Horace boasts that his fame
would extend as far as the banks of the Rhone[856]; now the Wolga is
farther from me than the Rhone was from Horace.' BOSWELL. 'You must
certainly be pleased with this, Sir.' JOHNSON. 'I am pleased Sir, to be
sure. A man is pleased to find he has succeeded in that which he has
endeavoured to do.'
One of the company mentioned his having seen a noble person driving in
his carriage, and looking exceedingly well, notwithstanding his great
age. JOHNSON. 'Ah, Sir; that is nothing. Bacon observes, that a stout
healthy old man is like a tower undermined.'
On Sunday, May 16, I found him alone; he talked of Mrs. Thrale with much
concern, saying, 'Sir, she has done every thing wrong, since Thrale's
bridle was off her neck;' and was proceeding to mention some
circumstances which have since been the subject of publick
discussion[857], when he was interrupted by the arrival of Dr. Douglas,
now Bishop of Salisbury.
Dr. Douglas, upon this occasion, refuted a mistaken notion which is very
common in Scotland, that the ecclesiastical discipline of the Church of
England, though duly enforced, is insufficient to preserve the morals of
the clergy, inasmuch as all delinquents may be screened by appealing to
the Convocation, which being never authorized by the King to sit for
the dispatch of business, the appeal never can be heard.
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