Wales,
and, having come to England to seek the reward proposed by Parliament
for the discovery of the longitude, had been assisted by Johnson in
drawing up an account of the method he had devised. This plan was
printed with an Italian translation, which is supposed to be Baretti's,
on the opposite page; and a copy of the pamphlet, presented by Johnson
to the Bodleian, is deposited in that library. Miss Williams had been a
frequent visitor at Johnson's before the death of his wife, and having
after that event, come under his roof to undergo an operation for a
cataract on her eyes with more convenience than could have been had in
her own lodgings, continued to occupy an apartment in his house,
whenever he had one, till the time of her death. Her disease ended in
total blindness, which gave her an additional claim on his benevolence.
When he lived in the Temple, it was his custom, however late the hour,
not to retire to rest until he had drunk tea with her in her lodgings in
Bolt-court. One night when Goldsmith and Boswell were with him,
Goldsmith strutted off in the company of Johnson, exclaiming with an air
of superiority, "I go to Miss Williams," while Boswell slunk away in
silent disappointment; but it was not long, as Boswell adds, before he
himself obtained the same mark of distinction. Johnson prevailed on
Garrick to get her a benefit at the playhouse, and assisted her in
preparing some poems she had written for the press, by both which means
she obtained the sum of about L300. The interest of this, added to some
small annual benefactions, probably hindered her from being any
pecuniary burden to Johnson; and though she was apt to be peevish and
impatient, her curiosity, the retentiveness of her memory, and the
strength of her intellect, made her, on the whole, an agreeable
companion to him. The other inmate, whose place was in one of his
garrets, was Robert Levett, a practiser of physic among the lower
people, grotesque in his appearance, formal in his manners, and silent
before company: though little thought of by others, this man was so
highly esteemed for his abilities by Johnson, that he was heard to say,
he should not be satisfied though attended by all the College of
Physicians, unless he had Levett with him. He must have been a useful
assistant in the chemical processes with which Johnson was fond of
amusing himself; and at one of which Murphy, on his first visit, found
him in a little room, covered with soot