believehehimself,inhiscarelessnessconcerningworldlymatters,knewittobe,hadhetravelledupontheContinent,anaugmentationofhisincomewouldbynomeanshavebeenunnecessary。
OnThursday,June24,IdinedwithhimatMr。Dilly’s,whereweretheRev。Mr。nowDr。Knox,masterofTunbridge-school,Mr。Smith,VicarofSouthill,Dr。Beattie,Mr。Pinkerton,authourofvariousliteraryperformances,andtheRev。Dr。Mayo。AtmydesireoldMr。
Sheridanwasinvited,asIwasearnesttohaveJohnsonandhimbroughttogetheragainbychance,thatareconciliationmightbeeffected。Mr。Sheridanhappenedtocomeearly,andhavinglearnedthatDr。Johnsonwastobethere,wentaway;soIfound,withsincereregret,thatmyfriendlyintentionswerehopeless。I
recollectnothingthatpassedthisday,exceptJohnson’squickness,who,whenDr。Beattieobserved,assomethingremarkablewhichhadhappenedtohim,thathehadchancedtoseebothNo。1,andNo。
1000,ofthehackney-coaches,thefirstandthelast;’Why,Sir,saidJohnson,thereisanequalchanceforone’sseeingthosetwonumbersasanyothertwo。’
OnFriday,June25,IdinedwithhimatGeneralPaoli’s,where,hesaysinoneofhisletterstoMrs。Thrale,’Ilovetodine。’Therewasavarietyofdishesmuchtohistaste,ofallwhichheseemedtometoeatsomuch,thatIwasafraidhemightbehurtbyit;andIwhisperedtotheGeneralmyfear,andbeggedhemightnotpresshim。’Alas!saidtheGeneral,seehowveryillhelooks;hecanlivebutaveryshorttime。Wouldyourefuseanyslightgratificationstoamanundersentenceofdeath?ThereisahumanecustominItaly,bywhichpersonsinthatmelancholysituationareindulgedwithhavingwhatevertheylikebesttoeatanddrink,evenwithexpensivedelicacies。’
OnSunday,June27,Ifoundhimratherbetter。ImentionedtohimayoungmanwhowasgoingtoJamaicawithhiswifeandchildren,inexpectationofbeingprovidedforbytwoofherbrotherssettledinthatisland,oneaclergyman,andtheotheraphysician。JOHNSON。
’Itisawildscheme,Sir,unlesshehasapositiveanddeliberateinvitation。Therewasapoorgirl,whousedtocomeaboutme,whohadacousininBarbadoes,that,inalettertoher,expressedawishsheshouldcomeouttothatIsland,andexpatiatedonthecomfortsandhappinessofhersituation。Thepoorgirlwentout:
hercousinwasmuchsurprised,andaskedherhowshecouldthinkofcoming。“Because,saidshe,youinvitedme。““NotI,“answeredthecousin。Theletterwasthenproduced。“Iseeitistrue,saidshe,thatIdidinviteyou:butIdidnotthinkyouwouldcome。“Theylodgedherinanout-house,whereshepassedhertimemiserably;andassoonasshehadanopportunityshereturnedtoEngland。Alwaystellthis,whenyouhearofpeoplegoingabroadtorelations,uponanotionofbeingwellreceived。Inthecasewhichyoumention,itisprobabletheclergymanspendsallhegets,andthephysiciandoesnotknowhowmuchheistoget。’
WethisdaydinedatSirJoshuaReynolds’s,withGeneralPaoli,LordEliot,formerlyMr。Eliot,ofPortEliot,Dr。Beattie,andsomeothercompany。TalkingofLordChesterfield;——JOHNSON。’Hismannerwasexquisitelyelegant,andhehadmoreknowledgethanI
expected。’BOSWELL。’Didyoufind,Sir,hisconversationtobeofasuperiourstyle?’JOHNSON。’Sir,intheconversationwhichI
hadwithhimIhadthebestrighttosuperiority,foritwasuponphilologyandliterature。’LordEliot,whohadtravelledatthesametimewithMr。Stanhope,LordChesterfield’snaturalson,justlyobserved,thatitwasstrangethatamanwhoshewedhehadsomuchaffectionforhissonasLordChesterfielddid,bywritingsomanylongandanxiousletterstohim,almostallofthemwhenhewasSecretaryofState,whichcertainlywasaproofofgreatgoodnessofdisposition,shouldendeavourtomakehissonarascal。
HisLordshiptoldus,thatFootehadintendedtobringonthestageafatherwhohadthustutoredhisson,andtoshewthesonanhonestmantoeveryoneelse,butpractisinghisfather’smaximsuponhim,andcheatinghim。JOHNSON。’Iammuchpleasedwiththisdesign;butIthinktherewasnooccasiontomakethesonhonestatall。No;heshouldbeaconsummaterogue:thecontrastbetweenhonestyandknaverywouldbethestronger。Itshouldbecontrivedsothatthefathershouldbetheonlysuffererbytheson’svillainy,andthustherewouldbepoeticaljustice。’
Ayounggentlemanpresenttookuptheargumentagainsthim,andmaintainedthatnomaneverthinksoftheNOSEOFTHEMIND,notadvertingthatthoughthatfigurativesenseseemsstrangetous,asveryunusual,itistrulynotmoreforcedthanHamlet’s’InmyMIND’SEYE,Horatio。’Hepersistedmuchtoolong,andappearedtoJohnsonasputtinghimselfforwardashisantagonistwithtoomuchpresumption;uponwhichhecalledtohiminaloudtone,’Whatisityouarecontendingfor,ifyouBEcontending?’Andafterwardsimaginingthatthegentlemanretorteduponhimwithakindofsmartdrollery,hesaid,’Mr。*****itdoesnotbecomeyoutotalksotome。Besides,ridiculeisnotyourtalent;youhaveTHEREneitherintuitionnorsagacity。’Thegentlemanprotestedthathehadintendednoimproperfreedom,buthadthegreatestrespectforDr。
Johnson。Afterashortpause,duringwhichweweresomewhatuneasy,——JOHNSON。’Givemeyourhand,Sir。Youweretootedious,andIwastooshort。’Mr。*****。’Sir,Iamhonouredbyyourattentioninanyway。’JOHNSON。’Come,Sir,let’shavenomoreofit。Weoffendedoneanotherbyourcontention;letusnotoffendthecompanybyourcompliments。’
Henowsaid,’HewishedmuchtogotoItaly,andthathedreadedpassingthewinterinEngland。’Isaidnothing;butenjoyedasecretsatisfactioninthinkingthatIhadtakenthemosteffectualmeasurestomakesuchaschemepracticable。
OnMonday,June28,IhadthehonourtoreceivefromtheLordChancellorthefollowingletter:——
’TOJAMESBOSWELL,ESQ。
’SIR,——Ishouldhaveansweredyourletterimmediately,ifbeingmuchengagedwhenIreceiveditIhadnotputitinmypocket,andforgottoopenittillthismorning。
’Iammuchobligedtoyouforthesuggestion;andIwilladoptandpressitasfarasIcan。Thebestargument,Iamsure,andIhopeitisnotlikelytofail,isDr。Johnson’smerit。Butitwillbenecessary,ifIshouldbesounfortunateastomissseeingyou,toconversewithSirJoshuaonthesumitwillbepropertoask,——inshort,uponthemeansofsettinghimout。Itwouldbeareflectiononusall,ifsuchamanshouldperishforwantofthemeanstotakecareofhishealth。Yours,&c。
’THURLOW。’
Thislettergavemeaveryhighsatisfaction;InextdaywentandshewedittoSirJoshuaReynolds,whowasexceedinglypleasedwithit。HethoughtthatIshouldnowcommunicatethenegociationtoDr。Johnson,whomightafterwardscomplainiftheattentionwithwhichhehadbeenhonoured,shouldbetoolongconcealedfromhim。
IintendedtosetoutforScotlandnextmorning;butSirJoshuacordiallyinsistedthatIshouldstayanotherday,thatJohnsonandImightdinewithhim,thatwethreemighttalkofhisItalianTour,and,asSirJoshuaexpressedhimself,’haveitallout。’I
hastenedtoJohnson,andwastoldbyhimthathewasratherbetterto-day。BOSWELL。’Iamveryanxiousaboutyou,Sir,andparticularlythatyoushouldgotoItalyforthewinter,whichI
believeisyourownwish。’JOHNSON。’Itis,Sir。’BOSWELL。’Youhavenoobjection,Ipresume,butthemoneyitwouldrequire。’
JOHNSON。’Why,no,Sir。’UponwhichIgavehimaparticularaccountofwhathadbeendone,andreadtohimtheLordChancellor’sletter。Helistenedwithmuchattention;thenwarmlysaid,’Thisistakingprodigiouspainsaboutaman。’’O!Sir,saidI,withmostsincereaffection,yourfriendswoulddoeverythingforyou。’Hepaused,grewmoreandmoreagitated,tilltearsstartedintohiseyes,andheexclaimedwithferventemotion,’GOD
blessyouall。’IwassoaffectedthatIalsoshedtears。Afterashortsilence,herenewedandextendedhisgratefulbenediction,’GODblessyouall,forJESUSCHRIST’Ssake。’Webothremainedforsometimeunabletospeak。Herosesuddenlyandquittedtheroom,quitemeltedintenderness。Hestaidbutashorttime,tillhehadrecoveredhisfirmness;soonafterhereturnedIlefthim,havingfirstengagedhimtodineatSirJoshuaReynolds’s,nextday。I
neverwasagainunderthatroofwhichIhadsolongreverenced。
OnWednesday,June30,thefriendlyconfidentialdinnerwithSirJoshuaReynoldstookplace,noothercompanybeingpresent。HadI
knownthatthiswasthelasttimethatIshouldenjoyinthisworld,theconversationofafriendwhomIsomuchrespected,andfromwhomIderivedsomuchinstructionandentertainment,Ishouldhavebeendeeplyaffected。WhenInowlookbacktoit,Iamvexedthatasinglewordshouldhavebeenforgotten。
BothSirJoshuaandIweresosanguineinourexpectations,thatweexpatiatedwithconfidenceontheliberalprovisionwhichweweresurewouldbemadeforhim,conjecturingwhethermunificencewouldbedisplayedinonelargedonation,orinanampleincreaseofhispension。Hehimselfcatchedsomuchofourenthusiasm,astoallowhimselftosupposeitnotimpossiblethatourhopesmightinonewayorotherberealised。Hesaidthathewouldratherhavehispensiondoubledthanagrantofathousandpounds;’For,saidhe,
thoughprobablyImaynotlivetoreceiveasmuchasathousandpounds,amanwouldhavetheconsciousnessthatheshouldpasstheremainderofhislifeinsplendour,howlongsoeveritmightbe。’
Consideringwhatamoderateproportionanincomeofsixhundredpoundsayearbearstoinnumerablefortunesinthiscountry,itisworthyofremark,thatamansotrulygreatshouldthinkitsplendour。
Asaninstanceofextraordinaryliberalityoffriendship,hetoldus,thatDr。Brocklesbyhaduponthisoccasionofferedhimahundredayearforhislife。Agratefultearstartedintohiseye,ashespokethisinafaulteringtone。
SirJoshuaandIendeavouredtoflatterhisimaginationwithagreeableprospectsofhappinessinItaly。’Nay,saidhe,Imustnotexpectmuchofthat;whenamangoestoItalymerelytofeelhowhebreathestheair,hecanenjoyverylittle。’
Ourconversationturneduponlivinginthecountry,whichJohnson,whosemelancholymindrequiredthedissipationofquicksuccessivevariety,hadhabituatedhimselftoconsiderasakindofmentalimprisonment。’Yet,Sir,saidI,therearemanypeoplewhoarecontenttoliveinthecountry。’JOHNSON。’Sir,itisintheintellectualworldasinthephysicalworld;wearetoldbynaturalphilosophersthatabodyisatrestintheplacethatisfitforit;theywhoarecontenttoliveinthecountry,areFITforthecountry。’
Talkingofvariousenjoyments,Iarguedthatarefinementoftastewasadisadvantage,astheywhohaveattainedtoitmustbeseldomerpleasedthanthosewhohavenonicediscrimination,andarethereforesatisfiedwitheverythingthatcomesintheirway。
JOHNSON。’Nay,Sir;thatisapaltrynotion。Endeavourtobeasperfectasyoucanineveryrespect。’
IaccompaniedhiminSirJoshuaReynolds’scoach,totheentryofBolt-court。HeaskedmewhetherIwouldnotgowithhimtohishouse;Ideclinedit,fromanapprehensionthatmyspiritswouldsink。Webadeadieutoeachotheraffectionatelyinthecarriage。
Whenhehadgotdownuponthefoot-pavement,hecalledout,’Fareyouwell;’andwithoutlookingback,sprungawaywithakindofpathetickbriskness,ifImayusethatexpression,whichseemedtoindicateastruggletoconcealuneasiness,andimpressedmewithaforebodingofourlong,longseparation。
Iremainedonedaymoreintown,tohavethechanceoftalkingovermynegociationwiththeLordChancellor;butthemultiplicityofhisLordship’simportantengagementsdidnotallowofit;soIleftthemanagementofthebusinessinthehandsofSirJoshuaReynolds。
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