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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6e56fdb --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #52246 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52246) diff --git a/old/52246-8.txt b/old/52246-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c8bac2e..0000000 --- a/old/52246-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10550 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Boswell the Biographer, by George Herbert -Leigh Mallory, Illustrated by George Dance - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: Boswell the Biographer - - -Author: George Herbert Leigh Mallory - - - -Release Date: June 6, 2016 [eBook #52246] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOSWELL THE BIOGRAPHER*** - - -E-text prepared by MWS, Lesley Halamek, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made -available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustration. - See 52246-h.htm or 52246-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/52246/52246-h/52246-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/52246/52246-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/boswellbiographe00mallrich - - -Transcriber's note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=). - - Text enclosed by plus signs is in Copperplate - hand-written text. - - [oe] represents the oe-ligature. - - A carat character is used to denote superscription. In - the text multiple superscripted characters are enclosed - by curly brackets (example: 27^{th}). In the Index - numerals following a carat character are superscripted - and refer to the footnote from the page reference where - the reference is only found in the footnote (example: - 178^16). - - - - - -BOSWELL THE BIOGRAPHER - - -[Illustration: - - +_April 27^{th}. 1753_+ +_Emery Walker Ph. So._+ - -+_James Boswell_+ - -+_from a drawing by George Dance R.A._+] - - -BOSWELL THE BIOGRAPHER - -by - -GEORGE MALLORY - -With a Portrait by George Dance, R.A. - - - - - - - -London -Smith, Elder & Co., 15 Waterloo Place -1912 - -[All rights reserved] - - - - -PREFACE - - -The responsibility for upwards of 300 pages in print is a burden which -my unaccustomed conscience cannot easily bear, and by accepting it I -lose for ever the unassailable dignity of private criticism. In these -circumstances I approach my readers in an apologetic frame of mind. -I shall not apologise for writing a dull book by explaining in what -manner it is interesting. I had thought of doing something of the -sort, but at the present moment that course presents insuperable -difficulties. An explanation, if not apology, is however necessary; -for this volume is in one sense a compromise. It is less than a -biography and more than an essay. It aims at being not a complete Life -of Boswell, but an explanation of his character. This purpose may not -seem to require so long a treatment as mine. Certainly it would have -been easier to say, and easier to read, all that I have said about -Boswell's psychology in far fewer words. But my design was to prove my -case. Boswell has been so much a subject of controversy that, were -I merely to state my views, I should convince, if anyone is to -be convinced by me, only those who had observed the same facts as -myself--the facts upon which those views are based. By bringing -forward the evidence without stint I have hoped to establish my -opinions on a firmer base. - -A list of the books to which I have referred is printed at the -beginning of this volume. I am naturally indebted to the researches of -Dr. G. Birkbeck Hill, to the three biographers of Boswell--Dr. Rogers -(in 'Boswelliana'), Mr. Percy Fitzgerald, and Mr. W. K. Leask--and to -the brilliant study by Carlyle. I must also mention three essays which -have been particularly illuminating--that by W. E. Henley in 'Views -and Reviews,' by Lionel Johnson in 'Post Liminium,' and by Mr. Birrell -in his edition of Boswell's 'Life of Johnson.' - -I am grateful especially to Mr. A. C. Benson, whose encouragement -promoted this enterprise, to Mr. G. L. Strachey for many valuable -suggestions, and to Mr. E. H. Marsh for correcting my proofs, which -was no mean labour. - - GEORGE MALLORY. - - CHARTERHOUSE: - _July 25, 1912_. - - - - -BIBLIOGRAPHY - - -[This is a list of books bearing directly upon Boswell which have been -used for this volume.] - - Birrell, A., Introduction to his edition of Boswell's - Life of Johnson London, 1906 - - Boswell, James: - Elegy on the Death of an Amiable Young Lady 1761 - - Ode to Tragedy 1761 - - Collection of Original Poems, contributions to 1762 - - The Cub at Newmarket 1762 - - Critical Strictures on Mallet's Elvira, by A. Erskine and - J. Boswell 1763 - - Correspondence with the Hon. Andrew Erskine 1763 - - Dorando, a Spanish Tale 1767 - - Essence of the Douglas Cause 1767 - - Account of Corsica, &c., 2nd edition 1768 - (1st edition was published 1768) - - British Essays in favour of the Brave Corsicans 1769 - - The Hypochondriack in the London Magazine, Oct. 1777 - to Dec. 1779 - - Letter to the People of Scotland on the Present State of - the Nation 1783 - - Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides. Ed. G. Birkbeck Hill 1887 - (1st edition 1785) - - Letter to the People of Scotland against the attempt to - diminish the number of the Lords of Session 1785 - - No Abolition of Slavery, or the Universal Empire of Love 1791 - - Life of Johnson. Ed. Right Hon. John Wilson Croker 1866 - - Life of Samuel Johnson. Ed. G. Birkbeck Hill. 6 vols. - Oxford, 1887[1] - (1st edition 1791) - - Letters to Temple, reprint London, 1908[1] - - ---- Life of, see Rogers, Fitzgerald, and Leask. - - Boswelliana, the Commonplace Book of James Boswell, - London, Grampian Club, 1876 - - Burke, Edmund, Correspondence London, 1824 - - Burney, Miss, _see_ D'Arblay. - - - Campbell, Rev. Dr. Thomas, Diary London, 1854 - - Carlyle, Miscellanies London, 1872 - - Chatham, Earl of, Correspondence. 4 vols. London, 1838 - - Collection of Original Poems Edinburgh, 1763 - - Croker, Right Hon. John Wilson, Correspondence - and Diaries. 3 vols. London, 1884 - - - D'Arblay, Diary of Madame. Ed. Austin Dobson. - 6 vols. London, 1904 - - ---- Memoirs of Dr. Burney. 3 vols. London, 1832 - - - Edinburgh, Traditions of 1869 - - Eldon, Lord Chancellor, Life of, by Horace Twiss. - 3 vols. London, 1844 - - - Fitzgerald, Percy, Life of Boswell London, 1891 - - Forbes, Sir William, Life of James Beattie London, 1806 - - - Gentleman's Magazine - - Goldsmith, Life by James Prior. 2 vols. London, 1837 - - Gray, Life by Mason. 2 vols. London, 1807 - - - Hawkins, Sir John, Life of Johnson London, 1787 - - ---- Lætitia Matilda, Memoirs. 2 vols. London, 1824 - - Henley, W. E., Views and Reviews London, 1902 - - Hill, Dr. George Birkbeck, Life of Johnson. 6 vols. Oxford, 1887 - - ---- Dr. Johnson, his Friends and Critics London, 1878 - _See also_ Johnson Club Papers. - - Holcroft, Thomas, Memoirs. 3 vols. London, 1816 - - Hume, David, Correspondence London, 1846 - - - Ireland, S. W. H., The Confessions of W. H. - Ireland London, 1805 - - - Johnson, Dr. Samuel, Dictionary London, 1755 - - ---- Lives of the Poets London, 1781 - - ---- Journey to the Western Islands London, 1775 - - Johnson, Lionel, Post Liminium, Critical Essays London, 1911 - - Johnson Club Papers, by various hands London, 1899 - - - Leask, W. K., James Boswell, Famous Scots Series. Edinburgh, 1896 - - London Magazine - - - Macaulay, Critical and Historical Essays. 3 vols. London, 1843 - - Malone, Life of, Prior London, 1860 - - More, Hannah, Memoirs of. 4 vols. London, 1834 - - - Nichols, John, Literary Anecdotes of the XVIIIth - Century. 9 vols. London, 1812-15 - - ---- Literary History of the XVIIIth Century. - 8 vols. London, 1817-58 - - - Piozzi, Mrs., Autobiography. 2 vols. London, 1861 - - ---- Johnson's Letters to. 2 vols. London, 1788 - - ---- Anecdotes of the late Samuel Johnson, - 2nd edition London, 1789 - - - Raleigh, Sir Walter, Six Essays on Johnson Oxford, 1910 - - Reynolds, Sir Joshua, Life by Leslie and Taylor. - 2 vols. London, 1865 - - Rogers, Rev. Charles, Memoir of Boswell, in Boswelliana - - - Taylor, John, Records of My Life London, 1832 - - Trevelyan, Sir G. O., Life of Fox London, 1912 - - - Walpole, Horace, Letters. 9 vols. London, 1861 - - [Footnote 1: All references are to this edition.] - - - - -BOSWELL THE BIOGRAPHER - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -Boswell's 'Life of Johnson' is, as we all know, a unique biography; -it has no rival. Its unchallenged supremacy has a special significance -from the position which Johnson himself retains in literature. For as -it must be admitted that his work has been but little read since his -own day, and that by far his greatest performance, the compiling of -a dictionary, has in its nature nothing of an artistic appeal, it may -well be supposed that the literary men of this age find more to stir -the imagination in the lives of the great figures of the nineteenth -century, in the romance of Byron, Shelley, Keats, and at a later date -of the Pre-Raphaelite group, in the peculiar simplicity of Wordsworth, -the splendour of Tennyson, and the fervid passion of Browning. And yet -we have for Johnson a more intimate place which is all his own. - -It is because we know him better. Subsequent biographers, Lockhart, -Froude, Trevelyan--to mention a few of the more successful--have like -Boswell written good biographies: we know much that is interesting -about Scott, Carlyle, and Macaulay. But what we know of Johnson -is more vivid, real, and true; it is the man himself. Boswell is -therefore the first of biographers. He is first beyond the jealousy of -a rival and above the common earth of imitators--as Homer is first -in epic poetry, as Molière and Racine, Shakespeare and Milton are all -first where they most excel. And he is first only for this reason, -that we know most intimately the man who was portrayed by him. - -But if the mere extent of our knowledge of Johnson determines the -greatness of Boswell, there is yet some particular appeal besides, -some special charm that wins us in Boswell's 'Johnson.' When we come -to think of the nature of Boswell's value for so many people, we -shall find that it depends not altogether upon the completeness of his -method or his capacity for giving expression to it, but also upon an -interest which exists apart from any structural or artistic quality. -The 'Life of Johnson' is one of those rare books which have by -nature a certain universality. It exists not for one but for every -generation. It is not for the cultured alone nor for the uncultured, -nor yet, if he exists, for the normal person. It is everybody's book. -And this is a fact which requires explanation. - -It would be easy if we were merely seeking to distinguish that which -has a special value or quality from what is merely commonplace, if -we simply wished to determine the peculiar flavour and virtue of the -work, to find a number of reasons why the book we are speaking of -should have a special value among biographies. The careful art of the -writer, the vividness of the scenes he depicts, his unrivalled humour, -the mere form of what he presents, including as it does all that he -meant by biography, the interest we feel in the distinguished men -who play, as it were, the minor parts of the drama--all these are -responsible in their several degrees for the pleasure we derive from -Boswell's 'Johnson.' - -But to account for its universality we must look elsewhere--to the -simple human interest felt by everyone in two such characters as -Johnson and Boswell. A biography may be written about an interesting -man by a dull one or about a dull man by an interesting one; and -interest in either may be satisfied by reading it: even when both the -men are dull some pleasure may be obtained from a biography by one who -is interested in the psychological phenomenon of dullness. The 'Life -of Johnson' may be read with pleasure, and even with something more -than pleasure, because both Johnson and his biographer are supremely -interesting men. There may be some of Boswell's readers who have -pleasure from his _magnum opus_, for the treatment, as it is -technically called; but it is the subject, or rather one might say the -two subjects, since there is in it so much also of autobiography, that -attract the greater number of them. And there must be many to whom--of -these two historic people, Johnson and Boswell--the more interesting -because he was more interested in himself, the more attractive because -we can see in him more of ourselves, is Boswell the biographer. - - * * * * * - -In presenting the literary portrait of a man there can be no greater -error than to indulge in controversy. It is an error which one may -make very readily, for we have all at heart the love of battle; -moreover, it is easy to contradict another, and difficult to give a -whole picture of one's own. And in the case of Boswell there is -matter for controversy particularly obvious and particularly inviting. -Distinguished men have formed entirely different conceptions of his -character and used the pen with more energy than wisdom to support -their views. It seems clear now that Boswell has been widely -misunderstood. - -We are confronted at the outset by a sort of popular paradox. Not only -Lord Macaulay, but most of Boswell's contemporaries and most of his -editors, have thought of him as nothing more than a fool--they have -supposed with the poet Gray, 'Any fool may write a most valuable book -by chance.' No one has ever denied that the 'Life' is a good book. No -one after his own generation, till Carlyle, ever denied that Boswell -was a bad man, just the mean, snivelling creature imagined by -Macaulay. - -Modern criticism has done much to raise the besmirched name of the -biographer, but has managed at the same time to envelop his character -in a sort of generous obscurity. 'Boswell,' Professor Raleigh has -boldly exclaimed, 'was a genius.' The Boswellian student will probably -agree: but in agreeing we must be cautious not to confuse our ideas -about Boswell's character; to say that a man is a genius is not to -say that he is unaccountable for his actions, or even of necessity to -imply that he is mad. The genius is often more complex than other men, -but not more incomprehensible. It is possible, if we like, to look -behind the veil that is drawn between humanity and a particular human -being. We can see in a genius not less than in others the meaning of -all the names which we use to describe life, of love and sympathy, -greed and egoism, hate, fear, joy, and the rest; of all the qualities -that form for better or for worse what we call character, what it is -to be kind or cruel, vain or modest, false or true. Nor, when we say -that Boswell is a genius, do we preclude the possibility of his being -a fool. Boswell was indeed a fool, as is easy enough to show; but he -was not, as was long supposed, a stupid fool. - -We do, however, mean something by the term genius; and it is something -of the inward life. The soul of man is composed of combustible matter, -and the violence and quality of its conflagration depend upon the -proportions in which the ingredients are mixed. In certain cases -an abnormal quantity of one substance or another produces an -extraordinary result; and when this result can be classified neither -as criminal nor lunatic it is called by the more approved name of -genius. - -Two questions therefore are to be asked especially with regard to a -genius: First, in what way was the conflagration peculiar? Secondly, -what were the substances present in abnormal quantity which caused the -peculiarity? - -It is intended that these two questions shall be answered with regard -to Boswell in the course of this general inquiry concerning his -psychology. It is held that Boswell was a genius; it must be explained -in what his genius consisted, and how, in the end, this abnormal -essence dominated the whole man and inspired the great work of his -life. - - * * * * * - -James Boswell was born in Edinburgh on October 29th, 1740. He came -of an old Scottish stock, and his ancestors, if not eminent, were at -least distinguished men and proud of being the Lairds of Auchinleck. - -Of his mother we know but little; she was, however, a woman of 'almost -unexampled piety and goodness.' - -Lord Auchinleck, his father, figures occasionally in the various -authorities for Boswell's 'Life,' and we can get a very good picture -of him. Scott gives the following account: - - Old Lord Auchinleck was an able lawyer, a good scholar, after - the manner of Scotland, and highly valued his own advantages - as a man of good estate and ancient family; and, moreover, he - was a strict Presbyterian and Whig of the old Scottish cast. - This did not prevent his being a terribly proud aristocrat, - and great was the contempt he entertained and expressed for - his son James, for the nature of his friendships and the - character of the personages of whom he was _engoué_ one after - another. 'There's nae hope for Jamie, mon,' he said to a - friend. 'Jamie is gaen clean gyte.... Whose tail do you - think he has pinned himself to now, mon?' Here the old judge - summoned up a sneer of most sovereign contempt. 'A _dominie_, - mon--an auld dominie; he keeped a schule and cau'd it an - acaadamy.' - -The Laird, as is evident from the account in the 'Tour to the -Hebrides' of Johnson's visit to Boswell's home, held his opinions -with that conviction which admits of no discussion. A story of him -is related by Scott that when challenged by Johnson to explain the -utility of Cromwell's career, he very curtly remarked: 'God, Doctor, -he gart kings ken they had a lith[1] in their neck.' - -Boswell seems to have summed up the situation at home when he wrote in -the _London Magazine_ for 1781: - - I knew a father who was a violent Whig and used to attack his - son for being a Tory, upbraiding him with being deficient in - noble sentiments of liberty, while at the same time he made - this son live under his roof in such bondage as he was not - only afraid to stir from home without leave like a child, but - durst scarcely open his mouth in his father's presence. This - was sad living. - -The problem of youth is one of selection. Not many of us accept for -ourselves the whole of our inheritance. Of the influences of our early -years there are some which we reject; and the judgments which we make -about the problems that affected us when young, differ as a rule from -those about other questions which come upon us only in maturer years. -In youth we must either love or hate--there is no indifference; and so -in youth very often are formed the prejudices of a lifetime. Thus it -was with Boswell. It was inevitable that the inflexible, hard-headed -old judge, and the gay, clever son, should agree very ill. The latter -contrived to be in many ways the exact antithesis of his father, and -he had the courage of his opinions. It is remarkable, when we think of -the violence of the old Whig's political views, that in 1745 Boswell -'wore a white cockade and prayed for King James.' The advances of an -uncle it is true were able to purchase his political sympathies, and -for the sum of one shilling Boswell became a Whig. But it is more -decorous, at the age of five, to side with one's father without the -persuasion of a silver bribe, especially upon a question of so great -importance as the choice of a sovereign. For his tutor, Mr. Dunn, -James seems to have retained no startling degree of affection or even -of respect; for it was he who 'discovered a narrowness of information -concerning the dignitaries of the Church of England. He talked before -Dr. Johnson of fat bishops and drowsy deans, and in short seemed to -believe the illiberal and profane scoffings of professed satirists -or vulgar railers'; and so brought upon himself the admirable rebuke: -'Sir, you know no more of our Church than a Hottentot.' - -In the uncongenial atmosphere of home Boswell learnt, no doubt, to -dislike instruction and to mistrust what he was told about the way to -live, about manners in the old use of the word. There is, however, -the trace of a pious mother's influence in the respect which Boswell -always showed for religion and for principles. To know what he thought -right or wrong was always of importance to him, however slight the -relation to his practice of these moral decisions. It is possible -indeed that he could never have been better than a tyro in the art of -living: but the close-fettered days of this unfortunate childhood must -be partly responsible for the fact. - -When the term of his education at home was accomplished, Boswell very -properly went to school at Edinburgh. We have reason to complain, if -we may complain at all, that we can know nothing of Boswell's school -life. It is idle to conjecture what it was like. We may only suppose -that school was to him a place of comparative freedom, and that to his -schoolfellows his presence there was a valuable source of merriment, -and perhaps also an occasion of maliciousness. - -From school Boswell went by a natural sequence to Edinburgh -University: he was barely seventeen years old when the change took -place. It was at Edinburgh University, at Hunter's Greek class, that -Boswell met his lifelong friend William Temple. - -Temple is distinguished as the grandfather of an archbishop. Beyond -this his life has no considerable distinction; and beyond the fact -that he was Boswell's friend it has no peculiar interest. His eminence -in the immediate affairs of this world may be rightly judged from -the unembellished statement that, after his ordination in 1766, he -remained a country parson, first at Mamhead, near Exeter, and later -at St. Gluvias, in Cornwall, for his entire life. It is a curiously -undecorated career for one who obtained so large a measure not merely -of Boswell's friendship, but of his admiration. - -A sad mischance has denied us at least the gratification of curiosity -by hiding from our view, and perhaps destroying, the letters of Temple -to Boswell; those qualities which attracted the youthful biographer, -and completely won his confidence, are no doubt exposed therein; but -we may not see. Boswell's own letters however reveal something of his -correspondent's character. Temple in the first place--and this perhaps -is the most important fact--was literary. He was evidently a far -better scholar than Boswell, and knew more about books. He was a -writer too in a small way. He published several unpretentious volumes. -They have no particular interest that demands our attention, but one -of them, 'An Essay on the Clergy, &c.,' 'by some divine mischance,' -as Mr. Seccombe puts it, 'materially aided his prospects.' Temple's -ability seems rather to have been that of a critic. In the letters -that he wrote to Boswell he pronounced his views about books and -authors: Boswell esteemed his opinions highly, and there was a -proposal, apparently fruitless, that these passages should be -collected into a book. It would be wrong to assume from Boswell's -optimistic remarks that Temple was really capable of writing anything -valuable. But his opinion was in one instance at least supported by -eminent men of letters. Boswell quoted in a periodical an appreciation -of Gray which Temple wrote at the time of that poet's death; Mason -thought this so good that he inserted it in his 'Life of Gray'; and -Dr. Johnson afterwards included the same passage in the 'Lives of the -Poets.' - -Temple, as we see, is not entitled to the fame of Letters; but it is -important to realise, since he was the greatest friend both of the -young and the old Boswell, that though he had not the qualities that -deserve success, and had not the good fortune that may bring it by -chance, he had, however, a certain distinction. - -There are other reasons for Boswell's preference. If neither Temple -nor Boswell was a successful man, yet they both desired success in a -quite extraordinary degree, and in the early days of their friendship -at Edinburgh this was a strong link. They perceived, no doubt, that -they were unlike the majority of students, and concluded they were -better than the rest. They looked forward to brilliant careers and -elegant fame, to the respect of princes and the friendship of the -ingenious. Boswell lived for the greater part of his life in a palace -of boyish dreams where Wishes became Destiny, and it is fair to -suppose that Temple at the Scottish University shared this luxury -of anticipation. He, too, could look back to the Edinburgh days and -consider if he were becoming 'the great man, as we used to say.' And -in later life the link held firm; for neither of them was 'the great -man' in the sense that he intended. If they were companions in hopeful -optimism when young, they were equally companions at a maturer age in -the discontent and despair of unrealised ambition. - -It might be supposed that any friend of Boswell would play the part -of the strong man. He might not have the capacity of Dr. Johnson for -sweeping away cobwebs and for discouraging complaint, but one would -expect to find him upon the same platform. Temple, however, did not -take this attitude. On the contrary it was Boswell who encouraged -Temple. Not once but many times we find in the letters that Temple has -told the tale of his evil fortune in tones of despondency, and Boswell -tries to present the circumstances in a more favourable light. -Boswell perhaps did not do this very well. Neither the cheerfulness -of optimism nor the consolation of philosophy is sufficient for the -occasion; and it may be doubted whether the philosophy advocated by -Boswell was anything more than an affectation of indifference. But it -does him credit that he should have made the attempt to console, -and at the same time displays the weakness of Temple's character. -Certainly this was not the kind of man to exert a strong influence. -Boswell seems to have regarded him in the light of a father confessor -with whom a certain ceremony is to be performed, and is reproved and -forgiven by a natural sequence, which adds nothing but pleasure to -the agreeable duty of confession. Temple expostulates in the _rôle_ of -parson when the conduct of his friend is particularly damnable; it is -possible there shall be a 'blaze hereafter,' and one must at least be -on the safe side. So Boswell no doubt understood it. The mild reproofs -of his clerical friend never for a moment deterred him either from -doing or from telling of his deed. He came to expect and even to like -them. 'Admonish me, but forgive me,' he says after a particularly -detailed account of his amours; and at a later date, in an expression -which seems to epitomise the relations of the pastor and his erring -sheep, 'Your soft admonitions,' he writes, 'would at any time calm the -tempests of my soul.' - -It is clear that Boswell had no moral respect for Temple; it was not -in search of guidance that he told stories of his profligacy, but -simply because he liked to tell them. Boswell, as his friend remarked, -mounted the hobby-horse of his own temperament; this was his perennial -and unfailing interest, and the irrepressible delight which he had in -his own feelings and performances found an outlet in the 'Letters to -Temple' and in many amusing passages in the 'Life of Johnson.' - -Boswell no doubt was capable of self-revelation without encouragement, -and it is difficult for this reason to tell how much sympathy he had -from his friend. Temple wanted to hear from Boswell; he asked him to -write, and praised his letters. But his mild disapproval was probably -genuine. When he accuses Boswell of neglecting a friend or of -unkindness to his father, he must have thought himself a more -considerate man. He was not like Boswell, a tippler, and seems to -have been really distressed by the other's intemperate habits. In a -manuscript diary, reports Mr. Seccombe, he describes Boswell, no -doubt in a moment of irritation, as 'irregular in conduct and manners, -selfish, indelicate, no sensibility or feeling for others.' And -yet Temple himself was not above a gross fault; he talks of a 'dear -infidel,' and Boswell exclaims that he is exceeded by his friend. -Boswell no doubt made the most of any lapse on Temple's part from the -path of rectitude; he would like to feel that he had the support of a -respectable companion. His conscience was by no means complacent, and -it would become more tranquil if one whom he respected were in the -same boat with himself. It is conceivable that Temple encouraged -Boswell's confidence with the object of controlling him as much as he -could; his advice certainly was always that he should get well married -instead of carrying on a number of flirtations. But it is difficult to -believe, if we read the letters carefully, that Temple ever appeared -to be shocked by Boswell's confessions; and to the latter no doubt -that was an encouragement. - -In brief, we may describe Temple as a refined and well-intentioned -creature, but hardly wise and not courageous. His marriage was so much -a failure that he sought at one time a colonial chaplaincy with the -object of living apart from his wife. He was discontented with his lot -and inclined rather to complain acrimoniously than to make the best of -it. He had apparently no staunch qualities to influence a friend; and -this friend needed a firm monitor. - - * * * * * - -The date of the first of Boswell's letters to Temple is July 1758. -In 1763 he met Johnson. In the five years between these dates we see -Boswell in a number of characteristic lights. The period from -eighteen to twenty-three is commonly held to mark a special change and -development in a man's character. In Boswell's, however, we do not see -this very strongly. As he grew up he did fewer, no doubt, of the -wild things of youth. But he seems hardly to have become older in the -ordinary way, until towards the close of his life. He was always to -the world the gay, good-humoured, sociable being, with a strong vein -of fatuous buffoonery, that we see in these early years. A great -difficulty in rightly understanding Boswell's life lies in this fact. -It seems impossible at times to realise that this was a serious man; -he appears to find the world and himself such a preposterous joke. -And yet if he saw to the full the humour of living, he felt too -very keenly that it was an important matter, that there were real -standards. No one has valued more the opinion of others about -himself, and no one has experienced more miserably the bitterness of -disappointed ambition. It must be our duty, then, to mark, with all -the follies and frivolities which express the youth he retained so -long, a more serious nature within, which showed itself also from time -to time to the outer world. - -The course of Boswell's life during this period of five years may be -briefly followed in chronological order. In 1758 he was at Edinburgh -University, and it is from there that his first letter to Temple is -dated. The summer vacation was spent on the Northern Circuit with his -father and Sir David Dalrymple, afterwards also a Scottish judge with -the title of Lord Hailes. In November 1759, he entered Adam Smith's -class for Moral Philosophy in Glasgow University. In 1760 he paid -his first visit to London, and in the spring of 1761 returned to -Edinburgh, where he resided until the close of 1762; he then went for -the second time to London. It was upon this second visit that he met -Dr. Johnson. - -It is characteristic of these years that he did not quite know what -he was or what he wanted. He was posing now in one guise and now in -another, wondering the while what his serious purpose might be. At -Edinburgh University he seems to have wished to appear an intellectual -cynic. He writes to Temple: - - Don't be surprised if your grave, sedate, philosophic friend, - who used to carry it so high, and talk with such composed - indifference of the beauteous sex, and whom you used - to admonish not to turn an old man too soon--don't be - thunderstruck if this same fellow should all at once _subito - furore obreptus_ commence Don Quixote for his adorable - Dulcinea. - -The inference is clear; the _subito furore obreptus_ type of conduct -is a great change from a sedate indifference. - -He often adopted the _rôle_ of the wise counsellor. His letters to -Temple are full of excellent advice. It is always hard to be quite -certain that Boswell is serious, but it is probable that he was -sincere enough in this. He was ready always with sympathy and kind -actions for his friend, and we may conjecture that besides wishing -to appear wise beyond his years he thought that Temple could best be -served by the commonplace advice of the old to the young. - -But it is pre-eminently as the promising young _littérateur_ that we -see Boswell in these years. He became acquainted with many interesting -people, who were attracted, no doubt, by a clever young man, fond -of literature and appearing less ignorant than most young men. Lord -Hailes, Lord Kames, and Dr. Robertson were numbered among his friends. -Even Hume took notice of him: 'We talk a great deal of genius, fine -learning, improving in our style, &c., but I am afraid solid learning -is much wore out. Mr. Hume, I think, is a very proper person for a -young man to cultivate an acquaintance with.' Boswell was not eighteen -when he wrote these words. They suggest an amusing picture of a clever -and conceited young genius. He was admitted in 1761 to the Select -Society, a distinguished group of men who represented the best -learning of Edinburgh--a high compliment this, both to his brains and -to his social qualities. - -Among Boswell's friends of the aristocracy of letters were several -younger men. Charles Dilly, the publisher, who was afterwards host at -the famous dinner when Dr. Johnson met Jack Wilkes, was a native of -Edinburgh; and George Dempster, who became M.P. for the burghs of Fife -and Forfar in 1762, was, like Boswell, a member of the Select -Society; it was he who afterwards appeared as the disciple of Hume and -Rousseau, and of whom Johnson said, 'I have not met with any man for a -long time who has given me such general displeasure.' - -A greater friend than either of these, and one who had far more -influence in forming the literary tastes of Boswell, was the -Honourable Andrew Erskine. This lively young gentleman was both -soldier and writer. His interest in literature was not of a very -creative order: he edited, however, in 1760 and 1761, two volumes of -a 'Collection of Original Poems by the Rev. Mr. Blacklock and other -Scotch Gentlemen,' to which both he and Boswell contributed; in 1764, -he published a farce in two acts, and in 1773 he issued a poem of -twenty-two quarto pages intended 'to expose the false taste for florid -description which prevails in modern poetry.' He appears to have -had considerable discrimination; he was an early admirer of the poet -Burns, and Burns, in a letter to a friend, praises some of Erskine's -songs; an eminent publisher describes him as having 'an excellent -taste in the fine arts.' Such a man may well have had influence with -Boswell, and the two became associated in several small literary -ventures. - -The early tastes and tendencies of Boswell in literary matters are -connected with several influences of a different nature. There was -always a strong instinct of rebellion in Boswell, and with him it -found expression in sympathy for those whom the world rejected. -Some of his friends among those who sought favour of the Muses were -therefore less successful and less respectable than the distinguished -members of the Select Society, the learned and the grave. - -Several of these friends were connected in various ways with -the stage. Acting was not supported as an art in Edinburgh, nor -countenanced as a profession, at the time when Boswell was an -undergraduate at the University. But he came in contact with a Mr. -Love who, it would seem, was the first to encourage his sympathy with -the drama. Mr. Love had been connected at one time with Drury Lane -Theatre; fortune cannot have favoured him greatly, since he left -London for Edinburgh; and there after fruitless attempts to practise -private theatricals he became a teacher of elocution. It was in this -last capacity that Boswell met him. - -The lessons of Mr. Love were apparently of some use to Boswell; for -Dr. Johnson said in commendation of his English accent, 'Sir, -your pronunciation is not offensive'; and Miss Burney too speaks -approvingly. Mr. Love became the great friend of Boswell after Temple -had proceeded to the University of Cambridge. He is mentioned in -the first of the 'Letters to Temple' as the only other confidant of -Boswell in a matter of the heart; and in the next letter he is called -his 'second-best friend.' Boswell says of him: 'He has not only good -taste, genius and learning, but a good heart.' He must in any case -have been a man of singular virtue, for it was he who persuaded -Boswell to keep a diary. 'I went along with my father to the Northern -Circuit and was so happy as to be in the same chaise as Sir David -Dalrymple the whole way. I kept an exact journal, at the particular -desire of my friend Mr. Love, and sent it to him in sheets every -post.' So was the habit of 'memorandising' begun. Boswell was destined -no doubt to form that habit; it was the most vital factor in his -method of biography; and it was besides a complete expression in -itself of that inner secret which, by a magic touch, was to marshal -the soul of a glorious man before the eyes of us all. The wheel of -Fate might have turned ever so little differently for Boswell and -altered the whole course of his mortal existence; but if it were still -to be Boswell, there must still have been the tablets; and his title -to immortality would have been secured by these alone. And yet, though -the tablets are Boswell's by indubitable birthright, we may allow -ourselves a pious exclamation at the name of Mr. Love. - -When Boswell went to Glasgow he made friends with another actor in -depressed circumstances. 'The merchants of Glasgow,' Dr. Rogers tells -us, 'tolerated theatrical representations, obtaining on their boards -such talent as their provincial situation could afford.' Boswell -evidently took an interest in the Glasgow theatre. One of those who -sought a livelihood there was a certain Francis Gentleman, a native -of Ireland, and originally an officer in the army. 'This amiable -gentleman sold his commission in the hope of obtaining fame and -opulence as a dramatic author.' He obtained neither, and became -an actor; and so he qualified to be the friend of Boswell, who -entertained him, and 'encouraged him to publish an edition of -Southern's "Tragedy of Oroonoco."' To Boswell it must have been a -double pleasure to play the patron and to read the dedication of the -volume addressed to himself. Mr. Gentleman thought well of the man who -had befriended him, and the dedication ends thus: - - But where, with honest pleasure, she can find - Sense, taste, religion, and good nature joined, - There gladly will she raise her feeble voice - Nor fear to tell that Boswell is her choice. - -On his return to Edinburgh Boswell became more than ever concerned -with the ill-favoured art of the drama. 'The popular prejudice against -theatricals,' says Dr. Rogers, 'was a sufficient cause for our author -falling into the opposite extreme; he threw his whole energies into a -movement which led, six years afterwards, to a theatre being licensed -in the capital.' - -He became associated in this movement with a Mr. David Ross, the most -important save Garrick of his actor friends. Ross, too, was acquainted -with misfortune, yet not without earning some kind of celebrity. When -he made his first appearance at Drury Lane, 'he was approved by -a polite and distinguishing audience, who seemed to congratulate -themselves on seeing an actor whom they imagined capable of restoring -to the stage the long-lost character of the real fine gentleman'; and -his first success was followed by a considerable measure of popularity -at Covent Garden. He must have been a good actor, for Garrick is said -to have been jealous of his reputation. It was the 'fine gentleman' -we may suppose that Boswell particularly admired. 'Poor Ross!' he -exclaims at the time of his death; 'he was an unfortunate man in some -respects; but he was a true _bon-vivant_, a most social man, and never -was without good eating and drinking and hearty companions.' These -qualities were no doubt to Boswell the highest recommendation. And -he seems besides to have found the society of actors in general -especially congenial. In his own character there was much of the -actor: he was so often conscious of a part to be played! And he had -a way of occupying the stage when conversing in company. He may have -found, too, that actors appreciated best his lively social qualities. - -Ross, though irregular habits, as we are told, may have interfered -with his advancement, was evidently a man of some talents and some -enthusiasm, and eventually he succeeded in starting a theatre in -Edinburgh. He had some respect, it would appear, for Boswell's -talents; for on the occasion of his first performance in the capital -of Scotland, he requested Boswell to write a prologue which the actor -himself was to recite. Boswell can hardly have seen much of Ross -in later years, but the friendship between them was preserved, and -Boswell was chief mourner at the actor's funeral in 1790. - -One other friend of Boswell's in these early years must be mentioned -here. Actors may have had particular qualities which made them -attractive to him, but Boswell in any case had always a sympathy with -misfortune which was mere good-nature; he had at the same time an -interest in the shady walks of life, in human nature exhibited under -stress of adverse circumstances, and in an added poignancy to the -performance of intellect when spurred by poverty. These feelings may -account for his friendship with Mr. Derrick the poet. Derrick, like -Love and Gentleman and Ross, was somewhat of a failure. He had been -apprenticed to a linendraper, and deserted the concerns of trade -to seek his fortune as an actor; when Boswell met him as a man -of thirty-six he aspired to be a poet. His verses must have been -remarkably poor; Boswell refers to some of them as 'infamously bad.' -Dr. Johnson, who knew him slightly, 'reproved his muse and condemned -his levity.' But he was a writer, and that meant a great deal to -Boswell; the mark of his profession was a sign of grace. The Doctor -was probably right when he said: 'It is to his being a writer that -he owes anything he has. Sir, had not Derrick been a writer, he would -have been sweeping the crosses in the streets, and asking halfpence -from everybody that passed.' Derrick no doubt was a gay companion, and -Boswell evidently liked him, though not excessively. He was of some -importance, too, in the youth of Boswell, for he was his first tutor -in the ways of London, and these were not entirely good ways. - - * * * * * - -It was as a poet that Boswell was to make his _début_ in literary -performance. Besides his contributions to the collections edited by -Erskine, he published in 1761 two longer poems, 'An Elegy on the Death -of an Amiable Young Lady' and 'An Ode to Tragedy.' The latter -was apparently a serious attempt at poetry; but it serves only -to demonstrate that poetry was quite beyond Boswell's grasp. His -productions were typical of the eighteenth century. He had no -imagination teeming with beautiful images, such as came to a later -generation; the graces and conceits of the Elizabethans, and the -appeal of Nature, were alike unknown to him; and he never acquired the -technical skill which was the merit of the best poets of the age. The -'Ode' is neither better nor worse than might be expected from a wholly -misdirected literary talent; it could have been written by almost -anyone who had read a certain quantity of English verse. - -The 'Elegy' also was intended to express a serious vein. It would -be an error to suppose that Boswell meant to be satirical; but -he evidently saw that he might be laughed at as extravagant, and -published it without alteration, introducing some prefatory letters to -ridicule its sentimentality. - -In 1762 he published, apparently at his own expense, 'The Cub at -Newmarket, a tale.' This, as he states in the preface, is the story -told in doggerel verse of his visit to the Jockey Club at Newmarket. -He had been taken there when in London by Lord Eglinton, and was -discovered in the coffee-room while in the act of composing. The -Cub at Newmarket is, of course, himself. Lord Eglinton afterwards -introduced him to the Duke of York, to whom Boswell, not unwillingly -we may suppose, read out his poem. It must have been a triumphant -moment for the young author, and he felt obliged to preserve the -memory of it by asking and obtaining leave to dedicate the poem to his -Royal Highness--he desired, as he explains in the preface, 'to let the -world know that this same Cub has been laughed at by the Duke of York, -has been read to his Royal Highness by the genius himself, and warmed -by the immediate beams of his kind indulgence.' The humorous poem is -not remarkably funny; one stanza which describes himself is perhaps -worthy to be quoted: - - He was not of the iron Race, - Which sometimes Caledonia grace, - Though he to combat could advance-- - Plumpness shone in his countenance; - And Belly prominent declar'd - That he for Beef and Pudding car'd; - He had a large and pond'rous head, - That seemed to be composed of lead; - From which hung down such stiff, lank hair, - As might the crows in Autumn scare. - -But besides being a somewhat light-headed poet, Boswell was anxious -to appear as the 'young Buck.' 'The Epistle of a London Buck to his -Friend' is the title of one of his publications in the 'Collection of -Original Poems.' There is also a confused story of a club he formed -in Edinburgh called the 'Soaping Club,' which existed apparently for -Bacchanalian purposes; Boswell was the king of the Soapers and wrote -some verses about himself: - - Boswell is pleasant and gay, - For frolic by nature designed; - He heedlessly rattles away - When the company is to his mind. - 'This maxim,' he says, 'you may see, - We never can have corn without chaff'; - So not a bent sixpence cares he, - Whether _with_ him, or _at_ him you laugh. - - Boswell does women adore, - And never once means to deceive, - He's in love with at least half a score; - If they're serious he smiles in his sleeve. - He has all the bright fancy of youth, - With the judgment of forty and five; - In short, to declare the plain truth, - There is no better fellow alive. - -Stories about 'frolic' (to use Boswell's word) are not as a rule -very laughable, and we are perhaps too apt to consider them as merely -childish and contemptible when they fail to amuse us. The exact -atmosphere of the moment which accounts for its merriment is forgotten -too often and seldom reproduced, and we are left cold after a recital -of such behaviour as we may suppose the Club of Soapers to have -indulged in. In Boswell's character there was a large vein of -buffoonery which is apt when recounted by anyone but himself to appear -stupid enough. But in reality it seems to have contained a true sense -of the incongruous, and had at least the success of making people -laugh. What an incomparable moment that must have been when Boswell, -as one of the audience at Drury Lane theatre, took upon himself to -imitate the lowing of a cow! 'I was so successful in this boyish -frolic,' he relates, 'that the universal cry of the galleries was: -"Encore the cow! Encore the cow!"' - -There is nothing very brilliant about Boswell's comic verses, but it -is curious that those we have quoted should represent the facts so -closely: - - So not a bent sixpence cares he - Whether _with_ him or _at_ him you laugh; - -these lines express exactly the social principle which Boswell -adopted. He had no objection to men laughing at his oddities so long -as they laughed good-humouredly. - -He wished to find gaiety in every company, and it is just to say that -he brought more than his share of mirth regardless of dignity. - -There are many other instances of these self-portraits, anonymous -sometimes, but easily to be recognised. We can hardly do better than -illustrate Boswell's life by his own words about himself, because upon -this subject he found it necessary, when he had anything to say, -to say it truthfully. In another early literary venture, the -correspondence between Erskine and Boswell, which these two young -gentlemen published, there is a letter of Boswell's containing an -account of the author of the 'Ode to Tragedy,' which he had published -anonymously; he thus describes himself: - - The author of the 'Ode to Tragedy,' is a most excellent man: - he is of an ancient family in the West of Scotland, upon which - he values himself not a little. At his nativity there appeared - omens of his future greatness; his parts are bright, and his - education has been good; he has travelled in postchaises miles - without number; he is fond of seeing much of the world; he - eats of every good dish, especially apple-pie; he drinks - old hock; he has a very fine temper; he is somewhat of a - humourist, and a little tinctured with pride; he has a good, - manly countenance, and he owns himself to be amorous; he - has infinite vivacity, yet is observed at times to have a - melancholy cast; he is rather fat than lean, rather short than - tall, rather young than old; his shoes are neatly made, and he - never wears spectacles. - -The 'Letters between the Honourable Andrew Erskine and James Boswell, -Esq.' are the most remarkable in some ways of these early literary -ventures. The letters were evidently written from the first with a -view to publication. They are completely frivolous, but attempt to be -satirical and amusing. Boswell and Erskine wish to appear as two young -men of society who are budding poets and have brilliant wit. They -hoped, perhaps, to take the world by storm like the Admirable Crichton -and his friend Aldus. The result, if far from brilliant, is certainly -clever and amusing. - -The _rôle_ which Boswell played in this theatrical performance may -be illustrated by some passages of his own letters. He was before -everything else the knight of chivalry--a chivalry which was occupied -exclusively with an excess of romantic attachment and an adoring -worship of female charm. Boswell in real life was extravagant enough, -we may suppose, in his homage to women; but his performance can have -hardly reached the standard set up in the letters to Erskine: - - Lady B---- entreats me to come and pass the Christmas holidays - with her. Guess, O guess! what transport I felt at reading - that; I did not know how to contain my elevation of spirits. - I thought myself one of the greatest geniuses in Europe; - I thought I could write all sorts of books and work at all - handicraft trades; I imagined that I had fourscore millions of - money out at interest, and, that I should actually be chosen - Pope at the next election. - -It is conceivable of course that Boswell imagined that he had -the fourscore millions; there is evidence which might suggest -a misconception of this kind. And it is even possible that he -entertained at some time the dream of becoming Pope. But that at all -events is not meant to appear. It is meant as the froth of youthful -gallantry. There is no deception. We are not expected to suppose that -Boswell was like this: we are expected merely to be amused at the -pose. - -He represents himself also as the _bon-vivant_. There are allusions to -splendid feasts and there is an 'Ode to Gluttony.' The poet is always -very much to the fore, and his behaviour is supposed to be marked -occasionally by a vein of seriousness, which is to suggest the anxious -cogitation of the philosopher: - - We had a splendid ball.... I exhibited my existence in a - minuet, and as I was dressed in a full chocolate suit and wore - my most solemn countenance, I looked, as you used to tell me, - like the fifth act of a deep tragedy. - -Perhaps the most significant passages in these letters are where -Boswell plays the cynic: - - A light heart may bid defiance to fortune. And yet, Erskine, - I must tell you that I have been a little pensive of late, - amorously pensive, and disposed to read Shenstone's 'Pastoral - on Absence,' the tendency of which I greatly admire. A man who - is in love is like a man who has got the toothache: he feels - in most acute pain, while nobody pities him. In that situation - I am at present, but well do I know that I will not be long - so. So much for inconstancy! - -Boswell represented himself in the letters to Erskine very much as -he affected to be in real life--the gay young wit with a serious -background, the jolly good fellow and at the same time the budding -genius, and finally, the cynical philosopher, such as he alludes to -in the first letter to Temple. The whole picture is exaggerated and -laughed at: yet we feel very often that the laughter has a hollow -ring. It is the laughter in reality of one who wishes to protect -himself from ridicule by jesting at his own expense. The real Boswell -peeps through in many places. The remark about Shenstone's 'Pastoral -on Absence' might equally well have been made in all seriousness to -Temple. - -In another letter he says: - - Allow me a few more words. I live here in a remote corner - of an old ruinous house, where my ancestors have been very - jovial. What a solemn idea rushes on my mind! They are all - gone: I must follow. Well, and what then? I must shift about - to another subject. The best I can think of is a sound sleep: - so good-night! - -The sentiment about his dead ancestors is a flash of the true Boswell -as bright and real as anything in Pepys' Diary. The pleasure which the -thought gave him and the pleasure he had in imparting it to another -cannot be concealed by the forced levity of the ending. - -The friendship of Boswell with Erskine was responsible for yet another -publication; these two with George Dempster collaborated to criticise -some dramatic performances in 'Critical Strictures on Mallet's -"Elvira."' This brochure[2] would seem to have been written in the -same flippant manner as the 'Letters.' Mr. Mallet's 'Elvira' came -in for plenty of abuse, but there was no serious attempt at literary -criticism. And yet this publication must rank with the letters as -the most important exhibition of Boswell's talents up to the age of -twenty-three. - - * * * * * - -In London no doubt Boswell enjoyed himself very well, and Edinburgh -seemed a dull town by comparison. In May, 1761, Boswell writes: - - A young fellow whose happiness was always centred in London, - who had at last got there, and had begun to taste its - delights, who had got his mind filled with the most gay - ideas,--getting into the Guards, being about the court, - enjoying the happiness of the _beau monde_, and the company - of men of genius, in short everything that he could - wish,--consider this poor fellow hauled away to the town of - Edinburgh, obliged to conform to every Scotch custom or be - laughed at--'Will you hae some jeel? oh fie! oh fie!'--his - flighty imagination quite cramped, and he obliged to study - Corpus Juris Civilis, and live in his father's strict family; - is there any wonder, Sir, that the unlucky dog should be - somewhat fretful? - -This passage from a letter to Temple explains very well the attitude -of Boswell towards the world at the age of twenty-one. He is the gay, -frank, talkative, amusing, sociable young man, frivolous if you like -and a little unrestrained in his affections, extravagant one would -rather say in that matter as in others, but quite without malice. - -The profession to which for a time he aspired was that of a soldier. -In the Guards, no doubt, he would be able to enjoy just that kind of -life which attracted him, the 'happiness of the _beau monde_,' with no -thought of what is supposed to be the serious business of soldiering, -and probably a decided preference for the gay, smart costume. But for -the army he was clearly unsuited. 'I like your son,' said the Duke -of Argyll to his father; 'that boy must not be shot at for -three-and-sixpence a day.' It was resolved accordingly that he should -study law. - -We hear so much in the letters to Temple of Boswell's amusements that -it is easy to lose sight altogether of a less frivolous side to his -life. It is safe at least to conjecture that he read a good many -books at this time; in the _rôle_ of a young _littérateur_ he would -naturally keep up with the books that were coming out; we know that -he read Johnson and Hume and Harris, and, from the knowledge of -literature that he always showed, we may infer that he read much else -besides. - -The law studies he took seriously at this time. - - I can assure you [he writes to Temple] the study of law here - is a most laborious task. In return for yours, I shall give - you an account of my studies. From nine to ten I attend the - law class; from ten to eleven study at home, and from one to - two attend a College upon Roman Antiquities. The afternoons - and evenings I likewise spend in study; I never walk except on - Saturdays. - -This is hard work for one at a University! And especially for one -of Boswell's temperament. There is no great amount of diligence -associated as a rule with the youth of either the literary or the very -sociable character. - -The truth is that Boswell was very far from being idle; he had great -energy, and often applied himself to something which interested him -with fervent industry; he was irregular no doubt, as are very many -people who work in this way. - -An indication of the channel into which his industry was to be turned -is provided by that journal (and what pains it must have cost!), which -he began to keep while travelling with Lord Hailes and his father; and -at the same time he was made aware of the existence of Dr. Johnson as -a great writer in London, began to read his works, and also no doubt -to feel, as he afterwards said, that 'highest reverence for their -author, which had grown up with my fancy into a kind of mysterious -veneration, by figuring to myself a state of solemn elevated -abstraction, in which I supposed him to live in the immense metropolis -of London.' - -Boswell also seems to have been deeply interested in religion even -during these early years. While at Glasgow University his views -underwent a violent revolution, most distressing to his parents, and -he became for a short time a Roman Catholic. There is no reason -to suppose that Boswell was in any way frivolous when he took this -decisive step. He clearly hated the Presbyterianism of his youth and -was probably in search of some creed to take its place. He cannot, -however, have gained much credit from this episode, since it was mixed -up in some way with an elopement with a Roman Catholic lady. - -It is probable that Boswell was in earnest both about the young -lady and about his religion. But since, in order to be entirely -respectable, it is often necessary to give a hypocritical consistency -to our fickle inclinations, we are not thought to be serious if we do -not affect to be constant. We can assume, in the case of most people, -from a sort of faith they hold in the durability of sentiment, and -a desire which they have to prove by a time test the depth of their -emotion, that the feelings which do not appear to endure are trivial -and shallow. In Boswell's case we cannot make this assumption; though -he affected much, he yet had real and vivid feelings; but since they -could never be wholly dissociated from the pleasure which they gave -him, they were both various and contradictory; he could be grave and -sedate at one moment and gay and boyish the next, yet really feeling -something both of the gravity and the gaiety of living; he could be -almost in the same breath either the romantic lover or the indifferent -cynic, and yet feel something both of the romance of love and of the -aloofness which has tasted often enough the joys and sorrows of -life; he forgot more quickly than most men, but did not care very -often--while it was part of his inconsistency that he did sometimes -care--to conceal the fundamental elasticity of his nature. - -This volatility of Boswell, exhibited especially in his sexual -inconstancy, was in itself but a phase of an innate and irrepressible -candour which, in spite of a lifelong desire and struggle for -respectability, showed itself very often to his friend Temple in the -'Letters,' and not infrequently also to the general public. - -In all that he wrote we find passages of amazing frankness about -matters which most men would prefer to conceal. He was absurdly vain, -he was childishly sanguine, he was often both foolish and ridiculous, -and he tells us all about it as a matter that should interest us as -well as him. 'Why,' he says, '"out of the abundance of the heart" -should I not speak?' The light of truth led him into strange paths. -He was a formalist and yet he was sometimes known to fail in formalism -through an aversion to insincerity; when his enemy Baretti came, by -chance, into the room where he was being entertained by a friend, -Boswell refused to greet him; he could even be flagrantly rude in -company. - -To be entirely respectable and conventional, to be the man of the -world, the gentleman of society, that is what Boswell wanted most in -life; and that he never could become, because there was in his nature -a further consciousness, which was not to be subdued, and which -determined, by reason of the curious inconsistency so produced, his -whole capacity for interesting mankind, for fame, for greatness. - -And so beside the sentimentality, the self-deception, the -respectability, which he so often exhibited, we see the germ of -self-knowledge, of honesty, of truth, which developed and was -ultimately expressed, almost by chance as it seems, in a supreme -biography: for it is the candour of Boswell far more than any other -single factor, the natural instinct to record what he observed both of -himself and of others, the honesty in observing and the truthfulness -which he had as an artist in recording, that distinguishes his -literary work. Herein lay the essence of his genius. The story of -Boswell's life is the story of a struggle between influences and -ambitions which led him towards the commonplace, and the rare -qualities grafted deeply within him, which bore him steadily in an -opposite direction. The triumph of the latter involved no doubt the -unhappiness of Boswell, but it also involved the production of a great -work of art; and this achievement has won for its author a unique -place among distinguished men; he is famous beyond any fame that he -dreamed of attaining and failed to attain. - - - [Footnote 1: Joint.] - - [Footnote 2: I have not seen a copy; _v._ Fitzgerald, _Life of - Boswell_ i. 37-38, and _Life of Garrick_.] - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -'The accident,' says Professor Raleigh,[1] 'which gave Boswell to -Johnson and Johnson to Boswell is one of the most extraordinary pieces -of good fortune in literary history.' The event of their meeting took -place on May 16th, 1763, and if in one sense it was clearly, as the -word is commonly used, an accident, it was equally the result of a -strong wish and intention, if not of deliberate design, on Boswell's -part. He had long known of Johnson, and as early as 1760 had hoped for -an introduction from 'Mr. Derrick, the poet,' 'an honour,' he says, -'of which I was very ambitious.' This honour bestowed eventually upon -a vain and extravagant youth (a circumstance which must be highly -esteemed among the good gifts of the Lady Fortune to humanity) was to -be attained through a humble agent. Among those of Boswell's friends -who were not of the higher strata in society was one Tom Davies. He -was at this time a bookseller, but as he had been formerly an actor -and then dramatic critic, there was something uncommon and adventurous -about his career. He had in fact in some degree the equivalent of what -has been known at a later date as Bohemianism. It seems particularly -appropriate that Boswell should have forgotten the pride of birth -to meet so, in humble circumstances, the object of his devotion. The -scene which took place in Tom Davies' back-parlour has the essence of -true comedy. Two of the actors are light-heartedly unconscious that -the moment has the least importance; the third is painfully and -anxiously aware that it is important to him, and naturally unaware -that it can have a value to anyone else. And it has, too, that -dramatic quality of great events taking place by accident, as it -seems, among incongruous circumstances. It is a scene which must -kindle always, for one who feels a serious value in humour, an emotion -beyond mere pleasure. - -The comedy opens by Tom Davies announcing the eventful news in -farcical manner. - - At last, on Monday the 16th of May, when I was sitting in Mr. - Davies's back-parlour, after having drunk tea with him and - Mrs. Davies, Johnson unexpectedly came into the shop; and Mr. - Davies having perceived him, through the glass-door in the - room in which we were sitting, advancing towards us,--he - announced his aweful approach to me, somewhat in the manner of - an actor in the part of Horatio, when he addresses Hamlet - on the appearance of his father's ghost, 'Look, my Lord, it - comes....' - -Boswell, who at once became nervous, had only time to give a warning -to Davies, and the latter maliciously said the one thing he had been -asked not to say. 'Mr. Davies mentioned my name, and respectfully -introduced me to him. I was much agitated; and recollecting his -prejudice against the Scotch, of which I had heard much, I said to -Davies, "Don't tell where I come from."--"From Scotland," cried Davies -roguishly.' This was apparently a disastrous beginning, and something -must be done to retrieve the position. '"Mr. Johnson," said I, "I do -indeed come from Scotland, but I cannot help it."' It was rash indeed -to originate the conversation and not less typical of Boswell for -that. But a more pleasing remark could hardly be imagined, at -once courteous and frank and full of humour.[2] Johnson no doubt -appreciated it very well, and the more because he was able to find -an excellent repartee. For the moment, however, Boswell seemed to be -involved in fresh calamity. 'This speech was somewhat unlucky; for -with that quickness of wit for which he was so remarkable, he seized -the expression, "come from Scotland," which I used in the sense of -being of that country; and, as if I had said that I had come away from -it, or left it, retorted, "That, Sir, I find, is what a great many of -your countrymen cannot help."' Boswell for the moment was completely -crushed: 'This stroke stunned me a good deal,' and he now found -himself left out of the conversation, in which situation he felt -that he was unlikely to make a very favourable impression. 'He then -addressed himself to Davies: "What do you think of Garrick? He has -refused me an order for the play for Miss Williams, because he knows -that the house will be full, and that an order would be worth three -shillings."' No opportunity must be missed, and youth is prompted by -enthusiasm. 'Eager to take any opening to get into conversation with -him, I ventured to say, "O, Sir, I cannot think Mr. Garrick would -grudge such a trifle to you!"' If this was bold it was at least both -genuine and polite, and the reproof was severe though Boswell admits -its justice. '"Sir," (said he, with a stern look) "I have known David -Garrick longer than you have done: and I know no right you have to -talk to me on the subject."' 'Perhaps' Boswell continues, 'I deserved -this check; for it was rather presumptuous in me, an entire stranger, -to express any doubt of the justice of his animadversion upon his old -acquaintance and pupil. I now felt myself much mortified, and began -to think that the hope which I had long indulged of obtaining his -acquaintance was blasted. And, in truth, had not my ardour been -uncommonly strong, and my resolution uncommonly persevering, so rough -a reception might have deterred me for ever from making any further -attempts. Fortunately, however, I remained upon the field not -wholly discomfited; and was soon rewarded by hearing some of his -conversation.' - -Eventually, when he went away, Davies made some encouraging remarks: -'Tom Davies followed me to the door; and when I complained to him a -little of the hard blows which the great man had given me, he kindly -took upon him to console me by saying, "Don't be uneasy. I can see he -likes you very well!"' The evidence that Johnson liked him very well -was not very convincing, we may suppose, to Boswell. But he called -upon Johnson a week later. - -In the account of Boswell's first visit to Dr. Johnson's house there -is one instructive passage: - - He told me that he generally went abroad at four in the - afternoon, and seldom came home till ten in the morning. I - took the liberty to ask if he did not think it wrong to live - thus, and not make more use of his great talents. He owned it - was a bad habit. On reviewing, at the distance of many years, - my journal of this period, I wonder how, at my first visit, I - ventured to talk to him so freely, and that he bore it with so - much indulgence. - -Clearly Boswell was good at saying what he thought--the remark about -Garrick and the question as to the morality of Johnson's habits, so -early in their acquaintance, show this; he is himself amazed, at a -later date, 'how I ventured to talk so freely.' It is this candour, -in fact, which particularly attracted Johnson. His fame for brilliant -argument and crushing repartee, and his unbending dogmatic manner in -conversation, prevented very often the course of free and fearless -expression in his presence. The young, too, from their supposed -ignorance, have still something of the privilege of childhood in -saying what they think without offending. It is refreshing to -older men to hear the frank opinions of youth; and it was very -characteristic of Johnson that he liked people to speak quite openly -upon serious subjects, so long as they were sincere. - -It is easy enough indeed to see why the two became friends. Boswell -was attractive to Johnson in more ways than one. His outspokenness was -happily blended with more gentle softening qualities, which made it -modest and appealing rather than over-confident and repelling. He -expressed, by his 'light pleasantry to soothe and conciliate him'--and -also, we may suppose, by something respectful in his manner--a -frank admiration for Johnson. And though some may say that this -attitude--flattery one might almost call it (for it is something very -near to that)--is repulsive to them, there are very few people in -practice who, when it is managed with sufficient dexterity, do not -find in it something peculiarly pleasant. Johnson certainly liked to -have admirers, and it was Boswell's nature to admire--but not in a -mean or servile fashion. He managed, one may suppose, to make Johnson -feel pleased with himself, but without lying and without compromising -his own opinions. We may see the attitude which he adopted from his -own words upon the subject of flattery: - - [3]But there may be honest as well as dishonest flattery. - There may be flattery from a sincere admiration, and a desire - to please. It is benevolent to indulge this: and a man of - good disposition may find frequent opportunities for it, by - directly or obliquely bringing under the view of those with - whom he associates, such circumstances in their situations and - characters as are agreeable. - -There is nothing unpleasant about this attitude: on the contrary it is -a very desirable civility. - -It must be remembered, too, that Boswell with all his good-humoured -gaiety and pleasant social qualities could be, and often wanted to -be serious. And the conversation of Johnson was very often, at least -during the latter end of his life, of a serious nature. Morality, -human beings, literature, these were his great subjects; religion and -politics were discussed, but less often. Boswell was interested in the -same things; if with him more than with most men his own case was the -mainspring of all interests, this made him not less, but rather -more, attentive to all questions dealing with right and wrong and the -motives of men; and in literature, as we shall have occasion to show -later, he had a strong natural interest. - -But there is another reason which made him an extremely suitable -companion for Johnson. What Johnson loved best in conversation was -to 'buffet' his adversary; this mode of proceeding has, however, the -obvious disadvantage that it prevents people talking, and also may -possibly offend them, a result which Johnson himself held to be -inexpedient. Boswell, fortunately, was little affected in either way. -Nothing, it is evident, could prevent him talking, and it took a great -deal to offend or even to hurt him. He was so divinely good-humoured! -For the moment, sometimes, he might be annoyed; but it very soon blew -over, and there was no malice in his nature to irritate a wound. The -consequence of this was that Johnson was often rude, which pleased -him, and sometimes went too far, which made him really sorry, so that -his kind-hearted nature liked the object of his brutality the better -for having injured it. - -Of the attraction of Dr. Johnson for Boswell we need hardly speak. The -little that has been said already about Boswell's strange personality -and desires is almost sufficient explanation. We must not think -that he attached himself to Johnson with any particular object. 'To -suppose,' said Malone '(as some of his detractors have suggested), -that he attached himself to Dr. Johnson for the purpose of writing his -life, is to know nothing of the author and nothing of human nature.' -Malone, who knew Boswell very well at the end of his life, was -probably a good judge; and it is not difficult to account for -Johnson's attraction for Boswell without making a supposition of this -kind. Apart from the unique position which he had among literary men, -Johnson was a very striking figure and a very lovable man, and one who -would readily appeal to the imagination of the young; the honour of -receiving the attentions of Johnson would be pleasant in every way; -and Boswell's character was eminently capable of devotion. - -The friendship which grew up between these two men, who were so -different, was not wholly without the shadow of romance. The relations -between them were of the kind that parents would wish to exist -between father and son. A great deal of affection on both sides there -certainly was. The journey together which they took to Harwich on the -occasion of Boswell's departure for the Continent[4] is significant -enough of Johnson's feelings, and Boswell's account of their parting -may speak for his: - - My revered friend walked down with me to the beach, where we - embraced and parted with tenderness and engaged to correspond - by letters. I said, 'I hope, Sir, you will not forget me in - my absence.' Johnson, 'Nay, Sir, it is more likely you should - forget me, than that I should forget you.' As the vessel put - out to sea I kept my eyes upon him for a considerable time, - while he remained rolling his majestic frame in his usual - manner: and at last I perceived him walk back into the town, - and he disappeared. - -There is a note of regret in the paragraph, which, as anyone can see, -is perfectly genuine. - -But Boswell's attitude was much more complicated than one of mere -affection. The friendship was of that complementary order where each -person contributes something which the other lacks, so that they have -a natural need each of the other. Johnson liked Boswell for his -youth and freshness; Boswell worshipped Johnson for his strength.[5] -Worship! it was no less than that; he admitted it, he was proud of -it. His own mind was of the indecisive kind which sees many things and -finds it difficult to choose among them; he turned very readily to the -strong, definite view of life, the expression of an intelligence not -smaller, as convinced people are often fundamentally smaller, but -clearly larger than his own; Johnson's overwhelming personality was -able to support their common prejudices, usually by argument, but, if -not so, by sheer force of conviction. It was not so much that Boswell -approved of everything in Johnson's mind as that he could depend upon -finding there a certain attitude expressive, as he thought, of his own -better self, or of what he would like to have become had he been able -to forgo a part of his own nature. - - * * * * * - -Dr. Johnson, if he was by far the most important, was by no means -the only great man who was to become Boswell's friend. The paternal -graciousness admitted of two years to be spent on the Continent, -years that were to be devoted to diligent study in the University of -Utrecht. Boswell turned them to the best advantage. The parting was -propitious; his friend of the past few months accompanied him to the -quay-side and Boswell was launched for the Continent by the great -literary dictator. That the excellent advice of the moralist and -the command of a father were neglected made little difference to the -success of the lively young man. Utrecht was frankly a dull place, -and there were several gay spots to be visited. Boswell fulfilled -his destiny by amusing the best society, and made acquaintances among -distinguished men. The capital of Prussia was visited, and the English -ambassador Sir Andrew Mitchell was assailed and surrendered. The -courts of Saxe-Gotha and Baden were the sphere of the young Scotsman's -wit. Philosophers were among his honoured objects of attachment. The -youthful Bozzy called upon Voltaire at Ferney, and became almost the -friend of Rousseau. Lord Mount Stuart desired him for a travelling -companion. The greatest achievement, perhaps, and the most -characteristic was the capture of the notorious Wilkes; and intimacy -with him was not unfitting, for the two were much alike in their -irresponsible levity. - -But all this was no more than the tinkling of a cymbal before the -booming of an heroic drum. Boswell determined to visit the Island of -Corsica. - -Corsica was at this time the scene of a romantic struggle. Tired of -the heavy yoke of the Genoese republic, the islanders were in a state -of rebellion and were fighting under the flag of Liberty. Their -leader was an admirable figurehead, one General Paoli, a zealous and -disinterested patriot, a capable soldier and a wise politician. The -Byronic furore of a later date for an oppressed people would have -found a suitable object in the Corsicans and their national idol. For -the mind of Boswell in search of the heroic they had a special appeal. -A letter of introduction to Paoli was solicited from Rousseau, and -with this the light-hearted young man stepped bravely forth with the -bravery of ignorance, to be the first Englishman of his generation to -visit those distant and uncivilised shores. - -The event was properly considered to be worthy of notice in the -English Press, and the requisite information as to Mr. Boswell's -movements was supplied from time to time by the pen of Mr. Boswell -himself. - -The visit of Boswell to Corsica was a complete success. He travelled -in the _rôle_ of explorer, but was treated as an unknown political -force. Men of many wiles sought behind an ingenuous and good-natured -simplicity a deeper significance when there was none such to be -found; Paoli, who hoped for English assistance, was glad to treat with -especial favour the one English subject whom he had the opportunity of -knowing. And Boswell, if he disclaimed an embassy, was not unwilling -to be seen with an escort of Corsicans as he rode upon the general's -horse, and to be entertained with diplomatic courtesy. - -His own social qualities were perhaps of even greater service to him. -He exercised to the full his invaluable talent for bringing good cheer -to his companions. In the journal which he afterwards published, the -'Tour to Corsica,' there is an admirable account of an evening spent -with the Corsican peasants which shows what an acceptable guest the -good-humoured and lively Boswell must have been. - - The Corsican peasants and soldiers were quite free and easy - with me. Numbers of them used to come and see me of a morning, - and just go out and in as they pleased. I did everything in my - power to make them fond of the British, and bid them hope for - an alliance with us. They asked me a thousand questions about - my country, all which I cheerfully answered as well as I - could. One day they would needs hear me play upon my German - flute. To have told my honest natural visitants, 'Really, - gentlemen, I play very ill,' and put on such airs as we do in - our genteel companies, would have been highly ridiculous. I - therefore immediately complied with their request. I gave them - one or two Italian airs, and then some of our beautiful old - Scotch tunes, 'Gilderoy,' 'The Lass of Patie's Mill,' 'Corn - Riggs are Bonny.' The pathetick simplicity and pastoral gaiety - of the Scots musick will always please those who have the - genuine feelings of nature. The Corsicans were charmed with - the specimens I gave them, though I may now say that they were - very indifferently performed. - - My good friends insisted also to have an English song from me. - I endeavoured to please them in this too, and was very lucky - in that which occurred to me. I sung them, 'Hearts of oak are - our ships, Hearts of oak are our men.' I translated it into - Italian for them, and never did I see men so delighted with - a song as the Corsicans were with 'Hearts of Oak.' 'Cuori di - querco,' cried they, 'bravo Inglese.' It was quite a joyous - riot. I fancied myself to be a recruiting sea-officer. - I fancied all my chorus of Corsicans aboard the British - fleet.[6] - -There is a natural good fellowship or social instinct, a splendid -enjoyment in the company of others, revealed in this story: it is a -quality that pleases everybody. To Paoli he was agreeable besides -for other reasons. He had a real enthusiasm and taste for literature, -which the intellectual world understood and appreciated readily -enough. Hume writes of Boswell's return from Paris, in the company -of Thérèse Le Vasseur. He calls him, 'a young gentleman, very -good-humoured, very agreeable, and very mad'; and afterwards refers to -his literary tastes: 'He has such a rage for literature that I dread -some event fatal to our friend's honour. You remember the story of -Terentia, who was first married to Cicero, then to Sallust, and at -last, in her old age, married a young nobleman, who imagined that -she must possess some secret which would convey to him eloquence and -genius.'[7] - -There is a certain extravagance suggested by this which is very -characteristic of Boswell. He produced almost the expectation that -he would do something odd. This in itself is not to every one an -attractive quality; but it is one which combined with others may bring -an added charm. Boswell had great generosity of a certain kind which -was more than sufficient to excuse anything that might be tiresome -about him; he had an unabashed admiration and real respect for great -men. He was also able and was not unwilling to capture the hearts of -men by repeating things that would please them; as he relates that -he did upon his visit to Voltaire, by repeating the dictum of Johnson -about Frederick the Great: 'He writes just as you might suppose -Voltaire's footboy to do, who has been his amanuensis. He has such -parts as the valet might have, and about as much of the colouring of -his style as might be got by transcribing his works.' 'When I was at -Ferney,' Boswell records, 'I repeated this to Voltaire, in order to -reconcile him somewhat to Johnson, whom he, in affecting the English -mode of expression, had previously characterised as 'a superstitious -dog'; but after hearing such a criticism on Frederick the Great, with -whom he was then on bad terms, he exclaimed, 'An honest fellow!' - -With such pleasant qualities Boswell won the esteem of the General of -the Corsicans. Paoli not only treated him with the courtesy due to a -distinguished and possibly a useful stranger but entertained him with -the spontaneous enjoyment of friendship. - -The intimate relations which sprang up between Boswell and Paoli were, -as we may judge from Boswell's own account, very similar to those -already in existence between himself and Johnson. - -The taste for the heroic may be satisfied easily. Even about the scamp -Wilkes in exile there was a glamour which appealed to the imaginative -young Bozzy. But for the real Boswellian admiration something more -was required--the portentous possession of the 'solid virtues.' The -probity of Paoli could never be in question. He appears to have been a -simple character with a noble disinterestedness and the honesty of the -Mediterranean sun. His interest was Corsica, and, if we may believe -Boswell, there was hardly a thought of self in the matter. In this he -was perhaps not different from the greater part of his countrymen; -but he had besides enthusiasm a wise moderation and self-control, a -knowledge of men and a military ability which gave him an authority -of the most absolute kind over the Corsicans. His power rested solely -upon the weight of his personal influence. It was an impressive figure -no doubt--a man to be admired; and Boswell was good at admiring: but a -man also to be loved, direct, kind-hearted and sympathetic. He had -too what we should scarcely expect in the patriot general--a wide -knowledge of literature and considerable culture. General Paoli was -in fact entirely suitable to be Boswellised, more suitable it might -almost seem than Doctor Sam himself; but the latter was a man of far -greater intelligence. - -The opinions of Boswell in any case are clear enough, and we may read -a few specimens from the 'Tour in Corsica.' - - The contemplation of such a character really existing was - of more service to me than all I had been able to draw from - books, from conversation or from the exertions of my own mind. - I had often enough formed the idea of a man continually such - as I could conceive in my best moments. But this idea appeared - like the ideas we are taught in the schools to form of things - which may exist, but do not; of seas of milk, and ships of - amber. But I saw my highest idea realised in Paoli. It was - impossible for me, speculate as I pleased, to have a little - opinion of human nature in him. - - One morning, I remember, I came in upon him without ceremony, - while he was dressing. I was glad to have an opportunity of - seeing him in those teasing moments, when, according to - the Duke of Rochefoucault, no man is a hero to his valet de - chambre. The lively nobleman who has a malicious pleasure - in endeavouring to divest human nature of its dignity, by - exhibiting partial views, and exaggerating faults, would have - owned that Paoli was every moment of his life a hero. - -Here is a candid unpretending hero-worship. If it eludes the virtue of -moderation it escapes the vice of mediocrity. In this is its capacity -for greatness. For the moment there is nothing very great about it, -but it has a most desirable effect for good in Boswell: - - Never was I so thoroughly sensible of my own defects as while - I was in Corsica. I felt how small were my abilities, and how - little I knew. - -The example made for a genuine modesty in the admirer (though it is -doubtful if Boswell was ever suspected of being modest); the Boswell -who was 'ambitious to be the companion of Paoli' was willing to -deserve the honour of that companionship: - - From having known intimately so exalted a character my - sentiments of human nature were raised, while, by a sort of - contagion, I felt an honest ardour to distinguish myself, and - be useful, as far as my situation and abilities would allow; - and I was, for the rest of my life, set free from a slavish - timidity in the presence of great men, for where shall I find - a man greater than Paoli? - -The expedition to Corsica was, as we have said, a complete success. To -visit the island, to observe the manners of the heroic peasants, and -to become the friend of Paoli were admirable undertakings at that -time, and under those circumstances. But it was in England that -Boswell was to triumph. He was launched upon society with the _éclat_ -of an interesting personage; he returned from his adventures over seas -to exact without reluctance the homage due to a brave traveller. - -The early fame of Boswell came not from Johnson, but from Paoli and -Corsica. It is a fact worth remarking, because Boswell's connection -with Johnson is so much the more important for us, that we are apt to -forget that he can have had another title to renown. He was 'Corsica' -Boswell and 'Paoli' Boswell, as Dr. Birkbeck Hill remarks, long before -he became famous as 'Johnson' Boswell. - -Boswell himself fully appreciated the situation. He felt that he had -accomplished something of which he could be justly proud. He knew -himself to be in the public eye. 'No apology shall be made,' he writes -in the preface to his book, 'for presenting the world with "An Account -of Corsica." It has been for some time expected from me; and I own -that the ardour of publick opinion has both encouraged and intimidated -me.' Johnson wrote him a letter which he quoted without permission in -the 'Tour to Corsica'--'Come home and expect such a welcome as is due -to him whom a wise and noble curiosity has led where perhaps no native -of this country ever was before.' He said no doubt what he really -felt. - -When Boswell returned to England in 1766 he became therefore, quite -naturally, the champion of Corsican liberty. But this was only one -phase of the fame to which he aspired; there was still, and there -was always, the desire to shine in the great and elevated sphere of -literature, and the opportunity had now arrived to write a book of -universal interest. - -It was in 1768 that the first literary work of any magnitude which -Boswell produced, 'An Account of Corsica, the journal of a tour to -that island; and memoirs of Pascal Paoli,' was published. The title -explains exactly the scope of the book. The account of Corsica is -historical; the journal is in its method much like other books of -travel, except for the biographical part which deals with Paoli. Of -the historical part of the book there is nothing particular to be -said: it is, as Johnson remarked, 'like other histories.' 'Your -History,' he told him, 'was copied from books; your Journal rose out -of your own experience and observation.' The chief interest of the -book is that it is the earliest example of Boswell's biographical -method. The memoirs that we have here of Paoli aim at giving a picture -of a man in much the same way as does the 'Life of Johnson.' The -question as to what exactly was Boswell's method will be discussed -later; but we are reminded here that the man who preserved the -conversations of Paoli and 'came in upon him without ceremony while -he was dressing,' in order to see how he conducted himself before his -_valet de chambre_, was becoming an adept in his own peculiar art. - -A great charm of the Journal, also prophetic of the future, lies in -the perfect frankness with which Boswell discusses his own feelings. -'We retired to another room to drink coffee. My timidity wore off. I -no longer anxiously thought of myself; my whole attention was employed -in listening to the illustrious commander of a nation.' Or again, 'I -enjoyed a luxury of noble sentiment. Paoli became more affable with -me. I made myself known to him. I forgot the great distance between -us and had every day some hours of private conversation with him.' -Boswell realised that a Journal is delightful only if it is quite -informal. We have a pleasing sense of inconsequent freedom when we -read in the Journal several pages quoted from the 'First Book of the -Maccabees.' But it is not irrelevant to Boswell's purpose. It occurred -to his thoughts; and that is a sufficient justification, whether it -seem ludicrous or incongruous or ponderous, for its inclusion. There -is no scene in the 'Tour in Corsica' which comes up to the best in the -'Life of Johnson,' but there are several descriptions, such as that -quoted above, when Boswell played the pipe and sang 'Hearts of Oak,' -which are really artistic and pleasing. - -The book, at all events, had the effect of amusing people and it gave -them an interest in Corsica too. Boswell had good accounts of it on -all sides. 'My book,' he writes to Temple, 'has amazing celebrity:[8] -Lord Lyttelton, Mr. Walpole, Mrs. Macaulay, Mr. Garrick, have all -written me noble letters about it.' The sale must have been very -rapid. The dedication to the first edition is dated October 29, 1767, -and the preface to the third edition on the same day of October, his -birthday, in the following year. In this preface he explains that he -has acquired that literary fame which he desired: - - May I be permitted to say that the success of this book has - exceeded my warmest hopes. When I first ventured to send it - into the world, I fairly owned an ardent desire for literary - fame. I have obtained my desire; and whatever clouds may - overcast my days, I can now walk here among the rocks and - woods of my ancestors, with an agreeable consciousness that I - have done something worthy. - -There is nothing deserving particular remark in an author's desire for -literary fame. But it is remarkable that a man should proclaim it to -the world as Boswell did. The common ideal of an artist supposes that -his work should be, in the first place, the expression of his own -personality; an expression because to him it is necessary to reproduce -in some form what he sees and feels: it is for himself and himself -alone, and the world without is allowed to share, partly that the -artist may earn a living, partly perhaps that he may have some -justification for his self-absorption; and in greater part no doubt, -in some cases more than in others, but in every case a little, that -he may win the applause that we all like at bottom. None of these -reasons, and, least of all, the desire for fame, is held to be a -motive for producing art. There may be various impulses with varying -circumstances; but there can be but one motive. - -The ambition which Boswell had, and which he expressed so freely, is -peculiar in some ways for the end desired, but it is not essentially -different from that of other artists. - - He who publishes a book, affecting not to be an 'authour',[9] - and professing an indifference for literary fame, may possibly - impose upon many people such an idea of his consequence as he - wishes may be received. For my part, I should be proud to be - known as an authour and I have an ardent ambition for literary - fame; for of all possessions I should imagine literary fame - to be the most valuable. A man who has been able to furnish - a book which has been approved by the world, has established - himself as a respectable character in distant society, - without any danger of having that character lessened by the - observation of his weaknesses. To preserve an uniform dignity - among those who see us every day is hardly possible; and - to aim at it must put us under the fetters of a perpetual - restraint. The authour of an approved book may allow his - natural disposition an easy play, and yet indulge the pride of - superiour genius when he considers that, by those who know him - only as an authour, he never ceases to be respected. Such - an authour, when in his hours of discontent, may have the - consolation to think that his writings are at that very time - giving pleasure to numbers; and such an authour may cherish - the hope of being remembered after death, which has been a - great object to the noblest minds in all ages. - -The nature of the desire for fame which he had is revealed to us by -Boswell in this curious passage. It does not compromise his character -as an artist.[10] He wished to obtain the public esteem, to have -the reputation of an ingenious and worthy man; and literature was -considered as a means to this end. But we cannot argue that he -must therefore have pandered to the public taste: he wrote, as he -proclaimed at a later date in a contribution to a periodical, 'from -the primary motive of pleasing himself.' This ambition is not in -its nature an attitude towards art but towards the world. In all his -writings, even in the frivolous publications of his youth, Boswell has -expressed his own person in a peculiar degree. We must not suppose, -when we see an eagerness for literary fame, which, from the frankness -of his expression, may appear extravagant, that he lacked a literary -conscience, for he had an excellent one; nor indeed that it mattered -at all to him whether opinion in general should care about his book, -except in so far as it approved of him, of the real Boswell, which it -could not but find there. - -Boswell's ideal of the literary man's position is well expressed in -one of the letters to Temple: - - Temple, I wish to be at last an uniform, pretty man. I am - astonishingly so already, but I wish to be a man who - deserves Miss B.... I am always for fixing some period for my - perfection as far as possible. Let it be when my account of - Corsica is published; I shall then have a character which - I must support. I will swear, like an ancient disciple of - Pythagoras, to observe silence; I will be grave and reserved, - though cheerful and communicative of what is _verum atque - decens_. One great fault of mine is talking at random; I will - guard against it. - -It is amusing to think of Boswell in this _rôle_. Already we may see -the great contest in his life between natural candour and commonplace -ambition--the charm of the 'Tour to Corsica' was the charm of candour, -and it was dangerous to dreams of future greatness in the sphere of -public affairs. Boswell understood that to gain respect he must be -more serious. But this he never was able to be; it was his nature -to be extravagant. He had a mind which in some respects was wholly -unconventional, and though he tried sometimes, he could never entirely -repress his feelings: the consequence was that though there were many -things about which he cared very much, it was never possible to take -him quite seriously; if a man plays the buffoon sometimes we are in -danger of being fooled if we give him credit for being in earnest; and -so, if we are to preserve our _amour propre_, which is what everybody -wants to do, we must laugh at a buffoon whatever he does. - -A most notable piece of Boswell's buffoonery was in connection with -the Shakespeare Jubilee at Stratford-on-Avon in 1769. He attended -this festival dressed as an armed Corsican chief. This perhaps was not -particularly odd; the form of rejoicing which the company indulged in -was a 'Mask.' It is dangerous even so, and hardly decent, to blow the -personal trumpet so loudly. Boswell, however, was not content merely -with the public advertisement of his connexion with Corsica; he wrote -to the _London Magazine_[11] an elaborate unsigned account of himself -and his costume: it was entitled 'Account of the Armed Corsican Chief -at the Masquerade at Shakespeare's Jubilee, with a fine whole-length -portrait of James Boswell, Esq., in the dress of an armed Corsican -chief, as he appeared at the Jubilee Mask.' There is no need to give -here the text of this document: it has been quoted at length a number -of times, and it suffices to say that there can be no possible doubt -that Boswell wrote it and that he wrote it to exhibit himself in a -favourable light. The incident is characteristic of Boswell. It is not -the mad whim that may occur once in a lifetime, the event which stands -as it were by itself apart from the man; it is not an experiment -miscarried, that has taken him away from his usual self and so must -remain unexplained or be put to the long account of genius: rather it -is the sort of oddity that we come to expect of Boswell. - -Frolics of this kind naturally deprived Boswell of the respect which -he desired for himself as a man of letters. The 'Tour to Corsica' was -an admirable beginning to a literary career; he had then the chance of -founding the reputation he wanted as a person of weight, a man whose -judgment must be accounted of some importance by the world at large. -His writings about Corsica had been widely read and his views had -found general sympathy. Moreover the popular poetess, Mrs. Barbauld, -had paid homage in verse to his fame as an explorer. But by such -behaviour as this at Stratford these hopes were frustrated. And to -him, though perhaps not to us, this was the tragedy of his life. - - - [Footnote 1: _Samuel Johnson_, by Walter Raleigh, 1907.] - - [Footnote 2: This remark we may suppose was deliberately - misinterpreted by some of Boswell's contemporaries and he - finds it necessary to introduce a defence of it: 'I am willing - to believe that I meant this as light pleasantry to soothe - and conciliate him, and not as humiliating abasement at the - expense of my country.' It was of course an apology for coming - from Scotland, but an absurd apology of which he saw the - absurdity, as though a man were to apologise for being six - feet high.] - - [Footnote 3: _London Magazine_, vol. li., p. 359.] - - [Footnote 4: In August 1763.] - - [Footnote 5: _Life of Johnson_, iii., 331.] - - [Footnote 6: _Tour to Corsica_, pp. 320-1.] - - [Footnote 7: _Private Correspondence of David Hume_, 1820.] - - [Footnote 8: It is an interesting fact that it was translated - into German, Dutch, Italian, and French (_Gentleman's - Magazine_, June 1795--Letter from J. B. R.) The _Life_, I - believe, has never been translated. The same correspondent - says, 'It was received with extraordinary approbation.'] - - [Footnote 9: For Boswell's views on spelling see this same - preface.] - - [Footnote 10: Mr. Malone, speaking of the _Life_, said, 'That - in this work he had not both fame and profit in view, would be - idle to assert; but to suppose that these were his principal - objects is to know nothing of the author, and nothing of human - nature.' _Gentleman's Magazine_, June 1795.] - - [Footnote 11: September 1769.] - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -The portion of Boswell's career which we have been relating up to this -point gives rise by natural sequence to the discussion of one or two -interesting questions about his personality. We must know the part -played in the main theme by his peculiar qualities. We must notice how -they seem to assist or to impede his particular faculty for biography. - -Allusion has already been made to the reasons for which Boswell was -attracted by two great men, Dr. Johnson and General Paoli. We must -see now in general the reason of that intimacy which he took care to -cultivate with a large number of distinguished men. - -Boswell, there can be no doubt, liked men in some way because they -were distinguished. We must remember that the judgments of the world -were always very real standards to him. If a man were great, he must -be somehow good; and to be the friend of such a man, that was good -too. It is not that Boswell judged of characters wholly by success. -We may see that as he grew older he judged them more and more by -the Johnsonian morality. He grew less tolerant of heresy under the -influence of his moral guide. Hence the dislike of Gibbon:--'He is an -ugly, affected, disgusting fellow, and poisons our Literary Club to -me.' Johnson probably shared this feeling and undoubtedly shared the -reasons for it, which Boswell expresses in Johnsonian phrases: 'I -think it is right that as fast as infidel wasps or venomous insects, -whether creeping or flying, are hatched, they should be crushed.' This -was said in reference to Gibbon's book; the sentiments were extended -to Adam Smith. 'Murphy says that he has read thirty pages of Smith's -"Wealth," but says that he shall read no more: Smith too is now of -our Club. It has lost its select merit.' Personal antipathy in the one -case and ignorance of economics in the other need not surprise us. But -it comes as a shock, nevertheless, to discover Boswell's views upon -the two men who were, intellectually, the most distinguished of his -contemporaries. The Doctor's prejudices may have much to do with it. -Boswell records a similar judgment in the 'Tour to the Hebrides': -'Infidelity in a Highland gentleman appeared to me peculiarly -offensive. I was sorry for him as he had otherwise a good character.' - -And yet he was probably always as he was in the early years far more -tolerant than Johnson. There is an instructive passage also in the -'Tour to the Hebrides' about Hume. Johnson was talking about Hume's -infidelity: 'He added something much too rough, both as to Mr. Hume's -head and heart, which I suppress. Violence is, in my opinion, not -suitable to the Christian cause. Besides I always lived on good terms -with Mr. Hume, though I have frankly told him I was not clear that it -was right in me to keep company with him.' That he did not condemn the -infidel Hume, shows that Boswell's prejudices were weaker, at least, -than friendship. Boswell, besides, throughout his life gave a -very high value to mere intellectual power. He complained of 'dull -provinciality' in Scotland, because the people of Edinburgh were less -intelligent than the Londoners. His love of London was founded upon -the need he felt of conversing with clever people; and this need -became in him with maturity, not weaker, as in most cases, but -stronger. - -In these early years Boswell was glad to make a friend of any -particularly intelligent person, and his acquaintances included -characters widely differing--Hume and Rousseau, Johnson and Lord -Hailes, Wilkes and Paoli. Boswell clearly had pleasure in the society -of them all; he did not, like Johnson, condemn them to a place beyond -the range of his acquaintance; these men were specimens of human -nature worthy to be studied; he saw some good in all of them. There -is a characteristic passage in the 'Life' about the meeting of Johnson -and Wilkes which illustrates the attitude: - - My desire of being acquainted with celebrated men of every - description had made me, much about the same time, obtain an - introduction to Dr. Samuel Johnson and to John Wilkes, Esq. - Two men more different could perhaps not be selected out of - all mankind. They have even attacked one another with - some asperity in their writings; yet I lived in habits of - friendship with both. I could fully relish the excellence of - each; for I have ever delighted in that intellectual chymistry - which can separate good qualities from evil in the same - person. - -He looked upon men much as we look upon works of art, distinguishing -that which, as art, has merit, and crediting with a certain value -every design or idea which has been executed well, but attaching -ourselves more particularly to a few rare objects which have some -special significance or appeal for our own nature. Johnson and Paoli -had this appeal for Boswell. Wilkes and Hume attracted him more -because they were interesting individuals for whom, though he really -disapproved of them, he might retain some slight affection because -they were representative men. He might dislike the things they -represented, but like them in spite of this: like them, one might -almost say, for representing something. - -With Hume, for instance, he had a considerable friendship at one time. -He was of course, an individual to be studied; to Temple, Boswell -related his conversations much as he recorded those of Johnson and -Paoli. But he did not see him merely because he was interested; he -liked him too: 'David is really amiable; I always regret to him his -unlucky principles and he smiles at my faith.' It is probable that as -he grew older Boswell grew less tolerant. He was always somewhat of an -experimentalist, interested in various sides of life and fitting one -or another to his own case; but though he became with maturity more -definitely attached to the conventional Christianity, to 'belief,' -as he termed it, as opposed to 'infidelity,' and less tolerant of the -people who held different views, he never hated a man for being a Whig -or an atheist as Johnson did. - -Interest and affection: these, then, are real motives with Boswell -for seeking as he did the company of distinguished men. The question, -however, of a further motive--of the snobbishness in Boswell's -nature--still remains. - -Boswell himself was well aware of a certain 'propensity in his -disposition,' of a particular pleasure from the society of the great -and a desire which he had to form friendships among them; he knew too -that his behaviour was condemned by many of his contemporaries. In the -'Tour to the Hebrides'[1] he has given his own account and explanation -of his conduct: - - My fellow-traveller and I talked of going to Sweden; and, - while we were settling our plan, I expressed a pleasure in - the prospect of seeing the king. Johnson: 'I doubt, Sir, if - he would speak to us.' Colonel McLeod said, 'I am sure - Mr. Boswell would speak to _him_.' But, seeing me a little - disconcerted by his remark, he politely added, 'and with - great propriety.' Here let me offer a short defence of that - propensity in my disposition, to which this gentleman alluded. - It has procured me much happiness. I hope it does not deserve - so hard a name as either forwardness or impudence. If I know - myself, it is nothing more than an eagerness to enjoy the - society of men distinguished either by their rank or their - talents, and a diligence to attain what I desire. If a man is - praised for seeking knowledge, though mountains and seas are - in his way, may he not be pardoned, whose ardour, in pursuit - of the same object, leads him to encounter difficulties as - great, though of a different kind? - -This defence is characteristic of the manner in which Boswell -consistently treated the world. 'Curiosity,' said Mrs. Thrale, -'carried Boswell farther than it ever carried any mortal breathing. He -cared not what he provoked so as he said what _such a one_ would say -or do.'[2] But the basis of social conventions is a desire to consider -the feelings of others. A person's 'forwardness' and 'impudence' are -judged not so much by his own sentiments as by the effect he produces -upon other people. Boswell pressed an acquaintanceship entirely -because he thought it might be good for himself; he never considered -the views of the acquaintance: 'It has procured me much happiness.' -He did not understand the consequences of this attitude. He was an -intellectual parasite upon society, determined at any cost to feed -upon the good qualities of others, taking where he would, without -caring if he gave. It may possibly be well for the individual that -he should consider himself alone; but society, just because it is -society, must object to the egoist. This Boswell never was able to -understand. His own point of view was concerned with what he could get -from others; and though he was by nature in many ways excellent as -the member of a community, he had no conception of himself in this -capacity. He cared a great deal about his importance, but very little -about his value. He took systematically, he gave at random. Interest -in human beings simply for his own sake because it pleased him[3]: -that is one prime motive which impelled him to seek the acquaintance -of distinguished men. - -Boswell, besides this, was essentially a snob. To have pleasure in -the company of distinguished men, not only from a sense of the good -qualities they have, but from a feeling that their greatness adds to -one's position in the esteem of mankind, that is to be a snob. Boswell -had this feeling; he freely admitted it. 'Now, Temple,' he writes, -'can I help indulging my vanity? Sir David Dalrymple says to me in -his last letter, "It gives me much pleasure to think that you have -obtained the friendship of Mr. Samuel Johnson...."' And again: - - I am really the great man now. I have had David Hume, in the - forenoon, and Mr. Johnson, in the afternoon, of the same day, - visiting me. Sir John Pringle, Dr. Franklin, and some more - company dined with me to-day; and Mr. Johnson and General - Oglethorpe one day, Mr. Garrick alone another, and David Hume - and some more literati another, dine with me next week. I give - admirable dinners and good claret; and the moment I go abroad - again, which will be in a day or two, I set up my chariot. - This is enjoying the fruit of my labours, and appearing like - the friend of Paoli. By the bye, the Earl of Pembroke and - Captain Meadows are just setting out for Corsica, and I have - the honour of introducing them by a letter to the General. - David Hume came on purpose, the other day, to tell me that the - Duke of Bedford was very fond of my book, and had recommended - it to the Duchess. - -'The great man' because he kept the company of great men--that is -what he says, and it is snobbish. His enjoyment of 'the society of -men distinguished by their rank or their talents' depended partly upon -that. He considered this to be a legitimate way of acquiring fame. - -The absurdity of Boswell's behaviour in this respect seems all -the more ridiculous from the fact that it was unnecessary. When -he returned from Corsica he had obtained, as we remarked above, a -position of considerable distinction for a young man. He had only -to wait discreetly and carefully and he was certain to obtain the -patronage of the great. But he courted them, on the contrary, with -unheard-of fervour. The climax was reached in a letter to Chatham, -with whom he had an opportunity of corresponding about Corsica. -He writes from the pinnacle of pomposity to descend to the pit -of adulation: 'I only wish that circumstances were such that your -Lordship could have an opportunity of showing the interest you take in -the fate of a people who well deserve the favour of so illustrious a -patron of liberty as your Lordship.' He proceeds by quoting, as the -mediator between the General and Lord Chatham, a letter from Paoli. -There is then an immortal passage in which the underlying egoism, too -little concealed, is yoked with a flattery which could scarcely be -tolerated in Olympia: - - Your Lordship applauds my 'generous warmth for so striking - a character as the able chief.' Indeed, my Lord, I have the - happiness of being capable to contemplate with supreme delight - those distinguished spirits by whom God is sometimes pleased - to honour humanity; and as I have no personal favour to ask of - your Lordship, I will tell you with the confidence of one who - does not fear to be thought a flatterer, that your character, - my Lord, has filled many of my best hours with that noble - admiration which a disinterested soul can enjoy in the bower - of philosophy. - -Then follows an account of Boswell's plan for his book about Corsica; -and finally his personal vanity leaps over every barrier. - - As for myself, to please a worthy and respected father, one of - our Scotch judges, I studied law, and am now fairly entered to - the bar. I begin to like it. I can labour hard; I feel myself - coming forward, and I hope to be useful to my country. Could - your Lordship find time to honour me now and then with a - letter? I have been told how favourably your Lordship has - spoken of me. To correspond with a Paoli and a Chatham is - enough to keep a young man ever ardent in the pursuit of - virtuous fame. - -This letter illustrates much of Boswell's attitude towards the great, -and it will be necessary to refer to it again in that connection; it -shows, at least, how earnestly Boswell desired the friendship of the -great man, and what a thrill of pleasure those letters from Chatham -must have given him. - -However much we may dislike this propensity of Boswell's disposition, -while admitting that it is unpleasant in itself, although we would not -and could not have Boswell without it, there is no reason to see in -much of it a blacker vice than merely the ignorance of how to behave. -And it was connected as we have shown with feelings not entirely -selfish. But of the flagrant self-advertisement to which we have -referred above no such agreeable things may be said. It is condemnable -without compensation as an obtrusive egoism and foolish vanity. It -must be written down frankly on the debit side of Boswell's peculiar -genius, and it was as much opposed to the proper exercise of his -biographical talents as to his more practical career. - - * * * * * - -We are forced to wonder, and it is important that we should decide, -whether in spite of his immoderate self-centredness Boswell was -capable of acting without considering his own advantage in the -interest of others. Had he, in the first place, any real care for the -cause of Corsican liberty? - -It is often far from easy to discover what Boswell's feelings were, -because the balance between sentiment and expression was with him very -ill-adjusted. By prolonged study of the Boswellian extravagances we -may come to perceive, as we think, how much Boswell really felt; -but even so it is hardly possible to explain any valid reason for -judgments of this nature. Boswell was often guilty of extravagance; -but it would be as false to believe that he felt none of the zeal he -talks about so easily, as to believe that he felt as much as he says. -He undoubtedly exaggerated, but he probably never made an absolute -misstatement. - -There is a passage of great enthusiasm for the Corsicans in a letter -to Johnson:[4] 'Shall they not rise in the great cause of liberty, and -break the galling yoke? And shall not every liberal soul be warm for -them?' Boswell's heart must have been warm when he wrote that: but we -are unfortunately still left in doubt by an anti-climax: 'No! while I -live, Corsica and the cause of the brave islanders shall ever employ -much of my attention, shall ever interest me in the sincerest manner.' -The letter in which these quotations occur is dated April 26, 1768; it -is possible that Boswell's ardour had begun to cool by that time -and that the cause of liberty, though it might 'employ much of his -attention' was less vital to him than he imagined. The 'Tour to -Corsica,' however, gives an impression of genuine interest and -sympathy with the Corsicans. Boswell seems to have liked very well -these simple folk, who appreciated more readily than his countrymen -the natural gaiety and good humour of his spirits.[5] How different is -his attitude in the 'Tour to the Hebrides' towards the Scots! We must -remember too that Boswell, whatever may have been his motives, did -much in England and Scotland to help the Corsicans. Besides publishing -his book, which was of value to their cause, he raised a subscription -and sent out £700 worth of ordnance.[6] He also collected and -published a volume of 'British Essays in favour of the Brave -Corsicans,' some of which he himself wrote. - -Boswell had in fact a real generosity of character; he hated anything -mean, and expressed himself as anxious to cure his own 'narrowness.' -He could be kind to his friends and was willing to lend money. He -was interested as a lawyer in the decisions of the courts and readily -bestowed his sympathy. On behalf of a certain Dr. Dodd, a divine who -was under sentence of death for forgery, he wrote to Dr. Johnson: 'If -for ten righteous men the Almighty would have spared Sodom, shall -not a thousand acts of goodness done by Dr. Dodd counterbalance one -crime?' And Dr. Johnson afterwards used his pen in Dr. Dodd's service. -On another occasion he appealed for his friend's assistance in the -case of a Scotch schoolmaster--a client of Boswell's, who had been -'deprived of his office for being somewhat severe in the chastisement -of his scholars': Boswell in his letter to Johnson seems to have at -heart both the interests of the schoolmaster and the principle of -corporal punishment. For his friend Temple he more than once went -out of his way to obtain some favour. He treated his tenants with the -greatest consideration, and even made special provisions in his will -for their future welfare.[7] But Boswell was not one of those who -continually exercise these amiable qualities. It is probable -indeed that, had he tried, he would have met with more rebuffs than -encouragement. To be flagrantly kind with any success requires a good -deal of cunning, and of that useful quality Boswell had extremely -little: he was likely to appear in any good work more meddlesome than -great-hearted. But if with him care for the happiness of others -was not the first consideration, he was at bottom a sympathetic, -kind-hearted man, and capable of generous actions. - -It is very important that we should bear this in mind about Boswell. -Those who are gifted with powers of expression are often in one sense -primarily egoists--more so than other men because they are apt to -become more completely absorbed--and Boswell, as we have shown, was -not without his portion of egoism; but there may be a place in the -lives of such men for unselfish feelings, and if we may think that -Boswell had his due share of them we may judge less harshly in him the -egoism which we cannot admire. - - * * * * * - -Boswell, as we have seen, had already at the age of twenty-seven made -a bid for renown. He was anxious to shine in more lights than one. It -was not mere social success or literary fame that he wanted: he had -an ardent desire to be successful in his profession. The sphere of -employment which had been chosen for him by his father with his own -sanction was the Scotch Bar, to which he was formally 'called' in -1766.[8] His work seems to have engrossed at once a great deal of his -time. He writes on March 4th, 1767, to Temple: - - I am surprised at myself, I already speak with so much ease - and boldness, and have already the language of the bar so much - at command. I have now cleared eighty guineas. My clerk comes - to me every morning at six, and I have dictated to him forty - folio pages in one day. It is impossible to give you an idea - of my present life. I send you one of my law papers, and a - copy of my thesis. I am doing nobly; but I have not leisure - for learning. I can hardly ever answer the letters of my - friends. - -This is the letter of a man who finds himself engrossed as well as -busy. The truth is that Boswell was extremely anxious to make a mark -in his profession. Here, as always, he must win approval; he must -become a person to be considered. To this end he succeeded in mixing -himself up with the Douglas Cause, a case concerned with a Scotch -title which was commanding much attention in the summer of 1767. -He seems to have acted as a voluntary counsel to Mr. Douglas the -plaintiff, and was most diligent, even perhaps to excess, in his -interest. In connection with this trial, two small publications -appeared from Boswell's hand. The first of them, 'The Essence of the -Douglas Cause,' is a _précis_ of the whole affair, well arranged and -clearly expressed; it was written with a view to aiding Boswell's -own side in the case,[9] in reply to a pleading from the other side, -'Considerations on the Douglas Cause.' The labour of compiling -this summary must have been very great. Boswell tells us in the -introduction that he was present during the whole deliberation of the -Cause before the Court of Session and took very full notes. It shows, -as Mr. Fitzgerald has remarked, how industrious Boswell could be when -his enthusiasm was aroused. - -The other publication, 'Dorando: A Spanish Tale'[10] affects to be -a story about a trial in Spain, but reproduces the characters in -the Douglas case. Under this thin veil approbation and criticism are -distributed to the two parties, and the cause decided. The publication -of 'Dorando,'[11] extracts of which appeared in several of the Scotch -newspapers and were held by some of the Scotch judges to be contempt -of court, was wholly characteristic of Boswell. Whether or no it would -be possible to find in his conduct anything which amounted to a breach -of etiquette, it is clear that a publication of this sort might well -injure his position at the Bar. It is true that the author's name did -not appear, but it was not to be supposed that it would always remain -a secret, and the precaution was probably taken with a view to being -on the right side rather of the law than of the lawyers. Boswell, with -all his wish to win the esteem of men, never understood how easily -the opposite is earned and how harshly a tiny cosmos will punish an -offence against itself. And when the humorous side of things struck -him forcibly he was unable to repress his feelings. - -Boswell's behaviour during the Douglas Cause is said to have been -decidedly extravagant. His father was heard to say that 'James had -taken a tout on a new horn,'[12] and a story got about which, though -it may have been false, must have had some relation to the common -conception of Boswell, that when he heard that the House of Lords had -reversed the decision of the Court of Session, he placed himself at -the head of an uproarious mob who broke his father's windows. - -There are other indications than the Douglas Cause to show that -Boswell was anxious to be successful in his legal career. It is not to -be thought that he always displayed the energy which he showed at this -time. But he clearly took the trouble, on several occasions recorded -in the 'Life,' to prepare the best arguments he could to support his -case; and if we must suppose that he was as anxious as he represents -himself to be that justice should be done, it is still quite evident -that he hoped to gain some advantage to himself from the assistance -which he solicited and obtained from Johnson, and was glad that the -right should triumph, in part no doubt because it was supported by -James Boswell. In fact it is probable that Johnson's assistance was -of little value. As Boswell says on one occasion, having presented -the written arguments of Johnson without success, 'their Lordships in -general, though they were pleased to call this, "a well-drawn paper," -preferred the former very inferior petition which I had written; thus -confirming the truth of an observation made to me by one of their -number in a merry mood: "My dear Sir, give yourself no trouble in the -composition of the paper you present to us; for, indeed, it is casting -pearls before swine."' - -We shall have to consider when we come to the last years of Boswell's -life the various reasons for his failure at the Bar. But one reason -may be mentioned here because it is so essential a part of his -character that we should do wrong not to have it in mind as we go over -the spectacle of his whole life. Boswell, it must be remembered, -was called to the Scotch Bar; but the society of the Scotch, and -particularly of the Scotch lawyers, was never congenial to him. As -early as March 1767 he writes to Temple: 'It must be confessed that -our Court of Session is not so favourable to eloquence as the English -Courts.' By 1775 he was apparently quite tired of his work; 'On my -arrival here [Edinburgh] I had the pleasure to find my wife and -two little daughters as well as I could wish; but indeed, my worthy -priest, it required some philosophy to bear the change from England -to Scotland. The unpleasing tone, the rude familiarity, the barren -conversation of those whom I found here, in comparison with what I had -left, really hurt my feelings.' - -It is probable that Boswell's opinions about the Scotch lawyers were -not entirely concealed from them. And they knew, no doubt, that he had -friends among the Edinburgh players, and may have resented the -fact. 'The Scottish Themis,' says Scott, speaking of his own early -experience, 'is peculiarly jealous of any flirtation with the Muses -on the part of those who have ranged themselves under her banners.' We -may suppose that Boswell's flirtations, with the Muses at all events, -injured his position in legal circles. - - The General Assembly [Boswell continues] is sitting, and I - practise at its Bar. There is _de facto_ something low and - coarse in such employment, though on paper it is a Court of - _Supreme Judicature_; but guineas must be had.... To speak - well, when I despise both the cause and the judges, is - difficult; but I believe I shall do wonderfully. I look - forward with aversion to the little, dull, labours of the - Court of Session. - -Boswell himself was quite unlike most Scotchmen, and he relates in the -'Life' the remarks upon this subject made by Johnson at various times: - - _Johnson_: 'I never say, I do not value Boswell more for being - born to an estate, because I do not care.' _Boswell_: 'Nor for - being a Scotchman.' _Johnson_: 'Nay, Sir, I do value you more - for being a Scotchman. You are a Scotchman without the faults - of a Scotchman. You would not have been so valuable as you - are, had you not been a Scotchman.' And again, when talking of - the Scotch nation, _Johnson_: '_You_ are an exception, though. - Come, gentlemen, let us candidly admit that there is one - Scotchman who is cheerful.' _Beauclerk_: 'But he is a very - unnatural Scotchman.' - -Professor Raleigh has emphasised this point in his delightful manner: - - If I had to find a paradox in Boswell, I should find it in - this, that he was a Scot. His character was destitute of all - the vices, and all the virtues, which are popularly, and in - the main rightly, attributed to the Scottish people. The - young Scot is commonly shy, reserved, and self-conscious; - independent in temper, sensible to affront, slow to make - friends, and wary in society. Boswell was the opposite of all - these things. He made himself at home in all societies, and - charmed others into a like ease and confidence. Under - the spell of his effervescent good-humour the melancholy - Highlanders were willing to tell stories of the supernatural. - 'Mr. Boswell's frankness and gayety,' says Johnson, 'made - everybody communicative.' - -And Boswell himself took no trouble to conceal, but rather published -this truth. He saw very clearly certain qualities in the Scotch -character which he disliked. - -It must be remembered, however, that Boswell professed to be in one -sense, perhaps the only right sense, patriotic. He may have hated the -Scotch, but he loved Scotland and loved in particular the home of his -ancestors. If he preferred to live in England, it was a preference -only for the society he found there. During those memorable months -when the great Doctor made his tour in Scotland, Boswell had a real -anxiety that Johnson should get rid of his prejudices and appreciate -the country. He takes the trouble to defend at length Johnson's -'Journey to the Western Islands' from the anger of Scotchmen, but he -does so by asserting that Johnson saw both the good and the bad. - - 'And let me add' [he says in an extravagant vein] 'that, - citizen of the world as I hold myself to be, I have that just - sense of the merit of an ancient nation, which has been ever - renowned for its valour, which in former times maintained its - independence against a powerful neighbour, and in modern times - has been equally distinguished for its ingenuity and - industry in civilised life, that I should have felt a genuine - indignation at any injustice done to it. Johnson treated - Scotland no worse than he did even his best friends, whose - characters he used to give as they appeared to him, both in - light and shade.' - -However Boswell may have had 'that just sense of the merit of an -ancient nation,' it is clear, as we have said, that he disliked very -much his legal work in Scotland. But it must not be thought that he -rapidly became grave and soured by constant irritation. That process -was a slow one in his case. His disposition was too sanguine to feel -very much, as a young man, his disappointments. He did without doubt, -as he grew older, become less frivolous, and more sedate; with this we -must suppose that his marriage in 1769 was in some way connected. - - * * * * * - -Before we come to discuss the domesticity of Boswell we must consider -for a time those affairs of the heart in which he had such a plentiful -experience. - -About these he was as frank as he was about all the subjects which -he discusses in his letters to Temple. We have detailed accounts -(detailed enough, apparently, to offend, unfortunately for our -purpose, the delicate ear of the first editor of the letters) which -describe in several cases the precise nature of Boswell's love or -passion or whatever be the appropriate expression. These accounts -were intentionally complete. The eye of Boswell is fixed upon the -thermometer of his affections to observe and indicate its rise and -fall. Nothing could illustrate the man so well as the attitude which -he here so nakedly revealed, typical entirely of Boswell because it is -so completely self-centred. He lived for his own pleasure and says as -much: 'That pleasure is not the aim but the end of our being, seems to -be philosophically demonstrable. Therefore all the labour and all the -serious business of life should first be considered as means to that -end.'[13] In love he was not less governed by this system than he was -in every other phase of life. - -It was at the early age of eighteen when Boswell was still at the -University that the son of Venus came to him upon the first of many -visits. The lady, a Miss W----t, is described as a most desirable -companion; and Cupid in one sense was kind to Boswell--for though his -hope of an ideal future in the company of the beloved, the heiress to -a fortune of thirty thousand pounds, was not destined to be realised, -he was able, if the lady were disinclined to adorn his life, to 'bear -it _æquo animo_, and retire into the calm regions of philosophy.' - -The subject of matrimony seems often to have occupied the thoughts -of Boswell. At times the appeal of unmarried life was strong. 'The -bachelor has a carelessness of disposition which pleases everybody, -and everybody thinks him a sort of common good--a feather which flies -about and lights now here, now there.' But the ideal of a winged good -which was to float about thus amiably gave way at times to a more -sedate view of living. 'If you think of the comforts of a home, where -you are a sort of sovereign, the kind endearments of an amiable woman, -who has no wish but to make you happy, the amusement of seeing your -children grow up from infancy to manhood, and the pleasing pride -of being the father of brave and learned men, all which may be the -case--then marriage is truly the condition in which true felicity is -to be found.' In the absence, however, of a felicity which could add -so much comfort and pleasure and so small a burden of responsibility -to his life, Boswell was happy enough, he proceeds to relate, to have -a '_dear infidel_.' That there was no infidelity on the part of this -'charmer' Boswell is able to affirm, while he does not deny that she -has a husband; but though, as he says, 'imagination represented it -just as being fond of a pretty, lively, black little lady, who, -to oblige me, stayed in Edinburgh, and I very genteelly paid her -expenses,' he was glad no doubt that circumstances permitted him to -arrange his pleasures without hypocrisy. - -The course of his amour was not destined to run very smoothly. The -ardour of Boswell for the deserted or deserting lady was intermittent -and expensive; it was difficult to be rid of her because the -tendernesses of a farewell upset the unstable balance of Boswell's -susceptibility; 'I was sometimes resolved to let her go, and sometimes -my heart was like to burst within me. I took her dear hand; her eyes -were full of passion, I took her in my arms.' The dramatic moment is -too much for the best-laid plans, and Boswell was grateful, as he -well might be, to find himself free after two months. 'I am totally -emancipated from my charmer, as much as from the gardener's daughter -who now puts on my fire and performs menial offices like any other -wench.' The affair with the gardener's daughter is unfortunately not -related. She is mentioned only this once where Boswell tells us that a -year before this date (March 30, 1767), he had been 'so madly in love -as to think of marrying her.' Two other ladies are mentioned in the -same letter, Miss Bosville and Miss Blair. He thought of the former, -who was his cousin, as a convenient match, but the suit does not -appear to have been prosecuted with much vigour. She was kept, as it -were, in the second line of battle to fill up a gap when an object of -devotion was required. There is another name of the same kind, Zelide, -a Dutch lady whom he met at Utrecht and who appears upon the scene -periodically. Boswell several times threatened to marry her. How many -affairs there were of this class it is difficult to estimate. Exact -information on the subject would be valuable as enabling us to adjust -the proportion of these matters. From isolated remarks referring to -women not elsewhere mentioned, such as 'My Italian angel is constant,' -we might suppose that Boswell conducted his amours on the magnificent -scale of Solomon. But this can hardly have been the case. - -Miss Blair was a Scotch heiress whose estate was not far from -Auchinleck. Boswell's father was in favour of the match, which would -have been in every way desirable, particularly so if it be considered -appropriate that the young lady was in love with Boswell. The -initial stages were highly propitious. Miss Blair with her mother -was persuaded, without great difficulties we may suppose, to stay at -Auchinleck, where Boswell in the 'romantic groves' of his ancestors -'adored her like a divinity.' The heir whose 'grand object is the -ancient family of Auchinleck--a venerable and noble principle' intends -to carry off the 'neighbouring princess' by assault rather than siege, -and in the pursuit of romance allows no time for love to languish. An -emissary[14] is despatched, no other than the faithful Temple, who is -at once to blow the trumpet as a herald, and as a spy to observe the -enemy's fortifications. 'Praise me for my good qualities--you know -them.' These are the instructions. Romance is to be fed by mystery and -the chase encouraged by the elusiveness of the quarry. 'But talk also -how odd, how inconstant, how impetuous, how much accustomed to women -of intrigue. Ask gravely, Pray don't you imagine there is something of -madness in that family?' A tinge of insanity may be a pleasing dash -of colour in the hero; or the suggestion may draw the attention of the -fair one to extravagances which are to be noted as the fantasies of -genius. The ultimate halo, the crown of glory, is reserved for the -explorer of distant lands and the friend of men distinguished in a -continent. 'Talk of my various travels, German princes--Voltaire and -Rousseau.' The effect upon the audience of this elaborate comedy is to -be duly registered in order that the manager may arrange the sequence -appropriately and the principal actor appear in splendour at the -dramatic moment. 'Observe her well. See how amiable! Judge if she -would be happy with your friend. Think of me as the great man at -Adamtown--quite classical too; study the mother. Remember well what -passes.... Consider what a romantic expedition you are on; take -notes.' By the final injunction, the biographer's own peculiar weapon -is to be directed at the prize and the lady captured by a sheet of -memoranda. - -An accident, however, occurs and trivial circumstance is swollen -to importance by the fever of impatience. The fervour of a suitor's -letter demands immediate reply; but the letter remains for some days -in the post. Letter follows letter, and the perturbation increases -when jealousy summons the image of a yellow nabob. The actor doubts if -he has chosen the proper _rôle_, and fears the effect of his -'Spanish stateliness.' But the ardent lover is able to exclaim, 'I am -entertained with this dilemma like another chapter in my adventures,' -and consolation comes in a letter from the Signora 'written with all -the warmth of Italian affection.' Finally the matter is explained and -there is the pleasure of restoring harmony. Lucky that these -matters run never smoothly, for there will be further opportunity of -experiencing the tortured joy of a quarrel and the supreme delight of -reconciliation. An uninteresting interval is amused by a renewal of -intimacy with the 'dear infidel' before another coolness is arranged. -The self-possession of the lady now provokes 'a strange sultanish -letter, very cold and very formal,' and after an absence of three -weeks the suitor pays an eminently agreeable visit to the prospective -bride, though still apparently in a rather sultanish mood: 'I am -dressed in green and gold. I have my chaise in which I sit alone with -Mr. Gray, and Thomas rides by me in a claret-coloured suit with a -silver-laced hat.' The final joy was however withheld. 'The princess -and I have not yet made up our quarrel, she talks lightly of it.' -The adorer is prepared conditionally to soar to the last heights of -adoration. 'If she feels as I wish her to do, I shall adore her while -my blood is warm': but the philosopher is determined to escape the -inconvenience of a wounded heart: 'I shall just bring myself, I hope, -to a good, easy tranquillity.' The 'princess' by this time has ceased -to be a dupe; she may have seen that the courtship was arranged to -give the colouring of romance to conventional matrimony, and alter the -pompous comedy of surrender to a serious farce for one party and for -the other probably to a serious tragedy. Her manner in any case became -more reserved: 'She refused sending me a lock ... and she says very -cool things upon that head.' The burning lover begins to congratulate -himself upon escape from so unsatisfying a mate, and the beautiful -princess is discovered to be a jilt. 'Wish me joy, my good friend, of -having discovered the snake before it was too late.... After this I -shall be upon my guard against ever indulging the least fondness for -a Scot lass; I am a soul of a more Southern frame. I may perhaps be -fortunate enough to find an Englishwoman who will be sensible of my -merits and will study to please my singular humour.' Zelide and Miss -Bosville are mentioned in the same letter, the former to illustrate -the truth that 'an old flame is easily rekindled' and the latter as a -possibility to be kept in mind. - -But a volatility amazing even in Boswell produces on the following day -a letter which is full of the charms of Miss Blair. The more violent -the quarrel the more pleasing the peace-making. A meeting is arranged -at Edinburgh; a declaration is made and the now enthusiastic suitor -reports, 'I ventured to seize her hand. She is really the finest woman -I ever saw.' The 'princess' however is still reserved, and determined -efforts have to be made at the theatre. - - Next evening I was at the play with them; it was 'Othello.' - I sat close behind the princess, and at the most affecting - scenes I pressed my hand upon her waist; she was in tears and - rather leaned to me. The jealous Moor described my very soul. - I often spake to her of the torment she saw before her. - -But even after this touching scene there is cause for disquiet. -'Still,' he says, 'I thought her distant, and still I felt uneasy.' - -The encouragement however was sufficient to give confidence to the -attack, and there follows a _tête-à-tête_ in which 'pleasure from -the intimacy of often squeezing and kissing her fine hand, while she -looked at me with those beautiful black eyes,' was somewhat darkened -by a disconcerting surprise. 'I then asked her to tell me if she had -any particular liking for me. What think you, Temple, was her answer? -"No; I really have no particular liking for you; I like many people as -well as you--I like Jeany Maxwell better than you."' Consolation must -now be sought where love is denied. _Boswell_: 'If you should happen -to love another, will you tell me immediately and help me to make -myself easy?' _Princess_: 'Yes, I will.' But the lady's sympathy shows -a want of imagination which is highly unsatisfying. _Boswell_: 'I -must, if possible, endeavour to forget you. What would you have me -do?' _Princess_: 'I really don't know what you should do.' - -It would appear that honour had no escape from such a defeat but in -renewing the encounter. The history of the last period of this wooing, -of the nadir of the wooer's fortunes and his cheerfulness in spite of -repulses, is told to Temple six weeks later. A new rival appears upon -the scene, and there is rumour of an engagement. The rejected suitor -writes to ascertain the truth of this alarming story. But his appeal -is neglected. Dignity now demands that disappointment shall be -concealed, and an alliance is formed with the presumably successful -rival, Sir Alexander Gilmour. 'I endeavoured to laugh off my passion, -and I got Sir Alexander Gilmour to frank a letter to her, which I -wrote in a pleasant strain, and amused myself with the whim.' The lady -now appears in London and at the same moment the Nabob. He too is to -be an ally, and a final scene is arranged. 'We gave our words as men -of honour that we would be honest to each other so that neither should -suffer needlessly; and to satisfy ourselves of our real situation, we -gave our words of honour that we should both ask her this morning, and -I should go first.' The result can hardly have been doubtful. Boswell -tells his adorable princess, 'I have great animal spirits, and bear it -wonderfully well,' and proceeds to write 'A Crambo Song on Losing my -Mistress.' - - Although I be an honest laird, - In person rather strong and brawny, - For me the heiress never cared, - For she would have the knight, Sir Sawney. - - And when, with ardent vows, I swore, - Loud as Sir Jonathan Trelawney, - The heiress showed me to the door, - And said, she'd have the knight, Sir Sawney. - - She told me with a scornful look, - I was as ugly as a tawney; - For she a better fish could hook, - The rich and gallant knight, Sir Sawney. - -We might suppose that Boswell in spite of his cheerfulness would -have been at heart rather dejected by these events; but he writes -to Temple, 'My mind is now twice as enlarged as it has been for some -months. You cannot say how fine a woman I may marry; perhaps a Howard -or some other of the noblest in the kingdom.' - -The realities were hardly so elevated as these dreams, for in the -following spring (1768), it is Zelide again, and not she alone. -'Zelide may have had her faults but is she always to have them? May -not time have altered her for the better as it has altered me? But you -will tell me that I am not so greatly altered, as I have still many -unruly passions. To confess to you at once Temple, I have, since my -last coming to town been as wild as ever.' But flowers were to be -fresh at last in the month of August. 'I am exceedingly lucky in -having escaped the insensible Miss Bosville and the furious Zelide, -for I have now seen the finest creature that ever was formed, _la -belle Irlandaise_. Figure to yourself, Temple, a young lady just -sixteen, formed like a Grecian nymph, with the sweetest countenance -full of sensibility....' Everything was favourable. 'Here every flower -is united.' The diplomat who had been fatigued before by the restraint -of a wise cautiousness is resolved that this time there shall be -no reserve. 'Ah, my friend, I am now as I ought to be; no reserved -prudent conduct as with Miss Bosville. No! all youthful, warm, -natural, in short, all genuine love.' And the ardent hunter seems to -have been more successful than the wily angler. 'I repeated my fervent -passion to her again and again; she was pleased and I could swear -that her little heart beat. I carved the first letter of her name on a -tree; I cut off a lock of her hair, _male pertinax_. She promised -not to forget me, nor to marry a lord before March.' Moreover, the -unspoilt joy of advance without contest was more pleasant than the -doubts and hopes of expectation, while a puritanical idealism and -the solemnity of an oath were a welcome change for less spiritual -delights. - - This is the most agreeable passion I ever felt; sixteen, - innocence, and gaiety make me quite a Sicilian swain. Before I - left London I made a vow in St. Paul's Church that I would - not allow myself in licentious connections of any kind for six - months, I am hitherto firm to my vow, and already feel myself - a superior being ... in short, Maria has me without any rival; - I do hope the period of my perfect felicity, as far as this - state can afford, is now in view. - -Whether this 'perfect felicity' was attained and how long it lasted we -do not know. Maria no doubt had her day like the others; the sequel to -the vow in St. Paul's we may conjecture. Boswell, if his name endured -for no other talents, would remain with us for ever as an incomparable -genius for reviving affection. In December we learn: 'Miss Blair is -Miss Blair still,'--still a fit subject for this curious pastime. 'I -was two or three times at Adamtown, and, upon my word, the old flame -was kindled.' Miss Blair apparently had been piqued because her suitor -had made such a joke of his love for the heiress in every company. -'Temple, to a man again in love, this was engaging. I walked whole -hours with the princess; I kneeled; I became truly amorous.' These -brief sentences adequately describe the last recorded love-scene. If -Boswell corresponded with Temple between December 1768 and May -1770 the letters have been lost; and so the outrageous story ends -abruptly--and it is fortunate perhaps for the readers of this book, -for it is a story so fascinating and so absurd and so richly human -that no part of it can be omitted. - -Boswell in fact was destined to be married to his cousin, Miss -Montgomerie. The Montgomeries were an aristocratic family related to -Lord Eglinton, and Boswell was proud of the connection: he speaks in -a published pamphlet of 'having the honour and happiness to be married -to his Lordship's relation, a true Montgomerie.' We know very little -about Mrs. Boswell. Johnson's curt judgment in a letter to Mrs. Thrale -is probably right in placing her with the great bulk of mediocre -humanity: 'Mrs. B---- has the mien and manners of a gentlewoman; and -such a person and mind as would not be in any place either admired -or contemned. She is in a proper degree inferior to her husband: -she cannot rival him, nor can he ever be ashamed of her.' But if -undistinguished, as in Johnson's view a good wife should be, the lady -had some excellent qualities; and Johnson himself would have been the -first to praise them. If he urged Boswell on more than one occasion to -be considerate of his home, it was because he knew that the home was -both pleasant and valuable to his friend: 'I need not tell you what -regard you owe to Mrs. Boswell's entreaties; or how much you ought to -study the happiness of her who studies yours with so much diligence, -and of whose kindness you enjoy such good effects.' Boswell, too, -loudly sings the praise of his wife: 'I am fully sensible,' he writes -to Temple, 'of my happiness in being married to so excellent a woman, -so sensible a mistress of a family, so agreeable a companion, so -affectionate and peculiarly proper helpmate for me.' After her death -he writes: 'I had no occasion almost to think concerning my family, -and every particular was thought of by her better than I could'; and -he refers to her in the 'Life of Johnson' as 'my very valuable wife, -and the very affectionate mother of my children, who, if they inherit -her good qualities, will have no reason to complain of their lot.' - -That Mrs. Boswell had in abundance the matronly virtues is -sufficiently clear. She had besides considerable intellectual gifts. -Boswell calls her, 'A lady of admirable good sense and quickness of -understanding'; he kept a common-place book, 'Uxoriana,' to preserve -her witty sayings, and after her death regretted her 'admirable -conversation.' From her own expressed opinion of her husband's -friendship with Dr. Johnson we are obliged to think well of her -intelligence: it was a female opinion, as Boswell remarks, with -something of resentment for the intrusion of this uncomfortable guest: -'His irregular hours and uncouth habits, such as turning the candles -with their heads downwards, when they did not burn bright enough, and -letting the wax drop upon the carpet, could not but be disagreeable to -a lady.' And no doubt she failed to appreciate the devotion of Boswell -to this ungainly and unpleasing animal. But her observation, in the -manner of the times, is admirably pointed: 'I have seen many a bear -led by a man, but I never before saw a man led by a bear.' - -The marriage took place in the autumn of 1769; Boswell was then -twenty-nine years of age. The situation is summed up in his own -remarks in the _London Magazine_ for April 1781: - - After having for many years cherished a system of marrying - for money, I at last totally departed from it, and married for - love. But the truth was that I had not been careful enough to - weed my mind; for while I cultivated the plant of interest, - love all the time grew up along with it and fairly got the - better. Naturally somewhat singular, independent of any - additions which affectation and vanity may perhaps have made, - I resolved to have a more pleasing species of marriage than - common, and bargained with my bride that I should not be - bound to live with her longer than I really inclined; and - that whenever I tired of her domestic society, I should be at - liberty to give it up. - -That Boswell was always fond of his wife is clear enough. 'Eleven -years have elapsed and I have never yet wanted to take advantage of my -stipulated privilege.' He never speaks of her without affection, -and was deeply distressed by her death in 1789. But for how long he -continued to love her fervently it is difficult to tell; not, one -would suppose, for a great length of time, or he could hardly have -written in the _London Magazine_: 'Whatever respect I may have for the -institution of marriage, and however much I am convinced that it upon -the whole produces rational happiness, I cannot but be of the opinion -that the passion of love has been improperly feigned as continuing -long after the conjugal knot has been tied.' Nor, if Boswell had -continued to love his wife passionately, would he have found it -disagreeable to return to Edinburgh, after visits to London. - -But Boswell no doubt wanted to be a faithful husband: 'I can unite -little fondnesses with perfect conjugal love.'[15] His idea of -fidelity would seem to involve no kind of restriction upon his natural -inclinations except in so far as that he should appear to be a good -husband in the eyes of the world and particularly of his wife. However -sensible this view may have been, it was not such as commonly finds -favour among the female sex. But he was undoubtedly in his own view a -faithful husband and he had really at heart the welfare of his wife. -'Upon the whole I do believe,' he says, 'I make her very happy.'[16] - - - [Footnote 1: _Tour to the Hebrides_, September 17.] - - [Footnote 2: _Autobiography, Letters, &c., of Mrs. Piozzi_, - ii, 124.] - - [Footnote 3: Perhaps the best evidence of all for this quality - is Boswell's habit of attending executions (mentioned several - times in the _Life_ and also in the _Life of Reynolds_, by - Leslie and Taylor), and his acquaintance with Mrs. Rudd, a - notorious criminal.] - - [Footnote 4: _Life of Johnson_, ii, 59. This letter is an - admirable instance of Boswell's affected manner of expressing - real feelings.] - - [Footnote 5: _Life of Johnson_, ii, 3, note 1.] - - [Footnote 6: _Letters to Temple_, p. 126.] - - [Footnote 7: _Boswelliana_, p. 186.] - - [Footnote 8: _Life of Johnson_, ii, 20.] - - [Footnote 9: Fitzgerald's _Life of Boswell_, i, 111.] - - [Footnote 10: Boswell's authorship proved by _Letters to - Temple_, p. 89.] - - [Footnote 11: Fitzgerald's _Life of Boswell_, i, 113.] - - [Footnote 12: Fitzgerald's _Life of Boswell_, i, 116.] - - [Footnote 13: _London Magazine_, 1, 40.] - - [Footnote 14: Temple, it appears, was promised payment for - his services: 'You shall have consultation guineas, as an - ambassador has his appointments.' This seems to imply more - than the mere travelling expenses which Dr. Rogers suggests as - an explanation.] - - [Footnote 15: _Letters to Temple_, p. 159.] - - [Footnote 16: _Ib._ p. 137.] - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - -A biography of Boswell, though it might profess to be complete, could -say little about his domestic life. If he has told us very little -about it, there is, however, no reason that we should seek to know -more. It was a very essential part of Boswell that he should have -a wife and family: a wife, because she adds a certain flavour of -respectability and is a definite asset to the social position of a -man, still more perhaps because she increases responsibility and so -intensifies the sensation of importance; a family, because to the man -of estate there must be born an heir. But the mere fact of his being -married was, in a sense, of far less consequence to him than to most -men. - -There were two aspects of his life which were dissociated in a -peculiar degree from each other--the life in Scotland, where he -laboured at the Law and was eventually to be Laird of Auchinleck, and -where his home was the basis of operations; and the life in London, -which he visited as often as he was able, to live the gay life he -loved, and to talk to his literary friends, especially to Dr. Johnson. -The pleasure he had in the society of his English friends was far more -to him than another man's recreation or hobby. It occupied more time, -and it was time spent away from his domestic circle and, for the most -part, away from his work. He is never tired of telling of his love of -London. - - I had long complained to him [Johnson] that I felt myself - discontented in Scotland, as too narrow a sphere, and that I - wished to make my chief residence in London, the great scene - of ambition, instruction, amusement: a scene which was to me, - comparatively speaking, a heaven upon earth! _Johnson_: 'Why, - Sir, I never knew anyone who had such a gust for London as you - have.' - -It must be our business then to follow for a little the life of -Boswell among his London friends, to see the relations in which he -stood to them and the progress of his intimacy with Dr. Johnson. - -In the 'Life' there are recorded the consecutive visits of Boswell -to England with relation always to Dr. Johnson in particular, but -referring also to other celebrities whom he met, and to his own -pleasures and amusements. The group of men who were in the first -place the friends and admirers of Dr. Johnson, and with whom Boswell -naturally associated so far as he was able, were for the most part -distinguished men in the best literary society, and members of that -club which was started by Johnson and Reynolds in 1762 or 1763. Burke, -Beauclerk, Langton, Goldsmith, Hawkins, were original members; Garrick -was elected in 1773, as was Boswell himself. Malone, whose wise help -was invaluable to Boswell in preparing for the press his _magnum -opus_, and who was its first editor, became a member later. - -The pleasure which it gave Boswell to belong to this club of -distinguished men is revealed in his own account of his election. 'The -gentlemen went away to their club, and I was left at Beauclerk's till -the fate of my election should be announced to me. I sat in a state -of anxiety which even the charming conversation of Lady Di Beauclerk -could not entirely dissipate. In a short time I received the agreeable -intelligence that I was chosen. I hastened to the place of meeting, -and was introduced to such a society as can seldom be found.' - -From a conversation reported in the 'Tour to the Hebrides' it would -appear that Boswell was not elected without some difficulty. 'He -[Johnson] told me, "Sir, you got into our club by doing what a man can -do."' - - (Boswell's note on this is: 'This I find is considered as - obscure. I suppose Dr. Johnson meant that I assiduously and - earnestly recommended myself to some of the members, as in a - canvass for an election into Parliament.') - -'Several of the members wished to keep you out. Burke told me he -doubted if you were fit for it....' _Boswell_: 'They were afraid of -you, Sir, as it was you who proposed me.' _Johnson_: 'Sir, they knew -that if they refused you, they'd probably have never got in another. -I'd have kept them all out.' - -Boswell, of course, did not get on equally well with all of Johnson's -friends. Goldsmith especially he seems to have disliked, and at a -later date Mrs. Thrale, Miss Burney and Baretti; we may suppose that -the feeling was mutual, especially after the appearance of the 'Life -of Johnson,' in which Boswell made little attempt to conceal his -feelings. With Hawkins, who was chosen to write the official biography -of Johnson, he was eventually to quarrel. But he had strong supporters -in the club. 'Now you are in,' Johnson told him, 'none of them are -sorry. Burke says you have so much good humour naturally, it is scarce -a virtue.' Beauclerk too appreciated him. 'Beauclerk was very earnest -for you.' His greatest friend of this _coterie_ besides Dr. Johnson -was Sir Joshua Reynolds. Sir Joshua seems always to have understood -and insisted upon the value of Boswell. He was prepared to take up -the cudgels. 'He thaws reserve wherever he comes and sets the ball of -conversation rolling.'[1] The club, whatever else it might think about -Boswell, was obliged to admit that he was excellent company. - -There were some, no doubt, who had a high opinion of Boswell's -abilities; it was admitted by everyone that he had written a good -book, and not all, like Gray and Walpole,[2] can have thought that he -wrote it by chance. And Boswell too, if not a good literary critic, -was interested in books and able to talk about them. The opinions to -which he gave expression in the 'Life of Johnson' about various books -which came under discussion are often more appreciative and better -supported by reason than the dicta of Johnson, and he sometimes -shows considerable sagacity. His views about Johnson's own books, and -especially his criticism of Johnson's style and the high estimate he -formed of the 'Lives of the Poets,' are excellent. - -But it was far more for his social than for his literary qualities -that Boswell was valued. In the circle of Johnson's admirers he was -in a sense the most important figure; he had a greater admiration -than any other and was rewarded by Johnson with a greater degree of -affection. He came to understand Johnson. Hannah More relates that she -was on one occasion made umpire in a trial of skill between Garrick -and Boswell, which could most nearly imitate Dr. Johnson's manner.[3] -'I remember I gave it for Boswell in familiar conversation, and -for Garrick in reciting poetry.' To have beaten Garrick was a great -performance and shows how Boswell must have studied Johnson. He was, -as it were, his chief exploiter. It was he above all the rest who -could make Johnson talk.[4] He knew what would provoke a discussion, -and was so reckless of appearing foolish that he would introduce any -subject. He made opportunities for Johnson to exhibit his powers. The -description of how he arranged the meeting with Wilkes, though more -famous almost than any other passage of the 'Life,' is too important -as illustrating the whole attitude of Boswell to be omitted here. -It is not inappropriate to say that the very name of Wilkes was to -Johnson like a red rag to a bull. He hated what he considered to be a -pretentious notoriety, and what he no doubt talked about as 'this cant -of liberty' was the signal for an outburst of violence in his best -manner. Boswell conceived the idea of bringing these two together, and -probably hoped to witness an incomparable contest. But how was this -to be done? 'I was persuaded that if I had come upon him with a direct -proposal, "Sir, will you dine in company with Jack Wilkes?" he would -have flown into a passion and would probably have answered, "Dine with -Jack Wilkes, Sir! I'd as soon dine with Jack Ketch."' But it was easy -to see the weak point in the Doctor's armour. 'Notwithstanding the -high veneration which I entertained for Dr. Johnson, I was sensible -that he was a little actuated sometimes by contradiction, and by means -of that I hoped I should gain my point.' Boswell, who knows exactly -what will provoke his friend, has thought out beforehand precisely -what he shall say, and opens with a proposal which Johnson is sure -to accept. 'Mr. Dilly, Sir, sends me his respectful compliments, and -would be happy if you would do him the honour to dine with him -on Wednesday next along with me, as I must soon go to Scotland.' -_Johnson_: 'Sir, I am obliged to Mr. Dilly. I will wait upon him.' The -dictator is in a gracious mood, and the moment favourable to excite a -rebuke in defence of that formal courtesy which he loved to practise. -'Provided, Sir, I suppose,' adds Boswell, 'that the company which -he is to have is agreeable to you.' The apparent artlessness of the -remark in the true Boswellian fashion, with the exaggerated respect -that so often irritated Johnson, took effect at once. _Johnson_: -'What do you mean, Sir? What do you take me for? Do you think I am -so ignorant of the world as to imagine that I am to prescribe to a -gentleman what company he is to have at his table?' An excuse must -now be made which is certain to meet with sledge-hammer reasoning -or piercing sarcasm, and it will then be safe to lead up to the -disagreeable intelligence. 'I beg your pardon, Sir, for wishing to -prevent you from meeting people whom you might not like. Perhaps -he may have some of what he calls his patriotic friends with him.' -_Johnson_: 'Well, Sir, what then? What care _I_ for his _patriotic -friends_? Poh!' _Boswell_: 'I should not be surprised to find Jack -Wilkes there.' The possibility may have been disconcerting, but -retreat was now out of the question. _Johnson_: 'And if Jack Wilkes -should be there, what is that to me, Sir? My dear friend, let me have -no more of this. I am sorry to be angry with you, but really it is -treating me strangely to talk to me as if I could not meet any company -whatever, occasionally.' So the matter was settled. Boswell asks -forgiveness and clinches the matter: 'Pray forgive me, Sir; I meant -well. But you shall meet whoever comes.' 'Thus,' he tells the reader, -with evident satisfaction, 'I secured him.' - -The man who could do this was clearly of importance to those who were -interested, even though in a less degree than himself, in Dr. Johnson. -We may suppose that the circle of Johnson's literary friends welcomed -Boswell as much for his peculiar homage to the Doctor as for his own -social talents. - - * * * * * - -We must now more nearly examine that friendship, which is as much -the concern of our own age as it was of Boswell's. We have considered -already what it was that caused these two men to be friends; but the -meanest picture of Boswell must include some account of his behaviour -towards Johnson; we must review the progress of their friendship and -remark the more characteristic attitudes of the biographer. - -In the pages of the 'Life of Johnson' is recorded in detail, and -almost without reserve, the story of the relations between these -two friends. It is a story full of humour, telling of all the little -peculiarities of a great man, of all the whims and foibles which we -are accustomed to observe in old age and which we both like and laugh -at; but it is the story also of a deep and anxious affection. - -If the course of friendship ran smoothly on the whole for Johnson and -Boswell, as might be expected when one of the two was so well balanced -and so practically wise as the older man, yet, as must always be the -case with people who are not either quite perfect or quite colourless, -there were rough places here and there; and these, if responsible for -no great misery, were, however, the cause of some unhappiness to both. -Boswell, at all events, realised very keenly the great gulf between -them; between his own sensitive, uncertain nature and Johnson's rude -strength. He, probably more than most men, wanted sympathy, wanted to -be understood. With what relief he speaks from his heart to Temple: 'I -have not had such a relief as this for I don't know how long. I have -broke the trammels of business, and am roving unconfined with my -Temple.' It is unfortunate for Boswell that he expressed himself so -extravagantly. We sympathise with those who are self-contained about -sentiment and particularly about their own sorrows, but we have few -kind feelings for those who exaggerate. And Boswell, because he was -difficult to understand, was more than usually isolated: to Johnson, -at all events, there must have been many matters about which he could -not talk, and he was nettled sometimes by the other's blunt advice. -It was unpleasant to be told by one whom he so much respected, at the -moment of his first serious publication, 'The Corsican Journal,' to -'empty his head of Corsica which had filled it too long.' It must have -been more than annoying when he had written to Johnson in a despondent -mood (there is no reason to doubt that he was genuine in despondency) -to receive his answer: 'I had hoped you had got rid of all this -hypocrisy of misery. What have you to do with Liberty and Necessity? -Or what more than to hold your tongue about it? Do not doubt that I -shall be most heartily glad to see you here again, for I love every -part about you but your affectation of distress.' - -Much as we must admire the honest wrath of Johnson, and the desire -which he had to cure the affectation of Boswell, we cannot but regret -sometimes that he was not more discriminating. It was much, no doubt, -to be assured of affection, but affection alone could not take the -place of an understanding sympathy; and if this had come from one whom -he so much respected, it would have been invaluable to Boswell. As it -was, he realised that Johnson must partially disapprove of him, and -it was because he knew, and felt this disapproval, as much as from any -inherent quality of his temperament, that he so often wanted a proof -of affection. - -Whatever may have been their cause--it may have been no more than -the mere need for friendship coupled with the peculiar unreserve of -Boswell's character--the result of these demands was sometimes to -irritate Johnson. - - I said to him: 'My dear Sir, we must meet every year, if you - don't quarrel with me.' _Johnson_: 'Nay, Sir, you are more - likely to quarrel with me than I with you. My regard for you - is greater almost than I have words to express; but I do not - choose to be always repeating it; write it down in the first - leaf of your pocket-book, and never doubt of it again.' - -On one occasion Johnson was really angry. Boswell conceived the idea -of making an experiment to test his affection. It was apparently his -custom to write to Johnson upon his return to his family. He wanted -to see what the Doctor would do if he neglected the usual civility. -Johnson, of course, was eventually the first to write; and Boswell, -thus gratified, answered him by a letter which frankly explained his -motives: - - I was willing ... to try whether your affection for me would, - after an unusual silence on my part, make you write first. - This afternoon I have had very high satisfaction by receiving - your kind letter of inquiry, for which I most gratefully thank - you. I am doubtful if it was right to make the experiment, - though I have gained by it. - -We may forgive Johnson for being annoyed by this letter. - -Those who make very large demands upon their friends for a display of -affection are, as a rule, rather tiresome companions; it may possibly -be good to be sensitive, but it is bad to be easily offended, which is -often the case with such people. But if Boswell, like many who take a -decided lead in friendship, required many proofs to make him believe -that it was more than a one-sided affair, he of all men was the most -difficult to offend. We cannot do better than read his own accounts -of his quarrels with Johnson. There is that famous one, in the first -place, of the dinner at Sir Joshua's. - - On Saturday, May 2, I dined with him at Sir Joshua Reynolds', - where there was a very large company, and a great deal of - conversation; but owing to some circumstance which I cannot - now recollect, I have no record of any part of it, except that - there were several people there by no means of the Johnsonian - school; so that less attention was paid to him than usual, - which put him out of humour; and upon some imaginary offence - from me he attacked me with such rudeness, that I was vexed - and angry, because it gave those persons an opportunity of - enlarging upon his supposed ferocity and ill-treatment of his - friends. - -We may doubt whether Boswell gives the true reason for his vexation. -He was able to stand a great deal of 'buffeting' at Dr. Johnson's -hands; but it was probably necessary for him to feel that the company -were good-natured in their merriment. We do not resent that men should -laugh _at_ us if they laugh _with_ us at the same time. It was no -doubt the contemptuous and half-concealed mirth of strangers which -Boswell felt to be unbearable. And if he felt like this we may -sympathise with a short period of sulking. 'I was so much hurt, and -had my pride so much roused, that I kept away from him for a week; -and, perhaps, might have kept away much longer, nay, gone to Scotland -without seeing him again, had not we fortunately met and been -reconciled. To such unhappy chances are human friendships liable.' - -The oddest thing of all about Boswell, when we reflect upon the scenes -of his humiliation, is his pride. It is not the least unlikely that, -as he suggests, if circumstances had not ordained otherwise he would -have waited, and waited for a long time, for Johnson to make advances. -It was not merely the pride of the worm in the proverb which may be -roused at the last. The worm would not consciously go out of his way -to incur insulting anger as Boswell did when he arranged the dinner -with Wilkes and on many other occasions. Boswell's was a pride -which was constantly giving him pain and was capable, when goaded to -obstinacy, of going to considerable lengths. - -At Sir Joshua Reynolds' dinner he must have suffered acutely. Croker -tells the story of Boswell's discomfiture as it was told to him at -fourth-hand by the Marquess of Wellesley. 'The wits of Queen Anne's -reign were talked of, when Boswell exclaimed, "How delightful it must -have been to have lived in the society of Pope, Swift, Arbuthnot, -Gay, and Bolingbroke! We have no such society in our days." Sir Joshua -answered, "I think, Mr. Boswell, you might be satisfied with your -great friend's conversation." "Nay, Sir, Mr. Boswell is right," said -Johnson, "every man wishes for preferment, and if Boswell had lived -in those days, he would have obtained promotion." "How so, Sir?" asked -Sir Joshua. "Why, Sir," said Johnson, "he would have had a high place -in the Dunciad."' It was a hard blow. How deep was the wound we cannot -tell, because we do not know how it was said or how received. It is -curious at first sight that Boswell should have been more sulky about -this than about many a rough retort recorded in the 'Life.' It is -even more remarkable that he should have concealed this story of his -humiliation while he told others with perfect frankness. To do so was -entirely contrary to his principle and practice. The idea that 'the -several people there by no means of the Johnsonian school' should read -the story, recall the circumstances and laugh, not good-naturedly but -with contempt and malice, must have overcome for once the biographer's -'sacred love of truth.' From these facts, in any case, we may fairly -argue that Boswell suffered from his pride as a proud man must have -suffered from the Doctor's rude snubs. It is to Boswell's credit that -he was willing to run the gauntlet and even to bare his breast for the -wound, not only because if he was to have the honour he must endure -the pain, but at least as much because he knew that it was his -vocation to goad the giant into action, to strike and fan the spark -that would ignite the powder. It is to Boswell's credit that he had -a part in the fray: he bled from honourable wounds. But since men had -been so ill-natured as to despise them it was difficult to display the -gashes and the scars; and because from a noble motive he did what was -most difficult and most valuable we must praise Boswell exceedingly. - -It is further to Boswell's credit that, if he winced for a moment -under the sledge-hammer and pouted at the executioner, his natural -good-humour and generosity made reconciliation easy. - - On Friday, May 8, I dined with him at Mr. Langton's. I was - reserved and silent, which I suppose he perceived and might - recollect the cause. After dinner, while Mr. Langton was - called out of the room, and we were by ourselves, he drew - his chair near to mine, and said, in a tone of conciliating - courtesy, 'Well, how have you done?' _Boswell_: 'Sir, you have - made me very uneasy by your behaviour to me when we were last - at Sir Joshua Reynolds'. You know, my dear Sir, no man has a - greater respect and affection for you, or would sooner go to - the end of the world to serve you. Now to treat me so----.' He - insisted that I had interrupted him, which I assured him was - not the case and proceeded--'But why treat me so before people - who neither love you nor me?' _Johnson_: 'Well, I am sorry - for it. I'll make it up to you i' twenty different ways as you - please.' - -Johnson certainly seems to have made himself most agreeable on this -occasion, and it would have been churlish of Boswell to have resisted -these advances; but nothing could be more truly generous than the way -in which he reminded Johnson of his affection and respect. Boswell -now proceeds to appease his pride by using the occasion to make a _bon -mot_. 'I said to-day to Sir Joshua, when he observed that you _tossed_ -me sometimes--"I don't care how often or how high he tosses me, when -only friends are present, for then I fall upon soft ground: but I -do not like falling on stones, which is the case when enemies are -present." I think this is a pretty good image, Sir.' Johnson assents, -with unusual courtesy, 'Sir it is one of the happiest I have ever -heard.' And Boswell is now completely satisfied. The account proceeds -by giving Johnson a testimonial for good-nature and assuring its -readers that the best of relations were at once re-established. 'The -truth is, there was no venom in the wounds he inflicted at any time, -unless they were irritated by some malignant infusion from other -hands. We were instantly as cordial again as ever, and joined in -hearty laugh at some ludicrous but innocent peculiarities of one of -our friends.' - -The story of this quarrel, if there were no other evidence, would show -that Boswell endured not a few rebuffs. The fact indeed has never been -challenged. Johnson's method of talking for victory often took the -form of mere rudeness, and Boswell was frequently the subject of -his rough wit. For Boswell it was a question whether the fun and the -interest of making Johnson angry were worth the sacrifice of dignity -involved. In retrospect it always was so, and, at the moment too, very -often. He tells us how, on one occasion, he had quoted Shakespeare -in the course of discussion, and Johnson, who was angry, had made the -characteristic reply, 'Nay, if you are to bring in gabble I'll talk -no more'; it is evident that this was regarded by him as a successful -issue to the argument. Johnson had become angrier and angrier, and -Boswell, far from trying to appease him, was glad to bring him to a -state of entire unreasonableness. He was conscious of this when he -commented with evident pleasure, 'My readers will decide upon this -dispute.' - -There is something of the same spirit in the tale which Boswell tells -of the quarrel on the moor during the Tour in the Hebrides. Boswell -towards the end of a day had the not unnatural intention of going on -ahead to make preparations at the inn. - - It grew dusky; and we had a very tedious ride for what was - called five miles; but I am sure would measure ten. We had no - conversation. I was riding forward to the inn at Glenelg, on - the opposite shore to Skye, that I might take proper measures, - before Dr. Johnson, who was now advancing in dreary silence, - Hay leading his horse, should arrive. Vass also walked by the - side of his horse, and Joseph followed behind: as therefore - he was thus attended, and seemed to be in deep meditation, - I thought there could be no harm in leaving him for a little - while. - -Boswell indeed seems to have been particularly thoughtful and even -shows some delicacy in not interrupting Johnson's meditations to tell -him his plan. The sequel must have surprised him very much. 'He called -me back with a tremendous shout, and was really in a passion with me -for leaving him. I told him my intentions, but he was not satisfied, -and said, "Do you know I should as soon have thought of picking a -pocket as doing so?"' This did not annoy Boswell in the least, though -it took place in the presence of their servants; he was accustomed by -this time to the Doctor's moods, and could only be amused. He replied -with a composure which he must have known would irritate Johnson -exceedingly; 'I am diverted with you, Sir.' The force of the desired -explosion may have been underestimated. '_Johnson_: "Sir, I could -never be diverted with incivility...." His extraordinary warmth -confounded me so much, that I justified myself but lamely to him. -Matters in fact were rather more serious than Boswell had supposed, -and he must now make an effort to pacify his companion--but without -effect. 'I resumed the subject of my leaving him on the road, and -endeavoured to defend it better. He still was violent on that head, -and said, "Sir, had you gone on, I was thinking that I should have -returned with you to Edinburgh, and then have parted from you, and -never spoken to you more."' The storm was indeed a bad one that did -not clear up entirely by bedtime. Boswell felt distinctly uneasy -in the volcanic atmosphere; but he easily effected a complete -reconciliation. - - Thursday, September 2. I had slept ill. Dr. Johnson's anger - had affected me much. I considered that, without any bad - intention, I might suddenly forfeit his friendship; and was - impatient to see him this morning. I told him how uneasy he - had made me by what he had said, and reminded him of his own - remark at Aberdeen upon old friendships being hastily broken - off. He owned he had spoken in a passion ...; and he added, - 'Let's think no more on't.' _Boswell_: 'Well then, Sir, I - shall be easy. Remember I am to have fair warning in case of - any quarrel. You are never to spring a mine upon me. It was - absurd in me to believe you.' _Johnson_: 'You deserved about - as much as to believe me from night to morning.' - -The mixture of amusement and anxiety in Boswell's conduct and the -affectionate and good-humoured reconciliation are all extremely -typical of the relations between these two friends. Johnson indeed had -far too much sense of Boswell's good qualities and value ever to fall -out with him seriously, and it would have been hard to do so. There -was never one real misunderstanding between them up to the end. Their -intercourse, consisting of the visits of Boswell to London and a -number of letters on both sides, had but one break, from November 1769 -to April 1771. Boswell had just been married, and omitted in 1770 to -pay his usual visit to London; he tells us that there was no coldness -on either side, no reason for not writing beyond the common one of -procrastination. - -The correspondence of Boswell and Johnson is on the whole of an -irregular nature; there is more than one interval, longer than we -might expect, between two men who were such active friends as they, -in an age when letter-writing was cultivated for its own sake. Arguing -from this fact and considering that he was not present at Johnson's -death-bed, Boswell has been accused of neglecting his friend at the -end of his life. But from the state of mind which he described much -earlier in the _London Magazine_, we can otherwise account for these -lapses: - - To pay a visit or write a letter to a friend does not surely - require much activity. Yet such small exertions have appeared - so laborious to a Hypochondriack, that he has delayed from - hour to hour, so that friendship has grown cold for want - of having its heat continued, for which repeated renewals, - however slight, are necessary; or, perhaps, till death has - carried his friend beyond the reach of any token of his - kindness, and the regrets which pained him in the course of - his neglect are accumulated and press upon his mind with a - weight of sorrow.[5] - -We may suppose that whenever Boswell for a short time failed in his -careful attention it was through no lack of affection, but rather -through a kind of indolence and want of purpose in the manner of it, -which is far from being uncommon. - -The greatest event in this long friendship, and the time which has -left us the fullest record, is the 'Tour to the Hebrides,' in 1773. -In Boswell's journal we see more nearly than elsewhere the relations -between the two friends and the nature of their companionship. In the -foreground is the extreme amiability of Boswell--it was by this that -he was fitted to perform that most difficult office of friendship, -to travel with Dr. Johnson. We may read his own account of himself at -this time: - - Think then, of a gentleman of ancient blood, the pride - of which was his predominant passion. He was then in his - thirty-third year, and had been about four years happily - married. His inclination was to be a soldier; but his father, - a respectable judge, had pressed him into the profession of - the law. He had travelled a good deal, and seen many varieties - of human life. He had thought more than anybody supposed, and - had a pretty good stock of general learning and knowledge. - He had all Dr. Johnson's principles, with some degree of - relaxation. He had rather too little, than too much prudence; - and, his imagination being lively, he often said things of - which the effect was very different from the intention. He - resembled sometimes - - 'The best good man, with the worst natur'd muse.' - -He cannot deny himself the vanity of finishing with the encomium of -Dr. Johnson, whose friendly partiality to the companion of his 'Tour' -represents him as one 'whose acuteness would help my enquiry, and -whose gaiety of conversation, and civility of manners, are sufficient -to counteract the inconveniences of travel, in countries less -hospitable than we have passed.' Dr. Johnson in a letter to Mrs. -Thrale wrote of him in terms of the highest esteem: 'Boswell will -praise my resolution and perseverance, and I shall in return celebrate -his good humour and perpetual cheerfulness.... It is very convenient -to travel with him, for there is no house where he is not received -with kindness and respect.'[6] - -No one certainly could have been more attentive than Boswell was: he -had a sense of responsibility in being in charge of the great writer, -which made him anxious not only that Johnson should be welcomed in -a fitting manner, but that he himself should appear as a worthy -companion. His deep sense of respect, his desire for approval and -dread of reproof are constantly obvious. This attitude is well -illustrated by the account of his carouse in Corrichatachin: - - We were cordial and merry to a high degree, but of what passed - I have no recollection, with any accuracy.... - - Sunday, September 26. I awaked at noon with a severe headache. - I was much vexed that I should have been guilty of such a - riot, and afraid of a reproof from Dr. Johnson. I thought it - very inconsistent with that conduct which I ought to maintain - as the companion of the Rambler. - -The interview, however, was a very pleasant one. Boswell found 'the -Rambler' in his most agreeable mood and was glad to escape the reproof -he had anticipated. 'About one he came into my room and accosted -me, "What, drunk yet?"' His tone of voice was not that of severe -upbraiding; so I was relieved a little. 'Sir,' said I, 'they kept me -up.' He answered, 'No, you kept them up, you drunken dog:' This he -said with a good-humoured _English_ pleasantry. - -Boswell, it need hardly be said, was very proud of introducing Johnson -to the men of Scotland: it raised him, as he no doubt understood, in -their esteem, and he took trouble that Johnson should appear to them -in the most favourable light. He had also a further gratification. He -was more than a mere showman. He came to have proprietary rights in -Dr. Johnson. Boswell's joy was the joy of possession: and he even -became jealous. There is a story told by Miss Burney, of a later -date, when Boswell, it must be admitted, behaved rather badly. A party -gathered at Streatham where Johnson was staying. Boswell arrived to -spend the morning. The Doctor's intimacy with Miss Burney was new to -Boswell and the latter now found that his rights were being infringed. -'A collation was ordered.' - - Mr. Boswell [it is related] was preparing to take a seat that - he seemed, by prescription, to consider as his own, next to - Dr. Johnson; but Mr. Seward, who was present, waved his hand - for Mr. Boswell to move farther on, saying, with a smile, 'Mr. - Boswell, that seat is Miss Burney's.' - - He stared, amazed: the asserted claimant was new and unknown - to him, and he appeared by no means pleased to resign his - prior rights. But, after looking round for a minute or - two with an important air of demanding the meaning of this - innovation, and receiving no satisfaction, he reluctantly, - also resentfully, got another chair, and placed it at the back - of the shoulder of Dr. Johnson, while this new and unheard-of - rival quietly seated herself as if not hearing what was - passing, for she shrunk from the explanation that she - feared might ensue, as she saw a smile stealing over every - countenance, that of Dr. Johnson himself not excepted, at the - discomfiture and surprise of Mr. Boswell. - -We must not forget that Boswell, before everything else, was the -biographer, looking ever with inquisitive eye upon the great man's -movements, marking with zealous care any detail that might be -significant, and appreciating very keenly the humour of every scene. -The furthest point one may suppose that his curiosity reached, or -indeed was able to reach, is recorded in an account of breakfast at -Lochbuy. The comedy arose from an unusual proposal on the part of Lady -Lochbuy as to the provision to be made for Johnson's entertainment; -Boswell encouraged it to see what the Doctor would do, deriving at -the same time much pleasure from the dispute between the lady and her -brother. - - She proposed that he should have some cold sheep's head - for breakfast. Sir Allan seemed displeased at his sister's - vulgarity, and wondered how such a thought should come into - her head. From a mischievous love of sport, I took the lady's - part; and very gravely said, 'I think it is but fair to give - him an offer of it. If he does not choose it, he may let it - alone.' 'I think so,' said the lady, looking at her brother - with an air of victory. Sir Allan, finding the matter - desperate, strutted about the room and took snuff. When Dr. - Johnson came in she called to him, 'Do you choose any cold - sheep's head, Sir?' 'No, Madam,' said he, with a tone of - surprise and anger. 'It is here, Sir,' said she, supposing - he had refused it to save the trouble of bringing it in. They - thus went on at cross purposes till he confirmed his refusal - in a manner not to be misunderstood. - -The malicious experiment of Boswell had the desired conclusion. 'I,' -he says, 'sat quietly by, and enjoyed my success.' - -Dr. Johnson was irritated sometimes by Boswell's curiosity. Dr. -Campbell even records that Johnson on one occasion was driven away -by Boswell's continual questions.[7] But it would seem that far more -often Johnson found means of protecting himself. Miss Burney gives -an enlightening summary of the prospect in case Johnson should notice -Boswell imitating him. - - Dr. Burney thought that Dr. Johnson, who generally treated Mr. - Boswell like a schoolboy, whom, without the smallest ceremony, - he pardoned or rebuked alternately, would so indignantly have - been provoked as to have instantaneously inflicted upon him - some mark of his displeasure. And equally he was persuaded - that Mr. Boswell, however shocked and even inflamed in - receiving it, would soon, from his deep veneration, have - thought it justly incurred, and after a day or two of pouting - and sullenness would have compromised the matter by one of - his customary simple apologies of 'Pray, Sir, forgive me.' Dr. - Johnson though often irritated by the officious importunity of - Mr. Boswell, was really touched by his attachment. - -It was presumably in some degree because he realised that Johnson was -fond of him that Boswell was able to endure his rudeness. It must be -remembered, however, that it was deliberately in most cases brought -upon himself, and there was then no real cause to take offence. -You cannot complain if by your own fault you have made a man angry, -whatever he may say--especially if he is thirty years older than -yourself. It is one of Boswell's chief merits that he was able to see -this. He may have been often annoyed, but he came afterwards to -see that it was but the natural result of his method of treating -Johnson--the method which enabled him to write in the end the immortal -'Life.' - -Boswell in the _rôle_ of biographer will claim a more detailed -attention later in this book. It will suffice to say here that the -attitude which he presented in the scene at Lochbuy, and on all those -occasions when he led Johnson to talk or arranged some situation for -the sake of observing his behaviour, is that which is most typical -of Boswell, that by which he was famous, or, as some might have said, -notorious among his contemporaries. - -The relations between these two friends which we see so pleasantly -revealed in Boswell's journal of the 'Tour to the Hebrides,' in 1773, -containing as they did all that is best between the old and the young, -remained unimpaired to the death of Johnson in 1784: Boswell never -neglected to pay at least one visit in the year to England, and -preserved to the end his affection, his careful and kind attention, -his pride and respect, and above all his humour and curiosity. It -would be idle to suggest, though it may be difficult to understand -or explain the fact, that his absence from Johnson's death-bed is -significant in any way of a declining interest and affection. - -Boswell himself was feeling ill and melancholy during a considerable -part of the year, and was much upset by Johnson's charges of -affectation: it is easily conceivable that he shrank from the pain of -being present at the death-bed of his friend, and believed too that -his own distress could only irritate the other.[8] But, whatever may -have been the cause of his absence, it is impossible, if we consider -his own words about the final parting, to doubt the sincerity of his -affection.[9] - - He asked me whether I would not go with him to his house; I - declined it, from an apprehension that my spirits would sink. - We bade adieu to each other affectionately in the carriage. - When he had got down upon the foot-pavement, he called out, - 'Fare you well,' and without looking back, sprung away with a - kind of pathetic briskness, if I may use the expression, - which seemed to indicate a struggle to conceal uneasiness, - and impressed me with a foreboding of our long, long - separation.[10] - -Johnson in one of his last letters said: 'I consider your fidelity and -tenderness as a great part of the comforts which are yet left me'; and -Boswell, speaking of his death, says enough when he says no more than -this: 'I trust I shall not be accused of affectation when I declare -that I find myself unable to express all that I felt upon the loss of -such a Guide, Philosopher, and Friend.' - -The loss was indeed a severe one for Boswell. He made a friend of -Johnson at the age of twenty-two and was forty-four at the date of -Johnson's death. For more than twenty years he had been accustomed -implicitly to trust the judgment of the older man. - -Its mere duration in time is some testimony to the value of the -friendship, the more so when we remember that Boswell when he died -himself was but fifty-five years old. The friend who was the hero of -Boswell's youth, and his constant adviser, saw within the space of a -few years the beginning of his professional life at the Scotch -Bar, the publication of his first serious book, his marriage to an -admirable lady, and his election to the Literary Club; he died but two -years after Boswell had become the Laird of Auchinleck, at a time when -he was showing an increased activity, and before the political and -legal hopes that he indulged had brought about by their failure the -disappointment of his later life. - -From the few facts which have been related here something may be -gleaned, if not a complete conception of the part which Johnson played -in Boswell's life. Boswell has revealed himself as a friend and in -particular as the friend of Johnson. So great a devotion is a real -asset in life. Whatever its definite value may be as regards events, -and it is often small, it serves to fix more clearly and fuse together -the intricate moving forms of a land of dreams into a simple mundane -shape. It may be an end in itself. And devotion in Boswell's case -belonged to the essence of his genius. It was an important part -of that abnormal ingredient in him which was to blaze forth in an -imperishable flame. - -What Johnson accomplished for Boswell was primarily in the realm -of ideals. The aspirations of Boswell were concentrated by his -admiration. But what was the final result? When Johnson died, the ship -that carried that heavy load of Boswell's hopes was sailing steadily -towards a definite harbour, though not the harbour he intended to -reach: what had Johnson to do with this? Was his the hand at the -helm?--the breath in the sails? - - - [Footnote 1: _Life of Reynolds_, ii, p. 12.] - - [Footnote 2: _Letters of Horace Walpole_, v, p. 85.] - - [Footnote 3: _Memoirs of Hannah More_, i, p. 213.] - - [Footnote 4: The evidence for what is stated in this sentence - and the next is discussed later under Boswell's biographical - qualities.] - - [Footnote 5: _London Magazine_, xlvii, 106.] - - [Footnote 6: _Piozzi Letters_, i, 198.] - - [Footnote 7: _Campbell's Diary_, p. 70.] - - [Footnote 8: _Life of Johnson_, iv, pp. 378-80.] - - [Footnote 9: It must be remembered that Boswell spent nearly - two months with Johnson in this last year. In March he wrote - to Dr. Percy about going to London, 'chiefly to attend upon - Dr. Johnson with respectful attention.' (Nichols, _Literary - History_, vii, p. 302.]) - - [Footnote 10: _Life of Johnson_, iv, p. 339.] - - - - -CHAPTER V - - -Biography is by its nature historical and suited to an historical -method. The history of an institution is written in respect of its -functions. The Christian Church, for instance, played a certain part -in the life of society at the end of the fourth century, and another -part when Clement proclaimed a Crusade to all Western Europe. The -historian of the Church may well be expected to hold in view the later -development during the whole course of his inquiry before that climax; -he must analyse the primitive organism, having regard to its future -growth, and explain how it was that those organs grew. The biographer -has similar duties. We commonly consider the lives of men with -reference to a few conspicuous events or remarkable achievements; and -we want to know what were the essential qualities of the man and how -they grew to those results. In Boswell's case the central theme -is single, for he accomplished one thing of overwhelmingly greater -importance than anything else in his life. But the growth which came -to this glorious end was by no means a simple and serene development. -It is concerned with an amazing war between the conventional and the -real, the false and the true. We have now to investigate more closely -the details of that struggle, and incidentally the effect on Johnson. - -Boswell, in the first place, had a number of what may be called -conventional prejudices; he had the common prejudices of the landed -gentleman in the eighteenth century. He was brought up to believe that -he would one day become the Laird of Auchinleck. He was proud of -his family name and ancient lineage; he believed altogether the -conventional idea, that a man was not only in a higher position and -a greater person, but, in some indefinable way, better from the -possession of land. Soil and mansion were not merely the insignia of -the governing class or the boast of blood, but, further, the supreme -expression of an ideal--the commonest practical ideal of the British -people, 'to be as our fathers.' 'Holding an estate,' says Boswell, -in the first of the political letters which he addressed to his -compatriots,[1] 'transmitted to me through my ancestors, by charters -from a series of kings, the importance of a charter, the prerogative -of a king, impresses my mind with seriousness and duty; and while -animated, I hope, as much as any man, with genuine feelings of -liberty, I shall ever adhere to our excellent Monarchy, that venerable -institution under which liberty is best enjoyed.' The truth expressed -by these extravagant words is that Boswell accepted, as a consequence -of having inherited an estate, a certain outfit of principles and -practical objects which was to be worn in the same way that a parson -wears a black coat or a coachman a livery. In politics, therefore, he -was a Monarchist and Tory. Property and the Constitution, these were -his interests. - -In the second political letter he shows that he strongly disapproved -of innovation and of change in general; disapproved because he -disliked and mistrusted them as by convention a man of property ought -to do. Reform, however necessary, is never respectable. Boswell liked -an order and formality which should go on for ever exactly as he knew -it. It was for this reason and not from any æsthetic pleasure that he -delighted in the ceremonial of the dinners in the Inner Temple and in -the services which he was wont to attend in St. Paul's Cathedral each -year, if he were able, upon Easter Day. - -The same views found expression in a series of essays which Boswell -wrote for the _London Magazine_. It is in fact in these essays rather -than in his biographical writings that we should look for Boswell's -opinions on general subjects. Comprehensive though the 'Life of -Johnson' is, it necessarily refrains from giving the author's view -on many occasions, and when Boswell speaks for himself he does so -incidentally, and not directly. In the _London Magazine_ he is free, -and consequently the range is wider and the matter more diffuse. - -'The Hypochondriack'--for such is the title under which Boswell -wrote--appeared in twenty-seven numbers of the _London Magazine_ -from October, 1777, to December, 1779. The articles are not very -long--three pages of close double-columns is the average length; but -altogether they must contain enough printed matter to fill one volume -of a moderate size in our day. The title explains the attitude of the -writer in the whole series; Boswell wrote as a hypochondriac to others -who suffered as he did from periodical depression, to divert them, as -he said, by good-humour. 'I may, without ever offending them by excess -of gaiety, insensibly communicate to them that good-humour which, if -it does not make life rise to felicity, at least preserves it from -wretchedness.' - -It is remarkable that Boswell formed the plan of writing these papers -at an earlier stage of his existence, during the years which he spent -abroad from 1763-5. The tenth of the series was actually written then -and was intended, so he tells us, to be published, in the _London -Magazine_ as Number X of 'The Hypochondriack.' The fact that it -fulfilled its destiny, and that, though written in a rather more -frivolous style, it is in no way out of place, is a testimony, if any -further were needed besides the _magnum opus_, to the capacity that -Boswell had for carrying a literary project to its due accomplishment. - -The qualities required of a biographer, which Boswell had in so -supreme a measure, are not those which necessarily make a good -essayist. But Boswell was by no means contemptible as a writer of -essays. A great thinker he never professed to be, and never could have -become; he had, however, what for his purpose was even more valuable -than profound thought or comprehensive originality--the art of -self-expression. We are obliged to read anything that Boswell wrote -because, by some enchanter's magic, he is there talking to us. This is -not the place to probe the mystery of Orpheus with his lute; perhaps, -in any case, it is better that the mystery should remain for ever -dark; for the charm of Orpheus might be perceptibly less if we knew -its mechanism. And it may be no more than an accomplishment which, -when exercised with particular grace, gives, in the common way, the -capricious illusion of facility. Whatever it be in the art of letters, -Boswell had it. He inevitably produced his effect; and it is himself. -We are made to feel good-humoured and agreeable; and we wish to leave -it at that and trouble our heads no further. A less easy style will -draw our attention to the technique of words. With Boswell, it is -clear midday on the dial, and we have no desire to bother with the -wheels inside. - -'The Hypochondriack,' however, is scarcely so gay as one might expect. -Truly this is not the serious business of life; he is out for a spree. -'The pleasure of writing a short essay,' says the lively physician -of melancholy, 'is like taking a pleasant airing that enlivens and -invigorates by the exercise which it yields, while the design is -gratified in its completion.' Boswell the essayist has not the solemn -responsibility of showing a great example to the world; and he has no -need to be the grave judge. Yet there is a very serious background to -the thoughts of this jolly author. When he chooses a theme he searches -in the depths. Religion, Death and Conscience, Fear, Truth, Pleasure -and Pride, Matrimony and Offspring, Youth and Age, Pity and Prudence, -Excess, Drinking, Flattery, and Hypochondria itself--such are the -subjects with which he sets forth to divert his fellow-sufferers. -And having chosen thus, Boswell naturally, on many occasions, says -earnestly what he sincerely thinks. He faithfully describes in one -place the discomfort of his own depression: - - To be overpowered with languor must make a man very unhappy. - He is tantalized with a thousand ineffectual wishes which - he cannot realise. For as Tantalus is fabled to have been - tormented by the objects of his desire being ever in his near - view, yet ever receding from his touch as he endeavoured - to approach them, the languid Hypochondriack has the sad - mystification of being disappointed of realising every wish, - by the wretched defect of his own activity. While in that - situation time passes over him only to be loaded with regrets. - The important duties of life, the benevolent offices of - friendship are neglected, though he is sensible that he shall - upbraid himself for that neglect till he is glad to take - shelter under cover of disease. - -In this account there is no ill-placed levity and no extravagance such -as we might fear to find. It is a simple and effective account of an -unpleasant experience. The advice which he gives to hypochondriacs -from time to time is similarly grave and sympathetic, and concerned -with defeating the dangers of their state of mind; his view is that -the disease is nearly always curable; he unwillingly admits that there -are cases beyond hope, and condemns pessimistic fatalism: - - We should guard against imagining that there is a volcano - within us, a melancholy so dreadful that we can do nothing in - opposition to it. - -It would be a mistake to suppose when we read such grave advice that -Boswell had a serious view of himself as the spiritual adviser of -hypochondriacs. His object, as he tells us, was to divert them; and -in that frame of mind no doubt he began to write. He became grave and -even earnest because he had a very strong vein of seriousness. In the -ordinary way of life he was light-hearted enough, and easily dispensed -with his thoughts when they began to be uncomfortable: but when he -had set himself to write from a text he persevered with his -serious reflections and they found expression. He was able to reach -considerable heights; a famous epitaph, when he is writing upon a -motto from Cicero about the duties of Conscience, stirs him to a noble -feeling: - - The epitaph upon Sir Christopher Wren in St. Paul's Church, - of which he was the architect, has been justly admired as - sublime: 'Lector, si monumentum requiris, circumspice'; - 'Reader, if you would see his monument, cast your eyes around - you,' so that the whole Church is made his Mausoleum. In my - opinion there is a similar sublimity about this sentiment, - by which a man, upon the ancient principle of [Greek: tima - seauton], 'reverence thyself,' is taught to expand his mind - into a grand theatre of self-observation. - -Occasionally Boswell, on account of this same seriousness, has an -outburst of Johnsonian anger. He tells of a French writer that he -published a book, 'Réflexions sur ceux qui sont morts en plaisantant,' -that he succeeded in collecting a good number of instances both -ancient and modern: 'But I,' says Boswell 'hold all such extraordinary -appearances to be unnatural, affected, and thoughtless.' - -However, when all is said about the gravity of the Hypochondriack, he -is essentially the easy, good-humoured companion he set out to be. He -is often dignified, never indecorous; rarely is he even light-hearted, -for while he supports the cares of this world with smiling equanimity -he leaves the impression that they matter; still more rarely is he -flippant. The effect is never depressing. He is for the most part a -soothing optimist; and if that seem scant praise, be it remembered -that one may resist the optimist's persuasion and yet fall a victim -to the cheerful manners that accompany it. Such is the attitude of -Boswell as an essayist; and, when we consider what he chose to write -about, it is a remarkable performance. - -The lightness of touch which was necessary for Boswell's purpose was -obtained partly by anecdote and image. A wide acquaintance with books -evidently supplied Boswell with a store of anecdotes; and he both -selected them well and used them relevantly. One instance, where -Boswell, in an essay about Excess, is speaking of the dangers of -wealth, will suffice to illustrate his method: - - The Dutch, who have much sagacity of contrivance in many - respects, have in what they call a 'verbeetering huys' (that - is to say, a correcting and amending house, a house for making - people better) an admirable method of curing laziness. A - fellow who will not work is put into a large reservoir, which - takes him up to the chin; a cock is then turned so as to let - more water run in upon him, and he is then shown a pump. If - he exerts himself with active force he prevents the water from - rising, and breathes freely; but if he does not ply the pump, - the water soon gets up upon him and he is suffocated. - An inundation of wealth will be equally fatal to a man's - happiness, if he does not throw it off by vigorous exertion. - _Aurum potabile_ will choak him; and, when drowning in - Pactolus's streams, it will be no consolation to him to know - that they have golden sands. - -Boswell's images, sometimes employed in imitation of Dr. Johnson's -manner, if they are apt to be slightly extravagant, are generally -pointed and help the sense. 'A Dogmatist,' he says, 'is a man that has -got a pair of shoes that fit him exactly well, and therefore he thinks -them so very good that he flies in a passion against those who cannot -wear them.' An image is often used far more gracefully to bring the -argument to a head as in the following admirable passage: - - But old men forget in a wonderful degree their own feelings in - the early part of life, are angry because the young are not as - sedate in the season of effervescence as they are, would have - the fruit where in the course of nature there should be only - the blossom, and complain because another generation has not - been able to ascend the steep of prudence in a fourth part of - the time which they themselves have taken. - -These few quotations may suffice to show that Boswell's essays are -worthy of some attention. They can be read with pleasure because -Boswell was both a capable writer and an agreeable man. And, moreover, -Boswell was a good man. It is a somewhat ridiculous exclamation, -because the fact is so striking and so indisputable. One might dispute -the proposition that to write an unrivalled biography a man must be -good: it would probably be a foolish discussion, for the common sense -of mortals refuses to believe that one who has done a supremely good -thing is not himself essentially good. But to dispute it in the case -of Boswell--when we consider how many hearts he has won, and with -how excellent a wooing, surely that would be preposterous! He was not -wholly good more than other men, nor less than the majority; but he -possessed a quantity of good that might be envied of the best. And -this is true, not of the man only, but of the writer. The test is -a very simple one: the plain fact is that it is impossible to -read Boswell without feeling better. Boswell does not edify in the -spiritual fashion of Michael Angelo or Milton; but he edifies just -as truly. With Boswell we never want to leave the world for something -better, but we want to live in it and enjoy life to the full; and we -want especially to love other men. It is not a small matter that we -should feel this: and as we may feel it in the 'Life of Johnson,' we -may feel it also, though in a less degree, in the essays. - -But 'The Hypochondriack' is not to be read for the sake of the -author's opinions, nor even for the arguments by which he supports -them. For Boswell writes from a conventional point of view. His -conclusions are not his very own. He has never been tossed in the -great void and fought long doubtful battles for a sure place to stand -on. His children have not been begotten with pangs, but adopted for -pleasure. - -And here we return to the main battle. Boswell was conventional. -But this is by no means a sufficient explanation. Clearly, in some -respects, it is not even true. What then is the range of Boswell's -conventionality and what are its limits? - -Beliefs are the result, as a rule, either of tradition, or of -emotional experience, or of mere desire. In a few rare spirits they -may be determined in more intellectual fashion; but Reason is seldom -mistress, and very often she is servant and nurse. By reason, we seek -to justify our prejudices and convictions. With varying degrees -of intellectual dishonesty we make use of reason to reject what we -dislike and nourish what we prefer. - -Boswell's case was somewhat uncommon. He was clearly not very -critical. Having once adopted an attitude he marched through life -without looking back. We have seen something of the outlook he adopted -conventionally. He deceived himself, however, far less than most men -of those opinions. And in the effort to believe what he wished to -believe, Boswell used reason in a curiously deliberate fashion. He -accepted the conventional beliefs and standards in an unconventional -manner--not chaotically and aimlessly, but perceiving what the -conventional aim essentially was, and approving it as a mode of -living. - -Boswell's philosophy of life, as far as he had a philosophy, was to -have in all (including, that is, the future life of happiness which he -flattered himself that he would be able to enjoy) the maximum amount -of pleasure. Pleasure and happiness, these are ends in themselves; -and except in so far as pleasure must be restrained for the sake of -happiness either in this state of being or in another--and Boswell -can hardly be said to have practised restraint in any remarkable -degree--they are not distinguished. Pleasure he speaks of as 'not only -the aim but the end of our being.' 'To be happy,' he says, 'as far as -mortality and human imperfection allow, is the wisest study of men.' - -In the 'Hypochondriack' essays we see how entirely Boswell's -philosophy of life is a philosophy of comfort. With regard, for -instance, to Love--a subject which, since three papers of 'The -Hypochondriack' are devoted to it, must have been considered -important--though too logical to be entirely conventional, his -doctrine is frankly based upon his view of happiness: - - As no disorder of the imagination has produced more evils than - the passion of love, it behoves us to guard ourselves with - caution against its first appearance. - - However coldness or indifference is unpleasant, yet excess of - love or fondness is bad, not only as it is not lasting, but - also because it is disagreeable at the time. - -It is in his religious views that we see best this attitude -of Boswell. While his opinions were on the one hand completely -conventional, they yet depended quite consciously upon this doctrine -of happiness. - - The religious fear which I mean to inculcate, is that - reverential awe for the Most High Ruler of the Universe, mixed - with affectionate gratitude and hope, by which our minds - are kept steady, calm, and placid, at once exalted by the - contemplation of greatness, and warmed by the contemplation - of goodness, while both are contemplated with a reference to - ourselves.[2] - -However 'romantic' Boswell may have been in other matters, there is -no shadow of romance in his conception of a Deity. His admiration -for what seems to be merely a superior human being admitted of no -spiritual disquiet. Rather the 'steady, calm, and placid' temper so -produced was to serve as an antidote to hypochondria. - - In order to have these comforts which not only relieve but - 'delight the soul,' the Hypochondriack must take care to have - the principles of our holy religion firmly established in - his mind, when it is sound and clear, and by the habit and - exercise of piety to strengthen it, so that the flame may live - even in the damp and foul vapour of melancholy.[3] - -Further instructions as to how these comforts are to be enjoyed are -given in the 'Life' where his final view is expressed: - - This I have learned from a pretty hard course of experience, - and would, from sincere benevolence, impress upon all - who honour this book with a perusal, that until a steady - conviction is obtained that the present life is an imperfect - state, and only a passage to a better, if we comply with the - divine scheme of progressive improvement; and also that it is - part of the mysterious plan of Providence that intellectual - beings must be 'made perfect through suffering'; there will be - a continual recurrence of disappointment and uneasiness. But - if we walk with hope in 'the mid-day sun of revelation' our - temper and disposition will be such that the comforts and - enjoyments in our way will be relished, while we patiently - support the inconveniences and pains. - -The argument is clear: we must choose the path where 'uneasiness' is -avoided and 'comforts and enjoyments' are in store for us. The part to -be played by the intellect is not doubtful. The power of reasoning may -be valuable up to a certain point; beyond that point it is unsafe for -it to pass: - - After much speculation and various reasonings, I acknowledge - myself convinced of the truth of Voltaire's conclusion, - '_Après tout, c'est un monde passable._' But we must not think - too deeply; - - Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise - is, in many respects, more than poetically just. Let us - cultivate, under the command of good principles, '_la théorie - des sensations agréables_'; and, as Mr. Burke once counselled - a grave and anxious gentleman, 'live pleasant.' - -'We must not think too deeply'--because it is not pleasant. 'I most -willingly admit,' he says elsewhere, 'that of all kinds of misery, the -misery of thought is the severest.' He wished to escape from thought, -and found his religion a very pleasant substitute. It enabled him to -believe all that he found most pleasant in beliefs, and to reject what -he found disquieting. The fear of death, he discovered, could best -be alleviated by believing in the divine revelation; accordingly he -proceeded to adopt this belief. - -But the pleasure which Boswell obtained in this way was not merely the -pleasure of a mind lulled to tranquillity, it was the pleasure also of -possessing a point of view. He wanted to be entirely respectable. -And respectability was to be achieved by adopting wholesale the -respectable beliefs. Boswell perhaps could never have been otherwise -than conventional in his ethical and religious thought; but he did -at one time think, and he deliberately ceased to think; with the -consequence that all those views which he might or might not have -arrived at by thought and experience, instead of being deeply founded -within him, were only an ill-balanced superstructure. - - * * * * * - -The effect of Johnson upon this development was a very remarkable one. -Johnson himself was pre-eminently a conformist, and it was partly, -no doubt, from his example that Boswell derived his desire to be -respectable--to be, as he expressed it, 'an uniform pretty man.' - -Boswell's own words show us that he was influenced in this way. -A meeting had been arranged between Johnson and one of Boswell's -friends, George Dempster, who held the sceptical views of Hume and -Rousseau; a discussion took place in which Johnson, whether by -force of argument or power of lungs, was victorious. 'I had infinite -satisfaction,' says Boswell, 'in hearing solid truth confuting vain -subtilty. I thank God that I have got acquainted with Mr. Johnson. He -has done me infinite service. He has assisted me to obtain peace of -mind, he has assisted me to become a rational Christian.' - -How much are we to assume from this? How much of Boswell's -respectability came directly from Johnson? - -There could be nothing more unreasonable than to dogmatise about the -extent of a personal influence. How subtle and intricate it is in -the thousand chances of a mind's development, of acquiescence and -rebellion, of mere time and place! how difficult to see the beginning -and the end, to know even approximately the value of any one force -in a number of causes! The distinction alone between a conscious or -unconscious acceptance, what a difference it makes! - -That which determines individuality in men more than any other factor -is the freedom of choice. But there is more than one way of choosing. -There are some who choose to march upon the high road where tall -fences on either side prevent the possibility of wandering astray; and -there are others who select the by-paths deliberately. All who choose -are in search of treasure. Those who have rejected the high roads -hardly know what they so urgently desire; but when they come upon a -rare flower in the wilderness which pleases them particularly they -cull it; they are then refreshed and go forward with more certain -step, and there hangs about them something of the fragrance they -inhaled, so that other men when they meet them are reminded of that -flower which they too have seen and smelt. The rest press forward more -directly; when they have chosen the way there is no deviation; they -will pause for nothing unless it be of precious metal. And when their -quest is rewarded they surround themselves with a cloud of gold-dust, -as it seems to them, and cannot be seen except through this strange -mist. - -Boswell, it would seem, was among these last. He chose freely, but -did not wander far afield. He was one of those in pursuit of ideal -treasure; and when he found in Dr. Johnson all that he desired, and -the ideal was satisfied, he impregnated himself with the priceless -essence. But, inasmuch as it was the essence he had chosen to seek, -even this exterior atmosphere was entirely of himself. - -We expect, indeed, to see in Boswell beyond his own real nature the -marks of a stronger personality. But we may admit the Johnsonian -flavour without impugning the originality of Boswell or degrading him -to the level of a mere imitator. All the conventional prejudices, -the strong conformity which was so pronounced in Johnson, existed -in Boswell independently. The 'old Tory sentiments' inasmuch as they -exceeded the sentiments of Johnson (which they occasionally did, -_e.g._ on the subject of slavery), were definitely a part of the true -Boswell. It is remarkable that in the 'Letters to Temple' the opinions -of Johnson are very rarely mentioned; Boswell on one occasion was -'confirmed in his Toryism'; and Johnson is quoted two or three times: -but his name appears far less often than we should expect. It is -clear, indeed, when we read the 'Life of Johnson,' that Boswell, -however he might be a worshipper, was far from being a slave: his -passion for truth would not allow him to pass lightly by an opinion -he disapproved, and his conviction that Johnson was wrong, or at least -that his own opinions remained unaltered, is frankly if respectfully -stated more than once. - -He knew that Johnson's opinions might be formed only to refute an -adversary: 'But it is not improbable that if one had taken the other -side he might have reasoned differently.' Not infrequently Boswell -ventures to criticise his philosopher's argument. On one occasion, -when predestination had been discussed, he even goes so far as to -excuse Johnson's prejudices: - - He avoided the question which has excruciated philosophers and - divines beyond any other. I did not press it further, when - I perceived that he was displeased, and shrunk from any - abridgment of an attribute usually ascribed to the divinity, - however irreconcilable in its full extent with the grand - system of moral government. His supposed orthodoxy here - cramped the vigorous powers of his understanding. He was - confined by a chain, which early imagination and long habit - made him think massy and strong, but which, had he ventured to - try, he could at once have snapped asunder. - -Boswell's attitude in this passage is very far from being -intellectually dependent on Johnson or on anyone else. And it is -not an unusual attitude. We sometimes see another side--Boswell, -apparently in fetters, a prisoner in the citadel of respectability. -But it cannot be asserted too often that Boswell was essentially an -independent individual, one who was capable of pursuing his own true -vision, inflexible and careless of the consequences. - -There is no need to infer from this that the influence of Johnson -was negligible, or even small. We cannot suppose that the guide, -philosopher and friend of Boswell, for whom he had a 'mysterious -veneration,' whose 'just frown' he so greatly dreaded, whom upon so -many occasions he eagerly consulted, can have been of small account. -Boswell himself was far from thinking so; he knew the value of Johnson -to him when, reflecting that death must soon rob him of his friend, -he wrote to Temple, in Johnsonian words: 'it will be like a limb -amputated.' - -If influence is to be defined it may be said perhaps that it is a -quality which makes us see what we should not have seen without it. We -cannot doubt that Boswell learnt many things by his intercourse with -Dr. Johnson. The influence of Johnson was in the first place, as we -remarked above, an influence for truth, for honesty. It helped -Boswell in his early life to see the self which he came in the end to -understand so well. He must long have remembered the letter which he -received from Johnson at Utrecht. - -Boswell, in his desire to make an impression as the young genius, then -regarded himself as a peculiar mortal who had no need to regulate his -conduct by the ordinary standards. Johnson begins by describing this -state of mind: - - There lurks, perhaps, in every human heart a desire of - distinction, which inclines every man first to hope, and then - to believe, that Nature has given him something peculiar to - himself.... You know a gentleman who, when first he set his - foot in the gay world, as he prepared himself to whirl in - the vortex of pleasure, imagined a total indifference and - universal negligence to be the most agreeable concomitants of - youth, and the strongest indication of an airy temper and a - quick apprehension. - -The result which he particularly deplored was Boswell's idleness: - - Vacant to every object, and sensible of every impulse, - he thought that all appearance of diligence would deduct - something from the reputation of genius; and hoped that he - should appear to attain, amidst all the ease of carelessness, - and all the tumults of diversion, that knowledge and those - accomplishments which mortals of the common fabrick obtain - only by mute abstraction and solitary drudgery. - -He then alludes to the wrong conclusions which might be drawn by one -in Boswell's mental condition from the difficulties which attend a -return to a normal course of life: - - He tried this scheme of life awhile; was made weary of it - by his sense and his virtue; he then wished to return to his - studies; and finding long habits of idleness and pleasure - harder to be cured than he expected, still willing to retain - his claim to some extraordinary prerogatives, resolved the - common consequences of irregularity into an unalterable decree - of destiny, and concluded that Nature had originally formed - him incapable of rational employment. - -And finally he gives some very solemn advice: - - Let all such fancies, illusive and destructive, be banished - henceforward from your thoughts for ever. Resolution will - sometimes relax, and diligence will sometimes be interrupted; - but let no accidental surprise or deviation, whether short or - long, dispose you to despondency. Consider these failings as - incident to all mankind. - -Boswell was too honest not to realise the truth of what Johnson said, -and we cannot but think of this letter when we read a number of years -later, in the _London Magazine_ of 1778, an attack written by Boswell -upon the association by Aristotle of melancholy with genius; for this -essay seems to aim at undermining the same kind of affectation as that -which Johnson had seen in him. - -Similarly the effect of Johnson in making Boswell more respectable was -produced less by example than by dislike of affectation. Johnson was -pre-eminently a conformist; and Boswell desired the same happy state -for himself. But Johnson was honest in his conformity, and he cared -less for the conformity than for the honesty. And so he was able, when -he saw Boswell affecting sentiments which he did not wholly feel, to -reprove him. It was not that the sentiments in themselves were not -good sentiments, for they often were, but that in Boswell they were -unreal. - - _Boswell_: 'Perhaps, Sir, I should be the less happy for being - in Parliament. I never would sell my vote, and I should be - vexed if things went wrong.' _Johnson_: 'That's cant, Sir. - It would not vex you more in the House than in the Gallery: - publick affairs vex no man.' - -Boswell was probably annoyed at this retort; it is very annoying to be -told the truth about oneself. He now tries to make Johnson admit that -he has been vexed himself 'by all the turbulence of this reign.' - - _Johnson_: 'Sir, I have never slept an hour less, nor ate an - ounce less meat. I would have knocked the factious dogs on the - head, to be sure; but I was not _vexed_.' - -The argument is too strong: - - _Boswell_: 'I declare, Sir, upon my honour, I did imagine - I was vexed, and took a pride in it; but it _was_, perhaps, - cant; for I own I neither ate less, nor slept less.' - _Johnson_: 'My dear friend, clear your _mind_ of cant. You may - _talk_ as other people do; you may say to a man, "Sir, I am - your most humble servant." ... You may _talk_ in this manner; - it is a mode of talking in society: but don't _think_ - foolishly.' - -The result of Johnson's honesty acting upon Boswell's conventional -affectations was not to make him less but rather more conventional. It -gave him a surer foundation. An affectation does not as a rule become -less affected but rather the reverse. But Boswell's affectations -tended rather to become the substantial and real expression of a mind -as he came to understand that they were affectations. He saw that the -manners and opinions which he affected because they pleased him had -a value in life and a value for him. The lessons which he learnt -from Johnson in this way were, for the most part, moral; they were -concerned with the piety and goodness which were so much a part of -Johnson himself. Boswell was able to reinforce a set of religious -beliefs with a little real piety, and a set of moral axioms with a -little real goodness. If it were necessary to point to one definite -quality in the Johnsonian atmosphere which we might suppose to be of -special value to Boswell, it would be the genuine kind-heartedness -and benevolent interest, the 'tenderness' which we find so carefully -recorded in the 'Life.' It was to some purpose that the naturally -egotistical Boswell was reminded of a duty towards other men, was told -more than once without compromise that he must be kind to his father -and kind to his wife. - -But it is not so much in any minute particular that Johnson was -reflected by his biographer, but rather in a more general way, in a -whole attitude towards life, in the one significant fact that Boswell -himself as we see him, not only in the biographical writings but in -his own letters too, is essentially a moralist. The one difficulty -which his conscience found in writing the 'Life' was that he might, by -showing the failings of so great a man, give support to those who were -inclined to the same faults so that they should conceive themselves to -be justified by that example. And so he points out with zealous -care that, where the 'practice' of Johnson does not agree with his -'principle,' it is not because the principle is not good but that even -so great a man was not quite perfect; _humanum est errare_. - -Undoubtedly the influence of Johnson was a moral influence; this in -itself may be considered as one aspect of its complete respectability. -Johnson wanted Boswell to be a sober, honest, contented citizen, a -hard-working, successful lawyer, a good son, a good husband, a good -friend and a religious man. 'I have always loved and valued you,' he -wrote in 1769, 'and shall love you and value you still more, as you -become more regular and useful.' And again, in 1771: - - I never was so much pleased as now with your account of - yourself; and sincerely hope, that between publick business, - improving studies, and domestick pleasures, neither melancholy - nor caprice will find any place for entrance. Whatever - philosophy may determine of material nature, it is certainly - true of intellectual nature that it 'abhors a vacuum'; our - minds cannot be empty; and evil will break in upon them, - if they are not preoccupied by good. My dear Sir, mind your - studies, mind your business, make your lady happy, and be a - good Christian. - -There was no place for any intellectual unquiet--and herein it was -essentially respectable--in Johnson's scheme of life as he presented -it to others. If a subject were unpleasant to think of, it were better -not to heed it. He wished himself to walk through life in a calm, -majestic, and dignified way, with firm knowledge of good and a -resolute purpose to follow it. He never, if we may judge from Boswell, -was in any serious doubt as to the right course, and he seems to -have thought the matter as easy for Boswell as it was for him. It is -because he himself desired to be like this that Boswell found Johnson -such a valuable friend. But it was unfortunate, as it turned out, that -he attached so much importance to mere success in the world, in his -profession, in politics; in these, with the encouragement of Johnson, -he so completely believed, that when he discovered that he had failed, -or had at least fallen far short of his ambitions, he was bitterly -disappointed. - - - [Footnote 1: For Boswell's political career see pp. 174-182. - He published this letter in 1783, and a second two years - later.] - - [Footnote 2: _London Magazine_, vol. xlvi, pp. 492-3.] - - [Footnote 3: _Ibid._, vol. xlix, p. 542.] - - - - -CHAPTER VI - - -Lord Auchinleck died in 1782. His relations with Boswell are of some -interest in this place, because they exhibit Boswell in the _rôle_ of -son and incidentally raise an important question. The two never agreed -very well. Was this the fault of the son? Was he deliberately unkind, -or negligent, or disagreeable? - -There is no reason to suppose that Boswell was culpable in any such -way: indiscretion on the one hand and intolerance on the other are -sufficient to account for all the friction. Lord Auchinleck had -evidently a very rigid view of the career fitting for his eldest son. -His ideal of progeniture seems to have assumed with a not uncommon -complacency that the ego was worthy of a second edition. James -Boswell must be after the pattern of his father--a Scotch lawyer, -a hard-headed, practical man of affairs, a wise man of business -successful in his profession. - -James, however, was not made like that: and if he had practical -ability he hated the Scotch law and lawyers far too much ever to use -it with success. He had a taste for extravagant behaviour and liked -to exhibit his high spirits. Johnson might condone this, though he -disapproved of it, and love Boswell the more, because 'he was a boy -longer than others.' Lord Auchinleck regarded it with alarm while -Boswell was young, and with contempt when he was of a mature age. -Conduct that would have been regrettable to a milder father, was to -him intolerable. - -It is not surprising, then, that Boswell found the company of his -father extremely irksome: - - We divaricate so much (he writes to Temple) that I am often - hurt when I dare say he means no harm; and he has a method of - treating me which makes me feel like a timid boy, which to - me (comprehending all that my character does in my own - imagination, and in that of a wonderful number of mankind) is - intolerable. I have appeared good-humoured; but it has cost - me drinking a considerable quantity of strong beer to dull my - faculties. - -The stern father had undoubtedly some good reasons for disapproving -of the irresponsible James. Besides the habitual lack of restraint in -Boswell's behaviour, money was a continual source of irritation. The -heir to Auchinleck, it is clear, considered that he had a sort of -natural right to his father's money. He found an allowance of £300 a -year insufficient. He wrote to Temple in a complaining tone about his -financial difficulties and his father: - - He allows me £300 a year. But I find that what I gain by - practice and that sum together will not support my family. I - have now two sons and three daughters. I am in hopes that my - father will augment my allowance to £400. - -He admits, however, that 'his paying £1000 of my debt some years -ago was a large bounty.' Lord Auchinleck, no doubt with justice, -considered Boswell to be extravagant; and he did not approve of his -marriage. 'I understand,' writes Boswell, 'he fancies that if I had -married another woman, I might not only have had a better portion with -her, but might have been kept from what he thinks idle and extravagant -conduct.' - -The indiscretion of Boswell in his correspondence and conversation -with his father must have continually aggravated the pronounced -prejudices and preferences of the ill-tempered old lawyer. It was -a wanton imprudence to express his extreme aversion to his father's -second marriage; we can hardly doubt that he was equally imprudent -with regard to the Scotch law and Scotch legal circles. Boswell -intended that his father should appreciate him for what he was rather -than tolerate him for what he was not. In 1767 he writes to Temple: - - How unaccountable it is that my father and I should be so ill - together! He is a man of sense and a man of worth; but from - some unhappy turn in his disposition, he is much dissatisfied - with a son whom you know. I write to him with warmth, with an - honest pride, wishing that he should think of me as I am; - but my letters shock him, and every expression in them is - interpreted unfavourably. - -Boswell did not understand that the temperaments of his father -and himself were in some degree incompatible, and he succeeded in -emphasising their points of disagreement rather than cultivating what -they had in common. He was very slow to realise how much his father -disapproved of his literary friends in London, and of Dr. Johnson in -particular: to Temple he exclaims, with horrified surprise, 'he -harps on my going over Scotland with a brute (think how shockingly -erroneous) and wandering (or some such phrase) to London.' Johnson was -actually taken to visit Auchinleck--a most hazardous experiment! - -Boswell must certainly be blamed, if blame can be distributed in this -sort, for indiscretion, but not for unkindness. From no passage in the -'Letters to Temple' can it be inferred that he disliked his father, -or wished to displease him; on several occasions he speaks of him with -affection. Moreover the obligation to be deliberately kind to one -who cannot occupy the position of a friend is based upon a supposed -affection on his part. Boswell clearly was not cruel in any positive -or malevolent sense; he can only be condemned as unkind if it be -proved that he was inconsiderate to a man who displayed a substantial -affection towards him. But Lord Auchinleck cannot be said to have done -this--if we may accept as true the dictum of Dr. Johnson to Boswell on -the occasion of his father's death: 'His disposition towards you was -undoubtedly that of a kind, though not of a fond father.' And so we -may say that Boswell was a disappointing, though not a bad son. - - * * * * * - -In 1782 Boswell, on his father's death, became Laird of Auchinleck. -The new position was a matter of importance to him. Not only were the -duties it involved such duties as he liked to perform, but it was -a considerable advance in the right direction. He was the man of -property. A part of his dream was come true; and he could now invest -himself with a fresh halo of respect and respectability derived -from his new station. Local and public affairs were more intimately -connected in the eighteenth century than in our own day; and, when the -men of estate had a monopoly of governing, it was not unnatural for -one who inherited land to cast his eyes beyond the fences of his -patrimony. At the age of forty-two Boswell was by no means too old to -look forward. The event of inheriting quickened his aspirations, and -the prospect of becoming 'the great man' seemed nearer. - -The ambitions of Boswell were not destined to be realised in any high -degree. - -His hopes were of a double nature; they were both legal and political. -Of his early life at the Bar we have already spoken, and we must -now briefly trace out the course of his legal career to its dismal -conclusion. - -It was hardly to be expected that a man who disliked and despised so -much the whole Scotch atmosphere of his work should persevere with it. -Boswell was so discontented with his lot that he began to hope for a -change which should bring him into a more congenial situation. In -1775 he entered at the Inner Temple with the intention of being called -eventually to the English Bar. - -There was much to recommend this plan; for it would enable him to -spend far more time in his beloved London. Boswell no doubt considered -this a very important reason. In London he was happier and better than -elsewhere. 'I own, Sir, the spirits which I have in London make me do -everything with more readiness and vigour. I can talk twice as much -in London as anywhere else'; and he considered, no doubt with equal -justice, that it had some effects of a different nature: 'In reality -it is highly improving to me, considering the company which I enjoy'; -and he goes on to say, 'I think it is also for my interest, as in time -I may get something.'[1] - -Ambition was one motive which prompted Boswell to seek a different -sphere; he seems to have thought the abilities which were cramped in -Scotland and were not appreciated by the Scotch would grow in London -to their full stature and be handsomely recognised. In 1777 he talked -to Johnson upon the subject of the English Bar: - - I had long complained to him that I felt myself discontented - in Scotland as too narrow a sphere, and that I wished to make - my chief residence in London, the great scene of ambition, - instruction and amusement: a scene which was to me, - comparatively speaking, a heaven upon earth. - -There were, however, a number of reasons which prevented Boswell -from making his home in London till long after this conversation. The -possibility of his father's death, which would probably make him -the Laird of Auchinleck, was always present to him, and it would be -inconvenient as well as expensive to have a separate establishment in -London. It was by no means certain, moreover, as Boswell seems to have -realised, that there would be much financial gain by the change, and -he could not afford to fail at the English Bar; his father as well -as Johnson opposed the step, a consideration which would probably in -itself have prevented it, from interested motives on Boswell's part if -from no others. - -Boswell, in fact, remained at the Scotch Bar until 1786, when he -determined finally, in spite of his position as a Scotch laird, which -he had occupied for four years, to try his fortune at Westminster -Hall. He had been disappointed of promotion[2] for so long in Scotland -that it was time to exercise his talents in a different sphere. - -The English lawyers, however, seem to have been no more congenial than -the Scotchmen, for he speaks of the 'rough scene of the roaring and -bantering society of lawyers,' which he is compelled to be with on the -Northern Circuit.[3] There is an amusing story recounted by Lord -Eldon in his 'Anecdotes' about Boswell at the Lancaster Assizes, which -belongs to a period between the years '86 and '88: - - We found Jemmy Boswell lying upon the pavement--inebriated. We - subscribed at supper a guinea for him and half-a-crown for his - clerk, and sent him next morning a brief with instructions to - move for the writ _Quare adhæsit pavimento_, with observations - calculated to induce him to think that it required great - learning to explain the necessity of granting it. He sent all - round the town to attornies for books, but in vain. He moved, - however, for the writ, making the best use he could of the - observations in the brief. The judge was astonished and the - audience amazed. The judge said, 'I never heard of such a - writ--what can it be that adheres pavimento? Are any of you - gentlemen at the Bar able to explain this?' The Bar laughed. - At last one of them said, 'My Lord, Mr. Boswell last night - _adhæsit pavimento_. There was no moving him for some time. - At last he was carried to bed, and he has been dreaming about - himself and the pavement.' - -Boswell himself pours out to Temple in plaintive accents the tangled -story of a wig lost at Carlisle in 1789, from which we may suspect, as -he did himself, another practical joke. 'I suspected a wanton trick, -which some people think witty, but I thought it very ill-timed to one -in my situation.' - -We might judge from the manner in which he was treated by his -fellow-lawyers that Boswell was not wholly successful at the English -Bar. No one can have realised this more keenly than himself. - -'I am sadly discouraged,' he writes, 'by having no practice, nor -probable prospect of it.... Yet the delusion of Westminster Hall, of -brilliant reputation and splendid fortune as a barrister, still weighs -upon my imagination. I must be seen in the courts, and must hope for -some happy openings in causes of importance. The Chancellor, as you -observe, has not done as I expected; but why did I expect it?' Later -in the same year, 1789, he exclaims: 'O Temple! Temple! is this -realising any of the towering hopes which have so often been the -subject of our conversations and letters?' It is pathetic to see him -clinging still to the old hopes and ideals, when his real title to -fame lay near at hand in his Johnsonian stores, so much thought of, -and yet so little valued beside the great world of practical affairs. - -There were no doubt some special reasons, connected with his attitude -towards the law itself, which may account in a large degree for -Boswell's failure at the Bar. We have mentioned already the aversion -which Boswell had for the society of lawyers. This in itself was -likely to be a hindrance in his legal career; but it is only the -result of the general unfittedness of Boswell for the Bar. He was not -unwilling, when his plan of being a soldier had been abandoned, to -enter upon a legal career; it would offer the kind of opportunities -for distinction which he wanted. Possibly he was attracted too by the -formalism of the Courts; one may suppose that the mere wearing of -a wig and gown would give him pleasure. But the mind of Boswell was -entirely unlegal. He had no capacity for estimating the value of -evidence, and was readily convinced by a plausible story. He applied -to his work rather the common sense of the layman (being actually -advised very often by Johnson, who knew nothing of Scotch law) than -the exact reasoning required by his profession. And though Boswell -could apply himself at times with continued effort to any work which -he particularly wanted to do, the dislike which he had for his legal -studies made him tire of them so soon that he never knew very much -about any body of laws. 'Mr. Boswell,' says Malone, 'professed the -Scotch and the English Law; but had never taken very great pains on -the subject. His father, Lord Auchinleck, told him one day that it -would cost him more trouble to hide his ignorance in these professions -than to show his knowledge. This Boswell owned he had found to be -true.'[4] Boswell himself wrote to Temple on the subject of his -chances of success at the English Bar: 'To confess fairly to you, my -friend, I am afraid that, were I to be tried, I should be found so -deficient in the forms, the _quirks_ and _quiddities_ which early -habit acquires, that I should expose myself.' - -Boswell, moreover, had never the reputation which is suitable for a -legal man. The sober citizen does not choose either the adventurer or -the _littérateur_ to plead his cause before a jury. His connections -with actors, who were disapproved as a class by the respectable -community, told against Boswell in legal circles. And worst of all was -the tour in the Hebrides with the avowed enemy of Scotland. - -Boswell, besides, acquired a reputation for eccentricity which must -have been fatal to the chances of a barrister. - -One habit, that of attending executions, deserves a closer -examination; by this behaviour Boswell made himself conspicuous in -a wholly unprofessional attitude, which must have been extremely -damaging to his position as a lawyer. 'I must confess,' he writes, -'that I myself am never absent from a public execution.... When I -first attended them I was shocked to the greatest degree. I was in -a manner convulsed with pity and terror, and for several days, but -especially nights after, I was in a very dismal situation.' The object -in the first place seems then to have been the mere indulgence -of morbid sentiment; but later he continued the habit more out of -curiosity and as an inherent part of his whole study of Man. - - I can now see one with great composure. I can account for - this curiosity in a philosophical manner, when I consider - that death is the most awful object before every man who ever - directs his thoughts seriously towards futurity. Therefore it - is that I feel an irresistible impulse to be present at every - execution, as I there behold the various effects of the near - approach of death. - -In accordance with this practice Boswell accompanied a celebrated -criminal, Hackman, in the prison coach to the gibbet; and he made the -acquaintance of the murderess Mrs. Rudd. The latter apparently was an -interesting woman. Johnson entirely approved Boswell's conduct, and -said he would have done the same himself if he had not been afraid -that his presence would be reported in the newspapers. It is -interesting to note that Boswell had scruples, and wrote to Temple: -'Perhaps the adventure with Mrs. Rudd is very foolish notwithstanding -the approbation of Dr. Johnson.' - -On one occasion Boswell persuaded Sir Joshua Reynolds to go with -him, and evidently won him over to his view about the question of -propriety: 'I am obliged to you,' wrote Sir Joshua, 'for carrying me -yesterday to see the execution at Newgate of the five malefactors. -I am convinced it is a vulgar error in the opinion that it is so -terrible a spectacle, or that it in any way implies a hardness of -heart or cruelty of disposition.' - -Sir Walter Scott gives a kinder motive on Boswell's part than mere -curiosity: - - He used to visit the prisoners on the day before execution, - with the singular wish to make the condemned wretches laugh by - dint of buffoonery, in which he not infrequently succeeded. - -The satisfaction which Boswell had from these strange interviews was -no doubt in part the commendable satisfaction of being kind and good; -and his piety as well as his jesting may have been a comfort to many -of these criminals in their last hours. It was also a pleasure to -Boswell to read his name in the newspaper on the day following an -execution. But probably this conduct did not earn the praises of the -Scotch lawyers nor inspire the confidence of the litigating public. - - * * * * * - -The failure which attended Boswell's legal career included also his -political schemes. - -It is clear that Boswell had an idea of some kind of Parliamentary -career. His ambition was to be a Minister: - - He [Hume] says there will in all probability be a change of - the Ministry soon, which he regrets. Oh Temple, while they - change so often, how does one feel an ambition to have a share - in that great department; but I fear my wish to be a man of - consequence in the State is much like some of your ambitious - sallies. - -Boswell, if he was ambitious in 1775 of some high office in the State, -can certainly have had little chance, as he evidently realised, of -being immediately satisfied. His financial difficulties alone -would have prevented this. But when in 1782 he became the Laird of -Auchinleck the increase of his importance seemed to warrant some more -definite plan. 'I wish much to be in Parliament, Sir,' he said to -Johnson; and though the latter discouraged him he applied himself with -energy to his political schemes. - -Boswell had two plans by which he hoped to become a member of -Parliament. He hoped in the first place that the influence of Lord -Lonsdale[5] would procure him a seat. This patron seems to have shown -a disposition to be friendly. In the summer of 1786, Boswell received -from Bishop Percy, who had formerly been at Carlisle and knew Lord -Lonsdale, a most encouraging letter: - - You are now connected with a nobleman [Lord Lonsdale] who - serves his friends with a zeal and spirit which I hope will be - attended with the happiest consequences to your establishment - in England. I also anticipate his bringing you into the House - of Commons, as an event no less certain and splendid to your - fortunes. - -Early in 1788[6] Lord Lonsdale appointed Boswell Recorder of Carlisle. -This was not an important post, but it was doubtless a sign of favour. -Bishop Percy wrote warm congratulations; and Boswell was no doubt -encouraged to hope for more. Lord Lonsdale, however, would appear to -have lost interest in Boswell: he procured no seat in Parliament for -his friend, and some years later behaved so insolently that Boswell -broke the connection.[7] - -Boswell's second plan was to represent his county. Even in Ayrshire he -was not altogether independent of Lord Lonsdale, but he relied chiefly -upon his own position as head of an old county family. With this -project in view, he engaged himself in various activities. The most -remarkable of these were his 'Letters to the People of Scotland,' the -first dated 1783 and the second 1785. In these two pamphlets Boswell -displayed abundantly to his countrymen his ardent patriotism and -zealous Tory principles. In 1784 he took part in a Tory demonstration -at York; and in his county he issued 'An Address to the Real -Freeholders of the County of Ayr,' stating his willingness to be their -representative, and his qualifications for that position.[8] He also -carried an address to his Majesty--'it was most graciously received, -and Mr. Boswell had afterwards the honour to kiss his Majesty's -hand.'[9] In 1789 he was again very busy electioneering, though he -seems to have realised that his chance of success was very small.[10] -He carried an address to the Prince of Wales. - - I am carrying it up, to be presented by the Earl of Eglintoun, - accompanied by such Justices of us as may be in London. This - will add something to my 'conspicuousness.' Will that word - do?[11] - -The word seems to do very well. Boswell writes later: - - The Prince of Wales has received our Address most graciously, - and I am to be presented to his Royal Highness, who desired it - might be signified that he regretted Mr. Boswell was gone from - town.[12] - -But this would seem to be the final achievement of Boswell's political -career, for he was not successful in the General Election, and we hear -no more in the 'Letters' of political schemes. - -Beyond any special reasons which there may be for the failure of -Boswell in his legal career, there is a more general cause for all his -disappointment. We must remember that Boswell throughout his life was, -like many men in the eighteenth century less gifted than himself, a -thorough-going place-hunter. He hoped even in his early life for some -advantages through his great patrons, Lord Somerville,[13] Sir David -Dalrymple,[14] Lord Eglintoun,[13] Lord Mount Stuart,[15] Sir -Andrew Mitchell[16]; he had obtained by their means a number of -introductions. The ardour with which he pursued the acquaintance of -the great must have been prompted in some degree by an interested -expectation, and we may suppose that from the friendship of Chatham, -which he was so eager to cultivate, he had flattered himself with a -hope of political advancement, a hope of fulfilling the dreams that -he had dreamt, with Temple, in University days, of their future -greatness. They were but vague hopes in those early years, since he -could hardly have expected an immediate recognition of his particular -services. But Boswell when he grew older attached himself more -definitely to particular patrons. There are a number of names--Lord -Pembroke, Lord Lisburne, Lord Lonsdale, Burke, Dundas.[17] To these -in turn he seems to have pinned his faith and almost to have expected -some promotion to have fallen upon him. And from all his great -acquaintances he was to get but one poor post, the Recordership of -Carlisle. - -We can hardly be surprised from what we have seen already of Boswell's -methods of approaching his patrons that he had no great success in -these schemes of advancement. We have quoted already a letter to -Chatham, which was designed to impress that Minister with the fact -that he was a rising young man, and to solicit his favour. There -is another letter of a later date[18] intended to further his -acquaintance with Burke. The great orator might have one day at his -disposal some Government posts; his memory must not be allowed to -lapse: - - Dear Sir,--Upon my honour I began a letter to you some time - ago, and did not finish it, because I imagined you were then - near your apotheosis--as poor Goldsmith said upon a former - occasion, when he thought your party was coming into - administration; and being one of your old barons of Scotland, - my pride could not brook the appearance of paying my court to - a Minister, amongst the crowd of interested expectants on his - accession. - -Certainly if one wishes to obtain a post it is better to avoid the -'crowd of interested expectants.' The 'old baron' too is an excellent -card to play to one who is not of the aristocratic circles; few men -are free from the taint of snobbishness, and patronage may be courted -by cultivating disinterested friendship. It is well at the same time -to remember _Qui s'excuse s'accuse_. 'At present,' Boswell continues, -'I take it for granted that I need be under no such apprehension, and, -therefore, I resume the indulgence of my inclination.' Only one who -was really interested and wished to conceal the fact could be so -careful. Boswell realises that there is something rather odd about -the explanation. It may not after all be entirely wise. It is possible -that men rather like it to be thought that they have much patronage, -and find some pleasure in being asked for favours. 'This may be, -perhaps, a singular method of beginning a correspondence; and, in one -sense may not be very complimentative. But I can sincerely assure you, -my dear Sir, that it is a genuine compliment to Mr. Burke himself.' -The explanation of how it is a compliment is now to follow, but the -desire for self-excuse obtrudes itself again: 'It is generally thought -no meanness to solicit the notice and favour of a man in power, and, -surely, it is much less a meanness to endeavour, by honest means, to -have the honour and pleasure of being on an agreeable footing with a -superior man of knowledge, abilities and genius.' A further excuse -is furnished by the favours shown to Boswell in the past by Mr. Burke -himself: - - I have to thank you for the obligation which you have already - conferred upon me, by the welcome which I have, upon repeated - occasions, experienced under your roof. - - When I was last in London, you gave me a general invitation, - which I value more than a treasury warrant: an invitation to - the 'feast of reason'; and what I like still more, the 'flow - of the soul,' which you dispense with liberal and elegant - abundance, is, in my estimation, a privilege of enjoying - certain felicity. - -The comparison between the places that come of courting a patron -and this sublime 'felicity' that comes of friendship must still be -maintained--'and we know that riches and honour are desirable only as -a means of felicity, and that they often fail of the end.' - -It is necessary now to give an account of his political opinions, so -that Mr. Burke may be assured that Mr. Boswell is his supporter: - - Most heartily do I rejoice that our present Ministers have, at - last, yielded to conciliation. For amidst all the sanguinary - zeal of my countrymen I have professed myself a friend to our - fellow-subjects in America, so far as they claim an exemption - from being taxed by the representatives of the King's British - subjects. I do not perfectly agree with you; for I deny - the Declaratory Act; and I am a warm Tory, in its true - constitutional sense. - -It will be noticed that the assertion of independence adds to this -declaration a considerable degree of importance. After so careful a -preparation the real point of the letter may be disclosed: - - I wish I were a Commissioner, or one of the Secretaries of the - Commission, for the grand treaty. I am to be in London this - spring, and if His Majesty should ask me what I would choose, - my answer will be, to assist at the compact between Britain - and America. - -The letter to Burke is only less absurd than the letter to Chatham, -which was quoted above. What most surprises us is not the vanity of -the young man who confided to Chatham his hopes and prospects, nor -his impudence in asking a Minister to favour him with a letter and in -bothering Burke with his political opinions, but the entire ignorance -displayed by a man of intelligence about the kind of impression that -letters such as these would produce upon their recipients. - -Boswell indeed as we have said--and it is a sufficient reason to -account for his failure--was a fool. It is this ignorance of the -minds of others about oneself, a certain simplicity of character, an -unquestioning, childlike self-confidence, that makes fools of men. -No fool would wish to be thought foolish, and if a fool were to -understand what was thought about him he would soon alter his -behaviour. His foolishness depends upon the fact that in this respect -he has no imagination. The ignorance of Boswell about the effect -of his behaviour is the more remarkable because he was in many ways -intelligent, sagacious, and extremely observant. It was not a quality -which vanished with maturity, though it was slightly modified in later -years: he was nearly fifty when he wrote to Temple an account of his -attempts to enlist the patronage of Pitt (the younger), which shows -how completely he misunderstood the whole situation: - - It is utter folly in Pitt not to reward and attach to his - administration a man of my popular and pleasant talents, whose - merit he has acknowledged in a letter under his own hand. He - did not answer several letters, which I wrote at intervals, - requesting to wait upon him; I lately wrote to him that such - behaviour to me was certainly not generous. 'I think it is not - just, and (forgive the freedom) I doubt if it be wise. If I do - not hear from you in ten days, I shall conclude that you - are resolved to have no farther communication with me; for - I assure you, Sir, I am extremely unwilling to give you, or - indeed myself, unnecessary trouble.' About two months have - elapsed, and he has made no sign. - -And it was an ignorance which included even his own father: - - I have answered him in my own style: I will be myself.... - Would you not be pleased to see your son happy in - independence, cultivating his little farm and ornamenting - his nuptial villa, and filling himself one day, as well as - possible, the place of a much greater man? Temple, would you - not like such a son? Would you not feel a glow of parental - joy? I know you would; and yet my worthy father writes to me - in the manner you see, with that Scots strength of sarcasm - which is peculiar to a North Briton. But he is offended with - that fire which you and I cherish as the essence of our soul; - and how can I make him happy?[19] - -But if all fools are alike in so far as they have this common -foundation upon which the flimsy fabric of folly is erected, yet they -differ widely in the manner of their foolishness. To say that a man is -a fool is to say but little of all that is meant by the expression in -his individual case. Boswell was a fool in a number of ways which we -shall now have to consider. - -The extract of Boswell's letter to his father which we have quoted -above in his letter to Temple is typical of one phase of all his -foolishness. The impulse which made him write in this place about -'cultivating his little farm and ornamenting his nuptial villa' is one -which he frequently had. It is difficult to find a name which exactly -fits it. It is the melodramatic instinct applied to real life. The -words which he uses in this case contain a sentiment beyond the mere -facts they represent; and it is a false sentiment--false not because -he did not feel it, but because there was no occasion for it; -sentiment is wasted. In Boswell there was a sentimental side to the -affectation that we have already spoken of as having been partially -cured by Johnson. It is not meant, by this expression, that Boswell -consciously assumed sentiment which he did not feel: we cannot -always tell whether he was conscious or not; and it does not matter. -Affectation implies only the presence of what is unreal; it is -concerned as much with the feeling of what is false as with falsely -pretending to feel. - -Perhaps the most remarkable of Boswell's extravagant utterances are -those to Temple on the subject of their friendship. He idealises this -to suit his conception of the most perfect of human relationships, and -frequently alludes to it. 'May indulgent Heaven grant a continuance -of our friendship! As our minds improve in knowledge, may the sacred -flame still increase, until at last we reach the glorious world above, -when we shall never be separated, but enjoy an everlasting society -of bliss!' He was able to enjoy the 'luxury of philosophy and -friendship,' and 'invaluable hours of elegant friendship and classical -sociality,' and 'calmly smile' in consequence 'at the attacks of envy -or of malevolence.' Temple, 'whose kind and amiable counsel never -failed to soothe my dejected mind,' was told to 'reflect, my friend, -that you have sure comfort, you have true friends--you have Nichols -and Boswell, whom you may look upon as parts of yourself. Consider -this as an exalted comfort which few enjoy, although they have many -of the shining gifts of fortune.' He seems at one moment to have -suspected that he might grow cold in his affection: - - I am a quick fire, but I know not if I last sufficiently, - though, surely, my dear Temple, there is always a warm place - for you. With many people I have compared myself to a taper, - which can light up a great and lasting fire though itself is - soon extinguished. - -The friendship, indeed, was of the greatest value to Boswell; as we -see, behind his absurd manner of expressing it, it must have been a -comfort to him in many disappointments: - - When harassed and fretted with Court of Sessions business, - when vexed to think myself a coarse labourer in an obscure - corner, I get into good humour again by recollecting that I am - Temple's most intimate friend.[20] - -His friendship with Mrs. Stuart is treated in the same manner: - - We talked with unreserved freedom, as we had nothing to fear; - we were philosophical, upon honour,--not deep, but feeling; we - were pious, we drank tea and bid each other adieu as finely - as romance paints. She is my wife's dearest friend, so you see - how beautiful our intimacy is.[21] - -The romantic sphere into which Boswell elevated these friendships -contrasts very strangely with his acute analysis to Johnson of his -true sentiments: 'The feeling of friendship is like that of being -comfortably filled with roast beef.' One would suspect that the -feeling of friendship with him was, as he might have expressed it -himself, like a balloon, which rises higher and higher as it is more -blown out with gas. - -In the same fashion he believed that his life was, 'one of the most -romantic' he knew of;[22] that Temple's 'soft admonitions would at -any time calm the tempests of his soul,'[23] and that he could 'retire -into the calm regions of philosophy' and contemplate the 'heroism' -which he was able to see in his conduct towards his father.[24] -Philosophy, indeed, had a great attraction for him. It was in the -bower of philosophy that many of his best hours were filled with that -noble admiration which his disinterested soul was able to enjoy -for the character of Lord Chatham. In early years he was Temple's -philosophic friend, and Paoli is told that 'with a mind naturally -inclined to melancholy and a deep desire of inquiry, I have intensely -applied myself to metaphysical researches.' - -The affectation or extravagance of Boswell appears also from time to -time in his pious and moral remarks. - - Being in a frame of mind which I hope, for the felicity of - human nature, many experience--in fine weather--at the country - house of a friend--consoled and elevated by pious exercises--I - expressed myself with an unrestrained fervour to my 'Guide, - Philosopher and Friend': 'My dear Sir, I could fain be a good - man; and I am very good now. I fear God and honour the king, I - wish to do no ill, and to be benevolent to all mankind.'[25] - -Boswell was very impressionable, by his own account, to good -influences. He rose from reading a dialogue of Hume's 'happier and -more disposed to follow virtue.'[26] Relating how Mr. Edward -Dilly repeated on his death-bed a passage from Young's 'Night -Thoughts'--'Death, a subterraneous road to bliss,' or some such -words--Boswell remarks: 'I am edified here.'[27] The greatest triumph, -one would suppose, of this nature was when, as he says, speaking of -his 'moral fences,' 'Reason, that steady builder and overseer, has set -them firm.'[28] Boswell was excellent too at giving moral advice: 'It -is certainly true philosophy to submit to the will of Heaven, and to -fulfil the amiable duties of morality.'[29] 'Read Epictetus,'[30] he -writes to Temple; on another occasion, 'Read Johnson. Let a manly and -firm philosophy brace your mind.' - -Boswell, however, though he was continually posing, posed not for -others but for himself. He had an insatiable greed of sensation. He -derived prodigious pleasure from the view of himself in a situation. -'I cannot resist,' he says, 'the serious pleasure of writing to Mr. -Johnson from the tomb of Melancthon. My paper rests upon the tomb of -that great and good man.' While he wrote the letter he admired the -scene he had arranged. He admired himself playing every kind of -_rôle_; he could be the grave author, or the romantic lover, the -scholar of 'solid learning' or the elegant man of the world, the sage -counsellor or the jolly good fellow, the enthusiast for liberty who -talked heroics with Paoli and politics with Chatham, explorer and -diplomat, the feudal lord or the humble paterfamilias of a rustic -domesticity; he could be literary, theological, pious, philosophical, -legal, or political, as occasion suited, with profound enjoyment of -the part he was acting. He delighted in the solemnity of a vow, -and even had a taste for the solitude of a hermit: 'Sometimes,' -he exclaims, 'I have been in the humour of wishing to retire to a -desert.' His gust for London was the same gust for sensation; and his -pursuit of distinguished men was partly for the sake of an added zest -and excitement from their company. - -'You can almost see him,' says Lionel Johnson, 'reckoning up, as it -were, on his plump fingers, his eminent acquaintances, the cities and -courts he has visited, his writings and flirtations and experiences in -general: they are his treasures and his triumphs. The acquisition of -Johnson was but the greatest of them all, his crowning achievement; -all his life was devoted to social _coups d'état_. To hear service in -an Anglican cathedral, to attend an exceptionally choice murderer to -the gallows; to contrive a meeting between Johnson and Wilkes;... to -pray among the ruins of Iona, and to run away for fear of ghosts; to -turn Roman Catholic, and immediately to run away with an actress: each -and all of these performances were to him sensational, enlivening, -vivid.' - -Boswell was not unaware of this extravagance in his temperament. He -alludes to his 'warm imagination.' In 'Boswelliana,' pleased at having -found 'a good image,' he records: - - There have been many people who built castles in the air; but, - I believe, I am the first who ever attempted to live in them. - -By castles in the air, he means not only glorious plans for the -future, but the sensational and emotional in common incidents. A -moment during the 'Tour to the Hebrides' reveals the whole of what he -meant: - - I can never forget the impression made upon my fancy by some - of the ladies' maids tripping about in neat morning dresses. - After seeing for a long time little but rusticity, their - lively appearance pleased me so much that I thought for a - moment I could have been a knight-errant for them. - -A knight-errant for a couple of Scotch maids! A preposterous fancy! -But none the less it is Boswell. - -It would be too large a task to deal here with all the recorded -affectation or extravagance of Boswell. But we must not omit to -mention one particular phase of it. Consciously or unconsciously, -Boswell in some degree imitated Dr. Johnson--precisely in what degree -it is difficult to determine. - -The influence which Johnson had upon his faithful follower has been -discussed already. This must be carefully distinguished from the -imitation in question now; for an influence is something acquired from -the manner and mind of another, assimilated and reproduced, not as -original but as genuine; an imitation is, as it were, a garment put -on, an adornment of the outward person, reflecting no true sentiment -within. - -Though Johnson had a real moral influence upon Boswell, some of his -remarks, and especially some of the pious exclamations, such as those -we have quoted, were of the latter kind. We find passages in the -'Life' when Boswell makes truly Johnsonian remarks; as on the occasion -when, in a discussion about the freedom of the will, Dr. Mayo alluded -to the distinction between moral and physical necessity, and Boswell -replied: 'Alas! Sir, they come both to the same thing. You may be -bound as hard by chains when covered by leather, as when the iron -appears'; or when he said in answer to Dr. Johnson's remark that he -had _downed_ Dr. Robertson with the King of Prussia, 'Yes, Sir, you -threw a _bottle_ at his head.' - -When actually in his presence, it is clear from Fanny Burney's account -that Boswell imitated Dr. Johnson: - - He had an odd mock-solemnity of tone and manner that he - had acquired imperceptibly from constantly thinking of and - imitating Dr. Johnson, whose own solemnity, nevertheless, far - from mock, was the result of pensive rumination. There was, - also, something slouching in the gait and dress of Mr. Boswell - that wore an air, ridiculously enough, of purporting to - personify the same model. His clothes were always too large - for him; his hair, or wig, was constantly in a state of - negligence; and he never for a moment sat still or upright - upon a chair. Every look and movement displayed either - intentional or voluntary imitation. Yet certainly it was not - meant for caricature, for his heart, almost even to idolatry, - was in his reverence for Dr. Johnson.[31] - -It is a curious and striking picture, and we may gather that there was -always something odd and laughable, and yet rather lamentable, about -Boswell's appearance. The effect of imitation he seems sometimes -half-conscious of producing, from the care with which he accentuates -in the 'Life' and the 'Tour' any point of difference between Dr. -Johnson and himself. But it must be remembered that Miss Burney's -account is an account of particular circumstances--the company was a -large one, and not an inner circle of more intimate friends of Boswell -and Johnson. We have no reason to suppose that Boswell's behaviour, -particularly his behaviour apart from Dr. Johnson, was greatly -affected by this strange homage to his friend. - -It is clear in any case that affectation, however much it may have -taken a Johnsonian form, was fundamental in Boswell's character; -for we can see it plainly before the date of that eventful meeting. -Johnson indeed had a marked aversion from the kind of sentimentality -which Boswell frequently indulged in, and there is in it something -which could not possibly have been the effect of imitating Dr. -Johnson. How very far removed from anything which Johnson could have -done is the absurd conduct of Boswell (the best instance, perhaps, of -this kind of affectation in him) when he visited Mr. Ireland and saw -the fraudulent Shakespeare papers: - - On the arrival of Mr. Boswell, the papers were as usual placed - before him, when he commenced his examination of them; and - being satisfied as to their antiquity, as far as the external - appearance would attest, he proceeded to examine the style of - the language from the fair transcripts made from the disguised - handwriting. In this research Mr. Boswell continued for a - considerable length of time, constantly speaking in favour of - the internal as well as external proofs of the validity of - the manuscripts. At length, finding himself rather thirsty, - he requested a tumbler of warm brandy and water; which - having nearly finished, he then redoubled his praises of the - manuscripts; and at length, arising from his chair, he made - use of the following expression: 'Well, I shall now die - contented, since I have lived to witness the present day.' - Mr. Boswell then, kneeling down before the volume containing - a portion of the papers, continued, 'I now kiss the invaluable - relics of our bard: and thanks to God that I have lived to see - them!' Having kissed the volume with every token of reverence, - Mr. Boswell shortly after quitted Mr. Ireland's house.[32] - -However absurd the behaviour of Boswell in the _rôle_ of a man of -letters may seem to us when we understand the feelings which prompted -it, it is doubtful whether it would have been sufficient alone to give -him the reputation of a fool. Extravagance of this kind is not very -commonly condemned if it is not seen to be insincere, and though it -is easy enough for us who are in possession of all the records of his -life to see the imposture, it must have been more difficult for those -who knew Boswell to have a real interest in literature, and to be -already a man of letters, to understand that he was posing as the -literary man. His acquaintance would more readily have called him a -fool on account of his vanity. - -We have all at bottom in some degree the love of self, and vanity is -the expression we apply to it when it causes us in some way to -lose our sense of proportion, to see things, as it were, in a -false perspective. Self-love becomes vanity when we love ourselves -undeservedly, or when it makes necessary to us the approbation of -others. Usually when it has one effect it has also the other. - -But Boswell was vain, not, like many people, of qualities which he -did not possess, or which, if he did possess them, were no cause for -self-congratulation, but because he had an uncontrollable desire that -everyone else should know about his success and share his wonder and -admiration. It was not so much that he exaggerated his importance, -though he did that sometimes, as that he exaggerated the importance to -other people of his importance. He not only desired their applause as -well as his own, but assumed, with his curious ignorance of the mind -of others in matters which concerned himself, that what interested him -would naturally interest them. - -It was vanity of this kind which, more than anything else, made a fool -of Boswell. The insatiable desire to be conspicuous which made him as -a young man publish what he must have known to be worthless, appear at -the Shakespeare Jubilee as Corsican Boswell, and insert notices of his -movements in the papers,[33] did not diminish as one might expect with -maturity, but rather grew with his years. There is nothing which he -wrote so egotistical and vain as some passages in those most serious -documents which he addressed to the 'People of Scotland upon the State -of the Nation' and to which were pinned his hopes of political honour. -In the letter of 1783 he says of himself: - - 'For my own part, I should claim no credit, did I not flatter - myself that I practise what I now presume to recommend. I have - mentioned former circumstances, perhaps of too much egotism, - to show that I am no time server; and at this moment, friends - to whom I am attached by affection, gratitude, and interest, - are zealous for the measure which I deem so alarming. Let - me add that a dismission of the Portland administration will - probably disappoint an object which I have most ardently at - heart. - -The second letter alludes to the former one as though it had almost -created a revolution, and manages in the same sentence to remind his -readers that he had the approval of Pitt and was himself descended -from an old Scotch family: - - I had the happiness to find my letter received not only with - indulgence, but with a generous warmth of heart I can never - forget, but to the latest moment of my life shall most - gratefully remember. The fire of loyalty was kindled. It flew - through our counties and our boroughs. The King was addressed: - the Constitution was saved. I was proud to have been able thus - _ciere viros_; prouder still than of receiving the applause of - the _Minister of the Crown_, which he was pleased to convey - to me in a very handsome letter; upon which, however, I set - a high value, considering not only the Minister, but the man; - and accordingly it shall be preserved in the archives of my - family. - -In the same pamphlet Boswell refers to his wife's aristocratic -connections, and intrudes an assertion of his domestic felicity which -could have no bearing on the political theme. He wishes to appear as -'the friend of Lord Eglintoun': - - Amongst those friends I myself am one of the warmest, both as - an enthusiast for ancient feudal attachments, and as having - the honour and happiness to be married to his Lordship's - relation, a true Montgomerie, whom I esteem, after fifteen - years, as on the day when she gave me her hand. - -This declaration satisfied in some strange manner a personal vanity, -and was also no doubt intended to enlist the support of his Lordship. - -But by far the most remarkable story of Boswell's absurdities is one -told by John Taylor, editor of the _Sun_, about his behaviour at a -public dinner: - - I remember dining with him at Guildhall in 1785, when Alderman - Boydell gave his grand civic festival on being raised to the - mayoralty. Mr. Pitt honoured the table on that occasion with - his presence, and, when the company removed to a room, in a - short time Mr. Boswell contrived to be asked to favour the - company with a song. He declared his readiness to comply, but - first delivered a short preface, in which he observed that it - had been his good fortune to be introduced to several of the - potentates and most of the great characters of Europe, but - with all his endeavours he had never been successful in - obtaining an introduction to a gentleman who was an honour to - his country, and whose talents he held in the highest esteem - and admiration. It was evident to all the company that Mr. - Boswell alluded to Mr. Pitt, who sat with all the dignified - silence of a marble statue, though, indeed, in such a - situation he could not but take the reference to himself. Mr. - Boswell then sang a song of his own composition, which was a - parody on Dibdin's 'Sweet Little Cherub,' under the title of - 'A Grocer of London,' which rendered the reference to Mr. Pitt - too evident to be mistaken, as the great minister was then a - member of the Grocers' Company. This song Mr. Boswell, partly - volunteering and partly pressed by the company, sang at least - six times, insomuch that Mr. Pitt was obliged to relax from - his gravity and join in the general laugh at the oddity of Mr. - Boswell's character.[34] - -The value of this tale as evidence of Boswell's behaviour and -character depends in some degree upon the extent of his potations. -Though he may have had the audacity to do such things when in a normal -condition, it must have been easier to do them when tipsy. It may be -judged, from the continuation of Dr. Taylor's story, that a part -of Boswell's confidence in the presence of Mr. Pitt was due to the -festivity of the occasion: - - Boswell and I came away together, both in so convivial a mood - that we roared out all the way 'The Grocer of London,' till we - reached Hatton Garden, where I then resided, to the annoyance - of many watchmen whom we roused from their peaceful slumbers, - without, however, being taken into custody for disturbing - their repose.... I met him the next day about twelve o'clock - near St. Dunstan's Church, as fresh as a rose. - -Fitzgerald, after quoting this account of the mayoralty dinner, -continues: - - This ludicrous exhibition was much talked of and laughed at. - To heighten the absurdity, his Liberal friends affected to be - shocked at his want of principle, in singing praises of the - 'Grocer,' whom he had been heard to abuse. They were enchanted - to find him rise to the bait, and thus vindicate himself: - 'Pray let them know that I am vain of a hasty composition - which has procured me large draughts of the popular applause - in which I delight. Let me add that there was certainly no - servility on my part, for I publicly declared in Guildhall, - between the encores, "that this same Grocer had treated me - arrogantly and ungratefully, but that, from his great merit - as a minister, I was compelled to support him." The time will - come when I shall have a riper opportunity to show, that in - one instance, at least, the man has wanted wisdom.' - -He goes on to explain that Boswell gained a good deal of notoriety -from the escapade, which was alluded to in a popular satirical poem of -the time. - -It is easy indeed to understand the motives of Boswell. His childish -and unrestrained love of merriment, his insatiable desire to be the -wag and the buffoon, enabled him to give vent in the most mirthful -fashion to his passion for self-advertisement, to explain how he had -been honoured by the attention of kings and how he intended to have -an introduction to the great Minister; and with all this he retained a -certain fundamental honesty about himself, so that he was compelled -to exclaim between the encores 'that this same Minister had treated -me arrogantly and ungratefully.' He understood so little what was the -opinion of the company about him that he seems to have believed that -he was recommending himself to a patron, and he was so vain that he -was undoubtedly proud of what must have been an absurd composition. - -Boswell indeed was very fond of writing humorous verse.[35] The -instinct in him was the natural result of his animal spirits; the need -to be laughing, which he felt so strongly at most times when he was -not depressed and melancholy, fixed upon the smallest objects as -suitable for his wit, and he was satisfied only by some form of -expression. The reason that he collected in his commonplace-book a -number of 'good things,' as he would call them, is not so much that he -was proud of his own sayings (for those of others are also treasured) -or that he wished to preserve them for posterity, though both these -feelings were present, as that his huge enjoyment of anything witty -must be recorded to be satisfied. - -It is remarkable, when we recollect what a large sense of humour he -had, that many of his verses and of his jokes should be so dull and -colourless. But the faculty for appreciating what is amusing is very -different from the capacity for originating it. It is the difference -between humour and wit. The latter involves the power of expression; -and a man may as easily be full of humour, without making a joke, as -he may be by nature a poet without ever writing a line of good poetry. -Boswell had some wit, but not very much--far less than anyone would -imagine merely from reading the 'Life' or the 'Tour.' His position -perhaps is not unlike that of several poets who have written some -stanzas and stray lines of a rare beauty, and are none the less poets -because they have written also much that seems quite unpoetical. - -A specimen of Boswell's humorous verse is printed in the 'Life.' He -had dined one evening at Lord Montrose's and afterwards went to Miss -Monckton's, where 'a great number of persons of the first rank' were -assembled, in a state of improper elevation. 'Next day,' says Boswell, -'I endeavoured to give what had happened the most ingenious turn I -could, by the following verses: - - Not that with th' excellent Montrose - I had the happiness to dine; - Not that I late from table rose, - From Graham's wit, from generous wine. - - It was not these alone which led - On sacred manners to encroach; - And made me feel what most I dread, - Johnson's just frown, and self-reproach. - - But when I entered, not abash'd, - From your bright eyes were shot such rays, - At once intoxication flash'd, - And all my frame was in a blaze: - - But not a brilliant blaze I own, - Of the dull smoke I'm yet asham'd; - I was a dreary ruin grown, - And not enlighten'd though enflam'd. - - Victim at once to wine and love, - I hope, Maria, you'll forgive; - While I invoke the powers above, - That henceforth I may wiser live. - -Certainly this is amusing in some degree, and amusing too in an -original way; but much of it is mere rhyming without any sort of wit. -Boswell could be as banal as anyone. An ode ('Horatian Ode,' he calls -it) to Charles Dilly, which is chiefly concerned with one Dr. Lettsom, -frequently the host of both Boswell and Dilly, exhibits the author of -humorous verse at his worst; it will be enough to quote one stanza: - - And guests has he in ev'ry degree - Of decent estimation. - His liberal mind holds all mankind, - As an extended nation. - -Boswell's _mots_ are of a common eighteenth-century type. The turn -of phrase admired by both Johnson and Boswell and most of their -contemporaries was the image. In 'Boswelliana' is a story of Boswell's -introduction to Scotch lawyers: 'Boswell had a great aversion to the -law, but forced himself to enter upon that laborious profession in -compliance with the anxious desire of his father, for whom he had the -greatest regard. After putting on the gown he said with great good -humour to his brother advocates, 'Gentlemen, I am prest into the -service here; but I have observed that a prest man, either by sea or -land, after a little time does just as well as a volunteer.' - -That is Boswell at his best. - -Here is another specimen of Boswell's wit: 'A modern man of taste -found fault with the avenues at Auchinleck, and said he wished to -see straggling trees. 'I wish,' said Boswell, 'I could see straggling -fools in this world.' - -That is Boswell at his worst. - -Why a man who had so much natural humour as Boswell had should have -failed so completely to discriminate when his own wit was in question -must remain as much a problem to us as is the failure of many a poet -to criticise his own writings--the explanation may be perhaps that it -requires some special effort of the mind which can but rarely be -made and which is impossible after the moment of composition. Boswell -certainly seems to have had a high opinion of his efforts to be witty; -his verses to Miss Monckton are inserted in the 'Life' with evident -pride, and without any excuse of some connection with Johnson such as -he usually makes when alluding to his own performances, and he seems -frequently to have sung the songs which he composed, obtaining, no -doubt, in this way the 'conspicuousness' which he desired.[36] - -The enjoyment which Boswell had in public at Stratford and at the -mayoralty dinner and in private, no doubt, on many occasions of which -unfortunately we have no account, is perhaps best illustrated and best -understood from a single sentence of his own in one of the 'Letters to -Temple': - - I was the great man (as we used to say) at the late - Drawing-Room, in a suit of imperial blue lined with - rose-coloured silk, and ornamented with rich gold-wrought - buttons. - -For the eagerness which Boswell had to reveal to others anything about -himself which he was proud of, and a sort of inevitable obtrusiveness -in him, Johnson with his usual shrewdness found an excellent parallel -which is faithfully recounted in the 'Life': - - Once when checking my boasting too frequently of myself in - company, he said to me, 'Boswell, you often vaunt so much - as to provoke ridicule. You put me in mind of a man who was - standing in the kitchen of an inn with his back to the fire, - and thus accosted the person next him, "Do you know, sir, - who I am?" "No, sir," said the other, "I have not that - advantage." "Sir," said he, "I am the _great Twalmley_, who - invented the New Floodgate Iron."' - -Endowed with these qualities of unsuspecting simplicity and -open-mouthed vanity, Boswell naturally became, as we have seen, an -object of mirth to his fellow-lawyers. When they took away his wig he -did indeed half suspect a trick; but how confident and innocent -and entirely unsuspicious he is when he boldly pleads for the writ, -'_Quare adhaesit pavimento_.' His own story of the storm during the -sail to Mull, told in the 'Tour to the Hebrides,' illustrates perhaps -better than any other the childish confidence of his conduct. Boswell, -though filled with undisguised terror, still ardently wished to play -the man and be the hero, and he thought, no doubt, as he stood holding -the rope in expectation of the captain's command, that the post -assigned to him was one of vital importance. - - As I saw them all busy doing something, I asked Col, with much - earnestness, what I could do. He, with a happy readiness, put - into my hand a rope, which was fixed to the top of one of the - masts, and told me to hold it till he bade me pull. If I had - considered the matter, I might have seen that this could not - be of the least service; but his object was to keep me out of - the way of those who were busy working the vessel, and at - the same time to divert my fear by employing me and making - me think that I was of use. Thus did I stand firm to my post, - while the wind and rain beat upon me, always expecting a call - to pull my rope.' - -The vanity and simplicity of Boswell no doubt obtruded themselves very -frequently in his behaviour; and they caused a certain expansiveness -and recklessness of conversation which would be interpreted at once as -thoughtless and foolish. We have an admirable glimpse into the kind of -atmosphere produced by his talk in a story which he tells of a snub he -received from Colman: - - I was then so impressed with the truth of many of the stories - of which I had been told, that I avowed my conviction, saying, - 'He is only _willing_ to believe; I _do_ believe. The evidence - is enough for me, though not for his great mind. What will not - fill a quart bottle will fill a pint bottle. I am filled with - belief.' 'Are you?' said Colman, 'then cork it up.'[37] - -'His social propensities,' says Sir J. Prior, 'were well known ... -he opens his mind so freely that we discover much of what is passing -there, even when the disclosure is not meant.'[38] Boswell, indeed, -talked very readily even upon the most serious subjects. About morals -and religion he was continually questioning Dr. Johnson, and most of -all about what to the other was a peculiarly sacred and awful thing, -the fear of death. The topics were introduced apparently without any -particular reason or fitness, but just as it occurred to Boswell that -he might elicit some response from Johnson upon questions about which -it was essential to his purpose that he should hear the doctor's -views: and they were introduced too not merely in private converse but -when a number of people were present. - -It seems clear that Boswell was sometimes very tactless in leading -Johnson to talk; he did not understand that not every company nor -every occasion is suitable for the discussion of the most serious -matters. He had, too, an unfortunate habit of saying things which were -extremely injudicious. He did not even understand altogether what was -likely to annoy Dr. Johnson--as on the occasion when he referred to -him in company by the name 'Gargantua,' which Johnson had spoken of as -having been applied to himself, or when he made what must have been an -obvious reference to Johnson's curious clothes: 'Would not _you_, sir, -be the better for velvet embroidery?' These remarks were made, it is -evident, without any malevolent intention. It would seem that even -when he meant to be rude he did not realise all the harm he was doing: -Hume was with some justice annoyed when Boswell quoted the phrase of -Temple, 'their infidel pensioner, Hume';[39] and it was introduced -just as a child might say in some personal argument, 'I know what -someone said of _you_'; and Foote can never have felt much friendship -for Johnson after he heard that the latter had compared his infidelity -to that of a dog.[40] The company in both cases may have been glad -to see Boswell defend his friend, but they must have thought him a -considerable fool and hardly a harmless one. - -Nor was it merely from his disregard of what was appropriate that his -conversation might be thought foolish, but rather because a man who -is very ready to talk of his most intimate thoughts and feelings is -usually supposed to be a fool. - -Boswell certainly had far more candour than most men, and he had also -a far greater curiosity and interest in mankind, which made him ready -to talk like a child of things about which many men prefer to be -silent. But it would seem, too, that though far from incapable of -feeling deep emotion he was unaffected where most of us would be -touched. 'He was a boy longer than others,' and this perhaps is the -explanation. - - - [Footnote 1: _Letters to Temple_, pp. 146-7.] - - [Footnote 2: _Letters to Temple_, p. 157.] - - [Footnote 3: _Letters to Temple_, p. 250.] - - [Footnote 4: _European Magazine_, 1798, p. 376.] - - [Footnote 5: For an account of Lord Lonsdale _v._ Sir George - Trevelyan's _Life of Fox_.] - - [Footnote 6: Or possibly at the end of 1787--_v._ Nichols' - _Illustrations_, vii. 310. The _Dictionary of National - Biography_ gives 1790, and Dr. Rogers 1789. But Bishop Percy's - letter of congratulation (printed in Nichols) was dated 1788. - The year is undoubtedly correct, for it refers to a letter - of Boswell's dated Feb. 9, 1788, and in this letter Boswell - speaks of the forthcoming publication of Johnson's letters to - Mrs. Piozzi, which were published actually in 1788.] - - [Footnote 7: _Letters to Temple_, pp. 268-9.] - - [Footnote 8: _Life of Johnson_, iv. 265.] - - [Footnote 9: Fitzgerald's _Life of Boswell_, II, 16.] - - [Footnote 10: _Letters to Temple_, p. 244.] - - [Footnote 11: _Ib._, p. 244.] - - [Footnote 12: _Ib._, p. 249.] - - [Footnote 13: _Gentleman's Magazine_, June 1795, and _Nichols' - Literary Anecdotes_, ii, pp. 400-2.] - - [Footnote 14: _Letters to Temple_, p. 29.] - - [Footnote 15: _Ib._, p. 43.] - - [Footnote 16: _Ib._, p. 190, and _Tour to Corsica_.] - - [Footnote 17: _Letters to Temple._] - - [Footnote 18: March 3, 1778.] - - [Footnote 19: _Letters to Temple_, p. 88.] - - [Footnote 20: _Letters to Temple_, p. 162.] - - [Footnote 21: _Ib._, p. 158.] - - [Footnote 22: _Ib._, p. 63.] - - [Footnote 23: _Letters to Temple_, p. 148.] - - [Footnote 24: _Ib._, p. 4.] - - [Footnote 25: _Life of Johnson_, iv, 122.] - - [Footnote 26: _Letters to Temple_, p. 20.] - - [Footnote 27: _Ib._, p. 195.] - - [Footnote 28: _Ib._, p. 148.] - - [Footnote 29: _Ib._, p. 24.] - - [Footnote 30: _Ib._, p. 127.] - - [Footnote 31: _Diary of Madame D'Arblay_, i, p. 509.] - - [Footnote 32: _Ireland's Confessions_, pp. 95-6.] - - [Footnote 33: Prior's _Life of Goldsmith_, i, 449-50.] - - [Footnote 34: _Taylor's Records_, vol. i, 89, 90.] - - [Footnote 35: Fitzgerald's _Life of Boswell_, ii, 73-8.] - - [Footnote 36: Fitzgerald's _Life of Boswell_, ii, 76.] - - [Footnote 37: _Life of Johnson_, ii, 318.] - - [Footnote 38: Prior's _Life of Goldsmith_, i, 452-3.] - - [Footnote 39: _Letters to Temple_, p. 165.] - - [Footnote 40: _Life of Johnson_, ii, 95.] - - - - -CHAPTER VII - - -Nothing in Boswell's life became him so well as his second important -publication, 'The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides.' The event took -place in 1785, not many months after Johnson's death, and less than -twelve years after the eventful journey when Johnson was displayed -to his biographer's countrymen. The 'Tour' has already been mentioned -here as an episode in Boswell's remarkable friendship. It was an -episode, besides, in Boswell's life; it decided his destiny. - -In the year 1785 Boswell was in the midst of his political schemes and -ambitions. It was exactly in this period of his life that it was most -important for him to win respect. Yet the 'Journal' revealed the -whole severity of Johnson's criticisms upon Scotland and the Scotch; -Boswell's position among his countrymen was certain to suffer, and -did suffer very much by its publication. His candour triumphed by the -event. His real self was expressed without compromise, at the expense -of the respectable self which he cherished and cultivated. It matters -very little how much Boswell foresaw the consequence. Probably he was -not altogether unsuspicious, for Malone was at his side, and Malone -was a man of the world.[1] In any case he did publish this amazing -book, and he published it at a critical time. Just when he seemed -to be deserting his genius and drifting into a world that was never -intended for him, the vital truth of Boswell proved that it was -irrepressible and saved him for Johnson, for himself, and for -posterity. - - * * * * * - -Johnson and Boswell were typical travellers of the eighteenth century. -They went in no romantic spirit to see the beauties of Nature in -remote corners of the earth. 'He always said,' reports Boswell of the -Doctor, 'that he was not come to Scotland to see fine places, of which -there were enough in England, but wild objects, mountains, waterfalls, -peculiar manners--in short, things which he had not seen before. -I have a notion that he at no time has had much taste for rural -beauties. I have myself very little.' This is a clear statement. -They looked at 'wild objects' because they were unusual, and eschewed -almost entirely scenery of a tamer spirit. They were interested in -'manners.' The Journal bears out this statement. Observations about -the people of the country are part of the traveller's stock-in-trade, -and they seem even to be one of the _raisons d'être_ of Boswell's -book. In the same way the Journal is filled with archæological and -historical speculations. Johnson's journey to the Western Islands is -far more so, and seems to have been written almost entirely from this -point of view. These were the absorbing interests of educated men, and -travel was expected to furnish the occasion for 'an ordered series of -learned observations.' To be convinced of the paramount importance of -these interests in the eighteenth century one has only to glance at -the periodicals of the time. - -But both Johnson and Boswell, especially the latter, had, though they -may have been scarcely conscious of the fact, a far more important -interest in human nature. The Tour was admirably arranged for its -gratification. It consisted for the most part in visits to the -gentlemen of the country: the travellers occasionally put up at -an inn; but for the most part they took advantage of Highland -hospitality. Their conversation therefore would naturally be concerned -very much with the qualities of their various hosts. Now Boswell kept -an elaborate and strictly diurnal diary of which the most important -item was professedly the record of Dr. Johnson's talk. The briefest -reflection on the Doctor's manner and the nature of his remarks must -therefore reveal at once the character of Boswell's Journal. - -Assuredly it is an amazing fact that this Journal was published within -twelve years of the Tour itself! As we should expect, it is full of -observations, many of them condemnatory, about men and women who were -still living. 'Nowadays,' says Mr. Percy Fitzgerald, 'we have been -regularly trained to personality by what are called the "Society -papers," in which the names of private persons as well as their doings -are recorded; still it would cause a commotion if the conversation of -some leading personage were reported, in which persons still living -were described in such fashion as this: "A---- is a poor creature; -_he has no bottom_." "B---- is a thorough donkey, talks a good deal of -what he _thinks_ to be sense," &c.' - -One instance will serve to illustrate the tone of Boswell's Journal; -it shows perhaps the ultimate point of indiscretion which he reached, -but is a fair indication of his manner. One of the gentlemen who -entertained the two travellers was Sir Alexander Macdonald: he had -not, it appears, a reputation for generosity. - - The penurious gentleman of our acquaintance, formerly alluded - to, afforded us a topick of conversation to-night. Dr. Johnson - said I ought to write down a recollection of the instances of - his narrowness as they almost exceeded belief. - -Boswell proceeds to relate a story to the effect that the Highlander -gave to an Irish harper a valuable harp-key, because 'he could not -find it in his heart to give him any money.' Later, he discovered its -value and wished to have it back. - - _Johnson_: 'I like to see how avarice defeats itself; how when - avoiding to part with money the miser gives something more - valuable.' Col said the gentleman's relations were angry at - his giving away the harp-key, for it had been long in the - family. _Johnson_: 'Sir, he values a new guinea more than an - old friend.' - -One can hardly imagine anything more offensive--unless it were the -story which follows it: - - Col also told us that the same person having come up with a - serjeant and twenty men, working on the high road, he entered - into discourse with the serjeant and then gave him sixpence - for the men to drink. The serjeant asked, 'Who is this - fellow?' Upon being informed, he said, 'If I had known who it - was I should have thrown it in his face.' _Johnson_: '... - he has not learnt to be a miser; I believe we must take him - apprentice.' _Boswell_: 'He would grudge giving half a guinea - to be taught.' _Johnson_: 'Nay, sir, you must teach him - _gratis_.' - -If the 'Tour to the Hebrides' is uniquely indiscreet, it is only the -more typical of Boswell. He loved to be in the public eye and he was -now notorious beyond measure. The wags laughed, the injured Scotsmen -were angry, and the more respectable parts of the community were -profoundly shocked. A sheaf of cartoons did justice to the humour of -the situation. Lord Macdonald was represented with uplifted stick, and -the threatened author on his knees before him.[2] 'Johnson's -Ghost' was depicted as appearing to the terror-stricken Boswell and -mournfully reproaching him. In a series of twenty large caricatures -the biographer was represented in twenty absurd situations, and each -sketch had a quotation from his book. Boswell at all events was the -first in the field of all who intended to write about Johnson, and no -doubt he was glad that all the world was aware of the fact. - -But Boswell did not mean to be notorious in this fashion. He may have -expected some ridicule, but not ill-feeling; he was too good-humoured -himself. Possibly he satisfied his malice on more than one occasion; -but as a rule he had no intention of giving pain. The admirable Dr. -Beattie calls him 'a very good-natured man,' and says he was convinced -that Bozzy meant no harm. Sir William Forbes said that he seemed sorry -for 'some parts,' and Boswell published his own apology and defence in -one of the notes of a later edition: - - Having found, on a revision of the first edition of this work, - that, notwithstanding my best care, a few observations had - escaped me, which arose from the instant impression, the - publication of which might perhaps be considered as passing - the bounds of strict decorum, I immediately ordered that they - should be omitted in subsequent editions. I was pleased to - find that they did not amount in the whole to a page. If any - of the same kind are yet left, it is owing to inadvertence - alone, no man being more unwilling to give pain to others than - I am. - -When Boswell says that he is unwilling to give pain we may believe -him unreservedly; there may have been particular cases when he lowered -himself to the satisfaction of a grudge, but as a general statement -it is true. That Boswell was good-natured is incontestable: it is -admitted on all hands. 'Good-nature,' wrote Mr. Courtenay, 'was highly -predominant in his character. He appeared to entertain sentiments of -benevolence to all mankind, and it does not appear to me that he ever -did, or could, injure any human being _intentionally_.' Mr. Malone -wrote a letter for the _Gentleman's Magazine_ vindicating Boswell's -character after his death. 'He had not only an inexhaustible fund -of good-humour and good-nature, but was extremely warm in his -attachments, and as ready to exert himself for his friends as any -man.' His untiring kindness to Johnson might perhaps be refused as -evidence that he was 'ready to exert himself for his friends.' Towards -Temple and his wife also, from whom he had nothing to gain, 'he always -played,' as Mr. Seccombe remarks, 'a very friendly part'; 'he made -Johnson known to them, for instance; he took Paoli down to Mamhead, -he had Temple up to town and took him and his daughter to Westminster -Hall to see the trial of Warren Hastings. He took them more than once -to Sir Joshua's studio in Leicester Square, he acted as godfather to -one of the sons, and tipped another who was at Eton.' But the most -remarkable testimony that Boswell had, as the French say, _le c[oe]ur -bon_ is his will. We shall have to pay some attention to this -document in a later chapter: it shows that Boswell could be remarkably -considerate. - -Boswell wrote and published the 'Tour' with a greedy enjoyment -and uncontained expansiveness entirely typical of him, and in -amazing ignorance of some of the strongest human feelings--of the -proprietorship that men feel with respect to their own lives which -surrounds them with a sacred halo of privacy, and of their inordinate -desire to appear more virtuous and more successful than they are. He -babbled of himself as he babbled of others, not unconscious of the -folly that he committed and revealed, but not suspecting that he would -be called a fool for admitting his folly. Truth, as these pages have -already remarked, was of supreme importance to Boswell, and was not to -be suppressed. He could hardly understand that plain fact could hurt -anyone. A pamphleteer who wished to make Boswell ridiculous has -suggested his attitude in a picturesque manner: Lord Macdonald is -supposed to be threatening personal violence; Walcot writes: - - Treat with contempt the menace of this Lord. - 'Tis Hist'ry's province, Bozzy, to record. - -There was fundamentally in Boswell's nature a desire to record -observations--a desire which overrode his conventional aims and -ambitions and, while decreasing the possibility of his being a -successful man, made it certain that he would be a great one. - -All that Boswell meant by truth will be examined later in connection -with his biographical method. 'The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides' -must be criticised as a book along with the 'Life of Johnson' and not -apart from it. It is, in a sense, but a portion of the larger work. -The same genius, the same art, has made two incomparable books. The -later is more discreet. 'I have been more reserved,' says Boswell. But -it is not less vividly life-like: 'I have managed so as to occasion -no diminution of the pleasure my book should afford.' The 'Tour,' -however--and this is the one important difference--is concerned with -Johnson in an extraordinary phase of his life, and one which is not -treated in the larger work. Johnson is on a holiday. The journey is -called a 'jaunt.' And the atmosphere of the 'jaunt' is reflected on -every page of the Journal. The freedom, the expectancy and the high -spirits of a travelling holiday to those who very rarely enjoy -one, the increased opportunities to Boswell for observation and his -unflagging interest and pleasure in his great experiment--all these -account, and are sufficient to account, for the different effect we -feel in reading the 'Tour to the Hebrides': and most of those who -perceive this difference will agree that it is an additional charm. - - * * * * * - -During the eight years of Boswell's life between the ages of forty-two -and fifty, several important events happened beside the publication of -the 'Tour to the Hebrides.' - -It is unfortunate that for the greater part of this period we have -no letters from Boswell to Temple. If there was any correspondence -between them, none has been preserved between the dates November 3rd, -1780, and January 5th, 1787. And so we hear no private utterances -about the death of Boswell's father, by which he became Laird of -Auchinleck, or about the death of Johnson. - -It is not difficult to imagine the feelings of Boswell about the first -event. There can have been no great sorrow as there had been no great -affection; and there must have been no little pleasure in becoming the -head of an ancient family and a man of property. It is a sad thing if -the records of this period have indeed been lost, for they ought to -have been peculiarly rich in extravagant and pompous sayings. - -Of Johnson's value to Boswell we have already spoken. It would be -impossible to suppose that Boswell did not realise his loss. He must -have felt when he visited London, as he continued to do in spite of -his Scotch inheritance, that the central figure was gone, and with it -much of the zest of life in his London circle. There was no doubt -a yearning sometimes for that rude strength, which had so much of -tenderness besides, and a lasting grief. - -Of Boswell's sorrows in later life, of his failure to realise those -'towering hopes,' and consequent disappointment, something has been -said already in these pages. It was not apparently until the autumn of -1789 that Boswell began to see that he was not destined to succeed in -the manner he wished--in politics and in the law. The letters at -this time were more frequent than usual, and we are able to see how, -earlier in the year, he was quite hopeful about the future, but later -became despondent. - -A further reason depressed Boswell's spirits at this time: in the -summer of 1789 he lost his wife.[3] It is greatly to the credit of -Boswell that he was very deeply affected by her death--to his credit, -not because as a husband he was able to retain affection for his wife -(for affections are not completely under our control), but because -he was able to appreciate a woman who from his own accounts must have -been a sensible, kind woman, and one who treated him with a patient -consideration. - -Boswell was not a good husband, because he never became in the -ordinary sense domesticated; his home was never to him the predominant -interest. During her last illness he seems to have realised that he -might have behaved better towards his wife, and to have felt a true -remorse: - - No man ever had a higher esteem or a warmer love for a wife - than I have for her. You will recollect, my Temple, how our - marriage was the result of an attachment truly romantic; yet - how painful is it to me to recollect a thousand instances of - inconsistent conduct. I can justify my removing to the great - sphere of England, upon a principle of laudable ambition; but - the frequent scenes of what I must call dissolute conduct are - inexcusable; and often and often when she was very ill, in - London have I been indulging in festivity with Sir Joshua - Reynolds, Courtenay, Malone, &c., and have come home late, and - disturbed her repose. Nay, when I was last at Auchinleck, - on purpose to soothe and console her, I repeatedly went from - home; and both on those occasions, and when neighbours visited - me, drank a great deal too much wine.[4] - -He was remorseful too after the death of his wife that he had not been -present to comfort her at the end. And there was good reason. She, as -he remarked, would not have treated him so. But Boswell must not be -blamed too severely for this serious omission. His wife was suffering -with a disease from which, though it was certain she would not -recover, there was no immediate prospect of release. Boswell seems to -have expected from the medical opinion that her life would linger on -longer than actually it did: and, if it was not for pressing duties -that he left his wife, it was not for pleasure, but for the kind of -activity incident to the career he had chosen. - -Boswell was not unlike many people inasmuch as he found out rather -late in life the true value of his wife, and was more sorry than could -have been expected when he no longer had her help and companionship; -he found perhaps that he had rated too highly by comparison the -greater intellectual stimulus of his literary circle. His sorrow in -any case, at her death, whatever the proportion of remorse to the -sense of loss, is pleasant to see. There was so much affectation in -his character, that whenever he shows that he had simple, genuine -feelings--and he had them more often than might be supposed--we must -have some regard for them, however commonplace they may be. - -Boswell was evidently quite miserable at his loss; he was unrestrained -in grief as he was in enjoyment, and the tale of his woe was poured -out to Temple in the same fervid manner as the love affairs of earlier -years: - - I am amazed when I look back. Though I often and often dreaded - this loss, I had no conception how distressing it would be. - May God have mercy on me! I am quite restless and feeble and - desponding.... I have an avidity for death; I eagerly wish to - be laid by my dear wife; years of life seem insupportable. - - I cannot express to you, Temple [he writes in a later letter], - 'what I suffer from the loss of my valuable wife and the - mother of my children. While she lived, I had no occasion to - think concerning my family; every particular was thought of - by her, better than I could. I am the most helpless of human - beings; I am in a state very much that of one in despair.' - -It must not be thought that Boswell faced the world in the sad and -sometimes complaining vein in which he wrote to Temple. There was no -whining self-pity, and no pride of the grievance, as might perhaps -have been expected, in his public attitude. 'It is astonishing what -force I have put upon myself since her death, how I have entertained -company, &c., &c.'[5] He no doubt tried to be cheerful in company, and -probably he succeeded. - -The weakness of Boswell was shown in a different way, by an increase -of those vices which he had been encouraged to resist by Johnson, and -also, we may suppose, by his wife. Johnson had said, long before the -bereavement: 'In losing her you would lose your sheet-anchor, and be -tost, without stability, by the waves of life.' This prediction was -fulfilled. - -Boswell had always been a self-indulgent man. Before his marriage he -was, as may be seen from the letters, sexually self-indulgent. Whether -he was so in later years, or in what degree, it is difficult to -determine; he may have been alluding to this when he talks of 'little -fondnesses,' and of being 'dissipated';[6] and the fact that he says -on one occasion that he had no 'confessions' to make rather suggests -the possibility that this may not always have been the case, though he -never actually confesses. - -But the particular form of his self-indulgence was drunkenness. -Besides frequent references to his habit of drinking, there are, -altogether, some half-dozen recorded instances of Boswell being drunk -or intoxicated, and as they are referred to only because they had some -curious results they suggest that this was far from being unusual. -In the letters, Boswell records on several occasions that he has been -drinking too much lately, or that he was becoming a drunkard. - -His mode of resisting what he quite well saw to be an evil habit was -to take a series of vows. It is a method which seems to have had a -curious appeal for Boswell's nature. There was something to his mind -rather romantic about a vow: something heroic in taking that great -resolve, made so quickly to endure for so long, something of the -saintly penance; and there was something of the martyr about one who -had bound himself in this way. In Boswell's drunkenness, however, -there was nothing romantic; it was rather sordid; and he was neither -saint, nor hero, nor martyr, for the vows, even if they could have -made him all these, were too frequently broken. There was no doubt -some serious effort on Boswell's part; but the impulse of the moment -was always too strong for him, and the efforts which lasted too short -a time were apparently followed by grave relapses. - -Boswell's drinking habits had ill effects. Johnson, when reminded of -the headache which his companion was wont to feel after sitting up -with him, exclaimed: 'Nay, Sir, it was not the _wine_ that made your -head ache, but the sense that I put into it.' But though the nature of -Johnson's sense and of Boswell's head may fortify the explanation, it -was not the common case; excess of alcohol was injurious to Boswell's -health. - -It has been pointed out with justice that Boswell's melancholy was to -some extent the result of this excess. How much of it was affectation -we cannot easily tell. When Boswell first made his appearance to the -world as the young _littérateur_, he may have hoped to increase the -appearance of genius by assuming hereditary hypochondria. But it must -be remarked that he seems, as far as we can judge, to have given very -little impression of ever being morose; it is on the contrary his -gaiety and good spirits that are always emphasised. And we may at -least suppose when, as has been mentioned above, he entirely denies, -in a number of the 'Hypochondriack,' that genius and melancholy have -any particular connection, that he had by that time outgrown any -affectation there may originally have been. That one of Boswell's -great vivacity should sometimes be dejected, is really very natural, -and when we add to this his self-indulgent habits, it is not hard -to account for occasional attacks of low spirits. Sir Walter Scott -remarks: - - There was a variation of spirits about James Boswell which - indicated some slight touch of insanity. His melancholy which - he so often complained of to Johnson was not affected but - constitutional, though doubtless he thought it a mark of high - distinction to be afflicted with hypochondria like his moral - patron. - -Malone too denies altogether 'that he caught from Johnson a portion -of his constitutional melancholy.' 'This was not the fact,' writes -Malone. 'He had a considerable share of melancholy in his own -temperament; and though the general tenour of his life was gay and -active, he frequently experienced an unaccountable depression of -spirits.'[7] It was natural that Boswell's malady of depression should -have become worse towards the end of his life; not only because habits -of excess take their revenge upon the constitution, but because these -too are likely to grow with the disease. The result of Boswell's -sorrows when his wife had died and his ambitions were being thwarted -was that he was driven still more to drink. - - I have drunk too much wine for some time past. I fly to every - mode of agitation.[8] - - With grief continually at my heart, I have been endeavouring - to seek relief in dissipation and in wine, so that my life for - some time past has been unworthy of myself, of you, and of all - that is valuable in my character and connections.[9] - -It is a pitiable picture this, of a man's decay; grief and -self-indulgence reacted upon each other, each of them adding something -to the causes of disappointment. - - - [Footnote 1: Malone saw a sheet of the _Tour to the Hebrides_ - at the printer's and was so much impressed that he obtained - an introduction to Boswell; he helped him in the final stage, - both of this book and the _Life_, and was eventually Boswell's - first editor.] - - [Footnote 2: Sir Alexander became Lord Macdonald in 1776 - (_Boswelliana_, p. 140).] - - [Footnote 3: _Letters to Temple_, p. 246 _et seq._] - - [Footnote 4: _Letters to Temple_, p. 242.] - - [Footnote 5: _Letters to Temple_, p. 253.] - - [Footnote 6: _Letters to Temple_, p. 231.] - - [Footnote 7: 'In a subsequent number of the _Gentleman's - Magazine_,' says Dr. Rogers in his _Memoir of J. B._, 'Mr. - Temple, under the signature of "Biographicus," denied a - statement by Mr. Malone that Boswell was of a melancholy - temperament; he maintained that he was quite otherwise - prior to his attachment to Dr. Johnson.' It may be remarked, - however, that Boswell might have a constitutional melancholy - without showing many signs of it before the age of - twenty-three; and that Temple after 1763 saw Boswell very - seldom. Malone's view, therefore, based upon an intimate - connection with Boswell for some years at the end of his life, - apart from the fact that it was likely to be a wiser view, - should carry more weight than that of Temple.] - - [Footnote 8: _Letters to Temple_, p. 255.] - - [Footnote 9: _Ib._, p. 257.] - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - - -There is one redeeming feature, the most important feature of all, in -the last years of Boswell's life. - -The biographer had gradually during the life of Johnson relaxed his -efforts in collecting material for the _magnum opus_; we can see in -the 'Life' how he grew less industrious in recording conversations; -for though even in the later part many are preserved at great length, -he neglected to write up his journal more often than in the early -years of the friendship. This was due no doubt in part to his drinking -habits. Conviviality of that kind has a curious effect upon the -memory. But Boswell had still very firmly the purpose of writing the -'Life,' after Johnson had died, though he was not the person chosen to -do so by the literary executors.[1] - -The 'Life of Johnson' was published about six years later than the -'Tour to the Hebrides,' in the spring of 1791. The latter, it is clear -from its nature, required far less labour from the author than his -_magnum opus_: the whole scope of the book is infinitely smaller, and -there was none of the endless trouble of collecting and verifying the -materials of others as in the great biography; for the 'Tour' deals -only with Johnson as observed by Boswell himself during their journey -in the Hebrides. Boswell, moreover, had wanted to publish his journal -during Johnson's lifetime, and we cannot doubt that he had written -up a good deal. It would be quite unjust therefore to say that the -biographer became more idle, as he was more dissipated, after -1785. The reverse is nearer the truth. It is remarkable and it is -praiseworthy that Boswell, in spite of his political schemes, the -depression which followed the death of his wife, and the illness which -was the consequence of his unhealthy habits of life and in particular -the habit of drink, should still have worked hard at the 'Life.' He -may have become less regular, but he retained the energy of earlier -years. - -There was, in fact, in him the need to satisfy somehow those better -qualities. His intense belief in the merit of his work and the almost -endless trouble he took to verify the accuracy of the smallest fact -and to discover the minutest information about Johnson--to satisfy, -in a word, his 'sacred love of truth'--are the expression of this need -within him. Sometimes, indeed, he is despondent about his book: 'Many -a time have I thought of giving it up.' 'I am in such bad spirits that -I have every fear concerning it.' Sometimes he feels the immensity of -the labour without the enthusiasm which has urged him on: 'Though I am -now in woeful indifference, I trust that before it is finished a taste -or relish shall return.' The vastness of the task seems almost to -weigh him down. In November 1789 he writes to Temple explaining that -he cannot pay him a visit because he must stay in London to receive -Malone's help, Malone who is 'Johnsonianissimus,' in revising the -'Life': - - You cannot imagine what labour, what perplexity, what vexation - I have endured in arranging a prodigious multiplicity of - materials, in supplying omissions, in searching for papers, - buried in different masses, and all this besides the exertion - of composing and polishing: many a time have I thought of - giving it up. - -And yet he has the firmest conviction that the book will be a -masterpiece; it will be an unparalleled history of a man; and for that -reason of supreme importance to the world: - - However, though I shall be uneasily sensible of its many - deficiencies, it will certainly be to the world a very - valuable and peculiar volume of biography, full of literary - and characteristical anecdotes _told with authenticity and - in a lively manner_. Would that it were in the booksellers' - shops! Methinks if I had this _magnum opus_ launched, the - public has no further claim upon me; for I have promised no - more, and I may die in peace, or retire into dull obscurity, - _reddarque tenebris_. - -It is a curious mixture, this, of weariness and optimism; it shows -that there was something in Boswell which drove him on, in spite of -a good many difficulties, though he himself (as we see in the last -sentence) understood little of its nature. 'The "Life of Johnson,"' -he says in another place, 'still keeps me up; I must bring that -forth.'[2] - -At times his enthusiasm breaks out and he expresses his real -conviction of the supreme merit of his work: - - The next [day] I am in Malone's study revising my 'Life of - Johnson,' of which I have the highest expectations both as to - fame and profit. I surely have the art of writing agreeably. - The Lord Chancellor told me he had read every word of my - Hebridean Journal; he could not help it; adding, 'Could you - give a rule how to write a book that a man _must read_? I - believe Longinus could not.'[3] - -Boswell understood the scale and interest of his book: - - In truth it is a view of much of the literature, and many - of the literary men, of Great Britain for more than half a - century.[4] - -'I think,' he says, in the same letter to Temple, 'it will be without -exception the most entertaining book you ever read.' To Mr. Dempster -he said: 'I really think it will be the most entertaining collection -that has appeared in this age.'[5] - -Boswell's belief in his own work was based not so much upon his -literary powers as upon his conception of biography: - - Mason's 'Life of Gray' is excellent, because it is - interspersed with letters which show us the _man_. His 'Life - of Whitehead' is not a life at all, because there is neither - a letter nor a saying from first to last. I am absolutely - certain that my mode of biography, which gives not only a - _history_ of Johnson's _visible_ progress through the world, - and of his publications, but a _view_ of his mind in his - letters and conversations, is the most perfect that can be - conceived, and will be more of a Life than any work that has - ever yet appeared.[6] - -To Bishop Percy he writes in February 1788: - - I do it chronologically, giving year by year his publications, - if there were any; his letters, his conversations, and - everything else that I can collect. It appears to me that mine - is the best plan of biography that can be conceived; for my - readers will, as near as may be, accompany Johnson in his - progress, and as it were see each scene as it happened.[7] - -The conviction that Boswell had that his was the best possible -conception of biography seems never to have been in doubt, though -he might be sometimes depressed or indifferent, and exactly the same -conception as that which we have seen in his letters to Temple and -Bishop Percy was expressed more fully later in the 'Life' itself. - - Instead of melting down my materials into one mass, and - constantly speaking in my own person, by which I might have - appeared to have more merit in the execution of the work, I - have resolved to adopt and enlarge upon the excellent plan - of Mr. Mason, in his Memoirs of Gray. Wherever narrative is - necessary to explain, connect, and supply, I furnish it to - the best of my abilities; but in the chronological series of - Johnson's life, which I trace as distinctly as I can, year by - year, I produce, wherever it is in my power, his own minutes, - letters, or conversation, being convinced that this mode is - more lively, and will make my readers better acquainted with - him, than even most of those were, who actually knew him, - but could know him only partially; whereas there is here an - accumulation of intelligence from various points, by which his - character is more fully understood and illustrated. - - Indeed I cannot conceive a more perfect mode of writing any - man's life, than not only relating all the most important - events of it in their order, but interweaving what he - privately wrote, and said, and thought, by which mankind are - enabled as it were to see him live, and to 'live o'er each - scene' with him, as he actually advanced through the several - stages of his life. Had his other friends been as diligent and - ardent as I was, he might have been almost entirely preserved. - As it is, I will venture to say that he will be seen in this - work more completely than any man who has ever yet lived. - - And he will be seen as he really was; for I profess to write - not his panegyrick, which must be all praise, but his Life; - which, great and good as he was, must not be supposed to - be entirely perfect. To be as he was, is indeed subject of - panegyrick enough to any man in this state of being; but in - every picture there should be shade as well as light, and - when I delineate him without reserve, I do what he himself - recommended, both by his precept and his example.[8] - -The 'Life' then is, as Boswell intended, a complete picture of -Johnson; complete, inasmuch as it gives a picture of Johnson in every -phase of his living, as the writer, the talker, the correspondent, and -most of all simply as a man in his dealings with other men, and in -all these gives a living picture: complete especially in this, that it -gives not merely what there is to praise in Johnson, but every little -detail as it occurred, the shade as well as the light. - -But Boswell had something further in his mind as he wrote the 'Life.' -He was, as we have said before, essentially the moralist. He seems to -have had a purpose as he wrote, not only of not doing moral harm, but -of doing moral good. When he talks of the faults of Dr. Johnson he -does so with a kind of apology and explanation, with quotations from -the great moralist himself, to show that to mention the vices of a -famous man may as well do good as harm: - - When I objected [evidently for the sake of argument] to the - danger of telling that Parnell drank to excess, he said, that - 'it would produce an instructive caution to avoid drinking, - when it was seen that even the learning and genius of Parnell - could be debased by it.' And in the Hebrides he maintained, as - appears from my journal, that a man's intimate friend should - mention his faults, if he writes his life. - -After saying that 'it must not be concealed, that like many other good -and pious men, among whom we may place the Apostle Paul upon his own -authority, Johnson was not free from propensities which were ever -"warring against the law of his mind," and that in his combat with -them, he was sometimes overcome,' he gives a moral lecture to his -readers: - - But let no man encourage or soothe himself in 'presumptuous - sin,' from knowing that Johnson was sometimes hurried into - indulgences which he thought criminal. I have exhibited this - circumstance as a shade in so great a character, both from my - sacred love of truth, and to shew that he was not so weakly - scrupulous as he has been represented by those who imagine - that the sins, of which a deep sense was on his mind, were - merely such little venial trifles as pouring milk into his tea - on Good Friday. - -In the 'Advertisement to the Second Edition,' Boswell seems to go -further: - - His strong, clear, and animated enforcement of religion, - morality, loyalty, and subordination, while it delights - and improves the wise and the good, will, I trust, prove an - effectual antidote to that detestable sophistry which has - been lately imported from France, under the false name of - _Philosophy_, and with a malignant industry has been employed - against the peace, good order, and happiness of society, in - our free and prosperous country; but thanks be to God, without - producing the pernicious effects which were hoped for by its - propagators. - -This history of the deeds and words and thoughts of his hero is -compared by Boswell to the Odyssey. He seems almost to think that the -merit of Homer's epic lies in the good behaviour of Ulysses, just as -he conceives that the value of his own work is in the excellence of -Johnson:-- - - ----Quid virtus et quid sapientia possit, - Utile proposuit nobis exemplar Ulyssen. - -It is not perhaps remarkable in itself that Boswell should have had -this attitude towards his work; it is the attitude in some degree -of most biographers, the attitude especially of the age in which he -lived, and the attitude of Johnson himself. Boswell's principles as a -biographer are indeed the same as Johnson's. We cannot suppose, when -he has revealed so clearly his supreme faculty for biography, that -there was anything of this which was not entirely his own. But he took -the trouble to find out on several occasions the opinions of his great -friend, to ask him about particular doubts which troubled him from -time to time, and obtain his approval. He had a profound respect for -Johnson's manner of estimating character. Mr. Pennant, 'a traveller -in Scotland,' is censured in the 'Life' for a book of travel which is -compared to Johnson's 'Journey to the Western Islands' and then quoted -on the subject of Johnson; the quotation speaks of 'the numerous -weaknesses and prejudices which his friends have kindly taken care to -draw from their dread abode.' Boswell's note is: - - This is the common cant against faithful biography. Does the - worthy gentleman mean that I, who was taught discrimination of - character by Johnson, should have omitted his frailties, and - in short, have _bedaubed_ him, as the worthy gentleman has - bedaubed Scotland? - -It was also due in some degree to the influence of Johnson that -Boswell himself was so much a moralist: it was something of the same -influence, it was in part the honest ruggedness which exalted that -morality, by denuding it of excessive and affected sentiment, that -enabled Boswell to be a moralist without being (in the Johnsonian -phraseology) a canting moralist. Boswell, indeed, became a moralist -because he wanted to be respectable; but he was not entirely -respectable because he succeeded in being a moralist. A man who is a -moralist to the extent that Boswell and Johnson were moralists may -be too respectable to be an honest biographer. It does not become -the stainless respectability of the moralist to bring to light the -blemishes of a man in a book; in conversation that may be done; there -is no harm in a few people knowing; but it would be dangerous and -improper to reveal them in print to the public gaze; and so it was not -respectable in Boswell to say anything about the sexual temptations -of Johnson, and Miss Burney and Hannah More would no doubt be shocked. -But the love of truth which Johnson nourished was fundamental in -Boswell, and it was irrepressible; we know Johnson, chiefly for this -reason, better than any other man whose life has been recorded. - -It is remarkable for other reasons besides this--that he was a -moralist--that Boswell produced an impartial biography. He was by no -means free from personal animosities. Sir John Hawkins had written -the official life at the request of Johnson's literary executors, and -Boswell, naturally, was jealous of him on this account. A matter for -greater irritation was that Boswell himself had been almost entirely -ignored,[9] the one slighting mention of his name being worse than no -mention of his connection with Johnson. And Mrs. Thrale also, who -had published her 'Anecdotes,' had alluded to Boswell only in one -contemptuous passage. Boswell therefore had the deliberate intention -of showing up the faults of these two rivals; a long paragraph is -introduced as early as possible, explaining fully why the 'Life' by -Sir John Hawkins is a bad book, and ending thus: - - There is throughout the whole of it a dark uncharitable cast, - by which the most unfavourable construction is put upon - almost every circumstance in the character and conduct of my - illustrious friend; who, I trust, will, by a true and - fair delineation, be vindicated both from the injurious - misrepresentations of this author, and from the slighter - aspersions of a lady who once lived in great intimacy with - him.[10] - -The same lady was alluded to afterwards in a note of peculiar malice: - - I am obliged in so many instances to notice Mrs. Piozzi's - incorrectness of relation, that I gladly seize this - opportunity of acknowledging that, however often, she is not - always inaccurate. - -It was not only for his personal grievances that Boswell was anxious -to contradict Sir John Hawkins and Mrs. Piozzi, but also because he -had a different conception of Johnson, a far more loving appreciation -and veneration, which was a reason in itself that he should write -the life of his friend; to vindicate his character and express his -admiration would be some tribute to their long friendship. Boswell, -indeed, always retained something of the 'mysterious veneration' -of his early years. Johnson to him was always the hero; he was -the 'literary Colossus,' the 'Rambler,' the 'awful and majestick -Philosopher.' The thought that he might lose his reverence was a -source of anxiety to Boswell: - - In my interview with Dr. Johnson this evening, I was quite - easy, quite as his companion; upon which I find in my journal - the following reflection: 'So ready is my mind to suggest - matter for dissatisfaction that I felt a sort of regret that - I was so easy. I missed that awful reverence with which I used - to contemplate Mr. Samuel Johnson, in the complex magnitude - of his literary, moral, and religious character. I have a - wonderful superstitious love of mystery.' - -Boswell, as a matter of fact, as we may see from the 'Life,' preserved -his 'reverence,' and his view of Johnson as the solemn and wise writer -and moralist has tinged the biography. He records a jovial mood of -Johnson's as a most extraordinary moment in a man of his dignified -character: - - I have known him at times exceedingly diverted at what seemed - to others a very small sport. He now laughed immoderately, - without any reason that we could perceive, at our friend's - making his will; called him the _testator_, and added, 'I - daresay, he thinks he has done a mighty thing.' ... In this - playful manner did he run on, exulting in his own pleasantry, - which certainly was not such as might be expected from the - authour of The Rambler, but which is here preserved, that my - readers may be acquainted even with the slightest occasional - characteristicks of so eminent a man. - -He goes on to tell how Dr. Johnson 'could not stop his merriment, but -continued it all the way till he got without the Temple Gate. He then -burst into such a fit of laughter that he appeared to be almost in a -convulsion; and, in order to support himself, laid hold of one of the -posts at the side of the foot pavement, and sent forth peals so loud, -that in the silence of the night his voice seemed to resound from -Temple Bar to Fleetditch.' Boswell talks of the episode as 'this most -ludicrous exhibition of the awful, melancholy, and venerable Johnson.' - - - [Footnote 1: Sir John Hawkins wrote the official life.] - - [Footnote 2: _Letters to Temple_, p. 252.] - - [Footnote 3: _Ib._, p. 267.] - - [Footnote 4: _Ib._, p. 265.] - - [Footnote 5: _Letters to Temple_, p. 338.] - - [Footnote 6: _Ib._, p. 218.] - - [Footnote 7: Nichols' _Illustrations_, vii, 309.] - - [Footnote 8: _Life of Johnson_, i, 29-30.] - - [Footnote 9: _Memoirs of Sir J. Hawkins_, i, 235.] - - [Footnote 10: _Life of Johnson_, i, 28.] - - - - -CHAPTER IX - - -It is remarkable, as we have observed, in view of his personal -animosities, and of his determination to prove Dr. Johnson to be both -a greater and a better man than would appear from previous accounts, -and to be an extremely dignified man as fitted his own conception -of him, that Boswell should have presented a complete picture of -Johnson--that he should have mentioned all the incidents from which -he might appear both a less important and a less pleasant man--all the -circumstances that might detract from his dignity. - -The explanation which seems so simple and involves, when we come to -understand all that it means, not only the exact shades of what the -author said, but many things that he refrained from saying, is that -Boswell in this particular sphere, the sphere of the biographer, -was entirely truthful. And truth meant far more than that he did not -distort the facts and did not suppress them; it involved in him the -capacity for creating, the essential quality of his genius. Boswell -had in fact the scientific spirit and applied it to the greatest of -all subjects, to human nature. He was, in the first place, extremely -accurate both in observing and recording; he watched attentively and -often; and he described patiently what he had seen and heard. -The biographer's own pen has given us a short account of his -qualifications, as they appeared to him, for the task of writing the -life of Johnson: - - 'As I had the honour and happiness of enjoying his friendship - for upwards of twenty years; as I had the scheme of writing - his life constantly in view; as he was well apprised of this - circumstance, and from time to time obligingly satisfied my - inquiries, by communicating to me the incidents of his early - years; as I acquired a facility in recollecting and was - very assiduous in recording his conversation, of which the - extraordinary vigour and vivacity constituted one of the first - features of his character; and as I have spared no pains in - obtaining materials concerning him, from every quarter where - I could discover that they were to be found, and have been - favoured with the most liberal communications by his friends; - I flatter myself that few biographers have entered upon such - a work as this, with more advantages; independent of literary - abilities, in which I am not vain enough to compare myself - with some great names who have gone before me in this kind of - writing.'[1] - -With this statement we may heartily agree; but all that it really -says is that Boswell had opportunities, and acquired a faculty, for -_recording_. He had, besides, a quite remarkable faculty of acute -observation. All that he says of Johnson's appearance, his clothes, -his walk, that truly horrible paragraph about his nails and knuckles, -is admirable, because he tells us in a few words exactly what is -most characteristic. The event of his first visit to Dr. Johnson was -naturally an occasion for Boswell to describe his hero: - - His brown suit of clothes looked very rusty; he had on a - little old shrivelled unpowdered wig, which was too small for - his head; his shirt-neck and knees of his breeches were loose; - his black worsted stockings ill drawn up; and he had a pair of - unbuckled shoes by way of slippers. - -That is all! And what more or what less could anyone want? In the -'Tour to the Hebrides' it is recorded that - - He wore ... a very wide brown cloth great-coat, with pockets - which might have almost held the two volumes of his folio - 'Dictionary'; and he carried in his hand a large English oak - stick. - -What a difference it makes to our knowledge of Johnson that we know -these details! Boswell compels us to see Johnson. Plenty of men would -have noticed what he noticed, but few would have presented it so -vividly. Boswell's superiority depends upon his powers as an observer; -he saw things clear and strong, and so they are clear and strong for -his readers. - -And Boswell excelled not only in painting the mere exterior; he often -alludes to the spirit that it expresses with the same dexterity. -'Generally,' he says, speaking of Johnson in the course of a dispute, -'when he had finished a period, by which time he was a good deal -exhausted by violence and vociferation, he used to blow out his breath -like a whale. This I suppose was a relief to his lungs; and seemed -in him to be a contemptuous mode of expression, as if he had made the -arguments of his opponents fly like chaff before the wind.' We are -told the physical details, but so much more! The whole attitude -of Johnson is described. Similarly all the little touches, as when -Johnson 'sprung away with a kind of pathetick briskness,' reveal his -feelings with startling fidelity. Perhaps most remarkable of all is -the account of Johnson's behaviour to his cat: - - I never shall forget the indulgence with which he treated - Hodge, his cat: for whom he himself used to go out and buy - oysters, lest the servants having that trouble should take - a dislike to the poor creature.... I recollect him one day - scrambling up Dr. Johnson's breast, apparently with much - satisfaction, while my friend, smiling and half-whistling, - rubbed down his back, and pulled him by the tail; and when I - observed he was a fine cat, saying, 'Why yes, Sir, but I - have had cats whom I liked better than this'; and then as if - perceiving Hodge to be out of countenance, adding, 'but he is - a very fine cat, a very fine cat indeed.' - -We are pleased to find that Boswell has preserved for us the motive of -Johnson, 'lest the servants having that trouble should take a dislike -to the poor creature.'[2] This is characteristic and interesting. -But how deeply satisfying it is to discover that poor Hodge, as it -appeared to Johnson, was 'out of countenance.' - -It is not, however, only because he observed so accurately what was -obviously relevant, as the appearance of Johnson, or that he saw -exactly what his motives were, that Boswell was a good observer; -the range of his observation is equally remarkable. He observed -everything; no detail was too insignificant for his attention. It was -of vital importance for him to record (in the 'Tour to the Hebrides') -'I slept in the same room with Dr. Johnson. Each had a neat bed, with -Tartan curtains, in an upper chamber,' and it is well that he did -so; it is highly agreeable to imagine Johnson and Boswell in this -situation. It is also interesting to know that Boswell, on the -following morning, found upon the table in their room a slip of -paper, on which Dr. Johnson had written these words: '_Quantum -cedat virtutibus aurum_'; and that when Johnson turned his cup at -Aberbrothick, where they drank tea, he muttered '_Claudite jam rivos -pueri_.' And what an invaluable devotion it was that has preserved for -us so small a fact as this--that the book which Johnson presented to a -Highland lass was 'Cocker's Arithmetic'! - -These details are ours not by the fortune of a naturally endowed -memory, but by the labour and patience and attention that trained a -mind to a point of excellence. Miss Burney has left us an admirable -account of Boswell's deportment when in the act of 'memorandising' Dr. -Johnson's conversation, and from this we may see something of what it -cost him to observe and record and remember: - - In truth, when he met with Dr. Johnson, he commonly forbore - even answering anything that was said, or attending to - anything that went forward, lest he should miss the smallest - sound from that voice to which he paid such exclusive, though - merited, homage. But the moment that voice burst forth, the - attention which it excited in Mr. Boswell amounted almost to - pain. His eyes goggled with eagerness; he leant his ear almost - on the shoulder of the Doctor; and his mouth dropped open to - catch every syllable that might be uttered; nay, he seemed not - only to dread losing a word, but to be anxious not to miss a - breathing, as if hoping from it, latently or mystically, some - information. - -Miss Burney had no admiration for Boswell, and the effect of this -description is merely grotesque. It is probable that Boswell was not -so wholly unconscious of self in this performance as Miss Burney -seems to have thought. His behaviour appears to have been absurd, in -a degree unnecessary alike to his curious character and his -extraordinary task. It is possible that Boswell, aware that his minute -attention to Dr. Johnson was a rather laughable affair, tried by a -sort of buffoonery to avoid the natural consequence. Boswell, when he -imitates Dr. Johnson in his presence, and when his eyes goggle -with eagerness, was perhaps attempting to divert the company by -caricaturing what was already ridiculous. - -But however that may be, Miss Burney's account is no doubt faithful -enough as regards the original motive of the biographer's behaviour; -his eyes goggled with a genuine eagerness. That exclusive attention -was the attention of one who had a difficult task to perform and was -extremely anxious to perform it. - -Boswell's infinite capacity for concentration in observing and -recording, and for patience in collecting and preserving the smallest -facts, is indeed an essential part of his genius; for genius, whenever -it achieves anything, implies devotion, implies the relentless pursuit -of its object, however small the actual result of the moment may seem -when compared to the trouble which has been expended upon it. And this -capacity for concentration enabled Boswell not merely to observe -and record what he saw and heard, but to seek continually for any -information, however it was to be obtained, which might be of value to -him. - -It is easy to see from many passages in the early portion of the -'Life'--the portion, that is, which deals with Johnson before Boswell -made his acquaintance, and which naturally required the greatest -labour, in collecting and investigating material, on the part of the -biographer--how much trouble Boswell took. In order to obtain a copy -of the famous letter to Lord Chesterfield he tells us: - - I for many years solicited Johnson to favour me with a copy - of it, that so excellent a composition might not be lost to - posterity. He delayed from time to time to give it me; till - at last, in 1781, when we were on a visit at Mr. Dilly's, at - Southill in Bedfordshire, he was pleased to dictate it to me - from memory. He afterwards found among his papers a copy of - it, which he had dictated to Mr. Baretti, with its title - and corrections in his own handwriting. This he gave to Mr. - Langton; adding that if it were to come into print, he wished - it to be from that copy. By Mr. Langton's kindness, I am - enabled to enrich my work with a perfect transcript of what - the world has so eagerly desired to see. - -It appears that, though he had at last succeeded in obtaining a copy -from Johnson, he was willing to take the further trouble of getting -Mr. Langton's copy, which was more likely to be absolutely accurate. -Still more remarkable is the manner in which he discovered the facts -about Johnson's pension: - - _Lord Bute told me_[3] that Mr. Wedderburne, now Lord - Loughborough, was the person who first mentioned this subject - to him. _Lord Loughborough told me_ that the pension was - granted solely as a reward of his literary merit.... _Mr. - Thomas Sheridan and Mr. Murphy_, who then lived a good deal - both with him and Mr. Wedderburne, _told me_, that they - previously talked with Johnson on this matter.... _Sir Joshua - Reynolds told me_ that Johnson called on him. - -The mere number of names consulted is sufficiently imposing. Boswell -in fact was collecting evidence for a case. He must examine all the -witnesses: also he must examine them in such a way that the truth -might be discovered. - - Mr. Murphy and the late Mr. Sheridan severally contended for - the distinction of having been the first who mentioned to - Mr. Wedderburne that Johnson ought to have a pension. _When - I spoke of this to Lord Loughborough_, wishing to know if he - recollected the prime mover in the business, _he said_: 'All - his friends assisted,' and when I told him that Mr. Sheridan - strenuously asserted his claim to it, his Lordship said: 'He - rang the bell.' And it is but just to add, that _Mr. Sheridan - told me_ that when he communicated to Dr. Johnson that a - pension was to be granted him he replied in a fervour of - gratitude.... _When I repeated this to Dr. Johnson he did not - contradict it._ - -The profusion of information about this particular point may seem to -us unnecessary--it is of course controversial, and the controversy has -lost much of its interest. But it shows in any case not only the great -number of questions Boswell was willing to ask in order to find -out exactly what had taken place and the scale upon which his -investigations were conducted, but also the minute and detailed care -with which he preserved the truth. - -Boswell has himself said something of the labour it cost him to -compile the 'Life': - - The labour and anxious attention with which I have collected - and arranged the materials of which these volumes are - composed, will hardly be conceived by those who read them with - careless facility. The stretch of mind and prompt assiduity by - which so many conversations were preserved, I myself, at - some distance of time, contemplate with wonder; and I must - be allowed to suggest, that the nature of the work in other - respects, as it consists of innumerable detached particulars, - all of which, even the most minute, I have spared no pains - to ascertain with a scrupulous authenticity, has occasioned - a degree of trouble far beyond that of any other species - of composition. Were I to detail the books which I have - consulted, and the inquiries which I have found it necessary - to make by various channels, I should probably be thought - ridiculously ostentatious. Let me only observe, as a specimen - of my trouble, that I have sometimes been obliged to run half - over London in order to fix a date correctly.[4] - -Something of all that Boswell meant by this can be seen more nearly in -Dr. Birkbeck Hill's essay upon Boswell's Proof-sheets: - - A delay was sometimes caused by his desire to 'ascertain - particulars with scrupulous authenticity.' 'Sheet 777,' he - wrote, 'is with Mr. Wilkes to look at a note.' ... A short - delay is caused in ascertaining the number of years the Rev. - Mr. Vilette had been Ordinary of Newgate. A blank had been - left in the text. On the margin Boswell wrote: 'Send my note - to Mr. Vilette in the morning and open the answer. Or inquire - of Mr. Akerman (the keeper of Newgate) for the number of - years. Get it somehow.' ... On page 505 of the second volume - Boswell writes: 'I could wish that the forme in which page 512 - is were not thrown off till I have an answer from Mr. Stone, - the gentleman mentioned in the note, to tell me his Christian - name, that I may call him Esq.' ... In the margin of the - passage in which he quotes the inscription on a gold snuff-box - given to Reynolds by Catherine II., he writes, 'Pray be very - careful in printing the words of the Empress of _all the - Russias_.' ... Opposite the long note where he quotes the - anonymous editor of 'Tracts by Warburton and a Warburtonian,' - he writes in the margin: '_This page_ must not be laid on - till I hear from Dr. Parr whether his name may be mentioned.' - Accordingly he wrote to him requesting 'to have by return of - post if I may say or guess that Dr. Parr is the editor.' - -The success of these inquiries was far from certain. Dr. Parr's name -does not appear. - - Boswell was more fortunate in obtaining a name for another - entry, which had originally stood: 'He was in this like ... - who, Mr. Daines Barrington told me, used to say: 'I hate a - _cui bono_ man!' In the margin he filled up the blank with 'a - respectable person'; but before the sheet was 'laid on,' he - learnt this respectable person's name. In the published text - he figures as 'Dr. Shaw, the great traveller.'[5] - -The proof-sheets which Dr. Birkbeck Hill was so fortunate as to see -were not the first sheets, but only 'revises': in the earlier stages -there must have been many more minute facts for Boswell to find out. -But they are undoubtedly documents of great interest, and the point -which stands out most clearly from the essay we have quoted is the -extraordinary minuteness of Boswell's care and attention. - - * * * * * - -The devotion of Boswell to his biographical work is illustrated not so -much by the prodigious toil it cost him--for many men have this power -of sustained labour when they have found the right object for it--as -by the reckless disregard of conventions and people to which it led -him. - -The admirable account in the 'Memoirs of Thomas Holcroft'[6] of how -Boswell obtained from Mr. Lowe a copy of one of Johnson's letters -shows how attentive he could be even to a man whom, it would seem, he -rather despised, when there was a chance of acquiring any document or -information which might be of use to him. Lowe had requested Johnson -to write him a letter, which Johnson did, and Boswell came in while -it was writing; his attention was immediately fixed. Lowe took the -letter, retired, and was followed by Boswell. - - 'Nothing,' said Lowe, 'could surprise me more. Till that - moment he had so entirely overlooked me that I did not imagine - he knew there was such a creature in existence, and he - now accosted me with the most overstrained and insinuating - compliments possible. "How do you do, Mr. Lowe? I hope you are - well, Mr. Lowe? Pardon my freedom, Mr. Lowe, but I think I saw - my dear friend Dr. Johnson writing a letter for you." "Yes, - sir." "I hope you will not think me rude, but if it would not - be too great a favour, you would infinitely oblige me if you - would just let me have a sight of it; everything from that - hand, you know, is so inestimable." "Sir, it is on my own - private affairs, but----." "I would not pry into a person's - affairs, my dear Mr. Lowe, by any means. I am sure you would - not accuse me of such a thing, only, if it were no particular - secret----" "Sir, you are welcome to read the letter." "I - thank you, my dear Mr. Lowe, you are very obliging. I take it - exceedingly kind." ... (Having read): "It is nothing I believe, - Mr. Lowe, that you would be ashamed of----" "Certainly not." - "Why, then, my dear sir, if you would do me another favour you - would make the obligation eternal. If you would but step to - Peele's coffee-house with me and just suffer me to take a copy - of it I would do anything in my power to oblige you." 'I - was so overcome,' said Lowe, 'by this sudden familiarity and - condescension, accompanied with bows and grimaces, I had no - power to refuse. We went to the coffee-house. My letter was - presently transcribed, and as soon as he had put his document - in his pocket Mr. Boswell walked away as erect and as proud as - half an hour before. I ever after was unnoticed. Nay, I am not - certain,' added he sarcastically, 'whether the Scotchman did - not leave me, poor as he knew I was, to pay for my own dish of - coffee.'[7] - -Miss Burney also gives an amusing account of how she was pressed to -give her recollections of Johnson. - -Boswell met her at the gate of St. George's chapel, and since the -lady relates 'Mr. Turbulent brought him to me,' it would seem that the -anxious biographer sought the mediation of a friend so as to have a -better reception. Miss Burney, however, found the occasion unsuitable; -she was on the way to the 'Queen's Lodge'; a Queen's lady has to -reflect the aloofness of royalty, and a conversation with Mr. Boswell -would not add to her dignity. Her assistance is sought in most -eloquent terms: - - Yes, madam; you must give me some of your choice little notes - of the Doctor's; we have seen him long enough upon stilts; I - want to show him in a new light. Grave Sam, and great Sam, and - solemn Sam, and learned Sam--all these he has appeared over - and over. Now I want to entwine a wreath of the graces across - his brow; I want to show him as gay Sam, agreeable Sam, - pleasant Sam; so you must help me with some of his beautiful - billets to yourself. - -Miss Burney apparently had no wish that her 'choice little notes' -should appear in the 'Life.' Boswell did his best in vain. 'I evaded -this by declaring I had not any stores at hand. He proposed a thousand -curious expedients to get at them, but I was invincible....' - -But Boswell was not easily to be dismissed; he must glean what he may -from Miss Burney; she must, at least, give judgment on the style of -the work. - - He then told me his 'Life of Dr. Johnson' was nearly printed, - and took a proof-sheet out of his pocket to show me, with - crowds passing and repassing, knowing me well, and staring - well at him: for we were now at the iron rails of the Queen's - Lodge. - - I stopped; I could not ask him in: I saw he expected it, and - was reduced to apologise, and tell him I must attend the Queen - immediately.... - - But finding he had no chance for entering, he stopped me again - at the gate, and said he would read me a part of his work. - - There was no refusing this: and he began, with a letter of Dr. - Johnson's to himself. He read it in strong imitation of the - Doctor's manner, very well, and not caricature. But Mrs. - Schwellenberg was at her window, a crowd was gathering to - stand round the rails, and the King and Queen and Royal Family - now approached from the Terrace. - -It is a delightful scene--the enthusiastic Boswell oblivious of -Royalty as he declaims the sonorous words of the Doctor, and Miss -Burney anxious only to effect an escape. The whole account shows how -importunate Boswell could become in the cause of his art and for his -'sacred love of truth.' - - - [Footnote 1: _Life of Johnson_, i, 25-6.] - - [Footnote 2: So also Mrs. Piozzi.] - - [Footnote 3: The italics throughout are of course mine.] - - [Footnote 4: _Life of Johnson_, Advertisement to First - Edition.] - - [Footnote 5: _Johnson Club Papers_, pp. 58-60. The - proof-sheets were in 1893 possessed by Mr. R. B. Adam, - Barnstaple, Cape Cod.] - - [Footnote 6: Quoted in the introduction to Mr. Birrell's - edition of the _Life_.] - - [Footnote 7: _Memoirs of Thomas Holcroft_, iii, 29-31.] - - - - -CHAPTER X - - -There is an even more remarkable feature of Boswell's work--the -scientific manner in which he deliberately made experiments. Here -again we shall see his uncompromising attitude. - -Dr. Johnson has been considered, and very properly considered, a great -talker. Not the least of our reasons for reading the 'Life' is that we -are interested to know what Johnson had to say; and we find there the -expressed thoughts of Johnson upon a great number of subjects. That -Boswell should have preserved so much--that, though the same topics -may more than once be discussed, yet every conversation gives a -distinct and separate impression, and each one is valuable--tells -us not only that Boswell himself must have had a high order of -intelligence to apprehend and preserve the point of Johnson's -discourse upon so many occasions, but, what is important for our -purpose at the moment, tells us (when we remember how little time -altogether he spent with Johnson and that the time most fruitful in -records, during the famous tour in the Hebrides, is not included in -the 'Life') that he himself must have had some part in finding out -the Doctor's opinion. For Johnson was not exactly what is called an -expansive person; it was an effort to him to talk seriously, and it -was usually necessary to engage him gradually in conversation before -he talked his best. Boswell has told us, 'he very often sat quite -silent for a long time.' He said of himself: 'Tom Tyers described me -the best. He once said to me, "Sir, you are like a ghost. You never -speak until you are spoken to."' - -It is remarkable that Boswell should have had so much to record. The -explanation is that he made Johnson talk; he did it not by accident -but quite deliberately; this is a substantial part of his whole -biographical method. 'I also,' he says in the 'Tour to the Hebrides,' -'may be allowed to claim some merit in leading the conversation. I do -not mean leading as in an orchestra, by playing the first fiddle; but -leading as one does in examining a witness--starting topics and -making him pursue them.' And he did not find this part of his task -particularly easy: - - He appears to me like a great mill, into which a subject is - thrown to be ground. It requires, indeed, fertile minds - to furnish subjects for this mill--I regret when I see it - unemployed; but sometimes I feel myself quite barren, and have - nothing to throw in. - -On most occasions, however, Boswell's mind was sufficiently fertile, -and it enabled him to say some very odd things; his ingenuity was -exercised in asking Johnson the most absurd questions, and he did -this very often in the hope of some good retort. 'If, Sir,' he once -demanded irrelevantly, 'you were shut up in a castle and a new-born -child with you, what would you do?' Johnson is said to have related -that one question was, 'Pray, Sir, can you tell why an apple is round -and a pear pointed?'[1] On one occasion Boswell, apparently without -reference to anything which had previously been said, asked 'if he had -ever been accustomed to wear a night-cap.' And such questions were apt -to produce an amusing discussion. - -But Boswell's spirit of investigation did not lead him merely to -ask questions like these; it was frequently both serious and -subtle--indeed there are so many instances in the 'Life' of his -leading Johnson to talk that it is difficult to choose one for -illustration. Perhaps the most characteristic kind of method employed -is where Boswell, evidently having thought of his subject beforehand, -brings in at a convenient moment a quotation, which furnishes an -excuse for starting a discussion; as when he relates: - - Talking of divorces, I asked if Othello's doctrine were not - plausible-- - - He that is robbed, not wanting what is stolen, - Let him not know't, and he's not robbed at all.[2] - -Then follows a discussion about divorce, in which Boswell takes a -prominent part. - -A few pages later we find Boswell re-starting a topic upon which -Johnson, on a former occasion, has no doubt exhibited some warmth of -feeling, and, having thought out his own line of argument, is able to -lead him on to one of those moments of thunder which he loves to see. - - After Mrs. Thrale was gone to bed, Johnson and I sat up late. - We resumed Sir Joshua Reynolds' argument on the preceding - Sunday, that a man would be virtuous though he had no other - motive than to preserve his character.[3] - -In the course of the argument Johnson exclaims ('very angry'): - - Nay, sir, what stuff is this! You had no more this opinion - after Robertson said it than before. I know nothing more - offensive than repeating what one knows to be foolish things, - by way of continuing a dispute, to see what a man will - answer--to make him your butt! (angrier still). - -The scenes which illustrate perhaps better than any others Boswell's -minute interest in his friend and experimenting attitude have already -been quoted. In the account of the breakfast at Lochbuy (when Johnson -was offered the cold sheep's head) we see how great was his passion -for experiment and what a depth of enjoyment he had from it: 'I sat -quietly by and enjoyed my success'--that is the point of view. The -manner in which he arranged the meeting with Wilkes shows the trouble -he could take to form his plans for creating a situation and his -ingenuity in carrying them out. This is not the only occasion when -he made arrangements for his observation of Johnson; the whole of the -tour in the Hebrides was in a sense a great series of experiments, -and we feel as we read it that the circumstances of Johnson's riding -bespurred upon a Highland pony, of his sitting majestically in the -stern of the little boat, of his dinner with the Duke of Argyle, of -his visit to Auchinleck, are consciously arranged, in some way, for -effect by Boswell. - -No less a person than Walter Scott, who knew much at first hand -from the contemporaries of Johnson and Boswell, and could remember -distinctly the tour in Scotland and the discussion it provoked, held -this view of the biographer: - - [4]After all, Bozzy, though submitting to Johnson in - everything, had his means of indemnification. Like the - jackanapes mounted on the bear's back he contrived now and - then to play the more powerful animal a trick by getting him - into situations like the meeting with Wilkes merely to see - how he would look. The voyage to the Hebrides exhibited some - tricks of that kind, the weather being so stormy at that late - season that everyone thought they must have been drowned. - Undoubtedly Bozzy wanted to see how the Doctor would look in a - storm. - -Boswell himself explains the visit to Lord Monboddo: 'I knew Lord -Monboddo and Dr. Johnson did not love each other; yet ... I was -curious to see them together.' It could hardly be supposed that -Boswell adopted this attitude without encountering some opposition -from Dr. Johnson. The latter evidently wished that a good life of him -should be written, and was pleased with Boswell's journal and glad to -tell him from time to time about his early life; but there were limits -to his endurance. 'I will not be put to the _question_. Don't you -consider, Sir, that these are not the manners of a gentleman? I will -not be baited with _what_ and _why_; what is this? what is that? why -is a cow's tail long? why is a fox's tail bushy?' 'Sir,' he said on -one occasion, 'you have but two topicks, yourself and me. I am sick -of both.' Boswell indeed was continually taking risks; he compares -himself to 'the man who has put his head into the lion's mouth a great -many times:' his ordinary method of conversing with Johnson was to -push his inquiries to the furthest possible point. His courage in this -respect must have been notorious. 'I won a small bet,' he relates on -one occasion, 'from Lady Diana Beauclerk, by asking him as to one of -his particularities, which her Ladyship said I durst not do. It seems -he had been frequently observed at the Club to put into his pocket -the Seville oranges, after he had squeezed the juice of them into the -drink which he had made for himself. Beauclerk and Garrick talked of -it to me, and seemed to think he had a strange unwillingness to be -discovered. We could not divine what he did with them; and this -was the bold question to be put.' Boswell on this occasion was not -successful in his inquiries; but it is to be observed that Boswell was -deputed to inquire, and that he asked the question, and won his bet. - -Occasionally Boswell remarks that Johnson was not in a good humour for -talking. He must have wondered at such times how long it would take -before his irritation would break forth, and he would make some -typical utterance. 'But I wonder, Sir,' &c., was a sort of Boswellian -formula to be met sooner or later with: 'Sir, you _may_ wonder,' or -some similar retort. - -But what irritated Johnson perhaps more than the endless questions was -to be made a 'butt' as he termed it. 'On Monday, September 22, when -at breakfast, I unguardedly said to Dr. Johnson, "I wish I saw you and -Mrs. Macaulay together!" He grew very angry, and, after a pause, while -a cloud gathered on his brow, he burst out: "No, Sir, you would not -see us quarrel to make you sport."' Boswell eventually owns that he -had wished to see a contest between Mrs. Macaulay and Johnson. - -It is not to be supposed that Boswell's provocations were always -intentional, though there are many occasions upon which they clearly -were so. Sometimes he was 'out of countenance,' and when Johnson -'carried the company with him,' his discomfiture perhaps was greater -than he would have wished. Not infrequently he made mistakes. On one -occasion when Johnson began: 'If I kept a seraglio,' Boswell was so -much amused that he failed to keep his countenance and was overwhelmed -with 'a variety of degrading images'! Yet he was well aware of the -general tendency of his behaviour to provoke the ridicule of Johnson, -and though there may have been moments when he did not intend it to -do so, we may say that he consciously led to his own humiliation, or -consciously at least ran the risk of it. - -How much humiliation Boswell was able to support may be seen from Miss -Burney's account of a party at Streatham. Boswell, finding that -there was no place at the side of Dr. Johnson, had taken up a seat -immediately behind and between Dr. Johnson and Miss Burney. It was -not very polite, and the discovery of his position by Dr. Johnson was -disastrous: - - The Doctor turned angrily round upon him, and, clapping - his hand rather loudly upon his knee, said, in a tone of - displeasure, 'What do you do there, Sir? Go to the table, - Sir!' - - Mr. Boswell instantly, and with an air of affright, obeyed; - and there was something so unusual in such humble submission - to so imperious a command that another smile gleamed its - way across every mouth except that of the Doctor and of Mr. - Boswell, who now, very unwillingly, took a distant seat. - -Anything more ignominious could hardly be imagined, and that Boswell -was sensitive to a rebuke from the Doctor we cannot doubt. And yet, -within a few minutes, he was to run the risk of a second. For some -reason or other he wished to leave the room while the ceremony still -demanded his presence at the table. The Doctor, calling after him -authoritatively, said: 'What are you thinking of, Sir? Why do you -get up before the cloth is removed? Come back to your place, Sir!' -'Again,' Miss Burney continues, 'and with equal obsequiousness, Mr. -Boswell did as he was bid.' - -Boswell's behaviour, indeed, on this particular occasion was not -heroic. His position near Dr. Johnson cannot have been essential to -his purpose of taking notes; he was unwilling to abandon it out of a -childish feeling of dignity; he considered it his natural right to sit -near the doctor, and was obstinate about it. And it was no experiment -of his to leave the room unceremoniously with the purpose of hearing -what Dr. Johnson might have to say. But it was heroic of Boswell to -put himself continually, and often intentionally, in the way of such -rebuffs; for this he undoubtedly did. It was heroic because he had -a noble purpose. Boswell was a man of science, and his science was -concerned with nothing less than the mind and soul of Man. He was none -the less scientific because he did not deal in generalities; he was -concerned with detail rather than with deduction and with one man -rather than with all men. Science may not have been the only motive -for enduring. Boswell may have supported the harsh sayings of Dr. -Johnson and suffered for the sake of his friendship, for its honour as -well as for its value; but when we consider the humiliation of those -rebukes we know at least that he suffered not a little; and inasmuch -as he courted them, and courted them deliberately, friendship offers -no explanation. Here we are compelled to accept the scientific motive. -Boswell must be allowed the credit of having suffered as a man of -science for the sake of Biography. - -Miss Burney, though she neither understood nor appreciated Boswell, -and even disliked him, has no doubt given a truthful picture. It is -clear that Boswell suffered from the rebuffs which he received from -Johnson. If he endured them on the whole willingly, yet he endured -them not without feeling some pain. He could not carry it off; Boswell -had no natural dignity; he had a 'jovial bluntness' and a comical air -about him, but these could not help him on such occasions, and he was -obliged as it were to lose prestige, to appear in fact mean-spirited -and servile. - -Miss Burney tells us also that Johnson generally treated him as a -schoolboy. The difference in their ages was more than thirty years; -but even so the expression is remarkable, and shows as does the whole -account how complete was the submission of Boswell. - -His behaviour, however, was not merely undignified and grotesque, it -was rude. His whole attitude towards Johnson was a rude one. Curiosity -indulged as he indulged it cannot be polite. Johnson told him -more than once that he had no manners. Langton said: 'Boswell's -conversation consists entirely in asking questions, and is extremely -offensive.' Boswell, in fact, as the biographer, was rude not only -to Johnson but to the whole company; concerned entirely with his own -purpose, he ignored the social obligation. It seems to have been -his common habit to sit down, note-book in hand, to record the -conversation. Mr. Barclay said that he had seen Boswell lay down his -knife and fork, and take out his tablets, in order to register a -good anecdote. Mrs. Thrale refers to his 'reporting' as a usual and -obnoxious practice. - - A trick which I have seen played on common occasions, of - sitting steadily down at the other end of the room to write - at the moment what should be said in company, either _by_ Dr. - Johnson or _to_ him, I never practised myself, nor approved of - in another. There is something so ill-bred, and so inclining - to treachery in this conduct, that were it commonly adopted, - all confidence would soon be exiled from society, and a - conversation assembly-room would become tremendous as a court - of justice. - - - [Footnote 1: _Autobiography, Letters, &c., of Mrs. Piozzi_, - ii, 125.] - - [Footnote 2: _Life of Johnson_, iii, 347.] - - [Footnote 3: _Life of Johnson_, iii, 349.] - - [Footnote 4: _Croker Papers_, iii, 33.] - - - - -CHAPTER XI - - -The habit which annoyed Mrs. Thrale was necessary to Boswell's -conception of his task; it involved what he spoke of as his -'authenticity.' - -To understand what he meant by this, an attitude perhaps not only -towards himself, but to the public also, since he wished very much -that those who read his book should feel that it was true in every -detail, we must examine more nearly Boswell's method of carrying out -his biographical plan. - -It is remarkable that Boswell should have begun his system of -recording when quite a young man. A man of forty is more easily -forgiven some eccentricity than one of two-and-twenty. Yet we find -Boswell, during his travels on the Continent, tablets in hand on his -first visit to Paoli, who gives an amusing account of him: - - He came to my country and he fetched me some letter of - recommending him: but I was of the belief he might be an - impostor, and I supposed in my minte, he was an espy; for I - look away from him and in a moment I look to him again, and I - behold his tablets. Oh! he was to the work of writing down - all I say! Indeed I was angry. But soon I discover he was no - impostor and no espy; and I only find I was myself the monster - he had come to discover. Oh--he is a very good man, I love him - indeed; so cheerful! so gay! so pleasant! but at the first, - oh! indeed I was angry.[1] - -Boswell's method of recording conversations was not completed in -these memoranda taken down at the moment. He had, besides these, -his journal. It has been remarked already that he began to keep this -regularly as early as 1758 during his tour on the Northern Circuit in -the company of his father and Lord Hailes, and he tells us something -of it at the time of his journey to Greenwich with Johnson in 1763: - - I was the more sensible of it (the cold) from having sat up - all the night before _recollecting and writing_ in my journal - what I thought worthy of preservation; an exertion which, - during the first part of my acquaintance with Johnson, I - frequently made. I remember having sat up four nights in one - week, without being much incommoded in the daytime. - -In the 'Tour to Corsica,' also, he tells us: - - From my first setting out on this tour, I wrote down every - night what I had observed during the day, throwing together a - great deal, that I might afterwards select at leisure.[2] - -We have then two processes mentioned by which Boswell recorded -conversation: the notes taken down at the moment, and the journal -written up at night. The relation of these two--the function which -each of them performed--is not difficult to conjecture. - -Boswell's object was to get his records written up as soon as possible -after the events or conversations which he was describing: - - I found, from experience, that to collect my friend's - conversation so as to exhibit it with any degree of its - original flavour, it was necessary to write it down without - delay. To record his sayings, after some distance of time, - was like preserving or pickling long-kept or faded fruits, or - other vegetables, which, when in that state, have little or - nothing of their taste when fresh.[3] - -It was upon the fact that he trusted, not to his memory, but to -'exact transcript of conversations,' that Boswell based his claim to -authenticity.[4] He was so absolutely truthful himself, that it never -occurred to him to think that the truth of what was actually written -down at the time could be doubted, and it was to him an entire -refutation of any adversary to confront him with his method. - - If this book should again be reprinted, I shall with the - utmost readiness correct any errours I may have committed, in - stating conversations, provided it can be clearly shown to me - that I have been inaccurate. But I am slow to believe (as - I have elsewhere observed) that any man's memory, at the - distance of several years, can preserve facts or sayings with - such fidelity as may be done by writing them down when they - are recent: and I beg it may be remembered, that it is not - upon _memory_, but upon what was _written at the time_, that - the authenticity of my 'Journal' rests.[5] - -But it is clear enough that the notes which Boswell made at the -time must have been very unlike the final form in which he wrote the -dialogue. In the course of conversations in which he himself took -part, it would have been impossible without shorthand to make so full -a record. The kind of notes which Boswell took may be gathered from -the following passage: - - I this evening boasted, that though I did not write what is - called stenography, or short-hand, in appropriated characters - devised for the purpose, I had a method of my own of writing - half words, and leaving out some altogether, so as yet to keep - the substance and language of any discourses which I had heard - so much in view, that I could give it very completely soon - after I had taken it down.[6] - -It would seem then that what was written down during a conversation -was far from including every word which was spoken; it was rather an -aid, though a very substantial aid, to memory. We may conjecture that -the most important expressions were recorded, and the course of the -argument indicated, so as to be intelligible to Boswell, but not even -to him, perhaps, after a long interval. He was able to 'keep in view' -the 'substance and language.' - -To give a full and permanent form to these rough drafts must therefore -have been a work of considerable labour; and it is this no doubt that -the journal accomplished. - -We may see in the 'Life' the traces of two kinds of record. For we -have sometimes the actual words of the speakers, but at others only -the purport of their remarks. What we should naturally suppose--if -this theory of the respective functions of the notes and the journal -is correct--that the former came from the journal and the latter -from the notes taken down at the moment, or sometimes perhaps shortly -afterwards--is confirmed by the fact that, when we have only the -less complete account, Boswell very often regrets the neglect of his -journal, and talks of presenting such scraps as he has; and on one -occasion says: - - I kept very imperfect notes of his conversation, which had I - according to my usual custom _written out at large soon after - the time_, much might have been preserved.[7] - -He was obliged in consequence of his neglect to write the text -directly from notes; with their aid he filled in what he could -remember; but he dispensed with the intermediate assistance of the -journal, and the account is therefore far less full. - -The rough notes of the moment and the elaborate journal made by -writing them out at large 'soon after the time'--these, then, form the -basis of Boswell's method for preserving Johnson's talk. It is not -to be supposed that Boswell strictly adhered to this method on every -occasion. He was too much an experimentalist for that; and sometimes -it must have been very difficult to take notes. We cannot imagine that -when Boswell was alone with Johnson he pulled out 'tablets' in the -course of an argument. More probably he seized an opportunity, as soon -afterwards as possible, when Johnson was not talking, to put down -the more striking phrases and record the point of the discussion. But -there must have been some occasions when opportunities did not occur. -Johnson, no doubt, became accustomed to his companion's habits and was -often willing to help him by telling him details about his early life -or dictating the text of a letter for Boswell to write down there -and then. But sometimes he was in the mood to resent memoranda; and -sometimes the talk was too continuous for Boswell's task to be an easy -one. At such times Boswell may have written the journal as well as -he could without the notes, and as soon afterwards as possible. At -Ashbourne, for instance, in 1777, he may have done this: he was alone -with Johnson more than usual, and several discussions made Johnson -very angry; he may well have waited to record anything until he wrote -the journal, for he had no lack of time to devote to this purpose -while staying in the quiet country town, and in point of fact he -actually kept the journal more fully at this time than at any other. -He mentions that he has 'acquired a facility in recollecting his -conversation.'[8] This may refer to the effort of memory required in -recalling altogether what had been said, as well as to the effort of -reconstructing the talk from what he had written down at the moment. -In the early part of the 'Life' Boswell says: - - In progress of time, when my mind was, as it were, _strongly - impregnated with the Johnsonian æther_, I could, with much - more facility and exactness, _carry in my memory and commit to - paper_ the exuberant variety of his wisdom and wit.[9] - -Here again he may well have had in mind a process of writing the -journal with no notes to help him. - -All the original documents from which Boswell compiled the 'Life' are -concealed from this generation. There are, however--or at least there -were--in existence two of Boswell's note-books. Mr. Fitzgerald relates -that in Mr. Pocock's 'Johnsonian Catalogue' there was - - a note-book in which Boswell jotted down from day to day the - actual sayings and doings of the eminent lexicographer. This - volume contains literary opinions and aphorisms peculiar to - this great man, and of which many have never been published. - He gives a specific account of the manner in which he compiled - the 'Dictionary,' and relates other matters of interest, - bearing on his long literary career and contemporaries. - -This manuscript, if it were to be seen, might reveal more definitely -what Boswell's method was. The description of it can do nothing but -emphasise the use of the 'tablets'; but its value as evidence depends -upon its accuracy with regard to the sequence of the notes: if they -were really 'jotted down from day to day,' then they are the 'tablets' -without a doubt. - -The other note-book is 'Boswelliana'; and it is of a different kind. - - Boswell kept in a portfolio a quantity of loose quarto sheets, - inscribed on each page _Boswelliana_. In certain of these - sheets the pages are denoted by numerals in the ordinary - fashion; another portion is numbered by the folios; while a - further portion consists of loose leaves and letter-backs. - The greater part of the entries are made so carefully as to - justify the belief that the author intended to embody the - whole in a volume of literary anecdotes.[10] - -Emphatically this collection was not 'tablets.' It was probably -intended for a particular purpose. Boswell may have had several -collections of a similar kind. But it is clear that the purpose -of 'Boswelliana' has no connection with the 'Life of Johnson.'[11] -Stories of Johnson it does indeed contain; but they are few, and are -unconnected by any chronological arrangement. They form only a small -part of the whole. - -The journal itself was kept in quarto and octavo volumes,[12] and -Boswell on one occasion showed it to Sir William Forbes.[13] It -seems that his object in doing this was to get an opinion which might -encourage him to publish; he quotes with great pleasure in the 'Life' -the praise which this gentleman had bestowed upon it. One would -suppose that the journal displayed in this way gave the Johnsonian -conversations and anecdotes in words almost identical with the text of -the 'Life.' In the preface to the 'Corsican Journal' Boswell says of -the Paoli memoirs: - - As I have related his remarkable sayings, I declare upon my - honour, that I have neither added nor diminished; nay, so - scrupulous have I been, that I would not make the smallest - variation even when my friends thought it would be an - improvement. I know with how much pleasure we read what is - perfectly authentick.[14] - -One might easily expect that the same words would equally well apply -to the 'Life.' But this is not the case. - -It is reasonable to suppose that the Johnsonian stories in -'Boswelliana' are not less polished than those in the journal; they -are themselves in a definite form; and since the journal itself is -only the second stage of Boswell's method, these stories must be in -a state at the least no less advanced. And yet the verbal differences -between these stories and those in the 'Life' are often considerable -and sometimes large. The truth is that Boswell's method must have -developed very much in one direction from the account he gave of it -in the 'Tour to Corsica.' As Dr. Birkbeck Hill has clearly proved, -he made changes in the way of 'touching up' the conversations and -stories. - -One or two instances of these variations will illustrate Boswell's -treatment of his materials; the stories are given below in double -columns for purpose of comparison. - - _Boswelliana_ _Life_ - - 1. Boswell asked Mr. We talked of the education - Samuel Johnson what was of children; and I - best to teach a gentleman's asked him what he thought - children first. was best to teach them - 'Why, Sir,' said he, first. _Johnson_: 'Sir, it - 'there is no matter what is no matter what you - you teach them first. It shall teach them first, any - matters no more than more than what leg you - which leg you put first shall put in your breeches - into your bretches [_sic_]. first. Sir, you may stand - Sir, you may stand disputing which leg you - disputing which leg you shall put in first, but in - shall put in first, but in the meantime your breech - the meantime your legs is bare. Sir, while you - are bare. No matter are considering which of - which you put in first two things you shall teach - so that you put 'em both your child first, another - in, and then you have boy has learnt them both. - your bretches on. Sir, - while you think which of - two things to teach a - child first, another boy, in - the common course has - learnt both.' - - I was present. - - _Boswelliana_ _Life_ - - 2. Boswell told Mr. The same gentleman - Samuel Johnson that a maintained that there was - gentleman of their no distinction between - acquaintance maintained virtue and vice. _Johnson_: - in public company that he 'Why, Sir, if the fellow - could see no distinction does not think as he - between virtue and vice. speaks, he is lying; and - 'Sir,' said Mr. Johnson, I see not what honour he - 'does he intend that we can propose to himself - should believe that he is from having the character - lying, or that he is in of a liar. But if he does - earnest? If we think really think that there is - him a lyar, that is not no distinction between - honouring him very much. virtue and vice, why, Sir, - But if we think him in when he leaves our houses - earnest, when he leaves let us count our spoons.' - our houses let us count - our spoons.' - -A comparison of the two versions of No. 1 reveals at once the brevity -of the final form. It is evident, as Mr. Fitzgerald remarks, that -the text itself could not have represented the talk as it came from -Johnson's lips. 'The whole is too deliberate, too close, too well -winnowed, as it were.' Conversation is more discursive. Boswell's -method as we see it here is in the first place to compress--to give -not the whole of Johnson's words, but only the essence of them. In -the result the story in its last state preserves the most important -expressions and is more pointed for being shorter. - -The second story in the table has not been cut down in the same -fashion. It illustrates very well another process. It is the process, -one may say, of Johnsonising. Not only has the argument, as in -the former case, been made clearer and more concise, but the words -themselves have been considerably altered. The result indicates the -reason of these changes. The version in the 'Life' is stronger and -more convincing; it has more of the energy of human tongues. The -assertion 'he is lying' has more force than the corresponding -question: the 'why, Sir,' introduced before the climax gives the -proper snort of war before the culminating triumph of the dilemma. -Boswell made these changes that he might retain the spirit of -Johnson's talk and the atmosphere of the moment as the listeners -felt it. He succeeded whenever he added force and directness; one may -easily be convinced of this by recalling the uncouth figure with its -suggestion of abnormal strength which uttered slowly in a very -loud voice, occasionally shaking the head, 'as if to promote the -fermentation of his wit.' - -A most remarkable instance of the two processes--of compressing and -Johnsonising--is furnished by two stories in 'Boswelliana' which -become one story in the 'Life.' - - _Boswelliana_ _Life_ - - Mr. Sheridan, though a He now added, 'Sheridan - man of knowledge and cannot bear me. I - parts, was a little fanciful bring his declamation to a - in his projects for point. I ask him a plain - establishing oratory and question, What do you - altering the mode of British mean to teach? Besides, - education. 'Mr. Samuel Sir, what influence can Mr. - Johnson,' said Sherry, Sheridan have upon the - 'cannot abide me, for I language of this great - always ask him, Pray, Sir, country by his narrow - what do you propose to exertions? Sir, it is - do?' burning a farthing candle - at Dover to show light at - From Mr. Johnson: Calais!' - - Boswell was talking to - Mr. Samuel Johnson of - Mr. Sheridan's enthusiasm - for the advancement - of eloquence. 'Sir,' said - Mr. Johnson, 'it won't do. - He cannot carry through - his scheme. He is like a - man attempting to stride - the English Channel. Sir, - the cause bears no proportion - to the effect. It - is setting up a candle at - Whitechapel to give light - at Westminster.' - -The compression and alteration are of the same character as in the two -previous stories. The argument is closer and the point clearer; -and the effect of the whole is stronger. One verbal change is -very striking. One might expect that the image with which Johnson -summarises his views would be wholly inviolate. Yet here we see Dover -and Calais substituted for Whitechapel and Westminster: probably the -reason is that Boswell regrets the phrase he has omitted, 'He is like -a man attempting to stride across the English Channel,' and tries to -combine the two images. - -It must not be forgotten that the stories in 'Boswelliana' were -probably not used by Boswell in writing the 'Life.' If they were to be -written down in full once only, then why not in the proper Johnsonian -stores? Or why should this peculiar collection of 'Boswelliana' -take precedence? Some of the stories, indeed, must have been in the -journal; the record in 'Boswelliana,' for instance, of Johnson's -retort about Scotland--the first remark he made to Boswell--cannot -be the only record of the famous meeting in Tom Davies' back parlour; -clearly Boswell must have kept a more elaborate account. But though -the 'Boswelliana' manuscripts were not used, as seems most likely, it -may fairly be argued that the difference between the versions given -there and the final forms in the 'Life' are a proper indication of -Boswell's method of adapting his material. There is no reason to -suppose that Boswell was less accurate in the 'Boswelliana' than in -his journal and other Johnsonian stores; or indeed, that there was a -great difference between 'Boswelliana' versions and any others in an -unfinished state. And it is clear that two versions of a story, both -in an unfinished state, must differ from the final form more or less, -perhaps, but with the same species of difference. - -It is contended, therefore, that Boswell altered his written -Johnsoniana in a way which could account for the differences we have -observed between the versions of stories in 'Boswelliana' and those -in the 'Life.' This proposition, however, casts no reflection upon his -reputation for accuracy. He preserved the 'substance and language'; -and if he changed some words he preserved the colouring and made the -whole a better representation of Johnson. - -Boswell himself gives some suggestion of his method when he presents a -series of Johnsoniana for which he was indebted to Mr. Langton: - - Very few articles in this collection were committed to writing - by himself, he not having that habit.... - The authenticity of every article is unquestionable. For the - expressions, I, who wrote them down, am partly answerable. - -By 'unquestionable authenticity' it was meant, no doubt, that -the purport of what Johnson said had been correctly reported. -In 'Boswelliana' a story told by Mr. Langton is written out with -suggestions for its improvement. It may be quoted as a final -example of the manner in which Boswell was partly answerable for the -expressions: - - Johnson had a sovereign contempt for Wilkes and his party, - whom he looked upon as a mere rabble. 'Sir,' said he, 'had - Wilkes's mob prevailed against Government, this nation would - have died of _phthiriasis_! Mr. Langton told me this. The - expression _morbus pediculosus_, as being better known, would - strike more. _Lousy disease_ may be put in a parenthesis.' - - - [Footnote 1: _Miss Burney's Diary_, ii, 100.] - - [Footnote 2: _Tour to Corsica_, p. 297.] - - [Footnote 3: _Life of Johnson_, iii, 183.] - - [Footnote 4: _Tour to the Hebrides_, p. 434 (Dr. Hill's - edition).] - - [Footnote 5: _Tour to the Hebrides_, Appendix 1.] - - [Footnote 6: _Life of Johnson_, iii, 270.] - - [Footnote 7: _Life of Johnson_, ii, 372.] - - [Footnote 8: _Life of Johnson_, i, 26.] - - [Footnote 9: _Ib._, i, 421.] - - [Footnote 10: _Boswelliana_, Grampian Club, 1874. Preface.] - - [Footnote 11: Boswell on one occasion told a lady that her - joke should be included in _Boswelliana_.] - - [Footnote 12: _Life of Johnson_, iv, 83.] - - [Footnote 13: _Ib._, iii, 308.] - - [Footnote 14: p. xiii.] - - - - -CHAPTER XII - - -The method we have been examining has revealed, in a sense, a second -aspect of Boswell as the biographer, the natural complement of that -scientific spirit which inspired the acute observation, the delicate -experiments, the methodical accuracy; for he brought to the work of -recording not merely the faculty for stating truthfully what he -had seen, but the power of expressing his feelings; and it was -particularly this feeling--an interest at the same time full-blooded, -comprehensive and minute--that insisted upon expression. - -The emotion which compels a man to bind himself to an ideal, -and, having determined that something must be done under certain -conditions, compels the doing of it without capitulation, is one which -enters into many kinds of work and is to be found no doubt very often -among scientists; but it is in a peculiar degree the possession of the -artist. To him indeed it seems to be essential; for his value depends -certainly not more on the quality of what he has to express than on -the completeness with which he expresses it. And so perhaps we ought -to connect the consistency, the truth, the faith of Boswell, and -his disregard for obstacles, with his artistic rather than with his -scientific qualities; so we ought to interpret Boswell's love of his -labour and his conviction that it was good, and so to understand all -the trouble that it cost to his mind and to the more sensitive part of -him. The refusal to depart from his ideal which he made to Hannah More -('I would not cut off his claws, nor make my tiger a cat, to please -anybody'),[1] and again to Bishop Percy when he declined, for the sake -of 'authenticity,' to suppress the bishop's name,[2] is an indication -of the need he had to express himself as an artist.[3] - -But how was it that he came so to express himself? And what is it that -he succeeded in expressing? - -Of the impulse to expression and what it meant in Boswell's case -something has been said already in these pages. We cannot understand -the engine if we forget the power that drives it, and we must -emphasise once again the force that Boswell obeyed. His passion for -truth was not comprehensive: and it was for the truth of the realist, -not the truth of the idealist. It did not include the whole of life; -it did not attempt to view the entire scene in correct perspective; -and Boswell was decidedly not a philosopher. He did not greatly need -explanations of the universe; he tended to accept such as seemed -convenient. He had no logic about abstract theories, and only a very -limited power of criticising evidence. One who cares for truth with -respect to every fact and deduction is inclined to reject his first -impressions, because experience has taught him that 'all men are -liars.' The face of things is so often false! But Boswell was content -to look no further; he sometimes deliberately disregarded the facts -of existence; he lived one half his life in a glitter of his own -creation. Nevertheless, the passion for truth was vivid and vital. It -lived apart to work out its own consummation; and it was all the more -vehement for being confined. It is perhaps for this reason--that the -truth inherent in Boswell was confined within such strict limits--that -it required expression. In these circumstances Boswell's buoyant -nature had need of a safety-valve. Truth for him was concerned -entirely with an external view of people. He was rarely analytical; he -did not care for subtle states of mind and the feelings that composed -them; he looked directly at actions and their primary motives. The -vision was so clear and strong that Boswell by its very insistence was -obliged to create an imperishable image. - -The reasons that made it certain from the beginning that Johnson would -become the vehicle for this expression extend beyond those qualities -which made Boswell prefer and admire him above all other men; they -depend upon Boswell's attitude towards mankind. We have seen that -he apologises and justifies himself for relating the weaknesses and -absurdities of Johnson. And yet he sometimes seems to have a peculiar -delight in them. These shades in Johnson's character are dealt with -not as an unpleasant but necessary task, to be despatched with a light -touch as though it ill became him to speak of them, but with a full -flavour of rich and lasting enjoyment. - -They were in fact to Boswell the most striking and salient qualities -of his great hero, and it was necessary therefore that they should be -well and completely related. But in the story as we read it, we do not -merely observe that the rude victories and uneven justice of Johnson -were supremely significant in the eyes of the author. To Boswell the -whole personality of Johnson was a source of the keenest pleasure. -He took an insatiable delight in it. He loved to imitate the curious -gestures and manner of the Doctor. He became, to use his own word, -'Johnsonised'; and no doubt he reached that state which he desired -his readers to attain, and both 'talked and thought' Johnson. He was -'strongly impregnated with the Johnsonian æther'; and when he had -drunk his fill and it had all soaked in, it was reproduced with a -relish of the joyous moments it had given him. The picture of Johnson, -as he saw it, was a source of deep and satisfying enjoyment to -Boswell: he overflowed with mere pleasure in the contemplation of a -man, and expressed himself, as an artist, out of the abundance of this -sympathy, in terms of 'Johnson.' - -And the enjoyment, one may say, depending as it did very largely -upon a certain dramatic quality of that curious figure, was concerned -necessarily very much with the oddities and weaknesses of the man, -and particularly with that greatest weakness of all, the abuse of -strength. - -When it is said that Boswell is an artist, it is not meant that the -whole of the 'Life of Johnson' was treated artistically. It exhibits, -no doubt, a certain elegance of proportion; it is a good composition, -well arranged, well spaced; and in as far as it has those qualities -we may consider that it belongs to art. But it is not chiefly because, -having recorded what happened in a perfectly straightforward manner, -he then fitted together the fragments to make as it were a complete -model of a man--it is not for the design--that we call Boswell an -artist. It is because he did not very often, as we have seen, relate -the facts quite simply, but related them in such a manner that -the whole atmosphere of the scene, all that is most human and most -humorous, strikes upon us. It is in what have been called his comedy -scenes that we see the supreme art of Boswell. - -A characteristic passage relates an attempt to make fun of Johnson by -inquiring if he took dancing lessons: - - I ventured to mention a ludicrous passage in the newspapers, - that Dr. Johnson was learning to dance of Vestris. Lord - Charlemont, wishing to excite him to talk, proposed in a - whisper, that he should be asked whether it was true. 'Shall I - ask him?' said his Lordship. We were by a great majority clear - for the experiment. - -In these few words Boswell has recalled the spirit of the scene. -We have a vision of Johnson sitting terrible in the midst, and his -hearers feeling and behaving like schoolboys in the presence of some -bearish pedagogue. Some one proposes an audacious jest, and all await -with eagerness the crucial moment. You may sit upon the edge of a -volcano, or you may fire the train which shall explode a planet, but -no expectancy is so keen as this. - - His Lordship very gravely and with a courteous air said, - 'Pray, sir, is it true that you are taking lessons of - Vestris?' ... This was risking a good deal, and required the - boldness of a General of Irish Volunteers to make the attempt. - -The explosion unerringly follows, but the rumble dies away in rippling -laughter: - - Johnson was at first startled and in some heat answered, 'How - can your Lordship ask so simple a question?' But immediately - recovering himself, whether from unwillingness to be deceived - or to appear deceived, or whether from real good-humour, he - kept up the joke.... - -Johnson in these scenes of comedy is always the dictator; the elements -of the ridiculous are constantly present when someone who behaves with -a pompous manner is rarely willing to be laughed at, and Boswell's -sense of what was incongruous was near the surface and ready to make -merry. - -The company on one occasion were greatly tickled by a word applied in -Johnson's most majestic manner to a rather laughable female character, -and the incident furnishes Boswell with material for one of his best -descriptions of this kind. Johnson had remarked 'The woman had a -bottom of good sense.' - - The word _bottom_ [says Boswell] thus introduced, was so - ludicrous when contrasted with his gravity, that most of us - could not forbear tittering and laughing; though I recollect - that the Bishop of Killaloe kept his countenance with perfect - steadiness, while Miss Hannah More slyly hid her face behind - a lady's back who sat on the same settee with her. His pride - could not bear that any expression of his should excite - ridicule, when he did not intend it; he therefore resolved to - assume and exercise despotick power, glanced sternly around, - and called out in a strong tone, 'Where's the merriment?' Then - collecting himself, and looking aweful, to make us feel how he - could impose restraint, and as it were searching his mind for - a still more ludicrous word, he slowly pronounced, 'I say - the _woman_ was _fundamentally_ sensible'; as if he had said, - 'Hear this now, and laugh if you dare.' We all sat composed as - at a funeral. - -This, like the other scene, is extremely dramatic. Neither would have -been so had not the writer himself realised the full humour of the -situation. Perhaps the most remarkable quality of the descriptions -is the amount left out.[4] The few details which Boswell gives us -are sufficient to reveal the secret of everybody's feelings, and then -Johnson strikes in with the characteristic remark. It is difficult -to appreciate to the full the merit of these scenes without comparing -them with those supplied by less talented pens; when we read the -accounts of Mrs. Piozzi and Sir John Hawkins, and even of Miss Burney, -we realise the immeasurable superiority of Boswell's. They have the -elusive quality of all impressionist[5] art; they might be ranked with -the nocturnes of Whistler: if they were produced, as it almost seems -they were, with as little apparent care, they were produced, however, -only by the experience of a lifetime. By continually thinking -'Johnson,' Boswell was able to give the few necessary touches which -expressed the inward vision. - -In the two passages we have quoted, Boswell has revealed the humour of -a situation; those supreme moments of Johnson's dictatorship were -to him a never-failing treasure-house of priceless mirth; and he has -given us a key which enables us to hear with him the magic thunder, to -see each bright flash of the lightning, and with him to laugh the rich -mellow laughter because it is so absurd, and yet so inevitable, and so -good, that men should have been fashioned so. - -Boswell delights in showing us the mind of Johnson, how he was -prompted like the rest of us by all the little motives of men. He -enjoys Johnson's humanity. Sometimes he is more solemn. One great -subject is Johnson's tenderness--as in an account of an argument with -Sir Joshua about drinking: - - _Johnson_ (who from drinking only water supposed everybody who - drank wine to be elevated): 'I won't argue any more with - you, Sir. You are too far gone.' _Sir Joshua_: 'I should have - thought so indeed, Sir, had I made such a speech as you have - now done.' _Johnson_ (drawing himself in, and I really thought - blushing): 'Nay, don't be angry. I did not mean to offend - you.' - -The best instance perhaps of Johnson's compunction after rudeness is -on the occasion of Dr. Percy's defence of Dr. Mounsey: - - Mr. Davies, who sat next to Dr. Percy, having after this had - some conversation aside with him, made a discovery which, in - his zeal to pay court to Dr. Johnson, he eagerly proclaimed - aloud from the foot of the table: 'O, Sir, I have found out - a very good reason why Dr. Percy never heard Mounsey swear or - talk bawdy; for he tells me, he never saw him but at the Duke - of Northumberland's table.' 'And so, Sir (said Johnson loudly, - to Dr. Percy), you would shield this man from the charge of - swearing and talking bawdy, because he did not do so at the - Duke of Northumberland's table....' Dr. Percy seemed to be - displeased, and soon afterwards left the company. - -Later, in the course of conversation, Johnson denied any merit to -Swift for writing 'The Conduct of the Allies'; then - - _recollecting that Mr. Davies, by acting as an informer, had - been the occasion of his talking somewhat too harshly to - his friend Dr. Percy, for which, probably, when the first - ebullition was over, he felt some compunction_,[6] he took an - opportunity to give him a hit; so added, with a preparatory - laugh, 'Why, Sir, Tom Davies might have written "The Conduct - of the Allies."' Poor Tom being thus suddenly dragged into - ludicrous notice in presence of the Scottish doctors, to whom - he was ambitious of appearing to advantage, was grievously - mortified. - -The compunction, however, on this occasion seems to have had a short -duration, for Boswell goes on to say: - - When I called upon Dr. Johnson next morning, I found him - highly satisfied with his colloquial prowess the preceding - evening: 'Well (said he), we had good talk.' _Boswell_: 'Yes, - Sir, you tossed and gored several persons.' - -Boswell seems to have had the power of picking out all that was -characteristic and important, of ruthlessly discarding unnecessary -details and presenting only the salient points, of seeing a scene as a -whole, with its more vivid colours flashing out as it were from a dull -background, so that the whole impression is complete and clear. The -smallest conversations, as we saw, were dealt with in this way. And -as he 'Johnsonised' the talk which he had himself taken down, -and 'Johnsonised' the stories given to him by Mr. Langton, he -'Johnsonised' in the same way these larger scenes. While retaining -most of the words used by Johnson himself, Boswell seems to have added -here and there a characteristic expression to make the whole more -pointed, and to have compressed it all till it preserved nothing but -the true Johnsonian flavour. - - * * * * * - -In all this, the artistic part of his work, Boswell was expressing -his own conception of Johnson. But it has been doubted by some whether -this is a true view of him, or whether the whole is not overdrawn. -Dr. Birkbeck Hill says that Johnson was drawn by Boswell as 'too -awful.'[7] - -It is indeed, as has been said before, the awfulness of Johnson which -Boswell had in mind when he wrote his 'comedy scenes,' and even in -relating less pungent moments. The humour of it all depended so much -upon that! - -It must be remarked, at the outset, that several individuals may have -quite different impressions of one man. Not only do the observers -emphasise different qualities, so that the same person might -be described by one as kind and affectionate, and by another as -sentimental and stupid, without either account being untrue, except -in so far as it is incomplete, but a man's behaviour often varies with -the company. The truth of Boswell, since he expressed quite truthfully -his own impressions, would be in nowise confounded if it were -discovered that the majority did not share his view of Johnson; still -less if he had seen what they saw, while they had not seen what he -revealed. - -But the fact is that Boswell's conception of Johnson as being 'awful' -was the common one. The idea that he was not so is probably derived -from Miss Burney's 'Diary.' It will be remembered, however, that -Johnson's behaviour to Miss Burney was quite unlike his behaviour to -the great majority of people: she was chosen to be the special object -of his gallantry. It was extremely pleasant for her; she was -naturally pleased to be continually the recipient of the most charming -compliments; and her 'Diary' tells us all about it. Boswell was well -aware that to her more than to anybody else Johnson showed the gayer -side of his character, and he was anxious, as we have seen, to make -use of her 'stores': - -I want to show him as gay Sam, agreeable Sam, pleasant Sam; so you -must help me with some of his beautiful billets to yourself. - -Miss Burney indeed can hardly be excused for not giving her assistance -to Boswell, since she afterwards talks of vindicating Johnson to his -King and Queen,[8] which she would hardly have found necessary had she -contributed largely herself to Boswell's 'Life.' And even Miss Burney -alludes to the fear in which Johnson was held by his contemporaries, -and reports a terrible, if deserved, rebuke to Hannah More, when -Johnson, after politely bearing the lady's adulation for some little -time, exclaimed, 'Madam, before you flatter a man so grossly to his -face, you should consider whether or not your flattery is worth his -having.'[9] Mrs. Piozzi, too, in whose house it was that she met Dr. -Johnson, has, in her own account of him, emphasised very much the -other side of the picture. - -It must also be remembered that Boswell, though he loves to relate the -roughness of Johnson and his imperiousness, is always at pains to show -that he was a really kind and considerate man, and even seems to -make allowance for the possibility that he has made the harshness -too prominent, and takes care to explain that it was not so common as -might be supposed: - - How very false is the notion which has gone round the world of - the rough, and passionate, and harsh manners of this great and - good man. That he had occasional sallies of heat of temper, - and that he was sometimes, perhaps, too 'easily provoked' by - absurdity and folly, and sometimes too desirous of triumph in - colloquial contest, must be allowed. The quickness both of his - perception and sensibility disposed him to sudden explosions - of satire; to which his extraordinary readiness of wit was a - strong and almost irresistible incitement. I admit that the - beadle within him was often so eager to apply the lash, that - the judge had not time to consider the case with sufficient - deliberation.[10] - -Boswell is prepared to admit, as he is obliged to do, the dogmatist -and the fighter in Johnson, but not that he was in the ordinary way -disagreeable. - - That he was occasionally remarkable for violence of temper may - be granted: but let us ascertain the degree, and not let it be - supposed that he was in a perpetual rage, and never without a - club in his hand, to knock down everyone who approached him. - On the contrary, the truth is, that by much the greatest part - of his time he was civil, obliging, nay, polite in the true - sense of the word; so much so, that many gentlemen, who were - long acquainted with him, never received, or even heard a - strong expression from him. - -It will be seen from his lengthy defence of Johnson against what he -considered a common accusation and an unjust one, and it may be seen -also from other passages, that Boswell regards his own life of Johnson -as likely to weaken the prevalent opinions about Johnson's rough -behaviour. Mrs. Piozzi is violently attacked by him for having -exaggerated and maliciously enlarged upon this part of his -character.[11] - -It is not to be supposed that the conception of Johnson's 'awfulness' -depended entirely upon his capacity for giving rude blows to his -antagonists in conversation. There is a certain gravity of demeanour, -amounting almost to pompousness, which Boswell loves to depict. It may -seem that the Doctor is not sufficiently good-humoured. No doubt it -was Boswell's particular delight to represent the majesty of the great -man of letters, and the many occasions on which Johnson is jovial and -pleasant are, for him perhaps, the exceptions to a rule. But how many -there are! The 'Tour to the Hebrides' especially (and in considering -Boswell's presentation of Johnson we must consider always the 'Tour' -with the 'Life') is full of instances of this kind of behaviour. It -was indeed a serious departure from Boswell's ideal that the Rambler -should take upon his knee a Highland lady, but it would be difficult -to count the number of times that Johnson is reported quite naturally -to have laughed and to have been good-humoured. He is even reported to -have perverted a line of Shakespeare, with the spontaneous merrymaking -of a schoolboy, to suit his companion. Surely it could be said by no -one that his impression of Johnson after reading Boswell's 'Life' and -the 'Tour to the Hebrides' was that of a cross and grave old man. - -Boswell perhaps does not give the picture of affability and even -gaiety which Miss Burney gives; but her account too is qualified. -'Dr. Johnson,' she says, 'has more fun and comical humour, and love of -nonsense about him, than almost anybody I ever saw: I mean when with -those he likes; for otherwise he can be as severe and as bitter -as report relates him.'[12] On another occasion she speaks of 'a -formality that accompanies whatever he says,' which conveys exactly -the impression of 'awfulness' that we get so often from Boswell.[13] - -The criticism which could perhaps be made with most justice of the -Johnson whom we know from Boswell is that he is not playful enough. -Miss Burney's Johnson may seem a jollier man. She alludes to his 'love -of nonsense' and 'a turn for burlesque humour.'[14] But it must be -remembered that behaviour of this kind is mentioned very seldom--only -four or five times at the most, even in Miss Burney's 'Diary.' And it -would be not unnatural (from the circumstances mentioned before) that -Miss Burney would see more of this side of his character than other -people. - -Boswell, in the preface to the second edition of the 'Life,' tells us -that the book had been received with favour, that he had obtained a -great deal of spontaneous praise, and that Sir Joshua Reynolds lived -to give the strongest testimony to its fidelity. These are expressions -which he could not use, had they been untrue, in that place; for they -would invite a damaging attack from the reviewers. But a book which -upset the popular conception of a figure like Johnson, or even one -which merely overdrew the 'shades' in his character, would hardly have -been received like that. And Boswell in fact was never attacked in -print for these faults, which, considering what a number of enemies he -had, and the disputes in which he was engaged after the publication -of the 'Life,' is almost conclusive evidence that his accounts of -Johnson's 'awfulness' corresponded with the observations of other -people. Courtenay was a good judge when he wrote the following lines -about the 'Tour to the Hebrides': - - "With Reynolds' pencil, vivid, bold, and true, - So fervent Boswell gives him to our view: - In every trait we see his mind expand; - The master rises by the pupil's hand. - We love the writer, praise his happy vein, - Grac'd with the _naïveté_ of the sage Montaigne. - Hence not alone are brighter parts display'd, - But e'en the specks of character pourtray'd: - We see the Rambler with fastidious smile...."[15] - - - [Footnote 1: _Autobiography, Letters, &c., of Mrs. Piozzi_, - ii, 403.] - - [Footnote 2: Nichols' _Illustrations_, vii, 313.] - - [Footnote 3: Henley, in _Views and Reviews_, speaks of Boswell - as an artist.] - - [Footnote 4: Fitzgerald and Birkbeck Hill both say something - of this.] - - [Footnote 5: I use this term not in a particular technical - sense (as applied to a school of French painters) but in a - general sense, of all art that neglects details for the sake - of general effect.] - - [Footnote 6: The italics are mine.] - - [Footnote 7: _Life of Johnson_, ii. 262, n. 2.] - - [Footnote 8: _Miss Burney's Diary_, iv, 478.] - - [Footnote 9: _Ib._, i, 100.] - - [Footnote 10: _Life of Johnson_, iii, 80-1.] - - [Footnote 11: _Life of Johnson_, iv, 340 _et seq._] - - [Footnote 12: _Miss Burney's Diary_, i, 211.] - - [Footnote 13: _Ib._, i, 231.] - - [Footnote 14: _Ib._, i, 102.] - - [Footnote 15: _Life of Johnson_, ii, 268.] - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - - -Four years of life remained to Boswell after the publication of the -great biography. His death came at the due moment; he was not cut off -in the midst of a great undertaking or in the course of an important -development. It is inconceivable that, had he lived, he would have -produced another biography which should be comparable to the 'Life of -Johnson.' An autobiography he might indeed have written, but there is -no sign that he was engaged upon such a work in the closing years, -or that the idea had taken definite shape in his mind; his nature was -rather that of the casual autobiographer, such as we find him in the -'Life' from time to time, and particularly in the 'Letters to Temple'; -and it is doubtful whether his autobiography, if ever it had been -written, would have added much to letters and diaries which were no -doubt in existence, though not preserved for our eyes.[1] The great -labour of his life had been accomplished: and he was allowed a little -time longer to see that it was approved by his own generation. - -Several questions naturally present themselves when we consider the -end of a man's life. Has he been successful? What is his position in -the world? Do men respect him? Do they love him? - -Boswell, we had occasion to remark before, had not been, in the -ordinary sense, successful. He had always been ambitious; he had -wanted to be 'the great man'; he had coveted the world's honours; he -would have liked to be busy with the affairs of a nation, or, at the -least, to have been reputed a leading barrister. But the glory which -fell to the lot of those who governed this country was withheld from -Boswell; in the legal and political spheres he failed. The one post -which he obtained, as Recorder of Carlisle--and it was one of no -importance--he resigned in 1790, because he could no longer brook the -overbearing behaviour of an insolent patron. - -Certainly Boswell was far from attaining such fame as he desired; -but at the same time he had a very remarkable success. What then was -Boswell's reputation among his contemporaries? - -The literary world had welcomed the 'Tour to the Hebrides'; men of -discrimination had seen that it was a very remarkable book. And yet -Boswell's talents won little respect from this performance. It was -amazingly indiscreet; and censure was more readily bestowed upon the -author's indiscretion than praise upon his art. It was easy to account -for the interest of the book, as Gray and Walpole had accounted -for the charm of the 'Tour in Corsica,' by the peculiarities of the -writer; and though to many so shallow an explanation must have been -unsatisfactory, it detracted from Boswell's reputation as a man of -letters. Moreover, the caricaturists were always busy with Boswell's -oddities: the 'Tour to the Hebrides' provided ample store for the -exercise of their wit, and the persistency of their ridicule no doubt -hindered the recognition of Boswell's talents. When the 'Life of -Johnson' was published, the subject of Boswell and Johnson had been -somewhat played out. A number of 'Lives' of Johnson had already -appeared; besides Hawkins, Mrs. Thrale, and Murphy, several less known -pens had made use of so promising a subject. The public interest in -Johnson had begun to wane. The sale of Boswell's 'Life' was actually -rather less rapid than was expected. This was, on the whole, -an advantage. The work obtained a less hasty and more serious -consideration. Some who would have bought the book five years before, -when the subject was fresh, and the expectation to be amused by -Boswell was still keen, probably now refrained. Those who bought -Boswell's 'Life' bought it, one may surmise, as the best book about -Johnson; and, to anyone who read it, Boswell's work must have profited -by comparison with those who had published before him. No doubt -another reason for the graver attitude of the public towards the -'Life' was that it was less indiscreet than the 'Tour'; it provided -less capital for those whose trade it was to amuse, and--by -comparison--provoked very little ridicule. - -Boswell's reputation as a serious writer certainly gained enormously -from the 'Life of Johnson.' It gained, in fact, disproportionately. -The plan and scope of the 'Life' are larger than that of the 'Tour'; -but the earlier book exhibits in their maturity, and equally well, all -the qualities for which we most value Boswell. - -It was the later work, however, that brought honour to Boswell. The -publication of the _magnum opus_ in April 1791 led to a distinction -which he can hardly have expected. 'In July 1791,' we read in Taylor's -'Life of Reynolds,' 'Boswell to his great delight was appointed -Secretary for Foreign Correspondence to the Academy in lieu of -Baretti. The newspapers abounded in squibs at his appointment, for -Bozzy's weaknesses were favourite game with the small wits.' The -announcement, with its double import of respect and ridicule, gives a -fair indication of Boswell's reputation among his contemporaries. - -It was easy not to respect Boswell; it was difficult not to love him. -He was a 'truly social' man. 'His conversation talents were always -pleasing and often fascinating.'[2] Boswell, in his best form, must -have been irresistible. His spirits were tremendous and they -were constantly bubbling over. Such spirits are infectious and -intoxicating. They are like 'tone' in a violin; the full resonance, -the very robustness of the sound, carries one away. Boswell, it may be -said, had 'tone.' His gaiety and good humour were not self-contained, -but expanded to others. The mainspring, or whatever it be that works -the human being, was particularly powerful and active in his case; and -his companions must have felt it. - -The testimony as to his radiating good humour is unanimous. Dr. Rogers -in describing his personal appearance says 'his well-set features -beamed with perpetual good humour,' and certainly the portraits bear -him out. 'It was impossible,' remarked a contemporary, 'to look upon -his face without being moved by the comicality which always reigned -upon it.'[3] 'It is no wonder,' says his friend John Taylor, 'that Mr. -Boswell was universally well received. He was full of anecdote, well -acquainted with the most distinguished characters, good-humoured, and -ready at repartee. There was a kind of jovial bluntness in his manner, -which threw off all restraint even with strangers, and immediately -kindled a social familiarity.'[4] - -Malone, replying to a detractor of Boswell, wrote: - - The most important misrepresentation is, that Mr. Boswell was - convivial without being _social or friendly_; a falsehood, - which all who knew him intimately, can peremptorily - contradict. He had not only an inexhaustible fund of - good-humour and good-nature, but was extremely warm in his - attachments, and as ready to exert himself for his friends as - any man. - -It would be tedious to discuss Boswell's character with reference to -his popularity, explaining the various qualities which were or were -not attractive in him. A good-natured and affectionate disposition, -supported by high spirits, gives the key to many hearts; and Boswell's -lack of dignity, and even his weaknesses, may have endeared him still -more, when it was considered that there was nothing low or mean about -him. - -Popular he certainly was; he had many acquaintances and also a number -of very good friends. Boswell, though he was volatile enough in some -of his relations with the opposite sex, was very constant in his real -affections. Temple was still his greatest friend at the end of his -life. His fidelity to Johnson was remarkable, and surprised his -contemporaries; and he was no less faithful to his other hero, Paoli. -The General, indeed, was always very kind to Boswell, especially when -he came to live in London after the death of his wife, and -Boswell more than once stayed in his house.[5] Reynolds, the most -distinguished among Boswell's friends of the Johnsonian circle, is -mentioned by Malone as having had 'a very warm regard' for Boswell.[6] -He left him £200 to buy a picture, to be kept for his sake.[7] Charles -Dilly was Boswell's friend only for a less time than was Temple; and -Boswell, it appears, was a second host in Dilly's house: - - If ever the strict rule of decorum was by chance infringed - on, it was on those occasional days when, inevitable business - preventing the master of the house from sitting so long with - his guests as he could wish, the pleasure of entertaining them - was deputed to his kind-hearted and pleasant friend, James - Boswell.[8] - -Courtenay, Dempster and Sir William Forbes were all old friends, and -friends to the last. Forbes was Boswell's literary executor in company -with Malone and Temple. Malone's acquaintance with Boswell was more -recent; but his friendship does Boswell more credit almost than any -other. Its ten years began by Malone correcting the proof-sheets -of the 'Tour to the Hebrides,' and ended by his preparing the third -edition of the 'Life.' His affection for Boswell not only survived -these labours, but grew up with them.[9] Shortly after Boswell's death -he wrote a handsome defence of Boswell, who had been attacked by -a journalist in the _Gentleman's Magazine_. Some parts of it have -already been quoted here. Malone knew Boswell at the end of his life -better perhaps than anyone, and the letter is authoritative as coming -from his pen; it not only bears testimony to his friendship, but also -gives a valuable estimate of Boswell. - -He was 'extremely warm in his attachments,' Malone tells us. He -also pays a striking tribute to his devotion to Dr. Johnson and his -intellectual abilities: - - His fervent attachment to Dr. Johnson at the early age of - three-and-twenty, when the dissipation and amusements of - London hold out to men of such lively parts as he possessed - irresistible attraction, reflects great credit on his memory. - His veneration and esteem for his friend induced him, at - a subsequent period, to go through the laborious task of - arranging and digesting the immense mass of materials with - which his own diligence and the kindness of his friends had - furnished him; and of forming his history of the life of that - excellent and extraordinary man; one of the most instructive - and entertaining books in the English language.... Mr. Boswell - undoubtedly possessed considerable intellectual powers, for - which he has not had sufficient credit; many supposing him to - be a mere relator of the sayings of others: but it is manifest - to every reader of any discernment that he never could have - collected such a mass of information and just observation on - human life as his very valuable work contains, without great - strength of mind and much various knowledge; as he never could - have displayed his collections in so lively a manner as he has - done, had he not possessed a very picturesque imagination, or, - in other words, had he not had a very happy turn for poetry as - well as for humour and for wit. - -Mr. Malone ends his letter by paying a final tribute to the affection -of Boswell's friends: - - He will long be regretted by a wide circle of friends, to whom - his good qualities and social talents always made his company - a valuable accession; and by none more sincerely than the - present vindicator of his fame. - - * * * * * - -Life is commonly somewhat of a battle. Blows are given and received. -Flags are lost and won. Positions are captured and surrendered. Limbs -are crushed and amputated. There are many ugly wounds; some bleed and -fester; some are healed. It is natural to look back on life, as the -general surveys the battlefield and the hospitals, to count the score. -At the end of all the struggle and the horror, the strange joys and -the fantastic dreams, what has happened? What view does the fighter -take himself? Was the cause worth struggling for, after all is done? -Would he fight on the same side if he could start again? Would he -refrain from fighting? Or would he fight with a different object? Is -the essential man the same? Or have his ambitions and desires and the -vital force of the man been modified? And if so how much? Can they be -recognised as the same equipment with which he set forth, or has the -consuming fire burnt out, and the bright flame grown pale and dim? - -Boswell was not an old man when he died; and apart from the -prostration caused by ill-health--for he was frequently ill towards -the close of his life--his robust vigour seems hardly to have -diminished. In July 1790, a year after Mrs. Boswell's death, he seems -already to entertain some matrimonial scheme.[10] This apparently -was the first of a fresh suite. In the spring of 1791 he is looking -forward to the pleasure of meeting a certain Miss Bagnal, 'who may -probably have six or seven hundred a year.' 'Here then I am, -my Temple,' exclaims Boswell, 'my flattering self! A scheme, an -adventure, seizes upon my fancy.' Assuredly this is the old Boswell. - -In his whole outlook upon life Boswell, in fact, changed very little. -He had failed in the main battle; the ambitious dreams which pleased -him most had not come to pass. Neither as politician nor as barrister -had he won the smallest degree of fame. He was, and is, famous in a -rarer sort: yet he had esteemed literary fame at a much lower rate. -And at the end of his life he still measured distinction by the same -old standards. He felt that the struggle had gone against him: but -he never doubted of the cause for which he was fighting. As late as -August 1791, some months after the 'Life of Johnson' appeared, he -wrote to Temple as though he were on the eve of a legal career: - - I have gone the full round of the Home Circuit, to which I - have returned, finding it much more pleasant, and, though I - did not get a single brief, do not repent of the expense, as - I am showing myself desirous of business and imbibing legal - knowledge. - -He still was building castles in the air of the old type; still, -sometimes, he took an opportunity to be 'conspicuous' and made -conscious efforts to 'be the great man.' Almost simultaneously with -the 'Life,' he published a political poem, 'No Abolition of Slavery, -or The Universal Empire of Love.' It was of a semi-frivolous nature, -the argument being drawn from a premise that slavery is the most -agreeable of 'goods,' when it is enforced by the chains of loving -devotion. The name of Miss Bagnal is introduced, and it is difficult -to tell whether the whole may not be an elaborate attempt to bring off -a marriage with that lady. But it is evident from a remark to Temple, -that the main purpose is political: - - I am thinking to curtail my poem on the Slave Trade, and throw - it into the world just before the great question comes on next - Wednesday. - -A rumour of war with Russia also rouses the public spirit of Boswell -to seek distinction, and he hesitates - - whether I should not write one of my characteristical - pamphlets on this crisis--An Appeal to the People upon the - threatened project of involving this country in a war with - Russia, in order to assist the Turks. - -At the end of his life Boswell had not deserted his ambition, and, as -far as we can tell, he had not forgotten his disappointment. There -are few 'Letters to Temple' during these last few years, and it is -difficult to form an exact idea of Boswell's state of mind. For the -year 1792 we have only one note of a few lines: it begins, 'Still I -cannot write a long letter.' These words suggest, though they do not -prove, that Boswell had been in low spirits; for such a condition was -frequently a reason for neglecting to write. For the following year -there are three letters. In the first, Boswell refers to the pain -it gives him to visit Auchinleck; in the second, he discusses with -remorse his habit of indulgence in wine; in the third, he says -'My spirits are somewhat better, but by no means right yet.' It is -probable that Boswell wrote more regularly in 1794, but only one -letter to Temple exists. This, the last letter written in his own -hand, is much more cheerful in tone, and concerned more with Temple -than with himself. But this alone is no evidence to prove that Boswell -at the end of his life was contented with his lot and satisfied with -the measure of success he had attained. The reverse is far more likely -to be the case. As late as 1791 he had time, in the very throes of -publishing the _magnum opus_, to brood over 'the disappointment of my -hopes in life.' He clearly suffered from low spirits during the next -two years, and it can hardly be supposed that his disappointment, -though only one of several causes, had nothing to do with it. - -The old standards had not changed. The same weights and measures, -which were adopted early in life, still at the end of it were used to -determine the deeds of men and fix their value. And yet a change had -come. In the 'Letters to Temple' a certain difference of tone may be -distinguished after Boswell lost his wife. It was partly that he began -fully to realise the failure of his ambitious plans; and it was still -more a different attitude which that realisation involved. When a -man discovers that he cannot get what he wants, he is apt to pay more -attention to what he already has. - -Though literature did not supply for Boswell the wine of life, it had -always attracted him very strongly. He had a taste for books and a -very keen desire for learning; above all, he had literary ambition. -He made a number of literary plans besides that of writing Johnson's -'Life.'[11] He was not merely, in his own conception, the biographer -of Johnson, but the man of letters in a most extended fashion, and -something of a scholar. And it was towards the end of his life, though -then concerned almost exclusively with Johnson, that Boswell was most -industrious in the literary field. Not only did he publish the _magnum -opus_ four years before his death, but he continued diligently to -collect fresh material. The second edition appeared two years later, -in July 1793. The third edition was being prepared, with Malone's -valuable help, when Boswell died. The biographer evidently did not -consider his labours ended when the 'Life of Johnson' was at last -published. Its favourable reception 'has excited,' he says in the -Advertisement to the Second Edition, 'my best exertions to render my -Book more perfect; and in this endeavour I have had the assistance not -only of some of my particular friends, but of many other learned and -ingenious men, by which I have been able to rectify some mistakes, and -to enrich the Work with many valuable additions.' - -The scale of Boswell's literary efforts towards the end of his life -is the measure of his satisfaction in the performance, and this -satisfaction, though it did not take the place of the magnificent -pleasure he had imagined in being 'the great man,' and did not cure -his disappointment, must have frequently consoled, and, in some moods, -keenly delighted Boswell. In the 'Life' he expresses, with a note of -triumph, his satisfaction in the fate of the 'Tour to the Hebrides': - - To please the true, candid, warm admirers of Johnson, and in - any degree increase the splendour of his reputation, I bid - defiance to the shafts of ridicule, or even of malignity. - Showers of them have been discharged at my 'Journal of a Tour - to the Hebrides'; yet it still sails unhurt along the stream - of time, and, as attendant upon Johnson, - - Pursues the triumph, and partakes the gale. - -Boswell is equally triumphant about the 'Life': - - That I was anxious for the success of a Work which had - employed much of my time and labour, I do not wish to conceal: - but whatever doubts I at any time entertained, have been - entirely removed by the very favourable reception with which - it has been honoured. - -It was not merely literary fame that so much delighted Boswell: it -was literary fame of the best sort. The most respected of Johnson's -friends and the best critics had praised his book. Boswell could -now feel secure in his own conviction that his 'Life' was beyond -comparison as a portrait of a man and as a portrait of Johnson: - - In reflecting that the illustrious subject of this Work, by - being more extensively and more intimately known, however - elevated before, has risen in the veneration and love of - mankind, I feel a satisfaction beyond what fame can afford.... - It seems to me, in my moments of self-complacency, that this - extensive biographical work, however inferior in its nature, - may in one respect be assimilated to the Odyssey. - -Boswell goes on to explain that the 'Hero,' like Ulysses, 'in the -whole course of the History, is exhibited by the authour for the best -advantage of his readers.' So certain is he of the merits of his book -that he tells his readers, in so many words, that, if they do not like -it, their own bad temper is to blame. - - Should there be any cold-blooded morose mortals who really - dislike this Book, I will give them a story to apply. When the - great Duke of Marlborough, accompanied by Lord Cadogan, was - one day reconnoitering the army in Flanders, a heavy rain - came on and they both called for their cloaks. Lord Cadogan's - servant, a good-humoured, alert lad, brought his Lordship's - in a minute. The Duke's servant, a lazy sulky dog, was so - sluggish, that his Grace being wet to the skin, reproved him, - and had for answer, with a grunt, 'I came as fast as I could,' - upon which the Duke calmly said, 'Cadogan, I would not for a - thousand pounds have that fellow's temper.' - -Boswell's satisfaction with his literary labours was certainly -well-founded. It is fair to remind those who may condemn this attitude -that he allowed an unduly large share of the book's merits to Dr. -Johnson. Interesting and lovable as Johnson was, he had little to do -with Boswell's execution. The biographer was fortunate--peculiarly -fortunate--in his subject: so much must be allowed and no more. -Boswell's pride did not exceed his deserts. But his 'moments of -self-complacency' must have provided a considerable compensation -for despondent moods when he regretted failure in other spheres. His -'satisfaction' reached a very high pitch when he could calmly say -to an unappreciative reader--for that is what it amounts to--that he -would be sorry to have a temper like that. - -It is not remarkable for an author to feel as self-satisfied as -Boswell. Many authors tell their readers, though not so frankly, that -they ought to be interested in a book, and few give so good reasons as -Boswell gave. The point has been laboured here in order to illustrate -the final stage in his paradoxical development; to show in what degree -Boswell, while realising failure in all his magnificent dreams, was -satisfied with the fame he had of another sort. Assuredly he was -pleased with what he had; the degree may be judged from this final -extract from the Advertisement to the Second Edition: - - There are some men, I believe, who have, or think they have, - a very small share of vanity. Such may speak of their literary - fame in a decorous style of diffidence. But I confess, that - I am so formed by nature, and by habit, that to restrain the - effusion of delight, on having obtained such fame, to me would - be truly painful. Why then should I suppress it? Why 'out of - the abundance of the heart' should I not speak? Let me then - mention with a warm, but no insolent exultation, that I have - been regaled with spontaneous praise of my work by many and - various persons eminent for their rank, learning, talents and - accomplishments; much of which praise I have under their hands - to be reposited in my archives at Auchinleck. An honourable - and reverend friend, speaking of the favourable reception of - my volumes, even in the circles of fashion and elegance, said - to me, 'You have made them all talk Johnson.'--Yes, I may add, - I have _Johnsonised_ the land; and I trust they will not only - _talk_ but _think_ Johnson. - -Boswell, after all, had changed very little since the publication of -the 'Tour in Corsica' in his desire for literary fame, but he must -have had a very different view of what it meant. In early life this -literary ambition was but one aspect of the prevailing idea, to be -'the great man'; and he intended to win respect through literature as -a wise and honoured 'citizen of the world.' He cannot have retained -this delusion after publishing the 'Tour to the Hebrides.' It was -in the very month when the 'Life' appeared that he spoke of 'the -disappointment of my hopes of success in life.' There was no thought -that the 'Life' would redeem these hopes. It was to win praise -and bring esteem: but not in the same sphere with these 'hopes of -success.' Boswell's literary fame compensated his disappointment in -some degree, but by no means banished it. His triumphant satisfaction -was founded, as is the case with many literary men, upon the merits of -literary work and the applause of competent judges. - - * * * * * - -Such changes as may be observed in Boswell towards the end of his -life arose, it must be repeated, from the failure of his political and -legal ambitions. When he ceased to pursue the adventures suggested by -his wild imagination, he paid more attention to the natural interests -of his position. He was a landlord and a father; and his children had -now no mother. Boswell not only accepted his responsibilities, but -performed something more than his duty. - -When Boswell had left Auchinleck and came to live in London, his -opportunities for interesting himself in the welfare of his tenants -and dependants were naturally curtailed. With the strict view of a -landlord's obligations which is commonly held in this age, we may be -inclined to condemn Boswell simply on the ground that he did not live -upon his estate. But, though Ayrshire is a far cry from London, the -Laird of Auchinleck did not forget his position. He was willing to -travel to Scotland 'to transact business with my tenants.' On one -occasion, in 1793, he undertook the journey in order to see that the -parish was provided with a suitable parson: 'The choice of a minister -to a worthy parish is a matter of importance, and I cannot be sure -of the real wishes of the people without being present.' He went to -Auchinleck not because he enjoyed going, but because he thought -he ought to go: 'though the journey will no doubt be uncomfortable -(probably because Boswell was in bad health), and my being alone in -that house where once I was so happy, be dreary in a woeful degree, -the consciousness of duty, and being busy, will I hope support me.' -In Boswell's will special provisions were made for his tenants and -servants: - - As there are upon the estate of Auchinleck several - tenants whose families have possessed their farms for many - generations, I do by these presents grant leases for nineteen - years and their respective lifetimes of their present farms - to John Templeton etc.... And I do beseech all the succeeding - heirs of entail to be kind to the Tenants and not turn out old - possessors to get a little more rent. - -'Seldom,' exclaims Dr. Rogers, 'has Scottish landlord evinced greater -consideration for his tenantry and domestics.' - -As a father, Boswell was no less kind. He had had six children -altogether, three sons and three daughters;[12] one of the sons had -died early in 1777. His interest in his children no doubt increased -very much after their mother's death. Frequently in the 'Letters -to Temple' after that event (June, 1789) one or other of them is -mentioned, and Boswell shows anxiety both for their present happiness -and for their future welfare. Malone, in answering a detractor of -Boswell's, says: - - This writer acknowledges that he was an affectionate father; - he was more; he was extremely liberal and indulgent to his - children, having, for some years past, expended out of his - moderate income, £300 a year to educate his two sons, one at - Eton and the other at Westminster, and one of his daughters - at a boarding-school: to effect which he confined his own - personal expenses within the narrowest bounds. - -That Boswell could stint himself in this way for his children shows a -larger degree of self-sacrifice than might be expected from one of his -extravagant tastes. It shows also a development in his character. The -old passion for being conspicuous could now be put aside for the sake -of his children. - -Boswell, in fact, became less extravagant and affected towards the end -of life. He was less often carried away by his 'warm imagination.' He -lived less in his 'castles in the air,' and nearer the solid earth. - - * * * * * - -The next cause of this development is not far to seek. It lies in the -result of the main struggle in Boswell's life. Truth had won the day. -The irrepressible quality of Boswell's genius had triumphed in spite -of his commonplace aims and the conventionality of his beliefs and -standards; and it had found its expression in biography. The nature -of that triumph reacted inevitably upon Boswell. The highest of his -qualifications for writing the 'Life of Johnson' was simply honesty. -He was honest about human nature. He had related without omission and -without perversion the story of a man as he had witnessed it. All his -powers of observing and of judging character had been brought to bear -upon the great work of his life. His own character had developed in -the process. It is impossible for a man to concentrate all his mind -upon the effort to understand the human being, without involving -himself in his investigations; and Boswell was no exception. He -had always been interested in his own character, though in a rather -uncritical fashion; and no doubt, as often happens, his knowledge -of others began with himself. He was himself both the primer of -psychology and the standard for comparison, upon which his whole view -of individuals was based; and it is often clear, when he is discussing -some moral question, that he has his own case in mind. The 'Life of -Johnson' was necessarily concerned with Boswell in some degree; and -so it was that the author, when he came to record his observations -of Johnson and his friends and acquaintances, found that the process -which he applied to others was being applied to himself. - -Nothing in Boswell's 'Life of Johnson' is more remarkable, as nothing -is more charming, than the author's candour when his own person is -concerned. He does not obtrude himself upon the reader's notice; -he relates the events quite naturally as they occurred. And though -Boswell was not a little vain, he was able to relate what was not -to his credit. Most of the stories of Boswell's folly we know from -himself. He has recorded the sledge-hammer blows of Johnson provoked -by his own absurdity; he has told us of occasions when he lacked -in manners, even when, more than once, he was drunk in a lady's -drawing-room; he has described at length, in the 'Tour to the -Hebrides,' the story of a carouse at Corrichatachin, and has not -failed to mention how very ill he felt next morning, and how much he -dreaded Johnson's rebuke; it is in his own account that we read of -the ridiculous figure he cut in a storm at sea; it is from his own -correspondence with Johnson that we learn of all the weaknesses that -earned the Doctor's reproof. - -Boswell was perfectly conscious of his folly when he allowed us to -see the absurdity of his behaviour. He was sometimes conscious, at -the moment, of provoking ridicule. Occasionally, as he takes care to -explain, he deliberately planned his own discomfiture: - - Desirous of calling Johnson forth to talk and exercise his - wit, though I should myself be the object of it, I resolutely - ventured.... - -This was a common attitude. It has been discussed before in these -pages with reference to Boswell's biographical method. Boswell even -mentions once that he spoke 'with an assumed air of ignorance, to -incite him to talk, for which it was often necessary to employ some -address.' He realised well enough that he made the best possible foil -to Johnson. And if he was able to understand his position in these -undignified moments, still more must he have been conscious of it -when he allowed his records to be printed many years afterwards in the -'Life.' He tells us as much himself in the Dedication to Sir Joshua -Reynolds: - - In one respect, this Work will, in some passages, be different - from the former. In my 'Tour,' I was almost unboundedly open - in my communications, and from my eagerness to display the - wonderful fertility and readiness of Johnson's wit, freely - shewed to the world its dexterity, even when I was myself the - object of it. I trusted that I should be liberally understood, - as knowing very well what I was about, and by no means as - simply unconscious of the pointed effects of the satire. I - own, indeed, that I was arrogant enough to suppose that the - tenour of the rest of the book would sufficiently guard me - against such a strange imputation. But it seems I judged too - well of the world; for, though I could scarcely believe it, I - have been undoubtedly informed, that many persons, especially - in distant quarters, not penetrating enough into Johnson's - character, so as to understand his mode of treating his - friends, have arraigned my judgement, instead of seeing that I - was sensible of all that they could observe. - - It is related of the great Dr. Clarke, that when in one of his - leisure hours he was unbending himself with a few friends in - the most playful and frolicksome manner, he observed Beau Nash - approaching; upon which he suddenly stopped. 'My boys (said - he) let us be grave: here comes a fool.' The world, my friend, - I have found to be a great fool, as to that particular, on - which it has become necessary to speak very plainly. I have, - therefore, in this Work been more reserved; and though I tell - nothing but the truth, I have still kept in my mind that the - whole truth is not always to be exposed. This, however, I have - managed so as to occasion no diminution of the pleasure which - my Book should afford; though malignity may sometimes be - disappointed of its gratifications. - -Boswell's statement speaks for itself. He realised as well as anyone -his own vanity and affectation. It had been necessary when -writing Johnson's 'Life' to apply the searching light of truth -indiscriminately. Boswell had not flinched from applying it to -himself: on the contrary it amused him to do so. He enjoyed his own -absurdities as he enjoyed those of Johnson himself and of every other -figure portrayed with good-humoured ridicule in the course of his -great book. Boswell, we may be sure, laughed wherever his readers may -laugh: indeed his readers laugh at all only because he himself laughed -so whole-heartedly. - -Assuredly the laughter which comes when the searching light is turned -inwards is not without a lasting effect. The desire for dignity in -some measure is with most men almost an instinct. It is rare for a man -to perceive that he has been ridiculous without a blush, even though -he smile; and the result of such perception is almost invariably -preventive; the absurdity must not be repeated. Boswell was able to -laugh at himself more whole-heartedly than the majority. But the mere -fact of looking inwards with the seeing glance was certain to arrest -him in moments of absurdity; and the necessity, as it appeared to -him, of writing out an account of himself in the most undignified -situations made his realisation more vivid and the inevitable tendency -more sure. - -And so, in the end, the truth of Boswell, his innate and unquenchable -candour, not only won a victory, but spoiled the enemy. We may -observe, if we care to, that the natural development has taken place. -Much of the old affectation has disappeared. Boswell, to the last, is -still tempted to give rein to that 'warm imagination'; but now as -a rule the impulse is checked with a smile by a moment of -self-consciousness. The development is clearly to be seen in the -'Letters to Temple,' and one instance will suffice to illustrate -his attitude. Boswell, when telling of his intention of visiting -Auchinleck, for the purpose related before in these pages of choosing -a minister for the parish, cannot refrain from exclaiming in the -old manner, 'Only think, Temple, how serious a duty I am about to -discharge!' But then comes the inward glance and Boswell laughs: - - I, James Boswell, Esq.--you know what vanity that name - includes!--I have promised to come down on purpose, and his - Honour's goodness is gratefully acknowledged. - -Boswell was not systematic in his self-examination; but he came to -know himself with a truer judgment than most men have where self is -concerned. His principles had been ill carried out; his ideals had not -been comprehensive. He had neglected the personal discipline which we -look to see in men of power and in men who have accomplished important -matters; he had neglected to train his mind to deal with all the -problems of life. His grasp upon the whole scheme of things was -feeble, as his control of himself was limited. And yet this knowledge -of self with the good-humoured laugh--and it was not unaccompanied by -fervent regret for his weakness, and anxious piety--this knowledge, -which is the key to all right knowing, was a fitting achievement for -one whose predominant interest was Human Nature, and whose prevailing -passion was Truth. - - - [Footnote 1: Boswell's literary executors were Temple, Malone, - and Sir William Forbes. 'The three persons,' says Dr. Rogers, - 'nominated as literary executors did not meet, and the entire - business of the trust was administered by Sir William Forbes, - Bart., who appointed as his law-agent Robert Boswell, - Writer to the Signet, cousin-german of the deceased. By that - gentleman's advice Boswell's manuscripts were left to the - disposal of his family, and it is believed that the whole were - immediately destroyed. The Commonplace-book escaped, having - been accidentally sold among the printed books.' - - I believe there is still at Auchinleck the manuscript of a - diary and some letters, but I have not been permitted to see - them. Undoubtedly Boswell must have left far more than these.] - - [Footnote 2: The quotation is from a letter, quoted before in - these pages, which appeared in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for - June 1795; it is clearly written by one of Boswell's friends, - and the signature 'C.' suggests Courtenay. Dr. Rogers accepts - it as by him.] - - [Footnote 3: Quoted in Dr. Rogers's _Memoir_ with reference to - _Traditions of Edinburgh_, 1869, p. 74. I have not verified.] - - [Footnote 4: _Records of my Life_, by John Taylor, Esq., 1832, - i, 214.] - - [Footnote 5: Nichols' _Literary History_, vii, 303-13.] - - [Footnote 6: _Gentleman's Magazine_, June, 1795.] - - [Footnote 7: _Life of Reynolds_, ii, 636.] - - [Footnote 8: Nichols' _Literary Anecdotes_, iii, 192.] - - [Footnote 9: See Nichols' _Literary History_, v, 456-7.] - - [Footnote 10: _Letters to Temple_, p. 272.] - - [Footnote 11: _James Boswell_, by W. K. Leask, p. 155.] - - [Footnote 12: For an account of Boswell's family, see Dr. - Rogers in _Boswelliana_, pp. 192-7.] - - - - -INDEX - - - A - - Aberbrothick, 245 - - Academy, 303 - - Account of Corsica, 56-64, 114, 178^16, 268, 275, 276, 302, 317 - - Adam, Mr. R. B., 251^5 - - Adamtown, 93, 100 - - Address to the Real Freeholders of the County of Ayr, 177 - - Akerman, 251 - - Aldus, 30 - - America, 181 - - Arbuthnot, 118 - - Argyll, Duke of, 35 - - Aristotle, 157 - - Ashbourne, 272 - - Auchinleck, 6, 91, 92, 105, 133, 136, 165, 166, 168, 301^1, 311, - 318-9, 325 - - Auchlinleck, Lord, 7, 8, 9, 76, 83, 162-6, 171, 175, 218 - - Ayrshire, 176, 177, 318 - - - B - - Baden, 50 - - Bagnal, Miss, 309, 310 - - Bar, the English, 84, 137, 167-172, 310 - - ----, the Scottish, 80, 82, 84, 85, 105, 133, 162, 164, 166, 168, - 171, 174, 186, 203 - - Barbauld, Mrs., 66 - - Barclay, Mr., 266 - - Baretti, 38, 108, 248, 303 - - Barrington, Mr. Daines, 251 - - Beattie, Dr., 214 - - Beauclerk, 86, 106, 107, 108, 262 - - ----, Lady Di, 107, 261 - - Bedford, Duke of, 74 - - ----, Duchess of, 74 - - Birrell, Rt. Hon. A., 252^6 - - Blacklock, Rev. Mr., 19 - - Blair, Miss, 64, 91-7, 100 - - Bolingbroke, 118 - - Bosville, Miss, 91, 95, 98-9 - - Boswell: - Accent in speaking English, 21; - accuracy, 228, 267-82; - actor, 24; - advertisement, 65, 76, 199; - affectation, 103, 132, 157-8, 184-94, 221, 224, 320-1, 326; - ambition, 12-13, 39, 59, 61-4, 74-6, 80, 160; 166-208 _passim_, - especially 166-8, 170, 174-6; 209, 217, 226, 301, 310, 311; - amours, 14, 88-100; - animosities, 237-8, 241; - artistic qualities, 2, 61-4, 283-4, 287-93; - authenticity, 229, 267, 269-70, 282; - autobiography, 300; - Bachelors, views on, 89; - biography, 1-4, 21, 59-60, 67, 77, 93, 118, 128, 135, 144, 159; - 227-99 _passim_, - especially 231, 235-6, 247, 265-6, 267, 284^1; 313-8; - boasting, 204-5; - boyishness--boy longer than others, 16, 163, 208; - buffoonery, 28, 65-6, 199, 246; - Candour, 38-9, 60, 64, 86, 118, 208, 209, 212-13, 302, 303, 322, 325; - castles in the air, 12, 190, 310; - ceremonial, love of, 137, 171; - childhood, 6-9; - cleverness, 18-19, 30; - collection of original poems, B. contributes, 25, 27; - commonplace book, _see_ Boswelliana; - consciousness of absurdity, 321-6; - conspicuousness, 171, 204, 320; - controversy about, 4-5; - conventionality, 136-7, 146-50, 320, - _see also_ respectability; - conventions, disregard of, _see_ rudeness; - cow, B. imitates, 29; - criticism of literature, 109; - curiosity, 72, 129, 131, 173-4, 208, 266; - Death, 300; - dedication, addressed to, 22; - dignity, 62, 97, 121, 265, 305, 324-5; - diligence, _see_ industry; - disappointment, 17, 66, 133, 161, 168, 170, 219, 226, 311-2, 317; - drinking habits, 15, 127, 220, 223-6, 227-8, 311; - Eccentricity, 172; - egoism, 73, 75, 77, 80, 195-6; - essays, 139-44; - executions, present at, 172-4; - experiments, 129; - extravagance: - of disposition, 31, 54, 64, 77, 83, 141, 184-94, 320-1, - _see also_ affectation; - in financial matters, 31, 163-4; - Fame, _see_ reputation; - family, 6, 30, 164, 218, 318-20; - family life, 6-9, 105-6; - father, _see_ Lord Auchinleck; - fidelity, conjugal, 104; - flattery, 45-6, 75; - foolishness, 4-5, 38; 182-208 _passim_, - especially 182, 184, 194, 206, 208; 216, 322; - frankness, _see_ candour; - friends: - as a young man, 10-16, 19-25: - the Johnsonian circle, 106-12: - at the close of life, 305-8; - frolic, 28, 66; - Gaiety, 16, 30-1, 52-4, 78, 138, 224, 304; - generosity, 54, 79-80, 119, 320; - genius, 5-6, 156-7, 210, 217, 224, 241, 247, 320; - good-humour, 16, 47, 78, 86, 108, 119, 126, 138, 142, 304; - good-nature, 22, 24, 79-80, 174, 214-6, 305; - goodness, 144-5; - 'great man,' Boswell the, 74, 166, 204, 314; - great men, admiration for and relations with, 50, 54, 55, 57, 67-77; - Happiness, 147; - hermit, taste for being a, 189; - honesty, 157, 200, 321; - human nature, Boswell's interest in, 24, 46, 69-73, 208, 211, 241, - 321, 326; - humour, 3, 16, 30, 42, 131, 200-1, 203, 287-91, 308; - hypochondria, _see_ melancholy; - Ignorance of what others thought of him, 182-4, 216; - images, 120, 144, 203; - imagination, 26; - inconstancy, 38, 92; - indiscretion, _see_ candour; - indulgence, 222-6; - industry, 36, 82, 227-9, 247-52; - insanity, 92, 225; - interest in, 3-4; - intolerance, 68, 71; - Johnson, Dr. Samuel: - admiration for, _see_ veneration; - affection for, 48-9, 119, 131, 132, 153, 218-9, 306-8; - conception of, as awful, 293-9; - enjoyment of, 285-7, 291, 324; - experiments with, 110-2, 257-66, 321-3; - friendship with, 40-9, 112-34, 306-8; - humiliated by, _see_ roughness; - imitation of, 109, 144, 191-3; - influenced by, 68, 150-61, 191; - jealousy with regard to, 128; - letters to, 48, 77-8, 79, 114, 115, 124, 188; - letters from, 48, 58, 114, 124, 132, 155-7, 160, 166; - loss by his death, 132-4, 218-9; - quarrels with, 116-23; - questions, 130, 258, 261; - roughness to Boswell, 47, 116, 117, 118, 210-4, 259-66; - talks freely to, 43, 44, 45, 47; - tour in Hebrides with, 125-131, 260; - veneration for, 36, 49, 109, 130, 238-9, 307; - visit to Boswell's home, 7, 260; - jokes, _see_ wit; - journal, 21, 36, 227-8, 261, 268-76; - Landlord, 318-9; - law, 34-6, 76, 79, 80-5, 87, 105, 125, 133, 162, 164, 166-72, - 203, 219, 310; - lawyers, relations with, 162, 164, 169-72, 203, 205; - letters: - to Burke, 179-87; - to Chatham, 75-6, 179-82; - to Erskine, 30-3; - to Johnson, _see_ Johnson under Boswell; - Temple, quoted, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 34, 35, 70, 78^6, - 82^10, 100-1, 104^15-16, 113, 153, 155, 163, 164, 165, - 167^1, 168, 169^2-3, 170, 172, 173, 175, 177^10-12, - 178^14-17, 183-4, 185-6, 204, 207, 218, 219^3, 220, 221, - 222, 223^6, 226, 230, 231^5-6, 300, 310-12, 320, 325; - literary executors, 300^1; - literature, interest in, 11, 18, 20, 25, 35, 46, 53, 193-4, 230, - 312-5; - London: - B. visits, 17, 25, 124, 218; - love of, 34, 69, 105, 167, 168, 218; - Marriage, 88, 89-90, 100-4, 133, 164, 309-10; - meeting with Johnson, 16, 17, 40-4; - melancholy, 30, 124, 132, 138, 140-1, 157, 187, 224-6; - memorandising, 21-2, 246, 266-74; - modesty, 57; - morality, interest in, 9, 46, 159, 188, 206, 233-7; - mother, 6; - Notebook, _see_ memorandising; - Observation, powers of, 183, 217, 242-7, 257-62; - ode to Tragedy, 25, 29, 30; - opinions about himself, 28, 29, 30; - optimism, 142-3, 229-30; - Patron of the drama, 22-3; - patrons, 175-6, 178-84, 200; - philosophy: - affectation of, 13, 17, 32, 75, 94, 173; - views of life, 88, 147-50, 187-8, 285; - pleasure an object of life, 88, 147; - poetry, Boswell's, 25-7, 200-2; - politics, 133, 137, 174-82, 209, 219, 310-11; - popularity, 304-5; - prejudices, 136-7, 153; - pride, 30, 116, 164, 179, 204, 253; - profession chosen, 34-5; - profligacy, 14-15; - prologue, Boswell writes one for Ross, 24; - proof-sheets, 250-1; - property, 136-7, 166, 218; - publications, 25-7, 29-32, 59-66, 81, 82, 133, 176, 209, 310; - Recording: - conversations, 227, 242, 266; - observations, 217; - religion, 9, 22, 36-7, 147-50, 188-9, 206; - reputation, 1, 39, 58, 61, 66, 172, 199, 209, 213-4, 300-4, 314, 317; - respectability, 37-9, 62, 105, 150-61, 166, 209, 236-7; - rivals, 237-8; - romantic, 31, 186; - rudeness, 38, 252-5, 266; - satisfaction with literary work, 229-33, 313-8; - scholar, 189; - school, 10; - scientific spirit, 241, 256-66; - selfish, 15; - self-revelation, 14, 139; - sentimentality, 39, 184-6, - _see also_ affectation; - seriousness, 140-2; - shorthand, 270; - simplicity, 182, 204, 206; - sings: - to Corsican peasants, 52-3: - at mayoralty dinner, 197-9; - songs of his own composition, 204; - snobbishness, 71-7, - _see also_ under Boswell, 'great men'; - social qualities, 16, 24, 30-1, 46, 52-4, 86, 108, 126, 206, 304-5, - 308; - solemnity, 192; - Tablets, _see_ memorandising; - talks very freely, 43, 44, 64, 204-8; - taste, 22; - tenants, 79, 318-9; - Tory, a, 8, 137, 153, 176, 181; - travels on the Continent, 50-8, 93, 125; - truth, Boswell's attitude towards, 38-9, 118, 210, 216, 228, 233, - 236-7, 241, 249, 255, 284-5, 294, 324-6; - Vanity, 38, 73, 77, 103, 194-7, 205, 206, 316, 322, 326; - verse, _see_ poetry; - vows, 99, 223; - Wife, _see_ Mrs. Boswell; - will, 216, 318-9; - wit, 200-3, 308 - - Boswell, Mrs., 84, 100-4, 219-22, 309 - - Boswell, Robert, 300^1 - - 'Boswelliana,' 79^7, 190, 200, 203, 214^2, 274-82, 301^1 - - Boydell, Alderman, 197 - - British Essays to the Brave Corsicans, 78 - - Browning, 1 - - Burke, Edmund, 106, 107, 108, 150, 179-182 - - Burney, Miss, 21, 108, 128, 130, 191-2, 237, 246-7, 253-4, 255, - 263-5, 268^1, 290, 294-5, 298 - - ----, Dr., 130 - - Burns, 20 - - Bute, Lord, 248 - - Byron, 1 - - - C - - Cadogan, Lord, 315 - - Cambridge University, 21 - - Campbell, Dr. Thomas, 130 - - ---- diary of, 130^7 - - Carlisle, 170, 175 - - ---- Recorder, 176, 179, 301 - - Carlyle, 2, 5 - - Catherine II. of Russia, 251 - - Charlemont, Lord, 288 - - Chatham, Earl of, 75-6, 178, 179, 182, 187, 189 - - Chesterfield, Lord, 248 - - Church of England, 9 - - Cicero, 53, 142 - - Clarke, Dr., 323 - - 'Cocker's Arithmetic,' 245 - - 'Collection of Original Poems,' 19, 27 - - College upon Roman Antiquities, 35 - - Commonplace book, Boswell's, _see_ 'Boswelliana' - - Corrichatachin, 127, 322 - - Corsica, 51-60, 65-6, 74-8, 114, 195 - - Corsican Journal, _see_ account of Corsica - - Courtenay, 215, 220, 299, 304^2, 306 - - Covent Garden, 23 - - Crichton, the Admirable, 30 - - Croker, 118 - - Cromwell, 7 - - 'Cub at Newmarket,' 26, 27 - - - D - - Dalrymple, Sir David, 17, 21, 73, 178 - - D'Arblay, Madame, diary of, _see under_ Miss Burney - - Davies, Tom, 40-2, 44, 291-2 - - Dempster, George, 19, 33, 151, 230, 306 - - Derrick, 25, 40 - - Dictionary, Johnson's, 1, 243, 274 - - 'Dictionary of National Biography,' 176^6 - - Dilly, Charles, 19, 111, 202, 248, 306 - - Dilly, Edward, 188 - - Dodd, Dr., 79 - - Douglas, Mr., 81 - - Douglas Cause, 81-4 - - 'Dorando: a Spanish Tale,' 82 - - Drury Lane Theatre, 20, 23, 29 - - Dunciad, 118 - - Dundas, 179 - - Dunn, Mr., 9 - - - E - - Edinburgh, 6, 12, 17, 19, 20, 23, 24, 27, 34, 84, 90, 95, 103, 123 - - Edinburgh, traditions of, 304^3 - - Edinburgh University, 10, 12, 17, 20, 35, 89 - - Eglinton, Earl of, 26, 100, 177, 178, 197 - - Eldon, Lord Chancellor, 169 - - 'Elegy on the Death of an Amiable Young Lady,' 25, 26 - - England, 85, 87, 106, 210, 220 - - Epictetus, 188 - - 'Epistle of a London Buck to his Friend,' 27 - - Erskine, Honourable Andrew, 19, 20, 25, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 - - Eton, 216, 320 - - - F - - Ferney, 50, 54 - - Fitzgerald's 'Life of Boswell,' 81^9, 82^11, 83^12, 177^9, 199, - 200^35, 204^36, 212, 273, 278, 290^4 - - Flanders, 315 - - Fleet ditch, 240 - - Foote, 207 - - Forbes, Sir William, 214, 275, 300^1, 306 - - France, 235 - - Franklin, Dr., 74 - - Frederick the Great, 54 - - Froude, 1 - - - G - - Garrick, 23, 43, 44, 61, 74, 107, 109, 262 - - Gay, 118 - - Gentleman, Francis, 22, 25 - - 'Gentleman's Magazine,' 61^8, 63^10, 178^13, 215, 225^7, 304^2, - 306^6, 307 - - Gibbon, 68 - - Gilmour, Sir Alexander, 97 - - Glasgow, 22 - - ---- University, 17, 36 - - Glenelg, 122 - - Goldsmith, 106, 108, 179 - - Goldsmith, Prior's Life of, 195^33, 206^38 - - Graham, 201 - - Gray, 4, 11, 12, 94, 109, 302 - - ----, Mason's Life of, 231-2 - - Greenwich, 268 - - Guards, 34 - - - H - - Hackman, 173 - - Hailes, Lord, 17, 36, 69, 268 - - Hamlet, 41 - - Harris, 35 - - Harwich, 48 - - Hawkins, Sir John, 107, 108, 227^1, 237, 290, 302 - - Hebrides, 172, 211 - - Henley, W. E., 'Views and Reviews,' 284^3 - - Hill, Dr. George Birkbeck, 58, 250-1, 276, 290, 293 - - Hodge, 244 - - Holcroft, Thomas, Memoirs of, 252 - - Home Circuit, 310 - - Homer, 2 - - Howard, 98 - - Hume, David, 18, 35, 53, 68, 69, 70, 71, 74, 151, 175, 207 - - Hypochondriack, the [in 'London Magazine'], 124, 137-44, 145-6, 147, - 148, 224 - - - I - - Inner Temple, 137, 167 - - Ireland, 22 - - Ireland, Mr., 193-4 - - - J - - James, King, 8 - - Jockey Club, 26 - - Johnson, Lionel, 189 - - Johnson, Samuel: - better known to us than other literary men, 1-2; - interest in, 3-4; - argument with Lord Auchinleck, 7; - retort to Mr. Dunn, 9; - Temple contrasted with, 13; - condemnation of Dempster, 19; - commends Boswell's accent, 21; - opinion of Derrick, 25; - great writer, 36; - becomes friends with Boswell, 40-50; - conversation, 45-7; - liked admiration, 45; - strength of personality, 49; - Frederick the Great and Voltaire, 54; - compared with Paoli, 56-8; - approves Boswell's adventures in Corsica, 58; - opinion of Boswell's account of Corsica, &c., 59; - opinion of Gibbon and condemnation of 'infidelity,' 68 _seq._; - talks of going to Sweden, 71; - dines with Boswell, 74; - writes on behalf of Mr. Dodd, 79; - legal help to Boswell, 83-4; - on Scotchmen, 85-7, on Mrs. Boswell, 100-1; - Mrs. Boswell's opinion of, 102; - the Johnsonian circle, 106 _seq._; - meeting with Wilkes arranged, 110-12; - friendship with Boswell, 112-34; - lack of sympathy and blunt advice, 114; - irritated by Boswell, 115; - quarrels, 116-24; - no venom in his wounds, 120; - very angry, 121; - in the Hebrides, 125 _seq._; - at Streatham, 128; - at Lochbuy, 129; - use of images, 144; - influence on Boswell, 150-61; - conventional prejudices, 153 _seq._; - talks for victory, 121, 153-4; - truth, honesty, 155, 201; - dislikes affectation, 157-8; - a moralist, 159-60; - Lord Auchinleck's opinion of, 165; - on Lord Auchinleck as Boswell's father, 166; - knows nothing of Scotch law, 171; - view of Boswell's attendance at executions, 173; - discourages Boswell's political ambitions, 175; - Boswell's imitation of, 191-2; - 'just frown,' 155, 201; - _mot_ about Boswell's boasting, 204; - fear of death, 206; - Gargantua, 207; - records of the tour in the Hebrides, 209-14; - little taste for rural beauties, 210; - interest in human nature, 211; - remarks on his host's avarice, 212-13; - introduced to Temple, 215; - moral support, 222; - melancholy, 225; - faults of the great moralist, 233-4; - love of truth applied to biography, 235-7; - Hawkins' Life, and Mrs. Thrale's Memoirs, 237-8; - Boswell's conception of, 238-40; - description of, 242; - physical characteristics, 244; - his cat, 244-5; - Latin quotations, 245; - presents a Highland lass with 'Cocker's Arithmetic,' 245; - letter to Lord Chesterfield, 248; - his pension, 248-9; - gay Sam, 254, 295; - a great talker, 256; - not expansive, 257; - baited by Boswell, 259; - the subject of Boswell's experiments, 260 _seq._; - questioned by Boswell, 261 _seq._; - helps Boswell in his biographical work, 272; - the Johnsonian æther, 286-7; - the dictator, 288-93; - dancing lessons, 288; - the element of humour, 289; - his humanity and tenderness, 291; - Tom Davies put down, 292; - his 'awfulness,' 293-8; - Miss Burney's account, 294 _seq._; - his gallantry, 294-5; - his rebuke to Hannah More, 295; - his kindness, 295; - the dogmatist, 296; - pompousness and playfulness, 297; - his 'formality,' 298; - public interest in, 302; - his share in Boswell's great work, 315-6; - talked about, 317; - fertility and readiness of his wit, 323; - _See also under_ Boswell. - - Johnson, Boswell's Life of: - universality, 2-3; - self-expression in, 14; - 'Tour in Corsica' compared with, 59-60; - tells a story of friendship, 113; - attitude towards Johnson involved, 131; - not a complete expression of Boswell's views, 137; - proves Boswell's ability, 138; - an edifying book, 145; - humour, 201; - Malone the first editor, 210^1; - connection of the 'Tour to the Hebrides' with, 217, 227-8; - not the official life, 227^1; - industry of the author, 227-9; - Malone revises, 229-30; - Boswell's conviction that it will be a masterpiece, 229-33; - his conception of, 231-3; - nature of moral purpose in, 233-7; - Boswell's conception of Johnson's character, 238-41; - his qualifications, 242 _seq._; - his care, 247-5; - the proof-sheets, 250-1; - interest in Johnson's talk, 256; - the author's questions and experiments, 258-66; - his note-taking, 266 _seq._, - _see_ Boswell; - compiled from documents not extant, 273; - the process of Johnsonising, 278-82; - artistic nature of the representation, 283-93; - the 'shades' in Johnson's character emphasised, 286; - the comedy scenes, 288-92; - is Boswell's Johnson in any degree his own invention? 293-9; - Boswell's account accepted as the truth, 299; - contains occasional autobiography, 300; - solidifies Boswell's reputation, 303; - Malone prepares the third edition, 307; - Malone's opinion of, 308; - additions and corrections, 313; - its popularity and Boswell's triumph, 314-15; - Dr. Johnson's share, 315-16; - Boswell necessarily appears in, 321-2; - the dedication, 324; - _see also under_ Boswell, biography, &c. - - 'Journey to the Western Islands,' 87, 236 - - - K - - Kames, Lord, 18 - - Keats, 1 - - Killaloe, Bishop of, 289 - - King George III., 177, 182, 196, 255, 295 - - King of Prussia, 191 - - - L - - Langton, 106, 119, 248, 266, 281-2, 293 - - Leask, W. K., James Boswell, 313^11 - - Letters between the Honourable Andrew Erskine and James Boswell, Esq., - 30, 31, 32, 33 - - Letters, Boswell's political, 136-7, 176-7, 195 - - Letters to Temple, _see under_ Boswell - - Lettsom, Dr., 202 - - Lisburne, 178 - - Literary Club, 68, 106-7, 133 - - Literature, _see under_ Boswell - - 'Lives of the Poets,' 109 - - Lochbuy, 129, 131, 260 - - ----, Lady, 129 - - Lockhart, 1 - - London, 17, 20, 25, 34, 36, 97, 103, 105, 106, 124, 165, 167, 168, - 177, 182, 189, 218-19, 229, 306, 307, 318 - - 'London Magazine,' 8, 46^3, 65, 102, 103, 124, 137, 138, - 148^2-3, 157 - - Lonsdale, Lord, 175-6, 179 - - Loughborough, Lord, 248-9 - - Love, Mr., 20, 21, 22 - - Lowe, Mr., 252-3, - - - M - - Macaulay, Lord, 2, 4, 5 - - ----, Mrs., 61, 262 - - Macdonald, Sir Alexander (afterwards Lord), 212-14, 216 - - Mallet's 'Elvira,' 33 - - ----, critical strictures on, 33 - - Malone, Edmund, 47, 48, 107, 171, 210, 215, 220, 225, 229-30, 300^1, - 305-8, 313, 320 - - Mamhead, 10, 215 - - Marlborough, Duke of, 315 - - Mason, 11, 231-2 - - Maxwell, Jeany, 96 - - Mayo, Dr., 191 - - McLeod, Colonel, 72 - - Meadows, Captain, 74 - - Melancthon, 188 - - Michael Angelo, 145 - - Milton, 2, 145 - - Mitchell, Sir Andrew, 50, 178 - - Molière, 2 - - Monboddo, Lord, 261 - - Monckton, Miss, 201-2, 204 - - Montaigne, 299 - - Montgomerie, Miss, 100, 197 - - Montrose, Lord, 201 - - More, Hannah, 109, 237, 284, 289, 295 - - ----, Memoirs of, 109,^3 - - Mounsey, Dr., 291-2 - - Mountstuart, Lord, 178 - - Mull, 205 - - Murphy, 68, 248-9, 302 - - - N - - Nash, Beau, 324 - - Newgate, 174 - - Newmarket, 26, 27 - - Nichols, John, 185 - - ----, 'Literary Anecdotes of the XVIIIth Century,' 178^13, 306^8 - - ----, 'Literary History,' 132^9, 306^5, 307^9 - - ----, 'Literary Illustrations of the XVIIIth Century,' 176^6, 231^7, - 284^2 - - Northern Circuit, 17, 21, 169, 268 - - Northumberland, Duke of, 292 - - - O - - 'Ode to Gluttony,' 31 - - 'Ode to Tragedy,' 25, 29, 30 - - Odyssey, 235, 315 - - Oglethorpe, General, 74 - - Othello, 95, 258 - - - P - - Paoli, General, 51, 53, 55-60, 67, 69, 70, 74, 75, 76, 197, 189, 215, - 267-8, 275, 306 - - Paris, 53 - - Parnell, 234 - - Parr, Dr., 251 - - Paul, the Apostle, 234 - - Pembroke, Earl of, 74, 178 - - Pennant, Mr., 235 - - Pepys' Diary, 33 - - Percy, Bishop, 132^9, 175, 176^6, 231-2, 284, 291-2 - - Piozzi, Mrs., _see_ Mrs. Thrale - - Pitt, William (the younger), 183, 196, 197-200 - - Pocock's Johnsonian Catalogue, 273 - - Pope, 118 - - Presbyterian, Boswell's father a, 7 - - Prince of Wales, 177 - - Pringle, Sir John, 74 - - Prussia, 50 - - Pythagoras, 64 - - - R - - Racine, 2 - - Raleigh, Professor, 5, 40, 86 - - Rambler, 127, 238, 297, 299 - - Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 106, 108, 116, 118, 119, 173, 216, 220, 249, - 259, 291, 299, 306, 323 - - ----, Life of, 73^3, 108^1, 303 - - Robertson, Dr., 18, 191, 259 - - Rochefoucauld, 56 - - Rogers, Rev. Charles, LL.D., Memoir of James Boswell, 22, 23, 92^14, - 176^6, 225^7, 300, 304^2, 319 - - Roman Catholic, Boswell a, 37 - - Ross, Mr. David, 23, 24, 25 - - Rousseau, 19, 50, 51, 69, 93, 151 - - Rudd, Mrs., 73^3, 173 - - Russia, 311 - - - S - - Sallust, 53 - - Saxe-Gotha, 50 - - Schwellenberg, Mrs., 255 - - Scotland, 24, 30, 42, 78, 85, 87, 105, 106, 111, 127, 165, 167, 168, - 169, 209, 210, 235-6 - - Scott, Sir Walter, 2, 7, 85, 174, 225 - - Seccombe, Mr., 11, 15, 215 - - Select Society, 19, 20 - - Seward, 128 - - Shakespeare, 2, 65, 193, 195, 297 - - Shaw, Dr., 251 - - Shelley, 1 - - Shenstone's 'Pastoral on Absence,' 32, 33 - - Sheridan, Mr. Thomas, 248-9, 279 - - Skye, 122 - - 'Slavery, No Abolition of,' 310 - - Smith, Adam, 17, 68 - - Soaping Club, 27, 28 - - Somerville, Lord, 178 - - Southern's 'Tragedy of Oroonoco,' 22 - - Southill, 248 - - St. Gluvias, 10 - - Stone, Mr., 251 - - St. Paul's, 100, 137, 142 - - Stratford, Shakespeare Jubilee at, 65-6, 204 - - Streatham, 128, 263 - - Stuart, Lord Mount, 50 - - Sweden, 71 - - Swift, 118, 292 - - - T - - Taylor, John, 197-8, 304 - - ----, records of, 198^34, 305^4 - - ----, Tom, 'Life of Reynolds,' 73^3, 108, 303 - - Temple, William, 10-16, 61, 64, 70, 73, 79, 81, 84, 88, 92, 96, 98, - 100, 178, 183, 185-6, 187, 215, 225^7, 300^1, 306, 309-12 - - ----, 'Essay on the Clergy,' 11 - - Temple, William, Boswell's letters to, _see_ Boswell - - Temple Bar, 240 - - Temple Gate, 240 - - Templeton, John, 319 - - Tennyson, 1 - - Terentia, 53 - - Thérèse le Vasseur, 53 - - Thrale, Mrs., 72, 100, 108, 126, 237-8, 259, 266-7, 302 - - ----, Anecdote of Dr. Johnson, 237 - - ----, Autobiography, Letters, &c., 72^2, 258^1, 284^1 - - ----, Johnson's letters to, 126, 176^6 - - Tory, Boswell a, 8, 137, 153, 176, 177, 181 - - Tour to the Hebrides, 7, 68, 71^1, 78, 107, 121-3, 125-7, 131, 190, - 201, 205, 209-18, 227-8, 230, 234, 245, 257, 269^4, - 270^5, 297-9, 302, 303, 307, 314, 322 - - Tour in Corsica, _see_ account of Corsica - - Trelawney, Sir Jonathan, 97 - - Trevelyan, Sir George, 1 - - ----, 'Life of Fox,' 175^5 - - Turbulent, Mr., 254 - - Turks, 311 - - Twalmley, 205 - - Tyers, Tom, 257 - - - U - - Ulysses, 315 - - Utrecht, 50, 91, 155 - - Uxoriana, 102 - - - V - - Vestris, 288 - - Vilette, Rev. Mr., 251 - - Voltaire, 50, 54, 93, 149 - - - W - - Walcot, 216 - - Walpole, Horace, 61, 109, 302 - - ----, Letters of, 109^2 - - Warburton, 251 - - Wedderburne, 248-9 - - Wellesley, Marquess of, 118 - - Westminster Hall, 168, 170, 215 - - Westminster School, 320 - - Whig, Boswell's father a, 7, 8 - - ----, Boswell becomes a, 9 - - Whitehead, Mason's Life of, 231 - - Wilkes, Jack, 19, 50, 55, 69, 70, 110, 112, 117, 250, 282 - - Williams, Miss, 43 - - Wordsworth, 1 - - Wren, Sir Christopher, 142 - - - Y - - York, 177 - - York, Duke of, 26, 27 - - Young's Night Thoughts, 188 - - - Z - - Zelide, 91, 95, 98 - - * * * * * - - - PRINTED BY - SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. LTD., COLCHESTER - LONDON AND ETON - - - - - * * * * * - -_Biography_ - - * * * * * - - -Second Edition. Large Post 8vo. 5s. net. - -A Nurse's Life in War and Peace. - -By E. C. LAURENCE, R.R.C. - -With a Preface by Sir Frederick Treves, Bart., G.C.V.O., C.B., &c. - -_British Medical Journal._--'A really life-like and unbiassed account -of hospital life. Miss E. C. Laurence has rendered the nursing -profession a real service by the publication of her delightful book.' - - * * * * * - -With Portraits in Photogravure of Dickens, Thackeray, Wilkie Collins, -and Wills. Demy 8vo. (In each copy is affixed the Dickens stamp.) - - 12s. 6d. net. - -Charles Dickens as Editor. - -Being Letters written by him to William Henry Wills, his Sub-Editor. - -Selected and Edited by R. C. LEHMANN. - -Author of 'The Sun Child,' 'Memories of Half-a-Century,' &c. - -_Westminster Gazette._--'Mr. Lehmann's book throws a new and very full -light upon a very important part of Dickens' many-sided activities. No -Dickens enthusiast should rest content until he has obtained the book. -The legion of admirers of the novelist owes a heavy debt of gratitude -to Mr. Lehmann for placing within reach so delightful a collection of -letters.' - - * * * * * - -With a Portrait of the Author. Large Post 8vo. 7s. 6d. net. - -Seeking Fortune in America. - -By F. W. GREY. - -_Manchester Daily Dispatch._--'"Seeking Fortune in America" ought to -be read by every British middle-class or wealthy father; and by every -youth who proposes to seek his fortune in America.' - - * * * * * - -With 2 Portraits in Photogravure. Demy 8vo. 10s. 6d. net. - -Life of Bishop Ernest Wilberforce. - -By J. B. ATLAY, Barrister-at-Law. - -Author of 'The Victorian Chancellors,' &c. - -_Daily Telegraph._--'Bishop Wilberforce appears, from the evidence -of this unpretentious biography, as a fine type of Englishman, an -administrator, a sportsman, a gentleman, a fearless Christian.' - - * * * * * - -With a Portrait from a Drawing by George Richmond, R.A. - - Fourth Impression. Third Edition. - Small Demy 8vo. 7s. 6d. net. - - Edward King, - 60th Bishop of Lincoln. - -By the Right Hon. G. W. E. RUSSELL. - -_Daily Telegraph._--'Mr. Russell has done the work exactly as would be -expected of him. He writes admirably and gives a bright and touching -portrait of his subject.' - - * * * * * - - -NEW SUPPLEMENT (1901-1911) - -of - -The Dictionary of National Biography - -Edited by Sir SIDNEY LEE, Litt.D., &c. - -SECOND SUPPLEMENT, IN THREE VOLUMES. - -1,650 Memoirs by 290 Contributors. - -Roy. 8vo. 15s. net each volume, in brown or blue cloth; or in -half-morocco, 20s. net. - - VOL. I. ABBEY--EYRE. - VOL. II. FAED--MUYBRIDGE. - VOL. III. NAPIER--YOUNG. - -This second Supplement of the Dictionary supplies biographies of all -noteworthy persons who died between the day of Queen Victoria's -death, 22nd January, 1901 (the limit of the First Supplement) and 31st -December, 1911. - - -_SOME PRESS OPINIONS._ - - _Times._--'The remarkable biography of King Edward VII. shows - qualities of careful preparation and of judgment.' - - _Daily Telegraph._--'The biography of the late King written by - the Editor reviews the life from every standpoint, and makes - a closer personal study of the man and the King than has - hitherto been attempted.' - - _Morning Post._--'The Editor is to be heartily congratulated - on the conscientious execution of a delicate but most - interesting task.' - - _Standard._--'A most valuable contribution to the political - and constitutional history of the period that lies immediately - behind us.' - - _Manchester Guardian._--'The appearance of the first volume - of the Second Supplement is an event of more than usual - importance.' - - _Daily Chronicle._--'The first real, intimate, authoritative - account of King Edward.' - - * * * * * - -London: Smith, Elder & Co., 15 Waterloo Place, S.W. - - * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's note: - - The book contains some foreign words and a few old spellings, e.g., - 'authour', 'tenour', etc., and also instances of hyphenated and - non-hyphenated variants of some words. These have all been retained. - - Instances of both 'adhaesit' and 'adhæsit' appear in the text. Both - have been retained. - - Punctuation is not always consistent. Some punctuation has been - amended for conformity; sundry missing or damaged punctuation has been - repaired. - - Page 28: Extraneous closing quote removed after "alive.'" - - "There is no better fellow alive." - - Page 56: 'Rochefoucault' is the spelling used by Boswell; - Rochefoucauld appears in the Index. Both have been retained. - - - Page 65: 'possble' corrected to 'possible' - - "... there can be no possible doubt that Boswell wrote it...." - - - Page 108: 'Boswell:' changed to '_Boswell_:' for consistency. - - "... _Boswell_: 'They were afraid of you, Sir, as...." - - Page 200: 'compositon' corrected to 'composition'. - - "... and he was so vain that he was undoubtedly proud of what - must have been an absurd composition." - - Page 336: 'Tory, Boswella corrected to 'Tory, Boswell a' - - "Tory, Boswell a, 8, 137, 153, 176, 177, 181" - - A few corrections have been made to page numbers in the index, some - numbers (without a reference on the page) removed, and some added: - The corrected number is after the name; The printed number is in - (brackets). - - Akerman, ... 251 (250) - - Boswell: - law ... (187)(204) - lawyers ... 205 () - letters: - Temple, quoted ... 70 (69) ... 167^1 () ... (179) - ... 185-186 (186) - - Eglinton, Earl of ... 197 (196) - - Graham, ... 201 (202) - - Hypochondriack, ... 145-6 (146) - - Samuel Johnson: - talks for victory, ... 121 () - 'just frown', ... 155 () - gay Sam, ... 254, 295 (246) - - Lisburne, ... 178 (179) - - Lochbuy, ... 260 (258) - - London Magazine, ... (69) (104) - - Lowe, ... (255) - - Macaulay, ... 2 (1) ... (61) - - Macaulay, Mrs., ... 61 () - - Montgomerie, ... 100, 197 (98-9, 100) - - More, Hannah, ... 284 (283) - - Nichols, John, - ----, 'Literary History,' ... 307^9 (308) - - Paoli, General, ... 67 (66) 187 () - - Percy, Bishop, ... 284 (283) - - Reynolds, Sir Joshua, ... 249 (248) ... 259 (258) - - Robertson, Dr., ... 259 (258) - - Rogers, Rev. Charles, LL.D., Memoir of James Boswell, ... (216) - - Temple Gate ... 240 (229) - - Thrale, Mrs., ... (290), (295), (297) - - Turbulent, Mr., ... 254 (253) - - Tyers, Tom, ... 257 (256) - - Vilette, Rev. 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- clear: both; } - pre {font-size: 85%;} - </style> -</head> -<body> -<h1 class="pg">The Project Gutenberg eBook, Boswell the Biographer, by George Herbert -Leigh Mallory, Illustrated by George Dance</h1> -<p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States -and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no -restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at <a -href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you are not -located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this ebook.</p> -<p>Title: Boswell the Biographer</p> -<p>Author: George Herbert Leigh Mallory</p> -<p>Release Date: June 6, 2016 [eBook #52246]</p> -<p>Language: English</p> -<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> -<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOSWELL THE BIOGRAPHER***</p> -<p> </p> -<h4>E-text prepared by MWS, Lesley Halamek,<br /> - and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> - (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br /> - from page images generously made available by<br /> - Internet Archive<br /> - (<a href="https://archive.org">https://archive.org</a>)</h4> -<p> </p> -<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> - <tr> - <td valign="top"> - Note: - </td> - <td> - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - <a href="https://archive.org/details/boswellbiographe00mallrich"> - https://archive.org/details/boswellbiographe00mallrich</a> - </td> - </tr> -</table> -<p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/cover350.jpg" width="350" height="508" alt="cover" /></div> - -<div id="half-title"> - -<h2>BOSWELL THE BIOGRAPHER</h2> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a href="images/frontis-1200.jpg"><img src="images/frontis-400.jpg" width="400" height="499" alt="frontispiece" /></a> - -<div class="caption"> -<p> <span class="left"><i>April 27<sup>th</sup>. 1753</i></span> <span class="right"><i>Emery Walker Ph. So.</i></span></p></div> - -<div class="caption1 clear"> -<p class="centersc"><i>James Boswell</i><br /> -<i>from a drawing by George Dance R.A.</i></p></div></div> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h1 class="space-above5"><span class="spaced1"><big>BOSWELL</big></span><br /><br class="b30" /> - -<span class="spaced1 wsp"><big>THE BIOGRAPHER</big></span><br /><br /> - -<span class="smaller">BY</span><br /><br class="b30" /> - -<span class="less2">GEORGE MALLORY</span></h1> - -<p class="centersb space-above5">WITH A PORTRAIT BY GEORGE DANCE, R.A.</p> - -<p class="centerc space-above5"><span class="less">LONDON</span><br /> -SMITH, ELDER & CO., 15 WATERLOO PLACE<br /> -1912</p> - -<p class="title1">[All rights reserved]</p> -</div> - -<div class="chapter space-above5"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="pagev" id="pagev"></a>[pg v]</span></p> -</div> - -<h3>CONTENTS</h3> -<table class="toc" summary="contents" border="0"> -<tr> - <td class="left"> </td> - <td class="right">Page</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left"><a class="toc" href="#pagev">PREFACE</a></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#pagev">v</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left"><a class="toc" href="#pagevii">BIBLIOGRAPHY</a></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#pagevii">vii</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left"><a class="toc" href="#page1">CHAPTER I</a></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#page1">1</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left"><a class="toc" href="#page40">CHAPTER II</a></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#page40">40</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left"><a class="toc" href="#page67">CHAPTER III</a></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#page67">67</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left"><a class="toc" href="#page105">CHAPTER IV</a></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#page105">105</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left"><a class="toc" href="#page135">CHAPTER V</a></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#page135">135</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left"><a class="toc" href="#page162">CHAPTER VI</a></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#page162">162</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left"><a class="toc" href="#page209">CHAPTER VII</a></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#page209">209</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left"><a class="toc" href="#page227">CHAPTER VIII</a></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#page227">227</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left"><a class="toc" href="#page241">CHAPTER IX</a></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#page241">241</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left"><a class="toc" href="#page256">CHAPTER X</a></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#page256">256</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left"><a class="toc" href="#page267">CHAPTER XI</a></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#page267">267</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left"><a class="toc" href="#page283">CHAPTER XII</a></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#page283">283</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left"><a class="toc" href="#page300">CHAPTER XIII</a></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#page300">300</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left"><a class="toc" href="#page327">INDEX</a></td> - <td class="right"><a href="#page327">327</a></td> -</tr> -</table> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="space-above5">PREFACE</h2> -</div> - -<p>The responsibility for upwards of 300 pages in print -is a burden which my unaccustomed conscience -cannot easily bear, and by accepting it I lose for -ever the unassailable dignity of private criticism. In -these circumstances I approach my readers in an -apologetic frame of mind. I shall not apologise for -writing a dull book by explaining in what manner -it is interesting. I had thought of doing something -of the sort, but at the present moment that course -presents insuperable difficulties. An explanation, if -not apology, is however necessary; for this volume is -in one sense a compromise. It is less than a biography -and more than an essay. It aims at being not a -complete Life of Boswell, but an explanation of his -character. This purpose may not seem to require -so long a treatment as mine. Certainly it would -have been easier to say, and easier to read, all that -I have said about Boswell's psychology in far fewer -words. But my design was to prove my case. Boswell -has been so much a subject of controversy that, -were I merely to state my views, I should convince, -if anyone is to be convinced by me, only those who -<span class="pagenum"><a name="pagevi" id="pagevi"></a>[pg vi]</span> -had observed the same facts as myself—the facts -upon which those views are based. By bringing -forward the evidence without stint I have hoped to -establish my opinions on a firmer base.</p> - -<p>A list of the books to which I have referred is -printed at the beginning of this volume. I am naturally -indebted to the researches of Dr. G. Birkbeck Hill, -to the three biographers of Boswell—Dr. Rogers (in -'Boswelliana'), Mr. Percy Fitzgerald, and Mr. W. K. -Leask—and to the brilliant study by Carlyle. I must -also mention three essays which have been particularly -illuminating—that by W. E. Henley in 'Views and -Reviews,' by Lionel Johnson in 'Post Liminium,' -and by Mr. Birrell in his edition of Boswell's 'Life of -Johnson.'</p> - -<p>I am grateful especially to Mr. A. C. Benson, whose -encouragement promoted this enterprise, to Mr. G. L. -Strachey for many valuable suggestions, and to Mr. -E. H. Marsh for correcting my proofs, which was no -mean labour.</p> - -<p class="author">GEORGE MALLORY.</p> - -<p class="ind"><span class="sc">Charterhouse</span>:</p> -<p class="ind1a"><i>July 25, 1912</i>.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="pagevii" id="pagevii"></a></span></p> - -<h2 class="space-above5">BIBLIOGRAPHY</h2> - -<table class="biblio" summary="bibliography" border="0"> -<tr> - <th colspan="2"> [This is a list of books bearing directly upon Boswell which -have been used for this volume.] - </th> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Birrell, A., Introduction to his edition of Boswell's Life of Johnson </td> - <td class="right">London, 1906</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Boswell, James:</td> - <td class="right"> </td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left1">Elegy on the Death of an Amiable Young Lady</td> - <td class="right">1761</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left1">Ode to Tragedy</td> - <td class="right">1761</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left1">Collection of Original Poems, contributions to</td> - <td class="right">1762</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left1">The Cub at Newmarket</td> - <td class="right">1762</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left1">Critical Strictures on Mallet's Elvira, by A. Erskine and J. Boswell</td> - <td class="right">1763</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left1">Correspondence with the Hon. Andrew Erskine</td> - <td class="right">1763</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left1">Dorando, a Spanish Tale</td> - <td class="right">1767</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left1">Essence of the Douglas Cause</td> - <td class="right">1767</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left1">Account of Corsica, &c., 2nd edition </td> - <td class="right">1768</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left2">(1st edition was published 1768)</td> - <td class="right"> </td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left1">British Essays in favour of the Brave Corsicans</td> - <td class="right">1769</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left1">The Hypochondriack in the London Magazine, Oct. 1777</td> - <td class="right">to Dec. 1779</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left1">Letter to the People of Scotland on the Present State of the Nation</td> - <td class="right">1783</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left1">Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides. <span style="margin-left: 3em">Ed. G. Birkbeck Hill</span></td> - <td class="right">1887</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left2">(1st edition 1785)</td> - <td class="right"> </td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left1">Letter to the People of Scotland against the attempt to<br /> - diminish the number of the Lords of Session</td> - <td class="right">1785</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left1">No Abolition of Slavery, or the Universal Empire of Love</td> - <td class="right">1791</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left1">Life of Johnson. <span style="margin-left: 3em">Ed. Right Hon. John Wilson Croker</span></td> - <td class="right">1866</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left1">Life of Samuel Johnson. <span style="margin-left: 3em">Ed. G. Birkbeck Hill. 6 vols.</span></td> - <td class="right">Oxford, 1887<a id="footnotetag1" name="footnotetag1"></a><a href="#footnote1"><sup>1</sup></a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left2">(1st edition 1791)</td> - <td class="right"> </td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Letters to Temple, reprint</td> - <td class="right">London, 1908<a id="footnotetag1r" name="footnotetag1r"></a><a href="#footnote1"><sup>1</sup></a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left1">—— Life of, see Rogers, Fitzgerald, and Leask.</td> - <td class="right"> </td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Boswelliana, the Commonplace Book of James Boswell,</td> - <td class="right">London, Grampian Club, 1876</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Burke, Edmund, Correspondence<span class="pagenum"><a name="pageviii" id="pageviii"></a>[pg viii]</span></td> - <td class="right">London, 1824</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Burney, Miss, <i>see</i> D'Arblay.</td> - <td class="right"> </td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Campbell, Rev. Dr. Thomas, Diary</td> - <td class="right">London, 1854</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Carlyle, Miscellanies</td> - <td class="right">London, 1872</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Chatham, Earl of, Correspondence. 4 vols.</td> - <td class="right">London, 1838</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Collection of Original Poems</td> - <td class="right">Edinburgh, 1763</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Croker, Right Hon. John Wilson, Correspondence and Diaries. 3 vols.</td> - <td class="right">London, 1884</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">D'Arblay, Diary of Madame. Ed. Austin Dobson. 6 vols.</td> - <td class="right">London, 1904</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">—— Memoirs of Dr. Burney. 3 vols.</td> - <td class="right">London, 1832</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Edinburgh, Traditions of </td> - <td class="right">1869</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Eldon, Lord Chancellor, Life of, by Horace Twiss. 3 vols.</td> - <td class="right">London, 1844</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Fitzgerald, Percy, Life of Boswell</td> - <td class="right">London, 1891</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Forbes, Sir William, Life of James Beattie</td> - <td class="right">London, 1806</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Gentleman's Magazine</td> - <td class="right"> </td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Goldsmith, Life by James Prior. 2 vols.</td> - <td class="right">London, 1837</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Gray, Life by Mason. 2 vols.</td> - <td class="right">London, 1807</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Hawkins, Sir John, Life of Johnson</td> - <td class="right">London, 1787</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">—— Lætitia Matilda, Memoirs. 2 vols.</td> - <td class="right">London, 1824</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Henley, W. E., Views and Reviews</td> - <td class="right">London, 1902</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Hill, Dr. George Birkbeck, Life of Johnson. 6 vols.</td> - <td class="right">Oxford, 1887</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">—— Dr. Johnson, his Friends and Critics</td> - <td class="right">London, 1878</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left1"><i>See also</i> Johnson Club Papers.</td> - <td class="right"> </td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Holcroft, Thomas, Memoirs. 3 vols.</td> - <td class="right">London, 1816</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Hume, David, Correspondence</td> - <td class="right">London, 1846</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Ireland, S. W. H., The Confessions of W. H. Ireland</td> - <td class="right">London, 1805</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Johnson, Dr. Samuel, Dictionary</td> - <td class="right">London, 1755</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">—— Lives of the Poets</td> - <td class="right">London, 1781</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">—— Journey to the Western Islands</td> - <td class="right">London, 1775</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Johnson, Lionel, Post Liminium, Critical Essays</td> - <td class="right">London, 1911</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Johnson Club Papers, by various hands</td> - <td class="right">London, 1899</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Leask, W. K., James Boswell, Famous Scots Series.</td> - <td class="right">Edinburgh, 1896</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">London Magazine</td> - <td class="right"> </td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Macaulay, Critical and Historical Essays. 3 vols.</td> - <td class="right">London, 1843</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Malone, Life of, Prior</td> - <td class="right">London, 1860</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">More, Hannah, Memoirs of. 4 vols.</td> - <td class="right">London, 1834</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Nichols, John, Literary Anecdotes of the XVIIIth Century. 9 vols.<span class="pagenum"><a name="pageix" id="pageix"></a>[pg ix]</span></td> - <td class="right">London, 1812-15</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">—— Literary History of the XVIIIth Century. 8 vols.</td> - <td class="right">London, 1817-58</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Piozzi, Mrs., Autobiography. 2 vols.</td> - <td class="right">London, 1861</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">—— Johnson's Letters to. 2 vols.</td> - <td class="right">London, 1788</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">—— Anecdotes of the late Samuel Johnson, 2nd edition</td> - <td class="right">London, 1789</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Raleigh, Sir Walter, Six Essays on Johnson</td> - <td class="right">Oxford, 1910</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Reynolds, Sir Joshua, Life by Leslie and Taylor. 2 vols.</td> - <td class="right">London, 1865</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Rogers, Rev. Charles, Memoir of Boswell, in Boswelliana</td> - <td class="right"> </td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Taylor, John, Records of My Life</td> - <td class="right">London, 1832</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Trevelyan, Sir G. O., Life of Fox</td> - <td class="right">London, 1912</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="left">Walpole, Horace, Letters. 9 vols.</td> - <td class="right">London, 1861</td> -</tr> -</table> - -<blockquote> -<p class="footnote1a"><a id="footnote1" name="footnote1"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag1">1:</a> -All references are to this edition.</p> -</blockquote> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page1" id="page1"></a></span></p> - -<h2 class="space-above5">BOSWELL THE BIOGRAPHER</h2> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3 class="space-above5">CHAPTER I</h3> -</div> - -<p>Boswell's 'Life of Johnson' is, as we all know, a -unique biography; it has no rival. Its unchallenged -supremacy has a special significance from the position -which Johnson himself retains in literature. For -as it must be admitted that his work has been but -little read since his own day, and that by far his -greatest performance, the compiling of a dictionary, -has in its nature nothing of an artistic appeal, it may -well be supposed that the literary men of this age -find more to stir the imagination in the lives of the -great figures of the nineteenth century, in the romance -of Byron, Shelley, Keats, and at a later date of the Pre-Raphaelite -group, in the peculiar simplicity of Wordsworth, -the splendour of Tennyson, and the fervid -passion of Browning. And yet we have for Johnson -a more intimate place which is all his own.</p> - -<p>It is because we know him better. Subsequent -biographers, Lockhart, Froude, Trevelyan—to mention -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page2" id="page2"></a>[pg 2]</span> -a few of the more successful—have like Boswell written -good biographies: we know much that is interesting -about Scott, Carlyle, and Macaulay. But what we -know of Johnson is more vivid, real, and true; it is -the man himself. Boswell is therefore the first of -biographers. He is first beyond the jealousy of a -rival and above the common earth of imitators—as -Homer is first in epic poetry, as Molière and Racine, -Shakespeare and Milton are all first where they most -excel. And he is first only for this reason, that we -know most intimately the man who was portrayed -by him.</p> - -<p>But if the mere extent of our knowledge of Johnson -determines the greatness of Boswell, there is yet -some particular appeal besides, some special charm -that wins us in Boswell's 'Johnson.' When we -come to think of the nature of Boswell's value for -so many people, we shall find that it depends not -altogether upon the completeness of his method or -his capacity for giving expression to it, but also upon -an interest which exists apart from any structural or -artistic quality. The 'Life of Johnson' is one of -those rare books which have by nature a certain -universality. It exists not for one but for every -generation. It is not for the cultured alone nor for -the uncultured, nor yet, if he exists, for the normal -person. It is everybody's book. And this is a fact -which requires explanation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page3" id="page3"></a>[pg 3]</span> -<span class="rightnote">INTEREST IN JOHNSON AND BOSWELL</span></p> - -<p>It would be easy if we were merely seeking to -distinguish that which has a special value or quality -from what is merely commonplace, if we simply wished -to determine the peculiar flavour and virtue of the -work, to find a number of reasons why the book we -are speaking of should have a special value among -biographies. The careful art of the writer, the vividness -of the scenes he depicts, his unrivalled humour, -the mere form of what he presents, including as it -does all that he meant by biography, the interest we -feel in the distinguished men who play, as it were, -the minor parts of the drama—all these are responsible -in their several degrees for the pleasure we derive from -Boswell's 'Johnson.'</p> - -<p>But to account for its universality we must look -elsewhere—to the simple human interest felt by everyone -in two such characters as Johnson and Boswell. -A biography may be written about an interesting man -by a dull one or about a dull man by an interesting one; -and interest in either may be satisfied by reading it: -even when both the men are dull some pleasure may be -obtained from a biography by one who is interested -in the psychological phenomenon of dullness. The -'Life of Johnson' may be read with pleasure, and -even with something more than pleasure, because both -Johnson and his biographer are supremely interesting -men. There may be some of Boswell's readers who have -pleasure from his <i>magnum opus</i>, for the treatment, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page4" id="page4"></a>[pg 4]</span> -as it is technically called; but it is the subject, or -rather one might say the two subjects, since there -is in it so much also of autobiography, that attract -the greater number of them. And there must be -many to whom—of these two historic people, Johnson -and Boswell—the more interesting because he was more -interested in himself, the more attractive because we can -see in him more of ourselves, is Boswell the biographer.</p> - -<p class="centerf">.<span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span></p> - -<p>In presenting the literary portrait of a man there -can be no greater error than to indulge in controversy. -It is an error which one may make very readily, for -we have all at heart the love of battle; moreover, it -is easy to contradict another, and difficult to give a -whole picture of one's own. And in the case of Boswell -there is matter for controversy particularly obvious -and particularly inviting. Distinguished men have -formed entirely different conceptions of his character -and used the pen with more energy than wisdom to -support their views. It seems clear now that Boswell -has been widely misunderstood.</p> - -<p>We are confronted at the outset by a sort of popular -paradox. Not only Lord Macaulay, but most of Boswell's -contemporaries and most of his editors, have -thought of him as nothing more than a fool—they have -supposed with the poet Gray, 'Any fool may write -a most valuable book by chance.' No one has ever -denied that the 'Life' is a good book. No one after -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page5" id="page5"></a>[pg 5]</span> -<span class="rightnote">GENIUS AND FOOL</span> -his own generation, till Carlyle, ever denied that -Boswell was a bad man, just the mean, snivelling -creature imagined by Macaulay.</p> - -<p>Modern criticism has done much to raise the -besmirched name of the biographer, but has managed -at the same time to envelop his character in a sort -of generous obscurity. 'Boswell,' Professor Raleigh -has boldly exclaimed, 'was a genius.' The Boswellian -student will probably agree: but in agreeing we must -be cautious not to confuse our ideas about Boswell's -character; to say that a man is a genius is not to -say that he is unaccountable for his actions, or even -of necessity to imply that he is mad. The genius -is often more complex than other men, but not more -incomprehensible. It is possible, if we like, to look -behind the veil that is drawn between humanity and -a particular human being. We can see in a genius -not less than in others the meaning of all the names -which we use to describe life, of love and sympathy, -greed and egoism, hate, fear, joy, and the rest; of all -the qualities that form for better or for worse what -we call character, what it is to be kind or cruel, vain -or modest, false or true. Nor, when we say that -Boswell is a genius, do we preclude the possibility -of his being a fool. Boswell was indeed a fool, as is -easy enough to show; but he was not, as was long -supposed, a stupid fool.</p> - -<p>We do, however, mean something by the term -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page6" id="page6"></a>[pg 6]</span> -genius; and it is something of the inward life. The -soul of man is composed of combustible matter, and -the violence and quality of its conflagration depend -upon the proportions in which the ingredients are mixed. -In certain cases an abnormal quantity of one substance -or another produces an extraordinary result; and when -this result can be classified neither as criminal nor lunatic -it is called by the more approved name of genius.</p> - -<p>Two questions therefore are to be asked especially -with regard to a genius: First, in what way was the -conflagration peculiar? Secondly, what were the substances -present in abnormal quantity which caused -the peculiarity?</p> - -<p>It is intended that these two questions shall be -answered with regard to Boswell in the course of this -general inquiry concerning his psychology. It is held -that Boswell was a genius; it must be explained in -what his genius consisted, and how, in the end, this -abnormal essence dominated the whole man and -inspired the great work of his life.</p> - -<p class="centerf">.<span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span></p> - -<p>James Boswell was born in Edinburgh on October -29th, 1740. He came of an old Scottish stock, and his -ancestors, if not eminent, were at least distinguished -men and proud of being the Lairds of Auchinleck.</p> - -<p>Of his mother we know but little; she was, -however, a woman of 'almost unexampled piety and -goodness.'</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page7" id="page7"></a>[pg 7]</span></p> - -<p>Lord Auchinleck, his father, figures occasionally -<span class="rightnote">BOSWELL'S FATHER</span> -in the various authorities for Boswell's 'Life,' and -we can get a very good picture of him. Scott gives -the following account:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Old Lord Auchinleck was an able lawyer, a good -scholar, after the manner of Scotland, and highly -valued his own advantages as a man of good estate -and ancient family; and, moreover, he was a strict -Presbyterian and Whig of the old Scottish cast. This -did not prevent his being a terribly proud aristocrat, -and great was the contempt he entertained and expressed -for his son James, for the nature of his friendships -and the character of the personages of whom he -was <i>engoué</i> one after another. 'There's nae hope -for Jamie, mon,' he said to a friend. 'Jamie is gaen -clean gyte.... Whose tail do you think he has pinned -himself to now, mon?' Here the old judge summoned -up a sneer of most sovereign contempt. 'A <i>dominie</i>, -mon—an auld dominie; he keeped a schule and cau'd -it an acaadamy.' -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The Laird, as is evident from the account in the -'Tour to the Hebrides' of Johnson's visit to Boswell's -home, held his opinions with that conviction which -admits of no discussion. A story of him is related by -Scott that when challenged by Johnson to explain the -utility of Cromwell's career, he very curtly remarked: -'God, Doctor, he gart kings ken they had a lith<a id="footnotetag1.1" name="footnotetag1.1"></a><a href="#footnote1.1"><sup>1</sup></a> -in their neck.'</p> - -<p>Boswell seems to have summed up the situation at -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page8" id="page8"></a>[pg 8]</span> -home when he wrote in the <i>London Magazine</i> for -1781:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I knew a father who was a violent Whig and -used to attack his son for being a Tory, upbraiding -him with being deficient in noble sentiments of liberty, -while at the same time he made this son live under -his roof in such bondage as he was not only afraid -to stir from home without leave like a child, but durst -scarcely open his mouth in his father's presence. -This was sad living. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The problem of youth is one of selection. Not -many of us accept for ourselves the whole of our inheritance. -Of the influences of our early years there -are some which we reject; and the judgments which -we make about the problems that affected us when -young, differ as a rule from those about other questions -which come upon us only in maturer years. In -youth we must either love or hate—there is no indifference; -and so in youth very often are formed the -prejudices of a lifetime. Thus it was with Boswell. -It was inevitable that the inflexible, hard-headed old -judge, and the gay, clever son, should agree very ill. -The latter contrived to be in many ways the exact -antithesis of his father, and he had the courage of his -opinions. It is remarkable, when we think of the -violence of the old Whig's political views, that in 1745 -Boswell 'wore a white cockade and prayed for King -James.' The advances of an uncle it is true were -able to purchase his political sympathies, and for the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page9" id="page9"></a>[pg 9]</span> -<span class="rightnote">EARLY YEARS AND HOME LIFE</span> -sum of one shilling Boswell became a Whig. But it -is more decorous, at the age of five, to side with -one's father without the persuasion of a silver bribe, -especially upon a question of so great importance as -the choice of a sovereign. For his tutor, Mr. Dunn, -James seems to have retained no startling degree of -affection or even of respect; for it was he who 'discovered -a narrowness of information concerning the -dignitaries of the Church of England. He talked -before Dr. Johnson of fat bishops and drowsy deans, -and in short seemed to believe the illiberal and profane -scoffings of professed satirists or vulgar railers'; -and so brought upon himself the admirable rebuke: -'Sir, you know no more of our Church than a -Hottentot.'</p> - -<p>In the uncongenial atmosphere of home Boswell -learnt, no doubt, to dislike instruction and to mistrust -what he was told about the way to live, about manners -in the old use of the word. There is, however, the -trace of a pious mother's influence in the respect -which Boswell always showed for religion and for -principles. To know what he thought right or wrong -was always of importance to him, however slight the -relation to his practice of these moral decisions. It -is possible indeed that he could never have been -better than a tyro in the art of living: but the close-fettered -days of this unfortunate childhood must be -partly responsible for the fact.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page10" id="page10"></a>[pg 10]</span></p> - -<p>When the term of his education at home was -accomplished, Boswell very properly went to school -at Edinburgh. We have reason to complain, if we -may complain at all, that we can know nothing of -Boswell's school life. It is idle to conjecture what -it was like. We may only suppose that school was -to him a place of comparative freedom, and that to -his schoolfellows his presence there was a valuable -source of merriment, and perhaps also an occasion -of maliciousness.</p> - -<p>From school Boswell went by a natural sequence -to Edinburgh University: he was barely seventeen -years old when the change took place. It was at -Edinburgh University, at Hunter's Greek class, that -Boswell met his lifelong friend William Temple.</p> - -<p>Temple is distinguished as the grandfather of an -archbishop. Beyond this his life has no considerable -distinction; and beyond the fact that he was Boswell's -friend it has no peculiar interest. His eminence in -the immediate affairs of this world may be rightly -judged from the unembellished statement that, after -his ordination in 1766, he remained a country parson, -first at Mamhead, near Exeter, and later at St. Gluvias, -in Cornwall, for his entire life. It is a curiously -undecorated career for one who obtained so large a -measure not merely of Boswell's friendship, but of -his admiration.</p> - -<p>A sad mischance has denied us at least the gratification -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page11" id="page11"></a>[pg 11]</span> -<span class="rightnote">WILLIAM TEMPLE</span> -of curiosity by hiding from our view, and perhaps -destroying, the letters of Temple to Boswell; those -qualities which attracted the youthful biographer, -and completely won his confidence, are no doubt -exposed therein; but we may not see. Boswell's -own letters however reveal something of his correspondent's -character. Temple in the first place—and -this perhaps is the most important fact—was -literary. He was evidently a far better scholar than -Boswell, and knew more about books. He was a -writer too in a small way. He published several -unpretentious volumes. They have no particular -interest that demands our attention, but one of them, -'An Essay on the Clergy, &c.,' 'by some divine mischance,' -as Mr. Seccombe puts it, 'materially aided -his prospects.' Temple's ability seems rather to have -been that of a critic. In the letters that he wrote to -Boswell he pronounced his views about books and -authors: Boswell esteemed his opinions highly, and -there was a proposal, apparently fruitless, that these -passages should be collected into a book. It would -be wrong to assume from Boswell's optimistic remarks -that Temple was really capable of writing anything -valuable. But his opinion was in one instance at -least supported by eminent men of letters. Boswell -quoted in a periodical an appreciation of Gray which -Temple wrote at the time of that poet's death; Mason -thought this so good that he inserted it in his 'Life -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page12" id="page12"></a>[pg 12]</span> -of Gray'; and Dr. Johnson afterwards included the -same passage in the 'Lives of the Poets.'</p> - -<p>Temple, as we see, is not entitled to the fame of -Letters; but it is important to realise, since he was -the greatest friend both of the young and the old -Boswell, that though he had not the qualities that -deserve success, and had not the good fortune that -may bring it by chance, he had, however, a certain -distinction.</p> - -<p>There are other reasons for Boswell's preference. -If neither Temple nor Boswell was a successful man, -yet they both desired success in a quite extraordinary -degree, and in the early days of their friendship at -Edinburgh this was a strong link. They perceived, no -doubt, that they were unlike the majority of students, -and concluded they were better than the rest. They -looked forward to brilliant careers and elegant fame, -to the respect of princes and the friendship of the -ingenious. Boswell lived for the greater part of his -life in a palace of boyish dreams where Wishes became -Destiny, and it is fair to suppose that Temple at the -Scottish University shared this luxury of anticipation. -He, too, could look back to the Edinburgh days and -consider if he were becoming 'the great man, as we -used to say.' And in later life the link held firm; -for neither of them was 'the great man' in the sense -that he intended. If they were companions in -hopeful optimism when young, they were equally -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page13" id="page13"></a>[pg 13]</span> -<span class="rightnote">FRIENDSHIP FOR TEMPLE</span> -companions at a maturer age in the discontent and -despair of unrealised ambition.</p> - -<p>It might be supposed that any friend of Boswell -would play the part of the strong man. He might -not have the capacity of Dr. Johnson for sweeping -away cobwebs and for discouraging complaint, but -one would expect to find him upon the same platform. -Temple, however, did not take this attitude. On the -contrary it was Boswell who encouraged Temple. -Not once but many times we find in the letters that -Temple has told the tale of his evil fortune in tones of -despondency, and Boswell tries to present the circumstances -in a more favourable light. Boswell perhaps -did not do this very well. Neither the cheerfulness -of optimism nor the consolation of philosophy is -sufficient for the occasion; and it may be doubted -whether the philosophy advocated by Boswell was -anything more than an affectation of indifference. -But it does him credit that he should have made the -attempt to console, and at the same time displays -the weakness of Temple's character. Certainly this -was not the kind of man to exert a strong influence. -Boswell seems to have regarded him in the light of a -father confessor with whom a certain ceremony is -to be performed, and is reproved and forgiven by a -natural sequence, which adds nothing but pleasure -to the agreeable duty of confession. Temple expostulates -in the <i>rôle</i> of parson when the conduct of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page14" id="page14"></a>[pg 14]</span> -his friend is particularly damnable; it is possible -there shall be a 'blaze hereafter,' and one must at -least be on the safe side. So Boswell no doubt understood -it. The mild reproofs of his clerical friend -never for a moment deterred him either from doing -or from telling of his deed. He came to expect and -even to like them. 'Admonish me, but forgive me,' -he says after a particularly detailed account of his -amours; and at a later date, in an expression which -seems to epitomise the relations of the pastor and his -erring sheep, 'Your soft admonitions,' he writes, -'would at any time calm the tempests of my soul.'</p> - -<p>It is clear that Boswell had no moral respect for -Temple; it was not in search of guidance that he told -stories of his profligacy, but simply because he liked -to tell them. Boswell, as his friend remarked, mounted -the hobby-horse of his own temperament; this was -his perennial and unfailing interest, and the irrepressible -delight which he had in his own feelings and -performances found an outlet in the 'Letters to -Temple' and in many amusing passages in the 'Life -of Johnson.'</p> - -<p>Boswell no doubt was capable of self-revelation -without encouragement, and it is difficult for this -reason to tell how much sympathy he had from his -friend. Temple wanted to hear from Boswell; he -asked him to write, and praised his letters. But his -mild disapproval was probably genuine. When he -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page15" id="page15"></a>[pg 15]</span> -<span class="rightnote">LETTERS TO TEMPLE</span> -accuses Boswell of neglecting a friend or of unkindness -to his father, he must have thought himself a more -considerate man. He was not like Boswell, a tippler, -and seems to have been really distressed by the other's -intemperate habits. In a manuscript diary, reports -Mr. Seccombe, he describes Boswell, no doubt in a -moment of irritation, as 'irregular in conduct and -manners, selfish, indelicate, no sensibility or feeling -for others.' And yet Temple himself was not above -a gross fault; he talks of a 'dear infidel,' and Boswell -exclaims that he is exceeded by his friend. Boswell -no doubt made the most of any lapse on Temple's -part from the path of rectitude; he would like to feel -that he had the support of a respectable companion. -His conscience was by no means complacent, and it -would become more tranquil if one whom he respected -were in the same boat with himself. It is conceivable -that Temple encouraged Boswell's confidence with the -object of controlling him as much as he could; his -advice certainly was always that he should get well -married instead of carrying on a number of flirtations. -But it is difficult to believe, if we read the letters -carefully, that Temple ever appeared to be shocked -by Boswell's confessions; and to the latter no doubt -that was an encouragement.</p> - -<p>In brief, we may describe Temple as a refined and -well-intentioned creature, but hardly wise and not -courageous. His marriage was so much a failure that -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page16" id="page16"></a>[pg 16]</span> -he sought at one time a colonial chaplaincy with the -object of living apart from his wife. He was discontented -with his lot and inclined rather to complain -acrimoniously than to make the best of it. He had -apparently no staunch qualities to influence a friend; -and this friend needed a firm monitor.</p> - -<p class="centerf">.<span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span></p> - -<p>The date of the first of Boswell's letters to Temple -is July 1758. In 1763 he met Johnson. In the five -years between these dates we see Boswell in a number -of characteristic lights. The period from eighteen to -twenty-three is commonly held to mark a special -change and development in a man's character. In -Boswell's, however, we do not see this very strongly. -As he grew up he did fewer, no doubt, of the wild -things of youth. But he seems hardly to have become -older in the ordinary way, until towards the close of -his life. He was always to the world the gay, good-humoured, -sociable being, with a strong vein of fatuous -buffoonery, that we see in these early years. A great -difficulty in rightly understanding Boswell's life lies -in this fact. It seems impossible at times to -realise that this was a serious man; he appears to -find the world and himself such a preposterous joke. -And yet if he saw to the full the humour of living, he -felt too very keenly that it was an important matter, -that there were real standards. No one has valued -more the opinion of others about himself, and no one -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page17" id="page17"></a>[pg 17]</span> -<span class="rightnote">EIGHTEEN TO TWENTY-THREE</span> -has experienced more miserably the bitterness of -disappointed ambition. It must be our duty, then, -to mark, with all the follies and frivolities which express -the youth he retained so long, a more serious -nature within, which showed itself also from time to -time to the outer world.</p> - -<p>The course of Boswell's life during this period of -five years may be briefly followed in chronological -order. In 1758 he was at Edinburgh University, and -it is from there that his first letter to Temple is dated. -The summer vacation was spent on the Northern -Circuit with his father and Sir David Dalrymple, -afterwards also a Scottish judge with the title of Lord -Hailes. In November 1759, he entered Adam Smith's -class for Moral Philosophy in Glasgow University. -In 1760 he paid his first visit to London, and in the -spring of 1761 returned to Edinburgh, where he resided -until the close of 1762; he then went for the second -time to London. It was upon this second visit that -he met Dr. Johnson.</p> - -<p>It is characteristic of these years that he did not -quite know what he was or what he wanted. He was -posing now in one guise and now in another, wondering -the while what his serious purpose might be. At -Edinburgh University he seems to have wished to -appear an intellectual cynic. He writes to Temple:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Don't be surprised if your grave, sedate, philosophic -friend, who used to carry it so high, and talk with such -composed indifference of the beauteous sex, and whom -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page18" id="page18"></a>[pg 18]</span> -you used to admonish not to turn an old man too soon—don't -be thunderstruck if this same fellow should -all at once <i>subito furore obreptus</i> commence Don -Quixote for his adorable Dulcinea. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The inference is clear; the <i>subito furore obreptus</i> -type of conduct is a great change from a sedate -indifference.</p> - -<p>He often adopted the <i>rôle</i> of the wise counsellor. -His letters to Temple are full of excellent advice. It -is always hard to be quite certain that Boswell is -serious, but it is probable that he was sincere enough -in this. He was ready always with sympathy and -kind actions for his friend, and we may conjecture -that besides wishing to appear wise beyond his years -he thought that Temple could best be served by the -commonplace advice of the old to the young.</p> - -<p>But it is pre-eminently as the promising young -<i>littérateur</i> that we see Boswell in these years. He -became acquainted with many interesting people, who -were attracted, no doubt, by a clever young man, fond -of literature and appearing less ignorant than most -young men. Lord Hailes, Lord Kames, and Dr. -Robertson were numbered among his friends. Even -Hume took notice of him: 'We talk a great deal of -genius, fine learning, improving in our style, &c., but -I am afraid solid learning is much wore out. Mr. -Hume, I think, is a very proper person for a young -man to cultivate an acquaintance with.' Boswell -was not eighteen when he wrote these words. They -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page19" id="page19"></a>[pg 19]</span> -<span class="rightnote">OTHER EARLY FRIENDSHIPS</span> -suggest an amusing picture of a clever and conceited -young genius. He was admitted in 1761 to the Select -Society, a distinguished group of men who represented -the best learning of Edinburgh—a high compliment -this, both to his brains and to his social qualities.</p> - -<p>Among Boswell's friends of the aristocracy of -letters were several younger men. Charles Dilly, the -publisher, who was afterwards host at the famous -dinner when Dr. Johnson met Jack Wilkes, was a -native of Edinburgh; and George Dempster, who -became M.P. for the burghs of Fife and Forfar in 1762, -was, like Boswell, a member of the Select Society; -it was he who afterwards appeared as the disciple of -Hume and Rousseau, and of whom Johnson said, 'I -have not met with any man for a long time who has -given me such general displeasure.'</p> - -<p>A greater friend than either of these, and one who -had far more influence in forming the literary tastes -of Boswell, was the Honourable Andrew Erskine. -This lively young gentleman was both soldier and -writer. His interest in literature was not of a very -creative order: he edited, however, in 1760 and 1761, -two volumes of a 'Collection of Original Poems by -the Rev. Mr. Blacklock and other Scotch Gentlemen,' -to which both he and Boswell contributed; in 1764, -he published a farce in two acts, and in 1773 he issued -a poem of twenty-two quarto pages intended 'to -expose the false taste for florid description which prevails -in modern poetry.' He appears to have had -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page20" id="page20"></a>[pg 20]</span> -considerable discrimination; he was an early admirer -of the poet Burns, and Burns, in a letter to a friend, -praises some of Erskine's songs; an eminent publisher -describes him as having 'an excellent taste in the -fine arts.' Such a man may well have had influence -with Boswell, and the two became associated in several -small literary ventures.</p> - -<p>The early tastes and tendencies of Boswell in -literary matters are connected with several influences -of a different nature. There was always a strong -instinct of rebellion in Boswell, and with him it found -expression in sympathy for those whom the world -rejected. Some of his friends among those who sought -favour of the Muses were therefore less successful and -less respectable than the distinguished members of the -Select Society, the learned and the grave.</p> - -<p>Several of these friends were connected in various -ways with the stage. Acting was not supported as -an art in Edinburgh, nor countenanced as a profession, -at the time when Boswell was an undergraduate at the -University. But he came in contact with a Mr. Love -who, it would seem, was the first to encourage his sympathy -with the drama. Mr. Love had been connected -at one time with Drury Lane Theatre; fortune cannot -have favoured him greatly, since he left London for -Edinburgh; and there after fruitless attempts to practise -private theatricals he became a teacher of elocution. -It was in this last capacity that Boswell met him.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page21" id="page21"></a>[pg 21]</span></p> - -<p>The lessons of Mr. Love were apparently of some -<span class="rightnote">MR. LOVE</span> -use to Boswell; for Dr. Johnson said in commendation -of his English accent, 'Sir, your pronunciation is -not offensive'; and Miss Burney too speaks approvingly. -Mr. Love became the great friend of Boswell -after Temple had proceeded to the University of -Cambridge. He is mentioned in the first of the -'Letters to Temple' as the only other confidant of -Boswell in a matter of the heart; and in the next -letter he is called his 'second-best friend.' Boswell -says of him: 'He has not only good taste, genius -and learning, but a good heart.' He must in any case -have been a man of singular virtue, for it was he who -persuaded Boswell to keep a diary. 'I went along -with my father to the Northern Circuit and was so -happy as to be in the same chaise as Sir David Dalrymple -the whole way. I kept an exact journal, -at the particular desire of my friend Mr. Love, and -sent it to him in sheets every post.' So was the habit -of 'memorandising' begun. Boswell was destined -no doubt to form that habit; it was the most vital -factor in his method of biography; and it was besides -a complete expression in itself of that inner secret -which, by a magic touch, was to marshal the soul of -a glorious man before the eyes of us all. The wheel -of Fate might have turned ever so little differently -for Boswell and altered the whole course of his mortal -existence; but if it were still to be Boswell, there -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page22" id="page22"></a>[pg 22]</span> -must still have been the tablets; and his title to -immortality would have been secured by these alone. -And yet, though the tablets are Boswell's by indubitable -birthright, we may allow ourselves a pious -exclamation at the name of Mr. Love.</p> - -<p>When Boswell went to Glasgow he made friends -with another actor in depressed circumstances. 'The -merchants of Glasgow,' Dr. Rogers tells us, 'tolerated -theatrical representations, obtaining on their boards -such talent as their provincial situation could afford.' -Boswell evidently took an interest in the Glasgow -theatre. One of those who sought a livelihood there -was a certain Francis Gentleman, a native of Ireland, -and originally an officer in the army. 'This amiable -gentleman sold his commission in the hope of obtaining -fame and opulence as a dramatic author.' He obtained -neither, and became an actor; and so he qualified -to be the friend of Boswell, who entertained him, and -'encouraged him to publish an edition of Southern's -"Tragedy of Oroonoco."' To Boswell it must have -been a double pleasure to play the patron and to read -the dedication of the volume addressed to himself. -Mr. Gentleman thought well of the man who had befriended -him, and the dedication ends thus:</p> - -<div class="poem width21"> <div class="stanza"> -<p>But where, with honest pleasure, she can find</p> -<p>Sense, taste, religion, and good nature joined,</p> -<p>There gladly will she raise her feeble voice</p> -<p>Nor fear to tell that Boswell is her choice.</p> - </div> </div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page23" id="page23"></a>[pg 23]</span></p> - -<p>On his return to Edinburgh Boswell became more -<span class="rightnote">DAVID ROSS AND THE STAGE</span> -than ever concerned with the ill-favoured art of the -drama. 'The popular prejudice against theatricals,' -says Dr. Rogers, 'was a sufficient cause for our author -falling into the opposite extreme; he threw his whole -energies into a movement which led, six years afterwards, -to a theatre being licensed in the capital.'</p> - -<p>He became associated in this movement with a -Mr. David Ross, the most important save Garrick -of his actor friends. Ross, too, was acquainted with -misfortune, yet not without earning some kind of -celebrity. When he made his first appearance at -Drury Lane, 'he was approved by a polite and distinguishing -audience, who seemed to congratulate themselves -on seeing an actor whom they imagined capable -of restoring to the stage the long-lost character -of the real fine gentleman'; and his first success -was followed by a considerable measure of popularity -at Covent Garden. He must have been a good actor, -for Garrick is said to have been jealous of his reputation. -It was the 'fine gentleman' we may suppose -that Boswell particularly admired. 'Poor Ross!' -he exclaims at the time of his death; 'he was an unfortunate -man in some respects; but he was a true -<i>bon-vivant</i>, a most social man, and never was without -good eating and drinking and hearty companions.' -These qualities were no doubt to Boswell the highest -recommendation. And he seems besides to have found -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page24" id="page24"></a>[pg 24]</span> -the society of actors in general especially congenial. -In his own character there was much of the actor: -he was so often conscious of a part to be played! -And he had a way of occupying the stage when conversing -in company. He may have found, too, that -actors appreciated best his lively social qualities.</p> - -<p>Ross, though irregular habits, as we are told, may -have interfered with his advancement, was evidently -a man of some talents and some enthusiasm, and -eventually he succeeded in starting a theatre in Edinburgh. -He had some respect, it would appear, for -Boswell's talents; for on the occasion of his first -performance in the capital of Scotland, he requested -Boswell to write a prologue which the actor himself -was to recite. Boswell can hardly have seen much -of Ross in later years, but the friendship between -them was preserved, and Boswell was chief mourner -at the actor's funeral in 1790.</p> - -<p>One other friend of Boswell's in these early years -must be mentioned here. Actors may have had -particular qualities which made them attractive to -him, but Boswell in any case had always a sympathy -with misfortune which was mere good-nature; he had -at the same time an interest in the shady walks of -life, in human nature exhibited under stress of adverse -circumstances, and in an added poignancy to the -performance of intellect when spurred by poverty. -These feelings may account for his friendship with -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page25" id="page25"></a>[pg 25]</span> -<span class="rightnote">DERRICK THE POET</span> -Mr. Derrick the poet. Derrick, like Love and Gentleman -and Ross, was somewhat of a failure. He had -been apprenticed to a linendraper, and deserted the -concerns of trade to seek his fortune as an actor; -when Boswell met him as a man of thirty-six he aspired -to be a poet. His verses must have been remarkably -poor; Boswell refers to some of them as 'infamously -bad.' Dr. Johnson, who knew him slightly, 'reproved -his muse and condemned his levity.' But he was -a writer, and that meant a great deal to Boswell; -the mark of his profession was a sign of grace. The -Doctor was probably right when he said: 'It is to -his being a writer that he owes anything he has. Sir, -had not Derrick been a writer, he would have been -sweeping the crosses in the streets, and asking halfpence -from everybody that passed.' Derrick no -doubt was a gay companion, and Boswell evidently -liked him, though not excessively. He was of some -importance, too, in the youth of Boswell, for he was his -first tutor in the ways of London, and these were not -entirely good ways.</p> - -<p class="centerf">.<span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span></p> - -<p>It was as a poet that Boswell was to make his <i>début</i> -in literary performance. Besides his contributions -to the collections edited by Erskine, he published in -1761 two longer poems, 'An Elegy on the Death of an -Amiable Young Lady' and 'An Ode to Tragedy.' -The latter was apparently a serious attempt at poetry; -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page26" id="page26"></a>[pg 26]</span> -but it serves only to demonstrate that poetry was -quite beyond Boswell's grasp. His productions were -typical of the eighteenth century. He had no imagination -teeming with beautiful images, such as came -to a later generation; the graces and conceits of the -Elizabethans, and the appeal of Nature, were alike -unknown to him; and he never acquired the technical -skill which was the merit of the best poets of the age. -The 'Ode' is neither better nor worse than might be -expected from a wholly misdirected literary talent; -it could have been written by almost anyone who had -read a certain quantity of English verse.</p> - -<p>The 'Elegy' also was intended to express a serious -vein. It would be an error to suppose that Boswell -meant to be satirical; but he evidently saw that he -might be laughed at as extravagant, and published -it without alteration, introducing some prefatory -letters to ridicule its sentimentality.</p> - -<p>In 1762 he published, apparently at his own expense, -'The Cub at Newmarket, a tale.' This, as he -states in the preface, is the story told in doggerel -verse of his visit to the Jockey Club at Newmarket. -He had been taken there when in London by Lord -Eglinton, and was discovered in the coffee-room while -in the act of composing. The Cub at Newmarket is, -of course, himself. Lord Eglinton afterwards introduced -him to the Duke of York, to whom Boswell, not -unwillingly we may suppose, read out his poem. It -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page27" id="page27"></a>[pg 27]</span> -<span class="rightnote">THE YOUNG <i>LITTÉRATEUR</i></span> -must have been a triumphant moment for the young -author, and he felt obliged to preserve the memory of -it by asking and obtaining leave to dedicate the poem -to his Royal Highness—he desired, as he explains -in the preface, 'to let the world know that this same -Cub has been laughed at by the Duke of York, has -been read to his Royal Highness by the genius himself, -and warmed by the immediate beams of his kind -indulgence.' The humorous poem is not remarkably -funny; one stanza which describes himself is perhaps -worthy to be quoted:</p> - -<div class="poem width21"> <div class="stanza"> -<p>He was not of the iron Race,</p> -<p>Which sometimes Caledonia grace,</p> -<p>Though he to combat could advance—</p> -<p>Plumpness shone in his countenance;</p> -<p>And Belly prominent declar'd</p> -<p>That he for Beef and Pudding car'd;</p> -<p>He had a large and pond'rous head,</p> -<p>That seemed to be composed of lead;</p> -<p>From which hung down such stiff, lank hair,</p> -<p>As might the crows in Autumn scare.</p> - </div> </div> - -<p>But besides being a somewhat light-headed poet, -Boswell was anxious to appear as the 'young Buck.' -'The Epistle of a London Buck to his Friend' is the -title of one of his publications in the 'Collection of -Original Poems.' There is also a confused story of a -club he formed in Edinburgh called the 'Soaping Club,' -which existed apparently for Bacchanalian purposes; -Boswell was the king of the Soapers and wrote some -verses about himself:</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page28" id="page28"></a>[pg 28]</span></p> - -<div class="poem width21"> <div class="stanza"> -<p>Boswell is pleasant and gay,</p> -<p>For frolic by nature designed;</p> -<p>He heedlessly rattles away</p> -<p>When the company is to his mind.</p> -<p>'This maxim,' he says, 'you may see,</p> -<p>We never can have corn without chaff';</p> -<p>So not a bent sixpence cares he,</p> -<p>Whether <i>with</i> him, or <i>at</i> him you laugh.</p> - </div><div class="stanza"> -<p>Boswell does women adore,</p> -<p>And never once means to deceive,</p> -<p>He's in love with at least half a score;</p> -<p>If they're serious he smiles in his sleeve.</p> -<p>He has all the bright fancy of youth,</p> -<p>With the judgment of forty and five;</p> -<p>In short, to declare the plain truth,</p> -<p>There is no better fellow alive.</p> - </div> </div> - -<p>Stories about 'frolic' (to use Boswell's word) are -not as a rule very laughable, and we are perhaps too -apt to consider them as merely childish and contemptible -when they fail to amuse us. The exact -atmosphere of the moment which accounts for its -merriment is forgotten too often and seldom reproduced, -and we are left cold after a recital of such -behaviour as we may suppose the Club of Soapers to -have indulged in. In Boswell's character there was a -large vein of buffoonery which is apt when recounted -by anyone but himself to appear stupid enough. But -in reality it seems to have contained a true sense of the -incongruous, and had at least the success of making -people laugh. What an incomparable moment that -must have been when Boswell, as one of the audience -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page29" id="page29"></a>[pg 29]</span> -<span class="rightnote">GAY BEHAVIOUR</span> -at Drury Lane theatre, took upon himself to imitate -the lowing of a cow! 'I was so successful in this -boyish frolic,' he relates, 'that the universal cry of the -galleries was: "Encore the cow! Encore the cow!"'</p> - -<p>There is nothing very brilliant about Boswell's -comic verses, but it is curious that those we have -quoted should represent the facts so closely:</p> - -<div class="poem width21"> <div class="stanza"> -<p>So not a bent sixpence cares he</p> -<p>Whether <i>with</i> him or <i>at</i> him you laugh;</p> - </div> </div> - -<p>these lines express exactly the social principle which -Boswell adopted. He had no objection to men -laughing at his oddities so long as they laughed good-humouredly.</p> - -<p>He wished to find gaiety in every company, and -it is just to say that he brought more than his share -of mirth regardless of dignity.</p> - -<p>There are many other instances of these self-portraits, -anonymous sometimes, but easily to be -recognised. We can hardly do better than illustrate -Boswell's life by his own words about himself, because -upon this subject he found it necessary, when he had -anything to say, to say it truthfully. In another -early literary venture, the correspondence between -Erskine and Boswell, which these two young gentlemen -published, there is a letter of Boswell's containing -an account of the author of the 'Ode to Tragedy,' -which he had published anonymously; he thus -describes himself:</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page30" id="page30"></a>[pg 30]</span></p> - -<blockquote><p> -The author of the 'Ode to Tragedy,' is a most -excellent man: he is of an ancient family in the West -of Scotland, upon which he values himself not a little. -At his nativity there appeared omens of his future -greatness; his parts are bright, and his education has -been good; he has travelled in postchaises miles -without number; he is fond of seeing much of the -world; he eats of every good dish, especially apple-pie; -he drinks old hock; he has a very fine temper; -he is somewhat of a humourist, and a little tinctured -with pride; he has a good, manly countenance, and he -owns himself to be amorous; he has infinite vivacity, -yet is observed at times to have a melancholy cast; -he is rather fat than lean, rather short than tall, -rather young than old; his shoes are neatly made, and -he never wears spectacles. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The 'Letters between the Honourable Andrew -Erskine and James Boswell, Esq.' are the most remarkable -in some ways of these early literary ventures. -The letters were evidently written from the first with -a view to publication. They are completely frivolous, -but attempt to be satirical and amusing. Boswell and -Erskine wish to appear as two young men of society -who are budding poets and have brilliant wit. They -hoped, perhaps, to take the world by storm like the -Admirable Crichton and his friend Aldus. The result, -if far from brilliant, is certainly clever and amusing.</p> - -<p>The <i>rôle</i> which Boswell played in this theatrical -performance may be illustrated by some passages of -his own letters. He was before everything else the -knight of chivalry—a chivalry which was occupied -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page31" id="page31"></a>[pg 31]</span> -<span class="rightnote">LETTERS TO ERSKINE</span> -exclusively with an excess of romantic attachment -and an adoring worship of female charm. Boswell in -real life was extravagant enough, we may suppose, in -his homage to women; but his performance can have -hardly reached the standard set up in the letters -to Erskine:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Lady B—— entreats me to come and pass the -Christmas holidays with her. Guess, O guess! what -transport I felt at reading that; I did not know how -to contain my elevation of spirits. I thought myself -one of the greatest geniuses in Europe; I thought I -could write all sorts of books and work at all handicraft -trades; I imagined that I had fourscore millions -of money out at interest, and, that I should actually -be chosen Pope at the next election. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>It is conceivable of course that Boswell imagined that -he had the fourscore millions; there is evidence which -might suggest a misconception of this kind. And it -is even possible that he entertained at some time the -dream of becoming Pope. But that at all events is -not meant to appear. It is meant as the froth of -youthful gallantry. There is no deception. We are -not expected to suppose that Boswell was like -this: we are expected merely to be amused at the -pose.</p> - -<p>He represents himself also as the <i>bon-vivant</i>. -There are allusions to splendid feasts and there is -an 'Ode to Gluttony.' The poet is always very -much to the fore, and his behaviour is supposed to be -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page32" id="page32"></a>[pg 32]</span> -marked occasionally by a vein of seriousness, which is -to suggest the anxious cogitation of the philosopher:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -We had a splendid ball.... I exhibited my existence -in a minuet, and as I was dressed in a full -chocolate suit and wore my most solemn countenance, -I looked, as you used to tell me, like the fifth -act of a deep tragedy. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Perhaps the most significant passages in these -letters are where Boswell plays the cynic:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -A light heart may bid defiance to fortune. And -yet, Erskine, I must tell you that I have been a little -pensive of late, amorously pensive, and disposed to -read Shenstone's 'Pastoral on Absence,' the tendency of -which I greatly admire. A man who is in love is like -a man who has got the toothache: he feels in most -acute pain, while nobody pities him. In that situation -I am at present, but well do I know that I will not be -long so. So much for inconstancy! -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Boswell represented himself in the letters to Erskine -very much as he affected to be in real life—the gay -young wit with a serious background, the jolly good -fellow and at the same time the budding genius, and -finally, the cynical philosopher, such as he alludes to -in the first letter to Temple. The whole picture is -exaggerated and laughed at: yet we feel very often -that the laughter has a hollow ring. It is the laughter -in reality of one who wishes to protect himself from -ridicule by jesting at his own expense. The real -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page33" id="page33"></a>[pg 33]</span> -Boswell peeps through in many places. The remark -about Shenstone's 'Pastoral on Absence' might -equally well have been made in all seriousness to -Temple.</p> - -<p>In another letter he says:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Allow me a few more words. I live here in a remote -corner of an old ruinous house, where my ancestors -have been very jovial. What a solemn idea rushes -on my mind! They are all gone: I must follow. -Well, and what then? I must shift about to another -subject. The best I can think of is a sound sleep: -so good-night! -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The sentiment about his dead ancestors is a flash of -the true Boswell as bright and real as anything in -Pepys' Diary. The pleasure which the thought gave -him and the pleasure he had in imparting it to another -cannot be concealed by the forced levity of the ending.</p> - -<p>The friendship of Boswell with Erskine was responsible -for yet another publication; these two -with George Dempster collaborated to criticise some -dramatic performances in 'Critical Strictures on -Mallet's "Elvira."' This brochure<a id="footnotetag1.2" name="footnotetag1.2"></a><a href="#footnote1.2"><sup>2</sup></a> -would seem to have been written in the same flippant manner as the -'Letters.' Mr. Mallet's 'Elvira' came in for plenty -of abuse, but there was no serious attempt at literary -criticism. And yet this publication must rank with -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page34" id="page34"></a>[pg 34]</span> -the letters as the most important exhibition of Boswell's -talents up to the age of twenty-three.</p> - -<p class="centerf">.<span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span></p> - -<p>In London no doubt Boswell enjoyed himself very -well, and Edinburgh seemed a dull town by comparison. -In May, 1761, Boswell writes:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -A young fellow whose happiness was always centred -in London, who had at last got there, and had begun -to taste its delights, who had got his mind filled with -the most gay ideas,—getting into the Guards, being -about the court, enjoying the happiness of the <i>beau -monde</i>, and the company of men of genius, in short -everything that he could wish,—consider this poor -fellow hauled away to the town of Edinburgh, obliged -to conform to every Scotch custom or be laughed at—'Will -you hae some jeel? oh fie! oh fie!'—his flighty -imagination quite cramped, and he obliged to study -Corpus Juris Civilis, and live in his father's strict -family; is there any wonder, Sir, that the unlucky -dog should be somewhat fretful? -</p></blockquote> - -<p>This passage from a letter to Temple explains very -well the attitude of Boswell towards the world at the -age of twenty-one. He is the gay, frank, talkative, -amusing, sociable young man, frivolous if you like and a -little unrestrained in his affections, extravagant one -would rather say in that matter as in others, but quite -without malice.</p> - -<p>The profession to which for a time he aspired was -that of a soldier. In the Guards, no doubt, he would -be able to enjoy just that kind of life which attracted -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page35" id="page35"></a>[pg 35]</span> -<span class="rightnote">BOSWELL'S STUDIES</span> -him, the 'happiness of the <i>beau monde</i>,' with no thought -of what is supposed to be the serious business of -soldiering, and probably a decided preference for the -gay, smart costume. But for the army he was clearly -unsuited. 'I like your son,' said the Duke of Argyll -to his father; 'that boy must not be shot at for three-and-sixpence -a day.' It was resolved accordingly -that he should study law.</p> - -<p>We hear so much in the letters to Temple of Boswell's -amusements that it is easy to lose sight altogether of -a less frivolous side to his life. It is safe at least to -conjecture that he read a good many books at this -time; in the <i>rôle</i> of a young <i>littérateur</i> he would -naturally keep up with the books that were coming -out; we know that he read Johnson and Hume and -Harris, and, from the knowledge of literature that he -always showed, we may infer that he read much else -besides.</p> - -<p>The law studies he took seriously at this time.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I can assure you [he writes to Temple] the study -of law here is a most laborious task. In return for -yours, I shall give you an account of my studies. -From nine to ten I attend the law class; from ten to -eleven study at home, and from one to two attend a -College upon Roman Antiquities. The afternoons and -evenings I likewise spend in study; I never walk except -on Saturdays. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>This is hard work for one at a University! And -especially for one of Boswell's temperament. There is -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page36" id="page36"></a>[pg 36]</span> -no great amount of diligence associated as a rule with -the youth of either the literary or the very sociable -character.</p> - -<p>The truth is that Boswell was very far from being -idle; he had great energy, and often applied himself -to something which interested him with fervent industry; -he was irregular no doubt, as are very many -people who work in this way.</p> - -<p>An indication of the channel into which his industry -was to be turned is provided by that journal (and -what pains it must have cost!), which he began to -keep while travelling with Lord Hailes and his father; -and at the same time he was made aware of the existence -of Dr. Johnson as a great writer in London, -began to read his works, and also no doubt to feel, as -he afterwards said, that 'highest reverence for their -author, which had grown up with my fancy into a -kind of mysterious veneration, by figuring to myself -a state of solemn elevated abstraction, in which I -supposed him to live in the immense metropolis of -London.'</p> - -<p>Boswell also seems to have been deeply interested -in religion even during these early years. While at -Glasgow University his views underwent a violent -revolution, most distressing to his parents, and he -became for a short time a Roman Catholic. There -is no reason to suppose that Boswell was in any way -frivolous when he took this decisive step. He clearly -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page37" id="page37"></a>[pg 37]</span> -<span class="rightnote">INCONSTANCY</span> -hated the Presbyterianism of his youth and was -probably in search of some creed to take its place. -He cannot, however, have gained much credit from -this episode, since it was mixed up in some way with -an elopement with a Roman Catholic lady.</p> - -<p>It is probable that Boswell was in earnest both -about the young lady and about his religion. But -since, in order to be entirely respectable, it is often -necessary to give a hypocritical consistency to our -fickle inclinations, we are not thought to be serious -if we do not affect to be constant. We can assume, in -the case of most people, from a sort of faith they hold -in the durability of sentiment, and a desire which they -have to prove by a time test the depth of their emotion, -that the feelings which do not appear to endure are -trivial and shallow. In Boswell's case we cannot make -this assumption; though he affected much, he yet had -real and vivid feelings; but since they could never -be wholly dissociated from the pleasure which they -gave him, they were both various and contradictory; -he could be grave and sedate at one moment and gay -and boyish the next, yet really feeling something both -of the gravity and the gaiety of living; he could be -almost in the same breath either the romantic lover -or the indifferent cynic, and yet feel something both -of the romance of love and of the aloofness which has -tasted often enough the joys and sorrows of life; he -forgot more quickly than most men, but did not care -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page38" id="page38"></a>[pg 38]</span> -very often—while it was part of his inconsistency that -he did sometimes care—to conceal the fundamental -elasticity of his nature.</p> - -<p>This volatility of Boswell, exhibited especially in -his sexual inconstancy, was in itself but a phase of an -innate and irrepressible candour which, in spite of a -lifelong desire and struggle for respectability, showed -itself very often to his friend Temple in the 'Letters,' -and not infrequently also to the general public.</p> - -<p>In all that he wrote we find passages of amazing -frankness about matters which most men would -prefer to conceal. He was absurdly vain, he was -childishly sanguine, he was often both foolish and -ridiculous, and he tells us all about it as a matter that -should interest us as well as him. 'Why,' he says, -'"out of the abundance of the heart" should I not -speak?' The light of truth led him into strange -paths. He was a formalist and yet he was sometimes -known to fail in formalism through an aversion to -insincerity; when his enemy Baretti came, by chance, -into the room where he was being entertained by a -friend, Boswell refused to greet him; he could even be -flagrantly rude in company.</p> - -<p>To be entirely respectable and conventional, to -be the man of the world, the gentleman of society, -that is what Boswell wanted most in life; and that -he never could become, because there was in his nature -a further consciousness, which was not to be subdued, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page39" id="page39"></a>[pg 39]</span> -<span class="rightnote">INNATE CANDOUR</span> -and which determined, by reason of the curious inconsistency -so produced, his whole capacity for interesting -mankind, for fame, for greatness.</p> - -<p>And so beside the sentimentality, the self-deception, -the respectability, which he so often exhibited, we see -the germ of self-knowledge, of honesty, of truth, which -developed and was ultimately expressed, almost by -chance as it seems, in a supreme biography: for it -is the candour of Boswell far more than any other -single factor, the natural instinct to record what he -observed both of himself and of others, the honesty -in observing and the truthfulness which he had as an -artist in recording, that distinguishes his literary work. -Herein lay the essence of his genius. The story of -Boswell's life is the story of a struggle between -influences and ambitions which led him towards the -commonplace, and the rare qualities grafted deeply -within him, which bore him steadily in an opposite -direction. The triumph of the latter involved no -doubt the unhappiness of Boswell, but it also involved -the production of a great work of art; and this -achievement has won for its author a unique place -among distinguished men; he is famous beyond any -fame that he dreamed of attaining and failed to -attain.</p> - -<blockquote> -<p class="footnote1"><a id="footnote1.1" name="footnote1.1"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag1.1">1:</a> -Joint.</p> - -<p class="footnote1b"><a id="footnote1.2" name="footnote1.2"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag1.2">2:</a> -I have not seen a copy; <i>v.</i> Fitzgerald, <i>Life of Boswell</i> i. 37-38, -and <i>Life of Garrick</i>.</p> -</blockquote> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page40" id="page40"></a>[pg 40]</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3 class="space-above5">CHAPTER II</h3> -</div> - -<p>'The accident,' says Professor Raleigh,<a id="footnotetag2.1" name="footnotetag2.1"></a><a href="#footnote2.1"><sup>1</sup></a> 'which gave -Boswell to Johnson and Johnson to Boswell is one of -the most extraordinary pieces of good fortune in -literary history.' The event of their meeting took -place on May 16th, 1763, and if in one sense it was -clearly, as the word is commonly used, an accident, -it was equally the result of a strong wish and intention, -if not of deliberate design, on Boswell's part. He -had long known of Johnson, and as early as 1760 had -hoped for an introduction from 'Mr. Derrick, the poet,' -'an honour,' he says, 'of which I was very ambitious.' -This honour bestowed eventually upon a vain and -extravagant youth (a circumstance which must be -highly esteemed among the good gifts of the Lady -Fortune to humanity) was to be attained through a -humble agent. Among those of Boswell's friends -who were not of the higher strata in society was one -Tom Davies. He was at this time a bookseller, but -as he had been formerly an actor and then dramatic -critic, there was something uncommon and adventurous -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page41" id="page41"></a>[pg 41]</span> -<span class="rightnote">MEETING WITH JOHNSON</span> -about his career. He had in fact in some degree the -equivalent of what has been known at a later date -as Bohemianism. It seems particularly appropriate -that Boswell should have forgotten the pride of birth -to meet so, in humble circumstances, the object of -his devotion. The scene which took place in Tom -Davies' back-parlour has the essence of true comedy. -Two of the actors are light-heartedly unconscious that -the moment has the least importance; the third is -painfully and anxiously aware that it is important to -him, and naturally unaware that it can have a value -to anyone else. And it has, too, that dramatic quality -of great events taking place by accident, as it seems, -among incongruous circumstances. It is a scene which -must kindle always, for one who feels a serious value -in humour, an emotion beyond mere pleasure.</p> - -<p>The comedy opens by Tom Davies announcing -the eventful news in farcical manner.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -At last, on Monday the 16th of May, when I was -sitting in Mr. Davies's back-parlour, after having -drunk tea with him and Mrs. Davies, Johnson unexpectedly -came into the shop; and Mr. Davies having -perceived him, through the glass-door in the room in -which we were sitting, advancing towards us,—he -announced his aweful approach to me, somewhat in -the manner of an actor in the part of Horatio, when -he addresses Hamlet on the appearance of his father's -ghost, 'Look, my Lord, it comes....' -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Boswell, who at once became nervous, had only time -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page42" id="page42"></a>[pg 42]</span> -to give a warning to Davies, and the latter maliciously -said the one thing he had been asked not to say. 'Mr. -Davies mentioned my name, and respectfully introduced -me to him. I was much agitated; and recollecting -his prejudice against the Scotch, of which -I had heard much, I said to Davies, "Don't tell -where I come from."—"From Scotland," cried Davies -roguishly.' This was apparently a disastrous beginning, -and something must be done to retrieve the -position. '"Mr. Johnson," said I, "I do indeed come -from Scotland, but I cannot help it."' It was rash -indeed to originate the conversation and not less -typical of Boswell for that. But a more pleasing -remark could hardly be imagined, at once courteous -and frank and full of humour.<a id="footnotetag2.2" name="footnotetag2.2"></a><a href="#footnote2.2"><sup>2</sup></a> Johnson no doubt -appreciated it very well, and the more because he was -able to find an excellent repartee. For the moment, however, -Boswell seemed to be involved in fresh calamity. -'This speech was somewhat unlucky; for with that -quickness of wit for which he was so remarkable, he -seized the expression, "come from Scotland," which -I used in the sense of being of that country; and, as -if I had said that I had come away from it, or left it, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page43" id="page43"></a>[pg 43]</span> -<span class="rightnote">FIRST TALK WITH JOHNSON</span> -retorted, "That, Sir, I find, is what a great many of -your countrymen cannot help."' Boswell for the -moment was completely crushed: 'This stroke stunned -me a good deal,' and he now found himself left out of -the conversation, in which situation he felt that he was -unlikely to make a very favourable impression. 'He -then addressed himself to Davies: "What do you -think of Garrick? He has refused me an order for -the play for Miss Williams, because he knows that the -house will be full, and that an order would be worth -three shillings."' No opportunity must be missed, -and youth is prompted by enthusiasm. 'Eager to -take any opening to get into conversation with him, I -ventured to say, "O, Sir, I cannot think Mr. Garrick -would grudge such a trifle to you!"' If this was -bold it was at least both genuine and polite, and the -reproof was severe though Boswell admits its justice. -'"Sir," (said he, with a stern look) "I have known -David Garrick longer than you have done: and I -know no right you have to talk to me on the subject."' -'Perhaps' Boswell continues, 'I deserved this check; -for it was rather presumptuous in me, an entire stranger, -to express any doubt of the justice of his animadversion -upon his old acquaintance and pupil. I now felt -myself much mortified, and began to think that the -hope which I had long indulged of obtaining his acquaintance -was blasted. And, in truth, had not my -ardour been uncommonly strong, and my resolution -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page44" id="page44"></a>[pg 44]</span> -uncommonly persevering, so rough a reception might -have deterred me for ever from making any further -attempts. Fortunately, however, I remained upon the -field not wholly discomfited; and was soon rewarded -by hearing some of his conversation.'</p> - -<p>Eventually, when he went away, Davies made some -encouraging remarks: 'Tom Davies followed me to -the door; and when I complained to him a little of -the hard blows which the great man had given me, -he kindly took upon him to console me by saying, -"Don't be uneasy. I can see he likes you very well!"' -The evidence that Johnson liked him very well was not -very convincing, we may suppose, to Boswell. But -he called upon Johnson a week later.</p> - -<p>In the account of Boswell's first visit to Dr. -Johnson's house there is one instructive passage:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -He told me that he generally went abroad at four in -the afternoon, and seldom came home till ten in the -morning. I took the liberty to ask if he did not think -it wrong to live thus, and not make more use of his -great talents. He owned it was a bad habit. On -reviewing, at the distance of many years, my journal -of this period, I wonder how, at my first visit, I ventured -to talk to him so freely, and that he bore it with -so much indulgence. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Clearly Boswell was good at saying what he thought—the -remark about Garrick and the question as to -the morality of Johnson's habits, so early in their -acquaintance, show this; he is himself amazed, at a -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page45" id="page45"></a>[pg 45] -</span><span class="rightnote">JOHNSON LIKES BOSWELL</span> -later date, 'how I ventured to talk so freely.' It is -this candour, in fact, which particularly attracted -Johnson. His fame for brilliant argument and -crushing repartee, and his unbending dogmatic -manner in conversation, prevented very often the -course of free and fearless expression in his presence. -The young, too, from their supposed ignorance, have -still something of the privilege of childhood in saying -what they think without offending. It is refreshing -to older men to hear the frank opinions of youth; -and it was very characteristic of Johnson that he -liked people to speak quite openly upon serious -subjects, so long as they were sincere.</p> - -<p>It is easy enough indeed to see why the two became -friends. Boswell was attractive to Johnson in more -ways than one. His outspokenness was happily -blended with more gentle softening qualities, which -made it modest and appealing rather than over-confident -and repelling. He expressed, by his 'light -pleasantry to soothe and conciliate him'—and also, -we may suppose, by something respectful in his -manner—a frank admiration for Johnson. And though -some may say that this attitude—flattery one might -almost call it (for it is something very near to that)—is -repulsive to them, there are very few people in -practice who, when it is managed with sufficient -dexterity, do not find in it something peculiarly -pleasant. Johnson certainly liked to have admirers, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page46" id="page46"></a>[pg 46]</span> -and it was Boswell's nature to admire—but not in a -mean or servile fashion. He managed, one may -suppose, to make Johnson feel pleased with himself, -but without lying and without compromising his own -opinions. We may see the attitude which he adopted -from his own words upon the subject of flattery:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -<a id="footnotetag2.3" name="footnotetag2.3"></a><a href="#footnote2.3"><sup>3</sup></a>But there may be honest as well as dishonest -flattery. There may be flattery from a sincere admiration, -and a desire to please. It is benevolent to -indulge this: and a man of good disposition may find -frequent opportunities for it, by directly or obliquely -bringing under the view of those with whom he associates, -such circumstances in their situations and -characters as are agreeable. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>There is nothing unpleasant about this attitude: -on the contrary it is a very desirable civility.</p> - -<p>It must be remembered, too, that Boswell with all -his good-humoured gaiety and pleasant social qualities -could be, and often wanted to be serious. And the -conversation of Johnson was very often, at least during -the latter end of his life, of a serious nature. Morality, -human beings, literature, these were his great subjects; -religion and politics were discussed, but less often. -Boswell was interested in the same things; if with -him more than with most men his own case was the -mainspring of all interests, this made him not less, -but rather more, attentive to all questions dealing -with right and wrong and the motives of men; and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page47" id="page47"></a>[pg 47]</span> -<span class="rightnote">A SUITABLE COMPANION</span> -in literature, as we shall have occasion to show later, -he had a strong natural interest.</p> - -<p>But there is another reason which made him an -extremely suitable companion for Johnson. What -Johnson loved best in conversation was to 'buffet' -his adversary; this mode of proceeding has, however, -the obvious disadvantage that it prevents people talking, -and also may possibly offend them, a result which -Johnson himself held to be inexpedient. Boswell, -fortunately, was little affected in either way. Nothing, it -is evident, could prevent him talking, and it took a great -deal to offend or even to hurt him. He was so divinely -good-humoured! For the moment, sometimes, he might -be annoyed; but it very soon blew over, and there was -no malice in his nature to irritate a wound. The consequence -of this was that Johnson was often rude, which -pleased him, and sometimes went too far, which made -him really sorry, so that his kind-hearted nature liked the -object of his brutality the better for having injured it.</p> - -<p>Of the attraction of Dr. Johnson for Boswell we -need hardly speak. The little that has been said -already about Boswell's strange personality and desires -is almost sufficient explanation. We must not think -that he attached himself to Johnson with any particular -object. 'To suppose,' said Malone '(as some -of his detractors have suggested), that he attached -himself to Dr. Johnson for the purpose of writing his -life, is to know nothing of the author and nothing of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page48" id="page48"></a>[pg 48]</span> -human nature.' Malone, who knew Boswell very -well at the end of his life, was probably a good judge; -and it is not difficult to account for Johnson's attraction -for Boswell without making a supposition of this kind. -Apart from the unique position which he had among -literary men, Johnson was a very striking figure and a -very lovable man, and one who would readily appeal -to the imagination of the young; the honour of receiving -the attentions of Johnson would be pleasant in -every way; and Boswell's character was eminently -capable of devotion.</p> - -<p>The friendship which grew up between these two -men, who were so different, was not wholly without the -shadow of romance. The relations between them were -of the kind that parents would wish to exist between -father and son. A great deal of affection on both -sides there certainly was. The journey together which -they took to Harwich on the occasion of Boswell's -departure for the Continent<a id="footnotetag2.4" name="footnotetag2.4"></a><a href="#footnote2.4"><sup>4</sup></a> is significant enough of -Johnson's feelings, and Boswell's account of their -parting may speak for his:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -My revered friend walked down with me to the -beach, where we embraced and parted with tenderness -and engaged to correspond by letters. I said, 'I hope, -Sir, you will not forget me in my absence.' Johnson, -'Nay, Sir, it is more likely you should forget me, than -that I should forget you.' As the vessel put out to sea -I kept my eyes upon him for a considerable time, while -he remained rolling his majestic frame in his usual -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page49" id="page49"></a>[pg 49]</span> -<span class="rightnote1">DEVOTION TO JOHNSON</span> -manner: and at last I perceived him walk back into -the town, and he disappeared. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>There is a note of regret in the paragraph, which, as -anyone can see, is perfectly genuine.</p> - -<p>But Boswell's attitude was much more complicated -than one of mere affection. The friendship was of that -complementary order where each person contributes -something which the other lacks, so that they have a -natural need each of the other. Johnson liked -Boswell for his youth and freshness; Boswell worshipped -Johnson for his strength.<a id="footnotetag2.5" name="footnotetag2.5"></a><a href="#footnote2.5"><sup>5</sup></a> Worship! it was -no less than that; he admitted it, he was proud of it. -His own mind was of the indecisive kind which sees -many things and finds it difficult to choose among -them; he turned very readily to the strong, definite -view of life, the expression of an intelligence not -smaller, as convinced people are often fundamentally -smaller, but clearly larger than his own; Johnson's -overwhelming personality was able to support their -common prejudices, usually by argument, but, if not -so, by sheer force of conviction. It was not so much -that Boswell approved of everything in Johnson's mind -as that he could depend upon finding there a certain -attitude expressive, as he thought, of his own better -self, or of what he would like to have become had he -been able to forgo a part of his own nature.</p> - -<p class="centerf">.<span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span></p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page50" id="page50"></a>[pg 50]</span></p> - -<p>Dr. Johnson, if he was by far the most important, -was by no means the only great man who was to -become Boswell's friend. The paternal graciousness -admitted of two years to be spent on the Continent, -years that were to be devoted to diligent study in the -University of Utrecht. Boswell turned them to the -best advantage. The parting was propitious; his -friend of the past few months accompanied him to the -quay-side and Boswell was launched for the Continent -by the great literary dictator. That the excellent -advice of the moralist and the command of a father -were neglected made little difference to the success -of the lively young man. Utrecht was frankly a dull -place, and there were several gay spots to be visited. -Boswell fulfilled his destiny by amusing the best -society, and made acquaintances among distinguished -men. The capital of Prussia was visited, and the -English ambassador Sir Andrew Mitchell was assailed -and surrendered. The courts of Saxe-Gotha and Baden -were the sphere of the young Scotsman's wit. Philosophers -were among his honoured objects of attachment. -The youthful Bozzy called upon Voltaire at -Ferney, and became almost the friend of Rousseau. -Lord Mount Stuart desired him for a travelling companion. -The greatest achievement, perhaps, and the -most characteristic was the capture of the notorious -Wilkes; and intimacy with him was not unfitting, for -the two were much alike in their irresponsible levity.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page51" id="page51"></a>[pg 51]</span></p> - -<p>But all this was no more than the tinkling of a -<span class="rightnote">BOSWELL ON THE CONTINENT</span> -cymbal before the booming of an heroic drum. Boswell -determined to visit the Island of Corsica.</p> - -<p>Corsica was at this time the scene of a romantic -struggle. Tired of the heavy yoke of the Genoese -republic, the islanders were in a state of rebellion and -were fighting under the flag of Liberty. Their leader -was an admirable figurehead, one General Paoli, a -zealous and disinterested patriot, a capable soldier and -a wise politician. The Byronic furore of a later date -for an oppressed people would have found a suitable -object in the Corsicans and their national idol. For -the mind of Boswell in search of the heroic they had -a special appeal. A letter of introduction to Paoli was -solicited from Rousseau, and with this the light-hearted -young man stepped bravely forth with the bravery of -ignorance, to be the first Englishman of his generation -to visit those distant and uncivilised shores.</p> - -<p>The event was properly considered to be worthy -of notice in the English Press, and the requisite information -as to Mr. Boswell's movements was supplied -from time to time by the pen of Mr. Boswell himself.</p> - -<p>The visit of Boswell to Corsica was a complete -success. He travelled in the <i>rôle</i> of explorer, but -was treated as an unknown political force. Men of -many wiles sought behind an ingenuous and good-natured -simplicity a deeper significance when there -was none such to be found; Paoli, who hoped for -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page52" id="page52"></a>[pg 52]</span> -English assistance, was glad to treat with especial -favour the one English subject whom he had the opportunity -of knowing. And Boswell, if he disclaimed an -embassy, was not unwilling to be seen with an escort -of Corsicans as he rode upon the general's horse, and to -be entertained with diplomatic courtesy.</p> - -<p>His own social qualities were perhaps of even greater -service to him. He exercised to the full his invaluable -talent for bringing good cheer to his companions. In -the journal which he afterwards published, the 'Tour -to Corsica,' there is an admirable account of an evening -spent with the Corsican peasants which shows what -an acceptable guest the good-humoured and lively -Boswell must have been.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -The Corsican peasants and soldiers were quite -free and easy with me. Numbers of them used to -come and see me of a morning, and just go out and in -as they pleased. I did everything in my power to -make them fond of the British, and bid them hope for -an alliance with us. They asked me a thousand -questions about my country, all which I cheerfully -answered as well as I could. One day they would -needs hear me play upon my German flute. To have -told my honest natural visitants, 'Really, gentlemen, I -play very ill,' and put on such airs as we do in our -genteel companies, would have been highly ridiculous. -I therefore immediately complied with their request. -I gave them one or two Italian airs, and then some -of our beautiful old Scotch tunes, 'Gilderoy,' 'The -Lass of Patie's Mill,' 'Corn Riggs are Bonny.' The -pathetick simplicity and pastoral gaiety of the Scots -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page53" id="page53"></a>[pg 53]</span> -<span class="rightnote1">THE CORSICAN PEASANTS</span> -musick will always please those who have the genuine -feelings of nature. The Corsicans were charmed -with the specimens I gave them, though I may now -say that they were very indifferently performed.</p> - -<p>My good friends insisted also to have an English -song from me. I endeavoured to please them in this -too, and was very lucky in that which occurred to me. -I sung them, 'Hearts of oak are our ships, Hearts of -oak are our men.' I translated it into Italian for -them, and never did I see men so delighted with a -song as the Corsicans were with 'Hearts of Oak.' -'Cuori di querco,' cried they, 'bravo Inglese.' It -was quite a joyous riot. I fancied myself to be a -recruiting sea-officer. I fancied all my chorus of -Corsicans aboard the British fleet.<a id="footnotetag2.6" name="footnotetag2.6"></a><a href="#footnote2.6"><sup>6</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>There is a natural good fellowship or social instinct, -a splendid enjoyment in the company of others, revealed -in this story: it is a quality that pleases everybody. -To Paoli he was agreeable besides for other -reasons. He had a real enthusiasm and taste for -literature, which the intellectual world understood and -appreciated readily enough. Hume writes of Boswell's -return from Paris, in the company of Thérèse Le -Vasseur. He calls him, 'a young gentleman, very -good-humoured, very agreeable, and very mad'; and -afterwards refers to his literary tastes: 'He has such -a rage for literature that I dread some event fatal to -our friend's honour. You remember the story of -Terentia, who was first married to Cicero, then to -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page54" id="page54"></a>[pg 54]</span> -Sallust, and at last, in her old age, married a young -nobleman, who imagined that she must possess some -secret which would convey to him eloquence and -genius.'<a id="footnotetag2.7" name="footnotetag2.7"></a><a href="#footnote2.7"><sup>7</sup></a></p> - -<p>There is a certain extravagance suggested by this -which is very characteristic of Boswell. He produced -almost the expectation that he would do something odd. -This in itself is not to every one an attractive quality; -but it is one which combined with others may bring an -added charm. Boswell had great generosity of a -certain kind which was more than sufficient to excuse -anything that might be tiresome about him; he had -an unabashed admiration and real respect for great -men. He was also able and was not unwilling to -capture the hearts of men by repeating things that -would please them; as he relates that he did upon -his visit to Voltaire, by repeating the dictum of -Johnson about Frederick the Great: 'He writes -just as you might suppose Voltaire's footboy to do, -who has been his amanuensis. He has such parts -as the valet might have, and about as much of the -colouring of his style as might be got by transcribing -his works.' 'When I was at Ferney,' Boswell -records, 'I repeated this to Voltaire, in order to reconcile -him somewhat to Johnson, whom he, in affecting -the English mode of expression, had previously -characterised as 'a superstitious dog'; but after -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page55" id="page55"></a>[pg 55]</span> -<span class="rightnote">PAOLI</span> -hearing such a criticism on Frederick the Great, with -whom he was then on bad terms, he exclaimed, 'An -honest fellow!'</p> - -<p>With such pleasant qualities Boswell won the esteem -of the General of the Corsicans. Paoli not only treated -him with the courtesy due to a distinguished and -possibly a useful stranger but entertained him with -the spontaneous enjoyment of friendship.</p> - -<p>The intimate relations which sprang up between -Boswell and Paoli were, as we may judge from Boswell's -own account, very similar to those already in -existence between himself and Johnson.</p> - -<p>The taste for the heroic may be satisfied easily. -Even about the scamp Wilkes in exile there was a -glamour which appealed to the imaginative young -Bozzy. But for the real Boswellian admiration something -more was required—the portentous possession -of the 'solid virtues.' The probity of Paoli could -never be in question. He appears to have been a -simple character with a noble disinterestedness and -the honesty of the Mediterranean sun. His interest -was Corsica, and, if we may believe Boswell, there was -hardly a thought of self in the matter. In this he -was perhaps not different from the greater part of -his countrymen; but he had besides enthusiasm a -wise moderation and self-control, a knowledge of men -and a military ability which gave him an authority of -the most absolute kind over the Corsicans. His power -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page56" id="page56"></a>[pg 56]</span> -rested solely upon the weight of his personal influence. -It was an impressive figure no doubt—a man to be -admired; and Boswell was good at admiring: but -a man also to be loved, direct, kind-hearted and -sympathetic. He had too what we should scarcely -expect in the patriot general—a wide knowledge of -literature and considerable culture. General Paoli -was in fact entirely suitable to be Boswellised, more -suitable it might almost seem than Doctor Sam himself; -but the latter was a man of far greater intelligence.</p> - -<p>The opinions of Boswell in any case are clear -enough, and we may read a few specimens from the -'Tour in Corsica.'</p> - -<blockquote><p> -The contemplation of such a character really -existing was of more service to me than all I had been -able to draw from books, from conversation or from -the exertions of my own mind. I had often enough -formed the idea of a man continually such as I could -conceive in my best moments. But this idea appeared -like the ideas we are taught in the schools to form of -things which may exist, but do not; of seas of milk, and -ships of amber. But I saw my highest idea realised in -Paoli. It was impossible for me, speculate as I pleased, -to have a little opinion of human nature in him.</p> - -<p>One morning, I remember, I came in upon him -without ceremony, while he was dressing. I was glad -to have an opportunity of seeing him in those teasing -moments, when, according to the Duke of Rochefoucault, -no man is a hero to his valet de chambre. -The lively nobleman who has a malicious pleasure in -endeavouring to divest human nature of its dignity, by -exhibiting partial views, and exaggerating faults, would -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page57" id="page57"></a>[pg 57]</span> -<span class="rightnote1">HERO-WORSHIP</span> -have owned that Paoli was every moment of his life -a hero. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Here is a candid unpretending hero-worship. If -it eludes the virtue of moderation it escapes the vice -of mediocrity. In this is its capacity for greatness. -For the moment there is nothing very great about it, -but it has a most desirable effect for good in Boswell:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Never was I so thoroughly sensible of my own -defects as while I was in Corsica. I felt how small -were my abilities, and how little I knew. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The example made for a genuine modesty in the -admirer (though it is doubtful if Boswell was ever -suspected of being modest); the Boswell who was -'ambitious to be the companion of Paoli' was willing -to deserve the honour of that companionship:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -From having known intimately so exalted a character -my sentiments of human nature were raised, while, -by a sort of contagion, I felt an honest ardour to distinguish -myself, and be useful, as far as my situation -and abilities would allow; and I was, for the rest of -my life, set free from a slavish timidity in the presence -of great men, for where shall I find a man greater than -Paoli? -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The expedition to Corsica was, as we have said, a -complete success. To visit the island, to observe the -manners of the heroic peasants, and to become the -friend of Paoli were admirable undertakings at that -time, and under those circumstances. But it was in -England that Boswell was to triumph. He was -launched upon society with the <i>éclat</i> of an interesting -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page58" id="page58"></a>[pg 58]</span> -personage; he returned from his adventures over seas -to exact without reluctance the homage due to a -brave traveller.</p> - -<p>The early fame of Boswell came not from Johnson, -but from Paoli and Corsica. It is a fact worth remarking, -because Boswell's connection with Johnson -is so much the more important for us, that we are apt -to forget that he can have had another title to renown. -He was 'Corsica' Boswell and 'Paoli' Boswell, as Dr. -Birkbeck Hill remarks, long before he became famous -as 'Johnson' Boswell.</p> - -<p>Boswell himself fully appreciated the situation. -He felt that he had accomplished something of which -he could be justly proud. He knew himself to be -in the public eye. 'No apology shall be made,' he -writes in the preface to his book, 'for presenting the -world with "An Account of Corsica." It has been -for some time expected from me; and I own that the -ardour of publick opinion has both encouraged and -intimidated me.' Johnson wrote him a letter which -he quoted without permission in the 'Tour to Corsica'—'Come -home and expect such a welcome as is due -to him whom a wise and noble curiosity has led where -perhaps no native of this country ever was before.' -He said no doubt what he really felt.</p> - -<p>When Boswell returned to England in 1766 he -became therefore, quite naturally, the champion of -Corsican liberty. But this was only one phase of the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page59" id="page59"></a>[pg 59]</span> -<span class="rightnote">ACCOUNT OF CORSICA</span> -fame to which he aspired; there was still, and there -was always, the desire to shine in the great and elevated -sphere of literature, and the opportunity had now -arrived to write a book of universal interest.</p> - -<p>It was in 1768 that the first literary work of any -magnitude which Boswell produced, 'An Account of -Corsica, the journal of a tour to that island; and -memoirs of Pascal Paoli,' was published. The title -explains exactly the scope of the book. The account -of Corsica is historical; the journal is in its method -much like other books of travel, except for the biographical -part which deals with Paoli. Of the historical -part of the book there is nothing particular to -be said: it is, as Johnson remarked, 'like other histories.' -'Your History,' he told him, 'was copied from -books; your Journal rose out of your own experience -and observation.' The chief interest of the book is -that it is the earliest example of Boswell's biographical -method. The memoirs that we have here of Paoli -aim at giving a picture of a man in much the same way -as does the 'Life of Johnson.' The question as to -what exactly was Boswell's method will be discussed -later; but we are reminded here that the man who -preserved the conversations of Paoli and 'came in -upon him without ceremony while he was dressing,' -in order to see how he conducted himself before his -<i>valet de chambre</i>, was becoming an adept in his own -peculiar art.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page60" id="page60"></a>[pg 60]</span></p> - -<p>A great charm of the Journal, also prophetic of -the future, lies in the perfect frankness with which -Boswell discusses his own feelings. 'We retired to -another room to drink coffee. My timidity wore off. -I no longer anxiously thought of myself; my whole -attention was employed in listening to the illustrious -commander of a nation.' Or again, 'I enjoyed a -luxury of noble sentiment. Paoli became more -affable with me. I made myself known to him. I -forgot the great distance between us and had every -day some hours of private conversation with him.' -Boswell realised that a Journal is delightful only if -it is quite informal. We have a pleasing sense of inconsequent -freedom when we read in the Journal -several pages quoted from the 'First Book of the -Maccabees.' But it is not irrelevant to Boswell's -purpose. It occurred to his thoughts; and that is -a sufficient justification, whether it seem ludicrous -or incongruous or ponderous, for its inclusion. -There is no scene in the 'Tour in Corsica' which -comes up to the best in the 'Life of Johnson,' -but there are several descriptions, such as that -quoted above, when Boswell played the pipe and -sang 'Hearts of Oak,' which are really artistic and -pleasing.</p> - -<p>The book, at all events, had the effect of amusing -people and it gave them an interest in Corsica too. -Boswell had good accounts of it on all sides. 'My -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page61" id="page61"></a>[pg 61]</span> -<span class="rightnote">A SUCCESSFUL BOOK</span> -book,' he writes to Temple, 'has amazing celebrity:<a id="footnotetag2.8" name="footnotetag2.8"></a><a href="#footnote2.8"><sup>8</sup></a> -Lord Lyttelton, Mr. Walpole, Mrs. Macaulay, Mr. -Garrick, have all written me noble letters about it.' -The sale must have been very rapid. The dedication -to the first edition is dated October 29, 1767, and the -preface to the third edition on the same day of October, -his birthday, in the following year. In this preface -he explains that he has acquired that literary fame -which he desired:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -May I be permitted to say that the success of this -book has exceeded my warmest hopes. When I first -ventured to send it into the world, I fairly owned an -ardent desire for literary fame. I have obtained my -desire; and whatever clouds may overcast my days, -I can now walk here among the rocks and woods of my -ancestors, with an agreeable consciousness that I have -done something worthy. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>There is nothing deserving particular remark in -an author's desire for literary fame. But it is remarkable -that a man should proclaim it to the world -as Boswell did. The common ideal of an artist supposes -that his work should be, in the first place, the -expression of his own personality; an expression because -to him it is necessary to reproduce in some form -what he sees and feels: it is for himself and himself -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page62" id="page62"></a>[pg 62]</span> -alone, and the world without is allowed to share, partly -that the artist may earn a living, partly perhaps that -he may have some justification for his self-absorption; -and in greater part no doubt, in some cases more than -in others, but in every case a little, that he may win -the applause that we all like at bottom. None of these -reasons, and, least of all, the desire for fame, is held -to be a motive for producing art. There may be -various impulses with varying circumstances; but -there can be but one motive.</p> - -<p>The ambition which Boswell had, and which he -expressed so freely, is peculiar in some ways for the -end desired, but it is not essentially different from that -of other artists.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -He who publishes a book, affecting not to be an -'authour',<a id="footnotetag2.9" name="footnotetag2.9"></a><a href="#footnote2.9"><sup>9</sup></a> and professing an indifference for literary -fame, may possibly impose upon many people such an -idea of his consequence as he wishes may be received. -For my part, I should be proud to be known as an -authour and I have an ardent ambition for literary -fame; for of all possessions I should imagine literary -fame to be the most valuable. A man who has been -able to furnish a book which has been approved by -the world, has established himself as a respectable -character in distant society, without any danger of -having that character lessened by the observation of -his weaknesses. To preserve an uniform dignity among -those who see us every day is hardly possible; and -to aim at it must put us under the fetters of a perpetual -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page63" id="page63"></a>[pg 63]</span> -<span class="rightnote1">LITERARY AMBITION</span> -restraint. The authour of an approved book may -allow his natural disposition an easy play, and yet -indulge the pride of superiour genius when he considers -that, by those who know him only as an authour, he -never ceases to be respected. Such an authour, when -in his hours of discontent, may have the consolation -to think that his writings are at that very time giving -pleasure to numbers; and such an authour may cherish -the hope of being remembered after death, which has -been a great object to the noblest minds in all ages. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The nature of the desire for fame which he had is -revealed to us by Boswell in this curious passage. -It does not compromise his character as an artist.<a id="footnotetag2.10" name="footnotetag2.10"></a><a href="#footnote2.10"><sup>10</sup></a> -He wished to obtain the public esteem, to have the -reputation of an ingenious and worthy man; and -literature was considered as a means to this end. But -we cannot argue that he must therefore have pandered -to the public taste: he wrote, as he proclaimed at a -later date in a contribution to a periodical, 'from the -primary motive of pleasing himself.' This ambition -is not in its nature an attitude towards art but towards -the world. In all his writings, even in the frivolous -publications of his youth, Boswell has expressed his -own person in a peculiar degree. We must not suppose, -when we see an eagerness for literary fame, which, from -the frankness of his expression, may appear extravagant, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page64" id="page64"></a>[pg 64]</span> -that he lacked a literary conscience, for he had an -excellent one; nor indeed that it mattered at all to -him whether opinion in general should care about his -book, except in so far as it approved of him, of the real -Boswell, which it could not but find there.</p> - -<p>Boswell's ideal of the literary man's position is well -expressed in one of the letters to Temple:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Temple, I wish to be at last an uniform, pretty man. -I am astonishingly so already, but I wish to be a man -who deserves Miss B.... I am always for fixing some -period for my perfection as far as possible. Let it -be when my account of Corsica is published; I shall -then have a character which I must support. I will -swear, like an ancient disciple of Pythagoras, to observe -silence; I will be grave and reserved, though -cheerful and communicative of what is <i>verum atque -decens</i>. One great fault of mine is talking at random; -I will guard against it. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>It is amusing to think of Boswell in this <i>rôle</i>. -Already we may see the great contest in his life between -natural candour and commonplace ambition—the -charm of the 'Tour to Corsica' was the charm of -candour, and it was dangerous to dreams of future -greatness in the sphere of public affairs. Boswell -understood that to gain respect he must be more serious. -But this he never was able to be; it was his nature to -be extravagant. He had a mind which in some respects -was wholly unconventional, and though he -tried sometimes, he could never entirely repress his -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page65" id="page65"></a>[pg 65]</span> -<span class="rightnote">BUFFOONERY</span> -feelings: the consequence was that though there were -many things about which he cared very much, it was -never possible to take him quite seriously; if a man -plays the buffoon sometimes we are in danger of being -fooled if we give him credit for being in earnest; and -so, if we are to preserve our <i>amour propre</i>, which is -what everybody wants to do, we must laugh at a -buffoon whatever he does.</p> - -<p>A most notable piece of Boswell's buffoonery was -in connection with the Shakespeare Jubilee at Stratford-on-Avon -in 1769. He attended this festival dressed -as an armed Corsican chief. This perhaps was not -particularly odd; the form of rejoicing which the -company indulged in was a 'Mask.' It is dangerous -even so, and hardly decent, to blow the personal -trumpet so loudly. Boswell, however, was not content -merely with the public advertisement of his connexion -with Corsica; he wrote to the <i>London Magazine</i><a id="footnotetag2.11" name="footnotetag2.11"></a><a href="#footnote2.11"><sup>11</sup></a> an -elaborate unsigned account of himself and his costume: -it was entitled 'Account of the Armed Corsican Chief -at the Masquerade at Shakespeare's Jubilee, with a -fine whole-length portrait of James Boswell, Esq., in the -dress of an armed Corsican chief, as he appeared at the -Jubilee Mask.' There is no need to give here the -text of this document: it has been quoted at length -a number of times, and it suffices to say that there -can be no possible doubt that Boswell wrote it and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page66" id="page66"></a>[pg 66]</span> -that he wrote it to exhibit himself in a favourable light. -The incident is characteristic of Boswell. It is not the -mad whim that may occur once in a lifetime, the event -which stands as it were by itself apart from the man; -it is not an experiment miscarried, that has taken him -away from his usual self and so must remain unexplained -or be put to the long account of genius: rather -it is the sort of oddity that we come to expect of -Boswell.</p> - -<p>Frolics of this kind naturally deprived Boswell -of the respect which he desired for himself as a man -of letters. The 'Tour to Corsica' was an admirable -beginning to a literary career; he had then the chance -of founding the reputation he wanted as a person of -weight, a man whose judgment must be accounted of -some importance by the world at large. His writings -about Corsica had been widely read and his views had -found general sympathy. Moreover the popular -poetess, Mrs. Barbauld, had paid homage in verse to -his fame as an explorer. But by such behaviour as -this at Stratford these hopes were frustrated. And to -him, though perhaps not to us, this was the tragedy of -his life.</p> - -<p class="footnote1"><a id="footnote2.1" name="footnote2.1"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag2.1">1:</a> -<i>Samuel Johnson</i>, by Walter Raleigh, 1907.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote2.2" name="footnote2.2"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag2.2">2:</a> -This remark we may suppose was deliberately misinterpreted -by some of Boswell's contemporaries and he finds it necessary to -introduce a defence of it: 'I am willing to believe that I meant this as -light pleasantry to soothe and conciliate him, and not as humiliating -abasement at the expense of my country.' It was of course an apology -for coming from Scotland, but an absurd apology of which he saw the -absurdity, as though a man were to apologise for being six feet high.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote2.3" name="footnote2.3"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag2.3">3:</a> -<i>London Magazine</i>, vol. li., p. 359.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote2.4" name="footnote2.4"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag2.4">4:</a> -In August 1763.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote2.5" name="footnote2.5"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag2.5">5:</a> -<i>Life of Johnson</i>, iii., 331.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote2.6" name="footnote2.6"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag2.6">6:</a> -<i>Tour to Corsica</i>, pp. 320-1.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote2.7" name="footnote2.7"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag2.7">7:</a> -<i>Private Correspondence of David Hume</i>, 1820.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote2.8" name="footnote2.8"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag2.8">8:</a> -It is an interesting fact that it was translated into German, -Dutch, Italian, and French (<i>Gentleman's Magazine</i>, June 1795—Letter -from J. B. R.) The <i>Life</i>, I believe, has never been translated. -The same correspondent says, 'It was received with extraordinary -approbation.'</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote2.9" name="footnote2.9"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag2.9">9:</a> -For Boswell's views on spelling see this same preface.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote2.10" name="footnote2.10"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag2.10">10:</a> -Mr. Malone, speaking of the <i>Life</i>, said, 'That in this work he -had not both fame and profit in view, would be idle to assert; but -to suppose that these were his principal objects is to know nothing -of the author, and nothing of human nature.' <i>Gentleman's Magazine</i>, -June 1795.</p> - -<p class="footnote1b"><a id="footnote2.11" name="footnote2.11"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag2.11">11:</a> -September 1769.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page67" id="page67"></a>[pg 67]</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3 class="space-above5">CHAPTER III</h3> -</div> - -<p>The portion of Boswell's career which we have been -relating up to this point gives rise by natural sequence -to the discussion of one or two interesting questions -about his personality. We must know the part played -in the main theme by his peculiar qualities. We must -notice how they seem to assist or to impede his -particular faculty for biography.</p> - -<p>Allusion has already been made to the reasons for -which Boswell was attracted by two great men, Dr. -Johnson and General Paoli. We must see now in -general the reason of that intimacy which he took care -to cultivate with a large number of distinguished men.</p> - -<p>Boswell, there can be no doubt, liked men in some -way because they were distinguished. We must remember -that the judgments of the world were always -very real standards to him. If a man were great, he -must be somehow good; and to be the friend of such a -man, that was good too. It is not that Boswell judged -of characters wholly by success. We may see that -as he grew older he judged them more and more by -the Johnsonian morality. He grew less tolerant of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page68" id="page68"></a>[pg 68]</span> -heresy under the influence of his moral guide. Hence -the dislike of Gibbon:—'He is an ugly, affected, -disgusting fellow, and poisons our Literary Club to -me.' Johnson probably shared this feeling and undoubtedly -shared the reasons for it, which Boswell -expresses in Johnsonian phrases: 'I think it is -right that as fast as infidel wasps or venomous insects, -whether creeping or flying, are hatched, they should be -crushed.' This was said in reference to Gibbon's -book; the sentiments were extended to Adam Smith. -'Murphy says that he has read thirty pages of Smith's -"Wealth," but says that he shall read no more: -Smith too is now of our Club. It has lost its select -merit.' Personal antipathy in the one case and ignorance -of economics in the other need not surprise us. -But it comes as a shock, nevertheless, to discover -Boswell's views upon the two men who were, intellectually, -the most distinguished of his contemporaries. -The Doctor's prejudices may have much -to do with it. Boswell records a similar judgment in -the 'Tour to the Hebrides': 'Infidelity in a Highland -gentleman appeared to me peculiarly offensive. I was -sorry for him as he had otherwise a good character.'</p> - -<p>And yet he was probably always as he was in the -early years far more tolerant than Johnson. There is an -instructive passage also in the 'Tour to the Hebrides' -about Hume. Johnson was talking about Hume's -infidelity: 'He added something much too rough, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page69" id="page69"></a>[pg 69]</span> -<span class="rightnote">DISTINGUISHED FRIENDS</span> -both as to Mr. Hume's head and heart, which I suppress. -Violence is, in my opinion, not suitable to the Christian -cause. Besides I always lived on good terms with Mr. -Hume, though I have frankly told him I was not clear -that it was right in me to keep company with him.' -That he did not condemn the infidel Hume, shows that -Boswell's prejudices were weaker, at least, than friendship. -Boswell, besides, throughout his life gave a -very high value to mere intellectual power. He complained -of 'dull provinciality' in Scotland, because -the people of Edinburgh were less intelligent than the -Londoners. His love of London was founded upon -the need he felt of conversing with clever people; -and this need became in him with maturity, not -weaker, as in most cases, but stronger.</p> - -<p>In these early years Boswell was glad to make a -friend of any particularly intelligent person, and his -acquaintances included characters widely differing—Hume -and Rousseau, Johnson and Lord Hailes, -Wilkes and Paoli. Boswell clearly had pleasure in -the society of them all; he did not, like Johnson, -condemn them to a place beyond the range of his -acquaintance; these men were specimens of human -nature worthy to be studied; he saw some good in all -of them. There is a characteristic passage in the 'Life' -about the meeting of Johnson and Wilkes which -illustrates the attitude:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -My desire of being acquainted with celebrated men -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page70" id="page70"></a>[pg 70]</span> -of every description had made me, much about the -same time, obtain an introduction to Dr. Samuel -Johnson and to John Wilkes, Esq. Two men more -different could perhaps not be selected out of all mankind. -They have even attacked one another with -some asperity in their writings; yet I lived in habits -of friendship with both. I could fully relish the -excellence of each; for I have ever delighted in that -intellectual chymistry which can separate good qualities -from evil in the same person. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>He looked upon men much as we look upon works -of art, distinguishing that which, as art, has merit, and -crediting with a certain value every design or idea -which has been executed well, but attaching ourselves -more particularly to a few rare objects which have -some special significance or appeal for our own nature. -Johnson and Paoli had this appeal for Boswell. Wilkes -and Hume attracted him more because they were -interesting individuals for whom, though he really -disapproved of them, he might retain some slight -affection because they were representative men. He -might dislike the things they represented, but like -them in spite of this: like them, one might almost say, -for representing something.</p> - -<p>With Hume, for instance, he had a considerable -friendship at one time. He was of course, an individual -to be studied; to Temple, Boswell related his -conversations much as he recorded those of Johnson -and Paoli. But he did not see him merely because he -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page71" id="page71"></a>[pg 71]</span> -<span class="rightnote">INTEREST IN MEN</span> -was interested; he liked him too: 'David is really -amiable; I always regret to him his unlucky principles -and he smiles at my faith.' It is probable that as he -grew older Boswell grew less tolerant. He was always -somewhat of an experimentalist, interested in various -sides of life and fitting one or another to his own case; -but though he became with maturity more definitely -attached to the conventional Christianity, to 'belief,' -as he termed it, as opposed to 'infidelity,' and less -tolerant of the people who held different views, he -never hated a man for being a Whig or an atheist as -Johnson did.</p> - -<p>Interest and affection: these, then, are real motives -with Boswell for seeking as he did the company of -distinguished men. The question, however, of a further -motive—of the snobbishness in Boswell's nature—still -remains.</p> - -<p>Boswell himself was well aware of a certain 'propensity -in his disposition,' of a particular pleasure -from the society of the great and a desire which he -had to form friendships among them; he knew too -that his behaviour was condemned by many of his -contemporaries. In the 'Tour to the Hebrides'<a id="footnotetag3.1" name="footnotetag3.1"></a><a href="#footnote3.1"><sup>1</sup></a> he -has given his own account and explanation of his -conduct:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -My fellow-traveller and I talked of going to Sweden; -and, while we were settling our plan, I expressed a -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page72" id="page72"></a>[pg 72]</span> -pleasure in the prospect of seeing the king. Johnson: -'I doubt, Sir, if he would speak to us.' Colonel McLeod -said, 'I am sure Mr. Boswell would speak to <i>him</i>.' -But, seeing me a little disconcerted by his remark, he -politely added, 'and with great propriety.' Here let -me offer a short defence of that propensity in my disposition, -to which this gentleman alluded. It has -procured me much happiness. I hope it does not -deserve so hard a name as either forwardness or impudence. -If I know myself, it is nothing more than -an eagerness to enjoy the society of men distinguished -either by their rank or their talents, and a diligence -to attain what I desire. If a man is praised for seeking -knowledge, though mountains and seas are in his way, -may he not be pardoned, whose ardour, in pursuit of -the same object, leads him to encounter difficulties -as great, though of a different kind? -</p></blockquote> - -<p>This defence is characteristic of the manner in which -Boswell consistently treated the world. 'Curiosity,' -said Mrs. Thrale, 'carried Boswell farther than it ever -carried any mortal breathing. He cared not what he -provoked so as he said what <i>such a one</i> would say or do.'<a id="footnotetag3.2" name="footnotetag3.2"></a><a href="#footnote3.2"><sup>2</sup></a> -But the basis of social conventions is a desire to consider -the feelings of others. A person's 'forwardness' -and 'impudence' are judged not so much by his own -sentiments as by the effect he produces upon other -people. Boswell pressed an acquaintanceship entirely -because he thought it might be good for himself; he -never considered the views of the acquaintance: -'It has procured me much happiness.' He did not -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page73" id="page73"></a>[pg 73]</span> -<span class="rightnote">BOSWELL A SNOB</span> -understand the consequences of this attitude. He -was an intellectual parasite upon society, determined -at any cost to feed upon the good qualities of others, -taking where he would, without caring if he gave. It -may possibly be well for the individual that he should -consider himself alone; but society, just because it -is society, must object to the egoist. This Boswell -never was able to understand. His own point of view -was concerned with what he could get from others; and -though he was by nature in many ways excellent as -the member of a community, he had no conception of -himself in this capacity. He cared a great deal about -his importance, but very little about his value. He -took systematically, he gave at random. Interest in -human beings simply for his own sake because it -pleased him<a id="footnotetag3.3" name="footnotetag3.3"></a><a href="#footnote3.3"><sup>3</sup></a>: that is one prime motive which impelled -him to seek the acquaintance of distinguished men.</p> - -<p>Boswell, besides this, was essentially a snob. To -have pleasure in the company of distinguished men, -not only from a sense of the good qualities they have, -but from a feeling that their greatness adds to one's -position in the esteem of mankind, that is to be a -snob. Boswell had this feeling; he freely admitted -it. 'Now, Temple,' he writes, 'can I help indulging -my vanity? Sir David Dalrymple says to me in his -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page74" id="page74"></a>[pg 74]</span> -last letter, "It gives me much pleasure to think that -you have obtained the friendship of Mr. Samuel -Johnson...."' And again:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I am really the great man now. I have had David -Hume, in the forenoon, and Mr. Johnson, in the afternoon, -of the same day, visiting me. Sir John Pringle, -Dr. Franklin, and some more company dined with -me to-day; and Mr. Johnson and General Oglethorpe -one day, Mr. Garrick alone another, and David Hume -and some more literati another, dine with me next -week. I give admirable dinners and good claret; -and the moment I go abroad again, which will be in a -day or two, I set up my chariot. This is enjoying the -fruit of my labours, and appearing like the friend of -Paoli. By the bye, the Earl of Pembroke and Captain -Meadows are just setting out for Corsica, and I have -the honour of introducing them by a letter to the -General. David Hume came on purpose, the other -day, to tell me that the Duke of Bedford was very -fond of my book, and had recommended it to the -Duchess. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>'The great man' because he kept the company of -great men—that is what he says, and it is snobbish. -His enjoyment of 'the society of men distinguished -by their rank or their talents' depended partly upon -that. He considered this to be a legitimate way of -acquiring fame.</p> - -<p>The absurdity of Boswell's behaviour in this respect -seems all the more ridiculous from the fact that it -was unnecessary. When he returned from Corsica he -had obtained, as we remarked above, a position of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page75" id="page75"></a>[pg 75]</span> -<span class="rightnote">LETTER TO CHATHAM</span> -considerable distinction for a young man. He had -only to wait discreetly and carefully and he was certain -to obtain the patronage of the great. But he courted -them, on the contrary, with unheard-of fervour. The -climax was reached in a letter to Chatham, with whom -he had an opportunity of corresponding about Corsica. -He writes from the pinnacle of pomposity to descend -to the pit of adulation: 'I only wish that circumstances -were such that your Lordship could have an opportunity -of showing the interest you take in the fate of -a people who well deserve the favour of so illustrious -a patron of liberty as your Lordship.' He proceeds -by quoting, as the mediator between the General -and Lord Chatham, a letter from Paoli. There is then -an immortal passage in which the underlying egoism, -too little concealed, is yoked with a flattery which -could scarcely be tolerated in Olympia:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Your Lordship applauds my 'generous warmth -for so striking a character as the able chief.' Indeed, -my Lord, I have the happiness of being capable to -contemplate with supreme delight those distinguished -spirits by whom God is sometimes pleased to honour -humanity; and as I have no personal favour to ask -of your Lordship, I will tell you with the confidence -of one who does not fear to be thought a flatterer, -that your character, my Lord, has filled many of my -best hours with that noble admiration which a disinterested -soul can enjoy in the bower of philosophy. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Then follows an account of Boswell's plan for his -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page76" id="page76"></a>[pg 76]</span> -book about Corsica; and finally his personal vanity -leaps over every barrier.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -As for myself, to please a worthy and respected -father, one of our Scotch judges, I studied law, and -am now fairly entered to the bar. I begin to like it. -I can labour hard; I feel myself coming forward, and -I hope to be useful to my country. Could your Lordship -find time to honour me now and then with a letter? -I have been told how favourably your Lordship has -spoken of me. To correspond with a Paoli and a -Chatham is enough to keep a young man ever ardent -in the pursuit of virtuous fame. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>This letter illustrates much of Boswell's attitude -towards the great, and it will be necessary to refer to -it again in that connection; it shows, at least, how -earnestly Boswell desired the friendship of the great -man, and what a thrill of pleasure those letters from -Chatham must have given him.</p> - -<p>However much we may dislike this propensity -of Boswell's disposition, while admitting that it is -unpleasant in itself, although we would not and could -not have Boswell without it, there is no reason to -see in much of it a blacker vice than merely the ignorance -of how to behave. And it was connected as we -have shown with feelings not entirely selfish. But -of the flagrant self-advertisement to which we have -referred above no such agreeable things may be said. -It is condemnable without compensation as an obtrusive -egoism and foolish vanity. It must be written -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page77" id="page77"></a>[pg 77]</span> -<span class="rightnote">LIMITS OF EGOISM</span> -down frankly on the debit side of Boswell's peculiar -genius, and it was as much opposed to the proper -exercise of his biographical talents as to his more -practical career.</p> - -<p class="centerf">.<span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span></p> - -<p>We are forced to wonder, and it is important that -we should decide, whether in spite of his immoderate -self-centredness Boswell was capable of acting without -considering his own advantage in the interest of others. -Had he, in the first place, any real care for the cause of -Corsican liberty?</p> - -<p>It is often far from easy to discover what Boswell's -feelings were, because the balance between sentiment -and expression was with him very ill-adjusted. By -prolonged study of the Boswellian extravagances we -may come to perceive, as we think, how much Boswell -really felt; but even so it is hardly possible to explain -any valid reason for judgments of this nature. Boswell -was often guilty of extravagance; but it would be as -false to believe that he felt none of the zeal he talks -about so easily, as to believe that he felt as much -as he says. He undoubtedly exaggerated, but he -probably never made an absolute misstatement.</p> - -<p>There is a passage of great enthusiasm for the -Corsicans in a letter to Johnson:<a id="footnotetag3.4" name="footnotetag3.4"></a><a href="#footnote3.4"><sup>4</sup></a> 'Shall they not -rise in the great cause of liberty, and break the galling -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page78" id="page78"></a>[pg 78]</span> -yoke? And shall not every liberal soul be warm -for them?' Boswell's heart must have been warm -when he wrote that: but we are unfortunately still -left in doubt by an anti-climax: 'No! while I live, -Corsica and the cause of the brave islanders shall ever -employ much of my attention, shall ever interest -me in the sincerest manner.' The letter in which -these quotations occur is dated April 26, 1768; it -is possible that Boswell's ardour had begun to cool -by that time and that the cause of liberty, though it -might 'employ much of his attention' was less vital -to him than he imagined. The 'Tour to Corsica,' -however, gives an impression of genuine interest and -sympathy with the Corsicans. Boswell seems to have -liked very well these simple folk, who appreciated more -readily than his countrymen the natural gaiety and -good humour of his spirits.<a id="footnotetag3.5" name="footnotetag3.5"></a><a href="#footnote3.5"><sup>5</sup></a> How different is his attitude -in the 'Tour to the Hebrides' towards the Scots! -We must remember too that Boswell, whatever may -have been his motives, did much in England and -Scotland to help the Corsicans. Besides publishing -his book, which was of value to their cause, he raised -a subscription and sent out £700 worth of ordnance.<a id="footnotetag3.6" name="footnotetag3.6"></a><a href="#footnote3.6"><sup>6</sup></a> -He also collected and published a volume of 'British -Essays in favour of the Brave Corsicans,' some of -which he himself wrote.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page79" id="page79"></a>[pg 79]</span></p> - -<p>Boswell had in fact a real generosity of character; he -<span class="rightnote">GENEROSITY</span> -hated anything mean, and expressed himself as anxious -to cure his own 'narrowness.' He could be kind to -his friends and was willing to lend money. He was -interested as a lawyer in the decisions of the courts -and readily bestowed his sympathy. On behalf of a -certain Dr. Dodd, a divine who was under sentence of -death for forgery, he wrote to Dr. Johnson: 'If for -ten righteous men the Almighty would have spared -Sodom, shall not a thousand acts of goodness done by -Dr. Dodd counterbalance one crime?' And Dr. -Johnson afterwards used his pen in Dr. Dodd's service. -On another occasion he appealed for his friend's -assistance in the case of a Scotch schoolmaster—a -client of Boswell's, who had been 'deprived of his -office for being somewhat severe in the chastisement -of his scholars': Boswell in his letter to Johnson -seems to have at heart both the interests of the schoolmaster -and the principle of corporal punishment. -For his friend Temple he more than once went out of -his way to obtain some favour. He treated his tenants -with the greatest consideration, and even made -special provisions in his will for their future welfare.<a id="footnotetag3.7" name="footnotetag3.7"></a><a href="#footnote3.7"><sup>7</sup></a> -But Boswell was not one of those who continually -exercise these amiable qualities. It is probable indeed -that, had he tried, he would have met with more rebuffs -than encouragement. To be flagrantly kind with -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page80" id="page80"></a>[pg 80]</span> -any success requires a good deal of cunning, and of -that useful quality Boswell had extremely little: -he was likely to appear in any good work more meddlesome -than great-hearted. But if with him care for -the happiness of others was not the first consideration, -he was at bottom a sympathetic, kind-hearted -man, and capable of generous actions.</p> - -<p>It is very important that we should bear this in -mind about Boswell. Those who are gifted with -powers of expression are often in one sense primarily -egoists—more so than other men because they are apt -to become more completely absorbed—and Boswell, as -we have shown, was not without his portion of egoism; -but there may be a place in the lives of such men for -unselfish feelings, and if we may think that Boswell -had his due share of them we may judge less harshly -in him the egoism which we cannot admire.</p> - -<p class="centerf">.<span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span></p> - -<p>Boswell, as we have seen, had already at the age -of twenty-seven made a bid for renown. He was -anxious to shine in more lights than one. It was not -mere social success or literary fame that he wanted: -he had an ardent desire to be successful in his profession. -The sphere of employment which had been chosen for -him by his father with his own sanction was the -Scotch Bar, to which he was formally 'called' in 1766.<a id="footnotetag3.8" name="footnotetag3.8"></a><a href="#footnote3.8"><sup>8</sup></a> -His work seems to have engrossed at once a great -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page81" id="page81"></a>[pg 81]</span> -<span class="rightnote">AT THE BAR</span> -deal of his time. He writes on March 4th, 1767, to -Temple:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I am surprised at myself, I already speak with so -much ease and boldness, and have already the language -of the bar so much at command. I have now cleared -eighty guineas. My clerk comes to me every morning -at six, and I have dictated to him forty folio pages in -one day. It is impossible to give you an idea of my -present life. I send you one of my law papers, and -a copy of my thesis. I am doing nobly; but I have -not leisure for learning. I can hardly ever answer -the letters of my friends. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>This is the letter of a man who finds himself engrossed -as well as busy. The truth is that Boswell was -extremely anxious to make a mark in his profession. -Here, as always, he must win approval; he must -become a person to be considered. To this end he -succeeded in mixing himself up with the Douglas -Cause, a case concerned with a Scotch title which was -commanding much attention in the summer of 1767. -He seems to have acted as a voluntary counsel to -Mr. Douglas the plaintiff, and was most diligent, even -perhaps to excess, in his interest. In connection with -this trial, two small publications appeared from -Boswell's hand. The first of them, 'The Essence of the -Douglas Cause,' is a <i>précis</i> of the whole affair, well -arranged and clearly expressed; it was written with -a view to aiding Boswell's own side in the case,<a id="footnotetag3.9" name="footnotetag3.9"></a><a href="#footnote3.9"><sup>9</sup></a> in -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page82" id="page82"></a>[pg 82]</span> -reply to a pleading from the other side, 'Considerations -on the Douglas Cause.' The labour of compiling this -summary must have been very great. Boswell tells -us in the introduction that he was present during -the whole deliberation of the Cause before the Court -of Session and took very full notes. It shows, as Mr. -Fitzgerald has remarked, how industrious Boswell could -be when his enthusiasm was aroused.</p> - -<p>The other publication, 'Dorando: A Spanish -Tale'<a id="footnotetag3.10" name="footnotetag3.10"></a><a href="#footnote3.10"><sup>10</sup></a> affects to be a story about a trial in Spain, but -reproduces the characters in the Douglas case. Under -this thin veil approbation and criticism are distributed -to the two parties, and the cause decided. The -publication of 'Dorando,'<a id="footnotetag3.11" name="footnotetag3.11"></a><a href="#footnote3.11"><sup>11</sup></a> extracts of which appeared -in several of the Scotch newspapers and were held -by some of the Scotch judges to be contempt of court, -was wholly characteristic of Boswell. Whether or -no it would be possible to find in his conduct anything -which amounted to a breach of etiquette, it -is clear that a publication of this sort might well -injure his position at the Bar. It is true that the -author's name did not appear, but it was not to be -supposed that it would always remain a secret, and -the precaution was probably taken with a view to -being on the right side rather of the law than of the -lawyers. Boswell, with all his wish to win the esteem -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page83" id="page83"></a>[pg 83]</span> -<span class="rightnote">THE DOUGLAS CAUSE</span> -of men, never understood how easily the opposite is -earned and how harshly a tiny cosmos will punish -an offence against itself. And when the humorous -side of things struck him forcibly he was unable to -repress his feelings.</p> - -<p>Boswell's behaviour during the Douglas Cause is -said to have been decidedly extravagant. His father -was heard to say that 'James had taken a tout on a -new horn,'<a id="footnotetag3.12" name="footnotetag3.12"></a><a href="#footnote3.12"><sup>12</sup></a> -and a story got about which, though it may -have been false, must have had some relation to the -common conception of Boswell, that when he heard -that the House of Lords had reversed the decision of -the Court of Session, he placed himself at the head of -an uproarious mob who broke his father's windows.</p> - -<p>There are other indications than the Douglas -Cause to show that Boswell was anxious to be successful -in his legal career. It is not to be thought that he -always displayed the energy which he showed at this -time. But he clearly took the trouble, on several -occasions recorded in the 'Life,' to prepare the best -arguments he could to support his case; and if we -must suppose that he was as anxious as he represents -himself to be that justice should be done, it is still -quite evident that he hoped to gain some advantage to -himself from the assistance which he solicited and -obtained from Johnson, and was glad that the right -should triumph, in part no doubt because it was -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page84" id="page84"></a>[pg 84]</span> -supported by James Boswell. In fact it is probable that -Johnson's assistance was of little value. As Boswell -says on one occasion, having presented the written -arguments of Johnson without success, 'their Lordships -in general, though they were pleased to call this, "a -well-drawn paper," preferred the former very inferior -petition which I had written; thus confirming the -truth of an observation made to me by one of their -number in a merry mood: "My dear Sir, give yourself -no trouble in the composition of the paper you -present to us; for, indeed, it is casting pearls before -swine."'</p> - -<p>We shall have to consider when we come to the -last years of Boswell's life the various reasons for his -failure at the Bar. But one reason may be mentioned -here because it is so essential a part of his character -that we should do wrong not to have it in mind as we -go over the spectacle of his whole life. Boswell, it -must be remembered, was called to the Scotch Bar; -but the society of the Scotch, and particularly of the -Scotch lawyers, was never congenial to him. As early -as March 1767 he writes to Temple: 'It must be confessed -that our Court of Session is not so favourable -to eloquence as the English Courts.' By 1775 he -was apparently quite tired of his work; 'On my -arrival here [Edinburgh] I had the pleasure to find -my wife and two little daughters as well as I could -wish; but indeed, my worthy priest, it required some -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page85" id="page85"></a>[pg 85]</span> -<span class="rightnote">DISLIKES THE SCOTCH</span> -philosophy to bear the change from England to Scotland. -The unpleasing tone, the rude familiarity, the barren -conversation of those whom I found here, in comparison -with what I had left, really hurt my feelings.'</p> - -<p>It is probable that Boswell's opinions about the -Scotch lawyers were not entirely concealed from them. -And they knew, no doubt, that he had friends among -the Edinburgh players, and may have resented the -fact. 'The Scottish Themis,' says Scott, speaking of -his own early experience, 'is peculiarly jealous of any -flirtation with the Muses on the part of those who have -ranged themselves under her banners.' We may -suppose that Boswell's flirtations, with the Muses -at all events, injured his position in legal circles.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -The General Assembly [Boswell continues] is sitting, -and I practise at its Bar. There is <i>de facto</i> -something low and coarse in such employment, though -on paper it is a Court of <i>Supreme Judicature</i>; but -guineas must be had.... To speak well, when I -despise both the cause and the judges, is difficult; -but I believe I shall do wonderfully. I look forward -with aversion to the little, dull, labours of the Court -of Session. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Boswell himself was quite unlike most Scotchmen, -and he relates in the 'Life' the remarks upon this -subject made by Johnson at various times:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -<i>Johnson</i>: 'I never say, I do not value Boswell more -for being born to an estate, because I do not care.' -<i>Boswell</i>: 'Nor for being a Scotchman.' <i>Johnson</i>: -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page86" id="page86"></a>[pg 86]</span> -'Nay, Sir, I do value you more for being a Scotchman. -You are a Scotchman without the faults of a Scotchman. -You would not have been so valuable as you are, -had you not been a Scotchman.' And again, when -talking of the Scotch nation, <i>Johnson</i>: '<i>You</i> are an -exception, though. Come, gentlemen, let us candidly -admit that there is one Scotchman who is cheerful.' -<i>Beauclerk</i>: 'But he is a very unnatural Scotchman.' -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Professor Raleigh has emphasised this point in -his delightful manner:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -If I had to find a paradox in Boswell, I should -find it in this, that he was a Scot. His character was -destitute of all the vices, and all the virtues, which -are popularly, and in the main rightly, attributed to -the Scottish people. The young Scot is commonly -shy, reserved, and self-conscious; independent in -temper, sensible to affront, slow to make friends, and -wary in society. Boswell was the opposite of all -these things. He made himself at home in all societies, -and charmed others into a like ease and confidence. -Under the spell of his effervescent good-humour the -melancholy Highlanders were willing to tell stories -of the supernatural. 'Mr. Boswell's frankness -and gayety,' says Johnson, 'made everybody -communicative.' -</p></blockquote> - -<p>And Boswell himself took no trouble to conceal, -but rather published this truth. He saw very clearly -certain qualities in the Scotch character which he -disliked.</p> - -<p>It must be remembered, however, that Boswell -professed to be in one sense, perhaps the only right -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page87" id="page87"></a>[pg 87]</span> -<span class="rightnote">LOVE FOR SCOTLAND</span> -sense, patriotic. He may have hated the Scotch, -but he loved Scotland and loved in particular the -home of his ancestors. If he preferred to live in -England, it was a preference only for the society he -found there. During those memorable months when -the great Doctor made his tour in Scotland, Boswell -had a real anxiety that Johnson should get rid of his -prejudices and appreciate the country. He takes the -trouble to defend at length Johnson's 'Journey to -the Western Islands' from the anger of Scotchmen, -but he does so by asserting that Johnson saw both -the good and the bad.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -'And let me add' [he says in an extravagant vein] -'that, citizen of the world as I hold myself to be, I -have that just sense of the merit of an ancient nation, -which has been ever renowned for its valour, which -in former times maintained its independence against -a powerful neighbour, and in modern times has been -equally distinguished for its ingenuity and industry -in civilised life, that I should have felt a genuine indignation -at any injustice done to it. Johnson treated -Scotland no worse than he did even his best friends, -whose characters he used to give as they appeared to -him, both in light and shade.' -</p></blockquote> - -<p>However Boswell may have had 'that just sense -of the merit of an ancient nation,' it is clear, as we have -said, that he disliked very much his legal work in Scotland. -But it must not be thought that he rapidly -became grave and soured by constant irritation. That -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page88" id="page88"></a>[pg 88]</span> -process was a slow one in his case. His disposition was -too sanguine to feel very much, as a young man, his -disappointments. He did without doubt, as he grew -older, become less frivolous, and more sedate; with -this we must suppose that his marriage in 1769 was -in some way connected.</p> - -<p class="centerf">.<span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span></p> - -<p>Before we come to discuss the domesticity of -Boswell we must consider for a time those affairs of -the heart in which he had such a plentiful experience.</p> - -<p>About these he was as frank as he was about -all the subjects which he discusses in his letters to -Temple. We have detailed accounts (detailed enough, -apparently, to offend, unfortunately for our purpose, -the delicate ear of the first editor of the letters) -which describe in several cases the precise nature of -Boswell's love or passion or whatever be the appropriate -expression. These accounts were intentionally -complete. The eye of Boswell is fixed upon the thermometer -of his affections to observe and indicate its -rise and fall. Nothing could illustrate the man so well -as the attitude which he here so nakedly revealed, -typical entirely of Boswell because it is so completely -self-centred. He lived for his own pleasure and says -as much: 'That pleasure is not the aim but the end -of our being, seems to be philosophically demonstrable. -Therefore all the labour and all the serious business -of life should first be considered as means to -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page89" id="page89"></a>[pg 89]</span> -<span class="rightnote">FIRST LOVE</span> -that end.'<a id="footnotetag3.13" name="footnotetag3.13"></a><a href="#footnote3.13"><sup>13</sup></a> In love he was not less governed by this -system than he was in every other phase of life.</p> - -<p>It was at the early age of eighteen when Boswell -was still at the University that the son of Venus came -to him upon the first of many visits. The lady, a Miss -W——t, is described as a most desirable companion; -and Cupid in one sense was kind to Boswell—for -though his hope of an ideal future in the company of -the beloved, the heiress to a fortune of thirty thousand -pounds, was not destined to be realised, he was able, -if the lady were disinclined to adorn his life, to 'bear -it <i>æquo animo</i>, and retire into the calm regions of -philosophy.'</p> - -<p>The subject of matrimony seems often to have -occupied the thoughts of Boswell. At times the appeal -of unmarried life was strong. 'The bachelor has a -carelessness of disposition which pleases everybody, -and everybody thinks him a sort of common good—a -feather which flies about and lights now here, now -there.' But the ideal of a winged good which was -to float about thus amiably gave way at times to a -more sedate view of living. 'If you think of the -comforts of a home, where you are a sort of sovereign, -the kind endearments of an amiable woman, who has -no wish but to make you happy, the amusement of -seeing your children grow up from infancy to manhood, -and the pleasing pride of being the father of brave and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page90" id="page90"></a>[pg 90]</span> -learned men, all which may be the case—then marriage -is truly the condition in which true felicity is to be -found.' In the absence, however, of a felicity which -could add so much comfort and pleasure and so small -a burden of responsibility to his life, Boswell was happy -enough, he proceeds to relate, to have a '<i>dear infidel</i>.' -That there was no infidelity on the part of this -'charmer' Boswell is able to affirm, while he does not -deny that she has a husband; but though, as he says, -'imagination represented it just as being fond of a -pretty, lively, black little lady, who, to oblige me, stayed -in Edinburgh, and I very genteelly paid her expenses,' -he was glad no doubt that circumstances permitted -him to arrange his pleasures without hypocrisy.</p> - -<p>The course of his amour was not destined to run very -smoothly. The ardour of Boswell for the deserted or -deserting lady was intermittent and expensive; it was -difficult to be rid of her because the tendernesses of a -farewell upset the unstable balance of Boswell's susceptibility; -'I was sometimes resolved to let her go, -and sometimes my heart was like to burst within me. -I took her dear hand; her eyes were full of passion, I -took her in my arms.' The dramatic moment is too -much for the best-laid plans, and Boswell was grateful, -as he well might be, to find himself free after two -months. 'I am totally emancipated from my -charmer, as much as from the gardener's daughter -who now puts on my fire and performs menial offices -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page91" id="page91"></a>[pg 91]</span> -<span class="rightnote">SEVERAL LADIES</span> -like any other wench.' The affair with the gardener's -daughter is unfortunately not related. She is mentioned -only this once where Boswell tells us that a year -before this date (March 30, 1767), he had been 'so -madly in love as to think of marrying her.' Two other -ladies are mentioned in the same letter, Miss Bosville -and Miss Blair. He thought of the former, who was -his cousin, as a convenient match, but the suit does -not appear to have been prosecuted with much vigour. -She was kept, as it were, in the second line of battle to -fill up a gap when an object of devotion was required. -There is another name of the same kind, Zelide, a -Dutch lady whom he met at Utrecht and who appears -upon the scene periodically. Boswell several times -threatened to marry her. How many affairs there -were of this class it is difficult to estimate. Exact -information on the subject would be valuable as enabling -us to adjust the proportion of these matters. -From isolated remarks referring to women not elsewhere -mentioned, such as 'My Italian angel is constant,' -we might suppose that Boswell conducted his amours -on the magnificent scale of Solomon. But this can -hardly have been the case.</p> - -<p>Miss Blair was a Scotch heiress whose estate was not -far from Auchinleck. Boswell's father was in favour -of the match, which would have been in every way -desirable, particularly so if it be considered appropriate -that the young lady was in love with Boswell. The -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page92" id="page92"></a>[pg 92]</span> -initial stages were highly propitious. Miss Blair with -her mother was persuaded, without great difficulties -we may suppose, to stay at Auchinleck, where Boswell -in the 'romantic groves' of his ancestors 'adored her -like a divinity.' The heir whose 'grand object is the -ancient family of Auchinleck—a venerable and noble -principle' intends to carry off the 'neighbouring -princess' by assault rather than siege, and in the -pursuit of romance allows no time for love to languish. -An emissary<a id="footnotetag3.14" name="footnotetag3.14"></a><a href="#footnote3.14"><sup>14</sup></a> is despatched, no other than the faithful -Temple, who is at once to blow the trumpet as a herald, -and as a spy to observe the enemy's fortifications. -'Praise me for my good qualities—you know them.' -These are the instructions. Romance is to be fed by -mystery and the chase encouraged by the elusiveness -of the quarry. 'But talk also how odd, how inconstant, -how impetuous, how much accustomed to -women of intrigue. Ask gravely, Pray don't you -imagine there is something of madness in that family?' -A tinge of insanity may be a pleasing dash of colour -in the hero; or the suggestion may draw the attention -of the fair one to extravagances which are to be noted -as the fantasies of genius. The ultimate halo, the crown -of glory, is reserved for the explorer of distant lands -and the friend of men distinguished in a continent. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page93" id="page93"></a>[pg 93]</span> -<span class="rightnote">PURSUIT OF MISS BLAIR</span> -'Talk of my various travels, German princes—Voltaire -and Rousseau.' The effect upon the audience of this -elaborate comedy is to be duly registered in order that -the manager may arrange the sequence appropriately -and the principal actor appear in splendour at the -dramatic moment. 'Observe her well. See how -amiable! Judge if she would be happy with your -friend. Think of me as the great man at Adamtown—quite -classical too; study the mother. Remember -well what passes.... Consider what a romantic -expedition you are on; take notes.' By the final -injunction, the biographer's own peculiar weapon is -to be directed at the prize and the lady captured by -a sheet of memoranda.</p> - -<p>An accident, however, occurs and trivial circumstance -is swollen to importance by the fever of impatience. -The fervour of a suitor's letter demands -immediate reply; but the letter remains for some days -in the post. Letter follows letter, and the perturbation -increases when jealousy summons the image of a -yellow nabob. The actor doubts if he has chosen the -proper <i>rôle</i>, and fears the effect of his 'Spanish stateliness.' -But the ardent lover is able to exclaim, 'I -am entertained with this dilemma like another chapter -in my adventures,' and consolation comes in a letter -from the Signora 'written with all the warmth of -Italian affection.' Finally the matter is explained and -there is the pleasure of restoring harmony. Lucky -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page94" id="page94"></a>[pg 94]</span> -that these matters run never smoothly, for there will -be further opportunity of experiencing the tortured -joy of a quarrel and the supreme delight of reconciliation. -An uninteresting interval is amused by a -renewal of intimacy with the 'dear infidel' before -another coolness is arranged. The self-possession of -the lady now provokes 'a strange sultanish letter, -very cold and very formal,' and after an absence of -three weeks the suitor pays an eminently agreeable -visit to the prospective bride, though still apparently -in a rather sultanish mood: 'I am dressed in green -and gold. I have my chaise in which I sit alone with -Mr. Gray, and Thomas rides by me in a claret-coloured -suit with a silver-laced hat.' The final joy was however -withheld. 'The princess and I have not yet made -up our quarrel, she talks lightly of it.' The adorer -is prepared conditionally to soar to the last heights of -adoration. 'If she feels as I wish her to do, I shall -adore her while my blood is warm': but the philosopher -is determined to escape the inconvenience of a wounded -heart: 'I shall just bring myself, I hope, to a good, -easy tranquillity.' The 'princess' by this time has -ceased to be a dupe; she may have seen that the -courtship was arranged to give the colouring of romance -to conventional matrimony, and alter the pompous -comedy of surrender to a serious farce for one party -and for the other probably to a serious tragedy. Her -manner in any case became more reserved: 'She -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page95" id="page95"></a>[pg 95]</span> -<span class="rightnote">FAILURE AND CONSOLATION</span> -refused sending me a lock ... and she says very -cool things upon that head.' The burning lover -begins to congratulate himself upon escape from so -unsatisfying a mate, and the beautiful princess is -discovered to be a jilt. 'Wish me joy, my good -friend, of having discovered the snake before it was -too late.... After this I shall be upon my guard -against ever indulging the least fondness for a Scot -lass; I am a soul of a more Southern frame. I may -perhaps be fortunate enough to find an Englishwoman -who will be sensible of my merits and will study to -please my singular humour.' Zelide and Miss Bosville -are mentioned in the same letter, the former to illustrate -the truth that 'an old flame is easily rekindled' -and the latter as a possibility to be kept in mind.</p> - -<p>But a volatility amazing even in Boswell produces -on the following day a letter which is full of the charms -of Miss Blair. The more violent the quarrel the more -pleasing the peace-making. A meeting is arranged at -Edinburgh; a declaration is made and the now enthusiastic -suitor reports, 'I ventured to seize her hand. -She is really the finest woman I ever saw.' The -'princess' however is still reserved, and determined -efforts have to be made at the theatre.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Next evening I was at the play with them; it -was 'Othello.' I sat close behind the princess, and -at the most affecting scenes I pressed my hand upon her -waist; she was in tears and rather leaned to me. The -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page96" id="page96"></a>[pg 96]</span> -jealous Moor described my very soul. I often spake to -her of the torment she saw before her. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>But even after this touching scene there is cause for -disquiet. 'Still,' he says, 'I thought her distant, and -still I felt uneasy.'</p> - -<p>The encouragement however was sufficient to give -confidence to the attack, and there follows a <i>tête-à-tête</i> -in which 'pleasure from the intimacy of often squeezing -and kissing her fine hand, while she looked at me with -those beautiful black eyes,' was somewhat darkened by -a disconcerting surprise. 'I then asked her to tell -me if she had any particular liking for me. What -think you, Temple, was her answer? "No; I really -have no particular liking for you; I like many people -as well as you—I like Jeany Maxwell better than you."' -Consolation must now be sought where love is denied. -<i>Boswell</i>: 'If you should happen to love another, -will you tell me immediately and help me to make -myself easy?' <i>Princess</i>: 'Yes, I will.' But the lady's -sympathy shows a want of imagination which is -highly unsatisfying. <i>Boswell</i>: 'I must, if possible, endeavour -to forget you. What would you have me do?' -<i>Princess</i>: 'I really don't know what you should do.'</p> - -<p>It would appear that honour had no escape from -such a defeat but in renewing the encounter. The -history of the last period of this wooing, of the nadir -of the wooer's fortunes and his cheerfulness in spite -of repulses, is told to Temple six weeks later. A new -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page97" id="page97"></a>[pg 97]</span> -<span class="rightnote">DEFEAT WITHOUT DESPAIR</span> -rival appears upon the scene, and there is rumour of -an engagement. The rejected suitor writes to ascertain -the truth of this alarming story. But his appeal is -neglected. Dignity now demands that disappointment -shall be concealed, and an alliance is formed with the -presumably successful rival, Sir Alexander Gilmour. -'I endeavoured to laugh off my passion, and I got Sir -Alexander Gilmour to frank a letter to her, which I -wrote in a pleasant strain, and amused myself with -the whim.' The lady now appears in London and at -the same moment the Nabob. He too is to be an ally, -and a final scene is arranged. 'We gave our words as -men of honour that we would be honest to each other -so that neither should suffer needlessly; and to satisfy -ourselves of our real situation, we gave our words of -honour that we should both ask her this morning, and -I should go first.' The result can hardly have been -doubtful. Boswell tells his adorable princess, 'I -have great animal spirits, and bear it wonderfully well,' -and proceeds to write 'A Crambo Song on Losing my -Mistress.'</p> - -<div class="poem width21"> <div class="stanza"> -<p>Although I be an honest laird,</p> -<p class="i2">In person rather strong and brawny,</p> -<p>For me the heiress never cared,</p> -<p class="i2">For she would have the knight, Sir Sawney.</p> - </div><div class="stanza"> -<p>And when, with ardent vows, I swore,</p> -<p class="i2">Loud as Sir Jonathan Trelawney,</p> -<p>The heiress showed me to the door,</p> -<p class="i2">And said, she'd have the knight, Sir Sawney.</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page98" id="page98"></a>[pg 98]</span> - </div><div class="stanza"> -<p>She told me with a scornful look,</p> -<p class="i2">I was as ugly as a tawney;</p> -<p>For she a better fish could hook,</p> -<p class="i2">The rich and gallant knight, Sir Sawney.</p> - </div> </div> - -<p>We might suppose that Boswell in spite of his cheerfulness -would have been at heart rather dejected by -these events; but he writes to Temple, 'My mind is now -twice as enlarged as it has been for some months. -You cannot say how fine a woman I may marry; -perhaps a Howard or some other of the noblest in the -kingdom.'</p> - -<p>The realities were hardly so elevated as these dreams, -for in the following spring (1768), it is Zelide again, and -not she alone. 'Zelide may have had her faults but -is she always to have them? May not time have -altered her for the better as it has altered me? But -you will tell me that I am not so greatly altered, as I -have still many unruly passions. To confess to you -at once Temple, I have, since my last coming to town -been as wild as ever.' But flowers were to be fresh -at last in the month of August. 'I am exceedingly -lucky in having escaped the insensible Miss Bosville -and the furious Zelide, for I have now seen the finest -creature that ever was formed, <i>la belle Irlandaise</i>. Figure -to yourself, Temple, a young lady just sixteen, formed -like a Grecian nymph, with the sweetest countenance -full of sensibility....' Everything was favourable. -'Here every flower is united.' The diplomat who -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page99" id="page99"></a>[pg 99]</span> -<span class="rightnote"><i>LA BELLE IRLANDAISE</i></span> -had been fatigued before by the restraint of a wise -cautiousness is resolved that this time there shall -be no reserve. 'Ah, my friend, I am now as I ought -to be; no reserved prudent conduct as with Miss -Bosville. No! all youthful, warm, natural, in short, -all genuine love.' And the ardent hunter seems to -have been more successful than the wily angler. 'I -repeated my fervent passion to her again and again; -she was pleased and I could swear that her little heart -beat. I carved the first letter of her name on a tree; I -cut off a lock of her hair, <i>male pertinax</i>. She promised -not to forget me, nor to marry a lord before March.' -Moreover, the unspoilt joy of advance without contest -was more pleasant than the doubts and hopes of expectation, -while a puritanical idealism and the solemnity -of an oath were a welcome change for less spiritual -delights.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -This is the most agreeable passion I ever felt; -sixteen, innocence, and gaiety make me quite a -Sicilian swain. Before I left London I made a vow in -St. Paul's Church that I would not allow myself in -licentious connections of any kind for six months, I -am hitherto firm to my vow, and already feel myself -a superior being ... in short, Maria has me without -any rival; I do hope the period of my perfect felicity, -as far as this state can afford, is now in view. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Whether this 'perfect felicity' was attained and -how long it lasted we do not know. Maria no doubt -had her day like the others; the sequel to the vow in -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page100" id="page100"></a>[pg 100]</span> -St. Paul's we may conjecture. Boswell, if his name -endured for no other talents, would remain with us for -ever as an incomparable genius for reviving affection. -In December we learn: 'Miss Blair is Miss Blair still,'—still -a fit subject for this curious pastime. 'I was -two or three times at Adamtown, and, upon my word, -the old flame was kindled.' Miss Blair apparently -had been piqued because her suitor had made such a -joke of his love for the heiress in every company. -'Temple, to a man again in love, this was engaging. -I walked whole hours with the princess; I kneeled; -I became truly amorous.' These brief sentences -adequately describe the last recorded love-scene. If -Boswell corresponded with Temple between December -1768 and May 1770 the letters have been lost; and so -the outrageous story ends abruptly—and it is fortunate -perhaps for the readers of this book, for it is a story so -fascinating and so absurd and so richly human that no -part of it can be omitted.</p> - -<p>Boswell in fact was destined to be married to his -cousin, Miss Montgomerie. The Montgomeries were -an aristocratic family related to Lord Eglinton, and -Boswell was proud of the connection: he speaks in a published -pamphlet of 'having the honour and happiness -to be married to his Lordship's relation, a true Montgomerie.' -We know very little about Mrs. Boswell. -Johnson's curt judgment in a letter to Mrs. Thrale is -probably right in placing her with the great bulk of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page101" id="page101"></a>[pg 101]</span> -<span class="rightnote">MISS MONTGOMERIE</span> -mediocre humanity: 'Mrs. B—— has the mien and -manners of a gentlewoman; and such a person and -mind as would not be in any place either admired or -contemned. She is in a proper degree inferior to her -husband: she cannot rival him, nor can he ever be -ashamed of her.' But if undistinguished, as in Johnson's -view a good wife should be, the lady had some excellent -qualities; and Johnson himself would have been -the first to praise them. If he urged Boswell on more -than one occasion to be considerate of his home, it -was because he knew that the home was both pleasant -and valuable to his friend: 'I need not tell you what -regard you owe to Mrs. Boswell's entreaties; or how -much you ought to study the happiness of her who -studies yours with so much diligence, and of whose -kindness you enjoy such good effects.' Boswell, too, -loudly sings the praise of his wife: 'I am fully -sensible,' he writes to Temple, 'of my happiness in -being married to so excellent a woman, so sensible a -mistress of a family, so agreeable a companion, so -affectionate and peculiarly proper helpmate for me.' -After her death he writes: 'I had no occasion -almost to think concerning my family, and every -particular was thought of by her better than I could'; -and he refers to her in the 'Life of Johnson' as 'my -very valuable wife, and the very affectionate mother -of my children, who, if they inherit her good qualities, -will have no reason to complain of their lot.'</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page102" id="page102"></a>[pg 102]</span></p> - -<p>That Mrs. Boswell had in abundance the matronly -virtues is sufficiently clear. She had besides considerable -intellectual gifts. Boswell calls her, 'A lady of -admirable good sense and quickness of understanding'; -he kept a common-place book, 'Uxoriana,' to preserve -her witty sayings, and after her death regretted her -'admirable conversation.' From her own expressed -opinion of her husband's friendship with Dr. Johnson -we are obliged to think well of her intelligence: it -was a female opinion, as Boswell remarks, with something -of resentment for the intrusion of this uncomfortable -guest: 'His irregular hours and uncouth -habits, such as turning the candles with their heads -downwards, when they did not burn bright enough, -and letting the wax drop upon the carpet, could not -but be disagreeable to a lady.' And no doubt she -failed to appreciate the devotion of Boswell to this -ungainly and unpleasing animal. But her observation, -in the manner of the times, is admirably pointed: -'I have seen many a bear led by a man, but I never -before saw a man led by a bear.'</p> - -<p>The marriage took place in the autumn of 1769; -Boswell was then twenty-nine years of age. The -situation is summed up in his own remarks in the -<i>London Magazine</i> for April 1781:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -After having for many years cherished a system -of marrying for money, I at last totally departed from -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page103" id="page103"></a>[pg 103]</span> -<span class="rightnote1">BOSWELL'S MARRIAGE</span> -it, and married for love. But the truth was that -I had not been careful enough to weed my mind; for -while I cultivated the plant of interest, love all the -time grew up along with it and fairly got the better. -Naturally somewhat singular, independent of any -additions which affectation and vanity may perhaps -have made, I resolved to have a more pleasing species -of marriage than common, and bargained with my bride -that I should not be bound to live with her longer than -I really inclined; and that whenever I tired of her -domestic society, I should be at liberty to give it up. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>That Boswell was always fond of his wife is clear -enough. 'Eleven years have elapsed and I have -never yet wanted to take advantage of my stipulated -privilege.' He never speaks of her without affection, -and was deeply distressed by her death in 1789. But -for how long he continued to love her fervently it is -difficult to tell; not, one would suppose, for a great -length of time, or he could hardly have written in the -<i>London Magazine</i>: 'Whatever respect I may have -for the institution of marriage, and however much -I am convinced that it upon the whole produces -rational happiness, I cannot but be of the opinion that -the passion of love has been improperly feigned as -continuing long after the conjugal knot has been tied.' -Nor, if Boswell had continued to love his wife passionately, -would he have found it disagreeable to return -to Edinburgh, after visits to London.</p> - -<p>But Boswell no doubt wanted to be a faithful -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page104" id="page104"></a>[pg 104]</span> -husband: 'I can unite little fondnesses with perfect -conjugal love.'<a id="footnotetag3.15" name="footnotetag3.15"></a><a href="#footnote3.15"><sup>15</sup></a> His idea of fidelity would seem to -involve no kind of restriction upon his natural inclinations -except in so far as that he should appear to -be a good husband in the eyes of the world and particularly -of his wife. However sensible this view may -have been, it was not such as commonly finds favour -among the female sex. But he was undoubtedly in his -own view a faithful husband and he had really at heart -the welfare of his wife. 'Upon the whole I do believe,' -he says, 'I make her very happy.'<a id="footnotetag3.16" name="footnotetag3.16"></a><a href="#footnote3.16"><sup>16</sup></a></p> - -<p class="footnote1"><a id="footnote3.1" name="footnote3.1"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag3.1">1:</a> -<i>Tour to the Hebrides</i>, September 17.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote3.2" name="footnote3.2"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag3.2">2:</a> -<i>Autobiography, Letters, &c., of Mrs. Piozzi</i>, ii, 124.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote3.3" name="footnote3.3"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag3.3">3:</a> -Perhaps the best evidence of all for this quality is Boswell's -habit of attending executions (mentioned several times in the <i>Life</i> -and also in the <i>Life of Reynolds</i>, by Leslie and Taylor), and his -acquaintance with Mrs. Rudd, a notorious criminal.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote3.4" name="footnote3.4"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag3.4">4:</a> -<i>Life of Johnson</i>, ii, 59. This letter is an admirable instance -of Boswell's affected manner of expressing real feelings.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote3.5" name="footnote3.5"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag3.5">5:</a> -<i>Life of Johnson</i>, ii, 3, note 1.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote3.6" name="footnote3.6"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag3.6">6:</a> -<i>Letters to Temple</i>, p. 126.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote3.7" name="footnote3.7"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag3.7">7:</a> -<i>Boswelliana</i>, p. 186.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote3.8" name="footnote3.8"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag3.8">8:</a> -<i>Life of Johnson</i>, ii, 20.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote3.9" name="footnote3.9"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag3.9">9:</a> -Fitzgerald's <i>Life of Boswell</i>, i, 111.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote3.10" name="footnote3.10"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag3.10">10:</a> -Boswell's authorship proved by <i>Letters to Temple</i>, p. 89.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote3.11" name="footnote3.11"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag3.11">11:</a> -Fitzgerald's <i>Life of Boswell</i>, i, 113.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote3.12" name="footnote3.12"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag3.12">12:</a> -Fitzgerald's <i>Life of Boswell</i>, i, 116.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote3.13" name="footnote3.13"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag3.13">13:</a> -<i>London Magazine</i>, 1, 40.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote3.14" name="footnote3.14"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag3.14">14:</a> -Temple, it appears, was promised payment for his services: -'You shall have consultation guineas, as an ambassador has his -appointments.' This seems to imply more than the mere travelling -expenses which Dr. Rogers suggests as an explanation.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote3.15" name="footnote3.15"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag3.15">15:</a> -<i>Letters to Temple</i>, p. 159.</p> - -<p class="footnote1b"><a id="footnote3.16" name="footnote3.16"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag3.16">16:</a> -<i>Ib.</i> p. 137.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page105" id="page105"></a>[pg 105]</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3 class="space-above5">CHAPTER IV</h3> -</div> - -<p>A biography of Boswell, though it might profess to be -complete, could say little about his domestic life. If -he has told us very little about it, there is, however, no -reason that we should seek to know more. It was a very -essential part of Boswell that he should have a wife -and family: a wife, because she adds a certain flavour -of respectability and is a definite asset to the social -position of a man, still more perhaps because she increases -responsibility and so intensifies the sensation of -importance; a family, because to the man of estate -there must be born an heir. But the mere fact of his -being married was, in a sense, of far less consequence -to him than to most men.</p> - -<p>There were two aspects of his life which were -dissociated in a peculiar degree from each other—the -life in Scotland, where he laboured at the Law and was -eventually to be Laird of Auchinleck, and where his -home was the basis of operations; and the life in -London, which he visited as often as he was able, -to live the gay life he loved, and to talk to his literary -friends, especially to Dr. Johnson. The pleasure -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page106" id="page106"></a>[pg 106]</span> -he had in the society of his English friends was far -more to him than another man's recreation or hobby. -It occupied more time, and it was time spent away -from his domestic circle and, for the most part, away -from his work. He is never tired of telling of his -love of London.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I had long complained to him [Johnson] that I -felt myself discontented in Scotland, as too narrow a -sphere, and that I wished to make my chief residence -in London, the great scene of ambition, instruction, -amusement: a scene which was to me, comparatively -speaking, a heaven upon earth! <i>Johnson</i>: 'Why, Sir, -I never knew anyone who had such a gust for London -as you have.' -</p></blockquote> - -<p>It must be our business then to follow for a little -the life of Boswell among his London friends, to see -the relations in which he stood to them and the progress -of his intimacy with Dr. Johnson.</p> - -<p>In the 'Life' there are recorded the consecutive -visits of Boswell to England with relation always to -Dr. Johnson in particular, but referring also to other -celebrities whom he met, and to his own pleasures and -amusements. The group of men who were in the first -place the friends and admirers of Dr. Johnson, and -with whom Boswell naturally associated so far as he -was able, were for the most part distinguished men in -the best literary society, and members of that club -which was started by Johnson and Reynolds in 1762 -or 1763. Burke, Beauclerk, Langton, Goldsmith, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page107" id="page107"></a>[pg 107]</span> -<span class="rightnote">THE LITERARY CLUB</span> -Hawkins, were original members; Garrick was elected -in 1773, as was Boswell himself. Malone, whose wise -help was invaluable to Boswell in preparing for the -press his <i>magnum opus</i>, and who was its first editor, -became a member later.</p> - -<p>The pleasure which it gave Boswell to belong to this -club of distinguished men is revealed in his own account -of his election. 'The gentlemen went away to their -club, and I was left at Beauclerk's till the fate of my -election should be announced to me. I sat in a state -of anxiety which even the charming conversation of -Lady Di Beauclerk could not entirely dissipate. In a -short time I received the agreeable intelligence that I -was chosen. I hastened to the place of meeting, and -was introduced to such a society as can seldom be -found.'</p> - -<p>From a conversation reported in the 'Tour to the -Hebrides' it would appear that Boswell was not -elected without some difficulty. 'He [Johnson] told -me, "Sir, you got into our club by doing what a man -can do."'</p> - -<blockquote><p> -(Boswell's note on this is: 'This I find is considered -as obscure. I suppose Dr. Johnson meant -that I assiduously and earnestly recommended myself -to some of the members, as in a canvass for an election -into Parliament.') -</p></blockquote> - -<p>'Several of the members wished to keep you -out. Burke told me he doubted if you were fit for -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page108" id="page108"></a>[pg 108]</span> -it....' <i>Boswell</i>: 'They were afraid of you, Sir, as -it was you who proposed me.' <i>Johnson</i>: 'Sir, they -knew that if they refused you, they'd probably have -never got in another. I'd have kept them all out.'</p> - -<p>Boswell, of course, did not get on equally well with -all of Johnson's friends. Goldsmith especially he -seems to have disliked, and at a later date Mrs. Thrale, -Miss Burney and Baretti; we may suppose that the -feeling was mutual, especially after the appearance of -the 'Life of Johnson,' in which Boswell made little -attempt to conceal his feelings. With Hawkins, who -was chosen to write the official biography of Johnson, -he was eventually to quarrel. But he had strong -supporters in the club. 'Now you are in,' Johnson -told him, 'none of them are sorry. Burke says you -have so much good humour naturally, it is scarce a -virtue.' Beauclerk too appreciated him. 'Beauclerk -was very earnest for you.' His greatest friend of this -<i>coterie</i> besides Dr. Johnson was Sir Joshua Reynolds. -Sir Joshua seems always to have understood and -insisted upon the value of Boswell. He was prepared -to take up the cudgels. 'He thaws reserve wherever -he comes and sets the ball of conversation rolling.'<a id="footnotetag4.1" name="footnotetag4.1"></a><a href="#footnote4.1"><sup>1</sup></a> -The club, whatever else it might think about Boswell, -was obliged to admit that he was excellent company.</p> - -<p>There were some, no doubt, who had a high opinion -of Boswell's abilities; it was admitted by everyone -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page109" id="page109"></a>[pg 109]</span> -<span class="rightnote">THE LONDON CIRCLE</span> -that he had written a good book, and not all, like Gray -and Walpole,<a id="footnotetag4.2" name="footnotetag4.2"></a><a href="#footnote4.2"><sup>2</sup></a> can have thought that he wrote it by -chance. And Boswell too, if not a good literary critic, -was interested in books and able to talk about them. -The opinions to which he gave expression in the 'Life -of Johnson' about various books which came under -discussion are often more appreciative and better -supported by reason than the dicta of Johnson, and he -sometimes shows considerable sagacity. His views about -Johnson's own books, and especially his criticism of -Johnson's style and the high estimate he formed of the -'Lives of the Poets,' are excellent.</p> - -<p>But it was far more for his social than for his -literary qualities that Boswell was valued. In the -circle of Johnson's admirers he was in a sense the most -important figure; he had a greater admiration than -any other and was rewarded by Johnson with a greater -degree of affection. He came to understand Johnson. -Hannah More relates that she was on one occasion -made umpire in a trial of skill between Garrick and -Boswell, which could most nearly imitate Dr. Johnson's -manner.<a id="footnotetag4.3" name="footnotetag4.3"></a><a href="#footnote4.3"><sup>3</sup></a> 'I remember I gave it for Boswell in familiar -conversation, and for Garrick in reciting poetry.' -To have beaten Garrick was a great performance and -shows how Boswell must have studied Johnson. He -was, as it were, his chief exploiter. It was he above -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page110" id="page110"></a>[pg 110]</span> -all the rest who could make Johnson talk.<a id="footnotetag4.4" name="footnotetag4.4"></a><a href="#footnote4.4"><sup>4</sup></a> He knew -what would provoke a discussion, and was so reckless -of appearing foolish that he would introduce any -subject. He made opportunities for Johnson to exhibit -his powers. The description of how he arranged -the meeting with Wilkes, though more famous almost -than any other passage of the 'Life,' is too important -as illustrating the whole attitude of Boswell to be -omitted here. It is not inappropriate to say that the -very name of Wilkes was to Johnson like a red rag to a -bull. He hated what he considered to be a pretentious -notoriety, and what he no doubt talked about as 'this -cant of liberty' was the signal for an outburst of -violence in his best manner. Boswell conceived the -idea of bringing these two together, and probably -hoped to witness an incomparable contest. But how -was this to be done? 'I was persuaded that if I had -come upon him with a direct proposal, "Sir, will you -dine in company with Jack Wilkes?" he would have -flown into a passion and would probably have answered, -"Dine with Jack Wilkes, Sir! I'd as soon dine with -Jack Ketch."' But it was easy to see the weak point -in the Doctor's armour. 'Notwithstanding the high -veneration which I entertained for Dr. Johnson, I -was sensible that he was a little actuated sometimes by -contradiction, and by means of that I hoped I should -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page111" id="page111"></a>[pg 111]</span> -<span class="rightnote">THE EXPLOITER OF JOHNSON</span> -gain my point.' Boswell, who knows exactly what -will provoke his friend, has thought out beforehand -precisely what he shall say, and opens with a proposal -which Johnson is sure to accept. 'Mr. Dilly, Sir, -sends me his respectful compliments, and would be -happy if you would do him the honour to dine with -him on Wednesday next along with me, as I must soon -go to Scotland.' <i>Johnson</i>: 'Sir, I am obliged to Mr. -Dilly. I will wait upon him.' The dictator is in a -gracious mood, and the moment favourable to excite -a rebuke in defence of that formal courtesy which he -loved to practise. 'Provided, Sir, I suppose,' adds -Boswell, 'that the company which he is to have is -agreeable to you.' The apparent artlessness of the -remark in the true Boswellian fashion, with the exaggerated -respect that so often irritated Johnson, took -effect at once. <i>Johnson</i>: 'What do you mean, Sir? -What do you take me for? Do you think I am so -ignorant of the world as to imagine that I am to prescribe -to a gentleman what company he is to have at -his table?' An excuse must now be made which is -certain to meet with sledge-hammer reasoning or -piercing sarcasm, and it will then be safe to lead up to -the disagreeable intelligence. 'I beg your pardon, -Sir, for wishing to prevent you from meeting people -whom you might not like. Perhaps he may have some -of what he calls his patriotic friends with him.' <i>Johnson</i>: -'Well, Sir, what then? What care <i>I</i> for his -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page112" id="page112"></a>[pg 112]</span> -<i>patriotic friends</i>? Poh!' <i>Boswell</i>: 'I should not be -surprised to find Jack Wilkes there.' The possibility -may have been disconcerting, but retreat was now out -of the question. <i>Johnson</i>: 'And if Jack Wilkes -should be there, what is that to me, Sir? My dear -friend, let me have no more of this. I am sorry to be -angry with you, but really it is treating me strangely -to talk to me as if I could not meet any company -whatever, occasionally.' So the matter was settled. -Boswell asks forgiveness and clinches the matter: -'Pray forgive me, Sir; I meant well. But you shall -meet whoever comes.' 'Thus,' he tells the reader, -with evident satisfaction, 'I secured him.'</p> - -<p>The man who could do this was clearly of importance -to those who were interested, even though in a less -degree than himself, in Dr. Johnson. We may suppose -that the circle of Johnson's literary friends welcomed -Boswell as much for his peculiar homage to the Doctor -as for his own social talents.</p> - -<p class="centerf">.<span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span></p> - -<p>We must now more nearly examine that friendship, -which is as much the concern of our own age as it was -of Boswell's. We have considered already what it was -that caused these two men to be friends; but the -meanest picture of Boswell must include some account -of his behaviour towards Johnson; we must review -the progress of their friendship and remark the more -characteristic attitudes of the biographer.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page113" id="page113"></a>[pg 113]</span></p> - -<p><span class="rightnote">THE COURSE OF FRIENDSHIP</span>In the pages of the 'Life of Johnson' is recorded -in detail, and almost without reserve, the story of the -relations between these two friends. It is a story full -of humour, telling of all the little peculiarities of a -great man, of all the whims and foibles which we are -accustomed to observe in old age and which we both -like and laugh at; but it is the story also of a deep -and anxious affection.</p> - -<p>If the course of friendship ran smoothly on the whole -for Johnson and Boswell, as might be expected when -one of the two was so well balanced and so practically -wise as the older man, yet, as must always be the case -with people who are not either quite perfect or quite -colourless, there were rough places here and there; and -these, if responsible for no great misery, were, however, -the cause of some unhappiness to both. Boswell, at -all events, realised very keenly the great gulf between -them; between his own sensitive, uncertain nature -and Johnson's rude strength. He, probably more than -most men, wanted sympathy, wanted to be understood. -With what relief he speaks from his heart to Temple: -'I have not had such a relief as this for I don't know -how long. I have broke the trammels of business, -and am roving unconfined with my Temple.' It is -unfortunate for Boswell that he expressed himself so -extravagantly. We sympathise with those who are -self-contained about sentiment and particularly about -their own sorrows, but we have few kind feelings for -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page114" id="page114"></a>[pg 114]</span> -those who exaggerate. And Boswell, because he was -difficult to understand, was more than usually isolated: -to Johnson, at all events, there must have been many -matters about which he could not talk, and he was -nettled sometimes by the other's blunt advice. It -was unpleasant to be told by one whom he so much -respected, at the moment of his first serious publication, -'The Corsican Journal,' to 'empty his head of Corsica -which had filled it too long.' It must have been more -than annoying when he had written to Johnson in a -despondent mood (there is no reason to doubt that he -was genuine in despondency) to receive his answer: -'I had hoped you had got rid of all this hypocrisy -of misery. What have you to do with Liberty and -Necessity? Or what more than to hold your tongue -about it? Do not doubt that I shall be most heartily -glad to see you here again, for I love every part about -you but your affectation of distress.'</p> - -<p>Much as we must admire the honest wrath of Johnson, -and the desire which he had to cure the affectation -of Boswell, we cannot but regret sometimes that he was -not more discriminating. It was much, no doubt, to -be assured of affection, but affection alone could not -take the place of an understanding sympathy; and -if this had come from one whom he so much respected, -it would have been invaluable to Boswell. As it was, -he realised that Johnson must partially disapprove -of him, and it was because he knew, and felt -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page115" id="page115"></a>[pg 115]</span> -<span class="rightnote">PROOFS OF AFFECTION</span> -this disapproval, as much as from any inherent quality -of his temperament, that he so often wanted a proof of -affection.</p> - -<p>Whatever may have been their cause—it may have -been no more than the mere need for friendship coupled -with the peculiar unreserve of Boswell's character—the -result of these demands was sometimes to irritate -Johnson.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I said to him: 'My dear Sir, we must meet every -year, if you don't quarrel with me.' <i>Johnson</i>: 'Nay, -Sir, you are more likely to quarrel with me than I -with you. My regard for you is greater almost than I -have words to express; but I do not choose to be -always repeating it; write it down in the first -leaf of your pocket-book, and never doubt of it -again.' -</p></blockquote> - -<p>On one occasion Johnson was really angry. Boswell -conceived the idea of making an experiment to test his -affection. It was apparently his custom to write to -Johnson upon his return to his family. He wanted to -see what the Doctor would do if he neglected the usual -civility. Johnson, of course, was eventually the first -to write; and Boswell, thus gratified, answered him -by a letter which frankly explained his motives:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I was willing ... to try whether your affection -for me would, after an unusual silence on my part, make -you write first. This afternoon I have had very high -satisfaction by receiving your kind letter of inquiry, -for which I most gratefully thank you. I am doubtful -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page116" id="page116"></a>[pg 116]</span> -if it was right to make the experiment, though I have -gained by it. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>We may forgive Johnson for being annoyed by -this letter.</p> - -<p>Those who make very large demands upon their -friends for a display of affection are, as a rule, rather -tiresome companions; it may possibly be good to be -sensitive, but it is bad to be easily offended, which is -often the case with such people. But if Boswell, like -many who take a decided lead in friendship, required -many proofs to make him believe that it was more -than a one-sided affair, he of all men was the most -difficult to offend. We cannot do better than read -his own accounts of his quarrels with Johnson. There -is that famous one, in the first place, of the dinner -at Sir Joshua's.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -On Saturday, May 2, I dined with him at Sir Joshua -Reynolds', where there was a very large company, -and a great deal of conversation; but owing to some -circumstance which I cannot now recollect, I have no -record of any part of it, except that there were several -people there by no means of the Johnsonian school; -so that less attention was paid to him than usual, which -put him out of humour; and upon some imaginary -offence from me he attacked me with such rudeness, -that I was vexed and angry, because it gave those -persons an opportunity of enlarging upon his supposed -ferocity and ill-treatment of his friends. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>We may doubt whether Boswell gives the true reason -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page117" id="page117"></a>[pg 117]</span> -<span class="rightnote">BOSWELL BUFFETTED</span> -for his vexation. He was able to stand a great deal -of 'buffeting' at Dr. Johnson's hands; but it was -probably necessary for him to feel that the company -were good-natured in their merriment. We do not -resent that men should laugh <i>at</i> us if they laugh <i>with</i> -us at the same time. It was no doubt the contemptuous -and half-concealed mirth of strangers which Boswell -felt to be unbearable. And if he felt like this we may -sympathise with a short period of sulking. 'I was so -much hurt, and had my pride so much roused, that I -kept away from him for a week; and, perhaps, might -have kept away much longer, nay, gone to Scotland -without seeing him again, had not we fortunately met -and been reconciled. To such unhappy chances are -human friendships liable.'</p> - -<p>The oddest thing of all about Boswell, when we -reflect upon the scenes of his humiliation, is his pride. -It is not the least unlikely that, as he suggests, if -circumstances had not ordained otherwise he would -have waited, and waited for a long time, for Johnson to -make advances. It was not merely the pride of the -worm in the proverb which may be roused at the last. -The worm would not consciously go out of his way -to incur insulting anger as Boswell did when he arranged -the dinner with Wilkes and on many other occasions. -Boswell's was a pride which was constantly giving him -pain and was capable, when goaded to obstinacy, of -going to considerable lengths.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page118" id="page118"></a>[pg 118]</span></p> - -<p>At Sir Joshua Reynolds' dinner he must have -suffered acutely. Croker tells the story of Boswell's -discomfiture as it was told to him at fourth-hand by the -Marquess of Wellesley. 'The wits of Queen Anne's -reign were talked of, when Boswell exclaimed, "How -delightful it must have been to have lived in the society -of Pope, Swift, Arbuthnot, Gay, and Bolingbroke! -We have no such society in our days." Sir Joshua -answered, "I think, Mr. Boswell, you might be satisfied -with your great friend's conversation." "Nay, Sir, Mr. -Boswell is right," said Johnson, "every man wishes for -preferment, and if Boswell had lived in those days, -he would have obtained promotion." "How so, Sir?" -asked Sir Joshua. "Why, Sir," said Johnson, "he -would have had a high place in the Dunciad."' It was -a hard blow. How deep was the wound we cannot tell, -because we do not know how it was said or how received. -It is curious at first sight that Boswell should have been -more sulky about this than about many a rough retort -recorded in the 'Life.' It is even more remarkable -that he should have concealed this story of his humiliation -while he told others with perfect frankness. To -do so was entirely contrary to his principle and practice. -The idea that 'the several people there by no means -of the Johnsonian school' should read the story, -recall the circumstances and laugh, not good-naturedly -but with contempt and malice, must have overcome for -once the biographer's 'sacred love of truth.' From -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page119" id="page119"></a>[pg 119]</span> -<span class="rightnote">QUARREL AND RECONCILIATION</span> -these facts, in any case, we may fairly argue that -Boswell suffered from his pride as a proud man must -have suffered from the Doctor's rude snubs. It is to -Boswell's credit that he was willing to run the gauntlet -and even to bare his breast for the wound, not only -because if he was to have the honour he must endure -the pain, but at least as much because he knew that it -was his vocation to goad the giant into action, to strike -and fan the spark that would ignite the powder. It -is to Boswell's credit that he had a part in the fray: he -bled from honourable wounds. But since men had -been so ill-natured as to despise them it was difficult -to display the gashes and the scars; and because from a -noble motive he did what was most difficult and most -valuable we must praise Boswell exceedingly.</p> - -<p>It is further to Boswell's credit that, if he winced -for a moment under the sledge-hammer and pouted at -the executioner, his natural good-humour and generosity -made reconciliation easy.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -On Friday, May 8, I dined with him at Mr. Langton's. -I was reserved and silent, which I suppose he perceived -and might recollect the cause. After dinner, while -Mr. Langton was called out of the room, and we were -by ourselves, he drew his chair near to mine, and said, -in a tone of conciliating courtesy, 'Well, how have you -done?' <i>Boswell</i>: 'Sir, you have made me very -uneasy by your behaviour to me when we were last at -Sir Joshua Reynolds'. You know, my dear Sir, no -man has a greater respect and affection for you, or -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page120" id="page120"></a>[pg 120]</span> -would sooner go to the end of the world to serve you. -Now to treat me so——.' He insisted that I had interrupted -him, which I assured him was not the case and -proceeded—'But why treat me so before people who -neither love you nor me?' <i>Johnson</i>: 'Well, I am -sorry for it. I'll make it up to you i' twenty different -ways as you please.' -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Johnson certainly seems to have made himself most -agreeable on this occasion, and it would have been -churlish of Boswell to have resisted these advances; -but nothing could be more truly generous than the -way in which he reminded Johnson of his affection -and respect. Boswell now proceeds to appease his -pride by using the occasion to make a <i>bon mot</i>. 'I -said to-day to Sir Joshua, when he observed that you -<i>tossed</i> me sometimes—"I don't care how often or how -high he tosses me, when only friends are present, for -then I fall upon soft ground: but I do not like falling -on stones, which is the case when enemies are present." -I think this is a pretty good image, Sir.' Johnson -assents, with unusual courtesy, 'Sir it is one of the -happiest I have ever heard.' And Boswell is now -completely satisfied. The account proceeds by giving -Johnson a testimonial for good-nature and assuring -its readers that the best of relations were at once -re-established. 'The truth is, there was no venom in -the wounds he inflicted at any time, unless they were -irritated by some malignant infusion from other hands. -We were instantly as cordial again as ever, and joined -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page121" id="page121"></a>[pg 121]</span> -<span class="rightnote">HUMILIATION AND ITS REWARD</span> -in hearty laugh at some ludicrous but innocent -peculiarities of one of our friends.'</p> - -<p>The story of this quarrel, if there were no other -evidence, would show that Boswell endured not a few -rebuffs. The fact indeed has never been challenged. -Johnson's method of talking for victory often took the -form of mere rudeness, and Boswell was frequently the -subject of his rough wit. For Boswell it was a question -whether the fun and the interest of making Johnson -angry were worth the sacrifice of dignity involved. In -retrospect it always was so, and, at the moment too, -very often. He tells us how, on one occasion, he had -quoted Shakespeare in the course of discussion, and -Johnson, who was angry, had made the characteristic -reply, 'Nay, if you are to bring in gabble I'll talk no -more'; it is evident that this was regarded by him -as a successful issue to the argument. Johnson had -become angrier and angrier, and Boswell, far from -trying to appease him, was glad to bring him to a state -of entire unreasonableness. He was conscious of this -when he commented with evident pleasure, 'My -readers will decide upon this dispute.'</p> - -<p>There is something of the same spirit in the -tale which Boswell tells of the quarrel on the -moor during the Tour in the Hebrides. Boswell -towards the end of a day had the not unnatural -intention of going on ahead to make preparations at -the inn.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page122" id="page122"></a>[pg 122]</span></p> - -<blockquote><p> -It grew dusky; and we had a very tedious ride for -what was called five miles; but I am sure would -measure ten. We had no conversation. I was riding -forward to the inn at Glenelg, on the opposite shore to -Skye, that I might take proper measures, before Dr. -Johnson, who was now advancing in dreary silence, -Hay leading his horse, should arrive. Vass also walked -by the side of his horse, and Joseph followed behind: -as therefore he was thus attended, and seemed to be -in deep meditation, I thought there could be no harm -in leaving him for a little while. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Boswell indeed seems to have been particularly thoughtful -and even shows some delicacy in not interrupting -Johnson's meditations to tell him his plan. The -sequel must have surprised him very much. 'He -called me back with a tremendous shout, and was -really in a passion with me for leaving him. I told him -my intentions, but he was not satisfied, and said, -"Do you know I should as soon have thought of picking -a pocket as doing so?"' This did not annoy Boswell -in the least, though it took place in the presence of -their servants; he was accustomed by this time to the -Doctor's moods, and could only be amused. He replied -with a composure which he must have known would -irritate Johnson exceedingly; 'I am diverted with you, -Sir.' The force of the desired explosion may have -been underestimated. '<i>Johnson</i>: "Sir, I could never -be diverted with incivility...." His extraordinary -warmth confounded me so much, that I justified -myself but lamely to him. Matters in fact were -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page123" id="page123"></a>[pg 123]</span> -<span class="rightnote">QUARREL IN THE HEBRIDES</span> -rather more serious than Boswell had supposed, and he -must now make an effort to pacify his companion—but -without effect. 'I resumed the subject of my -leaving him on the road, and endeavoured to defend -it better. He still was violent on that head, and said, -"Sir, had you gone on, I was thinking that I should -have returned with you to Edinburgh, and then have -parted from you, and never spoken to you more."' -The storm was indeed a bad one that did not clear -up entirely by bedtime. Boswell felt distinctly uneasy -in the volcanic atmosphere; but he easily effected a -complete reconciliation.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Thursday, September 2. I had slept ill. Dr. -Johnson's anger had affected me much. I considered -that, without any bad intention, I might suddenly forfeit -his friendship; and was impatient to see him this -morning. I told him how uneasy he had made me -by what he had said, and reminded him of his own -remark at Aberdeen upon old friendships being hastily -broken off. He owned he had spoken in a passion ...; -and he added, 'Let's think no more on't.' <i>Boswell</i>: -'Well then, Sir, I shall be easy. Remember I am to -have fair warning in case of any quarrel. You are -never to spring a mine upon me. It was absurd in me -to believe you.' <i>Johnson</i>: 'You deserved about as -much as to believe me from night to morning.' -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The mixture of amusement and anxiety in Boswell's -conduct and the affectionate and good-humoured -reconciliation are all extremely typical of the relations -between these two friends. Johnson indeed had far -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page124" id="page124"></a>[pg 124]</span> -too much sense of Boswell's good qualities and value -ever to fall out with him seriously, and it would have -been hard to do so. There was never one real misunderstanding -between them up to the end. Their -intercourse, consisting of the visits of Boswell to -London and a number of letters on both sides, had but -one break, from November 1769 to April 1771. Boswell -had just been married, and omitted in 1770 to pay his -usual visit to London; he tells us that there was no -coldness on either side, no reason for not writing -beyond the common one of procrastination.</p> - -<p>The correspondence of Boswell and Johnson is on -the whole of an irregular nature; there is more than -one interval, longer than we might expect, between -two men who were such active friends as they, in -an age when letter-writing was cultivated for its own -sake. Arguing from this fact and considering that -he was not present at Johnson's death-bed, Boswell -has been accused of neglecting his friend at the end -of his life. But from the state of mind which he -described much earlier in the <i>London Magazine</i>, we -can otherwise account for these lapses:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -To pay a visit or write a letter to a friend does not -surely require much activity. Yet such small exertions -have appeared so laborious to a Hypochondriack, that -he has delayed from hour to hour, so that friendship -has grown cold for want of having its heat continued, -for which repeated renewals, however slight, are -necessary; or, perhaps, till death has carried his friend -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page125" id="page125"></a>[pg 125]</span> -<span class="rightnote1">MEETINGS AND LETTERS</span> -beyond the reach of any token of his kindness, and the -regrets which pained him in the course of his neglect -are accumulated and press upon his mind with a weight -of sorrow.<a id="footnotetag4.5" name="footnotetag4.5"></a><a href="#footnote4.5"><sup>5</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>We may suppose that whenever Boswell for a short -time failed in his careful attention it was through no -lack of affection, but rather through a kind of indolence -and want of purpose in the manner of it, which is far -from being uncommon.</p> - -<p>The greatest event in this long friendship, and the -time which has left us the fullest record, is the 'Tour -to the Hebrides,' in 1773. In Boswell's journal we -see more nearly than elsewhere the relations between -the two friends and the nature of their companionship. -In the foreground is the extreme amiability of Boswell—it -was by this that he was fitted to perform that most -difficult office of friendship, to travel with Dr. Johnson. -We may read his own account of himself at this time:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Think then, of a gentleman of ancient blood, the -pride of which was his predominant passion. He was -then in his thirty-third year, and had been about four -years happily married. His inclination was to be a -soldier; but his father, a respectable judge, had -pressed him into the profession of the law. He had -travelled a good deal, and seen many varieties of -human life. He had thought more than anybody -supposed, and had a pretty good stock of general -learning and knowledge. He had all Dr. Johnson's -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page126" id="page126"></a>[pg 126]</span> -principles, with some degree of relaxation. He had -rather too little, than too much prudence; and, his -imagination being lively, he often said things of which -the effect was very different from the intention. He -resembled sometimes -</p></blockquote> - -<div class="poem1 width24"> <div class="stanza"> - 'The best good man, with the worst natur'd muse.' -</div></div> - -<p>He cannot deny himself the vanity of finishing with -the encomium of Dr. Johnson, whose friendly partiality -to the companion of his 'Tour' represents him -as one 'whose acuteness would help my enquiry, and -whose gaiety of conversation, and civility of manners, -are sufficient to counteract the inconveniences of travel, -in countries less hospitable than we have passed.' -Dr. Johnson in a letter to Mrs. Thrale wrote of him in -terms of the highest esteem: 'Boswell will praise my -resolution and perseverance, and I shall in return -celebrate his good humour and perpetual cheerfulness.... -It is very convenient to travel with him, for -there is no house where he is not received with -kindness and respect.'<a id="footnotetag4.6" name="footnotetag4.6"></a><a href="#footnote4.6"><sup>6</sup></a></p> - -<p>No one certainly could have been more attentive -than Boswell was: he had a sense of responsibility -in being in charge of the great writer, which made him -anxious not only that Johnson should be welcomed in a -fitting manner, but that he himself should appear as -a worthy companion. His deep sense of respect, his -desire for approval and dread of reproof are constantly -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page127" id="page127"></a>[pg 127]</span> -<span class="rightnote">TRAVELLING COMPANIONS</span> -obvious. This attitude is well illustrated by the -account of his carouse in Corrichatachin:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -We were cordial and merry to a high degree, but -of what passed I have no recollection, with any -accuracy....</p> - -<p>Sunday, September 26. I awaked at noon with a -severe headache. I was much vexed that I should -have been guilty of such a riot, and afraid of a reproof -from Dr. Johnson. I thought it very inconsistent with -that conduct which I ought to maintain as the companion -of the Rambler. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The interview, however, was a very pleasant one. -Boswell found 'the Rambler' in his most agreeable -mood and was glad to escape the reproof he had -anticipated. 'About one he came into my room and -accosted me, "What, drunk yet?"' His tone of -voice was not that of severe upbraiding; so I was -relieved a little. 'Sir,' said I, 'they kept me up.' -He answered, 'No, you kept them up, you drunken -dog:' This he said with a good-humoured <i>English</i> -pleasantry.</p> - -<p>Boswell, it need hardly be said, was very proud -of introducing Johnson to the men of Scotland: it -raised him, as he no doubt understood, in their esteem, -and he took trouble that Johnson should appear to -them in the most favourable light. He had also -a further gratification. He was more than a mere -showman. He came to have proprietary rights in Dr. -Johnson. Boswell's joy was the joy of possession: -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page128" id="page128"></a>[pg 128]</span> -and he even became jealous. There is a story told -by Miss Burney, of a later date, when Boswell, it -must be admitted, behaved rather badly. A party -gathered at Streatham where Johnson was staying. -Boswell arrived to spend the morning. The Doctor's -intimacy with Miss Burney was new to Boswell and -the latter now found that his rights were being -infringed. 'A collation was ordered.'</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Mr. Boswell [it is related] was preparing to take a -seat that he seemed, by prescription, to consider as -his own, next to Dr. Johnson; but Mr. Seward, who -was present, waved his hand for Mr. Boswell to move -farther on, saying, with a smile, 'Mr. Boswell, that -seat is Miss Burney's.'</p> - -<p>He stared, amazed: the asserted claimant was -new and unknown to him, and he appeared by no means -pleased to resign his prior rights. But, after looking -round for a minute or two with an important air of -demanding the meaning of this innovation, and receiving -no satisfaction, he reluctantly, also resentfully, -got another chair, and placed it at the back of the -shoulder of Dr. Johnson, while this new and unheard-of -rival quietly seated herself as if not hearing what -was passing, for she shrunk from the explanation that -she feared might ensue, as she saw a smile stealing -over every countenance, that of Dr. Johnson himself -not excepted, at the discomfiture and surprise of Mr. -Boswell. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>We must not forget that Boswell, before everything -else, was the biographer, looking ever with inquisitive -eye upon the great man's movements, marking with -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page129" id="page129"></a>[pg 129]</span> -<span class="rightnote">BOSWELL OBSERVING</span> -zealous care any detail that might be significant, and -appreciating very keenly the humour of every scene. -The furthest point one may suppose that his curiosity -reached, or indeed was able to reach, is recorded in an -account of breakfast at Lochbuy. The comedy arose -from an unusual proposal on the part of Lady Lochbuy -as to the provision to be made for Johnson's entertainment; -Boswell encouraged it to see what the -Doctor would do, deriving at the same time much -pleasure from the dispute between the lady and her -brother.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -She proposed that he should have some cold sheep's -head for breakfast. Sir Allan seemed displeased at his -sister's vulgarity, and wondered how such a thought -should come into her head. From a mischievous love -of sport, I took the lady's part; and very gravely said, -'I think it is but fair to give him an offer of it. If he -does not choose it, he may let it alone.' 'I think so,' -said the lady, looking at her brother with an air of -victory. Sir Allan, finding the matter desperate, -strutted about the room and took snuff. When Dr. -Johnson came in she called to him, 'Do you choose any -cold sheep's head, Sir?' 'No, Madam,' said he, with -a tone of surprise and anger. 'It is here, Sir,' said she, -supposing he had refused it to save the trouble of -bringing it in. They thus went on at cross purposes -till he confirmed his refusal in a manner not to be -misunderstood. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The malicious experiment of Boswell had the desired -conclusion. 'I,' he says, 'sat quietly by, and enjoyed -my success.'</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page130" id="page130"></a>[pg 130]</span></p> - -<p>Dr. Johnson was irritated sometimes by Boswell's -curiosity. Dr. Campbell even records that Johnson on -one occasion was driven away by Boswell's continual -questions.<a id="footnotetag4.7" name="footnotetag4.7"></a><a href="#footnote4.7"><sup>7</sup></a> But it would seem that far more often -Johnson found means of protecting himself. Miss -Burney gives an enlightening summary of the prospect -in case Johnson should notice Boswell imitating -him.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Dr. Burney thought that Dr. Johnson, who -generally treated Mr. Boswell like a schoolboy, whom, -without the smallest ceremony, he pardoned or rebuked -alternately, would so indignantly have been provoked -as to have instantaneously inflicted upon him some -mark of his displeasure. And equally he was persuaded -that Mr. Boswell, however shocked and even inflamed -in receiving it, would soon, from his deep veneration, -have thought it justly incurred, and after a day or -two of pouting and sullenness would have compromised -the matter by one of his customary simple apologies -of 'Pray, Sir, forgive me.' Dr. Johnson though often -irritated by the officious importunity of Mr. Boswell, -was really touched by his attachment. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>It was presumably in some degree because he -realised that Johnson was fond of him that Boswell -was able to endure his rudeness. It must be remembered, -however, that it was deliberately in most -cases brought upon himself, and there was then no -real cause to take offence. You cannot complain if -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page131" id="page131"></a>[pg 131]</span> -<span class="rightnote">JOHNSON'S REPROOFS</span> -by your own fault you have made a man angry, -whatever he may say—especially if he is thirty years -older than yourself. It is one of Boswell's chief -merits that he was able to see this. He may have -been often annoyed, but he came afterwards to see -that it was but the natural result of his method of -treating Johnson—the method which enabled him to -write in the end the immortal 'Life.'</p> - -<p>Boswell in the <i>rôle</i> of biographer will claim a more -detailed attention later in this book. It will suffice -to say here that the attitude which he presented in the -scene at Lochbuy, and on all those occasions when -he led Johnson to talk or arranged some situation for -the sake of observing his behaviour, is that which is -most typical of Boswell, that by which he was famous, -or, as some might have said, notorious among his -contemporaries.</p> - -<p>The relations between these two friends which we -see so pleasantly revealed in Boswell's journal of the -'Tour to the Hebrides,' in 1773, containing as they did -all that is best between the old and the young, remained -unimpaired to the death of Johnson in 1784: -Boswell never neglected to pay at least one visit in the -year to England, and preserved to the end his affection, -his careful and kind attention, his pride and respect, -and above all his humour and curiosity. It would be -idle to suggest, though it may be difficult to understand -or explain the fact, that his absence from Johnson's -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page132" id="page132"></a>[pg 132]</span> -death-bed is significant in any way of a declining -interest and affection.</p> - -<p>Boswell himself was feeling ill and melancholy -during a considerable part of the year, and was much -upset by Johnson's charges of affectation: it is -easily conceivable that he shrank from the pain of -being present at the death-bed of his friend, and believed -too that his own distress could only irritate the -other.<a id="footnotetag4.8" name="footnotetag4.8"></a><a href="#footnote4.8"><sup>8</sup></a> But, whatever may have been the cause of -his absence, it is impossible, if we consider his own -words about the final parting, to doubt the sincerity -of his affection.<a id="footnotetag4.9" name="footnotetag4.9"></a><a href="#footnote4.9"><sup>9</sup></a></p> - -<blockquote><p> -He asked me whether I would not go with him to -his house; I declined it, from an apprehension that -my spirits would sink. We bade adieu to each other -affectionately in the carriage. When he had got down -upon the foot-pavement, he called out, 'Fare you -well,' and without looking back, sprung away with a -kind of pathetic briskness, if I may use the expression, -which seemed to indicate a struggle to conceal uneasiness, -and impressed me with a foreboding of our -long, long separation.<a id="footnotetag4.10" name="footnotetag4.10"></a><a href="#footnote4.10"><sup>10</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Johnson in one of his last letters said: 'I consider -your fidelity and tenderness as a great part of -the comforts which are yet left me'; and Boswell, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page133" id="page133"></a>[pg 133]</span> -<span class="rightnote">JOHNSON'S DEATH</span> -speaking of his death, says enough when he says no -more than this: 'I trust I shall not be accused of -affectation when I declare that I find myself unable -to express all that I felt upon the loss of such a -Guide, Philosopher, and Friend.'</p> - -<p>The loss was indeed a severe one for Boswell. He -made a friend of Johnson at the age of twenty-two -and was forty-four at the date of Johnson's death. -For more than twenty years he had been accustomed -implicitly to trust the judgment of the older man.</p> - -<p>Its mere duration in time is some testimony to -the value of the friendship, the more so when we -remember that Boswell when he died himself was but -fifty-five years old. The friend who was the hero of -Boswell's youth, and his constant adviser, saw within -the space of a few years the beginning of his professional -life at the Scotch Bar, the publication of his first serious -book, his marriage to an admirable lady, and his election -to the Literary Club; he died but two years after -Boswell had become the Laird of Auchinleck, at a -time when he was showing an increased activity, and -before the political and legal hopes that he indulged -had brought about by their failure the disappointment -of his later life.</p> - -<p>From the few facts which have been related here -something may be gleaned, if not a complete conception -of the part which Johnson played in Boswell's life. -Boswell has revealed himself as a friend and in -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page134" id="page134"></a>[pg 134]</span> -particular as the friend of Johnson. So great a devotion -is a real asset in life. Whatever its definite value may -be as regards events, and it is often small, it serves to -fix more clearly and fuse together the intricate moving -forms of a land of dreams into a simple mundane shape. -It may be an end in itself. And devotion in Boswell's -case belonged to the essence of his genius. It was -an important part of that abnormal ingredient in him -which was to blaze forth in an imperishable flame.</p> - -<p>What Johnson accomplished for Boswell was -primarily in the realm of ideals. The aspirations of -Boswell were concentrated by his admiration. But -what was the final result? When Johnson died, the -ship that carried that heavy load of Boswell's hopes -was sailing steadily towards a definite harbour, though -not the harbour he intended to reach: what had -Johnson to do with this? Was his the hand at the -helm?—the breath in the sails?</p> - -<p class="footnote1"><a id="footnote4.1" name="footnote4.1"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag4.1">1:</a> -<i>Life of Reynolds</i>, ii, p. 12.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote4.2" name="footnote4.2"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag4.2">2:</a> -<i>Letters of Horace Walpole</i>, v, p. 85.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote4.3" name="footnote4.3"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag4.3">3:</a> -<i>Memoirs of Hannah More</i>, i, p. 213.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote4.4" name="footnote4.4"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag4.4">4:</a> -The evidence for what is stated in this sentence and the next -is discussed later under Boswell's biographical qualities.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote4.5" name="footnote4.5"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag4.5">5:</a> -<i>London Magazine</i>, xlvii, 106.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote4.6" name="footnote4.6"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag4.6">6:</a> -<i>Piozzi Letters</i>, i, 198.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote4.7" name="footnote4.7"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag4.7">7:</a> -<i>Campbell's Diary</i>, p. 70.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote4.8" name="footnote4.8"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag4.8">8:</a> -<i>Life of Johnson</i>, iv, pp. 378-80.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote4.9" name="footnote4.9"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag4.9">9:</a> -It must be remembered that Boswell spent nearly two months -with Johnson in this last year. In March he wrote to Dr. Percy -about going to London, 'chiefly to attend upon Dr. Johnson with -respectful attention.' (Nichols, <i>Literary History</i>, vii, p. 302.)</p> - -<p class="footnote1b"><a id="footnote4.10" name="footnote4.10"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag4.10">10:</a> -<i>Life of Johnson</i>, iv, p. 339.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page135" id="page135"></a>[pg 135]</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3 class="space-above5">CHAPTER V</h3> -</div> - -<p>Biography is by its nature historical and suited to -an historical method. The history of an institution -is written in respect of its functions. The Christian -Church, for instance, played a certain part in the life -of society at the end of the fourth century, and another -part when Clement proclaimed a Crusade to all -Western Europe. The historian of the Church may -well be expected to hold in view the later development -during the whole course of his inquiry before that -climax; he must analyse the primitive organism, -having regard to its future growth, and explain how -it was that those organs grew. The biographer has -similar duties. We commonly consider the lives of -men with reference to a few conspicuous events or -remarkable achievements; and we want to know what -were the essential qualities of the man and how they -grew to those results. In Boswell's case the central -theme is single, for he accomplished one thing of overwhelmingly -greater importance than anything else in -his life. But the growth which came to this glorious -end was by no means a simple and serene development. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page136" id="page136"></a>[pg 136]</span> -It is concerned with an amazing war between the -conventional and the real, the false and the true. We -have now to investigate more closely the details of that -struggle, and incidentally the effect on Johnson.</p> - -<p>Boswell, in the first place, had a number of what -may be called conventional prejudices; he had the -common prejudices of the landed gentleman in the -eighteenth century. He was brought up to believe -that he would one day become the Laird of Auchinleck. -He was proud of his family name and ancient lineage; -he believed altogether the conventional idea, that a -man was not only in a higher position and a greater -person, but, in some indefinable way, better from the -possession of land. Soil and mansion were not merely -the insignia of the governing class or the boast of blood, -but, further, the supreme expression of an ideal—the -commonest practical ideal of the British people, -'to be as our fathers.' 'Holding an estate,' says -Boswell, in the first of the political letters which he -addressed to his compatriots,<a id="footnotetag5.1" name="footnotetag5.1"></a><a href="#footnote5.1"><sup>1</sup></a> 'transmitted to me -through my ancestors, by charters from a series of -kings, the importance of a charter, the prerogative of -a king, impresses my mind with seriousness and duty; -and while animated, I hope, as much as any man, with -genuine feelings of liberty, I shall ever adhere to our -excellent Monarchy, that venerable institution under -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page137" id="page137"></a>[pg 137]</span> -<span class="rightnote">CONVENTIONAL PREJUDICES</span> -which liberty is best enjoyed.' The truth expressed -by these extravagant words is that Boswell accepted, -as a consequence of having inherited an estate, a certain -outfit of principles and practical objects which was -to be worn in the same way that a parson wears a -black coat or a coachman a livery. In politics, therefore, -he was a Monarchist and Tory. Property and -the Constitution, these were his interests.</p> - -<p>In the second political letter he shows that he -strongly disapproved of innovation and of change in -general; disapproved because he disliked and mistrusted -them as by convention a man of property -ought to do. Reform, however necessary, is never -respectable. Boswell liked an order and formality -which should go on for ever exactly as he knew it. It -was for this reason and not from any æsthetic pleasure -that he delighted in the ceremonial of the dinners in the -Inner Temple and in the services which he was wont -to attend in St. Paul's Cathedral each year, if he -were able, upon Easter Day.</p> - -<p>The same views found expression in a series of -essays which Boswell wrote for the <i>London Magazine</i>. -It is in fact in these essays rather than in his biographical -writings that we should look for Boswell's -opinions on general subjects. Comprehensive though -the 'Life of Johnson' is, it necessarily refrains from -giving the author's view on many occasions, and when -Boswell speaks for himself he does so incidentally, and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page138" id="page138"></a>[pg 138]</span> -not directly. In the <i>London Magazine</i> he is free, and -consequently the range is wider and the matter more -diffuse.</p> - -<p>'The Hypochondriack'—for such is the title under -which Boswell wrote—appeared in twenty-seven -numbers of the <i>London Magazine</i> from October, 1777, -to December, 1779. The articles are not very long—three -pages of close double-columns is the average -length; but altogether they must contain enough -printed matter to fill one volume of a moderate size -in our day. The title explains the attitude of the -writer in the whole series; Boswell wrote as a hypochondriac -to others who suffered as he did from -periodical depression, to divert them, as he said, by -good-humour. 'I may, without ever offending them -by excess of gaiety, insensibly communicate to them -that good-humour which, if it does not make life rise -to felicity, at least preserves it from wretchedness.'</p> - -<p>It is remarkable that Boswell formed the plan of -writing these papers at an earlier stage of his existence, -during the years which he spent abroad from 1763-5. -The tenth of the series was actually written then and -was intended, so he tells us, to be published, in the -<i>London Magazine</i> as Number X of 'The Hypochondriack.' -The fact that it fulfilled its destiny, and -that, though written in a rather more frivolous style, -it is in no way out of place, is a testimony, if any -further were needed besides the <i>magnum opus</i>, to the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page139" id="page139"></a>[pg 139]</span> -<span class="rightnote">'THE HYPOCHONDRIACK'</span> -capacity that Boswell had for carrying a literary -project to its due accomplishment.</p> - -<p>The qualities required of a biographer, which -Boswell had in so supreme a measure, are not those -which necessarily make a good essayist. But Boswell -was by no means contemptible as a writer of essays. -A great thinker he never professed to be, and never -could have become; he had, however, what for his -purpose was even more valuable than profound thought -or comprehensive originality—the art of self-expression. -We are obliged to read anything that Boswell wrote -because, by some enchanter's magic, he is there talking -to us. This is not the place to probe the mystery of -Orpheus with his lute; perhaps, in any case, it is -better that the mystery should remain for ever dark; for -the charm of Orpheus might be perceptibly less if we -knew its mechanism. And it may be no more than -an accomplishment which, when exercised with particular -grace, gives, in the common way, the capricious -illusion of facility. Whatever it be in the art of letters, -Boswell had it. He inevitably produced his effect; -and it is himself. We are made to feel good-humoured -and agreeable; and we wish to leave it at that and -trouble our heads no further. A less easy style will -draw our attention to the technique of words. With -Boswell, it is clear midday on the dial, and we have no -desire to bother with the wheels inside.</p> - -<p>'The Hypochondriack,' however, is scarcely so gay -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page140" id="page140"></a>[pg 140]</span> -as one might expect. Truly this is not the serious -business of life; he is out for a spree. 'The pleasure -of writing a short essay,' says the lively physician of -melancholy, 'is like taking a pleasant airing that -enlivens and invigorates by the exercise which it -yields, while the design is gratified in its completion.' -Boswell the essayist has not the solemn responsibility -of showing a great example to the world; and he has -no need to be the grave judge. Yet there is a very -serious background to the thoughts of this jolly author. -When he chooses a theme he searches in the depths. -Religion, Death and Conscience, Fear, Truth, Pleasure -and Pride, Matrimony and Offspring, Youth and Age, -Pity and Prudence, Excess, Drinking, Flattery, and -Hypochondria itself—such are the subjects with which -he sets forth to divert his fellow-sufferers. And having -chosen thus, Boswell naturally, on many occasions, -says earnestly what he sincerely thinks. He faithfully -describes in one place the discomfort of his own -depression:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -To be overpowered with languor must make a man -very unhappy. He is tantalized with a thousand ineffectual -wishes which he cannot realise. For as -Tantalus is fabled to have been tormented by the objects -of his desire being ever in his near view, yet ever -receding from his touch as he endeavoured to approach -them, the languid Hypochondriack has the sad mystification -of being disappointed of realising every wish, -by the wretched defect of his own activity. While -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page141" id="page141"></a>[pg 141]</span> -in that situation time passes over him only to be loaded -with regrets. The important duties of life, the benevolent -offices of friendship are neglected, though he is -sensible that he shall upbraid himself for that neglect -till he is glad to take shelter under cover of disease. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>In this account there is no ill-placed levity and no -extravagance such as we might fear to find. It is a -simple and effective account of an unpleasant experience. -The advice which he gives to hypochondriacs -from time to time is similarly grave and -sympathetic, and concerned with defeating the dangers -of their state of mind; his view is that the disease is -nearly always curable; he unwillingly admits that -there are cases beyond hope, and condemns pessimistic -fatalism:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -We should guard against imagining that there is a -volcano within us, a melancholy so dreadful that we -can do nothing in opposition to it. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>It would be a mistake to suppose when we read -such grave advice that Boswell had a serious view of -himself as the spiritual adviser of hypochondriacs. -His object, as he tells us, was to divert them; and in -that frame of mind no doubt he began to write. He -became grave and even earnest because he had a very -strong vein of seriousness. In the ordinary way of -life he was light-hearted enough, and easily dispensed -with his thoughts when they began to be uncomfortable: -but when he had set himself to write from a text he -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page142" id="page142"></a>[pg 142]</span> -persevered with his serious reflections and they -found expression. He was able to reach considerable -heights; a famous epitaph, when he is writing upon -a motto from Cicero about the duties of Conscience, -stirs him to a noble feeling:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -The epitaph upon Sir Christopher Wren in St. -Paul's Church, of which he was the architect, has been -justly admired as sublime: 'Lector, si monumentum -requiris, circumspice'; 'Reader, if you would see his -monument, cast your eyes around you,' so that the -whole Church is made his Mausoleum. In my opinion -there is a similar sublimity about this sentiment, by -which a man, upon the ancient principle of -<ins title="Greek: tima seauton"><i>τίμα -σεαυτὸυ</i></ins>, -'reverence thyself,' is taught to expand his mind -into a grand theatre of self-observation. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Occasionally Boswell, on account of this same -seriousness, has an outburst of Johnsonian anger. -He tells of a French writer that he published a book, -'Réflexions sur ceux qui sont morts en plaisantant,' -that he succeeded in collecting a good number of -instances both ancient and modern: 'But I,' says -Boswell 'hold all such extraordinary appearances to -be unnatural, affected, and thoughtless.'</p> - -<p>However, when all is said about the gravity of -the Hypochondriack, he is essentially the easy, good-humoured -companion he set out to be. He is often -dignified, never indecorous; rarely is he even light-hearted, -for while he supports the cares of this world -with smiling equanimity he leaves the impression that -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page143" id="page143"></a>[pg 143]</span> -they matter; still more rarely is he flippant. The -effect is never depressing. He is for the most part -a soothing optimist; and if that seem scant praise, -be it remembered that one may resist the optimist's -persuasion and yet fall a victim to the cheerful manners -that accompany it. Such is the attitude of Boswell -as an essayist; and, when we consider what he chose -to write about, it is a remarkable performance.</p> - -<p>The lightness of touch which was necessary for -Boswell's purpose was obtained partly by anecdote and -image. A wide acquaintance with books evidently -supplied Boswell with a store of anecdotes; and he -both selected them well and used them relevantly. -One instance, where Boswell, in an essay about Excess, -is speaking of the dangers of wealth, will suffice to -illustrate his method:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -The Dutch, who have much sagacity of contrivance -in many respects, have in what they call a 'verbeetering -huys' (that is to say, a correcting and amending house, -a house for making people better) an admirable -method of curing laziness. A fellow who will not -work is put into a large reservoir, which takes him up -to the chin; a cock is then turned so as to let more -water run in upon him, and he is then shown a pump. -If he exerts himself with active force he prevents the -water from rising, and breathes freely; but if he does -not ply the pump, the water soon gets up upon him -and he is suffocated. An inundation of wealth will -be equally fatal to a man's happiness, if he does not -throw it off by vigorous exertion. <i>Aurum potabile</i> will -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page144" id="page144"></a>[pg 144]</span> -choak him; and, when drowning in Pactolus's streams, -it will be no consolation to him to know that they -have golden sands. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Boswell's images, sometimes employed in imitation -of Dr. Johnson's manner, if they are apt to be slightly -extravagant, are generally pointed and help the sense. -'A Dogmatist,' he says, 'is a man that has got a pair -of shoes that fit him exactly well, and therefore he -thinks them so very good that he flies in a passion -against those who cannot wear them.' An image is -often used far more gracefully to bring the argument -to a head as in the following admirable passage:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -But old men forget in a wonderful degree their -own feelings in the early part of life, are angry because -the young are not as sedate in the season of effervescence -as they are, would have the fruit where in the course -of nature there should be only the blossom, and complain -because another generation has not been able -to ascend the steep of prudence in a fourth part of the -time which they themselves have taken. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>These few quotations may suffice to show that -Boswell's essays are worthy of some attention. They -can be read with pleasure because Boswell was both a -capable writer and an agreeable man. And, moreover, -Boswell was a good man. It is a somewhat ridiculous -exclamation, because the fact is so striking and so indisputable. -One might dispute the proposition that -to write an unrivalled biography a man must be good: -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page145" id="page145"></a>[pg 145]</span> -<span class="rightnote">BOSWELL AS ESSAYIST</span> -it would probably be a foolish discussion, for the -common sense of mortals refuses to believe that one -who has done a supremely good thing is not himself -essentially good. But to dispute it in the case of -Boswell—when we consider how many hearts he has -won, and with how excellent a wooing, surely that -would be preposterous! He was not wholly good -more than other men, nor less than the majority; but -he possessed a quantity of good that might be envied -of the best. And this is true, not of the man only, but -of the writer. The test is a very simple one: the plain -fact is that it is impossible to read Boswell without -feeling better. Boswell does not edify in the spiritual -fashion of Michael Angelo or Milton; but he edifies -just as truly. With Boswell we never want to leave -the world for something better, but we want to live in -it and enjoy life to the full; and we want especially to -love other men. It is not a small matter that we -should feel this: and as we may feel it in the 'Life of -Johnson,' we may feel it also, though in a less degree, -in the essays.</p> - -<p>But 'The Hypochondriack' is not to be read for the -sake of the author's opinions, nor even for the arguments -by which he supports them. For Boswell -writes from a conventional point of view. His conclusions -are not his very own. He has never been -tossed in the great void and fought long doubtful -battles for a sure place to stand on. His children -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page146" id="page146"></a>[pg 146]</span> -have not been begotten with pangs, but adopted for -pleasure.</p> - -<p>And here we return to the main battle. Boswell -was conventional. But this is by no means a sufficient -explanation. Clearly, in some respects, it is not -even true. What then is the range of Boswell's -conventionality and what are its limits?</p> - -<p>Beliefs are the result, as a rule, either of tradition, or -of emotional experience, or of mere desire. In a few -rare spirits they may be determined in more intellectual -fashion; but Reason is seldom mistress, and very -often she is servant and nurse. By reason, we seek to -justify our prejudices and convictions. With varying -degrees of intellectual dishonesty we make use of reason -to reject what we dislike and nourish what we prefer.</p> - -<p>Boswell's case was somewhat uncommon. He was -clearly not very critical. Having once adopted an -attitude he marched through life without looking back. -We have seen something of the outlook he adopted conventionally. -He deceived himself, however, far less -than most men of those opinions. And in the effort to -believe what he wished to believe, Boswell used reason -in a curiously deliberate fashion. He accepted the -conventional beliefs and standards in an unconventional -manner—not chaotically and aimlessly, but -perceiving what the conventional aim essentially was, -and approving it as a mode of living.</p> - -<p>Boswell's philosophy of life, as far as he had a -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page147" id="page147"></a>[pg 147]</span> -<span class="rightnote">BELIEFS</span> -philosophy, was to have in all (including, that is, the -future life of happiness which he flattered himself -that he would be able to enjoy) the maximum amount -of pleasure. Pleasure and happiness, these are ends -in themselves; and except in so far as pleasure must -be restrained for the sake of happiness either in this -state of being or in another—and Boswell can hardly -be said to have practised restraint in any remarkable -degree—they are not distinguished. Pleasure he -speaks of as 'not only the aim but the end of our -being.' 'To be happy,' he says, 'as far as mortality -and human imperfection allow, is the wisest study of -men.'</p> - -<p>In the 'Hypochondriack' essays we see how entirely -Boswell's philosophy of life is a philosophy of comfort. -With regard, for instance, to Love—a subject which, -since three papers of 'The Hypochondriack' are -devoted to it, must have been considered important—though -too logical to be entirely conventional, his -doctrine is frankly based upon his view of -happiness:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -As no disorder of the imagination has produced -more evils than the passion of love, it behoves us -to guard ourselves with caution against its first -appearance.</p> - -<p>However coldness or indifference is unpleasant, yet -excess of love or fondness is bad, not only as it is not -lasting, but also because it is disagreeable at the time. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>It is in his religious views that we see best this -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page148" id="page148"></a>[pg 148]</span> -attitude of Boswell. While his opinions were on the -one hand completely conventional, they yet depended -quite consciously upon this doctrine of happiness.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -The religious fear which I mean to inculcate, is -that reverential awe for the Most High Ruler of the -Universe, mixed with affectionate gratitude and hope, -by which our minds are kept steady, calm, and placid, -at once exalted by the contemplation of greatness, -and warmed by the contemplation of goodness, while -both are contemplated with a reference to ourselves.<a id="footnotetag5.2" name="footnotetag5.2"></a><a href="#footnote5.2"><sup>2</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>However 'romantic' Boswell may have been in -other matters, there is no shadow of romance in his -conception of a Deity. His admiration for what seems -to be merely a superior human being admitted of no -spiritual disquiet. Rather the 'steady, calm, and -placid' temper so produced was to serve as an antidote -to hypochondria.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -In order to have these comforts which not only -relieve but 'delight the soul,' the Hypochondriack -must take care to have the principles of our holy -religion firmly established in his mind, when it is -sound and clear, and by the habit and exercise of piety -to strengthen it, so that the flame may live even in -the damp and foul vapour of melancholy.<a id="footnotetag5.3" name="footnotetag5.3"></a><a href="#footnote5.3"><sup>3</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Further instructions as to how these comforts are -to be enjoyed are given in the 'Life' where his final -view is expressed:</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page149" id="page149"></a>[pg 149]</span></p> - -<blockquote><p> -<span class="rightnote1">RELIGIOUS VIEWS</span>This I have learned from a pretty hard course of -experience, and would, from sincere benevolence, impress -upon all who honour this book with a perusal, -that until a steady conviction is obtained that the -present life is an imperfect state, and only a passage -to a better, if we comply with the divine scheme of -progressive improvement; and also that it is part of -the mysterious plan of Providence that intellectual -beings must be 'made perfect through suffering'; -there will be a continual recurrence of disappointment -and uneasiness. But if we walk with hope in 'the -mid-day sun of revelation' our temper and disposition -will be such that the comforts and enjoyments in our -way will be relished, while we patiently support the -inconveniences and pains. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The argument is clear: we must choose the path where -'uneasiness' is avoided and 'comforts and enjoyments' -are in store for us. The part to be played by the -intellect is not doubtful. The power of reasoning may -be valuable up to a certain point; beyond that point -it is unsafe for it to pass:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -After much speculation and various reasonings, -I acknowledge myself convinced of the truth of -Voltaire's conclusion, '<i>Après tout, c'est un monde -passable.</i>' But we must not think too deeply; -</p></blockquote> - -<div class="poem1 width21"> <div class="stanza"> - Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise -</div></div> - -<blockquote><p> -is, in many respects, more than poetically just. Let -us cultivate, under the command of good principles, -'<i>la théorie des sensations agréables</i>'; and, as Mr. Burke -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page150" id="page150"></a>[pg 150]</span> -once counselled a grave and anxious gentleman, 'live -pleasant.' -</p></blockquote> - -<p>'We must not think too deeply'—because it is not -pleasant. 'I most willingly admit,' he says elsewhere, -'that of all kinds of misery, the misery of thought is -the severest.' He wished to escape from thought, and -found his religion a very pleasant substitute. It enabled -him to believe all that he found most pleasant -in beliefs, and to reject what he found disquieting. -The fear of death, he discovered, could best be -alleviated by believing in the divine revelation; -accordingly he proceeded to adopt this belief.</p> - -<p>But the pleasure which Boswell obtained in this -way was not merely the pleasure of a mind lulled to -tranquillity, it was the pleasure also of possessing a -point of view. He wanted to be entirely respectable. -And respectability was to be achieved by adopting -wholesale the respectable beliefs. Boswell perhaps -could never have been otherwise than conventional -in his ethical and religious thought; but he did at -one time think, and he deliberately ceased to think; -with the consequence that all those views which he -might or might not have arrived at by thought and -experience, instead of being deeply founded within him, -were only an ill-balanced superstructure.</p> - -<p class="centerf">.<span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span></p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page151" id="page151"></a>[pg 151]</span></p> - -<p><span class="rightnote">INFLUENCE OF JOHNSON</span>The effect of Johnson upon this development -was a very remarkable one. Johnson himself was -pre-eminently a conformist, and it was partly, no -doubt, from his example that Boswell derived his -desire to be respectable—to be, as he expressed it, -'an uniform pretty man.'</p> - -<p>Boswell's own words show us that he was influenced -in this way. A meeting had been arranged between -Johnson and one of Boswell's friends, George Dempster, -who held the sceptical views of Hume and Rousseau; -a discussion took place in which Johnson, whether by -force of argument or power of lungs, was victorious. -'I had infinite satisfaction,' says Boswell, 'in hearing -solid truth confuting vain subtilty. I thank God that -I have got acquainted with Mr. Johnson. He has -done me infinite service. He has assisted me to -obtain peace of mind, he has assisted me to become -a rational Christian.'</p> - -<p>How much are we to assume from this? How -much of Boswell's respectability came directly from -Johnson?</p> - -<p>There could be nothing more unreasonable than to -dogmatise about the extent of a personal influence. -How subtle and intricate it is in the thousand chances -of a mind's development, of acquiescence and rebellion, -of mere time and place! how difficult to see the beginning -and the end, to know even approximately -the value of any one force in a number of causes! The -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page152" id="page152"></a>[pg 152]</span> -distinction alone between a conscious or unconscious -acceptance, what a difference it makes!</p> - -<p>That which determines individuality in men more -than any other factor is the freedom of choice. But -there is more than one way of choosing. There are -some who choose to march upon the high road where -tall fences on either side prevent the possibility of -wandering astray; and there are others who select -the by-paths deliberately. All who choose are in -search of treasure. Those who have rejected the -high roads hardly know what they so urgently desire; -but when they come upon a rare flower in the wilderness -which pleases them particularly they cull it; they -are then refreshed and go forward with more certain -step, and there hangs about them something of the -fragrance they inhaled, so that other men when they -meet them are reminded of that flower which they -too have seen and smelt. The rest press forward more -directly; when they have chosen the way there is no -deviation; they will pause for nothing unless it be of -precious metal. And when their quest is rewarded -they surround themselves with a cloud of gold-dust, -as it seems to them, and cannot be seen except -through this strange mist.</p> - -<p>Boswell, it would seem, was among these last. He -chose freely, but did not wander far afield. He was -one of those in pursuit of ideal treasure; and when he -found in Dr. Johnson all that he desired, and the ideal -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page153" id="page153"></a>[pg 153]</span> -was satisfied, he impregnated himself with the priceless -essence. But, inasmuch as it was the essence he had -chosen to seek, even this exterior atmosphere was -entirely of himself.</p> - -<p>We expect, indeed, to see in Boswell beyond his own -real nature the marks of a stronger personality. But we -may admit the Johnsonian flavour without impugning -the originality of Boswell or degrading him to the level -of a mere imitator. All the conventional prejudices, -the strong conformity which was so pronounced in -Johnson, existed in Boswell independently. The -'old Tory sentiments' inasmuch as they exceeded the -sentiments of Johnson (which they occasionally did, -<i>e.g.</i> on the subject of slavery), were definitely a part -of the true Boswell. It is remarkable that in the -'Letters to Temple' the opinions of Johnson are very -rarely mentioned; Boswell on one occasion was 'confirmed -in his Toryism'; and Johnson is quoted two -or three times: but his name appears far less often -than we should expect. It is clear, indeed, when we -read the 'Life of Johnson,' that Boswell, however he -might be a worshipper, was far from being a slave: -his passion for truth would not allow him to pass -lightly by an opinion he disapproved, and his conviction -that Johnson was wrong, or at least that his -own opinions remained unaltered, is frankly if -respectfully stated more than once.</p> - -<p>He knew that Johnson's opinions might be formed -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page154" id="page154"></a>[pg 154]</span> -only to refute an adversary: 'But it is not improbable -that if one had taken the other side he might have -reasoned differently.' Not infrequently Boswell ventures -to criticise his philosopher's argument. On one -occasion, when predestination had been discussed, he -even goes so far as to excuse Johnson's prejudices:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -He avoided the question which has excruciated -philosophers and divines beyond any other. I did -not press it further, when I perceived that he was displeased, -and shrunk from any abridgment of an -attribute usually ascribed to the divinity, however -irreconcilable in its full extent with the grand system -of moral government. His supposed orthodoxy here -cramped the vigorous powers of his understanding. -He was confined by a chain, which early imagination -and long habit made him think massy and strong, -but which, had he ventured to try, he could at once -have snapped asunder. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Boswell's attitude in this passage is very far from -being intellectually dependent on Johnson or on -anyone else. And it is not an unusual attitude. We -sometimes see another side—Boswell, apparently in -fetters, a prisoner in the citadel of respectability. But -it cannot be asserted too often that Boswell was -essentially an independent individual, one who was -capable of pursuing his own true vision, inflexible and -careless of the consequences.</p> - -<p>There is no need to infer from this that the influence -of Johnson was negligible, or even small. We -cannot suppose that the guide, philosopher and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page155" id="page155"></a>[pg 155]</span> -friend of Boswell, for whom he had a 'mysterious -veneration,' whose 'just frown' he so greatly dreaded, -whom upon so many occasions he eagerly consulted, -can have been of small account. Boswell himself -was far from thinking so; he knew the value of -Johnson to him when, reflecting that death must -soon rob him of his friend, he wrote to Temple, in -Johnsonian words: 'it will be like a limb amputated.'</p> - -<p>If influence is to be defined it may be said perhaps -that it is a quality which makes us see what we should -not have seen without it. We cannot doubt that -Boswell learnt many things by his intercourse with -Dr. Johnson. The influence of Johnson was in the -first place, as we remarked above, an influence for -truth, for honesty. It helped Boswell in his early -life to see the self which he came in the end to understand -so well. He must long have remembered the -letter which he received from Johnson at Utrecht.</p> - -<p>Boswell, in his desire to make an impression as -the young genius, then regarded himself as a peculiar -mortal who had no need to regulate his conduct by the -ordinary standards. Johnson begins by describing -this state of mind:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -There lurks, perhaps, in every human heart a -desire of distinction, which inclines every man first -to hope, and then to believe, that Nature has given him -something peculiar to himself.... You know a -gentleman who, when first he set his foot in the gay -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page156" id="page156"></a>[pg 156]</span> -world, as he prepared himself to whirl in the vortex -of pleasure, imagined a total indifference and universal -negligence to be the most agreeable concomitants of -youth, and the strongest indication of an airy temper -and a quick apprehension. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The result which he particularly deplored was -Boswell's idleness:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Vacant to every object, and sensible of every impulse, -he thought that all appearance of diligence would -deduct something from the reputation of genius; and -hoped that he should appear to attain, amidst all the -ease of carelessness, and all the tumults of diversion, -that knowledge and those accomplishments which -mortals of the common fabrick obtain only by mute -abstraction and solitary drudgery. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>He then alludes to the wrong conclusions which might -be drawn by one in Boswell's mental condition from -the difficulties which attend a return to a normal -course of life:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -He tried this scheme of life awhile; was made -weary of it by his sense and his virtue; he then wished -to return to his studies; and finding long habits of -idleness and pleasure harder to be cured than he -expected, still willing to retain his claim to some extraordinary -prerogatives, resolved the common consequences -of irregularity into an unalterable decree -of destiny, and concluded that Nature had originally -formed him incapable of rational employment. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>And finally he gives some very solemn advice:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Let all such fancies, illusive and destructive, be -banished henceforward from your thoughts for ever. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page157" id="page157"></a>[pg 157]</span> -Resolution will sometimes relax, and diligence will -sometimes be interrupted; but let no accidental surprise -or deviation, whether short or long, dispose you -to despondency. Consider these failings as incident -to all mankind. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Boswell was too honest not to realise the truth of -what Johnson said, and we cannot but think of this -letter when we read a number of years later, in the -<i>London Magazine</i> of 1778, an attack written by Boswell -upon the association by Aristotle of melancholy with -genius; for this essay seems to aim at undermining -the same kind of affectation as that which Johnson -had seen in him.</p> - -<p>Similarly the effect of Johnson in making Boswell -more respectable was produced less by example than -by dislike of affectation. Johnson was pre-eminently a -conformist; and Boswell desired the same happy state -for himself. But Johnson was honest in his conformity, -and he cared less for the conformity than for the -honesty. And so he was able, when he saw Boswell -affecting sentiments which he did not wholly feel, -to reprove him. It was not that the sentiments in -themselves were not good sentiments, for they often -were, but that in Boswell they were unreal.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -<i>Boswell</i>: 'Perhaps, Sir, I should be the less happy -for being in Parliament. I never would sell my vote, -and I should be vexed if things went wrong.' <i>Johnson</i>: -'That's cant, Sir. It would not vex you more in the -House than in the Gallery: publick affairs vex no man.' -</p></blockquote> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page158" id="page158"></a>[pg 158]</span></p> - -<p>Boswell was probably annoyed at this retort; it -is very annoying to be told the truth about oneself. -He now tries to make Johnson admit that he has been -vexed himself 'by all the turbulence of this reign.'</p> - -<blockquote><p> -<i>Johnson</i>: 'Sir, I have never slept an hour less, -nor ate an ounce less meat. I would have knocked -the factious dogs on the head, to be sure; but I -was not <i>vexed</i>.' -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The argument is too strong:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -<i>Boswell</i>: 'I declare, Sir, upon my honour, I did -imagine I was vexed, and took a pride in it; but it -<i>was</i>, perhaps, cant; for I own I neither ate less, nor -slept less.' <i>Johnson</i>: 'My dear friend, clear your -<i>mind</i> of cant. You may <i>talk</i> as other people do; -you may say to a man, "Sir, I am your most humble -servant." ... You may <i>talk</i> in this manner; it is a -mode of talking in society: but don't <i>think</i> foolishly.' -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The result of Johnson's honesty acting upon Boswell's -conventional affectations was not to make him -less but rather more conventional. It gave him a -surer foundation. An affectation does not as a rule -become less affected but rather the reverse. But -Boswell's affectations tended rather to become the -substantial and real expression of a mind as he came -to understand that they were affectations. He saw -that the manners and opinions which he affected because -they pleased him had a value in life and a value -for him. The lessons which he learnt from Johnson -in this way were, for the most part, moral; they were -concerned with the piety and goodness which were -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page159" id="page159"></a>[pg 159]</span> -so much a part of Johnson himself. Boswell was able -to reinforce a set of religious beliefs with a little real -piety, and a set of moral axioms with a little real -goodness. If it were necessary to point to one definite -quality in the Johnsonian atmosphere which we might -suppose to be of special value to Boswell, it would be -the genuine kind-heartedness and benevolent interest, -the 'tenderness' which we find so carefully recorded in -the 'Life.' It was to some purpose that the naturally -egotistical Boswell was reminded of a duty towards -other men, was told more than once without compromise -that he must be kind to his father and kind -to his wife.</p> - -<p>But it is not so much in any minute particular that -Johnson was reflected by his biographer, but rather in -a more general way, in a whole attitude towards life, -in the one significant fact that Boswell himself as we -see him, not only in the biographical writings but in -his own letters too, is essentially a moralist. The one -difficulty which his conscience found in writing the -'Life' was that he might, by showing the failings of -so great a man, give support to those who were inclined -to the same faults so that they should conceive -themselves to be justified by that example. And so -he points out with zealous care that, where the 'practice' -of Johnson does not agree with his 'principle,' it -is not because the principle is not good but that even so -great a man was not quite perfect; <i>humanum est errare</i>.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page160" id="page160"></a>[pg 160]</span></p> - -<p>Undoubtedly the influence of Johnson was a moral -influence; this in itself may be considered as one -aspect of its complete respectability. Johnson wanted -Boswell to be a sober, honest, contented citizen, a hard-working, -successful lawyer, a good son, a good husband, -a good friend and a religious man. 'I have always -loved and valued you,' he wrote in 1769, 'and shall -love you and value you still more, as you become more -regular and useful.' And again, in 1771:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I never was so much pleased as now with your -account of yourself; and sincerely hope, that between -publick business, improving studies, and domestick -pleasures, neither melancholy nor caprice will find -any place for entrance. Whatever philosophy may -determine of material nature, it is certainly true of -intellectual nature that it 'abhors a vacuum'; our -minds cannot be empty; and evil will break in upon -them, if they are not preoccupied by good. My dear -Sir, mind your studies, mind your business, make your -lady happy, and be a good Christian. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>There was no place for any intellectual unquiet—and -herein it was essentially respectable—in -Johnson's scheme of life as he presented it to others. -If a subject were unpleasant to think of, it were better -not to heed it. He wished himself to walk through -life in a calm, majestic, and dignified way, with firm -knowledge of good and a resolute purpose to follow it. -He never, if we may judge from Boswell, was in any -serious doubt as to the right course, and he seems to -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page161" id="page161"></a>[pg 161]</span> -have thought the matter as easy for Boswell as it was -for him. It is because he himself desired to be like -this that Boswell found Johnson such a valuable -friend. But it was unfortunate, as it turned out, that -he attached so much importance to mere success in -the world, in his profession, in politics; in these, with -the encouragement of Johnson, he so completely believed, -that when he discovered that he had failed, or -had at least fallen far short of his ambitions, he was -bitterly disappointed.</p> - -<p class="footnote1"><a id="footnote5.1" name="footnote5.1"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag5.1">1:</a> -For Boswell's political career see pp. <a href="#page174">174</a>-182. He published -this letter in 1783, and a second two years later.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote5.2" name="footnote5.2"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag5.2">2:</a> -<i>London Magazine</i>, vol. xlvi, pp. 492-3.</p> - -<p class="footnote1b"><a id="footnote5.3" name="footnote5.3"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag5.3">3:</a> -<i>Ibid.</i>, vol. xlix, p. 542.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page162" id="page162"></a>[pg 162]</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3 class="space-above5">CHAPTER VI</h3> -</div> - -<p>Lord Auchinleck died in 1782. His relations with -Boswell are of some interest in this place, because they -exhibit Boswell in the <i>rôle</i> of son and incidentally -raise an important question. The two never agreed -very well. Was this the fault of the son? Was he -deliberately unkind, or negligent, or disagreeable?</p> - -<p>There is no reason to suppose that Boswell was -culpable in any such way: indiscretion on the one hand -and intolerance on the other are sufficient to account -for all the friction. Lord Auchinleck had evidently -a very rigid view of the career fitting for his eldest son. -His ideal of progeniture seems to have assumed with a -not uncommon complacency that the ego was worthy -of a second edition. James Boswell must be after -the pattern of his father—a Scotch lawyer, a hard-headed, -practical man of affairs, a wise man of business -successful in his profession.</p> - -<p>James, however, was not made like that: and -if he had practical ability he hated the Scotch law -and lawyers far too much ever to use it with success. -He had a taste for extravagant behaviour and -liked to exhibit his high spirits. Johnson might -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page163" id="page163"></a>[pg 163]</span> -<span class="rightnote">A FATHER'S VIEWS</span> -condone this, though he disapproved of it, and love -Boswell the more, because 'he was a boy longer -than others.' Lord Auchinleck regarded it with -alarm while Boswell was young, and with contempt -when he was of a mature age. Conduct that would -have been regrettable to a milder father, was to -him intolerable.</p> - -<p>It is not surprising, then, that Boswell found the -company of his father extremely irksome:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -We divaricate so much (he writes to Temple) that -I am often hurt when I dare say he means no harm; -and he has a method of treating me which makes me -feel like a timid boy, which to me (comprehending -all that my character does in my own imagination, and -in that of a wonderful number of mankind) is intolerable. -I have appeared good-humoured; but it has -cost me drinking a considerable quantity of strong -beer to dull my faculties. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The stern father had undoubtedly some good -reasons for disapproving of the irresponsible James. -Besides the habitual lack of restraint in Boswell's -behaviour, money was a continual source of irritation. -The heir to Auchinleck, it is clear, considered that he -had a sort of natural right to his father's money. He -found an allowance of £300 a year insufficient. He -wrote to Temple in a complaining tone about his -financial difficulties and his father:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -He allows me £300 a year. But I find that what I -gain by practice and that sum together will not support -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page164" id="page164"></a>[pg 164]</span> -my family. I have now two sons and three daughters. -I am in hopes that my father will augment my allowance -to £400. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>He admits, however, that 'his paying £1000 of my -debt some years ago was a large bounty.' Lord -Auchinleck, no doubt with justice, considered Boswell -to be extravagant; and he did not approve of his -marriage. 'I understand,' writes Boswell, 'he fancies -that if I had married another woman, I might not only -have had a better portion with her, but might have -been kept from what he thinks idle and extravagant -conduct.'</p> - -<p>The indiscretion of Boswell in his correspondence -and conversation with his father must have continually -aggravated the pronounced prejudices and preferences -of the ill-tempered old lawyer. It was a wanton imprudence -to express his extreme aversion to his father's -second marriage; we can hardly doubt that he was -equally imprudent with regard to the Scotch law and -Scotch legal circles. Boswell intended that his father -should appreciate him for what he was rather than -tolerate him for what he was not. In 1767 he writes to -Temple:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -How unaccountable it is that my father and I -should be so ill together! He is a man of sense and -a man of worth; but from some unhappy turn in his -disposition, he is much dissatisfied with a son whom -you know. I write to him with warmth, with an -honest pride, wishing that he should think of me as I -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page165" id="page165"></a>[pg 165]</span> -am; but my letters shock him, and every expression -in them is interpreted unfavourably. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Boswell did not understand that the temperaments -of his father and himself were in some degree incompatible, -and he succeeded in emphasising their points of -disagreement rather than cultivating what they had in -common. He was very slow to realise how much his -father disapproved of his literary friends in London, -and of Dr. Johnson in particular: to Temple he exclaims, -with horrified surprise, 'he harps on my going -over Scotland with a brute (think how shockingly -erroneous) and wandering (or some such phrase) to -London.' Johnson was actually taken to visit -Auchinleck—a most hazardous experiment!</p> - -<p>Boswell must certainly be blamed, if blame can -be distributed in this sort, for indiscretion, but not -for unkindness. From no passage in the 'Letters to -Temple' can it be inferred that he disliked his father, -or wished to displease him; on several occasions he -speaks of him with affection. Moreover the obligation -to be deliberately kind to one who cannot occupy the -position of a friend is based upon a supposed affection -on his part. Boswell clearly was not cruel in any -positive or malevolent sense; he can only be condemned -as unkind if it be proved that he was inconsiderate to -a man who displayed a substantial affection towards -him. But Lord Auchinlech cannot be said to have -done this—if we may accept as true the dictum -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page166" id="page166"></a>[pg 166]</span> -of Dr. Johnson to Boswell on the occasion of his -father's death: 'His disposition towards you was -undoubtedly that of a kind, though not of a fond -father.' And so we may say that Boswell was a -disappointing, though not a bad son.</p> - -<p class="centerf">.<span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span></p> - -<p>In 1782 Boswell, on his father's death, became -Laird of Auchinleck. The new position was a matter -of importance to him. Not only were the duties it -involved such duties as he liked to perform, but it was -a considerable advance in the right direction. He -was the man of property. A part of his dream was -come true; and he could now invest himself with a -fresh halo of respect and respectability derived from -his new station. Local and public affairs were more -intimately connected in the eighteenth century than -in our own day; and, when the men of estate had a -monopoly of governing, it was not unnatural for one -who inherited land to cast his eyes beyond the fences -of his patrimony. At the age of forty-two Boswell -was by no means too old to look forward. The event -of inheriting quickened his aspirations, and the prospect -of becoming 'the great man' seemed nearer.</p> - -<p>The ambitions of Boswell were not destined to be -realised in any high degree.</p> - -<p>His hopes were of a double nature; they were -both legal and political. Of his early life at the Bar -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page167" id="page167"></a>[pg 167]</span> -<span class="rightnote">BOSWELL BECOMES LAIRD</span> -we have already spoken, and we must now briefly trace -out the course of his legal career to its dismal conclusion.</p> - -<p>It was hardly to be expected that a man who disliked -and despised so much the whole Scotch atmosphere -of his work should persevere with it. Boswell was so -discontented with his lot that he began to hope for a -change which should bring him into a more congenial -situation. In 1775 he entered at the Inner Temple -with the intention of being called eventually to the -English Bar.</p> - -<p>There was much to recommend this plan; for -it would enable him to spend far more time in his -beloved London. Boswell no doubt considered this a -very important reason. In London he was happier -and better than elsewhere. 'I own, Sir, the spirits -which I have in London make me do everything with -more readiness and vigour. I can talk twice as much -in London as anywhere else'; and he considered, no -doubt with equal justice, that it had some effects of a -different nature: 'In reality it is highly improving -to me, considering the company which I enjoy'; and -he goes on to say, 'I think it is also for my interest, as -in time I may get something.'<a id="footnotetag6.1" name="footnotetag6.1"></a><a href="#footnote6.1"><sup>1</sup></a></p> - -<p>Ambition was one motive which prompted Boswell -to seek a different sphere; he seems to have thought -the abilities which were cramped in Scotland and were -not appreciated by the Scotch would grow in London -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page168" id="page168"></a>[pg 168]</span> -to their full stature and be handsomely recognised. -In 1777 he talked to Johnson upon the subject of the -English Bar:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I had long complained to him that I felt myself -discontented in Scotland as too narrow a sphere, and -that I wished to make my chief residence in London, -the great scene of ambition, instruction and amusement: -a scene which was to me, comparatively -speaking, a heaven upon earth. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>There were, however, a number of reasons which -prevented Boswell from making his home in London -till long after this conversation. The possibility of -his father's death, which would probably make him -the Laird of Auchinleck, was always present to him, -and it would be inconvenient as well as expensive to -have a separate establishment in London. It was by -no means certain, moreover, as Boswell seems to have -realised, that there would be much financial gain by -the change, and he could not afford to fail at the -English Bar; his father as well as Johnson opposed -the step, a consideration which would probably in -itself have prevented it, from interested motives on -Boswell's part if from no others.</p> - -<p>Boswell, in fact, remained at the Scotch Bar until -1786, when he determined finally, in spite of his -position as a Scotch laird, which he had occupied for -four years, to try his fortune at Westminster Hall. He -had been disappointed of promotion<a id="footnotetag6.2" name="footnotetag6.2"></a><a href="#footnote6.2"><sup>2</sup></a> for so long in -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page169" id="page169"></a>[pg 169]</span> -<span class="rightnote">THE BAR</span> -Scotland that it was time to exercise his talents in a -different sphere.</p> - -<p>The English lawyers, however, seem to have been -no more congenial than the Scotchmen, for he speaks -of the 'rough scene of the roaring and bantering society -of lawyers,' which he is compelled to be with on the -Northern Circuit.<a id="footnotetag6.3" name="footnotetag6.3"></a><a href="#footnote6.3"><sup>3</sup></a> There is an amusing story recounted -by Lord Eldon in his 'Anecdotes' about Boswell at -the Lancaster Assizes, which belongs to a period -between the years '86 and '88:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -We found Jemmy Boswell lying upon the pavement—inebriated. -We subscribed at supper a guinea for -him and half-a-crown for his clerk, and sent him next -morning a brief with instructions to move for the -writ <i>Quare adhæsit pavimento</i>, with observations -calculated to induce him to think that it required great -learning to explain the necessity of granting it. He -sent all round the town to attornies for books, but in -vain. He moved, however, for the writ, making the -best use he could of the observations in the brief. The -judge was astonished and the audience amazed. The -judge said, 'I never heard of such a writ—what can it -be that adheres pavimento? Are any of you gentlemen -at the Bar able to explain this?' The Bar -laughed. At last one of them said, 'My Lord, Mr. -Boswell last night <i>adhæsit pavimento</i>. There was -no moving him for some time. At last he was carried -to bed, and he has been dreaming about himself and -the pavement.' -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Boswell himself pours out to Temple in plaintive -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page170" id="page170"></a>[pg 170]</span> -accents the tangled story of a wig lost at Carlisle in -1789, from which we may suspect, as he did himself, -another practical joke. 'I suspected a wanton trick, -which some people think witty, but I thought it very -ill-timed to one in my situation.'</p> - -<p>We might judge from the manner in which he was -treated by his fellow-lawyers that Boswell was not -wholly successful at the English Bar. No one can -have realised this more keenly than himself.</p> - -<p>'I am sadly discouraged,' he writes, 'by having -no practice, nor probable prospect of it.... Yet -the delusion of Westminster Hall, of brilliant reputation -and splendid fortune as a barrister, still weighs -upon my imagination. I must be seen in the courts, -and must hope for some happy openings in causes of -importance. The Chancellor, as you observe, has not -done as I expected; but why did I expect it?' Later -in the same year, 1789, he exclaims: 'O Temple! -Temple! is this realising any of the towering hopes -which have so often been the subject of our conversations -and letters?' It is pathetic to see him clinging -still to the old hopes and ideals, when his real title to -fame lay near at hand in his Johnsonian stores, so -much thought of, and yet so little valued beside the -great world of practical affairs.</p> - -<p>There were no doubt some special reasons, connected -with his attitude towards the law itself, which -may account in a large degree for Boswell's failure -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page171" id="page171"></a>[pg 171]</span> -at the Bar. We have mentioned already the aversion -which Boswell had for the society of lawyers. This in -itself was likely to be a hindrance in his legal career; -but it is only the result of the general unfittedness of -Boswell for the Bar. He was not unwilling, when his -plan of being a soldier had been abandoned, to enter -upon a legal career; it would offer the kind of opportunities -for distinction which he wanted. Possibly -he was attracted too by the formalism of the Courts; -one may suppose that the mere wearing of a wig and -gown would give him pleasure. But the mind of -Boswell was entirely unlegal. He had no capacity for -estimating the value of evidence, and was readily convinced -by a plausible story. He applied to his work -rather the common sense of the layman (being actually -advised very often by Johnson, who knew nothing of -Scotch law) than the exact reasoning required by his -profession. And though Boswell could apply himself -at times with continued effort to any work which he -particularly wanted to do, the dislike which he had -for his legal studies made him tire of them so soon -that he never knew very much about any body of -laws. 'Mr. Boswell,' says Malone, 'professed the -Scotch and the English Law; but had never taken -very great pains on the subject. His father, Lord -Auchinleck, told him one day that it would cost him -more trouble to hide his ignorance in these professions -than to show his knowledge. This Boswell owned -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page172" id="page172"></a>[pg 172]</span> -he had found to be true.'<a id="footnotetag6.4" name="footnotetag6.4"></a><a href="#footnote6.4"><sup>4</sup></a> Boswell himself wrote to -Temple on the subject of his chances of success at the -English Bar: 'To confess fairly to you, my friend, -I am afraid that, were I to be tried, I should be -found so deficient in the forms, the <i>quirks</i> and -<i>quiddities</i> which early habit acquires, that I should -expose myself.'</p> - -<p>Boswell, moreover, had never the reputation which -is suitable for a legal man. The sober citizen does -not choose either the adventurer or the <i>littérateur</i> to -plead his cause before a jury. His connections with -actors, who were disapproved as a class by the -respectable community, told against Boswell in legal -circles. And worst of all was the tour in the Hebrides -with the avowed enemy of Scotland.</p> - -<p>Boswell, besides, acquired a reputation for eccentricity -which must have been fatal to the chances -of a barrister.</p> - -<p>One habit, that of attending executions, deserves -a closer examination; by this behaviour Boswell -made himself conspicuous in a wholly unprofessional -attitude, which must have been extremely damaging -to his position as a lawyer. 'I must confess,' he -writes, 'that I myself am never absent from a public -execution.... When I first attended them I was -shocked to the greatest degree. I was in a manner -convulsed with pity and terror, and for several days, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page173" id="page173"></a>[pg 173]</span> -<span class="rightnote">EXECUTIONS</span> -but especially nights after, I was in a very dismal -situation.' The object in the first place seems then -to have been the mere indulgence of morbid sentiment; -but later he continued the habit more out of curiosity -and as an inherent part of his whole study of Man.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I can now see one with great composure. I can -account for this curiosity in a philosophical manner, -when I consider that death is the most awful object -before every man who ever directs his thoughts -seriously towards futurity. Therefore it is that I -feel an irresistible impulse to be present at every -execution, as I there behold the various effects of the -near approach of death. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>In accordance with this practice Boswell accompanied -a celebrated criminal, Hackman, in the prison -coach to the gibbet; and he made the acquaintance -of the murderess Mrs. Rudd. The latter apparently -was an interesting woman. Johnson entirely approved -Boswell's conduct, and said he would have done the -same himself if he had not been afraid that his presence -would be reported in the newspapers. It is interesting -to note that Boswell had scruples, and wrote to Temple: -'Perhaps the adventure with Mrs. Rudd is very foolish -notwithstanding the approbation of Dr. Johnson.'</p> - -<p>On one occasion Boswell persuaded Sir Joshua -Reynolds to go with him, and evidently won him over -to his view about the question of propriety: 'I am -obliged to you,' wrote Sir Joshua, 'for carrying me -yesterday to see the execution at Newgate of the five -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page174" id="page174"></a>[pg 174]</span> -malefactors. I am convinced it is a vulgar error -in the opinion that it is so terrible a spectacle, or that -it in any way implies a hardness of heart or cruelty -of disposition.'</p> - -<p>Sir Walter Scott gives a kinder motive on Boswell's -part than mere curiosity:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -He used to visit the prisoners on the day before -execution, with the singular wish to make the condemned -wretches laugh by dint of buffoonery, in which -he not infrequently succeeded. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The satisfaction which Boswell had from these -strange interviews was no doubt in part the commendable -satisfaction of being kind and good; and his -piety as well as his jesting may have been a comfort -to many of these criminals in their last hours. It was -also a pleasure to Boswell to read his name in the -newspaper on the day following an execution. But -probably this conduct did not earn the praises of the -Scotch lawyers nor inspire the confidence of the -litigating public.</p> - -<p class="centerf">.<span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span></p> - -<p>The failure which attended Boswell's legal career -included also his political schemes.</p> - -<p>It is clear that Boswell had an idea of some kind -of Parliamentary career. His ambition was to be a Minister:</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page175" id="page175"></a>[pg 175]</span></p> - -<blockquote><p><span class="rightnote1">POLITICAL AMBITIONS</span> -He [Hume] says there will in all probability be a -change of the Ministry soon, which he regrets. Oh -Temple, while they change so often, how does one feel -an ambition to have a share in that great department; -but I fear my wish to be a man of consequence -in the State is much like some of your ambitious -sallies. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Boswell, if he was ambitious in 1775 of some high -office in the State, can certainly have had little chance, -as he evidently realised, of being immediately satisfied. -His financial difficulties alone would have prevented -this. But when in 1782 he became the Laird of -Auchinleck the increase of his importance seemed to -warrant some more definite plan. 'I wish much to be -in Parliament, Sir,' he said to Johnson; and though -the latter discouraged him he applied himself with -energy to his political schemes.</p> - -<p>Boswell had two plans by which he hoped to become -a member of Parliament. He hoped in the first place -that the influence of Lord Lonsdale<a id="footnotetag6.5" name="footnotetag6.5"></a><a href="#footnote6.5"><sup>5</sup></a> would procure -him a seat. This patron seems to have shown a -disposition to be friendly. In the summer of 1786, -Boswell received from Bishop Percy, who had formerly -been at Carlisle and knew Lord Lonsdale, a most -encouraging letter:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -You are now connected with a nobleman [Lord -Lonsdale] who serves his friends with a zeal and spirit -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page176" id="page176"></a>[pg 176]</span> -which I hope will be attended with the happiest consequences -to your establishment in England. I also -anticipate his bringing you into the House of Commons, -as an event no less certain and splendid to your fortunes. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Early in 1788<a id="footnotetag6.6" name="footnotetag6.6"></a><a href="#footnote6.6"><sup>6</sup></a> Lord Lonsdale appointed Boswell -Recorder of Carlisle. This was not an important post, -but it was doubtless a sign of favour. Bishop Percy -wrote warm congratulations; and Boswell was no -doubt encouraged to hope for more. Lord Lonsdale, -however, would appear to have lost interest in Boswell: -he procured no seat in Parliament for his -friend, and some years later behaved so insolently -that Boswell broke the connection.<a id="footnotetag6.7" name="footnotetag6.7"></a><a href="#footnote6.7"><sup>7</sup></a></p> - -<p>Boswell's second plan was to represent his county. -Even in Ayrshire he was not altogether independent -of Lord Lonsdale, but he relied chiefly upon his own -position as head of an old county family. With this -project in view, he engaged himself in various activities. -The most remarkable of these were his 'Letters to -the People of Scotland,' the first dated 1783 and the -second 1785. In these two pamphlets Boswell displayed -abundantly to his countrymen his ardent -patriotism and zealous Tory principles. In 1784 he -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page177" id="page177"></a>[pg 177]</span> -took part in a Tory demonstration at York; and in -his county he issued 'An Address to the Real Freeholders -of the County of Ayr,' stating his willingness -to be their representative, and his qualifications for -that position.<a id="footnotetag6.8" name="footnotetag6.8"></a><a href="#footnote6.8"><sup>8</sup></a> He also carried an address to his -Majesty—'it was most graciously received, and -Mr. Boswell had afterwards the honour to kiss his -Majesty's hand.'<a id="footnotetag6.9" name="footnotetag6.9"></a><a href="#footnote6.9"><sup>9</sup></a> In 1789 he was again very busy -electioneering, though he seems to have realised that -his chance of success was very small.<a id="footnotetag6.10" name="footnotetag6.10"></a><a href="#footnote6.10"><sup>10</sup></a> He carried an -address to the Prince of Wales.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I am carrying it up, to be presented by the Earl -of Eglintoun, accompanied by such Justices of us as -may be in London. This will add something to my -'conspicuousness.' Will that word do?<a id="footnotetag6.11" name="footnotetag6.11"></a><a href="#footnote6.11"><sup>11</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The word seems to do very well. Boswell writes later:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -The Prince of Wales has received our Address most -graciously, and I am to be presented to his Royal -Highness, who desired it might be signified that he -regretted Mr. Boswell was gone from town.<a id="footnotetag6.12" name="footnotetag6.12"></a><a href="#footnote6.12"><sup>12</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>But this would seem to be the final achievement of -Boswell's political career, for he was not successful in -the General Election, and we hear no more in the -'Letters' of political schemes.</p> - -<p>Beyond any special reasons which there may be for -the failure of Boswell in his legal career, there is a -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page178" id="page178"></a>[pg 178]</span> -more general cause for all his disappointment. We -must remember that Boswell throughout his life was, -like many men in the eighteenth century less gifted -than himself, a thorough-going place-hunter. He -hoped even in his early life for some advantages -through his great patrons, Lord Somerville,<a id="footnotetag6.13" name="footnotetag6.13"></a><a href="#footnote6.13"><sup>13</sup></a> Sir -David Dalrymple,<a id="footnotetag6.14" name="footnotetag6.14"></a><a href="#footnote6.14"><sup>14</sup></a> -Lord Eglintoun,<a id="footnotetag6.13r" name="footnotetag6.13r"></a><a href="#footnote6.13"><sup>13</sup></a> Lord Mount -Stuart,<a id="footnotetag6.15" name="footnotetag6.15"></a><a href="#footnote6.15"><sup>15</sup></a> -Sir Andrew Mitchell<a id="footnotetag6.16" name="footnotetag6.16"></a><a href="#footnote6.16"><sup>16</sup></a>; he had obtained by -their means a number of introductions. The ardour -with which he pursued the acquaintance of the great -must have been prompted in some degree by an interested -expectation, and we may suppose that from -the friendship of Chatham, which he was so eager to -cultivate, he had flattered himself with a hope of -political advancement, a hope of fulfilling the dreams -that he had dreamt, with Temple, in University days, -of their future greatness. They were but vague hopes -in those early years, since he could hardly have expected -an immediate recognition of his particular -services. But Boswell when he grew older attached -himself more definitely to particular patrons. There -are a number of names—Lord Pembroke, Lord -Lisburne, Lord Lonsdale, Burke, Dundas.<a id="footnotetag6.17" name="footnotetag6.17"></a><a href="#footnote6.17"><sup>17</sup></a> To these -in turn he seems to have pinned his faith and almost -to have expected some promotion to have fallen upon -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page179" id="page179"></a>[pg 179]</span> -<span class="rightnote">PATRONS</span> -him. And from all his great acquaintances he was to -get but one poor post, the Recordership of Carlisle.</p> - -<p>We can hardly be surprised from what we have -seen already of Boswell's methods of approaching his -patrons that he had no great success in these schemes -of advancement. We have quoted already a letter -to Chatham, which was designed to impress that -Minister with the fact that he was a rising young man, -and to solicit his favour. There is another letter of a -later date<a id="footnotetag6.18" name="footnotetag6.18"></a><a href="#footnote6.18"><sup>18</sup></a> intended to further his acquaintance with -Burke. The great orator might have one day at his -disposal some Government posts; his memory must -not be allowed to lapse:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Dear Sir,—Upon my honour I began a letter to -you some time ago, and did not finish it, because I -imagined you were then near your apotheosis—as -poor Goldsmith said upon a former occasion, when -he thought your party was coming into administration; -and being one of your old barons of Scotland, my pride -could not brook the appearance of paying my court -to a Minister, amongst the crowd of interested -expectants on his accession. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Certainly if one wishes to obtain a post it is better -to avoid the 'crowd of interested expectants.' The -'old baron' too is an excellent card to play to one -who is not of the aristocratic circles; few men are -free from the taint of snobbishness, and patronage -may be courted by cultivating disinterested friendship. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page180" id="page180"></a>[pg 180]</span> -It is well at the same time to remember <i>Qui s'excuse -s'accuse</i>. 'At present,' Boswell continues, 'I take it -for granted that I need be under no such apprehension, -and, therefore, I resume the indulgence of my inclination.' -Only one who was really interested and -wished to conceal the fact could be so careful. Boswell -realises that there is something rather odd about -the explanation. It may not after all be entirely -wise. It is possible that men rather like it to be -thought that they have much patronage, and find some -pleasure in being asked for favours. 'This may be, -perhaps, a singular method of beginning a correspondence; -and, in one sense may not be very complimentative. -But I can sincerely assure you, my dear -Sir, that it is a genuine compliment to Mr. Burke -himself.' The explanation of how it is a compliment -is now to follow, but the desire for self-excuse obtrudes -itself again: 'It is generally thought no meanness -to solicit the notice and favour of a man in power, -and, surely, it is much less a meanness to endeavour, -by honest means, to have the honour and pleasure -of being on an agreeable footing with a superior man -of knowledge, abilities and genius.' A further excuse -is furnished by the favours shown to Boswell in the -past by Mr. Burke himself:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I have to thank you for the obligation which you -have already conferred upon me, by the welcome which -I have, upon repeated occasions, experienced under your roof.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page181" id="page181"></a>[pg 181]</span></p> - -<p><span class="rightnote1">A LETTER TO BURKE</span>When I was last in London, you gave me a general -invitation, which I value more than a treasury warrant: -an invitation to the 'feast of reason'; and what I -like still more, the 'flow of the soul,' which you dispense -with liberal and elegant abundance, is, in my -estimation, a privilege of enjoying certain felicity. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The comparison between the places that come of -courting a patron and this sublime 'felicity' that comes -of friendship must still be maintained—'and we -know that riches and honour are desirable only as a -means of felicity, and that they often fail of the end.'</p> - -<p>It is necessary now to give an account of his -political opinions, so that Mr. Burke may be assured -that Mr. Boswell is his supporter:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Most heartily do I rejoice that our present Ministers -have, at last, yielded to conciliation. For amidst all -the sanguinary zeal of my countrymen I have professed -myself a friend to our fellow-subjects in America, -so far as they claim an exemption from being taxed -by the representatives of the King's British subjects. -I do not perfectly agree with you; for I deny the -Declaratory Act; and I am a warm Tory, in its true -constitutional sense. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>It will be noticed that the assertion of independence -adds to this declaration a considerable degree of -importance. After so careful a preparation the real -point of the letter may be disclosed:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I wish I were a Commissioner, or one of the Secretaries -of the Commission, for the grand treaty. I -am to be in London this spring, and if His Majesty -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page182" id="page182"></a>[pg 182]</span> -should ask me what I would choose, my answer will -be, to assist at the compact between Britain and -America. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The letter to Burke is only less absurd than the -letter to Chatham, which was quoted above. What -most surprises us is not the vanity of the young man -who confided to Chatham his hopes and prospects, -nor his impudence in asking a Minister to favour him -with a letter and in bothering Burke with his political -opinions, but the entire ignorance displayed by a man -of intelligence about the kind of impression that letters -such as these would produce upon their recipients.</p> - -<p>Boswell indeed as we have said—and it is a sufficient -reason to account for his failure—was a fool. It is -this ignorance of the minds of others about oneself, -a certain simplicity of character, an unquestioning, -childlike self-confidence, that makes fools of men. -No fool would wish to be thought foolish, and if a fool -were to understand what was thought about him he -would soon alter his behaviour. His foolishness -depends upon the fact that in this respect he has no -imagination. The ignorance of Boswell about the -effect of his behaviour is the more remarkable because -he was in many ways intelligent, sagacious, and extremely -observant. It was not a quality which -vanished with maturity, though it was slightly -modified in later years: he was nearly fifty when he -wrote to Temple an account of his attempts to enlist -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page183" id="page183"></a>[pg 183]</span> -<span class="rightnote">PITT</span> -the patronage of Pitt (the younger), which shows how -completely he misunderstood the whole situation:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -It is utter folly in Pitt not to reward and attach -to his administration a man of my popular and pleasant -talents, whose merit he has acknowledged in a letter -under his own hand. He did not answer several -letters, which I wrote at intervals, requesting to wait -upon him; I lately wrote to him that such behaviour -to me was certainly not generous. 'I think it is not -just, and (forgive the freedom) I doubt if it be wise. -If I do not hear from you in ten days, I shall conclude -that you are resolved to have no farther communication -with me; for I assure you, Sir, I am extremely unwilling -to give you, or indeed myself, unnecessary -trouble.' About two months have elapsed, and he -has made no sign. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>And it was an ignorance which included even his own -father:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I have answered him in my own style: I will be -myself.... Would you not be pleased to see your -son happy in independence, cultivating his little -farm and ornamenting his nuptial villa, and filling -himself one day, as well as possible, the place of a -much greater man? Temple, would you not like -such a son? Would you not feel a glow of parental -joy? I know you would; and yet my worthy father -writes to me in the manner you see, with that Scots -strength of sarcasm which is peculiar to a North -Briton. But he is offended with that fire which you -and I cherish as the essence of our soul; and how can -I make him happy?<a id="footnotetag6.19" name="footnotetag6.19"></a><a href="#footnote6.19"><sup>19</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page184" id="page184"></a>[pg 184]</span></p> - -<p>But if all fools are alike in so far as they have this -common foundation upon which the flimsy fabric of -folly is erected, yet they differ widely in the manner -of their foolishness. To say that a man is a fool is -to say but little of all that is meant by the expression -in his individual case. Boswell was a fool in a number -of ways which we shall now have to consider.</p> - -<p>The extract of Boswell's letter to his father which -we have quoted above in his letter to Temple is typical -of one phase of all his foolishness. The impulse which -made him write in this place about 'cultivating his -little farm and ornamenting his nuptial villa' is one -which he frequently had. It is difficult to find a -name which exactly fits it. It is the melodramatic -instinct applied to real life. The words which he -uses in this case contain a sentiment beyond the mere -facts they represent; and it is a false sentiment—false -not because he did not feel it, but because there -was no occasion for it; sentiment is wasted. In -Boswell there was a sentimental side to the affectation -that we have already spoken of as having been partially -cured by Johnson. It is not meant, by this expression, -that Boswell consciously assumed sentiment which he -did not feel: we cannot always tell whether he was -conscious or not; and it does not matter. Affectation -implies only the presence of what is unreal; it is concerned -as much with the feeling of what is false as with -falsely pretending to feel.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page185" id="page185"></a>[pg 185]</span></p> - -<p><span class="rightnote">EXTRAVAGANT WORDS</span>Perhaps the most remarkable of Boswell's extravagant -utterances are those to Temple on the -subject of their friendship. He idealises this to suit -his conception of the most perfect of human relationships, -and frequently alludes to it. 'May indulgent -Heaven grant a continuance of our friendship! As -our minds improve in knowledge, may the sacred flame -still increase, until at last we reach the glorious world -above, when we shall never be separated, but enjoy -an everlasting society of bliss!' He was able to -enjoy the 'luxury of philosophy and friendship,' and -'invaluable hours of elegant friendship and classical -sociality,' and 'calmly smile' in consequence 'at -the attacks of envy or of malevolence.' Temple, -'whose kind and amiable counsel never failed to -soothe my dejected mind,' was told to 'reflect, my -friend, that you have sure comfort, you have true -friends—you have Nichols and Boswell, whom you -may look upon as parts of yourself. Consider this -as an exalted comfort which few enjoy, although they -have many of the shining gifts of fortune.' He seems -at one moment to have suspected that he might -grow cold in his affection:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I am a quick fire, but I know not if I last sufficiently, -though, surely, my dear Temple, there is -always a warm place for you. With many people I have -compared myself to a taper, which can light up a great -and lasting fire though itself is soon extinguished. -</p></blockquote> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page186" id="page186"></a>[pg 186]</span></p> - -<p>The friendship, indeed, was of the greatest value to -Boswell; as we see, behind his absurd manner of -expressing it, it must have been a comfort to him in -many disappointments:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -When harassed and fretted with Court of Sessions -business, when vexed to think myself a coarse labourer -in an obscure corner, I get into good humour again by -recollecting that I am Temple's most intimate friend.<a id="footnotetag6.20" name="footnotetag6.20"></a><a href="#footnote6.20"><sup>20</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>His friendship with Mrs. Stuart is treated in the -same manner:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -We talked with unreserved freedom, as we had -nothing to fear; we were philosophical, upon honour,—not -deep, but feeling; we were pious, we drank -tea and bid each other adieu as finely as romance -paints. She is my wife's dearest friend, so you see -how beautiful our intimacy is.<a id="footnotetag6.21" name="footnotetag6.21"></a><a href="#footnote6.21"><sup>21</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The romantic sphere into which Boswell elevated -these friendships contrasts very strangely with his -acute analysis to Johnson of his true sentiments: -'The feeling of friendship is like that of being comfortably -filled with roast beef.' One would suspect -that the feeling of friendship with him was, as he might -have expressed it himself, like a balloon, which rises -higher and higher as it is more blown out with gas.</p> - -<p>In the same fashion he believed that his life was, -'one of the most romantic' he knew of;<a id="footnotetag6.22" name="footnotetag6.22"></a><a href="#footnote6.22"><sup>22</sup></a> that -Temple's 'soft admonitions would at any time calm -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page187" id="page187"></a>[pg 187]</span> -<span class="rightnote">ROMANCE</span> -the tempests of his soul,'<a id="footnotetag6.23" name="footnotetag6.23"></a><a href="#footnote6.23"><sup>23</sup></a> and that he could 'retire -into the calm regions of philosophy' and contemplate -the 'heroism' which he was able to see in his conduct -towards his father.<a id="footnotetag6.24" name="footnotetag6.24"></a><a href="#footnote6.24"><sup>24</sup></a> Philosophy, indeed, had a great -attraction for him. It was in the bower of philosophy -that many of his best hours were filled with that noble -admiration which his disinterested soul was able to -enjoy for the character of Lord Chatham. In early -years he was Temple's philosophic friend, and Paoli -is told that 'with a mind naturally inclined to melancholy -and a deep desire of inquiry, I have intensely -applied myself to metaphysical researches.'</p> - -<p>The affectation or extravagance of Boswell appears -also from time to time in his pious and moral -remarks.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Being in a frame of mind which I hope, for the felicity -of human nature, many experience—in fine weather—at -the country house of a friend—consoled and elevated -by pious exercises—I expressed myself with an -unrestrained fervour to my 'Guide, Philosopher and -Friend': 'My dear Sir, I could fain be a good man; -and I am very good now. I fear God and honour -the king, I wish to do no ill, and to be benevolent to -all mankind.'<a id="footnotetag6.25" name="footnotetag6.25"></a><a href="#footnote6.25"><sup>25</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Boswell was very impressionable, by his own -account, to good influences. He rose from reading -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page188" id="page188"></a>[pg 188]</span> -a dialogue of Hume's 'happier and more disposed -to follow virtue.'<a id="footnotetag6.26" name="footnotetag6.26"></a><a href="#footnote6.26"><sup>26</sup></a> Relating how Mr. Edward -Dilly repeated on his death-bed a passage from Young's -'Night Thoughts'—'Death, a subterraneous road -to bliss,' or some such words—Boswell remarks: -'I am edified here.'<a id="footnotetag6.27" name="footnotetag6.27"></a><a href="#footnote6.27"><sup>27</sup></a> The greatest triumph, one -would suppose, of this nature was when, as he says, -speaking of his 'moral fences,' 'Reason, that steady -builder and overseer, has set them firm.'<a id="footnotetag6.28" name="footnotetag6.28"></a><a href="#footnote6.28"><sup>28</sup></a> Boswell -was excellent too at giving moral advice: 'It is -certainly true philosophy to submit to the will of -Heaven, and to fulfil the amiable duties of morality.'<a id="footnotetag6.29" name="footnotetag6.29"></a><a href="#footnote6.29"><sup>29</sup></a> -'Read Epictetus,'<a id="footnotetag6.30" name="footnotetag6.30"></a><a href="#footnote6.30"><sup>30</sup></a> he writes to Temple; on another -occasion, 'Read Johnson. Let a manly and firm -philosophy brace your mind.'</p> - -<p>Boswell, however, though he was continually -posing, posed not for others but for himself. He had an -insatiable greed of sensation. He derived prodigious -pleasure from the view of himself in a situation. 'I -cannot resist,' he says, 'the serious pleasure of writing -to Mr. Johnson from the tomb of Melancthon. My -paper rests upon the tomb of that great and good man.' -While he wrote the letter he admired the scene he had -arranged. He admired himself playing every kind -of <i>rôle</i>; he could be the grave author, or the romantic -lover, the scholar of 'solid learning' or the elegant -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page189" id="page189"></a>[pg 189]</span> -<span class="rightnote">ENJOYMENT OF LIFE</span> -man of the world, the sage counsellor or the jolly good -fellow, the enthusiast for liberty who talked heroics -with Paoli and politics with Chatham, explorer and -diplomat, the feudal lord or the humble paterfamilias of -a rustic domesticity; he could be literary, theological, -pious, philosophical, legal, or political, as occasion -suited, with profound enjoyment of the part he -was acting. He delighted in the solemnity of a vow, -and even had a taste for the solitude of a hermit: -'Sometimes,' he exclaims, 'I have been in the -humour of wishing to retire to a desert.' His gust -for London was the same gust for sensation; and -his pursuit of distinguished men was partly for the -sake of an added zest and excitement from their -company.</p> - -<p>'You can almost see him,' says Lionel Johnson, -'reckoning up, as it were, on his plump fingers, his -eminent acquaintances, the cities and courts he has -visited, his writings and flirtations and experiences -in general: they are his treasures and his triumphs. -The acquisition of Johnson was but the greatest of -them all, his crowning achievement; all his life -was devoted to social <i>coups d'état</i>. To hear service -in an Anglican cathedral, to attend an exceptionally -choice murderer to the gallows; to contrive a meeting -between Johnson and Wilkes;... to pray among the -ruins of Iona, and to run away for fear of ghosts; -to turn Roman Catholic, and immediately to run away -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page190" id="page190"></a>[pg 190]</span> -with an actress: each and all of these performances -were to him sensational, enlivening, vivid.'</p> - -<p>Boswell was not unaware of this extravagance in his -temperament. He alludes to his 'warm imagination.' -In 'Boswelliana,' pleased at having found 'a good -image,' he records:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -There have been many people who built castles -in the air; but, I believe, I am the first who ever -attempted to live in them. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>By castles in the air, he means not only glorious plans -for the future, but the sensational and emotional in -common incidents. A moment during the 'Tour to -the Hebrides' reveals the whole of what he meant:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I can never forget the impression made upon my -fancy by some of the ladies' maids tripping about -in neat morning dresses. After seeing for a long -time little but rusticity, their lively appearance pleased -me so much that I thought for a moment I could have -been a knight-errant for them. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>A knight-errant for a couple of Scotch maids! A -preposterous fancy! But none the less it is Boswell.</p> - -<p>It would be too large a task to deal here with all -the recorded affectation or extravagance of Boswell. -But we must not omit to mention one particular phase -of it. Consciously or unconsciously, Boswell in some -degree imitated Dr. Johnson—precisely in what -degree it is difficult to determine.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page191" id="page191"></a>[pg 191]</span></p> - -<p><span class="rightnote">IMITATION OF JOHNSON</span>The influence which Johnson had upon his faithful -follower has been discussed already. This must be -carefully distinguished from the imitation in question -now; for an influence is something acquired from the -manner and mind of another, assimilated and reproduced, -not as original but as genuine; an imitation -is, as it were, a garment put on, an adornment of -the outward person, reflecting no true sentiment -within.</p> - -<p>Though Johnson had a real moral influence upon -Boswell, some of his remarks, and especially some of -the pious exclamations, such as those we have quoted, -were of the latter kind. We find passages in the -'Life' when Boswell makes truly Johnsonian remarks; -as on the occasion when, in a discussion about the -freedom of the will, Dr. Mayo alluded to the distinction -between moral and physical necessity, and Boswell -replied: 'Alas! Sir, they come both to the same thing. -You may be bound as hard by chains when covered -by leather, as when the iron appears'; or when he -said in answer to Dr. Johnson's remark that he had -<i>downed</i> Dr. Robertson with the King of Prussia, -'Yes, Sir, you threw a <i>bottle</i> at his head.'</p> - -<p>When actually in his presence, it is clear from -Fanny Burney's account that Boswell imitated Dr. -Johnson:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -He had an odd mock-solemnity of tone and manner -that he had acquired imperceptibly from constantly -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page192" id="page192"></a>[pg 192]</span> -thinking of and imitating Dr. Johnson, whose own -solemnity, nevertheless, far from mock, was the result -of pensive rumination. There was, also, something -slouching in the gait and dress of Mr. Boswell that -wore an air, ridiculously enough, of purporting to -personify the same model. His clothes were always -too large for him; his hair, or wig, was constantly in -a state of negligence; and he never for a moment sat -still or upright upon a chair. Every look and movement -displayed either intentional or voluntary imitation. -Yet certainly it was not meant for caricature, -for his heart, almost even to idolatry, was in his -reverence for Dr. Johnson.<a id="footnotetag6.31" name="footnotetag6.31"></a><a href="#footnote6.31"><sup>31</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>It is a curious and striking picture, and we may -gather that there was always something odd and -laughable, and yet rather lamentable, about Boswell's -appearance. The effect of imitation he seems sometimes -half-conscious of producing, from the care with -which he accentuates in the 'Life' and the 'Tour' -any point of difference between Dr. Johnson and -himself. But it must be remembered that Miss -Burney's account is an account of particular circumstances—the -company was a large one, and not an -inner circle of more intimate friends of Boswell and -Johnson. We have no reason to suppose that Boswell's -behaviour, particularly his behaviour apart from -Dr. Johnson, was greatly affected by this strange -homage to his friend.</p> - -<p>It is clear in any case that affectation, however -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page193" id="page193"></a>[pg 193]</span> -<span class="rightnote">LITERARY SENTIMENTALITY</span> -much it may have taken a Johnsonian form, was -fundamental in Boswell's character; for we can see -it plainly before the date of that eventful meeting. -Johnson indeed had a marked aversion from the kind -of sentimentality which Boswell frequently indulged in, -and there is in it something which could not possibly -have been the effect of imitating Dr. Johnson. How -very far removed from anything which Johnson could -have done is the absurd conduct of Boswell (the best -instance, perhaps, of this kind of affectation in him) -when he visited Mr. Ireland and saw the fraudulent -Shakespeare papers:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -On the arrival of Mr. Boswell, the papers were as -usual placed before him, when he commenced his -examination of them; and being satisfied as to their -antiquity, as far as the external appearance would -attest, he proceeded to examine the style of the -language from the fair transcripts made from the -disguised handwriting. In this research Mr. Boswell -continued for a considerable length of time, constantly -speaking in favour of the internal as well as external -proofs of the validity of the manuscripts. At length, -finding himself rather thirsty, he requested a tumbler -of warm brandy and water; which having nearly -finished, he then redoubled his praises of the manuscripts; -and at length, arising from his chair, he made -use of the following expression: 'Well, I shall now -die contented, since I have lived to witness the present -day.' Mr. Boswell then, kneeling down before the -volume containing a portion of the papers, continued, -'I now kiss the invaluable relics of our bard: and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page194" id="page194"></a>[pg 194]</span> -thanks to God that I have lived to see them!' Having -kissed the volume with every token of reverence, Mr. -Boswell shortly after quitted Mr. Ireland's house.<a id="footnotetag6.32" name="footnotetag6.32"></a><a href="#footnote6.32"><sup>32</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>However absurd the behaviour of Boswell in the -<i>rôle</i> of a man of letters may seem to us when we understand -the feelings which prompted it, it is doubtful -whether it would have been sufficient alone to give -him the reputation of a fool. Extravagance of this kind -is not very commonly condemned if it is not seen to be -insincere, and though it is easy enough for us who are -in possession of all the records of his life to see the -imposture, it must have been more difficult for those -who knew Boswell to have a real interest in literature, -and to be already a man of letters, to understand that -he was posing as the literary man. His acquaintance -would more readily have called him a fool on account -of his vanity.</p> - -<p>We have all at bottom in some degree the love of -self, and vanity is the expression we apply to it when -it causes us in some way to lose our sense of proportion, -to see things, as it were, in a false perspective. -Self-love becomes vanity when we love ourselves -undeservedly, or when it makes necessary to us the -approbation of others. Usually when it has one -effect it has also the other.</p> - -<p>But Boswell was vain, not, like many people, of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page195" id="page195"></a>[pg 195]</span> -<span class="rightnote">VANITY</span> -qualities which he did not possess, or which, if he did -possess them, were no cause for self-congratulation, -but because he had an uncontrollable desire that -everyone else should know about his success and share -his wonder and admiration. It was not so much that -he exaggerated his importance, though he did that -sometimes, as that he exaggerated the importance to -other people of his importance. He not only desired -their applause as well as his own, but assumed, with -his curious ignorance of the mind of others in matters -which concerned himself, that what interested him -would naturally interest them.</p> - -<p>It was vanity of this kind which, more than anything -else, made a fool of Boswell. The insatiable -desire to be conspicuous which made him as a young -man publish what he must have known to be worthless, -appear at the Shakespeare Jubilee as Corsican Boswell, -and insert notices of his movements in the papers,<a id="footnotetag6.33" name="footnotetag6.33"></a><a href="#footnote6.33"><sup>33</sup></a> -did not diminish as one might expect with maturity, -but rather grew with his years. There is nothing -which he wrote so egotistical and vain as some passages -in those most serious documents which he addressed to -the 'People of Scotland upon the State of the Nation' -and to which were pinned his hopes of political honour. -In the letter of 1783 he says of himself:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -'For my own part, I should claim no credit, did I -not flatter myself that I practise what I now presume to -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page196" id="page196"></a>[pg 196]</span> -recommend. I have mentioned former circumstances, -perhaps of too much egotism, to show that I am no -time server; and at this moment, friends to whom -I am attached by affection, gratitude, and interest, -are zealous for the measure which I deem so alarming. -Let me add that a dismission of the Portland administration -will probably disappoint an object which I have -most ardently at heart. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The second letter alludes to the former one as -though it had almost created a revolution, and manages -in the same sentence to remind his readers that he had -the approval of Pitt and was himself descended from -an old Scotch family:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I had the happiness to find my letter received not -only with indulgence, but with a generous warmth of -heart I can never forget, but to the latest moment of -my life shall most gratefully remember. The fire -of loyalty was kindled. It flew through our counties -and our boroughs. The King was addressed: the -Constitution was saved. I was proud to have been -able thus <i>ciere viros</i>; prouder still than of receiving -the applause of the <i>Minister of the Crown</i>, which he -was pleased to convey to me in a very handsome -letter; upon which, however, I set a high value, -considering not only the Minister, but the man; and -accordingly it shall be preserved in the archives of my -family. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>In the same pamphlet Boswell refers to his wife's -aristocratic connections, and intrudes an assertion of -his domestic felicity which could have no bearing on -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page197" id="page197"></a>[pg 197]</span> -<span class="rightnote">ABSURDITY IN PUBLIC</span> -the political theme. He wishes to appear as 'the friend -of Lord Eglintoun':</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Amongst those friends I myself am one of the -warmest, both as an enthusiast for ancient feudal -attachments, and as having the honour and happiness -to be married to his Lordship's relation, a true Montgomerie, -whom I esteem, after fifteen years, as on the -day when she gave me her hand. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>This declaration satisfied in some strange manner -a personal vanity, and was also no doubt intended to -enlist the support of his Lordship.</p> - -<p>But by far the most remarkable story of Boswell's -absurdities is one told by John Taylor, editor of the -<i>Sun</i>, about his behaviour at a public dinner:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I remember dining with him at Guildhall in 1785, -when Alderman Boydell gave his grand civic festival -on being raised to the mayoralty. Mr. Pitt honoured -the table on that occasion with his presence, and, when -the company removed to a room, in a short time Mr. -Boswell contrived to be asked to favour the company -with a song. He declared his readiness to comply, -but first delivered a short preface, in which he observed -that it had been his good fortune to be introduced to -several of the potentates and most of the great characters -of Europe, but with all his endeavours he had never -been successful in obtaining an introduction to a -gentleman who was an honour to his country, and -whose talents he held in the highest esteem and -admiration. It was evident to all the company that -Mr. Boswell alluded to Mr. Pitt, who sat with all the -dignified silence of a marble statue, though, indeed, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page198" id="page198"></a>[pg 198]</span> -in such a situation he could not but take the reference -to himself. Mr. Boswell then sang a song of his own -composition, which was a parody on Dibdin's 'Sweet -Little Cherub,' under the title of 'A Grocer of London,' -which rendered the reference to Mr. Pitt too evident -to be mistaken, as the great minister was then a -member of the Grocers' Company. This song Mr. -Boswell, partly volunteering and partly pressed by -the company, sang at least six times, insomuch that -Mr. Pitt was obliged to relax from his gravity and join -in the general laugh at the oddity of Mr. Boswell's -character.<a id="footnotetag6.34" name="footnotetag6.34"></a><a href="#footnote6.34"><sup>34</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The value of this tale as evidence of Boswell's -behaviour and character depends in some degree -upon the extent of his potations. Though he may -have had the audacity to do such things when in a -normal condition, it must have been easier to do them -when tipsy. It may be judged, from the continuation -of Dr. Taylor's story, that a part of Boswell's confidence -in the presence of Mr. Pitt was due to the festivity of -the occasion:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Boswell and I came away together, both in so -convivial a mood that we roared out all the way 'The -Grocer of London,' till we reached Hatton Garden, -where I then resided, to the annoyance of many watchmen -whom we roused from their peaceful slumbers, -without, however, being taken into custody for disturbing -their repose.... I met him the next day -about twelve o'clock near St. Dunstan's Church, as -fresh as a rose. -</p></blockquote> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page199" id="page199"></a>[pg 199]</span></p> - -<p><span class="rightnote">THE GROCERS' DINNER</span>Fitzgerald, after quoting this account of the -mayoralty dinner, continues:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -This ludicrous exhibition was much talked of and -laughed at. To heighten the absurdity, his Liberal -friends affected to be shocked at his want of principle, -in singing praises of the 'Grocer,' whom he had been -heard to abuse. They were enchanted to find him rise -to the bait, and thus vindicate himself: 'Pray -let them know that I am vain of a hasty composition -which has procured me large draughts of -the popular applause in which I delight. Let me add -that there was certainly no servility on my part, for I -publicly declared in Guildhall, between the encores, -"that this same Grocer had treated me arrogantly and -ungratefully, but that, from his great merit as a -minister, I was compelled to support him." The time -will come when I shall have a riper opportunity to -show, that in one instance, at least, the man has -wanted wisdom.' -</p></blockquote> - -<p>He goes on to explain that Boswell gained a good deal -of notoriety from the escapade, which was alluded to -in a popular satirical poem of the time.</p> - -<p>It is easy indeed to understand the motives of -Boswell. His childish and unrestrained love of merriment, -his insatiable desire to be the wag and the -buffoon, enabled him to give vent in the most mirthful -fashion to his passion for self-advertisement, to explain -how he had been honoured by the attention of kings -and how he intended to have an introduction to the -great Minister; and with all this he retained a certain -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page200" id="page200"></a>[pg 200]</span> -fundamental honesty about himself, so that he was -compelled to exclaim between the encores 'that this -same Minister had treated me arrogantly and ungratefully.' -He understood so little what was the -opinion of the company about him that he seems to -have believed that he was recommending himself to a -patron, and he was so vain that he was undoubtedly -proud of what must have been an absurd composition.</p> - -<p>Boswell indeed was very fond of writing humorous -verse.<a id="footnotetag6.35" name="footnotetag6.35"></a><a href="#footnote6.35"><sup>35</sup></a> The instinct in him was the natural result of -his animal spirits; the need to be laughing, which he -felt so strongly at most times when he was not depressed -and melancholy, fixed upon the smallest objects as -suitable for his wit, and he was satisfied only by some -form of expression. The reason that he collected in -his commonplace-book a number of 'good things,' -as he would call them, is not so much that he was -proud of his own sayings (for those of others are also -treasured) or that he wished to preserve them for -posterity, though both these feelings were present, -as that his huge enjoyment of anything witty must -be recorded to be satisfied.</p> - -<p>It is remarkable, when we recollect what a large -sense of humour he had, that many of his verses and -of his jokes should be so dull and colourless. But -the faculty for appreciating what is amusing is very -different from the capacity for originating it. It is -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page201" id="page201"></a>[pg 201]</span> -<span class="rightnote">HUMOROUS VERSE</span> -the difference between humour and wit. The latter -involves the power of expression; and a man may as -easily be full of humour, without making a joke, as -he may be by nature a poet without ever writing a -line of good poetry. Boswell had some wit, but not -very much—far less than anyone would imagine -merely from reading the 'Life' or the 'Tour.' His -position perhaps is not unlike that of several poets -who have written some stanzas and stray lines of -a rare beauty, and are none the less poets because -they have written also much that seems quite -unpoetical.</p> - -<p>A specimen of Boswell's humorous verse is printed -in the 'Life.' He had dined one evening at Lord -Montrose's and afterwards went to Miss Monckton's, -where 'a great number of persons of the first rank' -were assembled, in a state of improper elevation. -'Next day,' says Boswell, 'I endeavoured to give -what had happened the most ingenious turn I could, -by the following verses:</p> - -<div class="poem width21"> <div class="stanza"> -<p>Not that with th' excellent Montrose</p> -<p class="i2">I had the happiness to dine;</p> -<p>Not that I late from table rose,</p> -<p class="i2">From Graham's wit, from generous wine.</p> - </div><div class="stanza"> -<p>It was not these alone which led</p> -<p class="i2">On sacred manners to encroach;</p> -<p>And made me feel what most I dread,</p> -<p class="i2">Johnson's just frown, and self-reproach.</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page202" id="page202"></a>[pg 202]</span> - </div><div class="stanza"> -<p>But when I entered, not abash'd,</p> -<p class="i2">From your bright eyes were shot such rays,</p> -<p>At once intoxication flash'd,</p> -<p class="i2">And all my frame was in a blaze:</p> - </div><div class="stanza"> -<p>But not a brilliant blaze I own,</p> -<p class="i2">Of the dull smoke I'm yet asham'd;</p> -<p>I was a dreary ruin grown,</p> -<p class="i2">And not enlighten'd though enflam'd.</p> - </div><div class="stanza"> -<p>Victim at once to wine and love,</p> -<p class="i2">I hope, Maria, you'll forgive;</p> -<p>While I invoke the powers above,</p> -<p class="i2">That henceforth I may wiser live.</p> - </div> </div> - -<p>Certainly this is amusing in some degree, and -amusing too in an original way; but much of it is -mere rhyming without any sort of wit. Boswell -could be as banal as anyone. An ode ('Horatian -Ode,' he calls it) to Charles Dilly, which is chiefly -concerned with one Dr. Lettsom, frequently the host -of both Boswell and Dilly, exhibits the author of -humorous verse at his worst; it will be enough to -quote one stanza:</p> - -<div class="poem width21"> <div class="stanza"> -<p>And guests has he in ev'ry degree</p> -<p class="i2">Of decent estimation.</p> -<p>His liberal mind holds all mankind,</p> -<p class="i2">As an extended nation.</p> - </div> </div> - -<p>Boswell's <i>mots</i> are of a common eighteenth-century -type. The turn of phrase admired by both -Johnson and Boswell and most of their contemporaries -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page203" id="page203"></a>[pg 203]</span> -<span class="rightnote">JOKES IN 'BOSWELLIANA'</span> -was the image. In 'Boswelliana' is a story of -Boswell's introduction to Scotch lawyers: 'Boswell -had a great aversion to the law, but forced -himself to enter upon that laborious profession in -compliance with the anxious desire of his father, for -whom he had the greatest regard. After putting on -the gown he said with great good humour to his brother -advocates, 'Gentlemen, I am prest into the service -here; but I have observed that a prest man, either by -sea or land, after a little time does just as well as a -volunteer.'</p> - -<p>That is Boswell at his best.</p> - -<p>Here is another specimen of Boswell's wit: 'A -modern man of taste found fault with the avenues -at Auchinleck, and said he wished to see straggling -trees. 'I wish,' said Boswell, 'I could see straggling -fools in this world.'</p> - -<p>That is Boswell at his worst.</p> - -<p>Why a man who had so much natural humour as -Boswell had should have failed so completely to -discriminate when his own wit was in question must -remain as much a problem to us as is the failure of -many a poet to criticise his own writings—the explanation -may be perhaps that it requires some special -effort of the mind which can but rarely be made -and which is impossible after the moment of composition. -Boswell certainly seems to have had a -high opinion of his efforts to be witty; his verses to -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page204" id="page204"></a>[pg 204]</span> -Miss Monckton are inserted in the 'Life' with evident -pride, and without any excuse of some connection with -Johnson such as he usually makes when alluding -to his own performances, and he seems frequently -to have sung the songs which he composed, obtaining, -no doubt, in this way the 'conspicuousness' which he -desired.<a id="footnotetag6.36" name="footnotetag6.36"></a><a href="#footnote6.36"><sup>36</sup></a></p> - -<p>The enjoyment which Boswell had in public at -Stratford and at the mayoralty dinner and in private, -no doubt, on many occasions of which unfortunately -we have no account, is perhaps best illustrated and -best understood from a single sentence of his own in -one of the 'Letters to Temple':</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I was the great man (as we used to say) at the late -Drawing-Room, in a suit of imperial blue lined with -rose-coloured silk, and ornamented with rich gold-wrought -buttons. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>For the eagerness which Boswell had to reveal to -others anything about himself which he was proud of, -and a sort of inevitable obtrusiveness in him, Johnson -with his usual shrewdness found an excellent parallel -which is faithfully recounted in the 'Life':</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Once when checking my boasting too frequently -of myself in company, he said to me, 'Boswell, you -often vaunt so much as to provoke ridicule. You -put me in mind of a man who was standing in the -kitchen of an inn with his back to the fire, and thus -accosted the person next him, "Do you know, sir, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page205" id="page205"></a>[pg 205]</span> -<span class="rightnote1">GULLIBILITY</span> -who I am?" "No, sir," said the other, "I have -not that advantage." "Sir," said he, "I am the <i>great -Twalmley</i>, who invented the New Floodgate Iron."' -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Endowed with these qualities of unsuspecting -simplicity and open-mouthed vanity, Boswell naturally -became, as we have seen, an object of mirth to his -fellow-lawyers. When they took away his wig he did -indeed half suspect a trick; but how confident and -innocent and entirely unsuspicious he is when he -boldly pleads for the writ, '<i>Quare adhaesit pavimento</i>.' -His own story of the storm during the sail to Mull, told -in the 'Tour to the Hebrides,' illustrates perhaps -better than any other the childish confidence of his -conduct. Boswell, though filled with undisguised -terror, still ardently wished to play the man and be -the hero, and he thought, no doubt, as he stood holding -the rope in expectation of the captain's command, that -the post assigned to him was one of vital importance.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -As I saw them all busy doing something, I asked -Col, with much earnestness, what I could do. He, -with a happy readiness, put into my hand a rope, -which was fixed to the top of one of the masts, and -told me to hold it till he bade me pull. If I had -considered the matter, I might have seen that this -could not be of the least service; but his object was -to keep me out of the way of those who were busy -working the vessel, and at the same time to divert my -fear by employing me and making me think that I was -of use. Thus did I stand firm to my post, while the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page206" id="page206"></a>[pg 206]</span> -wind and rain beat upon me, always expecting a call -to pull my rope.' -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The vanity and simplicity of Boswell no doubt -obtruded themselves very frequently in his behaviour; -and they caused a certain expansiveness and recklessness -of conversation which would be interpreted at -once as thoughtless and foolish. We have an admirable -glimpse into the kind of atmosphere produced -by his talk in a story which he tells of a snub he received -from Colman:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I was then so impressed with the truth of many -of the stories of which I had been told, that I avowed -my conviction, saying, 'He is only <i>willing</i> to believe; -I <i>do</i> believe. The evidence is enough for me, though -not for his great mind. What will not fill a quart -bottle will fill a pint bottle. I am filled with belief.' -'Are you?' said Colman, 'then cork it up.'<a id="footnotetag6.37" name="footnotetag6.37"></a><a href="#footnote6.37"><sup>37</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>'His social propensities,' says Sir J. Prior, 'were -well known ... he opens his mind so freely that we -discover much of what is passing there, even when the -disclosure is not meant.'<a id="footnotetag6.38" name="footnotetag6.38"></a><a href="#footnote6.38"><sup>38</sup></a> Boswell, indeed, talked very -readily even upon the most serious subjects. About -morals and religion he was continually questioning -Dr. Johnson, and most of all about what to the other -was a peculiarly sacred and awful thing, the fear of -death. The topics were introduced apparently without -any particular reason or fitness, but just as it occurred -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page207" id="page207"></a>[pg 207]</span> -<span class="rightnote">TACTLESSNESS</span> -to Boswell that he might elicit some response from -Johnson upon questions about which it was essential -to his purpose that he should hear the doctor's views: -and they were introduced too not merely in private -converse but when a number of people were present.</p> - -<p>It seems clear that Boswell was sometimes very -tactless in leading Johnson to talk; he did not understand -that not every company nor every occasion is -suitable for the discussion of the most serious matters. -He had, too, an unfortunate habit of saying things -which were extremely injudicious. He did not even -understand altogether what was likely to annoy Dr. -Johnson—as on the occasion when he referred to him -in company by the name 'Gargantua,' which Johnson -had spoken of as having been applied to himself, or -when he made what must have been an obvious -reference to Johnson's curious clothes: 'Would not -<i>you</i>, sir, be the better for velvet embroidery?' -These remarks were made, it is evident, without any -malevolent intention. It would seem that even -when he meant to be rude he did not realise all the -harm he was doing: Hume was with some justice -annoyed when Boswell quoted the phrase of Temple, -'their infidel pensioner, Hume;'<a id="footnotetag6.39" name="footnotetag6.39"></a><a href="#footnote6.39"><sup>39</sup></a> and it was introduced -just as a child might say in some personal -argument, 'I know what someone said of <i>you</i>'; and -Foote can never have felt much friendship for Johnson -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page208" id="page208"></a>[pg 208]</span> -after he heard that the latter had compared his -infidelity to that of a dog.<a id="footnotetag6.40" name="footnotetag6.40"></a><a href="#footnote6.40"><sup>40</sup></a> The company in both cases -may have been glad to see Boswell defend his friend, -but they must have thought him a considerable fool and -hardly a harmless one.</p> - -<p>Nor was it merely from his disregard of what was -appropriate that his conversation might be thought -foolish, but rather because a man who is very ready -to talk of his most intimate thoughts and feelings is -usually supposed to be a fool.</p> - -<p>Boswell certainly had far more candour than most -men, and he had also a far greater curiosity and -interest in mankind, which made him ready to talk -like a child of things about which many men prefer -to be silent. But it would seem, too, that though -far from incapable of feeling deep emotion he was -unaffected where most of us would be touched. 'He -was a boy longer than others,' and this perhaps is -the explanation.</p> - -<p class="footnote1"><a id="footnote6.1" name="footnote6.1"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.1">1:</a> -<i>Letters to Temple</i>, pp. 146-7.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.2" name="footnote6.2"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.2">2:</a> -<i>Letters to Temple</i>, p. 157.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.3" name="footnote6.3"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.3">3:</a> -<i>Letters to Temple</i>, p. 250.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.4" name="footnote6.4"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.4">4:</a> -<i>European Magazine</i>, 1798, p. 376.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.5" name="footnote6.5"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.5">5:</a> -For an account of Lord Lonsdale <i>v.</i> Sir George Trevelyan's <i>Life of Fox</i>.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.6" name="footnote6.6"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.6">6:</a> -Or possibly at the end of 1787—<i>v.</i> Nichols' <i>Illustrations</i>, vii. 310. -The <i>Dictionary of National Biography</i> gives 1790, and Dr. -Rogers 1789. But Bishop Percy's letter of congratulation (printed -in Nichols) was dated 1788. The year is undoubtedly correct, for -it refers to a letter of Boswell's dated Feb. 9, 1788, and in this letter -Boswell speaks of the forthcoming publication of Johnson's letters -to Mrs. Piozzi, which were published actually in 1788.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.7" name="footnote6.7"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.7">7:</a> -<i>Letters to Temple</i>, pp. 268-9.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.8" name="footnote6.8"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.8">8:</a> -<i>Life of Johnson</i>, iv. 265.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.9" name="footnote6.9"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.9">9:</a> -Fitzgerald's <i>Life of Boswell</i>, II, 16.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.10" name="footnote6.10"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.10">10:</a> -<i>Letters to Temple</i>, p. 244.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.11" name="footnote6.11"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.11">11:</a> -<i>Ib.</i>, p. 244.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.12" name="footnote6.12"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.12">12:</a> -<i>Ib.</i>, p. 249.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.13" name="footnote6.13"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.13">13:</a> -<i>Gentleman's Magazine</i>, June 1795, and <i>Nichols' Literary -Anecdotes</i>, ii, pp. 400-2.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.14" name="footnote6.14"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.14">14:</a> -<i>Letters to Temple</i>, p. 29.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.15" name="footnote6.15"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.15">15:</a> -<i>Ib.</i>, p. 43.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.16" name="footnote6.16"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.16">16:</a> -<i>Ib.</i>, p. 190, and <i>Tour to Corsica</i>.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.17" name="footnote6.17"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.17">17:</a> -<i>Letters to Temple.</i></p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.18" name="footnote6.18"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.18">18:</a> -March 3, 1778.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.19" name="footnote6.19"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.19">19:</a> -<i>Letters to Temple</i>, p. 88.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.20" name="footnote6.20"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.20">20:</a> -<i>Letters to Temple</i>, p. 162.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.21" name="footnote6.21"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.21">21:</a> -<i>Ib.</i>, p. 158.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.22" name="footnote6.22"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.22">22:</a> -<i>Ib.</i>, p. 63.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.23" name="footnote6.23"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.23">23:</a> -<i>Letters to Temple</i>, p. 148.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.24" name="footnote6.24"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.24">24:</a> -<i>Ib.</i>, p. 4.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.25" name="footnote6.25"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.25">25:</a> -<i>Life of Johnson</i>, iv, 122.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.26" name="footnote6.26"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.26">26:</a> -<i>Letters to Temple</i>, p. 20.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.27" name="footnote6.27"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.27">27:</a> -<i>Ib.</i>, p. 195.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.28" name="footnote6.28"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.28">28:</a> -<i>Ib.</i>, p. 148.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.29" name="footnote6.29"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.29">29:</a> -<i>Ib.</i>, p. 24.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.30" name="footnote6.30"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.30">30:</a> -<i>Ib.</i>, p. 127.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.31" name="footnote6.31"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.31">31:</a> -<i>Diary of Madame D'Arblay</i>, i, p. 509.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.32" name="footnote6.32"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.32">32:</a> -<i>Ireland's Confessions</i>, pp. 95-6.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.33" name="footnote6.33"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.33">33:</a> -Prior's <i>Life of Goldsmith</i>, i, 449-50.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.34" name="footnote6.34"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.34">34:</a> -<i>Taylor's Records</i>, vol. i, 89, 90.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.35" name="footnote6.35"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.35">35:</a> -Fitzgerald's <i>Life of Boswell</i>, ii, 73-8.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.36" name="footnote6.36"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.36">36:</a> -Fitzgerald's <i>Life of Boswell</i>, ii, 76.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.37" name="footnote6.37"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.37">37:</a> -<i>Life of Johnson</i>, ii, 318.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.38" name="footnote6.38"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.38">38:</a> -Prior's <i>Life of Goldsmith</i>, i, 452-3.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote6.39" name="footnote6.39"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.39">39:</a> -<i>Letters to Temple</i>, p. 165.</p> - -<p class="footnote1b"><a id="footnote6.40" name="footnote6.40"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag6.40">40:</a> -<i>Life of Johnson</i>, ii, 95.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page209" id="page209"></a>[pg 209]</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3 class="space-above5">CHAPTER VII</h3> -</div> - -<p>Nothing in Boswell's life became him so well as his -second important publication, 'The Journal of a Tour -to the Hebrides.' The event took place in 1785, -not many months after Johnson's death, and less -than twelve years after the eventful journey when -Johnson was displayed to his biographer's countrymen. -The 'Tour' has already been mentioned here -as an episode in Boswell's remarkable friendship. It -was an episode, besides, in Boswell's life; it decided -his destiny.</p> - -<p>In the year 1785 Boswell was in the midst of his -political schemes and ambitions. It was exactly in -this period of his life that it was most important for -him to win respect. Yet the 'Journal' revealed the -whole severity of Johnson's criticisms upon Scotland -and the Scotch; Boswell's position among his countrymen -was certain to suffer, and did suffer very much -by its publication. His candour triumphed by the -event. His real self was expressed without compromise, -at the expense of the respectable self which -he cherished and cultivated. It matters very little -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page210" id="page210"></a>[pg 210]</span> -how much Boswell foresaw the consequence. Probably -he was not altogether unsuspicious, for Malone -was at his side, and Malone was a man of the world.<a id="footnotetag7.1" name="footnotetag7.1"></a><a href="#footnote7.1"><sup>1</sup></a> -In any case he did publish this amazing book, and he -published it at a critical time. Just when he seemed -to be deserting his genius and drifting into a world -that was never intended for him, the vital truth of -Boswell proved that it was irrepressible and saved -him for Johnson, for himself, and for posterity.</p> - -<p class="centerf">.<span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span></p> - -<p>Johnson and Boswell were typical travellers of the -eighteenth century. They went in no romantic spirit -to see the beauties of Nature in remote corners of the -earth. 'He always said,' reports Boswell of the -Doctor, 'that he was not come to Scotland to see fine -places, of which there were enough in England, but -wild objects, mountains, waterfalls, peculiar manners—in -short, things which he had not seen before. I have -a notion that he at no time has had much taste for -rural beauties. I have myself very little.' This is -a clear statement. They looked at 'wild objects' -because they were unusual, and eschewed almost entirely -scenery of a tamer spirit. They were interested -in 'manners.' The Journal bears out this statement. -Observations about the people of the country are part -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page211" id="page211"></a>[pg 211]</span> -<span class="rightnote">TOUR TO THR HEBRIDES</span> -of the traveller's stock-in-trade, and they seem even -to be one of the <i>raisons d'être</i> of Boswell's book. In -the same way the Journal is filled with archæological -and historical speculations. Johnson's journey to -the Western Islands is far more so, and seems to have -been written almost entirely from this point of view. -These were the absorbing interests of educated men, -and travel was expected to furnish the occasion for -'an ordered series of learned observations.' To be -convinced of the paramount importance of these -interests in the eighteenth century one has only to -glance at the periodicals of the time.</p> - -<p>But both Johnson and Boswell, especially the -latter, had, though they may have been scarcely -conscious of the fact, a far more important interest -in human nature. The Tour was admirably arranged -for its gratification. It consisted for the most part in -visits to the gentlemen of the country: the travellers -occasionally put up at an inn; but for the most part -they took advantage of Highland hospitality. Their -conversation therefore would naturally be concerned -very much with the qualities of their various hosts. -Now Boswell kept an elaborate and strictly diurnal -diary of which the most important item was -professedly the record of Dr. Johnson's talk. The -briefest reflection on the Doctor's manner and the -nature of his remarks must therefore reveal at once -the character of Boswell's Journal.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page212" id="page212"></a>[pg 212]</span></p> - -<p>Assuredly it is an amazing fact that this Journal -was published within twelve years of the Tour itself! -As we should expect, it is full of observations, many -of them condemnatory, about men and women who -were still living. 'Nowadays,' says Mr. Percy -Fitzgerald, 'we have been regularly trained to personality -by what are called the "Society papers," in -which the names of private persons as well as their -doings are recorded; still it would cause a commotion -if the conversation of some leading personage were -reported, in which persons still living were described -in such fashion as this: "A—— is a poor creature; -<i>he has no bottom</i>." "B—— is a thorough donkey, -talks a good deal of what he <i>thinks</i> to be sense," &c.'</p> - -<p>One instance will serve to illustrate the tone of -Boswell's Journal; it shows perhaps the ultimate -point of indiscretion which he reached, but is a fair -indication of his manner. One of the gentlemen who -entertained the two travellers was Sir Alexander -Macdonald: he had not, it appears, a reputation for -generosity.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -The penurious gentleman of our acquaintance, -formerly alluded to, afforded us a topick of conversation -to-night. Dr. Johnson said I ought to write -down a recollection of the instances of his narrowness -as they almost exceeded belief. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Boswell proceeds to relate a story to the effect -that the Highlander gave to an Irish harper a -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page213" id="page213"></a>[pg 213]</span> -valuable harp-key, because 'he could not find it in -his heart to give him any money.' Later, he discovered -its value and wished to have it back.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -<i>Johnson</i>: 'I like to see how avarice defeats itself; -how when avoiding to part with money the miser gives -something more valuable.' Col said the gentleman's -relations were angry at his giving away the harp-key, -for it had been long in the family. <i>Johnson</i>: -'Sir, he values a new guinea more than an old friend.' -</p></blockquote> - -<p>One can hardly imagine anything more offensive—unless -it were the story which follows it:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Col also told us that the same person having come -up with a serjeant and twenty men, working on the -high road, he entered into discourse with the serjeant -and then gave him sixpence for the men to drink. -The serjeant asked, 'Who is this fellow?' Upon -being informed, he said, 'If I had known who it was -I should have thrown it in his face.' <i>Johnson</i>: '... -he has not learnt to be a miser; I believe we must take -him apprentice.' <i>Boswell</i>: 'He would grudge giving -half a guinea to be taught.' <i>Johnson</i>: 'Nay, sir, -you must teach him <i>gratis</i>.' -</p></blockquote> - -<p>If the 'Tour to the Hebrides' is uniquely indiscreet, -it is only the more typical of Boswell. He -loved to be in the public eye and he was now notorious -beyond measure. The wags laughed, the injured Scotsmen -were angry, and the more respectable parts of -the community were profoundly shocked. A sheaf of -cartoons did justice to the humour of the situation. -Lord Macdonald was represented with uplifted stick, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page214" id="page214"></a>[pg 214]</span> -and the threatened author on his knees before him.<a id="footnotetag7.2" name="footnotetag7.2"></a><a href="#footnote7.2"><sup>2</sup></a> -'Johnson's Ghost' was depicted as appearing to the -terror-stricken Boswell and mournfully reproaching -him. In a series of twenty large caricatures the biographer -was represented in twenty absurd situations, -and each sketch had a quotation from his book. -Boswell at all events was the first in the field of all -who intended to write about Johnson, and no doubt -he was glad that all the world was aware of the fact.</p> - -<p>But Boswell did not mean to be notorious in this -fashion. He may have expected some ridicule, but not -ill-feeling; he was too good-humoured himself. Possibly -he satisfied his malice on more than one occasion; -but as a rule he had no intention of giving pain. The -admirable Dr. Beattie calls him 'a very good-natured -man,' and says he was convinced that Bozzy meant -no harm. Sir William Forbes said that he seemed -sorry for 'some parts,' and Boswell published his own -apology and defence in one of the notes of a later -edition:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Having found, on a revision of the first edition of -this work, that, notwithstanding my best care, a few -observations had escaped me, which arose from the -instant impression, the publication of which might -perhaps be considered as passing the bounds of strict -decorum, I immediately ordered that they should be -omitted in subsequent editions. I was pleased to -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page215" id="page215"></a>[pg 215]</span> -<span class="rightnote1">INDISCRETION, NOT ILL-NATURE</span> -find that they did not amount in the whole to a page. -If any of the same kind are yet left, it is owing to -inadvertence alone, no man being more unwilling to -give pain to others than I am. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>When Boswell says that he is unwilling to give pain -we may believe him unreservedly; there may have been -particular cases when he lowered himself to the satisfaction -of a grudge, but as a general statement it is true. -That Boswell was good-natured is incontestable: it is -admitted on all hands. 'Good-nature,' wrote Mr. -Courtenay, 'was highly predominant in his character. -He appeared to entertain sentiments of benevolence to -all mankind, and it does not appear to me that he ever -did, or could, injure any human being <i>intentionally</i>.' -Mr. Malone wrote a letter for the <i>Gentleman's -Magazine</i> vindicating Boswell's character after his -death. 'He had not only an inexhaustible fund of -good-humour and good-nature, but was extremely -warm in his attachments, and as ready to exert himself -for his friends as any man.' His untiring kindness -to Johnson might perhaps be refused as evidence that -he was 'ready to exert himself for his friends.' Towards -Temple and his wife also, from whom he had nothing -to gain, 'he always played,' as Mr. Seccombe remarks, -'a very friendly part'; 'he made Johnson known to -them, for instance; he took Paoli down to Mamhead, -he had Temple up to town and took him and his -daughter to Westminster Hall to see the trial of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page216" id="page216"></a>[pg 216]</span> -Warren Hastings. He took them more than once to -Sir Joshua's studio in Leicester Square, he acted -as godfather to one of the sons, and tipped another -who was at Eton.' But the most remarkable testimony -that Boswell had, as the French say, <i>le cœur -bon</i> is his will. We shall have to pay some attention -to this document in a later chapter: it shows that -Boswell could be remarkably considerate.</p> - -<p>Boswell wrote and published the 'Tour' with a -greedy enjoyment and uncontained expansiveness -entirely typical of him, and in amazing ignorance of -some of the strongest human feelings—of the proprietorship -that men feel with respect to their own lives -which surrounds them with a sacred halo of privacy, and -of their inordinate desire to appear more virtuous and -more successful than they are. He babbled of himself -as he babbled of others, not unconscious of the folly -that he committed and revealed, but not suspecting -that he would be called a fool for admitting his folly. -Truth, as these pages have already remarked, was of -supreme importance to Boswell, and was not to be -suppressed. He could hardly understand that plain -fact could hurt anyone. A pamphleteer who wished -to make Boswell ridiculous has suggested his attitude -in a picturesque manner: Lord Macdonald is supposed -to be threatening personal violence; Walcot writes:</p> - -<div class="poem width21"> <div class="stanza"> -<p>Treat with contempt the menace of this Lord.</p> -<p>'Tis Hist'ry's province, Bozzy, to record.</p> - </div> </div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page217" id="page217"></a>[pg 217]</span></p> - -<p><span class="rightnote">THE 'TOUR' COMPARED WITH 'LIFE'</span>There was fundamentally in Boswell's nature a -desire to record observations—a desire which overrode -his conventional aims and ambitions and, while decreasing -the possibility of his being a successful man, made -it certain that he would be a great one.</p> - -<p>All that Boswell meant by truth will be examined -later in connection with his biographical method. -'The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides' must be -criticised as a book along with the 'Life of Johnson' -and not apart from it. It is, in a sense, but a portion -of the larger work. The same genius, the same art, -has made two incomparable books. The later is more -discreet. 'I have been more reserved,' says Boswell. -But it is not less vividly life-like: 'I have managed -so as to occasion no diminution of the pleasure my -book should afford.' The 'Tour,' however—and this -is the one important difference—is concerned with -Johnson in an extraordinary phase of his life, and one -which is not treated in the larger work. Johnson is on -a holiday. The journey is called a 'jaunt.' And -the atmosphere of the 'jaunt' is reflected on every -page of the Journal. The freedom, the expectancy -and the high spirits of a travelling holiday to those -who very rarely enjoy one, the increased opportunities -to Boswell for observation and his unflagging interest -and pleasure in his great experiment—all these account, -and are sufficient to account, for the different effect -we feel in reading the 'Tour to the Hebrides': and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page218" id="page218"></a>[pg 218]</span> -most of those who perceive this difference will agree -that it is an additional charm.</p> - -<p class="centerf">.<span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span></p> - -<p>During the eight years of Boswell's life between the -ages of forty-two and fifty, several important events -happened beside the publication of the 'Tour to -the Hebrides.'</p> - -<p>It is unfortunate that for the greater part of this -period we have no letters from Boswell to Temple. -If there was any correspondence between them, none -has been preserved between the dates November 3rd, -1780, and January 5th, 1787. And so we hear no -private utterances about the death of Boswell's -father, by which he became Laird of Auchinleck, or -about the death of Johnson.</p> - -<p>It is not difficult to imagine the feelings of Boswell -about the first event. There can have been no great -sorrow as there had been no great affection; and there -must have been no little pleasure in becoming the head -of an ancient family and a man of property. It is a -sad thing if the records of this period have indeed been -lost, for they ought to have been peculiarly rich in -extravagant and pompous sayings.</p> - -<p>Of Johnson's value to Boswell we have already -spoken. It would be impossible to suppose that -Boswell did not realise his loss. He must have felt -when he visited London, as he continued to do in -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page219" id="page219"></a>[pg 219]</span> -<span class="rightnote">BEREAVEMENTS</span> -spite of his Scotch inheritance, that the central figure -was gone, and with it much of the zest of life in his -London circle. There was no doubt a yearning sometimes -for that rude strength, which had so much of -tenderness besides, and a lasting grief.</p> - -<p>Of Boswell's sorrows in later life, of his failure to -realise those 'towering hopes,' and consequent disappointment, -something has been said already in these -pages. It was not apparently until the autumn of -1789 that Boswell began to see that he was not destined -to succeed in the manner he wished—in politics and in -the law. The letters at this time were more frequent -than usual, and we are able to see how, earlier in the -year, he was quite hopeful about the future, but later -became despondent.</p> - -<p>A further reason depressed Boswell's spirits at this -time: in the summer of 1789 he lost his wife.<a id="footnotetag7.3" name="footnotetag7.3"></a><a href="#footnote7.3"><sup>3</sup></a> It is -greatly to the credit of Boswell that he was very deeply -affected by her death—to his credit, not because as a -husband he was able to retain affection for his wife -(for affections are not completely under our control), -but because he was able to appreciate a woman who -from his own accounts must have been a sensible, kind -woman, and one who treated him with a patient -consideration.</p> - -<p>Boswell was not a good husband, because he never -became in the ordinary sense domesticated; his home -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page220" id="page220"></a>[pg 220]</span> -was never to him the predominant interest. During -her last illness he seems to have realised that he might -have behaved better towards his wife, and to have felt -a true remorse:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -No man ever had a higher esteem or a warmer love -for a wife than I have for her. You will recollect, -my Temple, how our marriage was the result of an -attachment truly romantic; yet how painful is it -to me to recollect a thousand instances of inconsistent -conduct. I can justify my removing to the great -sphere of England, upon a principle of laudable ambition; -but the frequent scenes of what I must call -dissolute conduct are inexcusable; and often and -often when she was very ill, in London have I been -indulging in festivity with Sir Joshua Reynolds, -Courtenay, Malone, &c., and have come home late, -and disturbed her repose. Nay, when I was last at -Auchinleck, on purpose to soothe and console her, I -repeatedly went from home; and both on those -occasions, and when neighbours visited me, drank a -great deal too much wine.<a id="footnotetag7.4" name="footnotetag7.4"></a><a href="#footnote7.4"><sup>4</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>He was remorseful too after the death of his wife -that he had not been present to comfort her at the -end. And there was good reason. She, as he remarked, -would not have treated him so. But Boswell -must not be blamed too severely for this serious -omission. His wife was suffering with a disease from -which, though it was certain she would not recover, -there was no immediate prospect of release. Boswell -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page221" id="page221"></a>[pg 221]</span> -<span class="rightnote">GRIEF</span> -seems to have expected from the medical opinion that -her life would linger on longer than actually it did: -and, if it was not for pressing duties that he left his -wife, it was not for pleasure, but for the kind of activity -incident to the career he had chosen.</p> - -<p>Boswell was not unlike many people inasmuch as -he found out rather late in life the true value of his -wife, and was more sorry than could have been expected -when he no longer had her help and companionship; -he found perhaps that he had rated too highly -by comparison the greater intellectual stimulus of his -literary circle. His sorrow in any case, at her death, -whatever the proportion of remorse to the sense of -loss, is pleasant to see. There was so much affectation -in his character, that whenever he shows that he had -simple, genuine feelings—and he had them more -often than might be supposed—we must have some -regard for them, however commonplace they may be.</p> - -<p>Boswell was evidently quite miserable at his loss; -he was unrestrained in grief as he was in enjoyment, -and the tale of his woe was poured out to Temple in -the same fervid manner as the love affairs of earlier -years:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I am amazed when I look back. Though I often -and often dreaded this loss, I had no conception how -distressing it would be. May God have mercy on me! -I am quite restless and feeble and desponding.... I -have an avidity for death; I eagerly wish to be laid -by my dear wife; years of life seem insupportable.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page222" id="page222"></a>[pg 222]</span></p> - -<p>I cannot express to you, Temple [he writes in a later -letter], 'what I suffer from the loss of my valuable -wife and the mother of my children. While she -lived, I had no occasion to think concerning my -family; every particular was thought of by her, -better than I could. I am the most helpless of human -beings; I am in a state very much that of one in -despair.' -</p></blockquote> - -<p>It must not be thought that Boswell faced the world -in the sad and sometimes complaining vein in which -he wrote to Temple. There was no whining self-pity, -and no pride of the grievance, as might perhaps have -been expected, in his public attitude. 'It is astonishing -what force I have put upon myself since her death, -how I have entertained company, &c., &c.'<a id="footnotetag7.5" name="footnotetag7.5"></a><a href="#footnote7.5"><sup>5</sup></a> He no -doubt tried to be cheerful in company, and probably -he succeeded.</p> - -<p>The weakness of Boswell was shown in a different -way, by an increase of those vices which he had been -encouraged to resist by Johnson, and also, we may -suppose, by his wife. Johnson had said, long before the -bereavement: 'In losing her you would lose your sheet-anchor, -and be tost, without stability, by the waves of -life.' This prediction was fulfilled.</p> - -<p>Boswell had always been a self-indulgent man. -Before his marriage he was, as may be seen from the -letters, sexually self-indulgent. Whether he was so in -later years, or in what degree, it is difficult to determine; -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page223" id="page223"></a>[pg 223]</span> -<span class="rightnote">INTOXICATION</span> -he may have been alluding to this when he talks of -'little fondnesses,' and of being 'dissipated';<a id="footnotetag7.6" name="footnotetag7.6"></a><a href="#footnote7.6"><sup>6</sup></a> and -the fact that he says on one occasion that he had no -'confessions' to make rather suggests the possibility -that this may not always have been the case, though -he never actually confesses.</p> - -<p>But the particular form of his self-indulgence was -drunkenness. Besides frequent references to his habit -of drinking, there are, altogether, some half-dozen recorded -instances of Boswell being drunk or intoxicated, -and as they are referred to only because they had some -curious results they suggest that this was far from -being unusual. In the letters, Boswell records on -several occasions that he has been drinking too much -lately, or that he was becoming a drunkard.</p> - -<p>His mode of resisting what he quite well saw to -be an evil habit was to take a series of vows. It is -a method which seems to have had a curious appeal -for Boswell's nature. There was something to his -mind rather romantic about a vow: something heroic -in taking that great resolve, made so quickly to endure -for so long, something of the saintly penance; and -there was something of the martyr about one who had -bound himself in this way. In Boswell's drunkenness, -however, there was nothing romantic; it was rather -sordid; and he was neither saint, nor hero, nor martyr, -for the vows, even if they could have made him all -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page224" id="page224"></a>[pg 224]</span> -these, were too frequently broken. There was no doubt -some serious effort on Boswell's part; but the impulse -of the moment was always too strong for him, and -the efforts which lasted too short a time were apparently -followed by grave relapses.</p> - -<p>Boswell's drinking habits had ill effects. Johnson, -when reminded of the headache which his companion -was wont to feel after sitting up with him, -exclaimed: 'Nay, Sir, it was not the <i>wine</i> that made -your head ache, but the sense that I put into it.' But -though the nature of Johnson's sense and of Boswell's -head may fortify the explanation, it was not the -common case; excess of alcohol was injurious to -Boswell's health.</p> - -<p>It has been pointed out with justice that Boswell's -melancholy was to some extent the result of this -excess. How much of it was affectation we cannot -easily tell. When Boswell first made his appearance -to the world as the young <i>littérateur</i>, he may have -hoped to increase the appearance of genius by assuming -hereditary hypochondria. But it must be remarked -that he seems, as far as we can judge, to have given -very little impression of ever being morose; it is on -the contrary his gaiety and good spirits that are always -emphasised. And we may at least suppose when, as -has been mentioned above, he entirely denies, in a -number of the 'Hypochondriack,' that genius and -melancholy have any particular connection, that he -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page225" id="page225"></a>[pg 225]</span> -<span class="rightnote">MELANCHOLY</span> -had by that time outgrown any affectation there may -originally have been. That one of Boswell's great -vivacity should sometimes be dejected, is really very -natural, and when we add to this his self-indulgent -habits, it is not hard to account for occasional -attacks of low spirits. Sir Walter Scott remarks:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -There was a variation of spirits about James Boswell -which indicated some slight touch of insanity. -His melancholy which he so often complained of to -Johnson was not affected but constitutional, though -doubtless he thought it a mark of high distinction to -be afflicted with hypochondria like his moral patron. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Malone too denies altogether 'that he caught from -Johnson a portion of his constitutional melancholy.' -'This was not the fact,' writes Malone. 'He had a -considerable share of melancholy in his own temperament; -and though the general tenour of his life was -gay and active, he frequently experienced an unaccountable -depression of spirits.'<a id="footnotetag7.7" name="footnotetag7.7"></a><a href="#footnote7.7"><sup>7</sup></a> It was natural -that Boswell's malady of depression should have -become worse towards the end of his life; not only -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page226" id="page226"></a>[pg 226]</span> -because habits of excess take their revenge upon -the constitution, but because these too are likely -to grow with the disease. The result of Boswell's -sorrows when his wife had died and his ambitions were -being thwarted was that he was driven still more to -drink.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I have drunk too much wine for some time past. I -fly to every mode of agitation.<a id="footnotetag7.8" name="footnotetag7.8"></a><a href="#footnote7.8"><sup>8</sup></a></p> - -<p>With grief continually at my heart, I have been -endeavouring to seek relief in dissipation and in -wine, so that my life for some time past has been -unworthy of myself, of you, and of all that is -valuable in my character and connections.<a id="footnotetag7.9" name="footnotetag7.9"></a><a href="#footnote7.9"><sup>9</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>It is a pitiable picture this, of a man's decay; -grief and self-indulgence reacted upon each other, -each of them adding something to the causes of -disappointment.</p> - -<p class="footnote1"><a id="footnote7.1" name="footnote7.1"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag7.1">1:</a> -Malone saw a sheet of the <i>Tour to the Hebrides</i> at the printer's -and was so much impressed that he obtained an introduction to -Boswell; he helped him in the final stage, both of this book -and the <i>Life</i>, and was eventually Boswell's first editor.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote7.2" name="footnote7.2"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag7.2">2:</a> -Sir Alexander became Lord Macdonald in 1776 (<i>Boswelliana</i>, p. 140).</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote7.3" name="footnote7.3"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag7.3">3:</a> -<i>Letters to Temple</i>, p. 246 <i>et seq.</i></p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote7.4" name="footnote7.4"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag7.4">4:</a> -<i>Letters to Temple</i>, p. 242.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote7.5" name="footnote7.5"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag7.5">5:</a> -<i>Letters to Temple</i>, p. 253.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote7.6" name="footnote7.6"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag7.6">6:</a> -<i>Letters to Temple</i>, p. 231.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote7.7" name="footnote7.7"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag7.7">7:</a> -'In a subsequent number of the <i>Gentleman's Magazine</i>,' says -Dr. Rogers in his <i>Memoir of J. B.</i>, 'Mr. Temple, under the signature of "Biographicus," -denied a statement by Mr. Malone that Boswell was of a melancholy temperament; he maintained -that he was quite otherwise prior to his attachment to Dr. Johnson.' It may be remarked, however, -that Boswell might have a constitutional melancholy without showing many signs of it before the -age of twenty-three; and that Temple after 1763 saw Boswell very seldom. Malone's view, therefore, -based upon an intimate connection with Boswell for some years at the end of his life, apart from -the fact that it was likely to be a wiser view, should carry more weight than that of Temple.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote7.8" name="footnote7.8"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag7.8">8:</a> -<i>Letters to Temple</i>, p. 255.</p> - -<p class="footnote1b"><a id="footnote7.9" name="footnote7.9"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag7.9">9:</a> -<i>Ib.</i>, p. 257.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page227" id="page227"></a>[pg 227]</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3 class="space-above5">CHAPTER VIII</h3> -</div> - -<p>There is one redeeming feature, the most important -feature of all, in the last years of Boswell's life.</p> - -<p>The biographer had gradually during the life of -Johnson relaxed his efforts in collecting material for -the <i>magnum opus</i>; we can see in the 'Life' how he -grew less industrious in recording conversations; for -though even in the later part many are preserved -at great length, he neglected to write up his journal -more often than in the early years of the friendship. -This was due no doubt in part to his drinking habits. -Conviviality of that kind has a curious effect upon the -memory. But Boswell had still very firmly the purpose -of writing the 'Life,' after Johnson had died, though -he was not the person chosen to do so by the literary -executors.<a id="footnotetag8.1" name="footnotetag8.1"></a><a href="#footnote8.1"><sup>1</sup></a></p> - -<p>The 'Life of Johnson' was published about six -years later than the 'Tour to the Hebrides,' in the -spring of 1791. The latter, it is clear from its nature, required -far less labour from the author than his <i>magnum -opus</i>: the whole scope of the book is infinitely smaller, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page228" id="page228"></a>[pg 228]</span> -and there was none of the endless trouble of collecting -and verifying the materials of others as in the great -biography; for the 'Tour' deals only with Johnson -as observed by Boswell himself during their journey -in the Hebrides. Boswell, moreover, had wanted to -publish his journal during Johnson's lifetime, and we -cannot doubt that he had written up a good deal. It -would be quite unjust therefore to say that the biographer -became more idle, as he was more dissipated, -after 1785. The reverse is nearer the truth. It is -remarkable and it is praiseworthy that Boswell, in -spite of his political schemes, the depression which -followed the death of his wife, and the illness which -was the consequence of his unhealthy habits of life -and in particular the habit of drink, should still -have worked hard at the 'Life.' He may have -become less regular, but he retained the energy of -earlier years.</p> - -<p>There was, in fact, in him the need to satisfy somehow -those better qualities. His intense belief in the -merit of his work and the almost endless trouble he -took to verify the accuracy of the smallest fact and to -discover the minutest information about Johnson—to -satisfy, in a word, his 'sacred love of truth'—are -the expression of this need within him. Sometimes, -indeed, he is despondent about his book: 'Many a -time have I thought of giving it up.' 'I am in such -bad spirits that I have every fear concerning it.' -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page229" id="page229"></a>[pg 229]</span> -<span class="rightnote">INDUSTRY IN WRITING</span> -Sometimes he feels the immensity of the labour without -the enthusiasm which has urged him on: 'Though I -am now in woeful indifference, I trust that before it is -finished a taste or relish shall return.' The vastness -of the task seems almost to weigh him down. In -November 1789 he writes to Temple explaining that -he cannot pay him a visit because he must stay in -London to receive Malone's help, Malone who is -'Johnsonianissimus,' in revising the 'Life':</p> - -<blockquote><p> -You cannot imagine what labour, what perplexity, -what vexation I have endured in arranging a prodigious -multiplicity of materials, in supplying omissions, in -searching for papers, buried in different masses, and all -this besides the exertion of composing and polishing: -many a time have I thought of giving it up. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>And yet he has the firmest conviction that the book -will be a masterpiece; it will be an unparalleled history -of a man; and for that reason of supreme importance -to the world:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -However, though I shall be uneasily sensible of -its many deficiencies, it will certainly be to the world -a very valuable and peculiar volume of biography, -full of literary and characteristical anecdotes <i>told with -authenticity and in a lively manner</i>. Would that it -were in the booksellers' shops! Methinks if I had this -<i>magnum opus</i> launched, the public has no further -claim upon me; for I have promised no more, and I -may die in peace, or retire into dull obscurity, -<i>reddarque tenebris</i>. -</p></blockquote> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page230" id="page230"></a>[pg 230]</span></p> - -<p>It is a curious mixture, this, of weariness and -optimism; it shows that there was something in -Boswell which drove him on, in spite of a good many -difficulties, though he himself (as we see in the last -sentence) understood little of its nature. 'The "Life -of Johnson,"' he says in another place, 'still keeps me -up; I must bring that forth.'<a id="footnotetag8.2" name="footnotetag8.2"></a><a href="#footnote8.2"><sup>2</sup></a></p> - -<p>At times his enthusiasm breaks out and he expresses -his real conviction of the supreme merit of -his work:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -The next [day] I am in Malone's study revising -my 'Life of Johnson,' of which I have the highest -expectations both as to fame and profit. I surely -have the art of writing agreeably. The Lord Chancellor -told me he had read every word of my Hebridean -Journal; he could not help it; adding, 'Could you -give a rule how to write a book that a man <i>must read</i>? -I believe Longinus could not.'<a id="footnotetag8.3" name="footnotetag8.3"></a><a href="#footnote8.3"><sup>3</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Boswell understood the scale and interest of his -book:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -In truth it is a view of much of the literature, -and many of the literary men, of Great Britain for -more than half a century.<a id="footnotetag8.4" name="footnotetag8.4"></a><a href="#footnote8.4"><sup>4</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>'I think,' he says, in the same letter to Temple, -'it will be without exception the most entertaining -book you ever read.' To Mr. Dempster he -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page231" id="page231"></a>[pg 231]</span> -<span class="rightnote">BELIEF IN HIS WORK</span> -said: 'I really think it will be the most entertaining -collection that has appeared in this age.'<a id="footnotetag8.5" name="footnotetag8.5"></a><a href="#footnote8.5"><sup>5</sup></a></p> - -<p>Boswell's belief in his own work was based not so -much upon his literary powers as upon his conception -of biography:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Mason's 'Life of Gray' is excellent, because it -is interspersed with letters which show us the <i>man</i>. -His 'Life of Whitehead' is not a life at all, because -there is neither a letter nor a saying from first to last. -I am absolutely certain that my mode of biography, -which gives not only a <i>history</i> of Johnson's <i>visible</i> -progress through the world, and of his publications, -but a <i>view</i> of his mind in his letters and conversations, -is the most perfect that can be conceived, and will -be more of a Life than any work that has ever yet -appeared.<a id="footnotetag8.6" name="footnotetag8.6"></a><a href="#footnote8.6"><sup>6</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>To Bishop Percy he writes in February 1788:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I do it chronologically, giving year by year his -publications, if there were any; his letters, his conversations, -and everything else that I can collect. It -appears to me that mine is the best plan of biography -that can be conceived; for my readers will, as near -as may be, accompany Johnson in his progress, and as -it were see each scene as it happened.<a id="footnotetag8.7" name="footnotetag8.7"></a><a href="#footnote8.7"><sup>7</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The conviction that Boswell had that his was the -best possible conception of biography seems never to -have been in doubt, though he might be sometimes -depressed or indifferent, and exactly the same -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page232" id="page232"></a>[pg 232]</span> -conception as that which we have seen in his letters -to Temple and Bishop Percy was expressed more -fully later in the 'Life' itself.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Instead of melting down my materials into one -mass, and constantly speaking in my own person, by -which I might have appeared to have more merit in -the execution of the work, I have resolved to adopt -and enlarge upon the excellent plan of Mr. Mason, in his -Memoirs of Gray. Wherever narrative is necessary -to explain, connect, and supply, I furnish it to the best -of my abilities; but in the chronological series of -Johnson's life, which I trace as distinctly as I can, -year by year, I produce, wherever it is in my power, -his own minutes, letters, or conversation, being convinced -that this mode is more lively, and will make my -readers better acquainted with him, than even most -of those were, who actually knew him, but could -know him only partially; whereas there is here an -accumulation of intelligence from various points, by -which his character is more fully understood and -illustrated.</p> - -<p>Indeed I cannot conceive a more perfect mode of -writing any man's life, than not only relating all the -most important events of it in their order, but interweaving -what he privately wrote, and said, and thought, -by which mankind are enabled as it were to see him -live, and to 'live o'er each scene' with him, as he -actually advanced through the several stages of his -life. Had his other friends been as diligent and ardent -as I was, he might have been almost entirely preserved. -As it is, I will venture to say that he will be seen in -this work more completely than any man who has -ever yet lived.</p> - -<p>And he will be seen as he really was; for I profess -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page233" id="page233"></a>[pg 233]</span> -<span class="rightnote1">IDEAL OF BIOGRAPHY</span> -to write not his panegyrick, which must be all praise, -but his Life; which, great and good as he was, must -not be supposed to be entirely perfect. To be as he -was, is indeed subject of panegyrick enough to any -man in this state of being; but in every picture there -should be shade as well as light, and when I delineate -him without reserve, I do what he himself recommended, -both by his precept and his example.<a id="footnotetag8.8" name="footnotetag8.8"></a><a href="#footnote8.8"><sup>8</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The 'Life' then is, as Boswell intended, a complete -picture of Johnson; complete, inasmuch as it gives a -picture of Johnson in every phase of his living, as the -writer, the talker, the correspondent, and most of all -simply as a man in his dealings with other men, and -in all these gives a living picture: complete especially -in this, that it gives not merely what there is to praise -in Johnson, but every little detail as it occurred, the -shade as well as the light.</p> - -<p>But Boswell had something further in his mind as -he wrote the 'Life.' He was, as we have said before, -essentially the moralist. He seems to have had a purpose -as he wrote, not only of not doing moral harm, -but of doing moral good. When he talks of the faults -of Dr. Johnson he does so with a kind of apology and -explanation, with quotations from the great moralist -himself, to show that to mention the vices of a famous -man may as well do good as harm:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -When I objected [evidently for the sake of -argument] to the danger of telling that Parnell drank -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page234" id="page234"></a>[pg 234]</span> -to excess, he said, that 'it would produce an instructive -caution to avoid drinking, when it was seen that even -the learning and genius of Parnell could be debased by -it.' And in the Hebrides he maintained, as appears -from my journal, that a man's intimate friend should -mention his faults, if he writes his life. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>After saying that 'it must not be concealed, that -like many other good and pious men, among whom we -may place the Apostle Paul upon his own authority, -Johnson was not free from propensities which were ever -"warring against the law of his mind," and that in his -combat with them, he was sometimes overcome,' he -gives a moral lecture to his readers:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -But let no man encourage or soothe himself in -'presumptuous sin,' from knowing that Johnson was -sometimes hurried into indulgences which he thought -criminal. I have exhibited this circumstance as a -shade in so great a character, both from my sacred -love of truth, and to shew that he was not so weakly -scrupulous as he has been represented by those who -imagine that the sins, of which a deep sense was on -his mind, were merely such little venial trifles as -pouring milk into his tea on Good Friday. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>In the 'Advertisement to the Second Edition,' -Boswell seems to go further:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -His strong, clear, and animated enforcement of -religion, morality, loyalty, and subordination, while it -delights and improves the wise and the good, will, -I trust, prove an effectual antidote to that detestable -sophistry which has been lately imported from France, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page235" id="page235"></a>[pg 235]</span> -<span class="rightnote1">MORAL APTITUDE</span> -under the false name of <i>Philosophy</i>, and with a malignant -industry has been employed against the peace, -good order, and happiness of society, in our free and -prosperous country; but thanks be to God, without -producing the pernicious effects which were hoped for -by its propagators. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>This history of the deeds and words and thoughts -of his hero is compared by Boswell to the Odyssey. -He seems almost to think that the merit of Homer's -epic lies in the good behaviour of Ulysses, just as he -conceives that the value of his own work is in the -excellence of Johnson:—</p> - -<div class="poem width21"> <div class="stanza"> -<p>——Quid virtus et quid sapientia possit,</p> -<p>Utile proposuit nobis exemplar Ulyssen.</p> - </div> </div> - -<p>It is not perhaps remarkable in itself that Boswell -should have had this attitude towards his work; it -is the attitude in some degree of most biographers, -the attitude especially of the age in which he lived, and -the attitude of Johnson himself. Boswell's principles -as a biographer are indeed the same as Johnson's. -We cannot suppose, when he has revealed so clearly his -supreme faculty for biography, that there was anything -of this which was not entirely his own. But he took the -trouble to find out on several occasions the opinions -of his great friend, to ask him about particular doubts -which troubled him from time to time, and obtain his -approval. He had a profound respect for Johnson's -manner of estimating character. Mr. Pennant, 'a -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page236" id="page236"></a>[pg 236]</span> -traveller in Scotland,' is censured in the 'Life' for a -book of travel which is compared to Johnson's 'Journey -to the Western Islands' and then quoted on the subject -of Johnson; the quotation speaks of 'the numerous -weaknesses and prejudices which his friends have -kindly taken care to draw from their dread abode.' -Boswell's note is:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -This is the common cant against faithful -biography. Does the worthy gentleman mean that -I, who was taught discrimination of character by -Johnson, should have omitted his frailties, and in -short, have <i>bedaubed</i> him, as the worthy gentleman -has bedaubed Scotland? -</p></blockquote> - -<p>It was also due in some degree to the influence -of Johnson that Boswell himself was so much a -moralist: it was something of the same influence, -it was in part the honest ruggedness which -exalted that morality, by denuding it of excessive -and affected sentiment, that enabled Boswell to be a -moralist without being (in the Johnsonian phraseology) -a canting moralist. Boswell, indeed, became a -moralist because he wanted to be respectable; but -he was not entirely respectable because he succeeded -in being a moralist. A man who is a moralist to the -extent that Boswell and Johnson were moralists may -be too respectable to be an honest biographer. It does -not become the stainless respectability of the moralist -to bring to light the blemishes of a man in a book; in -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page237" id="page237"></a>[pg 237]</span> -<span class="rightnote">HONEST BIOGRAPHY</span> -conversation that may be done; there is no harm in -a few people knowing; but it would be dangerous and -improper to reveal them in print to the public gaze; -and so it was not respectable in Boswell to say anything -about the sexual temptations of Johnson, and Miss -Burney and Hannah More would no doubt be shocked. -But the love of truth which Johnson nourished was -fundamental in Boswell, and it was irrepressible; we -know Johnson, chiefly for this reason, better than any -other man whose life has been recorded.</p> - -<p>It is remarkable for other reasons besides this—that -he was a moralist—that Boswell produced an -impartial biography. He was by no means free from -personal animosities. Sir John Hawkins had written -the official life at the request of Johnson's literary -executors, and Boswell, naturally, was jealous of him -on this account. A matter for greater irritation was -that Boswell himself had been almost entirely ignored,<a id="footnotetag8.9" name="footnotetag8.9"></a><a href="#footnote8.9"><sup>9</sup></a> -the one slighting mention of his name being worse than -no mention of his connection with Johnson. And -Mrs. Thrale also, who had published her 'Anecdotes,' -had alluded to Boswell only in one contemptuous -passage. Boswell therefore had the deliberate intention -of showing up the faults of these two rivals; a -long paragraph is introduced as early as possible, -explaining fully why the 'Life' by Sir John Hawkins -is a bad book, and ending thus:</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page238" id="page238"></a>[pg 238]</span></p> - -<blockquote><p> -There is throughout the whole of it a dark -uncharitable cast, by which the most unfavourable -construction is put upon almost every circumstance -in the character and conduct of my illustrious -friend; who, I trust, will, by a true and fair -delineation, be vindicated both from the injurious -misrepresentations of this author, and from the -slighter aspersions of a lady who once lived in great -intimacy with him.<a id="footnotetag8.10" name="footnotetag8.10"></a><a href="#footnote8.10"><sup>10</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The same lady was alluded to afterwards in a -note of peculiar malice:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I am obliged in so many instances to notice Mrs. -Piozzi's incorrectness of relation, that I gladly seize -this opportunity of acknowledging that, however -often, she is not always inaccurate. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>It was not only for his personal grievances that -Boswell was anxious to contradict Sir John Hawkins -and Mrs. Piozzi, but also because he had a different -conception of Johnson, a far more loving appreciation -and veneration, which was a reason in itself that he -should write the life of his friend; to vindicate his -character and express his admiration would be some -tribute to their long friendship. Boswell, indeed, always -retained something of the 'mysterious veneration' -of his early years. Johnson to him was always the -hero; he was the 'literary Colossus,' the 'Rambler,' -the 'awful and majestick Philosopher.' The thought -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page239" id="page239"></a>[pg 239]</span> -<span class="rightnote">REVERENCE</span> -that he might lose his reverence was a source of -anxiety to Boswell:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -In my interview with Dr. Johnson this evening, -I was quite easy, quite as his companion; upon which -I find in my journal the following reflection: 'So -ready is my mind to suggest matter for dissatisfaction -that I felt a sort of regret that I was so easy. I missed -that awful reverence with which I used to contemplate -Mr. Samuel Johnson, in the complex magnitude -of his literary, moral, and religious character. I have -a wonderful superstitious love of mystery.' -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Boswell, as a matter of fact, as we may see from the -'Life,' preserved his 'reverence,' and his view of -Johnson as the solemn and wise writer and moralist -has tinged the biography. He records a jovial mood -of Johnson's as a most extraordinary moment in a -man of his dignified character:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I have known him at times exceedingly diverted -at what seemed to others a very small sport. He now -laughed immoderately, without any reason that we -could perceive, at our friend's making his will; called -him the <i>testator</i>, and added, 'I daresay, he thinks -he has done a mighty thing.' ... In this playful -manner did he run on, exulting in his own pleasantry, -which certainly was not such as might be expected -from the authour of The Rambler, but which is here -preserved, that my readers may be acquainted even -with the slightest occasional characteristicks of so -eminent a man. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>He goes on to tell how Dr. Johnson 'could not stop -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page240" id="page240"></a>[pg 240]</span> -his merriment, but continued it all the way till he got -without the Temple Gate. He then burst into such -a fit of laughter that he appeared to be almost in a -convulsion; and, in order to support himself, laid hold -of one of the posts at the side of the foot pavement, -and sent forth peals so loud, that in the silence of the -night his voice seemed to resound from Temple Bar -to Fleetditch.' Boswell talks of the episode as -'this most ludicrous exhibition of the awful, melancholy, -and venerable Johnson.'</p> - -<p class="footnote1"><a id="footnote8.1" name="footnote8.1"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag8.1">1:</a> -Sir John Hawkins wrote the official life.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote8.2" name="footnote8.2"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag8.2">2:</a> -<i>Letters to Temple</i>, p. 252.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote8.3" name="footnote8.3"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag8.3">3:</a> -<i>Ib.</i>, p. 267.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote8.4" name="footnote8.4"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag8.4">4:</a> -<i>Ib.</i>, p. 265.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote8.5" name="footnote8.5"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag8.5">5:</a> -<i>Letters to Temple</i>, p. 338.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote8.6" name="footnote8.6"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag8.6">6:</a> -<i>Ib.</i>, p. 218.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote8.7" name="footnote8.7"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag8.7">7:</a> -Nichols' <i>Illustrations</i>, vii, 309.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote8.8" name="footnote8.8"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag8.8">8:</a> -<i>Life of Johnson</i>, i, 29-30.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote8.9" name="footnote8.9"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag8.9">9:</a> -<i>Memoirs of Sir J. Hawkins</i>, i, 235.</p> - -<p class="footnote1b"><a id="footnote8.10" name="footnote8.10"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag8.10">10:</a> -<i>Life of Johnson</i>, i, 28.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page241" id="page241"></a>[pg 241]</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3 class="space-above5">CHAPTER IX</h3> -</div> - -<p>It is remarkable, as we have observed, in view of his -personal animosities, and of his determination to prove -Dr. Johnson to be both a greater and a better man -than would appear from previous accounts, and to -be an extremely dignified man as fitted his own conception -of him, that Boswell should have presented a -complete picture of Johnson—that he should have -mentioned all the incidents from which he might -appear both a less important and a less pleasant -man—all the circumstances that might detract from -his dignity.</p> - -<p>The explanation which seems so simple and involves, -when we come to understand all that it means, -not only the exact shades of what the author said, but -many things that he refrained from saying, is that -Boswell in this particular sphere, the sphere of the biographer, -was entirely truthful. And truth meant far -more than that he did not distort the facts and did not -suppress them; it involved in him the capacity for -creating, the essential quality of his genius. Boswell -had in fact the scientific spirit and applied it to the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page242" id="page242"></a>[pg 242]</span> -greatest of all subjects, to human nature. He was, -in the first place, extremely accurate both in observing -and recording; he watched attentively and often; -and he described patiently what he had seen and -heard. The biographer's own pen has given us a -short account of his qualifications, as they appeared -to him, for the task of writing the life of Johnson:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -'As I had the honour and happiness of enjoying -his friendship for upwards of twenty years; as I had -the scheme of writing his life constantly in view; as -he was well apprised of this circumstance, and from -time to time obligingly satisfied my inquiries, by -communicating to me the incidents of his early years; -as I acquired a facility in recollecting and was very -assiduous in recording his conversation, of which the -extraordinary vigour and vivacity constituted one of -the first features of his character; and as I have -spared no pains in obtaining materials concerning him, -from every quarter where I could discover that they -were to be found, and have been favoured with the -most liberal communications by his friends; I flatter -myself that few biographers have entered upon such -a work as this, with more advantages; independent -of literary abilities, in which I am not vain enough -to compare myself with some great names who have -gone before me in this kind of writing.'<a id="footnotetag9.1" name="footnotetag9.1"></a><a href="#footnote9.1"><sup>1</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>With this statement we may heartily agree; but all -that it really says is that Boswell had opportunities, -and acquired a faculty, for <i>recording</i>. He had, besides, -a quite remarkable faculty of acute observation. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page243" id="page243"></a>[pg 243]</span> -<span class="rightnote">POWERS OF OBSERVATION</span> -All that he says of Johnson's appearance, his clothes, -his walk, that truly horrible paragraph about his -nails and knuckles, is admirable, because he tells us -in a few words exactly what is most characteristic. -The event of his first visit to Dr. Johnson was naturally -an occasion for Boswell to describe his hero:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -His brown suit of clothes looked very rusty; he -had on a little old shrivelled unpowdered wig, which -was too small for his head; his shirt-neck and -knees of his breeches were loose; his black worsted -stockings ill drawn up; and he had a pair of -unbuckled shoes by way of slippers. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>That is all! And what more or what less could -anyone want? In the 'Tour to the Hebrides' it is -recorded that</p> - -<blockquote><p> -He wore ... a very wide brown cloth great-coat, -with pockets which might have almost held the two -volumes of his folio 'Dictionary'; and he carried in -his hand a large English oak stick. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>What a difference it makes to our knowledge -of Johnson that we know these details! Boswell -compels us to see Johnson. Plenty of men would have -noticed what he noticed, but few would have presented -it so vividly. Boswell's superiority depends upon -his powers as an observer; he saw things clear and -strong, and so they are clear and strong for his readers.</p> - -<p>And Boswell excelled not only in painting the mere -exterior; he often alludes to the spirit that it expresses -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page244" id="page244"></a>[pg 244]</span> -with the same dexterity. 'Generally,' he says, -speaking of Johnson in the course of a dispute, 'when -he had finished a period, by which time he was a good -deal exhausted by violence and vociferation, he used -to blow out his breath like a whale. This I suppose -was a relief to his lungs; and seemed in him to be -a contemptuous mode of expression, as if he had -made the arguments of his opponents fly like chaff -before the wind.' We are told the physical details, -but so much more! The whole attitude of Johnson -is described. Similarly all the little touches, as when -Johnson 'sprung away with a kind of pathetick -briskness,' reveal his feelings with startling fidelity. -Perhaps most remarkable of all is the account of -Johnson's behaviour to his cat:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I never shall forget the indulgence with which he -treated Hodge, his cat: for whom he himself used to -go out and buy oysters, lest the servants having that -trouble should take a dislike to the poor creature.... -I recollect him one day scrambling up Dr. Johnson's -breast, apparently with much satisfaction, while my -friend, smiling and half-whistling, rubbed down his -back, and pulled him by the tail; and when I observed -he was a fine cat, saying, 'Why yes, Sir, but I have -had cats whom I liked better than this'; and then -as if perceiving Hodge to be out of countenance, -adding, 'but he is a very fine cat, a very fine cat -indeed.' -</p></blockquote> - -<p>We are pleased to find that Boswell has preserved -for us the motive of Johnson, 'lest the servants having -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page245" id="page245"></a>[pg 245]</span> -that trouble should take a dislike to the poor creature.'<a id="footnotetag9.2" name="footnotetag9.2"></a><a href="#footnote9.2"><sup>2</sup></a> -This is characteristic and interesting. But how -deeply satisfying it is to discover that poor Hodge, as -it appeared to Johnson, was 'out of countenance.'</p> - -<p>It is not, however, only because he observed so -accurately what was obviously relevant, as the appearance -of Johnson, or that he saw exactly what his -motives were, that Boswell was a good observer; the -range of his observation is equally remarkable. He -observed everything; no detail was too insignificant -for his attention. It was of vital importance for him -to record (in the 'Tour to the Hebrides') 'I slept in -the same room with Dr. Johnson. Each had a neat -bed, with Tartan curtains, in an upper chamber,' and -it is well that he did so; it is highly agreeable to -imagine Johnson and Boswell in this situation. It is -also interesting to know that Boswell, on the following -morning, found upon the table in their room a slip of -paper, on which Dr. Johnson had written these words: -'<i>Quantum cedat virtutibus aurum</i>'; and that when -Johnson turned his cup at Aberbrothick, where they -drank tea, he muttered '<i>Claudite jam rivos pueri</i>.' And -what an invaluable devotion it was that has preserved -for us so small a fact as this—that the book which -Johnson presented to a Highland lass was 'Cocker's -Arithmetic'!</p> - -<p>These details are ours not by the fortune of a -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page246" id="page246"></a>[pg 246]</span> -naturally endowed memory, but by the labour and -patience and attention that trained a mind to a point -of excellence. Miss Burney has left us an admirable -account of Boswell's deportment when in the act of -'memorandising' Dr. Johnson's conversation, and -from this we may see something of what it cost him -to observe and record and remember:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -In truth, when he met with Dr. Johnson, he -commonly forbore even answering anything that was -said, or attending to anything that went forward, lest -he should miss the smallest sound from that voice to -which he paid such exclusive, though merited, homage. -But the moment that voice burst forth, the attention -which it excited in Mr. Boswell amounted almost to -pain. His eyes goggled with eagerness; he leant his -ear almost on the shoulder of the Doctor; and his -mouth dropped open to catch every syllable that might -be uttered; nay, he seemed not only to dread losing a -word, but to be anxious not to miss a breathing, -as if hoping from it, latently or mystically, some -information. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Miss Burney had no admiration for Boswell, and -the effect of this description is merely grotesque. It -is probable that Boswell was not so wholly unconscious -of self in this performance as Miss Burney seems -to have thought. His behaviour appears to have been -absurd, in a degree unnecessary alike to his curious -character and his extraordinary task. It is possible -that Boswell, aware that his minute attention to Dr. -Johnson was a rather laughable affair, tried by a sort -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page247" id="page247"></a>[pg 247]</span> -<span class="rightnote">CONCENTRATION</span> -of buffoonery to avoid the natural consequence. -Boswell, when he imitates Dr. Johnson in his presence, -and when his eyes goggle with eagerness, was perhaps -attempting to divert the company by caricaturing -what was already ridiculous.</p> - -<p>But however that may be, Miss Burney's account is -no doubt faithful enough as regards the original motive -of the biographer's behaviour; his eyes goggled with a -genuine eagerness. That exclusive attention was the -attention of one who had a difficult task to perform -and was extremely anxious to perform it.</p> - -<p>Boswell's infinite capacity for concentration -in observing and recording, and for patience in -collecting and preserving the smallest facts, is -indeed an essential part of his genius; for genius, -whenever it achieves anything, implies devotion, -implies the relentless pursuit of its object, however -small the actual result of the moment may seem when -compared to the trouble which has been expended -upon it. And this capacity for concentration enabled -Boswell not merely to observe and record what he saw -and heard, but to seek continually for any information, -however it was to be obtained, which might be of -value to him.</p> - -<p>It is easy to see from many passages in the early -portion of the 'Life'—the portion, that is, which deals -with Johnson before Boswell made his acquaintance, -and which naturally required the greatest labour, in -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page248" id="page248"></a>[pg 248]</span> -collecting and investigating material, on the part of -the biographer—how much trouble Boswell took. In -order to obtain a copy of the famous letter to Lord -Chesterfield he tells us:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I for many years solicited Johnson to favour me -with a copy of it, that so excellent a composition might -not be lost to posterity. He delayed from time to -time to give it me; till at last, in 1781, when we were -on a visit at Mr. Dilly's, at Southill in Bedfordshire, -he was pleased to dictate it to me from memory. He -afterwards found among his papers a copy of it, which -he had dictated to Mr. Baretti, with its title and corrections -in his own handwriting. This he gave to -Mr. Langton; adding that if it were to come into -print, he wished it to be from that copy. By Mr. -Langton's kindness, I am enabled to enrich my work -with a perfect transcript of what the world has so -eagerly desired to see. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>It appears that, though he had at last succeeded in -obtaining a copy from Johnson, he was willing to -take the further trouble of getting Mr. Langton's copy, -which was more likely to be absolutely accurate. -Still more remarkable is the manner in which he -discovered the facts about Johnson's pension:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -<i>Lord Bute told me</i><a id="footnotetag9.3" name="footnotetag9.3"></a><a href="#footnote9.3"><sup>3</sup></a> that Mr. Wedderburne, now Lord -Loughborough, was the person who first mentioned -this subject to him. <i>Lord Loughborough told me</i> -that the pension was granted solely as a reward of his -literary merit.... <i>Mr. Thomas Sheridan and Mr. Murphy</i>, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page249" id="page249"></a>[pg 249]</span> -<span class="rightnote1">COLLECTING MATERIAL</span> -who then lived a good deal both with him -and Mr. Wedderburne, <i>told me</i>, that they previously -talked with Johnson on this matter.... <i>Sir Joshua -Reynolds told me</i> that Johnson called on him. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The mere number of names consulted is sufficiently -imposing. Boswell in fact was collecting evidence -for a case. He must examine all the witnesses: also -he must examine them in such a way that the truth -might be discovered.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Mr. Murphy and the late Mr. Sheridan severally -contended for the distinction of having been the first -who mentioned to Mr. Wedderburne that Johnson -ought to have a pension. <i>When I spoke of this to -Lord Loughborough</i>, wishing to know if he recollected -the prime mover in the business, <i>he said</i>: 'All his -friends assisted,' and when I told him that Mr. Sheridan -strenuously asserted his claim to it, his Lordship said: -'He rang the bell.' And it is but just to add, that -<i>Mr. Sheridan told me</i> that when he communicated to -Dr. Johnson that a pension was to be granted him he -replied in a fervour of gratitude.... <i>When I repeated -this to Dr. Johnson he did not contradict it.</i> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The profusion of information about this particular -point may seem to us unnecessary—it is of course -controversial, and the controversy has lost much of -its interest. But it shows in any case not only the -great number of questions Boswell was willing to ask -in order to find out exactly what had taken place -and the scale upon which his investigations were -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page250" id="page250"></a>[pg 250]</span> -conducted, but also the minute and detailed care with -which he preserved the truth.</p> - -<p>Boswell has himself said something of the labour it -cost him to compile the 'Life':</p> - -<blockquote><p> -The labour and anxious attention with which I -have collected and arranged the materials of which -these volumes are composed, will hardly be conceived -by those who read them with careless facility. The -stretch of mind and prompt assiduity by which so -many conversations were preserved, I myself, at some -distance of time, contemplate with wonder; and I -must be allowed to suggest, that the nature of the -work in other respects, as it consists of innumerable -detached particulars, all of which, even the most -minute, I have spared no pains to ascertain with a -scrupulous authenticity, has occasioned a degree of -trouble far beyond that of any other species of composition. -Were I to detail the books which I have -consulted, and the inquiries which I have found it -necessary to make by various channels, I should -probably be thought ridiculously ostentatious. Let -me only observe, as a specimen of my trouble, that I -have sometimes been obliged to run half over London -in order to fix a date correctly.<a id="footnotetag9.4" name="footnotetag9.4"></a><a href="#footnote9.4"><sup>4</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Something of all that Boswell meant by this can -be seen more nearly in Dr. Birkbeck Hill's essay upon -Boswell's Proof-sheets:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -A delay was sometimes caused by his desire to -'ascertain particulars with scrupulous authenticity.' -'Sheet 777,' he wrote, 'is with Mr. Wilkes to look at -a note.' ... A short delay is caused in ascertaining -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page251" id="page251"></a>[pg 251]</span> -<span class="rightnote1">BOSWELL'S PROOF SHEETS</span> -the number of years the Rev. Mr. Vilette had been -Ordinary of Newgate. A blank had been left in the -text. On the margin Boswell wrote: 'Send my note -to Mr. Vilette in the morning and open the answer. -Or inquire of Mr. Akerman (the keeper of Newgate) -for the number of years. Get it somehow.' ... On -page 505 of the second volume Boswell writes: 'I -could wish that the forme in which page 512 is were -not thrown off till I have an answer from Mr. Stone, -the gentleman mentioned in the note, to tell me his -Christian name, that I may call him Esq.' ... In -the margin of the passage in which he quotes the -inscription on a gold snuff-box given to Reynolds by -Catherine II., he writes, 'Pray be very careful in -printing the words of the Empress of <i>all the Russias</i>.' ... -Opposite the long note where he quotes the anonymous -editor of 'Tracts by Warburton and a Warburtonian,' -he writes in the margin: '<i>This page</i> must not be laid -on till I hear from Dr. Parr whether his name may be -mentioned.' Accordingly he wrote to him requesting -'to have by return of post if I may say or guess that -Dr. Parr is the editor.' -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The success of these inquiries was far from certain. -Dr. Parr's name does not appear.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Boswell was more fortunate in obtaining a name -for another entry, which had originally stood: 'He -was in this like ... who, Mr. Daines Barrington told -me, used to say: 'I hate a <i>cui bono</i> man!' In the -margin he filled up the blank with 'a respectable -person'; but before the sheet was 'laid on,' he learnt -this respectable person's name. In the published text -he figures as 'Dr. Shaw, the great traveller.'<a id="footnotetag9.5" name="footnotetag9.5"></a><a href="#footnote9.5"><sup>5</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page252" id="page252"></a>[pg 252]</span></p> - -<p>The proof-sheets which Dr. Birkbeck Hill was so -fortunate as to see were not the first sheets, but only -'revises': in the earlier stages there must have been -many more minute facts for Boswell to find out. But -they are undoubtedly documents of great interest, and -the point which stands out most clearly from the essay -we have quoted is the extraordinary minuteness of -Boswell's care and attention.</p> - -<p class="centerf">.<span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span></p> - -<p>The devotion of Boswell to his biographical work -is illustrated not so much by the prodigious toil it cost -him—for many men have this power of sustained -labour when they have found the right object for it—as -by the reckless disregard of conventions and people -to which it led him.</p> - -<p>The admirable account in the 'Memoirs of Thomas -Holcroft'<a id="footnotetag9.6" name="footnotetag9.6"></a><a href="#footnote9.6"><sup>6</sup></a> of how Boswell obtained from Mr. Lowe a -copy of one of Johnson's letters shows how attentive -he could be even to a man whom, it would seem, he -rather despised, when there was a chance of acquiring -any document or information which might be of use to -him. Lowe had requested Johnson to write him a -letter, which Johnson did, and Boswell came in while -it was writing; his attention was immediately fixed. -Lowe took the letter, retired, and was followed by -Boswell.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page253" id="page253"></a>[pg 253]</span></p> - -<blockquote><p><span class="rightnote1">MR LOWE</span> -'Nothing,' said Lowe, 'could surprise me more. -Till that moment he had so entirely overlooked me -that I did not imagine he knew there was such a creature -in existence, and he now accosted me with the most -overstrained and insinuating compliments possible. -"How do you do, Mr. Lowe? I hope you are well, -Mr. Lowe? Pardon my freedom, Mr. Lowe, but I -think I saw my dear friend Dr. Johnson writing a -letter for you." "Yes, sir." "I hope you will not -think me rude, but if it would not be too great a -favour, you would infinitely oblige me if you would -just let me have a sight of it; everything from that -hand, you know, is so inestimable." "Sir, it is on -my own private affairs, but——." "I would not pry -into a person's affairs, my dear Mr. Lowe, by any -means. I am sure you would not accuse me of such -a thing, only, if it were no particular secret——" -"Sir, you are welcome to read the letter." "I -thank you, my dear Mr. Lowe, you are very obliging. -I take it exceedingly kind." ... (Having read): "It is -nothing I believe, Mr. Lowe, that you would be ashamed -of——" "Certainly not." "Why, then, my dear sir, -if you would do me another favour you would make -the obligation eternal. If you would but step to -Peele's coffee-house with me and just suffer me -to take a copy of it I would do anything in my -power to oblige you." 'I was so overcome,' said -Lowe, 'by this sudden familiarity and condescension, -accompanied with bows and grimaces, I had no -power to refuse. We went to the coffee-house. -My letter was presently transcribed, and as soon -as he had put his document in his pocket Mr. Boswell -walked away as erect and as proud as half an hour -before. I ever after was unnoticed. Nay, I am -not certain,' added he sarcastically, 'whether the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page254" id="page254"></a>[pg 254]</span> -Scotchman did not leave me, poor as he knew I was, -to pay for my own dish of coffee.'<a id="footnotetag9.7" name="footnotetag9.7"></a><a href="#footnote9.7"><sup>7</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Miss Burney also gives an amusing account of -how she was pressed to give her recollections of Johnson.</p> - -<p>Boswell met her at the gate of St. George's chapel, -and since the lady relates 'Mr. Turbulent brought him -to me,' it would seem that the anxious biographer -sought the mediation of a friend so as to have a better -reception. Miss Burney, however, found the occasion -unsuitable; she was on the way to the 'Queen's Lodge'; -a Queen's lady has to reflect the aloofness of royalty, -and a conversation with Mr. Boswell would not add -to her dignity. Her assistance is sought in most -eloquent terms:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Yes, madam; you must give me some of your choice -little notes of the Doctor's; we have seen him long -enough upon stilts; I want to show him in a new -light. Grave Sam, and great Sam, and solemn Sam, -and learned Sam—all these he has appeared over and -over. Now I want to entwine a wreath of the graces -across his brow; I want to show him as gay Sam, -agreeable Sam, pleasant Sam; so you must help me -with some of his beautiful billets to yourself. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Miss Burney apparently had no wish that her -'choice little notes' should appear in the 'Life.' -Boswell did his best in vain. 'I evaded this by declaring -I had not any stores at hand. He proposed a -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page255" id="page255"></a>[pg 255]</span> -<span class="rightnote">MISS BURNEY</span> -thousand curious expedients to get at them, but I -was invincible....'</p> - -<p>But Boswell was not easily to be dismissed; he -must glean what he may from Miss Burney; she must, -at least, give judgment on the style of the work.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -He then told me his 'Life of Dr. Johnson' was -nearly printed, and took a proof-sheet out of his pocket -to show me, with crowds passing and repassing, knowing -me well, and staring well at him: for we were now at -the iron rails of the Queen's Lodge.</p> - -<p>I stopped; I could not ask him in: I saw he expected -it, and was reduced to apologise, and tell him -I must attend the Queen immediately....</p> - -<p>But finding he had no chance for entering, he -stopped me again at the gate, and said he would read -me a part of his work.</p> - -<p>There was no refusing this: and he began, with a -letter of Dr. Johnson's to himself. He read it in -strong imitation of the Doctor's manner, very well, -and not caricature. But Mrs. Schwellenberg was at -her window, a crowd was gathering to stand round the -rails, and the King and Queen and Royal Family now -approached from the Terrace. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>It is a delightful scene—the enthusiastic Boswell -oblivious of Royalty as he declaims the sonorous -words of the Doctor, and Miss Burney anxious only to -effect an escape. The whole account shows how importunate -Boswell could become in the cause of his -art and for his 'sacred love of truth.'</p> - -<p class="footnote1"><a id="footnote9.1" name="footnote9.1"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag9.1">1:</a> -<i>Life of Johnson</i>, i, 25-6.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote9.2" name="footnote9.2"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag9.2">2:</a> -So also Mrs. Piozzi.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote9.3" name="footnote9.3"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag9.3">3:</a> -The italics throughout are of course mine.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote9.4" name="footnote9.4"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag9.4">4:</a> -<i>Life of Johnson</i>, Advertisement to First Edition.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote9.5" name="footnote9.5"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag9.5">5:</a> -<i>Johnson Club Papers</i>, pp. 58-60. The proof-sheets were in -1893 possessed by Mr. R. B. Adam, Barnstaple, Cape Cod.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote9.6" name="footnote9.6"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag9.6">6:</a> -Quoted in the introduction to Mr. Birrell's edition of the <i>Life</i>.</p> - -<p class="footnote1b"><a id="footnote9.7" name="footnote9.7"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag9.7">7:</a> -<i>Memoirs of Thomas Holcroft</i>, iii, 29-31.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page256" id="page256"></a>[pg 256]</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3 class="space-above5">CHAPTER X</h3> -</div> - -<p>There is an even more remarkable feature of Boswell's -work—the scientific manner in which he deliberately -made experiments. Here again we shall see his -uncompromising attitude.</p> - -<p>Dr. Johnson has been considered, and very properly -considered, a great talker. Not the least of our reasons -for reading the 'Life' is that we are interested to -know what Johnson had to say; and we find there the -expressed thoughts of Johnson upon a great number of -subjects. That Boswell should have preserved so -much—that, though the same topics may more than -once be discussed, yet every conversation gives a distinct -and separate impression, and each one is valuable—tells -us not only that Boswell himself must have had -a high order of intelligence to apprehend and preserve -the point of Johnson's discourse upon so many occasions, -but, what is important for our purpose at the moment, -tells us (when we remember how little time altogether -he spent with Johnson and that the time most fruitful -in records, during the famous tour in the Hebrides, is -not included in the 'Life') that he himself must have -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page257" id="page257"></a>[pg 257]</span> -<span class="rightnote">MAKING JOHNSON TALK</span> -had some part in finding out the Doctor's opinion. -For Johnson was not exactly what is called an expansive -person; it was an effort to him to talk seriously, and -it was usually necessary to engage him gradually in -conversation before he talked his best. Boswell has -told us, 'he very often sat quite silent for a long time.' -He said of himself: 'Tom Tyers described me the -best. He once said to me, "Sir, you are like a ghost. -You never speak until you are spoken to."'</p> - -<p>It is remarkable that Boswell should have had so -much to record. The explanation is that he made -Johnson talk; he did it not by accident but quite -deliberately; this is a substantial part of his whole -biographical method. 'I also,' he says in the 'Tour -to the Hebrides,' 'may be allowed to claim some -merit in leading the conversation. I do not mean -leading as in an orchestra, by playing the first -fiddle; but leading as one does in examining a -witness—starting topics and making him pursue -them.' And he did not find this part of his task -particularly easy:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -He appears to me like a great mill, into which a -subject is thrown to be ground. It requires, indeed, -fertile minds to furnish subjects for this mill—I regret -when I see it unemployed; but sometimes I feel -myself quite barren, and have nothing to throw in. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>On most occasions, however, Boswell's mind was -sufficiently fertile, and it enabled him to say some -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page258" id="page258"></a>[pg 258]</span> -very odd things; his ingenuity was exercised in asking -Johnson the most absurd questions, and he did this -very often in the hope of some good retort. 'If, Sir,' -he once demanded irrelevantly, 'you were shut up in a -castle and a new-born child with you, what would you -do?' Johnson is said to have related that one question -was, 'Pray, Sir, can you tell why an apple is round and -a pear pointed?'<a id="footnotetag10.1" name="footnotetag10.1"></a><a href="#footnote10.1"><sup>1</sup></a> On one occasion Boswell, apparently -without reference to anything which had previously -been said, asked 'if he had ever been accustomed to -wear a night-cap.' And such questions were apt to -produce an amusing discussion.</p> - -<p>But Boswell's spirit of investigation did not lead -him merely to ask questions like these; it was frequently -both serious and subtle—indeed there are so -many instances in the 'Life' of his leading Johnson -to talk that it is difficult to choose one for illustration. -Perhaps the most characteristic kind of method employed -is where Boswell, evidently having thought of -his subject beforehand, brings in at a convenient -moment a quotation, which furnishes an excuse for -starting a discussion; as when he relates:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Talking of divorces, I asked if Othello's doctrine -were not plausible— -</p></blockquote> - -<div class="poem1 width21"><div class="stanza"> - <p>He that is robbed, not wanting what is stolen,</p> - <p>Let him not know't, and he's not robbed at all.<a id="footnotetag10.2" name="footnotetag10.2"></a><a href="#footnote10.2"><sup>2</sup></a></p> -</div> </div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page259" id="page259"></a>[pg 259]</span></p> - -<p><span class="rightnote">JOHNSON ANGRY</span>Then follows a discussion about divorce, in which -Boswell takes a prominent part.</p> - -<p>A few pages later we find Boswell re-starting a -topic upon which Johnson, on a former occasion, has no -doubt exhibited some warmth of feeling, and, having -thought out his own line of argument, is able to lead -him on to one of those moments of thunder which he -loves to see.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -After Mrs. Thrale was gone to bed, Johnson and -I sat up late. We resumed Sir Joshua Reynolds' -argument on the preceding Sunday, that a man would -be virtuous though he had no other motive than to -preserve his character.<a id="footnotetag10.3" name="footnotetag10.3"></a><a href="#footnote10.3"><sup>3</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>In the course of the argument Johnson exclaims -('very angry'):</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Nay, sir, what stuff is this! You had no more -this opinion after Robertson said it than before. I -know nothing more offensive than repeating what one -knows to be foolish things, by way of continuing a -dispute, to see what a man will answer—to make -him your butt! (angrier still). -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The scenes which illustrate perhaps better than any -others Boswell's minute interest in his friend and -experimenting attitude have already been quoted. In -the account of the breakfast at Lochbuy (when Johnson -was offered the cold sheep's head) we see how great -was his passion for experiment and what a depth of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page260" id="page260"></a>[pg 260]</span> -enjoyment he had from it: 'I sat quietly by and -enjoyed my success'—that is the point of view. The -manner in which he arranged the meeting with Wilkes -shows the trouble he could take to form his plans for -creating a situation and his ingenuity in carrying them -out. This is not the only occasion when he made -arrangements for his observation of Johnson; the -whole of the tour in the Hebrides was in a sense a great -series of experiments, and we feel as we read it that -the circumstances of Johnson's riding bespurred upon a -Highland pony, of his sitting majestically in the stern -of the little boat, of his dinner with the Duke of Argyle, -of his visit to Auchinleck, are consciously arranged, in -some way, for effect by Boswell.</p> - -<p>No less a person than Walter Scott, who knew -much at first hand from the contemporaries of Johnson -and Boswell, and could remember distinctly the tour -in Scotland and the discussion it provoked, held this -view of the biographer:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -<a id="footnotetag10.4" name="footnotetag10.4"></a><a href="#footnote10.4"><sup>4</sup></a>After all, Bozzy, though submitting to Johnson in -everything, had his means of indemnification. Like -the jackanapes mounted on the bear's back he contrived -now and then to play the more powerful animal -a trick by getting him into situations like the meeting -with Wilkes merely to see how he would look. The -voyage to the Hebrides exhibited some tricks of that -kind, the weather being so stormy at that late season -that everyone thought they must have been drowned. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page261" id="page261"></a>[pg 261]</span> -<span class="rightnote1">AMAZING QUESTIONS</span> -Undoubtedly Bozzy wanted to see how the Doctor -would look in a storm. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Boswell himself explains the visit to Lord -Monboddo: 'I knew Lord Monboddo and Dr. Johnson -did not love each other; yet ... I was curious -to see them together.' It could hardly be supposed -that Boswell adopted this attitude without encountering -some opposition from Dr. Johnson. The latter -evidently wished that a good life of him should be -written, and was pleased with Boswell's journal and glad -to tell him from time to time about his early life; but -there were limits to his endurance. 'I will not be put -to the <i>question</i>. Don't you consider, Sir, that these -are not the manners of a gentleman? I will not be -baited with <i>what</i> and <i>why</i>; what is this? what is -that? why is a cow's tail long? why is a fox's tail -bushy?' 'Sir,' he said on one occasion, 'you -have but two topicks, yourself and me. I am sick of -both.' Boswell indeed was continually taking risks; -he compares himself to 'the man who has put his head -into the lion's mouth a great many times:' his -ordinary method of conversing with Johnson was to -push his inquiries to the furthest possible point. His -courage in this respect must have been notorious. -'I won a small bet,' he relates on one occasion, 'from -Lady Diana Beauclerk, by asking him as to one of his -particularities, which her Ladyship said I durst not do. -It seems he had been frequently observed at the Club -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page262" id="page262"></a>[pg 262]</span> -to put into his pocket the Seville oranges, after he had -squeezed the juice of them into the drink which he -had made for himself. Beauclerk and Garrick talked -of it to me, and seemed to think he had a strange -unwillingness to be discovered. We could not divine -what he did with them; and this was the bold question -to be put.' Boswell on this occasion was not successful -in his inquiries; but it is to be observed that Boswell -was deputed to inquire, and that he asked the question, -and won his bet.</p> - -<p>Occasionally Boswell remarks that Johnson was -not in a good humour for talking. He must have -wondered at such times how long it would take before -his irritation would break forth, and he would make -some typical utterance. 'But I wonder, Sir,' &c., was -a sort of Boswellian formula to be met sooner or later -with: 'Sir, you <i>may</i> wonder,' or some similar retort.</p> - -<p>But what irritated Johnson perhaps more than the -endless questions was to be made a 'butt' as he -termed it. 'On Monday, September 22, when at -breakfast, I unguardedly said to Dr. Johnson, "I -wish I saw you and Mrs. Macaulay together!" He -grew very angry, and, after a pause, while a cloud -gathered on his brow, he burst out: "No, Sir, you -would not see us quarrel to make you sport."' Boswell -eventually owns that he had wished to see a contest -between Mrs. Macaulay and Johnson.</p> - -<p>It is not to be supposed that Boswell's provocations -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page263" id="page263"></a>[pg 263]</span> -<span class="rightnote">DEGRADING IMAGES</span> -were always intentional, though there are many occasions -upon which they clearly were so. Sometimes he -was 'out of countenance,' and when Johnson 'carried -the company with him,' his discomfiture perhaps -was greater than he would have wished. Not infrequently -he made mistakes. On one occasion when -Johnson began: 'If I kept a seraglio,' Boswell was -so much amused that he failed to keep his countenance -and was overwhelmed with 'a variety of degrading -images'! Yet he was well aware of the general -tendency of his behaviour to provoke the ridicule of -Johnson, and though there may have been moments -when he did not intend it to do so, we may say that -he consciously led to his own humiliation, or consciously -at least ran the risk of it.</p> - -<p>How much humiliation Boswell was able to support -may be seen from Miss Burney's account of -a party at Streatham. Boswell, finding that there was -no place at the side of Dr. Johnson, had taken up a -seat immediately behind and between Dr. Johnson and -Miss Burney. It was not very polite, and the discovery -of his position by Dr. Johnson was disastrous:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -The Doctor turned angrily round upon him, and, -clapping his hand rather loudly upon his knee, said, -in a tone of displeasure, 'What do you do there, -Sir? Go to the table, Sir!'</p> - -<p>Mr. Boswell instantly, and with an air of affright, -obeyed; and there was something so unusual in such -humble submission to so imperious a command that -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page264" id="page264"></a>[pg 264]</span> -another smile gleamed its way across every mouth -except that of the Doctor and of Mr. Boswell, who now, -very unwillingly, took a distant seat. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Anything more ignominious could hardly be imagined, -and that Boswell was sensitive to a rebuke from -the Doctor we cannot doubt. And yet, within a few -minutes, he was to run the risk of a second. For some -reason or other he wished to leave the room while the -ceremony still demanded his presence at the table. -The Doctor, calling after him authoritatively, said: -'What are you thinking of, Sir? Why do you get -up before the cloth is removed? Come back to your -place, Sir!' 'Again,' Miss Burney continues, 'and with -equal obsequiousness, Mr. Boswell did as he was bid.'</p> - -<p>Boswell's behaviour, indeed, on this particular -occasion was not heroic. His position near Dr. -Johnson cannot have been essential to his purpose of -taking notes; he was unwilling to abandon it out -of a childish feeling of dignity; he considered it his -natural right to sit near the doctor, and was obstinate -about it. And it was no experiment of his to leave -the room unceremoniously with the purpose of hearing -what Dr. Johnson might have to say. But it was -heroic of Boswell to put himself continually, and often -intentionally, in the way of such rebuffs; for this he -undoubtedly did. It was heroic because he had a -noble purpose. Boswell was a man of science, and his -science was concerned with nothing less than the mind -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page265" id="page265"></a>[pg 265]</span> -<span class="rightnote">SCIENTIFIC SPIRIT</span> -and soul of Man. He was none the less scientific -because he did not deal in generalities; he was -concerned with detail rather than with deduction and -with one man rather than with all men. Science -may not have been the only motive for enduring. -Boswell may have supported the harsh sayings of Dr. -Johnson and suffered for the sake of his friendship, -for its honour as well as for its value; but when we -consider the humiliation of those rebukes we know -at least that he suffered not a little; and inasmuch -as he courted them, and courted them deliberately, -friendship offers no explanation. Here we are compelled -to accept the scientific motive. Boswell must -be allowed the credit of having suffered as a man of -science for the sake of Biography.</p> - -<p>Miss Burney, though she neither understood nor -appreciated Boswell, and even disliked him, has no -doubt given a truthful picture. It is clear that Boswell -suffered from the rebuffs which he received from -Johnson. If he endured them on the whole willingly, -yet he endured them not without feeling some pain. He -could not carry it off; Boswell had no natural dignity; -he had a 'jovial bluntness' and a comical air about -him, but these could not help him on such occasions, -and he was obliged as it were to lose prestige, to appear -in fact mean-spirited and servile.</p> - -<p>Miss Burney tells us also that Johnson generally -treated him as a schoolboy. The difference in their -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page266" id="page266"></a>[pg 266]</span> -ages was more than thirty years; but even so the -expression is remarkable, and shows as does the whole -account how complete was the submission of Boswell.</p> - -<p>His behaviour, however, was not merely undignified -and grotesque, it was rude. His whole -attitude towards Johnson was a rude one. Curiosity -indulged as he indulged it cannot be polite. Johnson -told him more than once that he had no manners. -Langton said: 'Boswell's conversation consists entirely -in asking questions, and is extremely offensive.' -Boswell, in fact, as the biographer, was rude not only -to Johnson but to the whole company; concerned -entirely with his own purpose, he ignored the social -obligation. It seems to have been his common habit -to sit down, note-book in hand, to record the conversation. -Mr. Barclay said that he had seen Boswell lay -down his knife and fork, and take out his tablets, in -order to register a good anecdote. Mrs. Thrale refers -to his 'reporting' as a usual and obnoxious practice.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -A trick which I have seen played on common -occasions, of sitting steadily down at the other end of -the room to write at the moment what should be said -in company, either <i>by</i> Dr. Johnson or <i>to</i> him, I never -practised myself, nor approved of in another. There -is something so ill-bred, and so inclining to treachery -in this conduct, that were it commonly adopted, all -confidence would soon be exiled from society, and a -conversation assembly-room would become tremendous -as a court of justice. -</p></blockquote> - -<p class="footnote1"><a id="footnote10.1" name="footnote10.1"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag10.1">1:</a> -<i>Autobiography, Letters, &c., of Mrs. Piozzi</i>, ii, 125.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote10.2" name="footnote10.2"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag10.2">2:</a> -<i>Life of Johnson</i>, iii, 347.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote10.3" name="footnote10.3"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag10.3">3:</a> -<i>Life of Johnson</i>, iii, 349.</p> - -<p class="footnote1b"><a id="footnote10.4" name="footnote10.4"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag10.4">4:</a> -<i>Croker Papers</i>, iii, 33.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page267" id="page267"></a>[pg 267]</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3 class="space-above5">CHAPTER XI</h3> -</div> - -<p>The habit which annoyed Mrs. Thrale was necessary -to Boswell's conception of his task; it involved what -he spoke of as his 'authenticity.'</p> - -<p>To understand what he meant by this, an attitude -perhaps not only towards himself, but to the public -also, since he wished very much that those who read -his book should feel that it was true in every detail, -we must examine more nearly Boswell's method of -carrying out his biographical plan.</p> - -<p>It is remarkable that Boswell should have begun -his system of recording when quite a young man. A -man of forty is more easily forgiven some eccentricity -than one of two-and-twenty. Yet we find Boswell, -during his travels on the Continent, tablets in hand -on his first visit to Paoli, who gives an amusing -account of him:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -He came to my country and he fetched me some -letter of recommending him: but I was of the belief -he might be an impostor, and I supposed in my minte, -he was an espy; for I look away from him and in a -moment I look to him again, and I behold his tablets. -Oh! he was to the work of writing down all I say! -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page268" id="page268"></a>[pg 268]</span> -Indeed I was angry. But soon I discover he was -no impostor and no espy; and I only find I was myself -the monster he had come to discover. Oh—he is -a very good man, I love him indeed; so cheerful! -so gay! so pleasant! but at the first, oh! indeed I -was angry.<a id="footnotetag11.1" name="footnotetag11.1"></a><a href="#footnote11.1"><sup>1</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Boswell's method of recording conversations was -not completed in these memoranda taken down at -the moment. He had, besides these, his journal. It -has been remarked already that he began to keep -this regularly as early as 1758 during his tour -on the Northern Circuit in the company of his -father and Lord Hailes, and he tells us something -of it at the time of his journey to Greenwich with -Johnson in 1763:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I was the more sensible of it (the cold) from having -sat up all the night before <i>recollecting and writing</i> -in my journal what I thought worthy of preservation; -an exertion which, during the first part of my -acquaintance with Johnson, I frequently made. I -remember having sat up four nights in one week, -without being much incommoded in the daytime. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>In the 'Tour to Corsica,' also, he tells us:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -From my first setting out on this tour, I wrote -down every night what I had observed during the -day, throwing together a great deal, that I might -afterwards select at leisure.<a id="footnotetag11.2" name="footnotetag11.2"></a><a href="#footnote11.2"><sup>2</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>We have then two processes mentioned by which -Boswell recorded conversation: the notes taken down -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page269" id="page269"></a>[pg 269]</span> -<span class="rightnote">REPORTING CONVERSATION</span> -at the moment, and the journal written up at night. -The relation of these two—the function which each -of them performed—is not difficult to conjecture.</p> - -<p>Boswell's object was to get his records written up -as soon as possible after the events or conversations -which he was describing:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I found, from experience, that to collect my -friend's conversation so as to exhibit it with any degree -of its original flavour, it was necessary to write it -down without delay. To record his sayings, after -some distance of time, was like preserving or pickling -long-kept or faded fruits, or other vegetables, which, -when in that state, have little or nothing of their taste -when fresh.<a id="footnotetag11.3" name="footnotetag11.3"></a><a href="#footnote11.3"><sup>3</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>It was upon the fact that he trusted, not to his -memory, but to 'exact transcript of conversations,' -that Boswell based his claim to authenticity.<a id="footnotetag11.4" name="footnotetag11.4"></a><a href="#footnote11.4"><sup>4</sup></a> He was -so absolutely truthful himself, that it never occurred -to him to think that the truth of what was actually -written down at the time could be doubted, and it -was to him an entire refutation of any adversary to -confront him with his method.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -If this book should again be reprinted, I shall with -the utmost readiness correct any errours I may have -committed, in stating conversations, provided it can -be clearly shown to me that I have been inaccurate. -But I am slow to believe (as I have elsewhere observed) -that any man's memory, at the distance of several -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page270" id="page270"></a>[pg 270]</span> -years, can preserve facts or sayings with such fidelity -as may be done by writing them down when they are -recent: and I beg it may be remembered, that it is -not upon <i>memory</i>, but upon what was <i>written at the -time</i>, that the authenticity of my 'Journal' rests.<a id="footnotetag11.5" name="footnotetag11.5"></a><a href="#footnote11.5"><sup>5</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>But it is clear enough that the notes which Boswell -made at the time must have been very unlike the -final form in which he wrote the dialogue. In the -course of conversations in which he himself took part, -it would have been impossible without shorthand to -make so full a record. The kind of notes which -Boswell took may be gathered from the following -passage:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I this evening boasted, that though I did not -write what is called stenography, or short-hand, -in appropriated characters devised for the purpose, -I had a method of my own of writing half words, -and leaving out some altogether, so as yet to -keep the substance and language of any discourses -which I had heard so much in view, that I could -give it very completely soon after I had taken it -down.<a id="footnotetag11.6" name="footnotetag11.6"></a><a href="#footnote11.6"><sup>6</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>It would seem then that what was written down -during a conversation was far from including every word -which was spoken; it was rather an aid, though a very -substantial aid, to memory. We may conjecture that -the most important expressions were recorded, and the -course of the argument indicated, so as to be intelligible -to Boswell, but not even to him, perhaps, after a long -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page271" id="page271"></a>[pg 271]</span> -<span class="rightnote">THE RECORDS</span> -interval. He was able to 'keep in view' the -'substance and language.'</p> - -<p>To give a full and permanent form to these rough -drafts must therefore have been a work of considerable -labour; and it is this no doubt that the journal -accomplished.</p> - -<p>We may see in the 'Life' the traces of two kinds -of record. For we have sometimes the actual words -of the speakers, but at others only the purport of their -remarks. What we should naturally suppose—if this -theory of the respective functions of the notes and -the journal is correct—that the former came from -the journal and the latter from the notes taken -down at the moment, or sometimes perhaps shortly -afterwards—is confirmed by the fact that, when we -have only the less complete account, Boswell very often -regrets the neglect of his journal, and talks of presenting -such scraps as he has; and on one occasion says:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I kept very imperfect notes of his conversation, -which had I according to my usual custom <i>written -out at large soon after the time</i>, much might have been -preserved.<a id="footnotetag11.7" name="footnotetag11.7"></a><a href="#footnote11.7"><sup>7</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>He was obliged in consequence of his neglect -to write the text directly from notes; with their aid -he filled in what he could remember; but he dispensed -with the intermediate assistance of the journal, and -the account is therefore far less full.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page272" id="page272"></a>[pg 272]</span></p> - -<p>The rough notes of the moment and the elaborate -journal made by writing them out at large 'soon after -the time'—these, then, form the basis of Boswell's -method for preserving Johnson's talk. It is not to be -supposed that Boswell strictly adhered to this method -on every occasion. He was too much an experimentalist -for that; and sometimes it must have been very -difficult to take notes. We cannot imagine that when -Boswell was alone with Johnson he pulled out 'tablets' -in the course of an argument. More probably he -seized an opportunity, as soon afterwards as possible, -when Johnson was not talking, to put down the more -striking phrases and record the point of the discussion. -But there must have been some occasions when -opportunities did not occur. Johnson, no doubt, -became accustomed to his companion's habits and was -often willing to help him by telling him details about -his early life or dictating the text of a letter for Boswell -to write down there and then. But sometimes he was -in the mood to resent memoranda; and sometimes -the talk was too continuous for Boswell's task to be -an easy one. At such times Boswell may have written -the journal as well as he could without the notes, and -as soon afterwards as possible. At Ashbourne, for -instance, in 1777, he may have done this: he was alone -with Johnson more than usual, and several discussions -made Johnson very angry; he may well have waited -to record anything until he wrote the journal, for he -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page273" id="page273"></a>[pg 273]</span> -had no lack of time to devote to this purpose while -staying in the quiet country town, and in point of -fact he actually kept the journal more fully at this -time than at any other. He mentions that he has -'acquired a facility in recollecting his conversation.'<a id="footnotetag11.8" name="footnotetag11.8"></a><a href="#footnote11.8"><sup>8</sup></a> -This may refer to the effort of memory required in -recalling altogether what had been said, as well as to -the effort of reconstructing the talk from what he had -written down at the moment. In the early part of -the 'Life' Boswell says:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -In progress of time, when my mind was, as -it were, <i>strongly impregnated with the Johnsonian -æther</i>, I could, with much more facility and -exactness, <i>carry in my memory and commit to paper</i> -the exuberant variety of his wisdom and wit.<a id="footnotetag11.9" name="footnotetag11.9"></a><a href="#footnote11.9"><sup>9</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Here again he may well have had in mind a process -of writing the journal with no notes to help him.</p> - -<p>All the original documents from which Boswell -compiled the 'Life' are concealed from this generation. -There are, however—or at least there were—in -existence two of Boswell's note-books. Mr. Fitzgerald -relates that in Mr. Pocock's 'Johnsonian Catalogue' -there was</p> - -<blockquote><p> -a note-book in which Boswell jotted down from day -to day the actual sayings and doings of the eminent -lexicographer. This volume contains literary opinions -and aphorisms peculiar to this great man, and of which -many have never been published. He gives a specific -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page274" id="page274"></a>[pg 274]</span> -account of the manner in which he compiled the -'Dictionary,' and relates other matters of interest, -bearing on his long literary career and contemporaries. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>This manuscript, if it were to be seen, might reveal -more definitely what Boswell's method was. The description -of it can do nothing but emphasise the use of the -'tablets'; but its value as evidence depends upon -its accuracy with regard to the sequence of the notes: -if they were really 'jotted down from day to day,' -then they are the 'tablets' without a doubt.</p> - -<p>The other note-book is 'Boswelliana'; and it is -of a different kind.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Boswell kept in a portfolio a quantity of loose -quarto sheets, inscribed on each page <i>Boswelliana</i>. In -certain of these sheets the pages are denoted by -numerals in the ordinary fashion; another portion is -numbered by the folios; while a further portion -consists of loose leaves and letter-backs. The greater -part of the entries are made so carefully as to justify -the belief that the author intended to embody the -whole in a volume of literary anecdotes.<a id="footnotetag11.10" name="footnotetag11.10"></a><a href="#footnote11.10"><sup>10</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Emphatically this collection was not 'tablets.' It -was probably intended for a particular purpose. Boswell -may have had several collections of a similar kind. -But it is clear that the purpose of 'Boswelliana' has no -connection with the 'Life of Johnson.'<a id="footnotetag11.11" name="footnotetag11.11"></a><a href="#footnote11.11"><sup>11</sup></a> Stories of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page275" id="page275"></a>[pg 275]</span> -Johnson it does indeed contain; but they are few, and -are unconnected by any chronological arrangement. -They form only a small part of the whole.</p> - -<p>The journal itself was kept in quarto and octavo -volumes,<a id="footnotetag11.12" name="footnotetag11.12"></a><a href="#footnote11.12"><sup>12</sup></a> and Boswell on one occasion showed it -to Sir William Forbes.<a id="footnotetag11.13" name="footnotetag11.13"></a><a href="#footnote11.13"><sup>13</sup></a> It seems that his object -in doing this was to get an opinion which might -encourage him to publish; he quotes with great -pleasure in the 'Life' the praise which this gentleman -had bestowed upon it. One would suppose -that the journal displayed in this way gave the -Johnsonian conversations and anecdotes in words -almost identical with the text of the 'Life.' In -the preface to the 'Corsican Journal' Boswell says -of the Paoli memoirs:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -As I have related his remarkable sayings, I declare -upon my honour, that I have neither added nor -diminished; nay, so scrupulous have I been, that I -would not make the smallest variation even when my -friends thought it would be an improvement. I -know with how much pleasure we read what is perfectly -authentick.<a id="footnotetag11.14" name="footnotetag11.14"></a><a href="#footnote11.14"><sup>14</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>One might easily expect that the same words -would equally well apply to the 'Life.' But this is -not the case.</p> - -<p>It is reasonable to suppose that the Johnsonian -stories in 'Boswelliana' are not less polished than -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page276" id="page276"></a>[pg 276]</span> -those in the journal; they are themselves in a definite -form; and since the journal itself is only the second -stage of Boswell's method, these stories must be in -a state at the least no less advanced. And yet the -verbal differences between these stories and those in -the 'Life' are often considerable and sometimes -large. The truth is that Boswell's method must -have developed very much in one direction from -the account he gave of it in the 'Tour to Corsica.' -As Dr. Birkbeck Hill has clearly proved, he made -changes in the way of 'touching up' the conversations -and stories.</p> - -<p>One or two instances of these variations will illustrate -Boswell's treatment of his materials; the stories -are given below in double columns for purpose of -comparison.</p> - -<table class="diff" summary="differences" border="0"> - -<tr> - <th class="diff"><cite>Boswelliana</cite></th> - <th class="diff"><cite>Life</cite></th> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="w2"> - 1. Boswell asked Mr. - Samuel Johnson what was - best to teach a gentleman's - children first. - 'Why, Sir,' said he, - 'there is no matter what - you teach them first. It - matters no more than - which leg you put first - into your bretches [_sic_]. - Sir, you may stand - disputing which leg you -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page277" id="page277"></a>[pg 277]</span><span class="rightnote">'BOSWELLIANA'</span> - shall put in first, but in - the meantime your legs - are bare. No matter - which you put in first - so that you put 'em both - in, and then you have - your bretches on. Sir, - while you think which of - two things to teach a - child first, another boy, in - the common course has - learnt both.'<br /><br /> - I was present. - </td> - <td class="w2"> - We talked of the education - of children; and I - asked him what he thought - was best to teach them - first. <i>Johnson</i>: 'Sir, it - is no matter what you - shall teach them first, any - more than what leg you - shall put in your breeches - first. Sir, you may stand - disputing which leg you - shall put in first, but in - the meantime your breech - is bare. Sir, while you - are considering which of - two things you shall teach - your child first, another - boy has learnt them both. - </td> - </tr> -</table> - -<table class="diff" summary="differences" border="0"> - -<tr> - <th class="diff"><cite>Boswelliana</cite></th> - <th class="diff"><cite>Life</cite></th> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="w2"> - 2. Boswell told Mr. - Samuel Johnson that a - gentleman of their - acquaintance maintained - in public company that he - could see no distinction - between virtue and vice. - 'Sir,' said Mr. Johnson, - 'does he intend that we - should believe that he is - lying, or that he is in - earnest? If we think - him a lyar, that is not - honouring him very much. - But if we think him in - earnest, when he leaves - our houses let us count - our spoons.' - </td> - <td class="w2"> - The same gentleman - maintained that there was - no distinction between - virtue and vice. <i>Johnson</i>: - 'Why, Sir, if the fellow - does not think as he - speaks, he is lying; and - I see not what honour he - can propose to himself - from having the character - of a liar. But if he does - really think that there is - no distinction between - virtue and vice, why, Sir, - when he leaves our houses - let us count our spoons.' - </td> -</tr> -</table> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page278" id="page278"></a>[pg 278]</span></p> - -<p>A comparison of the two versions of No. 1 reveals -at once the brevity of the final form. It is evident, -as Mr. Fitzgerald remarks, that the text itself could -not have represented the talk as it came from Johnson's -lips. 'The whole is too deliberate, too close, too well -winnowed, as it were.' Conversation is more discursive. -Boswell's method as we see it here is in the first place -to compress—to give not the whole of Johnson's -words, but only the essence of them. In the result -the story in its last state preserves the most important -expressions and is more pointed for being shorter.</p> - -<p>The second story in the table has not been cut -down in the same fashion. It illustrates very well -another process. It is the process, one may say, of -Johnsonising. Not only has the argument, as in the -former case, been made clearer and more concise, but -the words themselves have been considerably altered. -The result indicates the reason of these changes. The -version in the 'Life' is stronger and more convincing; -it has more of the energy of human tongues. The -assertion 'he is lying' has more force than the corresponding -question: the 'why, Sir,' introduced before -the climax gives the proper snort of war before the -culminating triumph of the dilemma. Boswell made -these changes that he might retain the spirit of Johnson's -talk and the atmosphere of the moment as the listeners -felt it. He succeeded whenever he added force and -directness; one may easily be convinced of this by -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page279" id="page279"></a>[pg 279]</span> -recalling the uncouth figure with its suggestion of -abnormal strength which uttered slowly in a very loud -voice, occasionally shaking the head, 'as if to promote -the fermentation of his wit.'</p> - -<p>A most remarkable instance of the two processes—of -compressing and Johnsonising—is furnished by two -stories in 'Boswelliana' which become one story in the -'Life.'</p> - -<table class="diff" summary="differences" border="0"> - -<tr> - <th class="diff"><cite>Boswelliana</cite></th> - <th class="diff"><cite>Life</cite></th> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="w2"> - Mr. Sheridan, though a - man of knowledge and - parts, was a little fanciful - in his projects for - establishing oratory and - altering the mode of British - education. 'Mr. Samuel - Johnson,' said Sherry, - 'cannot abide me, for I - always ask him, Pray, Sir, - what do you propose to - do?'<br /><br /> - From Mr. Johnson: - Boswell was talking to - Mr. Samuel Johnson of - Mr. Sheridan's enthusiasm - for the advancement - of eloquence. 'Sir,' said - Mr. Johnson, 'it won't do. - He cannot carry through - his scheme. He is like a - man attempting to stride -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page280" id="page280"></a>[pg 280]</span> - the English Channel. Sir, - the cause bears no proportion - to the effect. It - is setting up a candle at - Whitechapel to give light - at Westminster.' - </td> - <td class="w2"> - He now added, 'Sheridan - cannot bear me. I - bring his declamation to a - point. I ask him a plain - question, What do you - mean to teach? Besides, - Sir, what influence can Mr. - Sheridan have upon the - language of this great - country by his narrow - exertions? Sir, it is - burning a farthing candle - at Dover to show light at - Calais!' - </td> -</tr> -</table> - -<p>The compression and alteration are of the same -character as in the two previous stories. The argument -is closer and the point clearer; and the effect of the -whole is stronger. One verbal change is very striking. -One might expect that the image with which Johnson -summarises his views would be wholly inviolate. -Yet here we see Dover and Calais substituted for -Whitechapel and Westminster: probably the reason -is that Boswell regrets the phrase he has omitted, -'He is like a man attempting to stride across the -English Channel,' and tries to combine the two -images.</p> - -<p>It must not be forgotten that the stories in 'Boswelliana' -were probably not used by Boswell in writing -the 'Life.' If they were to be written down in full -once only, then why not in the proper Johnsonian -stores? Or why should this peculiar collection of -'Boswelliana' take precedence? Some of the stories, -indeed, must have been in the journal; the record in -'Boswelliana,' for instance, of Johnson's retort about -Scotland—the first remark he made to Boswell—cannot -be the only record of the famous meeting in Tom -Davies' back parlour; clearly Boswell must have -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page281" id="page281"></a>[pg 281]</span> -kept a more elaborate account. But though the -'Boswelliana' manuscripts were not used, as seems -most likely, it may fairly be argued that the difference -between the versions given there and the final forms -in the 'Life' are a proper indication of Boswell's -method of adapting his material. There is no reason -to suppose that Boswell was less accurate in the -'Boswelliana' than in his journal and other Johnsonian -stores; or indeed, that there was a great difference -between 'Boswelliana' versions and any others in an -unfinished state. And it is clear that two versions of -a story, both in an unfinished state, must differ from -the final form more or less, perhaps, but with the -same species of difference.</p> - -<p>It is contended, therefore, that Boswell altered his -written Johnsoniana in a way which could account -for the differences we have observed between the -versions of stories in 'Boswelliana' and those in the -'Life.' This proposition, however, casts no reflection -upon his reputation for accuracy. He preserved the -'substance and language'; and if he changed some -words he preserved the colouring and made the whole -a better representation of Johnson.</p> - -<p>Boswell himself gives some suggestion of his method -when he presents a series of Johnsoniana for which -he was indebted to Mr. Langton:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Very few articles in this collection were committed -to writing by himself, he not having that habit.... -</p></blockquote> - -<blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page282" id="page282"></a>[pg 282]</span> -The authenticity of every article is unquestionable. -For the expressions, I, who wrote them down, am -partly answerable. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>By 'unquestionable authenticity' it was meant, -no doubt, that the purport of what Johnson said had -been correctly reported. In 'Boswelliana' a story told -by Mr. Langton is written out with suggestions for its -improvement. It may be quoted as a final example -of the manner in which Boswell was partly answerable -for the expressions:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Johnson had a sovereign contempt for Wilkes and -his party, whom he looked upon as a mere rabble. -'Sir,' said he, 'had Wilkes's mob prevailed against -Government, this nation would have died of <i>phthiriasis</i>! -Mr. Langton told me this. The expression <i>morbus -pediculosus</i>, as being better known, would strike more. -<i>Lousy disease</i> may be put in a parenthesis.' -</p></blockquote> - -<p class="footnote1"><a id="footnote11.1" name="footnote11.1"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag11.1">1:</a> -<i>Miss Burney's Diary</i>, ii, 100.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote11.2" name="footnote11.2"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag11.2">2:</a> -<i>Tour to Corsica</i>, p. 297.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote11.3" name="footnote11.3"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag11.3">3:</a> -<i>Life of Johnson</i>, iii, 183.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote11.4" name="footnote11.4"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag11.4">4:</a> -<i>Tour to the Hebrides</i>, p. 434 (Dr. Hill's edition).</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote11.5" name="footnote11.5"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag11.5">5:</a> -<i>Tour to the Hebrides</i>, Appendix 1.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote11.6" name="footnote11.6"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag11.6">6:</a> -<i>Life of Johnson</i>, iii, 270.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote11.7" name="footnote11.7"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag11.7">7:</a> -<i>Life of Johnson</i>, ii, 372.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote11.8" name="footnote11.8"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag11.8">8:</a> -<i>Life of Johnson</i>, i, 26.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote11.9" name="footnote11.9"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag11.9">9:</a> -<i>Ib.</i>, i, 421.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote11.10" name="footnote11.10"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag11.10">10:</a> -<i>Boswelliana</i>, Grampian Club, 1874. Preface.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote11.11" name="footnote11.11"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag11.11">11:</a> -Boswell on one occasion told a lady that her joke should be -included in <i>Boswelliana</i>.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote11.12" name="footnote11.12"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag11.12">12:</a> -<i>Life of Johnson</i>, iv, 83.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote11.13" name="footnote11.13"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag11.13">13:</a> -<i>Ib.</i>, iii, 308.</p> - -<p class="footnote1b"><a id="footnote11.14" name="footnote11.14"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag11.14">14:</a> -p. xiii.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page283" id="page283"></a>[pg 283]</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3 class="space-above5">CHAPTER XII</h3> -</div> - -<p>The method we have been examining has revealed, in -a sense, a second aspect of Boswell as the biographer, -the natural complement of that scientific spirit which -inspired the acute observation, the delicate experiments, -the methodical accuracy; for he brought to -the work of recording not merely the faculty for -stating truthfully what he had seen, but the power -of expressing his feelings; and it was particularly -this feeling—an interest at the same time full-blooded, -comprehensive and minute—that insisted -upon expression.</p> - -<p>The emotion which compels a man to bind himself -to an ideal, and, having determined that something -must be done under certain conditions, compels the -doing of it without capitulation, is one which enters -into many kinds of work and is to be found no doubt -very often among scientists; but it is in a peculiar -degree the possession of the artist. To him indeed it -seems to be essential; for his value depends certainly -not more on the quality of what he has to express -than on the completeness with which he expresses -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page284" id="page284"></a>[pg 284]</span> -it. And so perhaps we ought to connect the -consistency, the truth, the faith of Boswell, and his -disregard for obstacles, with his artistic rather than -with his scientific qualities; so we ought to interpret -Boswell's love of his labour and his conviction that -it was good, and so to understand all the trouble that -it cost to his mind and to the more sensitive part of -him. The refusal to depart from his ideal which he -made to Hannah More ('I would not cut off his claws, -nor make my tiger a cat, to please anybody'),<a id="footnotetag12.1" name="footnotetag12.1"></a><a href="#footnote12.1"><sup>1</sup></a> and -again to Bishop Percy when he declined, for the -sake of 'authenticity,' to suppress the bishop's -name,<a id="footnotetag12.2" name="footnotetag12.2"></a><a href="#footnote12.2"><sup>2</sup></a> is an indication of the need he had to -express himself as an artist.<a id="footnotetag12.3" name="footnotetag12.3"></a><a href="#footnote12.3"><sup>3</sup></a></p> - -<p>But how was it that he came so to express himself? -And what is it that he succeeded in expressing?</p> - -<p>Of the impulse to expression and what it meant in -Boswell's case something has been said already in these -pages. We cannot understand the engine if we forget -the power that drives it, and we must emphasise once -again the force that Boswell obeyed. His passion -for truth was not comprehensive: and it was for the -truth of the realist, not the truth of the idealist. It -did not include the whole of life; it did not attempt -to view the entire scene in correct perspective; and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page285" id="page285"></a>[pg 285]</span> -<span class="rightnote">TRUTH</span> -Boswell was decidedly not a philosopher. He did -not greatly need explanations of the universe; he -tended to accept such as seemed convenient. He had -no logic about abstract theories, and only a very limited -power of criticising evidence. One who cares for -truth with respect to every fact and deduction is -inclined to reject his first impressions, because experience -has taught him that 'all men are liars.' The -face of things is so often false! But Boswell was content -to look no further; he sometimes deliberately -disregarded the facts of existence; he lived one half -his life in a glitter of his own creation. Nevertheless, -the passion for truth was vivid and vital. It lived -apart to work out its own consummation; and it -was all the more vehement for being confined. It is -perhaps for this reason—that the truth inherent in -Boswell was confined within such strict limits—that it -required expression. In these circumstances Boswell's -buoyant nature had need of a safety-valve. Truth -for him was concerned entirely with an external view -of people. He was rarely analytical; he did not care -for subtle states of mind and the feelings that composed -them; he looked directly at actions and their primary -motives. The vision was so clear and strong that -Boswell by its very insistence was obliged to create an -imperishable image.</p> - -<p>The reasons that made it certain from the -beginning that Johnson would become the vehicle for -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page286" id="page286"></a>[pg 286]</span> -this expression extend beyond those qualities which -made Boswell prefer and admire him above all other -men; they depend upon Boswell's attitude towards -mankind. We have seen that he apologises and -justifies himself for relating the weaknesses and -absurdities of Johnson. And yet he sometimes seems -to have a peculiar delight in them. These shades -in Johnson's character are dealt with not as an -unpleasant but necessary task, to be despatched with -a light touch as though it ill became him to speak -of them, but with a full flavour of rich and lasting -enjoyment.</p> - -<p>They were in fact to Boswell the most striking and -salient qualities of his great hero, and it was necessary -therefore that they should be well and completely -related. But in the story as we read it, we do -not merely observe that the rude victories and -uneven justice of Johnson were supremely significant -in the eyes of the author. To Boswell the whole -personality of Johnson was a source of the -keenest pleasure. He took an insatiable delight -in it. He loved to imitate the curious gestures and -manner of the Doctor. He became, to use his own -word, 'Johnsonised'; and no doubt he reached that -state which he desired his readers to attain, and both -'talked and thought' Johnson. He was 'strongly impregnated -with the Johnsonian æther'; and when -he had drunk his fill and it had all soaked in, it was -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page287" id="page287"></a>[pg 287]</span> -<span class="rightnote">THE FUN OF JOHNSON</span> -reproduced with a relish of the joyous moments it -had given him. The picture of Johnson, as he saw it, -was a source of deep and satisfying enjoyment to -Boswell: he overflowed with mere pleasure in the -contemplation of a man, and expressed himself, as an -artist, out of the abundance of this sympathy, in -terms of 'Johnson.'</p> - -<p>And the enjoyment, one may say, depending as -it did very largely upon a certain dramatic quality -of that curious figure, was concerned necessarily very -much with the oddities and weaknesses of the man, and -particularly with that greatest weakness of all, the -abuse of strength.</p> - -<p>When it is said that Boswell is an artist, it is not -meant that the whole of the 'Life of Johnson' was -treated artistically. It exhibits, no doubt, a certain -elegance of proportion; it is a good composition, well -arranged, well spaced; and in as far as it has those -qualities we may consider that it belongs to art. -But it is not chiefly because, having recorded what -happened in a perfectly straightforward manner, he -then fitted together the fragments to make as it were -a complete model of a man—it is not for the design—that -we call Boswell an artist. It is because he did -not very often, as we have seen, relate the facts quite -simply, but related them in such a manner that the -whole atmosphere of the scene, all that is most human -and most humorous, strikes upon us. It is in what -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page288" id="page288"></a>[pg 288]</span> -have been called his comedy scenes that we see the -supreme art of Boswell.</p> - -<p>A characteristic passage relates an attempt to -make fun of Johnson by inquiring if he took dancing -lessons:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I ventured to mention a ludicrous passage in the -newspapers, that Dr. Johnson was learning to dance of -Vestris. Lord Charlemont, wishing to excite him to -talk, proposed in a whisper, that he should be asked -whether it was true. 'Shall I ask him?' said his -Lordship. We were by a great majority clear for the -experiment. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>In these few words Boswell has recalled the spirit -of the scene. We have a vision of Johnson sitting -terrible in the midst, and his hearers feeling and -behaving like schoolboys in the presence of some -bearish pedagogue. Some one proposes an audacious -jest, and all await with eagerness the crucial moment. -You may sit upon the edge of a volcano, or you may -fire the train which shall explode a planet, but no -expectancy is so keen as this.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -His Lordship very gravely and with a courteous -air said, 'Pray, sir, is it true that you are taking -lessons of Vestris?' ... This was risking a good -deal, and required the boldness of a General of Irish -Volunteers to make the attempt. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The explosion unerringly follows, but the rumble -dies away in rippling laughter:</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page289" id="page289"></a>[pg 289]</span></p> - -<blockquote><p><span class="rightnote1">COMEDY SCENE</span> -Johnson was at first startled and in some heat -answered, 'How can your Lordship ask so simple a -question?' But immediately recovering himself, -whether from unwillingness to be deceived or to appear -deceived, or whether from real good-humour, he kept -up the joke.... -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Johnson in these scenes of comedy is always the -dictator; the elements of the ridiculous are constantly -present when someone who behaves with a pompous -manner is rarely willing to be laughed at, and Boswell's -sense of what was incongruous was near the surface -and ready to make merry.</p> - -<p>The company on one occasion were greatly tickled -by a word applied in Johnson's most majestic manner -to a rather laughable female character, and the -incident furnishes Boswell with material for one of -his best descriptions of this kind. Johnson had remarked -'The woman had a bottom of good sense.'</p> - -<blockquote><p> -The word <i>bottom</i> [says Boswell] thus introduced, -was so ludicrous when contrasted with his gravity, -that most of us could not forbear tittering and laughing; -though I recollect that the Bishop of Killaloe kept his -countenance with perfect steadiness, while Miss Hannah -More slyly hid her face behind a lady's back who sat -on the same settee with her. His pride could not bear -that any expression of his should excite ridicule, when -he did not intend it; he therefore resolved to assume -and exercise despotick power, glanced sternly around, -and called out in a strong tone, 'Where's the -merriment?' Then collecting himself, and looking -aweful, to make us feel how he could impose restraint, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page290" id="page290"></a>[pg 290]</span> -and as it were searching his mind for a still more -ludicrous word, he slowly pronounced, 'I say the <i>woman</i> -was <i>fundamentally</i> sensible'; as if he had said, 'Hear -this now, and laugh if you dare.' We all sat -composed as at a funeral. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>This, like the other scene, is extremely dramatic. -Neither would have been so had not the writer -himself realised the full humour of the situation. -Perhaps the most remarkable quality of the descriptions -is the amount left out.<a id="footnotetag12.4" name="footnotetag12.4"></a><a href="#footnote12.4"><sup>4</sup></a> The few details which -Boswell gives us are sufficient to reveal the secret -of everybody's feelings, and then Johnson strikes -in with the characteristic remark. It is difficult to -appreciate to the full the merit of these scenes without -comparing them with those supplied by less talented -pens; when we read the accounts of Mrs. Piozzi and -Sir John Hawkins, and even of Miss Burney, we -realise the immeasurable superiority of Boswell's. -They have the elusive quality of all impressionist<a id="footnotetag12.5" name="footnotetag12.5"></a><a href="#footnote12.5"><sup>5</sup></a> art; -they might be ranked with the nocturnes of Whistler: -if they were produced, as it almost seems they were, with -as little apparent care, they were produced, however, -only by the experience of a lifetime. By continually -thinking 'Johnson,' Boswell was able to give the few -necessary touches which expressed the inward vision.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page291" id="page291"></a>[pg 291]</span></p> - -<p><span class="rightnote">JOHNSON'S DICTATORSHIP</span>In the two passages we have quoted, Boswell has -revealed the humour of a situation; those supreme -moments of Johnson's dictatorship were to him a -never-failing treasure-house of priceless mirth; and -he has given us a key which enables us to hear with -him the magic thunder, to see each bright flash of -the lightning, and with him to laugh the rich mellow -laughter because it is so absurd, and yet so inevitable, -and so good, that men should have been fashioned so.</p> - -<p>Boswell delights in showing us the mind of Johnson, -how he was prompted like the rest of us by all the -little motives of men. He enjoys Johnson's humanity. -Sometimes he is more solemn. One great subject is -Johnson's tenderness—as in an account of an argument -with Sir Joshua about drinking:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -<i>Johnson</i> (who from drinking only water supposed -everybody who drank wine to be elevated): 'I won't -argue any more with you, Sir. You are too far gone.' <i>Sir -Joshua</i>: 'I should have thought so indeed, Sir, had -I made such a speech as you have now done.' <i>Johnson</i> -(drawing himself in, and I really thought blushing): -'Nay, don't be angry. I did not mean to offend you.' -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The best instance perhaps of Johnson's compunction -after rudeness is on the occasion of Dr. Percy's defence -of Dr. Mounsey:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Mr. Davies, who sat next to Dr. Percy, having -after this had some conversation aside with him, made -a discovery which, in his zeal to pay court to Dr. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page292" id="page292"></a>[pg 292]</span> -Johnson, he eagerly proclaimed aloud from the foot -of the table: 'O, Sir, I have found out a very good -reason why Dr. Percy never heard Mounsey swear or -talk bawdy; for he tells me, he never saw him but -at the Duke of Northumberland's table.' 'And so, -Sir (said Johnson loudly, to Dr. Percy), you would -shield this man from the charge of swearing and -talking bawdy, because he did not do so at the Duke -of Northumberland's table....' Dr. Percy seemed -to be displeased, and soon afterwards left the company. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Later, in the course of conversation, Johnson denied -any merit to Swift for writing 'The Conduct of the -Allies'; then</p> - -<blockquote><p> -<i>recollecting that Mr. Davies, by acting as an informer, -had been the occasion of his talking somewhat too harshly -to his friend Dr. Percy, for which, probably, when the first -ebullition was over, he felt some compunction</i>,<a id="footnotetag12.6" name="footnotetag12.6"></a><a href="#footnote12.6"><sup>6</sup></a> he took -an opportunity to give him a hit; so added, with a preparatory -laugh, 'Why, Sir, Tom Davies might have -written "The Conduct of the Allies."' Poor Tom being -thus suddenly dragged into ludicrous notice in presence -of the Scottish doctors, to whom he was ambitious of -appearing to advantage, was grievously mortified. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>The compunction, however, on this occasion seems -to have had a short duration, for Boswell goes on to say:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -When I called upon Dr. Johnson next morning, -I found him highly satisfied with his colloquial prowess -the preceding evening: 'Well (said he), we had good -talk.' <i>Boswell</i>: 'Yes, Sir, you tossed and gored -several persons.' -</p></blockquote> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page293" id="page293"></a>[pg 293]</span></p> - -<p><span class="rightnote">THE JOHNSONIAN FLAVOUR</span>Boswell seems to have had the power of picking -out all that was characteristic and important, of -ruthlessly discarding unnecessary details and presenting -only the salient points, of seeing a scene as a -whole, with its more vivid colours flashing out as it -were from a dull background, so that the whole impression -is complete and clear. The smallest conversations, -as we saw, were dealt with in this way. -And as he 'Johnsonised' the talk which he had -himself taken down, and 'Johnsonised' the stories -given to him by Mr. Langton, he 'Johnsonised' in the -same way these larger scenes. While retaining most -of the words used by Johnson himself, Boswell seems -to have added here and there a characteristic expression -to make the whole more pointed, and to have -compressed it all till it preserved nothing but the -true Johnsonian flavour.</p> - -<p class="centerf">.<span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span></p> - -<p>In all this, the artistic part of his work, Boswell -was expressing his own conception of Johnson. But -it has been doubted by some whether this is a true -view of him, or whether the whole is not overdrawn. -Dr. Birkbeck Hill says that Johnson was drawn by -Boswell as 'too awful.'<a id="footnotetag12.7" name="footnotetag12.7"></a><a href="#footnote12.7"><sup>7</sup></a></p> - -<p>It is indeed, as has been said before, the awfulness -of Johnson which Boswell had in mind when he wrote -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page294" id="page294"></a>[pg 294]</span> -his 'comedy scenes,' and even in relating less pungent -moments. The humour of it all depended so much -upon that!</p> - -<p>It must be remarked, at the outset, that several -individuals may have quite different impressions of -one man. Not only do the observers emphasise different -qualities, so that the same person might be described -by one as kind and affectionate, and by another as -sentimental and stupid, without either account being -untrue, except in so far as it is incomplete, but a man's -behaviour often varies with the company. The truth -of Boswell, since he expressed quite truthfully his -own impressions, would be in nowise confounded -if it were discovered that the majority did not -share his view of Johnson; still less if he had seen -what they saw, while they had not seen what he -revealed.</p> - -<p>But the fact is that Boswell's conception of Johnson -as being 'awful' was the common one. The idea that -he was not so is probably derived from Miss Burney's -'Diary.' It will be remembered, however, that Johnson's -behaviour to Miss Burney was quite unlike his -behaviour to the great majority of people: she was -chosen to be the special object of his gallantry. It -was extremely pleasant for her; she was naturally -pleased to be continually the recipient of the most -charming compliments; and her 'Diary' tells us -all about it. Boswell was well aware that to her -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page295" id="page295"></a>[pg 295]</span> -<span class="rightnote">GAY SAM</span> -more than to anybody else Johnson showed the gayer -side of his character, and he was anxious, as we have -seen, to make use of her 'stores':</p> - -<p>I want to show him as gay Sam, agreeable Sam, -pleasant Sam; so you must help me with some of -his beautiful billets to yourself.</p> - -<p>Miss Burney indeed can hardly be excused for not -giving her assistance to Boswell, since she afterwards -talks of vindicating Johnson to his King and Queen,<a id="footnotetag12.8" name="footnotetag12.8"></a><a href="#footnote12.8"><sup>8</sup></a> -which she would hardly have found necessary had she -contributed largely herself to Boswell's 'Life.' And -even Miss Burney alludes to the fear in which Johnson -was held by his contemporaries, and reports a terrible, -if deserved, rebuke to Hannah More, when Johnson, -after politely bearing the lady's adulation for some -little time, exclaimed, 'Madam, before you flatter a -man so grossly to his face, you should consider whether -or not your flattery is worth his having.'<a id="footnotetag12.9" name="footnotetag12.9"></a><a href="#footnote12.9"><sup>9</sup></a> Mrs. Piozzi, -too, in whose house it was that she met Dr. Johnson, -has, in her own account of him, emphasised very -much the other side of the picture.</p> - -<p>It must also be remembered that Boswell, though -he loves to relate the roughness of Johnson and his -imperiousness, is always at pains to show that he was -a really kind and considerate man, and even seems -to make allowance for the possibility that he has made -the harshness too prominent, and takes care to explain -that it was not so common as might be supposed:</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page296" id="page296"></a>[pg 296]</span></p> - -<blockquote><p> -How very false is the notion which has gone round -the world of the rough, and passionate, and harsh -manners of this great and good man. That he had -occasional sallies of heat of temper, and that he was -sometimes, perhaps, too 'easily provoked' by absurdity -and folly, and sometimes too desirous of triumph in -colloquial contest, must be allowed. The quickness -both of his perception and sensibility disposed him -to sudden explosions of satire; to which his extraordinary -readiness of wit was a strong and almost -irresistible incitement. I admit that the beadle -within him was often so eager to apply the lash, that -the judge had not time to consider the case with -sufficient deliberation.<a id="footnotetag12.10" name="footnotetag12.10"></a><a href="#footnote12.10"><sup>10</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Boswell is prepared to admit, as he is obliged to do, -the dogmatist and the fighter in Johnson, but not -that he was in the ordinary way disagreeable.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -That he was occasionally remarkable for violence -of temper may be granted: but let us ascertain the -degree, and not let it be supposed that he was in a -perpetual rage, and never without a club in his hand, -to knock down everyone who approached him. On -the contrary, the truth is, that by much the greatest -part of his time he was civil, obliging, nay, polite in -the true sense of the word; so much so, that many -gentlemen, who were long acquainted with him, never -received, or even heard a strong expression from him. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>It will be seen from his lengthy defence of Johnson -against what he considered a common accusation and -an unjust one, and it may be seen also from other -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page297" id="page297"></a>[pg 297]</span> -<span class="rightnote">JOHNSON'S 'AWEFULNESS'</span> -passages, that Boswell regards his own life of Johnson -as likely to weaken the prevalent opinions about -Johnson's rough behaviour. Mrs. Piozzi is violently -attacked by him for having exaggerated and -maliciously enlarged upon this part of his character.<a id="footnotetag12.11" name="footnotetag12.11"></a><a href="#footnote12.11"><sup>11</sup></a></p> - -<p>It is not to be supposed that the conception of -Johnson's 'awfulness' depended entirely upon his -capacity for giving rude blows to his antagonists in -conversation. There is a certain gravity of demeanour, -amounting almost to pompousness, which Boswell -loves to depict. It may seem that the Doctor is -not sufficiently good-humoured. No doubt it was -Boswell's particular delight to represent the majesty -of the great man of letters, and the many occasions on -which Johnson is jovial and pleasant are, for him -perhaps, the exceptions to a rule. But how many -there are! The 'Tour to the Hebrides' especially -(and in considering Boswell's presentation of Johnson -we must consider always the 'Tour' with the 'Life') is -full of instances of this kind of behaviour. It was -indeed a serious departure from Boswell's ideal that -the Rambler should take upon his knee a Highland -lady, but it would be difficult to count the number of -times that Johnson is reported quite naturally to have -laughed and to have been good-humoured. He is -even reported to have perverted a line of Shakespeare, -with the spontaneous merrymaking of a schoolboy, to -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page298" id="page298"></a>[pg 298]</span> -suit his companion. Surely it could be said by no one -that his impression of Johnson after reading Boswell's -'Life' and the 'Tour to the Hebrides' was that of a -cross and grave old man.</p> - -<p>Boswell perhaps does not give the picture of -affability and even gaiety which Miss Burney gives; -but her account too is qualified. 'Dr. Johnson,' she -says, 'has more fun and comical humour, and love -of nonsense about him, than almost anybody I ever -saw: I mean when with those he likes; for otherwise -he can be as severe and as bitter as report relates him.'<a id="footnotetag12.12" name="footnotetag12.12"></a><a href="#footnote12.12"><sup>12</sup></a> -On another occasion she speaks of 'a formality that -accompanies whatever he says,' which conveys exactly -the impression of 'awfulness' that we get so often from -Boswell.<a id="footnotetag12.13" name="footnotetag12.13"></a><a href="#footnote12.13"><sup>13</sup></a></p> - -<p>The criticism which could perhaps be made with -most justice of the Johnson whom we know from -Boswell is that he is not playful enough. Miss Burney's -Johnson may seem a jollier man. She alludes to his -'love of nonsense' and 'a turn for burlesque humour.'<a id="footnotetag12.14" name="footnotetag12.14"></a><a href="#footnote12.14"><sup>14</sup></a> -But it must be remembered that behaviour of this -kind is mentioned very seldom—only four or five -times at the most, even in Miss Burney's 'Diary.' And -it would be not unnatural (from the circumstances -mentioned before) that Miss Burney would see more -of this side of his character than other people.</p> - -<p>Boswell, in the preface to the second edition of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page299" id="page299"></a>[pg 299]</span> -<span class="rightnote">RECEPTION OF BOSWELL'S JOHNSON</span> -the 'Life,' tells us that the book had been received -with favour, that he had obtained a great deal of -spontaneous praise, and that Sir Joshua Reynolds lived -to give the strongest testimony to its fidelity. These -are expressions which he could not use, had they -been untrue, in that place; for they would invite a -damaging attack from the reviewers. But a book -which upset the popular conception of a figure like -Johnson, or even one which merely overdrew the -'shades' in his character, would hardly have been -received like that. And Boswell in fact was never -attacked in print for these faults, which, considering -what a number of enemies he had, and the disputes -in which he was engaged after the publication of the -'Life,' is almost conclusive evidence that his accounts -of Johnson's 'awfulness' corresponded with the observations -of other people. Courtenay was a good -judge when he wrote the following lines about the -'Tour to the Hebrides':</p> - -<div class="poem width21"> <div class="stanza"> -<p>"With Reynolds' pencil, vivid, bold, and true,</p> -<p>So fervent Boswell gives him to our view:</p> -<p>In every trait we see his mind expand;</p> -<p>The master rises by the pupil's hand.</p> -<p>We love the writer, praise his happy vein,</p> -<p>Grac'd with the <i>naïveté</i> of the sage Montaigne.</p> -<p>Hence not alone are brighter parts display'd,</p> -<p>But e'en the specks of character pourtray'd:</p> -<p>We see the Rambler with fastidious smile...."<a id="footnotetag12.15" name="footnotetag12.15"></a><a href="#footnote12.15"><sup>15</sup></a></p> - </div> </div> - -<p class="footnote1"><a id="footnote12.1" name="footnote12.1"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag12.1">1:</a> -<i>Autobiography, Letters, &c., of Mrs. Piozzi</i>, ii, 403.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote12.2" name="footnote12.2"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag12.2">2:</a> -Nichols' <i>Illustrations</i>, vii, 313.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote12.3" name="footnote12.3"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag12.3">3:</a> -Henley, in <i>Views and Reviews</i>, speaks of Boswell as an artist.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote12.4" name="footnote12.4"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag12.4">4:</a> -Fitzgerald and Birkbeck Hill both say something of this.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote12.5" name="footnote12.5"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag12.5">5:</a> -I use this term not in a particular technical sense (as -applied to a school of French painters) but in a general sense, of -all art that neglects details for the sake of general effect.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote12.6" name="footnote12.6"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag12.6">6:</a> -The italics are mine.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote12.7" name="footnote12.7"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag12.7">7:</a> -<i>Life of Johnson</i>, ii. 262, n. 2.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote12.8" name="footnote12.8"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag12.8">8:</a> -<i>Miss Burney's Diary</i>, iv, 478.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote12.9" name="footnote12.9"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag12.9">9:</a> -<i>Ib.</i>, i, 100.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote12.10" name="footnote12.10"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag12.10">10:</a> -<i>Life of Johnson</i>, iii, 80-1.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote12.11" name="footnote12.11"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag12.11">11:</a> -<i>Life of Johnson</i>, iv, 340 <i>et seq.</i></p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote12.12" name="footnote12.12"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag12.12">12:</a> -<i>Miss Burney's Diary</i>, i, 211.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote12.13" name="footnote12.13"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag12.13">13:</a> -<i>Ib.</i>, i, 231.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote12.14" name="footnote12.14"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag12.14">14:</a> -<i>Ib.</i>, i, 102.</p> - -<p class="footnote1b"><a id="footnote12.15" name="footnote12.15"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag12.15">15:</a> -<i>Life of Johnson</i>, ii, 268.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page300" id="page300"></a>[pg 300]</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3 class="space-above5">CHAPTER XIII</h3> -</div> - -<p>Four years of life remained to Boswell after the publication -of the great biography. His death came at -the due moment; he was not cut off in the midst of -a great undertaking or in the course of an important -development. It is inconceivable that, had he lived, -he would have produced another biography which -should be comparable to the 'Life of Johnson.' An -autobiography he might indeed have written, but -there is no sign that he was engaged upon such a work -in the closing years, or that the idea had taken definite -shape in his mind; his nature was rather that of the -casual autobiographer, such as we find him in the -'Life' from time to time, and particularly in the -'Letters to Temple'; and it is doubtful whether his -autobiography, if ever it had been written, would have -added much to letters and diaries which were no doubt -in existence, though not preserved for our eyes.<a id="footnotetag13.1" name="footnotetag13.1"></a><a href="#footnote13.1"><sup>1</sup></a> The -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page301" id="page301"></a>[pg 301]</span> -<span class="rightnote">RETROSPECT</span> -great labour of his life had been accomplished: and -he was allowed a little time longer to see that it was -approved by his own generation.</p> - -<p>Several questions naturally present themselves -when we consider the end of a man's life. Has he -been successful? What is his position in the world? -Do men respect him? Do they love him?</p> - -<p>Boswell, we had occasion to remark before, had -not been, in the ordinary sense, successful. He had -always been ambitious; he had wanted to be 'the -great man'; he had coveted the world's honours; -he would have liked to be busy with the affairs of a -nation, or, at the least, to have been reputed a leading -barrister. But the glory which fell to the lot of -those who governed this country was withheld from -Boswell; in the legal and political spheres he failed. -The one post which he obtained, as Recorder of -Carlisle—and it was one of no importance—he resigned -in 1790, because he could no longer brook the -overbearing behaviour of an insolent patron.</p> - -<p>Certainly Boswell was far from attaining such -fame as he desired; but at the same time he had a -very remarkable success. What then was Boswell's -reputation among his contemporaries?</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page302" id="page302"></a>[pg 302]</span></p> - -<p>The literary world had welcomed the 'Tour to the -Hebrides'; men of discrimination had seen that it was -a very remarkable book. And yet Boswell's talents -won little respect from this performance. It was -amazingly indiscreet; and censure was more readily -bestowed upon the author's indiscretion than praise -upon his art. It was easy to account for the interest -of the book, as Gray and Walpole had accounted -for the charm of the 'Tour in Corsica,' by the peculiarities -of the writer; and though to many so shallow -an explanation must have been unsatisfactory, it -detracted from Boswell's reputation as a man of letters. -Moreover, the caricaturists were always busy with -Boswell's oddities: the 'Tour to the Hebrides' provided -ample store for the exercise of their wit, and the persistency -of their ridicule no doubt hindered the -recognition of Boswell's talents. When the 'Life of -Johnson' was published, the subject of Boswell and -Johnson had been somewhat played out. A number -of 'Lives' of Johnson had already appeared; besides -Hawkins, Mrs. Thrale, and Murphy, several less known -pens had made use of so promising a subject. The -public interest in Johnson had begun to wane. The -sale of Boswell's 'Life' was actually rather less rapid -than was expected. This was, on the whole, an -advantage. The work obtained a less hasty and more -serious consideration. Some who would have bought -the book five years before, when the subject was fresh, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page303" id="page303"></a>[pg 303]</span> -<span class="rightnote">REPUTATION</span> -and the expectation to be amused by Boswell was -still keen, probably now refrained. Those who bought -Boswell's 'Life' bought it, one may surmise, as the -best book about Johnson; and, to anyone who read -it, Boswell's work must have profited by comparison -with those who had published before him. No doubt -another reason for the graver attitude of the public -towards the 'Life' was that it was less indiscreet than -the 'Tour'; it provided less capital for those whose -trade it was to amuse, and—by comparison—provoked -very little ridicule.</p> - -<p>Boswell's reputation as a serious writer certainly -gained enormously from the 'Life of Johnson.' It -gained, in fact, disproportionately. The plan and -scope of the 'Life' are larger than that of the 'Tour'; -but the earlier book exhibits in their maturity, and -equally well, all the qualities for which we most value -Boswell.</p> - -<p>It was the later work, however, that brought honour -to Boswell. The publication of the <i>magnum opus</i> in -April 1791 led to a distinction which he can hardly -have expected. 'In July 1791,' we read in Taylor's -'Life of Reynolds,' 'Boswell to his great delight was -appointed Secretary for Foreign Correspondence to -the Academy in lieu of Baretti. The newspapers -abounded in squibs at his appointment, for Bozzy's -weaknesses were favourite game with the small wits.' -The announcement, with its double import of respect -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page304" id="page304"></a>[pg 304]</span> -and ridicule, gives a fair indication of Boswell's reputation -among his contemporaries.</p> - -<p>It was easy not to respect Boswell; it was difficult -not to love him. He was a 'truly social' man. 'His -conversation talents were always pleasing and often -fascinating.'<a id="footnotetag13.2" name="footnotetag13.2"></a><a href="#footnote13.2"><sup>2</sup></a> Boswell, in his best form, must have -been irresistible. His spirits were tremendous and -they were constantly bubbling over. Such spirits are -infectious and intoxicating. They are like 'tone' -in a violin; the full resonance, the very robustness -of the sound, carries one away. Boswell, it may -be said, had 'tone.' His gaiety and good humour -were not self-contained, but expanded to others. The -mainspring, or whatever it be that works the human -being, was particularly powerful and active in his -case; and his companions must have felt it.</p> - -<p>The testimony as to his radiating good humour is -unanimous. Dr. Rogers in describing his personal -appearance says 'his well-set features beamed with -perpetual good humour,' and certainly the portraits -bear him out. 'It was impossible,' remarked a contemporary, -'to look upon his face without being -moved by the comicality which always reigned upon -it.'<a id="footnotetag13.3" name="footnotetag13.3"></a><a href="#footnote13.3"><sup>3</sup></a> 'It is no wonder,' says his friend John Taylor, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page305" id="page305"></a>[pg 305]</span> -<span class="rightnote">POPULARITY</span> -'that Mr. Boswell was universally well received. He -was full of anecdote, well acquainted with the most -distinguished characters, good-humoured, and ready -at repartee. There was a kind of jovial bluntness -in his manner, which threw off all restraint even -with strangers, and immediately kindled a social -familiarity.'<a id="footnotetag13.4" name="footnotetag13.4"></a><a href="#footnote13.4"><sup>4</sup></a></p> - -<p>Malone, replying to a detractor of Boswell, wrote:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -The most important misrepresentation is, that Mr. -Boswell was convivial without being <i>social or friendly</i>; -a falsehood, which all who knew him intimately, can -peremptorily contradict. He had not only an inexhaustible -fund of good-humour and good-nature, -but was extremely warm in his attachments, and as -ready to exert himself for his friends as any man. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>It would be tedious to discuss Boswell's character -with reference to his popularity, explaining the various -qualities which were or were not attractive in him. -A good-natured and affectionate disposition, supported -by high spirits, gives the key to many hearts; and -Boswell's lack of dignity, and even his weaknesses, may -have endeared him still more, when it was considered -that there was nothing low or mean about him.</p> - -<p>Popular he certainly was; he had many acquaintances -and also a number of very good friends. Boswell, -though he was volatile enough in some of his relations -with the opposite sex, was very constant in his real -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page306" id="page306"></a>[pg 306]</span> -affections. Temple was still his greatest friend at -the end of his life. His fidelity to Johnson was remarkable, -and surprised his contemporaries; and he -was no less faithful to his other hero, Paoli. The -General, indeed, was always very kind to Boswell, -especially when he came to live in London after the -death of his wife, and Boswell more than once stayed -in his house.<a id="footnotetag13.5" name="footnotetag13.5"></a><a href="#footnote13.5"><sup>5</sup></a> Reynolds, the most distinguished -among Boswell's friends of the Johnsonian circle, is -mentioned by Malone as having had 'a very warm -regard' for Boswell.<a id="footnotetag13.6" name="footnotetag13.6"></a><a href="#footnote13.6"><sup>6</sup></a> He left him £200 to buy a -picture, to be kept for his sake.<a id="footnotetag13.7" name="footnotetag13.7"></a><a href="#footnote13.7"><sup>7</sup></a> Charles Dilly was -Boswell's friend only for a less time than was Temple; -and Boswell, it appears, was a second host in Dilly's -house:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -If ever the strict rule of decorum was by chance -infringed on, it was on those occasional days when, -inevitable business preventing the master of the house -from sitting so long with his guests as he could wish, -the pleasure of entertaining them was deputed to his -kind-hearted and pleasant friend, James Boswell.<a id="footnotetag13.8" name="footnotetag13.8"></a><a href="#footnote13.8"><sup>8</sup></a> -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Courtenay, Dempster and Sir William Forbes were -all old friends, and friends to the last. Forbes was -Boswell's literary executor in company with Malone -and Temple. Malone's acquaintance with Boswell was -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page307" id="page307"></a>[pg 307]</span> -<span class="rightnote">FRIENDSHIPS</span> -more recent; but his friendship does Boswell more -credit almost than any other. Its ten years began by -Malone correcting the proof-sheets of the 'Tour to the -Hebrides,' and ended by his preparing the third edition -of the 'Life.' His affection for Boswell not only -survived these labours, but grew up with them.<a id="footnotetag13.9" name="footnotetag13.9"></a><a href="#footnote13.9"><sup>9</sup></a> Shortly -after Boswell's death he wrote a handsome defence of -Boswell, who had been attacked by a journalist in the -<i>Gentleman's Magazine</i>. Some parts of it have already -been quoted here. Malone knew Boswell at the end -of his life better perhaps than anyone, and the letter -is authoritative as coming from his pen; it not only -bears testimony to his friendship, but also gives a -valuable estimate of Boswell.</p> - -<p>He was 'extremely warm in his attachments,' -Malone tells us. He also pays a striking tribute to -his devotion to Dr. Johnson and his intellectual -abilities:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -His fervent attachment to Dr. Johnson at the early -age of three-and-twenty, when the dissipation and -amusements of London hold out to men of such lively -parts as he possessed irresistible attraction, reflects -great credit on his memory. His veneration and -esteem for his friend induced him, at a subsequent -period, to go through the laborious task of arranging -and digesting the immense mass of materials with -which his own diligence and the kindness of his friends -had furnished him; and of forming his history of the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page308" id="page308"></a>[pg 308]</span> -life of that excellent and extraordinary man; one -of the most instructive and entertaining books in the -English language.... Mr. Boswell undoubtedly -possessed considerable intellectual powers, for which -he has not had sufficient credit; many supposing him -to be a mere relator of the sayings of others: but it is -manifest to every reader of any discernment that he -never could have collected such a mass of information -and just observation on human life as his very valuable -work contains, without great strength of mind and -much various knowledge; as he never could have -displayed his collections in so lively a manner as he -has done, had he not possessed a very picturesque -imagination, or, in other words, had he not had a -very happy turn for poetry as well as for humour and -for wit. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Mr. Malone ends his letter by paying a final tribute to -the affection of Boswell's friends:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -He will long be regretted by a wide circle of friends, -to whom his good qualities and social talents always -made his company a valuable accession; and by -none more sincerely than the present vindicator of -his fame. -</p></blockquote> - -<p class="centerf">.<span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span></p> - -<p>Life is commonly somewhat of a battle. Blows -are given and received. Flags are lost and won. -Positions are captured and surrendered. Limbs are -crushed and amputated. There are many ugly wounds; -some bleed and fester; some are healed. It is natural -to look back on life, as the general surveys the battlefield -and the hospitals, to count the score. At the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page309" id="page309"></a>[pg 309]</span> -<span class="rightnote">THE MODIFICATION OF BOSWELL</span> -end of all the struggle and the horror, the strange joys -and the fantastic dreams, what has happened? What -view does the fighter take himself? Was the cause -worth struggling for, after all is done? Would he -fight on the same side if he could start again? Would -he refrain from fighting? Or would he fight with -a different object? Is the essential man the same? -Or have his ambitions and desires and the vital force -of the man been modified? And if so how much? -Can they be recognised as the same equipment with -which he set forth, or has the consuming fire burnt out, -and the bright flame grown pale and dim?</p> - -<p>Boswell was not an old man when he died; and -apart from the prostration caused by ill-health—for -he was frequently ill towards the close of his life—his -robust vigour seems hardly to have diminished. -In July 1790, a year after Mrs. Boswell's death, he -seems already to entertain some matrimonial scheme.<a id="footnotetag13.10" name="footnotetag13.10"></a><a href="#footnote13.10"><sup>10</sup></a> -This apparently was the first of a fresh suite. In the -spring of 1791 he is looking forward to the pleasure of -meeting a certain Miss Bagnal, 'who may probably -have six or seven hundred a year.' 'Here then I am, -my Temple,' exclaims Boswell, 'my flattering self! -A scheme, an adventure, seizes upon my fancy.' -Assuredly this is the old Boswell.</p> - -<p>In his whole outlook upon life Boswell, in fact, -changed very little. He had failed in the main battle; -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page310" id="page310"></a>[pg 310]</span> -the ambitious dreams which pleased him most had -not come to pass. Neither as politician nor as barrister -had he won the smallest degree of fame. He was, and -is, famous in a rarer sort: yet he had esteemed literary -fame at a much lower rate. And at the end of his life -he still measured distinction by the same old standards. -He felt that the struggle had gone against him: but -he never doubted of the cause for which he was fighting. -As late as August 1791, some months after the 'Life of -Johnson' appeared, he wrote to Temple as though he -were on the eve of a legal career:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I have gone the full round of the Home Circuit, -to which I have returned, finding it much more pleasant, -and, though I did not get a single brief, do not repent -of the expense, as I am showing myself desirous of -business and imbibing legal knowledge. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>He still was building castles in the air of the old -type; still, sometimes, he took an opportunity to be -'conspicuous' and made conscious efforts to 'be the -great man.' Almost simultaneously with the 'Life,' -he published a political poem, 'No Abolition of Slavery, -or The Universal Empire of Love.' It was of a semi-frivolous -nature, the argument being drawn from a -premise that slavery is the most agreeable of 'goods,' -when it is enforced by the chains of loving devotion. -The name of Miss Bagnal is introduced, and it is -difficult to tell whether the whole may not be an -elaborate attempt to bring off a marriage with that -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page311" id="page311"></a>[pg 311]</span> -<span class="rightnote">AMBITION RETAINED</span> -lady. But it is evident from a remark to Temple, that -the main purpose is political:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I am thinking to curtail my poem on the Slave -Trade, and throw it into the world just before the great -question comes on next Wednesday. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>A rumour of war with Russia also rouses the public -spirit of Boswell to seek distinction, and he hesitates</p> - -<blockquote><p> -whether I should not write one of my characteristical -pamphlets on this crisis—An Appeal to the People -upon the threatened project of involving this country -in a war with Russia, in order to assist the Turks. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>At the end of his life Boswell had not deserted his -ambition, and, as far as we can tell, he had not forgotten -his disappointment. There are few 'Letters to -Temple' during these last few years, and it is difficult -to form an exact idea of Boswell's state of mind. For -the year 1792 we have only one note of a few lines: it -begins, 'Still I cannot write a long letter.' These words -suggest, though they do not prove, that Boswell had -been in low spirits; for such a condition was frequently -a reason for neglecting to write. For the following -year there are three letters. In the first, Boswell -refers to the pain it gives him to visit Auchinleck; -in the second, he discusses with remorse his habit of -indulgence in wine; in the third, he says 'My spirits -are somewhat better, but by no means right yet.' It -is probable that Boswell wrote more regularly in 1794, -but only one letter to Temple exists. This, the last -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page312" id="page312"></a>[pg 312]</span> -letter written in his own hand, is much more cheerful -in tone, and concerned more with Temple than with -himself. But this alone is no evidence to prove that -Boswell at the end of his life was contented with -his lot and satisfied with the measure of success he -had attained. The reverse is far more likely to be -the case. As late as 1791 he had time, in the very -throes of publishing the <i>magnum opus</i>, to brood -over 'the disappointment of my hopes in life.' He -clearly suffered from low spirits during the next two -years, and it can hardly be supposed that his disappointment, -though only one of several causes, had -nothing to do with it.</p> - -<p>The old standards had not changed. The same -weights and measures, which were adopted early in -life, still at the end of it were used to determine the -deeds of men and fix their value. And yet a change -had come. In the 'Letters to Temple' a certain -difference of tone may be distinguished after Boswell -lost his wife. It was partly that he began fully to -realise the failure of his ambitious plans; and it was -still more a different attitude which that realisation -involved. When a man discovers that he cannot get -what he wants, he is apt to pay more attention to -what he already has.</p> - -<p>Though literature did not supply for Boswell the -wine of life, it had always attracted him very strongly. -He had a taste for books and a very keen desire for -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page313" id="page313"></a>[pg 313]</span> -<span class="rightnote">LITERARY AMBITION</span> -learning; above all, he had literary ambition. He -made a number of literary plans besides that of -writing Johnson's 'Life.'<a id="footnotetag13.11" name="footnotetag13.11"></a><a href="#footnote13.11"><sup>11</sup></a> He was not merely, in his -own conception, the biographer of Johnson, but the -man of letters in a most extended fashion, and something -of a scholar. And it was towards the end of -his life, though then concerned almost exclusively -with Johnson, that Boswell was most industrious -in the literary field. Not only did he publish the -<i>magnum opus</i> four years before his death, but he -continued diligently to collect fresh material. The -second edition appeared two years later, in July 1793. -The third edition was being prepared, with Malone's -valuable help, when Boswell died. The biographer -evidently did not consider his labours ended when the -'Life of Johnson' was at last published. Its favourable -reception 'has excited,' he says in the Advertisement -to the Second Edition, 'my best exertions to render my -Book more perfect; and in this endeavour I have -had the assistance not only of some of my particular -friends, but of many other learned and ingenious men, -by which I have been able to rectify some mistakes, -and to enrich the Work with many valuable -additions.'</p> - -<p>The scale of Boswell's literary efforts towards the -end of his life is the measure of his satisfaction in the -performance, and this satisfaction, though it did not -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page314" id="page314"></a>[pg 314]</span> -take the place of the magnificent pleasure he had imagined -in being 'the great man,' and did not cure his -disappointment, must have frequently consoled, and, -in some moods, keenly delighted Boswell. In the -'Life' he expresses, with a note of triumph, his -satisfaction in the fate of the 'Tour to the Hebrides':</p> - -<blockquote><p> -To please the true, candid, warm admirers of -Johnson, and in any degree increase the splendour of -his reputation, I bid defiance to the shafts of ridicule, -or even of malignity. Showers of them have been -discharged at my 'Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides'; -yet it still sails unhurt along the stream of time, and, -as attendant upon Johnson, -</p></blockquote> - -<div class="poem1 width21"><div class="stanza"> - Pursues the triumph, and partakes the gale. -</div> </div> - -<p>Boswell is equally triumphant about the 'Life':</p> - -<blockquote><p> -That I was anxious for the success of a Work which -had employed much of my time and labour, I do not -wish to conceal: but whatever doubts I at any time -entertained, have been entirely removed by the -very favourable reception with which it has been -honoured. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>It was not merely literary fame that so much -delighted Boswell: it was literary fame of the best -sort. The most respected of Johnson's friends and -the best critics had praised his book. Boswell could -now feel secure in his own conviction that his 'Life' -was beyond comparison as a portrait of a man and as -a portrait of Johnson:</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page315" id="page315"></a>[pg 315]</span></p> - -<blockquote><p><span class="rightnote1">SATISFACTION</span> -In reflecting that the illustrious subject of this -Work, by being more extensively and more intimately -known, however elevated before, has risen in the -veneration and love of mankind, I feel a satisfaction -beyond what fame can afford.... It seems to me, -in my moments of self-complacency, that this extensive -biographical work, however inferior in its nature, -may in one respect be assimilated to the Odyssey. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Boswell goes on to explain that the 'Hero,' like -Ulysses, 'in the whole course of the History, is exhibited -by the authour for the best advantage of his -readers.' So certain is he of the merits of his book -that he tells his readers, in so many words, that, if -they do not like it, their own bad temper is to blame.</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Should there be any cold-blooded morose mortals -who really dislike this Book, I will give them a story -to apply. When the great Duke of Marlborough, -accompanied by Lord Cadogan, was one day reconnoitering -the army in Flanders, a heavy rain came on -and they both called for their cloaks. Lord Cadogan's -servant, a good-humoured, alert lad, brought his -Lordship's in a minute. The Duke's servant, a lazy -sulky dog, was so sluggish, that his Grace being wet -to the skin, reproved him, and had for answer, with -a grunt, 'I came as fast as I could,' upon which the -Duke calmly said, 'Cadogan, I would not for a thousand -pounds have that fellow's temper.' -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Boswell's satisfaction with his literary labours was -certainly well-founded. It is fair to remind those who -may condemn this attitude that he allowed an unduly -large share of the book's merits to Dr. Johnson. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page316" id="page316"></a>[pg 316]</span> -Interesting and lovable as Johnson was, he had little -to do with Boswell's execution. The biographer was -fortunate—peculiarly fortunate—in his subject: so -much must be allowed and no more. Boswell's pride -did not exceed his deserts. But his 'moments of self-complacency' -must have provided a considerable -compensation for despondent moods when he regretted -failure in other spheres. His 'satisfaction' reached a -very high pitch when he could calmly say to an unappreciative -reader—for that is what it amounts to—that -he would be sorry to have a temper like that.</p> - -<p>It is not remarkable for an author to feel as self-satisfied -as Boswell. Many authors tell their readers, -though not so frankly, that they ought to be interested -in a book, and few give so good reasons as Boswell gave. -The point has been laboured here in order to illustrate -the final stage in his paradoxical development; to -show in what degree Boswell, while realising failure -in all his magnificent dreams, was satisfied with the -fame he had of another sort. Assuredly he was pleased -with what he had; the degree may be judged from -this final extract from the Advertisement to the -Second Edition:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -There are some men, I believe, who have, or think -they have, a very small share of vanity. Such may -speak of their literary fame in a decorous style of -diffidence. But I confess, that I am so formed by -nature, and by habit, that to restrain the effusion of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page317" id="page317"></a>[pg 317]</span> -<span class="rightnote1">LITERARY FAME</span> -delight, on having obtained such fame, to me would -be truly painful. Why then should I suppress it? -Why 'out of the abundance of the heart' should I -not speak? Let me then mention with a warm, but -no insolent exultation, that I have been regaled with -spontaneous praise of my work by many and various -persons eminent for their rank, learning, talents and -accomplishments; much of which praise I have -under their hands to be reposited in my archives -at Auchinleck. An honourable and reverend friend, -speaking of the favourable reception of my volumes, -even in the circles of fashion and elegance, said to me, -'You have made them all talk Johnson.'—Yes, I may -add, I have <i>Johnsonised</i> the land; and I trust they -will not only <i>talk</i> but <i>think</i> Johnson. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Boswell, after all, had changed very little since the -publication of the 'Tour in Corsica' in his desire for -literary fame, but he must have had a very different -view of what it meant. In early life this literary -ambition was but one aspect of the prevailing idea, -to be 'the great man'; and he intended to win -respect through literature as a wise and honoured -'citizen of the world.' He cannot have retained this -delusion after publishing the 'Tour to the Hebrides.' -It was in the very month when the 'Life' appeared -that he spoke of 'the disappointment of my hopes -of success in life.' There was no thought that the -'Life' would redeem these hopes. It was to win -praise and bring esteem: but not in the same sphere -with these 'hopes of success.' Boswell's literary fame -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page318" id="page318"></a>[pg 318]</span> -compensated his disappointment in some degree, but -by no means banished it. His triumphant satisfaction -was founded, as is the case with many literary men, -upon the merits of literary work and the applause -of competent judges.</p> - -<p class="centerf">.<span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span></p> - -<p>Such changes as may be observed in Boswell -towards the end of his life arose, it must be repeated, -from the failure of his political and legal ambitions. -When he ceased to pursue the adventures suggested -by his wild imagination, he paid more attention to the -natural interests of his position. He was a landlord -and a father; and his children had now no mother. -Boswell not only accepted his responsibilities, but -performed something more than his duty.</p> - -<p>When Boswell had left Auchinleck and came to live -in London, his opportunities for interesting himself -in the welfare of his tenants and dependants were -naturally curtailed. With the strict view of a landlord's -obligations which is commonly held in this age, -we may be inclined to condemn Boswell simply on the -ground that he did not live upon his estate. But, -though Ayrshire is a far cry from London, the Laird of -Auchinleck did not forget his position. He was willing -to travel to Scotland 'to transact business with my -tenants.' On one occasion, in 1793, he undertook the -journey in order to see that the parish was provided -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page319" id="page319"></a>[pg 319]</span> -<span class="rightnote">AUCHINLECK</span> -with a suitable parson: 'The choice of a minister -to a worthy parish is a matter of importance, and I -cannot be sure of the real wishes of the people without -being present.' He went to Auchinleck not because he -enjoyed going, but because he thought he ought to go: -'though the journey will no doubt be uncomfortable -(probably because Boswell was in bad health), and my -being alone in that house where once I was so happy, -be dreary in a woeful degree, the consciousness of duty, -and being busy, will I hope support me.' In Boswell's -will special provisions were made for his tenants and -servants:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -As there are upon the estate of Auchinleck several -tenants whose families have possessed their farms -for many generations, I do by these presents grant -leases for nineteen years and their respective lifetimes -of their present farms to John Templeton etc.... -And I do beseech all the succeeding heirs of entail to -be kind to the Tenants and not turn out old possessors -to get a little more rent. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>'Seldom,' exclaims Dr. Rogers, 'has Scottish landlord -evinced greater consideration for his tenantry and -domestics.'</p> - -<p>As a father, Boswell was no less kind. He had -had six children altogether, three sons and three -daughters;<a id="footnotetag13.12" name="footnotetag13.12"></a><a href="#footnote13.12"><sup>12</sup></a> one of the sons had died early in 1777. -His interest in his children no doubt increased very -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page320" id="page320"></a>[pg 320]</span> -much after their mother's death. Frequently in the -'Letters to Temple' after that event (June, 1789) one -or other of them is mentioned, and Boswell shows -anxiety both for their present happiness and for their -future welfare. Malone, in answering a detractor of -Boswell's, says:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -This writer acknowledges that he was an affectionate -father; he was more; he was extremely liberal and -indulgent to his children, having, for some years past, -expended out of his moderate income, £300 a year to -educate his two sons, one at Eton and the other at -Westminster, and one of his daughters at a boarding-school: -to effect which he confined his own personal -expenses within the narrowest bounds. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>That Boswell could stint himself in this way for his -children shows a larger degree of self-sacrifice than -might be expected from one of his extravagant tastes. -It shows also a development in his character. The -old passion for being conspicuous could now be put -aside for the sake of his children.</p> - -<p>Boswell, in fact, became less extravagant and -affected towards the end of life. He was less often -carried away by his 'warm imagination.' He lived -less in his 'castles in the air,' and nearer the solid earth.</p> - -<p class="centerf">.<span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span><span class="foo2">.</span></p> - -<p>The next cause of this development is not far to -seek. It lies in the result of the main struggle in Boswell's -life. Truth had won the day. The irrepressible -quality of Boswell's genius had triumphed in spite of his -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page321" id="page321"></a>[pg 321]</span> -<span class="rightnote">THE SUPREME QUALITY</span> -commonplace aims and the conventionality of his -beliefs and standards; and it had found its expression -in biography. The nature of that triumph reacted -inevitably upon Boswell. The highest of his qualifications -for writing the 'Life of Johnson' was simply -honesty. He was honest about human nature. He -had related without omission and without perversion -the story of a man as he had witnessed it. All his -powers of observing and of judging character had been -brought to bear upon the great work of his life. His -own character had developed in the process. It is -impossible for a man to concentrate all his mind upon -the effort to understand the human being, without -involving himself in his investigations; and Boswell -was no exception. He had always been interested -in his own character, though in a rather uncritical -fashion; and no doubt, as often happens, his knowledge -of others began with himself. He was himself both -the primer of psychology and the standard for comparison, -upon which his whole view of individuals was -based; and it is often clear, when he is discussing some -moral question, that he has his own case in mind. -The 'Life of Johnson' was necessarily concerned with -Boswell in some degree; and so it was that the author, -when he came to record his observations of Johnson -and his friends and acquaintances, found that the -process which he applied to others was being applied -to himself.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page322" id="page322"></a>[pg 322]</span></p> - -<p>Nothing in Boswell's 'Life of Johnson' is more -remarkable, as nothing is more charming, than the -author's candour when his own person is concerned. -He does not obtrude himself upon the reader's notice; -he relates the events quite naturally as they occurred. -And though Boswell was not a little vain, he was able -to relate what was not to his credit. Most of the -stories of Boswell's folly we know from himself. He -has recorded the sledge-hammer blows of Johnson provoked -by his own absurdity; he has told us of occasions -when he lacked in manners, even when, more -than once, he was drunk in a lady's drawing-room; he -has described at length, in the 'Tour to the Hebrides,' -the story of a carouse at Corrichatachin, and has not -failed to mention how very ill he felt next morning, and -how much he dreaded Johnson's rebuke; it is in his -own account that we read of the ridiculous figure he -cut in a storm at sea; it is from his own correspondence -with Johnson that we learn of all the weaknesses that -earned the Doctor's reproof.</p> - -<p>Boswell was perfectly conscious of his folly when -he allowed us to see the absurdity of his behaviour. -He was sometimes conscious, at the moment, of -provoking ridicule. Occasionally, as he takes care to -explain, he deliberately planned his own discomfiture:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -Desirous of calling Johnson forth to talk and exercise -his wit, though I should myself be the object of it, I -resolutely ventured.... -</p></blockquote> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page323" id="page323"></a>[pg 323]</span></p> - -<p><span class="rightnote">CONCIOUSNESS OF ABSURDITY</span>This was a common attitude. It has been discussed -before in these pages with reference to Boswell's biographical -method. Boswell even mentions once that -he spoke 'with an assumed air of ignorance, to incite -him to talk, for which it was often necessary to employ -some address.' He realised well enough that he made -the best possible foil to Johnson. And if he was able -to understand his position in these undignified moments, -still more must he have been conscious of it when he -allowed his records to be printed many years afterwards -in the 'Life.' He tells us as much himself -in the Dedication to Sir Joshua Reynolds:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -In one respect, this Work will, in some passages, -be different from the former. In my 'Tour,' I was -almost unboundedly open in my communications, and -from my eagerness to display the wonderful fertility -and readiness of Johnson's wit, freely shewed to the -world its dexterity, even when I was myself the object -of it. I trusted that I should be liberally understood, -as knowing very well what I was about, and by no -means as simply unconscious of the pointed effects of -the satire. I own, indeed, that I was arrogant enough -to suppose that the tenour of the rest of the book -would sufficiently guard me against such a strange imputation. -But it seems I judged too well of the world; -for, though I could scarcely believe it, I have been -undoubtedly informed, that many persons, especially in -distant quarters, not penetrating enough into Johnson's -character, so as to understand his mode of treating his -friends, have arraigned my judgement, instead of seeing -that I was sensible of all that they could observe.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page324" id="page324"></a>[pg 324]</span></p> - -<p>It is related of the great Dr. Clarke, that when in -one of his leisure hours he was unbending himself with -a few friends in the most playful and frolicksome manner, -he observed Beau Nash approaching; upon which he -suddenly stopped. 'My boys (said he) let us be grave: -here comes a fool.' The world, my friend, I have found -to be a great fool, as to that particular, on which it has -become necessary to speak very plainly. I have, -therefore, in this Work been more reserved; and -though I tell nothing but the truth, I have still kept -in my mind that the whole truth is not always to be -exposed. This, however, I have managed so as to -occasion no diminution of the pleasure which my -Book should afford; though malignity may sometimes -be disappointed of its gratifications. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Boswell's statement speaks for itself. He realised -as well as anyone his own vanity and affectation. It -had been necessary when writing Johnson's 'Life' to -apply the searching light of truth indiscriminately. -Boswell had not flinched from applying it to himself: -on the contrary it amused him to do so. He enjoyed -his own absurdities as he enjoyed those of Johnson -himself and of every other figure portrayed with good-humoured -ridicule in the course of his great book. -Boswell, we may be sure, laughed wherever his readers -may laugh: indeed his readers laugh at all only -because he himself laughed so whole-heartedly.</p> - -<p>Assuredly the laughter which comes when the -searching light is turned inwards is not without a -lasting effect. The desire for dignity in some measure -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page325" id="page325"></a>[pg 325]</span> -<span class="rightnote">CANDOUR VICTORIOUS</span> -is with most men almost an instinct. It is rare for a -man to perceive that he has been ridiculous without a -blush, even though he smile; and the result of such -perception is almost invariably preventive; the -absurdity must not be repeated. Boswell was able -to laugh at himself more whole-heartedly than the -majority. But the mere fact of looking inwards -with the seeing glance was certain to arrest him in -moments of absurdity; and the necessity, as it -appeared to him, of writing out an account of -himself in the most undignified situations made his -realisation more vivid and the inevitable tendency -more sure.</p> - -<p>And so, in the end, the truth of Boswell, his innate -and unquenchable candour, not only won a victory, but -spoiled the enemy. We may observe, if we care to, -that the natural development has taken place. Much -of the old affectation has disappeared. Boswell, to -the last, is still tempted to give rein to that 'warm -imagination'; but now as a rule the impulse is checked -with a smile by a moment of self-consciousness. -The development is clearly to be seen in the 'Letters -to Temple,' and one instance will suffice to illustrate -his attitude. Boswell, when telling of his intention -of visiting Auchinleck, for the purpose related before in -these pages of choosing a minister for the parish, cannot -refrain from exclaiming in the old manner, 'Only think, -Temple, how serious a duty I am about to discharge!' -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page326" id="page326"></a>[pg 326]</span> -But then comes the inward glance and Boswell -laughs:</p> - -<blockquote><p> -I, James Boswell, Esq.—you know what vanity that -name includes!—I have promised to come down on -purpose, and his Honour's goodness is gratefully -acknowledged. -</p></blockquote> - -<p>Boswell was not systematic in his self-examination; -but he came to know himself with a truer judgment -than most men have where self is concerned. His -principles had been ill carried out; his ideals had not -been comprehensive. He had neglected the personal -discipline which we look to see in men of power and -in men who have accomplished important matters; -he had neglected to train his mind to deal with all the -problems of life. His grasp upon the whole scheme -of things was feeble, as his control of himself was -limited. And yet this knowledge of self with the good-humoured -laugh—and it was not unaccompanied by -fervent regret for his weakness, and anxious piety—this -knowledge, which is the key to all right knowing, -was a fitting achievement for one whose predominant -interest was Human Nature, and whose prevailing -passion was Truth.</p> - -<p class="footnote1"><a id="footnote13.1" name="footnote13.1"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag13.1">1:</a> -Boswell's literary executors were Temple, Malone, and Sir -William Forbes. 'The three persons,' says Dr. Rogers, 'nominated -as literary executors did not meet, and the entire business of the -trust was administered by Sir William Forbes, Bart., who appointed -as his law-agent Robert Boswell, Writer to the Signet, cousin-german -of the deceased. By that gentleman's advice Boswell's manuscripts -were left to the disposal of his family, and it is believed that the -whole were immediately destroyed. The Commonplace-book escaped, -having been accidentally sold among the printed books.'</p> - -<p class="footnote">I believe there is still at Auchinleck the manuscript of a diary -and some letters, but I have not been permitted to see them. -Undoubtedly Boswell must have left far more than these.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote13.2" name="footnote13.2"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag13.2">2:</a> -The quotation is from a letter, quoted before in these pages, -which appeared in the <i>Gentleman's Magazine</i> for June 1795; it is -clearly written by one of Boswell's friends, and the signature 'C.' -suggests Courtenay. Dr. Rogers accepts it as by him.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote13.3" name="footnote13.3"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag13.3">3:</a> -Quoted in Dr. Rogers's <i>Memoir</i> with reference to <i>Traditions of -Edinburgh</i>, 1869, p. 74. I have not verified.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote13.4" name="footnote13.4"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag13.4">4:</a> -<i>Records of my Life</i>, by John Taylor, Esq., 1832, i, 214.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote13.5" name="footnote13.5"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag13.5">5:</a> -Nichols' <i>Literary History</i>, vii, 303-13.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote13.6" name="footnote13.6"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag13.6">6:</a> -<i>Gentleman's Magazine</i>, June, 1795.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote13.7" name="footnote13.7"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag13.7">7:</a> -<i>Life of Reynolds</i>, ii, 636.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote13.8" name="footnote13.8"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag13.8">8:</a> -Nichols' <i>Literary Anecdotes</i>, iii, 192.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote13.9" name="footnote13.9"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag13.9">9:</a> -See Nichols' <i>Literary History</i>, v, 456-7.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote13.10" name="footnote13.10"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag13.10">10:</a> -<i>Letters to Temple</i>, p. 272.</p> - -<p class="footnote"><a id="footnote13.11" name="footnote13.11"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag13.11">11:</a> -<i>James Boswell</i>, by W. K. Leask, p. 155.</p> - -<p class="footnote1b"><a id="footnote13.12" name="footnote13.12"></a><a class="footnote" href="#footnotetag13.12">12:</a> -For an account of Boswell's family, see Dr. Rogers in <i>Boswelliana</i>, pp. 192-7.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page327" id="page327"></a>[pg 327]</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h3 class="space-above5">INDEX</h3> -</div> - -<p class="center"> -<a href="#A">A</a> | <a href="#B">B</a> | <a href="#C">C</a> | <a href="#D">D</a> | -<a href="#E">E</a> | <a href="#F">F</a> | <a href="#G">G</a> | <a href="#H">H</a> | -<a href="#I">I</a> | <a href="#J">J</a> | <a href="#K">K</a> | <a href="#L">L</a> | -<a href="#M">M</a> | <a href="#N">N</a> | <a href="#O">O</a> | <a href="#P">P</a> | -<a href="#R">R</a> | <a href="#S">S</a> | <a href="#T">T</a> | <a href="#U">U</a> | -<a href="#V">V</a> | <a href="#W">W</a> | <a href="#Y">Y</a> | <a href="#Z">Z</a><br /><br /> - -(Note: The Page number is the link to the reference.<br /> -123<sup>x</sup> indicates that the reference is only in the Footnote; 123,<sup>x</sup> indicates that the reference is also in the Footnote).<br /> -</p> - -<h5 class="space-above2">A<a name="A" id="A"></a></h5> - -<ul class="index"> -<li>Aberbrothick, <a href="#page245">245</a></li> - -<li>Academy, <a href="#page303">303</a></li> - -<li>Account of Corsica, <a href="#page56">56-64</a>, <a href="#page114">114</a>, <a href="#page178">178</a><sup>16</sup>, -<a href="#page268">268</a>, <a href="#page275">275</a>, <a href="#page276">276</a>, <a href="#page302">302</a>, -<a href="#page317">317</a></li> - -<li>Adam, Mr. R. B., <a href="#page251">251</a><sup>5</sup></li> - -<li>Adamtown, <a href="#page93">93</a>, <a href="#page100">100</a></li> - -<li>Address to the Real Freeholders of the County of Ayr, <a href="#page177">177</a></li> - -<li>Akerman, <a href="#page251">251</a></li> - -<li>Aldus, <a href="#page30">30</a></li> - -<li>America, <a href="#page181">181</a></li> - -<li>Arbuthnot, <a href="#page118">118</a></li> - -<li>Argyll, Duke of, <a href="#page35">35</a></li> - -<li>Aristotle, <a href="#page157">157</a></li> - -<li>Ashbourne, <a href="#page272">272</a></li> - -<li>Auchinleck, <a href="#page6">6</a>, <a href="#page91">91</a>, <a href="#page92">92</a>, <a href="#page105">105</a>, -<a href="#page133">133</a>, <a href="#page136">136</a>, <a href="#page165">165</a>, <a href="#page166">166</a>, -<a href="#page168">168</a>, <a href="#page301">301</a><sup>1</sup>, <a href="#page311">311</a>, <a href="#page318">318-9</a>, -<a href="#page325">325</a></li> - -<li>Auchlinleck, Lord, <a href="#page7">7</a>, <a href="#page8">8</a>, <a href="#page9">9</a>, <a href="#page76">76</a>, -<a href="#page83">83</a>, <a href="#page162">162-6</a>, <a href="#page171">171</a>, <a href="#page175">175</a>, <a href="#page218">218</a></li> - -<li>Ayrshire, <a href="#page176">176</a>, <a href="#page177">177</a>, <a href="#page318">318</a></li> -</ul> - -<h5 class="space-above2">B<a name="B" id="B"></a></h5> - -<ul class="index"> -<li>Baden, <a href="#page50">50</a></li> - -<li>Bagnal, Miss, <a href="#page309">309</a>, <a href="#page310">310</a></li> - -<li>Bar, the English, <a href="#page84">84</a>, <a href="#page137">137</a>, <a href="#page167">167-172</a>, -<a href="#page310">310</a></li> - -<li>——, the Scottish, <a href="#page80">80</a>, <a href="#page82">82</a>, <a href="#page84">84</a>, -<a href="#page85">85</a>, <a href="#page105">105</a>, <a href="#page133">133</a>, <a href="#page162">162</a>, -<a href="#page164">164</a>, <a href="#page166">166</a>, <a href="#page168">168</a>, <a href="#page171">171</a>, -<a href="#page174">174</a>, <a href="#page186">186</a>, <a href="#page203">203</a></li> - -<li>Barbauld, Mrs., <a href="#page66">66</a></li> - -<li>Barclay, Mr., <a href="#page266">266</a></li> - -<li>Baretti, <a href="#page38">38</a>, <a href="#page108">108</a>, <a href="#page248">248</a>, <a href="#page303">303</a></li> - -<li>Barrington, Mr. Daines, <a href="#page251">251</a></li> - -<li>Beattie, Dr., <a href="#page214">214</a></li> - -<li>Beauclerk, <a href="#page86">86</a>, <a href="#page106">106</a>, <a href="#page107">107</a>, -<a href="#page108">108</a>, <a href="#page262">262</a></li> - -<li>——, Lady Di, <a href="#page107">107</a>, <a href="#page261">261</a></li> - -<li>Bedford, Duke of, <a href="#page74">74</a></li> - -<li>——, Duchess of, <a href="#page74">74</a></li> - -<li>Birrell, Rt. Hon. A., <a href="#page252">252</a><sup>6</sup></li> - -<li>Blacklock, Rev. Mr., <a href="#page19">19</a></li> - -<li>Blair, Miss, <a href="#page64">64</a>, <a href="#page91">91-7</a>, <a href="#page100">100</a></li> - -<li>Bolingbroke, <a href="#page118">118</a></li> - -<li>Bosville, Miss, <a href="#page91">91</a>, <a href="#page95">95</a>, <a href="#page98">98-9</a></li> - -<li>Boswell: -<ul class="index1"><li>Accent in speaking English, <a href="#page21">21</a>;</li> -<li>accuracy, <a href="#page228">228</a>, <a href="#page267">267-82</a>;</li> -<li>actor, <a href="#page24">24</a>;</li> -<li>advertisement, <a href="#page65">65</a>, <a href="#page76">76</a>, <a href="#page199">199</a>;</li> -<li>affectation, <a href="#page103">103</a>, <a href="#page132">132</a>, <a href="#page157">157-8</a>, -<a href="#page184">184-94</a>, <a href="#page221">221</a>, <a href="#page224">224</a>, <a href="#page320">320-1</a>, -<a href="#page326">326</a>;</li> -<li>ambition, <a href="#page12">12-13</a>, <a href="#page39">39</a>, <a href="#page59">59</a>, <a href="#page61">61-4</a>, -<a href="#page74">74-6</a>, <a href="#page80">80</a>, <a href="#page160">160</a>; <a href="#page166">166-208</a> <i>passim</i>, -especially <a href="#page166">166-8</a>, <a href="#page170">170</a>, <a href="#page174">174-6</a>; -<a href="#page209">209</a>, <a href="#page217">217</a>, <a href="#page226">226</a>, <a href="#page301">301</a>, -<a href="#page310">310</a>, <a href="#page311">311</a>;</li> -<li>amours, <a href="#page14">14</a>, <a href="#page88">88-100</a>;</li> -<li>animosities, <a href="#page237">237-8</a>, <a href="#page241">241</a>;</li> -<li>artistic qualities, <a href="#page2">2</a>, <a href="#page61">61-4</a>, <a href="#page283">283-4</a>, <a href="#page287">287-93</a>;</li> -<li>authenticity, <a href="#page229">229</a>, <a href="#page267">267</a>, <a href="#page269">269-70</a>, <a href="#page282">282</a>;</li> -<li>autobiography, <a href="#page300">300</a>;</li> -<li>Bachelors, views on, <a href="#page89">89</a>;</li> -<li>biography, <a href="#page1">1-4</a>, <a href="#page21">21</a>, <a href="#page59">59-60</a>, <a href="#page67">67</a>, -<a href="#page77">77</a>, <a href="#page93">93</a>, <a href="#page118">118</a>, <a href="#page128">128</a>, -<a href="#page135">135</a>, <a href="#page144">144</a>, <a href="#page159">159</a>; -<a href="#page227">227-99</a> <i>passim</i>, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page328" id="page328"></a>[pg 328]</span> -especially <a href="#page231">231</a>, <a href="#page235">235-6</a>, <a href="#page247">247</a>, -<a href="#page265">265-6</a>, <a href="#page267">267</a>, <a href="#page284">284</a><sup>1</sup>; <a href="#page313">313-8</a>;</li> -<li>boasting, <a href="#page204">204-5</a>;</li> -<li>boyishness—boy longer than others, <a href="#page16">16</a>, <a href="#page163">163</a>, <a href="#page208">208</a>;</li> -<li>buffoonery, <a href="#page28">28</a>, <a href="#page65">65-6</a>, <a href="#page199">199</a>, <a href="#page246">246</a>;</li> -<li>Candour, <a href="#page38">38-9</a>, <a href="#page60">60</a>, <a href="#page64">64</a>, <a href="#page86">86</a>, -<a href="#page118">118</a>, <a href="#page208">208</a>, <a href="#page209">209</a>, <a href="#page212">212-13</a>, -<a href="#page302">302</a>, <a href="#page303">303</a>, <a href="#page322">322</a>, -<a href="#page325">325</a>;</li> -<li>castles in the air, <a href="#page12">12</a>, <a href="#page190">190</a>, <a href="#page310">310</a>;</li> -<li>ceremonial, love of, <a href="#page137">137</a>, <a href="#page171">171</a>;</li> -<li>childhood, <a href="#page6">6-9</a>;</li> -<li>cleverness, <a href="#page18">18-19</a>, <a href="#page30">30</a>;</li> -<li>collection of original poems, B. contributes, <a href="#page25">25</a>, <a href="#page27">27</a>;</li> -<li>commonplace book, <i>see</i> Boswelliana;</li> -<li>consciousness of absurdity, <a href="#page321">321-6</a>;</li> -<li>conspicuousness, <a href="#page171">171</a>, <a href="#page204">204</a>, <a href="#page320">320</a>;</li> -<li>controversy about, <a href="#page4">4-5</a>;</li> -<li>conventionality, <a href="#page136">136-7</a>, <a href="#page146">146-50</a>, <a href="#page320">320</a>, -<ul class="index2"> -<li><i>see also</i> respectability;</li></ul></li> -<li>conventions, disregard of, <i>see</i> rudeness;</li> -<li>cow, B. imitates, <a href="#page29">29</a>;</li> -<li>criticism of literature, <a href="#page109">109</a>;</li> -<li>curiosity, <a href="#page72">72</a>, <a href="#page129">129</a>, <a href="#page131">131</a>, <a href="#page173">173-4</a>, -<a href="#page208">208</a>, <a href="#page266">266</a>;</li> -<li>Death, <a href="#page300">300</a>;</li> -<li>dedication, addressed to, <a href="#page22">22</a>;</li> -<li>dignity, <a href="#page62">62</a>, <a href="#page97">97</a>, <a href="#page121">121</a>, <a href="#page265">265</a>, -<a href="#page305">305</a>, <a href="#page324">324-5</a>;</li> -<li>diligence, <i>see</i> industry;</li> -<li>disappointment, <a href="#page17">17</a>, <a href="#page66">66</a>, <a href="#page133">133</a>, <a href="#page161">161</a>, -<a href="#page168">168</a>, <a href="#page170">170</a>, <a href="#page219">219</a>, <a href="#page226">226</a>, -<a href="#page311">311-2</a>, <a href="#page317">317</a>;</li> -<li>drinking habits, <a href="#page15">15</a>, <a href="#page127">127</a>, <a href="#page220">220</a>, <a href="#page223">223-6</a>, -<a href="#page227">227-8</a>, <a href="#page311">311</a>;</li> -<li>Eccentricity, <a href="#page172">172</a>;</li> -<li>egoism, <a href="#page73">73</a>, <a href="#page75">75</a>, <a href="#page77">77</a>, <a href="#page80">80</a>, -<a href="#page195">195-6</a>;</li> -<li>essays, <a href="#page139">139-44</a>;</li> -<li>executions, present at, <a href="#page172">172-4</a>;</li> -<li>experiments, <a href="#page129">129</a>;</li> -<li>extravagance: -<ul class="index2"><li>of disposition, <a href="#page31">31</a>, <a href="#page54">54</a>, <a href="#page64">64</a>, <a href="#page77">77</a>, -<a href="#page83">83</a>, <a href="#page141">141</a>, <a href="#page184">184-94</a>, <a href="#page320">320-1</a>, -<ul class="index2"><li><i>see also</i> affectation;</li></ul></li> -<li>in financial matters, <a href="#page31">31</a>, <a href="#page163">163-4</a>;</li></ul></li> -<li>Fame, <i>see</i> reputation;</li> -<li>family, <a href="#page6">6</a>, <a href="#page30">30</a>, <a href="#page164">164</a>, <a href="#page218">218</a>, -<a href="#page318">318-20</a>;</li> -<li>family life, <a href="#page6">6-9</a>, <a href="#page105">105-6</a>;</li> -<li>father, <i>see</i> Lord Auchinleck;</li> -<li>fidelity, conjugal, <a href="#page104">104</a>;</li> -<li>flattery, <a href="#page45">45-6</a>, <a href="#page75">75</a>;</li> -<li>foolishness, <a href="#page4">4-5</a>, <a href="#page38">38</a>; <a href="#page182">182-208</a> <i>passim</i>, -especially <a href="#page182">182</a>, <a href="#page184">184</a>, <a href="#page194">194</a>, -<a href="#page206">206</a>, <a href="#page208">208</a>; <a href="#page216">216</a>, <a href="#page322">322</a>;</li> -<li>frankness, <i>see</i> candour;</li> -<li>friends: -<ul class="index2"> -<li>as a young man, <a href="#page10">10-16</a>, <a href="#page19">19-25</a>:</li> -<li>the Johnsonian circle, <a href="#page106">106-12</a>:</li> -<li>at the close of life, <a href="#page305">305-8</a>;</li></ul></li> -<li>frolic, <a href="#page28">28</a>, <a href="#page66">66</a>;</li> -<li>Gaiety, <a href="#page16">16</a>, <a href="#page30">30-1</a>, <a href="#page52">52-4</a>, <a href="#page78">78</a>, -<a href="#page138">138</a>, <a href="#page224">224</a>, <a href="#page304">304</a>;</li> -<li>generosity, <a href="#page54">54</a>, <a href="#page79">79-80</a>, <a href="#page119">119</a>, <a href="#page320">320</a>;</li> -<li>genius, <a href="#page5">5-6</a>, <a href="#page156">156-7</a>, <a href="#page210">210</a>, <a href="#page217">217</a>, -<a href="#page224">224</a>, <a href="#page241">241</a>, <a href="#page247">247</a>, <a href="#page320">320</a>;</li> -<li>good-humour, <a href="#page16">16</a>, <a href="#page47">47</a>, <a href="#page78">78</a>, <a href="#page86">86</a>, -<a href="#page108">108</a>, <a href="#page119">119</a>, <a href="#page126">126</a>, <a href="#page138">138</a>, -<a href="#page142">142</a>, <a href="#page304">304</a>;</li> -<li>good-nature, <a href="#page22">22</a>, <a href="#page24">24</a>, <a href="#page79">79-80</a>, <a href="#page174">174</a>, -<a href="#page214">214-6</a>, <a href="#page305">305</a>;</li> -<li>goodness, <a href="#page144">144-5</a>;</li> -<li>'great man,' Boswell the, <a href="#page74">74</a>, <a href="#page166">166</a>, <a href="#page204">204</a>, <a href="#page314">314</a>;</li> -<li>great men, admiration for and relations with, <a href="#page50">50</a>, <a href="#page54">54</a>, <a href="#page55">55</a>, -<a href="#page57">57</a>, <a href="#page67">67-77</a>;</li> -<li>Happiness, <a href="#page147">147</a>;</li> -<li>hermit, taste for being a, <a href="#page189">189</a>;</li> -<li>honesty, <a href="#page157">157</a>, <a href="#page200">200</a>, <a href="#page321">321</a>;</li> -<li>human nature, Boswell's interest in, <a href="#page24">24</a>, <a href="#page46">46</a>, <a href="#page69">69-73</a>, -<a href="#page208">208</a>, <a href="#page211">211</a>, <a href="#page241">241</a>, -<a href="#page321">321</a>, <a href="#page326">326</a>;</li> -<li>humour, <a href="#page3">3</a>, <a href="#page16">16</a>, <a href="#page30">30</a>, <a href="#page42">42</a>, <a href="#page131">131</a>, -<a href="#page200">200-1</a>, <a href="#page203">203</a>, <a href="#page287">287-91</a>, <a href="#page308">308</a>;</li> -<li>hypochondria, <i>see</i> melancholy;</li> -<li>Ignorance of what others thought of him, <a href="#page182">182-4</a>, <a href="#page216">216</a>;</li> -<li>images, <a href="#page120">120</a>, <a href="#page144">144</a>, <a href="#page203">203</a>;</li> -<li>imagination, <a href="#page26">26</a>;</li> -<li>inconstancy, <a href="#page38">38</a>, <a href="#page92">92</a>;</li> -<li>indiscretion, <i>see</i> candour;</li> -<li>indulgence, <a href="#page222">222-6</a>;</li> -<li>industry, <a href="#page36">36</a>, <a href="#page82">82</a>, <a href="#page227">227-9</a>, <a href="#page247">247-52</a>;</li> -<li>insanity, <a href="#page92">92</a>, <a href="#page225">225</a>;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page329" id="page329"></a>[pg 329]</span></li> -<li>interest in, <a href="#page3">3-4</a>;</li> -<li>intolerance, <a href="#page68">68</a>, <a href="#page71">71</a>;</li> -<li>Johnson, Dr. Samuel: -<ul class="index2"> -<li>admiration for, <i>see</i> veneration;</li> -<li>affection for, <a href="#page48">48-9</a>, <a href="#page119">119</a>, <a href="#page131">131</a>, <a href="#page132">132</a>, -<a href="#page153">153</a>, <a href="#page218">218-9</a>, <a href="#page306">306-8</a>;</li> -<li>conception of, as awful, <a href="#page293">293-9</a>;</li> -<li>enjoyment of, <a href="#page285">285-7</a>, <a href="#page291">291</a>, <a href="#page324">324</a>;</li> -<li>experiments with, <a href="#page110">110-2</a>, <a href="#page257">257-66</a>, <a href="#page321">321-3</a>;</li> -<li>friendship with, <a href="#page40">40-9</a>, <a href="#page112">112-34</a>, <a href="#page306">306-8</a>;</li> -<li>humiliated by, <i>see</i> roughness;</li> -<li>imitation of, <a href="#page109">109</a>, <a href="#page144">144</a>, <a href="#page191">191-3</a>;</li> -<li>influenced by, <a href="#page68">68</a>, <a href="#page150">150-61</a>, <a href="#page191">191</a>;</li> -<li>jealousy with regard to, <a href="#page128">128</a>;</li> -<li>letters to, <a href="#page48">48</a>, <a href="#page77">77-8</a>, <a href="#page79">79</a>, <a href="#page114">114</a>, -<a href="#page115">115</a>, <a href="#page124">124</a>, <a href="#page188">188</a>;</li> -<li>letters from, <a href="#page48">48</a>, <a href="#page58">58</a>, <a href="#page114">114</a>, <a href="#page124">124</a>, -<a href="#page132">132</a>, <a href="#page155">155-7</a>, <a href="#page160">160</a>, <a href="#page166">166</a>;</li> -<li>loss by his death, <a href="#page132">132-4</a>, <a href="#page218">218-9</a>;</li> -<li>quarrels with, <a href="#page116">116-23</a>;</li> -<li>questions, <a href="#page130">130</a>, <a href="#page258">258</a>, <a href="#page261">261</a>;</li> -<li>roughness to Boswell, <a href="#page47">47</a>, <a href="#page116">116</a>, <a href="#page117">117</a>, <a href="#page118">118</a>, -<a href="#page210">210-4</a>, <a href="#page259">259-66</a>;</li> -<li>talks freely to, <a href="#page43">43</a>, <a href="#page44">44</a>, <a href="#page45">45</a>, <a href="#page47">47</a>;</li> -<li>tour in Hebrides with, <a href="#page125">125-131</a>, <a href="#page260">260</a>;</li> -<li>veneration for, <a href="#page36">36</a>, <a href="#page49">49</a>, <a href="#page109">109</a>, <a href="#page130">130</a>, -<a href="#page238">238-9</a>, <a href="#page307">307</a>;</li> -<li>visit to Boswell's home, <a href="#page7">7</a>, <a href="#page260">260</a>;</li></ul></li> -<li>jokes, <i>see</i> wit;</li> -<li>journal, <a href="#page21">21</a>, <a href="#page36">36</a>, <a href="#page227">227-8</a>, <a href="#page261">261</a>, -<a href="#page268">268-76</a>;</li> -<li>Landlord, <a href="#page318">318-9</a>;</li> -<li>law, <a href="#page34">34-6</a>, <a href="#page76">76</a>, <a href="#page79">79</a>, <a href="#page80">80-5</a>, <a href="#page87">87</a>, -<a href="#page105">105</a>, <a href="#page125">125</a>, <a href="#page133">133</a>, <a href="#page162">162</a>, -<a href="#page164">164</a>, <a href="#page166">166-72</a>, <a href="#page203">203</a>, <a href="#page205">205</a> -<a href="#page219">219</a>, <a href="#page310">310</a>;</li> -<li>lawyers, relations with, <a href="#page162">162</a>, <a href="#page164">164</a>, <a href="#page169">169-72</a>, -<a href="#page203">203</a>, <a href="#page205">205</a>;</li> -<li>letters: -<ul class="index2"> -<li>to Burke, <a href="#page179">179-87</a>;</li> -<li>to Chatham, <a href="#page75">75-6</a>, <a href="#page179">179-82</a>;</li> -<li>to Erskine, <a href="#page30">30-3</a>;</li> -<li>to Johnson, <i>see</i> Johnson under Boswell;</li> -<li>Temple, quoted, <a href="#page11">11</a>, <a href="#page13">13</a>, <a href="#page14">14</a>, <a href="#page15">15</a>, -<a href="#page16">16</a>, <a href="#page17">17</a>, <a href="#page21">21</a>, <a href="#page34">34</a>, <a href="#page35">35</a>, -<a href="#page70">70</a>, <a href="#page78">78</a><sup>6</sup>, <a href="#page82">82</a><sup>10</sup>, -<a href="#page100">100-1</a>, <a href="#page104">104</a><sup>15-16</sup>, <a href="#page113">113</a>, <a href="#page153">153</a>, -<a href="#page155">155</a>, <a href="#page163">163</a>, <a href="#page164">164</a>, <a href="#page165">165</a>, <a href="#page167">167</a><sup>1</sup>, -<a href="#page169">169</a><sup>2-3</sup>, <a href="#page170">170</a>, -<a href="#page172">172</a>, <a href="#page173">173</a>, <a href="#page175">175</a>, <a href="#page177">177</a><sup>10-12</sup>, -<a href="#page178">178</a><sup>14-17</sup>, <a href="#page183">183-4</a>, <a href="#page185">185-6</a>, <a href="#page187">187</a>, -<a href="#page204">204</a>, <a href="#page207">207</a>, <a href="#page218">218</a>, <a href="#page219">219</a><sup>3</sup>, -<a href="#page220">220</a>, <a href="#page221">221</a>, <a href="#page222">222</a>, <a href="#page223">223</a><sup>6</sup>, -<a href="#page226">226</a><sup>8-9</sup>, <a href="#page230">230</a>, <a href="#page231">231</a><sup>5-6</sup>, <a href="#page300">300</a>, <a href="#page310">310-12</a>, -<a href="#page320">320</a>, <a href="#page325">325</a>;</li></ul></li> -<li>literary executors, <a href="#page300">300</a><sup>1</sup>;</li> -<li>literature, interest in, <a href="#page11">11</a>, <a href="#page18">18</a>, <a href="#page20">20</a>, <a href="#page25">25</a>, -<a href="#page35">35</a>, <a href="#page46">46</a>, <a href="#page53">53</a>, <a href="#page193">193-4</a>, <a href="#page230">230</a>, -<a href="#page312">312-5</a>;</li> -<li>London: -<ul class="index2"> -<li>B. visits, <a href="#page17">17</a>, <a href="#page25">25</a>, <a href="#page124">124</a>, <a href="#page218">218</a>;</li> -<li>love of, <a href="#page34">34</a>, <a href="#page69">69</a>, <a href="#page105">105</a>, <a href="#page167">167</a>, <a href="#page168">168</a>, -<a href="#page218">218</a>;</li></ul></li> -<li>Marriage, <a href="#page88">88</a>, <a href="#page89">89-90</a>, <a href="#page100">100-4</a>, <a href="#page133">133</a>, -<a href="#page164">164</a>, <a href="#page309">309-10</a>;</li> -<li>meeting with Johnson, <a href="#page16">16</a>, <a href="#page17">17</a>, <a href="#page40">40-4</a>;</li> -<li>melancholy, <a href="#page30">30</a>, <a href="#page124">124</a>, <a href="#page132">132</a>, <a href="#page138">138</a>, -<a href="#page140">140-1</a>, <a href="#page157">157</a>, <a href="#page187">187</a>, <a href="#page224">224-6</a>;</li> -<li>memorandising, <a href="#page21">21-2</a>, <a href="#page246">246</a>, <a href="#page266">266-74</a>;</li> -<li>modesty, <a href="#page57">57</a>;</li> -<li>morality, interest in, <a href="#page9">9</a>, <a href="#page46">46</a>, <a href="#page159">159</a>, <a href="#page188">188</a>, -<a href="#page206">206</a>, <a href="#page233">233-7</a>;</li> -<li>mother, <a href="#page6">6</a>;</li> -<li>Notebook, <i>see</i> memorandising;</li> -<li>Observation, powers of, <a href="#page183">183</a>, <a href="#page217">217</a>, <a href="#page242">242-7</a>, <a href="#page257">257-62</a>;</li> -<li>ode to Tragedy, <a href="#page25">25</a>, <a href="#page29">29</a>, <a href="#page30">30</a>;</li> -<li>opinions about himself, <a href="#page28">28</a>, <a href="#page29">29</a>, <a href="#page30">30</a>;</li> -<li>optimism, <a href="#page142">142-3</a>, <a href="#page229">229-30</a>;</li> -<li>Patron of the drama, <a href="#page22">22-3</a>;</li> -<li>patrons, <a href="#page175">175-6</a>, <a href="#page178">178-84</a>, <a href="#page200">200</a>;</li> -<li>philosophy: -<ul class="index2"> -<li>affectation of, <a href="#page13">13</a>, <a href="#page17">17</a>, <a href="#page32">32</a>, <a href="#page75">75</a>, -<a href="#page94">94</a>, <a href="#page173">173</a>;</li> -<li>views of life, <a href="#page88">88</a>, <a href="#page147">147-50</a>, <a href="#page187">187-8</a>, <a href="#page285">285</a>;</li></ul></li> -<li>pleasure an object of life, <a href="#page88">88</a>, <a href="#page147">147</a>;</li> -<li>poetry, Boswell's, <a href="#page25">25-7</a>, <a href="#page200">200-2</a>;</li> -<li>politics, <a href="#page133">133</a>, <a href="#page137">137</a>, <a href="#page174">174-82</a>, <a href="#page209">209</a>, -<a href="#page219">219</a>, <a href="#page310">310-11</a>;</li> -<li>popularity, <a href="#page304">304-5</a>;</li> -<li>prejudices, <a href="#page136">136-7</a>, <a href="#page153">153</a>;</li> -<li>pride, <a href="#page30">30</a>, <a href="#page116">116</a>, <a href="#page164">164</a>, <a href="#page179">179</a>, -<a href="#page204">204</a>, <a href="#page253">253</a>;</li> -<li>profession chosen, <a href="#page34">34-5</a>;</li> -<li>profligacy, <a href="#page14">14-15</a>;</li> -<li>prologue, Boswell writes one for Ross, <a href="#page24">24</a>;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page330" id="page330"></a>[pg 330]</span></li> -<li>proof-sheets, <a href="#page250">250-1</a>;</li> -<li>property, <a href="#page136">136-7</a>, <a href="#page166">166</a>, <a href="#page218">218</a>;</li> -<li>publications, <a href="#page25">25-7</a>, <a href="#page29">29-32</a>, <a href="#page59">59-66</a>, <a href="#page81">81</a>, -<a href="#page82">82</a>, <a href="#page133">133</a>, <a href="#page176">176</a>, <a href="#page209">209</a>, <a href="#page310">310</a>;</li> -<li>Recording: -<ul class="index2"> -<li>conversations, <a href="#page227">227</a>, <a href="#page242">242</a>, <a href="#page266">266</a>;</li> -<li>observations, <a href="#page217">217</a>;</li></ul></li> -<li>religion, <a href="#page9">9</a>, <a href="#page22">22</a>, <a href="#page36">36-7</a>, <a href="#page147">147-50</a>, -<a href="#page188">188-9</a>, <a href="#page206">206</a>;</li> -<li>reputation, <a href="#page1">1</a>, <a href="#page39">39</a>, <a href="#page58">58</a>, <a href="#page61">61</a>, -<a href="#page66">66</a>, <a href="#page172">172</a>, <a href="#page199">199</a>, <a href="#page209">209</a>, <a href="#page213">213-4</a>, -<a href="#page300">300-4</a>, <a href="#page314">314</a>, -<a href="#page317">317</a>;</li> -<li>respectability, <a href="#page37">37-9</a>, <a href="#page62">62</a>, <a href="#page105">105</a>, <a href="#page150">150-61</a>, -<a href="#page166">166</a>, <a href="#page209">209</a>, <a href="#page236">236-7</a>;</li> -<li>rivals, <a href="#page237">237-8</a>;</li> -<li>romantic, <a href="#page31">31</a>, <a href="#page186">186</a>;</li> -<li>rudeness, <a href="#page38">38</a>, <a href="#page252">252-5</a>, <a href="#page266">266</a>;</li> -<li>Satisfaction with literary work, <a href="#page229">229-33</a>, <a href="#page313">313-8</a>;</li> -<li>scholar, <a href="#page189">189</a>;</li> -<li>school, <a href="#page10">10</a>;</li> -<li>scientific spirit, <a href="#page241">241</a>, <a href="#page256">256-66</a>;</li> -<li>selfish, <a href="#page15">15</a>;</li> -<li>self-revelation, <a href="#page14">14</a>, <a href="#page139">139</a>;</li> -<li>sentimentality, <a href="#page39">39</a>, <a href="#page184">184-6</a>, -<ul class="index2"> -<li><i>see also</i> affectation;</li></ul></li> -<li>seriousness, <a href="#page140">140-2</a>;</li> -<li>shorthand, <a href="#page270">270</a>;</li> -<li>simplicity, <a href="#page182">182</a>, <a href="#page204">204</a>, <a href="#page206">206</a>;</li> -<li>sings: -<ul class="index2"> -<li>to Corsican peasants, <a href="#page52">52-3</a>:</li> -<li>at mayoralty dinner, <a href="#page197">197-9</a>;</li> -<li>songs of his own composition, <a href="#page204">204</a>;</li></ul></li> -<li>snobbishness, <a href="#page71">71-7</a>, -<ul class="index2"> -<li><i>see also</i> under Boswell, 'great men';</li></ul></li> -<li>social qualities, <a href="#page16">16</a>, <a href="#page24">24</a>, <a href="#page30">30-1</a>, <a href="#page46">46</a>, -<a href="#page52">52-4</a>, <a href="#page86">86</a>, <a href="#page108">108</a>, <a href="#page126">126</a>, <a href="#page206">206</a>, -<a href="#page304">304-5</a>, -<a href="#page308">308</a>;</li> -<li>solemnity, <a href="#page192">192</a>;</li> -<li>Tablets, <i>see</i> memorandising;</li> -<li>talks very freely, <a href="#page43">43</a>, <a href="#page44">44</a>, <a href="#page64">64</a>, <a href="#page204">204-8</a>;</li> -<li>taste, <a href="#page22">22</a>;</li> -<li>tenants, <a href="#page79">79</a>, <a href="#page318">318-9</a>;</li> -<li>Tory, a, <a href="#page8">8</a>, <a href="#page137">137</a>, <a href="#page153">153</a>, <a href="#page176">176</a>, <a href="#page181">181</a>;</li> -<li>travels on the Continent, <a href="#page50">50-8</a>, <a href="#page93">93</a>, <a href="#page125">125</a>;</li> -<li>truth, Boswell's attitude towards, <a href="#page38">38-9</a>, <a href="#page118">118</a>, <a href="#page210">210</a>, -<a href="#page216">216</a>, <a href="#page228">228</a>, <a href="#page233">233</a>, -<a href="#page236">236-7</a>, <a href="#page241">241</a>, <a href="#page249">249</a>, <a href="#page255">255</a>, -<a href="#page284">284-5</a>, <a href="#page294">294</a>, <a href="#page324">324-6</a>;</li> -<li>Vanity, <a href="#page38">38</a>, <a href="#page73">73</a>, <a href="#page77">77</a>, <a href="#page103">103</a>, -<a href="#page194">194-7</a>, <a href="#page205">205</a>, <a href="#page206">206</a>, <a href="#page316">316</a>, <a href="#page322">322</a>, -<a href="#page326">326</a>;</li> -<li>verse, <i>see</i> poetry;</li> -<li>vows, <a href="#page99">99</a>, <a href="#page223">223</a>;</li> -<li>Wife, <i>see</i> Mrs. Boswell;</li> -<li>will, <a href="#page216">216</a>, <a href="#page318">318-9</a>;</li> -<li>wit, <a href="#page200">200-3</a>, <a href="#page308">308</a></li></ul></li> - -<li>Boswell, Mrs., <a href="#page84">84</a>, <a href="#page100">100-4</a>, <a href="#page219">219-22</a>, <a href="#page309">309</a></li> - -<li>Boswell, Robert, <a href="#page300">300</a><sup>1</sup></li> - -<li>'Boswelliana,' <a href="#page79">79</a><sup>7</sup>, <a href="#page190">190</a>, <a href="#page200">200</a>, <a href="#page203">203</a>, -<a href="#page214">214</a><sup>2</sup>, <a href="#page274">274-82</a>, <a href="#page301">301</a><sup>1</sup></li> - -<li>Boydell, Alderman, <a href="#page197">197</a></li> - -<li>British Essays to the Brave Corsicans, <a href="#page78">78</a></li> - -<li>Browning, <a href="#page1">1</a></li> - -<li>Burke, Edmund, <a href="#page106">106</a>, <a href="#page107">107</a>, <a href="#page108">108</a>, <a href="#page150">150</a>, -<a href="#page179">179-182</a></li> - -<li>Burney, Miss, <a href="#page21">21</a>, <a href="#page108">108</a>, <a href="#page128">128</a>, <a href="#page130">130</a>, -<a href="#page191">191-2</a>, <a href="#page237">237</a>, <a href="#page246">246-7</a>, <a href="#page253">253-4</a>, <a href="#page255">255</a>, -<a href="#page263">263-5</a>, <a href="#page268">268</a><sup>1</sup>, <a href="#page290">290</a>, <a href="#page294">294-5</a>, <a href="#page298">298</a></li> - -<li>——, Dr., <a href="#page130">130</a></li> - -<li>Burns, <a href="#page20">20</a></li> - -<li>Bute, Lord, <a href="#page248">248</a></li> - -<li>Byron, <a href="#page1">1</a></li> -</ul> - - <h5 class="space-above2">C<a name="C" id="C"></a></h5> - -<ul class="index"> -<li>Cadogan, Lord, <a href="#page315">315</a></li> - -<li>Cambridge University, <a href="#page21">21</a></li> - -<li>Campbell, Dr. Thomas, <a href="#page130">130</a></li> - -<li>—— diary of, <a href="#page130">130</a><sup>7</sup></li> - -<li>Carlisle, <a href="#page170">170</a>, <a href="#page175">175</a></li> - -<li>—— Recorder, <a href="#page176">176</a>, <a href="#page179">179</a>, <a href="#page301">301</a></li> - -<li>Carlyle, <a href="#page2">2</a>, <a href="#page5">5</a></li> - -<li>Catherine II. of Russia, <a href="#page251">251</a></li> - -<li>Charlemont, Lord, <a href="#page288">288</a></li> - -<li>Chatham, Earl of, <a href="#page75">75-6</a>, <a href="#page178">178</a>, <a href="#page179">179</a>, <a href="#page182">182</a>, -<a href="#page187">187</a>, <a href="#page189">189</a></li> - -<li>Chesterfield, Lord, <a href="#page248">248</a></li> - -<li>Church of England, <a href="#page9">9</a></li> - -<li>Cicero, <a href="#page53">53</a>, <a href="#page142">142</a></li> - -<li>Clarke, Dr., <a href="#page323">323</a></li> - -<li>'Cocker's Arithmetic,' <a href="#page245">245</a></li> - -<li>'Collection of Original Poems,' <a href="#page19">19</a>, <a href="#page27">27</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="page331" id="page331"></a>[pg 331]</span></li> - -<li>College upon Roman Antiquities, <a href="#page35">35</a></li> - -<li>Commonplace book, Boswell's, <i>see</i> 'Boswelliana'</li> - -<li>Corrichatachin, <a href="#page127">127</a>, <a href="#page322">322</a></li> - -<li>Corsica, <a href="#page51">51-60</a>, <a href="#page65">65-6</a>, <a href="#page74">74-8</a>, <a href="#page114">114</a>, <a href="#page195">195</a></li> - -<li>Corsican Journal, <i>see</i> account of Corsica</li> - -<li>Courtenay, <a href="#page215">215</a>, <a href="#page220">220</a>, <a href="#page299">299</a>, <a href="#page304">304</a><sup>2</sup>, <a href="#page306">306</a></li> - -<li>Covent Garden, <a href="#page23">23</a></li> - -<li>Crichton, the Admirable, <a href="#page30">30</a></li> - -<li>Croker, <a href="#page118">118</a></li> - -<li>Cromwell, <a href="#page7">7</a></li> - -<li>'Cub at Newmarket,' <a href="#page26">26</a>, <a href="#page27">27</a></li> -</ul> - -<h5 class="space-above2">D<a name="D" id="D"></a></h5> - -<ul class="index"> -<li>Dalrymple, Sir David, <a href="#page17">17</a>, <a href="#page21">21</a>, <a href="#page73">73</a>, <a href="#page178">178</a></li> - -<li>D'Arblay, Madame, diary of, <i>see under</i> Miss Burney</li> - -<li>Davies, Tom, <a href="#page40">40-2</a>, <a href="#page44">44</a>, <a href="#page291">291-2</a></li> - -<li>Dempster, George, <a href="#page19">19</a>, <a href="#page33">33</a>, <a href="#page151">151</a>, <a href="#page230">230</a>, <a href="#page306">306</a></li> - -<li>Derrick, <a href="#page25">25</a>, <a href="#page40">40</a></li> - -<li>Dictionary, Johnson's, <a href="#page1">1</a>, <a href="#page243">243</a>, <a href="#page274">274</a></li> - -<li>'Dictionary of National Biography,' <a href="#page176">176</a><sup>6</sup></li> - -<li>Dilly, Charles, <a href="#page19">19</a>, <a href="#page111">111</a>, <a href="#page202">202</a>, <a href="#page248">248</a>, <a href="#page306">306</a></li> - -<li>Dilly, Edward, <a href="#page188">188</a></li> - -<li>Dodd, Dr., <a href="#page79">79</a></li> - -<li>Douglas, Mr., <a href="#page81">81</a></li> - -<li>Douglas Cause, <a href="#page81">81-4</a></li> - -<li>'Dorando: a Spanish Tale,' <a href="#page82">82</a></li> - -<li>Drury Lane Theatre, <a href="#page20">20</a>, <a href="#page23">23</a>, <a href="#page29">29</a></li> - -<li>Dunciad, <a href="#page118">118</a></li> - -<li>Dundas, <a href="#page179">179</a></li> - -<li>Dunn, Mr., <a href="#page9">9</a></li> -</ul> - -<h5 class="space-above2">E<a name="E" id="E"></a></h5> - -<ul class="index"> -<li>Edinburgh, <a href="#page6">6</a>, <a href="#page12">12</a>, <a href="#page17">17</a>, <a href="#page19">19</a>, -<a href="#page20">20</a>, <a href="#page23">23</a>, <a href="#page24">24</a>, <a href="#page27">27</a>, <a href="#page34">34</a>, -<a href="#page84">84</a>, <a href="#page90">90</a>, <a href="#page95">95</a>, <a href="#page103">103</a>, <a href="#page123">123</a></li> - -<li>Edinburgh, traditions of, <a href="#page304">304</a><sup>3</sup></li> - -<li>Edinburgh University, <a href="#page10">10</a>, <a href="#page12">12</a>, <a href="#page17">17</a>, <a href="#page20">20</a>, -<a href="#page35">35</a>, <a href="#page89">89</a></li> - -<li>Eglinton, Earl of, <a href="#page26">26</a>, <a href="#page100">100</a>, <a href="#page177">177</a>, <a href="#page178">178</a>, <a href="#page196">196</a></li> - -<li>Eldon, Lord Chancellor, <a href="#page169">169</a></li> - -<li>'Elegy on the Death of an Amiable Young Lady,' <a href="#page25">25</a>, <a href="#page26">26</a></li> - -<li>England, <a href="#page85">85</a>, <a href="#page87">87</a>, <a href="#page106">106</a>, <a href="#page210">210</a>, <a href="#page220">220</a></li> - -<li>Epictetus, <a href="#page188">188</a></li> - -<li>'Epistle of a London Buck to his Friend,' <a href="#page27">27</a></li> - -<li>Erskine, Honourable Andrew, <a href="#page19">19</a>, <a href="#page20">20</a>, <a href="#page25">25</a>, <a href="#page29">29</a>, -<a href="#page30">30</a>, <a href="#page31">31</a>, <a href="#page32">32</a>, <a href="#page33">33</a></li> - -<li>Eton, <a href="#page216">216</a>, <a href="#page320">320</a></li></ul> - -<h5 class="space-above2">F<a name="F" id="F"></a></h5> - -<ul class="index"> -<li>Ferney, <a href="#page50">50</a>, <a href="#page54">54</a></li> - -<li>Fitzgerald's 'Life of Boswell,' <a href="#page81">81</a><sup>9</sup>, <a href="#page82">82</a><sup>11</sup>, <a href="#page83">83</a><sup>12</sup>, -<a href="#page177">177</a><sup>9</sup>, <a href="#page199">199</a>, <a href="#page200">200</a><sup>35</sup>, <a href="#page204">204</a><sup>36</sup>, <a href="#page212">212</a>, -<a href="#page273">273</a>, <a href="#page278">278</a>, <a href="#page290">290</a><sup>4</sup></li> - -<li>Flanders, <a href="#page315">315</a></li> - -<li>Fleet ditch, <a href="#page240">240</a></li> - -<li>Foote, <a href="#page207">207</a></li> - -<li>Forbes, Sir William, <a href="#page214">214</a>, <a href="#page275">275</a>, <a href="#page300">300</a><sup>1</sup>, <a href="#page306">306</a></li> - -<li>France, <a href="#page235">235</a></li> - -<li>Franklin, Dr., <a href="#page74">74</a></li> - -<li>Frederick the Great, <a href="#page54">54</a></li> - -<li>Froude, <a href="#page1">1</a></li> -</ul> - -<h5 class="space-above2">G<a name="G" id="G"></a></h5> - -<ul class="index"> -<li>Garrick, <a href="#page23">23</a>, <a href="#page43">43</a>, <a href="#page44">44</a>, <a href="#page61">61</a>, <a href="#page74">74</a>, -<a href="#page107">107</a>, <a href="#page109">109</a>, <a href="#page262">262</a></li> - -<li>Gay, <a href="#page118">118</a></li> - -<li>Gentleman, Francis, <a href="#page22">22</a>, <a href="#page25">25</a></li> - -<li>'Gentleman's Magazine,' <a href="#page61">61</a><sup>8</sup>, <a href="#page63">63</a><sup>10</sup>, <a href="#page178">178</a><sup>13</sup>, <a href="#page215">215</a>, -<a href="#page225">225</a><sup>7</sup>, <a href="#page304">304</a><sup>2</sup>, <a href="#page306">306</a><sup>6</sup>, <a href="#page307">307</a></li> - -<li>Gibbon, <a href="#page68">68</a></li> - -<li>Gilmour, Sir Alexander, <a href="#page97">97</a></li> - -<li>Glasgow, <a href="#page22">22</a></li> - -<li>—— University, <a href="#page17">17</a>, <a href="#page36">36</a></li> - -<li>Glenelg, <a href="#page122">122</a></li> - -<li>Goldsmith, <a href="#page106">106</a>, <a href="#page108">108</a>, <a href="#page179">179</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="page332" id="page332"></a>[pg 332]</span></li> - -<li>Goldsmith, Prior's Life of, <a href="#page195">195</a><sup>33</sup>, <a href="#page206">206</a><sup>38</sup></li> - -<li>Graham, <a href="#page201">201</a></li> - -<li>Gray, <a href="#page4">4</a>, <a href="#page11">11</a>, <a href="#page12">12</a>, <a href="#page94">94</a>, -<a href="#page109">109</a>, <a href="#page302">302</a></li> - -<li>——, Mason's Life of, <a href="#page231">231-2</a></li> - -<li>Greenwich, <a href="#page268">268</a></li> - -<li>Guards, <a href="#page34">34</a></li> -</ul> - -<h5 class="space-above2">H<a name="H" id="H"></a></h5> - -<ul class="index"> -<li>Hackman, <a href="#page173">173</a></li> - -<li>Hailes, Lord, <a href="#page17">17</a>, <a href="#page36">36</a>, <a href="#page69">69</a>, <a href="#page268">268</a></li> - -<li>Hamlet, <a href="#page41">41</a></li> - -<li>Harris, <a href="#page35">35</a></li> - -<li>Harwich, <a href="#page48">48</a></li> - -<li>Hawkins, Sir John, <a href="#page107">107</a>, <a href="#page108">108</a>, <a href="#page227">227</a><sup>1</sup>, <a href="#page237">237</a>, -<a href="#page290">290</a>, <a href="#page302">302</a></li> - -<li>Hebrides, <a href="#page172">172</a>, <a href="#page211">211</a></li> - -<li>Henley, W. E., 'Views and Reviews,' <a href="#page284">284</a><sup>3</sup></li> - -<li>Hill, Dr. George Birkbeck, <a href="#page58">58</a>, <a href="#page250">250-1</a>, <a href="#page276">276</a>, <a href="#page290">290</a><sup>4</sup>, -<a href="#page293">293</a></li> - -<li>Hodge, <a href="#page244">244</a></li> - -<li>Holcroft, Thomas, Memoirs of, <a href="#page252">252</a></li> - -<li>Home Circuit, <a href="#page310">310</a></li> - -<li>Homer, <a href="#page2">2</a></li> - -<li>Howard, <a href="#page98">98</a></li> - -<li>Hume, David, <a href="#page18">18</a>, <a href="#page35">35</a>, <a href="#page53">53</a>, <a href="#page68">68</a>, -<a href="#page69">69</a>, <a href="#page70">70</a>, <a href="#page71">71</a>, <a href="#page74">74</a>, <a href="#page151">151</a>, -<a href="#page175">175</a>, <a href="#page207">207</a></li> - -<li>Hypochondriack, the [in 'London Magazine'], <a href="#page124">124</a>, <a href="#page137">137-44</a>, <a href="#page145">145-6</a>, -<a href="#page147">147</a>, <a href="#page148">148</a>, <a href="#page224">224</a></li> -</ul> - -<h5 class="space-above2">I<a name="I" id="I"></a></h5> - -<ul class="index"> -<li>Inner Temple, <a href="#page137">137</a>, <a href="#page167">167</a></li> - -<li>Ireland, <a href="#page22">22</a></li> - -<li>Ireland, Mr., <a href="#page193">193-4</a></li> -</ul> - -<h5 class="space-above2">J<a name="J" id="J"></a></h5> - -<ul class="index"> -<li>James, King, <a href="#page8">8</a></li> - -<li>Jockey Club, <a href="#page26">26</a></li> - -<li>Johnson, Lionel, <a href="#page189">189</a></li> - -<li>Johnson, Samuel: -<ul class="index1"><li>better known to us than other literary men, <a href="#page1">1-2</a>;</li> -<li>interest in, <a href="#page3">3-4</a>;</li> -<li>argument with Lord Auchinleck, <a href="#page7">7</a>;</li> -<li>retort to Mr. Dunn, <a href="#page9">9</a>;</li> -<li>Temple contrasted with, <a href="#page13">13</a>;</li> -<li>condemnation of Dempster, <a href="#page19">19</a>;</li> -<li>commends Boswell's accent, <a href="#page21">21</a>;</li> -<li>opinion of Derrick, <a href="#page25">25</a>;</li> -<li>great writer, <a href="#page36">36</a>;</li> -<li>becomes friends with Boswell, <a href="#page40">40-50</a>;</li> -<li>conversation, <a href="#page45">45-7</a>;</li> -<li>liked admiration, <a href="#page45">45</a>;</li> -<li>strength of personality, <a href="#page49">49</a>;</li> -<li>Frederick the Great and Voltaire, <a href="#page54">54</a>;</li> -<li>compared with Paoli, <a href="#page56">56-8</a>;</li> -<li>approves Boswell's adventures in Corsica, <a href="#page58">58</a>;</li> -<li>opinion of Boswell's account of Corsica, &c., <a href="#page59">59</a>;</li> -<li>opinion of Gibbon and condemnation of 'infidelity,' <a href="#page68">68</a> <i>seq.</i>;</li> -<li>talks of going to Sweden, <a href="#page71">71</a>;</li> -<li>dines with Boswell, <a href="#page74">74</a>;</li> -<li>writes on behalf of Mr. Dodd, <a href="#page79">79</a>;</li> -<li>legal help to Boswell, <a href="#page83">83-4</a>;</li> -<li>on Scotchmen, <a href="#page85">85-7</a>;</li> -<li>on Mrs. Boswell, <a href="#page100">100-1</a>;</li> -<li>Mrs. Boswell's opinion of, <a href="#page102">102</a>;</li> -<li>the Johnsonian circle, <a href="#page106">106</a> <i>seq.</i>;</li> -<li>meeting with Wilkes arranged, <a href="#page110">110-12</a>;</li> -<li>friendship with Boswell, <a href="#page112">112-34</a>;</li> -<li>lack of sympathy and blunt advice, <a href="#page114">114</a>;</li> -<li>irritated by Boswell, <a href="#page115">115</a>;</li> -<li>quarrels, <a href="#page116">116-24</a>;</li> -<li>no venom in his wounds, <a href="#page120">120</a>;</li> -<li>very angry, <a href="#page121">121</a>;</li> -<li>in the Hebrides, <a href="#page125">125</a> <i>seq.</i>;</li> -<li>at Streatham, <a href="#page128">128</a>;</li> -<li>at Lochbuy, <a href="#page129">129</a>;</li> -<li>use of images, <a href="#page144">144</a>;</li> -<li>influence on Boswell, <a href="#page150">150-61</a>;</li> -<li>conventional prejudices, <a href="#page153">153</a> <i>seq.</i>;</li> -<li>talks for victory, <a href="#page121">121</a>, <a href="#page153">153-4</a>;</li> -<li>truth, honesty, <a href="#page155">155</a>;</li> -<li>dislikes affectation, <a href="#page157">157-8</a>;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page333" id="page333"></a>[pg 333]</span></li> -<li>a moralist, <a href="#page159">159-60</a>;</li> -<li>Lord Auchinleck's opinion of, <a href="#page165">165</a>;</li> -<li>on Lord Auchinleck as Boswell's father, <a href="#page166">166</a>;</li> -<li>knows nothing of Scotch law, <a href="#page171">171</a>;</li> -<li>view of Boswell's attendance at executions, <a href="#page173">173</a>;</li> -<li>discourages Boswell's political ambitions, <a href="#page175">175</a>;</li> -<li>Boswell's imitation of, <a href="#page191">191-2</a>;</li> -<li>'just frown,' <a href="#page155">155</a>, <a href="#page201">201</a>;</li> -<li><i>mot</i> about Boswell's boasting, <a href="#page204">204</a>;</li> -<li>fear of death, <a href="#page206">206</a>;</li> -<li>Gargantua, <a href="#page207">207</a>;</li> -<li>records of the tour in the Hebrides, <a href="#page209">209-14</a>;</li> -<li>little taste for rural beauties, <a href="#page210">210</a>;</li> -<li>interest in human nature, <a href="#page211">211</a>;</li> -<li>remarks on his host's avarice, <a href="#page212">212-13</a>;</li> -<li>introduced to Temple, <a href="#page215">215</a>;</li> -<li>moral support, <a href="#page222">222</a>;</li> -<li>melancholy, <a href="#page225">225</a>;</li> -<li>faults of the great moralist, <a href="#page233">233-4</a>;</li> -<li>love of truth applied to biography, <a href="#page235">235-7</a>;</li> -<li>Hawkins' Life, and Mrs. Thrale's Memoirs, <a href="#page237">237-8</a>;</li> -<li>Boswell's conception of, <a href="#page238">238-40</a>;</li> -<li>description of, <a href="#page242">242</a>;</li> -<li>physical characteristics, <a href="#page244">244</a>;</li> -<li>his cat, <a href="#page244">244-5</a>;</li> -<li>Latin quotations, <a href="#page245">245</a>;</li> -<li>presents a Highland lass with 'Cocker's Arithmetic,' <a href="#page245">245</a>;</li> -<li>letter to Lord Chesterfield, <a href="#page248">248</a>;</li> -<li>his pension, <a href="#page248">248-9</a>;</li> -<li>gay Sam, <a href="#page254">254</a>, <a href="#page295">295</a>;</li> -<li>a great talker, <a href="#page256">256</a>;</li> -<li>not expansive, <a href="#page257">257</a>;</li> -<li>baited by Boswell, <a href="#page259">259</a>;</li> -<li>the subject of Boswell's experiments, <a href="#page260">260</a> <i>seq.</i>;</li> -<li>questioned by Boswell, <a href="#page261">261</a> <i>seq.</i>;</li> -<li>helps Boswell in his biographical work, <a href="#page272">272</a>;</li> -<li>the Johnsonian æther, <a href="#page286">286-7</a>;</li> -<li>the dictator, <a href="#page288">288-93</a>;</li> -<li>dancing lessons, <a href="#page288">288</a>;</li> -<li>the element of humour, <a href="#page289">289</a>;</li> -<li>his humanity and tenderness, <a href="#page291">291</a>;</li> -<li>Tom Davies put down, <a href="#page292">292</a>;</li> -<li>his 'awfulness,' <a href="#page293">293-8</a>;</li> -<li>Miss Burney's account, <a href="#page294">294</a> <i>seq.</i>;</li> -<li>his gallantry, <a href="#page294">294-5</a>;</li> -<li>his rebuke to Hannah More, <a href="#page295">295</a>;</li> -<li>his kindness, <a href="#page295">295</a>;</li> -<li>the dogmatist, <a href="#page296">296</a>;</li> -<li>pompousness and playfulness, <a href="#page297">297</a>;</li> -<li>his 'formality,' <a href="#page298">298</a>;</li> -<li>public interest in, <a href="#page302">302</a>;</li> -<li>his share in Boswell's great work, <a href="#page315">315-6</a>;</li> -<li>talked about, <a href="#page317">317</a>;</li> -<li>fertility and readiness of his wit, <a href="#page323">323</a>; -<ul class="index2"> -<li><i>See also under</i> Boswell.</li></ul></li></ul></li> -<li>Johnson, Boswell's Life of: -<ul class="index1"> -<li>universality, <a href="#page2">2-3</a>;</li> -<li>self-expression in, <a href="#page14">14</a>;</li> -<li>'Tour in Corsica' compared with, <a href="#page59">59-60</a>;</li> -<li>tells a story of friendship, <a href="#page113">113</a>;</li> -<li>attitude towards Johnson involved, <a href="#page131">131</a>;</li> -<li>not a complete expression of Boswell's views, <a href="#page137">137</a>;</li> -<li>proves Boswell's ability, <a href="#page138">138</a>;</li> -<li>an edifying book, <a href="#page145">145</a>;</li> -<li>humour, <a href="#page201">201</a>;</li> -<li>Malone the first editor, <a href="#page210">210</a><sup>1</sup>;</li> -<li>connection of the 'Tour to the Hebrides' with, <a href="#page217">217</a>, <a href="#page227">227-8</a>;</li> -<li>not the official life, <a href="#page227">227</a>,<sup>1</sup>;</li> -<li>industry of the author, <a href="#page227">227-9</a>;</li> -<li>Malone revises, <a href="#page229">229-30</a>;</li> -<li>Boswell's conviction that it will be a masterpiece, <a href="#page229">229-33</a>;</li> -<li>his conception of, <a href="#page231">231-3</a>;</li> -<li>nature of moral purpose in, <a href="#page233">233-7</a>;</li> -<li>Boswell's conception of Johnson's character, <a href="#page238">238-41</a>;</li> -<li>his qualifications, <a href="#page242">242</a> <i>seq.</i>;</li> -<li>his care, <a href="#page247">247-5</a>;</li> -<li>the proof-sheets, <a href="#page250">250-1</a>;</li> -<li>interest in Johnson's talk, <a href="#page256">256</a>;</li> -<li>the author's questions and experiments, <a href="#page258">258-66</a>;</li> -<li>his note-taking, <a href="#page266">266</a> <i>seq.</i>, -<ul class="index2"> -<li><i>see</i> Boswell;</li></ul></li> -<li>compiled from documents not extant, <a href="#page273">273</a>;</li> -<li>the process of Johnsonising, <a href="#page278">278-82</a>;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page334" id="page334"></a>[pg 334]</span></li> -<li>artistic nature of the representation, <a href="#page283">283-93</a>;</li> -<li>the 'shades' in Johnson's character emphasised, <a href="#page286">286</a>;</li> -<li>the comedy scenes, <a href="#page288">288-92</a>;</li> -<li>is Boswell's Johnson in any degree his own invention? <a href="#page293">293-9</a>;</li> -<li>Boswell's account accepted as the truth, <a href="#page299">299</a>;</li> -<li>contains occasional autobiography, <a href="#page300">300</a>;</li> -<li>solidifies Boswell's reputation, <a href="#page303">303</a>;</li> -<li>Malone prepares the third edition, <a href="#page307">307</a>;</li> -<li>Malone's opinion of, <a href="#page308">308</a>;</li> -<li>additions and corrections, <a href="#page313">313</a>;</li> -<li>its popularity and Boswell's triumph, <a href="#page314">314-15</a>;</li> -<li>Dr. Johnson's share, <a href="#page315">315-16</a>;</li> -<li>Boswell necessarily appears in, <a href="#page321">321-2</a>;</li> -<li>the dedication, <a href="#page324">324</a>; -<ul class="index2"> -<li><i>see also under</i> Boswell, biography, &c.</li></ul></li></ul></li> -<li>'Journey to the Western Islands,' <a href="#page87">87</a>, <a href="#page236">236</a></li></ul> - -<h5 class="space-above2">K<a name="K" id="K"></a></h5> - -<ul class="index"> -<li>Kames, Lord, <a href="#page18">18</a></li> - -<li>Keats, <a href="#page1">1</a></li> - -<li>Killaloe, Bishop of, <a href="#page289">289</a></li> - -<li>King George III., <a href="#page177">177</a>, <a href="#page182">182</a>, <a href="#page196">196</a>, <a href="#page255">255</a>, <a href="#page295">295</a></li> - -<li>King of Prussia, <a href="#page191">191</a></li> -</ul> - -<h5 class="space-above2">L<a name="L" id="L"></a></h5> - -<ul class="index"> -<li>Langton, <a href="#page106">106</a>, <a href="#page119">119</a>, <a href="#page248">248</a>, <a href="#page266">266</a>, -<a href="#page281">281-2</a>, <a href="#page293">293</a></li> - -<li>Leask, W. K., James Boswell, <a href="#page313">313</a><sup>11</sup></li> - -<li>Letters between the Honourable Andrew Erskine and James Boswell, Esq., -<a href="#page30">30</a>, <a href="#page31">31</a>, <a href="#page32">32</a>, <a href="#page33">33</a></li> - -<li>Letters, Boswell's political, <a href="#page136">136-7</a>, <a href="#page176">176-7</a>, <a href="#page195">195</a></li> - -<li>Letters to Temple, <i>see under</i> Boswell</li> - -<li>Lettsom, Dr., <a href="#page202">202</a></li> - -<li>Lisburne, <a href="#page178">178</a></li> - -<li>Literary Club, <a href="#page68">68</a>, <a href="#page106">106-7</a>, <a href="#page133">133</a></li> - -<li>Literature, <i>see under</i> Boswell</li> - -<li>'Lives of the Poets,' <a href="#page109">109</a></li> - -<li>Lochbuy, <a href="#page129">129</a>, <a href="#page131">131</a>, <a href="#page260">260</a></li> - -<li>——, Lady, <a href="#page129">129</a></li> - -<li>Lockhart, <a href="#page1">1</a></li> - -<li>London, <a href="#page17">17</a>, <a href="#page20">20</a>, <a href="#page25">25</a>, <a href="#page34">34</a>, -<a href="#page36">36</a>, <a href="#page97">97</a>, <a href="#page103">103</a>, <a href="#page105">105</a>, -<a href="#page106">106</a>, <a href="#page124">124</a>, <a href="#page165">165</a>, <a href="#page167">167</a>, -<a href="#page168">168</a>, <a href="#page177">177</a>, <a href="#page182">182</a>, <a href="#page189">189</a>, -<a href="#page218">218-19</a>, <a href="#page229">229</a>, <a href="#page306">306</a>, <a href="#page307">307</a>, -<a href="#page318">318</a></li> - -<li>'London Magazine,' <a href="#page8">8</a>, <a href="#page46">46</a><sup>3</sup>, <a href="#page65">65</a>, -<a href="#page102">102</a>, <a href="#page103">103</a>, <a href="#page124">124</a>, -<a href="#page137">137</a>, <a href="#page138">138</a>, -<a href="#page148">148</a><sup>2-3</sup>, <a href="#page157">157</a></li> - -<li>Lonsdale, Lord, <a href="#page175">175-6</a>, <a href="#page179">179</a></li> - -<li>Loughborough, Lord, <a href="#page248">248-9</a></li> - -<li>Love, Mr., <a href="#page20">20</a>, <a href="#page21">21</a>, <a href="#page22">22</a></li> - -<li>Lowe, Mr., <a href="#page252">252-3</a>, <a href="#page255">255</a></li> -</ul> - -<h5 class="space-above2">M<a name="M" id="M"></a></h5> - -<ul class="index"> -<li>Macaulay, Lord, <a href="#page2">2</a>, <a href="#page4">4</a>, <a href="#page5">5</a>, <a href="#page61">61</a></li> - -<li>——, Mrs., <a href="#page61">61</a>, <a href="#page262">262</a></li> - -<li>Macdonald, Sir Alexander (afterwards Lord), <a href="#page212">212-14</a>, <a href="#page216">216</a></li> - -<li>Mallet's 'Elvira,' <a href="#page33">33</a></li> - -<li>——, critical strictures on, <a href="#page33">33</a></li> - -<li>Malone, Edmund, <a href="#page47">47</a>, <a href="#page48">48</a>, <a href="#page107">107</a>, <a href="#page171">171</a>, -<a href="#page210">210</a>, <a href="#page215">215</a>, <a href="#page220">220</a>, <a href="#page225">225</a>, -<a href="#page229">229-30</a>, <a href="#page300">300</a><sup>1</sup>, -<a href="#page305">305-8</a>, <a href="#page313">313</a>, <a href="#page320">320</a></li> - -<li>Mamhead, <a href="#page10">10</a>, <a href="#page215">215</a></li> - -<li>Marlborough, Duke of, <a href="#page315">315</a></li> - -<li>Mason, <a href="#page11">11</a>, <a href="#page231">231-2</a></li> - -<li>Maxwell, Jeany, <a href="#page96">96</a></li> - -<li>Mayo, Dr., <a href="#page191">191</a></li> - -<li>McLeod, Colonel, <a href="#page72">72</a></li> - -<li>Meadows, Captain, <a href="#page74">74</a></li> - -<li>Melancthon, <a href="#page188">188</a></li> - -<li>Michael Angelo, <a href="#page145">145</a></li> - -<li>Milton, <a href="#page2">2</a>, <a href="#page145">145</a></li> - -<li>Mitchell, Sir Andrew, <a href="#page50">50</a>, <a href="#page178">178</a></li> - -<li>Molière, <a href="#page2">2</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="page335" id="page335"></a>[pg 335]</span></li> - -<li>Monboddo, Lord, <a href="#page261">261</a></li> - -<li>Monckton, Miss, <a href="#page201">201-2</a>, <a href="#page204">204</a></li> - -<li>Montaigne, <a href="#page299">299</a></li> - -<li>Montgomerie, Miss, <a href="#page100">100</a>, <a href="#page197">197</a></li> - -<li>Montrose, Lord, <a href="#page201">201</a></li> - -<li>More, Hannah, <a href="#page109">109</a>, <a href="#page237">237</a>, <a href="#page284">284</a>, <a href="#page289">289</a>, <a href="#page295">295</a></li> - -<li>——, Memoirs of, <a href="#page109">109</a>, <sup>3</sup></li> - -<li>Mounsey, Dr., <a href="#page291">291-2</a></li> - -<li>Mountstuart, Lord, <a href="#page178">178</a></li> - -<li>Mull, <a href="#page205">205</a></li> - -<li>Murphy, <a href="#page68">68</a>, <a href="#page248">248-9</a>, <a href="#page302">302</a></li> -</ul> - -<h5 class="space-above2">N<a name="N" id="N"></a></h5> - -<ul class="index"> -<li>Nash, Beau, <a href="#page324">324</a></li> - -<li>Newgate, <a href="#page174">174</a></li> - -<li>Newmarket, <a href="#page26">26-27</a>, </li> - -<li>Nichols, John, <a href="#page185">185</a></li> - -<li>——, 'Literary Anecdotes of the XVIIIth Century,' <a href="#page178">178</a><sup>13</sup>, <a href="#page306">306</a><sup>8</sup></li> - -<li>——, 'Literary History,' <a href="#page132">132</a><sup>9</sup>, <a href="#page306">306</a><sup>5</sup>, <a href="#page307">307</a><sup>9</sup></li> - -<li>——, 'Literary Illustrations of the XVIIIth Century,' <a href="#page176">176</a><sup>6</sup>, <a href="#page231">231</a><sup>7</sup>, -<a href="#page284">284</a><sup>2</sup></li> - -<li>Northern Circuit, <a href="#page17">17</a>, <a href="#page21">21</a>, <a href="#page169">169</a>, <a href="#page268">268</a></li> - -<li>Northumberland, Duke of, <a href="#page292">292</a></li> -</ul> - -<h5 class="space-above2">O<a name="O" id="O"></a></h5> - -<ul class="index"> -<li>'Ode to Gluttony,' <a href="#page31">31</a></li> - -<li>'Ode to Tragedy,' <a href="#page25">25</a>, <a href="#page29">29</a>, <a href="#page30">30</a></li> - -<li>Odyssey, <a href="#page235">235</a>, <a href="#page315">315</a></li> - -<li>Oglethorpe, General, <a href="#page74">74</a></li> - -<li>Othello, <a href="#page95">95</a>, <a href="#page258">258</a></li> -</ul> - -<h5 class="space-above2">P<a name="P" id="P"></a></h5> - -<ul class="index"> -<li>Paoli, General, <a href="#page51">51</a>, <a href="#page53">53</a>, <a href="#page55">55-60</a>, <a href="#page67">67</a>, -<a href="#page69">69</a>, <a href="#page70">70</a>, <a href="#page74">74</a>, <a href="#page75">75</a>, <a href="#page76">76</a>, -<a href="#page187">187</a>, <a href="#page189">189</a>, <a href="#page215">215</a>, -<a href="#page267">267-8</a>, <a href="#page275">275</a>, <a href="#page306">306</a></li> - -<li>Paris, <a href="#page53">53</a></li> - -<li>Parnell, <a href="#page234">234</a></li> - -<li>Parr, Dr., <a href="#page251">251</a></li> - -<li>Paul, the Apostle, <a href="#page234">234</a></li> - -<li>Pembroke, Earl of, <a href="#page74">74</a>, <a href="#page178">178</a></li> - -<li>Pennant, Mr., <a href="#page235">235</a></li> - -<li>Pepys' Diary, <a href="#page33">33</a></li> - -<li>Percy, Bishop, <a href="#page132">132</a><sup>9</sup>, <a href="#page175">175</a>, <a href="#page176">176</a><sup>6</sup>, <a href="#page231">231-2</a>, -<a href="#page284">284</a>, <a href="#page291">291-2</a></li> - -<li>Piozzi, Mrs., <i>see</i> Mrs. Thrale</li> - -<li>Pitt, William (the younger), <a href="#page183">183</a>, <a href="#page196">196</a>, <a href="#page197">197-200</a></li> - -<li>Pocock's Johnsonian Catalogue, <a href="#page273">273</a></li> - -<li>Pope, <a href="#page118">118</a></li> - -<li>Presbyterian, Boswell's father a, <a href="#page7">7</a></li> - -<li>Prince of Wales, <a href="#page177">177</a></li> - -<li>Pringle, Sir John, <a href="#page74">74</a></li> - -<li>Prussia, <a href="#page50">50</a></li> - -<li>Pythagoras, <a href="#page64">64</a></li> -</ul> - -<h5 class="space-above2">R<a name="R" id="R"></a></h5> - -<ul class="index"> -<li>Racine, <a href="#page2">2</a></li> - -<li>Raleigh, Professor, <a href="#page5">5</a>, <a href="#page40">40</a>, <a href="#page86">86</a></li> - -<li>Rambler, <a href="#page127">127</a>, <a href="#page238">238</a>, <a href="#page297">297</a>, <a href="#page299">299</a></li> - -<li>Reynolds, Sir Joshua, <a href="#page106">106</a>, <a href="#page108">108</a>, <a href="#page116">116</a>, -<a href="#page118">118</a>, <a href="#page119">119</a>, <a href="#page173">173</a>, <a href="#page216">216</a>, -<a href="#page220">220</a>, <a href="#page249">249</a>, -<a href="#page259">259</a>, <a href="#page291">291</a>, <a href="#page299">299</a>, <a href="#page306">306</a>, <a href="#page323">323</a></li> - -<li>——, Life of, <a href="#page73">73</a><sup>3</sup>, <a href="#page108">108</a><sup>1</sup>, <a href="#page303">303</a></li> - -<li>Robertson, Dr., <a href="#page18">18</a>, <a href="#page191">191</a>, <a href="#page259">259</a></li> - -<li>Rochefoucauld, <a href="#page56">56</a></li> - -<li>Rogers, Rev. Charles, LL.D., Memoir of James Boswell, <a href="#page22">22</a>, <a href="#page23">23</a>, <a href="#page92">92</a><sup>14</sup>, -<a href="#page176">176</a><sup>6</sup>, <a href="#page225">225</a><sup>7</sup>, <a href="#page300">300</a><sup>1</sup>, -<a href="#page304">304</a>,<sup>2</sup>, <a href="#page319">319</a></li> - -<li>Roman Catholic, Boswell a, <a href="#page36">36-37</a></li> - -<li>Ross, Mr. David, <a href="#page23">23</a>, <a href="#page24">24</a>, <a href="#page25">25</a></li> - -<li>Rousseau, <a href="#page19">19</a>, <a href="#page50">50</a>, <a href="#page51">51</a>, <a href="#page69">69</a>, -<a href="#page93">93</a>, <a href="#page151">151</a></li> - -<li>Rudd, Mrs., <a href="#page73">73</a><sup>3</sup>, <a href="#page173">173</a></li> - -<li>Russia, <a href="#page311">311</a></li></ul> - -<h5 class="space-above2">S<a name="S" id="S"></a></h5> - -<ul class="index"> -<li>Sallust, <a href="#page53">53</a></li> - -<li>Saxe-Gotha, <a href="#page50">50</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="page336" id="page336"></a>[pg 336]</span></li> - -<li>Schwellenberg, Mrs., <a href="#page255">255</a></li> - -<li>Scotland, <a href="#page24">24</a>, <a href="#page30">30</a>, <a href="#page42">42</a>, <a href="#page78">78</a>, -<a href="#page85">85</a>, <a href="#page87">87</a>, <a href="#page105">105</a>, <a href="#page106">106</a>, <a href="#page111">111</a>, -<a href="#page127">127</a>, <a href="#page165">165</a>, <a href="#page167">167</a>, <a href="#page168">168</a>, -<a href="#page169">169</a>, <a href="#page209">209</a>, <a href="#page210">210</a>, <a href="#page235">235-6</a></li> - -<li>Scott, Sir Walter, <a href="#page2">2</a>, <a href="#page7">7</a>, <a href="#page85">85</a>, <a href="#page174">174</a>, <a href="#page225">225</a></li> - -<li>Seccombe, Mr., <a href="#page11">11</a>, <a href="#page15">15</a>, <a href="#page215">215</a></li> - -<li>Select Society, <a href="#page19">19</a>, <a href="#page20">20</a></li> - -<li>Seward, <a href="#page128">128</a></li> - -<li>Shakespeare, <a href="#page2">2</a>, <a href="#page65">65</a>, <a href="#page193">193</a>, <a href="#page195">195</a>, <a href="#page297">297</a></li> - -<li>Shaw, Dr., <a href="#page251">251</a></li> - -<li>Shelley, <a href="#page1">1</a></li> - -<li>Shenstone's 'Pastoral on Absence,' <a href="#page32">32</a>, <a href="#page33">33</a></li> - -<li>Sheridan, Mr. Thomas, <a href="#page248">248-9</a>, <a href="#page279">279</a></li> - -<li>Skye, <a href="#page122">122</a></li> - -<li>'Slavery, No Abolition of,' <a href="#page310">310</a></li> - -<li>Smith, Adam, <a href="#page17">17</a>, <a href="#page68">68</a></li> - -<li>Soaping Club, <a href="#page27">27</a>, <a href="#page28">28</a></li> - -<li>Somerville, Lord, <a href="#page178">178</a></li> - -<li>Southern's 'Tragedy of Oroonoco,' <a href="#page22">22</a></li> - -<li>Southill, <a href="#page248">248</a></li> - -<li>St. Gluvias, <a href="#page10">10</a></li> - -<li>Stone, Mr., <a href="#page251">251</a></li> - -<li>St. Paul's, <a href="#page100">100</a>, <a href="#page137">137</a>, <a href="#page142">142</a></li> - -<li>Stratford, Shakespeare Jubilee at, <a href="#page65">65-6</a>, <a href="#page204">204</a></li> - -<li>Streatham, <a href="#page128">128</a>, <a href="#page263">263</a></li> - -<li>Stuart, Lord Mount, <a href="#page50">50</a></li> - -<li>Sweden, <a href="#page71">71</a></li> - -<li>Swift, <a href="#page118">118</a>, <a href="#page292">292</a></li> -</ul> - -<h5 class="space-above2">T<a name="T" id="T"></a></h5> - -<ul class="index"><li>Taylor, John, <a href="#page197">197-8</a>, <a href="#page304">304</a></li> - -<li>——, records of, <a href="#page198">198</a><sup>34</sup>, <a href="#page305">305</a><sup>4</sup></li> - -<li>——, Tom, 'Life of Reynolds,' <a href="#page73">73</a><sup>3</sup>, <a href="#page108">108</a><sup>1</sup>, <a href="#page303">303</a></li> - -<li>Temple, William, <a href="#page10">10-16</a>, <a href="#page61">61</a>, <a href="#page64">64</a>, <a href="#page70">70</a>, -<a href="#page73">73</a>, <a href="#page79">79</a>, <a href="#page81">81</a>, <a href="#page84">84</a>, <a href="#page88">88</a>, -<a href="#page92">92</a>, <a href="#page96">96</a>, <a href="#page98">98</a>, <a href="#page100">100</a>, <a href="#page178">178</a>, -<a href="#page183">183</a>, <a href="#page185">185-6</a>, <a href="#page187">187</a>, <a href="#page215">215</a>, -<a href="#page225">225</a><sup>7</sup>, <a href="#page300">300</a><sup>1</sup>, <a href="#page306">306</a>, <a href="#page309">309-12</a></li> - -<li>——, 'Essay on the Clergy,' <a href="#page11">11</a></li> - -<li>Temple, William, Boswell's letters to, <i>see</i> Boswell</li> - -<li>Temple Bar, <a href="#page240">240</a></li> - -<li>Temple Gate, <a href="#page240">240</a></li> - -<li>Templeton, John, <a href="#page319">319</a></li> - -<li>Tennyson, <a href="#page1">1</a></li> - -<li>Terentia, <a href="#page53">53</a></li> - -<li>Thérèse le Vasseur, <a href="#page53">53</a></li> - -<li>Thrale, Mrs., <a href="#page72">72</a>, <a href="#page100">100</a>, <a href="#page108">108</a>, <a href="#page126">126</a>, -<a href="#page237">237-8</a>, <a href="#page259">259</a>, <a href="#page266">266-7</a>, <a href="#page302">302</a></li> - -<li>——, Anecdote of Dr. Johnson, <a href="#page237">237</a></li> - -<li>——, Autobiography, Letters, &c., <a href="#page72">72</a>,<sup>2</sup>, <a href="#page258">258</a><sup>1</sup>, <a href="#page284">284</a><sup>1</sup></li> - -<li>——, Johnson's letters to, <a href="#page126">126</a>, <a href="#page176">176</a><sup>6</sup></li> - -<li>Tory, Boswell a, <a href="#page8">8</a>, <a href="#page137">137</a>, <a href="#page153">153</a>, <a href="#page176">176</a>, -<a href="#page177">177</a>, <a href="#page181">181</a></li> - -<li>Tour to the Hebrides, <a href="#page7">7</a>, <a href="#page68">68</a>, <a href="#page71">71</a>,<sup>1</sup>, <a href="#page78">78</a>, -<a href="#page107">107</a>, <a href="#page121">121-3</a>, <a href="#page125">125-7</a>, <a href="#page131">131</a>, <a href="#page190">190</a>, -<a href="#page201">201</a>, <a href="#page205">205</a>, <a href="#page209">209-18</a>, <a href="#page227">227-8</a>, <a href="#page230">230</a>, -<a href="#page234">234</a>, <a href="#page245">245</a>, <a href="#page257">257</a>, <a href="#page269">269</a><sup>4</sup>, <a href="#page270">270</a>,<sup>5</sup>, -<a href="#page297">297-9</a>, <a href="#page302">302</a>, <a href="#page303">303</a>, <a href="#page307">307</a>, -<a href="#page314">314</a>, <a href="#page322">322</a></li> - -<li>Tour in Corsica, <i>see</i> account of Corsica</li> - -<li>Trelawney, Sir Jonathan, <a href="#page97">97</a></li> - -<li>Trevelyan, Sir George, <a href="#page1">1</a></li> - -<li>——, 'Life of Fox,' <a href="#page175">175</a><sup>5</sup></li> - -<li>Turbulent, Mr., <a href="#page254">254</a></li> - -<li>Turks, <a href="#page311">311</a></li> - -<li>Twalmley, <a href="#page205">205</a></li> - -<li>Tyers, Tom, <a href="#page257">257</a></li> -</ul> - -<h5 class="space-above2">U<a name="U" id="U"></a></h5> - -<ul class="index"> -<li>Ulysses, <a href="#page315">315</a></li> - -<li>Utrecht, <a href="#page50">50</a>, <a href="#page91">91</a>, <a href="#page155">155</a></li> - -<li>Uxoriana, <a href="#page102">102</a></li> -</ul> - -<h5 class="space-above2">V<a name="V" id="V"></a></h5> - -<ul class="index"><li>Vestris, <a href="#page288">288</a></li> - -<li>Vilette, Rev. Mr., <a href="#page251">251</a></li> - -<li>Voltaire, <a href="#page50">50</a>, <a href="#page54">54</a>, <a href="#page93">93</a>, <a href="#page149">149</a></li> -</ul> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page337" id="page337"></a>[pg 337]</span></p> -<h5 class="space-above2">W<a name="W" id="W"></a></h5> - -<ul class="index"> -<li>Walcot, <a href="#page216">216</a></li> - -<li>Walpole, Horace, <a href="#page61">61</a>, <a href="#page109">109</a>, <a href="#page302">302</a></li> - -<li>——, Letters of, <a href="#page109">109</a><sup>2</sup></li> - -<li>Warburton, <a href="#page251">251</a></li> - -<li>Wedderburne, <a href="#page248">248-9</a></li> - -<li>Wellesley, Marquess of, <a href="#page118">118</a></li> - -<li>Westminster Hall, <a href="#page168">168</a>, <a href="#page170">170</a>, <a href="#page215">215</a></li> - -<li>Westminster School, <a href="#page320">320</a></li> - -<li>Whig, Boswell's father a, <a href="#page7">7</a>, <a href="#page8">8</a></li> - -<li>——, Boswell becomes a, <a href="#page9">9</a></li> - -<li>Whitehead, Mason's Life of, <a href="#page231">231</a></li> - -<li>Wilkes, Jack, <a href="#page19">19</a>, <a href="#page50">50</a>, <a href="#page55">55</a>, <a href="#page69">69</a>, -<a href="#page70">70</a>, <a href="#page110">110</a>, <a href="#page112">112</a>, <a href="#page117">117</a>, -<a href="#page250">250</a>, <a href="#page282">282</a></li> - -<li>Williams, Miss, <a href="#page43">43</a></li> - -<li>Wordsworth, <a href="#page1">1</a></li> - -<li>Wren, Sir Christopher, <a href="#page142">142</a></li> -</ul> - -<h5 class="space-above2">Y<a name="Y" id="Y"></a></h5> - -<ul class="index"><li>York, <a href="#page177">177</a></li> - -<li>York, Duke of, <a href="#page26">26</a>, <a href="#page27">27</a></li> - -<li>Young's Night Thoughts, <a href="#page188">188</a></li> -</ul> - -<h5 class="space-above2">Z<a name="Z" id="Z"></a></h5> - -<ul class="index"> -<li>Zelide, <a href="#page91">91</a>, <a href="#page95">95</a>, <a href="#page98">98</a></li> -</ul> - -<p class="centersb1">PRINTED BY<br /> -SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. 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NAPIER—YOUNG. -</div></div> - -<p class="adv1a">This second Supplement of the Dictionary supplies biographies of -all noteworthy persons who died between the day of Queen Victoria's -death, 22nd January, 1901 (the limit of the First Supplement) and -31st December, 1911.</p> - -<p class="centerbi"><i>SOME PRESS OPINIONS.</i></p> - -<p class="adv1"><em>Times.</em>—'The remarkable biography of King Edward VII. shows qualities of -careful preparation and of judgment.'</p> - -<p class="adv1"><em>Daily Telegraph.</em>—'The biography of the late King written by the Editor -reviews the life from every standpoint, and makes a closer personal study of the -man and the King than has hitherto been attempted.'</p> - -<p class="adv1"><em>Morning Post.</em>—'The Editor is to be heartily congratulated on the conscientious -execution of a delicate but most interesting task.'</p> - -<p class="adv1"><em>Standard.</em>—'A most valuable contribution to the political and constitutional -history of the period that lies immediately behind us.'</p> - -<p class="adv1"><em>Manchester Guardian.</em>—'The appearance of the first volume of the Second -Supplement is an event of more than usual importance.'</p> - -<p class="adv1"><em>Daily Chronicle.</em>—'The first real, intimate, authoritative account of King -Edward.'</p> -</div> - -<div class="container"> -<p class="centerb">London: Smith, Elder & Co., 15 Waterloo Place, S.W.</p> -</div></div> - -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<hr /> -<p> </p> - -<div class="tn"> -<h4>Transcriber's Note:</h4> - -<p>A List of Contents has been added by the transcriber, and placed in the Public Domain.</p> - -<p>The original page headings are of interest, so they have been retained, in the online version, -and moved to appropriate positions in the right-hand margin, close to the text to which they refer, -so as not to interrupt the flow of the text.</p> - -<p>The book contains some foreign words and a few old spellings, e.g., 'authour', 'tenour', etc., -and also instances of hyphenated and non-hyphenated variants of some words. These have all been retained.</p> - -<p>Instances of both 'adhaesit' and 'adhæsit' appear in the text. Both have been retained.</p> - -<p>Punctuation is not always consistent. Some punctuation has been amended for conformity; -sundry missing or damaged punctuation has been repaired.</p> - -<p>Page 28: Extraneous closing quote removed after "alive.'"</p> - -<p class="ind">"There is no better fellow alive."</p> - -<p>Page 56: 'Rochefoucault' is the spelling used by Boswell; Rochefoucauld appears in the Index. -Both have been retained.</p> - -<p>Page 65: 'possble' corrected to 'possible'</p> - -<p class="ind">"... there can be no possible doubt that Boswell wrote it...."</p> - -<p>Page 108: 'Boswell:' changed to '<i>Boswell</i>:' for consistency.</p> - -<p class="ind">"... <i>Boswell</i>: 'They were afraid of you, Sir, as...."</p> - -<p>Page 200: 'compositon' corrected to 'composition'.</p> -<p class="ind">"... and he was so vain that he was undoubtedly -proud of what must have been an absurd composition."</p> - -<p>Page 336: 'Tory, Boswella corrected to 'Tory, Boswell a'</p> - -<p class="ind">"Tory, Boswell a, 8, 137, 153, 176, 177, 181"</p> - -Superscripts in the Index refer to the footnote from the page reference where the reference is only found in the footnote. - -A few corrections have been made to page numbers in the index, some numbers (without a reference on the page) removed, -and some added: The corrected number is after the name; The printed number is in (brackets). - -<ul class="none"> -<li>Akerman, ... 251 (250)</li> - -<li>Boswell: -<ul class="index1"> -<li>law ... (187) (204)</li> -<li>lawyers ... 205 ()</li> -<li>letters: -<ul class="index2"> -<li>Temple, quoted ... 70 (69) ... 167<sup>1</sup> () ... (179) ... 185-186 (186)</li></ul></li></ul></li> - -<li>Eglinton, Earl of ... 197 (196)</li> - -<li>Graham, ... 201 (202)</li> - -<li>Hypochondriack, ... 145-6 (146)</li> - -<li>Samuel Johnson: -<ul class="index1"> -<li>talks for victory, ... 121 ()</li> -<li>'just frown', ... 155 ()</li> -<li>gay Sam, ... 254, 295 (246)</li></ul></li> - -<li>Lisburne, ... 178 (179)</li> -<li>Lochbuy, ... 260 (258)</li> -<li>London Magazine, ... (69) (104)</li> -<li>Lowe, ... (255)</li> - -<li>Macaulay, ... 2 (1) ... (61)</li> -<li>Macaulay, Mrs., ... 61 ()</li> -<li>Montgomerie, ... 100, 197 (98-9, 100)</li> -<li>More, Hannah, ... 284 (283)</li> - -<li>Nichols, John,</li> -<li>——, 'Literary History,' ... 307<sup>9</sup> (308)</li> - -<li>Paoli, General, ... 67 (66) 187 ()</li> -<li>Percy, Bishop, ...284 (283)</li> - -<li>Reynolds, Sir Joshua, ...249 (248) ...259 (258)</li> -<li>Robertson, Dr., ... 259 (258)</li> -<li>Rogers, Rev. Charles, LL.D., Memoir of James Boswell, ... (216)</li> - -<li>Temple Gate ...240 (229)</li> -<li>Thrale, Mrs., ... (290), (295), (297)</li> -<li>Turbulent, Mr., ... 254 (253)</li> -<li>Tyers, Tom, ... 257 (256)</li> - -<li>Vilette, Rev. Mr., ... 251 (250)</li> -</ul> - -</div> - -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOSWELL THE BIOGRAPHER***</p> -<p>******* This file should be named 52246-h.htm or 52246-h.zip *******</p> -<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> -<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/2/2/4/52246">http://www.gutenberg.org/5/2/2/4/52246</a></p> -<p> -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed.</p> - -<p>Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: Boswell the Biographer - - -Author: George Herbert Leigh Mallory - - - -Release Date: June 6, 2016 [eBook #52246] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOSWELL THE BIOGRAPHER*** - - -E-text prepared by MWS, Lesley Halamek, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made -available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustration. - See 52246-h.htm or 52246-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/52246/52246-h/52246-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/52246/52246-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/boswellbiographe00mallrich - - -Transcriber's note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=). - - Text enclosed by plus signs is in Copperplate - hand-written text. - - [oe] represents the oe-ligature. - - A carat character is used to denote superscription. In - the text multiple superscripted characters are enclosed - by curly brackets (example: 27^{th}). In the Index - numerals following a carat character are superscripted - and refer to the footnote from the page reference where - the reference is only found in the footnote (example: - 178^16). - - - - - -BOSWELL THE BIOGRAPHER - - -[Illustration: - - +_April 27^{th}. 1753_+ +_Emery Walker Ph. So._+ - -+_James Boswell_+ - -+_from a drawing by George Dance R.A._+] - - -BOSWELL THE BIOGRAPHER - -by - -GEORGE MALLORY - -With a Portrait by George Dance, R.A. - - - - - - - -London -Smith, Elder & Co., 15 Waterloo Place -1912 - -[All rights reserved] - - - - -PREFACE - - -The responsibility for upwards of 300 pages in print is a burden which -my unaccustomed conscience cannot easily bear, and by accepting it I -lose for ever the unassailable dignity of private criticism. In these -circumstances I approach my readers in an apologetic frame of mind. -I shall not apologise for writing a dull book by explaining in what -manner it is interesting. I had thought of doing something of the -sort, but at the present moment that course presents insuperable -difficulties. An explanation, if not apology, is however necessary; -for this volume is in one sense a compromise. It is less than a -biography and more than an essay. It aims at being not a complete Life -of Boswell, but an explanation of his character. This purpose may not -seem to require so long a treatment as mine. Certainly it would have -been easier to say, and easier to read, all that I have said about -Boswell's psychology in far fewer words. But my design was to prove my -case. Boswell has been so much a subject of controversy that, were -I merely to state my views, I should convince, if anyone is to -be convinced by me, only those who had observed the same facts as -myself--the facts upon which those views are based. By bringing -forward the evidence without stint I have hoped to establish my -opinions on a firmer base. - -A list of the books to which I have referred is printed at the -beginning of this volume. I am naturally indebted to the researches of -Dr. G. Birkbeck Hill, to the three biographers of Boswell--Dr. Rogers -(in 'Boswelliana'), Mr. Percy Fitzgerald, and Mr. W. K. Leask--and to -the brilliant study by Carlyle. I must also mention three essays which -have been particularly illuminating--that by W. E. Henley in 'Views -and Reviews,' by Lionel Johnson in 'Post Liminium,' and by Mr. Birrell -in his edition of Boswell's 'Life of Johnson.' - -I am grateful especially to Mr. A. C. Benson, whose encouragement -promoted this enterprise, to Mr. G. L. Strachey for many valuable -suggestions, and to Mr. E. H. Marsh for correcting my proofs, which -was no mean labour. - - GEORGE MALLORY. - - CHARTERHOUSE: - _July 25, 1912_. - - - - -BIBLIOGRAPHY - - -[This is a list of books bearing directly upon Boswell which have been -used for this volume.] - - Birrell, A., Introduction to his edition of Boswell's - Life of Johnson London, 1906 - - Boswell, James: - Elegy on the Death of an Amiable Young Lady 1761 - - Ode to Tragedy 1761 - - Collection of Original Poems, contributions to 1762 - - The Cub at Newmarket 1762 - - Critical Strictures on Mallet's Elvira, by A. Erskine and - J. Boswell 1763 - - Correspondence with the Hon. Andrew Erskine 1763 - - Dorando, a Spanish Tale 1767 - - Essence of the Douglas Cause 1767 - - Account of Corsica, &c., 2nd edition 1768 - (1st edition was published 1768) - - British Essays in favour of the Brave Corsicans 1769 - - The Hypochondriack in the London Magazine, Oct. 1777 - to Dec. 1779 - - Letter to the People of Scotland on the Present State of - the Nation 1783 - - Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides. Ed. G. Birkbeck Hill 1887 - (1st edition 1785) - - Letter to the People of Scotland against the attempt to - diminish the number of the Lords of Session 1785 - - No Abolition of Slavery, or the Universal Empire of Love 1791 - - Life of Johnson. Ed. Right Hon. John Wilson Croker 1866 - - Life of Samuel Johnson. Ed. G. Birkbeck Hill. 6 vols. - Oxford, 1887[1] - (1st edition 1791) - - Letters to Temple, reprint London, 1908[1] - - ---- Life of, see Rogers, Fitzgerald, and Leask. - - Boswelliana, the Commonplace Book of James Boswell, - London, Grampian Club, 1876 - - Burke, Edmund, Correspondence London, 1824 - - Burney, Miss, _see_ D'Arblay. - - - Campbell, Rev. Dr. Thomas, Diary London, 1854 - - Carlyle, Miscellanies London, 1872 - - Chatham, Earl of, Correspondence. 4 vols. London, 1838 - - Collection of Original Poems Edinburgh, 1763 - - Croker, Right Hon. John Wilson, Correspondence - and Diaries. 3 vols. London, 1884 - - - D'Arblay, Diary of Madame. Ed. Austin Dobson. - 6 vols. London, 1904 - - ---- Memoirs of Dr. Burney. 3 vols. London, 1832 - - - Edinburgh, Traditions of 1869 - - Eldon, Lord Chancellor, Life of, by Horace Twiss. - 3 vols. London, 1844 - - - Fitzgerald, Percy, Life of Boswell London, 1891 - - Forbes, Sir William, Life of James Beattie London, 1806 - - - Gentleman's Magazine - - Goldsmith, Life by James Prior. 2 vols. London, 1837 - - Gray, Life by Mason. 2 vols. London, 1807 - - - Hawkins, Sir John, Life of Johnson London, 1787 - - ---- Laetitia Matilda, Memoirs. 2 vols. London, 1824 - - Henley, W. E., Views and Reviews London, 1902 - - Hill, Dr. George Birkbeck, Life of Johnson. 6 vols. Oxford, 1887 - - ---- Dr. Johnson, his Friends and Critics London, 1878 - _See also_ Johnson Club Papers. - - Holcroft, Thomas, Memoirs. 3 vols. London, 1816 - - Hume, David, Correspondence London, 1846 - - - Ireland, S. W. H., The Confessions of W. H. - Ireland London, 1805 - - - Johnson, Dr. Samuel, Dictionary London, 1755 - - ---- Lives of the Poets London, 1781 - - ---- Journey to the Western Islands London, 1775 - - Johnson, Lionel, Post Liminium, Critical Essays London, 1911 - - Johnson Club Papers, by various hands London, 1899 - - - Leask, W. K., James Boswell, Famous Scots Series. Edinburgh, 1896 - - London Magazine - - - Macaulay, Critical and Historical Essays. 3 vols. London, 1843 - - Malone, Life of, Prior London, 1860 - - More, Hannah, Memoirs of. 4 vols. London, 1834 - - - Nichols, John, Literary Anecdotes of the XVIIIth - Century. 9 vols. London, 1812-15 - - ---- Literary History of the XVIIIth Century. - 8 vols. London, 1817-58 - - - Piozzi, Mrs., Autobiography. 2 vols. London, 1861 - - ---- Johnson's Letters to. 2 vols. London, 1788 - - ---- Anecdotes of the late Samuel Johnson, - 2nd edition London, 1789 - - - Raleigh, Sir Walter, Six Essays on Johnson Oxford, 1910 - - Reynolds, Sir Joshua, Life by Leslie and Taylor. - 2 vols. London, 1865 - - Rogers, Rev. Charles, Memoir of Boswell, in Boswelliana - - - Taylor, John, Records of My Life London, 1832 - - Trevelyan, Sir G. O., Life of Fox London, 1912 - - - Walpole, Horace, Letters. 9 vols. London, 1861 - - [Footnote 1: All references are to this edition.] - - - - -BOSWELL THE BIOGRAPHER - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -Boswell's 'Life of Johnson' is, as we all know, a unique biography; -it has no rival. Its unchallenged supremacy has a special significance -from the position which Johnson himself retains in literature. For as -it must be admitted that his work has been but little read since his -own day, and that by far his greatest performance, the compiling of -a dictionary, has in its nature nothing of an artistic appeal, it may -well be supposed that the literary men of this age find more to stir -the imagination in the lives of the great figures of the nineteenth -century, in the romance of Byron, Shelley, Keats, and at a later date -of the Pre-Raphaelite group, in the peculiar simplicity of Wordsworth, -the splendour of Tennyson, and the fervid passion of Browning. And yet -we have for Johnson a more intimate place which is all his own. - -It is because we know him better. Subsequent biographers, Lockhart, -Froude, Trevelyan--to mention a few of the more successful--have like -Boswell written good biographies: we know much that is interesting -about Scott, Carlyle, and Macaulay. But what we know of Johnson -is more vivid, real, and true; it is the man himself. Boswell is -therefore the first of biographers. He is first beyond the jealousy of -a rival and above the common earth of imitators--as Homer is first -in epic poetry, as Moliere and Racine, Shakespeare and Milton are all -first where they most excel. And he is first only for this reason, -that we know most intimately the man who was portrayed by him. - -But if the mere extent of our knowledge of Johnson determines the -greatness of Boswell, there is yet some particular appeal besides, -some special charm that wins us in Boswell's 'Johnson.' When we come -to think of the nature of Boswell's value for so many people, we -shall find that it depends not altogether upon the completeness of his -method or his capacity for giving expression to it, but also upon an -interest which exists apart from any structural or artistic quality. -The 'Life of Johnson' is one of those rare books which have by -nature a certain universality. It exists not for one but for every -generation. It is not for the cultured alone nor for the uncultured, -nor yet, if he exists, for the normal person. It is everybody's book. -And this is a fact which requires explanation. - -It would be easy if we were merely seeking to distinguish that which -has a special value or quality from what is merely commonplace, if -we simply wished to determine the peculiar flavour and virtue of the -work, to find a number of reasons why the book we are speaking of -should have a special value among biographies. The careful art of the -writer, the vividness of the scenes he depicts, his unrivalled humour, -the mere form of what he presents, including as it does all that he -meant by biography, the interest we feel in the distinguished men -who play, as it were, the minor parts of the drama--all these are -responsible in their several degrees for the pleasure we derive from -Boswell's 'Johnson.' - -But to account for its universality we must look elsewhere--to the -simple human interest felt by everyone in two such characters as -Johnson and Boswell. A biography may be written about an interesting -man by a dull one or about a dull man by an interesting one; and -interest in either may be satisfied by reading it: even when both the -men are dull some pleasure may be obtained from a biography by one who -is interested in the psychological phenomenon of dullness. The 'Life -of Johnson' may be read with pleasure, and even with something more -than pleasure, because both Johnson and his biographer are supremely -interesting men. There may be some of Boswell's readers who have -pleasure from his _magnum opus_, for the treatment, as it is -technically called; but it is the subject, or rather one might say the -two subjects, since there is in it so much also of autobiography, that -attract the greater number of them. And there must be many to whom--of -these two historic people, Johnson and Boswell--the more interesting -because he was more interested in himself, the more attractive because -we can see in him more of ourselves, is Boswell the biographer. - - * * * * * - -In presenting the literary portrait of a man there can be no greater -error than to indulge in controversy. It is an error which one may -make very readily, for we have all at heart the love of battle; -moreover, it is easy to contradict another, and difficult to give a -whole picture of one's own. And in the case of Boswell there is -matter for controversy particularly obvious and particularly inviting. -Distinguished men have formed entirely different conceptions of his -character and used the pen with more energy than wisdom to support -their views. It seems clear now that Boswell has been widely -misunderstood. - -We are confronted at the outset by a sort of popular paradox. Not only -Lord Macaulay, but most of Boswell's contemporaries and most of his -editors, have thought of him as nothing more than a fool--they have -supposed with the poet Gray, 'Any fool may write a most valuable book -by chance.' No one has ever denied that the 'Life' is a good book. No -one after his own generation, till Carlyle, ever denied that Boswell -was a bad man, just the mean, snivelling creature imagined by -Macaulay. - -Modern criticism has done much to raise the besmirched name of the -biographer, but has managed at the same time to envelop his character -in a sort of generous obscurity. 'Boswell,' Professor Raleigh has -boldly exclaimed, 'was a genius.' The Boswellian student will probably -agree: but in agreeing we must be cautious not to confuse our ideas -about Boswell's character; to say that a man is a genius is not to -say that he is unaccountable for his actions, or even of necessity to -imply that he is mad. The genius is often more complex than other men, -but not more incomprehensible. It is possible, if we like, to look -behind the veil that is drawn between humanity and a particular human -being. We can see in a genius not less than in others the meaning of -all the names which we use to describe life, of love and sympathy, -greed and egoism, hate, fear, joy, and the rest; of all the qualities -that form for better or for worse what we call character, what it is -to be kind or cruel, vain or modest, false or true. Nor, when we say -that Boswell is a genius, do we preclude the possibility of his being -a fool. Boswell was indeed a fool, as is easy enough to show; but he -was not, as was long supposed, a stupid fool. - -We do, however, mean something by the term genius; and it is something -of the inward life. The soul of man is composed of combustible matter, -and the violence and quality of its conflagration depend upon the -proportions in which the ingredients are mixed. In certain cases -an abnormal quantity of one substance or another produces an -extraordinary result; and when this result can be classified neither -as criminal nor lunatic it is called by the more approved name of -genius. - -Two questions therefore are to be asked especially with regard to a -genius: First, in what way was the conflagration peculiar? Secondly, -what were the substances present in abnormal quantity which caused the -peculiarity? - -It is intended that these two questions shall be answered with regard -to Boswell in the course of this general inquiry concerning his -psychology. It is held that Boswell was a genius; it must be explained -in what his genius consisted, and how, in the end, this abnormal -essence dominated the whole man and inspired the great work of his -life. - - * * * * * - -James Boswell was born in Edinburgh on October 29th, 1740. He came -of an old Scottish stock, and his ancestors, if not eminent, were at -least distinguished men and proud of being the Lairds of Auchinleck. - -Of his mother we know but little; she was, however, a woman of 'almost -unexampled piety and goodness.' - -Lord Auchinleck, his father, figures occasionally in the various -authorities for Boswell's 'Life,' and we can get a very good picture -of him. Scott gives the following account: - - Old Lord Auchinleck was an able lawyer, a good scholar, after - the manner of Scotland, and highly valued his own advantages - as a man of good estate and ancient family; and, moreover, he - was a strict Presbyterian and Whig of the old Scottish cast. - This did not prevent his being a terribly proud aristocrat, - and great was the contempt he entertained and expressed for - his son James, for the nature of his friendships and the - character of the personages of whom he was _engoue_ one after - another. 'There's nae hope for Jamie, mon,' he said to a - friend. 'Jamie is gaen clean gyte.... Whose tail do you - think he has pinned himself to now, mon?' Here the old judge - summoned up a sneer of most sovereign contempt. 'A _dominie_, - mon--an auld dominie; he keeped a schule and cau'd it an - acaadamy.' - -The Laird, as is evident from the account in the 'Tour to the -Hebrides' of Johnson's visit to Boswell's home, held his opinions -with that conviction which admits of no discussion. A story of him -is related by Scott that when challenged by Johnson to explain the -utility of Cromwell's career, he very curtly remarked: 'God, Doctor, -he gart kings ken they had a lith[1] in their neck.' - -Boswell seems to have summed up the situation at home when he wrote in -the _London Magazine_ for 1781: - - I knew a father who was a violent Whig and used to attack his - son for being a Tory, upbraiding him with being deficient in - noble sentiments of liberty, while at the same time he made - this son live under his roof in such bondage as he was not - only afraid to stir from home without leave like a child, but - durst scarcely open his mouth in his father's presence. This - was sad living. - -The problem of youth is one of selection. Not many of us accept for -ourselves the whole of our inheritance. Of the influences of our early -years there are some which we reject; and the judgments which we make -about the problems that affected us when young, differ as a rule from -those about other questions which come upon us only in maturer years. -In youth we must either love or hate--there is no indifference; and so -in youth very often are formed the prejudices of a lifetime. Thus it -was with Boswell. It was inevitable that the inflexible, hard-headed -old judge, and the gay, clever son, should agree very ill. The latter -contrived to be in many ways the exact antithesis of his father, and -he had the courage of his opinions. It is remarkable, when we think of -the violence of the old Whig's political views, that in 1745 Boswell -'wore a white cockade and prayed for King James.' The advances of an -uncle it is true were able to purchase his political sympathies, and -for the sum of one shilling Boswell became a Whig. But it is more -decorous, at the age of five, to side with one's father without the -persuasion of a silver bribe, especially upon a question of so great -importance as the choice of a sovereign. For his tutor, Mr. Dunn, -James seems to have retained no startling degree of affection or even -of respect; for it was he who 'discovered a narrowness of information -concerning the dignitaries of the Church of England. He talked before -Dr. Johnson of fat bishops and drowsy deans, and in short seemed to -believe the illiberal and profane scoffings of professed satirists -or vulgar railers'; and so brought upon himself the admirable rebuke: -'Sir, you know no more of our Church than a Hottentot.' - -In the uncongenial atmosphere of home Boswell learnt, no doubt, to -dislike instruction and to mistrust what he was told about the way to -live, about manners in the old use of the word. There is, however, -the trace of a pious mother's influence in the respect which Boswell -always showed for religion and for principles. To know what he thought -right or wrong was always of importance to him, however slight the -relation to his practice of these moral decisions. It is possible -indeed that he could never have been better than a tyro in the art of -living: but the close-fettered days of this unfortunate childhood must -be partly responsible for the fact. - -When the term of his education at home was accomplished, Boswell very -properly went to school at Edinburgh. We have reason to complain, if -we may complain at all, that we can know nothing of Boswell's school -life. It is idle to conjecture what it was like. We may only suppose -that school was to him a place of comparative freedom, and that to his -schoolfellows his presence there was a valuable source of merriment, -and perhaps also an occasion of maliciousness. - -From school Boswell went by a natural sequence to Edinburgh -University: he was barely seventeen years old when the change took -place. It was at Edinburgh University, at Hunter's Greek class, that -Boswell met his lifelong friend William Temple. - -Temple is distinguished as the grandfather of an archbishop. Beyond -this his life has no considerable distinction; and beyond the fact -that he was Boswell's friend it has no peculiar interest. His eminence -in the immediate affairs of this world may be rightly judged from -the unembellished statement that, after his ordination in 1766, he -remained a country parson, first at Mamhead, near Exeter, and later -at St. Gluvias, in Cornwall, for his entire life. It is a curiously -undecorated career for one who obtained so large a measure not merely -of Boswell's friendship, but of his admiration. - -A sad mischance has denied us at least the gratification of curiosity -by hiding from our view, and perhaps destroying, the letters of Temple -to Boswell; those qualities which attracted the youthful biographer, -and completely won his confidence, are no doubt exposed therein; but -we may not see. Boswell's own letters however reveal something of his -correspondent's character. Temple in the first place--and this perhaps -is the most important fact--was literary. He was evidently a far -better scholar than Boswell, and knew more about books. He was a -writer too in a small way. He published several unpretentious volumes. -They have no particular interest that demands our attention, but one -of them, 'An Essay on the Clergy, &c.,' 'by some divine mischance,' -as Mr. Seccombe puts it, 'materially aided his prospects.' Temple's -ability seems rather to have been that of a critic. In the letters -that he wrote to Boswell he pronounced his views about books and -authors: Boswell esteemed his opinions highly, and there was a -proposal, apparently fruitless, that these passages should be -collected into a book. It would be wrong to assume from Boswell's -optimistic remarks that Temple was really capable of writing anything -valuable. But his opinion was in one instance at least supported by -eminent men of letters. Boswell quoted in a periodical an appreciation -of Gray which Temple wrote at the time of that poet's death; Mason -thought this so good that he inserted it in his 'Life of Gray'; and -Dr. Johnson afterwards included the same passage in the 'Lives of the -Poets.' - -Temple, as we see, is not entitled to the fame of Letters; but it is -important to realise, since he was the greatest friend both of the -young and the old Boswell, that though he had not the qualities that -deserve success, and had not the good fortune that may bring it by -chance, he had, however, a certain distinction. - -There are other reasons for Boswell's preference. If neither Temple -nor Boswell was a successful man, yet they both desired success in a -quite extraordinary degree, and in the early days of their friendship -at Edinburgh this was a strong link. They perceived, no doubt, that -they were unlike the majority of students, and concluded they were -better than the rest. They looked forward to brilliant careers and -elegant fame, to the respect of princes and the friendship of the -ingenious. Boswell lived for the greater part of his life in a palace -of boyish dreams where Wishes became Destiny, and it is fair to -suppose that Temple at the Scottish University shared this luxury -of anticipation. He, too, could look back to the Edinburgh days and -consider if he were becoming 'the great man, as we used to say.' And -in later life the link held firm; for neither of them was 'the great -man' in the sense that he intended. If they were companions in hopeful -optimism when young, they were equally companions at a maturer age in -the discontent and despair of unrealised ambition. - -It might be supposed that any friend of Boswell would play the part -of the strong man. He might not have the capacity of Dr. Johnson for -sweeping away cobwebs and for discouraging complaint, but one would -expect to find him upon the same platform. Temple, however, did not -take this attitude. On the contrary it was Boswell who encouraged -Temple. Not once but many times we find in the letters that Temple has -told the tale of his evil fortune in tones of despondency, and Boswell -tries to present the circumstances in a more favourable light. -Boswell perhaps did not do this very well. Neither the cheerfulness -of optimism nor the consolation of philosophy is sufficient for the -occasion; and it may be doubted whether the philosophy advocated by -Boswell was anything more than an affectation of indifference. But it -does him credit that he should have made the attempt to console, -and at the same time displays the weakness of Temple's character. -Certainly this was not the kind of man to exert a strong influence. -Boswell seems to have regarded him in the light of a father confessor -with whom a certain ceremony is to be performed, and is reproved and -forgiven by a natural sequence, which adds nothing but pleasure to -the agreeable duty of confession. Temple expostulates in the _role_ of -parson when the conduct of his friend is particularly damnable; it is -possible there shall be a 'blaze hereafter,' and one must at least be -on the safe side. So Boswell no doubt understood it. The mild reproofs -of his clerical friend never for a moment deterred him either from -doing or from telling of his deed. He came to expect and even to like -them. 'Admonish me, but forgive me,' he says after a particularly -detailed account of his amours; and at a later date, in an expression -which seems to epitomise the relations of the pastor and his erring -sheep, 'Your soft admonitions,' he writes, 'would at any time calm the -tempests of my soul.' - -It is clear that Boswell had no moral respect for Temple; it was not -in search of guidance that he told stories of his profligacy, but -simply because he liked to tell them. Boswell, as his friend remarked, -mounted the hobby-horse of his own temperament; this was his perennial -and unfailing interest, and the irrepressible delight which he had in -his own feelings and performances found an outlet in the 'Letters to -Temple' and in many amusing passages in the 'Life of Johnson.' - -Boswell no doubt was capable of self-revelation without encouragement, -and it is difficult for this reason to tell how much sympathy he had -from his friend. Temple wanted to hear from Boswell; he asked him to -write, and praised his letters. But his mild disapproval was probably -genuine. When he accuses Boswell of neglecting a friend or of -unkindness to his father, he must have thought himself a more -considerate man. He was not like Boswell, a tippler, and seems to -have been really distressed by the other's intemperate habits. In a -manuscript diary, reports Mr. Seccombe, he describes Boswell, no -doubt in a moment of irritation, as 'irregular in conduct and manners, -selfish, indelicate, no sensibility or feeling for others.' And -yet Temple himself was not above a gross fault; he talks of a 'dear -infidel,' and Boswell exclaims that he is exceeded by his friend. -Boswell no doubt made the most of any lapse on Temple's part from the -path of rectitude; he would like to feel that he had the support of a -respectable companion. His conscience was by no means complacent, and -it would become more tranquil if one whom he respected were in the -same boat with himself. It is conceivable that Temple encouraged -Boswell's confidence with the object of controlling him as much as he -could; his advice certainly was always that he should get well married -instead of carrying on a number of flirtations. But it is difficult to -believe, if we read the letters carefully, that Temple ever appeared -to be shocked by Boswell's confessions; and to the latter no doubt -that was an encouragement. - -In brief, we may describe Temple as a refined and well-intentioned -creature, but hardly wise and not courageous. His marriage was so much -a failure that he sought at one time a colonial chaplaincy with the -object of living apart from his wife. He was discontented with his lot -and inclined rather to complain acrimoniously than to make the best of -it. He had apparently no staunch qualities to influence a friend; and -this friend needed a firm monitor. - - * * * * * - -The date of the first of Boswell's letters to Temple is July 1758. -In 1763 he met Johnson. In the five years between these dates we see -Boswell in a number of characteristic lights. The period from -eighteen to twenty-three is commonly held to mark a special change and -development in a man's character. In Boswell's, however, we do not see -this very strongly. As he grew up he did fewer, no doubt, of the -wild things of youth. But he seems hardly to have become older in the -ordinary way, until towards the close of his life. He was always to -the world the gay, good-humoured, sociable being, with a strong vein -of fatuous buffoonery, that we see in these early years. A great -difficulty in rightly understanding Boswell's life lies in this fact. -It seems impossible at times to realise that this was a serious man; -he appears to find the world and himself such a preposterous joke. -And yet if he saw to the full the humour of living, he felt too -very keenly that it was an important matter, that there were real -standards. No one has valued more the opinion of others about -himself, and no one has experienced more miserably the bitterness of -disappointed ambition. It must be our duty, then, to mark, with all -the follies and frivolities which express the youth he retained so -long, a more serious nature within, which showed itself also from time -to time to the outer world. - -The course of Boswell's life during this period of five years may be -briefly followed in chronological order. In 1758 he was at Edinburgh -University, and it is from there that his first letter to Temple is -dated. The summer vacation was spent on the Northern Circuit with his -father and Sir David Dalrymple, afterwards also a Scottish judge with -the title of Lord Hailes. In November 1759, he entered Adam Smith's -class for Moral Philosophy in Glasgow University. In 1760 he paid -his first visit to London, and in the spring of 1761 returned to -Edinburgh, where he resided until the close of 1762; he then went for -the second time to London. It was upon this second visit that he met -Dr. Johnson. - -It is characteristic of these years that he did not quite know what -he was or what he wanted. He was posing now in one guise and now in -another, wondering the while what his serious purpose might be. At -Edinburgh University he seems to have wished to appear an intellectual -cynic. He writes to Temple: - - Don't be surprised if your grave, sedate, philosophic friend, - who used to carry it so high, and talk with such composed - indifference of the beauteous sex, and whom you used - to admonish not to turn an old man too soon--don't be - thunderstruck if this same fellow should all at once _subito - furore obreptus_ commence Don Quixote for his adorable - Dulcinea. - -The inference is clear; the _subito furore obreptus_ type of conduct -is a great change from a sedate indifference. - -He often adopted the _role_ of the wise counsellor. His letters to -Temple are full of excellent advice. It is always hard to be quite -certain that Boswell is serious, but it is probable that he was -sincere enough in this. He was ready always with sympathy and kind -actions for his friend, and we may conjecture that besides wishing -to appear wise beyond his years he thought that Temple could best be -served by the commonplace advice of the old to the young. - -But it is pre-eminently as the promising young _litterateur_ that we -see Boswell in these years. He became acquainted with many interesting -people, who were attracted, no doubt, by a clever young man, fond -of literature and appearing less ignorant than most young men. Lord -Hailes, Lord Kames, and Dr. Robertson were numbered among his friends. -Even Hume took notice of him: 'We talk a great deal of genius, fine -learning, improving in our style, &c., but I am afraid solid learning -is much wore out. Mr. Hume, I think, is a very proper person for a -young man to cultivate an acquaintance with.' Boswell was not eighteen -when he wrote these words. They suggest an amusing picture of a clever -and conceited young genius. He was admitted in 1761 to the Select -Society, a distinguished group of men who represented the best -learning of Edinburgh--a high compliment this, both to his brains and -to his social qualities. - -Among Boswell's friends of the aristocracy of letters were several -younger men. Charles Dilly, the publisher, who was afterwards host at -the famous dinner when Dr. Johnson met Jack Wilkes, was a native of -Edinburgh; and George Dempster, who became M.P. for the burghs of Fife -and Forfar in 1762, was, like Boswell, a member of the Select -Society; it was he who afterwards appeared as the disciple of Hume and -Rousseau, and of whom Johnson said, 'I have not met with any man for a -long time who has given me such general displeasure.' - -A greater friend than either of these, and one who had far more -influence in forming the literary tastes of Boswell, was the -Honourable Andrew Erskine. This lively young gentleman was both -soldier and writer. His interest in literature was not of a very -creative order: he edited, however, in 1760 and 1761, two volumes of -a 'Collection of Original Poems by the Rev. Mr. Blacklock and other -Scotch Gentlemen,' to which both he and Boswell contributed; in 1764, -he published a farce in two acts, and in 1773 he issued a poem of -twenty-two quarto pages intended 'to expose the false taste for florid -description which prevails in modern poetry.' He appears to have -had considerable discrimination; he was an early admirer of the poet -Burns, and Burns, in a letter to a friend, praises some of Erskine's -songs; an eminent publisher describes him as having 'an excellent -taste in the fine arts.' Such a man may well have had influence with -Boswell, and the two became associated in several small literary -ventures. - -The early tastes and tendencies of Boswell in literary matters are -connected with several influences of a different nature. There was -always a strong instinct of rebellion in Boswell, and with him it -found expression in sympathy for those whom the world rejected. -Some of his friends among those who sought favour of the Muses were -therefore less successful and less respectable than the distinguished -members of the Select Society, the learned and the grave. - -Several of these friends were connected in various ways with -the stage. Acting was not supported as an art in Edinburgh, nor -countenanced as a profession, at the time when Boswell was an -undergraduate at the University. But he came in contact with a Mr. -Love who, it would seem, was the first to encourage his sympathy with -the drama. Mr. Love had been connected at one time with Drury Lane -Theatre; fortune cannot have favoured him greatly, since he left -London for Edinburgh; and there after fruitless attempts to practise -private theatricals he became a teacher of elocution. It was in this -last capacity that Boswell met him. - -The lessons of Mr. Love were apparently of some use to Boswell; for -Dr. Johnson said in commendation of his English accent, 'Sir, -your pronunciation is not offensive'; and Miss Burney too speaks -approvingly. Mr. Love became the great friend of Boswell after Temple -had proceeded to the University of Cambridge. He is mentioned in -the first of the 'Letters to Temple' as the only other confidant of -Boswell in a matter of the heart; and in the next letter he is called -his 'second-best friend.' Boswell says of him: 'He has not only good -taste, genius and learning, but a good heart.' He must in any case -have been a man of singular virtue, for it was he who persuaded -Boswell to keep a diary. 'I went along with my father to the Northern -Circuit and was so happy as to be in the same chaise as Sir David -Dalrymple the whole way. I kept an exact journal, at the particular -desire of my friend Mr. Love, and sent it to him in sheets every -post.' So was the habit of 'memorandising' begun. Boswell was destined -no doubt to form that habit; it was the most vital factor in his -method of biography; and it was besides a complete expression in -itself of that inner secret which, by a magic touch, was to marshal -the soul of a glorious man before the eyes of us all. The wheel of -Fate might have turned ever so little differently for Boswell and -altered the whole course of his mortal existence; but if it were still -to be Boswell, there must still have been the tablets; and his title -to immortality would have been secured by these alone. And yet, though -the tablets are Boswell's by indubitable birthright, we may allow -ourselves a pious exclamation at the name of Mr. Love. - -When Boswell went to Glasgow he made friends with another actor in -depressed circumstances. 'The merchants of Glasgow,' Dr. Rogers tells -us, 'tolerated theatrical representations, obtaining on their boards -such talent as their provincial situation could afford.' Boswell -evidently took an interest in the Glasgow theatre. One of those who -sought a livelihood there was a certain Francis Gentleman, a native -of Ireland, and originally an officer in the army. 'This amiable -gentleman sold his commission in the hope of obtaining fame and -opulence as a dramatic author.' He obtained neither, and became -an actor; and so he qualified to be the friend of Boswell, who -entertained him, and 'encouraged him to publish an edition of -Southern's "Tragedy of Oroonoco."' To Boswell it must have been a -double pleasure to play the patron and to read the dedication of the -volume addressed to himself. Mr. Gentleman thought well of the man who -had befriended him, and the dedication ends thus: - - But where, with honest pleasure, she can find - Sense, taste, religion, and good nature joined, - There gladly will she raise her feeble voice - Nor fear to tell that Boswell is her choice. - -On his return to Edinburgh Boswell became more than ever concerned -with the ill-favoured art of the drama. 'The popular prejudice against -theatricals,' says Dr. Rogers, 'was a sufficient cause for our author -falling into the opposite extreme; he threw his whole energies into a -movement which led, six years afterwards, to a theatre being licensed -in the capital.' - -He became associated in this movement with a Mr. David Ross, the most -important save Garrick of his actor friends. Ross, too, was acquainted -with misfortune, yet not without earning some kind of celebrity. When -he made his first appearance at Drury Lane, 'he was approved by -a polite and distinguishing audience, who seemed to congratulate -themselves on seeing an actor whom they imagined capable of restoring -to the stage the long-lost character of the real fine gentleman'; and -his first success was followed by a considerable measure of popularity -at Covent Garden. He must have been a good actor, for Garrick is said -to have been jealous of his reputation. It was the 'fine gentleman' -we may suppose that Boswell particularly admired. 'Poor Ross!' he -exclaims at the time of his death; 'he was an unfortunate man in some -respects; but he was a true _bon-vivant_, a most social man, and never -was without good eating and drinking and hearty companions.' These -qualities were no doubt to Boswell the highest recommendation. And -he seems besides to have found the society of actors in general -especially congenial. In his own character there was much of the -actor: he was so often conscious of a part to be played! And he had -a way of occupying the stage when conversing in company. He may have -found, too, that actors appreciated best his lively social qualities. - -Ross, though irregular habits, as we are told, may have interfered -with his advancement, was evidently a man of some talents and some -enthusiasm, and eventually he succeeded in starting a theatre in -Edinburgh. He had some respect, it would appear, for Boswell's -talents; for on the occasion of his first performance in the capital -of Scotland, he requested Boswell to write a prologue which the actor -himself was to recite. Boswell can hardly have seen much of Ross -in later years, but the friendship between them was preserved, and -Boswell was chief mourner at the actor's funeral in 1790. - -One other friend of Boswell's in these early years must be mentioned -here. Actors may have had particular qualities which made them -attractive to him, but Boswell in any case had always a sympathy with -misfortune which was mere good-nature; he had at the same time an -interest in the shady walks of life, in human nature exhibited under -stress of adverse circumstances, and in an added poignancy to the -performance of intellect when spurred by poverty. These feelings may -account for his friendship with Mr. Derrick the poet. Derrick, like -Love and Gentleman and Ross, was somewhat of a failure. He had been -apprenticed to a linendraper, and deserted the concerns of trade -to seek his fortune as an actor; when Boswell met him as a man -of thirty-six he aspired to be a poet. His verses must have been -remarkably poor; Boswell refers to some of them as 'infamously bad.' -Dr. Johnson, who knew him slightly, 'reproved his muse and condemned -his levity.' But he was a writer, and that meant a great deal to -Boswell; the mark of his profession was a sign of grace. The Doctor -was probably right when he said: 'It is to his being a writer that -he owes anything he has. Sir, had not Derrick been a writer, he would -have been sweeping the crosses in the streets, and asking halfpence -from everybody that passed.' Derrick no doubt was a gay companion, and -Boswell evidently liked him, though not excessively. He was of some -importance, too, in the youth of Boswell, for he was his first tutor -in the ways of London, and these were not entirely good ways. - - * * * * * - -It was as a poet that Boswell was to make his _debut_ in literary -performance. Besides his contributions to the collections edited by -Erskine, he published in 1761 two longer poems, 'An Elegy on the Death -of an Amiable Young Lady' and 'An Ode to Tragedy.' The latter -was apparently a serious attempt at poetry; but it serves only -to demonstrate that poetry was quite beyond Boswell's grasp. His -productions were typical of the eighteenth century. He had no -imagination teeming with beautiful images, such as came to a later -generation; the graces and conceits of the Elizabethans, and the -appeal of Nature, were alike unknown to him; and he never acquired the -technical skill which was the merit of the best poets of the age. The -'Ode' is neither better nor worse than might be expected from a wholly -misdirected literary talent; it could have been written by almost -anyone who had read a certain quantity of English verse. - -The 'Elegy' also was intended to express a serious vein. It would -be an error to suppose that Boswell meant to be satirical; but -he evidently saw that he might be laughed at as extravagant, and -published it without alteration, introducing some prefatory letters to -ridicule its sentimentality. - -In 1762 he published, apparently at his own expense, 'The Cub at -Newmarket, a tale.' This, as he states in the preface, is the story -told in doggerel verse of his visit to the Jockey Club at Newmarket. -He had been taken there when in London by Lord Eglinton, and was -discovered in the coffee-room while in the act of composing. The -Cub at Newmarket is, of course, himself. Lord Eglinton afterwards -introduced him to the Duke of York, to whom Boswell, not unwillingly -we may suppose, read out his poem. It must have been a triumphant -moment for the young author, and he felt obliged to preserve the -memory of it by asking and obtaining leave to dedicate the poem to his -Royal Highness--he desired, as he explains in the preface, 'to let the -world know that this same Cub has been laughed at by the Duke of York, -has been read to his Royal Highness by the genius himself, and warmed -by the immediate beams of his kind indulgence.' The humorous poem is -not remarkably funny; one stanza which describes himself is perhaps -worthy to be quoted: - - He was not of the iron Race, - Which sometimes Caledonia grace, - Though he to combat could advance-- - Plumpness shone in his countenance; - And Belly prominent declar'd - That he for Beef and Pudding car'd; - He had a large and pond'rous head, - That seemed to be composed of lead; - From which hung down such stiff, lank hair, - As might the crows in Autumn scare. - -But besides being a somewhat light-headed poet, Boswell was anxious -to appear as the 'young Buck.' 'The Epistle of a London Buck to his -Friend' is the title of one of his publications in the 'Collection of -Original Poems.' There is also a confused story of a club he formed -in Edinburgh called the 'Soaping Club,' which existed apparently for -Bacchanalian purposes; Boswell was the king of the Soapers and wrote -some verses about himself: - - Boswell is pleasant and gay, - For frolic by nature designed; - He heedlessly rattles away - When the company is to his mind. - 'This maxim,' he says, 'you may see, - We never can have corn without chaff'; - So not a bent sixpence cares he, - Whether _with_ him, or _at_ him you laugh. - - Boswell does women adore, - And never once means to deceive, - He's in love with at least half a score; - If they're serious he smiles in his sleeve. - He has all the bright fancy of youth, - With the judgment of forty and five; - In short, to declare the plain truth, - There is no better fellow alive. - -Stories about 'frolic' (to use Boswell's word) are not as a rule -very laughable, and we are perhaps too apt to consider them as merely -childish and contemptible when they fail to amuse us. The exact -atmosphere of the moment which accounts for its merriment is forgotten -too often and seldom reproduced, and we are left cold after a recital -of such behaviour as we may suppose the Club of Soapers to have -indulged in. In Boswell's character there was a large vein of -buffoonery which is apt when recounted by anyone but himself to appear -stupid enough. But in reality it seems to have contained a true sense -of the incongruous, and had at least the success of making people -laugh. What an incomparable moment that must have been when Boswell, -as one of the audience at Drury Lane theatre, took upon himself to -imitate the lowing of a cow! 'I was so successful in this boyish -frolic,' he relates, 'that the universal cry of the galleries was: -"Encore the cow! Encore the cow!"' - -There is nothing very brilliant about Boswell's comic verses, but it -is curious that those we have quoted should represent the facts so -closely: - - So not a bent sixpence cares he - Whether _with_ him or _at_ him you laugh; - -these lines express exactly the social principle which Boswell -adopted. He had no objection to men laughing at his oddities so long -as they laughed good-humouredly. - -He wished to find gaiety in every company, and it is just to say that -he brought more than his share of mirth regardless of dignity. - -There are many other instances of these self-portraits, anonymous -sometimes, but easily to be recognised. We can hardly do better than -illustrate Boswell's life by his own words about himself, because upon -this subject he found it necessary, when he had anything to say, -to say it truthfully. In another early literary venture, the -correspondence between Erskine and Boswell, which these two young -gentlemen published, there is a letter of Boswell's containing an -account of the author of the 'Ode to Tragedy,' which he had published -anonymously; he thus describes himself: - - The author of the 'Ode to Tragedy,' is a most excellent man: - he is of an ancient family in the West of Scotland, upon which - he values himself not a little. At his nativity there appeared - omens of his future greatness; his parts are bright, and his - education has been good; he has travelled in postchaises miles - without number; he is fond of seeing much of the world; he - eats of every good dish, especially apple-pie; he drinks - old hock; he has a very fine temper; he is somewhat of a - humourist, and a little tinctured with pride; he has a good, - manly countenance, and he owns himself to be amorous; he - has infinite vivacity, yet is observed at times to have a - melancholy cast; he is rather fat than lean, rather short than - tall, rather young than old; his shoes are neatly made, and he - never wears spectacles. - -The 'Letters between the Honourable Andrew Erskine and James Boswell, -Esq.' are the most remarkable in some ways of these early literary -ventures. The letters were evidently written from the first with a -view to publication. They are completely frivolous, but attempt to be -satirical and amusing. Boswell and Erskine wish to appear as two young -men of society who are budding poets and have brilliant wit. They -hoped, perhaps, to take the world by storm like the Admirable Crichton -and his friend Aldus. The result, if far from brilliant, is certainly -clever and amusing. - -The _role_ which Boswell played in this theatrical performance may -be illustrated by some passages of his own letters. He was before -everything else the knight of chivalry--a chivalry which was occupied -exclusively with an excess of romantic attachment and an adoring -worship of female charm. Boswell in real life was extravagant enough, -we may suppose, in his homage to women; but his performance can have -hardly reached the standard set up in the letters to Erskine: - - Lady B---- entreats me to come and pass the Christmas holidays - with her. Guess, O guess! what transport I felt at reading - that; I did not know how to contain my elevation of spirits. - I thought myself one of the greatest geniuses in Europe; - I thought I could write all sorts of books and work at all - handicraft trades; I imagined that I had fourscore millions of - money out at interest, and, that I should actually be chosen - Pope at the next election. - -It is conceivable of course that Boswell imagined that he had -the fourscore millions; there is evidence which might suggest -a misconception of this kind. And it is even possible that he -entertained at some time the dream of becoming Pope. But that at all -events is not meant to appear. It is meant as the froth of youthful -gallantry. There is no deception. We are not expected to suppose that -Boswell was like this: we are expected merely to be amused at the -pose. - -He represents himself also as the _bon-vivant_. There are allusions to -splendid feasts and there is an 'Ode to Gluttony.' The poet is always -very much to the fore, and his behaviour is supposed to be marked -occasionally by a vein of seriousness, which is to suggest the anxious -cogitation of the philosopher: - - We had a splendid ball.... I exhibited my existence in a - minuet, and as I was dressed in a full chocolate suit and wore - my most solemn countenance, I looked, as you used to tell me, - like the fifth act of a deep tragedy. - -Perhaps the most significant passages in these letters are where -Boswell plays the cynic: - - A light heart may bid defiance to fortune. And yet, Erskine, - I must tell you that I have been a little pensive of late, - amorously pensive, and disposed to read Shenstone's 'Pastoral - on Absence,' the tendency of which I greatly admire. A man who - is in love is like a man who has got the toothache: he feels - in most acute pain, while nobody pities him. In that situation - I am at present, but well do I know that I will not be long - so. So much for inconstancy! - -Boswell represented himself in the letters to Erskine very much as -he affected to be in real life--the gay young wit with a serious -background, the jolly good fellow and at the same time the budding -genius, and finally, the cynical philosopher, such as he alludes to -in the first letter to Temple. The whole picture is exaggerated and -laughed at: yet we feel very often that the laughter has a hollow -ring. It is the laughter in reality of one who wishes to protect -himself from ridicule by jesting at his own expense. The real Boswell -peeps through in many places. The remark about Shenstone's 'Pastoral -on Absence' might equally well have been made in all seriousness to -Temple. - -In another letter he says: - - Allow me a few more words. I live here in a remote corner - of an old ruinous house, where my ancestors have been very - jovial. What a solemn idea rushes on my mind! They are all - gone: I must follow. Well, and what then? I must shift about - to another subject. The best I can think of is a sound sleep: - so good-night! - -The sentiment about his dead ancestors is a flash of the true Boswell -as bright and real as anything in Pepys' Diary. The pleasure which the -thought gave him and the pleasure he had in imparting it to another -cannot be concealed by the forced levity of the ending. - -The friendship of Boswell with Erskine was responsible for yet another -publication; these two with George Dempster collaborated to criticise -some dramatic performances in 'Critical Strictures on Mallet's -"Elvira."' This brochure[2] would seem to have been written in the -same flippant manner as the 'Letters.' Mr. Mallet's 'Elvira' came -in for plenty of abuse, but there was no serious attempt at literary -criticism. And yet this publication must rank with the letters as -the most important exhibition of Boswell's talents up to the age of -twenty-three. - - * * * * * - -In London no doubt Boswell enjoyed himself very well, and Edinburgh -seemed a dull town by comparison. In May, 1761, Boswell writes: - - A young fellow whose happiness was always centred in London, - who had at last got there, and had begun to taste its - delights, who had got his mind filled with the most gay - ideas,--getting into the Guards, being about the court, - enjoying the happiness of the _beau monde_, and the company - of men of genius, in short everything that he could - wish,--consider this poor fellow hauled away to the town of - Edinburgh, obliged to conform to every Scotch custom or be - laughed at--'Will you hae some jeel? oh fie! oh fie!'--his - flighty imagination quite cramped, and he obliged to study - Corpus Juris Civilis, and live in his father's strict family; - is there any wonder, Sir, that the unlucky dog should be - somewhat fretful? - -This passage from a letter to Temple explains very well the attitude -of Boswell towards the world at the age of twenty-one. He is the gay, -frank, talkative, amusing, sociable young man, frivolous if you like -and a little unrestrained in his affections, extravagant one would -rather say in that matter as in others, but quite without malice. - -The profession to which for a time he aspired was that of a soldier. -In the Guards, no doubt, he would be able to enjoy just that kind of -life which attracted him, the 'happiness of the _beau monde_,' with no -thought of what is supposed to be the serious business of soldiering, -and probably a decided preference for the gay, smart costume. But for -the army he was clearly unsuited. 'I like your son,' said the Duke -of Argyll to his father; 'that boy must not be shot at for -three-and-sixpence a day.' It was resolved accordingly that he should -study law. - -We hear so much in the letters to Temple of Boswell's amusements that -it is easy to lose sight altogether of a less frivolous side to his -life. It is safe at least to conjecture that he read a good many -books at this time; in the _role_ of a young _litterateur_ he would -naturally keep up with the books that were coming out; we know that -he read Johnson and Hume and Harris, and, from the knowledge of -literature that he always showed, we may infer that he read much else -besides. - -The law studies he took seriously at this time. - - I can assure you [he writes to Temple] the study of law here - is a most laborious task. In return for yours, I shall give - you an account of my studies. From nine to ten I attend the - law class; from ten to eleven study at home, and from one to - two attend a College upon Roman Antiquities. The afternoons - and evenings I likewise spend in study; I never walk except on - Saturdays. - -This is hard work for one at a University! And especially for one -of Boswell's temperament. There is no great amount of diligence -associated as a rule with the youth of either the literary or the very -sociable character. - -The truth is that Boswell was very far from being idle; he had great -energy, and often applied himself to something which interested him -with fervent industry; he was irregular no doubt, as are very many -people who work in this way. - -An indication of the channel into which his industry was to be turned -is provided by that journal (and what pains it must have cost!), which -he began to keep while travelling with Lord Hailes and his father; and -at the same time he was made aware of the existence of Dr. Johnson as -a great writer in London, began to read his works, and also no doubt -to feel, as he afterwards said, that 'highest reverence for their -author, which had grown up with my fancy into a kind of mysterious -veneration, by figuring to myself a state of solemn elevated -abstraction, in which I supposed him to live in the immense metropolis -of London.' - -Boswell also seems to have been deeply interested in religion even -during these early years. While at Glasgow University his views -underwent a violent revolution, most distressing to his parents, and -he became for a short time a Roman Catholic. There is no reason -to suppose that Boswell was in any way frivolous when he took this -decisive step. He clearly hated the Presbyterianism of his youth and -was probably in search of some creed to take its place. He cannot, -however, have gained much credit from this episode, since it was mixed -up in some way with an elopement with a Roman Catholic lady. - -It is probable that Boswell was in earnest both about the young -lady and about his religion. But since, in order to be entirely -respectable, it is often necessary to give a hypocritical consistency -to our fickle inclinations, we are not thought to be serious if we do -not affect to be constant. We can assume, in the case of most people, -from a sort of faith they hold in the durability of sentiment, and -a desire which they have to prove by a time test the depth of their -emotion, that the feelings which do not appear to endure are trivial -and shallow. In Boswell's case we cannot make this assumption; though -he affected much, he yet had real and vivid feelings; but since they -could never be wholly dissociated from the pleasure which they gave -him, they were both various and contradictory; he could be grave and -sedate at one moment and gay and boyish the next, yet really feeling -something both of the gravity and the gaiety of living; he could be -almost in the same breath either the romantic lover or the indifferent -cynic, and yet feel something both of the romance of love and of the -aloofness which has tasted often enough the joys and sorrows of -life; he forgot more quickly than most men, but did not care very -often--while it was part of his inconsistency that he did sometimes -care--to conceal the fundamental elasticity of his nature. - -This volatility of Boswell, exhibited especially in his sexual -inconstancy, was in itself but a phase of an innate and irrepressible -candour which, in spite of a lifelong desire and struggle for -respectability, showed itself very often to his friend Temple in the -'Letters,' and not infrequently also to the general public. - -In all that he wrote we find passages of amazing frankness about -matters which most men would prefer to conceal. He was absurdly vain, -he was childishly sanguine, he was often both foolish and ridiculous, -and he tells us all about it as a matter that should interest us as -well as him. 'Why,' he says, '"out of the abundance of the heart" -should I not speak?' The light of truth led him into strange paths. -He was a formalist and yet he was sometimes known to fail in formalism -through an aversion to insincerity; when his enemy Baretti came, by -chance, into the room where he was being entertained by a friend, -Boswell refused to greet him; he could even be flagrantly rude in -company. - -To be entirely respectable and conventional, to be the man of the -world, the gentleman of society, that is what Boswell wanted most in -life; and that he never could become, because there was in his nature -a further consciousness, which was not to be subdued, and which -determined, by reason of the curious inconsistency so produced, his -whole capacity for interesting mankind, for fame, for greatness. - -And so beside the sentimentality, the self-deception, the -respectability, which he so often exhibited, we see the germ of -self-knowledge, of honesty, of truth, which developed and was -ultimately expressed, almost by chance as it seems, in a supreme -biography: for it is the candour of Boswell far more than any other -single factor, the natural instinct to record what he observed both of -himself and of others, the honesty in observing and the truthfulness -which he had as an artist in recording, that distinguishes his -literary work. Herein lay the essence of his genius. The story of -Boswell's life is the story of a struggle between influences and -ambitions which led him towards the commonplace, and the rare -qualities grafted deeply within him, which bore him steadily in an -opposite direction. The triumph of the latter involved no doubt the -unhappiness of Boswell, but it also involved the production of a great -work of art; and this achievement has won for its author a unique -place among distinguished men; he is famous beyond any fame that he -dreamed of attaining and failed to attain. - - - [Footnote 1: Joint.] - - [Footnote 2: I have not seen a copy; _v._ Fitzgerald, _Life of - Boswell_ i. 37-38, and _Life of Garrick_.] - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -'The accident,' says Professor Raleigh,[1] 'which gave Boswell to -Johnson and Johnson to Boswell is one of the most extraordinary pieces -of good fortune in literary history.' The event of their meeting took -place on May 16th, 1763, and if in one sense it was clearly, as the -word is commonly used, an accident, it was equally the result of a -strong wish and intention, if not of deliberate design, on Boswell's -part. He had long known of Johnson, and as early as 1760 had hoped for -an introduction from 'Mr. Derrick, the poet,' 'an honour,' he says, -'of which I was very ambitious.' This honour bestowed eventually upon -a vain and extravagant youth (a circumstance which must be highly -esteemed among the good gifts of the Lady Fortune to humanity) was to -be attained through a humble agent. Among those of Boswell's friends -who were not of the higher strata in society was one Tom Davies. He -was at this time a bookseller, but as he had been formerly an actor -and then dramatic critic, there was something uncommon and adventurous -about his career. He had in fact in some degree the equivalent of what -has been known at a later date as Bohemianism. It seems particularly -appropriate that Boswell should have forgotten the pride of birth -to meet so, in humble circumstances, the object of his devotion. The -scene which took place in Tom Davies' back-parlour has the essence of -true comedy. Two of the actors are light-heartedly unconscious that -the moment has the least importance; the third is painfully and -anxiously aware that it is important to him, and naturally unaware -that it can have a value to anyone else. And it has, too, that -dramatic quality of great events taking place by accident, as it -seems, among incongruous circumstances. It is a scene which must -kindle always, for one who feels a serious value in humour, an emotion -beyond mere pleasure. - -The comedy opens by Tom Davies announcing the eventful news in -farcical manner. - - At last, on Monday the 16th of May, when I was sitting in Mr. - Davies's back-parlour, after having drunk tea with him and - Mrs. Davies, Johnson unexpectedly came into the shop; and Mr. - Davies having perceived him, through the glass-door in the - room in which we were sitting, advancing towards us,--he - announced his aweful approach to me, somewhat in the manner of - an actor in the part of Horatio, when he addresses Hamlet - on the appearance of his father's ghost, 'Look, my Lord, it - comes....' - -Boswell, who at once became nervous, had only time to give a warning -to Davies, and the latter maliciously said the one thing he had been -asked not to say. 'Mr. Davies mentioned my name, and respectfully -introduced me to him. I was much agitated; and recollecting his -prejudice against the Scotch, of which I had heard much, I said to -Davies, "Don't tell where I come from."--"From Scotland," cried Davies -roguishly.' This was apparently a disastrous beginning, and something -must be done to retrieve the position. '"Mr. Johnson," said I, "I do -indeed come from Scotland, but I cannot help it."' It was rash indeed -to originate the conversation and not less typical of Boswell for -that. But a more pleasing remark could hardly be imagined, at -once courteous and frank and full of humour.[2] Johnson no doubt -appreciated it very well, and the more because he was able to find -an excellent repartee. For the moment, however, Boswell seemed to be -involved in fresh calamity. 'This speech was somewhat unlucky; for -with that quickness of wit for which he was so remarkable, he seized -the expression, "come from Scotland," which I used in the sense of -being of that country; and, as if I had said that I had come away from -it, or left it, retorted, "That, Sir, I find, is what a great many of -your countrymen cannot help."' Boswell for the moment was completely -crushed: 'This stroke stunned me a good deal,' and he now found -himself left out of the conversation, in which situation he felt -that he was unlikely to make a very favourable impression. 'He then -addressed himself to Davies: "What do you think of Garrick? He has -refused me an order for the play for Miss Williams, because he knows -that the house will be full, and that an order would be worth three -shillings."' No opportunity must be missed, and youth is prompted by -enthusiasm. 'Eager to take any opening to get into conversation with -him, I ventured to say, "O, Sir, I cannot think Mr. Garrick would -grudge such a trifle to you!"' If this was bold it was at least both -genuine and polite, and the reproof was severe though Boswell admits -its justice. '"Sir," (said he, with a stern look) "I have known David -Garrick longer than you have done: and I know no right you have to -talk to me on the subject."' 'Perhaps' Boswell continues, 'I deserved -this check; for it was rather presumptuous in me, an entire stranger, -to express any doubt of the justice of his animadversion upon his old -acquaintance and pupil. I now felt myself much mortified, and began -to think that the hope which I had long indulged of obtaining his -acquaintance was blasted. And, in truth, had not my ardour been -uncommonly strong, and my resolution uncommonly persevering, so rough -a reception might have deterred me for ever from making any further -attempts. Fortunately, however, I remained upon the field not -wholly discomfited; and was soon rewarded by hearing some of his -conversation.' - -Eventually, when he went away, Davies made some encouraging remarks: -'Tom Davies followed me to the door; and when I complained to him a -little of the hard blows which the great man had given me, he kindly -took upon him to console me by saying, "Don't be uneasy. I can see he -likes you very well!"' The evidence that Johnson liked him very well -was not very convincing, we may suppose, to Boswell. But he called -upon Johnson a week later. - -In the account of Boswell's first visit to Dr. Johnson's house there -is one instructive passage: - - He told me that he generally went abroad at four in the - afternoon, and seldom came home till ten in the morning. I - took the liberty to ask if he did not think it wrong to live - thus, and not make more use of his great talents. He owned it - was a bad habit. On reviewing, at the distance of many years, - my journal of this period, I wonder how, at my first visit, I - ventured to talk to him so freely, and that he bore it with so - much indulgence. - -Clearly Boswell was good at saying what he thought--the remark about -Garrick and the question as to the morality of Johnson's habits, so -early in their acquaintance, show this; he is himself amazed, at a -later date, 'how I ventured to talk so freely.' It is this candour, -in fact, which particularly attracted Johnson. His fame for brilliant -argument and crushing repartee, and his unbending dogmatic manner in -conversation, prevented very often the course of free and fearless -expression in his presence. The young, too, from their supposed -ignorance, have still something of the privilege of childhood in -saying what they think without offending. It is refreshing to -older men to hear the frank opinions of youth; and it was very -characteristic of Johnson that he liked people to speak quite openly -upon serious subjects, so long as they were sincere. - -It is easy enough indeed to see why the two became friends. Boswell -was attractive to Johnson in more ways than one. His outspokenness was -happily blended with more gentle softening qualities, which made it -modest and appealing rather than over-confident and repelling. He -expressed, by his 'light pleasantry to soothe and conciliate him'--and -also, we may suppose, by something respectful in his manner--a -frank admiration for Johnson. And though some may say that this -attitude--flattery one might almost call it (for it is something very -near to that)--is repulsive to them, there are very few people in -practice who, when it is managed with sufficient dexterity, do not -find in it something peculiarly pleasant. Johnson certainly liked to -have admirers, and it was Boswell's nature to admire--but not in a -mean or servile fashion. He managed, one may suppose, to make Johnson -feel pleased with himself, but without lying and without compromising -his own opinions. We may see the attitude which he adopted from his -own words upon the subject of flattery: - - [3]But there may be honest as well as dishonest flattery. - There may be flattery from a sincere admiration, and a desire - to please. It is benevolent to indulge this: and a man of - good disposition may find frequent opportunities for it, by - directly or obliquely bringing under the view of those with - whom he associates, such circumstances in their situations and - characters as are agreeable. - -There is nothing unpleasant about this attitude: on the contrary it is -a very desirable civility. - -It must be remembered, too, that Boswell with all his good-humoured -gaiety and pleasant social qualities could be, and often wanted to -be serious. And the conversation of Johnson was very often, at least -during the latter end of his life, of a serious nature. Morality, -human beings, literature, these were his great subjects; religion and -politics were discussed, but less often. Boswell was interested in the -same things; if with him more than with most men his own case was the -mainspring of all interests, this made him not less, but rather -more, attentive to all questions dealing with right and wrong and the -motives of men; and in literature, as we shall have occasion to show -later, he had a strong natural interest. - -But there is another reason which made him an extremely suitable -companion for Johnson. What Johnson loved best in conversation was -to 'buffet' his adversary; this mode of proceeding has, however, the -obvious disadvantage that it prevents people talking, and also may -possibly offend them, a result which Johnson himself held to be -inexpedient. Boswell, fortunately, was little affected in either way. -Nothing, it is evident, could prevent him talking, and it took a great -deal to offend or even to hurt him. He was so divinely good-humoured! -For the moment, sometimes, he might be annoyed; but it very soon blew -over, and there was no malice in his nature to irritate a wound. The -consequence of this was that Johnson was often rude, which pleased -him, and sometimes went too far, which made him really sorry, so that -his kind-hearted nature liked the object of his brutality the better -for having injured it. - -Of the attraction of Dr. Johnson for Boswell we need hardly speak. The -little that has been said already about Boswell's strange personality -and desires is almost sufficient explanation. We must not think -that he attached himself to Johnson with any particular object. 'To -suppose,' said Malone '(as some of his detractors have suggested), -that he attached himself to Dr. Johnson for the purpose of writing his -life, is to know nothing of the author and nothing of human nature.' -Malone, who knew Boswell very well at the end of his life, was -probably a good judge; and it is not difficult to account for -Johnson's attraction for Boswell without making a supposition of this -kind. Apart from the unique position which he had among literary men, -Johnson was a very striking figure and a very lovable man, and one who -would readily appeal to the imagination of the young; the honour of -receiving the attentions of Johnson would be pleasant in every way; -and Boswell's character was eminently capable of devotion. - -The friendship which grew up between these two men, who were so -different, was not wholly without the shadow of romance. The relations -between them were of the kind that parents would wish to exist -between father and son. A great deal of affection on both sides there -certainly was. The journey together which they took to Harwich on the -occasion of Boswell's departure for the Continent[4] is significant -enough of Johnson's feelings, and Boswell's account of their parting -may speak for his: - - My revered friend walked down with me to the beach, where we - embraced and parted with tenderness and engaged to correspond - by letters. I said, 'I hope, Sir, you will not forget me in - my absence.' Johnson, 'Nay, Sir, it is more likely you should - forget me, than that I should forget you.' As the vessel put - out to sea I kept my eyes upon him for a considerable time, - while he remained rolling his majestic frame in his usual - manner: and at last I perceived him walk back into the town, - and he disappeared. - -There is a note of regret in the paragraph, which, as anyone can see, -is perfectly genuine. - -But Boswell's attitude was much more complicated than one of mere -affection. The friendship was of that complementary order where each -person contributes something which the other lacks, so that they have -a natural need each of the other. Johnson liked Boswell for his -youth and freshness; Boswell worshipped Johnson for his strength.[5] -Worship! it was no less than that; he admitted it, he was proud of -it. His own mind was of the indecisive kind which sees many things and -finds it difficult to choose among them; he turned very readily to the -strong, definite view of life, the expression of an intelligence not -smaller, as convinced people are often fundamentally smaller, but -clearly larger than his own; Johnson's overwhelming personality was -able to support their common prejudices, usually by argument, but, if -not so, by sheer force of conviction. It was not so much that Boswell -approved of everything in Johnson's mind as that he could depend upon -finding there a certain attitude expressive, as he thought, of his own -better self, or of what he would like to have become had he been able -to forgo a part of his own nature. - - * * * * * - -Dr. Johnson, if he was by far the most important, was by no means -the only great man who was to become Boswell's friend. The paternal -graciousness admitted of two years to be spent on the Continent, -years that were to be devoted to diligent study in the University of -Utrecht. Boswell turned them to the best advantage. The parting was -propitious; his friend of the past few months accompanied him to the -quay-side and Boswell was launched for the Continent by the great -literary dictator. That the excellent advice of the moralist and -the command of a father were neglected made little difference to the -success of the lively young man. Utrecht was frankly a dull place, -and there were several gay spots to be visited. Boswell fulfilled -his destiny by amusing the best society, and made acquaintances among -distinguished men. The capital of Prussia was visited, and the English -ambassador Sir Andrew Mitchell was assailed and surrendered. The -courts of Saxe-Gotha and Baden were the sphere of the young Scotsman's -wit. Philosophers were among his honoured objects of attachment. The -youthful Bozzy called upon Voltaire at Ferney, and became almost the -friend of Rousseau. Lord Mount Stuart desired him for a travelling -companion. The greatest achievement, perhaps, and the most -characteristic was the capture of the notorious Wilkes; and intimacy -with him was not unfitting, for the two were much alike in their -irresponsible levity. - -But all this was no more than the tinkling of a cymbal before the -booming of an heroic drum. Boswell determined to visit the Island of -Corsica. - -Corsica was at this time the scene of a romantic struggle. Tired of -the heavy yoke of the Genoese republic, the islanders were in a state -of rebellion and were fighting under the flag of Liberty. Their -leader was an admirable figurehead, one General Paoli, a zealous and -disinterested patriot, a capable soldier and a wise politician. The -Byronic furore of a later date for an oppressed people would have -found a suitable object in the Corsicans and their national idol. For -the mind of Boswell in search of the heroic they had a special appeal. -A letter of introduction to Paoli was solicited from Rousseau, and -with this the light-hearted young man stepped bravely forth with the -bravery of ignorance, to be the first Englishman of his generation to -visit those distant and uncivilised shores. - -The event was properly considered to be worthy of notice in the -English Press, and the requisite information as to Mr. Boswell's -movements was supplied from time to time by the pen of Mr. Boswell -himself. - -The visit of Boswell to Corsica was a complete success. He travelled -in the _role_ of explorer, but was treated as an unknown political -force. Men of many wiles sought behind an ingenuous and good-natured -simplicity a deeper significance when there was none such to be -found; Paoli, who hoped for English assistance, was glad to treat with -especial favour the one English subject whom he had the opportunity of -knowing. And Boswell, if he disclaimed an embassy, was not unwilling -to be seen with an escort of Corsicans as he rode upon the general's -horse, and to be entertained with diplomatic courtesy. - -His own social qualities were perhaps of even greater service to him. -He exercised to the full his invaluable talent for bringing good cheer -to his companions. In the journal which he afterwards published, the -'Tour to Corsica,' there is an admirable account of an evening spent -with the Corsican peasants which shows what an acceptable guest the -good-humoured and lively Boswell must have been. - - The Corsican peasants and soldiers were quite free and easy - with me. Numbers of them used to come and see me of a morning, - and just go out and in as they pleased. I did everything in my - power to make them fond of the British, and bid them hope for - an alliance with us. They asked me a thousand questions about - my country, all which I cheerfully answered as well as I - could. One day they would needs hear me play upon my German - flute. To have told my honest natural visitants, 'Really, - gentlemen, I play very ill,' and put on such airs as we do in - our genteel companies, would have been highly ridiculous. I - therefore immediately complied with their request. I gave them - one or two Italian airs, and then some of our beautiful old - Scotch tunes, 'Gilderoy,' 'The Lass of Patie's Mill,' 'Corn - Riggs are Bonny.' The pathetick simplicity and pastoral gaiety - of the Scots musick will always please those who have the - genuine feelings of nature. The Corsicans were charmed with - the specimens I gave them, though I may now say that they were - very indifferently performed. - - My good friends insisted also to have an English song from me. - I endeavoured to please them in this too, and was very lucky - in that which occurred to me. I sung them, 'Hearts of oak are - our ships, Hearts of oak are our men.' I translated it into - Italian for them, and never did I see men so delighted with - a song as the Corsicans were with 'Hearts of Oak.' 'Cuori di - querco,' cried they, 'bravo Inglese.' It was quite a joyous - riot. I fancied myself to be a recruiting sea-officer. - I fancied all my chorus of Corsicans aboard the British - fleet.[6] - -There is a natural good fellowship or social instinct, a splendid -enjoyment in the company of others, revealed in this story: it is a -quality that pleases everybody. To Paoli he was agreeable besides -for other reasons. He had a real enthusiasm and taste for literature, -which the intellectual world understood and appreciated readily -enough. Hume writes of Boswell's return from Paris, in the company -of Therese Le Vasseur. He calls him, 'a young gentleman, very -good-humoured, very agreeable, and very mad'; and afterwards refers to -his literary tastes: 'He has such a rage for literature that I dread -some event fatal to our friend's honour. You remember the story of -Terentia, who was first married to Cicero, then to Sallust, and at -last, in her old age, married a young nobleman, who imagined that -she must possess some secret which would convey to him eloquence and -genius.'[7] - -There is a certain extravagance suggested by this which is very -characteristic of Boswell. He produced almost the expectation that -he would do something odd. This in itself is not to every one an -attractive quality; but it is one which combined with others may bring -an added charm. Boswell had great generosity of a certain kind which -was more than sufficient to excuse anything that might be tiresome -about him; he had an unabashed admiration and real respect for great -men. He was also able and was not unwilling to capture the hearts of -men by repeating things that would please them; as he relates that -he did upon his visit to Voltaire, by repeating the dictum of Johnson -about Frederick the Great: 'He writes just as you might suppose -Voltaire's footboy to do, who has been his amanuensis. He has such -parts as the valet might have, and about as much of the colouring of -his style as might be got by transcribing his works.' 'When I was at -Ferney,' Boswell records, 'I repeated this to Voltaire, in order to -reconcile him somewhat to Johnson, whom he, in affecting the English -mode of expression, had previously characterised as 'a superstitious -dog'; but after hearing such a criticism on Frederick the Great, with -whom he was then on bad terms, he exclaimed, 'An honest fellow!' - -With such pleasant qualities Boswell won the esteem of the General of -the Corsicans. Paoli not only treated him with the courtesy due to a -distinguished and possibly a useful stranger but entertained him with -the spontaneous enjoyment of friendship. - -The intimate relations which sprang up between Boswell and Paoli were, -as we may judge from Boswell's own account, very similar to those -already in existence between himself and Johnson. - -The taste for the heroic may be satisfied easily. Even about the scamp -Wilkes in exile there was a glamour which appealed to the imaginative -young Bozzy. But for the real Boswellian admiration something more -was required--the portentous possession of the 'solid virtues.' The -probity of Paoli could never be in question. He appears to have been a -simple character with a noble disinterestedness and the honesty of the -Mediterranean sun. His interest was Corsica, and, if we may believe -Boswell, there was hardly a thought of self in the matter. In this he -was perhaps not different from the greater part of his countrymen; -but he had besides enthusiasm a wise moderation and self-control, a -knowledge of men and a military ability which gave him an authority -of the most absolute kind over the Corsicans. His power rested solely -upon the weight of his personal influence. It was an impressive figure -no doubt--a man to be admired; and Boswell was good at admiring: but a -man also to be loved, direct, kind-hearted and sympathetic. He had -too what we should scarcely expect in the patriot general--a wide -knowledge of literature and considerable culture. General Paoli was -in fact entirely suitable to be Boswellised, more suitable it might -almost seem than Doctor Sam himself; but the latter was a man of far -greater intelligence. - -The opinions of Boswell in any case are clear enough, and we may read -a few specimens from the 'Tour in Corsica.' - - The contemplation of such a character really existing was - of more service to me than all I had been able to draw from - books, from conversation or from the exertions of my own mind. - I had often enough formed the idea of a man continually such - as I could conceive in my best moments. But this idea appeared - like the ideas we are taught in the schools to form of things - which may exist, but do not; of seas of milk, and ships of - amber. But I saw my highest idea realised in Paoli. It was - impossible for me, speculate as I pleased, to have a little - opinion of human nature in him. - - One morning, I remember, I came in upon him without ceremony, - while he was dressing. I was glad to have an opportunity of - seeing him in those teasing moments, when, according to - the Duke of Rochefoucault, no man is a hero to his valet de - chambre. The lively nobleman who has a malicious pleasure - in endeavouring to divest human nature of its dignity, by - exhibiting partial views, and exaggerating faults, would have - owned that Paoli was every moment of his life a hero. - -Here is a candid unpretending hero-worship. If it eludes the virtue of -moderation it escapes the vice of mediocrity. In this is its capacity -for greatness. For the moment there is nothing very great about it, -but it has a most desirable effect for good in Boswell: - - Never was I so thoroughly sensible of my own defects as while - I was in Corsica. I felt how small were my abilities, and how - little I knew. - -The example made for a genuine modesty in the admirer (though it is -doubtful if Boswell was ever suspected of being modest); the Boswell -who was 'ambitious to be the companion of Paoli' was willing to -deserve the honour of that companionship: - - From having known intimately so exalted a character my - sentiments of human nature were raised, while, by a sort of - contagion, I felt an honest ardour to distinguish myself, and - be useful, as far as my situation and abilities would allow; - and I was, for the rest of my life, set free from a slavish - timidity in the presence of great men, for where shall I find - a man greater than Paoli? - -The expedition to Corsica was, as we have said, a complete success. To -visit the island, to observe the manners of the heroic peasants, and -to become the friend of Paoli were admirable undertakings at that -time, and under those circumstances. But it was in England that -Boswell was to triumph. He was launched upon society with the _eclat_ -of an interesting personage; he returned from his adventures over seas -to exact without reluctance the homage due to a brave traveller. - -The early fame of Boswell came not from Johnson, but from Paoli and -Corsica. It is a fact worth remarking, because Boswell's connection -with Johnson is so much the more important for us, that we are apt to -forget that he can have had another title to renown. He was 'Corsica' -Boswell and 'Paoli' Boswell, as Dr. Birkbeck Hill remarks, long before -he became famous as 'Johnson' Boswell. - -Boswell himself fully appreciated the situation. He felt that he had -accomplished something of which he could be justly proud. He knew -himself to be in the public eye. 'No apology shall be made,' he writes -in the preface to his book, 'for presenting the world with "An Account -of Corsica." It has been for some time expected from me; and I own -that the ardour of publick opinion has both encouraged and intimidated -me.' Johnson wrote him a letter which he quoted without permission in -the 'Tour to Corsica'--'Come home and expect such a welcome as is due -to him whom a wise and noble curiosity has led where perhaps no native -of this country ever was before.' He said no doubt what he really -felt. - -When Boswell returned to England in 1766 he became therefore, quite -naturally, the champion of Corsican liberty. But this was only one -phase of the fame to which he aspired; there was still, and there -was always, the desire to shine in the great and elevated sphere of -literature, and the opportunity had now arrived to write a book of -universal interest. - -It was in 1768 that the first literary work of any magnitude which -Boswell produced, 'An Account of Corsica, the journal of a tour to -that island; and memoirs of Pascal Paoli,' was published. The title -explains exactly the scope of the book. The account of Corsica is -historical; the journal is in its method much like other books of -travel, except for the biographical part which deals with Paoli. Of -the historical part of the book there is nothing particular to be -said: it is, as Johnson remarked, 'like other histories.' 'Your -History,' he told him, 'was copied from books; your Journal rose out -of your own experience and observation.' The chief interest of the -book is that it is the earliest example of Boswell's biographical -method. The memoirs that we have here of Paoli aim at giving a picture -of a man in much the same way as does the 'Life of Johnson.' The -question as to what exactly was Boswell's method will be discussed -later; but we are reminded here that the man who preserved the -conversations of Paoli and 'came in upon him without ceremony while -he was dressing,' in order to see how he conducted himself before his -_valet de chambre_, was becoming an adept in his own peculiar art. - -A great charm of the Journal, also prophetic of the future, lies in -the perfect frankness with which Boswell discusses his own feelings. -'We retired to another room to drink coffee. My timidity wore off. I -no longer anxiously thought of myself; my whole attention was employed -in listening to the illustrious commander of a nation.' Or again, 'I -enjoyed a luxury of noble sentiment. Paoli became more affable with -me. I made myself known to him. I forgot the great distance between -us and had every day some hours of private conversation with him.' -Boswell realised that a Journal is delightful only if it is quite -informal. We have a pleasing sense of inconsequent freedom when we -read in the Journal several pages quoted from the 'First Book of the -Maccabees.' But it is not irrelevant to Boswell's purpose. It occurred -to his thoughts; and that is a sufficient justification, whether it -seem ludicrous or incongruous or ponderous, for its inclusion. There -is no scene in the 'Tour in Corsica' which comes up to the best in the -'Life of Johnson,' but there are several descriptions, such as that -quoted above, when Boswell played the pipe and sang 'Hearts of Oak,' -which are really artistic and pleasing. - -The book, at all events, had the effect of amusing people and it gave -them an interest in Corsica too. Boswell had good accounts of it on -all sides. 'My book,' he writes to Temple, 'has amazing celebrity:[8] -Lord Lyttelton, Mr. Walpole, Mrs. Macaulay, Mr. Garrick, have all -written me noble letters about it.' The sale must have been very -rapid. The dedication to the first edition is dated October 29, 1767, -and the preface to the third edition on the same day of October, his -birthday, in the following year. In this preface he explains that he -has acquired that literary fame which he desired: - - May I be permitted to say that the success of this book has - exceeded my warmest hopes. When I first ventured to send it - into the world, I fairly owned an ardent desire for literary - fame. I have obtained my desire; and whatever clouds may - overcast my days, I can now walk here among the rocks and - woods of my ancestors, with an agreeable consciousness that I - have done something worthy. - -There is nothing deserving particular remark in an author's desire for -literary fame. But it is remarkable that a man should proclaim it to -the world as Boswell did. The common ideal of an artist supposes that -his work should be, in the first place, the expression of his own -personality; an expression because to him it is necessary to reproduce -in some form what he sees and feels: it is for himself and himself -alone, and the world without is allowed to share, partly that the -artist may earn a living, partly perhaps that he may have some -justification for his self-absorption; and in greater part no doubt, -in some cases more than in others, but in every case a little, that -he may win the applause that we all like at bottom. None of these -reasons, and, least of all, the desire for fame, is held to be a -motive for producing art. There may be various impulses with varying -circumstances; but there can be but one motive. - -The ambition which Boswell had, and which he expressed so freely, is -peculiar in some ways for the end desired, but it is not essentially -different from that of other artists. - - He who publishes a book, affecting not to be an 'authour',[9] - and professing an indifference for literary fame, may possibly - impose upon many people such an idea of his consequence as he - wishes may be received. For my part, I should be proud to be - known as an authour and I have an ardent ambition for literary - fame; for of all possessions I should imagine literary fame - to be the most valuable. A man who has been able to furnish - a book which has been approved by the world, has established - himself as a respectable character in distant society, - without any danger of having that character lessened by the - observation of his weaknesses. To preserve an uniform dignity - among those who see us every day is hardly possible; and - to aim at it must put us under the fetters of a perpetual - restraint. The authour of an approved book may allow his - natural disposition an easy play, and yet indulge the pride of - superiour genius when he considers that, by those who know him - only as an authour, he never ceases to be respected. Such - an authour, when in his hours of discontent, may have the - consolation to think that his writings are at that very time - giving pleasure to numbers; and such an authour may cherish - the hope of being remembered after death, which has been a - great object to the noblest minds in all ages. - -The nature of the desire for fame which he had is revealed to us by -Boswell in this curious passage. It does not compromise his character -as an artist.[10] He wished to obtain the public esteem, to have -the reputation of an ingenious and worthy man; and literature was -considered as a means to this end. But we cannot argue that he -must therefore have pandered to the public taste: he wrote, as he -proclaimed at a later date in a contribution to a periodical, 'from -the primary motive of pleasing himself.' This ambition is not in -its nature an attitude towards art but towards the world. In all his -writings, even in the frivolous publications of his youth, Boswell has -expressed his own person in a peculiar degree. We must not suppose, -when we see an eagerness for literary fame, which, from the frankness -of his expression, may appear extravagant, that he lacked a literary -conscience, for he had an excellent one; nor indeed that it mattered -at all to him whether opinion in general should care about his book, -except in so far as it approved of him, of the real Boswell, which it -could not but find there. - -Boswell's ideal of the literary man's position is well expressed in -one of the letters to Temple: - - Temple, I wish to be at last an uniform, pretty man. I am - astonishingly so already, but I wish to be a man who - deserves Miss B.... I am always for fixing some period for my - perfection as far as possible. Let it be when my account of - Corsica is published; I shall then have a character which - I must support. I will swear, like an ancient disciple of - Pythagoras, to observe silence; I will be grave and reserved, - though cheerful and communicative of what is _verum atque - decens_. One great fault of mine is talking at random; I will - guard against it. - -It is amusing to think of Boswell in this _role_. Already we may see -the great contest in his life between natural candour and commonplace -ambition--the charm of the 'Tour to Corsica' was the charm of candour, -and it was dangerous to dreams of future greatness in the sphere of -public affairs. Boswell understood that to gain respect he must be -more serious. But this he never was able to be; it was his nature -to be extravagant. He had a mind which in some respects was wholly -unconventional, and though he tried sometimes, he could never entirely -repress his feelings: the consequence was that though there were many -things about which he cared very much, it was never possible to take -him quite seriously; if a man plays the buffoon sometimes we are in -danger of being fooled if we give him credit for being in earnest; and -so, if we are to preserve our _amour propre_, which is what everybody -wants to do, we must laugh at a buffoon whatever he does. - -A most notable piece of Boswell's buffoonery was in connection with -the Shakespeare Jubilee at Stratford-on-Avon in 1769. He attended -this festival dressed as an armed Corsican chief. This perhaps was not -particularly odd; the form of rejoicing which the company indulged in -was a 'Mask.' It is dangerous even so, and hardly decent, to blow the -personal trumpet so loudly. Boswell, however, was not content merely -with the public advertisement of his connexion with Corsica; he wrote -to the _London Magazine_[11] an elaborate unsigned account of himself -and his costume: it was entitled 'Account of the Armed Corsican Chief -at the Masquerade at Shakespeare's Jubilee, with a fine whole-length -portrait of James Boswell, Esq., in the dress of an armed Corsican -chief, as he appeared at the Jubilee Mask.' There is no need to give -here the text of this document: it has been quoted at length a number -of times, and it suffices to say that there can be no possible doubt -that Boswell wrote it and that he wrote it to exhibit himself in a -favourable light. The incident is characteristic of Boswell. It is not -the mad whim that may occur once in a lifetime, the event which stands -as it were by itself apart from the man; it is not an experiment -miscarried, that has taken him away from his usual self and so must -remain unexplained or be put to the long account of genius: rather it -is the sort of oddity that we come to expect of Boswell. - -Frolics of this kind naturally deprived Boswell of the respect which -he desired for himself as a man of letters. The 'Tour to Corsica' was -an admirable beginning to a literary career; he had then the chance of -founding the reputation he wanted as a person of weight, a man whose -judgment must be accounted of some importance by the world at large. -His writings about Corsica had been widely read and his views had -found general sympathy. Moreover the popular poetess, Mrs. Barbauld, -had paid homage in verse to his fame as an explorer. But by such -behaviour as this at Stratford these hopes were frustrated. And to -him, though perhaps not to us, this was the tragedy of his life. - - - [Footnote 1: _Samuel Johnson_, by Walter Raleigh, 1907.] - - [Footnote 2: This remark we may suppose was deliberately - misinterpreted by some of Boswell's contemporaries and he - finds it necessary to introduce a defence of it: 'I am willing - to believe that I meant this as light pleasantry to soothe - and conciliate him, and not as humiliating abasement at the - expense of my country.' It was of course an apology for coming - from Scotland, but an absurd apology of which he saw the - absurdity, as though a man were to apologise for being six - feet high.] - - [Footnote 3: _London Magazine_, vol. li., p. 359.] - - [Footnote 4: In August 1763.] - - [Footnote 5: _Life of Johnson_, iii., 331.] - - [Footnote 6: _Tour to Corsica_, pp. 320-1.] - - [Footnote 7: _Private Correspondence of David Hume_, 1820.] - - [Footnote 8: It is an interesting fact that it was translated - into German, Dutch, Italian, and French (_Gentleman's - Magazine_, June 1795--Letter from J. B. R.) The _Life_, I - believe, has never been translated. The same correspondent - says, 'It was received with extraordinary approbation.'] - - [Footnote 9: For Boswell's views on spelling see this same - preface.] - - [Footnote 10: Mr. Malone, speaking of the _Life_, said, 'That - in this work he had not both fame and profit in view, would be - idle to assert; but to suppose that these were his principal - objects is to know nothing of the author, and nothing of human - nature.' _Gentleman's Magazine_, June 1795.] - - [Footnote 11: September 1769.] - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -The portion of Boswell's career which we have been relating up to this -point gives rise by natural sequence to the discussion of one or two -interesting questions about his personality. We must know the part -played in the main theme by his peculiar qualities. We must notice how -they seem to assist or to impede his particular faculty for biography. - -Allusion has already been made to the reasons for which Boswell was -attracted by two great men, Dr. Johnson and General Paoli. We must -see now in general the reason of that intimacy which he took care to -cultivate with a large number of distinguished men. - -Boswell, there can be no doubt, liked men in some way because they -were distinguished. We must remember that the judgments of the world -were always very real standards to him. If a man were great, he must -be somehow good; and to be the friend of such a man, that was good -too. It is not that Boswell judged of characters wholly by success. -We may see that as he grew older he judged them more and more by -the Johnsonian morality. He grew less tolerant of heresy under the -influence of his moral guide. Hence the dislike of Gibbon:--'He is an -ugly, affected, disgusting fellow, and poisons our Literary Club to -me.' Johnson probably shared this feeling and undoubtedly shared the -reasons for it, which Boswell expresses in Johnsonian phrases: 'I -think it is right that as fast as infidel wasps or venomous insects, -whether creeping or flying, are hatched, they should be crushed.' This -was said in reference to Gibbon's book; the sentiments were extended -to Adam Smith. 'Murphy says that he has read thirty pages of Smith's -"Wealth," but says that he shall read no more: Smith too is now of -our Club. It has lost its select merit.' Personal antipathy in the one -case and ignorance of economics in the other need not surprise us. But -it comes as a shock, nevertheless, to discover Boswell's views upon -the two men who were, intellectually, the most distinguished of his -contemporaries. The Doctor's prejudices may have much to do with it. -Boswell records a similar judgment in the 'Tour to the Hebrides': -'Infidelity in a Highland gentleman appeared to me peculiarly -offensive. I was sorry for him as he had otherwise a good character.' - -And yet he was probably always as he was in the early years far more -tolerant than Johnson. There is an instructive passage also in the -'Tour to the Hebrides' about Hume. Johnson was talking about Hume's -infidelity: 'He added something much too rough, both as to Mr. Hume's -head and heart, which I suppress. Violence is, in my opinion, not -suitable to the Christian cause. Besides I always lived on good terms -with Mr. Hume, though I have frankly told him I was not clear that it -was right in me to keep company with him.' That he did not condemn the -infidel Hume, shows that Boswell's prejudices were weaker, at least, -than friendship. Boswell, besides, throughout his life gave a -very high value to mere intellectual power. He complained of 'dull -provinciality' in Scotland, because the people of Edinburgh were less -intelligent than the Londoners. His love of London was founded upon -the need he felt of conversing with clever people; and this need -became in him with maturity, not weaker, as in most cases, but -stronger. - -In these early years Boswell was glad to make a friend of any -particularly intelligent person, and his acquaintances included -characters widely differing--Hume and Rousseau, Johnson and Lord -Hailes, Wilkes and Paoli. Boswell clearly had pleasure in the society -of them all; he did not, like Johnson, condemn them to a place beyond -the range of his acquaintance; these men were specimens of human -nature worthy to be studied; he saw some good in all of them. There -is a characteristic passage in the 'Life' about the meeting of Johnson -and Wilkes which illustrates the attitude: - - My desire of being acquainted with celebrated men of every - description had made me, much about the same time, obtain an - introduction to Dr. Samuel Johnson and to John Wilkes, Esq. - Two men more different could perhaps not be selected out of - all mankind. They have even attacked one another with - some asperity in their writings; yet I lived in habits of - friendship with both. I could fully relish the excellence of - each; for I have ever delighted in that intellectual chymistry - which can separate good qualities from evil in the same - person. - -He looked upon men much as we look upon works of art, distinguishing -that which, as art, has merit, and crediting with a certain value -every design or idea which has been executed well, but attaching -ourselves more particularly to a few rare objects which have some -special significance or appeal for our own nature. Johnson and Paoli -had this appeal for Boswell. Wilkes and Hume attracted him more -because they were interesting individuals for whom, though he really -disapproved of them, he might retain some slight affection because -they were representative men. He might dislike the things they -represented, but like them in spite of this: like them, one might -almost say, for representing something. - -With Hume, for instance, he had a considerable friendship at one time. -He was of course, an individual to be studied; to Temple, Boswell -related his conversations much as he recorded those of Johnson and -Paoli. But he did not see him merely because he was interested; he -liked him too: 'David is really amiable; I always regret to him his -unlucky principles and he smiles at my faith.' It is probable that as -he grew older Boswell grew less tolerant. He was always somewhat of an -experimentalist, interested in various sides of life and fitting one -or another to his own case; but though he became with maturity more -definitely attached to the conventional Christianity, to 'belief,' -as he termed it, as opposed to 'infidelity,' and less tolerant of the -people who held different views, he never hated a man for being a Whig -or an atheist as Johnson did. - -Interest and affection: these, then, are real motives with Boswell -for seeking as he did the company of distinguished men. The question, -however, of a further motive--of the snobbishness in Boswell's -nature--still remains. - -Boswell himself was well aware of a certain 'propensity in his -disposition,' of a particular pleasure from the society of the great -and a desire which he had to form friendships among them; he knew too -that his behaviour was condemned by many of his contemporaries. In the -'Tour to the Hebrides'[1] he has given his own account and explanation -of his conduct: - - My fellow-traveller and I talked of going to Sweden; and, - while we were settling our plan, I expressed a pleasure in - the prospect of seeing the king. Johnson: 'I doubt, Sir, if - he would speak to us.' Colonel McLeod said, 'I am sure - Mr. Boswell would speak to _him_.' But, seeing me a little - disconcerted by his remark, he politely added, 'and with - great propriety.' Here let me offer a short defence of that - propensity in my disposition, to which this gentleman alluded. - It has procured me much happiness. I hope it does not deserve - so hard a name as either forwardness or impudence. If I know - myself, it is nothing more than an eagerness to enjoy the - society of men distinguished either by their rank or their - talents, and a diligence to attain what I desire. If a man is - praised for seeking knowledge, though mountains and seas are - in his way, may he not be pardoned, whose ardour, in pursuit - of the same object, leads him to encounter difficulties as - great, though of a different kind? - -This defence is characteristic of the manner in which Boswell -consistently treated the world. 'Curiosity,' said Mrs. Thrale, -'carried Boswell farther than it ever carried any mortal breathing. He -cared not what he provoked so as he said what _such a one_ would say -or do.'[2] But the basis of social conventions is a desire to consider -the feelings of others. A person's 'forwardness' and 'impudence' are -judged not so much by his own sentiments as by the effect he produces -upon other people. Boswell pressed an acquaintanceship entirely -because he thought it might be good for himself; he never considered -the views of the acquaintance: 'It has procured me much happiness.' -He did not understand the consequences of this attitude. He was an -intellectual parasite upon society, determined at any cost to feed -upon the good qualities of others, taking where he would, without -caring if he gave. It may possibly be well for the individual that -he should consider himself alone; but society, just because it is -society, must object to the egoist. This Boswell never was able to -understand. His own point of view was concerned with what he could get -from others; and though he was by nature in many ways excellent as -the member of a community, he had no conception of himself in this -capacity. He cared a great deal about his importance, but very little -about his value. He took systematically, he gave at random. Interest -in human beings simply for his own sake because it pleased him[3]: -that is one prime motive which impelled him to seek the acquaintance -of distinguished men. - -Boswell, besides this, was essentially a snob. To have pleasure in -the company of distinguished men, not only from a sense of the good -qualities they have, but from a feeling that their greatness adds to -one's position in the esteem of mankind, that is to be a snob. Boswell -had this feeling; he freely admitted it. 'Now, Temple,' he writes, -'can I help indulging my vanity? Sir David Dalrymple says to me in -his last letter, "It gives me much pleasure to think that you have -obtained the friendship of Mr. Samuel Johnson...."' And again: - - I am really the great man now. I have had David Hume, in the - forenoon, and Mr. Johnson, in the afternoon, of the same day, - visiting me. Sir John Pringle, Dr. Franklin, and some more - company dined with me to-day; and Mr. Johnson and General - Oglethorpe one day, Mr. Garrick alone another, and David Hume - and some more literati another, dine with me next week. I give - admirable dinners and good claret; and the moment I go abroad - again, which will be in a day or two, I set up my chariot. - This is enjoying the fruit of my labours, and appearing like - the friend of Paoli. By the bye, the Earl of Pembroke and - Captain Meadows are just setting out for Corsica, and I have - the honour of introducing them by a letter to the General. - David Hume came on purpose, the other day, to tell me that the - Duke of Bedford was very fond of my book, and had recommended - it to the Duchess. - -'The great man' because he kept the company of great men--that is -what he says, and it is snobbish. His enjoyment of 'the society of -men distinguished by their rank or their talents' depended partly upon -that. He considered this to be a legitimate way of acquiring fame. - -The absurdity of Boswell's behaviour in this respect seems all -the more ridiculous from the fact that it was unnecessary. When -he returned from Corsica he had obtained, as we remarked above, a -position of considerable distinction for a young man. He had only -to wait discreetly and carefully and he was certain to obtain the -patronage of the great. But he courted them, on the contrary, with -unheard-of fervour. The climax was reached in a letter to Chatham, -with whom he had an opportunity of corresponding about Corsica. -He writes from the pinnacle of pomposity to descend to the pit -of adulation: 'I only wish that circumstances were such that your -Lordship could have an opportunity of showing the interest you take in -the fate of a people who well deserve the favour of so illustrious a -patron of liberty as your Lordship.' He proceeds by quoting, as the -mediator between the General and Lord Chatham, a letter from Paoli. -There is then an immortal passage in which the underlying egoism, too -little concealed, is yoked with a flattery which could scarcely be -tolerated in Olympia: - - Your Lordship applauds my 'generous warmth for so striking - a character as the able chief.' Indeed, my Lord, I have the - happiness of being capable to contemplate with supreme delight - those distinguished spirits by whom God is sometimes pleased - to honour humanity; and as I have no personal favour to ask of - your Lordship, I will tell you with the confidence of one who - does not fear to be thought a flatterer, that your character, - my Lord, has filled many of my best hours with that noble - admiration which a disinterested soul can enjoy in the bower - of philosophy. - -Then follows an account of Boswell's plan for his book about Corsica; -and finally his personal vanity leaps over every barrier. - - As for myself, to please a worthy and respected father, one of - our Scotch judges, I studied law, and am now fairly entered to - the bar. I begin to like it. I can labour hard; I feel myself - coming forward, and I hope to be useful to my country. Could - your Lordship find time to honour me now and then with a - letter? I have been told how favourably your Lordship has - spoken of me. To correspond with a Paoli and a Chatham is - enough to keep a young man ever ardent in the pursuit of - virtuous fame. - -This letter illustrates much of Boswell's attitude towards the great, -and it will be necessary to refer to it again in that connection; it -shows, at least, how earnestly Boswell desired the friendship of the -great man, and what a thrill of pleasure those letters from Chatham -must have given him. - -However much we may dislike this propensity of Boswell's disposition, -while admitting that it is unpleasant in itself, although we would not -and could not have Boswell without it, there is no reason to see in -much of it a blacker vice than merely the ignorance of how to behave. -And it was connected as we have shown with feelings not entirely -selfish. But of the flagrant self-advertisement to which we have -referred above no such agreeable things may be said. It is condemnable -without compensation as an obtrusive egoism and foolish vanity. It -must be written down frankly on the debit side of Boswell's peculiar -genius, and it was as much opposed to the proper exercise of his -biographical talents as to his more practical career. - - * * * * * - -We are forced to wonder, and it is important that we should decide, -whether in spite of his immoderate self-centredness Boswell was -capable of acting without considering his own advantage in the -interest of others. Had he, in the first place, any real care for the -cause of Corsican liberty? - -It is often far from easy to discover what Boswell's feelings were, -because the balance between sentiment and expression was with him very -ill-adjusted. By prolonged study of the Boswellian extravagances we -may come to perceive, as we think, how much Boswell really felt; -but even so it is hardly possible to explain any valid reason for -judgments of this nature. Boswell was often guilty of extravagance; -but it would be as false to believe that he felt none of the zeal he -talks about so easily, as to believe that he felt as much as he says. -He undoubtedly exaggerated, but he probably never made an absolute -misstatement. - -There is a passage of great enthusiasm for the Corsicans in a letter -to Johnson:[4] 'Shall they not rise in the great cause of liberty, and -break the galling yoke? And shall not every liberal soul be warm for -them?' Boswell's heart must have been warm when he wrote that: but we -are unfortunately still left in doubt by an anti-climax: 'No! while I -live, Corsica and the cause of the brave islanders shall ever employ -much of my attention, shall ever interest me in the sincerest manner.' -The letter in which these quotations occur is dated April 26, 1768; it -is possible that Boswell's ardour had begun to cool by that time -and that the cause of liberty, though it might 'employ much of his -attention' was less vital to him than he imagined. The 'Tour to -Corsica,' however, gives an impression of genuine interest and -sympathy with the Corsicans. Boswell seems to have liked very well -these simple folk, who appreciated more readily than his countrymen -the natural gaiety and good humour of his spirits.[5] How different is -his attitude in the 'Tour to the Hebrides' towards the Scots! We must -remember too that Boswell, whatever may have been his motives, did -much in England and Scotland to help the Corsicans. Besides publishing -his book, which was of value to their cause, he raised a subscription -and sent out L700 worth of ordnance.[6] He also collected and -published a volume of 'British Essays in favour of the Brave -Corsicans,' some of which he himself wrote. - -Boswell had in fact a real generosity of character; he hated anything -mean, and expressed himself as anxious to cure his own 'narrowness.' -He could be kind to his friends and was willing to lend money. He -was interested as a lawyer in the decisions of the courts and readily -bestowed his sympathy. On behalf of a certain Dr. Dodd, a divine who -was under sentence of death for forgery, he wrote to Dr. Johnson: 'If -for ten righteous men the Almighty would have spared Sodom, shall -not a thousand acts of goodness done by Dr. Dodd counterbalance one -crime?' And Dr. Johnson afterwards used his pen in Dr. Dodd's service. -On another occasion he appealed for his friend's assistance in the -case of a Scotch schoolmaster--a client of Boswell's, who had been -'deprived of his office for being somewhat severe in the chastisement -of his scholars': Boswell in his letter to Johnson seems to have at -heart both the interests of the schoolmaster and the principle of -corporal punishment. For his friend Temple he more than once went -out of his way to obtain some favour. He treated his tenants with the -greatest consideration, and even made special provisions in his will -for their future welfare.[7] But Boswell was not one of those who -continually exercise these amiable qualities. It is probable -indeed that, had he tried, he would have met with more rebuffs than -encouragement. To be flagrantly kind with any success requires a good -deal of cunning, and of that useful quality Boswell had extremely -little: he was likely to appear in any good work more meddlesome than -great-hearted. But if with him care for the happiness of others -was not the first consideration, he was at bottom a sympathetic, -kind-hearted man, and capable of generous actions. - -It is very important that we should bear this in mind about Boswell. -Those who are gifted with powers of expression are often in one sense -primarily egoists--more so than other men because they are apt to -become more completely absorbed--and Boswell, as we have shown, was -not without his portion of egoism; but there may be a place in the -lives of such men for unselfish feelings, and if we may think that -Boswell had his due share of them we may judge less harshly in him the -egoism which we cannot admire. - - * * * * * - -Boswell, as we have seen, had already at the age of twenty-seven made -a bid for renown. He was anxious to shine in more lights than one. It -was not mere social success or literary fame that he wanted: he had -an ardent desire to be successful in his profession. The sphere of -employment which had been chosen for him by his father with his own -sanction was the Scotch Bar, to which he was formally 'called' in -1766.[8] His work seems to have engrossed at once a great deal of his -time. He writes on March 4th, 1767, to Temple: - - I am surprised at myself, I already speak with so much ease - and boldness, and have already the language of the bar so much - at command. I have now cleared eighty guineas. My clerk comes - to me every morning at six, and I have dictated to him forty - folio pages in one day. It is impossible to give you an idea - of my present life. I send you one of my law papers, and a - copy of my thesis. I am doing nobly; but I have not leisure - for learning. I can hardly ever answer the letters of my - friends. - -This is the letter of a man who finds himself engrossed as well as -busy. The truth is that Boswell was extremely anxious to make a mark -in his profession. Here, as always, he must win approval; he must -become a person to be considered. To this end he succeeded in mixing -himself up with the Douglas Cause, a case concerned with a Scotch -title which was commanding much attention in the summer of 1767. -He seems to have acted as a voluntary counsel to Mr. Douglas the -plaintiff, and was most diligent, even perhaps to excess, in his -interest. In connection with this trial, two small publications -appeared from Boswell's hand. The first of them, 'The Essence of the -Douglas Cause,' is a _precis_ of the whole affair, well arranged and -clearly expressed; it was written with a view to aiding Boswell's -own side in the case,[9] in reply to a pleading from the other side, -'Considerations on the Douglas Cause.' The labour of compiling -this summary must have been very great. Boswell tells us in the -introduction that he was present during the whole deliberation of the -Cause before the Court of Session and took very full notes. It shows, -as Mr. Fitzgerald has remarked, how industrious Boswell could be when -his enthusiasm was aroused. - -The other publication, 'Dorando: A Spanish Tale'[10] affects to be -a story about a trial in Spain, but reproduces the characters in -the Douglas case. Under this thin veil approbation and criticism are -distributed to the two parties, and the cause decided. The publication -of 'Dorando,'[11] extracts of which appeared in several of the Scotch -newspapers and were held by some of the Scotch judges to be contempt -of court, was wholly characteristic of Boswell. Whether or no it would -be possible to find in his conduct anything which amounted to a breach -of etiquette, it is clear that a publication of this sort might well -injure his position at the Bar. It is true that the author's name did -not appear, but it was not to be supposed that it would always remain -a secret, and the precaution was probably taken with a view to being -on the right side rather of the law than of the lawyers. Boswell, with -all his wish to win the esteem of men, never understood how easily -the opposite is earned and how harshly a tiny cosmos will punish an -offence against itself. And when the humorous side of things struck -him forcibly he was unable to repress his feelings. - -Boswell's behaviour during the Douglas Cause is said to have been -decidedly extravagant. His father was heard to say that 'James had -taken a tout on a new horn,'[12] and a story got about which, though -it may have been false, must have had some relation to the common -conception of Boswell, that when he heard that the House of Lords had -reversed the decision of the Court of Session, he placed himself at -the head of an uproarious mob who broke his father's windows. - -There are other indications than the Douglas Cause to show that -Boswell was anxious to be successful in his legal career. It is not to -be thought that he always displayed the energy which he showed at this -time. But he clearly took the trouble, on several occasions recorded -in the 'Life,' to prepare the best arguments he could to support his -case; and if we must suppose that he was as anxious as he represents -himself to be that justice should be done, it is still quite evident -that he hoped to gain some advantage to himself from the assistance -which he solicited and obtained from Johnson, and was glad that the -right should triumph, in part no doubt because it was supported by -James Boswell. In fact it is probable that Johnson's assistance was -of little value. As Boswell says on one occasion, having presented -the written arguments of Johnson without success, 'their Lordships in -general, though they were pleased to call this, "a well-drawn paper," -preferred the former very inferior petition which I had written; thus -confirming the truth of an observation made to me by one of their -number in a merry mood: "My dear Sir, give yourself no trouble in the -composition of the paper you present to us; for, indeed, it is casting -pearls before swine."' - -We shall have to consider when we come to the last years of Boswell's -life the various reasons for his failure at the Bar. But one reason -may be mentioned here because it is so essential a part of his -character that we should do wrong not to have it in mind as we go over -the spectacle of his whole life. Boswell, it must be remembered, -was called to the Scotch Bar; but the society of the Scotch, and -particularly of the Scotch lawyers, was never congenial to him. As -early as March 1767 he writes to Temple: 'It must be confessed that -our Court of Session is not so favourable to eloquence as the English -Courts.' By 1775 he was apparently quite tired of his work; 'On my -arrival here [Edinburgh] I had the pleasure to find my wife and -two little daughters as well as I could wish; but indeed, my worthy -priest, it required some philosophy to bear the change from England -to Scotland. The unpleasing tone, the rude familiarity, the barren -conversation of those whom I found here, in comparison with what I had -left, really hurt my feelings.' - -It is probable that Boswell's opinions about the Scotch lawyers were -not entirely concealed from them. And they knew, no doubt, that he had -friends among the Edinburgh players, and may have resented the -fact. 'The Scottish Themis,' says Scott, speaking of his own early -experience, 'is peculiarly jealous of any flirtation with the Muses -on the part of those who have ranged themselves under her banners.' We -may suppose that Boswell's flirtations, with the Muses at all events, -injured his position in legal circles. - - The General Assembly [Boswell continues] is sitting, and I - practise at its Bar. There is _de facto_ something low and - coarse in such employment, though on paper it is a Court of - _Supreme Judicature_; but guineas must be had.... To speak - well, when I despise both the cause and the judges, is - difficult; but I believe I shall do wonderfully. I look - forward with aversion to the little, dull, labours of the - Court of Session. - -Boswell himself was quite unlike most Scotchmen, and he relates in the -'Life' the remarks upon this subject made by Johnson at various times: - - _Johnson_: 'I never say, I do not value Boswell more for being - born to an estate, because I do not care.' _Boswell_: 'Nor for - being a Scotchman.' _Johnson_: 'Nay, Sir, I do value you more - for being a Scotchman. You are a Scotchman without the faults - of a Scotchman. You would not have been so valuable as you - are, had you not been a Scotchman.' And again, when talking of - the Scotch nation, _Johnson_: '_You_ are an exception, though. - Come, gentlemen, let us candidly admit that there is one - Scotchman who is cheerful.' _Beauclerk_: 'But he is a very - unnatural Scotchman.' - -Professor Raleigh has emphasised this point in his delightful manner: - - If I had to find a paradox in Boswell, I should find it in - this, that he was a Scot. His character was destitute of all - the vices, and all the virtues, which are popularly, and in - the main rightly, attributed to the Scottish people. The - young Scot is commonly shy, reserved, and self-conscious; - independent in temper, sensible to affront, slow to make - friends, and wary in society. Boswell was the opposite of all - these things. He made himself at home in all societies, and - charmed others into a like ease and confidence. Under - the spell of his effervescent good-humour the melancholy - Highlanders were willing to tell stories of the supernatural. - 'Mr. Boswell's frankness and gayety,' says Johnson, 'made - everybody communicative.' - -And Boswell himself took no trouble to conceal, but rather published -this truth. He saw very clearly certain qualities in the Scotch -character which he disliked. - -It must be remembered, however, that Boswell professed to be in one -sense, perhaps the only right sense, patriotic. He may have hated the -Scotch, but he loved Scotland and loved in particular the home of his -ancestors. If he preferred to live in England, it was a preference -only for the society he found there. During those memorable months -when the great Doctor made his tour in Scotland, Boswell had a real -anxiety that Johnson should get rid of his prejudices and appreciate -the country. He takes the trouble to defend at length Johnson's -'Journey to the Western Islands' from the anger of Scotchmen, but he -does so by asserting that Johnson saw both the good and the bad. - - 'And let me add' [he says in an extravagant vein] 'that, - citizen of the world as I hold myself to be, I have that just - sense of the merit of an ancient nation, which has been ever - renowned for its valour, which in former times maintained its - independence against a powerful neighbour, and in modern times - has been equally distinguished for its ingenuity and - industry in civilised life, that I should have felt a genuine - indignation at any injustice done to it. Johnson treated - Scotland no worse than he did even his best friends, whose - characters he used to give as they appeared to him, both in - light and shade.' - -However Boswell may have had 'that just sense of the merit of an -ancient nation,' it is clear, as we have said, that he disliked very -much his legal work in Scotland. But it must not be thought that he -rapidly became grave and soured by constant irritation. That process -was a slow one in his case. His disposition was too sanguine to feel -very much, as a young man, his disappointments. He did without doubt, -as he grew older, become less frivolous, and more sedate; with this we -must suppose that his marriage in 1769 was in some way connected. - - * * * * * - -Before we come to discuss the domesticity of Boswell we must consider -for a time those affairs of the heart in which he had such a plentiful -experience. - -About these he was as frank as he was about all the subjects which -he discusses in his letters to Temple. We have detailed accounts -(detailed enough, apparently, to offend, unfortunately for our -purpose, the delicate ear of the first editor of the letters) which -describe in several cases the precise nature of Boswell's love or -passion or whatever be the appropriate expression. These accounts -were intentionally complete. The eye of Boswell is fixed upon the -thermometer of his affections to observe and indicate its rise and -fall. Nothing could illustrate the man so well as the attitude which -he here so nakedly revealed, typical entirely of Boswell because it is -so completely self-centred. He lived for his own pleasure and says as -much: 'That pleasure is not the aim but the end of our being, seems to -be philosophically demonstrable. Therefore all the labour and all the -serious business of life should first be considered as means to that -end.'[13] In love he was not less governed by this system than he was -in every other phase of life. - -It was at the early age of eighteen when Boswell was still at the -University that the son of Venus came to him upon the first of many -visits. The lady, a Miss W----t, is described as a most desirable -companion; and Cupid in one sense was kind to Boswell--for though his -hope of an ideal future in the company of the beloved, the heiress to -a fortune of thirty thousand pounds, was not destined to be realised, -he was able, if the lady were disinclined to adorn his life, to 'bear -it _aequo animo_, and retire into the calm regions of philosophy.' - -The subject of matrimony seems often to have occupied the thoughts -of Boswell. At times the appeal of unmarried life was strong. 'The -bachelor has a carelessness of disposition which pleases everybody, -and everybody thinks him a sort of common good--a feather which flies -about and lights now here, now there.' But the ideal of a winged good -which was to float about thus amiably gave way at times to a more -sedate view of living. 'If you think of the comforts of a home, where -you are a sort of sovereign, the kind endearments of an amiable woman, -who has no wish but to make you happy, the amusement of seeing your -children grow up from infancy to manhood, and the pleasing pride -of being the father of brave and learned men, all which may be the -case--then marriage is truly the condition in which true felicity is -to be found.' In the absence, however, of a felicity which could add -so much comfort and pleasure and so small a burden of responsibility -to his life, Boswell was happy enough, he proceeds to relate, to have -a '_dear infidel_.' That there was no infidelity on the part of this -'charmer' Boswell is able to affirm, while he does not deny that she -has a husband; but though, as he says, 'imagination represented it -just as being fond of a pretty, lively, black little lady, who, -to oblige me, stayed in Edinburgh, and I very genteelly paid her -expenses,' he was glad no doubt that circumstances permitted him to -arrange his pleasures without hypocrisy. - -The course of his amour was not destined to run very smoothly. The -ardour of Boswell for the deserted or deserting lady was intermittent -and expensive; it was difficult to be rid of her because the -tendernesses of a farewell upset the unstable balance of Boswell's -susceptibility; 'I was sometimes resolved to let her go, and sometimes -my heart was like to burst within me. I took her dear hand; her eyes -were full of passion, I took her in my arms.' The dramatic moment is -too much for the best-laid plans, and Boswell was grateful, as he -well might be, to find himself free after two months. 'I am totally -emancipated from my charmer, as much as from the gardener's daughter -who now puts on my fire and performs menial offices like any other -wench.' The affair with the gardener's daughter is unfortunately not -related. She is mentioned only this once where Boswell tells us that a -year before this date (March 30, 1767), he had been 'so madly in love -as to think of marrying her.' Two other ladies are mentioned in the -same letter, Miss Bosville and Miss Blair. He thought of the former, -who was his cousin, as a convenient match, but the suit does not -appear to have been prosecuted with much vigour. She was kept, as it -were, in the second line of battle to fill up a gap when an object of -devotion was required. There is another name of the same kind, Zelide, -a Dutch lady whom he met at Utrecht and who appears upon the scene -periodically. Boswell several times threatened to marry her. How many -affairs there were of this class it is difficult to estimate. Exact -information on the subject would be valuable as enabling us to adjust -the proportion of these matters. From isolated remarks referring to -women not elsewhere mentioned, such as 'My Italian angel is constant,' -we might suppose that Boswell conducted his amours on the magnificent -scale of Solomon. But this can hardly have been the case. - -Miss Blair was a Scotch heiress whose estate was not far from -Auchinleck. Boswell's father was in favour of the match, which would -have been in every way desirable, particularly so if it be considered -appropriate that the young lady was in love with Boswell. The -initial stages were highly propitious. Miss Blair with her mother -was persuaded, without great difficulties we may suppose, to stay at -Auchinleck, where Boswell in the 'romantic groves' of his ancestors -'adored her like a divinity.' The heir whose 'grand object is the -ancient family of Auchinleck--a venerable and noble principle' intends -to carry off the 'neighbouring princess' by assault rather than siege, -and in the pursuit of romance allows no time for love to languish. An -emissary[14] is despatched, no other than the faithful Temple, who is -at once to blow the trumpet as a herald, and as a spy to observe the -enemy's fortifications. 'Praise me for my good qualities--you know -them.' These are the instructions. Romance is to be fed by mystery and -the chase encouraged by the elusiveness of the quarry. 'But talk also -how odd, how inconstant, how impetuous, how much accustomed to women -of intrigue. Ask gravely, Pray don't you imagine there is something of -madness in that family?' A tinge of insanity may be a pleasing dash -of colour in the hero; or the suggestion may draw the attention of the -fair one to extravagances which are to be noted as the fantasies of -genius. The ultimate halo, the crown of glory, is reserved for the -explorer of distant lands and the friend of men distinguished in a -continent. 'Talk of my various travels, German princes--Voltaire and -Rousseau.' The effect upon the audience of this elaborate comedy is to -be duly registered in order that the manager may arrange the sequence -appropriately and the principal actor appear in splendour at the -dramatic moment. 'Observe her well. See how amiable! Judge if she -would be happy with your friend. Think of me as the great man at -Adamtown--quite classical too; study the mother. Remember well what -passes.... Consider what a romantic expedition you are on; take -notes.' By the final injunction, the biographer's own peculiar weapon -is to be directed at the prize and the lady captured by a sheet of -memoranda. - -An accident, however, occurs and trivial circumstance is swollen -to importance by the fever of impatience. The fervour of a suitor's -letter demands immediate reply; but the letter remains for some days -in the post. Letter follows letter, and the perturbation increases -when jealousy summons the image of a yellow nabob. The actor doubts if -he has chosen the proper _role_, and fears the effect of his -'Spanish stateliness.' But the ardent lover is able to exclaim, 'I am -entertained with this dilemma like another chapter in my adventures,' -and consolation comes in a letter from the Signora 'written with all -the warmth of Italian affection.' Finally the matter is explained and -there is the pleasure of restoring harmony. Lucky that these -matters run never smoothly, for there will be further opportunity of -experiencing the tortured joy of a quarrel and the supreme delight of -reconciliation. An uninteresting interval is amused by a renewal of -intimacy with the 'dear infidel' before another coolness is arranged. -The self-possession of the lady now provokes 'a strange sultanish -letter, very cold and very formal,' and after an absence of three -weeks the suitor pays an eminently agreeable visit to the prospective -bride, though still apparently in a rather sultanish mood: 'I am -dressed in green and gold. I have my chaise in which I sit alone with -Mr. Gray, and Thomas rides by me in a claret-coloured suit with a -silver-laced hat.' The final joy was however withheld. 'The princess -and I have not yet made up our quarrel, she talks lightly of it.' -The adorer is prepared conditionally to soar to the last heights of -adoration. 'If she feels as I wish her to do, I shall adore her while -my blood is warm': but the philosopher is determined to escape the -inconvenience of a wounded heart: 'I shall just bring myself, I hope, -to a good, easy tranquillity.' The 'princess' by this time has ceased -to be a dupe; she may have seen that the courtship was arranged to -give the colouring of romance to conventional matrimony, and alter the -pompous comedy of surrender to a serious farce for one party and for -the other probably to a serious tragedy. Her manner in any case became -more reserved: 'She refused sending me a lock ... and she says very -cool things upon that head.' The burning lover begins to congratulate -himself upon escape from so unsatisfying a mate, and the beautiful -princess is discovered to be a jilt. 'Wish me joy, my good friend, of -having discovered the snake before it was too late.... After this I -shall be upon my guard against ever indulging the least fondness for -a Scot lass; I am a soul of a more Southern frame. I may perhaps be -fortunate enough to find an Englishwoman who will be sensible of my -merits and will study to please my singular humour.' Zelide and Miss -Bosville are mentioned in the same letter, the former to illustrate -the truth that 'an old flame is easily rekindled' and the latter as a -possibility to be kept in mind. - -But a volatility amazing even in Boswell produces on the following day -a letter which is full of the charms of Miss Blair. The more violent -the quarrel the more pleasing the peace-making. A meeting is arranged -at Edinburgh; a declaration is made and the now enthusiastic suitor -reports, 'I ventured to seize her hand. She is really the finest woman -I ever saw.' The 'princess' however is still reserved, and determined -efforts have to be made at the theatre. - - Next evening I was at the play with them; it was 'Othello.' - I sat close behind the princess, and at the most affecting - scenes I pressed my hand upon her waist; she was in tears and - rather leaned to me. The jealous Moor described my very soul. - I often spake to her of the torment she saw before her. - -But even after this touching scene there is cause for disquiet. -'Still,' he says, 'I thought her distant, and still I felt uneasy.' - -The encouragement however was sufficient to give confidence to the -attack, and there follows a _tete-a-tete_ in which 'pleasure from -the intimacy of often squeezing and kissing her fine hand, while she -looked at me with those beautiful black eyes,' was somewhat darkened -by a disconcerting surprise. 'I then asked her to tell me if she had -any particular liking for me. What think you, Temple, was her answer? -"No; I really have no particular liking for you; I like many people as -well as you--I like Jeany Maxwell better than you."' Consolation must -now be sought where love is denied. _Boswell_: 'If you should happen -to love another, will you tell me immediately and help me to make -myself easy?' _Princess_: 'Yes, I will.' But the lady's sympathy shows -a want of imagination which is highly unsatisfying. _Boswell_: 'I -must, if possible, endeavour to forget you. What would you have me -do?' _Princess_: 'I really don't know what you should do.' - -It would appear that honour had no escape from such a defeat but in -renewing the encounter. The history of the last period of this wooing, -of the nadir of the wooer's fortunes and his cheerfulness in spite of -repulses, is told to Temple six weeks later. A new rival appears upon -the scene, and there is rumour of an engagement. The rejected suitor -writes to ascertain the truth of this alarming story. But his appeal -is neglected. Dignity now demands that disappointment shall be -concealed, and an alliance is formed with the presumably successful -rival, Sir Alexander Gilmour. 'I endeavoured to laugh off my passion, -and I got Sir Alexander Gilmour to frank a letter to her, which I -wrote in a pleasant strain, and amused myself with the whim.' The lady -now appears in London and at the same moment the Nabob. He too is to -be an ally, and a final scene is arranged. 'We gave our words as men -of honour that we would be honest to each other so that neither should -suffer needlessly; and to satisfy ourselves of our real situation, we -gave our words of honour that we should both ask her this morning, and -I should go first.' The result can hardly have been doubtful. Boswell -tells his adorable princess, 'I have great animal spirits, and bear it -wonderfully well,' and proceeds to write 'A Crambo Song on Losing my -Mistress.' - - Although I be an honest laird, - In person rather strong and brawny, - For me the heiress never cared, - For she would have the knight, Sir Sawney. - - And when, with ardent vows, I swore, - Loud as Sir Jonathan Trelawney, - The heiress showed me to the door, - And said, she'd have the knight, Sir Sawney. - - She told me with a scornful look, - I was as ugly as a tawney; - For she a better fish could hook, - The rich and gallant knight, Sir Sawney. - -We might suppose that Boswell in spite of his cheerfulness would -have been at heart rather dejected by these events; but he writes -to Temple, 'My mind is now twice as enlarged as it has been for some -months. You cannot say how fine a woman I may marry; perhaps a Howard -or some other of the noblest in the kingdom.' - -The realities were hardly so elevated as these dreams, for in the -following spring (1768), it is Zelide again, and not she alone. -'Zelide may have had her faults but is she always to have them? May -not time have altered her for the better as it has altered me? But you -will tell me that I am not so greatly altered, as I have still many -unruly passions. To confess to you at once Temple, I have, since my -last coming to town been as wild as ever.' But flowers were to be -fresh at last in the month of August. 'I am exceedingly lucky in -having escaped the insensible Miss Bosville and the furious Zelide, -for I have now seen the finest creature that ever was formed, _la -belle Irlandaise_. Figure to yourself, Temple, a young lady just -sixteen, formed like a Grecian nymph, with the sweetest countenance -full of sensibility....' Everything was favourable. 'Here every flower -is united.' The diplomat who had been fatigued before by the restraint -of a wise cautiousness is resolved that this time there shall be -no reserve. 'Ah, my friend, I am now as I ought to be; no reserved -prudent conduct as with Miss Bosville. No! all youthful, warm, -natural, in short, all genuine love.' And the ardent hunter seems to -have been more successful than the wily angler. 'I repeated my fervent -passion to her again and again; she was pleased and I could swear -that her little heart beat. I carved the first letter of her name on a -tree; I cut off a lock of her hair, _male pertinax_. She promised -not to forget me, nor to marry a lord before March.' Moreover, the -unspoilt joy of advance without contest was more pleasant than the -doubts and hopes of expectation, while a puritanical idealism and -the solemnity of an oath were a welcome change for less spiritual -delights. - - This is the most agreeable passion I ever felt; sixteen, - innocence, and gaiety make me quite a Sicilian swain. Before I - left London I made a vow in St. Paul's Church that I would - not allow myself in licentious connections of any kind for six - months, I am hitherto firm to my vow, and already feel myself - a superior being ... in short, Maria has me without any rival; - I do hope the period of my perfect felicity, as far as this - state can afford, is now in view. - -Whether this 'perfect felicity' was attained and how long it lasted we -do not know. Maria no doubt had her day like the others; the sequel to -the vow in St. Paul's we may conjecture. Boswell, if his name endured -for no other talents, would remain with us for ever as an incomparable -genius for reviving affection. In December we learn: 'Miss Blair is -Miss Blair still,'--still a fit subject for this curious pastime. 'I -was two or three times at Adamtown, and, upon my word, the old flame -was kindled.' Miss Blair apparently had been piqued because her suitor -had made such a joke of his love for the heiress in every company. -'Temple, to a man again in love, this was engaging. I walked whole -hours with the princess; I kneeled; I became truly amorous.' These -brief sentences adequately describe the last recorded love-scene. If -Boswell corresponded with Temple between December 1768 and May -1770 the letters have been lost; and so the outrageous story ends -abruptly--and it is fortunate perhaps for the readers of this book, -for it is a story so fascinating and so absurd and so richly human -that no part of it can be omitted. - -Boswell in fact was destined to be married to his cousin, Miss -Montgomerie. The Montgomeries were an aristocratic family related to -Lord Eglinton, and Boswell was proud of the connection: he speaks in -a published pamphlet of 'having the honour and happiness to be married -to his Lordship's relation, a true Montgomerie.' We know very little -about Mrs. Boswell. Johnson's curt judgment in a letter to Mrs. Thrale -is probably right in placing her with the great bulk of mediocre -humanity: 'Mrs. B---- has the mien and manners of a gentlewoman; and -such a person and mind as would not be in any place either admired -or contemned. She is in a proper degree inferior to her husband: -she cannot rival him, nor can he ever be ashamed of her.' But if -undistinguished, as in Johnson's view a good wife should be, the lady -had some excellent qualities; and Johnson himself would have been the -first to praise them. If he urged Boswell on more than one occasion to -be considerate of his home, it was because he knew that the home was -both pleasant and valuable to his friend: 'I need not tell you what -regard you owe to Mrs. Boswell's entreaties; or how much you ought to -study the happiness of her who studies yours with so much diligence, -and of whose kindness you enjoy such good effects.' Boswell, too, -loudly sings the praise of his wife: 'I am fully sensible,' he writes -to Temple, 'of my happiness in being married to so excellent a woman, -so sensible a mistress of a family, so agreeable a companion, so -affectionate and peculiarly proper helpmate for me.' After her death -he writes: 'I had no occasion almost to think concerning my family, -and every particular was thought of by her better than I could'; and -he refers to her in the 'Life of Johnson' as 'my very valuable wife, -and the very affectionate mother of my children, who, if they inherit -her good qualities, will have no reason to complain of their lot.' - -That Mrs. Boswell had in abundance the matronly virtues is -sufficiently clear. She had besides considerable intellectual gifts. -Boswell calls her, 'A lady of admirable good sense and quickness of -understanding'; he kept a common-place book, 'Uxoriana,' to preserve -her witty sayings, and after her death regretted her 'admirable -conversation.' From her own expressed opinion of her husband's -friendship with Dr. Johnson we are obliged to think well of her -intelligence: it was a female opinion, as Boswell remarks, with -something of resentment for the intrusion of this uncomfortable guest: -'His irregular hours and uncouth habits, such as turning the candles -with their heads downwards, when they did not burn bright enough, and -letting the wax drop upon the carpet, could not but be disagreeable to -a lady.' And no doubt she failed to appreciate the devotion of Boswell -to this ungainly and unpleasing animal. But her observation, in the -manner of the times, is admirably pointed: 'I have seen many a bear -led by a man, but I never before saw a man led by a bear.' - -The marriage took place in the autumn of 1769; Boswell was then -twenty-nine years of age. The situation is summed up in his own -remarks in the _London Magazine_ for April 1781: - - After having for many years cherished a system of marrying - for money, I at last totally departed from it, and married for - love. But the truth was that I had not been careful enough to - weed my mind; for while I cultivated the plant of interest, - love all the time grew up along with it and fairly got the - better. Naturally somewhat singular, independent of any - additions which affectation and vanity may perhaps have made, - I resolved to have a more pleasing species of marriage than - common, and bargained with my bride that I should not be - bound to live with her longer than I really inclined; and - that whenever I tired of her domestic society, I should be at - liberty to give it up. - -That Boswell was always fond of his wife is clear enough. 'Eleven -years have elapsed and I have never yet wanted to take advantage of my -stipulated privilege.' He never speaks of her without affection, -and was deeply distressed by her death in 1789. But for how long he -continued to love her fervently it is difficult to tell; not, one -would suppose, for a great length of time, or he could hardly have -written in the _London Magazine_: 'Whatever respect I may have for the -institution of marriage, and however much I am convinced that it upon -the whole produces rational happiness, I cannot but be of the opinion -that the passion of love has been improperly feigned as continuing -long after the conjugal knot has been tied.' Nor, if Boswell had -continued to love his wife passionately, would he have found it -disagreeable to return to Edinburgh, after visits to London. - -But Boswell no doubt wanted to be a faithful husband: 'I can unite -little fondnesses with perfect conjugal love.'[15] His idea of -fidelity would seem to involve no kind of restriction upon his natural -inclinations except in so far as that he should appear to be a good -husband in the eyes of the world and particularly of his wife. However -sensible this view may have been, it was not such as commonly finds -favour among the female sex. But he was undoubtedly in his own view a -faithful husband and he had really at heart the welfare of his wife. -'Upon the whole I do believe,' he says, 'I make her very happy.'[16] - - - [Footnote 1: _Tour to the Hebrides_, September 17.] - - [Footnote 2: _Autobiography, Letters, &c., of Mrs. Piozzi_, - ii, 124.] - - [Footnote 3: Perhaps the best evidence of all for this quality - is Boswell's habit of attending executions (mentioned several - times in the _Life_ and also in the _Life of Reynolds_, by - Leslie and Taylor), and his acquaintance with Mrs. Rudd, a - notorious criminal.] - - [Footnote 4: _Life of Johnson_, ii, 59. This letter is an - admirable instance of Boswell's affected manner of expressing - real feelings.] - - [Footnote 5: _Life of Johnson_, ii, 3, note 1.] - - [Footnote 6: _Letters to Temple_, p. 126.] - - [Footnote 7: _Boswelliana_, p. 186.] - - [Footnote 8: _Life of Johnson_, ii, 20.] - - [Footnote 9: Fitzgerald's _Life of Boswell_, i, 111.] - - [Footnote 10: Boswell's authorship proved by _Letters to - Temple_, p. 89.] - - [Footnote 11: Fitzgerald's _Life of Boswell_, i, 113.] - - [Footnote 12: Fitzgerald's _Life of Boswell_, i, 116.] - - [Footnote 13: _London Magazine_, 1, 40.] - - [Footnote 14: Temple, it appears, was promised payment for - his services: 'You shall have consultation guineas, as an - ambassador has his appointments.' This seems to imply more - than the mere travelling expenses which Dr. Rogers suggests as - an explanation.] - - [Footnote 15: _Letters to Temple_, p. 159.] - - [Footnote 16: _Ib._ p. 137.] - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - -A biography of Boswell, though it might profess to be complete, could -say little about his domestic life. If he has told us very little -about it, there is, however, no reason that we should seek to know -more. It was a very essential part of Boswell that he should have -a wife and family: a wife, because she adds a certain flavour of -respectability and is a definite asset to the social position of a -man, still more perhaps because she increases responsibility and so -intensifies the sensation of importance; a family, because to the man -of estate there must be born an heir. But the mere fact of his being -married was, in a sense, of far less consequence to him than to most -men. - -There were two aspects of his life which were dissociated in a -peculiar degree from each other--the life in Scotland, where he -laboured at the Law and was eventually to be Laird of Auchinleck, and -where his home was the basis of operations; and the life in London, -which he visited as often as he was able, to live the gay life he -loved, and to talk to his literary friends, especially to Dr. Johnson. -The pleasure he had in the society of his English friends was far more -to him than another man's recreation or hobby. It occupied more time, -and it was time spent away from his domestic circle and, for the most -part, away from his work. He is never tired of telling of his love of -London. - - I had long complained to him [Johnson] that I felt myself - discontented in Scotland, as too narrow a sphere, and that I - wished to make my chief residence in London, the great scene - of ambition, instruction, amusement: a scene which was to me, - comparatively speaking, a heaven upon earth! _Johnson_: 'Why, - Sir, I never knew anyone who had such a gust for London as you - have.' - -It must be our business then to follow for a little the life of -Boswell among his London friends, to see the relations in which he -stood to them and the progress of his intimacy with Dr. Johnson. - -In the 'Life' there are recorded the consecutive visits of Boswell -to England with relation always to Dr. Johnson in particular, but -referring also to other celebrities whom he met, and to his own -pleasures and amusements. The group of men who were in the first -place the friends and admirers of Dr. Johnson, and with whom Boswell -naturally associated so far as he was able, were for the most part -distinguished men in the best literary society, and members of that -club which was started by Johnson and Reynolds in 1762 or 1763. Burke, -Beauclerk, Langton, Goldsmith, Hawkins, were original members; Garrick -was elected in 1773, as was Boswell himself. Malone, whose wise help -was invaluable to Boswell in preparing for the press his _magnum -opus_, and who was its first editor, became a member later. - -The pleasure which it gave Boswell to belong to this club of -distinguished men is revealed in his own account of his election. 'The -gentlemen went away to their club, and I was left at Beauclerk's till -the fate of my election should be announced to me. I sat in a state -of anxiety which even the charming conversation of Lady Di Beauclerk -could not entirely dissipate. In a short time I received the agreeable -intelligence that I was chosen. I hastened to the place of meeting, -and was introduced to such a society as can seldom be found.' - -From a conversation reported in the 'Tour to the Hebrides' it would -appear that Boswell was not elected without some difficulty. 'He -[Johnson] told me, "Sir, you got into our club by doing what a man can -do."' - - (Boswell's note on this is: 'This I find is considered as - obscure. I suppose Dr. Johnson meant that I assiduously and - earnestly recommended myself to some of the members, as in a - canvass for an election into Parliament.') - -'Several of the members wished to keep you out. Burke told me he -doubted if you were fit for it....' _Boswell_: 'They were afraid of -you, Sir, as it was you who proposed me.' _Johnson_: 'Sir, they knew -that if they refused you, they'd probably have never got in another. -I'd have kept them all out.' - -Boswell, of course, did not get on equally well with all of Johnson's -friends. Goldsmith especially he seems to have disliked, and at a -later date Mrs. Thrale, Miss Burney and Baretti; we may suppose that -the feeling was mutual, especially after the appearance of the 'Life -of Johnson,' in which Boswell made little attempt to conceal his -feelings. With Hawkins, who was chosen to write the official biography -of Johnson, he was eventually to quarrel. But he had strong supporters -in the club. 'Now you are in,' Johnson told him, 'none of them are -sorry. Burke says you have so much good humour naturally, it is scarce -a virtue.' Beauclerk too appreciated him. 'Beauclerk was very earnest -for you.' His greatest friend of this _coterie_ besides Dr. Johnson -was Sir Joshua Reynolds. Sir Joshua seems always to have understood -and insisted upon the value of Boswell. He was prepared to take up -the cudgels. 'He thaws reserve wherever he comes and sets the ball of -conversation rolling.'[1] The club, whatever else it might think about -Boswell, was obliged to admit that he was excellent company. - -There were some, no doubt, who had a high opinion of Boswell's -abilities; it was admitted by everyone that he had written a good -book, and not all, like Gray and Walpole,[2] can have thought that he -wrote it by chance. And Boswell too, if not a good literary critic, -was interested in books and able to talk about them. The opinions to -which he gave expression in the 'Life of Johnson' about various books -which came under discussion are often more appreciative and better -supported by reason than the dicta of Johnson, and he sometimes -shows considerable sagacity. His views about Johnson's own books, and -especially his criticism of Johnson's style and the high estimate he -formed of the 'Lives of the Poets,' are excellent. - -But it was far more for his social than for his literary qualities -that Boswell was valued. In the circle of Johnson's admirers he was -in a sense the most important figure; he had a greater admiration -than any other and was rewarded by Johnson with a greater degree of -affection. He came to understand Johnson. Hannah More relates that she -was on one occasion made umpire in a trial of skill between Garrick -and Boswell, which could most nearly imitate Dr. Johnson's manner.[3] -'I remember I gave it for Boswell in familiar conversation, and -for Garrick in reciting poetry.' To have beaten Garrick was a great -performance and shows how Boswell must have studied Johnson. He was, -as it were, his chief exploiter. It was he above all the rest who -could make Johnson talk.[4] He knew what would provoke a discussion, -and was so reckless of appearing foolish that he would introduce any -subject. He made opportunities for Johnson to exhibit his powers. The -description of how he arranged the meeting with Wilkes, though more -famous almost than any other passage of the 'Life,' is too important -as illustrating the whole attitude of Boswell to be omitted here. -It is not inappropriate to say that the very name of Wilkes was to -Johnson like a red rag to a bull. He hated what he considered to be a -pretentious notoriety, and what he no doubt talked about as 'this cant -of liberty' was the signal for an outburst of violence in his best -manner. Boswell conceived the idea of bringing these two together, and -probably hoped to witness an incomparable contest. But how was this -to be done? 'I was persuaded that if I had come upon him with a direct -proposal, "Sir, will you dine in company with Jack Wilkes?" he would -have flown into a passion and would probably have answered, "Dine with -Jack Wilkes, Sir! I'd as soon dine with Jack Ketch."' But it was easy -to see the weak point in the Doctor's armour. 'Notwithstanding the -high veneration which I entertained for Dr. Johnson, I was sensible -that he was a little actuated sometimes by contradiction, and by means -of that I hoped I should gain my point.' Boswell, who knows exactly -what will provoke his friend, has thought out beforehand precisely -what he shall say, and opens with a proposal which Johnson is sure -to accept. 'Mr. Dilly, Sir, sends me his respectful compliments, and -would be happy if you would do him the honour to dine with him -on Wednesday next along with me, as I must soon go to Scotland.' -_Johnson_: 'Sir, I am obliged to Mr. Dilly. I will wait upon him.' The -dictator is in a gracious mood, and the moment favourable to excite a -rebuke in defence of that formal courtesy which he loved to practise. -'Provided, Sir, I suppose,' adds Boswell, 'that the company which -he is to have is agreeable to you.' The apparent artlessness of the -remark in the true Boswellian fashion, with the exaggerated respect -that so often irritated Johnson, took effect at once. _Johnson_: -'What do you mean, Sir? What do you take me for? Do you think I am -so ignorant of the world as to imagine that I am to prescribe to a -gentleman what company he is to have at his table?' An excuse must -now be made which is certain to meet with sledge-hammer reasoning -or piercing sarcasm, and it will then be safe to lead up to the -disagreeable intelligence. 'I beg your pardon, Sir, for wishing to -prevent you from meeting people whom you might not like. Perhaps -he may have some of what he calls his patriotic friends with him.' -_Johnson_: 'Well, Sir, what then? What care _I_ for his _patriotic -friends_? Poh!' _Boswell_: 'I should not be surprised to find Jack -Wilkes there.' The possibility may have been disconcerting, but -retreat was now out of the question. _Johnson_: 'And if Jack Wilkes -should be there, what is that to me, Sir? My dear friend, let me have -no more of this. I am sorry to be angry with you, but really it is -treating me strangely to talk to me as if I could not meet any company -whatever, occasionally.' So the matter was settled. Boswell asks -forgiveness and clinches the matter: 'Pray forgive me, Sir; I meant -well. But you shall meet whoever comes.' 'Thus,' he tells the reader, -with evident satisfaction, 'I secured him.' - -The man who could do this was clearly of importance to those who were -interested, even though in a less degree than himself, in Dr. Johnson. -We may suppose that the circle of Johnson's literary friends welcomed -Boswell as much for his peculiar homage to the Doctor as for his own -social talents. - - * * * * * - -We must now more nearly examine that friendship, which is as much -the concern of our own age as it was of Boswell's. We have considered -already what it was that caused these two men to be friends; but the -meanest picture of Boswell must include some account of his behaviour -towards Johnson; we must review the progress of their friendship and -remark the more characteristic attitudes of the biographer. - -In the pages of the 'Life of Johnson' is recorded in detail, and -almost without reserve, the story of the relations between these -two friends. It is a story full of humour, telling of all the little -peculiarities of a great man, of all the whims and foibles which we -are accustomed to observe in old age and which we both like and laugh -at; but it is the story also of a deep and anxious affection. - -If the course of friendship ran smoothly on the whole for Johnson and -Boswell, as might be expected when one of the two was so well balanced -and so practically wise as the older man, yet, as must always be the -case with people who are not either quite perfect or quite colourless, -there were rough places here and there; and these, if responsible for -no great misery, were, however, the cause of some unhappiness to both. -Boswell, at all events, realised very keenly the great gulf between -them; between his own sensitive, uncertain nature and Johnson's rude -strength. He, probably more than most men, wanted sympathy, wanted to -be understood. With what relief he speaks from his heart to Temple: 'I -have not had such a relief as this for I don't know how long. I have -broke the trammels of business, and am roving unconfined with my -Temple.' It is unfortunate for Boswell that he expressed himself so -extravagantly. We sympathise with those who are self-contained about -sentiment and particularly about their own sorrows, but we have few -kind feelings for those who exaggerate. And Boswell, because he was -difficult to understand, was more than usually isolated: to Johnson, -at all events, there must have been many matters about which he could -not talk, and he was nettled sometimes by the other's blunt advice. -It was unpleasant to be told by one whom he so much respected, at the -moment of his first serious publication, 'The Corsican Journal,' to -'empty his head of Corsica which had filled it too long.' It must have -been more than annoying when he had written to Johnson in a despondent -mood (there is no reason to doubt that he was genuine in despondency) -to receive his answer: 'I had hoped you had got rid of all this -hypocrisy of misery. What have you to do with Liberty and Necessity? -Or what more than to hold your tongue about it? Do not doubt that I -shall be most heartily glad to see you here again, for I love every -part about you but your affectation of distress.' - -Much as we must admire the honest wrath of Johnson, and the desire -which he had to cure the affectation of Boswell, we cannot but regret -sometimes that he was not more discriminating. It was much, no doubt, -to be assured of affection, but affection alone could not take the -place of an understanding sympathy; and if this had come from one whom -he so much respected, it would have been invaluable to Boswell. As it -was, he realised that Johnson must partially disapprove of him, and -it was because he knew, and felt this disapproval, as much as from any -inherent quality of his temperament, that he so often wanted a proof -of affection. - -Whatever may have been their cause--it may have been no more than -the mere need for friendship coupled with the peculiar unreserve of -Boswell's character--the result of these demands was sometimes to -irritate Johnson. - - I said to him: 'My dear Sir, we must meet every year, if you - don't quarrel with me.' _Johnson_: 'Nay, Sir, you are more - likely to quarrel with me than I with you. My regard for you - is greater almost than I have words to express; but I do not - choose to be always repeating it; write it down in the first - leaf of your pocket-book, and never doubt of it again.' - -On one occasion Johnson was really angry. Boswell conceived the idea -of making an experiment to test his affection. It was apparently his -custom to write to Johnson upon his return to his family. He wanted -to see what the Doctor would do if he neglected the usual civility. -Johnson, of course, was eventually the first to write; and Boswell, -thus gratified, answered him by a letter which frankly explained his -motives: - - I was willing ... to try whether your affection for me would, - after an unusual silence on my part, make you write first. - This afternoon I have had very high satisfaction by receiving - your kind letter of inquiry, for which I most gratefully thank - you. I am doubtful if it was right to make the experiment, - though I have gained by it. - -We may forgive Johnson for being annoyed by this letter. - -Those who make very large demands upon their friends for a display of -affection are, as a rule, rather tiresome companions; it may possibly -be good to be sensitive, but it is bad to be easily offended, which is -often the case with such people. But if Boswell, like many who take a -decided lead in friendship, required many proofs to make him believe -that it was more than a one-sided affair, he of all men was the most -difficult to offend. We cannot do better than read his own accounts -of his quarrels with Johnson. There is that famous one, in the first -place, of the dinner at Sir Joshua's. - - On Saturday, May 2, I dined with him at Sir Joshua Reynolds', - where there was a very large company, and a great deal of - conversation; but owing to some circumstance which I cannot - now recollect, I have no record of any part of it, except that - there were several people there by no means of the Johnsonian - school; so that less attention was paid to him than usual, - which put him out of humour; and upon some imaginary offence - from me he attacked me with such rudeness, that I was vexed - and angry, because it gave those persons an opportunity of - enlarging upon his supposed ferocity and ill-treatment of his - friends. - -We may doubt whether Boswell gives the true reason for his vexation. -He was able to stand a great deal of 'buffeting' at Dr. Johnson's -hands; but it was probably necessary for him to feel that the company -were good-natured in their merriment. We do not resent that men should -laugh _at_ us if they laugh _with_ us at the same time. It was no -doubt the contemptuous and half-concealed mirth of strangers which -Boswell felt to be unbearable. And if he felt like this we may -sympathise with a short period of sulking. 'I was so much hurt, and -had my pride so much roused, that I kept away from him for a week; -and, perhaps, might have kept away much longer, nay, gone to Scotland -without seeing him again, had not we fortunately met and been -reconciled. To such unhappy chances are human friendships liable.' - -The oddest thing of all about Boswell, when we reflect upon the scenes -of his humiliation, is his pride. It is not the least unlikely that, -as he suggests, if circumstances had not ordained otherwise he would -have waited, and waited for a long time, for Johnson to make advances. -It was not merely the pride of the worm in the proverb which may be -roused at the last. The worm would not consciously go out of his way -to incur insulting anger as Boswell did when he arranged the dinner -with Wilkes and on many other occasions. Boswell's was a pride -which was constantly giving him pain and was capable, when goaded to -obstinacy, of going to considerable lengths. - -At Sir Joshua Reynolds' dinner he must have suffered acutely. Croker -tells the story of Boswell's discomfiture as it was told to him at -fourth-hand by the Marquess of Wellesley. 'The wits of Queen Anne's -reign were talked of, when Boswell exclaimed, "How delightful it must -have been to have lived in the society of Pope, Swift, Arbuthnot, -Gay, and Bolingbroke! We have no such society in our days." Sir Joshua -answered, "I think, Mr. Boswell, you might be satisfied with your -great friend's conversation." "Nay, Sir, Mr. Boswell is right," said -Johnson, "every man wishes for preferment, and if Boswell had lived -in those days, he would have obtained promotion." "How so, Sir?" asked -Sir Joshua. "Why, Sir," said Johnson, "he would have had a high place -in the Dunciad."' It was a hard blow. How deep was the wound we cannot -tell, because we do not know how it was said or how received. It is -curious at first sight that Boswell should have been more sulky about -this than about many a rough retort recorded in the 'Life.' It is -even more remarkable that he should have concealed this story of his -humiliation while he told others with perfect frankness. To do so was -entirely contrary to his principle and practice. The idea that 'the -several people there by no means of the Johnsonian school' should read -the story, recall the circumstances and laugh, not good-naturedly but -with contempt and malice, must have overcome for once the biographer's -'sacred love of truth.' From these facts, in any case, we may fairly -argue that Boswell suffered from his pride as a proud man must have -suffered from the Doctor's rude snubs. It is to Boswell's credit that -he was willing to run the gauntlet and even to bare his breast for the -wound, not only because if he was to have the honour he must endure -the pain, but at least as much because he knew that it was his -vocation to goad the giant into action, to strike and fan the spark -that would ignite the powder. It is to Boswell's credit that he had -a part in the fray: he bled from honourable wounds. But since men had -been so ill-natured as to despise them it was difficult to display the -gashes and the scars; and because from a noble motive he did what was -most difficult and most valuable we must praise Boswell exceedingly. - -It is further to Boswell's credit that, if he winced for a moment -under the sledge-hammer and pouted at the executioner, his natural -good-humour and generosity made reconciliation easy. - - On Friday, May 8, I dined with him at Mr. Langton's. I was - reserved and silent, which I suppose he perceived and might - recollect the cause. After dinner, while Mr. Langton was - called out of the room, and we were by ourselves, he drew - his chair near to mine, and said, in a tone of conciliating - courtesy, 'Well, how have you done?' _Boswell_: 'Sir, you have - made me very uneasy by your behaviour to me when we were last - at Sir Joshua Reynolds'. You know, my dear Sir, no man has a - greater respect and affection for you, or would sooner go to - the end of the world to serve you. Now to treat me so----.' He - insisted that I had interrupted him, which I assured him was - not the case and proceeded--'But why treat me so before people - who neither love you nor me?' _Johnson_: 'Well, I am sorry - for it. I'll make it up to you i' twenty different ways as you - please.' - -Johnson certainly seems to have made himself most agreeable on this -occasion, and it would have been churlish of Boswell to have resisted -these advances; but nothing could be more truly generous than the way -in which he reminded Johnson of his affection and respect. Boswell -now proceeds to appease his pride by using the occasion to make a _bon -mot_. 'I said to-day to Sir Joshua, when he observed that you _tossed_ -me sometimes--"I don't care how often or how high he tosses me, when -only friends are present, for then I fall upon soft ground: but I -do not like falling on stones, which is the case when enemies are -present." I think this is a pretty good image, Sir.' Johnson assents, -with unusual courtesy, 'Sir it is one of the happiest I have ever -heard.' And Boswell is now completely satisfied. The account proceeds -by giving Johnson a testimonial for good-nature and assuring its -readers that the best of relations were at once re-established. 'The -truth is, there was no venom in the wounds he inflicted at any time, -unless they were irritated by some malignant infusion from other -hands. We were instantly as cordial again as ever, and joined in -hearty laugh at some ludicrous but innocent peculiarities of one of -our friends.' - -The story of this quarrel, if there were no other evidence, would show -that Boswell endured not a few rebuffs. The fact indeed has never been -challenged. Johnson's method of talking for victory often took the -form of mere rudeness, and Boswell was frequently the subject of -his rough wit. For Boswell it was a question whether the fun and the -interest of making Johnson angry were worth the sacrifice of dignity -involved. In retrospect it always was so, and, at the moment too, very -often. He tells us how, on one occasion, he had quoted Shakespeare -in the course of discussion, and Johnson, who was angry, had made the -characteristic reply, 'Nay, if you are to bring in gabble I'll talk -no more'; it is evident that this was regarded by him as a successful -issue to the argument. Johnson had become angrier and angrier, and -Boswell, far from trying to appease him, was glad to bring him to a -state of entire unreasonableness. He was conscious of this when he -commented with evident pleasure, 'My readers will decide upon this -dispute.' - -There is something of the same spirit in the tale which Boswell tells -of the quarrel on the moor during the Tour in the Hebrides. Boswell -towards the end of a day had the not unnatural intention of going on -ahead to make preparations at the inn. - - It grew dusky; and we had a very tedious ride for what was - called five miles; but I am sure would measure ten. We had no - conversation. I was riding forward to the inn at Glenelg, on - the opposite shore to Skye, that I might take proper measures, - before Dr. Johnson, who was now advancing in dreary silence, - Hay leading his horse, should arrive. Vass also walked by the - side of his horse, and Joseph followed behind: as therefore - he was thus attended, and seemed to be in deep meditation, - I thought there could be no harm in leaving him for a little - while. - -Boswell indeed seems to have been particularly thoughtful and even -shows some delicacy in not interrupting Johnson's meditations to tell -him his plan. The sequel must have surprised him very much. 'He called -me back with a tremendous shout, and was really in a passion with me -for leaving him. I told him my intentions, but he was not satisfied, -and said, "Do you know I should as soon have thought of picking a -pocket as doing so?"' This did not annoy Boswell in the least, though -it took place in the presence of their servants; he was accustomed by -this time to the Doctor's moods, and could only be amused. He replied -with a composure which he must have known would irritate Johnson -exceedingly; 'I am diverted with you, Sir.' The force of the desired -explosion may have been underestimated. '_Johnson_: "Sir, I could -never be diverted with incivility...." His extraordinary warmth -confounded me so much, that I justified myself but lamely to him. -Matters in fact were rather more serious than Boswell had supposed, -and he must now make an effort to pacify his companion--but without -effect. 'I resumed the subject of my leaving him on the road, and -endeavoured to defend it better. He still was violent on that head, -and said, "Sir, had you gone on, I was thinking that I should have -returned with you to Edinburgh, and then have parted from you, and -never spoken to you more."' The storm was indeed a bad one that did -not clear up entirely by bedtime. Boswell felt distinctly uneasy -in the volcanic atmosphere; but he easily effected a complete -reconciliation. - - Thursday, September 2. I had slept ill. Dr. Johnson's anger - had affected me much. I considered that, without any bad - intention, I might suddenly forfeit his friendship; and was - impatient to see him this morning. I told him how uneasy he - had made me by what he had said, and reminded him of his own - remark at Aberdeen upon old friendships being hastily broken - off. He owned he had spoken in a passion ...; and he added, - 'Let's think no more on't.' _Boswell_: 'Well then, Sir, I - shall be easy. Remember I am to have fair warning in case of - any quarrel. You are never to spring a mine upon me. It was - absurd in me to believe you.' _Johnson_: 'You deserved about - as much as to believe me from night to morning.' - -The mixture of amusement and anxiety in Boswell's conduct and the -affectionate and good-humoured reconciliation are all extremely -typical of the relations between these two friends. Johnson indeed had -far too much sense of Boswell's good qualities and value ever to fall -out with him seriously, and it would have been hard to do so. There -was never one real misunderstanding between them up to the end. Their -intercourse, consisting of the visits of Boswell to London and a -number of letters on both sides, had but one break, from November 1769 -to April 1771. Boswell had just been married, and omitted in 1770 to -pay his usual visit to London; he tells us that there was no coldness -on either side, no reason for not writing beyond the common one of -procrastination. - -The correspondence of Boswell and Johnson is on the whole of an -irregular nature; there is more than one interval, longer than we -might expect, between two men who were such active friends as they, -in an age when letter-writing was cultivated for its own sake. Arguing -from this fact and considering that he was not present at Johnson's -death-bed, Boswell has been accused of neglecting his friend at the -end of his life. But from the state of mind which he described much -earlier in the _London Magazine_, we can otherwise account for these -lapses: - - To pay a visit or write a letter to a friend does not surely - require much activity. Yet such small exertions have appeared - so laborious to a Hypochondriack, that he has delayed from - hour to hour, so that friendship has grown cold for want - of having its heat continued, for which repeated renewals, - however slight, are necessary; or, perhaps, till death has - carried his friend beyond the reach of any token of his - kindness, and the regrets which pained him in the course of - his neglect are accumulated and press upon his mind with a - weight of sorrow.[5] - -We may suppose that whenever Boswell for a short time failed in his -careful attention it was through no lack of affection, but rather -through a kind of indolence and want of purpose in the manner of it, -which is far from being uncommon. - -The greatest event in this long friendship, and the time which has -left us the fullest record, is the 'Tour to the Hebrides,' in 1773. -In Boswell's journal we see more nearly than elsewhere the relations -between the two friends and the nature of their companionship. In the -foreground is the extreme amiability of Boswell--it was by this that -he was fitted to perform that most difficult office of friendship, -to travel with Dr. Johnson. We may read his own account of himself at -this time: - - Think then, of a gentleman of ancient blood, the pride - of which was his predominant passion. He was then in his - thirty-third year, and had been about four years happily - married. His inclination was to be a soldier; but his father, - a respectable judge, had pressed him into the profession of - the law. He had travelled a good deal, and seen many varieties - of human life. He had thought more than anybody supposed, and - had a pretty good stock of general learning and knowledge. - He had all Dr. Johnson's principles, with some degree of - relaxation. He had rather too little, than too much prudence; - and, his imagination being lively, he often said things of - which the effect was very different from the intention. He - resembled sometimes - - 'The best good man, with the worst natur'd muse.' - -He cannot deny himself the vanity of finishing with the encomium of -Dr. Johnson, whose friendly partiality to the companion of his 'Tour' -represents him as one 'whose acuteness would help my enquiry, and -whose gaiety of conversation, and civility of manners, are sufficient -to counteract the inconveniences of travel, in countries less -hospitable than we have passed.' Dr. Johnson in a letter to Mrs. -Thrale wrote of him in terms of the highest esteem: 'Boswell will -praise my resolution and perseverance, and I shall in return celebrate -his good humour and perpetual cheerfulness.... It is very convenient -to travel with him, for there is no house where he is not received -with kindness and respect.'[6] - -No one certainly could have been more attentive than Boswell was: he -had a sense of responsibility in being in charge of the great writer, -which made him anxious not only that Johnson should be welcomed in -a fitting manner, but that he himself should appear as a worthy -companion. His deep sense of respect, his desire for approval and -dread of reproof are constantly obvious. This attitude is well -illustrated by the account of his carouse in Corrichatachin: - - We were cordial and merry to a high degree, but of what passed - I have no recollection, with any accuracy.... - - Sunday, September 26. I awaked at noon with a severe headache. - I was much vexed that I should have been guilty of such a - riot, and afraid of a reproof from Dr. Johnson. I thought it - very inconsistent with that conduct which I ought to maintain - as the companion of the Rambler. - -The interview, however, was a very pleasant one. Boswell found 'the -Rambler' in his most agreeable mood and was glad to escape the reproof -he had anticipated. 'About one he came into my room and accosted -me, "What, drunk yet?"' His tone of voice was not that of severe -upbraiding; so I was relieved a little. 'Sir,' said I, 'they kept me -up.' He answered, 'No, you kept them up, you drunken dog:' This he -said with a good-humoured _English_ pleasantry. - -Boswell, it need hardly be said, was very proud of introducing Johnson -to the men of Scotland: it raised him, as he no doubt understood, in -their esteem, and he took trouble that Johnson should appear to them -in the most favourable light. He had also a further gratification. He -was more than a mere showman. He came to have proprietary rights in -Dr. Johnson. Boswell's joy was the joy of possession: and he even -became jealous. There is a story told by Miss Burney, of a later -date, when Boswell, it must be admitted, behaved rather badly. A party -gathered at Streatham where Johnson was staying. Boswell arrived to -spend the morning. The Doctor's intimacy with Miss Burney was new to -Boswell and the latter now found that his rights were being infringed. -'A collation was ordered.' - - Mr. Boswell [it is related] was preparing to take a seat that - he seemed, by prescription, to consider as his own, next to - Dr. Johnson; but Mr. Seward, who was present, waved his hand - for Mr. Boswell to move farther on, saying, with a smile, 'Mr. - Boswell, that seat is Miss Burney's.' - - He stared, amazed: the asserted claimant was new and unknown - to him, and he appeared by no means pleased to resign his - prior rights. But, after looking round for a minute or - two with an important air of demanding the meaning of this - innovation, and receiving no satisfaction, he reluctantly, - also resentfully, got another chair, and placed it at the back - of the shoulder of Dr. Johnson, while this new and unheard-of - rival quietly seated herself as if not hearing what was - passing, for she shrunk from the explanation that she - feared might ensue, as she saw a smile stealing over every - countenance, that of Dr. Johnson himself not excepted, at the - discomfiture and surprise of Mr. Boswell. - -We must not forget that Boswell, before everything else, was the -biographer, looking ever with inquisitive eye upon the great man's -movements, marking with zealous care any detail that might be -significant, and appreciating very keenly the humour of every scene. -The furthest point one may suppose that his curiosity reached, or -indeed was able to reach, is recorded in an account of breakfast at -Lochbuy. The comedy arose from an unusual proposal on the part of Lady -Lochbuy as to the provision to be made for Johnson's entertainment; -Boswell encouraged it to see what the Doctor would do, deriving at -the same time much pleasure from the dispute between the lady and her -brother. - - She proposed that he should have some cold sheep's head - for breakfast. Sir Allan seemed displeased at his sister's - vulgarity, and wondered how such a thought should come into - her head. From a mischievous love of sport, I took the lady's - part; and very gravely said, 'I think it is but fair to give - him an offer of it. If he does not choose it, he may let it - alone.' 'I think so,' said the lady, looking at her brother - with an air of victory. Sir Allan, finding the matter - desperate, strutted about the room and took snuff. When Dr. - Johnson came in she called to him, 'Do you choose any cold - sheep's head, Sir?' 'No, Madam,' said he, with a tone of - surprise and anger. 'It is here, Sir,' said she, supposing - he had refused it to save the trouble of bringing it in. They - thus went on at cross purposes till he confirmed his refusal - in a manner not to be misunderstood. - -The malicious experiment of Boswell had the desired conclusion. 'I,' -he says, 'sat quietly by, and enjoyed my success.' - -Dr. Johnson was irritated sometimes by Boswell's curiosity. Dr. -Campbell even records that Johnson on one occasion was driven away -by Boswell's continual questions.[7] But it would seem that far more -often Johnson found means of protecting himself. Miss Burney gives -an enlightening summary of the prospect in case Johnson should notice -Boswell imitating him. - - Dr. Burney thought that Dr. Johnson, who generally treated Mr. - Boswell like a schoolboy, whom, without the smallest ceremony, - he pardoned or rebuked alternately, would so indignantly have - been provoked as to have instantaneously inflicted upon him - some mark of his displeasure. And equally he was persuaded - that Mr. Boswell, however shocked and even inflamed in - receiving it, would soon, from his deep veneration, have - thought it justly incurred, and after a day or two of pouting - and sullenness would have compromised the matter by one of - his customary simple apologies of 'Pray, Sir, forgive me.' Dr. - Johnson though often irritated by the officious importunity of - Mr. Boswell, was really touched by his attachment. - -It was presumably in some degree because he realised that Johnson was -fond of him that Boswell was able to endure his rudeness. It must be -remembered, however, that it was deliberately in most cases brought -upon himself, and there was then no real cause to take offence. -You cannot complain if by your own fault you have made a man angry, -whatever he may say--especially if he is thirty years older than -yourself. It is one of Boswell's chief merits that he was able to see -this. He may have been often annoyed, but he came afterwards to -see that it was but the natural result of his method of treating -Johnson--the method which enabled him to write in the end the immortal -'Life.' - -Boswell in the _role_ of biographer will claim a more detailed -attention later in this book. It will suffice to say here that the -attitude which he presented in the scene at Lochbuy, and on all those -occasions when he led Johnson to talk or arranged some situation for -the sake of observing his behaviour, is that which is most typical -of Boswell, that by which he was famous, or, as some might have said, -notorious among his contemporaries. - -The relations between these two friends which we see so pleasantly -revealed in Boswell's journal of the 'Tour to the Hebrides,' in 1773, -containing as they did all that is best between the old and the young, -remained unimpaired to the death of Johnson in 1784: Boswell never -neglected to pay at least one visit in the year to England, and -preserved to the end his affection, his careful and kind attention, -his pride and respect, and above all his humour and curiosity. It -would be idle to suggest, though it may be difficult to understand -or explain the fact, that his absence from Johnson's death-bed is -significant in any way of a declining interest and affection. - -Boswell himself was feeling ill and melancholy during a considerable -part of the year, and was much upset by Johnson's charges of -affectation: it is easily conceivable that he shrank from the pain of -being present at the death-bed of his friend, and believed too that -his own distress could only irritate the other.[8] But, whatever may -have been the cause of his absence, it is impossible, if we consider -his own words about the final parting, to doubt the sincerity of his -affection.[9] - - He asked me whether I would not go with him to his house; I - declined it, from an apprehension that my spirits would sink. - We bade adieu to each other affectionately in the carriage. - When he had got down upon the foot-pavement, he called out, - 'Fare you well,' and without looking back, sprung away with a - kind of pathetic briskness, if I may use the expression, - which seemed to indicate a struggle to conceal uneasiness, - and impressed me with a foreboding of our long, long - separation.[10] - -Johnson in one of his last letters said: 'I consider your fidelity and -tenderness as a great part of the comforts which are yet left me'; and -Boswell, speaking of his death, says enough when he says no more than -this: 'I trust I shall not be accused of affectation when I declare -that I find myself unable to express all that I felt upon the loss of -such a Guide, Philosopher, and Friend.' - -The loss was indeed a severe one for Boswell. He made a friend of -Johnson at the age of twenty-two and was forty-four at the date of -Johnson's death. For more than twenty years he had been accustomed -implicitly to trust the judgment of the older man. - -Its mere duration in time is some testimony to the value of the -friendship, the more so when we remember that Boswell when he died -himself was but fifty-five years old. The friend who was the hero of -Boswell's youth, and his constant adviser, saw within the space of a -few years the beginning of his professional life at the Scotch -Bar, the publication of his first serious book, his marriage to an -admirable lady, and his election to the Literary Club; he died but two -years after Boswell had become the Laird of Auchinleck, at a time when -he was showing an increased activity, and before the political and -legal hopes that he indulged had brought about by their failure the -disappointment of his later life. - -From the few facts which have been related here something may be -gleaned, if not a complete conception of the part which Johnson played -in Boswell's life. Boswell has revealed himself as a friend and in -particular as the friend of Johnson. So great a devotion is a real -asset in life. Whatever its definite value may be as regards events, -and it is often small, it serves to fix more clearly and fuse together -the intricate moving forms of a land of dreams into a simple mundane -shape. It may be an end in itself. And devotion in Boswell's case -belonged to the essence of his genius. It was an important part -of that abnormal ingredient in him which was to blaze forth in an -imperishable flame. - -What Johnson accomplished for Boswell was primarily in the realm -of ideals. The aspirations of Boswell were concentrated by his -admiration. But what was the final result? When Johnson died, the ship -that carried that heavy load of Boswell's hopes was sailing steadily -towards a definite harbour, though not the harbour he intended to -reach: what had Johnson to do with this? Was his the hand at the -helm?--the breath in the sails? - - - [Footnote 1: _Life of Reynolds_, ii, p. 12.] - - [Footnote 2: _Letters of Horace Walpole_, v, p. 85.] - - [Footnote 3: _Memoirs of Hannah More_, i, p. 213.] - - [Footnote 4: The evidence for what is stated in this sentence - and the next is discussed later under Boswell's biographical - qualities.] - - [Footnote 5: _London Magazine_, xlvii, 106.] - - [Footnote 6: _Piozzi Letters_, i, 198.] - - [Footnote 7: _Campbell's Diary_, p. 70.] - - [Footnote 8: _Life of Johnson_, iv, pp. 378-80.] - - [Footnote 9: It must be remembered that Boswell spent nearly - two months with Johnson in this last year. In March he wrote - to Dr. Percy about going to London, 'chiefly to attend upon - Dr. Johnson with respectful attention.' (Nichols, _Literary - History_, vii, p. 302.]) - - [Footnote 10: _Life of Johnson_, iv, p. 339.] - - - - -CHAPTER V - - -Biography is by its nature historical and suited to an historical -method. The history of an institution is written in respect of its -functions. The Christian Church, for instance, played a certain part -in the life of society at the end of the fourth century, and another -part when Clement proclaimed a Crusade to all Western Europe. The -historian of the Church may well be expected to hold in view the later -development during the whole course of his inquiry before that climax; -he must analyse the primitive organism, having regard to its future -growth, and explain how it was that those organs grew. The biographer -has similar duties. We commonly consider the lives of men with -reference to a few conspicuous events or remarkable achievements; and -we want to know what were the essential qualities of the man and how -they grew to those results. In Boswell's case the central theme -is single, for he accomplished one thing of overwhelmingly greater -importance than anything else in his life. But the growth which came -to this glorious end was by no means a simple and serene development. -It is concerned with an amazing war between the conventional and the -real, the false and the true. We have now to investigate more closely -the details of that struggle, and incidentally the effect on Johnson. - -Boswell, in the first place, had a number of what may be called -conventional prejudices; he had the common prejudices of the landed -gentleman in the eighteenth century. He was brought up to believe that -he would one day become the Laird of Auchinleck. He was proud of -his family name and ancient lineage; he believed altogether the -conventional idea, that a man was not only in a higher position and -a greater person, but, in some indefinable way, better from the -possession of land. Soil and mansion were not merely the insignia of -the governing class or the boast of blood, but, further, the supreme -expression of an ideal--the commonest practical ideal of the British -people, 'to be as our fathers.' 'Holding an estate,' says Boswell, -in the first of the political letters which he addressed to his -compatriots,[1] 'transmitted to me through my ancestors, by charters -from a series of kings, the importance of a charter, the prerogative -of a king, impresses my mind with seriousness and duty; and while -animated, I hope, as much as any man, with genuine feelings of -liberty, I shall ever adhere to our excellent Monarchy, that venerable -institution under which liberty is best enjoyed.' The truth expressed -by these extravagant words is that Boswell accepted, as a consequence -of having inherited an estate, a certain outfit of principles and -practical objects which was to be worn in the same way that a parson -wears a black coat or a coachman a livery. In politics, therefore, he -was a Monarchist and Tory. Property and the Constitution, these were -his interests. - -In the second political letter he shows that he strongly disapproved -of innovation and of change in general; disapproved because he -disliked and mistrusted them as by convention a man of property ought -to do. Reform, however necessary, is never respectable. Boswell liked -an order and formality which should go on for ever exactly as he knew -it. It was for this reason and not from any aesthetic pleasure that he -delighted in the ceremonial of the dinners in the Inner Temple and in -the services which he was wont to attend in St. Paul's Cathedral each -year, if he were able, upon Easter Day. - -The same views found expression in a series of essays which Boswell -wrote for the _London Magazine_. It is in fact in these essays rather -than in his biographical writings that we should look for Boswell's -opinions on general subjects. Comprehensive though the 'Life of -Johnson' is, it necessarily refrains from giving the author's view -on many occasions, and when Boswell speaks for himself he does so -incidentally, and not directly. In the _London Magazine_ he is free, -and consequently the range is wider and the matter more diffuse. - -'The Hypochondriack'--for such is the title under which Boswell -wrote--appeared in twenty-seven numbers of the _London Magazine_ -from October, 1777, to December, 1779. The articles are not very -long--three pages of close double-columns is the average length; but -altogether they must contain enough printed matter to fill one volume -of a moderate size in our day. The title explains the attitude of the -writer in the whole series; Boswell wrote as a hypochondriac to others -who suffered as he did from periodical depression, to divert them, as -he said, by good-humour. 'I may, without ever offending them by excess -of gaiety, insensibly communicate to them that good-humour which, if -it does not make life rise to felicity, at least preserves it from -wretchedness.' - -It is remarkable that Boswell formed the plan of writing these papers -at an earlier stage of his existence, during the years which he spent -abroad from 1763-5. The tenth of the series was actually written then -and was intended, so he tells us, to be published, in the _London -Magazine_ as Number X of 'The Hypochondriack.' The fact that it -fulfilled its destiny, and that, though written in a rather more -frivolous style, it is in no way out of place, is a testimony, if any -further were needed besides the _magnum opus_, to the capacity that -Boswell had for carrying a literary project to its due accomplishment. - -The qualities required of a biographer, which Boswell had in so -supreme a measure, are not those which necessarily make a good -essayist. But Boswell was by no means contemptible as a writer of -essays. A great thinker he never professed to be, and never could have -become; he had, however, what for his purpose was even more valuable -than profound thought or comprehensive originality--the art of -self-expression. We are obliged to read anything that Boswell wrote -because, by some enchanter's magic, he is there talking to us. This is -not the place to probe the mystery of Orpheus with his lute; perhaps, -in any case, it is better that the mystery should remain for ever -dark; for the charm of Orpheus might be perceptibly less if we knew -its mechanism. And it may be no more than an accomplishment which, -when exercised with particular grace, gives, in the common way, the -capricious illusion of facility. Whatever it be in the art of letters, -Boswell had it. He inevitably produced his effect; and it is himself. -We are made to feel good-humoured and agreeable; and we wish to leave -it at that and trouble our heads no further. A less easy style will -draw our attention to the technique of words. With Boswell, it is -clear midday on the dial, and we have no desire to bother with the -wheels inside. - -'The Hypochondriack,' however, is scarcely so gay as one might expect. -Truly this is not the serious business of life; he is out for a spree. -'The pleasure of writing a short essay,' says the lively physician -of melancholy, 'is like taking a pleasant airing that enlivens and -invigorates by the exercise which it yields, while the design is -gratified in its completion.' Boswell the essayist has not the solemn -responsibility of showing a great example to the world; and he has no -need to be the grave judge. Yet there is a very serious background to -the thoughts of this jolly author. When he chooses a theme he searches -in the depths. Religion, Death and Conscience, Fear, Truth, Pleasure -and Pride, Matrimony and Offspring, Youth and Age, Pity and Prudence, -Excess, Drinking, Flattery, and Hypochondria itself--such are the -subjects with which he sets forth to divert his fellow-sufferers. -And having chosen thus, Boswell naturally, on many occasions, says -earnestly what he sincerely thinks. He faithfully describes in one -place the discomfort of his own depression: - - To be overpowered with languor must make a man very unhappy. - He is tantalized with a thousand ineffectual wishes which - he cannot realise. For as Tantalus is fabled to have been - tormented by the objects of his desire being ever in his near - view, yet ever receding from his touch as he endeavoured - to approach them, the languid Hypochondriack has the sad - mystification of being disappointed of realising every wish, - by the wretched defect of his own activity. While in that - situation time passes over him only to be loaded with regrets. - The important duties of life, the benevolent offices of - friendship are neglected, though he is sensible that he shall - upbraid himself for that neglect till he is glad to take - shelter under cover of disease. - -In this account there is no ill-placed levity and no extravagance such -as we might fear to find. It is a simple and effective account of an -unpleasant experience. The advice which he gives to hypochondriacs -from time to time is similarly grave and sympathetic, and concerned -with defeating the dangers of their state of mind; his view is that -the disease is nearly always curable; he unwillingly admits that there -are cases beyond hope, and condemns pessimistic fatalism: - - We should guard against imagining that there is a volcano - within us, a melancholy so dreadful that we can do nothing in - opposition to it. - -It would be a mistake to suppose when we read such grave advice that -Boswell had a serious view of himself as the spiritual adviser of -hypochondriacs. His object, as he tells us, was to divert them; and -in that frame of mind no doubt he began to write. He became grave and -even earnest because he had a very strong vein of seriousness. In the -ordinary way of life he was light-hearted enough, and easily dispensed -with his thoughts when they began to be uncomfortable: but when he -had set himself to write from a text he persevered with his -serious reflections and they found expression. He was able to reach -considerable heights; a famous epitaph, when he is writing upon a -motto from Cicero about the duties of Conscience, stirs him to a noble -feeling: - - The epitaph upon Sir Christopher Wren in St. Paul's Church, - of which he was the architect, has been justly admired as - sublime: 'Lector, si monumentum requiris, circumspice'; - 'Reader, if you would see his monument, cast your eyes around - you,' so that the whole Church is made his Mausoleum. In my - opinion there is a similar sublimity about this sentiment, - by which a man, upon the ancient principle of [Greek: tima - seauton], 'reverence thyself,' is taught to expand his mind - into a grand theatre of self-observation. - -Occasionally Boswell, on account of this same seriousness, has an -outburst of Johnsonian anger. He tells of a French writer that he -published a book, 'Reflexions sur ceux qui sont morts en plaisantant,' -that he succeeded in collecting a good number of instances both -ancient and modern: 'But I,' says Boswell 'hold all such extraordinary -appearances to be unnatural, affected, and thoughtless.' - -However, when all is said about the gravity of the Hypochondriack, he -is essentially the easy, good-humoured companion he set out to be. He -is often dignified, never indecorous; rarely is he even light-hearted, -for while he supports the cares of this world with smiling equanimity -he leaves the impression that they matter; still more rarely is he -flippant. The effect is never depressing. He is for the most part a -soothing optimist; and if that seem scant praise, be it remembered -that one may resist the optimist's persuasion and yet fall a victim -to the cheerful manners that accompany it. Such is the attitude of -Boswell as an essayist; and, when we consider what he chose to write -about, it is a remarkable performance. - -The lightness of touch which was necessary for Boswell's purpose was -obtained partly by anecdote and image. A wide acquaintance with books -evidently supplied Boswell with a store of anecdotes; and he both -selected them well and used them relevantly. One instance, where -Boswell, in an essay about Excess, is speaking of the dangers of -wealth, will suffice to illustrate his method: - - The Dutch, who have much sagacity of contrivance in many - respects, have in what they call a 'verbeetering huys' (that - is to say, a correcting and amending house, a house for making - people better) an admirable method of curing laziness. A - fellow who will not work is put into a large reservoir, which - takes him up to the chin; a cock is then turned so as to let - more water run in upon him, and he is then shown a pump. If - he exerts himself with active force he prevents the water from - rising, and breathes freely; but if he does not ply the pump, - the water soon gets up upon him and he is suffocated. - An inundation of wealth will be equally fatal to a man's - happiness, if he does not throw it off by vigorous exertion. - _Aurum potabile_ will choak him; and, when drowning in - Pactolus's streams, it will be no consolation to him to know - that they have golden sands. - -Boswell's images, sometimes employed in imitation of Dr. Johnson's -manner, if they are apt to be slightly extravagant, are generally -pointed and help the sense. 'A Dogmatist,' he says, 'is a man that has -got a pair of shoes that fit him exactly well, and therefore he thinks -them so very good that he flies in a passion against those who cannot -wear them.' An image is often used far more gracefully to bring the -argument to a head as in the following admirable passage: - - But old men forget in a wonderful degree their own feelings in - the early part of life, are angry because the young are not as - sedate in the season of effervescence as they are, would have - the fruit where in the course of nature there should be only - the blossom, and complain because another generation has not - been able to ascend the steep of prudence in a fourth part of - the time which they themselves have taken. - -These few quotations may suffice to show that Boswell's essays are -worthy of some attention. They can be read with pleasure because -Boswell was both a capable writer and an agreeable man. And, moreover, -Boswell was a good man. It is a somewhat ridiculous exclamation, -because the fact is so striking and so indisputable. One might dispute -the proposition that to write an unrivalled biography a man must be -good: it would probably be a foolish discussion, for the common sense -of mortals refuses to believe that one who has done a supremely good -thing is not himself essentially good. But to dispute it in the case -of Boswell--when we consider how many hearts he has won, and with -how excellent a wooing, surely that would be preposterous! He was not -wholly good more than other men, nor less than the majority; but he -possessed a quantity of good that might be envied of the best. And -this is true, not of the man only, but of the writer. The test is -a very simple one: the plain fact is that it is impossible to -read Boswell without feeling better. Boswell does not edify in the -spiritual fashion of Michael Angelo or Milton; but he edifies just -as truly. With Boswell we never want to leave the world for something -better, but we want to live in it and enjoy life to the full; and we -want especially to love other men. It is not a small matter that we -should feel this: and as we may feel it in the 'Life of Johnson,' we -may feel it also, though in a less degree, in the essays. - -But 'The Hypochondriack' is not to be read for the sake of the -author's opinions, nor even for the arguments by which he supports -them. For Boswell writes from a conventional point of view. His -conclusions are not his very own. He has never been tossed in the -great void and fought long doubtful battles for a sure place to stand -on. His children have not been begotten with pangs, but adopted for -pleasure. - -And here we return to the main battle. Boswell was conventional. -But this is by no means a sufficient explanation. Clearly, in some -respects, it is not even true. What then is the range of Boswell's -conventionality and what are its limits? - -Beliefs are the result, as a rule, either of tradition, or of -emotional experience, or of mere desire. In a few rare spirits they -may be determined in more intellectual fashion; but Reason is seldom -mistress, and very often she is servant and nurse. By reason, we seek -to justify our prejudices and convictions. With varying degrees -of intellectual dishonesty we make use of reason to reject what we -dislike and nourish what we prefer. - -Boswell's case was somewhat uncommon. He was clearly not very -critical. Having once adopted an attitude he marched through life -without looking back. We have seen something of the outlook he adopted -conventionally. He deceived himself, however, far less than most men -of those opinions. And in the effort to believe what he wished to -believe, Boswell used reason in a curiously deliberate fashion. He -accepted the conventional beliefs and standards in an unconventional -manner--not chaotically and aimlessly, but perceiving what the -conventional aim essentially was, and approving it as a mode of -living. - -Boswell's philosophy of life, as far as he had a philosophy, was to -have in all (including, that is, the future life of happiness which he -flattered himself that he would be able to enjoy) the maximum amount -of pleasure. Pleasure and happiness, these are ends in themselves; -and except in so far as pleasure must be restrained for the sake of -happiness either in this state of being or in another--and Boswell -can hardly be said to have practised restraint in any remarkable -degree--they are not distinguished. Pleasure he speaks of as 'not only -the aim but the end of our being.' 'To be happy,' he says, 'as far as -mortality and human imperfection allow, is the wisest study of men.' - -In the 'Hypochondriack' essays we see how entirely Boswell's -philosophy of life is a philosophy of comfort. With regard, for -instance, to Love--a subject which, since three papers of 'The -Hypochondriack' are devoted to it, must have been considered -important--though too logical to be entirely conventional, his -doctrine is frankly based upon his view of happiness: - - As no disorder of the imagination has produced more evils than - the passion of love, it behoves us to guard ourselves with - caution against its first appearance. - - However coldness or indifference is unpleasant, yet excess of - love or fondness is bad, not only as it is not lasting, but - also because it is disagreeable at the time. - -It is in his religious views that we see best this attitude -of Boswell. While his opinions were on the one hand completely -conventional, they yet depended quite consciously upon this doctrine -of happiness. - - The religious fear which I mean to inculcate, is that - reverential awe for the Most High Ruler of the Universe, mixed - with affectionate gratitude and hope, by which our minds - are kept steady, calm, and placid, at once exalted by the - contemplation of greatness, and warmed by the contemplation - of goodness, while both are contemplated with a reference to - ourselves.[2] - -However 'romantic' Boswell may have been in other matters, there is -no shadow of romance in his conception of a Deity. His admiration -for what seems to be merely a superior human being admitted of no -spiritual disquiet. Rather the 'steady, calm, and placid' temper so -produced was to serve as an antidote to hypochondria. - - In order to have these comforts which not only relieve but - 'delight the soul,' the Hypochondriack must take care to have - the principles of our holy religion firmly established in - his mind, when it is sound and clear, and by the habit and - exercise of piety to strengthen it, so that the flame may live - even in the damp and foul vapour of melancholy.[3] - -Further instructions as to how these comforts are to be enjoyed are -given in the 'Life' where his final view is expressed: - - This I have learned from a pretty hard course of experience, - and would, from sincere benevolence, impress upon all - who honour this book with a perusal, that until a steady - conviction is obtained that the present life is an imperfect - state, and only a passage to a better, if we comply with the - divine scheme of progressive improvement; and also that it is - part of the mysterious plan of Providence that intellectual - beings must be 'made perfect through suffering'; there will be - a continual recurrence of disappointment and uneasiness. But - if we walk with hope in 'the mid-day sun of revelation' our - temper and disposition will be such that the comforts and - enjoyments in our way will be relished, while we patiently - support the inconveniences and pains. - -The argument is clear: we must choose the path where 'uneasiness' is -avoided and 'comforts and enjoyments' are in store for us. The part to -be played by the intellect is not doubtful. The power of reasoning may -be valuable up to a certain point; beyond that point it is unsafe for -it to pass: - - After much speculation and various reasonings, I acknowledge - myself convinced of the truth of Voltaire's conclusion, - '_Apres tout, c'est un monde passable._' But we must not think - too deeply; - - Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise - is, in many respects, more than poetically just. Let us - cultivate, under the command of good principles, '_la theorie - des sensations agreables_'; and, as Mr. Burke once counselled - a grave and anxious gentleman, 'live pleasant.' - -'We must not think too deeply'--because it is not pleasant. 'I most -willingly admit,' he says elsewhere, 'that of all kinds of misery, the -misery of thought is the severest.' He wished to escape from thought, -and found his religion a very pleasant substitute. It enabled him to -believe all that he found most pleasant in beliefs, and to reject what -he found disquieting. The fear of death, he discovered, could best -be alleviated by believing in the divine revelation; accordingly he -proceeded to adopt this belief. - -But the pleasure which Boswell obtained in this way was not merely the -pleasure of a mind lulled to tranquillity, it was the pleasure also of -possessing a point of view. He wanted to be entirely respectable. -And respectability was to be achieved by adopting wholesale the -respectable beliefs. Boswell perhaps could never have been otherwise -than conventional in his ethical and religious thought; but he did -at one time think, and he deliberately ceased to think; with the -consequence that all those views which he might or might not have -arrived at by thought and experience, instead of being deeply founded -within him, were only an ill-balanced superstructure. - - * * * * * - -The effect of Johnson upon this development was a very remarkable one. -Johnson himself was pre-eminently a conformist, and it was partly, -no doubt, from his example that Boswell derived his desire to be -respectable--to be, as he expressed it, 'an uniform pretty man.' - -Boswell's own words show us that he was influenced in this way. -A meeting had been arranged between Johnson and one of Boswell's -friends, George Dempster, who held the sceptical views of Hume and -Rousseau; a discussion took place in which Johnson, whether by -force of argument or power of lungs, was victorious. 'I had infinite -satisfaction,' says Boswell, 'in hearing solid truth confuting vain -subtilty. I thank God that I have got acquainted with Mr. Johnson. He -has done me infinite service. He has assisted me to obtain peace of -mind, he has assisted me to become a rational Christian.' - -How much are we to assume from this? How much of Boswell's -respectability came directly from Johnson? - -There could be nothing more unreasonable than to dogmatise about the -extent of a personal influence. How subtle and intricate it is in -the thousand chances of a mind's development, of acquiescence and -rebellion, of mere time and place! how difficult to see the beginning -and the end, to know even approximately the value of any one force -in a number of causes! The distinction alone between a conscious or -unconscious acceptance, what a difference it makes! - -That which determines individuality in men more than any other factor -is the freedom of choice. But there is more than one way of choosing. -There are some who choose to march upon the high road where tall -fences on either side prevent the possibility of wandering astray; and -there are others who select the by-paths deliberately. All who choose -are in search of treasure. Those who have rejected the high roads -hardly know what they so urgently desire; but when they come upon a -rare flower in the wilderness which pleases them particularly they -cull it; they are then refreshed and go forward with more certain -step, and there hangs about them something of the fragrance they -inhaled, so that other men when they meet them are reminded of that -flower which they too have seen and smelt. The rest press forward more -directly; when they have chosen the way there is no deviation; they -will pause for nothing unless it be of precious metal. And when their -quest is rewarded they surround themselves with a cloud of gold-dust, -as it seems to them, and cannot be seen except through this strange -mist. - -Boswell, it would seem, was among these last. He chose freely, but -did not wander far afield. He was one of those in pursuit of ideal -treasure; and when he found in Dr. Johnson all that he desired, and -the ideal was satisfied, he impregnated himself with the priceless -essence. But, inasmuch as it was the essence he had chosen to seek, -even this exterior atmosphere was entirely of himself. - -We expect, indeed, to see in Boswell beyond his own real nature the -marks of a stronger personality. But we may admit the Johnsonian -flavour without impugning the originality of Boswell or degrading him -to the level of a mere imitator. All the conventional prejudices, -the strong conformity which was so pronounced in Johnson, existed -in Boswell independently. The 'old Tory sentiments' inasmuch as they -exceeded the sentiments of Johnson (which they occasionally did, -_e.g._ on the subject of slavery), were definitely a part of the true -Boswell. It is remarkable that in the 'Letters to Temple' the opinions -of Johnson are very rarely mentioned; Boswell on one occasion was -'confirmed in his Toryism'; and Johnson is quoted two or three times: -but his name appears far less often than we should expect. It is -clear, indeed, when we read the 'Life of Johnson,' that Boswell, -however he might be a worshipper, was far from being a slave: his -passion for truth would not allow him to pass lightly by an opinion -he disapproved, and his conviction that Johnson was wrong, or at least -that his own opinions remained unaltered, is frankly if respectfully -stated more than once. - -He knew that Johnson's opinions might be formed only to refute an -adversary: 'But it is not improbable that if one had taken the other -side he might have reasoned differently.' Not infrequently Boswell -ventures to criticise his philosopher's argument. On one occasion, -when predestination had been discussed, he even goes so far as to -excuse Johnson's prejudices: - - He avoided the question which has excruciated philosophers and - divines beyond any other. I did not press it further, when - I perceived that he was displeased, and shrunk from any - abridgment of an attribute usually ascribed to the divinity, - however irreconcilable in its full extent with the grand - system of moral government. His supposed orthodoxy here - cramped the vigorous powers of his understanding. He was - confined by a chain, which early imagination and long habit - made him think massy and strong, but which, had he ventured to - try, he could at once have snapped asunder. - -Boswell's attitude in this passage is very far from being -intellectually dependent on Johnson or on anyone else. And it is -not an unusual attitude. We sometimes see another side--Boswell, -apparently in fetters, a prisoner in the citadel of respectability. -But it cannot be asserted too often that Boswell was essentially an -independent individual, one who was capable of pursuing his own true -vision, inflexible and careless of the consequences. - -There is no need to infer from this that the influence of Johnson -was negligible, or even small. We cannot suppose that the guide, -philosopher and friend of Boswell, for whom he had a 'mysterious -veneration,' whose 'just frown' he so greatly dreaded, whom upon so -many occasions he eagerly consulted, can have been of small account. -Boswell himself was far from thinking so; he knew the value of Johnson -to him when, reflecting that death must soon rob him of his friend, -he wrote to Temple, in Johnsonian words: 'it will be like a limb -amputated.' - -If influence is to be defined it may be said perhaps that it is a -quality which makes us see what we should not have seen without it. We -cannot doubt that Boswell learnt many things by his intercourse with -Dr. Johnson. The influence of Johnson was in the first place, as we -remarked above, an influence for truth, for honesty. It helped -Boswell in his early life to see the self which he came in the end to -understand so well. He must long have remembered the letter which he -received from Johnson at Utrecht. - -Boswell, in his desire to make an impression as the young genius, then -regarded himself as a peculiar mortal who had no need to regulate his -conduct by the ordinary standards. Johnson begins by describing this -state of mind: - - There lurks, perhaps, in every human heart a desire of - distinction, which inclines every man first to hope, and then - to believe, that Nature has given him something peculiar to - himself.... You know a gentleman who, when first he set his - foot in the gay world, as he prepared himself to whirl in - the vortex of pleasure, imagined a total indifference and - universal negligence to be the most agreeable concomitants of - youth, and the strongest indication of an airy temper and a - quick apprehension. - -The result which he particularly deplored was Boswell's idleness: - - Vacant to every object, and sensible of every impulse, - he thought that all appearance of diligence would deduct - something from the reputation of genius; and hoped that he - should appear to attain, amidst all the ease of carelessness, - and all the tumults of diversion, that knowledge and those - accomplishments which mortals of the common fabrick obtain - only by mute abstraction and solitary drudgery. - -He then alludes to the wrong conclusions which might be drawn by one -in Boswell's mental condition from the difficulties which attend a -return to a normal course of life: - - He tried this scheme of life awhile; was made weary of it - by his sense and his virtue; he then wished to return to his - studies; and finding long habits of idleness and pleasure - harder to be cured than he expected, still willing to retain - his claim to some extraordinary prerogatives, resolved the - common consequences of irregularity into an unalterable decree - of destiny, and concluded that Nature had originally formed - him incapable of rational employment. - -And finally he gives some very solemn advice: - - Let all such fancies, illusive and destructive, be banished - henceforward from your thoughts for ever. Resolution will - sometimes relax, and diligence will sometimes be interrupted; - but let no accidental surprise or deviation, whether short or - long, dispose you to despondency. Consider these failings as - incident to all mankind. - -Boswell was too honest not to realise the truth of what Johnson said, -and we cannot but think of this letter when we read a number of years -later, in the _London Magazine_ of 1778, an attack written by Boswell -upon the association by Aristotle of melancholy with genius; for this -essay seems to aim at undermining the same kind of affectation as that -which Johnson had seen in him. - -Similarly the effect of Johnson in making Boswell more respectable was -produced less by example than by dislike of affectation. Johnson was -pre-eminently a conformist; and Boswell desired the same happy state -for himself. But Johnson was honest in his conformity, and he cared -less for the conformity than for the honesty. And so he was able, when -he saw Boswell affecting sentiments which he did not wholly feel, to -reprove him. It was not that the sentiments in themselves were not -good sentiments, for they often were, but that in Boswell they were -unreal. - - _Boswell_: 'Perhaps, Sir, I should be the less happy for being - in Parliament. I never would sell my vote, and I should be - vexed if things went wrong.' _Johnson_: 'That's cant, Sir. - It would not vex you more in the House than in the Gallery: - publick affairs vex no man.' - -Boswell was probably annoyed at this retort; it is very annoying to be -told the truth about oneself. He now tries to make Johnson admit that -he has been vexed himself 'by all the turbulence of this reign.' - - _Johnson_: 'Sir, I have never slept an hour less, nor ate an - ounce less meat. I would have knocked the factious dogs on the - head, to be sure; but I was not _vexed_.' - -The argument is too strong: - - _Boswell_: 'I declare, Sir, upon my honour, I did imagine - I was vexed, and took a pride in it; but it _was_, perhaps, - cant; for I own I neither ate less, nor slept less.' - _Johnson_: 'My dear friend, clear your _mind_ of cant. You may - _talk_ as other people do; you may say to a man, "Sir, I am - your most humble servant." ... You may _talk_ in this manner; - it is a mode of talking in society: but don't _think_ - foolishly.' - -The result of Johnson's honesty acting upon Boswell's conventional -affectations was not to make him less but rather more conventional. It -gave him a surer foundation. An affectation does not as a rule become -less affected but rather the reverse. But Boswell's affectations -tended rather to become the substantial and real expression of a mind -as he came to understand that they were affectations. He saw that the -manners and opinions which he affected because they pleased him had -a value in life and a value for him. The lessons which he learnt -from Johnson in this way were, for the most part, moral; they were -concerned with the piety and goodness which were so much a part of -Johnson himself. Boswell was able to reinforce a set of religious -beliefs with a little real piety, and a set of moral axioms with a -little real goodness. If it were necessary to point to one definite -quality in the Johnsonian atmosphere which we might suppose to be of -special value to Boswell, it would be the genuine kind-heartedness -and benevolent interest, the 'tenderness' which we find so carefully -recorded in the 'Life.' It was to some purpose that the naturally -egotistical Boswell was reminded of a duty towards other men, was told -more than once without compromise that he must be kind to his father -and kind to his wife. - -But it is not so much in any minute particular that Johnson was -reflected by his biographer, but rather in a more general way, in a -whole attitude towards life, in the one significant fact that Boswell -himself as we see him, not only in the biographical writings but in -his own letters too, is essentially a moralist. The one difficulty -which his conscience found in writing the 'Life' was that he might, by -showing the failings of so great a man, give support to those who were -inclined to the same faults so that they should conceive themselves to -be justified by that example. And so he points out with zealous -care that, where the 'practice' of Johnson does not agree with his -'principle,' it is not because the principle is not good but that even -so great a man was not quite perfect; _humanum est errare_. - -Undoubtedly the influence of Johnson was a moral influence; this in -itself may be considered as one aspect of its complete respectability. -Johnson wanted Boswell to be a sober, honest, contented citizen, a -hard-working, successful lawyer, a good son, a good husband, a good -friend and a religious man. 'I have always loved and valued you,' he -wrote in 1769, 'and shall love you and value you still more, as you -become more regular and useful.' And again, in 1771: - - I never was so much pleased as now with your account of - yourself; and sincerely hope, that between publick business, - improving studies, and domestick pleasures, neither melancholy - nor caprice will find any place for entrance. Whatever - philosophy may determine of material nature, it is certainly - true of intellectual nature that it 'abhors a vacuum'; our - minds cannot be empty; and evil will break in upon them, - if they are not preoccupied by good. My dear Sir, mind your - studies, mind your business, make your lady happy, and be a - good Christian. - -There was no place for any intellectual unquiet--and herein it was -essentially respectable--in Johnson's scheme of life as he presented -it to others. If a subject were unpleasant to think of, it were better -not to heed it. He wished himself to walk through life in a calm, -majestic, and dignified way, with firm knowledge of good and a -resolute purpose to follow it. He never, if we may judge from Boswell, -was in any serious doubt as to the right course, and he seems to -have thought the matter as easy for Boswell as it was for him. It is -because he himself desired to be like this that Boswell found Johnson -such a valuable friend. But it was unfortunate, as it turned out, that -he attached so much importance to mere success in the world, in his -profession, in politics; in these, with the encouragement of Johnson, -he so completely believed, that when he discovered that he had failed, -or had at least fallen far short of his ambitions, he was bitterly -disappointed. - - - [Footnote 1: For Boswell's political career see pp. 174-182. - He published this letter in 1783, and a second two years - later.] - - [Footnote 2: _London Magazine_, vol. xlvi, pp. 492-3.] - - [Footnote 3: _Ibid._, vol. xlix, p. 542.] - - - - -CHAPTER VI - - -Lord Auchinleck died in 1782. His relations with Boswell are of some -interest in this place, because they exhibit Boswell in the _role_ of -son and incidentally raise an important question. The two never agreed -very well. Was this the fault of the son? Was he deliberately unkind, -or negligent, or disagreeable? - -There is no reason to suppose that Boswell was culpable in any such -way: indiscretion on the one hand and intolerance on the other are -sufficient to account for all the friction. Lord Auchinleck had -evidently a very rigid view of the career fitting for his eldest son. -His ideal of progeniture seems to have assumed with a not uncommon -complacency that the ego was worthy of a second edition. James -Boswell must be after the pattern of his father--a Scotch lawyer, -a hard-headed, practical man of affairs, a wise man of business -successful in his profession. - -James, however, was not made like that: and if he had practical -ability he hated the Scotch law and lawyers far too much ever to use -it with success. He had a taste for extravagant behaviour and liked -to exhibit his high spirits. Johnson might condone this, though he -disapproved of it, and love Boswell the more, because 'he was a boy -longer than others.' Lord Auchinleck regarded it with alarm while -Boswell was young, and with contempt when he was of a mature age. -Conduct that would have been regrettable to a milder father, was to -him intolerable. - -It is not surprising, then, that Boswell found the company of his -father extremely irksome: - - We divaricate so much (he writes to Temple) that I am often - hurt when I dare say he means no harm; and he has a method of - treating me which makes me feel like a timid boy, which to - me (comprehending all that my character does in my own - imagination, and in that of a wonderful number of mankind) is - intolerable. I have appeared good-humoured; but it has cost - me drinking a considerable quantity of strong beer to dull my - faculties. - -The stern father had undoubtedly some good reasons for disapproving -of the irresponsible James. Besides the habitual lack of restraint in -Boswell's behaviour, money was a continual source of irritation. The -heir to Auchinleck, it is clear, considered that he had a sort of -natural right to his father's money. He found an allowance of L300 a -year insufficient. He wrote to Temple in a complaining tone about his -financial difficulties and his father: - - He allows me L300 a year. But I find that what I gain by - practice and that sum together will not support my family. I - have now two sons and three daughters. I am in hopes that my - father will augment my allowance to L400. - -He admits, however, that 'his paying L1000 of my debt some years -ago was a large bounty.' Lord Auchinleck, no doubt with justice, -considered Boswell to be extravagant; and he did not approve of his -marriage. 'I understand,' writes Boswell, 'he fancies that if I had -married another woman, I might not only have had a better portion with -her, but might have been kept from what he thinks idle and extravagant -conduct.' - -The indiscretion of Boswell in his correspondence and conversation -with his father must have continually aggravated the pronounced -prejudices and preferences of the ill-tempered old lawyer. It was -a wanton imprudence to express his extreme aversion to his father's -second marriage; we can hardly doubt that he was equally imprudent -with regard to the Scotch law and Scotch legal circles. Boswell -intended that his father should appreciate him for what he was rather -than tolerate him for what he was not. In 1767 he writes to Temple: - - How unaccountable it is that my father and I should be so ill - together! He is a man of sense and a man of worth; but from - some unhappy turn in his disposition, he is much dissatisfied - with a son whom you know. I write to him with warmth, with an - honest pride, wishing that he should think of me as I am; - but my letters shock him, and every expression in them is - interpreted unfavourably. - -Boswell did not understand that the temperaments of his father -and himself were in some degree incompatible, and he succeeded in -emphasising their points of disagreement rather than cultivating what -they had in common. He was very slow to realise how much his father -disapproved of his literary friends in London, and of Dr. Johnson in -particular: to Temple he exclaims, with horrified surprise, 'he -harps on my going over Scotland with a brute (think how shockingly -erroneous) and wandering (or some such phrase) to London.' Johnson was -actually taken to visit Auchinleck--a most hazardous experiment! - -Boswell must certainly be blamed, if blame can be distributed in this -sort, for indiscretion, but not for unkindness. From no passage in the -'Letters to Temple' can it be inferred that he disliked his father, -or wished to displease him; on several occasions he speaks of him with -affection. Moreover the obligation to be deliberately kind to one -who cannot occupy the position of a friend is based upon a supposed -affection on his part. Boswell clearly was not cruel in any positive -or malevolent sense; he can only be condemned as unkind if it be -proved that he was inconsiderate to a man who displayed a substantial -affection towards him. But Lord Auchinleck cannot be said to have done -this--if we may accept as true the dictum of Dr. Johnson to Boswell on -the occasion of his father's death: 'His disposition towards you was -undoubtedly that of a kind, though not of a fond father.' And so we -may say that Boswell was a disappointing, though not a bad son. - - * * * * * - -In 1782 Boswell, on his father's death, became Laird of Auchinleck. -The new position was a matter of importance to him. Not only were the -duties it involved such duties as he liked to perform, but it was -a considerable advance in the right direction. He was the man of -property. A part of his dream was come true; and he could now invest -himself with a fresh halo of respect and respectability derived -from his new station. Local and public affairs were more intimately -connected in the eighteenth century than in our own day; and, when the -men of estate had a monopoly of governing, it was not unnatural for -one who inherited land to cast his eyes beyond the fences of his -patrimony. At the age of forty-two Boswell was by no means too old to -look forward. The event of inheriting quickened his aspirations, and -the prospect of becoming 'the great man' seemed nearer. - -The ambitions of Boswell were not destined to be realised in any high -degree. - -His hopes were of a double nature; they were both legal and political. -Of his early life at the Bar we have already spoken, and we must -now briefly trace out the course of his legal career to its dismal -conclusion. - -It was hardly to be expected that a man who disliked and despised so -much the whole Scotch atmosphere of his work should persevere with it. -Boswell was so discontented with his lot that he began to hope for a -change which should bring him into a more congenial situation. In -1775 he entered at the Inner Temple with the intention of being called -eventually to the English Bar. - -There was much to recommend this plan; for it would enable him to -spend far more time in his beloved London. Boswell no doubt considered -this a very important reason. In London he was happier and better than -elsewhere. 'I own, Sir, the spirits which I have in London make me do -everything with more readiness and vigour. I can talk twice as much -in London as anywhere else'; and he considered, no doubt with equal -justice, that it had some effects of a different nature: 'In reality -it is highly improving to me, considering the company which I enjoy'; -and he goes on to say, 'I think it is also for my interest, as in time -I may get something.'[1] - -Ambition was one motive which prompted Boswell to seek a different -sphere; he seems to have thought the abilities which were cramped in -Scotland and were not appreciated by the Scotch would grow in London -to their full stature and be handsomely recognised. In 1777 he talked -to Johnson upon the subject of the English Bar: - - I had long complained to him that I felt myself discontented - in Scotland as too narrow a sphere, and that I wished to make - my chief residence in London, the great scene of ambition, - instruction and amusement: a scene which was to me, - comparatively speaking, a heaven upon earth. - -There were, however, a number of reasons which prevented Boswell -from making his home in London till long after this conversation. The -possibility of his father's death, which would probably make him -the Laird of Auchinleck, was always present to him, and it would be -inconvenient as well as expensive to have a separate establishment in -London. It was by no means certain, moreover, as Boswell seems to have -realised, that there would be much financial gain by the change, and -he could not afford to fail at the English Bar; his father as well -as Johnson opposed the step, a consideration which would probably in -itself have prevented it, from interested motives on Boswell's part if -from no others. - -Boswell, in fact, remained at the Scotch Bar until 1786, when he -determined finally, in spite of his position as a Scotch laird, which -he had occupied for four years, to try his fortune at Westminster -Hall. He had been disappointed of promotion[2] for so long in Scotland -that it was time to exercise his talents in a different sphere. - -The English lawyers, however, seem to have been no more congenial than -the Scotchmen, for he speaks of the 'rough scene of the roaring and -bantering society of lawyers,' which he is compelled to be with on the -Northern Circuit.[3] There is an amusing story recounted by Lord -Eldon in his 'Anecdotes' about Boswell at the Lancaster Assizes, which -belongs to a period between the years '86 and '88: - - We found Jemmy Boswell lying upon the pavement--inebriated. We - subscribed at supper a guinea for him and half-a-crown for his - clerk, and sent him next morning a brief with instructions to - move for the writ _Quare adhaesit pavimento_, with observations - calculated to induce him to think that it required great - learning to explain the necessity of granting it. He sent all - round the town to attornies for books, but in vain. He moved, - however, for the writ, making the best use he could of the - observations in the brief. The judge was astonished and the - audience amazed. The judge said, 'I never heard of such a - writ--what can it be that adheres pavimento? Are any of you - gentlemen at the Bar able to explain this?' The Bar laughed. - At last one of them said, 'My Lord, Mr. Boswell last night - _adhaesit pavimento_. There was no moving him for some time. - At last he was carried to bed, and he has been dreaming about - himself and the pavement.' - -Boswell himself pours out to Temple in plaintive accents the tangled -story of a wig lost at Carlisle in 1789, from which we may suspect, as -he did himself, another practical joke. 'I suspected a wanton trick, -which some people think witty, but I thought it very ill-timed to one -in my situation.' - -We might judge from the manner in which he was treated by his -fellow-lawyers that Boswell was not wholly successful at the English -Bar. No one can have realised this more keenly than himself. - -'I am sadly discouraged,' he writes, 'by having no practice, nor -probable prospect of it.... Yet the delusion of Westminster Hall, of -brilliant reputation and splendid fortune as a barrister, still weighs -upon my imagination. I must be seen in the courts, and must hope for -some happy openings in causes of importance. The Chancellor, as you -observe, has not done as I expected; but why did I expect it?' Later -in the same year, 1789, he exclaims: 'O Temple! Temple! is this -realising any of the towering hopes which have so often been the -subject of our conversations and letters?' It is pathetic to see him -clinging still to the old hopes and ideals, when his real title to -fame lay near at hand in his Johnsonian stores, so much thought of, -and yet so little valued beside the great world of practical affairs. - -There were no doubt some special reasons, connected with his attitude -towards the law itself, which may account in a large degree for -Boswell's failure at the Bar. We have mentioned already the aversion -which Boswell had for the society of lawyers. This in itself was -likely to be a hindrance in his legal career; but it is only the -result of the general unfittedness of Boswell for the Bar. He was not -unwilling, when his plan of being a soldier had been abandoned, to -enter upon a legal career; it would offer the kind of opportunities -for distinction which he wanted. Possibly he was attracted too by the -formalism of the Courts; one may suppose that the mere wearing of -a wig and gown would give him pleasure. But the mind of Boswell was -entirely unlegal. He had no capacity for estimating the value of -evidence, and was readily convinced by a plausible story. He applied -to his work rather the common sense of the layman (being actually -advised very often by Johnson, who knew nothing of Scotch law) than -the exact reasoning required by his profession. And though Boswell -could apply himself at times with continued effort to any work which -he particularly wanted to do, the dislike which he had for his legal -studies made him tire of them so soon that he never knew very much -about any body of laws. 'Mr. Boswell,' says Malone, 'professed the -Scotch and the English Law; but had never taken very great pains on -the subject. His father, Lord Auchinleck, told him one day that it -would cost him more trouble to hide his ignorance in these professions -than to show his knowledge. This Boswell owned he had found to be -true.'[4] Boswell himself wrote to Temple on the subject of his -chances of success at the English Bar: 'To confess fairly to you, my -friend, I am afraid that, were I to be tried, I should be found so -deficient in the forms, the _quirks_ and _quiddities_ which early -habit acquires, that I should expose myself.' - -Boswell, moreover, had never the reputation which is suitable for a -legal man. The sober citizen does not choose either the adventurer or -the _litterateur_ to plead his cause before a jury. His connections -with actors, who were disapproved as a class by the respectable -community, told against Boswell in legal circles. And worst of all was -the tour in the Hebrides with the avowed enemy of Scotland. - -Boswell, besides, acquired a reputation for eccentricity which must -have been fatal to the chances of a barrister. - -One habit, that of attending executions, deserves a closer -examination; by this behaviour Boswell made himself conspicuous in -a wholly unprofessional attitude, which must have been extremely -damaging to his position as a lawyer. 'I must confess,' he writes, -'that I myself am never absent from a public execution.... When I -first attended them I was shocked to the greatest degree. I was in -a manner convulsed with pity and terror, and for several days, but -especially nights after, I was in a very dismal situation.' The object -in the first place seems then to have been the mere indulgence -of morbid sentiment; but later he continued the habit more out of -curiosity and as an inherent part of his whole study of Man. - - I can now see one with great composure. I can account for - this curiosity in a philosophical manner, when I consider - that death is the most awful object before every man who ever - directs his thoughts seriously towards futurity. Therefore it - is that I feel an irresistible impulse to be present at every - execution, as I there behold the various effects of the near - approach of death. - -In accordance with this practice Boswell accompanied a celebrated -criminal, Hackman, in the prison coach to the gibbet; and he made the -acquaintance of the murderess Mrs. Rudd. The latter apparently was an -interesting woman. Johnson entirely approved Boswell's conduct, and -said he would have done the same himself if he had not been afraid -that his presence would be reported in the newspapers. It is -interesting to note that Boswell had scruples, and wrote to Temple: -'Perhaps the adventure with Mrs. Rudd is very foolish notwithstanding -the approbation of Dr. Johnson.' - -On one occasion Boswell persuaded Sir Joshua Reynolds to go with -him, and evidently won him over to his view about the question of -propriety: 'I am obliged to you,' wrote Sir Joshua, 'for carrying me -yesterday to see the execution at Newgate of the five malefactors. -I am convinced it is a vulgar error in the opinion that it is so -terrible a spectacle, or that it in any way implies a hardness of -heart or cruelty of disposition.' - -Sir Walter Scott gives a kinder motive on Boswell's part than mere -curiosity: - - He used to visit the prisoners on the day before execution, - with the singular wish to make the condemned wretches laugh by - dint of buffoonery, in which he not infrequently succeeded. - -The satisfaction which Boswell had from these strange interviews was -no doubt in part the commendable satisfaction of being kind and good; -and his piety as well as his jesting may have been a comfort to many -of these criminals in their last hours. It was also a pleasure to -Boswell to read his name in the newspaper on the day following an -execution. But probably this conduct did not earn the praises of the -Scotch lawyers nor inspire the confidence of the litigating public. - - * * * * * - -The failure which attended Boswell's legal career included also his -political schemes. - -It is clear that Boswell had an idea of some kind of Parliamentary -career. His ambition was to be a Minister: - - He [Hume] says there will in all probability be a change of - the Ministry soon, which he regrets. Oh Temple, while they - change so often, how does one feel an ambition to have a share - in that great department; but I fear my wish to be a man of - consequence in the State is much like some of your ambitious - sallies. - -Boswell, if he was ambitious in 1775 of some high office in the State, -can certainly have had little chance, as he evidently realised, of -being immediately satisfied. His financial difficulties alone -would have prevented this. But when in 1782 he became the Laird of -Auchinleck the increase of his importance seemed to warrant some more -definite plan. 'I wish much to be in Parliament, Sir,' he said to -Johnson; and though the latter discouraged him he applied himself with -energy to his political schemes. - -Boswell had two plans by which he hoped to become a member of -Parliament. He hoped in the first place that the influence of Lord -Lonsdale[5] would procure him a seat. This patron seems to have shown -a disposition to be friendly. In the summer of 1786, Boswell received -from Bishop Percy, who had formerly been at Carlisle and knew Lord -Lonsdale, a most encouraging letter: - - You are now connected with a nobleman [Lord Lonsdale] who - serves his friends with a zeal and spirit which I hope will be - attended with the happiest consequences to your establishment - in England. I also anticipate his bringing you into the House - of Commons, as an event no less certain and splendid to your - fortunes. - -Early in 1788[6] Lord Lonsdale appointed Boswell Recorder of Carlisle. -This was not an important post, but it was doubtless a sign of favour. -Bishop Percy wrote warm congratulations; and Boswell was no doubt -encouraged to hope for more. Lord Lonsdale, however, would appear to -have lost interest in Boswell: he procured no seat in Parliament for -his friend, and some years later behaved so insolently that Boswell -broke the connection.[7] - -Boswell's second plan was to represent his county. Even in Ayrshire he -was not altogether independent of Lord Lonsdale, but he relied chiefly -upon his own position as head of an old county family. With this -project in view, he engaged himself in various activities. The most -remarkable of these were his 'Letters to the People of Scotland,' the -first dated 1783 and the second 1785. In these two pamphlets Boswell -displayed abundantly to his countrymen his ardent patriotism and -zealous Tory principles. In 1784 he took part in a Tory demonstration -at York; and in his county he issued 'An Address to the Real -Freeholders of the County of Ayr,' stating his willingness to be their -representative, and his qualifications for that position.[8] He also -carried an address to his Majesty--'it was most graciously received, -and Mr. Boswell had afterwards the honour to kiss his Majesty's -hand.'[9] In 1789 he was again very busy electioneering, though he -seems to have realised that his chance of success was very small.[10] -He carried an address to the Prince of Wales. - - I am carrying it up, to be presented by the Earl of Eglintoun, - accompanied by such Justices of us as may be in London. This - will add something to my 'conspicuousness.' Will that word - do?[11] - -The word seems to do very well. Boswell writes later: - - The Prince of Wales has received our Address most graciously, - and I am to be presented to his Royal Highness, who desired it - might be signified that he regretted Mr. Boswell was gone from - town.[12] - -But this would seem to be the final achievement of Boswell's political -career, for he was not successful in the General Election, and we hear -no more in the 'Letters' of political schemes. - -Beyond any special reasons which there may be for the failure of -Boswell in his legal career, there is a more general cause for all his -disappointment. We must remember that Boswell throughout his life was, -like many men in the eighteenth century less gifted than himself, a -thorough-going place-hunter. He hoped even in his early life for some -advantages through his great patrons, Lord Somerville,[13] Sir David -Dalrymple,[14] Lord Eglintoun,[13] Lord Mount Stuart,[15] Sir -Andrew Mitchell[16]; he had obtained by their means a number of -introductions. The ardour with which he pursued the acquaintance of -the great must have been prompted in some degree by an interested -expectation, and we may suppose that from the friendship of Chatham, -which he was so eager to cultivate, he had flattered himself with a -hope of political advancement, a hope of fulfilling the dreams that -he had dreamt, with Temple, in University days, of their future -greatness. They were but vague hopes in those early years, since he -could hardly have expected an immediate recognition of his particular -services. But Boswell when he grew older attached himself more -definitely to particular patrons. There are a number of names--Lord -Pembroke, Lord Lisburne, Lord Lonsdale, Burke, Dundas.[17] To these -in turn he seems to have pinned his faith and almost to have expected -some promotion to have fallen upon him. And from all his great -acquaintances he was to get but one poor post, the Recordership of -Carlisle. - -We can hardly be surprised from what we have seen already of Boswell's -methods of approaching his patrons that he had no great success in -these schemes of advancement. We have quoted already a letter to -Chatham, which was designed to impress that Minister with the fact -that he was a rising young man, and to solicit his favour. There -is another letter of a later date[18] intended to further his -acquaintance with Burke. The great orator might have one day at his -disposal some Government posts; his memory must not be allowed to -lapse: - - Dear Sir,--Upon my honour I began a letter to you some time - ago, and did not finish it, because I imagined you were then - near your apotheosis--as poor Goldsmith said upon a former - occasion, when he thought your party was coming into - administration; and being one of your old barons of Scotland, - my pride could not brook the appearance of paying my court to - a Minister, amongst the crowd of interested expectants on his - accession. - -Certainly if one wishes to obtain a post it is better to avoid the -'crowd of interested expectants.' The 'old baron' too is an excellent -card to play to one who is not of the aristocratic circles; few men -are free from the taint of snobbishness, and patronage may be courted -by cultivating disinterested friendship. It is well at the same time -to remember _Qui s'excuse s'accuse_. 'At present,' Boswell continues, -'I take it for granted that I need be under no such apprehension, and, -therefore, I resume the indulgence of my inclination.' Only one who -was really interested and wished to conceal the fact could be so -careful. Boswell realises that there is something rather odd about -the explanation. It may not after all be entirely wise. It is possible -that men rather like it to be thought that they have much patronage, -and find some pleasure in being asked for favours. 'This may be, -perhaps, a singular method of beginning a correspondence; and, in one -sense may not be very complimentative. But I can sincerely assure you, -my dear Sir, that it is a genuine compliment to Mr. Burke himself.' -The explanation of how it is a compliment is now to follow, but the -desire for self-excuse obtrudes itself again: 'It is generally thought -no meanness to solicit the notice and favour of a man in power, and, -surely, it is much less a meanness to endeavour, by honest means, to -have the honour and pleasure of being on an agreeable footing with a -superior man of knowledge, abilities and genius.' A further excuse -is furnished by the favours shown to Boswell in the past by Mr. Burke -himself: - - I have to thank you for the obligation which you have already - conferred upon me, by the welcome which I have, upon repeated - occasions, experienced under your roof. - - When I was last in London, you gave me a general invitation, - which I value more than a treasury warrant: an invitation to - the 'feast of reason'; and what I like still more, the 'flow - of the soul,' which you dispense with liberal and elegant - abundance, is, in my estimation, a privilege of enjoying - certain felicity. - -The comparison between the places that come of courting a patron -and this sublime 'felicity' that comes of friendship must still be -maintained--'and we know that riches and honour are desirable only as -a means of felicity, and that they often fail of the end.' - -It is necessary now to give an account of his political opinions, so -that Mr. Burke may be assured that Mr. Boswell is his supporter: - - Most heartily do I rejoice that our present Ministers have, at - last, yielded to conciliation. For amidst all the sanguinary - zeal of my countrymen I have professed myself a friend to our - fellow-subjects in America, so far as they claim an exemption - from being taxed by the representatives of the King's British - subjects. I do not perfectly agree with you; for I deny - the Declaratory Act; and I am a warm Tory, in its true - constitutional sense. - -It will be noticed that the assertion of independence adds to this -declaration a considerable degree of importance. After so careful a -preparation the real point of the letter may be disclosed: - - I wish I were a Commissioner, or one of the Secretaries of the - Commission, for the grand treaty. I am to be in London this - spring, and if His Majesty should ask me what I would choose, - my answer will be, to assist at the compact between Britain - and America. - -The letter to Burke is only less absurd than the letter to Chatham, -which was quoted above. What most surprises us is not the vanity of -the young man who confided to Chatham his hopes and prospects, nor -his impudence in asking a Minister to favour him with a letter and in -bothering Burke with his political opinions, but the entire ignorance -displayed by a man of intelligence about the kind of impression that -letters such as these would produce upon their recipients. - -Boswell indeed as we have said--and it is a sufficient reason to -account for his failure--was a fool. It is this ignorance of the -minds of others about oneself, a certain simplicity of character, an -unquestioning, childlike self-confidence, that makes fools of men. -No fool would wish to be thought foolish, and if a fool were to -understand what was thought about him he would soon alter his -behaviour. His foolishness depends upon the fact that in this respect -he has no imagination. The ignorance of Boswell about the effect -of his behaviour is the more remarkable because he was in many ways -intelligent, sagacious, and extremely observant. It was not a quality -which vanished with maturity, though it was slightly modified in later -years: he was nearly fifty when he wrote to Temple an account of his -attempts to enlist the patronage of Pitt (the younger), which shows -how completely he misunderstood the whole situation: - - It is utter folly in Pitt not to reward and attach to his - administration a man of my popular and pleasant talents, whose - merit he has acknowledged in a letter under his own hand. He - did not answer several letters, which I wrote at intervals, - requesting to wait upon him; I lately wrote to him that such - behaviour to me was certainly not generous. 'I think it is not - just, and (forgive the freedom) I doubt if it be wise. If I do - not hear from you in ten days, I shall conclude that you - are resolved to have no farther communication with me; for - I assure you, Sir, I am extremely unwilling to give you, or - indeed myself, unnecessary trouble.' About two months have - elapsed, and he has made no sign. - -And it was an ignorance which included even his own father: - - I have answered him in my own style: I will be myself.... - Would you not be pleased to see your son happy in - independence, cultivating his little farm and ornamenting - his nuptial villa, and filling himself one day, as well as - possible, the place of a much greater man? Temple, would you - not like such a son? Would you not feel a glow of parental - joy? I know you would; and yet my worthy father writes to me - in the manner you see, with that Scots strength of sarcasm - which is peculiar to a North Briton. But he is offended with - that fire which you and I cherish as the essence of our soul; - and how can I make him happy?[19] - -But if all fools are alike in so far as they have this common -foundation upon which the flimsy fabric of folly is erected, yet they -differ widely in the manner of their foolishness. To say that a man is -a fool is to say but little of all that is meant by the expression in -his individual case. Boswell was a fool in a number of ways which we -shall now have to consider. - -The extract of Boswell's letter to his father which we have quoted -above in his letter to Temple is typical of one phase of all his -foolishness. The impulse which made him write in this place about -'cultivating his little farm and ornamenting his nuptial villa' is one -which he frequently had. It is difficult to find a name which exactly -fits it. It is the melodramatic instinct applied to real life. The -words which he uses in this case contain a sentiment beyond the mere -facts they represent; and it is a false sentiment--false not because -he did not feel it, but because there was no occasion for it; -sentiment is wasted. In Boswell there was a sentimental side to the -affectation that we have already spoken of as having been partially -cured by Johnson. It is not meant, by this expression, that Boswell -consciously assumed sentiment which he did not feel: we cannot -always tell whether he was conscious or not; and it does not matter. -Affectation implies only the presence of what is unreal; it is -concerned as much with the feeling of what is false as with falsely -pretending to feel. - -Perhaps the most remarkable of Boswell's extravagant utterances are -those to Temple on the subject of their friendship. He idealises this -to suit his conception of the most perfect of human relationships, and -frequently alludes to it. 'May indulgent Heaven grant a continuance -of our friendship! As our minds improve in knowledge, may the sacred -flame still increase, until at last we reach the glorious world above, -when we shall never be separated, but enjoy an everlasting society -of bliss!' He was able to enjoy the 'luxury of philosophy and -friendship,' and 'invaluable hours of elegant friendship and classical -sociality,' and 'calmly smile' in consequence 'at the attacks of envy -or of malevolence.' Temple, 'whose kind and amiable counsel never -failed to soothe my dejected mind,' was told to 'reflect, my friend, -that you have sure comfort, you have true friends--you have Nichols -and Boswell, whom you may look upon as parts of yourself. Consider -this as an exalted comfort which few enjoy, although they have many -of the shining gifts of fortune.' He seems at one moment to have -suspected that he might grow cold in his affection: - - I am a quick fire, but I know not if I last sufficiently, - though, surely, my dear Temple, there is always a warm place - for you. With many people I have compared myself to a taper, - which can light up a great and lasting fire though itself is - soon extinguished. - -The friendship, indeed, was of the greatest value to Boswell; as we -see, behind his absurd manner of expressing it, it must have been a -comfort to him in many disappointments: - - When harassed and fretted with Court of Sessions business, - when vexed to think myself a coarse labourer in an obscure - corner, I get into good humour again by recollecting that I am - Temple's most intimate friend.[20] - -His friendship with Mrs. Stuart is treated in the same manner: - - We talked with unreserved freedom, as we had nothing to fear; - we were philosophical, upon honour,--not deep, but feeling; we - were pious, we drank tea and bid each other adieu as finely - as romance paints. She is my wife's dearest friend, so you see - how beautiful our intimacy is.[21] - -The romantic sphere into which Boswell elevated these friendships -contrasts very strangely with his acute analysis to Johnson of his -true sentiments: 'The feeling of friendship is like that of being -comfortably filled with roast beef.' One would suspect that the -feeling of friendship with him was, as he might have expressed it -himself, like a balloon, which rises higher and higher as it is more -blown out with gas. - -In the same fashion he believed that his life was, 'one of the most -romantic' he knew of;[22] that Temple's 'soft admonitions would at -any time calm the tempests of his soul,'[23] and that he could 'retire -into the calm regions of philosophy' and contemplate the 'heroism' -which he was able to see in his conduct towards his father.[24] -Philosophy, indeed, had a great attraction for him. It was in the -bower of philosophy that many of his best hours were filled with that -noble admiration which his disinterested soul was able to enjoy -for the character of Lord Chatham. In early years he was Temple's -philosophic friend, and Paoli is told that 'with a mind naturally -inclined to melancholy and a deep desire of inquiry, I have intensely -applied myself to metaphysical researches.' - -The affectation or extravagance of Boswell appears also from time to -time in his pious and moral remarks. - - Being in a frame of mind which I hope, for the felicity of - human nature, many experience--in fine weather--at the country - house of a friend--consoled and elevated by pious exercises--I - expressed myself with an unrestrained fervour to my 'Guide, - Philosopher and Friend': 'My dear Sir, I could fain be a good - man; and I am very good now. I fear God and honour the king, I - wish to do no ill, and to be benevolent to all mankind.'[25] - -Boswell was very impressionable, by his own account, to good -influences. He rose from reading a dialogue of Hume's 'happier and -more disposed to follow virtue.'[26] Relating how Mr. Edward -Dilly repeated on his death-bed a passage from Young's 'Night -Thoughts'--'Death, a subterraneous road to bliss,' or some such -words--Boswell remarks: 'I am edified here.'[27] The greatest triumph, -one would suppose, of this nature was when, as he says, speaking of -his 'moral fences,' 'Reason, that steady builder and overseer, has set -them firm.'[28] Boswell was excellent too at giving moral advice: 'It -is certainly true philosophy to submit to the will of Heaven, and to -fulfil the amiable duties of morality.'[29] 'Read Epictetus,'[30] he -writes to Temple; on another occasion, 'Read Johnson. Let a manly and -firm philosophy brace your mind.' - -Boswell, however, though he was continually posing, posed not for -others but for himself. He had an insatiable greed of sensation. He -derived prodigious pleasure from the view of himself in a situation. -'I cannot resist,' he says, 'the serious pleasure of writing to Mr. -Johnson from the tomb of Melancthon. My paper rests upon the tomb of -that great and good man.' While he wrote the letter he admired the -scene he had arranged. He admired himself playing every kind of -_role_; he could be the grave author, or the romantic lover, the -scholar of 'solid learning' or the elegant man of the world, the sage -counsellor or the jolly good fellow, the enthusiast for liberty who -talked heroics with Paoli and politics with Chatham, explorer and -diplomat, the feudal lord or the humble paterfamilias of a rustic -domesticity; he could be literary, theological, pious, philosophical, -legal, or political, as occasion suited, with profound enjoyment of -the part he was acting. He delighted in the solemnity of a vow, -and even had a taste for the solitude of a hermit: 'Sometimes,' -he exclaims, 'I have been in the humour of wishing to retire to a -desert.' His gust for London was the same gust for sensation; and his -pursuit of distinguished men was partly for the sake of an added zest -and excitement from their company. - -'You can almost see him,' says Lionel Johnson, 'reckoning up, as it -were, on his plump fingers, his eminent acquaintances, the cities and -courts he has visited, his writings and flirtations and experiences in -general: they are his treasures and his triumphs. The acquisition of -Johnson was but the greatest of them all, his crowning achievement; -all his life was devoted to social _coups d'etat_. To hear service in -an Anglican cathedral, to attend an exceptionally choice murderer to -the gallows; to contrive a meeting between Johnson and Wilkes;... to -pray among the ruins of Iona, and to run away for fear of ghosts; to -turn Roman Catholic, and immediately to run away with an actress: each -and all of these performances were to him sensational, enlivening, -vivid.' - -Boswell was not unaware of this extravagance in his temperament. He -alludes to his 'warm imagination.' In 'Boswelliana,' pleased at having -found 'a good image,' he records: - - There have been many people who built castles in the air; but, - I believe, I am the first who ever attempted to live in them. - -By castles in the air, he means not only glorious plans for the -future, but the sensational and emotional in common incidents. A -moment during the 'Tour to the Hebrides' reveals the whole of what he -meant: - - I can never forget the impression made upon my fancy by some - of the ladies' maids tripping about in neat morning dresses. - After seeing for a long time little but rusticity, their - lively appearance pleased me so much that I thought for a - moment I could have been a knight-errant for them. - -A knight-errant for a couple of Scotch maids! A preposterous fancy! -But none the less it is Boswell. - -It would be too large a task to deal here with all the recorded -affectation or extravagance of Boswell. But we must not omit to -mention one particular phase of it. Consciously or unconsciously, -Boswell in some degree imitated Dr. Johnson--precisely in what degree -it is difficult to determine. - -The influence which Johnson had upon his faithful follower has been -discussed already. This must be carefully distinguished from the -imitation in question now; for an influence is something acquired from -the manner and mind of another, assimilated and reproduced, not as -original but as genuine; an imitation is, as it were, a garment put -on, an adornment of the outward person, reflecting no true sentiment -within. - -Though Johnson had a real moral influence upon Boswell, some of his -remarks, and especially some of the pious exclamations, such as those -we have quoted, were of the latter kind. We find passages in the -'Life' when Boswell makes truly Johnsonian remarks; as on the occasion -when, in a discussion about the freedom of the will, Dr. Mayo alluded -to the distinction between moral and physical necessity, and Boswell -replied: 'Alas! Sir, they come both to the same thing. You may be -bound as hard by chains when covered by leather, as when the iron -appears'; or when he said in answer to Dr. Johnson's remark that he -had _downed_ Dr. Robertson with the King of Prussia, 'Yes, Sir, you -threw a _bottle_ at his head.' - -When actually in his presence, it is clear from Fanny Burney's account -that Boswell imitated Dr. Johnson: - - He had an odd mock-solemnity of tone and manner that he - had acquired imperceptibly from constantly thinking of and - imitating Dr. Johnson, whose own solemnity, nevertheless, far - from mock, was the result of pensive rumination. There was, - also, something slouching in the gait and dress of Mr. Boswell - that wore an air, ridiculously enough, of purporting to - personify the same model. His clothes were always too large - for him; his hair, or wig, was constantly in a state of - negligence; and he never for a moment sat still or upright - upon a chair. Every look and movement displayed either - intentional or voluntary imitation. Yet certainly it was not - meant for caricature, for his heart, almost even to idolatry, - was in his reverence for Dr. Johnson.[31] - -It is a curious and striking picture, and we may gather that there was -always something odd and laughable, and yet rather lamentable, about -Boswell's appearance. The effect of imitation he seems sometimes -half-conscious of producing, from the care with which he accentuates -in the 'Life' and the 'Tour' any point of difference between Dr. -Johnson and himself. But it must be remembered that Miss Burney's -account is an account of particular circumstances--the company was a -large one, and not an inner circle of more intimate friends of Boswell -and Johnson. We have no reason to suppose that Boswell's behaviour, -particularly his behaviour apart from Dr. Johnson, was greatly -affected by this strange homage to his friend. - -It is clear in any case that affectation, however much it may have -taken a Johnsonian form, was fundamental in Boswell's character; -for we can see it plainly before the date of that eventful meeting. -Johnson indeed had a marked aversion from the kind of sentimentality -which Boswell frequently indulged in, and there is in it something -which could not possibly have been the effect of imitating Dr. -Johnson. How very far removed from anything which Johnson could have -done is the absurd conduct of Boswell (the best instance, perhaps, of -this kind of affectation in him) when he visited Mr. Ireland and saw -the fraudulent Shakespeare papers: - - On the arrival of Mr. Boswell, the papers were as usual placed - before him, when he commenced his examination of them; and - being satisfied as to their antiquity, as far as the external - appearance would attest, he proceeded to examine the style of - the language from the fair transcripts made from the disguised - handwriting. In this research Mr. Boswell continued for a - considerable length of time, constantly speaking in favour of - the internal as well as external proofs of the validity of - the manuscripts. At length, finding himself rather thirsty, - he requested a tumbler of warm brandy and water; which - having nearly finished, he then redoubled his praises of the - manuscripts; and at length, arising from his chair, he made - use of the following expression: 'Well, I shall now die - contented, since I have lived to witness the present day.' - Mr. Boswell then, kneeling down before the volume containing - a portion of the papers, continued, 'I now kiss the invaluable - relics of our bard: and thanks to God that I have lived to see - them!' Having kissed the volume with every token of reverence, - Mr. Boswell shortly after quitted Mr. Ireland's house.[32] - -However absurd the behaviour of Boswell in the _role_ of a man of -letters may seem to us when we understand the feelings which prompted -it, it is doubtful whether it would have been sufficient alone to give -him the reputation of a fool. Extravagance of this kind is not very -commonly condemned if it is not seen to be insincere, and though it -is easy enough for us who are in possession of all the records of his -life to see the imposture, it must have been more difficult for those -who knew Boswell to have a real interest in literature, and to be -already a man of letters, to understand that he was posing as the -literary man. His acquaintance would more readily have called him a -fool on account of his vanity. - -We have all at bottom in some degree the love of self, and vanity is -the expression we apply to it when it causes us in some way to -lose our sense of proportion, to see things, as it were, in a -false perspective. Self-love becomes vanity when we love ourselves -undeservedly, or when it makes necessary to us the approbation of -others. Usually when it has one effect it has also the other. - -But Boswell was vain, not, like many people, of qualities which he -did not possess, or which, if he did possess them, were no cause for -self-congratulation, but because he had an uncontrollable desire that -everyone else should know about his success and share his wonder and -admiration. It was not so much that he exaggerated his importance, -though he did that sometimes, as that he exaggerated the importance to -other people of his importance. He not only desired their applause as -well as his own, but assumed, with his curious ignorance of the mind -of others in matters which concerned himself, that what interested him -would naturally interest them. - -It was vanity of this kind which, more than anything else, made a fool -of Boswell. The insatiable desire to be conspicuous which made him as -a young man publish what he must have known to be worthless, appear at -the Shakespeare Jubilee as Corsican Boswell, and insert notices of his -movements in the papers,[33] did not diminish as one might expect with -maturity, but rather grew with his years. There is nothing which he -wrote so egotistical and vain as some passages in those most serious -documents which he addressed to the 'People of Scotland upon the State -of the Nation' and to which were pinned his hopes of political honour. -In the letter of 1783 he says of himself: - - 'For my own part, I should claim no credit, did I not flatter - myself that I practise what I now presume to recommend. I have - mentioned former circumstances, perhaps of too much egotism, - to show that I am no time server; and at this moment, friends - to whom I am attached by affection, gratitude, and interest, - are zealous for the measure which I deem so alarming. Let - me add that a dismission of the Portland administration will - probably disappoint an object which I have most ardently at - heart. - -The second letter alludes to the former one as though it had almost -created a revolution, and manages in the same sentence to remind his -readers that he had the approval of Pitt and was himself descended -from an old Scotch family: - - I had the happiness to find my letter received not only with - indulgence, but with a generous warmth of heart I can never - forget, but to the latest moment of my life shall most - gratefully remember. The fire of loyalty was kindled. It flew - through our counties and our boroughs. The King was addressed: - the Constitution was saved. I was proud to have been able thus - _ciere viros_; prouder still than of receiving the applause of - the _Minister of the Crown_, which he was pleased to convey - to me in a very handsome letter; upon which, however, I set - a high value, considering not only the Minister, but the man; - and accordingly it shall be preserved in the archives of my - family. - -In the same pamphlet Boswell refers to his wife's aristocratic -connections, and intrudes an assertion of his domestic felicity which -could have no bearing on the political theme. He wishes to appear as -'the friend of Lord Eglintoun': - - Amongst those friends I myself am one of the warmest, both as - an enthusiast for ancient feudal attachments, and as having - the honour and happiness to be married to his Lordship's - relation, a true Montgomerie, whom I esteem, after fifteen - years, as on the day when she gave me her hand. - -This declaration satisfied in some strange manner a personal vanity, -and was also no doubt intended to enlist the support of his Lordship. - -But by far the most remarkable story of Boswell's absurdities is one -told by John Taylor, editor of the _Sun_, about his behaviour at a -public dinner: - - I remember dining with him at Guildhall in 1785, when Alderman - Boydell gave his grand civic festival on being raised to the - mayoralty. Mr. Pitt honoured the table on that occasion with - his presence, and, when the company removed to a room, in a - short time Mr. Boswell contrived to be asked to favour the - company with a song. He declared his readiness to comply, but - first delivered a short preface, in which he observed that it - had been his good fortune to be introduced to several of the - potentates and most of the great characters of Europe, but - with all his endeavours he had never been successful in - obtaining an introduction to a gentleman who was an honour to - his country, and whose talents he held in the highest esteem - and admiration. It was evident to all the company that Mr. - Boswell alluded to Mr. Pitt, who sat with all the dignified - silence of a marble statue, though, indeed, in such a - situation he could not but take the reference to himself. Mr. - Boswell then sang a song of his own composition, which was a - parody on Dibdin's 'Sweet Little Cherub,' under the title of - 'A Grocer of London,' which rendered the reference to Mr. Pitt - too evident to be mistaken, as the great minister was then a - member of the Grocers' Company. This song Mr. Boswell, partly - volunteering and partly pressed by the company, sang at least - six times, insomuch that Mr. Pitt was obliged to relax from - his gravity and join in the general laugh at the oddity of Mr. - Boswell's character.[34] - -The value of this tale as evidence of Boswell's behaviour and -character depends in some degree upon the extent of his potations. -Though he may have had the audacity to do such things when in a normal -condition, it must have been easier to do them when tipsy. It may be -judged, from the continuation of Dr. Taylor's story, that a part -of Boswell's confidence in the presence of Mr. Pitt was due to the -festivity of the occasion: - - Boswell and I came away together, both in so convivial a mood - that we roared out all the way 'The Grocer of London,' till we - reached Hatton Garden, where I then resided, to the annoyance - of many watchmen whom we roused from their peaceful slumbers, - without, however, being taken into custody for disturbing - their repose.... I met him the next day about twelve o'clock - near St. Dunstan's Church, as fresh as a rose. - -Fitzgerald, after quoting this account of the mayoralty dinner, -continues: - - This ludicrous exhibition was much talked of and laughed at. - To heighten the absurdity, his Liberal friends affected to be - shocked at his want of principle, in singing praises of the - 'Grocer,' whom he had been heard to abuse. They were enchanted - to find him rise to the bait, and thus vindicate himself: - 'Pray let them know that I am vain of a hasty composition - which has procured me large draughts of the popular applause - in which I delight. Let me add that there was certainly no - servility on my part, for I publicly declared in Guildhall, - between the encores, "that this same Grocer had treated me - arrogantly and ungratefully, but that, from his great merit - as a minister, I was compelled to support him." The time will - come when I shall have a riper opportunity to show, that in - one instance, at least, the man has wanted wisdom.' - -He goes on to explain that Boswell gained a good deal of notoriety -from the escapade, which was alluded to in a popular satirical poem of -the time. - -It is easy indeed to understand the motives of Boswell. His childish -and unrestrained love of merriment, his insatiable desire to be the -wag and the buffoon, enabled him to give vent in the most mirthful -fashion to his passion for self-advertisement, to explain how he had -been honoured by the attention of kings and how he intended to have -an introduction to the great Minister; and with all this he retained a -certain fundamental honesty about himself, so that he was compelled -to exclaim between the encores 'that this same Minister had treated -me arrogantly and ungratefully.' He understood so little what was the -opinion of the company about him that he seems to have believed that -he was recommending himself to a patron, and he was so vain that he -was undoubtedly proud of what must have been an absurd composition. - -Boswell indeed was very fond of writing humorous verse.[35] The -instinct in him was the natural result of his animal spirits; the need -to be laughing, which he felt so strongly at most times when he was -not depressed and melancholy, fixed upon the smallest objects as -suitable for his wit, and he was satisfied only by some form of -expression. The reason that he collected in his commonplace-book a -number of 'good things,' as he would call them, is not so much that he -was proud of his own sayings (for those of others are also treasured) -or that he wished to preserve them for posterity, though both these -feelings were present, as that his huge enjoyment of anything witty -must be recorded to be satisfied. - -It is remarkable, when we recollect what a large sense of humour he -had, that many of his verses and of his jokes should be so dull and -colourless. But the faculty for appreciating what is amusing is very -different from the capacity for originating it. It is the difference -between humour and wit. The latter involves the power of expression; -and a man may as easily be full of humour, without making a joke, as -he may be by nature a poet without ever writing a line of good poetry. -Boswell had some wit, but not very much--far less than anyone would -imagine merely from reading the 'Life' or the 'Tour.' His position -perhaps is not unlike that of several poets who have written some -stanzas and stray lines of a rare beauty, and are none the less poets -because they have written also much that seems quite unpoetical. - -A specimen of Boswell's humorous verse is printed in the 'Life.' He -had dined one evening at Lord Montrose's and afterwards went to Miss -Monckton's, where 'a great number of persons of the first rank' were -assembled, in a state of improper elevation. 'Next day,' says Boswell, -'I endeavoured to give what had happened the most ingenious turn I -could, by the following verses: - - Not that with th' excellent Montrose - I had the happiness to dine; - Not that I late from table rose, - From Graham's wit, from generous wine. - - It was not these alone which led - On sacred manners to encroach; - And made me feel what most I dread, - Johnson's just frown, and self-reproach. - - But when I entered, not abash'd, - From your bright eyes were shot such rays, - At once intoxication flash'd, - And all my frame was in a blaze: - - But not a brilliant blaze I own, - Of the dull smoke I'm yet asham'd; - I was a dreary ruin grown, - And not enlighten'd though enflam'd. - - Victim at once to wine and love, - I hope, Maria, you'll forgive; - While I invoke the powers above, - That henceforth I may wiser live. - -Certainly this is amusing in some degree, and amusing too in an -original way; but much of it is mere rhyming without any sort of wit. -Boswell could be as banal as anyone. An ode ('Horatian Ode,' he calls -it) to Charles Dilly, which is chiefly concerned with one Dr. Lettsom, -frequently the host of both Boswell and Dilly, exhibits the author of -humorous verse at his worst; it will be enough to quote one stanza: - - And guests has he in ev'ry degree - Of decent estimation. - His liberal mind holds all mankind, - As an extended nation. - -Boswell's _mots_ are of a common eighteenth-century type. The turn -of phrase admired by both Johnson and Boswell and most of their -contemporaries was the image. In 'Boswelliana' is a story of Boswell's -introduction to Scotch lawyers: 'Boswell had a great aversion to the -law, but forced himself to enter upon that laborious profession in -compliance with the anxious desire of his father, for whom he had the -greatest regard. After putting on the gown he said with great good -humour to his brother advocates, 'Gentlemen, I am prest into the -service here; but I have observed that a prest man, either by sea or -land, after a little time does just as well as a volunteer.' - -That is Boswell at his best. - -Here is another specimen of Boswell's wit: 'A modern man of taste -found fault with the avenues at Auchinleck, and said he wished to -see straggling trees. 'I wish,' said Boswell, 'I could see straggling -fools in this world.' - -That is Boswell at his worst. - -Why a man who had so much natural humour as Boswell had should have -failed so completely to discriminate when his own wit was in question -must remain as much a problem to us as is the failure of many a poet -to criticise his own writings--the explanation may be perhaps that it -requires some special effort of the mind which can but rarely be -made and which is impossible after the moment of composition. Boswell -certainly seems to have had a high opinion of his efforts to be witty; -his verses to Miss Monckton are inserted in the 'Life' with evident -pride, and without any excuse of some connection with Johnson such as -he usually makes when alluding to his own performances, and he seems -frequently to have sung the songs which he composed, obtaining, no -doubt, in this way the 'conspicuousness' which he desired.[36] - -The enjoyment which Boswell had in public at Stratford and at the -mayoralty dinner and in private, no doubt, on many occasions of which -unfortunately we have no account, is perhaps best illustrated and best -understood from a single sentence of his own in one of the 'Letters to -Temple': - - I was the great man (as we used to say) at the late - Drawing-Room, in a suit of imperial blue lined with - rose-coloured silk, and ornamented with rich gold-wrought - buttons. - -For the eagerness which Boswell had to reveal to others anything about -himself which he was proud of, and a sort of inevitable obtrusiveness -in him, Johnson with his usual shrewdness found an excellent parallel -which is faithfully recounted in the 'Life': - - Once when checking my boasting too frequently of myself in - company, he said to me, 'Boswell, you often vaunt so much - as to provoke ridicule. You put me in mind of a man who was - standing in the kitchen of an inn with his back to the fire, - and thus accosted the person next him, "Do you know, sir, - who I am?" "No, sir," said the other, "I have not that - advantage." "Sir," said he, "I am the _great Twalmley_, who - invented the New Floodgate Iron."' - -Endowed with these qualities of unsuspecting simplicity and -open-mouthed vanity, Boswell naturally became, as we have seen, an -object of mirth to his fellow-lawyers. When they took away his wig he -did indeed half suspect a trick; but how confident and innocent -and entirely unsuspicious he is when he boldly pleads for the writ, -'_Quare adhaesit pavimento_.' His own story of the storm during the -sail to Mull, told in the 'Tour to the Hebrides,' illustrates perhaps -better than any other the childish confidence of his conduct. Boswell, -though filled with undisguised terror, still ardently wished to play -the man and be the hero, and he thought, no doubt, as he stood holding -the rope in expectation of the captain's command, that the post -assigned to him was one of vital importance. - - As I saw them all busy doing something, I asked Col, with much - earnestness, what I could do. He, with a happy readiness, put - into my hand a rope, which was fixed to the top of one of the - masts, and told me to hold it till he bade me pull. If I had - considered the matter, I might have seen that this could not - be of the least service; but his object was to keep me out of - the way of those who were busy working the vessel, and at - the same time to divert my fear by employing me and making - me think that I was of use. Thus did I stand firm to my post, - while the wind and rain beat upon me, always expecting a call - to pull my rope.' - -The vanity and simplicity of Boswell no doubt obtruded themselves very -frequently in his behaviour; and they caused a certain expansiveness -and recklessness of conversation which would be interpreted at once as -thoughtless and foolish. We have an admirable glimpse into the kind of -atmosphere produced by his talk in a story which he tells of a snub he -received from Colman: - - I was then so impressed with the truth of many of the stories - of which I had been told, that I avowed my conviction, saying, - 'He is only _willing_ to believe; I _do_ believe. The evidence - is enough for me, though not for his great mind. What will not - fill a quart bottle will fill a pint bottle. I am filled with - belief.' 'Are you?' said Colman, 'then cork it up.'[37] - -'His social propensities,' says Sir J. Prior, 'were well known ... -he opens his mind so freely that we discover much of what is passing -there, even when the disclosure is not meant.'[38] Boswell, indeed, -talked very readily even upon the most serious subjects. About morals -and religion he was continually questioning Dr. Johnson, and most of -all about what to the other was a peculiarly sacred and awful thing, -the fear of death. The topics were introduced apparently without any -particular reason or fitness, but just as it occurred to Boswell that -he might elicit some response from Johnson upon questions about which -it was essential to his purpose that he should hear the doctor's -views: and they were introduced too not merely in private converse but -when a number of people were present. - -It seems clear that Boswell was sometimes very tactless in leading -Johnson to talk; he did not understand that not every company nor -every occasion is suitable for the discussion of the most serious -matters. He had, too, an unfortunate habit of saying things which were -extremely injudicious. He did not even understand altogether what was -likely to annoy Dr. Johnson--as on the occasion when he referred to -him in company by the name 'Gargantua,' which Johnson had spoken of as -having been applied to himself, or when he made what must have been an -obvious reference to Johnson's curious clothes: 'Would not _you_, sir, -be the better for velvet embroidery?' These remarks were made, it is -evident, without any malevolent intention. It would seem that even -when he meant to be rude he did not realise all the harm he was doing: -Hume was with some justice annoyed when Boswell quoted the phrase of -Temple, 'their infidel pensioner, Hume';[39] and it was introduced -just as a child might say in some personal argument, 'I know what -someone said of _you_'; and Foote can never have felt much friendship -for Johnson after he heard that the latter had compared his infidelity -to that of a dog.[40] The company in both cases may have been glad -to see Boswell defend his friend, but they must have thought him a -considerable fool and hardly a harmless one. - -Nor was it merely from his disregard of what was appropriate that his -conversation might be thought foolish, but rather because a man who -is very ready to talk of his most intimate thoughts and feelings is -usually supposed to be a fool. - -Boswell certainly had far more candour than most men, and he had also -a far greater curiosity and interest in mankind, which made him ready -to talk like a child of things about which many men prefer to be -silent. But it would seem, too, that though far from incapable of -feeling deep emotion he was unaffected where most of us would be -touched. 'He was a boy longer than others,' and this perhaps is the -explanation. - - - [Footnote 1: _Letters to Temple_, pp. 146-7.] - - [Footnote 2: _Letters to Temple_, p. 157.] - - [Footnote 3: _Letters to Temple_, p. 250.] - - [Footnote 4: _European Magazine_, 1798, p. 376.] - - [Footnote 5: For an account of Lord Lonsdale _v._ Sir George - Trevelyan's _Life of Fox_.] - - [Footnote 6: Or possibly at the end of 1787--_v._ Nichols' - _Illustrations_, vii. 310. The _Dictionary of National - Biography_ gives 1790, and Dr. Rogers 1789. But Bishop Percy's - letter of congratulation (printed in Nichols) was dated 1788. - The year is undoubtedly correct, for it refers to a letter - of Boswell's dated Feb. 9, 1788, and in this letter Boswell - speaks of the forthcoming publication of Johnson's letters to - Mrs. Piozzi, which were published actually in 1788.] - - [Footnote 7: _Letters to Temple_, pp. 268-9.] - - [Footnote 8: _Life of Johnson_, iv. 265.] - - [Footnote 9: Fitzgerald's _Life of Boswell_, II, 16.] - - [Footnote 10: _Letters to Temple_, p. 244.] - - [Footnote 11: _Ib._, p. 244.] - - [Footnote 12: _Ib._, p. 249.] - - [Footnote 13: _Gentleman's Magazine_, June 1795, and _Nichols' - Literary Anecdotes_, ii, pp. 400-2.] - - [Footnote 14: _Letters to Temple_, p. 29.] - - [Footnote 15: _Ib._, p. 43.] - - [Footnote 16: _Ib._, p. 190, and _Tour to Corsica_.] - - [Footnote 17: _Letters to Temple._] - - [Footnote 18: March 3, 1778.] - - [Footnote 19: _Letters to Temple_, p. 88.] - - [Footnote 20: _Letters to Temple_, p. 162.] - - [Footnote 21: _Ib._, p. 158.] - - [Footnote 22: _Ib._, p. 63.] - - [Footnote 23: _Letters to Temple_, p. 148.] - - [Footnote 24: _Ib._, p. 4.] - - [Footnote 25: _Life of Johnson_, iv, 122.] - - [Footnote 26: _Letters to Temple_, p. 20.] - - [Footnote 27: _Ib._, p. 195.] - - [Footnote 28: _Ib._, p. 148.] - - [Footnote 29: _Ib._, p. 24.] - - [Footnote 30: _Ib._, p. 127.] - - [Footnote 31: _Diary of Madame D'Arblay_, i, p. 509.] - - [Footnote 32: _Ireland's Confessions_, pp. 95-6.] - - [Footnote 33: Prior's _Life of Goldsmith_, i, 449-50.] - - [Footnote 34: _Taylor's Records_, vol. i, 89, 90.] - - [Footnote 35: Fitzgerald's _Life of Boswell_, ii, 73-8.] - - [Footnote 36: Fitzgerald's _Life of Boswell_, ii, 76.] - - [Footnote 37: _Life of Johnson_, ii, 318.] - - [Footnote 38: Prior's _Life of Goldsmith_, i, 452-3.] - - [Footnote 39: _Letters to Temple_, p. 165.] - - [Footnote 40: _Life of Johnson_, ii, 95.] - - - - -CHAPTER VII - - -Nothing in Boswell's life became him so well as his second important -publication, 'The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides.' The event took -place in 1785, not many months after Johnson's death, and less than -twelve years after the eventful journey when Johnson was displayed -to his biographer's countrymen. The 'Tour' has already been mentioned -here as an episode in Boswell's remarkable friendship. It was an -episode, besides, in Boswell's life; it decided his destiny. - -In the year 1785 Boswell was in the midst of his political schemes and -ambitions. It was exactly in this period of his life that it was most -important for him to win respect. Yet the 'Journal' revealed the -whole severity of Johnson's criticisms upon Scotland and the Scotch; -Boswell's position among his countrymen was certain to suffer, and -did suffer very much by its publication. His candour triumphed by the -event. His real self was expressed without compromise, at the expense -of the respectable self which he cherished and cultivated. It matters -very little how much Boswell foresaw the consequence. Probably he was -not altogether unsuspicious, for Malone was at his side, and Malone -was a man of the world.[1] In any case he did publish this amazing -book, and he published it at a critical time. Just when he seemed -to be deserting his genius and drifting into a world that was never -intended for him, the vital truth of Boswell proved that it was -irrepressible and saved him for Johnson, for himself, and for -posterity. - - * * * * * - -Johnson and Boswell were typical travellers of the eighteenth century. -They went in no romantic spirit to see the beauties of Nature in -remote corners of the earth. 'He always said,' reports Boswell of the -Doctor, 'that he was not come to Scotland to see fine places, of which -there were enough in England, but wild objects, mountains, waterfalls, -peculiar manners--in short, things which he had not seen before. -I have a notion that he at no time has had much taste for rural -beauties. I have myself very little.' This is a clear statement. -They looked at 'wild objects' because they were unusual, and eschewed -almost entirely scenery of a tamer spirit. They were interested in -'manners.' The Journal bears out this statement. Observations about -the people of the country are part of the traveller's stock-in-trade, -and they seem even to be one of the _raisons d'etre_ of Boswell's -book. In the same way the Journal is filled with archaeological and -historical speculations. Johnson's journey to the Western Islands is -far more so, and seems to have been written almost entirely from this -point of view. These were the absorbing interests of educated men, and -travel was expected to furnish the occasion for 'an ordered series of -learned observations.' To be convinced of the paramount importance of -these interests in the eighteenth century one has only to glance at -the periodicals of the time. - -But both Johnson and Boswell, especially the latter, had, though they -may have been scarcely conscious of the fact, a far more important -interest in human nature. The Tour was admirably arranged for its -gratification. It consisted for the most part in visits to the -gentlemen of the country: the travellers occasionally put up at -an inn; but for the most part they took advantage of Highland -hospitality. Their conversation therefore would naturally be concerned -very much with the qualities of their various hosts. Now Boswell kept -an elaborate and strictly diurnal diary of which the most important -item was professedly the record of Dr. Johnson's talk. The briefest -reflection on the Doctor's manner and the nature of his remarks must -therefore reveal at once the character of Boswell's Journal. - -Assuredly it is an amazing fact that this Journal was published within -twelve years of the Tour itself! As we should expect, it is full of -observations, many of them condemnatory, about men and women who were -still living. 'Nowadays,' says Mr. Percy Fitzgerald, 'we have been -regularly trained to personality by what are called the "Society -papers," in which the names of private persons as well as their doings -are recorded; still it would cause a commotion if the conversation of -some leading personage were reported, in which persons still living -were described in such fashion as this: "A---- is a poor creature; -_he has no bottom_." "B---- is a thorough donkey, talks a good deal of -what he _thinks_ to be sense," &c.' - -One instance will serve to illustrate the tone of Boswell's Journal; -it shows perhaps the ultimate point of indiscretion which he reached, -but is a fair indication of his manner. One of the gentlemen who -entertained the two travellers was Sir Alexander Macdonald: he had -not, it appears, a reputation for generosity. - - The penurious gentleman of our acquaintance, formerly alluded - to, afforded us a topick of conversation to-night. Dr. Johnson - said I ought to write down a recollection of the instances of - his narrowness as they almost exceeded belief. - -Boswell proceeds to relate a story to the effect that the Highlander -gave to an Irish harper a valuable harp-key, because 'he could not -find it in his heart to give him any money.' Later, he discovered its -value and wished to have it back. - - _Johnson_: 'I like to see how avarice defeats itself; how when - avoiding to part with money the miser gives something more - valuable.' Col said the gentleman's relations were angry at - his giving away the harp-key, for it had been long in the - family. _Johnson_: 'Sir, he values a new guinea more than an - old friend.' - -One can hardly imagine anything more offensive--unless it were the -story which follows it: - - Col also told us that the same person having come up with a - serjeant and twenty men, working on the high road, he entered - into discourse with the serjeant and then gave him sixpence - for the men to drink. The serjeant asked, 'Who is this - fellow?' Upon being informed, he said, 'If I had known who it - was I should have thrown it in his face.' _Johnson_: '... - he has not learnt to be a miser; I believe we must take him - apprentice.' _Boswell_: 'He would grudge giving half a guinea - to be taught.' _Johnson_: 'Nay, sir, you must teach him - _gratis_.' - -If the 'Tour to the Hebrides' is uniquely indiscreet, it is only the -more typical of Boswell. He loved to be in the public eye and he was -now notorious beyond measure. The wags laughed, the injured Scotsmen -were angry, and the more respectable parts of the community were -profoundly shocked. A sheaf of cartoons did justice to the humour of -the situation. Lord Macdonald was represented with uplifted stick, and -the threatened author on his knees before him.[2] 'Johnson's -Ghost' was depicted as appearing to the terror-stricken Boswell and -mournfully reproaching him. In a series of twenty large caricatures -the biographer was represented in twenty absurd situations, and each -sketch had a quotation from his book. Boswell at all events was the -first in the field of all who intended to write about Johnson, and no -doubt he was glad that all the world was aware of the fact. - -But Boswell did not mean to be notorious in this fashion. He may have -expected some ridicule, but not ill-feeling; he was too good-humoured -himself. Possibly he satisfied his malice on more than one occasion; -but as a rule he had no intention of giving pain. The admirable Dr. -Beattie calls him 'a very good-natured man,' and says he was convinced -that Bozzy meant no harm. Sir William Forbes said that he seemed sorry -for 'some parts,' and Boswell published his own apology and defence in -one of the notes of a later edition: - - Having found, on a revision of the first edition of this work, - that, notwithstanding my best care, a few observations had - escaped me, which arose from the instant impression, the - publication of which might perhaps be considered as passing - the bounds of strict decorum, I immediately ordered that they - should be omitted in subsequent editions. I was pleased to - find that they did not amount in the whole to a page. If any - of the same kind are yet left, it is owing to inadvertence - alone, no man being more unwilling to give pain to others than - I am. - -When Boswell says that he is unwilling to give pain we may believe -him unreservedly; there may have been particular cases when he lowered -himself to the satisfaction of a grudge, but as a general statement -it is true. That Boswell was good-natured is incontestable: it is -admitted on all hands. 'Good-nature,' wrote Mr. Courtenay, 'was highly -predominant in his character. He appeared to entertain sentiments of -benevolence to all mankind, and it does not appear to me that he ever -did, or could, injure any human being _intentionally_.' Mr. Malone -wrote a letter for the _Gentleman's Magazine_ vindicating Boswell's -character after his death. 'He had not only an inexhaustible fund -of good-humour and good-nature, but was extremely warm in his -attachments, and as ready to exert himself for his friends as any -man.' His untiring kindness to Johnson might perhaps be refused as -evidence that he was 'ready to exert himself for his friends.' Towards -Temple and his wife also, from whom he had nothing to gain, 'he always -played,' as Mr. Seccombe remarks, 'a very friendly part'; 'he made -Johnson known to them, for instance; he took Paoli down to Mamhead, -he had Temple up to town and took him and his daughter to Westminster -Hall to see the trial of Warren Hastings. He took them more than once -to Sir Joshua's studio in Leicester Square, he acted as godfather to -one of the sons, and tipped another who was at Eton.' But the most -remarkable testimony that Boswell had, as the French say, _le c[oe]ur -bon_ is his will. We shall have to pay some attention to this -document in a later chapter: it shows that Boswell could be remarkably -considerate. - -Boswell wrote and published the 'Tour' with a greedy enjoyment -and uncontained expansiveness entirely typical of him, and in -amazing ignorance of some of the strongest human feelings--of the -proprietorship that men feel with respect to their own lives which -surrounds them with a sacred halo of privacy, and of their inordinate -desire to appear more virtuous and more successful than they are. He -babbled of himself as he babbled of others, not unconscious of the -folly that he committed and revealed, but not suspecting that he would -be called a fool for admitting his folly. Truth, as these pages have -already remarked, was of supreme importance to Boswell, and was not to -be suppressed. He could hardly understand that plain fact could hurt -anyone. A pamphleteer who wished to make Boswell ridiculous has -suggested his attitude in a picturesque manner: Lord Macdonald is -supposed to be threatening personal violence; Walcot writes: - - Treat with contempt the menace of this Lord. - 'Tis Hist'ry's province, Bozzy, to record. - -There was fundamentally in Boswell's nature a desire to record -observations--a desire which overrode his conventional aims and -ambitions and, while decreasing the possibility of his being a -successful man, made it certain that he would be a great one. - -All that Boswell meant by truth will be examined later in connection -with his biographical method. 'The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides' -must be criticised as a book along with the 'Life of Johnson' and not -apart from it. It is, in a sense, but a portion of the larger work. -The same genius, the same art, has made two incomparable books. The -later is more discreet. 'I have been more reserved,' says Boswell. But -it is not less vividly life-like: 'I have managed so as to occasion -no diminution of the pleasure my book should afford.' The 'Tour,' -however--and this is the one important difference--is concerned with -Johnson in an extraordinary phase of his life, and one which is not -treated in the larger work. Johnson is on a holiday. The journey is -called a 'jaunt.' And the atmosphere of the 'jaunt' is reflected on -every page of the Journal. The freedom, the expectancy and the high -spirits of a travelling holiday to those who very rarely enjoy -one, the increased opportunities to Boswell for observation and his -unflagging interest and pleasure in his great experiment--all these -account, and are sufficient to account, for the different effect we -feel in reading the 'Tour to the Hebrides': and most of those who -perceive this difference will agree that it is an additional charm. - - * * * * * - -During the eight years of Boswell's life between the ages of forty-two -and fifty, several important events happened beside the publication of -the 'Tour to the Hebrides.' - -It is unfortunate that for the greater part of this period we have -no letters from Boswell to Temple. If there was any correspondence -between them, none has been preserved between the dates November 3rd, -1780, and January 5th, 1787. And so we hear no private utterances -about the death of Boswell's father, by which he became Laird of -Auchinleck, or about the death of Johnson. - -It is not difficult to imagine the feelings of Boswell about the first -event. There can have been no great sorrow as there had been no great -affection; and there must have been no little pleasure in becoming the -head of an ancient family and a man of property. It is a sad thing if -the records of this period have indeed been lost, for they ought to -have been peculiarly rich in extravagant and pompous sayings. - -Of Johnson's value to Boswell we have already spoken. It would be -impossible to suppose that Boswell did not realise his loss. He must -have felt when he visited London, as he continued to do in spite of -his Scotch inheritance, that the central figure was gone, and with it -much of the zest of life in his London circle. There was no doubt -a yearning sometimes for that rude strength, which had so much of -tenderness besides, and a lasting grief. - -Of Boswell's sorrows in later life, of his failure to realise those -'towering hopes,' and consequent disappointment, something has been -said already in these pages. It was not apparently until the autumn of -1789 that Boswell began to see that he was not destined to succeed in -the manner he wished--in politics and in the law. The letters at -this time were more frequent than usual, and we are able to see how, -earlier in the year, he was quite hopeful about the future, but later -became despondent. - -A further reason depressed Boswell's spirits at this time: in the -summer of 1789 he lost his wife.[3] It is greatly to the credit of -Boswell that he was very deeply affected by her death--to his credit, -not because as a husband he was able to retain affection for his wife -(for affections are not completely under our control), but because -he was able to appreciate a woman who from his own accounts must have -been a sensible, kind woman, and one who treated him with a patient -consideration. - -Boswell was not a good husband, because he never became in the -ordinary sense domesticated; his home was never to him the predominant -interest. During her last illness he seems to have realised that he -might have behaved better towards his wife, and to have felt a true -remorse: - - No man ever had a higher esteem or a warmer love for a wife - than I have for her. You will recollect, my Temple, how our - marriage was the result of an attachment truly romantic; yet - how painful is it to me to recollect a thousand instances of - inconsistent conduct. I can justify my removing to the great - sphere of England, upon a principle of laudable ambition; but - the frequent scenes of what I must call dissolute conduct are - inexcusable; and often and often when she was very ill, in - London have I been indulging in festivity with Sir Joshua - Reynolds, Courtenay, Malone, &c., and have come home late, and - disturbed her repose. Nay, when I was last at Auchinleck, - on purpose to soothe and console her, I repeatedly went from - home; and both on those occasions, and when neighbours visited - me, drank a great deal too much wine.[4] - -He was remorseful too after the death of his wife that he had not been -present to comfort her at the end. And there was good reason. She, as -he remarked, would not have treated him so. But Boswell must not be -blamed too severely for this serious omission. His wife was suffering -with a disease from which, though it was certain she would not -recover, there was no immediate prospect of release. Boswell seems to -have expected from the medical opinion that her life would linger on -longer than actually it did: and, if it was not for pressing duties -that he left his wife, it was not for pleasure, but for the kind of -activity incident to the career he had chosen. - -Boswell was not unlike many people inasmuch as he found out rather -late in life the true value of his wife, and was more sorry than could -have been expected when he no longer had her help and companionship; -he found perhaps that he had rated too highly by comparison the -greater intellectual stimulus of his literary circle. His sorrow in -any case, at her death, whatever the proportion of remorse to the -sense of loss, is pleasant to see. There was so much affectation in -his character, that whenever he shows that he had simple, genuine -feelings--and he had them more often than might be supposed--we must -have some regard for them, however commonplace they may be. - -Boswell was evidently quite miserable at his loss; he was unrestrained -in grief as he was in enjoyment, and the tale of his woe was poured -out to Temple in the same fervid manner as the love affairs of earlier -years: - - I am amazed when I look back. Though I often and often dreaded - this loss, I had no conception how distressing it would be. - May God have mercy on me! I am quite restless and feeble and - desponding.... I have an avidity for death; I eagerly wish to - be laid by my dear wife; years of life seem insupportable. - - I cannot express to you, Temple [he writes in a later letter], - 'what I suffer from the loss of my valuable wife and the - mother of my children. While she lived, I had no occasion to - think concerning my family; every particular was thought of - by her, better than I could. I am the most helpless of human - beings; I am in a state very much that of one in despair.' - -It must not be thought that Boswell faced the world in the sad and -sometimes complaining vein in which he wrote to Temple. There was no -whining self-pity, and no pride of the grievance, as might perhaps -have been expected, in his public attitude. 'It is astonishing what -force I have put upon myself since her death, how I have entertained -company, &c., &c.'[5] He no doubt tried to be cheerful in company, and -probably he succeeded. - -The weakness of Boswell was shown in a different way, by an increase -of those vices which he had been encouraged to resist by Johnson, and -also, we may suppose, by his wife. Johnson had said, long before the -bereavement: 'In losing her you would lose your sheet-anchor, and be -tost, without stability, by the waves of life.' This prediction was -fulfilled. - -Boswell had always been a self-indulgent man. Before his marriage he -was, as may be seen from the letters, sexually self-indulgent. Whether -he was so in later years, or in what degree, it is difficult to -determine; he may have been alluding to this when he talks of 'little -fondnesses,' and of being 'dissipated';[6] and the fact that he says -on one occasion that he had no 'confessions' to make rather suggests -the possibility that this may not always have been the case, though he -never actually confesses. - -But the particular form of his self-indulgence was drunkenness. -Besides frequent references to his habit of drinking, there are, -altogether, some half-dozen recorded instances of Boswell being drunk -or intoxicated, and as they are referred to only because they had some -curious results they suggest that this was far from being unusual. -In the letters, Boswell records on several occasions that he has been -drinking too much lately, or that he was becoming a drunkard. - -His mode of resisting what he quite well saw to be an evil habit was -to take a series of vows. It is a method which seems to have had a -curious appeal for Boswell's nature. There was something to his mind -rather romantic about a vow: something heroic in taking that great -resolve, made so quickly to endure for so long, something of the -saintly penance; and there was something of the martyr about one who -had bound himself in this way. In Boswell's drunkenness, however, -there was nothing romantic; it was rather sordid; and he was neither -saint, nor hero, nor martyr, for the vows, even if they could have -made him all these, were too frequently broken. There was no doubt -some serious effort on Boswell's part; but the impulse of the moment -was always too strong for him, and the efforts which lasted too short -a time were apparently followed by grave relapses. - -Boswell's drinking habits had ill effects. Johnson, when reminded of -the headache which his companion was wont to feel after sitting up -with him, exclaimed: 'Nay, Sir, it was not the _wine_ that made your -head ache, but the sense that I put into it.' But though the nature of -Johnson's sense and of Boswell's head may fortify the explanation, it -was not the common case; excess of alcohol was injurious to Boswell's -health. - -It has been pointed out with justice that Boswell's melancholy was to -some extent the result of this excess. How much of it was affectation -we cannot easily tell. When Boswell first made his appearance to the -world as the young _litterateur_, he may have hoped to increase the -appearance of genius by assuming hereditary hypochondria. But it must -be remarked that he seems, as far as we can judge, to have given very -little impression of ever being morose; it is on the contrary his -gaiety and good spirits that are always emphasised. And we may at -least suppose when, as has been mentioned above, he entirely denies, -in a number of the 'Hypochondriack,' that genius and melancholy have -any particular connection, that he had by that time outgrown any -affectation there may originally have been. That one of Boswell's -great vivacity should sometimes be dejected, is really very natural, -and when we add to this his self-indulgent habits, it is not hard -to account for occasional attacks of low spirits. Sir Walter Scott -remarks: - - There was a variation of spirits about James Boswell which - indicated some slight touch of insanity. His melancholy which - he so often complained of to Johnson was not affected but - constitutional, though doubtless he thought it a mark of high - distinction to be afflicted with hypochondria like his moral - patron. - -Malone too denies altogether 'that he caught from Johnson a portion -of his constitutional melancholy.' 'This was not the fact,' writes -Malone. 'He had a considerable share of melancholy in his own -temperament; and though the general tenour of his life was gay and -active, he frequently experienced an unaccountable depression of -spirits.'[7] It was natural that Boswell's malady of depression should -have become worse towards the end of his life; not only because habits -of excess take their revenge upon the constitution, but because these -too are likely to grow with the disease. The result of Boswell's -sorrows when his wife had died and his ambitions were being thwarted -was that he was driven still more to drink. - - I have drunk too much wine for some time past. I fly to every - mode of agitation.[8] - - With grief continually at my heart, I have been endeavouring - to seek relief in dissipation and in wine, so that my life for - some time past has been unworthy of myself, of you, and of all - that is valuable in my character and connections.[9] - -It is a pitiable picture this, of a man's decay; grief and -self-indulgence reacted upon each other, each of them adding something -to the causes of disappointment. - - - [Footnote 1: Malone saw a sheet of the _Tour to the Hebrides_ - at the printer's and was so much impressed that he obtained - an introduction to Boswell; he helped him in the final stage, - both of this book and the _Life_, and was eventually Boswell's - first editor.] - - [Footnote 2: Sir Alexander became Lord Macdonald in 1776 - (_Boswelliana_, p. 140).] - - [Footnote 3: _Letters to Temple_, p. 246 _et seq._] - - [Footnote 4: _Letters to Temple_, p. 242.] - - [Footnote 5: _Letters to Temple_, p. 253.] - - [Footnote 6: _Letters to Temple_, p. 231.] - - [Footnote 7: 'In a subsequent number of the _Gentleman's - Magazine_,' says Dr. Rogers in his _Memoir of J. B._, 'Mr. - Temple, under the signature of "Biographicus," denied a - statement by Mr. Malone that Boswell was of a melancholy - temperament; he maintained that he was quite otherwise - prior to his attachment to Dr. Johnson.' It may be remarked, - however, that Boswell might have a constitutional melancholy - without showing many signs of it before the age of - twenty-three; and that Temple after 1763 saw Boswell very - seldom. Malone's view, therefore, based upon an intimate - connection with Boswell for some years at the end of his life, - apart from the fact that it was likely to be a wiser view, - should carry more weight than that of Temple.] - - [Footnote 8: _Letters to Temple_, p. 255.] - - [Footnote 9: _Ib._, p. 257.] - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - - -There is one redeeming feature, the most important feature of all, in -the last years of Boswell's life. - -The biographer had gradually during the life of Johnson relaxed his -efforts in collecting material for the _magnum opus_; we can see in -the 'Life' how he grew less industrious in recording conversations; -for though even in the later part many are preserved at great length, -he neglected to write up his journal more often than in the early -years of the friendship. This was due no doubt in part to his drinking -habits. Conviviality of that kind has a curious effect upon the -memory. But Boswell had still very firmly the purpose of writing the -'Life,' after Johnson had died, though he was not the person chosen to -do so by the literary executors.[1] - -The 'Life of Johnson' was published about six years later than the -'Tour to the Hebrides,' in the spring of 1791. The latter, it is clear -from its nature, required far less labour from the author than his -_magnum opus_: the whole scope of the book is infinitely smaller, and -there was none of the endless trouble of collecting and verifying the -materials of others as in the great biography; for the 'Tour' deals -only with Johnson as observed by Boswell himself during their journey -in the Hebrides. Boswell, moreover, had wanted to publish his journal -during Johnson's lifetime, and we cannot doubt that he had written -up a good deal. It would be quite unjust therefore to say that the -biographer became more idle, as he was more dissipated, after -1785. The reverse is nearer the truth. It is remarkable and it is -praiseworthy that Boswell, in spite of his political schemes, the -depression which followed the death of his wife, and the illness which -was the consequence of his unhealthy habits of life and in particular -the habit of drink, should still have worked hard at the 'Life.' He -may have become less regular, but he retained the energy of earlier -years. - -There was, in fact, in him the need to satisfy somehow those better -qualities. His intense belief in the merit of his work and the almost -endless trouble he took to verify the accuracy of the smallest fact -and to discover the minutest information about Johnson--to satisfy, -in a word, his 'sacred love of truth'--are the expression of this need -within him. Sometimes, indeed, he is despondent about his book: 'Many -a time have I thought of giving it up.' 'I am in such bad spirits that -I have every fear concerning it.' Sometimes he feels the immensity of -the labour without the enthusiasm which has urged him on: 'Though I am -now in woeful indifference, I trust that before it is finished a taste -or relish shall return.' The vastness of the task seems almost to -weigh him down. In November 1789 he writes to Temple explaining that -he cannot pay him a visit because he must stay in London to receive -Malone's help, Malone who is 'Johnsonianissimus,' in revising the -'Life': - - You cannot imagine what labour, what perplexity, what vexation - I have endured in arranging a prodigious multiplicity of - materials, in supplying omissions, in searching for papers, - buried in different masses, and all this besides the exertion - of composing and polishing: many a time have I thought of - giving it up. - -And yet he has the firmest conviction that the book will be a -masterpiece; it will be an unparalleled history of a man; and for that -reason of supreme importance to the world: - - However, though I shall be uneasily sensible of its many - deficiencies, it will certainly be to the world a very - valuable and peculiar volume of biography, full of literary - and characteristical anecdotes _told with authenticity and - in a lively manner_. Would that it were in the booksellers' - shops! Methinks if I had this _magnum opus_ launched, the - public has no further claim upon me; for I have promised no - more, and I may die in peace, or retire into dull obscurity, - _reddarque tenebris_. - -It is a curious mixture, this, of weariness and optimism; it shows -that there was something in Boswell which drove him on, in spite of -a good many difficulties, though he himself (as we see in the last -sentence) understood little of its nature. 'The "Life of Johnson,"' -he says in another place, 'still keeps me up; I must bring that -forth.'[2] - -At times his enthusiasm breaks out and he expresses his real -conviction of the supreme merit of his work: - - The next [day] I am in Malone's study revising my 'Life of - Johnson,' of which I have the highest expectations both as to - fame and profit. I surely have the art of writing agreeably. - The Lord Chancellor told me he had read every word of my - Hebridean Journal; he could not help it; adding, 'Could you - give a rule how to write a book that a man _must read_? I - believe Longinus could not.'[3] - -Boswell understood the scale and interest of his book: - - In truth it is a view of much of the literature, and many - of the literary men, of Great Britain for more than half a - century.[4] - -'I think,' he says, in the same letter to Temple, 'it will be without -exception the most entertaining book you ever read.' To Mr. Dempster -he said: 'I really think it will be the most entertaining collection -that has appeared in this age.'[5] - -Boswell's belief in his own work was based not so much upon his -literary powers as upon his conception of biography: - - Mason's 'Life of Gray' is excellent, because it is - interspersed with letters which show us the _man_. His 'Life - of Whitehead' is not a life at all, because there is neither - a letter nor a saying from first to last. I am absolutely - certain that my mode of biography, which gives not only a - _history_ of Johnson's _visible_ progress through the world, - and of his publications, but a _view_ of his mind in his - letters and conversations, is the most perfect that can be - conceived, and will be more of a Life than any work that has - ever yet appeared.[6] - -To Bishop Percy he writes in February 1788: - - I do it chronologically, giving year by year his publications, - if there were any; his letters, his conversations, and - everything else that I can collect. It appears to me that mine - is the best plan of biography that can be conceived; for my - readers will, as near as may be, accompany Johnson in his - progress, and as it were see each scene as it happened.[7] - -The conviction that Boswell had that his was the best possible -conception of biography seems never to have been in doubt, though -he might be sometimes depressed or indifferent, and exactly the same -conception as that which we have seen in his letters to Temple and -Bishop Percy was expressed more fully later in the 'Life' itself. - - Instead of melting down my materials into one mass, and - constantly speaking in my own person, by which I might have - appeared to have more merit in the execution of the work, I - have resolved to adopt and enlarge upon the excellent plan - of Mr. Mason, in his Memoirs of Gray. Wherever narrative is - necessary to explain, connect, and supply, I furnish it to - the best of my abilities; but in the chronological series of - Johnson's life, which I trace as distinctly as I can, year by - year, I produce, wherever it is in my power, his own minutes, - letters, or conversation, being convinced that this mode is - more lively, and will make my readers better acquainted with - him, than even most of those were, who actually knew him, - but could know him only partially; whereas there is here an - accumulation of intelligence from various points, by which his - character is more fully understood and illustrated. - - Indeed I cannot conceive a more perfect mode of writing any - man's life, than not only relating all the most important - events of it in their order, but interweaving what he - privately wrote, and said, and thought, by which mankind are - enabled as it were to see him live, and to 'live o'er each - scene' with him, as he actually advanced through the several - stages of his life. Had his other friends been as diligent and - ardent as I was, he might have been almost entirely preserved. - As it is, I will venture to say that he will be seen in this - work more completely than any man who has ever yet lived. - - And he will be seen as he really was; for I profess to write - not his panegyrick, which must be all praise, but his Life; - which, great and good as he was, must not be supposed to - be entirely perfect. To be as he was, is indeed subject of - panegyrick enough to any man in this state of being; but in - every picture there should be shade as well as light, and - when I delineate him without reserve, I do what he himself - recommended, both by his precept and his example.[8] - -The 'Life' then is, as Boswell intended, a complete picture of -Johnson; complete, inasmuch as it gives a picture of Johnson in every -phase of his living, as the writer, the talker, the correspondent, and -most of all simply as a man in his dealings with other men, and in -all these gives a living picture: complete especially in this, that it -gives not merely what there is to praise in Johnson, but every little -detail as it occurred, the shade as well as the light. - -But Boswell had something further in his mind as he wrote the 'Life.' -He was, as we have said before, essentially the moralist. He seems to -have had a purpose as he wrote, not only of not doing moral harm, but -of doing moral good. When he talks of the faults of Dr. Johnson he -does so with a kind of apology and explanation, with quotations from -the great moralist himself, to show that to mention the vices of a -famous man may as well do good as harm: - - When I objected [evidently for the sake of argument] to the - danger of telling that Parnell drank to excess, he said, that - 'it would produce an instructive caution to avoid drinking, - when it was seen that even the learning and genius of Parnell - could be debased by it.' And in the Hebrides he maintained, as - appears from my journal, that a man's intimate friend should - mention his faults, if he writes his life. - -After saying that 'it must not be concealed, that like many other good -and pious men, among whom we may place the Apostle Paul upon his own -authority, Johnson was not free from propensities which were ever -"warring against the law of his mind," and that in his combat with -them, he was sometimes overcome,' he gives a moral lecture to his -readers: - - But let no man encourage or soothe himself in 'presumptuous - sin,' from knowing that Johnson was sometimes hurried into - indulgences which he thought criminal. I have exhibited this - circumstance as a shade in so great a character, both from my - sacred love of truth, and to shew that he was not so weakly - scrupulous as he has been represented by those who imagine - that the sins, of which a deep sense was on his mind, were - merely such little venial trifles as pouring milk into his tea - on Good Friday. - -In the 'Advertisement to the Second Edition,' Boswell seems to go -further: - - His strong, clear, and animated enforcement of religion, - morality, loyalty, and subordination, while it delights - and improves the wise and the good, will, I trust, prove an - effectual antidote to that detestable sophistry which has - been lately imported from France, under the false name of - _Philosophy_, and with a malignant industry has been employed - against the peace, good order, and happiness of society, in - our free and prosperous country; but thanks be to God, without - producing the pernicious effects which were hoped for by its - propagators. - -This history of the deeds and words and thoughts of his hero is -compared by Boswell to the Odyssey. He seems almost to think that the -merit of Homer's epic lies in the good behaviour of Ulysses, just as -he conceives that the value of his own work is in the excellence of -Johnson:-- - - ----Quid virtus et quid sapientia possit, - Utile proposuit nobis exemplar Ulyssen. - -It is not perhaps remarkable in itself that Boswell should have had -this attitude towards his work; it is the attitude in some degree -of most biographers, the attitude especially of the age in which he -lived, and the attitude of Johnson himself. Boswell's principles as a -biographer are indeed the same as Johnson's. We cannot suppose, when -he has revealed so clearly his supreme faculty for biography, that -there was anything of this which was not entirely his own. But he took -the trouble to find out on several occasions the opinions of his great -friend, to ask him about particular doubts which troubled him from -time to time, and obtain his approval. He had a profound respect for -Johnson's manner of estimating character. Mr. Pennant, 'a traveller -in Scotland,' is censured in the 'Life' for a book of travel which is -compared to Johnson's 'Journey to the Western Islands' and then quoted -on the subject of Johnson; the quotation speaks of 'the numerous -weaknesses and prejudices which his friends have kindly taken care to -draw from their dread abode.' Boswell's note is: - - This is the common cant against faithful biography. Does the - worthy gentleman mean that I, who was taught discrimination of - character by Johnson, should have omitted his frailties, and - in short, have _bedaubed_ him, as the worthy gentleman has - bedaubed Scotland? - -It was also due in some degree to the influence of Johnson that -Boswell himself was so much a moralist: it was something of the same -influence, it was in part the honest ruggedness which exalted that -morality, by denuding it of excessive and affected sentiment, that -enabled Boswell to be a moralist without being (in the Johnsonian -phraseology) a canting moralist. Boswell, indeed, became a moralist -because he wanted to be respectable; but he was not entirely -respectable because he succeeded in being a moralist. A man who is a -moralist to the extent that Boswell and Johnson were moralists may -be too respectable to be an honest biographer. It does not become -the stainless respectability of the moralist to bring to light the -blemishes of a man in a book; in conversation that may be done; there -is no harm in a few people knowing; but it would be dangerous and -improper to reveal them in print to the public gaze; and so it was not -respectable in Boswell to say anything about the sexual temptations -of Johnson, and Miss Burney and Hannah More would no doubt be shocked. -But the love of truth which Johnson nourished was fundamental in -Boswell, and it was irrepressible; we know Johnson, chiefly for this -reason, better than any other man whose life has been recorded. - -It is remarkable for other reasons besides this--that he was a -moralist--that Boswell produced an impartial biography. He was by no -means free from personal animosities. Sir John Hawkins had written -the official life at the request of Johnson's literary executors, and -Boswell, naturally, was jealous of him on this account. A matter for -greater irritation was that Boswell himself had been almost entirely -ignored,[9] the one slighting mention of his name being worse than no -mention of his connection with Johnson. And Mrs. Thrale also, who -had published her 'Anecdotes,' had alluded to Boswell only in one -contemptuous passage. Boswell therefore had the deliberate intention -of showing up the faults of these two rivals; a long paragraph is -introduced as early as possible, explaining fully why the 'Life' by -Sir John Hawkins is a bad book, and ending thus: - - There is throughout the whole of it a dark uncharitable cast, - by which the most unfavourable construction is put upon - almost every circumstance in the character and conduct of my - illustrious friend; who, I trust, will, by a true and - fair delineation, be vindicated both from the injurious - misrepresentations of this author, and from the slighter - aspersions of a lady who once lived in great intimacy with - him.[10] - -The same lady was alluded to afterwards in a note of peculiar malice: - - I am obliged in so many instances to notice Mrs. Piozzi's - incorrectness of relation, that I gladly seize this - opportunity of acknowledging that, however often, she is not - always inaccurate. - -It was not only for his personal grievances that Boswell was anxious -to contradict Sir John Hawkins and Mrs. Piozzi, but also because he -had a different conception of Johnson, a far more loving appreciation -and veneration, which was a reason in itself that he should write -the life of his friend; to vindicate his character and express his -admiration would be some tribute to their long friendship. Boswell, -indeed, always retained something of the 'mysterious veneration' -of his early years. Johnson to him was always the hero; he was -the 'literary Colossus,' the 'Rambler,' the 'awful and majestick -Philosopher.' The thought that he might lose his reverence was a -source of anxiety to Boswell: - - In my interview with Dr. Johnson this evening, I was quite - easy, quite as his companion; upon which I find in my journal - the following reflection: 'So ready is my mind to suggest - matter for dissatisfaction that I felt a sort of regret that - I was so easy. I missed that awful reverence with which I used - to contemplate Mr. Samuel Johnson, in the complex magnitude - of his literary, moral, and religious character. I have a - wonderful superstitious love of mystery.' - -Boswell, as a matter of fact, as we may see from the 'Life,' preserved -his 'reverence,' and his view of Johnson as the solemn and wise writer -and moralist has tinged the biography. He records a jovial mood of -Johnson's as a most extraordinary moment in a man of his dignified -character: - - I have known him at times exceedingly diverted at what seemed - to others a very small sport. He now laughed immoderately, - without any reason that we could perceive, at our friend's - making his will; called him the _testator_, and added, 'I - daresay, he thinks he has done a mighty thing.' ... In this - playful manner did he run on, exulting in his own pleasantry, - which certainly was not such as might be expected from the - authour of The Rambler, but which is here preserved, that my - readers may be acquainted even with the slightest occasional - characteristicks of so eminent a man. - -He goes on to tell how Dr. Johnson 'could not stop his merriment, but -continued it all the way till he got without the Temple Gate. He then -burst into such a fit of laughter that he appeared to be almost in a -convulsion; and, in order to support himself, laid hold of one of the -posts at the side of the foot pavement, and sent forth peals so loud, -that in the silence of the night his voice seemed to resound from -Temple Bar to Fleetditch.' Boswell talks of the episode as 'this most -ludicrous exhibition of the awful, melancholy, and venerable Johnson.' - - - [Footnote 1: Sir John Hawkins wrote the official life.] - - [Footnote 2: _Letters to Temple_, p. 252.] - - [Footnote 3: _Ib._, p. 267.] - - [Footnote 4: _Ib._, p. 265.] - - [Footnote 5: _Letters to Temple_, p. 338.] - - [Footnote 6: _Ib._, p. 218.] - - [Footnote 7: Nichols' _Illustrations_, vii, 309.] - - [Footnote 8: _Life of Johnson_, i, 29-30.] - - [Footnote 9: _Memoirs of Sir J. Hawkins_, i, 235.] - - [Footnote 10: _Life of Johnson_, i, 28.] - - - - -CHAPTER IX - - -It is remarkable, as we have observed, in view of his personal -animosities, and of his determination to prove Dr. Johnson to be both -a greater and a better man than would appear from previous accounts, -and to be an extremely dignified man as fitted his own conception -of him, that Boswell should have presented a complete picture of -Johnson--that he should have mentioned all the incidents from which -he might appear both a less important and a less pleasant man--all the -circumstances that might detract from his dignity. - -The explanation which seems so simple and involves, when we come to -understand all that it means, not only the exact shades of what the -author said, but many things that he refrained from saying, is that -Boswell in this particular sphere, the sphere of the biographer, -was entirely truthful. And truth meant far more than that he did not -distort the facts and did not suppress them; it involved in him the -capacity for creating, the essential quality of his genius. Boswell -had in fact the scientific spirit and applied it to the greatest of -all subjects, to human nature. He was, in the first place, extremely -accurate both in observing and recording; he watched attentively and -often; and he described patiently what he had seen and heard. -The biographer's own pen has given us a short account of his -qualifications, as they appeared to him, for the task of writing the -life of Johnson: - - 'As I had the honour and happiness of enjoying his friendship - for upwards of twenty years; as I had the scheme of writing - his life constantly in view; as he was well apprised of this - circumstance, and from time to time obligingly satisfied my - inquiries, by communicating to me the incidents of his early - years; as I acquired a facility in recollecting and was - very assiduous in recording his conversation, of which the - extraordinary vigour and vivacity constituted one of the first - features of his character; and as I have spared no pains in - obtaining materials concerning him, from every quarter where - I could discover that they were to be found, and have been - favoured with the most liberal communications by his friends; - I flatter myself that few biographers have entered upon such - a work as this, with more advantages; independent of literary - abilities, in which I am not vain enough to compare myself - with some great names who have gone before me in this kind of - writing.'[1] - -With this statement we may heartily agree; but all that it really -says is that Boswell had opportunities, and acquired a faculty, for -_recording_. He had, besides, a quite remarkable faculty of acute -observation. All that he says of Johnson's appearance, his clothes, -his walk, that truly horrible paragraph about his nails and knuckles, -is admirable, because he tells us in a few words exactly what is -most characteristic. The event of his first visit to Dr. Johnson was -naturally an occasion for Boswell to describe his hero: - - His brown suit of clothes looked very rusty; he had on a - little old shrivelled unpowdered wig, which was too small for - his head; his shirt-neck and knees of his breeches were loose; - his black worsted stockings ill drawn up; and he had a pair of - unbuckled shoes by way of slippers. - -That is all! And what more or what less could anyone want? In the -'Tour to the Hebrides' it is recorded that - - He wore ... a very wide brown cloth great-coat, with pockets - which might have almost held the two volumes of his folio - 'Dictionary'; and he carried in his hand a large English oak - stick. - -What a difference it makes to our knowledge of Johnson that we know -these details! Boswell compels us to see Johnson. Plenty of men would -have noticed what he noticed, but few would have presented it so -vividly. Boswell's superiority depends upon his powers as an observer; -he saw things clear and strong, and so they are clear and strong for -his readers. - -And Boswell excelled not only in painting the mere exterior; he often -alludes to the spirit that it expresses with the same dexterity. -'Generally,' he says, speaking of Johnson in the course of a dispute, -'when he had finished a period, by which time he was a good deal -exhausted by violence and vociferation, he used to blow out his breath -like a whale. This I suppose was a relief to his lungs; and seemed -in him to be a contemptuous mode of expression, as if he had made the -arguments of his opponents fly like chaff before the wind.' We are -told the physical details, but so much more! The whole attitude -of Johnson is described. Similarly all the little touches, as when -Johnson 'sprung away with a kind of pathetick briskness,' reveal his -feelings with startling fidelity. Perhaps most remarkable of all is -the account of Johnson's behaviour to his cat: - - I never shall forget the indulgence with which he treated - Hodge, his cat: for whom he himself used to go out and buy - oysters, lest the servants having that trouble should take - a dislike to the poor creature.... I recollect him one day - scrambling up Dr. Johnson's breast, apparently with much - satisfaction, while my friend, smiling and half-whistling, - rubbed down his back, and pulled him by the tail; and when I - observed he was a fine cat, saying, 'Why yes, Sir, but I - have had cats whom I liked better than this'; and then as if - perceiving Hodge to be out of countenance, adding, 'but he is - a very fine cat, a very fine cat indeed.' - -We are pleased to find that Boswell has preserved for us the motive of -Johnson, 'lest the servants having that trouble should take a dislike -to the poor creature.'[2] This is characteristic and interesting. -But how deeply satisfying it is to discover that poor Hodge, as it -appeared to Johnson, was 'out of countenance.' - -It is not, however, only because he observed so accurately what was -obviously relevant, as the appearance of Johnson, or that he saw -exactly what his motives were, that Boswell was a good observer; -the range of his observation is equally remarkable. He observed -everything; no detail was too insignificant for his attention. It was -of vital importance for him to record (in the 'Tour to the Hebrides') -'I slept in the same room with Dr. Johnson. Each had a neat bed, with -Tartan curtains, in an upper chamber,' and it is well that he did -so; it is highly agreeable to imagine Johnson and Boswell in this -situation. It is also interesting to know that Boswell, on the -following morning, found upon the table in their room a slip of -paper, on which Dr. Johnson had written these words: '_Quantum -cedat virtutibus aurum_'; and that when Johnson turned his cup at -Aberbrothick, where they drank tea, he muttered '_Claudite jam rivos -pueri_.' And what an invaluable devotion it was that has preserved for -us so small a fact as this--that the book which Johnson presented to a -Highland lass was 'Cocker's Arithmetic'! - -These details are ours not by the fortune of a naturally endowed -memory, but by the labour and patience and attention that trained a -mind to a point of excellence. Miss Burney has left us an admirable -account of Boswell's deportment when in the act of 'memorandising' Dr. -Johnson's conversation, and from this we may see something of what it -cost him to observe and record and remember: - - In truth, when he met with Dr. Johnson, he commonly forbore - even answering anything that was said, or attending to - anything that went forward, lest he should miss the smallest - sound from that voice to which he paid such exclusive, though - merited, homage. But the moment that voice burst forth, the - attention which it excited in Mr. Boswell amounted almost to - pain. His eyes goggled with eagerness; he leant his ear almost - on the shoulder of the Doctor; and his mouth dropped open to - catch every syllable that might be uttered; nay, he seemed not - only to dread losing a word, but to be anxious not to miss a - breathing, as if hoping from it, latently or mystically, some - information. - -Miss Burney had no admiration for Boswell, and the effect of this -description is merely grotesque. It is probable that Boswell was not -so wholly unconscious of self in this performance as Miss Burney -seems to have thought. His behaviour appears to have been absurd, in -a degree unnecessary alike to his curious character and his -extraordinary task. It is possible that Boswell, aware that his minute -attention to Dr. Johnson was a rather laughable affair, tried by a -sort of buffoonery to avoid the natural consequence. Boswell, when he -imitates Dr. Johnson in his presence, and when his eyes goggle -with eagerness, was perhaps attempting to divert the company by -caricaturing what was already ridiculous. - -But however that may be, Miss Burney's account is no doubt faithful -enough as regards the original motive of the biographer's behaviour; -his eyes goggled with a genuine eagerness. That exclusive attention -was the attention of one who had a difficult task to perform and was -extremely anxious to perform it. - -Boswell's infinite capacity for concentration in observing and -recording, and for patience in collecting and preserving the smallest -facts, is indeed an essential part of his genius; for genius, whenever -it achieves anything, implies devotion, implies the relentless pursuit -of its object, however small the actual result of the moment may seem -when compared to the trouble which has been expended upon it. And this -capacity for concentration enabled Boswell not merely to observe -and record what he saw and heard, but to seek continually for any -information, however it was to be obtained, which might be of value to -him. - -It is easy to see from many passages in the early portion of the -'Life'--the portion, that is, which deals with Johnson before Boswell -made his acquaintance, and which naturally required the greatest -labour, in collecting and investigating material, on the part of the -biographer--how much trouble Boswell took. In order to obtain a copy -of the famous letter to Lord Chesterfield he tells us: - - I for many years solicited Johnson to favour me with a copy - of it, that so excellent a composition might not be lost to - posterity. He delayed from time to time to give it me; till - at last, in 1781, when we were on a visit at Mr. Dilly's, at - Southill in Bedfordshire, he was pleased to dictate it to me - from memory. He afterwards found among his papers a copy of - it, which he had dictated to Mr. Baretti, with its title - and corrections in his own handwriting. This he gave to Mr. - Langton; adding that if it were to come into print, he wished - it to be from that copy. By Mr. Langton's kindness, I am - enabled to enrich my work with a perfect transcript of what - the world has so eagerly desired to see. - -It appears that, though he had at last succeeded in obtaining a copy -from Johnson, he was willing to take the further trouble of getting -Mr. Langton's copy, which was more likely to be absolutely accurate. -Still more remarkable is the manner in which he discovered the facts -about Johnson's pension: - - _Lord Bute told me_[3] that Mr. Wedderburne, now Lord - Loughborough, was the person who first mentioned this subject - to him. _Lord Loughborough told me_ that the pension was - granted solely as a reward of his literary merit.... _Mr. - Thomas Sheridan and Mr. Murphy_, who then lived a good deal - both with him and Mr. Wedderburne, _told me_, that they - previously talked with Johnson on this matter.... _Sir Joshua - Reynolds told me_ that Johnson called on him. - -The mere number of names consulted is sufficiently imposing. Boswell -in fact was collecting evidence for a case. He must examine all the -witnesses: also he must examine them in such a way that the truth -might be discovered. - - Mr. Murphy and the late Mr. Sheridan severally contended for - the distinction of having been the first who mentioned to - Mr. Wedderburne that Johnson ought to have a pension. _When - I spoke of this to Lord Loughborough_, wishing to know if he - recollected the prime mover in the business, _he said_: 'All - his friends assisted,' and when I told him that Mr. Sheridan - strenuously asserted his claim to it, his Lordship said: 'He - rang the bell.' And it is but just to add, that _Mr. Sheridan - told me_ that when he communicated to Dr. Johnson that a - pension was to be granted him he replied in a fervour of - gratitude.... _When I repeated this to Dr. Johnson he did not - contradict it._ - -The profusion of information about this particular point may seem to -us unnecessary--it is of course controversial, and the controversy has -lost much of its interest. But it shows in any case not only the great -number of questions Boswell was willing to ask in order to find -out exactly what had taken place and the scale upon which his -investigations were conducted, but also the minute and detailed care -with which he preserved the truth. - -Boswell has himself said something of the labour it cost him to -compile the 'Life': - - The labour and anxious attention with which I have collected - and arranged the materials of which these volumes are - composed, will hardly be conceived by those who read them with - careless facility. The stretch of mind and prompt assiduity by - which so many conversations were preserved, I myself, at - some distance of time, contemplate with wonder; and I must - be allowed to suggest, that the nature of the work in other - respects, as it consists of innumerable detached particulars, - all of which, even the most minute, I have spared no pains - to ascertain with a scrupulous authenticity, has occasioned - a degree of trouble far beyond that of any other species - of composition. Were I to detail the books which I have - consulted, and the inquiries which I have found it necessary - to make by various channels, I should probably be thought - ridiculously ostentatious. Let me only observe, as a specimen - of my trouble, that I have sometimes been obliged to run half - over London in order to fix a date correctly.[4] - -Something of all that Boswell meant by this can be seen more nearly in -Dr. Birkbeck Hill's essay upon Boswell's Proof-sheets: - - A delay was sometimes caused by his desire to 'ascertain - particulars with scrupulous authenticity.' 'Sheet 777,' he - wrote, 'is with Mr. Wilkes to look at a note.' ... A short - delay is caused in ascertaining the number of years the Rev. - Mr. Vilette had been Ordinary of Newgate. A blank had been - left in the text. On the margin Boswell wrote: 'Send my note - to Mr. Vilette in the morning and open the answer. Or inquire - of Mr. Akerman (the keeper of Newgate) for the number of - years. Get it somehow.' ... On page 505 of the second volume - Boswell writes: 'I could wish that the forme in which page 512 - is were not thrown off till I have an answer from Mr. Stone, - the gentleman mentioned in the note, to tell me his Christian - name, that I may call him Esq.' ... In the margin of the - passage in which he quotes the inscription on a gold snuff-box - given to Reynolds by Catherine II., he writes, 'Pray be very - careful in printing the words of the Empress of _all the - Russias_.' ... Opposite the long note where he quotes the - anonymous editor of 'Tracts by Warburton and a Warburtonian,' - he writes in the margin: '_This page_ must not be laid on - till I hear from Dr. Parr whether his name may be mentioned.' - Accordingly he wrote to him requesting 'to have by return of - post if I may say or guess that Dr. Parr is the editor.' - -The success of these inquiries was far from certain. Dr. Parr's name -does not appear. - - Boswell was more fortunate in obtaining a name for another - entry, which had originally stood: 'He was in this like ... - who, Mr. Daines Barrington told me, used to say: 'I hate a - _cui bono_ man!' In the margin he filled up the blank with 'a - respectable person'; but before the sheet was 'laid on,' he - learnt this respectable person's name. In the published text - he figures as 'Dr. Shaw, the great traveller.'[5] - -The proof-sheets which Dr. Birkbeck Hill was so fortunate as to see -were not the first sheets, but only 'revises': in the earlier stages -there must have been many more minute facts for Boswell to find out. -But they are undoubtedly documents of great interest, and the point -which stands out most clearly from the essay we have quoted is the -extraordinary minuteness of Boswell's care and attention. - - * * * * * - -The devotion of Boswell to his biographical work is illustrated not so -much by the prodigious toil it cost him--for many men have this power -of sustained labour when they have found the right object for it--as -by the reckless disregard of conventions and people to which it led -him. - -The admirable account in the 'Memoirs of Thomas Holcroft'[6] of how -Boswell obtained from Mr. Lowe a copy of one of Johnson's letters -shows how attentive he could be even to a man whom, it would seem, he -rather despised, when there was a chance of acquiring any document or -information which might be of use to him. Lowe had requested Johnson -to write him a letter, which Johnson did, and Boswell came in while -it was writing; his attention was immediately fixed. Lowe took the -letter, retired, and was followed by Boswell. - - 'Nothing,' said Lowe, 'could surprise me more. Till that - moment he had so entirely overlooked me that I did not imagine - he knew there was such a creature in existence, and he - now accosted me with the most overstrained and insinuating - compliments possible. "How do you do, Mr. Lowe? I hope you are - well, Mr. Lowe? Pardon my freedom, Mr. Lowe, but I think I saw - my dear friend Dr. Johnson writing a letter for you." "Yes, - sir." "I hope you will not think me rude, but if it would not - be too great a favour, you would infinitely oblige me if you - would just let me have a sight of it; everything from that - hand, you know, is so inestimable." "Sir, it is on my own - private affairs, but----." "I would not pry into a person's - affairs, my dear Mr. Lowe, by any means. I am sure you would - not accuse me of such a thing, only, if it were no particular - secret----" "Sir, you are welcome to read the letter." "I - thank you, my dear Mr. Lowe, you are very obliging. I take it - exceedingly kind." ... (Having read): "It is nothing I believe, - Mr. Lowe, that you would be ashamed of----" "Certainly not." - "Why, then, my dear sir, if you would do me another favour you - would make the obligation eternal. If you would but step to - Peele's coffee-house with me and just suffer me to take a copy - of it I would do anything in my power to oblige you." 'I - was so overcome,' said Lowe, 'by this sudden familiarity and - condescension, accompanied with bows and grimaces, I had no - power to refuse. We went to the coffee-house. My letter was - presently transcribed, and as soon as he had put his document - in his pocket Mr. Boswell walked away as erect and as proud as - half an hour before. I ever after was unnoticed. Nay, I am not - certain,' added he sarcastically, 'whether the Scotchman did - not leave me, poor as he knew I was, to pay for my own dish of - coffee.'[7] - -Miss Burney also gives an amusing account of how she was pressed to -give her recollections of Johnson. - -Boswell met her at the gate of St. George's chapel, and since the -lady relates 'Mr. Turbulent brought him to me,' it would seem that the -anxious biographer sought the mediation of a friend so as to have a -better reception. Miss Burney, however, found the occasion unsuitable; -she was on the way to the 'Queen's Lodge'; a Queen's lady has to -reflect the aloofness of royalty, and a conversation with Mr. Boswell -would not add to her dignity. Her assistance is sought in most -eloquent terms: - - Yes, madam; you must give me some of your choice little notes - of the Doctor's; we have seen him long enough upon stilts; I - want to show him in a new light. Grave Sam, and great Sam, and - solemn Sam, and learned Sam--all these he has appeared over - and over. Now I want to entwine a wreath of the graces across - his brow; I want to show him as gay Sam, agreeable Sam, - pleasant Sam; so you must help me with some of his beautiful - billets to yourself. - -Miss Burney apparently had no wish that her 'choice little notes' -should appear in the 'Life.' Boswell did his best in vain. 'I evaded -this by declaring I had not any stores at hand. He proposed a thousand -curious expedients to get at them, but I was invincible....' - -But Boswell was not easily to be dismissed; he must glean what he may -from Miss Burney; she must, at least, give judgment on the style of -the work. - - He then told me his 'Life of Dr. Johnson' was nearly printed, - and took a proof-sheet out of his pocket to show me, with - crowds passing and repassing, knowing me well, and staring - well at him: for we were now at the iron rails of the Queen's - Lodge. - - I stopped; I could not ask him in: I saw he expected it, and - was reduced to apologise, and tell him I must attend the Queen - immediately.... - - But finding he had no chance for entering, he stopped me again - at the gate, and said he would read me a part of his work. - - There was no refusing this: and he began, with a letter of Dr. - Johnson's to himself. He read it in strong imitation of the - Doctor's manner, very well, and not caricature. But Mrs. - Schwellenberg was at her window, a crowd was gathering to - stand round the rails, and the King and Queen and Royal Family - now approached from the Terrace. - -It is a delightful scene--the enthusiastic Boswell oblivious of -Royalty as he declaims the sonorous words of the Doctor, and Miss -Burney anxious only to effect an escape. The whole account shows how -importunate Boswell could become in the cause of his art and for his -'sacred love of truth.' - - - [Footnote 1: _Life of Johnson_, i, 25-6.] - - [Footnote 2: So also Mrs. Piozzi.] - - [Footnote 3: The italics throughout are of course mine.] - - [Footnote 4: _Life of Johnson_, Advertisement to First - Edition.] - - [Footnote 5: _Johnson Club Papers_, pp. 58-60. The - proof-sheets were in 1893 possessed by Mr. R. B. Adam, - Barnstaple, Cape Cod.] - - [Footnote 6: Quoted in the introduction to Mr. Birrell's - edition of the _Life_.] - - [Footnote 7: _Memoirs of Thomas Holcroft_, iii, 29-31.] - - - - -CHAPTER X - - -There is an even more remarkable feature of Boswell's work--the -scientific manner in which he deliberately made experiments. Here -again we shall see his uncompromising attitude. - -Dr. Johnson has been considered, and very properly considered, a great -talker. Not the least of our reasons for reading the 'Life' is that we -are interested to know what Johnson had to say; and we find there the -expressed thoughts of Johnson upon a great number of subjects. That -Boswell should have preserved so much--that, though the same topics -may more than once be discussed, yet every conversation gives a -distinct and separate impression, and each one is valuable--tells -us not only that Boswell himself must have had a high order of -intelligence to apprehend and preserve the point of Johnson's -discourse upon so many occasions, but, what is important for our -purpose at the moment, tells us (when we remember how little time -altogether he spent with Johnson and that the time most fruitful in -records, during the famous tour in the Hebrides, is not included in -the 'Life') that he himself must have had some part in finding out -the Doctor's opinion. For Johnson was not exactly what is called an -expansive person; it was an effort to him to talk seriously, and it -was usually necessary to engage him gradually in conversation before -he talked his best. Boswell has told us, 'he very often sat quite -silent for a long time.' He said of himself: 'Tom Tyers described me -the best. He once said to me, "Sir, you are like a ghost. You never -speak until you are spoken to."' - -It is remarkable that Boswell should have had so much to record. The -explanation is that he made Johnson talk; he did it not by accident -but quite deliberately; this is a substantial part of his whole -biographical method. 'I also,' he says in the 'Tour to the Hebrides,' -'may be allowed to claim some merit in leading the conversation. I do -not mean leading as in an orchestra, by playing the first fiddle; but -leading as one does in examining a witness--starting topics and -making him pursue them.' And he did not find this part of his task -particularly easy: - - He appears to me like a great mill, into which a subject is - thrown to be ground. It requires, indeed, fertile minds - to furnish subjects for this mill--I regret when I see it - unemployed; but sometimes I feel myself quite barren, and have - nothing to throw in. - -On most occasions, however, Boswell's mind was sufficiently fertile, -and it enabled him to say some very odd things; his ingenuity was -exercised in asking Johnson the most absurd questions, and he did -this very often in the hope of some good retort. 'If, Sir,' he once -demanded irrelevantly, 'you were shut up in a castle and a new-born -child with you, what would you do?' Johnson is said to have related -that one question was, 'Pray, Sir, can you tell why an apple is round -and a pear pointed?'[1] On one occasion Boswell, apparently without -reference to anything which had previously been said, asked 'if he had -ever been accustomed to wear a night-cap.' And such questions were apt -to produce an amusing discussion. - -But Boswell's spirit of investigation did not lead him merely to -ask questions like these; it was frequently both serious and -subtle--indeed there are so many instances in the 'Life' of his -leading Johnson to talk that it is difficult to choose one for -illustration. Perhaps the most characteristic kind of method employed -is where Boswell, evidently having thought of his subject beforehand, -brings in at a convenient moment a quotation, which furnishes an -excuse for starting a discussion; as when he relates: - - Talking of divorces, I asked if Othello's doctrine were not - plausible-- - - He that is robbed, not wanting what is stolen, - Let him not know't, and he's not robbed at all.[2] - -Then follows a discussion about divorce, in which Boswell takes a -prominent part. - -A few pages later we find Boswell re-starting a topic upon which -Johnson, on a former occasion, has no doubt exhibited some warmth of -feeling, and, having thought out his own line of argument, is able to -lead him on to one of those moments of thunder which he loves to see. - - After Mrs. Thrale was gone to bed, Johnson and I sat up late. - We resumed Sir Joshua Reynolds' argument on the preceding - Sunday, that a man would be virtuous though he had no other - motive than to preserve his character.[3] - -In the course of the argument Johnson exclaims ('very angry'): - - Nay, sir, what stuff is this! You had no more this opinion - after Robertson said it than before. I know nothing more - offensive than repeating what one knows to be foolish things, - by way of continuing a dispute, to see what a man will - answer--to make him your butt! (angrier still). - -The scenes which illustrate perhaps better than any others Boswell's -minute interest in his friend and experimenting attitude have already -been quoted. In the account of the breakfast at Lochbuy (when Johnson -was offered the cold sheep's head) we see how great was his passion -for experiment and what a depth of enjoyment he had from it: 'I sat -quietly by and enjoyed my success'--that is the point of view. The -manner in which he arranged the meeting with Wilkes shows the trouble -he could take to form his plans for creating a situation and his -ingenuity in carrying them out. This is not the only occasion when -he made arrangements for his observation of Johnson; the whole of the -tour in the Hebrides was in a sense a great series of experiments, -and we feel as we read it that the circumstances of Johnson's riding -bespurred upon a Highland pony, of his sitting majestically in the -stern of the little boat, of his dinner with the Duke of Argyle, of -his visit to Auchinleck, are consciously arranged, in some way, for -effect by Boswell. - -No less a person than Walter Scott, who knew much at first hand -from the contemporaries of Johnson and Boswell, and could remember -distinctly the tour in Scotland and the discussion it provoked, held -this view of the biographer: - - [4]After all, Bozzy, though submitting to Johnson in - everything, had his means of indemnification. Like the - jackanapes mounted on the bear's back he contrived now and - then to play the more powerful animal a trick by getting him - into situations like the meeting with Wilkes merely to see - how he would look. The voyage to the Hebrides exhibited some - tricks of that kind, the weather being so stormy at that late - season that everyone thought they must have been drowned. - Undoubtedly Bozzy wanted to see how the Doctor would look in a - storm. - -Boswell himself explains the visit to Lord Monboddo: 'I knew Lord -Monboddo and Dr. Johnson did not love each other; yet ... I was -curious to see them together.' It could hardly be supposed that -Boswell adopted this attitude without encountering some opposition -from Dr. Johnson. The latter evidently wished that a good life of him -should be written, and was pleased with Boswell's journal and glad to -tell him from time to time about his early life; but there were limits -to his endurance. 'I will not be put to the _question_. Don't you -consider, Sir, that these are not the manners of a gentleman? I will -not be baited with _what_ and _why_; what is this? what is that? why -is a cow's tail long? why is a fox's tail bushy?' 'Sir,' he said on -one occasion, 'you have but two topicks, yourself and me. I am sick -of both.' Boswell indeed was continually taking risks; he compares -himself to 'the man who has put his head into the lion's mouth a great -many times:' his ordinary method of conversing with Johnson was to -push his inquiries to the furthest possible point. His courage in this -respect must have been notorious. 'I won a small bet,' he relates on -one occasion, 'from Lady Diana Beauclerk, by asking him as to one of -his particularities, which her Ladyship said I durst not do. It seems -he had been frequently observed at the Club to put into his pocket -the Seville oranges, after he had squeezed the juice of them into the -drink which he had made for himself. Beauclerk and Garrick talked of -it to me, and seemed to think he had a strange unwillingness to be -discovered. We could not divine what he did with them; and this -was the bold question to be put.' Boswell on this occasion was not -successful in his inquiries; but it is to be observed that Boswell was -deputed to inquire, and that he asked the question, and won his bet. - -Occasionally Boswell remarks that Johnson was not in a good humour for -talking. He must have wondered at such times how long it would take -before his irritation would break forth, and he would make some -typical utterance. 'But I wonder, Sir,' &c., was a sort of Boswellian -formula to be met sooner or later with: 'Sir, you _may_ wonder,' or -some similar retort. - -But what irritated Johnson perhaps more than the endless questions was -to be made a 'butt' as he termed it. 'On Monday, September 22, when -at breakfast, I unguardedly said to Dr. Johnson, "I wish I saw you and -Mrs. Macaulay together!" He grew very angry, and, after a pause, while -a cloud gathered on his brow, he burst out: "No, Sir, you would not -see us quarrel to make you sport."' Boswell eventually owns that he -had wished to see a contest between Mrs. Macaulay and Johnson. - -It is not to be supposed that Boswell's provocations were always -intentional, though there are many occasions upon which they clearly -were so. Sometimes he was 'out of countenance,' and when Johnson -'carried the company with him,' his discomfiture perhaps was greater -than he would have wished. Not infrequently he made mistakes. On one -occasion when Johnson began: 'If I kept a seraglio,' Boswell was so -much amused that he failed to keep his countenance and was overwhelmed -with 'a variety of degrading images'! Yet he was well aware of the -general tendency of his behaviour to provoke the ridicule of Johnson, -and though there may have been moments when he did not intend it to -do so, we may say that he consciously led to his own humiliation, or -consciously at least ran the risk of it. - -How much humiliation Boswell was able to support may be seen from Miss -Burney's account of a party at Streatham. Boswell, finding that -there was no place at the side of Dr. Johnson, had taken up a seat -immediately behind and between Dr. Johnson and Miss Burney. It was -not very polite, and the discovery of his position by Dr. Johnson was -disastrous: - - The Doctor turned angrily round upon him, and, clapping - his hand rather loudly upon his knee, said, in a tone of - displeasure, 'What do you do there, Sir? Go to the table, - Sir!' - - Mr. Boswell instantly, and with an air of affright, obeyed; - and there was something so unusual in such humble submission - to so imperious a command that another smile gleamed its - way across every mouth except that of the Doctor and of Mr. - Boswell, who now, very unwillingly, took a distant seat. - -Anything more ignominious could hardly be imagined, and that Boswell -was sensitive to a rebuke from the Doctor we cannot doubt. And yet, -within a few minutes, he was to run the risk of a second. For some -reason or other he wished to leave the room while the ceremony still -demanded his presence at the table. The Doctor, calling after him -authoritatively, said: 'What are you thinking of, Sir? Why do you -get up before the cloth is removed? Come back to your place, Sir!' -'Again,' Miss Burney continues, 'and with equal obsequiousness, Mr. -Boswell did as he was bid.' - -Boswell's behaviour, indeed, on this particular occasion was not -heroic. His position near Dr. Johnson cannot have been essential to -his purpose of taking notes; he was unwilling to abandon it out of a -childish feeling of dignity; he considered it his natural right to sit -near the doctor, and was obstinate about it. And it was no experiment -of his to leave the room unceremoniously with the purpose of hearing -what Dr. Johnson might have to say. But it was heroic of Boswell to -put himself continually, and often intentionally, in the way of such -rebuffs; for this he undoubtedly did. It was heroic because he had -a noble purpose. Boswell was a man of science, and his science was -concerned with nothing less than the mind and soul of Man. He was none -the less scientific because he did not deal in generalities; he was -concerned with detail rather than with deduction and with one man -rather than with all men. Science may not have been the only motive -for enduring. Boswell may have supported the harsh sayings of Dr. -Johnson and suffered for the sake of his friendship, for its honour as -well as for its value; but when we consider the humiliation of those -rebukes we know at least that he suffered not a little; and inasmuch -as he courted them, and courted them deliberately, friendship offers -no explanation. Here we are compelled to accept the scientific motive. -Boswell must be allowed the credit of having suffered as a man of -science for the sake of Biography. - -Miss Burney, though she neither understood nor appreciated Boswell, -and even disliked him, has no doubt given a truthful picture. It is -clear that Boswell suffered from the rebuffs which he received from -Johnson. If he endured them on the whole willingly, yet he endured -them not without feeling some pain. He could not carry it off; Boswell -had no natural dignity; he had a 'jovial bluntness' and a comical air -about him, but these could not help him on such occasions, and he was -obliged as it were to lose prestige, to appear in fact mean-spirited -and servile. - -Miss Burney tells us also that Johnson generally treated him as a -schoolboy. The difference in their ages was more than thirty years; -but even so the expression is remarkable, and shows as does the whole -account how complete was the submission of Boswell. - -His behaviour, however, was not merely undignified and grotesque, it -was rude. His whole attitude towards Johnson was a rude one. Curiosity -indulged as he indulged it cannot be polite. Johnson told him -more than once that he had no manners. Langton said: 'Boswell's -conversation consists entirely in asking questions, and is extremely -offensive.' Boswell, in fact, as the biographer, was rude not only -to Johnson but to the whole company; concerned entirely with his own -purpose, he ignored the social obligation. It seems to have been -his common habit to sit down, note-book in hand, to record the -conversation. Mr. Barclay said that he had seen Boswell lay down his -knife and fork, and take out his tablets, in order to register a -good anecdote. Mrs. Thrale refers to his 'reporting' as a usual and -obnoxious practice. - - A trick which I have seen played on common occasions, of - sitting steadily down at the other end of the room to write - at the moment what should be said in company, either _by_ Dr. - Johnson or _to_ him, I never practised myself, nor approved of - in another. There is something so ill-bred, and so inclining - to treachery in this conduct, that were it commonly adopted, - all confidence would soon be exiled from society, and a - conversation assembly-room would become tremendous as a court - of justice. - - - [Footnote 1: _Autobiography, Letters, &c., of Mrs. Piozzi_, - ii, 125.] - - [Footnote 2: _Life of Johnson_, iii, 347.] - - [Footnote 3: _Life of Johnson_, iii, 349.] - - [Footnote 4: _Croker Papers_, iii, 33.] - - - - -CHAPTER XI - - -The habit which annoyed Mrs. Thrale was necessary to Boswell's -conception of his task; it involved what he spoke of as his -'authenticity.' - -To understand what he meant by this, an attitude perhaps not only -towards himself, but to the public also, since he wished very much -that those who read his book should feel that it was true in every -detail, we must examine more nearly Boswell's method of carrying out -his biographical plan. - -It is remarkable that Boswell should have begun his system of -recording when quite a young man. A man of forty is more easily -forgiven some eccentricity than one of two-and-twenty. Yet we find -Boswell, during his travels on the Continent, tablets in hand on his -first visit to Paoli, who gives an amusing account of him: - - He came to my country and he fetched me some letter of - recommending him: but I was of the belief he might be an - impostor, and I supposed in my minte, he was an espy; for I - look away from him and in a moment I look to him again, and I - behold his tablets. Oh! he was to the work of writing down - all I say! Indeed I was angry. But soon I discover he was no - impostor and no espy; and I only find I was myself the monster - he had come to discover. Oh--he is a very good man, I love him - indeed; so cheerful! so gay! so pleasant! but at the first, - oh! indeed I was angry.[1] - -Boswell's method of recording conversations was not completed in -these memoranda taken down at the moment. He had, besides these, -his journal. It has been remarked already that he began to keep this -regularly as early as 1758 during his tour on the Northern Circuit in -the company of his father and Lord Hailes, and he tells us something -of it at the time of his journey to Greenwich with Johnson in 1763: - - I was the more sensible of it (the cold) from having sat up - all the night before _recollecting and writing_ in my journal - what I thought worthy of preservation; an exertion which, - during the first part of my acquaintance with Johnson, I - frequently made. I remember having sat up four nights in one - week, without being much incommoded in the daytime. - -In the 'Tour to Corsica,' also, he tells us: - - From my first setting out on this tour, I wrote down every - night what I had observed during the day, throwing together a - great deal, that I might afterwards select at leisure.[2] - -We have then two processes mentioned by which Boswell recorded -conversation: the notes taken down at the moment, and the journal -written up at night. The relation of these two--the function which -each of them performed--is not difficult to conjecture. - -Boswell's object was to get his records written up as soon as possible -after the events or conversations which he was describing: - - I found, from experience, that to collect my friend's - conversation so as to exhibit it with any degree of its - original flavour, it was necessary to write it down without - delay. To record his sayings, after some distance of time, - was like preserving or pickling long-kept or faded fruits, or - other vegetables, which, when in that state, have little or - nothing of their taste when fresh.[3] - -It was upon the fact that he trusted, not to his memory, but to -'exact transcript of conversations,' that Boswell based his claim to -authenticity.[4] He was so absolutely truthful himself, that it never -occurred to him to think that the truth of what was actually written -down at the time could be doubted, and it was to him an entire -refutation of any adversary to confront him with his method. - - If this book should again be reprinted, I shall with the - utmost readiness correct any errours I may have committed, in - stating conversations, provided it can be clearly shown to me - that I have been inaccurate. But I am slow to believe (as - I have elsewhere observed) that any man's memory, at the - distance of several years, can preserve facts or sayings with - such fidelity as may be done by writing them down when they - are recent: and I beg it may be remembered, that it is not - upon _memory_, but upon what was _written at the time_, that - the authenticity of my 'Journal' rests.[5] - -But it is clear enough that the notes which Boswell made at the -time must have been very unlike the final form in which he wrote the -dialogue. In the course of conversations in which he himself took -part, it would have been impossible without shorthand to make so full -a record. The kind of notes which Boswell took may be gathered from -the following passage: - - I this evening boasted, that though I did not write what is - called stenography, or short-hand, in appropriated characters - devised for the purpose, I had a method of my own of writing - half words, and leaving out some altogether, so as yet to keep - the substance and language of any discourses which I had heard - so much in view, that I could give it very completely soon - after I had taken it down.[6] - -It would seem then that what was written down during a conversation -was far from including every word which was spoken; it was rather an -aid, though a very substantial aid, to memory. We may conjecture that -the most important expressions were recorded, and the course of the -argument indicated, so as to be intelligible to Boswell, but not even -to him, perhaps, after a long interval. He was able to 'keep in view' -the 'substance and language.' - -To give a full and permanent form to these rough drafts must therefore -have been a work of considerable labour; and it is this no doubt that -the journal accomplished. - -We may see in the 'Life' the traces of two kinds of record. For we -have sometimes the actual words of the speakers, but at others only -the purport of their remarks. What we should naturally suppose--if -this theory of the respective functions of the notes and the journal -is correct--that the former came from the journal and the latter -from the notes taken down at the moment, or sometimes perhaps shortly -afterwards--is confirmed by the fact that, when we have only the -less complete account, Boswell very often regrets the neglect of his -journal, and talks of presenting such scraps as he has; and on one -occasion says: - - I kept very imperfect notes of his conversation, which had I - according to my usual custom _written out at large soon after - the time_, much might have been preserved.[7] - -He was obliged in consequence of his neglect to write the text -directly from notes; with their aid he filled in what he could -remember; but he dispensed with the intermediate assistance of the -journal, and the account is therefore far less full. - -The rough notes of the moment and the elaborate journal made by -writing them out at large 'soon after the time'--these, then, form the -basis of Boswell's method for preserving Johnson's talk. It is not -to be supposed that Boswell strictly adhered to this method on every -occasion. He was too much an experimentalist for that; and sometimes -it must have been very difficult to take notes. We cannot imagine that -when Boswell was alone with Johnson he pulled out 'tablets' in the -course of an argument. More probably he seized an opportunity, as soon -afterwards as possible, when Johnson was not talking, to put down -the more striking phrases and record the point of the discussion. But -there must have been some occasions when opportunities did not occur. -Johnson, no doubt, became accustomed to his companion's habits and was -often willing to help him by telling him details about his early life -or dictating the text of a letter for Boswell to write down there -and then. But sometimes he was in the mood to resent memoranda; and -sometimes the talk was too continuous for Boswell's task to be an easy -one. At such times Boswell may have written the journal as well as -he could without the notes, and as soon afterwards as possible. At -Ashbourne, for instance, in 1777, he may have done this: he was alone -with Johnson more than usual, and several discussions made Johnson -very angry; he may well have waited to record anything until he wrote -the journal, for he had no lack of time to devote to this purpose -while staying in the quiet country town, and in point of fact he -actually kept the journal more fully at this time than at any other. -He mentions that he has 'acquired a facility in recollecting his -conversation.'[8] This may refer to the effort of memory required in -recalling altogether what had been said, as well as to the effort of -reconstructing the talk from what he had written down at the moment. -In the early part of the 'Life' Boswell says: - - In progress of time, when my mind was, as it were, _strongly - impregnated with the Johnsonian aether_, I could, with much - more facility and exactness, _carry in my memory and commit to - paper_ the exuberant variety of his wisdom and wit.[9] - -Here again he may well have had in mind a process of writing the -journal with no notes to help him. - -All the original documents from which Boswell compiled the 'Life' are -concealed from this generation. There are, however--or at least there -were--in existence two of Boswell's note-books. Mr. Fitzgerald relates -that in Mr. Pocock's 'Johnsonian Catalogue' there was - - a note-book in which Boswell jotted down from day to day the - actual sayings and doings of the eminent lexicographer. This - volume contains literary opinions and aphorisms peculiar to - this great man, and of which many have never been published. - He gives a specific account of the manner in which he compiled - the 'Dictionary,' and relates other matters of interest, - bearing on his long literary career and contemporaries. - -This manuscript, if it were to be seen, might reveal more definitely -what Boswell's method was. The description of it can do nothing but -emphasise the use of the 'tablets'; but its value as evidence depends -upon its accuracy with regard to the sequence of the notes: if they -were really 'jotted down from day to day,' then they are the 'tablets' -without a doubt. - -The other note-book is 'Boswelliana'; and it is of a different kind. - - Boswell kept in a portfolio a quantity of loose quarto sheets, - inscribed on each page _Boswelliana_. In certain of these - sheets the pages are denoted by numerals in the ordinary - fashion; another portion is numbered by the folios; while a - further portion consists of loose leaves and letter-backs. - The greater part of the entries are made so carefully as to - justify the belief that the author intended to embody the - whole in a volume of literary anecdotes.[10] - -Emphatically this collection was not 'tablets.' It was probably -intended for a particular purpose. Boswell may have had several -collections of a similar kind. But it is clear that the purpose -of 'Boswelliana' has no connection with the 'Life of Johnson.'[11] -Stories of Johnson it does indeed contain; but they are few, and are -unconnected by any chronological arrangement. They form only a small -part of the whole. - -The journal itself was kept in quarto and octavo volumes,[12] and -Boswell on one occasion showed it to Sir William Forbes.[13] It -seems that his object in doing this was to get an opinion which might -encourage him to publish; he quotes with great pleasure in the 'Life' -the praise which this gentleman had bestowed upon it. One would -suppose that the journal displayed in this way gave the Johnsonian -conversations and anecdotes in words almost identical with the text of -the 'Life.' In the preface to the 'Corsican Journal' Boswell says of -the Paoli memoirs: - - As I have related his remarkable sayings, I declare upon my - honour, that I have neither added nor diminished; nay, so - scrupulous have I been, that I would not make the smallest - variation even when my friends thought it would be an - improvement. I know with how much pleasure we read what is - perfectly authentick.[14] - -One might easily expect that the same words would equally well apply -to the 'Life.' But this is not the case. - -It is reasonable to suppose that the Johnsonian stories in -'Boswelliana' are not less polished than those in the journal; they -are themselves in a definite form; and since the journal itself is -only the second stage of Boswell's method, these stories must be in -a state at the least no less advanced. And yet the verbal differences -between these stories and those in the 'Life' are often considerable -and sometimes large. The truth is that Boswell's method must have -developed very much in one direction from the account he gave of it -in the 'Tour to Corsica.' As Dr. Birkbeck Hill has clearly proved, -he made changes in the way of 'touching up' the conversations and -stories. - -One or two instances of these variations will illustrate Boswell's -treatment of his materials; the stories are given below in double -columns for purpose of comparison. - - _Boswelliana_ _Life_ - - 1. Boswell asked Mr. We talked of the education - Samuel Johnson what was of children; and I - best to teach a gentleman's asked him what he thought - children first. was best to teach them - 'Why, Sir,' said he, first. _Johnson_: 'Sir, it - 'there is no matter what is no matter what you - you teach them first. It shall teach them first, any - matters no more than more than what leg you - which leg you put first shall put in your breeches - into your bretches [_sic_]. first. Sir, you may stand - Sir, you may stand disputing which leg you - disputing which leg you shall put in first, but in - shall put in first, but in the meantime your breech - the meantime your legs is bare. Sir, while you - are bare. No matter are considering which of - which you put in first two things you shall teach - so that you put 'em both your child first, another - in, and then you have boy has learnt them both. - your bretches on. Sir, - while you think which of - two things to teach a - child first, another boy, in - the common course has - learnt both.' - - I was present. - - _Boswelliana_ _Life_ - - 2. Boswell told Mr. The same gentleman - Samuel Johnson that a maintained that there was - gentleman of their no distinction between - acquaintance maintained virtue and vice. _Johnson_: - in public company that he 'Why, Sir, if the fellow - could see no distinction does not think as he - between virtue and vice. speaks, he is lying; and - 'Sir,' said Mr. Johnson, I see not what honour he - 'does he intend that we can propose to himself - should believe that he is from having the character - lying, or that he is in of a liar. But if he does - earnest? If we think really think that there is - him a lyar, that is not no distinction between - honouring him very much. virtue and vice, why, Sir, - But if we think him in when he leaves our houses - earnest, when he leaves let us count our spoons.' - our houses let us count - our spoons.' - -A comparison of the two versions of No. 1 reveals at once the brevity -of the final form. It is evident, as Mr. Fitzgerald remarks, that -the text itself could not have represented the talk as it came from -Johnson's lips. 'The whole is too deliberate, too close, too well -winnowed, as it were.' Conversation is more discursive. Boswell's -method as we see it here is in the first place to compress--to give -not the whole of Johnson's words, but only the essence of them. In -the result the story in its last state preserves the most important -expressions and is more pointed for being shorter. - -The second story in the table has not been cut down in the same -fashion. It illustrates very well another process. It is the process, -one may say, of Johnsonising. Not only has the argument, as in -the former case, been made clearer and more concise, but the words -themselves have been considerably altered. The result indicates the -reason of these changes. The version in the 'Life' is stronger and -more convincing; it has more of the energy of human tongues. The -assertion 'he is lying' has more force than the corresponding -question: the 'why, Sir,' introduced before the climax gives the -proper snort of war before the culminating triumph of the dilemma. -Boswell made these changes that he might retain the spirit of -Johnson's talk and the atmosphere of the moment as the listeners -felt it. He succeeded whenever he added force and directness; one may -easily be convinced of this by recalling the uncouth figure with its -suggestion of abnormal strength which uttered slowly in a very -loud voice, occasionally shaking the head, 'as if to promote the -fermentation of his wit.' - -A most remarkable instance of the two processes--of compressing and -Johnsonising--is furnished by two stories in 'Boswelliana' which -become one story in the 'Life.' - - _Boswelliana_ _Life_ - - Mr. Sheridan, though a He now added, 'Sheridan - man of knowledge and cannot bear me. I - parts, was a little fanciful bring his declamation to a - in his projects for point. I ask him a plain - establishing oratory and question, What do you - altering the mode of British mean to teach? Besides, - education. 'Mr. Samuel Sir, what influence can Mr. - Johnson,' said Sherry, Sheridan have upon the - 'cannot abide me, for I language of this great - always ask him, Pray, Sir, country by his narrow - what do you propose to exertions? Sir, it is - do?' burning a farthing candle - at Dover to show light at - From Mr. Johnson: Calais!' - - Boswell was talking to - Mr. Samuel Johnson of - Mr. Sheridan's enthusiasm - for the advancement - of eloquence. 'Sir,' said - Mr. Johnson, 'it won't do. - He cannot carry through - his scheme. He is like a - man attempting to stride - the English Channel. Sir, - the cause bears no proportion - to the effect. It - is setting up a candle at - Whitechapel to give light - at Westminster.' - -The compression and alteration are of the same character as in the two -previous stories. The argument is closer and the point clearer; -and the effect of the whole is stronger. One verbal change is -very striking. One might expect that the image with which Johnson -summarises his views would be wholly inviolate. Yet here we see Dover -and Calais substituted for Whitechapel and Westminster: probably the -reason is that Boswell regrets the phrase he has omitted, 'He is like -a man attempting to stride across the English Channel,' and tries to -combine the two images. - -It must not be forgotten that the stories in 'Boswelliana' were -probably not used by Boswell in writing the 'Life.' If they were to be -written down in full once only, then why not in the proper Johnsonian -stores? Or why should this peculiar collection of 'Boswelliana' -take precedence? Some of the stories, indeed, must have been in the -journal; the record in 'Boswelliana,' for instance, of Johnson's -retort about Scotland--the first remark he made to Boswell--cannot -be the only record of the famous meeting in Tom Davies' back parlour; -clearly Boswell must have kept a more elaborate account. But though -the 'Boswelliana' manuscripts were not used, as seems most likely, it -may fairly be argued that the difference between the versions given -there and the final forms in the 'Life' are a proper indication of -Boswell's method of adapting his material. There is no reason to -suppose that Boswell was less accurate in the 'Boswelliana' than in -his journal and other Johnsonian stores; or indeed, that there was a -great difference between 'Boswelliana' versions and any others in an -unfinished state. And it is clear that two versions of a story, both -in an unfinished state, must differ from the final form more or less, -perhaps, but with the same species of difference. - -It is contended, therefore, that Boswell altered his written -Johnsoniana in a way which could account for the differences we have -observed between the versions of stories in 'Boswelliana' and those -in the 'Life.' This proposition, however, casts no reflection upon his -reputation for accuracy. He preserved the 'substance and language'; -and if he changed some words he preserved the colouring and made the -whole a better representation of Johnson. - -Boswell himself gives some suggestion of his method when he presents a -series of Johnsoniana for which he was indebted to Mr. Langton: - - Very few articles in this collection were committed to writing - by himself, he not having that habit.... - The authenticity of every article is unquestionable. For the - expressions, I, who wrote them down, am partly answerable. - -By 'unquestionable authenticity' it was meant, no doubt, that -the purport of what Johnson said had been correctly reported. -In 'Boswelliana' a story told by Mr. Langton is written out with -suggestions for its improvement. It may be quoted as a final -example of the manner in which Boswell was partly answerable for the -expressions: - - Johnson had a sovereign contempt for Wilkes and his party, - whom he looked upon as a mere rabble. 'Sir,' said he, 'had - Wilkes's mob prevailed against Government, this nation would - have died of _phthiriasis_! Mr. Langton told me this. The - expression _morbus pediculosus_, as being better known, would - strike more. _Lousy disease_ may be put in a parenthesis.' - - - [Footnote 1: _Miss Burney's Diary_, ii, 100.] - - [Footnote 2: _Tour to Corsica_, p. 297.] - - [Footnote 3: _Life of Johnson_, iii, 183.] - - [Footnote 4: _Tour to the Hebrides_, p. 434 (Dr. Hill's - edition).] - - [Footnote 5: _Tour to the Hebrides_, Appendix 1.] - - [Footnote 6: _Life of Johnson_, iii, 270.] - - [Footnote 7: _Life of Johnson_, ii, 372.] - - [Footnote 8: _Life of Johnson_, i, 26.] - - [Footnote 9: _Ib._, i, 421.] - - [Footnote 10: _Boswelliana_, Grampian Club, 1874. Preface.] - - [Footnote 11: Boswell on one occasion told a lady that her - joke should be included in _Boswelliana_.] - - [Footnote 12: _Life of Johnson_, iv, 83.] - - [Footnote 13: _Ib._, iii, 308.] - - [Footnote 14: p. xiii.] - - - - -CHAPTER XII - - -The method we have been examining has revealed, in a sense, a second -aspect of Boswell as the biographer, the natural complement of that -scientific spirit which inspired the acute observation, the delicate -experiments, the methodical accuracy; for he brought to the work of -recording not merely the faculty for stating truthfully what he -had seen, but the power of expressing his feelings; and it was -particularly this feeling--an interest at the same time full-blooded, -comprehensive and minute--that insisted upon expression. - -The emotion which compels a man to bind himself to an ideal, -and, having determined that something must be done under certain -conditions, compels the doing of it without capitulation, is one which -enters into many kinds of work and is to be found no doubt very often -among scientists; but it is in a peculiar degree the possession of the -artist. To him indeed it seems to be essential; for his value depends -certainly not more on the quality of what he has to express than on -the completeness with which he expresses it. And so perhaps we ought -to connect the consistency, the truth, the faith of Boswell, and -his disregard for obstacles, with his artistic rather than with his -scientific qualities; so we ought to interpret Boswell's love of his -labour and his conviction that it was good, and so to understand all -the trouble that it cost to his mind and to the more sensitive part of -him. The refusal to depart from his ideal which he made to Hannah More -('I would not cut off his claws, nor make my tiger a cat, to please -anybody'),[1] and again to Bishop Percy when he declined, for the sake -of 'authenticity,' to suppress the bishop's name,[2] is an indication -of the need he had to express himself as an artist.[3] - -But how was it that he came so to express himself? And what is it that -he succeeded in expressing? - -Of the impulse to expression and what it meant in Boswell's case -something has been said already in these pages. We cannot understand -the engine if we forget the power that drives it, and we must -emphasise once again the force that Boswell obeyed. His passion for -truth was not comprehensive: and it was for the truth of the realist, -not the truth of the idealist. It did not include the whole of life; -it did not attempt to view the entire scene in correct perspective; -and Boswell was decidedly not a philosopher. He did not greatly need -explanations of the universe; he tended to accept such as seemed -convenient. He had no logic about abstract theories, and only a very -limited power of criticising evidence. One who cares for truth with -respect to every fact and deduction is inclined to reject his first -impressions, because experience has taught him that 'all men are -liars.' The face of things is so often false! But Boswell was content -to look no further; he sometimes deliberately disregarded the facts -of existence; he lived one half his life in a glitter of his own -creation. Nevertheless, the passion for truth was vivid and vital. It -lived apart to work out its own consummation; and it was all the more -vehement for being confined. It is perhaps for this reason--that the -truth inherent in Boswell was confined within such strict limits--that -it required expression. In these circumstances Boswell's buoyant -nature had need of a safety-valve. Truth for him was concerned -entirely with an external view of people. He was rarely analytical; he -did not care for subtle states of mind and the feelings that composed -them; he looked directly at actions and their primary motives. The -vision was so clear and strong that Boswell by its very insistence was -obliged to create an imperishable image. - -The reasons that made it certain from the beginning that Johnson would -become the vehicle for this expression extend beyond those qualities -which made Boswell prefer and admire him above all other men; they -depend upon Boswell's attitude towards mankind. We have seen that -he apologises and justifies himself for relating the weaknesses and -absurdities of Johnson. And yet he sometimes seems to have a peculiar -delight in them. These shades in Johnson's character are dealt with -not as an unpleasant but necessary task, to be despatched with a light -touch as though it ill became him to speak of them, but with a full -flavour of rich and lasting enjoyment. - -They were in fact to Boswell the most striking and salient qualities -of his great hero, and it was necessary therefore that they should be -well and completely related. But in the story as we read it, we do not -merely observe that the rude victories and uneven justice of Johnson -were supremely significant in the eyes of the author. To Boswell the -whole personality of Johnson was a source of the keenest pleasure. -He took an insatiable delight in it. He loved to imitate the curious -gestures and manner of the Doctor. He became, to use his own word, -'Johnsonised'; and no doubt he reached that state which he desired -his readers to attain, and both 'talked and thought' Johnson. He was -'strongly impregnated with the Johnsonian aether'; and when he had -drunk his fill and it had all soaked in, it was reproduced with a -relish of the joyous moments it had given him. The picture of Johnson, -as he saw it, was a source of deep and satisfying enjoyment to -Boswell: he overflowed with mere pleasure in the contemplation of a -man, and expressed himself, as an artist, out of the abundance of this -sympathy, in terms of 'Johnson.' - -And the enjoyment, one may say, depending as it did very largely -upon a certain dramatic quality of that curious figure, was concerned -necessarily very much with the oddities and weaknesses of the man, -and particularly with that greatest weakness of all, the abuse of -strength. - -When it is said that Boswell is an artist, it is not meant that the -whole of the 'Life of Johnson' was treated artistically. It exhibits, -no doubt, a certain elegance of proportion; it is a good composition, -well arranged, well spaced; and in as far as it has those qualities -we may consider that it belongs to art. But it is not chiefly because, -having recorded what happened in a perfectly straightforward manner, -he then fitted together the fragments to make as it were a complete -model of a man--it is not for the design--that we call Boswell an -artist. It is because he did not very often, as we have seen, relate -the facts quite simply, but related them in such a manner that -the whole atmosphere of the scene, all that is most human and most -humorous, strikes upon us. It is in what have been called his comedy -scenes that we see the supreme art of Boswell. - -A characteristic passage relates an attempt to make fun of Johnson by -inquiring if he took dancing lessons: - - I ventured to mention a ludicrous passage in the newspapers, - that Dr. Johnson was learning to dance of Vestris. Lord - Charlemont, wishing to excite him to talk, proposed in a - whisper, that he should be asked whether it was true. 'Shall I - ask him?' said his Lordship. We were by a great majority clear - for the experiment. - -In these few words Boswell has recalled the spirit of the scene. -We have a vision of Johnson sitting terrible in the midst, and his -hearers feeling and behaving like schoolboys in the presence of some -bearish pedagogue. Some one proposes an audacious jest, and all await -with eagerness the crucial moment. You may sit upon the edge of a -volcano, or you may fire the train which shall explode a planet, but -no expectancy is so keen as this. - - His Lordship very gravely and with a courteous air said, - 'Pray, sir, is it true that you are taking lessons of - Vestris?' ... This was risking a good deal, and required the - boldness of a General of Irish Volunteers to make the attempt. - -The explosion unerringly follows, but the rumble dies away in rippling -laughter: - - Johnson was at first startled and in some heat answered, 'How - can your Lordship ask so simple a question?' But immediately - recovering himself, whether from unwillingness to be deceived - or to appear deceived, or whether from real good-humour, he - kept up the joke.... - -Johnson in these scenes of comedy is always the dictator; the elements -of the ridiculous are constantly present when someone who behaves with -a pompous manner is rarely willing to be laughed at, and Boswell's -sense of what was incongruous was near the surface and ready to make -merry. - -The company on one occasion were greatly tickled by a word applied in -Johnson's most majestic manner to a rather laughable female character, -and the incident furnishes Boswell with material for one of his best -descriptions of this kind. Johnson had remarked 'The woman had a -bottom of good sense.' - - The word _bottom_ [says Boswell] thus introduced, was so - ludicrous when contrasted with his gravity, that most of us - could not forbear tittering and laughing; though I recollect - that the Bishop of Killaloe kept his countenance with perfect - steadiness, while Miss Hannah More slyly hid her face behind - a lady's back who sat on the same settee with her. His pride - could not bear that any expression of his should excite - ridicule, when he did not intend it; he therefore resolved to - assume and exercise despotick power, glanced sternly around, - and called out in a strong tone, 'Where's the merriment?' Then - collecting himself, and looking aweful, to make us feel how he - could impose restraint, and as it were searching his mind for - a still more ludicrous word, he slowly pronounced, 'I say - the _woman_ was _fundamentally_ sensible'; as if he had said, - 'Hear this now, and laugh if you dare.' We all sat composed as - at a funeral. - -This, like the other scene, is extremely dramatic. Neither would have -been so had not the writer himself realised the full humour of the -situation. Perhaps the most remarkable quality of the descriptions -is the amount left out.[4] The few details which Boswell gives us -are sufficient to reveal the secret of everybody's feelings, and then -Johnson strikes in with the characteristic remark. It is difficult -to appreciate to the full the merit of these scenes without comparing -them with those supplied by less talented pens; when we read the -accounts of Mrs. Piozzi and Sir John Hawkins, and even of Miss Burney, -we realise the immeasurable superiority of Boswell's. They have the -elusive quality of all impressionist[5] art; they might be ranked with -the nocturnes of Whistler: if they were produced, as it almost seems -they were, with as little apparent care, they were produced, however, -only by the experience of a lifetime. By continually thinking -'Johnson,' Boswell was able to give the few necessary touches which -expressed the inward vision. - -In the two passages we have quoted, Boswell has revealed the humour of -a situation; those supreme moments of Johnson's dictatorship were -to him a never-failing treasure-house of priceless mirth; and he has -given us a key which enables us to hear with him the magic thunder, to -see each bright flash of the lightning, and with him to laugh the rich -mellow laughter because it is so absurd, and yet so inevitable, and so -good, that men should have been fashioned so. - -Boswell delights in showing us the mind of Johnson, how he was -prompted like the rest of us by all the little motives of men. He -enjoys Johnson's humanity. Sometimes he is more solemn. One great -subject is Johnson's tenderness--as in an account of an argument with -Sir Joshua about drinking: - - _Johnson_ (who from drinking only water supposed everybody who - drank wine to be elevated): 'I won't argue any more with - you, Sir. You are too far gone.' _Sir Joshua_: 'I should have - thought so indeed, Sir, had I made such a speech as you have - now done.' _Johnson_ (drawing himself in, and I really thought - blushing): 'Nay, don't be angry. I did not mean to offend - you.' - -The best instance perhaps of Johnson's compunction after rudeness is -on the occasion of Dr. Percy's defence of Dr. Mounsey: - - Mr. Davies, who sat next to Dr. Percy, having after this had - some conversation aside with him, made a discovery which, in - his zeal to pay court to Dr. Johnson, he eagerly proclaimed - aloud from the foot of the table: 'O, Sir, I have found out - a very good reason why Dr. Percy never heard Mounsey swear or - talk bawdy; for he tells me, he never saw him but at the Duke - of Northumberland's table.' 'And so, Sir (said Johnson loudly, - to Dr. Percy), you would shield this man from the charge of - swearing and talking bawdy, because he did not do so at the - Duke of Northumberland's table....' Dr. Percy seemed to be - displeased, and soon afterwards left the company. - -Later, in the course of conversation, Johnson denied any merit to -Swift for writing 'The Conduct of the Allies'; then - - _recollecting that Mr. Davies, by acting as an informer, had - been the occasion of his talking somewhat too harshly to - his friend Dr. Percy, for which, probably, when the first - ebullition was over, he felt some compunction_,[6] he took an - opportunity to give him a hit; so added, with a preparatory - laugh, 'Why, Sir, Tom Davies might have written "The Conduct - of the Allies."' Poor Tom being thus suddenly dragged into - ludicrous notice in presence of the Scottish doctors, to whom - he was ambitious of appearing to advantage, was grievously - mortified. - -The compunction, however, on this occasion seems to have had a short -duration, for Boswell goes on to say: - - When I called upon Dr. Johnson next morning, I found him - highly satisfied with his colloquial prowess the preceding - evening: 'Well (said he), we had good talk.' _Boswell_: 'Yes, - Sir, you tossed and gored several persons.' - -Boswell seems to have had the power of picking out all that was -characteristic and important, of ruthlessly discarding unnecessary -details and presenting only the salient points, of seeing a scene as a -whole, with its more vivid colours flashing out as it were from a dull -background, so that the whole impression is complete and clear. The -smallest conversations, as we saw, were dealt with in this way. And -as he 'Johnsonised' the talk which he had himself taken down, -and 'Johnsonised' the stories given to him by Mr. Langton, he -'Johnsonised' in the same way these larger scenes. While retaining -most of the words used by Johnson himself, Boswell seems to have added -here and there a characteristic expression to make the whole more -pointed, and to have compressed it all till it preserved nothing but -the true Johnsonian flavour. - - * * * * * - -In all this, the artistic part of his work, Boswell was expressing -his own conception of Johnson. But it has been doubted by some whether -this is a true view of him, or whether the whole is not overdrawn. -Dr. Birkbeck Hill says that Johnson was drawn by Boswell as 'too -awful.'[7] - -It is indeed, as has been said before, the awfulness of Johnson which -Boswell had in mind when he wrote his 'comedy scenes,' and even in -relating less pungent moments. The humour of it all depended so much -upon that! - -It must be remarked, at the outset, that several individuals may have -quite different impressions of one man. Not only do the observers -emphasise different qualities, so that the same person might -be described by one as kind and affectionate, and by another as -sentimental and stupid, without either account being untrue, except -in so far as it is incomplete, but a man's behaviour often varies with -the company. The truth of Boswell, since he expressed quite truthfully -his own impressions, would be in nowise confounded if it were -discovered that the majority did not share his view of Johnson; still -less if he had seen what they saw, while they had not seen what he -revealed. - -But the fact is that Boswell's conception of Johnson as being 'awful' -was the common one. The idea that he was not so is probably derived -from Miss Burney's 'Diary.' It will be remembered, however, that -Johnson's behaviour to Miss Burney was quite unlike his behaviour to -the great majority of people: she was chosen to be the special object -of his gallantry. It was extremely pleasant for her; she was -naturally pleased to be continually the recipient of the most charming -compliments; and her 'Diary' tells us all about it. Boswell was well -aware that to her more than to anybody else Johnson showed the gayer -side of his character, and he was anxious, as we have seen, to make -use of her 'stores': - -I want to show him as gay Sam, agreeable Sam, pleasant Sam; so you -must help me with some of his beautiful billets to yourself. - -Miss Burney indeed can hardly be excused for not giving her assistance -to Boswell, since she afterwards talks of vindicating Johnson to his -King and Queen,[8] which she would hardly have found necessary had she -contributed largely herself to Boswell's 'Life.' And even Miss Burney -alludes to the fear in which Johnson was held by his contemporaries, -and reports a terrible, if deserved, rebuke to Hannah More, when -Johnson, after politely bearing the lady's adulation for some little -time, exclaimed, 'Madam, before you flatter a man so grossly to his -face, you should consider whether or not your flattery is worth his -having.'[9] Mrs. Piozzi, too, in whose house it was that she met Dr. -Johnson, has, in her own account of him, emphasised very much the -other side of the picture. - -It must also be remembered that Boswell, though he loves to relate the -roughness of Johnson and his imperiousness, is always at pains to show -that he was a really kind and considerate man, and even seems to -make allowance for the possibility that he has made the harshness -too prominent, and takes care to explain that it was not so common as -might be supposed: - - How very false is the notion which has gone round the world of - the rough, and passionate, and harsh manners of this great and - good man. That he had occasional sallies of heat of temper, - and that he was sometimes, perhaps, too 'easily provoked' by - absurdity and folly, and sometimes too desirous of triumph in - colloquial contest, must be allowed. The quickness both of his - perception and sensibility disposed him to sudden explosions - of satire; to which his extraordinary readiness of wit was a - strong and almost irresistible incitement. I admit that the - beadle within him was often so eager to apply the lash, that - the judge had not time to consider the case with sufficient - deliberation.[10] - -Boswell is prepared to admit, as he is obliged to do, the dogmatist -and the fighter in Johnson, but not that he was in the ordinary way -disagreeable. - - That he was occasionally remarkable for violence of temper may - be granted: but let us ascertain the degree, and not let it be - supposed that he was in a perpetual rage, and never without a - club in his hand, to knock down everyone who approached him. - On the contrary, the truth is, that by much the greatest part - of his time he was civil, obliging, nay, polite in the true - sense of the word; so much so, that many gentlemen, who were - long acquainted with him, never received, or even heard a - strong expression from him. - -It will be seen from his lengthy defence of Johnson against what he -considered a common accusation and an unjust one, and it may be seen -also from other passages, that Boswell regards his own life of Johnson -as likely to weaken the prevalent opinions about Johnson's rough -behaviour. Mrs. Piozzi is violently attacked by him for having -exaggerated and maliciously enlarged upon this part of his -character.[11] - -It is not to be supposed that the conception of Johnson's 'awfulness' -depended entirely upon his capacity for giving rude blows to his -antagonists in conversation. There is a certain gravity of demeanour, -amounting almost to pompousness, which Boswell loves to depict. It may -seem that the Doctor is not sufficiently good-humoured. No doubt it -was Boswell's particular delight to represent the majesty of the great -man of letters, and the many occasions on which Johnson is jovial and -pleasant are, for him perhaps, the exceptions to a rule. But how many -there are! The 'Tour to the Hebrides' especially (and in considering -Boswell's presentation of Johnson we must consider always the 'Tour' -with the 'Life') is full of instances of this kind of behaviour. It -was indeed a serious departure from Boswell's ideal that the Rambler -should take upon his knee a Highland lady, but it would be difficult -to count the number of times that Johnson is reported quite naturally -to have laughed and to have been good-humoured. He is even reported to -have perverted a line of Shakespeare, with the spontaneous merrymaking -of a schoolboy, to suit his companion. Surely it could be said by no -one that his impression of Johnson after reading Boswell's 'Life' and -the 'Tour to the Hebrides' was that of a cross and grave old man. - -Boswell perhaps does not give the picture of affability and even -gaiety which Miss Burney gives; but her account too is qualified. -'Dr. Johnson,' she says, 'has more fun and comical humour, and love of -nonsense about him, than almost anybody I ever saw: I mean when with -those he likes; for otherwise he can be as severe and as bitter -as report relates him.'[12] On another occasion she speaks of 'a -formality that accompanies whatever he says,' which conveys exactly -the impression of 'awfulness' that we get so often from Boswell.[13] - -The criticism which could perhaps be made with most justice of the -Johnson whom we know from Boswell is that he is not playful enough. -Miss Burney's Johnson may seem a jollier man. She alludes to his 'love -of nonsense' and 'a turn for burlesque humour.'[14] But it must be -remembered that behaviour of this kind is mentioned very seldom--only -four or five times at the most, even in Miss Burney's 'Diary.' And it -would be not unnatural (from the circumstances mentioned before) that -Miss Burney would see more of this side of his character than other -people. - -Boswell, in the preface to the second edition of the 'Life,' tells us -that the book had been received with favour, that he had obtained a -great deal of spontaneous praise, and that Sir Joshua Reynolds lived -to give the strongest testimony to its fidelity. These are expressions -which he could not use, had they been untrue, in that place; for they -would invite a damaging attack from the reviewers. But a book which -upset the popular conception of a figure like Johnson, or even one -which merely overdrew the 'shades' in his character, would hardly have -been received like that. And Boswell in fact was never attacked in -print for these faults, which, considering what a number of enemies he -had, and the disputes in which he was engaged after the publication -of the 'Life,' is almost conclusive evidence that his accounts of -Johnson's 'awfulness' corresponded with the observations of other -people. Courtenay was a good judge when he wrote the following lines -about the 'Tour to the Hebrides': - - "With Reynolds' pencil, vivid, bold, and true, - So fervent Boswell gives him to our view: - In every trait we see his mind expand; - The master rises by the pupil's hand. - We love the writer, praise his happy vein, - Grac'd with the _naivete_ of the sage Montaigne. - Hence not alone are brighter parts display'd, - But e'en the specks of character pourtray'd: - We see the Rambler with fastidious smile...."[15] - - - [Footnote 1: _Autobiography, Letters, &c., of Mrs. Piozzi_, - ii, 403.] - - [Footnote 2: Nichols' _Illustrations_, vii, 313.] - - [Footnote 3: Henley, in _Views and Reviews_, speaks of Boswell - as an artist.] - - [Footnote 4: Fitzgerald and Birkbeck Hill both say something - of this.] - - [Footnote 5: I use this term not in a particular technical - sense (as applied to a school of French painters) but in a - general sense, of all art that neglects details for the sake - of general effect.] - - [Footnote 6: The italics are mine.] - - [Footnote 7: _Life of Johnson_, ii. 262, n. 2.] - - [Footnote 8: _Miss Burney's Diary_, iv, 478.] - - [Footnote 9: _Ib._, i, 100.] - - [Footnote 10: _Life of Johnson_, iii, 80-1.] - - [Footnote 11: _Life of Johnson_, iv, 340 _et seq._] - - [Footnote 12: _Miss Burney's Diary_, i, 211.] - - [Footnote 13: _Ib._, i, 231.] - - [Footnote 14: _Ib._, i, 102.] - - [Footnote 15: _Life of Johnson_, ii, 268.] - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - - -Four years of life remained to Boswell after the publication of the -great biography. His death came at the due moment; he was not cut off -in the midst of a great undertaking or in the course of an important -development. It is inconceivable that, had he lived, he would have -produced another biography which should be comparable to the 'Life of -Johnson.' An autobiography he might indeed have written, but there is -no sign that he was engaged upon such a work in the closing years, -or that the idea had taken definite shape in his mind; his nature was -rather that of the casual autobiographer, such as we find him in the -'Life' from time to time, and particularly in the 'Letters to Temple'; -and it is doubtful whether his autobiography, if ever it had been -written, would have added much to letters and diaries which were no -doubt in existence, though not preserved for our eyes.[1] The great -labour of his life had been accomplished: and he was allowed a little -time longer to see that it was approved by his own generation. - -Several questions naturally present themselves when we consider the -end of a man's life. Has he been successful? What is his position in -the world? Do men respect him? Do they love him? - -Boswell, we had occasion to remark before, had not been, in the -ordinary sense, successful. He had always been ambitious; he had -wanted to be 'the great man'; he had coveted the world's honours; he -would have liked to be busy with the affairs of a nation, or, at the -least, to have been reputed a leading barrister. But the glory which -fell to the lot of those who governed this country was withheld from -Boswell; in the legal and political spheres he failed. The one post -which he obtained, as Recorder of Carlisle--and it was one of no -importance--he resigned in 1790, because he could no longer brook the -overbearing behaviour of an insolent patron. - -Certainly Boswell was far from attaining such fame as he desired; -but at the same time he had a very remarkable success. What then was -Boswell's reputation among his contemporaries? - -The literary world had welcomed the 'Tour to the Hebrides'; men of -discrimination had seen that it was a very remarkable book. And yet -Boswell's talents won little respect from this performance. It was -amazingly indiscreet; and censure was more readily bestowed upon the -author's indiscretion than praise upon his art. It was easy to account -for the interest of the book, as Gray and Walpole had accounted -for the charm of the 'Tour in Corsica,' by the peculiarities of the -writer; and though to many so shallow an explanation must have been -unsatisfactory, it detracted from Boswell's reputation as a man of -letters. Moreover, the caricaturists were always busy with Boswell's -oddities: the 'Tour to the Hebrides' provided ample store for the -exercise of their wit, and the persistency of their ridicule no doubt -hindered the recognition of Boswell's talents. When the 'Life of -Johnson' was published, the subject of Boswell and Johnson had been -somewhat played out. A number of 'Lives' of Johnson had already -appeared; besides Hawkins, Mrs. Thrale, and Murphy, several less known -pens had made use of so promising a subject. The public interest in -Johnson had begun to wane. The sale of Boswell's 'Life' was actually -rather less rapid than was expected. This was, on the whole, -an advantage. The work obtained a less hasty and more serious -consideration. Some who would have bought the book five years before, -when the subject was fresh, and the expectation to be amused by -Boswell was still keen, probably now refrained. Those who bought -Boswell's 'Life' bought it, one may surmise, as the best book about -Johnson; and, to anyone who read it, Boswell's work must have profited -by comparison with those who had published before him. No doubt -another reason for the graver attitude of the public towards the -'Life' was that it was less indiscreet than the 'Tour'; it provided -less capital for those whose trade it was to amuse, and--by -comparison--provoked very little ridicule. - -Boswell's reputation as a serious writer certainly gained enormously -from the 'Life of Johnson.' It gained, in fact, disproportionately. -The plan and scope of the 'Life' are larger than that of the 'Tour'; -but the earlier book exhibits in their maturity, and equally well, all -the qualities for which we most value Boswell. - -It was the later work, however, that brought honour to Boswell. The -publication of the _magnum opus_ in April 1791 led to a distinction -which he can hardly have expected. 'In July 1791,' we read in Taylor's -'Life of Reynolds,' 'Boswell to his great delight was appointed -Secretary for Foreign Correspondence to the Academy in lieu of -Baretti. The newspapers abounded in squibs at his appointment, for -Bozzy's weaknesses were favourite game with the small wits.' The -announcement, with its double import of respect and ridicule, gives a -fair indication of Boswell's reputation among his contemporaries. - -It was easy not to respect Boswell; it was difficult not to love him. -He was a 'truly social' man. 'His conversation talents were always -pleasing and often fascinating.'[2] Boswell, in his best form, must -have been irresistible. His spirits were tremendous and they -were constantly bubbling over. Such spirits are infectious and -intoxicating. They are like 'tone' in a violin; the full resonance, -the very robustness of the sound, carries one away. Boswell, it may be -said, had 'tone.' His gaiety and good humour were not self-contained, -but expanded to others. The mainspring, or whatever it be that works -the human being, was particularly powerful and active in his case; and -his companions must have felt it. - -The testimony as to his radiating good humour is unanimous. Dr. Rogers -in describing his personal appearance says 'his well-set features -beamed with perpetual good humour,' and certainly the portraits bear -him out. 'It was impossible,' remarked a contemporary, 'to look upon -his face without being moved by the comicality which always reigned -upon it.'[3] 'It is no wonder,' says his friend John Taylor, 'that Mr. -Boswell was universally well received. He was full of anecdote, well -acquainted with the most distinguished characters, good-humoured, and -ready at repartee. There was a kind of jovial bluntness in his manner, -which threw off all restraint even with strangers, and immediately -kindled a social familiarity.'[4] - -Malone, replying to a detractor of Boswell, wrote: - - The most important misrepresentation is, that Mr. Boswell was - convivial without being _social or friendly_; a falsehood, - which all who knew him intimately, can peremptorily - contradict. He had not only an inexhaustible fund of - good-humour and good-nature, but was extremely warm in his - attachments, and as ready to exert himself for his friends as - any man. - -It would be tedious to discuss Boswell's character with reference to -his popularity, explaining the various qualities which were or were -not attractive in him. A good-natured and affectionate disposition, -supported by high spirits, gives the key to many hearts; and Boswell's -lack of dignity, and even his weaknesses, may have endeared him still -more, when it was considered that there was nothing low or mean about -him. - -Popular he certainly was; he had many acquaintances and also a number -of very good friends. Boswell, though he was volatile enough in some -of his relations with the opposite sex, was very constant in his real -affections. Temple was still his greatest friend at the end of his -life. His fidelity to Johnson was remarkable, and surprised his -contemporaries; and he was no less faithful to his other hero, Paoli. -The General, indeed, was always very kind to Boswell, especially when -he came to live in London after the death of his wife, and -Boswell more than once stayed in his house.[5] Reynolds, the most -distinguished among Boswell's friends of the Johnsonian circle, is -mentioned by Malone as having had 'a very warm regard' for Boswell.[6] -He left him L200 to buy a picture, to be kept for his sake.[7] Charles -Dilly was Boswell's friend only for a less time than was Temple; and -Boswell, it appears, was a second host in Dilly's house: - - If ever the strict rule of decorum was by chance infringed - on, it was on those occasional days when, inevitable business - preventing the master of the house from sitting so long with - his guests as he could wish, the pleasure of entertaining them - was deputed to his kind-hearted and pleasant friend, James - Boswell.[8] - -Courtenay, Dempster and Sir William Forbes were all old friends, and -friends to the last. Forbes was Boswell's literary executor in company -with Malone and Temple. Malone's acquaintance with Boswell was more -recent; but his friendship does Boswell more credit almost than any -other. Its ten years began by Malone correcting the proof-sheets -of the 'Tour to the Hebrides,' and ended by his preparing the third -edition of the 'Life.' His affection for Boswell not only survived -these labours, but grew up with them.[9] Shortly after Boswell's death -he wrote a handsome defence of Boswell, who had been attacked by -a journalist in the _Gentleman's Magazine_. Some parts of it have -already been quoted here. Malone knew Boswell at the end of his life -better perhaps than anyone, and the letter is authoritative as coming -from his pen; it not only bears testimony to his friendship, but also -gives a valuable estimate of Boswell. - -He was 'extremely warm in his attachments,' Malone tells us. He -also pays a striking tribute to his devotion to Dr. Johnson and his -intellectual abilities: - - His fervent attachment to Dr. Johnson at the early age of - three-and-twenty, when the dissipation and amusements of - London hold out to men of such lively parts as he possessed - irresistible attraction, reflects great credit on his memory. - His veneration and esteem for his friend induced him, at - a subsequent period, to go through the laborious task of - arranging and digesting the immense mass of materials with - which his own diligence and the kindness of his friends had - furnished him; and of forming his history of the life of that - excellent and extraordinary man; one of the most instructive - and entertaining books in the English language.... Mr. Boswell - undoubtedly possessed considerable intellectual powers, for - which he has not had sufficient credit; many supposing him to - be a mere relator of the sayings of others: but it is manifest - to every reader of any discernment that he never could have - collected such a mass of information and just observation on - human life as his very valuable work contains, without great - strength of mind and much various knowledge; as he never could - have displayed his collections in so lively a manner as he has - done, had he not possessed a very picturesque imagination, or, - in other words, had he not had a very happy turn for poetry as - well as for humour and for wit. - -Mr. Malone ends his letter by paying a final tribute to the affection -of Boswell's friends: - - He will long be regretted by a wide circle of friends, to whom - his good qualities and social talents always made his company - a valuable accession; and by none more sincerely than the - present vindicator of his fame. - - * * * * * - -Life is commonly somewhat of a battle. Blows are given and received. -Flags are lost and won. Positions are captured and surrendered. Limbs -are crushed and amputated. There are many ugly wounds; some bleed and -fester; some are healed. It is natural to look back on life, as the -general surveys the battlefield and the hospitals, to count the score. -At the end of all the struggle and the horror, the strange joys and -the fantastic dreams, what has happened? What view does the fighter -take himself? Was the cause worth struggling for, after all is done? -Would he fight on the same side if he could start again? Would he -refrain from fighting? Or would he fight with a different object? Is -the essential man the same? Or have his ambitions and desires and the -vital force of the man been modified? And if so how much? Can they be -recognised as the same equipment with which he set forth, or has the -consuming fire burnt out, and the bright flame grown pale and dim? - -Boswell was not an old man when he died; and apart from the -prostration caused by ill-health--for he was frequently ill towards -the close of his life--his robust vigour seems hardly to have -diminished. In July 1790, a year after Mrs. Boswell's death, he seems -already to entertain some matrimonial scheme.[10] This apparently -was the first of a fresh suite. In the spring of 1791 he is looking -forward to the pleasure of meeting a certain Miss Bagnal, 'who may -probably have six or seven hundred a year.' 'Here then I am, -my Temple,' exclaims Boswell, 'my flattering self! A scheme, an -adventure, seizes upon my fancy.' Assuredly this is the old Boswell. - -In his whole outlook upon life Boswell, in fact, changed very little. -He had failed in the main battle; the ambitious dreams which pleased -him most had not come to pass. Neither as politician nor as barrister -had he won the smallest degree of fame. He was, and is, famous in a -rarer sort: yet he had esteemed literary fame at a much lower rate. -And at the end of his life he still measured distinction by the same -old standards. He felt that the struggle had gone against him: but -he never doubted of the cause for which he was fighting. As late as -August 1791, some months after the 'Life of Johnson' appeared, he -wrote to Temple as though he were on the eve of a legal career: - - I have gone the full round of the Home Circuit, to which I - have returned, finding it much more pleasant, and, though I - did not get a single brief, do not repent of the expense, as - I am showing myself desirous of business and imbibing legal - knowledge. - -He still was building castles in the air of the old type; still, -sometimes, he took an opportunity to be 'conspicuous' and made -conscious efforts to 'be the great man.' Almost simultaneously with -the 'Life,' he published a political poem, 'No Abolition of Slavery, -or The Universal Empire of Love.' It was of a semi-frivolous nature, -the argument being drawn from a premise that slavery is the most -agreeable of 'goods,' when it is enforced by the chains of loving -devotion. The name of Miss Bagnal is introduced, and it is difficult -to tell whether the whole may not be an elaborate attempt to bring off -a marriage with that lady. But it is evident from a remark to Temple, -that the main purpose is political: - - I am thinking to curtail my poem on the Slave Trade, and throw - it into the world just before the great question comes on next - Wednesday. - -A rumour of war with Russia also rouses the public spirit of Boswell -to seek distinction, and he hesitates - - whether I should not write one of my characteristical - pamphlets on this crisis--An Appeal to the People upon the - threatened project of involving this country in a war with - Russia, in order to assist the Turks. - -At the end of his life Boswell had not deserted his ambition, and, as -far as we can tell, he had not forgotten his disappointment. There -are few 'Letters to Temple' during these last few years, and it is -difficult to form an exact idea of Boswell's state of mind. For the -year 1792 we have only one note of a few lines: it begins, 'Still I -cannot write a long letter.' These words suggest, though they do not -prove, that Boswell had been in low spirits; for such a condition was -frequently a reason for neglecting to write. For the following year -there are three letters. In the first, Boswell refers to the pain -it gives him to visit Auchinleck; in the second, he discusses with -remorse his habit of indulgence in wine; in the third, he says -'My spirits are somewhat better, but by no means right yet.' It is -probable that Boswell wrote more regularly in 1794, but only one -letter to Temple exists. This, the last letter written in his own -hand, is much more cheerful in tone, and concerned more with Temple -than with himself. But this alone is no evidence to prove that Boswell -at the end of his life was contented with his lot and satisfied with -the measure of success he had attained. The reverse is far more likely -to be the case. As late as 1791 he had time, in the very throes of -publishing the _magnum opus_, to brood over 'the disappointment of my -hopes in life.' He clearly suffered from low spirits during the next -two years, and it can hardly be supposed that his disappointment, -though only one of several causes, had nothing to do with it. - -The old standards had not changed. The same weights and measures, -which were adopted early in life, still at the end of it were used to -determine the deeds of men and fix their value. And yet a change had -come. In the 'Letters to Temple' a certain difference of tone may be -distinguished after Boswell lost his wife. It was partly that he began -fully to realise the failure of his ambitious plans; and it was still -more a different attitude which that realisation involved. When a -man discovers that he cannot get what he wants, he is apt to pay more -attention to what he already has. - -Though literature did not supply for Boswell the wine of life, it had -always attracted him very strongly. He had a taste for books and a -very keen desire for learning; above all, he had literary ambition. -He made a number of literary plans besides that of writing Johnson's -'Life.'[11] He was not merely, in his own conception, the biographer -of Johnson, but the man of letters in a most extended fashion, and -something of a scholar. And it was towards the end of his life, though -then concerned almost exclusively with Johnson, that Boswell was most -industrious in the literary field. Not only did he publish the _magnum -opus_ four years before his death, but he continued diligently to -collect fresh material. The second edition appeared two years later, -in July 1793. The third edition was being prepared, with Malone's -valuable help, when Boswell died. The biographer evidently did not -consider his labours ended when the 'Life of Johnson' was at last -published. Its favourable reception 'has excited,' he says in the -Advertisement to the Second Edition, 'my best exertions to render my -Book more perfect; and in this endeavour I have had the assistance not -only of some of my particular friends, but of many other learned and -ingenious men, by which I have been able to rectify some mistakes, and -to enrich the Work with many valuable additions.' - -The scale of Boswell's literary efforts towards the end of his life -is the measure of his satisfaction in the performance, and this -satisfaction, though it did not take the place of the magnificent -pleasure he had imagined in being 'the great man,' and did not cure -his disappointment, must have frequently consoled, and, in some moods, -keenly delighted Boswell. In the 'Life' he expresses, with a note of -triumph, his satisfaction in the fate of the 'Tour to the Hebrides': - - To please the true, candid, warm admirers of Johnson, and in - any degree increase the splendour of his reputation, I bid - defiance to the shafts of ridicule, or even of malignity. - Showers of them have been discharged at my 'Journal of a Tour - to the Hebrides'; yet it still sails unhurt along the stream - of time, and, as attendant upon Johnson, - - Pursues the triumph, and partakes the gale. - -Boswell is equally triumphant about the 'Life': - - That I was anxious for the success of a Work which had - employed much of my time and labour, I do not wish to conceal: - but whatever doubts I at any time entertained, have been - entirely removed by the very favourable reception with which - it has been honoured. - -It was not merely literary fame that so much delighted Boswell: it -was literary fame of the best sort. The most respected of Johnson's -friends and the best critics had praised his book. Boswell could -now feel secure in his own conviction that his 'Life' was beyond -comparison as a portrait of a man and as a portrait of Johnson: - - In reflecting that the illustrious subject of this Work, by - being more extensively and more intimately known, however - elevated before, has risen in the veneration and love of - mankind, I feel a satisfaction beyond what fame can afford.... - It seems to me, in my moments of self-complacency, that this - extensive biographical work, however inferior in its nature, - may in one respect be assimilated to the Odyssey. - -Boswell goes on to explain that the 'Hero,' like Ulysses, 'in the -whole course of the History, is exhibited by the authour for the best -advantage of his readers.' So certain is he of the merits of his book -that he tells his readers, in so many words, that, if they do not like -it, their own bad temper is to blame. - - Should there be any cold-blooded morose mortals who really - dislike this Book, I will give them a story to apply. When the - great Duke of Marlborough, accompanied by Lord Cadogan, was - one day reconnoitering the army in Flanders, a heavy rain - came on and they both called for their cloaks. Lord Cadogan's - servant, a good-humoured, alert lad, brought his Lordship's - in a minute. The Duke's servant, a lazy sulky dog, was so - sluggish, that his Grace being wet to the skin, reproved him, - and had for answer, with a grunt, 'I came as fast as I could,' - upon which the Duke calmly said, 'Cadogan, I would not for a - thousand pounds have that fellow's temper.' - -Boswell's satisfaction with his literary labours was certainly -well-founded. It is fair to remind those who may condemn this attitude -that he allowed an unduly large share of the book's merits to Dr. -Johnson. Interesting and lovable as Johnson was, he had little to do -with Boswell's execution. The biographer was fortunate--peculiarly -fortunate--in his subject: so much must be allowed and no more. -Boswell's pride did not exceed his deserts. But his 'moments of -self-complacency' must have provided a considerable compensation -for despondent moods when he regretted failure in other spheres. His -'satisfaction' reached a very high pitch when he could calmly say -to an unappreciative reader--for that is what it amounts to--that he -would be sorry to have a temper like that. - -It is not remarkable for an author to feel as self-satisfied as -Boswell. Many authors tell their readers, though not so frankly, that -they ought to be interested in a book, and few give so good reasons as -Boswell gave. The point has been laboured here in order to illustrate -the final stage in his paradoxical development; to show in what degree -Boswell, while realising failure in all his magnificent dreams, was -satisfied with the fame he had of another sort. Assuredly he was -pleased with what he had; the degree may be judged from this final -extract from the Advertisement to the Second Edition: - - There are some men, I believe, who have, or think they have, - a very small share of vanity. Such may speak of their literary - fame in a decorous style of diffidence. But I confess, that - I am so formed by nature, and by habit, that to restrain the - effusion of delight, on having obtained such fame, to me would - be truly painful. Why then should I suppress it? Why 'out of - the abundance of the heart' should I not speak? Let me then - mention with a warm, but no insolent exultation, that I have - been regaled with spontaneous praise of my work by many and - various persons eminent for their rank, learning, talents and - accomplishments; much of which praise I have under their hands - to be reposited in my archives at Auchinleck. An honourable - and reverend friend, speaking of the favourable reception of - my volumes, even in the circles of fashion and elegance, said - to me, 'You have made them all talk Johnson.'--Yes, I may add, - I have _Johnsonised_ the land; and I trust they will not only - _talk_ but _think_ Johnson. - -Boswell, after all, had changed very little since the publication of -the 'Tour in Corsica' in his desire for literary fame, but he must -have had a very different view of what it meant. In early life this -literary ambition was but one aspect of the prevailing idea, to be -'the great man'; and he intended to win respect through literature as -a wise and honoured 'citizen of the world.' He cannot have retained -this delusion after publishing the 'Tour to the Hebrides.' It was -in the very month when the 'Life' appeared that he spoke of 'the -disappointment of my hopes of success in life.' There was no thought -that the 'Life' would redeem these hopes. It was to win praise -and bring esteem: but not in the same sphere with these 'hopes of -success.' Boswell's literary fame compensated his disappointment in -some degree, but by no means banished it. His triumphant satisfaction -was founded, as is the case with many literary men, upon the merits of -literary work and the applause of competent judges. - - * * * * * - -Such changes as may be observed in Boswell towards the end of his -life arose, it must be repeated, from the failure of his political and -legal ambitions. When he ceased to pursue the adventures suggested by -his wild imagination, he paid more attention to the natural interests -of his position. He was a landlord and a father; and his children had -now no mother. Boswell not only accepted his responsibilities, but -performed something more than his duty. - -When Boswell had left Auchinleck and came to live in London, his -opportunities for interesting himself in the welfare of his tenants -and dependants were naturally curtailed. With the strict view of a -landlord's obligations which is commonly held in this age, we may be -inclined to condemn Boswell simply on the ground that he did not live -upon his estate. But, though Ayrshire is a far cry from London, the -Laird of Auchinleck did not forget his position. He was willing to -travel to Scotland 'to transact business with my tenants.' On one -occasion, in 1793, he undertook the journey in order to see that the -parish was provided with a suitable parson: 'The choice of a minister -to a worthy parish is a matter of importance, and I cannot be sure -of the real wishes of the people without being present.' He went to -Auchinleck not because he enjoyed going, but because he thought -he ought to go: 'though the journey will no doubt be uncomfortable -(probably because Boswell was in bad health), and my being alone in -that house where once I was so happy, be dreary in a woeful degree, -the consciousness of duty, and being busy, will I hope support me.' -In Boswell's will special provisions were made for his tenants and -servants: - - As there are upon the estate of Auchinleck several - tenants whose families have possessed their farms for many - generations, I do by these presents grant leases for nineteen - years and their respective lifetimes of their present farms - to John Templeton etc.... And I do beseech all the succeeding - heirs of entail to be kind to the Tenants and not turn out old - possessors to get a little more rent. - -'Seldom,' exclaims Dr. Rogers, 'has Scottish landlord evinced greater -consideration for his tenantry and domestics.' - -As a father, Boswell was no less kind. He had had six children -altogether, three sons and three daughters;[12] one of the sons had -died early in 1777. His interest in his children no doubt increased -very much after their mother's death. Frequently in the 'Letters -to Temple' after that event (June, 1789) one or other of them is -mentioned, and Boswell shows anxiety both for their present happiness -and for their future welfare. Malone, in answering a detractor of -Boswell's, says: - - This writer acknowledges that he was an affectionate father; - he was more; he was extremely liberal and indulgent to his - children, having, for some years past, expended out of his - moderate income, L300 a year to educate his two sons, one at - Eton and the other at Westminster, and one of his daughters - at a boarding-school: to effect which he confined his own - personal expenses within the narrowest bounds. - -That Boswell could stint himself in this way for his children shows a -larger degree of self-sacrifice than might be expected from one of his -extravagant tastes. It shows also a development in his character. The -old passion for being conspicuous could now be put aside for the sake -of his children. - -Boswell, in fact, became less extravagant and affected towards the end -of life. He was less often carried away by his 'warm imagination.' He -lived less in his 'castles in the air,' and nearer the solid earth. - - * * * * * - -The next cause of this development is not far to seek. It lies in the -result of the main struggle in Boswell's life. Truth had won the day. -The irrepressible quality of Boswell's genius had triumphed in spite -of his commonplace aims and the conventionality of his beliefs and -standards; and it had found its expression in biography. The nature -of that triumph reacted inevitably upon Boswell. The highest of his -qualifications for writing the 'Life of Johnson' was simply honesty. -He was honest about human nature. He had related without omission and -without perversion the story of a man as he had witnessed it. All his -powers of observing and of judging character had been brought to bear -upon the great work of his life. His own character had developed in -the process. It is impossible for a man to concentrate all his mind -upon the effort to understand the human being, without involving -himself in his investigations; and Boswell was no exception. He -had always been interested in his own character, though in a rather -uncritical fashion; and no doubt, as often happens, his knowledge -of others began with himself. He was himself both the primer of -psychology and the standard for comparison, upon which his whole view -of individuals was based; and it is often clear, when he is discussing -some moral question, that he has his own case in mind. The 'Life of -Johnson' was necessarily concerned with Boswell in some degree; and -so it was that the author, when he came to record his observations -of Johnson and his friends and acquaintances, found that the process -which he applied to others was being applied to himself. - -Nothing in Boswell's 'Life of Johnson' is more remarkable, as nothing -is more charming, than the author's candour when his own person is -concerned. He does not obtrude himself upon the reader's notice; -he relates the events quite naturally as they occurred. And though -Boswell was not a little vain, he was able to relate what was not -to his credit. Most of the stories of Boswell's folly we know from -himself. He has recorded the sledge-hammer blows of Johnson provoked -by his own absurdity; he has told us of occasions when he lacked -in manners, even when, more than once, he was drunk in a lady's -drawing-room; he has described at length, in the 'Tour to the -Hebrides,' the story of a carouse at Corrichatachin, and has not -failed to mention how very ill he felt next morning, and how much he -dreaded Johnson's rebuke; it is in his own account that we read of -the ridiculous figure he cut in a storm at sea; it is from his own -correspondence with Johnson that we learn of all the weaknesses that -earned the Doctor's reproof. - -Boswell was perfectly conscious of his folly when he allowed us to -see the absurdity of his behaviour. He was sometimes conscious, at -the moment, of provoking ridicule. Occasionally, as he takes care to -explain, he deliberately planned his own discomfiture: - - Desirous of calling Johnson forth to talk and exercise his - wit, though I should myself be the object of it, I resolutely - ventured.... - -This was a common attitude. It has been discussed before in these -pages with reference to Boswell's biographical method. Boswell even -mentions once that he spoke 'with an assumed air of ignorance, to -incite him to talk, for which it was often necessary to employ some -address.' He realised well enough that he made the best possible foil -to Johnson. And if he was able to understand his position in these -undignified moments, still more must he have been conscious of it -when he allowed his records to be printed many years afterwards in the -'Life.' He tells us as much himself in the Dedication to Sir Joshua -Reynolds: - - In one respect, this Work will, in some passages, be different - from the former. In my 'Tour,' I was almost unboundedly open - in my communications, and from my eagerness to display the - wonderful fertility and readiness of Johnson's wit, freely - shewed to the world its dexterity, even when I was myself the - object of it. I trusted that I should be liberally understood, - as knowing very well what I was about, and by no means as - simply unconscious of the pointed effects of the satire. I - own, indeed, that I was arrogant enough to suppose that the - tenour of the rest of the book would sufficiently guard me - against such a strange imputation. But it seems I judged too - well of the world; for, though I could scarcely believe it, I - have been undoubtedly informed, that many persons, especially - in distant quarters, not penetrating enough into Johnson's - character, so as to understand his mode of treating his - friends, have arraigned my judgement, instead of seeing that I - was sensible of all that they could observe. - - It is related of the great Dr. Clarke, that when in one of his - leisure hours he was unbending himself with a few friends in - the most playful and frolicksome manner, he observed Beau Nash - approaching; upon which he suddenly stopped. 'My boys (said - he) let us be grave: here comes a fool.' The world, my friend, - I have found to be a great fool, as to that particular, on - which it has become necessary to speak very plainly. I have, - therefore, in this Work been more reserved; and though I tell - nothing but the truth, I have still kept in my mind that the - whole truth is not always to be exposed. This, however, I have - managed so as to occasion no diminution of the pleasure which - my Book should afford; though malignity may sometimes be - disappointed of its gratifications. - -Boswell's statement speaks for itself. He realised as well as anyone -his own vanity and affectation. It had been necessary when -writing Johnson's 'Life' to apply the searching light of truth -indiscriminately. Boswell had not flinched from applying it to -himself: on the contrary it amused him to do so. He enjoyed his own -absurdities as he enjoyed those of Johnson himself and of every other -figure portrayed with good-humoured ridicule in the course of his -great book. Boswell, we may be sure, laughed wherever his readers may -laugh: indeed his readers laugh at all only because he himself laughed -so whole-heartedly. - -Assuredly the laughter which comes when the searching light is turned -inwards is not without a lasting effect. The desire for dignity in -some measure is with most men almost an instinct. It is rare for a man -to perceive that he has been ridiculous without a blush, even though -he smile; and the result of such perception is almost invariably -preventive; the absurdity must not be repeated. Boswell was able to -laugh at himself more whole-heartedly than the majority. But the mere -fact of looking inwards with the seeing glance was certain to arrest -him in moments of absurdity; and the necessity, as it appeared to -him, of writing out an account of himself in the most undignified -situations made his realisation more vivid and the inevitable tendency -more sure. - -And so, in the end, the truth of Boswell, his innate and unquenchable -candour, not only won a victory, but spoiled the enemy. We may -observe, if we care to, that the natural development has taken place. -Much of the old affectation has disappeared. Boswell, to the last, is -still tempted to give rein to that 'warm imagination'; but now as -a rule the impulse is checked with a smile by a moment of -self-consciousness. The development is clearly to be seen in the -'Letters to Temple,' and one instance will suffice to illustrate -his attitude. Boswell, when telling of his intention of visiting -Auchinleck, for the purpose related before in these pages of choosing -a minister for the parish, cannot refrain from exclaiming in the -old manner, 'Only think, Temple, how serious a duty I am about to -discharge!' But then comes the inward glance and Boswell laughs: - - I, James Boswell, Esq.--you know what vanity that name - includes!--I have promised to come down on purpose, and his - Honour's goodness is gratefully acknowledged. - -Boswell was not systematic in his self-examination; but he came to -know himself with a truer judgment than most men have where self is -concerned. His principles had been ill carried out; his ideals had not -been comprehensive. He had neglected the personal discipline which we -look to see in men of power and in men who have accomplished important -matters; he had neglected to train his mind to deal with all the -problems of life. His grasp upon the whole scheme of things was -feeble, as his control of himself was limited. And yet this knowledge -of self with the good-humoured laugh--and it was not unaccompanied by -fervent regret for his weakness, and anxious piety--this knowledge, -which is the key to all right knowing, was a fitting achievement for -one whose predominant interest was Human Nature, and whose prevailing -passion was Truth. - - - [Footnote 1: Boswell's literary executors were Temple, Malone, - and Sir William Forbes. 'The three persons,' says Dr. Rogers, - 'nominated as literary executors did not meet, and the entire - business of the trust was administered by Sir William Forbes, - Bart., who appointed as his law-agent Robert Boswell, - Writer to the Signet, cousin-german of the deceased. By that - gentleman's advice Boswell's manuscripts were left to the - disposal of his family, and it is believed that the whole were - immediately destroyed. The Commonplace-book escaped, having - been accidentally sold among the printed books.' - - I believe there is still at Auchinleck the manuscript of a - diary and some letters, but I have not been permitted to see - them. Undoubtedly Boswell must have left far more than these.] - - [Footnote 2: The quotation is from a letter, quoted before in - these pages, which appeared in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for - June 1795; it is clearly written by one of Boswell's friends, - and the signature 'C.' suggests Courtenay. Dr. Rogers accepts - it as by him.] - - [Footnote 3: Quoted in Dr. Rogers's _Memoir_ with reference to - _Traditions of Edinburgh_, 1869, p. 74. I have not verified.] - - [Footnote 4: _Records of my Life_, by John Taylor, Esq., 1832, - i, 214.] - - [Footnote 5: Nichols' _Literary History_, vii, 303-13.] - - [Footnote 6: _Gentleman's Magazine_, June, 1795.] - - [Footnote 7: _Life of Reynolds_, ii, 636.] - - [Footnote 8: Nichols' _Literary Anecdotes_, iii, 192.] - - [Footnote 9: See Nichols' _Literary History_, v, 456-7.] - - [Footnote 10: _Letters to Temple_, p. 272.] - - [Footnote 11: _James Boswell_, by W. K. Leask, p. 155.] - - [Footnote 12: For an account of Boswell's family, see Dr. - Rogers in _Boswelliana_, pp. 192-7.] - - - - -INDEX - - - A - - Aberbrothick, 245 - - Academy, 303 - - Account of Corsica, 56-64, 114, 178^16, 268, 275, 276, 302, 317 - - Adam, Mr. R. B., 251^5 - - Adamtown, 93, 100 - - Address to the Real Freeholders of the County of Ayr, 177 - - Akerman, 251 - - Aldus, 30 - - America, 181 - - Arbuthnot, 118 - - Argyll, Duke of, 35 - - Aristotle, 157 - - Ashbourne, 272 - - Auchinleck, 6, 91, 92, 105, 133, 136, 165, 166, 168, 301^1, 311, - 318-9, 325 - - Auchlinleck, Lord, 7, 8, 9, 76, 83, 162-6, 171, 175, 218 - - Ayrshire, 176, 177, 318 - - - B - - Baden, 50 - - Bagnal, Miss, 309, 310 - - Bar, the English, 84, 137, 167-172, 310 - - ----, the Scottish, 80, 82, 84, 85, 105, 133, 162, 164, 166, 168, - 171, 174, 186, 203 - - Barbauld, Mrs., 66 - - Barclay, Mr., 266 - - Baretti, 38, 108, 248, 303 - - Barrington, Mr. Daines, 251 - - Beattie, Dr., 214 - - Beauclerk, 86, 106, 107, 108, 262 - - ----, Lady Di, 107, 261 - - Bedford, Duke of, 74 - - ----, Duchess of, 74 - - Birrell, Rt. Hon. A., 252^6 - - Blacklock, Rev. Mr., 19 - - Blair, Miss, 64, 91-7, 100 - - Bolingbroke, 118 - - Bosville, Miss, 91, 95, 98-9 - - Boswell: - Accent in speaking English, 21; - accuracy, 228, 267-82; - actor, 24; - advertisement, 65, 76, 199; - affectation, 103, 132, 157-8, 184-94, 221, 224, 320-1, 326; - ambition, 12-13, 39, 59, 61-4, 74-6, 80, 160; 166-208 _passim_, - especially 166-8, 170, 174-6; 209, 217, 226, 301, 310, 311; - amours, 14, 88-100; - animosities, 237-8, 241; - artistic qualities, 2, 61-4, 283-4, 287-93; - authenticity, 229, 267, 269-70, 282; - autobiography, 300; - Bachelors, views on, 89; - biography, 1-4, 21, 59-60, 67, 77, 93, 118, 128, 135, 144, 159; - 227-99 _passim_, - especially 231, 235-6, 247, 265-6, 267, 284^1; 313-8; - boasting, 204-5; - boyishness--boy longer than others, 16, 163, 208; - buffoonery, 28, 65-6, 199, 246; - Candour, 38-9, 60, 64, 86, 118, 208, 209, 212-13, 302, 303, 322, 325; - castles in the air, 12, 190, 310; - ceremonial, love of, 137, 171; - childhood, 6-9; - cleverness, 18-19, 30; - collection of original poems, B. contributes, 25, 27; - commonplace book, _see_ Boswelliana; - consciousness of absurdity, 321-6; - conspicuousness, 171, 204, 320; - controversy about, 4-5; - conventionality, 136-7, 146-50, 320, - _see also_ respectability; - conventions, disregard of, _see_ rudeness; - cow, B. imitates, 29; - criticism of literature, 109; - curiosity, 72, 129, 131, 173-4, 208, 266; - Death, 300; - dedication, addressed to, 22; - dignity, 62, 97, 121, 265, 305, 324-5; - diligence, _see_ industry; - disappointment, 17, 66, 133, 161, 168, 170, 219, 226, 311-2, 317; - drinking habits, 15, 127, 220, 223-6, 227-8, 311; - Eccentricity, 172; - egoism, 73, 75, 77, 80, 195-6; - essays, 139-44; - executions, present at, 172-4; - experiments, 129; - extravagance: - of disposition, 31, 54, 64, 77, 83, 141, 184-94, 320-1, - _see also_ affectation; - in financial matters, 31, 163-4; - Fame, _see_ reputation; - family, 6, 30, 164, 218, 318-20; - family life, 6-9, 105-6; - father, _see_ Lord Auchinleck; - fidelity, conjugal, 104; - flattery, 45-6, 75; - foolishness, 4-5, 38; 182-208 _passim_, - especially 182, 184, 194, 206, 208; 216, 322; - frankness, _see_ candour; - friends: - as a young man, 10-16, 19-25: - the Johnsonian circle, 106-12: - at the close of life, 305-8; - frolic, 28, 66; - Gaiety, 16, 30-1, 52-4, 78, 138, 224, 304; - generosity, 54, 79-80, 119, 320; - genius, 5-6, 156-7, 210, 217, 224, 241, 247, 320; - good-humour, 16, 47, 78, 86, 108, 119, 126, 138, 142, 304; - good-nature, 22, 24, 79-80, 174, 214-6, 305; - goodness, 144-5; - 'great man,' Boswell the, 74, 166, 204, 314; - great men, admiration for and relations with, 50, 54, 55, 57, 67-77; - Happiness, 147; - hermit, taste for being a, 189; - honesty, 157, 200, 321; - human nature, Boswell's interest in, 24, 46, 69-73, 208, 211, 241, - 321, 326; - humour, 3, 16, 30, 42, 131, 200-1, 203, 287-91, 308; - hypochondria, _see_ melancholy; - Ignorance of what others thought of him, 182-4, 216; - images, 120, 144, 203; - imagination, 26; - inconstancy, 38, 92; - indiscretion, _see_ candour; - indulgence, 222-6; - industry, 36, 82, 227-9, 247-52; - insanity, 92, 225; - interest in, 3-4; - intolerance, 68, 71; - Johnson, Dr. Samuel: - admiration for, _see_ veneration; - affection for, 48-9, 119, 131, 132, 153, 218-9, 306-8; - conception of, as awful, 293-9; - enjoyment of, 285-7, 291, 324; - experiments with, 110-2, 257-66, 321-3; - friendship with, 40-9, 112-34, 306-8; - humiliated by, _see_ roughness; - imitation of, 109, 144, 191-3; - influenced by, 68, 150-61, 191; - jealousy with regard to, 128; - letters to, 48, 77-8, 79, 114, 115, 124, 188; - letters from, 48, 58, 114, 124, 132, 155-7, 160, 166; - loss by his death, 132-4, 218-9; - quarrels with, 116-23; - questions, 130, 258, 261; - roughness to Boswell, 47, 116, 117, 118, 210-4, 259-66; - talks freely to, 43, 44, 45, 47; - tour in Hebrides with, 125-131, 260; - veneration for, 36, 49, 109, 130, 238-9, 307; - visit to Boswell's home, 7, 260; - jokes, _see_ wit; - journal, 21, 36, 227-8, 261, 268-76; - Landlord, 318-9; - law, 34-6, 76, 79, 80-5, 87, 105, 125, 133, 162, 164, 166-72, - 203, 219, 310; - lawyers, relations with, 162, 164, 169-72, 203, 205; - letters: - to Burke, 179-87; - to Chatham, 75-6, 179-82; - to Erskine, 30-3; - to Johnson, _see_ Johnson under Boswell; - Temple, quoted, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 34, 35, 70, 78^6, - 82^10, 100-1, 104^15-16, 113, 153, 155, 163, 164, 165, - 167^1, 168, 169^2-3, 170, 172, 173, 175, 177^10-12, - 178^14-17, 183-4, 185-6, 204, 207, 218, 219^3, 220, 221, - 222, 223^6, 226, 230, 231^5-6, 300, 310-12, 320, 325; - literary executors, 300^1; - literature, interest in, 11, 18, 20, 25, 35, 46, 53, 193-4, 230, - 312-5; - London: - B. visits, 17, 25, 124, 218; - love of, 34, 69, 105, 167, 168, 218; - Marriage, 88, 89-90, 100-4, 133, 164, 309-10; - meeting with Johnson, 16, 17, 40-4; - melancholy, 30, 124, 132, 138, 140-1, 157, 187, 224-6; - memorandising, 21-2, 246, 266-74; - modesty, 57; - morality, interest in, 9, 46, 159, 188, 206, 233-7; - mother, 6; - Notebook, _see_ memorandising; - Observation, powers of, 183, 217, 242-7, 257-62; - ode to Tragedy, 25, 29, 30; - opinions about himself, 28, 29, 30; - optimism, 142-3, 229-30; - Patron of the drama, 22-3; - patrons, 175-6, 178-84, 200; - philosophy: - affectation of, 13, 17, 32, 75, 94, 173; - views of life, 88, 147-50, 187-8, 285; - pleasure an object of life, 88, 147; - poetry, Boswell's, 25-7, 200-2; - politics, 133, 137, 174-82, 209, 219, 310-11; - popularity, 304-5; - prejudices, 136-7, 153; - pride, 30, 116, 164, 179, 204, 253; - profession chosen, 34-5; - profligacy, 14-15; - prologue, Boswell writes one for Ross, 24; - proof-sheets, 250-1; - property, 136-7, 166, 218; - publications, 25-7, 29-32, 59-66, 81, 82, 133, 176, 209, 310; - Recording: - conversations, 227, 242, 266; - observations, 217; - religion, 9, 22, 36-7, 147-50, 188-9, 206; - reputation, 1, 39, 58, 61, 66, 172, 199, 209, 213-4, 300-4, 314, 317; - respectability, 37-9, 62, 105, 150-61, 166, 209, 236-7; - rivals, 237-8; - romantic, 31, 186; - rudeness, 38, 252-5, 266; - satisfaction with literary work, 229-33, 313-8; - scholar, 189; - school, 10; - scientific spirit, 241, 256-66; - selfish, 15; - self-revelation, 14, 139; - sentimentality, 39, 184-6, - _see also_ affectation; - seriousness, 140-2; - shorthand, 270; - simplicity, 182, 204, 206; - sings: - to Corsican peasants, 52-3: - at mayoralty dinner, 197-9; - songs of his own composition, 204; - snobbishness, 71-7, - _see also_ under Boswell, 'great men'; - social qualities, 16, 24, 30-1, 46, 52-4, 86, 108, 126, 206, 304-5, - 308; - solemnity, 192; - Tablets, _see_ memorandising; - talks very freely, 43, 44, 64, 204-8; - taste, 22; - tenants, 79, 318-9; - Tory, a, 8, 137, 153, 176, 181; - travels on the Continent, 50-8, 93, 125; - truth, Boswell's attitude towards, 38-9, 118, 210, 216, 228, 233, - 236-7, 241, 249, 255, 284-5, 294, 324-6; - Vanity, 38, 73, 77, 103, 194-7, 205, 206, 316, 322, 326; - verse, _see_ poetry; - vows, 99, 223; - Wife, _see_ Mrs. Boswell; - will, 216, 318-9; - wit, 200-3, 308 - - Boswell, Mrs., 84, 100-4, 219-22, 309 - - Boswell, Robert, 300^1 - - 'Boswelliana,' 79^7, 190, 200, 203, 214^2, 274-82, 301^1 - - Boydell, Alderman, 197 - - British Essays to the Brave Corsicans, 78 - - Browning, 1 - - Burke, Edmund, 106, 107, 108, 150, 179-182 - - Burney, Miss, 21, 108, 128, 130, 191-2, 237, 246-7, 253-4, 255, - 263-5, 268^1, 290, 294-5, 298 - - ----, Dr., 130 - - Burns, 20 - - Bute, Lord, 248 - - Byron, 1 - - - C - - Cadogan, Lord, 315 - - Cambridge University, 21 - - Campbell, Dr. Thomas, 130 - - ---- diary of, 130^7 - - Carlisle, 170, 175 - - ---- Recorder, 176, 179, 301 - - Carlyle, 2, 5 - - Catherine II. of Russia, 251 - - Charlemont, Lord, 288 - - Chatham, Earl of, 75-6, 178, 179, 182, 187, 189 - - Chesterfield, Lord, 248 - - Church of England, 9 - - Cicero, 53, 142 - - Clarke, Dr., 323 - - 'Cocker's Arithmetic,' 245 - - 'Collection of Original Poems,' 19, 27 - - College upon Roman Antiquities, 35 - - Commonplace book, Boswell's, _see_ 'Boswelliana' - - Corrichatachin, 127, 322 - - Corsica, 51-60, 65-6, 74-8, 114, 195 - - Corsican Journal, _see_ account of Corsica - - Courtenay, 215, 220, 299, 304^2, 306 - - Covent Garden, 23 - - Crichton, the Admirable, 30 - - Croker, 118 - - Cromwell, 7 - - 'Cub at Newmarket,' 26, 27 - - - D - - Dalrymple, Sir David, 17, 21, 73, 178 - - D'Arblay, Madame, diary of, _see under_ Miss Burney - - Davies, Tom, 40-2, 44, 291-2 - - Dempster, George, 19, 33, 151, 230, 306 - - Derrick, 25, 40 - - Dictionary, Johnson's, 1, 243, 274 - - 'Dictionary of National Biography,' 176^6 - - Dilly, Charles, 19, 111, 202, 248, 306 - - Dilly, Edward, 188 - - Dodd, Dr., 79 - - Douglas, Mr., 81 - - Douglas Cause, 81-4 - - 'Dorando: a Spanish Tale,' 82 - - Drury Lane Theatre, 20, 23, 29 - - Dunciad, 118 - - Dundas, 179 - - Dunn, Mr., 9 - - - E - - Edinburgh, 6, 12, 17, 19, 20, 23, 24, 27, 34, 84, 90, 95, 103, 123 - - Edinburgh, traditions of, 304^3 - - Edinburgh University, 10, 12, 17, 20, 35, 89 - - Eglinton, Earl of, 26, 100, 177, 178, 197 - - Eldon, Lord Chancellor, 169 - - 'Elegy on the Death of an Amiable Young Lady,' 25, 26 - - England, 85, 87, 106, 210, 220 - - Epictetus, 188 - - 'Epistle of a London Buck to his Friend,' 27 - - Erskine, Honourable Andrew, 19, 20, 25, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 - - Eton, 216, 320 - - - F - - Ferney, 50, 54 - - Fitzgerald's 'Life of Boswell,' 81^9, 82^11, 83^12, 177^9, 199, - 200^35, 204^36, 212, 273, 278, 290^4 - - Flanders, 315 - - Fleet ditch, 240 - - Foote, 207 - - Forbes, Sir William, 214, 275, 300^1, 306 - - France, 235 - - Franklin, Dr., 74 - - Frederick the Great, 54 - - Froude, 1 - - - G - - Garrick, 23, 43, 44, 61, 74, 107, 109, 262 - - Gay, 118 - - Gentleman, Francis, 22, 25 - - 'Gentleman's Magazine,' 61^8, 63^10, 178^13, 215, 225^7, 304^2, - 306^6, 307 - - Gibbon, 68 - - Gilmour, Sir Alexander, 97 - - Glasgow, 22 - - ---- University, 17, 36 - - Glenelg, 122 - - Goldsmith, 106, 108, 179 - - Goldsmith, Prior's Life of, 195^33, 206^38 - - Graham, 201 - - Gray, 4, 11, 12, 94, 109, 302 - - ----, Mason's Life of, 231-2 - - Greenwich, 268 - - Guards, 34 - - - H - - Hackman, 173 - - Hailes, Lord, 17, 36, 69, 268 - - Hamlet, 41 - - Harris, 35 - - Harwich, 48 - - Hawkins, Sir John, 107, 108, 227^1, 237, 290, 302 - - Hebrides, 172, 211 - - Henley, W. E., 'Views and Reviews,' 284^3 - - Hill, Dr. George Birkbeck, 58, 250-1, 276, 290, 293 - - Hodge, 244 - - Holcroft, Thomas, Memoirs of, 252 - - Home Circuit, 310 - - Homer, 2 - - Howard, 98 - - Hume, David, 18, 35, 53, 68, 69, 70, 71, 74, 151, 175, 207 - - Hypochondriack, the [in 'London Magazine'], 124, 137-44, 145-6, 147, - 148, 224 - - - I - - Inner Temple, 137, 167 - - Ireland, 22 - - Ireland, Mr., 193-4 - - - J - - James, King, 8 - - Jockey Club, 26 - - Johnson, Lionel, 189 - - Johnson, Samuel: - better known to us than other literary men, 1-2; - interest in, 3-4; - argument with Lord Auchinleck, 7; - retort to Mr. Dunn, 9; - Temple contrasted with, 13; - condemnation of Dempster, 19; - commends Boswell's accent, 21; - opinion of Derrick, 25; - great writer, 36; - becomes friends with Boswell, 40-50; - conversation, 45-7; - liked admiration, 45; - strength of personality, 49; - Frederick the Great and Voltaire, 54; - compared with Paoli, 56-8; - approves Boswell's adventures in Corsica, 58; - opinion of Boswell's account of Corsica, &c., 59; - opinion of Gibbon and condemnation of 'infidelity,' 68 _seq._; - talks of going to Sweden, 71; - dines with Boswell, 74; - writes on behalf of Mr. Dodd, 79; - legal help to Boswell, 83-4; - on Scotchmen, 85-7, on Mrs. Boswell, 100-1; - Mrs. Boswell's opinion of, 102; - the Johnsonian circle, 106 _seq._; - meeting with Wilkes arranged, 110-12; - friendship with Boswell, 112-34; - lack of sympathy and blunt advice, 114; - irritated by Boswell, 115; - quarrels, 116-24; - no venom in his wounds, 120; - very angry, 121; - in the Hebrides, 125 _seq._; - at Streatham, 128; - at Lochbuy, 129; - use of images, 144; - influence on Boswell, 150-61; - conventional prejudices, 153 _seq._; - talks for victory, 121, 153-4; - truth, honesty, 155, 201; - dislikes affectation, 157-8; - a moralist, 159-60; - Lord Auchinleck's opinion of, 165; - on Lord Auchinleck as Boswell's father, 166; - knows nothing of Scotch law, 171; - view of Boswell's attendance at executions, 173; - discourages Boswell's political ambitions, 175; - Boswell's imitation of, 191-2; - 'just frown,' 155, 201; - _mot_ about Boswell's boasting, 204; - fear of death, 206; - Gargantua, 207; - records of the tour in the Hebrides, 209-14; - little taste for rural beauties, 210; - interest in human nature, 211; - remarks on his host's avarice, 212-13; - introduced to Temple, 215; - moral support, 222; - melancholy, 225; - faults of the great moralist, 233-4; - love of truth applied to biography, 235-7; - Hawkins' Life, and Mrs. Thrale's Memoirs, 237-8; - Boswell's conception of, 238-40; - description of, 242; - physical characteristics, 244; - his cat, 244-5; - Latin quotations, 245; - presents a Highland lass with 'Cocker's Arithmetic,' 245; - letter to Lord Chesterfield, 248; - his pension, 248-9; - gay Sam, 254, 295; - a great talker, 256; - not expansive, 257; - baited by Boswell, 259; - the subject of Boswell's experiments, 260 _seq._; - questioned by Boswell, 261 _seq._; - helps Boswell in his biographical work, 272; - the Johnsonian aether, 286-7; - the dictator, 288-93; - dancing lessons, 288; - the element of humour, 289; - his humanity and tenderness, 291; - Tom Davies put down, 292; - his 'awfulness,' 293-8; - Miss Burney's account, 294 _seq._; - his gallantry, 294-5; - his rebuke to Hannah More, 295; - his kindness, 295; - the dogmatist, 296; - pompousness and playfulness, 297; - his 'formality,' 298; - public interest in, 302; - his share in Boswell's great work, 315-6; - talked about, 317; - fertility and readiness of his wit, 323; - _See also under_ Boswell. - - Johnson, Boswell's Life of: - universality, 2-3; - self-expression in, 14; - 'Tour in Corsica' compared with, 59-60; - tells a story of friendship, 113; - attitude towards Johnson involved, 131; - not a complete expression of Boswell's views, 137; - proves Boswell's ability, 138; - an edifying book, 145; - humour, 201; - Malone the first editor, 210^1; - connection of the 'Tour to the Hebrides' with, 217, 227-8; - not the official life, 227^1; - industry of the author, 227-9; - Malone revises, 229-30; - Boswell's conviction that it will be a masterpiece, 229-33; - his conception of, 231-3; - nature of moral purpose in, 233-7; - Boswell's conception of Johnson's character, 238-41; - his qualifications, 242 _seq._; - his care, 247-5; - the proof-sheets, 250-1; - interest in Johnson's talk, 256; - the author's questions and experiments, 258-66; - his note-taking, 266 _seq._, - _see_ Boswell; - compiled from documents not extant, 273; - the process of Johnsonising, 278-82; - artistic nature of the representation, 283-93; - the 'shades' in Johnson's character emphasised, 286; - the comedy scenes, 288-92; - is Boswell's Johnson in any degree his own invention? 293-9; - Boswell's account accepted as the truth, 299; - contains occasional autobiography, 300; - solidifies Boswell's reputation, 303; - Malone prepares the third edition, 307; - Malone's opinion of, 308; - additions and corrections, 313; - its popularity and Boswell's triumph, 314-15; - Dr. Johnson's share, 315-16; - Boswell necessarily appears in, 321-2; - the dedication, 324; - _see also under_ Boswell, biography, &c. - - 'Journey to the Western Islands,' 87, 236 - - - K - - Kames, Lord, 18 - - Keats, 1 - - Killaloe, Bishop of, 289 - - King George III., 177, 182, 196, 255, 295 - - King of Prussia, 191 - - - L - - Langton, 106, 119, 248, 266, 281-2, 293 - - Leask, W. K., James Boswell, 313^11 - - Letters between the Honourable Andrew Erskine and James Boswell, Esq., - 30, 31, 32, 33 - - Letters, Boswell's political, 136-7, 176-7, 195 - - Letters to Temple, _see under_ Boswell - - Lettsom, Dr., 202 - - Lisburne, 178 - - Literary Club, 68, 106-7, 133 - - Literature, _see under_ Boswell - - 'Lives of the Poets,' 109 - - Lochbuy, 129, 131, 260 - - ----, Lady, 129 - - Lockhart, 1 - - London, 17, 20, 25, 34, 36, 97, 103, 105, 106, 124, 165, 167, 168, - 177, 182, 189, 218-19, 229, 306, 307, 318 - - 'London Magazine,' 8, 46^3, 65, 102, 103, 124, 137, 138, - 148^2-3, 157 - - Lonsdale, Lord, 175-6, 179 - - Loughborough, Lord, 248-9 - - Love, Mr., 20, 21, 22 - - Lowe, Mr., 252-3, - - - M - - Macaulay, Lord, 2, 4, 5 - - ----, Mrs., 61, 262 - - Macdonald, Sir Alexander (afterwards Lord), 212-14, 216 - - Mallet's 'Elvira,' 33 - - ----, critical strictures on, 33 - - Malone, Edmund, 47, 48, 107, 171, 210, 215, 220, 225, 229-30, 300^1, - 305-8, 313, 320 - - Mamhead, 10, 215 - - Marlborough, Duke of, 315 - - Mason, 11, 231-2 - - Maxwell, Jeany, 96 - - Mayo, Dr., 191 - - McLeod, Colonel, 72 - - Meadows, Captain, 74 - - Melancthon, 188 - - Michael Angelo, 145 - - Milton, 2, 145 - - Mitchell, Sir Andrew, 50, 178 - - Moliere, 2 - - Monboddo, Lord, 261 - - Monckton, Miss, 201-2, 204 - - Montaigne, 299 - - Montgomerie, Miss, 100, 197 - - Montrose, Lord, 201 - - More, Hannah, 109, 237, 284, 289, 295 - - ----, Memoirs of, 109,^3 - - Mounsey, Dr., 291-2 - - Mountstuart, Lord, 178 - - Mull, 205 - - Murphy, 68, 248-9, 302 - - - N - - Nash, Beau, 324 - - Newgate, 174 - - Newmarket, 26, 27 - - Nichols, John, 185 - - ----, 'Literary Anecdotes of the XVIIIth Century,' 178^13, 306^8 - - ----, 'Literary History,' 132^9, 306^5, 307^9 - - ----, 'Literary Illustrations of the XVIIIth Century,' 176^6, 231^7, - 284^2 - - Northern Circuit, 17, 21, 169, 268 - - Northumberland, Duke of, 292 - - - O - - 'Ode to Gluttony,' 31 - - 'Ode to Tragedy,' 25, 29, 30 - - Odyssey, 235, 315 - - Oglethorpe, General, 74 - - Othello, 95, 258 - - - P - - Paoli, General, 51, 53, 55-60, 67, 69, 70, 74, 75, 76, 197, 189, 215, - 267-8, 275, 306 - - Paris, 53 - - Parnell, 234 - - Parr, Dr., 251 - - Paul, the Apostle, 234 - - Pembroke, Earl of, 74, 178 - - Pennant, Mr., 235 - - Pepys' Diary, 33 - - Percy, Bishop, 132^9, 175, 176^6, 231-2, 284, 291-2 - - Piozzi, Mrs., _see_ Mrs. Thrale - - Pitt, William (the younger), 183, 196, 197-200 - - Pocock's Johnsonian Catalogue, 273 - - Pope, 118 - - Presbyterian, Boswell's father a, 7 - - Prince of Wales, 177 - - Pringle, Sir John, 74 - - Prussia, 50 - - Pythagoras, 64 - - - R - - Racine, 2 - - Raleigh, Professor, 5, 40, 86 - - Rambler, 127, 238, 297, 299 - - Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 106, 108, 116, 118, 119, 173, 216, 220, 249, - 259, 291, 299, 306, 323 - - ----, Life of, 73^3, 108^1, 303 - - Robertson, Dr., 18, 191, 259 - - Rochefoucauld, 56 - - Rogers, Rev. Charles, LL.D., Memoir of James Boswell, 22, 23, 92^14, - 176^6, 225^7, 300, 304^2, 319 - - Roman Catholic, Boswell a, 37 - - Ross, Mr. David, 23, 24, 25 - - Rousseau, 19, 50, 51, 69, 93, 151 - - Rudd, Mrs., 73^3, 173 - - Russia, 311 - - - S - - Sallust, 53 - - Saxe-Gotha, 50 - - Schwellenberg, Mrs., 255 - - Scotland, 24, 30, 42, 78, 85, 87, 105, 106, 111, 127, 165, 167, 168, - 169, 209, 210, 235-6 - - Scott, Sir Walter, 2, 7, 85, 174, 225 - - Seccombe, Mr., 11, 15, 215 - - Select Society, 19, 20 - - Seward, 128 - - Shakespeare, 2, 65, 193, 195, 297 - - Shaw, Dr., 251 - - Shelley, 1 - - Shenstone's 'Pastoral on Absence,' 32, 33 - - Sheridan, Mr. Thomas, 248-9, 279 - - Skye, 122 - - 'Slavery, No Abolition of,' 310 - - Smith, Adam, 17, 68 - - Soaping Club, 27, 28 - - Somerville, Lord, 178 - - Southern's 'Tragedy of Oroonoco,' 22 - - Southill, 248 - - St. Gluvias, 10 - - Stone, Mr., 251 - - St. Paul's, 100, 137, 142 - - Stratford, Shakespeare Jubilee at, 65-6, 204 - - Streatham, 128, 263 - - Stuart, Lord Mount, 50 - - Sweden, 71 - - Swift, 118, 292 - - - T - - Taylor, John, 197-8, 304 - - ----, records of, 198^34, 305^4 - - ----, Tom, 'Life of Reynolds,' 73^3, 108, 303 - - Temple, William, 10-16, 61, 64, 70, 73, 79, 81, 84, 88, 92, 96, 98, - 100, 178, 183, 185-6, 187, 215, 225^7, 300^1, 306, 309-12 - - ----, 'Essay on the Clergy,' 11 - - Temple, William, Boswell's letters to, _see_ Boswell - - Temple Bar, 240 - - Temple Gate, 240 - - Templeton, John, 319 - - Tennyson, 1 - - Terentia, 53 - - Therese le Vasseur, 53 - - Thrale, Mrs., 72, 100, 108, 126, 237-8, 259, 266-7, 302 - - ----, Anecdote of Dr. Johnson, 237 - - ----, Autobiography, Letters, &c., 72^2, 258^1, 284^1 - - ----, Johnson's letters to, 126, 176^6 - - Tory, Boswell a, 8, 137, 153, 176, 177, 181 - - Tour to the Hebrides, 7, 68, 71^1, 78, 107, 121-3, 125-7, 131, 190, - 201, 205, 209-18, 227-8, 230, 234, 245, 257, 269^4, - 270^5, 297-9, 302, 303, 307, 314, 322 - - Tour in Corsica, _see_ account of Corsica - - Trelawney, Sir Jonathan, 97 - - Trevelyan, Sir George, 1 - - ----, 'Life of Fox,' 175^5 - - Turbulent, Mr., 254 - - Turks, 311 - - Twalmley, 205 - - Tyers, Tom, 257 - - - U - - Ulysses, 315 - - Utrecht, 50, 91, 155 - - Uxoriana, 102 - - - V - - Vestris, 288 - - Vilette, Rev. Mr., 251 - - Voltaire, 50, 54, 93, 149 - - - W - - Walcot, 216 - - Walpole, Horace, 61, 109, 302 - - ----, Letters of, 109^2 - - Warburton, 251 - - Wedderburne, 248-9 - - Wellesley, Marquess of, 118 - - Westminster Hall, 168, 170, 215 - - Westminster School, 320 - - Whig, Boswell's father a, 7, 8 - - ----, Boswell becomes a, 9 - - Whitehead, Mason's Life of, 231 - - Wilkes, Jack, 19, 50, 55, 69, 70, 110, 112, 117, 250, 282 - - Williams, Miss, 43 - - Wordsworth, 1 - - Wren, Sir Christopher, 142 - - - Y - - York, 177 - - York, Duke of, 26, 27 - - Young's Night Thoughts, 188 - - - Z - - Zelide, 91, 95, 98 - - * * * * * - - - PRINTED BY - SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. LTD., COLCHESTER - LONDON AND ETON - - - - - * * * * * - -_Biography_ - - * * * * * - - -Second Edition. Large Post 8vo. 5s. net. - -A Nurse's Life in War and Peace. - -By E. C. LAURENCE, R.R.C. - -With a Preface by Sir Frederick Treves, Bart., G.C.V.O., C.B., &c. - -_British Medical Journal._--'A really life-like and unbiassed account -of hospital life. Miss E. C. Laurence has rendered the nursing -profession a real service by the publication of her delightful book.' - - * * * * * - -With Portraits in Photogravure of Dickens, Thackeray, Wilkie Collins, -and Wills. Demy 8vo. (In each copy is affixed the Dickens stamp.) - - 12s. 6d. net. - -Charles Dickens as Editor. - -Being Letters written by him to William Henry Wills, his Sub-Editor. - -Selected and Edited by R. C. LEHMANN. - -Author of 'The Sun Child,' 'Memories of Half-a-Century,' &c. - -_Westminster Gazette._--'Mr. Lehmann's book throws a new and very full -light upon a very important part of Dickens' many-sided activities. 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ABBEY--EYRE. - VOL. II. FAED--MUYBRIDGE. - VOL. III. NAPIER--YOUNG. - -This second Supplement of the Dictionary supplies biographies of all -noteworthy persons who died between the day of Queen Victoria's -death, 22nd January, 1901 (the limit of the First Supplement) and 31st -December, 1911. - - -_SOME PRESS OPINIONS._ - - _Times._--'The remarkable biography of King Edward VII. shows - qualities of careful preparation and of judgment.' - - _Daily Telegraph._--'The biography of the late King written by - the Editor reviews the life from every standpoint, and makes - a closer personal study of the man and the King than has - hitherto been attempted.' - - _Morning Post._--'The Editor is to be heartily congratulated - on the conscientious execution of a delicate but most - interesting task.' - - _Standard._--'A most valuable contribution to the political - and constitutional history of the period that lies immediately - behind us.' - - _Manchester Guardian._--'The appearance of the first volume - of the Second Supplement is an event of more than usual - importance.' - - _Daily Chronicle._--'The first real, intimate, authoritative - account of King Edward.' - - * * * * * - -London: Smith, Elder & Co., 15 Waterloo Place, S.W. - - * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's note: - - The book contains some foreign words and a few old spellings, e.g., - 'authour', 'tenour', etc., and also instances of hyphenated and - non-hyphenated variants of some words. These have all been retained. - - Instances of both 'adhaesit' and 'adhaesit' appear in the text. Both - have been retained. - - Punctuation is not always consistent. Some punctuation has been - amended for conformity; sundry missing or damaged punctuation has been - repaired. - - Page 28: Extraneous closing quote removed after "alive.'" - - "There is no better fellow alive." - - Page 56: 'Rochefoucault' is the spelling used by Boswell; - Rochefoucauld appears in the Index. Both have been retained. - - - Page 65: 'possble' corrected to 'possible' - - "... there can be no possible doubt that Boswell wrote it...." - - - Page 108: 'Boswell:' changed to '_Boswell_:' for consistency. - - "... _Boswell_: 'They were afraid of you, Sir, as...." - - Page 200: 'compositon' corrected to 'composition'. - - "... and he was so vain that he was undoubtedly proud of what - must have been an absurd composition." - - Page 336: 'Tory, Boswella corrected to 'Tory, Boswell a' - - "Tory, Boswell a, 8, 137, 153, 176, 177, 181" - - A few corrections have been made to page numbers in the index, some - numbers (without a reference on the page) removed, and some added: - The corrected number is after the name; The printed number is in - (brackets). - - Akerman, ... 251 (250) - - Boswell: - law ... (187)(204) - lawyers ... 205 () - letters: - Temple, quoted ... 70 (69) ... 167^1 () ... (179) - ... 185-186 (186) - - Eglinton, Earl of ... 197 (196) - - Graham, ... 201 (202) - - Hypochondriack, ... 145-6 (146) - - Samuel Johnson: - talks for victory, ... 121 () - 'just frown', ... 155 () - gay Sam, ... 254, 295 (246) - - Lisburne, ... 178 (179) - - Lochbuy, ... 260 (258) - - London Magazine, ... (69) (104) - - Lowe, ... (255) - - Macaulay, ... 2 (1) ... (61) - - Macaulay, Mrs., ... 61 () - - Montgomerie, ... 100, 197 (98-9, 100) - - More, Hannah, ... 284 (283) - - Nichols, John, - ----, 'Literary History,' ... 307^9 (308) - - Paoli, General, ... 67 (66) 187 () - - Percy, Bishop, ... 284 (283) - - Reynolds, Sir Joshua, ... 249 (248) ... 259 (258) - - Robertson, Dr., ... 259 (258) - - Rogers, Rev. Charles, LL.D., Memoir of James Boswell, ... (216) - - Temple Gate ... 240 (229) - - Thrale, Mrs., ... (290), (295), (297) - - Turbulent, Mr., ... 254 (253) - - Tyers, Tom, ... 257 (256) - - Vilette, Rev. Mr., ... 251 (250) - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOSWELL THE BIOGRAPHER*** - - -******* This file should be named 52246.txt or 52246.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/2/2/4/52246 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. 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