reflections upon life. Drop them on the paper just as they arise from your mind; I love them, and profit by them; and I am pleased particularly sometimes to find one of my own, brightened and adorned with your strong and masterly colouring, which gives me back the image of my mind, like the meeting an old acquaintance after absence, but extremely improved. I have no reason, I own, to expect a letter from you soon; but think not that, because I have not before now desired one, I do not deserve one, because I can with truth assure you I have this claim. Nobody can more value your correspondence, or be with greater esteem than I am, dear sir, your friend, and obliged humble servant, "H. BOOTHBY." LETTER X. "Tissington, 5th August, 1754. “DEAR SIR,—I have, as you desired, endeavoured to think about and examine your hypothesis; but this dear little boy, and the change resolved on for him, would not suffer me to speculate in a general way to much purpose. Must you not allow our perception of pain I and of pleasure to be in an equal degree? Or does it not often happen, that we are even more sensible to pain than pleasure? If so, those changes which do not increase our present happiness, will not enable us to feel the next vicissitude of gladness with quicker, but only with equal, or with a less degree of perception; and consequently we shall be either no gainers or losers on the whole. And yet, though I am sure I shall experience the truth of this, if only see you for a few hours, I shall however desire to see you. This is an enigma I will leave to your solution, and proceed to tell you, that, if nothing intervenes to change it, the present resolution is, that we are to set out for Fulham on Wednesday se'nnight, the 14th of August. On account of the dear little ones I shall leave here, I shall be obliged to make a speedy return; and propose staying only a week at a friend's in Putney, to see every thing fixed, as well as I can, for my young man. But I will contrive to see you and a very few more o my friends in town; and you shall hear from me, as to the when and where, from Putney. You, full of kindness, sitting in your study, will, I know, say- Why does she hurry herself about so?' I answer, to save you, the pain of this thought, that travelling always is very serviceable to me in point of health. of "You will never provoke me to contradict you, unless you contradict me, without reasons and exemplification to support your opinion. 'Tis very true-all these things you have enumerated are equally pitiable with a poor fox-hunter. 'Tis not in man to direct, either his own or the way of others aright; nor do I ever look but to the supreme and all-wise Governor of the universe, either for direction or with hope. I know you kindly mean to avert the pain of disap pointment by discouraging expectation, but mine is never sanguine with regard to any thing here. Mine is truly a life of faith, not of sight; and thus I never, as Milton says-- bate, one jót Of heart or hope; but still bear up, and steer "I like not the conclusion of your last letter; it is an ill compliment to call that mean, which the person you speak to most highly esteems and values. Know yourself and me better for the future, and be assured you both are and ought to be much regarded and honoured by, dear sir, your grateful and affectionate friend, H. Воотнѣу. "Your dedication to your Great Dictionary. I have heard of in these words-A specimen of perfection in the English language. 7 hond voor TOY” "Putney, 9th August, J 549 "DEAR SIR,-As I promised, this is to inform you of our being here, but at present I cannot say more. The pleasure of seeing you, with the ways and means of procuring this pleasure, must be deferred for some days. This evening we take dear Billy to school, and till ve take མ་ I have seen how he settles there, I am fixed here. Form some little 14205 plan for me, to be executed towards the latter end of this week; for really I am not capable of forming any myself at this time and com municate it by the penny-post in a billet to me at Mrs. D'Áranda's in Putney. I and my little companions here are well, and all has y favourable aspect with regard to the dear boy's situation. I never forget any thing you say; and now have in my mind a very just and useful observation of yours, viz. The effect of education is very prel carious. But what can be hoped without it? Though the harvest may be blasted, we must yet cultivate the ground,' &c. I am (somewhat abruptly)—but I am, dear sir, your much obliged and affectionate friend, "H. BOOTH BY.” " 66 Sunday evening, Holborn-bridge. * "DEAR SIR,—Do you think I would have been almost two days in town without seeing you, if I could either have been at liberty to have made you a visit, or have received one from you? No you cannot think so unjustly of me. The truth is, I have been in a hurry ever since I came here, and am not well. Tomorrow I am obliged to go a little way into the country. On Tuesday, Dr. Lawrence has far og e brend sysb edt 15 18m gut qa wood teɗw dtiw tem bas qui [She must mean the Prospectus addressed to Lord Chesterfield, which had been published so long before as 1747, of which the original manuscript, with some marginal notes by Lord Chesterfield, is in the possession of Mr. Anderdon. ED.] bas de sanguis 71 197 engaged me to spend the evening at his house, where I hope to meet you, and fix with you some hour in which to see you again on Wednesday. Thursday, down towards Derbyshire. Thus is whirled about this little machine; which, however, contains a mind unsubject to rotation. Such you will always find it. "H. BOOTHBY." LETTER XIII. "Putney, 23d August, 1754. "DEAR SIR,-Unless a very great change is made in you, you can never have the least reason to apprehend the loss of my esteem. Caprice may have accompanied the morning, and perhaps noon of my life, but my evening has banished that fickle wanderer; and as now I fix not without deliberation and well-weighed choice, I am not subject to change. "Your very kind visit was a new obligation, which, if I could express my sense of, it must be less. Common favours it is easy to acknowledge, but a delicate sensibility to real proofs of esteem and friendship are not easily to be made known. "Mr. Millar's method seems to me to be a very right one, and for the reasons you give; and if he will please to carry the catalogue to Mr. Whiston, by the time I shall be in town, I imagine he will have appraised the books; and then we will proceed to the disposal of them, as you shall judge best. Mr. Fitzherbert I have not seen since I had the pleasure of seeing you, and therefore cannot yet say when I can again have that pleasure; but I hope some time next week to repay your visit. I have an aching head to-day, so great an enemy to my inclination, that it will not let me say more than that I am, with much esteem and true regard, dear sir, your affectionate friend, "H. BOOTHBY. "Mrs. D'Aranda and the young ladies desire compliments. My regards to Miss Williams." LETTER XIV. "Tissington, 12th September, 1754. "DEAR SIR,—I told you I would call upon you before I left London, if I could. I much desired to have seen you again; it was in my mind all Thursday, but so it happened, that it was not in my power. Mr. Fitzherbert having changed his mind and determined not to go to Tunbridge, suddenly took up another resolution, which was to take a house in town, and engaged me to go with him to see one in Cavendish-square, where I was the greatest part of the morning, and met with what took up the rest of the day, besides so much [This relates to the sale of some books, which Miss Boothby's brother wanted to dispose of, and about which she employed Johnson to speak to some booksellers.—ED.] VOL. IV. N N fatigue as would alone have disabled for going out again after I got to Holborn. But, as we are likely to be in town again the next month, and stay there long, I hope I shall have frequent opportunities of seeing you, both where I shall be and at your own house. Thank God we arrived here well on Monday, and found my little dear charge all in perfect health and joy. My brother I shall see next week, and then can fully communicate to him all you was so good as to execute for us in the library affair, and your opinion concerning the disposal of the books. I only saw enough of you in Putney, and in town, to make me wish to see more. It will soon be in your power to gratify this wish. Place is a thing pretty indifferent to me, but London I am least fond of any; however, the conversation of some few in it some inst will soon take off my dislike. I do not mean this as a letter; what you will. It is only to tell you why I did not see that I hope a future time will recompense for this loss; that we are safe here; and that every where I am, and shall be, with much régi bellís 9780 esteem, dear sir, your obliged and affectionate friend, med and seudo H. BOOTHBY. It again; "You can write amidst the tattle of women, because your attention is so strong to sense that you are deaf to sound. I wonder der whether you could write amidst the prattle of children; no better than I, I really believe, if they were your own children, as I find these prattlers are mine." bethese LETTER XV. "Tissington, 28th September, 1754. “DEAR SIR,—Do you wait to hear again from me? or why is it that I am sodong without the pleasure of hearing from you? Had my brotherl kept his appointment, I should not have failed to give you a second letter sooner; now is the first moment I I could tell you his determination concerning the books. But first I am to give you his compliments and thanks for your part in the affair. He thinks, as the sum offered by Mr. Whiston is so small a one, and is likely to be a scholar, it will be best to suspend any sale of the books for the present; and if on further consideration he finds he he must part with them, then to do it in the method you proposed; as that way some may be selected for his son's use, and the rest sold, sold, so as to make more than to be parted with to a bookseller. Upon considering both sides of the question, he rather chooses the hazard on one side, with the certainty of greater profits in case of success, than to accept of Mr. Whiston's sum for all the books at present. But I am preparing for a journey to town; and there I hope I shall have an opportunity of explaining upon this subject in a clearer manner; for, though I know what I would say, I cannot say it clearly amidst the confusion of ideas in my head at this time. I beg to hear from you; In however little I may deserve, I cannot help much desiring a letter from you. If your taste and judgment, cannot allow me any thing as a writer, yet let my merit as a sincere friend demand a return. this demand I will yield to none; for I am sure none can have a truer esteem and friendship towards you than, dear sir, your obliged and affectionate friend, I Tortore 74/ strogo 79 of ze þ002 02 26% 197 il lee qeb od: gazonositón en › LETTER XVI. of EPOT π besp¶ m ་་་ 66 H. BOOTHBY." "Tuesday, 29th October, 1754. vtiter of "DEAR SIR,From what Mrs. Lawrence told me I have had daily hopes of the pleasure of seeing you here, which has prevented desiring that favour. I am much mortified by the disappointment of having been so long in town without one of the greatest satisfactions I promised myself in it-your conversation: and, in short, if you will not come here, I must make you a visit. I should have called upon you before this time if the settling my dear little charge here had not employed me so much at home; now that business is almost completed. Pray say when and where I may have the pleasure of seeing you. Perhaps you may not imagine how much I am m affected by the not receiving any reply to two letters I wrote before we left Derbyshire, and the being a fortnight in town without seeing a person whom I highly esteem, and to whom I am an obliged and affectionate friend, "H. BOOTHBY." 4 LETTER XVII. "Friday night, 29th November, 1754. DEAR SIR,-How particularly unlucky I was to be out to-day when you came! For above these fourteen days have I never been a moment from home, but closely attending my poor dear Miss Fitzherbert, who has been very ill, and unwillingly left her to-day to pay a debt of civility long due. I imagined if you came to-day, it would be about the time of my return home. But that we may be the better acquainted with each other's hours, and I secure against a second mortifying disappointment, I send to tell you that not being an evening rapper at people's doors, whenever I do go out it is in a morning -a town-morning-between noon and three o'clock; and that for next four mornings I must be out. Now can't you as conveniently let me have the pleasure of seeing you at five some evening? Name any one; and you shall have your tea as I can make it, and a gratification infinitely superior I know in your estimation to ne 97 illa god I or M 03 the 1 mu ews bed in this, the preceding, and the following letters, how few the Dr. Johnson and Miss Boothby seem to have been even when they resided in the same places+ED.] |