The Expedition of Humphry Clinker

THE EXPEDITION OF HUMPHRY CLINKER 131
entertainment of the day, though not yet satisfied, with respect to
the nature of this connexion, betwixt a man of character in the
literary world, and a parcel of authorlings, who, in all probability,
would never be able to acquire any degree of reputation by their
labours. On this head I interrogated my conductor, Dick Ivy, who
answered me to this effect—‘One would imagine S—— had some
view to his own interest, in giving countenance and assistance to
those people, whom he knows to be bad men, as well as bad
writers; but, if he has any such view, he will find himself dis-
appointed; for if he is so vain as to imagine he can make them sub-
servient to his schemes of profit or ambition, they are cunning
enough to make him their property in the mean time. There is not
one of the company you have seen to-day (myself excepted) who
does not owe him particular obligations.—One of them he bailed
out of a spunging-house, and afterwards paid the debt—another
he translated into his family, and cloathed, when he was turned
out half naked from jail in consequence of an act for the relief of
insolvent debtors—a third, who was reduced to a woollen night-
cap, and lived upon sheeps’ trotters, up three pair of stairs back-
ward in Butcher-row, he took into present pay and free quarters,
and enabled him to appear as a gentleman, without having the fear
of sheriff ’s officers before his eyes. Those who are in distress he
supplies with money when he has it, and with his credit when he is
out of cash. When they want business, he either finds employment
for them in his own service, or recommends them to booksellers
to execute some project he has formed for their subsistence. They
are always welcome to his table, (which, though plain, is plentiful)
and to his good offices as far as they will go; and when they see
occasion, they make use of his name with the most petulant
familiarity; nay, they do not even scruple to arrogate to them-
selves the merit of some of his performances, and have been known
to sell their own lucubrations as the produce of his brain. The
Scotchman you saw at dinner once personated him at an ale-house
in West-Smithfield, and, in the character of S——, had his head
broke by a cow-keeper, for having spoke disrespectfully of the
Christian religion; but he took the law of him in his own person,
and the assailant was fain to give him ten pounds to withdraw his
action.’
I observed, that all this appearance of liberality on the side of
Mr. S—— was easily accounted for, on the supposition that they