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contemplation.--That two such great and luminous minds should have beenso dark in one corner,--that _they_ should have held it to be 'Wickedrebellion in the British subjects established in America, to resist theabject condition of holding all their property at the mercy of Britishsubjects remaining at home, while their allegiance to our common Lordthe King was to be preserved inviolate,--is a striking proof to me,either that 'He who sitteth in Heaven' [_Psalms_, ii.4] scorns theloftiness of human pride,--or that the evil spirit, whose personalexistence I strongly believe, and even in this age am confirmed in thatbelief by a _Fell_, nay, by a _Hurd_, has more power than some choose toallow. BOSWELL. Horace Walpole writing on June 10, 1778, after censuringRobertson for sneering at Las Casas, continues:--'Could ArchbishopMarkham in a Sermon before the Society for the Propagation of the Gospelby fire and sword paint charity in more contemptuous terms? It is aChristian age.' _Letters_, vii.81. It was Archbishop Markham to whomJohnson made the famous bow; _ante_, vol. iv, just before April 10,1783. John Fell published in 1779 _Demoniacs; an Enquiry into theHeathen and Scripture Doctrine of Daemons_. For Hurd see _ante_, underJune 9,1784.[89] See Forster's _Essays_, ii 304-9. Mr. Forster often quotes Cooke inhis _Life of Goldsmith_. He describes him (i. 58) as 'a _young_ Irishlaw student who had chambers near Goldsmith in the temple.' Goldsmithdid not reside in the temple till 1763 (_ib_. p.336), and Cooke was oldenough to have published his _Hesiod_ in 1728, and to have found a placein _The Dunciad_ (ii. 138). See Elwin and Courthope's _Pope_, x. 212,for his correspondence with Pope.[90] It may be observed, that I sometimes call my great friend, _Mr_.Johnson, sometimes _Dr_. Johnson: though he had at this time a doctor'sdegree from Trinity College, Dublin. The University of Oxford afterwardsconferred it upon him by a diploma, in very honourable terms. It wassome time before I could bring myself to call him Doctor; but, as he hasbeen long known by that title, I shall give it to him in the rest ofthis Journal. BOSWELL. See _ante_, i. 488, note 3, and ii. 332, note I.[91] In _The Idler_, No. viii, Johnson has the following fling attragedians. He had mentioned the terror struck into our soldiers by theIndian war-cry, and he continues:--'I am of opinion that by a propermixture of asses, bulls, turkeys, geese, and tragedians a noise might beprocured equally horrid with the war-cry.' See _ante_, ii.92.[92] _Tom Jones_, Bk. xvi. chap. 5. Mme. Necker in a letter to Garricksaid:--'Nos acteurs se metamorphosent assez bien, mais Monsieur Garrickfait autre chose; il nous metamorphose tous dans le caractere qu'il arevetu; _nous sommes remplis de terreur avec Hamlet_,' &c. _GarrickCorres_. ii. 627.[93] See _ante_, i. 432, and ii. 278.[94] See _ante_, ii. 11.[95] Euphan M'Cullan (not Eupham Macallan) is mentioned in Dalrymple's[Lord Hailes] _Remarks on the History of Scotland_, p. 254. Shemaintained that 'she seldom ever prayed but she got a positive answer.'The minister of her parish was ill. 'She prayed, and got an answer thatfor a year's time he should be spared; and after the year's end he fellsick again.' 'I went,' said she, 'to pray yet again for his life; butthe Lord left me not an mouse's likeness (a proverbial expression,meaning _to reprove with such severity that the person reproved shrinksand becomes abashed_), and said, 'Beast that thou art! shall I keep myservant in pain for thy sake?' And when I said, 'Lord, what then shall Ido?' He answered me, 'He was but a reed that I spoke through, and I willprovide another reed to speak through.' Dalrymple points out that it wasa belief in these 'answers from the Lord' that led John Balfour and hiscomrades to murder Archbishop Sharp.[96] R. Chambers, in his _Traditions_, speaking of the time of Johnson'svisit, says (i. 21) on the authority of 'an ancient native of Edinburghthat people all knew each other by sight. The appearance of a new faceupon the streets was at once remarked, and numbers busied themselves infinding out who and what the stranger was.'[97] It was on this visit to the parliament-house, that Mr. HenryErskine (brother of Lord Erskine), after being presented to Dr. Johnsonby Mr. Boswell, and having made his bow, slipped a shilling intoBoswell's hand, whispering that it was for the sight of his _bear_.WALTER SCOTT.[98] This is one of the Libraries entitled to a copy of every new workpublished in the United Kingdom. Hume held the office of librarian at asalary of L40 a year from 1752 to 1757. J.H. Burton's _Hume_, i.367, 373.[99] The Edinburgh oyster-cellars were called _laigh shops_. Chambers's_Traditions_, ii. 268.[100] This word is commonly used to signify _sullenly, gloomily_; and inthat sense alone it appears in Dr. Johnson's _Dictionary_. I suppose hemeant by it, 'with an _obstinate resolution_, similar to that of asullen man.' BOSWELL. Southey wrote to Scott:--'Give me more lays, andcorrect them at leisure for after editions--not laboriously, but whenthe amendment comes naturally and unsought for. It never does to sitdown doggedly to _correct_.' Southey's _Life_, iii. 126. See _ante_, i.332, for the influence of seasons on composition.[101] Boswell, _post_, Nov. 1, writes of '_old Scottish_ enthusiasm,'again italicising these two words.[102] See _ante_, iii. 410.[103] See _ante_, i. 354.[104] Cockburn (_Life of Jeffrey_, i. 182) writing of the beginning ofthis century, describes how the General Assembly 'met in those days, asit had done for about 200 years, in one of the aisles of the then greyand venerable cathedral of St. Giles. That plain, square, galleriedapartment was admirably suited for the purpose; and it was moreinteresting from the men who had acted in it, and the scenes it hadwitnessed, than any other existing room in Scotland. It had beheld thebest exertions of the best men in the kingdom ever since the year 1640.Yet was it obliterated in the year 1830 with as much indifference as ifit had been of yesterday; and for no reason except a childish desire fornew walls and change.'[105] I have hitherto called him Dr. William Robertson, to distinguishhim from Dr. James Robertson, who is soon to make his appearance. But_Principal_, from his being the head of our college, is his usualdesignation, and is shorter: so I shall use it hereafter. BOSWELL.[106] The dirtiness of the Scotch churches is taken off in _The Tale ofa Tub_, sect. xi:--'Neither was it possible for the united rhetoric ofmankind to prevail with Jack to make himself clean again.' In _HumphryClinker_ (Letter of Aug. 8) we are told that 'the good people ofEdinburgh no longer think dirt and cobwebs essential to the house ofGod.' Bishop Horne (_Essays and Thoughts_, p. 45) mentioning 'the maximlaid down in a neighbouring kingdom that _cleanliness is not essentialto devotion_,' continues, 'A Church of England lady once offered toattend the Kirk there, if she might be permitted to have the pew sweptand lined. "The pew swept and lined!" said Mess John's wife, "my husbandwould think it downright popery."' In 1787 he wrote that there arecountry churches in England 'where, perhaps, three or four noblefamilies attend divine service, which are suffered year after year to bein a condition in which not one of those families would suffer the worstroom in their house to continue for a week.' _Essays and Thoughts_,p. 271.[107] 'Hume recommended Fergusson's friends to prevail on him tosuppress the work as likely to be injurious to his reputation.' When ithad great success he said that his opinion remained the same. He hadheard Helvetius and Saurin say that they had told Montesquieu that heought to suppress his _Esprit des Lois_. They were still convinced thattheir advice was right. J. H. Burton's _Hume_, ii. 385-7. It was atFergusson's house thirteen years later that Walter Scott, a lad offifteen, saw Burns shed tears over a print by Bunbury of a soldier lyingdead on the snow. Lockhart's _Scott_, i. 185. See _ib_. vii. 61, for ananecdote of Fergusson.[108] They were pulled down in 1789. Murray's _Handbook for Scotland_,ed. 1883, p. 60.[109] See _ante_, ii. 128.[110] See _ante_, iii. 357, and _post_, Johnson's _Tour into Wales_,Aug. 1, 1774.[111]'There where no statesman buys,no bishop sells;A virtuous palace where nomonarch dwells.'_An Epitaph_. Hamilton's Poems, ed. 1760, p. 260. See _ante_, iii. 150.[112] The stanza from which he took this line is,'But then rose up all Edinburgh,They rose up by thousands three;A cowardly Scot came John behind,And ran him through the fair body!'[113] Johnson described her as 'an old lady, who talks broad Scotch witha paralytick voice, and is scarce understood by her own countrymen.'_Piozzi Letters_, i.109. Lord Shelburne says that 'her husband, the lastDuke, could neither read nor write without great difficulty.'Fitzmaurice's _Shelburne_, i. 11. Dr. A. Carlyle (_Auto_. p. 107) saysthat in 1745 he heard her say:--'I have sworn to be Duchess of Douglasor never to mount a marriage bed.' She married the Duke in 1758. R.Chambers wrote in 1825:--'It is a curious fact that sixty years agothere was scarcely a close in the High Street but what had as many nobleinhabitants as are at this day to be found in the whole town.'_Traditions of Edinburgh_, ed. 1825, i. 72.[114] See ante, ii. 154, note 1.[115] Lord Chesterfield wrote from London on Dec. 16, 1760 (_Misc.Works_, iv. 291):--'I question whether you will ever see my friendGeorge Faulkner in Ireland again, he is become so great and considerablea man here in the republic of letters; he has a constant table open toall men of wit and learning, and to those sometimes who have neither. Ihave been able to get him to dine with me but twice.'[116] Dr. Johnson one evening roundly asserted in his rough way that"Swift was a shallow fellow; a very shallow fellow." Mr. Sheridanreplied warmly but modestly, "Pardon me, Sir, for differing from you,but I always thought the Dean a very clear writer." Johnson vociferated"All shallows are clear."' _Town and Country Mag_. Sept. 1769. _Notesand Queries_, Jan. 1855, p. 62. See _ante_, iv. 61.[117] '_The Memoirs of Scriblerus_,' says Johnson (_Works_, viii. 298),'seem to be the production of Arbuthnot, with a few touches, perhaps, byPope.' Swift also was concerned in it. Johnson goes on to shew why 'thisjoint production of three great writers has never obtained any noticefrom mankind.' Arbuthnot was the author of _John Bull_. Swift wrote toStella on May 10, 1712:--'I hope you read _John Bull_. It was a Scotchgentleman, a friend of mine, that wrote it; but they put it upon me.'See _ante_, i. 425.[118] See _ante_, i. 452, and ii. 318.[119] Horace, _Satires_. I. iii. 19.[120] See _ante_, i. 396, and ii. 298.[121] See _ante_, ii. 74.[122] 'At supper there was such conflux of company that I could scarcelysupport the tumult. I have never been well in the whole journey, and amvery easily disordered.' _Piozzi Letters_, i. 109.[123] See _ante_, iv. 17, and under June 9, 1784.[124] Johnson was thinking of Sir Matthew Hale for one.[125] 'It is supposed that there were no executions for witchcraft inEngland subsequently to the year 1682; but the Statute of I James I, c.12, so minute in its enactments against witches, was not repealed tillthe 9 Geo. II, c. 5. In Scotland, so late as the year 1722, when thelocal jurisdictions were still hereditary [see _post_, Sept. 11], thesheriff of Sutherlandshire condemned a witch to death.' _Penny Cyclo_.xxvii. 490. In the Bishopric of Wurtzburg, so late as 1750, a nun wasburnt for witchcraft: 'Cette malheureuse fille soutint opiniatrementqu'elle etait sorciere.... Elle etait folle, ses juges furent imbecilleset barbares.' Voltaire's _Works_, ed. 1819, xxvi. 285.[126] A Dane wrote to Garrick from Copenhagen on Dec. 23, 1769:--'Thereis some of our retinue who, not understanding a word of your language,mimic your gesture and your action: so great an impression did it makeupon their minds, the scene of daggers has been repeated in dumb show ahundred times, and those most ignorant of the English idiom can cry outwith rapture, "A horse, a horse; my kingdom for a horse!"' _GarrickCorres._ i. 375. See _ante_, vol. iv. under Sept. 30, 1783[127] See _ante_, i. 466.[128] Johnson, in the preface to his _Dictionary_ (_Works_, v. 43),after stating what he had at first planned, continues:--'But these werethe dreams of a poet doomed at last to wake a lexicographer.' See_ante_, i. 189, note 2, and May I, 1783.[129] See his letter on this subject in the APPENDIX. BOSWELL. He hadbeen tutor to Hume's nephew and was one of Hume's friends. J.H Burton's_Hume_, ii. 399.[130] By the Baron d'Holbach. Voltaire (_Works_, xii. 212) describesthis book as 'Une _Philippique_ contre Dieu.' He wrote to M.Saurin:--'Ce maudit livre du Systeme de la Nature est un peche contrenature. Je vous sais bien bon gre de reprouver l'atheisme et d'aimer cevers: "Si Dieu n'existait pas, il faudrait l'inventer." Je suis rarementcontent de mes vers, mais j'avoue que j'ai une tendresse de pere pourcelui-la.' _Ib_. v. 418.[131] One of Garrick's correspondents speaks of 'the sneer of one ofJohnson's ghastly smiles.' _Garrick Corres_. i. 334. 'Ghastly smile' isborrowed from _Paradise Lost_, ii. 846.[132] See _ante_, iii. 212. In Chambers's _Traditions of Edinburgh_, ii.158, is given a comic poem entitled _The Court of Session Garland_,written by Boswell, with the help, it was said, of Maclaurin.[133] Dr. John Gregory, Professor of Medicine in the University ofEdinburgh, died on Feb. 10 of this year. It was his eldest son James whomet Johnson. 'This learned family has given sixteen professors toBritish Universities.' Chalmers's _Biog. Dict._ xvi. 289.[134] See _ante_, i. 257, note 3.[135] See _ante_, i. 228.[136] See _ante_, ii. 196.[137] In the original, _cursed the form that_, &c. Johnson's _Works_, i.21.[138] Mistress of Edward IV. BOSWELL.[139] Mistress of Louis XIV. BOSWELL. Voltaire, speaking of the King andMlle. de La Valliere (not Valiere, as Lord Hailes wrote her name),says:--'Il gouta avec elle le bonheur rare d'etre aime uniquement pourlui-meme.' _Siecle de Louis XIV_, ch. 25. He describes her penitence ina fine passage. _Ib._ ch. 26.[140] Malone, in a note on the _Life of Boswell_ under 1749, says that'this lady was not the celebrated Lady Vane, whose memoirs were given tothe public by Dr. Smollett [in _Peregrine Pickle_], but Anne Vane, whowas mistress to Frederick Prince of Wales, and died in 1736, not longbefore Johnson settled in London.' She is mentioned in a note to HoraceWalpole's _Letters_, 1. cxxxvi.[141] Catharine Sedley, the mistress of James II, is described byMacaulay, _Hist of Eng._ ed. 1874, ii. 323.[142] Dr. A Carlyle (_Auto._ p. 114) tells how in 1745 he found'Professor Maclaurin busy on the walls on the south side of Edinburgh,endeavoring to make them more defensible [against the Pretender]. He hadeven erected some small cannon.' See _ante_, iii, 15, for a ridiculousstory told of him by Goldsmith.[143]'Crudelis ubiqueLuctus, ubique pavor, et plurimamortis imago:''grim grief on every side,And fear on every side there is,and many-faced is death.'Morris, Virgil _Aeneids_, ii. 368.[144] Mr. Maclaurin's epitaph, as engraved on a marble tomb-stone, in theGrey-Friars church-yard, Edinburgh:--Infra situs estCOLIN MACLAURIN,Mathes. olim in Acad. Edin. Prof.Electus ipso Newtono suadente.H.L.P.F.Non ut nomini paterno consulat,Nam tali auxilio nil eget;Sed ut in hoc infelici campo,Ubi luctus regnant et pavor,Mortalibus prorsus non absit solatium;Hujus enim scripta evolve,Mentemque tantarum rerum capacemCorpori caduco superstitem crede.BOSWELL.[145] See _ante_, i. 437, and _post_, p. 72.[146]'What is't to us, if taxes rise or fall,Thanks to our fortune we pay none at all.No statesman e'er will find it worth his painsTo tax our labours and excise our brains.Burthens like these vile earthly buildings bear,No tribute's laid on _Castles_ in the _Air_'Churchill's _Poems, Night,_ ed. 1766, i. 89.[147] Pitt, in 1784, laid a tax of ten shillings a year on every horse'kept for the saddle, or to be put in carriages used solely forpleasure.'_Parl. Hist._ xxiv. 1028.[148] In 1763 he published the following description of himself in his_Correspondence with Erskine_, ed. 1879, p.36. 'The author of the _Odeto Tragedy_ is a most excellent man; he is of an ancient family in thewest of Scotland, upon which he values himself not a little. At hisnativity there appeared omens of his future greatness. His parts arebright; and his education has been good. He has travelled inpost-chaises miles without number. He is fond of seeing much of theworld. He eats of every good dish, especially apple-pie. He drinks oldhock. He has a very fine temper. He is somewhat of an humorist, and alittle tinctured with pride. He has a good manly countenance, and heowns himself to be amorous. He has infinite vivacity, yet is observed attimes to have a melancholy cast. He is rather fat than lean, rathershort than tall, rather young than old.' He is oddly enough described inArighi's _Histoire de Pascal Paoli_, i. 231, 'En traversant laMediterranee sur de freles navires pour venir s'asseoir au foyer de lanationalite Corse, des hommes _graves_ tels que Boswel et Volneyobeissaient sans doute a un sentiment bien plus eleve qu'au besoinvulgaire d'une puerile curiosite'[149] See _ante_, i. 400.[150] For _respectable_, see _ante_, iii. 241, note 2.[151] Boswell, in the last of his _Hypochondriacks_, says:--'I perceivethat my essays are not so lively as I expected they would be, but theyare more learned. And I beg I may not be charged with excessivearrogance when I venture to say that they contain a considerable portionof original thinking.'_London Mag_. 1783, p. 124.[152] Burns, in _The Author's Earnest Cry and Prayer_, says:--'But could I like Montgomeries fight,Or gab like Boswell.'Boswell and Burns were born within a few miles of each other, Boswellbeing the elder by eighteen years.[153]'For pointed satire I would Buckhurst choose,The best good man, with the worst-natured muse.'Rochester's _Imitations of Horace, Sat_. i. 10.