JOHNSON.'
'London, Dec. 8, 1763.'
I am sorry to observe, that neither in my own minutes, nor in my letters
to Johnson, which have been preserved by him, can I find any information
how the poor are maintained in the Seven Provinces. But I shall extract
from one of my letters what I learnt concerning the other subject of his
curiosity.
[Page 476: Johnson's visit to Langton. A.D. 1764.]
'I have made all possible enquiry with respect to the Frisick language,
and find that it has been less cultivated than any other of the northern
dialects; a certain proof of which is their deficiency of books. Of the
old Frisick there are no remains, except some ancient laws preserved by
_Schotanus_ in his _Beschryvinge van die Heerlykheid van Friesland_; and
his _Historia Frisica_. I have not yet been able to find these books.
Professor Trotz, who formerly was of the University of Vranyken in
Friesland, and is at present preparing an edition of all the Frisick
laws, gave me this information. Of the modern Frisick, or what is spoken
by the boors at this day, I have procured a specimen. It is _Gisbert
Japix's Rymelerie_, which is the only book that they have. It is
amazing, that they have no translation of the bible, no treatises of
devotion, nor even any of the ballads and storybooks which are so
agreeable to country people. You shall have _Japix_ by the first
convenient opportunity.
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