. and Mrs. Johnson] resided in Gough Square, her son, the officer,
knocked at the door, and asked the maid if her mistress was at home.
She answered, "Yes, Sir, but she is sick in bed." "Oh," says he, "if
it's so, tell her that her son Jervis called to know how she did;" and
was going away. The maid begged she might run up to tell her mistress,
and, without attending his answer, left him. Mrs. Johnson, enraptured
to hear her son was below, desired the maid to tell him she longed to
embrace him. When the maid descended the gentleman was gone, and poor
Mrs. Johnson was much agitated by the adventure; it was the only time
he ever made an effort to see her. Dr. [Mr.] Johnson did all he could
to console his wife, but told Mrs. Williams: "Her son is uniformly
undutiful; so I conclude, like many other sober men, he might once in
his life be drunk, and in that fit nature got the better of his pride."'

_Johnson's application for the mastership of the Grammar School at
Solihull in Warwickshire_.

(Vol. i, p. 96.)

Johnson, a few weeks after his marriage, applied for the mastership of
Solihull Grammar School, as is shown by the following letter, preserved
in the Pembroke College MSS., addressed to Mr. Walmsley, and quoted by
Mr. Croker. I failed to insert it in my notes.

_'Solihull, the 30 August 1735._

'SIR,

'I was favoured with yours of the 13th inst. in due time, but deferred
answering it til now, it takeing up some time to informe the Foeofees
of the contents thereof; and before they would return an Answer, desired
some time to make enquiry of the caracter of Mr. Johnson, who all agree
that he is an excellent scholar, and upon that account deserves much
better than to be schoolmaster of Solihull. But then he has the caracter
of being a very haughty, ill-natured gent., and that he has such a way of
distorting his Face (which though he can't help) the gent, think it
may affect some young ladds; for these two reasons he is not approved
on, the late master Mr. Crompton's huffing the Foeofees being stil in
their memory. However, we are all exstreamly obliged to you for thinking
of us, and for proposeing so good a schollar, but more especially is,
dear sir,

'Your very humble servant,

'HENRY GRESWOLD.'

_Johnson's knowledge of Italian_.

(Vol. i, p. 115.)

Boswell says that he does not know 'at what time, or by what means
Johnson had acquired a competent knowledge of Italian.' In my note
on this I say 'he