Long before this happened, however, Johnson had gone to London, and had become what is called a hack writer. He earned very little by his writing. These were early days in journalism, when newspaper writers suffered hardship, probably because the occupation was not yet fully established, and work was ill-paid. Much has been written of this period among men of letters in London, and of the straits to which they were driven to keep alive. It was out of such conditions as these that Johnson made himself famous, until every word he wrote, or spoke, carried weight, and he himself had greater authority among writers, and with his contemporaries, than, possibly, any other man of letters has ever had. You will find in an interesting novel, called _Midwinter_, written by John Buchan, a delightful account of Johnson when he was a tutor and later, before he had become famous. Johnson wrote a great deal, but his Dictionary is often called his most famous work. It took him years to complete the Dictionary, and the task required all his scholarship, together with much toil, carried on in poverty and privation. When the Dictionary was finished, Johnson was a famous man. It is likely that he enjoyed making his Dictionary. The work suited his temperament. One can imagine how he would choose the words, as if he were a judge or umpire, as indeed he was, {192} deciding that certain words were to be included, and refusing others. Some of his definitions are amusing. Dictionaries now are much more elaborate. The science of words has grown greatly since Johnson's day. But he was a pioneer in the making of a dictionary, and we greatly honour pioneers. Then there was Dr. Johnson's club, which met at an eating house on a famous street in London named the Strand. Great numbers of people visit the Cheshire Cheese every year because it is generally believed that Dr. Johnson and his friends used to dine there, and there carried on discussions, some of which no doubt Boswell duly reported in his biography. It is a wonderful achievement to have kept for the world so perfectly the looks, words, and characters of Dr. Johnson and his associates, many of whom were famous men. But Dr. Johnson was the leader. He it was who kept the club together; for, although he was arbitrary, odd, and sometimes brusque and rude, he was astonishingly companionable, affectionate, sincere and very able. His conversation was weighty, full of pith and meaning. It was a highly esteemed privilege to belong to Dr. Johnson's club. The names of some of his associates are Garrick, the great actor, who came to London from Lichfield with Johnson; Goldsmith, who was a poet, and who wrote plays, as well as one wise and beautiful novel called _The Vicar of Wakefield_; Reynolds, the great painter, and others not as well known, and Boswell.