, 1880-09-10

- the Rev. John Hunters, MASTER oh
To ". = free school, Lichfeld, in Johnson's
r,onthful ,nT days The peculiar appear
sUce however, of johnson, could not
.an,nt the lady to return of his pas
ION and at length she returned to her
~arents lat Birmingham. Business re
rru;red Johnsons presence in that neigh
55orhood on the death of his father, and
oolling upon his former mistress there,
be found her parent dying With that
a6actionate friendship which particular
situations always experienced from him,
be nassed all his leisure hours at Mr..
Porters, attended his sick bed, and
few months after his death, asked Mrs.
,Tobnson's consent to his marriage with
the widow. a.F en ....r ....-r -...
Mrs. Porter has been represented as
very fat, with a red face, and indifferent
features, and in her speech and manners
affected, and bordering on girlish leyity;
while johnson, on his first introduction
to her, exhibited an appearance yet more
singular. He was then lean and lank,
50 that his immense structure Of bones,
was hideopsly striking to The eye, while
the scarsoccasioned by the iscrofula were
deeply lvisible. His, hair, which was
straight and stiff, he wore separated be-
hind and he often had, seemingly. con
vulsivel starts. and odd gesticulations,
which tended to excite at once surprise
and ridieule. Mrs. Porter, however,
was so much. engaged by lis lconyers&
ton that she overlooked alt these exter-
nal disadvantages and expressed to her
daughter: "This is the most sensible,
man that | ever saw in my ,hfe,1y,g I.a,l ,
Johnsons mother. as might naturally
be expected, expressed her surprise at q q
request SO imprudent and extraordinary,
both on account Of her disparity Of years
and want Of fortune, ~. - ".,, d..
"No, SAM" she said '"thy willing
consent YOU will never have to 50 pre-
posterous match. You are 25 and she
is turned Of So If she Had any prud.
ence, this request would never have been
made to me. Where are your means Of
subsistence ? Porter has died poor in
consequence Of his wite's expensive
habits. You have great talents, butlas
vet have turned them into no profitable
channel" .lnnII tlA 'wW".
Mother" replied Johnson, Il have
not deceived Mrs Porter, have told
her the wors. of me-that am of mean
extraction, that l, have no money, and
that have had an uncle hanged. .She
replied that she valued no one more or
less for his descent, that she had no
mole money than myself, and that
though she had not had a relation
hanged, she had fifty who deserved hang
ing" ..',."'' .".,'a.s '.."' -
After some little lapse of time, how
ever, matters were brought to a conclu
sion, and Derby was fixed on as the
place where the ceremony Should be
performed, on the 9th Of July, l736,
for which place the bride and groom set
out on horseback. The singular account
of their Journey to church on the nup-
tial morning is given by Boswell in the
doctors own words to him "S'r, she
had read the old romances, and had got
into her head the fantastical notion that
woman OF spirit should use her lover
like q dog. So, sir, at first she told me
that rode too fast, and that she, could
not keep up with me, and when l rode
a little slower she passed me and com
planned that Jagged behind ri was not
to be made the slave ot caprice, and !
resolved to begin as i meant to end, 4
therefore pushed on briskly,till l was
fairly out Of herisight; the road lay be-
tween two hedges, 30 j was sure she
could not miss it, and l contrived that
she chould soon come upwith me when
she did, L observed her to be in tears.
This, it must be allowed, was a singu.
lar beginning of connubial felicity; yet
he proved a most affectionate and in
dulgent husband to the last moment Of
his life He once t,ld Tophan Beaclery,
with much gravity, "ST, it was a love
match on both sides )" and in his Pray
ers and Metitations we find very re-
markable evidence that his regard and
fondness forsher never ceased, even after,
her death, 81 5.@> -....- -.,vgl "a af
Investigation shows that the blood Of
the Bengalee contains far fewer red 'cor-
puscies than that of the European. The.
difference in question is believed to be
due chiefly, if not wholly, to the circum-
stances in which the lot of each has been