Life Of Johnson, Volume 5 - Boswell
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After supper he said, 'I am sorry that prize-fighting is gone out[630];
every art should be preserved, and the art of defence is surely
important. It is absurd that our soldiers should have swords, and not be
taught the use of them. Prize-fighting made people accustomed not to be
alarmed at seeing their own blood, or feeling a little pain from a
wound. I think the heavy _glaymore_ was an ill-contrived weapon. A man
could only strike once with it. It employed both his hands, and he must
of course be soon fatigued with wielding it; so that if his antagonist
could only keep playing a while, he was sure of him. I would fight with
a dirk against Rorie More's sword. I could ward off a blow with a dirk,
and then run in upon my enemy. When within that heavy sword, I have him;
he is quite helpless, and I could stab him at my leisure, like a calf.
It is thought by sensible military men, that the English do not enough
avail themselves of their superior strength of body against the French;
for that must always have a great advantage in pushing with bayonets. I
have heard an officer say, that if women could be made to stand, they
would do as well as men in a mere interchange of bullets from a
distance: but, if a body of men should come close up to them, then to be
sure they must be overcome; now, (said he,) in the same manner the
weaker-bodied French must be overcome by our strong soldiers.'
The subject of duelling was introduced[631] JOHNSON. 'There is no case
in England where one or other of the combatants _must_ die: if you have
overcome your adversary by disarming him, that is sufficient, though you
should not kill him; your honour, or the honour of your family, is
restored, as much as it can be by a duel. It is cowardly to force your
antagonist to renew the combat, when you know that you have the
advantage of him by superior skill. You might just as well go and cut
his throat while he is asleep in his bed. When a duel begins, it is
supposed there may be an equality; because it is not always skill that
prevails. It depends much on presence of mind; nay on accidents. The
wind may be in a man's face. He may fall. Many such things may decide
the superiority. A man is sufficiently punished, by being called out,
and subjected to the risk that is in a duel.' But on my suggesting that
the injured person is equally subjected to risk, he fairly owned he
could not explain the rationality of duelling.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20.
When I awaked, the storm was higher still. It abated about nine, and the
sun shone; but it rained again very soon, and it was not a day for
travelling. At breakfast, Dr. Johnson told us, 'there was once a pretty
good tavern in Catherine-street in the Strand, where very good company
met in an evening, and each man called for his own half-pint of wine, or
gill, if he pleased; they were frugal men, and nobody paid but for what
he himself drank. The house furnished no supper; but a woman attended
with mutton-pies, which any body might purchase. I was introduced to
this company by Cumming the Quaker[632], and used to go there sometimes
when I drank wine. In the last age, when my mother lived in London,
there were two sets of people, those who gave the wall, and those who
took it; the peaceable and the quarrelsome. When I returned to
Lichfield, after having been in London, my mother asked me whether I was
one of those who gave the wall, or those who took it. Now, it is fixed
that every man keeps to the right; or, if one is taking the wall,
another yields it, and it is never a dispute[633].' He was very severe
on a lady, whose name was mentioned. He said, he would have sent her to
St. Kilda. That she was as bad as negative badness could be, and stood
in the way of what was good: that insipid beauty would not go a great
way; and that such a woman might be cut out of a cabbage, if there was a
skilful artificer.
M'Leod was too late in coming to breakfast. Dr. Johnson said, laziness
was worse than the tooth-ach. BOSWELL. 'I cannot agree with you, Sir; a
bason of cold water or a horse whip will cure laziness.' JOHNSON. 'No,
Sir, it will only put off the fit; it will not cure the disease. I have
been trying to cure my laziness all my life, and could not do it.'
BOSWELL. 'But if a man does in a shorter time what might be the labour
of a life, there is nothing to be said against him.' JOHNSON (perceiving
at once that I alluded to him and his _Dictionary_). 'Suppose that
flattery to be true, the consequence would be, that the world would have
no right to censure a man; but that will not justify him to
himself[634].'
After breakfast, he said to me, 'A Highland Chief should now endeavour
to do every thing to raise his rents, by means of the industry of his
people. Formerly, it was right for him to have his house full of idle
fellows; they were his defenders, his servants, his dependants, his
friends. Now they may be better employed. The system of things is now so
much altered, that the family cannot have influence but by riches,
because it has no longer the power of ancient feudal times. An
individual of a family may have it; but it cannot now belong to a
family, unless you could have a perpetuity of men with the same views.
M'Leod has four times the land that the Duke of Bedford has. I think,
with his spirit, he may in time make himself the greatest man in the
King's dominions; for land may always be improved to a certain degree. I
would never have any man sell land, to throw money into the funds, as is
often done, or to try any other species of trade. Depend upon it, this
rage of trade will destroy itself. You and I shall not see it; but the
time will come when there will be an end of it. Trade is like gaming. If
a whole company are gamesters, play must cease; for there is nothing to
be won. When all nations are traders, there is nothing to be gained by
trade[635], and it will stop first where it is brought to the greatest
perfection. Then the proprietors of land only will be the great men.' I
observed, it was hard that M'Leod should find ingratitude in so many of
his people. JOHNSON. 'Sir, gratitude is a fruit of great cultivation;
you do not find it among gross people.' I doubt of this. Nature seems to
have implanted gratitude in all living creatures[636]. The lion,
mentioned by Aulus Gellius, had it[637]. It appears to me that culture,
which brings luxury and selfishness with it, has a tendency rather to
weaken than promote this affection.
Dr. Johnson said this morning, when talking of our setting out, that he
was in the state in which Lord Bacon represents kings. He desired the
end, but did not like the means[638]. He wished much to get home, but
was unwilling to travel in Sky. 'You are like kings too in this, Sir,
(said I,) that you must act under the direction of others.'
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21.
The uncertainty of our present situation having prevented me from
receiving any letters from home for some time, I could not help being
uneasy. Dr. Johnson had an advantage over me, in this respect, he having
no wife or child to occasion anxious apprehensions in his mind[639]. It
was a good morning; so we resolved to set out. But, before quitting this
castle, where we have been so well entertained, let me give a short
description of it.
Along the edge of the rock, there are the remains of a wall, which is
now covered with ivy. A square court is formed by buildings of different
ages, particularly some towers, said to be of great antiquity; and at
one place there is a row of false cannon of stone[640]. There is a very
large unfinished pile, four stories high, which we were told was here
when _Leod_, the first of this family, came from the Isle of Man,
married the heiress of the M'Crails, the ancient possessors of Dunvegan,
and afterwards acquired by conquest as much land as he had got by
marriage. He surpassed the house of Austria; for he was _felix_ both
_bella gerere_ et _nubere_[641]. John _Breck_ M'Leod, the grandfather of
the late laird, began to repair the castle, or rather to complete it:
but he did not live to finish his undertaking[642]. Not doubting,
however, that he should do it, he, like those who have had their
epitaphs written before they died, ordered the following inscription,
composed by the minister of the parish, to be cut upon a broad stone
above one of the lower windows, where it still remains to celebrate what
was not done, and to serve as a memento of the uncertainty of life, and
the presumption of man:--
'Joannes Macleod Beganoduni Dominus gentis suae Philarchus[643],
Durinesiae Haraiae Vaternesiae, &c.: Baro D. Florae Macdonald
matrimoniali vinculo conjugatus turrem hanc Beganodunensem proavorum
habitaculum longe vetustissimum diu penitus labefectatam Anno aerae
vulgaris MDCLXXXVI. instauravit.
'Quem stabilire juvat proavorum tecta vetusta,
Omne scelus fugiat, justitiamque colat.
Vertit in aerias turres magalia virtus,
Inque casas humiles tecta superba nefas.'
M'Leod and Talisker accompanied us. We passed by the parish church of
_Durinish_. The church-yard is not inclosed, but a pretty murmuring
brook runs along one side of it. In it is a pyramid erected to the
memory of Thomas Lord Lovat, by his son Lord Simon, who suffered on
Tower-hill[644]. It is of free-stone, and, I suppose, about thirty feet
high. There is an inscription on a piece of white marble inserted in it,
which I suspect to have been the composition of Lord Lovat himself,
being much in his pompous style:--
'This pyramid was erected by SIMON LORD FRASER of LOVAT, in honour of
Lord THOMAS his Father, a Peer of Scotland, and Chief of the great and
ancient Clan of the FRASERS. Being attacked for his birthright by the
family of ATHOLL, then in power and favour with KING WILLIAM, yet, by
the valour and fidelity of his clan, and the assistance of the
CAMPBELLS, the old friends and allies of his family, he defended his
birthright with such greatness and fermety of soul, and such valour and
activity, that he was an honour to his name, and a good pattern to all
brave Chiefs of clans. He died in the month of May, 1699, in the 63rd
year of his age, in Dunvegan, the house of the LAIRD of MAC LEOD, whose
sister he had married: by whom he had the above SIMON LORD FRASER, and
several other children. And, for the great love he bore to the family of
MAC LEOD, he desired to be buried near his wife's relations, in the
place where two of her uncles lay. And his son LORD SIMON, to shew to
posterity his great affection for his mother's kindred, the brave MAC
LEODS, chooses rather to leave his father's bones with them, than carry
them to his own burial-place, near Lovat.'
I have preserved this inscription[645], though of no great value,
thinking it characteristical of a man who has made some noise in the
world. Dr. Johnson said, it was poor stuff, such as Lord Lovat's butler
might have written.
I observed, in this church-yard, a parcel of people assembled at a
funeral, before the grave was dug. The coffin, with the corpse in it,
was placed on the ground, while the people alternately assisted in
making a grave. One man, at a little distance, was busy cutting a long
turf for it, with the crooked spade which is used in Sky; a very aukward
instrument. The iron part of it is like a plough-coulter. It has a rude
tree for a handle, in which a wooden pin is placed for the foot to press
upon. A traveller might, without further enquiry, have set this down as
the mode of burying in Sky. I was told, however, that the usual way is
to have a grave previously dug.
I observed to-day, that the common way of carrying home their grain here
is in loads on horseback. They have also a few sleds, or _cars_, as we
call them in Ayrshire, clumsily made, and rarely used[646].
We got to Ulinish about six o'clock, and found a very good farm-house,
of two stories. Mr. M'Leod of Ulinish, the sheriff-substitute of the
island, was a plain honest gentleman, a good deal like an English
Justice of peace; not much given to talk, but sufficiently sagacious,
and somewhat droll. His daughter, though she was never out of Sky, was a
very well-bred woman. Our reverend friend, Mr. Donald M'Queen, kept his
appointment, and met us here.
Talking of Phipps's voyage to the North Pole, Dr. Johnson observed, that
it 'was conjectured that our former navigators have kept too near land,
and so have found the sea frozen far north, because the land hinders the
free motion of the tide; but, in the wide ocean, where the waves tumble
at their full convenience, it is imagined that the frost does not take
effect.'[647]
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22.
In the morning I walked out, and saw a ship, the Margaret of Clyde, pass
by with a number of emigrants on board. It was a melancholy sight. After
breakfast, we went to see what was called a subterraneous house, about a
mile off. It was upon the side of a rising ground. It was discovered by
a fox's having taken up his abode in it, and in chasing him, they dug
into it. It was very narrow and low, and seemed about forty feet in
length. Near it, we found the foundations of several small huts, built
of stone. Mr. M'Queen, who is always for making every thing as ancient
as possible, boasted that it was the dwelling of some of the first
inhabitants of the island, and observed, what a curiosity it was to find
here a specimen of the houses of the _Aborigines_, which he believed
could be found no where else; and it was plain that they lived without
fire. Dr. Johnson remarked, that they who made this were not in the
rudest state; for that it was more difficult to make _it_ than to build
a house; therefore certainly those who made it were in possession of
houses, and had this only as a hiding-place. It appeared to me, that the
vestiges of houses, just by it, confirmed Dr. Johnson's opinion.
From an old tower, near this place, is an extensive view of
Loch-Braccadil, and, at a distance, of the isles of Barra and South
Uist; and on the land-side, the _Cuillin_, a prodigious range of
mountains, capped with rocky pinnacles in a strange variety of shapes.
They resemble the mountains near Corte in Corsica, of which there is a
very good print. They make part of a great range for deer, which, though
entirely devoid of trees, is in these countries called a _forest_.
In the afternoon, Ulinish carried us in his boat to an island possessed
by him, where we saw an immense cave, much more deserving the title of
_antrum immane_[648] than that of the Sybil described by Virgil, which I
likewise have visited. It is one hundred and eighty feet long, about
thirty feet broad, and at least thirty feet high. This cave, we were
told, had a remarkable echo; but we found none[649]. They said it was
owing to the great rains having made it damp. Such are the excuses by
which the exaggeration of Highland narratives is palliated. There is a
plentiful garden at Ulinish, (a great rarity in Sky,) and several trees;
and near the house is a hill, which has an Erse name, signifying, _'the
hill of strife'_, where, Mr. M'Queen informed us, justice was of old
administered. It is like the _mons placiti_ of Scone, or those hills
which are called _laws_[650], such as Kelly _law_, North Berwick _law_,
and several others. It is singular that this spot should happen now to
be the sheriff's residence.
We had a very cheerful evening, and Dr. Johnson talked a good deal on
the subject of literature. Speaking of the noble family of Boyle, he
said, that all the Lord Orrerys, till the present, had been writers.
The first wrote several plays[651]; the second[652] was Bentley's
antagonist; the third[653] wrote the _Life of Swift_, and several other
things; his son Hamilton wrote some papers in the _Adventurer_ and
_World_. He told us, he was well acquainted with Swift's Lord Orrery. He
said, he was a feebleminded man; that, on the publication of Dr.
Delany's _Remarks_ on his book, he was so much alarmed that he was
afraid to read them. Dr. Johnson comforted him, by telling him they were
both in the right; that Delany had seen most of the good side of
Swift,--Lord Orrery most of the bad. M'Leod asked, if it was not wrong
in Orrery to expose the defects of a man with whom he lived in intimacy.
JOHNSON. 'Why no, Sir, after the man is dead; for then it is done
historically[654].' He added, 'If Lord Orrery had been rich, he would
have been a very liberal patron. His conversation was like his writings,
neat and elegant, but without strength. He grasped at more than his
abilities could reach; tried to pass for a better talker, a better
writer, and a better thinker than he was[655]. There was a quarrel
between him and his father, in which his father was to blame; because it
arose from the son's not allowing his wife to keep company with his
father's mistress. The old lord shewed his resentment in his
will[656],--leaving his library from his son, and assigning, as his
reason, that he could not make use of it.'
I mentioned the affectation of Orrery, in ending all his letters on the
_Life of Swift_ in studied varieties of phrase[657], and never in the
common mode of _'I am'_, &c., an observation which I remember to have
been made several years ago by old Mr. Sheridan. This species of
affectation in writing, as a foreign lady of distinguished talents once
remarked to me, is almost peculiar to the English. I took up a volume of
Dryden, containing the CONQUEST of GRANADA, and several other plays, of
which all the dedications had such studied conclusions. Dr. Johnson
said, such conclusions were more elegant, and in addressing persons of
high rank, (as when Dryden dedicated to the Duke of York[658],) they
were likewise more respectful. I agreed that _there_ it was much better:
it was making his escape from the Royal presence with a genteel sudden
timidity, in place of having the resolution to stand still, and make a
formal bow.
Lord Orrery's unkind treatment of his son in his will, led us to talk of
the dispositions a man should have when dying. I said, I did not see why
a man should act differently with respect to those of whom he thought
ill when in health, merely because he was dying. JOHNSON. 'I should not
scruple to speak against a party, when dying; but should not do it
against an individual. It is told of Sixtus Quintus, that on his
death-bed, in the intervals of his last pangs, he signed
death-warrants[659].' Mr. M'Queen said, he should not do so; he would
have more tenderness of heart. JOHNSON. 'I believe I should not either;
but Mr. M'Queen and I are cowards[660]. It would not be from tenderness
of heart; for the heart is as tender when a man is in health as when he
is sick, though his resolution may be stronger[661]. Sixtus Quintus was
a sovereign as well as a priest; and, if the criminals deserved death,
he was doing his duty to the last. You would not think a judge died ill,
who should be carried off by an apoplectick fit while pronouncing
sentence of death. Consider a class of men whose business it is to
distribute death:--soldiers, who die scattering bullets. Nobody thinks
they die ill on that account.'
Talking of Biography, he said, he did not think that the life of any
literary man in England had been well written[662]. Beside the common
incidents of life, it should tell us his studies, his mode of living,
the means by which he attained to excellence, and his opinion of his own
works. He told us, he had sent Derrick to Dryden's relations, to gather
materials for his Life[663]; and he believed Derrick[664] had got all
that he himself should have got; but it was nothing. He added, he had a
kindness for Derrick, and was sorry he was dead.
His notion as to the poems published by Mr. M'Pherson, as the works of
Ossian, was not shaken here. Mr. M'Queen always evaded the point of
authenticity, saying only that Mr. M'Pherson's pieces fell far short of
those he knew in Erse, which were said to be Ossian's. JOHNSON. 'I hope
they do. I am not disputing that you may have poetry of great merit; but
that M'Pherson's is not a translation from ancient poetry. You do not
believe it. I say before you, you do not believe it, though you are very
willing that the world should believe it.' Mr. M'Queen made no answer
to this[665]. Dr. Johnson proceeded. 'I look upon M'Pherson's _Fingal_
to be as gross an imposition as ever the world was troubled with. Had it
been really an ancient work, a true specimen how men thought at that
time, it would have been a curiosity of the first rate. As a modern
production, it is nothing.' He said, he could never get the meaning of
an _Erse_ song explained to him[666]. They told him, the chorus was
generally unmeaning. 'I take it, (said he,) Erse songs are like a song
which I remember: it was composed in Queen Elizabeth's time, on the Earl
of Essex: and the burthen was
"Radaratoo, radarate, radara tadara tandore."'
'But surely,' said Mr. M'Queen, 'there were words to it, which had
meaning.' JOHNSON. 'Why, yes, Sir; I recollect a stanza, and you shall
have it:--
"O! then bespoke the prentices all,
Living in London, both proper and tall,
For Essex's sake they would fight all.
Radaratoo, radarate, radara, tadara, tandore[667]."'
When Mr. M'Queen began again to expatiate on the beauty of Ossian's
poetry, Dr. Johnson entered into no farther controversy, but, with a
pleasant smile, only cried, 'Ay, ay; _Radaratoo radarate'_.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23.
I took _Fingal_ down to the parlour in the morning, and tried a test
proposed by Mr. Roderick M'Leod, son to Ulinish. Mr. M'Queen had said he
had some of the poem in the original. I desired him to mention any
passage in the printed book, of which he could repeat the original. He
pointed out one in page 50 of the quarto edition, and read the Erse,
while Mr. Roderick M'Leod and I looked on the English;--and Mr. M'Leod
said, that it was pretty like what Mr. M'Queen had recited. But when Mr.
M'Queen read a description of Cuchullin's sword in Erse, together with a
translation of it in English verse, by Sir James Foulis, Mr. M'Leod
said, that was much more like than Mr. M'Pherson's translation of the
former passage. Mr. M'Queen then repeated in Erse a description of one
of the horses in Cuchillin's car. Mr. M'Leod said, Mr. M'Pherson's
English was nothing like it.
When Dr. Johnson came down, I told him that I had now obtained some
evidence concerning _Fingal_; for that Mr. M'Queen had repeated a
passage in the original Erse, which Mr. M'Pherson's translation was
pretty like; and reminded him that he himself had once said, he did not
require Mr. M'Pherson's _Ossian_ to be more like the original than
Pope's _Homer_. JOHNSON. 'Well, Sir, this is just what I always
maintained. He has found names, and stories, and phrases, nay, passages
in old songs, and with them has blended his own compositions, and so
made what he gives to the world as the translation of an ancient poem.'
If this was the case, I observed, it was wrong to publish it as a poem
in six books. JOHNSON. 'Yes, Sir; and to ascribe it to a time too when
the Highlanders knew nothing of _books_, and nothing of _six_;--or
perhaps were got the length of counting six. We have been told, by
Condamine, of a nation that could count no more than four[668]. This
should be told to Monboddo; it would help him. There is as much charity
in helping a man down-hill, as in helping him up-hill.' BOSWELL. 'I
don't think there is as much charity.' JOHNSON. 'Yes, Sir, if his
_tendency_ be downwards. Till he is at the bottom he flounders; get him
once there, and he is quiet. Swift tells, that Stella had a trick, which
she learned from Addison, of encouraging a man in absurdity, instead of
endeavouring to extricate him[669].'
Mr. M'Queen's answers to the inquiries concerning _Ossian_ were so
unsatisfactory, that I could not help observing, that, were he examined
in a court of justice, he would find himself under a necessity of being
more explicit. JOHNSON. 'Sir, he has told Blair a little too much, which
is published[670]; and he sticks to it. He is so much at the head of
things here, that he has never been accustomed to be closely examined;
and so he goes on quite smoothly.' BOSWELL. 'He has never had any body
to work[671] him.' JOHNSON. 'No, Sir; and a man is seldom disposed to
work himself; though he ought to work himself, to be sure.' Mr. M'Queen
made no reply[672].
Having talked of the strictness with which witnesses are examined in
courts of justice, Dr. Johnson told us, that Garrick, though accustomed
to face multitudes, when produced as a witness in Westminster-hall, was
so disconcerted by a new mode of public appearance, that he could not
understand what was asked[673]. It was a cause where an actor claimed a
_free benefit_; that is to say, a benefit without paying the expence of
the house; but the meaning of the term was disputed. Garrick was asked,
'Sir, have you a free benefit?' 'Yes.' 'Upon what terms have you it?'
'Upon-the terms-of-a free benefit.' He was dismissed as one from whom no
information could be obtained. Dr. Johnson is often too hard on our
friend Mr. Garrick. When I asked him why he did not mention him in the
Preface to his _Shakspeare_[674] he said, 'Garrick has been liberally
paid for any thing he has done for Shakspeare. If I should praise him, I
should much more praise the nation who paid him. He has not made
Shakspeare better known[675]; he cannot illustrate Shakspeare; so I have
reasons enough against mentioning him, were reasons necessary. There
should be reasons _for_ it.' I spoke of Mrs. Montague's very high
praises of Garrick[676]. JOHNSON. 'Sir, it is fit she should say so
much, and I should say nothing. Reynolds is fond of her book, and I
wonder at it; for neither I, nor Beauclerk, nor Mrs. Thrale, could get
through it[677].' Last night Dr. Johnson gave us an account of the
whole process of tanning and of the nature of milk, and the various
operations upon it, as making whey, &c. His variety of information is
surprizing[678]; and it gives one much satisfaction to find such a man
bestowing his attention on the useful arts of life. Ulinish was much
struck with his knowledge; and said, 'He is a great orator, Sir; it is
musick to hear this man speak.' A strange thought struck me, to try if
he knew any thing of an art, or whatever it should be called, which is
no doubt very useful in life, but which lies far out of the way of a
philosopher and a poet; I mean the trade of a butcher. I enticed him
into the subject, by connecting it with the various researches into the
manners and customs of uncivilized nations, that have been made by our
late navigators into the South Seas. I began with observing, that Mr.
(now Sir Joseph) Banks tells us, that the art of slaughtering animals
was not known in Otaheite, for, instead of bleeding to death their
dogs, (a common food with them,) they strangle them. This he told me
himself; and I supposed that their hogs were killed in the same way. Dr.
Johnson said, 'This must be owing to their not having knives,--though
they have sharp stones with which they can cut a carcase in pieces
tolerably.' By degrees, he shewed that he knew something even of
butchery. 'Different animals (said he) are killed differently. An ox is
knocked down, and a calf stunned; but a sheep has its throat cut,
without any thing being done to stupify it. The butchers have no view to
the ease of the animals, but only to make them quiet, for their own
safety and convenience. A sheep can give them little trouble. Hales[679]
is of opinion, that every animal should be blooded, without having any
blow given to it, because it bleeds better.' BOSWELL. 'That would be
cruel.' JOHNSON. 'No, Sir; there is not much pain, if the jugular vein
be properly cut.' Pursuing the subject, he said, the kennels of
Southwark ran with blood two or three days in the week; that he was
afraid there were slaughter-houses in more streets in London than one
supposes; (speaking with a kind of horrour of butchering;) and, yet he
added, 'any of us would kill a cow rather than not have beef.' I said we
_could_ not. 'Yes, (said he,) any one may. The business of a butcher is
a trade indeed, that is to say, there is an apprenticeship served to it;
but it may be learnt in a month[680].'