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?'BOSWELL.'Isuppose he meant the MANNER of doing it;roughly,--and harshly.'
JOHNSON.'And who is the worse for that?'BOSWELL.'It hurts people of weak 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?'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.
He had dined that day at Mr.Hoole's,and Miss Helen Maria Williams being expected in the evening,Mr.Hoole put into his hands her beautiful Ode on the Peace:Johnson read it over,and when this elegant and accomplished young lady was presented to him,he took her by the hand in the most courteous manner,and repeated the finest stanza of her poem;this was the most delicate and pleasing compliment he could pay.Her respectable friend,Dr.Kippis,from whom I had this anecdote,was standing by,and was not a little gratified.
Miss Williams told me,that the only other time she was fortunate enough to be in Dr.Johnson's company,he asked her to sit down by him,which she did,and upon her inquiring how he was,he answered,'I am very ill indeed,Madam.I am very ill even when you are near me;what should I be were you at a distance?'
He had now a great desire to go to Oxford,as his first jaunt after his illness;we talked of it for some days,and I had promised to accompany him.He was impatient and fretful to-night,because Idid not at once agree to go with him on Thursday.When Iconsidered how ill he had been,and what allowance should be made for the influence of sickness upon his temper,I resolved to indulge him,though with some inconvenience to myself,as I wished to attend the musical meeting in honour of Handel,in Westminster-Abbey,on the following Saturday.
In the midst of his own diseases and pains,he was ever compassionate to the distresses of others,and actively earnest in procuring them aid,as appears from a note to Sir Joshua Reynolds,of June,in these words:--'I am ashamed to ask for some relief for a poor man,to whom,I hope,I have given what I can be expected to spare.The man importunes me,and the blow goes round.I am going to try another air on Thursday.'
On Thursday,June 3,the Oxford post-coach took us up in the morning at Bolt-court.The other two passengers were Mrs.
Beresford and her daughter,two very agreeable ladies from America;they were going to Worcestershire,where they then resided.Frank had been sent by his master the day before to take places for us;and I found,from the waybill,that Dr.Johnson had made our names be put down.Mrs.Beresford,who had read it,whispered me,'Is this the great Dr.Johnson?'I told her it was;so she was then prepared to listen.As she soon happened to mention in a voice so low that Johnson did not hear it,that her husband had been a member of the American Congress,I cautioned her to beware of introducing that subject,as she must know how very violent Johnson was against the people of that country.He talked a great deal,but I am sorry I have preserved little of the conversation.Miss Beresford was so much charmed,that she said to me aside,'How he does talk!Every sentence is an essay.'She amused herself in the coach with knotting;he would scarcely allow this species of employment any merit.'Next to mere idleness (said he,)I think knotting is to be reckoned in the scale of insignificance;though Ionce attempted to learn knotting.Dempster's sister (looking to me,)endeavoured to teach me it;but I made no progress.'
I was surprised at his talking without reserve in the publick post-coach of the state of his affairs;'I have (said he,)about the world I think above a thousand pounds,which I intend shall afford Frank an annuity of seventy pounds a year.'Indeed his openness with people at a first interview was remarkable.He said once to Mr.Langton,'I think I am like Squire Richard in The Journey to London,"I'm never strange in a strange place."'He was truly SOCIAL.He strongly censured what is much too common in England among persons of condition,--maintaining an absolute silence,when unknown to each other;as for instance,when occasionally brought together in a room before the master or mistress of the house has appeared.'Sir,that is being so uncivilised as not to understand the common rights of humanity.'
At the inn where we stopped he was exceedingly dissatisfied with some roast mutton which we had for dinner.The ladies I saw wondered to see the great philosopher,whose wisdom and wit they had been admiring all the way,get into ill-humour from such a cause.He scolded the waiter,saying,'It is as bad as bad can be:
it is ill-fed,ill-killed,ill-kept,and ill-drest.'
