Much has been said of his irregularities.—That odious theme is left to others. With all his errors and eccentricities, he who wrote this, loved him much, bowed with reverence to his talents, and admiration to his learning, and acknowledged with gratitude the delight and benefit he received from his society and conversation. Yet Porson by no means excelled in conversation; he neither wrote nor spoke with facility. His elocution was perplexed and embarrassed, except where he was exceedingly intimate; but there was strong indication of intellect in his countenance, and whatever he said was manifestly founded on judgment, sense, and knowledge. Composition was no less difficult to him. Upon one occasion, he undertook to write a dozen lines upon a subject which he had much turned in his mind, and with which he was exceedingly familiar. But the number of erasures and interlineations was so great as to render it hardly legible; yet, when completed, it was, and is, a memorial of his sagacity, acuteness, and erudition.
Cujus uti memoro rei simulacrum et imago
Ante oculos semper nobis versatur et instat.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
It remains to record a few anecdotes of him, some of which, at least, do him the highest honour. During the whole period of his residence in Norfolk with his sister, which altogether amounted to eleven weeks, he never drank more than two glasses of wine after dinner, and never touched a single drop of spirits.—He was most frequently satisfied with one glass of wine. He talked familiarly with the family, joined them in their walks, and principally amused himself with a Greek manuscript belonging to Dr. Clark, which that traveller had brought home with him from Greece or Syria.
He was, from his childhood, a very bad sleeper; and it is to be feared, for it is no unusual case, that he may have been led to occasional indulgences with regard to wine, with the view of procuring sleep. But he was also of a very social disposition, and the universal desire of his company, might eventually cause this to be imposed upon. One thing, it is believed, may positively be insisted upon, that he was never guilty of any intemperance in solitude; and his behaviour when under his sister’s roof, shows that he could easily accommodate himself to the disposition and manners of the people among whom he was thrown.
The anecdote next about to be related, will perhaps excite surprize in many, but its authenticity cannot be disputed.
Porson, when in Norfolk with his sister, went regularly to church, nor was he ever prevented from so doing, except when under the influence of one of the violent paroxysms of asthma, to which he was subject.—These were occasionally so formidable, that apprehensions were often entertained, that he would expire in the presence of his friends. On his first visit to Norfolk, in 1804, he accompanied his brother-in-law to the adjoining village church of Horstead. Porson found that preparations were made to administer the sacrament.—When the usual service of prayers and sermon was ended, and they were about to leave the church, Porson stopped suddenly, and asked Mr. Hawes, if in his opinion there would be any impropriety in his receiving the sacrament. Mr. Hawes instantly replied, “certainly not.” Upon this, they both turned back, and received the communion together.
This was an extraordinary fact; and on the part of Porson suggests a singular question. Perhaps he might feel some hesitation from the circumstance of his being a total stranger to the clergyman who officiated; or perhaps it might have reference to the consciousness of his avowed non-conformity to the articles. The matter must remain undecided.