Etat. 57.

1766. with an account of the infidelity of his servant, who, he said, would not believe the scriptures, because he could not read them in the original tongues, and be sure that they were not invented. Why, foolish fellow, (said Johnson,) has he any better authority for almost every thing that he believes?"-Boswell. "Then the vulgar, Sir, never can know they are right, but must submit themselves to the learned."JOHNSON. "To be sure, Sir. The vulgar are the children of the State, snd must be taught like children.-BosWELL. "Then, Sir, a poor Turk must be a Mahometan, just as a poor Englishman must be a Christian?"-JOHNSON. "Why, yes, Sir; and what then? This now is such stuff as I used to talk to my mother, when I first began to think myself a clever fellow; and she ought to have whipt me for it."

John

Another evening Dr. Goldsmith and I called on him, with the hope of prevailing on him to sup with us at the Mitre. We found him indisposed, and resolved not to go abroad. "Come then, (said Goldsmith,) we will not go to the Mitre to-night, since we cannot have the big man with us." son then called for a bottle of port, of which Goldsmith and I partook, while our friend, now a waterdrinker, sat by us. GOLDSMITH. "I think, Mr. Johnson, you don't go near the theatres now. You give yourself no more concern about a new play, than if you had never had any thing to do with the stage." JOHNSON. "Why, Sir, our tastes greatly alter. The lad does not care for the child's rattle, and the old man does not care for the young man's whore." GOLDSMITH. "Nay, Sir; but your Muse was not a whore." JOHNSON. "Sir, I do not think

ست

she was. But as we advance in the journey of life 1766. we drop some of the things which have pleased us; whether it be that we are fatigued and don't choose to carry so many things any farther, or that we find other things which we like better." BOSWELL. "But, Sir, Why don't you give us something in some other way ?" GOLDSMITH. " Ay, Sir, we have JOHNSON. "No, Sir, I am not

No man is obliged to

a claim upon you."
obliged to do any more.
do as much as he can do. A man is to have part
of his life to himself. If a soldier has fought a
good many campaigns, he is not to be blamed
if he retires to ease and tranquillity. A physician,
who has practised long in a great city, may be
excused if he retires to a small town, and takes
less practice. Now, Sir, the good I can do by my
conversation bears the same proportion to the good
I can do by my writings, that the practice of a
physician, retired to a small town, does to his prac-
tice in a great city." BOSWELL. "But I wonder,
Sir, you have not more pleasure in writing than in
not writing." JOHNSON. "Sir, you may wonder."

He talked of making verses, and observed, "The great difficulty is, to know when you have made good ones. When composing, I have generally had them in my mind, perhaps fifty at a time, walking up and down in my room; and then I have written them down, and often, from laziness, have written only half lines. I have written a hundred lines in a day. I remember I wrote a hundred lines of The Vanity of Human Wishes' in a day. Doctor, (turning to Goldsmith,) I am not quite idle; I made one line t'other day; but I made no more." GOLDSMITH.

1766. Let us hear it; we'll put a bad one to it." JOHNSON. "No, Sir; I have forgot it.”

Etat. 57.

Such specimens of the easy and playful conversation of the great Dr. Samuel Johnson are, I think, to be prized; as exhibiting the little varieties of a mind so enlarged and so powerful when objects of consequence required its exertions, and as giving us a minute knowledge of his character and modes of thinking.

166

TO BENNET LANGTON, ESQ. AT LANGTON, NEAR,
SPILSBY, LINCOLNSHIRE.

66 DEAR SIR,

"WHAT your friends have done, that from your departure till now nothing has been heard of you, none of us are able to inform the rest; but as we are all neglected alike, no one thinks himself entitled to the privilege of complaint.

"I should have known nothing of you or of Langton, from the time that dear Miss Langton left us, had not I met Mr. Simpson, of Lincoln, one day in the street, by whom I was informed that Mr. Langton, your Mamma, and yourself, had been all ill, but that you were all recovered.

"That sickness should suspend your correspondence, I did not wonder; but hoped that it would be renewed at your recovery.

"Since you will not inform us where you are, or how

you live, I know not whether you desire to know any thing of us. However, I will tell you that THE CLUB subsists; but we have the loss of Burke's company since he has been engaged in publick business,

Ætat. 57.

in which he has gained more reputation than perhaps 1766. any man at his [first] appearance ever gained before. He made two speeches in the House for repealing the Stamp-act, which were publickly commended by Mr. Pitt, and have filled the town with wonder.

"Burke is a great man by nature, and is expected soon to attain civil greatness. I am grown greater too, for I have maintained the newspapers these many weeks; and what is greater still, I have risen every morning since New-year's day, at about eight: when I was up, I have indeed done but little; yet it is no slight advancement to obtain for so many hours more, the consciousness of being.

"I wish you were in my new study; I am now writing the first letter in it. I think it looks very pretty about me.

"Dyer, is constant at THE CLUB; Hawkins is remiss; I am not over diligent, Dr. Nugent, Dr. Goldsmith, and Mr. Reynolds, are very constant. Mr. Lye is printing his Saxon and Gothick Dictionary: all THE CLUB subscribes.

"You will pay my respects to all my Lincolnshire friends. I am, dear Sir,

“Most affectionately your's,

"March 9, 1766. "Johnson's-court, Fleet-street.

"SAM. JOHNSON."

4 [Samuel Dyer, Esq. a most learned and ingenious Member of the LITERARY CLUB, for whose understanding and attainments Dr. Johnson had great respect. He died Sept. 14. 1772. A more particular account of this gentleman may be found in a Note on the Life of Dryden, p. 186, prefixed to the edition of that great writer's PROSE WORKS, in four volumes, 8vo. 1800: in which his character is vindicated, and the very unfavourable representation of it, given by Sir John Hawkins in his Life of Johnson, pp. 222-232, is minutely examined. M.]

TO BENNET LANGTON, ESQ. AT LANGTON, NEAR
SPILSBY, LINCOLNSHIRE.

DEAR SIR,

6

"IN supposing that I should be more than commonly affected by the death of Peregrine Langton, you were not mistaken; he was one of those whom I loved at once by instinct and by reason. I have seldom indulged more hope of any thing than of being able to improve our acquaintance to friendship. Many a time have I placed myself again at Langton, and imagined the pleasure with which I should walk to Partney in a summer morning; but this is no longer possible. We must now endeavour to preserve what is left us,-his example of piety and œconomy. I hope you make what enquiries you can, and write down what is told you. The little things which distinguish domestick characters are soon forgotten: if you delay to enquire, you will have no information; if you neglect to write, information will be vain."

5 Mr. Langton's uncle.

The place of residence of Mr. Peregrine Langton.

Mr. Langton did not disregard this counsel, but wrote the following account, which he has been pleased to communicate to

me:

He

"The circumstances of Mr. Peregrine Langton were these. He had an annuity for life of two hundred pounds per annum. resided in a village in Lincolnshire: the rent of his house, with two or three small fields, was twenty-eight pounds; the county he lived in was not more than moderately cheap; his family consisted of a sister, who paid him eighteen pounds annually for her board, and a niece. The servants were two maids, and two men in livery. His common way of living, at his table, was three or four dishes ; the appurtenances to his table were neat and handsome; he frequently entertained company at dinner, and then his table was