has strong facts." JOHNSON. "Why yes, Sir; but what is that to the merit 1768. of the compofition? In the Seffions-paper of the Old Bailey there are ftrong Etat. 59facts. Houfebreaking is a strong fact; robbery is a ftrong fact; and murder is a mighty strong fact: but is great praise due to the hiftorian of those strong facts? No, Sir. Swift has told what he had to tell diftinctly enough, but that is all. He had to count ten, and he has counted it right."-Then recollecting that Mr. Davies, by acting as an informer, had been the occafion of his talking fomewhat too harshly to his friend Dr. Percy, for which, probably, when the first ebullition was over, he felt fome compunction, he took an opportunity to give him a hit; fo added, with a preparatory laugh, "Why, Sir, Tom Davies might have written the Conduct of the Allies." Poor Tom being thus fuddenly dragged into ludicrous notice in prefence of the Scottish Doctors, to whom he was ambitious of appearing to advantage, was grievously mortified. Nor did his punishment reft here; for upon fubfequent occafions, whenever he, "statesman all o'er," affumed a ftrutting importance, I ufed to hail him-" the Authour of the Conduct of the Allies."

When I called upon Dr. Johnson next morning, I found him highly fatiffied with his colloquial prowefs the preceding evening. "Well, (faid he,) we had good talk." BOSWELL. "Yes, Sir; you toffed and gored several perfons."

The late Alexander Earl of Eglintoune, who loved wit more than wine, and men of genius more than fycophants, had a great admiration of Johnson; but from the remarkable elegance of his own manners, was, perhaps, too delicately fenfible of the roughness which fometimes appeared in Johnson's behaviour. One evening about this time, when his Lordship did me the honour to fup at my lodgings with Dr. Robertfon and feveral other men of literary distinction, he regretted that Johnson had not been educated with more refinement, and lived more in polifhed fociety. "No, no, my Lord, (faid Signor Baretti,) do with him what you would, he would always have been a bear." «True, (answered the Earl, with a fimile,) but he would have been a dancing bear."

To obviate all the reflections which have gone round the world to Johnson's prejudice, by applying to him the epithet of a bear, let me imprefs upon my readers a just and happy faying of my friend Goldsmith, who knew him well: "Johnson, to be fure, has a roughness in his manner; but no man alive has a more tender heart. He has nothing of the bear but his skin.”

In 1769, so far as I can discover, the publick was favoured with nothing of 1769. his compofition, either for himself or any of his friends. His "Meditations"

1769.

too strongly prove that he fuffered much both in body and mind; yet was he Etat. 60. perpetually striving against evil, and nobly endeavouring to advance his intellectual and devotional improvement. Every generous and grateful heart must feel for the diftreffes of fo eminent a benefactor to mankind; and now that his unhappiness is certainly known, muft refpect that dignity of character which prevented him from complaining.

His Majefty having this year instituted the Royal Academy, Johnfon had the honour of being appointed Profeffor of Ancient Literature. In the courfet of the year he wrote fome letters to Mrs. Thrale, paffed fome part of the fummer at Oxford and at Lichfield, and when at Oxford wrote the following

letter:

To the Reverend Mr. THOMAS WARTON.

"DEAR SIR,

"MANY years ago, when I used to read in the library of your College, I promised to recompence the College for that permiffion, by adding to their books a Bafkerville's Virgil. I have now fent it, and defire you to repofit it on the fhelves in my name *.

"If you will be pleased to let me know when you have an hour of leifure, I will drink tea with you. I am engaged for the afternoon, to-morrow and on Friday: all my mornings are my own3.

"May 31, 1769.

"I am, &c.

SAM. JOHNSON."

I came to London in the autumn, and having informed him that I was going to be married in a few months, I wished to have as much of his converfation as I could before engaging in a state of life which would probably keep me more in Scotland, and prevent my seeing him so often as when I was a single man; but I found he was at Brighthelmstone with Mr. and Mrs. Thrale. I was very forry that I had not his company with me at the Jubilee, in honour of Shakspeare, at Stratford-upon-Avon, the great poet's native

2 It has this infcription in a blank-leaf:

Hunc librum D. D. Samuel Johnson, eò quòd his loci ftudiis interdum vacaret.' Of this library, which is an old Gothick room, he was very fond. On my observing to him that fome of the modern libraries of the University were more commodious and pleafant for ftudy, as being more fpacious and airy, he replied, Sir, if a man has a mind to prance, he muft ftudy at Chrift-Church and All-Souls."

3During this vifit he feldom or never dined out. He appeared to be deeply engaged in fome literary work. Mifs Williams was now with him at Oxford.”

town.

town. Johnson's connection both with Shakspeare and Garrick founded a 1769. double claim to his prefence; and it would have been highly gratifying to Etat. 60. Mr. Garrick. Upon this occafion I particularly lamented that he had not that warmth of friendship for his brilliant pupil, which we may suppose would have had a benignant effect on both. When almost every man of eminence in the literary world was happy to partake in this feftival of genius, the absence of Johnson could not but be wondered at and regretted. The only trace of him there, was in the whimfical advertisement of a haberdasher, who fold Shaksperian ribbands of various dyes; and, by way of illuftrating their appropriation to the bard, introduced a line from the celebrated Prologue at the opening of Drury-lane theatre:

"Each change of many-colour'd life he drew."

From Brighthelmstone Dr. Johnson wrote me the following letter, which they who may think that I ought to have fuppreffed, must have less ardent feelings than I have always avowed.

"DEAR SIR,

To JAMES BOSWELL, Efq.

"WHY do you charge me with unkindness? I have omitted no thing that could do you good, or give you pleasure, unless it be that I have forborne to tell you my opinion of your account of Corfica. I believe my opinion, if you think well of my judgement, might have given you pleafure; but when it is confidered how much vanity is excited by praise, I am not sure that it would have done you good. Your History is like other histories, but your Journal is in a very high degree curious and delightful. There is between the history and the journal that difference which there will always be found between notions borrowed from without, and notions generated within. Your history was copied from books; your journal rofe out of your own experience and obfervation. You exprefs images which operated ftrongly upon yourself, and you have impreffed them with great force upon your readers. I know not whether I could name any narrative by which curiofity is better excited, or better gratified.

“I am glad that you are going to be married; and as I wish you well in things of lefs importance, wish you well with proportionate ardour in this crisis of your life. What I can contribute to your happiness, I should be very unwilling to with-hold; for I have always loved and valued you, and shall love

you

1769.

Etat. 60.

you

and value

you ftill more, as you become more regular and ufeful; effects which a happy marriage will hardly fail to produce.

"I do not find that I am likely to come back very foon from this place. I fhall, perhaps, ftay a fortnight longer; and a fortnight is a long time to a lover absent from his mistress. Would a fortnight ever have an end? "I am, dear Sir,

After his return to town, we met frequently, and I continued the practice of making notes of his converfation, though not with fo much affiduity as I wish I had done. At this time, indeed, I had a fufficient excufe for not being able to appropriate fo much time to my journal; for General Paoli, after Corfica had been overpowered by the monarchy of France, was now no longer at the head of his brave countrymen, but having with difficulty escaped from his native island, had fought an asylum in Great-Britain; and it was my duty, as well as my pleasure, to attend much upon him. Such particulars of Johnson's converfation at this period as I have committed to writing, I fhall here introduce, without any ftrict attention to methodical arrangement. Sometimes fhort notes of different days fhall be blended together, and fometimes a day may feem important enough to be separately diftinguished.

He faid, he would not have Sunday kept with rigid feverity and gloom, but with a gravity and fimplicity of behaviour.

I told him that David Hume had made a fhort collection of Scotticifins, "I wonder, (faid Johnfon,) that he fhould find them."

He would not admit the importance of the queftion concerning the legality of general warrants. "Such a power (he observed,) must be vested in every government, to answer particular cafes of neceffity; and there can be no just complaint but when it is abused, for which those who administer government must be anfwerable. It is a matter of fuch indifference, a matter about which the people care fo very little, that were a man to be sent over Britain to offer them an exemption from it at a halfpenny a piece, very few would purchase it." This was a fpecimen of that laxity of talking, which I have heard him fairly acknowledge; for, furely, while the power of granting general warrants was fuppofed to be legal, and the apprehenfion of them hung over our heads, we did not poffefs that fecurity of freedom, congenial to our 4 happy

happy conftitution, and which, by the intrepid exertions of Mr. Wilkes, has been happily established.

He said, "The duration of Parliament, whether for seven years or for the life of the King, appears to me fo immaterial, that I would not give half a crown to turn the fcale the one way or the other. The babeas corpus is the fingle advantage which our government has over that of other countries."

On the 30th of September we dined together at the Mitre. I attempted to argue for the fuperiour happiness of the favage life, upon the usual fanciful topicks. JOHNSON. "Sir, there can be nothing more falfe. The favages have no bodily advantages beyond those of civilifed men. They have not better health; and as to care or mental uneafiness, they are not above it, but below it, like bears. No, Sir; you are not to talk fuch paradox: let me have no more of't. It cannot entertain, far lefs can it inftruct. Lord Monboddo, one of your Scotch Judges, talked a great deal of fuch nonfenfe. I fuffered him; but I will not fuffer you."-BOSWELL. "But, Sir, does not Rousseau talk fuch nonfenfe?" JOHNSON. "True, Sir; but Rouffeau knows he is talking nonfenfe, and laughs at the world for ftaring at him." BOSWELL. "How fo, Sir?" JOHNSON. "Why, Sir, a man who talks nonsense so well, must know that he is talking nonfenfe. But I am afraid, (chuckling and laughing,) Monboddo does not know that he is talking nonfenfe '." BOSWELL. "Is it wrong then, Sir, to affect fingularity, in order to make people stare?" JOHNSON. "Yes, if you do it by propagating errour: and, indeed, it is wrong in any way. There is in human nature a general inclination to make people stare; and every wife man has himself to cure of it, and does cure himself. If you wish to make people ftare by doing better than others, why, make them ftare till they ftare their eyes out. But confider how easy it is to make people ftare, by being abfurd. I may do it by going into a drawing-room without my fhoes. You remember the gentleman in "The Spectator," who had a commiffion of lunacy taken out against him for his extreme fingularity, fuch as never wearing a wig, but a night-cap. Now, Sir, abftractedly, the night-cap was beft; but, relatively, the advantage was overbalanced by his making the boys run after him.”

Talking of a London life, he faid, "The happiness of London is not to be conceived but by thofe who have been in it. I will venture to say, there

3 His Lordship having frequently spoken in an abufive manner of Dr. Johnfon, in my company, I on one occafion during the life-time of my illuftrious friend could not refrain from retaliation, and repeated to him this faying.

1769.

Ætat. 60.