第36章

Iattemptedtocontinuetheconversation。Hewassoprovoked，thathesaid，’Giveusnomoreofthis；’andwasthrownintosuchastateofagitation，thatheexpressedhimselfinawaythatalarmedanddistressedme；shewedanimpatiencethatIshouldleavehim，andwhenIwasgoingaway，calledtomesternly，’Don’tletusmeettomorrow。’

Iwenthomeexceedinglyuneasy。AlltheharshobservationswhichI

hadeverheardmadeuponhischaracter，crowdedintomymind；andI

seemedtomyselflikethemanwhohadputhisheadintothelion’smouthagreatmanytimeswithperfectsafety，butatlasthaditbitoff。

NextmorningIsenthimanote，stating，thatImighthavebeeninthewrong，butitwasnotintentionally；hewastherefore，Icouldnothelpthinking，toosevereuponme。Thatnotwithstandingouragreementnottomeetthatday，Iwouldcallonhiminmywaytothecity，andstayfiveminutesbymywatch。’Youare，(saidI，)

inmymind，sincelastnight，surroundedwithcloudandstorm。Letmehaveaglimpseofsunshine，andgoaboutmyaffairsinserenityandchearfulness。’

Uponenteringhisstudy，Iwasgladthathewasnotalone，whichwouldhavemadeourmeetingmoreawkward。Therewerewithhim，Mr。

SteevensandMr。Tyers，bothofwhomInowsawforthefirsttime。

Mynotehad，onhisownreflection，softenedhim，forhereceivedmeverycomplacently；sothatIunexpectedlyfoundmyselfatease，andjoinedintheconversation。

Iwhisperedhim，’Well，Sir，youarenowingoodhumour。JOHNSON。

’Yes，Sir。’Iwasgoingtoleavehim，andhadgotasfarasthestaircase。Hestoppedme，andsmiling，said，’GetyougoneIN；’acuriousmodeofinvitingmetostay，whichIaccordinglydidforsometimelonger。

Thislittleincidentalquarrelandreconciliation，which，perhaps，Imaybethoughttohavedetailedtoominutely，mustbeesteemedasoneofmanyproofswhichhisfriendshad，thatthoughhemightbechargedwithbadhumourattimes，hewasalwaysagood-naturedman；

andIhaveheardSirJoshuaReynolds，aniceanddelicateobserverofmanners，particularlyremark，thatwhenuponanyoccasionJohnsonhadbeenroughtoanypersonincompany，hetookthefirstopportunityofreconciliation，bydrinkingtohim，oraddressinghisdiscoursetohim；butifhefoundhisdignifiedindirectoverturessullenlyneglected，hewasquiteindifferent，andconsideredhimselfashavingdoneallthatheoughttodo，andtheotherasnowinthewrong。

IwenttohimearlyonthemorningofthetenthofNovember。’Now(saidhe，)thatyouaregoingtomarry，donotexpectmorefromlife，thanlifewillafford。Youmayoftenfindyourselfoutofhumour，andyoumayoftenthinkyourwifenotstudiousenoughtopleaseyou；andyetyoumayhavereasontoconsideryourselfasuponthewholeveryhappilymarried。’

1770：AETAT。61。]——DuringthisyeartherewasatotalcessationofallcorrespondencebetweenDr。Johnsonandme，withoutanycoldnessoneitherside，butmerelyfromprocrastination，continuedfromdaytoday；andasIwasnotinLondon，Ihadnoopportunityofenjoyinghiscompanyandrecordinghisconversation。Tosupplythisblank，IshallpresentmyreaderswithsomeCollectanea，obliginglyfurnishedtomebytheRev。Dr。Maxwell，ofFalkland，inIreland，sometimeassistantpreacherattheTemple，andformanyyearsthesocialfriendofJohnson，whospokeofhimwithaverykindregard。

’Hisgeneralmodeoflife，duringmyacquaintance，seemedtobeprettyun

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