'
He recommended to me to keep a journal of my life, full and unreserved.
He said it would be a very good exercise, and would yield me great
satisfaction when the particulars were faded from my remembrance. I was
uncommonly fortunate in having had a previous coincidence of opinion
with him upon this subject, for I had kept such a journal for some time;
and it was no small pleasure to me to have this to tell him, and to
receive his approbation. He counselled me to keep it private, and said
I might surely have a friend who would burn it in case of my death.
From this habit I have been enabled to give the world so many anecdotes,
which would otherwise have been lost to posterity. I mentioned that I
was afraid I put into my journal too many little incidents. JOHNSON.
'There is nothing, Sir, too little for so little a creature as man. It
is by studying little things that we attain the great art of having as
little misery and as much happiness as possible.'
Next morning Mr. Dempster happened to call on me, and was so much
struck even with the imperfect account which I gave him of Dr.
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