better; for had the Ralegh returned without going round the world, it would have been ridiculous. To give them the names of the Drake and the Ralegh was laying a trap for satire." BOSWELL. "Had

you not some desire to go upon this expedition, sir?" JOHNSON. "Why, yes, but I soon laid it aside. Sir, there is very little of intellectual, in the course. Besides, I see but at a small 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 should not have seen swim."

The gentleman being gone, and Dr. Johnson having left the room for some time, a debate arose between the Reverend Mr. Stockdale and Mrs. Desmoulins, whether Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander were entitled so any share of glory from their expedition. When Dr. Johnson returned to us, I told him the subject of their dispute. JOHNSON. "Why, sir, it was probably for botany that they went out: I believe they thought only of culling of simples."

I thanked him for showing civilities to Beattie. "Sir (said he), I should thank you. We all love Beattie. Mrs. Thrale says, if ever she has another husband, she'll have Beattie. He sunk upon us1 that he was married; else we should have shown his

"TO JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ.

"Edinburgh, 3d May, 1792. "MY DEAR SIR,-As I suppose your great work will soon be reprinted, I beg leave to trouble you with a remark on a passage of it, in which I am a little misrepresented. Be not alarmed; the misrepresentation is not imputable to

you.

Not having the book at hand, I cannot specify the page, but I suppose you will easily find it. Dr. Johnson says, speaking of Mrs. Thrale's family, Dr. Beattie sunk upon us that he was married, or words to that purpose.' 'I am not sure that I understand sunk upon us, which is a very uncommon phrase: but it seems to me to imply (and others, I find, have understood it in the same sense), studiously concealed from us his being married. Now, sir, this was by no means the case. I could have no motive to conceal a circumstance of which I never was nor can be ashamed; and of which Dr. Johnson seemed to think, when he afterwards became acquainted with Mrs. Beattie, that I had, as was true, reason to be proud. So far was I from concealing her, that my wife had at that time almost as numerous an acquaintance in London as I had myself;

lady more civilities. She is a very fine woman. But how can you show civilities to a nonentity? 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."

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 will go and pass a winter amid the blasts there. We shall have fine fish, and we will take some dried tongues with us, and some books. We will have a strong built vessel, and some Orkney men to navigate her. We must build a tolerable house: but we may carry with us a wooden house ready made, and requiring nothing but to be put up. Consider, sir, by buying St. Kilda, you may keep the people from falling into worse hands. We must give them a clergyman, and he shall be one of Beattie's choosing. He shall be educated at Marischal College. I'll be your lord chancellor, or what you please." BOSWELL. "Are you serious, sir, in advising me to buy St. Kilda? for if you should advise me to go to Japan, I believe I should do it." JOHNSON. "Why, yes, sir, I am se

rious."

be done."

Boswell.

66

Why then I'll see what can

and was, not very long after, kindly invited and elegantly entertained at Streatham by Mr. and Mrs. Thrale.

"My request, therefore, is, that you would rectify this matter in your new edition. You are at liberty to make what use you please of this letter.

"My best wishes ever attend you and your family. Believe me to be, with the utmost regard and esteem, dear sir, your obliged and affectionate humble servant, "J. BEATTIE."

I have, from my respect for my friend Dr. Beattie, and regard to his extreme sensibility, inserted the foregoing letter, though I cannot but wonder at his considering as any imputation a phrase commonly used among the best friends.— BOSWELL. [Dr. Beattie was, perhaps, the more sensitive on this point as he must have been, at the time he wrote, conscious that there was something that might give a colour to such an imputation. It became known, shortly after the date of this letter, that the mind of poor Mrs. Beattie had become deranged, and she passed the last years of her life in confinement.-Sce Life of Beattie, by Sir W. Forbes.-ED.]

I gave him an account of the two parties in the church of Scotland, those for supporting 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 consider that it occasions such animosities, such unworthy courting of the people, such slanders between the contending parties, and other disadvantages. It is enough to allow the people to remonstrate against the nomination of a minister for solid reasons." (I suppose he meant heresy 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 sight, which happened in Wales, where she was born. He listened to it very attentively, and said he should be glad to have some instances of that faculty well authenticated. His elevated wish for more and more evidence for spirit, in opposition to the grovelling belief of materialism, led him to a love of such mysterious disquisitions. He again justly observed, that we could have no certainty of the truth of supernatural appearances, unless something was told us which we could not know by ordinary means, or something done which could not be done but by supernatural power': that Pha

1

[This is the true distinction; and if Johnson had on all occasions abided by this text, he would have escaped the ridicule and regret which he often occasioned by the appearance, if not the reality, of superstitious credulity. When he said, "that all ages and all nations believe" in these supernatural manifestations (ante, vol. 1, p. 333); and again, "that they are so frequent, that they cannot be called fortuitous" (ante, p. 11), he should have given us the instances in which any thing was clearly and undoubtedly done, which could only have been done by supernatural power. Appearances, without supernatural facts, are nothing: they may be dreams, or disease. Every one sees visions in his sleep, and every body knows that the sick see them in their paroxysms; and there are some cases (such as that of Nicolai, the Berlin bookseller), in

raoh in reason and justice required such evidence from Moses; nay, that our Saviour said, "If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin." He had said in the morning, that "Macaulay's History of St. Kilda" was very well written, except some foppery about liberty and slavery. 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 so 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 essential matters between ours and it. JOHNSON. "True, sir; all denominations of christians 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 presbyterian churches of Scotland, and the church in Italy; yet the doctrine taught is essentially the same."

I mentioned the petition to parliament for removing the subscription to the thirty-nine articles.

which persons, awake and not otherwise disordered in mind, have "thickcoming fancies," and see what, if real, would be supernatural; but where, we must again ask, is there in the profane history of the world, one well attested supernatural fact?-ED.]

[See ante, p. 52.-ED.]

2 [This was a petition drawn up by Mr. Francis Blackburn, who, though an archdeacon of the church of England, had published several works against her discipline and peculiar doctrines; the petition was presented on the 6th of February, and after an animated debate, rejected (not being even allowed to lie on the table) by 217 voices against 71. Mr. Gibbon thus notices this debate, in a letter to Lord Sheffield: "I congratulate you on the late victory of our dear mamma, the church of England. She had, last Thursday (6th February), seventy-one rebellious sons, who pretended to set aside her wall, on account of insanity, but two hundred and seventeen worthy champions, headed by Lord

JOHNSON. "It was soon thrown out. Sir, they talk of not making boys at the university subscribe to what they do not understand; but they ought to consider, that our universities were founded to bring up members for the church of England, and we must not supply our enemies with arms for our arsenal. No, sir, the meaning of subscribing 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 subscribe their adherence to the church of England, there would be still the same difficulty; for still the young men would be subscribing 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 presbyterian church? from the Romish church? from the Greek church? from the Coptick church? they could not tell you. So, sir, it comes to the same thing." BOSWELL. "But, would it not be sufficient to subseribe the Bible?" JOHNSON. "Why, no, sir; for all sects will subscribe the Bible; nay, the Mahometans will subscribe the Bible; for the Mahometans acknowledge Jesus Christ, as well as Moses, but maintain that God sent Mahomet as a still greater prophet than either."

I mentioned the motion which had been made in the house of commons, to abolish the fast of the 30th of January'. JOHNSON. " Why, sir, I could have

North, Burke, Hans Stanley, Charles Fox, Godfrey Clarke, &c. supported the validity of it with infinite humour. By the by, Charles Fox prepared himself for that holy war, by passing twenty-two hours in the pious exercise of hazard; his devotion only cost him 500l. per hour, in all 11,0004" Misc. Works, vol. ii. p. 74. The argument which seemed to make most effect in the house, was against requiring subscription from every youth entering the university, of whatever age, or intended for whatever profession. To this point Johnson's observation particularly alludes.-ED.]

[Doctor Nowell had preached, as usual, before the house on the 30th of Jan. and had been thanked for his sermon. Some days afterwards, Mr. Thos. Townshend complained of certain unconstitutional passages in the sermon; and on the