Page:Hannah More (1887 Charlotte Mary Yonge British).djvu/70

58 thing, said it was full of the best-humoured wit and a most elegant compliment, and made his wife transcribe it that the handwriting might not betray the authorship.

How far the lady was mystified we are not told, probably very little, for in a week or two it was needful to forbid the giving away of copies; and when the authoress went to Hampton for her autumn visit and saw Dr. Johnson, she tells her sisters:—

"As to the Bas Bleu, all the flattery I ever received from everybody together would not make up the sum. He said (but I seriously insist you do not tell anybody, for I am ashamed of writing it even to you)—he said there was no name in poetry that might not be glad to own it. You cannot imagine how I stared at this from Johnson, that parsimonious praiser. I told him that I was delighted at his approbation. He answered, quite characteristically, 'And so you may, for I give you the opinion of a man who does not praise easily.'"

However, great men in their old age are easily biassed in favour of the doings of a person who has won their regard. Johnson's admiration was genuine, for he wrote at this time to Mrs. Thrale:—

"Miss More has written a poem called the Bas Bleu, which, in my opinion, is a very great performance. It wanders about in manuscript, and surely will soon find its way to Bath."