第65章

AcircumstancewhichcouldnotfailtobeverypleasingtoJohnsonoccurredthisyear。TheTragedyofSirThomasOverbury，writtenbyhisearlycompanioninLondon，RichardSavage，wasbroughtoutwithalterationsatDrury-lanetheatre。TheProloguetoitwaswrittenbyMr。RichardBrinsleySheridan；inwhich，afterdescribingverypatheticallythewretchednessof’Ill-fatedSavage，atwhosebirthwasgiv’nNoparentbuttheMuse，nofriendbutHeav’n：’

heintroducedanelegantcomplimenttoJohnsononhisDictionary，thatwonderfulperformancewhichcannotbetoooftenortoohighlypraised；ofwhichMr。Harris，inhisPhilologicalInquiries，justlyandliberallyobserves：’Suchisitsmerit，thatourlanguagedoesnotpossessamorecopious，learned，andvaluablework。’TheconcludinglinesofthisProloguewerethese：——

’SopleadsthetalethatgivestofuturetimesTheson’smisfortunesandtheparent’scrimes；

Thereshallhisfame(ifown’dto-night)survive，Fix’dbyTHEHANDTHATBIDSOURLANGUAGELIVE。’

Mr。Sheridanhereatoncedidhonourtohistasteandtohisliberalityofsentiment，byshewingthathewasnotprejudicedfromtheunluckydifferencewhichhadtakenplacebetweenhisworthyfatherandDr。Johnson。Ihavealreadymentioned，thatJohnsonwasverydesirousofreconciliationwitholdMr。Sheridan。Itwill，therefore，notseematallsurprizingthathewaszealousinacknowledgingthebrilliantmeritofhisson。Whileithadasyetbeendisplayedonlyinthedrama，JohnsonproposedhimasamemberofTHELITERARYCLUB，observing，that’Hewhohaswrittenthetwobestcomediesofhisage，issurelyaconsiderableman。’Andhehad，accordingly，thehonourtobeelected；foranhonouritundoubtedlymustbeallowedtobe，whenitisconsideredofwhomthatsocietyconsists，andthatasingleblackballexcludesacandidate。

Onthe23rdofJune，IagainwrotetoDr。Johnson，enclosingaship-master’sreceiptforajaroforange-marmalade，andalargepacketofLordHailes’sAnnalsofScotland。

’DR。JOHNSONTOMRS。BOSWELL。

’MADAM，——ThoughIamwellenoughpleasedwiththetasteofsweetmeats，verylittleofthepleasurewhichIreceivedatthearrivalofyourjarofmarmaladearosefromeatingit。Ireceiveditasatokenoffriendship，asaproofofreconciliation，thingsmuchsweeterthansweetmeats，anduponthisconsiderationIreturnyou，dearMadam，mysincerestthanks。ByhavingyourkindnessI

thinkIhaveadoublesecurityforthecontinuanceofMr。

Boswell’s，whichitisnottobeexpectedthatanymancanlongkeep，whentheinfluenceofaladysohighlyandsojustlyvaluedoperatesagainsthim。Mr。BoswellwilltellyouthatIwasalwaysfaithfultoyourinterest，andalwaysendeavouredtoexaltyouinhisestimation。Youmustnowdothesameforme。Wemustallhelponeanother，andyoumustnowconsiderme，as，dearMadam，yourmostobliged，andmosthumbleservant，’July22，1777。’

’SAM。JOHNSON。’

’ToJAMESBOSWELL，ESQ。

’DEARSIR，——IamthisdaycometoAshbourne，andhaveonlytotellyou，thatDr。Taylorsaysyoushallbewelcometohim，andyouknowhowwelcomeyouwillbetome。Makehastetoletmeknowwhenyoumaybeexpected。

’MakemycomplimentstoMrs。Boswell，andtellher，Ihopeweshallbeatvariancenomore。Iam，dearSir，yourmosthumbleservant，’August30，1777。’

’SAM。JOHNSON。’

OnSundayevening，Sept。14，IarrivedatAshbourne，anddrovedirectlyuptoDr。Taylor’sdoor。Dr。JohnsonandheappearedbeforeIhadgotoutofthepost-chaise，andwelcomedmecordially。

ItoldthemthatIhadtravelledalltheprecedingnight，andgonetobe

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