首页 >出版文学> Life of Johnsonl>第78章

第78章

  Goldsmith,inhisdivertingsimplicity,complainedoneday,inamixedcompany,ofLordCamden。’Imethimsaidhe,atLordClare’shouseinthecountry,andhetooknomorenoticeofmethanifIhadbeenanordinaryman。Thecompanyhavinglaughedheartily,Johnsonstoodforthindefenceofhisfriend。’Nay,Gentlemen,saidhe,Dr。Goldsmithisintheright。AnoblemanoughttohavemadeuptosuchamanasGoldsmith;andIthinkitismuchagainstLordCamdenthatheneglectedhim。’
  Norcouldhepatientlyenduretohearthatsuchrespectashethoughtdueonlytohigherintellectualqualities,shouldbebestowedonmenofslighter,thoughperhapsmoreamusingtalents。
  Itoldhim,thatonemorning,whenIwenttobreakfastwithGarrick,whowasveryvainofhisintimacywithLordCamden,heaccostedmethus:——’Praynow,didyou——didyoumeetalittlelawyerturningthecorner,eh?’——’No,Sir,saidI。Praywhatdoyoumeanbythequestion?’——’Why,repliedGarrick,withanaffectedindifference,yetasifstandingontip-toe,LordCamdenhasthismomentleftme。Wehavehadalongwalktogether。’JOHNSON。
  ’Well,Sir,Garricktalkedveryproperly。LordCamdenWASALITTLE
  LAWYERtobeassociatingsofamiliarlywithaplayer。’
  SirJoshuaReynoldsobserved,withgreattruth,thatJohnsonconsideredGarricktobeasitwerehisPROPERTY。HewouldallownomaneithertoblameortopraiseGarrickinhispresence,withoutcontradictinghim。
  Havingfallenintoaveryseriousframeofmind,inwhichmutualexpressionsofkindnesspassedbetweenus,suchaswouldbethoughttoovaininmetorepeat,Italkedwithregretofthesadinevitablecertaintythatoneofusmustsurvivetheother。
  JOHNSON。’Yes,Sir,thatisanaffectingconsideration。I
  rememberSwift,inoneofhisletterstoPope,says,“Iintendtocomeover,thatwemaymeetoncemore;andwhenwemustpart,itiswhathappenstoallhumanbeings。“’BOSWELL。’Thehopethatweshallseeourdepartedfriendsagainmustsupportthemind。’
  JOHNSON。’Whyyes,Sir。’BOSWELL。’Thereisastrangeunwillingnesstopartwithlife,independentofseriousfearsastofuturity。Areverendfriendofoursnaminghimtellsme,thathefeelsanuneasinessatthethoughtsofleavinghishouse,hisstudy,hisbooks。’JOHNSON。’Thisisfoolishin*****。Amanneednotbeuneasyonthesegrounds;for,ashewillretainhisconsciousness,hemaysaywiththephilosopher,Omniameamecumporto。’BOSWELL。’True,Sir:wemaycarryourbooksinourheads;
  butstillthereissomethingpainfulinthethoughtofleavingforeverwhathasgivenuspleasure。Iremember,manyyearsago,whenmyimaginationwaswarm,andIhappenedtobeinamelancholymood,itdistressedmetothinkofgoingintoastateofbeinginwhichShakspeare’spoetrydidnotexist。AladywhomIthenmuchadmired,averyamiablewoman,humouredmyfancy,andrelievedmebysaying,“Thefirstthingyouwillmeetintheotherworld,willbeanelegantcopyofShakspeare’sworkspresentedtoyou。“’Dr。
  Johnsonsmiledbenignantlyatthis,anddidnotappeartodisapproveofthenotion。
  WewenttoSt。Clement’schurchagainintheafternoon,andthenreturnedanddrankteaandcoffeeinMrs。Williams’sroom;Mrs。
  Desmoulinsdoingthehonoursofthetea-table。Iobservedthathewouldnotevenlookataproof-sheetofhisLifeofWalleronGood-
  Friday。
  OnSaturday,April14,Idrankteawithhim。HepraisedthelateMr。Duncombe,ofCanterbury,asapleasingman。’Heusedtocometome:IdidnotseekmuchafterHIM。IndeedIneversoughtmuchafteranybody。’BOSWELL。’LordOrrery,Isuppose。’JOHNSON。
  ’No,Sir;Ineverwenttohimbutwhenhesentforme。’BOSWELL。
  ’Richardson?’JOHNSON。’Yes,Sir。ButIsoughtafterGeorgePsalmanazarthemost。Iusedtogoandsitwithhimatanalehouseinthecity。’
  IamhappytomentionanotherinstancewhichIdiscoveredofhisSEEKINGAFTERamanofmerit。SoonaftertheHonourableDainesBarringtonhadpublishedhisexcellentObservationsontheStatutes,Johnsonwaitedonthatworthyandlearnedgentleman;and,havingtoldhimhisname,courteouslysaid,’Ihavereadyourbook,Sir,withgreatpleasure,andwishtobebetterknowntoyou。’
  Thusbegananacquaintance,whichwascontinuedwithmutualregardaslongasJohnsonlived。
  Talkingofarecentseditiousdelinquent,hesaid,’Theyshouldsethiminthepillory,thathemaybepunishedinawaythatwoulddisgracehim。’Iobserved,thatthepillorydoesnotalwaysdisgrace。AndImentionedaninstanceofagentlemanwhoIthoughtwasnotdishonouredbyit。JOHNSON。’Ay,buthewas,Sir。Hecouldnotmouthandstrutasheusedtodo,afterhavingbeenthere。Peoplearenotwillingtoaskamantotheirtableswhohasstoodinthepillory。’
  JohnsonattackedtheAmericanswithintemperatevehemenceofabuse。
  Isaidsomethingintheirfavour;andadded,thatIwasalwayssorrywhenhetalkedonthatsubject。This,itseems,exasperatedhim;thoughhesaidnothingatthetime。Thecloudwaschargedwithsulphureousvapour,whichwasafterwardstoburstinthunder——
  WetalkedofagentlemanwhowasrunningouthisfortuneinLondon;andIsaid,’Wemustgethimoutofit。Allhisfriendsmustquarrelwithhim,andthatwillsoondrivehimaway。’
  JOHNSON。’Nay,Sir;we’llsendYOUtohim。Ifyourcompanydoesnotdriveamanoutofhishouse,nothingwill。’Thiswasahorribleshock,forwhichtherewasnovisiblecause。Iafterwardsaskedhimwhyhehadsaidsoharshathing。JOHNSON。Because,Sir,youmademeangryabouttheAmericans。’BOSWELL。’Butwhydidyounottakeyourrevengedirectly?’JOHNSON。smiling,
  ’Because,Sir,Ihadnothingready。Amancannotstriketillhehashisweapons。’Thiswasacandidandpleasantconfession。
  Heshewedmeto-nighthisdrawing-room,verygenteellyfittedup;
  andsaid,’Mrs。ThralesneeredwhenItalkedofmyhavingaskedyouandyourladytoliveatmyhouse。Iwasobligedtotellher,thatyouwouldbeinasrespectableasituationinmyhouseasinhers。
  Sir,theinsolenceofwealthwillcreepout。’BOSWELL。’Shehasalittlebothoftheinsolenceofwealth,andtheconceitofparts。’
  JOHNSON。’Theinsolenceofwealthisawretchedthing;buttheconceitofpartshassomefoundation。Tobesureitshouldnotbe。
  Butwhoiswithoutit?’BOSWELL。’Yourself,Sir。’JOHNSON。
  ’Why,Iplaynotricks:Ilaynotraps。’BOSWELL。’No,Sir。Youaresixfeethigh,andyouonlydonotstoop。’
  Wetalkedofthenumbersofpeoplethatsometimeshavecomposedthehouseholdofgreatfamilies。ImentionedthattherewereahundredinthefamilyofthepresentEarlofEglintoune’sfather。Dr。
  Johnsonseemingtodoubtit,Ibegantoenumerate。’Letussee:myLordandmyLadytwo。’JOHNSON。’Nay,Sir,ifyouaretocountbytwos,youmaybelongenough。’BOSWELL。’Well,butnowIaddtwosonsandsevendaughters,andaservantforeach,thatwillmaketwenty;sowehavethefifthpartalready。’JOHNSON。’Verytrue。
  Yougetattwentyprettyreadily;butyouwillnotsoeasilygetfurtheron。Wegrowtofivefeetprettyreadily;butitisnotsoeasytogrowtoseven。’
  OnMonday,April20,Ifoundhimathomeinthemorning。Wetalkedofagentlemanwhoweapprehendedwasgraduallyinvolvinghiscircumstancesbybadmanagement。JOHNSON。’Wastingafortuneisevaporationbyathousandimperceptiblemeans。Ifitwereastream,they’dstopit。Youmustspeaktohim。Itisreallymiserable。Wereheagamester,itcouldbesaidhehadhopesofwinning。Wereheabankruptintrade,hemighthavegrownrich;
  buthehasneitherspirittospendnorresolutiontospare。Hedoesnotspendfastenoughtohavepleasurefromit。Hehasthecrimeofprodigality,andthewretchednessofparsimony。Ifamaniskilledinaduel,heiskilledasmanyaonehasbeenkilled;
  butitisasadthingforamantoliedownanddie;tobleedtodeath,becausehehasnotfortitudeenoughtosearthewound,oreventostitchitup。’Icannotbutpauseamomenttoadmirethefecundityoffancy,andchoiceoflanguage,whichinthisinstance,and,indeed,onalmostalloccasions,hedisplayed。ItwaswellobservedbyDr。Percy,nowBishopofDromore,’TheconversationofJohnsonisstrongandclear,andmaybecomparedtoanantiquestatue,whereeveryveinandmuscleisdistinctandbold。Ordinaryconversationresemblesaninferiourcast。’
  OnSaturday,April25,IdinedwithhimatSirJoshuaReynolds’s,withthelearnedDr。Musgrave,CounsellorLelandofIreland,sontothehistorian,Mrs。Cholmondeley,andsomemoreladies。
  ’DemosthenesTaylor,ashewascalled,thatis,theEditorofDemostheneswasthemostsilentman,themereststatueofamanthatIhaveeverseen。Ioncedinedincompanywithhim,andallhesaidduringthewholetimewasnomorethanRichard。HowamanshouldsayonlyRichard,itisnoteasytoimagine。Butitwasthus:Dr。DouglaswastalkingofDr。ZacharyGrey,andascribingtohimsomethingthatwaswrittenbyDr。RichardGrey。So,tocorrecthim,Taylorsaid,imitatinghisaffectedsententiousemphasisandnod,“RICHARD。“’
  Mrs。Cholmondeley,inahighflowofspirits,exhibitedsomelivelysalliesofhyperbolicalcomplimenttoJohnson,withwhomshehadbeenlongacquainted,andwasveryeasy。HewasquickincatchingtheMANNERofthemoment,andansweredhersomewhatinthestyleoftheheroofaromance,’Madam,youcrownmewithunfadinglaurels。’
  Wetalkedofalady’sversesonIreland。MISSREYNOLDS。’Haveyouseenthem,Sir?’JOHNSON。’No,Madam。IhaveseenatranslationfromHorace,byoneofherdaughters。Shesheweditme。’MISS
  REYNOLDS。’Andhowwasit,Sir?’JOHNSON。’Why,verywellforayoungMiss’sverses;——thatistosay,comparedwithexcellence,nothing;but,verywell,forthepersonwhowrotethem。Iamvexedatbeingshewnversesinthatmanner。’MISSREYNOLDS。’Butiftheyshouldbegood,whynotgivethemheartypraise?’JOHNSON。