It is not, indeed, unlikely that Savage might by his imprudence
expose himself to the malice of a talebearer; for his patron had
many follies, which, as his discernment easily discovered, his
imagination might sometimes incite him to mention too ludicrously.
A little knowledge of the world is sufficient to discover that such
weakness is very common, and that there are few who do not
sometimes, in the wantonness of thoughtless mirth, or the heat of
transient resentment, speak of their friends and benefactors with
levity and contempt, though in their cooler moments they want
neither sense of their kindness nor reverence for their virtue; the
fault, therefore, of Mr. Savage was rather negligence than
ingratitude. But Sir Richard must likewise be acquitted of
severity, for who is there that can patiently bear contempt from one
whom he has relieved and supported, whose establishment he has
laboured, and whose interest he has promoted?

He was now again abandoned to fortune without any other friend than
Mr. Wilks; a man who, whatever were his abilities or skill as an
actor, deserves at least to be remembered for his virtues, which are
not often to be found in the world, and perhaps less often in his
profession than in others. To be humane, generous, and candid is a
very high degree of merit in any case; but those qualifications
deserve still greater praise when they are found in that condition
which makes almost every other man, for whatever reason,
contemptuous, insolent, petulant, selfish, and brutal.

As Mr. Wilks was one of those to whom calamity seldom complained
without relief, he naturally took an unfortunate wit into his
protection, and not only assisted him in any casual distresses, but