Charles Hitch, Mr. Andrew Millar, the two Messieurs Longman, and the
two Messieurs Knapton. The price stipulated was fifteen hundred and
seventy-five pounds.

The Plan, was addressed to Philip Dormer, Earl of Chesterfield, then one
of his Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State; a nobleman who was very
ambitious of literary distinction, and who, upon being informed of the
design, had expressed himself in terms very favourable to its success.
There is, perhaps in every thing of any consequence, a secret history
which it would be amusing to know, could we have it authentically
communicated. Johnson told me, 'Sir, the way in which the Plan of my
Dictionary came to be inscribed to Lord Chesterfield, was this: I had
neglected to write it by the time appointed. Dodsley suggested a desire
to have it addressed to Lord Chesterfield. I laid hold of this as a
pretext for delay, that it might be better done, and let Dodsley have
his desire. I said to my friend, Dr. Bathurst, "Now if any good comes of
my addressing to Lord Chesterfield, it will be ascribed to deep policy,
when, in fact, it was only a casual excuse for laziness."'

Dr. Adams found him one day busy at his Dictionary, when the following
dialogue ensued. 'ADAMS. This is a great work, Sir. How are you to get
all the etymologies? JOHNSON. Why, Sir, here is a shelf with Junius, and
Skinner, and others; and there is a Welch gentleman who has published
a collection of Welch proverbs, who will help me with the Welch. ADAMS.
But, Sir, how can you do this in three years? JOHNSON. Sir, I have no
doubt that I can do it in three years. ADAMS. But the French Academy,
which consists of forty members, took forty years to compile their
Dictionary. JOHNSON. Sir, thus it is. This is the proportion. Let me
see; forty times forty is sixteen hundred. As three to sixteen hundred,
so is the proportion of an Englishman to a Frenchman.' With so much