A considerable
crowd of people gathered round, and were not a little struck by this
singular appearance.'
He spoke Latin with wonderful fluency and elegance. When Pere Boscovich
was in England, Johnson dined in company with him at Sir Joshua
Reynolds's, and at Dr. Douglas's, now Bishop of Salisbury. Upon both
occasions that celebrated foreigner expressed his astonishment at
Johnson's Latin conversation. When at Paris, Johnson thus characterised
Voltaire to Freron the Journalist: 'Vir est acerrimi ingenii et paucarum
literarum.'
In the course of this year Dr. Burney informs me that 'he very
frequently met Dr. Johnson at Mr. Thrale's, at Streatham, where they
had many long conversations, often sitting up as long as the fire
and candles lasted, and much longer than the patience of the servants
subsisted.'
A few of Johnson's sayings, which that gentleman recollects, shall here
be inserted.
'I never take a nap after dinner but when I have had a bad night, and
then the nap takes me.
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