on said, that the description of the
temple, in The Mourning Bride, was the finest poetical passage he had
ever read; he recollected none in Shakspeare equal to it. 'But, (said
Garrick, all alarmed for the 'God of his idolatry,') we know not the
extent and variety of his powers. We are to suppose there are such
passages in his works. Shakspeare must not suffer from the badness of
our memories.' Johnson, diverted by this enthusiastick jealousy, went
on with greater ardour: 'No, Sir; Congreve has NATURE;' (smiling on the
tragick eagerness of Garrick;) but composing himself, he added, 'Sir,
this is not comparing Congreve on the whole, with Shakspeare on the
whole; but only maintaining that Congreve has one finer passage than any
that can be found in Shakspeare. Sir, a man may have no more than ten
guineas in the world, but he may have those ten guineas in one piece;
and so may have a finer piece than a man who has ten thousand pounds:
but then he has only one ten-guinea piece. What I mean is, that you
can shew me no passage where there is simply a description of material
objects, without any intermixture of moral notions, which produces such
an effect.' Mr. Murphy mentioned Shakspeare's description of the night
before the battle of Agincourt; but it was observed, it had MEN in it.
Mr. Davies suggested the speech of Juliet, in which she figures herself
awaking in the tomb of her ancestors. Some one mentioned the description
of Dover Cliff. JOHNSON. 'No, Sir; it should be all precipice,--all
vacuum. The crows impede your fall. The diminished appearance of the
boats, and other circumstances, are all very good descriptions; but do
not impress the mind at once with the horrible idea of immense height.
The impression is divided; you pass on by computation, from one stage
of the tremendous space to another. Had the girl in The Mourning Bride
said, she could not cast her shoe to the top of one of the pillars in
the temple, it would not have aided the idea, but weakened it.'

* Everyone guesses that 'one of the company' was Boswell.
--HILL.

Talking of a Barrister who had a bad utterance, some one, (to rouse
Johnson,) wickedly said, that he was unfortunate in not having been
taught oratory by Sheridan. JOHNSON. 'Nay, Sir, if he had been taught
by Sheridan, he would have cleared the room.' GARRICK. 'Sheridan has
too much vanity to be a good man.' We shall now see Johnson's mode of
DEFENDING a man; taking him into his own