第38章

BOSWELL。’LordMansfieldisnotamerelawyer。JOHNSON。’No，Sir。IneverwasinLordMansfield’scompany；butLordMansfieldwasdistinguishedattheUniversity。LordMansfield，whenhefirstcametotown，“drankchampagnewiththewits，“asPriorsays。HewasthefriendofPope。’SIRA。’Barristers，Ibelieve，arenotsoabusivenowastheywereformerly。Ifancytheyhadlesslawlongago，andsowereobligedtotaketoabuse，tofillupthetime。Nowtheyhavesuchanumberofprecedents，theyhavenooccasionforabuse。’JOHNSON。’Nay，Sir，theyhadmorelawlongagothantheyhavenow。Astoprecedents，tobesuretheywillincreaseincourseoftime；butthemoreprecedentsthereare，thelessoccasionisthereforlaw；thatistosay，thelessoccasionisthereforinvestigatingprinciples。’SIRA。’IhavebeencorrectingseveralScotchaccentsinmyfriendBoswell。Idoubt，Sir，ifanyScotchmaneverattainstoaperfectEnglishpronunciation。’JOHNSON。’Why，Sir，fewofthemdo，becausetheydonotpersevereafteracquiringacertaindegreeofit。But，Sir，therecanbenodoubtthattheymayattaintoaperfectEnglishpronunciation，iftheywill。Wefindhowneartheycometoit；andcertainly，amanwhoconquersnineteenpartsoftheScottishaccent，mayconquerthetwentieth。But，Sir，whenamanhasgotthebetterofninetenthshegrowsweary，herelaxeshisdiligence，hefindshehascorrectedhisaccentsofarasnottobedisagreeable，andhenolongerdesireshisfriendstotellhimwhenheiswrong；nordoeshechoosetobetold。Sir，whenpeoplewatchmenarrowly，andIdonotwatchmyself，theywillfindmeouttobeofaparticularcounty。Inthesamemanner，DunningmaybefoundouttobeaDevonshireman。SomostScotchmenmaybefoundout。

But，Sir，littleaberrationsareofnodisadvantage。InevercatchedMalletinaScotchaccent；andyetMallet，Isuppose，waspastfive-and-twentybeforehecametoLondon。’

Iagainvisitedhimatnight。Findinghiminaverygoodhumour，I

venturedtoleadhimtothesubjectofoursituationinafuturestate，havingmuchcuriositytoknowhisnotionsonthatpoint……

BOSWELL。’Idonotknowwhetherthereareanywell-attestedstoriesoftheappearanceofghosts。YouknowthereisafamousstoryoftheappearanceofMrs。Veal，prefixedtoDrelincourtonDeath。’JOHNSON。’Ibelieve，Sir，thatisgivenup。Ibelievethewomandeclareduponherdeath-bedthatitwasalie。’BOSWELL。

’Thisobjectionismadeagainstthetruthofghostsappearing：thatiftheyareinastateofhappiness，itwouldbeapunishmenttothemtoreturntothisworld；andiftheyareinastateofmisery，itwouldbegivingthemarespite。’JOHNSON。’Why，Sir，asthehappinessormiseryofembodiedspiritsdoesnotdependuponplace，butisintellectual，wecannotsaythattheyarelesshappyorlessmiserablebyappearinguponearth。’

WewentdownbetweentwelveandonetoMrs。Williams’sroom，anddranktea。ImentionedthatweweretohavetheremainsofMr。

Gray，inproseandverse，publishedbyMr。Mason。JOHNSON。’I

thinkwehavehadenoughofGray。IseetheyhavepublishedasplendideditionofAkenside’sworks。Onebadodemaybesuffered；

butanumberofthemtogethermakesonesick。’BOSWELL。

’Akenside’sdistinguishedpoemishisPleasuresofImagination；butformypart，Inevercouldadmireitsomuchasmostpeopledo。’

JOHNSON。’Sir，Icouldnotreaditthrough。’BOSWELL。’Ihavereaditthrough；butIdidnotfindanygreatpowerinit。’

OnTuesday，March31，heandIdinedatGeneralPaoli’s。

Dr。JohnsonwenthomewithmetomylodgingsinConduit-streetanddranktea，previoustoourgoingtothePantheon，whichneitherofushadseenbefore。

Hesaid，’Goldsmith’sLifeofParnellispoor；notthatitispoorlywritten，butthathehadpoormaterials；fornobod

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