��Lowly towards God, and docile towards the church ; implicit in his belief of the gospel, and ever respectful towards the people appointed to preach it ; tender of the unhappy, and affectionate to the poor, let no one hastily condemn as proud, a character which may perhaps somewhat justly be censured as arrogant. It must however be remembered again, that even this arrogance was never shewn without some intention, immediate or remote, of mending some fault or conveying some instruction. Had I meant to make a panegyric on Mr. Johnson's well-known excellencies, I should have told his deeds only, not his words sincerely protesting, that as I never saw him once do a wrong thing, so we had accustomed ourselves to look upon him almost as an excepted x being ; and I should as much have expected injustice from Socrates or impiety from Paschal, as the slightest deviation from truth and goodness in any transaction one might be engaged in with Samuel Johnson. His attention to veracity was without equal or example 2 : and when I mentioned Clarissa as a perfect character ; ' On the contrary (said he), you may observe there is always something which she prefers to truth. Fielding's Amelia was the most pleasing heroine of all 4he romances (he said) ; but that vile broken nose never cured 3 , ruined the sale of perhaps the only book, which being printed off betimes one morning, a new edition was called for before night V
truly humble,' adds Nichols, 'were the charms of her person deserved
the thoughts which this great and a much higher adoration to be paid
good man entertained of his own to her mind.' Amelia, Bk. ii. c. i. approaches to religious perfection.' 4 Mrs. Piozzi must mean 'which
Life, iv. 410. being published betimes,' &c.
1 I do not find any instances of Wraxhall (Memoirs, i. 54), says excepted as here used. A writer of that Cadell told him that his pre- the present day would perhaps have decessor Andrew Millar, who gave said exceptional a word not in Fielding ,800 for the copyright of Johnson's Dictionary. Amelia, was advised 'to get rid of
2 Ante, p. 225. it as soon as he could. At the first
3 ' The injury done to her beauty sale which he made to the Trade he by the overturning of a chaise, by said, "Gentlemen, I have several which, as you may well remember, works to put up for which I shall her lovely nose was beat all to pieces, be glad if you will bid ; but as gave me an assurance that the woman to Amelia every copy is already who had been so much adored for bespoke." This manoeuvre had
Mr.
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