to sell it. And my desire of printing it, originated from a
motive which tho' vain I allow, is an natural vanity I wishd
to leave behind me a respectable memorial of my existence,
which I then flatterd myself this would be. Ten impressions or
twenty at the most, were all I wishd to have taken off. Why I
had so many as 250 was because Dr. Johnson advised me to print
that number, and to sell them, to stand the sale of them was
his expression, but I must do Dr. Johnson the justice to say,
that, that advice was given me with a proviso that no person
was in the secret but himself, for on my informing him to
the contrary, he declined or seemd to decline the affair of
getting them printed for me, which I perceiving sent to him
for the manuscript, foolishly entertaining a slight suspicion
which I much reproach myself for, that some other motives
besides the want of merit in the work had influenced this
change of behaviour. Unluckily from the beginning I made too
great allowance in its favour, from an opinion I had con
too of Dr. Johnsons being strongly prejudiced against womens
literary productions. But I deceived myself. He was sincere,
he judged justly of the work, and his opinion exactly
corresponded with yours![4]

Not that she regretted the cost of printing the 250 copies. That was a
minor consideration. She concluded:

If I ever should shew it to any person it will be to Mr.
Langton, from a motive of wishing him to see the alteration I
have made in it for the better, since he saw it, and as it is
also since Dr. Johnson saw it, and particularly that part
he most objected to, my belief that I had obviated that