New-York tribune., 1901-07-21
A LONDON LETTER.
THE JOHNSON FESTIVAL AT LICflF1El-D
a PURITAN OF BUNGANS STAMf
STARTING FOR NEW-ENGLAND,
London, July I'D.

c-,If traditional
i known to local antiquarians as one ol '"9
It oP ancient Mercia whose name Is pre-
-. IN +na red sandstone cathedral dedlcateu
80 bis ronrnorv and also in the quaint chuiOh
,,.,rd stowe Pool. DR.. Johnson's IS name ~
cnniure with ani to attract s"aIiilS VI
from England and America to the PiC'u'
lit town His statue is in the market place
with bass-reliefs Of scenes from ms career ~
, &c bie ,,arents are in the Church oil 81
Michael with grandiose epltaphs "li''en "
,i,solf and the grave of his stepdaushlti'
. I,,r,, is in old St Chad's at Stowe. The
l1.',,,. ,.o,,roa. school where he, Addison ana
,,,,l, learned -a4ir Latin and were wei
,,ircbad disappeared fifty years ago. anu an
other structure has taken its place pu' ~
,.r,,rnbling Three Crowns lnn' WheIe H0
BOSWELL found comfortable pedS anu my"
.bout The time when jefferson was "iI"i7 -.
declaration of Independence, stlH stahuS II" N
market square and the house with 'he 'iiieo
.i,,ar, where he was born is a museum
nd library. The redemption Of DIT Johnson
,irthnlace opposite the church where he was
,.,rtfaod has been accomplished barely in time
to secure its preservation as a precious i,'
,.,,orl, Alderman John Gilbert purchaser
,ba boase and after thoroughly repairing anu
ranovating it presented it to the Town DIS
museum and library. 1t was dedlcaleu u PuDl'o
,se on Saturday and Sunday ana the hol,"0
1otrso,, CIuh was entertained at the Gulahal
and at the Bishops Palace
,rhi, Johnson festival has served to illustrate
AZ once the strength and weakness ol si.
literary reputation. 1t has brought ''e'
,li,t;r,,,,,,sbad scholars and brilliant writer's Ike
Dr G. Birkbeck Hn Mr. H. Il. WheaueS anu
Mr. Augustine Birrell and a small company VI
literary pilgrims and there have been lectures
I'D rorers on DR. Johnson's services TO letters
. sar,ron bv Canon I.onsdae in the calheorai
an his sinple piety and after dinner oratory @'
= nuhlic banquet These are proofs OF lhe Ia
herent rugged strength Of personality "h'0"
still exerts commanding influence among "eH'
although ''Rasselas" has ceased to be reau' 'i'
Dictionary has been displaced ana library Va
poetry plays biographies and essays mas p'9'
ont of remembrance The pilgrims who paid
their tribute to DR. Johnson in the Huiidhai''
the Bishops Palace, the cathedral with Wre"
central steeple: the supper room of the George
and at Mr. Francis II. Lloyds tea and reception
at Stowe HILL began by ''ridding their minus vi
cant" They confessed frankly that Dr. Johnson
was no longe- known by his work put So'''y
as the sterling and eccentric character ic'e'''N
by Boswell Time at last has made all things
even" and poor Boswell, who was CURED
snubbed and terribly disciplined by the IRE
sponsiblc and sef-willed dictator, has rescued
from oblivion a great personality and revived IN
Iichleld local pride in its chief celebrity
The Johnson Club needs to be active IN order
to preserve the chief London relic OF the great
man who was identified with Fleet Street The
rambling old house in Cough Square where Dr
Johnson lived for ten years. and wrote the bulk
Of the Dictionary besides beginning The Ram
bier" and The IdIer,' is needed for business
site and is apparently doomed. 1t is the last
Of sixteen houses where he lived in London; and
the other residences have either disappeared or
il has become difficult to identify them The
house in Bolt Court. where he died and where
lie counted for Mrs. Thrale three lunches of
grapes on the vine in his modest garden, was
burned eighty years ago. The taVerns which h
freouented with boon companions have shared,
with one or two exceptions. the fate Of the
houses where he lived in the Strand, Holburn,
Bow-st and the Inns of Court. The Cheshire
Cheese in Wine Office Court, remains. with
sanded floor and wooden benches, and the john
son chair is still shown Mire Court is hard by.
but the literary pilgrim will seek in vain for the
Queens Arms in st. Paul's Churchyard, where
Dr. Johnson a frequent guest or for The
Crown and Anchor in ArundeI-st., where he used
to sup regularly with Sir Joshua Reynolds Bos-
well and other friends for the Essex Head,
off the Strand, where every member of the lit
erary group was required to spend at least six
pence and to leave penny for the waiter;
for the migratory Turks Head, where Burke,
Goldsmith, Garrick and GibbOn acknowledged
the intellectual supremacy of the burlV giant in