'
At Shefford I had another affectionate parting from my revered friend,
who was taken up by the Bedford coach and carried to the metropolis. I
went with Messieurs Dilly, to see some friends at Bedford; dined with
the officers of the militia of the county, and next day proceeded on my
journey.
Johnson's charity to the poor was uniform and extensive, both from
inclination and principle. He not only bestowed liberally out of his
own purse, but what is more difficult as well as rare, would beg from
others, when he had proper objects in view. This he did judiciously as
well as humanely. Mr. Philip Metcalfe tells me, that when he has asked
him for some money for persons in distress, and Mr. Metcalfe has offered
what Johnson thought too much, he insisted on taking less, saying, 'No,
no, Sir; we must not PAMPER them.'
I am indebted to Mr. Malone, one of Sir Joshua Reynolds's executors, for
the following note, which was found among his papers after his death,
and which, we may presume, his unaffected modesty prevented him from
communicating to me with the other letters from Dr.
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