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strain him?”—J. "It does not signify that the fear of something made him resolve; it is upon the state of his mind after the resolution is taken that I argue. Suppose a man, either from fear or pride, or conscience, or whatever motive, has resolved to kill himself, when once the resolution is taken he has nothing to fear. He may then go and take the King of Prussia by the nose, at the head of his army. He cannot fear the rack, who is resolved to kill himself. When Eustace Budgel was walking down to the Thames, determined to drown himself, he might, if he pleased, without any apprehension of danger, have turned aside, and first set fire to St. James's palace."

The subject at another time turning on the belief in ghosts, Johnson said," Sir, I make a distinction between what a man may experience by the mere strength of his imagination, and what imagination cannot possibly produce. Thus, suppose I should think that I saw a form and heard a voice cry, Johnson, you are a very wicked fellow, and unless you repent you will certainly be punished;' my own unworthiness is so deeply impressed upon my mind, that I might imagine I thus saw and heard, and therefore I should not believe that an external communication had been made to me. But if a form should appear, and a voice should tell me that a particular

man had died at a particular place, and a particular hour, a fact which I had no apprehension of, nor any means of knowing, and this fact with all its circumstances should afterwards be unquestionably proved, I should, in that case, be persuaded that I had supernatural intelligence imparted to me."

Mr. Boswell gives us what he declares to be a true and fair statement of Johnson's way of thinking upon the question whether departed spirits are ever permitted to appear in this world, or in any way to operate upon human life. "He has (says Mr. B.) been ignorantly misrepresented as weakly credulous upon that subject; and, therefore, though I feel an inclination to disdain and treat with silent contempt so foolish a notion concerning my illustrious friend, yet, as I find it has gained ground, it is necessary to refute it. The real fact then is, that Johnson had a very philosophical mind, and such a rational respect for testimony, as to make him submit his understanding to what was authentically proved, though he could not comprehend why it was so. Being thus disposed, he was willing to inquire into the truth of any relation of supernatural agency, a general belief of which has prevailed in all nations and ages. But so far was he from being the dupe of implicit faith, that

he examined the matter with a jealous attention, and no man was more ready to refute its falsehood when he had discovered it."

Of apparitions he once took occasion to observe, "A total disbelief of them is adverse to the opinion of the existence of the soul between death and the last day; the question simply is, Whether departed spirits ever have the power of making themselves perceptible to us? A man who thinks he has seen an apparition can only be convinced himself; his authority will not convince another; and his conviction, if rational, must be founded on being told something which cannot be known but by supernatural means."

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Johnson mentioned a thing as not unfrequent, namely, the being called, that is, hearing one's name pronounced by the voice of a known person at a great distance, far beyond the possibility of being reached by any sound uttered by human organs. "An acquaintance (says Mr. B.), on whose veracity I can depend, told me, that walking home one evening to Kilmarnock, he heard himself called from a wood, by the voice of a brother who had gone to America; and the next packet brought accounts of that brother's death." Mr. Macbean asserted, that this inexplicable calling was a thing very well known.Dr. Johnson said, that one day at Oxford, as he was turning the key of his chamber, he heard his

mother distinctly call Sam. She was then at Litchfield; but nothing ensued.

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Mr. Boswell one day said, "I do not know whether there are any well-attested stories of the appearance of ghosts. You know there is a famous account of the apparition of Mrs. Veal, prefixed to Drelincourt on Death."-JOHNSON. "I believe, Sir, that is given up. I think the woman declared upon her death-bed that it was a lie." -B." This objection is made against the truth of ghosts appearing: that if they are in a state of happiness, it would be a punishment to them to return to this world; and if they are in a state of misery, it would be giving them a respite.”—J. "Why, Sir, as the happiness or misery of unembodied spirits does not depend upon place, but is intellectual, we cannot say that they are less hap→ py or less miserable by appearing upon earth. It is wonderful, however, that five thousand years have now elapsed since the creation of the world, and still it is undecided whether or not there bas been an instance of the spirit of any person appearing after death. All argument is against it; but all belief is for it."

On the subject of our situation in a future state, he said, "The happiness of an unembodied spirit will consist in a consciousness of the favour of GOD, in the contemplation of truth, and in the possession of felicitating ideas.".

But, Sir (said Mr. Boswell), is there any harm in our forming to ourselves conjectures as to the particulars of our happiness, though the scripture has said but very little on the subject? We know not what we shall be." "-J. "Sir, there is no harm. What philosophy suggests to us on this topic is probable-what scripture tells us is certain. Dr. Henry More has carried it as far as philosophy can. You may buy both his theological and philosophical works in two volumes folio, for about eight shillings.”—B. “One of the most pleasing thoughts is, that we shall see our friends again." —J. “ Yes, Sir; but you must consider, that when we are become purely rational, many of our friendships will be cut off. Many friendships are formed by a community of sensual pleasures: all these will be cut off. We form many friendships with bad men, because they have agreeable qualities, and they can be useful to us. We form many friendships by mistake, imagining people to be different from what they really are. After death, we shall see every one in a true light. Then, Sir, they talk of our meeting our relations: but then all relationship is dissolved; and we shall have no regard for one person more than another, but for their real value. However, we shall have either the satisfaction of meeting our friends, or be satisfied without meeting them."B. "Yet, Sir, we see in scripture, that Dives

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