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it is perceived how much evil is produced, and how much good is impeded by embarrassment and distress, and how little room the expedients of poverty leave for the exercise of virtue, it grows manifest that the boundless importance of the next life enforces some attention to the interests of this.

"Be kind to old servants, and secure the kindness of the agents and factors: do not disgust them by asperity, or unwelcome gaiety, or apparent suspicion. From them you must learn the real state of your affairs, the characters of your tenants, and the value of your lands.

"You have now a new character and new duties; think on them, and practise them.

"Make an impartial estimate of your revenue; and whatever it is, live upon less. Resolve never to be poor. Frugality is not only the basis of quiet, but of beneficence. No man can help others that wants help himself; we must have enough before we have to spare.

"Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it makes some virtues impracticable, and others extremely difficult."

Upon its being mentioned, that an opulent and very indolent Scotch nobleman, who totally resigned the management of his affairs to a man of knowledge and abilities, had claimed some merit

by saying, "The next best thing to managing a man's own affairs well, is being sensible of incapacity, and not attempting it, but having full confidence in one who can do it," Johnson said, "Nay, Sir, this is paltry, There is a middle course. Let a man give application; and depend upon it he will soon get above a despicable state of helplessness, and attain the power of acting for himself."

MANNERS.

JOHNSON had an utter abhorrence of affectation. Talking of old Mr. Langton, he said, "Sir, you will seldom see such a gentleman; such are his stores of literature; such his knowledge in divinity; and such his exemplary life: and, Sir (added he), he has no grimace, no gesticulation, no bursts of admiration on trivial occasions; he never embraces you with an overacted cordiality."

Being in company with a gentleman who affected to maintain Dr. Berkeley's strange posi tion, "That nothing exists but as perceived by some mind;" when the gentleman was going away, Johnson said to him, "Pray, Sir, don't leave us; for we may, perhaps, forget to think of you, and then you will cease to exist."

An impudent fellow from Scotland was des scribed to him, as affecting to be a savage, and railing at all established systems:-Johnson observed, "There is nothing surprizing in this. He wants to make himself conspicuous. He would tumble in a hogstye, as long as you looked at him and called to him to come out. But let him alone, never mind him, and he'll soon give it over."

It was added, that the same person maintained that there was no distinction between virtue and vice.-J. "Why, Sir, if the fellow does not think as he speaks he is lying; and I see not what honour he can propose to himself from having the character of a liar. But if he does really think that there is no distinction between virtue and vice, why, Sir, when he leaves our houses, let us count our spoons. There is (said he) in human nature a general inclination to make people stare; and every wise man has himself to cure of it, and does cure himself. If you wish to make people stare by doing better than others, why, make them stare till they stare their eyes out. But consider how easy it is to make people stare by being absurd. I may do it by going into a drawing-room without my shoes. You remem ber the gentleman in the Spectator, who had a commission of lunacy taken against him for his extreme singularity, such as never wearing a

wig, but a night-cap. Now, Sir, abstractedly the night-cap was best; but, relatively, the advantage was overbalanced by his making the boys run after him."

Talking of our feeling for the distresses of others, Johnson said, "Why, Sir, there is much noise made about it, but it is greatly exaggerated. No, Sir, we have a certain degree of feeling to prompt us to do good; more than that Providence does not intend. It would be misery to no purpose."-B. "But suppose now, Sir, that one of your intimate friends were apprehended for an offence for which he might be hanged."-J. " I should do what I could to bail him, and give him any other assistance; but if he were once fairly hanged, I should not suffer."-B. “Would you eat your dinner that day, Sir?"-J. "Yes, Sir; and eat it as if he were eating it with me. Why, there's Baretti, who is to be tried for his life tomorrow, friends have risen up for him on every side; yet if he should be hanged, none of them will eat a slice of plumb pudding the less. Sir, that sympathetic feeling goes a very little way in depressing the mind.”

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"I told him (says Mr. B.) that I had dined lately at Foote's, who shewed me a letter to him from Tom Davies, telling him that he had not been able to sleep from the concern which he felt an account of "this sad affair of Baretti," beg

ging of him to try if he could suggest any thing that might be of service; and, at the same time, recommending to him an industrious young man who kept a pickle-shop.—J. “Aye, Sir, here you have a specimen of human sympathy; a friend hanged, and a cucumber pickled. We know not whether Baretti or the pickle-man has kept Davies from sleep; nor does he know himself. And as to his not sleeping, Sir, Tom Davies is a very great man; Tom has been upon the stage, and knows how to do those things: I have not been upon the stage, and cannot do those things."-B. "I have often blamed myself, Sir, for not feeling for others as sensibly as many say they do."-J." Sir, don't be duped by them any more. You will find these very feeling people are not very ready to do you good. They pay. you by feeling."

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Of the late Mr. Fitzherbert, of Derbyshire, he said, “There was no sparkle, no brilliancy in Fitzherbert; but I never knew a man who was so generally acceptable. He made every body quite easy; overpowered nobody by the superiority of his talents; made no man think worse of himself by being his rival; seemed always to listen; did not oblige you to hear much from him; and did not oppose what you said. Every body liked him; but he had no friend, as I understand the word, nobody with whom he exchanged intimate

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