Hodge was the cat of the English scholar Dr. Johnson . He became famous through a passage in James Boswell's The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791):
Statue of Hodge in front of Dr. Johnson's house, 17 Gough Square, London.
" 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, read the servants having that trouble should 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 Mr. Langton, 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 favorite cat, and said, “But Hodge shan't be shot; no, no, Hodge shall not be shot. " "
“In this context it would not be right to ignore his love for animals that he had taken into his care. I will never forget the indulgence with which he treated Hodge, his cat: he went shopping for oysters himself, so that the servants, if faced with such circumstances, would not take an aversion to the poor creature. I remember one day Hodge talking to Dr. Johnson climbed up, apparently with great pleasure, while my friend [Johnson], smiling and whistling, stroked his back and pulled his tail; and when I noticed he was a handsome cat, he said, 'Well, sir, but I've had hangovers that I liked more than this one.' And then, as if seeing that Hodge was upset, he added, 'But he's a very nice cat, really a very nice cat.
This reminds me of the ridiculous report he made to Mr. Langley of the deplorable condition of a young man from a good family: 'The last time I heard from him, he was walking the streets and shooting cats'. And then, in a kind of good-natured reverie, he remembered his favorite hangover and said, 'But Hodge won't be shot: no, no, Hodge won't be shot.' "
After Hodges death, Percival Stockdale wrote an elegy on Hodge. In 1997, the Lord Mayor of London Sir Roger Cork unveiled a bronze statue of the cat in front of Johnson's and Hodge's former residence (17 Gough Square). Hodge is sitting in front of a couple of open oyster shells , which back then served as food for poor people because there were so many. Nowadays some visitors put a few coins in the oyster shells and the homeless collect them at the next opportunity. This custom is said to bring good luck to the donor.
literature
James Boswell, Life of Johnson , RW Chapman, editor (Oxford: Oxford University Press , 1953, 1970), pp. 1216-1217.
