Young Sam Johnson
Gilbert Walmsley. Letter to John Colson. March 2, 1737. Manuscript. MS Hyde 10 (732) |
Johnson and his friend and former pupil David Garrick traveled from Lichfield to London in 1737, with Johnson hoping to get his yet-unfinished play Irene produced for the stage. With only one horse between them, they took turns riding and walking during a 120-mile journey that took several days. They carried with them this letter of introduction from one of Johnson’s most important mentors, Gilbert Walmsley (1680-1751). Walmsley wrote to Colson (1680-1759), who had agreed to take Garrick on at his school in Rochester, that "Johnson is a very great scholar & poet, & I have great hopes will turn out a fine tragedy writer." |