Evidence: | 'On Monday, April 29, he and I made an excursion to Bristol, where I was entertained with seeing him enquire upon the spot, into the authenticity of 'Rowley's Poetry,' as I had seen him enquire upon the spot into the authenticity of 'Ossian's Poetry.' George Catcot, the pewterer, who was as zealous for Rowley, as Dr. Hugh Blair was for Ossian, (I trust my Reverend friend will excuse the comparison,) attended us at our inn, and with a triumphant air of lively simplicity called out, "I'll make Dr. Johnson a convert". Dr. Johnson, at his desire, read aloud some of Chatterton's fabricated verses, while Catcot stood at the back of his chair, moving himself like a pendulum, and beating time with his feet, and now and then looking into Dr. Johnson's face, wondering that he was not yet convinced. We called on Mr. Barret, the surgeon, and saw some of the originals as they were called, which were executed very artificially; but from a careful inspection of them, and a consideration of the circumstances with which they were attended, we were quite satisfied of the imposture, which, indeed, has been clearly demonstrated from internal evidence, by several able criticks.'
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Century: | 1700-1799 | ||||||||||
Date: | 29 Apr 1776 | ||||||||||
Country: | England | ||||||||||
Time: | n/a | ||||||||||
Place: | city: Bristol | ||||||||||
Type of Experience (Reader): |
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Type of Experience (Listener): |
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Reader: | James Boswell |
Age | Adult (18-100+) |
Gender | Male |
Date of Birth | 29 Oct 1740 |
Socio-economic group: | Professional / academic / merchant / farmer |
Occupation: | writer and lawyer |
Religion: | n/a |
Country of origin: | Scotland |
Country of experience: | England |
Listeners present if any: (e.g. family, servants,
friends, workmates) |
n/a |
Additional comments: | n/a |
Author: | Thomas Chatterton |
Title: | [poems supposedly by Thomas Rowley] |
Genre: | Poetry |
Form of Text: | Manuscript: Unknown |
Publication details: | n/a |
Provenance: | read in situ read at home of Mr Barret |
Record ID: | 21640 | |
Source - | ||
Author: | James Boswell | |
Editor: | R.W. Chapman | |
Title: | Life of Johnson | |
Place of Publication: | Oxford | |
Date of Publication: | 1980 | |
Vol: | n/a | |
Page: | 751-2 | |
Additional comments: | n/a |
Citation: | James Boswell, R.W. Chapman (ed.), Life of Johnson (Oxford, 1980), p. 751-2, http://can-red-lec.library.dal.ca/Arts/reading/recorddetails2.php?id=21640, accessed: 06 June 2023 |
Originally published 1791 |
Reading Experience Database version 2.0. Page updated: 27th Apr 2016 3:15pm (GMT)