ETAT. 57.

DR. DOUGLAS.

HORACE.

277

was also Mr. Braithwaite of the post-office, that amiable and friendly man, who, with modest and unassuming manners, has associated with many of the wits of the age. Johnson was very quiescent to-day. Perhaps too I was indolent. I find nothing more of him in my notes, but that when I mentioned that I had seen in the king's library sixtythree editions of my favourite Thomas à Kempis, -amongst which it was in eight languages, Latin, German, French, Italian, Spanish, English, Arabic, and Armenian,- he said he thought it unnecessary to collect many editions of a book, which were all the same, except as to the paper and print; he would have the original, and all the translations, and all the editions which had any variations in the text. He approved of the famous collection of editions of Horace by Douglas (1), mentioned by Pope, who is said to have had a closet filled with them; and he added, "every man should try to collect one book in that manner, and present it to a public library."

On Tuesday, May 18., I saw him for a short time in the morning. I told him that the mob had called

(1) The mention by Pope (no very delicate one) is in the following lines of the Dunciad, and the subjoined note: —

"Bid me with Pollio sup, as well as dine,

There all the learned shall at the labour stand,
And Douglas lend his soft obstetric hand.

"Douglas, a physician of great learning and no less taste; above all, curious in what related to Horace; of whom he col.. lected every edition, translation, and comment, to the number of several hundred volumes." Dunciad, b. iv. 1. 392. Dr. James Douglas was born in Scotland in 1675, and died in London in 1742. He published some medical works. — C.

out, as the king passed (1), "No Fox, no Fox!" which I did not like. He said, "They were right, Sir." I said, I thought not; for it seemed to be making Mr. Fox the king's competitor. There being no audience, so that there could be no triumph in a victory, he fairly agreed with me. I said it might do very well, if explained thus, "Let us have no Fox," understanding it as a prayer to his majesty not to appoint that gentleman minister.

(1) To open parliament. The Westminster election had concluded only the day before in favour of Mr. Fox, whose return, however, was delayed by the requisition for a scrutiny. - C.

CHAPTER IX

1784.

Departed Friends. — Argument.

Maria Williams.- Knotting.- Oxford. Newton on the Prophecies. - Nonjurors. — Infidel Writers. Church of Rome. Whig and Tory.- Miss Adams. Fox and Pitt. - Radcliffe's Travelling Fellowships. Prayer. -Jeremy Taylor. — Iffley. -Dr. Nowell. - Rev. Henry Bate. John Henderson.Balance of Misery.

ON Wednesday, May 19., I sat a part of the evening with him, by ourselves. I observed, that the death of our friends might be a consolation against the fear of our own dissolution, because we might have more friends in the other world than in this. He perhaps felt this as a reflection upon his apprehension as to death, and said, with heat, "How can a man know where his departed friends are, or whether they will be his friends in the other world? How many friendships have you known formed upon principles of virtue? Most friendships are formed by caprice or by chance-mere confederacies in vice or leagues in folly."

We talked of our worthy friend Mr. Langton. He said, "I know not who will go to heaven if Langton does not. Sir, I could almost say Sit anima mea cum Langtono." I mentioned a very eminent friend as a virtuous man. JOHNSON. “Yes, 4

Sir; but Langton.

has not the evangelical virtue of -, I am afraid, would not scruple

to pick up a wench.”

He however charged Mr. Langton with what he thought want of judgment upon an interesting occasion. "When I was ill," said he, "I desired he would tell me sincerely in what he thought my life was faulty. Sir, he brought me a sheet of paper, on which he had written down several texts of Scripture recommending Christian charity. And when I questioned him what occasion I had given for such an animadversion, all that he could say amounted to this, that I sometimes contradicted people in conversation. Now what harm does it do to any man to be contradicted?" BoS WELL. "I suppose he meant the manner of doing it; roughly and harshly." JOHNSON." And who is the worse for that?" BoSWELL. "It hurts people of weaker nerves." JOHNSON. "I know no such weak-nerved people." Mr. Burke, to whom I related this conference, said, "It is well if, when a man comes to die, he has nothing heavier upon his conscience than having been a little rough in conversation."

Johnson, at the time when the paper was presented to him, though at first pleased with the attention of his friend, whom he thanked in an earnest manner, soon exclaimed in a loud and angry tone, "What is your drift, Sir?" drift, Sir?" Sir Joshua Reynolds pleasantly observed, that it was a scene for a comedy, to see a penitent get into a violent passion and belabour his confessor. (1)

(1) After all, I cannot but be of opinion, that as Mr. Lang

ÆTAT. 75.

TESTIMONY.

ARGUMENT.

281

I have preserved no more of his conversation at the times when I saw him during the rest of this month, till Sunday, the 30th of May, when I met him in the evening at Mr. Hoole's, where there was a large company both of ladies and gentlemen. Sir James Johnston happened to say that he paid no regard to the arguments of counsel at the bar of the House of Commons, because they were paid for speaking. JOHNSON. "Nay, Sir, argument is argument. You cannot help paying regard to their arguments if they are good. If it were testimony, you might disregard it, if you knew that it were purchased. There is a beautiful image in Bacon (1)

ton was seriously requested by Dr. Johnson to mention what appeared to him erroneous in the character of his friend, he was bound as an honest man to intimate what he really thought, which he certainly did in the most delicate manner; so that Johnson himself, when in a quiet frame of mind, was pleased with it. The texts suggested are now before me, and I shall quote a few of them. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.". Matt. v. 5. "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love."- Ephes. v. 1, 2. "And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness."- Col. iii. 14. "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, is not easily provoked." 1 Cor. xiii. 4, 5.

The passage

(1) Dr. Johnson's memory_deceived him. referred to is not Bacon's, but Boyle's, and may be found, with a slight variation, in Johnson's Dictionary, under the word Crossbow. So happily selected are the greater part of the examples in that incomparable work, that if the most striking passages found in it were collected by one of our modern bookmakers, under the title of " The Beauties of Johnson's Dictionary," they would form a very pleasing and popular volume, M.