第37章

’SpeakingofBurke，hesaid，“Itwascommonlyobserved，hespoketooofteninparliament；butnobodycouldsayhedidnotspeakwell，thoughtoofrequentlyandtoofamiliarly。“

’WedinedteteateteattheMitre，asIwaspreparingtoreturntoIreland，afteranabsenceofmanyyears。IregrettedmuchleavingLondon，whereIhadformedmanyagreeableconnexions：“Sir，(saidhe，)Idon’twonderatit；noman，fondofletters，leavesLondonwithoutregret。Butremember，Sir，youhaveseenandenjoyedagreatdeal；——youhaveseenlifeinitshighestdecorations，andtheworldhasnothingnewtoexhibit。Nomanissowellqualifyedtoleavepublicklifeashewhohaslongtrieditandknownitwell。Wearealwayshankeringafteruntriedsituationsandimagininggreaterfelicityfromthemthantheycanafford。No，Sir，knowledgeandvirtuemaybeacquiredinallcountries，andyourlocalconsequencewillmakeyousomeamendsfortheintellectualgratificationsyourelinquish。“

’Hethentookamostaffectingleaveofme；said，heknew，itwasapointofDUTYthatcalledmeaway。“Weshallallbesorrytoloseyou，“saidhe：“laudotamen。“’

’ToSIRJOSHUAREYNOLDS，INLEICESTER-FIELDS。

’DEARSIR，——WhenIcametoLichfield，Ifoundthatmyportraithadbeenmuchvisited，andmuchadmired。Everymanhasalurkingwishtoappearconsiderableinhisnativeplace；andIwaspleasedwiththedignityconferredbysuchatestimonyofyourregard。

’Bepleased，therefore，toacceptthethanksof，Sir，yourmostobligedandmosthumbleservant，’AshbourninDerbyshire，’SAM。JOHNSON。

July17，1771。’

’ComplimentstoMissReynolds。’

Inhisreligiousrecordofthisyear，weobservethathewasbetterthanusual，bothinbodyandmind，andbettersatisfiedwiththeregularityofhisconduct。Butheisstill’tryinghisways’toorigorously。Hechargeshimselfwithnotrisingearlyenough；yethementionswhatwassurelyasufficientexcuseforthis，supposingittobeadutyseriouslyrequired，asheallhislifeappearstohavethoughtit。’Onegreathindranceiswantofrest；mynocturnalcomplaintsgrowlesstroublesometowardsmorning；andI

amtemptedtorepairthedeficienciesofthenight。’Alas!howhardwoulditbeifthisindulgenceweretobeimputedtoasickmanasacrime。InhisretrospectonthefollowingEaster-Eve，hesays，’WhenIreviewthelastyear，Iamabletorecollectsolittledone，thatshameandsorrow，thoughperhapstooweakly，comeuponme。’

In1772hewasaltogetherquiescentasanauthour；butitwillbefoundfromthevariousevidenceswhichIshallbringtogetherthathismindwasacute，lively，andvigorous。

’TOJAMESBOSWELL，ESQ。

’DEARSIR，——ThatyouarecomingsosoontotownIamveryglad；andstillmoregladthatyouarecomingasanadvocate。Ithinknothingmorelikelytomakeyourlifepasshappilyaway，thanthatconsciousnessofyourownvalue，whicheminenceinyourprofessionwillcertainlyconfer。IfIcangiveyouanycollateralhelp，I

hopeyoudonotsuspectthatitwillbewanting。Mykindnessforyouhasneitherthemeritofsingularvirtue，northereproachofsingularprejudice。Whethertoloveyouberightorwrong，Ihavemanyonmyside：Mrs。Thralelovesyou，andMrs。Williamslovesyou，andwhatwouldhaveinclinedmetoloveyou，ifIhadbeenneutralbefore，youareagreatfavouriteofDr。Beattie。*

’OfDr。BeattieIsh

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