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；butifthesameinattentionisdiscoveredinanoldman，peoplewillshruguptheirshoulders，andsay，“Hismemoryisgoing。“’
SirJoshuaReynoldscommunicatedtomethefollowingparticulars：——
JohnsonthoughtthepoemspublishedastranslationsfromOssianhadsolittlemerit，thathesaid，’Sir，amanmightwritesuchstuffforever，ifhewouldABANDONhismindtoit。’
Hesaid，’AmanshouldpassapartofhistimewithTHELAUGHERS，bywhichmeansanythingridiculousorparticularabouthimmightbepresentedtohisview，andcorrected。’Iobserved，hemusthavebeenaboldlaugherwhowouldhaveventuredtotellDr。Johnsonofanyofhisparticularities。*
*Iamhappy，however，tomentionapleasinginstanceofhisenduringwithgreatgentlenesstohearoneofhismoststrikingparticularitiespointedout：——MissHunter，anieceofhisfriendChristopherSmart，whenaveryyounggirl，struckbyhisextraordinarymotions，saidtohim，Pray，Dr。Johnson，whydoyoumakesuchstrangegestures？’Frombadhabit，hereplied。’Doyou，mydear，takecaretoguardagainstbadhabits。’ThisIwastoldbytheyounglady’sbrotheratMargate——Boswell。
Dr。GoldsmithsaidoncetoDr。Johnson，thathewishedforsomeadditionalmemberstoTHELITERARYCLUB，togiveitanagreeablevariety；forsaidhe，therecannowbenothingnewamongus：wehavetravelledoveroneanother’sminds。Johnsonseemedalittleangry，andsaid，’Sir，youhavenottravelledoverMYmind，I
promiseyou。’SirJoshua，however，thoughtGoldsmithright；
observing，that’whenpeoplehavelivedagreatdealtogether，theyknowwhateachofthemwillsayoneverysubject。Anewunderstanding，therefore，isdesirable；becausethoughitmayonlyfurnishthesamesenseuponaquestionwhichwouldhavebeenfurnishedbythosewithwhomweareaccustomedtolive，yetthissensewillhaveadifferentcolouring；andcolouringisofmucheffectineverythingelseaswellasinpainting。’
Johnsonusedtosaythathemadeitaconstantruletotalkaswellashecouldbothastosentimentandexpression，bywhichmeans，whathadbeenoriginallyeffortbecamefamiliarandeasy。Theconsequenceofthis，SirJoshuaobserved，was，thathiscommonconversationinallcompanieswassuchastosecurehimuniversalattention，assomethingabovetheusualcolloquialstylewasexpected。
Yet，thoughJohnsonhadthishabitincompany，whenanothermodewasnecessary，inordertoinvestigatetruth，hecoulddescendtoalanguageintelligibletothemeanestcapacity。AninstanceofthiswaswitnessedbySirJoshuaReynolds，whentheywerepresentatanexaminationofalittleblackguardboy，byMr。SaundersWelch，thelateWestminsterJustice。Welch，whoimaginedthathewasexaltinghimselfinDr。Johnson’seyesbyusingbigwords，spokeinamannerthatwasutterlyunintelligibletotheboy；Dr。Johnsonperceivingit，addressedhimselftotheboy，andchangedthepompousphraseologyintocolloquiallanguage。SirJoshuaReynolds，whowasmuchamusedbythisprocedure，whichseemedakindofreversingofwhatmighthavebeenexpectedfromthetwomen，tooknoticeofittoDr。Johnson，astheywalkedawaybythemselves。Johnsonsaid，thatitwascontinuallythecase；andthathewasalwaysobligedtoTRANSLATEtheJustice’sswellingdiction，smiling，soasthathismeaningmightbeunderstoodbythevulgar，fromwhominformationwastobeobtained。
SirJoshuaonceobservedtohim，thathehadtalkedabovethecapacityofsomepeoplewithwhomtheyhadbeenincompanytogether。’Nomatter，Sir，saidJohnson；theyconsideritasacomplimenttobetalkedto，asiftheywerewiserthantheyare。
Sotrueisthis，Sir，thatBaxtermadeitaruleineverysermonthathepreached，tosaysomethingthatwasabovethecapacityofhisaudience。’
Johnson’sdexterityinretort，whenheseemedtobedriventoanextremitybyhisadversary，wasveryremarkable。Ofhispowerinthisrespect，ourcommonfriend，Mr。WindhamofNorfolk，hasbeenpleasedtofurnishmewithaneminentinstance。HoweverunfavourabletoScotland，heuniformlygaveliberalpraisetoGeorgeBuchanan，asawriter。Inaconversationconcerningtheliterarymeritsofthetwocountries，inwhichBuchananwasintroduced，aScotchman，imaginingthatonthisgroundheshouldhaveanundoubtedtriumphoverhim，exclaimed，’Ah，Dr。Johnson，whatwouldyouhavesaidofBuchanan，hadhebeenanEnglishman？’
’Why，Sir，saidJohnson，afteralittlepause，IshouldNOThavesaidofBuchanan，hadhebeenanENGLISHMAN，whatIwillnowsayofhimasaSCOTCHMAN，——thathewastheonlymanofgeniushiscountryeverproduced。’
ThoughhisusualphraseforconversationwasTALK，yethemadeadistinction；forwhenheoncetoldmethathedinedthedaybeforeatafriend’shouse，with’averyprettycompany；’andIaskedhimiftherewasgoodconversation，heanswered，’No，Sir；wehadTALK
enough，butnoCONVERSATION；therewasnothingDISCUSSED。’
Suchwashissensibility，andsomuchwasheaffectedbypathetickpoetry，that，whenhewasreadingDr。Beattie’sHermitinmypresence，itbroughttearsintohiseyes。
Mr。Hooletoldhim，hewasborninMoorfields，andhadreceivedpartofhisearlyinstructioninGrub-street。’Sir，saidJohnson，smiling，youhavebeenREGULARLYeducated。’Havingaskedwhowashisinstructor，andMr。Hoolehavinganswered，’Myuncle，Sir，whowasataylor；’Johnson，recollectinghimself，said，’Sir，Iknewhim；wecalledhimthemetaphysicaltaylor。HewasofaclubinOld-street，withmeandGeorgePsalmanazar，andsomeothers：butpray，Sir，washeagoodtaylor？’Mr。Hoolehavingansweredthathebelievedhewastoomathematical，andusedtodrawsquaresandtrianglesonhisshop-board，sothathedidnotexcelinthecutofacoat；——’IamsorryforitsaidJohnson，forIwouldhaveeverymantobemasterofhisownbusiness。’
InpleasantreferencetohimselfandMr。Hoole，asbrotherauthours，heoftensaid，’LetyouandI，Sir，gotogether，andeatabeef-steakinGrub-street。’
HesaidtoSirWilliamScott，’Theageisrunningmadafterinnovation；allthebusinessoftheworldistobedoneinanewway；menaretobehangedinanewway；Tyburnitselfisnotsafefromthefuryofinnovation。’Ithavingbeenarguedthatthiswasanimprovement，——’No，Sir，saidhe，eagerly，itisNOTanimprovement：theyobjectthattheoldmethoddrewtogetheranumberofspectators。Sir，executionsareintendedtodrawspectators。
Iftheydonotdrawspectatorstheydon’tanswertheirpurpose。
Theoldmethodwasmostsatisfactorytoallparties；thepublickwasgratifiedbyaprocession；thecriminalwassupportedbyit。
Whyisallthistobesweptaway？’IperfectlyagreewithDr。
Johnsonuponthishead，andampersuadedthatexecutionsnow，thesolemnprocessionbeingdiscontinued，havenotnearlytheeffectwhichtheyformerlyhad。MagistratesbothinLondon，andelsewhere，have，Iamafraid，inthishadtoomuchregardtotheirowncase。
Johnson’sattentiontoprecisionandclearnessinexpressionwasveryremarkable。Hedisapprovedofparentheses；andIbelieveinallhisvoluminouswritings，nothalfadozenofthemwillbefound。Heneverusedthephrasestheformerandthelatter，havingobserved，thattheyoftenoccasionedobscurity；hethereforecontrivedtoconstructhissentencessoasnottohaveoccasionforthem，andwouldevenratherrepeatthesamewords，inordertoavoidthem。Nothingismorecommonthantomistakesurnameswhenwehearthemcarelesslyutteredforthefirsttime。Topreventthis，heusednotonlytopronouncethemslowlyanddistinctly，buttotakethetroubleofspellingthem；apracticewhichIhaveoftenfollowed；andwhichIwishweregeneral。
Suchwastheheatandirritabilityofhisblood，thatnotonlydidheparehisnailstothequick；butscrapedthejointsofhisfingerswithapen-knife，tilltheyseemedquiteredandraw。