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plied, they may honestly differ. There has been, of late, a strange turn in travellers to be displeased."

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Boswell expressed some inclination to publish an account of his Travels upon the continent of Europe, for which he had a variety of materials collected. JOHNSON." I do not say, sir, you may not publish your travels; but I give you my opinion, that you would lessen yourself by it. What can you tell of countries so well known as those upon the continent of Europe, which you have visited?" Boswell, "But I can give an entertaining narrative, with many incidents, anecdotes, jeux d'esprit, and re marks, so as to make very pleasant reading." JOHNSON. Why, sir, most modern travellers in Europe, who have published their travels, have been laughed at: I would not have you added to the number. The world is now not contented to be merely entertained by a traveller's narrative; they want to learn something. Now some of my friends asked me why I did not give some account of my travels in France. The reason is plain; intelligent readers had seen more of France than I had. You might have liked my travels in France, and The Club might have liked them; but, upon the whole, there would have been more ridicule than good produced by them." BOSWELL. "I cannot agree with you, sir. People would like to read what you say of any thing. Suppose a face has been painted by fifty painters before, still we love to see it done by Sir Joshua." JOHNSON. "True, sir; but Sir Joshua cannot paint a face, when he has not time to look on it." BosWELL. Sir, a sketch of any sort by him is valuable. And, sir, to talk to you in your own style,

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(raising my voice, and shaking my head) you should have given us your travels in France. I am sure I am right, and there's an end on't."

Boswell said to him, that it was certainly true, as his friend Dempster had observed in his letter to him upon the subject, that a great part of what was in his Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland, had been in his mind before he left London. JOHNSON. "Why yes, sir, the topics were; and books of travels will be good in proportion to what a man has previously in his mind, his knowing what to observe, his power of contrasting one mode of life with another. As the Spanish proverb says, 'He, who would bring home the wealth of the Indies, must carry the wealth of the Indies with him.' So it is in travelling; a man must carry knowledge with him, if he would bring home knowledge." BOSWELL." The proverb, I suppose, sir, means, he must carry a large stock with him to trade with." JOHNSON. "Yes, sir."

A gentleman having come in who was to go as a mate in the ship along with Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander, Dr. Johnson asked what were the names of the ships destined for the expedition. The gentleman answered, they were once to be called the Drake and the Raleigh, but now they were to be called the Resolution and the Adventure. JOHNSON. "Much better; for had the Raleigh returned without going round the world, it would have been ridiculous. To give them the names of the Drake and the Raleigh, was laying a trap for satire." BosWELL. "Had not you some desire to go upon this expedition, sir?" JOHNSON. "Why yes, but I soon laid it aside. Sir, there is very little of intellectual

in the course: besides, I see but at a small distance: so it was not worth my while to go to see birds' fly, which I should not have seen fly; and fishes swim, which I should not have seen swim.”

No. XVIII.

LAW.

BOSWELL mentioned that a gay friend had advised him against being a lawyer, because he would be excelled by plodding block heads. JOHNSON. "Why, sir, in the formulary and statutary part of law, a plodding blockhead may excel; but, in the ingenious and rational part of it, a plodding blockhead can never excel."

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Sir Alexander Macdonald observed to him, "I think, sir, almost all great lawyers, such at least as have written upon law, have known only law, and nothing else." JOHNSON. "Why, no, sir; Judge Hale was a great lawyer, and wrote upon law, and yet he knew a great many other things, and has written upon other things. Selden too." SIR A. "Very true, sir, and Lord Bacon. But was not Lord Coke a mere lawyer?" JOHNSON. "Why, I am afraid he was; but he would have taken it very ill if you had told him so; he would have prosecuted you for scandal." BOSWELL. "Lord Mansfield is not a mere lawyer." JOHNSON. "No, sir, I never was in Lord Mansfield's company; but Lord Mansfield was distinguished at the university. Lord Mansfield, when he first came to town, drank Champagne with the wits, as Prior says. He was

the friend of Pope." SIR A. "Barristers, I believe, are not so abusive now as they were formerly. I fancy they had less law long ago, and so were obliged to take to abuse, to fill up the time. Now they have such a number of precedents, they have no occasion for abuse." JOHNSON. "Nay, sir, they had more law long ago than they have now. As to precedents, to be sure they will increase in course of time; but the more precedents there are, the less occasion is there for law; that is to say, the less occasion is there for investigating principles."

Boswell asked him, whether, as a moralist, he did not think, that the practice of the law, in some degree, hurt the fine feeling of honesty. JOHNSON. "Why no, sir, if you act properly. You are not to deceive your clients with false representations of your opinion you are not to tell lies to a judge." BOSWELL." But what do you think of supporting a cause which you know to be bad?" JOHNSON. "Sir, you do not know it to be good or bad, till the judge determines it. I have said, that you are to state facts fairly; so that your thinking, or what you call knowing, a cause to be bad, must be from reasoning, must be from your supposing your arguments to be weak and inconclusive. But, sir, that is not enough. An argument, which does not convince yourself, may convince the judge to whom you úrge it and if it does convince him, why, then, sir, you are wrong, and he is right. It is his business to judge; and you are not to be confident in your own opinion, that a cause is bad, but to say all you can for your client, and then hear the judge's opinion." BOSWELL. "But, sir, does not affecting a warmth when you have no warmth, and appear.

ing to be clearly of one opinion, when you are in reality of another does not such dissimulation I'mpair one's honesty? Is there not some danger, that a lawyer may put on the same mask in common life, in the intercourse with his friends?" JOHNSON, "Why, no, sir; every body knows you are paid for affecting warmth for your client; and it is therefore properly no dissimulation. The moment you come from the bar, you resume your usual behaviour. Sir, a man will no more carry the artifice of the bar into the common intercourse of society, than a man who is paid for tumbling upon his hands will continue to tumble when he should walk on his feet."

Speaking of the inward light, to which some methodists pretended, he said, it was a principle utterly incompatible with social or civil security. "If a man," said he, “ pretends to a principle of which I can know nothing, nay, not so much as that he has it, but only that he pretends to it; how can I tell what that person may be prompted to do? When a person professes to be governed by a written ascertained law, I can then know where to find him."

Talking of law cases, he said, "The English reports, in general, are very poor: only the half of what has been said is taken down, and of that half much is mistaken; whereas, in Scotland, the arguments on each side are deliberately put in writing, to be considered by the court. I think, a collection of your cases upon subjects of importance, with the opinions of the judges upon them, would be valuable."

Of Mr. Andrew Stuart's Letters to Lord Mansfield, on the celebrated Douglas cause, Boswell said to him, "May it not be doubted, sir, whether it be proper

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