Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-11-23

for the death rate Of members of the ex-
change Is low, and he who waits for dead
mems shoes waits long. Besides we are In
for good times, and very few members are
likely to be hammered
Sir William Harcourt's will presents n
remarkable contrast to that of his great
dispositions of the late squire of Malwood
were written on three or four pages OF
ordinary foolscap In the typical caligraphy
OF a lawyers clerk. Only the second eodicil
is In the autograph of Sir William himself
ana this deals almost entirely with the be-
stowal of certain family pictures and 1.-THE
hgure OF my child, Julian. and the drawing
was, 1t Is interesting to note The day upou
which the House of Commons adjourned for
the Whitsuntide recess, Mr.. Gladstone's
VIII; on the other hand, was entirely in that
distinguished statesman's handwriting. and
was consequently far less legal I'm its
phraseoiogy. Sir william Harcourt died
worth something like half n million. as the
clared does not include the Nuneham es-
tates- 1T does, however. probably include
the value of Harcourt House, which was
sold some time ago for fats and a post
ONCE.
The DR.. johnson House.
The house in Cough square in which DR..
Johnson lived for ten or perhaps the most
active and memorable years of his London
life remains standing, and. thanks TO the
memorial tablet upon its front present
day visitors have not the difficulty in find
ing the dwelling which Carlyle has record
ed that he experienced In 1881, when S
search was rewarded by being shown by
the landlord over the place. including the
garnet. etc. of which he seemed to have
the obscurest tradition taking Johnson for
a schoolmaster" There seems some likeli-
hood however, that the handsome house."
as Hawkins styled 1t when contrasting II
with the different houses IN the courts and
alleys in and about the Strand and Fleet
street, In which Johnson, together with his
wife, had previously lived In obscurity,
may be deprived of some of its interest.
for in an advertisement issued by the pro-
prietors of the galleries to which London
is iocking to inspect the display of pic
lures and objects brought back by the dis
ccvery antarctic expedition appears the
following: "Old DIR. Johnson's house,
Cough square. The finely carved interior
hall Corinthian columns and capitols I'm
carved wood, with entrance doorways, for
disposal. stripped of paint and ready for
adaptation to dining room or hall"
The surroundings of the great lexico-
grapher's dwelling have changed much
since Maitland described Cough square
fashionable. TIE backs of modern build
ings now adjon on two sides OF the small
square, and part of the house itself is in
the occupation of a firm of printers. Hav-
ing regard to the fact that Johnson was
twenty-eight when he left Lfchfield to
rome to the metropolis he lived successive
IL in an unusual number of places in Lon
don. Boswell gives list OF no fewer than
seventeen. OF these only two or three can
now be traced. and that In Cough square
undoubtedly possesses the most associa-
tfons with the famous tenant, inasmuch as
1t was during his residence there that he
commenced the Rambler" and the
''Idler." completed his dictionary, produced
with the aid of Garrick his tragedy o.
Irene" and penned his scathing letter to
the Earl of Chesterfield. l.. II. MOORE.