'
I said, that if it was not troublesome and presuming too much, I would
request him to tell me all the little circumstances of his life; what
schools he attended, when he came to Oxford, when he came to London, &c.
&c. He did not disapprove of my curiosity as to these particulars; but
said, 'They'll come out by degrees as we talk together.'
We talked of the proper use of riches. JOHNSON. 'If I were a man of a
great estate, I would drive all the rascals whom I did not like out of
the county at an election.'
We then walked to the Pantheon. The first view of it did not strike us
so much as Ranelagh, of which he said, the 'coup d'oeil was the finest
thing he had ever seen.' The truth is, Ranelagh is of a more beautiful
form; more of it or rather indeed the whole rotunda, appears at once,
and it is better lighted. However, as Johnson observed, we saw the
Pantheon in time of mourning, when there was a dull uniformity; whereas
we had seen Ranelagh when the view was enlivened with a gay profusion
of colours.
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