For this purpose
he established a club at a little ale-house in Essex-street, composed of
a strange mixture of very learned and very ingenious odd people. Of the
former were Dr. Heberden, Mr. Windham, Mr. Boswell, Mr. Steevens, Mr.
Paradise. Those of the latter I do not think proper to enumerate.'
Taylor's _Life of Reynolds_, ii. 455.
It is possible that Reynolds had never seen the Essex Head, and that the
term 'little ale-house' he had borrowed from Hawkins's account. Possibly
too his disgust at Barry here found vent. Murphy (_Life of Johnson_, p.
124) says:--
'The members of the club were respectable for their rank, their talents,
and their literature.'
The 'little ale-house' club saw one of its members, Alderman Clarke
(_ante_, p. 258), Lord Mayor within a year; another, Horsley, a Bishop
within five years; and a third, Windham, Secretary at War within ten
years. Nichols (_Literary Anecdotes_, ii. 553) gives a list of the
'constant members' at the time of Johnson's death.
APPENDIX E.
(Page 399.)
Miss Burney's account of Johnson's last days is interesting, but her
dates are confused more even than is common with her.
Pages:
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556