1772.

Etat. 63.

"DEAR SIR,

To JAMES BOSWELL, Efq.

"THAT you are coming fo foon to town I am very glad; and still more glad that you are coming as an advocate. I think nothing more likely to make your life pass happily away, than that consciousness of your own value which eminence in your profeffion will certainly confer. If I can give you any collateral help, I hope you do not fufpect that it will be wanting. My kindness for you has neither the merit of fingular virtue, nor the reproach of fingular prejudice. Whether to love you be right or wrong, I have many on my fide: Mrs. Thrale loves you, and Mrs. Williams loves you, and what would have inclined me to love you, if I had been neutral before, you are a great favourite of Dr. Beattie.

"Of Dr. Beattie I should have thought much, but that his lady puts him out of my head: fhe is a very lovely woman.

"The ejection which you come hither to oppose, appears very cruel, unreasonable, and oppreffive. I fhould think there could not be much doubt of your fuccefs.

"My health grows better, yet I am not fully recovered. I believe it is held, that men do not recover very fast after threefcore. I hope yet to fee Beattie's College: and have not given up the western voyage. But however all this may be or not, let us try to make each other happy when we meet, and not refer our pleasure to distant times or distant places.

"How comes it that you tell me nothing of your lady? I hope to see her some time, and till then shall be glad to hear of her. "I am, dear Sir, &c.

< March 15, 1772.

SAM. JOHNSON."

TO BENNET LANGTON, Efq. near Spilsby, Lincolnshire.

"DEAR SIR,

"I CONGRATULATE you and Lady Rothes' on your little man, and

hope you will all be many years happy together.

"Poor Mifs Langton can have little part in the joy of her family. She this day called her aunt Langton to receive the facrament with her; and made

Mr. Langton married the Countefs Dowager of Rothes.

me

me talk yesterday on fuch fubjects as fuit her condition. It will probably be her viaticum. I furely need not mention again that fhe wishes to fee her mother. I am, Sir,

1772.

Atat. 63.

"Your most humble fervant,

March 14, 1772.

SAM. JOHNSON."

On the 21st of March, I was happy to find myself again in my friend's study, and was glad to fee my old acquaintance Mr. Francis Barber, who was now returned home. Dr. Johnson received me with a hearty welcome, faying, "I am glad you are come, and glad you are come upon fuch an errand," (alluding to the cause of the schoolmafter.) BosWELL. "I hope, Sir, he will be in no danger. It is a very delicate matter to interfere between a master and his fcholars: nor do I fee how you can fix the degree of feverity that a mafter may use." JOHNSON. "Why, Sir, till you fix the degree of obftinacy and negligence of the scholars, you cannot fix the degree of feverity of the mafter. Severity must be continued until obftinacy be fubdued, and negligence be cured." He mentioned the feverity of Hunter, his own master. "Sir, (faid I,) Hunter is a Scotch name: fo it fhould feem this schoolmaster who beat you fo feverely was a Scotchman. I can now account for your prejudice against the Scotch." JOHNSON. "Sir, he was not Scotch; and, abating his brutality, he was a very good mafter."

We talked of his two political pamphlets, "The Falfe Alarm," and "Thoughts concerning Falkland's Iflands." JOHNSON. "Well, Sir, which of them did you think the beft ?" BOSWELL. "I liked the fecond beft." JOHNSON.

Why, Sir, I liked the first beft; and Beattie liked the first best. Sir, there is a fubtlety of difquifition in the firft, that is worth all the fire of the fecond." BOSWELL. "Pray, Sir, is it true that Lord North paid you a visit, and that you got two hundred a year in addition to your penfion?" JOHNSON. «No, Sir. Except what I had from the bookfeller, I did not get a farthing by them. And, between you and me, I believe Lord North is no friend to me." BOSWELL. "How fo, Sir?" JOHNSON. "Why, Sir, you cannot account for the fancies of men.-Well, how does Lord Elibank ? and how does Lord Monboddo?" BoswELL. " Very well, Sir. Lord Monboddo still maintains the fuperiority of the favage life." JOHNSON." What ftrange narrowness of mind now is that, to think the things we have not known are better than the things which we have known." BOSWELL. Why, Sir, that is a common prejudice." JOHNSON. "Yes, Sir; but a Z z

common

1772.

Ætat. 63.

common prejudice fhould not be found in one whofe trade it is to rectify

errour."

A gentleman having come in who was to go as a Mate in the ship along with Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander, Dr. Johnson asked what were the names of the ships destined for the expedition. The gentleman answered, they were once to be called the Drake and the Raleigh, but now they were to be called the Refolution and the Adventure. JOHNSON. "Much better; for had the Raleigh returned without going round the world, it would have been ridiculous. To give them the names of the Drake and the Raleigh was laying a trap for fatire." BOSWELL. "Had not you fome defire to go upon this expedition, Sir?" JOHNSON. "Why yes; but I foon laid it aside. Sir, there is very little of intellectual in the courfe. Befides, I fee but at a fiall distance. So it was not worth my while to go to see birds fly, which I should not have seen fly; and fishes swim, which I fhould not have seen swim."

The gentleman being gone, and Dr. Johnfon having left the room for fome time, a debate arose between the Reverend Mr. Stockdale and Mrs. Defmoulins, whether Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander were entitled to any fhare of glory from their expedition. When Dr. Johnson returned to us, I told him the fubject of their difpute. JOHNSON. Why, Sir, it was properly for botany that they went out: I believe they thought only of culling of fimples."

I thanked him for fhewing civilities to Beattie. "Sir, (faid he,) I fhould thank you. We all love Beattie. Mrs. Thrale fays, if ever she has another husband, she'll have Beattie. He funk upon us that he was married; else we fhould have fhewn his lady more civilities. She is a very fine woman. But how can you fhew civilities to-a non-entity? I did not think he had been married. Nay, I did not think about it one way or other; but he did not tell us of his lady till late."

We fhall have a strong built

We muft build a tolerable

He then spoke of St. Kilda, the most remote of the Hebrides. I told him, I thought of buying it. JOHNSON. "Pray do, Sir. We fhall go and pass a winter amid the blafts there. We fhall have fine fifh, and we fhall take fome dried tongues with us, and fome books. veffel, and fome Orkney men to navigate her. houfe: but we may carry with us a wooden houfe ready made, and requiring nothing but to be put up. Confider, Sir, by buying St. Kilda, you may keep the people from falling into worfe hands. We must give them a clergyman, and he shall be one of Beattie's choofing. He fhall be educated at Marischal College. I'll be your Lord Chancellor, or what you pleafe." BoSWELL. "Are you ferious, Sir, in advifing me to buy St. Kilda? for if you fhould

4

advise

advise me to go to Japan, I believe I should do it." JOHNSON. "Why yes, Sir, I am serious." BOSWELL." Why then I'll fee what can be done."

I gave him an account of the two parties in the church of Scotland, those for fupporting the rights of patrons, independent of the people, and those against it. JOHNSON. "It should be settled one way or other. I cannot wish well to a popular election of the clergy, when I confider that it occafions fuch animofities, fuch unworthy courting of the people, fuch flanders between the contending parties, and other disadvantages. It is enough to allow the people to remonstrate against the nomination of a minifter for folid reafons;" (I fuppofe he meant herefy or immorality.) He was engaged to dine abroad, and asked me to return to him in the evening at nine, which I accordingly did.

We drank tea with Mrs. Williams, who told us a story of second fight, which happened in Wales where she was born.-He liftened to it very attentively, and faid he should be glad to have some instances of that faculty well authenticated. His elevated wifh for more and more evidence for fpirit, in oppofition to the groveling belief of materialism, led him to a love of fuch mysterious difquifitions. He again justly observed, that we could have no certainty of the truth of fupernatural appearances, unless fomething was told us which we could not know by ordinary means, or fomething done which could not be done but by fupernatural power; that Pharaoh in reason and justice required fuch evidence from Mofes; nay, that our Saviour faid, "If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had fin." He had faid in the morning, that "Macaulay's Hiftory of St. Kilda," was very well written, except fome foppery about liberty and flavery. I mentioned to him that Macaulay told me, he was advised to leave out of his book the wonderful story that upon the approach of a stranger all the inhabitants catch cold; but that it had been fo well authenticated, he determined to retain it. JOHNSON. "Sir, to leave things out of a book, merely because people tell you they will not be believed, is meanness. Macaulay acted with more magnanimity."

We talked of the Roman Catholick religion, and how little difference there was in effential matters between ours and it. JOHNSON. "True, Sir: all denominations of Chriftians have really little difference in point of doctrine, though they may differ widely in external forms. There is a prodigious difference between the external form of one of your Prefbyterian churches in Scotland, and a church in Italy; yet the doctrine taught is effentially the fame." I mentioned the petition to Parliament for removing the fubfcription to the Thirty-nine Articles. JOHNSON. "It was foon thrown out. Sir, they talk

1772.

Ætat. 63.

1772.

Ætat. 63.

of not making boys at the Univerfity fubfcribe to what they do not underftand; but they ought to confider, that our Universities were founded to bring up members for the Church of England, and we must not supply our enemies with arms from our arfenal. No, Sir, the meaning of fubfcribing is, not that they fully understand all the articles, but that they will adhere to the Church of England. Now take it in this way, and suppose that they should only fubfcribe their adherence to the Church of England, there would be still the fame difficulty; for ftill the young men would be fubfcribing to what they do not understand. For if you should ask them, what do you mean by the Church of England? Do you know in what it differs from the Prefbyterian Church? from the Romish Church? from the Greek Church? from the Coptick Church? they could not tell you. So, Sir, it comes to the fame thing." BOSWELL. "But, Sir, would it not be fufficient to fubfcribe the Bible?" JOHNSON. "Why no, Sir; for all fects will fubfcribe the Bible; nay, the Mahometans will fubfcribe the Bible, for the Mahometans acknowledge JESUS CHRIST, as well as Mofes, but maintain that GOD fent Mahomet as a still greater prophet than either.”

I mentioned the motion to abolish the faft of the 30th of January. JOHNSON. "Why, Sir, I could have wished that it had been a temporary act, perhaps, to have expired with the century. I am against abolishing it; because that would be declaring it was wrong to establish it; but I should have no objection to make an act, continuing it for another century, and then letting it expire."

He difapproved of the Royal Marriage Bill; "Because (faid he,) I would not have the people think that the validity of marriage depends on the will of man, or that the right of a King depends on the will of man. I fhould not have been against making the marriage of any of the royal family, without the approbation of King and Parliament, highly criminal."

In the morning we had talked of old families, and the refpect due to them. JOHNSON. "Sir, you have a right to that kind of refpect, and are arguing for yourself. I am for fupporting the principle, and am difinterested in doing it, as I have no fuch right." BOSWELL. "Why, Sir, it is one more incitement to a man to do well." JOHNSON. "Yes, Sir, and it is a matter of opinion, very neceffary to keep fociety together. What is it but opinion, by which we have a refpect for authority, that prevents us, who are the rabble, from rifing up and pulling down you who are gentlemen from your places, and faying, We will be gentlemen in our turn?' Now, Sir, that refpect for authority is much more easily granted to a man whofe father has had it, than to an upstart, and fo Society is more easily supported." BOSWELL. "Perhaps, Sir, it might be

done