nces.

'The night of indispensable attendance will come to every member once a
month. Whoever shall for three months together omit to attend himself,
or by substitution, nor shall make any apology in the fourth month,
shall be considered as having abdicated the Club.

'When a vacancy is to be filled, the name of the candidate, and of the
member recommending him, shall stand in the Club-room three nights. On
the fourth he may be chosen by ballot; six members at least being
present, and two-thirds of the ballot being in his favour; or the
majority, should the numbers not be divisible by three.

'The master of the house shall give notice, six days before, to each of
those members whose turn of necessary attendance is come.

'The notice may be in these words:--"Sir, On ---- the ---- of ---- --
will be your turn of presiding at the Essex-Head. Your company is
therefore earnestly requested."

'One penny shall be left by each member for the waiter.'

Johnson's definition of a Club in this sense, in his _Dictionary_, is,
'An assembly of good fellows, meeting under certain conditions.' BOSWELL.

[797] She had left him in the summer (_ante_, p. 233), but perhaps she
had returned.

[798] He received many acts of kindness from outside friends. On Dec. 31
he wrote:--'I have now in the house pheasant, venison, turkey, and ham,
all unbought. Attention and respect give pleasure, however late or
however useless. But they are not useless when they are late; it is
reasonable to rejoice, as the day declines, to find that it has been
spent with the approbation of mankind.' _Piozzi Letters_, ii. 343.

[799] 'Dec. 16, 1783. I spent the afternoon with Dr. Johnson, who indeed
is very ill, and whom I could hardly tell how to leave. He was very,
very kind. Oh! what a cruel, heavy loss will he be! Dec. 30. I went to
Dr. Johnson, and spent the evening with him. He was very indifferent
indeed. There were some very disagreeable people with him; and he once
affected me very much by turning suddenly to me, and grasping my hand
and saying:--"The blister I have tried for my breath has betrayed some
very bad tokens; but I will not terrify myself by talking of them. Ah!
_priez Dieu pour moi_."' Mme. D'Arblay's _Diary_, ii. 293, 5. 'I
snatch,' he wrote a few weeks later, 'every lucid interval, and animate
myself with such amusements as the time offers.' _Piozzi Letters_,
ii. 349.

[800] He had written to her on Nov. 10. See Croker's _Boswell_, p.