasure?)—or raising a poor prostitute from the ground and carrying her on his back to his own home, there to have her tended. The man appears to us in so many aspects, and under all presents so much mind and so much heart, is so vigorous, massive, and tender that we learn to forget, or even love, his prejudices and asperities because they are his. And this is the second source of inestimable value in such a picture as the life of Johnson presents. It helps to correct the vicious idealism of novelists and biographers,— an idealism which does not proceed by the selection and purification of typical truths, but by the suppression of the lasting facts of human nature and human life: an idealism which is afraid to paint goodness and greatness blended with evil and weakness, but will only paint in black and white. We are not loving evil and weakness when we love the good and great in spite of their infirmities. But the distinct recognition of serious defects in a character other wise dear and venerable to us, will help us to feel charitably towards the defects of others. The majority of mankind are so accustomed to judge of a character by some one aspect of it, that they are puzzled and incredulous when they find a great name borne by some ill-favoured, wretchedlooking creature, "not in the least like their ideal"-or discover that some creative genius holds "very mistaken opinions" on a subject they profess to understand-or hear that the conduct of the hero has, on some particular occasion, been very unheroic-as if this blending of light and darkness were not the everyday experience of all of us! Socrates is, and has been for twenty centuries, reverenced among the great teachers and martyrs. But of the thousands who delight to honour his name how many would have honoured the man? how many would have seen any divine significance in that ugly, unimposing figure loafing about the Agora, and teaching new disreputable doctrines? again, how many of those who have a distinct vision of the contrast between the aspect presented by Socrates, and the "ideal" foolishly demanded, would distrust their impressions if another Socrates were now in their company? It is Boswell's eternal merit to have deeply reverenced the man whose littlenesses and asperities he could keenly discern, and has courageously depicted; and his work stands almost alone in Biography because he had this vision and this courage. The image of Johnson is not defaced by these revelations, it only becomes more intelligible in becoming more human. My notion of rewriting Boswell was, therefore, to preserve all that constitutes the essential merits of his work, and merely to adapt it to the more exigent tastes of our day. It was a notion caressed from time to time, but not leading me to make any preparation for carrying it out. The truth is, that scientific pursuits absorbed all my energy, and left me neither time nor strength to turn to Literature. Year by year the probability of ever finding the requisite leisure grew less and less; and finally the scheme was abandoned. It was, however, to be revived in another mind. In the course of correspondence with Mr. Main, I suggested the scheme to him as one he might possibly feel disposed to adopt. He at once saw it to be feasible -and the work which these few lines are meant to introduce was executed entirely by him, with no more help from me than the brief explanation of my notion conveyed to him in a single letter. The whole merit of the work, therefore, must be given to Mr. Main. GEORGE HENRY LEWES. October, 1873. CONTENTS. Birth-Parentage-Michael Johnson-Johnson's Mother-Samuel touched Waiting-At Pembroke College-Hypochondria-Johnson's Studies- Johnson's Wife-"Convulsive Starts and Odd Gesticulations"-First Meeting with Hogarth-A Novel Race-Tries Teaching Again- Sets out for London-Advised to "Buy a Porter's Knot"-His Friend Hervey-"The Senate of Lilliputi "London "-Self-dis- closures-Endeavours to obtain an M. A.-Fails-" Yours, without a "Irene" cannot get on to the Stage-Ill and Hungry-Mindful of others' 28-33 |