[A]The fate of one of these books was curious. Dr. Moore (the author of "Edward," and the father of Sir John Moore) visited Berne somewhere about the year 1772 (he gives no dates). He went to examine the public library of that town. "I happened," he says, "to open the Glasgow edition of Homer, which I saw here; on a blank page of which was an address in Latin to the Corsican General, Paoli, signed James Boswell. This very elegant book had been sent, I suppose, as a present from Mr. Boswell to his friend, the General; and, when that unfortunate chief was obliged to abandon his country, fell, with other of his effects, into the hands of the Swiss officer in the French service, who made a present of the Homer to this library."—"A View of Society and Manners in France," &c., by John Moore, M.D., vol. i., p. 307.—Ed.
[A]The fate of one of these books was curious. Dr. Moore (the author of "Edward," and the father of Sir John Moore) visited Berne somewhere about the year 1772 (he gives no dates). He went to examine the public library of that town. "I happened," he says, "to open the Glasgow edition of Homer, which I saw here; on a blank page of which was an address in Latin to the Corsican General, Paoli, signed James Boswell. This very elegant book had been sent, I suppose, as a present from Mr. Boswell to his friend, the General; and, when that unfortunate chief was obliged to abandon his country, fell, with other of his effects, into the hands of the Swiss officer in the French service, who made a present of the Homer to this library."—"A View of Society and Manners in France," &c., by John Moore, M.D., vol. i., p. 307.—Ed.
[106]John Wilkes began the publication of the "North Briton" in June, 1762.—Ed.
[106]John Wilkes began the publication of the "North Briton" in June, 1762.—Ed.
[107]Liutprand. See Gibbon's "Decline and Fall," chap. xlix.—Ed.
[107]Liutprand. See Gibbon's "Decline and Fall," chap. xlix.—Ed.
[108]The younger brother of the Earl Marischal (seep. 140). He took part in the rebellion of 1715, although he was but seventeen years old. He next served for ten years in the Irish Brigade in the Spanish army. He then entered the Russian service, and fought against the Turks. He was sent to England as Russian ambassador. When he came to Court he was required to speak by an interpreter when he had an audience of the king, and to appear in Russian dress. He next entered the Prussian service as Field-Marshal. He was killed in the battle of Hochkirchen, in 1758.—Ed.
[108]The younger brother of the Earl Marischal (seep. 140). He took part in the rebellion of 1715, although he was but seventeen years old. He next served for ten years in the Irish Brigade in the Spanish army. He then entered the Russian service, and fought against the Turks. He was sent to England as Russian ambassador. When he came to Court he was required to speak by an interpreter when he had an audience of the king, and to appear in Russian dress. He next entered the Prussian service as Field-Marshal. He was killed in the battle of Hochkirchen, in 1758.—Ed.
[109]John Gregory, M.D., born 1724, Professor of the Practice of Physic in Edinburgh. "It is stated that no less than sixteen members of this family have held British Professorships, chiefly in the Scotch Universities."—Chalmers' "Biog. Dict.," p. 289.—Ed.
[109]John Gregory, M.D., born 1724, Professor of the Practice of Physic in Edinburgh. "It is stated that no less than sixteen members of this family have held British Professorships, chiefly in the Scotch Universities."—Chalmers' "Biog. Dict.," p. 289.—Ed.
[110]Preface to "Comparative View," p. 8.
[110]Preface to "Comparative View," p. 8.
[111]Seepage 154.—Ed.
[111]Seepage 154.—Ed.
[112]SeePreface,page viii.—Ed.
[112]SeePreface,page viii.—Ed.
[113]Jacques-Auguste de Thou (or, as he called himself in Latin, Jacobus Augustus Thuanus), born in Paris 1553. Author of "Historia sui Temporis," in 138 books.—Ed.
[113]Jacques-Auguste de Thou (or, as he called himself in Latin, Jacobus Augustus Thuanus), born in Paris 1553. Author of "Historia sui Temporis," in 138 books.—Ed.
[114]They must have wonderfully improved since the days of Erasmus. "Advenientem nemo salutat, ne videantur ambire hospitem.... Ubi diu inclamaveris, tandem aliquis per fenestellam æstuarii (nam in his degunt fere usque ad solstitium æstivum) profert caput, non aliter quam e testa prospicit testudo. Is rogandus est an liceat illic diversari. Si non renuit, intelligis dari locum," &c.—"Erasmi Colloquia. Diversoria."—Ed.
[114]They must have wonderfully improved since the days of Erasmus. "Advenientem nemo salutat, ne videantur ambire hospitem.... Ubi diu inclamaveris, tandem aliquis per fenestellam æstuarii (nam in his degunt fere usque ad solstitium æstivum) profert caput, non aliter quam e testa prospicit testudo. Is rogandus est an liceat illic diversari. Si non renuit, intelligis dari locum," &c.—"Erasmi Colloquia. Diversoria."—Ed.
[115]Servites, or Servants of the Blessed Virgin, a religious order, first instituted in Tuscany in 1233.—Ed.
[115]Servites, or Servants of the Blessed Virgin, a religious order, first instituted in Tuscany in 1233.—Ed.
[116]"You see yon birkie, ca'd a lord,Wha struts, and stares, and a' that."—Burns.—Ed.
[116]
"You see yon birkie, ca'd a lord,Wha struts, and stares, and a' that."—Burns.—Ed.
[117]One is reminded of Gulliver in Lilliput. "I took all possible methods to cultivate this favourable disposition. The natives came, by degrees, to be less apprehensive of any danger from me. I would sometimes lie down, and let five or six of them dance on my hand."—Ed.
[117]One is reminded of Gulliver in Lilliput. "I took all possible methods to cultivate this favourable disposition. The natives came, by degrees, to be less apprehensive of any danger from me. I would sometimes lie down, and let five or six of them dance on my hand."—Ed.
[118]A song written by Garrick.—Ed.
[118]A song written by Garrick.—Ed.
[119]When Paoli makes the Romans have dealings with the great king of Assyria, we may well say, as Mrs. Shandy said of Socrates, "He had been dead a hundred years ago."—Ed.
[119]When Paoli makes the Romans have dealings with the great king of Assyria, we may well say, as Mrs. Shandy said of Socrates, "He had been dead a hundred years ago."—Ed.
[120]"Ce fier Saxon, qu'on croit né parmi nous."—Voltaire, "Poëme de Fontenoi."—Ed.
[120]
"Ce fier Saxon, qu'on croit né parmi nous."—Voltaire, "Poëme de Fontenoi."—Ed.
[121]"Do not hope wholly to reason away your troubles; do not feed them with attention, and they will die imperceptibly away. Fix your thoughts upon your business, fill your intervals with company, and sunshine will again break in upon your mind."—Johnson to Boswell, March 5, 1776.—Ed.
[121]"Do not hope wholly to reason away your troubles; do not feed them with attention, and they will die imperceptibly away. Fix your thoughts upon your business, fill your intervals with company, and sunshine will again break in upon your mind."—Johnson to Boswell, March 5, 1776.—Ed.
[122]"Rambler," number 60.
[122]"Rambler," number 60.
[123]"I recollect with admiration an animating blaze of eloquence, which roused every intellectual power in me to the highest pitch, but must have dazzled me so much, that my memory could not preserve the substance of his discourse."—Boswell's "Johnson." Date of July 30, 1763.—Ed.
[123]"I recollect with admiration an animating blaze of eloquence, which roused every intellectual power in me to the highest pitch, but must have dazzled me so much, that my memory could not preserve the substance of his discourse."—Boswell's "Johnson." Date of July 30, 1763.—Ed.
[124]Compare Boswell's discussion with Johnson on May 7th, 1773.—Ed.
[124]Compare Boswell's discussion with Johnson on May 7th, 1773.—Ed.
[125]"On the evening of October 10, 1769, I presented Dr. Johnson to General Paoli. I had greatly wished that two men, for whom I had the highest esteem, should meet. They met with a manly ease, mutually conscious of their own abilities, and of the abilities of each other."—Boswell's "Johnson."—Ed.
[125]"On the evening of October 10, 1769, I presented Dr. Johnson to General Paoli. I had greatly wished that two men, for whom I had the highest esteem, should meet. They met with a manly ease, mutually conscious of their own abilities, and of the abilities of each other."—Boswell's "Johnson."—Ed.
[126]See Boswell's "Johnson." Date of July 14th, 1763.—Ed.
[126]See Boswell's "Johnson." Date of July 14th, 1763.—Ed.
[127]See Boswell's "Johnson." Date of July 20th, 1763.—Ed.
[127]See Boswell's "Johnson." Date of July 20th, 1763.—Ed.
[128]"Lord Pembroke said once to me at Wilton, with a happy pleasantry and some truth, that Dr. Johnson's sayings would not appear so extraordinary were it not for hisbow-wow-way."—Boswell's "Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides," page 7.—Ed.
[128]"Lord Pembroke said once to me at Wilton, with a happy pleasantry and some truth, that Dr. Johnson's sayings would not appear so extraordinary were it not for hisbow-wow-way."—Boswell's "Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides," page 7.—Ed.
[129]"Idler," number 70.
[129]"Idler," number 70.
[130]"'Sir,' said Johnson, 'I am a friend to subordination, as most conducive to the happiness of society.'"—Boswell's "Johnson." Date of June 13, 1763.—Ed.
[130]"'Sir,' said Johnson, 'I am a friend to subordination, as most conducive to the happiness of society.'"—Boswell's "Johnson." Date of June 13, 1763.—Ed.
[131]Published in October, 1733. "The author is said to be one Baxter."—"Gentleman's Magazine" for 1750, vol. xx.—Ed.
[131]Published in October, 1733. "The author is said to be one Baxter."—"Gentleman's Magazine" for 1750, vol. xx.—Ed.
[132]"Feltham's Resolves," Cent. I., Resol. 52.
[132]"Feltham's Resolves," Cent. I., Resol. 52.
[133]He means vanity.
[133]He means vanity.
[134]"Feltham's Resolves," Cent. I., Resol. 52.
[134]"Feltham's Resolves," Cent. I., Resol. 52.
[135]"Æneid," lib. viii., l. 461.
[135]"Æneid," lib. viii., l. 461.
[136]I mention this on the authority of an excellent scholar, and one of our best writers, Mr. Joseph Warton, in his notes on the Aeneid; for I have not been able to find the passage in Livy which he quotes.
[136]I mention this on the authority of an excellent scholar, and one of our best writers, Mr. Joseph Warton, in his notes on the Aeneid; for I have not been able to find the passage in Livy which he quotes.
[137]"The enervated soldiers abandoned their own, and the public defence; and their pusillanimous indolence may be considered as the immediate cause of the downfall of the empire." Gibbon's "Decline and Fall," chapter 27.—Ed.
[137]"The enervated soldiers abandoned their own, and the public defence; and their pusillanimous indolence may be considered as the immediate cause of the downfall of the empire." Gibbon's "Decline and Fall," chapter 27.—Ed.
[138]Sir James MacDonald, baronet of the Isle of Sky, who at the age of one and twenty, had the learning and abilities of a Professour and a statesman, with the accomplishments of a man of the world. Eton and Oxford will ever remember him as one of their greatest ornaments.[B]He was well known to the most distinguished in Europe, but was carried off from all their expectations. He died at Frescati, near Rome, in 1765. Had he lived a little longer, I believe I should have prevailed with him to visit Corsica.
[138]Sir James MacDonald, baronet of the Isle of Sky, who at the age of one and twenty, had the learning and abilities of a Professour and a statesman, with the accomplishments of a man of the world. Eton and Oxford will ever remember him as one of their greatest ornaments.[B]He was well known to the most distinguished in Europe, but was carried off from all their expectations. He died at Frescati, near Rome, in 1765. Had he lived a little longer, I believe I should have prevailed with him to visit Corsica.
[B]Horace Walpole thus describes him in a letter dated September 30th, 1765:—"He is a very extraordinary young man for variety of learning. He is rather too wise for his age, and too fond of showing it; but when he has seen more of the world, he will choose to know less." See also Boswell's "Johnson." Date of July 20th, 1763.—Ed.
[B]Horace Walpole thus describes him in a letter dated September 30th, 1765:—"He is a very extraordinary young man for variety of learning. He is rather too wise for his age, and too fond of showing it; but when he has seen more of the world, he will choose to know less." See also Boswell's "Johnson." Date of July 20th, 1763.—Ed.
[139]"When he came to the part—'We'll still make 'em run, and we'll still make 'em sweat,In spite of the devil and Brussels Gazette!'his eyes would sparkle as with the freshness of an impending event."—Letter of Charles Lambe to H.C. Robinson, January 20th, 1826.—Ed.
[139]"When he came to the part—
his eyes would sparkle as with the freshness of an impending event."—Letter of Charles Lambe to H.C. Robinson, January 20th, 1826.—Ed.
[140]"He kept the greater part of my letters very carefully; and a short time before his death was attentive enough to seal them up in bundles, and ordered them to be delivered to me, which was accordingly done. Amongst them I found one, of which I had not made a copy, and which I own I read with pleasure at the distance of almost twenty years. It is dated November, 1765, at the palace of Pascal Paoli, in Corte, and is full of generous enthusiasm. After giving a sketch of what I had seen and heard in that island, it proceeded thus:—'I dare to call this a spirited tour. I dare to challenge your approbation.'"—Boswell's "Johnson." Date of 1765.
[140]"He kept the greater part of my letters very carefully; and a short time before his death was attentive enough to seal them up in bundles, and ordered them to be delivered to me, which was accordingly done. Amongst them I found one, of which I had not made a copy, and which I own I read with pleasure at the distance of almost twenty years. It is dated November, 1765, at the palace of Pascal Paoli, in Corte, and is full of generous enthusiasm. After giving a sketch of what I had seen and heard in that island, it proceeded thus:—'I dare to call this a spirited tour. I dare to challenge your approbation.'"—Boswell's "Johnson." Date of 1765.
[141]"Having had no letter from him, ... and having been told by somebody that he was offended at my having put into my book an extract of his letter to me at Paris, I was impatient to be with him.... I found that Dr. Johnson had sent a letter to me to Scotland, and that I had nothing to complain of but his being more indifferent to my anxiety than I wished him to be." In the letter, which is dated March 23, 1768, Johnson had said, "I have omitted a long time to write to you, without knowing very well why. I could now tell why I should not write; for who would write to men who publish the letters of their friends without their leave? Yet I write to you, in spite of my caution, to tell you that I shall be glad to see you, and that I wish you would empty your head of Corsica, which I think has filled it rather too long."—Ed.
[141]"Having had no letter from him, ... and having been told by somebody that he was offended at my having put into my book an extract of his letter to me at Paris, I was impatient to be with him.... I found that Dr. Johnson had sent a letter to me to Scotland, and that I had nothing to complain of but his being more indifferent to my anxiety than I wished him to be." In the letter, which is dated March 23, 1768, Johnson had said, "I have omitted a long time to write to you, without knowing very well why. I could now tell why I should not write; for who would write to men who publish the letters of their friends without their leave? Yet I write to you, in spite of my caution, to tell you that I shall be glad to see you, and that I wish you would empty your head of Corsica, which I think has filled it rather too long."—Ed.
[142]SeeAppendix C.—Ed.
[142]SeeAppendix C.—Ed.
[143]In this letter a high character is given of Buttafoco. Seepage 141.—Ed.
[143]In this letter a high character is given of Buttafoco. Seepage 141.—Ed.
[144]"Du Contract Social," liv. ii., chap. 10.
[144]"Du Contract Social," liv. ii., chap. 10.
[145]La.—Ed.
[145]La.—Ed.
[146]Le.—Ed.
[146]Le.—Ed.
[147]Employé.—Ed.
[147]Employé.—Ed.
[148]Leur. I have made the corrections by the copy given in "Rousseau's Collected Works."—Ed.
[148]Leur. I have made the corrections by the copy given in "Rousseau's Collected Works."—Ed.
[149]In one of his letters, dated March 24, 1765, Rousseau said:—"Sur le peu que j'ai parcouru de vos mémoires, je vois que mes idées different prodigieusement de celles de votre nation. Il ne serait pas possible que le plan que je proposerais ne fît beaucoup de mécontents, et peut-être vous-même tout le premier. Or, Monsieur, je suis rassasié de disputes et de querelles."—Ed.
[149]In one of his letters, dated March 24, 1765, Rousseau said:—"Sur le peu que j'ai parcouru de vos mémoires, je vois que mes idées different prodigieusement de celles de votre nation. Il ne serait pas possible que le plan que je proposerais ne fît beaucoup de mécontents, et peut-être vous-même tout le premier. Or, Monsieur, je suis rassasié de disputes et de querelles."—Ed.
[150]"Je reçus bien ... la lettre de M. Paoli; mais ... il faut vous dire, Monsieur, que le bruit de la proposition que vous m'aviez faite s'étant répandu sans que je sache comment, M. de Voltaire fit entendre à tout le monde que cette proposition était une invention de sa façon; il prétendait m'avoir écrit au nom des Corses une lettre contrefaite dont j'avais été la dupe."—Rousseau to Butta-Foco, May 26, 1765.—Ed.
[150]"Je reçus bien ... la lettre de M. Paoli; mais ... il faut vous dire, Monsieur, que le bruit de la proposition que vous m'aviez faite s'étant répandu sans que je sache comment, M. de Voltaire fit entendre à tout le monde que cette proposition était une invention de sa façon; il prétendait m'avoir écrit au nom des Corses une lettre contrefaite dont j'avais été la dupe."—Rousseau to Butta-Foco, May 26, 1765.—Ed.
[151]According to Voltaire it was the French who were the most to blame. Their ambassador had disgusted the Romans by his arrogance. His servants exaggerated their master's faults, and imitated "la jeunesse indisciplinable de Paris, qui se fesait alors un honneur d'attaquer toutes les nuits le guet qui vieille à la garde de la ville!" Some of them ventured one day to fall sword in hand on the Corsican guards. The Corsicans in their turn besieged the ambassador's house. Shots were fired, and a page was killed. The ambassador at once left Rome. "Le pape différa tant qu'il put la réparation, persuadé qu' avec les Français il n'y a qu' à temporiser, et que tout s'oublie." He hanged, however, a Corsican, and he took other measures to appease Lewis XIV. He learnt with alarm that the French troops were entering Italy, and that Rome was threatened with a siege. "Dans d'autres temps les excommunications de Rome auraient suivi ces outrages; mais c'étaient des armes usées et devenues ridicules." He was forced to give full satisfaction. The pyramid mentioned by Boswell was set up, but in a few years the French King allowed it to be destroyed.—See Voltaire's "Siècle de Louis XIV.," chap. vii.—Ed.
[151]According to Voltaire it was the French who were the most to blame. Their ambassador had disgusted the Romans by his arrogance. His servants exaggerated their master's faults, and imitated "la jeunesse indisciplinable de Paris, qui se fesait alors un honneur d'attaquer toutes les nuits le guet qui vieille à la garde de la ville!" Some of them ventured one day to fall sword in hand on the Corsican guards. The Corsicans in their turn besieged the ambassador's house. Shots were fired, and a page was killed. The ambassador at once left Rome. "Le pape différa tant qu'il put la réparation, persuadé qu' avec les Français il n'y a qu' à temporiser, et que tout s'oublie." He hanged, however, a Corsican, and he took other measures to appease Lewis XIV. He learnt with alarm that the French troops were entering Italy, and that Rome was threatened with a siege. "Dans d'autres temps les excommunications de Rome auraient suivi ces outrages; mais c'étaient des armes usées et devenues ridicules." He was forced to give full satisfaction. The pyramid mentioned by Boswell was set up, but in a few years the French King allowed it to be destroyed.—See Voltaire's "Siècle de Louis XIV.," chap. vii.—Ed.
[152]Corps Diplomatique, anno 1664.
[152]Corps Diplomatique, anno 1664.
[153]The commanders of the French troops that invaded Corsica in 1738 and 1739.—Ed.
[153]The commanders of the French troops that invaded Corsica in 1738 and 1739.—Ed.
[154]About the year 1750 potatoes were not commonly known in Kidderminster, as I know from an anecdote recorded by my grandfather.—Ed.
[154]About the year 1750 potatoes were not commonly known in Kidderminster, as I know from an anecdote recorded by my grandfather.—Ed.
[155]By Corsican velvet he means the coarse stuff made in the island, which is all that the Corsicans have in stead of the fine velvet of Genoa.
[155]By Corsican velvet he means the coarse stuff made in the island, which is all that the Corsicans have in stead of the fine velvet of Genoa.
[156]Abbatucci, a Corsican of a very suspicious character.
[156]Abbatucci, a Corsican of a very suspicious character.
[157]The Parliament of the nation.—Ed.
[157]The Parliament of the nation.—Ed.
[158]The Earl of Chatham. It appears from a letter published in the correspondence of the Earl of Chatham (vol. ii., p. 388) that Boswell had an interview granted him by Pitt. Boswell writes:—"I have had the honour to receive your most obliging letter, and can with difficulty restrain myself from paying you compliments on the very genteel manner in which you are pleased to treat me.... I hope that I may with propriety talk to Mr. Pitt of the views of the illustrious Paoli."—Ed.
[158]The Earl of Chatham. It appears from a letter published in the correspondence of the Earl of Chatham (vol. ii., p. 388) that Boswell had an interview granted him by Pitt. Boswell writes:—"I have had the honour to receive your most obliging letter, and can with difficulty restrain myself from paying you compliments on the very genteel manner in which you are pleased to treat me.... I hope that I may with propriety talk to Mr. Pitt of the views of the illustrious Paoli."—Ed.
[159]Smith, Elder, and Co. 1878
[159]Smith, Elder, and Co. 1878