Mr。MetcalfecouldnotbutbehighlypleasedthathiscompanywasthusvaluedbyJohnson,andhefrequentlyattendedhiminairings。
TheyalsowenttogethertoChichester,andtheyvisitedPetworth,andCowdry,thevenerableseatoftheLordsMontacute。’Sir,saidJohnson,Ishouldliketostayherefour-and-twentyhours。Weseeherehowourancestorslived。’
’TOSIRJOSHUAREYNOLDS。
’DEARSIR,——Iheardyesterdayofyourlatedisorder,andshouldthinkillofmyselfifIhadheardofitwithoutalarm。Iheardlikewiseofyourrecovery,whichIsincerelywishtobecompleteandpermanent。Yourcountryhasbeenindangeroflosingoneofitsbrightestornaments,andIoflosingoneofmyoldestandkindestfriends:butIhopeyouwillstilllivelong,forthehonourofthenation:andthatmoreenjoymentofyourelegance,yourintelligence,andyourbenevolence,isstillreservedfor,dearSir,yourmostaffectionate,&c。
’Brighthelmston,Nov。14,1782。’
’SAM。JOHNSON。’
1783:AETAT。74。]——In1783,hewasmoreseverelyafflictedthanever,aswillappearinthecourseofhiscorrespondence;butstillthesameardourforliterature,thesameconstantpiety,thesamekindnessforhisfriends,andthesamevivacitybothinconversationandwriting,distinguishedhim。
OnFriday,March21,havingarrivedinLondonthenightbefore,I
wasgladtofindhimatMrs。Thrale’shouse,inArgyll-street,appearancesoffriendshipbetweenthembeingstillkeptup。Iwasshewnintohisroom,andafterthefirstsalutationhesaid,’Iamgladyouarecome。Iamveryill。’Helookedpale,andwasdistressedwithadifficultyofbreathing;butafterthecommoninquiriesheassumedhisusualstronganimatedstyleofconversation。SeeingmenowforthefirsttimeasaLaird,orproprietorofland,hebeganthus:’Sir,thesuperiorityofacountry-gentlemanoverthepeopleuponhisestateisveryagreeable;andhewhosayshedoesnotfeelittobeagreeable,lies;foritmustbeagreeabletohaveacasualsuperiorityoverthosewhoarebynatureequalwithus。’BOSWELL。’Yet,Sir,weseegreatproprietorsoflandwhopreferlivinginLondon。’
JOHNSON。’Why,Sir,thepleasureoflivinginLondon,theintellectualsuperioritythatisenjoyedthere,maycounterbalancetheother。Besides,Sir,amanmaypreferthestateofthecountry-gentlemanuponthewhole,andyettheremayneverbeamomentwhenheiswillingtomakethechangetoquitLondonforit。’
HetalkedwithregretandindignationofthefactiousoppositiontoGovernmentatthistime,andimputeditinagreatmeasuretotheRevolution。’Sir,saidhe,inalowvoice,havingcomenearertome,whilehisoldprejudicesseemedtobefermentinginhismind,
thisHanoverianfamilyisisoleehere。Theyhavenofriends。NowtheStuartshadfriendswhostuckbythemsolateas1745。WhentherightoftheKingisnotreverenced,therewillnotbereverenceforthoseappointedbytheKing。’
HerepeatedtomehisversesonMr。Levett,withanemotionwhichgavethemfulleffect;andthenhewaspleasedtosay,’Youmustbeasmuchwithmeasyoucan。Youhavedonemegood。YoucannotthinkhowmuchbetterIamsinceyoucamein。
HesentamessagetoacquaintMrs。ThralethatIwasarrived。I
hadnotseenhersinceherhusband’sdeath。Shesoonappeared,andfavouredmewithaninvitationtostaytodinner,whichIaccepted。
Therewasnoothercompanybutherselfandthreeofherdaughters,Dr。Johnson,andI。Shetoosaid,shewasverygladIwascome,forshewasgoingtoBath,andshouldhavebeensorrytoleaveDr。
JohnsonbeforeIcame。Thisseemedtobeattentiveandkind;andI
whohadnotbeeninformedofanychange,imaginedalltobeaswellasformerly。Hewaslittleinclinedtotalkatdinner,andwenttosleepafterit;butwhenhejoinedusinthedrawing-room,heseemedrevived,andwasagainhimself。
Talkingofconversation,hesaid,’Theremust,inthefirstplace,beknowledge,theremustbematerials;inthesecondplace,theremustbeacommandofwords;inthethirdplace,theremustbeimagination,toplacethingsinsuchviewsastheyarenotcommonlyseenin;andinthefourthplace,theremustbepresenceofmind,andaresolutionthatisnottobeovercomebyfailures:thislastisanessentialrequisite;forwantofitmanypeopledonotexcelinconversation。NowIwantit:Ithrowupthegameuponlosingatrick。’Iwonderedtohearhimtalkthusofhimself,andsaid,’I
don’tknow,Sir,howthismaybe;butIamsureyoubeatotherpeople’scardsoutoftheirhands。’Idoubtwhetherheheardthisremark。Whilehewentontalkingtriumphantly,Iwasfixedinadmiration,andsaidtoMrs。Thrale,’O,forshort-handtotakethisdown!’’You’llcarryitallinyourhead,saidshe;alongheadisasgoodasshort-hand。’
Ithasbeenobservedandwonderedat,thatMr。CharlesFoxnevertalkedwithanyfreedominthepresenceofDr。Johnson,thoughitiswellknown,andImyselfcanwitness,thathisconversationisvarious,fluent,andexceedinglyagreeable。Johnson’sownexperience,however,ofthatgentleman’sreservewasasufficientreasonforhisgoingonthus:’Foxnevertalksinprivatecompany;
notfromanydeterminationnottotalk,butbecausehehasnotthefirstmotion。AmanwhoisusedtotheapplauseoftheHouseofCommons,hasnowishforthatofaprivatecompany。Amanaccustomedtothrowforathousandpounds,ifsetdowntothrowforsixpence,wouldnotbeatthepainstocounthisdice。Burke’stalkistheebullitionofhismind;hedoesnottalkfromadesireofdistinction,butbecausehismindisfull。’
Aftermusingforsometime,hesaid,’IwonderhowIshouldhaveanyenemies;forIdoharmtonobody。’BOSWELL。’Inthefirstplace,Sir,youwillbepleasedtorecollect,thatyousetoutwithattackingtheScotch;soyougotawholenationforyourenemies。’
JOHNSON。’Why,Iown,thatbymydefinitionofOATSImeanttovexthem。’BOSWELL。’Pray,Sir,canyoutracethecauseofyourantipathytotheScotch?’JOHNSON。’Icannot,Sir。’BOSWELL。
’OldMr。Sheridansays,itwasbecausetheysoldCharlestheFirst。’JOHNSON。’Then,Sir,oldMr。Sheridanhasfoundoutaverygoodreason。’
IhadpaidavisittoGeneralOglethorpeinthemorning,*andwastoldbyhimthatDr。JohnsonsawcompanyonSaturdayevenings,andhewouldmeetmeatJohnson’sthatnight。WhenImentionedthistoJohnson,notdoubtingthatitwouldpleasehim,ashehadagreatvalueforOglethorpe,thefretfulnessofhisdiseaseunexpectedlysheweditself;hisangersuddenlykindled,andhesaid,withvehemence,’Didnotyoutellhimnottocome?AmItobeHUNTEDinthismanner?’IsatisfiedhimthatIcouldnotdivinethatthevisitwouldnotbeconvenient,andthatIcertainlycouldnottakeituponmeofmyownaccordtoforbidtheGeneral。
*March22——Ed。
IfoundDr。JohnsonintheeveninginMrs。Williams’sroom,atteaandcoffeewithherandMrs。Desmoulins,whowerealsobothill;itwasasadscene,andhewasnotinverygoodhumour。Hesaidofaperformancethathadlatelycomeout,’Sir,ifyoushouldsearchallthemadhousesinEngland,youwouldnotfindtenmenwhowouldwriteso,andthinkitsense。’
IwasgladwhenGeneralOglethorpe’sarrivalwasannounced,andwelefttheladies。Dr。Johnsonattendedhimintheparlour,andwasascourteousasever。
OnSunday,March23,IbreakfastedwithDr。Johnson,whoseemedmuchrelieved,havingtakenopiumthenightbefore。Hehoweverprotestedagainstit,asaremedythatshouldbegivenwiththeutmostreluctance,andonlyinextremenecessity。ImentionedhowcommonlyitwasusedinTurkey,andthatthereforeitcouldnotbesoperniciousasheapprehended。Hegrewwarmandsaid,’Turkstakeopium,andChristianstakeopium;butRussel,inhisAccountofAleppo,tellsus,thatitisasdisgracefulinTurkeytotaketoomuchopium,asitiswithustogetdrunk。Sir,itisamazinghowthingsareexaggerated。AgentlemanwaslatelytellinginacompanywhereIwaspresent,thatinFranceassoonasamanoffashionmarries,hetakesanoperagirlintokeeping;andthishementionedasageneralcustom。“Pray,Sir,saidI,howmanyoperagirlsmaytherebe?“Heanswered,“Aboutfourscore。““Wellthen,Sir,saidI,youseetherecanbenomorethanfourscoremenoffashionwhocandothis。“’
Mrs。Desmoulinsmadetea;andsheandItalkedbeforehimuponatopickwhichhehadoncebornepatientlyfrommewhenwewerebyourselves,——hisnotcomplainingoftheworld,becausehewasnotcalledtosomegreatoffice,norhadattainedtogreatwealth。Heflewintoaviolentpassion,Iconfesswithsomejustice,andcommandedustohavedone。’Nobody,saidhe,hasarighttotalkinthismanner,tobringbeforeamanhisowncharacter,andtheeventsofhislife,whenhedoesnotchooseitshouldbedone。I
neverhavesoughttheworld;theworldwasnottoseekme。Itisratherwonderfulthatsomuchhasbeendoneforme。Allthecomplaintswhicharemadeoftheworldareunjust。Ineverknewamanofmeritneglected:itwasgenerallybyhisownfaultthathefailedofsuccess。Amanmayhidehisheadinahole:hemaygointothecountry,andpublishabooknowandthen,whichnobodyreads,andthencomplainheisneglected。Thereisnoreasonwhyanypersonshouldexerthimselfforamanwhohaswrittenagoodbook:hehasnotwrittenitforanyindividual。Imayaswellmakeapresenttothepostmanwhobringsmealetter。Whenpatronagewaslimited,anauthourexpectedtofindaMaecenas,andcomplainedifhedidnotfindone。Whyshouldhecomplain?ThisMaecenashasothersasgoodashe,orotherswhohavegotthestartofhim。’
Onthesubjectoftherightemploymentofwealth,Johnsonobserved,’Amancannotmakeabaduseofhismoney,sofarasregardsSociety,ifhedoesnothoardit;forifheeitherspendsitorlendsitout,Societyhasthebenefit。Itisingeneralbettertospendmoneythantogiveitaway;forindustryismorepromotedbyspendingmoneythanbygivingitaway。Amanwhospendshismoneyissureheisdoinggoodwithit:heisnotsosurewhenhegivesitaway。Amanwhospendstenthousandayearwilldomoregoodthanamanwhospendstwothousandandgivesawayeight。’
IntheeveningIcametohimagain。Hewassomewhatfretfulfromhisillness。Agentlemanaskedhim,whetherhehadbeenabroadto-
day。’Don’ttalksochildishly,saidhe。YoumayaswellaskifIhangedmyselfto-day。’Imentionedpoliticks。JOHNSON。’Sir,I’dassoonhaveamantobreakmybonesastalktomeofpublickaffairs,internalorexternal。Ihavelivedtoseethingsallasbadastheycanbe。’
Hesaid,’Goldsmith’sblunderingspeechtoLordShelburne,whichhasbeensooftenmentioned,andwhichhereallydidmaketohim,wasonlyablunderinemphasis:“IwondertheyshouldcallyourLordshipMalagrida,forMalagridawasaverygoodman;“meant,I
wondertheyshoulduseMalagridaasatermofreproach。’
SoonafterthistimeIhadanopportunityofseeing,bymeansofoneofhisfriends,aproofthathistalents,aswellashisobligingservicetoauthours,werereadyasever。HehadrevisedTheVillage,anadmirablepoem,bytheReverendMr。Crabbe。Itssentimentsastothefalsenotionsofrustickhappinessandrustickvirtuewerequitecongenialwithhisown;andhehadtakenthetroublenotonlytosuggestslightcorrectionsandvariations,buttofurnishsomelines,whenhethoughthecouldgivethewriter’smeaningbetterthaninthewordsofthemanuscript。
OnSunday,March30,Ifoundhimathomeintheevening,andhadthepleasuretomeetwithDr。Brocklesby,whosereading,andknowledgeoflife,andgoodspirits,supplyhimwithanever-
failingsourceofconversation。
IshallhereinsertafewofJohnson’ssayings,withouttheformalityofdates,astheyhavenoreferencetoanyparticulartimeorplace。
’Themoreamanextendsandvarieshisacquaintancethebetter。’
This,however,wasmeantwithajustrestriction;for,heonanotheroccasionsaidtome,’Sir,amanmaybesomuchofeverything,thatheisnothingofanything。’
’Itisaverygoodcustomtokeepajournalforaman’sownuse;hemaywriteuponacardadayallthatisnecessarytobewritten,afterhehashadexperienceoflife。Atfirstthereisagreatdealtobewritten,becausethereisagreatdealofnovelty;butwhenonceamanhassettledhisopinions,thereisseldommuchtobesetdown。’