Friday, I breakfasted with him on tea
and cross-buns; DOCTOR Levet, as Frank called him, making the tea. He
carried me with him to the church of St. Clement Danes, where he had his
seat; and his behaviour was, as I had imaged to myself, solemnly devout.
I never shall forget the tremulous earnestness with which he pronounced
the awful petition in the Litany: 'In the hour of death, and at the day
of judgement, good LORD deliver us.

We went to church both in the morning and evening. In the interval
between the two services we did not dine; but he read in the Greek New
Testament, and I turned over several of his books.

I told him that Goldsmith had said to me a few days before, 'As I take
my shoes from the shoemaker, and my coat from the taylor, so I take
my religion from the priest.' I regretted this loose way of talking.
JOHNSON. 'Sir, he knows nothing; he has made up his mind about nothing.'

To my great surprize he asked me to dine with him on Easter-day. I never
supposed that he had a dinner at his house; for I had not then heard of
any one of his friends having been entertained at his table. He told me,
'I generally have a meat pye on Sunday: it is baked at a publick oven,
which is very properly allowed, because one man can attend it; and thus
the advantage is obtained of not keeping servants from church to dress
dinners.'

April 11, being Easter-Sunday, after having attended Divine Service at
St. Paul's, I repaired to Dr. Johnson's. I had gratified my curiosity
much in dining with JEAN JAQUES ROUSSEAU, while he lived in the wilds of
Neufchatel: I had as great a curiosity to dine with DR. SAMUEL JOHNSON,
in the dusky recess of a court in Fleet-street. I supposed we should
scarcely have knives and forks, and only some strange, uncouth,
ill-drest dish: but I found every thing in very good order. We had no
other company but Mrs. Williams and a young woman whom I did not know.
As a dinner here was considered as a singular phaenomenon, and as I
was frequently interrogated on the subject, my readers may perhaps be
desirous to know our bill of fare. Foote, I remember, in allusion to
Francis, the NEGRO, was willing to suppose that our repast was BLACK
BROTH. But the fact was, that we had a very good soup, a boiled leg of
lamb and spinach, a veal pye, and a rice pudding.

He owned that he thought Hawkesworth was one of his imitators, but
he did not think Goldsmith was. Goldsmith, he said, had great merit.
BOSWELL. 'But,