negociation[411]; thought he should do eminent service both to government
and Johnson, if he could be the means of his getting a seat in the House
of Commons[412]. With this view, he wrote a letter to one of the
Secretaries of the Treasury, of which he gave me a copy in his own
hand-writing, which is as follows:--



'SIR,

'You will easily recollect, when I had the honour of waiting upon you
some time ago, I took the liberty to observe to you, that Dr. Johnson
would make an excellent figure in the House of Commons, and heartily
wished he had a seat there. My reasons are briefly these:

'I know his perfect good affection to his Majesty, and his government,
which I am certain he wishes to support by every means in his power.

'He possesses a great share of manly, nervous, and ready eloquence; is
quick in discerning the strength and weakness of an argument; can
express himself with clearness and precision, and fears the face of no
man alive.

'His known character, as a man of extraordinary sense and unimpeached
virtue, would secure him the attention of the House, and could not fail
to give him a proper weight there.

'He is capable of the greatest application, and can undergo any degree
of labour, where he sees it necessary, and where his heart and
affections are strongly engaged. His Majesty's ministers might therefore