第95章

TheheterogeneouscompositionofhumannaturewasremarkablyexemplifiedinJohnson。Hisliberalityingivinghismoneytopersonsindistresswasextraordinary。Yettherelurkedabouthimapropensitytopaultrysaving。OnedayIownedtohimthat’IwasoccasionallytroubledwithafitofNARROWNESS。’’Why，Sir，(saidhe，)soamI。BUTIDONOTTELLIT。’Hehasnowandthenborrowedashillingofme；andwhenIaskedforitagain，seemedtoberatheroutofhumour。Adrolllittlecircumstanceonceoccurred：

asifhemeanttoreprimandmyminuteexactnessasacreditor，hethusaddressedme；——’Boswell，LENDmesixpence——NOTTOBEREPAID。’

Thisgreatman’sattentiontosmallthingswasveryremarkable。Asaninstanceofit，heonedaysaidtome，’Sir，whenyougetsilverinchangeforaguinea，lookcarefullyatit；youmayfindsomecuriouspieceofcoin。’

ThoughasternTRUE-BORNENGLISHMAN，andfullyprejudicedagainstallothernations，hehaddiscernmentenoughtosee，andcandourenoughtocensure，thecoldreservetoocommonamongEnglishmentowardsstrangers：’Sir，(saidhe，)twomenofanyothernationwhoareshewnintoaroomtogether，atahousewheretheyarebothvisitors，willimmediatelyfindsomeconversation。ButtwoEnglishmenwillprobablygoeachtoadifferentwindow，andremaininobstinatesilence。Sir，weasyetdonotenoughunderstandthecommonrightsofhumanity。’

Johnson，forsportperhaps，orfromthespiritofcontradiction，eagerlymaintainedthatDerrickhadmeritasawriter。Mr。

Morgann*arguedwithhimdirectly，invain。Atlengthhehadrecoursetothisdevice。’Pray，Sir，(saidhe，)whetherdoyoureckonDerrickorSmartthebestpoet？’Johnsonatoncefelthimselfroused；andanswered，’Sir，thereisnosettlingthepointofprecedencybetweenalouseandaflea。’

*AuthoroftheEssayontheCharacterofFalstaff——ED。

Hewaspleasedtosaytomeonemorningwhenwewereleftaloneinhisstudy，’Boswell，IthinkIameasierwithyouthanwithalmostanybody。’

HewouldnotallowMr。DavidHumeanycreditforhispoliticalprinciples，thoughsimilartohisown；sayingofhim，’Sir，hewasaTorybychance。’

Hisacuteobservationofhumanlifemadehimremark，’Sir，thereisnothingbywhichamanexasperatesmostpeoplemore，thanbydisplayingasuperiourabilityorbrilliancyinconversation。Theyseempleasedatthetime；buttheirenvymakesthemcursehimintheirhearts。’

Johnson’sloveoflittlechildren，whichhediscovereduponalloccasions，callingthem’prettydears，’andgivingthemsweetmeats，wasanundoubtedproofoftherealhumanityandgentlenessofhisdisposition。

Hisuncommonkindnesstohisservants，andseriousconcern，notonlyfortheircomfortinthisworld，buttheirhappinessinthenext，wasanotherunquestionableevidenceofwhatall，whowereintimatelyacquaintedwithhim，knewtobetrue。

Norwoulditbejust，underthishead，toomitthefondnesswhichheshewedforanimalswhichhehadtakenunderhisprotection。I

nevershallforgettheindulgencewithwhichhetreatedHodge，hiscat：forwhomhehimselfusedtogooutandbuyoysters，lesttheservantshavingthattroubleshouldtakeadisliketothepoorcreature。Iam，unluckily，oneofthosewhohaveanantipathytoacat，sothatIamuneasywhenintheroomwithone；andIown，I

frequentlysufferedagooddealfromthepresenceofthissameHodge。IrecollecthimonedayscramblingupDr。Johnson’sbreast，apparentlywithmuchsatisfaction，whilemyfriendsmilingandhalf-whistling，rubbeddownhisback，andpulledhimbythetail；

andwhenIobservedhewasafinecat，saying，’Whyyes，Sir，butI

havehadcatswhomIlikedbetterthanthis；’andthenasifperceivingHodgetobeoutofcountenance，adding，’butheisaveryfinecat，averyfinecatindeed。’

ThisremindsmeoftheludicrousaccountwhichhegaveMr。Langton，ofthedespicablestateofa

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