Imatges de pàgina
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In the afternoon, as we were driven rapidly along in the post-chaise, he faid to me, "Life has not many things better than this."

We stopped at Stratford-upon-Avon, and drank tea and coffee; and it pleased me to be with him upon the claffick ground of Shakspeare's native place.

He spoke flightingly of Dyer's "Fleece."-" The fubject, Sir, cannot be made poetical. How can a man write poetically of ferges and druggets? Yet you will hear many people talk to you gravely of that excellent poem, THE FLEECE." Having talked of Dr. Grainger's "Sugar-Cane," I mentioned to him Mr. Langton's having told me, that this poem, when read in manuscript at Sir Joshua Reynolds's, had made all the affembled wits burst into a laugh, when, after much blank-verfe pomp, the poet began a newparagraph thus:

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And what increased the ridicule was, that one of the company, who flily overlooked the reader, perceived that the word had been originally mice, and had been altered to rats, as more dignified 2.

Johnson faid, that Dr. Grainger was an agreeable man; a man who would do any good that was in his power. His tranflation of Tibullus, he thought, was very well done; but "The Sugar-Cane, a Poem," did not please him ; ·

We happened to lye this night at the inn at Henley, where Shenftone wrote these lines. 2 Such is this little laughable incident, which has been often related. Dr. Percy, the Bishop of Dromore, who was an intimate friend of Dr. Grainger, and has a particular regard for his memory, has communicated to me the following explanation :

"The paffage in question was originally not liable to fuch a perverfion; for the authour having occafion in that part of his work to mention the havock made by rats and mice, had introduced the subject in a kind of mock heroick, and a parody of Homer's battle of the frogs and mice, invoking the Muse of the old Grecian bard in an elegant and well-turned inanner. In that state I had seen it; but afterwards, unknown to me and other friends, he had been perfuaded, contrary to his own better judgement, to alter it, fo as to produce the unlucky effect above mentioned."

The Bishop gives this character of Dr. Grainger :-" He was not only a man of genius and learning, but had many excellent virtues; being one of the moft generous, friendly, and benevo- · lent men I ever knew."

VOL. II.

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1776. for, he exclaimed, "What could he make of a fugar-cane? One might as well Etat. 67. write, The Parfley-Bed, a Poem;' or, The Cabbage-Garden, a Poem.' BOSWELL. "You must then pickle your cabbage with the fal atticum.' JOHNSON. "You know there is already The Hop-Garden, a Poem:' and, I think, one could say a great deal about cabbage. The poem might begin with the advantages of civilifed fociety over a rude ftate, exemplified by the Scotch, who had no cabbages till Oliver Cromwell's foldiers introduced them; and one might thus fhew how arts are propagated by conqueft, as they were by the Roman arms." He feemed to be much diverted with the fertility of his own fancy.

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I told him, that I heard Dr. Percy was writing the hiftory of the wolf in Great-Britain. JOHNSON. "The wolf, Sir! why the wolf? Why does he not write of the bear, which we had formerly? Nay, it is faid we had the beaver. Or why does he not write of the grey rat, the Hanover rat, as it is called, because it is faid to have come into this country about the time that the family of Hanover came? I should like to fee The History of the Grey Rat, by Thomas Percy, D. D. Chaplain in Ordinary to his Majesty," (laughing immoderately). BOSWELL. "I am afraid a court chaplain could not decently write of the grey rat." JOHNSON. "Sir, he need not give it the name of the Hanover rat." Thus could he indulge a luxuriant sportive imagination, when talking of a friend whom he loved and efteemed.

He mentioned to me the fingular hiftory of an ingenious acquaintance. "He fettled as a physician in one of the Leeward Islands. A man was sent out to him merely to compound his medicines. This fellow fet up as a rival to him in his practice of phyfick, and got so much the better of him in the opinion of the people of the island, that he carried away all the business; upon which he returned to England, and foon after died."

On Friday, March 22, having fet out early from Henley, where we had lain the preceding night, we arrived at Birmingham about nine o'clock, and, after breakfast, went to call on his old fchoolfellow Mr. Hector. A very stupid maid, who opened the door, told us, that " her master was gone out; he was gone to the country; fhe could not tell when he would return." In fhort, fhe gave us a miferable reception; and Johnson obferved, "She would have behaved no better to people who wanted him in the way of his profeffion." He said to her, "My name is Johnfon; tell him I called. Will you remember the name ?" She answered with ruftick fimplicity, in the Warwickshire pronunciation, "I don't understand you, Sir."-" Blockhead, (faid he,) I'll write." I never heard the word blockhead applied to a woman before, 6 though

though I do not fee why it should not, when there is evident occafion for it. He, however, made another attempt to make her understand him, and roared loud in her ear," JOHNSON," and then fhe catched the found.

We then called on Mr. Lloyd, one of the people called Quakers. He too was not at home; but Mrs. Lloyd was, and received us courteously, and asked us to dinner. Johnson faid to me, "After the uncertainty of all human things at Hector's, this invitation came very well." We walked about the town, and he was pleased to fee it increasing.

I talked of legitimation by fubfequent marriage, which obtained in the Roman law, and still obtains in the law of Scotland. JOHNSON. "I think it a bad thing; because the chastity of women being of the utmost importance, as all property depends upon it, they who forfeit it should not have any poffibility of being restored to good character; nor fhould the children, by an illicit connection, attain the full rights of lawful children, by the posteriour confent of the offending parties." His opinion upon this fubject deferves confideration. Upon his principle there may, at times, be a hardship, and feemingly a strange one, upon individuals; but the general good of fociety is better secured. And, after all, it is unreasonable in an individual to repine that he has not the advantage of a state which is made different from his own, by the focial inftitution under which he is born. A woman does not complain that her brother, who is younger than her, gets their common father's estate. Why then should a natural fon complain that a younger brother, by the same parents lawfully begotten, gets it? The operation of law is fimilar in both cafes. Befides; an illegitimate fon, who has a younger legitimate brother by the fame father and mother, has no ftronger claim to the father's eftate, than if that legitimate brother had only the fame father, from whom alone the eftate defcends..

Mr. Lloyd joined us in the street; and in a little while we met Friend Hector, as Mr. Lloyd called him. It gave me pleasure to obferve the joy which Johnson and he expressed on seeing each other again. Mr. Lloyd and I left them together, while he obligingly fhewed me fome of the manufactures of this very curious affemblage of artificers. We all met at dinner at Mr. Lloyd's, where we were entertained with great hofpitality. Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd had been married the same year with their Majesties, and, like them, had been bleffed with a numerous family of fine children, their numbers being exactly the fame. Johnfon faid, "Marriage is the best ftate for man in general; and every man is a worse man, in proportion as he is unfit for the married state."

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I have always loved the fimplicity of manners, and the spiritual-mindedness Etat. 67. of the Quakers; and talking with Mr. Lloyd, I obferved, that the effential part of religion was piety, a devout intercourfe with the Divinity; and that many a man was a Quaker without knowing it.

As Dr. Johnson had faid to me in the morning, while we walked together, that he liked individuals among the Quakers, but not the fect; when we were at Mr. Lloyd's I kept clear of introducing any question concerning the peculiarities of their faith. But I having asked to look at Baskerville's edition of "Barclay's Apology," Johnson laid hold of it; and the chapter on baptifm happening to open, Johnson remarked, "He says there is neither precept nor practice for baptifm, in the scriptures; that is false." Here he was the aggreffor, by no means in a gentle manner; and the good Quakers had the advantage of him; for he had read negligently, and had not observed that Barclay speaks of infant baptifin, which they calmly made him perceive. Mr. Lloyd, however, was in as great a mistake; for when infifting that the rite of baptifm with water was to cease, when the spiritual administration of CHRIST began, The maintained, that John the Baptist said, " My baptifm fhall decrease, but bis fhall increase." Whereas the words are," He muft increase, but I must decrease"."

One of them having objected to the "obfervance of days, and months, and years," Johnson answered, “The Church does not superstitiously observe days, merely as days, but as memorials of important facts. Christmas might be kept as well upon one day of the year as another: but there fhould be a stated day for commemorating the birth of our Saviour, because there is danger that what may be done on any day, will be neglected."

Mr. Hector was so good as to accompany me to fee the great works of Mr. Bolton, at a place which he has called Soho, about two miles from Birmingham, which the very ingenious proprietor fhewed me himself to the best advantage. I wish that Johnfon had been with us; for it was a scene which I should have been glad to contemplate by his light. The vastness and the contrivance of fome of the machinery would have "matched his mighty mind." I fhall never forget Mr. Bolton's expreffion to me: "I fell here, Sir, what all the world defires to have,-Power." He had about seven hundred people at work. I contemplated him as an iron chieftain, and he seemed to be a father to his tribe. One of them came to him, complaining grievously of his landlord for having diftrained his goods. "Your landlord is in the 2 John iii. 30.

right, Smith, (faid Bolton). But I'll tell you what: find you a fiiend who 1776. will lay down one half of your rent, and I'll lay down the other half; and you Atat. 67. shall have your goods again."

From Mr. Hector I now learnt many particulars of Dr. Johnson's early life, which, with others that he gave me at different times fince, have contributed to the formation of this work.

Dr. Johnson faid to me in the morning, "You will fee, Sir, at Mr. Hector's, his fifter, Mrs. Careless, a clergyman's widow. She was the first woman with whom I was in love. It dropt out of my head imperceptibly; but she and I shall always have a kindness for each other." He laughed at the notion that a man never can be really in love but once, and confidered it as a mere romantick fancy.

On our return from Mr. Bolton's, Mr. Hector took me to his house, where we found Johnfon fitting placidly at tea, with his first love; who, though now advanced in years, was a genteel woman, very agreeable, and well-bred.

Johnfon lamented to Mr. Hector the ftate of one of their school-fellows, Mr. Charles Congreve, a clergyman, which he thus defcribed: "He obtained, I believe, confiderable preferment in Ireland, but now lives in London, quite as a valetudinarian, afraid to go into any houfe but his own. He takes a fhort airing in his post-chaife every day. He has an elderly woman, whom he calls coufin, who lives with him, and jogs his elbow, when his glass has stood too long empty, and encourages him in drinking, in which he is very willing to be encouraged; not that he gets drunk, for he is a very pious man, but he is always muddy. He confeffes to one bottle of port every day, and he probably drinks more. He is quite unfocial; his converfation is monofyllabical: and when, at my last visit, I asked him what a clock it was, that fignal of my departure had so pleasing an effect on him, that he sprung up to look at his watch, like a greyhound bounding at a hare." When Johnfon took leave of Mr. Hector, he faid, "Don't grow like Congreve; nor let me grow like him, when you are near me."

When he again talked of Mrs. Careless to-night, he seemed to have had his affection revived; for he said, "If I had married her, it might have been as happy for me." BOSWELL." Pray, Sir, do you not fuppofe that there are fifty women in the world, with any one of whom a man may be as happy, as with any one woman in particular." JOHNSON. Aye, fifty thousand." BOSWELL. "Then, Sir, you are not of opinion with fome who imagine that certain men and certain women are made for each other; and that they canVOL. II.

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