第90章

Wewereallinfinespirits；andIwhisperedtoMrs。Boscawen，’I

believethisisasmuchascanbemadeoflife。’Inadditiontoasplendidentertainment，wewereregaledwithLichfieldale，whichhadapeculiarappropriatedvalue。SirJoshua，andDr。Burney，andI，drankcordiallyofittoDr。Johnson’shealth；andthoughhewouldnotjoinus，heascordiallyanswered，’Gentlemen，Iwishyouallaswellasyoudome。’

Thegeneraleffectofthisdaydwellsuponmymindinfondremembrance；butIdonotfindmuchconversationrecorded。WhatI

havepreservedshallbefaithfullygiven。

OneofthecompanymentionedMr。ThomasHollis，thestrenuousWhig，whousedtosendoverEuropepresentsofdemocraticalbooks，withtheirboardsstampedwithdaggersandcapsofliberty。Mrs。Cartersaid，’Hewasabadman。Heusedtotalkuncharitably。’JOHNSON。

’Poh!poh!Madam；whoistheworseforbeingtalkedofuncharitably？Besides，hewasadullpoorcreatureaseverlived：

andIbelievehewouldnothavedoneharmtoamanwhomheknewtobeofveryoppositeprinciplestohisown。IrememberonceattheSocietyofArts，whenanadvertisementwastobedrawnup，hepointedmeoutasthemanwhocoulddoitbest。This，youwillobserve，waskindnesstome。Ihoweversliptaway，andescapedit。’

Mrs。Carterhavingsaidofthesameperson，’IdoubthewasanAtheist。’JOHNSON。’Idon’tknowthat。Hemightperhapshavebecomeone，ifhehadhadtimetoripen，(smiling。)HemighthaveEXUBERATEDintoanAtheist。’

SirJoshuaReynoldspraisedMudge’sSermons。JOHNSON。’Mudge’sSermonsaregood，butnotpractical。Hegraspsmoresensethanhecanhold；hetakesmorecornthanhecanmakeintomeal；heopensawideprospect，butitissodistant，itisindistinct。IloveBlair’sSermons。ThoughthedogisaScotchman，andaPresbyterian，andeverythingheshouldnotbe，Iwasthefirsttopraisethem。Suchwasmycandour，’(smiling。)MRS。BOSCAWEN。

’Suchhisgreatmerittogetthebetterofallyourprejudices。’

JOHNSON。’Why，Madam，letuscompoundthematter；letusascribeittomycandour，andhismerit。’

Intheeveningwehadalargecompanyinthedrawing-room，severalladies，theBishopofKillaloe，Dr。Percy，Mr。Chamberlayne，oftheTreasury，&c。&c。

Talkingofaveryrespectableauthour，hetoldusacuriouscircumstanceinhislife，whichwas，thathehadmarriedaprinter’sdevil。REYNOLDS。’Aprinter’sdevil，Sir!Why，I

thoughtaprinter’sdevilwasacreaturewithablackfaceandinrags。’JOHNSON。’Yes，Sir。ButIsuppose，hehadherfacewashed，andputcleanclothesonher。(Thenlookingveryserious，andveryearnest。)Andshedidnotdisgracehim；thewomanhadabottomofgoodsense。’Thewordbottomthusintroduced，wassoludicrouswhencontrastedwithhisgravity，thatmostofuscouldnotforbeartitteringandlaughing；thoughIrecollectthattheBishopofKillaloekepthiscountenancewithperfectsteadiness，whileMissHannahMoreslylyhidherfacebehindalady’sbackwhosatonthesamesetteewithher。Hispridecouldnotbearthatanyexpressionofhisshouldexciteridicule，whenhedidnotintendit；hethereforeresolvedtoassumeandexercisedespotickpower，glancedsternlyaround，andcalledoutinastrongtone，’Where’sthemerriment？’Thencollectinghimself，andlookingaweful，tomakeusfeelhowhecouldimposerestraint，andasitweresearchinghismindforastillmoreludicrousword，heslowlypronounced，’IsaytheWOMANwasFUNDAMENTALLYsensible；’asifhehadsaid，hearthisnow，andlaughifyoudare。Weallsatcomposedasatafuneral。

HeandIwalkedawaytogether；westoppedalittlewhilebytherailsoftheAdelphi，lookingontheThames，andIsaidtohimwithsomeemotionthatIwasnowthinkingoftwofriendswehadlost，whooncelivedinthebuildingsbehindus，BeauclerkandGarrick。

’Ay，Sir，(saidhe，tenderly，)andtwosuchfriendsascannotbesupplied。’

ForsometimeafterthisdayIdidnotseehimveryoften，andoftheconversationwhichIdidenjoy，IamsorrytofindIhavepreservedbutlittle。Iwasatthistimeengagedinavarietyo

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