to enable him to affume a different rank in society, then, indeed, it might answer fome purpose. "He observed, a principal fource of erroneous judgement was, viewing things partially and only on one fide; as for inftance, fortune-hunters, when they contemplated the fortunes fingly and feparately, it was a dazzling and tempting object; but when they came to poffefs the wives and their fortunes together, they began to fufpect they had not made quite fo good a bargain. 'Speaking of the late Duke of Northumberland living very magnificently when Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, fomebody remarked, it would be difficult to find a fuitable fucceffor to him; then exclaimed Johnfon, he is only fit to fucceed himSelf. "He advised me, if poffible, to have a good orchard. He knew, he faid, a clergyman of fmall income, who brought up a family very reputably, which he chiefly fed with apple dumplins. "He faid, he had known feveral good scholars among the Irish gentlemen; but scarcely any of them correct in quantity. He extended the fame obfervation to Scotland.: Speaking of a certain Prelate, who exerted himself very laudably in building churches and parfonage-houses; however, faid he, I do not find that he is efteemed a man of much profeffional learning, or a liberal patron of it;-yet, it is well, where a man poffeffes any ftrong pofitive excellence.-Few have all kinds of merit belong ing to their character. We must not examine matters too deeply-No, Sir, a fallible being will fail fome-where. Talking of the Irish clergy, he said, Swift. was a man of great parts, and the inftrument of much good to his country.-Berkeley was a profound fcholar, as well as a man of fine imagination; but Ufher, he said, was the great luminary of the Irish church; and a greater, he added, no church could boaft of; at leaft in modern times. "We dined tête à tête at the Mitre, as I was preparing to return to Ireland, after an abfence of many years. I regretted much leaving London, where I had formed many agreeable connexions; "Sir, (faid he,) I don't wonder at it; no man, fond of letters, leaves London without regret. But remember, Sir, you have seen and enjoyed a great deal-You have feen life in its highest decorations, and the world has nothing new to exhibit.-No man is fo well qualifyed to leave publick life as he who has long tryed it and known it well. We are always hankering after untryed fituations, and imagining greater felicity from them than they can afford. "No Sir, knowledge and virtue may be acquired in all countries, and your local confequence will make you fome amends for the intellectual gratifications you relinquish. Then he quoted the following lines with great pathos. "He 1 "He who has early known the pomps of state, (For things unknown, 'tis ignorance to contemn;) "And after having viewed the gaudy bait, "Can boldly fay, the trifle I contemn; "He then took a moft affecting leave of me; faid, he knew, it was a point of duty that called me away. We fhall all be forry to lofe you, faid he. Laudo tamen." From Mr. LANGTON I have the following additional Particulars. "TALKING reverently of the SUPREME BEING, he uttered these fentences: "Do you confider, Sir? "In the first place the idea of a CREATOR must be such as that he has a power to unmake or annihilate his creature. "Then it cannot be conceived that a creature can make laws for its CREATOR 3. 3 His profound adoration of the GREAT FIRST CAUSE was fuch as to fet him above that " Philofophy and vain deceit," with which men of narrower conceptions have been infected. I have heard him strongly maintain that "what is "right is not fo from any natural fitnefs, but because Gon wills "it to be right;" and it is certainly fo, because he has predifpofed the relations of things fo as that which he wills must be right. 3 BOSWELL. "Depend upon it, faid he, that if a man talks" of his misfortunes, there is fomething in them that is not difagreeable to him-for where there is nothing but pure mifery, there never is any recourse to the mention of it. “A man must be a poor beast that fhould read no more in quantity than he could utter aloud. "Imlac in "Raffelas," I fpelt with a c. at the end, because it is lefs like English, which fhould always have the Saxon k. Many a man is mad in certain inftances, and goes through life without having it perceived:for example, a madness has feized a perfon of supposing himself obliged literally to pray continually -had the madness turned the oppofite way and the person thought it a crime ever to pray, it might not improbably have continued unobserved. "He apprehended that the delineation of characters in the end of the firft Book of the Retreat of the ten thoufand was the first inftance of the kind that was known. "Suppofing (faid he) a wife to be of a studious. or argumentative turn, it would be very troublefome: for inftance-if a woman fhould continually dwell upon the subject of the Arian heresy. "No man speaks concerning another, even fuppofe it be in his praife, if he thinks he does not hear him, exactly as he would, if he thought he was within hearing. "The applause of a fingle human being is of great confequence"This he faid to me with great earnestness earnestness of manner, very near the time of his decease, on occafion of having desired me to read a letter addreffed to him from fome perfon in the 'North of England; which when I had done, and he asked me what the contents were; as I thought being particular upon it might fatigue him, it being of great length, I only told him in general that it was highly in his praise; and then he expreffed himself as above. "He mentioned with an air of fatisfaction what Baretti had told him; that, meeting, in the course of his ftudying English, with an excellent paper in the Spectator, one of four that were written by the refpectable Diffenting Minifter Mr. Grove of Taunton, and obferving the genius and energy of mind that it exhibits, it greatly quickened his curiofity to vifit our country; as he thought if fuch were the lighter periodical essays of our authours, their productions on more weighty occafions must be wonderful indeed! "He obferved once, at Sir Jofhua Reynolds's, that, a beggar in the street will more readily afk alms from a man, though there should be no marks of wealth in his appearance, than from even a well-dreffed woman; which he accounted for from the greater degree of carefulness as to money that is to be found in women; faying farther upon it, that, the opportunities in general. that they poffefs of improving their condition are 4 Sterne is of a direct contrary opinion.. See his " Sentimental Journey," Article, "The Mystery." much |