What follows is a beautiful specimen of his gentleness and complacency to a young lady his god-child,one of the daughters of his friend Mr.Langton,then I think in her seventh year.He took the trouble to write it in a large round hand,nearly resembling printed characters,that she might have the satisfaction of reading it herself.The original lies before me,but shall be faithfully restored to her;and I dare say will be preserved by her as a jewel as long as she lives.
'TO MISS JANE LANGTON,IN ROCHESTER,KENT.
'MY DEAREST MISS JENNY,--I am sorry that your pretty letter has been so long without being answered;but,when I am not pretty well,I do not always write plain enough for young ladies.I am glad,my dear,to see that you write so well,and hope that you mind your pen,your book,and your needle,for they are all necessary.Your books will give you knowledge,and make you respected;and your needle will find you useful employment when you do not care to read.When you are a little older,I hope you will be very diligent in learning arithmetick,and,above all,that through your whole life you will carefully say your prayers,and read your Bible.I am,my dear,your most humble servant,'May 10,1784.'
'SAM.JOHNSON.'
On Wednesday,May 5,I arrived in London,and next morning had the pleasure to find Dr.Johnson greatly recovered.I but just saw him;for a coach was waiting to carry him to Islington,to the house of his friend the Reverend Mr.Strahan,where he went sometimes for the benefit of good air,which,notwithstanding his having formerly laughed at the general opinion upon the subject,he now acknowledged was conducive to health.
One morning afterwards,when I found him alone,he communicated to me,with solemn earnestness,a very remarkable circumstance which had happened in the course of his illness,when he was much distressed by the dropsy.He had shut himself up,and employed a day in particular exercises of religion--fasting,humiliation,and prayer.On a sudden he obtained extraordinary relief,for which he looked up to Heaven with grateful devotion.He made no direct inference from this fact;but from his manner of telling it,Icould perceive that it appeared to him as something more than an incident in the common course of events.For my own part,I have no difficulty to avow that cast of thinking,which by many modern pretenders to wisdom is called SUPERSTITIOUS.But here I think even men of dry rationality may believe,that there was an intermediate interposition of Divine Providence,and that 'the fervent prayer of this righteous man'availed.
On Saturday,May 15,I dined with him at Dr.Brocklesby's,where were Colonel Vallancy,Mr.Murphy,and that ever-cheerful companion Mr.Devaynes,apothecary to his Majesty.Of these days,and others on which I saw him,I have no memorials,except the general recollection of his being able and animated in conversation,and appearing to relish society as much as the youngest man.I find only these three small particulars:--When a person was mentioned,who said,'I have lived fifty-one years in this world without having had ten minutes of uneasiness;'he exclaimed,'The man who says so,lies:he attempts to impose on human credulity.'The Bishop of Exeter in vain observed,that men were very different.
His Lordship's manner was not impressive,and I learnt afterwards that Johnson did not find out that the person who talked to him was a Prelate;if he had,I doubt not that he would have treated him with more respect;for once talking of George Psalmanazar,whom he reverenced for his piety,he said,'I should as soon think of contradicting a BISHOP.'One of the companyprovoked him greatly by doing what he could least of all bear,which was quoting something of his own writing,against what he then maintained.
'What,Sir,(cried the gentleman,)do you say to "The busy day,the peaceful night,Unfelt,uncounted,glided by?"'--Johnson finding himself thus presented as giving an instance of a man who had lived without uneasiness,was much offended,for he looked upon such a quotation as unfair.His anger burst out in an unjustifiable retort,insinuating that the gentleman's remark was a sally of ebriety;'Sir,there is one passion I would advise you to command:when you have drunk out that glass,don't drink another.'
Here was exemplified what Goldsmith said of him,with the aid of a very witty image from one of Cibber's Comedies:'There is no arguing with Johnson;for if his pistol misses fire,he knocks you down with the butt end of it.'Another was this:when a gentleman of eminence in the literary world was violently censured for attacking people by anonymous paragraphs in news-papers;he,from the spirit of contradiction as I thought,took up his defence,and said,'Come,come,this is not so terrible a crime;he means only to vex them a little.I do not say that I should do it;but there is a great difference between him and me;what is fit for Hephaestion is not fit for Alexander.'Another,when I told him that a young and handsome Countess had said to me,'I should think that to be praised by Dr.Johnson would make one a fool all one's life;'and that I answered,'Madam,I shall make him a fool to-day,by repeating this to him,'he said,'I am too old to be made a fool;but if you say I am made a fool,I shall not deny it.I am much pleased with a compliment,especially from a pretty woman.'
Boswell himself,likely enough.--HILL.
On the evening of Saturday,May 15,he was in fine spirits,at our Essex-Head Club.He told us,'I dined yesterday at Mrs.Garrick's,with Mrs.Carter,Miss Hannah More,and Miss Fanny Burney.Three such women are not to be found:I know not where I could find a fourth,except Mrs.Lennox,who is superiour to them all.'
