2).
[cross-reference: return to Footnote 1 of Letter 154]
"Dr. Johnson's reply to the friend who asked him if any man
living
could have written such a book, is well known: 'Yes, sir; many men, many women, and many children.' I inquired of him myself if this story was authentic, and he said it was" (Mrs. Piozzi,
Johnsoniana
, p. 84). — [Moore.]