The Savannah morning news., 1900-09-25
DISAPPEARING LONDON.
TWO FORMER RESIDENCES or SAM
Ter JOHNSON.

The nMNNfN la nl "
House in Little Queen street-Vin-
rsar Yard and the .whi.tIins
oyster"
London Letter in New York Post
4 has been observed. and truly. that hu-
man nfe would be- impossible hut fos
t1e limitations Of our senses. These lin.
uaiions stand as q bulwark against a
aaod OF impressions whose sudden iugrsss
would Involve swift annihilation The
u a.ld would appear as a babel OF sounds.
q bcwidering phsntasmaRoria OF sights.
a vast asscmblage Of scents. pleasant ana
unpleasant. on the other hand there are
concessions OF which the majority of us
lr, dmly sensible. which II would be-
-,eu 90 welcome more cordially. 20 enter
tlin more Hospitality.
Ola and disappearing London Is ever
ads to recount some romantic or strange
tale. but instead OF eagerly listening. most
az as pass rapidly by her speaking stones.
,lreiess OF. the tact that In ono OF the
t.sf to-morrows the lnborer's pick and
shovel will have stilled the voice In
word while the fetish-worship OF mere
tricks and mortar Is to be discouuten-
aueed. the fact that at this street corner
,r that quiet alley one can coniure up
SOM. noteworthy figure IN the literary,
.rusitc or political world % the past,
.,imulates the imagination. tends 10 act
raIza what Up TO that moment may for
u have been land OF shadow. Here
propose To touch briefly upon some OF the
,s-ociaticus which attach to one or two
threatened or Just demolished buildings.
nrst place must be given 90 two Will
am residences Of Dr. Samuel johnson.
W Thin the past few months. No. John
s0n Court. Fleet street. has been razed
For long che house has been relocated 90
IN obscure and neglected old age. and
probably the army Of rats chat found
home within the diapidated structure.
with It's broken windows. It's walls black
with the smoke OF many a year. are re-
GREETING les disappearance more than any
human being. During his visit 90 Scot
md IL will be remembered. the bury
doctor humorously characterized himself
a. johnson Of that fk" Perhaps this
was In part because for about eleven
Years. from 1855 90 iT6 he lived IN John
son Court Tho name Of the court. how
ever. Is not. as f. popularity supposed, IN
aav way connected with his soiourn ~
SO z n the dictionary-m maker did not In
.ais house utter the famous iibe, The
rah.est prospect which Scotchman ever
.eas a. the highroad that leads 10 Eng
Ind" quite possibly Il was within these
wallis that. In answer 20 question py
uaswel-as 10 whether there was not
mat and drink enough m scotiand-ne
ar. wered aptly: why yes. sir. meat and
drink enough 20 give ,he inhabitants suf-
q ant strength 10 run away from home.
Hoswel-a Scot. Of course. whom the
doctor delighted TO rouse on the subject
~ his native land-meutions that when he
burned 20 London IN February, iId6, he
ta-ud his friend in n good house In John-
sons Court. Fleet street In which he had
,rnmodafed Mrs Williams with an
r4rtment on the ground floor. while Mr.
farew occupied his post In the garnet
d ling FOR the FIRST time here, Boswell
.ef his host how. in conversation ne
f.i mad with ,Volfaire. the French writer
--.. distlnruished between Pope and Dry
f.r. "Pope drives handsome chariot
with couple OF trim. neat nags: Dryden
p saarh and six stately horses" Observed
Johnson lnclsiveiv. why. sir, the truth =
ts drive coaches and six. but Dryden's
rss are either Ealloping or Stumbling
V.H.'- go az steady trot
au Easter Day. i7IS Roswell VINO M
Fl nfrd dinner with Jean Rousseau IN
80. a.n.js OF Neufchatcl. accepted the Doc
t.rt. Invitation TO sup ''in q dusty recess
Ola rourt. i" which was. IN fact. the house
a-t rtzei The picture OF the past
.,.-t, preseryiue Il supposed" says
rs. bt.rrapher 1--WE should scarcely have
Knives and forks. and only some strange
ur-auth. ul-lrest dish. but found every
thing i'm very good order. we hho no
other company but Mrs Williams ana
Younger woman whom I did not Know
Al. dinner here was considered sin
rrI4r nhepomenon and I was frequently
.rtarroaated on the subject. my readers
mav. perhaps. be DESTROYS 10 know our
tI of fare Foote. I remember, IN altusloh
rs Francis. the negro. was willing 10 sup
ra-e chat our repast was black PROM
EuI In fact We had very good soup.
boiled leg OF lamb gnd spinach. "a veal
rIs md "a rice pudding" IL was WINE
living al No. 7 johnson Court that john
sou wrote the prologue to Goldsmiih's
Good Natured Man" published his Jour
utv 90 the Hebridcs' and one issue OF the
Dictionary. ana made che acquaintance OF
fhe rlrales. From here the leNicogrnpner
removed. ia iT7s. to No. Bolt Court
little farther east. Some twenty seven
Years after. before the widowed Doctor
tef johnson Court, Mrs. Johnson. for
health's sake. took lodgings at Hampstead
7aither johnson not only resorted occa-
s1nally. but there wrote a portion, at
auv rate. Of THE Vanity OF Human WISH
t- Being the Tenth Satire OF Juveual INT
tued" In AZ ieass one well known book
ou London n Is stated that tho last
tHoueel ia Frognal. southwark" In which
Nr and Mrs. johnson lived, was some
Nmo ago swept away. The probabilities
are however that We hnve the house IN
Nrory Lodge. not far from the church.
aithough 10 has been added 20 consid-
erahly since the middle Of the last CEN
turv.t
In the Hampstead OF 1919, approached by
road from London dangerous 90 those
S. no. unarmed. carried money. there was
preaching-tent for Whitfield. the hrst
Hon-conformist place Of worship here
aoouts. set M within a stones throw OF
the race-course. Akenside. che poet who
'Htolled the beauties of Golder's Hill. liv-
q "a, Northend. Lord Butte al Caen Wood.
Flitcroft the architect, quite close 70
.ognai johnson was IN general here
with regard TO the country tav-
tn chair was hts idea OF an earthly
'ronc and IL was DIFFICULT 90 persuade
% 10 forcgO the pleasures OF the to him
dl-inclusive world Of Fleet street Inter
sting IN this regard are a couple OF pa-
re essays. written by Johnson for the
Gambler la which. trenchantly, as was
wont in other directions. he urges on
n the study OF nature. primarily, hecaus
'His muitiples our "inlots 20 happiness
a word. the doctors brief residence AZ
mpsscad seems temporarily TO nave
made him love the study OF nature ana
soiitudes hardly less than that OF
a I. "A ~ aseNf