The Life of Samuel Johnson

by James Boswell

  He attacked Lord Monboddo’s strange speculation on the primitive state of human nature; observing, ‘Sir, it is all conjecture about a thing useless, even were it known to be true. Knowledge of all kinds is good. Conjecture, as to things useful, is good; but conjecture as to what it would be useless to know, such as whether men went upon all four, is very idle.’

  On Monday, May 9,397 as I was to set out on my return to Scotland next morning, I was desirous to see as much of Dr. Johnson as I could. But I first called on Goldsmith to take leave of him. The jealousy and envy which, though possessed of many most amiable qualities, he frankly avowed, broke out violently at this interview. Upon another occasion, when Goldsmith confessed himself to be of an envious disposition, I contended with Johnson that we ought not to be angry with him, he was so candid in owning it. ‘Nay, Sir, (said Johnson,) we must be angry that a man has such a superabundance of an odious quality, that he cannot keep it within his own breast, but it boils over.’ In my opinion, however, Goldsmith had not more of it than other people have, but only talked of it freely.

  He now seemed very angry that Johnson was going to be a traveller; said, ‘he would be a dead weight for me to carry, and that I should never be able to lug him along through the Highlands and Hebrides.’ Nor would he patiently allow me to enlarge upon Johnson’s wonderful abilities; but exclaimed, ‘Is he like Burke, who winds into a subject like a serpent?’ ‘But, (said I,) Johnson is the Hercules who strangled serpents in his cradle.’

  I dined with Dr. Johnson at General Paoli’s. He was obliged, by indisposition, to leave the company early; he appointed me, however, to meet him in the evening at Mr. (now Sir Robert) Chambers’s in the Temple, where he accordingly came, though he continued to be very ill. Chambers, as is common on such occasions, prescribed various remedies to him. JOHNSON. (fretted by pain,) ‘Pr’ythee don’t tease me. Stay till I am well, and then you shall tell me how to cure myself.’ He grew better, and talked with a noble enthusiasm of keeping up the representation of respectable families. His zeal on this subject was a circumstance in his character exceedingly remarkable, when it is considered that he himself had no pretensions to blood. I heard him once say, ‘I have great merit in being zealous for subordination and the honours of birth; for I can hardly tell who was my grandfather.’ He maintained the dignity and propriety of male succession, in opposition to the opinion of one of our friends,398 who had that day employed Mr. Chambers to draw his will, devising his estate to his three sisters, in preference to a remote heir male. Johnson called them ‘three dowdies,’ and said, with as high a spirit as the boldest Baron in the most perfect days of the feudal system, ‘An ancient estate should always go to males. It is mighty foolish to let a stranger have it because he marries your daughter, and takes your name. As for an estate newly acquired by trade, you may give it, if you will, to the dog Towser, and let him keep his own name.’

  I have known him at times exceedingly diverted at what seemed to others a very small sport. He now laughed immoderately, without any reason that we could perceive, at our friend’s making his will; called him the testator, and added, ‘I dare say, he thinks he has done a mighty thing. He won’t stay till he gets home to his seat in the country, to produce this wonderful deed: he’ll call up the landlord of the first inn on the road; and, after a suitable preface upon mortality and the uncertainty of life, will tell him that he should not delay making his will; and here, Sir, will he say, is my will, which I have just made, with the assistance of one of the ablest lawyers in the kingdom; and he will read it to him (laughing all the time). He believes he has made this will; but he did not make it: you, Chambers, made it for him. I trust you have had more conscience than to make him say, “being of sound understanding;” ha, ha, ha! I hope he has left me a legacy. I’d have his will turned into verse, like a ballad.’

  In this playful manner did he run on, exulting in his own pleasantry, which certainly was not such as might be expected from the authour of The Rambler, but which is here preserved, that my readers may be acquainted even with the slightest occasional characteristicks of so eminent a man.

  Mr. Chambers did not by any means relish this jocularity upon a matter of which pars magna fuit,399 and seemed impatient till he got rid of us. Johnson could not stop his merriment, but continued it all the way till we got without the Temple-gate. He then burst into such a fit of laughter, that he appeared to be almost in a convulsion; and, in order to support himself, laid hold of one of the posts at the side of the foot pavement, and sent forth peals so loud, that in the silence of the night his voice seemed to resound from Temple-bar to Fleet-ditch.

  This most ludicrous exhibition of the awful, melancholy, and venerable Johnson, happened well to counteract the feelings of sadness which I used to experience when parting with him for a considerable time. I accompanied him to his door, where he gave me his blessing.

  He records of himself this year, ‘Between Easter and Whitsuntide, having always considered that time as propitious to study, I attempted to learn the Low Dutch language.’a It is to be observed, that he here admits an opinion of the human mind being influenced by seasons, which he ridicules in his writings. His progress, he says, was interrupted by a fever, ‘which, by the imprudent use of a small print, left an inflammation in his useful eye.’ We cannot but admire his spirit when we know, that amidst a complication of bodily and mental distress, he was still animated with the desire of intellectual improvement. Various notes of his studies appear on different days, in his manuscript diary of this year, such as,

  ‘Inchoavi lectionem Pentateuchi – Finivi lectionem Conf. Fab. Burdonum. – Legi primum actum Troadum. – Legi Dissertationem Clerici postremam de Pent. – 2 of Clark’s Sermons. – L. Appolonii pugnam Betriciam. – L. centum versus Homeri.’400

  Let this serve as a specimen of what accessions of literature he was perpetually infusing into his mind, while he charged himself with idleness.

  This year died Mrs. Salusbury, (mother of Mrs. Thrale,) a lady whom he appears to have esteemed much, and whose memory he honoured with an Epitaph.b

  In a letter from Edinburgh, dated the 29th of May, I pressed him to persevere in his resolution to make this year the projected visit to the Hebrides, of which he and I had talked for many years, and which I was confident would afford us much entertainment.

  ‘To JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ.

  ‘DEAR SIR, – When your letter came to me, I was so darkened by an inflammation in my eye, that I could not for some time read it. I can now write without trouble, and can read large prints. My eye is gradually growing stronger; and I hope will be able to take some delight in the survey of a Caledonian loch.

  ‘Chambers is going a Judge, with six thousand a year, to Bengal. He and I shall come down together as far as Newcastle, and thence I shall easily get to Edinburgh. Let me know the exact time when your Courts intermit. I must conform a little to Chambers’s occasions, and he must conform a little to mine. The time which you shall fix, must be the common point to which we will come as near as we can. Except this eye, I am very well.

  ‘Beattie is so caressed, and invited, and treated, and liked, and flattered, by the great, that I can see nothing of him. I am in great hope that he will be well provided for, and then we will live upon him at the Marischal College, without pity or modesty.

  ‘— 401 left the town without taking leave of me, and is gone in deep dudgeon to —.402 Is not this very childish? Where is now my legacy?

  ‘I hope your dear lady and her dear baby are both well. I shall see them too when I come; and I have that opinion of your choice, as to suspect that when I have seen Mrs. Boswell, I shall be less willing to go away. I am, dear Sir, your affectionate humble servant,

  ‘Johnson’s-court, Fleet-street, ‘SAM. JOHNSON.’

  July 5, 1773.’

  ‘Write to me as soon as you can. Chambers is now at Oxford.’

  I again wrote to him, informing him that the Court of Session rose on the twelfth of August, hoping to s
ee him before that time, and expressing perhaps in too extravagant terms, my admiration of him, and my expectation of pleasure from our intended tour.

  ‘To JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ.

  ‘DEAR SIR, – I shall set out from London on Friday the sixth of this month, and purpose not to loiter much by the way. Which day I shall be at Edinburgh, I cannot exactly tell. I suppose I must drive to an inn, and send a porter to find you.

  ‘I am afraid Beattie will not be at his College soon enough for us, and I shall be sorry to miss him; but there is no staying for the concurrence of all conveniences. We will do as well as we can. I am, Sir, your most humble servant,

  ‘August 3, 1773.’ ‘SAM. JOHNSON.’

  To THE SAME

  ‘DEAR SIR, – Not being at Mr. Thrale’s when your letter came, I had written the enclosed paper and sealed it; bringing it hither for a frank, I found yours. If any thing could repress my ardour, it would be such a letter as yours. To disappoint a friend is unpleasing; and he that forms expectations like yours, must be disappointed. Think only when you see me, that you see a man who loves you, and is proud and glad that you love him. I am, Sir, your most affectionate,

  ‘August 3, 1773.’ ‘SAM. JOHNSON.’

  To THE SAME

  ‘DEAR SIR, ‘Newcastle, Aug. 11, 1773.

  ‘I came hither last night, and hope, but do not absolutely promise, to be in Edinburgh on Saturday. Beattie will not come so soon. I am, Sir, your most humble servant,

  ‘My compliments to your lady.’ ‘SAM. JOHNSON.’

  To THE SAME

  ‘Mr. Johnson sends his compliments to Mr. Boswell, being just arrived at Boyd’s. – Saturday night.’

  His stay in Scotland was from the 18th of August, on which day he arrived, till the 22nd of November, when he set out on his return to London; and I believe ninety-four days were never passed by any man in a more vigorous exertion.

  He came by the way of Berwick upon Tweed to Edinburgh, where he remained a few days, and then went by St. Andrew’s, Aberdeen, Inverness, and Fort Augustus, to the Hebrides, to visit which was the principal object he had in view. He visited the isles of Sky, Rasay, Col, Mull, Inchkenneth, and Icolmkill. He travelled through Argyleshire by Inverary, and from thence by Lochlomond and Dunbarton to Glasgow, then by Loudon to Auchinleck in Ayrshire, the seat of my family, and then by Hamilton, back to Edinburgh, where he again spent some time. He thus saw the four Universities of Scotland, its three principal cities, and as much of the Highland and insular life as was sufficient for his philosophical contemplation. I had the pleasure of accompanying him during the whole of this journey. He was respectfully entertained by the great, the learned, and the elegant, wherever he went; nor was he less delighted with the hospitality which he experienced in humbler life.

  His various adventures, and the force and vivacity of his mind, as exercised during this peregrination, upon innumerable topicks, have been faithfully, and to the best of my abilities, displayed in my Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, to which, as the publick has been pleased to honour it by a very extensive circulation, I beg leave to refer, as to a separate and remarkable portion of his life,a which may be there seen in detail, and which exhibits as striking a view of his powers in conversation, as his works do of his excellence in writing. Nor can I deny to myself the very flattering gratification of inserting here the character which my friend Mr. Courtenay has been pleased to give of that work:

  ‘With Reynolds’ pencil, vivid, bold, and true,

  So fervent Boswell gives him to our view:

  In every trait we see his mind expand;

  The master rises by the pupil’s hand;

  We love the writer, praise his happy vein,

  Grac’d with the naivete of the sage Montaigne.

  Hence not alone are brighter parts display’d,

  But e’en the specks of character pourtray’d:

  We see the Rambler with fastidious smile

  Mark the lone tree, and note the heath-clad isle;

  But when th’ heroick tale of Flora403 charms,

  Deck’d in a kilt, he wields a chieftain’s arms:

  The tuneful piper sounds a martial strain,

  And Samuel sings, “The King shall have his ain.”’

  During his stay at Edinburgh, after his return from the Hebrides, he was at great pains to obtain information concerning Scotland; and it will appear from his subsequent letters, that he was not less solicitous for intelligence on this subject after his return to London.

  ‘To JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ.

  ‘DEAR SIR, – I came home last night, without any incommodity, danger, or weariness, and am ready to begin a new journey. I shall go to Oxford on Monday. I know Mrs. Boswell wished me well to go;a her wishes have not been disappointed. Mrs. Williams has received Sir A’sb letter.

  ‘Make my compliments to all those to whom my compliments may be welcome.

  Let the boxc be sent as soon as it can, and let me know when to expect it. ‘Enquire, if you can, the order of the Clans: Macdonald is first, Maclean second; further I cannot go. Quicken Dr. Webster.a I am, Sir, yours affectionately,

  ‘Nov. 27, 1773.’ ‘SAM. JOHNSON.’

  ‘MR. BOSWELL to DR. JOHNSON

  ‘Edinburgh, Dec. 2, 1773.

  ‘… You shall have what information I can procure as to the order of the Clans. A gentleman of the name of Grant tells me, that there is no settled order among them; and he says, that the Macdonalds were not placed upon the right of the army at Culloden; the Stuarts were. I shall, however, examine witnesses of every name that I can find here. Dr. Webster shall be quickened too. I like your little memorandums; they are symptoms of your being in earnest with your book of northern travels.

  ‘Your box shall be sent next week by sea. You will find in it some pieces of the broom bush, which you saw growing on the old castle of Auchinleck. The wood has a curious appearance when sawn across. You may either have a little writing-standish made of it, or get it formed into boards for a treatise on witchcraft, by way of a suitable binding.’…

  ‘MR. BOSWELL to DR. JOHNSON

  ‘Edinburgh, Dec. 18, 1773.

  ‘… You promised me an inscription for a print to be taken from an historical picture of Mary Queen of Scots being forced to resign her crown, which Mr. Hamilton at Rome has painted for me. The two following have been sent to me:

  “Maria Scotorum Regina meliori seculo digna, jus regium civibus seditiosis invita resignat.”

  “Gives seditiosi Mariam Scotorum Reginam sese muneri abdicare invitam cogunt.”404

  ‘Be so good as to read the passage in Robertson, and see if you cannot give me a better inscription. I must have it both in Latin and English; so if you should not give me another Latin one, you will at least choose the best of these two, and send a translation of it.’…

  His humane forgiving disposition was put to a pretty strong test on his return to London, by a liberty which Mr. Thomas Davies had taken with him in his absence, which was, to publish two volumes, entitled, Miscellaneous and fugitive Pieces, which he advertised in the news-papers, ‘By the Authour of the Rambler.’ In this collection, several of Dr. Johnson’s acknowledged writings, several of his anonymous performances, and some which he had written for others, were inserted; but there were also some in which he had no concern whatever. He was at first very angry, as he had good reason to be. But, upon consideration of his poor friend’s narrow circumstances, and that he had only a little profit in view, and meant no harm, he soon relented, and continued his kindness to him as formerly.

  In the course of his self-examination with retrospect to this year, he seems to have been much dejected; for he says, January 1, 1774, ‘This year has passed with so little improvement, that I doubt whether I have not rather impaired than increased my learning’;a and yet we have seen how he read, and we know how he talked during that period.

  He was now seriously engaged in writing an account of our travels in the Hebrides, in consequence of which I had the pleasure o
f a more frequent correspondence with him.

  ‘To JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ.

  ‘DEAR SIR, – My operations have been hindered by a cough; at least I flatter myself, that if my cough had not come, I should have been further advanced. But I have had no intelligence from Dr. W—, [Webster,] nor from the Excise-office, nor from you. No account of the little borough.b Nothing of the Erse language. I have yet heard nothing of my box.

  ‘You must make haste and gather me all you can, and do it quickly, or I will and shall do without it.

  ‘Make my compliments to Mrs. Boswell, and tell her that I do not love her the less for wishing me away. I gave her trouble enough, and shall be glad, in recompense, to give her any pleasure.

  ‘I would send some porter into the Hebrides, if I knew which way it could be got to my kind friends there. Enquire, and let me know.

  ‘Make my compliments to all the Doctors of Edinburgh, and to all my friends, from one end of Scotland to the other.

  ‘Write to me, and send me what intelligence you can: and if any thing is too bulky for the post, let me have it by the carrier. I do not like trusting winds and waves. I am, dear Sir, your most, &c.

  ‘Jan. 29, 1774.’ ‘SAM. JOHNSON.’

  To THE SAME

  ‘DEAR SIR, – In a day or two after I had written the last discontented letter, I received my box, which was very welcome. But still I must entreat you to hasten Dr. Webster, and continue to pick up what you can that may be useful.

  ‘Mr. Oglethorpe was with me this morning. You know his errand. He was not unwelcome.

  ‘Tell Mrs. Boswell that my good intentions towards her still continue. I should be glad to do any thing that would either benefit or please her.