then begun to feel money in his purse, and did not know when he should have enough of it."

Talking of employment being abfolutely neceffary to preserve the mind from wearying and growing fretful, efpecially in those who have a tendency to melancholy, a faying was mentioned of an American favage, who, when an European was expatiating on all the advantages of money, put this question, “Will it purchase occupation?"-JOHNSON. "Depend upon it, Sir, this faying is too refined for a favage. And Sir, money will purchase occupation; it will purchase all the conveniencies of life; it will purchase variety of company; it will purchase all forts of entertainment."

Mr. Bofwell spoke of the difficulty of rifing in the morning. Dr. Johnfon told him," that the learned Mrs. Carter, at that period when fhe was eager in ftudy, did not awake as early as fhe wifhed; and fhe therefore had a contrivance, that, at a certain hour, her chamberlight fhould burn a ftring to which a heavy weight was fufpended, which then fell with a ftrong fudden noife: this roufed her from fleep, and then the had no difficulty in getting up. But Mr. B. faid, that was his difficulty; and wifhed there could be fome medicine invented which would make one rife without pain, which he never did, unlefs after lying in bed a very long

long time. Perhaps there might be fomething in the ftores of nature which could do this. He would have fomething that could diffipate the vis inertia, and give elasticity to the mufcles *.

Johnson obferved, that "a man should take a fufficient quantity of fleep, which Dr. Mead fays is between seven and nine hours." He was told that Dr. Cullen had faid, that a man should not take more fleep than he can take at once."This rule, Sir (remarked Johnson), cannot hold in all cafes; for many people have their fleep broken by fickness; and furely, Cullen would not have a man to get up after having flept but an hour. Such a regimen would foon end in a long fleep." Dr. Taylor remarked, that "a man who does not feel an inclination to sleep at the ordinary time, instead of being ftronger than other people, must not be well; for a man in health has all the natural inclinations to eat, drink, and fleep, in a ftrong degree."

At a fupper once Johnson talked of good eating with uncommon fatisfaction. "Some people

"As I imagine (fays Mr. B.) that the human body may be put, by the operation of other fubftances, into any state in which it has ever been; and as I have experienced a flate in which rifing from bed was not difagreeable, but easy, nay, fometimes agreeable; I fuppofe that this ftate may be prodace, if we knew by what. We can heat the body, we can cool it; we can give it tenfion or relaxation; and furely it is poffible to bring it into a ftate in which rifing from bed will not be a pain."

(faid he) have a foolish way of not minding, or pretending not to mind, what they eat. For my part I mind my belly very ftudiously, and very carefully, for I look upon it, that he who does not mind his belly will hardly mind any thing elfe." He now appeared Jean Bull Philofophe, and was, for the moment, not only ferious but vehement." Yet (adds Mr. Bofwell) I have heard him, upon other occafions, talk with great contempt of people who were anxious to gratify their palates; and the 206th number of his Rambler is a mafterly effay againft gulofity.His practice, indeed, I must acknowledge, may be confidered as cafting the balance of his different opinions upon this subject; for I never knew any man who relifhed good eating more than he did. When at table, he was totally abforbed in the bufinefs of the moment: his looks feemed riveted to his plate; nor would he, unless when in very high company, fay one word, or even pay the leaft attention to what was faid by others, till he had fatisfied his appetite, which was fo fierce, and indulged with fuch intenfenefs, that while in the act of eating, the veins of his forehead fwelled, and generally a ftrong perfpiration was vifible. To thofe whofe fenfations were delicate, this could not but be disgusting; and it was doubtless not very fuitable to the character of a philofopher,

who.

who fhould be diftinguished by felf-command. But it must be owned that Johnson, though he could be rigidly abftemious, was not a temperate man either in eating or drinking. He could refrain, but he could not use moderately. He told me, that he had fafted two days without inconvenience, and that he had never been hungry but once. They who beheld with wonder how much he ate upon all occafions when his dinner was to his tafte, could not eafily conceive what he must have meant hunger; and not only was he remarkable for the extraordinary quantity which he ate, but he was, or affected to be, a man of very nice difcernment in the fcience of cookery. He used to defcant critically on the dishes which had been at table where he had dined or supped, and to recollect very minutely what he had liked. I remember, when he was in Scotland, his praifing Gordon's palates,' (a dish of palates at the Honourable Alexander Gordon's) with a warmth of expreffion which might have done honour to more important fubjects. As for Maclaurin's imitation of a made difb, it was a wretched attempt.' He about the fame time was fo much displeased with the performances of a nobleman's French cook, that he exclaimed with vehemence, I'd throw fuch a rafcal into the river; and he then proceeded to alarm a lady

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a lady at whofe house he was to fup, by the following manifefto of his skill: 'I, Madam, who live at a variety of good tables, am a much better judge of cookery than any person who has a very tolerable cook, but lives much at home; for his palate is gradually adapted to the tafte of his cook; whereas, Madam, in trying by a wider range, I can more exquifitely judge.' When invited to dine, even with an intimate friend, he was not pleased if something better than a plain dinner was not prepared for him. I have heard him say on fuch an occafion, This was a good dinner enough, to be fure; but it was not a dinner to ask a man to.' On the other hand, he was wont to exprefs, with great glee, his fatisfaction when he had been entertained quite to his mind.One day, when he had dined with his neighbour and landlord in Bolt-court, Mr. Allen, the printer, whofe old housekeeper had studied his taste in every thing, he pronounced this eulogy, Sir, we could not have had a better dinner had there been a Synod of Cooks,'

He ufually defended luxury: "You cannot (said he) spend money in luxury without doing good to the poor. Nay, you do more good to them by spending it in luxury than by giving it; for by fpending it in luxury you make them exert industry, whereas by giving it

you