WenowbeholdJohnsonforthelasttime，inhisnativecity，forwhichheeverretainedawarmaffection，andwhich，byasuddenapostrophe，underthewordLich，heintroduceswithreverence，intohisimmortalWork，THEENGLISHDICTIONARY：——Salve，magnaparens!
Whilehere，hefeltarevivalofallthetendernessoffilialaffection，aninstanceofwhichappearedinhisorderingthegrave-
stoneandinscriptionoverElizabethBlaney*tobesubstantiallyandcarefullyrenewed。
*Hismother——ED。
ToMr。HenryWhite，ayoungclergyman，withwhomhenowformedanintimacy，soastotalktohimwithgreatfreedom，hementionedthathecouldnotingeneralaccusehimselfofhavingbeenanundutifulson。’Once，indeed，saidhe，Iwasdisobedient；I
refusedtoattendmyfathertoUttoxeter-market。Pridewasthesourceofthatrefusal，andtheremembranceofitwaspainful。A
fewyearsago，Idesiredtoatoneforthisfault；IwenttoUttoxeterinverybadweather，andstoodforaconsiderabletimebareheadedintherain，onthespotwheremyfather’sstallusedtostand。IncontritionIstood，andIhopethepenancewasexpiatory。’
’ItoldhimsaysMissSewardinoneofmylatestvisitstohim，ofawonderfullearnedpig，whichIhadseenatNottingham；andwhichdidallthatwehaveobservedexhibitedbydogsandhorses。
Thesubjectamusedhim。“Then，saidhe，thepigsarearaceunjustlycalumniated。PIGhas，itseems，notbeenwantingtoMAN，butMANtoPIG。WedonotallowTIMEforhiseducation，wekillhimatayearold。“Mr。HenryWhite，whowaspresent，observedthatifthisinstancehadhappenedinorbeforePope’stime，hewouldnothavebeenjustifiedininstancingtheswineasthelowestdegreeofgrovelinginstinct。Dr。Johnsonseemedpleasedwiththeobservation，whilethepersonwhomadeitproceededtoremark，thatgreattorturemusthavebeenemployed，eretheindocilityoftheanimalcouldhavebeensubdued。“Certainly，saidtheDoctor；
but，turningtome，howoldisyourpig？“Itoldhim，threeyearsold。“Then，saidhe，thepighasnocausetocomplain；hewouldhavebeenkilledthefirstyearifhehadnotbeenEDUCATED，andprotractedexistenceisagoodrecompenceforveryconsiderabledegreesoftorture。“’
AsJohnsonhadnowveryfainthopesofrecovery，andasMrs。Thralewasnolongerdevotedtohim，itmighthavebeensupposedthathewouldnaturallyhavechosentoremaininthecomfortablehouseofhisbelovedwife’sdaughter，andendhislifewherehebeganit。
Buttherewasinhimananimatedandloftyspirit，andhowevercomplicateddiseasesmightdepressordinarymortals，allwhosawhim，beheldandacknowledgedtheinvictumanimumCatonis。Suchwashisintellectualardourevenatthistime，thathesaidtoonefriend，’Sir，Ilookuponeverydaytobelost，inwhichIdonotmakeanewacquaintance；’andtoanother，whentalkingofhisillness，’Iwillbeconquered；Iwillnotcapitulate。’AndsuchwashisloveofLondon，sohigharelishhadheofitsmagnificentextent，andvarietyofintellectualentertainment，thathelanguishedwhenabsentfromit，hismindhavingbecomequiteluxuriousfromthelonghabitofenjoyingthemetropolis；and，therefore，althoughatLichfield，surroundedwithfriends，wholovedandreveredhim，andforwhomhehadaverysincereaffection，hestillfoundthatsuchconversationasLondonaffords，couldbefoundnowhereelse。Thesefeelings，joined，probably，tosomeflatteringhopesofaidfromtheeminentphysiciansandsurgeonsinLondon，whokindlyandgenerouslyattendedhimwithoutacceptingfees，madehimresolvetoreturntothecapital。
FromLichfieldhecametoBirmingham，wherehepassedafewdayswithhisworthyoldschoolfellow，Mr。Hector，whothuswritestome：——’Hewasverysolicitouswithmetorecollectsomeofourmostearlytransactions，andtransmitthemtohim，forIperceivenothinggavehimgreaterpleasurethancallingtomindthosedaysofourinnocence。Icompliedwithhisrequest，andheonlyreceivedthemafewdaysbeforehisdeath。Ihavetranscribedforyourinspection，exactlytheminutesIwrotetohim。’Thispaperhavingbeenfoundinhisrepositoriesafterhisdeath，SirJohnHawkinshasinserteditentire，andIhavemadeoccasionaluseofitandothercommunicationsfromMr。Hector，inthecourseofthisWork。IhavebothvisitedandcorrespondedwithhimsinceDr。
Johnson’sdeath，andbymyinquiriesconcerningagreatvarietyofparticularshaveobtainedadditionalinformation。IfollowedthesamemodewiththeReverendDr。Taylor，inwhosepresenceIwrotedownagooddealofwhathecouldtell；andhe，atmyrequest，signedhisname，togiveitauthenticity。Itisveryraretofindanypersonwhoisabletogiveadistinctaccountofthelifeevenofonewhomhehasknownintimately，withoutquestionsbeingputtothem。MyfriendDr。Kippishastoldme，thatonthisaccountitisapracticewithhimtodrawoutabiographicalcatechism。
JohnsonthenproceededtoOxford，wherehewasagainkindlyreceivedbyDr。Adams。
HearrivedinLondononthe16thofNovember，andnextdaysenttoDr。Burneythefollowingnote，whichIinsertasthelasttokenofhisremembranceofthatingeniousandamiableman，andasanotherofthemanyproofsofthetendernessandbenignityofhisheart：——
’MR。JOHNSON，whocamehomelastnight，sendshisrespectstodearDr。Burney，andallthedearBurneys，littleandgreat。’
Havingwrittentohim，inbadspirits，aletterfilledwithdejectionandfretfulness，andatthesametimeexpressinganxiousapprehensionsconcerninghim，onaccountofadreamwhichhaddisturbedme；hisanswerwaschieflyintermsofreproach，forasupposedchargeof’affectingdiscontent，andindulgingthevanityofcomplaint。’It，however，proceeded，——
’Writetomeoften，andwritelikeaman。Iconsideryourfidelityandtendernessasagreatpartofthecomfortswhichareyetleftme，andsincerelywishwecouldbenearertoeachother……Mydearfriend，lifeisveryshortandveryuncertain；letusspenditaswellaswecan。Myworthyneighbour，Allen，isdead。Lovemeaswellasyoucan。PaymyrespectstodearMrs。Boswell。Nothingailedmeatthattime；letyoursuperstitionatlasthaveanend。’
Feelingverysoon，thatthemannerinwhichhehadwrittenmighthurtme，hetwodaysafterwards，July28，wrotetomeagain，givingmeanaccountofhissufferings；afterwhich，hethusproceeds：——
’Beforethisletter，youwillhavehadonewhichIhopeyouwillnottakeamiss；foritcontainsonlytruth，andthattruthkindlyintended……Spartamquamnactusesorna；makethemostandbestofyourlot，andcompareyourselfnotwiththefewthatareaboveyou，butwiththemultitudeswhicharebelowyou。’
Yetitwasnotalittlepainfultometofind，that……hestillperseveredinarraigningmeasbefore，whichwasstrangeinhimwhohadsomuchexperienceofwhatIsuffered。I，however，wrotetohimtwoaskindlettersasIcould；thelastofwhichcametoolatetobereadbyhim，forhisillnessencreasedmorerapidlyuponhimthanIhadapprehended；butIhadtheconsolationofbeinginformedthathespokeofmeonhisdeath-bed，withaffection，andIlookforwardwithhumblehopeofrenewingourfriendshipinabetterworld。
SoonafterJohnson’sreturntothemetropolis，boththeasthmaanddropsybecamemoreviolentanddistressful。
DuringhissleeplessnightsheamusedhimselfbytranslatingintoLatinverse，fromtheGreek，manyoftheepigramsintheAnthologia。Thesetranslations，withsomeotherpoemsbyhiminLatin，hegavetohisfriendMr。Langton，who，havingaddedafewnotes，soldthemtothebooksellersforasmallsum，tobegiventosomeofJohnson’srelations，whichwasaccordinglydone；andtheyareprintedinthecollectionofhisworks。
AveryerroneousnotionhascirculatedastoJohnson’sdeficiencyintheknowledgeoftheGreeklanguage，partlyowingtothemodestywithwhich，fromknowinghowmuchtherewastobelearnt，heusedtomentionhisowncomparativeacquisitions。WhenMr。CumberlandtalkedtohimoftheGreekfragmentswhicharesowellillustratedinTheObserver，andoftheGreekdramatistsingeneral，hecandidlyacknowledgedhisinsufficiencyinthatparticularbranchofGreekliterature。Yetitmaybesaid，thatthoughnotagreat，hewasagoodGreekscholar。Dr。CharlesBurney，theyounger，whoisuniversallyacknowledgedbythebestjudgestobeoneofthefewmenofthisagewhoareveryeminentfortheirskillinthatnoblelanguage，hasassuredme，thatJohnsoncouldgiveaGreekwordforalmosteveryEnglishone；andthatalthoughnotsufficientlyconversantinthenicetiesofthelanguage，heuponsomeoccasionsdiscovered，eveninthese，aconsiderabledegreeofcriticalacumen。Mr。Dalzel，ProfessorofGreekatEdinburgh，whoseskillinitisunquestionable，mentionedtome，inveryliberalterms，theimpressionwhichwasmadeuponhimbyJohnson，inaconversationwhichtheyhadinLondonconcerningthatlanguage。AsJohnson，therefore，wasundoubtedlyoneofthefirstLatinscholarsinmoderntimes，letusnotdenytohisfamesomeadditionalsplendourfromGreek。
TheludicrousimitatorsofJohnson’sstyleareinnumerable。Theirgeneralmethodistoaccumulatehardwords，withoutconsidering，that，althoughhewasfondofintroducingthemoccasionally，thereisnotasinglesentenceinallhiswritingswheretheyarecrowdedtogether，asinthefirstverseofthefollowingimaginaryOdebyhimtoMrs。Thrale，whichappearedinthenewspapers：——
’Cervisialcoctor’sviduatedame，Opin’stthouthisgigantickframe，Procumbingatthyshrine：
Shall，catenatedbythycharms，Acaptiveinthyambientarms，Perenniallybethine？’
This，andathousandothersuchattempts，aretotallyunliketheoriginal，whichthewritersimaginedtheywereturningintoridicule。Thereisnotsimilarityenoughforburlesque，orevenforcaricature。
’TOMR。GREEN，APOTHECARY，ATLICHFIELD。
’DEARSIR，——IhaveenclosedtheEpitaphformyFather，Mother，andBrother，tobeallengravedonthelargesize，andlaidinthemiddleaisleinSt。Michael’schurch，whichIrequesttheclergymanandchurchwardenstopermit。
’Thefirstcaremustbetofindtheexactplaceofinterment，thatthestonemayprotectthebodies。Thenletthestonebedeep，massy，andhard；anddonotletthedifferenceoftenpounds，ormore，defeatourpurpose。
’Ihaveenclosedtenpounds，andMrs。Porterwillpayyoutenmore，whichIgaveherforthesamepurpose。Whatmoreiswantedshallbesent；andIbegthatallpossiblehastemaybemade，forIwishtohaveitdonewhileIamyetalive。Letmeknow，dearSir，thatyoureceivethis。Iam，Sir，yourmosthumbleservant，’Dec。2，1784。’
’SAM。JOHNSON。’
Deathhadalwaysbeentohimanobjectofterrour；sothat，thoughbynomeanshappy，hestillclungtolifewithaneagernessatwhichmanyhavewondered。Atanytimewhenhewasill，hewasverymuchpleasedtobetoldthathelookedbetter。AningeniousmemberoftheEumelianClub，informsme，thatupononeoccasionwhenhesaidtohimthathesawhealthreturningtohischeek，Johnsonseizedhimbythehandandexclaimed，’Sir，youareoneofthekindestfriendsIeverhad。’
Dr。Heberden，Dr。Brocklesby，Dr。Warren，andDr。Butter，physicians，generouslyattendedhim，withoutacceptinganyfees，asdidMr。Cruikshank，surgeon；andallthatcouldbedonefromprofessionalskillandability，wastried，toprolongalifesotrulyvaluable。Hehimself，indeed，having，onaccountofhisverybadconstitution，beenperpetuallyapplyinghimselftomedicalinquiries，unitedhisowneffortswiththoseofthegentlemenwhoattendedhim；andimaginingthatthedropsicalcollectionofwaterwhichoppressedhimmightbedrawnoffbymakingincisionsinhisbody，he，withhisusualresolutedefianceofpain，cutdeep，whenhethoughtthathissurgeonhaddoneittootenderly。*
*Thisboldexperiment，SirJohnHawkinshasrelatedinsuchamannerastosuggestachargeagainstJohnsonofintentionallyhasteninghisend；achargesoveryinconsistentwithhischaracterineveryrespect，thatitisinjuriouseventorefuteit，asSirJohnhasthoughtitnecessarytodo。Itisevident，thatwhatJohnsondidinhopesofrelief，indicatedanextraordinaryeagernesstoretardhisdissolution——BOSWELL。
Abouteightortendaysbeforehisdeath，whenDr。Brocklesbypaidhimhismorningvisit，heseemedverylowanddesponding，andsaid，’Ihavebeenasadyingmanallnight。’HethenemphaticallybrokeoutinthewordsofShakspeare：