Chapter 24

[856]

'—me peritusDisect Iber, Rhodanique potor.''To him who drinks the rapid RhoneShall Horace, deathless bard, be known.'FRANCIS. Horace,Odes, ii. 20. 19.

[857]Seeante, iii. 49.

[858]Seepost, June 12, 1784.

[859]Seeante, p. 126.

[860]H. C. Robinson (Diary, i. 29) describes him as 'an author on an infinity of subjects; his books were on Law, History, Poetry, Antiquities, Divinity, Politics.' He adds (ib. p. 49l):—'Godwin, Lofft, and Thelwall are the only three persons I know (except Hazlitt) who grieve at the late events'—the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo. He found long after his death 'a MS. by him in these words:—"Rousseau, Euripides, Tasso, Racine, Cicero, Virgil, Petrarch, Richardson. If I had five millions of years to live upon this earth, these I would read daily with increasing delight."'Ib. iii. 283.

[861]Dunciad, iv. 394, note.

[862]The King opened Parliament this day. Hannah More during the election found the mob favourable to Fox. One night, in a Sedan chair, she was stopped with the news that it was not safe to go through Covent Garden. 'There were a hundred armed men,' she was told, 'who, suspecting every chairman belonged to Brookes's, would fall upon us. A vast number of people followed me, crying out "It is Mrs. Fox; none but Mr. Fox's wife would dare to come into Covent Garden in a chair; she is going to canvas in the dark."' H. More'sMemoirs, i. 316. Horace Walpole wrote on April 11:—'In truth Mr. Fox has all the popularity in Westminster.'Letters, viii. 469.

[863]Seepost, under June 9, 1784, where Johnson describes Fox as 'a man who has divided the kingdom with Caesar.'

[864]Seeante, p. 111.

[865]Seeante, ii. 162.

[866]Boswell twice speaks of W. G. Hamilton as 'an eminent friend' of Johnson. He was not Boswell's friend. (Ante, p. 111, andpost, under Dec. 20, 1784.) But Boswell does not here say 'a friendof ours.' By 'eminent friend' Burke is generally meant, and he, possibly, is meant here. Boswell, it is true, speaks of his 'orderly and amiable domestic habits' (ante, iii. 378); but then Boswell mentions the person here 'as a virtuous man.' If Burke is meant, Johnson's suspicions would seem to be groundless.

[867]Seeante, p. 168, where Johnson 'wonders why he should have any enemies.'

[868]After all, I cannot but be of opinion, that as Mr. Langton was seriously requested by Dr. Johnson to mention what appeared to him erroneous in the character of his friend, he was bound, as an honest man, to intimate what he really thought, which he certainly did in the most delicate manner; so that Johnson himself, when in a quiet frame of mind, was pleased with it. The texts suggested are now before me, and I shall quote a few of them. 'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.'Mat.v. 5.—'I therefore, the prisoner of the LORD, beseech you, that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called; with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love.'Ephes.v. [iv.] 1, 2.—'And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.'Col.iii. 14.—'Charity suffereth long and is kind; charity envieth not, charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up: doth not behave itself unseemly, is not easily provoked.' 1Cor.xiii. 4, 5. BOSWELL. Johnson, inThe Rambler,No. 28, had almost foretold what would happen. 'For escaping these and a thousand other deceits many expedients have been proposed. Some have recommended the frequent consultation of a wise friend, admitted to intimacy and encouraged by sincerity. But this appears a remedy by no means adapted to general use; for, in order to secure the virtue of one, it pre-supposes more virtue in two than will generally be found. In the first, such a desire of rectitude and amendment as may incline him to hear his own accusation from the mouth of him whom he esteems, and by whom therefore he will always hope that his faults are not discovered; and in the second, such zeal and honesty as will make him content for his friend's advantage to lose his kindness.'

[869]Member for Dumfries.

[870]Malone points out that the passage is not in Bacon, but in Boyle, and that it is quoted in Johnson'sDictionary(in the later editions only), undercross-bow.It is as follows:—'Testimony is like the shot of a long-bow, which owes its efficacy to the force of the shooter; argument is like the shot of the cross-bow, equally forcible whether discharged by a giant or a dwarf.' See Smollett'sWorks, ed. 1797, i. cliv, for a somewhat fuller account by Dr. Moore of what was said by Johnson this evening.

[871]The Peace made by that very able statesman, the Earl of Shelburne, now Marquis of Lansdown, which may fairly be considered as the foundation of all the prosperity of Great Britain since that time. BOSWELL. In the winter of 1782-83, preliminary treaties of peace were made with the United States, France, and Spain; and a suspension of arms with Holland. The Ode is made up of such lines as the following:—

'While meek philosophy exploresCreation's vast stupendous round,With piercing gaze sublime she soars,And bursts the system's distant bound.'

Gent. Mag.; 1783. p. 245.

[872]In the first edition of my Work, the epithetamiablewas given. I was sorry to be obliged to strike it out; but I could not in justice suffer it to remain, after this young lady had not only written in favour of the savage Anarchy with which France has been visited, but had (as I have been informed by good authority), walked, without horrour, over the ground at the Thuillieries, when it was strewed with the naked bodies of the faithful Swiss Guards, who were barbarously massacred for having bravely defended, against a crew of ruffians, the Monarch whom they had taken an oath to defend. From Dr. Johnson she could now expect not endearment but repulsion. BOSWELL.

[873]Rogers (Table-Talk, p. 50) described her as 'a very fascinating person,' and narrated a curious anecdote which he heard from her about the Reign of Terror.

[874]This year, forming as it did exactly a quarter of a century since Handel's death, and a complete century since his birth, was sought, says theGent. Mag.(1784, p. 457) as the first public periodical occasion for bringing together musical performers in England. Dr. Burney writes (Ann. Reg.1784, p. 331):—'Foreigners must have been astonished at so numerous a band, moving in such exact measure, without the assistance of a Coryphaeus to beat time. Rousseau says that "the more time is beaten, the less it is kept."' There were upwards of 500 performers.

[875]Seeante, iii. 242.

[876]Lady Wronghead, whispers Mrs. Motherly, pointing to Myrtilla.

'Mrs. Motherly. Only a niece of mine, Madam, that lives with me; she will be proud to give your Ladyship any assistance in her power.

'Lady Wronghead. A pretty sort of a young woman—Jenny, you two must be acquainted.

'Jenny. O Mamma! I am never strange in a strange place.Salutes Myrtilla.'The Provoked Husband; or, A Journey to London, act ii. sc. 1, by Vanbrugh and Colley Gibber. It was not therefore Squire Richard whom Johnson quoted, but his sister.

[877]Seeante, p. 191.

[878]See Macaulay'sEssays, ed. 1843, i. 353, for his application of this story.

[879]She too was learned; for according to Hannah More (Memoirs, i. 292) she had learnt Hebrew, merely to be useful to her husband.

[880]

'This day then let us not be told,That you are sick, and I grown old;Nor think on our approaching ills,And talk of spectacles and pills.'

Swift'sLines on Stella's Birthday, 1726-27. Works, ed. 1803, xi. 21.

[881]Dr. Newton, in hisAccount of his own Life, after animadverting upon Mr. Gibbon'sHistory, says, 'Dr. Johnson'sLives of the Poetsafforded more amusement; but candour was much hurt and offended at the malevolence that predominates in every part. Some passages, it must be allowed, are judicious and well written, but make not sufficient compensation for so much spleen and ill humour. Never was any biographer more sparing of his praise, or more abundant in his censures. He seemingly delights more in exposing blemishes, than in recommending beauties; slightly passes over excellencies, enlarges upon imperfections, and not content with his own severe reflections, revives old scandal, and produces large quotations from the forgotten works of former criticks. His reputation was so high in the republick of letters, that it wanted not to be raised upon the ruins of others. But theseEssays, instead of raising a higher idea than was before entertained of his understanding, have certainly given the world a worse opinion of his temper.—The Bishop was therefore the more surprized and concerned for his townsman, forhe respected him not only for his genius and learning, but valued him much more for the more amiable part of his character, his humanity and charity, his morality and religion.'The last sentence we may consider as the general and permanent opinion of Bishop Newton; the remarks which precede it must, by all who have read Johnson's admirable work, be imputed to the disgust and peevishness of old age. I wish they had not appeared, and that Dr. Johnson had not been provoked by them to express himself, not in respectful terms, of a Prelate, whose labours were certainly of considerable advantage both to literature and religion. BOSWELL.

[882]Newton was born Jan. 1, 1704, and was made Bishop in 1761. In hisAccount of his own Life(p. 65) he says:—'He was no great gainer by his preferment; for he was obliged to give up the prebend of Westminster, the precentorship of York, the lecturership of St. George's, Hanover Square, and thegenteel office of sub-almoner.' He died in 1781. HisWorkswere published in 1782. Gibbon, defending himself against an attack by Newton, says (Misc. Works, l. 24l):—'The old man should not have indulged his zeal in a false and feeble charge against the historian, who,' &c.

[883]Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides,3rd ed. p. 371 [Oct. 25]. BOSWELL. Seeante, ii. 216.

[884]The Rev. Mr. Agutter [post,under Dec. 20] has favoured me with a note of a dialogue between Mr. John Henderson [post,June 12] and Dr. Johnson on this topick, as related by Mr. Henderson, and it is evidently so authentick that I shall here insert it:—HENDERSON. 'What do you think, Sir, of William Law?' JOHNSON. 'William Law, Sir, wrote the best piece of Parenetick Divinity; but William Law was no reasoner.' HENDERSON. 'Jeremy Collier, Sir?' JOHNSON. 'Jeremy Collier fought without a rival, and therefore could not claim the victory.' Mr. Henderson mentioned Kenn and Kettlewell; but some objections were made: at last he said, 'But, Sir, what do you think of Leslie?' JOHNSON. 'Charles Leslie I had forgotten. Lesliewasa reasoner, anda reasoner who was not to be reasoned against.'BOSWELL.

For the effect of Law's 'Parenetick Divinity' on Johnson, seeante, i. 68. 'I am surprised,' writes Macaulay, 'that Johnson should have pronounced Law no reasoner. Law did indeed fall into great errors; but they were errors against which logic affords no security. In mere dialectical skill he had very few superiors.' Macaulay'sEngland, ed. 1874, v. 81, note. Jeremy Collier's attack on the play-writers Johnson describes in hisLife of Congreve(Works, viii. 28), and continues:—'Nothing now remained for the poets but to resist or fly. Dryden's conscience, or his prudence, angry as he was, withheld him from the conflict: Congreve and Vanbrugh attempted answers.' Of Leslie, Lord Bolingbroke thus writes (Works, in. 45):—'Let neither the polemical skill of Leslie, nor the antique erudition of Bedford, persuade us to put on again those old shackles of false law, false reason, and false gospel, which were forged before the Revolution, and broken to pieces by it.' Leslie is described by Macaulay,History of England, v. 81.

[885]Burnet (History of his own Time, ed. 1818, iv. 303) in 1712 speaks of Hickes and Brett as being both in the Church, but as shewing 'an inclination towards Popery.' Hickes, he says, was at the head of the Jacobite party. See Boswell'sHebrides, Oct. 25.

[886]'Only five of the seven were non-jurors; and anybody but Boswell would have known that a man may resist arbitrary power, and yet not be a good reasoner. Nay, the resistance which Sancroft and the other nonjuring Bishops offered to arbitrary power, while they continued to hold the doctrine of non-resistance, is the most decisive proof that they were incapable of reasoning.' Macaulay'sEngland, ed. 1874, v. 81.

[887]Seeante, ii. 321, for Johnson's estimate of the Nonjurors, and i. 429 for his Jacobitism.

[888]Savage'sWorks, ed. 1777, ii. 28.

[889]Seeante, p. 46.

[890]See Boswell'sHebrides, post, v. 77.

[891]I have inserted the stanza as Johnson repeated it from memory; but I have since found the poem itself, inThe Foundling Hospital for Wit, printed at London, 1749. It is as follows:—

'EPIGRAM,occasioned by a religious dispute at Bath.'On Reason, Faith, and Mystery high,Two wits harangue the table;B——y believes he knows not why.N—— swears 'tis all a fable.Peace, coxcombs, peach, and both agree,N——, kiss they empty brother:Religion laughs at foes like thee,And dreads a friend like t'other.'

BOSWELL. The disputants are supposed to have been Beau Nash and Bentley, the son of the doctor, and the friend of Walpole. Croker. John Wesley in hisJournal, i. 186, tells how he once silences Nash.

[892]See ante, ii. 105.

[893]Waller, in hisDivine Poesie, canto first, has the same thought finely expressed:—

'The Church triumphant, and the Church below,In songs of praise their present union show;Their joys are full; our expectation long,In life we differ, but we join in song;Angels and we assisted by this art,May sing together, though we dwell apart.'BOSWELL.

[894]See Boswell'sHebrides, post, v. 45.

[895]In the original,flee.

[896]The sermon thus opens:—'That there are angels and spirits good and bad; that at the head of these last there is ONE more considerable and malignant than the rest, who, in the form, or under the name of aserpent, was deeply concerned in the fall of man, and whosehead, as the prophetick language is, the son of man was one day tobruise; that this evil spirit, though that prophecy be in part completed, has not yet received his death's wound, but is still permitted, for ends unsearchable to us, and in ways which we cannot particularly explain, to have a certain degree of power in this world hostile to its virtue and happiness, and sometimes exerted with too much success; all this is so clear from Scripture, that no believer, unless he be first of allspoiled by philosophy and vain deceit [Colossians, ii. 8], can possibly entertain a doubt of it.'

Having treated ofpossessions, his Lordship says, 'As I have no authority to affirm that therearenow any such, so neither may I presume to say with confidence, that there arenotany.'

'But then with regard to the influence of evil spirits at this day upon the SOULS of men, I shall take leave to be a great deal more peremptory.—(Then, having stated the various proofs, he adds,) All this, I say, is so manifest to every one who reads the Scriptures, that, if we respect their authority, the question concerning the reality of the demoniack influence upon the minds of men is clearly determined.'

Let it be remembered, that these are not the words of an antiquated or obscure enthusiast, but of a learned and polite Prelate now alive; and were spoken, not to a vulgar congregation, but to the Honourable Society of Lincoln's-Inn. His Lordship in this sermon explains the words, 'deliver us from evil,' in the Lord's Prayer, as signifying a request to be protected from 'the evil one,' that is the Devil. This is well illustrated in a short but excellent Commentary by my late worthy friend, the Reverend Dr. Lort, of whom it may truly be said,Multis ille bonis flebilis occidit. It is remarkable that Waller, in hisReflections on the several Petitions, in that sacred form of devotion, has understood this in the same sense;—

'Guard us from all temptations of the FOE.'

BOSWELL. Dr. Lort is often mentioned in Horace Walpole'sLetters. Multis illequidemflebilis occidit,' comes from Horace,Odes, i. xxiv. 9, translated by Francis,—

How did the good, the virtuous mourn.'

For Dr. Hurd seeante, p. 189.

[897]There is a curious anecdote of this physician inGent. Mag.1772, p. 467.

[898]Seeante, p. 166. He may have taken the more to Fox, as he had taken to Beauclerk (ante, i. 248), on account of his descent from Charles II. Fox was the great-great-grandson of that king. His Christian names recall his Stuart ancestry.

[899]Horace Walpole wrote on April 11 (Letters, viii. 469):—'In truth Mr. Fox has all the popularity in Westminster; and, indeed, is so amiable and winning that, could he have stood in person all over England, I question whether he would not have carried the Parliament.' Hannah More (Memoirs, i. 316) in the same month wrote:—'Unluckily for my principles I met Fox canvassing the other day, and he looked so sensible and agreeable, that if I had not turned my eyes another way, I believe it would have been all over with me.' Seeante, p. 279.

[900]Dr. John Radcliffe, who died in 1714, left by his will, among other great benefactions to the University of Oxford, '£600 yearly to two persons, when they are Masters of Arts and entered on the physic-line, for their maintenance for the space of ten years; the half of which time at least they are to travel in parts beyond sea for their better improvement.'Radcliffe's Life and Will, p. 123. Pope mentions them in hisImitations of Horace, Epistles, ii. i. 183:—

'E'en Radcliffe's doctors travel first to France,Nor dare to practise till they've learned to dance.'

[901]What risks were run even by inoculation is shewn in two of Dr. Warton's letters. He wrote to his brother:—'This moment the dear children have all been inoculated, never persons behaved better, no whimpering at all, I hope in God for success, but cannot avoid being in much anxiety.' A few days later he wrote:—'You may imagine I never passed such a day as this in my life! grieved to death myself for the loss of so sweet a child, but forced to stifle my feelings as much as possible for the sake of my poor wife. She does not, however, hit on, or dwell on, that most cutting circumstance of all, poor Nanny's dying, as it were by our own means, tho' well intended indeed.' Wooll'sWarton, i. 289. Dr. Franklin (Memoirs, i. 155), on the other hand, bitterly regretted that he had not had a child inoculated, whom he lost by small-pox.

[902]Seepost, before Nov. 17, and under Dec. 9, 1784.

[903]'I am the vilest of sinners and the worst of men.' Taylor'sWorks(ed. 1864), iii. 31. 'The best men deserve not eternal life, and I who am the worst may have it given me.'Ib. p. 431—'He that hath lived worst, even I.'Ib. vii. 241. 'Behold me the meanest of thy creatures.'Ib. p. 296.

[904]'You may fairly look upon yourself to be the greatest sinner that you know in the world. First, because you know more of the folly of your own heart than you do of other people's; and can charge yourself with various sins that you only know of yourself, and cannot be sure that other people are guilty of them.' Law'sSerious Call, chap. 23.

[905]1Timothy, i. 15.

[906]Seepost, v. 68, note 4.

[907]'Be careful thou dost not speak a lie in thy prayers, which though not observed is frequently practised by careless persons, especially in the forms of confession, affirming things which they have not thought, professing sorrow which is not, making a vow they mean not.' Taylor'sWorks, ed. 1865, vii. 622.

[908]Reynolds wrote:—'As in Johnson's writings not a line can be found which a saint would wish to blot, so in his life he would never suffer the least immorality or indecency of conversation, [or anything] contrary to virtue or piety to proceed without a severe check, which no elevation of rank exempted them from.' Taylor'sReynolds, ii. 458. Seeante, iii. 41.

[909]No doubt Mr. Langton.

[910]Dr. Sheridan tells how Swift overheard a Captain Hamilton say to a gentleman at whose house he had arrived 'that he was very sorry he had chosen that time for his visit. "Why so?" "Because I hear Dean Swift is with you. He is a great scholar, a wit; a plain country squire will have but a bad time of it in his company, and I don't like to be laughed at." Swift then stepped up and said, "Pray, Captain Hamilton, do you know how to sayyesornoproperly?" "Yes, I think I have understanding enough for that." "Then give me your hand—depend upon it, you and I will agree very well."' 'The Captain told me,' continues Sheridan, 'that he never passed two months so pleasantly in his life.' Swift'sWorks, ed. 1803, ii. 104.

[911]Gibbon wrote on Feb. 21, 1772 (Misc. Works, ii. 78):—'To day the House of Commons was employed in a very odd way. Tommy Townshend moved that the sermon of Dr. Nowell, who preached before the House on the 30th of January (id est, before the Speaker and four members), should be burnt by the common hangman, as containing arbitrary, Tory, high-flown doctrines. The House was nearly agreeing to the motion, till they recollected that they had already thanked the preacher for his excellent discourse, and ordered it to be printed.'

[912]

'Although it be notshinedupon.'Hudibras, iii. 2, 175.

[913]According to Mr. Croker, this was the Rev. Henry Bate, of theMorning Post, who in 1784 took the name of Dudley, was created a baronet in 1815, and died in 1824. Horace Walpole wrote on Nov. 13, 1776 (Letters, vi. 39l):—'Yesterday I heard drums and trumpets in Piccadilly: I looked out of the window and saw a procession with streamers flying. At first I thought it a press-gang, but seeing the corps so well-drest, like Hussars, in yellow with blue waistcoats and breeches, and high caps, I concluded it was some new body of our allies, or a regiment newly raised, and with new regimentals for distinction. I was not totally mistaken, for the Colonel isa new ally. In short, this was a procession set forth by Mr. Bate, Lord Lyttelton's chaplain, and author of the oldMorning Post, and meant as an appeal to the town against his antagonist, the new one.' In June, 1781, Bate was sentenced to a year's imprisonment 'for an atrocious libel on the Duke of Richmond. He was the worst of all the scandalous libellers that had appeared both on private persons as well as public. His life was dissolute, and he had fought more than one duel. Yet Lord Sandwich had procured for him a good Crown living, and he was believed to be pensioned by the Court.' Walpole'sJournal of the Reign of George III, ii. 464.

[914]Seeante, ii. 339, and iii. 265.

[915]Three days earlier, in the debate on the Westminster Scrutiny, Fox accused 'a person of great rank in this House'—Pitt I believe—'of adding pertness and personal contumely to every species of rash and inconsiderate violence.'Parl. Hist. xxiv. 924. Pitt, in reply, classed Fox among 'political apostates,'ib. p. 929. Burke, the same evening, 'sat down saying, "he little minded the ill-treatment of a parcel of boys."' When he was called to order, he said:—'When he used the term "a parcel of boys," he meant to apply it to the ministry, who, he conceived, were insulting him with their triumph; a triumph which grey hairs ought to be allowed the privilege of expressing displeasure at, when it was founded on the rash exultation of mere boys.'Ib. p. 939. Pitt, Prime-Minister though he was, in the spring of the same year, was called to order by the Speaker, for charging a member with using 'language the most false, the most malicious, and the most slanderous.'Ib. p. 763.

[916]Epistles to Mr. Pope, ii. 165.

[917]See an account of him, in a sermon by the Reverend Mr. Agutter. BOSWELL. This sermon was published in 1788. In Hannah More'sMemoirs(i. 217), Henderson is described as 'a mixture of great sense, which discovered uncommon parts and learning, with a tincture of nonsense of the most extravagant kind. He believes in witches and apparitions, as well as in judicial astronomy.' Mrs. Kennicott writes (ib. p. 220):—'I think if Dr. Johnson had the shaking him about, he would shake out his nonsense, and set his sense a-working. 'He never got out into the world, says Dr. Hall, the Master of Pembroke College, having died in College in 1788.

[918]This was the second Lord Lyttelton, commonly known as 'the wicked Lord Lyttelton.' Fox described him to Rogers as 'a very bad man—downright wicked.' Rogers'sTable Talk, p. 95. He died Nov. 27, 1779. Horace Walpole (Letters, vii. 292) wrote to Mason on Dec. 11 of that year:—'If you can send us any stories of ghosts out of the North, they will be very welcome. Lord Lyttelton's vision has revived the taste; though it seems a little odd that an apparition should despair of being able to get access to his Lordship's bed in the shape of a young woman, without being forced to use the disguise of a robin-red-breast.' In theGent. Mag.1815, i. 597, and 1816, ii. 421, accounts are given of this vision. In the latter account it is said that 'he saw a bird fluttering, and afterwards a woman appeared in white apparel, and said, "Prepare to die; you will not exist three days."' Mrs. Piozzi also wrote a full account of it. Hayward'sPiozzi, i. 332.

[919]Seeante, ii. 150, and iii. 298, note 1.

[920]Seeante, p. 278.

[921]'If he who considers himself as suspended over the abyss of eternal perdition only by the thread of life, which must soon part by its own weakness, and which the wing of every minute may divide, can cast his eyes round him without shuddering with horror, or panting for security; what can he judge of himself, but that he is not yet awakened to sufficient conviction? &c.'The Rambler, No. 110. In a blank leaf in the book in which Johnson kept his diary of his journey in Wales is written in his own hand, 'Faith in some proportion to Fear.' Duppa's Johnson'sDiary of a Journey &c., p. 157. Seeante, iii. 199.

[922]He wrote to Mrs. Thrale on March 20:—'Write to me no more aboutdying with a grace; when you feel what I have felt in approaching eternity—in fear of soon hearing the sentence of which there is no revocation, you will know the folly.'Piozzi Letters, ii. 354. Of him it might have been said in Cowper's words:—

'Scripture is still a trumpet to his fears.'

The Task: The Winter Morning Walk, 1. 611. Seeante, iii. 294.

[923]The Reverend Mr. Ralph Churton, Fellow of Brazen-Nose College, Oxford, has favoured me with the following remarks on my Work, which he is pleased to say, 'I have hitherto extolled, and cordially approve.'

'The chief part of what I have to observe is contained in the following transcript from a letter to a friend, which, with his concurrence, I copied for this purpose; and, whatever may be the merit or justness of the remarks, you may be sure that being written to a most intimate friend, without any intention that they ever should go further, they are the genuine and undisguised sentiments of the writer:—

'Jan. 6, 1792.

'Last week, I was reading the second volume of Boswell'sJohnson, with increasing esteem for the worthy authour, and increasing veneration of the wonderful and excellent man who is the subject of it. The writer throws in, now and then, very properly some serious religious reflections; but there is one remark, in my mind an obvious and just one, which I think he has not made, that Johnson's "morbid melancholy," and constitutional infirmities, were intended by Providence, like St. Paul's thorn in the flesh, to check intellectual conceit and arrogance; which the consciousness of his extraordinary talents, awake as he was to the voice of praise, might otherwise have generated in a very culpable degree. Another observation strikes me, that in consequence of the same natural indisposition, and habitual sickliness, (for he says he scarcely passed one day without pain after his twentieth year,) he considered and represented human life, as a scene of much greater misery than is generally experienced. There may be persons bowed down with affliction all their days; and there are those, no doubt, whose iniquities rob them of rest; but neither calamities nor crimes, I hope and believe, do so much and so generally abound, as to justify the dark picture of life which Johnson's imagination designed, and his strong pencil delineated. This I am sure, the colouring is far too gloomy for what I have experienced, though as far as I can remember, I have had more sickness (I do not say more severe, but only more in quantity,) than falls to the lot of most people. But then daily debility and occasional sickness were far overbalanced by intervenient days, and, perhaps, weeks void of pain, and overflowing with comfort. So that in short, to return to the subject, human life, as far as I can perceive from experience or observation, is not that state of constant wretchedness which Johnson always insisted it was; which misrepresentation, (for such it surely is,) his Biographer has not corrected, I suppose, because, unhappily, he has himself a large portion of melancholy in his constitution, and fancied the portrait a faithful copy of life.'

The learned writer then proceeds thus in his letter to me:—

'I have conversed with some sensible men on this subject, who all seem to entertain the same sentiments respecting life with those which are expressed or implied in the foregoing paragraph. It might be added that as the representation here spoken of, appears not consistent with fact and experience, so neither does it seem to be countenanced by Scripture. There is, perhaps, no part of the sacred volume which at first sight promises so much to lend its sanction to these dark and desponding notions as the book ofEcclesiastes, which so often, and so emphatically, proclaims the vanity of things sublunary. But the design of this whole book, (as it has been justly observed,) is not to put us out of conceit with life, but to cure our vain expectations of a compleat and perfect happiness in this world; to convince us, that there is no such thing to be found in mere external enjoyments;—and to teach us to seek for happiness in the practice of virtue, in the knowledge and love of God, and in the hopes of a better life. For this is the application of all;Let us hear, &c. xii. 13. Not only his duty, but his happiness too; _For_ GOD, &c. ver. 14.--See _Sherlock on Providence, p. 299.

'The New Testament tells us, indeed, and most truly, that "sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof;" and, therefore, wisely forbids us to increase our burden by forebodings of sorrows; but I think it no where says that even our ordinary afflictions are not consistent with a very considerable degree of positive comfort and satisfaction. And, accordingly, one whose sufferings as well as merits were conspicuous, assures us, that in proportion "as the sufferings of Christ abounded in them, so their consolation also abounded by Christ." 2 Cor. i. 5. It is needless to cite, as indeed it would be endless even to refer to, the multitude of passages in both Testaments holding out, in the strongest language, promises of blessings, even in this world, to the faithful servants of GOD. I will only refer toSt. Luke, xviii. 29, 30, and 1Tim. iv. 8.

'Upon the whole, setting aside instances of great and lasting bodily pain, of minds peculiarly oppressed by melancholy, and of severe temporal calamities, from which extraordinary cases we surely should not form our estimate of the general tenour and complexion of life; excluding these from the account, I am convinced that as well the gracious constitution of things which Providence has ordained, as the declarations of Scripture and the actual experience of individuals, authorize the sincere Christian to hope that his humble and constant endeavours to perform his duty, checquered as the best life is with many failings, will be crowned with a greater degree of present peace, serenity, and comfort, than he could reasonably permit himself to expect, if he measured his views and judged of life from the opinion of Dr. Johnson, often and energetically expressed in the Memoirs of him, without any animadversion or censure by his ingenious Biographer. If he himself, upon reviewing the subject, shall see the matter in this light, he will, in an octavo edition, which is eagerly expected, make such additional remarks or correction as he shall judge fit; lest the impressions which these discouraging passages may leave on the reader's mind, should in any degree hinder what otherwise the whole spirit and energy of the work tends, and, I hope, successfully, to promote,—pure morality and true religion.'

Though I have, in some degree, obviated any reflections against my illustrious friend's dark views of life, when considering, in the course of this Work, his Rambler[ante, i. 213] and hisRasselas[ante, i. 343], I am obliged to Mr. Churton for complying with my request of his permission to insert his Remarks, being conscious of the weight of what he judiciously suggests as to the melancholy in my own constitution. His more pleasing views of life, I hope, are just.Valeant quantum valere possunt.

Mr. Churton concludes his letter to me in these words:—'Once, and only once, I had the satisfaction of seeing your illustrious friend; and as I feel a particular regard for all whom he distinguished with his esteem and friendship, so I derive much pleasure from reflecting that I once beheld, though but transiently near our College gate, one whose works will for ever delight and improve the world, who was a sincere and zealous son of the Church of England, an honour to his country, and an ornament to human nature.'

His letter was accompanied with a present from himself of his Sermons at the Bampton Lecture, and from his friend, Dr. Townson, the venerable Rector of Malpas, in Cheshire, of hisDiscourses on the Gospels, together with the following extract of a letter from that excellent person, who is now gone to receive the reward of his labours:—'Mr. Boswell is not only very entertaining in his works, but they are so replete with moral and religious sentiments, without an instance, as far as I know, of a contrary tendency, that I cannot help having a great esteem for him; and if you think such a trifle as a copy of theDiscourses, ex dono authoris, would be acceptable to him, I should be happy to give him this small testimony of my regard.'

Such spontaneous testimonies of approbation from such men, without any personal acquaintance with me, are truly valuable and encouraging.

BOSWELL.

[924]

'Tout se plaint, tout gémit en cherchant le bien-etre;Nul ne voudrait mourir, nul ne voudrait renaitre.'

Voltaire, Le désastre de Lisbonne. Works, ed. 1819, x. 124. 'Johnson said that, for his part, he never passed that week in his life which he would wish to repeat, were an angel to make the proposal to him.'Ante, ii. 125. Yet Dr. Franklin, whose life overlapped Johnson's at both ends, said:-'I should have no objection to go over the same life from its beginning to the end, requesting only the advantage authors have of correcting in a second edition the faults of its first. So would I also wish to change some incidents of it for others more favourable Notwithstanding, if this condition was denied, I should still accept the offer of re-commencing the same life.' Franklin'sMemoirs, i. 2.

[925]Mackintosh thus sums up this question:—'The truth is, that endless fallacies must arise from the attempt to appreciate by retrospect human life, of which the enjoyments depend on hope.' Life of Mackintosh, ii. 160. Seeante, ii. 350.

[926]In the lines on Levett. Ante, p. 137.

[927]AURENGZEBE, act iv. sc. 1. BOSWELL. According to Dr. Maxwell (ante, ii. 124), Johnson frequently quoted the fourth couplet of these lines. Boswell does not give the last—

'I'm tired with waiting for this chemic goldWhich fools us young, and beggars us when old.'

[928]Johnson, speaking of the companions of his college days, said:— 'It was bitterness which they mistook for frolick.' Ante, i. 73.

[929]

'—to thee I callBut with no friendly voice, and add thy nameO Sun, to tell thee how I hate thy beams.'

Milton's Paradise Lost, iv. 35.

[930]Yet there is no doubt that a man may appear very gay in company who is sad at heart. His merriment is like the sound of drums and trumpets in a battle, to drown the groans of the wounded and dying. BOSWELL.

[931]Mme. D'Arblay (Memoirs of Dr. Burney, ii. 103) tells how Johnson was one day invited to her father's house at the request of Mr. Greville, 'the finest gentleman about town,' as she earlier described him (ib. i. 25), who desired to make his acquaintance. This 'superb' gentleman was afraid to begin to speak. 'Assuming his most supercilious air of distant superiority he planted himself, immovable as a noble statue, upon the hearth, as if a stranger to the whole set.' Johnson, who 'never spoke till he was spoken to' (ante, in. 307)—this habit the Burneys did not as yet know—'became completely absorbed in silent rumination; very unexpectedly, however, he shewed himself alive to what surrounded him, by one of those singular starts of vision, that made him seem at times, though purblind to things in common, gifted with an eye of instinct for espying any action that he thought merited reprehension; for all at once, looking fixedly on Mr. Greville, who without much self-denial, the night being very cold, kept his station before the chimney-piece, he exclaimed:—"If it were not for depriving the ladies of the fire, I should like to stand upon the hearth myself." A smile gleamed upon every face at this pointed speech. Mr. Greville tried to smile himself, though faintly and scoffingly. He tried also to hold his post; and though for two or three minutes he disdained to move, the awkwardness of a general pause impelled him ere long to glide back to his chair; but he rang the bell with force as he passed it to order his carriage.'

[932]Page 139. BOSWELL.

[933]On this same day Miss Adams wrote to a friend:—'Dr. Johnson, tho' not in good health, is in general very talkative and infinitely agreeable and entertaining.' Pemb. Coll. MSS.

[934]Johnson said 'Milton was a Phidias, &c.'Ante, p. 99, note 1. In hisLife of Milton(Works, vii. 119) he writes:—'Milton never learnt the art of doing little things with grace; he overlooked the milder excellence of suavity and softness; he was aLionthat had no skillin dandling the kid.'

['Sporting the lion ramped, and in his pawDandled the kid.'Paradise Lost, iv. 343.]

[935]Cardinal Newman (History of my Religious Opinions, ed. 1865, p. 361) remarks on this:—'As to Johnson's case of a murderer asking you which way a man had gone, I should have anticipated that, had such a difficulty happened to him, his first act would have been to knock the man down, and to call out for the police; and next, if he was worsted in the conflict, he would not have given the ruffian the information he asked, at whatever risk to himself. I think he would have let himself be killed first. I do not think that he would have told a lie.'

[936]Seeante, iii. 376.

[937]Book ii. 1. 142.

[938]The annotator calls them 'amiable verses.' BOSWELL. The annotators of theDunciadwere Pope himself and Dr. Arbuthnot. Johnson'sWorks, viii. 280.

[939]Boswell was at this time corresponding with Miss Seward. Seepost, June 25.

[940]By John Dyer.Ante, ii. 453.

[941]Lewis's Verses addressed to Pope were first published in a Collection of Pieces on occasion ofThe Dunciad, 8vo., 1732. They do not appear in Lewis's ownMiscellany, printed in 1726.—Grongar Hillwas first printed in Savage'sMiscellaniesas an Ode, and wasreprintedin the same year in Lewis'sMiscellany, in the form it now bears.

In hisMiscellanies, 1726, the beautiful poem,—'Away, let nought to love displeasing,'—reprinted in Percy'sReliques, vol. i. book iii. No. 13, first appeared. MALONE.

[942]Seeante, p. 58.

[943]Seeante, i. 71, and ii. 226.

[944]Captain Cook's third voyage. The first two volumes by Captain Cook; the last by Captain King.

[945]Seeante, ii. 73, 228, 248; iii. 49.

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