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Boswell, James, 1740-1795

"1776-1780"

' See
_ante_, p. 230, and _post_, April 15, 1781.
[876] Miss Jane Harry. In Miss Seward's _Letters_, i. 97, is an
account of her, which Mr. Croker shows to be inaccurate. There is, too,
a long and lifeless report of the talk at this dinner.
[877] See _ante_, ii. 14, 105.
[878] Mrs. Knowles, not satisfied with the fame of her needlework, the
'_sutile pictures_' mentioned by Johnson, in which she has indeed
displayed much dexterity, nay, with the fame of reasoning better than
women generally do, as I have fairly shewn her to have done,
communicated to me a Dialogue of considerable length, which after many
years had elapsed, she wrote down as having passed between Dr. Johnson
and herself at this interview. As I had not the least recollection of
it, and did not find the smallest trace of it in my _Record_ taken at
the time, I could not in consistency with my firm regard to
authenticity, insert it in my work. It has, however, been published in
_The Gent. Mag_. for June, 1791. It chiefly relates to the principles of
the sect called _Quakers_; and no doubt the Lady appears to have greatly
the advantage of Dr. Johnson in argument as well as expression.


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