第61章

JohnsonsaidofChatterton，’Thisisthemostextraordinaryyoungmanthathasencounteredmyknowledge。Itiswonderfulhowthewhelphaswrittensuchthings。’

WewerebynomeanspleasedwithourinnatBristol。’Letusseenow，(saidI，)howweshoulddescribeit。’Johnsonwasreadywithhisraillery。’Describeit，Sir？——Why，itwassobadthatBoswellwishedtobeinScotland!’

AfterDr。Johnson’sreturntoLondon，Iwasseveraltimeswithhimathishouse，whereIoccasionallyslept，intheroomthathadbeenassignedtome。IdinedwithhimatDr。Taylor’s，atGeneralOglethorpe’s，andatGeneralPaoli’s。Toavoidatediousminuteness，IshallgrouptogetherwhatIhavepreservedofhisconversationduringthisperiodalso，withoutspecifyingeachscenewhereitpassed，exceptone，whichwillbefoundsoremarkableascertainlytodeserveaveryparticularrelation。

’Garrick(heobserved，)doesnotplaythepartofArcherinTheBeauxStratagemwell。Thegentlemanshouldbreakoutthroughthefootman，whichisnotthecaseashedoesit。’

’Thatmanisneverhappyforthepresentissotrue，thatallhisrelieffromunhappinessisonlyforgettinghimselfforalittlewhile。Lifeisaprogressfromwanttowant，notfromenjoymenttoenjoyment。’

’LordChesterfield’sLetterstohisSon，Ithink，mightbemadeaveryprettybook。Takeouttheimmorality，anditshouldbeputintothehandsofeveryyounggentleman。Anelegantmannerandeasinessofbehaviourareacquiredgraduallyandimperceptibly。Nomancansay“I’llbegenteel。“Therearetengenteelwomenforonegenteelman，becausetheyaremorerestrained。Amanwithoutsomedegreeofrestraintisinsufferable；butwearealllessrestrainedthanwomen。Wereawomansittingincompanytoputoutherlegsbeforeherasmostmendo，weshouldbetemptedtokickthemin。’

Nomanwasamoreattentiveandniceobserverofbehaviourinthoseinwhosecompanyhehappenedtobe，thanJohnson；or，howeverstrangeitmayseemtomany，hadahigherestimationofitsrefinements。LordEliotinformsme，thatonedaywhenJohnsonandhewereatdinneratagentleman’shouseinLondon，uponLordChesterfield’sLettersbeingmentioned，Johnsonsurprizedthecompanybythissentence：’Everymanofanyeducationwouldratherbecalledarascal，thanaccusedofdeficiencyinTHEGRACES。’Mr。

Gibbon，whowaspresent，turnedtoaladywhoknewJohnsonwell，andlivedmuchwithhim，andinhisquaintmanner，tappinghisbox，addressedherthus：’Don’tyouthink，Madam，(lookingtowardsJohnson，)thatamongALLyouracquaintance，youcouldfindONE

exception？’Theladysmiled，andseemedtoacquiesce。

TheuncommonvivacityofGeneralOglethorpe’smind，andvarietyofknowledge，havingsometimesmadehisconversationseemtoodesultory，Johnsonobserved，’Oglethorpe，Sir，neverCOMPLETESwhathehastosay。’

HeonthesameaccountmadeasimilarremarkonPatrickLordElibank：’Sir，thereisnothingCONCLUSIVEinhistalk。’

WhenIcomplainedofhavingdinedatasplendidtablewithouthearingonesentenceofconversationworthyofbeingremembered，hesaid，’Sir，thereseldomisanysuchconversation。’BOSWELL。’Whythenmeetattable？’JOHNSON。’Why，toeatanddrinktogether，andtopromotekindness；and，Sir，thisisbetterdonewhentherei

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