nt liquors; and spoke with great contempt of claret, as so
weak, that a man would be drowned by it before it made him drunk.' He
was persuaded to drink one glass of it, that he might judge, not from
recollection, which might be dim, but from immediate sensation. He shook
his head, and said, 'Poor stuff! No, Sir, claret is the liquor for boys;
port for men; but he who aspires to be a hero (smiling), must drink
brandy. In the first place, the flavour of brandy is most grateful to
the palate; and then brandy will do soonest for a man what drinking CAN
do for him. There are, indeed, few who are able to drink brandy. That is
a power rather to be wished for than attained. And yet, (proceeded he,)
as in all pleasure hope is a considerable part, I know not but fruition
comes too quick by brandy. Florence wine I think the worst; it is wine
only to the eye; it is wine neither while you are drinking it, nor after
you have drunk it; it neither pleases the taste, nor exhilarates the
spirits.' I reminded him how heartily he and I used to drink wine
together, when we were first acquainted; and how I used to have a
head-ache after sitting up with him. He did not like to have this
recalled, or, perhaps, thinking that I boasted improperly, resolved to
have a witty stroke at me: 'Nay, Sir, it was not the WINE that made your
head ache, but the SENSE that I put into it.' BOSWELL. 'What, Sir! will
sense make the head ache?' JOHNSON. 'Yes, Sir, (with a smile,) when it
is not used to it.'--No man who has a true relish of pleasantry could be
offended at this; especially if Johnson in a long intimacy had given him
repeated proofs of his regard and good estimation. I used to say, that
as he had given me a thousand pounds in praise, he had a good right now
and then to take a guinea from me.

On Thursday, April 8, I dined with him at Mr. Allan Ramsay's, with
Lord Graham and some other company. We talked of Shakspeare's witches.
JOHNSON. 'They are beings of his own creation; they are a compound of
malignity and meanness, without any abilities; and are quite different
from the Italian magician. King James says in his Daemonology,
'Magicians command the devils: witches are their servants. The Italian
magicians are elegant beings.' RAMSAY. 'Opera witches, not Drury-lane
witches.' Johnson observed, that abilities might be employed in a narrow
sphere, as in getting money, which he said he believed no man could do,
without vigorous parts, though concentrat