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take a dislike to the poor creature. I am, unluckily, one of those who have an antipathy to a cat, so that I am uneasy when in the room with one; and I own, I frequently suffered a good deal from the presence of this same Hodge. I recollect him one day scrambling up Dr. Johnson's breast, apparently with much satisfaction, while my friend smiling and half-whistling, rubbed down his back, and pulled him by the tail; and when I observed he was a fine cat, saying, "Why yes, Sir, but I have had cats whom I liked better than this;" and then as if perceiving Hodge to be out of countenance, adding, "but he is a very fine cat, a very fine cat indeed." This reminds me of the ludicrous account which he gave
168:
305:, outside the house in Gough Square he shared with Johnson and Barber, Johnson's black manservant and heir. The statue shows Hodge sitting next to a pair of empty oyster shells atop a copy of Johnson's famous dictionary, with the inscription "a very fine cat indeed". It has become customary for visitors that walk past the statue to place coins in the oyster shells as tokens of good luck. To mark special occasions and anniversaries a pink piece of counsel's ribbon may be seen tied to one of the oyster shells or around Hodge's neck.
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to ease Hodge's suffering as death approached. Although Hodge was not
Johnson's only cat, it was Hodge whom he considered his favourite. Hodge was remembered in various forms, from biographical mentions during Johnson's life to poems written about the cat. On his death, Hodge's life was celebrated in
73:
Nor would it be just, under this head, to omit the fondness which he showed for animals which he had taken under his protection. I never shall forget the indulgence with which he treated Hodge, his cat: for whom he himself used to go out and buy oysters, lest the servants having that trouble should
308:
Sculptor Jon
Bickley perceived a kinship with Johnson, noting, "It seems Dr. Johnson and I were meant to come together . . . He was born in Lichfield, in the Midlands, and I was brought up just outside it. I can close my eyes and picture his birth house." Bickley modelled the cat on his own pet,
335:'s ode "Hodge, the Cat" celebrates Samuel Johnson's affection for Hodge; it appears in a collection of feline-focused poems and anecdotes published in 1912, and edited by Agnes Repplier. Hodge also appears in Charlie Fletcher's "Silvertongue" as a brave and fearless cat. Hodge also appears in
78:, of the despicable state of a young Gentleman of good family. "Sir, when I heard of him last, he was running about town shooting cats." And then in a sort of kindly reverie, he bethought himself of his own favourite cat, and said, "But Hodge shan't be shot; no, no, Hodge shall not be shot."
128:; also, the fact that Stockdale was Johnson's neighbour from 1769 onwards suggests that Hodge was alive at that time: "Who, by his master when caressed, warmly his gratitude expressed, and never failed his thanks to purr, whene'er he stroked his sable furr ".
103:
for his cat. In modern
England, oysters are an expensive food for the well-to-do, but in the 18th century oysters were plentiful around the coasts of England and so cheap that they were a staple food of the poor. Johnson refused to send
60:
Although there is little known about Hodge, such as his life, his death, or any other information, what is known is
Johnson's fondness for his cat, which separated Johnson from the views held by others of the eighteenth century.
309:
Thomas Henry, and carefully selected the sculpture's height for maximum accessibility: "I made Hodge about shoulder height for the average adult, which is just about right for putting an arm around."
359:
wrote an essay entitled "The Cat by the Fire" which features an imaginary description of how some of Samuel
Johnson's friends and acquaintances would have related to Hodge the cat. In December 2020,
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374:, via the use of a time machine that features in the episode. Boswell's account is quoted, with Hodge being described as "a very fine cat, a very fine cat indeed".
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Most of the information on Hodge comes from
Boswell's account. It is in this passage that Johnson is claimed to have an affection for animals:
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named its newly-adopted cat Hodge, as Gough Square is nearby, and
Johnson is depicted in one of the cathedral's stained glass windows.
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to buy Hodge's food, fearing that it would be seen as degrading to his servant, so he would personally buy the food for Hodge.
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The cat: being a record of the endearments and invectives lavished by many writers upon an animal much loved and much abhorred
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331:, accompanied by Skargon's wood engravings of the two cats, contextually associated with the dictionary entries.
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novel series, the heroine's cats are named Hodge and
Boswell. The English critic, essayist and poet
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The cat Hodge—along with Dr. Johnson's second favourite cat, Lily—are the subjects of a book by
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Text of "An Elegy on the Death of Dr
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124:(published 1778). In this poem the phrase "sable fur" indicates that Hodge was a
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601:"Keeping Dr Johnson's cat alive and well fed" article at Levenger Press website
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On 15 February 2021, miaows attributed to Hodge appeared in a bonus episode of
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100 Cats Who
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47:'s cats, immortalised in a characteristically whimsical passage in
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753:, The Family Histories Podcast, 2021, Series Two, Episode 8
684:. New York: Sturgis & Walton Company. pp. 80–83.
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and Johnson's Cat: The Anecdote in Polite Conversation".
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Miscellaneous Observations on the Tragedy of Macbeth
111:
Boswell also noted how Johnson went out to purchase
118:
An Elegy on The Death of Dr Johnson's Favourite Cat
450:Criticism: A Quarterly for Literature and the Arts
325:. The book consists of quotations from Johnson's
321:(Johnson is also given authorial credit) entitled
1302:
301:, unveiled in 1997 by Sir Roger Cook, the then-
1234:Essay on the Life and Genius of Samuel Johnson
649:. Newville, Pennsylvania: Primose Hill Press.
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1185:The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia
1124:A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland
791:A Very Fine Cat Indeed: A Dramatic Monologue
1257:A Biographical Sketch of Dr Samuel Johnson
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32:Statue of Hodge in the courtyard outside
853:Atlas Obscura: Monument to Hodge the Cat
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793:. Paris: Poussin Publications.
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698:(1834). Madden, Patrick (ed.).
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618:"Hodge: A Very Fine Cat Indeed"
423:(published 1986). p. 294.
297:Today Hodge is remembered by a
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323:Lily and Hodge and Dr. Johnson
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834:abridged e-text of Boswell's
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908:Birthplace, home, and museum
771:. Cirencester: Tyburn Tree.
706:(published 30 December 2007)
458:Wayne State University Press
368:The Family Histories Podcast
153:Statue of Hodge, the cat of
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751:S02EP08 The Present (Bonus)
603:. Accessed 1 January 2014.
572:"The A-Z of Samuel Johnson"
377:
339:'s early dramatic fragment
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1316:Individual cats in England
1178:The Vanity of Human Wishes
767:Tambling, Kirsten (2014).
417:The Life of Samuel Johnson
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1078:Life of Mr Richard Savage
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616:Roberts, Patrick (2006).
444:Silver, Sean R. (2011). "
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36:, 17 Gough Square, London
1038:The Gentleman's Magazine
994:Elizabeth Johnson (wife)
678:Repplier, Agnes (1912).
90:'s acclaimed poem/novel
43:(fl. c.1769) was one of
769:Hodge's History of Cats
389:List of individual cats
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1226:Life of Samuel Johnson
1210:Life of Samuel Johnson
1138:Letter to Chesterfield
1105:Preface to Shakespeare
1023:Essays and periodicals
142:A Very Fine Cat Indeed
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21:Hodge (disambiguation)
700:"The Cat by the Fire"
466:10.1353/crt.2011.0009
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953:Samuel Johnson Prize
504:Macmillan Publishers
413:Hibbert, Christopher
303:Lord Mayor of London
19:For other uses, see
16:Samuel Johnson's cat
1116:Miscellaneous prose
1058:Taxation no Tyranny
858:Dr. Johnson's House
731:Southwark Cathedral
540:Stall, Sam (2007).
361:Southwark Cathedral
276: /
1148:Fiction and poetry
1083:Lives of the Poets
1031:Birmingham Journal
938:Literary criticism
928:Dr Johnson's House
550:. pp. 88–89.
280:51.5150°N 0.1077°W
122:Percival Stockdale
38:
34:Dr Johnson's House
1298:
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923:Edial Hall School
832:Project Gutenberg
828:of Hodge's legacy
826:Pictorial account
800:978-1-905742-96-7
778:978-0-9926224-1-1
557:978-1-59474-163-0
430:978-0-14-043116-2
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710:27 November
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622:Purr-n-Furr
548:Quirk Books
460:: 241–264.
283: /
257:Coordinates
206:Jon Bickley
76:Mr. Langton
1305:Categories
913:Early life
704:Quotidiana
502:. London:
496:Wain, John
419:. London:
395:References
357:Leigh Hunt
328:Dictionary
268:51°30′54″N
155:Dr Johnson
1267:Portraits
1249:Thraliana
1070:criticism
1045:The Idler
665:898329986
627:1 January
522:462160128
482:191474979
474:0011-1589
446:Pale Fire
271:0°06′28″W
126:black cat
93:Pale Fire
1292:Category
1199:accounts
933:The Club
789:(2020).
736:30 March
645:(1999).
580:BBC News
576:Magazine
498:(1974).
411:(1791).
378:See also
244:Location
113:valerian
84:epigraph
1156:Messiah
586:16 June
415:(ed.).
236:Subject
216: (
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101:oysters
1164:London
962:People
918:Health
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345:. In
226:Medium
203:Artist
135:statue
1171:Irene
1014:Hodge
478:S2CID
133:Hodge
41:Hodge
795:ISBN
773:ISBN
738:2021
712:2019
661:OCLC
651:ISBN
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588:2009
552:ISBN
518:OCLC
508:ISBN
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218:1997
214:1997
211:Year
65:Life
462:doi
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