popularity; I would live in a much better way, much more happily; I would have my time at my own command." BOSWELL. "But, Sir, is it not a sad thing to be at a distance from all our literary friends?" JOHNSON. "Sir, you will byand-by have enough of this conversation, which now delights you so much." As he was a zealous friend of subordination, he was at all times watchful to repress the vulgar cant against the manners of the great. "High people, Sir," said he, "are the best: take a hundred ladies of quality, you'll find them better wives, better mothers, more willing to sacrifice their own pleasure to their children, than a hundred other women. Tradeswomen (I mean the wives of tradesmen) in the city, who are worth from ten to fifteen thousand pounds, are the worst creatures upon the earth, grossly ignorant, and thinking viciousness fashionable. Farmers, I think, are often worthless fellows. Few lords will cheat; and, if they do, they'll be ashamed of it farmers cheat, and are not ashamed of it: they have all the sensual vices too of the nobility, with cheating into the bargain. There is as much fornication and adultery amongst farmers as amongst noblemen." BOSWELL. "The notion of the world, Sir, however, is, that the morals of women of quality are worse than those in lower stations." JOHNSON. "Yes, Sir; the licentiousness of one woman of quality makes more noise than that of a number of women in lower stations: then, Sir, you are to consider the malignity of women in the city against women of quality, which will make them believe any thing of them, such as that they call their coachmen to bed. No, Sir; so far as I have observed, the higher in rank, the richer ladies are, they are the better instructed, and the more virtuous." This year the Reverend Mr. Horne published his "Letter to Mr. Dunning on the English Particle." Johnson read it; and though not treated in it with sufficient respect, he had candour enough to say to Mr. Seward, "Were I to make a new edition of my Dictionary, I would adopt several' of Mr. Horne's ety1 In Mr. Horne Tooke's enlargement of that Letter, which he has mologies. I hope they did not put the dog in the pillory for his libel; he has too much literature for that." 1 On Saturday, May 16, I dined with him at Mr. Beauclerk's with Mr. Langton, Mr. Steevens, Dr. Higgins, and some others. I regret very feelingly every instance of my remissness in recording his memorabilia; I am afraid it is the condition of humanity (as Mr. Windham of Norfolk, once observed to me, after having made an admirable speech in the House of Commons, which was highly applauded, but which he afterwards perceived might have been better), "that we are more uneasy from thinking of our wants, than happy in thinking of our acquisitions." This is an unreasonable mode of disturbing our tranquillity, and should be corrected: let me then comfort myself with the large treasure of Johnson's conversation which I have preserved for my own enjoyment and that of the world; and let me exhibit what I have upon each occasion, whether more or less, whether a bulse, or only a few sparks of a diamond. He said, "Dr. Mead lived more in the broad sunshine of life than almost any man."2 The disaster of General Burgoyne's army3 was then the common topic of conversation. It was asked why piling their arms was insisted upon as a matter of such consequence, when it seemed to be a circumstance so inconsiderable in itself. since published with the title of iñɛa πreρóevra, or, The Diversions of Purley, he mentions this compliment, as if Dr. Johnson, instead of several of his etymologies, had said all. His recollection having thus magnified it, shows how ambitious he was of the approbation of so great a man. The letter to Mr. Dunning, containing the germ of his system, was published in 1778. čπeα птeрóevтa, or The Diversions of Purley, appeared 1786, in one volume 8vo., and enlarged in two volumes 4to., 1798-1802. An edition revised and enlarged by Richard Taylor in two vols. 8vo., 1829. -Editor. 2 Dr. Richard Mead was born in 1673, and died in 1754. His collection of books, pictures, and coins (which sold for upwards of £16,000), were, during his life, most liberally open to public curiosity. He was much visited by the literati and foreigners, and did certainly live in the "sunshine of life."-Croker. 3 Its surrender at Saratoga, October, 1777.-Croker. JOHNSON. "Why, Sir, a French author says, 'Il y a beaucoup de puérilités dans la guerre. All distinctions are trifles, because great things can seldom occur, and those distinctions are settled by custom. A savage would as willingly have his meat sent to him in the kitchen, as eat it at the table here: as men become civilised, various modes of denoting honourable preference are invented." He this day made the observations upon the similarity between "Rasselas " and "Candide;" which I have inserted in its proper place,1 when considering his admirable philosophical romance. He said, "Candide," he thought, had more power in it than any thing that Voltaire had written. He said, "The lyrical part of Horace never can be perfectly translated; so much of the excellence is in the numbers and expression. Francis has done it the best. I'll take his, five out of six, against them all." On Sunday, May 17, I presented to him Mr. Fullarton, of Fullarton, who has since distinguished himself so much in India, to whom he naturally talked of travels, as Mr. Brydone accompanied him in his tour to Sicily and Malta. He said, "The information which we have from modern travellers is much more authentic than what we had from ancient travellers; ancient travellers guessed, modern travellers measure. The Swiss admit that there is but one error in Stanyan." If Brydone were more attentive to his Bible, he would be a good traveller." He said, "Lord Chatham was a Dictator; he possessed the power of putting the state in motion: now there is no power, all order is relaxed." BOSWELL. "Is there no hope of a change to the better?" JOHNSON. "Why, yes, Sir, when we are weary of this relaxation. So the city of London will 1 See vol. i., p. 278-9, and note 2, p. 278.-Editor. 2 In 1787, Mr. Fullarton published a View of the English Interests in India, and an Account of the military operations in the southern parts of the Peninsula, during the campaign of 1782-4.-Wright. › Temple Stanyan, Esq., at one time minister to the Porte, author of an Account of Switzerland, 1714, and of a better known History of Greece. He died 1752.-Croker, 1835. appoint its mayors again by seniority." BoSWELL. "But is not that taking a mere chance for having a good or a bad mayor?" JOHNSON. "Yes, Sir; but the evil of competition. is greater than that of the worst mayor that can come; besides, there is no more reason to suppose that the choice of a rabble will be right, than that chance will be right." On Tuesday, May 19, I was to set out for Scotland in the evening. He was engaged to dine with me at Mr. Dilly's. I waited upon him to remind him of his appointment and attend him thither; he gave me some salutary counsel, and recommended vigorous resolution against any deviation from moral duty. BOSWELL. "But you would not have me to bind myself by a solemn obligation?" JOHNSON (much agitated). "What! a vow !-O, no, Sir; a vow is a horrible thing! it is a snare for sin. The man who cannot go to heaven without a vow, may go -." Here, standing erect in the middle of his library, and rolling grand, his pause was truly a curious compound of the solemn and the ludicrous; he half-whistled in his usual way when pleasant, and he paused as if checked by religious awe. Methought he would have added, to hell, but was restrained. I humoured the dilemma. "What, Sir!" said I, “In cœlum jusseris ibit?'" alluding to his imitation of it, "And bid him go to hell, to hell he goes." I had mentioned to him a slight fault in his noble "Imitation of the Tenth Satire of Juvenal," a too near recurrence of the verb spread in his description of the young enthusiast at college : "Through all his veins the fever of renown Spreads from the strong contagion of the gown; He had desired me to change spreads to burns; but for perfect authenticity, I now had it done with his own hand." 1 1 The slip of paper on which he made the correction is deposited by me I thought this alteration not only cured the fault, but was more poetical, as it might carry an allusion to the shirt by which Hercules was inflamed. We had a quiet, comfortable meeting at Mr. Dilly's; nobody there but ourselves. Mr. Dilly mentioned somebody having wished that Milton's "Tractate on Education" should be printed along with his Poems in the edition of the English Poets then going on. JOHNSON. "It would be breaking in upon the plan; but would be of no great consequence. So far as it would be any thing, it would be wrong. Education in England has been in danger of being hurt by two of its greatest men, Milton and Locke. Milton's plan is impracticable, and I suppose has never been tried. Locke's, I fancy, has been tried often enough, but is very imperfect; it gives too much to one side, and too little to the other; it gives too little to literature. I shall do what I can for Dr. Watts; but my materials are very scanty. His poems are by no means his best works; I cannot praise his poetry itself highly, but I can praise its design." My illustrious friend and I parted with assurances of affectionate regard. I wrote to him on the 25th of May, from Thorpe, in Yorkshire, one of the seats of Mr. Bosville, and gave him an in the noble library to which it relates, and to which I have presented other pieces of his handwriting. The passage in the first, and in some other editions, stands as follows: "When first the college rolls receive his name, Caught from the strong contagion of the gown; Johnson, no doubt, in amending the second awkward couplet, inadvertently inserted spreads instead of burns. The true reading ought to be introduced in any new edition of the poem, which it has not been in any that I have ever seen. Even the Oxford edition (1825) notices the error and the correction, but, strange to say, does not amend the text.-Croker. |