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 252 Recollections of Dr. Johnson

Richardson ; and it was said, that he thought himself neglected by them on his account.

Johnson set a higher value upon female friendship than, perhaps, most men ; which may reasonably be supposed was not a little inhanced \sic\ by his acquaintance with those Ladies, if it was not originally derived from them. To their society, doubtless, Richardson owed that delicacy of sentiment, that femi nine excellence, as I may say, that so peculiarly distinguishes his writings from those of his own sex in general, how high soever they may soar above the other in the more dignified walks of literature, in scientific investigations, and abstruse inquiries.

Dr. Johnson used to repeat, with very apparent delight, some lines of a poem written by one of these ladies J :

Say, Stella, what is Love, whose cruel power Robs virtue of content, and youth of joy ?

What Nymph or Goddess, in what fatal hour, Produced to light the mischief-making Boy?

Some say, by Idleness and Pleasure bred, The smiling babe on beds of roses lay ;

There with soft-honied dews by Fancy fed, His infant Beauties open'd on the Day 2.

Dr. Johnson had a [sic] uncommonly retentive memory for every thing that appear'd to him worthy of observation. What ever he met with in reading, particularly poetry, I believe he seldom required a revisal to be able to repeat verbatim 3. If not literally so, it was more honoured in the breach than in the observance. And this was the case, in some respects, in Shen-

tenderness and confidence of many ' Say, Stella, what is love, whose

years.' Letters, ii. 141. Miss M fatal pow'r

was, no doubt, Miss Mulso. She Robs virtue of content and youth

wrote ' four billets ' in the Rambler, of joy ?

No. 10. Life, i. 203. What nymph or goddess in a luck-

1 Miss Mulso. Miss REYNOLDS. less hour

2 ' Johnson paid the first of these Disclos'd to light the mischief- stanzas the great and undeserved making boy ? ' compliment of quoting it in his Die- Though Miss Mulso was but tionary, under the word Quatrain? twenty-eight when the Dictionary CROKER. was published, she was already

The stanza as there quoted is complimented with the title of somewhat better; it is likely that Mrs. Mulso.

Johnson improved it. 3 Ante, i. 360 ; Life, i. 39 ; v. 368.

stone's

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