第56章

Isawhere，forthefirsttime，oatale；andoatcakesnothardasinScotland，butsoftlikeaYorkshirecake，wereservedatbreakfast。Itwaspleasanttometofind，thatOats，thefoodofhorses，weresomuchusedasthefoodofthepeopleinDr。

Johnson’sowntown。HeexpatiatedinpraiseofLichfieldanditsinhabitants，who，hesaid，were’themostsober，decentpeopleinEngland，thegenteelestinproportiontotheirwealth，andspokethepurestEnglish。’Idoubtedastothelastarticleofthiseulogy：fortheyhadseveralprovincialsounds；asTHERE，pronouncedlikeFEAR，insteadoflikeFAIR；ONCEpronouncedWOONSE，insteadofWUNSE，orWONSE。Johnsonhimselfnevergotentirelyfreeofthoseprovincialaccents。Garricksometimesusedtotakehimoff，squeezingalemonintoapunch-bowl，withuncouthgesticulations，lookingroundthecompany，andcallingout，’Who’sforPOONSH？’

VerylittlebusinessappearedtobegoingforwardinLichfield。I

foundhowevertwostrangemanufacturesforsoinlandaplace，sail-

clothandstreamersforships；andIobservedthemmakingsomesaddle-cloths，anddressingsheepskins：butuponthewhole，thebusyhandofindustryseemedtobequiteslackened。’Surely，Sir，(saidI，)youareanidlesetofpeople。’’Sir，(saidJohnson，)weareacityofphilosophers，weworkwithourheads，andmaketheboobiesofBirminghamworkforuswiththeirhands。’

TherewasatthistimeacompanyofplayersperformingatLichfield，Themanager，Mr。Stanton，senthiscompliments，andbeggedleavetowaitonDr。Johnson。Johnsonreceivedhimverycourteously，andhedrankaglassofwinewithus。Hewasaplaindecentwell-behavedman，andexpressedhisgratitudetoDr。JohnsonforhavingoncegothimpermissionfromDr。TayloratAshbournetoplaythereuponmoderateterms。Garrick’snamewassoonintroduced。JOHNSON。’Garrick’sconversationisgayandgrotesque。Itisadishofallsorts，butallgoodthings。Thereisnosolidmeatinit：thereisawantofsentimentinit。Notbutthathehassentimentsometimes，andsentiment，too，verypowerfulandverypleasing：butithasnotitsfullproportioninhisconversation。’

Whenwewerebyourselveshetoldme，’Fortyyearsago，Sir，Iwasinlovewithanactresshere，Mrs。Emmet，whoactedFlora，inHobintheWell。’Whatmeritthisladyhadasanactress，orwhatwasherfigure，orhermanner，Ihavenotbeeninformed：but，ifwemaybelieveMr。Garrick，hisoldmaster’stasteintheatricalmeritwasbynomeansrefined；hewasnotanelegansformarumspectator。

Garrickusedtotell，thatJohnsonsaidofanactor，whoplayedSirHarryWildairatLichfield，’Thereisacourtlyvivacityaboutthefellow；’wheninfact，accordingtoGarrick’saccount，’hewasthemostvulgarruffianthateverwentuponboards。’

WehadpromisedMr。StantontobeathistheatreonMonday。Dr。

JohnsonjocularlyproposedmetowriteaProloguefortheoccasion：

’APrologue，byJamesBoswell，Esq。fromtheHebrides。’Iwasreallyinclinedtotakethehint。Methought，’Prologue，spokenbeforeDr。SamuelJohnson，atLichfield，1776；’wouldhavesoundedaswellas，’Prologue，spokenbeforetheDukeofYork，atOxford，’

inCharlestheSecond’stime。MuchmighthavebeensaidofwhatLichfieldhaddoneforShakspeare，byproducingJohnsonandGarrick。ButIfoundhewasaversetoit。

WewentandviewedthemuseumofMr。RichardGreen，apothecaryhere，whotoldmehewasproudofbeingarelationofDr。

Johnson’s。Itwas，truely，awonderfulcollection，bothofantiquitiesandnaturalcuriosities，andingeniousworksofart。

Hehadallthearticlesaccuratelyarranged，withtheirnamesuponlabels，printedathisownlittlepress；andonthestaircaseleadingtoitwasaboard，withthenamesofcontributorsmarkedingoldletters。Aprintedcatalogueofthecollectionwastobehadatabookseller’s。JohnsonexpressedhisadmirationoftheactivityanddiligenceandgoodfortuneofMr。Green，ingettingtogether，inhissituation，sogreata

后续内容为VIP可读请开通VIP，或购买此章节