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charged with flavish tenets by superficial observers, because he was at all 1763. times indignant against that false patriotism, that pretended love of freedom, Etat. 54. that unruly restleffness, which is inconfiftent with the ftable authority of any good government.

This generous fentiment, which he uttered with great fervour, ftruck me exceedingly, and stirred my blood to that pitch of fancied refiftance, the poffibility of which I am glad to keep in mind, but to which I truft I never shall be forced.

"Great abilities (faid he) are not requifite for an Hiftorian; for in historical compofition, all the greatest powers of the human mind are quiefcent. He has facts ready to his hand; fo there is no exercise of invention. Imagination. is not required in any high degree; only about as much as is used in the lower kinds of poetry. Some penetration, accuracy, and colouring will fit a man for the task, if he can give the application which is neceffary."

Bayle's Dictionary is a very useful work for thofe to confult who love the biographical part of literature, which is what I love moft."

Talking of the eminent writers in Queen Anne's reign, he observed, “I think Dr. Arbuthnot the first man among them. He was the most universal genius, being an excellent physician, a man of deep learning, and a man of much humour. Mr. Addifon was, to be fure, a great man; his learning was not profound; but his morality, his humour, and his elegance of writing, fet him very high."

Mr. Ogilvie was unlucky enough to choose for the topick of his conversation the praises of his native country. He began with faying, that there was very rich land round Edinburgh. Goldfmith, who had ftudied phyfick there, contradicted this, very untruly, with a fneering laugh. Difconcerted a little by this, Mr. Ogilvie then took new ground, where, I fuppofe, he thought himfelf perfectly safe; for he observed, that Scotland had a great many noble wild profpects. JOHNSON. "I believe, Sir, you have a great many. Norway, too, has noble wild profpects; and Lapland is remarkable for prodigious noble wild profpects. But, Sir, let me tell you, the nobleft profpect which a Scotchman ever fees, is the high road that leads him to England!" This unexpected and pointed fally produced a roar of applause. After all, however, thofe, who admire the rude grandeur of Nature, cannot deny it to Caledonia.

On Saturday, July 9, I found Johnson furrounded with a numerous levee, but have not preferved any part of his converfation. On the 14th we had another evening by ourselves at the Mitre. It happening to be a very rainy

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night, I made fome common-place observations on the relaxation of nerves and depreffion of spirits which fuch weather occafioned; adding, however, that it was good for the vegetable creation. Johnson, who, as we have already seen, denied that the temperature of the air had any influence on the human frame, answered, with a fmile of ridicule, "Why yes, Sir, it is good for vegetables, and for the animals who eat thofe vegetables, and for the animals who eat those animals." This obfervation of his aptly enough introduced a good fupper; and I foon forgot, in Johnson's company, the influence of a moist atmosphere.

Feeling myself now quite at ease as his companion, though I had all poffible reverence for him, I expreffed a regret that I could not be so easy with my father, though he was not much older than him, and certainly had not more. learning and greater abilities to deprefs me. I asked him the reafon of this. JOHNSON. "Why, Sir, I am a man of the world. I live in the world, and I take, in fome degree, the colour of the world as it moves along. Your father is a Judge in a remote part of the island, and all his notions are taken from the old world. Befides, Sir, there must always be a struggle between a father and fon, while one aims at power and the other at independence." I faid, I was afraid my father would force me to be a lawyer. JOHNSON. "Sir, you need not be afraid of his forcing you to be a laborious practising lawyer; that is not in his power. For as the proverb fays, One man may lead a horse to the water, but twenty cannot make him drink.' He may be displeased that you are not what he wishes you to be; but that displeasure will not go far. If he infifts only on your having as much law as is neceffary for a man of property, and then endeavours to get you into Parliament, he is quite in the right."

He enlarged very convincingly upon the excellence of rhyme over blank verfe in English poetry. I mentioned to him that Dr. Adam Smith, in his lectures upon compofition, when I ftudied under him in the College of Glasgow, had maintained the fame opinion ftrenuously, and I repeated fome of his arguments. JOHNSON. "Sir, I was once in company with Smith, and we did not take to each other; but had I known that he loved rhyme as much as you tell me he does, I fhould have HUGGED him."

Talking of those who denied the truth of Christianity, he faid, "It is always easy to be on the negative fide. If a man were now to deny that there is falt upon the table, you could not reduce him to an abfurdity. Come, let us try this a little further. I deny that Canada is taken, and I can support my denial by pretty good arguments. The French are a much more numerous

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people than we; and it is not likely that they would allow us to take it. But the ministry have affured us, in all the formality of the Gazette, that it is tat. 54. taken.'-Very true. But the ministry have put us to an enormous expence by the war in America, and it is their interest to perfuade us that we have got fomething for our money. But the fact is confirmed by thousands of men who were at the taking of it.'-Ay, but these men have still more interest in deceiving us. They don't want you should think the French have beat them, but that they have beat the French. Now fuppofe you should go over and find that it is really taken, that would only fatisfy yourself; for when you come home we will not believe you. We will fay you have been bribed.—Yet, Sir, notwithstanding all these plausible objections, we have no doubt that Canada is really ours. Such is the weight of common teftimony. How much stronger are the evidences of the Chriftian religion?"

"Idleness is a disease which must be combated; but I would not advise a rigid adherence to a particular plan of ftudy. I myself have never persisted in any plan for two days together. A man ought to read juft as inclination leads him; for what he reads as a task will do him little good. A young man should read five hours in a day, and fo may acquire a great deal of knowledge."

To a man of vigourous intellect and ardent curiofity like his own, `reading without a regular plan may be beneficial; though even fuch a man must fubmit to it, if he would attain a full understanding of any of the sciences.

To fuch a degree of unreftrained franknefs had he now accustomed me, that in the course of this evening I talked of the numerous reflections which had been thrown out against him on account of his having accepted a penfion from his present Majefty. Why, Sir, (faid he, with a hearty laugh,) it is a mighty foolish noise that they make. I have accepted of a pension as a reward which has been thought due to my literary merit; and now that I have this penfion, I am the fame man in every refpect that I have ever been; I retain the fame principles. It is true, that I cannot now curfe (fmiling) the house of Hanover; nor would it be decent for me to drink King James's health in the wine that King George gives me money to pay for. But, Sir, I think that the pleasure of curfing the house of Hanover, and drinking King James's health, are amply overbalanced by three hundred pounds a year.”

2 When I mentioned the fame idle clamour to him several years afterwards, he said, with a fmile, "I with my penfion were twice as large, that they might make twice as much noise."

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Etat. 54

There was here, moft certainly, an affectation of more Jacobitifm than he really had, and indeed an intention of admitting, for the moment, in a much greater extent than it really existed, the charge of difaffection imputed to him by the world, merely for the purpose of fhewing how dexterously he could repel an attack, even though he were placed in the most difadvantageous pofition; for I have heard him declare, that if holding up his right hand would have fecured victory at Culloden to Prince Charles's army, he was not fure he would have held it up; fo little confidence had he in the right claimed by the houfe of Stuart, and fo fearful was he of the confequences of another revolution on the throne of Great-Britain; and Mr. Topham Beauclerk affured me, he had heard him fay this before he had his penfion. At another time he faid to Mr. Langton, "Nothing has ever offered that has made it worth my while to confider the queftion fully." He, however, alfo faid to the fame gentleman, talking of King James the Second, "It was become impoffible for him to reign any longer in this country." He no doubt had an early attachment to the houfe of Stuart; but his zeal had cooled as his reafon ftrengthened. Indeed I heard him once fay, that "after the death of a violent Whig, with whom he used to contend with great eagerness, he felt his Toryifin much abated." I fuppofe he meant Mr. Walmsley.

He advised me, when abroad, to be as much as I could with the Profeffors in the Universities, and with the Clergy; for from their converfation I might expect the best accounts of every thing in whatever country I fhould be, with the additional advantage of keeping my learning alive.

It will be observed, that when giving me advice as to my travels, Dr. Johnfon did not dwell upon cities, and palaces, and pictures, and fhews, and Arcadian fcenes. He was of Lord Effex's opinion, who advises his kinfman Roger Earl of Rutland, " rather to go an hundred miles to speak with one wife man, than five miles to fee a fair town 4.”

I described to him an impudent fellow from Scotland, who affected to be a favage, and railed at all established fyftems. JOHNSON. "There is nothing furprizing in this, Sir. He wants to make himfelf confpicuous. He would tumble in a hog-ftye, as long as you looked at him and called to him to come out. But let him alone, never mind him, and he'll foon give it over." I added, that the fame perfon maintained that there was no diftinction between virtue and vice. JOHNSON. "Why, Sir, if the fellow does not think as he

3 Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, 3d edit. p. 402.

4 Letter to Rutland on Travel, 1596.

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fpeaks, he is lying; and I fee not what honour he can propofe to himself from having the character of a lyar. But if he does really think that there is Etat. 54. no diftinction between virtue and vice, why, Sir, when he leaves our houfes, let us count our spoons."

Sir David Dalrymple, now one of the Judges of Scotland by the title of Lord Hailes, had contributed much to increase my high opinion of Johnfon, on account of his writings, long before I attained to a perfonal acquaintance with him; I, in return, had informed Johnfon of Sir David's eminent character for learning and religion; and Johnson was fo much pleafed, that at one of our evening meetings he gave him for his toaft. I at this time kept up a very frequent correspondence with Sir David; and I read to Dr. Johnfon to-night the following paffage from the letter which I had last received from him:

"It gives me pleasure to think that you have obtained the friendship of Mr. Samuel Johnson. He is one of the best moral writers which England has produced. At the fame time, I envy you the free and undisguised converse with fuch a man. May I beg you to present my best respects to him, and to affure him of the veneration which I entertain for the authour of the Rambler and of Raffelas? Let me recommend this laft work to you; with the Rambler you certainly are acquainted. In Raffelas you will fee a tenderhearted operator, who probes the wound only to heal it. Swift, on the contrary, mangles human nature. He cuts and flashes, as if he took pleasure in the operation, like the tyrant who faid, Ita feri ut fe fentiat emori." Johnson seemed to be much gratified by this juft and well-turned compliment.

He recommended to me to keep a journal of my life, full and unreserved. He said it would be a very good exercise, and would yield me great satisfaction when the particulars were faded from my remembrance. I was uncom monly fortunate in having had a previous coincidence of opinion with him upon this fubject, for I had kept fuch a journal for fome time; and it was no fmall pleasure to me to have this to tell him, and to receive his approbation. He counselled me to keep it private, and said I might surely have a friend who would burn it in case of my death. From this habit I have been enabled to give the world fo many anecdotes, which would otherwise have been loft to posterity. I mentioned that I was afraid I put into my journal too many little incidents. JOHNSON. "There is nothing, Sir, too little for fo little a creature as man. It is by studying little things that we attain the great art of having as little mifery and as much happiness as poffible."

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