In absence of mind, he probably
exceeded every other living man. Lamb has set forth one instance (which I
know to be a fact) of Dyer's forgetfulness, in his "Oxford in the
Vacation;" and to this various others might be added, such as his emptying
his snuff-box into the teapot when he was preparing breakfast for a hungry
friend, &c. But it is scarcely worth while to chronicle minutely the
harmless foibles of this inoffensive old man. If I had to write his
epitaph, I should say that he was neither much respected nor at all hated;
too good to dislike, too inactive to excite great affection; and that he
was as simple as the daisy, which we think we admire, and daily tread
under foot.
In 1799 Charles Lamb visited Cambridge, and there, through the
introduction of Lloyd, made the important acquaintance of Mr. Thomas
Manning, then a mathematical tutor in the university. This soon grew into
a close intimacy. Charles readily perceived the intellectual value of
Manning, and seems to have eagerly sought his friendship, which, he says,
(December, 1799), will render the prospect of the approaching century very
pleasant. "That century must needs commence auspiciously for me" (he
adds), "that brings with it Manning's friendship as an earnest of its
after gifts.
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