me, I then am truly happy."-Mrs. THRALE. "The fentiment is in Congreve, I think."J. "Yes, Madam, in The Way of the World :' "If there's delight in love, 'tis when I fee That heart which others bleed for, bleed for me.” To a lady who endeavoured to vindicate herfelf from blame for neglecting focial attention to worthy neighbours, by faying, "I would go to them if it would do them any good;" he faid, "What good, Madam, do you expect to have in your power to do them? It is fhewing them refpect, and that is doing them. good." Dr. Taylor once commended a physician who was known to him and Dr. Johnfon, and faid, "I fight many battles for him, as many people in the country diflike him."-J. "But you should confider, Sir, that by every one of your victories he is a lofer; for every man of whom you get the better will be very angry and refolve not to employ him; whereas, if people get the better of you in argument about him, they'll think, We'll fend for Dr. ****** neverthelefs.' This was an obfervation deep and fure in human nature. On a certain occafion Johnfon made a rcmark, "That the law againft ufury is for the protection of creditors as well as of debtors; for of if there were no fuch check, people would be apt, from the temptation of great interest, to lend to defperate perfons, by whom they would lofe their money. Accordingly there are inftances of ladies being ruined, by having injudiciously funk their fortunes for high annuities, which, after a few years, ceased to be paid, in confequence of the ruined circumftances of the borrower." To Mr. B. (who had thoughts of binding himself to fome practice by the obligation of a voluntary vow) he faid, "Do not accuftom yourself to enchain your volatility by vows; they will fometime leave a thorn in your mind which you will, perhaps, never be able to extract or eject. Take this warning, it is of great importance." "The applause of a fingle human being is of great confequence."-" This (fays Mr. B.) he obferved to me with great earnestness of manner, very near the time of his deccafe, on occafion of having defired 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 to his praise; and then he expreffed himself as above," He He faid of one of his friends" He is ruining himself without pleasure. A man who lofes at play, or who runs out his fortune at court, makes his eftate lefs, in hopes of making it bigger but it is a fad thing to pass through the quagmire of parfimony to the gulph of ruin. To pafs over the flowery path of extravagance is very well." Upon the question, whether a man who had been guilty of vicious actions would do well to force himself into folitude and fadnefs, Johnfon faid, "No, Sir, unless it prevent him from being vicious again. With fome people, gloomy penitence is only madness turned upfide down. A man may be gloomy, till, in order to be relieved from gloom, he has recourfe again to criminal indulgences." Mr. Bofwell once confeffed an excess of which he had very feldom been guilty, namely, that he had spent a whole night in playing at cards, and that he could not look back on it with fatisfaction. Inftead of a harsh animadversion, Johnson mildly faid, "Alas, Sir! on how few things can we look back with fatisfaction!"-B. 66 By affociating with you, Sir, I am always getting an acceffion of wifdom. But perhaps a man, after knowing his own character — the limited ftrength of his own mind, fhould not be defirous of having tog too much wifdom, confidering, quid valeant bumeri, how little he can carry."-7. "Sir, be as wife as you can; let a man be aliis lætus, fapiens fibi: Though pleas'd to fee the dolphins play, I mind my compass and my way.' You may be wife in your study in the morning, and gay in company at a tavern in the evening. Every man is to take care of hist own wisdom and his own virtue, without minding too much what others think." Talking of the great confequence which a man acquired by being employed in his profeffion, "I fuggefted (fays Mr. B.) a doubt of the juftice of the general opinion, that it is improper in a lawyer to folicit employment; for why, I urged, fhould it not be equally allowable to folicit that as the means of confequence as it is to folicit votes to be elected a member of parliament? Mr. Strahan had told me, that a countryman of his and mine, who had risen to eminence in the law, had, when first making his way, folicited him to get him employed in city causes."-7. "Sir, it is wrong to ftir up law-fuits; but when once it is certain that a law-fuit is to go on, there is nothing wrong in a lawyer's endeavouring that he fhall have the benefit rather than another." -3. "You would not folicit employment, Sir, if if you were a lawyer."-7. "No, Sir; but not because I fhould think it wrong, but because I should difdain it." This was a good diftinction, which will be felt by men of just pride. He proceeded: "However, I would not have a lawyer to be wanting to himself in ufing fair means. I would have him to inject a little hint now and then, to prevent his being overlooked." Against melancholy he recommended conftant occupation of mind, a great deal of exercife, moderation in eating and drinking, and especially to fhun drinking at night. He faid, melancholy people were apt to fly to intemperance for relief, but that it funk them much deeper in mifery. He obferved, that labouring men who work hard, and live fparingly, are feldom or never troubled with low fpirits. On Mr. Bofwell's fucceeding to his paternal inheritance, it was not to be supposed that the great moralift would omit the opportunity of advifing his friend. Accordingly, we find him thus addreffing Mr. B.: "You have now a new fiation, and have therefore new cares and new employments. Life, as Cowley feems to fay, ought to refemble a well-ordered poem; of which one rule generally received is, that the exordium fhould be fimple, and should promife little. Begin your new courfe of life |