There were Smelt, [one of the King's
favourites] and the Bishop of St. Asaph, who comes to every place; and
Lord Monboddo, and Sir Joshua, and ladies out of tale.' _Ib_. p. 111.
The account that Langton gives of the famous evening at Mrs. Vesey's,
'when the company began to collect round Johnson till they became not
less than four, if not five deep (_ante_, May 2, 1780), is lively
enough; but 'the particulars of the conversation' which he neglects,
Boswell would have given us in full.
[2] In 1792, Miss Burney, after recording that Boswell told some of his
Johnsonian stories, continues:--'Mr. Langton told some stories in
imitation of Dr. Johnson; but they became him less than Mr. Boswell, and
only reminded me of what Dr. Johnson himself once said to me--"Every man
has some time in his life an ambition to be a wag."' Mme. D'Arblay's
_Diary_, v. 307.
[3] _Stephanorum Historia, vitas ipsorum ac libros complectens_. London,
1709.
[4] _Senilia_ was published in 1742. The line to which Johnson refers
is, 'Mel, nervos, fulgur, Carteret, unus, habes,' p. 101. In another
line, the poet celebrates Colley Cibber's Muse--the _Musa Cibberi_:
'Multa Cibberum levat aura.
Pages:
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572