The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-12-06

] KNOW not, out 10 my uTVElSu 'hN 1890
johnson: Il shall not 10 In town Tomorrow !
don't care 10 Know about Pope Mr.. Thraie
surprised as I was. and a little nngry): lsup'
pose, sir, MIR. Boswell thought that, rs you are 70
write Mr.. Pope's life, you would wish to Know
about him. johnson: Wish I Why. yes. Hib
ralned knowledge I'd hold out my hand. But I
would not give myself the trouble to go in GUESS
OF IT. There was no arguing with him at the
moment III Boswell had not given himself the
trouble to go in quest OF knowledge We should
not have had the Life. The pains he took
to collect material exposed him to ridicule.
Mr.. Birrell points out that, IN the
Memoirs of Thomas Holcroft," the author ro-
cords how n Mr.. Lowe told him tho following
story: Lowe had requested johnson 10 write
him n letter, which johnson did, aud Boswell
came In while he was writing. His attention
was Immediately fixed. Lowe took the %letter,
retired, and was followed by Boswell. 'Noth-
Ing" said Lowe, could have surprised me
more. Till that moment he had so entirely
overlooke ed me that / did not imagine he knew
there was such n creature In existence. And he
now accosted me with the most overstrained
and insinuating compliments possible. How
do you do, Mr.. Lowe? I hope you are we'll. Mr..
LoweP Pardon my freedom. Mr.. Lowe. but I
think I saw my dear friend, DR.. johnson, writ
ing n letter for you.' Yes. sir i hope you
will not think mo rude. hut. IL 1t would not be
too great n favor. you would infinitely obliGe mo
II you would Just let me have a sight of 10;
everything from that hand. you know. 10 20
inestimable.' Sir. IL is on my own private
affairs. but L would not pry into =
PERSONS private affairs. my dear Mr.. Lowe.
by no means: I am sure you would not accuse
mo Of such a thing: only. IL 1t were not particu-
larly secret Sir. you are welcome to read
the letter. I thank you. my dear Mr.. Lowe.
You are very %ooliging. think 1t exceedingly
kind" Having read II. Boswell remarked. "It
is nothing. I believe. Mr.. Lowe. that you will
be ashamed Of" Certainly not" why
then, my dear sir. II you would do me another
favor. you would make tho obligation eternal. s
II you would but step to Peele's Coffee House
with me and juHt suffer me to take a COPY of it
l would do anything in my power to oollge you."'
II was so overcome" said Lowe. by this sud-
den familiarity and condescension. accompanied
with bows and grimaces. that l had no power to
refuse. We went to the coffee house. Ny letter
was presently transcribed, and. as soon as he
had put his document in his pocket, Mr.. Bos-
well walked away as erect and as proud as half
an hour before. /. ever after. was unnoticed.'
Nay, / am not certain" added Lowe arcasti.
cally, whether the Scotchman did not leave
me, poor as he know I was. to pay for my own
dish OF coffee"
Another fact of which. in view of the scandal
occasioned by the biographies of Carlyle and
Cardinal Manning. Mr.. Birrell does we'll to re-
mind us. Is this. that Boswell had an absolutely
free hand. johnson had left neither wife nor
child. and 1t is probable that Black Frank. his
servant and residuary legatee. never read q line
OF the great biography. There was no daughter
married to a well-to-do tradesman. to put her
pen through the pathetic passages relating to
old Michael Johnson. who. once a, week. had
been wont to keep an open book asall in Bir-
mingham. There was no grandson in holy
orders to water down the witticisms That have
reverberated through the world. There were
no political followers. no party associates. fear
full of their own paltry regulations. to buzz like
flies about the ears of the biographer.
After all due credit has been given to Boswell,
the fact remains that the great feature of Bos-
wells book is its record of Johnson's talk.
This Mr.. Birrell, like all other editors. and
like all readers. acknowledges. and he
also recognizes that. for q talker, John.
son had all the necessary qualifications. He
possessed vast and varied information on all
kinds OF subjects. He knew not only books, bue
a.great deal about trades and manufactures,
ways OF existence. customs OF business. He had
been in all sorts OF society. kept every kind Of
company. He had fought the battle of life in q
hand-to-hand encounter. had slept in garrots,
done hack work for booksellers. been houseless
at night; in short. had lived on nine cents q day.
By the side Of Johnson. Burke's knowl-
edge Of men and things was book.
ish and notional. Johnson had . great
ihnbo VI iAIts. NeAI ue DaQ u DIFOlK
mind. operating upon life and In love with 1t.
Then. OF course, whenever stirred by contact
with his friends and infamed by the passion for
contradiction. or Justly irritated by the himsy
of fools, he had ready for immediate
use the quickest wit and the most magnificent .
ever placed at the disposal of man.
Add to this an almost divine tenderness of
heart, a deep-rooted afectionatenes of dispo-
sition. and a positively brutal aversion to every
kind of exaggeratioD, and one gets q combi-
OF qualities which no one has o right 70
expect.
Here 1t may be opposite to quote what John.
son said about the effect Of alcohol upon the in.
tellect- Writing of : dinner at Gen. Paoli'S
Boswell records: We talked OF drinking wine.
: / require wine only when / am alone.
l have then often wished for 1t and often taken
Spottiswoode: What. by way of q COM
strT johnson: To get rid of myself. to
send myself away. Wine gives great pleasure.
and every pleasure is, Of itself. a good. 1t ID
good. unless counterbalanced by evil. A man
may have q strong reason not to drink
wine. and that may be greater than
the pleasure. Wine makes a man better
pleased with himself. l do not say that
It makes him more pleasing to others.
1t does. But the danger 10 that
while a man grows better pleased with himself.
he may DO growing less pleasing to others.
Vino gives a man nothing. 1t neither giveo
him knowledge nor wit; 1t only animates .
nan. and enables him to bring out what q dread.
Of the company has repressed. 1t only puts in
motion what has been locked up in frost But
his may be good. or It may be bad spottis-
Woode: so. sir. vino is a key which opens
But this box may be either full or empty r
Johnson: Nay, sir. conversation is tho key.
Wine Ia a picklock which forces open the bog
md Injuries It, A man should cultivate hs
mind so as TO have that confidence and readi.
without wine. which wine gives.'"
To tho present editor tho most noticeable
characteristics of Joanson's talk seem to he
rood sense. brilliant wit. and a lively dialeotical
imagination, which enabled him ~joyfully and
riumphantly to pursue his subject and crush
his opponent with a vlRor that gathered force
1t proceeded. No talk was ever freer from
nor can II be said that profundity IN