BOSWELL.
[995] This circumstance therefore alluded to in Mr. Courtenay's
_Poetical Character_ of him is strictly true. My informer was Mrs.
Desmoulins, who lived many years in Dr. Johnson's house. BOSWELL. The
following are Mr. Courtenay's lines:--
'Soft-eyed compassion with a look benign,
His fervent vows he offered at thy shrine;
To guilt, to woe, the sacred debt was paid,
And helpless females blessed his pious aid;
Snatched from disease, and want's abandoned crew,
Despair and anguish from their victims flew;
Hope's soothing balm into their bosoms stole,
And tears of penitence restored the soul.'
[996] The _Cross Readings_ were said to be formed 'by reading two
columns of a newspaper together onwards,' whereby 'the strangest
connections were brought about,' such as:--
'This morning the Right Hon. the Speaker
was convicted of keeping a disorderly house.
Whereas the said barn was set on fire by
an incendiary letter dropped early in the morning.
By order of the Commissioners for Paving
An infallible remedy for the stone and gravel.
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