Mrs. Lennox was a lady for
whom Johnson--ranking her afterwards above Mrs. Carter, Mrs. Hannah
More, or even his favourite, Miss Burney--had the greatest esteem. Sir
John Hawkins, that somewhat malign rival of Boswell, describes the night
in a manner, for him, unusually genial. "Johnson," says Hawkins (and his
words are too pleasant to condense), "proposed to us the celebrating the
birth of Mrs. Lennox's first literary child, as he called her book, by a
whole night spent in festivity. Upon his mentioning it to me, I told him
I had never sat up a night in my life; but he continuing to press me,
and saying that I should find great delight in it, I, as did all the
rest of the company, consented." (The club consisted of Hawkins, an
attorney; Dr. Salter, father of a master of the Charter House; Dr.
Hawkesworth, a popular author of the day; Mr. Ryland, a merchant; Mr.
John Payne, a bookseller; Mr. Samuel Dyer, a young man training for a
Dissenting minister; Dr. William M'Ghie, a Scotch physician; Dr. Barker
and Dr. Bathurst, young physicians.) "The place appointed was the 'Devil
Tavern;' and there, about the hour of eight, Mrs. Lennox and her husband
(a tide-waiter in the Customs), a lady of her acquaintance, with the
club and friends, to the number of twenty, assembled. The supper was
elegant; Johnson had directed that a magnificent hot apple-pie should
make a part of it, and this he would have stuck with bay leaves,
because, forsooth, Mrs. Lennox was an authoress and had written verses;
and, further, he had prepared for her a crown of laurel, with which, but
not till he had invoked the Muses by some ceremonies of his own
invention, he encircled her brows. The night passed, as must be
imagined, in pleasant conversation and harmless mirth, intermingled at
different, periods with the refreshment of coffee and tea. About five
a.m., Johnson's face shone with meridian splendour, though his drink
had been only lemonade; but the far greater part of the company had
deserted the colours of Bacchus, and were with difficulty rallied to
partake of a second refreshment of coffee, which was scarcely ended when
the day began to dawn. This phenomenon began to put us in mind of our
reckoning; but the waiters were all so overcome with sleep that it was
two hours before a bill could be had, and it was not till near eight
that the creaking of the street-door gave the signal of our departure."
How one longs to dredge up some notes of such a night'