Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased;
Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow;
Raze out the written troubles of the brain
And, with _some_ sweet oblivious antidote,
Cleanse the foul bosom of that perilous stuff
Which weighs upon the heart?

To which Brocklesby promptly returned the answer, which is made by the
doctor in that play,

--Therein the patient
Must minister unto himself.

He now committed to the flames a large mass of papers, among which were
two 4to. volumes, containing a particular account of his life, from his
earliest recollections.

His few remaining days were occasionally cheered by the presence of such
men as have been collected about a death-bed in few ages and countries
of the world--Langton, Reynolds, Windham, and Burke. Of these, none was
more attentive to him than Mr. Langton, of whom he had been heard to
say, I could almost wish "anima mea sit cum Langtono," and whom he now
addressed in the tender words of Tibullus,

Te teneam moriens deficiente manu.

At another time, Burke, who was sitting with him in the company of four
or five others, expressed his fear that so large a number might be
oppressive to him, "No, Sir," said Johnson, "it is not so; and I must be