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。