第59章
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  Acuriousincidenthappenedto-day,whileMr。ThraleandIsatwithhim。Francisannouncedthatalargepacketwasbroughttohimfromthepost-office,saidtohavecomefromLisbon,anditwaschargedSEVENPOUNDSTENSHILLINGS。Hewouldnotreceiveit,supposingittobesometrick,nordidheevenlookatit。Butuponenquiryafterwardshefoundthatitwasarealpacketforhim,fromthatveryfriendintheEastIndiesofwhomhehadbeenspeaking;andtheshipwhichcarriedithavingcometoPortugal,thispacket,withothers,hadbeenputintothepost-officeatLisbon。

  Imentionedanewgaming-club,ofwhichMr。Beauclerkhadgivenmeanaccount,wherethemembersplayedtoadesperateextent。

  JOHNSON。’Dependuponit,Sir,thisismeretalk。WHOisruinedbygaming?Youwillnotfindsixinstancesinanage。Thereisastrangeroutmadeaboutdeepplay:whereasyouhavemanymorepeopleruinedbyadventuroustrade,andyetwedonothearsuchanoutcryagainstit。’THRALE。’Theremaybefewpeopleabsolutelyruinedbydeepplay;butverymanyaremuchhurtintheircircumstancesbyit。’JOHNSON。’Yes,Sir,andsoareverymanybyotherkindsofexpence。’Ihadheardhimtalkoncebeforeinthesamemanner;andatOxfordhesaid,’hewishedhehadlearnttoplayatcards。’Thetruth,however,is,thathelovedtodisplayhisingenuityinargument;andthereforewouldsometimesinconversationmaintainopinionswhichhewassensiblewerewrong,butinsupportingwhich,hisreasoningandwitwouldbemostconspicuous。Hewouldbeginthus:’Why,Sir,astothegoodorevilofcard-playing——’’Now,saidGarrick,heisthinkingwhichsideheshalltake。’Heappearedtohaveapleasureincontradiction,especiallywhenanyopinionwhateverwasdeliveredwithanairofconfidence;sothattherewashardlyanytopick,ifnotoneofthegreattruthsofReligionandMorality,thathemightnothavebeenincitedtoargue,eitherfororagainst。LordElibankhadthehighestadmirationofhispowers。Heonceobservedtome,’WhateveropinionJohnsonmaintains,Iwillnotsaythatheconvincesme;butheneverfailstoshewme,thathehasgoodreasonsforit。’IhaveheardJohnsonpayhisLordshipthishighcompliment:’IneverwasinLordElibank’scompanywithoutlearningsomething。’

  Wesattogethertillitwastoolatefortheafternoonservice。

  Thralesaidhehadcomewithintentiontogotochurchwithus。WewentatseventoeveningprayersatSt。Clement’schurch,afterhavingdrankcoffee;anindulgence,whichIunderstoodJohnsonyieldedtoonthisoccasion,incomplimenttoThrale。

  OnSunday,April7,Easter-day,afterhavingbeenatSt。Paul’sCathedral,IcametoDr。Johnson,accordingtomyusualcustom。Itseemedtome,thattherewasalwayssomethingpeculiarlymildandplacidinhismanneruponthisholyfestival,thecommemorationofthemostjoyfuleventinthehistoryofourworld,theresurrectionofourLORDandSAVIOUR,who,havingtriumphedoverdeathandthegrave,proclaimedimmortalitytomankind。

  Irepeatedtohimanargumentofaladyofmyacquaintance,whomaintained,thatherhusband’shavingbeenguiltyofnumberlessinfidelities,releasedherfromconjugalobligations,becausetheywerereciprocal。JOHNSON。’Thisismiserablestuff,Sir。Tothecontractofmarriage,besidesthemanandwife,thereisathirdparty——Society;andifitbeconsideredasavow——GOD:and,therefore,itcannotbedissolvedbytheirconsentalone。Lawsarenotmadeforparticularcases,butformeningeneral。Awomanmaybeunhappywithherhusband;butshecannotbefreedfromhimwithouttheapprobationofthecivilandecclesiasticalpower。A

  manmaybeunhappy,becauseheisnotsorichasanother;butheisnottoseizeuponanother’spropertywithhisownhand。’BOSWELL。

  ’But,Sir,thisladydoesnotwantthatthecontractshouldbedissolved;sheonlyarguesthatshemayindulgeherselfingallantrieswithequalfreedomasherhusbanddoes,providedshetakescarenottointroduceaspuriousissueintohisfamily。Youknow,Sir,whatMacrobiushastoldusofJulia。’JOHNSON。’Thisladyofyours,Sir,Ithink,isveryfitforabrothel。’

  Mr。Macbean,authouroftheDictionaryofancientGeography,camein。HementionedthathehadbeenfortyyearsabsentfromScotland。’Ah,Boswell!saidJohnson,smiling,whatwouldyougivetobefortyyearsfromScotland?’Isaid,’Ishouldnotliketobesolongabsentfromtheseatofmyancestors。’Thisgentleman,Mrs。Williams,andMr。Levet,dinedwithus。

  Mrs。Williamswasverypeevish;andIwonderedatJohnson’spatiencewithhernow,asIhadoftendoneonsimilaroccasions。

  Thetruthis,thathishumaneconsiderationoftheforlornandindigentstateinwhichthisladywasleftbyherfather,inducedhimtotreatherwiththeutmosttenderness,andeventobedesirousofprocuringheramusement,soassometimestoincommodemanyofhisfriends,bycarryingherwithhimtotheirhouses,where,fromhermannerofeating,inconsequenceofherblindness,shecouldnotbutoffendthedelicacyofpersonsofnicesensations。

  Aftercoffee,wewenttoafternoonserviceinSt。Clement’schurch。

  Observingsomebeggarsinthestreetaswewalkedalong,IsaidtohimIsupposedtherewasnocivilizedcountryintheworld,wherethemiseryofwantinthelowestclassesofthepeoplewasprevented。JOHNSON。’Ibelieve,Sir,thereisnot;butitisbetterthatsomeshouldbeunhappy,thanthatnoneshouldbehappy,whichwouldbethecaseinageneralstateofequality。’

  Whentheservicewasended,Iwenthomewithhim,andwesatquietlybyourselves。

  Uponthequestionwhetheramanwhohadbeenguiltyofviciousactionswoulddowelltoforcehimselfintosolitudeandsadness;

  JOHNSON。’No,Sir,unlessitpreventhimfrombeingviciousagain。

  Withsomepeople,gloomypenitenceisonlymadnessturnedupsidedown。Amanmaybegloomy,till,inordertoberelievedfromgloom,hehasrecourseagaintocriminalindulgencies。’

  OnWednesday,April10,IdinedwithhimatMr。Thrale’s,wherewereMr。Murphyandsomeothercompany。Beforedinner,Dr。JohnsonandIpassedsometimebyourselves。IwassorrytofinditwasnowresolvedthattheproposedjourneytoItalyshouldnottakeplacethisyear。Hesaid,’Iamdisappointed,tobesure;butitisnotagreatdisappointment。’Iwonderedtoseehimbear,withaphilosophicalcalmness,whatwouldhavemademostpeoplepeevishandfretful。Iperceived,however,thathehadsowarmlycherishedthehopeofenjoyingclassicalscenes,thathecouldnoteasilypartwiththescheme;forhesaid:’IshallprobablycontrivetogettoItalysomeotherway。ButIwon’tmentionittoMr。andMrs。Thrale,asitmightvexthem。’Isuggested,thatgoingtoItalymighthavedoneMr。andMrs。Thralegood。JOHNSON。’I

  ratherbelievenot,Sir。Whilegriefisfresh,everyattempttodivertonlyirritates。YoumustwaittillgriefbeDIGESTED,andthenamusementwilldissipatetheremainsofit。’

  Isaid,Idislikedthecustomwhichsomepeoplehadofbringingtheirchildrenintocompany,becauseitinamannerforcedustopayfoolishcomplimentstopleasetheirparents。JOHNSON。’Youareright,Sir。Wemaybeexcusedfornotcaringmuchaboutotherpeople’schildren,fortherearemanywhocareverylittleabouttheirownchildren。Itmaybeobserved,thatmen,whofrombeingengagedinbusiness,orfromtheircourseoflifeinwhateverway,seldomseetheirchildren,donotcaremuchaboutthem。Imyselfshouldnothavehadmuchfondnessforachildofmyown。’MRS。

  THRALE。’Nay,Sir,howcanyoutalkso?’JOHNSON。’Atleast,I

  neverwishedtohaveachild。’

  HetalkedofLordLyttelton’sextremeanxietyasanauthour;

  observing,that’hewasthirtyyearsinpreparinghisHistory,andthatheemployedamantopointitforhim;asiflaughing

  anothermancouldpointhissensebetterthanhimself。’Mr。Murphysaid,heunderstoodhishistorywaskeptbackseveralyearsforfearofSmollet。JOHNSON。’ThisseemsstrangetoMurphyandme,whoneverfeltthatanxiety,butsentwhatwewrotetothepress,andletittakeitschance。’MRS。THRALE。’Thetimehasbeen,Sir,whenyoufeltit。’JOHNSON。’Why,really,Madam,Idonotrecollectatimewhenthatwasthecase。’

  OnThursday,April11,IdinedwithhimatGeneralPaoli’s,inwhosehouseInowresided,andwhereIhadeverafterwardsthehonourofbeingentertainedwiththekindestattentionashisconstantguest,whileIwasinLondon,tillIhadahouseofmyownthere。ImentionedmyhavingthatmorningintroducedtoMr。

  Garrick,CountNeni,aFlemishNoblemanofgreatrankandfortune,towhomGarricktalkedofAbelDruggerasASMALLPART;andrelated,withpleasantvanity,thataFrenchmanwhohadseenhiminoneofhislowcharacters,exclaimed,’Comment!jenelecroispas。

  Cen’estpasMonsieurGarrick,ceGrandHomme!’Garrickadded,withanappearanceofgraverecollection,’IfIweretobeginlifeagain,IthinkIshouldnotplaythoselowcharacters。’UponwhichIobserved,’Sir,youwouldbeinthewrong;foryourgreatexcellenceisyourvarietyofplaying,yourrepresentingsowell,characterssoverydifferent。’JOHNSON。’Garrick,Sir,wasnotinearnestinwhathesaid;for,tobesure,hispeculiarexcellenceishisvariety;and,perhaps,thereisnotanyonecharacterwhichhasnotbeenaswellactedbysomebodyelse,ashecoulddoit。’

  BOSWELL。’Whythen,Sir,didhetalkso?’JOHNSON。’Why,Sir,tomakeyouanswerasyoudid。’BOSWELL。’Idon’tknow,Sir;heseemedtodipdeepintohismindforthereflection。’JOHNSON。

  ’Hehadnotfartodip,Sir:hesaidthesamething,probably,twentytimesbefore。’

  Ofanoblemanraisedataveryearlyperiodtohighoffice,hesaid,’Hisparts,Sir,areprettywellforaLord;butwouldnotbedistinguishedinamanwhohadnothingelsebuthisparts。’

  AjourneytoItalywasstillinhisthoughts。Hesaid,’AmanwhohasnotbeeninItaly,isalwaysconsciousofaninferiority,fromhisnothavingseenwhatitisexpectedamanshouldsee。ThegrandobjectoftravellingistoseetheshoresoftheMediterranean。OnthoseshoreswerethefourgreatEmpiresoftheworld;theAssyrian,thePersian,theGrecian,andtheRoman——Allourreligion,almostallourlaw,almostallourarts,almostallthatsetsusabovesavages,hascometousfromtheshoresoftheMediterranean。’TheGeneralobserved,that’THEMEDITERRANEAN

  wouldbeanoblesubjectforapoem。’

  Wetalkedoftranslation。Isaid,Icouldnotdefineit,norcouldIthinkofasimilitudetoillustrateit;butthatitappearedtomethetranslationofpoetrycouldbeonlyimitation。JOHNSON。

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