through JESUS CHRIST our Lord; for whofe fake hear our prayers. Amen. Our Father, &c.

"I then kiffed her. She told me, that to part was the greatest pain that fhe had ever felt, and that she hoped we should meet again in a better place. I expreffed, with fwelled eyes, and great emotion of tenderness, the fame hopes. We kiffed, and parted. I humbly hope to meet again, and to part no more"."

By those who have been taught to look upon Johnson as a man of a harsh and ftern character, let this tender and affectionate scene be candidly read; and let them then judge whether more warmth of heart, and grateful kindness, is often found in human nature.

We have the following notice in his devotional record:

August 2, 1767. I have been disturbed and unsettled for a long time, and have been without refolution to apply to ftudy or to bufinefs, being hindered by fudden fnatches'."

He, however, furnished Mr. Adams with a Dedication to the King of that ingenious gentleman's "Treatife on the Globes," conceived and expreffed in fuch a manner as could not fail to be very grateful to a monarch, distinguished for his love of the fciences.

This year was published a ridicule of his style, under the title of "Lexiphanes." Sir John Hawkins afcribes it to Dr. Kenrick, but its authour was one Campbell, a Scotch purfer in the navy. The ridicule consisted in applying Johnson's "words of large meaning," to infignificant matters, as if one fhould put the armour of Goliath upon a dwarf. The contrast might be laughable; but the dignity of the armour must remain the fame in all confiderate minds. This malicious drollery, therefore, it may easily be fuppofed, could do no harm to its illuftrious object.

*

It appears from his notes of the state of his mind, that he fuffered great perturbation and distraction in 1768. Nothing of his writing was given to the publick this year, except the Prologue to his friend Goldfmith's comedy of "The Good-natured Man." The first lines of this Prologue are strongly characteristical of the difinal gloom of his mind; which in his cafe, as in the cafe of all who are diftreffed with the fame malady of imagination, transfers to others its own feelings. Who could fuppofe that it was to introduce a comedy, when Mr. Benfley folemnly began,

"Prefs'd with the load of life, the weary mind

"Surveys the general toil of human kind."

but this dark ground might make Goldfinith's humour fhine the more.

1767.

Etat. 58.

1768.

9 Prayers and Meditations, p. 77 and 78.

Ibid. p. 73.

2 Ibid. p. 81.

1768.

Atat. 59.

In the fpring of this year, having published my " Account of Corfica, with the Journal of a Tour to that Island," I returned to London, very desirous to fee Dr. Johnson, and hear him upon the fubject. I found he was at Oxford, with his friend Mr. Chambers, who was now Vinerian Profeffor, and lived in New Inn Hall. Having had no letter from him fince that in which he criticifed the Latinity of my Thefis, and having been told by fomebody that he was offended at my having put into my book an extract of his letter to me at Paris, I was impatient to be with him, and therefore followed him to Oxford, where I was entertained by Mr. Chambers, with a civility which I shall ever gratefully remember. I found that Dr. Johnson had fent a letter to me to Scot-' land, and that I had nothing to complain of but his being more indifferent to my anxiety than I wished him to be. Inftead of giving, with the circumstances of time and place, fuch fragments of his converfation as I preferved during this vifit to Oxford, I fhall throw them together in continuation.

I asked him whether, as a moralift, he did not think that the practice of the law, in fome degree, hurt the nice feeling of honefty. JOHNSON. "Why no, Sir, if you act properly. You are not to deceive your clients with falfe representations of your opinion: you are not to tell lies to a judge." BoswELl. "But what do you think of fupporting a cause which you know to be bad?" JOHNSON. "Sir, you do not know it to be good or bad till the Judge determines it. I have faid that you are to ftate facts fairly; fo that your thinking, or what you call knowing a caufe to be bad, must be from reasoning, must be from your fuppofing your arguments to be weak and inconclufive. But, Sir, that is not enough. An argument which does not convince yourself, may convince the Judge to whom you urge it: and if it does convince him, why then, Sir, you are wrong, and he is right. It is his business to judge; and you are not to be confident in your own opinion that a caufe is bad, but to fay all you can for your client, and then hear the Judge's opinion." BOSWELL. But, Sir, does not affecting a warmth when you have no warmth, and appearing to be clearly of one opinion when you are in reality of another opinion, does not fuch diffimulation impair one's honefty? Is there not fome danger that a lawyer may put on the fame mask in common life, in the intercourse with his friends?" JOHNSON. JOHNSON. "Why no, Sir. Every body knows you are paid for affecting warmth for your client; and it is, therefore, properly no diffimulation: the moment you come from the bar 'you refume your ufual behaviour. Sir, a man will no more carry the artifice of the bar into the common intercourfe of fociety, than a man who is paid for tumbling upon his hands will continue to tumble upon his hands when he should walk on his feet."

4

Talking

Talking of fome of the modern plays, he said "False Delicacy" was 1768. totally void of character. He praised Goldfmith's "Good-natured Man;" Etat. 59. faid, it was the best comedy that had appeared fince "The Provoked Hufband," and that there had not been of late any fuch character exhibited on the stage as that of Croaker. I obferved it was the Sufpirius of his Rambler. He faid, Goldfmith had owned he had borrowed it from thence. " Sir, (continued he,) there is all the difference in the world between characters of nature and characters of manners; and there is the difference between the characters of Fielding and those of Richardfon. Characters of manners are very entertaining; but they are to be understood, by a more fuperficial obferver, than characters of nature, where a man must dive into the receffes of the human heart."

It always appeared to me that he estimated the compofitions of Richardfon too highly, and that he had an unreasonable prejudice against Fielding. In comparing thofe two writers, he ufed this expreffion; "that there was as great a difference between them as between a man who knew how a watch was made, and a man who could tell the hour by looking on the dial-plate." This was a fhort and figurative state of his distinction between drawing characters of nature and characters only of manners. But I cannot help being of opinion, that the neat watches of Fielding are as well conftructed as the large clocks of Richardson, and that his dial-plates are brighter. Fielding's characters, though they do not expand themselves fo widely in differtation, are as juft pictures of human nature, and I will venture to say, have more striking features, and nicer touches of the pencil; and though Johnson used to quote with approbation a faying of Richardfon's, "that the virtues of Fielding's heroes were the vices of a truly good man," I will venture to add, that the moral tendency of Fielding's writings, though it does not encourage a ftrained and rarely poffible virtue, is ever favourable to honour and honesty, and cherishes the benevolent and generous affections. He who is as good as Fielding would make him, is an amiable member of fociety, and may be led on by more regulated inftructors, -to a higher ftate of ethical perfection.

Johnson proceeded: "Even Sir Francis Wronghead is a character of manners, though drawn with great humour." He then repeated, very happily, all Sir Francis's credulous account to Manly of his being with "the great man,” and fecuring a place. I afked him if the " Sufpicious Hufband" did not furnish a well-drawn character, that of Ranger. JOHNSON. "No, Sir; Ranger is just a rake, a mere rake, and a lively young fellow, but no character."

The great Douglas caufe was at this time a very general fubject of difcuffion. I found he had not studied it with much attention, but had only heard parts

Qq2

1768.

parts of it occafionally. He, however, talked of it, and faid, "I am of Etat. 59. opinion that pofitive proof of fraud should not be required of the plaintiff, but that the Judges fhould decide according as probability fhall appear to preponderate, granting to the defendant the prefumption of filiation to be strong in his favour. And I think too, that a good deal of weight fhould be allowed to the dying declarations, because they were spontaneous. There is a great difference between what is faid without our being urged to it, and what is faid from a kind of compulfion. If I praise a man's book without being asked my opinion of it, that is honeft praise, to which one may trust. But if an authour afks me if I like his book, and I give him fomething like praife, it must not be taken as my real opinion.

"I have not been troubled for a long time with authours defiring my opinion of their works. I ufed once to be fadly plagued with a man who wrote verfes, but who literally had no other notion of a verse, but that it confisted of ten fyllables. Lay your knife and your fork across your plate, was to him a verse : Lay your knife and your fork, acrōfs your plate.

As he wrote a great number of verfes he fometimes by chance made good ones, though he did not know it."

He renewed his promife of coming to Scotland, and going with me to the Hebrides, but faid he would now content himself with feeing one or two of the most curious of them. He faid "Macaulay, who writes the account of St. Kilda, fet out with a prejudice against prejudices, and wanted to be a smart modern thinker; and yet he affirms for a truth, that when a fhip arrives there all the inhabitants are feized with a cold."

"There is here,

He expatiated on the advantages of Oxford for learning. Sir, (faid he,) fuch a progreffive emulation. The ftudents are anxious to appear well to their tutors; the tutors are anxious to have their pupils appear well in the college; the colleges are anxious to have their students appear well in the University; and there are excellent rules of difcipline in every college. That the rules are fometimes ill obferved, may be true; but is nothing against the system. The members of an University may, for a season, be unmindful of their duty. I am arguing for the excellency of the institution.”

Of Guthrie he said, "Sir, he is a man of parts. He has no great regular fund of knowledge; but by reading fo long, and writing fo long, he no doubt has picked up a good deal."

He faid he had lately been a long while at Lichfield, but had grown very weary before he left it. BOSWELL. "I wonder at that, Sir; it is your native place." JOHNSON. "Why fo is Scotland your native place."

1768.

His prejudice against Scotland appeared remarkably ftrong at this time. When I talked of our advancement in literature," Sir, (faid he,) you have rat. 59. learnt a little from us, and you think yourselves very great men. Hume would never have written History, had not Voltaire written it before him. He is an echo of Voltaire." BOSWELL. BOSWELL. "But, Sir, we have Lord Kames." JOHNSON. "You have Lord Kames. Keep him; ha, ha, ha! We don't envy you him. Do you ever fee Dr. Robertson?" BOSWELL. "Yes, Sir." JOHNSON. "Does the dog talk of me?" BoswELL. Indeed, Sir, he does, and loves you." Thinking that I now had him in a corner, and being folicitous for the literary fame of my country, I preffed him for his opinion on the merit of Dr. Robertfon's Hiftory of Scotland. But, to my furprize, he efcaped." Sir, I love Robertson, and I won't talk of his book."

It is but juftice both to him and Dr. Robertfon to add, that though he indulged himself in this fally of wit, he had too good tafte not to be fully fenfible of the merits of that admirable work.

An effay, written by Mr. Deane, a divine of the Church of England, maintaining the future life of brutes, by an explication of certain parts of the fcriptures, was mentioned, and the doctrine infifted on by a gentleman who feemed fond of curious fpeculation. Johnson, who did not like to hear of any thing concerning a future ftate which was not authorised by the regular canons of orthodoxy, difcouraged this talk; and being offended at its continuation, he watched an opportunity to give the gentleman a blow of reprehension. So, when the poor speculatift, with a serious metaphysical penfive face, addressed him, "But really, Sir, when we see a very fenfible dog, we don't know what to think of him." Johnson, rolling with joy at the thought, which beamed in his eye, turned quickly round, and replied, "True, Sir: and when we fee a very foolish fellow, we don't know what to think of him." He then rose up, ftrided to the fire, and stood for fome time laughing and exulting.

I told him that I had feveral times, when in Italy, feen the experiment of placing a fcórpion within a circle of burning coals; that it ran round and round in extreme pain; and finding no way to escape, retired to the centre, and, like a true Stoick philofopher, darted its fting into its head, and thus at once freed itself from its woes." This must end 'em." I faid, this was a curious fact, as it fhewed deliberate fuicide in a reptile. Johnfon would not admit the fact. He faid, Maupertuis was of opinion that it does not kill itself, but dies of the heat; that it gets to the centre of the circle, as the coolest place; that its turning its tail in upon its head is merely a convulfion, and that it does not fting itself. He faid he would be fatisfied if the great anatomift Morgagni,

after.