第81章

wouldnotargueanyfarther；butIwasconfidentthatIwasintheright。Iwould，induetime，beaNestor，anelderofthepeople；

andthereSHOULDbesomedifferencebetweentheconversationoftwenty-eightandsixty-eight。Agravepictureshouldnotbegay。

Thereisaserene，solemn，placidoldage。JOHNSON。’Mrs。

Thrale’smothersaidofmewhatflatteredmemuch。Aclergymanwascomplainingofwantofsocietyinthecountrywherehelived；andsaid，“TheytalkofRUNTS；“(thatis，youngcows)。“Sir，(saidMrs。Salusbury，)Mr。Johnsonwouldlearntotalkofrunts：“meaningthatIwasamanwhowouldmakethemostofmysituation，whateveritwas。’Headded，’Ithinkmyselfaverypoliteman。’

OnSaturday，May2，IdinedwithhimatSirJoshuaReynolds’s，wheretherewasaverylargecompany，andagreatdealofconversation；butowingtosomecircumstancewhichIcannotnowrecollect，Ihavenorecordofanypartofit，exceptthattherewereseveralpeopletherebynomeansoftheJohnsonianschool；sothatlessattentionwaspaidtohimthanusual，whichputhimoutofhumour；anduponsomeimaginaryoffencefromme，heattackedmewithsuchrudeness，thatIwasvexedandangry，becauseitgavethosepersonsanopportunityofenlarginguponhissupposedferocity，andilltreatmentofhisbestfriends。Iwassomuchhurt，andhadmypridesomuchroused，thatIkeptawayfromhimforaweek；and，perhaps，mighthavekeptawaymuchlonger，nay，gonetoScotlandwithoutseeinghimagain，hadnotwefortunatelymetandbeenreconciled。Tosuchunhappychancesarehumanfriendshipsliable。

OnFriday，May8，IdinedwithhimatMr。Langton’s。Iwasreservedandsilent，whichIsupposeheperceived，andmightrecollectthecause。AfterdinnerwhenMr。Langtonwascalledoutoftheroom，andwewerebyourselves，hedrewhischairneartomine，andsaid，inatoneofconciliatingcourtesy，’Well，howhaveyoudone？’Boswell。’Sir，youhavemademeveryuneasybyyourbehaviourtomewhenwewerelastatSirJoshuaReynolds’s。Youknow，mydearSir，nomanhasagreaterrespectandaffectionforyou，orwouldsoonergototheendoftheworldtoserveyou。Nowtotreatmeso。’HeinsistedthatIhadinterruptedhim，whichI

assuredhimwasnotthecase；andproceeded——’Butwhytreatmesobeforepeoplewhoneitherloveyounorme？’JOHNSON。’Well，Iamsorryforit。I’llmakeituptoyoutwentydifferentways，asyouplease。’BOSWELL。’Isaidto-daytoSirJoshua，whenheobservedthatyouTOSSEDmesometimes——Idon’tcarehowoften，orhowhighhetossesme，whenonlyfriendsarepresent，forthenIfalluponsoftground：butIdonotlikefallingonstones，whichisthecasewhenenemiesarepresent——Ithinkthisaprettygoodimage，Sir。’

JOHNSON。’Sir，itisoneofthehappiestIhaveeverheard。’

Thetruthis，therewasnovenominthewoundswhichheinflictedatanytime，unlesstheywereirritatedbysomemalignantinfusionbyotherhands。Wewereinstantlyascordialagainasever，andjoinedinheartylaughatsomeludicrousbutinnocentpeculiaritiesofoneofourfriends。BOSWELL。’Doyouthink，Sir，itisalwaysculpabletolaughatamantohisface？’JOHNSON。’Why，Sir，thatdependsuponthemanandthething。Ifitisaslightman，andaslightthing，youmay；foryoutakenothingvaluablefromhim。’

WhenMr。Langtonreturnedtous，the’flowoftalk’wenton。Aneminentauthourbeingmentioned；——JOHNSON。’Heisnotapleasantman。Hisconversationisneitherinstructivenorbrilliant。Hedoesnottalkasifimpelledbyanyfulnessofknowledgeorvivacityofimagination。Hisconversationislikethatofanyothersensibleman。Hetalkswithnowisheithertoinformortohear，butonlybecausehethinksitdoesnotbecome

tositinacompanyandsaynothing。’

Mr。LangtonhavingrepeatedtheanecdoteofAddisonhavingdistinguishedbetweenhispowersinconversationandinwriting，bysaying’Ihaveonlynine-penceinmypocket；butIcandrawforathousandpounds；’——JOHNSON。’Hehadnotthatretortready，Sir；hehadprepareditbefore-hand。’LANGTON。(

后续内容为VIP可读请开通VIP，或购买此章节