ce, he was talking thus of a gentleman distinguised amongst his
acquaintance for acuteness of wit; one to whom I think the French
expression, '_Il petille d'esprit_,' is particularly He has gratified me
by mentioning that he heard Dr. Johnson say, 'Sir, if I were to lose
Boswell, it would be a limb amputated.' BOSWELL.

[271] William Weller Pepys, Esq., one of the Masters in the High Court
of Chancery, and well known in polite circles. My acquaintance with him
is not sufficient to enable me to speak of him from my own judgement.
But I know that both at Eton and Oxford he was the intimate friend of
the late Sir James Macdonald, the _Marcellus_ of Scotland [_ante_,
i.449], whose extraordinary talents, learning, and virtues, will ever be
remembered with admiration and regret. BOSWELL.

[272] See note, _ante_, p. 65, which describes an attack made by Johnson
on Pepys more than two months after this conversation.

[273] Johnson once said to Mrs. Thrale:--'Why, Madam, you often provoke
me to say severe things by unreasonable commendation. If you would not
call for my praise, I would not give you my censure; but it constantly
moves my indignation to be applied to, to speak well of a thing which I
think contemptible.' Mme. D'Arblay's _Diary_, i.132. See _ante_,
iii.225.

[274] 'Mrs. Thrale,' wrote Miss Burney in 1780, 'is a most dear
creature, but never restrains her tongue in anything, nor, indeed, any
of her feelings. She laughs, cries, scolds, sports, reasons, makes
fun--does everything she has an inclination to do, without any study of
prudence, or thought of blame; and, pure and artless as is this
character, it often draws both herself and others into scrapes, which a
little discretion would avoid.' _Ib_. i.386. Later on she writes:--'Mrs.
Thrale, with all her excellence, can give up no occasion of making
sport, however unseasonable or even painful... I knew she was not to be
safely trusted with anything she could turn into ridicule.' _Ib_.
ii.24 and 29.

[275] Perhaps Mr. Seward, who was constantly at the Thrales' (_ante_,
iii. 123).

[276] See _ante_, iii.228, 404.

[277] It was the seventh anniversary of Goldsmith's death.

[278] 'Mrs. Garrick and I,' wrote Hannah More (_Memoirs_, i. 208), 'were
invited to an assembly at Mrs. Thrale's. There was to be a fine concert,
and all the fine people were to be there. Just as my hair was dressed,
came a servant to forbid our coming, for that Mr. Thrale was dead.'

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