casion of
this, my dear."

It is said by Boswell, that "his temperament was so morbid, that he
never knew the natural joy of a free and vigorous use of his limbs: when
he walked, it was the struggling gait of one in fetters; when he rode,
he had no command or direction of his horse, but was carried as if in a
balloon." His daily habits were exceedingly irregular; he took his meals
at unusual hours; and either ate voraciously, or abstained rigorously.
He studied by fits and starts; but when he did read, it was with such
rapidity and eagerness, that, as some one said, it seemed as if he would
tear out the heart of the book he was upon. He could with difficulty
believe any one who spoke of having read any book from the beginning to
the end. His mode of composition was in like manner vigorous and hasty;
though his sentences have all the appearance of being measured; but it
was his custom to speak no less than to write with a studious attention
to the numerousness of his phrase, so that he was enabled to do that by
habit which others usually accomplish by a particular effort.

In matters of fact, his regard to truth was so punctilious, that it was
observed he always talked as if he was talking upon oath; and he was
desirous of exacting the same preciseness from those over whom he had
authority or influence. He had, however, a practice that was not
entirely consistent with this love of veracity; for he would sometimes
defend that side of a question, which he thought wrong, because it
afforded him a more favourable opportunity of exhibiting his reasoning
or his wit. Thus when he began, "Why, Sir, as to the good or evil of
card-playing;" Garrick would make this arch comment on his proem; "Now
he is considering which side he shall take." It may he urged that his
hearers were aware of this propensity which he had

--To make the worse appear
The better argument,

and were therefore in no danger of being misled by it. But an excuse of
the same kind will serve for the common liar, that he is known, and
therefore disbelieved. It behoved him to be the more scrupulous in this
particular, because he knew that Boswell took minutes of his ordinary
conversation. Some of his idle sophisms, which thus became current,
have, I fear, led to serious mischief; such as the opinion that an
author may be at liberty to deny his having written a book to which he
has not affixed his name; his extenuation of incontinence in the master
of a family