首页 >出版文学> Life of Johnsonl>第97章

第97章

  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