singly and separately it was a dazzling and tempting object; but when they came to possess the wives and their fortunes together, they began to suspect that they had not made quite so good a bargain."

He one day maintained, that a father had no right to control the inclinations of his daughters in marriage.

Talking of divorces, Mr. Boswell asked if Othello's doctrine was not plausible?

"He that is robb'd, not wanting what is stolen,
Let him not know it, and he's not robb'd at all."

Dr. Johnson and Mrs. Thrale joined against this. -JOHNSON. "Ask any man if he'd wish not to know of such an injury."-BoSWELL. "Would you tell your friend to make him unhappy?""J. Perhaps, Sir, I should not; but that would be from prudence on my own account. A man would tell his father."-B. "Yes, because he would not have spurious children to get any share of the family inheritance."-Mrs. THRALE. "Or he would tell his brother."-B." Certainly his elder brother."-J. "You would tell your friend of a woman's infamy to prevent his marrying a prostitute: there is the same reason to tell him of his wife's infidelity, when he is married, to prevent the consequences of imposition. It is a breach of confidence not to tell a friend.”

Talking of a point of delicate scrupulosity of moral conduct, he said to Mr. Langton, "Men of harder minds than ours will do many things from which you and I would shrink; yet, Sir, they will perhaps do more good in life than we, But let us try to help one another. If there be a wrong twist it may be set right. It is not probable that two people can be wrong the same way."

in

He thus characterised the Duke of Devonshire, grandfather of the present representative of that very respectable family: "He was not a man of superior abilities, but he was a man strictly faithful to his word. If, for instance, he had promised you an acorn, and none had grown that year his woods, he would not have contented himself with that excuse; he would have sent to Denmark for it. So unconditional was he in keeping his word; so high as to the point of honour."— "This (says Mr. Boswell) was a liberal testimony from the Tory Johnson to the virtue of a great Whig nobleman."

The conflict of opposite principles he described as "The contention between pleasure and virtue, a struggle which will always be continued while the present system of nature shall subsist: nor can history or poetry exhibit more than pleasure triumphing over virtue, and virtue subjugating pleasure."

Speaking of a certain prelate who exerted himself very laudably in building churches and parsonage-houses, he said, "I do not, however, find that he is esteemed a man of much professional learning, or a liberal patron of it; yet it is well where a man possesses any strong positive excellence. Few have all kinds of merit belonging to their character. We must not examine matters too deeply.—No, Sir, a fallible being will fail somewhere."

66

Colley Cibber (he said) was by no means a blockhead; but by arrogating to himself too much, he was in danger of losing that degree of estimation to which he was entitled."

In a party at Mr. Thrale's, a gentleman attacked Garrick for being vain:-J. "No wonder, Sir, that he is vain; a man who is perpetually flattered in every mode that can be conceived. So many bellows have blown the fire, that one wonders he is not by this time become a cinder." -B." And such bellows too. Lord Mansfield with his cheeks like to burst: Lord Chatham like an Æolus. I have read such notes from them to him as were enough to turn his head."-J. "True. When he whom every body else flatters flatters me, I then am truly happy."-Mrs. THRALE."The sentiment is in Congreve, I think."-J. "Yes, Madam, in 'The Way of the World :'

"If there's delight in love, 'tis when I see

That heart which others bleed for, bleed for me."

To a lady who endeavoured to vindicate herself from blame for neglecting social attention to worthy neighbours, by saying, "I would go to them if it would do them any good;" he said, "What good, Madam, do you expect to have in your power to do them? It is shewing them respect, and that is doing them good."

Dr. Taylor once commended a physician who was known to him and Dr. Johnson, and said, "I fight many battles for him, as many people in the country dislike him.”—J. "But you should consider, Sir, that by every one of your victories he is a loser; for every man of whom you get the better will be very angry and resolve not to employ him; whereas, if people get the better of you in argument about him, they'll think, We'll send for Dr. ****** nevertheless.' "This was an observation deep and sure in human nature.

On a certain occasion Johnson made a remark, "That the law against usury is for the protection of creditors as well as of debtors; for if there were no such check, people would be apt, from the temptation of great interest, to lend to desperate persons, by whom they would lose their money. Accordingly there are instances of ladies being ruined, by having injudiciously sunk their fortunes for high annuities, which, after a few

years, ceased to be paid, in consequence of the ruined circumstances of the borrower."

To Mr. B. (who had thoughts of binding himself to some practice by the obligation of a voluntary vow) he said, "Do not accustom yourself to enchain your volatility by vows; they will sometime leave a thorn in your mind which you will, perhaps, never be able to extract or eject. this warning, it is of great importance."

Take

"The applause of a single human being is of great consequence."-" This (says Mr. B.) he observed to me with great earnestness of manner, very near the time of his decease, on occasion of having desired me to read a letter addressed to him from some person 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 expressed himself as above.".

He said of one of his friends" He is ruining himself without pleasure. A man who loses at play, or who runs out his fortune at court, makes his estate less, in hopes of making it bigger: but it is a sad thing to pass through the quagmire of parsimony to the gulph of ruin. To pass over the flowery path of extravagance is very well."

Upon the question, whether a man who had