26 Extracts from James BoswelVs Letters
balls against General Burgoyne 1 . Present, besides moi^ Lord Ossory, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Sir Joseph Banks, Dr. Fordyce, Dr. Burney, young Burke, Courtenay, Steevens. One of the balls, I do believe, was put into the no side by Fordyce by mistake 2 . You may guess who put in the other two. The Bishop of Carlisle and Dr. Blagden are put up 3 . I doubt if the latter will be admitted, till Burgoyne gets in first 4 . My work has met with a delay for a little while not a whole day, however by an unaccountable neglect in having paper enough in readiness. I have now before me p. 256. My utmost wish is to come forth on Shrove Tuesday (8th March) 5 . ' Wits are game cocks,' &c. Langton is in town, and dines with me to-morrow quietly, and revises his Collectanea 6 .
Jan. 1 8. 1791. I have been so disturbed by sad money- matters, that my mind has been quite fretful : 5oo/. which I
��1 For his defeat at Saratoga, see Life, iii. 355. My friend, Mr. E. L. Bigelow, of Maryborough, Mass., U.S.A., has Burgoyne's folio Greek dictionary, one of the spoils of that battle. Richard Tickell celebrates his * manly sense.' Ib. iii. 388 n. According to Horace Walpole 'he had written the best modern comedy.' Letters, ix. 96.
2 Dr. George Fordyce. For an anec dote of his drinking see Life, ii. 274.
3 The Bishop (Dr. John Douglas,
- the detector of quacks ') was elected
on May 22, 1792 (he was at that time Bishop of Salisbury), and Dr. Blagden on March 18, 1794. Croker's Boswell, ii. 327.
4 It was no easy matter to get into the Club. ' When Bishops and Chan cellors,' wrote William Jones in 1780, ' honour us by offering to dine with us at a tavern, it seems very extra ordinary that we should ever reject such an offer.' Life of Sir W.Jones, p. 240.
Malone wrote to Lord Charlemont
��on April 5, 1779 : ' I have lately made two or three attempts to get into your club, but have not yet been able to succeed though I have some friends there Johnson, Burke, Steevens,Sir J. Reynolds and Marlay. At first they said, I think, they thought it a respect to Garrick's memory [see Life, i. 481, n. 3] not to elect any one for some time in his room.' Hist. MS S. Com., Twelfth Report, App. x. 344. He was elected on Feb. 5, 1782. Croker's Bosivell, ed. 1844, ii. 327.
'In the height of revolutionary proceedings in France, Rogers, not at all reserved in giving full swing to Whig opinions of the day, came forward as candidate for the Club, and was black-balled. This he at tributed to Malone.' Prior's Malone, p. 204.
5 Reynolds wrote to Malone on this day : ' To-day is Shrove Tues day, and no Johnson.' Prior's Malone, p. 174.
6 Life, iv. I.
borrowed
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