his
wife. His stockings no less proved her good housewifery, for they
were entirely covered with darns of different colored worsteds, but
had not a hole in them; and his shirt, though nearly as coarse as
the sails of a ship, was as white as the drifted snow, and was
neatly mended where time had either made a rent, or worn it thin.
This furnishes a rule of judging, by which one shall seldom be
deceived. If I meet with a laborer, hedging, ditching, or mending
the highways, with his stockings and shirt tight and whole, however
mean and bad his other garments are, I have seldom failed, on
visiting his cottage, to find that also clean and well ordered, and
his wife notable, and worthy of encouragement. Whereas, a poor
woman, who will be lying a-bed, or gossiping with her neighbors when
she ought to be fitting out her husband in a cleanly manner, will
seldom be found to be very good in other respects.

This was not the case with our shepherd: and Mr. Johnson was not
more struck with the decency of his mean and frugal dress, than with
his open honest countenance, which bore strong marks of health,
cheerfulness, and spirit.

Mr. Johnson, who was on a journey, and somewhat fearful from the
appearance of the sky, that rain was at no great distance, accosted
the shepherd with asking what sort of weather he thought it would be
on the morrow. "It will be such weather as pleases me," answered the
shepherd. Though the answer was delivered in the mildest and most
civil tone that could be imagined, the gentleman thought the words
themselves rather rude and surly, and asked him how that could be.
"Because," replied the shepherd, "it will be such weather as shall
please God, and whatever pleases him always pleases me."

Mr. Johnson, who delighted in good men and good things, was very
well satisfied with his reply. For he justly thought that though a
hypocrite may easily contrive to appear better than he really is to
a stranger; and that no one should be too soon trusted, merely for
having a few good words in his mouth; yet as he knew that out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh, he always accustomed
himself to judge favorably of those who had a serious deportment and
solid manner of speaking. It looks as if it proceeded from a good
habit, said he, and though I may now and then be deceived by it, yet
it has not often happened to me to be so. Whereas if a man accosts
me with an idle, dissolute, vulgar, indecent, or profane