Life Of Johnson, Volume 5 - Boswell
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Here a post-chaise, which I had ordered from Glasgow, came for us, and
we drove on in high spirits. We stopped at Dunbarton, and though the
approach to the castle there is very steep, Dr. Johnson ascended it with
alacrity, and surveyed all that was to be seen. During the whole of our
Tour he shewed uncommon spirit, could not bear to be treated like an old
or infirm man, and was very unwilling to accept of any assistance,
insomuch that, at our landing at Icolmkill, when Sir Allan M'Lean and I
submitted to be carried on men's shoulders from the boat to the shore,
as it could not be brought quite close to land, he sprang into the sea,
and waded vigorously out. On our arrival at the Saracen's Head Inn, at
Glasgow, I was made happy by good accounts from home; and Dr. Johnson,
who had not received a single letter since we left Aberdeen[990], found
here a great many, the perusal of which entertained him much. He enjoyed
in imagination the comforts which we could now command, and seemed to be
in high glee. I remember, he put a leg up on each side of the grate, and
said, with a mock solemnity, by way of soliloquy, but loud enough for me
to hear it, 'Here am I, an ENGLISH man, sitting by a _coal_ fire.'
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29.
The professors[991] of the University being informed of our arrival, Dr.
Stevenson, Dr. Reid[992], and Mr. Anderson breakfasted with us. Mr.
Anderson accompanied us while Dr. Johnson viewed this beautiful city. He
had told me, that one day in London, when Dr. Adam Smith was boasting of
it, he turned to him and said, 'Pray, Sir, have you ever seen
Brentford[993]?' This was surely a strong instance of his impatience,
and spirit of contradiction. I put him in mind of it to-day, while he
expressed his admiration of the elegant buildings, and whispered him,
'Don't you feel some remorse[994]?'
We were received in the college by a number of the professors, who
shewed all due respect to Dr. Johnson; and then we paid a visit to the
principal, Dr. Leechman[995], at his own house, where Dr. Johnson had
the satisfaction of being told that his name had been gratefully
celebrated in one of the parochial congregations in the Highlands, as
the person to whose influence it was chiefly owing that the New
Testament was allowed to be translated into the Erse language. It seems
some political members of the Society in Scotland for propagating
Christian Knowledge had opposed this pious undertaking, as tending to
preserve the distinction between the Highlanders and Lowlanders. Dr.
Johnson wrote a long letter upon the subject to a friend, which being
shewn to them, made them ashamed, and afraid of being publickly exposed;
so they were forced to a compliance. It is now in my possession, and is,
perhaps, one of the best productions of his masterly pen[996].
Professors Reid and Anderson, and the two Messieurs Foulis, the Elzevirs
of Glasgow, dined and drank tea with us at our inn, after which the
professors went away; and I, having a letter to write, left my
fellow-traveller with Messieurs Foulis. Though good and ingenious men,
they had that unsettled speculative mode of conversation which is
offensive to a man regularly taught at an English school and university.
I found that, instead of listening to the dictates of the Sage, they
had teazed him with questions and doubtful disputations. He came in a
flutter to me, and desired I might come back again, for he could not
bear these men. 'O ho! Sir, (said I,) you are flying to me for refuge!'
He never, in any situation, was at a loss for a ready repartee. He
answered, with a quick vivacity, 'It is of two evils choosing the
least.' I was delighted with this flash bursting from the cloud which
hung upon his mind, closed my letter directly, and joined the company.
We supped at Professor Anderson's. The general impression upon my memory
is, that we had not much conversation at Glasgow, where the professors,
like their brethren at Aberdeen[997], did not venture to expose
themselves much to the battery of cannon which they knew might play upon
them[998]. Dr. Johnson, who was fully conscious of his own superior
powers, afterwards praised Principal Robertson for his caution in this
respect[999]. He said to me, 'Robertson, Sir, was in the right.
Robertson is a man of eminence, and the head of a college at Edinburgh.
He had a character to maintain, and did well not to risk its being
lessened.'
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30.
We set out towards Ayrshire. I sent Joseph on to Loudoun, with a
message, that, if the Earl was at home, Dr. Johnson and I would have the
honour to dine with him. Joseph met us on the road, and reported that
the Earl '_jumped for joy,_' and said, 'I shall be very happy to see
them.' We were received with a most pleasing courtesy by his Lordship,
and by the Countess his mother, who, in her ninety-fifth year, had all
her faculties quite unimpaired[1000]. This was a very cheering sight to
Dr. Johnson, who had an extraordinary desire for long life. Her
ladyship was sensible and well-informed, and had seen a great deal of
the world. Her lord had held several high offices, and she was sister to
the great Earl of Stair[1001].
I cannot here refrain from paying a just tribute to the character of
John Earl of Loudoun, who did more service to the county of Ayr in
general, as well as to the individuals in it, than any man we have ever
had. It is painful to think that he met with much ingratitude from
persons both in high and low rank: but such was his temper, such his
knowledge of 'base mankind[1002],' that, as if he had expected no other
return, his mind was never soured, and he retained his good-humour and
benevolence to the last. The tenderness of his heart was proved in
1745-6, when he had an important command in the Highlands, and behaved
with a generous humanity to the unfortunate. I cannot figure a more
honest politician; for, though his interest in our county was great, and
generally successful, he not only did not deceive by fallacious
promises, but was anxious that people should not deceive themselves by
too sanguine expectations. His kind and dutiful attention to his mother
was unremitted. At his house was true hospitality; a plain but a
plentiful table; and every guest, being left at perfect freedom, felt
himself quite easy and happy. While I live, I shall honour the memory of
this amiable man[1003].
At night, we advanced a few miles farther, to the house of Mr. Campbell
of Treesbank, who was married to one of my wife's sisters, and were
entertained very agreeably by a worthy couple.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31.
We reposed here in tranquillity. Dr. Johnson was pleased to find a
numerous and excellent collection of books, which had mostly belonged to
the Reverend Mr. John Campbell, brother of our host. I was desirous to
have procured for my fellow-traveller, to-day, the company of Sir John
Cuninghame, of Caprington, whose castle was but two miles from us. He
was a very distinguished scholar, was long abroad, and during part of
the time lived much with the learned Cuninghame[1004], the opponent of
Bentley as a critick upon Horace. He wrote Latin with great elegance,
and, what is very remarkable, read Homer and Ariosto through every year.
I wrote to him to request he would come to us; but unfortunately he was
prevented by indisposition.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1.
Though Dr. Johnson was lazy, and averse to move, I insisted that he
should go with me, and pay a visit to the Countess of Eglintoune, mother
of the late and present earl. I assured him, he would find himself amply
recompensed for the trouble; and he yielded to my solicitations, though
with some unwillingness. We were well mounted, and had not many miles to
ride. He talked of the attention that is necessary in order to
distribute our charity judiciously. 'If thoughtlessly done, we may
neglect the most deserving objects; and, as every man has but a certain
proportion to give, if it is lavished upon those who first present
themselves, there may be nothing left for such as have a better claim. A
man should first relieve those who are nearly connected with him, by
whatever tie; and then, if he has any thing to spare, may extend his
bounty to a wider circle.[1005]'
As we passed very near the castle of Dundonald, which was one of the
many residences of the kings of Scotland, and in which Robert the Second
lived and died, Dr. Johnson wished to survey it particularly. It stands
on a beautiful rising ground, which is seen at a great distance on
several quarters, and from whence there is an extensive prospect of the
rich district of Cuninghame, the western sea, the isle of Arran, and a
part of the northern coast of Ireland. It has long been unroofed; and,
though of considerable size, we could not, by any power of imagination,
figure it as having been a suitable habitation for majesty[1006]. Dr.
Johnson, to irritate my _old Scottish_[1007] enthusiasm, was very
jocular on the homely accommodation of 'King _Bob_,' and roared and
laughed till the ruins echoed.
Lady Eglintoune, though she was now in her eighty-fifth year, and had
lived in the retirement of the country for almost half a century, was
still a very agreeable woman. She was of the noble house of Kennedy, and
had all the elevation which the consciousness of such birth inspires.
Her figure was majestick, her manners high-bred, her reading extensive,
and her conversation elegant. She had been the admiration of the gay
circles of life, and the patroness of poets[1008]. Dr. Johnson was
delighted with his reception here. Her principles in church and state
were congenial with his. She knew all his merit, and had heard much of
him from her son, Earl Alexander[1009], who loved to cultivate the
acquaintance of men of talents, in every department.
All who knew his lordship, will allow that his understanding and
accomplishments were of no ordinary rate. From the gay habits which he
had early acquired, he spent too much of his time with men, and in
pursuits far beneath such a mind as his. He afterwards became sensible
of it, and turned his thoughts to objects of importance; but was cut off
in the prime of his life. I cannot speak, but with emotions of the most
affectionate regret, of one, in whose company many of my early days were
passed, and to whose kindness I was much indebted.
Often must I have occasion to upbraid myself, that soon after our return
to the main land, I allowed indolence to prevail over me so much, as to
shrink from the labour of continuing my journal with the same minuteness
as before; sheltering myself in the thought, that we had done with the
Hebrides; and not considering, that Dr. Johnson's Memorabilia were
likely to be more valuable when we were restored to a more polished
society. Much has thus been irrecoverably lost.
In the course of our conversation this day, it came out, that Lady
Eglintoune was married the year before Dr. Johnson was born; upon which
she graciously said to him, that she might have been his mother; and
that she now adopted him; and when we were going away, she embraced him,
saying, 'My dear son, farewell[1010]!' My friend was much pleased with
this day's entertainment, and owned that I had done well to force
him out.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2.
We were now in a country not only '_of saddles and bridles_[1011],' but
of post-chaises; and having ordered one from Kilmarnock, we got to
Auchinleck[1012] before dinner.
My father was not quite a year and a half older than Dr. Johnson; but
his conscientious discharge of his laborious duty as a judge in
Scotland, where the law proceedings are almost all in writing,--a severe
complaint which ended in his death,--and the loss of my mother, a woman
of almost unexampled piety and goodness,--had before this time in some
degree affected his spirits[1013], and rendered him less disposed to
exert his faculties: for he had originally a very strong mind, and
cheerful temper. He assured me, he never had felt one moment of what is
called low spirits, or uneasiness, without a real cause. He had a great
many good stories, which he told uncommonly well, and he was remarkable
for 'humour, _incolumi gravitate_[1014],' as Lord Monboddo used to
characterise it. His age, his office, and his character, had long given
him an acknowledged claim to great attention, in whatever company he
was; and he could ill brook any diminution of it. He was as sanguine a
Whig and Presbyterian, as Dr. Johnson was a Tory and Church of England
man: and as he had not much leisure to be informed of Dr. Johnson's
great merits by reading his works, he had a partial and unfavourable
notion of him, founded on his supposed political tenets; which were so
discordant to his own, that instead of speaking of him with that respect
to which he was entitled, he used to call him 'a _Jacobite fellow_.'
Knowing all this, I should not have ventured to bring them together, had
not my father, out of kindness to me, desired me to invite Dr. Johnson
to his house.
I was very anxious that all should be well; and begged of my friend to
avoid three topicks, as to which they differed very widely; Whiggism,
Presbyterianism, and--Sir John Pringle.[1015] He said courteously, 'I
shall certainly not talk on subjects which I am told are disagreeable to
a gentleman under whose roof I am; especially, I shall not do so to
_your father_.'
Our first day went off very smoothly. It rained, and we could not get
out; but my father shewed Dr. Johnson his library, which in curious
editions of the Greek and Roman classicks, is, I suppose, not excelled
by any private collection in Great Britain. My father had studied at
Leyden, and been very intimate with the Gronovii, and other learned men
there. He was a sound scholar, and, in particular, had collated
manuscripts and different editions of _Anacreon_, and others of the
Greek Lyrick poets, with great care; so that my friend and he had much
matter for conversation, without touching on the fatal topicks of
difference.
Dr. Johnson found here Baxter's _Anacreon_[1016], which he told me he
had long enquired for in vain, and began to suspect there was no such
book. Baxter was the keen antagonist of Barnes[1017]. His life is in
the _Biographia Britannica_[1018]. My father has written many notes on
this book, and Dr. Johnson and I talked of having it reprinted.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3.
It rained all day, and gave Dr. Johnson an impression of that
incommodiousness of climate in the west, of which he has taken notice in
his _Journey_[1019]; but, being well accommodated, and furnished with
variety of books, he was not dissatisfied.
Some gentlemen of the neighbourhood came to visit my father; but there
was little conversation. One of them asked Dr. Johnson how he liked the
Highlands. The question seemed to irritate him, for he answered, 'How,
Sir, can you ask me what obliges me to speak unfavourably of a country
where I have been hospitably entertained? Who _can_ like the
Highlands[1020]? I like the inhabitants very well[1021].' The gentleman
asked no more questions.
Let me now make up for the present neglect, by again gleaning from the
past. At Lord Monboddo's, after the conversation upon the decrease of
learning in England, his Lordship mentioned _Hermes_, by Mr. Harris of
Salisbury[1022], as the work of a living authour, for whom he had a
great respect. Dr. Johnson said nothing at the time; but when we were in
our post-chaise, he told me, he thought Harris 'a coxcomb.' This he
said of him, not as a man, but as an authour[1023]; and I give his
opinions of men and books, faithfully, whether they agree with my own or
not. I do admit, that there always appeared to me something of
affectation in Mr. Harris's manner of writing; something of a habit of
clothing plain thoughts in analytick and categorical formality. But all
his writings are imbued with learning; and all breathe that philanthropy
and amiable disposition, which distinguished him as a man[1024].
At another time, during our Tour, he drew the character of a rapacious
Highland Chief[1025] with the strength of Theophrastus or la Bruyere;
concluding with these words:--'Sir, he has no more the soul of a Chief,
than an attorney who has twenty houses in a street, and considers how
much he can make by them.'
He this day, when we were by ourselves, observed, how common it was for
people to talk from books; to retail the sentiment's of others, and not
their own; in short, to converse without any originality of thinking. He
was pleased to say, 'You and I do not talk from books[1026].'
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4.
I was glad to have at length a very fine day, on which I could shew Dr.
Johnson the _Place_ of my family, which he has honoured with so much
attention in his _Journey_. He is, however, mistaken in thinking that
the Celtick name, _Auchinleck_, has no relation to the natural
appearance of it. I believe every Celtick name of a place will be found
very descriptive. _Auchinleck_ does not signify a _stony field_, as he
has said, but a _field of flag stones_; and this place has a number of
rocks, which abound in strata of that kind. The 'sullen dignity of the
old castle,' as he has forcibly expressed it, delighted him
exceedingly.[1027] On one side of the rock on which its ruins stand,
runs the river Lugar, which is here of considerable breadth, and is
bordered by other high rocks, shaded with wood. On the other side runs a
brook, skirted in the same manner, but on a smaller scale. I cannot
figure a more romantick scene.
I felt myself elated here, and expatiated to my illustrious Mentor on
the antiquity and honourable alliances of my family, and on the merits
of its founder, Thomas Boswell, who was highly favoured by his
sovereign, James IV. of Scotland, and fell with him at the battle of
Flodden-field[1028]; and in the glow of what, I am sensible, will, in a
commercial age, be considered as genealogical enthusiasm, did not omit
to mention what I was sure my friend would not think lightly of, my
relation[1029] to the Royal Personage, whose liberality, on his
accession to the throne, had given him comfort and independence[1030].
I have, in a former page[1031], acknowledged my pride of ancient blood,
in which I was encouraged by Dr. Johnson: my readers therefore will not
be surprised at my having indulged it on this occasion.
Not far from the old castle is a spot of consecrated earth, on which may
be traced the foundations of an ancient chapel, dedicated to St.
Vincent, and where in old times 'was the place of graves' for the
family. It grieves me to think that the remains of sanctity here, which
were considerable, were dragged away, and employed in building a part of
the house of Auchinleck, of the middle age; which was the family
residence, till my father erected that 'elegant modern mansion,' of
which Dr. Johnson speaks so handsomely. Perhaps this chapel may one day
be restored.
Dr. Johnson was pleased when I shewed him some venerable old trees,
under the shade of which my ancestors had walked. He exhorted me to
plant assiduously[1032], as my father had done to a great extent.
As I wandered with my reverend friend in the groves of Auchinleck, I
told him, that, if I survived him, it was my intention to erect a
monument to him here, among scenes which, in my mind, were all
classical; for in my youth I had appropriated to them many of the
descriptions of the Roman poets. He could not bear to have death
presented to him in any shape; for his constitutional melancholy made
the king of terrours more frightful. He turned off the subject, saying,
'Sir, I hope to see your grand-children!'
This forenoon he observed some cattle without horns, of which he has
taken notice in his _Journey_[1033], and seems undecided whether they be
of a particular race. His doubts appear to have had no foundation; for
my respectable neighbour, Mr. Fairlie, who, with all his attention to
agriculture, finds time both for the classicks and his friends, assures
me they are a distinct species, and that, when any of their calves have
horns, a mixture of breed can be traced. In confirmation of his opinion,
he pointed out to me the following passage in Tacitus,--'_Ne armentis
quidem suus honor, aut gloria frontis_[1034];' (_De mor. Germ. Sec. 5_)
which he wondered had escaped Dr. Johnson.
On the front of the house of Auchinleck is this inscription:--
'Quod petis, hic est;
Est Ulubris; animus si te non deficit aequus[1035].'
It is characteristick of the founder; but the _animus aequus_ is, alas!
not inheritable, nor the subject of devise. He always talked to me as if
it were in a man's own power to attain it; but Dr. Johnson told me that
he owned to him, when they were alone, his persuasion that it was in a
great measure constitutional, or the effect of causes which do not
depend on ourselves, and that Horace boasts too much, when he says,
_aequum mi animum ipse parabo_[1036].
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5.
The Reverend Mr. Dun, our parish minister, who had dined with us
yesterday, with some other company, insisted that Dr. Johnson and I
should dine with him to-day. This gave me an opportunity to shew my
friend the road to the church, made by my father at a great expence, for
above three miles, on his own estate, through a range of well enclosed
farms, with a row of trees on each side of it. He called it the _Via
sacra_, and was very fond of it.[1037]Dr. Johnson, though he held
notions far distant from those of the Presbyterian clergy, yet could
associate on good terms with them. He indeed occasionally attacked
them. One of them discovered a narrowness of information concerning the
dignitaries of the Church of England, among whom may be found men of the
greatest learning, virtue, and piety, and of a truly apostolic
character. He talked before Dr. Johnson, of fat bishops and drowsy
deans; and, in short, seemed to believe the illiberal and profane
scoffings of professed satyrists, or vulgar railers. Dr. Johnson was so
highly offended, that he said to him, 'Sir, you know no more of our
Church than a Hottentot[1038].' I was sorry that he brought this
upon himself.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6.
I cannot be certain, whether it was on this day, or a former, that Dr.
Johnson and my father came in collision. If I recollect right, the
contest began while my father was shewing him his collection of medals;
and Oliver Cromwell's coin unfortunately introduced Charles the First,
and Toryism. They became exceedingly warm, and violent, and I was very
much distressed by being present at such an altercation between two men,
both of whom I reverenced; yet I durst not interfere. It would certainly
be very unbecoming in me to exhibit my honoured father, and my respected
friend, as intellectual gladiators, for the entertainment of the
publick: and therefore I suppress what would, I dare say, make an
interesting scene in this dramatick sketch,--this account of the
transit of Johnson over the Caledonian Hemisphere[1039].
Yet I think I may, without impropriety, mention one circumstance, as an
instance of my father's address. Dr. Johnson challenged him, as he did
us all at Talisker[1040], to point out any theological works of merit
written by Presbyterian ministers in Scotland. My father, whose studies
did not lie much in that way, owned to me afterwards, that he was
somewhat at a loss how to answer, but that luckily he recollected having
read in catalogues the title of _Durham on the Galatians_; upon which he
boldly said, 'Pray, Sir, have you read Mr. Durham's excellent commentary
on the Galatians?' 'No, Sir,' said Dr. Johnson. By this lucky thought my
father kept him at bay, and for some time enjoyed his triumph[1041]; but
his antagonist soon made a retort, which I forbear to mention.
In the course of their altercation, Whiggism and Presbyterianism,
Toryism and Episcopacy, were terribly buffeted. My worthy hereditary
friend, Sir John Pringle, never having been mentioned, happily escaped
without a bruise.
My father's opinion of Dr. Johnson may be conjectured from the name he
afterwards gave him, which was URSA MAJOR[1042]. But it is not true, as
has been reported, that it was in consequence of my saying that he was a
_constellation_[1043] of genius and literature. It was a sly abrupt
expression to one of his brethren on the bench of the Court of Session,
in which Dr. Johnson was then standing; but it was not said in
his hearing.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7.
My father and I went to publick worship in our parish-church, in which I
regretted that Dr. Johnson would not join us; for, though we have there
no form of prayer, nor magnificent solemnity, yet, as GOD is worshipped
in spirit and in truth, and the same doctrines preached as in the Church
of England, my friend would certainly have shewn more liberality, had he
attended. I doubt not, however, but he employed his time in private to
very good purpose. His uniform and fervent piety was manifested on many
occasions during our Tour, which I have not mentioned. His reason for
not joining in Presbyterian worship has been recorded in a former
page[1044].