g new,
was nearly as old as it could be. Their blunder arose from their
mistaking the word _neuvieme_ ninth, for _nouvelle_ or _neuve_, new."'

'Talking of Dr. Blagden's copiousness and precision of communication,
Dr. Johnson said, "Blagden, Sir, is a delightful fellow[105]."'

'On occasion of Dr. Johnson's publishing his pamphlet of _The False
Alarm_[106], there came out a very angry answer (by many supposed to be
by Mr. Wilkes). Dr. Johnson determined on not answering it; but, in
conversation with Mr. Langton, mentioned a particular or two, which if
he _had_ replied to it, he might perhaps have inserted. In the
answerer's pamphlet, it had been said with solemnity, "Do you consider,
Sir, that a House of Commons is to the people as a Creature is to its
Creator[107]?" To this question, said Dr. Johnson, I could have replied,
that--in the first place--the idea of a CREATOR must be such as that he
has a power to unmake or annihilate his creature.'

'Then it cannot be conceived that a creature can make laws for its
CREATOR[108].'

'Depend upon it, said he, that if a man _talks_ of his misfortunes,
there is something in them that is not disagreeable to him; for where
there is nothing but pure misery, there never is any recourse to the
mention of it[109].'

'A man must be a poor beast that should _read_ no more in quantity than
he could _utter_ aloud.'

'Imlac in _Rasselas_, I spelt with a _c_ at the end, because it is less
like English, which should always have the Saxon _k_ added to the
_c_[110].'

'Many a man is mad in certain instances, and goes through life without
having it perceived[111]: for example, a madness has seized a person of
supposing himself obliged literally to pray continually[112]--had the
madness turned the opposite way and the person thought it a crime ever
to pray, it might not improbably have continued unobserved.'

'He apprehended that the delineation of _characters_ in the end of the
first Book of the _Retreat of the Ten Thousand_ was the first instance
of the kind that was known.'

'Supposing (said he) a wife to be of a studious or argumentative turn,
it would be very troublesome[113]: for instance,--if a woman should
continually dwell upon the subject of the Arian heresy.'

'No man speaks concerning another, even suppose it be in his praise, if
he thinks he does not hear him, exactly as he would, if he thought he
was within hearing.'

'The applause of a single human being is of great