VANITY OF RICHES
DR.SAMUEL JOHNSON，who lived from 1709to 1784，stands at the head of the English authors of his day.He was the principal writer in many of the magazines and periodicals of the time，and the author of the celebrated English Dictionary which bears his name.
1.As Ortogrul，of Basra，was one day wandering along the streets of Bagdat，musing on the varieties of merchandise whish the shops opened to his view，and observing the different occupations which busied the multitude on every side，he was awakened from the tranquillity of meditation by a crowd that obstructed his passage.He raised his eyes.and saw the chief vizier，who，having returned from the divan，was entering his palace.
2.Ortogrul mingled with the attendants；and，being supposed to have some petition for the vizier，was permitted to enter.He surveyed the spaciousness of the apartments，admired the walls hung with golden tapestry，and the floors covered with silken carpets；and despised the simple neatness of his own little habitation.
3.“Surely，”said he to himself，“this palace is the seat of happiness；where pleasure succeeds to pleasure，and discontent and sorrow can have no admission.Whatever nature has provided for the delight ofsense is here spread forth to be enjoyed.What can mortals hope or imagine which the master of this palace has not obtained？
4.”The dishes of luxury cover his table；the voice of harmony lulls him in his bowers；he breathes the fragrance of the groves of Java，and sleeps upon the down of the cygnets of the Ganges.He speaks，and his mandate is obeyed；he wishes，and his wish is gratified；all whom he sees obey him，and all whom he hears flatter him.
5.“How different，O Ortogrul！is thy condition，who art doomed to the perpetual torments of unsatisfied desire；and who hast no amusement in thy power that can withhold thee from thy own reflections！They tell thee that thou art wise；but what does wisdom avail with poverty？None will flatter the poor；and the wise have very little power of flattering themselves.
6.”That man is surely the most wretched of the sons of wretchedness，who lives with his own faults and follies always before him，and who has none to reconcile him to himself by praise and veneration.I have long sought content，and have not found it；I will from this moment endeavor to be rich.“7.Full of this new resolution，he shut himself in his chamber for six months，to deliberate how he should grow rich.He sometimes purposed to offer himself as acounselor to one of the kings in India，and sometimes resolved to dig for diamonds in the mines of Golconda.One day，after some hours passed in violent fluctuation of opinion，sleep insensibly seized him in his chair.He dreamed that he was ranging a desert country，in search of some one that mightteach him how to grow rich；and as Johnson‘s Birth Placehe stood on the top of a hill，shaded with cypress，in doubt whither to direct his steps，his father appeared on a sudden standing before him.