1768. Atat. 59. the temptation to it was fo ftrong. An irrevocable grant of your friendship, and your dignifying my defire of visiting Corfica with the epithet of a wife and noble curiofity,' are to me more valuable than many of the grants of kings. "But how can you bid me empty my head of Corfica?' My nobleminded friend, do you not feel for an oppreffed nation bravely struggling to be free? Confider fairly what is the cafe. The Corficans never received any kindness from the Genoefe. They never agreed to be fubject to them. They owe them nothing; and when reduced to an abject state of flavery, by force, shall they not rife in the great caufe of liberty, and break the galling yoke? And shall not every liberal foul be warm for them? Empty my head of Corfica! Empty it of honour, empty it of humanity, empty it of friendfhip, empty it of piety. No! while I live, Corfica and the cause of the brave iflanders fhall ever employ much of my attention, fhall ever interest me in the fincereft manner. "I am, &c. "JAMES BOSWELL." Upon his arrival in London in May, he furprized me one morning with a vifit at my lodgings in Half-Moon-ftreet, was quite fatisfied with my explanation, and was in the kindest and most agreeable frame of mind. As he had objected to a part of one of his letters being published, I thought it right to take this opportunity of asking him explicitly whether it would be improper to publifh his letters after his death. His answer was, Nay, Sir, when I am dead, you may do as you will." He talked in his ufual ftyle with a rough contempt of popular liberty. "They make a rout about universal liberty, without confidering that all that is to be valued, or indeed can be enjoyed by individuals, is private liberty. Political liberty is good only fo far as it produces private liberty. Now, Sir, there is the liberty of the prefs, which you know is a conftant topick. Suppose you and I and two hundred more were restrained from printing our thoughts: what then? What proportion would that reftraint upon us bear to the private happiness of the nation?" This mode of reprefenting the inconveniencies of restraint as light and infignificant, was a kind of sophistry in which he delighted to indulge himself, in oppofition to the extreme laxity for which it has been fashionable for too many to argue, when it is evident, upon reflection, that the very effence of government is restraint; and certain it is, that as government produces rational happiness, happiness, too much restraint is better than too little. But when restraint is 1768. unneceffary, and fo clofe as to gall those who are fubject to it, the people Etat. 59. may and ought to remonftrate; and, if relief is not granted, to refift. Of this manly and fpirited principle, no man was more convinced than Johnson himself. About this time Dr. Kenrick attacked him, through my fides, in a pamphlet, entitled “ An Epistle to James Bofwell, Efq. occafioned by his having transmitted the moral Writings of Dr. Samuel Johnson to Pascal Paoli, General of the Corficans." I was at firft inclined to answer this pamphlet; but Johnson, who knew that my doing fo would only gratify Kenrick, by keeping alive what would foon die away of itfelf, would not fuffer me to take any notice of it. His fincere regard for Francis Barber, his faithful negro fervant, made him fo defirous of his further improvement, that he now placed him at a school at Bishop Stortford, in Hertfordshire. This humane attention does Johnson's heart much honour. Out of many letters which Mr. Barber received from his master, he has preserved three, which he kindly gave me, and which I fhall infert according to their dates. To Mr. FRANCIS BARBER. "DEAR FRANCIS, "I HAVE been very much out of order. I am glad to hear that you are well, and defign to come foon to see you. I would have you stay at Mrs. Clapp's for the prefent, till I can determine what we fhall do. good boy. "My compliments to Mrs. Clapp and to Mr. Fowler. I am Be a "May 28, 1768. "Yours affectionately, SAM. JOHNSON." Soon afterwards, he fupped at the Crown and Anchor tavern, in the Strand, with a company whom I collected to meet him. They were Dr. Percy, now Bishop of Dromore, Dr. Douglas, now Bishop of Carlisle, Mr. Langton, Dr. Robertson the Hiftorian, Dr. Hugh Blair, and Mr. Thomas Davies, who wifhed much to be introduced to these eminent Scotch literati; but on the prefent occafion he had very little opportunity of hearing them talk, for with an excess of prudence, for which Johnfon afterwards found fault with them, they hardly opened their lips, and that only to fay fomething which they were Rr certair 1768. Etat. 59. certain would not expose them to the fword of Goliah; fuch was their anxiety for their fame when in the prefence of Johnfon. He was this evening in remarkable vigour of mind, and eager to exert himself in converfation, which he did with great readinefs and fluency; but I am forry to find that I have preserved but a small part of what paffed. I He allowed high praise to Thomson as a poet; but when one of the company said he was alfo a very good man, our moralift contested this with great warmth, accufing him of grofs fenfuality and licentioufnefs of manners. was very much afraid that in writing Thomfon's life, Dr. Johnfon would have treated his private character with a stern severity, but I was agreeably dif appointed; and I may claim a little merit in it, from my having been at pains to fend him authentick accounts of the affectionate and generous conduct of that poet to his fifters, one of whom, the wife of Mr. Thomson, schoolmaster at Lanark, I knew, and was presented by her with three of his letters, one of which Dr. Johnson has inferted in his life. He was vehement against old Dr. Mounfey, of Chelfea College, as "a fellow who fwore and talked bawdy." "I have been often in his company, (faid Dr. Percy,) and never heard him fwear or talk bawdy." Mr. Davies, who fat next to Dr. Percy, having after this had fome converfation 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 Mounfey fwear or talk bawdy'; for he tells me, he never faw him but at the Duke of Northumberland's table." "And fo, Sir, (faid Johnson loudly, to Dr. Percy,) you would fhield this man from the charge of fwearing and talking bawdy, because he did not do so at the Duke of Northumberland's table. Sir, you might as well tell us that you had seen him hold up his hand at the Old Bailey, and he neither fwore nor talked bawdy; or that you had feen him in the cart at Tyburn, and he neither fwore nor talked bawdy. And is it thus, Sir, that you prefume to controvert what I have related?" Dr. Johnson's animadversion was uttered in fuch a manner, that Dr. Percy feemed to be displeased, and foon afterwards left the company, of which Johnson did not at that time take any notice. Swift having been mentioned, Johnfon, as ufual, treated him with little respect as an authour. Some of us endeavoured to fupport the Dean of St. Patrick's, by various arguments. One in particular praised his " Conduct of the Allies." JOHNSON. "Sir, his Conduct of the Allies' is a performance of little ability." "Surely, Sir, (faid Dr. Douglas,) you must allow it very has has ftrong facts." JOHNSON. "Why yes, Sir; but what is that to the merit 1768. of the compofition? In the Seffions-paper of the Old Bailey there are strong Etat. 59. facts. Housebreaking is a strong fact; robbery is a strong fact; and murder is a mighty strong fact: but is great praise due to the historian of those strong facts? No, Sir. Swift has told what he had to tell diftinctly enough, but that is all. He had to count ten, and he has counted it right."-Then recollecting that Mr. Davies, by acting as an informer, had been the occafion of his talking fomewhat too harshly to his friend Dr. Percy, for which, probably, when the first ebullition was over, he felt fome compunction, he took an opportunity to give him a hit; fo added, with a preparatory laugh, "Why, Sir, Tom Davies might have written the Conduct of the Allies." Poor Tom being thus fuddenly dragged into ludicrous notice in presence of the Scottish Doctors, to whom he was ambitious of appearing to advantage, was grievously mortified. Nor did his punishment reft here; for upon fubfequent occafions, whenever he, "statesman all o'er," affumed a ftrutting importance, I ufed to hail him-" the Authour of the Conduct of the Allies." When I called upon Dr. Johnson next morning, I found him highly fatiffied with his colloquial prowefs the preceding evening. "Well, (faid he,) we had good talk." BOSWELL. "Yes, Sir; you toffed and gored several perfons." The late Alexander Earl of Eglintoune, who loved wit more than wine, and men of genius more than fycophants, had a great admiration of Johnson; but from the remarkable elegance of his own manners, was, perhaps, too delicately fenfible of the roughnefs which fometimes appeared in Johnson's behaviour. One evening about this time, when his Lordfhip did me the honour to fup at my lodgings with Dr. Robertson and several other men of literary distinction, he regretted that Johnson had not been educated with more refinement, and lived more in polished society. "No, no, my Lord, (faid Signor Baretti,) do with him what you would, he would always have been a bear." «True, (anfwered the Earl, with a smile,) but he would have been a dancing bear." To obviate all the reflections which have gone round the world to Johnson's prejudice, by applying to him the epithet of a bear, let me imprefs upon my readers a just and happy faying of my friend Goldsmith, who knew him well: Johnson, to be fure, has a roughness in his manner; but no man alive has a more tender heart. He has nothing of the bear but his skin." In 1769, fo far as I can discover, the publick was favoured with nothing of 1769. his compofition, either for himself or any of his friends. His "Meditations" 1769. too strongly prove that he suffered much both in body and mind; yet was he Etat. 60. perpetually striving against evil, and nobly endeavouring to advance his intellectual and devotional improvement. Every generous and grateful heart must feel for the diftreffes of fo eminent a benefactor to mankind; and now that his unhappiness is certainly known, muft refpect that dignity of character which prevented him from complaining. His Majefty having this year inftituted the Royal Academy, Johnson had the honour of being appointed Profeffor of Ancient Literature. In the course of the year he wrote fome letters to Mrs. Thrale, paffed fome part of the fummer at Oxford and at Lichfield, and when at Oxford wrote the following letter: To the Reverend Mr. THOMAS WARTON. "DEAR SIR, "MANY years ago, when I used to read in the library of your College, I promised to recompence the College for that permiffion, by adding to their books a Bafkerville's Virgil. I have now fent it, and defire you to repofit it on the shelves in my name2. "If you will be pleased to let me know when you have an hour of leifure, I will drink tea with you. I am engaged for the afternoon, to-morrow and on Friday all my mornings are my own3. "May 31, 1769. "I am, &c. SAM. JOHNSON." I came to London in the autumn, and having informed him that I was going to be married in a few months, I wished to have as much of his converfation as I could before engaging in a state of life which would probably keep me more in Scotland, and prevent my feeing him fo often as when I was a fingle man; but I found he was at Brighthelmstone with Mr. and Mrs.. Thrale. I was very forry that I had not his company with me at the Jubilee, in honour of Shakspeare, at Stratford-upon-Avon, the great poet's native It has this infeription in a blank-leaf: Hunc librum D. D. Samuel Johnson, eò quòd hic loci ftudiis interdum vacaret.' Of this library, which is an old Gothick room, he was very fond. On my obferving to him that fome of the modern libraries of the University were more commodious and pleasant for ftudy, as being more fpacious and airy, he replied, Sir, if a man has a mind to prance, he must study at Chrift-Church and All-Souls." 66 3 During this vifit he feldom or never dined out. He appeared to be deeply engaged in fome terary work. Mifs Williams was now with him at Oxford." |