azing at the water.

It was proverbially dangerous to contradict him. Dr Mortimer, head of
Lincoln college, happened occasionally to interrupt him, by saying, "I
deny that," while Johnson was holding forth. At length he said, "Sir,
sir, you must have forgotten that an author has said, (he then repeated
in Latin,) one ass will deny more in one hour, than a hundred
philosophers will prove in a hundred years."

During the year 1774 and 1775, John Scott held the office of a tutor of
University college; but he appears to have left the duty to Fisher and
William Scott, his brother, those two dividing the emoluments. However,
he was more importantly employed when he gave lectures on the law as
deputy to Sir Robert Chambers, for which he had L.60 a-year. His first
essay was sufficiently ridiculous. The law professor sent him his first
lecture, which he was to read immediately to the students, and which he
began, without knowing its contents. It happened to be on the statute
4th and 5th, Philip and Mary, on young men running away with young
women. "Fancy me," said his lordship, "reading with about 140 boys and
young men giggling at the professor." While Scott was eating his terms
at the Middle Temple, he had some opportunities of seeing Mr Sergeant
Hill, the great lawyer of his day, eminent for learning, and scarcely
less so for eccentricity. Hill one day stopped Scott in the hall, and
said, "Pray, young gentleman, do you think herbage and pannage rateable
to the poor's rate?" Scott replied "that he could not presume to give an
opinion to so learned a personage." "Upon my word," said the sergeant,
"you are a pretty sensible young gentlemen--I don't often meet with
such. If I had asked Mr Burgess, a young leader upon our circuit, the
question, he would have told me that I was an old fool." Hill began an
argument in the King's Bench thus:--"My Lord Mansfield and judges, I
beg your pardon."--"Why brother Hill, do you ask our pardon?"--"My
lords," said he, "I have seventy-eight cases to cite."--"Seventy-eight
cases!" said Lord Mansfield; "you can never have our pardon if you cite
seventy-eight cases!" After the court had given its decision, which was
against the sergeant's client, Lord Mansfield said, "Now, brother Hill,
that the judgment is given, you can have no objections, on account of
your client, to tell us your real opinion, and whether you do not think
we are right; you know how we all value your opinion and judgment." Hill