Mr. Bofwell, dining with Johnfon at Mr. Beauclerk's one day with Sir Joshua Reynolds, Mr. Jones (afterwards Sir William), Mr. Langton, Mr. Steevens, Mr. Paradise, and Dr. Higgins, mentioned that Mr. Wilkes had attacked Garrick to him, as a man who had no friend. JOHNSON. "I believe he is right, Sir. O, Q OU Qλos. He has friends, but no friend. Garrick was fo diffused, he had no man to whom he wished to unbofom himself. He found peo ple always ready to applaud him, and that always for the fame thing; fo he faw life with great uniformity."-BOSWELL. "Garrick did · not need a friend, as he got from every body all he wanted. What is a friend? One who fupports you, and comforts you, while others do not. Friendship, you know, Sir, is the cordial drop,' to make the naufeous draught of life go down; but if the draught be not naufcous, if it be all sweet, there is no occafion for that drop."-JOHNSON. "Many men would not be content to live fo. I hope I should not. They would wish to have an intimate friend, with whom they might compare minds, and cherish private virtues." One of the company mentioned Lord Chesterfield, as a man who had no friend.-7. "There were more materials to make friendship in Garrick, had he not been fo diffufed,"-B. "Garrick was pure gold, but

beat

beat out to thin leaf. Lord Chesterfield was tinfel."-7. " Garrick was a very good man, the cheerfulleft man of his age; a decent liver in a profeffion which is fuppofed to give indulgence to licentiousness; and a man who gave away freely money acquired by himself. He began the world with a great hunger for money; the fon of a half-pay officer, bred in a family whofe ftudy was to make four-pence do as much as others made four-pence-half-penny do; but, when he had got money, he was very liberal." Mr. Bofwell animadverted on his eulogy on Garrick, in his Lives of the Poets.'-" You fay, Sir, his death eclipfed the gaiety of nations."." I could not have faid more nor lefs. It is the truth; ecliffed, not extinguished; and his death did eclipfe; it was like a storm." -B." But why nations? Did his gaiety extend farther than his own nation?"-J. "Why, Sir, fome exaggeration must be allowed. Befides, nations may be faid if we allow the Scotch to be a nation, and to have gaiety, which they have not. You are an exception though. Come, gentlemen, let us candidly admit that there is one Scotchman who is cheerful."-BEAUCLERK. "But he is a very unnatural Scotchman." I however (fays Mr. B.) continued to think the compliment to Garrick hyperbolically untrue. His acting had ceafed fome

time before his death; at any rate he had acted in Ireland but a fhort time, at an early period of his life, and never in Scotland. I objected also to what appears an anticlimax of praise, when contrafted with the preceding pangeryic"and diminished the public stock of harmless pleafure!" Is not harmless pleasure very tame!"-7. "Nay, Sir, harmless pleasure is the highest praise. Pleasure is a word of dubious import; pleasure is in general dangerous and pernicious to virtue; to be able therefore to furnish pleasure that is harmless, pleasure pure and unalloyed, is as great a power as man can poffefs." This was, perhaps, as ingenious a defence as could be made: ftill, however, (fays Mr. B.) I was not fatisfied.

His friend Garrick was fo bufy in conducting the drama, that they could not have fo much intercourfe as Mr. Garrick used to profess an anxious wish that there fhould be. There might indeed be fomething in the contemptuous severity as to the merit of acting, which his old preceptor nourished in himself, that would mortify Garrick after the great applaufe which he received from the audience. though Johnson faid of him, " Sir, a man who has a nation to admire him every night, may well be expected to be fomewhat elated;" yet he would treat theatrical matters with a ludi

For

crous

" I met

crous flight. He faid one evening, David coming off the ftage, dreft in a woman's riding-hood, when he acted in The Wonder;' I came full upon him, and I believe he was not pleased."

Sir Joshua Reynolds obferved with great truth, that Johnson confidered Garrick to be as it were his property. He would allow no man either to blame or to praise Garrick in his prefence without contradicting him.

Goldsmith in his diverting fimplicity complained one day, in a mixed company, of Lord Camden. "I met him (faid he) at Lord Clare's house in the country, and he took no more notice of me than if I had been an ordinary man." The company having laughed heartily, Johnson stood forth in defence of his friend. "Nay, Gentlemen (faid he), Dr. Goldsmith is in the right. A nobleman ought to have made up to fuch a man as Goldsmith; and I think it is much against Lord Camden that he neglected him."

Nor could he patiently endure to hear that fuch respect as he thought due only to higher intellectual qualities, fhould be bestowed on men of flighter, though perhaps more amusing talents. I told him (fays Mr. B.) that one morning, when I went to breakfast with Garriek, who was very vain of his intimacy with Lord

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Lord Camden, he accofted me thus :-" Pray now, did you ?-did you meet a little lawyer turning the corner, eh!"-" No, Sir (said I); pray what do you mean by the question?"—

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Why (replied Garrick, with an affected indifference, yet as if ftanding on tip-toe), Lord Camden has this moment left me. We have had a long walk together."-7. "Well, Sir, Garrick talked very properly. Lord Camden was a little lawyer to be affociating fo familiarly with a player."

Mrs. Montagu, a lady diftinguished for having written an Etfay on Shakfpcare, being mentioned, Sir Joshua Reynolds faid, "I think that effay does her honour."-JOHNSON."Yes, Sir, it does her honour; but it would do nobody clfe honour. I have, indeed, not read it all. But when I take up the end of a web, and find it packthread, I do not expect, by looking further, to find embroidery. Sir, I will venture to fay, there is not once fentence of true criticifm in her book."-GARRICK. "But, Sir, furely it fhews how much a certain French writer has miftaken Shakspeare, which nobody else has done."-7. "Sir, nobody else has thought it worth while; and what merit is there in that? You may as well praife a fchoolmafter for whipping a boy who has conftrued ill. No, Sir, there is no real criticism

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