wouldvisitmyneighbours,andreceivetheirvisits;butIwouldnotbeinhastetoreturnvisits。Ifagentlemancomestoseeme,Itellhimhedoesmeagreatdealofhonour。Idonotgotoseehimperhapsfortenweeks;thenweareverycomplaisanttoeachother。No,Sir,youwillhavemuchmoreinfluencebygivingorlendingmoneywhereitiswanted,thanbyhospitality。’
OnSaturday,May17,Isawhimforashorttime。HavingmentionedthatIhadthatmorningbeenwitholdMr。Sheridan,herememberedtheirformerintimacywithacordialwarmth,andsaidtome,’TellMr。Sheridan,Ishallbegladtoseehim,andshakehandswithhim。’BOSWELL。’Itistomeverywonderfulthatresentmentshouldbekeptupsolong。’JOHNSON。’Why,Sir,itisnotaltogetherresentmentthathedoesnotvisitme;itispartlyfallingoutofthehabit,——partlydisgust,asonehasatadrugthathasmadehimsick。Besides,heknowsthatIlaughathisoratory。’
AnotherdayIspokeofoneofourfriends,ofwhomhe,aswellasI,hadaveryhighopinion。Heexpatiatedinhispraise;butadded,’Sir,heisacursedWhig,aBOTTOMLESSWhig,astheyallarenow。’
OnMonday,May26,Ifoundhimattea,andthecelebratedMissBurney,theauthourofEvelinaandCecilia,withhim。IaskediftherewouldbeanyspeakersinParliament,iftherewerenoplacestobeobtained。JOHNSON。’Yes,Sir。Whydoyouspeakhere?
Eithertoinstructandentertain,whichisabenevolentmotive;orfordistinction,whichisaselfishmotive。’ImentionedCecilia。
JOHNSON。withanairofanimatedsatisfaction,’Sir,ifyoutalkofCecilia,talkon。’
WetalkedofMr。Barry’sexhibitionofhispictures。JOHNSON。
’Whateverthehandmayhavedone,themindhasdoneitspart。
Thereisagraspofmindtherewhichyoufindnowhereelse。’
Iaskedwhetheramannaturallyvirtuous,oronewhohasovercomewickedinclinations,isthebest。JOHNSON。’Sir,toYOU,themanwhohasovercomewickedinclinationsisnotthebest。HehasmoremerittoHIMSELF:Iwouldrathertrustmymoneytoamanwhohasnohands,andsoaphysicalimpossibilitytosteal,thantoamanofthemosthonestprinciples。ThereisawittysatiricalstoryofFoote。HehadasmallbustofGarrickplaceduponhisbureau。
“Youmaybesurprizedsaidhe,thatIallowhimtobesonearmygold;——butyouwillobservehehasnohands。“’
OnFriday,May29,beingtosetoutforScotlandnextmorning,I
passedapartofthedaywithhiminmorethanusualearnestness;
ashishealthwasinamoreprecariousstatethanatanytimewhenIhadpartedfromhim。He,however,wasquickandlively,andcriticalasusual。Imentionedonewhowasaverylearnedman。
JOHNSON。’Yes,Sir,hehasagreatdealoflearning;butitneverliesstraight。Thereisneveroneideabythesideofanother;
’tisallentangled:andtheirhedrivesitsoaukwardlyuponconversation。’
Hesaid,’Getasmuchforceofmindasyoucan。Livewithinyourincome。Alwayshavesomethingsavedattheendoftheyear。Letyourimportsbemorethanyourexports,andyou’llnevergofarwrong。
Iassuredhim,thatintheextensiveandvariousrangeofhisacquaintancethereneverhadbeenanyonewhohadamoresincererespectandaffectionforhimthanIhad。Hesaid,’Ibelieveit,Sir。WereIindistress,thereisnomantowhomIshouldsoonercomethantoyou。Ishouldliketocomeandhaveacottageinyourpark,toddleabout,livemostlyonmilk,andbetakencareofbyMrs。Boswell。SheandIaregoodfriendsnow;arewenot?’
Heembracedme,andgavemehisblessing,asusualwhenIwasleavinghimforanylengthoftime。Iwalkedfromhisdoorto-day,withafearfulapprehensionofwhatmighthappenbeforeIreturned。
Myanxiousapprehensionsatpartingwithhimthisyear,provedtobebuttoowellfounded;fornotlongafterwardshehadadreadfulstrokeofthepalsy,ofwhichthereareveryfullandaccurateaccountsinletterswrittenbyhimself,toshewwithwhatcomposureofmind,andresignationtotheDivineWill,hissteadypietyenabledhimtobehave。
’TOMR。EDMUNDALLEN。
’DEARSIR,——IthaspleasedGOD,thismorning,todeprivemeofthepowersofspeech;andasIdonotknowbutthatitmaybehisfurthergoodpleasuretodeprivemesoonofmysenses,Irequestyouwillonthereceiptofthisnote,cometome,andactforme,astheexigenciesofmycasemayrequire。Iam,sincerelyyours,’June17,1783。’
’SAM。JOHNSON。’
TwodaysafterhewrotethustoMrs。Thrale:——
’OnMonday,the16th,Isatformypicture,andwalkedaconsiderablewaywithlittleinconvenience。IntheafternoonandeveningIfeltmyselflightandeasy,andbegantoplanschemesoflife。ThusIwenttobed,andinashorttimewakedandsatup,ashasbeenlongmycustom,whenIfeltaconfusionandindistinctnessinmyhead,whichlasted,Isuppose,abouthalfaminute。Iwasalarmed,andprayedGod,thathoweverhemightafflictmybody,hewouldsparemyunderstanding。Thisprayer,thatImighttrytheintegrityofmyfaculties,ImadeinLatinverse。Thelineswerenotverygood,butIknewthemnottobeverygood:Imadethemeasily,andconcludedmyselftobeunimpairedinmyfaculties。
’SoonafterIperceivedthatIhadsufferedaparalytickstroke,andthatmyspeechwastakenfromme。Ihadnopain,andsolittledejectioninthisdreadfulstate,thatIwonderedatmyownapathy,andconsideredthatperhapsdeathitself,whenitshouldcome,wouldexcitelesshorrourthanseemsnowtoattendit。
’Inordertorousethevocalorgans,Itooktwodrams。Winehasbeencelebratedfortheproductionofeloquence。Iputmyselfintoviolentmotion,andIthinkrepeatedit;butallwasvain。Ithenwenttobed,andstrangeasitmayseem,Ithinkslept。WhenIsawlight,itwastimetocontrivewhatIshoulddo。ThoughGodstoppedmyspeech,heleftmemyhand;IenjoyedamercywhichwasnotgrantedtomydearfriendLawrence,whonowperhapsoverlooksmeasIamwriting,andrejoicesthatIhavewhathewanted。Myfirstnotewasnecessarilytomyservant,whocameintalking,andcouldnotimmediatelycomprehendwhyheshouldreadwhatIputintohishands。
’IthenwroteacardtoMr。Allen,thatImighthaveadiscreetfriendathand,toactasoccasionshouldrequire。Inpenningthisnote,Ihadsomedifficulty;myhand,Iknewnothownorwhy,madewrongletters。IthenwrotetoDr。Taylortocometome,andbringDr。Heberden;andIsenttoDr。Brocklesby,whoismyneighbour。
Myphysiciansareveryfriendly,andgivemegreathopes;butyoumayimaginemysituation。Ihavesofarrecoveredmyvocalpowers,astorepeattheLord’sPrayerwithnoveryimperfectarticulation。
Mymemory,Ihope,yetremainsasitwas;butsuchanattackproducessolicitudeforthesafetyofeveryfaculty。’
’TOMR。THOMASDAVIES。
’DEARSIR,——Ihavehad,indeed,averyheavyblow;butGOD,whoyetsparesmylife,Ihumblyhopewillsparemyunderstanding,andrestoremyspeech。AsIamnotatallhelpless,Iwantnoparticularassistance,butamstronglyaffectedbyMrs。Davies’stenderness;andwhenIthinkshecandomegood,shallbeverygladtocalluponher。Ihadorderedfriendstobeshutout;butoneortwohavefoundthewayin;andifyoucomeyoushallbeadmitted:
forIknownotwhomIcansee,thatwillbringmoreamusementonhistongue,ormorekindnessinhisheart。Iam,&c。
’June18,1783。’
’SAM。JOHNSON。’
ItgivesmegreatpleasuretopreservesuchamemorialofJohnson’sregardforMr。Davies,towhomIwasindebtedformyintroductiontohim。HeindeedlovedDaviescordially,ofwhichIshallgivethefollowinglittleevidence。Onedaywhenhehadtreatedhimwithtoomuchasperity,Tom,whowasnotwithoutprideandspirit,wentoffinapassion;buthehadhardlyreachedhomewhenFrank,whohadbeensentafterhim,deliveredthisnote:——’Come,come,dearDavies,Iamalwayssorrywhenwequarrel;sendmewordthatwearefriends。’
Suchwasthegeneralvigourofhisconstitution,thatherecoveredfromthisalarmingandsevereattackwithwonderfulquickness;sothatinJulyhewasabletomakeavisittoMr。LangtonatRochester,wherehepassedaboutafortnight,andmadelittleexcursionsaseasilyasatanytimeofhislife。InAugusthewentasfarastheneighbourhoodofSalisbury,toHeale,theseatofWilliamBowles,Esq。,agentlemanwhomIhaveheardhimpraiseforexemplaryreligiousorderinhisfamily。InhisdiaryIfindashortbuthonourablementionofthisvisit:——’August28,IcametoHealewithoutfatigue。30,Iamentertainedquitetomymind。’
WhilehewasherehehadaletterfromDr。Brocklesby,acquaintinghimofthedeathofMrs。Williams,whichaffectedhimagooddeal。
Thoughforseveralyearshertemperhadnotbeencomplacent,shehadvaluablequalities,andherdepartureleftablankinhishouse。Uponthisoccasionhe,accordingtohishabitualcourseofpiety,composedaprayer。
Ishallhereinsertafewparticularsconcerninghim,withwhichI
havebeenfavouredbyoneofhisfriends。
’HespokeofteninpraiseofFrenchliterature。“TheFrenchareexcellentinthis,hewouldsay,theyhaveabookoneverysubject。“Fromwhathehadseenofthemhedeniedthemthepraiseofsuperiourpoliteness,andmentioned,withveryvisibledisgust,thecustomtheyhaveofspittingonthefloorsoftheirapartments。
“This,saidtheDoctor,isasgrossathingascanwellbedone;
andonewondershowanyman,orsetofmen,canpersistinsooffensiveapracticeforawholedaytogether;oneshouldexpectthatthefirstefforttowardscivilizationwouldremoveitevenamongsavages。“
’ChymistrywasalwaysaninterestingpursuitwithDr。Johnson。
WhilsthewasinWiltshire,heattendedsomeexperimentsthatweremadebyaphysicianatSalisbury,onthenewkindsofair。InthecourseoftheexperimentsfrequentmentionbeingmadeofDr。
Priestley,Dr。Johnsonknithisbrows,andinasternmannerinquired,“WhydowehearsomuchofDr。Priestley?“Hewasveryproperlyanswered,“Sir,becauseweareindebtedtohimfortheseimportantdiscoveries。“OnthisDr。Johnsonappearedwellcontent;
andreplied,“Well,well,Ibelieveweare;andleteverymanhavethehonourhehasmerited。“’
’Afriendwasoneday,abouttwoyearsbeforehisdeath,struckwithsomeinstanceofDr。Johnson’sgreatcandour。“Well,Sir,saidhe,Iwillalwayssaythatyouareaverycandidman。“
“Willyou,repliedtheDoctor,Idoubtthenyouwillbeverysingular。But,indeed,Sir,continuedhe,Ilookuponmyselftobeamanverymuchmisunderstood。Iamnotanuncandid,noramIasevereman。IsometimessaymorethanImean,injest;andpeopleareapttobelievemeserious:however,IammorecandidthanIwaswhenIwasyounger。AsIknowmoreofmankindIexpectlessofthem,andamreadynowtocallamanAGOODMAN,uponeasiertermsthanIwasformerly。“’
OnhisreturnfromHealehewrotetoDr。Burney:——
’Icamehomeonthe18thatnoontoaverydisconsolatehouse。YouandIhavelostourfriends;butyouhavemorefriendsathome。Mydomestickcompanionistakenfromme。Sheismuchmissed,forheracquisitionsweremany,andhercuriosityuniversal;sothatshepartookofeveryconversation。Iamnotwellenoughtogomuchout;andtosit,andeat,orfastalone,isverywearisome。I