约翰逊4-6-72

a large cow's horn, with the mouth of it ornamented with silvercuriously carved. It holds rather more than a bottle and a half. EveryLaird of M'Leod, it is said, must, as a proof of his manhood, drink itoff full of claret, without laying it down. From Rorie More many of thebranches of the family are descended; in particular, the Taliskerbranch; so that his name is much talked of. We also saw his bow, whichhardly any man now can bend, and his _Glaymore>_, which was wielded withboth hands, and is of a prodigious size. We saw here some old pieces ofiron armour, immensely heavy. The broadsword now used, though called the_Glaymore, (i.e._ the _great sword_) is much smaller than that used inRorie More's time. There is hardly a target now to be found in theHighlands. After the disarming act[591], they made them serve as coversto their butter-milk barrels; a kind of change, like beating spears intopruning-hooks[592].Sir George Mackenzie's Works (the folio edition) happened to lie in awindow in the dining room. I asked Dr. Johnson to look at the_Characteres Advocatorum_. He allowed him power of mind, and that heunderstood very well what he tells[593]; but said, that there was toomuch declamation, and that the Latin was not correct. He found faultwith _appropinquabant_[594], in the character of Gilmour. I tried himwith the opposition between _gloria_ and _palma_, in the comparisonbetween Gilmour and Nisbet, which Lord Hailes, in his _Catalogue of theLords of Session_, thinks difficult to be understood. The words are,_'penes illum gloria, penes hunc palma_[595].' In a short _Account ofthe Kirk of Scotland_, which I published some years ago, I applied thesewords to the two contending parties, and explained them thus: 'Thepopular party has most eloquence; Dr. Robertson's party most influence.'I was very desirous to hear Dr. Johnson's explication. JOHNSON. 'I seeno difficulty. Gilmour was admired for his parts; Nisbet carried hiscause by his skill in law. _Palma_ is victory.' I observed, that thecharacter of Nicholson, in this book resembled that of Burke: for it issaid, in one place, _'in omnes lusos & jocos se saepe resolvebat_[596];'and, in another, _'sed accipitris more e conspectu aliquando astantiumsublimi se protrahens volatu, in praedam miro impetu descendebat[597]'._JOHNSON. 'No, Sir; I never heard Burke make a good joke in mylife[598].' BOSWELL. 'But, Sir, you will allow he is a hawk.' Dr.Johnson, thinking that I meant this of his joking, said, 'No, Sir, he isnot the hawk there. He is the beetle in the mire[599].' I still adheredto my metaphor,--'But he _soars_ as the hawk.' JOHNSON. 'Yes, Sir; buthe catches nothing.' M'Leod asked, what is the particular excellence ofBurke's eloquence? JOHNSON. 'Copiousness and fertility of allusion; apower of diversifying his matter, by placing it in various relations.Burke has great information, and great command of language; though, inmy opinion, it has not in every respect the highest elegance.' BOSWELL.'Do you think, Sir, that Burke has read Cicero much?' JOHNSON. 'I don'tbelieve it, Sir. Burke has great knowledge, great fluency of words, andgreat promptness of ideas, so that he can speak with great illustrationon any subject that comes before him. He is neither like Cicero, norlike Demosthenes[600], nor like any one else, but speaks as well ashe can.'In the 65th page of the first volume of Sir George Mackenzie, Dr.Johnson pointed out a paragraph beginning with _Aristotle_, and told methere was an error in the text, which he bade me try to discover. I waslucky enough to hit it at once. As the passage is printed, it is saidthat the devil answers _even_ in _engines_. I corrected it to--_ever_ in_oenigmas_. 'Sir, (said he,) you are a good critick. This would havebeen a great thing to do in the text of an ancient authour.'THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16.Last night much care was taken of Dr. Johnson, who was still distressedby his cold. He had hitherto most strangely slept without a night-cap.Miss M'Leod made him a large flannel one, and he was prevailed with todrink a little brandy when he was going to bed. He has great virtue innot drinking wine or any fermented liquor, because, as he acknowledgedto us, he could not do it in moderation[601]. Lady M'Leod would hardlybelieve him, and said, 'I am sure, Sir, you would not carry it too far.'JOHNSON. 'Nay, madam, it carried me. I took the opportunity of a longillness to leave it off. It was then prescribed to me not to drink wine;and, having broken off the habit, I have never returned to it[602].'In the argument on Tuesday night, about natural goodness, Dr. Johnsondenied that any child was better than another, but by difference ofinstruction; though, in consequence of greater attention being paid toinstruction by one child than another, and of a variety of imperceptiblecauses, such as instruction being counteracted by servants, a notion wasconceived, that of two children, equally well educated, one wasnaturally much worse than another. He owned, this morning, that onemight have a greater aptitude to learn than another, and that weinherit dispositions from our parents[603]. 'I inherited, (said he,) avile melancholy from my father, which has made me mad all my life, atleast not sober[604].' Lady M'Leod wondered he should tell this. 'Madam,(said I,) he knows that with that madness he is superior to other men.'I have often been astonished with what exactness and perspicuity he willexplain the process of any art. He this morning explained to us all theoperation of coining, and, at night, all the operation of brewing, sovery clearly, that Mr. M'Queen said, when he heard the first, he thoughthe had been bred in the Mint; when he heard the second, that he had beenbred a brewer.I was elated by the thought of having been able to entice such a man tothis remote part of the world. A ludicrous, yet just image presenteditself to my mind, which I expressed to the company. I compared myselfto a dog who has got hold of a large piece of meat, and runs away withit to a corner, where he may devour it in peace, without any fear ofothers taking it from him. 'In London, Reynolds, Beauclerk, and all ofthem, are contending who shall enjoy Dr. Johnson's conversation. We arefeasting upon it, undisturbed, at Dunvegan.'It was still a storm of wind and rain. Dr. Johnson however walked outwith M'Leod, and saw Rorie More's cascade in full perfection. ColonelM'Leod, instead of being all life and gaiety, as I have seen him, was atpresent grave, and somewhat depressed by his anxious concern aboutM'Leod's affairs, and by finding some gentlemen of the clan by no meansdisposed to act a generous or affectionate part to their Chief in hisdistress, but bargaining with him as with a stranger. However, he wasagreeable and polite, and Dr. Johnson said, he was a very pleasing man.My fellow-traveller and I talked of going to Sweden[605]; and, while wewere settling our plan, I expressed a pleasure in the prospect of seeingthe king. JOHNSON. 'I doubt, Sir, if he would speak to us.' ColonelM'Leod said, 'I am sure Mr. Boswell would speak to _him_.' But, seeingme a little disconcerted by his remark, he politely added, 'and withgreat propriety.' Here let me offer a short defence of that propensityin my disposition, to which this gentleman alluded. It has procured memuch happiness. I hope it does not deserve so hard a name as eitherforwardness or impudence. If I know myself, it is nothing more than aneagerness to share the society of men distinguished either by their rankor their talents, and a diligence to attain what I desire[606]. If a manis praised for seeking knowledge, though mountains and seas are in hisway, may he not be pardoned, whose ardour, in the pursuit of the sameobject, leads him to encounter difficulties as great, though of adifferent kind?After the ladies were gone from table, we talked of the Highlanders nothaving sheets; and this led us to consider the advantage of wearinglinen. JOHNSON. 'All animal substances are less cleanly than vegetable.Wool, of which flannel is made, is an animal substance; flanneltherefore is not so cleanly as linen. I remember I used to think tardirty; but when I knew it to be only a preparation of the juice of thepine, I thought so no longer. It is not disagreeable to have the gumthat oozes from a plum-tree upon your fingers, because it is vegetable;but if you have any candle-grease, any tallow upon your fingers, you areuneasy till you rub it off. I have often thought, that if I kept aseraglio, the ladies should all wear linen gowns,--or cotton; I meanstuffs made of vegetable substances. I would have no silk; you cannottell when it is clean: It will be very nasty before it is perceived tobe so. Linen detects its own dirtiness.'To hear the grave Dr. Samuel Johnson, 'that majestick teacher of moraland religious wisdom,' while sitting solemn in an armchair in the Isleof Sky, talk, _ex cathedra_, of his keeping a seraglio[607], andacknowledge that the supposition had _often_ been in his thoughts,struck me so forcibly with ludicrous contrast, that I could not butlaugh immoderately. He was too proud to submit, even for a moment, to bethe object of ridicule, and instantly retaliated with such keensarcastick wit, and such a variety of degrading images, of every one ofwhich I was the object, that, though I can bear such attacks as well asmost men, I yet found myself so much the sport of all the company, thatI would gladly expunge from my mind every trace of this severe retort.Talking of our friend Langton's house in Lincolnshire, he said, 'the oldhouse of the family was burnt. A temporary building was erected in itsroom; and to this day they have been always adding as the familyincreased. It is like a shirt made for a man when he was a child, andenlarged always as he grows older.'We talked to-night of Luther's allowing the Landgrave of Hesse twowives, and that it was with the consent of the wife to whom he was firstmarried. JOHNSON. 'There was no harm in this, so far as she was onlyconcerned, because _volenti non fit injuria_. But it was an offenceagainst the general order of society, and against the law of the Gospel,by which one man and one woman are to be united. No man can have twowives, but by preventing somebody else from having one.'FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17.After dinner yesterday, we had a conversation upon cunning. M'Leod saidthat he was not afraid of cunning people; but would let them play theirtricks about him like monkeys. 'But, (said I,) they'll scratch;' and Mr.M'Queen added, 'they'll invent new tricks, as soon as you find out whatthey do.' JOHNSON. 'Cunning has effect from the credulity of others,rather than from the abilities of those who are cunning. It requires noextraordinary talents to lie and deceive[608].' This led us to considerwhether it did not require great abilities to be very wicked. JOHNSON.'It requires great abilities to have the _power_ of being very wicked;but not to _be_ very wicked. A man who has the power, which greatabilities procure him, may use it well or ill; and it requires moreabilities to use it well, than to use it ill. Wickedness is alwayseasier than virtue; for it takes the short cut to every thing. It ismuch easier to steal a hundred pounds, than to get it by labour, or anyother way. Consider only what act of wickedness requires great abilitiesto commit it, when once the person who is to do it has the power; for_there_ is the distinction. It requires great abilities to conquer anarmy, but none to massacre it after it is conquered.'The weather this day was rather better than any that we had since wecame to Dunvegan. Mr. M'Queen had often mentioned a curious piece ofantiquity near this, which he called a temple of the Goddess ANAITIS.Having often talked of going to see it, he and I set out afterbreakfast, attended by his servant, a fellow quite like a savage. I mustobserve here, that in Sky there seems to be much idleness; for men andboys follow you, as colts follow passengers upon a road. The usualfigure of a Sky-boy, is a _lown_ with bare legs and feet, a dirty_kilt_, ragged coat and waistcoat, a bare head, and a stick in his hand,which, I suppose, is partly to help the lazy rogue to walk, partly toserve as a kind of a defensive weapon. We walked what is called twomiles, but is probably four, from the castle, till we came to the sacredplace. The country around is a black dreary moor on all sides, except tothe sea-coast, towards which there is a view through a valley; and thefarm of _Bay_ shews some good land. The place itself is green ground,being well drained by means of a deep glen on each side, in both ofwhich there runs a rivulet with a good quantity of water, formingseveral cascades, which make a considerable appearance and sound. Thefirst thing we came to was an earthen mound, or dyke, extending from theone precipice to the other. A little farther on was a strong stone-wall,not high, but very thick, extending in the same manner. On the outsideof it were the ruins of two houses, one on each side of the entry orgate to it. The wall is built all along of uncemented stones, but of solarge a size as to make a very firm and durable rampart. It has beenbuilt all about the consecrated ground, except where the precipice issteep enough to form an inclosure of itself. The sacred spot containsmore than two acres. There are within it the ruins of many houses, noneof them large,--a _cairn_,--and many graves marked by clusters ofstones. Mr. M'Queen insisted that the ruin of a small building, standingeast and west, was actually the temple of the Goddess ANAITIS, where herstatue was kept, and from whence processions were made to wash it in oneof the brooks. There is, it must be owned, a hollow road, visible for agood way from the entrance; but Mr. M'Queen, with the keen eye of anantiquary, traced it much farther than I could perceive it. There is notabove a foot and a half in height of the walls now remaining; and thewhole extent of the building was never, I imagine, greater than anordinary Highland house. Mr. M'Queen has collected a great deal oflearning on the subject of the temple of ANAITIS; and I had endeavoured,in my _Journal_, to state such particulars as might give some idea ofit, and of the surrounding scenery; but from the great difficulty ofdescribing visible objects[609], I found my account so unsatisfactory,that my readers would probably have exclaimed'And write about it, _Goddess_, and about it[610];'and therefore I have omitted it.When we got home, and were again at table with Dr. Johnson, we firsttalked of portraits. He agreed in thinking them valuable in families. Iwished to know which he preferred, fine portraits, or those of which themerit was resemblance. JOHNSON. 'Sir, their chief excellence is beinglike.' BOSWELL. 'Are you of that opinion as to the portraits ofancestors, whom one has never seen?' JOHNSON. 'It then becomes of moreconsequence that they should be like; and I would have them in the dressof the times, which makes a piece of history. One should like to see how_Rorie More_ looked. Truth, Sir, is of the greatest value in thesethings[611].' Mr. M'Queen observed, that if you think it of noconsequence whether portraits are like, if they are but well painted,you may be indifferent whether a piece of history is true or not, ifwell told.Dr. Johnson said at breakfast to-day, 'that it was but of late thathistorians bestowed pains and attention in consulting records, to attainto accuracy[1]. Bacon, in writing his history of Henry VII, does notseem to have consulted any, but to have just taken what he found inother histories, and blended it with what he learnt by tradition.' Heagreed with me that there should be a chronicle kept in everyconsiderable family, to preserve the characters and transactions ofsuccessive generations.After dinner I started the subject of the temple of ANAITIS. Mr. M'Queenhad laid stress on the name given to the place by the countrypeople,--_Ainnit_; and added, 'I knew not what to make of this piece ofantiquity, till I met with the _Anaitidis delubrum_ in Lydia, mentionedby Pausanias and the elder Pliny.' Dr. Johnson, with his usualacuteness, examined Mr. M'Queen as to the meaning of the word _Ainnit_,in Erse; and it proved to be a _water-place_, or a place near water,'which,' said Mr. M'Queen, 'agrees with all the descriptions of thetemples of that goddess, which were situated near rivers, that theremight be water to wash the statue.' JOHNSON. 'Nay, Sir, the argumentfrom the name is gone. The name is exhausted by what we see. We have nooccasion to go to a distance for what we can pick up under our feet. Hadit been an accidental name, the similarity between it and Anaitis mighthave had something in it; but it turns out to be a mere physiologicalname.' Macleod said, Mr. M'Queen's knowledge of etymology had destroyedhis conjecture. JOHNSON. 'Yes, Sir; Mr. M'Queen is like the eaglementioned by Waller, who was shot with an arrow feather'd from his ownwing[612].' Mr. M'Queen would not, however, give up his conjecture.JOHNSON. 'You have one possibility for you, and all possibilitiesagainst you. It is possible it may be the temple of Anaitis. But it isalso possible that it may be a fortification; or it may be a place ofChristian worship, as the first Christians often chose remote and wildplaces, to make an impression on the mind; or, if it was a heathentemple, it may have been built near a river, for the purpose oflustration; and there is such a multitude of divinities, to whom it mayhave been dedicated, that the chance of its being a temple of _Anaitis_is hardly any thing. It is like throwing a grain of sand upon thesea-shore to-day, and thinking you may find it to-morrow. No, Sir, thistemple, like many an ill-built edifice, tumbles down before it is roofedin.' In his triumph over the reverend antiquarian, he indulged himselfin a _conceit_; for, some vestige of the _altar_ of the goddess beingmuch insisted on in support of the hypothesis, he said, 'Mr. M'Queen isfighting _pro_ aris _et focis'_.It was wonderful how well time passed in a remote castle, and in drearyweather. After supper, we talked of Pennant. It was objected that he wassuperficial. Dr. Johnson defended him warmly[613]. He said, 'Pennant hasgreater variety of enquiry than almost any man, and has told us morethan perhaps one in ten thousand could have done, in the time that hetook. He has not said what he was to tell; so you cannot find fault withhim, for what he has not told. If a man comes to look for fishes, youcannot blame him if he does not attend to fowls.' 'But,' said ColonelM'Leod, 'he mentions the unreasonable rise of rents in the Highlands,and says, "the gentlemen are for emptying the bag, without fillingit[614];" for that is the phrase he uses. Why does he not tell how tofill it?' JOHNSON. 'Sir, there is no end of negative criticism. He tellswhat he observes, and as much as he chooses. If he tells what is nottrue, you may find fault with him; but, though he tells that the land isnot well cultivated, he is not obliged to tell how it may be wellcultivated. If I tell that many of the Highlanders go bare-footed, I amnot obliged to tell how they may get shoes. Pennant tells a fact. Heneed go no farther, except he pleases. He exhausts nothing; and nosubject whatever has yet been exhausted. But Pennant has surely told agreat deal. Here is a man six feet high, and you are angry because he isnot seven.' Notwithstanding this eloquent _Oratio pro Pennantio_, whichthey who have read this gentleman's _Tours_, and recollect the _Savage_and the _Shopkeeper_ at _Monboddo_[615], will probably impute to thespirit of contradiction, I still think that he had better have givenmore attention to fewer things, than have thrown together such a numberof imperfect accounts.SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18.Before breakfast, Dr. Johnson came up to my room to forbid me to mentionthat this was his birthday; but I told him I had done it already; atwhich he was displeased[616]; I suppose from wishing to have nothingparticular done on his account. Lady M'Leod and I got into a warmdispute. She wanted to build a house upon a farm which she has taken,about five miles from the castle, and to make gardens and otherornaments there; all of which I approved of; but insisted that the seatof the family should always be upon the rock of Dunvegan. JOHNSON. 'Ay,in time we'll build all round this rock. You may make a very good houseat the farm; but it must not be such as to tempt the Laird of M'Leod togo thither to reside. Most of the great families in England have asecondary residence, which is called a jointure-house: let the new housebe of that kind.' The lady insisted that the rock was very inconvenient;that there was no place near it where a good garden could be made; thatit must always be a rude place; that it was a _Herculean_ labour to makea dinner here. I was vexed to find the alloy of modern refinement in alady who had so much old family spirit. 'Madam, (said I,) if once youquit this rock, there is no knowing where you may settle. You move fivemiles first;--then to St. Andrews, as the late Laird did;--then toEdinburgh;--and so on till you end at Hampstead, or in France. No, no;keep to the rock: it is the very jewel of the estate. It looks as if ithad been let down from heaven by the four corners, to be the residenceof a Chief. Have all the comforts and conveniences of life upon it, butnever leave Rorie More's cascade.' 'But, (said she,) is it not enough ifwe keep it? Must we never have more convenience than Rorie More had? hehad his beef brought to dinner in one basket, and his bread in another.Why not as well be Rorie More all over, as live upon his rock? Andshould not we tire, in looking perpetually on this rock? It is very wellfor you, who have a fine place, and every thing easy, to talk thus, andthink of chaining honest folks to a rock. You would not live upon ityourself.' 'Yes, Madam, (said I,) I would live upon it, were I Laird ofM'Leod, and should be unhappy if I were not upon it.' JOHNSON. (with astrong voice, and most determined manner), 'Madam, rather than quit theold rock, Boswell would live in the pit; he would make his bed in thedungeon.' I felt a degree of elation, at finding my resolute feudalenthusiasm thus confirmed by such a sanction. The lady was puzzled alittle. She still returned to her pretty farm,--rich ground,--finegarden. 'Madam, (said Dr. Johnson,) were they in Asia, I would not leavethe rock.' My opinion on this subject is still the same. An ancientfamily residence ought to be a primary object; and though the situationof Dunvegan be such that little can be done here in gardening, orpleasure-ground, yet, in addition to the veneration required by thelapse of time, it has many circumstances of natural grandeur, suited tothe seat of a Highland Chief: it has the sea--islands--rocks,--hills,--a noble cascade; and when the family is again in opulence, somethingmay be done by art. Mr. Donald M'Queen went away to-day, in order topreach at Bracadale next day. We were so comfortably situated atDunvegan, that Dr. Johnson could hardly be moved from it. I proposed tohim that we should leave it on Monday. 'No, Sir, (said he,) I will notgo before Wednesday. I will have some more of this good[617].' However,as the weather was at this season so bad, and so very uncertain, and wehad a great deal to do yet, Mr. M'Queen and I prevailed with him toagree to set out on Monday, if the day should be good. Mr. M'Queen,though it was inconvenient for him to be absent from his harvest,engaged to wait on Monday at Ulinish for us. When he was going away, Dr.Johnson said, 'I shall ever retain a great regard for you[618];' thenasked him if he had _The Rambler_. Mr. M'Queen said, 'No; but my brotherhas it.' JOHNSON. 'Have you _The Idler_? M'QUEEN. 'No, Sir.' JOHNSON.'Then I will order one for you at Edinburgh, which you will keep inremembrance of me.' Mr. M'Queen was much pleased with this. He expressedto me, in the strongest terms, his admiration of Dr. Johnson's wonderfulknowledge, and every other quality for which he is distinguished. Iasked Mr. M'Queen, if he was satisfied with being a minister in Sky. Hesaid he was; but he owned that his forefathers having been so longthere, and his having been born there, made a chief ingredient informing his contentment. I should have mentioned that on our left hand,between Portree and Dr. Macleod's house, Mr. M'Queen told me there hadbeen a college of the Knights Templars; that tradition said so; and thatthere was a ruin remaining of their church, which had been burnt: but Iconfess Dr. Johnson has weakened my belief in remote tradition. In the