第94章

Talkingofanacquaintanceofours，whosenarratives，whichaboundedincuriousandinterestingtopicks，wereunhappilyfoundtobeveryfabulous；ImentionedLordMansfield’shavingsaidtome，’SupposewebelieveoneHALFofwhathetells。’JOHNSON。’Ay；

butwedon’tknowWHICHhalftobelieve。Byhislyingwelosenotonlyourreverenceforhim，butallcomfortinhisconversation。’

BOSWELL。’Maywenottakeitasamusingfiction？’JOHNSON。’Sir，themisfortuneis，thatyouwillinsensiblybelieveasmuchofitasyouinclinetobelieve。’

Itisremarkable，thatnotwithstandingtheircongenialityinpoliticks，heneverwasacquaintedwithalateeminentnoblejudge，whomIhaveheardspeakofhimasawriter，withgreatrespect。

Johnson，Iknownotuponwhatdegreeofinvestigation，entertainednoexaltedopinionofhisLordship’sintellectualcharacter。

Talkingofhimtomeoneday，hesaid，’Itiswonderful，Sir，withhowlittlerealsuperiorityofmindmencanmakeaneminentfigureinpublicklife。’Heexpressedhimselftothesamepurposeconcerninganotherlaw-Lord，who，itseems，oncetookafancytoassociatewiththewitsofLondon；butwithsolittlesuccess，thatFootesaid，’Whatcanhemeanbycomingamongus？Heisnotonlydullhimself，butthecauseofdullnessinothers。’Tryinghimbythetestofhiscolloquialpowers，Johnsonhadfoundhimverydefective。HeoncesaidtoSirJoshuaReynolds，’Thismannowhasbeentenyearsabouttown，andhasmadenothingofit；’meaningasacompanion。Hesaidtome，’Ineverheardanythingfromhimincompanythatwasatallstriking；anddependuponit，Sir，itiswhenyoucomeclosetoamaninconversation，thatyoudiscoverwhathisrealabilitiesare；tomakeaspeechinapublickassemblyisaknack。NowIhonourThurlow，Sir；Thurlowisafinefellow；

hefairlyputshismindtoyours。’

Afterrepeatingtohimsomeofhispointed，livelysayings，Isaid，’Itisapity，Sir，youdon’talwaysrememberyourowngoodthings，thatyoumayhavealaughwhenyouwill。’JOHNSON。’Nay，Sir，itisbetterthatIforgetthem，thatImayberemindedofthem，andhavealaughontheirbeingbroughttomyrecollection。’

WhenIrecalledtohimhishavingsaidaswesailedupLoch-lomond，’Thatifheworeanythingfine，itshouldbeVERYfine；’I

observedthatallhisthoughtswereuponagreatscale。JOHNSON。

’Dependuponit，Sir，everymanwillhaveasfineathingashecanget；asalargediamondforhisring。’BOSWELL。’Pardonme，Sir：

amanofanarrowmindwillnotthinkofit，aslighttrinketwillsatisfyhim：

“Necsufferrequeatmajorisponderagemmae。“’

ItoldhimIshouldsendhimsomeEssayswhichIhadwritten，whichIhopedhewouldbesogoodastoread，andpickoutthegoodones。

JOHNSON。’Nay，Sir，sendmeonlythegoodones；don’tmakeMEpickthem。’

Asasmallproofofhiskindlinessanddelicacyoffeeling，thefollowingcircumstancemaybementioned：Oneeveningwhenwewereinthestreettogether，andItoldhimIwasgoingtosupatMr。

Beauclerk’s，hesaid，’I’llgowithyou。’Afterhavingwalkedpartoftheway，seemingtorecollectsomething，hesuddenlystoppedandsaid，’Icannotgo，——butIdonotloveBeauclerktheless。’

Ontheframeofhisportrait，Mr。Beauclerkhadinscribed，——

’——IngeniumingensIncultolatethocsubcorpore。’

AfterMr。Beauclerk’sdeath，whenitbecameMr。Langton’sproperty，hemadetheinscriptionbedefaced。Johnsonsaidcomplacently，’Itwaskindinyoutotakeitoff；’andthenafterashortpause，added，’andnotunkindinhimtoputiton。’

Hesaid，’Howfewofhisfriends’houseswouldamanchoosetobeatwhenheissick。’Hementionedoneortwo。IrecollectonlyThrale’s。

Heobserved，’Thereisawickedinclinationinmostpeopletosupposeanoldmandecayedinhisintellects。Ifayoungormiddle-agedman，whenleavingacompany，doesnotrecollectwherehelaidhishat，itisnothing；butifthesameinattentionisdiscoveredi

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