约翰逊4-6-76

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29[720].After a very good sleep, I rose more refreshed than I had been for somenights. We were now at but a little distance from the shore, and saw thesea from our windows, which made our voyage seem nearer. Mr. M'Pherson'smanners and address pleased us much. He appeared to be a man of suchintelligence and taste as to be sensible of the extraordinary powers ofhis illustrious guest. He said to me, 'Dr. Johnson is an honour tomankind; and, if the expression may be used, is an honour to religion.'Col, who had gone yesterday to pay a visit at Camuscross, joined us thismorning at breakfast. Some other gentlemen also came to enjoy theentertainment of Dr. Johnson's conversation. The day was windy andrainy, so that we had just seized a happy interval for our journey lastnight. We had good entertainment here, better accommodation than atCorrichatachin, and time enough to ourselves. The hours slipped alongimperceptibly. We talked of Shenstone. Dr. Johnson said he was a goodlayer-out of land[721], but would not allow him to approach excellenceas a poet. He said, he believed he had tried to read all his _LovePastorals_, but did not get through them. I repeated the stanza,'She gazed as I slowly withdrew;My path I could hardly discern;So sweetly she bade me adieu,I thought that she bade me return[722].'He said, 'That seems to be pretty.' I observed that Shenstone, from hisshort maxims in prose, appeared to have some power of thinking; but Dr.Johnson would not allow him that merit[723]. He agreed, however, withShenstone, that it was wrong in the brother of one of his correspondentsto burn his letters[724]: 'for, (said he,) Shenstone was a man whosecorrespondence was an honour.' He was this afternoon full of criticalseverity, and dealt about his censures on all sides. He said, Hammond's_Love Elegies_ were poor things[725]. He spoke contemptuously of ourlively and elegant, though too licentious, Lyrick bard, HanburyWilliams, and said, 'he had no fame, but from boys who drank withhim[726].'While he was in this mood, I was unfortunate enough, simply perhaps, butI could not help thinking, undeservedly, to come within 'the whiff andwind of his fell sword[727].' I asked him, if he had ever beenaccustomed to wear a night-cap. He said 'No.' I asked, if it was bestnot to wear one. JOHNSON. 'Sir, I had this custom by chance, and perhapsno man shall ever know whether it is best to sleep with or without anight-cap.' Soon afterwards he was laughing at some deficiency in theHighlands, and said, 'One might as well go without shoes and stockings.'Thinking to have a little hit at his own deficiency, I ventured toadd,------' or without a night-cap, Sir.' But I had better have beensilent; for he retorted directly. 'I do not see the connection there(laughing). Nobody before was ever foolish enough to ask whether it wasbest to wear a night-cap or not. This comes of being a littlewrong-headed.' He carried the company along with him: and yet the truthis, that if he had always worn a night-cap, as is the common practice,and found the Highlanders did not wear one, he would have wondered attheir barbarity; so that my hit was fair enough.THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30.There was as great a storm of wind and rain as I have almost ever seen,which necessarily confined us to the house; but we were fullycompensated by Dr. Johnson's conversation. He said, he did not grudgeBurke's being the first man in the House of Commons, for he was thefirst man every where; but he grudged that a fellow who makes no figurein company, and has a mind as narrow as the neck of a vinegar cruet,should make a figure in the House of Commons, merely by having theknowledge of a few forms, and being furnished with a little occasionalinformation[728]. He told us, the first time he saw Dr. Young was at thehouse of Mr. Richardson, the author of _Clarissa_. He was sent for, thatthe doctor might read to him his _Conjectures on originalComposition_[729], which he did, and Dr. Johnson made his remarks; andhe was surprized to find Young receive as novelties, what he thoughtvery common maxims. He said, he believed Young was not a great scholar,nor had studied regularly the art of writing[730]; that there were veryfine things in his _Night Thoughts_[731], though you could not findtwenty lines together without some extravagance. He repeated twopassages from his _Love of Fame_,--the characters of Brunetta[732] andStella[733], which he praised highly. He said Young pressed him much tocome to Wellwyn. He always intended it, but never went[734]. He wassorry when Young died. The cause of quarrel between Young and his son,he told us, was, that his son insisted Young should turn away aclergyman's widow, who lived with him, and who, having acquired greatinfluence over the father, was saucy to the son. Dr. Johnson said, shecould not conceal her resentment at him, for saying to Young, that 'anold man should not resign himself to the management of any body.' Iasked him, if there was any improper connection between them. 'No, Sir,no more than between two statues. He was past fourscore, and she a verycoarse woman. She read to him, and I suppose made his coffee, andfrothed his chocolate, and did such things as an old man wishes to havedone for him.'Dr. Doddridge being mentioned, he observed that 'he was author of one ofthe finest epigrams in the English language. It is in Orton's Life ofhim.[735] The subject is his family motto,--_Dum vivimus, vivamus_;which, in its primary signification, is, to be sure, not very suitableto a Christian divine; but he paraphrased it thus:"Live, while you live, the _epicure_ would say,And seize the pleasures of the present day.Live, while you live, the sacred _preacher_ cries,And give to GOD each moment as it flies.Lord, in my views let both united be;I live in _pleasure_, when I live to _thee_."'I asked if it was not strange that government should permit so manyinfidel writings to pass without censure. JOHNSON. 'Sir, it is mightyfoolish. It is for want of knowing their own power. The present familyon the throne came to the crown against the will of nine tenths of thepeople.[736] Whether those nine tenths were right or wrong, it is notour business now to enquire. But such being the situation of the royalfamily, they were glad to encourage all who would be their friends. Nowyou know every bad man is a Whig; every man who has loose notions. Thechurch was all against this family. They were, as I say, glad toencourage any friends; and therefore, since their accession, there is noinstance of any man being kept back on account of his bad principles;and hence this inundation of impiety[737].' I observed that Mr. Hume,some of whose writings were very unfavourable to religion, was, however,a Tory. JOHNSON. 'Sir, Hume is a Tory by chance[738] as being aScotchman; but not upon a principle of duty; for he has no principle. Ifhe is any thing, he is a Hobbist.'There was something not quite serene in his humour to-night, aftersupper; for he spoke of hastening away to London, without stopping muchat Edinburgh. I reminded him that he had General Oughton and many othersto see. JOHNSON. 'Nay, I shall neither go in jest, nor stay in jest. Ishall do what is fit.' BOSWELL. 'Ay, Sir, but all I desire is, that youwill let me tell you when it is fit.' JOHNSON. 'Sir, I shall not consultyou.' BOSWELL. 'If you are to run away from us, as soon as you getloose, we will keep you confined in an island.' He was, however, on thewhole, very good company. Mr. Donald McLeod expressed very well thegradual impression made by Dr. Johnson on those who are so fortunate asto obtain his acquaintance. 'When you see him first, you are struck withawful reverence;--then you admire him;--and then you love himcordially.'I read this evening some part of Voltaire's _History of the War_ in1741[739], and of Lord Kames against Hereditary Indefeasible Right. Thisis a very slight circumstance, with which I should not trouble myreader, but for the sake of observing that every man should keep minutesof whatever he reads. Every circumstance of his studies should berecorded; what books he has consulted; how much of them he has read; atwhat times; how often the same authors; and what opinions he formed ofthem, at different periods of his life. Such an account would muchillustrate the history of his mind.[740]FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1.I shewed to Dr. Johnson verses in a magazine, on his _Dictionary_,composed of uncommon words taken from it:--'Little of _Anthropopathy_[741] has he,' &c.He read a few of them, and said, 'I am not answerable for all the wordsin my _Dictionary_'. I told him that Garrick kept a book of all who hadeither praised or abused him. On the subject of his own reputation, hesaid,' Now that I see it has been so current a topick, I wish I had doneso too; but it could not well be done now, as so many things arescattered in newspapers.' He said he was angry at a boy of Oxford, whowrote in his defence against Kenrick; because it was doing him hurt toanswer Kenrick. He was told afterwards, the boy was to come to him toask a favour. He first thought to treat him rudely, on account of hismeddling in that business; but then he considered, he had meant to dohim all the service in his power, and he took another resolution; hetold him he would do what he could for him, and did so; and the boy wassatisfied. He said, he did not know how his pamphlet was done, as he had'read very little of it. The boy made a good figure at Oxford, butdied.[742] He remarked, that attacks on authors did them much service.'A man who tells me my play is very bad, is less my enemy than he wholets it die in silence. A man whose business it is to be talked of, ismuch helped by being attacked.'[743] Garrick, I observed, had been oftenso helped. JOHNSON. 'Yes, Sir; though Garrick had more opportunitiesthan almost any man, to keep the publick in mind of him, by exhibitinghimself to such numbers, he would not have had so much reputation, hadhe not been so much attacked. Every attack produces a defence; and soattention is engaged. There is no sport in mere praise, when people areall of a mind.' BOSWELL. 'Then Hume is not the worse for Beattie'sattack?[744]' JOHNSON. 'He is, because Beattie has confuted him. I donot say, but that there may be some attacks which will hurt an author.Though Hume suffered from Beattie, he was the better for other attacks.'(He certainly could not include in that number those of Dr. Adams[745],and Mr. Tytler[746].) BOSWELL. 'Goldsmith is the better for attacks.'JOHNSON. 'Yes, Sir; but he does not think so yet. When Goldsmith and Ipublished, each of us something, at the same time[747], we were given tounderstand that we might review each other. Goldsmith was for acceptingthe offer. I said, No; set Reviewers at defiance. It was said to oldBentley, upon the attacks against him, "Why, they'll write you down.""No, Sir," he replied; "depend upon it, no man was ever written down butby himself[748]." 'He observed to me afterwards, that the advantagesauthors derived from attacks, were chiefly in subjects of taste, whereyou cannot confute, as so much may be said on either side.[749] He toldme he did not know who was the authour of the _Adventures of aGuinea_[750], but that the bookseller had sent the first volume to himin manuscript, to have his opinion if it should be printed; and hethought it should.The weather being now somewhat better, Mr. James McDonald, factor to SirAlexander McDonald in Slate, insisted that all the company at Ostigshould go to the house at Armidale, which Sir Alexander had left, havinggone with his lady to Edinburgh, and be his guests, till we had anopportunity of sailing to Mull. We accordingly got there to dinner; andpassed our day very cheerfully, being no less than fourteen in number.SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2.Dr. Johnson said, that 'a Chief and his Lady should make their houselike a court. They should have a certain number of the gentlemen'sdaughters to receive their education in the family, to learn pastry andsuch things from the housekeeper, and manners from my lady. That was theway in the great families in Wales; at Lady Salisbury's,[751] Mrs.Thrale's grandmother, and at Lady Philips's.[752] I distinguish thefamilies by the ladies, as I speak of what was properly their province.There were always six young ladies at Sir John Philips's: when one wasmarried, her place was filled up. There was a large school-room, wherethey learnt needle-work and other things.' I observed, that, at somecourts in Germany, there were academies for the pages, who are the sonsof gentlemen, and receive their education without any expence to theirparents. Dr. Johnson said, that manners were best learned at thosecourts.' You are admitted with great facility to the prince's company,and yet must treat him with much respect. At a great court, you are atsuch a distance that you get no good.' I said, 'Very true: a man seesthe court of Versailles, as if he saw it on a theatre.' He said, 'Thebest book that ever was written upon good breeding, _Il Corteggiano_, byCastiglione[753], grew up at the little court of Urbino, and you shouldread it.' I am glad always to have his opinion of books. At Mr.McPherson's, he commended Whitby's _Commentary_[754], and said, he hadheard him called rather lax; but he did not perceive it. He had lookedat a novel, called _The Man of the World_[755], at Rasay, but thoughtthere was nothing in it. He said to-day, while reading my _Journal_,'This will be a great treasure to us some years hence.'Talking of a very penurious gentleman of our acquaintance[756], heobserved, that he exceeded _L'Avare_ in the play[757]. I concurred withhim, and remarked that he would do well, if introduced in one of Foote'sfarces; that the best way to get it done, would be to bring Foote to beentertained at his house for a week, and then it would be _facitindignatio_[758]. JOHNSON. 'Sir, I wish he had him. I, who have eatenhis bread, will not give him to him; but I should be glad he camehonestly by him.'He said, he was angry at Thrale, for sitting at General Oglethorpe'swithout speaking. He censured a man for degrading himself to anon-entity. I observed, that Goldsmith was on the other extreme; for hespoke at all ventures.[759] JOHNSON. 'Yes, Sir; Goldsmith, rather thannot speak, will talk of what he knows himself to be ignorant, which canonly end in exposing him.' 'I wonder, (said I,) if he feels that heexposes himself. If he was with two taylors,' 'Or with two founders,(said Dr. Johnson, interrupting me,) he would fall a talking on themethod of making cannon, though both of them would soon see that he didnot know what metal a cannon is made of.' We were very social and merryin his room this forenoon. In the evening the company danced as usual.We performed, with much activity, a dance which, I suppose, theemigration from Sky has occasioned. They call it _America_. Each of thecouples, after the common _involutions_ and _evolutions_, successivelywhirls round in a circle, till all are in motion; and the dance seemsintended to shew how emigration catches, till a whole neighbourhood isset afloat. Mrs. M'Kinnon told me, that last year when a ship sailedfrom Portree for America, the people on shore were almost distractedwhen they saw their relations go off, they lay down on the ground,tumbled, and tore the grass with their teeth. This year there was not atear shed. The people on shore seemed to think that they would soonfollow. This indifference is a mortal sign for the country.We danced to-night to the musick of the bagpipe, which made us beat theground with prodigious force. I thought it better to endeavour toconciliate the kindness of the people of Sky, by joining heartily intheir amusements, than to play the abstract scholar. I looked on thisTour to the Hebrides as a copartnership between Dr. Johnson and me. Eachwas to do all he could to promote its success; and I have some reason toflatter myself, that my gayer exertions were of service to us. Dr.Johnson's immense fund of knowledge and wit was a wonderful source ofadmiration and delight to them; but they had it only at times; and theyrequired to have the intervals agreeably filled up, and even littleelucidations of his learned text. I was also fortunate enough frequentlyto draw him forth to talk, when he would otherwise have been silent. Thefountain was at times locked up, till I opened the spring. It wascurious to hear the Hebridians, when any dispute happened while he wasout of the room, saying, 'Stay till Dr. Johnson comes: say thatto _him!_Yesterday, Dr. Johnson said, 'I cannot but laugh, to think of myselfroving among the Hebrides at sixty[760]. I wonder where I shall rove atfourscore[761]!' This evening he disputed the truth of what is said, asto the people of St. Kilda catching cold whenever strangers come. 'Howcan there (said he) be a physical effect without a physical cause[762]?'He added, laughing, 'the arrival of a ship full of strangers would killthem; for, if one stranger gives them one cold, two strangers must givethem two colds; and so in proportion.' I wondered to hear him ridiculethis, as he had praised M'Aulay for putting it in his book: saying, thatit was manly in him to tell a fact, however strange, if he himselfbelieved it[763]. He said, the evidence was not adequate to theimprobability of the thing; that if a physician, rather disposed to beincredulous, should go to St. Kilda, and report the fact, then he wouldbegin to look about him. They said, it was annually proved by M'Leod'ssteward, on whose arrival all the inhabitants caught cold. He jocularlyremarked, 'the steward always comes to demand something from them; andso they fall a coughing. I suppose the people in Sky all take a cold,when--(naming a certain person[764]) comes.' They said, he came only insummer. JOHNSON. 'That is out of tenderness to you. Bad weather and he,at the same time, would be too much.'SUNDAY, OCTOBER 3.Joseph reported that the wind was still against us. Dr. Johnson said, 'Awind, or not a wind? that is the question[765];' for he can amusehimself at times with a little play of words, or rather sentences. Iremember when he turned his cup at Aberbrothick, where we drank tea, hemuttered _Claudite jam rivos, pueri'_[766]. I must again and againapologize to fastidious readers, for recording such minute particulars.They prove the scrupulous fidelity of my _Journal_. Dr. Johnson said itwas a very exact picture of a portion of his life.While we were chatting in the indolent stile of men who were to stayhere all this day at least, we were suddenly roused at being told thatthe wind was fair, that a little fleet of herring-busses was passing byfor Mull, and that Mr. Simpson's vessel was about to sail. HughM'Donald, the skipper, came to us, and was impatient that we should getready, which we soon did. Dr. Johnson, with composure and solemnity,repeated the observation of Epictetus, that, 'as man has the voyage ofdeath before him,--whatever may be his employment, he should be ready atthe master's call; and an old man should never be far from the shore,lest he should not be able to get himself ready.' He rode, and I and theother gentlemen walked, about an English mile to the shore, where thevessel lay. Dr. Johnson said, he should never forget Sky, and returnedthanks for all civilities. We were carried to the vessel in a small boatwhich she had, and we set sail very briskly about one o'clock. I wasmuch pleased with the motion for many hours. Dr. Johnson grew sick, andretired under cover, as it rained a good deal. I kept above, that Imight have fresh air, and finding myself not affected by the motion ofthe vessel, I exulted in being a stout seaman, while Dr. Johnson wasquite in a state of annihilation. But I was soon humbled; for afterimagining that I could go with ease to America or the East-Indies, Ibecame very sick, but kept above board, though it rained hard.As we had been detained so long in Sky by bad weather, we gave up thescheme that Col had planned for us of visiting several islands, andcontented ourselves with the prospect of seeing Mull, and Icolmkill andInchkenneth, which lie near to it.Mr. Simpson was sanguine in his hopes for awhile, the wind being fairfor us. He said, he would land us at Icolmkill that night. But when thewind failed, it was resolved we should make for the sound of Mull, andland in the harbour of Tobermorie. We kept near the five herring vesselsfor some time; but afterwards four of them got before us, and one littlewherry fell behind us. When we got in full view of the point ofArdnamurchan, the wind changed, and was directly against our gettinginto the Sound. We were then obliged to tack, and get forward in thattedious manner. As we advanced, the storm grew greater, and the sea veryrough. Col then began to talk of making for Egg, or Canna, or his ownisland. Our skipper said, he would get us into the Sound. Havingstruggled for this a good while in vain, he said, he would push forwardtill we were near the land of Mull, where we might cast anchor, and lietill the morning; for although, before this, there had been a good moon,and I had pretty distinctly seen not only the land of Mull, but up theSound, and the country of Morven as at one end of it, the night was nowgrown very dark. Our crew consisted of one M'Donald, our skipper, andtwo sailors, one of whom had but one eye: Mr. Simpson himself, Col, andHugh M'Donald his servant, all helped. Simpson said, he would willinglygo for Col, if young Col or his servant would undertake to pilot us toa harbour; but, as the island is low land, it was dangerous to run uponit in the dark. Col and his servant appeared a little dubious. Thescheme of running for Canna seemed then to be embraced; but Canna wasten leagues off, all out of our way; and they were afraid to attempt theharbour of Egg. All these different plans were successively inagitation. The old skipper still tried to make for the land of Mull; butthen it was considered that there was no place there where we couldanchor in safety. Much time was lost in striving against the storm. Atlast it became so rough, and threatened to be so much worse, that Coland his servant took more courage, and said they would undertake to hitone of the harbours in Col. 'Then let us run for it in GOD'S name,' saidthe skipper; and instantly we turned towards it. The little wherry whichhad fallen behind us had hard work. The master begged that, if we madefor Col, we should put out a light to him. Accordingly one of thesailors waved a glowing peat for some time. The various difficultiesthat were started, gave me a good deal of apprehension, from which I wasrelieved, when I found we were to run for a harbour before the wind. Butmy relief was but of short duration: for I soon heard that our sailswere very bad, and were in danger of being torn in pieces, in which casewe should be driven upon the rocky shore of Col. It was very dark, andthere was a heavy and incessant rain. The sparks of the burning peatflew so much about, that I dreaded the vessel might take fire. Then, asCol was a sportsman, and had powder on board, I figured that we might beblown up. Simpson and he appeared a little frightened, which made memore so; and the perpetual talking, or rather shouting, which wascarried on in Erse, alarmed me still more. A man is always suspicious ofwhat is saying in an unknown tongue; and, if fear be his passion at thetime, he grows more afraid. Our vessel often lay so much on one side,that I trembled lest she should be overset, and indeed they told meafterwards, that they had run her sometimes to within an inch of the