Hawk.

A poph. p. 204.

Piozzi, p. 168, 165.

very justly, that "a man who does not feel an inclination to sleep at the ordinary times, instead of being stronger than other people, must not be well; for a man in health has all the natural inclinations to eat, drink, and sleep, in a strong degree."

Johnson advised me to-night not to refine in the education of my children: "Life," said he, "will not bear refinement: you must do as other people do." [When he was asked by Dr. Lawrence what he thought the best system of education, he replied, "School in school-hours, and home-instruction in the intervals."]

[On another occasion he maintained that "A boy should never be sent to Eton or Westminster school before he is twelve years old at least; for if in his years of babyhood he fails to attain that general and transcendent knowledge without which life is perpetually put to a stand, he will never get it at a public school, where if he does not learn Latin and Greek, he learns nothing." Dr. Johnson often said, "that there was too much stress laid upon literature as indispensably necessary: there is surely no need that every body should be a scholar, no call that every one should square the circle. Our manner of teaching cramps and warps many a mind, which if left more at liberty would have been respectable in some way, though perhaps not in that." "We lop our trees, and prune them, and pinch them about," he would say, "and nail them tight up to the wall, while a

judged his duty, prevent his improvements; or both, his closet addresses to his God; he strictly accustomed himself to but one sleep, which often obliged him to rise at one or two of the clock in the morning, and sometimes sooner; and grew so habitual, that it continued with him almost till his last illness. And so lively and cheerful was his temper, that he would be very facetious and entertaining to his friends in the evening, even when it was perceived that with difficulty he kept his eyes open; and then seemed to go to rest with no other purpose than the refreshing and enabling him with more vigour and cheerfulness to sing his morning hymn, as he then used to do to his lute before he put on his clothes."-BOSWELL.

good standard is at last the only thing for bearing healthy fruit, though it commonly begins later. Let the people learn necessary knowledge: let them learn to count their fingers, and to count their money, before they are caring for the classics; for," says Dr. Johnson, "though I do not quite agree with the proverb, that Nullum numen abest si sit prudentia, yet we may very well say, that Nullum numen adestni sit prudentia."

Indeed useful and what we call every-day knowledge had the most of his just praise. "Let your boy learn arithmetic, dear madam," was his advice to the mother of a rich young heir: "he will not then be a prey to every rascal which this town swarms with teach him the value of money and how to reckon it: ignorance to a wealthy lad of oneand-twenty is only so much fat to a sick sheep: it just serves to call the rooks about him."]

[This young heir was the well-known Sir John ED. Lade', and Dr. Johnson's sagacity had, no doubt, detected in him a disposition to that profusion for which he was afterwards so remarkable. It is curious too, that, on another important subject, Johnson should have given Sir John some early advice, which, in the sequel, he too notoriously disregarded.]

[One day as he was musing over the fire of the Piozzi, drawing-room at Streatham, this young gentleman p.74,75. [who was Mr. Thrale's nephew and ward] called to him suddenly, and rather disrespectfully, in these words: Dr. Johnson, would you advise me to marry? "I would advise no man to marry, sir (replied in a

[He was the posthumous son of the fourth baronet, by Mr. Thrale's sister. He entered eagerly into all the follies of the day; was a remarkable whip, and married a woman of the town. See towards the close of the fourth vol. the lively, satirical, and too prophetic verses which Johnson wrote on his coming of age.— ED.]

very angry tone Dr. Johnson), who is not likely to propagate understanding;" and so left the room. Our companion looked confounded, and seemed to have scarce recovered the consciousness of his own existence, when Johnson came back, and drawing his chair among the party, with altered looks and a softened voice, *joined in the general chat, insensibly led the conversation to the subject of marriage, where he explained himself in a dissertation so useful, so elegant, so founded on the true knowledge of human life, and so adorned with beauty of sentiment, that no one ever recollected the offence, except to rejoice in its consequences.]

As we drove back to Ashbourne, Dr. Johnson recommended to me, as he had often done, to drink water only: "For," said he, " you are then sure not to get drunk; whereas, if you drink wine, you are never sure." I said, drinking wine was a pleasure which I was unwilling to give up. "Why, sir," said he, "there is no doubt that not to drink wine is a great deduction from life: but it may be necessary. He however owned, that in his opinion a free use of wine did not shorten life; and said, he would not give less for the life of a certain Scotch Lord' (whom he named) celebrated for hard drinking, than for that of a sober man. "But stay," said he, with his usual intelligence, and accuracy of inquiry-" does it take much wine to make him drunk?" I answered,

66

a great deal either of wine or strong punch.' "Then," said he, "that is the worse." I presume to illustrate my friend's observation thus; "A fortress which soon surrenders has its walls less shattered than when a long and obstinate resistance is made."

[Probably Thomas, sixth Earl of Kellie, born in 1732; died in 1781. He was remarkable for some musical talents, but still more for his conviviality. Even the Peerage confesses "that he was more assiduous in the service of Bacchus than Apollo."-ED.]

I ventured to mention a person who was as violent a Scotchman as he was an Englishman; and literally had the same contempt for an Englishman compared with a Scotchman, that he had for a Scotchman compared with an Englishman; and that he would say of Dr. Johnson, "Damned rascal! to talk as he does of the Scotch." This seemed, for a moment, "to give him pause." It, perhaps, presented his extreme prejudice against the Scotch in a point of view somewhat new to him by the effect of contrast.

By the time when we returned to Ashbourne, Dr. Taylor was gone to bed. Johnson and I sat up a long time by ourselves.

He was much diverted with an article which I showed him in the "Critical Review" of this year, giving an account of a curious publication, entitled "A Spiritual Diary and Soliloquies, by John Rutty, M. D." Dr. Rutty was one of the people called quakers, a physician of some eminence in Dublin, and authour of several works. This Diary, which was kept from 1753 to 1775, the year in which he died, and was now published in two volumes octavo, exhibited, in the simplicity of his heart, a minute and honest register of the state of his mind; which, though frequently laughable enough, was not more so than the history of many men would be, if recorded with equal fairness.

The following specimens were extracted by the

reviewers:

"Tenth month, 1753.

"23.-Indulgence in bed an hour too long.

"Twelfth month, 17-An hypochondriack obnubilation from wind and indigestion.

"Ninth month, 28.-An over-dose of whiskey.

"29.-A dull, cross, cholerick day.

"First month, 1657, 22-A little swinish at dinner and repast.

"Second month, 5.-Very dogged or snappish.

"14.-Snappish on fasting.

"26.—Cursed snappishness to those under me, on a bodily indisposition.

"Third month, 11.-On a provocation, exercised a dumb resentment for two days, instead of scolding.

"22.-Scolded too vehemently.

"23.-Dogged again.

"Fourth month, 29.-Mechanically and sinfully dogged."

Johnson laughed heartily at this good Quietist's selfcondemning minutes; particularly at his mentioning, with such a serious regret, occasional instances of “swinishness in eating, and doggedness of temper.” He thought the observations of the Critical Reviewers upon the importance of a man to himself so ingenious and so well expressed, that I shall here introduce them.

After observing, that "there are few writers who have gained any reputation by recording their own actions," they say,

"We e may reduce the egotists to four classes. In the first we have Julius Cæsar: he relates his own transactions; but he relates them with peculiar grace and dignity, and his narrative is supported by the greatness of his character and achievements. In the second class we have Marcus Antoninus: this writer has given us a series of reflections on his own life; but his sentiments are so noble, his morality so sublime, that his meditations are universally admired. In the third class we have some others of tolerable credit, who have given importance to their own private history by an intermixture of literary anecdotes, and the occurrences of their own times: the celebrated Huetius1 has published an entertaining volume upon this plan, ' De rebus ad eum pertinentibus.' In the fourth class we have the journalists, temporal and spiritual: Elias Ashmole, William Lilly, George Whitefield, John Wesley, and a thousand other old women and fanatick writers of memoirs and meditations."

I mentioned to him that Dr. Hugh Blair, in his

[Huet, Bishop of Avranches.-See ante, v. i. p. 58.-ED.]