约翰逊4-6-86

'Dinner being ready, he wondered that his guests were not yet come.His wonder was soon succeeded by impatience. He walked about theroom in anxious agitation; sometimes he looked at his watch, sometimeshe looked out at the window with an eager gaze of expectation,and revolved in his mind the various accidents of human life. Hisfamily beheld him with mute concern. "Surely (said he, with a sigh,)they will not fail me." The mind of man can bear a certain pressure;but there is a point when it can bear no more. A rope was in his view,and he died a Roman death[1117].It was very late before we reached the seat of Sir John Dalrymple, who,certainly with some reason, was not in very good humour. Ourconversation was not brilliant. We supped, and went to bed in ancientrooms, which would have better suited the climate of Italy in summer,than that of Scotland in the month of November.I recollect no conversation of the next day, worth preserving, exceptone saying of Dr. Johnson, which will be a valuable text for many decentold dowagers, and other good company, in various circles to descantupon. He said, 'I am sorry I have not learnt to play at cards. It isvery useful in life: it generates kindness, and consolidatessociety[1118].' He certainly could not mean deep play.My friend and I thought we should be more comfortable at the inn atBlackshields, two miles farther on. We therefore went thither in theevening, and he was very entertaining; but I have preserved nothing butthe pleasing remembrance, and his verses on George the Second andCibber[1119], and his epitaph on Parnell[1120], which he was then sogood as to dictate to me. We breakfasted together next morning, and thenthe coach came, and took him up. He had, as one of his companions in it,as far as Newcastle, the worthy and ingenious Dr. Hope, botanicalprofessor at Edinburgh. Both Dr. Johnson and he used to speak of theirgood fortune in thus accidentally meeting; for they had much instructiveconversation, which is always a most valuable enjoyment, and, when foundwhere it is not expected, is peculiarly relished.I have now completed my account of our Tour to the Hebrides. I havebrought Dr. Johnson down to Scotland, and seen him into the coach whichin a few hours carried him back into England. He said to me often, thatthe time he spent in this Tour was the pleasantest part of hislife[1121], and asked me if I would lose the recollection of it for fivehundred pounds. I answered I would not; and he applauded my setting sucha value on an accession of new images in my mind[1122].Had it not been for me, I am persuaded Dr. Johnson never would haveundertaken such a journey; and I must be allowed to assume some meritfrom having been the cause that our language has been enriched with sucha book as that which he published on his return; a book which I neverread but with the utmost admiration, as I had such opportunities ofknowing from what very meagre materials it was composed.But my praise may be supposed partial; and therefore I shall insert twotestimonies, not liable to that objection, both written by gentlemen ofScotland, to whose opinions I am confident the highest respect will bepaid, Lord Hailes[1123], and Mr. Dempster[1124]. 'TO JAMESBOSWELL, ESQ.'SIR,'I have received much pleasure and much instruction, from perusing _TheJourney to the Hebrides_.'I admire the elegance and variety of description, and the livelypicture of men and manners. I always approve of the moral, often of thepolitical, reflections. I love the benevolence of the authour.'They who search for faults, may possibly find them in this, as well asin every other work of literature.'For example, the friends of the old family say that _the aera ofplanting_ is placed too late, at the Union of the two kingdoms[1125]. Iam known to be no friend of the old family; yet I would place the aeraof planting at the Restoration; after the murder of Charles I. had beenexpiated in the anarchy which succeeded it.'Before the Restoration, few trees were planted, unless by themonastick drones: their successors, (and worthy patriots they were,) thebarons, first cut down the trees, and then sold the estates. Thegentleman at St. Andrews, who said that there were but two trees inFife[1126], ought to have added, that the elms of Balmerino[1127] weresold within these twenty years, to make pumps for the fire-engines.'In J. Major de _Gestis Scotorum_, L. i. C. 2. last edition, there is asingular passage:--'"Davidi Cranstoneo conterraneo, dum de prima theologiae licentia foret,duo ei consocii et familiares, et mei cum eo in artibus auditores,scilicet Jacobus Almain Senonensis, et Petrus Bruxcellensis,Praedicatoris ordinis, in Sorbonae curia die Sorbonico commilitonibussuis publice objecerunt, _quod pane avenaceo plebeii Scoti_, sicut aquodam religioso intellexerant, _vescebantur, ut virum, quem cholericumnoverant, honestis salibus tentarent, qui hoc inficiari tanquam patriaededecus nisus est_."'Pray introduce our countryman, Mr. Licentiate David Cranston, tothe acquaintance of Mr. Johnson.'The syllogism seems to have been this:'They who feed on oatmeal are barbarians;But the Scots feed on oatmeal:Ergo--The licentiate denied the _minor_,I am, Sir,Your most obedient servant,'DAV. DALRYMPLE.''Newhailes, 6th Feb. 1775.'To JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ., EDINBURGH.Dunnichen, 16th February, 1775.'MY DEAR BOSWELL,'I cannot omit a moment to return you my best thanks for theentertainment you have furnished me, my family, and guests, by theperusal of Dr. Johnson's _Journey to the Western Islands_; and now formy sentiments of it. I was well entertained. His descriptions areaccurate and vivid. He carried me on the Tour along with him. I ampleased with the justice he has done to your humour and vivacity. "Thenoise of the wind being all its own," is a _bon-mot_, that it would havebeen a pity to have omitted, and a robbery not to have ascribed to itsauthor[1128].'There is nothing in the book, from beginning to end, that a Scotchmanneed to take amiss[1129]. What he says of the country is true, and hisobservations on the people are what must naturally occur to a sensible,observing, and reflecting inhabitant of a _convenient_ Metropolis, wherea man on thirty pounds a year may be better accommodated with all thelittle wants of life, than _Col._ or _Sir Allan_. He reasons candidlyabout the _second sight_; but I wish he had enquired more, before heventured to say he even doubted of the possibility of such an unusualand useless deviation from all the known laws of nature[1130]. Thenotion of the second sight I consider as a remnant of superstitiousignorance and credulity, which a philosopher will set down as such, tillthe contrary is clearly proved, and then it will be classed among theother certain, though unaccountable parts of our nature, likedreams[1131], and-I do not know what. 'In regard to the language, ithas the merit of being all his own. Many words of foreign extraction areused, where, I believe, common ones would do as well, especially onfamiliar occasions. Yet I believe he could not express himself soforcibly in any other stile. I am charmed with his researches concerningthe Erse language, and the antiquity of their manuscripts. I am quiteconvinced; and I shall rank _Ossian_, and his _Fingals_ and _Oscars_,amongst the Nursery Tales, not the true history of our country, in alltime to come.'Upon the whole, the book cannot displease, for it has no pretensions.The author neither says he is a Geographer, nor an Antiquarian, nor verylearned in the History of Scotland, nor a Naturalist, nor aFossilist[1132]. The manners of the people, and the face of the country,are all he attempts to describe, or seems to have thought of. Much wereit to be wished, that they who have travelled into more remote, and ofcourse, more curious, regions, had all possessed his good sense. Of thestate of learning, his observations on Glasgow University[1133] shew hehas formed a very sound judgement. He understands our climate too, andhe has accurately observed the changes, however slow and imperceptibleto us, which Scotland has undergone, in consequence of the blessings ofliberty and internal peace. I could have drawn my pen through the storyof the old woman at St. Andrews, being the only silly thing in thebook[1134]. He has taken the opportunity of ingrafting into the workseveral good observations, which I dare say he had made upon men andthings, before he set foot on Scotch ground, by which it is considerablyenriched[1135]. A long journey, like a tall May-pole, though not verybeautiful itself, yet is pretty enough, when ornamented with flowers andgarlands; it furnishes a sort of cloak-pins for hanging the furniture ofyour mind upon; and whoever sets out upon a journey, without furnishinghis mind previously with much study and useful knowledge, erects aMay-pole in December, and puts up very useless cloak-pins[1136].'I hope the book will induce many of his countrymen to make the samejaunt, and help to intermix the more liberal part of them still morewith us, and perhaps abate somewhat of that virulent antipathy whichmany of them entertain against the Scotch: who certainly would neverhave formed those _combinations_[1137] which he takes notice of, morethan their ancestors, had they not been necessary for their mutualsafety, at least for their success, in a country where they are treatedas foreigners. They would find us not deficient, at least in point ofhospitality, and they would be ashamed ever after to abuse us inthe mass.'So much for the Tour. I have now, for the first time in my life, passeda winter in the country; and never did three months roll on with moreswiftness and satisfaction. I used not only to wonder at, but pity,those whose lot condemned them to winter any where but in either of thecapitals. But every place has its charms to a cheerful mind. I am busyplanting and taking measures for opening the summer campaign in farming;and I find I have an excellent resource, when revolutions in politicksperhaps, and revolutions of the sun for certain, will make it decent forme to retreat behind the ranks of the more forward in life.'I am glad to hear the last was a very busy week with you. I see you ascounsel in some causes which must have opened a charming field for yourhumourous vein. As it is more uncommon, so I verily believe it is moreuseful than the more serious exercise of reason; and, to a man who is toappear in publick, more eclat is to be gained, sometimes more money too,by a _bon-mot_, than a learned speech. It is the fund of natural humourwhich Lord North possesses, that makes him so much the favourite of thehouse, and so able, because so amiable, a leader of a party[1138].'I have now finished _my_ Tour of _Seven Pages_. In what remains, I begleave to offer my compliments, and those of _ma tres chere femme_, toyou and Mrs. Boswell. Pray unbend the busy brow, and frolick a little ina letter to,'My dear Boswell,'Your affectionate friend,'GEORGE DEMPSTER[1139].'I shall also present the publick with a correspondence with the Lairdof Rasay, concerning a passage in the _Journey to the_ Western Islands,which shews Dr. Johnson in a very amiable light.'To JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ.'Rasay, April 10th, 1775.'DEAR SIR,'I take this occasion of returning you my most hearty thanks for thecivilities shewn to my daughter by you and Mrs. Boswell. Yet, though shehas informed me that I am under this obligation, I should very probablyhave deferred troubling you with making my acknowledgments at present,if I had not seen Dr. Johnson's _Journey to the Western Isles_, in whichhe has been pleased to make a very friendly mention of my family, forwhich I am surely obliged to him, as being more than an equivalent forthe reception you and he met with. Yet there is one paragraph I shouldhave been glad he had omitted, which I am sure was owing tomisinformation; that is, that I had acknowledged McLeod to be my chief,though my ancestors disputed the pre-eminence for a long tract of time.'I never had occasion to enter seriously on this argument with thepresent laird or his grandfather, nor could I have any temptation tosuch a renunciation from either of them. I acknowledge, the benefit ofbeing chief of a clan is in our days of very little significancy, and totrace out the progress of this honour to the founder of a family, of anystanding, would perhaps be a matter of some difficulty.'The true state of the present case is this: the McLeod family consistsof two different branches; the M'Leods of Lewis, of which I amdescended, and the M'Leods of Harris. And though the former have lost avery extensive estate by forfeiture in king James the Sixth's time,there are still several respectable families of it existing, who wouldjustly blame me for such an unmeaning cession, when they all acknowledgeme head of that family; which though in fact it be but an ideal point ofhonour, is not hitherto so far disregarded in our country, but it woulddetermine some of my friends to look on me as a much smaller man thaneither they or myself judge me at present to be. I will, therefore, askit as a favour of you to acquaint the Doctor with the difficulty he hasbrought me to. In travelling among rival clans, such a silly tale asthis might easily be whispered into the ear of a passing stranger; butas it has no foundation in fact, I hope the Doctor will be so good as totake his own way in undeceiving the publick, I principally mean myfriends and connections, who will be first angry at me, and next sorryto find such an instance of my littleness recorded in a book which has avery fair chance of being much read. I expect you will let me know whathe will write you in return, and we here beg to make offer to you andMrs. Boswell of our most respectful compliments.'I am,'Dear Sir,'Your most obedient humble servant,'JOHN M'LEOD.'* * * * *'TO THE LAIRD OF RASAY.'London, May 8, 1775.'DEAR SIR,'The day before yesterday I had the honour to receive your letter, and Iimmediately communicated it to Dr. Johnson. He said he loved yourspirit, and was exceedingly sorry that he had been the cause of thesmallest uneasiness to you. There is not a more candid man in the worldthan he is, when properly addressed, as you will see from his letter toyou, which I now enclose. He has allowed me to take a copy of it, and hesays you may read it to your clan, or publish it if you please. Beassured, Sir, that I shall take care of what he has entrusted to me,which is to have an acknowledgement of his errour inserted in theEdinburgh newspapers. You will, I dare say, be fully satisfied with Dr.Johnson's behaviour. He is desirous to know that you are; and thereforewhen you have read his acknowledgement in the papers, I beg you maywrite to me; and if you choose it, I am persuaded a letter from you tothe Doctor also will be taken kind. I shall be at Edinburgh the weekafter next.'Any civilities which my wife and I had in our power to shew to yourdaughter, Miss M'Leod, were due to her own merit, and were well repaidby her agreeable company. But I am sure I should be a very unworthy manif I did not wish to shew a grateful sense of the hospitable and genteelmanner in which you were pleased to treat me. Be assured, my dear Sir,that I shall never forget your goodness, and the happy hours which Ispent in Rasay.'You and Dr. M'Leod were both so obliging as to promise me an account inwriting, of all the particulars which each of you remember, concerningthe transactions of 1745-6. Pray do not forget this, and be as minuteand full as you can; put down every thing; I have a great curiosity toknow as much as I can, authentically.'I beg that you may present my best respects to Lady Rasay, mycompliments to your young family, and to Dr. M'Leod; and my hearty goodwishes to Malcolm, with whom I hope again to shake hands cordially. Ihave the honour to be,'Dear Sir,'Your obliged and faithful humble servant,'JAMES BOSWELL.' ADVERTISEMENT, written by Dr. Johnson, and insertedby his desire in the Edinburgh newspapers:--Referred to in the foregoingletter[1140]._'THE authour of the_ Journey to the Western Islands, _having relatedthat the M'Leods of Rasay acknowledge the chieftainship or superiorityof the M'Leods of Sky, finds that he has been misinformed or mistaken.He means in a future edition to correct his errour[1141], and wishes tobe told of more, if more have been discovered.'_Dr. Johnson's letter was as follows:--'To THE LAIRD OF RASAY.'DEAR SIR,'Mr. Boswell has this day shewn me a letter, in which you complain of apassage in _The Journey to the Hebrides._ My meaning is mistaken. I didnot intend to say that you had personally made any cession of the rightsof your house, or any acknowledgement of the superiority of M'Leod ofDunvegan. I only designed to express what I thought generallyadmitted,--that the house of Rasay allowed the superiority of the houseof Dunvegan. Even this I now find to be erroneous, and will thereforeomit or retract it in the next edition.'Though what I had said had been true, if it had been disagreeable toyou, I should have wished it unsaid; for it is not my business to adjustprecedence. As it is mistaken, I find myself disposed to correct, bothby my respect for you, and my reverence for truth. 'As I know not whenthe book will be reprinted, I have desired Mr. Boswell to anticipate thecorrection in the Edinburgh papers. This is all that can be done.'I hope I may now venture to desire that my compliments may be made, andmy gratitude expressed, to Lady Rasay, Mr. Malcolm M'Leod, Mr. DonaldM'Queen, and all the gentlemen and all the ladies whom I saw in theisland of Rasay; a place which I remember with too much pleasure and toomuch kindness, not to be sorry that my ignorance, or hasty persuasion,should, for a single moment, have violated its tranquillity.'I beg you all to forgive an undesigned and involuntary injury, and toconsider me as,'Sir, your most obliged,'And most humble servant,'SAM. JOHNSON[1142].''London, May 6, 1775.'It would be improper for me to boast of my own labours; but I cannotrefrain from publishing such praise as I received from such a man as SirWilliam Forbes, of Pitsligo, after the perusal of the originalmanuscript of my _Journal_[1143].'To JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ.'Edinburgh, March 7, 1777.'My DEAR SIR,'I ought to have thanked you sooner, for your very obliging letter, andfor the singular confidence you are pleased to place in me, when youtrust me with such a curious and valuable deposit as the papers youhave sent me[1144]. Be assured I have a due sense of this favour, andshall faithfully and carefully return them to you. You may rely that Ishall neither copy any part, nor permit the papers to be seen.'They contain a curious picture of society, and form a journal on themost instructive plan that can possibly be thought of; for I am not surethat an ordinary observer would become so well acquainted either withDr. Johnson, or with the manners of the Hebrides, by a personalintercourse, as by a perusal of your _Journal_.'I am, very truly,'Dear Sir,'Your most obedient,'And affectionate humble servant,