promptitude of his own temper to take offence, consigned him back again to
silent meditation.

The remembrance of what had passed in his own childhood made Mr. Johnson
very solicitous to preserve the felicity of children: and when he had
persuaded Dr. Sumner to remit the tasks usually given to fill up boys'
time during the holidays, he rejoiced exceedingly in the success of his
negotiation, and told me that he had never ceased representing to all the
eminent schoolmasters in England the absurd tyranny of poisoning the hour
of permitted pleasure by keeping future misery before the children's eyes,
and tempting them by bribery or falsehood to evade it. "Bob Sumner," said
he, "however, I have at length prevailed upon. I know not, indeed, whether
his tenderness was persuaded, or his reason convinced, but the effect will
always be the same. Poor Dr. Sumner died, however, before the next
vacation."

Mr. Johnson was of opinion, too, that young people should have POSITIVE,
not GENERAL, rules given for their direction. "My mother," said he, "was
always telling me that I did not BEHAVE myself properly, that I should
endeavour to learn BEHAVIOUR, and such cant; but when I replied that she
ought to tell me what to do, and what to avoid, her admonitions were
commonly, for that time at least, at an end."

This I fear was, however, at best a momentary refuge found out by
perverseness. No man knew better than Johnson in how many nameless and
numberless actions BEHAVIOUR consists--actions which can scarcely be
reduced to rule, and which come under no description. Of these he retained
so many very strange ones, that I suppose no one who saw his odd manner of
gesticulating much blamed or wondered at the good lady's solicitude
concerning her son's BEHAVIOUR.