Richland beacon., 1873-08-16
Traits of DR.. johnson.


When DIR. Johnson was five-and-twen-
ty years old he did precisely what one
could suppose he would do : he married
woman aged fifty He would have,
doubtless, called this idle and vicious
perversityin another man, and have been
mercilessly sarcastic over the mistake
of taking a widow when a maid might
have been had. Perhaps he hoped to
obtain more authority over an old than
he could obtain over young woman.
If this was his idea, he did not delay
ITS execution. According to the fashion
OF those times, the bride and bride
groom SET out on horseback for the
church; but before they got there,
johnson found it necessary to show his
wife, as he afterwards showed his
friends, that wherever he was he must
be first. Let him tell his own story ::
Sir, she had read the old romances,
and rot into her head the fantastical
notion that woman of spirit should
nse her lover like a dog. So, sir. at
first she told me that l rode too fast,
and she could not keep up with me, and
when l rode little slower she passed
me and complained that 1 Jagged be-
hind. was not to be made the slave
of caprice, and | resolved to begin as /
meant to end. 1 therefore pushed on
briskly until l was fairly ont of sight.
The road lay between two hedges, so
that was sure she could not miss it.
When she did observed her to be in
tears" His marriage, his affection, his
admiration for his wife. were perfectly
i'll accord with his character. If we
may believe Garrick, Mrs. Porter was
stout and old, with swelling bosoms
such as Fielding loved to write of, and
fat cheeks whose dimensions she exagge-
rated by thick coating of paint. She
had an undue partialitv for strong wa
ters. Her voice was loud; her walk
was swagger she was gross in her
tastes, affected in her behavior, and
fiaring in her dress. Either Johnson
was too proud or too blind to see his
mistake for he would talk of her beau
ty as COngreve talked of the charms of
Mrs. Bracegirdle he contrived endear.
ing appellations for her; he had the
highest respect for her judgment; and
when she died, mourned her with a con-
stancy and vehemence of grief that
throughout his long life suffered no
abatement. Though they often qnar-
relied, there is no doubt that they were
not more unhappy together than most
married people are. At all events they
were we'll matched. To any other man
but johnson, her whims, her habits, her
tastes, her person, the abundant pecu-
liarities or mental infrmities which are
generated by old age, would have been
extremely distasteful but johnson also
had habits and tastes which, if they were
more original, were certainly not less
than hers. At table he was
gross in his manners and Of
fensive in his choice. There were pc
RODS probably when her appetite might
have deserted her when, with face as
yellow as her cheeks would allow it to
become, she could only watch him with
and disgust. He would
pour Oyster-sauce over plum-pudding,
and allow the melted butter to run
from his toast into his chocolote. His
favOrite dish was a veal-pie, sweetened
with sugar, or stuffed with plums but
hardly less choice in his eyes was the red
a
pork. boiled until the flesh fell in rags
from the bone. He did not eat, he
gorged. He cOuld devour at a sitting
as much as would nOurish two whales.
He would masticate his food with the
energy and fervor with which he de-
the veins would stand out
upon his temples, and the persperation
pour from his forehead. Nor was his
eating the most fOrmidableO of his habits.
His gesticulations were often SO excess
i've and uncomfortable that he would
twitch the shoes off ladies' feet, sweep
the salt boxes from the table, or cause
general Infusion by half tearing off the
tablecloth. He threw open windows on
the bleakest December days, and would
stand meditatively in the cold draught,
while those in the room crept for shell
ter behind screen or into the fender
for warmth. His behavior in the streets
was equally surprising. As he passed
along he would knock loads off porters'
backs, and walk on in happy uncon-
ciousness of the mischief he had done
nor would the sufferers, as they OBJ
served the hurley form rolling from
them in an outline not unlike that of
of the back view of an elephant, dare to
pursue him. His march seemed to be
performed by the wagging of his head
and the contortions of his body rather
than by the movement of his feet.
G Crowdsswould collect to watch him.
He wodld touch the street posts as he
passed with superstitiOus precision, and
If he omitted one, he woQ trace his
steps that the queer cert might be
more punctnally gone through. At in
tervals he was seized with cramp or
convulsion, and would dance about the
pavement to the CONSERVATION or merri-
ment of the passengers.
Charms of the Isle of Jersey.
OF all the gems of the ocean, of all
the picturesque spots that the earth has