lf,
who knew that he could talk upon any side of a question, he defended the
Inquisition, and maintained, that 'false doctrine should be checked on
its first appearance; that the civil power should unite with the church
in punishing those who dared to attack the established religion, and
that such only were punished by the Inquisition.' He had in his pocket
Pomponius Mela de situ Orbis, in which he read occasionally, and seemed
very intent upon ancient geography. Though by no means niggardly,
his attention to what was generally right was so minute, that having
observed at one of the stages that I ostentatiously gave a shilling
to the coachman, when the custom was for each passenger to give only
six-pence, he took me aside and scolded me, saying that what I had
done would make the coachman dissatisfied with all the rest of
the passengers, who gave him no more than his due. This was a just
reprimand; for in whatever way a man may indulge his generosity or his
vanity in spending his money, for the sake of others he ought not to
raise the price of any article for which there is a constant demand.

At supper this night* he talked of good eating with uncommon
satisfaction. 'Some people (said he,) have a foolish way of not minding,
or pretending not to mind, what they eat. For my part, I mind my belly
very studiously, and very carefully; for I look upon it, that he who
does not mind his belly will hardly mind anything else.' He now appeared
to me Jean Bull philosophe, and he was, for the moment, not only serious
but vehement. Yet I have heard him, upon other occasions, talk with
great contempt of people who were anxious to gratify their palates; and
the 206th number of his Rambler is a masterly essay against gulosity.
His practice, indeed, I must acknowledge, may be considered as casting
the balance of his different opinions upon this subject; for I never
knew any man who relished good eating more than he did. When at table,
he was totally absorbed in the business of the moment; his looks seemed
rivetted to his plate; nor would he, unless when in very high company,
say one word, or even pay the least attention to what was said by
others, till he had satisfied his appetite, which was so fierce, and
indulged with such intenseness, that while in the act of eating, the
veins of his forehead swelled, and generally a strong perspiration was
visible. To those whose sensations were delicate, this could not but be
disgusting; and it wa